02x03 - A Tiffany

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Motherland:

TV reporter: It's a day Vice President Silver and his family will not soon forget.

Alder: This young woman is of the blood.

Clary: Goddess knows how many more are out there.

Alder: We need to get to them before the Camarilla does.

Abigail: We don't know how, but this force protects us when we're threatened.

Alder: So you'll continue testing Raelle.

Izadora: You will die!

Alder: I would like to offer you something very rare. An opportunity to resume your life as it was.

Tally: Do you see a person there?

Tally: It's her. She's real! [GASPS]

---

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

Sarah Alder: I thought we were in agreement. This order is ready for you to sign. We need to open test centers now.

President Kelly Wade: Asking every young woman of conscription age to report for testing is not gonna be popular.

Alder: We know that there are more witches out there. Like your daughter. That they need to be kept safe.

Vice President Blanton Silver: She's not gonna be safer in the army!

Petra Bellweather: Mr. Vice President, your daughter's proven to be a witch. It is the duty of every witch to report for military service. She's no exception.

Silver: This isn't right. And the President has assured me she won't be signing any such order.

Alder: Is this true?

Wade: If I sign this, there will be a public outcry.

Alder: They need to be identified and protected.

Wade: I'm not sure I can turn this nation upside down without hard eviden...

[BIDDIES MUTTER AND GROWL]

[INDISTINCT WHISPER]

Alder: We have the bodies to prove it, Madame President.

Wade: I'm not sure, Blanton. The more I think about it ,these young women have no idea what's coming. No idea what's coming after them.

Silver: Madame President, with all due respect--

Wade: New witches need be protected.

---

Opening Credits

---

[THUNDER]

Raelle Collar: Next time you learn some new weather, a heads-up before you unleash it would be great.

Abigail Bellweather: It was a reflex action. I learned it last week. In Weatherwork.

Tally Craven: I hate that we're on separate tracks now.

Abigail: It's supposed to make us better soldiers.

Raelle: Try wetter soldiers.

Tally: My Sight was a mess today, too. I just can't stop thinking about that redacted soldier from the photo.

Abigail: Maybe she messed up. Just because something's need to know doesn't mean it's a mystery.

Tally: How's witchbomb testing?

Raelle: Izadora wants me to try and sing Seeds to make it go off without me having to die, so

Abigail: Don't knock the process. You've got the opportunity to do something completely new. To make your own name for yourself. That's huge.

Raelle: I can't even speak one full sentence in Mothertongue, you know? And that's basic w*r College stuff. So whatever's happening with me, it's--

Abigail: If you say "advanced," I'm gonna throw a waterspout at you again. You got this.

Raelle: You did that on purpose?

[ABIGAIL CHUCKLES]

---

Raelle: [WHISPERS] Who's the old lady?

Imperatrix: The old lady is the Imperatrix.

Imperatrix: The Matriarch of the Imperative. Not only am I responsible for the growth and continuation of witch bloodlines, I can flatten you to pulp with any number of Workings before you knew what had hit you. You must be our Outcross. The Fixer with the rebellious streak.

Raelle: What's an "outcross"?

Abigail: Means your mom crossed lines with a civilian.

Imperatrix: Are you our Matrifocal daughter?

Tally: Yes, ma'am.

Imperatrix: Matriarch--

Tally: Matriarch. Yes, Matriarch. Sorry.

Imperatrix: Eager to please, and guileless. Very on-point for your upbringing. And our Bellweather. Our North star. The envy of w*r College.

Abigail: I highly doubt that.

Imperatrix: Modesty is beneath you. Avoid it. Completely. So, why am I here, blessing you with my presence?

Imperatrix: Because today, the Matrimonial Season begins.

[GIRLS WHISPER AND GASP]

Imperatrix: Tomorrow night, you will attend the Paragon Reception in Bellweather Hall. This is when you'll start narrowing down your choices of the men who will be a part of furthering your line. Dress uniforms, ladies, and no lipstick, please. So cloying.

[EXCITED WHISPERS]

---

[BELL CHIMING]

Imperatrix: Pardon the colloquialism, but you Bellweathers are at the end of the line, Petra. Abigail had better take this process seriously. Fewer witches are being born, and we're facing a new threat.

Petra: Abigail will come around. It's in her blood. And we have found one new bloodline. We may find more with the testing.

Imperatrix: More Outcrossed lines, which I suppose have their place. But they're no replacement for the power of purity.

Alder: Perhaps, the Imperative should reflect upon the fact that it lost track of these bloodlines, to begin with.

Imperatrix: Witches are as powerful as they are because of the Imperative. Your duty--

Alder:I know my duty. The Imperative serves an important purpose, Matriarch, but know your place.

Imperatrix: I will not stand here while you impugn my authority to appease your ego. I don't report to you. Now, leave my office.

---

Alder: The arrogance of that woman.

Petra: That's the danger of having no one but yourself to answer to.

Alder: How goes our hunt for the Camarilla?

Petra: I've got operatives in the field trying to figure out how they got to the rest of my line before we even knew they existed. Has The Hague gotten back to you on the Plague samples we sent?

Alder: Not yet, but everybody's being cooperative for once.

Petra: You're very good at getting people to see things your way. Good day, General.

---

Raelle: [VOCALIZING] [PANTS]

Raelle: Izadora, that's basically every Seed I know. Why won't it do anything?

Izadora: Her, not it. Show some respect.

Raelle: To the mushroom?

Izadora: She has certain fungal properties, yes. The truth is, I've been studying Her for many years, and I still know so little. She's ancient. She responds to stimuli, especially to threats. You do not want to be the target of Her enmity.

Raelle: Or the bearer of it?

Izadora: You're more than just a conduit for Her. She chose to form a symbiosis with you. [INHALES] It's late. I'll see you here tomorrow evening.

Raelle: This thing you gave me, I don't want. Can't even use.

Raelle: [SCOFFS] Abigail would love it.

Raelle: But you gave it to me. Why? [SIGHS] Why is it that I have to die for you to do anything?

[MYCELIUM SIZZLES]

Raelle: Izadora?

---

Scylla: [vocalizing]

Scylla: It's a Death-Cap.

---

Raelle: Is that what you want? That Seed?

Raelle: [SIGHS] [VOCALIZING]

Raelle: [GASPING FOR AIR]

Mycelium: [HIGH PITCHED NOISE]

Raelle: [GASPING AND GROANING]

---

[RATTLING SOUND]

Raelle: [GASPING FOR AIR]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE GETTING LOUDER]

[NOISE STOPS]

Raelle: [GASPING]

Izadora: Are you all right?

Raelle: Yeah. [PANTING]

Raelle: I think I got Her attention.

---

Imperatrix: The integrity of your line is one of my greatest triumphs. All of the traits that mark a Bellweather are present in you.

Abigail: I'm more than just traits. I've worked hard.

Imperatrix: Skills help us win the battle, but breeding lets us win the w*r, dear. We're stronger, over time, for it.

Abigail: And you want me to handfast with Gregorio Shellbark? Pass.

Imperatrix: You are so like your mother. She also had her flighty side.

Abigail: Petra Bellweather? Flighty?

Imperatrix: At the end of the day, I at least got her to narrow the field to the three men that we chose to father you.

Abigail: Then extend me the same courtesy.

Imperatrix: The Earthquake boy.

Abigail: How do you--

Imperatrix: I have eyes and ears everywhere. A Bellweather being handfasted to someone who's not even in the military. How did you think that would go?

Imperatrix: Your timetable will be accelerated.

Abigail: And what does that mean, exactly?

Imperatrix: Your handfasting will take place at the end of this year.

---

Tally: Did it taste weird?

Raelle: Yes, Tally, it tasted weird. Now so does everything else.

Abigail: But you got cleared for duty.

Raelle: Clean bill of health. They're running the sound I made against the seeds in the library to see if anyone's made it on record before.

Abigail: So you're a top-secret military experiment. Oh, and she's reliving Alder's greatest battles. And me, though, I don't even get to choose who the father of my children is going to be.

Raelle: Well, does it help anything that neither of us can do what we've been doing on purpose?

Abigail: A little. Yeah.

[BELL CHIMES]

Tally: Oh, sh**t. See you later.

---

Penelope Silver: [HOLDING A NOTE], [STRUGGLING OUT OF BREATH]

Penelope: [SIGHS] I'm never going to be able to do this. General Alder needs to pick a different poster child for the Test Center opening.

Tally: You're so close. You had the note, but you're not singing with your throat.

Penelope: That's the opposite of what we're taught in choir. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like.

Tally: Yes, you do. You've done it before. Okay, sing what you sang in church. Find the Seed in the song. I saw the video. You were terrific.

Penelope: Yeah, until I melted the priceless stained-glass windows with Satan's high C.

Tally: [CHUCKLES]

Penelope: I saw my dad's face change. He went from encouraging me to looking at me like he didn't know me.

Tally: My mom and I have always been close. I had a dispensation from the army, but I answered the call anyway. She was furious.

Penelope: Why did you join?

Tally: To serve. To be a part of something bigger than myself. You can't do this if you hate who you are. You did it before. Memories are powerful.

Penelope: [SIGHS]

Tally: Remember how it felt then, how the music carried you.

Penelope: [SINGS] [HOLDS THE NOTE] [HER VOICE BECOMES DISTANT]

Penelope: Holy sh*t.

---

Bonnie: I feel so bad for the Vice President. And for it to happen at church.

Shane: His daughter's in the army now, learning how to k*ll.

Bonnie: [SCOFFING] I guess, it's a good thing the army doesn't k*ll normal people.

Shane: Those Spree do, though.

Scylla Ramshorn: Isn't the army fighting the Spree? Sure, in Bangladesh or whatever. But what about keeping us safe at home? The Spree is going after our American institutions. Our malls. Ball fields. Restaurants. We gotta go out.

Anacostia Quartermaine: Can't just hide in our basements until the witches stop fighting. We don't even know who they are and aren't anymore.

Shane: Yeah, Amelia, you get it.

Bonnie: I had to tell Brianna that she can't play with her friend Tiffany anymore. They found out she's a witch.

Anacostia: How?

Bonnie: Our friend said they had some kind of test.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Bonnie: Excuse me. Speak of the devil. Jack, hi! We were just talking about you.

Jack Orsatti: Sorry to interrupt.

Shane: No bother at all.

Anacostia: Um, Bonnie. Didn't I see that guy at the bar the other night?

Bonny: Ah, yeah, that's Jack Orsatti. We met him at our first vigil. He helps organize. He's been a real Godsend to us. Giving Shane an outlet for his frustrations.

Scylla: Well, at least Shane doesn't have to worry about your girl being a witch, right?

Bonnie: I don't know what we'd do if we wound up with a Tiffany.

Bonnie: Should we? Can I top you?

---

Anacostia: Bonnie said Orsatti pays them to attend the vigils, too. Stir things up. So if anybody's a link to a Camarilla higher-up, it's this guy.

Scylla: It's amazing what you can learn when you're laying it on so thick, Amelia.

Anacostia: Meaning?

Scylla: Revealing that you clocked Orsatti at the bar was too much. Amelia is awfully attentive, isn't she? All I'm saying is just, sometimes, subtle is better.

Anacostia: If you have an issue with my method...

Scylla: I'm used to working alone. That's my issue.

Anacostia: Not anymore.

Scylla: [SIGHING] Right.

Scylla: Orsatti's leaving.

Anacostia: You want me to run him off the road, Justine?

Scylla: Just drive.

[ENGINE STARTS]

---

Imperatrix: I'm not quite sure what to do with you two. Tally, as a Merry-Begot, our traditions are new to you.

Tally: I'm a quick study.

Imperatrix: Admirable.

Imperatrix: As for you, you are something of a delightful mystery. From a Fixer-heavy line, but now augmented. Perhaps, there's opportunity for an Outcross to bloom after all.

Raelle: I'm not interested in handfasting or men.

Imperatrix: But you are still required to fulfill your obligations. Your mother did not handfast properly. I suggest you not follow in her footsteps.

Tally: Rae...

Raelle: My mother was a damn w*r hero. And I will make my own arrangements. Just like she did.

Tally: Rae...

Imperatrix (in Mothertongue): Míkháà ként’í. [Insolent child.]

Raelle (in Mothertongue): Ludalíìzén rúvú ázà a’ér míkháà ként’í, buwilyè mé ch’úpò zhè síník’ò. [An insolent child who has more power than you could ever imagine, you mothballed old sea hag.]

Imperatrix: [INHALES]

Tally: [WHISPERS] Where did that come from?

Raelle: [WHISPERS] I have no idea.

---

Captain Wadi: Workings allow for combat at a distance. But we're not just fighting witches anymore. You need to learn how to defeat your adversaries without Work. That means close-up combat and practical defense. Take her down, Shellbark. Bellweather, fight back.

[SHELLBARK GRUNTING]

Gregorio: Are you mad at me?

Abigail: I'm mad because of you.

Tally: Come at me, Camarilla.

M: Nothing personal.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

M: Switch.

Tally: M, what the hell?

[PANTING]

M: Did I get you by accident?

Tally: It isn't my blood.

M: The blade's clean, Tally.

---

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Raelle: You asked to see me?

[VOCAL NOISES]

Izadora: The sound you made is composed of thousands of layered voices, one on top of the other.

Alder: I've never heard anything so complex before. Or beautiful.

Raelle: Well, how can I make so many voices if I only have the one?

Izadora: The vocal and ventricular folds have changed. The epiglottis and epiglottal fold...They're mycelial threads. The Mycelium has colonized her larynx.

Raelle: [STUTTERING] Hol, hold on. It-it did what?

Alder: Your update mentioned that you are now able to effortlessly speak Mothertongue, yes?

Raelle (in Mothertongue): Uryurì shú idapán. [It just happens now.]

Alder: I'd like you to try singing to Her one more time.

Raelle: Last time I did, she jumped down my throat.

Alder: Please, Raelle. We need every soldier, every weapon for what's coming. You know what they're capable of.

Raelle: [EXHALES]

Raelle: [EXHALES] [SINGING ONE NOTE] [MORE VOICES JOIN IN] [SINGING A HIGHER NOTE]

Raelle: She's big.

Izadora: In the Tarim, her gift transmuted organic matter. And now, with control, it broke down inorganic matter.

Alder: Do you think you can do it again?

---

Tally: Can't believe you're gonna miss the reception tonight.

Raelle: Yeah, that's the only good thing about my weapons test. I don't even really know what I'm doing yet.

Tally: You'll be fine. Where's the test?

Raelle: No idea. Like they'd tell me that.

Tally: [SIGHS]

Abigail: At least you have something that sets you apart other than your womb.

Tally: Maybe I'll skip, too.

Abigail: Oh, we can't. Remember? Cadets need to get busy finding men and making babies.

Raelle: You don't sound particularly rah, rah, rah about it.

Abigail: Maybe I've decided I want more for myself.

Raelle: Mmm. Do tell.

Abigail: Do you ever feel like you're living somebody else's life instead of your own?

Tally: Yeah. That's going around.

Raelle: [SCOFFS] Okay. Maybe, you two just need to enjoy yourselves with some pretty boys, and stop worrying about everything else for the night. Have a few drinks on me.

Abigail: Why stop at a few?

---

Scylla: [EXHALES] This is the fourth school Orsatti's been to today.

Anacostia: It's time we find out why.

Scylla: Wait. He's seen you.

Anacostia: He's seen you, too.

Scylla: I can manage. Besides, you were a base brat. And I know my way around these places.

Anacostia: Just be careful.

Scylla: You don't trust me?

Anacostia: I don't trust the situation.

Scylla: We're in this together.

---

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE GETTING LOUDER]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE]

Orsatti: I take it that one was negative?

School nurse: We might get more positives as we move into the older groups next month. Since kids' ears develop as they get older.

Orsatti: Let me know if you get any more hits.

---

Adil: I heard you nearly sent Gregorio to the fixers.

Abigail: He had it coming.

Adil: Hey, you wanna talk about it?

Abigail: Not really, no.

Adil: I'll just admire the art, then, too. [SIGHS] Jem seems quite formidable.

Abigail: Yeah, so formidable that we've been standing in her shadow ever since. She stopped a battle cold with a Working that no one had ever seen before, and no witch has been able to successfully repeat. Though, to be fair, it's been under lock and key since before my grandma's time. Goddess forbid anyone try to outdo Jem.

Adil: Well, there's nothing wrong with revering one's elders, especially if they've passed.

Abigail: Being defined by them is something else entirely.

Adil: Well, that's kind of the basis of tradition. No one's in it.

Abigail: Don't you think tradition's gotten you in enough trouble already? Your tribe just laid down and died instead of fighting the Camarilla.

Adil: My tribe...was ambushed and m*rder*d, Abigail. And you of all people know how the Camarilla operate.

Abigail: I do.

Abigail: I do, and the way to fight them isn't through observing tradition, by playing nice and making babies that'll grow up into soldiers, or by waiting for the enemy to come close enough for hand-to-hand.

Abigail: If Jem made a Working that could stop a battle, then maybe it's time for another Bellweather to build a Working. One that can end the w*r.

---

Alder: I haven't seen a combat charm like that in a while. Was it your mother's?

Raelle: Yes, ma'am. She left it for me when she deployed for the last time. It's a silly superstition, anyway, but I guess, I'm just nervous.

Alder: Nerves can be good. They keep you on edge. But you're not heading into battle tonight, Cadet.

Raelle: With all due respect, I'm not sure what I'm heading into.

Alder: With a bit of luck, the history books.

---

Tally: Where have you been? And why aren't you in your Blues?

Abigail: I'm not going. I just stopped by to wish you good luck.

Tally: Abigail, you promised you'd come along so I wouldn't have to do it alone?

Abigail: You're gonna do great. Something important's come up.

Tally: Can I come help?

Abigail: No. I have to do this myself. Tell everyone I said, "hi". Also, don't tell anyone what I'm doing.

Tally: Well, you haven't told me, so it shouldn't be that hard.

Tally: [SIGHS]

---

[WOMAN SHOUTING IN THE DISTANCE]

[RAIN PATTERS]

Raelle: Where are we?

Alder: On a part of Base where we don't have to worry about prying eyes. Raelle. We can't have you holding anything back.

Raelle: Has anyone ever been able to do what I can?

[STORM RUMBLES]

Alder: New Work is exceedingly rare. But what you can do. [WHISPERS] I've never seen anything like it.

Raelle: Good. No pressure, then.

Petra: General, we're ready for you.

---

Anacostia: He must be making a drop. I wonder how many schools the Camarilla are running that test in?

Scylla: I wouldn't be surprised if it's nation-wide. It seems like it's been going on for a while.

Anacostia: Which explains how they found the lost Bellweathers.

Scylla: How do they know that tone does what it does?

Anacostia: The Camarilla's been hunting witches for centuries. If they figured out how to steal our voices, it's not that much of a larger leap that they know how our ears work, too.

Scylla: You will sit here and chat all night or should I go see what he's doing?

Anacostia: Just wait, it...

---

[HIGH-PITCHED SOUND]

Scylla: [GRUNTS]

[HIGH-PITCHED SOUND GETTING LOUDER]

Orsatti: Who are you?

Anacostia: Wanna know who we are, Camarilla?

[MAN GROANS]

Anacostia (in Mothertongue): Pé jìshówór. [We are the enemy.]

Anacostia: Ha!

Scylla: Thanks.

Anacostia: We're in this together, right?

---

Gregorio: [SIGHS] The paragon reception, in all its glory.

Tally: Mm.

Gregorio: You ready?

Tally: Well, it's just you, me, and the Imperatrix, planning our futures. No pressure.

Gregorio: Don't worry. I got your back. [SIGHS] Let's go find someone worthy of the Craven name.

---

Alder: General Sharma, thank you for joining us.

General Sharma: General Alder. I have a meeting in Brussels tomorrow with General Amis, as I'm sure you're aware.

Alder: Perhaps you'll have something additional to discuss with her after this demonstration. Mr. Vice President, this is a pleasant surprise. I was expecting President Wade. No offense.

Silver: She wanted to be here, but she's come down with some sort of a nasty bug.

Alder: Then I hope you'll have good news to bring back, as well.

Petra: You ready, Cadet?

Raelle: Ready as I can be, right?

Alder: [QUIETLY] Here we go.

Raelle: [SINGING LOW NOTE] [MORE VOICES JOIN IN] [VOICES GETTING LOUDER AND HIGHER]

---

Rafe Burgess: My great-grandfather's third cousin was Lieutenant Perdida Tinning.

Tally: Sorry, who?

Burgess: She was the first witch to employ the Balkan Composition in the Battle of the Urals? We read about her in fourth grade. She was mentioned in the textbook.

Tally: Um, we read different books in NorCal--

Nicte: They're k*lling themselves. You stole my Work.

Alder: Sergeant Batan!

Alder: It had to be done. You know that.

Nicte: They'd already surrendered. Your heart is black, Sarah.

Alder: Nicte!

Tally: [GASPING]

---

Raelle: What happened?

Tally: Alder's memories. This one, this one was so much worse than the others.

Raelle: What was it about?

Tally: Death. A lot of death. And Alder and that redacted soldier. Her name is Nicte. They were both in the middle of all of it.

Tally: Tell me about your night. Please.

Raelle: [SCOFFS] I...I blew up a shitload of stuff in front of the Vice President and brass from The Hague.

Tally: Wow.

Raelle: Sorry. Sorry.

Raelle: Um, hey, did did Bells not come home last night? She had that much fun at the reception, huh?

Tally: [CHUCKLES] She didn't come.

[STORM RUMBLING OUTSIDE]

---

[SKY RUMBLES]

Adil: Abigail.

---

Abigail: [MAKING LOW SOUND] [GROWLING] [SCREECHING]

Adil: Abigail! What did you do?

Abigail: [COUGHING] [GASPING FOR AIR]

---

Mothertongue transcriptions and translations provided by the conlang creator:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32598 ... /141048337