This new witch was scrawny and short. His hair was a dirty blonde color which appeared to be jelled backwards, curling around his neck. He wore a baggy black shirt with similarly baggy jeans. He, altogether, did not look put together enough to be a friend of Wallie's. Though, when Briar took a quick scent of the air, she could smell the magic coursing through his veins.
"It seems like we have an intruder," the vampire commented with her head cocked to the side. There was no point and starting out this interaction on a bad note. She wasn't entirely sure what he wanted here. They talked about a female witch coming through to drop off some clothes, but this person definitely wasn't that. The most he carried was a plastic grocery bag and, while it did look like there were things inside, she couldn't quite tell what they could be.
Walter came around the kitchen counter with his arm crossed over his chest. His voice was annoyed and defeated when he spoke, "Derek, I just told you not to stop by."
"You can't tell me not to visit my best friend!" Derek decided to walk past Walter without any hesitation and sat on the chair beside the loveseat she was sitting on. His brown eyes observed with an intense interest, one that worried her slightly. "So, this is the legend the whole coven has been raving about?"
While she enjoyed being referred to as a legend, there was something in the way he talked that put her slightly on edge. It was more like she was a science experiment than a savior like Walter explained. "I have a name, witch. I would prefer it if you used it." Hopefully he could hear that this statement wasn't a suggestion and that it was more of a threat if he weren't to do so. Not that she ever minded having to get her hands dirty.
The boy snapped as he looked away in thought, "Oh yes, you should. What was it again?" Her eyes narrowed his way. If she was such a legend, then why didn't he know her name? What were they calling her?
"Briar. Briar Blythe," Walter offered to his fellow witch. He was watching Briar as she became more and more frustrated with this new entry.
"That was it! Sorry, Briar, I can be real forgetful sometimes." He dropped his plastic bag onto the coffee table then leaned towards her. "The coven says you're a pretty well-known troublemaker, so I think we'll get along great!" It was laughable that this boy thought they would get along after already being disrespectful towards her a few times.
Her mismatched gaze flipped over to Walter, still narrowed from this stranger's insulting manner. "I don't think we will be getting along anytime soon. Wallie, ask this boy to leave before I decide to do it for you instead."
"Hey now! I came bearing gifts!" He gestures to the plastic bag. Now that it was thrown onto the table half haphazardly, some of the contents were tossed out revealing some scraps of fabric. They were once folded neatly, now were a crumpled mess. "I came in Gem's stead. She's still angry with you, Walt, by the way. Something about you blowing her off then asking for clothes for a different girl staying in your house?"
Briar disregarded the conversation and chose to pick up the first piece of fabric laid out. When she opened it wide, she was surprised to see that it was a very musty shirt with holes from where moths were able to chew it up. The design on the front was faded enough to be unrecognizable - though Briar wouldn't know where it was from before the fading anyway.
"I tried to explain," Walter said in frustration. His hands were thrown up into the air for a moment but didn't look at the damaged clothes as she laid it flat on the table.
The second thing Briar pulled out was a pair of jeans. At the top they were perfectly normal, from what the hybrid assumed; however, the bottoms of the legs were cut into strips. With a frown, she folded those up as well before taking another peek into the bag.
"Apparently, you gave a very shit explanation," Derek snorted, snickering when he noticed the shirt.
"I explained as much as I could to a human. It wasn't my fault that she didn't want to take my word for it." Walter rolled his eyes, obviously frustrated further by the topic of conversation. Not that Briar cared that much about what was going on between them.
Now that those two items were out of the way, the only thing left to grab were some undergarments. She wasn't going to pull them out and broadcast what she was wearing under her clothes to the boys but she did need to see if they were sabotaged or not as well. They weren't. However they were rather scandalous. It was a bright red matching pair with intricate lacing done all over both. They were nothing like any other that she was meant to wear back in the day.
She patted the bag shut after stuffing the clothes back into it, finally looking back into the conversation. "Not that I particularly care, however, I wouldn't be a happy woman if the suitor courting me decided to house another woman."
"I am not courting Gem," the witch blurted while turning to her. An eyebrow lifted in surprise at the tone he used. Then his cheeks dusted a light shade of red, "Sorry, didn't mean to snap. I am just so sick of hearing that all the time. We aren't together so she shouldn't be upset over any of this."
Briar shrugged carelessly, glancing out the window to see the sun was finally beginning to set for this very long day. The vampire didn't care about some mortal's squabbling. Whether the two were dating or not wasn't any business of her own. It was just the matter of somehow being stuck in this conversation. There were some things she needed to get done in the night anyway.
"Moooving on…" Derek took a glance between his friend and the vampire. Then he completely focused on the vampire. "Briar. I want to hear all about your first attempt against the Liscivia Council."
The nymph looked over at him in a fairly disinterested manner. "No need for you to dwell too much on a failure, witch. This time will be much, much more different anyway."
"How is this time any different from the last?"
A sly smirk stretched along her face, "This time, I will win." Then she stood, attempting to not be too embarrassed by the outfit Walter made for her. Neither said anything about it, so she assumed showing as much skin as she already was doing would be a non-issue. "Now, if you'll excuse me. Since the sun has set, I have important matters to tend to."
She made a move to leave through the front door, only to be stopped by Wallie sliding in her way. "Woah, where do you think you're going?" The woman nearly laughed at him thinking he was anywhere near strong enough to keep her there.
"None of that matters right now, it's no business of yours. Though if it makes you feel any better, I can assure you I will be coming back." She made a move to walk around him but he intervened again. Derek decided to stand up to back up his friend as well, though it was clear he had no intention of actually helping the witch.
"Your word means nothing right now. I can't have you just disappearing into the night. I'm responsible for you entirely. For any life you take or anything you destroy." He intercepted her again.
Fed up with the man's antics, she took a handful of the front of his shirt to toss him aside. He was quick, though, and grabbed her wrist. Mumbling a few words so lightly under his breath that she somehow couldn't hear them. Briar gasped as the feeling of his magic washed over her, forcing the branches in her veins to squirm in a painful manner. She let go quickly but, by the time she was out of his grasp, he was done. With a hiss, she saw the branding mark set on her wrist. A lovely thumbprint was etched into her skin and healed into a lovely white scar.
Everything was quiet as she stared down at his brand on her. When her mismatched eyes turned to him, he was looking down at his own wrist that had the same marking showing. Though the print on him was undoubtedly her own finger's instead of his. "You stupid brat," she seethed. "Do you even know what this means?"
"I tethered you to me," Walter explained; however, his voice was breathless, and he was staring down at the mark in awe. He seemed to be fairly happy with himself. "An old trick the coven's matriarch taught me to use if anything like this were to happen."
"Your coven is the bane of my existence," she sneered over at them. Though she refused to look either in the eyes as she clutched her throbbing wrist to her chest. "You do not do any research at all before you decide to do things, do you?" Briar hadn't had this happen to her specifically before, but she had seen it done in numerous rituals many years ago. "You're oh-so-skeptical about your coven hiding things that you have no questions for what they tell you to do?"
He frowned down at her, "You forced me to do this. I wouldn't have done any magic against your will, but I couldn't let you just disappear from sight."
"Why don't you ask your coven how you tethered yourself to me, little witch? I assume you'd be just as happy as I am about this." The woman finally lifted herself back to her full height and matched eyes with the witch again. Just like that, the magic snapped as taut as a string between them. Solidifying the magic just used. "I won't let this stop me from my business. If you have something to say about that, you can talk to your witch friend."
With much more confidence than she actually had, she ran as fast as lightning from the apartment. There was no way either witch could find a way to stop her when she used her vampiric speed. However, the woman only ended up perched on the top of the building.
He was correct in saying that she was bound to him. They were bonded together until his mortal life came to an end. That didn't mean she was stuck in that apartment though. She knew she would have some sort of leeway. The question was just how far could she go without being drawn back. Not only that, but now she had a large boulder in the middle of her plans.
Obviously their coven wouldn't help her find a way out of the bond, but with how big the city is there could be multiple in the area. Perhaps there would even be some that she had formed alliances with years ago. She would have to take a look around.
Briar reached up and scrubbed her face in an exasperated manner. This was not how she imagined her life to go. She was promised invincibility. To have to bow before no others if that was what she wanted. At the time she didn't particularly care for the sentiment. Now it was crucial for her to live in this world. If only she knew where her sire was now. The words she would have for the man. Did he look for her while she was sleeping? At some point they'll meet again. Something she looked forward to.
For now, though, she had to find her limits while stuck in this bound state.