armut, ağacın dibine düşer.

Truthfully, the vampire didn’t know how to handle compliments overall. However, she ended up laughing due to the circumstance and proceeded to express her gratitude at Fayre for her kind words. “I appreciate it, thank you!” Looking over at Truman, she smiled softly and sighed, “He’s confident, so that makes up for the whole thing. I didn’t either…I was so accustomed to their usual trademarked print. As for the bag…” A light blush appeared on her pale cheeks as the vampire shrugged, “He said he has a pair of shoes I could change into if I ever get tired of the ones I’m wearing…That’s nice of him—thoughtful even.” Looking around the manor, she bit the insides of her cheek as she noticed the stares he was getting. “I think people should give him credit. In comparison to the Met Gala, his is outfit is practically harmless.” 

Imani smirked, “Dope. I’d appreciate that.” Good to know Fayre understood her and her means. Shrugging, the she-wolf took another drag and embraced the toke before exhaling a puff. “I’d fuck them up too. I know you can take care of yourself, but I wouldn’t mind joining in on that.” She then nodded to confirm the obvious around Church. “To give you clarity, someone called me Nic’s whore and let’s just say they didn’t have the ability to a) come to work and b) speak again.” Messy HR business at that point. The vampire wasn’t pleased with her actions, but she gave him the ultimatum and he ended up siding with her in the end. Her lips widened into a knowing smile as she arched a brow and headed towards her. Imani decided to test the waters between them. She simply wanted to know if there was really a barrier in their relationship. “And am I at the top of the list hm?” Seeing her look away, caused the she-wolf to grin as she tapped away the excess ashes of her blunt. “Great to hear that.” replied Imani, accepting the change of topic. “Better to be busy than bored. Also, good—bother him as much as you want, he’s a little shit after all.” Shrugging in response, the alpha took another hit and paused briefly to ponder on a reply. “…Busy too, from this to the Animal Hospital and pack related things. The tension in Lethe isn’t helping, but we’re doing our best to stay low key. It’s proving to be difficult though, can’t lie. For Truman and I, we’re doing good and haven’t had any major sibling disputes. How about you and Hale?” 

“If you join in on that, you’d leave me with nothing to handle,” Fayre admitted, giving her a set of narrowed, challenging eyes. “But sure, if it came to it, do join. Just like old times, hm?” Fayre took a deep breath, swallowing some air as if she gained some clarify on the dynamics at this workplace. “That sounds like appropriate and fair consequences of their action.” The hunter nodded, not expecting less from Imani. They were harsh words, and whatever the person got in exchange for them was well deserved. At Imani’s question, Fayre pressed her tongue against her side of the cheek in thought before leaning closer to the other werewolf. “You’re close up there. Just have one or two people to fight to get the top, but it shouldn’t be too difficult,” she answered daringly with a raised eyebrow and smirk planted across her face. Fayre was pushing it the line she promised to establish, she knew it, but the motive behind it wasn’t strong enough to keep her behind it. “Boredom doesn’t sound too bad right now, considering.” Hearing the list of activities that has kept her busy, Fayre shook her head in disbelief. “And are you able to find time to rest at all?” Seeing as how late the club closes, she wasn’t sure how that part of life fits into Imani’s schedule. “What does it mean exactly for the pack here with you guys in town?” When she heard Hale’s name, Fayre sharply took a deep breath. “And as for Hale and I, it’s complicated. I’m trying to work our relationship, but it’s not like I’ve been there for her much before. But we’re working through it.”

“Yeah, cause I’ll tell you now I’ll fuck them up at the end of my set if that were to happen.” Best to give a warning to the boss, but she adds in a playful smirk to make it a little light. Fayre knows what lengths she would go to make her point clear. “That’s good. Let me know if they are, some of these fools need to get their shit straight.” A chuckle escaped her lips the moment Fayre described Nic. Unpredictable seemed like an understatement, but she understood the choice of words she chose. “With a completely different management? It’s about time for some change around here. Everyone’s at an equal playing field, unless you play favourites?” She then arched her brow and flashed her a knowing smirk before returning her attention to her blunt and focusing on rolling it up. “Nah, I love what I do. Djing is a nice escape anyways. It would have been different if I was…the other staff.” Bringing the joint to her lips, she lights it up and takes a drag while listening to her decision. With a nod, she decided to bask in the silence as she got high. A moment or two later she broke the silence by asking, “So aside from purchasing this place, how have you been? Long time, no talk. I feel as if you and Truman see each other more often, which is good—he adores you.” 

“Well, let’s hope the dance floor clears up by then, and if needed, you can fuck them up there,” she offered up that space, fully knowing that Imani meant her words. If that fate was met, there was nothing she had to do from her end. “And if they are? What would you do? They’re afraid of you too?” If it came to that point, Fayre would handle it on her own, not that she didn’t trust Imani to do it. She already felt as if she owed her since that night that Imani lodged her when she was injured. She couldn’t ask her to fight her battles again. “Favorites? Well, I know Nicolas had his. He sure had a lot to say about some people here.” She shot her a knowing gaze, a small smirk growing at the corner of her lips to inform her that it wasn’t anything that bothered her. At least not too much. “But there are a few people I do like better than most. Can’t help it if they get more benefits than the rest.” Fayre firmly nodded, not adding much input on her later words. She already felt as if she said too much, pushed too far. She looked away for a brief moment, making sure to not get too comfortable. “Good,” she responded, a little too flat and a little too quick. “I’ve been keeping busy, cleaning up some messes,” which was roughly a friendlier version of the truth. “And yeah, it’s good to have some familiar faces around here, so I’ve been bothering Truman a bit. How about you? How’s everything between you and Tru?” 

Imani knew Nicolas wouldn’t last long, so it wasn’t surprising to see him dip out of Lethe unexpectedly. However, Fayre taking over Church threw her off guard. The two have not had a decent conversation, let alone interaction during their time at Lethe. It was for the best, especially with how things are when it came to her pack, to Seiha and her brother. However, now that they work in the same establishment and she’s technically her boss, the she-wolf kind of had no choice but to deal with her head on. “Yup.” she said with a nod as soon as she made her presence known. “No issues as of yet. So as long as the sound guys don’t fuck up my set, then I should be fine. Hopefully no one’s giving you a hard time though? Nic was a hit or miss kind of owner…” Focusing her attention on the table, Imani preoccupied herself by rolling a blunt, more so to ease her up for tonight. “Want?” she asked. “I can roll you one or we could share.” 

A lot of conversations with Fayre were saturated with awkwardness, but that’s mostly because she chose to not engage in them with the same effort as the others. But she was dreading how awkward it was with Imani now. They sounded so formal and detached. But then again, it might be best for her to keep it at that professional level. “That sounds like a lot of the pressure for the guys.” Fayre let out a soft chuckle in agreement, though it sounded more like a sharp breath released than a chuckle. She looked over at the employees on schedule before settling her gaze back at Imani. “No, no one’s been too difficult yet. I think most of them are more relieved with the change, especially since Nicolas was a bit…” She paused in thought of the perfect word to describe him. “Unpredictable. And there’s no one taking all the alcohol from the shelf. I’m just glad and a bit surprised that almost everyone chose to stay and not go.” It saved a lot of work on her end, not having to seek out workers. “Especially you. Heard you were everyone’s favorite DJ here, so thanks. For not leaving.” Her composure and demeanor stayed the same as the genuine words left her pressed lips. Fayre shook her head at the offer. “No, I’m good. Haven’t smoked for years.” 

When Fayre heard the rumor of Nicolas selling his club, she had quickly jumped on the transaction. The effort of being sociable and forceful of selling houses grew tiring, and she found pleasure in giving out orders and staying out of the spotlight of one to one interactions. It was the perfect new job for her. And as of her work so far, she would like to think that French philosopher would be satisfied with it. After checking the payment system was functioning and all scheduled employees were checked in for the night, the hunter lingered out from the back of the bar and headed to the stage, a target in mind. The hunter wouldn’t say that she had been avoiding the DJ, but she had been limiting her encounters and conversations when possible as a way to not bother her. Fayre cleared her throat, attempting to grasp on proper words. “Everything ready for tonight? Or are there any issues that I can help out with?”

Time: 11:00 PM Date: 02/2021 Setting: The Complex of Secrets, because people have private homes 

Truman wanted someone to talk to, but he couldn’t talk to his sister about the shades. The last thing he wanted was for her to take up more of his burdens and be crushed by her own guilt. He loved his sister too much to let her suffer even more. If he could prevent her pain, he would. Still, however, he needed to lighten the pressure around his chest and lift a weight off of his shoulders. The only way he knew how was to go to someone with enough good sense for both of them. 

“Hey, so I know you’re probably busy and stuff, but… I just needed someone I could talk to…” He lowered his gaze, unsure that he’d be able to keep eye contact for long. Fayre tended to have an intense look, and even when she wasn’t doing anything, he felt like her eyes were scolding him sometimes. “You know… that shit that went down a month ago… I… How do you get through it… you know, after all the bad guys you fucked up?”

@fayreavci​

Her list of pet peeves ran long. Even the smallest, unnoticeable action from someone can prompt annoyance from the werewolf. Disturbing her during reading was one. But it was Truman, and rather than finding annoyance from it, she found relief and solitude that he came to her when needing someone to talk to. Finishing the sentence she was on, Fayre’s dark eyes glanced up from the book and settled upon Truman. Without a word, she closed her book and scooted all the way to the right of the couch. Patting the spot next to her, she asked him to sit down without any verbal indication of so. 

A glimpse of their father was all it took to get Fayre to reconsider what exactly she was doing in that town and why her plans were so far behind. The rightful answer to that laid behind the closed doors in the dorm. Fayre gave it three knocks and a heavy sigh before she entered, searching for Hale’s presence in the room. “Hey,” she greeted, her tone soft and low. “I have something for you.” With those words as a queue, the werewolf extended her arms out to deliver a nicely wrapped gift, embraced by a tightly tied bow. “Consider it a late Christmas gift. And as an apology.” She had constantly checked up on her sister after the last incident, but it wasn’t a noticeable act, not wanting to make it clear that she cared or had any involvement with sudden changes of people’s interactions with Hale. “For being a shitty sister lately. Well, for a while.”  

When: December 31, 2020 Where: Irving Plaza From: 8:00pm

Who knew Lethe would follow through with an event? However, with the increase in security and how less of a crowd there was, perhaps this time things would be different. However, Thalia didn’t have that mindset. Instead, she was here to observe and see what would happen to mark the end of the new year. The wristband system was interesting as it made her wonder if it served more than just a wristband. All this skepticism came with the territory as the Sotomayor heiress was used to events such as this that came with an unexpected agenda. She was well aware that maybe nothing would happen at all…at least that would be a nice break. Sipping on her hot chocolate, she was stationed at the ice skating rink, observicing those around her. “You know…” she said out loud. “That guy has been trying to impress everyone with his skating skills, but he looks like a flailing starfish. How long do you think it’ll take till he falls flat on his face?” 

He briefly squinted his eyes at her before he started to grin again. Even with how dangerous the situation was, he was glad that they still had their wits. He adjusted his hold on her to better hold her up. She wasn’t heavy, but he didn’t want to hurt her too much while they moved.  “It isn’t about winning, sis. It’s about getting you somewhere safe so you can heal up. You know, I’m going to have to fix those wounds up.” He was silent as they moved. The Complex wasn’t too far from where they were, and the faster they got off of the streets, the better. “I’m not gonna ask if something happened between you two, but you’re gonna have to talk to her eventually, you know that right?” Truman carried her along and shook his head before letting out a chuckle. “Nah, you two are on some different shit.” He meant it. Fayre and Imani worked. He didn’t like it before, but if that was what they wanted, he didn’t want to stop it. Truman pushed them against the wall, letting a group of people run passed them. When the coast was clear, he continued toward the Complex. “Chin up, Fayre. A little failure isn’t the end of the world. I don’t treat it like that, anyways. If I did, I wouldn’t ask out anyone for nothing.” Confidence was key and he learned that from his family. The Kingstons didn’t make alphas out of nothing. “I wouldn’t say that I’m breaking hearts… There are a couple of girls that I’m kind of digging. Nothing will probably come out of it though. They’ll outlive me.”

Imani made a mental note to give Truman an earful once they crossed paths. This was uncalled for, even if she already knew that Fayre was here. Mani fully told him not to interfere, especially if the she-wolf chose to cut off ties between all of them. Forcing themselves back into Fayre’s life wasn’t something Imani was on board for. “Mhm, he’s an idiot.” she deadpanned as she went to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water. “Did he patch you up?” The injuries looked severe from where she stood, but she also knew that her brother would have taken care of her the moment they’d crossed paths. 

“You can stay for as long as you’d like.” She meant it. This was a safe haven regardless of where one came from and she held that belief even prior to coming to Lethe. “Keep the key, just in case.” Taking her glass, she took a long sip before settling it onto the counter and returning towards Fayre’s side. “Yeah.” A smirk crept onto her lips as she shrugged nonchalantly, “Death has a tendency to miss me.” She was staring, she knew that, but she remained silent for the most part as there was a lot of questions going through her mind. However, Imani wasn’t the type to pry. Gesturing a nod towards the kitchen, she asked, “Did you eat? Thirsty? Were you just sitting here this whole time? I swear we’re not shitty hosts.” 

A small smile snuck up on Fayre’s face at the insult Imani had for Truman, and if one paid enough attention, they could have seen that muscle move. Their relationship was always amusing, and one of the few reasons why she at times missed the pack. After leaving without much explanation overnight, she didn’t expect to run into them again, better yet, to be lodged in their apartment complex for a few hours. “Strategic idiot, that’s for sure,” she added onto his description, shaking her head at the thought of his idea of placing her here after telling him she didn’t want Imani to hear about her current condition. “Yeah. Believe it or not, I looked a lot worse before I ran into him.” Fayre did another inspection of her injuries before looking back at Imani. “The veterinarian skills are helpful after all.” 

time: 2:30am date: September 23rd, 2019 location: Kingston Apartment Complex - Imani’s unit

After DJing at the parade and heading straight to the Animal Hospital, Imani had to admit it was an eventful night despite the chaos. For havoc to spread throughout Lethe, she managed to maintain a composed demeanour after going down the list of her pack members to ensure they were safe. It was best to be proactive than reactive, that’s one of the things she picked up as an alpha. The more you react, the more you won’t get shit done. Imani knew that not every scenario is picture perfect, but she was relieved that she didn’t have any losses. 

She spent most of the night in the Animal Hospital, before heading home. Her brother informed her that she had a special visitor in their home. The she-wolf’s initial thought was that it was Nico, but upon arriving late into her unit, she was struck with a familiar scent. “Hmm…” hummed Mani as she unlocked the door and came face to face with an old friend. “—And somehow, you still look good for someone who looks like they’ve gone through absolute shit.” She dropped her belongings onto the floor and casually walked over to Fayre. Eyeing her from head to toe, Imani didn’t expect to meet her ex-pack member in the flesh. “Out of all the fucking units we have in this complex, you end up staying here…Fucking Tru…” Her gaze faltered as she headed towards her drawer and sifted through some keys. “You’ll need to rest in order to quicken the healing process. I can give you your own unit to house in and you can stay there as long as you’d like. I’m sorry that he left you here. He’s still…” Caught up in what we once were? Imani fell silent and decided not to finish the sentence. Instead, she held the key out for Fayre to take and waited.

@fayreavci

For someone in her state, it should’ve been easy to go to sleep. As soon as their body touched the comfort of the bedding, they would’ve been knocked out. But Fayre couldn’t even if her body was begging for to do so. It hurt to move an inch, but what was more bothersome was the racing thoughts in her mind, thoughts that couldn’t formulate correctly for to simply concentrate on one. What if Emira wasn't dead? Would she go after Hale again? The more time she spent resting, the more time she was leaving Hale alone and increasing the chances of her getting hurt again. It was a war in her mind, tugging her one way or the other as part of her couldn’t face Hale either. 

emira-birsen‌:

Emira’s fought on her own multiple times as it came with the territory. This battle however, was different. For starters, it was a personal vendetta and second, she was blindsided by an opponent she has no knowledge about. This means she has to adapt to her environment and social setting. Less talking and more doing, but there’s also the possibility of things not going to plan. 

Like getting shot in the abdomen. 

Grunting at the impact, Emira gritted her teeth as she braced for impact when she was brought to the ground. “Ah, now I see…” she gasped out. A shrill laughter escaped her lips as she looked dead into the other vampire’s eyes. “You’re just as much of a weak ass bitch as Hale is!” she spat. A shot gun and not even her bare hands to this fight? Pathetic. Clutching onto her wound, she applied as much pressure in hopes that it would help with the healing process. She was going to lose a lot of blood that was for sure, which meant that she needed to go to one of her safe houses ASAP.  

Emira yelped the moment Fayre pulled her head back. God, how can she be so fucking careless and briefly forget about the she-wolf. The dart aimed at her shoulder caused a cry of pain as her body shot up at the effects of the material. This wasn’t good. She needed to retaliate fast. “Oh Fayre….Fayre…Fayre…This isn’t fair duh! It’s two against one!” A twisted smile graced her lips as she continued laughing at her rhyme. God she was in so much pain as her flesh began to rot and burn from the dart’s effects. Taking one deep breath, Emira closed her eyes and announced, “Alright ladies…Let’s fucking wrap this up shall we?” 

With Fayre behind her, Emira did a hard head butt before swiftly and painfully removing the dart and aiming it to Zanna instead. To keep the hunter at bay, she took her dominant hand and twisted it out of place. Further, to buy her even more time, she used all her adrenaline and threw Fayre like she was trash at a nearby float filled with pumpkins. Now it was Zanna’s turn. Appearing in front of Zanna, Emira was leaning forward as she held her wound due to the pain. She just needed to hang in there. If she was going down, there was no way she was gonna have herself collapse here out of all places. Putting her mind to it, she spontaneously took the shotgun and using all her strength she folded it in half before attempting to wrap it around Zanna’s neck. “Choke bitch.” And with that being said, she too tossed the other vampire to the same float Fayre was in. Falling onto her knees, she was breathing heavily knowing that she overexerted herself. Her shoulder was making it difficult for her to be mobile and she was a disheveled mess. The only way to survive this is if she got out. 

However, Emira wanted to make things clear to the both of them and so, she limped over to the float and climbed on not caring about the damage done. Picking up two of the heaviest pumpkins, she hovered it over Zanna and Fayre and allowed it to drop onto their front side. “Only a dumbass would kill at a time like this.” She limped over to the pumpkin throne and flopped down to take a breather. Yup, she overworked herself. “—Can we take a raincheck?” 

@acvso​

Another vampire’s blood wasn’t supposed to smell so good, but Zanna liked the smell of Emira’s weakness. The insults only made the other woman seem worried and Zanna couldn’t blame her. After all, Emira’s stomach looked like bloody mince meat. As Fayre moved in with her darts, Zanna raised the shotgun at Emira’s face, but of course, when she pulled the trigger, it jammed. She growled at the gun before turning it in her hands so she could use it as a bat. If she couldn’t shoot the gun then at the very least she could beat Emira with it. Zanna deflected the thrown dart by hitting it to the side with her gun. Then she rushed Emira. 

Zanna ducked under Fayre’s flying body and moved toward Emira. She swung the shotgun at the woman, but failed to make a successful hit. Instead, Emira caught the gun and Zanna lost her grip. She struggled against the other woman and managed to jam her arm in between the folds of twisted metal. Preoccupied she couldn’t stop Emira from throwing her into the pumpkin float. Luckily, a few pumpkins broke her fall, but her shirt was probably now ruined because cleaning up pumpkin guts was a chore she didn’t have any patience for. She grunted and tried to sit up. The next thing she needed to do was to take this atrocious necklace off. 

She pushed and pulled on the metal and wood until it was lose enough for pull off. Just as she was ready to toss it away from her, however, Emira dropped a large pumpkin on her. Zanna groaned. “I didn’t say anything about killing you.” She aggressively pushed the pumpkin off and launched it at the throne (and its new Pumpkin Queen). “I only need to bury you alive… keep you away from Hale.” Zanna shook bits of autumn off of herself. “Come on, doggy.” She looked over at Fayre. “Are you going to help finish this or stay down? We don’t have all day. Can’t you hear them screaming?”

@fayreavci​

She had underestimated the vampire. Hale’s new identity had mildly diminish some of the fury she held for vampires, but Emira only escalated it to a new height. What she considered a successful attempt of harming Emira only put her in a vulnerable position. She had lost her grip on the vampire when her head came in contact with the other’s, knocking out her sense of control of her surroundings. Before she could gain back a conscious perspective, her hand had already been twisted, eliciting a muffled scream as her teeth clenched down on her lips. She failed to regain the limited time she had to get back on her feet to protect herself from the girl’s next move. Before she knew it, she had landed on the float, a heavy anchor of pain came crashing through her body as she fell on the bottom surface of the float. Pushing her upper body up from the ground, she spat out a volume of blood that pooled up from her teeth piercing through her lips. 

A loud piercing noise that rattled through her brain acted as a shield from outside noises to the extend where couldn’t even sense the other bodies on the float. With flashes of Emira before her eyes, she was able to roll her body away from where the pumpkin came crashing down, missing her by a few inches. Now on her back, Fayre looked up at the sky, gathering a mix of different screams in the distance. Whatever was happening was keeping them distracted from what was occuring on that float. Finally catching her breath and pushing that throbbing pain of her misplaced arm aside, Fayre finally got up.

“I figured you don’t care for nice… I mean… after ‘Mani…” He joked, trying to return back to light conversation, hoping that he wasn’t making the pain any worse. She could pass out later, but he wanted to move her off of the street before that, so he kept on talking, trying to keep her attention. “I know you can, but the difference is that I can help get you there faster.” If he knew that she was here, she wouldn’t be out here alone, and she would have a place at the complex. She was still a part of the pack and he felt like she’d come back or they’d cross paths. He felt like Fayre wanted to be a lone wolf, but the way he saw things, she needed a good group rooting for her more. “Yeah… I didn’t tell her anything yet, but she probably already knows you’re here.” He chuckled. “She looks chill but you know she doesn’t roll into a place without knowing shit…This is why you two are so annoying together.” Truman reached over, trying to get her arm to rest over his shoulders as he held her. “I’m going to take you home. So what are you these days? Exterminator?”

“And how do you know that?.” huffed Yuri as he attempted not to bring any attention to them. Who was she to dictate his true intentions? Despite being raised as a mercenary, Yuri refused to hurt the innocent, let alone the people he cares about. If anything, he’s do everything and anything to protect them. “I didn’t know!” he yelled. “You make it seem like I should be fucking attached to her hip! Look, it was unfortunate for her to go through that. However, we should be focusing on how it won’t happen again!” His gaze turned into a worrisome one, “More importantly, how we should save her from herself. I can see…” He had to pause and take a breath as the stab wound was becoming uncomfortable. “I can see that you care greatly about her, but we shouldn’t focus on the ‘what ifs’ at this point. Look, she doesn’t talk about her family, but I’m assuming that you two are…She tried to kill herself Fayre. That in itself is a greater issue we should be focusing on rather than all…THIS.” He literally pointed at his stab wound and grunted in pain once more as he slumped further against the tree. Fuck, now she wanted the knife back? The crazy bitch shouldn’t have stabbed him in the first place. “Leave.” he demanded. “I won’t tell a soul of what went down. Go to Hale, spend time with her—she fucking needs it. I’ll stay away from her from now on you have my word. I just…I just can’t remove this till I have my supplies…I need to treat this wound properly…please.”

“Can you say that you have had complete control over your wolf side and abilities every single second since you became one? That’s how I know.” She was also present proof of how she knew. When she first turned, she didn't have complete control in wolf form, and recalling that moment, she knew promises could’ve been broken with that lack of control. Fayre tensed up when he shouted, drawing her back to being cautious of their surroundings. No one seemed to notice so far. “Unfortunate? It was unfortunate? It shouldn’t have happened at all! What could have Hale done for her to almost get killed?” Maybe that’s what she should have spent her time doing instead -- finding out why Emira went after her. Rather than standing there, arguing back and forth about what was best for Hale. A sharp pain arose in her chest when she heard that her sister had tried to kill herself. Hale had mentioned about wanting to close her eyes and die when they first reunited. But hearing that she actually tried, well, it felt as if someone had dropped weights onto her chest.