𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕.

There was no greater guilt that Nic felt than when he was talking to Raquel and so for the most part, he had attempted to avoid doing so. Her sharp tongue was excusable, he could never understand what it was she had gone through with losing her father and more so, the fact that it was at his own hands. Nic had left her without a father. That was his fault. “Hello to you too. Your folks were looking for you.” 

-

“You say that like I’m a kid who ran away from her mother and father at an adult party. I’m in my twenties, they can do without me being in their line of sight for a few minutes,” she said dryly, looking at Nic briefly. He seemed to want to talk to her about as much as she did him. “Did you and my father have a disgustingly tearful reunion?”

There was a dazed expression on his face for an embarrassingly long time before he was able to snap back to reality and put on a soft, shy smile. “It does?” Henrik questioned at her suggestion. He had never heard that, although he could recall the elder men of his village often reveled in drink at many of their festivities. He was an adult now, wasn’t he? He wasn’t that awkward teenage boy stuck between being of age to carry a sword and the onset of manhood. “I like your….” He trailed off and merely gestured at her clothing for a moment as the word temporarily left him. “…costume, that’s it.” He shook his head.

-

“I can assure you it does. I’ve had two before coming here and I’m on my third now. I’m feeling wonderfully buzzed. You should try it,” Raquel said with a playful smile, raising her glass in his direction before taking a sip. His comment caused her to look down at herself, shooting him a suspicious after confirming with herself that it did indeed suck. “Seriously? I didn’t make much of an effort. Thanks, I guess. Who are you supposed to be?”

Nic wasn’t one for dressing up, even more so when the theme was as specific as an 80’s decade dance. Tara practically had to force him into a costume and even then he had opted for one that was a little more low key than some other’s he had seen over the evening. However, now he found himself sheepishly glancing down towards his clothes before giving an exasperated sigh, “you know, i’m the detective from Jessica Rabbit?” The blonde shook his head before crossing his arms against his chest. “It makes more sense when me and my wife are stood together alright?”

@mysticofthefallenstarter​

-

It was no secret that Raquel wasn’t a big fan of Nic’s. Her father’s death wasn’t his fault, as far as she knew, but she always felt like there was something he hadn’t told them. “I don’t get your old man references, sorry. You just look like you’re wearing an ugly suit,” she said with a shrug before taking a sip of her drink. “Whatever.”

Noelle was never one to say no to a party, but she had quickly come to the realisation that without Tara by her side, she wasn’t enjoying herself. With her best friend currently not talking to her she found herself lesser in the party mood than she had hoped. The witch had snuck outside for some air, having pinched one of Jasper’s cigarettes in the process as she attempted to conceal herself outside in the grounds. Just as she was inhaling one last drag, she could hear footsteps approaching and she threw the butt to the gravel, attempting to disperse some of the smoke from the air, before turning towards the other. “Sorry, I didn’t realise anyone else was out here…”

@mysticofthefallenstarter​​

-

“Seriously, you’ve got me wondering who the kid is these days,” Raquel said as she walked out of the manor, catching her mother smoking a cigarette. Most likely one of her dad’s. “Have you decided to pick up father’s disgusting habit?” They hadn’t really talked about him being brought back and that was fine by Rocky. She would go on pretending he was still dead for as long as she humanly could. 

This was a bad idea. No, scratch that. This was, in fact, a terrible idea. Henrik stood seemingly paralyzed at the edge of the walkway that led up to the front steps - gazing in utter awe at the massive mansion and all of its intricate details. Person after person walked by him as they hurried to the Mikaelson’s decades party and from inside, Henrik could hear the pulsating sounds of music he could not recognize. Then again, what music did he really recognize, really?

He swallowed to himself and looked around some. It was remarkable - he recognized some of the landscaping and the woods around the town had brought back so many memories when he passed through them. This had once been his home - his village and now look at the place? It wasn’t as absolutely disorienting as New Orleans had been, but there were still more buildings than he could count and those blasted automobiles buzzing about. Slowly, he took a step towards the mansion and then another - gradually carrying himself to the front doors.

“Hello.” he mumbled quietly and nodded a slight bow in greeting to the person greeting folks as they entered. The interior of the mansion was even more breathtaking than the exterior and Henrik once again found himself standing in awe as people passed him by. ( @mysticofthefallenstarter​ )

-

Any party was a good opportunity to drink and dance her worries away as far as Rocky was concerned and she was already well on her way to tipsy when she stepped foot inside the Mikealson’s event. It was as fancy as she thought it would be, but she was well past caring about being underdressed. She had made a minimal effort as far as her costume was concerned. She stood mostly by herself, watching the crowd when someone came to stand near her. “You know, alcohol tends to help with that feeling out of place thing. I would know, I had the same look ten minutes and two flutes of champagne ago.”

A brow rose for a moment as the girl looked him over, a cocky grin forming against his lips as he reached for his cloak and pulled it on, his tunic and tights still crumpled in a ball by the tree as he gave a soft chuckle. “Cops,” he questioned curiously. It wasn’t until she questioned his method of bathing that brows furrowed and a look of confusion crossed his features. “The 1300s actually,” he retorted as if it were obvious. “Wherever here is, no. I was born and raised in Ireland. I suppose I was- dead that is. I can’t really remember if I’m being honest.”

-

“Yes, cops. You know, the people you call when you find a naked creep bathing in the creek behind your house?” She replied with a hint of amusement, her head tilting to the side slightly. It was now obvious that this guy was one of the people that had been brought back from the dead--brought from way far back even. “Right, so you’re in for a shock. Several actually. First of all, you can’t be seen in those clothes. The tights alone make you look like some kind of muscly Peter Pan. Follow me and I’ll get you... modern attire. Just don’t try anything funny. I bite. Literally.”

Noelle could feel Raquel tensing beneath her touch, and despite how much she hated that, it had been something that she had grown to anticipate. Although her daughter was twenty-one, Noelle’s no magic rule had extended throughout the entire household. It was something she had always expected might not be followed by her oldest daughter and in all honesty, she couldn’t fault her for it, because Noelle hadn’t been entirely forthcoming for her reasons on banning it. But that wasn’t exactly something she was going to admit. “Rocky” she whispered; her tone was defeated as she gradually began to remove her arm from around her daughter’s frame. “Even if I was doing magic, and i’m not admitting anything, but it’d only be for protection purposes. Anyway, which one of us is the mom here?”

-

Raquel loved her mother, would die for her, but she was also pretty mad at her. She wouldn’t even be able to tell you exactly why she was mad, but it had to do with the constant aura of secrecy surrounding her. Being the clever girl that she was (although she would argue that there was nothing subtle about the fact that her mother was keeping secrets), she had realized pretty quickly that her mother didn’t exactly tell her everything. “You are, but I’m also twenty years old and deserving of answers. You say we can’t use magic, but you do it, so I want to know exactly why I shouldn’t.”

Blue hues quickly fell onto the female as she came into view, a charming smile crossing his lips as he waded his way to the bank, stepping out onto the soil. “Well, I profusely apologize miss,” he retorted before a soft laugh left his lips. “I’m afraid I haven’t any clue where I’m at. I didn’t think that breaking into a random strangers home and using their tub would be a good idea. Plus I’m not quite sure where I could possibly boil buckets of water just to fill a tub when there’s a perfectly good beautiful creek here to rinse the dirt from my body.” Brows furrowed for a moment as he contemplated her words, a shake of his head being given. “What is a shower,” Chris questioned curiously.

-

Raquel couldn’t help but get a very thorough look at the man as he came out of the water, water rippling down his very defined muscles. He might be a fucking weirdo, he happened to also be a very hot one. “Hey, I’m no snitch, I’m not going to call the cops on you. My mother might, though,” she told him with a shrug. “Fill a tub with boiling water? Have you never heard of a faucet and running water? Are you from the 1500s?” The hybrid was laughing, thinking she’d just told a really funny joke when his next question caused her to wonder if her joke had been more accurate than she had initially assumed. “You’re not from around here, are you? I heard something about the dead coming back... Were you dead?”

Despite the familiarity of the tone, Noelle couldn’t help but tense given the deliverance of it. She hesitated with her digits flexing around the door handle, apprehensive as to just how much Raquel could of witnessed. Noelle’s eyes closed as she released a slow and steady breath, anticipating whatever mood swing was to come, before reopening her eyes and forcing a smile as she turned herself to face her daughter. “Being followed by my daughter, apparently.” The witch slowly enclosed their distance, laying an arm around her daughters shoulders as she placed a fleeting kiss against her temple, “dare I ask what you’re doing?”

-

Raquel didn’t move an inch when her mother placed a kiss on her temple, her arms limps by her side. Was that really how she was going to play this? Pretend like she hadn’t been doing anything she shouldn’t have been doing? “I haven’t been doing magic, that’s for sure,” the brunette said to her mother. It wasn’t even completely true, but her mom didn’t have to know that. “Which is more than I can say for you apparently.”

Over seven hundred years between the other side and peace, finding himself once again back on Earth amongst the living had come as quite the shock and waking up covered in his own blood mixed with dirt had left him feeling rather uncomfortable as he moved through the trees and stepping out into a small clearing with a creek. The thirst that seemed to have his throat overly dried merely forced his feet forward as he fell to his knees by the water, cupping the water into his hands and slurping at the crystal water before splashing and rubbing at his features. A deep sigh fell from his lips, pushing himself to his feet as he began to peel his cloak and frock from his body, tights quickly following leaving his breeches that came to mid-thigh before moving into the water to clean himself of the blood and dirt. A few moments in the rustling of leaves lifted into the air followed by the personal inner thoughts of another approaching, his gaze moving towards the source. “I apologize if I’m trespassing,” he calls out. “I mean no harm, I just saw the creek and wanted to have a quick rinse.”

@mysticofthefallenstarter​

-

The creek near Rocky’s home was a quiet, peaceful spot where the hybrid often went to think or just get away from her family. With her father being back, some time to figure out her shit seemed more necessary than ever. She needed to stand in the middle of the woods, pissed off, and blow off some steam. Usually that required a lot of destructive magic with a little side of screaming her head off. What she hadn’t predicted was the naked man taking a dip in the creek that most definitely was on her family’s land. “You are. Trespassing, I mean,” she said dryly, leaning against a tree and staring at him from a safe distance. “There are showers for that. Or baths, if you’re into washing yourself in a tub filled with gross, stagnant water.”

Although she couldn’t bring herself to admit it to, Noelle had been tampering with magic to ensure that her family and home were covered by a protection spell. Whilst she was mostly satisfied that no lingering effects of Jasper’s hex remained active, it wasn’t a chance that she was willing to take. Even if this had meant breaking her self enforced ‘no magic’ deal, at least it was able to offer her some peace of mind. 

Having returned to her front door after her secretive attempts to accomplish her spell, she hesitated with her hand upon the door handle, suddenly aware of a presence behind her as she slowly began to turn herself around. 

@mysticofthefallenstarter​

-

It wasn’t often that Rocky caught her mom sneaking around the house, so, of course, she had to quietly follow her around until she figured out exactly what she was up to. Maybe she had a man around, but that seemed unlikely given how hung up she still was over her father. No, this was something else, something witchy as it turned out when she overheard her muttering a spell. She waited until revealing herself, following her all the way to the house’s entrance before Noelle figured out she was caught. “What are you doing?”

“Well if I remember I’ll be sure to let you know.” Dimitri said with a grin as he ducked back beneath the counter, “You don’t work here do you? If not, think you can keep an eye out and let me know if you see anyone else?”

-

“Please do, I’m intrigued and always in the market to learn some new, creative ways to get out of trouble,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t work here, no, and sure. Why not?” She turned her back to him, keeping an eye on the rest of the shop. “So what are you up to exactly?”

The familiar scent that flittered in the air surrounding him forced dark hues to fall shut, a breath hitching in the back of his throat as that small but meaningful name fled the girl’s lips, her voice bringing a pain to his chest that he hadn’t expected to feel as he turned slowly to face the brunette, his gaze reopening and falling upon his oldest daughter’s features, a soft, sad sigh leaving his lips as his digits ached to reach out and pull her into him but forcing himself to refrain unsure if she would even accept an embrace from him or how she was even feeling in that moment. “Rocky,” he managed to breathe out, a pained expression across his features.

-

Raquel was completely frozen where she stood and it seemed like her father was just as hesitant as she was to make the first move. “That’s me,” she said dryly, arms crossing over her chest to make sure he wouldn’t try to wrap his arms around her. She needed answers first and foremost. “You’re back. Does mom know? Did she bring you back?” The thought of her mother doing something like this behind her back enraged her for some reason. Probably because she had come up with that ridiculous no magic rule that Rocky broke every time she could.

Socrates once said that “death may be the greatest human blessing of all” but for Jasper, it had been less a blessing and more a curse. The hex that had been cast upon him making him slowly lose his mind and harm those around him growing stronger and stronger with each passing day until he feared he could no longer safely be around his wife and kids, bringing him to his knees in front of his best friends and pleading with him to show him some mercy and end his suffering, end the fear that he would snap and harm someone he loved more than his own life. Being brought back after two years of peace had brought with it that same never ending fear that the hex was still upon him and that he would cause harm to those around him. Though he felt sane, it didn’t mean he was sane and he found he couldn’t just rely on a feeling. “This is some bullshit,” he hummed to himself, kicking a rock in the direction of the lake that was surrounded by trees. “Un minuto de paz, al lado de vuelta a esta mierda. ¿No puede un hombre tomar un maldito descanso?”

@mysticofthefallenstarter​

-

Whatever Raquel had expected from this day, it wasn’t this. It wasn’t running into her very dead father. Admittedly, most days were pretty shitty as of recently. She spent a lot of time brooding, the rest was spent getting in trouble. This, though? Her dead father hanging out like he didn’t fucking... die? That took the cake, by far. It was almost as bad as overhearing what he said next. “Dad?” She managed to choke out, her voice coming out squeaky and too quiet. It didn’t even feel like it belonged to her. Most people would probably run into their father’s arms, unbearably happy to have someone they cared about so much back, but she just couldn’t. Not when she still felt anger simmering just underneath the surface.

melissa barrera? no, that’s just raquel olivera you know, the twenty-one year old hybrid. who’s been known to be resourceful but explosive. they’ve also been called the catalyst for those exact reasons. i heard that they were one of the survivors who was brought back; but who knows how long that will last once everyone finds out that she resents her father for his sacrifice. 

Dimitri peeked his head over the counter he was crouched behind, “Uh, hi…” He said as he made eye contact with the person on the other side. “I had a really good explanation planned until I saw you there, so can we like, pretend you haven’t seen me and then I can go back to remembering my great explanation.” 

@mysticofthefallenstarter​

-

“I don’t know,” Rocky said with a playful shrug, leaning over the counter to get a better look at what he was doing. She wasn’t sure what she had stumbled upon, but whatever it was might at the very least provide some entertainment. “I’m curious as to what the explanation you had planned is.”