The Underground Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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undergrounds2017-10-09 09:30 pm
undergroundmods) wrote in undergrounds2017-10-09 09:30 pm
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Samantha Okeke lost her position as Witch Representative following allegations of corruption, and has been replaced by Diphylleia "Dee" Absin, a much more co-operative member of the Night Council.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Meanwhile, the Seelie and Unseelie Court have largely withdrawn from public life in the mortal realm except in isolated corners, though they claim the right to go where they please throughout the city.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...
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He'd march to the den and kill Fagin all over again right now if he could.
But he's not going to argue with her, not now. It'd take so much longer to make her see otherwise and he doesn't have the time. They can't see eachother anymore? Fine.
"You deserve a good life, and I really hope you get that," he backs up and starts turning to leave, "especially since it's going to be real fucking short with him."
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"I never expected to live this long," she tells Eames, remembering one of their first conversations, when she'd revealed that thought to him. She'd had to have just turned nineteen. "And after so long without him, every day I get with him is a gift." Bill would kill her one day. In her heart of hearts, she knew it.
But at least it would be him.
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Eames just shakes his head, disappointment clear on his face as he turns and walks away.
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"Eames- wait-" she wants to hug him again, but she stops herself again, her hand closing around the envelope that held all of Nancy Viola Bellerose's information. Slowly, with a trembling hand, she holds it out to him, not even sure if he'll deign to turn back around.
Either way, by the time Bill gets home, Nancy's already going to be drunk.
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"What is it?"
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"I thought you might want it back." She doesn't realize how badly her voice is starting to shake. She doesn't want him to go.
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"Let Bill destroy it," he says, turning again to leave, "he's already destroyed the rest of you."
He won't stop again this time.
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