2019.01.20 - Battle Aftermath 2: Dinner, talks and magic

*Quite a short wile after 2019.01.19 - Welcome to the Apocalypse: 3 people gather in the kitchen to talk about the attackers, supernaturals, annoying parents and magic.*

January 1st, Year Unknown; Evening

Rowanwood Kitchen

The smell of cooking food comes from the kitchen as Piper's stood by a large pot stirring it quietly. In said pot is.....food. Or rather Piper's working on a stew that Piper's been working on for a few hours. It's got all the essentials, meat, potatoes, vegetables, and herbs. Piper's not taking any chances, eithr after the battle. She'd been seperated from the group and had done a fine job solo fighting minions and cultists. Well, minions were her term for those freaky deaky lot of whoever picked a fight. Piper though....is currently in the kitchen, in an apron, and....d, doing her kitchen witch thing. I.e. cooking. Sitting on a chair she's watching the stew pot boil, looking worried as she's concerned for the injured and those who sadly didn't make it to Rowanwood House. She offers up a silent prayer and looks to the stew pot again, looking pleased with her work.

Tachi comes into the kitchen through the east door. He was intending to hea back to his room and rest, but seeing Piper, he immediately moves to hug her tightly. "Piper, you're alright. I was worried when you got separated from us, but you're alive." He's still wearing the same jeans and white t-shirt from this morning, except now his sword is at his side, and his daggers are back where they belong on his belt. His clothes, especially his shirt, also show signs of the battle, covered in dust and ash and what not, and everything shows up on white...he misses his black. Oh well, maybe there's some black clothing now for him or something. At least he still has his locket.

The door from the hallway opens and a new face appears, along with the rest of a person they haven't met. Youthfully handsome, he has dark hair and silvery eyes with fair skin, almost a pretty look to him. He offers an apologetic grin as he looks around, saying, "Oops. I didn't know if anyone would be in here, but, after things got weird at lunch and the lady said people should do actual cooking, I wanted to come see what was up in the kitchen. Y'know, food good and all?" He glances hungrily at the stew, then steps the rest of the way into the kitchen. "I'm--well, everyone calls me 'Sly.' You guys, uh, 'guests' here, too?" He actually makes finger quotes around the word "guests" when he says it.

Piper nods and looks over with a hand. "Piper Halliwell" she says and smiles, "I'm cooking, care to join me or help out, I mean...our stove here's big enough for us all th cook" she says, the introduction after having been hugged and hugging back...and letting go. Piper stirs the stew pot and adds a few herbs and a little seasoning, before leaving it to cook. "Sly. Like....let's say, a fox? Or that actor Stallone?" she asks, "I mean, if Sly Stallone's with us we got a big name" she laughs, gesturing to the table. "Take a seat if you like. I'm making stew for anyone who wants some" she says, "Or a drink" she adds with a nod to Tachi. Her apron is smeared with vegetable juice, meat juice and....other stuff tht gets splattered when cooking. Under her apron is a light blue top and she's wearing her usual footwear, shoes.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Tachi says, sitting down with a genuine smile toward his friend. He turns and ofers Sly a smile too. "I'm Tachi," he says. "Pleasure. Hope you're doing alright?

Sly blinks at Piper a few times, looking utterly bewildered. "Stall-own?" he repeats, as if he's never heard the word before. "Is that, like, some kind of pun?" He grins, though, and runs a hand through his hair, which for just a moment looks like the fluffy fur of a fox in red and white. But then it's back to normal. "I think I prefer the fox, anyway. But I'm just Sly." He approaches the stove, looking into the pot, and says, "Um, I kinda get the feeling you're better at this than me. Can I just have some? I don't want to mess it up."

The door opens, and Rey enters with Corey in tow. "Ah, here it is, the kitchen again. Quite a few rooms in this place, aren't there?" He nods to the others. "Hallo. Don't mind us, just a pair of weary warriors in search of a cup of tea." He nods to Tachi in particular, saying, "Speaking of, you acquitted yourself quite finely in that, sir. My compliments. Clearly, you well know what you are about."

Corey looks particularly exhausted, as he walks along at Rey's side. There's obviously some connection between them, but the exact nature of their relationship isn't quite clear. "Coffee," he murmers, giving his right hand a good shake -- it probably still aches from how hard he was clutching his wand during the battle. "Know what I think I'd really like to try? A hamburger. Like, a whole hamburger, all to myself. Petey would sometimes get me to try a bite of his, but I never dared eat a whole one myself. But now I'm thinking, it's the end of the world as we know it, so why the hell not?"

Piper nods to Sly. "He's....an actor, big movie actor" Piper explains and nods, "Sure, take a seat and I'll get you stew and a drink if you like" she smiles brightly, looking over to the others. "Hey you all survived, How come you guys got seperated from me, and yet we all came out alive. Tired, but alive" she adds with a relieved tone, spooning stew into the bowl. Meat, vegetables, potatoes, herbs, a bit of seasoning....and all neatly topped off with bread, butter on the little plate too as Piper sets it on the table for Sly, then brings the stew pot over and puts that carefully on a place mat...as not to torch the table. Still, Piper's relieved everyone she likes in this house made it out of that fight alive.

Tachi seems to have equal relief. "I don't believe we lost any in the ight." At Rey's compliment, Tachi stands, bowing slightly. "Thank you, sir. 500...something...years of sword training really pays off, I suppose. I'm sad my sword collection didn't make it, I didn't get any of my enchanted swords.

Tachi seems to have equal relief. "I don't believe we lost any in the ight." At Rey's compliment, Tachi stands, bowing slightly. "Thank you, sir. 500...something...years of sword training really pays off, I suppose. I'm sad my sword collection didn't make it, I didn't get any of my enchanted swords." He moves around, searching for something, and finally finds what he's looking for, a tea kettle which he puts on for tea. He seems to be an expert, if one could be an expert at such things.

Sly smiles gratefully and goes to plant his butt in a chair at the table. "Thanks, Ms. Halliwell," he says. Then he tucks into the food. Regarding the others with wide eyes, he asks between bites, "Wait, you were in the fighting? What was it like? Did you see my dad fight? He's the scariest thing ever. But he doesn't like me fighting, so I usually just hide, instead."

Rey gives Piper and Sly each a polite nod, but for the moment he's distracted by Tachi and Corey. "Your experience certainly shows, then," he says to the vampire. "But perhaps your blades will turn up. If they don't, perhaps I could assist you in enchanting your present weapon. I've some skill in such areas." He takes Corey by the shoulder and steers him to the table. "You sit down, love. I'll find where they keep the coffee and, perhaps, we can even conjure you a hamburger." He starts to poke around the kitchen, locating the various things he'll need to assemble things for Corey.

Corey gives Rey a grateful look, taking a place at the table. "Don't worry about it, man. You're just as tired as I am, if not more. You shouldn't hafta make me food. Ya know, I think I'm going to learn how to cook. It's been enough years since I set fire to the kitchen trying to make orange juice, it's probably safe to try again." He nods to the others, trying to be polite, though he's still too worked up, not to mention exhausted, by the battle to really recognize anyone. "Hey. Corey Griffiths. I almost remember two of you, but don't think we've met." He extends a hand toward Sly, summoning up a smile.

"That would be wonderful," Tachi says, responding to Rey while giving him a hand with preparing things for Corey while he continues to make tea. "Who wants tea? And what kind?" He asks, addressing everyone. When kit comes, he can't help but get a look at the kitty. "So, this is the adorable kitty you kept posting pictures to twitter about?" he asks, with a smile. "She's so cute!"

Sly doesn't pout too much that nobody answers his question. Instead he grins at Colt and shakes his hand, saying, "Hey, I'm Sly. I'm just here for the food." And he seems quite happy with it. After a moment, he reports, "The stew's really good, Ms. Halliwell. Thanks! And you've got a really cute kitty." He likes animals, certainly including cats. But he also focuses, for the moment, on eating his stew and bread.

Rey looks to Piper, cocks an eyebrow, and then turns to Corey. "Would stew be all right for now? We can look into a hamburger later, but it seems unwise to let good food go to waste." He does manage to find the coffee making apparatus, and he gets that all set to go without trouble. Then he goes to stand behind Corey, idly reaching out to start rubbing his shoulders supportively, as if he hardly even knows he's doing it, as he waits to hear the verdict on eating stew instead of a hamburger.

Corey lets out a low groan, leaning back into Rey's massaging. "God, that feels good. I forgot how good massages feel." His eyes are closed, but he sniffs the air, his tummy grumbling rather loudly. "Stew smells good. Savory. Sure, I could go for a bowl of that." He cranks his head one way, then the other, letting Rey work out the kinks in his neck, then opens his eyes again and looks Sly over for the first time. "Sly, good name. Like Stallone, but cuter. A lot cuter. How're you handling all this weirdness?"

Piper nods to Tachi, "Yeah, that was Kit being alll I'm famous internet kitty" she smiles, Kit having currled up in her lap and gone to sleep and obvioulsy not caring what people say. Still, Piper nods and nudges Kit awake. "I gotta get up and get a bowl, unless somebody else wants to?" she asks with a look to Tachi, Rey and then to the stew pot, as if silently asking somebody to get Cory a bowl. She's digging into her stew and agrees with Sly...though having made it, she's biased. Kit yowls at the fact Piper's not sharing, as Piper offers Kit the tiniest bit of stew. Which gets Kit to stand up, and poke her head over the top of the table, staring catlike at the stew bowl. "You can have some when it's cooled down" Piper says, hoping Kit won't steal her food. Still....could be worse. Kit could be *in* the stew pot licking it out....

Tachi's quik to get the hint, and he grabs bowls, handing them to Rey to serve up. "So, no one wants tea." He shrugs, beginning to make himself up a cup of tea. "More for me." He uses actual tea leaves for 2 reasons, 1 being that there isn't any modern technology in this house, probably not tea bags either, the other being it's how he always does it anyway. He adds peppermint leaves as well, he seems to have a very specific blend to make his peppermint tea the way he likes it.

Sly says, "Oh, I'll have tea, actually, please?" He's finished his stew already and is just nibbling on the rest of the bread. He grins some at Corey's compliment, saying, "I don't know who Stall-own is, but thanks for calling me cute. That's a nice compliment." He shrugs a bit awkwardly, then goes back to nibbling the bread. Then, thoughtfully, he says, "Is it really that weird? I guess I've kind of missed the bad parts. Mostly, I've just been trying to keep out of the way."

Rey distributes the bowls of stew that Tachi gives him, then sits down beside Corey at the kitchen table. "Well, this does smell good," he remarks. "Thank you, Piper." He samples the stew, nodding his approval, and seems mostly focused on Corey at the moment, not through any intent to be rude to the others, just clearly concerned for Corey's well-being. He remarks offhandedly, "It is indeed a strange place we find ourselves. Yet, we have come together in strength, and we have had success. That, at least, is something to celebrate."

Corey sits forward and tastes his stew, then shuts his eyes and just enjoys the complex and tasty flavors. "Oh man, this is good. Thanks, Piper. And thank you for bringing it, Tachi. Hey, look at that -- one spoonful of this magic stew, and I remember your names." He grins, then sets about eating in earnest, a lot more hungry than he realized. And the food is having a positive effect on him already, much of his tiredness seeming to melt away as he fills his tummy with savory goodness.

Piper nods, "Take as many bowls as you want. I'll always make more" she says, "Hey, Tachi, youthink there's a bowl for Kit?" she asks as she gets herself a second bowl, her bread untouched by hand....or whisker as Kit is sniffing the air and figuring a way onto the table. Piper nudges her back onto her lap, "Settle back down Kit, you'll get yours" she says and nods to Rey and Tachi. "You been playing the piano any more?" Piper asks, closing her eyes. Visions of fighting cultists spring to life as she opens her eyes

"That's a good question," Tachi says, finishing the prep for his own cup of tea and getting to work on Sly's. "After you all left I had a go, I've still got it, a little, been years since I really played though. A bowl for Kit? Maybe if I can find a small bowl, sure. How do you like your tea, Sly?"

Sly finishes his food and gets up, taking the plates to the sink, and goes to wash them off. When that's done, he says, "I'm gonna go check on my dad. Hopefully he's not *banging* his mate." He rolls his eyes and makes a *gross* face, then says to Tachi, "I like it with just a little honey. Thanks! And thanks again for the stew!" He waits until he's handed the cup of tea, then he scampers off, on about his business and leaving the others to talk.

"I'm glad to hear of merrier things," Rey says with a faint smile. He looks to Corey. "Though, I should make certain you get rest, soon. We should make certain to stay out our best, resting when we can. That invading scum could return at any time, and if they do, we must be ready for them." He does linger over his stew, though, clearly intending to finish it, at least. And his protectiveness toward Corey hasn't changed a bit.

Corey continues to enjoy his stew, though he does nod to Rey. "I could sleep," he admits between bites. "A lot, actually. Just hope I don't have too many dreams about zombie-pixies." He shudders, pushing away his nearly-empty bowl and sitting back. "I sorta lost track of things there for a while -- did we ever learn who that guy was? The one with all that blond hair, I mean. Is he the one behind all of this? Or is he just Darth Vader to a distant Emperor?"

Piper nods and settles into another bowl of stew. Looking over Piper smiles, "If you need sleep then don't worry. Food'll keep" she says with a laugh, more at Kit fallling off her lap, mewing in shock and landing on her feet again. "There's that" Piper says with a look as she strokes Kit. "It's okay Kit, it's okay" Piper nods.

Tachi can't help but chuckle. "Poor kitty," he says, with a laugh, before sitting down at the table with his cup of tea and taking a sip. "Ah, lovely," he says, more to himself than anything.

"Thank you again for the stew, Piper, and Tachi, my respects. I was privileged to fight by your side." He then reaches for Corey's hand and says, "Come along, love. I won't have you exhausted when Quentin's recovered enough to meet you." He winks, going to lead Corey off to bed.

Corey grins as he allows himself to be led off, a new bounce in his step, though he's still more tired than anything else. "Okay, okay, sleepytime. But I want a full-on massage eventually. And if there's time tomorrow, I want you to start teaching me how to use a sword. Illusions are all well and good, but I should know how to actually fight in this world."

Florence pretty much enters as the other two just left the kitchen, passing them in the hallway with a little nod before getting into the kitchen. She has dressed in a fresh set of clothes since the incident in the yard, sighing as she moves to the coffee maker. "What the heck was that out there earlier? I needed some... serious bath to get it out of my hair..."

"Apparently crazy people? I mean, they got me seperated" Piper says, "Bad idea for them, I fought like crazy and figured if I was gonna go down, I'd take all of them with me" Piper shrugs, "You made it at least" she says "Hey if you're making coffee, I'll take a cup. I made stew and it's over on the table" Piper adds with a smile, "So.....you guys both made it. Good. I'm woried though if they come back" Piper mutters quietly, as Kit runs over to Florence and rubs at her ankles, then stares at her.

Florence rummages through the cupboards as she looks for cups to fill the coffee into, finally finding a pair of matched mugs. She doesn't seem to be too unfazed by the Siamese coming up to rub at her ankles and then stare up, instead just looking down to her, quirking an eyebrow. "What is it you want?" she asks Kit, as if she was expecting an answer.

Piper laughs, "What do most cats want?" Piper says as Kit meows as if answering Piper. Looking over at Florence, Piper smiles. "See, you're rriendly to my cat. Sweet" she says with a laugh. "I'mll take coffee please" Piper says with a nod. "You want any stew? There's other food around here, if you want anything. How'd you fare in the fight?" Piper adds as Kit finishses up staring at Florence and trots to Tachi, staring at him, then over to Piper again.

Piper laughs, "What do most cats want?" Piper says as Kit meows as if answering Piper. Looking over at Florence, Piper smiles. "See, you're rriendly to my cat. Sweet" she says with a laugh. "I'mll take coffee please" Piper says with a nod. "You want any stew? There's other food around here, if you want anything. How'd you fare in the fight?" Piper adds as Kit finishses up staring at Florence and trots to Tachi, staring at him, then over to Piper again. Kit mews again at Flo from Piper's ankles, then meanders back over and looks up at her, then rubs against her ankles again looking pleased.

"Pettings, but I did ask her, didn't I?" Florence answers as she balances the cups to the table, placing one in front of Piper. "It's a red haze. Like... you know Warm Bodies? Fast, creepy zombies swarming. It was fight or flight and well... I fought?" she resumees what she thought of it. "Oh, and a creepy guy named like an angel... Uriel, Gabriel or something." As she sits down next to piper, she bends down to get a sock off and stretch the foot towards Kit, offering to pet the Siamese with it.

Kit looks at the bare foot for a moment, and sniffs it curiously....then looks pleased when her paw finds a toe. This is fun, the cat is probably thinking....as Piper watches Kit playing with feet. Though Piper knows about the fight or flight response. Hers was more 'fight' once she got seperated. Admittedly it was cathartic. THe knows that much, there;s a certain joy in fighting, or in her case using whatever's around to fight with, for instance her powers, or flat out brawling. Still, Piper's spooning stew into a bowl for Kit...as the cat's more interested in a bare foot, than food. Piper sets the food down and Kit finally leaves the toes be, to go get food..though said food is by the bare foot. So Kit is eating, and swishing her tail at the bare foot in that happy flick cats do, as Piper smiles.

"So cute," Tachi says, with a laugh. He's been a little out of it for the past couple of minutes, seemingly in deep thought with his eyes closed, and the stress visible on his face, but he looks up now. "Sorry I've been out of it, there's just...so much to think about now, ya know? Hey Flo, welcome to our little gathering." He takes a sip from his tea. "I guess the kitty doesn't like me, huh? Ah well. So uh, guess we're gonna be here for a while, yeah? Which means we get to live we did before technology. I can handle that, I mean it's how I lived most of my life, so yeah. I just hope everyone else can. It's a tough transition." He sighs, then takes a deep breath. "So, we're going into a war. And, admittedly, whatever this thing is we're facing, it's far worse than anything I've faced before, perhaps even Angelus. If we don't all work together, we're gonna be fucked." He sighs again, frowning and taking another sip of his tea. "Sorry for ranting, just the things I've been thinking about. It's a neverending fight, I suppose."

Florence chuckles as Kit plays with her foot, brushing the skin over the head and ears, her toes wriggling against its nose before she sneaks to the bowl of stew. "Ahw, isn't she a cute one. And apparently a foot fetishist. But aren't many cats?" she asks teasingly, reaching to fill herself a bowl of stew as she talks to Piper. As Tachi chimes in, she just shrugs to his comment. "I can't remember offering you a nickname..." she remarks, tapping her chin.

"Indeed" Piper grins, watching Kit for a moment then back to Florence and Tachi. "Nah, he needs a nickname. Cute doesn't cut it" Piper smiles, then looks from Flo to Tachi, as Kit strolls over to Tachi and stares at his ankles....before brushing past and meowing at him.

"A nickname?" Tachi seems a little confused, but he shrugs, reaching down to stroke the kitty. "I guess she does like me after all," he says, with a laugh, before taking another sip of his tea.

Florence shrugs as she pulls her soup in front of her to take a bite, tapping to the floor with the naked foot to try to lure Kit back. "I meant calling me by a nickname. Nobody calls me Flo. Miss Diamond, Florence, Girl, even a stagename, all ok, but I am not just some random three letters."

Piper sighs. "But" she says setting her spoon down and dragging bread through the stew....as Kit decides playing with a foot is more interesiting than food. "Flo. Short for...well....a lotta things" Piper points out with a smile. She could....could maybe nickname Florence but that wouldn't be very nice of her. Stilll, she gets where the woman's coming from. "You're trying to steal my cat. Careful" Piper points out with a teasing tone to her voice. THen it gets a serious tone. "You think we're up to defending this place again if those.....things.....come back?" Piper asks, "I mean, okay, yeah we held our own last night, right, we're alive, but come on, we're not seers or oracles, we don't know what's gonna happen, ya know?" Piper asks, before her tone returns to light. "Remind me to make potions. Maybe I could make an aphrodisiac" Piper muses, "Ya know, for the lovebirds among us" she adds with a mischevious smile.

"Oh, I did? I didn't mean to call you that, I think I did it subconciously. Florence. I'll remember that. But remember that 3 letters can mean a lot." He smirks very slightly. But he becomes more serious as well. "I don't know, Piper. We have some very capable warriors here, some very capable witches and at least one very capable wizard that I know of, there may be more. I'm sure there's people I haven't met yet, not to mention people who have yet to come. I think that if we receive another attack like the one we just had, as long as we're all ready to go when it happens, then we'll be alright." He can't help but smirk slightly at Piper's last comment though. "You wouldn't happen to mean you and Leo, would ya? Is it starting to get boring or somethin'?"

Florence shrugs some but shakes her head. "I am just not Flo. I was named for the town my mom so wanted to visit, and would you call Florence in italy, the place where the renaissance was growing, just Flo? It would not be fair. Calling me just by such a fraction isn't fair either. And you don't call her Pi or pip either, so please," she argues back to Tachi. "Witches, warriors, wizards, come out of the nerd corner, ok? This is not a dice game, we were pretty much abducted and assaulted by zombies. You know, evil dead."

Piper huffs and folds her arms at Tachi. "No, maybe we could give you pointers but you can't practice on your own" she says sweetly. "Though" Piper adds with a look to Florence. "Nono, I think if he's in a nerd corner he can throw dice to distract them and bore them to death with nerd things" Piper says with an amused look in her eye. "No, no. I'd call that town by its native name" Piper says simply, as if that explains it.

Tachi shrugs. "What you saw out there was far worse than any zombie you'll ever encounter. Those things were made of pure corruption, the complete opposite of pure, they, well, they shouldn't exist. Alright, Florence...something you need to know. The supernaturals are real. I can tell you have magic yourself because of what you did before, I thought you were some sort of shifter but, well, shifters don't quite shift like that so I knew it had to be something else. But, anyway, the supernaturals are real, Piper is a witch, I'm a vampire. There is one other vampire in this house I know of, and that is Angel, there are also werewolves, other witches, and at least one wizard. I'd class myself as a warrior, a legendary swordsman, in fact. I've trained for over 500 years. But even I know that against those things, without serious help I'm useless on my own. Angelus's army? Nothing compared to that. Now, I noticed your shock earlier when supernaturals were mentioned and such, so I'm sure you have questions, and I certainly don't mind if you ask them. The more informed you are, the better you can help us, after all, not only that, but it'd be unfair to keep hiding this from you. I'm not sure how you never found out before, considering you walked into Caritas, and only supernaturals or those who know of them are allowed in there." Tachi offers Florence a smile. He stands, patting the word at his side. He sits back down, taking another sip of his tea.

"As if dice would do damage to zombies," Florence notes with a chuckle, taking a bite of stew, trying to draw Kit to her naked foot again so she could play with her, but freezes as Tachi calls her supernatural. "You a vampire, huh? Bloodsucking, burning in the sun, mind controling undead? Get real, you look no day older than... thirty, probably more the early twenties. No way you are an undead half a milenium old," she disbeliefs him, her fingers bending slowly. Her smile is gone. "Stop messing with me."

Kit decides to ease the tension by meowing to let everyone know she's still in fact interested in playing with Florence's foot....and walks around it a few times before batting with a paw. Claws...are outta the question, as Piper looks over. "Look, Florence. Dice will distract zombies" she offers as Kit is happily purring now playing with said naked foot. "Ever considered getting a cat or anyimal of your own instead of trying to steal mine?" Piper teases. "C'mon, you'd look cute with a little kitten or something. Plus it'd be adorable" she adds then looks serious. "Tachi's unfortunately right. Plus, I can vouch for him being a vampire. I've seen him drink blood. Now either he's got some crazy, crazy dietary turn ons, or....he's a vampire" Piper says, as Kit is engrossed in foot playing.

"Piper's right," Tachi says, with a sigh. I could show you my fangs, if you want the proof. But I'm human empathetic, much of my humanity's still left in me. Now, there's something else you need to know about me. I'm not undead, I'm fully alive. I need to breathe, I have a heartbeat. I'll burn in the sun to an extent, kinda like sunburn, and it hurts like a bitch, so, I don't go in the sun if I can avoid it, and I carry a sun umbrella if I do. I appreciate the compliment regarding my age. I guess I look pretty damn good for 633 years old, huh?" He smiles, taking another sip o his tea as he reaches his hand out to the kitty, trying to win her back.

Florence glares at Tachi, then looks down to Kit, reaching down under the table to try to pick the Siamese up so she might get up to her lap. "Why do I need to get a kitten if I can have yours? Or be my own?" she asks back to piper, suddenly flashing a pair if feline fangs with a slightly annoyed smile, the back of her hand between Kit's ears showing a short grey fur coat, rounded grey ears appearing between her hair. Ok, so he is a vampire, and you a witch, but that makes us... 3 exceptions to millions? I mean, come on, in New York I never met anybody that was such!"

Piper looks over to Kit as the cat settles in Florence's lap for a moment, then looks up at her, spots the big, big cat and flees back to Piper's lap. "That" Piper says gently. "You spooked my cat" Piper nods, "Though to be fair, if you got a kitten of your own, you could get said little cat used to ya" she offers, digging into stew as Kit is watching Florence carefully, waiting for the big scary kitty to emerge again. Piper looks amused. "Nice" she says without a trace of sarcasm. "New York. No witches. Did you ever go to a graveyard on a full moon?" she asks with a joking tone. "New York has its share of witches, but....ya know they didn't wanna be found" Piper admits as Kit carefully works her way back to Florence then Tachi, leaping up into Tachi's lap for a moment staring at Florence....then launches herself up onto the table.....saunters over...and climbs back down into Kit's lap. "Typical cat" Piper observes.

"Typical kitty, yes, but so cute." Tachi turns back to Florence. "The reason you never met them is because they never wanted to be found. There are millions of vampires, werewolves, witches, even demons and other creatures running around all over the world. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but better here in a safe environment with people who won't hurt you rather than on the street with a vampire aiming to kill you. An experienced vampire would have little trouble doing that, I'm sure, if that was their goal. You wouldn't have enough time for that fight or flight instinct to kick in before you were dead, if vampires are one thing, it's fast. I wish I could say all vampires were like me, nice to everyone, don't like to kill for blood, but a lot of them, especially my type of vampire, are psychopaths. They murder as they please just to sait their cravings for death. I...somehow manage to keep myself together and resist that cravin every single day. It's gotten weaker over the years, but it still comes sometimes. It's horible when it does, I hate killing anyone or anything. But it' how life goes."

Florence pets Kit as she comes back after the spook, scritching at the neck of the Siamese. "Or they just don't frequent Harlam's schools or whatever. Never seen a witch or vampire. Or what you call a shifter." She pets the kitten in her lap, lifting her to give her a little kiss, before she peers to Tachi. "You claimed I am not a shifter. Why? I mean, what makes that *me*, if you are some strange, heartbeat vampire that won't turn a pile of ashes if tied down into the noon sun?"

Piper watches Kit, trying not to smile as the Siamese looks....somewhere between unimpressed with the kiss and not like shee's going anywhere any time. It's like Kit is determined to help Florence out....though Piper's not sure why as she's buttering bread. "Anyone?" she asks with a gentle smile. Peacemaker. Always the peacemaker, Piper. She looks over to Kit, as the Siamese hops down to the floor to finish up the stew and wanders out the door. Piper has a hunch Kit's heading outside....and wonders if defecating would get the house angry at Kit. Not that Piper wants to find out. Looking over, Piper can't hide her snort. "Just...." she says silently giggling. "THe idea of supernaturals in Harlem schools is funny. That's all. Though goth kids think they're vampires and all that" Piper muses.

"Punk rocker vampire child. That's me! I mean um sorry. I'm supposed to be Japanese! But a lot of the modern cultures are really fun. I pride myself on studying modern pop culture references, but sometimes I don't really feel like I blend in. Now, why I say you're not a shifter, because a true shifter wouldn't transform quite like you did. They would transform fully into a different shape. At least...I think. Hell, I could be talking completely out of my ass here, in which case ignore me, but I'm pretty sure that's what a shifter is. But I digress."

Florence snorts as Kit dashes off, but then shrugs. "So, you are saying you have no idea what I am or if your information is insufficient. Really confidence inspiring," Florence notes, looking to piper. "Now, what makes a Witch?"

Piper raises her hands. "That's like asking what makes a great artist or musician. It's something you are" Piper says and glances out the window, Kit is in full view squatting. "Thanks, Kit" Piper says exasperatedly to the window, as if Kit hears the cat runs behind a treee. "That's much, much better" Piper says, pretending her cat taking a dump in full view of everyone hadn't just happened.....as Piper returns her gaze to Florence. "It's what you are. Not what makes you. It's....in you, basically" Piper says with a nod.

Tachi shrugs, with his own nod. "Pretty much what Piper said. Look, I'm sorry I don't know much about you. I'm not magical, I knew a few of the sidhe during my time, have made some valuable allies, including a very, very skilled enchanter who enchanted several of my weapons for me, I learned a little about magic, but I could never use it. And Piper's the first witch I've ever met that I've actually gotten to know well, who I'd consider an actual friend. So, I'm no expert on witches, or shifters, I know a lot about the ae but I know most about vampires and some lesser demons."

"Well, maybe don't just assume stuff based on stuff you don't know?" Florence reprimands Tachi before giving Piper a smile. "Ok, witch is what you do, so what do you do? I mean, how do you do witching and witchery and stuff?"

"That's like asking a vampire how they suck blood. Or a werewolf how they shift" Piper says, letting Florence's reprimand slide. "It's not something I can explain, it's something I am. Something I do" she says, not sure how to explain, as Kit runs back in and climbs up onto the table, stalking back to Florence for more petting and stroking. "Kit?" Piper asks as Kit mews, sticks her nose in Piper's stew bowl and forgets about Florence. "Though" Piper adds thoughtuflly. "That's like asking you how you do your gaining cat stuff trick. Same question, how do you do whatever it is?" Piper asks, turning the question around on Florence.

Tachi shrugs. "Pretty much," he says, in response to Piper. "It's...instinct, more or less. I can't explain it." He outright ignores Florence's comment about assuming things, he's not in the mood to start a fight today, but he does hold his hand out to Kit again.

"Concentration and instinct. Think about the shape you want, the thing you need and let the instinct take over. Or just let the instinct take care of the shape and needs. If it's fight or flight... it will choose whatever can handle the situation. The last time some gang badgered me, I badgered them. Honeybadgered them to be exact. Honeybadger does not care, honeybadger just messes up your day." Florence notes, shruging a little.

Piper actually giggles at that, the idea of a honey badger shredding gangs is amusing as Kit glances at the hand, and.....carries on eating stew, before licking at the bowl, and trotting over first to Florence....then Tachi, then sitting exactly at the mid point between them staring out the window, as if not caring about the tug of war over who she gets attention from. Piper though smiles. "Same answer with me doing my witch thing. Magic. Basically" Piper says....knowing it sounds extremely obvious. "It's magic. It's....inate" Piper nods, trying to put the words together.

"Exactly." Tachi reaches out to stroke the kitty. "It's...what we are. It's the life we live. I just hope you're not afraid of us, we're on your side."

"And how do you know you are a witch? Or whatever other I might be?" Florence notes, shruging again as she sneakily puts a hand to the table fingers curling up to promise better petting to Kit should she just come over.

Piper nods, watching Kit turn around to look at them all and mew at the attention, as if she's thanking Tachi....or....something, she could be making a yo mamma joke in Siamese, for all Piper knows. Still, Piper agrees with both. You just....know when you are" Piper says. "Like knowing you are something, ya know? It's hard to explain. Look. I'll come help you if you like, at least figure out what you are. If you are a witch you'll grab on quickly. If not then you'll still enjoy my company" Piper nods

Tachi shrugs, leaning forward to pet the kitty even better. "I don't know how much help I could be, of course, but you can trust Piper. And I can try and answer questions about any of the other supernatural types as well."

Florence shrugs a moment. "Well, is there not some kind of quicktest? Like, try this, if it works, bam, you're a witch, if not, try this and so on." She does try to teases Kit to come over to her again.

Piper nods. "Okay. Hm" she muses, not a great teacher. "Okay. I'm gonna set a plate by you. I want you to try conjuring something on it" she says as Kit meows again to Tachi, it's the catlike smirk that gives away her language. "Kit!" Piper says. "You be nice or Leo puts you on a leash and collar" she warns as Kit mews sweetly at her. "Don't you play innocent" Piper says as Kit nuzzles Tachi's fingers then Florence's then settles between then cleaning herself. "I'm not sure what test would prove you're a witch or not really" Piper says softly.

Tachi reaches out to keep petting the kitty and snickers. "She's adorable," he says. "A bit sassy but adorable."

Florence blinks but eyes the plate piper talks about, her eyes furrowing as she stares at the depression in it, pondering how *conjure something* works at all. "Eh, isn't there like... some trick to it?" she asks, looking up. "I mean, that's a bowl, and I have honestly no idea what I should even try to do or even summon."

The door opens and Sly wanders back in, carrying the teacup he ran off with before. He washes this, putting it away, then hops up to sit on the counter. "Hey," he says in greeting. "I went to check on them, and, yeah, they're definitely banging. So I'm gonna hide out down here, okay?" He rolls his eyes a little at, y'know *parents* and how weird it is when they have *lives* and stuff.

Piper waves to Sly and nods, then looks to Florence. "Focus on what you want and...will it into being. It's not easy to explain" Piper says with a smile. "But if you really focus and try, it should work" she says as Kit mews at Sly in surprise, wandering over. Three people to get attention from. Best. Day. Ever. Kit thinks as Piper laughs. "Parents have lives. It's how you were created" Piper says, very to the point.

"She's not wrong," Tachi says. "What, did you come down here looking to get banged yourself? Because um...you got the wrong guy. But at least the kitty is adorable, right?" He can't help but smirk slightly at Sly, but he is smiling. "You doing alright? Apart from your parents banging and all...?"

"Just focus and try to wish it there?" Florence repeats, staring into the empty bowl, her hands cupping it. Time passes as she just stares into it. Poor Kit lost one to get pettings from.

"Okay," Sly says, holding up both hands. "First of all, I don't *remember* that. Second, Jacob is *so* not my parent. He's barely even a grown-up. My mom died when I was a baby, and my dad's just gay now or whatever." Probably there's more to the story than that, but he glosses right over it. He does nod to Tachi, though, and laughs a bit. "Oh, I'm cool. Trust me, my dad getting laid isn't something I wanna *hear*, but it's not something that, like, traumatizes me. It's just... y'know. New topic, maybe?"

Tachi shrugs. "Well," he says, thoughtfully. "At least he's getting some action, right? I don't think I met your dad, but if his mate is a werewolf too then it may have possibly been the one fighting on the front lines with us. If your dad was fighting he may have been out back, I know the werewolf went running at the end of the fight. He's a good fighter, though. I'm just...glad the battle's over. We can all relax in peace for a little while, right?" He takes sip of his tea, but it's very close to empty, and he looks sad.

Florence seems to have lost her eyes to anything but the bowl, just staring into it.

"I could eat more stew," Sly says with a grin. "Or bread and butter, or whatever." He makes a face at Tachi and says, "Yeah, but I don't wanna hafta *think* about it. Anyway, yeah, Jacob's a good fighter. He's not as good as my dad, but he's good. I think he said he was fighting in front, and I know my dad was in back 'cause he came home through the woods. I'm glad they're okay and happy, yeah." But then he turns his attention to Florence. "Um, so, is the bowl s'posed to actually *do* something, or are you, like, gonna be sick in it or something?"

"Then take what you want" Piper says scribbling down a spell to conjure a cupcake, sliding it on the table. "I wrote down what you need to do. Follow that" Piper nods. "And....you should get a nice, fresh cupcake?" she asks hopefully

"I think she's trying to um...do magic?" Tachi says, resisting the urge to snicker. "Of course your old man's the better fighter," he says, with a slight smirk. "He's your old man, it makes sense." He can't help but laugh. "But really, long as they're happy that's what's important, right? And you still got your dad. I...had to abandon my family and my life when I got turned into a vampire. I was fucking dangerous. They're...long since dead now, but I suppose life goes on. I couldn't have kept them alive as long as me, so I remember them, and I live on to carry their legacy. But hey, I don't think about it too much, that was a really, really long time ago. I just wanna protect those who can't protect themselves, and my friends, those who are important to me, and remember those I've lost to whatever I've lost them to. Heh, sorry, that conversation turned really deep really fast. Sorry for lamenting."

Florence is drawn out of the concentration by the paper being slipped over. "A cupcake? Really? One can summon *cupcakes*?" she wonders as she lifts the paper to properly read it, turning it in her hands to see if the backside has soem hidden notes as well. "ok... that's it? Just do this? Sprinkle suggar onto the plate and say these words, turn the plate a couple times?"

Sly watches and remarks, "Witch magic is weird. I'm more used to fairy magic." He shrugs, then goes to get himself a bowl of stew and sits there on the counter, casually eating it, as he watches what the others do.

Piper nods to Florencce and smiles. "There you go, it's even in handy step by step guide form. Do those things. Get a delicious cupcake with icing. Though...." Piper nods, getting a plate, looking amused for a moment as Kit spies Sly eating and walks over, more sidles up and is hoping for food.

Florence sighs as she stands up, moving to the coffee maker to grab some suggar. As she returns, she snatches the paper inthe right, starting to sprinkle suggar onto the plater with her left. "Suggar and flour, milk and egg, whipped and baked, stirred and made,..." Slowly she starts to turn the plater counterclockwise trice, then clockwise the same time as she continiues. "...formed in paper, browned in heat, glossed with icing, tiny treat."

As she finishes she stares at the plate, mouth a little agape. and then shaking her head. "That must be a joke." There is a cupcake the size of a small fingernail.

Sly shoos the cat away, "Hey, you don't belong up here! Get back down! Bad kitty!" He holds his bowl well up and away from the cat, giving it a stern look.

Florence blinks as it starts to rain some cookies, shaking her head slowly. "Was that supposed to happen? I mean... tiny cupcake and attack of the murder-cookies?"

Sly stares for a minute, then he shrugs and goes back to his stew. Witch magic is so not his thing.

Piper has a brainwave. Freeze the....that was a good idea till she ran into one and caught her hand, and....the cookie rain won't stop. Adding to that Piper's running round like a headless chicken....

"Piper! Chillax!" Tachi is having a very, very hard time not laughing at this, but he's catching cookies and putting them on the table, they're still edible, right?