Zania Castell (brokendoll) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-08-31 18:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | #december 2017, caden, caden x zania, zania |
Who: Caden and Zania
When: Fog time, Wednesday, December 27th
Where: The spice shop
Status: Complete
Caden was pretty pissed off, but that seemed to be the norm anymore these days. He had lived in Point Pleasant his whole life and knew enough about it now to understand that this fog was just something else to wreak havoc in their lives. The last time they had dealt with fog people had tried to beat the shit out of each other. Now it was dead ass freezing and he had been forced to pull over when his visibility was shot.
Aware that he had been close to the Castell’s Spice and Tea shop, or whatever the fuck it was called, Caden had grabbed his phone and left his car in the street, managing to find his way to the building to slip inside. He wasn’t going to sit in his car and waste gas waiting for this bullshit to clear.
When he was safe inside, he tried to call Roxy, and then Gavin, but he had no signal. Caden wasn’t sure if it was because this area had poor coverage or what and he walked to the counter, looking around for the woman who owned the place. “Hello?” he called. Someone had to be here, or the door would have been locked.
It had been a quiet afternoon, the sort where Zania found herself getting bored and needing a distraction, so she’d headed down to the basement to sort and prep a new batch of supplies for the store above. Normally she heard the bell over the door when someone entered, but this time she must’ve missed it. “Coming!” She called out, then stopped what she was doing, brushed off her hands, and started up the stairs. The man was familiar, someone she’d seen around town often enough to know he was a local, but it took her a second to place him, having never seen him in the shop before--He was a Lucas, from the bar. “Hi, what can I help you with?” She smiled, wondering what brought him in.
"Do you have service?" Caden asked, once Zania came into view and greeted him. He held up his cell phone. "There's some weird shit going on outside and I can't seem to get my phone to work to call or text anyone." It was probably strange of him to call fog "weird shit", but this was Point Pleasant and he tended to look at any weather anomaly as bad. He also new Zania Castell had grown up here, so she probably knew it too.
“Let me check,” Zania said as she pulled out her phone. Zero bars, no connection. “Not on my cell. Let me check the landline.” She set her cellphone on the counter, then picked up the store phone, an old landline that she’d never seen a reason to disconnect. Nothing. Not even a dial tone. “The line’s dead,” she said, hanging it back up. “What kind of weird shit are we talking about?” That could mean so much around here, but as she moved towards the front of the store she could see what he was talking about. She could barely see out the windows, a blanket of white clouding them up. Zania opened the front door and looked out into the cold, shivering. “You walked through this?” she asked, looking back at Caden.
"Shit." Caden muttered. Of course this would happen while he was out driving, rather than being at the bar, or at home. He tried to send the text to Roxy again but it came back as undeliverable. Sighing, he looked up when Zania spoke to him again. "I wasn't too far. I had to pull over and this was the closest building. I could still see the outline of it in the fog. Not sure I'd be able to now." The fog seemed to have gotten worse, if that were possible. "I couldn't tell you what kind of weird shit this is, but the last time we had fog everyone went around punching everyone else. Could be toxic. Could just be fog. I don't fuckin' know." Frustrated, he slipped his phone into his pocket. "Is anyone else here?"
“It’s never just fog around here,” Zania muttered with a little shake of her head. She shut the door, then headed back towards the counter, going to sit on the stool on the other side. She didn’t need to be there, but it was such a default place to be that she went without thinking. “Nope. Just me,” she said, giving him a tight smile. “You might be here for a while. Want me to grab you a chair or something?” She had another stool, which wasn’t great, but it was better than standing. Though if this lasted as long as the last fog, he’d likely need a place to sleep too. They both would and Zania was already thinking through what random supplies she might have in the basement.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Caden stared out into the fog, wondering if Roxy was still at the bar. He was pretty sure her shift hadn't been over yet. And Gavin was there, so he would make sure Roxy stayed safe. Where was Aaron? Probably at the hospital with Mila. Sighing, Caden ran a hand over his short hair. "I'm okay for now," he told Zania, only realizing a bit belatedly that she had offered him a chair. Of all the places to get stuck. But Caden supposed it could have been worse. He could still be in his car. He sighed and looked over at Zania. "You think we'll be here for a while? What do you think that is outside?"
“I dunno, but we can’t drive in it. I’m not even sure wandering around in it’s a good idea,” Zania said, looking towards the window. At this point she couldn’t even see the edge of the sidewalk. If something else blew in with the fog, they wouldn’t be able to see it coming. Maybe she was paranoid, but Zania always jumped to the conclusion that random acts of weirdness were bad news. Yes, the fog could just be fog, but how often was that really the case? “Hopefully it’ll just blow through and we’ll make it home in time for dinner.”
He knew from experience they couldn't drive in this. That was the entire reason he was in her shop to begin with. Caden released a frustrated sigh. What the fuck was he supposed to do here? Wait? It was going to drive him crazy. "I'll keep my fingers crossed," he muttered before snickering and looking down at his hands. Only one had five fingers left. "These fingers anyway." He wiggled his good hand and shook his head before turning to look around the shop. "You're a Castell, aren't you?"
“I am,” she smiled. “Zania Castell. Or just Zan. And you’re a Lucas.” That was how it worked in small towns-- everyone knew everyone, at least on some level. It was great and it was horrible, depending on the day and your reputation. Right now Zania wasn’t sure which. “I’d have much rather been stuck in your bar than my shop,” she sighed. “What happened to your fingers?” He’d brought them to her attention, so it shouldn't be too nosy to ask.
Yeah, he was a Lucas. Everyone knew that. Caden didn't pay much attention to the people in town that he didn't care about, which was most of them, but he heard enough names and knew enough people who came through the bar. The Overlook Brats were always brats, they just grew up. But Caden couldn't help but agree with her. He would have rather been stuck in his bar too. Her question about his fingers threw him for a moment, because he wasn't sure who else had asked beyond his dad. And frankly, Caden hadn't had much of an answer even then. "Can't really remember," he admitted, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "So I assume alcohol was involved. You got any water?"
If Zania had had any idea that her name automatically made her an Overlook brat, her response wouldn’t have been quite so chipper. She didn’t fit with that crowd, often felt like an outcast herself, even if much of that was her own doing. “Must’ve been a fuck-ton of it if you can’t remember that,” she said with a little laugh. “Yeah, we got water. And tea. Lots of it,” she said, walking over to one of the cabinets and pulling out a glass for him. She filled it from the faucet behind the counter, then handed it to him. “It’s food that I’m short on. I’ve got leftover Christmas cookies and…there might be some brownies.” If so, they were more than just brownies, but Caden didn’t need to know that quite yet.
Caden chuckled softly. "There's always a fuck ton of alcohol in my life, so yeah. Probably better that I don't really remember the details, though I'm sure it would've been a story to tell." He wasn't big on tea, but he walked over to where she was to take the glass of water. He wished it were liquor, but water was better than nothing. "I'm not hungry, but thanks. Might as well save those in case we're stuck here for a while." He gulped down half the glass, trying to ignore the prickles of anxiety and temper that rose from the simple fact that he was stuck anywhere. None of those emotions were directed at Zania, of course, but he hated not being able to get into contact with Roxy or Gavin, or even Aaron. "Unless those are special brownies, then I'd say we eat those sooner than later." He leaned against the counter and ran a hand over his face wearily. "This fuckin' town."
“They might be,” Zania said with a twist of her lips. She didn’t have liquor in house, but she had pot and that was better in her opinion. It was getting high during business hours with a guy she didn’t know that kept her from pulling out her stash. “So far it’s just fog,” she reminded him. “And...most people around here know to be careful.” Not being able to reach anyone was an annoyance, but she felt pretty good about her family getting through these things. Nic could handle himself, as he could her parents. It made her think of Gabriel though, who’d been told time and time again that things up here got weird. She hoped he was somewhere safe. “What’s your name?”
That was true. Most of the people who lived in Point Pleasant knew what was what, and how to avoid becoming another statistic in a dying town. But that didn't always mean they were safe. Shit happened, and it happened a lot. No one was ever one hundred percent safe from it. Drinking the last of the water in the glass, Caden said it down and licked his lips. Christ, he wanted a beer. "Caden. You and your brother live on... Ludlow, right? That big Victorian house." Maybe he was remembering it wrong and it was someone else in her family, but Caden was pretty sure he knew her parents still lived in Overlook.
“Yep,” Zania nodded. “The one with the big front porch.” Nic was probably there now, waiting out the fog himself. Maybe he’d wander nextdoor to check on Lem and Vex. It wasn’t that far, though visibility made it dangerous. “It was my grandmother’s, like the shop.” Her parents would have preferred she did something different, left the family business and made something of herself, but Zania had wanted nothing else since she was little. Nic would’ve been the better choice to push on, the more likely one to follow in their footsteps, but they’d struggled with his arrest and their own tarnished reputation. Zania often wondered if her parents would ever truly understand them, though it was unlikely to happen so long as they kept their secrets to themselves.
Caden hummed a response in his throat. He hadn't had to deal with people one on one like this in so long that he had nearly forgotten how much he hated small talk. Mostly because he was really fucking bad at it. It was one thing to talk to people behind the bar. They were all drinking and he could easily move on after a few words back and forth. "So this is a family business," Caden said, looking over his shoulder at the shop itself. He could relate to that, at least. "Your parents own this place?"
“Nope! It’s mine,” Zania smiled. “My dad didn’t want it. It’s not his thing. But it is mine, so I was glad to inherit it. I spent, like, half my childhood here, so it’s not like it’s hard. Well, I say that, but it depends on the customer.” Some people were difficult or wanted things that were hard to come by, but Zania could get her hands on just about anything if someone was patient enough. None of those customers were shopping for tea or spices though. “Nic works with me, so still kind of a family business, I guess. Which has its perks.”
"Yeah, I know." Working with his brothers also had its perks, but also its downside, given the day and their moods. How many times had their patrons witnessed a Lucas brother fight behind the bar? Too many to count. Oh well. It was their fucking place, and if people didn't like it, they could go drink at another bar in town. Not that there were many. "You get a lot of business?" Caden asked. "There's a lot of demand for spices and tea people can't find at the grocery store?"
“You’d be surprised,” Zania said with a hint of amusement. “I carry a lot of obscure things, including homeopathic remedies to rare ailments, the kind of stuff only people around here get.” She’d never come right out and tell someone she was a witch, not without a reason to do so, and inquiring about the shop’s business wasn’t a good enough reason. He was right to question it though; there was no way they’d stay in business on tea and spices alone. The additional explanation made her sound a little like one of those new age believers in homeopathic medicine, but it was the closest she could come to the truth without stating it outright.
Caden already knew plenty about the supposed witches in town - the Point Pleasant Six and all that. And he knew witches existed, given what he and Gavin had gone to Reagan Kelly for. So yes, Caden heard plenty of rumors about the Castells. His mind was on the fog outside, and his family, so it took him a few extra moments to realize Zania probably meant "magic" when she said homeopathic remedies. And it made more sense that she would add the kind of stuff only people around here could get. In Point Pleasant. "Yeah, that probably keeps you financially sound," Caden said with a brief, faint smirk. "Kind of like Reagan Kelly in her shop. One business masking another, probably more profitable one."
“Bingo,” Zania grinned, shooting Caden a wink and a little gun gesture with her smile. “Except I don’t usually offer services like Reagan does. That shit has the possibility to become way too messy.” She thought of the love spell that the two of them had fucked up and the man who’d killed his wife as a result. If she screwed up her own spell, it was her own damn fault, but you never knew what you were going to get when performing magic for other people and if things went wrong, they could go off the rails and you wouldn’t even know it. “You a customer of Reagan’s?” She asked, raising a brow.
Shit, she didn't have to tell that to Caden. He knew first hand how messy magic got. He had no idea if Gavin would ever go back to the woman, even for hex bags. Sometimes Caden wondered how much of this town's bad history could be blamed on the witches here. Maybe that Burroughs guy had the right idea back in the day. Burn 'em all. Not that he would volunteer that opinion to Zania. Caden had a feeling she would kick his ass out into the fog if he did. Her question about Reagan prompted him to grin faintly. "I've bought some hex bags off of her before. Think my brother has too. Nothing bigger than that. I'm not even sure what I could possibly need that only magic could give me, you know?"
“Hex bags are kind of a staple around here. Everyone could do with a few,” Zania said casually. “But you’re right. Most people don’t need magic unless they’re dealing with something supernatural to begin with. That can be useful around here.” It could offer more protection than any human could possibly create on their own, both offensively and defensively. No, it wasn’t great against a gun, but guns weren’t the problem there in Point Pleasant. She wasn’t sure what it would be like not to have magic in her own life, but she was positive she’d want a witch in her circle, for the wards on her home at the very least.
Caden wasn't sure how effective hex bags were, given the bullshit his family had dealt with over the years. But he couldn't fault the witches for selling them anyway. People had to make a living. "So those hex bags wouldn't do much to keep people safe from say... an intruder? Or someone who might want to do them harm?" Caden had no plans to use that ot his advantage in any capacity, but it certainly made him curious as to whether or not witches could actually protect people from something other than the supernatural.
“Depends on the hex bag and how they’re setup. We all make ‘em different and you have to impart intent,” Zania said. “If you were trying to protect a specific place on an ongoing basis, a ward would be more effective. Specifically one that prevents anyone who intends to do you harm from entering. There are loopholes and ways to break them, but I’m not worried about a home invasion, if that’s what you mean.” Someone trying to break down her front door, gun in hand, would find it incredibly difficult to proceed beyond the threshold. But Zania wasn’t worried about anything like that. If someone really wanted her dead, they’d have to be far more creative.
Caden wondered if Gavin knew that, and if he had actually put magical wards on his house. Probably not. But he wanted them all to get protective tattoos, so Caden was betting if he knew about the wards, he'd want those too. "Good to know," he murmured. Then he cocked a brow and grinned. "You ever get any bizarre requests from people? Or do you stick mainly to what you sell in the shop here?" He was curious, but not necessarily to buy anything. Caden felt like he had learned his lesson on that one. His hand sort of itched where his fingers had been, but he ignored the discomfort for the time being.
“I’ll always consider a bizarre request,” Zania grinned. “You think you have a zombie or a vampire lurking around the neighborhood? Or an unbreakable curse that makes you vomit frogs on the new moon? I’m all in. If all you want is a hex bag, I’ll punt you over to Reagan.” It probably wasn’t healthy, but Zania enjoyed the weird, so long as it wasn’t attacking her directly. Someone else’s problem was so much easier to solve than her own. “Why do you ask? Someone curse you?” It wouldn’t surprise her. There were enough witches in town that all you had to do was piss off the wrong one, or a good friend of one.
Caden snickered and wondered if Zania knew Reagan Kelly was willing to do much more than sell hex bags. He had no idea what the witches in this town knew of each other, but he honestly didn't care either. He was sure they all served their purpose. He sure as hell wouldn't be telling Zania his family problems either, though he didn't think they were cursed. Just dysfunctional. "Nah," he said with a faint grin. "Just curious. Not every day you get stuck in a fog... storm thing with a witch. Can't say I really trust magic all that much anyway, no offense. Just not something I wanna get involved in."
Zania knew that Reagan wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, but suspected that the things they were willing to take on differed greatly. It was interest that won her over, rather than money, though she guessed that if the dollar amount was high enough she’d be willing to bend a bit. “None taken,” she smiled with a little shrug. “I probably wouldn’t trust it either.” In her case, it wasn’t the magic she didn’t trust, but the person using it. They were all human and humans were petty. They made mistakes, had tempers, and could be vindictive. If she didn’t trust the person casting the spell, she definitely didn’t trust the magic itself. “It all feels kind of useless at the moment. I don’t think anyone can do something about the fog.”
"Why not?" Caden looked back toward the window. "Is there something about it that you think is stronger than you are? Or anyone else in this town who is like you?" Maybe that's all magic was. Hex bags and minor shit that didn't really amount to much of anything. He knew what Reagan had done for he and Gavin was... powerful. But he had no idea how any of it really worked beyond what he had witnessed. But hell, mother nature was pretty powerful. He could see magic being useless against it.
“Weather is...it’s too big, at least for just one of us,” Zania said, absently flicking away a spider that had crawled upon the counter. “And even if I succeeded, the possible backlash could kill me. Or result in something worse as it tries to balance it out. There’s no point in getting rid of the fog if it brings on some kind of vicious ice storm or blizzard.” The fog seemed relatively harmless, at least at the moment, so it was best to just stay somewhere safe and ride it out, rather than get magic involved where it wasn’t likely to do any good anyways.
Backlash. Fuck that. Caden felt something cold and uncomfortable settle in the pit of his stomach, but he promptly ignored it. Well, at least they could say Reagan had warned them. Caden slipped his hands into his coat pockets and began to wander away from the counter, deciding to get a look around the store. It had been here for a long time but he had never stepped foot inside of it until today. "Makes sense," he said absently. "No point in dyin' for something stupid like mother nature."
“Exactly,” Zania said, frowning as the spider reappeared on the counter, advancing towards her on a suicide mission. This time Zania squashed it, but another appeared a moment later, crawling across the counter in her direction. Then another. And another. “What the fuck,” she snapped, then let out a little scream as she felt one crawling up her leg, inside her jeans. She went to bat at it, then her eyes widened as she saw there were more, all over the floor, coming from all over the room, and all of them making a bee-line for her. “Shit. Shit. Shit!” She said, trying to stomp on them, to keep them at bay. What the fuck was even happening?!
Caden was not on board with the spiders. Not that he was scared of them, but when there were that many? What kind of place was this? "What the hell is happening?" They weren't coming for him, but seemed intent on Zania. Fucking witches, man. Caden stepped forward to try and stomp on some of them himself, listening to their bodies squish beneath his boot. It was like a horror movie come to life. Fog, spiders. If they ate her alive, he was out of there in a heartbeat.
“I don’t know!” Zania huffed, beginning to panic. She wasn’t normally scared of spiders, but anything in that great a number incited fear, especially when they started jumping towards her. She tried to brush them off, to remain calm, but there were so many that it felt fruitless. They weren’t biting, but they were crawling everywhere, inside her sleeves, up her legs, and along her neck. It was when they started to crawl across her face that she lost it, screaming in a fit of rage as fire flickered up her skin, killing the spiders, but also charring her clothes. Zania was left breathing hard, aware that she’d made the kind of scene that got witches killed, but what choice did she really have?
Caden had no clue what to, or how to help and he began to search the nearest shelf for anything useful, but he doubted a spice and tea shop sold bug spray. Why the fuck did he have to get stuck here? Caden was about to shrug out of his coat to use it to try and smack the spiders off of her body but a burst of flame startled him into paralysis. He stared, dumbfounded, at the sight of Zania. She was alive, but the spiders sure as shit weren't. Fucking witches. "What the fuck," Caden breathed. "Are you okay? Christ, what the hell was that?"
“I don’t know,” Zania whispered as she surveyed the area around her. Only then did she see the trend, that he didn’t have spiders crawling all over him. The bugs had felt like a fluke, the rats like some bizarre Point Pleasant encounter, the kind everyone had from time to time, but to be attacked by tiny creepy-crawlies three times was no accident. “I’m okay. Ruined my clothes and I need a drink, but fuck,” she frowned, her scowl deepening as she realized the end one of her dreadlocks was smoking. She licked her fingers and put it out, the smell of burnt hair making her nose crinkle. “You okay?” He looked fine, probably spooked, but Zania couldn’t blame him for it if he was.
"I'm fine," he said automatically, though he glanced down at himself anyway, just to make sure. "That was fucking crazy. Do you have insects attacking you often?" It reminded him of those stories of evil witches, were flowers died in their presence and bugs followed wherever they went. Zania hadn't seemed like an evil witch but fuck, who the hell knew. "How'd you burn yourself like that without... burning yourself?" Caden was morbidly curious about it now, and he was trying not to brush needlessly at his arms, certain he was feeling spiders all over now.
“No, never,” Zania said, mostly out of reflex. She rubbed her hands over her face, then shook her head. “But...a couple weeks ago it was rats. And before that bugs. I’d chalked it up to this stupid fucking town, but now I think someone’s gone out of their way to curse me.” Which would really fucking suck. Not only because curses could be a bitch to break, but because it meant that someone out there had it out for her, possibly another witch. Reagan and Caius immediately came to mind, but she’d thought they were on decent terms. Or better than they had been. “Fuck my life,” she sighed, then gave some thought to his question, which probably deserved an answer. “All witches are in tune with a specific element. It’s usually the first thing we learn to control. Mine’s fire, so… no burning me at the stake.”
Caden had no clue what to say to that. Curses. Like Zania, he might have chalked it up to this town too. But he sure as hell didn't want to get caught up in some kind of witches feud. Hell no. He nodded to her explanation about the fire, and kept his distance. This was one of those moments when he knew his mouth could get him in trouble. Or set on fire. "Do you have any other clothes here?" he asked with a soft chuckle. "Now that you've charred yours."
Zania looked down at herself and made a face. There were holes in her shirt now and what was left of it didn’t look in good shape. Her jeans had held up better, but they would still need to be tossed. Only her shoes survived without injury, the leather strong enough to withstand a bit of fire and her socks enough to save the insoles. The socks themselves were toast. The fire had been such a foolish, instinctive reaction, but even knowing that she wasn’t sure what else she could have done to get the spiders off her. If this kept up, she’d need to come up with a better response. In the meantime, she needed to change clothes. “I think I’ve got some in the basement,” she sighed. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.”
Clothes in the basement. What a weird ass place this was. Caden grunted a response and looked around. It was also slightly amusing that he could make himself comfortable in this place. He really just wanted to get home. But he knew it would be impossible to drive in this weather and he was going to have to suck it up and stick it out. Assuming no more insects decided to attack by the thousands. It was a small thing to hope for, but at least there was a witch who could set shit on fire. As long as Caden wasn't her target, he could put up with it. At least for a few hours.