Cold (But I'm still here)

[Tessa stood behind the counter of the shop, scribbling some records into the notebook that was kept back there. When she finished, she looked up to see someone walk into the store] Hey, can I help you? 

Do you know where I can find a PS4?

Now this is what I’m talking about. 

And who might you be?

People keep saying that I’m missing and I’m a little confused.

Indeed, there you are. Where were you?

[Cora, after several days of hiding in her room, finally finds herself wandering through the kitchen on Thanksgiving - of all days. The stench of turkey in the kitchen particularly is strong, and brings a nauseated feeling to her stomach. Not that she didn’t like turkey, but in such a great amount, she was overwhelmed with the smell. And it was now that she realized, there was a thing as too much turkey.] 

It's physically impossible to eat that much. Not in one sitting anyways.

Oh, yeah definitely. I’ll be sure to— say, what makes my magic, um, Thane, different than your magic? Like can anyone just pick up any magic they want if they wanted to?

House Thane deals with talismans while House Mori deals with Illusions. You can only study one house of magic. Even if you could, it's very difficult and highly frowned upon. Why, planning on leaving House Thane so quickly?

Nobody. Most people think that I’ve casted some sort of illusionary spell whenever I slip up. 

We need to ensure that you don't slip up. A power like could become dangerous. Especially if the wrong people find out.

The past, mostly. As Machiavelli once said, “the more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” 

He's a wise man.

As comfortable as they’ll ever be.

And my brother hasn't caused you any problems, has he?

Oh, yeah, I have. That’s nuts, huh? Like, who just vanishes for a week, then comes back and acts like nothing’s happened? You were missing for a week, buddy, that’s happened!

I usually come back after doing an experiment. And well, I tend to lose track of time when I'm doing research.

[Looks up when she hears Jackson’s voice. She breathes out a sigh, smiling slightly and takes the book; closing the one in her lap and replacing it with the new one.] Thank you, Jackson— always so kind and helpful.

[gives her a contemplative look] What are you studying?

Mack. I go by Mack.

My apologies, Mack. I hope things have been comfortable with your stay so far.

Thanks, man. [She takes his hand.] Yeah — I’m all good! How about you, Jackson? How’re things going? Did you have a nice day? C’mon, let’s just, like, completely change the subject from that totally embarrassing fall.

[chuckles slightly] Things are fine. [He face falls slightly] Except, you've heard about Cadie, right?

Yeah it is. Before that I grew up in Ellendale, which is like teeny tiny. I think the Coven probably has more people, actually. So like, everything just takes some getting used to, you know? [She shrugged.] What about you, have you lived here long?

For about 10 years. Which I suppose could be considered long. If you have any other questions, feel free to come to me. Adapting can be easy enough if given the right resources.

[She sits there and stares at him, her thoughts firing across her head as she debated between not talking or telling him everything. She didn’t want to tell him, but she didn’t want to seem suspicious.] I distort what we consider reality to the point where it becomes a fantasy. If it is distorted enough, it can be considered another world or universe. I can do minor things like making water run up the walls to things like creation from dust or scratch, but it has to be something I willingly do. But sometimes worlds turn nightmarish and the power becomes it’s own being and it just goes haywire. I’ve tried to research it, but I can’t find any accounts of my gift. I’ve also used it once or twice to pretend that something was an illusion when it was reality.

And who else knows of your gift?

Really? Do you know how they do it?

It's home grown. This coven is self sustaining.  Most large covens are.

[Inside one of the sitting rooms, Freya is sitting cross-legged on a couch. She has a few books surrounding her, some open and some closed, but she’s leafing through one of them in particular. Without looking up to see who she was talking to, she points to a book that’s on the floor; a bit away from her.] Will you hand me that?

[Uses Mage Hand to grab the book for her] Here.

Well, that lunar eclipse was a bust…I guess on to newer and better fun—oh wait! I can’t, thanks to that damn Care for Magical Creatures paper I have to do. I love being in school and old as fuck. 

Disregarding your sarcasm, would you like help?