InsaneJournal

Got a candle, need to blow that crazy flame away
Who: Marie and Max
What: Max is attracted to shiny things, and apparently so is Marie...
Where: The Laughing Skull
When: November 24, 2017



Candles! Skull sugar cubes! Jars of weird things! This shop had everything for Max to touch and look at and smell. As soon as she saw it she had to investigate, and the interior did not disappoint, her magpie-like attention being pulled every which way the deeper she walked into the little store. She was currently ogling the rows of colourful candles, reaching out and touching each one, as if the different colours would feel different. She didn’t burn candles very often, but now looking at them, she wondered why don’t I burn candles more often, and omg I should totally get some incense and I could become a tea drinker if I bought this and skull shot glasses? Shut up and take my money!

Marie always liked when new customers found the shop - she’d been doing a lot of advertising lately, and also found that word of mouth helped a lot also. She had her regulars, of course, who were great - but this woman was obviously fresh meat, given the way she poked about with no shortage of wonder.

Pretty, too. Real exotic looking. Marie liked those types. Bleached blondes with rock-hard fake tits (of which there were no shortage out here in sunny California) didn’t really do it for her.

She didn’t particularly appear like she owned the shop, or maybe she did - she wore her usual ripped skinny jeans (reserving skirts and dresses for when she had some function to do to), a ‘hex your ex’ loose black t-shirt, fingerless black lace gloves, and purple spiked chunky heels with a dragon motif embroidered on the shoes (they were Gucci and went for about $1,600 but guess where she’d found them? A thrift shop. People were wasteful and threw away plenty of shit worth tons of money once they found something new).

“Hey there,” she greeted, emerging from the back and putting the finishing touches on the bun atop her head, streaked with pink. “Can I help you find anything in particular or are you new to this kind of thing?”

Max turned to look at the other woman in the shop and couldn’t help her eyes from gravitating towards the shirt she wore. “Ohh my god,” she laughed, “love the shirt!” She put down the candles she’d been fondling and smiled. “So is this place like that shop in Harry Potter where all the kids came to get stuff for their potions or whatever?” she asked with real curiosity, not at all trying to insult. “I’ve always been so curious about this stuff, and it smells so good in here.” Her attention was caught by another riot of colour, this time it was the plants and the various eclectic decorations near the cash that dazzled her eyes.

An interesting description of her baby known as The Laughing Skull, and Marie chuckled huskily - she smoked a fair amount of cigarettes (or cloves, whatever - mostly those, she liked the vanilla-flavored ones and fuck you for judging her), which made the sound smooth and more befitting for a jazz lounge.

“Sort of,” she said, striding closer to assist her newest customer with the candles - it would be a good place to start. “You need both candles and oils if you want to go for these though,” she said, motioning to the colorful wax. “What’s your sign? I mean, cheesy come-on aside, it’s good to know because astral candles give off positive vibrations.” Nothing wrong with a little positive vibrations, right?

Max smiled widely. “Leo,” she said brightly, because of course she was the cat sign. “But what does that have to do with candles and such? I never knew any of that beyond the names. Does that ‘positive vibration’ stuff really work?” she asked, and then realized what she’d just said and chuckled a little. “That sounds so bad, but I could use some positive vibrations, let’s be real.” She was sorely lacking in that department these days. Sure, she’d had fun with Percy, but that was like, months ago. A girl had needs, and if these candles could help her score a date, then she’d be all over that.

“It works,” Marie confirmed. “But you gotta believe in it, and respect it.” Otherwise, of course nothing would turn out as you wanted - that was just the way of things. It was the power of this magic. “The candle that goes along with your sign helps the ritual be successful - meaning, the ritual where you anoint the candle with oil first. You can use olive oil or whatever, but essential oils for the purpose are best.”

She brushed against Max’s arm and reached around to grab one of the green candles. “This is for the Leo’s of the world,” she grinned. “Now, if you want good vibrations - “ Marie hummed softly, selecting a candle in bright crimson next, the wax a beautiful color. “Red for lust. Two of these. What you do is take a bath first, ideally, then dress the candle in oil. This book explains it all - “

A copy of a bright yellow paperback entitled Master Book of Candleburning was what Marie grabbed next. “Everything’s laid out in here, it’s pretty much the go-to for the rituals - but I could always show you, if you wanted,” she offered instead.

Max’s eyebrows rose when she regarded the different candles. “A bath? What will that do, besides be super relaxing?” she asked curiously, listening attentively to her explanations. “I think I would definitely need some guidance with all this,” she said, flipping through the book and then looking over at her. “I’d probably end up accidentally cursing myself or something, or setting the room on fire,” she laughed.

“It’s spiritual cleansing, of a sort,” Marie explained. “Getting your body ready for the candle ritual, creating a sacred space in your home, removing all negative energies, things like that.” It could be a lot to take in and understand if you were new to the practices but with this, Marie was a patient teacher - and she’d be more than glad to give Max a few tips.

She found a shopping basket and put the red and green candles in, along with a copy of the paperback book - it wasn’t huge, only about ninety-six pages so more like a short guide - and a couple vials of essential oils for anointing. “I can come over if that works,” she suggested. “We can start with the bath, if you’re brave enough.” Wink - was she kidding? Maybe, maybe not. But taking a bath was more fun than using her specialty floor wash to get rid of negative energies, that was for sure.

Max was definitely having to take a minute to wrap her head around all this ‘sacred space’ and ‘spiritual cleansing’ stuff, but she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. She hadn’t ever really thought about any of that spiritual/metaphysical/new age stuff before, but she wouldn’t judge before she tried.

Or had a bath. If she was brave enough? “I’m not afraid of water,” she grinned, looking in the basket to see what she’d been talked into buying. “And you make house calls? Do you do this for all your new customers?” she asked curiously, with no small amount of playfulness. If she didn’t know better, she’d assume she was being flirted with. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? Totally.

Considering Marie was offering to soak in a hot, steamy bath with a very attractive stranger - then yes, flirtation was imminent. She wondered if Max would realize what she signed up for when the time came; Marie had no shame and would unabashedly drop her clothes when it was bathtime. The thought amused her.

“I only make house calls for the pretty ones. The ones I really like,” she responded, her voice a sensual contralto, warm and soft like velvet. “Here, I’ll give you my number. Use it anytime.”

Heading to the counter, she set down the basket and wrote her digits on the back of a business card - which she then offered to Max.

Max couldn’t help but blush a little at being called pretty, and she was starting to slowly clue into the fact that yes, this was definite flirtation, and yes, she was kind of liking it. She took the business card with a mixture of eagerness and apprehension and slipped it into her wallet when she opened it. “I live over by Newport Beach...ever heard of Pax Letale?” she asked, handing over her credit card.

“Yep, I’ve heard of it,” Marie grinned, ringing up the items Max had decided to purchase. Usually she didn’t do everything in the store (she had employees for sales, stocking, inventory), but sometimes she didn’t mind giving pretty customers personal attention. It was a tiny little hoodoo shop, really, very ‘mom and pop.’

Everything was put into a paper bag with handles, packed carefully inside. “‘Cause I live there. I’m in 503. You too? I guess that makes my trip over easier.”

What were the odds of two people who lived in the same building running into each other here? Though Marie guessed it wasn’t too weird. Pax was right down the street, she could pretty much walk to work, so. Why not.

Max smiled widely and accepted her purchases. “I'm in 204,” she said happily, marveling at the fact that most people she knew now seemed to live there. But then a thought occurred to her and her brows rose.

“Did you move there because of the...weirdness...going on?” she asked in a hushed voice. “The...gods and such?” She lived there now. She must know about all of that stuff by now, right?

Yeah, okay, that’s where Max lost her. Because Marie had no idea what she was talking about - she couldn’t be a touch bipolar, could she? Maybe? Nah. Then again, not like it mattered. Marie didn’t usually get to the point where she was in deep enough to care. It might be a nice change of pace, if that ever happened, but she didn’t really expect it to.

“I moved there because it was close to where I wanted to open the shop, and this area needed something besides a yoga studio and a smoothie bar in the neighborhood,” she responded, with a quirk of one sleek eyebrow. Should she even ask about that whole ‘gods and such’ thing?

Nah. Fuck that. She’d only just moved in, any weirdness would reveal itself in due time.

“But alright, 204. Got it,” she added smoothly.

That blank look was all Max needed to know. Obviously, Marie knew nothing about the real nature of Pax Letale, which also meant that if she too had a deity hiding inside her, she didn’t know about it yet. Yet, being the word. “Right,” Max said carefully, watching her maybe a little too closely for another second and then letting it go. It would happen, she was sure, and she’d be ready to explain when it did.

“So feel free to stop by whenever you’re free...ohh,” she said, taking another business card and scribbling her cell number on it. “I work weird hours, so feel free to text me or whatever to make sure I’m home.” She glanced in her bag of goodies, thinking how hard it will be to not burn those candles before Marie came over. “I guess I have some reading to do before then,” she added with a smile, hefting her bag and then stepping back, one pace towards the door.

Marie took the business card, giving it a lookover. “Sounds cool,” she grinned. “I’ll definitely be in touch.” She was looking forward to it - only a couple floors apart too, in the same damn building, now that just worked out perfectly. And gosh, she just loved when the stars aligned so well - especially when it involved oh-so-gorgeous people, and the promises of more fun.