katherine foster (inamoment) wrote in shadowlands_ic, @ 2017-07-16 16:02:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | katherine foster, zipporah bakst |
Who: Katherine Foster and Zipporah Bakst
What: Meeting each other
Where: The general store
When: 13th July, 1888
Rating: G
Zipporah told herself that reading penny dreadfuls was an important part of her cultural education -- that it was a way to learn the customs and traditions and rules of the society she’d ended up in, as well as their hopes, dreams, and fears -- in some ways, so very different from where she’d grown up.
But the truth of the matter was, she read them because it was fun.
They were dripping with a salaciousness that had taken her by surprise at first -- she had no idea the English were capable of such open and blatant explorations of sex and violence, considering how buttoned up they usually appeared to be.
So yes, she read them, and thoroughly enjoyed them, and every now and then, she and her Auntie would cackle over the especially lurid passages (her Auntie was learning how to read in English using them). One of her favorite writers was Rex Beckham, and upon seeing a new novel for sale at the drugstore, she nabbed it and brought it to the register along with the rest of her purchases, giving the check-out boy a defiant tilt of her chin.
The thing about moving out of the family home, was that one needed to get an entirely new set of just about everything to take to their new place. The list had been checked over several times. If she had been getting married, and moving into a new house with her husband, everything would have been well in hand without her raising a finger. However this time, Katherine was at the drugstore, going through the aisles and getting anything that she might need for her move.
Every time she reached for something, she crossed it off of her list with ease. This wasn’t so hard. The more she worked at it, the more excited she became at the prospect of not being under foot with all the rest of the Fosters. Her parents deserved some time by themselves, and it looked like they were going to get it.
Upon looking through the shelves, she glanced over and saw someone reach for one of the novel. To her delight, she realized it was one of her own. Rex Beckham. A ridiculous name, but she thought it suited her. Her eyes followed the woman as she went up to the counter, and hm’d. Quickly she grabbed the last thing on her list and got in line behind her. “Rex Beckham, huh? I heard that new one’s pretty all right,” she said with a bemused sort of smile.
Zipporah turned, the color high in her cheeks, prepared to be made fun of by the nicely dressed, pretty, proper Englishwoman waiting behind her, but the smile she was given seemed genuine enough, and she raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve read him, then?” She asked in lightly accented English as she took out her money to pay for her purchases, the eyebrow still raised in a bit of a challenge, a small flicker of a smile shyly passing over her face in return despite herself.
Her cheeks flushed, hoping to give some sense of propriety to the situation. After all, well respectable ladies weren’t supposed to be reading things like this. But no one was around that she knew, and Katherine only had a modicum of decency. “Well, I’ve read maybe a little bit. My friend,” she explained. It was always the friend. “She likes to read them, sneaking them into the pages of her text books during her schooling. She lets me read them when she’s done.” That seemed a plausible enough explanation, and the one she gave most often.
Something was nagging at her though, something that was familiar but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it, when looking at the other woman. Katherine inhaled again and then it clicked. Oh. She smelled like Peter. Just barely, but it was there. It was a scent that was slightly similar to her own, but his was always recognizable. Interesting.
“Which book is your favorite?” she asked, giving the other woman a once over finally.
“My Auntie enjoyed ‘Blood Kissed,’” Zipporah replied, grinning, figuring she could play this particular evasive game as well. “She is learning the English, and finds his books highly enjoyable, and useful,” she said. “I help her with the difficult passages.” Her eyes were twinkling as she replied. “I must admit,” she added, a little conspiratorially, “I found the romance in that one quite fascinating for to read -- and the tension between the two soldiers? Most moving.”
She shrugged, her grin widening. “What can I say?” she added, with a bit of a laugh, “my Auntie’s requests for assistance are quite frequent, and I certainly do not mind being helpful. I am a dutiful niece.” Her tone was cheeky enough to imply that duty was the farthest thing from her mind while she read Rex Beckham.
The thought of someone using Katherine’s books to learn how to read amused her greatly. It also actually brought her a great deal of joy. She smiled, looking a bit proud. “That’s very considerate. I would have rather learned to read, using these instead of those dreadful readers we got at school.” They were so boring. Her books were much better, weren’t they? “Wasn’t it just? You never get to read about that kind of thing, it’s refreshing to have someone be so.. Open about it.” She didn’t want to come across as too praising, even if no one knew it was actually her.
“She’s lucky to have you,” Katherine said cheerfully. She definitely needed to know how this girl knew her brother, but she wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Hm. “You seem familiar. Have we met before?”
Zipporah gave her a considering look. When she’d first arrived in town, it would’ve been laughable that such a woman would even think of claiming to be familiar with someone like her, but her circles had slowly been expanding, and it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.
She certainly wasn’t from Zipporah’s neighborhood in Whitechapel, or anything like the overwhelming majority of the clients she and her Auntie saw -- her cultured accent and well made clothing alone would’ve made her stand out like a sore thumb. And Zipporah hadn’t met many of the other women working for Lady di Palermo other than Keira, but perhaps she was seen while walking up to the building?
She shrugged a little uncertainly as the clerk rang up the other woman’s purchases, all of a sudden curious. There was something vaguely familiar about the shape of her face, but she couldn’t place the other woman for the life of her. “I cannot say I know you for certain, no.”
Okay, well she knew something at least. Even if this woman knew her brother, it was clear that she didn’t know about her. That wasn’t really surprising though. They hadn’t been in the same place, in such a long time. There wasn’t anything holding her back from just asking. No one was around that she knew, it wouldn’t hurt to just ask.
“I think I might have seen you with my brother.. His name is Peter..” That was tentative enough, right? Besides that could be anywhere. She could totally bluff her way through this.. Hopefully.
Zipporah flushed, deeply, and bit her lip.
“You are… you are his twin sister?” She asked cautiously, seeing echoes of Peter now in the dark curl of the woman’s hair and her fine, high cheekbones. She figured Peter’s twin sister was a wolf, like him -- he’d implied as much -- but he hadn’t mentioned his sister’s name as of yet.
She was uncertain how much Peter would’ve said about her to his family -- she didn’t expect he had said anything, honestly -- and they hadn’t seen one another very often yet, nor for very long -- but perhaps his twin had spied the two of them walking through the park, or kissing on a bench, the thought of which made her turn even redder. She knew full well what she looked like -- an immigrant with an accent in a work dress made of cheap cloth that was meant for hard wearing with sturdy, well-worn shoes. She was a Jewish witch who lived in a slum in Whitechapel -- a far cry from the world Peter grew up in.
Zipporah extended a hand, also uncertain of how much familiarity the pretty Englishwoman would tolerate. “I am Zipporah. Zipporah Bakst. A… a friend,” she said, a little lamely.
Katherine nodded her head at the other woman. So he had brought her up. Interesting. “I am, yes. Katherine. It’s nice to meet you.” And it was actually. Glad that he wasn’t being completely awful and actually making friends. That he hadn’t managed to push this one away yet. There was no up-turning of her nose, and no expression to suggest that she was not happy about this revelation. It didn’t take a genius to see that Zipporah wasn’t in the same class as they were, but Katherine had long ago stopped caring about that.
She reached over and shook Zipporah’s hand. “That’s quite the name you have there. You should definitely be in a book. All of you, I mean. Not just your name.” She didn’t want the other woman to think that she was thinking of her as just a caricature, but it might have sounded that way. “Have you known Peter long?”
Zipporah grinned a little, and shrugged. “It is a Hebrew name,” she said, with a slightly cautious optimism upon Katherine’s warm greeting. “It means ‘bird’. I am pleased for to be meeting you, Katherine,” she said, politely. “And I do not believe I have ever been told before that I ought to be in a book,” she added, finding the complement oddly charming. “I very much hope it would be an adventure,” she said, with a bit of a laugh. “Plenty of action and suspense. Perhaps a little romance. No tragedies, though. And a good ending. The best any of us can hope for.”
“And no,” she added. “I haven’t known him for very long. I wonder what he would think, our meeting like this?” She wondered aloud. “You favor him in your looks,” she said, thoughtfully, “and your smile, too.” She wrinkled her nose and laughed again. “I wonder how else you are alike. He’s lucky, to have a twin sister. I always wanted a brother, you know.”
She’d wanted one so badly that she’d made one for herself -- her golem, Ach, who was waiting patiently outside of the store to walk her home. But Ach was silent and still, and while he was her protector, he was not someone she could turn to for comfort or love.
Looking up at the taller woman, she hummed thoughtfully. “I did not realize you lived in town. I thought you were all --” she waved a hand. “In the countryside, or somesuch.”
“I think with a name like that, it definitely should be.” Though Katherine did from time to time, get her characters from various people that she knew, most of them just kind of came to her because of the story that she was creating. Only a few of her novels had people who were based after others. She didn’t want it to be too obvious, in case someone read it and got any ideas. She didn’t think anyone would ever think that she was the author though, so that was good. “Yes, yes it is,” she said a little sadly.
She laughed a little, “I am sure that he would be petrified that I was asking you all sorts of questions. Which I am not, for the record. In case he asks.” Well she probably wouldn’t give him the third degree, unless she thought something was going on, but even then she would probably question him and not her. It wasn’t polite to berate a young woman.
“Thank you, I think. Though I do wonder if that’s a compliment or not. I am quite lucky though, to have him as a brother.” She’d always thought so. They’d looked after each other, well up until recently. “I’m sorry you do not have one. It’s lovely, but it can be.. Trying at times, as it is with any family.”
Katherine looked around a bit, “I’ve recently moved here, and out of my family home. I do not live far, just around the corner or so. I’m still trying to find my way around without getting lost.”
“Congratulations,” Zipporah replied, impressed that the young woman had the wherewithal and independence to move out on her own. “That is quite something.”
She looked up at Katherine, considering, before tilting her head and biting her lip a little. “Do you have any plans for the next little while?” She shrugged, grinning. “I might treat you to an ice cream soda for to celebrate, and you could tell me embarrassing stories of what Peter was like as a young cub.” She shrugged again. “Or we could have a beer,” she added, a little daringly. “There is a rather nice pub called the Lionhart where two…” she wrinkled her nose digging for the word, “...unaccompanied women would not make a raising of the eyebrows.”
"I'm afraid it is more necessary than brave, but thank you." There was another sad look on her face, but it quickly disappeared. There was no point in lingering in the sadness, as much as she might want to. Looking to the past only seemed to make it hurt more, so she tried to avoid it when she could. This was for the best. She needed to be on her own, and let her parents have their house to themselves for once. It would give them one less child to worry about.
Katherine shook her head, "I've no plans. Well other than getting these things home, but that can be done any time." There was no rush for her, not for anything. And for the first time in a while, she realized how freeing this was. She could come and go as she pleased, she didn't need anyone's permission and she could be friends with whomever she wanted. Maybe that could be enough. "I have all the time in the world." She was slightly surprised that this woman clearly knew what Peter (and her) were, but tried not to let it show on her face. "I can tell you so many stories. And I'd love to have a soda, thank you. That sounds wonderful." She paid for her things, and smiled. "Or a beer. I don't think I've ever had one." And she did think going to a place where they wouldn't be looked at, would be just fine.
Zipporah smiled, hoping to ease some of the woman’s worries with some friendly company. “Well, then. That settles it. At least one sip of beer, and if you don’t like it, I am certain they have some sweet wine. The pub is a safe place -- for all sorts of people.” She winked and tilted her chin. “Easier to talk openly,” she added. “You could tell me your favorite Rex Beckham scenes with…” she frowned and shook her head, the word she wanted escaping her. “With ease,” she settled on.
“Come on, then,” she said, her grin wide and a little teasing. “I have a companion waiting outside -- he will carry our bags. You will be able to tell he is not what he seems,” she said, tossing the remark over her shoulder as she made her way towards the door. “It is how Peter and I got to talking,” she added, playfully. “He was being dreadfully nosy about it.”
Her first sip of beer, how fun! Katherine was actually looking forward to this. Anything to distract herself from everything that was going on. "Then you've got yourself a deal." She was going to have to make note of where this safe place was. She liked the idea of a safe place, where people of all classes and standings could come and just be themselves, instead of having to worry about who they were seen with. She couldn't help but laugh a little, "I will happily tell you all of my favorite scenes, as freely as you'd like."
Gathering her things, she followed Zipporah outside and took a look at her companion. The sight of him made her eyes go completely wide with shock. Not bad shock, just she hadn't been expecting that. Now that she really looked at it, she could tell that something was different. Off. Whatever you wanted to call it. "My goodness. That is remarkable. I'm not surprised about my brother. That.. is.. something. What... what is he?"
Zipporah hung her bags on Ach’s arms, indicating with a tip of her head that Katherine was free to do the same if she wished.
“He is a golem,” she said, conspiratorially. “I made him, for to protect me, my Auntie, and my grandmother when we came here from Russia.” She patted him on a broad arm. “He does not say much, but he is good to me.” She looked up at Ach with a fond half-smile before turning back to Katherine. “Most people don’t notice. And those who do,” she shrugged, the small smile still on her face. “Well. They aren’t most people, are they? But they see him, and know he is powerful, and that keeps me safe. And it is free advertising of my skill.”
She figured it was only fair, given that she knew what Katherine was, and had implied as much -- there was very little point in playing coy. While she knew her connection to Peter was quite new, she did like him -- quite a lot -- and there was a very small part of her who wanted Katherine’s approval. It was silly -- she knew it was silly for a girl like her to fall into bed with a man like Peter and expect his family to be pleased about it, and she had no delusions -- she wasn’t expecting a proposal -- but Katherine was Peter’s twin -- her good favor mattered to Zipporah. That, and she didn’t have many friends in the city to speak of, and it was nice to think she might have met someone she could dish a little about penny dreadful bodice-rippers and giggle over a beer with, even if it was a bit far-fetched to imagine Katherine would be remotely approving of her as Peter’s... whatever she was to Peter.
Although she was a little more reserved than her twin, Zipporah could see flashes of Peter in Katherine’s lack of haughtiness, and her actually accepting Zipporah’s offer of a beer -- and her hints of sadness, too. Zipporah knew Peter didn’t trust easily, that he had a deep sort of sorrow buried beneath that charm, and she saw flashes of that in Katherine’s eyes too.
Zipporah held out an elbow cheekily in case Katherine wanted to walk arm in arm to the Lionhart. “Shall we?” She asked, tossing her hair a little and laughing, pleased that she’d managed to show the pretty werewolf something novel.
Katherine was staring at the golem, probably more than she should. She was trying to get down his most nuanced characteristics. She wasn't sure how she'd put this particular thing into a novel, without it being recognized by someone who read her books, but she was going to certainly try. "So.. you are actually a witch, then?" she'd only met one in her life time, and they'd never done anything quite like this. But the thought of having all that power was something so interesting. "I haven't met many, but it would be silly of me to think there weren't other non-humans out there like me."
It was nice of her to trust Katherine with this bit of information. She wanted her brother to be happy, and she could understand why he liked her. Well if he did like her. She was going to have to make sure that he wasn't after her to get her into bed. For both their sakes. She didn't want Zipporah to be hurt by her brother's wandering lust, and well she didn't want her brother to be hurt if that did happen and Zipporah decided to turn him into a toad or something. He'd deserve it, but still. Best to make sure that he had good intentions. She was all about keeping other women from getting hurt from stupid men.
"Yes, let's go," she said, letting Zipporah lead the way, as she knew where they were going. As they walked, she kept looking back at the golem, just trying to piece him together. "What is he made out of?"
“Clay,” Zipporah replied cheerfully as they walked arm in arm. “I built him on a riverbank near our house before we left. And yes. I am a witch. From a long line of witches. My grandmother specialized in the protective magics, my Auntie studies healing and women’s health, so I learned both -- I enjoy protective magics more, but…” she made a dismissive sound. “Healing pays better.”
She looked up at Katherine. “And before I met your brother, I’d only met one other wolf before. To my knowledge,” she amended. “One of Auntie’s patients. She was allergic of the silver. And the pub, the Lionhart? Has all sorts. People like you, people like me, others, too...” Katherine’s calling them both non-human was interesting -- she’d never really heard it in quite that way before, and she’d always thought of herself as human, just… with some extra pieces thrown in. Her gifts from God. And the woman she’d helped her auntie treat, and Peter -- she’d seen first-hand that they were flesh and blood, just… with different extra pieces than hers. Other gifts.
She wasn’t quite sure yet what she thought of the Lady di Palermo -- the alushka who’d hired her -- but she figured she still had quite a lot left to learn about what ‘human’ was, and what it wasn’t. Perhaps ‘human’ wasn’t the right word to use at all. Perhaps ‘person’ would suit better. She hummed thoughtfully.
“The owner is one of the Forest Folk,” she continued as they walked. “I met him when he came out of the pub for to fight me, because he thought I was trying to dismantle the wards around it, but I was only exploring, so he invited me in and bought me dinner instead.”
How fascinating. Clay. Katherine would have to do some research on it. Maybe even witchcraft in general. Maybe she could ask some questions without making it seem like she was doing research. "And is your.. talents.. are they god given? I mean did you study and practice, or is it.. something you were just born with? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions. I am certainly very curious about the whole thing." Not just golems, but everything. Protection and healing seemed to be very useful to have. "If I ever ask too much, or something you don't want to answer, just tell me."
Guess they were in the same boat then. Hopefully one day she would meet others, who were different than herself. "I've heard of the Lionhart, but haven't actually been. Ah, so it's for everyone who's not quite human? I'll remember that." She could deal with a place that she wouldn't have to hide from everyone in town. Non-human was the only word that she had for it. Sure they were born on this planet, and they all resembled humans, but they weren't really. And the humans had no idea. Maybe one day someone would have a better word for what they all were.
Her eyes lit up a bit at the mention, "A fae? Truly? How remarkable. Clearly I don't get out as much as I would like," she said with a laugh. "That was very nice of him. Not fighting you and buying you dinner."
“The women in my family are all witches,” Zipporah replied, “and it is both -- it is a gift from God, and we glorify His gift through our studies and practice.” She shrugged. “There are many different things for to study, some easier than others depending on inclination. My mother did amazing things with metals and glass,” she said, a little wistfully, “but I took after my grandmother, and protective magics and healing magics, they work well together, so I studied with them both.”
“And yes,” she said, with a grin. “He is nice enough. He is quite powerful, though -- so make sure you are polite. And your nature,” she asked, tipping her head a little. “It is God-given too?”
"Do you know if there are witches who merely just study, and don't have it inherently inside them? I wonder what the differences might be." It was a shame that there wasn't any kind of university for supernatural studies. It was also a shame that women were still frowned upon about going to school. They were allowed of course, but it probably wasn't proper. Nothing in university really appealed to her anyway. Learning about the other kinds of people out there, though that interested her. Maybe she would start making even more notes. Not just for being in her books, but for her own personal knowledge.
Though she was curious as to what sorts of things could be done with metal and glass, in the form of witchcraft, she would save that question for another day. She was already asking far too much about Zipporah, and figured she didn't want to constantly be answering her. "You can truly heal someone?" she asked instead. "Cuts? More than that?" She could imagine that the bigger the wound to heal, the harder the magic would be, but she wondered if there were limitations to that. There had to be, right?
Katherine nodded her head. "Yes, of course. Very polite. Ah yes, we were all born this way. Though werewolves are not always born, if one of us mates with a human. Most of the time, they turn out to be a werewolf, just not always."
Zipporah nodded. “That was what happened with the wolf who came to us. She was with a human, and the fetus she carried, it did not survive her transformation. She was quite ill after, and came to us for assistance. And we do all sorts of things to help the body for to heal -- cleanse of infections, rid of fevers and growths, knit bones, replenish the blood, repair the internal bleedings, -- my Auntie specializes in difficulties of the womb,” she said, “but there are some things every witch who heals ought to know. Some are harder than others, of course, and take more effort.”
“And I hadn’t thought of such matters before,” she mused. “Whether the gift can be achieved through study alone. I honestly cannot say. It is a very intriguing question, though, isn’t it?” She looked up at Katherine thoughtfully. “My people value scholarly work as a way of being closer to God, of unlocking the mysteries of the universe -- I have no notion as to whether that goes hand in hand with my gifts, or is wholly separate. How interesting.”
“What is it like, when you are a wolf, on the full moons?” Zipporah asked, a little hesitantly. “Is it a blur? Are you entirely conscious of your actions, and capable of directing them as you would in this form?” She blushed a bit. “Please pardon if it is too personal,” she said. “You do not have to say, if you’d rather not.”
"That happens to us, unfortunately. I suppose that's why for some of us, it's harder to find a mate. Men don't really care for a woman who can't give them children," she said with a laugh. A bitter laugh. "Did she survive though? With your help?" she couldn't imagine going through something like that, having a child and then having it taken away because of your own body. How the woman must have suffered. She never wanted that to happen to her, and the world wasn't exactly a very forgiving place.
Katherine nodded her head as they finally arrived to the Lionhart. "It is. I find it fascinating the way things work. We're born this way, but for instance.. vampires, that's purely through exchanging blood. So many different ways to not be entirely human," she said with a sigh. Intriguing though, that was for certain. "I imagine that with all groups of people though, there are those out there who only wish to use your sorts of powers for.. well less than savory things?" Surely it had to. There were 'bad' werewolves as much as there were good ones. Ones that only wanted to hunt humans and terrorize people maybe.
She certainly didn't seem to mind answering questions. "It's not all a blur. We mostly remember things. I wouldn't say entirely conscious. I wouldn't.. for instance, decide that trying to have a conversation with us when we're transformed is the best course of action, during the moon especially. It's entirely possible that I wouldn't try to chase you down, I guess. But often wanting to chase is more instinctual and overrides any of our human moralities." Which was something she always worried about, regardless of what time of the month it was.
Zipporah nodded. “I will be sure for to keep mindful, then,” she said. Her auntie had warned her of the transformative power that wolf bites could have after they’d treated the wolf-woman -- it was rumored that a long-distant relative had been turned into one through being bitten, and lost her skill with witchcraft in the process -- a sobering thought indeed. “You are too right, though -- we all have in us the capacity for good and bad -- and temptation, too.”
“And yes,” Zipporah added as she opened the door to the Lionhart, “she survived, and will be capable of bearing more, should she so choose.” Katherine’s comment about the difficulties of finding a partner were said with some passion -- she wondered at the pretty Englishwoman’s history, and whether it was a sad one; her tone suggested some call for bitterness, and she wondered if Katherine’s sorrow was due to love lost.
“Here it is,” she said, as they stepped into the warm confines of the pub, the extensive protective wardings inevitably raising goose pimples on her arms as they stripped her of her defenses. “Let us see about getting you a beer.”