New year, new start

Outfit: Link
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"Red," Cecilia replied to the question, "or both," she giggled as Evelina showed up with both bottles. She was right through, and Cecilia really longed for having a good time. It had been a good time the last few weeks, she had been back home in Bulgaria with her family - they had all travelled together and it had been nice to finally get a little bit out of the chaotic mess called Gaia. Since everything had happened, it was nice to finally feel like she was just a little bit safe. With Frederik's help earlier in December she was cloaked, making it impossible for any witch to track her down, so she was safe - for now. The music blasted and Cecilia shook her head with a laugh, finally just letting go a little bit of all stress. "Stressful, but I'm dealing with the entire link thing still - Ajax has been so kind, making it feel less like an actual issue," she explained, it had been a while since they last spoke. It had happened in the beginning of October, and they hadn't spoken since what the beginning of November - but a thing like this wasn't something she could keep from her best friend. Also, the paranoia was an entirely new look that Cecilia had started trying out. Cecilia did mask her fear with a smile, she was terrified most of the time. "However, I'm not going to be scared of that all my life. So I might as well deal with it the best I can." She took a deeper breath in and nodded a bit to herself. "How about you, still dealing with mr. no show?" Cecilia knew she wasn't the only one with problems in her life.

Cecilia chuckled a bit, of she was going mad, she just also didn't want people to be to worried about her. It was Ajax and her own problem, and they had everything in the works to fix it and find a way to break the link. There just wasn't anything they could do other than wait for Pandora to remove the curse. Cecilia knew she could talk more about it, but right now she didn't feel like ruining the night by beginning with her chaotic life. "I'm steps from becoming a mad woman, just wait by the end of the year - I might just have lost my shit," there was months till the new year, but who knew - last year had changed everything. Suddenly her life was seen from a whole new point of view. The talk about exes was always on their list of complains. Cecilia's luck with men leaving her seemed more like a curse than her link to Ajax. She often asked herself what made it so easy for people to just one day be out of her life like she didn't matter at all in the first place. It had taken her a year and a trip far away from Gaia around the world with her family till she was just a bit over Lucas. Nigel had jumped unexpected into her life and out not long after, once again leaving her in pieces. Every warning sign had been alarming when she had met Jasper, and she even remembered Evelina telling her he was bad news, but once again she had found someone she thought would never leave her - he didn't through, she did this time.

Evelina's ex was a whole other story, even if Cecilia's partners had left her - they had never cheated on her, as far as she knew. She understood the fury and why Evelina was angry, it was unacceptable just coming and taking the kids from school whenever he wanted, like they suddenly mattered to him. Cecilia took her glass of wine and then took a good mouthful. "You need a good lawyer or something, if this keeps coming up. I'll hook you up with one of my friends, I promise you - she is the best," Cecilia pointed out. She really hoped it wouldn't come down to that, but if it did - Zitora could handle everything. The next comment made Cecilia nod and she lifted her glass, "I will toast to that," she then downed the last of the wine only to refill the glass. Cecilia had felt like that for some months now, like she was punished from something that had happened in a former life - or perhaps the stars just wanted her to suffer for a bit. Cecilia took a handful of chips and placed them on her thighs, so it was easier to just grab them while they talked. "But seriously, you can't let him walk over you like that," Cecilia pointed out. Here Cecilia was lucky, she didn't have kids with some ex who had left her, she didn't have the same commitment to actually putting in an effort to communicate. "You are like a super person, taking care of them and your job. I don't know If I would have been able to do that," she confessed and took another sip of the wine.

"Careful, I might take you up on that at some point," she pointed out while taking another sip of the wine. It was good to be around friends. She had missed it, and even if she would've had to help with the kids, she would have done without question. Cecilia was used to kids after all. Neither Cecilia or Evelina were the last people on earth you should let wait for food, and her hunger could easily make someone the victim of a tantrum - if they weren't careful. So, it had been a fight for Cecilia not to take the phone and complain about the food being late. "Despite that, you are still doing an amazing job. Take the bloody compliment Romeo," she teased as she threw a little chip over at Evelina. Cecilia related to the no sleep through, it had been months since she had some good sleep. Even if Ajax helped with his ability, it still took her over half the night to actually fall asleep.

The doorbell finally rang, and Cecilia wished she could just breathe normally. But in her paranoid state of mind, her worst scenarios of everything simply took over before she even was prepared to react - and she just froze on the spot, so scared it would be Joseph knowing with that creepy grin on his stupid ass face. It took her the whole time Evelina was out to get the food for Cecilia even to breathe, so then she registeret her friend again she took a deeper breath in. "You know me. I eat everything," she smiled a bit more careful and breathed out. The seconds where Evelina went out for the plates, Cecilia took her sweet time getting her heart under control and get her panicked thoughts to obey her stubbornness. She did not want the fear of Joseph to ruin her night, not this time, she could not let him have that much power over her - even through he did. Cecilia filled up the glass with more wine and took a few mouthfuls.

The big doe eyes looked at her friend as she down in front of her. Cecilia took a sharper breath in, feeling her emotions shake up like a hurricane under her skin. She couldn't help but crack a smile on the reminder, they always found their way around their misfortune. If it had been when Lucas left Cecilia, Greg asked Evelina for the divorce.. to when Nigel had left, it was a series of bad events they couldn't seem to escape. Cecilia felt the quick hug and moved her head towards her friend. "I guess I'm just still a bit paranoid I guess," she confessed with a chuckle, after all Joseph had broken into her home even if it was way to many months ago - she knew he could still do it if he wanted - if he wanted to harm her, all he needed to was to harm himself. Even that thought was disturbing as hell, and the fact he could connect himself to her mind when Ajax did - it was all way to insane. "But hey, everyone needs at least one sociopath in their life right? Now that I got rid of Jasper, another had to fill the spot," everyone had known she had been jumping into Jasper's arms way to quickly. She hadn't even been over Nigel at that point, but when you drowned yourself in insecurities and felt like you didn't deserve anything - a guy like Jasper with all the right words and that stupid charming smile, it had twisted her cute little head a little too much. However, after a few too many changes and acts of violence towards her she had tried ending things with him. If it hadn't been for Michael, she might not have been rid of the werewolf yet. Only just learning back then he was a werewolf. "But I have people working to find a way to break the entire link.. and once that is gone, I will take it from there - I'm way to much of an overthinker already.. I - I don't want to drown myself in thinking about everything that can go wrong after that." Cecilia shook her head a little bit before reaching out after her glass of wine, but only took a minor mouthful.

"The dream demon I'm linked to told me I've some locked memories. Like he can see they are locked behind a door in my mind.." she frowned a bit and breathed out, feeling slightly exhausted just thinking about it. "At one point I would want to know, what has happened in the past.. that has been forced away by mind control or some other crazy ability - but what If the result ends up being something that I wish I could remove again?" Cecilia hadn't really discussed it with other people than Ajax seeing he was the one who had given her the information. "I've already lived too long with all this going on around me while I had no idea.. I can't stand the idea of having something forced away from me and knowing it has been taken - even if I don't know what it is." She took a deeper breath in, "sorry If it doesn't make any sense."

A lot of people had over the years broken her trust, Evelina had never done anything close to breaking it. She trusted Evelina with her life, and that was also one of the reason she didn't keep any secrets. Not from her. Cecilia reached out for the plate and started to place some different food items on her plate. She was listening and exhaled a bit hopeless. Ajax had been saying the same thing, knowing might not change a thing - there could be a reason for her not to know, and once you knew something - you couldn't take that back. "Yeah, I know, it's just with everything going on - it seems - I don't even know," she shook her head a little bit before placing the plate on her thighs. "I don't understand how some people has been dealing with this crap their whole life - but I suppose knowing from a long time ago, it makes things easier," she sighed a bit. Sometimes she had been weighing knowing verses not knowing, and so many more just made sense now - even if it seemed like her world had been twisted around, it was just it - it had always been filled with dark holes that didn't make sense. It had been felt with feeling weird, odd and like her imagination was just running wild. "How long do you think it will last before the Michael's warning doesn't scare a person like Jasper anymore?" She then asked, yes, the paranoia spoke again - and a part of her just wanted to hear the words, that she would never have to deal with him again. They had only been together for a short matter of time, but it had been intense from the start - also a reason why she ended things, even if he time and time again didn't accept it. One thing was dealing with Joseph, but she didn't want to deal with two maniacs at the same time. She started to eat without realizing it, and looked at Evelina.


"I don't want to be talking about them all night, I just got back from  two weeks in Bulgaria - and I'm already back on the madness," she chuckled a bit by herself, she didn't want to focus on the bad stuff - even if it was what was most pressing at the moment. And she knew she could talk to Evelina about it. "Tyler, Jessica and the kids will stay for another month - Tyler found a job he could work for while.. and Caleb is still so small.. Sylvia and Mason just likes the vacation," she smiled a little. Also it was nice knowing they were safe in Bulgaria.

Cecilia held her breath for a little while, she had some peber spray and even a teaser. It just happened to be the thing she always forgot to pack when she headed out or forgot it in her car. Her dearest cousin insisted that one could never be to safe, and Zitora had agreed on that statement. However, with all this that happened around them - she felt like that just didn't cut it. "It's alright" she pointed out with a comforting smile. Evelina was right, she couldn't walk around in fear and not knowing what would happen next. It was becoming more and more news that Ethan was child of Michael, and it also seemed like Ethan had accepted that - which was nice. After all those two had worked together for years before they actually realized it. "Yeah, crazy right," she chuckled a bit by the comment. Michael also worked in the police force time to time, she remembered that from the first conversation she'd ever with Michael. How crazy things had been since that day.

"I've missed my nana, so it was nice seeing her again," she confessed with a smile. Sometimes people forgot that Cecilia wasn't from around here, and she had been lucky enough to have a father who was, so speaking English had never been an issue - and the accent that first had stuck with her when she got here ten years ago, wasn't almost unnoticeable - although it was clear to hear that she had been hanging around non English speakers most of the holiday. "It's always good to be back home, the older we get.. the more it seems like we forget to," she frowned a bit to her own comment. "Please pack me with you if you go though, I'd love to go back."

This was home. Cecilia had been sure to make it her home, but it didn't change the fact that Bulgaria was her home as well, it was where she had grown up. But she gave Evelina a little nod to agree. Cecilia listened to Evelina, yeah she was right and she couldn't help but smile to her best friend's words. The last comment made her take a deeper breath in, Cecilia had always been more concerned about everyone else was feeling, and what she could do if they weren't going okay. She always had her heart ready to give to a stranger if needed, and perhaps she should start taking better care of it. It had gotten hurt so many times and yet she still gave it one more try each time. "I'm sure that is the best ideal, but I'm not sure I can do that - not knowing what is happening around here. People need someone, we all need someone," she replied and took a slightly deeper breath in. Cecilia went in her mind to thought about Joseph being at the academy, teaching young students - older students - people he could actually hurt. Then her mind send warning signs as she recalled someone she knew who also worked there. Lucas worked there. Cecilia had never really thought more about the fact that he worked as a teacher - but that information had been given to her before she knew about the supernatural. Before she had known what kind of academy it was. If Lucas worked close to Joseph, he could be in danger as well.

Quickly she pushed that thought out of her head, but it still roamed close by. "But I will be careful," she promised her friend, as she took a mouthful of the noodles. "What about you, how is it working with officer Davidson?" They both knew Ethan, but Cecilia's friendship with Ethan was build from the one he had with Maeve - and the fact that he also worked together with Cecilia's father.

She kept eating, it was alright. She was going to be fine, that was what she at least tried to remind herself. The knock on the door made her eyes look up, holding her breath for a moment till the voice sounded, making her smile and shake her head for a second. Cecilia pulled her lips up in a smile as Mono said he had brought dessert. The most appreciated words after: I brought pizza. Cecilia's face lighted up as he stuck his head in from the doorframe, and she shook her head lightly. "You are the best," she replied with a warmer smile. Then she returned to the chai food and finished what she had on the plate. There was always room for dessert, dessert was for the soul and right now her soul needed all the love it could get. Cecilia observed him with a calm expression and just sat there silent for a second as he asked her how she was holding up. Evelina made Cecilia laugh a second after as she threw the pillow after Mono, and shook her head a little bit. "I'm holding my head high, things is alright as off right now. Still just trying to break the curse," she sighed a bit still with a smile on her face. Cecilia took a mouthful of wine, before placing the glass back on the coffee table.

"There is a way to break it, we just don't know how yet," she reminded Mono with a well-known optimistic smile on her lips. Even if it did seem like a dead end, she knew there was people out there trying to break the curse just as much as she did. If not for her, then for the other people involved. How had her life taken a turn from a typical everyday life where her work had been the most stressful and just turned it completely around to this?

Cecilia widened her eyes a little bit, as Evelina told what she had done to Ethan's table at work. "Oh no, you didn't? Oh my god, Eve," she folded her lips together trying not to laugh by the picture in her head, even if one shouldn't mess with another person's phobia, it was hard to not find Ethan's just a tiny bit odd. "That explains why Maeve said he refused to go to the park for like two weeks straight," she shook her head a little bit by that image. It had taken a lot of work generally for Maeve to get Ethan to just enjoy a walk in the park, luckily for him it was winter and the ducks wasn't really enjoying the cold weather like he did. "Evelina Romeo, you are mean," she chuckled before she herself hurried taking some dessert before Evelina got a chance to eat it all. There was no way she was going to let her eat her portion, but she knew she would if she wasn't fast enough.

Cecilia sighed yes, it was very true - Ethan did have a hero complex, always wanting to save the day and feel awful when he couldn't. He was still buried in work trying to help with this entire curse thing, even if he did have a lot of other things to worry about. However, Evelina looked to Cecilia actually talk about their feelings. "Maybe, I mean.. I haven't talked to Ethan since November - we have all been quite busy. But he is working hard to find information about the people involved with everything," she replied and lifted her shoulders shortly. "I know he was thinking about asking his sister for assistance, did he introduce you to her yet?" Cecilia then asked Mono, she hadn't met Elenora herself yet - but she knew a little bit about her, enough to know what she worked with. It was most likely naive of her to think every hunter at some point had worked together or at least attempted to. "Maeve is still taking everything in, but she is handling it. It's just about getting all this supernatural crap to fit in," she took a larger mouthful of the wine. "I mean, don't get me wrong.. I'm still a little pissed at both of you for keeping it form me all this time. Even if it was for my own safety and so on." It wasn't something she would just let go, or she would - but she liked to point it out time to time. It was in times like this where already knowing how to deal with the supernatural would have made it easier - or at least she told herself that. "But I love you guys, and don't you forget it."