Whole Lies & Half Smiles

“Thank you,” he managed, the words rough and clipped. His eyes flicked over her face, reading the fear and worry etched there. It was a reflection of his own, though she was trying to stand straighter than she felt. He could respect that.

At the mention of a riddle, his brow furrowed. “Yeah,” he said after a beat, voice low. “A damn riddle. Like this is all some kind of… game.” His mouth pressed into a hard line, but then he cleared his throat. He had to contain his emotions. The electricity around them flicked for a second as his anger got out of hand. He couldn't allow the magic in his veins to roam free; he had long since outgrown such outbursts... he believed that.

Whoever did this thinks they’re clever. We’ll see how clever they are when we find them, he thought, but didn't speak aloud. He felt like he didn't need to scare the girl more than she was.

She could see how much he was holding back and she couldn't even imagine what he was going through. Sure she knew the horrors of having loved ones taken away but Natalia couldn't imagine having your child taken from you. Plus the people she knew that disappeared could handle themselves for the most part but there were some people who needed protection. Needed help.

Natalia nodded at the confirmation that Mr. Chastain got a riddle too. It seemed like this was common among everyone who lost something. "Mine was written in blood." She said, her next words a bit softer. "I think it was my dad's." And sure there wasn't a way to know without testing but Nat had a feeling.

"I just don't understand why they're playing with us like that. I mean I know the answer to mine but I don't understand what snow has to do with all of this." And that was what Natalia hated most about it, not knowing. Not being one step ahead of the person or thing that did this. She was getting upset right along with Mr. Chastain but the moment the electricity around her started to flicker Natalia's gaze immediately shot to the lights above.

Her hands tensed. She could swear the scars on her hands that she always tried to pass off as tattoos started to burn. Nat just tried to tell herself it was her nerves as she took a breath. "Yeah.... yeah you're right we just need to get out there and look. Plus there's lots of people covering lots of land."

Once, Maia would've been right beside him. Just as furious, just as driven. She would've understood his pain, would've understood him. Now? She didn't even know Dahlia existed.

And there was a chance she never would.

No, he shut the thought down before it could spiral. he didn't want to be thinking this way.

He stopped walking as Maia pushed him back, the gesture catching him off guard. He sighed, the weight of everything pressing down on his chest. He was trying really hard not to snap. ''What locket, Maia?''

Maia took a breath, trying not to get too upset with him. Emotions were running high with everyone. Of course there was a chance that Liam was getting agitated too. "Look I'll leave you alone as soon as I know." She offered, hoping that he'd be wanting to get her out of his hair as fast as possible.

She absolutely did not want to tell him. Did not want to give him that upper hand.

But she knew if she was asking him to be honest with her, she needed to be honest with him in return.

"The locket you gave me." She said softly, not looking him in the eyes as she said it. "Before I turned you. It had a photo of us inside it and I kept it with me and that's what got stolen from me, okay? I'm just asking if you took it back."

“Help yourself. Mug’s clean…ish,” she said with a slight shrug, already moving back toward the hood of Maia’s disaster car, fingers running along the battered metal with something like fondness. “No one's gonna judge your ride here. Mine needs constant love or it might fall apart, it's that old...” Despite that, she would never change to another car; her dad's old truck was all she could imagine herself ever driving.

She reached into her back pocket, pulling a wrench like a magician pulls a rabbit, then threw a glance over her shoulder.

"What possessed you to get this junk?” she said, tone light but eyebrows raised. “I mean, honestly, a scooter might’ve cost more, but at least it could make it uphill.”

Maia hummed a thanks as she headed towards the coffee maker. "Hey I'm sure I've had worse." She joked but knew it was the truth, her past was less than savory. After pouring herself some coffee she brought a chair over and sat as Daphne worked. It always fascinated her about cars, she knew nothing about it but liked the way each small part had a purpose. Everything was useful.

"Honestly I have no good answer." Sure she bought it in a bit of a mania and sure it was a stupid excuse to see a certain someone but it was just that, stupid. "I've never actually had a car that was mine. Sure I've had access to them before but nothing I paid for and took care of. Maybe in a fucked up way I thought getting something I took care of would be good for me."

"Yeah, okay," he said, quickly moving on to something else, until he realized she was wearing one of her fancy dresses. Maia was a beautiful woman, one who always could easily choose a pretty dress and have him wrapped around her finger. He knew for a fact she kept them for special occasions.

"Lawyer/client confidentiality," he smoothly avoided mentioning Dahlia, more interested in the dress she was wearing. "Are you really here to scam a lawyer?" So he was right when he said others needed lawyers against her, he just didn’t think the lawyer in question needed protection as well.

The elevator stopped and the same panic showed on his face. Mainly because he couldn’t be late, he couldn’t miss this appointment or something worse than being stuck in this elevator with his ex might happen.

"My fault? If it wasn’t for me, you’d be stuck here all alone. Just calm down," he knew being trapped scared Maia, but he couldn’t bring himself to show as much empathy as he would’ve in the past.

"Try your phone," he instructed. Obviously his just died as he picked it up because he was still having the worst morning ever.

"Shut up Liam! I'm not scamming anyone!" She said childishly knowing full well he saw right through her and what she was doing. Plus she figured maybe with the stopped elevator they could just gladly move past it, at least she hoped so.

"Don't tell me to calm down you calm down!" Maia did, in fact, need to calm down. She was never good in tight spaces but now particularly she did not want to be stuck in one with her ex. Sure he was right it was better to not be stuck alone but it was one of the worst options for her.

Maia was already digging out her phone. "You're not the boss of me!" She just needed it to be clear to him. Maia turned on the phone and held it around different parts of the elevator. Her movements getting more and more frantic. "Great no signal!" She sighed and threw her phone back in her purse. "So what the hell are we supposed to do now? Just sit here until they get to us?"

Except Natalia called her and she wasn't heartless. She reached out when she didn't know who else to turn to and that meant something. She didn't know what exactly, but still. It mattered.

So she wore red boots...with heels...obviously. Paired with a white T-shirt that read ''Don't hate me, it turns me on'' and the only pair of black jeans she owned. She hated jeans. Hardly ever left the house without a skirt or a dress.

While everyone else worried about missing relatives or lost possessions, Rosita was mostly worried about denim chafing her thighs. That changed when she saw Maia, who actually looked distraught by something more important than clothes. ''Babe! What's wrong?'' She asked, hurrying over without a second thought. @blacksheepfms

There were way too many people here for Maia's liking. Sure she was a pro at being a vampire by now but everyone was stressed which made their heart beats faster and louder and it was starting to get overwhelming.

She hated that she had something stolen. After all she didn't have that many possessions since she never tended to stay in one place for too long. But her locket was something that was important to her. Something that not many people knew about.

Maia was trying to keep as calm as possible but it was clear as day she was not having a good time. But as soon as she saw Rosita she immediately relaxed and pulled her into a hug. "Oh thank god you're here! Someone stole one of my stupid necklaces that is absolutely worthless." To anyone else, she wanted to say, not to her. "Did you have something stolen?"

he'd needed a break from the group. his emotions are getting the best of him as the hours tick by and his wife is still nowhere to be found. he's not even sure how long she's been gone. since whatever made everyone fall asleep? he's still racking his brain to figure out what could possibly be this powerful. the avery family has many books on the occult and a long history of hunting tales and nothing that he's read up on or heard about even comes close to this. when he saw his kids at town hall, he put on a self-assured front that their mom would turn up, but he's not sure if these stupid riddles have expiration dates. as he felt his mood sour, he quietly dipped from his group with a pledge to check the edge of the mountainous terrain that borders the forest.

he's not sure if his riddle is one of the elements or maybe time? but the mountains have been a bust so far for clues. the emotions and bubbling desperation seem to be shoved down enough after half an hour for spencer to feel confident to rejoin his search party when he catches sight of a small waterfall. calling it that might be a little bit aggrandizing, as the drop off of a rock bed couldn't be more than two feet, but the sight weirdly strikes up his emotions all the same. memories of his time with his wife since she saved her life when they were barely older than kids flood in and he's genuinely scared he won't be able to make any more with her. when he hears a voice behind him, spencer turns away from the slow running creek and slyly wipes at his cheek. when he recognizes his current company, he gives her as close to a genuine smile as he can manage. ❝ hey maia. sorry to see you're out here searching too. picked quite the time to come to our town, i'm afraid. can't say i've ever seen anything like this. ❞

Everything was getting on Maia's nerves. She was getting agitated with everyone and every minor inconvenience she was facing. Her feet were hurting and it certainly wasn't because of the fact that she wore the wrong type of boots to find her missing locket, clearly the fault lied with whoever stole the lock in the first place. After snapping at the fifth person in a row, Maia actually apologized and broke away from her search group to take a few moments to herself. She knew getting angry at everyone wasn't going to help the situation so she tried to breathe and calmed herself down.

After walking away from her group she found a small waterfall that she immediately was drawn to, thinking it was the perfect place to calm herself down. As soon as she saw Spencer again she called out his name and walked towards him. She shrugged slightly. "I'm sorry for you too. I hope you aren't missing too much." Because after all she was beginning to like Spencer and didn't wish any ill will towards him. "Well I'll tell you this the town is definitely unique and interesting. First the masquerade now this? Keeps me on the toes to say the least." She laughed trying to have a good attitude about all of it.

Until his favorite idiot showed up. ''I don't have time for your bullshit Maia. Go away,'' he said without looking at her, still following the group of strangers he didn't even know by names.

"Liam I'm serious." She snarled but he kept walking and ignoring her. Maia never did do well with being ignored but especially being ignored by him. Sure he was used to her being a brat but this was something different. There were only two people besides Maia who knew about the locket to begin with and one of those was Liam, so naturally Maia was ready to point the finger at him.

Maia finally snapped and pushed him slightly to stop following the crowd and for them to have a conversation. "Did you take the fucking locket? I'm not saying you did all of this but did you take the locket you gave me?"

Questions over questions, and Amaros cannot figure the answer to the most important one, which would be where the fuck is Zak. No phones being available in the ocean is a massive downside, and when he finally finds a stream that he can sense to be connected with the ocean, someone is near it already -- luckily for him, someone he knows. "Nat.", Amaros breathes out when he reaches the stream, his fingers making small, almost not-noticeable movements that send a short wave message to Zak, "Any luck finding something?" Of course, he himself hasn't had any luck. It's disappointing, very, and not only that, it is frightening. He cannot even sense the presence of the crystal, and it's driving him insane.

"I heard about your Dad.", Amaros notes, of course he has, given they regularly meet up in the council meetings, not that Nat knows of them, "I'm really sorry. I'm sure we'll find him around, yeah?" Compared to loosing a family member, loosing a necklace sounds laughable, no matter if it's a normal necklace or one that his life depends on, "What was your hint? Did you get a stupid riddle as well?"

Natalia knew she needed to calm the fuck down but between Rowan and her father missing and her only tie to her mother being taken from her, she was on edge. And being so close to so many supernaturals was making her skin crawl knowing she couldn't do anything about it. This wasn't the time or the place and frankly she knew there was no reason. But she was so full of anger, she was always full of anger.

So she pulled away from the group to calm down and take a breath. Her mind was racing back to how things have only went from bad to worse since she met that witch in the woods and if she didn't know any better she was cursed that day. But then she had to remind herself that so many other people were suffering as well, it wasn't all about Nat.

When she heard someone walk close she immediately relaxed more as soon as she saw it was Amaros. "Nothing yet, you?" She asked, eyes flicked to his hand as she was always observant. Her own hand immediately went to where her necklace usually was, it became a sort of a security item of hers over the years, but she was slapped in the face with a reminder that it was taken from her like everything else. "Thank you." Nat smiled politely even if it didn't quite reach her eyes. How could she begin to explain that she was more worried about Rowan than her father? And even then she was even more worried about her necklace? She knew if she said it out loud she would sound like a terrible person so Natalia kept her mouth shut. As soon as he mentioned riddles she snapped up to look at him. "You got one too? I had one written in blood in my bathroom. Fucked up if you ask me. The answer was snow I think but I don't know why they put a riddle to begin with."

when she gets to city hall after dropping off bruno and making her mom promise not to leave the house or open the doors for anyone until she gets back, the crowd becomes instantly overwhelming. the tiniest bit of eavesdropping makes it clear that while there are already headlines of rowan missing, he's far from the only one. people that aren't panicking over a missing loved one are whispering about the mysterious riddles left for everyone in unique ways that would almost be poetic if it weren't so grotesque. most people seem to be missing something or someone they are desperate to get back, and marlowe's cosmic joke of an existence is keeping it's losing streak in this instance. not only is her brother's quilt and rowan gone, but her cousin also disappeared from her bed last night according to her near inconsolable delightfully himbo husband.

when she spots natalia across the crowd, marlowe all but bee-lines it across the crowd. narrowly sidestepping a few human obstacles in her way, she places a hand gently on her friend's shoulder. valentine may have told her to stay put, but she couldn't sit in her apartment that had been broken into when she knew rowan was missing. she's always been the type to put on a front when she's struggling, but she's growing tired of every day feeling like a fight to keep pushing on. this morning, at least before she stops by the cafe to get herself a cup of coffee, the misery is written all over marlowe's face. ❝ will you promise me that you'll invite me along to fight whatever evil fairy godmother did this if you find out? ❞

Natalia was tired of having to talk to people she didn't want to. Friends of her father. Scared townspeople. Everyone wanted to wish her condolences for one thing or another and she was tired of it. She just wanted answers. So as soon as the crowd was getting bigger she stuck to the outskirts and kept searching for people she knew. the moment she saw Marlowe she relaxed.

On one hand Nat was happy to see her here but she knew that also most likely meant she lost her fair share of people too. And frankly Nat felt that Marlowe didn't deserve any more tragedy. "Absolutely I will." She had so many questions. Did this mean she knew about the Hawthornes? Was she getting herself involved? Natalia wanted to ask them but knew this wasn't the place where others could overhear. "Did you get a riddle too? Mine was written in fucking blood."

Cole had been standing in the back of town hall, half-hearing the words echo off the high ceiling, his body so tight with nerves he thought something might snap. His name cut through the noise, sharper than the rest, and he blinked like someone had poured cold water over him. A group assignment. Search party. His legs moved before his mind caught up, and he was pointed toward a group.

For one brief, disorienting moment, he wondered if this was what Juliette would look like in a few years, that mix of youth and worry. His chest tightened until he shook his head hard, reminding himself he would get to see that. He would.

His phone was a weight in his pocket, whispering at him to text Ashley. She would answer. She always had. But they were not twenty anymore, and this was his mess to carry. He could not call her every time the world tilted. Not again.

Natalia looked pale, wide-eyed. He forced his own fear down far enough to manage a crooked attempt at reassurance as he walked up. “Hey," he said as he stood by her. He knew her face from around town, from life lived within these streets. He knew of her dad and had known her uncle. But he didn't think he had ever really spoken to her before."Hey, Natalia... you’ll be all right, we'll find them,” he said, though his throat was dry and his heart still pounded from his own inner storm. “We just need to start moving... You ready for that?"

He had heard the list of names. Knew she was missing her father. Ignored the fact that now everyone knew he had let his daughter be taken by whoever had done this.

There was so much going through Natalia's mind. Of course she was worried about the mayor, not wanting to lose yet another family member, but she was extremely worried about Rowan and her necklace. But she figured other city officials would worry about her father and the Hawthornes would worry about Rowan, which lead Natalia to try to figure out who the hell could have done all this and where her necklace was.

She felt guilty for many things. Not being a good enough daughter and worrying about her father. Not being a good enough friend to the Hawthornes that she considered family more than said father. Not good enough of a hunter because maybe if she did more none of this would happen. But most importantly just plain old not good enough to deserve to keep the only thing of her mother's safe. And every time she never felt good enough or guilty about things she started wanting a drink to calm down her thoughts but of course she left her stupid flask at home before she ran out.

Natalia listened just enough to find out which group she was in and where she was going to be searching. But it wasn't until Mr. Chastain came and talked to her did she fully get brought out of her thoughts. "Hello sir, I'm sorry about Juliette." She said respectfully, always the mayor's daughter. "Did you get a riddle too?"

by the time he's completely ripped through the casino and torn through more ground with valentine after she found him in the mines, the search parties that had split off from city hall are well spread out. as someone that didn't want to exchange pleasantries with people he didn't care about over what they lost, it's grown rather irritating that he can't seem to turn a corner without stumbling upon the different sized groups. all that he's gathered from the hushed conversations he's overheard that whatever happened last night is substantial and much more widespread than he could have anticipated. where could someone be hiding so many people and things? was someone actually getting a sick thrill out of watching citizens of all species trudge through town like a heard of confused sheep that have escaped their fence? were they all unknowingly opening themselves up to something more sinister?

despite how asocial he's currently feeling, roland's made it a point to check in on the members of clan solune when he happens upon them. if he's being honest with himself, maia is a welcome familiar face to fall in line with for a little while. he ducks under a moss-covered tree propped up between two others over a foot worn trail to step in line beside her. are the adventurous humans really out this far to hike or have they stumbled upon yet another mystery surrounding this god-forsaken town? ❝ i don't know about you but i haven't found anything yet. but i assume we're in agreement to fry whoever thought this would be funny when we find them? ❞

Maia knew when it was best to keep her head down and do what she was told and this was absolutely one of those times. Sure she could have made a scene but it was clear that she wasn't the only one who lost something important to her, and she tried not to think of how maybe she didn't deserve the locket back after everything she had done. She shook her head to try to get rid of the negative thoughts as she pushed ahead, spreading out with her search group to comb over every inch of the forest.

The entrance to the forest path made her stop in her tracks, the sign was covered in gold and it made her think of her riddle. She didn't know if it meant anything but it was gold and not treasure so maybe it was the right way to go. She didn't know how long she was out on the path when Roland walked up next to her, relaxing Maia instantly. "I don't know but I just can't help but think we're close. I had a weird riddle in my room and it was like a clue." Though for all she knew she could have been way off, never being good at riddles to begin with. "Yeah they're definitely going to have hell to pay. Who the fuck would even do something like this?"

The huntress had spotted the girl the moment she pulled up, jumping out of the vehicle to meet her halfway. "Hey there, little duck." Her tone is gentle, soothing. A style she only uses when Natalia is near. Resting her chin on her head, her arms wrap around the other, palms rubbing her back in a calming motion. "Whoa, take a breath." Pulling back, Valentine offers up one of her sly, foxish grins, in hopes it'll help ground Natalia. "Look… I know that this whole thing is beyond frightening." Her voice is level, collected. "But you have to keep your head in the game." A delicate finger lifts to find the younger girl's temple. "We've got to be a team.. Alright?" Pulling her into another hug, she allows them both a juncture of comfort before parting.

Tears fell as soon as she was wrapped up in Valentine's arms, not caring if she was showing weakness or not. Valentine was different. Valentine never judged Natalia. She took a breath like she was told and tried to calm down. "A team, yeah. Just like always" Natalia said with a shaky breath but gladly hugged Val again for a while longer before letting her go.

"Who did this and why. I mean some kids have been taken so it's not like they hold power like a mayor or a Hawthorne. Plus all these missing items? It doesn't make sense." Natalia was trying to put the puzzle pieces together but she just didn't have enough information.

She followed Val's gaze and looked over everyone else. "Yeah I think it's snow. Which is a whole other line of questioning. Why even have all these stupid fucking riddles in the first place? I'm assuming you got one too?" It just didn't make any sense why there was this much effort in everything. Like they wanted them to be found. Like it was a game. "Group one. We're going in the south forest."