I SHOOT THE LIGHTS OUT | TAVEOVER MEETING

[CAIN]

WHO IS IN CONTROL?

CAIN PENDRAGON — Let it be known that Cain Pendragon liked to make an entrance. For all of his subtleties and the ease with which one might underestimate him in the face of his casual demeanor, when he switched gears and became the Harbinger of Chaos he do so completely. It was all fairly dramatic at times, which is why the Commander swept through the lower streets of Griffingate with a long, confident stride. Shadows frothed at his feet, swirling and snaking across the ground ahead of him, and there was a steady hum of raw energy in the air as he made his way through the people, struck out a path towards the Hall. It wasn't long that people started to taking notice — particularly when behind him, the Blackfallen followed, drifting through the crowds with purpose.

Electricity crackled through the air as he climbed the steps to the great Meeting Hall, and he turned to consider the city briefly. With a shark-like grin, Cain called evenly as his people settled along the outskirts of the group that had started to turn and follow him in alarm, "Good morning, Griffingate. Not to alarm anyone, but, well... consider this our victory. We have your Sovereign." That grin went a little sharper, and his blood sang as the chaotic energy in the crowd rose. Cain reminded himself that they weren't all the enemy here, and continued evenly, "I think we can all be friends, though. We wouldn't leave you to flounder without a head, like your Freddie boy did to us — twice. We're staying until further notice, to fix the problems Freddie let flourish in your city."

Starvation. Children on the streets, relying on the remnants of the Market to survive, stealing food when the hunger got unbearable. Open discrimination against the mutants, forcing their own citizens into hiding. Letting the lower classes suffer in silence, too afraid to speak up. They may be a far cry from Kalopsia, what with so many of those at the lower end having left with the Blackfallen, but Cain knew that the darkness still lay at the heart of Griffingate's monarchy. And he wasn't going any where until he saw the streets he grew up changed.

A beat, and his smile was suddenly more genuine — lopsided, ease, charismatic. The hard edge had vanished. "Any questions?"

[size=12px][b]DREAMWALKER — HARBINGER OF CHAOS — SILVERTONGUE

© MADI

[Character Graveyard.]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 45%; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px;"]A Takeover? How disgusting. What was the purpose of this? To get Frederick to change all of his ways and fix this so-called problem for the lower classes? The woman had pushed her way through the crowd, a grim look on her face as she spoke. "You claim to be attempting to solve the problem for the lower classes, yet what about the rest of us? A majority of our people in the middle and high classes have lost our families from that pointless war between both groups." Abella would stand straight up before continuing. "Tell me- if everyone in Blackfall is truly human, how could they burn down my childhood home, killing my seven-year old sister and parents in the process?"

[Amren]

[color=#414a4c]✷ ✷ ✷

This was good. Very good.

Amren absolutely delighted in being here, staring at the shocked and confused expressions that danced upon the people of Griffingate’s faces. When she heard that they’d be taking a little trip, she hasn’t anticipated one to their dear friends over on the European portion of the continent. She certainly wasn’t complaining though- far from it actually, her flames coming to life in the palms of her hands as she took a seat at the base of the stairs. Did she expect opposition to their arrival? Oh most certainly. Was their grip going to loosen any? Of course not. This was going to be Griffingate’s life now, not that she cared. After the trouble that they’d given them in the past, Amren couldn’t care less about these monarchy loving fools.

Extinguishing her fire, she crossed her arms over her chest and permitted that smoky silver stare to fall upon Abella, unimpressed. Oh boo hoo, so she lost her family? What a shame. Amren lost everything and here she was, surrounded by a new family that she had begrudgingly grown to... love. Not that she’d ever admit that though. Her and the very concept of love were two things not meant to coexist. [b][color=#414a4c]”Girl,” She began in that wickedly sly voice of hers, a cackle dripping from her lips, [color=#414a4c]”I’d like to introduce you to the new Blackfall. We’re not completely barbaric, unlike you lot. I saw the state of your streets, the beggars, those poor, poor children. You should be thanking us.” She scoffed, shaking her head at the woman. How pathetic she was... how pathetic they all were. They’d have to fix that.

[vellichor]

THE MOON'S WATCHING OVER— Today was like any other, she supposed. Well, perhaps other than that her plans had changed. For the first time in what felt like ages, her plans had changed. She wouldn't just leave flowers at Alexander's grave and visit the church. She would see Freddie. The nice man she'd met at church. She wasn't quite sure why she felt intrigued by him but she'd promised to speak with him again and she intended to hold true to that. Why shouldn't she? He was kind and handsome, she saw no reason not to. Besides, she liked the idea of having some sort of company. The house was so quiet and the only voices she ever heard were those that passed her by on the streets. To have a conversation over dinner again would be more than welcome, especially compared to sitting in her garden silently while watching all sorts of plants spring up around her. It seemed the garden grew larger and larger every single day. Meal times were the worst. Sometimes she chose to forego them completely. It was so quiet and horribly lonely. She could remember when Alexander sat across from her and laughed and made awful jokes or days when he came home with tears in his eyes and anger burning in his heart. She could remember it all. And it was too much. Far too much.

But then things got even more different. A strange boy and other people swept by her and she felt immediate unease rise in her. She didn't know who they were or why they were here but something felt wrong. Sometimes told her she shouldn't go to church today. But she'd gone to church every single day, prayed for Ivy and Alexander's safe return or travel to Heaven every single day. Surely God would forgive her for missing just one. She glanced to the other citizens before pausing, taking a few breaths before she turned and walked towards what was, apparently, some sort of meeting hall. She didn't think she'd ever been here before. She listened quietly as the boy spoke and said nothing when he finished. She was still stuck on the name. Freddie. It couldn't possibly be... how many Freddie's could there be? Why hadn't he told her that he was the King? That was why he looked so sad after she mentioned the Queen. Well now she just felt awful to herself. But then she felt something else. Obligation. He was the only person that saw her in so long. That spoke with her. He was her only friend, no matter how little they currently knew each other and, regardless of if she agreed with his practices or beliefs, friendship was worth something. Something more than safety. 

During all this, her face was completely impassive. Trained apathy. She wasn't sure when it happened. One of the days when she'd stayed in that empty, wretched house by herself. She used to be so bad at hiding her emotions but pretending things were fine, pretending not to be upset, had somehow started to come easily to her. At the sound of Abella's voice, she felt her jaw tighten a bit but she said nothing. Shouting wouldn't do anything. At least, she was pretty sure it wouldn't. She supposed she was far from qualified to speak on such matters but that was the way she saw it. Eliora had lost everything she'd built here but Blackfall didn't care. They'd willingly done it. If they regretted it, they wouldn't be here now. —YOU AND YOUR DREAMS

"SPEECH"

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[Orion]

track!

[Thomas]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]Thomas had done his research. Even before Cain had announced Blackfall was taking over Griffingate, he had been researching. Perhaps it was because part of him felt drawn to the Crown. As a former prince - former almost king -, his heart still yearned to be in a place similar to that of his birth home. Somewhere, deep down, he had also hoped Faye was here. His younger sister had done so many terrible things to their family, but regardless of it all, he cared deeply for her. His looking into Griffingate had shown him neither hide nor hair of his sister. It had, however, let him know how to perfectly blend in.

He had changed his hairstyle, shaved his growing beard, and donned different clothing. Though he looked regal (Griffingate material), he did not look like Thomas. He looked younger, more frightened, more unsteady. He entered the fray from the Griffingate side, eyes wide in wonderfully-played faux panic and mouth slightly agape in worry. He stepped forward, eyeing both Cain and Amren with disdain. He had to play the part, did he not?

"Hey," he breathed, coming to stand beside Eliora, "what do we do?" His voice was slightly washed in both confusion and concern. "I joined this place two days ago, and I don't really know what's happenin'." Brown eyes flickered from Eliora to Cain to Abella and then back again. [color=#987A65][b]"Do we fight back, Ma'am?"

[vellichor]

THE MOON'S WATCHING OVER— Eliora flinched when she heard an unfamiliar voice beside her and turned her head to look towards the stranger. At his question, she only shook her head. "I'm afraid I won't be much help. I only just found out that Freddie, the nice man I met in the church, is our King. I asked him who the King was less than a week ago and he didn't even tell me. Besides, there are better people suited for batter than librarians, I suppose," she answered, though there was much hesitation in her tone. She felt some sort of obligation to do something. A duty of care. Freddie had saved her, in his own way. It was only fair that she helped him in return. But this was so much. Still, she couldn't do nothing. "Maybe," she spoke again, her eyes drifting to Abella. "But not like that. There's too many of them and none of us have abilities as they do. Even with us all, it'd never be enough in a direct fight," she concluded. She spoke in hushed tones and she didn't look particularly happy about the idea of trying to lead anyone in any sort of rebellion. She'd never been the sort to pick up a sword and shout about what she wanted. Her husband had been the soldier. She stayed home and made sure everything was well here and made sure her abilities stayed in check. "Even if we are, this isn't the time or place to discuss it. I'm not quite willing to risk my life over discussions of a maybe." —YOU AND YOUR DREAMS

"SPEECH"

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[Orion]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"][glow=#D3D3D3,2,300]✯ —[/glow] Pausing in his steps, the man's head craned to the side. Dilated eyes narrowed onto their newest 'leader', figuring he seemed to be much of talker, just as Frederick had. Though, this one had a different type of tinge. Something... darker. Abraham, though intrigued, was willing to side with whomever had the upper hand. As of right now, it seemed to be the Blackfallen, but if worse comes to worse, he found himself in the position of siding with the Griffingaters. Being lynched for betrayal isn't exactly the best. Even so, the adrenaline would be quite interesting.

Siding next to Thomas, his gaze peered sideways. This one wasn't familiar to him, but he did not mind seeing a new face around these parts. Not suspicious in the least. He couldn't know everyone anyways, nor did he care to. "I'd like to think we're open to options," he muttered lowly. "Perhaps we should gain assistance from the North End and see if we could team up. Some other countries would not hurt either." Even so, it was a lowly chance. Dragging others into a new war with a losing side wasn't the best argument for an alliance. "But that's just an idea..." A small snort left him.

Brown eyes shifted to Cain. Questions, as it seemed, were allowed, but hopefully not prohibited from being strongly worded. "What advantages will you provide to us, sir?" Abraham spoke up. "As of right now, keeping two warring countries under one's control doesn't seem so pleasing. We need to form a peaceful bond over time rather than..." His hands gestured outwards. "This." All around him, there was a tense silence. Guards scattered the area and Blackfallen warriors held intimidating gazes in their direction. To the Griffingaters, there was nothing they could do besides whisper amongst one another in fear until told to leave. Eventually, someone had to speak up. That someone was him. "So, tell me," he challenged. "What will you do now?"

[Orion]

bump for cain