Zania and Reagan
Reagan was doing her best to have a good time. Caius looked devilishly handsome in his suit and there was an open bar. The only problem was she was not really in the mood to socialize. She’d had quite a few glasses of wine already and being surrounded by witches, even her brother and mother, was going to slowly drive her mad. Which was probably why she kept drinking.
Caius had been pulled away by a few associates he knew so Reagan wandered down the long aisle of tables to look at what was being auctioned off, a half empty glass of wine in her hand. She had to hand it to her mother. Veronica certainly had a way of sweet talking people into donating to her many causes. Reagan wondered if she would be in this position someday. Heading board meetings and charities while running her store. Some part of her hoped not. She really just wanted to move to Europe and live on a beach somewhere for the rest of her life. Wishful thinking, she knew… probably brought upon by the wine. Smirking to herself, Reagan moved down a bit and came across a painting of the pier at night looking beautiful in the moonlight. For a second she believed Point Pleasant was just another cozy small seaside town. The painting was certainly deceptive, and she had the urge to bid for it.
For the first time in a long time Zania had a date to the gala. It always felt like too big a thing to invite someone, but things were going so well with Gabriel that she'd caved and hoped for the best. She knew this wasn't his crowd, but it wasn't exactly hers either, and it gave him the opportunity to spread his name around for his shop. Plus, Nic was there with Lem, providing far more family drama than her bringing a date ever had. It was amusing to see her mother all up in a tizzy and it was nice to have a night where she didn't have to listen to her mother complain about her attire and her dreads.
When Gabriel found himself in deep discussion with some of the local businessmen, Zania excused herself to wander through the silent auction items for a moment. It was rare that anything there caught her attention, but it was always fun to look. When she spotted Reagan, she sauntered up beside her, looking at painting as she spoke. "It amazes me sometimes that anyone sees it like this. All peaceful and quiet. I feel like there should be a storm brewing to make it more ominous looking, but that would scare away the tourists."
Reagan glanced up at the voice, not really surprised in the least to see Zania there. She had seen the woman arrive earlier with her date - probably the animal man - but Reagan had been trying to avoid anyone in the room with magical ability, save for her own family. There was really no sense in running off now, and she was too mellow from the wine to even care at the moment. She hummed in agreement to Zania's assessment of the painting, her gaze ticking back to the work. "I bet if you look really closely at the windows of the businesses along the marina you would be able to see shadows," she said, motioning with her wine glass. "Or you could just buy the painting and add some ominous clouds... maybe some streaks of red along the pier. Make the depiction a bit more accurate."
"No, that would ruin it. It'd be far too accurate. Plus, I can't paint worth shit," Zania said with a little laugh as she looked over at Reagan. The smile slipped from her expression within seconds, concern flaring up that she never expected to feel. "Are you okay?" she asked, brows drawing together as she determined that, no matter what Reagan said, she was definitely not okay. Sometimes when she met another witch, she had trouble feeling their element. Everyone had a different feel, a different way of using their gift that made it a little less obvious. But Reagan was fire, had burned as brightly as Zania had, and for the first time ever she felt cold. Not like ice, not like Nic and his weird love of winter, but like ash long after the fire had gone out. Without even a spark of life left to burn.