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Chel | 15/25 | Welp

"What-" Comes after the first line. Despite how hard she pulled on her wrist, it wouldn't break free; well that was just great. Chel pulled back, tried to recoil at least; any distance between her and this woman was a GOOD distance.

As she talked, she knew it was fake. The words were cliche, they kind pulled from a movie; but they bothered her because they were so specifically applied to her. Why would she know those things? Why would she know what to say?

The fact that this woman had the power to derive her problems bothered her more than the problems themselves. To derive them in front of everyone, even worse.

A hand went up to her head, the electric feeling stinging her brain. She flinched under the gentle touch; it was always the more gentle ones that hid a fist coming afterwards; Chel knew that better than anyone.

"That the best you got?" she challenged the woman. At least she could say she was distracting Spinel from hurting Shun or any of the others at the moment. The biggest fight she could put up for now was a sneer.

25/25 | Shiloh Beaumont (masked) | Oh Hello Everyone

Jamie's hand found Shiloh's arm again. Oh you poor, sweet little lamb...

Chel flinging herself towards Melany went relatively unsupervised. Shiloh saw the movement of course, and he bit back the insult bitterly on his tongue, but Madam? Oh, she could manage herself, Shiloh knew this. He would not intervene, not unless he was commanded, not unless she wanted his aid in Chel's punishment.

Instead, he spun away in a pirouette, hand clasping Jamie's again as he took him along for the ride. "Did I not tell you to stand back?" he practically purred, "You're really getting in the way of things again, Jamie." Lily was approaching them. Foolish, foolish humans. The boredom from earlier? Now he was starting to feel annoyed. "Remember all those nights, alone in your room? All those times where it felt like you loved me...?"

He let go of his hand. "Don't do this to me." anyone else in the room could probably tell it was a lie. Anyone else could probably see through the facade. "Don't look at me that way." he frowned, "Jamie, you're hurting me." and there was the voice crack, there was a small semblance of pain and begging.

"You always talked about being left behind..." his voice dropped to a whisper, and then at once broke into a sardonic grin, "So then, why did you leave me behind?. You never noticed I was gone. How could you? You knew me for a month Jamie."

"You've always been alone, you know? You never had anyone; you never had him." He shoved Jamie against Lily in parting. "You only have her in blood and necessity. Your whole pack is built on convenience." he was talking about Lily, looking at her as dusted off his sleeves. His skin was flawless, but he still felt the need to groom himself.

"Now, where were we?" he turned back to Shun. "It's become quite a party, hasn't it? Why..."

"I haven't felt this good in a while." His voice seemed to echo through the room, rattling like a locked door in a cage. It reverberated, pulsed within the confines of his spectators heads; those within earshot, anyway. It was a cold sound, a hallow sound; one that scarcely sounded like a voice, and more of a murmur.

Shun Kuroda 10/25 | Bringing a knife to a magic fight

During the time Shiloh was busy fussing with Jamie, Shun had gone and palmed the blade he had brought. This was no gentleman's duel after all, and he was very certain he was not facing up against a human anyway. He had to remind himself that he was on the Other side right now. He wasn't limited to what his usual capabilities were.

The crackle of magic off to the side was just another reminder of this. Unfortunately, he hadn't had a lot of chances to really practice much of this. Willpower was a key factor; that much needed to be remembered.

There was a pause as Shiloh's voice seemed to reverberate. The scenery around him blurred, and the sounds he heard distorted. The image of Shiloh warped into that of another individual that he knew all too well. Someone who was quite possibly the last person he wanted to ******** up again, are you?

This couldn't be possible. And yet, it caused Shun to question things long enough to leave himself completely exposed for a few moments. After getting struck, he dropped to his knees, shaking his head, trying to re-orient himself. Weak. Worthless.

Anger. Confusion. Fear. They progressed through Autumn's face as the vision before her swum- her father, Eve, her father- and she stared, trying to force the image to clear. But no. She was twelve, and she was in her Sunday best, and dad always came to church. He always made it. But he hadn't made it again, hadn't seen her sing. It was fine. It wasn't fine. Her mother, hair done up and lips painted red, stared straight ahead in the car.

Her father didn't come home that day. She was alone.

But was she? She had... the tea shop. She had her friends. Zac, Jeremiah. Everyone. Taking a shaky breath, Autumn stepped towards fatherEvedadloneliness, away from the thick of the fight.

"E-eve," she choked out, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples. "Eve? Holy s**t. Holy s**t, he's in my head. I can't- you're. You're my dad?" The tears were open and honest. Eve, ever the loving and doting mother she'd never had... they'd never talked about this.

"I can't get back, Eve. If that's you? Please," she begged, "please help."

Jamie Delacroix | 25/25 | ******** by hallucinations

Anyone else could probably see through the facade. Anyone else but Jamie. It was hard, hearing the Shiloh he'd spent near three months with wasn't the real Shiloh and meeting the real Shiloh only to find he'd forgotten so much of what they'd had. It was hard to deal with the idea that the trust he'd put so deeply in his best friend, his crush when he stopped trying to deny himself, was trust misplaced. Jamie didn't want to know he'd been manipulated. Even now, all it took was the way Shiloh's voice cracked to send Jamie's resolve spiraling down.

'Did I not tell you to stand back?' he'd said. "But I c-can't-" tried Jamie, breath hitching in his throat. 'So then, why did you leave me behind?' he'd continued. "I-I didn't... I-I didn't know..." How could he have? Except, maybe Shiloh was right, maybe it was his fault for neglecting to notice. Maybe it was his fault for disregarding all the subtle putdowns and all the constant guilt he'd felt as a one time thing, as a struggle all friends went through at some point. Maybe Jamie was the one who had done it all.

"I-I never w-wanted to hurt you, Shiloh... I... I l-li-"

It was all his fault. He'd latched onto Shiloh, he'd liked him so much, but he hadn't been able to see past the lies. He hadn't been able to save him. Even now. Even now...

Even now he was alone, wasn't he? Jamie could hear Lily calling to him, he could feel his chest tightening to know she was risking herself to come stop him from making a fool of himself, from getting himself killed out here. The things he felt for Lily, the bond that made her feel like a sister... was he asking for too much there, too? Was he being too desperate, too needy?

"L-Lily..." he cried as his voice cracked, but that was all he could manage. To be honest, he barely even registered when Shiloh tossed him aside and he stumbled uncontrollably into her. For a short second the only thing he noticed was Shiloh's arms, smooth and clear of scars, the proof of his hard-fought fight simply gone as if it had never been there to begin with. Jamie's chest twisted.

Only moments after that, the walking nightmare became his reality.

The only thing that could possibly be worse than the entirety of his relationships crumbling down around him would be to have never had them in the first place. Better to have loved than lost, the old saying went, and it was true, at least mostly. The hallucinations brought Jamie back to a time and place he'd visited often in his dream, to his old school, to the lockers, to the dark where he felt like he was suffocating.

In that moment, Jamie had no friends. It was like their names played on the tip of his tongue as he stood there, alone, fighting against the irrational fear that flipped his stomach and made his throat feel as if it would close up any moment. Their names wanted to be there, but they simply weren't. Their faces weren't, either, or their voices or their touch... If Jamie could remember enough to wonder it, he'd ask himself, is this what the Shiloh of the atrium felt like?

In the real world, Jamie's eyes were squeezed shut and he refused to open them. His breathing was harsh, his skin cold and clammy. There was no will left in him to go after Shiloh or to stop him. For all the good he'd tried to do, it seemed he'd accomplished absolutely nothing.

"I-I'm sorry..." he whispered in his walking stupor, unable to move from where he was slumped against Lily. "S-S-Sorry..."

Shun Kuroda 5/25 | Taking the hit like a champ

Shun was still struggling against the apparition before him. The next thing he knew was that a fist connected to his jaw, sending him to the floor. There was a coppery taste in his mouth now.

It took him a few moments, but he slowly started to push himself back up. His head swam with that last blow, but it was enough to stop the illusions he was experiencing. He heard and saw Jack, but his focus was entirely on the doppelganger of Shiloh.

As he knelt on the floor, he wiped his mouth, then shifted to crouch down lowly, keeping an intent gaze on his enemy. He didn't feel like he had a lot left in him. This was a losing battle and he knew it. But it was too late to back out now.

Even if he wanted to.

Pride's a b***h.

Chel | 15/25 | Ahhhhh (HEALING SHUN)

If one nightmare spell wasn't enough, one literally materializing in front of her was worse. The hand around her wrist grew thicker, harrying. The head of hair was a deep black and the mask faded into her father's angry face. "Don't!" she found herself yelling, despite no incoming blow.

It was her turn now, and he did wake up.

Don't cry, cryin' ain't gonna get you nowhere, Chelsea.

She pulled until a kick from Autumn released the grip and scrambled away as fast as she could, ducking to the ground.

It wasn't until Jack said her name that she found the image fading, still present, still able to taste the electric on her skin, but fading. The scene around her exploded; Jack reaching for her, Thorne, Alois and-

"Shun!" she watched him get punched and scrambled the distance to step between his fallen form and Shiloh. In some part of the touch, she felt something leave her and enter Shun, some kind of magic exchange.

She looked to Jack for assistance. Now would be a great time for the enormous 6'7 man to step in.

Then she looked back at Shiloh. "Come get it, asswipe."