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 late. Ish. Later than expected. A little dusty and wearier for wandering a new city, state, timezone, Trey is on the doorstep of ARTS, as led by a handy-dandy GPS system to the dwelling-slash-business of a sibling or two. It might be lit and open, but either way, he's probaby too oblivious-slash-dazed to really stop him from knocking on the door.
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Luckily for Trey, Helen happens to be on hand when the knocking comes, having been wandering about the shop looking for something. The knocking distracts her, and she forgets her search. "Coming!" she calls out, as she wends about the kiln and heads for the door. She pulls it open, a polite smile on her face for whatever customer or visitor might be standing there - but the polite smile turns into a wide grin as she catches sight of their caller. "Trey!" she cries out in greeting, and then in the next moment, she's launching herself at him in a hug.
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Oh dear. A widening, pleased face quickly turns to one of mild panic as the combined weight of Helen-based enthusiasm and his own slightly-overburdened bag threatens to unbalance him; luckily, wrapping up his sister in a gleeful, tight hug, he manages to not go tumbling back onto the sidewalk. Letting out an uncharacterist burst of laughter, he buries his fingers in Helen's hair and ruffles it. "Hello, darling. Surprise?" He peels back to give her a small, lopsided grin.
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A tight hug is much better than falling to the pavement, though Helen has no idea of what a close call it was. Instead she just beams at him, giving him a tight squeeze before finally stepping back enough to get a good look at him. "You're really here! Oh, this is fantastic," she enthuses, her words coming quickly. Finally, she notices his heavy bag and the fact that they're both standing in the doorway, and she gestures him inside. "Come in, come in. I didn't know you were coming, did I?" She can't imagine it would be one of those details she'd forget, but then, sometimes it's hard to be entirely sure.
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The gently amused expression remains plastered to his face as he enters into the building. "You always said I should be more spontaneous. So… No, you're the first one to know I'm to be here." Trey tilts his head, and lets his bag's strap slip off his shoulder and find its way to the floor, now that they're safely inside. He looks around with the mildly bewildered expression of Trey-in-a-new-place, before centering back on Helen. He smiles, again, uncontrollably. "So. Hi, surprise?"
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"Best surprise ever," Helen decides with a beaming grin as she shuts and secures the door behind them and then turns back to face him again. "I could definitely get used to spontaneous-you. Though it's definitely a surprise." As much that he'd be spontaneous as that he's here, her teasing tone implies. "It's just so good to see you. And now we're finally all here." Just as it should be, she figures.
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"I, uh, may or may not have," he pauses and makes some vague, utterly uncommunicative gestures, however much he may be trying to get them to say something. "A few tickets, rescheduled. Less spontaneous than, um, finally making it here." He looks momentarily uncomfortable, looking around at their surroundings as if suddenly surprised to be indoors. "… This is nice."
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"Who's finally all here," comes a call from the back room of the building. Scarlett has supersonic hearing! Only, she really doesn't. The tail end of what Helen has said was heard as she's busily running in and out for the groceries. The door back there finally swings shut, and she starts to come into the business area.
"Sorry, Helen. I tried to find that cereal you wanted, but I couldn't remember the name of it. I got you Corn Pops instead. Hope that's okay." The box of cereal is dropped and she's flying into the studio. "Oh. My. God. Trey! What on earth are you doing here?" She pauses. "Not that I mind. Do you need a place to stay for a while? Can I get you guys anything?"
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Helen just humours the uncommunicative gestures, watching him with a bemused smile. And then she shrugs a bit. "Well, you're here now and that's the important thing," she decides. "Maybe it's good I didn't know then, so I haven't been wondering why you're so late getting here," she goes on, considering the matter for a brief moment until she's interrupted by the sounds of big sister returning. She doesn't offer a reply to the question, just shooting a mischievous grin to Trey instead; Scarlett will find out soon enough, and to shout out the answer would spoil the surprise. She gives a little laugh at Scarlett's reaction when she finally comes through to find out the answer for herself. "Corn Pops are fine," she agrees in passing, feeling quite content and agreeable at the moment, even bouncing in place just a little bit.
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The fact Trey gets a warning for the arrival of Scarlett doesn't stop the deer-in-the-headlights expression from appearing as she barrels into the room. He gives Helen a helpless look, arms dropping to his side in a you're-no-help-save-meeee kind of way, before turning to face Scarlett. With an almost otherwordly amount of gravitas and deadpan seriousness, he says in a perfectly toneless voice, "You could give me a hug."
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The barreling forward continues, until she's wrapping her little brother up in a tight hug. As she lets go, she gives his head a playful little noogie. "Have you been to see Ivan yet, or did you come here first?" To Scarlett, that is a very important question. If both siblings have come here rather than see Ivan first, she can taunt him about it for a good long while. "The renovations are nearly done. I'm sure we can swing letting you crash on the futon for a few nights if you'd like. Just restocked the fridge. If I'd known you were coming, squirt, I would've gotten your favorites too."
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Helen shoots Trey a grin that's sympathetic but amused, and not quite apologetic for her lack of help; there's really not much she can do for him at this point. She leaves him to the mercy of Scarlett's tight hug and noogie, just offering a little shrug from behind their big sister's back. "You can have some of my Corn Pops, if you'd like," she offers generously, with a teasing grin. The offer is sincere, but the fact this might be enough to entice him to stay is more or less said in jest.
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"Corn Pops are good," he chooses to offer first, looking mildly overwhelmed by being the center of immediate attention. He reaches up to smooth down his hair, thoughtfully pausing. ".. I wouldn't say no to a futon, either." He buries his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels in a bashful gesture, tilting his head. "I, futon, yes, staying would be nice, to — to catchup?" He pauses, looking thoughtful. "Oh. No, you're the first. Ivan, I… I uh, Helen said you had a studio so I figured… Public, open, surprise?"
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"It's through the back," Scarlett says quite happily. Having Trey here? Perfect distraction for what was bothering her. "Helen's room is just about done, and I can crash on the air mattress in my room until the bedroom set is delivered." There is still space upstairs for a third room if need be, but she's not going to overwhelm him with that just yet. "It's great, isn't it? I mean, it's not much, but it's all mine." Just as she did when Helen arrived, the oldest of the Fontane siblings moves toward her jewelry rack. There is quite a bit of fussing with it until she finally selects the perfect piece. A braided bit of black leather, with a watch face settled into it. "Protection and all that. Apparently some vampire has been harassing Helen, and Ivan's on a rampage about it." A look is given to Helen then. "You are not going to learn the craft from a vampire. I'll teach you myself."
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"A great surprise," Helen amends her brother's stumbling words, shooting him another grin. "I'll show you my room once I finish getting it set up. I really like the way it's come out." She doesn't even seem to notice his stuttering and stammering, just moving right along as though they were full sentences. She watches with some idle curiosity as Scarlett goes to select Trey his own bit of protective jewellery, her hand coming up to absently pat at the charm she wears around her own neck. Her eyebrows go up a little as she's suddenly given a look, her expression ever so angelic and innocent. "I'm not? Well. All right," she decides, not even sure where to begin arguing with that, so she just goes along with it. "Some of this is news to me, I think. Ivan's on another rampage?"
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"A vampire teacher could be valuable," Trey says, tilting his head to the other shoulder, "Much experience, connection to the supernatural world; dangerous, but, sure, so is the … world, wait, we're talking about magic and not sex, right? I— I mean, my argument is valid in either direction, but, uh," he tries to gesture but his hands are in his pockets and it ends up looking like a shrug only with a little extra flailing. "I could see why you two would be, be going crazy… " Wide-eyed, he turns to Helen, "Hey! Room! Yes. I'm looking forward to it. Maybe you can help me setup mine once I, you know, find a place to settle down it. I usually end up… blank walls, half unpacked boxes…" GOD. When Trey can detect his own stumbling, it's bad. "So, Dallas? And… that's pretty, you both always had such better taste than me," he distracting murmurs about the talisman.
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"This particular vampire has it out for our darlingist brother, so I'm going to strongly advise against learning anything from him." Scarlett frowns a little. She's not at all sure what's going on with that. "The one that accosted you, Helen. The one who told you to give warning to Ivan." The frown deepens, she looks as though she's trying to recall something. "Eberle." Then she glances at Trey, shakes her head and grins. "Besides, I'd really like to start a Coven here in Dallas, and get together a few other witches that have a lot of knowledge, so that we can all share it." After a moment, she's smiling again. "We can always build you a room upstairs. There's more than enough room if you want one. Otherwise, we can help you find a place."
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Helen goes a bit wide-eyed as Trey starts talking about sex, giving him a quick shake of her head. The last thing she needs is to have the twins thinking in any way, shape or form about her sex-life again. That was traumatic enough for them all the first time. She opts to focus on the rest of it instead, moving on with marked quickness. "Oh yeah, him. He seemed nice enough at first, but I haven't spoken to him since." About magic or anything else. "A Coven?" she adds, looking at Scarlett with some interest. "I have been meaning to learn a little more…" Then she sort of forgot, but this brings it back to mind. Still, she moves on just as promptly. "Sure, I'll help you get set up, wherever you end up. We won't leave you with blank walls and unpacked boxes. And I'm starting to get to know the city. I still get lost sometimes, but only on purpose."
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"I really hadn't planned much beyond getting here and catching back up with all of you," Trey says as if imparting a deeply embarassing confession, rubbing at his upper arms bashfully. He stands up a little bit straighter, catching onto a bit of Scarlett's statement, "A Coven could be great. I looked for others in Montreal, but, it… It wasn't the," he pauses, stumbling over his thoughts before continuing. "I liked being all by myself. But there's a lot that I didn't realize I was missing until after I had freetime, after I finished my degree. It would be… nice, having a. Community?" He smiles, faintly; a man not used to saying so much at one time, but trying his best. "… But I do need to sit down and figure out what I'm doing, first, at some point."
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"Will you join, Helen? I've already been teaching Robert Cornett for a little while…" Long story there, one she's really not going to go into. "Just try not to go looking for the vampire, either of you? I've got a feeling he'll try to get to Ivan through you guys, and I really don't want either of you getting hurt." Scarlett seems to be all over the place with her thoughts. Before jumping on the next topic, she draws her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with a simple rubber band. "We all need to be by ourselves at some point or another, kiddo. You're welcome to join, even if you don't wind up staying forever in Dallas. I know it's not Umbra, but…" The thought is trailed off with a shrug. "You could likely get a job down at the library until you figure something else out. A lot of the workers there are uhm… off work at the moment." At least, according to the papers.
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"Getting here and catching back up is a good start," Helen confirms with a decided nod of her head. "You can just figure it out from there. I'll help, if you want." Not that she's any good at making plans - or rather, at sticking to them once she's made them. She looks back to Scarlett then, tilting her head to one side as she considers the offer and then gives a quick shrug and a grin. "Sure, that sounds like a good way to learn. I was going to ask you about teaching me at some point anyway." Until she forgot. "The library would be fun," she goes on, jumping back to the previous topic as she considers it. Fun for him anyway, if not necessarily her niche.
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"If being a lab gopher doesn't pan out, I will keep it in mind, definitely, libraries are wonderful — especially if the workers are… off work?" He looks confused as his brain catches up to the sentence, but lets it go with a mild shrug. "I'm not sure if I'll be staying, but … unless the local universities' doctorate programs are utter shit, I don't have places elsewhere in mind. So. Yeah. Future, we'll see?" He seems to relax for a moment, taking a pause from his attempt to keep pace with the conversation just to smile. "It's good to see you both, though. I hope Dallas will work out, even though it's excessively warm here and we might get burnt at the stake because, um, Texas. My thesis advisor in Montreal looked at me like I was moving to Hell, and he didn't even know the family history…. Is Ivan around, or are you two," he blinks at Scarlett, "… you know, off-again?"
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"Rogue wolf in the area." Werewolf, but they don't need to know that really. Scarlett wrinkles up her nose. "Seems to have a taste for librarians, or has a den around the library. Haven't heard anything for a while on it, so I'm really hoping that its moved on." Dead would be better, but she's not about to go out hunting a werewolf. "Perfect, so that's you and me, Helen. Ivan will come once in a while although he wants to stick with Umbra a while longer…" Her list is now down to two more she needs to talk to. "He's likely at home with his girlfriend." It still amuses her that her troublesome brother has settled into a serious relationship. "We can call him after you settle in and clean up. Maybe head out to dinner, or order in. A celebration is in order after all."
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"Yeah, it's been getting pretty bad," Helen agrees of the rogue wolf, in a rare moment of solemnity as she thinks about that troubling fact. At times, moving on quickly is a blessing, since in the next breath, she's moved right along. "If you want, we could go check out the library one of these days, just to see it," she offers to Trey. She's not working or in school, and wandering around is her main hobby these days. Though that does mean she'll have to try to remember to bring her library voice. "Dallas is pretty fun though. People are really nice here." But she tends to think that about pretty much everywhere. "Sounds like fun," she enthuses, of the Coven, offering Scarlett a grin, which widens even more at the idea of doing something to celebrate. "Ooh, yeah. We should do that," she agrees, before looking over at Trey, remembering herself a bit. "Once you're feeling ready for it," she amends.
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"… yknow if I'm just gonna get eaten, maybe I can do fast food, worst case, because a werewolf that thinks books are tasty seasonings is one of the nightmares I had as an undergrad," Trey says, looking mildly horrified. He scrubs at his hair, disturbing it further into a mess crying out to be cut, before smiling a little tremulously, with a warm look to Helen. "I could go for dinner where ever, your living room's as new to me as a restaurant, but, um, we don't really have to celebrate, I mean. It's just me. Not like we didn't grow up eating together. Hardly a celebration."
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"I doubt you'll get eaten, squirt." Scarlett blinks at him a few times. "God, Trey. That is the worst nightmare I have ever heard of." The elder Fontane really knows little about werewolves, as they're not something that she really bothers with. "It is definitely a celebration! It's been a long time since the four of us have been together. Your choice of restaurants, my treat."
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"Yeah, that's a really bad nightmare. I think you work too much," Helen decides with a sage nod, after a short, uncharacteristic pause to consider this. Clearly this nightmare must be the vision of an overworked mind. It makes sense to her at least. "Yeah, of course there's a reason to celebrate!" she goes on, brightening again and offering Trey a grin. "It's been ages since we've all been together, and besides, we need to welcome you to town properly."
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(note: cut short due to time/computer issues)