pretty girls

"I have full faith in your upper body strength," Willow told Tessa. "And your leg strength. I, for one, have never done leg day even once in my life, so I'm counting on you." She closed her eyes, relaxing a little as she readied herself for Tessa to make the attempt. And then-

"Right, of course. I shouldn't... Sorry, I'm focused," she said, shaking her head and trying to push her hope to the side. Tessa would do anything to be with Vanessa again. She would do anything to be in the world again, they all would. She gave Willow a nod, bracing herself as she lifted with all her might---

There was a lot about the past, about before the dome that Charlotte tried not think about, because of the weight of her guilt, her grief. And one of the many things was her time at college, only having to worry about her latest class assignment or next shift, hanging out with her roommate. As soon as she saw Tessa staring at her, all those memories rushed back, as much as Charlotte might want to push them away. "Hi," she managed.

Hi. Tessa couldn't even begin to untangle the mess of emotion that was crushing her chest now. There were so many things she'd wished she had differently. Could she have saved Charlotte? Could she have saved Isaiah? If he was still here, how could she be anywhere else? They should have been together. Instead, they were on opposite sides. No matter how close they stood soon, there was a world between them now. And Charlotte had still chosen their side. They were enemies now. Weren't they?

She found herself outside of Franks'. It wasn't that Charlotte necessarily wanted a drink. She just wanted to get out of the manor (like she so often did) and the idea of being alone with her thoughts was not particularly appealing, and Franks' was one of the few options left in town, and having a tequila sunrise wasn't necessarily unappealing. Except that as she stared at the bar, she remembered the last time she had been there, with Ian and Isaiah and...No, she couldn't. She turned away, colliding straight into someone. "Sorry," she managed to get out. "I didn't see...Sorry." @havensdalestarters

Tessa had been around the outskirts of the dome again, time getting away from her as she investigated any visible weaknesses or changes. She could go above or below ground, sure, but she didn't like to push it. Rushing back, she hadn't been paying enough attention when someone else suddenly turned and bumped into her. "Oh, no. It's okay! Don't worry, I-..." whatever she was going to say next was lost on the tip of her tongue.

facelesssnaps:

"It does have a habit of doing that, doesn't it?" Gwen agreed. One final mental once-over, and yes, she was fine, wouldn't even be bruised tomorrow, even if her drink was a complete loss. "If you have any injuries, let me know, and I'll mix you up a little something. Once we get out of here, at least." If they got out of here, that was. But no, Gwen wasn't going to think like that. They were going to get out of here. At Tessa's question, she spun around, her eyes widening. "I, I guess it could have? It didn't feel like any magic I've ever felt."

"We're kept on our toes," to say the least, she thought. Tessa smiled at Gwen's offer, grateful that she was willing to help. "Thank you, Gwen, I really appreciate that. And if you need anything, just let me know." Magical remedies were much preferred to vampire blood, at least, that's what Tessa thought. Maybe there'd one too many bloodline hunters turned vampires, though. She was bias. "It didn't?" Tessa eyed the exit hungrily, thinking of running out into the wolves, and tearing down the barrier herself. "Damn it," she mumbled. "Please remind me that my wife would not be happy if I did something reckless and dangerous right now."

"Noted. I'll make sure to keep a collapsible axe on my person at all times," Willow said, allowing herself to laugh. One needed to keep a sense of humor at times like this, after all. "I think if it moved just a little bit, I would be able to wiggle out. It wouldn't exactly be dignified, but..." It was worth a try, but Tessa's answer was not exactly promising.

Tessa was already sending a message back to HQ to send help. She didn't even have one of Xavier's funky little gadgets on her... "Wiser words have never been spoken," Tessa joked, leaning down beside Willow. "Whatever works. Alright, I can give it a go. I never skip arm or leg day so we might be in enough luck. If not, help is on the way."

Sophia raised an eyebrow at the hunter's latest comment. "The wrong side? Why is it the wrong side? Because it doesn't align with your little ideals and morals?" They wanted to laugh. Sophia could just imagine how the hunter defined things. God, the Resistance could be tiresome. Sophia shrugged. "People die. That's life, darling." It was a cold comment. Sophia knew it, but she was curious to see how the hunter would react.

"Are you serious? There is a damn clear line between right and wrong here. What you've done to this town is-," Tessa started, shaking her head and clenching her fists. There was no point in arguing with a warlock, she knew that. And yet. "You know what..." she said, taking a dangerous step closer, knowing she wasn't a match for her. It didn't make her desire to punch them in the face any less. 'Fox!' Her name came over her ear-piece, crashing her back down to reality. She was needed elsewhere, and her wife - Vanessa Thomson-Fox - would not be happy to know she tried to engage in fisticuffs with a warlock. "Next time," she breathed, promptly forcing herself to turn and run back into the carnage that was Havensdale High that night.

Just the short amount of time that Molly had spent with Tessa...It had helped the vampire more than they had expected, had made them start to feel hopeful about life (if what they were living could even be called life) for the first time in a long time. They still had reservations about physically returning to the Resistance, but it was undeniably tempting. "Your number will be on speed dial, that's for sure." And it wasn't even a lie." At the mention of Faith beating Danny, Molly smiled — a true genuine smile. "You're kidding? How did that even happen? I wish I could have seen that."

Tessa felt her heart squeeze at Molly's words, holding tightly to them and the hope of their return. It was the worst thing in the world that could happen to a bloodline hunter, being turned into a vampire. That's what they were taught. Molly had survived, though. Ruby and Carrie had survived. They were all still here, and that's what mattered. "Oh, yeah. Big time kicked his ass," she grinned, letting out a laugh. "I think it was finally time, you know? All that practice paid off. It's only a matter of time before she's at the big girls table, now."

"Tessa," Alex started, trying to keep up with her walking and talking as best as he could. His simple act of kindness that he thought maybe would occupy 5 minutes of his time suddenly seemed infinitely expanded. He sympathised, however, that this had been an incredibly stressful time for her, with Vanessa still stuck outside despite the ripple that let goddamn Percy through. He remembered their ceremony fondly - how happy they'd all been with the positivity being profoundly thick underground during that period. "I'll happily do whatever I can. Schedules, scouting - the lot. Whatever lets you focus on Vanessa and the dome."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. You know how it is down here, everything's an emergency so nothing is. If I'm not pissing everyone off with how many times I've asked about Vanessa, I'm not doing my day right." She continued to walk, taking files from the pile in Alex's arms and dropping them off when needed.

"A bloodline. I should have guessed. You seem appropriately put together. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a stick up your ass. No offense, of course." At the hunter's question, Sophia felt a flicker of irritation. Sure, all warlocks were, technically, witches once, but that bit of her life had been so long, such a small part of her life that it hardly counted. "I am helping," she said, ignoring the first question. "I'm helping my side."

Tessa knew better than to take the bait. There were more important outlets for her time, she was needed elsewhere. At her response, Tessa felt her jaw clench. There was no reasoning with a warlock. "Yeah? Well, it's the wrong one." Tessa pushed past, unable to ignore the shouts for back-up over her comms. She couldn't help turning back, though, shaking her head as she did. "People are dying. And for what?"

Willow could, of course, have used their magic to move the tree currently pining her to the ground, but given the magical shock wave that had literally just knocked her off her feet, she thought that it was perhaps better not to risk it. No, time for the old fashioned way. Waiting for help. Or at least, someone to stumble across her. Thank goodness that someone was Tessa Thompson.

Tessa let out a laugh at Willow's response, despite the situation at hand. "Carmen was right, a woman should never leave the house without an axe. I should have listened to her." Tessa kneeled down so she could get a better look at both Willow and the fallen tree. This might have been a little beyond her big, strong, arms. "I can call for back-up," she nodded, before gesturing to the tree.

"You think I'd be used to it by now, living here and everything, and yet..." Gwen admitted. At least she hadn't been completely knocked over by the commotion. "No visible injuries. Didn't even hit my head. And you, Tessa?"

"Havensdale still has a few tricks up her sleeve, I think." Tessa nodded as Gwen answered, looking her over again, just in case she'd missed anything. "Thank god, you've got to keep that one on your shoulders for all our sake's. I'm okay, still standing." She paused then, brow furrowing as a hopelessly hopeful thought came to mind. "Gwen... if that was the dome - if that was magic - do you think there's a chance it's come down?"