Solucis Coven Meeting Area
Ivan had tried to put this meeting off. Considering their last 'encounter', Ivan figured the less time in his sister's presence, the better. But the truth of the matter? He can't figure this out by himself in the slightest. All his magic is based on natural ability and intuition. She was the scholar. She dedicated her time to learning about magic, and in turn, became powerful. And…well, he owes Chloe one. She fixed Faith. And…she's also become something of a friend to him.
And so, after swallowing his pride, Ivan ends up trudging to the warehouse he knows is meant to be for the Solucis. There is a box in hand, and a grim expression on his features. "Scarlett?"
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Night.
A time when most normal people would be sleeping. A time when Scarlett should still be with Hyde, making sure that he doesn't break into another fever. A time when she should be throwing in a load of laundry, or doing up some dishes, or checking in on the younger siblings back at the ARTS, but she's not doing any of those things.
What she is doing, is sitting on an old wooden crate, in the middle of her rented warehouse space which looks like crap, and nursing a bottle of beer. She looks worse for the wear, but with Hyde actually in a solid sleep and the warehouse only a few blocks away, taking a few minutes to herself will be fine.
"How the hell did you find me?"
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Ivan smiles cryptically. Where as normally he would drawl about how he knows everything, or their elusive twin bond, he doesn't say anything. Instead, he heads towards her at an easy, pace, eyes looking the woman over cautiously. "…You alright?" He inquires at her less than impressive appearance, a brow arching slightly. This isn't a Scarlett he knows, as his pointed glance to the beer bottle indicates.
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"I've had better weeks." She motions to a nearby cooler, which he can either take as a seat, or use to get himself a beverage. Hoping that he busies himself with that, she intends on waiting until his back is turned to wipe at her eyes. Afterward, Scarlett takes a long drink from the bottle that she holds and glances up at the ceiling. "I think I need bookshelves in here, and some comfortable furniture in one corner."
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Ivan is silent. Utterly and entirely, before pursing his lips slightly. Despite whatever fleeting hostilities might have passed between them, the truth is that Ivan loves his sister. And seeing her in such a state… "…Does it have something to do with Hyde?" He inquires, low, passive, and almost shy. He's just trying to get information now, and it's with concern that he does so. "Huh? Oh…ah, yeah. I could…like, try and help out or something." Even though he can't really assemble bookshelves.
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"No," Scarlett says, in a way that really means 'yes'. "Whatever. It's not what you think. So if you're not going to get a drink, and you're not going to sit, are you going to tell me what's in that box?" Nodding toward it, she finishes off the beer and sets the empty to the back left side of the crate beside another. She's been here for at least a little while now.
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"How do you know what I'm…" Ivan cuts himself off, actually pausing to think about how it looks. And then he realize that of course she'd know what he was thinking, it's pretty obvious. And so, with a frown, he scratches the back of his head. "…Well, what is it then, Scar? I don't…" like seeing you like this. After a moment, he moves in to grab himself a beer. "What? Oh - the box. Right. It's nothing important. Well, it is, just not to me personally. Trying to help my friend. It's…love ribbons."
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"We're fine. Better than fine. There's just a lot going on." Scarlett rubs her hands over her face, then up through her hair, trying to decide what, if anything, she wants to tell her brother. "Long story short, he was bitten by a werewolf." No reason to go into details, right? "Just needed a break from getting him through the fever." That seems to be all that she's willing to say right now, except…
"PFAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA."
When she finally takes time to breathe in and stop laughing, she motions for the box. "Gimme. Why does your friend want love ribbons?"
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Once again, Ivan is speechless. "He's…is he a werewolf now, then?" Ivan inquires, a bit shocked by the revelation. Once that initial, insensitive question is asked, he shakes his head and gets out of his funk. "Whoa…that's…that's horrible, Scarlett. I'm sorry for him. That's…wow. Tough. Was it that bastard wolf that's been attacking people lately? Is he alright? He's got like…all of his limbs and stuff, right?" Look at Ivan's genuine concern!
But then, she's laughing. And he can't help it, his lips curl upwards. Because that's exactly how he reacted to it. The beer is cracked open and drunk from it, eventually handing over the box. "Be careful. It's charmed. And, she doesn't want love ribbons. Not anymore. Don't ask me why she had it in the first place, 'cause I don't know. She accidentally made a friend of hers or something fall in love with her. She needs a way to break the charm. I'm trying to help her but…I'm not good at this magic thing."
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"I don't know," Scarlett answers as honestly as she possibly can. "I guess? If he doesn't die first." It's grim, and the moment of laughter is completely gone from her now. "He's been too feverish to go into the details," she lies, looking at the box instead of her brother. When it's handed over she opens it carefully, and peers at the ribbons. "A potion would have been easier, but I think there was something in one of the family journals I read about love spells. Granted, there's no guarantee that what I find will work since I don't know who spelled them, but I can maybe work on a counter talisman?" She makes a face. "I may have to talk to Carter."
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Ivan pauses, before nodding his head slowly. "He wont die," Ivan has no way of promising this. He has no way of knowing whether this is the truth or not. But the truth is…sometimes people just need to hear it. "He wont die. Listen…Scar, I want to help you. If there's anything I can do, for you, for Hyde…just let me know. Anything at all. I know…I know what it's like. To have your significant other attacked by a wolf. I know how…how scared I was. But you'll pull through it. He'll pull through it."
Heavy shit. It deserves another swig of alcohol. "Anything you can do will help. I keep going back and forth about destroying it - I know that'd either break the charm or make it semi-permenant. So I figured instead, I'd leave it as a last resort and ask you about it." Oh. Carter. "You still talking to him? He quit the office. And he punched me in the face while doing so."
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He won't die. Scarlett's not too positive about that, which is why she needed the break. She can't present a strong front if she breaks down and cries around him. "Check in on Helen? I left her a message to run the shop if she felt like it, otherwise it's closed for the next few days. He doesn't have family around here, and so I've been staying with him." Except, Scarlett knows that Hyde didn't get attacked per se, just bitten.
"I wouldn't destroy it. There's no telling what type of hoo doo that'll cause. A counter spell or talisman would be our best bet, but I don't have all the journals here with me. I may need to get mom to FedEx them." Looking down at the ribbons again, she shakes her head. "Not really. He left me a drunken message a week or so ago. Haven't talked to him since he insinuated I was a whore."
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Ivan nods slowly, allowing his tongue to wet his lips carefully. "I'll drop by the ARTs and see how Helen's doing before heading back home. Is he at the Hospital? Hyde?" He inquires, quite curious about it. Especially if Scarlett's been staying with him. "Okay - sounds sound. See, this is why I needed to come down and talk to you instead of lighting the ribbons on fire and…" Beat. "Who did what!?"
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"No, he's at home." Should he be in a hospital? Scarlett doesn't think so. It's just a fever, and dragging him there so long after the 'attack' would look strange. "If he gets worse, I'll call an ambulance." He's still lucid, mostly, that's what matters. "Helen should be okay, but I think I needed to grab a few things so far as groceries go. See what she needs and front her the cash for it? I'll pay you back once I get home." Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, she shakes her head. "I don't know, before Hyde and I were coupley, we had an argument I guess you could call it. Went to talk to Carter, he got angry when Hyde came and kissed me. Said something about me running to the bathroom with Hyde to…" She makes a gesture, and then adds, "noisily."
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"Alright. Just be careful," Ivan warns her - and this time, he doesn't mean be careful with her heart. "Hey - don't worry about it. No need to pay me back or anything. I've got this. Just…take care of Hyde. S'all you have to worry about now, alright?" Down the beer goes. "Huh…so, that's the falling out you two had, huh? Interesting." Beat. "You know…for the longest time, I would have put down money on him being gay." This is the truth - but mostly, he's just trying to get his sister to laugh.
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Be careful? Well, she's doing her best but having never been in this situation before, it's hard. Still, she's monitoring things closely. Glancing at her watch, she makes a face. "I should get back soon," she comments, picking herself up from the wooden crate. "Yeah, it is. He may still be. I flat out propositioned him, and he said no… and I'm a Fontane." So it's not as though she's disgusting looking, or a horrible person.
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"…Why?" This is all Ivan can say, on the topic of Scarlett propositioning Carter. Ahem. "Alright…listen, when you have time, check out that countercharm you were talking about? No rush, though. Hyde's more important, without a doubt. Chloe can deal with having a fanboy for a couple more weeks. And…Scar?" Beat. "Are you sure you're alright?"
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"I was drunk," Scarlett replies, without missing a beat. "I'll see what I can recall, and I'll get the rest sent in the morning. I'll have time to read while he rests, and if I can't find anything, I'll let you know." Giving him a pointed look, she says, "You could always ask grandfather. I'm sure he'd fix it for you." For a cost. She doesn't add that though. Shoulders shrug upward once more. "No, but I will be. I'm stronger than I look. Mother hen, remember?"
