Gavin almost didn't go to Reagan's store on Tuesday afternoon. He had work and it was tempting to go straight to the bar and just forget about everything Jules had been worrying about. Jasper looked happy, he was doing better than he ever had, how could that be a bad thing? He might have even left it at that if there wasn't a nagging voice inside of him, telling him there was something unnatural about that happiness. Considering the mood swings, the sudden upswing in Jasper's mood felt almost manic and sadly, not like him at all. Gavin had been on the verge of calling Ollie to ask who else she might know in town with magical inclinations. He wasn't eager to see Reagan Kelly, not after her husband maimed Caden. Saying he was nervous about seeing her was an understatement and he doubted she'd be thrilled to see him either.
At least it was sunny today and it had finally stopped snowing. By the time he left the house most of the roads had been cleared. He inhaled the crisp winter air deeply before he entered Belladonna, wondering if he should be waving a white flag as he approached Reagan or if his awkwardness was enough to let her know he came in peace. It was hard to mistake it when Gavin was truly angry and he certainly didn't walk this slowly when he was on a warpath.
Things had been pleasantly quiet, at least in her marriage, since the coven convened. Caius had told her about his visit from Shayna Mae O'Reilly, so Reagan knew something was brewing. It affected his mother too, so they were going to try and help. But at the moment, there wasn't much they could do, because they had so few answers. Honestly, if Miriam hadn't been affected by this, Reagan would have been tempted to tell Caius to stay out of it. Let someone else fix this damn town for once. But... Miriam was affected, so sitting this one out wasn't in the cards.
Reagan had just refinished stocking the bath milk when Gavin Lucas walked into the store. Fucking fantastic. She picked up the now empty wooden crate and held it as she watched him, one dark brow lifting. "Please tell me you're here to buy your girlfriend some new bath salts."
Gavin had never liked Reagan Kelly much, she was a snooty Overlook brat who always thought she was better than everyone else, but she had helped him in the past and she could be useful. Too useful sometimes as history had shown. He wouldn't show her just how much he disliked her, that felt like a spectacularly bad idea, but he nearly hated her now, knowing the things she'd done - she or her man, could he judge her based on what her husband did? Sure. Yes, he could. But like it or not, she was the only contact he had so he swallowed it all down and tried not to let her words rile him up. "If only," he muttered. "Can we talk freely here?" It didn't look like anyone else was around but he would let Reagan decide.
Reagan didn't mind it if Gavin Lucas hated her. She wasn't terribly fond of him either. Or any of the Lucas's to be honest. They were bad news, and one of them had assaulted her. So maybe she was snooty, but they were trash, and that's just how it was. However, Reagan didn't discriminate where it came to helping people. If they asked for it, and it was something she could do, she would generally help. If she disliked them, she would ask for money. It was pretty simple. Reagan didn't need to be friendly with her non-Belladonna customers.
Sighing softly, Reagan turned to carry the crate back to the counter by the register. "We can talk freely here," she confirmed. "What do you need?"
"Well, you're the only person I know who's... Knowledgeable about certain things," Gavin said and if she was sick of his face, he thought she would do well to give him a referral to some other witch out there. "Have you heard anything about the fog affecting people after the fact? The ones who got hurt?" He didn't often look people in the eye unless he was trying to intimidate them - Charlie being an exception because he could happily drown in her eyes - because it was uncomfortable to maintain eye contact, but he kept a close watch of Reagan's face, looking for recognition or some reaction in case she did know something and decided to lie to him about it.
She hadn't been expecting that question, but Reagan supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. The fog had apparently affected more than they initially thought. She recalled the conversation she had with Caius after returning home from work on Sunday, when Shayna Mae had shown up to talk to her husband about it. Reagan set the crate down and placed both hands on top of the counter, returning Gavin's pointed gaze with her own. "Yes. Is there someone you're worried about?" Reagan didn't want to say anymore than she needed to, not without knowing Gavin's motivations for asking.
He couldn't very well lie to her and say no because why would he be here if he didn't have an interest in the whole fiasco? So Gavin nodded,his stomach twisting in discomfort. He had been hoping for a different answer, that this was all just paranoia from living in Point Pleasant for too damn long. "Is there something being done about it that you know about?" he asked and it all felt so completely out of his control, he hated it. The last time a witch had 'fixed' his problems, Amelia had gone missing, Mila had been possessed, Aaron had nearly died and Caden had lost his fingers and his memories. So why the fuck was he here again? Because you need to know he reminded himself. If the witches were up to something that might potentially hurt his kid, he needed to know.
They might not have any fuzzy feelings for each other, but Reagan softened a touch, knowing he had someone in his life who had been affected by the fog and was probably dealing with whatever was happening to them all now. "There are people attempting to find answers, and a solution. But whatever that fog was, it wasn't from this world and that makes it difficult. Unfortunately, magic can't fix everything. I know that's probably not what you want to hear." But that was really all Reagan could give him.
No, it wasn't what Gavin wanted to hear but he was all too used to not getting what he wanted. His life seemed to be a series of bad news so this wasn't exactly surprising. "Do you know how serious it is?" he asked and it suddenly caught up with him just how tired he felt. Maybe it was her sudden softer demeanor, allowing him to drop his guard a little, or more likely it was just the hopelessness intensifying. "I've been seeing mood swings and uh... Almost manic behavior but nothing worse than that." Yet, his brain added and he hated that it didn't feel like he was being overly paranoid.
Reagan sighed, but not out of irritation. She understood the hopeless feeling. She had dealt with it so often lately, but she had been lucky enough to find solutions to her and Caius's problems. This was different, and so many more people were being affected, including Caius's mom. "I can't say for certain how serious it is, but I was told that a rather powerful... person had been able to touch two of the infected and he said there was something dark inside of them, something he couldn't exactly identify." She didn't want to call Shayna Mae's familiar a creature, not in front of Gavin and she doubted he would know what a familiar was anyway. "Mood swings is one of the symptoms. Some paranoia. Have they become violent or dangerous?"
Joseph Lucas had always been violent and dangerous so that wouldn't mean shit. Even Jasper had the Lucas mood in him, hot like lava bubbling right under the surface. So that wasn't exactly an easy question. Jules had said he'd been violent and to her that was new and shocking. "I guess, is that another symptom?" How violent was too violent? Gavin's whole life was colored by it, it was hard to see it as something abnormal and if it became an issue, that meant things had gone too far. Even lately, with Caden's fight and Joseph breaking Roxy's nose - it all felt too familiar, too normal.
"Maybe, depending on how severe the mood swings have been. Considering the nature of whatever was in the fog, it would stand to reason there might be some violence." Reagan was suddenly aware of Ty, the deputy. Why hadn't she thought of him before, when Caius was explaining to her Shayna Mae's visit. Was he going through all of these things too? Yes, probably. Reagan shrugged softly. "Something like this is bound to escalate. I don't think this is just a new normal. That's why we're trying to figure out what it is. That fog came here for a reason, at least that's what I think. You know your people better than we do. If you know something's not right, then it probably isn't. Unfortunately I don't know that there's anything we can do about it."
That just wasn't an acceptable answer and Gavin wondered if Reagan had a real stake in this one or if she just didn't care enough to try. "So we just do nothing and watch it unfold," he muttered, shaking his head in frustration. "Did someone close to you get hurt, Kelly?" He needed to know. Was she really trying to do something, did she have something to lose, or was this just another amusing spectacle she could observe from a distance while the rest of them - the non witches - suffered the consequences.
Her spine stiffened instinctively and Reagan stared at Gavin for a quiet, assessing moment. The urge to snap back was strong, but she had a feeling if she did that this might descend quickly into an argument. Why was it that everyone who had come to them in the past expected them to fix everything? And why did they so often get angry when it couldn't be done? Gavin's brother had assaulted her because she couldn't find Gavin's daughter, and that had been completely out of her hands. Her fingers pressed harder into the countertop, but her voice was level when she spoke. "Yes, someone close to my husband was hurt. I know others who are going through the same thing. I never said we weren't doing anything. We're trying. But we can only do so much when we don't know what we're dealing with. As much as I would like to snap my fingers and fix this for everyone, I can't do it. We're witches, Mr. Lucas, not all powerful beings."
To someone with no powers, they did seem impossibly powerful but Gavin didn't say as much, it was probably better that they still had some humility despite their immense gifts. It was reassuring to hear she had a stake in this - or that her husband did at least - it might mean there was a solution in sight, even if they didn't know it yet. "I would very much appreciate it if you contact me," he muttered, not oblivious to her annoyance but he didn't feel the need to address it. There were more pressing matters to focus on. "If you find anything, good or bad."
Of course he wanted her to contact him. Reagan wondered if Gavin knew how helpful she could be to people who weren't a pain in the ass, especially to her. "I'll do that," Reagan said. "And hopefully it will be sooner than later. If anything changes with... whoever it is you're worried about, let me know. Any bit of information might help us figure this out."
Gavin didn't really want to tell Reagan a goddamned thing and maybe it didn't make it any better that she had people affected as well. He could well imagine her testing some lunatic theory on people she didn't care about, like magical guinea pigs or sacrificial lambs to test the waters. He nodded anyway, even if he wasn't so sure he'd be talking to again. So many questions burned in his mind but raising the subject of Caden's brainwashing wasn't likely to lead anywhere good so he supposed he should feign ignorance on that for now. He felt tired and sullen, disappointed even if he was certain he hadn't been expecting anything from her. "Do you have a lot of people trying to figure this out?" he asked. She'd mentioned someone very powerful in a way that didn't make it sound like she was talking about D'Onofrio so maybe it was not just her and her husband.
"Enough," Reagan said, not entirely sure it was important to give him a number, or names. "Not all witches either. But... I won't lie... it feels a bit out of our hands. Until we know what this is, or where it came from, it's extremely difficult to find the right kind of magic to fix or defeat it." If that was even possible, though she kept that part to herself. "I'm sorry I don't have better answers for you this time." Reagan meant that too. Because she was fairly confident that Gavin Lucas had to be extremely desperate for help to come to her at this point.
She was right about that, Gavin didn't want to be there and so he didn't linger longer than he had to, having heard enough. She couldn't really help him, maybe nobody could. All he could do was hope that they wouldn't need help, that this weirdness was something that would fade away with time. It was almost laughable to try to hope for that, when had anything in his life gone that easy route? "Well, at least you are all trying," he muttered quietly, raising his hand in a half-hearted wave as he turned to leave. He couldn't even really say thanks because... thanks for what? So he left with that, weary and defeated.
In a way Reagan felt like a failure for not having definitive answers for him. But her life couldn't revolve around Gavin Lucas's constant problems. Even if she had answers, it wasn't a given that she would share them. Still, she still harbored enough empathy that she understood how scary it was to not know what was wrong with a loved one and feel helpless. But there was nothing she could do for Gavin tonight, so she watched him go before blowing a soft breath from between her lips and turning back to the job at hand. There hadn't been much said, but she still had a few things to tell Caius about now. Anything was better than nothing.