[PurpleBox]

HannaBelle had been tapping her purple pen against her notebook, blocking out most of what the professor and rep from Magus Core was droning on and on about… he had a habit of repeating lessons and this was one that he had repeated before… in a way it was a blessing for the students who missed things the first time to pay better attention. For HannaBelle it was a bit of a bore… but she always endure it.

Blinking her hazel eyes when a figure entered the classroom with a white mask and a hood over their head, a few strands of black and white hair had escaped the hood… and it made HannaBelle stare back when she felt the eyes behind the mask on her. Eye widening even more when she saw the magic crackling around Karla’s arm… HannaBelle had a eye for remembering how a person looked after meeting them once… and she would never forget Karla and her strange ways.

The professor was visibly disturbed. Not only by his student’s outcry but the aura coming off the women before him. “There was supposed to be a exorcist coming to get rid of a spirits that’s been causing problems at the main building…. That’s all I know!” The professor said, the way eh girl moved and the magic around her screamed 'DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!' in big capital letters and even this pompous man knew better then to not cooperate.

While the others were distracted by the professor talking to Karla… HannaBelle used a small amount of gravity magic to give the student, a self important brat of a man, a very painful wedgie that he couldn't hold back the yelp at. By the time his head whipped around looking to see who would DARE to do that to him, HannaBelle had turned back to her notes, as if all going on bored her to death.

The tattoo on her hip tingles when she glanced at the book in Karla’s arms… what a strange book...she had a feeling that the air around the book would terrify many… but HannaBelle found it calming… she always had been a strange witch.

HannaBelle ignored the student that mentioned that Karla knew her… of course they knew of each other… the other had practically paid for her bike to be made new… and all HannaBelle had done was give her directions...Absentmindedly she rubbed her hip through her jeans, the magic within the ink seemed to be reacting to either Karla’s magic this time or the book in her ams.

“Class I’m ending today's lecture early…. No homework… it would be best if you all go home or to another part of the campus.” The teacher said after a moment and most of the students just shrugged it off and gather their things. HannaBelle was soon the only one left, having slowly gathered her things to have time to try and figure out why her hip was tingling like this.

“That includes you Miss Owens, there won’t be time for any questions today….” The professor said seeing that HannaBelle was still in the lecture hall.

“My tattoo is tingling Professor… and it’s one with magic ink…. Forgive me for trying to figure out why it’s acting up when it shouldn’t unless I’m casting some big magic.” The witch said with a frown on her face as she shoulderd her back and made to leave the room.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla watched the students leave one by one, each seemed to have their eyes drawn to her arm though it didn't surprise her, they more than likely never had an encounter with magic as potent as hers before, even being a double edged sword the positives of her magic heavily outweighed the negatives in situations like these.
The woman cocked her head curiously at Hannabelle's comment about a tattoo reacting to her magick, she smirked at the witch as she pulled her mask off her face returning her attention to the teacher, she glared at the man who seemed all to aware of what her powers were capable of. "An exorcist? From where, I would have been notified if any certified exorcists were on route to the Maguscore HQ, don't bullshit with me, who is there right now, or am I going to have to force my way in and find out?" She clenched her hands, the book in her possession had finally stopped oozing out its black magic, she sighed in relief as she let her own magic dissipate as well.
"You know as damn well as I that this, is not okay, the grimoire was reacting to SOMETHING and it sure as hell was NOT some exorcist!" She gritted her teeth turning her head toward the Maguscore building, it wasn't far off campus, in fact the university and building were practically conjoined, it was good for the company as well as the school for them to be partnered together in some aspects.
---------------
Ryan concentrated in the darkness finally triangulating the sound of the spirit speaking to him, he made out two others that stayed in close vicinity of eachother. "You leave me no choice then... I'll have to force you to leave, I'm sorry it had to be this way." He closed his eyes taking a deep breath as he muttered an incantation to himself.
"Sisterrr... it thinks it can repel us from here... how foolish can it possibly be.. can I feast on its flesh yettt?" it cackled as Ryan repeated the incantation concentrating hard not to mess up any words as he repeated passages he remembered from his tome.
"Look how hard it tries... it really believes itself to be an exorcist... how disappointed it will be when it learns it does not have that kind of powerrr" The ghost approached the circle of protection he had created, the man clenched his eyes even tighter as the ghost smiled impossibly wide towards his efforts to repel them, its eyes shined a bright red and teeth glistened as he found himself screaming out the spell in fear of what was happening.
"What's going on?! Why won't it work? Why are you all not being pushed back?!"
The witch ghost that seemed to be in charge of the others stepped towards his circle gracefully, staring down at the protective circle before taking another step inside the circle looking up at the man slowly."A sixth.. sense does not make one an exorcist... you didn't come here to send us away, only to die..." The ghost slashed at Ryan who recoiled in fear, feeling a sharp pain in his face feeling blood gush from the wound. The man went pale stumbling his own feet before taking off for the stairs to the exit. "No, this can't be I'm an exorcist, I've been practicing all this time to be able to do this." he ran blindly down the stairs as the ghost witches cackling seemed to grow louder and louder as they pursued the man.

[PurpleBox]

“The big boss didn’t want to pay a lot of money… so he fished around till one of his friends turned out to know a small time exorcist… some human with a sixth sense… that’s all i know i swear! I just teach here I may have been employed at the company but I’m a teacher, I don’t know the inner workings !” The teacher was sweating but he wasn't lying, he was a lower level employee that only heard things through the grapevine.

“The big boss used a spell to move everyone but the exorcist off the premises of the building…. Because the exorcist insisted on it….. I got the memo when i came into my class…for employee to not come back until tomorrow, exactly 24 hours after they were moved out by the spell.” He said wiping the sweat from his forehead with shaking hands, even though he had not been in the building the paper had still appeared on his desk this morning.

HannaBelle had heard the shaking in the professor's voice and frowned, she had paused outside the classroom but had not caught everything after the door closed behind her, effectively blocking any sound from leaving the class. Again she rubbed her hip as her tattoo settled down, it was strange, as if ehr magic had settled again after leaving the area with that strange book...with a aura that would terrify others…. It had calmed HannaBelle’s stressed mind for just a moment, it had been a calm that she had not felt since the one trip with Granny Tamick to the black market...it was strange….

Shaking her head, some flame colored locks falling over her eyes before she moved to walk away form the door, better to follow the professor's advice… maybe she’d use this time to do some research for her history class in the library.
-----------------
Oliver looked at his phone with the text form Farrah saying that a good chunk of the warlocks and witches had been sent home today… even the ones still in classes… it wasn't normal. The text sent a strange feeling though Oliver… he looked out the cafe window dark clouds were brewing in the distance… it sent a shiver down the shifters spine… his only ‘magic’ was his ability to turn into a wolf… albeit a very large wolf… so big a full grown human could ride on his back and he wouldn't even blink. He couldn't cast spells or use fancy magic items… simple magic items yes… and he and his kind had a strange immunity to magic based poisons..

A face flashed before his eyes… Ryan form the night before… what was the human up to now. With a sigh Oliver decided to just go home and see what his older sister was up to. The wind was strong when he left the cafe, it blew his dark brown hair all over the place.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

"And WHAT exactly is going on at MagusCore that would require an exorcist in the first place? Are you really only manufacturing enchanted items or are you getting into things that are out of bounds to your company?!" Karla didn't wait for an answer instead taking out her cellphone making a call, she exited the room promptly slamming the door in the professors face who had started to follow her. She eyed Hannabelle who seemed to be eavesdropping to an extent before returning her attention to the call. "Hello sir, yes we seem to have a situation at Maguscore, I'm going to head there immediately, wait... Skadegamutc? You've got to be fucking kidding me! I'll be there immediately sir, nothing to worry about, I'll get the guy out. Yes sir. I'll hand in my report tomorrow I've got plans tonight." Karla stared at Hannabelle as she finished her conversation. She pulled her exotic knife before making another slice into her arm letting the blood drip to her feet encircling herself, and in a flash of green light she vanished in front of the witch who had seemed to grow more interesting every moment that passed.
Karla appeared in front of Oliver, she stared at the hulking man and shook her head. "Unbelievable, go home wolf, if you haven't heard the news is that classes are cancelled for the day." She turned towards Maguscore HQ which was only a short ways away. "I can't believe they would send in an amateur exorcist to deal with something as serious as that.. I'll be lucky if he isn't killed before I find him." Karla broke off into a sprint towards the building, she had heard stories of the infamous witch ghosts, they were powerful spirits that enjoyed toying with their prey before making a kill, most who were killed by them did not have the chance to pass onto the next life but instead had their souls devoured by the evil entities.
---------------
Ryan gasped for air collapsing in the stairwell, the laughing echoed in his head causing him to be disoriented, his limbs burned in the exertion as sweat dripped from his face. He needed to get out of the building, and immediately. If he hadn't been so desperate he wouldn't have been stuck in the situation he was in now, though it wasn't the time to dwell on his powerlessness here. He opened the door in front of him tripping backwards to his backside as the woman stood in front of him, the Skadegamutc pointed at his face a row of sharp teeth behind its smile. "One eye blind, once you lose your sight completely its all overrr.. feast on your flesh and blood we will before we consume your soul."
Ryan bolted past the ghost who seemingly let him go for the moment, the building grew quiet almost immediately after entering the room he spun around to see the witch ghost behind him had completely vanished for the time being.
"Great... they're toying with me..." He did his best to keep his composure as he pulled out a mirror noticing the alarming gash that had blinded his right eye. He hadn't had noticed his field of vision had narrowed so much until now, wiping the blood from his face he stood to his feet. "So if they find me again, I'm pretty much a goner I suppose, what a joke.. I'm probably better off dying here as is. I cant do anything to protect myself after all..."

[PurpleBox]

The professor was shaking in his shoes as Karla spoke, he really was just a teacher that taught about the products of the company he worked for. Most he ever heard was if a product was faulty and to avoid talking about it in that lecture. When Karla left he basically collapsed on the floor in relife for the very scary women being gone.
-------------------------
Hazel eyes watched the knife wearily before blinking in astonishment when Karla vanished. “Blood magic….what the fuck have I gotten myself into….” the red headed witch breathed as she pushed her hair out of her face, whatever was going on was… bad...very bad…

HannaBelle moved swiftly to leave the building, even with the other women having paid to get her bike fixed it wouldn't be ready till tomorrow afternoon at the most, she knew how the shop worked. She didn’t have work today… so she planned to indeed try and get some homework done at the library till she … would meet Karla later tonight… the thought settled awkwardly in her gut… she wasn’t used to someone seaming genuinely interested in her…. It was odd… heck it had taken her years before she accepted the affection that Granny Tamick showed her.
------------
Oliver blinked his green eyes when a woman suddenly appeared in front of him.ck“What the fu-?!” he said almost bumping into the women before she spoke with a harsh tone, he glared ready to fire back a not to polite quip… till he froze when she mentioned a exorcist… and his mind instantly flew to the image of Ryan last night in the pub...and he felt his heart clench and almost stop completely.

“Wait! Who’s the exorcist?!” Oliver found himself jogging after the black and white haired women “What is going on?” The shifter asked as he kept pace with Karla easily. If Ryan was indeed the one in the Magus Core building… Oliver wanted to help...even if his kind where as effective as a untrained human against spirits.

When the two of them approached the building Oliver couldn't suppress a shiver that ran down his spine at the bone chilling aura that now surrounded the building.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla gritted her teeth, glaring at the wolf who took chase of her. "It's none of your business werewolf, so just turn back now before you end up getting yourself hurt, the building has a spectral problem and I'm afraid your brute strength is going to get us nowhere."
The sensation from the ethereal magic sent a chill up Karla's spine as well, the spirits there had cast some sort of curse upon the building it felt, and ominous feeling spread through her gut as she eyed the already cracked doors of the building.
She turned to the wolf to answer his questions which she had blatantly ignored until then. "I don't know who the exorcist is, and to be honest I don't want you anywhere near here but the feeling I'm getting suggests we need to move fast if we're going to rescue whoever is inside. I make rules, got it? You do not leave my side for ANY reason at all, unless you would like to be killed by the spirits wandering here. If we have any chance at finding the human before he's killed I suggest you lead the way and find his scent quickly. I'll make sure nothing happens to you along the way. Got it?" Karla unbuttoned the top of Oliver's shirt, drawing a small symbol on his body, muttering something softly she pointed towards the door allowing the werewolf to take point. She shuddered as the overwhelming coldness came over them fast, the air was dry but the heaviness in it was almost unbearable even for her. "What... in the hell is going on here... how can a couple of Skadegamutc cause this.." she followed Oliver closely becoming a little unnerved herself, something she was not used to. The building seemed large, much larger on the inside than the exterior would lead a person to believe, the beams groaned as they passed underneath them, threatening to collapse at any given moment. "Well wolfboy, any scent of the human? We need to find him and get out." She gazed at their surroundings, it was entirely too quiet at the moment, and she was no exorcist, her magic would only protect them for so long before the witch ghosts could break her barrier.
---------------
Ryan wandered in a lower passage, he gasped for air feeling dizzy from the loss of blood. He wasn't entirely sure where he was any longer, coming across a false wall, and entered what seemed to be a secret passageway leading down, the flooring had disappeared just leaving him wandering on an old dirt path as he moved further beneath the Earth. He winced once he heard the voices calling out to him.
"There's no escape from usss... just give up, there's no point in running any longer, we'll make it quick if you come to us instead." The voice seemed to pass to another hallway further behind him, Ryan sighed in relief, the ghost witch seemed to have lost sight of him for now.
"Now where the fuck am I? How did you get yourself into this mess Ryan, I really wish I were just back at the bar having a drink." He shook his head, letting his imagination of booze and safety melt away. If he never had a job after tonight that would be fine, as long as he could make it away with his life, wandering around with only one eye was hindering enough however in the tunnels.
As the human wandered further into the tunnels a heavy gust of wind rushed through him from behind knocking him off his feet and through another lower passage, the wood cracked and gave way to the mans weight sending him tumbling down into a dark stone tunnel, he was even farther from finding an exit from this place, however the passageway he found himself in now seemed maintained and clean, candles lit the passage as he quietly made his way to a large open chamber.
"We found you."
Ryan felt a chill cover his spine as he heard the voice from behind him, he closed his eyes awaiting for death to overtake him regretting his decision of taking up this job.

[PurpleBox]

“Oi! I’m not a werewolf, Witch Lady!” Oliver shouted, his senses told him the women was a witch… and he didn’t like to swear at women… so Witch Lady it was. “I’m a shifter not some uncontrolled werewolf!” He growled as he followed behind her. A determined gait in his strides, he found himself giving a jerky nodd when Karla sai dhe made the rules.

Seeing as he’d bruted his way into her journey he knew it would be better if she made the rules. He blinked green eyes when the top of his button up shirt was popped open and a tingle of magic washed over him when the symbol appeared. By the time they got into the building Oliver semt nothing… and then a small trail of scent that was most definitely Ryan. A growl left his lips and he felt himself changing, the symbol staying on his dark fur as a stark white contrast as he took off after the scent, his tail twitched at the mention of ghost witches…. Two might not be able to do this… but a whole COVEN of the ghosts witches might be able to.

Ear’s on high alert as they moved Oliver followed the scent of Ryan, a deep growl leaving him when they found the blood trail… it made Oliver’s blood boil… and he barely knew the human… it was something he’d have to ask his parents about….

The trail of blood and the scent itself lead the pair to the lower passages. The doors that should be locked where all ominously open, it made Oliver’s fur stand on end something wasn't right...the trail lead to a oddly clean hallway… with candles and Oliver heard echoing voices.

“Down this way….” He growled out before he took off down the candle lit hallway. Normally shifters didn’t talk in their shifted form to maintain their hidden space among animals… but they could if they needed to. Human tales about animals that spoke where basically shifters who broke cover in one way to help a hero, or aid a maiden, that sort of thing.

When they came upon the chamber Oliver saw red, anger clouded his head when he saw Ryan bleeding from one eye the gash on his face…
--------------
HannaBelle had been told my Miss Tara to leave, the library was closed and all the students had been told to go home by their professors…. It confused HannaBelle to no end...she was walking off campus when she called her mum and dad to let them know she had dinner plans with… someone…. They pressed at her with questions over who she was going with….but she was tight lipped.

She called Granny Tamick after to let the old witch that she would be home late. The older witch was much more understanding, just telling HannaBelle to have a shock spell ready in case the person had wandering fingers. That made the red headed witch blush as she hung up and decided to so to a book store down the road to pass the time. She found herself in the back isle looking at book on the 'fabled' book of the dead, these books never went into detail, instead telling stories about various people who had claimed to own the book at one point.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla followed after there shifter who seemed to catch on to the human's scent as quickly as she had hoped, she couldn't help but feel nervous watching the trail of blood as it grew heavier the further they had gone. "Hopefully its not too late... We need to hurry." She felt the words were wasted as the wolf had picked its pace up, she clung to its fur letting it carry her through the tunnels instead.
The air grew stagnant as they traveled further beneath ground, they were far beyond the normal rooms and chambers of Maguscore HQ, curiosity peaked as they passed strange rooms littered in dozens of old tomes the woman made a mental note to report these to her superiors as well when this was all done and well. It seemed the organization was indeed up to something behind their backs.
She let out a sigh of relief as the wolf had closed the gap between the human and them, even after getting a closer look he was injured badly, though it was better than being consumed by the spirits never to be seen again.
"Grab the human and get out immediately. Got it? This is no time to be a hero or whatever it is you got in mind." She could sense the spirits watching them, avoiding advancing as they approached Ryan.
"Are you real? you gotta get outta here, there are dangerous spirits here you don't understand! Leave me here and go!"
Karla shook her head, she lept gently off the wolfs back, bouncing in her few first steps flicking the human in the forehead, a surge of magic escaped her fingertips knocking him unconscious immediately. "He'll be fine, now lets get out of here Wolf." She could spot the witch ghosts glaring at her through the darkness, obviously not happy that she had taken their prey away, she smirked confidently at them daring at them to take him from them.
"You may have ruined our fun tonight, but soon this city will fall into chaos, our master will come after you bloodmage, your magic already taints his halls." The trio of spirits laughed, their voices echoing in the halls. "You can get away now but once he has a trace of your magic you are as good as dead.. You're nothing but a fly in comparison to him." the ghost witch seemed to relish seeing the pair escape with Ryan. Karla ignored their words instead concentrating on exiting the building, the spirits were far too intelligent in compared to normal ghost witch, something was terribly wrong here.

[PurpleBox]

Oliver growled at the spirits… but did as Karla said, he wasn’t stupid… as much as he wanted to try and take a chunk out of one of these….witches…. Once again hsi need to not sweat at a female of any sort annoyed him. Carefully grabbing Ryan, his massive teeth surprisingly gentle against the human as he hauled him up onto his back, only bolting at full speed when he feel the humans hands grip his fur even if the human was knocked out cold.

He had not complained about the Witch Lady riding him as he was used to it with how often he played ‘hairy horse’ for his younger siblings. He pointedly ignored the words blood and mage, he didn’t want to be involved with shit like that… even if the women had basically lead him to rescuing the human he had hit on last night.

Soon the three of them were outside the building, it still looked ominous as fuck and it made Oliver’s fur stand on edge. “What the fuck is going on?” His voice growled out, not a growl towards the Witch Lady… but just how his voice was like this apparently. All growls and huffs.

“We need to get him to a doctor… or a healer….who ever is closer.” Oliver said once he’d shifted back, Ryan now in his arms Princess style as it was just easier to carry someone like that… and the wolf wanted to hold the human close after what had just happened…. The thought that they might have gotten there to late… it made a heavy stone fall in his gut.
----------------
HannaBelle’s book bag was a bit heavier than when she’d set out this morning, she’d used the money she had saved up for her bike to purchase some books, one on soothsaying, the few shehad found that mentioned the book of the dead. As Well as a normal cookbook, she’d been ordering out to much lately and she was sure that Granny Tamick would appreciate a home cooked meal that was prepared without magic.

This took up a few hours as she looked through many books and then dropped them off at the townhouse that she shared with her teacher.

Now she was waiting inside the station that Karla had indicated… not sure that the other would even show up after what happened today… not that the red headed with ceven truly knew… she just had bits and pieces… and she knew well enough to not go poking around… yet…. Her flame colored hair was up in a loose bun with her bangs framing her face. The earing she wore where ones she had enchanted her self… to gently vibrate in her ears if soemone was lying to her...or being purposefully dishonest… she had yet to fix it to sort between white lyes of one's told out of stress or a desperate reason…. But they worked well enough to let her know if someone was lying to her on purpose.

“What the fuck am i doing… Dinner with a ….. Women i just met last night…. .” the witch sighed to herself and ran an hand over her face in irritation. She wore her black hoodie, with tight black jeans and a light grey shirt that had some paint splatter on the hem.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla let out a exaggerated gasp once they reached the outside, she looked towards the human who still remained unconscious before turning to the wolf. "I'll leave it to you to bring him to a hospital, I don't think there's anything they can do about his eye, through magic or medicine unfortunately he'll likely remain blind in that eye for the rest of his life." she paced uneasy questioning what she should do, the spirits talked about someone in charge, if it were true then taking action against the MagusCore outright in the open may be a mistake she sighed running her hands through her hair. "Do me a favor, when he wakes, we will all need to talk, how about that pub on the other corner of town? The witches brew? I hear its a popular spot, yet desolate enough that I won't have to worry about having to watch my back for a knife." Karla decided against reporting every detail of the building only revealing that the human was rescued though the spirits remain a problem. A reputable exorcist should be able to take care of that problem so the building would be safe to atleast be occupied for the time being.
"I'm trusting you aren't going to skip town, so I'll see you and him next week lets say? I've got something else I need to take care of at the moment. If anything comes up however just give me a call on my personal line." She brushed her hair aside before handing Oliver her personal card, she glanced at herself in the mirror and groaned, sweaty and covered in wolf fur exactly the opposite what she had in mind. Karla waved to the wolf who had already taken off to get Ryan aid as she turned back towards the station, thankfully the buildings weren't far off, it would only take her a few moments to arrive to see if her beloved red head had decided to show up.
Karla grinned as she spotted Hannabelle from behind, she had decided to show up after all.
"You're having a lovely date is obviously the right answer, atleast until you see the mess of a person I am right now." Karla stepped in front of the witch, admiring the woman once again, she wasn't entirely sure what drew her so strongly to the woman, it was almost the same feeling she had when she acquired powerful artifacts.
"So you showed up after all! I'm so glad, especially after you saw.. err well too much lets put it that way. So is there anything you are craving? Money's not an issue so if nothing else take advantage of this night to spoil yourself to a great dinner."
She tried desperately picking at the hair that still clung to her clothes sighing after a few moments admitting defeat. She glanced back up to the redhead giving a warm shy smile hoping that her appearance or magick would deter her too much.

[PurpleBox]

Oliver nodded before he headed to the closest hospital, keeping a ear open for the sound of the human's heart beat and his eyes watching his chest rise and fall. “I’ll let him know.” Oliver managed to get to the campus and to where he’d parked his car and then he was off to the hospital. The dark brown haired man had checked the exorcist pockets and found his I.Ds and information that the hospital would need.

Ryan was rushed into the emergency room where doctors tended to him and Oliver told a half truth. “He was hurt in his work… a job with a angry spirit… I found him stumbling outside of the place and I took him here.” Oliver had a feeling that Karla didn’t want to be known for being at the pace…. The human doctors just nodding in understanding… most humans where gullible… and that now worried Oliver...they clearly thought he was human…. And he’d leave it that way for now.
----------------
A jump went through HannaBelle and she inhaled, some blue magic surrounding her pale hand out of instinct at the sudden voice, she hadn’t even heard Karla approach. Letting out a breath the magic faded. “Sweet Circe don’t scare me like that…” the witch sighed as she lowered her magicked hand and then rubbed her hip absentmindedly.

Pink was the color one could see on the pale freckled cheeks that belonged to HannaBelle at the word ‘date’. “I’ve seen people show up for…. Dates…. In worse condition…. You’re fine.” Rubbing the back of her head it was clear the redhead wanted to ask more about what she had seen and heard…. But she was smart enough not to…

Seeing the other’s trouble with hair sticking to things HannaBelle approached her. “Here… if it’s alright… I know a spell that can treat your hair like it’s been washed and cleaned… without any residue left over?” She didn't say that she had made the spell herself.. Painstakingly for her own hair, as her natural hair was massively curly and always got in the way so she used this spell and a straightening spell everyday to keep it all in check.

Once she got the go ahead a soft green glow surrounded her fingertips as she traced the magic over Karla’s hair, from root to tip and then muttered some soft words and stepped back, when the glow left the hair it looked like it was clean and tidy, in Karla’s usual style as well so that was a bonus.

“There’s a good Italian place a few blocks from here...it’s a little known place, human run but they employee anyone willing to work, human or magical.” HannaBelle shrugged as she gathered her bag.
---------------
It was well past midnight and Oliver had texted his parents letting them know he was staying with a friend who had gotten hurt. He was currently sitting in a chair beside Ryan’s hospital bed in a private room, Oliver had paid for everything that needed to be done, including a private room. He knew he wouldn't want other humans to over hear what he would need to talk about with Ryan….

The black haired human now sported a scar over his wounded eye, and Karla had been right in assuming that h would be blind in that eye… the doctors couldn't save it. Oliver sighed to himself and pushed his dark brown hair out of his face.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla allowed the witch to cast her spell after making fun of her being startled so easily. She took a deep breath relaxing as the witch casted her spell. She knew she was probably curious of what had occurred earlier in the day, and debated on whether it was even okay to share the information with her or not.
"Italian huh? I guess that could be nice, its been awhile since I've had it. I suppose you have some questions you'd like to get off your chest while we are there as well." Karla let her lead the way still not being entirely too familiar with the city yet, even less if they were going to an out of the way location for their meal.
She requested the host seat them out of the way, so they could talk in private, the man who sat them seemed to understand and tucked them away in the back, not long after a waiter had taken their drink orders and left a basket of bread on the tables.
Karla buttered a small roll up and happily took a bite before glancing at Hannabelle's hip.
"What's the tattoo of? I remember you mentioning it acting up while you were in class.. sorry bout that by the way for cutting it short for you."
She leaned in close for the conversation, admiring Hannabelle's eyes as she spoke, she was slightly surprised the witch had agreed to come out to dinner after only meeting her once, even more so after she saw her using bloodmagic.
---------------
Ryan opened his eyes, though his vision still blurred. He instinctively threw his hand over his injured eye finding a patch of cotton and padding covering the wound. He groaned as he rolled to his side seeing the man from the bar sitting near by.
"Uhh, Oliver right? What are you doing here?" he watched the man who seemed to be relieved that he had woken up, though he was still baffled on why someone he met once would be in his room, he expected his family or someone else before him.
A nurse entered the room and pushed Ryan back to his backside.
"You can't be moving around right now, you're body is bruised and badly injured, not to mention you wont have any use of that eye any longer. I don't know what you were doing but I highly doubt it was worth the cost"
The nurse's voice hinted a bit of hatred towards magic users, she eyed his books.
"You can't be moving around for atleast a day, you're lucky to even be alive right now, if it weren't for this gentlemen here you might be dead.
The nurse left the room letting Oliver know that visiting hours were over and he would have to leave soon.
"I guess I owe you one.. how did you even find me though there was only that lady and wolf that entered the building..."

[PurpleBox]

“I do have a few questions….” HannaBelle said honestly, weather or not she’d ask then just yet was up for debate. She nodded in thanks to the man that sat them and she tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear. Buttering up her own roll of bread she nibbled on it as she thought of what question to ask… before she could thought Karla asked about her tattoo and HannaBelle swallowed, a blush coming up on her face.

“It’s the Alchemical Wheel….well a simplified version of it with the western Zodiac signs…. I was slightly drunk when one of my human friends from High School suggested we get tattoos… we ended up at a magical tattoo and piercing parlor.” HannaBelle trailed off, remembering her friends brown hair and blue eyes…..she cleared her throat a bit before continuing. “Yeah…. She ended up with a sparrow that flapped its wings and I was going to get a bat…. But the ink and my magic had other ideas it seems… so now i have the wheel on my hip instead of a bad ass bat with fangs.” The witch shrugged as she nibbled on her bread again.

“It reacts to different types of magic…. Most of the time it’s just a plain tattoo….i guess whatever that book was, was strange and different enough for my tattoo to react...Normal it tends to only react around high elves or high fae…. Like really powerful magic users and creatures.” HannaBelle’s hazel eyes glanced at Karla… lingering over where the other women had cut herself…

“Why… blood magic?” She asked with genuine curiosity, no judgement at all, that in itself showed that the red headed witch had been raised without a deep biased against the darker magics. Her voice was soft as she spoke.

The sound of footsteps signaled the approach of their waiter with their drinks, HannaBelle had gotten a white wine. She was used to drinking cider or beers from the corner store… and she didn’t want to get drunk tonight… so mentally she limited herself to one glass of wine and the rest would be water.

“Have you lovely ladies decided on what you would like to order? Or do you still need a few minutes?” The waiter asked a smile on his face, pointed ears peaked out behind his black hair, his skin a soft tan color and his eyes a vivid green.

Glancing at the menu HannaBelle didn't even need to look to know what she wanted. “ A veggie and chicken pasta special for me please… with a greek salad on the side if it’s not to much trouble.” She had come here a few times with her parents and Granny Tamick, so she knew what she liked. The elf nodded and quickly wrote down the order before glancing towards Karla with a paitchent smile on his face.
------------------------------------
“Yeah buddy… it’s Oliver.” The shifter’s voice was even, clearly not liking the nurse’s tone but he didn't want to be kicked out.

“I told you last night Mate… I’m a shifter….at least i think i told you…. But yeah… that wolf… that’s me.” HIs eyes flashed amber for a moment, looking just like the wolf’s eyes. “The lady, didn’t catch her name, knew that something was going on at Magus Core….. I uh… followed her after over hearing her muttering about a ‘ammature’ exorcist….couldn't stop my mind from running to you… so i followed… then i lead the way after i found your scent…” Oliver rubbed the back of his neck.

“She wants to meet us at The Witch’s Brew sometimes next week to talk… Karla that’s her name!” Oliver pulled the card out of his pocket and squinted to see the name on the card, showing it to Ryan.
----------------
HannaBelle was surprised to find she was pretty relaxed around Karla, seeing as she had bascil just met the women…. It felt right… that’s about as far as HannaBelle would go for now. Sehh sipped at her wine, sure she was 19 but she was also a witch, and it took a lot to get them drunk… so most places where ok now with serving alcohol to magical beings that were ‘underage’ in human terms… heck HannaBelle knew she’d outlive her parents by a long stretch as witches, warlocks and other magical beings had long lifespans, she tried not to think about it too much as it always saddened her to think about her parents dying…

She tried to not think about dead things a lot….she’d never told anyone this… she’d had a rabbit as a young child… a all black puff ball she called Luci, short for Lucifer, and he had died after a dog got into their backyard. That night she had cried and cried, her magic swirling around her despite her attempts to calm herself down… and for just a moment… she could have sworn she had seen Luci on her bed, hopping over to comfort her……

It had always been a strange memory so she never brought it up at all.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla shook her head at the thought of a bat tattooed on someone's hips, the wheel atleast would seem a little more tasteful.
"I think, the wheel mighta been better than a badass bat on your hip. Sorry to say. Probably best it turned out the way it had."
She sipped on her water listening to Hannabelle's comment about it reacting to different magic, she tilted her head eyeing the blood soaked grimoire that had gone dormant in her bag and smiled. "Ahh, I can assure you it wasn't the book that caused a reaction, by the time I was in class I had sealed its magick with my own. It could actually have been mine that you were reacting to, possibly..."
She paused for a moment trying not to overstep her bounds instead taking a napkin drawing a rune into the paper, immediately it shifted and folded itself into the form of a bird before flying out the window.
"Blood Magic, isn't actually my specialty, I came across an old book when I was only 6 years old, it was full of rune magic, some how I was able to learn what each one had done and after awhile the magick just filled my head, knowledge of it seemed to always be there in a way... I don't think there's another sorceress alive today that can perform the magick I can, which is why I was recruited by my job, been paid good money since I was a child and now I have more of it than I know what to do with."
She turned to the waiter and nodded. "I'll have the chicken alfredo penne please with a caesar salad." She took another sip of water before turning her attention back to Hannabelle after the waiter had left to put in their order. "One day I ended up in a bad spot, came across a strange.. creature that killed my partner at the time and seriously injured me. In desperation I drew a rune from my blood to create a wall of fire to block the creature from reaching me, instead it ended up incinerated leaving nothing but ash behind. I learned that the magic in my blood is quite potent, and using that as the medium for my runes made the magic several times stronger, maybe dozens of times."
Her eyes flashed in excitement as they waited for their meals to arrive. "Want to find out if it were really my magic you were reacting to? I'm sure you're curious if it really was just me after all. Maybe its fate we met." she gave the redhead a flirtatious grin.
---------------
Ryan stared at the man and sighed "No, no you never told me that, though now I'm feeling kinda shitty about that wet dog comment now.."
He closed his eyes in thought trying to remember the woman but everything seemed so hazy, he shook his head and sighed.
"I can't really remember much, but thanks, the nurse is eyeing you again I think ya gotta go. I'll give you a call when I am released alright?"
The man closed his eyes again, he couldn't move much so sleep seemed like the best option, his ego after the previous night was pretty much non existent at this point.
He didn't even want to return to the bar after his blunder but didn't seem like he had much choice in the matter.

[PurpleBox]

HannaBelle laughed a little. “Yeah… I think the magic in the ink and my own magic thought so as well…” HannaBelle was still blushing a bit when the other mentioned it might be Karla’s magic that her tattoo reacted to. “Maybe… but it would have acted up when we first met then… just before you hid your aura… heck the fog should have tipped it off right away…. But you really never know for sure with most magic like the thing on my hip.” The red head absently rubbed her hip as they paused for silence.

A smile filling HannaBelle’s face at the paper bird. “I could only even managed to make paper frogs… or cats… everything else tending to crumple or burn… it’s nice to see that the art of paper folding is still strong.” It was a half joke but the smile was all real.

“Hmmmm sorceress level magic is pretty up there… so not a lot go for it now...not when money can buy a item or potion that artificially boosts your magic for a while...If people knew what went into a magic boost potion… they’d avoid it.. As they have to drink the thing….” HannaBelle said just before their food arrived. The smell of the chicken and pasta was just as she remembered it and it helped to relax the red headed witch.

“Blood like that…. Can be dangerous...do people ever come after you to try and get your blood?” HannaBelle found herself asking, again with that tone and look of pure curiosity. A bright blush overcoming her pale face when Karla flirted with her, no one outside her family had been this nice ot her in years… and even then it had been a human friend that she’d known since diapers… sadly that human girl was no longer among the living.

“Fate is fickle and tends to not favor many….my mentor told me that once… after she fell down and broke her hip… she found it funny… nearly scared me to death.” HannaBelle pushed some of her framing bangs to the side as the pair of girls continued to eat their food. “What did you have in mind?” HannaBelle found herself asking after a sip of her wine.
-------------
“Wouldn't be the first time i’ve been called a dog, no worries” Oliver flashed a flirtatious and bright grin again. Not as strong as it had been that night in the pub but still genuine.

Oliver quickly wrote down his number and gently placed it in Ryan’s hand. “Get rest… lots of it...I’ll come by tomorrow to see ya too.” Again the shifter was ginning, his hands warm around Ryan’s before Oliver left.

His mother sniffed around him like a concerned cat, her hair twitching as she held back her ears popping out when she smelt a human hospital on him. “Oliver Dean Ichabod McDool you better tell me where you have been right no.” The older women’s tone held no room for arguments… and Oliver told as much as he could without actually telling his mum about the strange girl… mostly just finding blood close to campus and following it… then finding a hurt human.

“I couldn't well just leave him to die….” Oliver’s mother sighed but she patted her son’s arm.

“Well go wash that sterile stink off you… before your father gets home… you know how he feels about HUMAN hospitals…” The women left Oliver to it and the wolf shifter sighed to himself, he hated lying to his family… but he had a feeling that Karla didn’t want word to spread about her just yet.
--------------
By the time HannaBelle had finished her meal the owners of the Italian restaurant had seen her and had come over to make conversation, asking about her parents and her grandmother, she said both were doing well, and she accepted the small gift of rosemary in a homemade cloth pouch, she looked a bit uncomfortable doing so but hey, people gave things like this to Granny Tamick all the time, and to HannaBelle after they had found out who’s student she was… it was one way to keep your ingredients stocked up on...and she never took anything that seemed to not be offered freely.

The sun had well set, leaving the city in a dark yet bright scheme of light and colors a clubs and the center of the city lit up like a firework or a christmas tree.

[TheFabledBiscuit]

Karla shook her head at Hannabelle's theory about her magic not reacting the night they met. "Mmm, well the night we met I wasn't doing anything special in particular that would cause your magic to react, I was just being a little more cautious that I wouldn't stand out to someone who knew what to look for." She grinned as the red head seemed to turn red at her flirting finding it adorable.
"A proper sorceress can be powerful, most just use it as a name and are pretty much... witches that specialize in brewing, only a few dozen are qualified as an actual sorceress, which would more be manipulating the elements in their magick and releasing it in a destructive form. Karla scratched her head at the question Hannabelle asked, there had been plenty of people who targeted her for her magick, though on the top of her head it was mostly in disgust of the type she presented rather than the potency.
"I've had people come after me sure, maybe not for my magick but because of it, Its not normal even for our kind, so typically I stand out to both sides when it comes to making an example of someone." She paused for a moment wondering how they would be able to confirm her theory. She glanced at the time, it would be getting late soon so empty streets would be easy to find.
"We could go somewhere we won't be interrupted, I need to put a proper seal on the book. That takes a considerable amount of power on my part. Maybe that'd be enough? Then I could have you for dessert since we just had dinner." Karla added the last bit jokingly just to get a reaction out of the witch for amusement, she loved seeing the flush fill her face. She grinned giving her a wink before taking a glance at the bill brought to them.
---------------
Ryan nodded to Oliver the shifter seemed overly concerned over him for someone the wolf had just met. "I'll do my best, thanks again."
As the man left the room Ryan flipped open his notebook making notes, he was irate that he had completely failed on his task, he knew he was more capable than simply seeing and speaking with the dead however he couldn't manage to conjure up a simple exorcism. His head still pounded, mostly from the wound around his eye. His thoughts went towards the woman wanting to speak with him as well, he shook his head not understanding what was going on or why things had to turn out how they did.
He reached for his phone and saw one unread message from Sandra at the bar, he sighed before opening the message and a wave of confusion filled his face.
"Heard the good news! Great job at handling the job at MagusCore, everyone is talking about it! Come by the bar soon! Drinks will be on me!! <3 Sandra.
He stared at the screen dumb founded unsure what was told to her, he would worry about it in the morning, he needed more rest if he ever hoped to face everyone with his injured eye or that woman again.