beware one who is not what she seems.

“You can’t just change the entire scheduling structure.” A public phone call argument wasn’t what Jordyn expected for her morning; in fact it was something she tried to avoid. But her job and her safety was on the line. “You’re really not going to put in the little bit of effort to get passes for YOUR employees? It’s not that hard. You can’t just expect the humans to take all the night shifts. We’re understaffed as it is and it’s not like-“ Her words cut off by the tone of the call being disconnected, she let out a frustrated groan before shoving her phone in her pocket. “Ridiculous” she muttered as she flopped down onto the park bench.

Nova sighed as she sat in the Balcony in her dress. She was stuck there until the end of the week for reasons that even elluded her. While she understood her responisbilites, even she felt this was a bit much. The heiress presumed her standing until she saw a person from down below, maybe this can be an oppurtunity to escape.

"Yoohoo." Nova said at the person. "Do you mind giving a lady some help?"

Hearing a voice call out to her, she looked up to see Nova. "This really seems like a job for a prince," Marni muttered, voice more monotone than the quip was supposed to imply she felt. "But I left mine with his mother, so I guess we are doing this ourselves. Do you know where they keep the ladders?"

Oliver had been furiously ranting, probably for about an hour now, stomping back and forth in the yard, tossing the odd tool here and there and driving his sneaker into scrap metal and sending that hurtling through the air. "And another fuckin' thing—" but he didn't finish that train of thought, instead he realised what a selfish ass he was being as he clocked the gaze of his best friend and sighed with exasperation before slumping down into one of the lawn chairs beside her. "Fuck. M'sorry. Are you alright?" Plucking a box of smokes from his jacket, he took one himself before tossing them to Bel. "This ain't over. It can't be. Cus this shit, it can't be our lives. Can't be our kids lives."

"Here comes all the bitching," Iggy muses, amusement evident against his features. "Never really cared for politics or rules really. I'd like to see 'em try and stop all of us from livin' our lives how we want to."

Lysander was still awaiting the call from Katherine. It was better to stay in the woods until he got some type of answer. That's how Lysander was regardless, until his master called, he would be in the woods. Lysander was cleaning the abandoned cabin to make his home. It wasn't against the rules seeing as it was abandoned. He even waited. So as he took out a break he noticed something beautiful.

"Is that a mighty steed?" Lysander couldn't help but ask aloud as he reached to pet the equine. "Greetings mighty steed I am Lysander. Would you like to accompany me on my journey?" Even though the steed didn't talk it he took the neigh as a yes. "Excellent you shall be crowned Astolfo the second."

The fae paused when he heard a sound. He turned slowly.

"Hark thy stranger. What are ye doing tresspassing on my land."

"May Astolfo the second fare better than Astolfo the first," Zeraphine mused as he turned to face her. She hadn't intended to be stealthy, so she wasn't surprised he'd heard her.

"I have no interest in your land, you are welcome to it," she stated, arms crossed as she stood before him with disapproving gaze. "You have brought shame upon yourself for your behavior toward the children. But--how does that go?--I'm not mad, I'm disappointed."

It was everything Jackson could do not to turn right there in the middle of the Mikaelson compound. He was grateful that he and Hayley had taken the time to change earlier or the suit might have been the final thing to push him over the edge. So long as there was a ward in place, so long as harm couldn't be done to him, he was damn sure going to speak his piece. He slid through the crowd like a knife through butter, approaching Klaus and the woman who'd spoken - whose name he'd only learned that very night.

"Evenin', Ma'am," Jackson overdid his drawl to a huge degree. "Jackson Kenner - Crescent rep for your new Council. I was just wonderin' exactly how big and how brass your balls must be. I just spent a year in an underground cell while your flunkies did a good job of trying to torture me outta my head, and I come back to you naming me to your council. Is that an apology? Or are we just pretendin' I didn't kill four of your people on my way out? Just curious. If y'all can explain it to a hick like myself, I'd appreciate it."

"I know who you are," Laine returned the greeting, "I did my homework. If balls got things done, I wouldn't be here. As it turns out, pussy's tougher. Your kind has been killing humans for centuries, so less apology and more truce. Like I said, we all want evil eliminated, so what better way to do that than together? Klaus will oversee the council, so you don't have to worry about that. The OEA is welcoming your feedback and your contributions to our initiative to eradicate the malevolent. Sorry, were those words too big? Let's try it more simply: Help us, we help you. Everybody wins. Make problems, we kill you. Nobody wins. Does that clear things up?"

His chest tightened at the mention of the prison world and his brow creased as he shook his head “– not all of em’ are psychos, remember?” His prompting was gentle and he understood that there was a line. “Marni’s havin’ a real tough time tonight. I don’t know how to help. I just – wanna make this go away, you know? She’s always been so good at doin’ that for me, so why can’t I fix this? Why don’t I know how?” Listening to his mothers advice, he nodded and he knew that she was speaking sense, but he couldn’t help but add “Briggs’ uncle wouldn’t do anythin’ to screw him over and Briggs sure as shit wouldn’t do anythin’ to screw me over. We’re alright, ma. I swear. I ain’t lettin’ anything happen to you. Not again. I’m gonna keep you safe. You and Marni.”

Laughter eased from his lips, his nose wrinkling as he joked "crescent edge might just be enough to kill a Mikaelson” but he was sure to keep his voice low, “or at least knock one out cold. If the edge don’t, the potato vodka will.” There was another glimmer of a smile and Abel nudged his mom’s arm with his elbow, “we’ll have our own crescent party, just for you; like old times.” Bel had missed out on so much of her life, he wouldn't see her missing out on another second. OEA be damned. Releasing a steady breath now, he shrugged the tension from his shoulders “if bein’ human makes me an asshole then yeah guess I am” he murmured, lowering his head before muttering a soft apology. “I'm sorry“ he wasn’t one for self loathing and he wasn’t about to start now. Lifting his gaze he glanced towards his mom with an encouraged smile, “you’re crazy smart, you know that?” and his eyes softened, “I love you, mom. I mean it though, you are crazy smart.” He could sense the shift before her expression had given her away and he felt guilty for having brought it up. She was always so gentle with him, her love truly was everything. And as a child, even though she wasn’t with him, she had loved him so intensely, so well that in so many ways, she was always there. “It don’t matter– she was angry an’ we both said some hurtful shit. I spent a lot of time making excuses for dad. Guess over time I just did more harm than good. I always thought I was doing it for them, but maybe she's right, maybe it was just to make me feel better.” He inhaled a shaky breath, before forcing his composure as his gaze held onto his mothers, the relief clear from his expression, “i’m real lucky. Bein’ your kid, i’m the luckiest there is. I’ve always known that.”

She knew the blanket statement was unfair, but she did see them all as culpable to some degree. "I remember," she assured, having taken her issue with his girlfriend's involvement but it had become easier in the last year to see puppet from puppeteer. Yet, the burden his devotion left on his shoulders had still not settled well. "This healing has to be her own," she explained, though it would not be the answer he wanted, "there will always be things you cannot fix for other people. I know you wish you could. You've always been a fixer. Love is wonderful, and it helps, it supports, it's endlessly patient. It doesn't make wounds go away. She didn't make everything go away for you either, though it might feel like it when you're focused on taking care of her. Those are battles you support each other through, but have to fight yourselves." She knew he'd defend his friend and by extension, his friend's uncle, and the loyalty to his self-made pack brought a renewed smile. "I don't know that I trust what Klaus is gonna do, but I do believe Briggs wouldn't screw you over." Bringing her hand to her son's face, she met his gaze, "it's my turn to take care of you now, kiddo. Time for you to get a deep breath. You might be an adult now, but I'm still your mother. Let the weight of the world go. Maybe Klaus, as looney as he is, has an idea. The kids aren't going to be at the forefront of the battle this time."

The thought of the Mikaelsons at a Crescent party was an image. "They'd be knocked on their asses, something I'd actually like to see," she joked. Hey, they judged her as trailer trash, so she could take a little joy in those elitists making fools of themselves in the bayou. "Like old times, I do like how that sounds." Her smile was quick to falter at his self-deprecating comment, a signal she'd not be listening to that nonsense. "Siblings say shit they don't mean," she reminded him, "especially when they fight. It doesn't make any of it true." There was a softer smile as he mentioned her being smart, "I think we gotta thank the prison library and daytime television for that." It was a sad thing to have lost all those years, but it didn't have to be a sad thing. Things only had the power you gave them. Right now, she had her child back within reaching distance, sharing in his problems, reminding him how much he was loved. That was all she needed. From the second she had that positive test in her hand, she knew she'd found her greatest peace in this life. "I love you, sweet boy." Finally fixing his hair if he wasn't going to do it, she shook her head. "It does matter. You're gonna have to apologize and so is she. You did it for them, and I know that because you're doing the same thing for Marni. You've put all the padding down so she never has to hit the ground too hard. I'm sure it made you feel better, gave you a sense of stability you could control--which should have been your dad's job. I think both things can be true, and neither have to be bad. You were dealt a pretty shitty hand by this life between your dad and me, and you did your best with what you knew. You're a kid, even now, at 25, technically an adult, you're still a kid." She didn't always feel like having her for a mother made her kid lucky, but her heart filled to the brim to hear him say it. "I'm the lucky one, I got you. I'm so proud of you, I will always be proud of you. We're gonna have fun tonight, alright? We're partying on the Mikaelson dime, I think that means go nuts."