"I found the less I think about it, the better." Noel said as they took a sip of their bubble tea. Their arm was all bandaged up, and thanks to that, Noel found themself loitering around town, aimlessly. "I was asking if you wanted some bubble tea? It might not get rid of the existential dread, but it's tasty. Or do you wanna get out of here and get some fresh air?" They shrugged to the best of their ability, wincing a bit as they moved their arm. "Were you hurt in the masquerade? I hope you're okay." Not that all the damage was physical. They were thankful they got out of the ballroom as fast as they did because if they had to witness everyone in town volunteering to get tortured, they would've lost their damn mind.

Who: @lunarcovestarters

Where: Anywhere

Elena was tired from the events of the other night still and found herself anxiously wondering how safe of a haven this place really was. Especially considering the fact that someone named the Catalyst was clearly trying to kill them all. Hearing the person behind her speak up once more and she jumped slightly. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” She asked curiously as she turned to look at them with an innocent expression on her face. “I was just—“ She stuttered as she tried to find the right words. “Sorry, but this town is a shit show and I can’t get my mind off of it.”

"I..." Voice drifted off as Amrita stared at the man in front of her in pure shock. Taking a deep breath, she buckled up for this to escalate. "I understand that, sir. I'm not saying your money is not good. I am, however, unsure if I should sell poisonous plants." At the mention of being the plant police, Amrita felt her left eye twitch. Okay, she should just give him what he wants. "I'm not an expert of poisonous plants, but I could sell you some bittersweet nightshade. The stem has some good uses, but the berries and leaves can cause vomiting, slowness of breath, even death depending on the dosage. So, I could only sell you one of those." Maybe she'd give him a wilted one that didn't have a lot of leaves? "There's also chinese laterns or winter cherry, it's a very beautiful plant. If I remember correctly unripe fruit or leaves can cause slowness of breath, headaches, numbness, dilated pupils. That's probably as far as I can go, sir. Unless you can think of other plants, but it'll be a very small one." The tulips next to her began to wilt. "I think this would scare any employee here. This kind of situation is not really covered in our training, so... I don't think there's a right answer for it." Only wrong answers. "Not really, Suresh? This is the first unorthodox request I have on the job. So, do any of those plants interest you?"

Suresh gave a shake of his head, brow furrowing, as if he could not understand what exactly about this simple request had been so perplexing as to make everyone freeze. "I'm sorry? What are you, the plant police? My money's good, love. Anything I decide to do with my property after it leaves this shop is really none of this shop's concern. So just...don't think about it. Besides, I really just want to frighten them a bit. Teach them not to cross the line." He crossed his arms, annoyed to be foiled. "Well, I heard you used to have them. Can't you just grow more? Or, like, magic some up? Or I don't know...give me the seeds, and I can grow my own? I'm functionally immortal, more or less. I've got the time, love." The thought of poison did seem to tug back some of his irritation, though, and Suresh smiled, sinister as it was. "And what are those symptoms? It stings, I imagine. That's all well and good, but I could dry out someone's skin with a hair dryer and a dehumidifier. Have you got anything that'll make them turn blue? Or their eyebrows fall off? Or, I don't know, fall into a little temporary...half-coma?" He leaned on the counter. "Am I scaring you? Why am I scaring you? This town is full of awful creatures worse than I. Surely, you get all sorts of unorthodox requests. I'm Suresh. You're stunning. There, now we're friends."

"I'm just being realistic, man. I was scared I'd be eighty by the time you both got your shit together." Noel couldn't really hold the pacing of his relationship with Briar against him. Her serious relationships had moved at a similar pace after all even though she was impulsive. "You're welcomed to join our little karaoke sess', you gotta know the lyrics to this one, Jas." She wiggled her eyebrows at Jas' direction before chuckling. Julian's sincere words, however, caught them a bit off guard. A bright, proud smile overtook her features. "First of all, I would surpass all standards. It's not my fault he doesn't have them. But yeah, he can't be trusted with supernatural stuff. It's not my fault I owe like five black lace umbrellas to avoid sun damage." She needed her skin to stay in top notch condition for as long as possible. Laughing at Julian's words, Noel couldn't help but to tease him. "Nah, nah. You can totally pull off that look. Do it for Halloween. God, you should get a wig and everything. And ew, no thanks. Living forever sounded fun when I was a teenager, but now? That's a bit too intense for me. I'm just here for a good time, not a long time."

@julianrchandlerx

"Doesn't seem likely," Jas quipped. The corner of her lips tilting up ever so slightly in amusement. "I mean you did take months to even make a move," She hummed under her breath as she cracked her friend a knowing smirk. "Not jealous. More curious? Though, if you guys bust out into any more Spice Girls, I have no problem telling you both to get a room," She teased. Only for her brow to raise as she turned to look back over towards Julian. "You really need to raise your standards there, buddy. But, that's fair. Though, I'm sorry what? A vampire? The guy who didn't realize he was living in a town filled with magic until he dropped dead, even with fae and witches performing spells in the same room as him, thought you were undead? How does that work exactly? Though, I'm sorry what? Dude, please tell me you've learned more about vampires since then. Haven't you?"

@dvsconocvdo

"I think if I see you wear a diaper I might actually puke a little." Noel said with a disgusted look on her face before shaking her head. "However, those types of routines do rounds especially during February, so who am I to stop you?" Her nose scrunched up as she debated, genuinely, his idea. It wasn't anything like her routines. Her vibes, or rather Nightshade's vibes were quite different, but she could visualize it. "You know, in the Greek myths, Eros, tries to hide his face from his love, you could have a masquerade-esque mask. White and matte? Or maybe gold? It could pull it together." Aimless hands touched the old records as she looked through the ones from The Cure to see if she found one she didn't have already. "Can I ask what got you so excited to get a whole routine down? Planning on joining us at Sinners?" Ralph's enthusiasm was rather fun. There weren't many people she could in detail share about her work, so she'd help him out. Besides, he was her protégé student.

Closed starter for @dvsconocvdo (Noel) Location: Broken Record

"Hey! Whatta 'bout this one here?" Flashing a sideways grin, Ralph tugged a Connie Francis record off the shelf and held it up. "I could wear, like, little Cupid wings. Maybe shoot arrows at the end of it." While he was, by no means, an expert, Ralph had taken a few classes at Follow my Lead and had thus found that his vampiric strength really did lend itself well to the core muscles necessary for pole dancing. He had gotten it into his head, then, that he wanted a routine all his own. For a person who quite literally had forever stretching out ahead of him, however, Ralphie was, as of late, finding his patience wearing thin. Meena and some other clan members had helped him invest his money. He had been studying to become a proper mortician, not just an assistant. But both of those endeavors were taking too much time, he had decided. He would be rich and famous in show business instead. "You know there's a line dance to this song? We used to do it sometimes, at, like, hops and shit, ya dig it? Like this." He started kind of shuffling and pumping his arms.

Rolling their eyes, Noel let out a small scoff. "I was talking to you, duh! Uh, I definitely think it's a bring your own chains. From what I've gathered most of the pack wolves just roam free without chaining themselves down, sooo we might be the minority. Better be safe than sorry, yeah? I got some in my car too." They brought their manicured nails to their mouth to bite on it anxiously as they waited for Tommy to gather their bearings. It was honestly a big relief to have him around for full moons, at least until it was time to shift. "You're probably right. I just hope it's not like more painful to shift. But who knows? The moon always does crazy things. So, we're all good? I got some spare clothes for both of us and snacks in my car too." They knew Tommy was prepared, but they also thought ahead. "Honestly, I'm kind of glad our first eclipse is here and not back home."

"Why are you talking to yourself?", he called back, double-checking his backpack. Clothes, water bottle, spare phone. All good. "Yeah, just making sure I got all my shit." Grabbing a duffle bag by his room door, he kicked it shut behind him. "You think it's BYOC or do we not need the chains?"

Setting his things down, he mulled the question over, keeping himself busy as he looked for his keys, again. "Right," he agreed, grabbing them off of the hook he swore he didn't put them on, "I mean, it's not like either of us know what to do during an eclipse. At very least, it's gotta be safer than us trying to go it alone, right?"

"I wish I could heal that. I'm sorry." Amrita offered up a small smile before peeking her head out of the awning overhead. The sun felt normal to her, so it must be a vampires thing. "Honestly? I'm not too familiar with eclipses, so I'm not sure? But I do know one is happening, so it could be possible? Wouldn't the Clan or the town kind of advertise it though?" Or advertise information to help the residents? Did it only affect vampires? She felt normal. "Well, I think figuring things out together is a better use of our time, wouldn't you agree?" A hand reached to touch her chin genuinely debating if she could find an umbrella that fit Brielle's description. A white lacy umbrella. "I don't think I could find a cute umbrella in time, so let's wait it out. I feel very inept at the whole witch things at times. I think that type of confidence or ease will come with time? Maybe once you've been around for longer things will feel easier."

"I guess, if by alright you mean being burned alive by the sun than I'm just dandy," She grumbled out, shaking her still tingling hand that the rays had hit as she leaned further back against the wall. Her body concealed by the awning overhead. "Wait- the Eclipse can do that?" She groaned. A pout forming across her bottom lips as she realized that, "I'm really inept at this whole vampire thing, aren't I? Actually, a parasol would be great, specially a white lace one, if you can find it," She decided, in part because a white one would go with the rest of her outfit. "Wait, really?" Her eyes widened. Her eyes softening as a small smile broke across her lips. "Thank you, truly. Not many people in this town are like that, you know? I just mean that, you'd be surprised how many people around here just expect you to figure it out on your own sort of vibes?"

If only the young witch had water manipulation, she could make quick work of this mess. "It's probably gross to you too, though. If I can do anything to help, do let me know. I am kind of used to cleaning up bloody messes." Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Was that weird? "I can keep you company?" Amrita didn't want to overstep, but she figured doing a tedious task might go better if the other had some company. Not that Amrita was good at comforting others. She could always distract Leyla with some flowers or making birds sing or something. Would that be amusing, though? "I'm Amrita, it's nice to meet you." Flashing the other a smile, she shook her head. "We can shake hands later. Yeah, I don't think one could get used to this." For more than a year Lunar Cove had been terrorized, but it still felt like everyone was on edge. How could they not be? Just because you're accustomed to violence doesn't mean it gets easier to deal with it. Amrita knew that for a fact. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this." I hope they catch however caused this, she thought sadly. "Is this your shop? Or do you just work here? I work at Just Bloom, if you want to drop by I can give you a bouquet on me or I can have it sent here if you want."

"Oh," Leyla blinked over at the other girl, momentarily taken aback by her offer. "That's really sweet of you, but you don't have to. It's kinda gross. Really gross actually and I'd feel terrible roping someone else into it. I should really do it myself, but thank you. For the offer? It's really sweet of you. I'm Leyla by the way," She offered up, reaching out to shake the other's hand before quickly realizing that her hand was still covered in the blood. Wincing slightly at the thought, Leyla quickly pulled her hand back before Amrita had time to shake it. "Sorry, I forgot," She apologized herself as she reached down to wipe her hands off on the dish towel she had brought out for just this reason. "I'm not really used to, I mean how can you get used to- it's just, someone's sick vandalism is all," She mumbled out, skirting around the gorey details as she motioned back towards the blood on the side of the little cafe she had put her head and soul into.

closed starter for @pitymisskitty

"Yo, how much longer do you think we have to stay here for? Because I'm starving." Noel said as they opened the curtain slightly to where Kitty was. "Do you wanna sneak out? Or should we beg for some food? Or steal some?" The latter was whispered so it only reached Kitty's ears, although anyone with heightened senses could've clocked it. "Are you in any pain, still?" This was the actual reason Noel made their way into Kitty's room. To check on the younger wolf. The fact that someone so young had volunteered to follow the Catalyst only to get attacked by some hunters astounded them. They wished they could've done something to protect her. Still, it was a relief that she had joined the pack. Noel was confident in Nico's skills.

closed starter for Poppy @moonglowmagic

Amrita felt quite delirious. After miraculously hexing the Catalyst, she had found herself wondering aimlessly around town. She wasn't sure how long it had been since the night came to pass. At some point, she had either fainted somewhere or gotten sleep at home because she didn't feel as bad as she did before. But the overwhelming exhaustion that had washed over her as she completed the spell remained. She felt as if she had spent two whole days without sleep. With a loud sigh, Amrita stumbled with her own feet before using the brick wall to support herself. The scent of cigarettes filled her lungs, and as a slightly disgusted expression took over her features, she kept walking near it. This felt like downtown, and if someone was smoking... it could be... it might just be. "Miss Poppy? Is that you?" she asked with a tired voice. "Are you alright? I hope neither you nor your family were hurt last night." Black eyes stared at the blonde tucked away in the sidewalk.

closed starter for @aiylabaysal

Amrita liked patterns. She enjoyed routines and consistency. Some times doing the same thing helped ease her mind, but this... this was having the opposite effect. The young witch found herself once again with a huge bouquet of flowers going to a leader of the town to apologize for her actions. This pattern was frustrating. It was agitating to know that she had broken some rules again, that she had damaged property again, and the most infuriating thing of all was that she knew, deep in her heart, that she'd do it all over again. How could she apologize properly while knowing this? Wasn't she just arrogant at this point?

Ever since the day of the masquerade Amrita had been on edge. Her mother's words kept repeating themselves on her mind over and over again. She knew why it was happening. Mother's Day was just around the corner, still, she was better than this. Taking a deep breath and exhaling after counting to five, Amrita reached for the doorbell and rang it. Hopefully some white roses, hyacinths, and baby's breath would get the message across. Waiting patiently for the door to open, she spoke out of habit. "I hope now isn't a bad time."

closed starter for @masonxmahir

"Well, well, well could it be the prankster king?" Noel said as they sneaked up on who they assumed was Mason. It was a shot in the dark, truly, but Noel didn't mind being wrong or being embarrassed. After all, it could be that the other wouldn't recognize them as well. But something about the other's outfit felt so... Mason to them. "So, what's your poison, stranger?" Maybe this will help Noel figure out if it was Mason or not.

closed starter for @daphnebishop

There was something utterly romantic and beautiful about the illusions that surrounded them. After picking a gown fitting of their aesthetics, Noel was more than excited to get on to the dance floor and have fun. Sure, the world may fall apart around them at any second, but a few drinks and a few dances couldn't hurt, right? There was, however, one slight issue. Noel could barely recognize anyone. They had no idea where Tommy or Jasmine were, they couldn't even find some of their coworkers. So, while panicked, they decided to use a bit of liquid confidence to their favor and ask the person next to them for a dance. "Hey there," Noel said with a blinding smile as they leaned over and curtsy. "May I have this dance?"

"That's to be expected, no?" Amrita said with a soft, calm voice. She couldn't help but think of all the stray animals she had befriended in her childhood. How they all twitched and hissed and moved erratically because they were caught off hard. Rohan looked like them. She wanted to sooth him, but words had never been her expertise. Her mother, no, their mother had a habit of demanding she shut up whenever she spoke. "I'm sure parting with these items must be hard..." She couldn't imagine it. How was he feeling? "If you want to talk, I can listen. I'd love to help." If he let her, she would clean up his entire apartment, so he wouldn't have to bare it alone. Why should he have to?

At his apology, Amrita shook her head, shrugging. "I don't mind. I am... rather glad to be able to be at your side during this." It was an honor really to have someone to care for, someone to worry over. Her life prior to coming to the town had been so despondent, so utterly empty. She was never someone others could rely on, but she would do her utmost best, so Rohan could rely on her. "I can fill the silence then. I brought you a small crystal, can I tell you about it? I figured it might help. But, first, let's go upstairs. Don't worry, I won't judge the state of your place, cross my heart." She gave him a small smile. His next words, however, caused that smile to shatter. "Rohan. How could you be nothing?" A trembling hand reached for his. "You are everything I could've hoped for and more. Even now, and no matter what happens." You are you, no matter what. She wanted to say those words so badly, but she felt so small. Who was she to say them? She was in the middle of getting to know him, but even still, every piece Rohan had showed her was so extraordinary.

"I wish I could tell you confidently that you'll know who you are, but I also don't know." Most days she felt like a joke. "But we'll figure it out. Together, we'll figure it out." A pause before she nudged his shoulder gently. "Don't apologize. Unless a meteor is about to strike and the world is ending, don't apologize, at least not to me." You've done nothing wrong. She knew it wasn't true. Someone was going to die for his actions and still all Amrita wanted to do was comfort him, to tell him that it will be okay. That she didn't see him any differently because how could she. Who was she to judge when she too found the call of dark magic as enticing as he did? They truly were siblings. "I am by your side, no matter what."

"No, no...it's all right. I'm sorry. I'm just...I guess I'm very on edge." Stiffening up, Rohan met Amrita's gaze with a furrowed brow and a twitching lip, as though he were using every ounce of personal willpower he could muster to screw himself up to rigidity. He was not supposed to let her come upon him like this, he thought distantly. After all, he was now an older brother, something he was quickly realizing he had no idea how to be. Older brothers were supposed to be foundations, though. Beacons. The goddamn ghost light he would never again be. Rohan swallowed hard, shaking his head. "No, it's...it's all right. I'm just cleaning stuff out. I can't very well keep all my haunted things anymore. A liability, you understand?" Rohan sniffed, watching the gravel move about he ground.

He turned back to her, then, cocking his head to one side. "I'm sorry you had to...see this," he said, extending his arms out at the mess he had made. Rohan bit his lip, features contorting. "No, no...it's too quiet. It's not been this quiet in decades. I don't know what to do with all the silence," he admitted softly. "I'll have to go upstairs and get one. Did you...did you want to come up? My apartment's not in the state I would have liked to show it to you in. But...this is how it is now, I guess." He sniffed. "It's funny...I met you, and I thought to myself, finally, finally I'll know who I am. Now I have no idea. What am I? Half-witch? Half-human? Nothing."

"And why do you have them?" Noel asked, narrowing their eyes at the cuffs in confusion. "Does it... hurt?" They asked in a smaller voice, concerned. Could it cut Jasmine's circulation? Why were they designed that way? Also, what the fuck was Jasmine being punished for? It was a good thing that Noel had barely slept and rather than voicing all these questions, an unsettling silence surrounded her. They knew about Rohan and Todd, it was hard to not know about it in town. "Anyone from the coven?" You could die? An empty laugh escaped their lips. "Oh, that's fucking ridiculous. Who the fuck came up with this shit..." Calloused hands reached for their face and rubbed it hard as if to keep themself awake. "Okay, so off topic. If something were to happen to you, like worst case scenario, which won't happen if I get a say in it, do you want to like... become a vampire or should we like..." Words drifted into eerie silence. Noel, while trying their hardest to be rational about this, could not finish their sentence. Or should we let you go? That's insane. Why the fuck should they?

After hearing about Rohan, Noel had been frustrated and aghast, but indifferent. Now hearing that Jasmine might fucking die, however, Noel wanted to punch something. Another thing to have in the back of their minds as Silas ran loose. Letting out a deep, loud sigh to focus on Jasmine again, they closed their eyes. "Okay. I'll... I'll fucking process this later. I don't want fucking indigestion. You texted me? Honestly, I think my phone's dead, but let me check." Opening her eyes to take out her phone from her bag. She clicked some buttons and waited, seeing the screen light up. "Huh, guess I turned it off? Give it a second." As Jasmine continued talking, they nodded aimlessly. "You're the only one who does the tours, right? Maybe you could like recruit another witch with that ability?"

Unlocking their phone and opening up their messages, Noel let out a scoff. "Is this a joke?" They rubbed their eyes again. What the fuck was going on this week? "Well, congratulations. It's nice that you both got to do this in your terms, you know? This does mean I need to give y'all another gift, so hang tight for that. I gotta pester Nico a bit to know what to get you both. Do you plan to have a ceremony later? If things calm down in the future?" Future. They stopped eating their sandwich and put it down on the wrapper. "Okay, isn't it really idiotic to punish you this far in? I mean, I guess the coven can do whatever they want. It just seems weird how people have a problem with things now and not before. Shouldn't they develop standard rules for this shit? Never mind, I don't wanna bombard you with this."

"Oh, um, magic prohibiting cuffs," She admitted as she lifted her wrist up for her sibling to get a better look at. "They're blocking out my magic for the next week," She explained with a small shrug. "They're supposed to be tight, though they are kind of a shitty accessory, huh? I'm not sure how much you already know, but long story short, Rohan brought this guy, Todd, back from the dead and, well, a life for a life, means that someone in the coven in the coven is now cursed to die, so people didn't exactly take it to well and Poppy and Royce put to a vote how to proceed and, basically, the verdict was Rohan was to get his spirit raising ability stripped and be kicked out of the coven, which sucks, majorly. But, um, anyways, a lot of people were mad that he got punished and I didn't so, this is it." She knew she was being rather nonchalant about the cuffs, but she didn't want Noel to worry. Especially not when it had been partially her call to have them put on. She didn't want anyone to accuse her of having favoritism and, honestly, after everything, she wasn't even sure if she should stay in the coven. Not with Silas still around. What happened if he came back and hurt someone she cared about and she couldn't bring them back out of fear of having her magic stripped? Or perform even a minor dark magic spell to defend herself? She knew she shouldn't need to rely on dark magic, but it had been her fallback for such a long time and, if Rohan could slip up and fall back into it, how easy would it be for her to when put on the spot? "But, anyways, seeing that I can't see ghosts right now, I'm moving the ghost tours I had scheduled for this week to next. Though, you know, I'm surprised you want to talk about bracelets and not what I texted you?" She teased, purposely attempting to change the conversation off of a subject that she knew would make Noel mad.

"What can I say? I'm just trying to charm you." Noel grinned before shaking her head, amused. "Guilty." She raised her hands in defeat. "I was hoping food would sweeten the deal. I can promise you another food date if you agree, though it wouldn't pale in comparison to what I'm asking for. But, yes, we should definitely get four of that roll, and four of whichever roll catches your eye. To start us off." Elif's head peeking from the menu was a welcomed sight. Cute. There were times were Noel lied for shit and giggles, but it would be appalling to lie about something like this especially when she was the one who needed help. After the lovely news of someone from the coven dying and the recent attacks, Noel truly felt like she could not avoid this any further. "I struggle a lot with control whenever the full moon comes by because the night I got bitten was um... bad? Real bad. I wanted to ask like Nico for help, but there's a big limit of what I'm comfortable sharing with him. Him being my sister's husband and what not." Jasmine knew what happened, but Noel always preferred to keep her family at an arm's length regarding this. It was rather embarrassing to struggle so pathetically with control when her own dad had been a wolf for so long. "I think I would be more comfortable sharing stuff with you though. I know it's a lot to ask for. Like... a fuck ton to ask for. But if you're be open to, and again you can say no and it'll be completely fine, I was wondering if you could like... help me out with control and shifts? There's a lot I don't get about being a wolf, honestly." It's been more of a curse than anything else. "And I'll be sharing like as a friend. I don't want you to think I'm using you for like therapy. I have my own therapist who gets enough headaches because of me."

"Those may just be the most romantic words anyone has ever said to me," Elif teased. A radiant smile broke across her lips as an unexpected bounce was added to her stride. If there was one thing Elif loved in life, that was food, especially when she could eat as much as she wanted and not have to pay for it. "So we should order four of them then?" She said innocently enough, peaking over at Noel from the top of the menu before her eyes went back to scanning the page. "Huh? Outlandish favor?" She blinked. "Were you bribing me with food? Is that was this is?" She let out a small laugh at the thought as she leaned forwards. Resting her chin in the palm of her hands as she told Noel, "Alright, shoot. What's the favor?"

There were things Amrita came to expect after working so many customer service jobs. People forgetting receipts for exchanges, older folks flirting with her, adults throwing tantrums at the smallest inconvenience. So, of course she had the nicest smile she could muster plastered on her face. "I see, let me check on my end to see if I find a name." In bigger cities, this would be such a headache, but thankfully they were in Lunar Cove and the amount of orders per day were not that many. "Do you remember if the S was for a first name or a surname? I see here Sahni, Salvador, Scott? Any of these ring a bell? There's only one big order for today, and it's for a business, so I think you'll be okay." Regardless of her work experience, Amrita didn't really know how to react to this sort of thing. He hadn't said anything creepy, but she still choose to ignore it. "Thanks... I'm Amrita, nice to meet you." The name Todd, however, rang in the back of her mind. Was this... that Todd? Was he the one that came back? Did he know her brother? Well, being short and curt might not end well, so she added, "Do you know Rohan? He's my brother..." Voice trailed off. Maybe it was rude to ask that?

Closed starter for @dvsconocvdo Location: Just in Bloom

Returning to life certainly had its perks, of course. Todd was now able to go places. He was able to feel. He was able to find glimmers of genuine joy in the things he supposed he did take for granted the first time around: food, alcohol, people. But there were pitfalls to renewed existence too. He was living in a grody-ass motel because at least he could pay for the room bit by bit. His wardrobe options were limited. He had no car. And work was hard to come by.

While being a personal assistant was nice, and he thought he was doing a fine job of it beyond the infrequent bouts of forgetfulness, he was still waiting on a restaurant gig to get back to him. And also making courier deliveries by bike to pick up a few tips and fund his habits. "Oh, 'sup? I'm pickin' up a flower order for...I lost the paper. Something with an 'S?' It ain't a big order, is it? The basket's not huge on the bike, and I already totes look like whats-her-face from the Wizard of Oz." He sighed, leaning on the counter. "Say, you're way prettier than any rose I ever saw. And I've got a nice pair of two-lips right here of my own. Hi, I'm Todd."

There were many things that scared Amrita. She wasn't brave by any means, if anything, she was quite cowardly. And although, her previous interactions with Ken hadn't been... hostile, she couldn't help but feel very small under his eyes. As small as the squirrels who went up the tree only to get down and glare at him from the floor. "It... it didn't say anything that bad." She smoothed over the truth a little bit. You're making me look bad, she thought as she looked at the squirrels. Dirt rose from the ground, six feet up into the air as a branch extended and took hold of the squirrel to place it near where it was. Far away from Ken. Safe and sound. "Let's not get hasty," she swallowed and closed her eyes shut to take a deep breath. "They are merely upset given the amount of vampires that have been feeding off them or other little creatures." The explanation felt quite ridiculous even for her. Were squirrels even enough to satisfy a vampire's thirst? Still, the squirrels were being vocal enough about the constant attacks. About the burrow of other animals from a couple trees over that had lost so many members. It was hard to explain how sad they felt, and in term how sad the young witch felt as she could not protect them. Asking for regulations for non clan members to feed felt... daunting. Meena was even more terrifying than Ken right now.

"I suppose you're right. I hadn't really thought about it that way." It still felt foreign to have another brother, but this did bring a genuine smile to her features. She felt like a giddy child who had gotten news of a sibling. "I do. Talking to them is... easier than talking to people. Once you start to understand them and their problems, it's quite easy to get captivated by it all? There's not much I can actually do to help them, but shifting some dirt around underground or helping a few trees not dry up is easy enough. Helping them keeps me busy." I was given this ability for a reason might as well help them. The squirrels seemed to have gotten the hint and stayed in the tree, though they were chirping loudly. "Sorry if I interrupted your run! I don't mean to keep you from what you were doing." She cleaned her hands on her skirts merely to wipe away the sweat that built from his previous words. Do you think you could honestly harm him? Look at his size. She thought as she studied the squirrels. A few left to go into their burrow while one, stubborn one, remained.

Her being startled didn't faze him in the slightest, he stood staring as she collected composure but whatever Amrita had stammered out was lost as Ken shot a look to the squirrel, who apparently was being rude? "Yeah yeah hi," he dismissed her greeting with a flick of his wrist, that quickly turned to a point at the squirrel, "What the fuck did that thing say to me?" he questioned, not hiding the scowl that formed or that look of utter disgust. Was it glaring at him? The fucking audacity. "Does it know I can snap its neck?" He was about to comment further, perhaps even act on it on it but snapped out of his irritation at the last second, turning to face her with a shrug, "Your brother could talk to ghosts, you talking to these little shits is not as weird as you think. It just runs in the family." Despite the scowl remaining on his face, Ken's annoyance did not build, hunting he wanted to say, a joke that surely would lighten his mood further, but there was no real benefit to lying here. "Just out for a run. Do you do this sort of thing often?"