General Wanderings

Who: Jocelyn and Charlotte
Where: Peter White Public Library
When: Morningish

Jocelyn had finished the morning mass at St. Peter's Cathedral before deciding to take a walk up to the hospital to check on Gray. She made no plans to visit, if he was still admitted, but she wanted to at least make sure he was all right. Unfortunately, given she wasn't family, they wouldn't release any information to her, so all she could do was simply hope for the best that he was doing fine now, and go on her way. Maybe she'd run into him again, who knew? It was a small town, after all. The weather was warm again, and already a bit humid. Jocelyn didn't want to complain too much, as autumn would be cooling things down before she knew it, so she was determined to enjoy the summer weather while she could.

So she walked for awhile, thankful that she wasn't coming across any seizure prone strangers about to get plowed down in the middle of the street. It was nice to be able to think with a clear mind, to let the day wash over her and cleanse the parts of her she was continually at battle with. Her feet were aching, just a tiny bit, in her boots by the time she came upon the library. It looked inviting and it'd been awhile she'd read anything other than the newspaper, so she found herself walking inside, breathing in the scents of dust and books. Jocelyn wandered for a bit before finding a small section on religious symbols. It was one she hadn't read before, so she carried it with her as she browsed, enjoying the opportunity to be out today, to be alone and do whatever she pleased. Not many people would find wandering a library very exciting, but currently Jocelyn was in her element. At least with the subject matter she was carrying at hand.

Charlotte was having a bad day. Or maybe week.

After the horrifying couple of days she'd had, the best word or term to describe her was 'thoroughly traumatized'. She had screaming nightmares when she slept, she was paranoid and scared, and she just kept seeing things. Whenever she closed her eyes, there it was again. Death and destruction and evil.

However, it had only taken two days for her to realize that she couldn't do this traumatized thing. Not with her mother hovering over her and worrying every second. Because while Isadora was very worried about her daughter, and Charlotte had told her about her experience - she wasn't doing anything about it. About the cats that weren't cats. She was the only person Charlotte knew with supernatural contacts - she was a top level earth elemental with healing, for goodness sake, of course she had contacts, even if they were all back downstate - but she wasn't doing anything. She was worried about Charlotte, and nothing much further. Lying in bed last night, it had occurred to her that it was a distinct possibility her mother didn't believe her. That she thought it was just a really bad cat.

That wasn't acceptable. So this morning, Charlotte had sucked it up, and done everything in her power to convince her mother that she was feeling much better. It would take days of convincing for Isadora to stop hovering, but she had agreed to drop Charlotte off at the library for a few hours. Charlotte had lied, of course, when she told her mother what she wanted to go to the library for. Something about looking into clubs to sign up for, which was utterly ridiculous. Once she saw her mother's car drive away, she went to work.

Now she sat at a table crowded with books she'd dug out of the non-fiction section. All of the subjects were things many people would consider strictly fiction, however. Various histories and folklores about monsters, and even demons. Just as many books were dedicated to cats in mythology and folklore. She scoured every book, checked every index, trying to find a description of any creature that matched what she had experienced. So far, no luck. Charlotte sighed and curled up a little more, already sitting hunched over the table with her head propped on her hands, occasionally stopping to rub her temples or pinch the bridge of her nose. There had to be something.

Charlotte made a tiny, nearly-whispered noise of frustration as her finger caught on something sticky on a page as she tried to turn it. She hated when people weren't careful with library books. And what in the devil was this stuff? SYRUP? Who on God's green earth read grim tales of monsters in mythology over pancakes and bacon?! Charlotte shook her hand to get her fingers unstuck from the page, only to knock the small tower of books she had yet to read over and onto the floor. Charlotte winced and closed her eyes, praying no one would come over to yell at her, and bent over to pick them up off of the floor. "Sorry," she said softly, to the nearest woman. At least they hadn't hit her.

Jocelyn started slightly at the sound of falling books hitting the floor and glanced over her shoulder at the girl bending over to pick them up. The woman sitting at the table closest to the girl looked more annoyed at the disruption than helpful, so Jocelyn walked over and bent down, setting her own book on the ground to help the girl pick up the mess. The girl's cheeks were flushed slightly and Jocelyn gave her a small smile as she piled the books up. "You know, when I was fourteen, I pulled down an entire shelf full of books while trying to climb to the top shelf to get what I wanted. The librarian found me under a stack of books on the occult and threw me out." Jocelyn happened to glance down at one of the books in her hand and quirked an eyebrow at the girl. Her subject choicewas interesting, to say the least. "Bit of light reading?"

Charlotte was embarrassed, though she tried to hide it. She also couldn't help but be curious. This girl was reading occult stuff at 14? This was the closest Charlotte had ever come to anything that would qualify as 'occult studies'. At the question she flushed a bit, as she failed in attempting to look casual. "I was curious." she said, quietly. That was probably a much better explanation than holy crap I was inside the brain of a monster. "I've never been thrown out of a library. That would... suck."

"Nothing wrong with being curious," Jocelyn replied simply, standing and placing Charlotte's books on the table. "It did suck, for a bit, but I managed to finagle my way back in after flattering the librarian to the point of embarrassing. Is there anything specific you're interested in?" she asked, her gaze sweeping over the other books. Jocelyn was curious by nature - sometimes it got her into trouble, or put people off. She simply couldn't help it. Especially when faced with someone who shared her own interests.

Initially Charlotte didn't even consider telling her a truthful answer, but hey. What could it really hurt? She didn't have an excuse, but she could... figure it out as she went along. "I'm not really sure what I'm looking for." she answered. "Some kind of shapeshifters? Monsters or demons that take the form of cats. I'm not sure if there even is anything like that."

"Cats?" Her curiosity beyond piqued at this point, Jocelyn glanced down at the books Charlotte had on the table again. "Demonic cats?" That was a first. Cats were supposed to be cuddly, cute and fluffy, right? Well, according to her mother. Jocelyn was pretty sure cats were Satan's minions. Her mother's cat had always given her the eye when they were alone in a room.

It didn't occur to Jocelyn that it was strange to be having a fairly calm conversation with a young girl about demons inside of the library. "I guess I could ask if this is for a school report," Jocelyn said calmly, "but I'm pretty sure school doesn't start here for a few more weeks. Are you looking for information on the rabid cats around town? Do you think they're demonic?" Forward question, she knew, and she was eager for the answer.

Charlotte blinked in surprise at the question, and told herself that she was going to have to learn to not be so darn readable. "It's not for school." she finally answered, calmly. She was just stalling as she tried to figure out how she should answer the question. She could - and wanted to - deny it, but what was her excuse? She hadn't expected anyone to ask about her reading, at least not like this. So, suppose she just came out with it. Or a version of it. What was the worst that could happen? How many times have I asked myself that in the past few days?

"My mom is a vet, and we take in strays a lot. I've been around cats my whole life. A few days ago I went to a bonfire with some friends, and after a while everyone was just attacked by a bunch of those cats. They all looked the same, and it was unprovoked. They were just everywhere, and attacking for no reason. They scratched and bit, and as far as I know, no one has rabies or anything, but people did get sick. I don't know what could make a cat - let alone an entire herd of them - do that." she explained and finished simply. "So I thought maybe there would be another explanation."

"Like demonic blood?" Jocelyn asked, only a bit skeptically. "There are other things out there that can make animals act crazy, besides rabies. But if your mother is a vet, then I'm sure you're already aware of them." Jocelyn replaced Charlotte's book on top of her stack and shifted her own book to her other arm. "But it is curious, what I've been reading in the papers, and what happened to you and your friends. I don't know of many animal bites and scratches that have put this many people in the hospital, so it definitely raises a red flag, so to speak."

Truthfully, she hadn't given it much thought as to what was going on. After all, she hadn't even seen one of these cats herself and evil cats seemed so far fetched, though Jocelyn wouldn't be surprised if it were true. Even so, the girl looked young, and fairly innocent, so Jocelyn looked her in the eyes and lowered her voice. "Just a word of advice, and it's probably not my place, but I'm going to say it anyway. If you do find something, just be careful. Especially delving into these kind of books. Curiosity can open all kind of doors that should probably remain shut," she said, tapping her fingernail on the closest one. "And be careful, especially if there is something more to those cats than most people see."

"I'm not sure. I don't know what would make them so crazy and vicious. I just know that those cats-" Are not cats. "-are not normal."

Charlotte tried not to look wide-eyed and just young at the warning, but it was difficult to pull off. Some of it she knew anyway. Like if they were monster or demon cats, she couldn't handle that herself. She'd have to find someone who could. But opening doors by reading books? That sounded... ominous. Somehow, it reminded her of a time she'd been staying with her grandmother for the summer, back when she was a kid. She'd been playing with the neighbor kids in their garage, when one of them dug a Ouija board out of an old box and started playing with it. Charlotte's grandmother had seen and pitched a fit. And not the sort of "that's devil worship!" fit her mother would have had. This one was much more intimidating. After breaking it up and walking Charlotte home, she'd sat her down and warned her about inviting certain things in. "If something wants to hurt someone, all it needs is an invitation."

Charlotte didn't feel like she could just give this up, though. Sure, some of the books she were looking into had some pretty heavy content, but she couldn't find anything too dangerous in a library. Now, the occult bookstores she'd looked up on the internet, maybe... but this woman didn't need to know that. "So how can I protect myself?"

Jocelyn wasn't quite sure how to answer that one. She could protect herself with the magic she'd immersed herself in. Innocent teenagers were different.

"By knowing what you're dealing with and knowing how to counter it. Everything is different, and if you're really serious about reading that stuff, you'll figure it out." She held up her own book. "It's how I came across religious symbolism. It doesn't work against everything, but it's a start." Jocelyn gave her a small smile. "I sound like some kind of disclaimer for the supernatural. Just, believe me when I say you shouldn't go into this stuff blind or alone. If it is demonic cats, I don't know if you're going to be able to find anything in those books to help."

Religious symbols? That made Charlotte think of the cross Lulu had given her, and she looked down to see it still hanging around her neck. Well, that was a good start. A necklace versus a book. What am I getting myself into again?

"I didn't actually think I'd find anything here." Charlotte admitted, almost sheepishly, as she sounded her age once more. She looked down at the book that was open before her, the page talking about how cats had been revered in Egyptian mythology. Good thing I didn't find anything in any of these. Then I really wouldn't know what to do myself. She had the address of an occult store in Marquette written in her pocket though. Now she'd get there, or actually get up the nerve to talk to someone there about it, well... she'd figure that out once she got there. "It's good to talk to someone who... um... knows this kind of stuff? I'm over my head. But everyone starts somewhere? Where did you start?"

"I don't know too much about it, to be honest," Jocelyn admitted with a regretful smile. "I know about symbolism because my parents taught me about it when I was really young, and some of the occult later, that I taught myself. More things to do with magical aspects, than things like demons. But I know they exist, and I know certain ways to protect myself from them. But what I do might not work for everyone, which is why you always have to be cautious. You're starting in a good place, researching, having the desire to learn. Though I don't know how much you'll find in a library. It's always best to talk to someone face to face, who knows this stuff inside and out. Or find a specialty store, they'll usually carry more risque and in depth books than a library would."

Charlotte watched Jocelyn when she spoke, but after she looked down at her book for a few moments again as she thought about it. "I thought about going to a specialty store." she admitted very quietly, looking up at the woman again as she spoke. "My mom would probably have a heart attack if she knew. She'd worry too much." And for weird reasons, considering Charlotte's mother was pretty skilled with earth magic. Magic wouldn't scare Isadora. Demons and evil things and occult research would.

"So you don't tell your mom." Jocelyn gave her a sly smile. "One thing I learned when I started researching my own interests was never to bring the books and alike into the house. We had this old shed in the backyard my dad used to store powertools he collected, but never used. I hid all my stuff inside of there and they never found out. And to be honest with you, it's not as if you're trying to delve into Satanism, you're trying to find information to help people. To me, there's a world of difference. If anything, your mom should be proud of you."

Jocelyn's solution actually made Charlotte smile, and rather brightly, the expression making her look so much younger than she actually was. "I hadn't figured I'd get the nerve to hide any books at my home any time soon." Charlotte admitted. She was kind of hoping she wouldn't have to. Her mom was too nosy for her own good.

"I'm sure you can find a place your mom wouldn't think of to look." It never occurred to Jocelyn that she was giving this kind of advice to a teenager on how to sneak around behind her mother's back. It had been such a part of Jocelyn's own childhood that it didn't seem that off putting. Besides, what teenager never lied to their parents? "Believe it or not, there are so many different kinds of magic that can protect your personal items to the point where a book on demonic beings could be sitting open on your own mother's bed and she'd never pay it any mind."

That made Charlotte's jaw drop in mingled surprise, awe, and disbelief. "Really?" she asked. Why did she ignore her earth magic again? "Do you know how to do that?"

Jocelyn hesitated for only a brief moment. "I do. It's not that difficult." Well, it wasn't for her. Magic was instilled inside of her. A fairly normal looking teenager was much different.

"So, does that mean you're... um... a witch?" Charlotte didn't really know anything about that kind of thing. She knew they existed, but didn't actually know what they could do. She just knew that her mom could do earth magic, and her grandmother had been able, too. Charlotte would be as well, if she applied herself to it rather than her telepathy. "Or can anyone do it?"

Lifting a delicate eyebrow, Jocelyn gave Charlotte a small smile. If the girl truly believe the cats could be demonic, enough to be doing research, she was obviously aware of supernatural beings. And maybe if she wasn't aware, she at least believed in them. To a point.

"I guess you could say that, yes," Jocelyn admitted, her voice more quiet now. It was a library and who knew who was actually listening. "There are people who can buy a proper book on magic and try their hand at it, though not everyone possesses the right skill. And some people have families where magic is just a part of their blood. I don't usually go around advertising, but you seem to know more than most normal teenagers do, or should."