Camila Queiroz.

NATASHA O'KEEFFE as LANFEAR in WHEEL OF TIME 2.08

@seraphimichael​ location: we’re in the colosseum baby.

Moonlight filtered through ruins in much the same way the cosmos scintillated the vast abyss above. Just enough to offer something beyond the premise of total darkness; a bleak, cold existence. Lithe fingertips that ghosted across crumbling echoes of a lifetime ago, Pythia felt near giddy as the dread and fear of all that lingered from the past flowed through her. The aches and pains of those that would never see beyond these walls; humans caught within the snare of their own kind and forced to cut teeth against stone to garner even a single day more.  “Michael,” the eerie drift of her voice carried across the stagnant air as if it’d been whispered upon the greatest of winds. Harrowing, the echo reverberated against the stone and kissed promise of the greatest haunting the mortal realm had ever known. “Oh, Michael..” The singsong sweetness to her tone near sickening as she slipped through the broken gate and laid onyx hues upon the one she’d avoided for so long. Not unaware of his plight to remove each of the fallen from this world like the stains he deemed them to be.  Saccharine lips turn upward and yet any who bore witness could pledge that nothing but venom would pass beyond her tongue, even as she meandered closer, not unlike a long lost sibling relegating a near stranger. “You look weary, brother.” Or perhaps rather, he felt as much. “Or perhaps it is the mundane vessel you continue to hold onto.”

Only one with precision could envision the gorish nightmares that Bastien forced upon them. Each stringent tether weaves it's way across the battlefield and into the minds of fools that might believe rest would give them an upper hand in strategy, and Leviathan feeds more power through all that connects her to the oracle. "What will they do next?" She doesn't mean to stop him in his tracks, rather two birds with one rather large stone, "Their attempts have been feeble. I don't distrust that they might not have a trick up their sleeve." Elusive as the Asphodel might be, she wasn't foolish to believe that the wretches of this earth and the next couldn't attempt to reciprocate it. "And while you're at it, do tell me what is going on with out dear Levent."

Break them, there was no further encouragement that Bastien would need. He had directed his magic towards his visions, had pulled the sights straight from the hands of the Graeae so that they may lay waste to the city. "With pleasure," came his giddy reply, before he turned his sights upon those that would fall pray. A vision was conjured, brought forth of the decimation that awaited the city of Rome. And into the minds of those that stood against the Asphodel it went. Destruction, bloodshed, torn bodies that scattered the once idyllic streets. He pressed upon them, further and further, until all they could see, think, believe was their approaching demise. It was the eruption of screams that brought the satisfied grin to his lips, that had his eyes closing with a hum at a job well done. "And that was simply a taste."

@domxbirchall​ location: some dive bar

“I’ve gotta say, being a free man suits you far more than I remembered.” Her presence is not one that she’s announced, rather shifting through the shadows of the dimly lit bar and seemingly manifesting in the booth seating across from him. Regardless of the new face she wears, Pythia knows that recognition would at least flicker beneath the surface of whichever thought plagues him now. “How did you manage?”

“There always has to be at least one truly unruly child. Admittedly, I should have remembered that you were the closest thing I ever had to that.” Though, she’d always made it quite clear that she wouldn’t always be there - that things beyond her control would always see fit that she could never linger too long while still rising to power. He’d never been devoid of such knowledge. “Oh, they were luckier than they should have been.” Dismantling what remained of the coven in such a way was a rather quick fix, and not exactly what she might have preferred - but time was always of the essence. “Are you not already in my debt, Kaan?” She asked, casting idle curiosity in his direction. “They’ll close ranks. What remains and what they’ll build of the senate, I expect you to be among them. Play nice, for now.”

pythia​.

The lengthy twist of her smile as he chides her is minute, enough to cast weary indifference in his direction as she peeks up at him from the comfort of the chaise lounge she occupies. “You should be far more impressed, Kaan. I only moved twice as quickly as you did in securing your place within a second coven. Though, I suppose you had to learn treachery from somewhere, didn’t you?” It’s little more than a jest - his occupation amuses her greatly and has for centuries now. “My oracle? Do you truly believe this is all due to some little prophecy? Tsk. Tsk. Where’s your faith?”

-

“Yes, because I should have spent my time pining the loss of you instead of doing just as you would have done.” The words hold no malice, nor any indication other than amusement at her own words. He had spent too many years searching for a means to restore the Asphodel coven, had sacrificed too many in her name in the hopes of retrieving what had been lost. The Narcissus coven, however, had been a means for his own selfish gain. He had slipped into its folds, made a name for himself, and secured the mantle of Sovereign for his own goals. For his own safety. “The other covens were not so lucky, especially the Amaranthus. Color me surprised to receive a message from your oracle prior. Shall I consider myself in your debt then?”

It was a wonder any of them believed they could breathe within the confines of the coven and she wouldn’t know about it. The entirety of the Otherworld now beneath the ruling of Levithan and Ayi’ig left little to be considered, and yet, she’d allowed Eric to continue believing that his intention existed within the darkened confines of his own mind, that alone. The heated drink she held in her hand - something otherwise wickedly sweet where bitterness existed in the very fingertips that burned with it, a small comfort in an almost domestic setting for her. “You’re going?” She sat up a little straighter, a crease forming between narrowing brows, how bold of him. Better had he tried to slip out unseen; perhaps she might have even commended him for such gall. “Where will you go, Eric?” Where will you go that I can’t find you? “There’s still so much more to do, don’t you at least want to see the next step come to fruition before you tuck tail and run?” While innocence lacquered each word, it was impossible to miss the subtle venom that existed beneath. “I’d hate for you to regret your decision.”

          a gift for @fxllenpythia​,

notes: honey you’ve got a big storm comin’

          Eric’s anxiety and inquietude tended to push them to do regrettable things. Joining the Asphodel had been one of them, but announcing his departure to the Greater Demon ruling over said coven? Astronomically one of said decisions. They had few remnants of their personal items hanging around within the coven, those were all moved away discreetly after returning from Knossos and feeling that palpable sickness in their gut at what had went down. Reliably, loyally, sworn to the book in their own way of obligation they’d done what was expected of them and were now rife with guilt and the need to flee. A typical and rather visceral reaction of the Exile. “Hey, so, I don’t know what I expected but, I’ve done my part and it’s time for me to get going,” their words are embedded with flippant sarcasm, especially in the face of a venerated creature who was strengthened by the sacrificial blood of others, Eric couldn’t find it in themselves to tame their fear-induced lip.

BENSU SORAL as azra └ Özel Ders. (2022)

Interruption had always irked her - as a general, she’d never tolerated it. As a demonic entity? Even less so. One would think that they’d learnt their lesson, the death she’d dealt to the woman one that barely sparked familiarity among the myriad of bodies and soul’s she’d taken since the previous Halloween. Life within the confines of Rome had not been short of them. Lips left behind the slight imprint of the brazen red lipstick she wore, an exceptionally good iced coffee intruded upon as she strode haphazardly towards the markets.  “Excuse me?” Disdain dripped from her words thick as tar. Paid to kill. The idea of it alone made her seek a blossom of laughter within her chest, and yet, still incredulity stalled her as she looked upon the clearly seething woman. The snap of her finger coiled serpentine attention to the man passing them by and the split second sound drew him to a near statuesque stop. She held out her drink and without a word, his hand rose to take hold of it before she turned back to the woman. 

The look in her eyes had shifted, a murderous abyss calling out from the depth of her pupils. “Who is he? And what makes you believe you’re special enough to need an order to carry out your death?” The corner of her mouth twitched, just. “I remember you, Zoey.” Serpentine features hovered ever nearer, “Weak, little Zoey.” The singsong tone of her voice was harrowing, an eerie whisper upon the wind carried through Rome, “Your death meant nothing, and was for nothing. You were simply there.” It curls venomous around a smile as pointed as fangs themself. “Hardly a waste though, at least now, you have a soul that’s worth something.” At least this, she could feed to the book. “

who? @fxllenpythia​

where? the streets of rome

when? whenever the thread

 with Konstantin ends and Zoey storms off, probably night to make it more dramatic

notes: I love putting Zoey in situations, I truly do

Anger is hard for Zoey to hold, it slips through her fingers as anxiety and self-doubt chip at the hard block that had settled on her chest at Vasiliev’s confession. It is still there, waiting for a moment to strike, but sadness is all encompassing, the devastation a blow to her psyche that she doesn’t know she will recover from. Her death is something she has yet to come to terms with, and the confession that no matter what she had done on the day of the Red Wedding the result would have always been the same? It’s devastating. Zoey hadn’t known the name of the person who had killed her, but now she knew one of them.

Konstantin Vasiliev.

That is the name of one of her killers. Now if she could find out if he had asked one of his friends to finish the job.

She is wandering around Rome, not ready to return to the Mars Palace or to her apartment to face Jamie or Adatiel, when her desires are answered in the most unexpected of ways. Zoey turns a corner, and in the distance sees them. The one that had killed her. In a flash, her anger returns as she stalks closer, her fangs bared in a snarl despite the instinct telling her she is before a predator.

“Did he pay you to kill me?” She hisses, Adrian’s words of how her death was likely a murder echoing on her head. If the Senator is correct, there is only one person who would benefit of her death. The demon that had seen her as disposable. “Did he order you to? Or did you just did him a solid and killed the annoying bitch bothering him for free?”