when it starts to hurt

Name: Eloise Dougherty Age: 31 Birthday: August 31st Gender: cisfemale Pronouns: she/her Sexuality: pansexual Species: witch Occupation: casual staff at Twilight Apocathecary Neighborhood: Sycamore Heights Face Claim: Elizabeth Olsen

Positive Traits: +Self-reliant, +generous, +observant Negative Traits: -Obsessive, -unstable, -erratic

Biography: 

Although Grayson put up a front and smiled for people, there was that sorrow in his eyes every time.  When the woman placed the items away, he felt slightly guilty for touching them in the first place.  “Not exactly sure, it has been awhile.”  He admitted and long ago, he used to just whip up his own concoction with his own spell to sleep.  But that was no longer useful and he needed someone to help him with the process or come up with a different solution.  “I really need something that will knock me out, I am a terrible sleeper.”  And he didn’t want to get in how he suffered from PTSD and the nightmares woke him at least once a week.  “By the way, I’m Gray.”

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As someone who also had a less than stellar past, it was almost easy for Elle to see that there was more going on that what he was saying. She couldn’t even exactly put it into words, but there was just something about him, and she felt a small pang of sympathy for him. “Elle.” She offered when he shared his name, motioning for him to follow her. It sounded like crystals and herbs probably weren’t going to help him, which Elle respected. “I can make you up something stronger.” Ducking back behind the counter, she pulled out the mortar and pestle, gathering a few things. “You can sit if you like.” She gestured to a stool that was nearby just for that purpose, for when they had to make up custom potions. 

“Hey, dude. I know this is like…a weird question or something, but do you wanna share a queso? The bartender said getting the big one is actually cheaper than getting a solo bowl because you technically get more than if you bought two small bowls; and you’d be helpin’ me out with saving room for dinner.” Tony gave the person next to him a flashy grin, hoping that they’d agree to it.  In all honesty, he wasn’t sure if the bigger bowl of queso was technically cheaper. Be it his gregarious nature or his utter loneliness, he had made it up just to give him a reason to speak to the other person. He had never been without a slew of friends before in his life, even if said friends were really just a pack of kidnapped wolves who only interacted with each other in their respective cages. But still, ill company was better than no company. “I’ll even pay for it,” he added on merrily. “So, like, really you’d be losing out if you said no. Oh, and I don’t double dip.”

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The randomness of the man’s approach, and being addressed as ‘dude’ threw Elle off for a moment, glancing around to make sure that he was actually talking to her. But the giant smile was thrown her way, confirming that he was indeed asking her. Though why Elle wasn’t exactly sure. Couldn’t he just order the bowl for himself and just eat as much as he wanted? Especially if he was the one paying for it. But Elle wasn’t exactly rolling in money, so finally, the brunette nodded. “Yeah... yeah, okay sure.” The smile on her lips wasn’t huge, and held a quiver of uncertainty, but she still agreed. 

She wasn’t even sure why she was in the bar to begin with - she wasn’t drinking. But she hardly knew anyone in town, and sitting in the tiny apartment she’d found for herself wasn’t the best for her mental health. At least here she was around people, even if she didn’t know them. 

“Yes, covens.”  Cassidy commented back.  The man merely shrugged at her response, he did not care one way or the other if she chose to join a coven.  “There is always the woods, where some witches and warlocks do magic without the coven overseeing it.  Plus there is Blue Falls that probably has an underground thing going on.”  The warlock offered, wondering why he was even being this nice.  Most of the time, he just tells someone to figure it out and leave him the hell alone.  Apparently, those meetings after all these years are paying off.  “Why does it matter?”

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“I--- I guess it doesn’t.” Elle replied, a small shrug falling from her shoulders. “I was just...curious.” The brunette wasn’t sure about joining the others in the woods, however. She didn’t know what kind of magic they would be practicing, and she really was trying to keep herself on the straight and narrow. And that wasn’t easy at the best of times. She needed to stay away from anyone who might drag her back to practicing any type of dark magic. Especially here in Wolford, where Salim and her daughter were living. She wouldn’t fall apart where they could potentially see her. 

She had her headphones on, enjoying the feeling of the springtime sun warming her face as she walked through Downtown. A song by one of her favorite bands was playing in her ears, the upbeat tempo seemingly fitting the mood of the sunny day. Getting lost in the music, Juliet became oblivious to the world around her, focused only on walking rhythmically in time to the beat as she mouthed the lyrics of the song to herself. It was only as Jules collided with the other woman did she realize that she might need to pay a bit more attention to her surroundings, instead of getting caught up in a daydream. “No, I’m sorry! I should have been watching where I was going,” Jules gushed apologetically, pulling her headphones off the crown of her head and letting them sit around her neck. A quick look at the other woman’s face made it apparent to the shifter that something might be wrong. “Is everything okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?

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It seemed they were both focused on other things, resulting in the collision, Elle watching the other woman pull the headphones from her ears. “What?” Elle tossed a glance over her shoulder, making sure that Salim hadn’t caught a glimpse of her, wasn’t following her around the corner. But she saw no one, her heartrate still thundering in her chest though. A deep breath did a little to help that, the witch’s attention turning back to the woman. “Yeah, yeah... I’m okay.” She nodded, letting out a small sigh. “No, you didn’t.” Hands twisted in front of her, Elle wondering why she’d come to town if she wasn’t ready to face Sal. But it was just too soon. 

  would pre-begging be too much? he was fine if el wanted to be in maras life but, if she wanted to take mara away… his heart would stop. he loved his daughter, she was his world and he knew how sometimes the courts didn’t rule in dads favor. the idea made him nervous on top of that although he made decent money he could only pay so much for a lawyer dare it came to that. “eloise… you know i loved you right?” sal questioned, not so much shock nor anger or sadness read on his face, he simply stared at her.

   “did you — regret at all leaving not me but – mara as you did? i mean… hell you left me alone to name her, what if it was barbie like i joked?” he wasn’t sure why he was making light of this, perhaps sal didn’t know how to respond so his might spit out the most random of things. 

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She had to swallow at his first question, a huge lump forming in her throat. “I--” Tears built up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She didn’t want to make any more of a scene than she already was. “I loved you too, Sal.” And that was the truth. It pained Elle to think that he thought she’d lied, or played him. That just hadn’t been the case. “I truly did. Please don’t think that I didn’t.” It’s just that her head had gotten the better of her. 

And it was her illnesses that had made her flee the hospital that day. She’d found herself in over her head, craving things that she never wanted to do around her daughter, suddenly couldn’t imagine handling the responsibility of being a mother. “I knew you’d do right by her. I knew you’d be an amazing father. It’s...why I felt safe leaving her.” Which wasn’t a good thing, she understood that. But she’d never doubted that Sal would give their daughter everything she needed and more. “---Not for a long time.” Elle admitted when he asked if she regretted leaving, her gaze cast downwards, chin trembling. It was had to speak about just how far she’d fallen. “I was in a bad place for so long...I couldn’t have been what she needed. And you didn’t deserve to be dragged through that.” 

"I don't know." Her memory wasn't great, honestly. "But I fell for Salim because a lot of things he did for me were sweet and caring and genuine." That's just the kind of guy he was. He'd always supported her, even when she'd been in a spiral, never judged her. Elle had always appreciated that. ( @salvarma )

"Yeah, after my mental illness got bad towards the end of high school, I definitely cheated on a few tests. I had better things to do than study -- or so I thought." Had it really affected her life in any meaningful way though? Probably not, in all honesty.

"---I don't think I've ever been to a surprise party." Brows furrowed at the question, trying to think back. Were surprise parties still a thing? They weren't something that Elle herself was really a fan of.

LOCATION: Twilight Apothecary WHO: @eloise-dougherty​

On rare occasions, Grayson could be found wandering Twilight Apothecary.  The place was a reminder of his powers from before.  A time when he would try to help wounded soldiers and heal them, but now he was no longer that warlock.  Instead, he was now a werewolf.  Grayson absently started touching some of the items, not thinking about it but just wanting to feel connected to the magic that could be created from it.  Suddenly it occurred to him there was someone else there.  “Oh sorry,” he commented, shaking his head.  “You work here right?”  He asked.  “I think I have seen you before, but it has been awhile since I last came in.  I was wondering if there was something to help with sleep?”

. 

Elle was grateful for the job at Twilight Apothecary, a safe and genuine job compared to some of the ways she’d made money in the past. It offered her some stability, which she needed as she tried to transition to a new life in Wolford. How long she stayed, Elle wasn’t sure yet. But having a steady job was a starting point either way. The brunette was carrying a few things to put back on the shelves, noticing someone who seemed sort of lost in thought. She paused, which was when he glanced up, moving out of her way. “It’s fine,” She assured him, stepping around him to place the items back where they belonged, nodding at his question of if she worked there. “Sure. What kind of thing are you looking for?” There were different things with different strengths: crystals that helped create a calming sleep environment, to full on sleep tonics. 

Just freshly showered, Kai left the work and was strolling down the pavement when suddenly a woman just ran into him.  The warlock’s eyes widened from the sheer shock of it all and when his brain finally caught up with the events that just transpired he offered a smile.  “It is alright,” he assured her.  “Takes more to knock me down.”  As the man looked at her he didn’t recognize her.  “Are you okay though?  Hope I didn’t accidently hurt you.”  He told her.  “Oh, I’m Kai by the way.”

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A small breath of relief escaped her when he assured her that he was okay, Elle glad to hear it. She would hate to have hurt someone while running away from her problems, running away from someone else she’d already hurt. “No, I’m fine. Fine.” She promised, though there was a small pang of guilt at him asking her that, since she was the one who’d not been watching where she went. Her heart was starting to slow after the panic of seeing Salim. “Elle.” She offered her name in response. He seemed sweet, which made her feel even worse for bumping into him. 

Theo kept an eye on the woman in front of him and nodded as she confirmed that she wasn’t in any danger. “Okay. Good, good,” he said with a smile. The color had begun returning to her fact, but she still seemed sad. “Yeah, no problem,” he said. He took a step around her to keep heading towards the store that his niece loved so much. “Oh, real quick.” Theo stopped in his tracks, turning on his heels to face the woman again. “Do you know the difference between mauve and lilac? My niece wanted this scarf that she saw in the store, but she said she wanted it in mauve and very specifically not in lilac. All the scarves in the store look like the same shades and I’m color blind so the purples look blue to me,” he said. “I’d ask her myself but I wanted it to be a surprise.” 

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The completely random question caught Elle off guard, but actually worked to distract her from the almost-encounter. And for that, the brunette was grateful. She didn’t want to think about Salim just yet, so his question provided the perfect excuse. “Um..I think mauve is sort of a warmer color.” Elle offered, though she was no expert. “What store it is? I can come and have a look with you, if you want?” Though that only made sense if the store wasn’t completely on the other side of town or something. The man seemed genuinely nice, but Elle wasn’t exactly comfortable to get in a car with him or anything. She had a pretty terrible survival instinct, but she wasn’t completely oblivious. “Um..I’m Elle.” She added. 

  how could someone find them? sal never told anyone that he’d gone to wolford, it was a thought that he acted on rather quickly but had he slipped up to someone in the past? did someone know el that he never knew and told her. he was paranoid she was there for mara, she was an amazing girl - so bright sal was aware it could lure someone back. what if el believes she made a mistake? 

  he glanced her over, seeing ever slight chances in her that time does to someone. he wanted to offer a compliment, say she looked good but nothing came out. sal wanted to know why she was here - what brought her back after all this time? six years could be a lifetime for someone, although he’d never spoken badly about el to mara, only ever telling her the softest of tales about the great queen eloise from neverland. the only one to have to return to get peter under control. “what’re you… what’re you doing here – now?”

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She shifted on her feet, wringing her hands together. Had she imagined this scenario in her head? Only a million different times, but it had always seemed like some distant fantasy, rather than a reality that could come to pass. And yet, here she was, standing in front of Sal, Mara only a few yards away. And despite everything, Elle still didn’t feel ready. Which is why she swallowed so roughly at his question, honestly not having an answer for him. 

“I--- don’t know.” She admitted, hanging her head. Would it be better if she came here pronouncing that she was ready to be back in Mara’s life, to be a mother? ----What if there was already a mother in the girl’s life? After all, it had been six years. Sal could have moved on entirely, married someone, someone who was more of a mother to Mara than Elle herself had ever been. 

Well--- then Elle couldn’t complain, couldn’t blame him. She had walked out, abandoned them, and he had every right to have started over. “I just--- I just wanted to see you. How you were doing.” 

She seemed like she had seen a ghost, but he had a feeling that if he commented anything about it, probably wouldn’t help, so he would avoid the subject. He wouldn’t mind if she decided that she wanted to talk about it though, she wouldn’t be the first to just start venting about something to him. That happened very often, and it was something that even people that he never seen before did. He supposed that he just gave trustworthy vibes, “No, you broke one of my arms,” he joked with a smile, trying to light up the mood, and to make her feel better, “Now seriously, I’m fine, it was just a small collision, nothing you have to worry about.”

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Somehow, despite the fear she’d had roll through her system at catching a glimpse of Sal, Elle actually managed a genuine smile at the guy’s joke. If he’d said something slightly more believable, maybe Elle would have felt guilty, but she understood the joke was supposed to put her at ease, and it did. There were some people who just seemed to have a gift for that sort of thing, and it seemed like he was one of them. “I’m Elle.” It seemed right, to introduce herself, since he was being so nice about this. 

Certainly, Cassidy was not expecting to run into someone asking about places where magic was acceptable.  The warlock had grown up in Wolford so to him, he grew up knowing and never thought twice about it.  “Well, there are the covens and many witches and warlocks use their magic in their house.  I don’t think there is a witch and/or warlock club anywhere.”  He figured it had to do with the fact, they haven’t come out of the supernatural closet and remained in the shadows to their human counterparts.  Few humans knew, most knew because they were related and others knew because they were friends with someone who had magic running through their blood.  “I know some of the fae do stuff in the woods to be closer to nature and shit.”

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“Covens?” She pursed her lips, brow furrowing slightly. “I don’t -- I don’t know about that.” Covens came with a lot of responsibilities, and Elle didn’t know if she was ready to commit to something like that. She didn’t want to sign up to let people down - she had done that far too many times. And while Elle wasn’t sure how long she was going to be in Wolford, she didn’t want to start her time here on the wrong foot. The witch let out a small hum when he said there wasn’t any clubs or anything, and she wondered if that was to do with Wolford being a small town. In the cities she’d lived in previously, there had always been an underground magic scene. “I suppose that’s good to know...” The brunette replied, arms wrapping around herself. This would definitely be different. But good different or bad different, Elle wasn’t sure yet. 

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Rydell pursed her lips and bit her tongue, her mother’s voice running through her head reminding her not to snap instantly at people for simple mistakes but how hard was it to watch where you were going when walking on the streets? Still, the werewolf bit down on her tongue nearly hard enough to make herself bleed before reacting. It was the only way to keep her normally sarcastic mouth at bay. “Yeah, well, good thing I’m steady on my feet,” the brunette replied, raising an eyebrow at the woman who had knocked into her. “Might want to be more careful next time though. Knock down a kid and their parents might not be so happy with you.”

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She chewed the inside of her cheek at the other woman’s words, knowing she should have been looking where she was going. But when kids were mentioned, Elle’s mind began to wander. Would she recognize her own child if she passed her on the street? A hot flush of shame washed over Elle at knowing the answer - no, she wouldn’t recognize her her own daughter. But she couldn’t think about that, not now. She couldn’t get lost in those thoughts, those emotions. It was a downward spiral that Elle knew she wouldn’t be able to handle. Swallowing, she focused on the woman in front of her. “Again, I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful.”