ma·lev·o·lence

PENSIVELY    //    THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES               — a Daphne Onassis Mix :: listen here.

-

“No, I came here for supplies anyways. If she’s not here she can’t help me.” Diodoros explained, he wasn’t looking for his rebellious little sister because he wanted to check-in or catch up. She could take care of herself and seemed to loath even an attempt at hovering. His current situation was uncomfortable though, there was a time when Daphne had felt like family. Now she just felt… Wrong. “And what does your father think about-” he gestured vaguely in her direction. The darkness that permeated the space between them was near palpable, it made his skin crawl. Daphne was everything that Diodoros had been raised to hate, to fear. “All of this?” The question was asked thoughtlessly but there was genuine curiosity there. She cared enough to still work for him, though whether that was out of necessity or not Diodoros didn’t know enough about Daphne to say for certain. 

-

None of it seemed like any of Diodoros’ business now. After all, the man that she had once looked up to as a brother could no longer meet her eye without disdain accompanying it. She had always understood the possibility of such behavior from their mother, the way Anastasia spoke of such acts as the ones performed by genasi, but never as much from those she called her children. “He has made his own choices and sacrifices were made, but those are his own to bear,” details that the genasi didn’t wish to hash out in the middle of the day within the family store. Arguments, resentments— though at the end of the day, Daphne was still his only daughter and he had no desire to abandon her completely. “What are your symptoms? Same as Ade’s?” changing the subject quickly as her hazel irises stayed fixed on the Diodoros, an attempt to keep their conversation work related and away from the rockiness of her personal life.

“Just some lavender bundles.” Daphne, the woman behind the counter, owns the herb place and Jazz has spent an ample amount of time talking to her about plants before. Her wits aren’t about her today, she’s there for a few components to a tea her stepmother used to make her. Sleep hasn’t come easy, not since she found out about what was in the Vidalis house. @daphneonassis​

-

“With stem or without today,” she recognized the witch that strolled into her shop almost instantly, though the two had always kept things more on the side of business relationship. Jazz was close to the Vidalis family, something about her ability and the visions that would plague her, which probably was the reason for the Coven of Delphi’s interest. But Daphne kept her questions about the other fairly limited and only took in what Adelaide spoke of, “or both?”

*

There is a cup of cooling tea that has been long forgotten on the bedside table, and she curls up further into the mess of blankets that surround them. Pulling them up and over her shoulders, this was the discussion of strategy and safety and there isn’t anyone she’d rather have in her corner. Her lungs seize and she’s scared she won’t catch her breath, luckily Daphne is quick on the uptake and reaches for the homemade family lozenges, she takes it with shaking hands and allows it to melt a bit on her tongue, hoping it can sooth away the disease that lingers in her lungs. As if sensing her distress, Steve the stray wanders in through the open window, his black tail curled around the windowsill before he find his way to curl up in Ade’s laps, her hands immediately going to soothe his fur. One of her shoulder lifts and she breaks the eye-contact to focus solely on Steve. “She’s the only mom I’ve got.” Sadness in her voice and guilt too, she knows Daphne understands where she came from, the horrors she ran from and she knows Daphne understands better than most, the loss of a parent and she can’t quite look the water genasi in the eye as she speaks it. “How do I cope with leaving her behind with this monster?” She nods, a lump in her throat. “Yeah, Dio has offered me his place.”

-

It’s harsh, the words that flood her mind when Adelaide begins to poke holes in Daphne’s argument of leaving, “How would you be able to help her in this condition?” And while the tone is frigid, the genasi’s eyes are filled with concern that is solely linked to the thought of her losing the witch that was curled up in front of her. Hands still gently stroking the fur of a black stray that Adelaide had tenderly taken in. Daphne had yet to tell her about the little vampire attack along her route home all those nights ago, having always felt safe within the limits of her shop and usual stomping grounds. “You know I understand the attachment,” the genasi softened, thinking of her own struggle to find answers about her mother and that tiny seed of envy when Adelaide was able to find that in Anastasia. The sleep overs that were supplied with too much food and entertainment, the various times that she would add in an extra pastry to Adelaide’s bag just for Daphne, “but she’s chosen Hektor’s side over your safety— What happens if he or one of his goons attack one of you?” And she didn’t want to say that she thought their mother would allow it to occur, so instead the water gensai bit her tongue while her sapphire hues bore into the witch that seemed to be crouching more into the comfort of the cat.

*

In a way she is happy that Daphne is as baffled as she is by her mother’s strange behavior, it gives her solace to know that she is not alone in this. Her other half is just as confused and lost by it, although she knows between the two of them, it won’t be long until they arrive at the conclusion of a hypothesis for what is occurring. She does not doubt how wicked smart Daphne is capable of being. The sound of the charms being toyed with chimes through the room, and in a moment, the Vidalis witch realizes that she is the cause of such noise. It is without thought that she reaches for Daphne, always desiring to touch when the other is near, she feels the sharpness of desire coil in her frame for she wants nothing more than to lean forward and close the distance between them. As if meeting Daphne’s lips will distract her from the awfulness and give her something with heat and goodness to focus on. The temptation is strong but the Genasi’s words pull her from the headspace. “Ava was kidnapped by Hektor to add onto it too.” When their youngest was taken, grief spanned so wide between the Vidalis walls, how could it have been forgiven so easily by their mother? Her lungs feel raw with ash, smoke and disease. Her breath is unclear as she breathes through raspy lungs. “Dio came to me and offered me his apartment, they plan to leave. I can’t leave her alone in this big house with him.” As if a subconscious stress toy, she reaches forward to touch a charm gently from Daph’s bracelet. “She just woke up and acted like nothing happened.”

-

Typically, Daphne would have been in more constant conversation with Miri or even Diodoros given the gravity of the situation. Knowing just the way that Adelaide had been describing her illness and all the other added strange behaviors that surrounded the Vidalis home, there had to be some kind of link. But the genasi was caught up in the sudden cough that came over the witch, finding a bag of Onassis herbal lozenges at the bottom of her duffle. Not a cure in the slightest, but the cooling effect was enough to aid the ever scratching throat. She hated it. The fact that she couldn’t quite figure this one out and even with all her book reading or research hunting, this one kept stumping her. “Adelaide— “ her ocean hues lock onto the witch that has curled back up into the blankets that surround the two of them, “you might not want to hear this, but you guys have to get out.” There was some rapturing movement in Daphne that she couldn’t describe, “It’s not safe here, for any of you as long as he’s around and I know you all see that.” Then that bit of guilt over the lack of her own safety, the way Daphne had ran into the woods to risk her own life to call upon Thanatos to become what sat next to Adelaide today, “Doesn’t Diodoros have some place near by?”

“Oh yeah, no problem. I’m more caring than you guys give me credit for.” In reality, all he wanted to do was live vicariously through Daphne now. She was actually decent to be around so he figured that was his best option. Although he was very positive that she did not like him, he was putting his best foot forward. Even if that lie was very much unbelievable. “I mean, you don’t have to, but it would be so nice of you.”

-

     Toni looked up from the books in front of him he was currently sorting through. It came in handy so that he could slip the books he found interesting into his own bag to flip through them once he got home. “Why? Are you bored?” He had never met many genasi until recently, it seemed now they were sort of flocking to Corinth, attracted by the shift in the veil most likely. Looking back down, he shook his head a little. “No gardening, but knitting if that’s something you’re into. Some poison books… not much interesting stuff if you ask me.”

-

*

She is not a vampire and Persephone does not own her soul or creation, but when death and decay swirl around the bay, it is Calypso who knows. The seas speak of the sickness that is sweeping through the land, and she wonders if the Genasi seeks out Apollo, not just for patronage, not just for his sun and music but for medicine. Healing that was desperately needed for the Vidalis witch where no cure could be found and only ailing symptoms persist. “Did you seek Apollo out in hopes he would grant healing? I fear there is little that can be done to save the witches you care for.” Quite a taboo thing isn’t it, for a witch to love a genasi and vice versa, they are a betrayal to their kind and a sworn exiled enemy. “Very good, one day the sea will consume the land and the ocean will be all that remains.”

-

It is fear that prickles at the genasi’s skin as she stands before the reaper, emerald-tinted hues jetting back and forth as she studied the other’s expression. “I know he is not listening,” she quickly states, knowing that it is not the fear of him not answering but the fear of having no control. Unable to aid the one person that had stood beside her while she transitioned, unknowingly to even her, and within the one craft Daphne was the most confident in. “Besides, it’s typically his son that I seek medical aid from— as he was known to sway even the most damaging plagues.” But she rests at Apollo’s temple nonetheless, not far from the woods that she had severed her tie to Hecate and given herself fully to Thanatos.

*

“The masquerade called for everyone to be together, gave them an excuse to corral everyone together under one roof like sheep so Anastasia Vidalis could expose them for their true identities.”  She’s speaking out loud, going over information already provided just to reinstate the knowledge that they could work off of and to get a cohesive understanding. There is a stack of books that encompass the large table and Rowan plucks the ones with significant titles. Hyacinth, a book cover sprawled with flowers and spartan victory. Medusa, a serpentine cover with stone statues. Her finger lands on a book cover with wide wings and a shepherd for those fallen on the battle field but she doesn’t pluck it to align with the other two. “Valkyrie says she’s changed her alliance, that having the world end was a mistake.” Her oceanic hues flick over what’s before them on the table and she can feel the inkling in the back of her mind as if she’s missing something. “Should we be widening our scope? It’s easy to pin the rifts but who made them enemy number one? The same women who invited and exposed them, who houses Hektor currently, the maker of all vampires. She lost her lover in the kidnappings but is she involved with the cult?” Fear churns in her gut, the horrors of being held in the cage are always near to the surface and she worries the cult isn’t as dormant as they thought. 

-

As the phoenix speaks, Daphne pulls a notebook close to herself in order to jot down any notes that might help establish any further connecting of the dots. The two had been loosely discussing everything for what seemed like hours now, but now that they were updated on each other's knowledge, it was time to finally mold them all. “Do we know how Anastasia got them all together in the first place? How she corralled them all in the first place?” Daphne’s hazel irises were bright as she looked into Rowan’s brilliant sapphire orbs, unable to recall if it was a question that either of them asked the very individuals harboring her surname. 

She watched as the other’s fingertips found the spine of a book marked Hyacinth, which sat atop many other notable names that they were analyzing. “And I have also spoken with Valkyrie on all that,” which, at one point, Daphne harbored intense feelings of disappointment in the matter but had now dulled slightly. She quickly pushed the subject away and back towards the curiosity at hand, “Are you suggesting what I think?” This obviously all made sense to Daphne, who had been earring whispers from Adelaide herself about all this. Rowan seemed the right person to bounce ideas off of, given she couldn’t always be as frank with others about it. Especially when it came to some of the deeper issues that bothered her about Anastasia. But the phoenix was just as privy to the information and could see much of the same red flags as Daphne, along with being an outside perspective and not too wrapped up in the personal feelings, “I mean— what I just can’t understand fully is what happened to her during that coma.” 

-

Playing along, Eli looks over at the direction she’s mentioned and gives a nod of his head before chuckling softly. “Of course, thank you. It’s been so long since I’ve been in Corinth that all the old side streets I used to take all lead somewhere else now.” Which wasn’t a lie, things used to be far simpler and going around alleys were just the norm. Might as well have been real streets for vampires, they were like spiderwebs, they all hung around in hopes of catching the next meal. Places like Void sort of dispersed such practices, but in a way, maybe he missed it, the camaraderie between him and his fellow vampires.

“It’s awfully late miss, do you feel alright being out on your own?” It has the potential to be sinister so he makes a point to turn on a bit of the Southern charm that’s rubbed off on him in Texas.

-

The water genasi had lived within the bayside on and off her entire life, walked these streets at all hours and felt as though she knew every inch of the city. She had even taken this way a thousand times over the years and it wasn’t until this moment that she actually felt anything other than it being a safe choice. The hours in which Daphne wandered were always fluctuating depending on what within her craft she was practicing, what needed to be acquired in the late night hours— along with the time the shop would allow her to be free from its chains. In all honesty, it probably should have surprised her that something like this hadn’t happened sooner and she tried to assess what the best course of action would be. He was clearly in control enough to stand in front of her, to try to play with his food.

“I could ask you the same question,” feeling the flushing of her cheekbones as a particular anger swelled within her at the idea that due to her feminine stature, Daphne wouldn’t be able to handle herself. She hadn’t gone through as much as she had just to be treated condescendingly under the low hanging cypress trees, “Given you are not even from here.”

-

“Whatever you need, I can procure it.” And quickly. Viraj still had all of his wife’s belongings, mementos of his own as well. When it came to Amalie there was no ends to things that he would do to see his wife returned to him. If this meant paying a genasi handsomely for her services, then he was prepared to do exactly that. “I can pay.” He said definitively as he took a few more measured steps into her shop, normally accompanied by an air of malevolence. Today he was just a man who’d lost his wife, prepared to do anything to get her back. “Whatever the cost.” He added before he thought to what information he could rattle off quickly that might sate the woman for the moment, “She’s a vampire like me, and a little over a century younger. Her body is buried in a graveyard near to here: Amalie Boudelaire.”

-

Something within Daphne’s gut turned slightly at the request, wondering if the vampire was fully aware that this wasn’t exactly something she could do. There is no soul left there to try and conjure up, but a favor from a vampire with energy like Viraj could be a good thing to have in her back pocket. Should she lie then, see how far this takes her and challenge that side of her intellect? Her mind races for a moment as he speaks the woman’s name and can hear the tinge of ache within his voice, which only triggers her to think better of lying. Telling the truth felt more of the direction to go now— oh how proud  Asclepius would be with her if he was actually listening. “I assume you meant was a vampire like yourself,” the weight of the options stuck in her belly as she looked him over, hoping that she had made the right decision in making an attempt at gaining his trust, “Is that the case?”

The illness that now swept its way through the Vidalis home was only the start of the season, though the genasi was hearing rumors that it was no illness at all but a curse. But that was a different matter within Daphne’s mind that she would hardly share with the store’s latest employee. Feelings were only revealed to those she trusted the most and that hadn’t been earned in her eyes just yet, but the mere fact that Cihangir was willing to work alongside her was a start. She needed more allies, more folks around here that she could refer to as a friend and was hopeful in finding that in him. “So, tell me,” the water genasi made her way slowly out of the backroom with a bundle of chrysanthemums and dianthus flowers for restock, “What got you interested in healing and medicine?” After all, that’s what the very god that the shop was named after represented, taking on those similar qualities to his father Apollo.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” The genasi knew it wasn’t anyone on her typical rolodex nowadays. After all, the ritual had caused many to sever ties and the already small friend group that surrounded Daphne had shrunk to mostly Adelaide. Even her friend in ritual-arms, so to speak, was dangerous to see given Thanatos had taken her in. Her encounters with vampire’s hadn’t exactly been going well anyhow and she had started to realize she would need to be more careful. That’s when bits of panic truly begins to set in and it shows in the genasi’s expression, “Is everyone okay?”

@daphneonassis​

The only reason why Diodoros found himself in Asclepius’ Herbs was because he was under the impression that Ade was working, he brought scones and everything. It was a lame attempt at smoothing things over between them but in his present state it was the most he could manage. To the healer, it was no secret that the illness that had taken over his family was the act of some sort of malevolence. Not a curse or a hex as far as he could tell, and physically he was fine. But in practice Diodoros was feeling weaker and weaker everyday, there was a heavy weight in his chest as if someone was sitting on him at all times, a cough that had persisted for well over a month, and a pounding headache that followed him from dawn until dusk. He worked at the hospital, getting sick was nothing new to him, he’d devoted his life to healing others, the body, and the mind. But this was different. 

The bell signified his arrival as Diodoros crossed the threshold into Daphne’s shop, the pungent aroma of herbs and poultices greeted his senses first, followed swiftly by the presence of dark magic. The healer’s brow furrowed as his gaze landed upon Daphne, rebellious, intelligent, talented. Always running off with Miri and Adelaide - a bad influence but an extension of their family just the same. Their elements were contradictory - fire and water, not at all unlike him and Miri. Now instead of the fondness he’d felt when he saw her before, all Diodoros saw was the potential of what she could have been. “Daphne.” Dio said, he was here, and apart from wishing to make amends with his sister, he was also running low on supplies. “Where’s Adelaide?”

-

It wasn’t news to the genasi that there had been some recent turmoil within the Vidalis home, given Adelaide’s word and the last time she had seen Miri— sniffling and sneezing as she walked down the main streets of Corinth. What was a surprise, however, was seeing Diodoros’s paled face as he held a pastel box that she recognized heading towards the shop. Daphne and her father had long agreed to allow the Vidalis witch time away from the shop to heal herself, along with the dealings of the coven’s personal life. Though that didn’t stop the Onassis’s from shuttling medicine to them in hopes that it might lessen the symptoms they all had been feeling. Hektor’s presence hadn’t been helping much in that endeavor and as many herbs as she sent with Ade, nothing proved to be much luck. Even her father was stumped at what could actually make a difference. Maybe the healer had also noticed it within himself, the inability to kick this illness. Out of them all, Diodoros was the last on the genasi’s list to peg as needing assistance to fight what they all thought was just a bad cold. Especially with his position at the hospital and unique abilities that granted him the coven’s healer in the first place.

She took in a deep breath just at the sight of him, not having been in his presence much since the ritual and hadn’t realized how nervous that would actually make her. It was known for decades the stance the Coven of Delphi took on someone such as herself and that had leaked into most of Anastasia’s children. Hair stood on end as the bell chimed, the witch walking through the threshold and peering around the room. A forgotten memory of a summer at the estate, begging Dio for a late night fire to roast marshmallows as the fall breeze took hold of the bayside, dancing in her mind. Pieces of her longed for those days again and that feeling of acceptance, knowing that even deep within Adelaide there was a seed of disappointment. She tried to shake it off before speaking, not wanting to show him any weakness, and took a casual stance behind the counter. “She’s not scheduled,” hazel eyes fixing themselves on him while the box revealed the name of the local pastry shop, “my dad gave her some time off since she’s not feeling well. I hope she’s home resting and watching reruns.” But it was like Ade to sneak off despite this, so the genasi couldn’t exactly be too sure, “Have you tried calling her?”

     Sofia looked the genasi over for a moment and wondered whether she should truly go through with this. She did not trust most genasi, and she was not sure if she wanted to go through with this. But what options did she have? She had to fight against this manticore who had attacked her, a crazy woman without any judgement or calm inside of her it seemed. And she needed magic that went beyond what she could do. “Have you heard of the manticores who broke through the veil and came to the city?”

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