Escaping the Stench

Who: Jocelyn and Joshua
Where: Around town
When: Late Afternoon

It would figure that just as Charlotte had gotten Jocelyn interested in discovering if those cats were in fact, demonic, they all ended up dead. Every single one it looked like, from the identical corpses all over the place. The smell was foul, and people were already cleaning up the mess, many with shovels and gloves. The stench, however, would probably linger long after the corpses were gone.

Lately, Jocelyn was enjoying discovering different parts of Marquette, but the cats had definitely taken away her plans to enjoy some fresh air (seeing how there was none), so Jocelyn walked a bit farther, glancing along the shops, searching for a book store, or something just as interesting. She could have went back to the library, but rarely did libraries carry the kind of books on magic she really wanted. Generally they had harmless kids stuff, usually, bunk spells and bogus history from authors named Marigold Moonbeam, or something equally ridiculous. She was just eager to get inside for a bit. It was hot outside and the heat was not helping with the current dead cats lining the streets situation.

Joshua had been out sometime around noon, after hearing the news reports on all the dead cats. While it was a comforting thought that they were apparently all gone and couldn't attack Lulu anymore, the cleanup effort was horribly gross. He'd helped some, though, and had managed to only trip over two corpses in the process. After beating it home for a shower, he'd gone back out, intent on another mission. He'd told Lullaby he would help her with her magic stuff, and if he was going to? He was going to.

He, too, was looking for an appropriate bookstore. Joshua slowed and peered into a specific window that seemed to have occult-y things in it and frowned in a puzzled sort of way. He glanced up to see a pretty woman coming in the other direction.

She spotted the kid - young man? - ahead, peering into the window of one of the shops, and her curiosity had her glancing at the store itself. It certainly looked like the kind of shop she'd been hoping to come across. And she could get inside.

The kid - young adult, maybe? So many teenagers hated to be called kids - had looked puzzled, and she could almost sense he was not someone who actively sought out books or items regarding the occult. So she gave him a pleasant smile before stepping into the store.

Certainly she looked sane enough to him. No pointy hats, or warts growing on her face. No scary goth wear, tattoos of Satan, or piercings adorning every possible piece of flesh. Yes, occasionally, even a normal person such as herself could be interested in things not entirely acceptable by society. She hoped that alone wouldn't scare him away from the store, whatever it might carry, because he looked as if he wanted to go inside himself but was hesitating for whatever reason. Like with Charlotte, Jocelyn was never one to discourage curiosity in people.

It did pique Joshua's curiosity. He wasn't one to make snap judgements regarding who-all had an interest in The Weird -- as Lu had taken to calling it. He had his own living, breathing guardian angel, after all. But Jocelyn's smile did put him a bit more at ease about this particular place. He was stupid about stuff like this, and wouldn't know bad information from good information if it bit him in the face. Or if he tripped over it, which was far more likely.

In any case, after another beat or two, he followed the woman into the store. The first thing that hit him was how wonderfully the place didn't smell like rotting cats. There were some fans going, which made it nice and cooler too. Excellent. Joshua just had no freaking idea where to start. He wet his lips and headed slowly for where the book section seemed to be, giving Jocelyn a glance or two.

She'd gone immediately to the proper section, thankful to find more than just your average Barnes and Noble new age books. It was as if she couldn't stop reading lately, filling her mind of endless information regarding the magic she was trying to perfect. As much as she found black magic to be the most convenient for her, her abilities in white magic were fading and it never hurt to do a brush up every now and then.

Out of her peripheral vision, she could see the young man glancing at her and she looked up from the book in her hand and quirked a delicate eyebrow in his direction. It was obvious she didn't work there, at least in Jocelyn's mind, since she had come in only moments before he had and it was clear enough that she was doing a bit of shopping herself. So either the kid was just checking her out, or he truly had no clue what he was looking for inside of the store.

"Did you have a question, or something?" Jocelyn asked simply, deciding to figure out just which one it was.

He looked slightly startled, having sort of bought into that theory that he didn't exist on older, good-looking women's radars. He looked at the shelf he'd randomly stopped in front of -- which apparently had something to do with tarot -- and then back to her. Joshua was pretty sure she didn't work there or anything, but ... it looked like she'd picked up something that might tie in to what he was looking for. Maybe. Hopefully.

"Um," he started, ever the beacon of intelligence. He reached up to rub the back of his neck a little sheepishly. God, he felt like a complete moron in here. "Maybe? ... I'm honestly not really sure what I'm looking for," he admitted in his lilting Irish accent, and chuckled.

Shutting the book she had opened, Jocelyn held onto it and walked toward him, her gaze assessing the books he had stopped in front of.

"I'm guessing you're not looking for tarot cards. But I think you have to have some idea of what you're looking for, because there had to have been something to have drawn you inside, right? A specific interest? Magic? Wicca? Occult? Or just general curiosity?"

"Magic," he stated, sounding sure about that one. Then an expression of bewilderment crossed his features again and he looked at her. "I think." Joshua bit his lower lip and decided it'd probably be best to explain and then decide what he was looking for. Or let her help him decide, since she seemed keen on helping.

"Okay, my girlfriend? She's getting into white magic. Wards and protection spells and stuff like that, and I said I'd help her. So I guess I'm looking for ... stuff like that. She's got some books, but I thought maybe ... the more bases covered, the better, right?" He hoped that made some kind of sense.

Jocelyn smiled and looked down at the book in her hand. She'd told Charlotte about protection spells before. Maybe the teenagers in this town knew more, and were smarter than most of the adults.

"I'll tell you what I told someone else recently asking about magic," Jocelyn began. "Not everyone can do it properly. Some have the ability, some don't, so just be careful in what you get yourself, and her, into." With that out of the way, she leaned casually against the book shelf, tapping her finger against her book thoughtfully. "There are basic protection spells you can find for smaller items, sometimes even people, in almost any book. Wards, however, may be a bit more difficult, especially for beginners, so I wouldn't recommend attempting that until you know what you're doing." Jocelyn paused to look at Joshua. "I'm assuming you mean that you're looking to learn magic as well?" It was amazing what hormonal teenage boys would do for a female.

Oh. Well that was a little disappointing. And worrying. He hadn't really thought that much could go wrong -- outside of it flat-out not working -- with a spell that was aimed to do nothing but good. Showed what he knew, he guessed. Joshua tucked that away as something else to ask September about. "Well yeah," he answered, because he was totally a hormonal teenage boy, who was caught up in his first bout of strong puppy-love. "Or at least help her learn. Do some research and stuff. Is it better with more than one person?" He hoped that she really knew, and wasn't just humoring him or anything.

Had he voiced his concerns, she might have clarified her meaning. The reason her family had it's curse was because of good intentions gone wrong. And sometimes, when white magic didn't work, some people turned to black magic to achieve desired results. Herself included. But then again, she found nothing wrong with black magic personally, because she had magic in her blood and she could handle it. Whereas curious teenagers with no prior experience? Probably not so much.

"In my opinion? I think it depends on the person. I prefer to do magic on my own. I feel more in control, I can concentrate better, and I'm not worrying about the other person. But again, it depends on the person. If you trust your girlfriend, and she trusts you, then you should be fine."

Joshua nodded and chewed on that mentally for a moment, gaze having drifted down to the book in her hand. He wasn't sure if he should launch into explaining exactly what it was Lu wanted to do or not. On one hand, maybe this woman could give some sage advice or something. On the other ... well okay, she didn't even know his name, he wasn't sure how she could interfere. He glanced around them and leaned in just a tiny bit closer.

"See the thing is? She's gotten attacked. Twice now. First time by a --" surely someone who was giving advice out about magic knew about demons, right? "-- demon, we think. Second time was a bunch of those cats. So what she was kind of thinking was trying to make ... a couple of magic safe-spots? If that makes sense? Like, in town. A couple of people's houses. Think that's even possible?" And oh, how he hoped it was.

She listened intently, her eyebrow arching once more as he explained what had been going on. She remembered Charlotte, and her research on the so-called demonic cats. It would seem there was more to them that had met the eye - though now, it seemed like a moot point.

Jocelyn also didn't flinch at the mention of demons. She'd been in contact with her fair share since leaving home. However, she did frown when he mentioned his girlfriend had been attacked by one.

"Safe spots, yes that's possible, though I'm not sure how successful a beginner would be on placing those kind of spells. If she has magic naturally in her blood, it might be easier. If she's a simple teenager? I'm not sure." And she wasn't. While she knew quite a bit about magic herself, there was still some things she still had to learn.

Joshua couldn't be positive, but he was pretty sure that Lullaby didn't have magic naturally in her blood. He nibbled on his lower lip, eyebrows drawn together in thought. He guessed it would just take them some time, then. Or finding someone who was good at stuff like that. He heaved a sigh and reached up to rub at the back of his neck again.

"Okay, well ... starting from the beginning," he said with a faint chuckle. Joshua nodded to the shelves of books and then looked back at her. "Any suggestions on a good place to launch off from?" he asked. Since she seemed to know what she was talking about.

Jocelyn bit her bottom lip thoughtfully again. It was hard for her to give advice when she knew nothing about the people wanting to learn. Not that she minded helping, but she wasn't perfect at what she did by any means, so she was always cautious. "If you're launching off?" She turned toward the shelves of books and began to look for something she knew would be easy to understand, yet move him beyond the crap most people found in basic magic books.

Jocelyn took awhile, lost in concentration. For her, black magic achieved the desired results much, much, faster but given the kid barely knew what to look for as it was, it wasn't a good idea to suggest it.

By the time she finished, Jocelyn handed him a book felt would be worthy. At least for someone like him. "As much as I hate it, this one is basic white magic. Very basic. Stuff like candle magic. Once you feel comfortable enough with it, you can try some more advanced stuff." Kid's stuff.

Joshua waited patiently while she looked, keeping back and quiet, even though he was curious as to how she made the selection in the first place. Once she had, he took it with a faint little smile at her words. He flipped through it briefly and glanced up at her. "As much as you hate it?" he sort-of asked, arching an eyebrow at her. He'd expected something retardedly simple -- and would likely screw even that up for a while ... 'candle magic' pretty well screamed 'burned fingers' at best -- but that particular turn of phrase caught his ear.

She smiled at him and gave a small shrug. "I don't know. There's just so much more to learn and do than the basic, boring stuff. And there are other ways to get results that you want. Easier, more efficient ways, but it's not really recommended for people who don't know what they're doing, or people who just wanting to dabble for a few things." She crossed her arms against her chest and nodded toward the book. "This will get you started. If you can master some of that, you should be able to move forward."

"So pretty much, like everything, you gotta go through all the simple bullshit before you can really get anywhere and know what you're doing?" he said, looking faintly amused by that. It figured, of course, that magic would follow along with the rules of everything else in the adult world. Addition before algebra, all that. He nodded, looking down toward the book himself. "I'll work on it, then," he said, and flashed her his sudden, boyish grin. "Thanks for the advice. We'll try not to blow ourselves up."

"Uhm. No. Not exactly." Jocelyn tilted her head, studying the book in his hands before she shifted her gaze to his face. "But I would recommend that course of action for you, and your girlfriend. Give it a try, see how it goes. You'll know fairly soon whether or not either of you have any talent in the area." Giving him a smile, she nodded. "Yes, please try to keep all limbs in tact!"

Joshua considered very briefly pressing to see what other courses of action there really were that she'd hinted about, but ... things tended to explode or catch fire around him. He didn't want his very presence making something supernatural more dangerous for Lu. In fact now that he was thinking about it, maybe even being around her and It wasn't such a hot idea. He shook the thought off mentally and looked back up at Jocelyn as something else occurred to him. "Joshua Barclay, by the way," he said a bit sheepishly, and stuck his hand out. So he could thank her properly.

Jocelyn took his hand. Hey, at least some teenagers had manners. She shook it and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Joshua. I'm Jocelyn." She wanted to be able to be around if he, or his girlfriend, had questions, or even if they needed help. Not that what they were trying to do affected her in any sense, but she liked to know that magic was being done properly, efficiently, and with a sense of respect. It's what she'd always been taught.

"If you have any questions..." She pulled her free hand back to dig around in her purse, pulling out a small card with her name and cell phone number on it. "You can give me a call." She studied his face, mentally calculating but unsure of his age. "And if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

Jocelyn, he repeated in his head to try and hang onto it. He was terrible about remembering female names, it seemed, even though her's was pretty unique. But then she was giving him her card, so that would eliminate that problem. Joshua took it and looked at it, expression a touch surprised. That could turn into a big help. "Thanks," he said, giving her a nod. He tucked the book underneath one arm and pulled out his wallet to stick the card somewhere that he wouldn't lose it. "I'm eighteen," he told her, glancing back up with a little half-grin. Funny she'd want to know.

Her smiled widened then, thankful that he was at least an adult attempting this stuff. Well, an adult in the eyes of the law anyway. She would have told him he could find her at Babylon as well, but she wasn't sure if he would even be able to find it. Still, he knew about demons, not that that meant much of anything. He could still be human through and through.

"Good. Let me ask you something, you said you think your girlfriend was attacked by a demon?" There was no skepticism in her voice whatsoever. "It's none of my business, but I'm curious, is there something special about her? Or you, in that case."

Jocelyn really had been trying to work on being tactful when it came to asking personal questions. Sometimes she just blurted out what she wanted to know, regardless of whether or not it would offend someone. But she had reason to ask such a thing, so in her mind, it was okay. Hopefully he knew what she was referring too.

He wasn't taken aback or shocked by the question or anything. Since they were talking about this sort of thing anyway, and maybe it would make some kind of difference. He decided immediately not to tell her about September, since that could mean a messy death for him. Or a lot of screaming. Either way, unpleasantness. "No, there's not anything ... like that about her," he said. She's special 'cause she's wonderful and gorgeous and I think I'm falling for her, but that's mushy stuff you're not asking about. "That we've found out about yet."

But as for him? Instead of flat out telling her, Joshua took the book she'd given him and held it flat on his palm. He looked at it and concentrated. He'd been working on his telekinesis with Lullaby, practicing control more than anything. Moving things was not a problem. Not sending them flying into something breakable? That was the issue. The book lifted a few inches up off of his hand, wobbling just slightly. He didn't overdo it, aware that they were in public, just enough for her to see.

Joshua took his hand out from under it briefly, keeping it hovering in mid-air. When it felt like it was starting to pull toward flying away to hit someone in the head, he grabbed it with his actual hand again. "That's it," he told her. "So far."

And that was all she needed to see. She hadn't really expected him to give her a demonstration, but she was glad he did. Telekinesis had always fascinated her and she gave him a smile, impressed. But seeing how he had some sense of supernatural ability, he could find her, if he so choose too.

"So far, so good," she stated. She almost wanted to show him what she could do because now she was itching to show off. But instead she adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder. "If you can't reach me by cell, I work at Babylon, a bar in town. If you ever need something, just ask for me at the bar and they'll get me. Sound good?"

"Babylon," he repeated. He'd never heard of it. "Okay." Did they let one his age into bars in the States? He couldn't remember. He'd always heard their alcohol-consumption laws were more strict than back at home. Not that he really planned on drinking. September would have a fit. Joshua smiled at her, pleased that he'd been able to show off a little without anything disasterous happening. "Sounds great. Listen, I really appreciate it. You've been a big help already."

"Anytime," Jocelyn replied with a nod. "Good luck again to you and your girlfriend. Be safe, all right?" She meant that. And at the same time, she was sort of proud that she had helped out in some shape or form. Jocelyn was a fan of spreading magic around anyway she could. Maybe she could read more into protection wards, in case they should need help. It'd come more easily to her after all.

Now that Joshua was set, she decided to splurge a bit on a few books herself. After all, she felt she deserved it. And that was as good as an excuse as any.