Fantasy ━━ 𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄 || ic

[elanara]

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  𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄.
  HISTORICAL FANTASY​
• 
  

  
  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄.​

  
  

  
  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋
  The Veil is a highly elite, top secret organization of monster hunters headquartered in Rome, however their network extends all across Europe, North Africa, and even parts of Western Asia. For centuries they have protected the world from all kinds of dangers that lurk in the shadows: vampires, werewolves, goblins, ghouls, demons, devourers, and so on and so forth. Chances are, if you’ve heard or read about any kind of monster in a bedtime story, they’re real. Very real, in fact. You just don’t know about it, because our homies @ Veil HQ are out here makin’ shit happen.
  
  Being a member of The Veil requires years of training as well as enormous amounts of personal sacrifice. It is an extremely dangerous way of life filled with plenty of pain and sorrow and death. Only a slim few are lucky enough to survive into old age. Recruits typically join as children. Some, also, are born into it. In those instances, The Veil has been the only thing they've ever known.
  
  There are three very important rules to The Veil. Breaking these rules means punishment, and punishment means death. They are as follows:
  

  • One. Never abandon The Veil. Once you join, you join for life. You must relinquish any ties to your old life, including any and all connections with your friends and family (if you have any). This is to ensure their safety, as well as preventing sensitive information regarding The Veil or the supernatural in general leaking out into the everyday world.
  • Two. Never reveal The Veil’s secrets. No you can’t go around town telling people vampires exist. First of all no one is gonna believe you, and second of all doing so would be considered a major breach in security. The Elders will make sure to shut that shit down immediately.
  • Three. Never ever ever kill on neutral grounds. No, the Elders don't care how pissed off you are. This is a huuuge no-no. Neutral grounds is considered to be very sacred. Anyone that's ever broken this rule has always been executed on the spot.

  Very rarely does anyone break the rules. But you can bet some dumb motherfucker does at least once every five or so years.
  
  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄
  The year is 1353. After several long years the plague is finally beginning to wind down. But — because the members of The Veil are mortal beings, a lot of them ended up catching the disease and dying from it. Due to this, The Veil's ability to eliminate supernatural threats across Europe has steeply declined over the past decade. And — as you can probably guess — a whoooole lotta creatures have been runnin' around doing all sorts of crazy ass shit. Not to mention, the deaths of just about two-hundred-million souls brought about a sudden, rather massive spike in the supernatural population.
  
  More specifically, the vampire population.
  
  To deal with the problem, The Elders have begrudgingly passed a new rule stating that "friendly" members of the supernatural community may work with members of The Veil in order to keep things under control. Note — they never said they could join, they just said they could help. Key word to remember there.
  
  All in all, many of The Veil's hunters haven't responded well to this. Who can blame them, when after being taught their whole lives to hate and kill their enemies, they are now being told to work alongside them? While there are some who understand allying with supernaturals is a worthwhile cause, there are still plenty of others that strongly believe the opposite. So far, the subject alone has been the cause of many heated debates. But nothing more.
  
  At least, not yet.
  
  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒
  Something out there is killing hunters. Yeah, we get it, everyone knows hunting is a dangerous business. People get hurt, people die, so fucking what? Death comes for us all. Sometimes it’s someone outside your social circle. You’re disappointed to hear the news, but you never really knew them, so it’s not so bad. Other times it’s an acquaintance. Their loss hurts a little more, but like everyone else, you know it was inevitable. And then, sadly, there are times it hits a lot closer to home. The death of a loved one is never something you truly ever get over, no matter how desensitized to killing you are.
  
  But what makes it worse is when it’s personal. And that’s exactly what happens. Three separate killings, three separate heads delivered to the footstep of Veil HQ. Even if you didn’t know any of the victims, hell, even if you didn’t like them, you’re still pretty fucking pissed. Because regardless of where you stood with that person, they were still one of your own, and if there’s one unspoken thing about The Veil, it’s that you all take care of each other — no matter what.
  
  So. The Elders finally decided to open up an investigation on the killings. In addition to that, they came up with the temporary solution of making each of you work in pairs, sometimes even teams of three, so that you may be better equipped to deal with any further unexpected threats when out on a job. But that was nearly six months ago, and from what you can tell, no conclusions on the killings have been made. Plus, to make matters worse, a fourth — yep, you heard that right — head was delivered just the other week.
  
  And now? Well, now, you’re too damn tired of waiting. Somewhere, at some point — and likely after one too many drinks — you and your friends came up with the bright fucking idea of figuring out just who the fuck is murdering your fellow hunters and — you guessed it — killing them all.
  
  
  
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  𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄.​

  
  

  
  𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒
  — Located in the heart of Rome, nestled within a deep network of narrow alleyways.
  — It contains multiple courtyards, gardens, training halls, a vast library, an infirmary, as well as several dormitories for hunters and pupils to rest. This is the place The Veil calls home.
  
  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐗𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍
  — These are located all throughout Europe and are considered smaller branches of the primary headquarters building. They function as neutral grounds and are frequented by many hunters and supernaturals alike.
  — Food and beverage can only be purchased with a specific coin. Use of ordinary currency will result in your immediate removal from the tavern.
  — Each inn can be identified by the insignia of three axes crossed together at the top of each door, and a riddle must be solved in order to enter.
  
  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒
  — The governing body of The Veil seats ten members that oversee all activity of the supernatural world. They are extremely skilled fighters, and are far more deadly than the hunters they employ. They are considered the ultimate authority amongst hunters and are feared and respected by all.
  — Elder's are elected by all members of The Veil (except novices) only when a seat becomes open (basically, when one of them dies).
  
  𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄 — 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌
  The ranking system applies to Veil members only. Supernaturals are excluded from this system as they aren’t official members.
  
  𝐈. 𝐏𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐋/𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄 — Members remain at this rank until they reach the age of sixteen. During these years they spend countless hours performing menial tasks (someone's gotta keep this place clean lmao), studying history, languages, monster lore, as well as spending many hours in the training yard learning to fight with various weapons.
  𝐈𝐈. 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 — Upon finishing their training, pupils earn the rank of apprentice. Here, they spend the next four to five years working in pairs — occasionally teams of three — performing low-level jobs that gradually increase in difficulty under the supervision of a mentor. Upon completion of their apprenticeship (which is determined by the mentor), apprentices finally become hunters and earn their medallion. It isn’t until then that they are given permission to work on their own.
  𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 — The most common rank amongst members of The Veil. They take on a majority of the cases that come through and spend upwards of twenty years at this rank continuously honing their skills.
  𝐈𝐕. 𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐍 — The highest rank of hunters, typically those with several years of experience. They're the only ones that are trusted with the most dangerous jobs. Note: it isn’t uncommon for a regular hunter to request their assistance for certain cases. Typical age of veteran is late 30s/early 40s and older.
  
• 
  

  
  𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒.​

  
  listen — all i got to say is this:
  
  one. i really shouldn't have to say this, but respect others, don't be a punkassbitch, move the motherfucking plot foward, and post on time. (side note: i will make sure every character has something to do with another character so you aren't feeling lost. i got ur back, fam!)
  
  two. if you're not lgbtq+ / pro-choice friendly, then this probably ain't the place for you.
  
  three. i'm aiming for a 1-4 paragraphs post average. intros will obviously be longer, and you can write longer posts on occasion (but hey, if you're feeling yourself then honey, by all means, pop off), but for the most part i'd like to keep things moving as quickly as possible. because of this, i am instilling a strict 7 day turnaround time for posts. if for some reason this becomes an issue down the line, just let me know and we can figure something out.
  
  four. if you're gonna be mia for a while just let me know. if you ghost, your character will be declared missing at two weeks of absence/silence and after three weeks your character will be killed off. nothing personal, just business.
  
  five. real life fc's. AI ART IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED!
  
  six. two characters per person, max. you aren't required to make two, but if you do want to write more than one character that's all I am allowing for the time being
  
• 
  

  
  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐓.​

  
  If interested in applying, please fill this form out and post it in the app thread!
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| 𝐀𝐏𝐏 | 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐓 |​

 

[elanara]

​

❝ madgalena. ❞

“Right — let's get down to business, shall we?" Her voice is low and husky. The warm, golden flicker of the candle at the table’s center reflects perfectly off dark, honey brown eyes.

It’s just past sundown. The sky outside the tavern window is the perfect shade of indigo, littered with hundreds of bright, flickering stars surrounding a waxing moon. Inside, the tavern itself is quite busy, and filled to the brim with conversation and music and laughter that grows louder by the minute. Tucked away in the very back corner, Maggie — full name being Magdalena, named after some great-grandmother she never met nor cared for — and her little band of friends sit shoulder to shoulder in a booth huddled over their drinks, engaging in what seems to be a very hushed, very secret conversation.

Prior to this evening, Maggie had personally reached out to each of them individually to persuade them to join her on her quest. Well, sort of — the only person she’d actually asked so far was Aeryn, who she knew would say yes. She had yet to inform Sef of any major details just yet, but had a feeling he might — despite their vast differences — be open to the idea.

And as for Clara.

Well.

Somehow she had overheard Maggie giving Aeryn the details of her not so intricate plan of hunting down those responsible for murdering her friend and wasted no time blackmailing her into joining. Maggie wasn't too thrilled at the idea of the youngster tagging along for multiple reasons, the main one being she was an apprentice, for crying out loud. What could she possibly know about hunting, or anything at all?

But alas. With the threat of Clara informing the elder's of her plans lest she permitted her to join, Maggie was left with no other choice.

An old, worn map of southern Europe and North Africa is rolled out across the table, and sitting on top of that is a wrinkled letter still containing its original crimson wax seal. The seal itself is of ancient origin, yet definitely familiar. Anyone in The Veil would recognize it immediately.

Netari.

Yes. The very infamous and extinct Netari. Maggie is fully aware that they died out thousands of years ago. And yet, right there on the table was a very fresh looking document (given a bit of wear and tear) with an equally fresh looking seal. She couldn't help but hope to think maybe the rumors were true, and the Netari hadn't completely been wiped out after all. It was reaching, of course, considering the little amount of evidence she had to go on. But that was just the thing. Suspicious, isn't it? A voice inside her head told her. That Vanya would go through so much trouble to keep such a document a secret, only to wind up dead.

Maggie clears her throat, and clasps her hands on the table. "Vanya — ” dammit, just uttering her best friend's name sends a sudden wave of grief through her body, but she stops that feeling dead in its tracks, pushes it back down where it came from and seals the lid tight “— gave this to me a few weeks before she died. She made me swear not to tell anyone about it. Not even the Elders. Apparently she had gotten it from Julius just a week before he disappeared. Said something about heading to Constantinople, exposing the truth. She didn't say much else besides that." She pauses right as a serving girl hurries past with a tray of food — she doesn't want to run the risk of anyone else overhearing her again — then continues.

"I have a feeling that whatever's in this letter will give us a clue to who might've killed her. I don’t know what language it’s in, though." With an index finger Maggie slides the letter across the table to Sef. "I was hoping you could decipher it for us?”

Out of all the people in The Veil, she can't believe she's asking Iosif Komnenos for help.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Iosif Komnenos

hunter

the Triple Axes, Rome

??????????

interactions

maggie, aeryn, clara

Sef had had a lot of bizarre meetings in his time with the Veil (it came with the job) but this one had to be one of the most bizarre. First of all, Maggie hated him. This didn't bother Sef (she was just barely a full hunter, and he didn't have to deal with her if he didn't want to), but it did make his invitation to drinks so perplexing that he couldn't not come. Second of all, she had also invited Aeryn, the werewolf, and an apprentice. Erik's apprentice, Sef thought. But no Erik.

It was a strange mixture of people.

And then Maggie started explaining herself, and the evening went from bizarre to absolutely batshit. Vanya? Constantinople? Exposing the truth? Sef listened to Maggie speak over his wine glass with a frown that deepened the more she spoke. He reached out without a word when she slid the letter towards him and pulled it close enough to read.

It was in Greek. It wasn't ancient Greek, but it was a little archaic--language you'd be more likely to find in a document from a hundred years ago rather than in a market today. Still, it was understandable enough. He just wished it wasn't, as he reread it to be sure he hadn't made a mistake.

"It's a shipping manifest," he said. "Exclusively for human cargo." Shipping manifests were common, especially for trade from Italy to Constantinople. The Venetians were meticulous record keepers, and the Genoese weren't slackers either. But the slave trade rarely moved people in numbers like this, at least in his experience. He moved his gaze to the seal and said, "I have a tremendously bad feeling about this."

coded by natasha.

 

[Cosmos]

"AERYN"

__________

Aeryn let out a small, slightly exasperated sigh as she turned her face slightly outward from the closely huddled group and towards the window beside her. Chin sitting flat in her palm, arm propping up the seemingly weary girl's face. Part of her relenting the fact she'd chosen to sit at the furthest edge from the table's exit, the slight claustrophobia of being in a space filled with so many people, let alone hunters was an experience she wasn't yet used to.

Her attention was brought back however when Maggie started the meeting properly, She'd little more than had a glance at the outside of the worn letter when her newfound hunter 'friend' first came to her with the request of joining the ragtag team, but seeing it in person was enough to fully raise a brow. She may not be the most up-to-date on history where it doesn't refer to her fellow supernatural, but well- this fell right into her limited specialty. ".... Netari." She muttered, almost silent under her breath with a gruff tone, watching as the blonde man brought it closer to himself and seemingly began to read.

Though she had yet to meet him in person, she was well aware of Sef's existence within the veil and was rather sure he probably knew more about her than she'd like. Nevertheless, an experienced member would be needed if they had half a chance in hell to complete this mission. The other one however was an almost complete mystery. The girl looked too young for any real experience, she would have thought her a stranger if not for her scent still somewhat fresh in her memory from the other day when Maggie had first approached her. Given the fact the young girl had smelt no different than the other veil members in any important way, she had dismissed it as Maggie keeping someone nearby or on a lookout for their gathering, but maybe it would have been worth mentioning at the time. Teamwork was still a tad of a foreign concept to her, but betrayal was not. The easiest conclusion was that this girl had managed to wriggle into the group through some unknown antics.

Getting back to the task at hand and out of her thoughts, Sef finally spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Human cargo?" Aeryn asked with a more serious expression, furrowing her brows before lowering her hand from her face and instead crossing both arms, leaning back a little and glancing over at Maggie, "Just what the heck would they have connections with that for?" She questioned, the titular 'they' in reference, of course, to the owner of the wax seal.
____

wickedlittlecritta elanara SavannahSmiles ​

 

[elanara]

​

❝ madgalena. ❞

"I have a tremendously bad feeling about this."

Maggie raises a brow. His words should have worried her, made her rethink her life choices.

Instead, she's even more curious than before.

"Not the oh-so-skilled and arrogant Iosif getting bad juju over a piece of parchment?" Maggie jests with a slightly smug grin. As for what Aeryn said, she merely shrugs. "They're vampires. Or were, anyway," she points out, taking a sip of ale, and in the most unladylike of fashions, wipes the foam from her lip with her sleeve. "Who knows what it's for. All I know is, I'm planning on going to Constantinople to find out." She slowly traces a finger around the small black star representing city on the map, then looks back up at Sef.

"I can't do it alone, though." Ah. Of course this was coming. "Aeryn and Clara here have already agreed to join me," she says. "But between the three of us it's not enough. I — " she rolls her eyes, not wanting to give Sef too much satisfaction to what she was about to say next, " — we — could use someone with more experience. Someone who knows the language, who's done these types of jobs before." Just admitting this was difficult enough. Her pride was certainly taking a hit by asking for his help, but she had to remind herself to get over it. That if this was what she had to do to find Vanya's killer, then so be it.

And besides. She knows Sef enough to know when something's piqued his interest or not, be it a conversation, a new case, or hell, even another man, and right now she's sensing he is definitely on board, despite what the look on his face says.

"What do you say?"

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Iosif Komnenos

hunter

the Triple Axes, Rome

grimace emoji

interactions

maggie, aeryn, clara

Sef grimmaced at Aeryn's question. "The same reason we send cattle to market, I expect," he answered her drily.

He picked up his cup as Maggie stared her pitch to him, looking like she'd rather eat a steaming pile of horse shit than ask him for help. Normally he would have found this deeply funny. Maggie wasn't a bad hunter, really. She was just very, very cocky, and she hadn't earned it yet. (He was also cocky, but he had earned it, which was a crucial distinction.) But mostly he wasn't thinking about Maggie, or Aeryn, or Clara. Instead, he was thinking about Vanya, and Julius, and their secrecy and disappearance.

He was thinking that Maggie had stumbled on something much, much bigger than she was prepared to understand.

"Well," Sef said, "At least you're smart enough to know when you need help." He meant it genuinely too. If this was what Julius and Vanya had been chasing after they might still both be alive if they had done the same. "Fuck. When do we leave?"

coded by natasha.

 

[Cosmos]

"AERYN"

___________

Aeryn let out a slight 'tch.' noise with a click of her tongue at Sef's reply to her comment, the fact groups like this were the exact reason her kind was hunted so brutally, the reason innocent children lost lives simply for how they were born. Before she'd joined the mission purely out of a mixture of boredom, her newly found friendly company in Maggie and perhaps being a bit short on cash. But if this was the group they were hunting... Well, things just got a lot more heated. Sitting up straighter and donning a more serious expression she glanced between the three hunters briefly, pausing on Sef as he started his sentence before smirking as he asked of their departure. Her eyes suddenly darted off to the side of the room and to a burly group sat not too far from their own, "I'd say right now. Unless that lot are more of these surprise guests of yours?" She muttered in a hushed tone towards Magdalena.

​

---

elanara wickedlittlecritta SavannahSmiles ​

 

[elanara]

​

❝ callum sinclair. ❞

blurb​

At the other end of the bar...

Cal enters the tavern as per usual — posture straight and tall, head held high, and, as always, with a little extra pep in his step. Like most hunters, he's a regular here. Usually comes 'round this time of night just about every other day. Only this time he's not just here to drink. He's on the hunt — not for a monster, but for a man. And not just any man.

Devin Murphy.

Maggie was very specific with her instructions. "Make sure it's someone you know and can trust. Oh, and Cal? They better know what the hell they're doing."

Know and trust. Got it.

Naturally, Devin was the only person that came to mind.

"Devin, darling!" Cal's voice booms as he happens right upon the Irishman's booth. Ugh, damn him, he had the pretties blue eyes. Callum could get lost in them all day. "There you are. I've been looking all over town for you." He invites himself to sit, sliding in right beside him. One elbow's propped up against the table, and he rests his head against his fist all the while making direct eye contact. He's got that look on his face, too. A big, wide, mischievous grin that you knew was full of terrible ideas, warning you to say no to whatever the hell was about to come out of his mouth.

Who was he kidding, though. He always looked like that.

"Remember that one time a few months back, when you said if I ever needed a favor, no matter how big it was, to let you know?" He drums his fingers of his free hand against the table's surface. Then fiddles with his sapphire ring. "Well — " a brief pause, for added dramatic effect " — consider this me asking for that favor. It's nothing big really. Shouldn't take up much more than a weekend."

But also.

"Honestly, I could really, really use your help. And I don't know anyone else I can trust."

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Devin Murphy

healer

the Triple Axes, Rome

flirt flirt flirt

interactions

callum

Devin did not consider himself a regular at the Triple Axes. He was there often enough, true, but it was a hunter tavern, and Devin was smart enough to know that all that stood between him being an ally and a target was a botched potion.

So he was never really relaxing there, right?

But they had a killer ale, and it was usually quiet, and his actual regular tavern (which mostly catered to local guildsmen and artisans) was currently playing host to a very handsome and extremely annoying wandering minstrel, and after a day getting snot dripped on him by ill children he didn't really need to deal with that guy on top of everything.

So here he was.

And he had not been there very long when Callum entered in a whirl of bright smiles and bad ideas.

"I did not say 'no matter how big,'" Devin protested, but only on principal. The thing with Callum was that he was equal to all of Devin's bullshitting trickery, but the key difference was that Devin knew he was full of bullshitting trickery, and Callum had no idea he was. He was all big brown eyes and earnest pleas for help and then the next thing you knew you were being chased by a very large man with a sword for helping Callum kiss his daughter. At least that was what Devin thought had happened, the once. He had decided not to investigate the matter further on grounds of liking his head attached. "What kind of favor is going to need a whole weekend?"

He probably wasn't going to say no, even if it was a bad idea, but he wanted to know exactly what kind of bad idea he was agreeing to before he said yes. He was stupid, but not that stupid.

coded by natasha.

 

[elanara]

​

❝ madgalena. ❞

"When do we leave?"

That was easy. A grin slowly crept across Maggie's face. She wasn't expecting for Sef to agree just like that, but he did, and in that very moment a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. Sure, she was stupid confident enough to believe that she and Aeryn and Clara could handle the mission themselves, but it helped knowing an extra set hands would be accompanying them.

"I'd say right now. Unless there are a lot more of these surprise guests of yours?" Aeryn quipped.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves," Maggie says. She's glad Aeryn is eager to get going, but there were still a few more things to get in order before heading off. "A couple more will be joining us — I'm sure you're familiar with Callum —" everybody knew Cal " — and two others. I've instructed them to meet us at the south entrance of the headquarters building at midnight. From there we'll ride to Civitivecchia and take a ship to Tunisia."

Except they wouldn't be leaving at midnight, because no sooner did that last statement escape her lips, the doors to the pub flung wide open, and in walked several cloaked and hooded figures.

Enforcers.

Despite her attempt to look and act normal, Maggie's eyes suddenly went wide.

"Shit."

The room went utterly silent as the enforcers made their way to their table, surrounding them completely. One of them stepped forward, and produced a scroll. From, he read: "Magdalena Caltagirone, Iosef Komnenos, Clara Rolfe, the three of you have been accused of betraying the sworn oaths of the order and are hereby under arrest to stand trial over the charges brought forth before you. I order you to lay down your weapons and come with us at once."

A million thoughts frantically raced through her mind just then. This can't be happening. She'd been very careful — or so she thought — to make sure no one else discovered her plan (Clara being the one exception), making sure she only met in certain places at certain hours of the day, and only with those she trusted the most. Did Clara accidentally go running her mouth? Maybe? There was no way of telling. Besides, at this point, did it even matter?

A second enforcer — this one a bit shorter, and female — leaned forward and whispered in the main man's ear: "Sir, what about the dog?"

Maggie's hands balled into tight angry fists beneath the table at that.

"She's to be taken in for questioning as well." He replies, flatly.

In that moment Maggie's thumb twitches at the hilt of her dagger, and she makes direct eye-contact with Aeryn, Iosef, and Clara in that order, the look on her face reading "everybody thinking what I'm thinking?"

And she hopes to god they are.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Iosif Komnenos

hunter

the Triple Axes, Rome

grimace emoji x3

interactions

maggie, aeryn, clara

There wasn't even time to sigh and roll his eyes over Callum's inclusion (why was Callum involved in everything?) before their table was completely surrounded by enforcers.

So his suspicions had been right. Whatever was going on here, the elders did not want anyone to know about it.

Sef finished his wine as the enforcers declared they were all arrested. He did not respond, or give Maggie a chance to respond, before he threw his now mostly empty cup directly the face of the enforcer who'd read off their arrest. As he did so he pushed up from his seat, kicking it in the direction of several other enforcers, and drew his sword. "Μολών λαβέ," he said, and without giving any of the enforcers time to recover, pressed in, moving with the deadly grace of a man trained to kill since childhood. They didn't need to kill or incapacitate them all. Just enough that they could make a break for it.

Meeting outside the Veil headquarters didn't seem like such a great idea at the moment though. But they'd worry about that once they were out of here.

coded by natasha.

 

[Cosmos]

​

❝ Aeryn. ❞

The door slamming open drew Aeryn's attention immediately, the prior group she noticed joining the cloaked figures' ranks as they made their way over. The tavern's previously bustling atmosphere disappeared all but entirely before the man started reading from the scroll, listing the small group's names one after another, of course missing her own, after all, she wasn't a part of 'The Order' just an expendable extra body allowed in until the elders inevitably returned to their original ways.

It was then that she heard that phrase, that god-awful nickname she was all to used to hearing come out of hunters mouths. dog.

If glares could kill, Aeryn would have already taken down more than a fair share of the enforcers all on her own, teeth clenching tightly as she saw Maggie's signal and not a second later Sef's glass flying directly into the mans face. "fuck yes!" Aeryn let out with a newly found slight smirk, Jumping her way up over the table leading straight into a heavy punch against one of the men's heads, landing smoothly on her boots before reaching to draw her sword from her back.

Shifting her weight into the correct fighting stance as she locked eyes with the woman who had insulted her only moments ago, "I'm going to enjoy messing you up." the words leaving Aeryn's mouth in a mocking, almost guttural tone, smirk widening to reveal her unnaturally pointed jawset, pupils retracting sharply before aggressively lunging forwards to strike at the woman.

____
wickedlittlecritta elanara

 

[elanara]

​

❝ callum sinclair. ❞

where: triple axes
with: devin & co
mood: hold my beer​

"I did not say 'no matter how big.'"

No, you didn't, Cal responded silently to himself, that charming, mischievous grin still fixed on his face. But let's face it honey — we both know you're going to say yes. He always did (did he?). All it took was a little bit of convincing eyelash-batting to do the trick.

"What kind of favor is going to need a whole weekend?"

"Oh nothing much," he plucked a peanut from the bowl sitting the table and popped it in his mouth. "Just a quick little boat ride to Tunisia, which, okay, it honestly might be a bit longer than a weekend. But no more than a week, tops. You see, I —"

He would've delved further into the details, of course, but he was abruptly interrupted by the sound of doors slamming open, loudly hitting the walls behind them. How rude, he thought sarcastically as he peeked out from the booth, the grin on his face vanishing as a slew of enforcers made their way to Maggie's table.

"Oh shit." He cursed under his breath, heart pounding in his ears.

They'd been outed. Just the thought of it sent a surge of panic shooting through his chest, but he stopped it, took a deep, destabilizing breath. Keep it together, Sinclair. Then exhaled. Whoever ratted them out, they didn't seem to have known about him. Otherwise the enforcers would have cornered him as well. That was good. If anything, it allowed him all of thirty seconds to figure out what the fuck he was going to do.

"Think think think think think." He muttered hastily under his breath.

But he wasn't much for thinking, and before he could formulate a solid plan, the enforcers had finished giving their orders. Immediately after that, Iosef's cup went flying at one of their faces. Callum's eyes went wide. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, an impressed look on his face. His eyes grew even wider, though, as Aeryn leapt up from her seat and began to attack the one that had insulted her.

In that very moment, complete chaos ensued. The sound of steel clashing against steel bombarded the room.

"Fuck it." Callum declared. He turned to Devin briefly, a look of pure, devilish excitement on his face. "We'll come back to this." Then jumped straight into action.

 

[elanara]

​

❝ madgalena. ❞

where: triple axes
with: the whole gang
mood: oh shit almost died

It happens all at once.

One minute she's sitting there minding her goddamn business, the next, Iosef's cup is flying at an enforcer's face. The look of shock on her face lasts only a second. That's all the time she has to be shocked, really, because the very next moment Aeryn goes in for the kill — as she should — for the enforcer that insulted her. Before Maggie knows it, she's up on her feet, evading dozens of slashes and swings of the enforcers' swords, moving with the cold cutting efficiency of someone that's been trained to kill since the day she could walk. She's quick, reactive, the edge of both her daggers slicing and cutting into human flesh. Around them, the crowd screams and scrambles in an attempt to get out of the way. Some make it out alive, some, unfortunately, get caught in the crossfire.

All the while, Maggie's heart is racing a million miles and hour as she swerves, spins, and ducks her way out of getting murdered every two seconds. The enforcers aren't as lethal as the elders, of course, but only the best fighters of the Veil made up their ranks, which meant killing them was far from easy business.

And right now, they were severely outnumbered.

Maggie finishes running her blade through the chest of one enforcer when she notices something out the corner of her eye. She turns to look, and blend of shock and anger rushes across her face. “No!" She shouts as Grace falls to the floor, blood pooling around her. White hot fury immediately boils to the surface, and her movements suddenly become more forceful as she goes after the man that killed her. It's a tough battle. All her judgement flies right out the window as she continuously, angrily, hacks and hacks and hacks her way at him. A big mistake. Next thing she knows, the man catches the upper-hand, and he has her pinned to the floor, his blade pressed against her neck.

Just before he strikes his blow, the tip of a sword drives right through him. Blood gurgles out of his mouth. A wave of instant relief washes over Maggie as his body is pushed to the side, and she finds Callum standing above her. There's no need to say thanks. She simply gives him a quick nod as he helps her to her feet. Then they stand back-to-back, weapons at the ready as more enforcers pile in.

"Where the fuck is Iohanna?" Callum shouts over the commotion.

“I have no idea!" Maggie replies, desperately eyeing the door for their friend to arrive. That's if that part of the plan didn't get derailed, either.

Please hurry the fuck up. She prays, and carries on fighting.

 

[RascalRoadkill]

​

IOHANNA
​

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

In this sense- not the Spanish Inquisition, but an Inquisition-equivalent who is indeed, apparently, Spanish. For all the maybes and approximates, through, Iohanna is one certain thing- unexpected.

What makes this all so keenly frustrating is that she knows she is being relied upon. It’s not as if she tries to be conspicuous, tries to be late. As she both theorized and dreaded, her fears have been more than fulfilled. It seems as if Iohanna has already made her way onto a list.

Her own usual mount is left behind, instead taking a stranger of a horse, having found herself unwilling to drag him into a sordid exchange such as this. What she presumes will be a simple acquisition of horses- (no more than what is strictly necessary, she is no harbinger of the sin of greed, of all things, one a person is more than enough!) turns out to be a complicated, messy affair involving dodging blades and weaving through encroaching law.

After her own fleeing of the premises- from the only home she knows, which will surely allow her back after this is solved and all their methods have been justified- Iohanna escapes back to Three Axes with their escape methods, plural, in tow.

Hooves against cobble thunder by until she brings the steed to a sudden halt by the door. It rears up with a whinny, and both enforcers at the door, positioned to stop people from entering as well as escaping- simply stare up, bewildered by the sudden intrusion of somebody forcing herself into their space with- pardon her language- five damn horses.

It is mostly unheard inside over the cacophony of steel meeting steel and steel meeting flesh- but there is the sound of scuffling, blades drawn, thunk, collapse, then thunk again- and the door is thrown open not by Iohanna but by the unconscious body that Iohanna forces through it.

The armored form nearly takes up the whole width of the doorway. Iohanna has, at least, pulled over the proper helm as to not make herself too obvious. She is unrecognizable to those unfamiliar, but anyone who’s heard of her would surely know her presence simply by its eccentricity.

She steps over the poor, bludgeoned soul, and takes in the sheer bloody chaos of the situation. Luckily, all those who are not the accused nor accuser seem to keep their hands out of it.

Still, she frowns deeply at the bodies- those whose lives are seeping from them, already staining the floorboards. Iohanna shakes her head a moment and mutters something between a prayer and a curse.

Iohanna is not like her father. She is not an- as she has been told, at least, some kind of reckless, insubordinate killer of her fellow kind. Much less on sacred ground, of all places! Lord.

If they are to follow them off-site, then that will be its own matter. But not here.

“I was delayed,” she says- forcefully connecting the side of an armored boot with the nose of a downed enforcer that tries to stand, apparently offering no further elaboration on the topic. Iohanna gestures to the exit, holding the door open with her other, sword not yet even drawn. “Go, now, before I come to regret this before Michael himself. Out!” She barks, bidding her apparent “friends” to abandon the fight and flee.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Devin Murphy

healer

the Triple Axes, Rome

girl WHAT

interactions

callum

It would have been very easy, Devin thought, watching Callum dive into the sudden cacophony of Veil on Veil violence, to simply do nothing. Just slip outside with the rest of the crowd and go home, and pretend he had no idea what had gone down. It would be the smart thing to do.

But unfortunately, despite how smart he liked to think he was, Devin was easily bamboozled by a pair of big brown eyes. And Callum had the biggest, brownest eyes of any man from Rome to Cork.

Devin groaned, and finished his drink, and then slid out of the bar. A woman in armor who walked like God had sent her had just burst into the tavern with several horses, barking orders. Devin paused to check on a younger woman who had been with the group Callum was now helping. Dead, and he could fix almost dead, but there was nothing he could do once death had come.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and then stood back up and went to join Callum.

"I was expecting something less...whatever this is," he said.

coded by natasha.