The Best Magic Shop Lady In The World!

Who: amy and maddie
When: late afternoon
Where: maddie's shop

When Amy had first picked up the flier it had been because it was pretty, not because she thought she'd need the address or anything. But now... Well if it had something to do with linguistics or tea parties or disco ballads she did pretty good, but magic stuff? She didn't even know what language some of the stuff on the blueprints was written in. If there was any chance in a million years she could do this by herself, she would have done it. But this was too important to be stubborn about. She sucked it up, put on her cheerfulest sweater and her big warm coat, begged the truck keys off Pandect with a bribe of a scarf she made and a dozen cookies and drove carefully down the road to the really really big house. She sat wide-eyed in the cab of Pandect's big orange truck staring at the house. What if there were like, frogs and stuff inside? What if the magic shop lady was scary and mean?

She should have brought Reiz, Reiz was the perfect size for Amy to hide behind. Even Pandect she could work with, even though he was kinda thinish.

The house was pretty at least, it was one of those big old houses that looked like the old ladies that Amy's parents made her go say hello to politely and who always gave her peppermints or pennies and said she was a sweet little girl. Big ladies in dresses that made them look like some sort of indominatable force with big solid towers of hair on their heads like helmets. Amy was procrastinating. She pulled the torn off piece of paper from her coat pocket and took some deep breaths. She could do this. "I can do this," she said. "Even if its scary." Puffing herself up like a sparrow, and looking just as formidable as one, Amy marched up to where the flier had some helpful arrows pointing and stepped in, hanging hesitantly by the door and looking around. At least she didn't see any frogs.

The frog-free shop was mostly a very large sun room that had a round sort of feel to it. Shelves lined the walls full of odds and ends, spell components, spell books, jars of things that were labeled in neat handwriting. There was also a large desk that had a ton of little charms all over it, keychain-sized things. The owner of the shop, Maddie, sat behind it, looking not at all the part Amy's mind had come up with.

Instead, it was a young girl, looking around eighteen with bright red hair that hung down her back. She was wearing loose clothes, an oversized knitted sweater and jeans. Looking up when the door opened, she set down the charm she was currently working on. "Hello." she greeted. "Welcome to my shop...can I help you?" she asked. She was still working on the whole being polite and accommodating thing but she had that down alright.

Amy jumped a little even though everything in the shop was nice, pretty, Amy-amiable even. She loved sunshine and sparkly charms and little adorable jars and the nice smell, kinda like fruit or flowers or something. And the magic shop lady was younger than her, she looked nice, but then it was hard to look ominous in a sweater. She held the list tightly between her two hands and smiled automatically at the greeting, "Um, yes, thank you."

She stepped a little further in, relaxing automatically in the sunshine and peering around, checking things out, she had practiced asking for this stuff in her motel room mirror, sage, mistletoe, swan feathers, sweat of a condemned man, and by the way do you do contract work? She really hoped the magic shop had the sweat, although that sounded kinda gross, because really, Amy didn't know where else to find it.

Taking a deep fortifying breath she bellied up to the bar so to speak, at least the lady looked nice, "Do you happen to have sage and mistletoe?"

"Aye, I do happen to." Maddie answered, setting her charms aside, and she pushed herself to her feet, crossing to some of the jars. "Need anything else? What're you looking for them for? Ingredients? Just feeling christmasy early?" she added, glancing over her shoulder at the girl as she spoke. The girl looked nice enough. Maybe a slight bit on the nervous side, but then again, she actually saw that a lot. She also got told a lot that she didn't look the part, but those were the people who just flat out didn't know their arse from their elbow on these matters.

"Um, yes actually," she straightened up, her fingers tightening on the list a little. The lady seemed nice, and her accent was pretty. "You wouldn't happen to have swan feathers or the sweat of a condemned man as well?" She didn't really know if that was serious stuff, it sounded like serious stuff. Nothing to it, but to do it. "I don't need it right away, but soon would be nice. I'll need some help with a few other things as well, preparing some things."

Maddie paused as she looked back at the girl. "No, I don't happen to just have sweat of anyone just lying around." she said. "What're you looking for that for? And you'll need help preparing things? that's a little more'n what my shop covers. Not sayin I won't do it, just that it's not in my job description, missy." She said, thinking that had been presumptuous of the girl. She ran a shop, not a free 'here let me do your shit for you' shop. Which didn't at all mean she couldn't be talked into helping people. She had to pause as she assessed the girl. "Please tell me you don't think that you can just whip up magic like you can cookies." she stated.

Amy blushed and flustered before she gathered her defenses up again, think of someone competent... what would Pandect do? Well, he's taller for one, and a whole bunch more intimidating, so that's not much help, Amy thought. Fluffing herself up to look as big and as I-totally-know-what-I'm-doing as possible. "I'm perfectly willing to pay for it," Amy said, trying to channel, Pandect 'soothing' Mr. Andrew but sounding more like a little kid trying to get away with something. And yes she rather had expected that she could do this by herself, but she was starting to have her doubts.

For one thing the blueprints of the coffin were obvious proportioned for a grown up person, and Robbie wasn't grown up sized at all. She sighed, deflating like a sparkly balloon, "I hoped so, maybe whip it up like...like coffee cake or something, but I'm starting to feel its a little out of my depth, I just meant more, um, consultational," she hoped that was the right word, "help." She opened up her big purse and carefully leafed through the pages until she found the directions for the cloth thingy, with all the writing on it. She carefully set it on the counter, keeping her fingers on it like she was afraid it might fly off without warning. Like she was afraid of losing it. "Like this, I need to make this, only smaller, the size I'm using won't have room for all that writing and stuff."

Maddie looked doubtfully at the girl. "Well, my official consultation is that you don't know what the hell you're doin, lass, and that's not a good thing." she said, crossing her arms. "Magic isn't like cooking. Magic is something you have t'work at, and even then some people never get a handle on it. It ain't easy, and anything you could possibly be doing with any bits of condemned people is far out of your league." she chastised.

Then she looked at the cloth, and eyed it up and down. "The hell are you trying to do?" she asked, looking back up at Amy. "Exactly what's this meant to be for?"

Amy blushed a little, feeling frustrated and a little ang... upset, but quickly concentrated on the pretty surroundings instead, she liked sunlight. She wasn't going to let Baby Robbie get hurt again. "Its important, its very very important, the most important thing I've ever done." She pulled the instructions for the cloth back and held it against her chest like she was protecting it. She had to take a risk here, walk out and potentially lose someone who could help her, or tell the truth and risk the same thing, plus then the lady would know. She couldn't take the risk either way, but she had to choose one option. It was hard enough to find the plans, she didn't want to lose them.

"Its for my brother, to protect him. Do you think you could do it then, since you seem to have a little bit more experience than I do?" Amy's voice had taken a little bit of that far-offness she used without knowing it when she was upset, the one that didn't reveal how she felt. Great for her high school years. "If its out of my league, is it out of yours. Moneys the problem I could pay, or whatever. I need to get this done right. Soon."

"You want to build a coffin for your brother?" Maddie asked. "Lass--save us both time. Just come out with what you're doing. I get that it's important but tellin me that doesn't actually tell me what it is you're tryin to get done. And I can't help you unless I know what that is, can I?" she said, really wishing people would use their big kid logic now and then before opening their mouthes. But her tone was even, a tiny bit gentle, which was a rarity for the formerly dead woman.

Nothing to it, but it to do it. Amy pulled out the leather portfolio and laid it on the counter, "This is it, all the plans. It is a coffin, a special coffin. One that will protect his spirit." She opened it up to show Maddie the large thick sheets of paper covered in diagrams and scribbled writing, "There's the coffin, and the cloth, and the stuff I'm supposed to put in with the bones."

"The bones. Alright, lass, how about you keep going?" she said, really wishing this wasn't like pulling teeth to get information out of the girl. She wasn't going to get very far with things if she couldn't be bothered to tell people what it was she needed. "You realize that babies...they don't usually not move on. They don't have a whole lot of unfulfilled dreams and the like, they don't have unfinished business. I mean it isn't impossible or anything, but it's rare." she said. "And you lookin to protect, or bind? Because..." she sighed. "Just keep going. Tell me your story, and what you want, and I'll be much better able to help you."

Amy sighed and stacked her hands on the counter top, she tried not to let on how much telling the story cost, how much it hurt. "His name is Robert Gustufson, Robbie for short and he died shortly after birth. Shortly after that he started haunting my family. He's been absent for a couple of years, but with the Living Dawn folks coming up," her hands tightened. "While I was at school my parents moved, and with the 'ghost attacks' or whatever the papers been calling them, our old house almost burned down, my apartment too. Its nothing definite, its not proof of anything, but have you baby brother, someone you can hold in your arms?

Her face was tight and pale with anxiety before she carefully collected herself, "I can't take the risk. I did a lot of research in school, so I ran down to the library, to the old books. Apparently Marquette had a problem with ghosts being... hijacked before. Mr. Fassbender, the funeral home guy, his wife was grabbed, so he had an iron coffin made," she bounced once on her heels and seemed to come back to herself. "Those being the plans for said iron coffin. And that concluded the monologue portion," she joked, her fingers tapped a little against the countertop. "That's pretty much it."

Maddie frowned, listening. "...first off, lass, if he's haunting you or your family, you might want t'look into what's keeping him here. That's not really natural. Specially for someone that young. He really should've moved on, not stuck around. And if he does move on, then them sadistic arses can't touch'im anyways." she said first. "Second...Do you know what this coffin is supposed to do? Really know? Because if you're talking bidning a spirit somewhere, especially in a casket? That's torture. That right there might make sure that the spirit can't be used by someone else? But that's...that's not natural either, and trust me, it ain't pretty." She knew. She'd been bound to a town that had been drowned at the bottom of a lake for years, and there were still mental and emotional scars on her psyche because of it.

Amy paled. "I won't do anything that'll hurt him. I'll have to get him to move on then," she felt a little sad at that, like she had an imaginary friend that she hadn't known about and now she was losing. She couldn't hurt Baby Robbie. It hurt to even think about it. "Fassbender's journal said it was supposed to protect the spirit, but I guess he knew as much about these things as I did," her fingers drifted a little over the papers. "Do you know who I should call? Or is it just a priest thing? To help Baby Robbie move on."

Maddie sighed, and thought about it. "Priests are only going to try an exorcism." she said. "And you don't want to do that either." she added right away, because that was no good either. "You're going to need to figure out why he's still here to begin with, and take care of it. Maybe someone just can't let go, I'm not sure. It's definitely not a normal case." she admitted. "Babies, they really don't hang around by themselves. They don't have huge amounts of unfinished business that they're emotionally invested in, generally, babies are pretty happy and content. They don't experience the world the same way others do, so there shouldn't be that pull, if ya get what I'm saying." she explained, tone at least a little gentle. Gentle for Maddie, anyhow.

It was thinking time, Amy sat back a little on her heels to have a five second think before asking her next question, "Who do I ask to check and see why he's still hanging around? I mean you're right, he looked content, like a little caterpillar, all cozy and wrapped up," except he was all messed up inside, not developed right, stuff had been missing inside him. The only thing that had been keeping him alive, the doctor said, was the womb. What little of life Baby Robbie got must have been kind of unpleasant, all happy and warm and then BAM! bright lights, cold and feeling his little body gave out. Amy hoped it hadn't hurt him to die. She really really really really hoped it hadn't hurt.

That he hadn't come back, because that would be a hurting baby to have to come back, and abrupt as the magic shop lady was Amy trusted her professional opinion. She had that look. And how much would it suck to come back because you were a sad baby and your mommy didn't want you. "There is someone who could do it, like- like a physic or something?"

"Lass, there isn't some magic guru that can just know. I don't even know how you'd start somethin like that, and I'm kind of an expert on spirits." she admitted. After all, she'd been one for three quarters of a century. The only person she knew who was a subject authority was Billy. He might even know more than she did. "Psychics as far as I know, don't really connect with the dearly departed. That's somethin else. Not sure...maybe you can talk to my man. He knows a lot about spirits as well. Not sure what exactly we'll do there, but there's got to be something keepin him here, and maybe it's not him. Maybe it's someone who can't let go, that needs to."

Amy nodded in her best pleased impression and extended her hand, "Thanks! You've been an awesome help! Would it be possible to um... get an appointment with your man?"

Maddie shook the girl's hand, but it was kind of a weird sensation. "Aye, could call him, you could set something up whenever..." she said, not sure what Billy's schedule was like. He usually wrote it down for her, but then again, they were meant to be getting married this weekend, and she didn't want that interrupted. If the kid had been dead for a while and that was the impression she was under, then another day wouldn't hurt.

Amy clapped her hands with glee, she did that sometimes when it was too much glee inside. Otherwise she might explode, or melt, or something. "Thank you so much! You are the best magic shop lady in the whole world!" She gathered all the papers up, she may have been excited, but there was no need to mess the plans up. "Um, here's my business card, its not really a business card so to speak, its just like a card with my cell phone number on it. I'm babbling sorry just excited."

Maddie blinked, and took the card. Then she grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote down Billy's cell number for the girl. "Here's his number." she said, handing it over. "Give a call, we'll see what can't be worked out. I'll try to research as well." she added, since it was just a weird situation.

Grinning with being able to save Robbie happiness, Amy was aware she was too much for some people and tried to keep it down to a minimum, Amy gave Maddie a quick little wave, showered her with a few more grateful thank yous and practically skipped out to Pandect's truck. Today was a good day after all, a little bit of a set back, but a good day.