A New Promise

[Strawberry]

A well spent night; a stellar challenge match, a confusing 'wedding' celebration, food, drink, music, good company.

"I came up here the other night to check the place out... there's a little bridge that way," Karma pointed, "that goes to a little tea house. And if you wait for just the right moment, the clouds look like they're on fire."

He nodded. "Then let's go find that bridge and spend as much time as we need to see the clouds catch fire."

She lit up once more and started that way, pausing to give Ettyn and Anya some congratulations. Not super up close or anything, but you know, close enough to say "Congratulations! I hope you two have fun!"

"Hmm..." Ettyn secured herself another wine glass, which wasn't hard. Her nostrils flared. "...Smell turkey," she rumbled, stalking towards the buffet table. She paused to look up at Karma--

Karma just grinned, ear to ear.

"Get you back for this," Ettyn warned her, eyes narrowed. Inky black eyes flickered to one side, then back, and she added, "...Thanks."

He watched Ettyn for a moment as he moved with Karma. Then he looked to Karma.

"You're welcome!" As if Ettyn hadn't just threatened her as well. And then she was content to continue on to go find the bridge to the tea house.

He cut that half-grin of his as he looked to Ettyn and nodded. He didn't offer congrats, but that nod and smile said a lot.

She snickered all the way to the edge of the pavilion, stepping off to follow a roughshod path to the bridge with Caleb.

He slipped off onto that path with Karma, letting the celebrations fade as they moved farther away.

High heels. Wooden plank bridge. Not a good combination. She relinquished her hold on Caleb's arm only as long as it took for her to step out of her royal blue high heels, leaning down to pick them up with her right hand before winding her left arm back through Caleb's.

"It's a little... umm, scary if you look over the side." Which is precisely why she wasn't, focusing on the other end of the bridge to cross to the midpoint of the chasm. Already the clouds were turning purple.

He, of course, looked over the side, as he moved with her. He watched as those waves crashed and slammed into the rock face down below. When she slowed at the midpoint, he turned his attention back to her and smiled.

There was a solid bit of land before the next bridge that went to the tea house proper. On this little island in the sky, there was a white phone box beneath a purple tree. But other than that, it was empty save for the surrounding clouds. It was there she paused, looking up at him and then around.

"Okay... wait for it... wait... for it..." And then, as if on cue, the purpling clouds seemed to light up like fire, like luminous plasma that jumped from cloud to cloud. "...There it is." She whispered, grinning.

He didn't look. At least, not immediately. No, his attention was captured by something else. He stood there and watched her as counted down, and watched as the wonder flooded her. He watched as the fire-like clouds lit her face, only to make it more beautiful, if that was even possible. He stood there, transfixed by her for a long moment.

"I haven't tried yet, but I'd almost think you could reach out and catch it." But that would mean getting a *little* too close to the edge for her comfort. There was no fence or barrier. Better safe than sorry. She held onto him then looked up to find he was watching her instead. Letting out a laugh, she put her hands up to his face to first kiss him and then to turn his head to look. "Quick, before it dies down!"

He returned that kiss and laughed as she guided his attention towards the sight they came to see. Though, truth be told... she was far more beautiful to look at. But that didn't come to his lips, even as he watched those clouds, lit up with fire, slowly fade to purple hued embers.

"I lived here most of my life, never even realized this was here." In fact, it wasn't here in the time she had come from even. Which was... simultaneously troubling and interesting. So for now she was content to experience it anew. With him. The phenomenon was short lived, lasting just a few minutes before the fire died, the clouds pulsing purple until it slowed to a soft twilight glow. "How cool was that?"

He turned his attention back to her and that half-grin grew to a full on smile for her. "Breathtaking."

"I know it was silly but I wanted to show you." She told him with a diffident little shrug and a private smile. In the distance, she could hear the musicians on the beach, but otherwise they were far enough up that it was just them.

He turned so that he was fully facing her, and his hands slid up her arms, only to slide her right out with his left, and his right wrapped around her, and pulled her close. There, on that island, under the moon, he started to dance with her.

At first she giggled, breaking into a broad grin. Not teasing or anything like that, rather, pleased by the development. She made sure to stand close to him, but not so close that feet would get stepped on considering her shoes were on the ground but not on her feet. It put her a bit shorter than normal but she didn't mind too much.

There was grace found in the assassin. At each step, he seemed to know where her feet were, and as he moved with her, he made sure that he never once stepped on her, even if his feet moved as if they would. He moved with the little bit of music that reached them, guiding her all over that island, though always keeping her in the middle and he to the outer edge.

The grass underfoot was touched with dew, leaving her soles damp and cool but not unpleasantly so. She stayed close and hummed along with what little she could hear of the distant music. Graceful enough, like it was trained rather than natural. One song ended and another began, she tilted her chin to look up at him to study him in the twilight for a long moment.

He didn't stop as the music moved from one song to another. Nor did his attention waver from her. There was much that seemed to be going on in his mind, but he had locked those thoughts down, or at least, stopped them from being shown. However, as she turned her attention to study him as they danced, he couldn't help but ask. "What's on your mind?"

It was like she was memorizing his face in the moment. He called her out though, leaving a creep of red to infiltrate the crests of her cheeks. She squeezed his hand and shrugged a bit. "You, mostly. It was just a nice night and I'm glad to be here. With you."

He watched her as they continued to dance, that smile seeming not inclined to leave. He was here with her, after all. But her words had his mind shifting...*mostly*. But he didn't press the issue further. Instead, he shifted it a bit. "I'll give you a night like this every night if you so wish."

That seemed to tickle her. "Promise?" She looked hopeful.

He slowed their dancing until they had stopped all together. He stood there for a long... long moment as he watched her, searched her. His jawline had once again started to ripple as those teeth were clenched and unclenched. There was a power that seemed to settle on him, around him as he continued to stand there.. as if he intended to wage into a war, and intended to win.

Her feet slowed to a stop, her head tilting as she tried to read his expression. Though most had already gone, her voice was still low. "What's wrong?"

He didn't look away from her, but his right hand unclasped from her and slid into his pocket, only to quickly come out again. He wasn't one for theatrics and damned if he knew why, but something was yelling within him, screaming to be set free. He hadn't listened to it before, yet he did now. He took her left with his right and pulled it up close to his chest, setting her hand over his heart.

"With every beat." His answer finally came to her question, and with it, his right slid down and settled over hers as he held it to his chest.

Briefly she frowned, like she wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. So often it was like that, he was such a difficult read. Her teeth nipped into her bottom lip as her hand pressed over his heart. The subtle, steady thump of the muscle underneath was a familiar cadence. "Every one, mine and yours." Some sort of equivocation, at least she hoped.

He leaned in then, releasing his hand from hers and slid it to cup her face, only to set a kiss to her. There was something left behind on her finger. A ring, encased with diamonds, and in the center, a fire opal that danced with it's own life. Again, he wasn't one for the theatrics, and when she noticed, she would let him know.

*Oh*. It was hard not to miss it, the unfamiliar weight, the shimmer in the twilight. She swallowed, the sheen glossing over her eyes not a trick of the light. Her gaze ticked down, up, down, up, ring, face, ring, face, searching, floundering. That was sneaky and she was fumbling for words she didn't have.

"I..." Down, up, down, up. "W-what?"

"My promise." Two simple words, yet a depth of meaning behind them. He watched as the confusion played over here and he started to beat himself up. But he had taken this step, and he forged forward. "I will never lay claim to you for you are your own. But I will also never not be at your side."

Her bottom lip quivered. Now, Karma was not a crier but this? Whew, it got to her more than she wanted to admit. She bit her lip again to make it stop. All she could do was nod, a little bobble at first and then a more definitive nod soon after. A little more as she rocked up onto her toes to press a kiss to the tip of his nose and then his chin and then his lips. "You are... you are. I... will strive to always be worthy of your promise."

He leaned in once more and set a kiss to her. There was so much that he didn't, or wouldn't say, but within that touch, that kiss, words didn't seem to matter. When he finally did break free, he set his eyes to hers. "I hope that I will be worthy of you."

She kept her hand set to his chest. The fire opal was a good approximation of the color of her eyes, tomorrow when it all set in, her inner fashionista would be quite impressed. Tonight though, she was floored and processing and just... in the moment. She gave him a smile, soft, genuine and exhaled a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "You are. You are, a thousand times... no a million times over."

She didn't look away but knew the hour was late. Her head tilted a little. "Do you, um, wanna go home? Pretty as this place is, I wouldn't mind being home with you."

That smile seemed to grow, if that was possible, and he turned, pulling her once more close to him, though he didn't hide the ring that winked in the twilight as he wrapped his hand in hers. "I could think of no other place I would want to be with you."

"Okay... close your eyes." She told him, wrapping in close to him. Waiting until he did, only then did she shift the landscape around them, doing so as gently as she could (it took practice!) to take them home as quickly as possible.

Left her shoes behind, but hey, small price to pay.

[Strawberry]

Tuesday, May 25th

There’s a storm on the horizon, as there so often is these days. I’m usually good at weathering it, at least until others get caught up in the ever present dramatics of Life with Karma. It’s them I worry for. Me, I know I can take it. Or if I can’t, I’m not usually too worried about what comes after.

Reckless child.

So I’ve been told.

Just like she was.

Just like she is. You know, I’m not afraid of much in this life… but she… she terrifies me. Caleb picked up on it, he knows, I think. I’m getting markedly worse at keeping anything from him. He’s more observant than anyone gives him credit for.

What is that saying about ignorance is bliss?

Ah, to have bliss.

I stepped through the unassuming door of a small shop on Luna Lane a few doors down from the Lyceum. Perhaps if I couldn’t find what I was looking for here, I could ask Mallory’s people for help. What little I knew of the Archmage told me that she might have more answers than I realized.

What’s the cost?

That’s always the question, isn’t it. And it wasn’t one I wanted to answer just yet. So for now I ducked into the dim lit storefront to see what I could find. It was an unassuming space, glass shelves dotted by knick-knacks and jewelry pieces, a wooden floor needing a bit of polish, an aged counter with an older looking till. Behind a seafoam green curtain, I could hear the quiet, rhythmic tink-tink-tink of metal on metal. Not wanting to interrupt, I tucked my hands into my pockets and turned to peruse the wares on the shelves.

Most emanated some amount of subtle magic. Nothing nefarious as far as I could tell. Soothing, protective, boosting, all positive energies. They were infused into necklaces and rings, statuettes and cute figurines. My eye caught on a particularly adorable cat statue. Angela would have loved it.

If she ever comes back.

She will. I just… don’t know when.

“Good for focus and grounding energy.” An accented, feminine voice came from behind me, making me jump slightly. The metal-on-metal in the background was still tapping out a quiet melody, I hadn’t even realized someone had joined me in the front room. When I turned, I found a small, lovely woman with a kind smile and vivid eyes. Beachy blonde waves were pushed out of her face with a grey bandana knotted atop her head.

“I was just thinking my sister might like it.” I admitted, looking back to the cat figurine.

“She might. Are you looking for something for her specifically?” The woman asked, stepping out from behind the counter. She wore a comfortable looking knit cardigan over a camisole and a bohemian styled skirt that hit at the ankles. Bare feet, I noticed, that was something. Comfort over all else?

“I was um, actually looking for something for someone else.” I answered. The way the woman’s smile grew told me that she already knew this. “I’m looking for… ah, perhaps a talisman of protection?”

“Then you’ve come to the right place. I’m Tessa.” She gave me a politely scrutinizing look as if gazing into me on a deeper level. I couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably. There was nothing malevolent about the way she looked at me but it made me vulnerable, whatever it was. “Tell me about the one you wish to protect? We may have something suitable already made but if not, I am sure I can whip one up in no time.”

Where is that accent from?

I’m not sure. It was familiar though.

“It’s for someone I care about immensely. He’s, um, capable of protecting himself… but I want to give him more. I want to make sure I’m there for him no matter what, that he’s as well guarded as he’s made sure I am…” That was the long of it. Maybe the short of it actually. The long of it was that that silly assassin had become far more important to me than anyone else that wasn’t immediate family.

What a bother.

It’s not a bother, that’s the thing. I would do this a thousand times over for him if I had to. What he’s done for me, despite having no obligation to do so, well, it’ll take me a thousand lifetimes to properly show him just how important he is.

It may very well take a thousand of your lives if what you think is coming comes to pass.

Not now, I don’t want to think about that. It’s not about me right now, it’s about him.

“A shield for a shield. Reinforcement. Hmm.” Tessa looked over the shelves and shook her head. “No, no, these won’t do.”

Abruptly she turned away and stalked into the back room, disappearing for an eternity-long three minutes. When she emerged, she did so with a small, pointed vial that looked decorative more than anything.

“You wish to give of yourself to someone who has given unto you, yes?” She asked, her green eyes bright in the dim light.

“Y-yeah…” I nodded. She drew closer and held her hands out for mine. Only a moment’s hesitation found mine slipping into hers. Her hands were warm, soft, gentle. She turned my left hand up to examine the ring there, her smile softening.

“Ah… a guardian… you weren’t lying…” Tessa laughed quietly, tracing her thumb over the fire opal. “To give of yourself so that he might keep you with him always, I would need one piece of you. Hair, blood, essence… whatever you deem fit.”

To think, you could have just gone straight to the Blood Witch.

“What will you do with it?” I asked. “Hopefully you understand my hesitation. This is Rhydin after all.”

“Ah, of course.” Tessa curled her hand around mine firmly and looked me dead in the eye. The depth in her gaze was a limitless thing, something that spoke of the eternity of the boundless cosmos. I was strangely comforted even before she spoke. “It will be used in its entirety to infuse this piece with your presence, allowing you a connection to the wearer no matter where they may be. It transcends realms and sometimes even time itself. How that manifests is up to you, but you will be by their side as they have for you. My Word, my Bond, my Name, on all three I swear this to you.”

That was Power. Even the nagging little voice in the back of my head was stunned to silence.

I nodded.

“Please. What is most… uh… effective?” I asked.

“Soul essence though it’s harder to capture. Blood is second most. Other flesh, so hair, nail, skin, etcetera, is effective but less so.” Tessa explained.

“Essence then.” I said without hesitation. Whatever it took, I would give it. Tessa held my gaze a few moments longer before nodding.

“Breathe and focus on clearing your mind. Whatever ails you presently, your stressors, your worries, let them go for the next few moments. If you must, focus upon your goal here; protecting your loved one.” Tessa let my hands go and raised them to set them to either side of my face, her thumbs set to my temples. I tried my best to focus as she asked, letting go little by little of all I carried with me. There was no heaven, there was no Hell. There was no storm brewing on the horizon. There was just… acceptance.

And then there was cold.

As though someone had taken a white-hot razor to the inside of my brain, I flinched from the sensation, vaguely aware of Tessa’s quiet, soothing sounds.

“Focus, love. A little more…” She said softly.

Orange blossom... Lavender…

A crooked smile. The smell of breakfast in the morning. Happy squeaks of a raccoon keen on footfalls I can never hear when Caleb arrived home. The taste of vodka. Unwavering calm and determination. Hazel eyes that looked grey in the right light or when he was in certain moods.

The searing sensation stopped abruptly. Tessa made a soft sound of triumph.

“There it is.” She murmured, her hands easing away from my face. One set to my shoulder as I swayed, holding me steady while her other hand quickly manipulated the stopper on the tiny vial. Through blurred vision I barely made out a wisp of pale blue within the hazy glass. It seemed to dance and writhe, spinning about in the vial with erratic motion.

“Is… is that it?” I asked.

“It is… you’ve quite the essence here. It will make for a strong connection. Are we under much of a time crunch?” She asked, slipping the vial into the pocket of her cardigan.

“I’m not… really… sure. But the sooner the better, you know?” I rolled a shoulder, trying to clear the lingering sensation from my grey matter.

“Okay… hmm. Come back tomorrow, same time. I will have it ready then, okay?” Tessa’s smile brightened once more.

“Same time tomorrow. Got it. Um, thank you, by the way. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be…” I admitted.

“I try. But you made it easier, so thank you as well. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” She bowed her head to me. I returned the motion and with a few parting words, left the Heart Forge behind. The price tag would be a bit of a hit, I would need to get that together before tomorrow but it would be worth it.

Will it?

I’m sure of it. Every silver, every shred of myself, I’d give it all. Nobody is taking this from me.

Nobody.



((The Heart Forge & Tessa used with permission. Thank you!))

[Strawberry]

Wednesday, May 26th

He closed the phone and set it down on the table. His fingers came up and started to gently rub against his eyes, then down his nose.

He had been on the phone for the past few hours, calling in orders and contractors, and before that, he had spent time running background checks on each and every one of them. If nothing else, he would make sure they knew their job. If he had to remove them after.. well, he would deal with that then.

Wouldn't be the first time. Wouldn't be the last.

"You look stressed." Came a voice from the doorway where Karma had only been standing for a moment or two, a hip cocked against the door frame. In a hand, a glass of vodka on ice. For him, not her. She gave it a little wiggle so that the ice rattled against the sides of the glass. "Brought you somethin'."

He lifted his head and looked to her, that smile easily coming to his lips. "Just dealing with contractors. A lot of vetting and background checks. Would hate to have to kill someone just because they did their job." He pushed himself from the desk and stood, moving towards her.

She met him midway, offering him a kiss and the drink, in that order, rising up on her toes to do so. When she sank back onto her heels, she did so with a wry little smile. "What could they possibly do that would warrant that?"

Call it a rare show of naivety. She had no clue.

"Give away the information on the job they just did."

"Like the clock tower architect killed after its completion to ensure the secrets of how it was made are never repeated." She hummed a little. "Yeah, hopefully nothing like that needs to happen."

He nodded. "I may have to pay to have memories wiped. Better than than the other option. But either way, I want to make sure that they can do the jobs I have in store for them, and that they at least have done something similar for others who need the secrecy. So, a lot of calling."

"Oof. Fucking with people's memories is... tricky business and a little, um, rough. What about a Secret Keeper NDA?" She offered instead. "Surely you're not the first or last in the city to request heavy duty wardings and stuff?"

He nodded. "That's a second to last option. Last being killing them."

"It'll work out." She said finally. "I know it will."

Which either guarantees it to be so or it challenges the universe to do the opposite. Who knew.

He nodded. He was going to make sure it would, or at least as much as he could. "What's your plans for today?"

"Brainstorming some celebration ideas for Morgan and Mart, visiting a few retail spaces to see if any might work for Jaycy and I, and mayyyyybe doing a little shopping." The last bit had her grinning ever so sweetly.

He looked back to the desk a moment, and then to her. "Want company?" He had had enough of being on the phone.

"Yours? Always." Seemingly impossibly, her smile grew further. "We can get lunch while we're out. Or brunch... or linner, I have no idea what time it is."

"Food time." That smile of his returned.

"And maybe you can tell me a lil bit about what you've got planned for this place." Adding that on as an afterthought before whirling on the balls of her feet to bounce out of the office.


A few hours later...


"You know, I don't normally advise putting a blade to someone's throat in broad daylight. Then the Watch gets called, then the police get beat up, then there's a lot of paperwork and bruised egos and that just seems like a mess." She hummed as they arrived back home. One bag on a wrist had become four, though the most important purchase was just a small box tucked into one of the other bags, picked up after a quick jaunt to the Twilight Market while he handled a phone call. So quick it would have been easy to miss her disappearance and subsequent return. "But aside from that, I think there's a few spaces at Tranquility Square that could be really good..."

"It was already a shit-show. Besides, I know how put-out you would be if Ettyn was shot." He was moving with her, perhaps even carrying one or two of the bags for her. While he had been on that call (another callback from a contractor.. fucking leeches), he had noticed she had slipped away, but he didn't pursue it. He figured she saw something she wanted and went back for it.

"Oh? Does it fit y'all and your needs?"

"Hm. I would have been, yes. I have a feeling that it was take more than a little lead to the noggin to keep Ettyn down for long though." That said, she didn't want to think of her friend in such a predicament that she had to find out. "Plus Morgan would've been pretty mad."

The door closed behind them, locking automatically. Just one of the smaller wards she had placed on it, likely would stay in place even after he beefed up the ranch's protections. Y'all. She smiled, sometimes she forgot he wasn't from here til things like that came out. The excess bags were set down on the entry table, though she took care to note one of them in particular's location before turning back to him with a nod. "Yeah, the one I like is not too big but it's also not tiny. Enough room for supplies and a pair of offices and stuff like that."

"Have you looked over the paperwork or talked to anyone about it?" He stopped as Bandit came sliding around the corner, then came barreling right into his legs. The raccoon slammed into his legs and stopped, like he had hit a brick wall.

He bent down as he shook his head, and picked the creature up to set him on his shoulder.

"No, not yet." She shook her head and let out a laugh as Bandit careened right into Caleb's legs. Poor thing. Not the most graceful but he got points for style. "I figured I'd wait until Jaycy got back from her big voyage with Morgan to see what she thought of it."

Then she hesitated. "Should I have?"

He shook his head. "If you're waiting for her, then don't see the need. But if you were wanting to move on it already, then yea. Always good to have the information about a place and what you're getting yourself into before you jump into it."

"I could... probably call and get the lease terms and stuff." She chewed at her bottom lip, considering. "Would probably be good to have all of that before she gets back that way we can pull the trigger if it's right..."

Reaching up, she gave the little raccoon a fond scritch behind the ears before turning to the bags she had set on the entryway table. Through one in particular, she went rummaging. "I, um, I've got something for you, by the way. If you want it."

He lifted a brow at that. "Oh?" He had everything he wanted. Right here. But he didn't voice that. Tact, Caleb. Tact.

"Yeah... I... uh... had it commissioned." She admitted, scooping the little ring box out of the bag-in-a-bag where she had hidden it most of the day. "The lady thought it was best in this shape... so, um... yeah... here..."

There she went with losing her words again. Awkwardly she handed the box over without opening it, while chewing on her bottom lip. As far as ring boxes went, it was fairly normal; a velvety black and within lined with much the same plush softness. Set in the middle of it though was a what appeared to be threads of flame woven into angled sculpting from the ring itself. The ring was a meteorite-tungsten blend, something strong and durable but not unyielding. A bit like him. The setting of the ring, the curling, pointed top-set, was made from volcanic glass from the Isle's own volcano, enchanted to hold the illusion of fire as it shifted through the body.

He opened the box and... this time he was the one who was speechless. He stood there looking at the ring... in the box... in his hand... that she had made for him...

He finally looked up to her. His mouth opened, then closed. And it stayed closed a moment or ten. Those muscles along his jawline started to ripple as he gritted his teeth. It wasn't for anything bad, as was evident by the look in his eyes. He.. just couldn't find anything to say. His eyes, however, were saying everything. He couldn't keep that wall up.

For a moment she watched him, then as he opened it, she found her gaze falling to his feet hesitant. When she finally found it in her to look back up, she wasn't quite sure what to think. Her teeth had worn a divot into her plush bottom lip with all the chewing she had done. A step forward, into his personal space, she brought her hands up to cup around his and the box, tilting it slightly, her gaze down on their hands and the box. "There's.... mmm... I... this says I am yours as much as you are mine. With this I will protect you just like you have me. There is... a piece of me with this that you will always have."

Her voice cracked a little, prompting her to pause long enough to solidify her composure. "You will always be able to find me, no matter the plane or the time. When I say that I'm not going anywhere, I mean it. But now you have an insurance policy to back what I say."

He would have time to process everything she said later, and comb through it as he was taught to do.

But right now, he didn't give a damn about any of that. He shoved that part of his mind aside, telling it he would address it later. She was here, in front of him, with him, now.. and she had... a ring.. her..

He barely let her finish what she was saying before he leaned in, setting his lips to hers.

"Oh." She mumbled the word against his lips, humming a little. That was a good reaction, or so she hoped. It was also Bandit's cue to scamper off, likely to go get into mischief but it was better than hanging around while his humans were doing the kissy faces. For a few moments, she kissed him like there was nothing else in the world. As if to say she meant every word she had just said. She always did better with the showing rather than the telling after all. He would likely always worry about her (he was so good at it after all) but maybe this... maybe it would put him at ease for a little while.

In time, he finally came back to himself. How long he had lost himself in that moment, in that kiss, in what he held in his hand, still.. he couldn't tell you. Later, when they spoke of this kiss... well, to steal a line... Since the invention of the kiss there have been five six kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.

He better not tell her that line or else she may very well melt into a Karma-puddle there on the floor.

And that would be messy.

Eventually she hummed an amused little sound. "You got a ring. I got a ring. People're gonna talk."

"People talk. It's shutting them up that's the problem." He grinned a little.

"With how quickly things spread, I’m not sure how to even go about stopping it if they do start." She didn’t seem legitimately concerned. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Who knew, maybe such a rumor might even make it back to the more supernatural circles.

[Strawberry]

June 16th, 2021

A roundabout trek eventually led them back to the Isle, taking them to and through the Twilight Market before venturing on toward the lone path that led from the market to the Gloaming. Though there were only twelve houses, it wasn't just those that lived there that seemed to come and go. With the opening of the swimming beach and the shack with the rentals and even the fisher's station, it had brought an influx of foot traffic to the eastern edge of the once lonesome Isle. Of course, in her time, there was far more than this to the Isle, so it was an odd balance of knowing and not knowing what would come in the future days.

Time was weird like that.

When they finally made it to Number Eight on Twilight Lagoon Avenue, it didn't take long to get up the steps and to the front door of the small, clapboard sided bungalow. It reminded her a bit of houses at Icarus Cove, not the ones where the rich people lived south of the small beach town hours from the city, but rather those that stood in rows overlooking the swelling sea like pale sentinels. It was a good memory, that. One she held onto as if it might slip from her fingers one day. They seemed to do that sometimes.

"You know, maybe we should get a motion activated door opener. Like they have at stores, but only for us." She joked.

"That can be arranged." Said as he pushed the door open, somehow balancing the boxes, bags, and various other things that they had somehow accumulated between the Perch and beach house.

Once inside he kept moving forward through the living, through the kitchen, and on to the dining room, where he set the boxes down on the table that was there.

"Great for when your hands are full... or you're feeling lazy... or you're too busy making out... or..." She made it to the dining room and paused. The room was less a dining room and more a 'put stuff here' slash artist's corner, stocked with canvas and paints and drop cloths and brushes. It was to the latter she looked, her mouth going dry. In the corner, set upon her easel, was a simple, small canvas, already painted.

It was beautifully done, full of shades of orange and red and brown and black. A scarlet tinged sky licked by flames rolling off a handsome structure reduced to blackened bones and a ruined roof. Old growth trees danced with leaves like fire as if celebrating the destruction of the sprawling home painted upon the canvas. Paradiso. It was the ranch in ruins. A threat, a warning, a premonition... no. No, it couldn't be. Unceremoniously, she dropped the boxes she was holding. Half made it to the table, the rest clattered to the floor as she rounded the small dining set to rip the canvas off the easel. Her fingers stuck to it, the paint still fresh.

"No... nonono."

He was looking around as he heard the panic in her voice, looking for the immediate danger. Weapons were not drawn, but it was obvious he was the weapon of choice at the moment. A quick scan saw no one, but then he followed her to the canvas.

His steps drew up behind her, not a sound made, and he looked over her shoulder at what she clutched.

There was a darkness that seemed to settle over him as he looked upon the painting. His voice came out soft. There was no anger there. There was no spite, no warning, no.. feeling. It was flat. "Who?"

"Her." She groaned, clutching the painting tightly, her knuckles whitening with the effort. Around her fingertips, the paint began to harden and then blacken. "If not her, one of her minions brought it on her behalf. But it's her work. I need..."

What did she need? She was told the Isle in its current state would be safe. Untouchable even. The scent of burning acrylic began to roll off of the paint as the blackness spread from her touch, inching along the canvas to eat away at the paint and the base beneath it.

"Fuck." She growled, shaking her head. "I need... uh... can you check in with the contractors and make sure everything's okay over there?"

It was a start.

He watched her a moment. Assessing her, and her potential state going forward. This was a blow, too close to home. He had reacted bad when it had hit close to his home, throwing out old lessons. Now he was working on those lessons again, and making sure that she wouldn't do something... like he had done.

He finally turned and moved to the kitchen, not far from her, but enough to give her some space. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, punching in a few numbers. After a moment, his voice came from the kitchen. "What's the status?"

Come to find, Paradiso Ranch was perfectly fine. Work was proceeding ahead of schedule, it would be as good as a fortress in no time despite the ominous warning left at their beach home.

There was a metal trash can beside her setup, barely occupied by a few errant scraps of plastic and paper, mostly wrappings from items opened and unpacked since moving in. It was there she dropped the smoldering canvas, leaning down just enough to give it the last push it needed to catch aflame fully. A suiting end for the macabre art, the flames inching over paint and canvas and the wood over which it had all been stretched. She swallowed back the hint of bile that rose in her throat as she watched it burn; the withering trees, the curling paint of her home, the imprint of a dark silhouette on the ground outside of the burning house, all of it. Caleb's words in the other room didn't even register over the hammering thrum of rage rising like war drums in her ears.

He watched her from the kitchen, but he didn't intrude on her. "Double the crew, get the work done today." He hung up, only to punch in another number.

"Get your crews ready for work tonight. I want it done by morning. You'll start at dark." He didn't bother to wait for a response. The phone was hung up and a third number dialed in.

"You're starting tomorrow morning. All of your men. You'll be done by noon."

This was going to cost him, but money could be made. Her piece of mind, and her safety... that was something priceless and he would spend everything if he had to in order to give her some of that. The rest of it... he'd go to Hell and deal with personally if he had to.

When he came back, she was still watching the smoke rise from the burning canvas but at least had had the sense to open the nearest window so that it sucked most of the black smoke out. She had wrapped her arms around herself, the curl of her fingers digging impressions into her rib cage. The trickle down her cheeks, well, she didn't even realize that was a thing, but they weren't tears of sadness or fear even, but rather rage. They were alone at least that much she knew, there was no sign of any other life form, human, demon, or otherwise within the perimeter of the property.

Quietly, she whispered, "She's going to try and take everything I hold dear, isn't she?"

He wrapped his arms around her, folding her in to him... protecting her from whatever came. He was also wrapping her in his love. "She can try. She'll find out quickly she fucked with the wrong person... wrong family."

"You know... she told me when I was young..." She said softly, releasing the hold on herself in favor of slipping her arms around him instead. "That I shouldn't take sides in this cosmic fuckery. I heard that so many times growing up... and here we are, I'm staying away from it and she's trying to drag me back in. Because it's not about keeping me neutral, it's about keeping me neutral long enough for her to use me."

Finally she looked up at him. Her gaze, already a molten red, seemed to live with the same fire she had set to the warning art her mother had so sweetly sent them. "She's just like Nem... isn't she."

He didn't answer her directly, but those cold steel eyes didn't turn away from her burning hot ones. "What do you want?"

His question was perhaps odd, at this time, but he continued to hold her attention as he waited for that answer.

"...To be happy."

It was so simple, wasn't it? Selfish, sure. But simple. At least simple in the way that surviving a fall from an eight story building was simple.

Maybe she should ask her mother about that.

"And for the people I care about to be happy. And safe. To not be put at risk because of me." She quieted for a moment, lips pursed. "For a fleeting moment I almost asked you to run away with me and marry me... like that might throw a wrench in things, because you know, she can't force me to marry someone if I'm already married. It doesn't sit right even in those circles. But... I couldn't ask that because it's... if I ever did... I wanted it to be for the right reasons, and you... you are all the right reasons, I couldn't fuck that up." She shook her head.

His stoic features broke a moment, and there was a true smile there. He kept his heart from throwing itself off that eight story building, but just barely.

"Then let this be the right reason. To hell with everyone else, and what they want for you. I will stand with you to see that you are happy, and that what you desire comes true. To me, you've chosen a side. Yours. And I will stand where I have to be to make sure that your choice is understood."

He dropped to a knee and took that left hand of hers. He didn't have another ring, but he wrapped his left around hers, so that both his ring and hers were overlaying each other, touching each other, fitting (in their odd way) together.

"Will you marry me?" This was a first, even for him.

This shouldn't be a shock, but Karma really didn't know what to say or do. See, when she claimed long ago to be bad at commitment, she hadn't been kidding. So while she should have seen it coming a mile away, she still gawked at him as he knelt before her. Her hand was remarkably steady, perhaps since he was holding it, the diamond-and-fire-opal ring held safe beneath the meteorite-tungsten-volcanic-glass ring that just so happened to house a portion of her own soul within. Slightly slack jawed, his words bounced around in her head as if it were a truly hollow space, echoing until the din of them nearly overwhelmed her.

At least the crying had stopped.

For now.

"Caleb," she spoke his name softly, reverently. A prayer on the tongue of a sinner long damned. "Are you... are you sure? This is what you want?"

And not just because of the looming threat of death, separation, and other wanton destruction.

That part went unsaid.

Still, he heard it, and there was a grin that tugged on his lips. "Wouldn't have given you this ring" His hand squeezed hers and the two rings grew closer together "otherwise. I'd never push you to do something, so I'm not not. Choice has always been yours."

"You aren't." She shook her head quickly as if to quash that notion immediately the moment it slipped from his lips. "I just know..."

What do you know, Karma? Million dollar question there. Better not to answer it. She swallowed and gave him a little nod that became a big nod. "I want this." She whispered. "If you want this too, then yes. Y-yeah, I'll..." There was a little laugh, something like disbelief, "I will marry you."

If granite could crack, it did this day. The grin that spread over his face lit him up and it was as if she had just given him life.

He stood and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in and setting a long kiss to her lips.

Cover your eyes, viewers. Tass included. Because it's definitely not kid friendly after that.