Resurgence [Open to Black Watch]

[Alecsander]

[[Date to be determined after talking to Boo]]

The word had gone out, quietly, swiftly. Alex had contacted as many of the former members as he could. He knew Bodi had been searching for and finding people who would stand up for their cause. Night was coming on, and as the Broomsticks started switching over to adult's only, the Black Watch started to arrive. Alex was downstairs, watching cautiously from a table as one or two people would slip away up the stairs. They had secured the room upstairs as much as possible.

The time was getting nearer. Alex stood, spotting a familiar face, one he should have expected. He hadn't seen her since the War, she'd been a child. "Nuriko, right?" They headed upstairs together. By now most of the people invited had arrived. Not everyone they'd reached out to had been invited to this meeting. He wanted to keep this meeting small, to a core group.

[Max Kameren]

Well, this sure felt strange.

It was an odd sort of déjà vu, looking around at the faces in this not-too-familiar room. It was like visiting family you rarely saw: Max remembered so much of this, but at a much shorter angle. Every now and then a member would enter and double take at him, remarking that they couldn’t believe how tall he’d grown or that they’d initially mistaken him for Curse. In a way, it kind of was a family reunion. The darkest, bleakest family reunion over a smoky pub that’s ever been put together.

He stood leaned against a wall in the upstairs room, trying to take up as little space as possible for the rest of the group. He didn’t socialize, or speak at all really; lately whenever Max had the time to stand still for a few minutes he was too tired to string words together. Since the Morrison murders his work had been non-stop. Coupled with that was his growing concern for Rowena; his girlfriend had ben avoiding him recently and he had a suspicion it had something to do with the attacks. It was a relief the Watch was reuniting; maybe they could help.

When Alex and Nuriko emerged from the stairs Max smiled sheepishly in greeting and nodded in their direction. He couldn’t wait for the meeting to begin. Many of these people hadn’t seen him since the worst day of his life. Needless to say, it made small talk awkward.

[Bodi Lovegood]

Bodi slipped upstairs with his still-warm broom slung carefully over his right shoulder. He had been canvassing the Black Watch's most "fringe" members for the past week and was just returning from a last ditch attempt to get support from the more rural areas. It was a frustrating assignment: many people were either too weary or to cautious to commit. For some, they just wanted time to breathe post-Return. He couldn't blame them. Having a Dark Age without a visible Dark Lord was a hard sell. People were waiting. People were waiting for something big.

"It going to take an earthquake," Bodi mused, shaking his head in fatigue as he reached the landing. An amber light flooded the crack beneath the door and he soon felt an energy not unlike what he experienced in Alex Kameren's office a few days earlier. They were infinitely stronger for having an Auror at the helm. And an Auror with heart. Bodi wanted so badly to do right by him and he hoped that Alex would not be too disappointed by his lack of success

 The broom racer silently slipped inside, offering a nod to Alex and Nuri and a small number of supporters that he had met over the past few days. He then spotted a tall and haunted looking fellow leaning against the wall and decided to follow suit, removing his gear and placing it in to a neat pile close by. Bodi considered that this might be Curse Kameren's boy - the resemblance was striking - but he took the cue that the man's privacy was treasured at this moment and he offered him a kind smile without engaging.

Bodi sat back on his rucksack and settled in for what he suspected would be a revealing evening.

[Emory Williams]

Emory took the steps two at a time, hoping he wasn't too late. After his own failed attempts to get the Watch together, he was glad to see someone else had taken charge. He'd been held up last time at the bloody Ministry and when he'd gotten to the Ice Cream Parlour it had been empty. It had been disappointing but his invitation had been so last minute that he hadn't really expected everyone to turn up... still. It would have been nice to see someone...

He'd been busy getting ready for his new job at Hogwarts since that he just hadn't had a chance to truly catch up with the other members, but after getting the message from Alex, he was impatient to see familiar faces once more. He cast a quick glance at his companion and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry so much Will, I've checked with Alex and he said you were welcome to join." he said as he pushed open the door and let the younger man enter first before following.

His gaze swept quickly over the room, noting the faces of people he'd fought with and still getting that unpleasant shock of faces older than they should be.  It was strange, he noted with a twist of jealousy. They'd had 17 years of peace, whereas to him, this all felt like a continuation of a war that had only finished a few months ago. He'd hoped to find his own peace now that he'd Returned, but it seemed that was not to be the case. 

[William Anderson]

I would not stay in the shadows this time.

Will told himself this as Emory came to him and offered a chance to join to reformatted Black Watch. He didn't have to think long before he said that he wanted to go to the meeting. And it wasn't long after that when they were on their way to the three broomsticks where the aforementioned meeting was to take place. He hadn't said much of anything on the way there -- his mind had been way too wrapped up in itself to feel like being sociable.

Emory told him that there was nothing to worry about. That Alex said he was welcomed and all Will did was nod, "That's not what I'm worried about to be honest." he wasn't concerned about joining the group one tiny bit really. What he was concerned about was the why. Why was the group being reformed? Evil was afoot. There was something foul in the air. Not literally but you could just sense it.

He wasn't sure what darkness was coming their way but he was going to fight this time. He was unnerved but he would fight. He was worried there was no getting about it. About what you asked? Well about what could happen. I mean look at what had happened -- to him , to his brother, to other families. It had hurt more then just a bit when he had found out that his brother had lost part of his leg. With that and his disappearance--he didn't want to think about what his parents had gone through. He was worried about that happening again. He wouldn't let it though.  

It was surreal. It was as if it was just yesterday when the demon wars were happening and now this? The concept of time was still something he struggled with. He had to keep telling himself it was 17 years ago--even if it only felt like a few weeks ago. He felt like he wasn't getting a break. He admittedly felt a bit jealous of his brother--all those years of peacefulness he had that Will did not. Ahh but that was neither here nor there. 

They walked into the shop and Will simply took a seat -- he didn't acknowledge anyone as he was still too deep in thought. His mind was really running away with him...

[Alecsander]

Alex looked around the gathered group. So many familiar faces, so many who were missing. This was just a small group, a gathering of trusted friends and allies. They would expand, he knew. He even spotted a couple of new faces. He cleared his throat once it seemed all were gathered, directing his gaze around the room and smiling in greeting, though it was fleeting and tinged with grimness.

“Thank you for meeting here.” Alex took a deep breath. He’d discussed it with Bodi, and with several others, Max included. But to say it out loud, here in this gathering. It gave a certain fatalistic finality to the words. It made it real. “You all remember the Wars.” He found several faces in the group. “Some of you, that was much more recently than for the rest of us.”

Dark days. Days where horror and cruelty reigned. Mosrael had been bad, but something warned Alex that this would be worse. Perhaps it was the runes, the rituals, blood magic that had not been practiced so openly in generations. No, this time, it was worse. Much worse.

“This is different. This will truly be a fight for survival.”

[Max Kameren]

The name was killing him. He knew it, he knew he knew it, but there was fifteen years of other offhand memories standing between him and the name of the man standing next to him. It was on the tip of his tongue, nearly materializing in his mind every time he glanced over at him. B-something… Bradley? Brandon? Brody?

“Bodi!” The name burst from his lips as it finally came from him and he surprised himself with the accidental bark. He shook his head, turning to the man and smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, couldn’t for the life of me remember your name. Bodi Lovegood, right?” He held out a hand to shake. “Max. I was here the last time, just shorter.” He chuckled a bit awkwardly; he wanted to be friendly but his forced-hermit lifestyle made him painfully bad at smalltalk.

Luckily Alex saved him by re-entering the room. “Thank you for meeting here.” Alex took a deep breath. “You all remember the Wars.”

Too well. Max bowed his head as his uncle spoke, closing his eyes and focusing on the auras of their small group. Tired, everyone was tired. Those who’d survived the Flux were resigned to keep moving, and those who’d had their time of peace were depressed to have to fight for it again. The back-and-forth of trauma and recovery was exhausting.

He found several faces in the group. “Some of you, that was much more recently than for the rest of us. This is different. This will truly be a fight for survival.”

Emerald eyes glanced up at Alex and a faint crease of worry indented his forehead. He thought of Rowena, and the hospital; they weren’t ready, not yet.

[Emory Williams]

Emory had been somewhat excited to see old friends, but the reality of the meeting hit him hard as he sat down. It had been mere months in his mind since this had last happened. Shocked and upset as he'd been initially been when he'd discovered he'd been declared dead, he'd managed to find peace with it, had been looking forward to a quieter life, to teaching and to finding his roots once again. And then, he'd gotten the message. Suspicious attack. The Black Watch is being reformed.  He'd wondered if perhaps it was a little paranoid. One attack, however horrific, didn't mean have to mean War... but maybe that was just because he desperately didn't want to experience the death and pain and suffering he knew would follow if it was.  

“Thank you for meeting here.” Alex said, rousing Emory from his musings. “You all remember the Wars. Some of you, that was much more recently than for the rest of us.”

The Druid sighed, already tired of it; the darkness that invaded everything good and pure in the world and took people from their loved ones far too soon. Was it too much to ask for one generation to enjoy a proper life without the empty spaces at the dinner table, the constant vigilance and even after, the scars that would never let you forget? 

“This is different. This will truly be a fight for survival.”

Emory frowned, stirring slightly. "What do we know so far? Why are you so certain this is worse than Mosrael?" he asked. Worse... what could be worse? How much did they know already? He'd been so busy with the start of term that he hadn't been able to discover many details. If it was truly going to be War, there would be many long sleepless nights ahead. 

[Eden Fletcher]

For a second Eden had thought about sitting in the cupboards that ran along the edge of the upper room. She’d hidden in there with Max as a child. It felt safe in the cupboard. She still liked tight places. There was something comforting about small spaces. No room for monsters to attack when you could touch wall to wall in all directions. Eden had resisted the urge to crawl in the cupboards. She was an adult now. She had a right to be at the meeting. Hell she had the right to be at the original meetings. She had information they had needed then.

“Thank you for meeting here.” Alex took a deep breath. He’d discussed it with Bodi, and with several others, Max included. But to say it out loud, here in this gathering. It gave a certain fatalistic finality to the words. It made it real. “You all remember the Wars.” He found several faces in the group. “Some of you, that was much more recently than for the rest of us.”

Oops. Eden was late. She gently closed the door behind her as she slipped inside. She grinned sheepishly at Alex before heading over to Max.
“This is different. This will truly be a fight for survival.”

Emory frowned, stirring slightly. "What do we know so far? Why are you so certain this is worse than Mosrael?" he asked. Worse... what could be worse? How much did they know already? He'd been so busy with the start of term that he hadn't been able to discover many details. If it was truly going to be War, there would be many long sleepless nights ahead.


Eden flinched at the dramatic words. Alex wasn’t just saying them for effect. They rang true. This would be worse. So much worse. Since the missing retuned Eden had been haunted by images. A sense of impending doom dragged at her at every waking second. The sense of dread felt like spider webs she couldn’t remove.

[William Anderson]

Will was patiently yet impatiently waiting for this meeting to start. He knew that it wasn't going to be any good news. And so he was just wanting it to be done and over with so that he could figure out what he was supposed to be doing about it. He would be patient about it thought. He would wait for the others (whoever they may be) to show up first. 

Then the leader of this meeting he presume began to speak and Will paid attention. Hey this was the guy who had helped him out when he had unceremoniously dropped into the ministry 17 years after he had meant to show up. The man's name escaped him at the moment, but he could ask again later. There were more important things to think about right now. 

Will's heart sank like lead. He wasn't liking where this was going already. Yeah he remembered the wars all right. Then to be told that it would be different. That it would be another fight for survival. He swallowed heavily, a sense of dread overcoming him. He didn't want this obviously - but he would not hide this time. He would fight. Fight for the safety and peace that he should have fought for last time. He would not be in the shadows this time he told himself yet again. 

"So what's your proposition then? What do you think we should be looking out for?" 

[Max Kameren]

“This is different. This will truly be a fight for survival.”

Eden filed in quietly and Max’s hardened expression from Alex’s speech cracked into a thankful smile; it had been weeks since he’d had a proper chat with his best friend outside of roommate logistics and he dearly missed her. He hoped he could get a small conversation in before he met up with Rowena tonight; she looked tired, and her aura had a ring of anxiety in it like Max hadn’t seen in her before. The visions were still plaguing her, he supposed. He wished there was more he could do to help.

All eyes moved to the corner when another man spoke up. Max recognized him as Emory, the man they’d met growing flowers on his father’s grave. A dear friend of Curse’s lost in the Flux. "What do we know so far? Why are you so certain this is worse than Mosrael?"

“It’s worse.” Max corroborated Alex’s story tersely, crossing his arms. “We’ve seen it. Whatever this new threat is, it’s stronger. The magic is different: it’s older, making it harder to fight.” And what’s worse: there was no clear statement of what it wanted. How could they fight if they didn’t know the rules of engagement? Max’s eyes darted to Alex with a silent question: What was his plan here? They had the numbers banding together, but what would they do?

"So what's your proposition then? What do you think we should be looking out for?"

Max knew what he wanted: research. They needed to know their enemy first or they could never get the upper hand. Max and Rowena had seen first hand the power of this new threat, but the threat itself hadn’t been revealed. Anything the pull the mask off would move the chances of success back in their favor. But what did Alex want? Max arched an expectant brow at his uncle, waiting.