lovelylight | Into the woods to mind the wolf, to heed the witch.

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Into the woods to mind the wolf, to heed the witch.

The studio apartment she's found for such a steal of a price is crappier even than Lexi could have imagined it to be. Which makes sense, given that the building appears situated in the less wealthy section of town. It ought to depress her, but instead, Lexi finds herself delighted by the process of reinventing the space into her own. She spends most of the day cleaning and restoring the parts that need to be restored. She only gets around to moving her stuff in and unpacking by the middle of the afternoon. She's covered in sweat, dressed as she is in her corset and fishnets. She laughs to herself as she catches sight of herself in the mirror. She is the very definition of hot damn mess.

She gives up for a bit when she loads her box of dolls and Beanie Babies into the corner. She still has to sort and organize them, and that is going to take ages. And Lexi, with her current bout of inspiration, doesn't have ages. She has the strongest desire for iced tea and something sweet. Preferably something minty and sweet.

So she abandons her moving project in favor of seeking out refreshment from what seems to be the place to be in town: The Quill. It doesn't take her long to get there, even as people occasionally block her path, turning to gawk at her state of dress. It doesn't bother her in the least. She always does enjoy making people stare, anyway.

After this, she promises herself as she pushes through the doors of the Quill, she will text Rian, and even Wren. They still have no idea that she's arrived, after all.

She grins at that prospect, making her way over to the counter to place her order.

[OOC: Open to all! Lexi's first post. Find her at the Quill; she's very much a people person, so she will be delighted to say hello. Feel free to recognize her if your pup is an Enfants fan. :3]

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"You're right, no one does." Which is why he's so sorry he never had the courage to tell them. If only he'd known about Wren. Hell, if Wren had only known about Wren.

Figuring that it's best to show her, not just tell, Rian holds out one slender hand. "Give me your hand, please."

"My hand?" She arches an eyebrow, but goes along with his request. Not that she could ever deny Rian anything; she still remembers the look on his face when she found him in New York. She'd known he'd had a hard life, but he also still managed to appear like a puppy in spite of it. A kicked puppy. "I can't say this is the oddest thing you've asked of me. Remember that time in New York with the glitter and the rubber ducks?"

She grins, thinking of it. They'd all been high as kites, and painting ducks with glitter had seemed the height of entertainment at the moment in time.

There's a lot she doesn't miss about the past, but she does deeply miss those sorts of times.

"Oh I remember," he says, letting himself have a laugh. "I don't think they'll ever get glitter out of that bus."

But now it's time to get serious and Rian lays both his hands on hers, activating his psychometry. With careful concentration, he lays his powers in through her skin, transmitting the history of witchcraft in his family and the powers he'd hidden from the band because he thought they'd never believe him.

He doesn't tell her about Wren's powers, just that he knows. That's for Wren to tell.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No, they definitely won't," she agrees, delighted at the sound of his laughter. It's been too long since she last heard it. She's missed the noise of their happiness; the shouting and the laughter. Her life's been too quiet without it.

Lexi feels as Rian imparts his knowledge through their connected hands; she receives the information about his magic and the history of it running in his family.

"Holy shit, dude," she says. "That's incredible!"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," she tells him, her expression turning serious. "I wish you would have felt comfortable enough to tell me sooner, but ultimately, they're your powers, and you should be the one to decide when you let people know about them. Always."

Her reaction takes him by surprise and Rian leans back, wrapping both hands around Sophie's middle again. "You're not mad?" he asks, voice one of dull surprise.

"You're...not...I just did magic, Lex. Magic is real and you're not..."

Once again, Rian thinks of how fully he's underestimated this woman.

"Mad?" Lexi gives him a look as though he's just asked her if she's lost her mind. "Rian, why would I be mad? I've known about magic for awhile now. I've made friends with witches and sirens. Mostly after the band fell apart, but even then, I've known people. How could I be angry at you for simply being yourself?"

She wonders if she ought to tell Rian about the time an angry, former fan cursed her, but she decides against it. For the time being.

With a sigh and a smile, she reaches and squeezes his hands.

"You don't have to worry about this stuff with me, I promise."

Rian takes a look at her and bursts out laughing, shaking his head at all of it. "As always, I have deeply underestimated you, Lex," he says. A little more at ease, he weaves their fingers together and swings their joined hands from side to side. He should just know by now that Lexi knows best.

"I didn't know many witches outside my family until I came here. I thought, you know, who would believe me? I wouldn't have."

But then, he's always been the cynical leg of the triangle. Lexi was always open-minded and a bit of a fairy all her own.

"Are you ever going to learn, Rian?" She grins, letting out a long breath and shaking her head. "I always keep my best tricks hidden up my sleeves. You know that." She swings their hands with Rian, delighted by the simple motions. She gives him one of her patented, Lexi looks. "It takes a hell of a lot more than magic to scare me away."

"Well, luckily for you, I'm an optimist and fond of strange things," she tells him. "Even on tour, though? You never met witches on tour at all?"

Lexi is all-too human, but she likes to believe that fact serves as her own magic.

No. Lex should know that by now. Rian will always think he's an island unto himself and–despite knowing that Lexi is always right–that he knows best. It never fails to bite him in the ass and he always fails to learn.

"Are you calling me strange?" he says, a token protest.

"I met a few. And I met a lot of people who thought they were witches."

The beauty of the three them is that, in their own, individual ways, they all prove stubborn as ox. Lexi, in trying to get both Wren and Rian to appreciate the good in life; Wren refusing to see what's right in front of him. And Rian trying to convince himself that nothing can be forgotten or forgiven.

"The strangest," she confirms with a nod of her head and a smile. "Why do you think I adore you so much?"

"Yeah, I've probably met more people who pretend to be witches than actual witches, but I've definitely slept with my fair share of them," she muses.

At their best, it had made them creative and complementary, filling in the spaces like the gears of a beautiful machine. At their worst, it had made them recalcitrant, everyone determined to outlast the other for sheer stubbornness. It had meant they were spectacular and sometimes miserable.

"Oh just you wait," Rian promises. "There's more strangeness in this little town than in all of Boston."

They must be on a ley line or something. Soon Lexi will have more fun than she can stand.

When they all worked together, their collective stubbornness could drive them to great heights; pushing towards better lyrics and melodies, fueling the energies of the crowds they were playing for. At their worst, it drove them towards bitter, drug and alcohol-inspired messes. Ultimately, that balance of brilliance and disaster defined them as a band.

"Really, now?" Lexi replies with an arched brow. "More strangeness in one little town than in any city? Now this I have to see."

Maybe the strangeness can help her settle, for once in her life.

"It's in the name, my love," he says, gesturing to the street outside the window. "Siren Cove is full of sirens and witches and all sorts of nonsense besides." In this direction, he can almost see the shore or he thinks he can. There are probably sirens out there right now, doing their thing.

Shrugging, he waves his own fingers a little, alluding to his own powers. "I think we're on a ley line or there's a long lost dead princess from Cornwall buried here or something."

"And here I was thinking that the name was just some fairy tale nonsense," Lexi says, shaking her head. Such an obvious name seems as though it would repel actual sirens, witches, or anyone associated with magic. But then, maybe people in this town don't worry about keeping their magic hidden.

"Long lost dead princess from Cornwall?" She arches an eyebrow at him. "Hmm. Maybe I'll use that on my album."

"Oh no, you missed the fairy tale nonsense. That was two months ago." Rian scoffs, shaking his head. "My ma would have been proud. I turned into Tam Lin."

He's about to correct himself, since he doesn't actually know any legends about Cornish princesses but what Lexi says catches his attention more. "You're recording again, Lexi?" he asks, excited.

"Wait. You're shitting me," Lexi stares at him. Literal fairy tales? That definitely catches her by surprise. Somehow, magic and its existence makes sense, but not actual fairy tales. "You turned into that poem? For real?"

Apparently she arrived at a better time than most.

"I am," she tells him with a nod, grinning. "It's taking the shape of a concept album, in my head. Like a novel in musical form."

"There are some incredibly powerful witches here," Rian says. Powerful, crabby, and frankly a bit awful. Really, it should be a given for a family named Grimhilde and equipped with a spooky manor in an already spooky town in Maine, Stephen King Central.

"Oh yes? Please keep talking because that sounds vastly more wonderful than ridiculous magic...stuff."

Maybe he should cut down on the language in front of his baby. At least while in public.

"So try to not piss off the neighbors then, got it," Lexi says, shaking her head. She supposes she can't be surprised, in a town called Siren Cove. Still. People with powers that could change an entire population into a fairy tale land. Jesus.

"I haven't quite decided the direction of the story, but I know the main character is named Angelique, and now I'm thinking she might be a pixie," she muses. "You know me. I kind of dabble in everything."

He doesn't have the heart to tell her that–with some of the families here–Lexi's being human is enough to predispose them against her. It strikes him as a load of bullshit, especially after the mess he'd grown up in. Clannish protectiveness had kept Southie balls deep in trouble and eventually killed three of his siblings.

"I do. Do you have anything written down yet?" he asked hopefully. "I'd love to see it!"

Lexi is blissfully ignorant of the inner workings of Siren Cove so far; she only recently arrived in town, after all. And she's perfectly fine keeping it that way. She's really here to reunite with her favorite people and to begin again after all the bullshit in Seattle.

"I haven't gotten that far yet, I'm afraid," she says with a rueful smile. "I've got some notes, but they're back at my apartment."

"You've already got a place then?" he asks. It's nice to know that in whatever myriad ways they've continued to fuck up into their adult lives, all three of them have at least managed the foresight to be proactive enough to find homes first.

"Have to show us around."

"I do!" Lexi nods. "I'm living in a studio apartment in the crappier part of town. Feels just like home."

"You're welcome over any time, you know."

Not that she has to say it, but she tells him all the same.

Rian nodded, thinking that that sort of thing suited her and not thinking less of her for it. They'd had plenty of homes in the "crappier" parts of town and loved them all.

"And you're welcome to stop by my place any time. That is, if you can tolerate the air of respectability. Or we can just meet at my store."

Lexi grins at his nodding; she knows Rian will never judge her for where she decides to live. They've all done their fair share of living in the crapholes no one else wants.

At that, she snorts, rolling her eyes fondly. She shoves her hand against his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I can tolerate respectability," she assures him. "Though I would love to see your shop sometime."

"You'll probably be disappointed in me though," he says, chuckling a little and holding her hand again with no magic behind it. Sophie lurches forward, trying to grab at the ring on his thumb. "It's a nice house. The decorations even all match. There's a nursery. And a baby grand piano."

It had eaten up a good chunk of his remaining royalties from Enfants, but Rian thinks it's worth it. The shop is doing well, as he'd hoped, and making up for the investments. "I sell music and musical instruments."

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