Jack St. Martin's Story

✮ 1:46→2:00 ✮ Home → Rabbit Hole Bookstore ✮ Outfit ✮
Woman King - Iron & Wine

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Jack woke to a few different feelings. There was an aching in her neck and back, pressure on her shoulders, and a sharp pricking on her scalp.

After a few moments, she realized where those feelings were coming from. Troi was standing on her back, and Churchill was perched on her head, pulling a strand of her hair. As for the ache, it was because she had fallen asleep sitting at her desk, her face against an open book.

She groaned, “Okay, guys, I’m up! I’m up.”

As she sat up straight, Troi hopped onto the desk and Churchill fluttered to her shoulder. She reached out her hand and the cat rubbed against it. “Thanks for waking me up.”

Jack glanced at the clock on the wall and her heat skipped a beat.

It was almost time for work. Oh no.

She stood up fast, startling the animals, and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She got dressed quick, not bothering to put together a nice outfit, just throwing on the first things she found. She grabbed her phone and rushed out the door, giving a quick goodbye to Gideon and Sunny.

Upon setting foot outside her house, she transformed. In her place stood an American Crow, who took off into the air.

Jack flew over the town, taking in the sights. She could never get tired of this. She had almost completely forgotten about her previous frantic mood. As she passed over her favorite bakery, she remembered how hungry she was. Whoops, well, no time for breakfast now. Whatever, it wasn’t the end of the world. Plus, it would be more like lunch at this hour.

She was lucky to get an afternoon shift at the bookstore; “bright and early” never was her thing. On top of that, the store was closing early because of the festival. It was going to be an easy day.

She landed on the window sill of the Rabbit Hole Bookstore and shifted back in to a human, sitting with her legs hanging into the room. Her boss, Carol, barely batted an eye.

“Can’t you ever just use the door like a regular person?”

Jack smiled, “Of course not. Gotta make a cool entrance.”

Carol just snorted out a laugh and continued stocking books.

Jack hopped down from the window and took her place at the register, chatting with some of the regulars.

Lucian grumbled as class concluded on the note of their being a test the next day on stage effects in regards to their impact on the performance. Lighting was something he could understand well enough, after all the people had to actually see the stage and performers -otherwise it wouldn't be a play. The hard part though was acoustics - there were so many technical words and simply stating "project your voice" wouldn't cover it...he'd have to get a music person to explain it or find a book to put things simply. However when class ended that still didn't keep him from blitzing from the room at full speed while cursing for quite possibly the ten thousandth time that things were difficult in balancing work with school. Still true to himself by delaying the inevitable, the young incubus hustled to his apartment and dropped off his school stuff before tweaking his appearance - especially along the jawline for a more mature look.

'Got any plans for the festival tonight?'The text was sent using his "work" phone, put simply the one he didn't use when being a student to his friend Kell. While unhealthily stressing at the notion of the exam, Lucian was planning for his "stress eating" in the evening. It just so happened that he was of the opinion that his friend would have an idea to make a simple meal more appealing - if not just make for a better pool to fish through with two handsome men to draw out potential admirers. Before leaving the apartment, Lucian donned a modern business casual style of appearance: black v-neck but still kept the suit jacket boldly bearing the Callidora family crest on the lapel. He gave a quick nod to his equally tired "sister" on the way out on his way to the bookstore, despite proximity he still elected to borrow a discreet yet still expensive vehicle for the drive since he didn't feel like carrying a book around.

Having never been to the establishment before, Lucian took advantage to the fascinated if somewhat repulsed atmosphere the more long time residents had to his familial crest and cut his way towards the woman behind the counter. His current splitting left him less than half as powerful as he would whole; rather than risk potential backfire by trying to manipulate the feelings of the room Lucian opted to just go in raw. Despite being uncomfortable without his usual advantage he managed a friendly smile while leaning against the counter.

" You wouldn't happen to have a book on acoustics - specifically one related to stagecraft. Preferably of the 'for dummies' type of explanation... my little brother needs help seeing why he as a thespian needs to understand the subject." Despite interrupting an earlier conversation between the employee and another female customer, Lucian was banking on the fact that his natural incubus scent would intoxicate the pair enough where his low level 'I'm handsome' approach would get him what he wanted quickly.



Unlike her "brother", Lilis - Lily as she preferred had a much easier day at school. The dance department currently didn't have any nearby exams so other than standard lecture and practice she essentially didn't do anything. If anything, compared to the stringent level of drills the family had done for their expected "performances" Lily found the current level of practice rather lukewarm. The best part was unlike Lucian, she didn't actually have class the next day which meant there wouldn't be any extra brain noise as their minds sorted through the two differing perspectives while retaining their balance as a single entity... or whatever the explanation the clan book had on bi-location. The point was, she was annoyed that the book said that mastery would allow teleportation and both parties to act with the full power of the original single body but she was stuck at a mere 40%.

The internal grumbling kept the girl occupied until she met her other half as she entered the apartment. As she'd won the morning's contest - she got to check out the new bakery and much like Lucian, Lilis had no intention of going about the evening as she did for school. As a succubus, Lilis on required a quick rinse to freshen up after practice before putting on an outfit purchased for her as a gift from a relatively recent toy. However she didn't wear the purple boots the purchaser had intended to go with the rest of the look. Instead she opted to go with a longer, dark bootie and stockings to try out the 'zettai ryouiki' type of look she'd overheard some guys in a computer lab talk about the previous week. Despite personally finding the concept rather strange, the Succubus opted to let the results of a couple trials determine if the theme had a spot in her wardrobe. After checking the initial result of her experiment herself, the lady no one would believe to actually be a sixteen year old girl hurried off to the bakery she'd come to hear about.

On arrival, her first impression of the place was that it was definitely cute and homely - it was also rather crowded. Undeterred the succubus entered the establishment with intent of satisfying a sweet-tooth. However as her eyes were greeted with the crowd of the room - and in particular a face all-too-similar to that of an author she liked to read, a woman in a yellow dress and the girl behind the counter. Lily couldn't help but lightly arch her eyebrows since she was used to usually (always if she could sneak in the adjustments) being the most attractive person in the room by no small margin. The succubus couldn't help but think that in this particular case...the margin was a bit too close for comfort. In particular the woman in the yellow dress seemed...off and despite being a "Mistress of Fornication" Lily found herself unable to quite identify the tension the woman exuded. Rather embarrassingly, Lily found herself wishing Lucian was here to be the adorable dolt and reset the atmosphere.

✮ 3:30→3:45 ✮ Rabbit Hole Bookstore ✮ Outfit ✮
I Am What I Am - Spiritualized

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After an hour and a half of work, Jack's good mood turned to dread as she was approached by one of the regulars, Janice. It's not that Janice was a particularly bad person. Jack didn't dislike her, per se, but dear god was she a motormouth. Every time she came to the Rabbit Hole, she would buy her books and then stay at the register for an eternity and talk the ears off of whichever poor soul was stuck there.

Jack was just just smiling and nodding while Janice talked about her trip to the grocery store earlier (in excruciating detail, of course), when a sharply-dressed man entered the store. Jack's heart soared as he approached the counter and asked for a book on acoustics.

"Of course! Follow me," she said, taking the opportunity to escape.

She led her savior to the arts section, stepping over cardboard boxes full of used books. They had just gotten a lot of book donations recently and still had to get them on the shelves. Until then, the store would remain rather cluttered (or, at least more cluttered than usual).

"Alright, the books on theater are around here. We should have what you need." She motioned to the general area on the shelf where the theater books were kept.

"So, I haven't seen you in here before. I'm Jack. Nice to meet you."

If it's this easy to manipulate humans...what was the point of all that training? Despite the pleased expression on his face at the woman's rather enthusiastic assistance, Lucian couldn't help but inwardly grumble. After all if all it took to get humans so eager to do things for you then what was the point of all the training his clan put him through? The trek deeper into the store was more disorganized than he'd expected but the girl got him to his destination easily enough. Since there was a selection, Lucian began to browse as the girl introduced herself as Jack and commented on his newness to the store.

" To be honest, I don't go to many of the more truly local places - rumors of the family and all that make locals less than welcoming at places like this. Please, call me Lu - no it's not short for Luke...my parents gave me a far more dramatic name." A wry smile formed on Lucian's face as he gave a polite response while picking a pair of books and an interruption from Lily caught his attention.

"I think that's it for books this time, you working the whole evening or are you free during the festival?" While making his inquiry, Lucian pulled out a credit card and a second one - a plain card labeled ' L. Callidora' with the number for his adult phone number.

" Since I'd like SOME excuse to escape my sister - if you'll forgive the hurry." Finishing the purchase was easy enough from there - though in all honestly Lucian didn't pay much attention since his other half had far more stimulus going on. He still managed to squeeze a text to Kell out while leaving the store.

Well, if you were free I was thinking about poaching a couple fans before things got started... After all, who says beautiful men don't deserve an audience?

Unfortunately, traffic delayed Lucian on his way to the mall more than he'd like. As a result he arrived after the Sweet Spot closed, but still in time for the apparent after party. Lucian made a point of parking right next to the all-too-familiar birthday car of Kell's before stepping from the car just a bit after five. After a quick a look around, Lucian spotted Kell and gave a wave - more of a beckon as he went to hunt down his other half.



As the place grew more lively, something about the air of the place changed...it took a bit for Lilith to fully clue in on her nose and look towards the woman in the dress. Ever true to her nature as a Succubus, she threw the woman a discreet wink in response to the gaze. When it finally got to be her turn to order, Lily held out a credit card and noncommittally gave a general order, " it's my first time here so feel free to surprise me." Following the completion of her order, Lily paused between following the 'familiar' face of Kell and the woman...ultimately she chose to follow the latter. Something about the woman was...inhuman yet familiar in an oddly different way that she couldn't fully put into words. The woman's decision to sit around on a bench made catching up rather easy - despite making an approach a bit direct. Nevertheless, the Succubus still made her approach - baked goods and all.

" You know, of every gaze I've gotten while entering a room, I must say yours was definitely the most polite. The name's Lily - spelled with two i's." Taking a tip from an older cousin, Lilis threw in what could only be described as an overly enthusiastic smile with the introduction.

" You wouldn't mind if I kept you company until my hopeless brother shows up with the car, would you?" Succumbing a little bit to instinct, Lilis couldn't help letting out a little bit of odeur de désir while she asked. Consciously, she knew that to another of her kind that this be nothing more than overly strong perfume - unpleasant being the first thought to mind. Against humans however, the results were always an overwhelming positive...and while the clan always said to be careful about other nonhumans - there had never been an explanation why.

✮ 3:45 → 5:10 ✮ Rabbit Hole Bookstore → Home ✮ Outfit ✮
Moaning Lisa Smile - Wolf Alice

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The guy introduced himself and picked out his books. Jack didn't really know what he meant when he mentioned "the family," but she assumed it had something to do with the crest on his jacket. She knew there were a few important families in the town, but she didn't know anything about them. She figured she would learn eventually, but she wasn't rushing it.

As she was ringing him up, Lu asked about her plans for the day.

"We're closing early, so yeah, I am free."

Then... he gave her his phone number. Oh.

Oh dear lord, is he flirting with me? Oh no. Oh no. This has never happened what do I do. Oh no.

Jack was stunned as he left, staring at the card in her hand. She had no idea how to deal with this. She ended up spending the rest of the work day trying to formulate a nice way to say, "Sorry dude, I'm gay. No hard feelings?"

Her shift for the rest of the day was mostly uneventful. Unfortunately, that gave her more time to worry about what had happened and what she was going to do. Eventually, closing time came and Carol told her she was free for the day. She left the same way she came in: through the window, in the shape of a bird. An ovenbird this time, though.

She had a hard time enjoying the scenery as she flew home. Not just because of Lu; she was nervous about the festival in general. This would be her first big event in Elk River. She would be surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place.

She stepped down on her porch, trying to push the negative thoughts away. No, it's going to be fun. You'll have a good time.

Troi greeted her the second she set foot in the house, rubbing against her legs affectionately. Jack flopped onto the couch and the cat hopped up onto her stomach, making herself comfortable. She smiled as the birds joined them in their impromptu cuddle pile, Churchill taking his favorite spot on her head, and Gideon and Sunny settling against Troi's curled up form.

"Jeez, miss me much?"

Jack took Lu's card out of her pocket and looked at it again. She decided to put it into her contacts. Even if she had to let him down, he was still a potential friend. She typed out a quick text.

hey it's jack. just sending this so u know my number :P

She hit send and relaxed, enjoying the company of her animals.

After the rather unpleasant time of being puppet to an in-explicitly disturbing yet interesting Raven... the two "siblings" opted for the extra safety of merging back together. Both Lucias and Lilis could only conclude based on her cold touch that the woman was either undead or some other freak they had yet to encounter and the diminished power that came with separation wasn't worth the risk. As an extra layer of caution - Lucian got to be the prominent face since he'd already made plans - though an extra layer was added to have all the phones in coat pockets (a coat with the family emblem on the back). However the whole affair resulted in his being later than expected so the Incubus found rather belatedly he had two texts as he arrived in the parking lot. A read reply from Jack and a message from his friend Kell... which despite giving the pair an idea was put in the back burner for a period.

Alright Jack - see you it the festival.

To Kell, the message of a different tone.

If you don't count cars, the parking lot is rather empty

Given the current outfit was fine with either sex, Lucian debated switching to Lilis' face. However a coin toss threw the caution of earlier to the win - after all what are the odds? That and if the two stayed close together, things should be safe right? The pair separated again to the matching outfits look before getting out of the car. The effort left the two winded, but the "twins" left the car with linked arms... a weird sensation for both parties. Still the two made their way towards the main entrance while trying to stay as openly visible as possible.

✮ 7:15→7:45 ✮ Home (Backwoods) → Fear Festival ✮ Outfit, Hoodie, Cat ✮
Fortune Teller - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

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Jack almost decided to blow off the festival. It's not that she didn't want to go; she was just trapped on her couch. Troi was lounging on her chest, almost asleep, and Jack just couldn't bear to leave her. The birds had left to do their own things, but Troi had stayed where she was. Jack had checked the time and saw that the festival had already started, but she was just too comfortable to move. She had nearly said "screw it," and let herself fall asleep, but a reply from Lu got her motivated to get up.

She wanted to make some friends in Elk River, and she wasn't going to be able to do that while staying at home all day.

Still not wanting to leave her cat, Jack got an idea. She got off the couch and dug through her drawers until she found what she was looking for: a gray hoodie with a big pouch in front. She changed into a new outfit and pulled on the hoodie.

She made her way back over to the couch, where Troi was curled up and purring. She picked the cat up and placed her in the pouch. Petting Troi's head, Jack thought to herself, "Perfect plan."

When she stepped out of her house, she realized that with the cat coming with her, she couldn't transform to make the trip shorter. Shrugging, she pulled the hood over her head, showing off the cute cat ears sewn onto it. Eh, whatever. It would be a nice leisurely walk, then.

It took a little longer to get to the festival than Jack had expected. It wasn't a bad thing, though. She had been distracted by people on the street marveling at the cat in her pocket. Some commented on how cute she was, some asked to pet her. It was nice, and Jack could tell that Troi was enjoying the attention.

About halfway through the trip over, Jack had realized that she hadn't had anything to eat that day, so when she reached the festival, she made a beeline to the concessions. She bought two hot dogs, one as loaded with condiments as possible, and the other completely plain, without a bun. She cut the plain hot dog into small pieces and started giving the pieces to Troi, who had gotten bored of the pouch and had climbed up to perch on Jack's shoulder.

Just as before, Troi received a lot of love from passersby while Jack scanned the crowd for anyone she might know.