Ever Forward

[Alice Hart]

Life, such as it was for Kindred, had taken many turns for the soul Haunt in the Keystones.

The face of their Coterie had changed, the night in the ghost house where Emma had met her Final Death.

Alice herself had ended the unlife of the belligerent Bea, and because of her blunt honesty she was facing a deserved punishment - until July, she would starve. Forced to hunt in the Barrens, and have no succor from the Herd she'd so recently acquired.

She wondered how Alessandra felt about it.

She wondered what Vivian York would say.

All she knew was that they needed to talk.

Which is what lead the Blind Doll to Vivian's villa once more, bone pale fist poised to rap upon the door.

[Alessandra]

She wasn’t really sure what to expect from the meeting. Sure, they were a Cabal, but now they had lost one in battle, Ale had to punish Alice, and Vivian was out of the loop. Would they be able to overcome these hurdles and come together stronger than before? Or would these developments be the tests that break the fragile bond they had? The Italian really wasn’t sure, and she hated uncertainty. Well, only one way to find out how the cards played out, so she got in the Torino and headed to Vivian’s.

Tonight she actually had some color in her outfit. One being the sweater that was over her black tank top. The other? Her hair, which she had bleached out, was now blonde. Why? Cause she could. Awesome thing with being Kindred, it would be black when she woke up tomorrow, so there was no commitment!

Pulling into a parking spot, she walks the couple blocks to Vivan’s, not surprised to see Alice already there. It was then that Ale realized she hadn’t really talked with the Haunt since issuing the punishment. Something she had intended to do and had dropped the ball on it. Was Alice mad at her? She would understand any anger the Seneschal might harbor, but she hoped Alice realized that Ale had no choice. Laws were broken, and they were not above the Laws. They could have been, Ale could have decided to keep the knowledge of what happened between them. Another new variable.

“Hey Alice.” Greets the Savage as she walks up to stand near her.

[Alice Hart]

The Wraith hisses, sharp and piercing, and Alice almost follows suit.

This was the presence of the monster that cut her off from her prey. From the Blood, and left her a starving wretch.

Alice's lips curl, but the Italian's voice cuts through the din of the Wraith's thrashing, hisses and sheer want and rage.

"Ale." Alice breathed as air escapes her lungs. "How're you?"

Then like the vivacious whirlwind that was the delightful Daeva, the Beast exploded outward, jarring the already jarred Wraith. The serpent thrashes in the water, pulling on the already strained control Alice had on it.

While Alice struggles, Vivian ushered them inside and had them sitting on her sofa like Alice didn't want to run screaming from them both.

The Daeva asks her questions, apparently Ale'd changed her hair.

"Oh, I killed her." Alice replied with a dull edge of banality. Like it wasn't the reason the Wraith gnawed upon her insides.

[Alessandra]

Before she could answer Alice, the door opens.

A smile spread across her lips as Vivian appeared. While the Savage smiled, her Beast growled, the presence of an equal pissing it off. It want to be the most powerful Beast present, it wanted to tear the pretty Daeva’s head off. But there was no need for violence, and Ale yanks the chain holding it.

“Hey Vivian! We really do need to get together more often.” She agrees walking into the house and finding a seat. “How’ve things been?” she asks.

“Oh, thanks. It’s dye, or well, bleach. Figured the amazing thing with being undead is that the bleach will be gone by tomorrow evening!” she says with a laugh, then realizes Alice can’t see her hair, “I’m currently a blonde Alice.” Though she was pretty sure the Haunt had gathered from what Vivian said that her hair was different.

And before she knew it, Alice had put it out there, just like that.

Eyes move from Alice to Vivian, “Uh, yeah, that kinda happened.” How to really explain it? Well, that should probably have to fall to Alice, she was the one who had done the act. Ale had just punished her. “Alice should probably explain that whole mess, well, should she want to, I wasn’t there, but the matter was handled accordingly.” Meaning Ale did her duty as Reeve. “We should also talk about Emma after.”

[Alice Hart]

Ale'd bleached her hair?

Alice turns her mind inward - a pathetic attempt to ignore the Hunger - to try an imagine the tattooed beauty with blond hair.

"Kinda." Alice agrees. She hadn't meant to kill Bea, but in the throws of Frenzy..."It just...sorta happened." Folding her hands in her lap she begins to explain. "Bea told me she had something to show me. Something about the Brood. I met her, and she was...herself. Only worse. Wanted to puppet me about, and kill me, and Ale and Lyssa, desecrate our graves. Blame it on the Brood, and that His Grace wouldn't do anything because he needed her. I snapped. We fought, then frenzied. I killed her." Vivian didn't need to know about her savoring Bea's precious Vitae, waking to realize that her rotten flesh was clinging to the inside of her cheeks.

Swiftly moving on, Vivian needing to know about Emma was more important then Alice killing the Carthian.

"No. Well yes, and no. We went to a Brood lair, and killed them...most of them, but. One of them got in a few shots too many and Emma..." How are you supposed to tell your Coterie Mate about this? "Met her Final Death."

[Alessandra]

Shrugging, “It’s cheap and easy to use. I never mastered doing a whole lot with my hair, so if it’s easy and no fuss, count me in.” she wasn’t a girly girl, never had been. Much to her mother’s displeasure.

Then came the questions, which she expected. What she didn’t expect was the ease that Alice answered them. Ale had expected to step in and help explain things, but Alice had it pretty much on lock down.

An elbow is propped up on her knee, and her chin was rested in her hand as she listened and watched.

Shifting, “That’s how it happened. Emma appears to have gone to attack our enemies from behind, and while we were engaged in our own fight, Emma fell to another. We got the bastard when he tried to fly away, pretty sure there was nothing left of him when he hit the floor. It was horrible, and I wish we had been able to do more to help her.” Dark eyes shifted to look down at her shoes. “But knowing Emma, she died doing what she loved, and that was defending her friends and the Domain. She probably saved a few of us from Final Death, attacking whatever was behind us and buying us time. Just fucking sucks.” Losing a Cousin was never easy. But it was worst when they were also your Deputy and Coterie Mate.

“As for Bea, between the three of us, she had it coming. I fully believe what Alice says and that she was issuing threats not only to Alice, but myself and the Prince as well.” What more could she say.

Looking to Vivian, trying to lighten the mood, “So how have things been on your end?”

[Alice Hart]

"She wasn't." Alice says, "She was just...ambitious." and stupid.

Alice shakes her head, differently then normal, the movement was smoothly inhuman, but still strings pulled.

"People have secrets, kindred even more so. If we banded everyone who wouldn't admit to one...the Domain would turn into a very small place indeed."

Alice stills, any trace of movement leaving her body. She hadn't known Emma well, but the gangrel was a coterie member, and Alice mourned the moments, and conversations with the women that they would-could not longer share.

In that moment, Alice resented Vivian. The Wraith hissing whisper gaining weight, Vivian wouldn't do anything, all she'd do was run away. Which...Alice remembered vividly. That night that the Crone Farm was firebombed, seared into her memory, not because of the events, but because it was one of the very last things she'd ever see, and Vivian let them. Got into her car and left.

"Just keep an ear out, and heh-take the pulse of the Court."

Alice didn't know if she'd trust the Daeva with more.