Seek, and ye shall find

[ChordTerias]

No one would accuse Theo of an overabundance of common sense. Their first instinct upon deciding to seek out magic within the city was to google “psychics” and scope out the most kitschy of magic shops. As expected, the majority were hoaxes and fakes — though not entirely unentertaining as one prophesized a very specific encounter with a dachshund. In the end, trails lead to here: the imposing eight-story refurbished hotel lovingly dubbed by the person who referred them as “Parlor in Purgatory.”

The air was unnaturally still. Theo didn’t see anyone on a cursory examination of the surroundings as they walked up. “Quiet, refurbished hotel,” Theo whispered to themselves. “No reason to be scared, right? No horror movies about this.” A sudden noise from behind them made a high-pitch yelp escape from their mouth. They slapped a hand to their forehead and laughed. “Oh for Freya’s sake, Theo, pull it together. Stay strong for Mother.” A bit more confidence resulted in a spring in their step as they stride towards the entrance.

[The Cedar Witch]

(hope it's alright to join!)


Astrid was hanging around the edge of the property of the hotel, half-smoked cigarette dangling from her lips when a sudden yelp drew her attention.  She capped the pen in her hand, closed the notebook on the sketch of a tree she had been working on, and stowed them both in her leather jacket before taking a quick drag.  It sounded like the yelp came from the bottom of the driveway, and she was still for a moment as she listened.  There was a laugh, a low voice saying something that she couldn't quite make out, and footsteps.  Definitely on the driveway.  Astrid finished her cigarette, stubbed it out on the bottom of her shoe and tucked the butt into her metal cigarette case before shoving that in the back pocket of her black jeans and going to investigate the voice.

It was a quick walk, but by the time Astrid reached the newcomer they were already halfway to the Parlour entrance. 

"Hey!"  Astrid called out, friendly so not to startle--well, hopefully anyway.  She hurried over a bit quicker and came to a stop a polite distance away.  There was something strange about this person, and her skin prickled with anticipation.  The air around them vibrated with a particular sort of....something that Astrid couldn't identify.  This confusion showed in her face, thinly hidden by an approachable smile.

[ChordTerias]

(Please do! I'll try to remember to put something at the top if someone requests an individual thread.)

Theo all but tripped over their own feet as they pivoted towards the voice. "Oh, hello!" They jerked a thumb back towards the hotel. "I hope I'm not trespassing, I heard that..." their voice faded out a bit. Okay, Theo. How do you explain that a stranger in a shop told you that this is where you go to find some authentic magic in the city? "Erm, I hope I phrase this well, I'm new to the big city life, so I'll beg your forgiveness. I heard that people here study the arcane?" There was a definite question mark to their voice as Theo internally cringed at how ridiculous they sounded.

Oh well. Who could think they came with bad intentions with a smile like this? Theo put on their best winning smile.

[The Cedar Witch]

Astrid laughed.  "No, you're not trespassing."  What a strange person!  She returned the smile.

"And I wouldn't say that people study the arcane here but..."  she trailed off, unsure of if she wanted to bring up the Academy or that the Parlour certainly contained the Arcane.  The first question was Are You In The Know--but even asking someone who wasn't in-the-know that question was opening a can of worms.  There was definitely something mystical-flavored coming from them, Astrid was sure of it.  Her Sight was strangely silent this evening, which she personally blamed on the current astrological alignment.  Honestly, she was grateful for the break.  Who knows how long that would last--it wasn't exactly consistent at this stage.

"This place is definitely a step in that direction."  She finished, feeling that was adequately vague.  "My name is Astrid, by the way."

[ChordTerias]

Promising! Theo had started a conversation, and the woman had yet to be taken by a melodramatic fake vision, or attempted to sell anything -- this was already going better than their previous encounters.

"A pleasure, Astrid! I'm Theo, they/them pronouns." They rocked back to their heels. "I... uh." Theo placed a hand to their chin in thought. "I guess I hadn't really thought of it past showing up. I'm from pretty far out of town, we don't have many magical folks out there. The city has a reputation to it, so my friend and I figured we'd kinda chase the rumors and see if we can find something."

They point at the hotel, "I don't know much, but I can see that there is some magic there. Is it a living creature, or is that an enchantment?" Theo figured that might be enough info to show that they're in the know, but if Astrid was just a well-intentioned, yet normal, mortal -- it wouldn't give anything away in case the hotel was feeding.

[The Cedar Witch]

"Ah--I use she/her."  It had been a while since someone offered or asked her for pronouns.  Not that she had been in one place terribly long for some time now. 

"Uh... A little of both, I think."  The house was...complicated to describe so simply.  It had to be felt to be understood.  "Why don't we head inside?  I think there's a family dinner tonight if you were hungry."  She wondered if Sabrina would be around tonight.  Theo would definitely get a taste of magic there.

[ChordTerias]

Theo smiled and followed along, “Sure thing! Lead the way.”  Theo took in the surroundings, raised their eyebrows at the ominous words scrawled on the front of the Parlour. “I’m guessing there’s some history here?”

[The Cedar Witch]

Astrid shrugged.  "I've only been staying here for about a month, so your guess is as good as mine."  She turned the knob and pushed the door open.  Crossing through the threshold, she felt that familiar magical tug as she passed through the protective ward.  She had no doubt that Theo would cross--they didn't seem to bear any ill will and Astrid usually had a good sense of that sort of thing.

[ChordTerias]

Theo observed the interior as they stepped into the Parlour. It was strange, as if a pressure built up once they stepped into the threshold and alleviated once they were firmly inside. The strange magics that wrapped themselves around the building were ancient and otherworldly, but not in any way that Theo was familiar. They took a fist to their chest, coughing gently, as the sudden change in pressure caused their chest to feel heavy. They turned to face Astrid with a grin, "I'm definitely feeling it." They flashed a quick thumbs up, "That's so cool! And new! Where to next?"

[Harlequin]

"Hey Astrid!" chirped a voice from behind the check-in desk. A young woman with rainbow-colored curls waved at the pair as they entered, beaming.  An ancient pug dog rested in a plush pink bed on the marble counter beside her, watching dolefully with its pink tongue hanging out. "Family dinner's on, and my shift is almost over. You mind if I join you folks?"

[The Cedar Witch]

Astrid watched Theo closely as they passed through the threshold, finding the reaction interesting.  She snapped to attention at the sound of her name, and finding Tansy she returned the smile.

"Hey Tansy!"  She took a few quick steps to the counter with eyes on Beebs, and reached out her hand to be sniffed before going right into a loving pat on the head.  When Astrid first encountered the pug, she decided that he was the Very Best Boy and couldn't resist paying her respects every time she saw him.

"Oh, yeah that sounds fine to me as long as it's cool with you?"  She glanced briefly at Theo, not expecting resistance to the proposition but giving an opening for it regardless. 

"Any idea what's for dinner tonight?"  She took an investigative inhale as she turned back toward Tansy.

[ChordTerias]

"Oh, absolutely!" They waved to Tansy, introducing themselves with a strange staccato bow. The knit beanie came from their freshly-dyed auburn hair as they brought it to their waist with their left hand. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm Theo! Pronouns are they and them." Their eyes shut tight as they beamed another smile towards the stranger behind the desk.

Theo moved over towards the pug. Crouching down and hanging their voice as low as they could, they tried to ask where only Astrid could hear. "Everyone is in the know here, right?"

They brought a hand towards the pug, letting the dog get their scent before approaching. Animals gravitated towards Theo, but there was a certain respect that Theo offered animals who couldn't speak for themselves. They continued on before giving a chance to reply. "I met some people earlier who had some strong opinions about making sure that I make sure I don't slip up, and I'm somewhat attached to my head. Especially in its correct position. And uhm. You know, not being exsanguinated." Their trademark rapid-fire speech met with a nervous, breathy chuckle that solicited another soft cough.

[Harlequin]

Beebs's curled tail wagged lazily as respects were paid. Though his tongue perpetually stuck out, he made an effort to give Theo's fingers a dry lick when they were offered.

"Oh yeah, you're good. The Masquerade rules are a little looser here in the South, 'cause Sabrina is kind of ..." she looked to AStrid for help, then shrugged when in wasn't produced in a nanosecond, "i.d.k., she's pretty much a walking Masq violation. So let your freak flag fly, just not so high that the Ward needs to get involved. "

She continued speaking as she knelt briefly behind the counter, and stood up wearing a pink cloth infant harness which she promptly gathered the dog into, so he was swaddled against her chest.

"I think tonight it's tater tot casserole and Tofu stirfry for us herbivores. You're lucky, Astrid. The quality of the food has gone WAAAY up since this place got overhauled."

[The Cedar Witch]

Astrid glanced at Theo to see if they were following the jargon.  She'd only just learned this city's terminology recently herself and was ready to provide simple explanations if needed.

When Tansy reappeared with the infant harness she suppressed a giggle.  Beebs deserved nothing less, but it was a seriously silly sight.

"Oh yeah?"  Astrid laughed, beginning to lead the group to the kitchen to grab some food.  She'd eaten some pretty weird and questionable stuff in her travels.  There were definitely a few nights that she subsisted on roasted rat and lizard.  Sometimes some fresh roadkill. 

"I keep meaning to try my hand at cooking for ya'll one of these nights."  She said with a smile.  Astrid thought herself a decent enough cook.  No roadkill of course.

[ChordTerias]

Theo pulled their bag from their back, fetching a container with crimson bundt cake wrapped in eight individual servings. "I actually brought some food to share in return for hospitality -- it's slightly magical, can guarantee a good daydream if you take a nap afterwards!" As the group turned into the kitchen, they placed the food upon a counter. "These are for anyone, so please feel free to help yourself."

The headache pressing against the back of Theo's head grew in intensity. They grinned through it, noting the ancient magics layered on this building were quite stronger than many other things they'd had the opportunity to witness. "Are y'all from around here originally, or gravitated to the city by chance?"