Enfield Claim: 7th-10th September

[brightwitch]

"Ellie Goulding - Burn" (Watch on YouTube)

Yeah, I went there.

Circle Midnight have gone one step too far this time. For almost a year, there has been an uneasy truce between the Redbright Institute and Circle Midnight – in truth, an uneasy truce between Sylvia Redbright and Abigail Widdowson, Mother and Maiden. There is no love lost between the two women, to put it mildly. Abigail nursed an ambition to join the Night Council in order to represent the interests of her people, but with Sylvia in charge that was never going to happen.

And then along came Raymond Harris, Duke of the Islington Nest and self-styled Other Mayor of London, to make an offer that Abigail couldn't refuse. An alliance between witches and vampires and a direct threat to the power of the Night Council.

They're already struggling against the vampires. Sylvia knows that she has to stop this alliance before it can get started, and that gives her the perfect excuse to destroy Circle Midnight once and for all. They've made the first move. Their pact is null and void, and it is for the sake of the city and the safety of its citizens that Sylvia orders her Outreach team to move in and take over Enfield.

Their goals are simple: capture Abigail and key Midnight witches, secure the area, and bring Enfield under the jurisdiction of the Redbright Institute. It's the only way to keep London safe.

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BEFORE ABIGAIL'S CAPTURE (7TH SEPT)

[brightwitch]

The team move in on the evening of 7th September. It's a surprise attack, meant to catch the Midnight witches off-guard. Abigail will be followed and she must be captured outside her home. Other Midnight witches are up for grabs too.

No one is allowed to kill a witch, even if they resist arrest. Sylvia's instructions are clear about this. She wants the Midnight witches to be captured alive.

As soon as Abigail is captured, Sylvia wants to know about it. She's standing by awaiting a call from her team, and will give further instructions once she hears the good news.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha can be found organizing. She's not taking command—or she's not trying to—but wherever there are Outreach members who seem not to know what they're about, she steps in with direction. Her mean is serious and professional.

The quicker and more decisively they move, the less chance this turns messy, and the clearer the message to those who would support Islington. It's the best strategy.

[signare]

This is not Nightingale's first experience with such a move. Not by a long shot. But where he might have been the leader of the charge back in the day, he is content to hang back and listen to his orders these days. He does a lot not to call attention to himself, and that includes showing off.

Of course, that doesn't mean he doesn't help at all. How could he not. Not only because he's ordered to but because it's his duty, and Nightingale is rather old-fashioned in that regard.

He steps forward and tips his head at her in greeting -- giving off the impression that if he had a hat he might be tipping his hat as well -- before speaking. "Ms Romanoff," he says. "We meet again."

[outstandingbalance]

"Seems like we do," Natasha says. Her voice is professional, but she manages a small, welcoming smile. "See, this is why I came by before? Better meeting you before we were thrown into something like this."

She tips her head a little, wryly amused with the situation. "Not the best way to make a first impression."

[signare]

Nightingale's face belies nothing of what he truly feels about the whole business, but its true. The way they had met before had certainly been under much better circumstances than they find themselves now. He is a soldier, he knows that. He is good at following orders, fighting for his cause. He doesn't have to like what he's doing.

And he certainly doesn't like what he's doing now.

"Indeed," he replies. "This is not quite as happy a scenario we find ourselves in now, it is true. It is good to see you here, though." Good to know he is not the only one standing true and firm, under the pressure.

[outstandingbalance]

He and Natasha are alike in that: they can both do what they're told. They don't need to like it. They just have to know it needs to get done. She can respect the fact that he's level about this.

And she'd rather have him here than some of the younger members. Kids. Outcasts. People who came to this life because they didn't have anywhere else to be. Natasha understood why they were here and she respected it, but she couldn't always trust them to do what needed to be done.

"No, not happy. But here we are." A pause, then she adds. "How do things look on your end?"

AFTER ABIGAIL'S CAPTURE (8TH SEPT)

[brightwitch]

Geap Manor is on fire.

It's a sign to all Midnight witches residing in the area. Their leader has been captured and her home is being burned down. The rest of them had better run or face the consequences.

[outstandingbalance]

Still smelling of smoke and moderately disheveled from the night, Natasha arrives at Sylvia's door still hours before dawn. She wouldn't call it an easy task, but the Outreach Group struck fast and organized, taking Midnight's leader by surprise.

It was business Natasha knew well, and however she might feel about it, she was good at it. She wasn't the kind of person who let internal misgivings get in the way of a job.

"Widdowson's in custody," Natasha says when they're face to face.

[brightwitch]

It's late and Sylvia is on her third cup of coffee, holding out until she knows for sure that they've accomplished their task. She's in one of the school offices which has been set up as a base of operations, with two or three Outreach members monitoring the situation at all times. This is serious enough for Sylvia to oversee personally; Abigail is no minor foe.

She puts her coffee down and folds her arms to listen to Natasha's report. "Good. And the others?"

[outstandingbalance]

"High priority targets all accounted for, alive." Natasha is clear on that point. At least that's an improvement working for Redbright. Red Room would have already been digging the drop site for the bodies. "The parameter was secure when I headed back. Teams are going through by blocks to pick up stragglers who might be acting up."

[brightwitch]

Alive is important. The last thing she wants are any dead witches on her hands. Everything has gone to plan so far, but they can't relax just yet.

She nods. "Get back out there with reinforcements and check again. I'd like to see this over by dawn."

She glances back at one of her colleagues nearby, gesturing for him to join them. Then there's a pause as she regards Natasha, thinking. The vampire has been quietly efficient in her work so far. She's proven herself to be both useful and loyal.

"Natasha." Her look is direct. "When was the last time you walked in the sun?"

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha is already turning to go when Sylvia stops her with her question. Her expression tightens. The math, as she does it, is depressing.

"Twenty-seven years," she says. Her voice is calm, despite the pang that comes with recognizing how long it's been. Since before the USSR fell, when the nest still had the cause and the resources to keep witches. Her necklace had bee destroyed, though, and never replaced.

Even then she hadn't been trusted with that kind of power all the time.

[brightwitch]

That's a long time to go without feeling the warmth of the sun on one's skin. Not as long as many vampires, but long enough to miss it.

"Keep up the good work," she replies, "and we may be able to do something about that."

No promises, no timeline given. But Sylvia believes in rewarding loyalty and Natasha is one of the very few vampires left in the city who might actually deserve it.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha holds the other woman's eyes a moment longer, only a beat because she has more to do before she has to be inside for the day, then inclines her head in appreciation. She understands that's not a promise, but it is something.

"Let me know if anything else comes up," she says before taking her leave.

[brightwitch]

Sylvia nods, watching her go. She's crossing her fingers that nothing else does.

THE COUNTER ATTACK (9TH SEPT)

[brightwitch]

At first it appears that everything is going well. Circle Midnight is crumbling and there's no sign that Islington are bothering to save their new allies.

What Sylvia doesn't expect is for the East End Pack to make a move instead.

[falsify]

Eames doesn't really believe they can make much of a difference, but Connor had approached him with the idea and he is strongly in favour of not giving more land to Redbright. So, here he is, mostly just here to make sure the fae he's brought along don't actually kill any witches. This is already a thin line, best not tip over it.

He spends some time walking with his little gang, scoping out the borough, seeing how this whole thing is going. Redbright is already pretty firmly entrenched, it... Doesn't fill him with a lot of hope for this whole thing, if he's honest.

[iustitiae]

The great thing with how marginalized werewolves are, is that they have a common enemy in basically everyone. So it isn't too hard to round up a small group of werewolves even with his inexperience and "youth" as one of their own. And that, with the fact Eames actually pulled through on this, gives him a much more positive outlook than he was perhaps expecting at the beginning of this. He's been through one failed claim before, and he knows fighting Sylvia's forces doesn't leave a lot of room for any other outcome.

But they hold anyway and counter. It's a attempt that's their attempt, and sometimes with the right push and enough rousing speeches that's at least a start.

SECURING THE AREA (10TH SEPT)

[brightwitch]

It's hard work, but in the end the Redbright forces manage to hold out and drive off any hostile forces, securing the area for themselves.

The task for the remainder of the month will be to hunt down the last of the Midnight covens in the city. By the end of September, they'll be effectively wiped out as a political force.