* / 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃𝐒

She paused, eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief. "As for where we’re going, well, that depends. Have you by any chance seen Marcel? I’ve been looking for him, and you know how he loves to make an entrance."

smart girl. she didn't take his hand, a clear sign of her distrust. honestly, he would have thought her a fool if she had. besides ┈┈  breaking down her walls and earning her trust was part of the fun. she radiated pure light, but he sensed something else within her, a speck hidden beneath the surface.

darkness.

it just needed a little nurturing, a little water to make it grow. "well, your parents did a good job naming you, soleil," he said with a smile ┈┈  finishing the last of his beer and tossing the empty bottle into a nearby trash can. "okay, okay, hot shot. we'll get you your answers then." he chuckled at her sort of witch comeback. "most people call us heretics, but what can you do, right?" he paused, glancing up and down the street.

"an old friend of mine lent me his place not too far from here. are we doing a locator spell? helping find this witch friend of yours or…" he let the sentence trail off, looking expectantly at soleil to take the lead. he was eager to see what kind of power this bennett witch had to offer.

"The book mentioned using expression magic," she began, her voice wavering slightly before she found her resolve. "Have you ever used that kind of magic, Tobias? It sounds… powerful. " Dangerous. she heard the stories, mostly from her mother , her own trip down the expression path left its mark on her . but maybe if Sol could figure out a way to harness it herself ... maybe she could do what no other witch had been able to. Harness its power for good.

She glanced down at her spell book, the weight of the responsibility pressing on her shoulders. "I don't know if I can trust you yet, but we need answers, and we need them fast. If there's a way to combine our powers, to use expression magic to find my friend, then maybe we have a chance."

She met his gaze again, this time with a determined glint in her hazel eyes. "But don't think for a second that I won't be watching you. If we're going to do this, we do it on my terms. No tricks, no games."

Soleil took a step closer, her voice firm despite the lingering fear. "Let's go to your friend's place. We'll figure out the rest from there. And Tobias… if you know more than you're letting on, now's the time to share."

As soon as her friend released her she began to search through the bookshelves in the emporium. "Give me one second," she said as she continued to look. If anyone had books on dark demonic magic, it had to be Bonnie Bennett, right? Lowering herself to the ground to look on one of the lowest shelves, she caught a glimpse of a abyssal text. Somehow, she understood what it said, though she'd never taken a second to study another language.

She pulled the book out and admired the cover for a second before walking back over to Soleil and putting the book down on the table in front of them. "Maybe there's something in here that could help us?" she asked, raising a brow. Sure, it would mean tapping into a side of her that would only grow the darkness looming in her chest, but if it could help someone, didn't the benefits outweigh the consequences?

"Now all of a sudden you want to study?" Soleil half-teased, scratching her arm nervously. "Kaya," she warned, standing next to her friend, eyes scanning the pages that looked like nothing but scribbles to her. "The power off that thing…" She shuddered, recalling her mother's warnings. Soleil had never been able to read the book, though she suspected her mother could. Maybe that was why she would never hold a candle to her.

Kaya's question stirred something in her, and she bit her bottom lip. She knew this shop like the back of her hand. Stretching out her hand to the corner of the right room, she called for a book, placing it next to the dark abyssal one. The pair seemed to vibrate together, which couldn’t be good.

"I don't know about changing the moon back, but maybe…" Her sentence trailed off. "Here!" she exclaimed. "It allows the casters to dull the moon's effects or stop them completely for a short period of time. Could be long enough for the wolves to get themselves somewhere safe." She passed the book to Kaya, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "This is coven magic. I couldn't do this on my own."

She looked at Kaya with a mixture of hope and resignation. "Any luck with you?"