WHAT: Discussing James joining Asetenarra and other sibling stuffs over breakfast WHERE: Hole-in-the-wall cafe WHEN: Morning of November 4th WARNINGS: Mentions of being shot but otherwise nothing STATUS: Complete
Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, right? There happened to be good reasons for that little anecdote - the morning meal replenished glucose and gave you an energy boost after breaking the overnight ‘not eating’ period (a fasting period), and also increased alertness. James was a big proponent of having a decent breakfast and he was additionally a proponent of spending time with his sister - when it came to family, she’d always been someone he could say - with absolute certainty - that he loved. Neither of them had a choice about being born into Vorerra, and their parents certainly didn’t advocate for a better life for them - there was no hiding from them what being in this family truly meant, no realization that maybe all of this isn’t something to expose to kids.
By the time he reached middle school age James had seen men dangled out of windows, hidden firearm stashes, and plenty of gifts from his father that were more about a disconnect than actual bonding - something he had to do, rather than anything he wanted to do. Most parents were proud of their children and made that known - but the only thing he had made known was that marrying into Vorerra was what he was most proud of. The fact that his children were both disappointments, well. That was just an embarrassment.
Essentially Julia was all James had. He worried about her. And he knew she worried about him too - he wanted to take a chance to talk about things, and at the very least he had good news for her. It had gone well the other night, at Asetenarra’s coven meeting - he didn’t think he would have many problems joining. There were a few reasons why he wanted to but one of the biggest ones was that he’d have the protection and backup of that coven too - truly, it was the other covens that kept Vorerra in check. They were entwined with many others in terms of making business deals, those deals quite lucrative, and Vorerra couldn’t afford to lose them - so attacking a member of another coven wouldn’t go well, let’s just say. Ultimately, James knew that being a lone wolf just wasn’t safe, especially since he refused to kill anyone to be allowed to retire.
He’d wanted to leave with at least some of his morals and principles intact, and he wasn’t going to let Vorerra keep punishing him for that.
There was a little place, a hole-in-the-wall, across the street from a market and some other random bar - it had mason jars stocked with pickles, display cases full of pies, and everything led to a kitchen where grannies poured fresh coffee. The food was amazing too - he was glad they’d managed to get a table. “I went to see Asetenarra last night - at their coven meeting,” he said, taking a sugar packet to twist it into his hands before adding it to his coffee cup. “One of the Outlanders is also in it.”
Breakfast wasn’t usually anywhere on Julia’s priority list. Working night shift, she was around weird hours and slept even weirder hours, and breakfast food as a whole just wasn’t something she consumed. But that meant she was all the more ready to eat it — quite voraciously too — when James invited her out one fine morning after a few nights off. She’d decided to use her stock of vacation time lately, mostly because she was in her own head and wasn’t exactly Fun for customers right now. Reflecting depressing back at depressing didn’t make for good tips.
She was in a good mood currently, though. It was hard to be anything but gleeful with a stack of blueberry and banana pancakes before her, a cup of coffee as black as her soul, and a tall glass of orange juice. Her brother always took such good care of her, and she never felt like she lived up to his standards and did the same. But that was a rabbit hole for later; right now, she would allow herself to be a little spoiled.
She didn’t allow her mood to dampen when James brought up Asetenarra, even if part of her wanted to. She knew magic as a whole wasn’t bad. She even knew her magic wasn’t inherently bad. It was just easier to cut it out of her life and try not to use it and consider it penance for doing a decade’s worth of terrible, sinful things.
“Oh yeah?” She kept her voice purposefully light, raising her eyebrows in his direction. “How’d that go?” she questioned before promptly sticking a forkful of syrup-drenched pancakes into her mouth. Attractive, no, but she wasn’t out to impress her brother, now was she.
“It went well,” James said, unrolling his napkin to unearth silverware - something to dig into his own breakfast with, which wasn’t as sweet and syrup-soaked as Julia’s; no pancakes, just a spinach and feta omelet. And toast. Maybe next time he’d go for pancakes. “They’re very open to new members and once I come up with my own sigil to add to their books, that will lead to me being able to join.” He wasn’t even nervous about using blood for spells - it would be his own blood or, if it was an animal’s, he understood that they asked for permission first. The ‘baby goths,’ as they were described to him, weren’t out to hurt people. Not like Vorerra.
They’d defend themselves if necessary, of course, because their wholesomeness and sweet nature didn’t mean they lacked the means to fight back, that they weren’t steel beyond fine silk - and James wasn’t naive enough to think that messing with blood magic witches was something that could be brushed under the rug. No one sane would want to actually fuck around and find out there - his sorry excuse for a family included. Vorerra was a lot of things - stupid wasn’t one of them.
“I know you don’t want to think about being in another coven. Not right now. But I don’t want to hide anything from you and - would you be open to hearing about what it’s like with them, at least?”
Julia had at least passing knowledge of the other covens. They were such a huge part of life in Vallo that dealing with each other was inevitable. She’d never run into any trouble with Asetenarra, and they were known for being friendly. It didn’t surprise her that they were open to letting James join them, even with all the Vorerra baggage attached. That did say something she could appreciate.
Still, it was a lot to take in. She had been covenless for a long time now, but James hadn’t been out as long. And he hadn’t gotten out scot-free like she had — he hadn’t followed the rules. It made sense for him to seek protection and she wanted that for him. He didn’t deserve to have idiots gullible people turned against him and used to attack him because their former coven had it out for him.
“I’m not opposed to it,” she replied with a shrug. “Magic’s not going anywhere, you know? Clearly.” She had suppressed it for a long time, but that was no easy feat.
James smiled slightly, a fond expression in bright blue eyes - sunlight shining through water; they crinkled at the corners a bit too. “Yours certainly isn’t going anywhere - and I don’t care what the family said. You’re good at it too, Jules,” he insisted. She hadn’t called upon her magic in quite a long time and yet when he needed her help, she connected with it - connected with him - and break one of the most powerful mind control spells Vorerra had at their disposal. No one who was only mediocre at magic would be able to do that.
It was just that Vorerra made her think that she was only good for what equated to grunt work - the nastier spells that were all about causing pain that you felt even if there were no physical wounds behind to account for the experience, red hot pokers and glass shards. Torture. Like what Leon had gone through and refused to talk about - at least sort of. James was making progress though, little by little, at getting Leon to open up more about what had happened. He just had to be patient - he tended to be, when it came to the people he cared about.
“I won’t push you about it though. There’s a lot we both have to work on and - I suppose all I want you to know is that we’ll get through it. Together,” he said quietly, stirring his coffee before taking a sip.
That smile of his was so sappy that Julia instantly rolled her eyes, but it was all fondness. She was smiling, too. They’d grown up with no one but each other when it came to family, and even at his most annoying and overprotective, she knew her brother loved her and wanted the best for her. And she liked that, even when he turned into the biggest sap in the world over it. Sometimes she still didn’t know what she’d done to deserve him caring so damn much.
“Yeah, yeah, we will,” she agreed, pausing to peel open her straw and drop it in her glass of OJ. “As long as your moronic boyfriend doesn’t get himself mind-controlled and shoot you again. Next time I’ll shoot him back.”
It was easier to focus on that and be her grumpy self about Leon (because she wanted James to be happy but seriously, with the shooting guy??) than dwell on what he had to say about her magic. She knew he was right. It had never really been a matter of her strength so much as her lack of specific skills. James could do things with the mind that she couldn’t fathom, and nothing had ever stood out to her as damn, I’m good at that other than the brute force spells she’d learned with the enforcers.
James wheezed a sardonic little laugh at the idea of shooting back - it wasn’t funny, not really; maybe it was just the way Julia said it. Her tone. And the fact that they were discussing this over pancakes and a spinach and feta omelet. “If it happens again, we really might need to have a relationship talk,” he snorted. But no, he didn’t want that - didn’t want Leon to have to deal with the trauma of having his mind hijacked at all because James knew he didn’t deserve that. And yet here they were anyway, having to deal with it regardless - so he’d buck up and do it.
“And I know that he’s not your favorite person - ” That was a big damn understatement. Wasn’t like he could really blame Julia for that, however - they hadn’t had the best introduction to each other, her and Leon; all she knew was that he waltzed into the waiting jaws of Vorerra wolves and seemed surprised when those jaws snapped closed. Then showed up with a gun and intent to fire; James would feel similarly about anyone who hurt his sister too, considering she was all he had in terms of family. “And I don’t expect you to be best friends or anything. Eventually we could all...sit down or something though? Attempt a civil gathering?”
Something that didn’t involve violence or bleeding out on the floor.
Julia had known this request would come eventually. Whatever this was with Leon, James was clearly serious about him. He had been coming up frequently in conversation since not long after the incident, and even before — although not by name. She was actually happy for him, even if she wouldn’t deem Leon her ideal candidate. But then again, she was very biased and still very bitter from what they’d been through. It was going to take her a while to get through that.
And of course, a part of her did feel bad for him. He had been a victim in all of this, too. It wasn’t like he’d chosen to come in and attack James of his own free will. He’d been mind-controlled. She’d been at least partially responsible for snapping that control, so she knew it to be true. It wasn’t an excuse. But she was still angry. He had gone off and done something reckless, something even the newest Outlanders knew not to do, and her brother had paid for it.
James asking for her to play nice was a reasonable ask, though, and one she couldn’t refuse. She wanted to be a stubborn ass about it, but for her big brother?
“Fuck. Fine,” she huffed, stabbing into another pancake. “If you’re fine latching yourself to him, then I guess I can get over it and deal.”
“This is why you’re my favorite sister,” James teased gently, nudging Julia gently beneath the table. She was his only sister (that he knew of - wouldn’t surprise him if their shitty father had a whole other family out there or something, gods) but that was beside the point. “I appreciate it, I do.” It meant a lot to him that Julia was even willing to try. He’d had feelings for Leon even before the Unfortunate Incident - and, yes, he was the one James had chosen to be with. To see how it went in terms of relationships.
Speaking of those, though… ”Is there anyone I need to play nice with?” he asked casually, black eyebrows poking up over the edge of his coffee cup when he lifted it to take another sip. He didn’t think Julia had anything in the works there, but you never knew.
“Is there ever?” Julia retorted automatically. Relationships were not her thing, never had been. For a long time, they just weren’t feasible. She was on call for the coven at all hours, doing terrible things because that was her job, and who wanted to attach themselves to that? Maybe another enforcer, but she didn’t want to get into anything messy. She liked having freedom to see whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted. No-strings just worked best for her.
That didn’t mean she didn’t see the appeal of a long-term relationship, especially as she got older. But, in her mind, it was best if the family line died with the two of them — provided there weren’t any secret siblings out there, which wouldn’t surprise her in the slightest.
“Well, you could surprise me someday,” James pointed out, with a soft smirk. “I’ll be supportive whenever it happens.” On his end, he wasn’t sure about having children either - even if he ended up settling with another man there were ways to make it happen, he supposed, but the idea of passing on his genes and, subsequently, his family baggage made his stomach lurch.
Especially since he was afraid that any child he or Julia had would automatically be targeted by Vorerra - the way James was now, the way he was trying to stop. He’d never fit in with them and he knew that his parents always wondered why. Why was he so goddamn soft, so unwilling to do what was asked of him for the sake of the family - the last thing he wanted was for any kid of his to have to deal with those same questions and disappointments.
He was about done with this omelet, now just sort of picking at the fresh fruit that came with it on the side. “I just - want you to be happy. Whatever that means for you.”
“I know, Jamie,” Julia set down her fork and reached out to give her brother’s hand a squeeze. “I’m fine, I promise.” She didn’t know that she’d call herself happy, that she’d ever get there, but she was content. And she was dealing with the magic stuff as much as she could manage. Right now, she’d just finished off a stack of pancakes, so really, she couldn’t get too much better.
“So, what makes you think Asetenarra is the way to go?” she asked, picking up her last piece of bacon. “Not questioning your judgment, just wondering - why them?”
She was the only one who called him Jamie - and he didn’t even mind it. Actually kind of liked the nickname and always had, when it came from his sister. James returned the hand squeeze, full of warmth, and then let go - he believed her, for the most part, when Julia said she was fine. About as fine as they could be, anyway - they both knew, and acknowledged, that they had shit to work on but none of that would actually be resolved overnight; they were trying. That was all he expected.
“Well, they’re very open for one thing,” James said. “The other covens that are open - I just don’t think my magic really fits well enough?” He didn’t do enchantments, or transmutations, or anything elemental. Wasn’t particularly artistic so he wasn’t channeling anything there, using art as a medium - Asetenarra presented a different kind of magic, something he could learn relatively easily. “There are ways to link what I’ve learned with what they do. And I like that they don’t want to hurt anyone - they may be blood magic witches, but they use their own blood. If they use an animal’s blood for their spells, they ask permission from the animal.” Which did require some communication, animal telepathy - he at least had the telepathy part down.
Julia nodded slowly, letting all of that start to process. It made sense, when he put it like that. Asetenarra was the closest fit to what they’d grown up learning and the type of magic they were accustomed to. It wasn’t identical, but it was close. And he was right when he said they were open — in her time, she’d met her share of Asetenarra members and they were always friendly. Overly so, sometimes.
“I hope it works out,” she said sincerely, blue eyes soft with affection. “You deserve to be somewhere you’re protected and don’t have to deal with - all of their shit, you know?”
“I definitely don’t want to deal with it,” James agreed. He was tired of fighting with Vorerra - likely he would always be tied to them in some way, given how much information he had and how many secrets had been spilled to him (their paranoia made them nervous that he’d take out ads in the newspaper or something but he wasn’t stupid) even if he wanted to live his life. “Avelina knew Mathis was getting twitchy - she tried to stop him but he did it anyway, going against her and Catalina. She tried to warn me too and - I never called her back.”
If he had, maybe none of that bullshit with Leon would have happened at all - so that? That was on him, and he definitely blamed himself to some degree. “I just wish things could be normal between us - that I could call her back and I didn’t have to avoid it because I’m afraid she’ll try to convince me to return.”
But he knew it wasn’t going to be like that, and he would have to let that go - to let Avelina go too, and take his own life back in exchange. That was the price; he couldn’t have both.
James had always been close to Avelina. Julia knew it had to be hard to go from that one good family connection to this friction and discomfort. It had to be hard to make that kind of shift. She got along with their aunt well enough, too, back when she was still in the coven, but she hadn’t heard from her once since her exit, so there was no missing the connection on her end. James had always been her favorite — he was talented and she wanted to cultivate that — but these days, she probably had enough on her hands with her asshole son.
“Well, you never know.” She lifted her coffee to her lips and took a quick sip. “Maybe once you get settled with Asetenarra, it’ll be easier to just talk to her. She’ll know she doesn’t stand a chance of talking you back.”
It was probably unrealistic, but she could sense that sadness coming off James. She didn’t like that. There were very few people in the world she felt deserved happiness more than her big brother. She hated to think he was struggling so much after leaving the coven, even if they both knew it had been the right choice.
No chance at all, no - he wouldn’t ever go back to that, especially not when it had been such a big deal that he left. Fucking dysfunctional family. James was over it. “Maybe,” he concurred, and there was a chance he’d hold out a little bit of hope - really keep the optimism. “I suppose stranger things have happened.”
It was true about Avelina’s priorities though - his and Julia’s cousin Aidan was a big idiot, and James had a feeling that he was going to get himself sent off to one of the remote islands around the mainland soon enough. That child was truly his father’s son (Avelina wasn’t that lax, so lax as to allow the little shit to wander around harassing people) and James wouldn’t miss him if he was yeeted into a volcano or something. Or forced to live off the land and eat bugs for a while. It might do him some good.
“We’ll have to have breakfast more often though,” he added. “Especially after I get settled with Asetenarra.” He’d keep Julia updated. That was a promise. And a connection he wouldn’t let falter, especially as they dealt with their respective Issues.
“Who am I to turn down free food?” Julia replied with a playful smirk. “And time with you, too, I guess.” She stuck her tongue out at him and kicked at his feet under the table. She had been trying to harass him less since he’d healed up and met Wen Qing’s approval that he was back in one piece. Plus, he had Leon around a lot now, and even if she felt for him, she was still annoyed and not ready to forgive him just yet.
“We could do it weekly,” she suggested. “I’ll take the excuse to get out of my place for a while, even if it means being up early.” Roomie and her man were still in the honeymoon phase, and she was beginning to consider finding a place of her own.
Oh, what, he was supposed to pay all the time? Good lord, sister. But oh, James really didn’t mind - it was a way to ensure Julia ate something besides cold Chinese food from a carton for breakfast or something (prior to rolling out of bed around noon), and he would always consider it his responsibility to look out for her. Not in a smothering sort of way - he just cared, was all. That would never change.
“Hm, alright,” he laughed a little. “Weekly it is. We can mix it up a little too - go to different places each time. And if you want to look at other apartments to get away from the questionable roommate, well...” He’d be happy to help her pick a new spot to live. Of course she was always welcome at his house but he understood she didn’t want to actually share a space with her older brother. They had sort of grown out of that phase.
Of course Julia wasn’t actually going to let him pay every time, but she’d let him think that for a little while. She was a little spoiled, sure, but James wasn’t her keeper anymore or vice versa. She made decent money at the club, and she could more than afford to treat him to breakfast. She was letting him pay this time around because he’d been graced with the gift of her presence.
“God, yes,” she replied. “I won’t say no to that. You have a better eye for these things than I do.” She would take just about anything that was habitable and not falling apart, but her brother had slightly higher standards of living. having him around to tell her no when she tried to go for the first rathole she found could only be a plus.
In that case, James was on it - Julia’s ‘meh’ leanings when it came to her living arrangement was probably why she ended up with a less than desirable roommate, so, he’d do his best to help out with the situation. “Well, here’s to...quieter roommates, then?” he hedged, amused as he finished off his coffee.
The loud banging and the other subsequent soap opera sounds had to get annoying - he was all for saving Julia’s ears from that calamity and also opening his mind up to a new decorating project or two. It’d be like ice on a burn, in terms of something actually calming to think about - and, well, he was all too pleased to use his eye for aesthetics for good and not evil.
If nothing else, this would teach her never to move in with someone just because she was sleeping with them and it was convenient. Circumstances could change on a dime, and just because they’d had good sex didn’t mean she was a likable person. Julia was more than ready to get out of this hell of her own making.
“To quiet roommates,” she agreed with a grin, following suit and drinking the last of her coffee. “Let’s get out of here, big brother.”