Corinth Bay Starters

location: ancient corinth ruins

What remained were ruins. It was funny how memory filled in the gaps, like the haze of tears on squinted eyes, light illusions built the crumbled columns again and restored the streets. Medea could see the pathways she would walk with her boys, and the courtyard she spent afternoons in, breathing in the cool air that came off the ocean. It was a bitter melancholy, anger pricking and overwhelming the pain when she thought of how it could have been her last memories— that stolen happiness in her first home. Now, with nowhere for the anger to go, she released her clenched hand, reddened half-moons bitten into the tender creases of her palm, and turned to make the long walk back to the modern city. It was a solitary pilgrimage— strangely quiet without the chatter of noisy tourists, and she stiffened when she saw she was no longer alone. “Watch your step,” she called, closing the gap between them, “nobody wants a twisted ankle from some loose cobblestone this early in the morning.”

location: Agia Paraskevi Street

A woman stealing, a man cheating, and down the street a pair of siblings traded blows. Humanity was ever-changing, but stripped of their technology, their expensive clothes, and whatever other superficial constructs they clung to and they were all the same. This city was known for its hedonism, tainted at its very core - it was no wonder Hotaru had been tasked with coming here. Though the more he observed the more the task seemed an impossible one, failure loomed over the horizon but so long as he remained useful to the Greeks he might avoid Enma’s punishment. “Tell me,” Hotaru queried as he held up one of the numerous evil eye charms that littered a stall, “do these really work?”

Bolts of agonizing pain wrack through Kit’s body sending him stumbling over, grasping onto whatever surface he could keep himself up. The full moon was still a few nights away and he could already start to feel the mystifying pull. The beasts will only grew stronger as the current waxing moon rose higher into the rapidly darkening sky. “Shit,” his voice was shaky, but thankfully still human. He still had time to get the hell out of there, he’d been working with the animals, about to head back inside to grab some dinner and go to sleep. The last thing he needed was to shift in the barn and take out the homesteads animals. Pushing open the doors to the stable and closing them quickly behind him, he took off into the country side, trying to get as far as he could from the farm before it took over. 

The city wasn’t short on things to do, and the casino was one of his favourite places in Corinth. The closest thing to gambling back home had been the digital poker machine at the local bar. But this was different, flashing lights, oxygen pumped in from outside, not a clock in sight. Arvid couldn’t help but get carried away, sometimes he won, but most often he counted on Jerrik to pay his share of the rent. Arvid plugged another bill into the machine and looked at the person sat next to him, with a losing streak like that the witch didn’t know why anyone would keep going, “Rough day?” 

She had sought out the town of Corinth to find her brothers ​but she was determined to prove something of herself and to communicate the fact that she isn’t going anywhere, this won’t be like last time, she’s here to grow roots. Although she was in fact quite flighty when it came to letting someone in that didn’t resemble a younger sibling. Wishing to brush those thoughts away like the dust on her moving boxes, she heard the bell ring out through the bookstore. “Yes, Hello! Come in, Pandora’s lore is reopened!” She just needed to figure out where the light switches were.

It had been a while since Rimona had actually gone out. Not that the vampire wasn’t busy in her daily life, shopping the local vintage racks or organizing the latest collection. Just that none of it seemed to involve anything that allowed her to relax. Only task after task with no self-care between and Rimona understood fully that she needed to take the advice of her friends, meander without much purpose. The bay at dusk had always been beautiful, hints of oranges and dusty pinks that slowly faded into baby and midnight blues. A delicate smile graced her lips as she strolled down the street and embraced the moment of peace the city was allowing her to have. She knew it wouldn’t last forever, but her family had always taught her to take in the good when it was available. Today would be no different, feet heading towards an evening that seemed to hold a lot of potential.

“What brings you in?” Sometimes there were generic answers, like coming to the show was only for a special occasion or way of celebration. Others it was simply the draw of the establishment and Ambrosia carried that same aura with its pomegranate reds, bronzes, and golds. That hardly reflected itself in the performances themselves as each dancer had their own style— own sway that drew the regulars in. Prue knew she would fit right into the fold, admiring the vision for the whole place, yet could still find a way to stand out. To be noticed and capture the audience, even if it was just a solo individual sitting at their bar top. Bright hues captured the light, showing her excitement for the evening before she spoke again, “And may I ask what your favorite part was?”

Location: Safae Wedding Reception

While Atlas still believed he was being haunted by nuptials, he was a big enough person to put on a good show for a wedding. It helped that he was happy for Rae and Saf both, especially for his sister, in the course of a year she’d gone from an arranged marriage to their oldest friend, to a wedding of her own choosing. Their lives had done a complete turn around and if there was anything he was grateful for it was that he got to be a part of the celebration, so, that’s what he chose to focus on. That and the champagne. “I love this song!” Atlas shouted over the music to the person nearest to him, he wasn’t the most graceful dancer, but alcohol had done wonders for loosening him up.

Adelaide sat with a laurel on her head on the local temple’s steps, Thargelia had begun and it was a day of ritual cleansing. She had been occupied with her coven’s rituals all day, a blessed hodgepodge of her siblings who all had rising tensions with their mother being asleep as they did the ritualistic cleanse without her. Praise be to Artemis, she was a goddess that it was important to pay atonement too. She did participate with a glass of wine in one hand too, she had snuck away for a smoke. Asking the person next to her “Do you have a light?”

Evie enjoyed her worship ​towards the goddess and gods, so it wasn’t hard to get the girls excited about a festival performance. There were certain legalities that meant they couldn’t perform a burlesque routine in public so instead loose white grecian dresses was the theme with laurels placed on each head and golden ivy leaves snaking around their jewelry and arms. Face paint added a glitzy small laurel leaf painted by their temple. They sang in the native tongue, offering hymns for Artemis and Apollo. She drank her wine, tinged with royal blood. “Come to enjoy the show?” She wore a feline’s grin. (x)