#group thread

BRIGID: Brigid prided herself on being a ruthless woman -- persistent, but smart enough to know when stubbornness would no longer serve. Willing to take the most direct path from where she stood to where she needed to be. Victoria needed to learn control, so Brigid taught it to her, with the might of her fist and her magic, sparing no expense for the most important lesson she could ever impart on her hybrid offspring. But when that pebble hit her waterlogged chalk mark, Brigid knew her methods were no longer working. Physical pain would not push her daughter past the point of losing control. But when the frazzled blonde head of Aurora Black rushed out of the Manor and into the courtyard to rescue her twitching, downed fiancee, inspiration struck. Victoria lost control in the most dangerous of ways when David was taken from them at the attack. Perhaps Victoria had learned the lesson to blocking out physical pain after two decades; perhaps emotional pain was the trigger Brigid needed to press next. She watched; she waited. Her daughter's concern when Aurora Black went 'missing' under Aemilia's supervision. The way she moved her fiancee into her own room after the fact. The smug look on Aurora Black's face not long after the full moon. Victoria had a weakness. On a cool, but sunny day, Brigid prepared herself, gathered her will and her plan and made her rounds about the Manor to find one Aurora Black. She pasted a polite smile on her cheeks. "Miss Black. It's a fine day and there are some things we should discuss. Would you mind taking a walk with me?"

AURORA: She's been having an overall good morning, done a round of her usual: shower, morning tea, breakfast. Now she's sitting in the living room, reading (she's been doing a lot of reading nowadays), while Victoria was off training like she did almost every morning. Its eerily quiet in the manor, which she assumes means most of the wolves have been keeping themselves in check lately and with no arguments in her pocket in the last 72 hours, she feels as though she can finally breathe. Or maybe it has something to do with her rapidly growing feelings for Victoria. Either way, she's still surprised, when Brigid finds her, and with a smile on her face nonetheless. It makes her instantly wary, especially after their last conversation, but she's stuck within a wall and a hard place -- she couldn't say no to her, as a coven leader and her soon to be mother-in-law. She puts her book down, trying her best to offer Brigid a smile in return. No one could ever put Aurora on edge more than Brigid Devereaux. "--- Sure. Of course. What do we need to discuss?"

BRIGID: The tight smile she receives makes Brigid's only curl higher. "I was hoping to discuss things between you and Victoria. Your coming nuptials. Family matters. Once we're little more private, of course. Walk with me?" Turning on her heel and heading toward the door, she gives Aurora little option but to follow or be left behind.

AURORA: She scurries towards Brigid the second she turns towards the door, not wanting to be left behind. The last thing she needed was for Brigid Devereaux to consider her an unlikely match for Victoria after everything they worked towards. She has to pick up her pace, but finally, falls in line with her as they walk outside. "My mother has yet to set a date for the wedding. But I am more than willing to go through with the arrangement Madam Devereaux. I had been hesitant at first but I've come to... Care about your daughter and I think we make a solid alliance together. At least, as far as I can tell".

BRIGID: "I'm quite aware of that, Miss Black," Brigid replies, leading the way down the path toward the old barn. "In fact, the alliance between you and my daughter is exactly what I was hoping to discuss." Her smile stays with the truth of her words. "You see, I believe Victoria has come to care about you a great deal, as well. In a way we do not tend to openly recognize in our family, but one that I see in her quite plainly all the same. Would you concur, Miss Black --- Aurora?"

AURORA: There's something about Brigid's question that makes her wary, but she's still inclined to answer it. She's still unsure where they're headed, but she recognizes the path they're on; Aurora draws some distance between them, just a cautious step to the side, a subtle flight response, but not enough to make her want to bolt. "Y-Yes?" It sounds like a question, she stutters over the word. "I care about her too. Isn't that what our union was supposed to be about? What good is it for if there's no loyalty anywhere?"

BRIGID: "I'm not asking to scold you for feeling for her," Brigid says, keeping her steps even as Aurora works smoothly to increase their distance. She doesn't seek to follow her. "In fact, I'm counting on them." She doesn't hesitate. The heel of her palm connects hard with the soft indent at Aurora's temple. As soon as the younger witch stumbles, Brigid's magic reaches out hot and fast to catch her, bind her limbs, support her weight as she drags the blonde Black the last few feet to the barn's open, waiting door. Brigid drops the girl graceless at the first set of shackles. Working quick, she secures the heavy iron over her fists first, then her ankles. As she stands and straightens her clothes, she runs her fingers over a vial of ash sitting waiting in her pocket. "Victoria will be joining us soon," she says, uncaring if the half-unconscious Aurora can actually hear her. "Then we will see how deeply her weakness truly runs."February 16, 202

VICTORIA: She'd gotten her mother's message, to meet in the barn. Victoria assumed there'd be some kind of training or perhaps a wolf to be punished that her mother needed help with. She didn't ask many questions. Just headed there at the proper time, once her training was finished and things were settled. Stepping inside the barn, a feeling rose in Victoria's gut, something sinking and odd and off centered. She turned, to see her mother and behind her Aurora, disoriented and chained, close to the wall she sat by in the strong, wolf shackles. "Aurora?" Victoria's eyes went wide and she looked from her fiancee to her mother. "Mom, what's --  Why is she in here?"

BRIGID: "She's here to help with your training," Brigid says simply, magic prickling at her fingertips as she reaches into her pocket to withdraw a small burlap sachet of dried herbs. "Let's make sure she's ready to join us, hmm?" Holding the sachet under Aurora's nose, Brigid's fist crumples, crushing the pungent herbs under the friction of her palm to wake the younger woman.

AURORA: It startled her awake, the strong smell of herbs Aurora thinks she’s familiar with, and she gasps as she returns from her forced sleep. She’s met with a strange sight; her fiancé across from her, looking perplexed, Brigid hovering close, and shackles around her wrists, that she attempts to pull unsuccessfully. “Victoria?” She groans. “What is happening?” It occurs to her that she’s trap, and that this can’t be good, so this time she tries magic to let her out of her shackles, and when nothing happens and she thrashes harder against the chains, she notices the ring around her on the ground. Ash. “What the hell is wrong with you? Let me go!”

BRIGID: She waits while the blonde realizes her predicament, while her daughter watches and Aurora makes demands. Once she is finished, Brigid crosses the room the a low wooden shelf, retrieves a piece of chalk, leather gloves and a small glass vial. She draws an X the size of a walnut on the barn's thick, worn stone wall before she returns to Aurora's side, donning the gloves and unstoppering the bottle. "I believe you know the rules," she tells her daughter. "There is a scarf on the shelf behind you. Stand against the opposite wall and hit the target." She looks down at Aurora, considers her for a moment before she says, "hold out your hand, Miss Black. You will be Victoria's motivation."

VICTORIA: Victoria's eyes travel fast, from her barely conscious girlfriend to her mother. She's watching, almost frozen. Her whole body preparing for fight when Aurora wakes up in shock and panic, furious and terrified. "Mom..." At first she starts as though she intends to be reasonable, but then she steps forward, closer to her mother and Aurora like she might get between them. Victoria doesn't even look toward the shelf or the blindfold or the game. "Get away from her." A fireball ignites in her hand. "Mom, I'm not doing this."(edited)

BRIGID: Brigid shakes her head in disappointment as fire swirls over Victoria's palm. "Truly, Victoria? You lose your control this easily?" Her boot flattens on the chain at Aurora's wrist, pinning it tight. With one gloved hand, she pulls her sleeve back and grips her arm tight at elbow. With the other, she tips the glass bottle at a slight angle, letting a slow drip of himalayan salt water drip from the opening. Drip. Drip. Drip. The drops track down Aurora's forearm as Brigid keeps her gaze on her daughter. "Begin, Victoria."

AURORA: She can tell what's about to happen. Its a test, just like the one Brigid had put Victoria up to in the forest the day she had found her not far from the property, except this time, Brigid takes it a step further by putting her in the line of fire. She's stronger, stronger than Aurora and without her magic, she can't push her away when she pins her wrist between her fingers. She tries to jerk away. "What are you doing?" And she knows, immediately when she sees the water drip from the water and onto her skin. "Victoria don--". The burn is like a hot iron cast against her arm, leaving a scarce trail of vapor as it leaves her skin aching. Aurora's breath catches in her throat and her fingers twitch from the pain. She tries to hold it in, for Victoria's sake, but the screech comes out through her teeth.

VICTORIA: "Mom, no! " It comes out fast, sharp, entirely sudden and loud and completely not in the control Brigid wants. Victoria doesn't hesitate either. She doesn't begin. She doesn't play along. She hears the pained sound Aurora makes and releases the fireball she holds without a second of further hesitation, aimed square for Brigid's chest. "I said get away from her."

BRIGID: Releasing the vial from her grip, Brigid brings her palms up, swiping fast and hard to the side to dismiss her daughter's fierce fireball. Disappointment and fury war in the boiling rumble of her bloodstream, her snarl turned toward Victoria. "How dare you ----- " With one foot swiping at the ash, her magic reaches out, slipping into the circle before Aurora has a chance to reach out. With the heat of her anger, she sends a strong shockwave along Aurora's limbs, a prolonged shock of the jolts she'd sent Victoria before, and watches as the helpless blonde that her daughter has come to care for so much, has become so weak over, twitches and writhes where she's bound.

VICTORIA: Neither she or her mother could have known that that was going to be Brigid's last chance. But the moment that Victoria sees her mother's magic shock Aurora, her whole body spirals into a fury. Faster than before, harder than before. The rhythms of the universe in complete discord instead of her usual balance with them. It's messy, when she throws a small shock her own at her mother, and then another ball of fire, clearing the distance between them in seconds before she takes Brigid by the shoulders and all but throws her to the ground, separating the magical grip she has on Aurora and landing on top of her in one motion, not remotely fluid or graceful but animal, furious, filled with fire and anger that comes from the darkest parts of Victoria's eyes. She can only remember being this mad one other time and even then it's a blur. It's a blur now. A knee lands in Brigid's ribs, Victoria hits her, hard in the face, landing her other elbow against Brigid's throat. "How dare I?" It barely sounds like her voice. "How dare you. She's my fiancee. She's innocent she's an original witch, She's mine -- " Victoria doesn't know what she was going to say but all she can feel is rage and that boils over, guttural and furious. She holds her arm against her mother's throat even harder, hits her again, but this time with magic in her fist. "Of course I'm weak. Of course I"m out of control. I've always been out of control! That's why you hate me so much, isn't it?" Everything pours out of her and Victoria can't even see anymore. She grabs Brigid by her shoulders, slams the back of her against the floor again. "I'm not you. I'm never going to be you and I'm -- I never want to be you. Because she's -- I love her. And you're a monster!"

DERRICK: Its a strange thing, to feel something when the witch you're bonded to does; its never the same. Sadness doesn't translate to sadness, excitement doesn't translate to excitement, and fury certainly doesn't either. Its something, a feeling of dread, that something is wrong. She'd told him not to intervene; when she was with her mother he didn't have to step in, but there's something different about this, something that makes him stand from his outpost, leaving another one of the wolves in charge. He can't help it, he doesn't even know where Victoria is but suddenly he's running straight towards the barn, faster, and faster, and faster -- he breaks the branches as he swiftly makes his way through. They break his skin but not enough to hurt. Until he's there, until he swings the barn doors open as hard as he can and he sees it. Aurora Black motionless against the chains, looking like she's trying to gasp for air, and Victoria carrying animalistic fury, on top of her mother. I love her and you're a monster! It takes him a second to understand what had just happened. "Victoria!" It might be the first time he's used her name without a title in front of Brigid Devereaux, but there's no time to apologize. "Stop, stop! You're going to kill her!" That's when he grabs her by the waist, pulls Victoria off her mother with all his strength, keeping a steady grip on her. It would take an inhuman amount of strength to get out of it. Derrick pulls her back, drags her until he creates safe distance between them. He watches Aurora look up from the veil of her hair, her body trembles; he thinks she's crying, but he can't tell from this distance. "What the hell is going on here?"

BRIGID: Her face throbs. Her neck feels pinched, too tight, and her chest burns for air. She'd swear on her death bed that she had seen it, that hint of gold, that's wolf's touch in her daughter's eyes and when Brigid is able to push herself up to sitting, her lungs gasping to catch a breath, she isn't able to hide the fact that her fingers are trembling. "----Get them both to the house," she manages, through her words are harsh, each vibration rasping over the chords in her throat. She tries to clear it, almost winces, swallows instead and tastes the blood pooling in her cheek spread thick and heavy over the back of her tongue. "No one sees them," she adds, forcing out the words. "Now."

ELIAS: When dusk settled on Carden Manor, Elias was waiting near the treeline behind the barn. “Alright, you made it,” he said, excitement lifting his voice as he saw a familiar blonde head approaching. “Come on, come on, let’s not keep everybody waiting.”

PRESLEY: Presley did as instructed, meeting Elias by the treeline when the sun started to set. Her sentry shift had been that morning, so she wouldn’t have another so soon. No one would need her, and while she doubted training with Elias was her ideal way of training, some part of her was itching with curiosity and the vague sense that maybe she wasn’t the new kid anymore. And that that meant something. So she showed up, leather jacket over her usual t-shirt, boots heavy in the soft grass and stood with as much determined authority in front of Elias as she could muster. “Course I made it,” she answered almost immediately, and followed his lead into the woods.

ELIAS: The clearing wasn't far into the woods, but just enough that the darkness and underbrush began to strain even at Elias' heightened wolf eye sight. He hummed happily to himself as he led the way, listening to the sound of Presley's boot steps as she followed behind him. "Just up in this clearing, Pelvis," he said, calling over his shoulder. "You're the star of the show tonight. Our first featured guest, if you will."

PRESLEY: Elias's words immediately told Presley that this was a bad idea. But by then, they were far enough out that she was already committed. Anything that involved that particular tone of Elias's didn't suggest that maybe she was going to really get a chance to prove herself. But she followed anyway, setting her jaw tight and her shoulders straight and determined until they neared a clearing. Eden was there. Kyle, Ronan. Presley eyed all of them and then looked to Elias. "What are we doing here?"

EDEN: Eden had received a message that they were having a new pack meeting, which typically tended to mean that Boys Club were going to drink and wax weirdly homoerotic poetic about justice and vengeance until they either started fucking or punching each other. Sometimes it was both. Eden tended to leave after the first half when she gave her rundown of everything that had been going on and what still needed to be accomplished, not particularly keen on whatever bonding slash mating ritual the others had in mind. She was standing in the woods, in the dark, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for Elias to show up 'fashionably late' so they could get this all over with. And then suddenly there was Presley. Their eyes met for a brief moment, a flicker of confusion and fear going through Eden's before she shut her features down completely. "Worthy question, Elias. Is this supposed to be some kind of wolf camp?

KYLE: Kyle threw his arm around Eden's shoulder and grinned. "Just adding to our ranks, I'm sure. Lil' P is basically the most senior wolf here aside from ourselves, right Elias? It's high time she joined our club."

ELIAS: Elias' gaze flicked over the lot of them, grin rounding out his cheeks at Kyle's words. "She sure is," he said, reaching out to clap Presley roughly about the shoulder. "That's why we've invited her to the first round of our new training program, now that we're here at Carden Manor. It's a one on one match, that lasts until someone yells stop, taps out, or goes limp." He looks from Presley to Kyle. "Since it's your first night, Satnin, you're gonna fight. Against Kyle." His grin spread wide.

PRESLEY: Presley looked around, from Elias to Eden, who also seemed to not know what was going on, and then to Kyle. To Ronan, grinning like he was in on some kind of secret. And then she heard the task, looking up at Elias with pursed lips and a deep slow inhale as she lifted her chin about as high as she dared. "Okay." The answer came out even. Determined. Not riddled with the thousand questions she had about why her and why now and what the rules were. She tugged the zipper down on her jacket, and discarded it on the ground, shooting just one more look at Eden and then Kyle.

EDEN: Eden dug her fingers into her arms as Elias spoke, not allowing any of her frustration to show in any way the others would notice. This was bullshit, Elias was posturing and using Presley as an example because he apparently had a schoolyard bully vendetta against her, but there was nothing that Eden could do. If she spoke up in Presley's defense everything would just be worse for her and everyone would question her own alliance. Meeting Presley's eyes one more time, she tried to convey fear and apologies, but she said nothing and dared not move.

KYLE: Kyle cracked his knuckles and moved forward. "I want you all to know that it's an honor just to be nominated, I hope to make you proud," he quipped, a grin crossing his face as he took his stance. His knuckles carried at least as many scars as his back, a history of fighting written in tiny white lines. "Tell me, Pres, if you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted would you capture it? Or just let it slip?"

PRESLEY It's there, on Eden's face. More confirmation that she hadn't known what was going to happen. Not that Presley would have had much to say about it if she had. In a way, they were still letting her in, still giving her a chance. And she had every plan to take it. Even when Kyle's being obnoxious -- especially when Kyle's being obnoxious. The grin on his face is all it takes. Presley doesn't wait for a go ahead or for Elias to get further involved. She takes this one for herself. And in some way, for Eden to. To show her she's not afraid, or going to let them make a mockery of her. She takes one step forward, pulls her hand back with the perfect fist her brother had taught her years ago, and lands it square against Kyle's jaw. It might be the only hit she'll get in. But it's worth it the second she feels his face knock against her knuckles.

KYLE:  Her fist cracked across his jaw and he couldn't help but grin again. He rocked back on his heel, then lunged forward, swinging low to slam his fist into her exposed ribs. "Not bad, Buffy, not bad."

PRESLEY: Presley could have anticipated this fight wasn't going to go her way. She'd gotten in her hit but beyond that, once he was expecting it, Kyle was at least a head taller than her, with longer arms and bigger hands. His fist hit her ribs and nearly knocked her into the air, taking her wind with it. Presley doubled over a little, one hand on her knee and looked up. "Buffy was stronger than the average werewolf." And then she swung again, this time low from where she was crouched and into his side.(edited)

KYLE: He dropped his shoulder, moving with her punch to lessen the blow. Dancing on the balls of his feet, he reveled in the feeling of adrenaline flowing in his veins. He took advantage of the fact that she was crouched and brought his knee up to slam under her chin.

PRESLEY: She figured it was mostly in vein, swinging at Kyle but it felt satisfying anyway. Until some part of him connected under her chin and Presley felt her teeth clash together and her had knock backward, fast enough to give her whip lash and knock her straight onto her own back. She sees stars for a second, but splits a glob of blood out of her mouth into the dirt.

KYLE: "You know, they say you're not supposed to kick a person when they're down, but..." He trails off, swinging his leg back and kicking her in the stomach. "No hunter's going to follow that rule so we shouldn't either, right?" Staring down at her he rolls his eyes. "Oh, c'mon, get up. It can't be that easy to take you out." He kicks her again. "You wanna die? GET UP!"

PRESLEY: Presley should have seen the blow coming, the kick to her abdomen so hard it takes her breath again. It's a lot like before, like years ago when it had been all three of them, and there'd been that spinning feeling, and the taste of blood and no wind in her chest. Only this time, she can fight. She knows how. And they're telling her to. There's one of them and one of her. So Presley takes Kyle's words, forces herself to hear them and gets back to her feet, at first as though she's going to do so slowly. But then, she runs forward instead of standing up straight, shoulders lined straight into Kyle's hips with all the strength she has in her body, backed by the sound of a true, angry, determined growl, toppling them both over to the ground.

KYLE: He wasn't expecting her to charge him, he has to give her that. Being knocked back on his ass wasn't part of the plan but he could work with it. He grabbed her arms, flipping them over so she was on her back instead and he was over her. "Not your best move, guitar hero," he growled, slamming his fist into her face, followed quickly by the other into her ribs in the same spot where he'd kicked her.

PRESLEY: It worked. It worked in doing exactly what Presley wanted to do which was to feel like she was at least going to go down swinging, that she'd try, that she could hold her own, knock Kyle down. He swung her over easily, got one up on her and drove his fist straight into her face, which was enough to make her whole head spin for a second, the taste of blood strong in her mouth and nose again. That was when the panic started in her chest, the fight or flight instinct and she shoved her hands against his chest, like she could push him off, speaking through her ground down teeth. "Get-- off me."(edited)

KLYE: "Make me," he snapped, shifting his weight so that he was putting more on her bad leg. His hand wrapped around her neck, cutting off her airway just for the satisfaction of watching her face redden and her eyes bulge.

EDEN: Eden couldn't stand to watch anymore, not with Presley still working on her martyr complex and obviously not willing to back down. Elias wasn't doing a damn thing, didn't seem to mind if Kyle killed her, and she finally had a reason to intervene that wouldn't blow her cover. Her voice rang out like a bell, sharp and clear and brooking no nonsense as she stepped forward and grabbed Kyle by a fistful of his hair. "Enough! Let her go or I WILL make you. Now."

KYLE: Kyle grunted as Eden pulled him back by his hair. "You know, E, she's the one who's supposed to tap out," he grumbled. Still, he got up, leaving Presley on the ground. As he stood, he intentionally let his foot catch her injured knee, twisting it slightly.

EDEN: Eden tugged on Kyle's hair as she pulled him back, wrenching his neck a little as she did so. "You're the one who isn't supposed to kill her, idiot. What's the point of any of this if all we get out of it is dead wolves?" Pushing him away from her as he stood, she looked down at Presley with concern, as quickly as she could, before crossing her arms again and looking at Elias. "So? What was the point of that? Did she make the cheer squad, coach?"February 14, 2020

ELIAS: Elias watched the fight with rapt attention, his eyes darting from Presley to Kyle and back again as they traded blows. His brows lifted in (almost) impressed surprised when she tackled him to the ground; he chuckled lowly at the rumbled taunt of 'guitar hero.' His eyes rolled when Eden intervened, arms crossing as he stepped further into the center of the clearing. He should have known she'd be the one to say they were going 'too far,' as though any hunter wouldn't go all the way. Just because it was fun didn't mean it wasn't also good practice. "He's not going to kill her," he said, eyes hard as he looked at Eden, then Kyle in turn. "The point is that Presley here is better than she used to be." A compliment that rolls strangely off the tongue, but true nonetheless. "She knows she can fight back now. But she still doesn't know her limits." He raised his brows at the bruised, bloodied blonde. "You knew he would taunt you, and you let him goad you. I gave you clear rules. You should have tapped out."

PRESLEY: Presley had her hands wrapped around Kyle's grip on her throat, at his wrists. Her knee was nearly on fire under his weight and her head was throbbing. But she wanted to fight. She wanted to keep fighting. To get out, to prove she could. Eden's voice rang in her head, telling her to tap out when she needed to, not to push to not be stupid. And this felt particularly stupid. Eden seemed to be having the same debate in real time because in seconds she swooped in, stopping Kyle until he got up. Presley nearly cried out, a pained sound as his foot caught her knee, and she grit her teeth down, curling in on herself just enough to one side that when Elias finally spoke, she was doing her best to stand again. Presley felt woozy. Her head spinning, chest heaving, leg barely willing to stand beneath her. But she stood nonetheless. As Elias scolded her for not stopping. "For what?" She breathed out, with a little more confidence than she normally had, "so you could all spend the next five years telling me I can't take it? No." She pressed her teeth into her lip, shook her head, and reached gingerly for her jacket on the ground, trying her best not to move her ribs on the way. "Can I go now?"