2015.09.10 - Firestarters in a Book Shop

*Brodie wants to learn about Firestarters. Lockie wants to learn about his curse. Ainsley wants to learn about Brodie. River just wants to make a sale.*

September 8, 2015

House of Troy, San Francisco

Endora Troy, a stunning woman in his mid- to late sixties who looks remarkably like a certain film and TV star from long ago, makes sure the House of Troy is always warm and inviting. She hovers at the main desk, keeping an eye on the register, while a younger girl mans the coffee/smoothie bar in the back. It's a rather gloomy day, dark clouds hanging heavily in the sky, and the shop is pretty empty at this hour, until a long-haired teenage boy bursts through the door from the back room. "Hi, Grandmama!" he shouts cheerfully, bouncing over to give Endora a quick kiss on the cheek, before dropping his backpack behind the counter.

Upon entering the shop Lockie gives an eyeroll at the cafe and the pasteries, he came here for magic, not a latte. Still spotting the books along the wall aswell as some magical supplies has him rethinking just turning around and leaving and instead heads dirctly to the books only stopping to give an interested glance to the things behind the glass display.

The front door opens and a decently tall figure enters. He's wearing a hooded sweatshirt with Beacon Hills Track and Field logo on it. And a pair of basketball shorts. The hood covers his blond head but some of the blond locks sticks out. He doesn't push back the hood just yet. For those sensitive to it, his aura is... confused. That is a great way to put it. There is a little of this and a little of that. His scent, for those sensitive to that, is definitely feral. There is a buzz of magic around him as well, that just can't be shielded. Brodie remains quiet, until the scent of incense takes over and he starts sneezing to clear his nasal passage of the scent. Once, Twice, Three times. The hood flies back, good job keeping your identity hidden. Four, Five. He stops, sniffles his nose and looks around. His tanned face is flushed with embarassment, or the rush of sneezing so much so fast.

A customer enters the fray! A dour-looking young woman with her hair tied back steps into the shop and steps around to look at what's on display. She's startled out of this by the sound of someone sneezing very loudly. She turns her head to direct her attention to Brodie, who is, well, someone from where she lives. Apparently. She doesn't recognize him, so Ainsley, the nice girl that she is, just mildly says, "Bless you," and resumes what she was doing before. She rubs her own nose, though, self-consciously. Some of these smells are a bit much for her. Similarly to Brodie, she smells 'feral,' more like a werewolf, to those with the nose to pick up on it. She hasn't acknowledged it from Brodie, though.

River Troy nods to his grandmother when Lockie comes in, prepared to go offer him some assistance. But then there's Brodie sneezing his poor hood off, and River grabs a box of dye-free, fragrance-free tissues from behind the counter and hurries to the tall teen's side. "Blessyoublessyoublessyoublessyoublessyou!" he says quickly, offering the box. "Are you all right? Do you have a cold or an allergy? The remedies are different, you know. Well, because the causes are different. If you have a cold, it's likely because you have too much going on in your life right now, causing mental confusion and disorder. But if it's allergies, the cause is emotional congestion or feelings of guilt." Of course, his proximity to Brodie likely isn't helping as a light cloud of patchouli surrounds him. He lays his free hand lightly on the teen's forearm. "But if you just have a runny nose, it's because you don't recognize your self-worth and likely a cry for help. Do you need help?"

Lockie gives Brodie an annoyed look for his loud sneezing and rolls his eyes at River's input as to why he has a cold, "Great, that kind of place", still he continues looking at the books for anything of use to him, pulling a couple of books on curses off the shelf and flicking though them. Having exhausted his search there he places some books on the counter and asks, "Is this all the stock you have on curses?" looking into the glass cabinet.

The blond sniffles and he puts on a big smile on those pale pink lips. "Thank you." His voice has an accent that is 100% not American. It's Australian, but some confuse it for British quite easily. His eyes are big and bright in his head. A hand reaches up to push his blond locks out of those ocean blue eyes. If he caught wind of the young woman's scent, he doesn't seem to acknowledge it. Could very much be the incense blocking that sense from picking anything up. He turns his bright gaze towards River, "Thanks. I'm alright mate. Something just hit me the wrong ways' all." He cocks his head to the side as River explains the difference between both. "Nah, just the incense I think. My emotions are fine, I reckon." He accepts the tissue and cleans up his nose. The invasion of his personal space startles him, he steps back. "I'm alright, really." But the younger boy doesn't keep his attention. It's Lockie that drags his attention away. Asking about books on curses is never a good thing, even in a place that is about magic. The tall teen shifts on his feet for a moment. "I think that young man might need yer help though."

All the things that come out of River's mouth just then make Ainsley turn to regard him with raised brows. She shrugs and turns to locate a book or two on European cults and mythology. She goes to purchase them without saying a word, but she pauses a moment, looking over her shoulder with a suspicious squint at the scent she picks up from Brodie. "(What is that smell?)" she mouths to herself, as she picks up her purchased books. She chooses not to approach him based on it, and instead goes to investigate what's for sale at the little cafe area. She's not a talkative sort, and her expression hardly changes the whole time. Seems she just wants to fade into the background and read a couple of occult books while she's here.

Endora gives her grandson an indulgent sort of smile, doing her best not to roll her eyes as he spouts off the New Age babble. She turns an entirely different sort of smile on Lockie when he approaches the counter, however, one brow rising. "And just what sort of information on curses are you looking for, young man? Casting or reversing? Minor jinxes or major hexes? Modern, Medieval, or Ancient? Which school of magic?" While she's asking these questions, she rings up Ainsley's purchases, giving her a pleasant smile.

River removes his hand when Brodie pulls away, sucking in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean...." He squints his blue eyes at the taller teen for a long moment, then simply nods. "Well, if you do need anything, just let me know, okay?" He glances toward Lockie, giving him a quick look-over, then cocks a brow when he hears his grandmother's words. Hmm, this could prove interesting.... He sneaks a step or two closer to hear Lockie's reply better.

The English witch gives Endora a look before slipping into his usual cheeky smile, "Reversing of course, who casts curses anyway?", Lockie runs a hand along the glass counter, "I'm not really sure, just general information on curse reversal, see if it's possible to do without knowing who cast it or exactly what it does? Any chance you have anything that can help me?", he pulls a high ranking credit card out of his pocket and puts it on the cabinet.

Brodie smells feline, big cat feline and not just a little kitten feline. The predator kind that might set some hackles raising if people don't have enough control. The sweatshirt smells the most of it and it is not just his scent upon it. There is a more dominant scent of big cat on the sweatshirt, it's obviously not his. However, it does smell similar to him. His attention however, has shifted towards Endora as she asks some questions of the young man. Trying not to stare however, he shifts his big bright eyes back to River. "It's okay mate. Just don't know ya is all." He looks at River. "Oh, I was just checking out the novelty stuff. You have a bunch of neat stuff. I like the swords and knives." Somehow, even when he talks about it, he doesn't seem as oblivious as his comment makes him seem. He is definitely lying. "I saw a movie, Firestarter recently. Do you think that can happen? Humans being able to start fires? You have any books on that? I think it would be cool. I could make my own barbie."

Ainsley orders a smoothie and a pastry, nice and sugary, and finds a seat where she can keep an eye on Brodie. The strange scent keeps her attention on him without her realizing it. She's found a relaxing seat, but she can't help but crane her head to keep her eyes on him from her vantage point. She ssssips at the smoothie, and even then she can't look away. Her instincts just won't allow her to.

Endora frowns just a touch, giving her head a small shake. "Removing a curse can be a very long and involved process, especially if you don't know the curse's nature. Knowing who cast the curse would be helpful, but isn't strictly necessary. These books you've selected will give you some general information, of course, but you really need to know more specifics about the curse itself." She leans over the counter just a bit, giving Lockie a penetrating sort of look. "Were you cursed, my dear?"

Meanwhile, River blushes warmly, lowering his eyes as he turns back to Brodie. "You have to be eighteen to buy a sword or dagger. Um. Do you mean pyrokinesis? That's the ability to create and manipulate fires with your mind. I'm sure we have a book or two in the Psychic Phenomena section." He nods toward another area of the store, offering a small smile. "Would you like me to help you look for one? You might also check out an old Stephen King movie called 'Firestarter'. Young Drew Barrymore played a pyrokinetic in that. Of course, it was all movie special effects. True Firestarters are pretty rare."

Lockie looks over at River and Brodie at the mention of Firestarters, he's aware his kind if rare but it still draws his attention to the word, he wonders for a moment if River really knows what a Firestarter is, then he's snapped out of it by Endora, "Yes I believe so, I just don't know what it's doing, so I'm here and I'd like to see the best you have on the subject".

Brodie Bryant is actually oblivious to Ainsley staring at him. The blond just smiles and keeps things light hearted. He is however really interested in the answer to the older woman's question. He waits for Lockie to answer. The response is something he just wasn't expecting. He chews on his lower lip. "Really? 18, that's lame. They seem pretty awesome." Blinking at River, "Oh, I guess it's pyrokinesis. Whatever it was in the movie. If you have any info on that, would be a neat trick. You think anyone can just learn to use that stuff? Or you have to be born with it?" He pauses, "Lame, I wanted to learn how to do it. Would be neat. Any books on it anyway? Maybe they talk about how I can learn it. Way better than swords. It seems like a bad ass power."

Endora narrows her eyes at Lockie, scrutinizing him for a long moment. "It may be possible to determine the nature of the curse, if you are indeed cursed. But I will need time to meditate on the matter. Would you feel comfortable leaving something of a personal nature with me? Just some small token I can use during my meditations."

River is oblivious to the curse conversation now, blissfully leading Brodie to the correct section, which just happens to be closer to where Ainsley has settled with her smoothie. "Oh, I'm not sure it can be learned," he says, touching the spines of books as he checks the titles. "It's actually a pretty rare ability, one you're born with. But if I remember right, it's a coveted power." He gives another small grin, sneaking a peek at Brodie. "Pretty badass, yeah. But dangerous, tied to one's emotions."

Lockie signs and pulls the ring with his family crest on it and places it on the counter, "This work?", he's getting frustrated now, this woman probably has no idea what she's talking about, that ring will probably find itself in a pawn shop and he'll still have no idea how to stop... stop all this! He puts a hand to his head as he's hit with a sudden searing headache and at the same moment a table near River, Brodie and Ainsley catches fire.

And then Ainsley leaps out of her seat with a loud girlish SQUEAK and her eyes, for a moment, flash yellow. She moves quickly out of her chair -- very quickly, goodness gracious! -- and just dumps the ice-cold smoothie all over the fire in a great big wet splash, acting and thinking quickly to deal with it. It might not actually fix the problem, but she's trying!

Brodie's bright eyes go even wider as Endora talks about the curse. It's pretty obvious he was listening to her conversation. Although he turns his focus back to River. "Oh, well that's a shame, about it not being something that people can just learn. I think it would be wicked cool if I could do that." He just smiles. "Maybe i'll take this book on it and see if I can at least create some smoke if I try hard enough." He picks up the bigger book on pyrokinesis. "Bet it's an impressive thing to see." And then as if by command, there is a fire. His attention is drawn to it. "Oh, it looks like one of your candles went up." And he is about to go forward and help, when his nose catches scent of something other than fire. It is... something that sends little panic signals into his head. It tickles his other nature and then he moves away from the fire and more importantly the animal scent of unknown wolf. He drops the book on pyrokinesis and backs away. It's slow at first, the fire actually causing a great distraction. Once people aren't paying him much mind, he turns and bolts out of the store.

Endora regards the ring for a moment, then carefully picks it up. At once, she sucks in a breath, eyes closing, as she gets a vision, not of the future, but of the past. Specifically, Lockie's past. It's not a full, coherent vision, but rather flashes of quick images, just enough to let her know this young man is more than he appears. But before she can concentrate to get a better picture, the girl at the smoothie counter lets out a panicked cry, and Endora closes her hand around the ring, clasping it tightly in her fist.

"Oh no, fire!" River shouts, running toward the flaming table and calling to the smoothie girl, "Tabitha, the fire extinguisher, quick!" The girl reaches under the counter and tosses a small extinguisher to River, who pulls the safety ring as Ainsley dumps her smoothie onto the flames. "Stand back!" he calls, shaking a bit as he begins spraying the table, chairs and basically anyone nearby with white foam. Meanwhile, Endora slips into the back room during the confusion.

Lockie looks up as the headache starts to pass and realise what just happened, taking a deep breath he focuses on lowering the flames as people attempt to fight it, he doesn't quite put it out but makes it so it's little trouble to put out. Turning around he frowns as the shop owner seems to have slipped away with his ring, "Huh, figured as much", any remorse he feels for the fire begins to slip away as he assumes he's been robbed.

"It's okay, everyone!" River says, waving a hand at the smoke that quickly fills the shop. "Just a little candle mishap, nothing to worry about. Thank goodness we have all these fire extinguishers around, right?" He gives a weak sort of grin as he passes the spent extinguisher to the smoothie girl. Then he goes looking for Brodie, but is disappointed to discover the taller boy has vanished.

Endora emerges from the back room, having reset the security system's smoke detectors, so the sprinklers didn't go off. She returns to the counter and pulls out a receipt book, looking at Lockie. "I'll just give you a receipt for your ring then, shall I? Wouldn't want you to forget where you left it. Can you return in, say, three days? I hope to be able to tell you more then." A bit mopey, River approaches the counter as well, looking River up and down briefly.

As he hears Endora's voice Lockie puts that smile back on his face as he turns to look at her, "Thanks but I'm not likely to forget where I left it, only got the one, plus...", he holds up his hand showing a slight tanline when the ring was, "...I never take it off, so I'll be back for it, trust me".

Endora gives him that smile again, the one that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "And it will be here for you, dear. Now if you'd like to purchase these books to read in the meantime, River will be happy to ring you up." River blinks a few times, coming out of whatever thoughts he'd been entertaining. "Oh! Yes, I'd be happy to," he says, hurrying around the counter to the antique brass cash register and looking at the stack of books Lockie had brought to the counter earlier.

Lockie nods to Endora "Ta very much" and picks his credit card and holds it between two fingers while he waits for River to ring up his books, "Hey, I heard you talking about firestarters with the Austrailian, what do you know about them?", while he waits for an answer he has a look at the athemes behind the glass counter.

River Troy begins punching the big, antique buttons, reading prices off the books. "I don't know very much," he admits, giving a shrug of one shoulder. "Just what I've read. But I think they're pretty rare, and it's a coveted power that's linked to your emotions. As with many powers, it's neither good nor evil itself. It's all about intent, right?" He smiles as he reads the total to Lockie, reaching for the credit card.

Lockie nods, "True, rarely found but big on the wanting, like objects just waiting to be claimed", he holds back the card for a moment, "Mind if I have a look at a couple of those Athemes? Just from a collector's standpoint of course".

River Troy flashes a small grin, starting to lean down to slide open the back doors of the display case, but Endora steps forward again. "I'm sorry, but we'll need to see your ID first. Store policy and state law prohibit us from allowing anyone under the age of eighteen from handling the blades. You understand, of course."

Lockie smiles again "Of course", reaches into his pocket, then flips open his wallet to show a fake ID, decent one too, not hard to get hold of when you've got some cash, "Always happy to oblige when it comes to the law".

Endora squints at the ID, lips pressed in a frown. Finally, he nods to River, who unlocks and slides open the case. "Which were you interested in?" he asks cheerfully.

Lockie flashes Endora another smile before looking to River, "Those three please", he points to two of the fancier, more expencive ones and one more basic looking one, "Your grandmother doesn't seem to like me very much, something I've done that I should know about?"

River Troy unrolls a velvet cloth across the glass countertop, then removes the three indicated athames, placing them on the velvet. He glances back at Endora, then shrugs and gives Lockie another grin. "She's eccentric sometimes," he whispers, as though his grandmother can't hear him. "I'm sure it's not personal. I mean, it's not like you're a soulless demon, right?"

Lockie picks up the more basic one, it appearing to be the one he's most interested in, he chuckles at River's comment, "I've been call worse I guess", putting the atheme down he seems statisfied, "Yeah I'll take all three", he holds out his credit card again, "Nice selection you've got".

River Troy's eyes bug wide as he looks at the three athames, particularly the two more expensive ones. "You...want all three? This one is almost three hundred dollars, you know. Gilt in sterling silver. Are you sure you want all three?"

Lockie grins, "Yeah I'm sure, didn't get myself anything for my birthday this year, so why not?", he pats the books reminding River he wants those too, "Hey you're the one making the sale, you should have your grandma pay you commision on it".

River Troy waves a hand dismissively, grinning again. "Oh, I don't need a commission. I'm just happy to be a productive member of the family business. Which, you know, will partly belong to me one day, so working here is like an investment in my future, right?" He cheerfully rings up all three athames, rattles off an obscene total, then hunts around under the counter for the velvet-lined boxes the blades were shipped in. "Why do you need three athames?" he asks curiously.

Lockie watches as River rings everything up, "Like I said, purely as a collector, my family has quite an extensive atheme collection so it's always good to keep an eye out for one to add", well the more fancy ones are for that purpose at least, "Do you not get many sales on athemes? I only ask as you find my purchace so odd", dear good this small talk is killing him!

River Troy shrugs one shoulder, boxing up the blades, then bagging the books and boxes in a shopping sack with little handles, displaying the House of Troy logo. "Honestly, they're not our biggest seller. I guess they're a little pricey for most people. I mean, we sell two or three a month, usually. More near Samhain and Yule, of course. But three in one day, and all to the same customer...." He shakes his head, reaching for the card again. "I'd love to see your collection sometime. Are any of your pieces for sale?"

Lockie hands over the card when it's reached for, "Nope, none are currently up for auction, though we do get offers for some anyway", best not to mention it's just him now, "Though you must see a lot of them as they come in and out of the store?", he fiddles with the amethyst crystal hanging from his neck to give him something to do while he waits.

River Troy runs the card through the reader and punches in the total, then nods as he waits for the approval to come through. "A few, yeah. Some really old ones sometimes, but those don't usually make it onto the floor. We've got a list of, you know, special customers who can afford the really expensive stuff. I'd still like to see what you've got though, even if none of it is for sale. Must be great having such a big collection."