Aurelia St. James

Aurelia nodded, pursing her lips slightly as she took in his attempt at a polite response. Clearly Julian hadn’t changed much, but maybe, if she played this smart, that fact was one the hunter could use to her advantage to keep Layla and her other secrets safe. “I... um, sure. After all I’m sure we’ve got stuff to catch up on. And I can help get you further up to speed on the New York office.” The blonde suggested. It would require a lot of deep breathing and possibly some alcohol to get through this meal, but she could do it. Hopefully.

Aurelia took a deep breath and nodded. “I do. I promise. It’s just...” She trailed off for a moment trying to find the right words to explain. But in that space, Charlie continued and the hunter was left without anything valid to respond with. After all, of the two of them, the blonde was hardly the expert on treating trauma sitting at this table and deep down the woman knew any explanation she tried to offer would just be lying to herself and by extension her raven haired friend. “Okay. Okay.” Aurelia conceded, offering a tiny smile in appreciation. “I don’t even really know where to start. I guess with almost getting murdered at the party by an under the influence vampire? Or should we back up further?”

“I’m sure she appreciates the vote of confidence.” Aurelia chuckled, squeezing her daughter tight for a moment. “Unfortunately I think you’re right. I’ve got a lot of years left to go.” The blonde agreed with a smile which disappeared into a more neutral experience as Imani mentioned the potential chaos of the beach. Depending on what kind of supernatural the woman was, Aurelia would hazard a guess she might know that fact better than almost anyone else around. The hunter shook her hand with a nod of recognition. “Aurelia. Thanks again for catching this one!” With a wave, mother and daughter walked away.

“ I didn’t know it would be me either until a few weeks ago, ” Julian admitted with some reluctance. He’d never dare question the decisions of their higher ups, but there was no particular positive to this job transfer other than being closer to Noa, Dylan, and his cousins. “ I did love it there, actually, but… duty calls. I’ve heard reports about an increasing number of strange supernatural-related incidents lately. Are you vastly under-manned or are the supernaturals just particularly terrible here ? I won’t mind the latter, I’m itching for a new tattoo, ” he told Aurelia, returning her slight smile. 

It was difficult to maintain composure as Julian conveyed his interest in getting his hands dirty quickly and deeply. Obviously Aurelia had her own set of biases and issues with certain experiences related to parts of the supernatural community both here and in DC but her mothering instincts overrode any of those thoughts and feelings. She tried her hardest to not smother Layla or be too protective, but the world her daughter was growing up in was fraught with danger and the idea that an old acquaintances posed a new threat had the blonde on edge. The fact that it would be years before they knew if Layla had inherited Leo’s witch blood was both a blessing and a curse at times. In this case, it felt more like the latter. Perhaps it was safer to avoid making Julian aware of her existence. “Mmm something like that.” Aurelia answered vaguely, glancing out the window in the hopes the ride was nearly over.

The feeling of his hand on her knee was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one to the hunter. Certainly things had changed between them greatly over the past several years but there was still something soothing Aurelia felt in his touch. That said, it was still difficult to take his words as complete truth, the doubt that had been growing inside her since the killings had begun now seemed to have a mind of its own that even Leo’s or anyone’s reassurance could assuage. The blonde offered a small smile to signal her appreciation even still. “We do, but I’m not sure we’ll get it.” The hunter sighed softly, glancing down at her hands for a moment. “If this is all connected-the murders, the party, et cetera-then whomever is behind this seems to be escalating. They weren’t satisfied with merely rumbling the structure of power in New York’s supernatural community, they want more. More blood, more terror, more power over everyone. I mean, who knows what they’re after. But if we don’t find out soon I think things stand to get worse.” As terrified as Aurelia felt, her tone was calm, even, and analytical as if she’d switched into work mode all of a sudden. Seeming to remember she was in her own home, the blonde shrugged, waving off her own words. “Just speculation of course, but still. This is a problem. And that means it needs to be handled. If for no other reason than to keep Layla safe.”

“Well, clearly lack of sleep agrees with you then.” Aurelia countered as she placed her napkin on her lap with care. “I’ve been....trying.” The blonde finally settled on that description after attempting to find the right phrase. She wanted to sleep, but the complications that came with it still had her on edge and even when the nightmares didn’t come, her rest was fitful at best. If that was how she was coping with a child and a vampire protector, the hunter couldn’t full imagine how difficult a time Hudson must’ve been having, all by himself. “Just have to wait for it to fade, I guess. Time heals all wounds and such.”

LOCATION — THE DAILY DRIP

WHEN — APRIL 4TH AROUND 8AM 

OPEN STARTER @darkesthourstarters​

Nothing exhausted Charlie more than coming off of a twenty-four hour shift. While she did get to sleep some she was always on call, the fear of getting too deep of a sleep and missing a call always scared her; so for the most part she stayed awake even when it became practically torture. Sitting down at an empty table, she practically downed most of her coffee in the first drink. Wanting it to hit her system as quickly as possible to make her alert enough to finish her needed errands before heading home and passing out for a solid eight hours of pure blissful sleep. 

Hearing a voice from behind her and Charlie tilted her head to look at the person. “I’m sorry what?” Asking them to repeat what they’d just said. “My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet and I’ll be honest I’m too exhausted to function right now like a normal person.”

Aurelia had woken up early and stayed awake in the interest of avoiding having any more nightmares. When Charlie had texted asking if she wanted to grab an early morning coffee the blonde had jumped at the chance. Layla was fast asleep and Leo was still at the house so everything was taken care of on the home front. Seeing the brunette from across the room, the hunter headed over and tapped her friend on the shoulder. “Who gave you permission to look this good so early in the day?” Aurelia asked with a smile, chuckling at Charlie’s response. “Well that would imply you ever function like a normal person. Which, in my opinion seems like a bit of a stretch.” The blonde teased gently as she settled into the seat next to her companion’s. It felt nice to feel safe enough to crack a joke after things being so solemn since the party.

Layla was silent but gave her mother a disgruntled look as if Aurelia had interrupted her in the middle of making a new friend. “God only knows.” The blonde sighed, looking back down the beach before returning her gaze to Imani. “I swear it wasn’t even a second and somehow she was gone. I’m not convinced some radioactive spider didn’t bite her a give her super speed.” The hunter tried to joke, face faltering as the humor hit a little too close to home. While it would be years from now, it was possible her little girl did have super powers. More in the vein of Sabrina the Teenage Witch than Spider-man, but still. “Regardless, it’s my fault. You would think by age three I would be better at this parenting thing.”

The look of genuine concern splashed across Leo’s face gave rise to a mixture of feelings for the blonde: appreciative, frustrated with him for being so kind, tired, tempted to give into an urge to hug him or even further. Instead of trying to voice any of them Aurelia simply nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.” The hunter attempted to reassure, but holding onto that facade wasn’t lasting. Her shoulders drooped and she gave a small shrug. “I mean, I want to be. But no. I guess I’m not.” Aurelia sighed softly, shaking her head. They fell into silence for a moment as the hunter headed into the living room and sat down on the couch. “The party shook me up. More than I expected it to. I don’t...I don’t feel like myself. And that scares me. Because I need to be a mom, and do my job, and-there’s people counting on me, Leo. But I’m not sure I can be counted on right now. I let a vampire get the jump on me, let myself accidentally take a magical draught I didn’t intend to, and that was just in one night.” The blonde admitted, letting the words come out in waves she’d been holding back for several days. It was strange, given the fact they weren’t together, but Leo was someone she felt safe opening up to, to allow to see her at her worst.

Moving to New York had caused more headaches than Julian had expected. There was an over-abundance of paperwork that rivaled the days he’d actually been assigned to do just that. Preoccupied still, Julian noticed a young woman caught in the rain, and notified the cab driver that he didn’t mind the delay in this weather. His thoughts were quickly brought back to the present, however, as he realized this was no random young woman. “ Ms. St. James ? ” he asked, habits of his hunter life immediately pressing into formalities. “ I moved here. No one informed me I’d be working with anyone that from previous locations. “ Is that… why you’re here ? Work ? ”

Aurelia was tempted to correct his formality and ask that he use her first name. The New York office was fairly relaxed when it came to addressing one another as colleagues and in many cases also friends. But, doing so with Julian seemed like a waste of time. He’d never been unable to relax his standards in any way when she’d known him. But, perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. After all he wasn’t the one who was co-parenting with a witch turned vampire as a hunter. “Yes. Well, I mean work isn’t why I’m here here in this exact moment but it is why I’m in New York.” The hunter clarified with a small smile. “I heard we had someone new joining the team but I didn’t realize it was you. Surprised you left D.C. you always seemed to love it there.”

It was pouring out when Aurelia came back outside from her lunch break to head back to the office. She’d walked over and was not prepared with an umbrella since there had been no rain in the forecast for the day. Quickly she began trying to hail a cab, with one finally stopping after several minutes. Wet and cold, the hunter rushed over and hopped in, only then noticing another passenger who had apparently been kind enough to let the cab driver pick up someone else. Turning to thank the stranger, she paused, blinking a few times to ensure her vision wasn’t playing tricks. “Julian Hawthorne? What are you doing in New York?”

The few days following the party had been difficult to say the least. Aurelia had made a request she hadn;t ever expected to make in asking Leo to stay at the house with her and Layla for a little while. The hunter didn’t feel safe, and though she knew she was totally capable of protecting her own daughter the idea of having someone else around who would do anything for that little girl in such a chaotic time helped the blonde to feel a bit better. So, her ex had been “sleeping” on the couch. Getting up and walking downstairs to the bathroom there so as not to wake Layla by flushing the toilet upstairs. Her daughter didn’t have to be awake for another two hours and somewhere around here might as well get sleep. Washing her hands, Aurelia caught sight of herself in the mirror and paused. She looked exactly the same, there wasn’t even a scar from when she’d been knifed by Max. And yet, she felt so far away at the moment from the woman the mirror was claiming to reflect. Feeling a wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm her, the hunter took a deep breath and stepped out into the hall, running into Leo almost immediately. “Oh. Sorry.” Aurelia murmured, still a bit off balance.

who: @aurelia-stjames

where: a Dining hall at Empire Hotel 

Aalina first appeared to him after he left Xavier’s side in search of Serena. He thought he spotted her dancing with friends, but he was clearly mistaken. 

“There’s my darling wife,“ When Serena responded to his words with nothing but a twisted smirk, he knew something was off. 

“Guess again, lover boy,” Aalina said before vanishing. 

“No, it can’t be.” Panicked, he searched for any sign of her for a couple of minutes with no luck. Max looked down at his hand where the glass he previously held was now shattered. What the hell is happening? For the next hour or so, Max chased after Aalina, and unbeknownst to him, he was injuring people in the process. 

Led into a dining hall by his latest illusion of her, his jaw was firmly set, ready to fight her again. Instead of giving her a chance to mess with his head again, he attacked first. In a flash, Max grabbed a steak knife from a table setting and sailed it towards her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When all hell had broken loose, Aurelia had been in a hallway. Hearing the sounds of screaming, both banshee and regular the hunter ducked into the closest room to get away for a moment and collect herself before attempting to help the situation. She happened to step into one of the hotel’s dining rooms. Taking a deep breath, Aurelia leaned against the wall, trying to slow the sound of her heart racing wildly. As soon as her breathing began to regulate, the hunter found herself startled by another person entering the room. “Mr. Richardson? Max?” She called out quietly, confused as he couldn’t seem to hear her. Aurelia took a few steps closer to get a better look at him in the darkened room only to see a steak knife sailing through the air towards her. She tried to dodge it but the blade caught her arm. Crying out in pain, the hunter slowly removed the knife, holding it in her hand. She was now alone, with an apparently insane vampire, bleeding. Well this was a problem.

When he touched her, Aurelia felt her breathing hitch involuntarily for a moment. How was it fair that he got to still have this kind of effect on her all these years later? She let out a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you. I really appreciate that. I just...god I hate not being in control of myself.” She smiled slightly, shaking her head. “No-don’t go. I want you to stay.” The hunter insisted softly, reaching out in return and taking his hand when she’d been afraid he was going to walk away. Realizing he was staying Aurelia dropped it slowly. She had to be more careful about touching him. “How about we take turns. That way I’m not the only one talking. Of course, you aren’t compelled to answer honestly but it’s something.” A little bit of a calmer tone returned to her voice as she spoke. Maybe this was going to be okay.

Event: Potions Party Starter For: @aurelia-stjames

Leo didn’t know why he was surprised to see Aurelia at the party but when he spotted her from across the room, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He had, of course, managed to snag the potion to keep of the vampire hunger for a few hours. He didn’t know what potion he would find himself taking next but in the meantime, Leo was happy to keep the blood wanting urges away and to feel normal for the first time in his life. Even as a witch, he still felt far away from the human world. This was the closest that he had got in his entire life. “Aurelia,” he approached his ex-girlfriend with a smile on his face. Leo wasn’t quite sure why she still made him so nervous but things were good between them and the last thing he wanted was to ruin that. “I’m glad to see you could make it,” perhaps too formal of a statement, “are you,” he paused, rubbing the back of his neck, alas spreading the amount of glitter Ilana had covered him in, “are you having a good time? You look great.” 

A bit worn out from trying to be on her toes the entire night, Aurelia had finally given herself a moment to relax. Figuring she was relatively safe, especially with Emily offering to run interference and distract Leo if she noticed him coming near Aurelia, the hunter decided to get a drink. This time she watched the bartender pour it and hand it over to ensure there was no funny business. Enjoying the taste of liquor, she let out a deep breath. Although she’d never been the most wild, before having her daughter Aurelia had liked parties. For just a moment it was nice to be present and enjoy herself. Easing into the music, the hunter began to sway slightly in time to the beat and just look around. And then the peace came crashing down. An all too familiar voice called her name and Aurelia could feel the color drain from her face. Leo. Shit. Before she could even contemplate running away he was beside her. The best she could do now was just try and talk as little as possible. “Yes. Thank you.” The hunter managed. Phew. “And you look hot as hell, but you knew that already.” No, no no no no no. Fuck. It was going to be a long night.

@kyler--weston​

On a mission to generally avoid people, and particularly Leo, Aurelia hurried away from the dance floor as soon as she saw her ex-boyfriend appear on the other end of the room. It didnt seem like he’d noticed her but just to be safe it was best to more distance between them. The hunter ducked into the photo room and into the photobooth to hide out for a moment, only realizing it was occupied when she sat down. “Shit! I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, clearly embarrassed.