The Witch and the Wolf

Who: Jocelyn and Grayson
Where: Babylon, main bar
When: late evening

If nothing it had been a long day. Jocelyn was bleary-eyed from staring at older texts and making notes all day, working dilligently on her task of designing wards for the others. She wasn't usually the type to completely throw herself into her work without breaks as she had today, but a few things had set her off and working was a sufficient distraction from them.

Part of her had been annoyed she didn't wake up to Doc's call in the early hours of the morning, but the message he left her was sweet enough. Well sweet minus the obvious undertone of concern for her well being, which made her feel rather weak. And the news that he planned on bringing in someone else to help with warding the safehouse. There was no denying that hit a serious nerve. She'd been raised doing magic and he had the audacity to bring in someone else to do a big spell and protect the house. She could make the whole thing fucking disappear if she really wanted to, like it never existed. Constantly reminding herself that he knew what was best wasn't alleviating the hurt at her skills being considered sub par any. Rusty? Yes, but she hadn't completely forgotten how to do white magic. At least he missed her though, that was something right? Plus there was no denying she missed him as well.

As night creeped into her room, Jocelyn gave up on studying, changed her shirt and headed downstairs to the main bar. Mostly she wanted a drink, but there was a possibility Grayson would be there tonight and she was supposed to talk to the man (wolf?) anyway.

It had felt like a long shift so far, the time seeming to crawl past sluggishly as it were fighting through honey or thick oil. At least it wasn't too crowded in Babylon that night, which meant he hadn't been rushed off his feet, but that wasn't the point. He was tired, he hadn't slept as well as he normally liked to, and it was making him short-tempered and irritable, as well as frustrated. The spirit or whatever it was in his apartment had either somehow gathered more strength -- he didn't know if that was the right way to describe it -- or its desire for trouble had jumped up a few notches. He'd been awoken by the same sorts of noises as on the first night when it had manifested itself, but he'd soon realised it was getting worse. Increasingly so as time went on, actually. A good portion of the time spent standing behind the bar with his arms crossed on the surface he'd wiped down and cleaned himself, thinking about the escalating activity and just what level it would reach before something big happened. What that something could be, he didn't know, and honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to let it get that far. The problem was, he had no way to stop the ghost from doing what it had been doing.

The rest of his free time had been spent going over and over the message Doc had left on that supplied cell phone. There hadn't been anything ominous in the message, but the words cycled through the werewolf's mind on repeat all the same, again and again and again. He lifted his hands and rubbed them over his face. That happened when he was tired. His brain went wild, running off in random directions and tangent as it pleased. Not having focus and complete control bothered him more than it should, he knew, and he also knew why that was. If he hadn't been a leader in his time, it would have been a mild distraction rather than a point of self-directed aggravation.

Jocelyn was relieved to spot just the person she was looking for leaning against the bar when she got downstairs. Even better, Eris didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. She wasn't exactly avoiding the woman but that didn't mean she was ready to go through the scrutiny of talking to Eris again. Especially with the mood she was in about Doc going behind her back to guard the safe house. "Hey Grayson," she said softly as she climbed onto the bar stool across from him. The poor guy looked exhausted. "You got a beer back there for me?" Resting her chin in her hand she watched him closely. "And when was the last time you slept?"

As often as he had been needed since signing up for employment at Babylon, so to speak, Grayson had worked behind the bar. He didn't mind long hours or numerous shifts and there was little else to occupy his time, even with one of his old pack back in town and essentially in his care once more. That was a relief and a comfort more than anything kind of cause of stress or great concern. Greeting the witch with a genuine smile, and a quiet but amicable, "Hey," in response, he made short work of fetching that beer for her, popping off the cap and setting it down in easy reach for her. A low, almost self-deprecating chuckle rumbled up his throat. "Just a rought night," he told her with a sigh, resettling into his previous position. Business was slow enough that he could do so without ignoring any other customers. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's not terrible. You just look a little more haggard than before." Jocelyn smile amicably and took a sip of her beer. "I can't imagine I look much better," she told him as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "I've been trying to remember spells I haven't used in years." And I'm lonely. She twirled the beer in circles along the bar. "Rough night? Everything ok? I'm supposed to make sure everyone holes up here if there's trouble."

Grayson smiled crookedly at that, quirking his brows a fraction and tipping his head in a 'fair enough' motion that was easily read by anyone paying attention. He would be fine after some more sleep, though he couldn't help but wonder whether or not the ghost would act up again tonight. God, he hoped not. The longer it went on, the more it unsettled him. It was making his wolf side restless. "Spells?" He couldn't help but be curious, though he tempered that curiosity as best he could so as not to sound too keen. "Oh, it was nothing." Wait. If anyone would be able to tell him about ghosts, maybe she was sitting right across from him now. "Actually, it's... okay it's a ghost. I think." He stood up straight and lifted his hands briefly in an action that communicated just how ridiculous he thought that sounded. A werewolf losing sleep because a silly spook was keeping him awake. Almost laughable.

Jocelyn nodded when Grayson asked about spells. "Spells is right. Doc's got me working on wards for you and Kurt, the twins too I guess. Just in case you know?" It was reassuring to see Grayson check himself and actually tell her what was going on. Doc had pushed that they were going to have to force trust faster than any of them normally would, but for some reason Jocelyn had felt that would be easier with Grayson than anyone else. "A ghost?" Jocelyn sounded concerned rather than amused. "At your place? An actual spirit? You've seen it manifested in some way and everything? Did you talk to it?" She didn't know a ton about ghosts, as there were few opportunities to run into them plus she'd heard somewhere that they tend to completely manifest here at Babylon, but she hadn't seen it.

Wards? Grayson decided he wasn't going to ask. It was too likely that the question about clarification would come across as either arrogance or doubt about her skills, and neither were appealing to the werewolf. It would be like Jocelyn doubting his ability to track or fight, and just as he wouldn't appreciate that, she wouldn't appreciate him doubting her skills, even if it was only accidental on his part. Her concern about the ghost didn't exactly reassure him, and his attention was solely on her then; it was a good thing there were no customers, he likely wouldn't have noticed them at that point. "I tried, but it wouldn't respond. I didn't at first, I had no idea what the hell was going on, it was just wrecking my kitchen." Which reminded him, he still needed to replace what had been broken. "Last night it decided to play with the pipes, like it was trying to flood the place."

"Huh," Jocelyn thought out loud, chewing on her lower lip. "That's weird. I think there's a term for that, you know ghosts that just mess with stuff? I can't remember it at the moment." She took another pull on the beer while she considered what was going on. There had been loads of ghost activity since the spirits had all popped up around Halloween. "If it's a big problem we might be able to set something up at your place. Some sort of ward or whatever? I possibly could manage that. It might not be until tomorrow or the day after though." Lucky for Grayson she'd been looking at wards against spirits just before coming down and trying to decide if it was worth the effort. In his case though it might be something nice to have. Especially if he wasn't sleeping. She also made a mental note to bring it up with Doc, which gave her an excuse to try calling him tonight. As of now the ghosts weren't haunting, just visible but if they were causing problems that might be a precursor to bigger issue.

"Poltergeist?" Grayson ventured. "You know, like the movie?" His strong shoulders shrugged; he wouldn't claim to be any kind of expert and for all he knew, he was way off the mark. "If it doesn't clear up on its own, I'll have to take you up on that. I've been told I'm cranky when I don't get enough sleep." There was a smile both in his voice and eyes when he said that, just a faint touch of one on his face. Lycanthropes could be bad enough without having an excuse to be irritable and short with the people around them, especially the dominant ones. Grayson really didn't want to risk anything like his job just because of a ghost, of all things.

"Yes! Poltergeist that's it. Nasty little bastards. I'll look into something, just in case it thinks it's moved in for good." Her bright friendly smile shifted though to something more seductive when he smiled. "Well if it gets terrible you could always sleep here." As soon as the words were out of her mouth her face blanched. Apparently most old habits are much harder to break than one would imagine, and it would seem seducing men came far more naturally than she'd ever assumed. Doc would probably kill her if he could see this moment. Taking a quick sip of beer to cover her own alarm she attempted to back pedal. "I mean, I can't imagine Eris not offering you sanctuary in order to keep her bartender from flying off the handle at patrons." Yea that didn't really cover it up very well and it was obvious she'd for an instant offered to share her bed. Fantastic. Jocelyn dropped her gaze from Grayson and took an interest in the pattern of the wood in the bar while she nursed her drink.

With a nod, Grayson offered Jocelyn a grateful smile. It would help to have the option at least, and just talking it out with someone who wouldn't think him crazy for the mere mention of spooks and spectres was reassuring, not to mention something of a comfort. For what it was worth, he didn't take her words and the smile she said them with to be flirtatious, perhaps in a large part due to the fact that he had caught Doc's scent on Jocelyn so prominently when they had first met, in a way that was unmistakeable. True, not everyone had a wolf's nose to help figure out that kind of thing, and it was information he was keeping to himself, but he felt that his suspicions were justified, all things considered. Not that Jocelyn wasn't attractive, far from it, but Grayson was far too honourable to do or say anything even remotely flirtatious. With a smile that was decidedly calm and understanding, he said to her, "Don't worry, I knew what you meant."

She glanced back up at his words and relaxed at the sight of his smile that either ignored her previous behavior or just moved past it. If Jocelyn hadn't known better she'd assumed he knew about Doc and their outside of work relationship. In return she offered a half smile. "I'm still getting used to it I guess," she offered without any real explanation.

He was moving past it, smoothly and easily. She hadn't meant anything by what she had said, and he knew that. He didn't want to further embarrass her, especially not since he considered her trustworthy and in fact, he would go so far as to label her a friend. Presumptuous, maybe, but already he felt more comfortable with her than he did anyone else he had met that night at the twins' house. "Adapting to any kind of big change is rarely easy," he returned, not intruding on the exact meaning behind her words whilst hinting at a sort of understanding on his part.

"That's an understatement to say the very least. I feel like everything has just been completely turned on top of itself and I'm starting over. Not to mention feeling completely useless in my new situation." Her talks with Doc had alleviated some of her concerns, but sitting across from Grayson like this, knowing what he was, and almost feeling that power radiating off of him, it was hard not to feel fragile again. Though she was feeling the same things he was, a level of comfort that she'd not felt around the others in their motley crew. "What about you?"

Grayson's smile faded somewhat, taking on a quieter, softer quality as he listened, to show Jocelyn that he was listening and wasn't making light of her concerns. When she rounded the question to him, turning it in his direction, the smile dropped off altogether, but not suddenly, rather naturally and steadily as he inhaled slowly, thinking over his response. "Things aren't quite turning out how I expected, I guess." The smile returned briefly. "I'm still getting used to the... scope of the supernatural world. Until I met you, I didn't know witches were real, for one." It sounded so silly coming from a flesh and blood werewolf.

It was Jocelyn's turn to smile, because it did seem silly. "You're a werewolf," she pointed out. "After werewolves and vampires, witches are probably one of the most documented supernaturals in history. If you include false accusations we surpass the other two. It's far easier to accuse someone of being a witch and people believe you than of a vampire or a werewolf." For her though, she'd been raised in a more supernatural-conscious setting: a family of witches with a sordid feud with a vampire. "What did you expect?"

He laughed, nodding his head. "See, I hear it coming from someone else, and it's the most ridiculous thing in the world." How could it be that a werewolf was ignorant to witches and demons and elementals and god knew what else? Shaking his head as if to dislodge the absurdity of his own statement, something that he doubted he could just shake off so easily, he exhaled calmly and met her gaze again. "You know, I'm not even sure." Another faint smile accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders.

Jocelyn's smile brightened at his laughter; it seemed so easy with Grayson. Part of her hoped it would be this easy with the others although she doubted it. "I wasn't sure either, I still felt like that whole evening came out of left field. What's your take on the twins? I couldn't get a good feel off them at all." Plus she was worried they already hated her for reasons not related to work. "I can't figure out Kurt's story either. He seems so...normal?"

At least they had that ease and comfort with each other. If they didn't achieve that with the others, then they could rely on it in one another, and for Grayson, that was enough. Better to have one ally in a group of unknowns than none at all. "I'm in the same boat you are," he told Jocelyn in regards to the twins, once again shaking his head. "Quiet but complicated, that was my impression." The mention of Kurt made him tense a little, only a minute fraction, and once again he drew in a breath as if sinking into thought. "Kurt? I don't know. He's not what he appears to be. That's what my gut tells me." And Grayson trusted his gut, his instincts.

"He seems out of place if you ask me. Like he doesn't belong." She chewed on her lip a little, tilting her head to the side as she thought. "Not like he doesn't belong in the group though. Hell he fits in there more than you and I seem to, no offense, but like he doesn't belong here. There's something...off about him." Watching Grayson carefully while she talked to waited to see his reaction. It had been slight but she thought she'd caught something in regards to Kurt the first time his name had been mentioned, but it wasn't anything more than the type of reaction someone has to something that makes them mildly uncomfortable. That surprised her though, the idea of Grayson being uncomfortable or feeling intimidated by anyone. "And I think complicated doesn't even begin to cover the twins," she tacked on as a side note.

Grayson had gotten the distinct impression that Kurt was the dominant sort. He might not have been a wolf, or a were of any kind, but that was still enough to put him on edge. As a dominant himself, he didn't much like being challenged by anyone who didn't have any right to do so. Kurt had struck him as a man who very much liked to be at the top of the proverbial ladder, a man who liked to be in charge. That had aggravated the wolf. Continued to aggravate the wolf, even now. There was no offence taken at Jocelyn's remark about the man fitting in better than either of them did, and he showed her that with a faint nod as the words left her mouth. "We'll figure it out," he said after a pause. 'We', not 'I'. He firmly believed that she was just as likely to unravel the mystery behind the man as Grayson himself was.

We. She liked that. Since meeting Doc that late night she'd felt like he was the only person who really wanted her around, who felt like she was worth hanging on to, but Grayson was proving her wrong. "Of course we will," she answered reaching out to touch his arm. The gesture was a friendly physical connection, nothing more.