l'appel du vide.

A grin rose upon his lips at her response. He’s an extremist, partly because of nature, and also because of experience. The demon has learned that the severity of his actions really sent a message. He cocks his head to the side, now releasing a chuckle. “Well, where’s the fun in that, buddy?”

Growing up being as shy as he was, it was hard for Victor to make many friends but he remembered always having a good time whenever he was around Tamsin. Being around her again after so long, made all those old feelings come back. It was a nice feeling. In fact, it was one he hadn’t felt in years. “Well you do but I never said you didn’t look like a girl before,” he teased back, chuckling lightly at her push. “I’ve been…around. Just moving around a lot and trying to keep a low profile.” The smallest hint of a frown made its way onto Victor’s face when the brunette stepped back from him but it was soon washed away. “Don’t apologize. I’m just happy you’re not running away screaming thinking I’m a ghost or something.” 

Her sudden outburst had left a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. Had this been only a few days without seeing him, Tamsin wouldn’t have jumped him like that. She’d gotten so used to having barely any physical contact, it felt a little strange, despite him being her childhood best friend. This was different, they had grown up apart for years, and as much as he would always be her Victor, both of them had changed, hadn’t they? She hadn’t precisely noticed at first, but he had gotten taller indeed, despite her teasing him about it, he was smiling, but there was something in his eyes that didn’t fade away despite his smile; sadness?

“You saying ‘you look like a girl’ kind of implies I didn’t before. Is that you saying I got pretty?” She teased, easily falling into a joking manner to cover up how nervous she actually was. Tamsin hadn’t changed that much, but having dealt with dark magic only a few hours earlier, she wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t be noticeable. Something like that ought to be noticed… not that it had worked, but still. “You’re probably unable to keep a low profile, with looking like that and—I mean, the witchy thing about you, yanno.” She let out a slight chuckle, before clearing her throat and straightening.

Ryker had not been paying attention to the girl and hadn’t he heard her curse, he wouldn’t have either. Curiosity getting the best of him as well the man made a stop, wondering what was going on with her but figured what had happened once he noticed the coffee all over her face. “ Here, ” he was quickly to find napkins in the nearest table – earning himself looks from those sitting there – and offered them to the girl. “ Is everything alright? ”

Before he was able to even think anything else, he felt the girl jump onto him. Almost immediately, his arms wrapped around her body. Both in an effort to keep himself from falling over and because it had been a long time since he’d even seen someone he’d grown up around aside from his brother. “I’m not. And hopefully I won’t be any time soon.” His voice was quiet. After what happened with everyone else, it was a totally fair assessment to make but somehow, he’d just managed to get lucky. He pulled back just a bit from the hug so he could get a good look at her face before the smile on his face widened. “Its nice to see a familiar face after so long.” 

There was a second where Victor just stared at the brunette as she reached out to touch him. This was certainly….odd. Women didn’t tend to throw themselves at him like this. After a moment of looking though, realization dawned on him. This wasn’t just a random woman. “Tamsin…” He trailed off before a small smile made its way onto his face. “Alive and kicking. You look… like a girl,” he offered with a small shrug. 

“It’s better than Cousin It,” Finley commented, laughing slightly at themselves. “I got that a lot once when I got a little brave and was in the process of bleaching out my hair. It wasn’t a good look.” Fin shifted from one foot to the other, considering the suggestion of hitting up the library. They spent a moment trying to decide if it was a thinly veiled commentary meant to suggest that Fin was a dumbass. “They got any of those good banned books there? Always meant to read more of those.” 

“Touch me and you’ll regret it… immensely.” she hissed out at the woman. Lamashtu didn’t take threats or sarcasm very well. As she spoke, she willed the bush to wilt and die. “Plus, I don’t drink coffee. Too bitter for my taste.”

Lamashtu was out exploring the new environment, taking in everything around her. Sure, she was a demon driven by chaotic forces and havoc, but she found it much more fun calculating her strikes before making them. As she wandered Verth Hollow, not only did she take in her surroundings, but also studied it’s residence. Every now and then she would cast a few spells and then feeding from the small doses of chaos created. Lamashtu was incredibly in tune with nature around her- having the urge to drain the life from all things around her. As she grazed by the bushes, they would shrivel and die. 

Hearing a woman cry out, she turned her attention to the scene in front of her. The other seemed incredibly upset at the bush in front of her. Lamashtu wondered if it had offended her in any way. With a playful smile, she made her way over to the woman. “Everything okay over here?” she asked more out of curiosity than concern.

She didn’t mean to be staring but when her phone had failed to entertain her, she had resorted to people watching. First her eyes found a young couple having a whispered fight over coffee, than she saw an old man ogling a woman who passed him than at the corner of her eye, she swore she saw a plant move unnaturally. She glanced over, expecting it just to be wind but than she saw a woman concentrating unusually hard on a rose bush and the resulting accident happening. 

Josie blinked her eyes than realized the woman must be a witch…or a fairy. Though the second one was less likely, considering she had never heard of real fairies before. She stood up, grabbed her bag and a a few napkins and walked over. 

“Here.” She handed the napkins as the woman frantically searched. Than Josie sat down. “Was that magic?” She asked, interested. She always had a fascination with witches when she learned of the other creatures in the world. They were so interesting and it was not very often she meets one.

“Are you saying that I’m strange and unusual? You wanna be the pot or the kettle, Wednesday Adams?” Fin questioned when they heard someone respond to their complaint. “Lots of folks feeling the need to remind me this isn’t LA,” Finley mused. 

“And it affects you, how?” Brows arched, her arms crossing across her chest as Ophelia shifted her weight from one foot to the other. As much as she attempted to minimise public interactions in fear of what her uncontrollable rage could do, she would never walk away from confrontation. It usually brightened her day. “Do tell why I’m not supposed to react with disgust when a strange child with dirty hands ruin my very expensive dress and then have the nerve to ask for candy.”

“Calculating your age was hardly my concern,” Ophelia replied with a feigned smile as stiff as her posture. Her eyes followed the other’s movements and wondered briefly why an adult would carry around a lollipop but the thought didn’t linger long. She didn’t care enough. “Bitter? I was just a concerned citizen —  ‘don’t take candy from strangers’ came to mind but I suppose not everyone was taught that lesson.”

Max couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, it was funny how the other talked to the plant when really had no fault in what’d happened. “ I don’t think you’ll get an answer like that… Or an answer period, plants don’t talk. Personally I think you should just concentrate. Even the smallest distractions can affect the way things happen. ” Her voiced lowered as she spoke, realizing she was not making much of a point. “ I’m just stating the obvious now. ”