Liesel von Karnstein was walking through the forest on the von Karnstein grounds as the Sun began to set. She was utterly naked aside from her Amulet of Daywalking, which she would need for protection until the harsh Sun finished setting. She savored the feel of the soft grass on her bare feet, feeling connected to all of nature. She knew that Selena and Tatiana were busy converting Brianna into a werehyena in some other part of this forest; she figured she'd probably drop by to see how it went. But first she should probably catch a cougar or something for dinner.
Suddenly, she heard some soft chanting in the distance. Curious, the pale, platinum-haired vampiress raced through the shadowy trees with superhuman speed. As Liesel grew closer to the source of the voice, her enhanced ears made out the words of a prayer:
"Hail, and welcome!
Green life returns to the earth
blooming and blossoming
once more from the soil.
We welcome you,
goddesses of spring,
Eostre, Persephone, Flora, Cybele,
in the trees,
in the soil,
in the flowers,
in the rains,
and we are grateful
for your presence."
Liesel poked around a tree and saw the source of the prayers. In the clearing stood three naked teenage girls holding hands and standing around a pentagram etched into the dirt. One girl painted with pagan symbols of all sorts, obviously their leader, led them in a prayer to the ancient gods:
"The death sleep of winter has slowly faded,
the rigor of the ground loosens,
and the earth is once more reborn.
Like Mithras and Osiris,
reborn from death,
life returns again to the land,
springing up as the snow melts away.
As the soil warms and the days grow longer,
dew forms along new sprouts of grass,
bringing life back.
Awaken! Awaken! Awaken!
And rise!
Let the earth come to life again,
and welcome the light of spring!"
Liesel lingered behind the tree, enjoying the show. The painted girl was pale (though downright sun-kissed by vampire standards), and she had freckles, green eyes, and reddish-brown hair that grew down to her waist. Another girl was tall and tan, and she had chin-length dark blonde hair and blue eyes. The remaining girl was the shortest and had lovely caramel skin and thick, curly dark brown (almost black) hair that spilled around her golden brown shoulders. Her eyes were dark as mocha.
The tall, blonde girl let go of her friends' hands and picked up a basket of dyed eggs, holding it at her belly. The bodypainted redhead stepped into the center of the circle and tapped the eggs with a bundle of lilies. "These eggs," the redhead solemnly intoned, "a symbol of fertility and new life, represent all of our intentions for this turning of the wheel. Since Imbolc, when we blessed the earth, and named the seeds we planted by declaring our dedications, we’ve sought out knowledge and understanding with the outward powers of air. Both our individual Great Work and our coven’s great work of rising in personal sovereignty, of aligning our personal will with highest Divine will, have developed. Like these eggs, they’ve come into a clearer color and vibrancy." She traced a pentagram symbol over the eggs with her curious lily-bundle wand. "I open the way; Awaken now to your full potential and nurturance within the Goddess."
"Grow with the Power of The Goddess!" all three girls chanted. "Grow with the Power of The Goddess!"
Unable to contain her curiosity one second longer, Liesel stepped into the clearing. She raised a pearly hand in friendship.
The redheaded leader's head snapped in Liesel's direction. "Oh! Blessed be, stranger!"
Liesel smiled. "Blessed be. I'm always happy to meet other spiritual people."
The redhead's bare, painted breasts heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're like us! I thought you might be one of the von Karnsteins here to chase us off their property. You have their skin."
"Von Karnsteins?!" gasped the caramel-skinned girl. "Property?! Are you saying that this forest belongs to that creepy rich family? Their daughter Tatiana's in my Chemistry class. Ugh, her icy blue eyes give me the creeps!"
The redhead tugged at her hair nervously. "Ehh, yes, I think it actually might. I wasn't SURE, though, and I didn't want to freak you out for nothing. Look, we'll discuss this later. Right now we have a guest."
Liesel tried not to laugh. It was only natural for humans to feel instinctive fear of her family; not all vampires were so good-natured. She decided to level with the girls. "Actually, I am a von Karnstein. Don't worry, I'm a chill von Karnstein." She suppressed another laugh upon realizing her accidental pun. "Actually, we're all pretty chill. I think it's the pale, ashy skin that weirds people out. It's great to meet you all; your vibrations all feel really suuuper compatible with mine! What're all your names?"
"I'm High Priestess Silvermoon," said the redhead, "the leader of the Midnight Coven. And these are Sister Nightswan..." She gestured at the tall, tan blonde. "...and Sister Starwolf." She gestured at the caramel-skinned girl with the thick, dark hair. "We are honored to meet you, Lady...?"
"Liesel von Karnstein," the vampire girl responded. "My vibrations are all a-buzz over meeting you guys." She thought about the introductions. The names Silvermoon had given were obviously craft names for ceremonial purposes. Liesel considered asking them for their real names, but instead decided that this was an ideal time to test out a rare vampire power she'd been developing: Soulreading.
Liesel's mind reached out, slowly but surely slipping edgewise into the Midnight Coven's hearts. After some initial strain, Liesel found what she was looking for. The redhead was Alyssa Bennett, the tall blonde was Taylor Wagner, and the caramel-skinned brunette was Daniela Romero-Marquez, Dani for short. She also discovered that Alyssa was bisexual and Taylor and Dani were two lesbians in a relationship. The vampiress could almost directly feel all three girls' exposed nipples hardening as their eyes wandered over her own unclothed form. While she was at it, Liesel checked to see if the girls had any actual magical talent. As it turned out, all of them descended from dormant witch bloodlines, but the magic wasn't fully awakened yet.
"You okay?" asked Alyssa.
"Yeah, you kinda... spaced out." Taylor added.
Liesel weighed her options. It'd be a damn shame to let magical blood go to waste, but how best to bring these girls back into their birthright? The obvious plan was to ask Morgana to take them on as apprentices. That was risky, however. If a witch was presented with apprentices she didn't need, she would often transform them into familiars; a witch could never have enough of those. Of course, Liesel WAS detecting a hidden desire in Dani to be a cat. But what about the others?
Well, if the witch plan was out, there was always the option to turn them into vampires. A vampire clan traditionally kept a a cabal of seers to read the omens of Mother Night and Lady Moon. Unfortunately, the von Karnsteins had long been without a seer cabal ever since all their seers were staked by the monster-hunting Vordenburg family in 1896. Liesel had been their first seer in over a century, but the clan needed more. What's more, Liesel's Soulreading was revealing that Alyssa had gone through a massive Lestat phase in middle school that she wasn't ENTIRELY over.
Just when inducting the coven into Clan von Karnstein seemed like the natural plan, another notion occurred to Liesel. At this very moment, Tatiana was busy helping Selena establish hir pack, and it needed all the newly converted werehyenas it could get. Furthermore, the pack would need at least one shaman. These dedicated pagans seemed perfect... especially since the Soulreading was betraying an intense love for werewolf movies in Tayor... and an envy of the werebeasts' primal energy.
"Cat got your tongue, Liesel?" asked Dani.
"Not at all, Dani," said Liesel. "And, yes, I know your name is Dani, and that your girlfriend is Taylor Wagner and your High Priestess is Alyssa Bennett." Liesel tried not to giggle at the Midnight Coven's shocked expressions. "You'll see how I knew in just a second." Liesel's pale body was almost vibrating with excited energy. "Let me show you a world you never knew..."