Easthaven Harbour To unpathed waters, undreamed shores

[Emily Reyes]

The lock clicked in a quiet that was broken only by the rumbling kettle. Left alone again, Emily wandered over to the little tea station to take a look at the selection of mugs, smiling faintly at the eclectic collection. It was fun to see the little signs of how the Exchange was just a bunch of humans. Or near-humans, she suppose. Selecting one with a little sun on it, she set it beside the kettle and then peered over the teas on offer.

Deciding on a simple black tea, she carefully put the bag into the mug and let the tag trail over the lip. Hefting the kettle, she poured herself a steaming cup and then left it to steep. Rather than just stand there, she turned to gaze around the office. She wasn't trying to snoop, but he profession was all about looking for the details. She peered at the things on the walls, before turning her gaze on Theo's desk and chair. It was then that she picked up the glint of metal attached to supple leather hung over the back of the chair. A... sword?

She couldn't help her curiosity--she just wanted to make sure it wasn't novelty umbrella. Padding over, she gingerly bent to look at the pommel and found it did not look cheap or hollow like an umbrella might. Daring to press her finger to the top of the pommel, she pushed it gently and watched the actual sword swing with very real weight. So, there was the collection of eclectic mugs and then a sword. Mouthing 'wow' to herself, she wasn't sure if she ought to be surprised, delighted, or weirded out. Perhaps all three, but with an emphasis on the first two as she pressed her fingertips against the weighty pommel again to stop it swinging.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Once dry, pulling up the worn jeans was a welcome next step, the fabric acceptably warm compared to Theo’s soaking wet trousers. Switching out his belt, he fastened it and relished being warm and dry for just a moment, pushing his still slightly damp hair off of his forehead. Not quite a new man, a shower would be needed, but he wasn’t waterlogged and suffering from the siren.

Speaking of that, however, Theo braced his hands on the edge of the sink and leaned forward, studying himself in the mirror and spotting the bruising starting to settle. He’d been knocked around in the water, and his wrist promised to look even more alarming the way the siren had abused it. He’d need some of Rizzo’s vaporub himself.

Not too interested in looking too closely at his tired face, Theo stowed the towel in a hamper and snatched his trousers off the towel rack. Then, with one last attempt at pushing his hair off his forehead, the short strands curling and settling where they wanted, he left the bathroom and flicked the light switch off behind him before turning to face the office and Reyes as he shut the door quietly behind him.

[Emily Reyes]

Caught in the act in a way, Emily didn't rush out from behind Theo's desk, letting her hand stay on the pommel of his sword. That would be more suspicious than anything else. Still, she had the decency to look apologetic about it, and withdrew her hand to rub it down her skirt as she smiled.

“So, you have a sword,” she said with a curious smile, the teasing curl to her voice letting on that she found the fact just as charming and intriguing as it was astonishing.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo quirked an eyebrow at Reyes, amused at how she withdrew her hand from the pommel, her expression apologetic. He didn't mind, as she hadn't drawn it and waved it around like a fool. It was understandable to be curious about something unusual, which the sword definitely counted as.

“I do,” the Englishman confirmed dryly, following this game of stating the obvious as he stepped up to the chair he'd placed his other sodden clothing onto. The trousers were draped over the lot, Theo deciding to drop them off at the 24-hour dry cleaners that night and get it all over with. Even as he planned the remainder of his evening before heading home, he offered more on the history of the sword, a smile curling at the edges of his lips. “A family heirloom.”

Stepping around the desk, he went for the open cupboard with the kettle, spotting Reyes' prepared mug next to the now-still kettle. He reached for his usual mug, white with an old company logo on it, and wasn't discerning about the type of tea he fished out for himself.

[Emily Reyes]

The dry little smirk was attractive in such an odd way. Theo was aloof, but had a gravity to him that drew Emily in. And now he was humoring her, and she liked it.

“It’s nice,” she said and then flushed, chuckling softly because Emily had no idea what a nice sword meant. As Theo moved around the little office, putting down his clothes, she moved in tandem, putting herself back near the kettle to check her tea. After tugging at the string, she gingerly lifted the mug and blew over the top as Theo joined her at the station and prepared his own cup. “Do you take it out very much?”

The question was genuine considering it was a sword and that would turn heads in the city.

[Theo Crowhurst]

The Englishman allowed himself a mild chuckle at Reyes' compliment to the sword, as simple as it was. She was only seeing the hilt of it as well, the damascene blade hidden in the sheath. Revolutionary for its time, a lost technique that many had come close to replicating but not exactly, and Theo suspected that more than wootz steel went into its making.

As Theo reached for the kettle to pour the hot water into his cup, he nodded to Reyes' question. “I bring it on most cases, particularly if I expect trouble,” he shared, trails of steam snaking up from his mug as he filled it almost to the rim. “It's my most helpful tool when trouble crops up. Had I had the foresight to bring it today, I might've had better luck with the siren.”

Theo sent Reyes a wry smile, just a tad self-deprecating. A dagger and magic worked well, but the sword was undoubtedly more formidable and safer, respectively.

[Emily Reyes]

He brought it out on most cases! Emily lifted an eyebrow at him over her mug, astonished. To prefer a sword over other weapons reminded her of pure fantasy, and she felt a little rush of excitement over the idea of Theo wielding a sword and fighting monsters. It edged out the gentle waves of “what if” anxiety and the shine of delight was difficult to miss in Emily’s eyes. But, in not wishing to look needlessly effusive she returned her attention to her tea, blowing over the top to chase away the steam.

“Maybe it was for the best. Unless you can swim with a sword,” she said mildly, morbidly amused in the way a seasoned detective could regard death. It might’ve weighed him down and exhausted him so he couldn’t fight at all. Glancing over at the sword hilt sticking out from behind the chair, she asked, “How do you hide it?”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo looked at Reyes askance, reading her astonishment and seeing another reminder of how those new to all this didn't realise how more archaic weapons still had their place among the supernatural. Firearms were not the tactical upper hand as it was in mundane conflicts; a troll didn't care about your pistol or your rifle. Still effective, no doubt, but the only magic bullet was a silver one for a therianthrope. But he supposed Reyes did not regularly think about the best way to deal with creatures.

“I'd be a sorry excuse for a monster hunter if I couldn't swim with heavy equipment,” Theo remarked, his mouth tipped in a crooked smirk as he left his cup of tea to steep and stepped up behind his desk, hooking a hand on the swordbelt to lift it off the corner it hung from. “But there's a minor enchantment on the scabbard and belt, activated once I buckle it on.”

To demonstrate, Theo looped the belt around his waist, the fitting above the small of his back as he buckled it. The sword swung free as he did this, almost hanging horizontally from the fitting point, but then he took the belt's tail and buckled it to the hilt fastening on the scabbard, stabilising the sword in a comfortable position at his left hip. It was quite practically situated like that, easy to draw and out of the way if he was mindful.

As Theo fastened it securely, the minor enchantment triggered. Even if she knew it was there, Emily would find it hard to see the sword where it hung. It wasn't pure invisibility but more a 'notice-me-not' urge. Eyes slid off the object without really registering it; although someone of sufficient mental fortitude could force the issue, Theo's goal wasn't to hide the sword's presence from non-mundanes after all.

[Emily Reyes]

Cinder Resisting the enchantment (4/3), complete success

Theo looked at her askance, and she saw his point and her error quickly enough, but when he called himself a 'monster hunter', she had to hide her amusement behind her mug. Looking up at him, she just tipped her head, conceding the point, and offering her own crooked grin in return. A monster hunter!

With his tea made, Theo moved back to his chair to heft the sword from its place behind his chair, and she chanced a sip as she watched him start buckling it on. The mention of an enchantment instantly had the arcanist's attention--she had so few opportunities to look at outside examples of magic. In fact, she'd only seen the work of one other wizard firsthand.

Putting her tea down, she folded her arms across her stomach and moved a bit closer, eyes on the fine scabbard and tooled leather harness. And then... She lost interest, her gaze lifting to the logo on the man's dark shirt. Actually, it looked more like a crest or shield, and she perked up with interest.

“Nice shirt,” Emily started and was about to ask a bit more about the London Met, but her expression then flickered with confusion. Then she looked up at Theo with a lightly accusatory look, even as she laughed, “Jesus, that's a piece of magic!”

Dropping her gaze again, she stared at his hip with narrowed eyes. It felt like peeling away petals of perception inside her head until she registered that the sword hilt was there, and she reached out to brush her hand over the pommel.

[Theo Crowhurst]

It was easy to tell Reyes was intrigued, her eyes following the sword as Theo worked to buckle it on. Her close attention and his awareness of it helped him notice the moment the enchantment kicked in, the last buckle fastening and the enchantment locking into place. Completing the circle, one ritualist Theo knew may have phrased it. Nevertheless, there was no active ritual here, only runes hidden underneath the leather covering and etched onto the wooden sheath.

As Reyes complimented his shirt–a shirt that he was sure was not an official Met issue but had likely been some manner of gag gift or cheap 'souvenir'–Theo allowed himself a small smile, amused at the result of the enchantment locking into place while someone actively watched the sword. He'd have to thank the ritualist for doing such a good job.

Reyes did not let the enchantment fool her for long, the accusatory look getting a genuine laugh out of Theo, the action brightening even his dour countenance. Reyes was laughing, too, so he did not feel too badly for laughing at her confusion. “It gets the job done,” Theo offered when he'd corked up his laughter, Reyes' hand touching the pommel.

[Emily Reyes]

Getting a real laugh out of Theo felt like a genuine accomplishment and Emily grinned, enjoying the sound and the way it softened his demeanor. After he let her rest her hand on the pommel, her next impulse was to ask to see the enchantment’s inner workings, but she refrained. She imagined the Exchange had a few secrets and blithely asking to see them would have her hitting a wall. And besides, it was rude.

“How does it work if you pull the blade out?” she asked, wrapping her fingers around the hefty pommel at his hip. “Does the misdirection stick?”

That would explain why she’d never heard a single rumor about a sword wielding monster hunter around the city. Or it was her captain running interference for the Exchange.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo felt the slight tug at the weight on his hip, her hand on the pommel moving it subtly, although he didn't complain. Reyes' questions gave him the impression she wanted to ask about the details of the enchantment itself but was skirting around it. Theo wouldn't share that, even if he knew the theory.

“The enchantment is on the scabbard and belt,” Theo offered. Visually, the leather tooling lacked any markings that might give it away, with none on the sword at all. Theo had run his fingers all over the surface searching for telltale imperfections and come up empty. He wondered if the swordsmith had not hammered an enchantment into the metal itself, which might explain how it rarely if ever, needed sharpening, but nothing in terms of concealment. “So the sword itself is visible once it's drawn.”

So far, no one likely to talk about it had been left alive in the aftermath of Theo drawing his sword in a combat situation, and his Agents all knew better than to blab.

[Emily Reyes]

“Well, that's useful,” Emily said, quietly enthused and still testing the heft of the sword to reassure herself that it was on Theo's hip. “I could use something like that on my familiar.” Bending slightly to trace her fingers down the hilt as she admired it, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before asking, “How did you make it?”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Reyes didn't let go of the pommel, instead sliding her hand down to feel the hilt. As the man wearing the sword, it was rather awkward, but Theo was certain it was one-sided. The enchantment was at the forefront of Reyes' mind, and she wasn't thinking much about invading a man's personal space as she leaned in to have a better look. To facilitate her investigation, Theo began unbuckling the sword belt, breaking the enchantment as he answered her.

“You'll have to ask the original ritualist, although I strongly suspect they might be dead,” Theo offered, his tone dry as he finished unbuckling and placed the sword flat on the desk, available for Reyes' perusal. “The sword's far older than I am, but we might have it somewhere in the family records. Although–” he angled a crooked smile at her, recognising that riffling through an old and dusty library was hardly the immediate solution most wanted, “–you might have better luck speaking to the ritualists of the Sewing Circle.”

For drawing circles and sketching runes, Theo knew the theory and function of it all. He knew it when he saw it, could read some versions of the runes used, but he didn't have a mind of recipes and methodologies on how to execute most of it. He deliberately hadn't got involved in that sort of thing, his family disapproving of the risky practice even if they'd had plenty in their ranks to pursue it.

[Emily Reyes]

When the enchantment broke, visually, it was as though a bubble popped. The veil was suddenly pulled back, and the sword she struggled to see was there. Unaware of her invasion of the Inqusitor's personal space, she turned to the desk as he laid it out for her inspection. For the better too. She would've been mortified if she had cottoned on to the unsaid nature of her intrusion and his awkwardness. Instead, she was focused on the magic, brushing her fingertips over the scabbard as she listened to Theo's explanation.

When he mentioned the age of the sword and the family library, she looked up, expression lighting up with intrigue. Emily felt strange pressing to see if she could see this family archive, but Theo offered her an alternative idea anyway. It wasn't as interesting as his family's library, but it was undoubtedly more polite and actionable.

Smiling at him, she ran her thumb along the inside of the belt, looking for runes she didn't know wouldn't be there. “I've heard about the Sewing Circle,” she said with an easy nod. She'd heard about it from Max and random rumors that floated around the fringes of the supernatural community. Her best friend had a more accurate view of what they did, but to hear about them, firsthand was even better. “Do they work for you?”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Stepping back to allow Reyes to study the sword without Theo getting in the way, the Englishman returned to his cuppa. Lifting the tea bag out, Theo dropped it in the nearby bin and lifted the mug for a sip as the detective asked her question, swallowing before he lifted his shoulders in a little shrug. They certainly didn't consider themselves his workers, but technically, Theo could claim them as a part of the Exchange.

“Yes and no,” was the answer he settled on, leaning against the cabinet that held the kettle and mugs. “They're officially an adjunct organisation, so under the Exchange umbrella, but they're noncombatants. The only work they do is working on enchantments in return for resources and security.”

He lifted his mug again, about to take a sip, tacking on, “Closer to a social club, really,” before he took a deep sip.

Some joined as Agents, but most didn't. Not everyone had the same taste for danger Theo's agents did. No, the Circle far preferred their relative peace, supplemented with the excitement of practising magic.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily had heard about the social club aspect, but creating enchantments for the Exchange was new and intriguing. So was the promise of resources and a structured environment around the practice. That was preferable to facing down owl demons in the woods. She wasn't all in, not yet, not while she was still reorienting her thoughts around the Exchange, but she still asked, “What sort of qualifications do you need to join?”

Her tone wasn't as business-like as she imagined--Emily was almost going for aloof, but she wasn't quite sober enough to keep her avid interest out of her tone.

She wasn't finding anything on the sword, scabbard, or belt and turned to face Theo instead, focused on the conversation now. Watching him drink his tea reminded her of her own, and she picked it up but left the bag in as she took a sip.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Sipping his tea, Theo gave a one-shouldered shrug and shook his head gently. Perhaps the more populous Circle's had some criteria or other that had to be fulfilled, but Easthaven hadn't needed to implement anything like that, other than that they had to produce some enchantments for the Exchange. Nothing too dangerous, unless they volunteered it, as the Exchange only asked that of their own agents.

“Nothing in particular, for our Circle at least,” was the answer he settled on. To the point, and highlighting the fact that there were several. “An interest in rituals and the desire to practice it is about it.”

[Emily Reyes]

Laying her hand flat on the desk, Emily gave the Inquisitor a serious, considering look. “I'd say I fit those criteria,” she said, chewing it over and thinking about how silly it was to be going out into the woods every time she wanted to do a ritual when there was a social club right in town. “Is it- I assume if your people are there to watch, it's safer than practicing alone? Do you guys watch? In case... things are summoned?”

In a relative sense, anyway. She was sure Theo understood. There was a sardonic undertone to her question though, a put-upon unamused air that weighed heavily on her words.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo allowed himself a smirk when he picked up Reyes' tone. It was familiar, his own exasperation reflected in her words each time he ran into completely avoidable fuck-ups from ritualists who'd gotten too ambitious.

“Not actively. The Circle watches itself, although some members are also agents,” Theo offered, smirk going crooked as he took another sip. It would be too much to monitor them, and didn't speak of much trust. Trust was what they gained by joining the Circles. “But they've got a work area on the top floor, a warded space that'll contain some damage. Agents are close at hand, should the worst happen, but we also enforced some safety measures and teach those who need it principles of best practice.”

It was the usual spiel, joining the Circle meant upholding a certain standard in your work, in both safety and quality, because one had the resources to do what many couldn't.

Still, Theo's smirk returned as he continued, good natured even as he prodded at Reyes' little hinted earlier encounter. “You had a bad experience with summoned creatures, I take it?”