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FourtyTwo
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Alby47
BigPapaBelial
Garth
Eviledd1984
Vampiretwilight
Single MaltIn the Library: Caitlin, Daniel, and Jazrina
Jazrina had been sitting and sipping at her drink. She had been watching people come and go. It looked like only the younger coven members would be attending this party. Jaz sighed as she shifted in her chair. She had seen Delaney come in and waved at her as she made her way over to the table with the drinks. Jaz saw Cait come through the party after visiting the snacks table. She met her eyes and waved back to her with a warm smile. “Hey Cait!” She was happy to return her greeting. Jazrina had just turned to see who else had come in when she heard a commotion near her.
She didn’t have to wait long for the drama to start. Jaz couldn’t believe that the new girl would try to pick a fight on her first night at the coven house with an established member. The fight was vicious and fast. Jaz had stood up planning to intervene but as she started to try and push her way through the crowd all standing around gawking like they were all still in high school, the fight was over.
Jaz noticed all the blood. It didn’t surprise her to see the new girl in bad shape passed out against a wall. Jaz had no sympathy for her. She had sought out trouble and bit off more than she could chew. Delaney was not in much better shape. She was being taken care of by Erin and Serena. Jaz wondered where Carlisle was while this fight was going on. Carlisle came in from the balcony looking pissed with blood on his face. There was obvious tension between him and Lilith. Jaz shook her head thinking she couldn’t complain that this party was dull.
She was very disappointed with how things were going. She wanted to feel like she belonged to the coven and to make friends. She still felt like an outsider except for a few people like Caitlin. She thought this party was supposed to bring the coven together. All she saw were people fighting or ignoring others as they sought oblivion at the bottom of a glass. Jaz went into the kitchen and poured her glass down the drain. She rinsed the cup and drank a full glass of water before throwing the cup away.
Maybe she needed to find a quieter spot than trying to meet people next to where the snacks were. That hadn’t been her brightest idea. She thought it was a great place to mingle as a lot of people would go through there. She had already witnessed one fight and the aftermath of whatever had happened to Carlisle. Anger seemed to be the prevailing emotion in the area from the looks on the faces she had just left behind. She decided to make her way to the library. The coven library was supposed to be one of the best repositories on magic in the state. Maybe she could find a book to help her learn more about her powers.
Jazrina walked down the corridor till she found the heavy carved wooden doors to the library. The space had antique wooden tables set up with chairs for studying. A few more comfortable arm chairs were spread around the space for solitary reading. Shelves lined with books, some of them fragile with age. The air in the library seemed to smell of dust and furniture polish. It made her sneeze. She pulled a tissue from a box on the entry table and wiped her nose in a ladylike manner. She threw the tissue in the trash can and began to look around. The lights were already on so maybe someone else was here. At least it was quieter. She could still hear the music and feel the beat pulsing from the main room but it was a dull roar now.
After another near-traumatizing car ride with Miles and Carlisle, Daniel waved goodbye to everyone as he headed home to rest up before the party. Daniel didn’t have many clothes intended to look nice, so after he shower he just put on the same button down and jeans he had on earlier. His wardrobe was meant to be functional, not fashionable.
Checking his watch Daniel saw there was plenty of time before the party. At that moment a thought occurred to him, the drinks were probably just going to be spirits and mixers. Daniel could deal with that but there were things he’d rather drink if he was going to be getting drunk. So he hopped in the car and drove over to the liquor store to grab his supplies. The drive was pretty short, Tanner wasn’t exactly a huge town. But Daniel put on a podcast which he continued to listen to while he shopped. The hosts were talking about something they dubbed “The Yuba Incident,” and despite them being goofballs the topic was pretty interesting.
When Danny was done his shopping he had a couple 4 packs of vodka mudshakes (chocolate, obviously), a 24 case of Twisted Tea in 4 different flavors, and a bottle of absinthe to take shots with anyone who was brave enough to try it with him. Daniel didn’t drink often but when he did he had two rules. 1) Make it taste good, and 2) Go hard. No point in drinking all those empty calories if you weren’t going to at least get drunk. Satisfied with his haul, Daniel went home, set up his drinks on the kitchen table in a neat four by eight grid, with the absinthe on the end, and proceeded to watch some anime until it was time to head back to the coven house.
The time came and Daniel walked over, not wanting to worry about his car at the end of the night when he would inevitably be too drunk to drive. He walked in the house and gave some polite nods to people who happened to look his way. Checking out the refreshments table it was exactly as he thought, basically just spirits and mixers. With a wave of his hand Danny conjured the first of his mudshakes from his kitchen table back home to his hand. This specific spell was basically second nature to him at this point and hardly used any energy.
Daniel parked himself against a wall and observed the party as he drank his mudshake. He wasn’t even sure why he came, well that was a lie, he came because his mysterious contact told him to keep on eye on Carlisle, who was currently outside. If it wasn’t for that he probably would have stayed home, the party scene was never his thing. Delaney had dragged him along sometimes before he left for school, but it always took convincing. Speaking of Delaney, Danny noticed her across the room, and the new girl who arrived with Kolby.
Aaand they were fighting. Daniel did not want to deal with this, ”not my circus not my monkeys,” he muttered to himself as he swiftly left the room in search of somewhere more peaceful. He found himself in the coven library, the lights were off so he guessed no one else was around. He switched them on and wandered around a bit. The music could still be heard but it was very muted, Daniel thought it sounded a lot better this way. Maybe while he was here he could find a book to help him with his shadow clone jutsu (although he’d never tell anyone that’s how he thinks of it).
He checked the aisles and eventually found a book that looked promising. As he pulled it out he heard a sneeze from the library entrance. Heading back over there he saw a girl in the entryway. ”Hey, uh, Jazrina, right? Not sure if you remember me from school, I’m Daniel.” He put the book down on one of the tables and finished his drink, dismissing the empty bottle back to his house and conjuring the next in line. He noticed Jazrina didn’t seem to have a drink, ”you want one?” He held out the bottle he had just conjured towards her.
The dust had cleared in the wake of the brawl, and Cait had re-centered herself. She stumbled a bit under the combined assault of both the alcohol and THC, but caught herself before falling altogether. She took a peek over her shoulder into the dining room; the party was still going strong. Lilith, still seeming intoxicated, had returned from the veranda, fumbling around by the snacks and drinks. Nope. Not a good idea. So much as Cait loved a good house party, the arguing and fighting was a push too far for her.
She started thinking of a quiet area of the house to retreat to. The basement usually would have worked, but after the explosion from before, it was better off not being a hangout spot. She thought of just going back up into her little boarding room, but if she was going to do that, she might as well just skip out on the party for the night; can't have that.
That was when she noticed Jaz passing through. Figuring to catch up more thoroughly with her, Cait decided to follow her down the corridor. The trek ended with Jaz entering the library. Thinking it was as good a place as any, Cait followed suit not too far behind. She entered, closing the door shut behind her, and drifted, glassy-eyed in Jaz's wake. "Bless you, she said, after Jaz sneezed. Then she jumped at the sound of another voice from nearby.
Cait poked her head around and stood next to Jazrina so as not to stay hidden. She gave the young man that had just come out a quick wave.
Jazrina had stepped further into the library after throwing the tissue away. She was looking around trying to decide where to start her search when she heard footsteps coming her way. She jumped as she heard Cait’s voice from behind her. “Bless You”. Jazrina had just turned to greet her friend with a smile and a small wave before turning towards where she had heard the footsteps, curious about who else had come to the library.
She smiled warmly at Daniel as he appeared coming towards her. Jaz felt Cait move up next to her. Jazrina was trying not to gape as Daniel strode towards her. She couldn’t help but admire the easy way he moved and the interplay of muscles accented by his movement. She had a crush on him in high school. She thought he was very attractive. He had only improved since high school. He obviously still worked out and kept himself in shape. She tried not to let self doubts and the insecurities learned from other people taint her conversation with Daniel. Her experience with dating was bad. She had trust issues. They were well earned but it made it hard to open up to others or to not let those bad experiences color her expectations from someone new.
Jazrina was stuck in her head as she was telling herself to be kind and play it cool. He was being nice. Her smile got bigger and her eyes widened as he introduced himself. She couldn’t help thinking, He remembers me! Cait’s movement next to her gratefully pulled her out of it.
She was probably grinning like a crazy loon. She cleared her throat before responding. “I do remember you from school Daniel. I believe you were in the class behind me.” Inwardly she cringed. Great remind him that you are a year older than he is. She rambled a little bit nervous about what he might think of her. “Thank you for the offer but I think I will pass. I had to get out of the mainroom. I think I am done drinking for the night.I was never one for scenes like those.” She scrunched up her nose in distaste. She waved a hand towards Cait. “Have you met Cait yet?”
Dan was glad to see Jazrina smile at him, she seemed to be having a good time, despite her comments about her experience with the party thus far. ”Ya, between the fight and the general inability to hear it’s not really my scene either. But I figured it would be rude not to come after Carlisle set it all up.” Daniel uncapped his drink and downed about half of it as Jazrina introduced Cait.
”You know, I don’t think I have, good to meet you Cait, I’m Daniel.” He was about to offer her a drink as well but she looked really out of it. She had definitely had her fair share of alcohol and possibly other substances already. Which was impressive if nothing else, considering the party had basically just started. ”You doing alright Cait? You seem….” Daniel wasn’t exactly sure what adjective to use to describe how she seemed. Daniel shook his head, ”Never mind, enjoying the party?” If her mental state was anything to go by she was probably having a great time.
Not finding her words immediately, Cait returned Daniel's greeting with a bro nod. "M-me?" She responded to the question of her state with a slight hiccup. "Yeah. I'm straight; I mean not like… I'm all up for parties. But that shit got too Jersey Shore for my taste, ya'know?" She fell silent, and began shifting her head, looking around the library. "I never spent much time in here before I left," she resumed, shifting the conversation away from the party. She gestured broadly at the library.
Jazrina took a deep breath mentally telling herself to snap out of it. She looked closer at Cait as she heard Daniel ask her if she was all right. Cait did look a little out of it. She shook her head and chuckled as she heard Cait hiccup. Cait had always been somewhat of a wild child. It was no surprise to Jaz that she had already been in the alcohol and whatever else was passing around this party. She laughed at her description of the fight. Jaz snort chuckled at her Jersey Shore comment. Jaz thought to herself more like a wrestling smackdown extravaganza on pay per view.
She didn’t really want to talk about the fight either. It had made her uncomfortable and simply highlighted the challenges faced by the coven. It didn’t really matter who took over the coven, they had their work cut out for them. This party had shown just how divided and immature the younger coven members were about their responsibilities. That was why Jaz had left that part of the house to begin with. She smiled at Daniel once more. At least the evening was looking up.
“I have heard of the library before. This is the first time I have been here too. I thought maybe I could find some books that would help me train my powers better. My parents did most of my training but they are not as powerful as I am.” She shrugged as it was a simple truth. “I can’t help feeling like there is more I can learn if I trained the right way or knew it was possible. I have never really taken the time to explore my abilities fully.”
Jazrina let her eyes linger on Daniel as she gave him a sultry smile. “I would say my evening is looking up. What are you doing here Daniel?” Jaz waved a hand around to indicate the library. Jaz was trying out her weak flirting skills. She prayed that she was coming across as interested and alluring, not desperate and crazy. She hoped Cait would make a good wing person.
Was Jazrina…looking at him? Obviously she’d look at him to talk, but was she looking in a way that was implying something? Daniel was never good at picking up hints from people, especially girls trying to imply they were interested. Besides, Daniel didn’t really consider himself boyfriend material. He was fit, which some girls appreciated, but he’d never been able to hold down a relationship for long.
He had another swig of his drink, which was quite easy considering it was basically a booze milkshake, and answered her question. ”Well a library seemed like a great place to get away from all the craziness out there,” he grabbed the book he pulled off the shelf before the girls arrived before continuing. ”My magic style is basically all self taught, Conjuration doesn’t seem to be very prevalent in these parts. So any time I can’t just figure out what it is I need to do I come here. Right now I’m working on conjuring a shadow copy of myself that can act independently from me. Right now it can either copy my moves exactly or just wander around aimlessly.”
Daniel realized he was going on way too much and they probably didn’t care. He coughed awkwardly and finished his drink, dismissing the bottle back to his house with a small flourish so he didn’t have to keep holding it. ”Anyway, I could always help you with training Jaz, if you wanted. My long term goal is to be a teacher so I like to think I’m kind of okay at it.” He gave her a smile then realized he shortened her name, that may come off as a bit too friendly, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. ”Is it okay if I call you Jaz?”
Jazrina’s eyes lit up with interest as Daniel explained why he was in the library. She was really impressed that he had taught himself. She was impressed as he casually demonstrated his power by sending the bottle away. Daniel called her Jaz which was her nickname that most of her friends and family called her. Hearing him call her by the more intimate name felt good as warmth slid through her at hearing it. Jaz reached and took his hand briefly giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Jaz is what all my friends and family call me. Of course you can call me Jaz. I hope we will be at least friends.” She gave him a bright smile hoping her comment was to the point.
Daniel was one of the first coven members that she had met that talked about how they learned to control their powers. Jaz had been diligent about what she had learned but her teachers who had been her parents were so much weaker than she was. She had learned all they had to teach her years ago. She had not really focused on trying to learn about her magic while she was away at college.
The one thing she had to keep up with was her yoga and meditation. Being off balance could cause her elemental magic to manifest on its own in some truly embarrassing ways. For her college had been about self care and coming to terms with herself. It had been her journey of self discovery and settling into the type of person she wanted to be. Jaz bit her bottom lip as Daniel demonstrated his power once more by sending the bottle away.
She had never really discussed with any of the younger members how magic worked for her. She had never really had the opportunity or felt like she could. Jaz appreciated that Daniel seemed laid back and easy going. She felt he was being genuinely himself with her. “That’s really interesting. I didn’t know anyone else had challenges using their magic. My magic is all based on Invocation and Enchantment. My strongest skills are in working with the elements. Working with the elements came naturally to me.”
She demonstrated by holding out a hand and pulling water from the air to form a small ball of water over the palm of her hand. She made the ball of water bounce a few times in her hand before tossing it up in the air to disperse it as a mist. “I have found that if I feel out of balance such as being emotionally upset. It makes my elemental powers harder to control. I have a daily routine of yoga and meditation that helps me control my powers better.”
Jazrina shrugged as she learned towards Daniel once more. “I never thought of working to actively train my powers by trying new things. My parents had been all about controlling what came naturally to me. Maybe I can find some books that will talk about how invocation and enchantment manifest for others and try them?”
Jaz turned to Cait. She was feeling bad thinking she was excluding her friend from the conversation. “What about you Cait? Do you have quirks with your magic? How have you trained so far?” Her eyes flashed back towards Daniel briefly before focusing her attention on Cait.
"Huh?" Cait turned around. She had been perusing a nearby bookshelf in a curiosity that she was surprised by herself. She hadn't spoken about her magic with anyone in a while; not since she told her parents and the council that she was happy with what she had learned before college. "Well they said I have a form of Transmutation. she pulled out a nearby chair and flopped down into it. "It's more like Telekinesis. Like, moving shit with my mind. I can levitate a bit too. Then there was a time I had to spar with the others; I ended up throwing a blast of… well I'm not sure what it was… it hit the wall though; punched right through the plaster. That's…
She pulled the joint and light from her pocket. "Please don't tell anyone, she said, looking at Daniel and Jaz. If Carlisle or the council knew she was lighting up in the library they'd probably throw a fit. She lit up, took her hit, exhaling away from the other two, and quickly stuffed out the end and crammed the joint and lighter back into her pocket.
"That's when I decided 'no more.' That's where I drew the line. Coulda broken someone's nose. Nah. I didn’t want it. Not like that. If i had kept going," she shrugged, cutting herself off. "I've just been keeping up with the basics since. Stuff that helps me. Stuff I can do without really doing anything."
Jaz took his hand and smiled, confirming the nickname was perfectly fine. ”Great, I’d love to spend some more time together.” Daniel was glad Jaz was so friendly, she was also kinda cute, but he wasn’t exactly looking for a relationship. Just being friends and reestablishing himself in Tanner was fine for him at the moment.
Daniel listened as Jaz explained her abilities and experience with her magic. Invocation type magic was a lot more flashy than his comparatively simple style. He used to be jealous of others who had flashier spells, but now Dan has grown in to his magic and found a style that worked for him.
Next it was Cait’s turn to talk about her magic. She didn’t seem to care much about it. Daniel could relate to that, he wasn’t all that in to magic when he was younger. It almost felt like cheating in a way, like he had an unfair advantage if he ever used it. That’s why he wanted to be strong, so he could protect people without magic. Obviously that changed, and also it seemed Cait’s distaste of magic stemmed from a mix a trauma and laziness.
”I won’t tell anyone about the weed,” Daniel assured her, “but do you really not want to learn to control whatever that blast was? If it were me I’d be concerned about accidentally unleashing that power unintentionally. My offer to help Jaz with training also extends to you. To me it sounds like your powers were more than you could handle and you just decided you’re better off without them. He faced towards Jaz and continued, ”and Jaz, it sounds like you’ve mostly trained very formally without much experimentation. If you like that then more power to you, but personally I find experimenting and maybe even making some mistakes is the best way to learn.”
Daniel stopped, then realized how he sounded and rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward laugh, ”heh, sorry about that, kind of went in to teacher mode there. Didn’t mean to lecture either of you, I get a bit passionate about things sometimes. Daniel summoned another drink for himself, a can of twisted tea raspberry. He wasn’t sure if the drinking was making his passionate nature better or worse. But he did know he bought all those drinks to get drunk, and he wasn’t there yet.
Jazrina tilted her head to one side as she listened to Cait and Daniel. A look of concern came over her face as Cait shared her story. “I have to agree with Daniel. It sounds like your powers scare you. I understand why. Mine can be scary if I don’t control them. If I don’t use them they tend to manifest on their own. I didn’t really have a choice about learning the basics.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment as her eyes met Daniel’s. “I think there is some truth to what you think Daniel. I feel like I have just scraped the surface. I have the basics down but I have never really pushed anything outside of what I already know how to do.” She shook her head and gave them a rueful smile. “It sounds like we all have things we could work on. Maybe we can help one another? Would there be anything we could do to help you train Daniel?”
She turned to face Cait once more, a serious expression on her face. “Cait, why don’t we all train together. Maybe we can help you feel safe while you learn the extent of your powers and how to control them? I put up elemental shields around things. Maybe together we can all train more safely. Would that help you feel better about your powers?” Jaz waited to hear what they thought.
Perhaps it was because of the high, but Caitlin found herself hanging onto Daniel’s words. At the moment it was hard to wade through, and whether she wanted to take him up on his offer was up in the air; with Jaz echoing Daniel’s sentiments, the idea started to seem easier though. When all was said and done though. “I supposed it couldn’t hurt,” she said, kicking up out of her seat. “I just… I’m not sure there’s much point in working to control an ability I don’t plan on using. But I guess… if it'll help with things. She looked towards the door into the corridor. ”You think things have settled any out there? Wouldn’t be much of party if we weren’t there to live it up.
She stopped and looked at Daniel as she started to make her way out. ”Any chance you could magic me up a beer? I spilled my drink when the cats started fighting.”
”Sometimes training can just be for your own sake, even if you don’t plan on using it, Daniel said somewhat sagely, ”I don’t plan on fighting anyone but I still know how to defend myself.” Danny down the rest of his drink and dismissed the can as Cait brought up things probably having settled down in the main room, then she asked him for a beer.
”Unfortunately I can’t make beer, I can only conjure the drinks I left at home,” with a wave of his hands he summoned two of each of the types of twisted tea; regular, half and half with lemonade, raspberry, and peach, along with a couple mudshakes.
”This is all I’ve got for options, but take your pick, he turn to Jaz, ”you can have one too if you’ve changed your mind.” Daniel conjured a peach twisted tea to his hand then dismissed all the drink the girls didn’t take.”Oh right, before we go back we should exchange contact info, Daniel took out his phone as he said it, ”we can figure out a good time to get together for training. Or, y’know, anything else,” he eyes Jaz as he said that last part. This was his bit of hope and suspicion that maybe Jaz was being really friendly for reasons other than her just being a nice person.
”Well with that done I say we’re good to head back,” as they headed back Daniel had to steady himself a bit, using the wall for support at times. ”Ya I should really eat something, drinking on an empty stomach is probably not the best idea.”
Jazrina couldn’t help but feel like training or talking about her powers was uncomfortable for Cait. She knew Cait well enough to let it go. She smiled as Cait asked if we thought it had calmed down out there. Jaz shook her head before answering. “Well I certainly hope so. The only way to find out is to go check. And you're right, it's supposed to be a party.”
Jaz had been very discouraged by the party when she had arrived. The people who were supposed to be their new leaders so far had only presented themselves to her in a bad light. In their defense, she had been late and had missed the meeting. She was disappointed that the vibe of the party came across as a frat house party. Every frat house party she had been to, seemed geared towards getting people drunk or hooking up. It was not what she would have expected for a Coven House party. She couldn’t help but think that she wouldn’t mind hooking up with Daniel. She felt her cheeks color slightly at the thought.
Her eyes trailed over Daniel’s fit form as he was offering them a drink. She was distracted by her own attraction to Daniel. Cait’s voice asking him to conjure her a beer helped bring her out of her inner thoughts. Jazrina let Cait choose her poison first. She looked over the choices in Daniel’s hands that were left. She met Daniel’s eyes with a grin as her hand caressed over his as she took possession of a Spiked Peach Tea. “Thank you for having something a little lighter than was on offer at the party. These are some of my favorites.”
Jaz released his hand as she took the drink. She brushed her hair behind her ear as Daniel suggested they trade phone numbers. Her face lit up at his comment. She hastily pulled her phone out as they all shared numbers with each other. They all left to go back towards the party. Cait and Daniel both seemed a little buzzed already. She laughed at Daniel’s comment about needing to eat some food. “Did they have any food other than chips? I think that was all I saw on the table.” She would lend a supporting arm to whichever companion needed it to keep from falling to the floor. Jaz was amused as she had gone to the library to escape the party and now she was excited to see where it would lead.