A Congregation of Witches (And a Siren) [Val, Riley, Lara, Les, Tristan(??)]

[bewitchinghaze]

 Val let out a heavy sigh of relief as she and Les finally approached the cottage. "You may as well come in and rest for awhile," she offered, getting out her key and unlocking the door. A few odd twists lowered the basic wards she kept active whenever she and Riley were out and she headed in.

"Riley? Lara? I'm home. I brought company..." she called into the house.

The familiar feeling of her personal collection of greenery and the magic she'd put into them quickly calmed her nerves and she began to collect the things she'd need to set up a good strong set of wards to keep out the curse. This house would be the safest goddamn place in town, if she had anything to say about it.

Comments

[lesparker]

Les releases a deep steady breath when she sits beside him, taking his hand, already sensing her power strengthening his. He recalls the instructions all those years ago from his mother as he finishes the incantation. All he needs to do is seek Moira's spirit, which is easier said than done without a clue about where she is. But he channels his power into four beacon calls, and once he feels Riley's cloak spell strengthen to full power, he uses his mind to hurl them out with as much force as he can muster.

The beacons call out over the town--flying north, south, east, and west at break-neck speed--and he can see the quiet streets shrouded in the darkness of the spirit that's taken over, the empty stores, and the empty taverns. He sees the boardwalk being beaten down with waves. One by one, the other beacons fall away, until only one still remains, flying over the stormy sand. And Les uses his mind to race after it as fast as he can, trying not to lose it. It speeds away from him, going faster and faster the farther they travel. Past the beach and into the woods. "She is still in town," Les says, gripping Riley's hand tighter, because he feels Moira's spirit calling to him even as he grows tired from chasing it.

[jiyunnies]

With his hand in hers, she feels herself connect to Les' magic. It's a similar feeling as when she channels her sister's. Not near as strong, but powerful in a different way. Where Val's is steady and familiar, his power seems raw and almost intoxicating. Riley reaches her full power, feeling the presence of darkness as it tries to disassemble her cloaking spell, but she takes another calming breath and reinforces the veil around them, blocking their identities from the outside.

She feels Les grab tighter onto her hand and squeezes his in return, half in an effort to channel more of her energy into him to help strengthen him and half to reassure him that he's doing well. "Still in town," she repeats with a sigh of relief. There's still no telling where Moira can be or how safe she currently is, but it was a little comforting to know she is still within reach. "You can let go, Les. Don't over do it. It's trying to get past my barriers."

[lesparker]

Les' connection with Moira dwindles as it zips through the woods, around and around trees and shrubs, until they are almost too the edge of the sea again, and Les frowns as he continues to keep up. He doesn't even know where Moira could be trapped way out here. There's nothing but the forest and the rocky coast. Despite his best efforts, he can't hold the beacon any longer if the cloak fades because he has no energy of his own to block out anyone else's magic. He is already exhausted from the chase, like he's run for miles, and he swallows as he has to Moira's spirit go. He knows if he'd worked on it, he probably could've reached Moira, but he wasn't strong or skilled enough. He remembers once his mother used a beacon all the way to Mexico when she had a customer come in searching for her missing two-timing husband. Les releases Riley's hands, standing up from the table, feeling a little disgruntled that he couldn't pinpoint Moira's location. "Well, she's alive," Les tells Riley after a few seconds. "I'm fairly sure anyway."

[jiyunnies]

"Good. You did really good work, Les," She reassures him, feeling his frustrations. "We have a ballpark now. After we rest we can try another time."