InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The voodoo that you do."

isabel (instafix) wrote in dunwichgame,
@ 2023-05-02 16:20:00

Entry tags:

!log/thread/narrative, critical role: eadwulf grieve, ∙ plot: 004 canon puncture, ◌ inactive: isabel howe

log: eadwulf and isabel

Eadwulf

Isabel

WHERE Coffee at Perkatory • WHEN Late, Tuesday
Maybe not all adventures in Dunwich were bad. WARNINGS TBD!

You talk like a book.

Work. At work. That's where she was, trying to furiously scrub a stubborn spot off of the counter. Eadwulf would be there soon, which she wasn't expecting. Had she known, she probably would have picked a better outfit that didn't have makeshift thumb holes in the sleeves, or jeans that didn't have holes in the knees. She might have even thrown on mascara. What she did throw on was yesterday's t-shirt. Her hair was two days past being freshly curled and she felt aware of herself.

She was also aware of him. He didn't answer any of the questions, but instead asked his own. It was infuriating, but even that wasn't the right feeling, was it? She'd spoken to him maybe three times but there was some part of her that fluttered when she got a message from him. There was now a hope that he'd keep talking, and that was even more confusing. Was this real? Was it her persuasion lingering, hiding in facets of her mind that she couldn't control?

Isabel worked through that thought process as she started to get things ready for the morning shift. The work itself was hard but she knew it by hand. The muscle memory of weighing coffee, baking some goods for the case, putting the near-expired stuff in a box to take home to Pickman... It felt like home. Home. She hoped that this wasn't her new one.

She wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ohio, at least not the way that she was being forced to now.

When she heard the door open, Isabel peeled her apron off and hung it on a hook by the register before frantically trying to make sure that any loose hair was in place. In her attempt to look presentable she only succeeded by getting flour on her face as Eadwulf came into view.

"H-hi," she stammered, giving him a wave. "Eadwulf?"

CODING

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eadwulf
2023-05-03 05:29 am UTC (link)

Little distinguished Perkatory from the other establishments in town. To Eadwulf, they were all uniformly strange and unfamiliar. But this one held more promise than the rest.

He entered without a second's delay, gaze moving quickly over the tangle of tables and plush seating. No immediate threats. No tracery of magic within sight. Nothing but the lazy ghost of roasted beans, baked goods, and burnt wood hanging in the air.

And Isabel, flour-dusted and harried-looking, behind the counter.

"Hello." Eadwulf answered the wave with a tentative smile. Their paths hadn't crossed at Pickman, but he knew who Isabel was and could have picked her out of a crowd. The same, though, might not be true of her. "Is… this a bad time?" he asked, yet made no move to retrace his steps and leave Isabel to her work. Perkatory was open for business. And he had a hankering for coffee.

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instafix
2023-05-03 03:26 pm UTC (link)

"It's never a bad time for you," she insisted. Isabel wavered on explaining that she'd been rushing around to busy herself from worrying about his arrival, but decided against it. Instead, she motioned at the menu before resting her elbows on the countertop.

He was easy to focus on. She'd been talking to Richie about him, about how he just said the right things, like he just knew what she needed. That in itself wasn't suspicious, but it was a feeling that she could get used to. That, Isabel had decided, was a single, small alarm that rang in the back of her mind as she felt her lips betray her with a smile.

Darn it.

"It's really nice to meet you. And no. You're here exactly when you should be. I just didn't know I'd be meeting you tonight. I would have worn something nicer. Or had the ovens going already."

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	eadwulf 2023-05-04 04:31 am UTC (link)
	"If you say that to all your patrons, they'll soon be queuing around the block," Eadwulf replied even as his gaze ticked up toward the menu. The innuendos on the board weren't thinly veiled so much as they were crisp and easy to grasp. Eadwulf appreciated the straightforward approach. "Does the Caffeine Orgasm live up to the name?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

instafix
2023-05-06 04:16 am UTC (link)

"The caffeine orgasm hits fast, quick and then you're ready to either go again or hit the sack. So yeah. Gimme a second."

She went to work steaming up the frothing pitcher and cranking out the espresso shots into the portafilters. Six shots, milk and a prayer made up a strong drink that she braved in the morning over ice and hazelnut syrup, but she'd hold off on all of that for him. The task gave her a minute to stop thinking and she only turned back to him when it was neatly poured into a large mug with a little beach umbrella in it.

"You can have any flavor you want, and if you don't like it I'll make you something else."

She paused and then leaned forward on the counter to speak to him in a barely hushed whisper. "I don't say nice things to most of the patrons. Most of the time it's just coffee."

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eadwulf
2023-05-06 04:30 am UTC (link)

The coffee-making process was as involved as Eadwulf had come to expect. In his world, the brewing of hot drinks was simple, slow, and often resulted in bitter concoctions one imbibed to keep away the cold or banish an ache.

In the last 'modern' place he'd lived in, as well as apparently in Dunwich, it was a whole other thing. Enticing to watch, if bemusing in its complexity. But if the coffeemaking process couldn't hold his attention for long, the same could not be said for the woman brewing it.

"Good to know." He had taken a seat at the counter while Isabel worked and, when she leaned over, he reached up a hand. "May I? You have a streak of flour just... there."

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instafix
2023-05-06 06:30 pm UTC (link)

Isabel didn't hesitate to lean in a bit more when he mentioned the flour on her face and felt her cheeks go red hot at the comment. His comments when she'd lost her magic were some of the kindest she'd read, and it didn't take her much time to take an interest in him. Quite a few late nights over the last two weeks were spent pouring over his messages when she couldn't sleep.

Being face to face with him brought all of that to reality, and she turned to press her cheek into his touch when he went in to tend to the slight mess she'd made of herself.

"I didn't know it was possible for a person to be so captivating," she confessed. "But I was proven wrong."

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eadwulf
2023-05-07 04:08 am UTC (link)

With a softly murmured cantrip and a light touch, Eadwulf carefully brushed away the flour from Isabel's cheek. The warmth of her skin was enticing. He would have liked to linger there, but propriety compelled him to pull his hand away, folding his fingers around the coffee cup instead.

"I'm glad to provide enlightenment. It's a first since I've arrived here: the enchantment you and others were dealing with eluded me completely. Have you felt any of its effects since it unraveled?" At first glance, Isabel seemed to be well. It didn't take a warlock to know that what lay on the surface wasn't always the whole truth.

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instafix
2023-05-07 08:27 am UTC (link)

Isabel mirrored his retreat and smiled before turning away to let out a stretch that had been building in her arms. She’d hoped that the color in her cheeks had calmed down, but she grabbed her own mug and the stool behind the counter and sat down in front of him without further delay.

“The aging? No, I feel like myself, just younger. My knees don’t hurt now and I’m not missing the sharp pains I’d get when trying to lay on the couch.” She raised her eyebrows and took a drink before waving her hand in the air, “but I’m fine. It’s almost like it didn’t happen. You tell me, though. Do you see any wrinkles or silver hair? Be honest.”

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eadwulf
2023-05-07 09:19 am UTC (link)

Eadwulf pretended to scrutinize her appearance as though he hadn't been watching her closely since he'd walked in. It was an easy trap to fall into: Isabel was beautiful and clearly knew it, her confidence as winsome as everything else about her.

"None that I can see, on my honor." Which, unfortunately, wasn't worth as much as he'd like. "And still no way of telling what started it all?" Magic was never random in Eadwulf's world. It bothered him that he couldn't pinpoint either cause or remedy to Isabel's curse, nor devise a way to ward her against it in the future.

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instafix
2023-05-07 07:32 pm UTC (link)

Isabel turned her head from side to side with her nose tilted up to give him a better angle before laughing it all off and leaning in again. The weight of his gaze was something to hold onto until later when she couldn't sleep. She had him here, now. That was more exciting than any daydream.

Which was why she had to focus on his questions. He was easy to get lost in, and from the way he asked questions, Isabel assumed he'd knew she'd answer. "I know what caused it, but any attempt to talk about it seems to just.." Isabel tilted her head and sighed, grimacing. "It's like when you're listening to a censored version of a song. You know what you want to sing along to, but whatever comes out isn't what you want to say. So, yeah, I think I know what caused it, and once I handled it, I was back to myself."

"But that had nothing to do with my magic, unfortunately. And it makes sense why you weren't subject to the same magic as I was, because you probably didn't do the thing that a lot of us did. If that makes sense."

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eadwulf
2023-05-08 04:33 am UTC (link)

"It sounds like a riddle," Eadwulf pointed out. "And I've never been good at those." But he had befriended two people who couldn't let them lie. A shame neither was here.

A shame and a benediction, at least in one regard.

"I'll beware anti-aging potions," he added over the rim of his cup. "Just in case." Though that was unlikely to be the cause, given the timing. He sipped his coffee, which tasted like a punch to the gut felt yet was not unpleasant, and lowered the mug. "You don't seem troubled by the loss of your magic." That wasn't to say Isabel didn't feel that way; she might simply be hiding it well.

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instafix
2023-05-08 05:15 am UTC (link)

“I wish I could tell you more. It would make my life a lot easier if I could just explain it all, but,” she trailed off and gave a halfhearted shrug. Nobody else believed her when they asked her about the solution, and it led her to stop responding. Whatever was behind that curse from Needful Things didn’t want to have the solution revealed.

When he brought up her magic, Isabel shifted on the barstool and dropped her eyes to her mug. “Of course I’m troubled,” she mumbled. She’d been trying to swallow all of her feelings so that she could deal with them later, but that didn’t stop the obsessive attention that she paid to her fingertips when she used her hands. “It’s complicated for me. My relationship with my magic. I stoped using it for a while,” she explained, closing her eyes. “Back home, someone I was close to disappeared after our magic interacted. I attributed it to my own magic and decided that I wouldn’t use mine unless I was in danger.”

“When I arrived, I let my guard down and used my magic again. I was prideful in showing people what I could do, and then it was gone.” She gave her fingers a silent snap before opening her eyes. “I’m sure I sound crazy, but that’s how I feel. I miss my magic and love it, Eadwulf. I don’t know how to get people to like me now without it. I can’t make illusions. I feel empty, and,” she paused and broke eye contact with him, opting for the coffee in his hands as as a focusing point, “I just want that feeling to go away.”

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eadwulf
2023-05-08 05:42 am UTC (link)

Perhaps he shouldn't have brought it up. After all, he didn't know Isabel or her background. All he had was his own experience with magic -- and the terror he'd felt those few times he had been prevented from accessing it. But brough it up he had and Isabel, instead of telling him to mind his own business, explained.

"You don't sound crazy. Not at all." He leaned forward, an elbow on the counter. "But you are... mistaken, I think. Anyone who only liked you due to your illusions, who likes you less now, isn't worth your time. The rest of us, on the other hand..." He tipped his head, studying her. "I don't know what happened to your friend. But unless you willed them to vanish, I don't believe it is your fault. For whatever that's worth."

And that was all he'd say about it. "I'm in danger of ruining your evening," Eadwulf observed. "So witness me deftly change the subject: what were you baking? It smells wonderful in here."

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instafix
2023-05-08 06:02 am UTC (link)

“If I apologize too much, it’s only fair to observe that you think I’ll give you the benefit of leaving my company.” Isabel reached out and gave his hand a gentle pat before pulling away and standing up. The barstools left much to be desired for the brave soul that sat in them for hours on end, but she tempered the usual groan and stretch to save herself some dignity.

Her attention turned toward the kitchen and she tilted her head to the side. “Scones,” she whispered. After a moment of consideration, Isabel held her hand out to him — not even for him to take it, but to join her in the kitchen if he so desired. “They’re due to come out in two minutes, but I bet they’d be perfect with the right coffee to go along with them.”

His words were still echoing around her mind like a song. The rest of us. He was charming. Warm. A person with all of the right words at the right time with the ability to make her blush. She didn’t blush. Especially not in the times of Dunwich. Maybe this was just a dream. A good one, this time. That, Isabel decided, would be a welcomed change. “You’re sweet. You should be careful. I could get used to that.”

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eadwulf
2023-05-08 07:27 am UTC (link)

"Oh, I always tread carefully," Eadwulf lied. He might have left it at that, but Isabel's invitation was too tempting to ignore. He had nowhere to be tonight and no other demands on his time. And he was curious, too, to see more of Dunwich in general and this establishment in particular.

To see more of Isabel, if he was honest with himself.

With one more sip of coffee, less to fortify himself than to give his demons the opportunity to chime in, he rose as well. The demons had been doused in coffee, unable to intercede. "I haven't had scones in an age. I can help get them out of the oven." The brewing of the right kind of coffee was safer in Isabel's capable hands, but if he could be of use to her, he would.

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