A Congregation of Witches (And a Siren) [Val, Riley, Lara, Les, Tristan(??)]

[bewitchinghaze]

 Val let out a heavy sigh of relief as she and Les finally approached the cottage. "You may as well come in and rest for awhile," she offered, getting out her key and unlocking the door. A few odd twists lowered the basic wards she kept active whenever she and Riley were out and she headed in.

"Riley? Lara? I'm home. I brought company..." she called into the house.

The familiar feeling of her personal collection of greenery and the magic she'd put into them quickly calmed her nerves and she began to collect the things she'd need to set up a good strong set of wards to keep out the curse. This house would be the safest goddamn place in town, if she had anything to say about it.

Comments

[jiyunnies]

"No, but it's our town. It's not just the Thorntons and Coombs anymore. You feel how dark that spell is." She sighs. "And who knows, maybe going after those two families isn't enough anymore."

[lesparker]

"Definitely not," Les admits. "It was..." He thinks back to the spirit crossing him in the street and tries to put it into words what he felt when his counter-spell was crushed under its weight. "Chaos. I don't think it's looking for anyone, or anything. Not anymore anyway if it already took Moira and James."

[jiyunnies]

"We can't function normally with that thing around. None of us are safe." She looks him over. "You're okay, right? No injuries?"

[lesparker]

"Well, you know, it didn't really stop to say hi--" Les smirks at her and then shrugs. "Look, I get you and your sister and Lara want to play town heroes, but that thing is dangerous. It's not gonna be easy..."

[jiyunnies]

She rolls her eyes. "Believe me, I'd rather just make potions at the shop than deal with something like this." Riley sighs and fidgets with her hands. "I know. What else are we going to do? Let it get worse?"

[lesparker]

Les sighs, shaking his head. "We don't even know what worse is," he tells her. "Aside from the kidnapping, it hasn't killed anyone."

[jiyunnies]

"You don't think whatever's going on has anything to do with Paige Thornton or Fabrice Coombs? We don't even know if Moira and James are safe, if they're..." she pauses, feeling the reality of the situation hit her and her heart falls. "If they're alive."

[lesparker]

Les frowns, biting at his lip. "Come on. Moira's gonna be fine. And if anyone kills James Thornton, it's totally gonna be her. So," he says, hoping to cheer her up.

[jiyunnies]

She smiles softly. "That's very true. Hey, do you know how to scry?"

[lesparker]

Les sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Yes but--" he hesitates. "You might piss-off whoever had her taken by trying something like that."

[jiyunnies]

"Okay," she says, turning to face him and folding her feet up under her. "What do you suggest? You know more about this stuff than I do, right?"

[lesparker]

Les shakes his head. "No, I don't--" he says then sighs. "But...my mom taught me how to do it." The big crystal ball was part of his mom's schtick down at the boardwalk. All the people used to love it. The only thing was his mom's premonitions were real.

[jiyunnies]

"What do you think she would do?" Riley never dabbled in black magic. Her only experience with it is what she's read In books.

[lesparker]

Les paces for a second, thinking, trying to imagine his mother's voice. Something does eventually pop into his head. "How good are you at cloaking?" Les asks. "If I do the scry, you could shield our faces and location. It would need to be strong."

[jiyunnies]

Riley grins at him. "I'm pretty damn good, actually. You're brilliant sometimes, Les."

[lesparker]

Les raises his eyes at her. He feels good about having impressed her with this plan. "See you're starting to come around," he laughs. "Let's just hopes she's still in town. Any further, and I don't think I'm strong enough to reach her."

[jiyunnies]

"Alright, alright, no need to get cocky, bud." She should have known he'd say something like that but smiles anyway. "God I hope so. If not, I don't know what else to do. What supplies do you need?"

[lesparker]

"We need something of hers. Or I won't be able to track her," Les says, heading back for the pantry. "And a mirror!" He calls out to her.

[jiyunnies]

"I have her keys to the shop. Would that work?" She briefly wonders if he's getting ingredients for the scry or looking for another snack. Probably the latter. "Alright!" she shouts back at him, disappearing into her room to grab a hand mirror. She returns with the mirror and keys.

[lesparker]

Les returns with a wooden bowl and small containers of lavender, dried rose blooms, and vinegar. "That is one intense pantry," Les tells Riley, placing all the ingredients on their kitchen table. Valerie had every herb, flower, and spice any witch could need. He takes the mirror from Riley and places it down in the center of the table. He centers the bowl on top and gestures at her. "The keys will have to do. Probably won't be the strongest connection ever since she hasn't touched them today," he tells her.

[jiyunnies]

"We like to stay well stocked," she comments, watching him lay everything out on the table. "It'll have to do. No telling when she went missing." Riley grabs one of her sisters teas and sits down, drinking it quickly. She's going to need all the energy she can muster to keep herself and Les cloaked. She grins, "Aww trusting me to keep you safe."

[lesparker]

Les smirks at her as he adds the ingredients into the bowl. He uses a quick fire spell to ignite a small flame around the edges of the bowl. "Are you sure your up for this?" he asks her with a serious look. "You just did those charms?"

[jiyunnies]

She sticks her tongue out at him then watches as the fire surrounds the bowl. "Of course I am. Are you sure you're up to holding my hand?"

[lesparker]

Les holds his hand out. "I dunno," he says anyway. "Your sister threatened me earlier for ever getting you into trouble. So this probably isn't the best idea." He smirks at her as he starts to chant the incantation.

[jiyunnies]

"I can get her off your back for this one." Riley takes his hand, scooting closer to his side so she can be sure to completely cloak Les and herself. She closes her eyes as he starts the incantation and focuses her breathing. As she exhales, her head falls forward and a thin, shimmering veil unfolds around them, cloaking them from any magic.