Chaotic Tavern (July 3038)

Eglantine seated herself as far into the corner booth as was humanly possible. Firstly she had no desire to attract any attention and secondly, her position as professor at Hogwarts did not make her a popular person in the rather dark section of the wizarding world. Her black robes and cloak hid her identity with ease, affording her an excellent view of all those entering the tavern whilst obscuring her face. She was a dark witch; despite her denial to the contrary, and Chaotic Tavern was ironically perhaps the perfect place for her... Unconsciously she rubbed a gloved finger against her palm. Beneath the material that masked it, she had cut deeply into the flesh, preparing a dark potion that had needed the amount of blood equal to the amount of unicorn bane... Weaker than usual from the loss of blood, she leaned back against the booth and briefly closed her eyes. The hidden marks glowed beneath the black of her garment and she smiled. One but not one with the darkness.

Serena walked swiftly inside the Tavern, vanishing a lit cigerate as she neared Eglantine. Her hood was up as well, of course not wanting to draw attention. Specificly to the person she was going to meet.

"Rather shifty place for a grandmother to be eh?" she muttered obviously not being about to resist.

But then the visable part of her face went serious... " So what do you suggest?" she asked in a soft but cool tone.

Spotting her granddaughter as she approached, Eglantine smiled softly. The young woman impressed her, something she was not about to admit out loud, but inwardly it felt almost like pride. Not the same pride when she looked at her other children and grandchildren... something more acute.

She raised an eyebrow at Serena's comment, noting the attempt at humour.
"I believe I found the tethering spell." she stated bluntly, a gloved hand pushing a cup and bottle of firewhiskey toward the younger woman.

Serena nodded as she poured the fire whiskey, not one of her favorites... but.. oh well. She could always order her own later...

She blinked at the quick yet blunt statment about the spell.

"And a counter spell?" she asked, as that was the prize she was seeking. To be free of her mothers soul inside her.. keeping her bound.

Eglantine resisted the urge to sigh. Honestly what would the point have been to find the spell but not the counter spell.
"Indeed." she nodded. Her wand tapped the table top in front of them and a charmed silver pool appeared. "It would appear that Kiara holds the key to breaking the tether." Kiara appeared in the pool, a dagger in her hand and the words of the counter incantation floating in the air about her.
"It would seem..." she put her wand away. "That you will need to ask your mother for her help."

Serena appeared to be in deep thought for a moment, before she turned her grey eyes to Eglantine...

"You know her better then I... Would she do it? if asked to?" she asked, "no doubt conciderable amount of danger in this to her" she said.

She didn't like the fact she had to leave the fate of her soul to the very person who designed it like that...

Without hesitation, Eglantine replied,
"If you asked her... she would risk the pain and danger." It was her daughter's greatest strength and greatest weakness; her never-failing love.

Pulling the firewhiskey back and filling her cup, Eglantine sipped it.
"Once untethered; what shall you do?" she asked, lifting her head to look at Serena, green boring into grey.

Serena thought about it for a moment, of asking Kiara was the only way... then so be it... "Very well I will meet with her and make arrangements"

At her next question, she quirked her eye brow... she wanted to do many things.. go deeper into dark arts she supposed, since the tether would not hold her back from it.

"Explore more, and different types of magic that the tether currantly makes it very hard to do. But pretty much opened to anything.. as I wasn't sure when the tether would be finally broken I made no imediate plans... Why do you ask?" she asked curious if her "grandmother" had anything in mind.

Eglantine finished the last bit of firewhiskey in her cup and nearly hissed in surprise as the dumpy little waiter offered over a rather potent bottle of cognac. Apparently, Esis had left her calling card... Taking the bottle, without thanking the man, Eglantine unstopped it and refilled Serena and her own cup.

She made the younger woman wait for her answer as she slowly sipped the dark liquid, savoring the brief moment of curiosity.
"Once the human mind has tasted the fruit of shadow... the light becomes faint and undesirable. Like so much ambrosia compared to bread." she whispered. "If you wish... I would be willing to assist your continued descent."

Serena looked at her by blood grandmother in interest for a moment.. she had the feeling she didn't show this side of herself so freely to the rest of her family..A loveing mother and grandmother... yet a dark witch...

A comboation Serena was having a difficult time understanding...

"Interesting..." she said before shoting back her drink.

Yet she was not yet entirely convinced.. how could the woman help her down her road to dark arts and study when the woman herself still admired those of light... unless she believed the sayings of the old lord Voldemort...

There is no good and evil... only power

A statment she has tried to understand her whole life.. as long as she could remember anyway...

She thought of the different things she could do...

However mid way throught her thoughts she was interupted... in a matter of speaking.. Her line of that was pulled from her darker thoughts... and unknown to her and faint blue of Kiara's magical aura glowed around her for a single moment.. the glow was faint and likely only detectable by someone with a sensitive eye for magic...

"Blasted tether... Allow me to answer your question after the untethering... I will know what path I wish to follow then.." she siad swirling the dark liquid in the glass with her hand..

"Assuming you are still willing that is... from the look of the counter curse my dear mother made.. it looks more dangerous the the original spell it self.. there is a possiblity the spell will kill your daughter... should she agree." she said.

Cocking her head to the side, Eglantine nodded, vanishing her cup and sliding her clasped hands into her lap. She was curious as to what was currently sweeping through her granddaughter's mind and nearly to the extent that she might look; she she refrained in the interest of trust.

That instant the blue glow she had become accustomed to seeing around Kiara shone dimly around Serena. The tether was strong and she felt for that moment its tingling power.

"As you wish." she murmured, nearly smirking. Serena was tethered in her thoughts and actions... to her very soul. It was nearly an opportunity... nothing held her from doing as she wished again the younger woman; nothing save her patience and self-control.

It was delightful in its own way that Serena still thought of her as a benevolent matron of the McKevin/McConn families.
"Time is the fire in which we burn... death comes to all in due time." she whispered. And although she would protect Kiara before Serena if it came down to it; she truly believed what she had just said about eternal slumber.

Serena nodded..

"Of course it does.. though I imagine no one will see it that way should Kiara die.. Mr. Fantastic himself... hates me already... can't imagine that red head of his exploding should his mother die doing something for me... well him and everyother member of the family... " One thing was for certian.. Kiara had a lot of loyalty on her side.

"With the exeption of Ava.. of course" she thought privately to her self.. she didn't care if Eglantine wished to snoop in her mind... she may however get more then she bargined for... Ava was right about one thing.. Eglantine certainly was high on her self it seemed... Thrown indeed...

"But Kiara will not die." Eglantine stated simply, glancing toward the approaching waiter. She nearly added that Serena would do best to not underestimate Kiara, but decided against it; believing that the young woman would merely scoff at the statement. A statement she probably already knew.

A shudder rippled down Eglantine's spine as the waiter attempted, poorly, to read her mind in hopes of perhaps gaining favour for knowing a desired drink. Had they been in a less public place, she would have stuck him dead where he stood. But not wanting a scene, Eglantine simply reached out and touched his hand, which he'd set on the table.

"Excessum differo..." she whispered, having pulled off her glove under the table and now subtly pricking the man's dark skin. She didn't care what Serena thought of it; her only thought bent on crushing the man who'd dared try to break her mental defenses. The hand she extended to attack him with was elegant as it had always been, but marked with crisscrossed scars from cuts and slashes. Long clean claw-like nails offered no resistance to the skin and she retracted her hand before the man had even noticed its presence.

"Can I get you something, beautiful?" he asked Serena, unaware that his doom had been written.

Serena blinked and looked at the scene with her grandmother and the waiter... she looked in fastination...though thanks to the tether, there was a limit how far that interest went but but it was there...

Serena was for the most part sure Kiara would live... heaven knows the woman was hard enough to kill... but there was still a chance it would happen..

Serena looked at the waiter blankly... for one she hated guys lame attempt to flirt.. and 2 well... he was as good as dead..

"No... I don't believe you can.." she said as she rolled her eyes

Winking, the waiter grinned at Serena and walked away, going back to the bar.

Eglantine sighed, giving Serena an almost apologetic look.
"I'm afraid I have to pick Sevie up." she murmured, rising from her seat. She did truly actually desire to stay longer, speaking with her granddaughter, but Horatio was at a bachelor party with a century old friend of his and she'd promised Ara to pick her son up before the day was totally gone.

"When you approach Kiara... would you like me to be there?" she asked, purely curious. A faint smile curled her lips as she noticed the waiter gasping for air at the bar, coughing and sputtering about his drink going down the wrong pipe. He'd be dead before she'd picked up Sevie.

Serena raised an eye at the gasping waiter, before turning away and almost shrugging.. it was highly doubtful anyone would miss the guy..

She nodded at Eglantine about picking up Sevie, they came what they came here to do.. that and perhaps a little more. She rose as well leaving a coin on the table... for whoever took the unfortunate waiters place.

"If you wish to come, you may.. Kiara trusts you.. but me.. well I am the entity tearing her apart.. You being there could be helpful" she answered.

She smirked as passing thought came her way..

"Hmm I certinaly hope Tavish is there, did I tell you it is actually kind of... Fun making that guy mad.." she said with a mild amount of amusment in her voice...

"So I may see you there, in the mean time, have fun with the kiddies eh?" she said with tilt of her head.

Eglantine nodded, already planning at Serena's approval to be present. She laughed softly when Tav was mentioned, remembering how easily the younger woman had twisted her adopted grandson into a pretzel of frustrated fury.

"Indeed, you seemed to enjoy it." she murmured, removing her cane from her pocket and morphing it back into its regular size.
In regards to the comment about the children, she merely nodded.
"Farewell, Serena." she whispered, heading for the door.

Moments later a black cat ran along the road to disappear within the drain.