A/N: Just some short snippets on different characters. Some slightly more recent than others…
~~ Caspian ~~
Heading back towards the mundane forest where Caspian knew there was a portal back to the Faerie, he eventually had to stop, leaning against an alleyway wall as his head spun once again, the dizziness disorientating him. He wasn't sure exactly what had been in the drinks, but they must have been strong to affect him so much. Unable to hold it back any longer, he bent down and threw up the remnants of whatever was still there. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve when he was finished, he swallowed past the bitter taste left in his mouth. How could he have been so stupid, to have gone to Aspen's place in such a state? He felt more than just embarrassed, he felt disgusted by himself and his behaviour. That he would let himself be drawn to him again. At least he hadn't kissed Aspen this time – even if Aspen had tried to kiss him – but that didn't mean he hadn't wanted to. That he would have been able to restrain himself if he'd been pushed further. And the way Aspen had said he was his… it had both scared and excited him.
It was a realisation that felt worse than the dizziness, and he supposed he deserved it after his actions. It seemed there was no way to escape Aspen – not in his head or in real life, and he was unsure as to which one was worse. Once his head had calmed a little, he stagged away from the wall, heading back down the street again. The Towns were not usually safe at that time of night, but he no longer feared or cared about the consequences of that.
How he longed for some kind of numbness, to disguise or take away all of the feelings he detested. But it did not come, and he focused on heading back to the Hunt. He would avoid Wren he knew, as there was no way he would understand. Most of the time, even he didn't understand.
~~ Savannah ~~
Having dinner with Jesse and his mother, Jia, Savannah was on her best behaviour. She could be the perfect fiancée when she had to be, and she sat beside Jesse, giving him subtle looks to judge his mood. His father and sister were away on business which often changed the dynamics.
"The whole situation with your position being suspended is a misuse of the system," Jia sighed. "But I can assure you that Jesse is working hard on getting you another role. And he has my full support, so I don't doubt that you will succeed." She sounded proud of her son, and who wouldn't be? He was successful and caring, and she didn't doubt that there were many girls swooning over him. She just didn't happen to be one of them.
"And I appreciate both of your support so much," she assured them, looking over at Jesse and taking his hand. She squeezed it in a cute gesture, giving him a purposefully grateful smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm so lucky."
Jesse smiled, and it lit up his face. He looked nothing like his mother – and it was more obvious than ever when she saw them in the same room. The reason being he was adopted after a wartime, unlike his sister, but his mother never treated him any differently. Leaning forward, he kissed her, and she returned it with ease. "I'm lucky, too. And it will be only the best, for you."
"Perhaps it is time for you to head to Jesse's room," his mother suggested as she watched, with a knowing smile. "I'll clean up here."
"That's kind of you," Savannah said, rising to her feet when Jesse did. "Thank you again for dinner."
"Of course. Any time," Jia replied, starting to clean up their plates, and Savannah followed Jesse up the stairs to his room, letting him tug her by her hand.
Making it there, Jesse let her in, before closing the door behind her. She could feel his gaze on her, but she still had more she wanted to talk about. "Do you have any thoughts on what position it might be?" she asked, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.
Jesse gave a light laugh, moving to sit beside her. "You don't have to worry about that. I'll organise it all. It'll be my gift to you. I want to take care of my fiancée."
While it may have been a sweet thought, he didn't know her at all. It was something important to her, and she wanted to be involved, liking to be in control. She also hated the fact that she had to ask him to get her a position, rather than having one she earned herself. "I know, I just… it's important to my family. That's all," she said, allowing a hint of worry into her voice.
"I get it," Jesse nodded, his fingers reaching to take her hand again, his gaze going to her ring. She only wore it when she went to Alicante, in case she might bump into him. "And I know you want your old position back, but this will be better. I promise."
Savannah swallowed back any kind of retort, instead giving him a smile. "Thanks, Jesse. You know it means a lot."
There was little she could currently do on that matter, so her thoughts turned to another one. "Any news on the former Unseelie faerie I turned in?" she questioned, carefully.
"He's still being detained, as far as I know," he replied, with a slight shrug. "I think Mum said the Council is deciding on his punishment this week."
"I'm sure they'll make the right decision," she replied, liking to keep updated on the situation. "I'd love to read the transcript of his questioning, if you can ever get a hold of it," she suggested.
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises," he warned her.
"That's all I can ask for," she said, leaning forward to give him a slow kiss in thanks.
He returned it, before hesitating and drawing back slightly. "I… ran into Isaac today," he said, saying the words carefully as if worried about upsetting her.
"Oh?" she said, keeping her thoughts carefully concealed. She had not wanted them bumping into each other. "And what did he say?"
"I was so angry with him, that I might have pushed him," Jesse sighed. "But he said some other awful comment about you. Something along the lines of he might be one of the only people in New York that aren't going after you and sleeping with you."
There was a flash of annoyance in her posture which she worked to subdue. How dare he make such comments to someone she was involved with. "That sounds like something he'd say to try and hurt my reputation. Of course, it's not true," she said, leaning forwards and watching him, her fingers brushing some hair from his face. "You don't believe him, do you?"
"No, of course not," he swallowed, looking a little comforted by her words. "I knew he was just trying to spread slander."
"If anything, he is the one being inappropriate with me," she continued, deciding to embed the point a little more. "I told you about the way he touched me-…"
"You-… you don't need to say again," Jesse replied, looking pained. "I could kill him for it. I'm not okay with him just getting away with these things."
"He's already taken my position from me," she reminded him. "I can't risk anything else right now. You have to keep it quiet for me, okay?" Shifting, she leaned her forehead against his. "I know I can trust you."
"You can. And I'll help you in whatever way I can. You know how much I love you," Jesse replied, before moving to kiss her. She kissed him back, feeling that he would follow what she wanted on the matter. And that was important.
As their kisses deepened, his fingers reached for her dress, and she let him take it off her. She was not in the mood to do anything more, but she had put him off too much as of late and she needed to ensure that his attachment remained firm. Laying back on the bed, she allowed him to kiss her neck, before his kisses worked their way down lower. She was not sure what exactly was wrong with her, but she was often not in the mood lately – much less than normal - perhaps ever since the… incident in the Towns.
It was damaging to her goals, so she forced herself to focus, pretending to moan and reaching to grasp his shirt and assist to lift it off his head, in order to get more involved. Even if she wasn't turned on, it did not mean that she would fail at making it pleasant and memorable for him.
~~ Blake ~~
Once Mason finally left him alone, Blake made his way to the door of his place, finding his key and unlocking it. He was prepared for the fact that it would likely be in disarray, but he inhaled, finding it was worse than he'd expected. Closing the door behind him, he locked it, walking further into the room. There were papers littering his desk and the floor nearby, sure that some of them would have been confiscated. There were chairs overturned in the kitchen, and when he walked to the fridge, he was unsurprised to find none of the poisons or ingredients remaining – not that he'd left much behind for the Shadowhunters to take in that regard.
Checking a few hiding places – behind the microwave and at the back of the pantry – he found the weapons he'd hidden there had been taken and he exhaled in annoyance. Most of his weapons hadn't meant much, but there had been some Unseelie made blades that he hadn't wanted the Nephilim to find.
He had practice pushing down his frustration, and he took a few breaths, looking at some broken plates on the ground. The first step, was to clean up a bit, and he grabbed a broom, sweeping up the rubbish and broken items. Once they were discarded in the bin, he shook his head, moving to pick one of the chairs up and right it, sitting down. No doubt the Nephilim had left his place in such a state to annoy him and to teach him a lesson. He was tired and weary, not having slept well in Alicante, a city full of their blood, but he still had much to do. His place was only one of his worries. He had to buy some new weapons to defend himself with, and then work out what to do in order to earn some quick cash. His rent was always a problem after all, and the Shadowhunters would likely be quick to keep on eye on whether he delved into poison making again.
It was all a headache, but he couldn't help but feel like it was a deserved problem, considering the trouble he'd gotten himself into. It seemed that despite the fact he tried to keep out of trouble, it was always one thing after another, and he could never escape it entirely. He was worried too, about what the Unseelie might do if they found out about his time in Alicante. And he didn't doubt that they would – he'd been gone long enough for them to notice.
Everything was a little overwhelming to think about, and he just sat there for a long moment, gazing at the mess of his place. The thought of Shadowhunters poking around it was enough to make his skin crawl, but he pushed it away.
He would find something to do to keep him going. He was used to starting again from scratch – he had done it many times before.
~~ Jai ~~
Jai had been hesitant at the thought of trying out the new herbs the warlock had given him, but he'd had little choice. His anxiety attacks had only become worse as of late, and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to function at work if he didn't take care of it. Especially after a recent incident where he'd had a panic attack in the back room. Luckily no one else had witnessed it, but that didn't mean no one would see it the next time.
Getting ready for work one day, he got dressed into his work attire, his fingers deftly doing up the tie. He had started with the last medication that Saf had offered – the medicinal one with the red tag, but the side effects had been less than pleasant. It was no surprise really, when he was often more prone to getting queasy at the sight of blood or other things. His stomach had never been the best.
At another twist of his stomach, he quickly shut the bathroom door and locked it, so that Finn wouldn't see. Moving quickly to the sink, his fingers grasped it, and he leaned over, sure that he was likely to vomit this time from the intense cramps. Dry heaving, he found that nothing came up.
"Jai? Are you okay?" Finn said, with a knock at the bathroom door, after he'd found it knocked. "Why is the door locked?"
He'd obviously heard, and Jai raised a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes for a long moment. "It's fine," he managed. "I'm just getting ready. I'll be out soon."
"If you're sure…" Finn said, and Jai let out a breath in relief when he heard his footsteps retreating.
He didn't want Finn knowing about how bad it was getting, unable to help but feel embarrassed. Finn had seen exactly what his mother could be like after all, and he didn't want Finn thinking that he might turn into her.
Finally, when his stomach settled, he ran his fingers through his hair, finishing up getting ready. He had persisted with the current herbs, even more reluctant to try the other option. The thought of the herb from the Faerie which often lowered inhibitions scared him, but it seemed he would have little choice but to try it if he couldn't tolerate the other one. Sighing, he stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. His eyes were bloodshot from behind his glasses, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Taking off his glasses, he used some drops in his eyes to reduce the redness, before putting his glasses on again.
Swallowing, he then clicked the door open and started out into the main room. Finn was sprawled on the couch, watching some kind of cartoon on the TV. He looked up when Jai emerged. "Are you sure you're okay?" he questioned, a hint of worry in his voice.
"I'm fine. I promise," Jai said, quick to grab his bag and head to the door. "I'll be back late tonight. Dinner's in the fridge. Just heat it up and eat it without me."
"Okay… see you later," Finn said with a wave, and Jai nodded, before heading out. It was better if he sorted things out without bothering Finn about it. Finn had enough things to deal with, after all.
~~ Saxon ~~
Sitting at one of the back rooms of a tavern, Saxon waited for those he'd invited to arrive. If they were late, then he wouldn't be impressed. Chewing on a leaf of a Faerie herb, the taste was sweet and full of flavour, as if he were eating a dessert.
After a moment, the curtain was pushed aside, as four faeries with Unseelie loyalties arrived. "Ah, there you are," he said, gesturing to the seats he'd laid out, a glint in his amber eyes. "Take a seat."
"You said that you had something for us. A ticket back," one of the more eager faeries said, sitting on the edge of his seat. "What do we need to do?"
"You need to listen carefully. That's what," Saxon replied, a subtle smile playing on the edge of his lips. They were all Unseelie or former Unseelie who had fallen from grace in different ways. All of them were working their way back and aiming for their ticket to return to the Unseelie. They were easy to order around, eager to impress him. And this time, he had chosen some more skilled fighters, finding that the last time he'd encountered Blake, the others had been disappointing.
Raising his hand with his palm facing upwards, an image appeared illuminated above his fingers. It showed an area in the Unseelie – one of the main entrances to the Court. A few inhaled sharply, a hunger in their eyes. "I can get you back, if your actions please me," he said, his magic holding for a moment longer, before it disappeared from view. Magic was weaker in the mundane world without the abundance of ley lines and sacred sites that the Faerie held, and it had always been an annoyance.
"There is a Unseelie traitor here in the Towns that we need to teach a lesson to. It seems he has had a little chat and likely made a deal with the Nephilim." At the mention of Shadowhunters, a couple of the faeries hissed. "We'll teach him what happens when one messes with us. All of this must remain confidential, of course."
"What's the plan?" one of the faeries asked, keeping his words respectful at Saxon's authority.
"You'll need to follow my cues," he said, not wanting to reveal everything just yet. "But it will involve messing with him – of course – and some violence. And I will need someone to deliver a letter."
When a faerie quickly volunteered, he passed it over to them, a name written neatly on the front. "That needs to get to the Institute. Give it to someone who lives there without revealing who you are."
The faerie made a sound in agreement, and Saxon leaned back in his chair with a slow smile. "It'll all be a bit of fun. You'll see."