Shayna Mae O'Reilly (shaynamae) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-01-18 17:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #january 2018, devlin, greer, knox, rostislav, shayna mae |
Who: Dev, Greer, Knox, Rost and Shayna Mae
Where: The O'Reilly household
When: Afternoon, Thursday 01/11
Status: Complete
Somehow the O'Reilly place was almost exactly the way Dev had pictured it. They lived in an old, beautiful house in the woods, the kind of house Dev could see himself living in if he had the money and capacity to deal with a large house. The kind he'd love to live in with Rost and Greer if they ended up with kids in the mix. It was well maintained but rustic, the floors creaked here and there and he could almost taste the magic vibrating in the air. They were currently sitting in the kitchen with Shayna Mae and her impressive familiar, the two of them the picture perfect of calm compared with Dev, Rost and Greer. It hadn't been a problem getting Shayna Mae to meet them but driving out here had been a little scary. It was a testament to the magic in the place that the worry Dev felt driving through the woods had completely evaporated when they came near the house, like crossing a border. He kind of wanted to move there now.
They'd awkwardly explained their situation, despite it being hard to explain, babbling in random turns and managing to roughly get the story out of how Greer had gotten hurt and how she hadn't been herself lately. Dev wasn't good with filtering himself but he let Greer stay in control of just how much detail they put out there and when most of the cards were on the table they focused on their cups of tea and watched Shayna Mae intently.
Shayna Mae never minded having guests - as long as they didn't overstay their welcome the way Aya had - and she listened quietly as the three people sitting at her kitchen table explained their problem. She hadn't felt anything different about the woman, though it was difficult not to notice the slightly haunted look in her eyes, despite her obvious energy. After they finished, Shayna Mae looked at Knox, thinking of Max and wondering if he was as well. She hadn't spent a lot of time with her brother over the last week, but now she wondered if she was missing something. If he was experiencing the same things Greer was. He had been hurt in the fog too. "I can find out if she's been cursed," Shayna Mae said finally, shifting her attention back to the trio in front of her. "It's not a difficult spell, but that might help us narrow down what's causing the problem."
It had been Rost’s idea to reach out to the O’Reillys to seek their help with Greer’s situation. Which really meant reaching out to Shayna Mae. He didn’t want to bother Reagan anymore with anything, and he hadn’t seen Zania in quite a while, and Shayna Mae ... well, she’d always seemed powerful to him. Maybe it was the isolation or the familiar he’d met once or twice, Rost didn’t know, but he didn’t think that impression was inaccurate. He’d never been to the house in the woods before, but he got the same sense of safety and calm there that Devlin did. It was nice. He sat there with his hat in his lap, fingers fiddling with the edge as they filled Shayna Mae in on everything. When she spoke, his eyes ticked to Greer -- she would have to be the one to submit to such a test, so it was really up to her.
Knox was also at the table, his big hands folded together against the wood, his studious eyes on the woman between the two men. He found it interesting that they’d come to them, just a day or two after he’d talked to Max about how he was feeling. He hadn’t gotten a chance to discuss that with Shayna Mae yet , and in front of strangers wasn’t the time, but he wondered if touching Greer would bring about that same sense of wrongness. “Your injury,” he piped up, directing the question at her. “From the fog-creature. Is it healed?”
It was strange being where she was, sitting at a table with a witch and her familiar. Rost had suggested asking the witches for help, and Greer had agreed, because she wanted to know what, if anything, was wrong with her. That, and she knew it might make Dev and Rost feel better, which in a way was something she wanted more than anything else. There were days where it didn't feel as though anything was wrong. She was happy and had enough energy to keep her going for days. Maybe it wasn't normal, but she liked it. Even so, Greer didn't want a repeat of the horribleness that had occurred before, so there she was, telling her story and hoping someone could at least give them some answers. Greer didn't think she was cursed, but she was willing to let Shayna Mae do whatever she wanted in order to confirm it. Her lips parted to say so when Knox spoke and her eyes drifted to the man before she nodded. "Yes. I have a scar," she said, reaching up to touch her shoulder absently. "But it healed pretty quickly. It must not have been as deep as I thought it was when it happened."
A scar but it healed fast. Just like Max, who thought that he and Shayna Mae had purposefully done that for him. It hadn’t just been the salve, then. Knox’s lips pressed together tighter inside of his beard and he looked over at his mistress. “Max’s is totally healed too,” he said to her quietly. The others would hear, but they couldn’t exactly duck out for a private conversation at the moment. “When I touched it, I felt something weird. It wasn’t our magic that did that. He’s been moody, too.” This was all stuff he probably should’ve told her immediately, but it hadn’t seemed like an emergency, and he hadn’t expected company showing up with the same problem.
Dev frowned when Knox spoke. Normally he'd be completely enamored with the not-man because of what he was but the situation was so grave that it was hard to feel anything but worry. He wasn't sure if what he was hearing was good or bad news. It meant they were right and that Greer wasn't alone, so at least they were on the right path but when a powerful familiar looked worried - which Knox did - that didn't help Dev feel any calmer. "A lot of people were attacked by those things," he said softly, glancing at Greer and Rost. "If this is a curse, then it'll be widespread... Can you do that ritual? To check?"
Shayna Mae felt thrown for a moment as Knox explained what was going on with Max. She wasn't upset that he hadn't told her sooner, but she was definitely concerned. Especially if it was connected to Greer. "I can check to see if it's a magical curse," Shayna Mae said. "But there's a possibility it could be a curse of a different kind, and if that's the case, I won't be able to pinpoint it without a lot of help." She turned to Knox again. "Can you touch her scar like you did with Max, and tell us if it feels the same? If this is affecting more than one person, it might be easier to figure out." Her gaze shifted back to Greer. "If you don't mind, that is."
Greer shook her head and began to slip out of her coat. Her sweater was big enough that it wouldn't take much to tug the sleeve down over her shoulder so he could see where she had been scratched. She remembered Max from the Christmas party, but she hadn't run into him since. She didn't think their connection at Zania's had anything to do with this, and it was likely a coincidence. But she didn't know for sure, and Greer didn't want to make assumptions. Not with something like this.
Knox stood up and walked around the table to where Greer and Devlin and Rost were sitting. He remembered meeting the two he didn’t already know at the Castells’ party and liking them -- the Irishman in particular seemed pretty enamoured with him -- it was too bad they’d met again under these sorts of circumstances. Knox stepped up behind Greer and lightly laid a hand over her marred skin, focusing on feeling what was coloring it from the inside. He got the same feeling of offness that he’d gotten from Max’s injury, the sense that there was something alien involved. There had been no magic to close up that wound, either, he didn’t get a resonance of any witch. Just something malevolent. “It feels the same to me,” he declared, taking his hand back and moving back around the table. He gave them all a grim glance. “Like something unnatural.”
Dev watched them intently and if it wasn't so close to his heart and terrifying, it would have been fascinating to get to witness such a thing. "When she wouldn't wake up I touched her. I got a sense of somewhere else, I thought maybe she was dreaming but it didn't feel like... It was like I was stood in the dark for a second, elsewhere." He wished he had better words to describe it but it had been a feeling more than a vision and those were never easy to put into words. "As if- well, like I was drawn? To another place? You know how places have emotions attached, really, smell and sound and emotion." He sighed, giving up on trying to get his thoughts into words. "It's like trying to grasp a dream you're already forgetting."
In a way it felt like they were talking about her like she wasn't sitting right there at the table. Greer didn't really like it, but she also knew they weren't trying to upset her. Knowing that something unnatural and dark might be going on inside of her was unnerving. But she had days where she felt amazing. Full of energy and happy. A curse couldn't be causing that. "I feel fine right now," Greer said, just so they knew that much. She wasn't in pain, or depressed or tired. The wound had healed, and yes, she had a scar, but that didn't hurt either.
Shayna Mae was trying to work over in her mind everything that could possibly be going on. She wanted to go find her brother so she could examine him herself, but he wasn't home and she needed to focus on the people who were asking her for help. "If Knox didn't feel any magic, then this isn't a witch's curse," she explained before glancing at Devlin. "If it came from a creature in the fog... that could be why you felt drawn to another place. Those things weren't of our world, and I couldn't even begin to speculate how they got here. I need to look into it a bit more, and maybe reach out to some people who might be able to help, but... it could just be that creature left a part of itself inside of you, and my brother, and whoever else was hurt that day. It may just be a part of who you are now."
That was somewhat alarming news, though Rost tried to temper his facial expression. He glanced over at Greer and Dev, a furrow between his brows. Sure, she’d had some up days, but the glimpses he’d gotten of them reminded him too much of someone going through a manic episode to be comfortable. And the lows ... well, they needed to fix this if they could, because Greer was not okay. But he trusted Shayna Mae’s judgement, she knew far more about this sort of thing than any of them, and had more resources to tap into. “We would appreciate any help you could give,” he told her, reaching over to take one of Greer’s hands. Rost looked at his woman. “Even if you feel fine now, the bad times ... we want to stop them, yes?”
It was alarming, because she wasn't entirely sure what it meant. If this was a part of her now, did that mean she would just keep having these horrible moody days where she couldn't control her anger or paranoia? It had been so awful last time that Greer wasn't sure she could handle that happening in a frequent matter. The feel of Rost's hand in hers drew her attention from the blonde witch and she gave Rost a soft smile. "We do, yes. If there's a way to stop them, of course. Obviously I can understand that this isn't something that happens often, if ever. If there's someone who might know more, or who could help... we'll do whatever we need to. I don't like feeling like I'm not fully in control of myself."
It sounded so final, Dev had trouble not throwing his hands up in exasperation. This wasn't who Greer was, this shouldn't be who she should be forced to be, there had to be a solution. He didn't overreact though because he liked these people and he knew Shayna Mae was trying to help. What use was there to throwing a tantrum? "If it can't be stopped, maybe there's a way to... manage it? Something that soothes and clears the mind?" He looked over at Rost, his expression helpless and fretful. "I don't want to see her go through all this again."
Shayna Mae could sense their frustration, even as they tried to temper it. She understood, because if her brother had the same affliction, then he needed her help too. Unfortunately being a witch didn't mean she had answers to every problem. What she could do was try to help the best that she could. "That's going to depend on what it is," Shayna Mae told Devlin with a small, but sympathetic smile. "I have herbs that can help calm the mind, but I can't guarantee they would work on whatever it is happening inside of her right now. I'll reach out to some people I know in town who might be able to give me some answers about what happened in the fog, and in the meantime I'll send some herbs home with you to try. It might soften some of the side effects until we can figure this out. I'm really sorry," she added, her sincerity evident. "If this was magic, even dark magic, I would be able to do something, but... those things came from somewhere else, and I don't want to try anything that might end up making it worse."
Applying herbs somehow to this problem seemed like slapping a band-aid onto an amputated limb, but Rost understood if that was all Shayna Mae had to offer them. Maybe it had been something of a long shot to come here in the first place hoping she could fix whatever was wrong, but their options had been limited. And they were now even more limited. “We will try anything you think might help,” he told Shayna Mae. “With many thanks. Please keep us updated, if you talk with anyone else.” There had to be some answers somewhere, but Rost wasn’t sure if they’d ever get access to them. This fog had been unprecedented in Point Pleasant -- at least as far as he knew -- so it wasn’t like there were a bunch of fog-monster experts running around. It was a hard truth, but that was what it was.
Dev felt deflated. He wasn't sure what he'd been hoping for but he'd managed to keep his hope alive for something and this wasn't it. "This is something that's affecting a lot of people," he said. "It can't just be her and your brother, there has got to be an answer there somewhere, someone who knows more than we do." A more powerful psychic than he was, perhaps, or perhaps it was time for him to really delve into his gift, no matter how dangerous it might be. "There has to be more we can do."
Shayna Mae's attention shifted from Rost to Devlin, only pausing briefly on Greer, who was frowning, but didn't seem as exasperated as the two men. It had Shayna Mae wondering what she was thinking, if anything, about this whole mess. "I'm sure if it's affecting Greer and my brother, than there are others as well. And I'm sure there's an answer. I just don't have that answer for you right now. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try and find it," she promised. "I have people in town I can reach out to. They may have more information, or some idea of what this could be, and how to fix it. I won't drag my feet on it, because I know time could be a factor with this." Shayna Mae pushed her chair back and stood. "Let me grab those herbs for you. They may help until we can get this sorted out."
Rost was naturally disappointed but trying to keep an open mind. He hadn’t quite expected Shayna Mae to be able to just fix everything with a snap of her fingers, but he had definitely hoped for more information. Maybe a magical scan or something like that to identify what this problem really was. He hated that someone else was suffering from this, but maybe having a family member going through the same thing would ensure they would get an answer, so that was kind of reassuring. Rost rubbed his thumb against Greer’s fingers and wished he could reach over to pet Devlin as well to settle him down. “Thank you, Shayna Mae,” he murmured.
Knox had taken a seat across the table again, and he didn’t get up when his mistress did, still studying the trio curiously. The fog had created a few very bad days, and while his family had stayed safe, he’d caught a glimpse or two of the creatures in it as he’d been flying around to guard the house. They had looked formidable, to say the least. “How do you feel?” he asked Greer, quirking a brow. “Overall, I mean. Any sickness or nightmares or anything?”
Greer watched Shayna Mae disappear through the doorway before her gaze shifted back to Knox. She thought over his question, suppressing the instinctive urge to say no. The last few days had been good, so it was difficult to think about how she was feeling before then. Or even now. "Not really," she said finally, a faint, apologetic smile at her lips. "Tired every now and then, without a lot of energy, but it passes pretty quick. I don't know about nightmares. I can't remember my dreams lately. How is Max?"
The big familiar nodded a bit, but it was more just to acknowledge her answer. He hadn’t really expected anything one way or another, he was just trying to gather information about all this. “He seems healthy, besides the mood swings. Had a few bad dreams here and there, but ... nothin’ too strange.” Max was an ex-con who’d been attacked by a creature he could barely comprehend, a few nightmares were to be expected. Human brains got scarred easily. Knox’s gaze moved to the two men flanking Greer. “And you two? Any changes?”
Rost’s brows lifted a bit and he glanced over at Greer, then to Dev on the other side of her. “Ahhh ...” he mused, then shook his head a little and made himself look at the not-man again. It was kind of intimidating, being questioned by something you knew wasn’t actually human. A spirit in human form. If the situation with Greer hadn’t been so serious, Rost would’ve been even more enamoured. “Not really, just tired and worried,” he answered, eyes ticking to Devlin once more.
Dev hadn't even thought of himself or Rost in this context. It was all about Greer, how Greer was doing, how they could help her, fix the situation. The question gave him pause though because he had felt different lately, he just contributed it to the exhausting worry and the terribly bleak time of year. "Tired, yeah," he said, glancing back at Greer and Rost. "Tired and worried sounds about right. Sleeping too much." Did that mean anything? Or was it as he thought, January depression growing out of bounds because of the stress they were under?
Greer's gaze shifted downward, to where she had clutched her hands in her lap. She felt guilty, in an odd way, for how exhausted Rost and Dev were lately. She knew it had to be exhausting to deal with, and there were days they seemed unable to keep up with her energy. Deep down she knew they would do anything for her, and she knew they loved her, and that's why they worried. Greer found herself worried often too, but lately it had begun to feel less like a problem. She just hadn't had the courage to tell them so. "Do you have any herbs for that?" she asked instead, bringing her gaze back up to Knox and smiling faintly. "I think the weather, and all the worry... it's exhausting them."
‘Tired and worried’ weren’t very helpful symptoms, they could be chalked up to a lot of different things. That didn’t really tell Knox a lot. Not that he knew what to listen for to indicate a related problem anyway, he’d just been checking. He returned Greer’s smile and stood up. “We do, actually,” he answered. “Hope you all like tea.” The O’Reilly kitchen was well-stocked with various herbal remedies, all clearly labeled for the less magical members of the family, some with instructions on how to prepare them. They always preferred to treat the smaller illnesses and discomforts of life at home themselves, so it wasn’t hard for him to find the jar of the crushed herbal blend that relieved fatigue. Knox started to dole some out into a sandwich bag.
"Darling, I'm Irish," Dev said with a smile that was meant to be playful but just came off a little weary. "We fucking love tea. Especially if it's got a little magic spark to it, am I right, loves?" He slipped his arm around Greer, rubbing her back before reaching for Rost. "As long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, of course. We're not rich folk by any means."
Greer smiled at Dev before leaning in to kiss his jaw. She was feeling fine, good even, but she would drink the tea if they wanted her to. Greer was much more worried about Rost and Dev, so hopefully whatever Knox was putting in that baggie would help them both feel better. Shayna Mae appeared in the kitchen a moment later, carrying a small jar no bigger than her palm. She offered the trio a small smile and rejoined them at the table, placing the jar in front of them. "Just a tiny bit in your usual tea, or any hot beverage so it dissolves. You won't taste it, I promise. But it should help you until we can figure out what's going on." She had heard Dev talking just before she walked in so she offered him an understanding, small smile. "Don't worry about the cost. We don't want your money, we just want to help."
Knox would have said it if Shayna Mae hadn’t told them herself. The family didn’t need their money. Rost was a family friend, even if he wasn’t a close one, and they hadn’t come specifically asking for these remedies, just for advice and help. He walked back to the table to set the baggie of herbs down next to the jar his mistress had brought. “Just drink some’a this whenever you feel worn down,” he instructed to the two men in a murmur.
Rost had leaned over toward Dev’s reaching, his shoulder and arm pressed against Greer’s for a moment. He picked up the jar Shayna Mae brought in one long-fingered hand and gave her a grateful smile. “Many thanks to you for your help,” he told her. Herbs were herbs, but if she was good to her word and looked into it for them -- and her brother -- then she would have his gratitude for forever. “You will keep in touch, yes?”
Dev was hoping for that answer, the O'Reilly family felt like their kind of people and while Dev was not above scamming people for cash, he never went after the vulnerable. "There are other ways to pay back a favor," he murmured. "So if you ever need anything, come see us." Maybe they could invite them to dinner and a game night sometime, show them their appreciation. Even if it didn't work, it was the thought that counted. "And if you never come collecting we'll be sure to pay it forward."
Shayna Mae nodded at Rost. "Of course I will. I have your number. I promise I'll call as soon as I learn anything. I'll talk to my brother too, and see how he's been feeling. Maybe he knows something we don't." She doubted it, but Shayna Mae would cover every angle she could. This couldn't just be affecting Greer and Max, and if it was something dangerous, they all needed to know. She offered a small smile to Greer and then Dev, thankful that they hadn't been pushy or aggressive with her. Some people who wanted her help didn't always take no for an answer, especially when Shayna Mae insisted she couldn't do anything for them. But she was going to try for these three. They were good people. "I think paying it forward would be a fair exchange. But for now focus on getting well. If anything else happens, anything strange, before I can get some answers, contact me as soon as you can."
This conversation seemed like it was coming to a close, so Rost pushed his chair back and stood up. He definitely didn’t want to wear out their welcome here, not when such a reclusive family was trying to help them. He picked up both containers of herbs to take with them and gave Shayna Mae a small bowing gesture. “We will,” he promised. “Thank you again. Let us hope this is something ... small.” Rost gave a faint smile that indicated he didn’t think that would be the case, but they could always hope, couldn’t they? He waited for the others to get up and started with them out of the kitchen. Knox followed to see them all out.
Dev had a feeling this wasn't small, there were too many signs indicating it wasn't, but he couldn't blame Rost for trying to hope, or at least pretending to hope, because what else could they really do? He wrapped his arm around Greer's shoulders once they were outside and gave Knox a warm smile in thanks. There was no point in lingering now, it was cold and it was snowing so he was more than happy to head on over to Rost's truck, ignoring the small anxiety about the drive back. They had cell phones so if they got stuck they could call someone and he wasn't driving so he didn't have to shoulder the responsibility of getting them home safe.
Shayna Mae followed them to the door, but then took Knox gently by the arm, pushing up on her toes so she could speak low enough that only he would hear her. "Will you make sure they get back on the main road safely?" The weather wasn't great and she knew it could be difficult for people to drive in and out of these woods. But Knox could fly and keep an eye on them. If they got stuck or needed help, they would know right away and not leave them stranded. The three had enough problems at the moment.
“A’course,” Knox murmured easily to his mistress. He kissed her, brief and soft, then moved to one side of the big wraparound porch. He waited until the three visitors were occupied with climbing into their vehicle, then shifted into his owl form and launched himself out into the cold air with a few flaps of his great wings. He would follow the truck and make sure they made it back to the main road okay. They were friends, and friends deserved protection on the land, even just from the mud pits the unpaved road tended to produce. The O’Reillys had been generous, if selective, helpers down through the years, and if Shayna Mae wanted to assist these people, Knox would give her his full support.