Old Town Painted Lips and Poisoned Lies

[Sarah Silvers]

Warning. Mim kills a chicken.

Mim smiled, her red lips a line of near sickening self-satisfsction. She slapped the cleaver down hard on the wooden slab used for such purposes. The meat went free from it and Mim was quick to moved the tied up chicken to a hook over a bowl so it could bleed free of worry.

She slid her knife across the wood to dump the head casually into a trash can. A few flecks of blood got about, the body was still trying to move. But overall it silver bowl filled nicely. Real silver too. Needed to be for tonight's guest.

She wanted the house to reek of blood. Even if just animal. She also had uses for the red liquid in her spell casting and the arts. Mim checked the clasp on her necklace, ensuring it was tight.

A thin chain of pure silver.

Small precautions. She was inviting a dangerous animal into her home and wanted to take steps to be... safe. She smiled again as she took the bowl and sat it in her fridge to cool.

Once done she straightened her shirt, noticing a drop of blood on her arm and choosing to leave it in place.

She was going to have fun tonight.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb checked the number on the dorm house as he approached it, then the time on his phone. A thread of excitement put a spring in his step. He was meeting a friend. And his brother could say nothing about it.

Things were going well in his life right now. He had a job at the Lethe Hostel, and he'd recently had a talk with the Inquisitor of the Exchange here which had started terrifying but ended in relief (before they heard sirens and all, but that was beside the point). So he was no longer scared of being noticed by the Exchange. Which meant most of his problems were gone.

So it was with an easy smile that he rang the doorbell. He was looking forward to seeing Sarah again, now that he was more settled. She had been so nice so soon after he'd moved in. He wasn't sure exactly what one did while visiting a friend, but he was sure he'd figure it out.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim straightened suddenly when she heard the doorbell. She quickly made her way out of the kitchen, stopping by a mirror to smooth out her silky hair and check her make up.

As expected, she was gorgeous.

She had on a lovely floral pattern top and some dark pants. Nothing fancy and nothing that screamed sex goddess. Mim was going for girl next door. The kind of gal you could give your trust and heart to and know they'd be safe.

Her face went a bit cruel in the mirror and Mim was quick to push those feelings down. All good things in time.

She walked to the door and opened it, smiling brightly. "Caleb!" Mim said in Bubbling excitement.

[Caleb Portnoy]

“Hi, Sarah. It's great to see you.” he replied, his smile growing. Then the smell of blood hit him and he blinked, his smile dropping for a moment. He felt hunger push at him, felt his mouth watering, but shook his head to clear it.

Bringing his smile back, he tried to just focus on Sarah. “May I come in?” he asked, shifting his weight nervously. He could smell blood wafting out from the open door and he couldn't think of a reason why. Surely there was a good reason, though, right? Or maybe he was just imagining things...

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim was looking for it, she might have missed it if she hadn't been looking. That moment the smell of blood hit the poor dear boy. The drop in his smile, the freezing of his face, the flare in his nostrils. Then the ease that he slid back into himself as if it hadn't affected him.

Mim had taken a step back when she greeted Caleb but then he asked for an invitation. Mim stopped smiling and looked at him in a mix of confusion and interest.

"Do I need to? Is that a real thing? I've never known a vampire before. Oh- yeah you're welcome in." she told him opening the door a bit wider.

That was important, establishing that Sarah knew nothing of Vampires. Which was true... for that sweet little idiot Sarah.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb gave a sheepish grin as he stepped inside. He tensed as the smell of blood grew, but tried to push through it. “It is. Only for homes. There's been a time or two in my life, or, well, unlife, that someone must have considered a public place like a library a home, which leads to a rude surprise for me when I go visit.” He chuckled to himself. At least it wasn't like a physical wall he banged into.

“So I'm guessing no one's told you about the Codes of Conduct?” It wasn't vital for her to know, since they wouldn't apply to an arcanist generally, but it was useful information to have. “How long has it been since you first started studying magic, anyways?” He let the topic distract him from the smell and waited for Sarah, planning to follow her to whatever room she wanted to go to.

[Sarah Silvers]

Sarah let him in and closed the door behind him, locking the bolt in a smooth motion as she did. She looked back and Caleb smiling, he was standing in the entry hall. The entry hall had, like every room of her home, a small mirror hung on the wall.

She was pleased, in short order the vampire would be displayed in over a dozen little reflections in the house. Useful if she wanted to cast any curses over him before next sunrise.

"Really? I figured that whole Dracula invited in thing was just a hoax. Huh." She said.

"I've seen the phrase codes of conduct a few times but never what they actually were." Mim lied.

Codes of conduct were in fact very important to her. She had, not to long ago, even been subject to them as a spirit. But mostly, any good enterprising witch learned to use them when dealing with demons or servants of others. It was just good practice. Kept everyone honest... mostly.

"I've only been practicing for... I guess a little under a year?" she said, showing Caleb the way to the living room sporting two fluffy looking couches.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb looked around at the mirrors with interest. None of them seemed to be silver-backed, but they were definitely neat decor. He was still enjoying the change that allowed mirrors to work for him. “So you're fairly new, then. I've been involved in supernatural communities for over 300 years now, so I could fill you in on some important details, including the Code. Um, only if you want, though.”

He took a seat on the couch, a hopeful and nervous look in his face. He didn't want to overstep or being annoying but if he could be of help, that would be nice. He felt a little scattered and uncomfortable, but he chalked that up to trying to ignore the smell that felt like a physical presence. Should he bring it up? Would it be weird to bring it up? The thought of doing so made his throat tighten in anxiety as his eyes flicked around the room rather than simply rest on Sarah.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim sat Caleb down then sat next to him on the couch, one leg folded under herself while her knee just barely touched against Caleb's own leg. Contact bred familarity.

When Caleb mentioned he was over three hundred years old Mim put Sarah's face into an expression of stunned amazement. She herself was mentally snorting at the admission. 300? She'd lived to 200 and change on her own and exceeded that greatly as a phantom.

"That sounds great! I want you to tell me everything~" she said putting a delicate hand toward Caleb's own.

It was true. She wanted Caleb to feel like he could share anything with her. Secrets. Interests. Fears. Especially those. She would take everything... love and hate. The boy seemed to nervous and unsure.

As he looked around the room Caleb was like to see a painting nearly finished. It depicted a beautiful woman with blinde flowing hair.

While there was no real subject, Mim could st least admit to herself the passing resemblance it had to her pretty friend Delailah.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb looked startled at the contact but relaxed with a sheepish smile after a moment. He drummed his fingers nervously on his leg as he looked away again. He wanted to just enjoy this but he was growing steadily more overstimulated.

“Well, the main things to know about,” he started, “are the Exchange and Codes of-” He bit off the words with a very quiet whimper. “I'm sorry, I'm being rude, but I keep smelling blood?” he rushed out. He couldn't quite meet her eyes although he tried, even as he cringed as if expecting to be struck.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim was enjoying the growing discomfort of the boy. For someone who had lived for 300 years you'd think he was just another villager. Maybe all boys were just dumb? Time certainly seemed to make little difference to it by Mim's reckoning. Or maybe she was being unfair. Either way, Caleb's distraction seemed to grow and grow until he could barely finish a sentence.

When he finally asked Mim put her hands up to her mouth in impressed shock. "You can smell that? Oh my God, I'm sorry is it rude or something!? I DIDN'T KNOW!" Mim said, sounding horrified... in the way any good host would upon hearing they may have committed a social blunder.

"I was doing some prep for a spell and needed chicken blood. I didn't think the smell was that string." she explained.

Which of course was untrue. She'd waited to bleed it until shortly before his arrival because she was certain a vampire's keen senses would have picked up the scent.

Even of it was just the blood of some bird.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb shook his head, feeling guilty for making her feel guilty. “You didn't know. It's alright. I'm just glad there's a reasonable explanation.” He pulled out a cloth handkerchief and held it over his nose with an apologetic smile. “I have a far stronger sense of smell than a human. I can handle it, I'll just unfortunately be a bit scattered for this visit.”

He sighed, still holding the handkerchief in place. It at least helped a little. And he really would be fine. It wasn’t even human blood. It was just uncomfortable and distracting. “But back to the topic at hand, are you familiar with the Exchange at all?”

[Sarah Silvers]

A reasonable explanation? Ha. Mim had no doubt that given a bit of time she'd have human blood staining the floors as well but that didn't really matter either. He'd forgiven her. She smiled sweetly at him for what he said. "Thanks, you're so sweet." she coo'd.

Then she seemed to have an idea. "Oh! I bet if I just finish with the spell the smell won't be as strong!" She said excitedly.

She stood up and hurried over to the kitchen. She pulled the silver bowl of chicken blood from the white box and sat it on the counter, leaning back so she could see Caleb in the living room.

"Exchange? Like a supernatural Walmart or something?" she asked. It was more reasonable that Sarah would have no knowledge of... those people.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb nodded in agreement and smiled at the compliment but stayed in the living room with the handkerchief over his nose. He did not want to go closer to the blood, not right now. He normally had a fairly strong level of control over his reactions to blood, but there was nothing gained by testing it.

“Not at all,” he began to explain. “They originally started as a currency exchange, although I never quite got a clear picture of why they shifted the way they did. They're basically law enforcement specifically for the supernatural community. Dealing with supernatural problems and making sure no one is risking the secret getting out. Each city has its own cohort, at least in America. The one in Easthaven fronts as a PI firm. I haven't been here long but they seem pretty decent. If you need help they might be able to help you.”

It felt odd to be talking about this in the third person. But he wasn't an agent anymore. “If you don't mind my asking, what's the purpose of your ritual?”

[Sarah Silvers]

"Like every city? Or just major ones?" Mim asked, actually a bit interested in the answer. She'd ended up down a rabbit hole the other night on the internet and learned it was surprisingly easy to found your own city. If she did then did the exchange immediately have to send in a team? That would be pretty funny.

As she looked at the bowl of blood she started grabbing spices and herbs, from her special growing collection, and started tossing them into the liquid.

Lemongrass was a big ingredient, for clarity. Sage naturally for wisdom, both of these Mim breathed deeply of before tossing them into the blood.

Pansy for meditation and parsley for useful knowledge. The feel of the herbs ground in her fingers... she sprinkled them both in.

Sassafras for consideration and Yucca for opportunity. The sound of these crunching and pulping together. Once again they went into the bowl.

What else.... ah yes of course. A bit of nasturtium for victory and just a dash of bay for reward. These and all the rest Mim placed in the bowl as she swirled it and mixed it, her mind focusing on the rim of the dish to invoke a circle.

She glanced at the living room again.

"I am making a scrying mirror. It should be in a box by the couch if you want to look at it." Mim said, smirking.

That mirror had a proper silver backing. The vampire would feel its silver on touch and see no reflection within it if he glanced at himself. A fine reminder of what he was.

Ritual Prep 1/3

[Caleb Portnoy]

“Not exactly. Cohorts usually cover area around their city too, and small towns and the like. It depends, often,” Caleb replied as looked around for the box. He opened it and pulled the mirror out to look at it. His skin crawled as he saw the couch behind him and not himself. With a grimace, he put it back in the box and pushed the box a little ways away.

The handkerchief went back over his nose. It was hard to detect the silver when he already felt off from the smell. He was starting to get a headache. “I hope your ritual goes well. I'd ask if I could help, but i don't know much of magic. And besides, with the chicken blood and the silver, I'd be too distracted to be of help anyways.” His voice turned grumpy if not a little bitter.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim waved her hand over the bowl and then began an intricate pattern of gestures. She held each one for a second before moving on to the next.

The mixed brew began to lightly bubble as it went from a red to a dark wood brown color. Mim's eyes seemed unfocused as she worked.

"The stars. The sky. The night. The wheel." she said, monotone and slow.

"The light. The truth. My will reveal."

She glanced at the living room again seeing Caleb sat the mirror down.

"You can help by bringing me that mirror." she chimed sweetly.[collr=plum]"I thought silver was supposed to be for werewolves?"[/color] Mim asked.

Which was laughable. Like a proper lycan would be cowed by a bit of pure silver. They healed far to fast.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb grimaced again, but stuffed his handkerchief in his pocket. At least the large variety of herbs meant there were more smells than just blood alone.

He picked up the box and brought it in, placing it next to Sarah with a strained smile. “It's both, actually, although in different ways. That's why there's the stories of vampires not showing up in mirrors. If the mirror is backed in silver like the one you have here, we don't. It's mostly just uncomfortable and makes harder to focus if I want to do my own magic.”

Looking over the ritual, Caleb took a deep breath, keeping his mind from going to any bad memories. That was a mistake. He shuddered as the smell of all that blood hit him directly. He swayed on his feet and covered his nose with his hand. “I'm just gonna-” he started to say, jerking a thumb back at the living room, then turned to head back to the couch.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim Divination Cinder 9d6
6 passes = Exceptional Success

"Oh, that's interesting." Mim said, sounding a bit distracted.

She reached into the box and pulled the mirror out. She'd prepared it before hand, removing the reflective shard and carving runes into the back to hold the spell work. Caleb started to say something but Mim ignored him as she held the mirror over the brew, reflective surface down. Her free hand began weaving symbolic gestures in the air as she focused her mind and magic upon the working.

"As souls are kept, and wrecked, they wept. As they slept, shadows crept, their fates accept... all things this mirror will now reflect." Mim spoke- not thrilled with the wording but knowing limitations of her current language were what they were.

The rhyming helped, a sentence tied back to its phonetic beginning created a kind of circle all its own.

The lights in the house began to flicker wildly as the potion bubbled and churned. A moment later it turned into a thick heavy mist of brown and red that swamp upward into the mirror. It seemed like a waterfall pouring upwards, the overflow curling delicately in smoky trails from the edges of the mirror before finally the bowl below was empty. With no more smoke to absorb the trails were sucked up into the mirror as well leaving just the mirror in her hand.

Mim smiled as she looked down and flipped the mirror over. Its reflective surface was now utterly and completely black. She grinned looking at the device... oh how she missed having a proper magic mirror.

Ritual 3/3 - Activated!

Divination Ritual

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb recognized that she was busy and quietly retreated to the living room. He sat down and watched the end of her ritual with his handkerchief over his nose.

His head began to ache from the stress of it all, but he tried to remind himself that the smell would dissipate soon with the blood gone.

“That looked quite impressive,” he commented when he was sure she was done.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim looked at her new hand mirror as if it were a child. Her child. Love and longing, pride and expectation... she laid it down gently and then smiled brightly over at Caleb.

He didn't look particularly comfortable. Mim liked that too. She picked the mirror up again and then rushed over to the living room to sit near him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get distracted with my stuff. And after you came here to visit!" she said sounding genuinely sad to have focused on her magic.

All the while she clutched the mirror in hand. She was sitting close to Caleb, her knee just barely touching his own.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb tensed up as she moved close, his nerves still on edge. Normally he could ignore the smell of blood inside people, but after all of that, he was hypersensitive. He scooted over an inch with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry, the blood put me on edge,” he said. “Best not to sit quite that close until I can calm down. But, it's fine. I'm glad the ritual worked out for you.”

He kept the handkerchief over his nose as he shifted awkwardly. He didn't want her to think he was a danger but he didn't want to give into his instincts either. He just hoped she wouldn't take offense.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim looked at the boy with the handkerchief over his nose, leaning away from her as everything in him screamed to be close. To be near the beating red ambrosia inside of her.... fighting what he was just for her.

She had to fight not to squirm a bit in her seat like a delighted child. Instead she slowly moved and placed the mirror, its black surface reflecting nothing, to the side.

Then she turned and looked intently into his eyes, her face confident and her voice even.

"Its OK. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me." she said.

She said it with affection and certainty. She said it as a verbal knife. Kindness sharp and deep. A wounded dog told someone cared and trusted.

Mim brought two fingers to her lips and kissed them, then leaned forward and moved to press those two fingers to Caleb's forehead.

An odd gesture but an affectionate one to be sure.

The kind of thing one might do for a dear friend. Or maybe a pet.

[Caleb Portnoy]

Caleb stilled at the show of trust and affection, a watery smile spreading across his face. To his shame, he felt tears prickling at his eyes. He tried to blink them back, lowering his head. “Thank you...” he murmured. “I'll try not to prove you wrong...”

He lowered the handkerchief and took a careful breath. He felt steadier now. He could smell her blood, as was usual, but the urge to feed had receded. “Um... anyway... what were we talking about again? Before you started your ritual. I was telling you about the Exchange, right?”