nadiaholme

[nadiaholme]

NADIA HOLME @ The Conclave

Her fingertips rest lightly on the crystal in front of her, where the shape of the previous leader's crystalline hands are clasped together. She misses having a guide. But it's time for her to try and step forward.

Nadia knows she needs to be worthy of being the leader that THE CIRCLE OF THE AUGURY is in need of, and is ready to finally be that witch, despite her inexperience with leading and with her own magic. If only her parents could see her now.

[nadiaholme]

"I know a few places in town that are offering discounts - Flyers and announcements all over the place on bulletin boards that are still left standing. I'm sure some of those can help with fixing things at a portion of the cost." It's something that Nadia has a finger on the pulse of - the more sales and deals she can find, the better. And passing that along is something that she would have been grateful for during the days where home was simply a bench in a park.

She waits to look through the package when she's received and balances the mug and hums gratefully. "These are wonderful, thank you so much." The cookies and the bottle of cologne captured her eye and she lifted the latter with a curious gaze.

Settling down, she takes the mug from her boss with a soft, grateful sigh. It's not too warm out, so the tea is welcome. A sip and a soft sound of contentment leaks from her lips. "Sorry, ma-- Force of habit. Back where I come from, you used honorifics or got your mouth washed out with soap. Still breakin' out of it."

Her thoughts? Gosh. It was hard enough trying to lead a coven, she barely had time for thoughts about the shop. "Well, goodness. Stirring in the spells seems to gather quite a crowd alone, but having a shift open later might help bring in more. Maybe host nights for poetry and soft music? I fear I'm no help here, most of my ideas would be things I've seen in movies."

The mug is set down for a bit as she turns the cologne in her hands. "What's this?"

“Nonsense. Nothing for you to be apologizing for.” She took the others hand as she passed. Giving it a more friendly than formal shake. Was it professional? No. But neither of them were actually on the clock. No point in being a hardass at a time like this. She actually wanted her employees to like her funny enough. Wild concept right? 

“Well I’m glad to hear that. Funny how a couple blocks can somehow make a difference when it comes to weather. This place… well I’m sure it’s had better days. Either way. I appreciate the help. I’m still trying to figure out who to even call about the damages I can’t manage on my own- which is most of them. I’m handy… not this kinda handy.” She muses, trying to keep conversation light before disappearing into the back. “Find somewhere dry and take a seat. I’ll be just a moment.” 

Miraculously she had somehow been smart enough to have the boxes already packed and ready behind the counter.  So it only took a minute to get the kettle on. By the time she had double checked everything inside the water was hot and she transferred it over to a teapot for steeping. A blend of white tea with nettle, lemon balm and ginger. Gentle and fragrant it should give both of them a subtle boost of energy. She grabbed her jar of lemon slices as well as she carried the lot back to where Nadia had settled herself. “And none of this ma’am business. I might use a cane but I’m not that old. Juniper is just fine. Ma’am makes me feel like my grandmother.” She laughed as she set the package down. “It’s not much. Just what I could get together after the fact. I don’t know how bad everyone else got hit, some might still be without power too so it’s a bit of an odd mix.” She pushed the box forward. Letting the other rummage through it if she wanted. Cans of soup, cans of milk, a gallon of clean water. A few dry goods and some quick shelf stable meals. There were a couple treats as well. Tupperware of cookies that looked homemade, along with what looked like a bottle of body spray. 

That was something she was always going to give them. Storm or not. A gift to try and foster a good relationship with the change of ownership. An old recipe from one of her grandmother's books. Verbena perfume- well cologne technically; which made it weaker than she would like, but the amount of Verbena she needed for a proper perfume was hard to come by here. The citrusy scent was subtly masked with blackberry and sage, sandalwood and allspice giving it warmth. It was protection that only went skin deep, couldn't really stop a bite. But it could make them think twice.  

By the time Nadia had gone through the box, the tea was done and Juniper was serving it. Adding a honey-preserved lemon slice to the bottom of the cup for sweetness before serving the hot tea on top. The smell was already waking her up. She passed the first cup over before taking a seat and serving herself. “How about we get started after this cup? You’ve worked here a while, so I would love to hear some of your thoughts on the business in the meantime. Things that should change, things that should stay the same. All I’m really trying to do today is get things picked up and cleared out so I can actually see what needs more skilled attention anyways.”    

[nadiaholme]

It's hard on the day to day -- Nadia can't go to Brewed Awakening every day to help, not when there are things like contractors and official sounding other professionals she shouldn't get in the way of. But it's habit to wander down the street after her morning routine to go down to the cafe to start her morning shift.

She's about to turn right back around with a heavy sigh before a familiar voice knocks her out of her overbearing thoughts, and her eyes widen for a second. The last she'd heard, Jac was in a coma but.. just after the hurricane, she knew. Hadn't checked, couldn't find a way to the Feng household.. or what was left of it, but she knew.

At least there were some perks to the damn magic that haunts her day in and day out. "The cafe? It's.. It's worse than it looks, really. How are.." Hmm, no. That's a bad idea. "There's another place a few streets over that's open, I can show you if you like?"

The flannel that Jen had lent to her hangs a little long at her wrists, but Jac is no stranger to having to push up her sleeves every now and again. She remembers when she had asked her cousin if she could borrow some clothes, considering most of hers were either back at the apartment or had been annihilated by her. The closet full of flannel button downs and white t-shirts hadn't offered a whole lot in terms of selection, but Jac also had come to expect as much from her.

Today, her destination is Brewed Awakening, to hopefully catch a glimpse of Nadia. Has her shift changed during Jac's absence? Does she even work there anymore? The witch isn't even entirely sure what she plans to say to the redhead when she sees her, only feels like it's important that she does.

When she rounds the familiar corner, Jac stops short, heart sinking as she takes in the damage to the beloved coffee shop where she'd spent countless hours since high school. The guilt blossoms again, thick and cloying in the back of her throat and she wonders if maybe she's just going to make things worse again. But there's a flash of red in her periphery, and her knees wobble slightly as she turns to see Nadia. "Oh... hi. I... hey." She could hit herself for sounding so dumb. "Is... how bad is it?" // @nadiaholme

[nadiaholme]

Nadia nearly jumps at the sharpness of Çaska's tone, blinking rapidly at her. Her eyes are caught again, and it's that same feeling - warm tea, cool breeze. Another blink and something's caught hold of her, she feels like she sits up a little straighter without a slouch. Confidence doesn't come easy, especially when she doesn't think there is anything to be confident on her best days.

But she knows she's traveled across the country with nothing, and has made it to somehow be a leader of a coven she didn't know existed a few years prior. "You're.. kind for sayin' that, really." There is some truth to it, maybe, but it's hard to let go of something you've heard for most of your life.

"You've been really sweet today."

"That's not uninteresting!" She says, sharply. "Not to trivialize, I mean, or call what sounds like some trouble interesting. I know what it's like, having troubles with family."

Çaska stands from her seat, switching sides and sliding into the booth banquette next to Nadia, taking her hands up in her own. "I think you deserve comfort, Nadia. With friends, with whoever, fathers can be cruel, even if they think they've our best interests at heart. We don't need to let them rule us even after we get away from them, yeah?"

She's not done, though. "I think you're still a little worried, dear thing. I'm safe, we're safe. There's no need for all this self doubt. I think you should be a little more confident in yourself - it brings the light out in your eyes."

[nadiaholme]

Immediately, she feels guilty at startling the other, and it's written plain on her face. There's a concentration there, beneath it, of her trying to keep her magic at bay and pulled back underneath the waves and waves of divination that the world just wants to throw at her. She works at a knot in her shoulder nervously as she stammers, "Oh - uh, sorry- sorry, that's m' fault."

But she does nod to confirm her name, "All okay on my end." She hasn't met her boss yet, really, but she steps forward and holds out her hand to shake for manners' sake. "I'm, uhm, I'm definitely sure, though."

Another soft, polite smile, as her accent trudges through her words, slow and thick like the molasses her aunt used to give her as a treat on homemade biscuits. "My apartment's all hunky dory for the most part - a l'il ways up the road, there." She hooks a thumb over her shoulder to gesture. "Few blocks down. And really, I ain't got nothin' better to do." Most of her life is work and study and meet Tetsuya - Miyazaki, she mentally corrects.

"I'd 'ppreciate the tea and the package, though, ma'am."

Sleep was difficult to come by these days. Even before the storm her nights were somewhat restless. Now though? It was near impossible. If she tried to lay down all she could think about was all the things she needed to do once she got up. Resulting in her getting up hours too soon. This was one of those days. She had tried to sleep, honestly. But the restlessness was relentless and she found herself in the dilapidated shop before the sun rose. Thankfully her apartment had been relatively unscathed. A bit of roof damage but nothing that let the water in. 

She would need to not only hire a contractor to handle the repairs but also a cleaning service to handle water damage and the larger debris she couldn’t move on her own. But before that she needed to handle the smaller details. Toss inventory that got ruined, find a place to store inventory that hadn’t. By the time normal hours of operation came around she had been working for a few hours at least.

It wore her down and when she finally decided to sit on the stairs that lead to the second level of the cafe she was so tired her eyes couldn’t help but close. Only for a moment she told herself. In reality she had no idea how long her eyes had been closed when she heard steps approaching and a voice calling out. Rousing her immediately from a state of half-sleep that was becoming all too familiar to her now. Unfortunately it roused her so immediately that she stood a bit too quickly, she didn’t quite fall down the stairs, but it was a less than graceful descent.

“Shit- Hi- Hello.” She greeted as her heart pounded in her chest at the bottom of the steps. Looking up and seeing a familiar face she knew she hadn’t met before. A slight tilt of the head as she tried to recall where she knew this womans face from. 

“Oh- you’re… Nadia yes? Sorry for the chaos. I think I let my break get the better of me.” She had been smart enough to take the cafe's important records up into her apartment before the storm hit in full force. And she had been going through files trying to learn the names of those under her employ. Though with how fried her brain was it was a miracle she was able to put the name to the face at this moment.   

“That’s awfully kind, are you sure? I’m in no place to say no to help, but I don’t want to take time or energy away from you if you have your own post-hurricane messes to clean up. Here- Lemme put a kettle on. I’ll grab that care package too. It isn’t much but it’s what I could put together on short notice.”  She ran a hand over her face to wake herself up before moving. Disappearing into the back before returning.  

[nadiaholme]

Since the damage from the storm, Nadia was having a little trouble getting to and from her apartment. The street they were on still had some debris scattered around, but the shop underneath her apartment had some water damage and had blocked off the area around it. Which meant she was staying over at New Moonlight for the time being until things settled.

The e-mail came through on her phone, and the more she read it, the more her heart sank. The compensation aspect of it was fine, but the idea of not having her routine of going to work every morning squeezed at her heart and her head. It was only through the coffee shop that she could find some semblance of stability in the tumultuous times she'd found herself in with the Augury and trying to manage her own magic.

Making her way down to the shop, she figured maybe.. stop by and see if she could help with clean up and repairs. The owner wasn't going to shun her, Nadia knew that much. Stepping over debris, she entered the shop.

"Hey - sorry, I know things are closed, but I was gonna try and help out still, anyways."

Where: Brewed Awakening When: A couple days after Hurricane Jac Who: Open To All Brewed Awakening Employees 

Sender: JuniperKessler@Email.com  CC Recipients: Brewed Awakening Employees 

First I would like to start this email by saying I hope that you are all well after the storm. I was hoping my first interactions with you all as Brewed Awakenings new proprietor could be made under better circumstances, but these are the hands we are dealt. 

As Brewed Awakening took on substantial damage from the hurricane I must inform all of you that we will be closed for the foreseeable future while repairs and renovations are made. So please take the time you need to recover your homes and families at a pace which suits you. Your jobs are secured as long as you would like them and no layoffs due to absence will be taking place. On top of this your salaries will be continued at 75% fulfillment. If this is not a workable amount I do apologize but as the business will not be making a profit for some time 75% is what can realistically be sustained without making payroll cuts. 

If you have any questions about the financial breakdown of how this number was chosen, or wish to inquire about anything else related to the business please feel free to reach out either via this email or by coming by the shop. I have also taken the liberty of preparing post-storm care packages and these can be picked up at the store during normal hours of operation between the day this email reaches you and Friday. Canned goods and water along with other basics I was able to gather. If you or your families are in need, please reach out. 

Signed-    Juniper Kessler     

[nadiaholme]

The food is good -- it's a little out of her price range, but then again, most things are these days. Trying to do much of anything in Port Leiry while surviving off of a barista's pay is.. difficult, to say the least. She politely picks at her soup and tries not to make a mess.

When Caska catches her eyes again, she blinks rapidly and nods, the command slipping over her like warm tea on a cool day, comforting in a way that she doesn't often feel. "Oh.. Well." Another polite bite. "I don't really know that I'm all that interesting, sorry to say." With a laugh, though, not trying to brush Caska off - but something she truly believes.

"I moved to Port Leiry a bit ago, struggled to make ends meet, and I think I'm finally getting to a place where I can feel comfortable. Which is.. ha. A little difficult, if I'm going to be honest. My family wasn't exactly the most welcoming." Another bite. "My father was very determined to make sure I never felt comfortable anywhere. Sorry to say, I think he's succeeded most of my life."

"Mmhm!" Çaska coos, her grin widening. "I like to repay kindness with kindness." It's true, even if its a little upholstered.

—

The Lucky Cat

They sit down at the small soup shop; Çaska's bowl sits steaming in front of her and she eyes it, wondering at the taste. She can smell it, and it does smell wondrous, but unlike the living, it's all temptation, all promise, and she knows the second she dips the wooden chopsticks into the broth and vegetables and noodles it will land on her tongue like tasting like a pile of wet ash.

She leans forward, over the steaming bowl, and smiles to Nadia. "Let me know if you want more; or to take-home, hm?" A strand of hair goes behind her ear as she takes noodles up and tries, failingly, to maneuver them into her mouth in any sort of way that can be described as graceful. It tastes of nothing but wet, burnt paper without blood, much as she'd anticipated. "And... don't be-"

Çaska interrupts herself, leaning even further over the table, the bright discs of her eyes reaching into Nadia's. "Don't be afraid to share; tell me about yourself - whatever you're comfortable with; I would know more about my friend."

Maybe, if she proves interesting enough, Çaska will pry deeper. The feed is always better with intimacy and attachment.

[nadiaholme]

Nadia can't help but laugh, shrugging. Her hand slips up to rub her temple lightly - it seems like it's a constant struggle between lucidity and pain these days. And even opening herself up the small amount she had with this man leaves her a little fragile. "Sorry, I don't really mean to be spooky. Guess it sorta comes with the territory."

He moves, though, to sit down -- maybe it's grounding. She gives him a moment, before going to sit down next to him - bringing her knees to her chest, too. Just two anxious people in a cave,not knowing how to navigate the hand that this otherworldy life has dealt them.

She knows she can help, it's just a matter of trying to. For both of them.

"The aura reading, mainly." She chews on her lower lip, red blooming forth to accompany the strawberry taste of her chapstick. "Our coven is -- we specialize in divination. Reading futures, reading people. Some of us are particularly.. scary about it. Haruspicy, dreams and visions, we have fate weavers -- It's.. there's a lot. I read playing cards. Or I did, at first."

A beat, then, she holds her hand out to him - palm up. "Knowing what people feel is useful on it's own, but I think with practice and growth, you can help them, too."

The cave is beautiful, he observes, as she leads and Declan follows. As he does, he also observes the trembling aura that halos her form. She wants to help, he reminds himself, and so he does not bother further interpreting the feeling that presses into the cavity of his chest. He focuses on the cave, instead, eyes scanning the walls as they venture deeper.

It gleams with crystalline formations. The cave is cooler than he expected. Damp, but still and quiet in a way that feels almost reverent. Sacred, even. And it looks as if it was plucked right out of a fairy tale. In the distance, there looks to be a crystal statue, and he's just about to ask about it when Nadia begins speaking again. She starts naming things Declan has not told her.

He stares for a second. Blinks once. Then twice. Somethin' in you. Magical. Coven. Questions.

Oh, he has questions, so many questions. Declan practically lurches forward. "You - uh, okay. Okay. You're right. That's...terrifying. But you're - right, I do have something...magical in me." His mouth struggles to form around the m word, because never in a million years did he think he'd be saying something like that, let alone to some girl in a cave.

"And yeah, it's like...a thing. Sometimes it's like static, everyone's got a signal and I can tune out of any of them." He scratches along the stubble on his jaw, now processing a lot of what he wouldn't before. "I- I don't know where to begin. I really don't. This is all..." He needs to sit down. He can feel his knees trembling. Declan lets out a shaky breath, backs up against the cave wall and sort of slides down. "A lot."

He brings his knees up to his chest. "What makes you say I could do good in your...coven?"

[nadiaholme]

The touch of his hand to her wrist shocks her, pulls her in deeper than she wants to go. A flood of information rackets her brain, images and words and sounds make her wince, and it's so much all together that she can't makes sense of any of it. Flashes of monstrosities, the feeling of panic - his? hers? - Nadia's going to throw up.

Once he's righted himself, she politely pulls her hand back, turning her head away from him to stifle the gag from the nausea roiling in her stomach. The migraine's already settling in, she can feel the pulse just behind her eye - the magic digging it's way through sinew and the viscous gel of her eye until her eyelid feels like it's drooping.

A deep breath, then, to steady herself.

Then she clears her throat. "Mental manipulation? What's going on?"

Her voice coaxed him out of that nightmarish shell, like a hand reaching through water to pull him up before he slipped too deep. And his own, met her halfway—rough fingers closing around a tender wrist. Breathing was somehow becoming easier now, with her around—a solid thing he could lean into. She was real. Blood pulsed through her veins where the soft pads of his fingers pressed against her skin. This wasn’t a dream.

"Yeah, yeah— I'm alright—" a weak attempt at reassurance, the woman now his crutch. It would pass, like a headache fading after he laid down and slept. But he knew that he had to tell someone, anyone, who could help Jac. She was running out of time, and there was no one else who could reach her, not the way he could.

Maybe he could go back in there. Dive into that comatose state she was trapped in and create a safe space once again, but this time solid and permanent. A shelter where she could run and hide when the monsters lurking in the dark corners of her mind came out to get her. He should’ve done more. He should’ve done so much more — before she shoved him out of her mind.

Nadia. There was no trace of the woman with that name in his memory. He turned it over in his mind, hoping it would unlock something, but it just echoed like a stone tossed into a bottomless well. "Uhh—I'm sorry. Say hi to her?" Was she even aware of the state Jac had been left in? If he failed to pull her out, the chances for anyone else were less than zero. "Unless you’re especially adept in mental manipulation, I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to reach her."

[nadiaholme]

Whoever this Caska person is, Nadia isn't sure she's ever met anyone like her - a troublemaker to be sure, but one who's able to sweet talk her way out of any situation. She watches her - wonders if she should be worried about this at all, but by the time Caska comes back and the class is over - she's chalked it all up to being overly vigilant about this sort of thing.

She's nice, Nadia tells herself, and new friends are good to have, especially now-a-days when she's kind of hurting for them.

"Buy me dinner?" She turns towards her, a bit bewildered by the prospect. "That's really an awful lot for just walking you to class." But.. "I'm not refusing, by any means -- that's just. It's a lot." Said with a nervous laugh. "Really, though, anytime. I don't mind helping."

Çaska does go with Nadia, and sits with her, and irritates the very boring professor very endlessly. He'd been so boring that he'd put another student to sleep, and so Çaska had decided to liven the class up, ungracefully throwing a paper ball at the professor for his troubles; it had caused such a stir that he'd asked her out into the hall to lecture her about respect. When it had finally dulled on the dull sod that he didn't recognize her, she simply corrected it, on top of making him apologize to the class for being so boring.

After the class, she reconvenes with Nadia, who she'd wound up spending much of the class watching. She smells of magic, all delectable and spice-ridden. Oh, how she might like a taste. Hm. Decisions. To follow openly or stalk? Hrm. There's an affectionate little stir in her heart;

"Where to next?" She asks. "Are you done for the evening? If so, maybe I could buy you dinner, for showing me to class, I mean. I would have been lost otherwise."

[nadiaholme]

There was something.. terribly wrong with this man - either sickness or something in his mind. Her own mental fortitude feels shaky just being near him, but she reaches out, not quite touching him, to offer a bit of comfort. "Are you.. alright?" It comes out more like 'awri?' than anything, but she's not really worried about clipping her accent down to be more palatable in the moment.

She studies him, glances up to the house, then back down to him. Maybe the family can wait - maybe the whole reason she's here is to talk to him. Without actually sitting down with fire or cards or a creek, there's no way to know. So she's going to have to wing it here.

"I don't.. think so, no. I'm Nadia - I'm a friend of Jac's." Kind of. They'd only met the once and talked a few times at the coffeeshop-- but still, there's this awful feeling settling in her stomach that she can't quite put a finger on. "I just wanted to.. meet and see if I could say hi to her in the process."

Mind still a swirling mess of images and voices, Riven stumbled through the heavy double doors, breath shuddering like it was caught between worlds. One hand braced against the wall, the other reached blindly into the air—desperate to catch something real, someone solid enough to pull him out of the young witch's mind. He still felt connected to her, like that thread caught on both their hands was still taut, tying him to something not fully his, tying her to something that was not fully hers.

Fresh air barged into his lungs with such a force, he was left gasping. He doubled over, hands on knees, swallowing it down in greedy gulps. When he looked up, the woman who stood in front of him didn’t have a face—not at first. For a second, she was Jac. Then—no. She had his mother's eyes. No— Snap out of it, Riven— "Yeah, yeah— Right through those doors." a beat, "I—uh—I don’t know if now’s a good time." he wasn't even sure if that vague wave of his hand in the direction of the house, was that, or a trembling mess of a limb caused by his disoriented mind. But she looked in a rush, and he didn't want to be alone right now.

Then her face settled, and it was just a stranger’s face again. But— "Do I— know you from somewhere?" he asked, uncertain in his own memories. Riven wasn't sure where he ended, and where Jac began.

[nadiaholme]

❓What’s it like being up top!

"..Terrifyin'. I can play spoons with my knee bones, how much they're rattlin'."

[nadiaholme]

Nadia approaches him with a soft smile, trying not to scare the poor guy off - she knew from the moment they met that he would be, no matter what she did. At this point it was simply just trying to mitigate it. "Sorry, uh, I know this is a weird place to meet, but.. it's where our coven draws power."

She shoves her hands into her pockets and nods for him to follow, leading him into the cave enough to see the crystallized form of their former leader. It'll be easier here, she thinks, to draw power and explain. "I know you have.. somethin'. Somethin' in you. I don't know what it is, but I know that.. it's magical." She clears her throat, "And I know that you have some sense of feeling, somethin' that you shouldn't be able to feel, right? You know I'm anxious right now, yeah?"

She smiles, then, hoping that it eases some of the tension, "I have the same thing -- I just know things. I know you have a sister, for instance. Things just.. pop into my head. I don't.. I don't really know how to control it myself, so it's usually silly things, but I'm learning." Another laugh, "So, I think you could do good in the coven. Great, even. I'm happy to answer any of your questions, too."

who: @nadiaholme where: the entrance to Lipscomb Caverns

It's been a week since he met her -- Nadia. Some card reading table at the street fair had caught his attention, and then she did. Not many words were exchanged -- they couldn't, it being being in the middle of a fair and all -- , but she spoke to him like she knew something he didn't, and the feeling he read off of her only told him she wanted to help.

She'd told him to meet her here, and both following that agreement and that feeling, he's here. At the entrance to Lipscomb Caverns, approximately an hour early and unsure of what to do with himself.

Boots crunch on fallen leaves as he paces back and forth in front of the open mouth of the cave. It's an odd, odd place to ask someone to meet. Is she going to kill him? Is she going to throw him in the cave and leave him there? If she throws him in the cave, will the mouth of it close and leave him trapped in the darkness? Is there water in the cave? If he trips into the water, will it be deep enough to drown him? Oh god, are there creatures in there? No, no, he could tell she just wanted to help. He could feel it, coming off of her in waves. She wouldn't. She wouldn't. She wouldn't. There's no way. She was so nice, but he thinks too much, and he's not even supposed to be alive.

Pacing, pacing, and more pacing. He finds a flat rock just off the path and sits down. Focuses on what he can hear, smell, see, and feel.

Then there's footsteps and his eyes are flying open, he's hopping to his feet. "Hey. Hi. Nadia, right?" He holds out his hand to shake hers, as if he's in a job interview and trying to impress. "So um - what....why are we here...?"

[nadiaholme]

starter for: @rivenvictors where: outside of the feng household

How ridiculous is it that she's actually following one of her hunches? It's the first time she's allowed this to dictate her actions, and it's the first time she's allowed herself to get anywhere near another coven's territory willingly since she's stepped foot into the leader position. So far, leading hasn't been.. well, it wasn't difficult yet. But it also wasn't easy.

There's a weight, but it's starting to settle more like a blanket rather than a damn truck loaded down with gravel.

As she approaches, her bag is full of witchy implements to hopefully help appeal to whoever. All she has to go off of is a 'The Feng-Lindons need help', which isn't even a gut feeling, but something she feels so desperately is true.

She's hesitating, though, and that gives her the glimpse of someone exiting the place she needs to go. "Excuse me? Excuse me! Is this the Feng house? I was told.." Lie. "..to meet someone here regarding coven business." She's taking a chance, but she knows it's not a bad one. Perks of the power.

[nadiaholme]

soundtrack + jac

talk by hozier

soft background song to their first meeting, nadia daydreaming about what it might be like to let herself pursue someone for real.

[nadiaholme]

soundtrack (tets)

deep end by ruelle

100% something that plays during a magical training session, where nadia ends up with a nosebleed or some such.

[nadiaholme]

Nadia watches her get closer and is about to step back when they lock eyes for the moment. She wants to blink and turn away, but something has frozen her to the spot. Of course she'll take her to the next class. They share it, duh. It only makes sense.

The veneer of confusion that started to shift over her face is washed away by a friendly smile. "Hey, actually.."

Nadia hooks her thumb over her shoulder in the direction that she needs to go. "We have the same lecture, I think. I've seen you a couple of times, I'm pretty sure." The memories are a little hazy but she's.. sure. Yeah. She's positive. But she blinks as if she's not sure, but the memories are there.. God, she's thinking about this way too much.

But her smile never dims.

"Why don't you come with me? You can sit with me, too. It's pretty boring, just like.. The professor doesn't know how to not speak in monotone."

"Oh, I... hold on," she says, turning her eyes toward her bag and fishing through it in search of something she already knows isn't there. "God, I know this is gonna sound so, so silly, but I lost my schedule, and, silly nervous me, I don't even... remember what my next lecture was!"

She steps a little closer and peers the words into her eyes, gentle little things. You'll take me with you to your next one, won't you? It's the same class as mine, after all.

She reaches over to Nadia's shoulder, straightening out a wrinkle on her sleeve and giving her a winsome little smile to go with her charming bright eyes before she looks her over and clasps her hands in front of her.