Gemini Bookstore

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Getting on fine. I feel like she got the most holiday mail, what with the whole town chipping in to get her something," Soren said. "Lucky it doesn't go to her head."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"That's nice. I should have gotten her something, but I'm not good with holidays," Enna said, though that ought to be obvious.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"I bet she'd not mind much if the timing was a bit off," Soren said.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"It isn't a bit too late?" Enna asked, seriously inquiring because she had no idea how customs went like this. It wasn't one of those things that stuck.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"You could give a gift anytime," Soren said. That he knew was true. And hoped he could do it as well, because he had forgotten Enna's was still in his house.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Oh," Enna replied. "That's good. I'll have to find something for her then." She wasn't really sure what gift she could give that the girl would appreciate, but she would try to find something.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Plus, anyone would be surprised to get a gift from you," Soren said honestly.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"That is true," Enna admitted. She wasn't the gift giving sort, though she had done it on occasion when she thought about it. Not so much birthday presents, but more like when she found something she believed someone would like.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Alright, food is ordered. You guys are okay with sticking around til it's ready, right?" Tahlia said.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna nodded. "I have nowhere to be that's pressing," she replied. It wasn't like she'd made plans, after all.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Soren looked in his pack. He saw only a few letters and didn't think any of them were too pressing.
"Sure."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"How long will the food take?" Enna asked, simply wondering.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Probably as long as it takes," Tahlia said. "Can never tell with Slonina. I can tell you it won't take all day at least."
Soren looked around. "Empty house. We could sit at one of the tables."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"I suppose," Enna said, not really minding. However, she wondered if Tahlia minded that they would be essentially eating in her store.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Tahlia shrugged. "Beats eating at the counter if someone were to walk in."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"What are the chances of that?" Enna inquired.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Tahlia shrugged. "It's not a busy day but it makes more sense to sit and eat."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Good then," Enna said, but she wasn't quite sure which table she wanted them to sit at, so she didn't move away.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Not the one with the books on it, obviously," Tahlia said to Soren after he started to pull out a chair. He put his hands up then moved over to the cleared table.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna went over to the table as well, looking around as she went. Simply a bit curious since it had been a while since she was....anywhere really.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Tahlia walked past the shelves and paused slightly. "Enzo got all of these shelved, " she said. "I need to do something for him, I guess."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Why would you?" Enna asked, since she didn't see the connection right away.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Other than his paycheck," she commented. "I've been really distracted lately so either he is picking up the slack or it's ghosts."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Oh," Enna answered. "Good he's doing his job then. Why are you distracted? Those surprises?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Soren looked between them, confused.

Tahlia nodded. "Something like that. Except you'd probably think I'm crazy."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Just say what it is," Enna said. "It may not be crazy at all."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Tahlia looked at Soren, thinking his reaction would probably be worse than Enna's. But her friend could also be unintentionally cruel.
"Open mind," Soren said helpfully, putting his arm on the back of Enna's chair.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna nodded in agreement, growing more and more curious about what this could be about.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Last Christmas, so not the recent one, I got a delivery," Tahlia started. "My favorite flowers to be exact, with a card."
Soren thought about it as he listened. He didn't remembering delivering them.

"The note on it was something that Damon always used to say to me. It was something special and personal. Not something I'd ever told you or Lacie," Tahlia said to Enna.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna looked at her, face emotionless as always but almost showing some skepticism. "Over a year ago? And it isn't something like a stumbled upon phrase that's just coincidental?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"You think I'd be distracted still if it had only happened once?" Tahlia said.
"No it is the exact thing he told me when I was bitten by that werewolf."

Soren was seeing the bigger picture here but wanted to hear more. "What else then?"

"Sometime's I can sense someone watching me, usually at home. Everytime it's happened, I find another something on my porch or windowsill- a charm, a stone, a picked flower.

"And I get these tiny notes everywhere. They smell like him, almost...like Damon."
Her eyes looked bright but also pained.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna frowned a little. She knew that wasn't really possible. People didn't come back from the dead but.... "But you haven't seen him, right?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"I have but that's the bit that really makes me wonder if I'm losing it," she said, pulling one knee up and hugging it close to her.
"I have these dreams of him, all the time. And at first, I almost got mad at you," she said to Soren.
His eyes widened.

"But I know you'd never give dreams to hurt anyone so, I started to think that they were coming from somewhere. I mean, he was very powerful with magic. And these things weren't simply dreams.

"A few night ago, I woke up and I swear I saw him in the corner of my room. And in the time it took me to realize, he was gone and the door was wide open...." She said a bit quieter.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna wasn't sure what to say. Personally, she would be rather alarmed if someone was just standing in her room, apparition or otherwise. She looked over to Soren, wondering what he thought about this because....she didn't know what she thought.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Is someone messing with you?" Soren asked, feeling more angry than anything. "An entire year of reopening an old wound?"

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"And if they are, wouldn't the question be who?" Enna asked, looking to Tahlia. She wasn't aware that her friend had any enemies....and this was too cruel for her to even suspect the students.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"So you think it's impossible?" Tahlia said.
"We're not saying that," Soren said. "But be rational, even you are questioning yourself. Why would Damon put you through that?"

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"If it was him, why wouldn't he come out and see you himself?" Enna added. She wasn't necessarily thinking that someone would be tricking Tahlia either, nor that she was crazy. But something strange was certainly going on here.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"I don't know. Maybe he can't," she said sighing.
"I guess you're right."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"But I'm also fairly sure you're not going crazy," Enna said, almost as if it was an afterthought.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"That's great, Enna, really," she said, sounding more tired than relieved.

Soren shook his head not sure what else to say about it.

Then the door opened and Slonina came in, top hat askew and arms empty.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna looked back at the door and looked over the woman. "Isn't she the one supposed to bring us food?" she asked, glancing back at Tahlia.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Tahlia looked at Slonina and sighed.
"First, tell me that you turned the stove off. Second the food is supposed to be here."
Slonina just smiled her crooked, mysterious smile. "Okay, I turned the stove off. And I know." She took her hat off and reached inside pulling out three bags.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna stared at the strange woman with a blank expression. Why would she carry things in her hat?

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"You're mad," Soren said grabbing a bag.
Slonina bowed. "Some days more than others."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"As long as it's edible," Enna said, taking a bag as well. Part of her wondered if it actually was edible, but she had eaten plenty of strange things before.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"I have wonderlandian magic," Slonina commented. "It comes out of the hat, but it comes from somewhere else. Or does it? I cooked it."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Enna didn't comment, not really caring enough where it came from. Instead she looked into the bag before pulling out the contents.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Soren just laughed. "You woke up on that side today, eh?"
Slonina shrugged. "I'm serious about somedays. There's just too much to be so serious."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"What did you make?" Enna asked, not recognizing it at first.