We’ll burn so bright ‘til the darkness softly clears

LOCATION: The Castillo
DATE: 15th of May 2021
TIME: Evening
ATTIRE:
Cecilia: Link
Alison: Link
TOPIC FOR: @Lucas xx
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It seemed like things more or less was turning their way. If you didn't add the fact Eden had somewhat come back to live, but not quite. The fact that Luke's ex-girlfriend had kidnapped and almost killed Mono in the beginning of the month. Then she had at least had a relaxing birthday last weekend. Cecilia had looked forward to a change of scenery and going to this teacher conference party was that. She had needed a chance to dress a little up, going somewhere other than insane. It wasn't her social circle, but it didn't stop her from being excited about going. Slightly nervous, but she took the nerves as a good thing, it was Luke's colleagues she was meeting tonight. Cecilia had only met Jack a few times along with Victoria, seen a few others - and then of course the one who must not be named, but no one had seen Joseph for months. With her thoughts set aside she walked out from the bedroom and down to the living room, after having made the final touch with her make up. Cecilia walked down the stairs and chuckled a bit looking at him. "Oh well, hey there handsome," she couldn't stop smiling looking at him as she slightly tilted her head a little to the side. "Ready to go?" She asked walking closer towards him to close her arms over his shoulders, looking into his eyes for a short moment. "The car is here," she stated as she heard the car out front. Cecilia removed her arms from his shoulders and headed towards the front door so they could get to the car.  

Lucas had leaned himself back onto the wall, looking down at the phone in his hand while he was waiting for Cecilia. He didn't own a lot of formal clothes and had for once, had to go spend money on himself - something that happened surprisingly rarely. The dark blue suit he had bought had first felt a little too flashy, but in the end it had grown on him, and the fabric was flowing casually on his body; not too tight and not too loose, making him look at little less formal than if the suit had been black or grey. The blue colour made his bright eyes shine a little brighter than before. He had also chosen to keep his glasses on, knowing that there would be a fair amount of flashing lights around them. It also felt like he was 'dressing down' the suit a little, sporting his glasses like that, and he had started feeling comfortable with them on.
A shuffle of movements had him look up from his phone. His face lit up as his arms slowly lowered down with his phone.

"You look absolutely divine," he told her, flashing a bright smile. He opened his arms to greet her and pull her in, as she came closer to him and put her arms around his neck.
Luke hummed happily. "You sure we can't be late? Taking that dress off you is so very tempting right now," he whispered; his eyes glistening.
He groaned dramatically at the sound of the car outside, and placed a gentle kiss on Cecilia's forehead.
"Alright," he replied. "Let's do this."

Cecilia chuckled playfully as she licked her lips, "we shouldn't be late," she whispered back, letting her eyes wander down to his lips shortly, "but chances are you will be taking it off later," Cecilia added in a small tease, letting her nose kiss his shortly. Even through it was overall tempting to just stay home and enjoy each other's company - this was his night, she wasn't going to let him be late for that. A small laughter left her lips by his dramatically groan, as she grabbed his hand to walk out to the car. "Fancy," she chuckled low as the chauffeur awaited them and opened the door for them. Cecilia got in the car, looking at Luke as he got in, and the door closed. She placed her hand just above his knee.

The drive wasn't too long, and she knew most events held by this hotel were nice in general. And finally, the car was parked, and the door was opened for them. As they got out of the car she looked shortly at the hotel then at Luke, before grabbing his arm. "It's going to be great, I've heard there is a buffet," she giggled a little squeezing her nose, before starting following the crowd of teachers from both the academy and the university, along with whoever they had with them. She knew Lucas had told her that she shouldn't freak out when seeing Alison, because she was said to look awfully like Rebekah. And after Cecilia's encounter with Jezebel, she could only imagine how alike it could be. She was able to spot the red hair in the crowd as they got inside, along with the red dress, Alison was easy to spot.

Luke's lips curled up in a wry, playful smile at his girlfriends cheeky remark. "Sounds good to me," he replied, closing his eyes as their noses touched. It was little moments like these, he really, truly cherished. No pressure to be perfect in any way, or to say the wrong things. Just genuine happiness with a dose of fun. He huffed as she pulled at him, but allowed her to pull him out through the door before he pulled back, to sneak an arm around her shoulders.
It had actually been a few years since there had been a big party for the Academy staff, and whereas he had been happy to attend back then and wreck a little havoc with Vic and Jack, this felt different. A little more formal; a fact thoroughly bolded by the fancy car they had gotten into. Alison clearly wanted to put her own touch on a night like this; a night that very possibly also served for her to officially take over the headmistress-title. He had once again warned Cecilia of the resemblance between Ali and Rebekah Sinclair, knowing that Cecilia's memories with the witch could still be felt on her cheeks.

Luke got out of the car and went around it to open the door for Cecilia, beating the driver to the gesture. He sent a soft smile up to the beautiful hotel. The Castillo was one of the most beautiful buildings in the city and arguably a historic treasure and so absolutely the perfect spot for such a party. The halls had been decorated beautifully, and although he had had a hard time taking his eyes off his girlfriend, he did find himself getting distracted by the beautiful decor.
He gently placed a hand on hers, wrapped around his arm, and leaned down to kiss her on top of her head. She looked adorable, all excited about everything and he couldn't help a short chuckle. He knew for a fact that the buffet had been one of the most discussed things amongst the teachers. "We should have brought bags," he whispered jokingly. "Could have taken all the food back to our fridge and dine like kings and queens for a month!"
As they joined more and more people, Luke's smile widened for each greeting to each colleague. He enthusiastically presented Cecilia to every person who stopped to say hi, smiling softly at her bright smiles to the people he had been working with for the past five-or-so years. How very special indeed, to be able to introduce her to all of them. A quiet moment arrived and Luke swung her around gently, placing a hand on her hips to lock his eyes onto hers. "Now, what can I get you to drink, my love?"

Cecilia couldn't help but laugh by the scene playing in her mind of them stealing the entire buffet. "We will remember that next time," she chuckled lightly before they joined more people. Luke made her heart flutter every single time he presented her, and Cecilia thrived in the situation, greeting everyone she was presented to. It was nice seeing the faces of his colleagues, she had seen Jack and Victoria before - but they were more close friends as well. Sadly, the two of them hadn't made it to the party yet, or maybe they just hadn't spotted them yet. A little quite from all the chatting came, and she chortled as Luke swung her gently around. Her eyes locked with her boyfriend's flashing an affectionate smile as she looked at him. Cecilia gently brushed his hair a little back, while licking her lips shortly. "Wine does always do the trick, thank you," she replied tilting her head a little to the side. Cecilia chuckled a little to herself, having a good feeling - it was nice with all the bad vibes her gut had lately, tonight only seemed to be filled with good ones.

Approaching the bar area, they were met by the red-haired fairy. Cecilia's eyes flickered shortly, but the entire light around the fairy was enough to even clear her from all the horrors that she had about Rebekah. Perhaps it was the way she moved towards them lighting up the way with her smile. "Greetings, lovely to see you made it," she smiled warmly at Luke then at Cecilia. "Is it too much? I felt like we needed a little extra spark this year -" Alison asked looking out in the room for a second. People seemed to enjoy it, dressing a little up and just having a good time. Then she turned her eyes back to them, and held her and out, "Alison, nice meeting you," Cecilia took the fairy's hand with a firm shake. "Yeah, I've heard a few things about you. I'm Cecilia."

Wine does always do the trick, thank you.
The side of his mouth flicked upwards in a wry smile. Wine had always been her poison and he knew for a fact that the bar would have some really, truly lovely bottles. He had checked the list of cognacs and been surprised over the amounts of prestigious spirits and wine the Hotel had catered to the event - surprised but overjoyed. He once again extended his arm to her, so that she would be able to place her hand and walk with him towards the bar. The hotel was truly beautiful, and it was difficult to not allow oneself to get distracted by the magic that simmered in the air and the history that filled the halls.

Luke looked up, greeted by the bright voice of Alison, his lips parted in a warm smile. "Hey you," he replied softly, admiring the way her red dress echoed her fiery hair and made her look every bit as warm and radiating as she was. He had never met Rebekah, not like Cecilia had, and hoped that the aura and atmosphere that surrounded the fairy would be enough to remove any doubts about his new boss. "I think it's the most beautiful party we've ever had, Allie," he told her, shaking his head at the suggestion that it could be 'too much'. They hadn't really had a proper party after the Muertos a few years ago and it had started to show. In Lukes humble opinion at least.
He didn't have time to introduce his girlfriend, before Cecilia took the matter in her own hands, shaking Alisons, and making Luke's heart flutter with love for the beautiful human he was lucky enough to have reunited with.
"Really," he said with a wide smile, nodding in admiration. "Well done, Allie. It's magnificent. Promise me you'll enjoy it instead of faffing about like the little butterfly you are."

Alison had spent so much time around the crown-princess lately that in the end, throwing a party seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone needed to get out and have some fun once in a while, and it was her way as well of getting out of the house. Taking over the academy after your ex-fiancé was an entire story of its own, and it was. Alison smiled warmly at them, before looking out the room shortly. Promise me you'll enjoy it instead of faffing about like the little butterfly you are. Alison rolled her eyes lightly as they landed back on the shapeshifter. "I will. I will, okay? I just have one more thing on my list for the day, and depending on how that one goes - there will be plenty of time to enjoy the evening," she confessed with a small nod to herself. "Which reminds me," she lifted one finger op in the air and narrowed her eyes a bit with a thoughtful expression. "Can I steal him for a moment?" Alison returned her attention to the human who still stood with her arm wrapped Luke.

Cecilia narrowed her eyes a little bit and looked up at Luke for a second. "Hmm," she breathed out and cracked a smile, "Sure, but I will need him back though, he is half of my impulse control when it comes to the buffet," she joked with a small laugh, before looking at Alison again for a moment as she let go of his arm. Cecilia couldn't help but smile, as Alison nodded in the direction of which she wanted him to follow her. Leaving Cecilia to her own devises wasn't really an issue, the human wasn't blind for starting conversations with strangers or perhaps she would find someone she knew in the crowd. "I will only take a moment, I just need your opinion on something," she explained, grabbing his arm along the way to walk over to a less crowed space.

The fairy had always been a bit invisible next to Levi, living in her fiancé's shadow back then, where he almost had left her to take care of everything. In the end literally left her to take care of everything. The fairy had no idea where the hybrid was now, and she didn't really care, what she did care about was the fact he had left her and their two-year old trybrid daughter without so much as a goodbye. Just gone. Taking on the academy after the attack back then had perhaps been too much to rebuild for Levi, and in the end, it seemed like things had just gotten worse. Some of the teachers hired weren't even looked through, and school ground had been anything but safe. So, yes, she had taken matter into own hands. "I was going some thinking, - and" Alison took a slightly deeper breath in and let go of his arm as she stopped walking. "I think we should get a vice principal." She at least wanted to hear his thought about the ground idea, before she told her just who she had in mind. The two former leaders of the academy, had seemed to think they could run anything by themselves - where Alison knew it was possible that she could, but running a school or something as big as this academy, it wasn't a solo job, it was a matter of teamwork. "I already have the perfect candidate in mind," she added after letting the thought simmer in his head as she gently crossed her arms.

Lucas couldn’t help a warm chuckle push out of his mouth at her not-so-reassuring reassurance. He narrowed his eyes at her skeptically, not fully seeing where she was going with the conversation before she raised a finger and asked Cecilia permission to drag him away for a second. Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise. He turned to Cecilia with an apologetic smile.
He knew all too well that she was the most easy going social butterfly; much like Alison actually, if he gave it further thought, and that he shouldn’t and wouldn’t feel nervous about letting her roam alone for a minute or five. It still felt a little odd to do so, the very first time he had brought her along officially. With a warm snort at her reply he lightly shook his head at her.
“Just look the other way,” he said with a quick wink in her. He gently pulled her towards him, placing a soft kiss on top of her hair. “It’ll just be a moment, mkay?” With a wide smile he let go of her and turned to his new boss. Allie gestured to follow her and so he did, getting more and more interested in just what she wanted his opinion on. He straightened his back and lifted his arm slightly so she could grab around it.

Luke smiled softly down at the small red haired fairy. Her energy was as always fluttering and warm and he immediately felt at ease in her presence. He had always adored her as a teacher and a colleague and had trusted her even though she was married to the principal; something he knew couldn’t always have been entirely easy. He politely waited for her to talk, as they walked through the crowd of beautiful dresses and sharp suits.
I was doing some thinking.
She stopped walking and he turned to her, facing her with a bright curiosity in his blue eyes, giving her a small nod of encouragement. The statement took him aback, but his surprise quickly turned to an even wider smile.
“I think that’s a great idea!” He spluttered excitedly. “I can’t believe there hasn’t been one before. That would give you time to tackle the important things.”
It was actually shocking that nobody had hired a vice principal before, he thought to himself. Maybe that had been why most of them didn’t last that long. It was a big job to take on alone; even more so when you seemingly didn’t check not trust your employees.
Luke furrowed his eyebrows and looked back up at her. Something in her voice was funny; as if he should know who she was thinking of. Truth be told, he couldn't exactly put a finger on who he would nominate - was that perhaps why she was telling him?
Jack and Vic were both too busy with other things in life. Most other teachers actually had quite a busy schedule outside of their working hours - how on earth that was possible he couldn’t exactly wrap his head around.
“I’m intrigued,” he replied, a soft smile sneaking back on his face. Maybe she had hired an outsider. That would make sense. “Are you going to make me guess or will you tell me for my opinion?”

Alison kept her eyes on him to make sure to catch every little reaction to her pitched idea. She had tried to convince Levi back then to actually hire someone, but it had been a waste of her time to even bother, so she was happy whenever someone shared her visions on things. Her smile grew bigger by the second by Luke's excitement. It was perhaps just a fairy thing, liking to see the way people tried to think their way to how her mind works, which was truly a challenge on its own. Alison wondered if he had already begun to analyse the teachers at the academy, trying to see if he could find one, he would seem fitting. Who wouldn't with the information she had just provided. "Well, as funny as it is to watch your thinking face trying to guess my thoughts," she chuckled a bit, folding her hands in front of her.

"I was thinking about you," she confessed lifting her hands a bit up still folded, only to point at him. "I know you are busy, and have a lot of stuff on your plate as it is," she started out before letting her hands fall down in front of her again. Hell, she knew what is was like to live a busy life and wanting to do everything at the same time. "And I don't need an answer right here and right now, you can take your time discuss it with Victoria and Jack.. with Cecilia," she nodded a bit to herself and took a deeper breath in. He was truly the first person who had come to mind when she had thought about it, hell, he was even the reason she had come up with the entire idea. "You are doing so much good for the academy, and I need someone with the same vision as me to return it back to what it used to be. I think you and I can make that happen," she pointed out on the next exhale, giving him a chance to actually comment on her idea.

Lucas' brain sped up as he ran through the list of teachers that would have potential. He regarded her in curiosity, narrowing his eyes as she spoke - there was some sort of playfulness to her voice he had only just caught onto. Oh my god.
"If you're suggesting Jack I -"
I was thinking about you.
He blinked. A perplexed half smile flashed on his face with slightly furrowed eyebrows and parted lips, not entirely sure what to say to her. She picked up her thoughts and continued explaining herself. The initial shock and disbelief had momentarily turned to extreme scepticism. Was this a joke? Was she playing him? But he had quickly stopped the thoughts from escalating further, knowing all too well that Alison would never be one to do that. Scepticism turned into doubt. Was he good enough? Could he reach whatever praise she gave him? Could he be that person she envisioned him to be? Was he a fraud?

And then.
A surprised huff that turned into laughter. My God! She meant it!
"Jesus Christ, Allie," he mumbled, raising an arm to drag his hand through his hair, letting his hand rest on his chin afterwards, covering his mouth slightly. He let the arm fall with a shake with his head. He wanted to protest; tell her that he wasn't even doing that much and always felt bad for doing more, when it dawned on him that that might be the exact reason it could actually work. He always had ideas but hardly ever spoke them, not wanting to seem overly eager and not wanting the spotlight. But here she was, telling him that they could do things together. And hadn't he already spent most of the week praising her to every person who'd listen in pure excitement about a new principal? "I - uh, whoa. I don't know what to say," he breathed, feeling the heat raise to his cheeks from her praise. "You actually think it could work?" He asked. He hadn't said yes, and he knew - and so did she, probably, - that he needed to talk it over with a few people before properly confirming it, but he also knew exactly what they would tell him. Jack and Vic would laugh their asses off, firstly, and then they'd be ecstatic. Cecilia would be proud and encouraging, but she was the one he needed to properly talk about it with. They were already not seeing each other as often as he would have wanted, and this would probably mean more work. "Al, I'm so flattered," he admitted with yet another surprised chuckle. "Holy shit."
He took a deep breath and raised his eyes to meet hers. "I would be truly honoured."

That moment when someone realized the person in front of them believed in them was special. That very moment where someone saw something in you that maybe you didn't even see in yourself, she remembered that feeling. Yes, Alison was old, had lived through so many life times and she could still remember the first time, someone had looked at her and told her she was capable of doing great things. You actually think it could work? Alison chuckled a bit and clicked her tongue. "I don't just think it will work, I know it could," she was sure. Alison was many things, but making big decisions based on gut feelings was never her thing. She thought things through, and she was damn sure about this one. Alison let him take it in, after all it wasn't just something you jumped into only to change your mind. There was a lot of responsibility, but nothing she wouldn't trust him fully with. Alison nodded a bit to him as said he would be honored. "Give it some thought okay?" Alison flashed him a smile and breathed out. "Anyway, I've been holding you here long enough, and you have a party to be a part of, so enjoy it. We all need more nights like this, grab it," she placed a hand on his shoulder giving it a little squeeze. "Take the time you need to think, and find me whenever you know," she added letting go of his shoulder. "Now get going, have some fun," she chuckled a bit with a small nod to the side.

Her encouraging words were the last little push he needed to feel utterly and truly excited about the prospect of a new job role. He had never in his wildest fantasies even dared to think this far. Being a teacher was the biggest achievement of his life and he had been so extremely proud of himself for getting that far. Knowing where he came from, it was very far indeed. He had also been studying hard, wanting to perhaps pursue a much more scientific way of life with the neuroscience he had intensely dragged his mind through and then suddenly those few words had him imagine an entirely different life ahead of him. All the students at the academy deserved someone like Alison; someone who truly cared for them and their wellbeing and someone who wanted to do good by the name of the Academy. And he knew himself well enough to know that he had similar ideals to her in that matter.
"I - whao - Allie, thank you so much," he muttered, stretching his arm out to drag her in to a half hug, placing a soft kiss on top of her fiery red curls, before letting her go again. "Thank you," he repeated with a bright, wide smile.
Luke shook his head in disbelief once again before raising his head lightly, looking back to see if he could find his girlfriend in the crowd that had gathered around the bar. He chuckled warmly at his head principal and her soft, encouraging words. "You too, huh? No more work for you tonight, my friend."

Alison laughed a little as he dragged her into a half hug, feeling overly wholesome by the events. The fairy was grateful for the friends she had found in her colleagues, she knew she was very lucky to have that - not many places did. "You deserve it," she replied as he repeated his gratitude to her. It had been hard to get her ideas and thoughts out to Levi back then, they hadn't always agreed, and having sat down with Luke back then just sharing the visions on what they wanted the Academy to become - she just knew in her gut that they could make the academy thrive again, perhaps even better than in the past. Alison's eyes followed the shapeshifter's spotting the human at the bar, before looking at Lucas again. No more work for you tonight, Alison narrowed her eyes a little bit as her lips formed in a tender smile. "Fine," she breathed out and rolled her eyes teasingly. "You have my word, no more work tonight," she chuckled a bit giving him a quick hug again, before walking to another part of the crowd.

Cecilia had gathered herself around the bar, after having payed a quick visit to the buffet she was standing with an half eaten appetizer of a sandwich, while looking at the different wines - there was so many good options. She took a few more bites of the sandwich, with her eyes clearly focused on the different bottles. Zitora was the biggest wine snob Cecilia knew, not that Cecilia wasn't a bit picky with her wine, but she had learned from Zitora. She just spend the time while waiting for her boyfriend to return from talking with Alison.

You deserve it.
The words felt like a physical wave of unexpected emotions. He sharply sucked air in through his teeth and nodded hesitantly to her, not knowing what to say. In his life, he could count on one hand the people who had ever uttered those three words to him, and unexpectedly, it filled his body with warmth. He had somehow managed to find a family at the academy, and though he had always thought so, getting the confirmation from its headmistress was something else. Even if she was a friend and a colleague before she was his boss.
He leaned in, hugging her with one arm around her, trying to blink away the tears that wanted to push through, and just about managing, before letting her pull away and giving her another nod.
"I'll - uh -" He dragged a hand through his hair with a short chuckle, still not comprehending what on earth had just happened. "I'll let you know tomorrow, yeah?"
He couldn't imagine saying no, as of now of course, but knew that there perhaps would be things coming in the way, and some way for him to break out of the immediate honeymoon-phased feeling she had just put him in.

Loosing Alison in the crowd, he turned around, looking like a lost puppy for a second before spotting Cecilia near the wine-bar. His face softened up, filled with love for the beautiful human, before he started walking towards her. His heart beat so fast, he was sure everyone would be able to hear it.
"Any good wines, then?" He softly murmured, reaching a hand out to gently press a lock of hair behind her ear.

After having eaten a few, okay a handful of the small appetizers, Cecilia had made her way to the wine bar, trying to pick out which one of the ocean of options she was going to try out. Turning her head he second Lucas voice sounded behind her, smiling warmly as he moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. Cecilia licked her lips softly shortly and breathed out, "yeah, but trying to make a decision on which to try first, but I think I just ended up with taking a random, trusting my gut I made the right choice," she chuckled a bit, shaking her head lightly at her own comment. Cecilia was confident in her gut feeling would pick the best choice, and it was nice that for an evening the biggest worry was which wine to pick out. Especially when thinking about how the month had started. "What about you?" she moved her left hand to his cheek, letting the back of it trace shortly over his cheek. "What did Alison have to say?" Cecilia asked a bit curiously while tilting her head to the side. She could see something had affected him, so naturally she was intrigue to know what they had been talking about. Cecilia was still a bit stunned by the similarities between Rebekah and Alison, yet it was so easy to tell how they were completely different people. If she didn't know better she would have gone with the good twin evil twin theory.