Not only was the distance killer, but the time zone changed as well, putting the father and daughter two whole hours apart from each other. It might not seem like a lot of time, but when each of their schedules were so jam-packed they had to schedule out their bathroom breaks finding instances in which they were both free to chat felt nearly impossible.

Over the course of her time in LA, Roxy had learned that dusk was typically the best time to reach her father. Just as the blazing California sun was setting, the last beams of light disappeared behind the hundreds of skyscrapers and were replaced with the bright neons of a city that never slept.

Duluth, Minnesota on the other hand, did sleep, and that was usually when her father was up to his antics in the workshop. He was an incredibly talented brewer of physical magic; Able to come up with just the right concoction to solve the problems of his magical buyers.

Though Roxy hadn't been blessed with the same penchant for potions as her father, she was still able to manage when she needed it, but much preferred to take advantage of her aptitude for spellcasting.

One of her favorites to cast as of late was one she created in place of a teleporting spell, which typically left her and her father sick for days, that still allowed them to speak even at their distance. Sure, a phone call could have worked, but when Roxy opened the blinds in her bedroom to watch the sunset and sat in front of her full-length mirror, picturing her dad's cluttered workshop, simply talking over the phone didn't even compare.

Closing her eyes, the girl pictured the mirror hanging on the wall in the attic, muttering out the incantation she'd pieced together during her first weeks in Los Angeles.

"...Ring, ring?" She said once she felt the familiar crackle of magic begin to flow through her veins. An unknown breeze flowed through her room and lifted her long hair from her shoulders. Edges of the mirror glowing the same amber color of her magic, the background began to change behind her, and her image slowly turned into that of her father.

He was already hard at work with some concoction in the middle of the workshop - Safty goggles and a protective coat around his body - as he poured a bright purple, sparkling liquid into the large black cauldron before him and threw in some grated ginger.

Through the glass, she could smell the foul odor radiating off of the liquid and wrinkled her nose.

"Baby Bat? Perfect timing! Remind me where I usually put the salamander tails..." Declan didn't look up for more than a second, but he still beamed knowing his daughter was on the other end.

Her smile was just as big. "On the top of the third cabinet, next to the peat moss."

No response, just his back turning and hand flying to throw open the doors of the many, many cabinets behind him to pick up the jar exactly where his daughter had directed him. "Ah! Perfect!"

Declan dumped the entire contents into the pot and a big poof of red smoke jumped out at him.

"Now..." The witch trailed off, grabbing a large wooden spoon from beside the cauldron and giving it a good stir. "What's new with you? Any new updates from the last time we talked?"

Usually, Roxy would pull her songbook out and recount the diary entires from the days where they hadn't spoken, but today, the cover was being used as a shield to hide the flush of her cheeks when he asked his question. Lucky for her, Dec didn't notice. He was too busy trying to blow on the orange bubbles overflowing from the pot.

With a flick of her wrist, Roxy sent a shot of amber sparkles through the glass and shaved the potion off the top. "You first, Daddy."

"Well, if I had anything to share, I would've lead with that! Your LA days are much more exciting than anything happening here... Though I did think I was going to be Sorcerer Scott's Magical Pets Supply Store's millionth customer the other day. Turns out I was only, uh... 800 people off or something?"

Roxy giggled into the cover of the book she held, "That's it? No one fun came to visit you?"

In his 35 years of life, Declan had accumulated quite a laundry list of friends from his travels across the United States. Normally, one or two of them stopped by a week in need of his services and kept him company for a while and the younger witch got to hear all about it. It was much needed for her to know she'd have some supernatural friends of her own in the future.

Right now, all she had was Ellis Bonecall, the simulacrum from the New Town High cast.

Not that she didn't love her non-supernatural friends. It was just... different.

"Nope," Declan confirmed, throwing something else into the pot. The scent changed to that of roses. "Lonely week in the Somerset household."

Neither of them mentioned the hint of sadness in his voice; Guilt panged at his daughter's gut. Mixed with the anxiety of the thing she had to share, the girl feared she might hurl any second.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have twice the visitors next week. And you can double the potion price since everyone's left you alone for so long."

That earned a snort from her father, who finally stepped away from the pot long enough to take off his goggles and peer through his side of the two-way mirror. Roxy's own eyes stared back at her, same dimples carved into her father's cheeks as on hers.

"There's something going on with you. Isn't there?"

For someone who spent so much time down a mineshaft or hunched over the bench in his lab, her father was awfully perceptive.

Immediately, Roxy shook her head, "Nothing bad! I'm completely safe here, I promise." She took a deep breath. "JamesandIstartedgoingout."

The potion in the cauldron exploded, coating her father's features with a slimy yellow goo. Good thing he'd put his goggles back on after he stepped away from the mirror.

"I thought you said all your friends were normies?"

"Dad! You can't say that anymore!"

"Sorry, sorry... Old habits die hard..." As best he could, Declan felt around the work bench in front of him wildly, attempting to find the spare towels he kept on hand in case of emergencies like this. When he was unsuccessful, Roxy sent another bolt of magic his way and wiped all the liquid from his face.

Now, his wide eyes stared back at her, awaiting her answer.

"They're all non-supernaturals. That's correct." The girl swallowed thickly.

Brows furrowing, Dec ran a tattooed hand through his hair. "And Jay didn't freak out when you told him about the Somerset bloodline?"

Roxy's gaze shifted to the left, admiring the shoebox full of cassette tapes at the foot of her bed.

"...You haven't told him?"

Screwing her eyes shut, his daughter nodded.

If not for the sounds of the potion bubbling in the background, she would have thought these spell had worn off. Dec was frozen in place, eyes shifting up to the right and tongue sticking up as though he were deep in thought. "I suppose there were plenty of people in my life I didn't tell either..."

Out of all her dad's friends, Roxy couldn't think of one who was non-supernatural and she feared that was for the same reason she hadn't told her boyfriend yet.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She affirmed, faking confidence in the statement she wished she could believe. But, it seemed to roll right past Declan, who turned his focus back to the potion in front of him.

"You'll make the right choice, Baby Bat, you always do."

His words made her grin, but this time, she set her book down to let him see it. "I learned from the best."

"The ground rubies are...?"