soul_campaign | Fourth Brew | Video | June 4, just after midnight

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Fourth Brew | Video | June 4, just after midnight

[When the video starts, there’s only a view of the dimly lit Kishin Chamber’s ceiling and the sound of a Texas twang that’s rarely heard over the network. The voice is a bit distant, as if the speaker is talking to herself rather than the device, and colored by a level of level of exasperation usually reserved for a certain nerdy nuisance of a sorcerer.]

Jiminy Cricket! Not this place again! That cotton-pickin’ contraption always picks the worst times!

[ Really, couldn’t it just leave a witchy person to brew in peace, solve the occasional murder, and fix a supernatural problem once in a while? The voice trails off into a frustrated sigh and less intelligible mutterings. Something about a date? And a soul trapped in a mirror…]

[But the mumblings stop a few moments later when Lily notices the communicator lying on the floor. Dag nab it! Is that smartphone thing on, too? Is that what she dropped when she landed sprawled on the ground?]

[Finally, Lily’s face comes into view as she leans over the communicator, red lipstick slightly smudged and the curl coming out of her 1920s style Marcel waved hair as several brown locks escape from a chignon at the nape of her neck. There’s a bit of a bare shoulder visible for a second before she draws back and only her face can be seen again, expression uncertain as she addresses whoever might be listening. She doesn't like these gadgets but she needs help.]

Um, could someone tell me what day it is? [It had been weeks by her reckoning but she knows how BREW likes to muck with time.]

And I need help with a clothes problem. A woman would probably be better. I can’t go back to my apartment like this…

[Then, she recalls the last thing she remembers about this place being tossing her keys on the kitchen counter after getting back from grocery shopping.]

Dag nab it. I don’t think I have my keys either...

[is there some person in charge of the apartment buildings with spare keys who could let her in? Or does she need to call a locksmith after she gets out of this place?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lily blinks, trying to work out what he means. Lord of Lands? Oh, the landlord! And the confusion is quickly replaced by a bit of alarm.] And he just gave them to you? You didn't touch my things, did you?

[But instead of an answer to his question, she gives an indignant retort.]

And what in tarnation does that have to do with why you have my keys?!

He was hesitant, I admit, but upon note of our partnership he seemed confused as to why we chose not to live together.

[But he shrugged. It was none of the man's business, even if his use of 'cohabitate' made him laugh. A peculiar term indeed.]

It has nothing to do with the keys. If you are indecent, then it would be troublesome to return to your room, now wouldn't it...?

Then, he shouldn't have given you those keys. [There's a reason why they have separate apartments!]

[And she noticed Lezard didn't bother to answer the question about touching her things so she assumes he did and lets out an exasperated breath.]

Did you at least put away the groceries then? [Otherwise, her apartment might smell rather fishy by now from the shrimp. Unless, the groceries also poofed with her...]

[There's a bit of a sputter and possibly a blush at that last suggestion.] Indecent? Do you think I'm like you, Mr. Still-Won't-Bother-to-Conjure-Clothes-When-Transformed?!

[Although one might wonder whether she's just annoyed or if there's some other reason she's protesting so much.]

The apartment has been maintained in your absence, including the bags left behind. What sort of partner would I be had I left the dust to gather in time for your return?

[He merely canted his head, though he was trying quite hard to maintain his innocence. Nothing could hide the grin that threatened to crack him. Lily, you have no idea how much he missed ~~pestering~~ you.]

Perhaps not. Of course, with your lipstick in slight disarray, I dare say wherever you were was far more fun than here...

[He ignored how much his foot was tapping from where he is seated, a habit of mild agitation. A pang of envy? Surely not.]

But you didn't touch anything else, did you? [She kept her Book of Shadows on a kitchen shelf. If he had opened it...]

[Was that a grin he was stifling? She glared at the communicator's screen.] And just what are you implying? I had more important things to worry about than kissing anyone!

[And finally realizing one of the spaghetti straps on her dress had slipped, she swore and tugged it back over her shoulder. And Lezard should now be able to see that even if the bead-embellished silk chiffon is only a few shades deeper than her skintone and has a deep V neck, she is indeed wearing something. Did he really think she would be talking to anyone via video if she actually was naked?]

I did have to shift a few things around to keep the place clean, but everything should be back in place. [Just a peek, Lily. Just a peek. That newspaper clipping of a peculiar incident in Texas, for instance...]

Of course. [A simple answer, but he noted her attire now. Now that was interesting.]

You do appear fresh from some form of formal event. ...You dance?

A few things? Like what? [Her tone is demanding but she doesn't mention her spellbook, worried that she might give him ideas if he hasn't already looked through it.]

Not well. Besides, there wasn't much time for dancing. A woman's soul was displaced and I needed to cast. Aidan Rhodes disappeared on me, too. [Another frustrated sigh. She should have been in a cab going back to Aunt Cora's Closet, not here.]

Furniture, odds and ends, spices. You've a fascinating wealth of reagents, but I would be a fool to expect less of my favorite... person.

[Ah! Information overload! He loves it. He'll get back on that dance thing in a minute.]

Displaced? ...A phylactery, perhaps?

Why the heck were you moving my furniture? And you've been snooping through my kitchen cabinets, too? [This is bad. If he had spent that much time in her kitchen, he couldn't have failed to notice that red leather bound book...]

A phylac-what? She was wearing a cursed corsage and now her soul's trapped in a mirror. I've got to put her back! [Why did that goldurned contraption have to keep interrupting at the worst times?]

Unfamiliar apartment. I sought the cleaning materials and nothing more.

[Oh, good. He wondered how in Hel you'd face off against a lich, Lily. For once he's glad to be off-base.]

A mirror? How old-fashioned... though I suppose if one were to preserve the body until the soul can be collected there is no further harm to come, lest the vessel go bad.

[He laughed quietly as he recalled something.]

Regardless, there is nothing you can do about that now. BREW has its whims.

...I take it you've had offers of assistance by now?

You live next door. Couldn't you have used your own? [What was he looking for? The stereotypical flying broom?]

[Her look is reproachful.] It's not a laughing matter. She wouldn't wake up and I've got to figure out how to get her soul out of that mirror before she dies!

[Time seemed to stop in her own world whenever she was here but still she couldn't help a frustrated sigh. Dag nab it!]

Yes, someone offered to bring footwear I can actually walk in.

[A shrug. That would answer the cleaner question and the next comment. Really, if she wished to find a way back right now, he'd love to hear about her plan.]

Then you can return here and retrieve your keys. You'll be escorted, correct...? The city changes at night.

[A beat.]

You look exquisite. The spilled curls... are they intentional? I would hope not. They add something.

The girl who offered lives in the same building so I presume she'd have to walk back, too.

[But she rolls her eyes a bit at his notion that she needs an escort at all.]

No. Toppling over from high heels doesn't exactly do wonders for fancy hairstyles. [Or lipstick. If Lezard had been in the Kishin Chamber, too, he might have noticed a suspiciously red smear on the floor.]

[Kidnappers and terrorists hide in the city right now, Lily. You can be stubborn another time.]

Hm. If I may be forward, there is something about being slightly disheveled that appeals far more than appearing too groomed, in my opinion.

[Oh, how he wants to smear that lipstick some more-- He placed a hand on his knee and stilled that jumping leg. Perhaps the lack of sleep was creeping up on him.]

Why those torture devices exist I will never know. Few would even bother looking at a woman's footwear. In any case, you'll need more comfortable pairs for a little idea I have stewing about in my head.

...What say we have a little fun sometime and I aid you in brushing up on your dancing? If BREW saw fit to interrupt not only your newest supernatural caper but your attempt at a good time, then I ought see to making at least one of these things right.

Is that why I see you with ink smudges on your face sometimes?

And I'd rather have worn my Keds but my friends insisted on heels for the occasion.

[His mention of an idea causes one of her eyebrows to lift.]

Just what are you thinking of? When it comes to dancing, I'm likely a lost cause. [Even if she managed to only stumble a couple of times when dancing with Aidan earlier in the evening, dancing with Lezard was near the bottom of her list of things she wanted to do while in Death City. Only slightly above falling into another pool and getting chased up a tree by giant insects again.]

[Amusement painted all over his face.]

Hah! Ink smudges add character. Did you not receive the memo?

[Naught but a smile.]

You could say I'm fond of a challenge. If anything it gives you the opportunity to crush my toes into oblivion...

[Lily just thinks it means he spends too much time with his nose in a book. Literally.]

If I wanted to do that, wouldn't it be simpler to drop one of those books that you're so fond of on your foot? [An encyclopedia, maybe...]

Perhaps it might. 'Tis counter-intuitive to let gravity get in the way of knowledge, however. But with no books within arm's reach, it's irrelevant.

Even a 'lost cause' can be taught. I've known dancing, piano, and many forms of formal entertainment for nearly two decades.

I doubt even an experienced instructor would help. Dancing seems to be one of those things a person has a talent for or doesn't. And I clearly don't.

[And she doesn't really see why he he suddenly wants to teach her.]

We'll simply have to see, Lily.

My door is unlocked; I shall fetch the keys from their safe-keeping.

[Okay, it's the utility drawer where he keeps the scissors and such, but sshh.]

[She just shakes her head and mutters at this notion of giving her dance lessons.]

I'll be there as soon as I can get back. [And she ends the call.]

[It's nearly 1AM when Lily finally steps out of the elevator on the ninth floor of Casualty Communal. After having walked back, she thanked Karina again and returned the flipflops, putting the heels back on for a few minutes until she could return to her apartment.]

[Wincing a little, she makes her way down the hall and knocks on the door of 9B. Even if he said the door was unlocked, she wonders if he's fallen asleep during the wait. Or he could be awake and in the middle of another explosive experiment, something she'd rather not suddenly walk in on!]

Lezard?

Very well. [The communicator was down with the end of the call, and he decided to catch up on his notes for the hour before he went to fetch those keys.]

[They jingled, almost booming in the otherwise silent apartment, and he twirled the ring around a finger. He wondered if he ought wait at her apartment, out in the hall, or here-- ah, she'd answered that for him.]

The locks are undone, Lily- you need not be shy~

[But he lifted his hand, stifling a small yawn and hoped it'd be over before she stepped inside. Perhaps his all-nighters were catching up to him.]

[He was going to make her come to him? She sighed and cautiously turned the knob, peeking around the door, slightly curious since she had never gotten a good look at his apartment before.]

Dag nab it, could I just have my keys?

[His apartment was... almost a study. It seemed he never wished to be outside of arm's reach of some pad of notes or a book of sorts, and so there were shelves and book-cases practically everywhere. Littering every which way were knick-knacks of no discernible value, but many of them modern- things that caught his interest and were put down for the time being. A coat rack nearby held his cloak and one of his jackets, neat and tidy, surprisingly enough.]

[He crossed into the room and adjusted the position of his glasses. The keys dangled from that finger.]

Of course. I had not expected the exact time frame of your arriv--

[The 'V' sound hung for a moment as he absently held out the keys. This was his first time seeing the dress and complete ensemble.]

...Hm.

[Well, if the school was ever missing a large portion of its library, Lily now knew where to look for it! She wasn't sure what to make of the modern knickknacks sprinkled in though.]

What? Aaah—!

[She approached to take the keys but a small stumble sent her off balance. Hands grabbed for his arms and her face ended up in the vicinity of his shoulder.

[Well, Lezard, you got your wish. Sort of... That shirt's going to need extra cleaning for the lipstick stains!]

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