#dih.starter

One of her least favourite days was when she had to make sure that the new stock was all accounted for. She knew she had staff working, but somehow she always ended up doing it herself. She had found a box that was full off books that weren't the same, all different books so she would have to go through them all one by one. "I swear it's like I'm the only one working here." She spoke as she placed the box on to the counter. Looking up she was met with a face of a customer. "Sorry, busy day today. What can I help you with?"

loitering only served to be an annoyance. a sense of unease born from the action. no, tyler didn't make a habit out of speaking to every customer or merely the intrigued, but sometimes he felt it was necessary. from his seat behind the dim counter he emerges, rounds it with an ease. fingertips skirt against the edges of shelves on his way, head tilting as he approaches. " if you're hopin' those crystals are going to start talking, you're out of luck. " in theory the words should be a light quip, but his tenor carries it as judgement instead.

OPEN B, LOCATION, the skyline lounge. ( alcohol mention )

" 'course the seat is open. unless you believe in ghosts. " spoken just before he brings his drink to his mouth. company hadn't been on his mind, but what the hell? what could it hurt? silence overtakes tyler again as he savors the burn of whiskey. he's quiet for a moment in his acceptance of the new-found interaction. there's a hum against the rim of the glass. " so, looking to kill some loneliness or were all the best seats just taken? "

location :  camilla’s apartment .

THE DEMON HAD  gotten home tired and frustrated and on the verge of  snapping ,  when some of the wards on her apartment had alerted .  not all ,  as most of them were tied  more  to her essence ;  but physicality played a role in some ,  apparently ;  enough to give feedback when she’d tried to enter  her own place  in this  ...  state .  the dam burst  ( again )  then ,  and camilla had clawed the whole thing to shreds ,  likely doing permanent damage to her door frame in her effort to get at the anchors embedded there .  ( it had taken the witch she’d commissioned several days to set up when she’d moved in ,  but right then ,  camilla didn’t care . )  she’d left the remnants of the spellwork to rot and could still feel their faint magic slowly subsiding ,  the residual energy easy to pick apart and move through on pure instinct, magical talent or no ,  by now .  for anyone able to pick up on this  —  and her presence  —  it presented a clear picture of  their  potential fate should they choose to bother her further ,  but alas ,  some beings were too keen on  ignoring obvious warnings ,  it seemed .

as there was no overly malicious intent behind the person entering her space ,  however ,  camilla simply attempted to shut them out instead of unloading her rage on whichever poor sap had come to check on her .  with a careless flick of her hand ,  the paneled double doors between the entryway and her living space closed most of the way ,  rattling ominously as they did .  ( the best she could bother with ,  her mind being  all over the place  as it was ,  and mostly focused on  bloody  retribution . )  the demon curled in on herself again then ;  giving no other sign of acknowledgment ,  but listening  intently  for further steps .

when ? midday/utp.

where ? claws and paws ( nyc ).

TO SAY SHE WAS BEGINNING TO RUN OUT OF IDEAS  on how to keep herself occupied was, perhaps, the understatement of the century. there were only so many  ( more or less legally )  accessible places in the realm to explore, and there was only so much  to do  without starting an outright riot.  more or less by accident ,  of course. idleness was slowly driving her up the wall, so a minor potential lapse of judgment, in camilla’s opinion, should be more than allowed. and from everything she’d heard about the wandering woods,  ‘ a lapse of judgment ’  might be a rather  mild  description for the hiking route she’d picked today.  ( although  ‘ route ’  might be a similarly misused term. )  needs must ,  she figured ;  and it wasn’t like she was planning to go all too far. barely a few yards in, though, the demon heard footsteps quickly catching up to her  ---  and, assuming it must have been another local with another  overdramatic warning ,  she started calling out before even having fully turned around:  “ yes, yes, it’s dangerous in here. so i’ve been told. multiple times .  that’s sort of  the point . ”