Park Slope Studios - Brooke's Studio Apartment
The large studio apartment offers a great deal of open space. The studio has been recently renovated to include walls between the rooms, and though it's only 900 square feet seems much larger due to the open concept.
Two bedrooms can be found in the apartment, though only one is an actual bedroom. The second, which looks out onto Prospect Park, has been set up as a home office for a budding new business. Filled with filing cabinets, a computer, several calendars, extra day planners, the office manages to look both comfortable and busy at the same time. Several client clipboards hang on the wall.
French doors separate the two bedrooms from the main living area, which encompasses both a small living room and a dining nook. The living area has exposed brick wall with a fireplace. The remainder of the walls are a soft cream in color, and all the furniture is black.
The small kitchen is simple and elegant, with hardwood floors, and wooden cabinets to match. The appliances are older, but still in good working condition. There's no balcony, but there is access to the rooftop garden through a stairway that runs alongside the entrance.
Characters
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| Brooke Bishop | Siobhan Knight |
Sundays are generally lazy days. Days where she doesn't have to worry about a client winding up in a tabloid, or worry about running around with the family. Today is a day for herself. Her brother and sister are out with her parents, and she was just settling down when she got the call from Regina earlier this morning.
Apparently, Regina is tapping her to mentor a younger witch. It's not an odd thing. Brooke never had a mentor, but that was because she had her mother, aunts, and sister helping her. It would've been silly to send someone out to Lima every week to check on her progress when everyone else had no issue in reporting it.
Regina was amusing too. Refusing to tell her who the girl (or potential boy) would be. Choosing instead to tell her that they'd be arriving later this afternoon.
Which has left Brooke with enough time to do a quick cleaning of the apartment and tuck the air mattress away.
**
Sundays are supposed to be lazy days. Siobhan was looking forward to sitting around the house, drinking lemonade and hanging out with Jenna like they usually do. Of course, that was before she and her mother went to lunch on Saturday. With Regina.
There was an iPhone, YouTube and some polite conversation about the company she's been keeping. No accusations were made, and Siobhan is still (mostly) certain that they have no idea she was working on her control issues with Chance on Monday and Friday, and Siobhan didn't volunteer.
The "Why do I need a mentor when I have a mother and father?" question was carefully skirted and never answered.
Siobhan hasn't been told who's mentoring her, though she has spent the drive from the Upper East side to Brooklyn - because she refused to take the subway, period - texting back and forth between Jenna and Harper, and even Chance and Quin, bitching about her interrupted Sunday.
I just hope it's not some uptight crone. Siobhan really doesn't need that.
She crosses the small lobby and presses the button to be buzzed in by the appropriate person.
**
Tidying up the last little bit of the main room when the buzzer rings, Brooke hides the vacuum in the closet and presses the button. "Hello?" At least she doesn't sound like a crone.
She hopes.
Waiting for a reply, she draws her finger from the button and wipes her hand off a nearby picture frame to tidy up the dust from it. She likely should've done that before the twins arrived, but they don't really pay much attention to pictures.
**
The voice on the other end does not sound like a crone. That's a relief.
Biting her lip, Siobhan tugs her purse up on her shoulder and sighs. She wonders if the woman on the other end of the intercom wants to do this, or if Siobhan is her punishment for some indiscretion.
"Siobhan Knight," the young witch politely identifies herself. "Regina sent me. You're expecting me?" Siobhan hopes.
**
"Siobhan?"
Brooke has a moment of confusion over that. With Dawna and Robert as parents, she's got no clue why the girl needs a mentor. "Well I wasn't expecting you, but come on up. It's the top floor studio apartment."
As it's the young witch-sorcerer, Brooke may just take them upstairs to the garden to have their chat, and try to figure out what it is Regina's up to.
**
Siobhan's at a disadvantage. She still doesn't know whom she's meeting with, but it's someone that knows her. She's racking her brain hard to place the voice, but is coming up blank. She takes the elevator up, and knocks on the door. The one comfort is that her fellow witch obviously is surprised by Siobhan needing mentoring as Siobhan was by the notion.
**
There's no need for Brooke to look through the little peep hole she had installed. She knows the girl that's coming up. Shortly after the knock is given, she opens the door. "So Regina thinks you need mentoring? I've got no idea why. Are you having trouble with your magic and don't want to talk to your mother about it?"
Welcoming the younger witch into her home, she smiles. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way out to Brooklyn. If she'd told me who it was, I'd have met you somewhere in between to save you the traffic."
**
"Brooke!" It's partly relief, and partly surprise that Siobhan greets the older witch with. Stepping inside, she wonders why Regina felt the need to be all secretive. "If I'd known I was coming to see you, I wouldn't have minded making the trip to Brooklyn." Siobhan has been rather 'vocal,' figuratively speaking, about her 'sentence.'
The young witch makes no statement, not yet at least, about why Regina thinks she needs mentoring. She's more confused about why Regina thinks Brooke can help her.
Looking around, she smiles. "I like your place. It's great what you've done with it." It's said with sincerity, because now that she's not grousing, Siobhan is taking a good look at her surroundings. She doesn't overly recall the outside, but she thinks
Brooke has done a fantastic job with the interior decoration.
**
"It's small, but it works for me." Brooke knows that the younger girl comes from money, but she does note the sincerity in her voice. It makes her smile. "It needs a few more little touches, but they'll come in time." Closing the door behind Siobhan, she laughs.
"It's your choice, whether you want to stay in the air conditioning, or brave the rooftop garden. Either way, I've got some sweet tea and I can make up a quick tray of finger food if you're peckish."
**
Siobhan shrugs, "It's the city." Siobhan comes from money, but her mother's family isn't exactly rolling in it. They're secure financially, but she knows it's her father who has the true wealth. It's a bit disconcerting too, to realize that what he has is only a very small portion of what he would have had if he hadn't walked away from the Dynasty.
She admires a painting and then grins at a family portrait. "It's more than I could afford if I moved out." The young witch is reasonable and better informed than a good many because of her mother's family. "Which … would be why I'm still living at home." Which, also sucks because it ruins opportunities for sexy fun times with Harper.
Blushing slightly at her thoughts, Siobhan puts her boyfriend on the figurative back shelf. "I'm happy in the air conditioning. It's not as bad as it has been out there, but the day is getting warmer."
**
"It is. Ridiculous housing prices everywhere." Brooke rolls her eyes, knowing full well that some of the places she looked when getting her first apartment were stupidly over priced, but that people would pay it because it was the city. "Were you thinking of moving out? You could likely do it if you had a roommate, and lived in one of the college or university areas. I did that when I was in school." Her roommate happened to be a guy, a fact she didn't tell her mother until she was done school.
"Come on in to the main room then, and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to venture a guess that Regina's… determination in having you come here has something to do with a certain video that's been all over the internet?" She's been working damage control on it, monitoring comments and working with their contact at Google to get certain ones removed from the video.
**
"I wasn't but … it's starting to have its appeal." If she could convince Jenna to do it with her and be her roommie. Siobhan's not real sure about having some stranger as a roommate. Even an semi-stranger witch would still be odd. Especially since her friends include a sorcerer and a werewolf. "I think I'd be picky and wary about roommates, though."
Following Brooke into the main room, Siobhan has the good graces to blush and shift her gaze. She rakes her hand through her hair, looking everywhere but at Brooke. "I was … " Provoked. Pissed off. Completely unaware of what she was doing. Yeah, she took the defensive with Regina and her mother, but she doesn't want to fight with Brooke. The older witch doesn't seem to be pointing fingers or persecuting her. "… Annoyed."
**
"Boyfriend?" Brooke chuckles as she moves over to the kitchen. A pitcher of sweet tea and two glasses are set on a tray, along with some pre-cut fruit, and a fruit dip. It's nothing spectacular but she wasn't expecting company so it's what she could do on short notice. "I can understand that. In the city there aren't as many 'safe' places to hide that kind of thing from one's parents." In the country, there were always places to go. Brooke's fairly certain her father knew where she was, but also knew that she'd be testing her limits either way.
"Provocation happens. I've had my fair share of that in the past too. Granted, there was no Youtube around back then for it to get posted to."
Setting the tray on the small coffee table, she sits on the opposite end of the couch and glances up at the girl. "Relax, I'm not going to lecture you. But you can talk to me about it if you want to."
**
Ducking her head again, Siobhan nods. A smile lights up her face, though and the girl is beaming brightly as she thinks about Harper. She should be embarrassed that Brooke seems to know her thoughts and motivations, but it's not her mother or father, so somehow that makes it different. "Yeah, Harper." Even when she says his name, there's a good deal of happy affection.
"He lives at home with his parents, too. He's going to MIT." Yes, she might be bragging about him, and his intelligence, just a little. "My mother seems to understand that we're adults but … it would just be weird at home with my parents and Chris there." For a good many reasons, it would be even more weird at Harper's if it were even up for consideration.
Siobhan leans forward and takes a glass of tea and sips at it. She realizes that her purse is still over her shoulder, and slides it down, setting it on the end table. "It was … stupid. I guess. I don't know. I mean, I shouldn't have been that upset by it all."
Beat.
"I have a friend, who's a sorcerer." Siobhan scrunches her nose, "Which I'm sure is giving Regina fits even though Mom and Dad approve of him because he's the son of one Dad's friends."
**
"The Donovan boy?" Brooke does recall meeting him at the gala, though it's not as if Dawna's never spoken about him before. The look on Siobhan's face is enough to bring her back to when she was eighteen and looking like that when talking about Bryn. "MIT is a good school. How do your parents take you dating him?" The question is asked both out of curiosity, and to see if that's the reason for the provocation.
At the mention of the sorcerer, it finally sinks in why Regina recommended her for the mentoring. "Chance Harper." Whom she also met at the gala, and who's father she's taken quite a liking to. Enough so, that she thinks they could be good friends, given enough time.
Although there is that pesky tabloid article that she needs to address with Kieran before he gets upset over it.
"I doubt it's giving Regina as many fits as you think." She, along with Brooke's mother, made a stand for Dawna and Robert in the beginning, and for Siobhan as well. Though Brooke doesn't divulge of this. "I've met Chance's father, and I don't think it's a problem that you're friends with him."
**
Siobhan nods, happily so. "Yes. My best friend's brother, which really should be weird but …" Siobhan's been in love with Harper for so long that it seems a perfectly natural progression.
"Oh, they adore Harper," Siobhan laughs. "Mom is probably interviewing catererers and picking out banquet halls already." It's a joke, but Siobhan reflects, it might not be so far from the truth.
"At the Shakespeare Gala, right," Siobhan remembers now that Brooke has mentioned it. She sighs and shrugs, "Chance is cool. I like him. That's why we were there, a group of friends going for a day out, but one of his cousins invited himself alone." Pausing, Siobhan frowns and bites her lip. She might have seemingly put it behind her, but that's only because she doesn't reflect on it long. Still, Jackson's vitriol stings; it stings that anyone can harbor that much unreasonable hatred.
Slowly, Siobhan tells Brooke about Jackson Nash, and the words he said, and how Jenna tried playing nice with him while Siobhan tried not to cry and throw up from all of his nastiness.
She's finished with the iced tea and nibbling on a piece of fruit when she gets to Jackson's errant spell sending Jenna overboard. "That's when I got pissed. I mean, fine if he wanted to take it out on me, but of everyone there, Jenna was being the nicest sweetest … because that's who she is."
Siobhan squirms. "When I get upset, I have these magical outbursts, but Chance has been teaching me to control them by channeling them elsewhere. Hence the whole water and waves thing. It stopped me from setting the boat on fire."
Beat.
"Or setting Jackson on fire."
**
There is a little laugh at the jest. "I've been there," she says quietly. Things didn't work out with Bryn, but that's because while they both cared deeply for each other, neither was ready for a serious commitment. He more than she, but in the end it was a good thing for her.
"This would be his cousins on the Nash side of things?" It's probably very helpful for Brooke that she did have that conversation with Rhett, because she knows now how that side of his family can be. "They're not all like your father, or Chance. Some are just plain crass and think they're better than everyone." Reaching out, Brooke gives Siobhan's hand a squeeze to let the younger girl know that she's been there too. If it weren't for Bryn keeping her grounded, there's every possibility she'd have set Bastien Blackwell on fire shortly after their first meeting.
After the story is complete, Brooke frowns. She will call Rhett and let him know what happened, in case he's not yet heard. She'll point him to the Youtube video as well, because it really doesn't sound like Siobhan tried to sink the boat after all of her work channeling the energy elsewhere.
"You did the right thing. Trying to channel the magic elsewhere. Regina may disagree, but I can show you a few other techniques for story that extreme amount of energy for later." Spells can be stored for a good long while with the proper technique, and then the energy will fizzle out on its own eventually.
"So Chance has decided to help you?" Picking up her warming sweet tea, she takes a sip from it. "With the sorcerer side of things?"
**
The witch feels unmeasurably relieved when Brooke is more understanding than judgemental. It's good to hear and sense that the older witch has been there and knows what Siobhan was thinking and feeling. "I think I would … like to learn that technique." Anything to help her with her crazy witchy-sorcerer powers.
Picking up another piece of fruit, Siobhan nibbles on it as well. "Yeah. It's funny really, I mean I'd been so hard on him because of what he was, even after I knew he was the infamous Rhett's son." Siobhan smiles a bit. "But he just kept trying to win me over and be my friend, and then he offered to help me with my magic outbursts after …IalmostcausedablackoutwhilemakingoutwithHarper." At Amber Bardot's party. Wow, is she ever glad she doesn't have to explain that to her parents.
The witch shakes her head, "I still don't know why he wants to help me. He admits he's kind of intrigued because I have both sorcerer and witch magic, but he's just so damn sincere." Unless it's like Jenna says and the sorcerer likes her.
**
"That technique is going to have to be our secret, alright? Because no one knows that I've been using it." For years. Since Bryn taught her how to channel the power. "It's almost like making a charm. I'll get the required items in a minute." Because it will require a few. Brooke generally keeps some sort of stone on her at all times. A small piece of quartz in her purse. Turquoise earrings. Something.
It takes a moment for her to decipher the quickly spoken words, and when she does she laughs. "Oh, sweetheart, are your surges still that bad?" Beat. "It could be the sorcerer magic trying to come out, or fighting with the witch side of you." She doesn't know for certain. As far as she knows, she's never run into another hybrid like Siobhan.
"We'll work on it."
Beat.
"He could be intrigued. There aren't many that are admitted to be both. Most Dynasties will do away with an 'abomination' of that magnitude, and the older witches don't like to admit that it happens."
**
The younger witch blinks at the elder and then nods. She's not got a problem with keeping secrets. Her parents don't know what she's been practicing with Chance, though it hasn't been a lot of sorcerer magic yet. She's learning to control it first. They definitely don't know about her meeting Reynard. "Deal. I won't tell a soul."
Siobhan blushes a bit and shrugs, then nods which has to be the most conflicting response ever. "Yes. Sometimes. Though it's usually only been when I've been upset. Like angry or annoyed. I'd never had it happen when I was … with a guy before." Then again, no guy has been Harper.
"Jenna thinks he likes me. Chance, I mean." Honestly, now that she's not fighting so hard against him, Siobhan doesn't know how she feels about that. She knows he's not any competition for Harper, but it's another confusing dynamic added to this new odd group of friends.
"Chance said the same thing. That it could be my sorcerer magic. When we were working together." Despite his playboy ways, the sorcerer is smart and insightful. Not that Siobhan will ever tell him that.
Biting her lip, her mind goes back to the boat that day, and she considers. "I did something to Jackson." The witch lowers her voice, although there's no one else around to hear them. "I bound and gagged him." Half of that is sorcerer magic, but that's not the part she's really confessing. "Then I blocked his casting for a little while. I don't even know how I did that." Or if she could do it again. Also, she knows it's not permanent because she asked Chance if the little shit was casting again.
**
"We all have our secrets, Siobhan." Winking at the younger girl, she finishes her sweet tea before setting the glass on the tray and standing. "Let me just clear this and get the box that we'll need."
It's interesting, the fact that the girl is getting another surge. Brooke has heard of such things in the really powerful witches in the Coven. That they get magical surges as they age, as they add to their repertoire of spells and potions. Rumors. Nothing that her mother or Regina have confirmed.
"This is going to be a little bit personal, but you aren't using your magic for… sexual gratification are you?" Raising her brow, she waits for the answer and then moves to bring the tray to the kitchen.
"It's possible that he does. Have you asked him? Obviously not all sorcerers are hideous assholes, otherwise I doubt your mother would have agreed to marry your father." With the tray set aside, she opens a cupboard under the sink. There's a bit of movement there and she pulls out what looks like an antique jewelry box. Carrying it with her to the main room, she sits on the couch again.
"You did something… to Jackson." Okay, that she might have to tell Regina about because she knows that it may raise issues with the Nash Dynasty, and Regina will need to smooth that over. "Well he deserved it." There's a beat, and then a smile. "He's lucky that's all you did." But apparently it isn't all the younger girl has done. "That sounds almost like your power overtook you for a moment. You should tell Regina that part though. She'll need to ensure that the young Nash isn't going to try to retaliate, or that if he intends to that you're prepared for it."
**
"What? No … I mean, how?" Siobhan has never even considered using her magic in that particular vein. The younger witch can't even fathom how it could be used in such away. Of course, now Brooke has sparked his curiosity, and she'll be thinking about it from a practical stand point.
"No," Siobhan asserts again. She peers thoughtfully at Brooke, and is glad to be able to ask the older witch instead of her mother. "Does that happen a lot, though? I mean surges when you're … intimate with someone? I mean, lights blinked when I made out with Harper, I'll probably blow the whole breaker box when we have sex." When, not if. Foregone conclusion.
There's a slow, reluctant nod from the younger witch. She really doesn't want to tell Regina what happened with the blocking magic, but she knows Brooke is right. Regina does need to know. Chance may have found it amusing, and he swore that his father wouldn't begrudge her what she did, but his father isn't the Nash Dynasty. "I'll tell Regina."
Sitting back, Siobhan watches Brooke, eyes going curiously to the box. "Ask him? If he likes me?" She shakes her head. "No, no, no, that would just be … if he does, he does. If I ask him and then I know thathe does, it'll mess up the whole group dynamic. Since Jenna likes him, anyway and I'm with Harper."
**
"It used to for me. Quite a bit. I just about burnt the old guest house down one time." Grinning, she leans forward to place the box on the table. "You probably shouldn't be using magic for gratification. When your body is wired for sex, it's a bit difficult to control your abilities. Especially if you're having surges right now."
That's not to say that Brooke won't explain it to the younger witch some day. Just not today.
"Well hopefully if this technique I'm going to teach you works, you won't have to worry about it. Maybe a popped light bulb or two, but not taking out the entire block."
She hopes.
"I can be there when you tell her. It may help keep you calm, and I can translate young-twenties pretty well still," Brooke teases her. Then there's a laugh. "It would be better to know if he likes you. Especially if you're having surges as it is. If he does something that you don't like, you could hurt him accidentally and I don't think you want that." Beat. "And you could explain to him that you're with Harper, and let him know that you're not interested. I'm not pushing you to do it, I know how it is in a group dynamic, but it could clear the air between you."
**
"Good," Siobhan says and then laughs. "Though that would probably make certain our first time was memorable." As if it won't be anyway.
Siobhan thinks about it, and thinks about talking to Regina about going all out on Jackson. She nods to Brooke. "I'd appreciate that. If you'd go with me to talk to Regina."
Then she's laughing again, and blushing profusely from her head to her toes. "Oh, well … he knows. I mean .. . he definitely knows I'm with Harper." He was the one that sent she and Harper below deck to the sleeper cabin, and was right there when her privacy spell fizzled. "But I guess, maybe just bringing it all out in the open isn't a bad idea."
**
"I'm sure your first time with someone you truly care about is going to be memorable anyhow." Brooke knows how different it is. Being with Bryn, though a bit clumsy at first, was far different than being with Tristan. She liked Tristan well enough, but Bryn was the first guy she ever actually loved. Her thoughts drift briefly, wondering what it would be like with Kieran, if it ever happens.
Realizing she's drifting right into fantasyland, she clears her throat.
"I've been in front of the Elders before, trying to explain myself." And it certainly wasn't someone half as nice as Regina whom she faced. "I was just a little younger than you when I did it."
Beat.
"Bringing it out in the open would be a good thing, for sure. You'd know where you both stand with things."
**
As she watches the change come over Brooke's face, the younger witch wonders if she's waxing nostalgic or thinking about her majorly hot boyfriend. Siobhan loves Harper, but she's female and Kieran Collins is a beautiful piece of male hotness all around. No one can fault her for looking and admiring.
"I'm sure it will be," Siobhan nods with a faint smile. She's looking forward to it, and it doesn't matter that Harper's going away in the fall. She's not sure where he is in this relationship of theirs, but Siobhan isn't looking for anything or anyone else.
Coming back to the here and now, Siobhan blurts, "Why?" There goes that whole lack of filtering thing.
Eyes wide, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of me."
Beat.
"Well, if nothing else, if he doesn't like me, Jenna can stop going on about it."
**
"Why?"
Brooke laughs, and then gives her head a shake. "Because, there was a time just a little over twelve years ago, where I had plans to marry a sorcerer." It's in the Coven's books, so it's not exactly secret knowledge. "So I had to explain the relationship to them. Which family it was I was involving myself with. How long I had known him."
Shrugging, she adds, "It'll be common knowledge to you soon enough. Once you get access to the Coven grimoires."
**
There's a scrunching and wrinkling of her nose. "Not for another year. If I'm lucky." There's no hard and fast rule in the Coven. Twenty-one is typically the age, but depending on the elders and the witch involved it can be pushed back and some witches have been known to be as old as twenty-five.
With my luck, that will be me, thanks to my good old tainted sorcerer's blood. Chance may think she's unique, but as a whole, having a sorcerer as a father makes for more frustration than anything else. They accept her as a witch, but often Siobhan gets the feeling that a majority of the Coven is just going through the motions.
The funny thing is, she doesn't seem to find it hard to believe that Brooke was involved with a sorcerer. She is one of those who has no problems interacting with Siobhan's parents.
**
Some have been known to never get access to the Coven files. There are a few that were around the same age as Brooke that sill don't have access.
"I wouldn't worry about it, Siobhan. You may gain access to it earlier." Beat. "I did." It kept her mind off of other things while she was at school. Not that the Elders thought it was a great idea, but Regina fought for her then too. "It all depends on when they think you're able to handle what you might see in there. In your case, the big concern is going to be what you may see in regards to your parents."
Beat.
"But I'll tell you the shortened version of it. I dated Bryn Blackwell from the time I was thirteen until I was eighteen. We were meant to be married after high school, but it didn't work out that way. I believe you met him at the gala as well? Miss Roche's date? He knows your father."
**
Siobhan frowns. It's hard to imagine that The Coven records can tell her anything that she doesn't already know about her parents. "I'm pretty sure I know what's there about my parents. The Coven wanted to kick Mom out after she got pregnant with me, then they wanted her to give me away, and then they didn't even want to acknowledge my existence."
Siobhan blinks. "Wow, kind of like the Knightley Dynasty, without having a brother out there saying he could arrange to have me killed off."
Yes, her parents have been rather honest and frank with her.
"Then when my father immigrated here, they had to go through the whole horse and pony show again.
Beat.
Yes, Siobhan remembers Bryn Blackwell. She remembers her father telling her that he was the 'go to bloke' if she should ever find herself. And she remembers thinking she'd probably be too busy drooling and possibly wanting to change her panties to be able to talk to the man coherently.
Blink.
"Wow. So… you were involved with Mr. Blackwell … and now you're dating Mr. Collins? Fucking awesome, they're both hot."
**
"There is that, yes. But you'll see when you read through it. Not everyone wanted to kick your mother out of the Coven. There were people who supported her. Who still do. I was ten when you were born, but I remember mum having quite a few of the women come to our place upstate to discuss it." Not that Brooke was allowed to listen. Bridget was told to take her away and occupy her, but that doesn't stop her from remembering who was there.
"To be honest, they would have been foolish to give you away. From a logical standpoint, without any emotional factors in there for your mother and father, you stand to be a very powerful young woman. That makes you much more useful to the Coven." It's pure honesty, and the older witch isn't sure what it is Regina is wanting her to tell Siobhan about things.
Laughing, she nods. "What can I say? I've got a thing for men with dark hair and blue eyes." There's a slight blush as the younger girl notes how hot both men are. "It seems we have similar tastes, hmm?"
**
It's the first time that Siobhan has really thought about her heritage as being more than a family thing. Logically she's known that of course the Coven knows all the details, and probably the local Dynasties as well, but this is the first time that it's clicked. That witches know who she is, and whom her parents are, and how carefully she might be under scrutiny. That hanging out with Chance is going to get noticed. That hanging out with Quintin Bruning is going to get noticed. It's something she'll want to follow up and talk to her parents about. Or maybe she'll just ask Brooke.
Siobhan blinks again and then laughs, wearing a blush of her own. "Yeah, I guess we do." Beat. "Harper has dark hair and blue eyes, too."
**
"So I noticed at the gala," Brooke replies with a laugh. "Ten years too young for me though." Not legal either, so while Brooke will note that he's a looker, he's the 'too young to consider' looker. Nice for the eyes but not much else.
"The thing is, Siobhan, you're unique as far as I know. That means that everything you do is going to be watched very carefully. I've seen the video. You can't make out who the people are exactly, which is a good thing. I've watched the movements though, and I know that there's no way you were responsible for that last wave." Which is what she'll tell Regina as well.
"Now, did you want to get started on that technique?"
**
"I think … I just clued into that," Siobhan sighs. It doesn't mean she's going to stop hanging out with Chance and Quin, but she is going to keep it in mind. "I suppose that being friends with Chance Harper is going to get noticed eventually." Chance can hack it, Siobhan is sure of that. She skirts bringing up Quin, for now.
"That last wave was freakish." Siobhan replays it in her head. "I know it wasn't me, and Chance said it wasn't him so we're not sure what caused it." It's a puzzle that hasn't been solved yet.
Shifting on the couch, Siobhan nods. She'll happily focus on magic technique. "Yes, please. I really would like to learn it."
**
"If it's not been noticed already." Brooke may have mentioned that the figures weren't noticeable, but Regina has ways of figuring out who all was there. There are traditional means of zooming in on the video, and magical means as well.
"The only other magic user on that boat was Jackson Nash, and from the looks of things, I'd say it was directed at him." Which leaves Brooke in doubt that he'd have cast the spell.
Tapping the box, she moves to sit on the floor in front of the table.
"It's a very simple technique. I assume Dawna's shown you how to make a basic charm?"
**
Siobhan slides off the couch to kneel on the floor beside Brooke. "I guess that means I should not only watch the company I keep, but what I do while keeping it." Not that she's done anything that she needs to be ashamed of. Nicholas Reynard suddenly creeps into her head, and Siobhan pushes it back. She's not going to call the sorcerer, so there's really no point in bringing that up.
"She has, yes," Siobhan nods. "I made a calming charm for a friend. He has some anger management issues." That's not all, but she's not going to go into the rest of it.
Beat.
"He says that it's helped."
**
Brooke glances over at her with a nod. "Likely. You might want to warn your brother of the same thing as well. He's part of the Coven and in the same situation you are." It's probably a good thing that she has no powers of telepathy, because she would hate to have to lecture the girl about the dangers of the Reynard family.
"Then this should be very easy for you in comparison."
Opening the box, she tilts it toward Siobhan. It's filled with a variety of rocks. Nothing of the gemstone variety. Quartz. Chalcedony. Agate. Obsidian. Pieces that she won't mind discarding if need be.
"Go through the box. Choose something that you like, or that feels the right weight in your hand."
**
Siobhan does as instructed, taking her time to look through the box. She asks no questions, not yet anyway, and simply picks out a stone, and weighs it in her hand. If she likes it, she sets is aside, if she doesn't, she sets it to a different spot. When she has five stones - two quartz, one rose quartz, one obsidian and one agate, she goes through them methodically again. Finally, she's narrowed it down to the rose quartz and she turns back to Brooke.
"This one," Siobhan holds the stone out in her palm for Brooke to see. "What's next?"
**
The rose quartz piece that Siobhan has chosen is a nice size. It should be able to contain the excess energy without bursting. A split perhaps, but that happens. Brooke drops her hand into the box, closes her eyes, and comes out with a small piece of citrine that's just a shade lighter than her hair. Smiling at what she's plucked out, she sets it on the table before her and tucks the box under the couch.
"Next, you attune it to your energy. It sounds hokey, I know. But cast a small spell toward it. A light spell or something that comes easiest to you."
**
The younger witch considers for a moment, and then does as instructed, aiming a light spell at the rose quartz. She chooses it because Brooke suggests it and it's better than sitting here and trying to rack her brain for a spell. It's one of those on the spot things and she knows that she would think about it too long and far too hard.
**
"Good. Now, disperse the spell. You don't want to be carrying a glowing rock around with you." Brooke grins at the girl, and does a different spell to her chosen rock. A vibration spell that allows it to react the way that a phone would on silent mode.
The stone vibrates for a few seconds before she disperses her own spell.
"I know you can't call up the energy on command. So, you know how you can store a spell for a few moments before releasing it?"
**
Siobhan giggles. "I don't know. It could be fun. It'd make a cool flashlight." She disperses the spell, though as instructed.
"I do," Siobhan nods.
**
Laughing, she nods. "It would, but you'd have to explain a glowing pocket, I'm sure." Brooke knows that she's used pebbles tossed into the darkness in the past to keep her from tripping over things. At least back in Lima it was a good thing to be doing.
"Right. So, you're going to use the stone in the same manner. Except, instead of storing the spell, you're going to store the excess energy into it. Once you're able to do it, you can use that excess energy later if you need to. I've found that it's typically good for about twenty-four hours or so. You can use that to cast certain spells."
**
Siobhan stares at the stone. "So, the next time I feel like I've got some extra energy, I just channel it out at the stone?" It certainly beats aiming for water when the closest thing might be the pipes in the house. Though she's not going to discount Chance's teaching and suggestions, either. They have helped. With this, though, maybe she'll be able to focus more on sorcerer magic when she's with Chance.
**
"Technically, yes. It would be easier if I could have you channel it right now so we could tweak it." Brooke frowns a little, wondering if it will work as well for Siobhan as it did for her when Bryn showed it to her. "It's like carrying a piece of earth with you wherever you go. Water is good too, if you're near water. The danger with water is that the human body is over seventy percent water. You could push your energy into another living being accidentally if you're not careful."
Brooke is fairly certain that Siobhan is going to be careful when she pushes the energy into the water or concentrates on it. But accidents do happen.
"You may need to carry more than one stone with you, and you'll find which work best for you. A regular pebble will work as well. I prefer the polished stones because Bridget can easily turn them into a piece of jewelry for me."
**
"Maybe I can …" Siobhan isn't going to promise it. It's still one of those more 'out there,' sorts of things that she's working her way through. "Should I hold it, or leave it on the table?"
**
"Don't force the energy. If you let it come naturally and learn to control it, that's better than forcing it and potentially hurting yourself in the process." Brooke gives Siobhan's shoulder a small nudge. "You know your mother would never forgive me if I let something dangerous happen to you."
Taking the citrine, she tucks it into her pocket and adds, "The closer you have it to your body the better. Jewelry, in a pocket. Your purse would likely work as well."
Beat.
"So, since I'm mentoring you, you can ask me any questions you want. You can call me whenever you need someone too, if you're too afraid, or just plain don't want to call your parents."
**
Looking up at Brooke, Siobhan sighs and nods. She really wants to try it now, but she doesn't want to hurt herself. She had been patient waiting for Harper all these years, she can certainly be patient with learning and trying this new technique.
The witch slides the stone into her pocket, and motions toward Brooke's box. "Is that what all of those are for, or do you collect them for other things, too?" Her mother has a collection of crystals and stones that she uses for spells and charms, hence where Siobhan got the materials for the one she made for Quin. Siobhan's collection of spell items is pale in comparison. Everything she has fits in one small hope chest. It's not even full sized.
"I can think of plenty of times when I don't want to call my parents," Siobhan giggles. She's close enough to her parents, but there have been times and things lately that she's really not comfortable talking to them about. Fretting, she smooths an invisible wrinkle out of her dark capri pants, and chews on her lip. One question springs immediately to mind, but she's not even sure how to word it. Or, if that's even what Brooke meant.
"Um …something else … weird happened after all that spell casting and magic stuff."
**
"Mostly. Some I collect for charms. Some I save for my sister to use in specific pieces of jewelry for people." But mostly, Brooke uses them as energy storage when she finds she's got a bit too much. "Take the few you first took out of the box. I've got plenty." This is far from her only box of things she's got stashed around the apartment. Nothing in one place if she can help it.
Brooke doesn't need to be telepathic to sense that the younger witch is a bit uncomfortable. Instead of replying right away, she allows Siobhan a chance to get it out.
"Weird? Such as?"
**
"Thank you," Siobhan says. She looks back to the box and the small pile of stones and begins to pick them up from the table. It gives her something to do with her hands and a reason to avoid looking at Brooke.
"I don't know if it was related. I mean, it might have just been relief you know, after all the stress and tension, but … I really couldn't keep my hands off Harper."
Beat.
"Iwasreallyhorny." Not only are the words breathed out in a rush, but Siobhan is ducking her head and speaking softly as she feels her face go from tan to red.
**
"You were…"
Brooke raises her brow a little. Exhaling slowly she nods. "Alright. It could be either. It could be both. It could be neither." She wasn't there so she can't explain it. "You cast a gagging and a binding spell. And another to bind his powers, that you don't even recall doing." Fingers tap upon the table.
"It… happens… sometimes."
**
"…and I helped Chance bail the boat. He taught me a sorcerer spell to do that." She thought she mentioned that, but maybe she didn't. Siobhan's only throwing it out there because Brooke was inventorying her spells cast that day.
"What happens? You get crazy horny after spell casting?" Siobhan's eyes widen. That's definitely not one that her mother told her about. Exhausation? Yes. Crashing? Yes. Wanting to hump the nearest attractive male? Not even a mention.
**
"One of the earlier ones was a sorcerer spell too…"
Brooke takes a deep breath. It too is exhaled slowly. "It depends entirely on the spell. Sorcerer magic works a little differently than our spells do." At least so far as she can surmise. Intrinsically the same, yet still different. "The stronger the spell, the more energy used… it happens." There's a hint of a blush as she recalls one spell sharing session with Bryn. Filing it away she clears her throat. "Your mother wouldn't have thought to tell you about it, because as far as I know it doesn't happen after using witch magic." It's possible that it does, but Brooke's mum is not someone that she'd ever think to ask about it.
**
"How …" Siobhan stops. She can't figure out what she wants to ask. "How do you handle that?"
It shouldn't be possible for eyes to go wider or for her cheeks to darken further, but somehow it happens. "Other … other than the … obvious. I like Chance, but I don't like Chance and I have a boyfriend but I want to keep working with Chance because I want to learn the sorcerer magic and I think he can teach me a lot and we can do a lot together with witch and sorcerer magic but I don't want to end up screwing him and cheating on Harper because I have some sort of magical Spanish fly affecting me!" Yes, the words tumble out one after another without even a breath taken in between.
**
"Don't cast sorcerer spells around a sorcerer." Which is difficult, because it's difficult to learn a sorcerer spell without a sorcerer unless you've stumbled upon a grimoire, or wander to the Undercity looking for a specific spell.
"Take a deep breath, Siobhan. Don't panic. You can learn to control that too." There are other ways that Brooke can come up with in regards to that, but she doubts Dawna would appreciate it much if she told Siobhan about them. "You can ask your boyfriend to come pick you up after a spellcasting session and focus that on him. Sexual energy is like any other. If you've got a focus for it, you're less likely to jump the nearest male outlet."
Beat.
"And if Harper's not available, there are plenty of… well… toys… that can help you out in that department when you get home."
**
Toys?
It takes a moment and then Siobhan is squirming and intensely focused on putting the gathered stones into her purse. She's not an idiot or a prude, and though it took a few seconds for it to sink in, she knows what toys are. She's only, however, ever relied on herself. The squirming is from embarrassment, from curiosity and from embarrassment at being curious.
Instead of focusing on that, she focuses on the other parts that Brooke said. "Right, having Harper pick me up or be there would be a good idea." Though she's thinking if she tells Harper she might get a bit amorous after casting with Chance, he might just object to it. She's really not interested in Chance like that, but she is interested in learning sorcerer magic; having only just started, Siobhan is not ready to risk giving it up.
**
"Likely your best option if you're going to be toying with it." Brooke knows that it's a part of Siobhan, so she's not going to give the typical Coven spiel about how sorcerer magic is evil, and how she'd be banned from the Coven for using it. If the Coven is not expecting a sorcerer's daughter to dabble and learn, then that's their mistake.
Clearing her throat, the witch looks to the ceiling.
"I can teach you a few spells that might help with the over amorous feelings. You already have a calming spell, which will help immensely. If you cast it before you use the sorcerer magic it won't be as bad or have such an immediate need."
**
Siobhan has noticed that Brooke isn't lecturing her or giving her the party line about sorcerer magic. She wonders if maybe that's why Regina sent her to Brooke. The Matriarch has to uphold the rules, but she knows what Siobhan is, and chances are she knows that all the witches in the Coven aren't so untainted. Even her mother knows a few sorcerer spells.
"I'd like to learn those, too, please?" Beat. "Maybe not today, but eventually? I mean, I don't think I'll be doing any serious spell casting with Chance any time soon. I'm still learning the basics and control."
**
"We can work on them. If you'd like we can set up a schedule. Sundays are generally best for me, but my schedule is fairly flexible so I can work around whatever you need." Brooke may have to run off in the middle of a lesson if there's a major crisis, but otherwise she's flexible.
"I'll look into your other issue though and determine if it was definitely the sorcerer magic, or just burgeoning hormones. I've got a few contacts that should be able to answer that, without me having to go into details."
**
"Sundays are usually good for me too," Siobhan agrees. She doesn't have to check her calendar for that. She teaches during the week and sometimes on Saturdays. Nights are dedicated to extra classes or covering the studio, or Harper or Jenna or just hanging out with her friends, though that's also flexible on a whim.
"Thank you," Siobhan says sincerely. She really would prefer that no one knows what she's going through with an unexpected side-effect of magic.
**
"So let's tentatively schedule Sundays after brunch." Because Brooke does assume that the Knights often have standing reservations for brunch on Sunday, and she doesn't want to interrupt a family meal. "You are welcome to come here, or like I said, we can meet somewhere more neutral for you. The park is generally filled with people on Sunday."
Shrugging, she grins. "You're welcome."
