There is blood in the water

LOCATION | Border between Aston & Southside
DATE | 27th of March 2022
TIME | Midday
ATTIRE | Link
TOPIC FOR | @Pearl
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She often stood here, or at least walked by the border. Not because she was supposed to. If she had mentioned it to about well anyone they would have given her their option on it for sure. So, Victoria really just stood there. Because sometimes she missed it. Her home. The place she was raised, the place where she had met most of her family and had so many memories - good as bad. But still, it was home in its own twisted way. And perhaps it was just that her and Rafael was still figuring everything out. One thing was knowing you had been in love with each other for so long, having been friends for years and then suddenly moving in together. It was weird, especially since there was so much trust trying to be built and they were just not the most trusting people either - so, how did you really make yourself comfortable if you felt like your partner could be finding someone better around the corner? She knew it was stupid, and they both shared this feeling, jealousy had pretty much been their biggest love language. And she also knew not all of her friends thought the relationship was the best idea, but well here she was.

A scent caught her in the wind and she turned her head a little bit seeing Pearl. God should thank her for not having seen Pearl since Victoria had gotten out. "Oh well, look what the cat dragged in," she snorted a bit crossing her arms while keeping her eyes locked on the siren before her eyes.

Pearl was getting on well. She had even convinced herself that her leg was getting better – even though it wasn’t. But she walked with pride in a light blue training outfit, though most of her torso was covered by her gang jacket, though some of the symbol on the back was hidden by the long golden locks that had been tied into a ponytail. She believed that things were being more realistic and clearer to her. She was more in touch with her true self than whatever landdweller being she had pretended to be for a couple of years. She heard a known voice and looked towards the sound of the shapeshifter, “Hmm, shouldn’t the cat know that herself?” she spoke in a melodic voice looking at the woman. She didn’t stop approaching her, but just like the sweet shapeshifter, she crossed her arms. It had almost been half a year since she had last seen this woman, and things… Things had changed. “How are you, sweetest?”

Pearl coming in closer had Victoria raising her chin just a little bit, not giving Pearl any sign of sympathy or understanding in her choice on what had went down. One thing was picking a side, another thing was biting Lauren's finger off. Letting them keep her and Lauren in the basement. Victoria still kept a light on whenever she was sleeping alone, just in case she would wake up from a nightmare and think she was still down there. Lauren's agony still haunted her. Not to mention her own. "I was doing very well thank you, then I saw you," she replied a bit snarkier than she usually would approach Pearl. "You? Enjoying the life of a traitor I take?" she tilted her head a little bit to the side and narrowed her eyes by an inch. Well, Pearl looked like someone who was ready to conquer the day and take everyone and everything by storm. "So much for family."

“You’re welcome,” she said, blinking slowly, almost as if she was a cat who said she loved her owner. Case was, it was all a lie. Case was, Pearl was a serpent to the bone, not like those fuckers who had bitten off their own tail in panic and left while they could. Serpents had to watch their backs for each other, and I was clear that Victoria hadn’t agreed on that when things had shown to be difficult. Victoria had honestly been the one to have the most difficulty. She shrugged a little as Victoria mentioned that Pearl was seen as a traitor through Victoria’s eyes. Pearl saw the opposite. “You can call me what you want, but yes. I’m enjoying life,” she said and licked her lips a little, not taking her eyes off Victoria’s. It was such a shame that Victoria wasn’t a part of the serpents anymore. “Try to remember who left the family,” she mused.

Victora took a step closer, crossed the border on that note. "Listen here you spoiled little brat," she spoke in a lower voice. "I'm a Serpent by blood. Not you, your little asshole of a new leader, or anything is gonna change that," the shapeshifter let out a small cold laugh and shook her head. "You've been a Serpent for what? Two days and you feel like its your whole legacy. Oh sorry, two years.," Victoria cleared her throat a little, "See this is why you never had a fair chance with Jack, you think you know so much, but you are just a pretty blonde with some fancy teeth," Victoria lifted her brow a little bit further keeping her eyes locked on Pearl's. Because once Victoria didn't count you in as family anymore, you were on your own and she had very little sympathy to turn towards the siren she once had looked at to be her younger sister after Jack had found her.

Pearl noticed how the former member crossed the border. Entered dangerous areas for her own sake. She raised her chin a little as Victoria started to call Pearl a spoiled brat. She didn’t take nicknames personally, mostly because she still had trouble understanding everything. She raised a brow and rested on her good leg while listening to how Victoria was bitter about how Pearl was in the warmth of the serpents and Victoria wasn’t. Pity. Pearls eyes never shifted from Victoria’s. Pearl wasn’t afraid of this puny shapeshifter. Pearl took what she could, and she didn’t mind that Victoria felt like Pearl owned it as if it was her whole legacy. She narrowed her eyes a little as she mentioned why Pearl didn’t have a chance with Jack. It tore in her heart, even though she didn’t quite understand why. Stupid emotions she never understood. “Is there anything wrong with me being something you’re not?” she wondered. “Are you jealous because I’m a part of something and I’m enjoying it? Something you can never be a part of again because you pissed Anthony,” she asked blinking almost innocently, tilting her head a little as she spoke. “If you’re so butt-hurt about me being  a part of something you were being born into, you should’ve thought about that before you burned every bridge for staying a part of it,” she mused a little. Many of the words that Pearl spat out, she didn't even understand herself. She licked her lips, looking at how Victoria’s temper was boiling. She loved the sight. “Aren’t you scared that we’re going to find you now and terrorize everything you own and love? Maybe you showing up to the border is going to lead us directly to your brother, your cousin and Jack. After all, we have to make sure none of you are shedding your skin,” she mused, though they might just make sure that the tattoo was cut off. There was plenty of things they could do, and maybe Pearl should talk with Anthony about this, because it had been a little too quite around, and maybe they just had to take the weakest links first. Victoria’s cousin, maybe even Victoria’s youngest cousin.

One thing was knowing Victoria's temper. Pearl knew half of it. There was so much repressed anger within the shapeshifter's tiny frame that it was built to explode at some point, and thank god that she didn't have fire powers like Rafael. But something else terrifying enough was how she could control the ground they were standing on. "Awe, are you threatening me? Oh honey, I feel like I'm being threatened by a cupcake," she chuckled a little bit taking one more step closer, looking Pearl still in the eye before she then with a shift movement hammered her forehead against Pearl's. "You think you are so tough huh? Remember we are standing on grounds I can control - and I will bury you," she kept her eyes straight at Pearl letting her know to trade very carefully. Even the ground underneath their feet started to shiver to prove a point.

Pearl kept a smile on her lips, even though Victoria said that she wasn’t threatened. Pearl didn’t really want to threaten, she just wanted to let Victoria know, just informing the poor lady of her actions and what results they would have. After all, Pearl never kept secrets, and she wouldn’t keep it a secret that she had met Victoria. She stepped forward, and Pearl didn’t let her eyes leave Victoria’s. Pearl hadn’t really expected Victoria to hit their foreheads against each other, and it was the only reason why Pearl fell to the ground. Everyone knew that as soon as Pearl was on the ground, she didn’t get up that easily. It wasn’t really because it had hurt her, that their foreheads had collided, it was more the balance. “Would you?” she mused, laying on the ground, resting on her elbows. She definitely didn’t think about any of this as a threat, because even though Victoria had so much anger in her, she was certain that it wasn’t going to explode. Not here. Not when she was on Southside grounds. She would alarm the serpents and let everyone know that she had been here, and if they got a hold of Eric at some point, Pearl would probably be able to convince him to bring Victoria with her. And he was quick. He could probably knock her out and drag her with him if he needed. Yes, she had a lot of plans for how things could work out, even though she didn’t know the former serpents as well as she might have believed.

Would you? The way that Pearled mused herself as if everything spoken was a joke, it made Victoria take a deeper breath in. There was something dangerous in how the blood started to boil and rage infused her veins. Maybe she just finally had enough? How much were you supposed to take before you finally couldn't take anymore? Where was the line in all of this? When had she crossed it? Victoria licked her lips a little bit as a more cold smile crossed her lips. "This is funny to you? I thought you of all people would understand what it feels like to get your family ripped from you and suddenly just be stranded somewhere else," she snorted a little bit while shaking her head. "I'm so sick of all of this," she took a sharper breath in before she did a movement with her hand, grabbing onto the ground underneath Pearl and let it fall, creating a deep dark hole with Pearl down below. Even Victoria could barely see anything but a blonde ball of hair from what she knew was Pearl. There was no way the siren could get up from there, and without that there was no chance for anything but just dry out because she wouldn't be able to get water either. "Told you," her words echoed down the hole  before she took a step back, not really leaving but what could Pearl know from down there.

Pearl noticed how Victoria took a deeper breath in. Was this girl controlling her emotions with deeper breaths? Maybe Pearl should try that too, though, she never really knew when her emotions were getting out of hand. One day maybe. She noticed the cold smile, not knowing it was cold. She blinked a little, once again innocently, when Victoria mentioned how Pearl should know how it felt to be stranded somewhere else. Well, Pearl had fled. If she hadn’t, she would have died, and she had found a new family, and she was living her life here. She was certain that Victoria would get her own family at some point. A family which wasn’t the serpents because Victoria should know that she didn’t belong anymore. She let Victoria take her time, and before she knew of it, a whole was created beneath her and Pearl was in the middle of it, coughing a little from the dust surrounding her, and how she immediately felt how her surroundings were drying her. “So, you’re just going to stand there and watch me die from thirst?” she spoke a little louder to make sure that Victoria could hear it. “You know, it will only leave me to call the serpents,” she said and cleared her throat a little. There was multiple ways she could do it, but she found it most amusing to sing to them, and when she broke the song, they would know what was up.
“Hey Pearl. Please shut your mouth,” Cyrus called from a smaller alley, getting out of the shadows. Cyrus had heard the fuzz from a little distance and had chosen to take a look for himself. Thank goodness for that, since he played both sides, as the only one who seemingly knew how to do that. Eric had been terrible at it, which was why he wasn’t doing it anymore. “Victoria,” he greeted with a nod and a salute before he moved closer to the hole, “I’ll just take care of this dying fish, okay?” he said, not wanting to get too close to the hole yet, before he was certain that Victoria understood that he wasn’t going to do any harm on anyone. It was an unnecessary fight the two girls had been brewing. “Hey, I am not dying!”

Victoria didn't reply. But she did make a movement with her hand, letting some parts of the rock side of the hole starting to fall down on Pearl, while letting the walls close in on her. "Thank you finally someone said it," she sighed looking towards Cyrus. "I was wondering when you would show yourself," Victoria took a deeper breath. Because thanks to Jack knowing Cyrus played both sides, Victoria knew - and it also meant that Pearl couldn't know. It would jeopardize Cyrus. "You are welcome to join her, if you want, I can make it a nice space for two," she pulled her lips up into an unamused smile. "Yet," she yelled towards the hole before letting dust, dirt and soil fall down on the sirens head - then turning her head towards Cyrus again. Victoria kept her eyes on his, well they had known each other for years by now, and it hurt that things had to be played out like this. She really did.

Now, when rocks started to fall down on her, she yelped and puled her doable leg towards her. “Cut it off!” she yelled.
Cyrus tensed his jaw a little as Victoria was announcing that he had been in the shadows. He didn’t need more trouble than the amount he would get for just being present. “I appreciate the offer,” he said acting like he was slightly offended and didn’t like the offer. He once again had to clench his jaw together when Victoria commented on Pearl. It was a little too funny, and it wasn’t like Cyrus liked Pearl after the stunt she had pulled. Pearl tried her best to cover her face and started coughing. Now, this was certainly not the conditions suited for a siren. “Even though I think it would bring out memories playing in dirt, it’s not in my schedule today,” he said, even though he had no schedule, though he might want to meet up with Delphine when it was possible. “I promise you, I’ll make sure to schedule some time to play with you another day,” he said and pulled a playing smirk, if people listened, they would only believe that he was planning on either taking up a fight or pulling her into a motel room. What was the difference even? But they knew it wasn’t that, or at least he hoped that he didn’t get too deep and too personal for the act to break. “If you want things to stay calm, I think it would be best to give me back my dirty fish, before the rest of the Serpents arrive and will set after you,” he said with slightly wider eyes, to tell her, that he wouldn’t want especially that to happen, because he knew, that if he didn’t come back to where he had left, the Serpents will look after him and find him with Victoria. He knew very well that Pearl had said something similar just a moment ago, but Pearl did it to play intimidating, and Cyrus wanted her to stay safe, even though she might not feel well with the situation.

Victoria couldn't help but let out a dry snort. "I appreciate that, it's been a while,"  she replied back matching his smirk. She couldn't help but letting a laugh escape her. "Oh please, Anthony doesn't even give a fuck about her. If anything he gives a fuck about me trespassing because it means we are still fighting for something, and he doesn't like that. But by all means. Let her believe they care, sucks when she realizes she lost her real family when she played the wrong side. Same goes for you, don't forget who the real enemy is," Victoria used her powers to lift Pearl back on on the piece of land she before had sunken down in the ground. Her eyes landed on Pearl again, "good thing you have someone caring just a little bit about you around here," Victoria then took a few steps back. No, she didn't like leaving them here. Far from. She also knew there was a chance that Eric or Jack had found out where she had gone to by now. She just hoped they were far to busy with their new lives to notice.

Cyrus knew very well that Anthony didn’t give a damn about Pearl, she could be buried, but it didn’t change the fact that Victoria trespassed and was ready to fight, and that Victoria sank low enough to want to kick the weak. Now, he knew that Pearl could provoke most, especially after the stunt she made with everyone’s trust. Even though he knew Victoria’s words were for listeners, the words cut deep into Cyrus. He was way softer than Pearl, he did after all know how to put two and two together and he missed having everyone in Southside. “I won’t,” he said, not taking his eyes of her as she lifted Pearl up from the hole. Even though Victoria had her eyes on the dirty Pearl, the words once again cut in Cyrus. Soft boy, with all his emotions out to be hurt, even though he had been told he should never do that. So many things his mother had told him, and yet he was still learning. Pearl rolled onto her stomach and coughed out dirt and spit. She was too occupied with breathing that she couldn’t even hear what was being said. When Victoria took a step back, Cyrus pulled his eyes away from Victoria and walked over to Pearl and pulled her up into his arms. She almost pulled herself into his lap. “Water, please,” she begged him. He looked up at Victoria for a moment, wanting to be certain that she left and didn’t pick up another fight, now that she knew that she had gotten under Pearls skin.

She listened to Pearl coughing, trying to catch her breath and folded her lips for a second. Victoria tried to recall when she had turned herself into this, still thinking when she had crossed the first line. Was it when she had tortured Tidus' right hand last year? It had been a breaking point for sure, and sometimes once you had let the darkness into your soul it had a thing for spreading. Never resting. Her eyes caught Cyrus' once again, as he clearly just waited for her to get moving. She should move. Get out of there, and so she took one more step back, slowly. Feeling her entire body tense. Sometimes she scared herself. But she turned around and turned into her Harpy eagle shape and started flying up to the sky. Because she knew where she was headed after all.

Finally, it wasn't that long of a flight, it only took a few more seconds because Jack had gotten the hole in the roof fixed. So, she had to actually land outside the apartment building naked, okay I'm standing out here naked for all eyes to see, get Jack to open the door so I can get in, Victoria spoke to Eric through her thoughts looking around just happy no one was passing by right now. Or well it was nothing people hadn't seen before but yeah.

As soon as Victoria transformed, and left Cyrus turned her attention to the siren in his arms and threw her over his shoulder so he could get her back and get her some water. But this was definitely not going to be something good.

Eric sat comfortably in Jacks living room in the middle of a conversation when Victoria suddenly barged into his mind. He took a sharper breath in. “Victoria is here,” he said and pointed towards the door, hoping he would open the door so she could get in. He got up himself and untied the shirt he had around his waist, so he could give it to her when she got upstairs. At least it could cover her up a bit.

Jack pressed his brows a little bit together taking a sip of his beer before getting up watching how Eric untied his shirt. Happy transformations. At least they all knew what it was like to come back after a transformation. So, he buzzed her in and it didn't take long before Victoria started walking up the stairs towards the studio apartment that Jack had. Scarlett didn't appear to be home yet. She got inside, "thank you," she let out a sigh gladly taking the shirt before heading towards Jack's bedroom where she knew there would be some of Scarlett's clothing she allowed herself to steal. Jack frowned a bit, "why you in such a rush?" the cryobird looked shortly towards Eric. Because usually Victoria would just have called letting them know she was swinging by, never transforming to get there. "What happened?" He then asked a bit more seriously.

Victoria walked back into the living room and walked over to the table to take a beer and sat down on the couch. "I had a very heart to heart conversation with Pearl," she said then taking a sip of the beer, or more than a sip - more like downing it, before placing the bottle down on the table again.

Eric shrugged as Jack looked towards him, he had no idea what had been going on since Victoria had been in such a rush to get to them, or maybe just to get away? Eric took a sip of his bear before he looked towards Victoria who walked back out from Jack’s bedroom. Dressed this time. Eric raised his brows as she mentioned she had been talking to Pearl. “You what?” Eric felt so contempt in the life with Noa, that he didn’t really appreciate that Victoria had sought to Pearl, though of course he didn’t know what had happened, maybe Pearl had sought to her? “What happened?” he furrowed his brows and took a small sip of his beer, almost afraid of getting too comfortable in the couch.

She knew it wasn't appreciated by either Jack or Eric, even the blaming was painted on their faces. "I was just walking alongside the border, nothing grand - and she showed up. And things just got a little out of hand," Victoria looked at the bottle instead of the two guys she saw as her brothers. Because she knew how one edge they both were. Eric was scared because of what if Noa got involved. Jack with his new family and Scarlett - even if they knew how to take care of themselves. "Don't give me that look, I know I fucked up," she finally looked up towards them, and licked her lips a little bit. "Fucked up? That is an understatement, what were you even thinking, going near the border when you know Anthony wouldn't risk getting an upper hand again by taking you," he shook his head, "that was careless," he knew he acted a bit up. But the trouble they all went through to get her free. How Anthony had ended up capturing Eris? How Cassian had almost died because Rebekah showed up. And then she was seeking out the border? "Does Rafael know?" - "This has nothing to do with Rafael, so leave him out of it," she hissed a little bit and cleared her throat, not appreciating Jack pointing out everything she had done wrong.

The start of her explanation didn’t land in good hands by Eric. She had walked by the border, like a lion around its prey. What had she been thinking? And things had of course gotten out of hand when Pearl and she started to talk. Eric licked his lips and put his beer away knowing that he shouldn’t be clenching his fist around it, it would just be a mess. Eric looked over at her with an unsatisfied look. He looked towards Jack as she mentioned how she didn’t want the look she was given from any of them. He could see how she knew she had done something stupid, and even though he wanted to ease the mood, primitive instincts were just much closer to him in this kind of company. “He might get involved if you get captured again,” Eric budged in, “I don’t see why you would go there,” he licked his lips, “I know that it was our place, but we lost it” he said not liking what he said himself. “What were you thinking?” he wondered, not wanting to attack her, but simply wanting to know what had been going through her mind since she had gone to the border. She even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to get Anthony down by herself, and did any of them truly want to go back? Didn’t they just want to bloom in a better life without crimes?

Victoria darted her eyes towards Eric as he mentioned Rafael could get involved. "I wasn't going to get captured, I was just walking," she sighed a little bit, taking an even sharper breath in as he pointed out that they had lost their place. "I just - miss it. How things were, and sometimes it just eases my mind going there," she confessed, "you been walking down the border for more than once, Vic -" he raised his brow at her. Victoria took a sharper breath in, holding it for a moment. "Hey, you are not the ones who had to be trapped down there. Or the ones who spent most of your time in a big mansion alone, while your significant other was running around in Europe to get revenge on one of his enemies... only to just go out and get hammered every time he finds somethin too much to handle," she hissed a little bit. Victoria had after all been kicked out of two homes in her life. By her step-father when Erics father had found her too much and just kicked her on the streets. Then by Anthony taking over. The Serpents had always been her none judgmental family, now they weren't. And with Rafael coping with whatever he was coping with alongside they had been dealing with the Russian werewolves, because his pack had been a target. No, these past months had not been easy. "But hey, I'm sure I will power through after a few of these," she took another beer and opened it.

Eric raised his brows as she mentioned that she wasn’t going to get captured, and that she was just walking. Of course, she was just walking, but that wouldn’t prevent someone from coming to her and capturing her. He understood that Victoria missed it, but he still thought it was reckless going there alone, even though it might seem more of a threat to go there with more than one person. Eric held his breath as Victoria snapped. She then proceeded to explain that she would power through after a couple of beers. Eric looked at her with a slight frown. “Did anything happen between you and Pearl?” he spoke softly, because he was almost certain that it wasn’t because that Victoria had spent time by the border. He was almost certain that Pearl had said something.

Had something happened? Victoria made a small grimace indicating that something had happened, yet she didn't want more judgment on the side of how she had behaved. The look on Cyrus face had spoken for itself. Still, Victoria might not have been prone to behavior like that in the past, but maybe she should have. Maybe if she had taken a few more chances and actually proven she wasn't just a push over - things could have looked a bit more different. "She just likes to throw threats and think she can walk over people without there being any backlash.. So I buried her," Victoria spoke with an almost emotionless tone while sipping her beer, then looking at Eric and Jack. Jack looked almost shocked over the fact, because he could see it for him. Pearl under ground somewhere letting out her last breath while they were sitting here drinking beer, "relax. I didn't leave her like that, Cyrus dropped by - but I'm guessing he is already trying to figure out how things are gonna escalate from the events, not that I think attacking Pearl is actually going to cost us much," she let out a small sigh. Perhaps it was a bit aloof of her. Victoria took another sip of her beer. "You better hope that, because they knew more than we already like for them to know. Seriously Vic, what the fuck - Fuck," he mumbled and took a step back shaking his head.

Something had happened, it was easy enough to see on Victoria’s facial expression. It sounded like something Pearl would do. Throwing out threats and thinking there would be no consequences. She simply didn’t know how the world functioned. Not that he blamed her. After all, he had only learned from the serpents and the laws in it. “Buried her?” Eric repeated blinking a little. Now, he didn’t want to say that it was a bit too overboard, but maybe burring her alive was just… Relax. He did a little, and the mention of Cyrus only made him worry if Cyrus had gotten in danger, not by Victoria, but the combination of Pearl and Victoria. Eric exhaled when she mentioned how Cyrus was probably onto the case and trying to figure out if this costed them anything. Jack replied and stepped back shaking his head. Eric looked down between his knees while sitting down and thought for a little. “Maybe… Maybe you’d like some air?” he wondered and looked over towards Jack. Maybe it was a little off the tables to tell the apartment owner to go get some fresh air, but he had a feeling that he probably had to let off some steam, and inside an apartment was never really the right place, was it? Now, it only seemed like mean words had been exchanged between the two girls, so Eric could think logically enough that it might just be a little burn both of the girls had felt, except for the fact that Victoria had been on the edge to actually bury the damned siren.

Jack turned his head towards Eric, narrowing his eyes a little bit for a moment. Because really, he didn't want to leave, but also knew that he would just end up arguing with Victoria rather than actually being helpful. "Yeah, I think I will do an early transformation, get over with it," he breathed out before getting up, not saying more before he headed out of the apartment, leaving Victoria and Eric alone in the apartment. Victoria chucked a little bit, "I didn't mean to end up putting any of you in danger, you know that right?" She asked a bit more softly. Because well even if she was doing some stupid shit these days, snooping around in other people's homes, among other things. She reached out for another of the beers and opened it, taking a larger mouthful, waiting for him to get to the point he wanted to throw across since she theorized he had one, given Jack had left the apartment.