girl has a matchstick mouth.

Fair, more likely Hektor would make Maven a servant to the cult. Her power was useful, and there was nothing that her magic could do to protect against the original vampire’s compulsion. She wanted a weapon, a means to defend herself, and in a way Thanatos empathized. Her story was told over and over again, her anger was the same rage that countless others had already known. Even after doing so much she was still powerless in the face of the original vampire, in the presence of a Goddess. “A spell, one that will let your soul pass from your body to another.” Thanatos offered, “When you die it’ll move from you, to the nearest witch. The ritual will mark your soul and inscribe it with a rune. You will be changed, forever.” There was one way out of the cycle, but he wouldn’t comment on it given the woman’s preexisting history with Persephone. “A life for a life, eternity with this power, and all the time you’d ever need to find, or craft, the weapon you’re looking for.” 

+

Unlike some other genasi, immortality has never been a driving motivation for Maven. She had it once in the palm of her hand, when she was a vampire, and yet chose to give it up to return to the living, and she had long since made peace with that decision. But that does not mean she wants to die; particularly not anytime soon. If this spell would protect her from that... To take the place of a witch. Perhaps at one time, the thought would’ve bothered her more, but it’s almost too easy for the genasi to justify the choice to herself now. If it’s her or someone else, there are few in this world that Maven would put above her own life. “Okay.” She nods her head lightly. “What would I have to do for the ritual?”

    Toby wouldn’t trust many witches, but Maven might be the exception. Mostly because he had first met her when she was a vampire, and he was more trusting of his own kind. Now Toby studied her features, looked for the sincerity there, and whether he should trust her. After a moment, he slowly nodded. It still made him nervous, the whole idea, but if she wanted to pay back a homicidal vampire, he could live with that. “Okay. You can have it. I trust you.” And hopefully she understood how rare that was.

     To Kiera, the only thing that mattered was that nothing would happen to Maven. That she wouldn’t get hurt, but most importantly that she would not die. The genasi had been too close to death too many times for the witch’s liking. “As long as you say this won’t harm you, you can do what you deem necessary.” In the end, all she had asked for was that they talked about these things before they happened. And Maven had done that by giving her the information she needed. Granted, she would probably still be incredibly worried. But it would be easier knowing what would happen, than being told afterwards. “And do you know why they want to call upon this God? What the intention is?“

“You think too highly of yourself, Hektor has turned vampires and then ripped their hearts out for shock value. Your death was convenient, of everyone in those cells you were the easiest to be turned. It is not you they will be after, but the man who helped you. Patroclus and his oneiroi.” Thanatos offered, though he cared little for the divine squabbles his realm inhabited a part of the Underworld and Persephone was still queen here. All this would still do little to help her should Persephone’s monstrosity decide to come looking for his former progeny, with a sigh, Thanatos opted to help. “The Erinyes, Hecate, all denizens of the Underworld - even me -  are unable to give you the information you’re looking for.” Thanatos admitted, he had the knowledge to kill Hektor, to do innumerable things to him, but if Maven wished to stand against him she would have to find another way. “There is a way to protect yourself from him though, in a sense. Immortality.” 

+

“It isn’t arrogance to look at history to predict the future.” Her words are challenging, because while Maven understands she’s not the most important piece moving on this chess board, that there are others around her of greater significance. But that does not mean she is safe, nor that her death will not come simply to make a point at the hands of a cruel man. “They have no value for life at all. Mine or anyone else’s. And I don’t want to be the next heart to get ripped out on their warpath, a stop along the way to the oneiroi.” Patroclus never did anything for her, flat out refused to help her, but there’s no point in arguing that now. If he’s capable of doing the same as the oneiroi, then he will likely be just as much of interest to Hektor. Her heart sinks at the fact that there is no answer to be found to her question, a sickening feeling at the pit of her stomach that perhaps this entire thing has been pointless. Until Thanatos offers a lifeline, dangled in front of her face like a carrot on a stick with one word. Immortality. “How? How could I become that?”

“I know.” Thanatos stated, “I was there.” Though his monotonous tone betrayed nothing, in a sense he was present for every death, though there was nothing peaceful about how Maven’s life had been taken from her. For the witch turned vampire turned witch again to be stood before him showed leagues of willpower. It was why he’d gladly accepted her, marked the witch’s soul as his own and whisked it from Hecate. Maven’s candor continued to be enjoyable, enough at least to draw the hint of a smile to the tired God’s face. Hell hath no fury. The fire that had blazed within her as a witch only burned hotter now. “Vengeance?” How tiresome, “You could bring the veil down,” the God stated sarcastically, “that killed him. Of course Persephone gave him a comfortable place in paradise, but he was dead wasn’t he?” Thanatos queried, “Hektor was just a man before Persephone sank her claws into him, of course he can die. But you’d be bringing her wrath down upon you instead. For however cruel you may believe Hektor to be, he was a good man once. She turned him into what he is today.”

+

“Not vengeance.” Perhaps it isn’t wise to correct a god, but the words fall off of Maven’s tongue immediately. Because that isn’t what this is about. Though it would be a lie to say she would not enjoy the knowledge of Hektor getting what he is owed, in the end, she would be content to leave it be if she thought him willing to do the same. But now, herself and everyone she loves is being threatened, all because of her choices. “I don’t want to be any more wrapped up in that than I have to be. But I don’t think they’ll be willing to just let me go.” Not if Viraj’s actions have anything to show for it. Maybe if she wasn’t so new, if her death hadn’t been such a spectacle, her rebirth so remarkable. Maybe if she had waited a hundred years before taking the plunge, she could’ve quietly slipped away into obscurity. Instead, the genasi finds herself treading water in a boiling pot. “Whoever he was before, that’s not who he is now. So I need... something. Something to take him out of the picture, or to protect myself, and the people I care about.” It’s a rock and a hard place, no right answer wherever she looks, and perhaps that is why Maven finds herself turning to a god now for guidance. 

    “It was for me too.” Toni was not planning to elaborate, but maybe it would help this arrangement to let her know they were sort of in the same boat. He would have died, one way or another, if it was not for him becoming a genasi. It was necessary to survive, necessary to get back at his parents. And at her admission, a slight smirk started taking over his features. “That sounds interesting.” His head tilted to the side, arms folding over his chest as he watched her. “What did you do to him?”

    Kiera pressed her lips together as she let the information sink in. And maybe she stayed quiet for longer than she should. But she was trying very hard to process first before saying anything wrong. This was another step in the right direction – Maven was sharing something with her. She shared it with her before it happened; after she made the decision, but it was still a step forward. If she said the wrong thing now, if she judged too hard or got too angry, she might lose that perk again. And so she exhaled a deep breath and squeezed Maven’s hand a little more. “Thanatos? That sounds dangerous, Maven.” A worried frown appeared on her forehead, then she shook her head a little. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Ego was heavy, transparent too. This one blanketed herself in it and wore it as if it was an armour that would protect her. She was young, a blink of an existence in his immortal eye. But young too for that of a genasi, the God’s hands had wrapped around her soul in a moment where she was desperate for power. She was prepared to risk everything for it, her soul was one that had been marred by Persephone already and the truth was that it amused Thanatos to hold it in his own hands now - spirited away from the Goddess over Elysium. Hades’ unnatural bride who scorned death at every turn, her followers were a stain, creatures that hungered fiendishly for the blood of his followers. 

Complacency was a tiresome motivation, Thanatos had been there through every moment of her ritual - when she severed her connection to Hecate in favour of the power that she now freely wielded. “You my loyal follower,” The God mimicked as he circled the genasi, reciting the words she’d called to him with, as he circled the hard reflection of the Temple of Apollo. “called to me for guidance.” Thanatos stopped short of the woman, he despised those who simply followed others. Nobody butchered their souls for the sake of fitting in. “And I answered.” The decision to use the genasi’s shared power to bring them into his realm was made on a whim, but Maven stood before him now - tall, proud, a neophyte in her own power but brimming with promise. “I take it you don’t intend to waste my time.” 

+

He sees through her bluff, calls it out easily, and for a moment, Maven feels stupid for even attempting it. He’s the god of death, of course all her false projections of bravado would come across thin as paper. But it is all she has to cling to, all Maven has ever known in her moments of terror. To let go of it now would be to strip herself bare, admit that she is entirely defenseless and weak here, everything she fought so hard not to be anymore. The entire reason she went through with the genasi ritual in the first place. “You’re right, I did say that.” She sucks in a breath, as her own words are parroted back to her. She had come asking for guidance, only to attempt to play blasé when confronted with the opportunity in the moment. Thanatos won’t allow her to get away with that, though. That is something the god makes clear. So be it, then. “It was Persephone who held my soul first, taken by the hands of her favorite and presented as an offering. The fact that I am no longer in such a form is unlikely to go unnoticed.” Viraj already knows, and she had made him pay for his arrogance and cruelty — but in the scheme of things, he is only a small fish in a big pond. Maven can handle him. It’s not Viraj who concerns her; it’s the master who controls his leash. “I want to know if there is a way to kill him. Hektor. Before he attempts to kill me.”

Mateo paused as someone stepped into the kitchen, moving to fix his gaze upon them with compulsion when instead he was met with a ball of fire in the chest. He winced, batting it away from his clothes, sputtering in confusion. “Maven?” Her name fell from his lips as he finally put out the flame; his shirt was blackened and stank, but he remained unhurt. How long had it been since he had seen her last; the vampire wasn’t entirely sure, but enough days had spanned that she was very much a different person— with one recognizable difference: she was alive again. “What the fuck happened to you?” He tossed back, wild-eyed and shocked, ignoring the witch and the boiling pot completely for the genasi who wore the face of a friend. “How—?” They were both supposed to be navigating being a vampire together, traversing down new and old paths, but it seemed as though Maven had decided to abandon that completely for a second shot at life. Mateo turned his attention to the witch behind her shoulder, lifting his chin up. “You can speak.” He gestured between the two women. “Do you two know each other?” ( @kieratandanu​ )

    Kiera was unable to put into words just how relieved she was when Maven suddenly stood in the kitchen of Kiki’s. She was still unable to talk, but her hand was ripped from the water that had just started boiling. It was not yet enough to hurt her, but the pain had started to set in. She cradled her hand to her chest and hid behind Maven. As much as she wanted to be the strong and independent woman, right now she was none of those things. She pressed herself against the genasi’s back, unapologetically using her as a shield in that moment. Kiera’s gaze met Mateo’s and her lips opened as if they had been sealed together before. “She is my girlfriend.” Her voice sounded hollow and she was still incredibly scared. “How do you know each other?” Her eyes searched Maven’s and she tried to say “He—“ is the one who tortured me. But those words still could not escape her because of prior compulsion. ( @mavenlockwood​ )

    To hear Maven say that she loved her was still a surreal experience. If anything, it felt more as if one of Kiera’s dreams was being very vivid, and far too realistic. The words caused her cheeks to deepen in shade, for her blood to feel hot in her veins, and her heart to jump out of her chest. “Yes, and I love you,” she whispered, a small smile on her lips before she leaned in to press a kiss to Maven’s lips. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of hearing those three words out of the genasi’s mouth, not after everything they had been through. But the smile on her lips faltered slightly, instead replaced with a frown. “Okay,” she said slowly, dragging the word out. The most important thing was that Maven told her, but worry instantly set in. She didn’t want Maven to get in trouble. “What are you talking about? A ritual? A spell? A curse? What do they want from you?”

      Toby narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering who this guy could be. It didn’t sound like any vampire he knew – most of them weren’t exactly the psycho kind, he was more leaning towards befriending the ones a bit on the stupid side. “He sounds like a fucking asshole,” Toby agreed. The idea of giving his blood away wasn’t exactly an appealing one, but if there was one person he would do it for, it was probably Maven – aside of Jamie and his boyfriends, of course. “But you promise me there won’t be harm in it for me?”

“I’ll kill you-!” Viraj screamed, thrashing uselessly at nothing as the things he smashed into were instead just reduced to ash. Clothes, cabinetry, everything catches flame and soon all there is is fire. In his eyes, on his skin, in his veins. It consumed him “wherever you go, wherever you hide. I will hunt you down and gut you like a pig!” This was a promise, this would not stand and the moment his sight returned to him the woman would never be safe. The people she knew, anyone she cared about would be a target. This curse would not hold, her magic was significant but Hektor’s blood flowed through his veins and soon enough he’d use that power to make her choke on the smugness of her words. 

+

    Toby didn’t think Maven would come to him with anything she needed to ask, so he was rather surprised when she brought that up. He looked at her with a question mark written all over his face, brows arching higher on his forehead. “What is it?”, he asked, curiosity lacing through his tone as he tried to think of something she could want from him other than his old room. What did he have to offer her? Oh. A slightly suspicious look took over his face, and he narrowed his eyes. “What do you need that for?”

    Kiera could feel the worry rolling off of Maven in waves. It was both new and cute — so far she hadn’t really been allowed to see this side of the genasi because she buried it away. Knowing just how much she cared for Kiera and wanted to keep her safe caused her heart to feel warm in her chest. “I am safe here, with you.” Her voice was full of certainty and trust, as if to tell Maven between the lines that she very much believed the genasi could keep her safe where her own magic couldn’t because it was too weak. And so at the mere mention of the possibility of Maven leaving, her hand tightened its grip on her girlfriend’s hand. “Don’t you dare disappear and leave me here alone,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with the other. “I’m safer with you by my side. And with how many wards you’ve put up, I don’t think a fly could even accidentally find us.”

closed starter for: Dante, Daphne, Saint, Maven, Enzo, and Freya

Thanatos’ realm was peaceful, and quiet. As death should be. An inverse of the land of the living, this place was empty and shrouded darkness marred by hard light. Every surface blurred at the edges, granular and fuzzy when focused upon for too long. It was here in the dark mockery of the Temple of Apollo that the God of Death observed his genasi and their little undertaking. He’d been aware of their intentions for some time and looked upon their individual offerings with only vague interest. They each threw out their ardent prayers and beckoned him forth, it was amusing, but Thanatos had long tired of the land of the living: it was too loud, too sharp, and too full of life that would inevitably pass through his realm. 

Their call might have gone unanswered but it had been over a thousand years since any genasi had managed to cooperate long enough to successfully call to him here, he was their patron and through them he had the power to heed their request - but he was not a dog that came at the toll of a bell. Through them Thanatos reached across the veil, manipulating their magic to pull them through into his realm. Separate from the passing of time as humans understood it, he was death, ancient and primordial. Thanatos had been present at the world’s first breath and would be bound here until its last, such was his place in the hierarchy of the Gods. 

“You’re either incredibly desperate, or incredibly stupid to risk summoning me.” Any sane person ran from death, not towards it. “So which are you, desperate or stupid?”

+

There’s about eight hundred things moving through Maven’s mind at once, as she finds herself suddenly ripped away from the Temple of Apollo and into— well, she doesn’t know, actually. But it’s easy to tell that she is no longer on earth, and all the other genasi are gone as well. Instead, all that remains is the god of death himself standing before her. A string of curses run through her head, mostly directed at the others for pulling her into this, but also to herself for ever even considering this idea to begin with. Because now she is in the presence of a god with empty hands, one who looks upon her as if she were a bug that could be easily squashed underfoot. Maven has done a lot of dumb things across her nearly thirty years of life, but this must almost surely count for the worst.

But the fire genasi is a creature of habit, and when afraid, she has always resorted to a manner of peacocking. To straighten her spine, stand up as tall as her frame will allow, and attempt to keep her voice steady. Even when standing in the face of Thanatos, the god who gave her this power and could likely just as easily strip it away, she does not want to cower. “Curiosity, mostly,” she says, an attempt to keep her voice level despite her nerves. “I wanted to know if it could be done.” And if being entirely truthful, Maven would admit that she was wagering on no. Never did she ever consider she would find herself standing here in his presence. “And a fire genasi was necessary to complete the ritual. There is no other in the city.” 

“Enough pleasantries.” Viraj commented as the eidolon of his mother wailed at him from the corner, it should not have brought him any pleasure to kill someone that the man had once counted as family - but there was a truth to what Hektor had said. Holding power within his hand and watching the light leave it, they two had held a connection once through their shared sired but now Maven was only someone who had betrayed him. She’d suffer for a long time before she was at last permitted to die. Her cheeky tone made the intolerant vampire’s fists ball up at his sides as compulsion quickly laced his tone in her she carried the anger this eidolon was bubbling inside of him, the hurt he still felt for his departed wife. Compulsion laced his tone “Don’t use-”

Pain so intense that it seared into Viraj’s soul flashed through him as the vampire quickly realized he’d underestimated Maven’s commitment to her newfound power. He’d been baited into coming here. Viraj fell back as his hands quickly fell over his eyes, the smell of searing flesh filled his senses as he felt for the source of the pain and found only gnarled mounds of mangled skin where his eyes should have been. “You bitch -!” Viraj screamed, anger and pain muddled together, he couldn’t see. He couldn’t see anything. All speed and power he lunged in all directions, a hurricane of rage and pain as his mother’s voice cackled all around him. 

+