ℂ𝕃𝔸𝕀𝕄𝕊 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕆𝕄𝔸𝕀ℕ-wolf/witches/vamps-ALWAYS OPEN

[Ashton_99]

⭅☘⭆Wᵢₗₗₐₘᵢₙₑ Bₗₐₖₑ⭅☘⭆
☘ Witch Coven Head ☘ Location: Witch Cabin ☘ Tags: Farris Bobbie ☘

Willamine used her lukewarm mug of tea as a shield to hide her grin. As un-warm and fuzzy feeling sharing as she was, she could at least admit to herself that she quite enjoyed the banter among her coven. Even with their newest member, Bobbie. At Farris's offer, Will's quietly amused expression instantly scrunched up like Farris had just offered her an all expenses paid trip to a cold, dank swamp. Images of overly friendly folks looking to make sales and crowded walkways popped up in her mind.

'No, actually,' Will sipped her tea, ' I think I'd prefer a swamp. Swamps don't have crowds- they've got frogs.' She squinted at the paper like it was a contract full of fine print. 'They might have those ingredients I'm missing though. Lots of folks grow herbs and stuff around here.' She shot a glance up at Farris. She looked so excited too. There wasn't much that could ever make Will do something she didn't want to do, but making her covenmates happy had always been a pretty good convincer.

Will let out a long suffering sigh. "Alright. I guess I'll go. I haven't gone into town much since we got here so I guess I should make an appearance." She knew how small towns loved to talk and despite her general disdain in crowds she did like people so she didn't want to ostracize herself just yet. Twisting up her braids, she used the over stretched hair tie on her wrist to tie back all of the braids except the few framing her face. The baggy patterned cardigan, faded tee, and corduroys that she wore were about as fancy as any of her clothes, so there wasn't any use in changing. Will put her hands on her hips, "Someone leave a note for Alfie and Harlow and let them know where we're going." She moved around her work space, putting the various tools and containers back where she'd got them from. The four jars were stashed in a cabinet under the counter until she got the last few ingredients she needed.

[HauntedMansion]

Bobbie Stefan
She/her - loc: cabin - tags: Farris, Willamine - mentions: Harlow, Alfie

Bobbie beamed at the mere description of the event, quickly reading every detail they gave on the flyer. This is exactly what she’s been looking for, like whatever witchy god they had was answering her prayers. “There’s such thing as being too competitive?” Bobbie quietly retorted, gaze shooting up from the flyer the moment Farris mentioned wanting company, rising excitement clear in her expression. “Oh, of course! This town is already so cute and friendly, I can’t even imagine holidays… Do they all act three times as cheerful? I have to see it.” The redhead affirmed, sharing a grin between her two covenmates. The people of Ute were probably one of the friendliest crowds she’s ever encountered, and that’s coming from someone who’s life is traveling everywhere and anywhere. So, she was genuinely curious on how much more warm and welcoming this town could get.

Hearing Will’s affirmation, even if it was after a long begrudging sigh, brought another smile to Bobbies face. Now, If they could only convince the others to go, this would really be a blast. Who could say no to a festival, after all? At the mention of leaving a note for Harlow and Alfie, Bobbie suddenly remembered her outfit, a rock band t-shirt tucked into oversized sweat pants, along with a pair of fuzzy socks. She definitely didn’t plan to go out with a snow storm approaching, but she would never say no to a party, raging snow storm or not. “Hey, you guys can go on without me. I’ll get changed and catch up to you later. I’ll also tell the others if they come around before I leave. If not, I can make that note, how about it?” The redhead offered, looking between the two witches for approval, though mostly to their coven head.
Bobbie wanted to take any opportunity to show that she was trustworthy, or that she could at least follow through with instructions. She knew her circumstances were strange, and her reason for joining them was vague, so she didn’t blame anyone for finding it all a bit suspicious. She knew trust would take time, and as of right now, she had all the time in the world. She was more then willing to earn her place among them.

[Ashton_99]

◄✯▶𝙳𝚊𝚔𝚘𝚝𝚊 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚗◄✯▶
✯ Wolf Pack Beta ✯ Location: Festival (stall) ✯ Tags: Lyall ✯

The soft, warm glow of string lights flickered on when Dakota plugged them in to her generator. Luckily, the baked goods she had didn't need to be cooled, just covered. Pumpkins of different sizes and a number of other small crops, products from her animals, dried fruits, and the soft yarn joined the baked goods decorating her stall. The decoration around them were simple and rustic, nothing more than what was needed and that fit Dakota's aesthetic perfectly. She stepped back to get one last look at it when she finished righting her sign on the front.

A familiar flat toned voice made her ears prick up. Dakota's contemplative expression became exuberant. "Lyall!" Without regard for personal space or appearances she all but tackled him in a hug. Despite the fact that she saw him regularly, Dakota was always excited to see her best friend. Her big grin only managed to grow at his question about her big old headache of a cow. "She's doing amazing! Everything went really well- though she of course had to keep me up all night just before the festival." Dakota waved her arms around dramatically while she spoke, before shrugging in a 'what can ya do' kind of motion. "But I digress. The baby is so cute, you should see her! I named her Cider and she's got just the biggest eyes."

Knowing she could probably ramble on for a while if she kept going, Dakota cut herself off, "But! Now that that's over, I just gotta get through this and then I can pass out for several hours." She smiled, exhaustion was a heck of a thing but she could always use her excitement for everything going on as fuel to keep going. Ducking back behind her stall, Dakota started rooting around her supplies.

"How have you been bud? You got here pretty early right?" After a few moments she finally popped back up from her squatting position with goods wrapped in brown paper. "Here- have this. Lord knows they probably kept you too busy to get enough to eat today." Inside of the small bit of wrapping were four pumpkin cookies. Dakota may not be an expert baker (or cook, mind you) but she'd gotten this recipe down pat a year or two back after quite a bit of experimentation. "And make sure to get something more substantial later okay?" Dakota usually tried to look out for everyone in the pack, being beta, but Lyall a bit more so because of how long they'd been friends.

[Wallflower11]

𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙎𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙝
| Location - Forest & Cabin | tagged/interacting - Willamine, Farris, Bobbie |
☯

Harlow's woke up before the sun had barely peeked over the horizon. He awoke with a start, causing Bite to lift her head from where she was sleeping beside his bed in concern. "I'm fine, just a weird dream," he whispered to his furry companion, not wanting to wake any of the others in the cabin. Bite lowered their head not fully trusting him, they knew it wasn't a nightmare or a flashback otherwise they would've felt the overwhelming flow of negative emotions surging through their connection. Though he had been learning how to control their empathic connection and not let all of his thoughts and emotions through whenever he had a bad dream his control basically disappeared.

Harlow flopped back down on the bed and tried to close his eyes to go back to sleep after a few minutes he realized it was pointless. He was fully awake now, if he wanted to get more sleep he would have to wait another thirty minutes to an hour for his body to even think about allowing him to sleep again. Might as well make the most of these extra hours he now had. He got out of his bed with a stretch and a groan. He glanced out of his bedroom window at the picturesque wilderness surrounding the cabin that belonged to the coven, the weather, while cold due to the approaching winter, was beautiful and crisp. "Good time as any for a run," Harlow said turning to Bite who projected an affirmation to the sentiment. With that, he got ready throwing on clothes and grabbing a knife just in case. He quietly made his way outside Bite, as to not wake the sleeping coven members.

The forest around Ute was rather pleasant, and the trails were fairly good for hiking and running. Harlow enjoyed being there, from his so far minor experience the town seemed nice, the people friendly and the atmosphere homey. It was much better than anywhere he had lived before for an extended period of time. The unfortunate thing was that this was exactly the type of small-town he would visit as a hunter, it brought a lot of the less pleasant memories about hunting and his experiences with the hunters guild he used to belong to. That was probably what led him to wake up at a goddamned hour with a weird dream that involved an old acquaintance calling him in for a hunt and him thinking that tripping face-first down a hill was a good idea for an introduction. (the second part though he would be embarrassed to admit was something he would do.)

Harlow couldn't help but be extra aware of his surroundings. Each rustle of the underbrush, something to catalog. Though he had been with the coven for several months now (and had left the hunters guild 2 years before that), he hadn't managed to shake his habits, the instinctual paranoia that had been trained into him, along with the propaganda he had always questioned. It was frustrating for Harlow, he had accepted the fact that the hunters guild was wrong. He had come to terms with everything and yet there was a part of him that just couldn't let go. The part of him that had a knife on him at all times, the part of him that always carried silver bullets and had an exit strategy for every situation. The part of him that was loath to trust the coven because they, like everyone else in his godforsaken life, were just trying to use him or mold him into the image they wanted. No, he wasn't going to think about that right now.

Bite let out a bark, knowing he needed a bit of outside interference to separate him from his thoughts from time to time. They had just arrived back at the house finishing the loop they had ran. There was some activity inside the cabin at least a few of his coven mates had awoken by now. He slipped back into the house silently with a nod and a quiet "morning" to those who were in the kitchen grabbing some bacon for him and Bite (because otherwise, she would make a big fuss) before heading upstairs to shower.

He took his time showering, there was no reason for Harlow to rush this morning and longer showers always put him in a better mood. Getting dressed in his usual attire of a dark-colored Henley, jeans, and a jacket. He took the maroon bandanna that Roxanne had given him and tied it around Bites neck. Their tail wagged happily at the attention, gloating about how good they looked. At that point, he felt ready to fully start the day heading down the staircase skipping every other stair for the heck of it. He caught the tail end of a conversation between Willamine, Farris, and the newest member of the coven Bobbie.

"Leaving without me?" he asked in mock offense swinging around the banister at the bottom of the stairs. Bite following at his heels with waves of happiness enjoying the playful banter between coven mates. "I can't believe you were going to abandon us like that," he shook his head allowing a tell-tale grin to spread across his face. His eyes caught on the flyer on the counter. "Oh, a festival? I'm totally in,"

[Stargazer3000]

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Farris leaned against the counter as she listened to her coven mate's responses to her proposition, barely resisting the urge to giggle at Will's pinched expression, instead raising her cup of tea to her mouth and wincing as the too-hot-liquid scalded her tongue. "Owwww - listen, I'm excited but in pain - this will be great!" She exclaimed with a slight lisp, pausing to gingerly place the mug down before responding to Bobbie with a quick chuckle, "I'm sure they all sign 'holiday cheer' contracts - you know, 'I insert name here do solemnly vow to partake in a concerning amount of eggnog and apple cider, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera'...wonder if we'll have to sign them too?"

Farris finished her quip just as Harlow and Bite made their way into the kitchen, smiling warmly at his joke while moving towards the duo. "Nah, we'd never leave you behind, you're the heart and soul of this group, the wind beneath our wings, as it were, the peanut butter to our jelly - Bite," Farris finished, quickly turning her attention to the large canine, ruffling her fur affectionately before mimicking the action with Harlow, though she had to rise to her toes to reach his freshly cleaned locks. "And you can come too - your good looks will certainly help make up for any, shall we say, lack of funds on my part," she concluded with an affectionate smile.

"Well, since we've found one of our missing individuals, maybe just leave a note for Alfie?" Farris suggested, turning back towards the two women in the kitchen. "Either way, I think I'm going to head out in...ten minutes? That'll give me just enough time to recover from my horrible injury," a glare towards her still steaming tea, "and to change into something a bit warmer. Whoever wants to join me then can - I'll even donate my beloved flyer to anyone coming later," finishing with a quick nod to the brightly colored paper, Farris paused for a beat, before heading back towards her room to prepare.

-

Ten minutes later on the dot, trying to make up for her dawdling that morning, Farris stood out on the porch, her hands stuffed deep into her shearling jacket pockets. She'd made a slight attempt at dressing up - after all there weren't many occasions to do so when the only creatures that would be seeing you were your family and a few very judgmental squirrels - though she hadn't had much to work with. She'd eventually settled on a thick white sweater and warm corduroy pants, even going so far as to pull her hair into two neatly braided buns, though the overall effect was somewhat diminished by her muddy boots and over-stuffed satchel filled with the requisite journals and cameras in addition to extra winter gear in the likely even of snow. Fiddling with a small ball of lint in her coat pocket Farris turned her gaze towards the forest, her breath hanging suspended in front of her and a quiet smile spread across her face - tonight was going to be good.

[འབྲོག་ཁྱི]

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form link--

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─────── 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 ─── 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐃 ──────────────────────⯮
──────────────────────────────────────────── 𝙒𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙒𝙊𝙇𝙁 ──────⯮

LOCATION; cafe ─ TAGGING; Johann, open ─ MENTIONED; Emmett ─ WC; 715

"Don't believe I'm in the mood for ci─," Carson had begun her sullen objection, when the tip of a boot connecting with the side of her leg cut her off. Ready to kick him back harder, she opened her eyes and wrenched herself up onto her elbows to see over the side of the table, but her plans never got the chance to come into fruition, because when she saw that Johann was wearing the dewy-eyed smirk that told her he had most certainly not meant it in offence but that he must have recently also been engaging in the terrible act of reminiscing, she merely pulled her legs into the space beneath the table and sat upright, sighing out the vast majority of her irritation. Yet the glower never did leave her face, only lessen at best, and she rested her forearms across the tabletop so she could lean against them and hunch as if she had never heard of proper posture.
indentindentindentCarson had never been one for prolonged eye-contact as anything other than a intimidation technique, and her eyes soon wandered away from Johann, and toward the interior of the cafe rather than the window due to her disinterest in the festivities outside ─ or more so in the possibility of having yet another unwanted encounter with her brother, which would be far more difficult to escape in a building with one entrance, unless she wanted to cause a scene by vaulting over the counter and bolting for the backdoor. Her gaze did not settle on any particular patron, and instead glossed over them ─ even when a man wearing one of those hideous caps with the ear flaps stomped in through the door and shook himself off as if it had been the dead of winter outside rather than a tolerable November chill.
indentindentindent"Think you'll have time to stop by the ranch before tonight or will you just go around giving us all a bad reputation?" she asked, her voice now a little less harsh, and she briefly lifted a brow while glancing back at Johann. The wording of the question was fractious, as always, but the question itself was about as genuine as she would muster. There existed no realm in which she had ever been concerned about the 'reputation' of the lycan kind, but she did hope to hear what his plans were ─ it seemed like the sort of thing a moderately decent friend would inquire about over cider.

indentindentindentHowever, it wasn't long until Carson's attention was drawn by something else: a hushed yet heated conversation had ignited in one of the booths near the back. When the words 'wolf prints' carried over to where they were sitting, Carson straightened in her seat and leaned back against the cushioned booth as she focused her hearing on the two gossiping men. Her ears weren't quite as sharp as they would have been had she still been on four legs, but where any ordinary human might have lost the men's words in the noise of the cafe or any of the dozen other conversations playing out all around them, she was able to quickly grasp the gist of what had gotten the men whispering.
indentindentindent'I was tracking an elk in the foothills, went through the thick of the pines and into this clearing where we've seen 'em drinking from one of the streams before. Saw something in the mud that had my hackles rising.'
'What did you see?'
'They were these massive prints ─ sort of like a dog's, but bigger. And I thought to myself 'that's a wolf, Jim', but ain't been wolves in Colorado in ─ heck, I don't know how long, but sure not anytime in recent memory.'
'I would've bolted out of there.'
'Damn near did. Called the park rangers as soon as I got home, but they haven't seen a thing. Must have thought I was mistaken, maybe seen the prints of a wandering coyote or some hunter's dog, but there's no way ─ think we'd all know if someone had a dog that big in this town.'
indentindentindentUnsure what to think, Carson turned her eyes back to Johann and faintly lifted her brows, as if to ask him whether he had heard the same conversation.

[Stargazer3000]

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Kai tensed as he neared the town square, forcing himself not to hunch as the stream of people grew more consistent, flowing towards the heart of Ute. As he began to weave through the stalls, Kai began to take mental note of the handful that he wanted to return to later; he didn't know enough people to warrant any big spending, but the few he did might appreciate a some small gifts once the holiday season arrived in full. As though he had conjured her, one of the few locals Kai was on a first name basis with came into view - Tema's stall was beautiful, highlighting the pieces that she had on display and making her neighbor's set-ups pale in comparison. He'd have to stop by later, Kai decided, and get one of her artworks, maybe even commission one if she'd let him. Before that though, he'd made a commitment, so the former detective turned librarian began to make his way towards what he could only assume was the first aid tent - the large red cross was thankfully less than subtle.

As he neared, Kai caught sight of a friendly face working diligently in the tent. He hadn't known Emmett long, but from their handful of interactions, Kai already had a strong appreciation for the other man. Years of working cases had given him the ability to read people pretty well, and from what could tell, the paramedic was as good as they come. As though he sensed the librarian's gaze, Emmett caught sight of him in the crowd, waving Kai over towards the tent. Kai raised his hand in a silent greeting, the warmth of the other man reaching him from across the locals, causing his mood to lighten far more than the undeniable cheer of the market.

At his question Kai responded with a simple nod, sweeping his hand in an arc, "Lead the way." As the two men once again entered the throng, Kai shoot his head when the paramedic asked what he was looking forward to, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck as though it would relieve him of the tension he could once again feel building between his shoulders. "To be honest, I'm not really sure what I should be looking forward to. I just missed the market last year -moved in a week too late- but I do want to get some veggies for Mirabelle." He paused to let a few kids carrying steaming cups run past, barely moving his foot in time to avoid a steaming splash of liquid as it spilled from the mug. The tension in his body continued to build - he felt like a spring wound too tightly - and for a beat he considered that coming to the event hadn't been a good idea after all.

Since coming to Ute Kai had lived a pretty quiet life, after all, the calm was the main reason why he'd chosen the mountains in the first place. Between his small house, the library, and the nearby forest, there hadn't been much human interaction in Kai's day to day, and even when there was it was limited to a handful of people at most. But now as the crowd moved around him like a stream, ebbing and flowing under the twinkling lights, Kai felt panic begin to whisper at the edges of his conscious, and he shook his head as though he could dispel it with the simple action. Suddenly he realized that he'd let the silence stretch on too long, Kai, let out an awkward chuckle, forcing himself to keep his emotions at bay. "But I'll can get the veggies later. What kind of stuff do you normally do at the festival - besides hanging up fliers of course."

[Ashton_99]

⭅☘⭆Wᵢₗₗₐₘᵢₙₑ Bₗₐₖₑ⭅☘⭆
☘ Witch Coven Head ☘ Location: Witches' Coven ☘ Tags: Farris/Bobbie/Harlow/Alfie ☘

Watching her coven mates, Will was happy to let herself fall to they wayside. She didn't feel the need to speak up for most of the conversation, only nodding her head allowingly to Bobbie when she was deferred to. She was fine with letting the younger members of her coven lead this expedition. Despite the fact the only Farris was significantly younger than her, it was still hard to see the rest of her coven as anything more than a bunch of energetic kids sometimes. The easy grin she wore grew when one of them made a jab at another and when Farris scalded her tongue. While they finished finalizing their plans Will tracked down a pen. In her narrow, sloped writing she scribbled down a quick message for her second so he'd be able to find them if he wanted to.

Capping her pen, she gave Bite an ambivalent shrug. "Guess we're going out then." The bright flyer was left on the counter, pinned down by the first thing she'd pulled out of her pocket- a pretty pebble she'd found on a walk the day before.

She watched the coven all dart of to do what they needed to before leaving. Giving them time to get ready, she slipped out to the front porch. It was cold outside. The short hairs on her arm all stood on end even protected by the thick woven fabric of her cardigan. Willamine loved it. The crispness of fall, near winter, reminded her of childhood adventures into the mountains and woods. Of lessons in snowy hills taught by an Auntie whose hands always guided her own once smaller ones through the right motions. Those lessons where her favorite- they'd always ended with hot chocolate.

She looked down at her fingers tapping on the railing, they were longer now. Willowy but roughened by years of spell work and foraging. Picking the dirt out of her nails, Will looked out into what passed as a yard for the property. By spring, when the ground thawed, she planned to start a garden. Five minutes since she'd ventured out to wait, Will descended the porch stairs into the yard. She rounded the side of the cottage and walked down to the edge of their property. The heavy soles of her hiking boots crunched the underbrush and loose dirt. She watched the toes of her boots on the cool earth. It wasn't much yet, the coven's property. But, Will could see it- even without any kind of future sight. She could see it in the sturdy trees that dotted the property and in thick brush, but more than that she could see it in the earth. The potential was there in the dark, dank soil.

Taking a shallow breath, she turned herself around and walked back up to the bottom of the stairs. She eyed Farris from that angle when she came to find her staring off into the woods. "Huh. So we're doing the matchy-matchy thing kid?" She stuffed her hands in her own corduroy pants' pockets. "We'll be adorable." Her tone had the same wry amusement she usually regarded the younger woman with.

[Stargazer3000]

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As Carson swung upright, Johann fought to repress the good natured chuckle rising in his throat as he watched the irritation on her face drain into an expression no less glum, though lacking any real edge - a promising start to the evening if he'd ever seen one. Idly, Johann leaned back as far as the booth would allow - a movement made all the more difficult by his height - a dull ache at the base of his spine reminding him that he had spent too much time in the café, sitting on a chair with stuffing older than at least half the pack, all so that he could drink a cider roughly the temperature of ice. Time well spent.

Taking care not to kick Carson again, he took the moment to stretch his legs as well, as he regarded her attempt at socializing with a fond, bemused half smile settling comfortably onto his lips. "I like this new approach to telling me I stink, much more subtle and easy on my ego," he responded to her question, though he paused for a moment to seriously consider if he could make it home and back before the festival began in earnest, instinctively glancing in the direction of the ranch - as if the faded floral wallpaper of the café held any relevant information. "But I doubt it, so spoiling reputations is all that's left, I guess," Johann concluded with a nonchalant shrug, turning back to Carson and catching her gaze for a beat, dipping his head as he leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Care to help me?"

Before Johann had the chance to beginning trying to cajole Carson further, words from across the crowded café cut through his hazy sense of comfort like a knife, a chill creeping up the alpha's spine and raising his hair on end, every nerve in his body suddenly on alert. Concern sharpened Johann's features in a flash even as he mimicked his packmates posture, an attempt at the nonchalance he'd maintained just moments before. Around them the chatter of the café carried on, the consistent buzz of humanity reminding him that any reaction should subtle, and he forced himself to exhale slowly. No one was coming for the pack. No one knew, it was just gossip. Inhale, exhale. Rinse, repeat.

Raising his head slightly, the alpha met Carson's questioning expression with a sharp glare - I heard. If he was being honest, it could have been any of them - any pack member who endangered them all - himself included. Damn. They were getting sloppy, and it was his fault for not reminding them to be more careful and not get comfortable, and they could sort that later, but for now he just needed to know if anyone else had seen the tracks. Keeping his voice low, Johann, turned his gaze away from Carson as though it would hide the slight tremor when he spoke, and he managed to murmur in a voice roughened by emotion, "Sounds like there might be some big pint down in the flats near the ranch - see anything yourself when you came down, Carson? No such thing as too careful these days."

[8_Stars_8]

𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑿𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑹𝑰𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑲𝑶𝑺 ───────────────
"look at you, needing me, you know i'm not your friend without some greenery"
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tags: markus, salem is mentioned location: vamp house; festival word count: 581

The festival was worrisome for the original vampire and her coven. Firstly, because of the gathering of the wolves, witches, and themselves in one place, but also because of the fact that Salem, a younger vampire, could easily give into their bloodlust with there being an entire town at their disposal in one convenient place. So, yes. To say she was concerned was an understatement. Besides those two issues, there was the looming problem that the dagger able to kill her and her family had become exponentially more vulnerable. And Lord knows her family has never been the most gracious to witches, wolves, and even vampires alike.

Alex contemplated this and more as she lay in her room at the vampire's house. She was caught off-guard when she heard Markus's voice call out into the mostly silent house. The vampire figured if he was to attend the festival, she should as well. To keep an eye on things, of course. With this fleeing thought, she moved just as quickly to the location of the voice's caller. "Darling Markus. A pleasure it is to see you this fine morning. I didn't think you'd be the one eager to peruse the locals' culture, but I would never turn down an invitation for an outing. Besides, I wouldn't want any of those dogs to get to my old friend, now would I?" She sneered as she referred to the wolves. She cuts herself off, "Of course I know you can take care of yourself, but what kind of friend would I be to leave your heart open for the staking?" Alex spoke almost theatrically with every word. Conversation tended to grow boring after a millennium without such a tone. It was masking her concerns as well, she knew the plights of a leader were the plights of the people. With her final word, she took a step out of the house, walking with a determination.

Although she'd usually just run to the town because it was quicker, she felt the urge to walk this morning and take in the fresh winter air. To her dismay, the air was tainted with the scent of wolf. It was rancid. "Damn wolves ruin everything." Alex sighs, not necessarily talking to Markus, but not hiding her displeasure from him either. With this, she didn't see the point in cherishing the fresh air, and would much rather get to the festivities. She used her vampire speed to get to the edge of town, before strolling into the town square where the festival was. Alex was impressed with the homeliness that the humans managed to pull off with the decorations. She missed the warmth of family holidays, sure it was different in the 5th century, but family still meant something to her back then. Despite her nostalgia, Alex kept her guard up. She was painfully aware of the large number of wolves, witches, and humans in her vicinity. In fact, she was near ready to attack when she heard someone come up from behind her, but when she turned around, she realized it was only a little old lady asking for her help carrying a box. The woman mentioned something about never having seen Alex around before. Alex dismissed her with, "I'm new in town. I used to live here long ago, but that's a story for another time." She gave the woman a smile and assisted her with the box, still not letting her guard down for a moment.

edit; omg i just realized i used the wrong pronouns for salem! fixed!