the psychic

Connie appreciated the compliment, and she did want to bask in it, but she also knew that it was best to keep her cards close to her chest, to not give too much away, so she just gave Lennon a shrug and a quick grin. "Business could be better, you know, but it's not terrible."

Lennon barely fought off a smile at her answer. The kid had style, Lennon would give her that. "Alright, good for you. You're keepin' safe too, right? No one's tried to take a bite out of you or anything?" Literally, that was.

"Oh, we're calling it charming now?" Taylor rolled her eyes a little, but she didn't actually argue. Lennon Baker wasn't not charming after all. And if she was throwing in the offer of some free drinks, well, sign Taylor the hell up. "Apologies. I was overly eager. And you certainly have my attention. I think I'll have to take you up on that offer. I do love a girl's night. Especially if someone else is paying the bill."

"Charming, magnetic, alluring, enchanting... whichever synonym you like best," Lennon grinned. She'd found out quickly that she was capable of holding her own in this town. Even when she was scared, she could still flirt toe to toe with the best of 'em. "Girls' night. My bank balance is ready to be wrecked. And hey, I'm sure you'll already have the best spot in the house reserved. You are a VIP, after all." A kinda evil one, sure, but that was besides the point.

When the other woman (Lennon, it was Lennon, right? Charlotte was pretty sure that was her name, even though she couldn't remember ever talking to her) froze but otherwise seemed fine, Charlotte felt less guilty. She even thought about saying that staring being fine, she knew that she looked like a total mess, but she couldn't quite get the words out. But then Lennon kept talking to her, and the ennui she felt turned to, well, unease. "Uh, thank you. That's...flattering, I guess."

Lennon had definitely stared too long. She'd have to bring it back, turn up the charm and do a little fishing. She wished more than anything she could just walk away, but she could already feel the pull. Running from your own ghosts was one thing, but other people's tended to be a lot worse. Especially in this cursed town. "You're welcome but hey, you wanna know a secret? Flattering beautiful women is always a pleasure. Were you headed into Franks'? Meeting someone for drinks?" Lennon paused, not sure how to put any of it delicately. "Someone cute, I hope."

She found herself outside of Franks'. It wasn't that Charlotte necessarily wanted a drink. She just wanted to get out of the manor (like she so often did) and the idea of being alone with her thoughts was not particularly appealing, and Franks' was one of the few options left in town, and having a tequila sunrise wasn't necessarily unappealing. Except that as she stared at the bar, she remembered the last time she had been there, with Ian and Isaiah and...No, she couldn't. She turned away, colliding straight into someone. "Sorry," she managed to get out. "I didn't see...Sorry." @havensdalestarters

"Oh, shit-," Lennon jumped as... it was something with a 'C'- Charlene? Charlotte? Charlotte-... bumped into her. She put her hands out to steady Charlotte, feeling a sudden surge of energy from her. Lennon was still holding onto her, momentarily frozen as the unfortunately familiar feeling of death washed over her. A ghost. A message. A girl. This girl - his girl. "I- Sorry, I didn't mean to stare-," she promptly let her go- "You're, ah, just lookin' far too good tonight, I couldn't help it. You doin' okay?"

"Smart of you," Taylor acknowledged. For all that she joked, for all that she knew that she had a level of flexibility that most people in Havensdale did not thanks to Frederick, she definitely would tread lightly where Engel was involved. "Now, now, Lennon. I'm not the sort of girl who can be bribed. And even if I were, just twenty dollars? I'm a little hurt," she teased.

"One of my many charming qualities," she grinned. Lennon couldn't help letting out a laugh as Taylor teased her. No one rolled with the punches like she did but even she could admit this was always surreal. Danger women, huh? Who could ever resist? "And I respect that. Hey, you didn't let me finish... Twenty dollars and as many drinks as you want from Cal's."

"What? Being stuck in this town or playing the long game? Because I wouldn't define myself as stuck personally. Sure, I'd like the flexibility to come and go, but I like it here. For the second, I think I'm doing a good job, not to brag."

"Yeah? Well, you've gotta let me buy some of what you're selling." Lennon couldn't imagine setting up shop here forreal or even going back to how it used to be. It wouldn't be fun, though, would it? Not with real ghosts. "Brag away, I don't mind. You keepin' busy?"

"Thank you. Your compliments mean the world to me, Lennon. Really. I'm still considering all my offers before I make any decisions, to be honest."

"Spotting talent is all it is, Connie. Yeah, that makes sense... I mean, stuck in this town, there's no choice but to play the long game. How's it workin' out for you?"

"Well well well! Guess who has two thumbs and just so happened to find a cell phone that gets incredible reception, even with the Dome? That's right." @havensdalestarters

"Score, kid. Are you gonna pawn it off to the highest bidder, or have you got a lot of important calls to make?"

There was, undeniably, something interesting about Lennon, something that Taylor could not quite put her finger on. Sure, it did rankle her that the other woman seemed so far aggressively uninterested in the larger struggle, but maybe she just needed more convincing. "Oh, so you saying that Engel's all bark and no bite? Wow. Very daring of you, I have to admit. I certainly wouldn't..."

"Easy, Taylor. I'm not trying to get thrown on your Big Guy's shit list here," she said, holding up her hands in mock surrender. Lennon knew fine the sort of influence that Taylor must have had. You didn't stand that close to power without it rubbing off on you. "What now, you have to put in a good word for me to take care of it? Or can I slip you a 20 to make all this go away?"

"And I'm sure there's a reason for that." But Willow was not going to push. She was sure Lennon would tell her in her own time. "Oh no, please do not be nervous. I'm not...I'm not a divine being." Willow was merely a First Witch. It was different. "A psychic? What an incredible talent!" Willow smiled at the question. It had been awhile since she'd been asked how she was. "I am. I will be. I promise."

Lennon appreciated Willow being so patient and attentive, and kind. And gorgeous. She was ever generous with her time when she was around. Lennon was lucky to know them. "Coulda fooled me," she winked. "Ah, I don't know about that... It's alright. I can't use it to win the lottery or anything. Yeah?" Lennon smiled, nodding along. If Willow Evermore still had hope, she was willing to join in. "Glad to hear it. Brighter days can only be on the horizon, right?"

"Cell phone signal? Let me check." No, there was nothing, even when Leila held up the phone. Not even a single bar. And then, she actually took in what the other woman had said. "I'm sorry, but did you say 'seeing dead people'?"

"Damn... I'm sure that service'll be back up before we know. It'll-," oh shit. Lennon had spent so much time in this town now, she'd almost forgotten that there were still normal people here. "Crap, sorry. You're, like, totally non-freaky, aren't you? I did say 'seeing dead people'. Not the best party trick, truth be told. I'm, ah, psychic."

Sylvie hadn't been expecting Lennon to give her an actual answer to the question of her origin. After all, Sylvie had not exactly been forthcoming on her end. But, as Lennon continued to explain, Sylvie found her eyes widening as she listened. Yes, she had heard quite a few stories in her day, some more unbelievable than others, but Lennon's certainly was unique. Despite herself, Sylvie wanted to believe it. After all, Las Vegas was a place where things happened. "Psychic dreams?" she repeated. "What an unusual experience. Are you, well not to be rude, a psychic normally? I don't think I've ever met one before, you know." And it was nice to meet someone new.

This wasn't the first time that Lennon had explained her predicament. She figured there was no need to hide anything in a town like this. Lennon chuckled wryly at Sylvie's question, deciding against revealing her more, ah, questionable dalliances in Vegas as a "psychic". She nodded, taking another drink before answering. "Oh yeah, super weird. You can be anything you like, I don't mind. No, though, it's a new thing. As far as I knew, I was perfectly ordinary before all this. Now, I see dead people," she whispered dramatically. "Sorry, that was a bad movie quote. True, though. I vibe with ghosts. Mediumship, is its big girl name. Just stop me any time if I'm getting too weird for you. Try and remember I'm also... super hot."

"Exactly," Taylor agreed. "If you can't trust what's on the television, what can you trust." Not that Taylor would trust Wendy Star as far she could throw the news anchor, but no one needed to know that. Taylor looked around for a broom, allowing herself to wince when none was readily visible. "I think we are stuck with just our hands. The old fashioned way, you know. The big magic man? You mean Engel?"

Lennon fought off a smile at Taylor's words, sure she was messing with her. There was a thin, grey, line in this town and Lennon navigated it just fine. She didn't want any trouble, and she wasn't keen on picking sides. Nope. Lennon was just riding this out. "Our hands? That's exactly who I mean. The man with the magic hands, that's who should be here. You're telling me he can't remote in? Snap his fingers and sort it out? Oh, how the rumours have been greatly exaggerated."

Connie watched the way the other woman moved, taking it in and then eagerly copying the movement. "Like this?" she asked, doing her best to mimic it. "I'm all about that smoothness," she agreed, slowly passing back the wallet. "Connie," she said. "Stamp card is intact. I promise. I wouldn't begrudge anyone a free sandwich. That'd just be rude." As if general thievery wasn't wrong, but who had time to argue semantics?

"Excellent form, kid," Lennon grinned. If she had to guess, Connie had probably been at this a long time. Maybe even same as Lennon, playing the game since she could walk 'n talk. "Nice to officially meet you. Well, be still, my beating heart... We love a crook with a conscience," she teased, pocketing her wallet and precious stamp card. "Where were you before you got stuck here? I was in Vegas playing 'Seraphina Moonstone', my greatest and longest con," she added, unable to keep the pride out of her voice. Too bad karma had got her in the end for playing pretend with ghosts, right?

Willow felt like there was a story there. She had a sense that Lennon had a wide variety of stories to tell, but she did not want to overly pry. She had faith that Lennon would share them when the time was right. "There is something to be said about dependable food," she agreed. "That's a slightly vague question, isn't it?"

"Um, yeah. Definitely vague. Alright, cards on the table... you might still make me slightly nervous. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. You're still this, like, all-powerful goddess, and I'm but a mere mortal," Lennon rambled before letting out a laugh. Smooth. "Well, psychic, anyway. I guess I just wanna know if you're doing okay, you know?"