undergrounds | Five Years Later...

Five Years Later...

A lot can change in five years. Students who were at Redbright have now started their careers. People have moved out, moved in, started a new life together or apart. Some move on from the city while others return to it. But while the lives of its residents continue to grow and change, London remains as it has ever been: a focal point for magical power.

A tentative peace
The last five years have not been without conflict, both internal and external. The vampires have played with the politics of in-fighting and backstabbing. The werewolves have overthrown their leader and chosen a new alpha. The witches have suffered one scandal after another. And the fae have quietly engineered a small change here, a personal revenge there, until finally with Redbright and Hillingdon acting as neutral parties a peace agreement was reached between Circle Daybreak, the Islington Nest and the East End Pack. Their territories are still beholden to the same rules (e.g. vampires are still forbidden to enter East End territory and vice versa) but they are no longer in open conflict. Small steps, perhaps, but positive ones.

A delicate balance
The year is 2022. The balance of power in the city is now evenly split between the East End Pack, Islington Nest and Circle Daybreak, thanks largely to the rise of the werewolves and the new President Laura Roslin who simultaneously holds the post of Werewolf Representative.

Samantha Okeke lost her position as Witch Representative following allegations of corruption, and has been replaced by Diphylleia "Dee" Absin, a much more co-operative member of the Night Council. While Samantha has retained her title of Mother of Witches, there are rumours that she lost her powers during a confrontation with a powerful fae. Circle Daybreak firmly denies all such speculation.

The connections between the Redbright Institute and the Hillingdon Clan have grown stronger since the former is now perceived to be a more neutral force rather than tied to the Night Council, although Hillingdon certainly still has the less clean-cut image of the two.

Meanwhile, the Seelie and Unseelie Court have largely withdrawn from public life in the mortal realm except in isolated corners, though they claim the right to go where they please throughout the city. Consequently, there are no barriers preventing travel between the realms, which seems for now to be an acceptable compromise.

And after all, politics is the art of compromise.

Looking ahead
All in all, the vampire and fae presence in the city has reduced as the vampires move around and the fae decide that if they're invited it can't be that great a party anyway. The number of witches has recovered thanks to an amnesty allowing those who were once members of Circle Midnight to return (though the faction itself has not reappeared).

The biggest change that has been noticed first by staff at the Redbright Institute however is the increasing number of meta humans, in particular young meta humans, being discovered in the city. Often these are humans with no knowledge of the supernatural developing their powers for the first time. The reason why has yet to be discovered...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nancy had lost track of so many people in the last few years. She'd faded from a fixture at fancy parties to a girl that hid in the shadows once more. One of the people that she kept in contact with, however, would always be the Artful Dodger. He was older now, as was she, but she couldn't help but feel a swell of pride whenever she spent time with him. He was becoming an incredibly handsome, capable young man.

Now how much of that was his magic, Nancy would never know.

It's the two of them tonight, back in Bill's place. He's out for the evening, taking the dog with him, leaving just Dodger and Nancy alone once more.

"You have dinner, Dodge?"

"Grabbed some chips earlier," he responded then frowned. "Reckon that was a whle ago though so probably not." He shrugged. It was easy to forget to eat when you lived their life - they never had much food to begin with in the first place.

He had to admit, as much as he didn't like Nancy being at all those fancy parties years ago - the old git had been very vocal about the secrets he'd reveal to spoil her going - it was worse to see her back in the dark, beside Sikes.

"Let me make you something then." Nancy doesn't wait for an answer before she's busy trying to scrape together something in the kitchen. She calls over her shoulder, glancing back at him: "you hoping for anything in particular, love?"

"Just somethin' hot," the Dodger calls back. He was a bit useless when it came to cooking - could make a decent sausage but that was about it. Anything hot was a treat, always had been.

"I've beef stew in the fridge," Nancy says. Soup was hearty and it stored well. Without waiting for an answer, Nancy opens the fridge and goes about fixing Dodger a bowl.

"I've bread if you like."

"Just the stew," he answered, looking around. He almost missed when she stayed at Cooper's - except he never really liked that bloke. Still, the guy was better than Sikes'

Better wasn't the right word. Not to Nancy, at least. Different. Cooper and Bill were two very different men- as different as vampire and werewolf. Bill envied Cooper the time he got to spend with Nancy. Cooper envied the time Bill would have with her, and loathed the way he treated her. Cooper never lifted a hand against her- he'd scared her a few times, sure, but never hurt her.

Bill, on the other hand, hurt her when she deserved it.

"Alright then." Nancy pours some out into a bowl, then holds a hand out over the stew, beginning to heat it by magic. "And drinks? You know where they are." She waved her other hand toward the fridge. She'd get him food, but he could get his own bloody drink.

Somethings never changed.

There was a brief laugh, as he did go to get his own bloody drink. There was always drink in. He lifted a bottle of beer, and pulled the lid off, raising it in Nancy's direction - a toast to her health.

"Been up to much lately?"

Nancy's sticking to her gin, and she echoes the toast with her movements.

"No," is her response, "But my birthday is coming up- I think Bill's got something special planned." A girl could dream.

The Dodger sincerely doubted it, but he wasn't cruel enough to dash Nancy's hopes. No, he'd keep that one for Sikes himself. Bloody wolf had enough practice at it by now, he had to be an expert.

"Oh right. Need to see what to get you."

He also needed to contact other people. This was going on too long.

She smiles. "do- a new coat would be lovely." Hers was going threadbare around the elbows.

Nancy sets the now hot soup down in front of the young man. There are plenty of people he can call. to name two: Eames and Cooper.

There's a nod, making a note of that in his mind. "Any type yer lookin' for?" It was worth asking - he wasn't too sure on what her preferences where now.

He'd need to get in contact with them...

"sometbing green, maybe? With a hood. Warmth doesn't matter, I can fix that." Magic had made her life easier, that was for sure.

"I'll keep an eye out," he promised. Course he'd manage to find something that fitted her description - he had all of London's shops to pick from.

"You're brilliant," she tells him. "Maybe with a hood?"

"Askin' a lot there." But he laughs, and nods. Yes, he'll make sure he finds one with a hood for her. It shouldn't be all that hard, after all.

"Shove off!" She tells him, knocking his hat askew. She knew he hated when he did that. Too bad, because it was a habit she was never going to do away with.

"So what's the reason for your visit, hmm?" She fixed him with a look that clearly stated she was sure he wanted something.

"Can't a bloke just come visitin', Nance? There always got to be a reason other than seein' yer face?"

"Yes." Nowadays, sure.

You'll have to forgive her, though. She's gotten a bit paranoid in her old age.

"My face is doing plenty well, though, thanks for checking." It's an old habit, but she's got her illusions up around Dodger. It's easy to forget that as fae, he can see past it all.

"So I c'n see."

It's an easy comment to make, let her think he buys into the illusions. He knows what it's like now Sikes is out. He wonders, vaguely, if the wolf knows about the vampire Nancy had been shacking up with while he was inside. Wonders if Cooper would like to help out with a scheme. It would be ... fun.

Oh, Bill knows. They'd had a long talk, and Nancy had done a lot of work to try to make sure Bill understood that her heart had never wavered from him, that she still loved him most of all. He'd taken every bite mark that Cooper had left, and dragged his claws over the wounds, making them his. Making Nancy his once more.

Bill knew, and he'd throw it back in her face when he could.

She smiles at Dodger. "Good- you doing alright?"

"Livin' my life of luxury, if that's what you mean." It's a joke from way back when, can they even remember how it started?

He sees the claw marks. They make him angry.

"Atta boy!" She beams proudly at him. She's so proud of him, honestly. The way he's grown up to become quite the handsome man, a good person, kind as ever.

Nancy rises for a moment, coming over to press her lips against Dodger's forehead in a motherly gesture.

And, of course, it gets an eye-roll in return. "Gettin' soft, you are."

She knocks his hat off balance for that one. "You keep your mouth shut, you! Ain't no way I'm going soft. Bill wouldn't have it." It's a joke, said lightly. They both knew it was true, though. Bill liked her feisty.

Five Years Later...

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