Friend or Foe?

ARtistik Talisman Studios

It's an art studio. A cluttered, bohemian, art studio. One wall is a mess of various artwork and trinkets, mirrors, clocks, a small shelf filled with art books and records, old lamps, fans; pretty much everything the resident artist has ever worked on or treasured. To the right of the studio is a wall filled with neatly organized drawers filled with paints and brushes, several easels with unfinished paintings, a small pottery wheel and kiln, a sculpture stand, and a table filled with implements to create jewelry.


It's been a few days since the encounter at the mall. Some close inspection has been made and she can all but confirm that gut feeling that she had on the initial visit. The woman she met is not at all one of her own, this she knows, so Quinn decides to take it upon herself to further investigate Scarlett. It will be a few months until she actually has to go to work so why not use her days to the best of her ability? It is with her head held high, a strong level of curiosity and the jewelry still warn that she attempts to enter the shop.

-

The shop is actually a bit calmer today. No random winds blowing through, no loud music. No welding. Scarlett, the artist and proprietor, is sitting at a desk, hunched over a laptop computer, fiddling with a spreadsheet. It's not like she can do a whole lot of work with a broken dominant hand, but she can peruse her accounting and update some of the numbers. As the bells above the door announce the presence of a customer, she swivels the chair around. A glance is given to the woman, then she's up out of the office chair. "Welcome back. Was there an issue with the jewelry?"

-

The different attitude in which she finds the shop is both calming and unnerving at the same time. She had not expected to see Scarlett immediately and is almost caught by surprise at the sight of her. Quinn takes the time to look her over, eyes falling to the injured wrist. "Well, that depends," she replies with the slightest bit of a smile. "It's not an issue, per se, but do you normally market the magical properties of the jewelry that you make?"

-

Busted.

Scarlett eyes the woman quizzically for a moment. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." The smile, so bright and disarming that anyone who's not in the know would be apt to believe her.

-

"I have a question." Her mannerisms are not nearly as professional as Scarlett, not at this moment. She's not in the classroom and quite frankly is trying to figure out what sort of supernatural the other woman is. The question about being a good witch or a bad witch is avoided even if the thought would normally make Quinn chuckle. "Have you ever felt this odd sensation when around certain people? Something that tells you that something's just not right?" That feeling is washing over her yet again. "Wait, that sounds creepy and wrong. Forget I said that."

-

Had the question been whether she was a good witch or a bad witch, Scarlett could have made a decent reference to ruby slippers — amusingly, a pair sits not far from her cluttered wall, left over from her high school days. "That's an extremely odd question," she says, keeping the disarmingly bright smile upon her face. "I suppose in certain cases there is a little intuition. A gut feeling. If you came here for relationship advice though, trust me, you really don't want my help." Since Scarlett is a homewrecker.

-

There is no knowledge to the relationship status of Scarlett. Thankfully Quinn doesn't have one and so doesn't have to worry about it being ruined. She ponders something at first before shaking her head. "It isn't relationship advice." She's never been one to hold her cards, so to speak, so she ends up blurting it out. "So I should thank you for the protection spells that are on the jewelry. They came in handy."

-

The smile never faulters, though Scarlett is beginning to feel like a Jack O'Lantern with a permanent glowing grin. Only a second or two passes while she considers her options — to keep up the lie, or come clean. "I'm glad that the jewelry was able to assist you, but I still have no idea what you're talking about." She compromises a little.

-

This is just not something that she has the patience to deal with. Her eyes lower slightly but she's not flat out glaring at Scarlett. "I bet that I would find protection spells on everything that you make." Quinn will call her out no matter what, even if she attempts to deny it further. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I /was/ going to ask you if you were a good witch or a bad witch, but I can't really think of a bad witch that I've met that uses these spells."

-

"Next you'll be asking if my dog is the witch," Scarlett mutters, though still good naturedly. "Setting spells on every piece of work I do would be ridiculous." They take time, a lot of effort, and generally leave her feeling drained afterward. "I generally tend to keep a few pieces around." Working on sets is easier as she can imbue them all at once as opposed to individually. "The question is, why does it matter?"

-

The response about the dog actually causes her to snort. "Well, it matters because I was told that there could be some troublesome witches in the area." Realizing that she's accusing more than anything, Quinn sighs in defeat. "And it matters because I've never met anyone so willing to sell protection without actually marketing it. Part of me wants to know why, but mostly I just wanted to confirm what I suspected on my initial visit."

-

Troublesome witches? Now that gets Scarlett's attention. "If by troublesome you're meaning benevolent, then you've come to the right place. Just call me Glinda." Without the puffy pink dress and large star-wand. "If you're not, then it would only be fair to share the information so that I can assure my family's safety." Oh, little does she know! "Doesn't everyone have the right to be protected without paying a small fortune for it? It gives me an opportunity to hone my craft while doing something I love."

-

The response to the why actually brings pause to the aggressor. Her head tilts as she watches Scarlett. "That's a very good answer, really it is. Comforting, in fact. I'm just not used to hearing it." In the end it really does make sense to Quinn and it causes her to rest a bit easier. "Well, I'm honestly not certain how familiar you are with particular families and the drama that can be involved. Let's just say that it's sort of the Hatfield's versus the McCoy's, only from what I hear one family is by far the darker of the two."

-

The agressee become the aggressor at this point. Scarlett's eyes narrow ever so slightly, a wary look turned upon the woman. "Coming from a large extended family, I'm more than aware of the particulars of family drama, and the intricacies of the whole Montague-Capulet saga." Which is when the Fotane twin reaches up to slip on the match for the trinket she made for her brother. Never been tested, but here goes nothing — the truth locket. "Who are you?"

-

Such trinkets truly aren't needed as she hasn't once lied about who she is. Quinn doesn't back down and now is the one to smile. Looks like she found someone that she hadn't intended to. "Well, I'd love to comment about how extended my family is but it's much smaller than it used to be." This isn't said with venom, not in the least bit. It is a simple truth. "Me? I'm Quinn." She didn't ask for specifics and she still isn't lying.

-

Were there lies, the locket would pop open — in theory. It's not the best of Scarlett's spells or one that she's ever had to put into use before, but the assumption will be that the woman is not lying, yet. "I'm sorry to hear that," she says, in a surprisingly sincere tone. "Quinn who, and what's your business here?"

-

Despite now being the one under fire, she feels that Scarlett is being completely sincere with her apologies. "Such things happen, I suppose. It's a truth that we'll never learn from." Her head tilts slightly as she examines the locket. Quinn has no idea what it is for but still has no reason to lie. "I'm here as a favor to babysit my cousins. I'm Quinn Niveus, PhD."

-

Since the drama of last week wasn't enough, it seems to just keep right on flowing. "Cousins. How many? Why are they here?" Scarlett is not nervous, but the name Niveus causes the blood to drain from her face. This is not going to end well at all, and Ivan will need to be told as much as she doesn't want to involve herself in family politics, there's no way she can keep them all safe at this point.

-

"Cousins." The word is echoed. It's not a strange word yet for some reason she feels as if she's speaking a foreign language. "Two of them. They're going to school down here so I was asked to follow." A silly request, if she's asked, but if there are Umbra then she should be here. "They're a few years younger than I am so I think the family is just worried that they'll be found and harmed in some way. You know how families are." Still, the way that she's asking causes Quinn to narrow her eyes. "You are Umbra, aren't you?"

-

"Names." Scarlett is choosing to ignore the question for now, in order to ask more of her own. If they're merely going to school then that's one thing, but if they were sent? They were sent to cause issues for Ivan, and as much as he's an ass, she's not going to let that stand.

-

The lack of response signals to her that she's right. Quinn shakes her head, then, her first response to anything. "I wouldn't be keeping them safe if I blurted their names to you." She has an extremely deep rooted hatred for all things Umbra but she's doing her best to keep her calm. Scarlett did sell her protection jewelry after all. "They're not here to cause trouble, and honestly I'm only here because of word that your family was in the area." If anyone is here to cause problems, it's Quinn.

-

"Names," Scarlett requests again, a little more sternly. "Either you give them to me now, in a pleasant situation, or I find them later. Whichever way you wish to do this, Ms. Niveus is fine by me. I am not Umbra," except by birth, so it's not a technical lie. She doesn't associate with them. "But if your intention is to harm anyone in my family, then it is my duty to protect them by whatever means necessary." As her anger starts to rise, there is a small tremor beneath the shop.

-

The tremor does not go unnoticed. Instead of reacting to it, or commenting, she merely smiles. "/They/ are of no concern to you. It likely won't be difficult to find them but I will not be handing over their names so easily." Quinn's eyes close for a moment as she centers herself, finding a calm in order to use her powers if push comes to shove. "As I said, if there is anyone of my family that is to worried about it is me. But I am not on a mission to hunt anyone. I will protect, but I will not engage without being prompted." This should be enough, but she never knows when to leave well enough alone. "But as you claim not to be Umbra, certainly it's none of your concern."

-

"Wrong. They are of every concern to me, as are you." Scarlett is not going to let Helen (or Ivan for that matter), fall into the clutches of people who hate and revile her grandfather for what he did. "You who have come into my place of business and are bandying about accusations." At least one name springs to mind, another witch who's recently returned for school, and until she finds the other name she'll have at least two to give to Ivan. "And passive aggressively threatening. Have it your way, Ms. Niveus, but if I find either of them harming my family in anyway — be it emotional or physical, I will change my mind and stand by them." Scarlett is benevolent, unless someone means to hurt her siblings, in which case she can be quite powerfully determined.

-

This is news to her. "I am not passively aggressively threatening anyone. I'm making it known that I will not tolerate threats to /my/ family, as that is the reason I was moved to this city. For as much as /I/ personally despise those involved in the deaths of my own, I'm not the type to actively seek out justice." At least where the Umbra are concerned. Quinn is quite happy to focus her time on vampires. "I also cannot control the actions of my cousins as I personally have never even met them. Any possible harm they /may/ have already caused is not my concern but I am of the understanding that they are here merely to go to school." Ironic how she's met her first Umbra without even intending to. "My reason for coming here today was just to confirm my suspicions and honestly thank you. I hold no ill will for you or those of your family that are in the city if they honestly have no intentions of continuing the genocide."

-

Genocide will happen, though likely not so far as the Niveus clan is concerned. Scarlett has her doubts as to her brother's willingness to keep vampires around, considering all that has happened. At least now she can forewarn him about issues with the other coven. "One can never control their family," she says in a grim, even voice. The tremors fade to gentle shifting and she steps back. "Though it may be best if you tell them to leave my family alone."

-

Vampiric genocide would not be an issue as far as she is concerned. In fact, she's liable to given Ivan an award if such a thing were to happen. The first words spoken from Scarlett actually cause Quinn to chuckle. "No, one can't. It's a shame, too, because I can think of a lot of things that I would change." This is said more upbeat than anything as she honestly means no harm to the other witch. "That's fair enough, and the same could be said on our behalf. I'm far from a fan of what has happened but I'd much rather focus on other things than a family squabble that took place states away." Because honest, if she has to get involved she's not certain if she can keep from harming anyone.

-

The generally happy Scarlett, who goes out of her way to be nice to people has had a very strange week preceeding this one. She's stretched a tad thin at the moment. "I am only able to speak for myself. Unless action is taken against me and mine, there will be no harm done by me." Possibly not from Helen either. Ivan, she's not so certain about.

-

If Ivan wishes to start a family feud, all the more power to him. He'll be met with force, but it does little good to think about that at the current moment. "I have to apologize, though. I knew what you were without knowing who. If I had suspected as much I wouldn't have confronted you like this." Quinn has to be realistic in the fact that she' was starting to like Scarlett before the truth came out. If someone came into her home and did the same thing she'd likely explode. "For as much bad blood that flows between our families, you did not deserve that and I am sorry."

-

"I am not Umbra," Scarlett repeats. She is not part of the coven, refused to become part of it, and will never be part of it. Taking more after her mother in the fact that she doesn't like all of the dirty politics involved. "Apology accepted." Her voice remains grimly neutral, not at all sure whether to believe the woman or if the charm she is clutching defensively is even working.

-

It isn't as if Quinn is lying. She could do so, if prompted, but has no reason to. "So you've said. I find this interesting but in the end care little." There, that is her lie. "And in the end it is not my place to ask about it." This is not a lie. With the accepted apology Quinn nods slightly and takes a step back as well, as if to leave. "And even if you are not Umbra, your family is. That is what I meant by my comment, that is all. I'm not accusing you of anything."

-

It isn't as though Scarlett, with her broken wrist, is holding the Niveus woman at gun point. She's not going to stop her from leaving. "As I said, one can't control their family or that which they're born into." Her good hand finally drops from the locket, and she checks to ensure that it is still closed tightly. She keeps wearing it around her neck though, fully expecting that another of the Niveus coven is nearby.

-

"Indeed." Her head shakes slightly as she considers the encounter. "A shame, really, that there' s now distrust between us. I thought I kind of liked you." With that Quinn turns fully and walks out of the door. She's not done investigating this issue but now has to speak to her cousins immediately. Looks like it is time to finally announce herself.

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