Gabriel Lawrence (wildhead) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-01-18 16:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, gabriel, gabriel x zania, zania |
Who: Zania and Gabriel
Where: Gabriel’s Place
When: Evening, Tuesday, January 9
Status: complete
When Zania left Caius’ office, she knew more than she’d started with, but she still didn’t have a solution to her problem and that bothered her more than anything else. How long could this go on? How much time did she have before the demon decided to collect her? Death was always a possibility in this world, but she had no plans to let her life be cut short if she could help it. Her mind spun with possible solutions, however unlikely they might be. She could kill the demon, though she didn’t know how. Or she could banish it, but that seemed to be difficult as well.
She’d wanted to go see Gabriel immediately, but the news that she was probably going to die and that he might as well didn’t seem like something she should drop on him at work. She waited till later, when they could brainstorm possible solutions together in private, and had offered to pick up dinner on the way. With a bag of to go food in hand, she knocked on his door and waited for him to answer. It didn’t feel like much of a date, considering the circumstances, but she wasn’t willing to give up yet. She’d fight this until the end, until the demon dragged her down to hell, kicking and screaming the entire way.
Gabriel had been wary and watchful since he’d been in Zania’s basement and gotten marked. He knew something was coming, and he wanted to be more prepared for it than she had been the first few times. He’d warded his home and business as best he could and told his aunt to stay aware of things, even if he couldn’t exactly tell her why. He’d been keeping his animals close too -- they could act as a warning system with their keener senses. That had been exactly what had happened the day before, when the ants came.
Anubis had alerted to something while Gabriel was finishing up checking out a customer, then started barking as they walked out the door. He’d barely had time to realize where the distress was coming from when a wave of ants surged into the salon from a back room. It didn’t even make sense for them to be around this time of year, but there was nothing natural about the carpet of tiny black bodies that rushed toward him. Gabriel had tried to use his animal magic first to turn them away, but insects were difficult to control in the first place, and these were on a demonic mission. He’d ended up having to burn them with a clumsy fireball that ruined the pants he’d had on. It had shaken him badly, but he’d texted Zania to let her know he’d had his first wave of badness from this curse. He told her he would give her details later.
Later was now, apparently, as she’d wanted to meet up. His aunt was at work, so Gabriel invited her over to the apartment. He was ready to answer the door when she knocked, giving her a faint smile as he stepped back to let her in out of the cold. “Hey,” he murmured, leaning in for a quick kiss before he shut and locked the door again. Gabriel took the food bag off her hands so she could get out of her coat. “Smells good.”
It was amazing how just being around Gabriel made her feel better, even if he couldn’t do anything about the situation they were in. Zania kissed him back, then gave him a little hug before heading inside, unzipping her jacket after she’d handed off the food. “Thanks,” she said, offering a small smile. “I worked real hard on it.” She hadn’t wanted him to have to cook, considering the day he’d had, but she hadn’t wanted to do it herself either. They both deserved to curl up and relax a bit. “So what happened? Are you okay?”
Gabriel chuckled at that, and once Zania had hung up her coat, he turned to lead the way into the kitchen. As much as he enjoyed living with family, he was glad that JC was elsewhere. It almost felt like having his own place, and that was nice when you had a lady friend. “Yeah, I’m aight,” he said over his shoulder as he stepped into the kitchen. He was hungry, and scary things were best talked about over food. “It was ants, at the shop. A big ‘ole swarm of ‘em.” He set the food bag down on the table and sauntered toward the fridge to get them some drinks. “Anubis kinda warned me they were coming, so I was able to burn ‘em up. But it reminded me of that day in the lighthouse, how it was small stuff comin’ for you first.”
“Never in my life would I have believed I’d be scared of something like ants,” Zania said with a shake of her head. Of course, she’d never had thousands of them coming after her specifically like tiny little demons out for her blood. She didn’t think ants could kill you, but she didn’t want to find out either. A big part of the problem was the unpredictability of it all, not knowing when or where the next attack might happen. Zania was dreading something like ants coming in her sleep, when she’d be covered and breathing them before she knew what was happening. “The little stuff’s not so bad. It’s just unsettling. Mostly. I got attacked by birds today and have a new appreciation for the movie.”
“Birds?” Gabriel echoed with some concern. Bugs were one thing, birds had sharp beaks and some of them were huge and could dive bomb you out of nowhere. He looked Zania up and down but didn’t see any immediate injuries, so that was something. Gabriel sighed and set their drinks down on the table, then went to get utensils. They were all right for the moment, and everybody still needed to eat. “That’s gettin’ into more dangerous territory,” he told her, though he was sure she already knew. What was next? A pack of feral cats? Dogs? Wolves? “You find out anything new so far?”
“I ran,” Zania said as she unpacked the food, setting the cartons on the table. “I made it to my car before it got bad, but they cracked my windshield and pretty much scared the shit out of me.” She spoke like it was an inconvenience, but it had seriously rattled her. If she hadn’t been able to get to shelter any sooner, they could have easily killed her unless she made some kind of a scene. Using her magic in public was risky; a public display of witchcraft could be just as deadly if she wasn’t careful. “So, it turns out we’re being attacked by a demon, whose end goal is to kill us. As demons do. I was able to track down the spell that caused it all, but haven’t figured out yet how to reverse it. Or to banish the demon. Or…or anything,” she said, shutting her eyes for a minute as emotion tried to well up. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. They could figure this out, if they just had more time. “It’s progress, I guess.”
“That’s a lotta fuckin’ progress, babe,” Gabriel murmured as he set down the forks on the table. He could sense her emotion even if she was trying to hold it back, and he moved to wrap his arms around Zania. Not too tight, at least at first, in case she was the type who didn’t like to be held when she was upset, but he wanted to be as supportive as he could be. What she’d been through sounded scary as fuck, even for someone like him who was used to animals, and Gabriel wondered if he shouldn’t be present with her more now, just in case his magic could actually save her from something bigger than birds. He wasn’t sure he could fend them off, but he could damn well try. “We’ll figure this out,” he said softly to Zania, and kissed her temple. “There’s always a solution somewhere.”
Zania leaned into him and gave a little nod of agreement. There was always a solution. She was good at puzzles, would’ve normally loved this kind of thing, if only she had a shitton more time and her life wasn’t on the line. Hers and Gabriel’s and Nic’s. Fuck. All this for breaking a little wax seal. She wanted to blame Caius and Reagan-- it would’ve been so easy-- but she knew she’d eventually have discovered the spell herself. At least in this case Caius had some answers, even if not the important ones. “This feels… a little out of my league,” she admitted. “I’ve read about demons, but I’ve never had to deal with one. I’m not even sure who to go to at this point,” she looked up at him, a tiny smile on her lips. “Your powers don’t extend to demons, do they?” She knew the answer had to be no, but it amused her to think he might be able to just send the fucker away.
Gabriel gave a soft laugh and shook his head. “Nah, no such luck,” he said ruefully. “I shoulda pursued a different specialty, I guess.” He kissed the bridge of her nose, then down to press a soft one against her lips. Gabriel rubbed her back a little and arched an eyebrow. “Seems like there were plenty’a folks gathered the other night who might know somethin’ about demons,” he suggested. Gabriel obviously didn’t really know any of the other witches in town or if Zania had a history with them, but when it came to this sort of thing, they would be the first people he turned to if it had all started with him. But if they couldn’t help ... Gabriel didn’t know. They would have to find a way. “You think of them could help?”
“Naw, I like your specialty,” Zania smiled up at him, her eyes shutting as she kissed him back. Demonology was fascinating, but he would’ve been a different person if that was his passion and Zania liked Gabriel for who he was. She would’ve had trouble trusting the judgement of anyone who let themselves get into shit that dark. “I thought Caius was my best bet, but he’ll pass it on to Reagan. That’s tapping into two of the other Six. I’ll get in touch with Shayna Mae next. I think the McCarthys are kind of useless. I’m helping train their daughter because they can’t get their shit together and I can’t imagine James knowing anything along these lines. But there are the Wolfes. Harper.” She might know something. “I’d get them all together if I knew something would work, but I don’t want to risk infecting everyone else if I’m wrong, you know?”
Gabriel didn’t remember all of the names, just Caius and Reagan who Zania had talked about before. He’d met quite a few of the people in the makeshift coven at her last party, but he was bad at retaining introductions when there were a lot coming at him at once. He nodded his understanding and rubbed Zan’s back again. “Definitely something to talk about before we jump into trying anything,” he said, tactfully not adding the ‘again’ on there. He and Nic had been fine until they’d been with her while she tried to get rid of the thing, so consultations obviously weren’t enough to make anyone a target. “Here, c’mon, lets eat,” he added gently, glancing toward the food. They were safe enough for now, he thought, and food was good for getting the mental wheels turning. “You want a drink too? I got plenty.”
He didn’t have to say ‘again’ for Zania to hear it. The coven had been powerful and she thought they could probably achieve anything given the right tools, but if she made a mistake she’d doom them all. She could be a risk taker at times, but she didn’t like to be reckless when it came to other people’s lives. Her next move, whatever it was, would be calculated. “I’d love a drink,” she said, giving him a smile before she set about opening the food containers. It wasn’t anything special, just take-out Chinese, but it hit the spot. “I feel like we’re on the right path. We know what we’re up against now, at least. You ever hear of anyone dealing with demons back home?” It wasn’t great dinner conversation, but maybe talking about how other people had solved similar problems would help get her mind spinning in the right direction.
He decided on wine for them, feeling like they didn’t really need anything stronger tonight. But some relaxing red in a glass sounded like it would hit the spot. Gabriel pulled down a pair of glasses and the unopened bottle from the cabinet and set about getting them both a drink. He thought as his hands worked; he’d heard a lot of things about a lot of people back home, the rumor mill in New Orleans ran strong. Sorting out what was real and what was just bullshit was difficult though, even more so from far away. “I heard plenty’a things,” he said as he poured, glancing over at Zania’s back. “But nobody I can vouch for personally. I can make a few phone calls, see if I can verify any of ‘em.” He still had a lot of contacts back home, Gabriel thought he could at least scare up some advice.
“Give it a try. People have been dealing with demons for thousands of years. Even if it’s not a situation exactly like ours, I feel like the more we know, the better.” Zania tried to think of it like a giant puzzle; there were more pieces to be revealed, but once she found them she’d be able to solve it. “It’s almost unfortunate it’s not possessing someone. We know how to perform an exorcism,” she said thoughtfully as he brought her around a glass of wine. “Do you think it’s here, right now, watching us? Or that it comes around when the attacks hit?” She didn’t like the idea of some demon sitting in the kitchen with them, watching them, waiting for the worst time to attack.
She was right about that -- demons weren’t a new problem, even if they seemed like they weren’t around as much. Or maybe ancient people blamed more things on demons than they actually caused, or some combination of the two, who knew. The point was, there were surely people in New Orleans who had some ideas. Gabriel would’ve already been calling, but they didn’t know what they were really dealing with until now. He sat down at the table with his glass of wine and pulled his container of food in closer. “If it is, it’s bored as fuck most of the time,” he quipped, grinning briefly before he shook his head. “I dunno babe, honestly. It could be here invisible, it could jump in and out between worlds, it could just be drawn to you at random times ... Anubis and Bast don’t sense anything wrong right now, if that puts you at ease.” Animals were sensitive in ways humans were not -- it wasn’t a guarantee they were truly alone, but it was something.
Zania laughed softly, now imagining the demon falling asleep as she wasted time on her phone at work, or becoming engrossed in some random show on tv. It wasn’t realistic in any sense, so she supposed they were alone right now and even if they weren’t, then there was nothing they could do about it. “It helps,” she said, casting a smile towards Anubis. She didn’t see Bast right away, but knew the cat was around. They always were. “I’d like to think I’m mostly safe inside, now that I seem to have graduated to bigger creatures. Not necessarily a good thing, but better than nothing.” Cats or dogs weren’t just going to show up in the house the way ants or spiders might. There were walls to go through. “I normally like this kind of stuff,” she said as she gave her wine a little swirl. “I like solving the mystery of how it works. I’m just not usually the target.”
Gabriel knew he could have some more creepy-crawlies invading his space before too long, but he couldn’t worry much about that until it happened. He had his early warning system and he’d warded the apartment and the salon as much as he could. Until they really knew what to do about what they were dealing with, he would just have to stay vigilant and hope for the best. Admittedly, part of him was curious to see if he could influence the creatures if they got bigger, but Gabriel would rather the whole situation get resolved. He picked up his fork and started eating, giving a chuckle and a nod. “Makes a difference,” he agreed, then glanced up at Zania again. “Has Nic had anything come after him yet? What’s he doin’ about all this?”
“Nothing’s attacked him yet, but I called him as soon as I heard from you and let him know to be on the lookout,” Zania said. She imagined the timing would be similar, since they’d been marked at the same time, but she wasn’t quite sure. It wasn’t like she’d been given a copy of the demon’s plan of attack. “He’s had some other stuff going on that rivals this on its level of weird. Dreams that he’s sharing with people he’d never met before, telepathy that came out of nowhere, and this growing sense of doom. I know he’s been looking for an answer, but… I think he’s getting pissed off at the lack of them.” It was sometimes hard to say with Nic, he was one to brood quietly, but he’d seemed tense lately and she didn’t blame him. She was too.
Gabriel’s brows rose up closer to his hair as she described Nic’s problem. “No shit,” he murmured quietly. That all sounded pretty crazy. Gabriel hadn’t known, but he hadn’t talked much to Zania’s twin either, and he supposed it wasn’t really his business to know. He shook his head with a bit of rueful awe. “I can definitely relate to bein’ pissed about not having any answers,” he said, hoping she knew he didn’t mean pissed at her. None of this was Zania’s fault. And even if he’d known he would get tagged for it too, he still would’ve tried to help her get rid of this problem. They had to do something -- the danger just seemed to keep escalating. Gabriel took a sip of his wine, then reached over to give Zania’s hand a little squeeze. “We’ll find some though,” he said, trying to sound confident about that. They would because they had to. “I’ll start callin’ all my buddies back home, somebody’ll know somethin’ helpful, I feel sure.”
“At least we know something now. That’s more than before.” Zania didn’t know which was worse, dealing with a demon that planned to eventually kill them or the mystery of dreams and powers that could potentially do the same. She didn’t want to die obviously, but it was so much easier to fight against what you knew, rather than the unknown. Taking Gabriel’s hand, she gave it a little squeeze in return, appreciating his optimism. It was what she needed right now. Panic would get them nowhere. “I hope so. If we survive, it’ll be a great story to tell,” she said, a little laugh bubbling up. She figured they still had cats and dogs and wolves to deal with at least. It felt like they needed a miracle, but all hope wasn’t lost yet.