blackbird

Penelope could only sit and blink at the other, lost for words with the information that she had just heard, “I’m sorry- did you say there are people who put chocolate on their broccoli..” She couldn’t quite fathom someone doing something so horrendous. “Do they not value their taste buds?” She spoke, shaking her head, “People like that shouldn’t be allowed to eat chocolate, because they’re just ruining it. No one likes a chocolate ruiner.”

“Maybe you should hex their tastebuds or something,” Beverly teased, “Like you said -- nobody likes a chocolate ruiner,” she added taking another sip of her hot chocolate. “So anything new going on with you? Besides figuring out a newfound hatred for people who eat broccoli with chocolate.”

Finn couldn’t help but give the other a quick look up and down, rather impressed by her attitude, “Probably the first person I’ve heard say that, I’m going to be honest.” He replied, chuckling at her words. “I wouldn’t say it’s giving away your tricks, I think it’s only fair to know what you are since you know what I am.”

She glared at him a little when she felt his eyes run over her briefly, usually correlating that with a certain type of hint. She didn’t like feeling like she was on display. “Well if you’re a good hunter, wouldn’t you be able to distinguish one species from the other?

“ Skin and eyebrows are just worst case scenarios, not to mention temporary. ” She couldn’t help the giggle the escaped her as the other girl stepped back. “ I’m not going to turn you into a frog or something for saying no. But, come on, don’t you want pink hair or something? I’m sure I could bottle a potion to reverse any side effects. ”  

“Can’t you use like... I dunno a doll or something?” Beverly raised a brow skeptically, wondering why the girl couldn’t just work on her spells in class. “Anything but a living and breathing subject?”

“Interesting- we wouldn’t have a problem if I shot you, we’d only have one if you couldn’t heal it. That’s an interesting way to go around this kind of situation.” He chuckled, pulling the arrow out from the target. “So I take it you’re a fairy?”

“I’m not afraid of a little flesh wound,” Beverly replied blankly. In some trainings she had been through worse. “Perhaps. Wouldn’t want to give away all my tricks to a hunter.”

“As if those people actually exist, seriously. I bet they’re the people who chose to eat vegetables over sweet stuff too. The audacity.” Penelope scoffed with a small shake of her head. “I mean I enjoy a challenge, but I think even I’d struggle with that. I don’t think Starbucks Charades is ever going to be a thing.”

“You know what’s worse than that? I heard some people put chocolate on their broccoli. What a disgrace,” she remarked dramatically. “I’d rather die that do that to chocolate. It’s offensive to the food of the gods to do such a thing.”

“I’m building up my experience so I can eventually keep a Venus Flytrap, get a witch to bring it to life, and go all Little Shop of Horrors on this place,” Rhys answered her, feigning seriousness. “Nah, I just figured it’s somethin’ I’ve never done, and if I’m gonna be alive forever, might as well get into the habit of trying new things.”

A ridiculous snort escaped Beverly’s lips, “I can’t believe you.” She knew he was joking, but it had to be acknowledged that that was a good joke. “Hmm well as much as I’d love to see you pull a Seymour out here, let’s try and start you off with something easy. What about a cactus or a succulent? Those are hard to kill.”

“Three friends… Well that’s two more than usual.” Christian teased the girl lightly before laughing. As for school… Make the most of it. It’s some of the best days of your life. Take it from someone who has been through it and maybe didn’t utilize it as much as he should.” The man told her honestly. “Ah… I have been doing well. Work as we said keeps me busy but I’m glad I have the chance to spend a little time with my favorite twins.”

“Ouch, doc. Why must you hurt me so?” she gasped in response, feigning a hurt expression for a brief moment before allowing a corner of her mouth to turn upwards. “Best days of your life. People say that all the time, but how come it doesn’t seem so? We’re all hormonal, stressed out and tired. I can think of quite a few things that could be better than this.” Beverly’s rant was less directed towards Christian but more at youth in general. “I can imagine. Well we certainly appreciate the time you spend with us, but your patients need you the most. Any interesting cases come by recently? I know you technically shouldn’t talk about them because of doctor-patient confidentiality and all, but what if you talked about them in a hypothetical sense?” she nudged him playfully, “We could get around the rules that way, no?”

“Yeah, I suppose I can be.” He agreed with a smile. “I just try not to take too much seriously. I mean, kind of stops you from enjoying life if you are serious about things all the time.” Charlie explained as he shifted his feet for the woman. “You’re more than welcome to sit but I mean, go for it if you wanna sit elsewhere.” He reached to grab another strawberry lace from the pack. “Really though, you get frustrated easily.”

“I take almost everything seriously,” she replied simply. Beverly hadn’t always been that way, but she’d been like this for so long that it felt like her norm. “Sit with you and risk you distracting me or trying to reclaim your space on the couch? No thanks. I will find someplace else,” she huffed a little. Beverly tried very well to ignore the fact that the place was pretty crowded and chances of her finding somewhere else were very slim. “Oh do I? And what’s it to you?”

“ Listen, I’ve been trying to figure out where I’m going wrong with this spell that supposed to change your hair colour, but I need a live subject to practice on. I mean, I’ve only accidentally turned someone’s skin green twice and burned a set of eyebrows and a half. But, I’m almost positive I’ve got it down now. ” She scrummaged through her coat pockets, but nothing worth leveraging was to be found, except for her wallet. Izzy definitely wasn’t desperate enough to start shelling out cash. “ Look, I’ll even buy you a drink for your troubles. Anyways, it’s not like eyebrows don’t grow back. ”

“I’d rather keep my eyebrows in tact and my skin as it is,” Beverly replied, taking a cautious step back from the other. “You might have to find a different guinea pig to test your spells on.”

Finn’s first reaction as a hunter would be yes, he would dare. When she moved he released his hold, watching as the arrow hit the middle of the target before lowering his bow, “For the record, I wouldn’t have shot you- and if it had slipped before you moved it’d have been nothing more then a flesh wound.”

“Lucky for you I’d know how to heal it, otherwise we’d have a problem,” she replied, keeping her eyes narrowed.

“I suggest that if you don’t want to be shot in the shoulder- you move.” Finn commented, arm stretched, arrow already poised in his bow as he noted the person who walked in front of his target. 

“You’d dare to shoot me?” Beverly challenged, staring the other down briefly before eventually letting out a sigh and stepping aside. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Damn. That’s a shame,” Everett replied acting as though his disappointment was joking though he really was, “I was hoping we could catch up,” He added more genuinely. It hadn’t been that long since they’d spoken - only a day or two probably - but unlike with many others, he was actually interested in hearing how her day was every day.

“Yeah, exactly,” Harrison replied, knowing he wouldn’t but playing along anyway.

“It’s the best way to take someone down, swipe some chocolate under their nose and they’re putty in your hand.” Penelope commented, listening to the other, her jaw dropping at her words. “That is crazy- I mean, how can someone not like the taste of chocolate, that’s just… well that’s like not liking puppies.” Penelope shook her head at her comment about finding the toilet, “I can find the toilet on my own, I can’t mime out my coffee order though- so it still ranks as most important for me.”

“I know right? A total abomination,” Beverly agreed. “Well I guess that’s fair. Imagine trying to mime out a coffee order though -- sounds pretty impossible. Miming out anything looks ridiculous most of the time, let alone a coffee order.”

“I dunno, are there… starter plants? Ones that are easy to keep up? Like for beginners,” he wondered. “You can be my plant guide. Help me figure out how to not kill ‘em. Or maybe I’ll just admit defeat and give up keepin’ houseplants all together.”

“While I can’t say anybody’s ever asked me to be their plant guide, I definitely wouldn’t mind giving that a go,” Beverly replied with a chuckle. “Although I must ask, why are you so keen on keeping a plant of your own in the first place?”

“You know, you’re pretty easy to wind up aren’t you.” He said with a smile. Truth was, Charlie wasn’t that thoughtless but he did like to tease. He was a personality that people had to get used to. 

“You know, you’re pretty frustrating -- aren’t you?” she huffed back, not amused by his antics. “Look if you’re not going to move I’ll find someplace else to sit. Actually now that I think about it, I’ll find a different place anyways.”

“You need to make friends with more than your books. How have you been getting on with everything?” He asked after a moment. 

“I have like three friends. That’s more than enough,” she chuckled back. “Alright. School can be a real bummer sometimes with the workload but once you fall back into the rhythm it’s easier to handle. And yourself?”