the cure*

It wasn't the most moral thing to do, but who was Mika to judge when she stole a cat from her ex. If Emira wanted to rob hers of some weird looking glass and tubes she'd support her. As her friend, fellow witch, and person who thought she was hot. Mika always supported other womens' rights and wrongs. "The back window is unlocked. We could climb through there, or if Momo can climb through and unlock the front door?"

Was this the lowest Emira had ever stooped? Well no. She could have gone lower, in all honesty. While things between her and Dhruv weren't entirely bad, they were great either. They had found themselves in an awkward dance. Neither of them could pick up the steps, nor did they refuse to learn, so it left them at a standstill of sorts. Her competitive nature was one of her many downfalls; pair that with her pettiness and spite, and you had a recipe for disaster. Which is exactly what this was. Emira just wanted to mess with Dhruv. His beakers and Bunsen burners meant a lot to him, but they were totally valuable. "I think Momo is our best option. He's small and agile." Emira looked down at her familiar. Momo's big ears fanned out, and his head tilted to the side. "If he unlocks the door. It saves us from any potential falls or breaking of things we might encounter."

To his knowledge, Yasin had never once spoken to a reporter.

A few publications contacted him over the years, at first to gauge whether his app was serious or pure satire, followed swiftly by inquiries into his state of mind. He went against the grain every time, against his own outgoing nature, unwilling to stop the momentum carrying Lunar Link to fruition, or in Yasin's case, the software release cycle. The fact that the app had reached beta felt like a miracle in itself, yet something he kept close to the vest, unable to explain how much it all meant to him without seeming...eccentric.

Until now, when a Lunar Cove journalist DM'd him for a soundbite. Yasin's counteroffer—getting a real bite—led to a meeting set at yet another new restaurant he meant to try.

Locating his quarry, Yasin slid into the seat opposite and reached for the menu.

"If I buy, will you consider writing a puff piece?" He asked, not quite joking.

This is the moment Emira had been waiting for. The chance to show that she could write something not only of substance but entertaining, engaging, something that was worth reading. The opportunity had originally been offered to another co-worker. Emira wasn't one to let moments pass her by, especially something that could get her higher on the ladder she needed to climb to get to the top. She schemed behind the scenes, pulling strings, maneuvering pieces, and now the opportunity was in her hands. Oh, her co-worker was fine, just out sick for the foreseeable future.

Everyone wanted to know about the elusive creator of Lunar Link. Now Emira had the chance to get the first soundbite. Doors were opening for her. She could feel it in her bones. Electricity crackled under her skin with each step she took. It felt like each one was leading her to the greatness she always sought. Some might say all these feelings of destiny were a tad overdramatic, but when you waited in the wings for so long, any momentum felt like a surge in the right direction.

"I'm not easily bribed here, pal. I write the truth and nothing but the truth." She replied with a smile. "Buuuut, if you did happen to pay, I'll make sure to capture your good side."

"Founding? You get more interesting by the day, Ahmadi." Her brows perked up, thoroughly impressed by his shredding even on an acoustic guitar. She didn't need the extra amps to know it was good. She had just heard it on stage. The heatwave wasn't helping Emira in the slightest. She was someone who got unreasonably mad the moment it got too hot. She would have been more annoyed had she not seen a familiar face. "Yeah, for sure." She was taken off guard by the question but smiled nonetheless. "Please tell me it's going to be a little more air-conditioned. I'm dying out here in this heat."

Dhruv's expression shifted slightly at her question, he felt her concern too, how could he not when he still knew how to read her, and that was partly why he didn't drop the humour entirely. "Depends on the day," he admitted. "Depends on how impressed you want to be. Ranges anywhere between thirty and ninety percent. I'll let you decide which end of the scale we're working with." The full truth was complicated. He knew that. She did too. And they reached that point now where some of it had to be acknowledged.

His gaze drifted away from her and out toward the road ahead. "The why," he said quietly. How she ended up here, he could hazard a guess, perhaps not with enough detail but she was a witch and Lunar Cove had a way of collecting its people. But the why? "I never did figure out that part because one day you were there, and the next moment you weren't."

"Good thing I come jam-packed with my own issues. I'd hate to see what the town had to offer." She tried to keep her tone light. It was easier to joke about her hardships. Her humor acts as a shield to keep the vulnerable sides of her from the eyes of others. Dhruv was the only person who saw the softest parts of her core, yet here she was guarded once more. "When have I ever not been an agent of trouble?" This was dangerous, falling into old habits. It was comfortable. For a moment, it felt like no time had passed between them. They were transported back to the flat they once shared. Sipping morning coffee after sleepless nights, feet tangled together and the world feeling limitless. Emira had to remind herself that she had given that life up. "Well, yes. You tell me there's a haunted house and act surprised at my sudden need for investigation."

As Dhruv's facade fell, so did hers. She allowed her concern and care to be fully present. She was still allowed to care about Dhruv. That would never go away. It was easy to pretend that there was anger. It made her actions easier to digest and allowed her to forget that she had hurt someone with her actions. "I know you've always seemed to be allergic to sleep ... but you need rest, Dhruv. I know that's easier said than done. I don't condescendingly mean this, but you look exhausted."

Emira never imagined she would have the chance to tell the truth. Not that this is something she dreamed of. If anything, she hoped she would never have to stare Dhruv in the face to give him the why of it all. It's why she had left silently in the first place. The witch never imagined any of this would ever happen. In a world of 5 billion people, she expected to never see Dhruv Mehta again. Yet fate, or whatever it was that was spinning her story along, had a funny sense of humor. Their strings were pulled back together. Their story was not closed as Emira had hoped. "It wasn't from a lack of love," she admitted quietly. She needed Dhruv to know that much. "I loved you more than I ever imagined I could love another person. You were the best thing to have ever happened to me. But it was safe." Her throat tightened with all the emotions she had shoved down. They rose like bile, hot and unpleasant, the confession ready to spill over.

"I know how that sounds. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I never knew what safe was. I've spent my whole life trying to fill a void that was left open by my parents. I put my worth into my accomplishments because it was the only time I was ever looked at. I thought being loved by someone else was going to magically fix me. That ... I'd finally be this complete person because I had found someone who could put up with me for once. But being with you wasn't the cure. What I was looking for, I had to find in myself. I had to choose myself. I didn't ... I didn't know how to voice that without being selfish because it was selfish. I wanted to be selfish for once in my life." She could feel the tears begin to well up in the corner of her eyes. "Being selfish meant hurting you. I couldn't bear to see the sadness I would cause... so I left. I thought it would be easier than having to tell you all this."

"Let the betting begin! I've got ten dollars on Ken. That is ten dollars on Ken. Is anyone fixing to double it? That's another for Vivek." Lennon had been racking up the bids for the fights. Was it the most sanctioned thing to be doing during the Town's Sports Tournament? No, but it had been proving to be a rather lucrative pop-up business, and she had done a good job on keeping it on the down low thus far. "Hey, you wanna get in on this? Five-dollar entry and then whatever else you want to bet on your fighter of choice."

Emira had never been the betting type. She was too competitive to let chance be in the hands of someone else when it came to winning. Emira had always been an all-or-nothing kind of girl. In the spirit of sports, she decided to take part in this bet. Seeing Lennon only piqued her interest further. She appreciated a girl who knew how to hustle. "Yeah, I'll play." She slid Lennon a crisp five-dollar bill, then a twenty on top of it. "Ken looks like he has some unbridled rage he needs to get out. My money's on him."

"Oh, I'm sure your cat doodle is make-shift museum worthy." The vampire hummed at the other woman, offering a small smile.

She tilted her head back and forth a bit. "Got me there." She admitted. "Although this isn't exactly Louvre material," Emira added, if only to be a smartass. "You know what, fair. I respect that." She didn't exactly get off on the misfortune of others, but she could appreciate it when someone was honest.

"Absolutely. I worked hard on that cat. Dare I say, it's a masterpiece." She looked over at Andy for a moment. Giving her a once-over as she tried to read her vibe. "If you had to leave something. What would it be?"

"I died," Bex answered bluntly. She'd never been good at bracing people for what she was about to say, or for understanding the need to be gentle with how she said things. Her brows furrowed. "Apparently with V in my system. Which I wasn't aware of. Nor wanted." The implication was clear. She didn't say it out loud again. The idea had upset enough people already, that Bex had never wanted to wake up. That she would have preferred to stay dead, if she'd actually died. Now death would have to be so much more intentional. "I'm not very good at, um-- controlling myself right now. Well, I never really was. But now it's bad. Again." She stayed wedged behind the door, peering out at Emira. They were still new to becoming friends and Bex didn't want to ruin it like she did most things in her life. "I don't want to hurt you."

Emira stared at Bex for a moment like a deer caught in headlights. The revelation lay heavily between them. In one of the rare moments of her life, Emira remained quiet as she listened to Bex. The implications of her not wanting to wake up twisted her chest with an ache. She hadn't known Bex long, but she had known her long enough to genuinely care for her. The loss of Bex would have upset her, but to know Bex wasn't fully content with this new life she found herself in hurt just as much. With both, there was nothing much Emira could do, which frustrated her. There was nothing she could say either. Emira tried to find the words over and over, but they all fell flat. "Bex, I'm so sorry." For dying, for coming back, for it all. "You won't hurt me." There was a confidence behind her words that was reserved for the times when doubt lingered in the back of her mind. "I'm not good at controlling myself either. So, I kind of understand. Is there .. anything I could do to help?"

"You definitely kept me on my toes," he agreed, letting the conversation shift, "Still do. Though I will say the club extends well beyond us. I don't think they let you into this town without at least one unfortunate event." His mouth twitched slightly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that bloke who wrote all those books just came here for inspiration," he added, clearly spinning a yarn now for the heck of it as he leaned in slightly for effect. "Have you seen the haunted house on the hill? Looks suspiciously similar to the one from the movie." The grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth lingered. "When else am I supposed to ask?" he shot back, slipping into the same teasing tone. "When you're standing up?"

At her jab about sleep, he lifted a hand in immediate defence. "Okay, first of all, those were strategic power naps," he argued, making way for truth he no longer felt like hiding. "Second, if you knew how much of this mess is self-inflicted, you'd actually be impressed I slept at all." He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, because to him it wasn't.

She could remember the last time she had heard Dhruv laugh. There wasn't snark that covered it this time. It was pure and bright, still quiet, but just as she had remembered it to be. It caused the tightness in her chest to contract further, reminding her of what she had given up all those years ago. Emira had to remind herself that there was no going back. She had to live with her choices. It was easier to accept that when Dhruv wasn't standing right in front of her.

"I had to keep things fun and fresh." A proud smile danced on her lips. Keeping people on their toes was a skill she worked hard on. "So, everyone here is just as traumatized as us? Noted." In hindsight, that little tidbit did make sense to her. To be supernatural and unscathed by the horrors of the world didn't seem to go hand in hand. "Is that so? I knew things felt a little too familiar here." She raised her brows, playing into his little tale. "I guess I'm going to be visiting a haunted house very soon. Obviously, I have to compare the source material to see if it's accurate." Though her interest was piqued at the thought of a haunted house, regardless. "Yeah, that's the perfect time to ask, actually."

Emira had always known that Dhruv was a troubled soul. Genius often came with pain. It was yet another tick on the checklist of reasons why they had worked out so well. Emira's own ambition and intelligence were mirrored in his. Neither of them knew when to quit, even at the expense of their own detriment. Hearing the confirmation caused her brows to furrow together. "How much of it is?" she asked, before masking it with teasing to hide her concern. "You know, so I can gauge how impressed I should be."

"honestly, i'm still trying to figure out if all of this is the worst or the best too." because what was she supposed to call this? terrifying? life-changing? insane? all of the above?

her brows pinched slightly at the other woman's words. gotten used to it. josie couldn't imagine that feeling ever becoming normal, but maybe that was easy to say when she'd only just had her entire reality ripped out from under her. "i think that's the part that freaks me out the most," she admitted quietly. "everybody here acts like danger is just... background noise."

she let out a slow breath through her nose, shaking her head once. "where i'm from, if something feels wrong, people leave or freak out. here everybody just stays and learns how to live with monsters lurking around corners apparently. guess in time i'll get used to it too?"

"It's all about perspective. Everything can be the worst if you choose to have that mindset. Things have already been wild, so why not expect more? Or you can choose to see the bright side." Most days, Emira had a hard time seeing the latter.

Emira hadn't lived in Lunar Cove long, but she had come to figure out the rhythm of the town. She was no stranger to strange occurrences happening. Finding out she was a witch connected those dots for her. "It kind of is." She replied, her tone just as soft. "When you're in a town that's filled with supernatural beings and the world outside of here hates them, danger is always in the background." You either let the fear control your life or make peace with it and try to create something for yourself.

"Going back to what I said like two seconds ago, most people here don't have any other place to go. The dangers outside of this bubble are greater than the dangers in here. At least, I think so. Then again, I haven't been here long, and my life wasn't exactly threatened outside of here that much either. But who's to say it wouldn't have been?" She shrugged. "You'll get used to it or at least make peace with it."

Still a little confused, Bex stayed where she was, not opting to undo the chain lock quite yet. It wasn't that she was unhappy to see Emira, she just hadn't really expected it. Bex was learning new things every day, like that people got really weird and nice after they found out you died. It almost made her feel nice. Except for the part where she died, the reminder that always pulled back any good feelings she had at the moment. Bex's eyes flicked down to the offered movie and blanket. Her hand gripped the door tightly. She felt like she could basically feel the magic thrumming inside of Emira, crackling along her skin. Bex's insides tingled. She almost wanted to reach out and touch. She pulled her hand back. "I...you shouldn't be around me right now," she finally said, the shame evident in her expression. "I'm dangerous."

Emira knew that her arrival out of the blue was weird. She felt it in that moment. It was the same feeling when you arrived at an event you weren't invited to. All eyes were on you, silently judging. She was in too deep now. She couldn't exactly run away to spare herself the humiliation, nor did she want to. Connecting with people was hard for Emira. She cycled through friends, not out of choice. There were falling outs and growing apart. Her circle had always been small. When she found someone, she latched on to them. She had so much love to give but didn't know how to express it properly. So here she was making an attempt to show Bex that while they didn't know each other well, she still cared, and she hoped that was okay. "Dangerous?" She asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "We live in a town with supernatural beings ... danger seems like the name of the game here, Bex." Bex didn't exactly scream dangerous either to Emira, but she kept that to herself. "What happened?"

"Touché." He pronounced it like "toosh." "But thank you. This old thing. You know, I just threw it on." Kamran offered a wider smile. "Yeah. Yeah. That was....the big naked guy was...that was weird, right? Shit like that happen a lot around here? But, uh...look...some of it was the douche juice, but I do think you're...pretty cool. And pretty. If you really did maybe wanna hang...?" He cleared his throat, the picture of smoothness. "Oh! Yeah. That's me. Witch. Light witch. Which is...harder core than it sounds. I mean, I have a dark soul and all, but I can still do cool stuff. Hey! Do you wanna meet Diet Pepsi? He's my familiar. You're not afraid of lizards, are you?" He was talking too much. "Shopping for CDs. I was gonna burn, like...like a 'I survived the masquerade' mix. My laptop still has a disc drive. So that's...that's cool. Picking up anything good?"

Her eyes lit up with intrigue, arms crossed over her chest, and shifting her weight to one hip. "I would agree with that, yeah. They want their fifteen minutes of fame. A viral moment or whatever. Oh, so you're not like other guys, huh? You're cool and edgy?" There was a lightness in her tone that bordered on teasing, dare she almost say playful. "Todd is very nice. I feel like you'd be more rivals in like a John Hughes film. That feels like his vibe. You do scream more 90s grunge. Is this your way of admitting you read fanfic to me?" Whatever was on Emira's ao3 list was between her and God.

Emira laughed at his pronunciation. She covered her mouth to stifle it. One because she couldn't believe she found a man funny, but also she didn't want Kamran to think she was laughing at him. "So it's vintage. nice." She smiled. "Right? I turned away for one second, and suddenly I was subjected to a giant man and his, you know, time and place. Well, I've yet to see another sad-looking giant, but odd things seem to happen here. Oh, uh, thanks. You're not half bad yourself. I ... yeah, I'd like that actually." Emira had short-circuited in the moment. She hadn't expected Kamran to say all of those things. It had taken her off guard, which rarely happened. Nothing was holding her back or tying her down. Now was the perfect time to take chances and make mistakes. "No kidding? I'm also a light witch. I guess you can't judge a witch by its cover. I agree. I'm still learning the ropes, but light magic is just as sick as dark magic. Absolutely, I have to meet him. His name is Diet Pepsi. He might be the coolest lizard for that. Nope. I love lizards." She returned her attention to the vinyls before them for a moment. "You still burn cd's? You really are indie and underground. What songs would you put on it? Yeah, I'm just getting Hayley Williams' newest album. I liked it enough that I needed a physical copy."

OPTION A location: Yellow Submarine

On breaks from work, Zuri loved to walk around the aquarium, visiting her favorite exhibits and sea creatures. A cuttlefish, nearly fully blended with the sand and rocks around it, lived in the massive tank before her, and was one of her favorites to visit. To the other person standing beside her, she offered, “Did you know cuttlefish are actually colorblind? It's kinda crazy, because they can exactly color match their surroundings to blend in. Kinda like what people think chameleons do, but cooler.”

OPTION B location: Happy Harvest Farmer's Market

Stevie enjoyed farmer's markets, and needed to stock up on produce and other essentials before heading picking up Rhiannon up from school. The school year was winding down and with summer about to start, Stevie was anxious to find a more permanent living situation for her and her daughter that didn't end in Motel. With those thoughts momentarily on the backburner, she passed a stand specifically for different flavored honeys. “Huh. Eucalyptus honey... Interesting, but not sure how my eleven year old will feel about that one.”

option a.

Aquariums were not Emira's favorite place to visit. There was always a sadness she felt watching sea creatures behind giant glass. It felt wrong to her. They deserved to be out in their natural habitat. She knew that many of the creatures here could never return to their natural habitats. Humans had destroyed so much. So the sea creatures had no choice but to live their days, stared at by individuals like herself. The thoughts were sad, which is not what Emira needed in the moment. She was thankful to be taken out of her thoughts by a nearby voice. "No, I didn't know that." She wasn't a fish expert by any means. "Huh, that's actually really interesting. I guess if there's a will, there's a way. I imagine chameleons aren't colorblind? Which means cuttlefish are just cooler by default now."

ALEXANDRA SHIPP as Susan Wilson

At the mention of her family, though, something in his expression shifted and twisted to a slight wince as he shut his eyes briefly, clicking his tongue at the careless slip. "Right," he said quietly. "Sorry." And he meant it. Not in the reflexive way people often apologised, but in the heavier sense of remembering there were things attached to her that had never been fully spoken about. The room settled after that, quieter now that the storm of her arrival had burned through itself. "You were never boring. Yeah, well, welcome to the club of unfortunate revelations, I guess." Dhruv watched as she sat herself down onto the floor across from him expectant, and for a moment he simply looked at her, tilting his own head much like she had. There was a strange closeness in it suddenly, in the familiarity of sitting across from each other like they used to, back when conversations stretched for hours and silence between them had never felt difficult. The feeling caught him off guard enough that he looked away and busied himself in clearing up the space.

It was movement for the sake of it, so to not speed run through his list of questions, and of course there was Kiraz upstairs, even with Emira talking quieter, he knew voices would still carry. "I know you just sat down but..." he exhaled, getting up and gave a quick glance toward the door then back to her, "do you wanna go for a walk or something? I've been inside staring at papers for like… twelve hours... after my full eight hours of sleep, of course." He couldn't help but add. "We're still gonna talk, by the way...I have some things to tell you. A lot more to ask..." he trailed off extending her a hand. "Come on."

Emira tried to ignore how his laugh, even with how small and tired it was, pulled at her heartstrings. It was a foreign feeling she thought she had forgotten. But the body remembered, and the heart certainly never forgets how a first love could make the smallest things endearing. With time, she believed she was immune to these inconvenient flutters. But these small sensations reminded her that her fondness for Dhruv would always remain, no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. "I'm glad you could feel it. I put my all into it, obviously." Her own snark and bite slipped out easily when met with his sarcasm.

The intimacy of being known was something that Emira had always craved yet feared. Being seen so clearly for who you are after living in the shadows of misunderstandings was terrifying, especially when your own perception of self was warped. Deep down, Emira wanted to believe she was a good person. Dhruv had looked at her like she had hung the moon, and she still broke his heart. Would a good person do that? Despite their time together, Emira still had walls. The truth of her family was one of those. She nodded, silently accepting his apology. She never had to question Dhruv's sincerity. Even now, when it wasn't deserved. "At least I could keep you on your toes. Is this an exclusive club of two, or do a series of unfortunate events happen to everyone here?" For a moment, Emira felt like she had been transported to a much simpler time. The scene felt familiar. Where late-night laughter and the glow of the TV hummed in odd hours of the night, once thrived were now replaced with stilled silence and unsaid truths.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "You ask right when I'm comfortable?" She dared to test a teasing tone. It was light, almost undetectable, but the attempt was still made as she stood. "Sure, I could use some fresh air, and by the sound of it, so can you. You looking at papers for twenty hours seems more realistic, but okay, glad you got at least some paper time in the middle of much-needed sleep." She could physically feel her heartbeat skip inside her chest as Dhruv's hand extended out towards her. The moment felt more like a dream than reality. A vision she saw every so often when she closed her eyes and thought of the man she loved so dearly. Emira would have dared to pinch herself, but it would've caused an even bigger scene. After a quick moment, she took his hand, the air being knocked out of her lungs. Her hand fit perfectly into his, just as it always had, the sensation all too familiar. It felt like no time had passed once their hands had joined, but the harsh reality was that time had passed.

They were no longer the people they once were, the last time they had been this close. "You have a lot of explaining to do .... and so do I."