Fantasy ☽₊✩‧₊Found Destiny₊✩‧₊☾

[Colt Voltage]

Leo Thorn
𓆩✧♛✧𓆪
26.Leo.Vampire.Fire

It wasn't the first time Alina and Leo had a public argument. The two of them were water and oil; they got along on the surface most of the time, but there was always the one issue between them and that was Cypres. If Leo was too hard on the guy, if Alina was showing the man more attention than Leo, you name it there was an argument. It was a topic Leo completely avoided more often than not, but now? Now he had to address it whether he wanted to or not. He loved Alina-- or at least he thought he did. Truly she was an amazing woman and he didn't want to take away the only friend she had, but either Leo put his foot down or her mother would. And even Leo was terrified of that woman.

With a heavy sigh he pushed some of his blonde locks from his face, trying his best to calm himself down as he looked at the small dragon in front of him. Leo was known as the most fiery of all the heirs and it was something he was trying to work on. Especially when it came to popping off on the woman he was supposed to marry. "Look, Alina, I--" That calm went straight out the window when he heard Cy's voice. Rage filled every ounce of him and his blue eyes shifted red, something that only happened on the battlefield.

Mari came barging in and had thrown her atlus at the lion, leaving Leo enough time to pounce over the table and straight on top of Cypres. In a blind rage he found his fists flying into Cy's face once, twice, and one last final time. Unfortunately for Cy Leo was fully fed and physically stronger than him. Once he was done punching on his fellow heir Leo grabbed hold of Cy's collar and pulled him back up to face him.

"I will address my woman as I see fit. Because you want to know something, Cypres? You and Mari got engaged first. If you had wanted Alina you damn well could have had her. You abandoned her. And news flash, you can't have both of them. From here on out you and her are done. You need to deal with the Ignis household? You deal with me." With a shove he pushed Cy back on the floor and stood to his feet, proceeding to wipe the heirs blood off of his fists and onto his black pants.

​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Alina Diaval
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
22. Aquarius. Storm Dragon. Water & Air


The relationship Alina and Cy had wasn't healthy, she knew that. She knew that her feelings for him went far beyond friendship, so much so that she revealed her feelings for him and risking everything. Cy didn't reciprocate those feelings, going as far as to say he thought of her only as a friend. She... didn't know what she had expected by doing that, but to be friend-zoned hurt more than anything in this world. Her only other friend was Leo and right now, right now her relationship with Cy was straining that relationship. She couldn't lose Leo, she just couldn't. All for what? The friend zone? To watch Mari and Cy marry and rule Terra, all the while she brings shame to her family name?

The choice was clear, and it was somehow more painful than Cy turning her down.

Cy was joining them mid argument and coming to her defense. Tears welled in her eyes, and before she could say anything Mari was swooping in yelling and throwing her phone. The small blonde dragon looked away as seeing Mari physically ached her heart. What did she have that Alina didn't? Why was Cy always looking at her like a child that needed defending?

"LEO!" It was a split second movement that she couldn't stop, the vampire faster than the average fae because of his order. Alina had moved to pull him off but couldn't budge him. The thing that made her freeze? What Leo said to him. Cy abandoned her. They had been friends since they were children and she always admired him. She always felt a pull towards the Terra heir, like he was the one person in the world she could rely on despite her mothers 'trust no one' policy. That admiration grew into an crush and, inadvertently, evolved into love. Yet he didn't reciprocate, even going as far as getting engaged. Abandoned was a word that fit perfectly.

Once Leo was off of Cy Alina pulled out her monogramed handkerchief and used a drop of water out of midair to wet the soft material. "Cy..." She knelt by his side and moved to gently blot the blood off of his face, paying no mind to the eyes watching them. At this point Alina couldn't even look him in the eye but, she had to do this. "We can't be friends anymore." The words felt like a punch to the gut, yet cy would be fine. He was popular, he had tons of friends. He had Mari... He didn't need her anymore.
​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Vesta “Smith”
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
21.Gemini.Currently Unknown Order & Element

"I'm not going in any time out shirt. Not when she's suddenly team Mosquito." Vesta narrowed her gaze over at Veda as she took a seat, waiting no time to take a bite of the fresh croissant on her plate. Etiquette was certainly something that she'd need if they somehow did make it to the crown, but they'd tackle that issue later on. It wasn't that Vesta didn't like the vampire, she loathed him. He tried to kill them! If Vesta wasn't immune to fire she would've been dead right now. " I can't imagine that man is pleasant to deal with on any occasion. Alina should do something for herself to make her happy, and if that's hugging up on earth dude then good for her."

After another bite Matteo was mentioning a scarf and it instantly pulled her gaze away from the heated argument that now included Cy and Mari. The two girls always coordinated their outfits, plus it was spring, who the hell needed a scarf? She took a few seconds to look over her sister to see the glow to her skin and, more importantly, the eyes glancing over at Leo. "Funny enough I didn't bring my scarf. Honestly in a water trial it seems extra risky." Without waning Vesta snatched the scarf off her sister, her eyes landing on the two pinholes in her neck and confirming her worst fear.

"Oh, fuck that." Vesta's appetite was gone. She jumped to her feet, threw the scarf down, and stomped over to the bleeding vampire. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to take on a vampire double her size much less an heir, but Vesta was crazy. "YOU BIT MY SISTER?" Fire burned in her palms before she gave a harsh shove to his chest, singing the material of his shirt as she barely moved the man.

"Robbing you blind isn't enough. Y'know I didn't really give a damn about the crown, but now? I'm going to torch you and rip it from your fucking head. I'll take the crown from your fucking ashes if I have to." Vesta was hot. Her green eyes were brighter than normal, those golden flecks threatening to combust. The copper locks of hers even had a burning glow to them.

​

 

[Sir Damien]

Rune Finch
⋆༺𓆩

𓆪༻⋆
27.Scorpio.Basalisk.Shadows&Earth

Rune had watched his parents burn alive in front of him. He had watched comrade after comrade fall from his own birth right people, he had killed thousands of said people. Yet none of that stung as badly as losing his mate. The man literally fed off of pain and he felt as if it was far too much to handle. Marigold was everything he never asked for; he begged the stars not to do this to him, not to give him something he knew he couldn't have. They didn't listen and in fact gave him the most beautiful, imperfectly perfect woman. His heart and soul physically ached for her. The two both had their reasons for not pursuing this bond, yet none of that made the pain any better.

It was physical torture to lift his gaze to meet hers. His jaw clenched to fight back the tears-- tears he had never shed before. Rune would have preferred death than to see that golden ring around those gorgeous tear stained eyes of her. There was no way around this, nothing he could kill or do to allow them to stay together and she knew that. She was fucking brilliant and everything good in the world, and as she spoke it only crushed his heart further.

There were no words from Rune as their lips met one final time. Not when she stood and dressed herself, not as she left. But when she was gone? Rune lost control. Shadows burst out of the walls, the ground, they came every which way and destroyed everything in the room. Wood splintered, glass shattered, his potion station exploded. Even his bed was cracked in half leaving nothing but broken broken pieces of bed frame, the only thing safe in the room was the mattress that laid lopsided on the ground.

"Fuck."

After some time Rune finally left his room, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his leather jacket and each stride more vicious than the next. The scowl on his face was worse than usual; it was so bad people literally stepped out of his way to make a clear path for the weapon of a man. It didn't take long for him to locate his flock of misfit heirs and company. If they thought Mari's bursting through the doors was bad enough, Rune literally broke the doors off of its hinges as he made his way inside.

"ATTENTION." The booming voice echoed through the dining hall and caused everyone to freeze. It took everything in him to quell the shadows around him. Shadows were unpredictable, often times during training they would turn on the person commanding them. It took years to master, and although Rune was indeed a master of his shadows his emotions were uncontrollable right now. Now he was just trying to focus on the rage and not the utter heartbreak.

"Aqua trail is up next, ladies." Although he said ladies his gaze didn't falter between Leo and Cy. "I don't care what pissing match is happening here. I want all of you in that arena five minutes ago. Do you hear me?" There was a chilling hiss to his voice that even the kings would listen to at this point. The basilisk was taking no shit from anyone today.

"NOW." Rune turned on his heels and the earth rumbled as he made his final order and stomped off towards the arena in his combat boots.

​

 

[ZombieBaee]

Veda “Smith”
₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊
21.Gemini.Siren. All Four.
​

“Vesta I’m not team mosquito, if I was we would have a better name and cuter uniforms and you know it.” Veda smirked over at her twin before sticking her tongue out in defiance. It wasn’t that she was on HIS side, just maybe that she realized he was more of a person than a monster. “Listen I’m with you there, all their relationships are so fucked up but it would still suck to have it on blast like this. Remember when Tony Alto from senior year broke up with me on twitter? Shit was so embarrassing.” Veda hummed as she responded, taking a small bite of the eggs on her plate before waving her fork in the air in an attempt to push away the topic at hand.“Hey! Back off mister.” As Matteo called attention to the scarf around her neck, Veda’s hand flew to her neck and adjusted the scarf a bit to make it tighter. “I just liked the blue okay? It seemed very aqua vibes for the day, I figured we could use any extra bit of luck you know?” The woman was trying so hard to keep her attention on normalizing her behavior but with the commotion growing across the room it was nearly impossible. She stole a glance toward the source of the noise, her heart racing as she realized the chaos was only beginning… Mari and Cy had now joined the conversation and it didn’t appear to be going well. Mari was throwing things and before another second could pass by Leo was launching over the table and taking Cypres to the ground with a thud that made Veda tense. The fight that ensued was absolutely brutal and Veda couldn’t tear her eyes away from the situation, something inside her was thrumming and could feel, *crave*, the heightened emotions rolling from all four of them. There was rage and frustration, despair and confusion.

Then Veda was ripped from her focus as if she was hit with a fucking bus, Vesta had snatched the scarf from around her neck and let out a growl that made Veda jump up from her chair as well. “Vee! Vee slow the fuck down!” Veda threw a pleading look back at Matteo before rushing off towards the commotion, at this point people were gathering around like it was a stage play and multiple different men and women had pulled out their cameras to take videos of the scene. Oh fucking hell, maybe humans and fae weren’t so different after all.

Veda shoved herself between her sister and Leo, her back pressed against the front of his now singed shirt as she placed her hands against Vesta’s shoulders to gently push her back and create some space. Veda could feel how high all this tension was and the last thing she wanted was for Vesta to end up on the receiving end of any of this nonsense. Something in her trusted Leo to not hurt Vesta, not again at least, she wasn’t entirely sure why because all logic told her to not but she just knew that she could. “Vesta please, let’s just go to the trial okay?” There was no getting through to her sister, she was barking at the man despite Veda being between them and she could feel her sisters skin warming under her fingers. “Vesta! Come on!” She begged with her, her fingers tensing slightly on her shoulder before suddenly she was thrown into a pit of rage and anger that overwhelmed her for a moment before Veda turned it into something less wild, something calming and comfortable that she felt flowing through her body like a river. Her eyes went from their typical stormy blue color to something more like pale blue glass filled with swirling ice water and her arms tingled as a few scattered silvery scales appeared along her skin.

It wasn’t until Rune came in booming that Veda’s hands fell and she jumped backward from Vesta with wide eyes. Her attention was barely on Rune’s words and instead on her arms in awe as she took in the glittering new pieces of skin that lied there. The short woman turned around quickly, shoving Leo gently in the chest to hold out her arms to show him the scales that now danced along them. Suddenly it was as if she had completely forgotten all about the fighting due to her pure excitement at actually confirming the siren suspicions. “Look! You were actually right mosquito boy, see! Scales!” Veda exclaimed, her voice trembling with equal parts disbelief and wonder. This was absolutely insane! “Vesta! Vesta look!” She turned back around, beaming at her sister until she realized the deadpan look on the girls face and her smile fell slightly. “Oh come on, let’s all just calm down and get to the trial then okay? Before Rune kills us all.”

​

​

 

[KAYDEN]

Cypres Ettery
~𑁍~
25.Capricorn.Nemean Lion. Earth & Air​

Cy had turned his head for barely a second to respond to Mari before he was being tackled to the ground, his head smacking against the cobblestone floor with a painful bang. It took the man a moment to realize what was happening, the pain ringing between his ears causing a few seconds of confusion that had fully allowed Leo to get the upper hand but once he got his bearings a bit more Cy was able to get a few decent hits into Leo’s ribs and abdomen. It was nothing compared to the beating that Cy got however, he could feel that he had multiple injuries to his face including a broken nose that was oozing blood down his cheek. Part of him wanted to jump up and tackle Leo back down to the ground simply for fucking sucker punching him but before he could sit up the idiot vampire was standing over him screaming down at him.

And that was what finally broke his composure.

“Don’t act fucking hard and big because you got a few good hits in mate!” Cy sat up, leaning on his elbow as he felt his claws extend and his eyes transition… he wasn’t going full order but he was fighting the transformation hard. “And my GOD Leo would you stop talking about women like they’re property? Newsflash I don’t GET either of them because they’re fucking people your narcissistic ass.” In school he and Leo had been close friends, nearly brothers in the war but ever since returning to the kingdom Leo had changed, he treated everyone differently and it had pushed them apart. Before recently they were able to past their strange love triangle.. kind of. “I didn’t-“ Cy went to dispute the abandonment claim but he couldn’t make himself say the words because in all honesty they were kind of true. Life had pushed them apart sure but Cy hadn’t exactly done anything to try and make it work, he could have done a million things and he thought about it often but at some point had decided he couldn’t live constantly dwelling in the past. Then Mari came along and everything just seemed to happen for them, so quickly that before Cy could change things he was being given his mother’s engagement ring and being told to propose. “You don’t get to tell her who her friends can and can’t be Leo.”

Leo shoved Cy back to the floor and stepped away, for a moment Cy considered grabbing the vampire by his pant leg and ripping him down to the floor but then Alina came into view and all thoughts of violence were thrown out the window. Her face looked so sad, so broken and he absolutely hated that she had been around to watch their fight, to hear what they had said. “Lina…” Cy sighed softly and nearly reached out to brush away her hair until he remembered the crowd around them. “I’m so sorry.” He meant it for a million things, not just this fight. His hazel eyes watched her intently as she pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and began to clean his wounds, an act that caused his heart to pound in his chest. Then she said the words that caused his heart to absolutely plummet from his chest. “Come on, don’t say that. We can be friends Alina, we’ve been friends for years. Nothing has changed.” Only it had, their night together had crossed a line that was becoming apparent was now blurred so badly that the both of them were fighting to maintain their own lives. But they could get back to that right? This was just a little derailment, they could work through this and be fine right?

Rune walked in and his booming voice called them all from their various arguments and conversations to return back to reality. A reality that made Cy turn back to Alina and swallow hard. “We should get going.”

​

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marigold Lycath
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
23.Scorpio.Werewolf.Water
​

As if her day wasn’t already terrible enough, now Mari had to deal with the steaming pile of shit that was this group of absolute fucking losers. Why this crew were some of the most successful of her peers was starting to be beyond her. Alina screamed at Leo as he attacked Cypres and Mari simply stood back , her arms crossing over her chest as she watched it all go down. So much drama, just a day ago she would have been eating this all up but today she was so over it, it felt so juvenile and small compared to the pain she had felt just an hour or two ago. The decision to walk away from her mate, from Rune, had felt like her soul was being shredded in two, it was like she was denying what her heart knew it needed and her very being was choosing to punish her for it. So this? This little petty fight over pretty little Alina? Mari was over it.

Once the physical violence stopped and the men decided to begin hurling their words at one another was when Mari finally stepped in. “Do your best to remember to have some dignity boys. You aren’t on the playground anymore, you are heirs.” She hissed the last bit of her words at the both of them, her eyes turning into dangerous slits as she closed the few steps that remained between her and them. "Figure it out," she continued, her voice a sharp whip against the din of their shouting. “You guys need to both grow up beyond the caring about friendship and love.” Her voice had turned into a growl, dangerous and low so that no one outside of their little group could hear her. If they had known what she gave up this morning, how much she had walked away from in order to keep things the same and keep up appearances… they would realize how asinine this fight was. Alina was LEO’S fiancé, not even his fucking mate! They were going to be wed and it was far past time that both Cy and Alina accepted that fact. If they managed to jeopardize their arrangements after Mari had given up so much for this, she would personally kill them both so they could finally be together as they wished.

One of the V twins rushed in to berate Leo and Mari rolled her eyes, turning her full attention to Cy where he still lied against the floor. However, he wasn’t alone lying there instead Alina had felt the need to step in once again. That was it. That was just the image that Mari needed to see to completely fucking snap on this dinky little dragon bitch. “Oh you have got to be fucking JOKING Alina!” Mari let out a frustrated scream and closed the distance between her and the blonde woman kneeling beside Cy before reaching out to tangle her hand in her long blonde hair and yanking upwards to force her to stand. “Can you get a hint you psycho sad little bitch!” If these people wanted a show, Mari would give them a fucking show because at this point hit was the only thing bringing her even the slightest joy, albeit twisted. “I could have ignored the photo, you and Cy have been friends for years. But I am DONE watching this shit, I’m done watching Leo beg for your attention while you throw yourself at MY fiancé, I’m done watching him feel so bad for you that he tolerates this shit and stands up for you. Do you think he does that because of friendship Alina? Because he cares about you?” Mari let her go with a gentle push away from Cy and moved closer, leaning down into her face with a wicked smirk as she prepared for the killing blow. “He pitys you Alina. You’re so pathetic and sad that Cypres has put attention into trying to be your friend for years and I’ve allowed it but apparently your little delusion has gone way too far. It’s time for this to end, without all the drama please.” Mari rolled her golden eyes once more before standing back to her full height and making a little shoo motion at Alina before kneeling besides Cypres on the ground and leaning into his ear with fake concern spread across her features. “Keep your fucking mouth shut if you don’t want me to absolutely destroy her. This will fix everything for all four of us Cypres.”

Across the hall, Mari heard the booming footsteps that she recognized all too well. It was impossible for her to look towards him as Runes voice rang out through the hall but she could tell that her entire body went rigid. How in the ever loving fuck was she going to get through this trial today? “Come on, let’s get going and then after I’ll take you down to the healers okay?” The woman helped Cy up off the ground before sliding her hand into his to lead him out of the room. As she walked she overheard one of the twins freaking out about her scales and she yawned, “Oh good, since one of you is a fish I can up the difficulty. You heard Rune, MOVE.”

​

​

 

[EclipseRosee]

Matteo Sellis
｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡
24.Sagittarius.Incubus.Fire
Oh boy, Matteo hadn’t quite expected a reaction like that, he had only poked fun at Veda because he thought it might lighten the mood. But apparently fighting seemed to be the word of the day as everyone was all of a sudden at each other’s throat. “Vesta! Girls!” Matteo yelled as he slid away from the table and took off after them, part of him thought that he should maybe go track down Rune or one of the other leadership roles around the citadel to put a stop to this but the fact remained that the main fight here was between two of the heirs… no one here currently outranked them. As everyone yelled at one another Matteo tried to grab for Vestas hand but she was too busy shoving at Leo and Veda had pushed herself into the middle of that issue. So instead Matteo decided to handle the problem of all of the onlookers that had been attracted to the situation. “Alright alright, shows over. Don’t you all have better shit to do than to sit around and watch other people this morning? Let’s get moving.” For a moment he thought it was going to work but then Mari had to get things going again. You had to be fucking joking. These fucking people were going to be the goodamn death of him.

Thankfully Rune had appeared and caused them all to calm down, at least for the most part. The most important part to Matteo was that he was now able to get ahold of Vesta now that her sister had released her from her hold and turned her attention to Leo. Which was a fact that made Matteo wince, just looking at Vesta’s face he could tell she was ready to snap
again even with the reminder about the trial that they really needed to get headed too soon here. “Vee, Veda is right! We should get going to the trial. Then once you guys pass we can go do something fun !” Did he actually have a plan? No. Did he know that he needed to do something to get Vesta to change her focus from strangling her sister to literally anything else? Yes. ​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Alina Diaval
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
22. Aquarius. Storm Dragon. Water & Air


Between the berating of Mari and Cy constantly trying to push away her feelings something inside of the small dragon snapped. Alina was a runt when she was born, no one save for her father had high expectations for her. She was always smaller, weaker, her mother never expected her to amount to much. Cy was her only friend before she knew her order or her powers. When she did find out she was a storm dragon, when she found out she had the same power rankings as him, everyone changed their tone with her. Fake friends came out of the wood work, people kissed her ass just to get on her good side. Cy was the only real friend she had ever had.

Then her father died and Alina became the sole heir to his entire legacy. More often than not she was still the sweet and quiet woman she had always been, but right now? Her Medusa of a mother was coming out.

"Pity? You seem to forget yourself. The only one anyone here pity's is you, Marigold." There was a cold tone to Alina's voice and she swore she could hear her mother. Alina stood tall, or as tall as she could, and narrowed her striking blue gaze at the wolf. "You come from a family where you will never amount to anything. You can't become alpha, you can't lead your pack. Your life depends on your marriage. Even without my union I will be the head of the Diaval's, cousin to the Aether throne. I am the most powerful of dragons in the citadel. My ranking, my order, my family outranks you in ever aspect. The only reason you get to do a trial is because I didn't want to do two of them. You were Rune's second choice."

Outside dark, heavy clouds had taken over the sky, lightning flashed and booming thunder was rumbling near by. "Come on Leo." Alina refused to even glance at Cy at this point. She actually believed Mari that he pitied her, and that was a painful truth that she wasn't ready to tackle. No... she was just going to cut Cy off. It was best for everyone. Instead she turned on her heels and made her way to the trial.
​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Vesta “Smith”
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
21.Gemini.Currently Unknown Order & Element

"What are you--" It all happened before she could do anything about it. Vesta knew in theory what a siren could do but had never experienced it before. It was like a sponge sapped every ounce of her rage from her and replaced it with a calm that she didn't want to experience. Vesta fought through gritted teeth to keep the anger that pushed her to murdering Leo to no avail. Hell, her emotions were enough to cause her sister to pop some sparkling scales. Scales Vesta would've been impressed with had she not immediately shown off to Leo. Arguably that hurt worse than Veda defending the man.

"Don't-- don't touch me." Vesta smacked away Matteo's hand and staggered away as soon as he got close to her. There was a break in her voice and she tried to remain the tough girl she always was despite the overwhelming ache in her chest. This pain was new, unfamiliar, and gut wrenching. The small woman hugged her arms around herself in attempts to calm herself down, her eyes closing as she shook her head. Veda betraying her was already bad enough, but Matteo? He had her believing that he would be there for her, that he would back her up no matter what. He was the person she wanted most to-- to hug her, to help her. Now he was standing there taking Veda's side on the matter and she didn't understand why it was hurting her so bad. "If I pass I'm requesting a move to another tower, one where you and Veda aren't."

After last night she really thought that he'd be there for her, she let her guard down with someone other than Veda for the first time. Now every single wall she had built were back up ten fold even with her sister. Alina had left and Vesta wiped away the lone tears that slid down her cheek, not saying a damn word to anyone as she turned and sprinted off.

Once to the trial she shoved her hands into her pockets and moved towards the center of the arena. Vesta hadn't worried about the trial up until now. Fire wouldn't come in handy at all here but, she'd figure it out. And if she didn't? Well that'd probably make Matteo and Veda all the more happy.

​

 

[Colt Voltage]

Leo Thorn
𓆩✧♛✧𓆪
26.Leo.Vampire.Fire

It was unclear at what point things turned for Leo. The constant murder of the shadow wielders, watching his own comrades die. Bodies became inventory; something they had to count and track, and after that he supposed he, maybe, started to treat people like property. He didn't think of it as a bad thing though. He wanted to protect Alina-- they weren't romantic at all, but she was the only person that stuck by him after the war. Even Cy abandoned him and that was something that both him and Alina shared.

That didn't mean Leo got to talk shit though. Leo bared his extended canines and went to swing on the man again before the small twin approached him. "Hey hey hey, back the fuck up fire brat!" His gaze narrowed down at her once he realized his nice shirt was now singed, and just when he went to walk away from her he stopped in his tracks. Oh, yeah. He did bite Veda last night. What was the issue though? A vampire had to feed, and it wasn't like Veda was mad at him. He ensured that she'd safely arrive to her dorm! What was the issue?

The next thing he knew Veda was pushing herself between him and Vesta, his brows instantly arching as he took a step back to watch the interaction. To the side there was the Alina, Cy, and Mari drama and, honestly, he was over that. Veda was stepping in to save and that was absolutely shocking to him. Just last night she was telling him what a shit person he was! Sure she was saying she liked the bite, that it made her feel less alone... but that was the blood loss talking. It caused his heart to skip a beat or four. Leo wasn't able to be himself around anyone anymore, the fact that Veda accepted him even at his worst meant everything.

For a moment he tuned out everything and just lost himself looking down at Veda. The only thing that pulled him out of his trance when he noticed those silvery scales popping up along her skin. Last night it seemed that Veda hadn't discovered her order yet, and while Leo obviously knew what she was this would be the proof Veda needed. Then Rune stormed in, barked some orders that made his blood run colder than normal, and just as he was about to mention leaving to Alina Veda was shoving him in the chest. Hold on, did she want to fight him too?

Just as was about to give her a snarky comment he felt his cheeks heat with a small blush at the sight of the smile on Veda's face. The woman had looked miserable the last few weeks. He hadn't seen her smile like that before and it was fucking gorgeous. "Ay, I told you! You act like you doubted me or something. Me of all people." Leo feigned insult with a small chuckle, taking a step closer so he could look at the scales. Just as he was about to say something Vesta was running away, leaving Veda and Matteo behind. "Since you seem to be by yourself want to walk with us? I think a pretty scaled siren makes you cool enough to walk with us." Leo nudged her with his elbow with a playful wink before heading after Alina towards the arena. "So is mosquito really going to be my new name?"



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[ZombieBaee]

Veda “Smith”
₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊
21.Gemini.All Four. Siren.
​

“What the fuck Vee?” Veda shouted after her sister as she stormed out of the dining hall, her eyes going wide with confusion as to why in the hell the woman was suddenly losing her ever loving mind at Matteo and herself. What was that all about? She watched the now empty doorway for a long moment before Leo’s voice pulled her attention back to the man standing in front of her. Was Vesta really that upset about the bite? It wasn’t like it happened to her! Veda wasn’t exactly thrilled about it either but my god, it wasn’t like Veda asked for it. It just sort of happened! And the only reason Veda was so excited to show him her scales was… well it was because he was the one who told her about it ! That and seeing the way his face lit up when he recognized that she was sharing with him, not scolding him… that part made her stomach flip in a way that she wasn’t sure she hated.

“Yeah seems so.” Veda rolled her eyes as she glanced back to where Matteo had been standing to find he had already chased after her twin. The realization stirred a bit of annoyance in her gut, she was already jealous of the fact that her sister had made a friend and even further that friend lived and shared her main element… but now Vesta was annoyed that Veda had made a friend too? Was that what Leo was now, a friend? She glanced back at him as he smirked, cocking his head towards Alina who looked just about ready to explode after her altercation with Mari and Veda couldn’t help but hiss out a slow breath. “Uh, yeah why not?” It sounded more like a question than she had truly meant for it to be but it was what it was.

As the three of them made their way to the large cavern used for Aqua training they chatted idly, Veda found that she liked Alina more than she thought but also that her hunch about the two of them was more than correct. Leo had said that was his woman and came to her defense in a way but there was no true love flowing between the two and Veda could see that, she was fairly certain she could have even without her siren powers. “Of course it is, what else do you call something that’s annoying and bites people without their permission?” Veda smirked over at Leo, a slight twinkle in her eye before she winked and turned her attention back to the entrance of the cave. Apparently there was an underground lagoon here that aqua preferred due to most of their higher level users being more nocturnal than others. She hadn’t been exactly sure what to expect but this sure as hell wasn’t it. The cave walls were covered in glittering gemstones and bioluminescent plants causing the whole place to glitter with a silvery purple and blue light. It wasn’t a far walk until they came across the giant body of water, another glowing blue light only this one seemed to be endlessly deep and made her swallow a bit despite her comfortability in water in general. “So uh, what’s the trial going to be do you think? I mean Alina you said this was supposed to be yours right?”

-

“HOW DEEP?” Veda exclaimed at Mari, her eyes instantly going back to the large body of water besides them. The two girls had been sent off to change into the two plain Jane black swimsuits provided by Mari for the trial and when they came back they were getting the briefing. According to Mari the girls were going to be pushed down to 250 feet of depth and expected to return to the surface without using anything but water magic, or without running out of breath and dying. They were warned that the water had currents and it was their job to figure out how to work with them or change them through their powers. Rune had reassured them that being fae meant that the pressure wouldn’t cause any issues but considering that was his ONLY reassurance wasn’t very great. Veda looked over at her sister and rubbed at her scales on her arm nervously, Veda had discovered her order and it was one that was supposed to be good with water. It was her element that she felt most aligned with. Vesta on the other hand was clearly more aligned with fire but that didn’t mean she WASNT a siren right? They were twins! Veda would have to do her best to make sure they both got out of this but she had to admit she was nervous, if Vesta had issues with water like Veda had with fire… The woman shook the thought out of her mind and turned her attention back to the group standing in front of her. “And if things go downhill you pull us out? I understand we wouldn’t pass but… no more crazy shit that could get us killed right?” Her stormy blue eyes narrowed a bit at Mari as she spoke before flicking to Alina, the dragon was supposedly more powerful with water than Mari so she felt a little better knowing there was at least another water elemental in the room that she trusted more than Mari. Though that wasn’t saying much.

Then Veda glanced over at her sister again, “And I know you’re upset with me right now but we have to be on the same page for this okay Vee? We can do this.” She tried her best to shoot her sister a cocky smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. Truth be told she was nervous for this, these people hadn’t exactly been inviting them with open arms and the last trial had gone terribly.

​

​

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marigold Lycath
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
23.Scorpio.Werewolf.Water
​

Oh.

Oh fucking no.

Oh no no no no.

Who did this teensy, insignificant little bitch think she was to talk down to her? This was why everyone loathed dragons, no matter how nice they seemed on the surface they were always narcissistic bastards deep down. Wolves were not rare, they were considered a common but powerful type of fae and a lot of time were looked down upon by other orders. Only the most influential and powerful of their families ever became anything so her family being in high enough standing for her to be engaged to an heir spoke volumes of how people thought of them. While Mari had her issues with her family and her pack, those were HER issues to comment on, not Alina’s.

“All I hear Alina, is you proving me right.” Mari sneered as she leaned down to brush some blood from Cy’s face with her sleeve. After a moment of looking him over she leaned into his ear and spoke in a low tone that she made sure was just for him, nothing like this would ever happen again if she could help it. If Mari was giving up Rune to be with him, he was giving up this little girl and making sure she stayed gone. “If you don’t act like the best fiancé in the world starting right this very moment, I will make sure my father gets ahold of that photo and I will play up how you broke my heart. I will make him believe you were even more unfaithful than you were and he will make your life hell, your life and your parents. Got it?” Mari pulled back a fraction of an inch to peer down at him and found him giving her a small nod before his hand reached out to rest against her side. Good.

Mari then turned her full fury in Alina’s direction once more as the short woman made her way over to Leo. “Pity is exactly what I mean, all I hear when you speak is that you have no sense of self to stand on. You’re the cousin of, your family, your ranking. Alina if we were on paper sure, you win. But this is real life and the man you love, loves me.” She held her hand up to flash the shining diamond that graced her ring finger, though it no longer made her as giddy as it once did. Now it felt like a heavy burden that was nearly too hard to hold up. “The only reason Cy even looks out for you anymore is because he feels badly about you having no one left. We’re not friends anymore, he’s moved on… you’re left with a man who is more interested in his new little plaything than he is you.” She motioned to Veda and Leo with a smile that felt like acid against her skin. “So have fun with your little storms, have fun knowing the one person who you seem to place on a pedestal, has been playing you for a fool out of pity and nothing more.”

If Alina wanted to call her Rune’s second choice, Mari would shoot to kill. That comment hadn’t been meant in any way other than the trial but given the morning they had, Mari felt as if she could die from the hole it tore in her chest. She glanced over to the corridor that Rune had left through and her stomach turned as if she were about to vomit, how was she supposed to go on like this? If every mention or glance at him made her feel like the earth was being pulled out from under her?

“Come on.” Mari stood and pulled Cy to her feet before staring up at him and pushing some of his hair from his face. “All Alina will do is ruin everything you’ve worked for Cy, sometimes you have to walk away from what you think you want in order to make yourself successful. But I mean it, one more hair out of line and I don’t know if I can handle it anymore okay?”

-

Mari and Cy were the last two to join everyone else in the cavern, Mari having handled all her preparations before today even arrived. As they had entered the lagoon area she glanced around to make sure everything got her grand plan was in place and it seemed as if this should go off without a hitch. “You’ll be fine, that’s only slightly over half what we usually send kids down for in the reckoning at the Academy. And those are actual teenagers, you’re adults. So let’s act like it yeah?” Mari rolled her eyes at the twins who were acting as if they were about to be sent off to their deaths, of course they were but they didn’t know that. “Oh stars, of course. Apart from Leo’s little stunt no one here has tried to harm you in the slightest so it would be nice if you would stop acting like fucking victims.” The twins exchanged a nervous glance, but tried to stand a little taller and Mari couldn’t help but let out a curt laugh. They wouldn’t have even lasted a year in the academy, their schooling was tough for a reason because their lives weren’t easy and being wielders of all this power came with great responsibility! Even now any of the heirs could be challenged at any moment for their throne and those challenges could be to the death if needed. This life wasn’t for the weak.

“Oh please, come on! We don’t have all day to sit around while you two try and sort your shit out. Into the water, now!” Mari made her way behind the two girls and began to push them down the stone dock until they reached the end. “Now once you jump in I’ll let you take a few good deep breaths before I push you down to depth. On the way down I’ll use my power to create a bubble but once you’re there I’m just letting go of it, so make sure to breathe in one last time
Okay? Think you can handle that?”

​

​

 

[EclipseRosee]

Matteo Sellis
｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡
24.Sagittarius.Incubus.Fire​

If Matteo thought that life had been complicated and strange before the twins, he was in for a shock to see how crazier things could get. The bite marks on Veda were shocking for sure but what was even more remarkable was how Vesta had reacted with such hurt, even more so when she pushed Matteo away and went running off without another word. Matteo stood there, overwhelmed and uncertain, as the echoes of her footsteps dissipated into the stone corridor outside of the dining hall. It only took him a few moments longer before he took off after her without a single word to the others and the worry in his chest spurred him forward. Had he hurt Vesta’s feelings somehow?

By the time Matteo caught up with Vesta she had already met up with Rune down in the lagoon and he knew it wasn’t a good idea to try and talk to her now. Thought if he was being honest it was hard to keep his mouth shut knowing they were about to go into a trial that was set up by Mari of all people, if everyone had thought Leo was scary and unhinged they hadn’t met Mari. Even worse was that Mari had just gotten into quite the altercation with Alina and was sure to be in a bad mood. Which was only proven right once everyone finally arrived down at the site of the twins second trial. Everyone felt on edge, even Rune more so than usual, and Matteo couldn’t stop himself from speaking up. “Maybe we should postpone the trial, everyone seems to be in a pretty bad mood and we’ve all had a stressful day already. Might be for the best?”

However it was clear no one was listening to him as Mari began to force the girls off towards the waters edge. Matteo clenched his jaw, watching helplessly as Vesta and the others followed Mari's command, preparing for the start of the trial. If Veda had any control of her siren form yet that would really help them here, she would have a natural affinity for the water and be able to hold her breath much longer than Vesta. On the flip side however, if Matteo was right about Vesta then the woman was shit out of luck submerged in water like that.

. ​

​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Alina Diaval
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
22. Aquarius. Storm Dragon. Water & Air


A few years ago when her father past during the war Alina felt hopeless. She was a mess, depressed, she had lost everyone that ever cared for her. Cy and her hadn't spoken in ages it felt like, Mari and her had their falling out years before that, and her mother and her were on professional terms at best. The only person that was there to catch her when she fell was Leo. But... he wasn't the same Leo after the war. So that silly, insignificant dream her and Cy had growing up was the thing she thought of literally all the time to raise her spirits. That one day it could come true, they'd be away from all of this and just happy with each other.

Now even that dream was gone. There were no tears this time and instead all she felt was... well, all she felt was nothing. A pool of bleak, unending emotionless. Not even an ash arrow to her wings would make her feel anything. Yet she had a public appearance to maintain so she held her head high during the walk to the lagoon with Leo and the surprising addition of Veda. Or, as Mari called her 'Leo's new plaything'. It was a punch to the gut, but she was right. The holes in her neck proved it. Hell, the way the two chatted casually like they had known each other for ages should have twisted her up inside. It didn't though. Veda seemed like a sweet girl, and Alina was just happy that Leo was smiling.

That was their relationship in a nutshell. He didn't love her like he claimed to, at least not in the romantic sense. At most he was like an overprotective big brother. The two kissed for public appearances but Alina made it clear that nothing would happen beyond that, not before marriage. He was free to do what he wanted and shockingly he remained relentlessly loyal. Cy may not have been able to have friends because of Mari, but Alina would allow Leo to pursue whatever made him happy.

"You two will be fine. Just breath and I'll be here to monitor." During the first trial Alina was powerless to do anything. Now? Now they were in her territory. Even if Mari pulled anything Alina could step in and help the girls. Hell, deep down she wanted the girls to take the damn crown so Alina was free to leave this place and pursue a life of her own. Instead of outright saying it she offered the girls a soft smile, stayed put next to her spot by Leo, and avoided even so much as glancing at Cy and Mari.

On the surface the water was still and calm, meanwhile underneath she could feel the strong currents whipping about. Mari had failed to let the girls know of all the students that had drowned during their trials, and that was actually the first thing Alina and her could agree on. The girls were already spooked enough.
​

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Vesta “Smith”
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
21.Gemini.Currently Unknown Order & Element

"I don't have to be on the same page as anyone, least of all someone all buddy buddy with the guy that nearly murdered me. You even have Matteo siding with you." The hissed statement felt like acid on her tongue as Vesta shot a narrowed glare over at her sister. Vesta didn't care that Veda made a friend-- it was her choice of people that angered her. If Vesta wasn't a phoenix she would've died because of Leo, and yet for some reason Veda was putting that out of her mind. If it hadn't of been for Vesta opening the way for Veda she'd of been dead and it would've became Vesta's life mission to kill the man. Apparently the feeling wasn't mutual and it fucking hurt. It hurt far worse than the fear she had over this asinine water trial.

"Let's fucking do this then." As Mari began to push them further on the dock Vesta used the black hair tie around her wrist to toss her wild copper locks into a tight bun so it wouldn't get in her way. At the end of the dock she paused for a fraction of a second. Her jaw clenched before she looked back at Matteo and for that moment her eyes flicked from angry green orbs to a much more apologetic expression. She had been so mean to someone who had been nothing but nice to her, and for once in her life she felt guilty about it. What if she died and didn't see him after this?

And then the 21 years of stubborn bitch hardened her gaze again and she shifted it back on the water. It was his own damned fault for siding with Leo and Veda. Fuck him.

The pale, freckled phoenix stepped off of the stone dock and dropped into the crystal clear luke warm water. Her small form went underneath the water completely before popping up and pushing a few loose strands of wet bangs out of her eyes. "Marigo,ld if you're going to try to kill us do a better job than the leech did, yeah?" A small cocky grin pulled at Vesta's lips as she challenged the already pissed off wolf before sinking back down under the surface and into the air pocket she had made.

The cocky grin fell as she looked down at the bottom of the lagoon. This was it, Vesta literally had no control of the water and she was going to die before she made it back to the surface.
​

 

[Colt Voltage]

Leo Thorn
𓆩✧♛✧𓆪
26.Leo.Vampire.Fire

"The ring of fire was a lot less intimidating than this pool of death. At least I offered them a quick out? I hear drowning is worse than burning alive." Of course Leo only heard that from people who were presently alive, but still. The point remained. The towering blond man stood with his arm casually resting around Alina's shoulders while his piercing blue eyes remained glued on the girls-- okay, let's be real, they were glued on Veda. She was a siren, she popped her scales, he was positive she'd be able to make it through the trial no problem.

Of course that was during a normal trial, not one Mari was operating. The air around the lagoon was wildly tense, though it didn't seem to be coming from either him or Alina. The fight and the photo rolled off his back like every other trauma and all he could do was focus his attention on watching the trial. "You'll help her if she gets stuck, right?" Leo was obviously speaking to Alina but with the stone walls surrounding the room the words were loud enough for everyone to hear. He knew that Alina would help both of the sisters, but as far as he was concerned he only cared for the one. If one died it made things easier right? There would be no fight over who got the crown should the monarch come back into play.

Everyone's focus seemed to be on the lagoon as the girls went further and further under the water. As they got deeper Leo found his nerves getting worse and worse-- he didn't know why he was so emotionally invested into Veda. She was a kindred spirit, or at least that's what he was telling himself for now. Someone who knew the pain and loneliness he felt every waking moment of his life. He... didn't want her to feel like that. Leo was a protector, he wanted to protect her from that pain just like he protected Alina from the physical dangers of the world that threatened the small dragon.

Yeah. Same thing, right?

The girls got to the 250 feet mark and, as promised, Mari took away their bubble. Leo waited with bated breath like he was the one undergoing the trial, his free hand pushing some of those blonde locks out of his face in a nervous motion. "Come on Veda..." The man whispered underneath his breath and fought the urge to ask Alina to pull them up. It would immediately cancel the trial and they'd have to do it all over again at some point, and Rune would surely ban Alina from the lagoon. No, she was here for a last ditch effort.

"Yo incubus, you spend the most time with the bratty one. Has she shown any sign of her order yet?" Leo attempted to make casual conversation despite the tension. And while Matteo and Leo didn't see eye to eye on nearly anything, well, who else would he talk to? Rune? Cy? Mari? All terrible options.

​

 

[Sir Damien]

Rune Finch
⋆༺𓆩

𓆪༻⋆
27.Scorpio.Basalisk.Shadows&Earth

"If anyone cheats I'll personally make all of your lives hell." That deep gravelly voice echoed throughout the lagoon as he watched Mari handle the girls. The towering male stood at the edge of the lagoon with his arms crossed, irritation written on every bit of his scowled face. His jaw kept clenching as he watched Marigold push the girls further along the deck and, eventually, straight into the water. That foul mood of hers, Cy's obvious broken nose that no one was addressing, he knew that she shouldn't have been handling the trial. Yet in order to maintain normalcy they couldn't stop it. "The trial proceeds until they succeed or die Matteo. I told you not to get attached to them."

The statement was wildly ironic considering just how attached he was to Mari. They denied their bond but that didn't mean he didn't love her. No, he knew that the stars would push them away from each other. That was fine... but Rune would protect her with his life. It was something he should let go of, to trust Cy with since he'd be her husband sooner rather than later. No... Rune's life revolved around Mari whether they liked it or not. Their night together felt like his life finally started, like his whole 27 years before this was a painful game of limbo. Life had finally given him something worth living for and he would put his life on the line for her at the drop of a hat.

The girls sank deeper towards the bottom of the pool, and once they had reached the marker Mari popped the bubble surrounding them. Rune stood there with his eyes focused making sure that the girls didn't cheat and keeping an eye on their progress. "Alina," his voice grumbled again, his gaze still on the girls and he didn't spare a second to look over at her. Still, surely it wasn't a good feeling for Mari. "Air trial is up next. We'll need to get together so you can show me your course of action. So far they don't have any wings and you'll need to plan appropriately if they live through this today. You've done good work with all of our winged orders, I trust you'll figure out something for these girls."

Ah, surely the pain stung worse with Rune praising Alina of all people, but of course he didn't see it that way. The two were both instructors for the citadel, it only made sense they worked well together.

​

 

[ZombieBaee]

Veda “Smith”
₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊
21.Gemini.All Four. Siren.
Veda stared at her sister incredulously as the dock towards the shining blue water. She could understand where she was coming from but even so she felt so damn angry at the way that Vesta was attacking her! “It wasn’t only targeted at YOU, I was there too even though you seem to constantly forget lately. Sorry I decided I had enough of sitting around while you and Matteo make eyes at each other while I play on my phone.” Veda scoffed and rolled her eyes, “See! You’re not even mad about Leo, you’re mad that Matteo isn’t blindly following you for once.” The girls neared the edge and Mari began giving them the warnings again from behind her but for the first time in this entire process she finally felt confident. There was an anger in her that seemed to be feeding that well of power that stirred inside of her and while the confidence was likely ill placed, it still made her feel a little better. Vesta was the first into the water, popping back up and giving Mari a cocky response and made Veda smile a tiny bit. At least she wasn’t going to let her anger get in the way of this it seemed.

Veda pulled in a deep calming breath and was just about to step off into the water when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She turned around quickly, eyes scanning the others when they fell on Leo who was staring at her with anxiety rolling off his features. Was he actually worried about her? That thought caught her off guard and nearly made her stumble into the water behind her but she quickly regained her senses and shot him a slight smile. They would be okay. Veda could do this. At least that’s what she kept telling herself as she plunged into the chilly water below. After a half a second the resurfaced and pushed her hair from her face as her eyes landed on her twin. All around them it was like Veda could feel the currents that flowed deep below, she could understand the way they turned and churned and it didn’t scare her at all, it actually made her feel as if she was one with the body of water surrounding them. That was good. This would be fine.

Right before they were plunged into the depths Veda took in a deep breath and watched around them in the bubble as they moved deeper and deeper. It was darker down here but it didn’t seem to affect her eyesight much, she could see faint shadows above them at the surface as well as lots of different colored glows in all directions. Then the bubble came to a slow and Veda inhaled once more quickly before the water closed in on them like a snapping lid, her hand instantly rushed to find Vesta but her sister was already pulled from her with the churning water. Veda reached out frantically, the water swirling around her as she fought to stay calm, fought to remember that they knew this was going to happen and fought to get a grip on her control of her power.

It took Veda a few moments of calm before things seemed to snap into place and with a twist of her arms around her, the water calmed. Vesta was only a few dozen feet away from her and with another movement Veda sent a stream of water to wrap around her and pull the twins together. As soon as Vesta was close enough Veda wrapped one hand around hers like a vice grip before looking and pointing up towards the surface, her free hand then pointed downward to push the water under them to create something akin to a jet that helped propel them upwards as they kicked. Things were going amazingly well for about fifty feet, the girls swam through water that Veda focused on calming while her home made her stream sped them up. However the good luck seemed to be short lived and before they knew it the two of them were being thrown around once more and no matter how much Veda fought she was unable to keep control of it all. It was as if they were in the middle of a storm? The water around them was one thing but there was a mixture of air that continued to flow that she struggled to combat.

There was a moment when Veda felt hopeless, like there was no way to stop this and save her sister. Until something in her snapped and she was suddenly covered in the glittering scales, they lined her arms and legs, they scattered along her cheekbones and chest. Veda could see through the water as if it was clear as air and webbing formed between her fingers and toes, was this what it was like to fully move into her order? She fought the urge to be in awe and instead put her mind to cutting through the water, swimming and dodging through currents until she found the flash of red hair that was her sister and grabbed onto her once more.

It felt like hours before Veda reached the surface, the swirling wind and water still whipping around in the air above the lagoon. “Stop!” She screamed as she gasped for air, her power beginning to wain as she attempted to swim towards the edge of the dock with her sister still cradled under one arm. “We got up here now knock this shit off! Someone help me with Vesta!” At this point Veda was struggling to support the girls weight and keep their heads both above water but there was no way in hell she would let Vesta down right now. Her heart pounded in her chest, every beat screaming a melody of urgency and desperation. “Dammit stop it!”

​

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marigold Lycath
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
23.Scorpio.Werewolf.Water

As sooN as the twins were down to the desired depth, Mari released the power she had used to push aside the currents to create the bubble for them to sink down in. There was a small voice in the back of her mind that began screaming at her to run and get Adeline to stop, to not even start actually.. this was insane. Was Mari really willing to kill these two women simply because they threatened her life? If they did take control… Mari couldn’t help the glance she took to look at Rune. He was radiating an angry energy that made her heart twist in her chest, she wanted to hold him tight and do whatever it took to make him feel comfortable again. But that would mean throwing away everything for them both… and if Mari couldn’t have him and jeopardize everything, then she wouldn’t allow these little girls to either. Taking a deep breath, Mari steeled herself, reaffirming her resolve. This had to happen. At least, she had to try.

As things began to ramp up, Mari moved to stand besides Cy, her arm looping around hers as the wind blew her golden curls around her face. For a moment she pretended not to notice but then she plastered a fake look of confusion followed by shock. At this point the storm had become a full blown nightmare, it was as if a hurricane had struck the small lagoon and Mari fought to smirk at how well her plan was playing out. Her head whipped to look over at Alina, her golden eyes widening in shock as her jaw slackened. “Alina! You just told Leo you would help, you sly dog! I guess maybe you two have more in common than I thought. You both really do have that killer instinct don’t you?”

The woman’s golden eyes focused back on the rocking surface of the water, it was too hard to see the twins below the surface with the waves but statistically there was no way they were even close to the surface even without her meddling. She held her breath, tense, as each second stretched into eternity. Just as she was about to put on a show to stop things, a sound rang that stopped her heart. Veda was screaming for help, she had made it to the surface?! Within a second her mind went into overdrive about how to play this, she had always intended on blaming this all on Alina but… oh. “You heard them Alina! Stop! My stars!” Mari released her arm from Cy and went bounding down the dock once more to the end where she dropped flat and stretched out her hand into the raging waves, summoning her power she created a wisp of water to wrap around Veda’s middle and begin pulling the girls towards the dock once more. At this point all the rain and wind had soaked Mari head to toe and she didn’t care, this would add to the mirage that she had nothing to do with this. “Grab on Veda!” She clasped onto the woman’s scaly arm and pulled back with all her might until they were at the end of the dock when Mari switched her focus to propelling them onto the stone with a jet of water.

“Oh my!” Mari gasped, breathing heavily as she glanced over Vesta who looked more like a drowned rat than a woman at this point. Especially when compared to her glowing siren of a sister who sat besides her panting. “Matteo! Rune! She might need a healer!” Mari called out frantically, her voice barely audible over the storm's roar.

​

 

[KAYDEN]

Cypres Ettery
~𑁍~
25.Capricorn.Nemean Lion. Earth & Air​

How in the hell had things gotten so volatile so damn fast? How had last night with Alina been so perfect and now they were all at odds, Alina and Mari were even actually getting into it which hadn’t happened in a very long time. Then to make things worse, Mari was threatening him in a way… a way that Cy couldn’t dispute. Mari was right, he had to let Alina go and he had to make the cut clear because neither of them seemed to have the power to ever actually stay away from each other. As much as Cy tried he struggled to maintain the boundaries between friendship and more with her and more would ruin them. So he would listen to Mari, he would follow her plan and… Cy felt his body tense as he listened to her, as his eyes looked over Mari and took her in. Was that a trick of the light or was something different about her eyes? Unfortunately Cy hadn’t been able to really get a good look at her before things popped off again between the girls, more words that made Cy grit his teeth to avoid getting involved. Defending Alina now would be the nail in the coffin… so he stayed silent.

The trial didn’t make anything better, if anything it actually made Cy feel even less of a man than he had an hour ago. He had known that Mari was going to pull this but he had no clue that he was going to be blaming this on Alina, though seeing the involvement of air magic made him realize how scary Mari really could be… she had really thought this all through. Despite the turmoil, Cy navigated the tumultuous emotions that surfaced and bit down on the bile that rose in his throat. “Alina come on!” He choked out the words as Veda screamed and Mari ran towards the sound, he knew it wasn’t Alina, she would never do something like this but he had to stand by Mari. He glanced back at Alina, his eyes filled with a silent apology she probably wouldn't see. It just had to be this way.

​

 

[EclipseRosee]

Matteo Sellis
｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡
24.Sagittarius.Incubus.Fire​

“Don’t get attached?!” Matteo shouted before he could withdraw the words that formed, his voice cracking with total shock. Don’t get him wrong, Rune wasn’t all warm and fuzzy but Matteo had never known the man to be that crass. While it may have been true that death and destruction were just a part of their world, most people still handled it with some class, even Rune. Something was up his ass today and it only added to the reasons why Matteo felt they should have held off on the trial today. Hell he thought these trials were insane anyways! The twins knew about their powers for weeks not years, these trials were something akin to what third years in the academy went through not the trials that the first years completed. They were putting the girls up to an asinine amount of pressure and Matteo couldn’t handle it, it made him want to fucking scream.

“I can’t fucking watch this.” Matteo swallowed hard and turned his back away from the waters surface, training his eyes on the ground and only looking up when Leo shockingly spoke to him. Matteo wasn’t positive if the two had ever had a single casual conversation that wasn’t based around some of work related subject… “Uh, her name is Vesta. And no, not really.” Of course Vee had but he wasn’t about to tell that to Leo of all people. Matteo shifted uncomfortably, sensing the weight of Leo's gaze. “Although I’m assuming something based more in fire magic, though that doesn’t mean much. There’s outliers in every order, I mean Mari isn’t a Terra user and she’s a wolf.” Behind them Matteo could feel that things were getting more violent and he shifted uncomfortably once more. The urge to turn and look was quickly becoming hard to ignore and as soon as he felt the whipping wind her quickly turned.

What the hell was this?! This was supposed to be based on water only! Mari and Cy seemed to be blaming Alina but… Matteo just couldn’t see her doing that. He didn’t put much past any fae but Alina didn’t seem the type to do this to two innocent women.

“Rune this isn’t fair! You have to stop this!” Matteo had never felt so helpless as he inched closer to the waters edge, he had no control over anything to do with water or air so there was nothing he could do short of jumping in after them and trying his best to help them swim. Honestly if a moment later he hadn’t heard Veda scream, he might have jumped in. The moment he heard her yelling for help, Matteo was off with Mari shortly behind. The scene was chaos, a cacophony of wind and water that seemed to defy nature's logic, Mari was reaching out towards the girls and yelling to Veda and despite not trusting her at all, Matteo was so thankful for her in that moment .

As Mari pulled the two up onto the dock using her power, Matteo crumpled to the stones besides Vesta to cradle her sodden body against his folded legs. He gently turned her on his side and used his power to warm his hands and run them along her back as panic filled his chest. Breathless and drenched, Matteo's heart raced as he whispered words of comfort to both himself and Vesta and he tried to get her to wake up. “Come on Vee, you did it. You finished. Just get up okay? Please?” She was breathing but it was shallow and he could hear the slight rattle in her lungs. “Dammit Rune! Do something man!”

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[Pax Pardus Hale]

Alina Diaval
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
22. Aquarius. Storm Dragon. Water & Air

"I said STOP." The small storm dragon roared the words into the vast cave as they managed to pull Veda from the vicious waters. Alina had been silently fighting whoever was doing this, her focus divided on the wind and the waters and she had absolutely no time to address anything else. As if on command the wind died down, the raging waters stilling and even the natural currents settling. Whoever Mari had hired was good, but they weren’t better than a storm dragon.

"She has water in her lungs. Rune can't help with that." Alina's voice was emotionless as she walked towards the tragic scene, her sharp shoulder jabbing Cy to push him out of the way. They were done. No more romantic feelings, hell, she didn't even view him as a friend anymore. He betrayed her in every sense of the word. With a soft sigh Alina knelt down next to the Matteo and the dying Vesta and gave him a gentle smile. "I'm not here to hurt her, I promise." Matteo had some clear attachment to the small twin, she wanted to put him at ease so he'd let her help her instead of pushing her away. Those blue orbs fixated on Vesta before her palm rested on the woman's chest. She could feel the extra sloshing weight in the woman's lungs and it required immense focus to pull the water back the way it came. Within seconds, which probably felt like hours, Vesta was coughing up all of the water she had inhaled.

"The Terra household and their mutts are liars, cheats, and snakes. Don't trust anything they say." As she rose back to her standing position she glanced over at Veda. While it seemed she was addressing the siren she had hoped Cy got the message: he was dead to her. "Matteo, take her to her room to rest. And Veda--" Just as she turned to address the other sister Alina's small form stumbled. Instantly her hand went to her head to try and calm the vertigo, and had she not caught her footing in time she would've fallen into the lagoon. When was the last time she charged?

"C-Can you help me to my room?" Another downside to being a runt was she needed more frequent charging. Alina took a single step forward before her body completely gave in to the drained powers and collapsed to the floor… or, she would’ve if Leo hadn’t used his vampiric speed to catch her in time.
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[Pax Pardus Hale]

Vesta “Smith”
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
21.Gemini.Currently Unknown Order & Element

It all happened so fast that the order of events got scrambled. Vesta had taken her last breath just before the bubble popped and she struggled to see through the dark water. There were the occasional bioluminescent plants and glittering rocks, but, seeing quickly became the least of her worries. Vesta was swept away from the currents and a few bubbles escaped her nose in surprise. She couldn't see her sister, her body got whipped around, and no matter how much she willed the water to listen it just wouldn't.

Thankfully Veda was able to able to pull her to her and Vesta instantly wrapped her arms around her sister's waist to hold on tight. She could control a small stream of water but, nothing like this. They next thing she remembered was being torn from her sister, thrown about so roughly that it slammed her into the side of the lagoon and knocked the air out of her. By the time she was able to form the smallest of air bubble around her face she had already inhaled water. Vesta felt like she was suffocating; the leg that had been kicking slowed and things around her went black.

There was an initial sense of peace that washed over her once she was in that darkness. Her body was tired, her mind was tired, and giving up would be so much easier than fighting. But then she remembered Veda, and Matteo. No matter what the girls faced, good or bad, they did it together. And Matteo... she wanted to see that smile on his face every day.

The warmth on her back stirred her from that comforting darkness. There were voices, albeit faint, and she could make them out as Veda, Mari, and those sweet words of Matteo's. Breathing was painful, breaths were few and far between and her body refused to move. But then something happened and suddenly she was violently coughing up the water. As soon as she was done her small hands weakly gripped Matteo's wet shirt, those green orbs of hers peeked open, and she instantly started to tremble. The air bubble had saved her but her lips were blue from the oxygen deprivation.

"M-Matteo..." Vesta spoke through her shivering teeth and she glanced up at him. She couldn't move much, but she did find herself snuggling closer to him for warmth. "I'm-- I'm sorry..." The trembling of her body was both from the cold and now the tears streaming down her face. She was sorry for a plethora of reasons; biting his head off, pushing him away, and now surely she failed the trial. He had such high expectations out of her and here she was failing them.

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[Colt Voltage]

Leo Thorn
𓆩✧♛✧𓆪
26.Leo.Vampire.Fire

"Yeah. The bratty one. You knew who I meant." Leo gave a casual shrug at Matteo's response, finding it a bit irritating that Vesta hadn't shown signs of her order yet. It didn't make any sense. The late queen came from a long line of water aligned orders; siren's, hydra's, he was pretty sure the woman even had the lineage of a polar bear. The late king was a phoenix but, there had never been a female phoenix born in their line. Could there even be a female phoenix? No, no. She had to be some weird fire aligned siren.

There wasn't much time to dwell on that thought process however. A violent storm started whipping around the lagoon and Mari was looking back at Alina and blaming her... no. Alina wouldn't do that. Anyone who knew the dragon knew she wouldn't do that to a person! Leo attempted to use his enhanced vision and hearing to find the source but came up empty. He could sense another magic user nearby but, his focus right now was on Veda and how she was going to make it through the mess. "Alina I need you to stop the storm somehow." Leo spoke through gritted teeth before glancing down at the small woman. It was clear she was trying, and Leo couldn't imagine how hard it was to control two elements at once. She'd do it, it'd just take time.

Instead of waiting with her he ran to the side of the lagoon next to Run and groaned impatiently, his eyes glued down into the water and at the girls whipping around the waters. Matteo was freaking out, and had Leo had no self control he would be doing the same. He had no control over water, nor air, but he had to do something. However, just as Leo was about to leap in the water he noticed the familiar shimmer of scales. Veda was suddenly darting through the water towards the copper haired twin across the lagoon and all the nerves in him settled. They'd be fine.

"Veda!" Mari and Matteo were quick to help Vesta, meanwhile Leo pulled Veda from the water until he collapsed back onto the rock, the scaled woman safe in his strong warm arms. "Are you okay? I, uh, like the new look." Leo gave a small chuckle to try and break the tension. Alina had calmed the storm and the vampire sat him and Veda up so he could look over her for any injuries, though he was taking his time admiring the scales that were scattered all over her body. Alina was tending to Vesta so she'd be fine... and stars, he thought Veda was gorgeous before, but now she was completely taking his breath away.

There was a weakness in Alina's voice that caused him to move without thinking. Once to his feet he placed Veda on her own two (webbed) feet before moving in the blink of an eye to catch the collapsing dragon in one of his arm. "We talked about this kid. You need to charge every night. There's a pile of gold in your room for a reason." Effortlessly he cradled her in one of his arms before turning back to glance at the rest of the room. That relieved look on his face turned into a hardened glare at Cy and Mari, his teeth clenched and jaw twitching with anger. "You and your bitch need to keep your distance. I don't know what the wolf did here but it wasn't Alina, and you're fucking trash for believing her capable of something like that. I thought lions were creatures of pride and you've just proved you’re anything but that.”

Without waiting for dismissal from Rune he walked over to Veda and his face softened. With a quick shift of his arms and Alina he was out of his warm leather jacket so he could wrap it around Veda's shoulders. "Let's get you back to the tower so you can dry off. I have to drop her off in some gold, but after that we can celebrate or something. Your first order shift is always something to celebrate. 'Sides, I'm sure Matty over there will take care of your sis."

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