... (itendsinfire) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-01-31 10:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | #september 2017, jasper, jasper x reagan, reagan |
Who: Reagan and Jasper
When: Friday, Sept 29, afternoon
Where: Belladonna Botanicals
Status: Complete
Though he kind of wanted to, Jasper knew he couldn’t stay out of school all week. All the teachers would be frazzled and assholish and trying to catch them up on the work they’d missed. He was dreading all those announcements about fundraisers for the victims and all that kind of shit. But he couldn’t skip an entire week, so he’d gone back Thursday and Friday. His car was in the shop to get the windows replaced, so he even had to walk everywhere he went. It was a pain in the ass, but at least the weather didn’t suck anymore. Jasper had gotten really used to walking anyway, before he’d gotten the car. It was probably good for him to get out and stretch his legs.
After school let out on Friday, most people were pumped and excited for the football game later that night. They all seemed to need something good and distracting, and kicking the shit out of another team would have everybody happy again before too long. That was just how this town worked. Jasper had other shit to do.
He left school and walked into town, smoking cigarettes along the way and thinking about Jules running around in her little cheerleader skirt. He’d seen her a few times that day, but he was already hoping to see more of her later. First he had to take care of something. Jasper walked to Belladonna Botanicals. He needed some of those protective bags, and his mother had told him to go there, speak to Reagan, and be nice. As he flicked the last of his smoke into the street in front of her shop, he hoped he could be nice enough. Jasper pulled the door open and stepped inside, glancing around for someone who looked like they worked there.
It had taken quite a bit of healing magic to get to feeling like herself again after what had happened with Caius on Tuesday. Reagan didn't blame him for it. They had both been affected by the fog, and Reagan had tried to hurt him as badly as he'd hurt her. Caius just managed to get the upper hand. Thankfully they both came to their senses before something happened that they couldn't reverse. There were still some lingering effects from what happened but Reagan didn't doubt that they would work through them.
She was alone in Belladonna today, having been in no mood to deal with her employees, so she sent them home, content to work alone for awhile. It was easier to work magic on her sore body without people hovering. Reagan was kneeling down in front of one of the shelves, placing some extra inventory in the lower cabinets to make tomorrow's restock easier, when she heard the door open. Reagan glanced over her shoulder once, then twice when she noticed the young man. He was not a regular. Or even a one timer. But she recognized him, because Reagan knew nearly everyone in town, even the Lucases. Maybe even especially the Lucases, given Olivia Lucas was a regular customer of the witches in this town.
Reagan stood and closed the lower cabinet with the toe of her shoe. It was obvious that he wasn't there for her orange vanilla shampoo. "What can I help you with?" Reagan asked, already moving toward Jasper, and the door, to push in the deadbolt so no one could come in while he was there.
Jasper looked just a tiny bit alarmed when the woman came toward him, and he side-stepped out of her way, a little relieved when she just locked the door behind him. That was ... well, fuck if he knew if that was a bad sign or not. “Uh ... are you Reagan?” he asked. She looked and smelled rich, beautiful and put together and obviously well-lotioned, but Jasper never paid any attention to the older upper class people in town, so he didn’t know for sure that she was Reagan Kelly. He didn’t want to launch straight into blabbering about what he was there for if this lady wasn’t Reagan, so he didn’t directly answer her question yet.
Reagan decided not to be annoyed at his question. He was young. Eighteen? Seventeen, at least. If he was here for reasons she thought he was here for, then he would get to know her quite well. "Yes," she answered, turning back to walk toward the counter. Reagan lifted her finger to motion for him to follow her. "Who sent you?" It clearly had to be a referral. Olivia Lucas, maybe? Someone else? Reagan had plenty of customers scattered around town, and she was always more comfortable helping out those who came to her from the recommendation of another.
Jasper followed her when she beckoned him, shooting a wary glance around the shop as he did so. He’d known it was there and it always smelled nice, but he’d never been inside. It just looked like one of those super-fancy soap stores, but apparently there was more than met the eye. “My mother did,” he answered as they approached the counter. “Olivia Lucas?” Jasper said the name with a bit of trepidation -- it would be just like Olivia to send him to some woman who hated her and would hate him too just on principle. “I’m uh, I’m Jasper.” Reagan hadn’t asked, but it seemed only fair that she knew his name too, since he knew hers.
Reagan didn't outwardly react to Olivia's name beyond a subtle twitch of her lips. She did recognize the apprehension in his tone, and frankly, Reagan couldn't blame him. Olivia Lucas was certifiably insane if you asked Reagan. But the woman was a decent customer, so Reagan opted against bad mouthing her in front of her son. "I thought so," Reagan said as she moved behind the counter and pushed open the door to the back room, pausing only briefly to gesture Jasper inside after her. "You look like your dad. I go his bar from time to time. Are you here for Olivia, or for yourself?" Reagan asked, walking over to another door and unlocking it with a key that hung from a bracelet around her wrist.
Jasper hadn’t been sure what to expect, but being led into some mysterious back room hadn’t been it. Which was probably stupid, because why would she keep all her magic stuff up front where people could touch it and shit? It just went to show how much he’d thought this through. But Jasper thought he could be forgiven for that, seeing as how he just learned any of this bullshit was real less than a week ago. He followed Reagan, casting wary glances around and giving a tiny huff of disbelief that he looked like Gavin. Maybe it was true, but he didn’t have to like it. “For me,” he answered. “Uh, here ...” Jasper dipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out the herb bag that Olivia had sewn into his old backpack God-knew-how-long ago. He showed it to Reagan with a furrowed brow, hoping she would know what it was without him having to fumble through an explanation. “I need some of these.”
Reagan gave the bag a brief glance before she pushed open the door to the small room where she kept her other inventory. Jasper seemed wary. Nervous, even. He must have been completely blind to what Point Pleasant harbored and was capable of. That was interesting, given how long Olivia Lucas had been a customer of the witches in this town. But Reagan supposed some mothers felt the need to protect their kids from the thing that went bump in the night. Personally, she found that to be rather foolish, but whatever, Jasper wasn't her kid. Inside the room there were various shelves with jars, pouches and some boxes. Reagan picked up several small pouches that resembled the one and set it on the small wooden table she had set up in the middle of the room. "Protecting, healing or cursing?" Reagan asked as she grabbed a couple jars from the shelves to set on the table beside the pouch.
Another room. It was like being in a movie. If only he could convince himself that all of this was just one bad movie, maybe he could rest easier. But it wasn’t, and he had to play within these new rules, and this was the only lead he had on what to do. He watched what Reagan did with open curiosity, nibbling a bit on the corner of his bottom lip. “Protecting,” he answered quietly, gaze ticking between her hands and her face. He found it kind of interesting that ‘cursing’ was also an option, and he wondered if Olivia had ever gotten any of those. It seemed like something she would do. “Do you need like, specifics? ‘Cause I don’t really know what I saw ...” God, Jasper hoped she could just do a blanket protection spell thing and he wouldn’t have to go on some quest to try and find out what those demon kids really were.
Reagan's lips twitched as she went back into another cabinet to grab the proper ingredients. "I don't need specifics unless you want to give me specifics," Reagan said. "Generally I create hex bags that protect you from harm, any kind of harm. But I've had some people want specific protection from someone, or something. So it's up to you what you need." She set two more, smaller jars, on the table, one of which was filled with small animal bones. Reagan moved to a drawer to find her sage incense. "How many will you be wanting? If this is only for you, I'd suggest keeping one in your car, one in your home, and one on your person, like sewn into a coat or book bag."
Part of Jasper was sure he wanted protection from the black eyed kids specifically, but if Reagan could give him something that would protect him from them and anything else he might not know about, that sounded pretty damn good too. He made note of what she called them -- ‘hex bags’, better than ‘bag things’ -- still watching her work. Jasper’s brow furrowed when she asked him how many ... he did want to cover all his bases, and maybe even some bases that weren’t his own, but there were practical matters too. “How, uh ... how much are they?” he asked, soft and a bit sheepish. Jasper had some money, but if they were like a hundred bucks a pop or something, that limited his options.
Reagan arched a dark brow as she lit the sage to cleanse the area before she got to work. "I guess that depends. I'm going to take a wild guess that you're still in high school and probably don't have much money. But," Reagan said, "your mom is a good customer. So... I'll give you three bags for whatever you've got in your wallet right now. If you want more, we'll fill out an IOU, and then next time you've got say, fifty bucks, you bring it to me." Reagan didn't mind cutting Jasper a deal, especially for protection bags, and maybe she was feeling generous, like she ought to make things right with her Gods after what had happened with Caius. She needed to balance the dark with light, and perhaps this was her opportunity. Help a kid in need. If Jasper had been looking to curse someone, that would have been a different story and the price would have been much higher. She doubted he would have been able to afford it.
Oh look, Olivia’s existence actually did him a small favor. Would wonders never cease. In spite of the bitter thought, Jasper was grateful, and it showed in the way his shoulders slumped out of their tense position. Three bags wouldn’t completely cover him and Jules both, but he could make do with maybe four for now, and whenever he had some more money -- which would be soon -- he could come back and get more. It seemed greedy to ask for six. It also seemed like a bad idea to be in debt to a witch, but maybe that was some rude stereotype, so he held his tongue on saying so. “Can I get four?” he asked, pulling his wallet out of his jeans. “I’ve got ... a hundred and twenty on me. But I got a job and all, I can come back really soon.” He paused, then pulled that tiny frown again. “I can give one to somebody, right? And it’ll still work? Sorry if that’s a stupid question, I’m just ... new to all this.”
Reagan ignored Jasper for a moment as she focused on cleansing her work area, and the supplies in front of her. When she finished, she set the sage to the side so she could get to work. A hundred and twenty was a decent price for a high school kid, so Reagan nodded, not caring in the least that it could be all he had to his name at the moment. People came to her because they needed, or wanted, something worth paying for. It didn't benefit Reagan to perform magical favors for everyone in town for free. She opened the jars to place the proper amount of herbs on the table, followed by the stones she chose. Obsidian and quartz.
"To answer your question, yes you can give one to someone else, but hex bags that contain an item belonging to the possessor tends to be more effective. Nothing mundane, that might be taken out of the bag for use later. But a piece of hair, a fingernail, a ring or earring... something that belongs to them that they're okay with no longer wearing or using." Reagan picked up her altar knife and beckoned Jasper closer. "I'll need some of your hair. I can place strands in three bags and leave the fourth empty. If you want someone else to have it, take something that belongs to them and slip it inside and tie it back up. The hex bag will then belong to them, and them only. Understand?"
Jasper felt like he should be taking notes, which was an odd feeling for him. He didn’t even feel that urge in school most of the time. This was more important than school, obviously. This was what had ruined his dad’s life, and Jasper was determined not to let it ruin his own. He caught the jist of what Reagan said -- personal object, stick it in and tie it up. “Got it,” he murmured as he stepped in closer. He had plenty of hair to spare, but it made him a little wary to be so close to a strange woman brandishing a knife. Jasper nervously ran a hand through his hair and fluffed it a bit so she could easily grab a strand without having to get too close to his ear.
Reagan reached out, taking hold of a small bit of his hair between her fingers. She was careful with the knife, but it was sharp enough to cut what she needed with no trouble and Reagan separated the hair into three piles. "Stand by the door," she instructed. "This won't take long." She started with one pile, placing his hair and the herbs into a mortar where she began to crush them together. She called on her deity again, thankful to feel a spark of light inside of her. Reagan blessed the ingredients, and then the stones before dropping one of each into the bag and asking the goddesses to protect the possessor of each bag from harm. After tying the first, she got to work on the other three, assembling them one by one and feeling a surge of refreshing energy inside of her. It had been awhile since she had made hex bags for good and it eased some of the dark emotions that had been clouding her for the past couple of days.
When she finished, Reagan's eyes shimmered and she smiled, motioning for Jasper to come closer so he could take them from the table. "Put them somewhere safe and leave them there, okay? Don't move them around, or from room to room. If you put one in your coat, sew it inside the pocket so you're not tempted to take it out. You'll disrupt the magic if you do. Make sure your friend knows that as well. This is protection," she explained. "But that doesn't mean you can do anything you please and you'll be guarded from harm. Your choices still matter. Basically, don't be a dumbass and do anything purposely stupid."
Jasper watched with a hesitant sort of fascination. It was kind of amazing to watch real magic being worked. Unless she was just a bullshit con artist. How was he going to know the difference? But both of his parents seemed to have faith in shit like this, and Jasper didn’t know what else to try, so ... he had to have some faith too, he guessed. He’d thought about going back to church and to start praying more too, but somehow this seemed like it would be even more effective. He hoped, anyway. He moved in closer again when Reagan was done, nodding his understanding as he looked at the hex bags on the little table. “Don’t be a dumbass, right. Think I can handle that,” he murmured with a crooked little smile. Jasper met Reagan’s eyes again, his brow furrowed. “I really just need them to ... keep bad scary shit away. Like, demon shit.”
Reagan's abilities had been called bullshit before. It never took more than a little dark magic to convince them she was the real deal, and not to fuck with her. Now when people came to her, it's because they knew what she could do, but she did still get a doubter or two. Occasionally. They never stay skeptical for long. Jasper wasn't the first to need protection against malevolent forces. They ran amok in this town, both seen and unseen. "They'll repel demon shit," Reagan replied, her lips twitching briefly. "Essentially they're used to keep away negative energy, those who might wish to cause you harm. Come back during the winter solstice so I can replace the herbs and bless new bags for you. If you still feel the need to keep the bad scary shit away, anyway. I don't charge customers for bag renewals." Reagan nodded at the bags for Jasper to pick them up as she started to clean up the table. "Demons aren't fond of hex bags, especially ones designed to keep them away. And some demons are more powerful than a simple protection spell. If you continue to have trouble even after placing the hex bags, you'll need something stronger. If that happens, come back and see me."
Jasper’s face relaxed a little when she didn’t scoff at his description, and seemed to believe that was the type of thing he was dealing with. He wasn’t sure why he would’ve expected a for-real witch not to believe in demon shit, but maybe he was still struggling to grasp that this was the way the world really was, and a lot of people knew but him. “Winter solstice,” he repeated in a low murmur, as if that would help him remember. Jasper was going to write it down or save it as an event on his phone calendar or something. He picked up the hex bags a bit gingerly, but they felt absolutely ordinary. Fuck, he hoped this would work. Once he’d tucked them all away in his jacket pocket, he gave Reagan a grateful look. “Thank you,” Jasper said, sounding more sincere about it than he usually did. He held out the folded cash for her, thinking this probably wasn’t the kind of thing he paid for at the register.
For a second she almost felt sorry for the guy. It was clear that his first brush with the darker side of Point Pleasant hadn't been, well, pleasant. Reagan occasionally had people come to her for help who were shaken by what they had experienced and yet still harbored a sense of skepticism that any of this could actually be true. But people who lived in this town eventually came face to face with the truth. Whether they wanted to believe it or not was a different matter. At least someone like Jasper was taking measures to protect himself. If only more people would. "December 21st," Reagan said, deciding she ought to be more specific about when winter solstice was. He was a teenage boy, so he probably would have turned to Google for information. Or he would have forgotten completely. She reached out and took the money from him, keeping it in the palm of her hand to slip into her bag later. "And you're welcome." She came around the table to lead him out of the room toward the front of the store again so she could unlock the door for him. "Good luck," she told Jasper, "and don't forget what I said about giving the fourth hex bag to your friend."
Google would’ve held the answer, but Jasper gave her a grateful little smile when she clarified anyway. He didn’t know if that was a thing he would have to do every year from here on out, or every season -- wasn’t there a summer solstice too? -- but he would do whatever he had to do. He followed Reagan out of her secret back rooms, and it was a little strange walking out into the normalcy of the shop out front now. Like he’d just come out of a different world. He nodded as he stepped up to the door while Reagan unlocked it. “Put a personal object in there, close it up, and then it’s hers forever. Don’t move them around,” he summarized. Maybe he could talk Jules into keeping it sewn into her purse or something. At least until he got more for her. “Thanks again,” he murmured to Reagan.
Reagan unbolted the door and opened it for him, since she doubted he was going to be shopping for shaving cream at the moment. She nodded, pleased that Jasper seemed to retain the information she'd given him - not everyone paid such close attention. "You're welcome," she said again. Reagan was aware that she did plenty of morally gray magic - and sometimes dark magic - but it did feel good to help people from time to time. There was minimal to no backlash and it helped keep her magic balanced. "Be safe," Reagan added as she turned away to return to her work. Her hex bags could only do so much. The rest was on Jasper.