New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Alex was seething with frustration, his meticulously crafted plan now a mere casualty of the incessant posturing. It was as if his efforts had been flushed down the drain.

Since these women couldn't be talked with, without having to throw out threat after threat, to keep them in line, he no longer had the desire to speak with them. He would rather wipe them out and be done with the problem altogether.

Surprisingly, or rather, unsurprisingly, Kary was the one to cut away his anger.

"Send White back, Alex. This isn't the way to handle them," she urged, her hand on his forearm, a stark contrast to his boiling anger.

Alex looked at her, and saw her serious gaze, as her eyes were locked on Amara, and he sighed loudly.

"I guess it's your lucky day, ladies. My partner here thinks you don't need to die right now. But choose your words carefully as we move forward, because there won't be a warning next time you threaten her or me. I'll just rip your heads off myself."

With a wave of his hand, the enormous wolf hovering above them vanished, and the threat factor that came with it disappeared along with the animal. But Amara could tell the one sitting across from them was hundreds of times more dangerous.

Maria was still reeling from the feeling of dread the wolf had caused her. She'd fought monsters in New Eden, hundreds, nay, thousands of them.

But the feeling of staring down the gullet of one, from such proximity, on this side of reality… It was way more intense than she had expected.

She was always safe inside New Eden. If she died, there would always be a respawn, making death a trivial matter for players.

But staring at death here, in the real world, where respawns were not something she could rely on? It was quite an abrupt wake-up call.

She realized, rethinking on the man's words, why her words didn't threaten him.

He'd faced death already. And came out on top…

Her attitude quickly changed, as she realized her thoughts until now had been wrong.

Maria had thought that with Amara's abilities, the pair before them had been dancing in their palm all along, and that there was no way they could lose. Amara would have seen their loss already.

But she was wrong. As soon as they landed in their backyard, the board had already switched to theirs.

For all of Amara's already envisioned scenarios, and all of her own confidence and strength, they had already flipped the board in their favour.

Alex couldn't read thoughts, but he was good at reading faces, and he could read theirs like open books.

Even though he still wanted to tear them apart, Kary had seen this before him. They were finally in the mood to listen and cooperate.

His tense shoulders relaxed as he exhaled annoyingly.

"Can we get this conversation back on track without veiled or blatant threats? Or are we all wasting our time here?" he asked, looking at the three women in turn.

"Mr. Leduc. I never wanted there to be any threats. I wouldn't have prepared to receive you here if I wanted to threaten you; I would have come to your home. I think the boiling blood of your temperament and Maria's have gotten us off track.

"I'm sure she's sorry for her actions, and will keep her mouth shut, from now on, yes?" she said, glaring at her second in command.

Maria felt her anger rise again, but promptly shoved it down her throat, knowing this was not the time. She could vent later on her punching bag.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Leduc. I let my emotions get the better of me. It won't happen again," she growled, reluctantly.

Alex was about to taunt her by saying that it felt fake, but Kary's hand dug into his arm, and she glared at him intently.

He quickly swallowed back his cutting words and simply nodded.

With this out of the way, Kary decided she would take the lead on this, since Alex was too easily angered, and with another person like him across the table, it was better for the two rational people to do the talking.

And their conversation lasted the entirety of the night, only ending as the sun rose above the horizon to the east. Kary had navigated the interests of both parties, setting boundaries for both parties, so that no massive conflict would ensue.

She could hardly ask the Rossi family to back out of Montreal entirely, as she held no legitimate claim to the area. Jack could have possibly waved his weight around on them, but he wasn't there, and she couldn't speak in his stead.

But, at least, she got the three women to back off from the awakened people in the region, allowing them to grab the ones farther north, in Quebec City, so they wouldn't have come for nothing.

Alex grumbled at that part, saying they shouldn't be taking any of the awakened people at all, since they weren't from here, but a quick elbow to the ribs from Kary clammed him up.

In return, Amara swore she would help in any way she could to help the city if a crisis arose since they were already here. This promise alone made Alex view her in a different light.

He had thought the woman was self-centred and that she wouldn't help unless it affected her. But it seemed he was wrong.

Other concessions were made, and side deals agreed upon, with Amara promising help in entering Italy if they ever needed to enter the country. Her connections there would make a lot of their movement easier if they needed to jump into Europe.

As the sun started its ascent into the skies, Kary looked at it and felt the exhaustion setting in.

"Alright. I think we've discussed enough for one night. How about we stop here, and if there is more to discuss, we can do it in a more neutral environment next time, like a pleasant restaurant or a rented office?

"I think it's safe to say we are all tired, and the tension has taken a toll on our energy. Let's table the rest of the discussion for another time, and part ways civilly for now. Agreed?" she asked, looking at the four others at the table, one after another.

Everyone nodded tiredly, before Alex was the first to rise from his chair.

"Well, I'd say it was a pleasure meeting you, but the start of this night made sure it wasn't. I guess we'll see how it goes next time," Alex said, his tone snarky.

Alex leaned over the table, extending his hands from right to left, shaking the women's hands.

Carla reluctantly shook it, still terrified of the man, while Amara shook his hand firmly, smiling at him.

"I'll make you like me, Mr. Leduc. I can be a very persuasive woman, and a precious ally, if you can learn to trust me."

"Sure, whatever you say, lady," Alex replied dismissively.

As he extended his hand to Maria, she slapped it away.

"Fuck off already, you eyesore. I've tolerated your face enough for a lifetime," she spat.

Alex grinned at her.

"Yeah, well, the feeling is mutual, you bull-headed bitch. I just hope next time we meet, you don't cower in fear, so I have a reason to beat the ever-living crap out of you," he replied, his eyes narrowing.

Maria turned away from him, a smirk adorning her face, as Alex walked away from the pergola.

Kary looked at Maria, before gazing at Amara, who shook her head tiredly.

"Men, am I right?" Kary joked.

Amara side-eyed Maria before giggling.

"You most certainly are right. I look forward to our next meeting, Ms. Deveille. I think our cooperation can lead to great things."

Kary nodded, turning away from the table.

"Let's hope you don't play with my trust, Ms. Rossi. Those who do, tend to get burned—in this case, literally," Kary said as she walked away.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Farewell," Amara replied.

She watched as Alex unfolded wings on his back again, appearing almost like an angel from afar. Then, he blasted into the sky, disappearing in a single instant.

Kary quickly followed behind him, as she lit up like a human torch and blasted flames under her feet and arms, lifting off like a rocket.

She left behind a spot of melted stone and soot, which slightly angered Amara, but she sighed dejectedly.

"Those two are way past the point I thought they would be. It's like my visions couldn't follow the speed of their progression," she muttered, as she started making her way back inside.

"Carla, have the men fix the garden and call our house in Italy. We need to warn them to stay away from Montreal, and make sure the other families heed the warning as well. If we cross these two, it will not end well…"

Carla nodded tiredly, branching off from her as she left to complete her task before a well-earned sleep.

"What about me?" Maria asked.

"You? You're coming with me. I'm tired, and I feel like snuggling," Amara said, winking at her.

"It would be my greatest pleasure, my lady," Maria replied, grinning like a child on Christmas Eve.

The night had been long, and the rest was most welcome for all parties concerned.