02x03 - A Tiffany

[bunniefuu]

[WOMAN] Previously on Motherland

[MAN] It's a day Vice President

Silver and his family

will not soon forget.

This young woman is of the blood.

Goddess knows how many

more are out there.

We need to get to them

before the Camarilla does.

They don't know how,

but this force protects us

when we're threatened.

So you'll continue testing Raelle.

You will die!

I would like to offer you

something very rare.

An opportunity to resume

your life as it was.

[PANTING]

[GROANS]

[MAN GRUNTS]

Do you see a person there?



It's her.

She's real! [GASPS]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[ALDER] I thought we were in agreement.

This order is ready for you to sign.

We need to open test centers now.

[WADE] Asking every young

woman of conscription age

to report for testing is

not gonna be popular.

We know that there are

more witches out there

like your daughter.

That they need to be kept safe.

She's not gonna be safer in the army!

Mr. Vice President, your daughter's

proven to be a witch.

It is the duty of every witch

to report for m*llitary service.

She's no exception.

This isn't right.

And the President has assured me

she won't be signing any such order.

Is this true?



If I sign this, there

will be a public outcry.

They need to be

identified and protected.

I'm not sure I can turn

this nation upside down

without hard evidence

[BIDDIES MUTTER AND GROWL]

[INDISTINCT WHISPER]

We have the bodies to

prove it, Madame President.

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.

Madame President,

with all due respect

New witches need be protected.

[GROWLING NOISES]

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

Next time you learn some new weather,

a heads-up before you

unleash it would be great.

It was a reflex action.

I learned it last week.

In Weatherwork.

I hate that we're on

separate tracks now.

It's supposed to make

us better soldiers.

Try wetter soldiers.

My Sight was a mess today, too.

I just can't stop thinking

about that redacted soldier

from the photo.

Maybe she messed up.

Just because something's need to know

doesn't mean it's a mystery.

How's witchbomb testing?



Izadora wants me to try and sing Seeds

to make it go off without

me having to die, so

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.

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

If you say "advanced,"

I'm gonna throw a

waterspout at you again.

You got this.

You did that on purpose?



[ABIGAIL CHUCKLES]

[WHISPERS] Who's the old lady?



The old lady is the 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.

What's an "outcross"?



Means your mom crossed

lines with a civilian.

Are you our Matrifocal daughter?



Yes, ma'am.

- Matriarch

- Matriarch.

Yes, Matriarch. Sorry.

Eager to please, and guileless.

Very on-point for your upbringing.

And our Bellweather.

Our North star.

The envy of w*r College.

I highly doubt that.

Modesty is beneath you.

Avoid it. Completely.

So, why am I here, blessing

you with my presence?



Because today,

the Matrimonial Season begins.

[GIRLS WHISPER AND GASP]

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]

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 thr*at.

Abigail will come around.

It's in her blood.

And we have found one new bloodline.

We may find more with the testing

More Outcrossed lines,

which I suppose have their place.

But they're no replacement

for the power of purity.

Perhaps, the Imperative

should reflect upon the fact

that it lost track of these

bloodlines, to begin with.

Witches are as powerful as they

are because of the Imperative.

- Your duty

- I know my duty.

The Imperative serves an

important purpose, Matriarch,

but know your place.

I will not stand here while

you impugn my authority

to appease your ego.

I don't report to you.

Now, leave my office.

The arrogance of that woman

That's the danger of having no

one but yourself to answer to.

How goes our hunt for the Camarilla?



I've got operatives in the field

tryna 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?



Not yet, but everybody's

being cooperative for once.

You're very good at getting

people to see things your way.

Good day, General.

[SINGING A SEED]

[PANTS]

Izadora, that's basically

every Seed I know.

Why won't it do anything?



Her, not it.

Show some respect.

To the mushroom?



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.

Or the bearer of it?



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.

This thing you gave me,

I don't want.

Can't even use.

[SCOFFS]

Abigail would love it.

But you gave it to me.

Why?



[SIGHS]

Why is it that I have to die

for you to do anything?



[MYCELIUM SIZZLES]

Izadora?



[SINGING A SEED]

It's a Death-Cap.

Is that what you want?



That Seed?



[SIGHS]

[SINGING THE SEED]

[GASPING FOR AIR]

- [HIGH PITCHED NOISE]

- [GASPING AND GROANING]

[RATTLING SOUND]

[GASPING FOR AIR]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE GETTING LOUDER]

[NOISE STOPS]

[GASPING]

Are you all right?



Yeah.

[PANTING]

I think I got Her attention.

The integrity of your line

is one of my greatest triumphs.

All of the traits that mark a

Bellweather are present in you.

I'm more than just traits.

I've worked hard.

Skills help us win the battle,

but breeding lets us win the w*r, dear.

We're stronger, over time, for it.

And you want me to handfast with

Gregorio Shellbark?



Pass.

You are so like your mother.

She also had her flighty side.

Petra Bellweather?

Flighty?



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.

Then extend me the same courtesy.

The Earthquake boy.

- How do you

- I have eyes and ears everywhere.

A Bellweather being

handfasted to someone

who's not even in the m*llitary.

How did you think that would go?



Your timetable will be accelerated.

And what does that mean, exactly?



Your handfasting will take

place at the end of this year.

Did it taste weird?



Yes, Tally, it tasted weird.

Now so does everything else.

But you got cleared for duty.

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.

So you're a top-secret

m*llitary experiment.

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.

Well, does it help anything

that neither of us can do

what we've been doing on purpose?



A little.

Yeah.

- [BELL CHIMES]

- Oh, sh**t. See you later.

[HOLDING A NOTE]

[STRUGGLING OUT OF BREATH]

[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.

You're so close. You had the note,

but you're not singing with your throat.

That's the opposite of

what we're taught in choir.

I don't know what it's

supposed to feel like.

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.

Yeah, until I melted the priceless

stained-glass windows

with Satan's high C.

I saw my dad's face change.

He went from encouraging me

to looking at me like he didn't know me.

My mom and I have always been close.

I had a dispensation from the army,

but I answered the call anyway.

She was furious.

Why did you join?



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.

[SIGHS]

Remember how it felt then,

how the music carried you.

[SINGS]

[HOLDS THE NOTE]

[HER VOICE BECOMES DISTANT]

Holy sh*t.

I feel so bad for the Vice President.

And for it to happen at church.

His daughter's in the army now,

- learning how to k*ll.

- [SCOFFING] I guess, it's a good thing

the army doesn't k*ll normal people.

Those Spree do, though.

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.

Can't just hide in our basements

until the witches stop fighting.

We don't even know who they

are and aren't anymore.

Yeah, Amelia, you get it.

I had to tell Brianna

that she can't play

with her friend Tiffany anymore.

They found out she's a witch.

How?



Our friend said they

had some kind of test.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Excuse me.

Speak of the devil.

Jack, hi!

We were just talking about you.

- Sorry to interrupt.

- [SHANE] No bother at all.

Um, Bonny

Didn't I see that guy at

the bar the other night?



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.

Well, at least Shane

doesn't have to worry

about your girl being a witch, right?



[SCOFFS]

I don't know what we'd do if

we wound up with a Tiffany.

Should we?



Can I top you?



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.

It's amazing what you can learn

when you're laying it

on so thick, Amelia.

Meaning?



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.

If you have an issue

- with my method

- I'm used to working alone.

- That's my issue.

- Not anymore.

[SIGHING] Right.

Orsatti's leaving.

You want me to run him

off the road, Justine?



Just drive.

[ENGINE STARTS]

I'm not quite sure what

to do with you two.

Tally, as a Merry-Begot, our

traditions are new to you.

I'm a quick study.

Admirable.

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.

I'm not interested in handfasting

or men.

But you are still required

to fulfill your obligations.

Your mother did not handfast properly.

I suggest you not follow

in her footsteps.

- Rae

- My mother was a damn w*r hero.

And I will make my own arrangements.

- Just like she did.

- Rae

[SPEAKING IN MOTHERTONGUE]

[SPEAKING IN MOTHERTONGUE]

[INHALES]

Where did that come from?



[WHISPERS] I have no idea.

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]

Are you mad at me?



I'm mad because of you.

Come at me, Camarilla.

Nothing personal.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

Switch.

M, what the hell?



[PANTING]

Did I get you by accident?



It isn't my blood.

The blade's clean, Tally.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

You asked to see me?



[LOUD VOICES]

[VOICES SUDDENLY STOP]

The sound you made is composed

of thousands of layered voices,

one on top of the other.

I've never heard anything

so complex before.

Or beautiful.

Well, how can I make so many

voices if I only have the one?



The vocal and ventricular

folds have changed.

The epiglottis and epiglottal fold

They're mycelial threads.

The Mycelium has colonized her larynx.

[STUTTERING] Hol

Hold on. It-it did what?



Your update mentioned

that you are now able

to effortlessly speak Mothertongue, yes?



[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

I'd like you to try singing

to Her one more time.

Last time I did, she jumped

down my throat.

Please, Raelle.

We need every soldier,

every w*apon for what's coming.

You know what they're capable of.

[EXHALES]

[EXHALES]

[SINGING ONE NOTE]

[MORE VOICES JOIN IN]

[SINGING A HIGHER NOTE]

She's big.

In the Tarim, her gift

transmuted organic matter.

And now, with control,

it broke down inorganic matter.

Do you think you can do it again?



Can't believe you're gonna

miss the reception tonight.

Yeah, that's the only good

thing about my weapons test.

I don't even really

know what I'm doing yet.

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



No idea. Like they'd tell me that.

- [SIGHS]

- At least you have something

that sets you apart

other than your womb.

- Maybe I'll skip, too.

- Oh, we can't. Remember?



Cadets need to get busy

finding men and making babies.

You don't sound particularly

rah, rah, rah about it.

Maybe I've decided I

want more for myself.

Mmm. Do tell.

Do you ever feel like you're

living somebody else's life

instead of your own?



Yeah. That's going around.

[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.

Why stop at a few?



[EXHALES]

This is the fourth school

Orsatti's been to today.

It's time we find out why.

Wait. He's seen you.

He's seen you, too.

I can manage.

Besides, you were a base brat.

And I know my way around these places.

Just be careful.

You don't trust me?



I don't trust the situation.

We're in this together.

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE GETTING LOUDER]

[HIGH-PITCHED NOISE]

[ORSATTI] I take it

that one was negative?



We might get more positives

as we move into the

older groups next month.

Since kids' ears develop

as they get older.

Let me know if you get any more hits.

I heard you nearly sent

Gregorio to the fixers.

He had it coming.

Hey, you wanna talk about it?



Not really, no.

I'll just admire the art, then, too.

[SIGHS] Jem seems quite formidable.

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.

Well, there's nothing wrong

with revering one's elders,

especially if they've passed.

Being defined by them is

something else entirely.

Well, that's kind of the basis

of tradition. No one's in it.

Don't you think tradition's gotten

you in enough trouble already?



Your tribe just laid down and d*ed

instead of fighting the Camarilla.

My tribe

was ambushed and m*rder*d, Abigail.

And you of all people know

how the Camarilla operate.

I do.

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.

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.

I haven't seen a combat

charm like that in a while.

Was it your mother's?



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.

Nerves can be good.

They keep you on edge.

But you're not heading

into battle tonight, Cadet.

With all due respect,

I'm not sure what I'm heading into.

With a bit of luck, the history books.

[TALLY] Where have you been?



And why aren't you in your Blues?



I'm not going.

I just stopped by to wish you good luck.

Abigail, you promised you'd come along

so I wouldn't have to do it alone?



You're gonna do great.

Something important's come up.

- Can I come help?



- No.

I have to do this myself.

Tell everyone I said, "hi".

Also, don't tell anyone what I'm doing.

Well, you haven't told me,

so it shouldn't be that hard.

[SIGHS]

[WOMAN SHOUTING IN THE DISTANCE]

[RAIN PATTERS]

Where are we?



On a part of Base where

we don't have to worry

about prying eyes.

Raelle

We can't have you holding anything back.

Has anyone ever been

able to do what I can?



[STORM RUMBLES]

New Work is exceedingly rare.

But what you can do

[WHISPERS] I've never

seen anything like it.

Good. No pressure, then.

General, we're ready for you.

He must be making a drop.

I wonder how many schools the

Camarilla are running that test in?



I wouldn't be surprised

if it's nation-wide.

It seems like it's been

going on for a while.

Which explains how they

found the lost Bellweathers.

How do they know that

tone does what it does?



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.

You will sit here and chat all night

or should I go see what he's doing?



Just wait, it

[HIGH-PITCHED SOUND]

[GRUNTS]

[HIGH-PITCHED SOUND GETTING LOUDER]

Who are you?



Wanna know who we are, Camarilla?



[MAN GROANS]

[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

[ANACOSTIA GRUNTS]

Thanks.

We're in this together, right?



[SIGHS]

The paragon reception, in all its glory.

- Mm.

- You ready?



Well, it's just you, me,

and the Imperatrix,

planning our futures.

No pressure.

Don't worry. I got your back.

[SIGHS]

Let's go find someone

worthy of the Craven name.

General Sharma,

thank you for joining us.

General Alder.

I have a meeting in Brussels

tomorrow with General Amis,

as I'm sure you're aware.

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.

- She wanted to be here,

but she's come down with

some sort of a nasty bug.

Then I hope you'll have good

news to bring back, as well.

You ready, Cadet?



Ready as I can be, right?



[QUIETLY] Here we go.

[SINGING LOW NOTE]

[MORE VOICES JOIN IN]

[VOICES GETTING LOUDER AND HIGHER]

My great-grandfather's third cousin

was Lieutenant Perdida Tinning.

Sorry, who?



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.

Um, we read different books in NorCal

[NICTE CRYING]

They're k*lling themselves.

You stole my Work.

[ALDER] Sergeant Batan!

It had to be done.

You know that.

They already surrendered.

Your heart is black, Sarah.

Nicte!

[GASPING]

[GASPING]

What happened?



Alder's memories

This one

This one was so much

worse than the others.

What was it about?



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.

Tell me about your night. Please.

[SCOFFS] I

I blew up a shitload of stuff

in front of the Vice President

and brass from The Hague.

Wow.

Sorry. Sorry.

Um, hey, did did Bells

not come home last night?



She had that much fun

at the reception, huh?



[CHUCKLES]

She didn't come.

[STORM RUMBLING OUTSIDE]

[SKY RUMBLES]

Abigail.

[MAKING LOW SOUND]

Abigail!

What did you do?

[GRUNTS]

[COUGHING]

[GASPING FOR AIR]

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]