rylee mears (itsjustafeeling) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-07-04 09:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | #october 2017, nic, nic x rylee, rylee |
Who: Nic and Rylee
Where: Castell Spice Shop
When: Early afternoon, Tuesday, 10/31
Status: Complete
Rylee had spent a nice Sunday with Carson, and while things weren’t exactly normal, she was at least thankful that some of the awkwardness was gone. Rylee still worried about him. She had tried to google ‘shared dreams’ the night before, but everything that came up with a bit weird and nothing that really struck Rylee as believable. Which made sense, because this whole thing seemed unbelievable. She didn’t doubt Carson’s story, though. There were three other people in town experiencing what he was, one of whom Rylee knew pretty damn well. And she was heading over to talk to him today, just to try and get some more information on what was happening and if there was anything she should know that Carson hadn’t told her.
Rylee knew Nic worked quite a bit, and so she wasn’t surprised to find his car in the parking lot at the spice and tea shop. She hadn’t texted him ahead of time to let him know she was stopping by, but Rylee doubted Nic would mind. It wouldn’t have been the first time she dropped in on him unexpected.
She parked and headed inside, the sight and scents of the shop always bringing a small smile to her face. Maybe she could buy some tea on her way out. When she spotted Nic, Rylee’s smile grew, despite her inner turmoil. “Long time no talk,” Rylee said as she approached him. “How are you?”
Meeting with the others experiencing the dreams had created more questions than answers for Nic, and he couldn’t help but be frustrated with the entire situation. Maybe talking to Jane would help, but they still needed to coordinate that. Nic was thinking about looking her up on his own, but had been busy enough that he hadn’t gotten a chance. Halloween was a big day in the witching community, as well as All Saints Day, and they had some special orders that he was working on getting wrapped up and shipped out. Halloween wasn’t his concern though. The full moon loomed ahead of them, along with the knowledge that at least one werewolf might be in town. He expected to spend his Halloween pouring our silver bullets for Lem and Vex while Zania helped with the cage. Maybe he’d put on a scary movie. American Werewolf in Paris felt appropriate.
He looked up when the door to the shop opened, ringing the little bell, then smiled when he realized it was Rylee. Nic wasn’t close to a lot of people, his circle of friends relatively small, but Rylee was one of those people that he trusted. She knew things that only a handful knew, had known him at his worst, and had still come around to become more than a friend for one brief summer. Seeing her always made him smile. “Hey,” he said, coming around the counter to give her a hug. “I’m good. Big holiday around here keeping me busy. What about you?”
Rylee returned his hug and then pulled back to give him a small smile. It was Halloween. Right. Usually she got dressed up to hit some bars, but Rylee realized she hadn't made any plans for the evening. Maybe Carson would want to go to the festival on Main Street. "I'm doing all right," Rylee said, since it was mostly true. It wasn't like she could tell anyone about her feelings for Carson, even people she considered close friends. Some things were always best left unsaid. She was learning that the hard way. "I was hoping we could talk," Rylee added quietly. "I don't think either of you really put two and two together, which is understandable since you barely knew one another then... or now, but... Carson is my cousin," she explained. "He told me about what was doing on with those dreams, and he mentioned you."
Nic didn’t expect the seriousness of the conversation, nor had he put together the connection. Carson had seemed familiar the way everyone in Point Pleasant did, like someone he might have seen in the grocery store, or in the halls at school, but a couple grades off and years in the past. Now that she said it, it clicked into place and he gave a nod as he took a breath. “Yeah, um, I met him on Monday. Officially, I guess. It didn’t even occur to me that he was your cousin.” He wondered if they’d spoken since then, and if so, what Carson had relayed back to her. Nic had been fairly open about what he was with that group, more than he ever would be with a group of strangers, and for all he trusted Rylee, his practicing magic was the one thing he’d never confided in her. She didn’t believe and he’d had no reason to pull her in to that world. Now it sounded like she’d been brought in from another angle. “How much did he tell you?”
Rylee had talked about Carson before, but it made sense that Nic wouldn't put two and two together. It wasn't like the three of them hung out together. And it didn't really matter right then. There were more important things to talk about. "He told me about the dreams you guys had been having. I was there when he saw... well, whatever it was he saw, in the mirror? I just thought he was hallucinating because of his medication. But he told me that he started having these dreams, and you and two other people were in them. It's been going on for awhile. He said..." Rylee cringed a little and shifted on her feet. "That there's something in the dreams stalking you, but he doesn't know what it is. I believe him, I just wanted... I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else that all of this is actually happening."
“That’s pretty accurate,” Nic nodded. “It started with the mirrors, then evolved into dreams. I didn’t realize anyone else was involved until then, and wasn’t certain the two were connected until we talked, but that’s definitely the case. Something’s reaching out to us, either to attack us or warn us or something.” He watched her carefully for a minute, wondering what he could tell her that Carson hadn’t already said. “I know it’s a lot. You’ve never believed in this kinda thing. It takes some adjusting.” He’d never really had to do it himself, brought up entrenched in the world of magic even before he could do it, but he’d seen it often enough.
Rylee huffed out a soft breath, looking away from Nic to some spot in the store. She stared without really seeing anything. She knew she was a skeptic, and there wasn't many of those here in Point Pleasant, but rational thought always seemed to push through all the bullshit, because it was too terrifying to think of what could be out there that was irrational. She figured that was why Carson had kept it from her for so long, because he didn't think she would believe him. And without the proof that there were others involved, she probably wouldn't have. "Adjusting is probably an understatement," she murmured. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Carson's my best friend, and I feel disconnected from him right now. There's something bizarre happening to you both and there's zero I can do to help. This sounds dangerous. Are you doing anything preventative? Have you gone to anyone else for help?"
“You’re gonna think I’m crazy,” Nic said with a hint of a smile before giving in and telling her what he’d done so far. “I’ve made fresh hex bags for my bed, the shop, my car, and my person. I’ve blessed every mirror I have access to, and my bed, which was just weird. I’ve put up wards to keep out malicious spirits, drank special tea to keep my mind clear, and put salt around my bed just for extra measure. So far the only thing that’s helped is the extra lock I put on the door to keep me from walking out into the street again.” And he wasn’t even sure that helped so much as he hadn’t felt the desire to sleepwalk again. “I talked to Zan. This is normally the kind of thing I can handle. It’s pissing me off that I can’t. Don’t feel bad that you can’t do anything. You can listen, and you can believe him. That’s a lot.”
Rylee's brows raised, but she didn't interrupt him as he spoke. All of that did sound crazy, and she had no idea what he even meant by 'blessing' his mirror. Did he use a Priest? And what on earth were hex bags? "Wait, just... back up," Rylee said, lifting her hand to stop him for a moment. "I'm so confused right now, but what else is new. You put salt around your bed? What on earth is that supposed to do? And hex bags sound... ominous. Is all of that supposed to be some kind of New Age-y remedies?" Which Rylee also felt were totally bunk, except for pot, which helped just about everything.
“No,” Nic said, huffing out a little laugh. His thumbs hooked into his jean pockets and he shrugged. “It's witchcraft. Salt creates a barrier that demons can’t cross, though I don’t think we’re dealing with a demon and I don’t know if it would need to physically get to me to access my dreams, if that’s a thing it can do. Every demon’s different. Hex bags can be used for protection, though most people hear hex and assume evil intent. I kind of went overboard, but not knowing what’s attacking us has made it hard to figure out how to respond. And even then, it didn’t work.” Whatever it was was still able to access his dreams. The amount of power that spoke of chilled him. Something was coming and he wasn’t prepared.
"Witchcraft," Rylee said dumbly. And demons. He said it so casually that Rylee felt like she ought to have just nodded along. She understood there were Wiccans out there, and maybe that's what Nic meant, but demons? Rylee rubbed both hands over her face and turned away to pace for a moment. First mirror hallucinations, then shared dreams and sleepwalking, and now witchcraft and demons. "Okay, I'm..." Rylee shot her arms up into the air in exasperation. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to say now. You practice witchcraft, and there's a possibility some kind of demon is haunting your dreams? That's sounds insane, Nic. Am I supposed to believe in ghosts and werewolves now too?"
“Yeah, but that’s a lot to take on in one day,” Nic said gently. Normally he wouldn’t have even mentioned werewolves, but she brought it up and he wasn’t going to lie to her, not right now. It was hard to gauge how much people could handle, but he had the feeling that too much detail on subjects that didn’t pertain to their current circumstances would not help anything. If she wanted to know more about ghosts and werewolves, he could tell her later. “Do you want me to show you?”
Rylee stared at Nic with a hint of exasperation as her arms fell back to her sides. She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not, sometimes Nic could be hard to read, but given the circumstances, she doubted he would joke around like this when she was so obviously concerned. He was offering to 'show her' and while Rylee's instinctive response was No!, she also realized she was someone who always wanted to see proof of something before she believed it. And Nic was here, offering to show her, so why would she say no? Rylee couldn't live with her head in the sand forever, if that's what's been going on. "Yes," she said finally. "Show me."
“Okay,” Nic said, taking a deep breath as he nodded. This would be easy enough, but he really didn’t want someone walking into the shop in the middle of it, so he moved to the door and flipped the sign to closed before locking it. Then he pulled up a stool on one side of the counter, before going to sit on the other side. “Have a seat,” he said, nodding towards the stool. He pulled out three items that sat below the counter at all times: a candle, an empty glass, and a little pot with soil in it. “We use these when people come in claiming to be witches. Everything look normal to you?” He asked as he rolled us his sleeves.
Rylee took a seat and tried to get comfortable, but her stomach was in knots. The skepticism persisted, but there was also some sense of exhilaration that maybe Nic was going to show her something that should be impossible. But if magic could be real, that meant anything could be real, and that was a scary prospect. She glanced between the three items and then lifted her gaze to Nic. "Yes, of course." Obviously Rylee wanted to ask who had come into the shop claiming to be witches, but she was betting Nic probably wouldn't tell her. If people didn't go around advertising what they were, or what they thought they were, they probably didn't want people to know for a reason.
“Just checking,” Nic said with a little smile. “Witches have an affinity for one of four elements. When we start, we can only command one, but in time we can usually harness all four, at least to some degree. A fire witch simply has to light the candle.” He held his hand over the candle and the wick lit immediately, a little flame tickling his hand. “I would expect an air witch to blow it out.” There was a gust of wind then, blowing out the candle, but also strong enough to blow Rylee’s hair out of her face. “An earth witch could make the seed in this pot grow,” he said, running his finger around the edge of the pot. This one took a little more work from him and the soil only barely shifted, a tiny green sprout making an appearance. An earth witch could do so much better. “And a water witch can fill the glass with water,” he said, turning his hand over the glass, making a fist. Water poured from his fist, filling the glass. When it was full, he turned his hand over, producing an orb of water in his hand, a liquid held together by magic. “Wanna touch it?” He grinned.
It would be so easy to dismiss all of this as parlor tricks, something a magician could do. She had seen magicians like David Blaine do far more extraordinary things, but Rylee always knew there was illusion behind it designed to trick the mind and the senses. But Nic was no magician. If he had been, he would have told Rylee years ago. She sat transfixed on everything he did, exhaling softly once he finished, the water orb hovering in his palm. His question prompted a reluctant sort of look from her, but then she reached out to touch it gently with her fingertips. "Most of the time when a man asks me that, I say no," she said dryly. It was real, and her fingers came away from the orb wet. "Why didn't you tell me about all of this?"
“I’ll consider myself lucky then,” Nic snickered. He knew her fingers would have been wet, that she could have sunk them into the orb till it enveloped her hand, just like plunging it into a bowl of water. He turned the orb over in his hand, freezing it solid in an instant, cold air radiating from it. “You’ve always been a skeptic. And it’s kind of a can of worms, isn’t it? If this is real, what else is? Some people don’t want to know. Some…some blame the witches. Burn ‘em at the stake. Hang ‘em from a tree. I know you wouldn’t, but we’ve kind of learned to protect ourselves.” Point Pleasant was weird because it was such a small town crawling with witches. Nic doubted you’d find half as many in another town twice it’s size.
Rylee was silent as she digested all of that. Point Pleasant's history did stem from the execution of six people thought to be witches, but Rylee had just assumed it was along the same vein as Salem hysteria. Nic was right though, because if this was real, what else was there? Creepy dream monsters who also fucked with people's reflections? It sounded like a novel Stephen King would write, only she was hoping there would be no bloody deaths here. "I get it," Rylee murmured. "I just... feel like things have been kept with me because of what I believe, or don't believe. Carson didn't tell me either, and I understand why. But... given the chance to see it for myself, how can I deny that it's real?" Sighing, Rylee rested her arms on the counter and smiled faintly at Nic. "I've been pretty good at keeping your secrets, Nic. I'll keep this one too."
“I know,” Nic said, reaching out and giving her hand a little squeeze before pulling back. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, you know. It wasn’t a big part of my life back when we were in school. My magic came to me so late I didn’t think I had any at all. Then later, I wasn’t sure it was worth mentioning. It’s a big part of my world, but you could go your whole life and not really need to know.” Unless her cousin started getting haunted by some weird mirror-dream creature, of course. He supposed that’s what they got for living in Point Pleasant. “Zan’ll be excited,” he said, rolling the ball of ice across the counter. “She’s debated telling you for years.”
There was apparently so much that Rylee didn't know that she was beginning to feel like a stranger in the place she was born and raised. Carson had begun to feel like a stranger to and that was the part that sucked most of all. If she could have rewound time and changed her mind about telling him about she felt, she would have. Apparently magic was real, but she was betting time travel was not. "It's all right," Rylee said with a faint smile. Only then had it occurred to her that Zania was probably a witch too. How bizarre was all of this? "I can understand why you wouldn't want to say anything. It might take a bit of time to really sink in, but... I'm glad I know now. Look... Carson hadn't exactly been forthcoming with everything. I know he was afraid of how I would react, but... will you keep me updated on what you guys find out? If the dreams happen again, or if you find any answers? I'm worried and I hate being in the dark."
Nic suspected it would take a while before she was really able to adjust to the knowledge, not just of what he was, but of everything else that opened up. The ramifications were huge. For a lot of people, they began to question everything, and some became paranoid. Rylee seemed pretty chill though, more concerned about the issue at hand, which was good. “Yeah, of course,” he said, putting his hand on the ball and slowly shrinking it down to nothing. “We’re gonna talk to this girl who has power over dreams and see if she can help. And, just so you know, I didn’t actually come right out and tell them that I’m a witch, though I think I may have rambled on enough that they either came to that conclusion or went the same direction you did and think I’m really into some new age remedies.” Either way, none of them had seemed bothered by it. They had bigger things to deal with. “You know you can ask me anything and I’ll do my best to answer.”
Rylee watched the ice begin to shrink, and her mind considered it a 'neat trick', even though she knew it was so much more than that. As it disappeared, her gaze lifted back to Nic's and she wondered if Carson had figured out what Nic was. If he had, would he have mentioned it to Rylee? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. "I know you will," Rylee said, though her mind was so blank on questions right now. She was just trying to accept everything else he had told her. There was a woman in town who had power over dreams. Witches. Creepy, shared dreams with other people in town. He had even implied werewolves existed. Rylee exhaled softly and rubbed her face with her hands again. "This is so insane," she murmured. "I need a drink... or five. You seem pretty calm, Nic. I mean, about this dream business. Aren't you scared?"
Nic gave a little shrug. “In the moment, when I’m dreaming, yeah,” he admitted. “Dreams are weird. They don’t play by the rules. Sometimes I have my magic, sometimes I don’t, and I’m always disoriented, like I can’t catch my bearings. I get the most anxious at night, when it’s time to sleep, but when I’m awake, I’m not as worried. We haven’t had any issues with mirrors for a while now, and even then, I didn’t feel as vulnerable.” When he was awake, he could walk away, or smash the mirror. He could escape. Both were unpredictable, but only the dreams felt dangerous, at least so far. “The sleepwalking probably scares me the most. Did Carson tell you about that?”
Rylee nodded. "He managed to get his prosthetic on and walk outside without me hearing a thing," she explained. "That was a bit nerve wracking when he told me. He could have been hurt, or worse. We're going to sleep with our doors open from now on so there's a better chance of me hearing it if it happens again. You didn't get hurt, did you?" She knew he lived out on Ludlow. There wasn't a lot of traffic down that street, but it had always creeped her out anyway. Rylee couldn't imagine sleepwalking around there without anyone around to make sure she was okay.
That was definitely disconcerting, as it meant that the new locks he’d put on the door probably wouldn’t prevent Nic from sleepwalking again. “I almost got hit by a car,” he said, realizing that would not help calm her fears. “My neighbor happened to be awake. She pushed me out of the way just in time. Zan slept through the whole thing.” His room was down the hall from his though and she typically slept with her door shut. “Maybe I need to hang bells or something, to wake up Zan. Not that that’ll be enough, but, you know…” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, that’s not much help.”
Rylee's lips twitched. "Carson and I decided on hanging a bell on his door, just in case. I don't know what else to do beyond sleeping on the floor outside his room, and that's probably a bit much." She certainly couldn't sleep in the same bed as him. Maybe it would have been okay before, but not now. "You were lucky your neighbor happened to be out at the right time. Do you think this is something that may just... go away? Maybe this is just random and temporary." Wishful thinking, probably, but Rylee was just struggling to find a safe, rational conclusion to all of this.
“If the bell will wake you, then that’ll probably work,” Nic agreed. He knew he’d probably need something a bit louder to wake his sister. Normally that was fine, but he’d never had sleepwalking issues before. “If everyone was experiencing it, like when the fog rolled into town, then I’d say yes, maybe it’d just stop, but this has been going on for over a month now and it’s just us four, so I think either something’s going to happen or we’ll have to do something. I was hoping we could be proactive, but without really knowing what we’re dealing with, we’re kinda stuck.” That wasn’t very reassuring, but they were doing all they could do.
It wasn't reassuring, but she would rather have the truth than be coddled to keep her from worrying. Rylee wanted to make sure Carson stayed safe, Nic too. The problem was she had no idea how to help. Nic suggested just believing Carson and being there for him, but how would that keep him alive? "Have you been researching anything, like... dream... demons?" She grimaced, because it sounded ridiculous out loud, but hey, whatever. If everything existed that Nic claimed existed, maybe those things existed too. "You know, like... oh, what are they called. Succubi?"
“That’s an idea,” Nic said, impressed that she would know that bit of folklore. He hadn’t considered them, forgetting that they appeared in dreams, but that was mostly because he so strongly associated them with sex. “Succubi are thought to be female demons that seduce men, and so far these dreams haven’t been the least bit sexual, but it does remind me that there are demons who can do that kind of thing. It’s definitely worth looking into.” The hard part about researching demons was that there was no official text on them, or on anything supernatural. It forced him to rely on folklore, passed down knowledge, and word of mouth. “I really hope it’s not a demon,” he said softly, a look of worry crossing his face for a moment. “But if it’s not, I don’t know what it could be. And I hate not knowing.”
Rylee didn't know much about dream demons, or demons in general given she never believed they actually existed, but at least it was something Nic could think about. "Can't priests... exorcise them, if it is a demon of some kind? If they do exist, there has to be a way to get rid of them." Rylee didn't know as much as Nic did about this stuff, obviously, but she was more than willing to spit out suggestions if it meant feeling helpful in some way. "Do you think that dream woman might be able give you answers?"
“A priest can perform an exorcism if someone’s possessed. Or a witch can. But we’re not really possessed. It’s more like we’re being haunted,” Nic explained, even if he didn’t feel like that was quite right either. But that was a good thing. The last thing they wanted to deal with was a possession. “I hope she can help? She’s got skills none of us have, so it seems like a good start. We were thinking that if she was able to be in one of the dreams, she might see something that we didn’t. The problem is that we don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
"That certainly makes it more difficult," Rylee murmured. "I know I can't do much, but if you need any help with anything, will you let me know?" He probably wouldn't need her, but she felt like it was the only way she could stay involved somehow. Rylee knew Carson wouldn't want to put her in danger, but she didn't want him to be in danger either. This whole thing worried her. The unknown was a terrifying thing sometimes. Rylee sighed and managed a small smile. "Do you have any new teas in? I feel like I should at least buy something for taking up so much of your time."
“I will,” Nic nodded, giving her a small smile. He could keep her updated and if she could help, then he would definitely be reaching out to her. Thus far it didn’t seem like there was anything anyone could do, except maybe the dream walker. “We have a Pumpkin Spice Chai, if you want something fall-ish. It’s got ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. It smells incredible and I like the taste. But don’t feel obligated to buy something. You can come by anytime to talk.”
"I don't feel obligated," she promised with a soft laugh. "And the Pumpkin Spice sounds great. It's certainly the season for it. If you have anymore of the Ginger Peach tea, I'll take that too." Rylee figured she should probably let Carson know she spoke to Nic. They had been friends since high school, and more than friends for a brief moment in time, but she was glad that hadn't ruined their friendship. With Carson and Nic both involved in whatever this was, she wanted to do whatever she could to help, as unbelievable as the entire thing seemed.
“Of course,” Nic said, rising to get her a bag of both the Pumpkin Spice Chai and the Ginger Peach. Tea might not be where they made the bulk of their income, but he liked that they had regular customers, enough that they had inventory turnover regularly. It was a good excuse to see people and he was glad that Rylee had decided to come talk to him. He would’ve never known he could tell her about it all otherwise.