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Bjørn
The thing about elephants was that they didn’t fit into rooms in the first place. Like, even a decently sized room would be too small for the monolithic beast. No, elephants in rooms meant cracked foundations and busted walls, leaving no shred of doubt that in regard to its presence. The movie—even the best movie of all time—couldn’t distract him from the trickling plaster and creaking pipes. The less he tried to think about it, the more he did. Luckily, as he threw his head back in frustration, a familiar voice weaseled into his mind. Raid, she’d said. It was enough for him to gather himself up off the couch and retrieve his weapons from the storeroom. Going through the motions of packing a backpack and strapping on his holsters, Bjørn was already shaking off the effects of the painful memories he’d shared. He reached out to Every as he zipped the backpack close and threw it over his shoulder. [ Where’s the party? I’ll come to you. ] As the telepath crossed the field towards the fadeportals—purposely kept away from where he might accidentally fall into one as he had all too often done at the Den—something on the ground caught his eye. He reached down for it and twirled it between gloved thumb and index. A pill. There were a few more, which he gathered and stored into the inner pocket of his leather jacket.


Every
We need to talk about Caligrace. Every hadn't quite known what to say about the words spoken into her mind. She'd figured it would come sooner or later, but regarding what, the shadow didn't know. [ I'll send the coordinates to your phone. ] She replied telepathically before the zombified wolf collapsed in a heap, her blade being wiped on her jeans afterwards. Afterwards, Every moved to sit on the ground, her back sliding down the wall. She stretched out her legs, waiting as she sent the coordinates as promised after checking her map. Her leg crossed underneath her as she considered everything. Jayden had been an immediate yes - although, Every suspected he really didn't listen to her when she talked. Amalea, too, had been asked about the idea. Caligrace and Bjorn had been no brainers to ask, the latter due to being Every's best friend and confidant. She knew she could trust him, trust his instincts and for the man to question her if she seemed off. Caligrace, however, had been a bit of a wildcard. After Freyja leaving, she knew the red head was struggling. In some ways, it was something they shared. The difference was in their coping mechanisms. Eventually, there would be a war at their doorstep. She didn't know if they'd jumpstarted it in the throne room, but she knew one thing - she'd be going down with a fight. And, she needed to make up for her own mistakes. She needed a purpose. [ "I'm going to start singing at you soon, just forewarning.” ]


Bjørn
Bjørn threw his head backward and let out an exasperated shout to the sky. Why? Why use phones when she could just tell him? It was easy to forget that the ability to conjure imagery wasn’t as widespread as he’d initially assumed. Right, he acquiesced, dropping his head. Turning on his heels to walk back to the house, he released the remainder of the air from his lungs with a defeated sigh. The silver lining was emptying his pocket and setting the three pills Caligrace had dropped onto his workbench. The last thing he needed was to be caught with crushed white pills in his pocket, especially when he didn’t know what they were. Stepping into the fadeportal destined to the Mausoleum, Bjørn closed his eyes and conjured a mental image of the catacombs. I'm going to start singing at you soon, just forewarning. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, stealthily making his way through the tunnels. A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he skirted a familiar corner, some of the memories he’d shared with Caligrace just an hour ago born across these cobblestones. Pushing it all out of mind, the telepath found the hole in the wall and folded himself through it, immediately faced with a zombified wolf. It snarled at him, but his hand was already on the holster at his thigh. Discarding the creature with multiple shots, he winced at the sound reverberating off the walls. He had ammunition for days stocked in his backpack, but of course he’d forget his goddamn sword. Making his way through the unfamiliar tunnels, he tracked Every until finally coming across her a level deeper. He announced his presence by shooting at the same beast she was dispatching.


Every
It hardly took her long to rest before she was back on her feet and fighting once again. Each movement was calculated, every twitch of its muscle noted by the woman as hyper perception was activated. With her knife back in her hand, Every tightened her grip on the weapon and cast a smirk as the creature charged. As it shifted to her left, she mimicked its motion. Her blade swiped upwards to meet fang. It was a dance that Every had become comfortable with over the years, one that was as much offensive as it was defense mixed with agility. Training had become part of her regular routine again. She got up, she went for a run, she went to check on the businesses and then she disappeared into one of the various towns outside of Harper Rock through a fadeportal. The raids, however, had been something she'd decided to play more on, and at that time, undead raids were probably the best for her energy. As she stepped back, there was a tug of her shirt as claws got caught in the cloth, Every grunting before her hand rested on what would be its shoulder and drove her knee into the side. At least, she did until the sound of gunfire drew her attention to no longer being alone. Dropping down as she caught sight of Bjorn, there was an adjustment made and the shadow lifted both of her hands, focusing on the ones around her. Combined with the firearm aid and the shadowstrike, the creature slumped to the ground. She picked up an unholy orb before hazel eyes turned to her friend. "What's going on with Cali?”


Bjørn
Bjørn wasn’t going to stay long. It dawned on him as he continued to empty the magazine into the creature and the successive gunshots began to make his ears ring. At this rate it wouldn’t take long for the migraine to settle in. Lowering his arm as the beast slumped, he moved to detach the emptied case and replaced it with a fresh case of ammunition. “You realise she’s fucked in the head, right?” He cradled the firearm across his abdomen, finger pressed to the trigger guard. “I don’t know what she’s been through but she’s popping pills instead of dealing with it.” He’d yet to figure out what said pills were exactly, but they definitely weren’t the kind one found over the counter. His personal experience with drugs was extensive enough that he’d bet on it. Even with their physiology, no analgesic in tablet form acted that fast. “I triggered it with telepathy”—had he told Every he was capable of sharing his memories?—“but she went off the rails, dude. Like, poltergeist levels of…” He lifted his hand off the trigger guard and made scratching motions over his face.

Every
"I'm aware." Every said, as if they were talking about the weather. She hadn't known about the pill popping, but she'd suspected it with the highs and lows that the redhead had. She, herself, knew how Freyja had been with drug usage and it had been one of the things Every preferred that the blonde had kept away from her while they'd dated. "They're enhanced panic attacks that hit her when she becomes overwhelmed too quickly, as if a balloon fills up and pops." She made the hand gesture of an explosion. "I'd assume her using counteracts it... It's one of the reasons I've been having her train - and have been wanting to have her train with more than just me. Caligrace doesn't have the same coping mechanisms we do as you've said." She frowned. She thought about the allurists she knew, how she'd never been fond of them for other reasons than her sire did. "I can't really judge someone for going off the rails mentally, but I doubt she'd talk to a shrink like I did.”


Bjørn
Bjørn dropped the mime act, long fingers slinking around the trigger guard once more. He mulled over Every’s response with a deepening frown, all the while glancing about the musty corridor. “I see,” he finally acquiesced. It would seem that Caligrace at least talked to her, to a significant extent. Then again, he knew from his own conversations with Every that an open line of communication didn’t lead to full disclosure. In spite of knowing him well, there were large chunks of his past and a wide array of thoughts that remained unknown to her. Both by choice and circumstance. “I guess I’ll talk to her about it next time. Does she talk to anyone else? Anyone who might know more about it?”


Every
She wiped the remains off of her blade with her leg before tucking it away into her boot. The question had Every thinking of what she knew about Caligrace,. "Chances are it would be only myself and Freyja, but the latter is a bit of a lost cause when it comes to these things." There had been things Every openly disagreed with and it had led to separation. "I think she would sincerely appreciate someone to talk to without judgement. I don't remember much of some of my old habits aside from alcoholism." She said, shifting from her left to her right. Jayden, maybe? "Caligrace doesn't really have anyone outside of me and her thralls. Freyja's gone off to who knows where leaving her alone. It's why I took her in." Every knew she had a habit of collecting strays, but it wasn't something that she could control. "Honestly, I don't think she's entirely honest with me because she fears I'll be disappointed in her." It was an odd thing to say, really, for the shadow. Her expression showed that she didn't quite understand the idea behind it - she hadn't taken Caligrace in long, but she sighed and rubbed at her face. "Perhaps Elin or Fate, her thralls.”


Bjørn
Bjørn hummed in response, committing the names to memory. Caligrace would eventually become more than a collection of loose strings, just as Amalea and Jayden would. What Every was building required time, but the telepath wasn’t going to procrastinate. On a personal note, he wanted to get to know these people, but from a purely practical perspective he needed to measure them up to the task they’d all agreed to take on. Every’s vote of confidence, while significant, didn’t deter Bjørn from forming his own opinions. “I was surprised and didn’t handle it very well,” he admitted, glancing over his shoulder as he began to walk down the musty corridor. The rectangular pad pressed tightly into his thigh—from where it was wedged into his front pocket in lieu of a smart phone or wallet—was a grounding weight. The sounds of others moving through the raiding grounds lapped at his brain, slowly but surely beginning to agitate it. “But I’ll figure something out,” he promised, realising he too didn’t want to disappoint her. Reaching the corner he’d rounded seconds ago, he stopped and straightened at the sight of a wolf that’d yet to spot him. The cracking of distant shots kept him from aiming the firearm and taking it out. “I think I’ll leave you to this though. I, uh,” he dropped his weapon, holding it to his side single-handedly. He used his other hand to motion towards his head. While his anxiety and sensory sensitivity didn’t incapacitate him to Caligrace’s extreme, the telepath wasn’t eager to find out what would happen if he pushed himself when already at a disadvantage. “You good here?”


Every
Her lips lifted lightly to show that she understood. "It's a little deterring. She's caught me off guard with it before." She watched Bjorn, rolling her shoulders before she stepped after him. As she watched him, she could feel the weight of her firearm pressing into her spine. Every tapped her fingernails against her thigh, the shadow said, "Speaking from experience, sometimes self medication, though wrong, is easier than facing the truth. Alcoholism, primarily, was what I chose to focus on." She paused. She didn't really share that vice with others, even if it wasn't particularly something she dealt with presently. Vampirism, really, had been helpful in that aspect - she'd been able to go cold without having to worry about the side effects. As Every moved towards the corner, focusing more on the ground for spiked traps, she lifted gaze as he made the motion towards his head. How many times in the past had she shut down when things got to be too much? "Running helps. Or swimming." She offered. Whenever things began to bother her, she'd head to the college. Get out of her head for a while, it was one reason she danced, too. "I'll be fine. If you need anything, reach out.”


Bjørn
Swimming in this weather? No way. Most of the lakes were beginning to freeze over anyway, and the thought alone of being anywhere near such a place made him shudder. It was odd that a fleeting thought could cause such a knee-jerking reaction, but everything felt a little disjointed after the memory share. Maybe he’d take a page from Robbie’s book and join a gym with a pool. It’d force him to out of the house. “Yeah, I’ll think on it. Might head to the forest,” he replied, preferring the thought of wide open spaces lacking bodies of water. There’d be running there too — those wendigos weren’t slow. “Thanks,” he uttered, placing his hand over the tome in his pocket. Cracking it open with the tip of his finger—just enough to make it work—he found the dank catacombs fading into the solidifying woodwork of his lair.