this soul of mine will never break ❁ return

[Margaery]

[align=center][color=#b14767] ❁  ❁  ❁[div style="text-align:justify;width:60%;font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana"]
(this is three days later? y e e t)

For three days, Margaery had been trapped not in purgatory, but a marble room. She was painstakingly aware of the fact that she was dead and could not understand why she had yet to face her eternity of damnation yet. She was a bad person - a monster, if you will - wouldn't such a fate be the only thing fitting for her? She had paced. She had screamed. And she had tried her best to free herself from her entrapment to no avail. Whatever divine entity had put her here intended to keep her locked up indefinitely.

If was the evening of the third day when things changed, a ghostly black panther materializing before her form to gaze silently upon her. Margaery lifted her head to return the stare, not afraid. How could anything frighten someone who was already dead anyways? There was no punishment worse than the one she was currently experiencing.

[color=#000000]"Maarit Mikaelson, daughter of Caroline and Niklaus Mikaelson, correct?"

She flinched as her birth name was used. It had been centuries since she had been addressed as anything but Margaery (or some alias of similar caliper that she had crafted out of necessity) and she certainly didn't wish to relive the memories tied to the name. Maarit had been innocent and mortal. She had loved both of her parents and had planned to live and die a millennia ago. In a way, Margaery supposed that Maarit did die when she was cursed. She never got to fulfill her dreams or bring honor to her family. Instead, she became Margaery. The monster. The beast. The rose with the steel-lined thorns.

[color=#b14767]"Yes that's me," Margaery finally responded, swallowing hard. She glanced around the marble room once more, searching for perhaps the millionth time for some way to escape. As always, she turned up empty handed. [color=#b14767]"Who are you? Where am I? I want to go home."

The creature before her softened suddenly, extending an obsidian paw to gently brush against Margaery's shoulder. She had to fight the urge to recoil. [color=#000000]"I am Selene, Goddess of the Moon. Before you could be sent to hell, I stole your soul away in the interest of making a bargain. While I am a moon goddess, I'm also a creature of the night... just like yourself. You've never sired a vampire, Margaery. Why? I will give you your life back, your immortality back, if you simply do that for me. Two a month, every month, preferably changed on the full or new moon. Nobody worships me anymore, Maarit. Nobody. Change that, and your life, your children, your love... you can have them all forever."

Margaery contemplated her offer for a moment, suddenly endeared by its promise. Her life. Her love. Her children. She could have that all back as long as she turned others into vampires. Condemned them to eternity just as she had been. Honestly, she could see no drawback. She'd live just as her father and the rest of the Mikaelson's did. She'd finally be one of them, not just their precious flower.

[color=#b14767]"I accept your offer," Margaery responded, [color=#b14767]"Send me home."

A smile appeared on the striking features of Selene, her eyes gleaming with not malice but excitement, hope. [color=#000000]"Very well, Maarit. Go home. Meet your children. Live your immortal life once more."


When Margaery Mikaelson awoke, the first thing she noticed was the silver bracelet around her left paw. It was a rather lovely piece of jewelry, simple yet elegant and adorned with an obsidian moon. She supposed that it served as a reminder of her bargain. Turn two innocent souls into vampires every month. Yeah, she could do that.

Picking herself up, the female was pleased to discover that she inhabited a body almost identical to her previous one. All she was missing were her various necklaces and the bracelet that Hazel had made for her. No matter, she assumed that someone must have plucked them from her corpse. Oh.. right.. Her corpse. She had died. She frowned contemplatively at that thought, wondering how her clanmates had reacted to the sight of her, dead, with four children at her side.

She supposed she'd find out soon.

Her senses told her that she wasn't that far from the Ascendants territory and with a newfound determination to return home, Margaery quickly began to sprint. She didn't stop until she reached the border and then crossed it without so much of a thought. She was halfway to the Observatory when she finally slowed in her pace to catch her breath.


[color=#b14767]"Hello! It's me! Margaery! I'm home!" She shouted between gasps of air, [color=#b14767]"I want to see my children! Someone, please, take me to my children."

[kinglykingstone]

[align=center]

Cooper felt like someone had taken a grip of his heart and ripped it out of his chest. Exhaustion pulled at his paws, clouding his thoughts and reasoning. He’d been spending the past three days helping Suiteheart, making sure she kept going, making sure the kits were okay.

He’d stepped away for only a moment, just to get fresh air and be away from the hustle and bustle of it all. He slowly walked out of the observatory, stopping just outside of the entrance and stumbling. He fell, lying prone on the grass as his pain and exhaustion finally caught up to him. ”Diane, it feels as if someone’s taking a crowbar to my heart” whined Cooper as he struggled to rise to his paws.

He hadn’t slept in days, not since the loss of Margaery. He couldn’t, his mind showed him flashes of the past every time he did. He couldn’t take it, reliving everyone he’d ever lost. So he focused on the kits, on Suiteheart, on keeping everything together.

He made it back to a standing position, head and tail both drooping. He was standing like this, lacking the energy needed to move, when he heard her. When he heard the voice of Margaery, calling out for her kits. No, no that couldn’t be her! Margaery was- she was dead, gone.

Adrenaline flooded the large dog, pushing him forwards and towards the voice. Claws dug into the grass, tufts occasionally coming up behind him. He screeched to a halt when he saw her, a near perfect copy of his friend. But no, this couldn’t be her. Margaery was dead. He’d been there and held her mourning wife. He’d helped bury her.

Anger flooded his veins as he glared at this imposter. ”Margaery is dead.” snarled Coop as he stared down the beast claiming to be his deceased friend. His muzzle was wrinkled in a snarl, body tense and prepared to attack.

”What are you, beast? A skin walker? A shape shifter?” he wasn’t going to let... whatever this was get past him. He wasn’t going to loose someone else. He had to protect them, he had to. The idea of loosing someone else, so soon, he couldn’t do it.

Cooper was angry, angry and tired. His anger, such a rare expression for the dog, was clear as day. Clear as the sun shining brightly in the sky. As clear as his pain had been when he’d lost Diane, when he lost Harry, when he’d lost Margaery.

And this thing, this beast, had ran up, claiming to be her. Claiming to be the lost feline, the lost mother. ”Bullshit” he growled under his breath.
"Speech"

[div style="max-width: 500px; text-align: center; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Song Myung; color: #B14A3D"]dale cooper ⋆ traveler ⋆ the ascendants ⋆ observer ⋆ tags

[radeken]

“[color=black]Buddy, I don’t think you know just how weird shit can be around here. It could honestly just be her.” Radeken was honestly relieved. If it was Margaery, people would have an excuse to stop being so moody. She had rescinded her former sentiment in regards to sadness being good for her business. It also meant she couldn’t go on a stroll through the observatory without being annoyingly aware of the mood. So the wolf, who had been drawn near by the yowling of a familiar voice, remained close by. She wasn’t going to try and pull Cooper away, but if he kept at it she might just call him a dumb bastard and help Margaery back (though with how the woman had been yelling, Radeken was certain it was only a matter of time until she drew a crowd of astonished onlookers and tearful friends).

“[color=black]So how are you alive?” If she could take notes on every single instance of a colleague dying and coming back then she absolutely would. Maybe it would give her some insight on how to pull that sort of thing off herself, should the need arise. And, yeah, Radeken wasn’t too positive that this was Margaery because Cooper’s outrage had her suddenly thinking that if animals could die and come back then surely they could die and be replaced by something nefarious, as well? But learning was learning was learning. It was no skin off her nose whether this was actually Margy or some paranormal identity thief.

[Roy Mustang]

Roy once believed that when someone died, when they went beyond the 'gate', they stayed dead. At least, that's how things went back in Amestris. Roy has come to realize that wasn't entirely true here, especially after he reunited with Hughes. When Hughes arrived at the border, Roy had the same kind of demeanor like Cooper. Roy had refused to believe it was his best friend, and even he assumed that it was a shape shifter- a shape shifter known as Envy. But thankfully and much to the Flame Alchemist's relief, it was Hughes. So with that experience, Roy has came to grudgingly accept that the dead can come back to life here, but not through the taboo. The taboo will always remain impossible, you can't play god and force a dead person to come beyond the gate. They have to come back themselves, like Hughes and now Margaery has done.

Roy was limping through the territory, when his ears pricked up at a familiar voice. Margaaery. It has been three days since the vampire died in childbirth. It's been a long three days for certain people, Suiteheart was left to raise children by herself, and others were in mourning for loosing a friend. Roy was trying to be there for Suiteheart, just like she had been to him when Maes died. He didn't understand how she could be alive again, he still has a hard time understanding how Maes came back. He couldn't wrap his head around it, the alchemist who's lived his life as a human, believing that the dead stay dead, is having a hard time understanding how people come back to life in this world.

Roy decided to limp his way over, shortly entering the scene after Radeken. The Flame Alchemist's gaze landed on Cooper, who reminded Roy too much of himself when he reunited with Hughes. He had been in denial too that time, it's so strange to see someone else go through the same feeling. "How did you come back to life?" The Alchemist questioned as his gaze locked on Margaery, eyes narrowing as he waited for answers that would give peace to his wondering mind.

[Margaery]

[color=#b14767] ❁  ❁  ❁

[color=#000000]"Maarit, two things... News of your death reached your father's ears rather quickly and you may be forced to make some excruciatingly difficult choices soon. Secondly, nobody but you and I can know of our bargain, do make sure that our secret is preser-"

Selene, who had been communicating mentally with Margaery, abruptly cut herself off as Cooper's words filled the air. The chocolate point would turn to him in disbelief, having a hard time wrapping her brain around his fury. She had been expecting anger, skepticism... but not from Cooper of all people. Was it really so hard to believe that she had returned to them? That she had been granted a second chance at life? Another thousand, maybe more, years? [color=#b14767]"Cooper, love," Margaery began quietly, quelling the feelings of rage that rose in her own chest. The monster inside of her was straining at its confines suddenly. All it would take was a lapse in mental strength and it would be upon them all. [color=#b14767]"I promise that it's me. I'm not a skin-changer or a shapeshifter... I'm Margaery Emilia Mikaelson and I just want to see my children. I don't even know what their names are... please... You have to believe me."

She glanced towards Radeken and Roy in that moment, thankful that the former had defended her in some strange way. [COLOR=#b14767]"I swear on my life that it's me," She assured, blinking stormy-gray eyes. At their inquiries, she sat back a second and simply contemplated. Margaery knew that she couldn't reveal the bargain she had made with Selene, so how else did she explain that the one thing that should have killed her had proven to be unsuccessful?

[color=#b14767]"Well you see, I've got quite the silver-tongue. Somehow, someway, I managed to talk myself back here. Ancient spirits quite enjoy a good show, and the moment I began crying over the fact that I'd never get to see my mother or father again... they were all too keen to return me to my proper place. Do I feel bad about lying to them? Not particularly, but they can't exactly rip me away again," She explained nonchalantly. Admittedly, a part of her was perplexed that one: she could not feel Suiteheart in any capacity and two: that she still felt close to anything with that knowledge. The bond should have reestablished itself the moment she returned to life unless her wife was purposefully blocking it and if that was the case, Margaery shouldn't have been able to feel anything. Strange.

Shifting her weight, the vampire permitted a frown to bloom upon her face. [color=#b14767]"How's Suiteheart? Where's Suiteheart? I.." She trailed off, [color=#b14767]"I can't feel her."

[Pele N. F. I.]

[align=center]

Pele had been crying for days upon hearing of her aunt's death, wearing the necklace she'd given her with hollow eyes. It was rare for her to be seen out of her room, and if she did let someone in it was to talk to someone who barely talked back. Margy was as close to family as her mom, even if she wasn't related to her by blood. Hours upon hours of checking and checking after she'd first died, thinking that she'd wake up like uncle Bast did.

When she stumbled upon the scene, she didn't care that Uncle Cooper was yelling, that Rad was there or that Mr. Roy was around. She saw her aunt alive and well and the tears started to pour, she was home. Pele ran over to her aunt and would tackle her in a hug if she didn't move fast enough. "You're home you're home, I thought you wouldn't come back like Uncle Bast."
[align=center]"SPEECH"『♡』"THOUGHTS"

[kinglykingstone]

[align=center]

The canine's head swung to face Radeken as she approached and spoke. If anyone else had told him that, he would have backed down instantly. Raseken though, he didn't trust her and in the moment his brain refused to even process her presence correctly.

Instead his mind was flickering through each and every possible thing that could have replaced his friend. Could it be a doppelganger? An evil representation of his dear friend? No, no. There's no way she could have gotten into the red room. how's annie? No, no, those memories need to go back, go away. Shove them back into the pit. Focus on the here and now.

The scent of Roy reached him and he looked at the tri-legged bobcat, watching for his reaction. Was Cooper being foolish, everyone else seemed so calm about it. No, no, people don't just back from the dead. He knows that for sure, he'd lost enough to know that. But, here she was, claiming to be Margeary right in front of him. And hadn't Bastille done something similar? But that had only been for a few minutes, not three days.

His eyes landed on the feline as she began to speak, began to beg for him to believe. He felt the anger drain out of him, the adrenaline and his remaining energy going with it. As he looked at her, truly looked at her, he could see the glow around her, the flashes of colors in his head, were the same, with a few streaks of dark added in. It was her, it had to be.

As his energy left him, leaving him drained, he stumbled and pitched forward. He managed to catch himself, lowering to the ground with a soft grunt. "Their names are Simon, Kara, Gale, and Conner" hummed Cooper, lifting his head to stare at her tiredly. "And suite, she was in your room when I left it." he added, attempting to get to his paws. "I should get back to her, I've been gone longer than I wanted to be." he finished, looking up at Margaery. He hopped this was really her, for everyone's sake.
"Speech"

[div style="max-width: 500px; text-align: center; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Song Myung; color: #B14A3D"]dale cooper ⋆ traveler ⋆ the ascendants ⋆ observer ⋆ tags

[Suiteheart]

[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"]It had taken a single moment to break Suiteheart wholly and completely, and it took only three days to ensure she might never recover from her wife's death. The instant Margaery's soul left her side, something within Suite had perished with the chocolate point. She was sure what had died was her own will to live, but considering she was still alive three days later, she wasn't sure that was it.

The things that had died with Margaery was the feeling of being unbreakable at her core. So often in her life, Suiteheart had been beaten and broken down, but nothing had compared to the absolute hell of feeling the soul of your love leave. It had been a slow ebb towards a cliff's edge: slipping, slipping, slipping, and then falling away completely. The white feline had felt a pull on her own soul to follow her wife's, but she could not follow. Her soul remained rooted and then it buried itself in grief and pain and loss. She had tunneled so far in herself that she was unreachable, and despite all of Cooper and Roy's efforts, Suite was a lost cause.

She remained in the room she shared with Margaery during daylight hours. She kept a close watch over their newborns, and she tried her best to keep them happy. Though she was doing a good job raising vampires while not being one herself, she could not find joy in her accomplishments. She was only thankful her children were still living and breathing.

At night, she left the safety of her room. Those four walls and everything housed within was a constant reminder of Margaery, and it was too much to bear for twenty four hours. Smiling pictures of Margaery, her books, her little pressed flowers, her gemstones, her tiny knickknacks, her dagger - they were too much. The weight of Margaery's pendant around her throat and against her chest seemed to multiply within that room too, and she had to leave there because she could not part with the jewelry. Underneath moonlight, she hid from her wife's ghosts and the night terrors.

Baby blue eyes had stared up at the moon and begged for answers time and time again, but there was nothing. Cooper offered his comfort and support, and though she was eternally grateful, it did nothing to ease her pain. The moon no longer presented her peace; nothing offered her peace anymore.

When she arose on this day, the walls seemed to be closing in. It had taken two minutes of sitting in saddened silence before she decided she could not be in this room at all today. She pushed her way through the door, through the Observatory, and she did not stop moving until she was deep within the territory. For a brief second, everything was quiet. Then, she heard the voices of her friends, and -

"Margaery."

The name flew off her lips like a bullet from a gun, and on trembling legs, she made her way forward. She crashed into the scene, shaking. The feline before her looked, spoke, and acted just like her wife. She wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe it so badly, but it felt too good to be true.

Within the first hour of Margaery's death, Suiteheart had cut the bond off. After an hour of feeling a vast emptiness inside of herself that was not her own, she could no longer handle it. It had killed her to let go of the one thing that might notify her of her wife's return, but the dying pulse of Margaery would not stop playing in her ears. Stopping the bond had stopped the sound though it did not make her feel much better.

Taking a shuddering breath, she reignited the bond, and everything flooded into her systems. Flash images of years ago and days before tumbled into her mind. She felt her wife's soul once more, and that horrible hollowness became whole. Tears formed in Suiteheart's eyes, and she did nothing to stop them because she could hear Margaery's heartbeat again. A sense of belonging was restored to the Ecliptic Admiral's heart, and after feeling absolutely crushed for three days, she suddenly no longer felt condemned.

"You're alive," she breathed, unable to move from her spot. She was so struggling underneath the weight of her emotions as well as Margaery's, and after the hell she had been living, was worried she might collapse. The tears did not cease to flow as she finally found herself able to take a step forward. One step lead to two and then three, and then, she was running into the arms of the girl that she loved. "You're alive," she repeated in a voice so shaky the words were barely recognizable.

[BASTILLEPAW]

AND I'M JUST A DEAD MAN WALKING TONIGHT

In the days following Margy’s death, Bastille had not managed to find any sense of peace or solace. That was, frankly, only because he had no sense of sorrow to come to terms with. He had drank himself into darkness and hadn’t felt a flicker of emotion, could only place a faint impression of regret. The briefest hint of sorrow. But that was all. It seemed he’d pushed himself so far over the edge that they only thing that could make him feel something were Rad’s pills, and only if he was lucky.

Maybe he should be grateful. He wasn’t sure he had it in him to mourn another loved one, not after Starry. He looked to Suiteheart or Hazel and felt the misery radiating off of them and knew he could only be destructive if he felt that. Knew that apathy was the only thing keeping him functional. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d betrayed her, somehow, by not feeling able to feel for her. By standing by, untouched by her loss. He hated himself a little more for every day that went by without being able to mourn her, but that was really saying much. What was a drop of hatred in the bucket at this point?

As her aura called to him, drawing him towards her, he didn’t question if he was imagining things. Imagining things would have required grief, a desperation to get her back, some sort of delusion — and he didn’t feel any sort of desperation. Not any more. With nothing in his system, he knew he couldn’t be imagining things, but at the same time… Well. At the same time, there wasn’t any relief, either. There was just nothing.

He came to a stop a few paces away, cold stare locked on Margy. Her aura was unmistakable, despite Cooper’s brief belief it might not be her; it may be darker, tinged, changed, but it was still Margy’s at the core. He could sense something about her, the flicker of divinity surrounding her, the faintest whisper of a voice at the back of his thoughts — but it was there and gone, and he didn’t give chase. Grimm might have liked to have that story tucked away, but Bastille found that he just didn’t care. She was back now, and that was that.

Maybe eventually he might be able to appreciate that fact.

”Welcome back,” was all he said, low and even.

[align=center]BASTILLEPRISONER — ASTRAL SERAPH — TAGS

[Character Graveyard.]

LOST IN SKIES OF POWDERED GOLD ✧ Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

The following days since Margaery had died, Luna had made sure to check up on Suite though she had also kept her distance to let her grieve. Luna had also been thinking. Since Bastille had came back, was it possible for Margaery to do so as well?

Luna had been patrolling the borders as usual when she had come across a group of her fellow Ascendants. She had noticed Margaery and offered a smile to her. "Welcome back."

© madi