Were you worried?

Kalen Holliday

[How awake are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (2, 2, 4, 8, 9, 9, 10) ( success x 4 )

Smoke and Mirrors

The Rules

1: I think by now most of you know that I like to stick to an established posting order. So please only post once per round (unless you have a correction or something that you need to add quickly – that kind of thing is fine.) If I have nothing to add, I’ll tell you to skip me.

2: Try to be efficient when you post. I’m not going to set time limits on this scene, but keep in mind that we’ll need to wrap up at a reasonable hour.

3: Keep track of your own tempers (WP, Quint, etc.)

4: Combat in this scene is unlikely. The focus will be more social. That said, there is certainly a degree of risk involved.

5: As always, if anything in the scene makes you uncomfortable, please let me know.

6: House Rule…

“The Kiss” – Normal VtM rules state that mortals cannot resist the effects of the vampiric kiss (feeding bite) unless they have a WP rating of 9+. I am going to handle things differently for mages. If your mage’s WP is higher than the WP of the vampire biting them and they have reason to be frightened/suspicious of what is happening, then they may roll WP at diff 8 to attempt to shake off the effects. Mind shields will also protect against the effects of the kiss. If your character has an active Mind shield, the vampire must roll their WP at diff 8, with the shield countering 2 successes for each level of strength (so a level 3 mind barrier would remove 6 successes.) If the vampire is potent enough to overcome the shield, the above resistance rules still apply.

Regardless of other factors, if a vampire consumes enough blood to endanger the mage (5 or more blood points,) the mage may always spend a point of WP to attempt to break free.

(I don't anticipate this actually coming up in this scene, but I'm posting it for general info since this is a vampire SL.)

7: If your character has any active effects going at the start of the scene, roll those now.

8: Have fun!

Kalen Holliday

[How distracted by Resonance are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 3, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Smoke and Mirrors

Ivy & Gold was one of those unexpected little gems of a used bookstore. Small and unassuming, it was located on the edge of a residential area on the West side of town (not far from Federal Blvd.) and sandwiched neatly between an ice cream parlor and one of those old-fashioned small-scale pharmacies. The heavy wooden door leading in to the place was painted in with a neat gold script indicating the name of the store followed by "rare and used books."

Perhaps the mages were there by chance - happened to wander by and spot the words written on the door. Or maybe they'd read one of the handful of glowing reviews online that mentioned that this was one of the best local stores to find rare or out of print books.

However they ended up there, the lights were on when they arrived, shining with a warm glow through the curtained windows. There were no hours listed on the door, but one of the reviews mentioned that they were open late.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen, having gotten something approaching a reasonable amount of sleep, is interested in exploring. And there is, in fact, a library that will not stock its own shelves. Somewhere halfway through sketching out a plan to create a library that will stock its own shelves, Kalen determines that a better use of his time, at least at this juncture, would be buying books. Naturally, he has decided to drag Alexander along. Based, apparently on his inclination to drag Alexander places and not all of the interest Alexander has certainly never shown in books.
Look. Kalen Holliday has been called many things. Undemanding is generally not among them.

There is gold script on the door and they are open late and Kalen is awake enough that even without coffee there is a bit of a bounce in his step. Excited. Expectant. Reminiscent of a younger and less haunted person that he was once. Even with more sleep, he's still ghost-pale; but, without the shadows to drown out the color in his eyes, they seem much brighter and greener. Coupled with the smudges of just-barely-shimmery charcoal eyeliner and his long black coat, his eyes seem luminous.

He sets, rather quickly, to exploring the shelves.

Alexander Brandt

Books and bookstores aren’t particularly high up Alexander’s list of exciting things to do. He’s not precisely against them – they definitely have their uses, and he has a couple of shelves of books tucked away at home: Some work-related procedural stuff, a few barely-thumbed novels randomly picked off some Best Seller list, and various guides to camping and hiking and climbing and the like. Reading and books aren’t, in themselves, something to be overly excited about for their own sake.

If it hadn’t been for Kalen, Alexander wouldn’t even be here. But Kalen had been dragged up into the mountains on several occasions – to get him out of the warehouse instead of brooding over the maps of strange events in the city, to join in with things Alexander enjoys doing. And so it only seems fair that he joins Kalen in something that he enjoys. You never know, he might enjoy it too.

Well, stranger things have happened.

His attention, though, is snagged more by the ice cream parlour that they walk past than the book store that Kalen somehow heard about. He spends a few moments scanning the menu visible through the window, making a mental note to drag Kalen in once the book shopping is over. The Salted Caramel looks particular nice...

But, for the moment, the ice cream goes uneaten in its fridge. Instead Alexander starts to mooch around the store, somewhat aimlessly. He spends a little while peering out of the window, watching the people and traffic pass by. Eventually he starts scanning the shelves for something that looks like it could be interesting.

Italian neoclassical literature? Moving on...

Arionna de la Babin

[awareness thingy ya]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 6, 10) ( success x 2 )

Arionna de la Babin

The movement of the city can be exhausting. People come and go, the city always moving, always acting on some impulse, and that energy can be overwhelming to people who find greater pleasure in resting. Some people choose sleep as their form of rest, others delve into the world of gaming, and others find a greater pleasure in books. Sometimes it's the smell, sometimes it's the feel, but books, to a particular witch with a not-so-lovable attitude, are the cure-all of a hectic day.

One, of course, can never have too many books; not that she really requires a reason to bring any home. It's the script that catches her eye, and the coming winter pauses just outside the door. She too, has a fondness for the night, much like this store, and so it seems merely fate, that she should wander by it. Sometimes, the Gods give guidance. She steps in slowly, her boots pressing lightly, but firmly into the ground. She keeps a palm rested lightly against the top of her bag at her side, while using her finger to slowly move among the books, scanning the titles carefully. Sometimes beautiful things wind up in stores like this, thing that one might never have considered finding.

Her torso shifts just a little in the aisle, body turning enough to give her the clearance to glance behind her and perhaps...oh perhaps see someone of particular note. Someone she hasn't spoken to in some time. The other, of course, is new.

Smoke and Mirrors

Inside the store, the air had a distinct smell of old paper and binding glue. It was cleaner than some used bookstores (not a speck of dust in sight,) but everything in the place had an aged, antique feel. None of the books on the shelves had been published recently. Most of them were still in pretty good condition. The price tags were hand-written. Many of the books were in the range of what a college student might be able to afford. Many others were... significantly less affordable. The more collectible items were kept in locked display cases.

The store itself was small. Only one level. But the tall stacks made it easy to hide from view. There was a register off to one side, atop a solid wooden counter. No one seemed to be watching it. If there were any employees present (and surely there had to be) they were hiding somewhere.

Alexander Brandt

[Well, all the cool kids have done it. Awareness.]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (2, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 3 )

Smoke and Mirrors

[Alexander can sense the other mages. Kalen (of course) and Arionna. But there doesn't seem to be anything else in the way of magical energy here.]

Kalen Holliday

Alexander might even convince Kalen that it is not too cold for ice cream. He might have his ice cream drowned in hot fudge and molten caramel to begin the assault on the cold before it has a chance to reach him at all, and he might insist on having coffee to go with it. But, since when is it difficult to get Kalen to do anything that involves coffee? He catches sight of Alexander's dismissal of Italian neoclassical literature out of the corner of his eye and smirks a little. But whatever playful jab he might have made is struck down by the sensation of a less welcome cold that seems to coil serpentine along the length of his spine. He reaches out with one hand, rest his fingertips on Alexander's arm, tries to fill his mind with columns of ice. The slowness and steadiness of glaciers.

Kalen's eyes, if nothing else, turn colder. His expression, all mischief and quicksilver a few seconds ago, stills into something distant and hidden, like a river flowing deep under ice. Oceans whose surface is locked into opaque glass.

He waves a hand in Arionna's direction without looking at her, indicative rather than a greeting. "Have you had the pleasure?" He asks Alexander quietly.

Smoke and Mirrors

[don't mind me, just rolling some mysterious dice]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Alexander Brandt

Alexander continues to look along the lines of books on the shelves. Or, rather, appears to. But he’s not really reading the titles – not that the ones about existentialism and ontology, whatever they are, would have attracted his attention anyway. Rather, he’s looking through and around the shelves for where the unfamiliar resonance – one that feels like the precursor to his own, the slowing descent to where heat and movement cease. He’s watchful, cautious, more than anything.

Kalen gets his attention with his touch and Alexander glances at him, taking in the change in his gaze from the excited, glowing to the cold and wary. He shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Whisper quiet, in the quiet of the stacks, he says, “No. Should we go?” Whether the stacks of shelves and their varying positions allow, Alexander tries to keep the stranger in his peripheral vision.

Arionna de la Babin

The light touch of a finger on the spine of a book. The slight pull as the book tilts back and begins to slide into the curl of her hand. She knows they're there. Yet she pulls the book into her hands, separating the pages to the first part of the first chapter. If only she could curl in a corner and read for some time; quiet, peaceful, not bothered by the ridiculously shallow notions of humanity.

But ah yes, the other who Kalen speaks with. The other who is cold, yet not disliked for it. The one who feels almost...comfortable in such a way. Winter, and all that it brings, was always that way; comforting. The book is shut abruptly, slid back into the hole it lay in before, and Arionna presses on, closing the distance between the three of them.

Smoke and Mirrors

There was a door located on the back wall, mostly hidden by a line of tall shelves. As Kalen and Alexander regarded Arionna, they'd hear the slight creak of old hinges as that door opened. Then footsteps, light and unobtrusive on the carpeted floor. Soon a man appeared. Mid-30's, but with an ageless sort of appeal that made him seem younger. Large blue eyes. Soft brown curls. He was dressed in jeans and a dark green sweater over a white button-down.

"Evening," he greeted the three of them, eyes roaming from Kalen to Alexander to Arionna and... back to Kalen again, where his gaze hovered for a moment. He smiled, and the effect was... disarming, the way it lit up his eyes.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Kalen Holliday

Kalen shakes his head, barely perceptibly, in response to Alexander's question. He lets his hand flatten out, braces lightly against Alexander's arm, and leans into his space so that he can respond even more quietly. He is ridiculously comfortable invading Alexander's space. “No,” he whispers. “It's not like that. We just...have a tendency to devolve into this point where she is offering commentary on my worshipping a false god and being absolutely unable to accept any viewpoint that varies from my own.” There is a more complicated answer, but the one he gives here, in this place, is true enough.

Kalen slips out of Alexander's space after a lingering pause, but he leaves his hand on Alexander's arm. He is about to make introductions, because regardless of whether or not Arionna enrages him on almost every occasion he speaks to her, they are both Mages and they should not be unable to work together. He is spared having to play any manner of immediate social games by the intervention of a bookseller.

So very helpful. So very attentive.

“Browsing, mostly,” he says. “I heard this was one of the best places in the city to find uncommon books and I was intrigued.” He's smiling a little now, because he does like attention. And rare books.

Alexander Brandt

Some of the tension slips away from Alexander as it seems that this new sensation doesn’t involve the kinds of trouble that involve weapons, flames and running around screaming. Well it might involve the latter, given a short version of a very long answer, but it’s not about to get physical. He nods, turning as he hears the door open and the footsteps make their way around the shelves.

Is there anything I can help you with? This was more Kalen’s shopping trip than his, so Alexander gives a brief smile and a shake of his head, stepping over towards the front desk. As he turns to pass Kalen, he rests a hand on the man’s shoulder.

He turns, leaning back on it. Alexander nods at Arionna in greeting before looking back to watch the others talk. His interest is more in the people than in the books.

Arionna de la Babin

Prey interrupts the trio, as it often does without knowing it, and Arionna pauses with her finger pressed against a spine, ready to pull it from the shelves to examine it. She twists to look at the three of them, still keeping her body partly facing away; no she's not all that into it, that's what her body tends to say. But then her hand slides down to her bag and she continues her turn enough that now she is three-quarters facing the three of them. Intrigued.

Kalen is just browsing. Arionna interjects. "Yes. Magic. History of, uses, superstitions, perceptions. Older sorts. Not neopagan." Her chin tucks a little as she regards the keeper, giving Alexander a glance as he bothers to nod to her, to give some sort of silent greeting. She sees it, she gives nothing in return except a long, studious look.

Smoke and Mirrors

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that people think so." There was a quiet modesty in the seller's tone that felt genuine. (Did he not read his own reviews?) "I have a few sources. If a book exists, I can probably hunt it down. I do quite a lot of special orders, so if you have any requests, let me know." There was that smile again. "My name is Wesley."

Alexander seemed fairly disinterested in the shop's inventory. Wesley seemed to pick up on this, so he let him be. Arionna, on the other hand, seemed to know precisely what she was after. At her request, Wesley's smile twitched lightly (this almost... knowing thing) and he moved to point the way toward a section of the store near the back. "Any particular culture or ideology? I just got in a fascinating text on Japanese shamanism."

Kalen Holliday

Wesley turns his attention, at least for the moment, to Arionna, and Kalen half listens. He studies the books near him, drifting along the shelf but not stepping out from where he can see Alexander. Willing to move out of arm's reach or not, he would rather be able to see him. He pulls a book on nautical history off of one of the shelves, cradles it so that one hand supports the spine, and glances over first the table of contents and then the index.

His eyes move, though he does not really tilt his head back up. First to Alexander, then to Arionna, then to Wesley, then to his page until the page is turned. And then this process of looking for where everyone is begins again. It's really only Wesley who is difficult to track, all cat-soft steps and not registering to any senses of Kalen's beyond the usual five. He did not ask about where the magic books were, but as Arionna seems about to get the tour, he does pay at least some attention.

Alexander Brandt

Alexander has a passing thought that, maybe, Kalen and this new person should compare libraries some time. It would appear to be something that they have in common. But whether that would ever be likely to happen is a completely other matter, and he doesn’t have nearly enough knowledge about the conversations between the two to even guess.

Arionna throws Alexander a look in response to his nod. It was a perfectly reasonable nod. There were conversations going on that he didn’t feel the need to interrupt, so... he nodded. The look? Is returned. A few moment in, Alexander’s head cocks to the side in slight puzzlement. And a few more moments later is followed by a shrug and he breaks eye contact. Uninterested in the hunt through the shelves, he pushes himself up to perch on the edge of the counter and picks up a random book from its surface. Some potential purchase that was left in preference to another. An autobiography of someone he’d never heard of. Sighing, bored, he opens the book to a random page and leaves the others to take care of themselves.

Arionna de la Babin

"Medieval, primary. Middle Irish, should you happen to have it." There's a slight tilt of her head in interest. "Japanese shamanism? I'd like to see it. " It's not exactly her brand of it, but then again, she's in the process of discovering the method of using her own, limited, gifts. One can't deny the possibility of some truth in another culture now can they?

She may be talking to Wesley, but that doesn't mean she's ignoring the others. Ari glances towards Kalen and his accomplice, who seems bored in a book store. How can someone be bored in a book store. There's a slight furrow of her brows and quickly, she's focusing on the keeper.

Smoke and Mirrors

"Ah, yes. I do have a few books on old Irish practices..." Wesley led Arionna back to the shelf in question, sliding his finger over the bindings until he found a title that looked promising. "This one details druidic rituals." He pulled it out and handed it to her. "I met the author once. A very interesting historian..."

The bell over the front door sounded with a soft chime as someone (a new customer?) entered. Kalen and Alexander had the better view of him: a tall, dark-haired man in jeans and a leather jacket. He glanced around the shop, surveying it with a slow, tracking gaze, before making his way to the counter, where he leaned casually and drummed his fingers once - this light but authoritative tap. At the sound, Wesley went still. Then his posture shifted, elongating his spine as he pulled fully upright. "Why don't you have a look at the books here, and let me know if you see anything that catches your eye." He reached up to grab a second title - the one about Japanese Shamanism - and placed it within easy reach should Arionna wish to look it over. Then he paced back to the front of the store where the man was waiting.

The two of them regarded each other silently for a long moment before Wesley greeted him. This time, he didn't smile. "Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Addario?"

"I heard you got my order in." The taller man (Mr. Addario) smiled, cutting and wolfish. "So here I am."

"I should think you would have sent an employee." There was something veiled beneath Wesley's voice. Subtly hostile beneath the layer of polite etiquette. "But yes, I have the book." He stepped back behind the counter, bending down to snag a set of keys from beneath the register.

Smoke and Mirrors

[The stranger feels... off. Cold and predatory. He feels like entropy. Like decay. The mages can catch a subtle sense of it at the edge of their awareness, prickling the hair on their arms and the backs of their necks.]

Kalen Holliday

Kalen drifts back toward Alexander, which puts him also closer to the newest arrival into the store. That is coincidental, really. He moves closer to Alexander, book still cradled in one hand so that the spine is supported because he spent years in a library of rare books and such a thing has become reflexive. He holds the open book out to Alexander.

“I think this is perfect. He'll love the detail on these carvings.” Who? What? Were there people in this store unprepared for this? Who isn't ready to pretend to be gift shopping for a nebulous person at the drop of a hat? Cops go undercover, right? Alexander must have practiced this.

He keeps his support of the book, leaves Alexander's hands free and leaves the book a bit to his side. And then he looks up, at the man drumming on the counter, looks him over quickly, and smiles a little.

[Perception+Alertness - What can I tell about you, Mr. Addario?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 1, 2, 4, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

Alexander Brandt

Parts of the conversation going on towards the back of the store drift to the front, but it’s still nothing really grabbing at Alexander’s attention. Honestly, neither is the book that he’s flicking through. He’d opened it at the point where the author was writing – badly – about how bad their life had been as a child. Well, shit happens.

Alexander is just closing the book and returning it to its spot on the desk when the door opens and the newcomer arrives, moving to the desk. He gives the man a quick once-over – feet to head – as he realises that he’s probably not sat in the best of places given that the guy seems to have some business with the store. So he hops up and off the edge of the counter, giving the man and the – strangely wary – shopkeeper its space to do their dealings. Alexander gets an odd feeling from the man as he does. He glances back as he moves towards Kalen at the same time as Kalen drifts towards him. It suddenly feels like there might be some safety found in numbers.

Kalen passes a book towards Alexander and for a split second Alexander pauses. He had something else in mind. His right hand has found something in a pocket and has pulled it out, running it between his fingers. “Oh. Probably. You know what he likes better than I do.” Bored? Distracted? Uninterested? It should fit in with the attitude that the shopkeeper has seen of him so far. Alexander doesn’t take the book from Kalen, he wouldn’t want to drop it.

Behind the counter, the glass of the window reflects images of the inside of the bookshop and of the people inside it. There’s more to this guy than meets the eye. The sleeping eye, at least. But there are at least three pairs of Awakened eyes here. Alexander pushes against reality and hopes that it doesn’t feel the need to push back.

[Sensing stuff: Entropy and Spirit. TN 4]

Dice: 1 d10 TN4 (4) ( success x 2 ) [WP]

Arionna de la Babin

Ari was content to take his recommendations to heart, to examine the books he had suggested, and leave the boys to their...whatever they were doing. She was content, except for the other who slipped in, bringing a sensation with him that even made her uncomfortable.

Arionna does not know that the world has many dangers. She is not versed in zombies, and entire realities shutting down. She knows only the small bits she has learned from others before her...or the other before her. All that she might wonder, is whether he too is another magi among the group. Her head lifts, one of Wesley's recommendations already opened in her hands, and oh...yes she watches. Kalen and Alex, they know the ropes it seems, know how to play it, but Ari...well...cubs learn through trial and error.

[Eh why not, Whatcha doin over there Mistah J?]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 5, 8, 9) ( success x 2 )

Smoke and Mirrors

[Alex opens up his senses, and what he finds is likely to back up any suspicions he may have had about the newcomer. The man's pattern was marked by entropy. (By death.) But it was arrested. Frozen. Like something had halted the natural cycle of decay. And further into the store... back in the office, where Wesley was. There was a similar sensation of entropy. Wesley hadn't resonated the way this man did, though. Whatever the explanation for that, it does seem as though they both carry the same affliction.

As for spirits... there are none here to find. No ghosts of the recently departed. Just these two men who are both dead and yet not dead.]

Smoke and Mirrors

"And miss out on seeing my favorite bookseller?" Mr. Addario raised an eyebrow knowingly. Behind the counter, Wesley offered a thin smile. When he retrieved the keys, he walked back to the office. There was a slight hesitance to the way he moved, a lingering glance thrown over his shoulder to Kalen and Alexander before he disappeared behind the bookshelves. A moment later, the office door clicked shut.

Which left the three of them alone in the shop with a man who felt like death.

Mr. Addario (he really looked too young to be called Mr. anything) surveyed Alexander and Kalen, watching them with cold, detached interest. After a few beats, he stepped away from the register and glanced down the aisle to where Arionna stood. His eyes settled on her for a long moment, meeting her gaze, before finally he began to move in her direction.

"Reading anything interesting?"

Kalen Holliday

Kalen glances after Mr. Addario as he heads for Arionna, but he does not move to intervene or to follow. He turns toward Alex, leans toward him again, and murmurs something that would be barely audible even to Alexander. Comprehensible, almost certainly to no one else in the shop. He remembers this feeling, this kind of creeping cold.

And so he looks for the Words that are the core of this Mr. Addario's being.

[Prime Scan - because Kalen thinks Prime solves everything, WP because reasons.]

Dice: 2 d10 TN4 (3, 6) ( success x 1 )

Alexander Brandt

Between Grace’s warning on a certain messaging system, discussions after one night clubbing a few months ago and what Alexander has just seen, it wouldn’t take an expert into the works of Bram Stoker to hazard a guess as to who – rather, what – just arrived at their little party.

Wesley walks past with a lingering glance, and it’s a glance that’s returned. Do they know each other’s dirty little secret now? Or is Wesley’s reaction to do with Mr Addario? Either way, this book shop probably isn’t the safest of places to be right now. Having the local Technocracy Recruiting Drive stop by now might actually make things a little safer.

If it had been just the two of them, Alexander would definitely be trying to guide Kalen out and away. It seems that Kalen’s picked up on the strangeness of the man too, but it’s not clear if he’s quite figured out everything. But that still leaves the new woman. It wouldn’t feel right leaving her alone with these... people. Especially as one seems to have taken an interest in her.

So Alexander turns to Kalen, looking him directly in the eye, and hopefully sounding suitably fed up with an extended shopping expedition. “We’ve been at this for hours. Can we go eat now, please? You promised steak.” With his back to Mr Addario, he then mouths to Kalen: get her out.

Arionna de la Babin

Despite her obvious interest in Elijah, she would normally enjoy the sort of individual who gave off that sort of...monstrous air. Oh certainly not the sort that would make Hannibal Lector envious, but enough to set the normal people at ill ease. Elijah was just an exception to her general interest. So Mr Addario is certainly an interesting sort, and hardly one to shake a stick at...except for the mustache. That just had to go. Though at least it wasn't a mountainman beard.

His question...now that receives a lift of her chin and her usual dry tone. "Ridiculous question. I'm not standing in a Barnes and Noble. " Ari lifts and holds the book to him. "Since you seem so interested. Hardly someone I'd take for an interest in magic and witchcraft."

Smoke and Mirrors

That... actually did get the man's attention (despite Arionna's assumptions.) Though perhaps not in the way she might have liked. Mr. Addario tilted his head and glanced at the title of the book in Arionna's hands. When he met her eyes again, he smiled faintly. "Is that a particular interest of yours. Magic and witchcraft?" There was a slightly sharp punctuation when he said those two words. Behind them, Kalen and Alexander feigned a discussion about wanting to leave, but Mr. Addario's attention was squarely on Arionna.

When Wesley reappeared from the office, he was carrying both a small book and a package wrapped in parchment, and his attention landed almost immediately on the place where Arionna and Mr. Addario converged. Wesley's energy was poised and still. He didn't have the sharp edge of intimidation that the other man possessed, but when he approached the pair he met Mr. Addario's eyes and held them for a long moment.

You could practically cut the tension with a knife.

"Shall I ring you up, Grayson?" Wesley canted his head toward the register. Apparently they were on a first name basis now. Arionna might catch the low flicker of irritation that passed across Mr. Addario's (Grayson's) eyes, but whatever his reaction, he didn't say anything. Finally he turned and allowed Wesley to lead him back to the counter.

"How much?"

"Two hundred and sixty five."

Grayson didn't seem especially surprised by the sum. He reached into his wallet to pull out a couple of large bills, which he dropped unceremoniously onto the counter. Wesley took them without comment, making change at the register. "Do you need a receipt?"

"No."

It was an almost excruciatingly mundane conversation. And yet... Grayson's eyes were hard and dark, and Wesley looked as though he was about three seconds away from throwing the man out the door. Grayson picked up the package and smiled.

"Have a nice evening."

He glanced back at Arionna.

Wesley cleared his throat.

Grayson left.

Wesley leaned over the counter and closed his eyes for a moment.

Kalen Holliday

There is a second, where Alexander wants him to save Arionna and Kalen's eyes go flat and cold. He is about to move, but only because he adores Alexander. He is spared having to go save Arionna by Wesley's re-arrival and he watches the exchange between them with some interest.

"Easy," Kalen says softly, and it really isn't for Alexander. He's looking at Wesley. "Relax. We'll get your steak." He closes the book gently, sets it down on the counter, and slides it toward Wesley.

There is a little worried crease between Kalen's eyebrows. There are huge gaps in what he understood of that, because he doesn't know their history or the peculiarities of that relationship. "He seems like a handful, he come here often?"

[Perception+ Empathy - This time on Wesley - Are you protecting us? From that? That merits my attention, because you clearly know this situation is dangerous as fuck. | Again, WP because reasons.]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 10) ( success x 6 ) [WP]

Alexander Brandt

Alexander wouldn’t be Alexander without worrying about others getting hurt – especially those who don’t know, or can’t fight back, against what’s threatening them. But, equally, he knows that Kalen is a better man than Kalen things he is. Even without Alexander asking, he’s sure that Arionna wouldn’t have been left to the mercy of that thing.

Kalen approaches Wesley, setting the book on the counter to – presumably - pay and talk to him. Wesley might not have felt quite like Mr Addario, but there was still something of that freezing of chaos around him. So Alexander watches Wesley as he makes his own way over to Arionna. He certainly doesn’t trust the man, and if he tries something... It wouldn’t be the first undead he’s tackled.

“You ok?” He breaks his view of Wesley to look at her when he gets a little closer, checking whether how she appears matches up with whatever she replies.

Arionna de la Babin

One has to wonder what might have happened had Grayson stayed longer. Was his punctuation out of intense curiosity or suspicion? She canted her head just a little to watch him darkly, perhaps even prepared to answer him. Soon enough he has left to handle his affairs. Arionna, didn't stop watching the man who was at first uncomfortable, then appealing, and then somehow uncomfortable again. The more she lingers on the feeling...

She lifts the book as if to put it right back where she had found it, but is already reconsidering it. No, she'll return for it another night perhaps. When Alex approaches, Ari slips her hands down to the top of her bag and looks at him slowly. "Were you worried? "

It was the smile. It had to be the smile that set it off. Yeah, let's go with that. It makes sense. It was fine until the smile, right? "You were going to leave." The failings of having only part of the information. "Now you show concern? Fascinating. I wonder why." She's always cold, or at least she gives it off as such. Her brows even furrow the more she observes, and speaks with Alex. It wouldn't have surprised her if they had left.

Smoke and Mirrors

Outside, the sound of a motorcycle engine revved and sped down the street. Wesley opened his eyes and glanced at the door. Kalen was there at the counter with his book, and Wesley met his eyes for a long moment. Something about his focus felt... liquid. As though he were fighting to keep his attention on the present moment (on his shop and the man standing in front of him.)

"You should go," he said softly. His voice held a gentle sense of urgency. "I'm afraid I don't feel well. I think I'll need to close early for the night."

He picked up the book that Kalen set down and began to ring it up, placing it in a white paper bag. After a moment he glanced at the other book on the counter - the one he'd brought back from the office. "Oh, I was going to give this to you. I thought perhaps you might enjoy some of the poems." He slipped the book into the bag and handed it over to Kalen. While he waited for Kalen to pay for the first book, he glanced up at Arionna.

"Did you find anything you liked?"

Kalen Holliday

Kalen watches Wesley, with growing curiosity and growing concern. He knows moments where time turns into something fluid. Where the world everyone else knows to be present is drowned in other moments.

But he also knows what distance can be worth. And so when Wesley says he is not feeling well, Kalen does not press him. He just nods, gives him a faint smile, and murmurs, “Feel better.”

And he thinks that that will be all, but then there is talk of the book of poetry. His smile widens, just a little, but the intensity in his eyes nudges upward significantly higher. “Thank you. I do love poetry.”

He pauses only for a second when he finishes paying for the book. “Thank you,” he says again, very softly. Because predatory showdown or not, Wesley could have let that other thing that felt like a creeping cold oblivion have Arionna. But he did not.

And then he picks up the bag with both books, nods once, and heads for the door. “Come, Alce,” he says, quiet but insistent. “I promised you streak, afterall. You want it with whiskey or with wine?”

Alexander Brandt

It certainly wasn’t the reaction that Alexander was expecting. Maybe I’m fine. Or something about the tension of being that close to... Something. To what? His mind flashes back to another place, another time, with listless, lifeless spirits waiting out their existence until they just faded into oblivion. A fate where death isn’t the end.

“I didn’t want anything to happen to you.” He looks at Arionna while he talks, but keeps looking back over to Kalen and Wesley. “And you wouldn’t have been left alone.” Alexander nods at the book that has been set back on the shelf. “I don’t know if you take friendly advice, but here’s a piece for you. If you want that book, get it now and don’t come back.” He turns back towards the counter, moving back to Kalen. He looks at Wesley as he finishes speaking to Arionna.. “This place isn’t safe.”

Alexander moves towards the door but turns to look at Arionna, waiting to see what she does. If it looks like she’ll be leaving – with or without the book – he waits until she’s passed through the door. Otherwise he’ll follow Kalen through the door, leaving it open behind him.

Arionna de la Babin

"You didn't? The lot of you have an odd way of showing that." Alex's looks to the duo are not unnoticed. People flock to Kalen, that she's noticed. Elijah...Ian...Sera and Grace... all a family, it seems; running after one another when there might be a hint of discomfort. She's still teasing out the way they interact and the why of their importance. But the fact remains that Alex is talking to her and shifting his focus over to the others.

"No place is safe. Safety is an illusion." But the book, does she take it? Arionna reaches back to pull the book from the shelf, and yes, she pays for it exactly as expected (or hoped) by Alex. "I did." Ari says to Wesley at the counter, opting for the book on druidic magic. Paid, and stuffed in her bag, she gives the man one last glance. "You have a nice shop."

Out the door she slips, bag readjusted at her side, and a glance given towards the two magi.

Smoke and Mirrors

If it seemed a bit forward, or out of character, for a shopkeeper to give a complete stranger a book of poetry, Kalen at least seemed to take it in stride. Perhaps the two of them simply existed on some other, more whimsical plane. Feel better, Kalen said, and Wesley's eyes shone with something that might have been gratitude and might have been something more. But then his eyes started to unfocus, and his attention passed over Alex.

"You are as safe here as you are in any other bookstore. And at least I don't try to sell you a digital reading device when you walk in the door." A faint bit of humor, that. But he was fading fast. Kalen, familiar as he was with that particular affliction, knew the signs. And he and Alexander both knew when it was time to leave. Arionna was the last to go, paying for her book as Wesley nodded to her and offered a tired, distant smile.

After they left, the door locked behind them. A few moments later, the lights shut off.