The holidays are looking up this year

[bitterguardian]

Horvath can, even if he thinks back hard on the past few decades since he settled in New York, count the number of guests he's had on one hand. It's only been Bel, the past five years or so, and he's had two or three trusted associates over to talk shop in the past twenty years, once each. Most of those have since passed on, anyway. A large reason is that he is cautious, to the point of paranoia. After all, his home is built around a vault that contains some very volatile magical items, which is the very reason he settled there, wanting to guard it more closely. That's partly an excuse, though. It's only subconsciously that he looks for reasons to keep people out; out of his home, out of his life. Friends are dangerous, it hurts too much to get attached only to outlive them in what seems like such a short time.

More recently, that's changed, and he's making an effort to open up again. It still takes some careful adjustments to the wards, to let even one person in. Fortunately he knows Anna fairly well, having astral projected with her, so that makes the adjustment easier. She should feel privileged, being one of only three people currently able to pass through the fortification of shields that surround his home.

At the arranged time, he magically teleports her in, to a dim cozy library with a vaulted ceiling of tile. There are no windows, and if one studies the architectural details it's not hard to see the remnants of the turn-of-the-century train station this place once was. Horvath has since filled it with bookshelves, desks, floor lamps and chairs. It's comfortably warm, and the furniture is antique and well-padded, much like the man who makes his home here. A low table has been laid out with tea, finger sandwiches, and cookies, with a few book-shaped wrapped packages stacked to one side.

Comments

[bitterguardian]

"At least you've kept a photo? If I'd had a chance to bottle up something like that when I was a boy, I would have done it in a heartbeat, and damn the consequences." He snags another cookie before he settles back again. "I'm... not certain if I should ask...? I don't want to bring up an unpleasant topic..."

Slinking under her chair, the cat sniffs delicately at her ankle.

[dusk_to_night]

[She waves her hand, but it's not a jerky or sudden movement. Feeling the aura of a cold nose and whiskers, she's careful not to move her feet]

My life until rather recently has been mostly unpleasant.

[bitterguardian]

"I'm sorry for that. But you're anticipating better times ahead, I hope?" Just like before, he seems quietly eager to help. It's the Merlinian code to try to help others, and when he's gotten to know somebody this well, it's even more personal. He wants to fix whatever's broken, and make sure her life is changed for the better.

Are there shoelaces? The cat is definitely on the alert for shoelaces. Or anything loose that looks like a good toy, really. Fascinating new interesting-smelling things Horvath brings home must surely be toys.

[dusk_to_night]

Well Snap, Smoke. She dressed up today so the running shoes were left in favour of cute slouchy boots. But at least they're leather and they smell good?

"Well, it was my own fault. Literally. But things are already sort of changing for the better. I can already feel it. I'm not cursed, I'm happily married and I'm not dead or undead so... I can do the things I love which largely involve food..."
She gives him a little smile.

[bitterguardian]

Slouchy boots are not nearly as good as shoelaces, but she spends a long time sniffing.

Horvath chuckles softly. "You're starting to sound dangerous. Between you and Bel I'll have to go on a diet." He's really not a glutton, but cookies are his kryptonite, and it's hard to get exercise. "I'm glad things are looking up though. Your husband... is an interesting man. How did you two meet?"

Smoke tentatively smacks her ankle and darts away a short distance, then stops to look back from under a desk.

[dusk_to_night]

She gives one of her feet a slight sudden twitchy shuffle, shifting the toe of the boots, making it a little interesting but so grand a movement it's too startling.

"I was dead for twelve years... and a hundred years or so on top of that. You have no idea how much I missed food."

The vaugely conflict between her past self and her current life however are causing some interesting food drama at home. What to do when one of your selves is known for her homemade Snakewine and the other is a vegan?

"Wade... we have a bit of a ridiculous story. We met because he has a thing for redheads and we hit it off. He was safe for me to feed from when I was especially dangerous. We both went through some relationship stuff and at one point I wanted to murder him--and tried. But through it all whenever I had a crisis, he was there for me, and figured out a way to keep me alive. Or... in existence. After a while we just sort of hooked up."

There's a faint smile while she talks about her husband. A genuine fondness despite the insanity and whatever annoying habits he might possess.

"He can be a bit.. intense, but he's a good man at heart."

[bitterguardian]

"I think... I'd rather try not to imagine. No offense." He may not be a glutton, but he'd still rather not experience ghosthood- or any of the side effects firsthand.

"He's... certainly something else. But I suppose you don't have to worry about him sticking with you through rough times." If their relationship has withstood that whole mess already, they should be fine.

[dusk_to_night]

"It's hard. I mean you get used to a lot of stuff.... but the little things kill you. No mango smoothies. No iced tea or coffee..." She makes a face to illustrate the torture.

"No. That is the one thing I don't worry about. He's been the one who has stuck with me through all the shit. Everyone else..." she waves a hand somewhat dismissively. "The people who stick with you through the hard stuff are the ones you need to keep around."

[bitterguardian]

"No tea??" He pulls a distressed face, anguish in his voice, but he's quick to return to a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure I wouldn't handle it well."

He nods, draining his teacup slowly. "It's a rarer quality than we'd all like to hope, I'm afraid. I'm glad you found each other."

Smoke edges along the furniture, a little bolder now, tags Anna's toe and runs a short distance again.

"Smoke love, behave yourself..."

[dusk_to_night]

"Well, you channel it into haunting. It helps. But not nearly enough."

She grins, and she's amused as much by the anguish over no tea and the antics of Smoke. She shuffles her foot around a bit, undermining the gentle scolding by offering the cat something fitdgity.

"Truthfully, it was hard but Wade managed to tie me to him on a cosmic level so it was a lot easier than it probably would have been otherwise."

[bitterguardian]

"I'm lazy, I'd make a terrible ghost. But perhaps I'd have more anguish, deprived of tea and books." He's not trying to make light of her past, but he's not anticipating such a fate for himself. He has little enough to linger for as it is.

"Is he... somewhat experienced in magic, too?" Actually the idea of Wade wielding magic is a slightly terrifying one, but he's not sure how else the man would know how to anchor her that way. Maybe it was just dumb luck?

Smoke's fluffy tail lashes, and she makes a strafing run at the toe of her shoe. Each move is bolder than the last, so she's obviously warming up to Anna.

Quiet and as wide-eyed as Smoke first was, the second cat slinks under Horvath's chair and crouches there, staring up at Anna. Whisper is white with grey splotches, and not nearly as fluffy as her sister. She's less adventurous, too.

[dusk_to_night]

"Well if you're a ghost, you're more vengeful than lazy. Not that you have to do a lot... you can just fuse something or freeze a pipe... not a whole lot of effort and all the entertainment value."

She finally closes the book she's looking at, setting it aside and picking up her teacup again.

"He hired a witch. And then interfered because things weren't going fast enough for his liking."

She smirks slightly because Caitlin, the witch who Wade had hired, was one of Anna's least favourite people. And Ana's for that matter. Her annoyance at the entire situation was now just a little bit more satisfying.

Anna shuffles her foot slightly as Smoke darts at her foot, making sure it is twitchy and entertaining to attack.

[bitterguardian]

"I've never really been the vengeful type..." That's not entirely true, but seeing the results of vengeance from a fellow apprentice did curtail the impulse pretty early.

"Ah, now that does sound more like him." He smirks. Horvath has only met Wade once, and briefly at that, but this doesn't mean he didn't get the measure of the man pretty well. "My sympathies for the witch that aided him. It does seem to have worked out all right in the long run, though."

Smoke makes another strafing run or two, then runs at her toe and grapples with it, wrestling.

Whisper just stares from under the chair.

[dusk_to_night]

"I am. I mean I am the least surprised person of all that I ended up a Ghost."

She laughs a bit, giving her shoulder a shrug. the toe of her boot shuffles along the floor, 'squirming' against Smoke. But not too effectively to get away.

"No.. Caitlin had it coming... literally. She was the one who killed me all those years ago. I've zero sympathy for her. The fact that I haven't murdered her after getting myself back is significant.

[bitterguardian]

Smoke wraps both front legs around the toe of her boot, gnaws on it a little, and kicks the sole with her back feet. Best. Game. Ever.

Whisper edges backwards from under the chair, only to hop up onto the back of it and settle just behind Horvath's shoulder. It's a better vantage point, but clearly she prefers the safety of being close to daddy.

Horvath eyes the attack with a raised eyebrow, amused. "...I do believe she likes you." He takes another cookie.

"He hired the same witch who was the cause of your problems? That's another matter entirely... but yes, I'd avoid complicating matters further, if I were you. Do you think she's likely to give you further trouble?"

[dusk_to_night]

"Well. We didn't know it was her. And she killed me so long ago she had no idea I was me. Maybe part of the curse, maybe just a long time has passed."

The pronouns are slightly confusing and Anna takes a moment to sort them out in her head.

"I've taken care of her though."

It's just a touch icy the way she says that, and her expression darkens slightly. Only for a moment though and then she settles on the cat attacking her boot. Her foot plays dead for a moment before it twitches again.

[bitterguardian]

"...Time alone can make for some strange run-ins and coincidences, yes..." He has experience in that. The way she says the last makes him frown mildly, though.

No, he's pretty sure he doesn't want to know. It was personal, it's not really his business, and he's done a few things he'd rather forget about himself.

Smoke, likewise, pauses. Gnaws a little, then leaps away and runs off a short distance only to crouch staring at her toe, tail lashing. Clearly she has made a new best friend. No, not Anna, just her foot.

[dusk_to_night]

"I kind of have a thing for synchronicity too, so.. Old me probably set it up that way... given enough time and expecting paths cross. There's not a lot of coincidence in magic."

Part of her knows and understands how this all worked out, the other part of her struggles to understand and explain. It's a bit disorienting.

With Smoke having darted away, she tucks her foot up, letting it rest idle... for now.

[bitterguardian]

"No, there isn't." He smiles weakly. "Coincidence is just a word for when we're made uncomfortable by the stars lining up..." He sips his tea, thoughtful.

Smoke gallops away, but a minute later they can hear her swatting around a ball of crumpled paper, not far off between bookshelves.

"I'm afraid you're likely not clear of that, yet. but if you run into any kind of trouble in the future, do let me know?" Once somebody has even dabbled in magic, strange things are likely to be drawn to them, and she's pretty deep in.

[dusk_to_night]

"I don't get uncomfortable by that sort of thing. It's nice to see it coming now though."

She regards Smoke thoughtfully while she plays.

"You'll be the first person I look up when I set myself on fire, I promise."

If she means that literally or metaphorically, she's not elaborating. "Actually I might do that even if I'm not on fire, and I just need tips."

[bitterguardian]

Relaxing again with a nod, he chuckles softly. "Feel free. I may not be much of a teacher, but I am available if you need advice. Or to have a fire put out." Of course he hopes he won't come to regret that offer, but he's not going to retract it, regardless.

Whisper curls her tail around his neck, settling on the back of his chair, but he just reaches up to stroke it once or twice absently. Clearly this is a familiar game, and he's comfortable with his cat-tail scarf.

Smoke gallops past with her paper ball, drops it, runs away a short distance to stare at it, then pounces on it as if it moved.

"Do ask me if those books give you any questions, too." Horvath adds, nodding at her gifts.

[dusk_to_night]

"I'd drive you crazy if I were a student anyway."

No joking there. Anna is stubborn and opinionated and the old witch in her has her own character flaws that don't particularly involve listening to old men.

"But I will ask if there are things I don't understand. I'll even try to do it before I get myself into trouble."

[bitterguardian]

"And that is why we like to start apprentices young." He smirks faintly. Children are a lot more apt to listen to their elders. "I was only eight or nine when Merlin bought me. I'm sure, given a few more years, I would have made a poor apprentice myself."

He leans forward with a grunt to take another cookie, and as soon as he settles back again, the tail wraps back under his chin. "And please do? It's much easier to go into things knowing what you're doing than to clean up the mess after magic gone awry..."

[dusk_to_night]

"I don't think old witchy pride is enough to keep me from asking questions. At least I don't think so right now."

Time will tell though and it will depend on how well the personalities synch in the end. She's inwardly thoughtful for a moment.

"Every now and then bits and fragments come back to me, but a lot of it is still very unfamiliar ground. And then I want to kick myself for being dumb."

[bitterguardian]

He sobers slightly, nibbling, and draining his tea cup. "I did warn you there'd be an adjustment period, and I'm sorry I can't say how long that will take. You seem to be handling it all well, though."

[dusk_to_night]

"It gets easier with time. At least that's how the saying goes."

She gives him a little smile and half a shrug.

"Death didn't stop me, I can't imagine this will."

[bitterguardian]

Horvath's gaze flits to the arched ceiling, lost in the shadowy heights above. "...Some things do, yes. This should."

He nuzzles the tail at his throat a little. Whisper is purring, curled behind his head possessively. "I don't like to think of you dying so many times, but I'm glad you've come back. Can you tell if that part of the magic is still active?" He's reluctant to prod at the muddled curse too much without explicit permission.

[dusk_to_night]

"The curse isn't broken. I'm very good at curses. But.. it's not gone."

[She's thoughtful for a moment. But quiet, looking down at her tea and her fingers wrapped around the mug]

"Magic has a price. The price of the curse was that I suffered. I'm not suffering so the curse isn't being fed... The cycle's been broken. If that makes sense. A road with a washed out bridge."

The danger of course is implied. Lingering remnants, hinging on a technicality. How much would it take to re-trigger the cycle is the question of course.

[bitterguardian]

"I... believe I understand, yes." He frowns mildly, because the implications are clear as day. "You'll simply have to take care that the cycle is not restarted again."

Of course there are no guarantees in life, so that's probably easier said than done. "I'd hesitate to try unraveling it without a very clear idea of what was done, and it may take you some times to work that out. Let it rest, for now." Maybe someday down the road when she's no longer feeling at war with herself, she'll want to tackle that, but for now she needs time to adjust still.

Smoke wraps both front paws around her paper ball, kicks it with her back feet, and stares at them both.