they come first.

Shoutout to @maimeelai ! Carrot is one of my long-time mutuals here and she writes all of her muses wonderfully! I enjoy interacting and plotting with her. I’m grateful to have her as a mutual!

do you remember what i told you last time?

have you been doing well since i saw you?

that's not what you told me back then.

when was the last time i saw you?

you were shorter then.

i'm picking the restaurant this time.

we've known each other since we were children.

always knew i could count on you.

that time was different. this is worse.

you're not going to let me live that down, are you?

i seem to remember a conversation we had back then.

so you changed your mind about it?

do you remember our encounter in paris?

you should know me by now.

am i the only one that knows the truth?

we had a lot of help back then.

your mom told me to look out for you.

you just love bringing that back up to annoy me.

maybe don't mention my past indescretions?

this was never going to work out between us.

i told you not to get attached.

i know more about you than you think.

i was there, remember?

i'm not about to forget all the shit you put me through.

you told me you were going to try and make this work.

remember what i said to you?

the last time i saw you, things were good between us.

you never mentioned this before.

that was the longest flight of my life, and you made it worse.

can i still trust you after all that?

at least we tried to make something work.

we never discussed what happened between us.

okay, but i'm driving the car this time.

i haven't forgotten what you said last week.

i'm still thinking about your comment.

i didn't realize it was you when i first saw you.

you seem to make a lot of enemies around here.

there's not much for us to talk about.

we worked it out last time.

i know you far better than you know yourself.

we have a long history.

is that the shirt you were wearing last time?

what don't i know about you?

i haven't told them about us.

you were the only person i could go to.

you know me.

this is bigger than both of us.

i can't stand your driving.

are you taking me to the place we had dinner last time?

that's not at all what you said.

didn't we agree on that?

i thought i made it very clear where i stand.

are these the same people that came after you last time?

are you still going on about it?

can we talk about it?

staying silent about it won't help.

you're the only person who knows the real me.

feel  free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse by sending  '+ reverse' ).  this pack is themed around magic usage in some fashion.  vague enough in some ways to be used in unique ways.

❛  what do you mean,  it blew up?  ❜

❛  please tell me that you didn't cause that.  ❜

❛  are you doing that?  ❜

❛  was that you? making that distraction was genius.  ❜

❛  i didn't know you knew magic.  ❜

❛  when did you learn magic?  ❜

❛  how are you doing that?  ❜

❛  can you teach me? can you?  ❜

❛  i want to learn spells, too!  ❜

❛  magic mustn't be that hard if you know it.  ❜

❛  you can't learn magic in a day.  ❜

❛  spells take time and practice.  ❜

❛  you're saying your spell wrong.  ❜

❛  i'm not a toddler, i know how to make a spell.  ❜

❛  i'm not a student anymore, i can do complex magic, you know.  ❜

❛  i hardly need a spellbook for that.  ❜

❛  do you still need a spellbook for your magic?  ❜

❛  i can cast a spell without a wand or words.  ❜

❛  i'll curse you if you aren't careful.  ❜

❛  careful! there's a powerful curse on that.  ❜

❛  watch out! you almost got cursed, idiot.  ❜

❛  don't just go grabbing random magical artifacts!  ❜

❛  you never know who might be aiming to hex you.  ❜

❛  i can do some basic spells.  ❜

❛  can you even do basic spells?  ❜

❛  my magic is more than just a spell for good fortune.  ❜

❛  my magic manifests in ways other than spells.  ❜

❛  magic is more than just memorising a spell.  ❜

❛  magic resides in the heart. you don't have one.  ❜

❛  you can never practice magic.  ❜

❛  i can't do magic anymore.  ❜

❛  i'm not allowed magic anymore.  ❜

❛  if they find out i'm doing magic again ...  ❜

❛  magic is outlawed for a reason.  ❜

❛  you can't do magic in broad daylight!  ❜

❛  if they spot you doing magic ... come here.  ❜

❛  get inside! i saw you do that spell. they won't find you here.  ❜

❛  are you insane? you barely know that spell!  ❜

❛  you barely know how to make something float, please.  ❜

❛  you don't know what you're doing, it could backfire!  ❜

❛  let me teach you a little spell.  ❜

❛  i can teach you a magic trick. watch.  ❜

❛  swish and flick. you're being too aggressive.  ❜

❛  you're mumbling your incantation. it'll never work that way.  ❜

❛  you're moving all wrong. how can you channel magic that way?  ❜

❛  focus. magic requires rapt attention.  ❜

❛  see! i told you that you could do magic!  ❜

❛  are you a fool? magic is the devil's work.  ❜

❛  magic is forebidden, and we should all be grateful.  ❜

❛  if it were up to me, magic would be forebidden.  ❜

❛  witch!  ❜

❛  are you a witch / wizard / sorcerer?  ❜

❛  are you a sorcerer? or a party entertainer? ❜

❛  sleight of hand or witchery? who knows?  ❜

❛  i can do real magic, you know.  ❜

❛  that's not real magic. this is.  ❜

❛  i'll show you real magic. stand back.  ❜

❛  i cast fireball. i said, i cast fireball!  ❜

❛  damn it, why won't it work?  ❜

❛  you saved me. how?  ❜

❛  did you use magic to save me? i told you not to do that!  ❜

❛  magic is everywhere. can you feel it?  ❜

❛  magic doesn't have to be fantasy.  ❜

❛  sometimes, magic is the bond between two people ... just kidding!  ❜

❛  let me show you something magical.  ❜

❛  if you can use magic, why do anything the hard way?  ❜

❛  i use magic when i want, where i want.  ❜

❛  i won't stop using magic. you can't make me.  ❜

❛  you have to stop using magic.  ❜

❛  you will stop using that magic nonsense right now.  ❜

❛  magic is ... everything.  ❜

❛  just hold your hands like this ... see? magic.  ❜

❛  watch closely. can you see it? the magic in the air?  ❜

❛  listen. you can hear the hum of the magic if you do.  ❜

And she meant it, too. Aiden's likely the only person who would know her moves as she made them, because, yes, she'd been trying to psychoanalyze him with a Spice Girls hit, telling him that yes, yes she was.

It hadn't panned out the way she wanted, but that had been, indeed, what she'd been trying to do.

As they made their way outside, Aiden once again picked up on what she was putting down. He's clever that way. Floribeth knew it at once after she'd met him for the first time.

"Pretty much. I mean, the place wasn't perfect, and the leadership was flawed---" Of course it was, putting a 47 year old white guy in charge who also just so happened to be a hunter? Now that's asking for trouble. "---but I met my best friends there, and I met the love of my life there; it gave me a home and a solid foundation when I needed it."

Which was why he never had a problem making friends. A common jab from his old friends — Jax and Sienna — and even Liam (especially Liam) was that he’d befriend anyone, and that his gullibility would be his undoing one day. But what was so wrong with treating everyone with kindness?

Well, when they abuse you — you’d give them more, Liam would say. And Sienna would joke about kindness coming from a place of privilege. Aiden didn’t think that was a bad thing at all, or that he can ever do something about it. 

“So you’re telling me some middle-aged white dude who hunts the supernatural runs the boarding school for the supernatural?” He couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. And I’m the gullible one? “How did you land that? Was there a blood oath or something?”

Still, it was nice to hear that she’d met her best friends and the love of her life there — something he could relate to when he thought about his own high school. Perhaps having the flawed leadership was worth the trouble. 

The reminder of belonging hit hard. He used to belong to something. Now he couldn’t help but feel he was in all of this alone.

She considers elaborating, telling him that she thinks he's a good man and a better doctor, that this isn't out of gratitude for saving her life, or for the money they haven't finished negotiating. But she hesitates too long and fumbles the thoughts of whatever she's trying to express, and has no choice but to switch gears back into the safety of logistics and details.

" I appreciate your caution and all, but now I've agreed, so tell me the nature of the work. And as for pay, hell, I don't know. It depends, I guess, if what you're offering comes with room and board. If not, I'll need to find some place to rent, not counting groceries, and. " Jack pauses and decides it's safe to tell him a little more. " And I'd like to send money back to my family. Even if it means crashing on a couch. "

Aiden studied her, searching for the smallest flicker of doubt. “Are you someone who needs this in black and white?” he asked, voice light but edged with caution. “We can do some sort of a binding spell, but if you’d prefer something concrete, I don’t have an issue with that.”

He made sure there was no room for misunderstanding, no hidden trap for her to stumble into. “Again – there’s no catch,” he added quietly. “Your choice.”

Once her agreement was solid and spoken on the table, Aiden felt a tight, coiled knot in his chest begin to loosen. Relief washed through him, thin and fragile, because this meant he could finally talk. Still with limitations - but relief nonetheless. He could finally tip the scales and let her see the weight of what he wanted from her.

“When I said movement of items,” he began carefully, “it will involve something like the relic you found in the sacred mountain. And of course, sometimes those items end up with people or in places where they don’t belong at all. It’s part of my job – well, legacy if you like - to put them back to where they belong.” He wasn't lying about it being risky, dangerous and borderline illegal. He shrugged anyway, as if it were nothing more than an errand, turning away to hide the tension in his shoulders as he made his way to the kitchen. Distance helped; the familiar clink of cupboards and the faint hum of the fridge grounded him as he reached for the coffee pot and set it going, clinging to the ritual of it.

“Not on an empty stomach.” His tone tried for casual, but there was a thread of insistence there. Food was fuel even for something as mystical and unnerving as spirit guide apparitions. Ashley’s ghost nodded in agreement before she disappeared, and he felt the thickness of the air in his apartment lift. 

As the water began to heat, he glanced back at Jack, “So, if you’re not sneaking away anymore with that cash,” he said, forcing a wry smile, “you should join me for a quick lunch.” The offer was sincere, but beneath it lay a quiet plea: Stay. Don’t bolt now. He opened the fridge, the cold air spilling out in a sharp rush, and grabbed a tupperware fo something from the freezer. It thudded into the microwave, before he punched the button for defrost and stepped back, arms folding loosely across his chest as if to hold himself together. The soft whir of the microwave filled the silence, and for a beat he simply watched the slow rotation inside, gathering his courage.

Spontaneous or not, it was hard not to let her expectations rise. And if Maew happened to link arms with someone else on this trip, then she should probably get something settled for herself, too.

Prai sat there in quiet admiration. She liked it when Taow talked about his friends this passionately. Or maybe it was just the drink starting to kick in.

“But let’s be a little more empathetic here,” she went on. “If it feels weird for you that they’re the first ones in your group to have a kid, maybe it’s even harder for them—they’re the ones actually raising the kid. At least you all have the luxury of seeing them only once in a while. But Seven and Yann? That commitment lasts, like—I dunno—forever.”

"Whoa, tons of rivals, though? That's something. I only had one, I think. Maybe one and a half. Alyssa Chang. We liked the same person. It was a whole thing. Anyway, how's Caroline doing? Your Caroline, I mean, not my former headmistress. It's important to make the distinction."

Right, as if there aren't many, many people running around with the same names.

Although this felt like an era of progress, she knew her people would take more time to adapt, especially the elders.

“Yeah, but it’s all good. I don’t like many people either.” She shrugged. “So consider yourself lucky. Charot.” She tapped Flori’s nose with a grin. “Oh man, that Alyssa Chang sounds like a b—” she bit her lip to hold back a laugh, realising she knew absolutely nothing about this person other than the fact that she hurt Flori's feelings, “bold person.” Don't judge her for getting a little bit protective. Flori was like the little sister she never had.

The question about Caroline threw her off, though, especially that distinction. Her Caroline. “My Caroline? Haynakooooo, I wish. But I don’t even know if she likes me, or if she’s just really, really, really nice to everybody.” Still, it didn’t change the fact that Sienna would do anything for that beautiful ray of sunshine.

Ironically, the aroma of coffee slowly being squeezed out of the freshly ground beans was calming, and for a moment he could almost forget the worries piled on top of running this place. It was never easy to show up when everything on his mind and heart felt so heavy, and now he was running on autopilot—pouring milk, coaxing the finest latte art out of the foam for one of the collection orders lined up, then moving on to the mango shake for the customer who had just arrived.

Tita Delia, where the hell are you?