a little white magic

who: doc and maddie
where: maddie's shop
when: late afternoon

Maddie was in the shop proper, sitting behind the old desk she'd had brought in so she could sit and do some of the finer spellwork that she tended to do. At the moment she had a whole mess of beads, feathers, stones, and other odds and ends spread out over the top of it. The place smelled nice, both from the scented candles that burned and the incense that perfumed the air.

She sat back after letting out an impressive, loud string of explicatives, sucking her fingertip lightly since she'd managed to stick herself with a pin. That was always fun. Glancing down at her stomach, she gave a Look. "Don't you go picking up that language." she warned. She looked up as the clanging bell above the door rang, sitting up slightly straighter what with there being a customer and all.

For Doc, the mood was rare enough that he usually couldn't help it. Afterglow was a bitch like that. He'd been smiling pleasantly ever since saying goodbye to Jocelyn, and Doc had caught himself drumming on his steering wheel as he drove, turning his stereo up, even driving courteously. He was aware of it, he just didn't care. And he couldn't hide away until he had it back under control either; Doc was on a schedule, he was leaving tomorrow, and things needed to be as ready as he could get them before leaving town.

He'd left Jocelyn to start tending to the safehouse, figuring she probably had other things to do as well, but whenever she got around to it? He wanted to make sure she'd have all the supplies she needed. Which meant tracking down the little witchcraft store he'd heard about a few times now. It wasn't hard to do, Doc was just wondering if he might be encountering trouble by coming here, being a demon and all. He'd just stepped in, and as he caught sight of Maddie he nodded curtly. "Afternoon," he greeted.

"So it is." Maddie replied, eyeing the guy. She set down the charm she was currently working on, and told herself to remember her manners. Right. Customers...all that. "And...hello. Anything specific you're lookin for or I can help you with?" she asked. The guy looked pretty weathered to her. And she wondered if he'd do what she had started noticing people did which was judge her by how old she looked. Sometimes it was right stupid to have been around close to a century but look eighteen. People tended to write you off as a stupid kid, which...sure, she did that sometimes with stupid kids, but that wasn't the point!

If Doc had learned anything from his recent encounters with Eris, it was that the apparent age of someone didn't matter for much. This shop had endured the myriad attacks in town, and whether that was because it was legitimate or not, he'd give it a chance. "Well, I'll definitely need some help," he said as he moved for the counter at a leisurely pace, eying a hanging bunch of some sort of dried leaves curiously. "I'm... more or less a stranger to the component side of this stuff? I get the theory of it, but the application? Not so much. And I'm looking to place a sort of bulk order, if you think you could help. For a friend of mine who's a little more versed than me."

"Bulk order for what sorts of things?" Maddie asked. Really, she wasn't sure if she could do that, but she could give it a shot. Most people came in for little things, just to gawk, or to poke around at the candles and such. And that was if they made the long drive out to the house with the little shop stuck in it. "What're you after, and I'll tell you what you need." she said, since that was much easier than letting people who admittedly didn't know what they were doing try and suss it out themselves.

"I'm looking for components for a fair amount of wards," Doc specified matter-of-factly. If she was just a clerk and this was just a job to her? She could laugh him off and Doc would deal, he'd find a way to get what was needed. "Enough to set up maybe four sets of protective seals? Against vampires, spirits..." he trailed off, thinking, "Might as well opt for demons too, you never know. And does it take more to protect a whole building? Like I said, this isn't exactly my forte." He gave an amiable grin with that admission, leaning an arm on the counter and waiting for Maddie to give him an incredulous look.

He didn't so much get an incredulous look as a 'psh' sort of one. "What you want to go keeping spirits out for? They aren't going to run in and start hurting anyone, not like vamps. And if you're after potential dangers around here, I'd go for werewolves, since there was that outbreak an all. Demons is complicated and really in depth, and really, son, wardings aren't that easy in the first place, you got someone who actually knows their arse from their elbow on this, or is someone readin out of a book they got at the mall?" she asked, green eyes not leaving his.

He snorted back a laugh, not even able to remember the last time anyone had called him 'son', and nodded. "They know what they're doing, no worries there," he assured Maddie. And maybe Jocelyn was rusty, what with her focus on black arts, but Doc had made it a point that she needed to get refreshed quickly. "Okay, so let's skip demonic for now. But I can't opt for werewolves either, it might cause some difficulties." Which wasn't really admitting that he knew one, but was at the same time. "As for spirits? I'm looking to create as much of a safe zone as I can, so I'm just trying to cover all the bases."

Maddie looked Doc over, assessing. "What're you talking, with the safe zone thing?" she asked. Mostly, because she'd done a few sanctuary spells in the past few months, and while that was a spell of her very own that no one else was getting the write up for, that didn't mean she couldn't be talked into doing it for someone. Which really, was something she hadn't considered until just now. But with the things he was saying, he was leaving holes in his defenses. She understood not wanting werewolf wards. Hell, she didn't have one in the house. She only made them on demand, and got it out again as fast as she could, so the wolf could come by when he wanted.

"Okay..." Doc said, sighing a little and glancing back the way he'd come in. They were still alone, and with her even acknowledging the specifics he was asking for? This wasn't some clueless girl just earning a paycheck. "I know some people in town who take an active interest in handling trouble, they need somewhere secure to operate. The specifics of their situation demands that there be certain gaps in an overall sanctuary, and the best they can plan for is knowing what those holes are and being ready to handle whatever can get through." Really, the holes were for him and Grayson, otherwise the rest of them were okay. Doc had never heard of warding off elementals, for starters.

"So what you're tellin me is you want to set up a really faulty, pissant system that isn't going to do you or anyone else any acutal good." Maddie pointed out. Nope. The woman never did learn to pull a punch. She rolled her eyes. "Goin about it your way, you're either goin to wind up with a ton of wardings trying to overlap one another, which is a lot of work, and again, patchy, since you need to have those holes in there, and it's going to be incredibly bloody inefficient." she said. "If you're goin that route, might as well just get a sign that says 'no tresspassing' and a dog'n call it good."

And where he might've taken offense at that in most matters? Doc knew he didn't know enough about witchcraft to argue the point, and he was still riding a high. So he laughed richly, beard stretching with his grin as he held up both hands, as if warding her off. "Hey now," he protested, "Didn't I walk in here saying I didn't know shit about this? I'm just trying to puzzle out a good way to get some fortifications for my friends... what would you suggest?" He offered one of the hands across the counter a moment later, not waiting for her answer before introducing himself. "Sorry, Martens. Everyone calls me Doc, it's a terrible joke."

She eyed his hand for a moment, then reached out to shake it. "Madigan Danted. Maddie for short." she greeted in return. And while most people would have had the spark of recognition in their eyes about the joke, she flat out didn't get it. Doc Martens wasn't really a brand when she was alive, and keeping up with footwear trends really didn't rate high on her list of things to do whilst dead back in Colorado. "...joke?" she asked, not liking not getting it. She always hated when stupid pop culture things came up and she was stupidly bloody clueless.

"You're honestly better off not even using up the miniscule brain space it would occupy," Doc assured her, shaking his head. He'd never really encountered someone who didn't get it, which was odd, but he didn't mind either. "But, like I was saying, what would you suggest? The people I know are competent, maybe you could brainstorm with one of them on something more practical that what I'd thought?"

"I don't need to brainstorm with anyone, I know what it is you need." she said. "Trouble is, it's my own personal spell, and it takes a lot of work and effort. Which isn't t'say that I wouldn't be persuadeable to consider doing it for you." she said. "But I don't work for free." Which was terribly inaccurate of her. She charged not a whole lot for anything in her shop, people were often surprised at the prices of things, because she had them set low. And if she thought someone really needed something, she might toss it in, or a charm in, or whatever, because at the end of the day, she was a protector. And while other people weren't her responsibility, that didn't curb that instinct to make sure people were safe. Which was why she was sitting there with a huge lot of charm components. They weren't difficult but they were effective.

He was skeptical of the offer initially, but that was Doc's usual reaction when someone said 'don't just buy parts from me, pay me to do your work'. Still, she'd immediately pointed out the flaw in his initial idea, and that made this offer worth considering. "No one works for free," he agreed, nodding and pursing his lips in consideration. "So let's say I was interested. What would it run me? And how much more would you want for some warding components as well? Just in case my friends needed wards or charms to carry on them outside of this theoretical safe zone?"

Maddie ganced down at the finished charms she had in a basket, and grabbed a small handfull, dropping them down on the counter in front of Doc. "On the house." she said. "Wardings...if you want whoever you've got doing them, it'll just run you the cost of the components, and that'll depend what you want. They're around the shop, have prices on them and such. I've been told I don't over-price things." she added. "For the spell...that depends. You impatient for this, or do I have time to work at it?" she asked. It would make a difference. When she said it took a lot of work, she wasn't bullshitting. "Who've you got working on this anyhow? Might know'm if they ever drop by the shop for things."

"You've got time," Doc answered, looping one of he charms around a finger and raising it up curiously. He'd had a momentary fear that they'd repel him, burn him, do something unpleasant, but they looked just like little keychains. "As for wardings, I'll talk to my people later, maybe send them by to talk with you." He had to consider Maddie's question about who was handling them, though he'd never heard Jocelyn mention this place. "You familiar with the Laurent family at all?" he asked as an answer, figuring that if he'd dug up details easily enough, Maddie just might know. They'd seemed pretty prestigious in the world of established witches, after all.

Maddie shook her head. "Not many people come in here spoutin off last names, got a first one for me?" she asked. That was more doable. And she'd been out of the loop for quite a long time, so she was very unlikely to know lines unless they went as far back as hers had, and normally she'd know protectors, not witches. So, the name didn't mean anything to her.

"Jocelyn Laurent," Doc said, feeling only a momentary pang of paranoia. Nothing about this had him on edge, after all, what harm could there be? hell, if Maddie was so willing to help, maybe she'd be willing to work with Jocelyn on getting her technique back up to snuff and helping her move away from the use of black magic. It still worried Doc, but all he could do right now was caution Jocelyn about it. "She's been out of practice lately, but I'm hoping she can make up for that quickly."

That sparked up recognition, and Maddie sat up straighter. "Jocelyn? Pretty little thing, dark hair, a little over eager at times?" she asked. "Does black magic, mostly." she added. "That her? Met her the other night." she said, since she'd had dinner with the girl. Small world. Though she was kind of under the impression that Jocelyn wasn't really that well versed in white magic. Which might mean getting proper things in place would be an issue.

"Ah the joy of small-town living," Doc said with a grin, nodding, "That's her exactly. She said she had some background in white magic, and I'm hoping to sort of shift her focus. The dark stuff's got a habit of biting you. She a regular in here?" It was curious to think that they already knew each other, but in a good way. If Maddie was actually as knowledgable as she claimed, and she knew Jocelyn? Maybe she'd be willing to help out regularly, at least enough to help Doc's crew get prepared.

"No. Just met her the other night. My fiance set up a dinner with she and some friends've ours." she said. "But we got to talking a little about magic. Said bits 'bout black magic and the like. which I don't know if you know, but that's a bit dangerous to mess 'round with. Could be helpful, don't get me wrong, but it's something you need a strong will to handle well. And you still have to be careful with the stuff." Maddie said. Fair warnings weren't bad to give out, especially if the guy didn't know that much about magic.

Her warning just backed up what Doc already knew, and his smile dimmed a touch in consideration. "Oh I know, I've seen it before," he explained, "May not use that sort of thing myself, but I've got experience with what it's capable of." He'd been on both ends in the past, seeing both the usefulness of black magic and the consequences. He'd hunted witches, years earlier, and a skilled one was as dangerous as anything else. Which was to say very. "She seems to know the risks, but that doesn't mean I'm not on my toes."

Nodding, Maddie accepted that. "Best you keep that in mind." she said. "I can get together warding components for you if you want her to practice. The other spell, that'll take me a while." She stood up and started going through the shop, placing things in bags for him. "What it would be would be a sanctuary type spell. Means you won't have holes. It'd treat everyone like a vampire, like they all need an invite, but once invited, they can come in. But that'll blanket keep people out, and'll be much more effective than specific wardings."

He looked impressed when she said that, eyebrows raising. Doc had seen effects like what Maddie was describing, but never from witchcraft. "And you wrote this yourself?" he asked thoughtfully, "I'd never thought white magic was capable of that, really. Saw some similar tricks in my day, though, so it's not outside the realm of possibility." It was just a lesson, if she was on the level. Witchcraft might take longer, but it had some powerful results apparently.

"Wow, really now, tellin me what I just told you is actually possible?" Maddie shot at him, sarcasm heavy in her tone. "How generous of you. Yeah, it's possible. And yeah, I wrote it. Took me a damn long time, but I've got it down." She was needled slightly by the 'saw some similar tricks' thing. And then her mouth went with that. "And they aren't 'tricks'. They're spells, they're rituals, they're heavy bloody work, have some respect."

"Didn't mean it as disrespect, honestly," he said with a shake of his head, "Just that I've seen similar results through different avenues of power. Knew some people back in my younger days, willworkers if you've ever heard of them, they had barriers in place like what you're describing." Doc felt a little chagrined that what he'd meant as just an observation had apparently been offensive, but he couldn't help it if she took offense where none was meant. "So no, I'm not knocking your arts. I'm just saying I'm impressed because I've only ever heard of what you're describing in non-witchcraft ways."

She looked slightly mollified at that, and went back to putting things into bags for him. "Willworkers, heard'vem, never met one." she said. She'd met all sorts of types, but she'd died when she was eighteen. She'd seen more types, but her areas of concentration were with individuals, so they were limited. Plus there'd been the dead thing. Now, she was back to the flesh and all, but that didn't mean she got out a lot. She ran the shop from home, and tried not to do any heavy lifting so she didn't strain herself and distress the baby.

Debating it for a minute, Doc eventually flashed a little tooth in his smile and nodded. "Since we're being nice and honest on things right now? Now you have," he told her, figuring he wouldn't mind being someone's first exposure to his kind. He wasn't the epitome of them, far from it, but Doc had done okay in his life. "And if I had more time, I'd probably be able to handle what we're talking about. But then if I did, I wouldn't be here and that'd honestly be unfortunate. You strike me as someone it's good to know of, Maddie."

She arched a brow. "Yeah?" she asked. "Good to know." she added, about the willworker thing. She wasn't entirely clear what they were capable of. "If you can do what we're talking about, why were you here lookin for piss-poor wards?" she asked. "Or did you not think've that kind of angle?" she asked, putting a few more things into the bag before she brought it back over to the countertop. "And I can be good to know." she agreed. She could. If she couldn't handle something, she knew other people. Billy was amazing if he could get into dreams. The wolf was...well. The wolf. Then there were the kids, though she wouldn't really be handing out any information on either of them. But she did have a pretty solid network of useful people around.

He considered just what to say there, how much he was really comfortable with explaining, and eventually shrugged a little. "It comes down to time constraints, really," he explained, "You said you needed time for a decent job? So do I. unfortunately I'm heading out of town for a little while, and I'd feel better knowing that my concerns were already being tended to." She didn't need to know about the rules he lived by of non-intervention, or the price he paid for serious levying of his own powers. If Doc could get the same results through other people, why not do so? THat approach would give the added benefit of more people he could contact if and when things got strange in town.

Maddie was thinking that the guy hadn't thought about it, and that was why he was in there looking for not so effective things. Really, most people wouldn't think about it. It wasn't a common practice by any means. But if he wanted to play the 'I meant to do that' card, whatever. "Your concerns aren't going to be very well seen to with this stuff." she said, setting the bag on the counter for him and starting to add up the total. "But here you are anyways. And I suppose if you can just whip up your own version when you get back you won't need me." she added. She quoted him the price, which still sounded expensive to her, but then again, when she'd been alive, a gallon of gas had been about ten cents. So really, everything seemed expensive to her.

"There's more to it than that," Doc confessed, digging out his wallet, "Bottom line is that I'd prefer this be handled by someone who has existing rules and guidelines to it. Like you said, it's a ritual, that means it definitely has a structure. So, y'know... ask the experts." Even if he didn't consider that sort of trick to violate his own rules, Doc knew it'd take him days or even weeks of careful concentration to rewrite reality in such a way, if his own abilities were entirely up to the task. Something like what he'd seen at Babylon, he couldn't do; his powers were less esoteric, more direct. "I'll have Jocelyn pop up here in the next few days if you're agreeable to it, she can provide an address. Figure out what it'll cost me, since I'm assuming it'll run far more than this," he added, handing over a car he knew was fed by one of Teddy's accounts.

Maddie rolled her eyes at him. "Look." she said. "You've basically just stood there, and asked me for not so effective things. Then when I suggested what you do need, you basically said oh, well you already thought about that, and you can do it yourself, you just don't have the time. So, why should I do this, when it's a whole lot of effort and time on my part, when you've just played the know-it-all card and are saying you're lazy. Or busy, or whatever, but it's not going to take me any less time than you, really, I can just start on it earlier. You're not winning any points here, lad, just so you're aware. If you really want to play 'anything you can do I can do better' that's all fine and good, but don't play it then ask someone to help out." she said. And weirdly, it was less acidic than she usually said things, but there was still a pointed sort of tone to it.

Doc sighed, wishing he had a few less combative meetings in his life lately, but really? It came with the job, and he brought it on himself. "Okay, one? I freely admitted I didn't know a damn thing about witchcraft, so you can't expect me to ask for the best options. I tried explaining that it sounds like there's some overlap between our talents, and apparently did a shit job. My bad." Shaking his head at himself, he tucked his wallet away and spread both palms out in a neutral sort of gesture before going on. "I'm not looking for a pissing contest, okay? I'm looking to keep my associates safe. When I said 'there's more to it'? That boils down to me having certain... rules. So even if I'm capable of the same idea? My hands are tied. And honestly? I think at best my work would only be similar, not identical. I come from a career where admitting weakness or necessity gets you bent over a bed of nails and fucked, and I'm just looking to avoid that for my friends."

"Well, there's a difference between trying to keep yourself from admitting things everyone in the world's got going on, and arrogance." Maddie said to him. "You came off as arrogant. If you want my help, if you need it, then I can still probably do it. The ritual itself is complicated and takes a lot, but the practicality of it is simple. Anyone who's invited can walk right on past the spell with no problem. Anyone who doesn't can't get in. That's pretty much it. It covers everything, no specific wards needed. Which means it won't mess with people of...alternate lifestyles." she said delicately. Like werewolves, or anyone else that wasn't strictly human. Then she made a bit of a face at her own wording. "That made it sound like I'm gettin on people about who they choose to sleep with. But you know what I mean. I hope. Others." she said, trying to clarify. Wording and generally socially accepted things were so much more complicated nowadays.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Doc assured her with a faint smile, "And sorry for coming off as arrogant. The bearing's an old habit, it's a bigger pain to try and shake than smoking. Your patience is definitely appreciated, Maddie." He really did need to work on this, maybe a week or so off on his own would bring some clarity. "Invite-only? No, I definitely can't swing that, especially not as unobtrusively as I understand your arts to be. But then, I don't really understand in the first place." He could sense Babylon's effects, after all, and the less signals the safe house gave off? The better.

"There'll be some things inside the house and on the grounds but generally, unless you can see magic for some reason, it's not going to be obvious. Your house'll look just like everyone else's." she confirmed. And she'd done the stupid spell a few times in fairly rapid succession, so she knew what she was looking at. "How big an area are we talking?" she asked. Not that it mattered so much, just the bigger the property or the house the more draining it could be. It took longer, though the difference was only in the prep that went into it. If it was a bigger place, then it took longer to write things on walls because there were more walls.

"Not that big," he answered with a slight wave of relief, mentally amending to really consider the line between confidence and arrogance. Doc knew there were plenty of limits to what he could handle, somehow he just didn't seem to work that into his demeanor. If he kept at it, he'd hit a situation that wasn't so easily mended. "It's a two bedroom place, basement, couple hundred feet. One story." And it'd stick out like a sore thumb if he ever tried his own barriers, clogged from every angle with machinery that shouldn't even exist.

Nodding, Maddie quickly thought it over, thinking about what she'd need for a place that size. "Alright, smaller place, it won't take as long, which isn't to say it still isn't going to take me a while, but it won't be as time consuming as a huge place. Did one for a friend of mine who's got a huge property and a house that's practically criminal, and that took ages." She took out a little notebook and started making a few notes. "Can't give you a really pinpointed accurate assessment on how long it'll take, sorry." she said, because witchcraft was not an exact science. Not even close.

Doc shook his head at the apology dismissively, watching Maddie scribble down her notes. "No apology needed, really. And as for the time involved? We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and hope the town doesn't go mad before we do," he told her, "Would you still be game for possibly having Jocelyn take you by there? Or should I just give you the address and a spare key now?" The idea that it would happen was a relief on its' own, a guaranteed safe place the kids and the others could go if things got out of hand, or there was something happening that just needed a waiting period.

"Going with the lass is fine." Maddie said. She could make an effort to be friendly with people! Really. Plus she'd started having a good talk with Jocelyn, but they hadn't been able to continue it because Sophie twitched like she was being electrocuted when anything about magic came up. So, it would give her an opportuinty to talk to the witch without having that restriction.

Another relief, and this one showed in a flash of approval in Doc's eyes. Regardless of his slip-up here, Maddie seemed to have her shit down. And any influence that could steer Jocelyn from her black magic was a good influence, as longas she wasn't also steered towards something more dangerous. "I appreciate it," he said gratefully, "And if there's anything I can do in addition to more conventional payment, you name it. I've got a lot of ears to the ground if you need any information or someone tracked down."

"I'll keep that in mind." Maddie said, not sure she needed information on anything, but she was a woman who understood that things could go south incredibly quickly, and one never knew when that sort of thing would be good to have. So, she was fine with accepting that. It was just flat out intelligent. It didn't quite occur to her to give out a phone number to be contacted by. She still wasn't used to things. And cellphones were something that wasn't ever going to quit bothering her. "Come back if you need anything more." she added.

"I think you'll be seeing me," Doc assured her, nodding and snagging the bag that had been loaded with materials for Jocelyn to work with. Unlike Maddie, Doc was very used to his phone, it had been his lifeline to work for years after all, all the way back to when cellular phones were bricks almost as large as his head. So he was already considering ways to keep in touch, plucking his receipt from the bag and jotting down his number, then sliding it to her. "Secure line, just in case something comes up and you need to get a hold of me. No such thing as too late at night to call, either," he offered.

Maddie took it, not quite understanding what he meant by 'secure line', but figuring it meant something important with the tone he used. "Thanks." she said, looking at it and deciding Billy could have it and put it in his phone. Then if she needed it she could call him, because she had that down well enough. "I appreciate it. Anyways, have a good day, and I'll be seeing...well, Jocelyn soon."

Slinging the bag around his wrist, Doc stepped back to leave the store behind, curious and pleased over what future this place might show him. He'd certainly have plenty to think on while he was gone, that much wasn't undefined in future terms. "You have a good one too, Maddie. Good meeting you, and thanks again. I'm sure I'll see you soon enough," he said, grinning kindly before he turned to leave the store. Now all I've gotta do is pack, tell the kids, and hope work doesn't interfere too much...