Gavin Lucas (viciouscircle) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-02-01 01:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, gavin, gavin x reagan, reagan |
Who: Gavin & Reagan
Where: Belladonna's
When: Thursday morning 11/30
Status: Complete
Confronting Reagan Kelly again was not on Gavin's list of things he wanted to do ever again but since the whole Mila situation only seemed to be escalating he didn't exactly have a choice. He showed up at her store as soon as it opened, in fact a little before, waiting in his car until it was time and only waiting the few extra minutes it took to finish his cigarette. He could only hope Reagan was working as he head inside and he wasn't sure if he was relieved to see her there or not. Technically he should be but at the same time it would buy him time if he had to go looking for her elsewhere or come back later. Just seeing him there should be hint enough that he needed to talk to her. He didn't really shop at Belladonna's unless it was for magical items and those weren't exactly stocked on the shelves.
The last person Reagan expected to see in her shop was Gavin Lucas. She had assumed their last conversation had put an end to things between his family and she and Caius, so she paused briefly when she looked up to see him enter the store so soon after it opened. Obviously her first thought was that he’d spoken to Caden and realized his brother’s memory had been altered and he suspected her. But he was meeting her in a fairly public place so Reagan wasn’t worried about getting hurt. Still, she would have been lying if she said memories of Caden’s fist in her face didn’t surface and cause her skin to prickle uncomfortably.
With Emma busy at the register Reagan walked over to Gavin, a calm but expectant look on her face. “Did you run out of body wash?” she asked dryly.
Gavin just gave her a long suffering look, shaking his head at the question. "We need to talk," he said, glancing over to Emma. "Alone." Perhaps he recognized some of the wariness in her or else remembered their rocky past because he had the good sense to add a milder, "I need your help." It was entirely possible this didn't have anything to do with the spell she'd cast and he was trying to keep the peace. Reagan Kelly and her husband were dangerous people, far more so than the lowlife scum he still knew to treat warily. Unlike Caden he wasn't hot-headed enough to get mad before he had his answers.
It was possible he was lying and he just wanted to get her alone to accuse her of hurting his brother again, but Gavin didn't come across as stupid to her, and stupid would have been attacking her in public in her own shop. So after a brief moment of consideration, Reagan motioned for him to follow her to the back of the shop. Her office was small, but private and Reagan led him into it, consciously mindful of keeping a comfortable distance. "What can I do for you?" Maybe he just wanted hex bags, although Reagan couldn't imagine that would require speaking to her alone beforehand.
Gavin busied himself with looking around, if he could have left this encounter up to anyone else, he would have since he pretty much hated these sorts of confrontations and most social interaction in general. Sure, Charlie was warming him up to it a little bit but she was special and it was different. "The job you did for me and my brother, you said there would be a backlash for me and Caden but uh, we seem to have a problem with the woman. Can that happen?" He turned from the little bottles he'd been looking at to try to read Reagan's initial reaction.
A problem with the woman? Brows drawn together thoughtfully, Reagan considered that for a moment before she shook her head. "Backlash usually targets the caster, and those responsible for the request themselves. I suppose it's possible, but not if the magic is done correctly. What's wrong with her?" She supposed she ought to ask that first so she can figure out if it's the magic or something else, unrelated.
Gavin sighed. It was probably a good thing they hadn't caused this but at the same time maybe then it would have been easier to fix. "She seems to be possessed by something dark. She heard a baby crying in Cooperdale Tunnel and uh... she's been wrong ever since. My brother heard it too though so she's not just a nutter. The crying, I mean. They were looking for my daughter in there."
The mention of Cooperdale Tunnel relaxed Reagan somewhat, mostly because it confirmed her belief that it wasn't the magic fucking with 'the woman', but whatever it was that lived in that tunnel. And there was definitely something there. Reagan had gone out into those woods a handful of times in her life, but she hadn't stepped foot in them in years. No, she knew better than to do that. "I don't think that's backlash," Reagan explained. "It sounds like whatever lives in that tunnel knew how to mess with her and your brother. People have been lured inside of that thing for a lot of reasons. It's persuasive. What makes you think she's possessed?"
"Well she's... acting strange, I guess," Gavin said and there was a bone-deep relief that he hadn't directly caused this. "Wandering off to the woods in the middle of the night, taking scolding baths. I'm not clear on all the details I just know she's off. I promised my brother I'd look into something, a protection spell or exorcism." He was pretty sure nobody performed those and as much as the church often helped him he couldn't imagine asking father Dean. "So I might need your services again - or a recommendation else."
Acting strange was not necessarily a sign of possession. But Reagan let Gavin continue, recognizing that wandering off in the middle of the night and taking painfully hot baths... well, that could be something. "I think I would need to talk to your brother," Reagan said. "Or you'll need to talk to her on your own and get a better feel for what's going on. It could... dealing with a loss and experiencing something in that tunnel might have triggered a mental break. Or it's possible something latched onto her from the tunnel, but it may not necessarily be something that can be exorcised like a demon. I can't give you any straight answers without some specific information. But," she continued, because she didn't want it to sound like the situation was hopeless, "I do know someone who might be able to help, if we can pinpoint what's wrong with her."
Gavin got the feeling she wasn't about to give him the name of that someone until she knew what was going on and he really hoped he was wrong about that. He needed to bring solutions to Aaron, not just vague promises that he could find them eventually. "Who?" he asked cautiously, just in case she was willing to give it up. She had to understand why he didn't want her near Mila, it was a conflict of interests, it was too weird.
Reagan didn't think Caius would want her dropping his name to Gavin, especially after what Caius did to Gavin's brother. Not that Gavin knew that, and honestly, Caden didn't know what happened anymore either. But it was still a bit of a tangled web and could create even more problems if Mila was possessed. She thought about Anthony. He could do anything, and everything. But he would want Reagan telling Gavin Lucas his name even less than Caius. Her mother? Reagan sighed. "My husband, Caius D'Onofrio. He's... handled these kind of problems before. If she's really possessed, he could help her. If she's not... he could probably still help figure out what the problem is. I wouldn't have to be there if you think it could create a problem."
Gavin's chest hurt a little when she told him who it was. He didn't know Caius by name but Reagan's 'boyfriend' had cut off Caden's fingers and this was clearly the same man. Reagan's husband. "Ah," he said as he cleared his throat though it came off a bit like 'oh' or a mix thereof. A-oh. This wasn't good. "And that's the only person you know who's capable of this?" he asked and his forehead was starting to feel stiff with how much he was furrowing his brows.
Reagan arched a dark brow. "He's the only one I know who isn't going to bargain your soul for help," she pointed out, feeling a bit defensive of Caius, but understanding Gavin's point of view as well. It wasn't like Caden was being mentioned as being involved in all of this, so what did it matter? "But I can send you to my mother if you would rather try someone else. But considering the situation, and the possibilities, she'll need to know what happened to your brother's girlfriend before the tunnel."
Gavin opened his mouth to speak but held back as he did the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out if Reagan's mother would truly need to know. If it was unrelated, all she had to know was that Mila had lost her baby, but then there could be something in the way there, something connected even if it wasn't directly caused by the spell-work Reagan had done. He closed his mouth and hummed, his gears grinding as he tried to sort it all out in his mind. Caden could never know that he worked with Caius, not after what had happened. Gavin was reluctant to work with the man in the first place, knowing what he'd done to his brother but... Desperate times. "I suppose..." he started, his voice a little pained. "You're the better judge of that."
"Maybe, but this is your choice," Reagan pointed out. "We can be discreet, but I can't make any guarantees that what's wrong with her isn't connected to what happened. Again, I won't know until I talk to her, or... someone talks to her. I guess my only piece of advice is not to wait too long. If something dark did latch onto her in that tunnel, it can escalate pretty quickly. You've lived here your entire life, so you know as well as I do the history of that place."
Gavin sighed quietly. This just had to be difficult, all of it, every time. Why couldn't there be a simple solution, a candle he could stick in Mila's window, an evil-be-gone spray. "Is there a witchy trick you've got to see or feel if she's actually possessed?" he asked and sincerely doubted the answer would be yes. "If you could just... talk to her." He hadn't wanted the two to meet but it was getting harder to avoid. Reagan knew things he didn't, she was connected to some occult shit he had no idea about, she might be able to figure this out, at least to understand what they needed to do to help.
Reagan chuckled a bit at the idea of a witchy trick. It never failed to amuse her that people thought witches were some kind of all powerful beings. They were human like anyone else. Well, not like anyone else, but they weren't perfect, nor could they just look at someone and recognize possession. She made the decision to talk to Caius once they found a solution to the Baron problem. There was no need to burden him with someone else's problems when he had enough of his own. "I'll talk to her," Reagan agreed. "It might be a couple of days while I get through the weekend, so... I would tell your brother to keep a close eye on her until then."
Gavin didn't think Aaron needed to be told that but he hummed his agreement anyway. He would have scoffed at Reagan's thoughts had he known them, a witch could end a pregnancy without being anywhere near the pregnant woman, that was a dangerous amount of power if you asked him. "Well, uhm," he muttered. "I'll leave my number. The sooner the better, I get the feeling time's not on our side here." And Aaron couldn't really spend all his time babysitting his girlfriend, he was needed at work and no human being could do a 24/7 job.
Reagan found her phone on her desk and picked it up to unlock the screen. She pulled up her contacts and typed in Gavin's name before handing it to him to enter his phone number. "I'll try to make it sooner than later. Monday, at the latest. Just call me if anything happens between now and then." She was focused on getting Caius's memories back, and that had to take precedence over everything else right now. Obviously she didn't want anything to happen to Gavin's brother or girlfriend, but she wanted Caius fully back before throwing him at someone else's problem.
Monday was far away and Gavin felt a twist of disappointment in his gut. He swallowed it down as he put in his number, then handed the phone back. "As soon as you can," he muttered and realized he hadn't even asked how much it would cost to get this sort of help. He supposed it shouldn't matter and if it was Aaron who was inflicted with this Gavin would pay anything to get it fixed. Aaron might care about Mila but he would get over her eventually if it all went to hell so no, Gavin wasn't going to be throwing too much money at this. He couldn't stomach that sort of negotiating at the moment though, he needed to fix this, to make up for what he'd done to Aaron.
“As soon as I can,” Reagan promised. She wasn’t thinking about money at this point. Reagan wasn’t going to charge him for talking with a woman. If and when it was decided something needed to be done, then they could discuss price. She opened his contact information and sent a quick text with only her name. “Now you have my number too, in case you need to get a hold of me before I call you. Does your brother have any hex bags? I don’t know if the protection spells would work, since we’re not sure what we’re dealing with, but it wouldn’t hurt to make sure he has one or two in his house.”
"Not that I know of," Gavin said and that was a good reminder that he was a shitty brother. Of course he should have tried to protect his brothers too but it was all just too much and he felt tired just thinking about how many people there were in his life. "I'll look into it," he added and thinking about whether Caden might need one too just made him think about how Reagan's husband had taken his fingers clean off. He had made sure that was the last of it but who knew what Caden would do if he knew Gavin was back here.
She nodded, because that’s all she could really do on her end. This was a problem for Gavin’s family and it was up to him to let her know what he needed. She and Caius could talk to his brother’s girlfriend, but they couldn’t make any decisions for them. She hoped Gavin could be decisive if no one else could. “Is there anything else you need?” Reagan asked.
"No," Gavin said and shrugged. "I'll get out of your hair, let you get back to work." She would call and if he hadn't heard from her by Monday he'd come back. This was urgent and waiting the whole weekend was already too long. "I uh, didn't want to say anything, I don't think I need to say anything but uhm, it'd be best if my brother Caden was not aware of any of this."
Reagan didn't think it would matter even if he did. He may remember coming to Reagan with Gavin for help with the baby problem, but Caden wouldn't remember what Caius did to him. It was something she could have told Gavin to keep him from worrying about it, but fucking with someone's memories might be just as bad as snapping off their fingers, so she decided to let it go. If Caden mentioned his 'accident' Gavin might start to figure it out, but there was no need to expedite that particular problem. "I won't say a word about it," she told Gavin. "I have no reason to speak with him. Don't worry."
Gavin might not have needed that reassurance but he still felt better now that he had it. He nibbled on his lip for a few seconds as he thought about whether he needed to tell or ask Reagan anything else, then turned to leave. "Thanks for your time," he muttered, thankful that Reagan's business wasn't so above board that she took payment for simply talking to her like every other specialist out there. He headed back out to the store, narrowly avoiding the temptation to buy something for Charlie as he shuffled past the fragrant shelves. Maybe next time, if he didn't end up spending every last penny on this goddamn problem.