Who: Shayna Mae and Caius When: Early afternoon, Sunday, January 14 Where: Caius and Reagan’s home Status: complete
After talking to Max the night before, Shayna Mae made it a point to drive into town today to find someone to help. Or at least try to find some answers. She already had a destination in mind, and she drove directly to Black Cove, trying to remember which one of the pretty houses was Reagan Kelly’s. She nearly picked up the phone to text Caius herself, but then she spotted his car, having remembered it from the coven meeting in Overlook.
There was only one car in the driveway, so Shayna Mae figured Reagan’s car was inside the garage, or she was out. It didn’t matter. Shayna Mae could talk to Caius alone, or the both of them. Strength in numbers, and all that.
She parked the truck along the curb out front and climbed out, immediately tugging her hat down over her ears to keep them warm as she hurried up the driveway to the shoveled walkway and porch. Shayna Mae rang the bell, hoping Caius wasn’t busy. She knew she should have probably called or texted first, but it honestly hadn’t occurred to her until that moment. With any luck he wouldn’t mind the intrusion.
It was a little strange, not having a sword hanging over their heads, some imminent supernatural threat to their lives or happiness hovering like stormclouds. Caius now found himself with free time and no panicky pressure to fill it. It was a nice feeling, for sure, just an odd one considering how the past few months had gone. He and Reagan had spent the day before together, including that strange moment around nine that night that had been so cold and full of fear. It had been disturbing for a while, but a good night’s sleep and the sunshine of the morning had made it seem not so important.
Reagan had gone to work on Sunday morning and Caius found himself at loose ends. There was no research to dive into, nothing for him to stress over. For the first time in ages, he picked up a book, stretched out on the couch, and started to read for pleasure. That was where he was when the doorbell rang a few hours later, which gave Caius a start. He cursed softly and sat up. Checking his phone for messages, he stood up and started for the door. No one had tried to contact him, so he had no idea who could be stopping by. As he unlocked the deadbolt, Caius had the brief thought that this had better not be anybody with more problems for them. HIs brow rose when he saw it was Shayna Mae O’Reilly, but he smiled anyway. “Afternoon,” he said, making room to let her in out of the cold.
Shayna Mae gave Caius a small smile, thankful when he wordlessly invited her inside. "Afternoon," she said. "I'm sorry for just showing up. I didn't think about texting you until I was already here. I have a problem I was hoping I could run by you. It's something I think might be affecting the whole town, but I'm not sure yet." She wasn't expecting Caius to fix anything, or have the answers, but he may know something. Besides his father, Shayna Mae wasn't sure she knew a more powerful witch in Point Pleasant, and Shayna Mae preferred to keep her dealings with Anthony to a minimum. "Is Reagan home?"
Caius almost laughed, because of course someone would show up with a major problem that might be affecting the entire town. Wasn’t there always? Part of him felt like firmly pushing Shayna Mae back out the door so he could close and lock it and not get involved in whatever the fuck this was going to be, but he knew that was just his burnt-out-ness talking. She had stepped up when he’d needed help and they had a decent rapport; that was no way to treat allies. Still, he couldn’t help the bemused smirk that crossed his face. “No, she’s at work,” he told her. “Come on into the kitchen ... do you want some tea? This sounds like a conversation I’ll need tea for.” Or maybe a good stiff drink. Tea with a splash or five of Baileys, maybe. Without waiting for an answer from Shayna Mae, Caius started to lead the way.
Sometimes it certainly felt like there was a non-stop ride of badness in town, but having grown up there, that felt almost normal to Shayna Mae. It was a pain in the ass, yes, but... it was home. That was why she wanted to make sure she understood what this new darkness was. Maybe it would pass on its own. But... not likely. "That would be nice, thanks," Shayna Mae said, following Caius back to the kitchen, checking behind her to make sure she wasn't tracking any mud or slush into their house. She noted how tidy and clean it was as she walked through it, and she could sense the tinge of magic that seemed to hover in the air. Some of it dark, but that was okay. Even Shayna Mae dabbled in the black stuff every now and then. Once they were in the kitchen she unzipped her coat to pull it off, already starting to feel a bit warm with her heavy sweater on. "How have things been going since the ritual? Are you and Reagan both feeling okay? No side effects or backlash?"
Caius wasn’t sure if Shayna Mae had ever been in this house. He thought he was closer to her than Reagan was, if any of them could be called ‘close.’ But he knew she wasn’t there for a bunch of pleasantries. Caius went to the kitchen counter to get the electric kettle, then stepped to the sink to fill it. “Things have been good, no backlash to speak of,” he answered casually. “Which could be worrisome, in a way, but I’m enjoying the relief while I can.” He plugged in the kettle and went to fetch a couple of mugs, strainers, and one of the jars of tea leaves that Reagan kept on hand. Caius picked a calming one, just in case this ended up being really bad news. “Everything seems to be resorted perfectly, we’re both feeling good.” Setting everything up on the kitchen island so he could look at her, Caius motioned for Shayna Mae to help herself to a seat. “How’s everything on your end?” he asked as he started to load up the two silver tea strainers with loose tea.
With a coven, Shayna Mae supposed it was possible the backlash had spread evenly among everyone in that circle, making it subtle and relatively painless. That was one of many benefits to a coven, of course. She took a seat and set her coat on the chair beside her. "I'm glad to hear it. I know you've both probably been enjoying your quiet time together." So she did feel kind of guilty for bringing these problems to his door. But she would do just about anything to keep Max safe, so it was what it was. "Things are okay on my end. My brother stole something that was apparently housing some trickster-type woman, so that's been fun to deal with," she said dryly, the faintest of smiles on her lips. "But I'm here about Max... and what happened in the fog."
Caius had tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth and he’d not put a ton of thought into the lack of backlash. Group magic was supposed to soften that blow a little, and he could only assume that big group magic did so in a big way. Having never worked with a coven before, he hadn’t known if that was true, but it seemed to be so. Caius was appreciative, but he was so done with dwelling there. Shayna Mae had new problems, and he looked at her again with one thick raised brow. “A trickster-type woman?” he echoed. “Interesting, we’re coming back to that. But okay, what about Max and the fog?” He wasn’t eager to disrupt the peace he’d been enjoying lately, but if this was really a big problem like Shayna Mae was saying, he needed to know about it. His mother had been injured, and Reagan had been out in that fog too.
Shayna Mae figured the "trickster" would pique his interest. It would have piqued Shayna Mae's if she hadn't been the one having to deal with Aya living in her home. "Max got hurt by one of those creatures in the fog. Since then his mood has been... up and down. He's not really been himself, and the wound healed quickly, unnaturally so. I didn't really know any of this until the other day when a friend of mine came by with his lovers. One of them had been hurt in the fog too and was experiencing the same things. I'm sure there're more in Point Pleasant like the two of them. The fog always tends to bring bad things to us, but this is starting to feel different. I'm afraid it's going to build to something else, that these injuries are... I don't know. I thought maybe it was extremely dark magic, but when Knox touched them both, it felt otherworldly to him." Shayna Mae paused. "Honestly, I feel a bit lost. I'm not sure where to start, but I don't think this is something I can ignore."
Shayna Mae had Caius’s full and undivided attention from her first sentence onward, even when the kettle started to whistle toward the end. A furrow grew between his brows the longer the blonde woman talked, and a real sense of concern slowly yawned in his gut. Caius recalled the last time he’d talked to his father, he’d asked how his mother was doing and Anthony had mentioned mood swings. They’d talked more about the Knowles man than anything else, but Caius did recall that casual aside. He hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but now here was Shayna Mae saying the same had been happening to others who’d been injured. Something ‘otherworldly,’ as per her familiar. He turned away for a moment to grab the kettle, staying silent as he poured the hot water over the tea strainers in each cup. Caius nudged one toward Shayna Mae. “My mother was also injured in the fog,” he said finally, dark eyes down on his tea. “My father mentioned some mood swings. Besides that and the fast healing ... has he noticed any other symptoms?”
Shayna Mae pulled the cup toward her, enjoying how it warmed her palms. She felt some surprise that his mother had been injured, but also... relief. Because that meant Caius had an emotional stake in this, and that might make him more eager to help her. "I don't know if it's related, but he woke up Friday night thinking someone was out there, wanting to get to him and hurt him. I think something dark has touched them, but it's not magic. At least not the kind of magic we would understand. I'm not in town enough to know who else might have been hurt, but with your mother included, that's three, and if they're all sharing the same symptoms... something is going on." Shayna Mae paused. "Do you know of anyone else? Maybe I can talk to them too, and try to tie it all together. It just feels a bit overwhelming."
Caius’s internal wheels were turning. What Shayna Mae said reminded him again of what Anthony had told him about Miriam -- the visit from the strange man. Had that been legitimately something to worry about, or was the same kind of paranoia creeping up on his mother? All of this put a sour feeling in his stomach. He didn’t like anything fucking with his family. Usually protection was the purview of his father, but if Anthony wasn’t aware of what was going on, he couldn’t exactly protect against it, could he? Caius absently pushed the small sugar bowl toward Shayna Mae, in case she wanted to add something to her tea. “I do know of someone else,” he confirmed. “Reagan was trapped with one of the cops ... Ty Solomon. He was injured by one of the creatures too, pretty badly. Also, I think I recall hearing Brianna McCarthy got scratched, but I don’t know for sure on that one. We were obviously distracted at the coven gathering, so I didn’t ask her.” He drummed his long fingers on the countertop thoughtfully.
Shayna Mae recognized both names, even if she didn't socialize with either person much. "So if Brianna was hurt, that's five. There's probably more." She lifted her cup to sip at the tea, wanting to taste it before she decided whether or not to add sugar. It tasted fine as it was, so she ignored the sugar after placing the cup back down. "That's not all. I'm sure you're in tune enough with the town to know it's been feeling differently lately. There's something odd in the air. I wasn't sure what it was, but now I'm wondering if it's tied into the fog, and what was here. Because I still don't know what those things were, or where they came from, or went. It feels like there are little pieces starting to fit together to make a bigger picture. And it's not a good one." She grimaced slightly. "I sound ominous, and I'm not meaning to. I was just hoping that maybe you would have some idea of what might be going on, or at least know a way to find out."
He’d been doing his best to ignore it while he personally had some peace, but Caius did know what Shayna Mae was talking about. He’d had the same ominous sense that something bad was coming, and so had Anthony. That was three of the most powerful witches in town, all feeling the same thing. It had to be significant. Caius gave her a solemn nod. “I’ve felt it too, yeah,” he said. “I wasn’t connecting it to the fog, but you may be right.” He lifted his cup for a sip of his own, dimly enjoying the way it warmed his throat on the way down. “Does your familiar feel it too? What does he think?” Caius was curious about the spirit that looked like a man and spent so much time with the O’Reillys. He’d often thought it would be nice to have that sort of magical barometer around, something dedicated to protection, but he didn’t know that he wanted to bother with a familiar. “I don’t know what’s causing any of it, but we need to figure it out,” he agreed. Especially if his mother was involved. “I’ll definitely alert my father. Maybe I can get Reagan to check in with the police officer, and I can try to see Brianna. If they’re all being affected by the same thing, we have to stop it if we can.”
Shayna Mae nodded after taking another sip of her tea. "I think he's just bracing for whatever may come. His first instinct is to protect us. But he's been around a lot longer than I have, and I'm sure he's felt and seen much worse than this. I think if it goes sideways he'll be able to warn us, but other than that, I'm not sure if even he knows what it means." She felt immense relief that Caius seemed willing to help, even if it meant checking in with his father. He had a greater reach into the town than she did, so if they could touch base with whoever else might have gotten hurt, that would be beneficial to everyone. "It seems to be the same basic symptoms... fast healing, mood swings. But Max also had a bout of paranoia the other night, thinking someone was after him. If that’s something else that connects them, I definitely want to know. Paranoia could grow into something more dangerous."
Caius might not have been interested in helping if his mother wasn’t possibly involved, but that definitely changed things. He didn’t think anybody could fault him for that. His first loyalty was to Reagan, second to his family, and everybody else trailed behind in a distant third. Except for a handful of friends, maybe. But this did sound serious, and Caius gave a solemn nod of agreement. Paranoid people could quickly become dangers to themselves and others, and if they were touched by something otherworldly, some agent of chaos might want them to become dangers. “Does Max have any ... special traits?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at Shayna Mae. “I know he doesn’t have magic, but anything psychic? Premonitions, telekinesis, telepathy, anything like that? Did he go missing as a child?” They were very specific questions, and he was sure she would ask why he wanted to know, but if that was something that connected Max and Miriam, Caius wanted to know about it. It felt like looking at a bunch of jumbled puzzle pieces.
Shayna Mae shook her head, even as her blonde brows drew together thoughtfully. "No, none of that. At least, not that any of us know about. I think the woman, Greer... I don't think she's psychic in the traditional sense, but she's perceptive in a way that seems above average for a human. Max is... Max." Her lips twitched. "And... his mom didn't marry my dad until he was six, but if he had gone missing before all of that happened, I'm sure we would have heard about it." His questions were pretty specific, and Shayna Mae knew there had to be a reason behind them. "Your mom... did that happen to her?" Finding out Miriam D'Onofrio was psychic of some kind would be surprising, but on the other hand... not. They were a powerful family, after all. Some people in town were just more adept at hiding what they were than others.
It was possible that the woman Shayna Mae had talked to -- Greer? Why was that vaguely familiar to him? -- had more than just perception working for her, but Shayna Mae would know if her own half-brother was psychically talented somehow. So that connection was probably out. Caius set his mug down to lean his palms against the counter and rolled his head from side to side to crack it, giving a soft sigh. “It doesn’t leave this house, but yes,” he told her. Maybe he shouldn’t divulge family secrets like that, but he considered her an ally, and who important was she going to tell? The woman lived in the woods like a hermit. “She was kidnapped. I’m not positive by whom yet. But she’s telekinetic, and kept it hidden from all of us until just recently. I was hoping there was a connection there, but doesn’t sound like it.”
Shayna Mae had no intention of telling anyone anything Caius told her in confidence. She knew how dangerous it could be for certain things to get out, and frankly, she didn't need, or want, the D'Onofrios as enemies. One brow arched in surprise that Miriam had managed to keep her ability a secret for so long, especially around her husband and son, but she supposed everyone kept their secrets for a reason. "I guess it's possible there's a connection between them, but considering the circumstances with the fog... it feels like it was just whoever was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some people didn't just get hurt, they died." Shayna Mae paused thoughtfully. "Your mom though... did she become telekinetic after she was kidnapped? Or did they take her because of her telekinesis?"
Caius nodded a bit in his agreement that it was just bad luck for those who got hurt. Now that he’d confirmed that Max hadn’t been one of the stolen kids, he was pretty sure it was a separate circumstance of his mother’s. He felt bad for her for a moment, a rare wave of empathy flowing through him. Having her childhood interrupted like that and then encountering this sort of bullshit later in life ... maybe the curses didn’t only come from his father’s side, at least metaphorically speaking. “It was after,” he answered Shayna Mae’s question. “Whoever took her either ... somehow trained her or triggered some latent ability in her ... but she told me it took her a while to really learn to use it. She was only six. I don’t know a lot of the details, but I know there are others, too. Just not if any of them are connected to this by more than coincidence.” He waved one hand vaguely. “Probably unrelated. But it was worth asking.”
Shayna Mae was silent as she sipped her tea, though she was thoughtful, remembering all of the occurrences of kids going missing in Point Pleasant over the years, and long before she had even been born. Her gut instinct told her it had nothing to do with Max's predicament, but it was still interesting. "That sounds terrible," she finally murmured. "I guess all I can say is try to keep an eye on her. Or have your dad do it and let you know if anything strange happens. Not knowing what was in the fog sort of muddles all of this. I can't pinpoint what we're dealing with, but it feels like it's only going to get worse. I guess we could take some blood and try to work out what's different about it now. I don't know how much it'll tell us, but it's a start. I won't ask you to ask your mom for a sample if you don't think she'll want to do it, but Max will. And maybe Greer."
Considering everything she’d been through lately with this weird guy turning up knowing things he shouldn’t know, Caius wasn’t sure Miriam would be super keen on giving him some of her blood to mess around with. The thought crossed his mind that he could manipulate Brianna into giving him some, but he honestly wanted to stay far away from the McCarthys now. He was sure the feeling was mutual. “You’re more likely to have success at that than I am,” he told Shayna Mae with a nod. “So let me know if you find anything unusual. Meanwhile I’ll talk to her and my father both, so we can all keep our eyes open. And I’ll try to find out for sure about Brianna McCarthy, though I doubt she wants to talk to me about anything personally.” Maybe they could have more luck with Reagan or something.
Shayna Mae nodded, still feeling a bit lost, which was an odd thing for her. She generally knew what to do, or where to look. This was something new, and it didn't sit well in her stomach. Still, she had to do something, or who knew what would happen to Max. "I'm sorry for dumping this on you right after you've recovered from everything else. I thought the fog was just another thing in a long line of things... but I think there's more to it now. I didn't really know who else to ask besides your dad, and I could just imagine his face if I showed up on his doorstep." She grinned and then moved to slip out of her chair so she could get going. "I have your number so I'll text you if I find anything more."
Caius nodded a bit as she spoke -- he was feeling the same way now. There was something more to this than Point Pleasant’s usual grab bag of bullshit. His mother and Shayna Mae’s brother needed them to step up and figure it out, so that was what he would try to help with. Caius straightened up as Shayna Mae stood so he could see her out, stepping around the kitchen island with a faint chuckle. “He would definitely be surprised, and it takes a lot to surprise him,” he agreed with a faint smirk. It was something he’d accomplished pretty recently, and he still felt a little proud of that. “And no apologies, not like you asked for this. None of us ever do. I’ll keep in touch as well.” When she was ready, Caius started to walk her back to the front door. “Honestly, I’m pleased you trust me enough to come to me. After the experience with the coven ... I think more alliances could benefit us all.”
"The coven was powerful," Shayna Mae agreed. She slipped into her coat at the door and began to button it. "And I think it could definitely help us in the future. But... at least with some of us, it'll take a while before we can trust each other enough to really dive into what it could accomplish. But I do trust you... it's just a bonus that you're the only one other than your dad that I knew could help me. Or potentially help me." With her coat buttoned, Shayna Mae pulled her long hair from beneath the coat and smiled. "Give Reagan my best. I'm going to head home and see if I can find something to separate human blood from... well, unnatural blood." She released a breath and reached for the door. "I'll let you know if I find anything."
Caius smiled back at her. She was completely right about the trust aspect, he would never try to deny that. But he was glad that the O’Reillys -- well, so far only Shayna Mae, but she was their matriarch now, wasn’t she? -- could be counted as loose allies, at least. The more they helped each other, the more that bond strengthened. Caius held the door open for her and gave her a nod. “I will,” he said. “And same here. Take care of yourself, Shayna Mae.” Once she was off the porch, Caius shut the door and locked it again, then ran a hand through his hair and cursed softly. It was always something, wasn’t it? He headed back to the kitchen to clean up while he waited for Reagan to come home.