#c cece

A good old body swap. Cece had seen it done before. People would be surprised how passionate a coven of witches got when it came to April Fools Day. Whether it was caused by boredom, eagerness to impress others or just some good old fun, Cece had seen more than her fair share of pranks gone wrong. Switching bodies had just been one of many tricks Cece had witnessed. As with most spells, the reversal process was about fifty times easier if the source of it could be determined and studied. A body swap without the knowledge of who did the original spell was not impossible, just more of a hassle really. So the three set out together, and Cece found it weird being around the two once they all were walking together down Amity. She was staring at Marley's body, yet glancing over at Evelyn's to notice the way Marley carried herself. While previously unnoticed, Marley had a certain way that she walked. Sort of determined, don't mess with me type of stride. Yet in Marley's body Evelyn seemed to glide across the street with perfect posture and poise like she was ready to be assaulted by the paparazzi at any moment. She shook it off and froze in place in the street, the festival was obviously gone which wasn't a good sign. "So... any idea where we would find a phony fortune teller?"

Evelyn ran her fingers briefly through her - no, Marley's hair. Fell into step beside Marley and Cece as the three of them walked down the street, until Cece stopped short. Evelyn felt her eyes narrow as she glanced around, crossing her arms in front of her - Marley's - chest and gave a decidedly indignant huff. "None. They were in a booth in the festival." She looked over to Marley. "But they must be around somewhere - or I would hope so. I would very much like to get all of this over with, as pretty as you are, Marley, I would like my own body back." Another huff, and she took a few steps forward, scanning the street in front of them. Someone sat a few blocks ahead and Evelyn swiftly turned on her heels, facing the other two. "Should we see if whoever that is has any idea about this?"

Marley was becoming less and less concerned with switching back the longer she stayed in Evelyn's body-- and perhaps that was the problem. She liked feeling too much. It made her itch. And despite her inability to truly care, she wasn't exactly eager to take away Evelyn's autonomy for her own body. She strode along the street with purpose -- still not believing some measly fortune teller could pull something like this off, but ready to show her no mercy if that were the situation. "We could try the block that's specifically dedicated to magic shops and phone fortune tellers, too," she suggested simply, giving a shrug. Decked out in clothing she was sure Evelyn herself wouldn't be caught dead in-- short jean shorts, a cami top, a blank tank, and leather jacket -- she stuck out a little on the road. But she didn't care too much. She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "I bet someone on Amity knows where our countess is. C'mon," she said, leading them across, "follow the PI."

"Am I following the PI or the PI's body?" Cece called out, a smile splitting across her face as she looked back and forth between the two waiting for one of them to laugh or at least acknowledge the joke. Apparently neither seemed to be in the joking mood tonight. "Geez tough crowd" Cece mumbled, though not quiet enough for it to go unheard. She followed the unusually dressed Evelyn across the street and back towards the weirder parts of town. Magic shops that Cece had visited on occasion to figure out which ones were legit and which she should avoid. She had found that a lot of places in town were a mixture of the two. The front half tended to be made for tourism while the back half, while less appealing to the eyes, had things that some real magic could be done with. She sped walked to keep up with the two girls. Compared to them Cece felt like a gnome she was so short. Granted Cece hadn't stumbled across many people over the age of twelve that weren't taller than her. Her calf muscles must be ripped from the pace she had to go at to keep up with all of these long legged folk. "I don't really know what I'm looking for here, I stayed away from the festival. So you two just point out anything suspicious." What in Ashkent Creek wasn't suspicious?

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at Cece. This was not quite the time for jokes, though she was never really one to enjoy jokes in particular. She began to follow Marley as well - still more than a bit bitter at how she'd chosen to dress her body. Especially the jean shorts - Evelyn found herself shuddering. But at least she was dressed well - though likely not in anything Marley had even gone near. "That's like asking to point out... well, I cannot think of a good analogy at present, but something where there is a lot to deal with." She shook her head. "Ask the PI," Evelyn clicked her tongue against her teeth, grinning over to Marley. "She's so very good at finding all sorts of things, apparently." Evelyn glanced around the road again, trying without great avail to spot something of note.

"Kid in a candy shop? Fish among fools? Needle in a hay stack?" Marley pointed out. "Any of those analogies work?" She quirked a brow back over at Evelyn, then looked to Cece, then back down the street. Stopped a moment to turn back to Evelyn, looking herself up. "I'm certainly good at finding your sweet spot, Princess," she said, clicking her own tongue with a wink before heading back towards the line of shops. Her skin tingled a little-- she was getting excited. "Obviously we start with the magic shops. I know a few places where psychics set up shop in back, and I'm sure Cece's familiar with a few of the places, too. We ask around for our mysterious fortune teller and hope she's still around." She pointed. "I say we start with the Magic Circle. It's the most geared towards human audiences."

Cece stayed behind the two not just because she couldn't keep up with their leisurely pace without breaking out into a jog, but also because she could cut the sexual tension with a knife and wasn't sure she could cut between them without breaking into a sweat. "Are you both this hostile in bed too?" she asked, party joking but also annoyed by the situation. Maybe it was because the sass was something Cece found reminiscent in her relationship with Tanner. The fact that she couldn't have that again had left a dull ache that she was less than willing to admit actually bothered her. She followed the two into the magic shop Marley had pointed out using Evelyn's fingers and noticed the boy leaning against the counter reading a text book. She had spotted him before while glancing around the shop. He perked up when he noticed three girls strolling into his shop. Cece strolled up to the counter and plastered on a smile, "Hey kid, any chance you went to the festival? Or remember seeing a fortune teller there?" she wasn't one much for small talk. Cece liked to get to the point. He nodded quickly but then went deep into thought before saying, "The fortune teller? She was just here for the festival I'm pretty sure. Not local. She left town when it did." He sounded disappointed in his own answer and Cece rolled her eyes and turned back to Marley and Evelyn. "Well fuck."

"Clichéd, but I suppose they could." Evelyn mused. She raised an eyebrow at Marley's next comment. "Charming, truly." Turning to Cece she offered a shrug. "I don't know. Darling, are we?" Evelyn glanced back over to Marley. She pursed her lips before moving along with the two of them. "Magic shops would be a good place to look, I agree." Once they entered the first one - the Magic Circle, Evelyn found herself more than fine with watching as Cece went up to the boy at the counter, though a brief expletive slipped from her mouth when she heard his response. "Shit." She carded her hands through her hair and turned to face Marley - "Can't you wish us out of this, or something? Ask me - you?" She practically hissed, her voice low.

Marley visibly flinched at the pet name. She hated pet names. But she bit her tongue and continued forward. "Don't know-- maybe she can come watch and find out herself," she snapped back, glaring over her shoulder as they entered the store. Groaned loudly, running her hands through her hair. "Perfect. Just perfect." When Evelyn whipped towards her, Marley felt her body stiffen. "Shut up!" she hissed back lowly, hoping Cece hadn't heard. "It doesn't work like that." Backed away, finding Cece again. "You can switch us back, though, can't you? There's gotta be a spell for it. The you--" in Ashford? Marley bit her tongue. "The you I know would always find a way."

Cece caught what Evelyn had asked Marley, but realized quickly that it was something Marley had clearly not wanted Cece to overhear. Odd, considering the two were roommates, but Marley was a ridiculously private person after all. Cece apparently fancied friends that were super private. Still, the word choice was... odd? Cece shook it off, trying to push back the nosy side of her that wanted to ask Evelyn what she had meant. For now at least. Right now she figured she would just focus on getting the two love birds back in their right bodies. She mumbled a thanks to the guy working the counter and then took a moment to glance around the magic shop. "Lucky for you if there are two things that I am consistent with it is drinking and finding a way." She flashed a smile and began digging through a couple of piles of herbs and pulling some free. She started stringing together the pieces in her mind. Which herb contained what, what elements and herbs she had combined to create which spell. Trying to dig through her mental list of spells and potions to latch onto a common thread. Slowly, an idea started forming in her head. "Well if we are going to do this thing, I say we go back to the house. I have a wine there."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at Marley. "Sorry!" She spat back. "Slip of the tongue, I'm not used to this - being you! But fine, I'm just trying to think of anything that might work." Evelyn rolled her eyes as Cece thanked the boy in the shop. A whole lot of help he'd been. But at least they had confirmation phony-psychic-whatever-she-was had been a bit more than met the eye. But not in the fun way. "Not a bad two things to be consistent with, I do not think." She spun around to face both of them. "I would quite like to return back to somebody's home, I find this area suddenly unappealing." She said, clicking her tongue against her teeth and turned back away from them. "Once you've gotten... whatever exactly it is that you need, I vote we leave. I could do with a few glasses of wine, personally."

Marley sent a glance over at Cece. Had she heard? Was she pretending to not to have? It was best to play it cool for now. She leaned back against one of the counters and folded her arms over her chest. "You of all people should know not to arbitrarily share someone else's species," she murmured back to Evelyn, clicking her jaw. She caught a glance over at the boy behind the counter, at the fact that he was definitely checking her out-- well, the her in Evelyn's body. She sneered. "Not in a million years, buddy," she growled, pushing away from the counter and following Cece around. Saw that Cece still had the band that Marley had gotten her on and couldn't help but perk up a little. "You really think you can pull this off?" she asked, feigning worry.

Cece let out an involuntary laugh at the question. "Can I do it?" She laughed again, pointing back at Marley, "This girl always cracking jokes." Of course Cece could do it. She had watched it be done before. Or well she had listened to someone talk about how it was done. Five years ago. None of that mattered anyways, Cece was an alchemist. Making things out of nothing was her specialty. A simple body swap spell couldn't be hard, especially when her magic had been so successful lately anyhow. She ushered the trio out of the store and back in the direction of her car, "Back to mi casa we go and by the end of the night you'll both be back in your own bodies and I will be sleeping with the music on the highest volume it can possibly go."

Evelyn let her gaze flick back over to Marley. "Sorry - and I do actually mean it, I know and I would never out someone's species." Evelyn replied at a level only Marley would be able to hear. She smirked over at the boy who was checking Marley out. "Not her type, I'm afraid." She smirked, before nodding to Cece's comment. "She does quite enjoy a use of humor. It is not often so very bad, though." She gave a quick nod. "Good, you can drive - and I shall not go about to responding to the last bit of your comment, but I am sure Marley will." Evelyn rolled her eyes, opening the door to the car and sliding in, crossing her ankles and tapping her fingers against her thigh.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure my friend doesn't get hurt because of our mess, okay?" Marley retorted, but she could have just as easily laughed it off. It was all for show, anyway. She followed the other two out, giving a hollow laugh. "We'll see," was all she said, then tacked on, as she buckled her seat belt, "and you know if you ever get curious, Cece, you could always join us," with a wink before clicking in and sitting back. "Either way, I'm ready to be back in my own body." In her own, hollow, empty shell of a body. Her face furrowed a moment. "I could use a stiff drink or two," she added on, as they headed back towards Cece's house. And hopefully, towards their remedy.

"You know, I think I'll pass. At least not until I have some wine in me." Cece joked as she settled into the car and the trio began their journey back out of town and towards Cece's. The ride was quiet but tense, the severity of the fact that Marley and Evelyn were both putting a lot of faith in Cece especially knowing that she was practically using them as a trial run. Back at her house she pushed through the door and ignored the light switch, instead waving her arm outwards and muttering "Lux" as hundreds of candles lit up instantly around the house. Candles always worked better than regular light in spells for whatever reason and since loved proving to herself that she could still light so many at one time. She hadn't been able to do that until just a few months ago. She turned to head into the kitchen and reached up to grab a few wine glasses down. "Marley, can you find the wine and pour some? I'll be back." In Cece's room she grabbed for the duffel bag underneath the floor board of her closet that held some of her spices as well as her scene testing kit and pulled them out into the living room. She grabbed to tests from the bag and brought them in to Marley and Evelyn, "Prick your fingers with these. I need your blood." She said in her best Dracula impersonation.

"Well, wine is quite often a good thing." Evelyn pursed her lips. She ran her fingers against her thigh as they made their way back to Cece's house. She watched in amazement as Cece lit all of the candles with a simple word and wave of her hand. "Brilliant." She murmured, her eyes darting around the room. She'd never seen power quite like this - even though, all things considered, it might have not been the most fantastical magic there ever was, but Cece clearly had incredible power. Evelyn bit her lip as Marley went to get the wine, but started when Cece came back. Blood. Shoot. "Um, one thing," she glanced over to Marley and back to Cece, "mine, by which I mean Marley's at the moment, is... a little different than usual. Just so you know."

"Well, offers on the table if you ever do get enough wine in you," Marley half-teased. She grabbed the bottle of wine and some glasses and poured a few, handing one off to Evelyn. "I may have only had your body for a few weeks, but if you suddenly find your alcohol tolerance a lot higher than before, don't be too alarmed," she said nonchalantly, giving a shrug. She glanced over at Evelyn warily. Was she okay with exposing herself like this? Consent was important to Marley, and she'd just ragged on Evelyn for almost outing her species, she wasn't about to out Evelyn without her permission. "You sure?" she asked, staring expectantly. She wasn't sure Cece could pull this off without using their blood, but if anyone could find a way, it would be her. She was grooming very well, after all -- she was almost as powerful as the Cecilia Marley knew and enjoyed.

Ignoring Evelyn, Cece just pushed the two test kits into Marley and Evelyn's hands, "I don't care if your blood is rainbow and glows in the dark, I just need a sample." She gave a thumbs up towards the two and then turned to go back into the living room and finish setting up, "Unless you want to be in Marley's body and start a lucrative career as a PI." Cece called from the living room as she waited for the two to draw their blood and follow her in. While waiting, she pushed her coffee table out of the way and rearranged the candles into a circle on the floor leaving just enough space for Evelyn and Marley to fit in on opposite sides of the circle. She should really just considering getting rid of the coffee table and keeping the candles their full time. When all three had gathered there Cece took the blood samples from each and directed them to sit down before pouring the blood into two separate bowls and mixing it with some of the ingredients from her bag she had pulled out that she figured might help. Mostly herbs that helped witches create out of body experiences or illusions. It seemed fitting. Once she was done mixing she handed the bowl with Evelyn's oddly colored blood Marley's body and Marley's blood to Evelyn's. "Drink."

"Well, I think I owe at least one person a night of drinks, so maybe that will come in handy." Evelyn mused to Marley. "I trust her, so yes." Plus if it turned out that Cece was the sort to sell her sort out, Evelyn could find a way to stop that. "I do not wish to be a PI, though I do wish for Marley to have great success in that. Speaking of, I might have found someone back in England who can help you with that, should you need more help." She muttered, before turning on her heels and making her way back to the bathroom and taking a small sample of her blood, bringing it back out to Cece and sitting down where she'd motioned. "Drink that?!" She exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "But fine. If you think it'll work."

Marley let out a loud laugh, before simply pricking herself in the middle of the living room. Blue blood staunched at the tip of her finger and she took a sample of it onto the strip Cece had given them. She came over to where Cece was and rolled her neck, reaching out to take the drink. "We'll see," she said flatly, "I may have it all worked out myself. She just needed her body back, was all. Her abilities. She licked her lips. "Looks delicious. Keep that wine ready, I'm gonna need a swig," she motioned, then grabbed what was offered to her and downed it. Marley stood in the circle, already feeling a bit woozy and light-headed. "Okay, hurry this up. I don't wanna pass out and miss it all."

Cece followed suit with Marley and took a large drink from her wine glass. "Rush me and you might end up in Bigfoot's body next." Cece joked, but pulled her hair back into a messy bun and clapped her hands together to psych herself up. She could do this. She was totally about to nail this body switch spell. "Hold hands" Cece demanded and didn't start the Latin until they had listened to her. The more Cece had focused through out the night on remembering the coven's April Fool's day the more Cece recalled about the woman recanting how she did the spell. In general, it tended to work better in Cece's favor when she played dumb or pretended like she had no idea what she was doing. Giving people low expectations only made them more impressed with the end result. But the Latin was a simple combination of words detailing the passage of souls between two separate bodies. While the spell could obviously be done without the adjoining hands, the candles, or the blood as evident by the not so phony fortune teller, Cece decided she wanted to be more exact and precise since it was her first time doing the spell herself. As she spoke she could almost feel the candles all dying down, their flames flickering in and out as she borrowed their energy. At the end of the spell the candles went out completely and darkness flooded the room as she heard a duo of thumps against her floor. Cece stepped around the circle to go and flip on the living room lights and witness both Marley and Evelyn's bodies unconscious on the floor. "This is a good sign?" Cece said out loud, though it sounded more like she was phrasing it as a question, "Yeah. This is totally a good sign." She repeated again more confident this time around. She made her way back to her wine glass and sat down on the chair, taking a sip and grabbing for a magazine on the end table while she waited for them to wake back up.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "But then I would not be attractive." She wrinkled her nose. "Please do not rush." Evelyn quickly grabbed Marley's hand at Cece's command, finding some comfort in the cool touch - one she had missed being as her own, the the days since she'd been away from her own body. In a few moments, she felt her body grow heavy and fall back against the floor - until she opened her eyes again and sat straight up, eyes zeroing in on Cece, sitting in a chair with wine and a magazine. "Am I me, again?" She replied, her lips forming a smirk as her accent came from her own lips again. "Cece - it seems to have worked. Did it, truly?"

Marley let Evelyn take her hand and turned to Cece expectantly. The words filled the room, and Marley, even being in Evelyn's body, could feel the magic flowing around them. Feel how powerful Cece was, had become. Thanks to Marley. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to speak, but something heavy and weighted fell over her. In the next moment, her vision went black. She couldn't know how long she was out, until her eyes were flickering open again, staring up at the ceiling. "Damn," she muttered, still laying splayed on the floor. She glanced sideways over at Evelyn, who had sat up right away-- and she was Evelyn, in her own body. Marley gave a hollow chuckle. "Give a girl a little warning next time, Cece."

Cece peeked up from her magazine when she started to hear the two stirring from the floor. She picked up her phone to check the time, it had barely been three minutes. "Good morning sleepyheads" she smiled over the top of her magazine, only folding it closed and standing up once she was sure that the pair were not going to pass out on her again. The residual effects of a spell could take a toll on both the person performing the spell as well as the person the spell is being performed on. The toll it takes on a person is only amplified the stronger the spell. This wasn't really a demanding spell so Cece hadn't figured that the two would be out for long as long as she had performed it correctly in the first place. "In my defense I had no idea that would happen at the end. First time remember?" She shrugged innocently and grabbed both of their wine glasses from the table and handed it off before picking up her own, "But you're back in your bodies! That calls for a toast." She held her glass out for the three to clink together before she took a long drink, finishing it off in one long gulp.

Evelyn rolled her shoulders back, accepting the wine glass from Cece. "I do appreciate it, though." She glanced over to Marley. "Plus, as much as you are lovely, I do drastically prefer being in my own body." Evelyn took a small sip of her wine before setting the glass back down. "You are quite extraordinary, Cece - and thank you for making this work out. I do mean it, and I do not thank others lightly." She bit her lip. "At least not when I fully mean it."

Marley finally sat up, stiff. She felt empty again, great. She looked back over at Evelyn, then to the wine glass. "Yeah," she grumbled, "me, too." But she didn't prefer her own body, and she didn't care if they knew it. She'd felt truly alive in Evelyn's body, because she could truly feel. And feeding felt so-- so fulfilling. Feeding as an erinyes felt empty and cold. Feeding as a mara felt full and brazen. She loved it. She stood up on shaky legs, still a little dizzy from the spell and picked up her wine glass, finishing it off in one gulp. "Congratulations, Cece, you did it again," she said, waving her empty glass at them. "I'm going to bed."