The Underground Mods (
undergroundmods) wrote in
undergrounds2017-10-09 09:30 pm
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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Samantha Okeke lost her position as Witch Representative following allegations of corruption, and has been replaced by Diphylleia "Dee" Absin, a much more co-operative member of the Night Council.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Meanwhile, the Seelie and Unseelie Court have largely withdrawn from public life in the mortal realm except in isolated corners, though they claim the right to go where they please throughout the city.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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"Should I make some coffee?"
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"I'll do it." He turns to walk through to the kitchen, calling Boxer to come with him. It's basically a 'you deal with this' to Arthur, which might be unfair but also Eames is really fucking pissed off right now.
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"I'm sorry for the late call," she admits, looking at Arthur. It's the first time he can see how badly this has been effecting her. She doesn't have a spot of magic on her face and the makeup is long gone. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."
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He disappears for a moment and comes back with a big towel that he wraps around Nancy's shoulders. Then he gestures to the living room, hoping that he's not going to have to wash the couch cushions but already resigning himself to the idea that he might have to anyway.
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He'll leave Arthur to deal with her for that little while, instead kneeling on the floor and beckoning Boxer over to cuddle him a bit. He's not mad at the boy, he's a good and excellent young man.
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Wordlessly, Nancy waits till she's a bit dry before going to sit on the couch. Immediately, she sits in the corner, curling in on herself. She's so small, so scared as she sits there, shaking and crying.
she didn't expect sympathy. She never did anymore.
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"You okay?" He grabs a pair of mugs from the cupboard first before he puts a hand on Arthur's back and tips his head to bump his forehead against Arthur's.
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Somehow. Whatever dealing with it means. Probably continuing to pretend seeing Nancy's face bruised and bloody the way it is right now doesn't make his heart feel like it's being wrung out by an ogre.
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"thank you," she says when Arthur returns. She accepts the cup of coffee without complaint. She should probably sober up. Nancy shivers, and rubs at the back of her nose with her free hand "I'm so sorry, Arthur."
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"What happened?"
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He'll be back down soon with a jumper and some trousers that are either Nancy's or roughly her size at the very least. He doesn't interrupt the conversation when he does, just drops them on the couch and wanders back to the kitchen to get his coffee.
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"I... I don't know, Arthur! Can you believe it? He was in a sour mood when I got home, we'd been drinking- I tried to calm him, but-" She cuts off in order to choke out a sob. "The last thing I remember was he was throwing me out into the hall." She shakes her head, trying not to imagine how he had bodily picked her up.
"I didn't even know how I got here."
The clothes Eames' brought were once hers, by she hardly notices the arrival of clothing.
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He gestures to all of her.
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"Obviously she realised I'm still dumb enough to take her in despite everything." His delivery is casual, rolling his eyes.
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"no- this- this was before." She gestured at her face. "He threw me out." She'd be back tomorrow, begging him to let her back in. And he would and they'd have sex and they'd pretend nothing ever happened.
When Eames enters, Nancy doesn't look at him. Instead she looks at her coffee cup. "--no I don't--" she practically whispers. But here she was.
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"Just get yourself dried off," he tells her, trying to give her something to focus on.
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Still, compassion might be lacking but that doesn't mean he has to be cruel. He gestures to the clothes, "those shoukd fit-- I think that jumper might be yours," and looks aside at Arthur. What else is he supposed to do here?
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Nancy looks at the jumper. "Yeah- yeah, I thought I'd lost it." She picks up the trousers and the jumper. "let me get changed..." She shakily rises and retreats into the next room to change. They don't need to see the bruises on her ribs. Or the tattoo she now carries on her left flank, the initials W S carefully drawn so they were encircled in a heart, the same way Bill's tattoo had her name creating a heart.
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"It's fine, this is my problem anyway." He frowns a little as he speaks, expression apologetic, "I'm sorry all this woke you up."
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This time when she sits, barefoot, her knees are up to her chin, and she wraps her arms around herself. Tomorrow, she'll hate herself for doing this to Eames and Arthur, letting them see her at this, her brand new weakest. Tossed on her ass by her boyfriend after another round of another fight.
"You two can go back to bed," she says finally. "I'm okay by myself. I'll be gone before you wake up."
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