Lalo Villanueva (lalovilla) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-03-31 13:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | lalo villanueva, player: dorothy, player: mo |
She hadn't felt as jovial that morning when she got dressed, so Dia's shirt was merely rainbow stripes. No glitter. No sequins. No horses. Just rainbow stripes. Very somber and moody. She had broken the lease to her apartment that morning, to the tune of an $800 check that she knew would bounce later and she had quit her job. People had asked questions and she wasn't sure that she had given satisfactory answers, but she did know that, unless they were Magical, they wouldn't be able to find her in Summerview. That was the only reason she'd had the courage to make the trip at all.
Now safely back in Summerview, she opened the door to the apothecary and immediately realised she had no idea what she was looking for. Taking a moment to observe the small entry and to smile at the lady behind the counter, she began to wander, hoping she looked like she knew what she was doing. Another customer was speaking with one of the staff near a cabinet shelving unit full of bottles, so Dia picked up one of the pamphlets at the front desk, opened it as if to read, and began to hover and eavesdrop. So far, Phyllis’ Pharmacy was Lalo’s favourite place in Summerview. It had something for everything and every time he went he had to make sure he didn’t spend all his money. Today was no different and he had a shopping basket on one arm, this time it was filled with treats and some herbs. He had just finished working with Scarlet some more about what he could do as a brujo. Glancing up from the display of different coffees when someone entered, he cocked his head to the side, attention now on the young girl versus the coffee. Well, teenager. Something wasn’t right. “Your aura is off,” he said eyes narrowing as he tried to figure it out. He had already realized, a lot of why he was at ease as a Santeros was because it allowed him to use his natural gifts in ways he already inclined. Now, it was mostly about focusing them and expanding them. “What?” Dia asked, turning to find who had spoken. She had never heard of an aura and wondered if she had misheard the word ‘tiara’, though, admittedly, that didn't make sense either, since she wasn't wearing one. The face that she saw immediately looked familiar, though she couldn't remember where she had seen this man. “Oh, hi!” she said, as if speaking to a friend she had not seen in years. She folded the pamphlet in her left hand and held out her right in greeting, hoping to buy herself enough time to figure out who this was. “Your aura is off,” Lalo repeated, a shoulder shifting to put his dreads behind it. The move was unconscious, he rarely wore his hair back unless he was working. He took her hand in a solid grip, calluses from working in the garden on his hands. “It’s....dull? Shifted? I’m not sure what it should be like,” auras weren’t colours, at least not to him, but more of a feeling. Now that he knew he was a brujo, he was slowly learning to trust his gut instincts on these things. It wasn’t some sort of sparkly faith or pretend second sight, it was something else, about being a witch. Not that it was all that useful, at least not yet. “Is something wrong?” Was something wrong? Dia could only blink in reply. Where did she start? Were teenagers even allowed to exist without having something wrong? Was, ‘Yah, I'm a teenager,’ an acceptable answer? She decided not. She'd had enough of being called rude to last her for a while. So, she just sighed and studied Lalo’s face. Where had she seen this guy?! "I guess I'm homesick,” she answered, dropping her gaze to the floor. Now that she'd said it out loud, she could feel a powerful urge to cry again. She pushed it back, blinking furiously, and forcing herself to smile back up at Lalo. “But I'll get over it, right?” “Sure,” he agreed, “but if you want a hug or anything in the meantime, I’m offering in the least creepy way I can think of. Or if you’d rather I listen and no hug. Whatever you want,” because while she was cute, she also looked decidedly underage. Or maybe she was older than she looked. Either way, don’t be creepy. “I’m Lalo, by the way. Being homesick sucks, but it does get easier over time as the new place becomes more familiar.” Dia’s smile turned genuine at Lalo’s careful offer of a hug. She was still trying to make up her mind whether to take him up on the offer when he introduced himself. “Lalo? As in the guy on the Internet?” With her lack of experience with the internet, she didn't realise how much that description needed further clarification. She had yet to comprehend how vast the internet was or how many guys there were on it, even with an unusual name such as Lalo. But she did recognise his face now. “I'm Dia. Dia Suresh.” “I mean....yeah?” The guy on the internet? Well, that was one way to describe him, he supposed. Not the way he usually expected. “Good to meet you, Dia. At least, in person,” he had no idea who she was, but then, he wasn’t the best with faces. Not with his job, he saw too many of them and was more interested in cataloging injuries and maintaining CPR or other important factors to pay attention to a face. "Yah," Dia agreed. Now that she had found a friend, she was feeling a little less depressed. And he did, sort of (not really, but close enough), offer to help her. She was sure he meant with the homesickness alone, but it was worth a shot, since she had never been there before. "So, I came in to get blood tonic, but..." she adopted an overwhelmed expression as she theatrically glanced from the left to the right, not so subtly indicating the plethora of items on every conceivable surface, "I have no idea what I'm looking for. My mom always made it herself, so of course I can't even look for the same kind of bottle. You wouldn't have seen anything like that around here, would you have?" “Blood tonic?” Lalo raised an eyebrow, “You’re talking about China Root and Mexican Wild Yam with honey, right?” Well, there was more to it than that, but that was essentially the base for it. He blinked, looking around, “It’s....probably here. If not, I can make it easily enough, if I can get ingredients. It’s not difficult. Unless the blood tonic you mean has actual blood or something.” It was the same thing, right? And not something else in this supernatural place? “I...I'm not sure about the honey and stuff,” Dia answered slowly, frowning in confusion. “But I know it has blood in it. I mean, it wouldn't be a blood tonic without it, right?” She chuckled, confident that this was not a strange thing. “I don't take it as a daily supplement or anything. I just need a little in case I get in the sun or break an arm or something.” Lalo blinked, confused, “Blood tonic does not actually have blood in it. It’s for improving the blood? Like, if you have anemia or something?” Not everyone who took it had anemia and it wasn’t FDA approved, but lots of people used it as an over the counter supplement to improve their blood, “My Padrino used to make it all the time when I lived in New Orleans. Had a lady who swore by it.” Dia's frown deepened. Why would her mother make it with actual blood? And she knew it was. She could tell the difference between blood and something with merely a high iron content. She could tell how cooked it was by taste. She usually knew what sort of animal it came from, too. It was just one of those things she could do. And it was why she preferred her steaks rare. Although raw was better. She might not know if small amounts of honey or yam were mixed in, but she knew there was blood. The fact that Lalo thought otherwise gave her a very unsettling feeling. Why would her mother make it wrong? And why would it work?! She did not like the answer that she kept coming back to, so she shook her head stubbornly. “No. There's got to be a different recipe that has blood in it. I know my mom made it that way and it worked, so there has to be another kind. She usually used rabbit. Sometimes squirrel or birds. Well, probably just whatever was available. It's not like I needed it all the time.” Okay. So clearly, they were talking about two different things here. “What are you?” Lalo asked, finally, after cycling through several questions in his head. He sort of didn’t ask people that, unsure what was considered polite or not, but also unsure of whether he wanted to know. Now it seemed like he should know. And that was precisely the question Dia had been avoiding ever since her arrival. So, she threw back the answer Grayson had given her. “A right bit politer than you, it seems. But if you must know, I'm a Gifted Human.” Then she dropped the mimicry and her tone became less stalwart and imposing like the gargoyle had been and more uncertain with a tinge of fear: her true self. “At least, I think so. No one seems to really know. I was perfectly human, until I passed under that damn barrier that I didn't even know existed.” She crossed her arms and wished Jayati were there just so she could glare at the woman. Raising an eyebrow, Lalo tilted his head in acknowledgement, “I found out I’m a brujo 6 weeks ago. I don’t know the rules and it seems like knowing what you are might make a difference. Especially if you’re a vampire or something.....do vampires even exist? Don’t answer that,” he added quickly, “but blood tonic, with real blood sounds like we need to find someone who works here to ask.” Dai said nothing, but her face spoke volumes. The moment Lalo said ‘vampire’, her eyes widened, brows lowered, and jaws clenched. Fright, mixed with anger. She wanted to both run from this conversion and stay so she could hit Lalo for even suggesting such a thing. And she decided that they weren't friends, after all. Remaining rooted to her spot with arms crossed and eyes threatening to water, she hissed, “I'm not a vampire! I'm just allergic to the sun. It's not my fault I burn easily.” Oh, shit! “Wait, they’re real?” Lalo gripped his ilekes in one hand, resisting the urge to take a step back. Okay. He believed in demons, he knew witches were real, why not vampires? “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude. I’m new to this, I really didn’t know,” he really wanted to go now before he put his foot in it again and also to go home and pray, to ask the gods for more guidance. Dia rolled her eyes and sighed. She almost smiled. How many times had she been called rude for asking simple questions, just looking for answers? She knew how that felt. So, she shrugged. “I've got this book that's, like, a list of the species that live here and, yah, vampires are on the list. Along with werewolves and fairies and unicorns. I wouldn't believe a word of it, except a satyr gave it to me. Loaned it. Actually, I kind of borrowed it indefinitely.” That little bit of happy mood she had experienced was gone now and the weight of the question of her magical abilities was heavy on her chest. But she didn't want to talk about it here. Hadn't Lalo offered a hug? Maybe he wouldn't mind…. “Can we talk outside or somewhere secluded, maybe?” Nodding, he headed outside, gesturing towards a bench located a little ways down the side of the building. “Your book sounds useful,” he hadn’t even thought to ask about a book like that, but it sounded incredibly helpful, if only to avoid awkward situations like this. Taking a seat, Lalo wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he was game to find out, mostly. It was probably good that he lived in Atlantic City though. He wasn’t sure he was quite ready for Summerview full time. Sitting on the bench with one knee tucked up under her chin, Dia stalled for time. “It's at the Sleeping Satyr, where I'm staying. Heh. In my room, actually.” There was no humor in her voice and she knew she could not stall long. Tucking her other knee up under her chin, she wrapped her arms around them, hugging herself right. “Lalo,” she began slowly, “If my mom didn't make the tonic the way most people do, then why did it work? Why did it heal the burn I got from the sun?” Sleeping Satyr. The name sounded very Harry Potter, but at the same time, Lalo had the vague idea that Satyr’s weren’t mythical like he thought. There was a lot he had to both learn and unlearn apparently. More than he had realized. He shook his head, “I’ve known I was a brujo for just over a month now, Dia,” he answered slowly, eyes focused vaguely on the ground in front of him, “but I’m a Santeros, too. A priest for Santeria. And I’m an EMT. So I know medicine and I know herbal remedies and I know spirituality....and I do not know that. I do not claim to know everything or to understand this....” he gestured vaguely to Summerview around them, “but....I have never heard of a blood tonic like you have described. And I have never heard of blood tonic used like you use it.” “But you know what vampires are, don't you?” Dia's voice was so soft, it was nearly a whisper. “They drink blood and it heals them, right?” There was a level of uncertainty in her voice. She knew just a little about popular culture and there was the book she had borrowed. More than anything, she wanted it not to be true. “But I can walk into any house I want. Vampires aren't supposed to be able to do that. So, even if blood heals me--” Her voice did drop to a whisper now and she blinked back the threatening tears. “--I can't be a vampire, right?” He shook his head, “I know what’s in fiction, I don’t know what’s real, but I am assuming they don’t sparkle like in Twilight,” that would be terrible and Lalo wouldn’t stand for sparkling vampires. Wrapping an arm around Dia, Lalo snugged her in close to his side, “I don’t know. But I know that you’re a good kid and I don’t think being a vampire, or whatever you are, makes you inherently evil. I could do a reading on you, if you wanted.” The embrace was more comforting than Dia had expected. With all the stress of the morning and the realisation that she missed her mother and the horses, along with the possibility that she might be the one magical creature that she thought was the most disgusting and horrible--not to mention that she had never wanted to be magical in the first place--this moment of tenderness broke down the last of her resolve. Tears silently fell, making little dark spots on her jeans. After a moment, when she could trust her voice not to be shaky or squeaky, she asked, “A reading?” For all her sheltered upbringing, she could only imagine books and research, except that none had been written about her, to her knowledge. “I’m a Santeros, chica,” he reminded her, “A priest in Santeria. I can look at your aché, see if you are out of balance. Now,” Lalo looked at Dia seriously, “I cannot do consulta, I do not do divination. That requires much more time and study than I can give to learn and I am not psychic. But if your aché is off, I can help.” He hadn’t planned on going home just yet, but he could if Dia wanted to do this. And if she was okay with going to his home. Well, his brother’s home, where he lived in the basement. It was nearly the same thing. Santeros, chica, aché, consulta, divination, psychic. There were so many words that Dia did not understand. But Lalo promised help and if there was anything that she was ready for right then, it was help. “Okay,” she answered with a nod and a sniffle. “As long as it won’t hurt.” Or maybe even if it did. She wasn’t sure she had the resolve to argue with anyone right then. “It should not,” he agreed, giving her another squeeze, before getting up, “Now? Or another time? We will need to go to my house in Atlantic City,” which wasn’t that far away, but it was something of a drive. Atlantic City wasn’t small after all. That was unexpected. She had truly believed he could do something right there on the bench. She didn't know what it would be, but she'd thought it would be something as simple and easy as giving a kid a ten dollar bill. Offering to help in a way that required travel and effort…well, the last person who had done that turned out to be the sheriff and Dia had wound up stranded in a magical city. She hesitated, thinking, too, of the $800 dollar check she had written just that morning, which she knew would bounce. Part of the reason she'd written the check was because she knew the landlord couldn't find her here in Summerville. If she ventured back into Atlantic City…. “Maybe later,” she mumbled. “Can I think about it? Maybe call you tomorrow or something?” It did not even occur to her that she was basically asking Lalo for his phone number. “I just don't think I can go back into Atlantic City today,” she finished with a defeated sign. “No problem, gimme your phone,” he instructed, taking it and putting his number in as ‘Lalo - Brujo.’ then handing it back. “You let me know when it works. I work a weird schedule, but if I’m working, I’ll get back to you and we’ll work it out, okay?” Dia nodded and pocketed the phone. It had been a very emotional evening. She didn't have her “tonic” and had a feeling she never would, now. She needed answers, but she was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening just relaxing. Maybe she'd sleep early tonight. “See you around, then,” she sighed and started back for the inn. |