Mystic Falls

Who: Charlie, Edmond, Diana
When: Wednesday Evening, after dinner
Where: The Kelley Ranch, out on the porch
What: Revelations



It was getting harder and harder for Charlie to hide the fact she wasn't eating. It seemed like if her mother keeping an eye on her at the dinner table, then her older sister Aurora was. Even her younger, but all too smart sister, Lorelei seemed to be watching her throughout dinner. Thankfully Pete had been out that night. It was pretty much impossible to hide anything from him - even if he didn't see you doing anything sneaky, he could hear you thinking about doing it. As much as she loved her family, none of them understood. Lately the thought of eating just turned her stomach.

Still, even with everyone watching, she thought she'd done okay, slipping the twin's mutt, Chicken, scraps under the table, and dropping the other half of her dinner into a plastic shopping bag, little by little. After dinner was over, she grabbed her bag and went outside, figuring she'd slip the rest of the scraps to the other animals, and hide whatever they didn't want in the outside trash bins.

She paused and grinned when a big black raven landed on the porch railing next to her. She lifted her arm up, and the bird, her familiar, Ed, hopped onto her wrist. Sitting down on the steps, she opened the bag and pulled out a scrap of chicken, offering it to him. He didn't take it, looking between the scrap and her dubiously, "Go ahead, you can have it. Or.. oh, duh. I guess that's sort of like cannibalism, when you're a bird."

"It's not that, ravens are scavengers," Ed responded, cocking his head to one side, "I do appreciate your kind offer, Charlotte, but I'm not the one who should be eating it. You are. You're too skinny, lass. You're going to fade away."

"Not you, too," Charlie huffed, her tone plaintive as she continued, "I'm not doing it to be skinny, Ed. I'm just not hungry, ok? Eating makes me feel sick lately. Just the thought of it... Uhg. Can't we just talk about something else? Teach me how to do a spell or something. Please?"

"No, we need to discuss this, Charlie. You need to eat, even if you don't feel like it. Keep your strength up," Ed insisted gently. He transformed into his snake form, wrapping himself around her arm, his smooth scales sliding against her skin oddly comforting, despite the fact a few months ago she'd been scared of snakes. Petrified, in fact. Ed was different though. She trusted him, knew he'd never hurt her. Edmond continued to speak, but this time in her head, "You need to eat to do magic, if you don't, your strength and focus will weaken... And I won't teach you magic unless I'm confident it's not going to wear you out."

"That's not fair, Ed! I'm fine!" Charlotte insisted, a slightly petulant note in her voice, "Besides, some of the books say that fasting can help aid in magic."

"Some magic, vision quests and the like," Ed corrected calmly, "But certainly not most magic. And as your Familiar, I'm telling you, I can feel how weak you are right now."

"Fine!" Charlie huffed, lifting the scrap of meat up to regard it with a grimace, "But if I eat, you'll teach me some magic, right?"

At that moment, Charlie heard the creak of a floorboard, gasping and whipping her head around to see her mother standing on the porch, staring at her, a concerned expression on her face. Following her mother's gaze, her eyes dropped to the arm now clutched to her chest, where it had flown when she startled. The arm with a black adder coiled around it. "Mom! You scared me!" She gulped, lowering her snake laden arm to her lap, hoping the dark fabric of her jeans would camouflage the black serpent, on the off chance her mother hadn't already seen him, "…How long have you been standing there?"

Who: Open to all - the more the merrier!
When: 6pm onwards.
Where: Mystic Falls Town Hall, Square & Gardens, and beyond...
What: Merriment, Magic, & Madness



The town square had been decorated with streamers and balloons, colourful fairy lights sparkling in the trees. Vendors had lined the square with carts selling all manner of food and drinks, stalls were set up with a variety of games to play, and a band played cheery music on a stage by the roped off 'dance floor."

The town hall had also been decorated for the occasion, and people in all manner of costumes were entering the building to attend the ball.

Puck was at the bottom of the town hall steps, looking thoroughly disreputable in biker gear, his eyes scanning the throng for his fairy princess. Catching sight of her, he smirked and sauntered over, bowing deep before her. She was beautiful, of course, resplendent in her costume, but eyes passed over her as though she was invisible. If only they could see her for who she truly was... An idea forming, he took her hand and spun her around in a pirouette, in process stripping away the seeming which cloaked her, revealing her to all, and transforming her fake wings into real ones. People stopped and stared, gasps could be heard whispering through the crowd. Kissing the hand he'd taken, he smiled at Aria, "You are a vision, my lady."

Just then, he felt the chill of winter glamour shiver along his skin, and turned to see Keane NicLaran, one of the winter court's most fearsome warriors, dressed as Batman, with Simone NicLucius, stunningly sexy as Catwoman. Realizing he'd endangered his princess, he thought fast, and began transforming people into the costumes that they wore...

Who: Merry, Jillian, Charlie, Ed, & Max
When: Afternoon
Where: The woods behind the Wells and Kelley ranches.
What: Matters of Life & Death



Merry was out in the woods behind her property, perched up on a boulder that made a perfect natural seat, her guitar propped on her lap. Composing a song, She was singing along as she played, occasionally stopping to cross something out and make an alteration to the lyrics or the melody.

Even the brave may depend on someone
The moon only shines with the help of the sun
It's not as safe when you're walking alone
I'll walk you home

Sun's out, but it feels like rain
So I will, illuminate your day
I'm afraid I'm losing it,
What's it gonna take for me to get
Through this
We'll get through this...

Who: Charlie & Ed
When: 4:30pm
Where: Bell, Book & Candle
What: Shopping



Charlotte and Aurora had been dropped off by their mother in the shopping district of Mystic Falls, and after a while of looking around together, they'd split up. Charlie backtracked to the interesting looking boutique from which the scent of incense wafted enticingly.

Stepping into a Bell, Book & Candle, she looked around, smiling slowly. Yes, definitely an occult shop. She sent the man behind the counter a polite smile, then began to browse. There was incense and oils and candles in every hue. A mini apothecary held herbs in stoppered glass jars. There were wands and chalices and statues of gods and goddesses, and an entire section devoted to books.

Charlotte was murmuring an incantation aloud from a book when a shelf full of candles spontaneously lit themselves. She didn't notice, but Edmond, the proprietor of Bell, Book, & Candle, did. He smiled wryly, "Would you mind not lighting my stock, I'm supposed to sell that."

"What?" Charlie asked in confusion, looking up at him and glancing over at the shelf of lit candles, and blinking. "I didn't do that.. did I?"

"I'm afraid so," Ed smiled gently, "Rather impressive for one so young, though you might want to work on your focus."

Charlotte blinked at him, wondering if he was having her on, playing some sort of prank on her, but he hadn't moved from the spot he'd been in since she entered the shop, and the candles had definitely been unlit when she walked in.

"I'm... I'm sorry?" She said apologetically, though a thrill was running through her. She'd done actual magic, even if it was totally accidentally, "I'll buy them?"

"Okay," Edmond agreed, walking over to snuff out the flames, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Um, maybe... I'm looking for something," She bit her lip, "A spell to stop psychic abilities."

"Really?" Edmond asked raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly, "Most people want spells to gain them."

"Most people don't actually have to deal with having them," Charlie pointed out with an eye-roll, "So, is there anything?"

"Touché... Tell you what, let me see what I've got," Edmond thought about it for a moment, then perused the shelves, then reached up to take down a book, which he handed to Charlotte, noticing her thin cotton gloves.

At that moment, the bell over the door tinkled musically, announcing the arrival of another customer.

Who: The Kelley Clan
When: Early Evening
Where: The Kelley Ranch
What: An evening full of surprises...



The sun was just beginning to sink in the sky when Derek opened the gate the the Kelley Ranch and drove down the long driveway. Diana was expecting the horses, but she wasn't likely expecting Derek to be the person delivering them.

Call it selfishness, but he needed his family. He needed Diana, even though he knew he had no right to ask for her forgiveness, no matter how sorry he was.

He'd almost managed to convince himself to allow Di to leave, start a new life without him, when he'd spoken to the kids on the phone last night - well, some of them - Charlie was still refusing to speak to him. The twins, however, had begged and cried, and he hadn't really been able to give them a good reason why he couldn't come. Nothing was more important to him than his family. By the end of the conversation, he'd already loaded the website of an airline, and by 6am the next morning, he was on a plane, flying to Montana.

Arriving before noon, he'd hired a car, driven to Mystic Falls, booked himself into a local motel, then gone out to the ranch that he and Di had bought the horses from, hitched the horse trailer to the back of the hire car, and finally driven to the Kelley Ranch.

Was he making a mistake, coming here this way, unannounced and uninvited? He didn't know. Probably. What he did know, was that no matter how shameful what he'd done, he just couldn't allow Di to take his kids away from him. If they were going to move to Mystic Falls, so was he.

Derek drove around to the stables, got out of the car and checked on the horses, then walked up to the house. A couple of the porch steps were in need of replacement, and as he mounted the verandah, he made a mental note to get the supplies to fix them the next day. Drawing in a deep breath, he eased it out, lifted his hand, and rapped on the door.