did you forget

it was about time that charvi returned to the land of the living - somewhat living for her circumstance. she had spent long enough taking some time away from the drama, but even she couldn't ignore the rumblings anymore. if charvi wasn't awake, the earthquake had more that made sure of it. venturing out, she went for a walk to witness the damage, turning when she heard approaching footsteps.

clary had ruined many relationships over the hundreds of cursed years she'd been alive. not cursed, she reminded herself. she was trying to be better now, you see. one of them was with charvi chandrasekar (yes, the original vampire - you can imagine how complicated her feelings were). clary knew now that all they'd ever tried to do was look out for her. she almost didn't believe her eyes... but it was. "of all the gin joints in all the world, you walk into mine."

Sabrina had thought she would never see Clary again; one of the biggest regrets of her immortal life was having to separate herself from Clary. Things had been fun, but that was a long time ago; both of them had been so different. "It's okay, Clary, I am not mad at you. I am just happy to see you again. Even given the place we find each other." She smiled as she looked at Clary. She could tell that she wasn't the same person that Sabrina had once known. "I am here to handle some things. Unfortunately for me, I found out too late that there isn't a way back out."

"You have no idea what that means to me...," Clary sighed, her palm pressed over her long dead heart. There had been no time to make amends, before. All she had was revenge, it consumed her so totally that there was no room for anything else. Not even Sabrina. She had never looked back for her because she's truly believed that after she had destroyed her maker, she would meet her own end. Thankfully, instead, she had this second chance. "That is quite unfortunate. Not for me, of course, I'm too glad to see you. Is there anything I can do to help you? Anything at all."

Sabrina had often thought of Clary; she had tried for so long to help her see what their lives could be thanks to being vampires. But it had never been enough for Clary; she had been so stuck on hating herself and being a vampire. Looking at her now, she could see that Clary wasn't the same; there was something lighter about her. She hugged Clary, wrapping her arms around her. "I missed you, too, my friend."

"It is so incredibly good to see you again, Sabrina. I can't even begin to... I've thought of you, more than you could know. Losing you is one of my greatest regrets," she breathed, pulling back from their embrace but staying close. "I'm sorry, I know that's a lot to have thrown at you. I just had to say it. As you know, it's terribly overdue." The obvious hadn't quite dawned on her yet as she looked her old friend over attentively. How could Clary have been so foolish, pushing her away like she did? "Oh, Sabrina. What on earth are you doing here, though?"

Sabrina hadn't seen Clary in nearly fifty years, even before she had been captured. They had a connection, something just clicked when they met. But Clary's obsession with revenge had driven her away, that wasn't who Sabrina was. She lived her immortal life to have fun, and Clary had ruined it so many times, it pushed Sabrina away. That was before she had lost twenty years to being imprisoned, before the Institute had broken her down. Havensdale was a stop on her revenge tour before she got on with her life. One of the last things she expected was to see Clary in this town.

It was her. An unnecessary breath fell from her lips, along with an unexpected laugh. Since leaving Havensdale, Clary had spent a lot of time reflecting and even more having fun. Oh, how Sabrina would have loved spending the last few months with her. She'd tried every frivolous thing. She'd learned that she no longer had to loathe herself for what she was. Clary had tried and failed to outrun her immortality, now she had embraced it. She let only another go by before she quickly closed the gap between then, holding her tightly in an embrace. "Oh my god, it's really you. I missed you."

"Really?" She asked, fascination clear in her tone. The Vandevieres hadn't told her any of that–though she wasn't sure if it was something they had even known, with Vivian having been locked up with her. "The hunters cannot hunt us?" Cece hadn't known what to expect when she came here, but this certainly wasn't it. "Too?" She questioned, wondering what had brought her here when one couldn't simply walk in. "I followed some... friends. They were coming here and I had nowhere else to go." She paused for a moment, "Very strange that there's a dome."

"That's exactly right. In fact, I believe that was part of the appeal, in the beginning. Best intentions have paved the road to this hell, depending on who you ask. Oh, right... Me. I was here, before, when the dome first came down. It didn't agree with me," she answered. At least, partially. "I don't know why I crossed over again, to be honest with you. It was more of a split-second decision." Clary nodded to her response. She did wonder how a vampire ended up with nowhere to go. Wasn't that the point? You could go anywhere. Perhaps, she was alone, though. That would make sense. "It's a very strange town. I'm Clary, by the way."

Willow let out a soft, pleased noise now that they were freed, shaking out their limbs. "Not officially? Well that does make me sound quite mysterious. Thank you, I suppose. Clarissa Liu..." Something about that name rang a distant bell in Willow's head, but with the recent shift in the magic, Willow was admittedly a little distracted. No matter, she was sure that she could get an answer later. "So you've been out in the world for a while? That's...I hope you do not mind if I ask you an irritating number of questions." At Clarissa's question, Willow paused. "Well, I have often been accused of being an optimist."

"Well, one's reputation does often precede them." Clary's had changed significantly over the centuries. Willow Evermore, however, she was sure had always been a whispered force for good. "Yes, I have. I'm afraid I had a few hundred years worth of soul-searching to undertake... By all means, ask away." A small smile tugged at her lips at Willow's answer. Hope, a feeling she was newly reacquainted with. "That's good enough for me. I would like to help, if I can."

Sabrina hadn't been in town long; she had managed to sneak in recently and had taken up in one of the many abandoned homes. She had mostly kept to herself, not wanting to make a wrong move, especially in a town that was clearly on the edge. She had heard some things around town, understanding that things had been chaotic ever since the Dome had come up. She wasn't one to get involved, she wouldn't even be in Havensdale if it wasn't for Piper.

Clary wasn't sure how to go about contacting the underground resistance now she was back in this town. Perhaps you just had to hang around until one of them showed up? Tedious, but understandable. It was supposed to be secret, after all. She felt a sort of shift in the air then, compelling her to turn in the direction of a long-lost, but not forgotten, feeling. Sabrina. Throughout her hundreds of years on this planet, Clary had made few meaningful connections. And when she did, she always let her incessant need for revenge ruin it. That's what had happened to her relationship with Sabrina DeLisle many years ago. Since letting go of her purpose to destroy her maker, Clary had plenty of time to look back on the past and regret. Could she really be here now, again?

He'd been Cornelius for the eternity he'd known so far, but in feeling it belonged to someone whose life he could no longer live, he'd settled on 'Corey'. He hadn't been convinced by its familiarity until he heard it on her lips. She made it sound like someone he wanted to be, and his smile grew at the mere possibility of it. "Elle." Her name was soft yet lively, much like her playful words - Lively. Alive. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Elle." Elle. He wanted her name to roll off his tongue forever.

Elle. It had such a sweet and nostalgic ring to it, passing his lips with ease. For a moment, she imagined a life where she inhabited that name. Clarissa had spent 171 years seeking revenge on her hellish maker now to no avail. For many of them, she had given into despair and all consuming rage. She had been going through the motions for so long, she was simply tired of it. Perhaps now, she could indulge in something kinder. Fun, even. "And you, Corey," she smiled. Recognising that very despair she knew too well flash over his face, she knew she'd asked the wrong question. A vampire who didn't relish in it, just like her.

A sigh escaped her at still not having found a human to sink her teeth into, but she still found herself smiling at the other vampire. "I don't know that, actually." Her eyes drifted slightly before locking back on to her. "I've only ever been in one fight for my life and it didn't go very well at all." Could an ambush by the Institute really be described as a fight, though? It wasn't exactly fair. "Wolves?" Cece's eyes lifted to the sky, only now realising it was a full moon. "Huh." She had seen werewolves before, of course, but only ever from the confines of her cell. One did escape once and mauled a scientist right in front of her, though. It had been thrilling. "Thank you. I wasn't aware that they could harm us..."

Clary raised a brow as she spoke, unsure of what it was about this vampire that felt so strange. Familiar, maybe? Perhaps it was the way she spoke? Something about her just didn't seem to sit quite right, Clary thought. "Yes, werewolves can pack a nasty punch. Best to stay out of their paw's reach. Although, in this town, you'll find you're a little harder to kill than anywhere else. The surrounding barrier, it's magic. All the usual tricks don't work on vampires in here - stakes, holy water, you name it," Clary explained. She wasn't sure if wolves could still hurt them here, but she was hardly keen to find out. "Did you come through a gap in the dome, too?"

Willow did not know that particular vampire, and they kept careful track of every vampire within the dome, which could only mean one thing, that...Yet another person had figured out how to cross into Havensdale, that the magic that sealed the rest of the town in was continuing to weaken. The realization was so exciting that Willow almost forgot her own predicament for a moment, would have tried to jump to her feet. Luckily for her, the vampire had moved the tree, and Willow could actually move. "Thank you. I don't believe we've met before?"

"You're welcome," Clary smiled, helping Willow to their feet with ease. "No, not officially. Although, in this town, your reputation does tend to proceed you. My name's Clarissa Liu, but you can call me Clary if you like." She took a moment to glance around them, to take in their shaken surroundings. Clearly, something was happening with the magic that held this wretched dome up. Whether that meant things were getting better or worse, Clary wasn't sure. "I got out quite some time ago. I didn't think I'd look back, truth be told, but here I am. You'll have to catch me up... Are the good guys winning yet?"

Cece wandered through the town square, each step deliberately taken, as though the very ground she walked on could give way at any moment. Her hands hovered at her sides, upturned as if by puppet strings, as the wind danced through her outstretched fingers. She was free. When they reached Havensdale and forced their way through the strange barrier, the Vandevieres had offered to let her stay with them, but they had their own plans and Cece had gone too long without having a little fun.

Clary was very much trying not to instantly regret her decision of coming back here. Every moment she'd spent out there, free of the crushing weight of revenge, had been a gift. It had been healing. She felt more like herself now than she had in hundreds of years. And most of all, she was determined to keep moving forward. To keep changing for the better. To help. And what a night she'd chosen to make her grand re-entrance.

Willow had been at the edge of the dome, doing the now usual routine of pushing their magic against it, looking for weak spots, when the shaking had begun. It had sent her to the forest floor, and that would have been fine. Willow could bounce back from a little fall. Except that the disruption to the earth had also caused one of the trees to fall, pining her beneath its branches. Yes, she was well and truly stuck. @havensdalestarters

There was a split second when Clary deeply considered turning around and never looking back, again. When she'd first left, she'd been allowed out. Now, Clary had to slip through a crack in the dome that came from the shudder that rippled through it. She knew as soon as she stepped through, it was sealed behind her. Bloody hell. Moving quickly, Clary was by Willow Evermore's side, pushing the tree off her with all her two-hundred and forty-nine years of strength. Holding hers out, Clary then asked, "Need a hand?"

It had been barely 7 years since his death. Rebirth. As a human he'd seen so little of the world, barely crossing state borders from Illinois through to Indiana - he could have stayed his whole life in the bubble of Chicago if it hadn't been taken from them. He'd come around to understanding the necessity in ridding themselves of all connections to their home, but 7 years on, he was still homesick. Baltimore was a far stretch from the life he'd known back home. They'd arrived only few days prior, and he was faced with the challenge of once again establishing himself in a new place, and a new society.

Clarissa shouldn't have found him so endearing, but she seemed unable to help herself. 'Baltimore, I mean'. An amused smile tugged at her lips at his words, and she found herself holding back a little chuckle. Already, he was entirely too sweet for a vampire. At least, the sort that she'd had the misfortune of knowing over the decades. When he introduced himself, she found herself turning his name over in her head. Cornelius. Corey, if she liked. Clarissa considered his question, deciding just who she wanted to be at this moment, assuming it would be only a moment. Over the years, she had removed herself more and more from her human life. Her mother's name, 'Elizabeth', was still hers, even if she never said or wrote it anymore. For whatever reason, then, Clarissa found herself saying, "It seems I do like it, Corey it is. You can - it's Elizabeth Grayson, but why don't you call me 'Elle'. If you like." She repeated it back, teasingly.