taken by the wind.

“Do you even know what song I’m talking about?”

"Do you think that I care? - I don’t want you to sing any song.” 

The fear of her actually being able to hurt him, because she could be strongfer and more poweful than him, was there, but the anger was bigger. “Well, I’m not, you don’t look scary to me, how am I suppose to be scary of someone that look like you? You’re pratically a puppy”

“I’m not the one that’s bothered here, if you don’t want to hear my voice anymore, that’s not my problem, it’s your problems”

A puppy? A puppy? Hurt flashed up in her eyes, but it only took a heartbeat for it to be replaced by that consuming rage. “Say that again and you will regret it.” Amelia’s voice was not loud this time. It was quiet, softer and even more dangerous. It was one thing that her sister underestimated her - there was some sort of general rivalry between siblings that played into it - but she was tired of hearing the same thing from different people, over and over again. Their doubt could break her down and she would not let it happen. If they tried to break her she would simply have to break them first. Hell, did that thought really go through her mind?! 

only the most idle arch of his brow as she poses the question, though it wasn’t his intent that was under the magnifier, he’d expressed no such dissatisfaction with the event.  if anything he was rather enjoying just relaxing - watching things unfold.  an uncommon observer to quite interesting proceedings.  he doesn’t demand attention, no, though he is attentive when he’s given it.  always that rather singular focus, and quite a knack at making whoever it was in his line of sight or companion to discourse feel as though they were the most important thing in the world at that moment.

“if that’s how you feel about it, then logic rather dictates that this is the wrong event for you to attend.”

for someone so opposed to the very nature of the party - the spirit of the day, she’d certainly gone to a lot of effort for someone who ‘wasn’t here for the attention’.  so either she’s a liar, or she’s not quite so sure of herself as those words might imply.

“so why are you here?”

The wrong event? Definitely so, but Amelia meant it when she said that she did not want to be here. Maybe it was hard to believe in this instant, but she cared about her friends - much more than she cared about herself. When one of them asked her to join she could not say no, but now she certainly wished that she did say it. She prepared herself for a night of bad memories and sadness, but this was so much worse than anything she expected.  

And for some reason his assumption made her feel a new wave of anger; It was building up, threatening to drown her, but she tried to swallow it all down. Keep it inside. It really was not like her to be rude and she did not feel comfortable whenever she heard the sound of her own, sharp voice.

“Really? Too bad. Here I thought this event was supposed to be fun, even for those that don’t want to fall in love.” 

It was true that she put a lot of effort into her outfit, but that was not because she wanted attention. Amelia loved to feel beautiful - who did not? - but she simply wanted to blend in when she came here. A normal, everyday outfit would not have cut it, eh? 

“I’m here because of a friend. I’m not the person that ruins all of the fun by saying no all the time.” Even if she could not deny that it would have been for the best this time. 

“Offending you, apparently.” 

Vivianne quipped, though she remained lax, not very concerned with how grateful or not the other girl was, but rather, noting what pretty hair she had. Maybe she should ask what shampoo she used? When Amelia noticed the actual risk she had avoided, Vivianne tilted her chin a bit higher. She couldn’t help but feel satisfied at the apology, no matter how reluctant the girl was to give it. 

“Have I upset you in some way? Fancy a drink?” she asked, ready to order several glasses of champagne herself. This party was begging for a bit of indulgence. The succubus didn’t wait for a reply, instead she called the bartender and asked for their best quality bottle and two glasses. She’d happily take Amelia’s if she chose to be angry at it as well.

Well, it was not that difficult to offend her at the moment. Breathing the wrong way could do that. 

The witch only shrugged her shoulders at the woman’s question while she brushed her curls to one side of her face. “You have, but it’s no big deal.” It was not exactly her fault that she was in the strangest mood right now and Amelia could admit that she only tried to help. That was something to be grateful for, right? So maybe she could pull herself together and stop being angry for five damn minutes. 

“Sure. I could use one.” Even if she already had more than she drank in her entire life. God, she would so regret this whole thing tomorrow, would she not? 

“Excuse me?” Lexi had heard Amelia loud and clear, her hearing heightened as ever. Even when she wanted to be annoyed with the other woman for having a problem with her, Lexi couldn’t help but feel overcome with a different feeling, hard to define on her tongue but still silencing her in the presence of the witch. 

When Amelia moved to be civil, Lexi attempted the very same, knowing that to bring out her talons, was fitting at the bar or in the woods, but not for here, not in this place.

She couldn’t bottle the feeling that she just wasn’t right in being here at all…but she could push it away. 

“It’s getting crowded, isn’t it?” she smirked softly, deciding to not focus on anything else right now. Just the blonde in front of her. 

Wait a second, what? How on earth was it possible that the other female heard her? It bothered her for one moment, but only until she realized that her senses might have been a little clouded by the champagne. Maybe she spoke louder than she thought. The witch shrugged in a way that showed that she would not take it back, but a part of her still wanted to explain herself. “I was hoping the balconies wouldn’t be full.” Amelia said, nodding toward the couples. “I didn’t mean to insult you.” 

"Much too crowded.” Lia agreed with a sigh that revealed her discontentment. “People are so annoying today. I don’t know how many of them I can stand before I go insane.” 

But she lifted her hand and dangled a bottle of alcohol in front of the girl, shrugging her shoulders. “So I decided to get some liquid motivation.” To be honest, Amelia knew that it would not necessarily help, but it did not stop her from stepping to the balcony, so she could start to fill up the glass that she bought too. 

“Let me know if you want some.” 

Kennedy frowned. She wasn’t sure what really got in Amelia. Sure she was having problems, but she never thought her new friend would have this kind of attitude. Maybe Amelia was just comfortable enough to show a side of her that she didn’t before. 

“Yeah…that sounds like a good idea.” She linked arms with the other.

The worst part was that Amelia was not so sure either. This was not a secret attitude that she suppressed any other day, in fact this was nothing like her. At first, the young witch tried to blame it on the alcohol, but... It was not the first time she had a drink and she never reacted this way before. 

“Thanks. You’re a peach for joining me.” She mumbled while she let Kennedy link their arms, following her back out of the room. 

“By the way... How’s your night going? I totally forgot to ask.” Another thing that wasn’t like her. Lia always put everyone first. Well... until now, it seemed. 

“Oh, I know I clean up well, love. No need to stress that. I did mean you. But if you’re not willing to take a compliment…”

Oh, Amelia was willing to take compliments. Sometimes she even felt eager for them, because they meant that she had done something right. Not to mention that she clearly appreciated attention since her family lacked giving her some... but it was different tonight. The witch felt too annoyed to fully enjoy anything and she could not take her mind off it. “Well.” She muttered before she looked at him and nodded her head. “Thanks, I guess.” 

“Do you have any idea what happens when you skip these so called voluntary events?”

"No, I don’t.” Because people always dragged her along, whether she wanted it or not. “But what’s the worst thing that could happen? I wouldn’t give a damn if anyone hated me for not going.” Which was not the truth, but... right now it kind of seemed to be. 

“I don’t know. Because they have all kind of pretty stuff here?” That was one of the upsides of this whole thing. Now she just had to figure out a way to get to them. “We can be uncomfortable together? I love your dress, by the way.”

"Pretty stuff? Like what?” Amelia made a face while she waited for an answer. There were many words to describe this event and ‘pretty’ was not one of them. Not in her eyes. 

“Sure.” Maybe it would allow her not to freak out at the next person. Her remark made her smile just a little. “Thanks.” She placed her elbows on the table, watching the girl. “You look nice too.” Natalia really did, even if Amelia’s voice did not sound as sincere as usual. 

William laughed, but it was not a nice sound. It was cold, and full of a patronizing darkness. “If I told you that, you’d run off screaming. We don’t want to ruin such a lovely night, do we?”

This attitude; this willingness to fight and argue was not unlike the man in the slightest. A little more unusual was how utterly convinced he was this time around that he could win anything that was thrown at him.

Oh, it filled her with anger that he believed that she would fear him, but she tried to keep herself from acting like a hysteric psycho. “Is that so?” Amelia questioned instead, offering him a smile that she sure as hell did not mean. “You’re cute. Really.” Maybe that would bother him just as much as it bothered her. 

Faye had to bite her tongue in order to stop herself from spilling any more harsh words; maybe some that would do even more damage. It occurred to her through a fuzzy mind that this behaviour was unlike Amelia, too. Still, she wasn’t in the right head to conjure up a good enough answer to why that could be.

“Maybe you should have made your chat a little more exciting, then.” Neither of them were really like this, and it probably would have been best for everyone if they sat down and discussed quietly what was going on. They were understanding people, weren’t they? But how were they supposed to do that when they didn’t even know where the anger was coming from?

Amelia tried to do the same thing; She did not want to act like this and every single time she opened her mouth it seemed to get worse. What was it that made her feel so irritated in the first place? The night went unexpectedly well, but now it was hard to remember that. The only thing that she was sure of was that there was a burning rage inside of her that refused to die down. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?” The witch barely ever cursed, but she lost count of all of the ‘bad words’ that she already used at the ball. “That’s really rich coming from you.” Lia spat back. Deep, deep down she did not mean any of it, but she would not take those words back. She could not take them back and even if she wanted to know why, she did not think that she would have enough strength to control her anger long enough to do it. 

“I’m so scared” he let out a laugh, but anyone would be able to see that it was not a genuine one, was a sarcastic one.

“I’m going to talk as much as I want, if you don’t like, then I suggest for you to just move somewhere else” he rolled eyes, it was clear on his voice how annoyed he was with her.

"You should be scared!” But it was nothing new to her that people were not. They always considered her to be the perfect goody two shoes and Amelia thought that it was a good thing. Until now! Why did people think that they could mess with her, just because she liked to be kind?

“Oh, really? Maybe you’re the one that should move somewhere else. You look like a perfect gentleman, it’s too bad that you forgot your manners at home. ” 

Kennedy stayed quiet as Amelia spoke. She took everything in. Even though her body was telling her to roll her eyes and tell Amelia that he problems didn’t match hers, she stayed quiet. Her friend was going through something. She thought back to her family and how she wish she felt invisible rather than her parents pointing out her flaws. 

“Not many.” She replied. “Do you want a drink?” 

"That’s what I thought.” 

Of course she knew that some people had it worse, which was why she kept her frustrations to herself - except for tonight. Amelia did not know what it was that made it so hard for her to hold herself together, but she failed miserably. Obviously. Besides, who could say that her problems were not allowed to get to her, just because it could always be even darker? 

“I feel like emptying the entire bar... If you’re up for it.” 

Kennedy’s eyebrows rose when Amelia spoke. How could someone so beautiful and sweet hate their life? “Why do you say that?” She tilted her head. 

Amelia did not know if it would make her feel any better if she talked about it. There was a good chance that it would only make her angrier, but the words started to escape her lips before she could stop herself anyways. 

"Because it’s true. My parents are so worried about my little sister that they - conveniently - forgot they have a second one. That little sister thinks I’m incapable of protecting her, so she pushes me away because she thinks she is better off without me. My coven is not in the best place and there’s nothing I can do about it.” She explained, not even noticing that she could reveal something that Kennedy did not know. “And on top of everything I am here, attending a god damn valentine’s ball when the only person I ever wanted is gone. Forever.”  

“Who would love that?” 

amusing.  if he could be bothered, he might have laughed.  but as it was, he couldn’t, so he didn’t.  the usual swathe of intense energy that often thrummed through the alpha’s form, exuded like a powerful aura was… apparently napping.  it’s as much as he can do to bring the glass to his lips and take a sip of the sparkling golden liquid.

apparently the over amorous young man had heeded his warning.  or perhaps had decided on his own that it simply wasn’t worth the effort, or potential ensuing headache, at least, judging by the womans reception to his tentative advances.

“oh, no need to thank me.  i’m sure you could have dealt with it.  however, i don’t think that he could have.”

so perhaps the gracious intervention hadn’t been for her benefit after all, but rather the slightly stunned young mans, who’d simply wanted to talk and had been met with rather the brusque brush off.  cute that she’d think it was all about her though.  just another fine, fine example of arcadias little self-involved globes that spun on an axis around every individual within it’s boundaries - thinking only of themselves… 

however –  he manages to slip in a little of that so oft present, charming tone.  making the words sound like the utmost compliment and marrying them with a dazzling smile.  an almost insinuation that he had done nothing at all, but a fair and gentle warning to the young man.

“it doesn’t make for a pleasant evening, after all - when one has to deal with unwanted attentions… though perhaps - not unexpected at a ‘valentines ball’?”

There was one thing that could be said about Amelia; She would not hurt a fly. 

The only problem was that the game changed. The creatures in this town became more dangerous and the witch did not plan on playing the damsel in distress. If she needed to defend herself, or protect the ones that she loved, she would not hesitate to use her magic. 

Of course it did not include somewhat innocent humans that tried to flirt with her, but it was a very good thing that the man left. No, normally Amelia would not hurt a fly, but she was not quite herself tonight. Her own negativity and her level of irritation frightened her, but each and every single time she tried to leave it got the best of her and stopped her from doing so. 

“Probably not.” She mumbled before she took a sip of her champagne. God, what was she doing? This was nothing like her and for one short moment the fear was stronger than her anger, causing her to sigh in sincere remorse. 

But it only lasted so long.

Her face hardened once more when the male mentioned the fact that this was a valentine’s ball. Who came up with that shit? Seriously? A ball to celebrate the couples and leave the singles to be by themselves? Great idea. 

“Well, I am not here for the attention. Are you?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows before she shrugged. “I just don’t believe in that happy love stuff.” Not anymore.