search within (searchwithin) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-11-01 17:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, brianna, brianna x reza, reza |
Who: Brianna and Reza
When: middayish, Wednesday, June 20th
Where: Reza and Shane's
Status: Complete
It had been a crazy couple of days for Reza, but now that Shane was home and fine and they’d settled things between them, he felt more like he could think about other things. Including the texts he’d gotten from Brianna McCarthy, pictures of the Arabic she was asking him to translate. They’d come through the day before, but he’d been too preoccupied with Shane to really pay much attention to them. Wednesday morning while his troublesome man was working out seemed like as good a time as any to look at them, and Reza sat himself down in the kitchen with a notepad.
He pulled up the photos Brianna had texted him and was a little surprised to find that they were of tattoos. She’d sent a series of shots of a man’s bare back and arms, the ink ranging from wrist to wrist, all the way across his shoulders and down his spine and back. The patterns and script were beautiful, but they were extensive, and it took Reza a couple of hours and lots of squinting and zooming to make out most of it. Arabic script was art, and whoever had done these tattoos had certainly put work into it.
It didn’t take him too long to figure out what he was reading were spells, complicated ones, and the more he translated, the more worried he got. Reza of course didn’t know Brianna at all, or why she would have access to a shirtless man who had all this going on, but it raised quite a few red flags for him. He waited until he was mostly done, then closed out the photos and tapped the call button on his phone. Reza wanted to talk about it all with her in person, but he wasn’t even sure if she was home or not.
Brianna knew examining and translating Owen's tattoos would probably take a while - there were a lot of them after all - so she remained patient, resisting the urge to text Reza for an update. The tattoos weren't going anywhere - unless Owen decided to skip town - and Brianna was growing increasingly curious about his tattoos and the magic she felt from him. But work and home life kept her busy enough so when Reza did call, she blinked in surprise, but then answered quickly, standing up from her desk to quickly shut her office door.
"Reza," she said, keeping her voice light. "How are you?"
Reza found himself a bit relieved that she answered. He wasn’t sure that Brianna was in active danger, but if he was reading between the lines correctly here, the man with all this ink could be a threat to her. “Hello Brianna, I’m doing okay, thank you ... listen, do you have some free time to talk in person? I’ve just gotten done going over these photos and, ah ... I have some concerns.” He winced a bit as he said it, aware that he might be overstepping some boundaries by worrying about this woman he didn’t know, but she was a witch like him. Reza was finding that living so closely to other witches was giving him a new sense of community.
Brianna's brows knitted together as she took in what Reza was saying. Concerns? She had assumed he would translate the tattoos and find some type of magic but... maybe it was darker than she had imagined. She wasn't sure she wanted to be seen out in public with Reza, only because this was a small town and news traveled fast and the last thing she wanted was for it to get back to James. He would have questions. "We can talk," she said, already shutting down her computer. "Preferably somewhere private. Where are you right now?" She would go to him. It would be safer and Brianna needed to feel that sense of control in this situation.
“I’m at home ... next door to you,” Reza said, relieved that she wasn’t blowing him off. “You can come here, I can go over there ...? Or I could meet you wherever you want. I’m flexible.” He had no idea who was home next door, maybe it would be strange for Brianna to park in their drive instead of her own, so Reza was willing to go wherever she was at the moment. “Shane’s here, but he’s pretty occupied, we’ll have privacy,” he added, just in case she was worried about that. All of the secrecy made him wonder more who this guy was to her, which wasn’t at all his business, but he couldn’t help but feel curious.
Brianna glanced at the time on her phone. It was early enough that James wouldn't be home yet and the kids were probably out with their friends. She could park at home and just walk over to Reza's. "I'll come to you, but I'm at work so it will take me a few minutes," she explained before hanging up. She supposed it was all right that Shane was there as long as he didn't interrupt them or decide to take part in the conversation. It didn't take her long to drive back to Overlook and once she was sure no one was lingering outside, she walked to Reza and Shane's house where she rang the bell. If anyone got curious she could always say the two men were considering purchasing the home, which was more than a valid reason to be there if you asked her.
While Brianna drove back home, Reza checked in with Shane and told him what was going on and that he would be using one of the many downstairs rooms for a little bit. His boyfriend was curious, of course, but he promised to steer clear until they were done. Reza waited around in the foyer until Brianna arrived, then opened the door with a faint smile and gestured her inside. “Hello there,” he said. “There’s uh, an office over here to the left ...” Once he’d shut the front door again, he led the way to a room where they could sit and talk in private. It wasn’t a room they had much reason to use, so it looked untouched and a bit dusty. Reza took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and set his notepad down. “So this took me a while, it was a lot more extensive than I thought at first,” he started, sure she wanted to get down to business.
Brianna followed Reza, not terribly curious about the house. She had been inside it before, of course, when the last residents had lived there although, bless them, she couldn't even remember their names. Once she was sitting, Brianna crossed her legs and settled her hands in her lap, studying Reza. She knew Kane's tattoos were extensive, since she had gotten plenty of up close and personal looks at them. But right now she was zeroed in on what had Reza "concerned".
"All right," she said slowly, arching a brow. "And what did they tell you?"
“It’s all spells,” Reza said, looking a little amazed. “The language is kind of esoteric in spots, but from what I can understand of it, a lot of them are protective spells against specific ... creatures, I guess you could say, Like it mentions ...” he glanced down at his notes where he’d made a list, “... demons, blood-suckers, djinn, possession spirits, magic that means him harm ... a bunch more. The spell on his left arm makes him hard to see by supernatural creatures. But the right one, it’s all about guiding his hand in successful hunting.” He put some emphasis on that last word and looked up at Brianna. “It’s obviously not my business who this guy is to you, but I think he hunts and kills supernatural beings ... which might be you. And me. I don’t know why else anyone would need all this.”
Brianna had obviously known the tattoos held some kind of magic but as Reza rattled off everything he had been able to translate, her brow rose higher until she understood what he was saying. Hunting. Was Owen a hunter? Did he hunt witches? It would make sense as to why he had been staying in a motel when they met but she knew he had to have a more permanent living space now. "I'm not a creature," Brianna said tersely, though she wasn't necessarily angry with Reza. He had mentioned magic that caused harm and she could certainly cause harm if she really wanted to. "I suppose it could be that he only hunts supernatural beings who cause other people harm." She paused briefly. "Do you know what would happen if I attempted magic that did mean to cause him harm? Do the tattoos give any indication about how he's protected from it?"
He made a tiny apologetic face at the first part -- he’d switched to ‘beings’ for a reason, Reza was always careful with his words. He couldn’t really speculate on the tattooed man’s motives or what he would consider a ‘creature,’ but Reza would hope that he could see the difference between them and a demon or something. “No, there’s nothing here about possible results,” he answered, glancing down at his notes again. “Just calling on all these different spirits and Allah to shield him from detection and harm from a litany of beings.” Reza bit his tongue on saying that he sure as fuck wouldn’t want to try anything on this guy, knowing what he knew now. “Can I ask if he’s even Arab? It’s all just so ... I don’t know, I don’t know a lot of Arab witches obviously, living in the US most of my life, but ... it feels so ... culturally intimate, if that makes sense. It’s not something a white person could just waltz into a tattoo parlor in Cairo and get done, you know?”
Brianna certainly didn't intend on even trying to hurt Owen but she couldn't help but be curious as to what would happen if she ever did. Calling on spirits to protect him? Allah? That felt like dark magic to her, even if she didn't fully understand it. She might have been a witch but there was so much Brianna didn't know. She was still essentially a novice when it came to magic. "He's not Arab," Brianna said, shifting a little in her chair. "But he served in Iraq. I imagine he could have found someone there to help him. Are you sure it was a witch who gave him these protections?"
Reza’s brows lifted briefly in understanding. An American soldier picking up this kind of magic in Iraq ... that definitely sounded like a fascinating story. He was sure he would never get the details on it though, unfortunately. “I mean, I can’t be sure of that just from photos,” Reza told her, shrugging one shoulder slightly. “But if it wasn’t some type of magic-user who put all this on his back, then he wasted a bunch of time and pain for nothing. I would think they’re just nonsense without power behind them. Do you sense any magic from them?” He asked a bit carefully and hoped she wouldn’t be insulted somehow. Brianna had obviously gotten close enough to take pictures of them, but he didn’t want to accidentally insinuate anything more.
They definitely weren't nonsense. Even knowing what she knew now, Brianna still had so many questions. Was Owen a hunter? Did he know she was a witch? If he knew, did he even care? It wasn't like they were doing anything more than having sex, but it was still something, wasn't it? Brianna straightened a touch in her chair, her fingers tightening in her lap. "I do sense magic," she admitted. "As soon as I saw them, I felt it. I thought maybe he was a witch too, but it felt different than how it feels now with you, or when I'm around other witches in town. I didn't ask him, because he's a private person. I only know about Iraq because I mentioned the Arabic tattoos. If he's a hunter, he could just be hunting dangerous beings, correct? Demons, werewolves... it could be a matter of keeping people safe than anything else."
All of her questions were way beyond Reza’s expertise, or what he could glean just from these pictures of an anonymous man’s back. The way Brianna said he was ‘private’ raised another red flag, and Reza nibbled a bit on his bottom lip. She sounded like she was fishing for validation to keep in contact with this guy, and while he knew none of it was any of his business, Reza was so curious as to what kind of relationship they had. Was this an affair he was getting a peek into? “I suppose it could be that, yeah,” Reza said. “But I can only speculate, I’m definitely no expert on hunters.” He hesitated for a beat, then added, “That being said, I would be careful what you tell him.” He couldn’t tell her what to do, it was her life, and it wasn’t like Reza was in any position to lecture someone about being cautious with their relationships. But Shane was just a hot mess, not someone whose life work might be killing witches.
Brianna wasn't an expert either. She knew on some level that hunters had to exist, but like so many other things, it felt like they were in another world, far removed from her. "I don't plan on telling him anything," Brianna said simply. Maybe he would hear rumors about the witches in this town but he didn't know her name, so she doubted he would put two and two together. Maybe that would change in the future but they both wanted their arrangement to remain as anonymous as possible. Sure, Brianna had sort of betrayed that by taking photos of his tattoos to get translated, but she had no plans to use it against him. She was just curious about the magic. Brianna studied Reza closely. "I would appreciate it if this stayed between us. Gossip travels fast in this town and I don't want this getting out."
Reza’s curiosity was gnawing at him so much, but he knew he couldn’t ask any real questions. It was all none of his business, he just happened to know the language, and he didn’t want to piss Brianna off. He and Shane were interlopers in this town and maybe especially this neighborhood, and he didn’t want to alienate anyone powerful, especially when they lived right next door. “Of course,” Reza told her without hesitating. “I won’t tell anyone, it’s not my business. I’m just a resource.” He offered her a faint smile. “I’ll delete the pics if you want, get rid of the notes.” He bit his tongue on telling her to be careful again. She was a grown woman and a witch, Reza was sure she could take care of herself. “If I can help in any other way, let me know. We’re neighbors, after all.”
Brianna wasn't entirely sure she trusted him but she knew she had to. She had given him those photos, after all. And she had a feeling he would tell Shane about this meeting, though maybe he would keep it to himself like she had requested. If they got out somehow… well, she didn’t need a hunter on her ass. Not in a murderous way, anyway. "If you would delete the pictures, I would appreciate it," she said with a small nod before raising a brow and letting a small smile curve at her lips. "And yes, we are neighbors. Do you plan on that being a permanent situation? I can get you an incredible deal on this place."
Reza didn’t want to run afoul of any hunters either, and he’d already studied the pictures enough to know what they were all about, so he didn’t mind deleting them in the slightest. He pulled his phone out to do that right then, so Brianna could rest assured they were gone. Her question made him laugh quietly and he shook his head. “No plans for that just yet,” Reza said. “I do kind of love this house, but ...we plan to go back to Chicago once Shane’s business here is wrapped up.” He wasn’t going to go into details, but he could say that much, he supposed. Reza finished with his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. “But if any of those plans change, I’ll definitely let you know,” he added.
Brianna studied Reza silently for a moment, the smile still on her lips before she spoke again. "You have my card," she said, as she stood from the chair. "Give me a call when you're ready to talk about purchasing. And I appreciate your help with this. Send me a text with your cash app information and I'll send you payment." She wasn't trying to be pushy but she had grown up in this town, she knew how it operated. Maybe they thought they were moving back to Chicago, but... well, it was in her best interest to make sure he knew who to call when he and his partner decided to stay. "Thank you, Reza."
He stood up as well to escort her back to the front door like a gentleman. “You’re very welcome,” Reza told her as he led the way out of the office. “And like I said before, payment’s really not necessary.” He knew she might insist, but if he didn’t give her any information to send him money, maybe she would drop it. Reza didn’t need anything extra, nor did he really want it. He’d been happy to help a fellow witch, and maybe he could call on Brianna sometime when he needed a favor. Once they were at the door, he opened it for her and gave her a smile. “Take care, Brianna,” he said.
If he didn't send her payment information, Brianna would just stop by in a couple of days with an old-fashioned check. She knew translating those tattoos probably hadn't been easy and she wanted to make sure he knew she appreciated his time, especially because Brianna knew he could prove to be useful in the future. Brianna glanced towards her house as soon as the door was open, relieved to find the driveway was still empty but for her own car. "Thank you again," she told him, smiling easier now as she headed outside and for her house. She had a lot to think about and maybe some more research to do on her own.