James Hutchins (0roborus) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-12-15 01:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | gabe santorini, james hutchins |
A Good Time for Renewal
Who: Gabe & James
What: Encounter and Conversation
When: Night, Full Moon
Where: Near Cottonwood Cove
He might freeze to death.
James stripped out of his clothes and boots and left them stretched out on the pebbles of the shoreline. It was forty-five degrees out, and the temperature of the Colorado River hovered around fifty-eight. The modest fire next to his backpack lit the way to the edge of Lake Mohave, its smoke perfumed by three smoldering bundles of rosemary and mugwort. Up in the sky, the moon was exposed. The radiant light looked crisp and cold, but it was full like the archetypal mother of the triple goddess, who had been called many names: Isis, Demeter, Morrigan, Ceres.
He didn’t keep a place on an altar for her, but James knew that the moon held sway over magic, just like it did over water. When it was full, a spellcaster could shed old things they didn’t need to make way for the new, whether it was energy or a way of thinking. Once the path was made clear, it awakened intuition.
“I release what no longer serves me.” He set a mason jar beside the waterline and waded into the shallows of the river, breathing through the sharp stab of cold that leached the heat from his feet. James kept going until he could dive under the surface. He came up breathing hard and slogged his way up the incline, willing his muscles not to lock up. Bending down, he filled the mason jar from the river and took it back to the fire. Water ran down his face and shoulders as he lowered his necklace -- a clear crystal on a chain -- into the moon water and closed the lid.
James picked up a towel, shook off the sand, and dried himself off. Quick work was made of his jeans. He started getting into the long-sleeve shirt, but somehow it hadn’t been taken off as cleanly as he thought and he found himself negotiating with an inside-out sleeve. “Fuck.”
Gabe had come down to the Cove to see Cian before the were shifted and went to the Mountain, delivering a few items he'd prepared for the were. He'd explained them, so Cian understood the placements, and then hung the leather pouch around Siofra's neck once he'd shifted. He'd again marveled at his friend's change, the transition something that had always amazed him, despite everything he'd witnessed.
He'd smelt the rosemary and mugwort and walked, following his nose, and Bilson's directions seeking the source of the scent, making his way down toward the shoreline once the glow of the fire acted as a beacon.
"Sucks the way our skin gets so sticky when wet, yet water can make the most innocent of surfaces slippery to the point of dangerous," Gabe mused conversationally, stepping into the circle of the firelight as he watched James struggle with the sleeve. He crouched down, waiting for the other to find his way through the uncooperative clothing.
A second presence on the shoreline gave him a start. James caught onto the accent before he saw Gabe’s face. “I’m slippery enough. It’s the… shirt that’s the problem.” Managing to get the sleeve inverted, he tugged his way into the navy thermal-knit and negotiated it over his head and torso. The flannel was easier. He didn’t worry about what Gabe might have wandered up and seen him doing. They were both practitioners, familiar with rituals and how some of them required you to expose yourself. Literally.
James slicked back his hair. “You out here with the weres?” He gestured at the moon and bent down to pick up the mason jar, which was resting by his bare foot. The container was given a shake in his hand, water swirling around the links and grooves of the protective necklace.
Gabe nodded. "Delivered some things to Cian he asked for," he replied, not mentioning the purpose. The were had made it very clear that the location of this place he'd taken Gabe was a secret guarded by many, many generations of Paiute and now, after being handed over to the earliest arrival of the Marks clan, to be safeguarded by them. If it was to be revealed to anyone it wouldn't be by him. He only knew of it to reinforce the protection spells and wards Cian had originally placed around it when he'd first been introduced to the location all those years back.
"Always a good time for renewal," he added, segueing from why he was there to why James was. "Nice spot."
James looked around them. “Wet, anyway.” He smiled at Gabe. “Semi-private.” The top was spun back off the canister and he poured out the water, catching the chain of his necklace at the last minute. It went over his head. A milky-white and translucent crystal hung from the end of it. It had been a lot of miles with him, and to places that couldn’t be measured in units of distance. “What’s on your mind? Or are you just wandering?” He sat down and dusted off the soles of his feet, then donned his socks and boots, fingers moving swiftly on the strong laces.
Gabe had been meaning to drop by Curiosities but hadn't had the chance, so he wasn't too surprised when it turned out the user of the rosemary and mugwort was James. Things worked to draw together those who should meet, eventually.
His shoulders lifted as he crouched down, eyes staring into the world of the flames and he answered. "Combination of the two?"
"You lived here a while?" he asked, after a pause, adding, "in this area?" Gabe was a newcomer and Cian had only been there a short time before heading south. He rested his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely interlaced, dangling in front.
James tied off the last knot. “I grew up in Las Vegas,” he said. “Spent a lot of summers and breaks hopping towns with my mom when I was a kid, kinda kept up the habit in my twenties.” A trickle of water ran into his ear and he nudged at it with his shoulder. “I moved out here about five or six years ago.” He stretched out his long legs on the dirt. It was still cold, but the fire was doing a decent job of warming him up. “It feels like longer.” James eyed Gabe. “Why, you see something weird? Weirder than usual.”
The simple fact James asked that question confirmed for Gabe that what happened a short distance away, in the marina car park wasn't a 'one off'. The simple fact the other magic-user had already taken the time to identify the group he'd called together at the diner had told Gabe there was potentially something more to the area, that it was more than just forming their own oddly-talented bunch of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides to celebrate special events with. And this had been confirmed by the very brief conversation at the diner about oddities and equally odd events in the area.
His own family's many generations, centuries, of residency in the same place had meant they knew basically everyone and everyone knew them, either personally or by reputation. All knew the family's shipping dynasty, and those involved knew they were a family who also helped out in other ways when needed.
"Yeah, could say that," he offered. "Few weeks back." He looked over his shoulder to the north. "Seems someone unleashed an interesting mess of creatures from up there." He would be surprised if James hadn't heard of the event, given what Gabe had heard had happened in town, including the deaths and injuries. He'd been pretty confused at how little was said, or done, after the event, especially amongst those in 'the group' other than the few who reported some of the injuries, and it had made him more wary, wondering if there was some sort of 'memory blank' spell performed. And who might have performed it. And who'd drawn the creatures up from their resting places in the first place. There were clearly some practitioners around who didn't care who they hurt, and it had leant weight to Cian's request to strengthen the protections around the canyon.
"Pack of them came through here, luckily Rhiannon and Cian were here, and the Marks twins, so no-one was hurt. Heard they weren't so lucky up in town." He looked across at James. "This sort of thing happen often round here?"
“Creatures rising from the dead?” James shook his head. “No. Not unless you count whatever crawled out of the mines, but that was before my time. Some people said they were dead miners.” A piece of wood shifted in the fire, sending a small spray of sparks tumbling onto the ground underneath it. The fire was starting to smell more like an ordinary one as the last vestiges of the smudging tools disintegrated. “But strange things do happen. Most people put it down to government experimentation, if they think about it at all.” James watched Gabe.
Gabe huffed a laugh, having become familiar with the willingness of many of the general public to accept false information to explain illogical events, and be misled with little effort.
"Yeah, I've noticed." His eyes met those of the other practitioner across the lowering flames now flickering on the heavier pieces of fuel. "Guess that could be a good thing sometimes," he mused, "or this place might suddenly be dealing with a population explosion." He reached out to pick up the twig end of rosemary that had escaped the incineration. Lifting it to his nose he inhaled, enjoying the familiar scent. It reminded him of home for so many reasons. Tante's cooking in the kitchen, and her potion work with Ana in the Sanctuary. He smiled, given one of the properties of the herb was wrapped around memory.
"You come here for cleansing rituals often?" he asked, twirling the soft woody twig in his fingers.
“Nah. Once or twice a year. I like the desert. There’s a spot in Copper Canyon nobody else has wandered up on yet.” Water wasn’t his go-to for magic, not by a long shot, but after the metaphysical bath he’d taken in Elfleda’s realm, the idea of being submerged appealed to him, so he took advantage of the last full moon before it got too cold to try it. “But I’ve been going a little more by the book lately. It’s hard to teach people magic if you don’t practice what you preach, and now that Celeste’s moved in and she’s working at the shop, two practitioners, same roof… If we don’t clean up after ourselves, we might throw each other off.”
Gabe grinned, nodding his understanding and agreement. "It's always interesting at home when we all gather, I've two cousins from different parents who see it as a time to see who can outdo each other. Gods help us if they ever decide to work together instead," he finished with a rueful grin and shake of his head. He twirled the twig the other way. "You got any siblings?"
“No.” James shook his head. "It’s just me and Sam. His family’s where we get the magic, but they’re scattered around the UK, like they’ve been for centuries. Courage a la mort." He offered Gabe a wry smile as he recited the family motto. “I’m pretty sure Sam got a vasectomy as soon as he got a look at me. He used to say he didn’t need more blood relatives because he had a coven. I see people with big families and I think it seems like a lot of people to worry about.”
Worrying about his mother Arnette had kept him up at night more times than he could count. James imagined more of her DNA in the world, and having to multiply that vague sense of dread for every sibling.
“Your sister was here, right?” James remembered something about Gabe getting ready for a visit.
"Ana, yeah," Gabe replied with a nod. "Only supposed to be here a few days but stayed about two weeks." He gave a wry smile as he added, "she is a very particular person, which is handy given her area of expertise, but also has a very sweet tooth, and Brianna, the manageress of le Breeze has a damned good pastry chef in the kitchen."
He gave a wry smile as he recounted some of the pastries and desserts Ro had created for his sister. "I was almost to the point of asking her to stop when she was called back home. Someone needed her to do some 'cooking', and one thing about my sister is while she can be a challenge, she also loves a challenge. She's always up for one."
“I caught up with Brianna at Thanksgiving,” James said. “It was good to see she’s staying in touch with people after the meeting. I wasn’t sure.” He reached for his jacket and shook it out, then put that on, too. “People have a way of gravitating back to what’s comfortable. I don’t mean her, I mean generally. If you had that meeting today, the faces would be different. A lot changes in a short time.” He picked up a rolled piece of paper he had used at the start of the ritual and fed it into the fire. The far end turned red and began to curl.
“It does,” Gabe agreed, lightly brushing the twig along the line of his jaw, the bristles catching against some of the soft broken end. When he’d driven Brianna and Radek home after Thanksgiving she’d mentioned talking with James, and told them of James’ offer. Radek had advised caution on talking to too many people about it, and Gabe had listened with interest to the exchange between the two, again noticing how the length of time they’d known one another had given them a depth of knowledge beyond the norm. He also figured that was due to how Radek had helped her develop that control, and he couldn’t imagine what that would be like, seeing and feeling how a person lived and died over many centuries.
“She’s certainly come a long way recently, thanks to Radek and his friends,” he continued. “I suspect she still has powers she hasn’t allowed herself to explore, given what they both said. It’ll be good for her to know what she’s fully capable of.” He couldn’t imagine having not had the opportunity to be fully trained in his skills back when he was a child and had started his journey. “Do you know many psychics? Or telepaths? I haven’t had the chance to get to know many in the community here. I’m hoping to get to know a bit more of who, and what, is around.”
“A few,” James said, thinking broadly about the other people he knew with gifts that magic didn’t account for, like Noah and Flynn. Those weren’t his secrets to share. “My mom is clairvoyant,” he went on. “It’s a hard road. Seeing things and you don’t always have time to stop them. She’s an easy target. Someone’s always looking to exploit it and she doesn't surround herself with the best people.”
James put the lid back on the jar and wrapped it in the damp towel, then stowed both in his bag, thinking. “That’s part of why I called that meeting. People need to know who they can go to. If you don’t know the right people, the wrong ones find you.” He pulled the zipper. “I’ll never claim to be a saint. I’m not. But I don’t turn people away when they need something.”
Something James said puzzled Gabe and his brow creased slightly. At first it sounded to him as if James had meant Brianna was an easy target, and surrounded by untrustworthy people, but he then decided the other man might have been referring to his own mother.
“Good to know,” he replied, standing up and tossing the piece of rosemary twig into the embers of the fire. “And the meeting was a good idea.” Brushing his hands against his hips he looked out across the water, the reflection of the moon creating a familiar silver path across the surface, and memories again drifting through of his own mother sitting beside him on the dock on similar nights in his life, telling him stories of ancestors who’d ‘walked that silver path…’. He felt an urge to see the same sight from that dock again, but knew it was already early morning at home. His thumb pressed against the gold band of his signet ring, turning it around his finger until the sapphire was on the inside, then continuing the rotation until it settled back into place.
“Let me know if you ever need anything,” he offered James, recognising the man was probably more of a leader than a follower. “I’m usually able to get anywhere pretty quickly, even when I’m not around. Only a phone call away!”
A nod and James was on his feet. He stuck out his hand to shake Gabe’s. “Same here. If you’re in Las Vegas, stop by the shop. It’s downtown. Between me, Celeste, and Sam, one of us should be there.” There was always the possibility that Shimmer would be there, too, picking up a shipment, but it was easier to let chance take care of that than try to explain the way Shimmer flitted in and out of Curiosities.
Gabe, reaching over and shaking James’ hand, replied, “will do.” He half turned and looked out into the night, his right hand seeming to move in a circular motion, creating a portal opening just outside the firelight’s diminishing ring. Looking back at James he offered the traditional parting his family had used for centuries, "Frontíste me kindýnous kai asfalí taxídia, kalinýchta," then added, “see you around,” before taking two steps, ducking his head slightly, and disappearing.
James watched Gabe work the spell. When he was gone, he turned his attention back to the small fire, staying to watch it disintegrate a while longer before he extinguished the flames with river water and took care of the smoldering ashes with a bit of soil from the shoreline until the ground was cool. When he picked up his bag and left to make the trip to his bike, a few thin, wispy clouds had rolled in from the west, smudging the bright light of the full moon.