can i keep all this beauty forever inside ?

Without a word she reaches out to pluck the coffee from Len's unsuspecting grasp, cupping it between her own hands as she concentrates on seeping warmth back into the drink. It's an almost an embarrassingly feeble attempt, her body so unused to Light, but she still manages to revive the coffee enough to be casually enjoyed. With a sigh, she hands it back. "There. An' sure, we can swing by. I could do with'a sweet treat."

The cup is gently settled back into it's plate, an adorable matching set that differs heavily from the cluttered assortment back at her place. An observation that helps lead directly into Sun-hee's question. "It's... idyllic, in'a way I'm not used to. Or, at least it wants t' appear that way." Felicity's heard too many whispers, seen to many shadows in the corner of her eye, to believe otherwise. "But, yeah, I think I like it. Better than alone on th' road."

The ambiance of a coffee shop always sat well with Talia's spirits. She had become a regular at the daily drip. She knew the baristas by name, always going out of her way to greet them and ask about how their days were, and her order was now remembered. It was the little things that made her heart do somersaults in her chest.

"Please, I'm happy to! If you ever need someone to go on adventures with you, I'm your girl!" Talia was a social creature by nature. She loved being around people. She wilted in solitude. "A new city can be overwhelming, but if you ever need anything, I'm here. Are you liking things so far?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm likin' it. It's jus' strange, stayin' in one place, not having t' worry about... certain things." Things that would ruin the present vibe, certainly. "And you're sweet. Maybe too sweet." A mischievous glance, a quirked corner of her lips giving away the joke. "Sure you're not gonna lure me to a dark corner on this adventure of ours?"

With the final day of the full moon over, Addie had dragged her aching body out of the woods and back to the van. She'd washed all the blood from her skin and spat out the rest of it from her mouth, before washing that down, too, with whatever bottle was under the passenger's seat. It stung the inside of her mouth, but not enough to wash away the trickling memories that kept crawling back to her, more and more with each month that passed. The smell, the taste, the sound. She'd yet to piece together full memories, they were always fleeting glances or flashes of scenes that never made enough sense.

Tonight, she'd rustled around the van trying to find anything to take the edge off the pain and anxiety that always followed her out of the full moon's. Her hands shook as she dug around, but found nothing. Not half smoked joint, no baggie of precious, white powder, no nearly empty bottle of caramel liquid.

She needed to restock on everything.

Eclipse was always her go to. She'd plopped herself down on a stool early in the night and made sure her glass was never empty. Now, the crowd had dispersed hours ago and the music had crawled to a steady thump that matched the one in her head. Addie wasn't ready to go home yet, even if final call sat only an hour away. Her fingers drum against the glass, only one sip left, as she tries to stretch it out among the minutes she has left.

When a new, fresh glass is set in front of her, she sits up. "Just gettin' started," she quips back, before raising a brow. "Gonna send some of that my way, or hog it all for yourself?"

Still, she pours the the other another drink, leaning atop the bar as the bottle is settled between them, her other hand swirling her own glass. There's a familiarity to this woman, more than just the fact that Felicity had certainly seen her pass through before, especially into those dark back rooms. There's an energy there, reflection of self-sufficiency through any means necessary that Felicity knowns only too well, and that she respects enough to not point out. Not during their first conversation, at least. Another sip, deeper, and the burn settles into her chest as a crooked smile curls along her cheeks.

"Y'know, according to bartender rules, I'm not supposed to serve people who are clearly intoxicated, and I'm definitely not supposed to drink with them. Though I'm sure you can keep it hush-hush, Miss...?"

Zuva crossed the room setting the chips and the bottle down within her reach before claiming a spot in the armchair with a quiet exhale, stretching out just enough to get comfortable. "I almost feel bad wakin' you. Extra shift?" he asked, but at her question, his brow ticked up, amusement flickering. "Prom punch?" he echoed, leaning back. “Yeah, s'pose that was spiked but would've been too easy if that was it." He took a slow sip of his coffee, "Think chaos, folks getting drugged, shifting into bats and big cats, and before all that...there was a giant naked pirate." His gaze slid back to her, watching for the reaction. "Then a Hellhound crashed the party," he went on casually as if he were recounting mild gossip instead of something harrowing. "Real bad attitude. Folks didn't come out unscathed. You picked a real good night to stay in." The addition came a bit softer, thankful in a way that she avoided the worst of it and didn't get hurt.

She's about to go in for another sip when he drops the veritable bomb of information, a party promising fun and whimsy resulting in near-death experiences. The Hellhound bit nearly brings her to choke, eyes widening, and there's a part of her that almost wishes she had been present to witness such raw energy in living form, but she knows Zuva, despite the time apart, knows with the dip in his tone that it must've been much worse, much more bloody, than his lead-up would convey.

An itch settles over her skin, the epicenter amongst the scars of previous sacrifices, and her fingertips tingle with a need to move, to trace the known symbols or sift through the cards tucked away beneath her bed, to gleam just what sort of future she had in store for herself in this town where Death, though felt lingering upon the air and in the earth the moment she stepped over that barrier, was now so plainly laid out before her. This was supposed to be a safe haven, a new start. The urge to run again is coiling in her chest.

Outside, the crash of bone upon rock snaps her out of the beginnings of her internal tempest, and her familiar's wings beat a quick and familiar rhythm as he settles in for his snack. Felicity shakes her head, releasing the anxiety that had built up, instead now reaching for her own bag of hot fries.

"Well, guess this town isn't gonna to be as quiet or boring as anticipated. For good or for worse." Without looking, she extends a hand to take his, squeezing lightly. "Glad you're okay. The others too. Y'know which ones."

"My friend Len and her roommate." It occurred to her then that she thought Rae Elle was from there, too, but Sun-Hee wasn't completely sure. Rae Elle was really pretty, a little intimidating, but with a good taste in music. Admittedly, in the moment, that was about all the witch could recall of the other.

It didn't seem that important to Sun-Hee. Louisiana was a big state, or so she assumed. The world couldn't be that small, she reasoned without much thought to it. Her mind had clearly moved on. "So... you're new to the cove? Have you been to Kaitenzushi? It's so good. I love their dragon roll."

No matter how much her gut knows its more than that, how even Chicken's crimson gaze flicks to meet hers, the knowing reflected.

With a quick and easy smile, she sinks back into the conversation. "Uh, yeah, yeah I'm new. Haven't gotten to see much, honestly, kinda hit the ground runnin' with the new job. But sushi sounds amazing." A pause, a sudden idea with nothing to lose.

"You hungry?"

"Rise and shine, sleepin' beauty." Zuva rapped his knuckles against the door again. It was well past noon too which made the whole thing far more amusing than it probably should. He shifted the bag in one hand, contents he would not call treat under any circumstance. Packet of hot fries and a can of pickle juice soda was something so specific it could only have been for her. In the other was his own reward, a decent coffee and a still-warm pastry he had every intention of keeping for himself.

It was rather impressive how she'd managed to miss the ball. At first, anyway, but as the night unravelled from champagne and dancing to more disaster and chaos, he thought she had the right idea after all. Sleep through the drama, wake up to the recap. Smart woman.

"Don't make me start thinkin' you died in there, cher," he called out, "I brought snacks, and I'm real close to deciding I deserve 'em more than you do."

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you?" A snide remark with no teeth in the bite, already stepping to the side and heading over to drop herself onto the old couch that still had the faintest smell of tobacco — the last remnant of it's previous owner. "So, what I miss? Someone spike the prom punch bowl?"

It was only after leaving her hand in the other woman's for too long did she realize she was supposed to take her hand back. Her face flushed pink as she finally retracted her hand before winding them both in a clasp behind her back. "Is that where you and chicken are from? Louisiana?" Lennon and her roommate Zuva were from there. Rae Elle, too. It made Sun-Hee wonder if they all knew each other. "I have some friends from there."

"Nah, just passed through, in a way. I'm from the Delta." The mention of these 'friends' makes her thoughts pivot, distracting her from further explanation of where or what the Delta even was. Her head tips, almost bird-like, curious as her eyes lock in on. The world couldn't be that small, could it? "Which friends?"

option one where: broken records

He looked under the display before him, sighing as he stood up and ran a hand through his hair. This was the fifth store he had been in, searching high and low and it looked like he was coming up short, yet again. Looking to the person next to him he sighed in defeat. "Have you seen a rock, he's got a little cowboy hat, googly eyes, a moustache?" It was a prank and it was beginning to drive him insane.

option two where: echo acres woods

From a distance it would look like the witch was setting up a relaxing bonfire in the middle of the woods, a small clearing a neat stack of wood surrounded by stones to contain it. That was until the small firepit was engulfed in a giant fireball, the kind that ought to have burnt the witch, had the fire not curved around him, spreading through the small clearing, nearly kissing the looming trees before retreating to be contained by the firepit. From the outside it seemed fake, an illusion, but in Lunar Cove it was normal, or normal-ish. Flexing his hands, Mac nodded to himself, glad that his magic seemed to back to normal, enjoying the quiet crackle of the fire before he heard someone approaching from behind him. "You need a bell or something, I could have barbequed you."

The hope had been for some time alone, solitary peace sought amidst the shadows of the pines and oaks, sounds muffled by swaying greenery above and gentle decay beneath her hiking boots. True peace, which had been harder to come by before returning to the place of her birth, was still seemingly elusive with such high a concertation of magics and blood-thirsts in one area.

And that was before whatever the fuck happened the other night. The sudden light and heat at the corner of her eye nearly has her throwing herself to the ground to duck whatever is incoming, but just as quick as it came does the scorching heat fade, the light dull back to the faint glint between the trees she had barely noticed before. A voice follows, alerting her to the fact that she is, in fact, not alone in these woods, which causes lips to press into an annoyed line. She closes the distance, brushing off damp pine needles that have clung to her dark flannel, her steps just shy of petulant stomping. "Oh I'm sorry, didn't realize the possibility of an impromptu forest fire was scheduled for today. Didn't see any of those signs at the trail head."

Mid stride Sun-Hee stopped to watch another walk by. Her eyes falling from the familiar to the witch. A newcomer to town. Sun-Hee was sure. She'd remember her. "Hi!" Her greeting exclaimed before she'd fully turned around. "Jin wants to meet your bird!" The witch pointed to her familiar. A tiny, red fox that sat perched a top her shoulder, as if she bloomed from beneath Sun-Hee's dark hair. "She loves other familiars, and I love your jeans! Where'd you get them?" Her smile twitched wider with every step she took forward. "Oh, and I'm Sun-Hee!"

Already, she catches herself staring too long. She blinks.

Yet her familiar beats her to proper introductions, gliding from his cramp resting spot upon her shoulders and hopping towards the, presumably, young woman before her. "Oh, uh, thanks. I got 'em from-" she glances down at the faded, lived-in denim. "... Honestly, I think I knicked 'em from a Goodwill back in Louisiana." Another pause, an awkward smile, before she juts her hand out for a shake. "I'm Felicity." She flicks her head in the direction of her familiar, who at this point is circling in little hops, crimson eyes staring up at the fox. "That's Chicken."