» ㅤgalleria。

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ Emeraude had looked at Matthew just in time to see his anger boil over, braced for the way his palm slammed onto the table and how loud the metallic scrape of his chair over the tile floor was so she didn't jump or show weakness. Inhaling deeply, she scooped up her phone. "Goodbye Maryse." She snapped, and hung up, cutting off their mothers protests with the unsatisfying stamp of her thumb against the touch-screen. Dropping the phone with little care for it's wellbeing on the counter, Em reached up to stop Matthew from leaving yet, gripping his wrist to keep him in place for a moment. Her hands and arms were covered in runes and scars from her training. "I'm not leaving yet. I have a lot I need to... digest. I'll be around but I'll give you some space for a bit. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would actually be true but I had to see." She let go, finally, and grabbed her phone, getting up and turning away in time that he wouldn't be able to see her blink against the watery burning she felt in her eyes, starting to walk away.

@emeraude t。ʷʰᶦᵖˡᵃˢʰ The anger flared as they spoke, his mind collecting all of the memories he had of living with his mother as a child. The absence of everyone but them. He was always held to high expectation and she treated him like her secret weapon. He wasn't allowed to talk about the medications he took to keep his demonic energy at bay(which he didn't realize it was at the time) or the extra training he got in secret with warlocks. When he left to stay abroad in different institutes, he always excelled and yet he was always cautious and honestly a stick in the mud. Much of her doing. She told him that he was going to be the change they all needed and he had to be mature about all of his decisions.
As he thought about all of that and then the fateful day he returned to New York to find her being put on trial by the Clave for harboring and training greater demon in the institute, her only child, he couldn't help the bubble of fury that hit him. His palm hit the table with a loud thud following and he pushed out of his seat.

"I deserved to know..." he murmured before deciding he had his fill of bull for the day. "Emeraude, I apologize but I am tired of being lied to again and again. Maybe you should just return to Idris."

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ It finally seemed like they were on the same page. Resting her elbows on the table, Em scrubbed her hands over his face as Matt spoke. Maryse didn't seem to be able to form an answer, stammering a bit as the weight of the situation settled on her. Finally, she seemed to compose herself enough to say something.

"Neither of you were ever supposed to find out." Maryse had a defeated tone, to her voice, and Em felt anger bubbling up in her chest at the nerve of her words. Every rune on her body burned from the energy thru ming through her.

"So it's true. You lied to us both, you separated us, and you convinced everyone else to lie to us too. Everyone who knew the truth." Emeraude said sharply, her tone dripping with bitterness.

"To protect you! There is so much you don't know, that you don't understand. I had my reasons-"

"I don't believe you. I can't believe anything you say anymore." Em snapped, cutting her off as she level lost d her pained gaze back on him... Her brother.

@emeraude t。ʷʰᶦᵖˡᵃˢʰ Matthew sat with his arms crossed as she pulled at her phone, eyeing her every move suspiciously. She was not to be trusted and she probably had tricks up her sleeve to deal with him. The clave had been wanting to bring him to Idris a long time ago to figure out how he got like this and the only thing that stood in their way was the contract Maryse had made with them so that they could not hunt or harm him in any way so long as he wasn't around. When he saw the name on the screen, the correct number to match, he almost gawked, fighting off the look of pain that started to bleed onto his features. As soon as he heard his mother, his heart almost stopped and he felt like everything was happening in slow motion. As Emeraude spoke, he sunk slightly into his chair, trying to get his barrings and his mind started to crumble, his eyes dark with a new emotion. This felt like betrayal. When she called out to him- he wavered a moment, not being able to find his words and then he cleared his throat after a few seconds.

"Mother. Can you please explain to me why I'm sitting here with a woman who looks a lot like you, telling me that she is my sister?" his voice broke, the tension turning into something violent as he clenched his fists.

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ Emeraude's eyes were dark, and heated as she stared angrily at Matthew. She didn't appreciate being called a liar, especially not to her face. "Pulling out her cellphone, she cleared , and opened her contacts list, selecting the contact labeled 'Mother', putting the phone on speaker, before showing it to Matthew, so he could see the phone number she was calling. As it rang, she set the phone down on the table. The only time Maryse didn't answer her calls was when she was in meetings, and considering what time it was in New York, it was unlikely she'd be in a meeting. After about 4 rings, the phone picked up, Maryse's voice answer.

"Hello? Em? Where are you-- The Clave told me you disappeared from Idris, you know you are not allowed to leave-"

"Hello, Mother, how are you? It's been a couple weeks. I decided to take a trip. To visit my brother. Matthew. I'm sitting here with him right now in fact. Why don't you say hello? I have you on speaker." For a long moment, the line was silent, heaviness and tension in the air between the three of them.

"Matthew?" Maryse's voice sounded faint, and tense.

@emeraude t。ʷʰᶦᵖˡᵃˢʰ That was it. He had learned to control his emotions. He had learned to keep his cool in situations that could prove to be compromising. The half breed was a top student in strategy and diffusion. And yet this would be the first time he lost his cool on someone in years. The first time the side of him that made him the abomination of his species reared it's ugly head to someone in a decade. More or less. His anger gave way to it's control over him but he knew how to wrangle and keep it a bay. "You're a damn liar and I'm not hearing any of this. Nice to know that you've been stalking me for quite some time but then you drag my mother into this with some half baked lie. I would know if I had a sister, Maryse wouldn't keep something like that away from me." he was sat upright in his chair now, his eyes darting as he spoke to assure no one was watching them. He had no reason to believe her no matter how it made him feel. Why would Maryse lie to him? She had good reason to keep him a secret but why keep her away? He didn't understand and didn't want to.

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ Emeraude was a bit startled to see her own expression -one she made often- mirrored on the others face. It was getting harder and harder to deny any of this. And then, with that irritated expression firmly still on his face, as he said the words she had been afraid to hear, her entire world as she knew it shattered. Clenching her jaw, eyes stinging as she felt the weight of the betrayal heavy in her chest, she took a deep breath and affixed her eyes on his with a heated emotion behind them. "She has everything to do with this. Your mother... Maryse is my mother. No one from the Clave sent me, no one even knows I'm here. I left Idris, where I've been kept my whole life, to find you the moment I found out about you last week. Someone in the Clave received word that you visited the London Institute. I stopped there to see Charlotte and she was more than happy to gush about seeing you and your girlfriend on your recent trip. She had no idea. Maryse lied to everyone. She sent me to Idris to keep me and you apart." Emeraude explained finally, her voice practically shaking with emotion, fists clenched on the tabletop.

@emeraude t。ʷʰᶦᵖˡᵃˢʰ Matthew knew better than to think he would never see another shadow hunter in Magnolia. Their agenda- what used to be his agenda- was expansive and reached all corners. Even with the barrier up, Magnolia was open to them which meant they could come and go as they pleased. Maybe he didn't pick the perfect place to lay low. His attention flickered over to the table near them a moment as the noise only built, his gaze not at all amused and quite exasperated before he turned to her with the same look. How did she know Maryse was a better question. Why was she looking for him was an even better question. "What does my mother have to do with this? You know what... You're in breach of my contract. You people agreed to leave me alone if I stayed out of trouble and away from the city. I haven't done anything wrong and there have been no new developments so whatever you're here for, I'm sorry, but you've hit a dead end. I'm pretty sure if I called my mother right now, she probably would have nothing to do with this." he almost spat the words, old anger building, roiling in his chest.

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ "Famous?" Em laughed, the sound warm as she directed him into a chair. She slipped the stele away into it's holster as she sat in the seat across from him. "It's not the kind of conversation I wanted to have over the internet. This is something I needed to look you in the eye as I asked you. You're right, I am Emeraude. I've been looking for you for a few months now." Pausing, Em sat up a bit straighter, flicking her sleek black ponytail behind her to direct her gaze at the obnoxious group of teens a few tables aside shouted and laughed raucously. Quickly, she assessed them and then dismissed them to look back at Matthew. Gritting her teeth as she studied his handsome face, she considered it seriously for a moment. Her brother. If what she had heard was true. Looking at his face, it was easy to see. "Who is Maryse to you?" She asked finally, frowning deeply.

@emeraude t。ʷʰᶦᵖˡᵃˢʰ The Galleria was definitely not a place the halfblood chose to frequent much at all but he had good reason to find himself roaming the stores today. The taller had been in search of a gift. Nothing too wild but something impressive that would fit the person he'd been shopping for. Finally back from his trip to London, he figured he'd waste no time in making things official with the person he had in mind. But his mind kept wandering back to the trip. It was supposed to be something of an escape from his life, which he felt was incomplete and in utter disarray. He figured he could return to a place he had once called home, even though it was for a short while, and piece himself back together. Even shine a light in a dark place in his heart he wasn't ready to discover again. But London gave him more than he was looking for. His visit to the institute was confusing, for lack of a better word. Charlotte had been so happy to see him like she had thought something had happened to see him and she was even excited about Chungha who was a demon. From Mars. The whole visit consisted of her treating him like a long lost son. He had been wary that maybe she had spoken to Maryse and she informed her of the last time they spoke which consisted of him learning about his demon blood, fighting his mom, and being sent away. His thoughts were cut short when he felt a press against his back and he sighed a breath, not so surprised after what he ad been told in the chat. "I'm guessing you're the infamous Emeraude everyone's been going on about." he droned as she guided him, making no attempt to escape so the attention wasn't drawn their way. "Y'know- there are such things as phone calls. An email. And will you put that thing away, it can't harm me."

@matthew d。ᵏᶦⁿᵍ.ˢᶦᶻᵉ.ᵐᵃᵗᵗ.ʳᵉˢˢ Tracking Matthew down hadn't been all that hard. She was good at what she had been trained to do, and tracking was a specialty. Magnolia was a small town, and once Daehyung had let slip his knowledge of a Matthew, it only took a little further digging to find him on the app, and get one of her contacts to help her track his phone location. She hadn't expected the place she'd finally track him down to be the Mall. A galleria of all places. She'd seen this kind of thing in mundane media and during her studies of the mundane world but walking through the crowed center was nothing like she'd anticipated. Her tracking system wasn't precise enough to tell her exactly which person he was, but she knew she was yards away from him, so she found a spot where she could put her back to the wall and discretely view everyone in the room. Finally, she saw it. A tall man, at least a head above most of the people milling around. There was an undeniable resemblance between her and him and it made her clench her jaw. She walked over, boots clicking sharply on the tile as she approached him, gaining quickly on the unsuspecting man. With her Stele drawn, she pressed it sharply against his lower back, grabbing his arm to pull him to a stop. "Matthew. I'd like to have a word with you, if you don't mind. Please, come with me." Her tone was tight, and tense, as she physically guided him towards the food court where there were tons of empty tables.

@taemin l。ⁿⁱᵍʰᵗᵗᵃᵉᵐ When she heard the word ‘arcade’ her face lit up and relaxed a bit, knowing that they’ll go to a place that she can call her comfort zone. Whenever she plays, she would feel somewhat in a different world and her being afraid to people disappears for she focuses entirely on the game. “Uhm.. if you also want to do something, please tell me,” she softly said, then her eyes caught a glimpse of people who are talking about something, their voices irritating her for some reason as they were loud and they looked scary so she sticks herself close to her date. “They look dangerous..”

@sohee a。『ˢʰⁱʳᵒ』 The werewolf looked at her in concern. He could smell the fear and uneasiness radiating off of the human and felt bad that he made her come to such a crowded place. Upon hearing that she liked games, however, he figured that the arcade would be something less dense, and at least she was into that kind of stuff. "The arcade it is!" He exclaimed with a small grin. As they walked farther, Taemin picked up on a group of humans nearby that were getting a bit rowdy. He didn't let it get to him, but it did stir up his wolf a little bit.

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@taemin l。ⁿⁱᵍʰᵗᵗᵃᵉᵐ Her whole figure was rigid and the fact that she agreed to meet in a crowded place increased her anxiety. Sohee didn't want to be rude and reject his offer when this blind date was the real purpose of the application she downloaded. The shy girl wasn't supposed to go but of course, she has to. It would be very unpleasant to stood up her date and he sounds nice enough. She was busy fiddling her fingers and her mind filled with thoughts that she wants to go home when she heard him ask her a question. With her voice stuck in , she shrugged and looked down on her feet, mumbling softly. "I- i don't mind anything.." He must be thinking why he was paired up with a girl like her and she couldn't help but feel sorry. "I uh.. i like playing games.."

@sohee a。『ˢʰⁱʳᵒ』 Taemin was excited for his date. He hadn't been on one for so long, excluding the last match up where his date left before they could even get to know each other properly. So when he walked into the galleria with Sohee next to him, he couldn't help but to feel overjoyed that they were at least getting /this/ far - actually meeting in person. The werewolf was hopeful that this date would go well; planning on where to meet with the girl was a pleasant conversation, and now, here they were. "What are you interested in doing, hm?" Taemin asked, looking over at the human. "Should we shop, or do you want to start with grabbing something to eat or drink first?"

@tingyan c。ᵃⁿᵍᵉˡᵏⁱᵉ he wasn't forward looking for this date at all, it took him a lot of contemplating while he was on his bed to actually get out from it and go to take a shower and dress 'nicely' for that naive angel that he got matched up with by the application. now wearing a black button's up long sleeved shirt with one or two buttons opened to show his collarbones and a bit of his chest tucked in with a pair of black tattered jeans, black leather shoes for footwear and having his silver noel chain eight earring, as well as a black leather choker hugging his long neck as accessories.

in an all black outfit, minghao was looking like the embodiment of sin (and he really is) while sitting in his black mercedes benz car, driving to the direction to where the galleria is, driving pass the entrance until he was by the main entrance of the shopping center, pulling over when he saw the familiar figure that was waiting at that spot. making the window of his car be pulled down to look at the angel that was standing there.

she was wearing a white dress, contrasting his black outfit. the demon hybrid wanted to laugh to be honest, it showed their obvious differences, she was light and he was darkness, an angel and a demon. two different species where they're known as each other's enemies, yet this angel don't see it that way, she actually saw him as a love interest meanwhile, the demon hybrid saw her as a prey, a meal and a tool. oh how different they were, so different yet how come she was still blind?

"hey angel," he gave her his fake smile that can reach up his eyes. "you look rather... exquisite i may say." he wasn't lying by then, the angel does looked beautiful right now, he can't deny that since angels possess such beauty but of course, minghao only looked through physiques and never what's inside, to him, she was like something he wants to display and admire because of her beauty, in a way of how lust works.

"get in," he motioned her to the passenger's seat, "we might get late since reservations are really strict at that place." yes, he did such an 'effort' by booking a reservation in the restaurant he was talking about for their 'date' but he was doing it for this angel to keep on believing such an illusion that he was putting onto her. he lets her believe that he was feeling the same way, that he cares for her but in reality, he wasn't, none of it is real but rather, it's all fake.

what can he say? he likes playing with his prey before devouring them fully, he'll play along this ongoing game and let's her fall when it's game over. a cruel demon he is, but what can he do? he was born and made that way.

@minghao x。ʰᵃᵒⁱᶜⁱᵈᵃˡ night came and elkie was more than excited. she dressed herself in a white dress that describes her angelic features even more, her hair bouncing as she skips to the nearest place. it was the night of her date with the love of her life, minghao. she has to thank destiny for making them match and have a nice date for the first time. who wouldn’t be ecstatic right? going on a date with someone you love is a dream come true! and what more when the other party has plans for it? it sounded really nice for elkie and now she understands why mortals love being on a date.

looking at the store’s mirror, she checked her reflection which glowed. her blonde locks dancing with the light breeze, lips tainted with her favorite cherry lipbalm, which contrasted her angel blue eyes.

she stood there with her doll shoes clad feet, waiting for his car. while sje was getting ready earlier, she was contemplating whether to confess again or just let it be for a while, maybe let him do the first move. but knowing herself, she would always be the one to tell him
how much she adores the demon.

“where is he– oh!” her face suddenly lit up at the sight of a familiar vehicle, her visage was radiating the happiness and her eyes reflected the glints of joy she was feeling.

‘mr. minghao, i hope you know I like you very much. I love you too much.’

@ashely v。ʷʰⁱᵗᵉ-ʳᵒˢᵉ Knowing well that she was in public, Seora resisted the urge to dance to the song playing in her ears, instead crossing her legs at the ankles and swinging them back and forth as she waited. She soon jumped when she felt someone touching her, a high-pitched squeak exiting her lips before she could stop it. With wide green eyes, she flicked her gaze towards the source, letting of relief once she realized who it was, taking out both of her earbuds and holding her hand over her heart. "Goodness Ashley. You almost gave me a heart attack. Hi to you too." Her lips curled into a sweet smile as she pushed herself off the bench and turned to face the other girl. "I'm happy you made it. Where would you like to go first?"

@ashely v。ʷʰⁱᵗᵉ-ʳᵒˢᵉ Seora wandered the mall with an expression of curiosity present on her face. She hadn't been in many places like this in the past so every one she visited left her in awe. She kept her phone hidden in her small shoulder bag, anticipating a message from Ashley that she had arrived. While she waited, she sat down on one of the many benches scattered throughout the establishment and slipped her earbuds into her ears, playing a favorite song of hers and quietly humming along to the beat.