The Ivy

Huffing and running a hand through pink hair only to tighten up her ponytail, Aurea nodded. It takes her a second for everything to kind of sink in and she finds herself grinning at Virgil. "Yeah, yeah I am." Max hadn't been easy, he'd put up a good effort and she appreciated that. "And I'm gonna try to kick his ass." Before, when she'd mentioned throwing a hand in the ring for Alpha, she hadn't thought about the concept of winning. She had something to prove to herself and maybe everyone else, too. But after that, she can't say she's not thinking further ahead now.

If that draegloth hurt his sister, it'd be over for him, but Nash would have to manage it first. It was dangerous, but everything they did was difficult; Virgil had spent too long thinking he needed to protect Eoin and Aurea, but here they were, proving him wrong left and right. This wasn't going to be the end because Aurea was too fucking stubborn to die, too fucking determined for a lot of things but death was definitely top of the list. Virgil shoved her at her shoulder. "Why do fish do so damn bad in school?" He smiled, "Because they swim below C level." Virgil's snicker was light but still beaming. "Your mom would be proud of you, Aurea. I'm proud of you."

That wasn't why he had come here at all. Of course there'd been no real reason to come here in the first place, but it really hadn't been to just say some lame ass hello. When the hell had Virgil ever just been some guy he said hello to? No, the witch was his closest friend, the person he'd known the longest and...he'd have to somehow accept the fact that there was so much more than friendship he ever wanted. He didn't really have a problem with the concept, but he just pictured all the times where he'd thought he just wasn't supposed to be that way. Even the way he thought about it just sounded strange. Wasn't he supposed to just think about his happiness? That was what his mother had wanted from him, wasn't it? Now he was over here flipping thoughts in his head like they were flapjacks. A sigh left his mouth as he looked at Virgil again.

Sonny wasn't making a lot of sense; the druid was more or less speaking in half sentences and incomplete thoughts as he paced and looked anywhere but Virgil. The witch knew who he was, sovereign, brother, son, leader, and so much more. What they had - what they'd been, Virgil didn't know what they were but friends didn't seem to quite cover it. The sovereign didn't have many of those to start with, but at least Sonny laughed at his jokes, and when push came to shove, he'd have the other's back. That wasn't just about Octavian.

Sonny looked down at himself and then back at Virgil. Right, he had been jogging before this impromptu visit. He usually let the witch know if he was coming over, but he'd been all in his thoughts and very deep in his feelings and now here he was with no idea how to even respond to what the other was saying. Well, he could probably start with the fact that he had very much been jogging. Hence the sweat. But he always did that when he needed to clear his mind. This time, it definitely hadn't helped at all. Yeah, he could probably start with the fact that he'd been jogging, but that wasn't the only reason he was here. He thought, at least. In actuality, there were so many reasons why he was here that he didn't really have a way to explain. Instead of saying anything immediately, he just grabbed the glass of water from Virgil and downed it immediately. Fuck, that didn't help.

Over a decade ago maybe Virgil would've been sitting there in front of Sonny hoping that the druid was going to say something else. He was a witch, putting some stock in fate and some stock in ambition was the only way to go. Virgil believed that a person made their own destiny; thoughts became words and words became actions, that was what made a person's character. Virgil had been handed the world on a silver platter so it came down to what he was going to do with the legacy that he'd inherited. The choices he made, the deals he struck, and the people that he let into his life. In some ways, Sonny was part of that, and in some ways, the other man just wasn't; the two of them had a history but in times like this, that's all it was. Ancient history that the friends just didn't talk about.

closed starter for @virgilmoretti location: ivy hotel note: kiss kiss fall in love

The doorman had been letting Sonny in as often as he wanted since the other had been back in town, so when the private elevator hummed to life Virgil knew it was either Octavian, Eoin, Tripp, Sonny, or Aurea, and that first option wasn't allowed in the city which only left the other three. The sovereign carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, everything he did had to be thoughtful, meticulous, and well-planned. Especially now. Eoin, Tripp, and Aurea were more involved than ever and Octavian had sworn himself to the Ivy's side; his whole life this had been bigger than him, and his whole life he'd felt that pressure bearing down on him. It didn't leave much room for a personal life because the family and the business were more important than how he happened to be feeling when he woke up day by day.

I worry about you so much now. The fork has to go into her mouth to keep her from blurting the sentiment because she can't help the amounting anxiety she feels. It was all over, they'd won, the Ivy was always a coven that was strong, a pillar. Now she worried that the higher up they were, the longer the way down was going to be. "Are you okay with all of this?" Is what Aurea asks instead, shifting in her seat and squaring her shoulders because this was an adult conversation now. "Are you not worried?" That feels rhetorical because she knows he worries an ample amount, mostly about her and Eoin but there's so much more now. More eyes on them, perhaps more targets because of it.

"I was..." Virgil rubbed his temple for a moment as he recounted it in his mind, "nine the first time Mom took me out to see what it meant to be a Moretti." Virgil remembered them all, every witch that ever crossed the line, and every family that the Ivy had stripped of their power. Magic precipitated abuse, it was their job to make sure it didn't happen. "When you're born with magic, there's something that dies in a person's eyes when it's taken from them. Even if they deserve it. There's a difference between being worried and being afraid, between being angry and being vengeful. I get any of them wrong and thousands of years of legacy goes up in smoke. Worried doesn't begin to cover it." Humor had left Virgil's eyes as he leaned in, arm folded across the counter where he sat. "The Eye wiped out a whole coven, they locked the oldest member of our Coven in prison for five centuries and then lied about it. The senate slaps necromancers on the wrist and assigns them a therapist as if that's supposed to make up for the mass graves that litter this country." Virgil shook his head, "I'm not here to worry, or be afraid, or be anyone's avenging angel. I'm not okay with any of this; I came to Rome to set the record straight because that's what it means to be a Moretti."

Her eyes narrow in suspicion over her pasta and yet Virgil is Virgil and he is going to do whatever he can not to worry anybody. With decent reason, he can handle himself, it's why he's in charge. Not only that, but it's all done with style, grace, and often compassion. She doesn't know how she went without him for so long, being home again with him feels safe. Aurea thinks she needs that now more than ever, wakes up in her trailer below the hotel practically screaming at nightmares. It's all whatever the hell that thing had been telling her that Eoin was already dead. It's seeing Paloma die again and again, the people she couldn't help. That haunts her more than anything, the people she should have been able to save. They're all there now, only the Six remained gone and in a way, she'd chosen this, she'd chosen not to forget. It was a constant reminder that she needed to be better, to do better. "I do know you, which is why I know you're gonna keep the conversation focused on me so you don't have to tell me about anything." It's pointed but it's still playful. "I'm not a kid anymore, Virg."

Virgil smiled because Virgil almost always smiled; this time, it didn't quite reach his eyes, and when he looked up from his bowl and to the girl he'd practically raised, Virgil just looked tired. Maybe Aurea wasn't a child anymore, but even back then, Aurea had always been a smart kid. "No... No you're not, but you can't blame me for wanting to pretend." She'd already proven herself in more ways than Virgil would list, but what else was he supposed to say? "What do you wanna know?" If she wanted to ask a specific question, he could give her a specific answer; Virgil led a big life - they both did. That made things complicated, and it was often better to not know something if it meant you could retain some plausible deniability in the end.

"The coven's currently situated in Rome are powerful and have survived a great deal, it is only apt to reward them for their tenacity." Her words are calm and deliberate, expression placidly calm as she explains part of her reasoning. There is no full disclosure coming from her, not when there is no need to tell Moretti that she has decided to take a more hands on approach with witches from this point on to ensure they respect her enough to ensure none of the Asphodel bullshit is tried again. Thanatos has made it so it won't work, but she wants to make sure she puts the fear of her into them if she cannot instill awe or respect. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here, Vigil. More accurately, the Inferno is no more, and the Archfiends have been released. Unfortunately, this means is that things are not about to get easier."

"So they got what they were after then." Virgil wanted to put his fist through something but he resisted the urge. All that work, all that care, and the gates of hell still hadn't opened. "I've felt the rise of demons outside this realm. What are they waiting for?" Virgil hoped that Trivia had some insight and could shed some light on the situation because, for the moment, it felt like they were more or less in the dark about everything that was going on out there. He could also ask Octavian, but everything from the phoenix needed to be taken with a grain of salt.

She is pleasantly surprised when the witch does actually go through with his offer and calls for a bartender, a bright grin on her lips as she offers him a quick thanks and gives the bartender her order. “It really was,” she agrees with a grimace as she pulls her drink closer from across the bar and takes a sip to hide the face she pulled. “It’s sort of silly, but I didn’t realize wars could be so messy until then, but even then I am glad I helped.” What she doesn’t say it’s that the biggest trial had actually been to make sure she didn’t end up slurping someone by accident, but she is sure that is not hard to guess. “Yup. I died during the Red Wedding, but was lucky enough to have some of Jamie’s blood on me so I came back. Weirdest way to become the vampire equivalent of an oops baby, though.”

That wedding was just another example of how this city had failed; as Virgil understood it, new information surfaced that The Eye had poisoned the city's water supply and framed the elves. Witches were dead, many witches, and more and more, it just ground on Virgil's nerves. Octavian had a point. This city may need a fresh start. Still, the sovereign kept his demeanor as jolly as ever as his smile brightened that much further. "That's one hell of a way to turn; you're lucky, kid." Not really, but at least she wasn't permanently dead. "What were you before, human, or-?"

The eye roll she offers him is playful as she keeps shoveling food into her mouth. Her metabolism burns through things quickly on top of the fact she'd had what, a Danish for breakfast and that'd been it? She does offer a shake of her head though before reaching for her own glass of diet Coke and taking a sizable sip. "It's good. The owner seems nice enough and the exasperated blonde is kind of adorable." Rawlins was definitely something, Kayce was a bit of a mystery in the sense that she desperately tries not to go all 'I'm a wolf, you're a wolf, let's be friends' on him. "How are things with you? You always try to sus out if I'm in trouble but what of you?" Her eyes narrow in playful suspicion, her legs crossing at the ankles.

It wasn't like Aurea had to work, and it wasn't like there wasn't a position in the company for her if she wanted it. Nepotism at its finest and all that. Virgil didn't see the appeal in spending all day in a greasy auto shop with greasier coworkers, but Aurea seemed content. "Whatever makes you happy." Virgil sighed goodnaturedly, his smile a bit light as he spoke. At her question, he just shrugged, "Same old, same old, you know me." The answer was naturally evasive but for now he wasn't going to get too far into it, besides it wasn't like he was going to talk to the lycan about coven business that she didn't have to worry about - and he definitely wasn't going to talk to the kid about his sex life or lack thereof.

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Truthfully Virgil could have chosen a more discreet location to meet with the phoenix. Octavian was a wanted man; Virgil could have trekked through the forest into Lupercal or even chosen another area outside of Rome. Here, in his home, the setting was far more intimate. Octavian was a legend among the Ivy, the patron of their past who'd been cut down; the reality was that he'd been wrongfully imprisoned instead. Virgil had always held a sort of reverence for the man, but seeing him in person was another feat entirely.

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Octavian was on him, and for a moment, the room was simultaneously too quiet and too loud all at once. Virgil was a sovereign, attuned to the world around him, but for a brief second, there was no coven, boardroom, or senate, just a man offering him the only thing the Moretti fortune had never afforded him. Over the years, there have been more faceless or nameless people that Virgil didn't care to count. One stuck out, but he was wrapped up in Vegas, and the other had been doomed from the start. Octavian the Phoenix, indomitable and strong, had been burned by this city more times than Virgil would take the time to count. At least for now, a day would come when Rome paid back everything that Octavian and the Ivy were owed.

"That was terrible." She points out but her fork finds a piece of pasta anyways before she's even seated because she does genuinely miss a home cooked meal. Something sits there in her chest at the idea of it even, that she's back at home. It's something she doesn't really want to get into with any of them, that she sits in that trailer down in the garage and thinks about the fact she is home with her family and she's not a little kid anymore. It had been something that'd been jarring upon returning to Roman soil, something to grapple with. Aurea Lucia Moretti was a grown ass woman with grown ass problems and she could handle them, she'd been through a war, she could handle anything. At least that's what she told herself as she sat down and proceeded to practically shovel Virgil's cooking into her mouth. "And maybe. Maybe not. Who is to say?" She says and it comes off as more suspicious than aloof between bites.

"No, that was hilarious. You must've left your sense of humor in your trailer park." Virgil tutted; Aurea could be as aloof as she wanted, though, when he sat down at the island next to her, a glass of diet coke in front of him, he was just glad for the company. Eoin had been all about that blonde twink lately who looked more like Denise the Menace than an actual person, but whatever made these fools happy. Aurea and Eoin had each proven themselves, they proved that Virgil didn't need to baby them anymore, and he wouldn't. For now, though, they could still enjoy a meal together before more doom and gloom started falling on them. "How's working going? Anybody giving you a hard time?"