Jacobi Stephens's Story

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Jacobi woke up rather early this morning, after endless hours of tossing and turning in his bed. He couldn't sleep for nothing in the world but didn't understand why nor did he care to find out. A sigh escaped through his parted lips as he exited his steamed filled bathroom and walking right into his bedroom. He lived alone and kind of hated it but loved it at the same exact time. Jacobi but on his undergarments and blue jean pants then walked over towards the window, leaning shirtless against it as people stared up at him. He raised his hand up and offered them all a wave then turned heel and walked towards his dresser, pulling out a black t-shirt with NO RULES! written in all white going across it. Today was going to be a good day, or so he hoped.

After getting dressed and reviewing himself over in the mirror, Jacobi exited his room and walked down the stairs, forgetting about breakfast as maybe he could pick up something on the way to wherever he was going. His mind rolled all over the place as he exited from his home, making sure it was locked before proceeding down the sidewalk, going towards Riv's shop, where she wanted to meet him. He was a little surprised at the invitation but didn't want to decline either.

His eyes scanned across a man, who was holding up a sign: "Beware of the Evil Forces that reside here." Jacobi shook his head but didn't want to ask the man any questions so he just kept on walking. Luckily - River's shop wasn't too far from where he stayed plus he needed to get some fresh air anyway and was loving every minute of it. The fresh air kind of wanted him to break out in song or something but he didn't. A soft chuckle came over him at the thought though as he looked up and seen that he had reached River's shop.

He opened the door, laughing at the tiny bell jingle and heard the music, which made him cover his ears but not for long. His chestnut brown eyes looked around the shop as he seen River behind the counter, turning on the lights, which were rather dim. "Hey River." He said while hopping up onto the counter and waving with a smile. His eyes bounced down towards the waste bucket as he jumped off of the counter and bent down, taking the ball up piece of paper out of the trash. "Is this something for Mardi Gras? Someone is not obviously a fan." A smile curved among his lips as he glanced at River then back at the paper.

"Come & find God here at Saint Anthony's Cathedral.
We offer salvation for the weary of spirit.
The Devil is everywhere,
there is shelter behind the Lord's doors."

His blood boiled as the piece of paper burned in his hands, ash flew everywhere but landed on the floor, harmlessly. "Sorry." He had his charming apologetic look on his face as he jumped back up on the counter. "So, do you enjoy doing this everyday?" He waved his hands dismissively around the shop then looked at her, waiting for a response.

Not moments after River had only just managed to get the store opened up, Jacobi came bounding in like the six foot two easily excitable puppy that he was and plopped himself on the counter top, placing both of his hands over his ears, feigning the cheesy music was causing irreparable damage to his eardrums. "Cute." River cut dryly, offering up a wan sarcastic smile.

"Hey River." He said in a way of greeting her before he began pilfering through her garbage. "Digging for buried treasure? I'm afraid there's not much of interest in there unless you like yesterday's Chinese take out boxes." He produced a piece of crumpled paper and unwadded it, trying to decipher what was printed on the page. "Is this something for Mardi Gras? Someone is obviously not a fan." "Oh no, that's-" She started before the flyer spontaneously erupted into flames, burning away in his hands until there was little left but smoldering ash. River sighed. "Don't get that crap on the carpet, I really don't want to have to break out the vacuum." She admonished, oddly glad the paper wouldn't spend the rest of the day haunting her from the trash can. "Sorry." He stated though it was obvious he wasn't."So do you enjoy doing this everyday?" Jacobi then asked all of a sudden, quickly trying to change the topic from one that made them both uncomfortable. That's what you got for leafing through someone else's garbage though, she thought, discomfort.

"This? Hell no. Why do you think invited you over? This is, like, the world's mot boring gig. If one more person comes in here asking if we sell love potions or a magical penis enlargement charm, I'm going to ram my face into a brick wall....repeatedly...until I'm unconscious." She awarded Jacobi with a wink and barked out a short high laugh. "Got any plans for the day or would you be interested in helping me out by being a test dummy for a little experiment of mine?" A Cheshire-esque grin stretched out across her face; her tightly dreaded hair pulling at her eyes and her sharp black glasses only furthering to make her look like some sly cat. Maybe it wasn't ethical to want to use your Coven/family members as guinea pigs in your magic/science collaboration research, but what the Coven matriarch and the dean of her college didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

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Jacobi couldn't help himself as he jumped down from the counter again and went looking for a vacuum. "Women these days." He spoke with a light, soft smile as he glanced back up at River. He finally found the vacuum and luckily, it wasn't one of the ones that you had to plug it and it was a silent one. Jacobi walked over towards where the ashes had fallen and began to move the vacuum over them, repeatedly until all the ashes were gone. He heard Riv's words then looked up at her with a smirk. "So, do you guys sell any love potions or a magical penis enlargement charm? Not that I need either one." He asked her with a slight chuckle following those words.

Jacobi had put the vacuum back out then looked over at River. "Okay, come, ram you face into a brick. My money is on the brick." He laughed towards her then raised a brow with her saying something about him partaking in one of her experiments. "Whoa!" Jacobi held his hands up in the air, seeing her grin as he looked at her. "What kind of experiment?" Another raise of his brow soon followed as he had a half smile curving among his lips.



He wondered often what kind of experiments River was doing - Besides the basic magic and science ones but what was she really planning. Maybe this was his chance to figure some things out about her. With a sigh, he nodded his head while shrugging his shoulders. "Sure - I'll participate in your little experiment. But I'm telling you, one wrong move and I will not hesitate to burn you. Got it?" He made sure that she understood him before continuing on with his words. "Now, where will be conducting this little experiment of yours?" Jacobi asked, a little scared to find out what River was going to do.

"Women these days." Jacobi groaned, jumping to his feet to go fetch something to clean his mess up with. River scoffed, closing her eyes and shaking her head in dismay. She was hardly the typical female...hardly the typical anything. She was quite proud she didn't fit into any little box you could check on some survey. He returned with her baby blue noiseless EZ Vac without ever even having to really search for it despite the fact he had never been told where it was stashed away, it was practically supernatural. Then again, knowing how this generation of witches and warlocks loved to use their magic or prolific powers for everything, it probably was.

"So, do you guys sell any love potions or a magical penis enlargement charm? Not that I need either one...." River's eyes bugged as her lip curled back over her pearly white canines. "Ew dude, gross." He laughed, obviously getting to the point of his question now. "Okay, come, ram you face into a brick. My money is on the brick." River awarded him with her 'not so amused' facial expression. "Little boys theses days...always so easily entertained by physical pain. Here, come here and let me give you some." She parodied in response, chuckling now too in spite of herself.



"Whoa! What kind of experiment?" He asked, holding his hands up like some robber dressed in prison stripes held at gun point in an old black and white flick. "Calm down there, Dragnet. Nothing dangerous." He grinned and lowered his hands, curiosity getting the better of him, conceding to at least figure out what she was up to. "Sure - I'll participate in your little experiment. But I'm telling you, one wrong move and I will not hesitate to burn you. Got it? Now, where will be conducting this little experiment of yours?" River sighed heavily. Did men ever really grow up she wondered. "Scary. I'm practically quaking in my Italian Emerson faux leather boots. I'm your cousin, what moves am I going to make? If I wanted to ax you, I wouldn't be giving you a heads up. Besides..." She paused, seriously weighting the two of them stacked up as opponents for only a second. "Your little fire tricks wouldn't save you anyhow, I could totally kick your ass." River elbowed him sharply to show she was only kidding, snorted and smiled. "If you could meet me here same time tomorrow, we can get started."

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Jacobi eyed River when she was talking about not giving him the heads up if she was going to kill him. He didn't know whether to laugh or what so he just plastered a half crooked smile and just went with it. When she stated that she could kick his ass, he scoffed then rubbed his shoulder after she elbowed him. "Yeah, did you feel them muscles? Boom!" He flexed them in a joking manner then couldn't help but laugh as he mockingly snorted like River. His eyes then trailed over her as he nodded his head. "I'll be here. Well, I'm going to leave you to whatever you do here." He walked over towards River and hugged her tightly. "Alright. See you later." Jacobi had broke the hug and turned heel and left the shop.



He walked on down the street with his hands halfway into his pants pocket. Jacobi looked up every once and a while then something sort of caught his eye - A help wanted sign. He stood there and stroked his chin a moment before pushing open the door, seeing at least three people ahead talking. His eyes looked over every single person as he took the help wanted sign and walked towards the counter and stood beside a female, who was talking to a male and another female.

With a little eye roll, he spoke and tried his best not to sound like he had an attitude. "Excuse me..." He cleared his throat then held up the sign. "I would like to apply for almost any position you have available." A smiled curved among his features as he eyed everyone, not particularly sure who to be talking but thought he would take the chance and asked out loud.

His eyes danced from one person to another as he waited for a response from someone.

Robin glided with unchallenged balance in her heels, through the Quarter. It was an awfully muggy day, the air was stagnant, but this didn’t affect Robin who created a micro-climate wherever she went. Every place she passed by a chill wind followed, swaying the old-fashioned signage in front of stores and the colorful pennants hung around the street for Mardi Gras. Nothing much had changed about this Catholic holiday, people celebrated with the same tomfoolery and gluttony as they had since the days of old, except God did not collect his toll of empty stomachs and abundance of prayers afterwards. The world had all but forgotten the holiday’s true meaning and origins; much like witchcraft as a whole that was made a mockery of not just on this day but every other day of the year in this petty town. Once upon a time she shared this street with real witches, and the priests and priestesses of Santeria and Voodoo. Now she shared the street with a bunch of con artists. She supposed it was all the better to blend in and keep her family safe. Yet she couldn’t help feel her heritage was being degraded.

Robin ended her walk at her grandson’s shop, the Windsor Emporium. She entered without even touching the knob, a small gust blowing in behind her, tinkling the crystals on the tree display. She was caught off guard only for a moment by all the people and shut the door behind her with her hand.

“Good morning children.” She greeted, largely to her two young descendants, though she gave a stiff smile to the other two in the room too.

She walked lithely over to the group, leaning on the glass counter with one elbow and her hip sticking out, “My dear, what is this you have going on here?” she asked her timid grandson who did not give her an immediate answer. Her questions were not really questions at all, her relatives knew that. Giving a response might offend her because she tended to already have an answer. Her dark cat eyes fell to the paper in Ayers boy’s hand. “What’s this? You’re hiring.” She said, sounding surprised and snatching the makeshift Help Wanted sign from the boy’s hands, like she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Young man – Jacobi isn’t it? – What are you doing applying here? Doesn’t your cousin Jacqueline own an herb store down the street?” she asked barely concealing her contempt, raising her dark eyes to meet the innocent smile of the young warlock. Jacobi didn’t know Robin, but Robin certainly knew the new male witch in the Ayers clan, just recently moved to New Orleans. She didn’t give him time to answer, using the question only as a way of indirectly saying “get lost” and moved on. The world of witchcraft was a woman’s world and if the Ayers didn’t teach him that, she would.

“Your cousin Josephine is looking for a job, Sage. You should give her a call.” She told her grandson, folding the flyer in her hands.

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A young man came bouncing into his store, pulling the Help Wanted sign and bringing it over to Sage. "Excuse me..." He cleared his throat then held up the sign. "I would like to apply for almost any position you have available." Sage couldn’t believe his good luck when Jayce had come in and now he had two potential new hires standing before him. It was good in a business sense to have choices, but he was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the possibilities. He also wasn’t used to conversing with more than one person at a time. Thankfully his more socially adept cousin Kait jumped in, "He's the one you want to speak to." She said pointing at Sage before smiling at the newcomer. "I'm just loitering."

The young man turned towards Sage now, who got his voice unstuck in his throat and tried also to give a welcoming smile to the newcomer, though he had met his human interaction quota for the day, “Yeah, I’m the one you want to talk to,” he began nervously, glancing at his cousin uncertain as to how to proceed, “I’m Sage, the owner. I’m only hiring for one position right now. I’m actually in the middle of interviewing someone else. Maybe you could come back in…”

Before Sage could finish his sentence the door opened once again, and a chill gust of wind swept in. He was frazzled as his attention was again pulled in another direction. An acute panic attack welled up inside him as he faced the doorway to see his grandmother Robin in the doorway. Alas, what affection the fickle Lady Luck had given him moments ago, she took away. Robin was not the grandmotherly grandmother in a smock and apron, she was a voluptuous vixen in a tight black dress with lace trimming and sky high heels. She walked in, a sugar-coated smile on her unnaturally youthful face though God only knew what was going on behind those black eyes.

She swiped the Help Wanted sign from the unnamed boy’s hands and harassed him a little. She couldn’t help heckling a man if she got the chance, especially a warlock. Sage hadn’t known there was a young warlock in the Ayers family. It made him feel immediately sympathetic towards him.

“Your cousin Josephine is looking for a job. Why don’t you give her a call?”

“I’ve already hired someone.” He announced quickly.

Everyone looked surprised, even Sage, at the words that came out of his mouth. His eyes darted between Jayce and Jacobi, before gesturing to the latter, “This is Jayce, my new employee.”

Robin stood mouth agape for a moment before she was able to compose herself and smile again.

“Oh, what a lucky girl. She must have good fortune.” Robin stated, giving Jayce a smile, “Excuse us Jayce, but I think we need to have a family pow-wow for a moment. Kait, Sage, follow me please.” She turned and headed towards the doorway that lead upstairs. Sage stood rooted to the spot. “Uh, she hasn’t had any training yet, I think I should stay down here.” he protested weakly.

Robin pivoted around with her hand on the door knob.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, you wouldn’t hire anyone incompetent.”

Sage frowned as Robin proceeded upstairs, heels clacking loudly all the way up. He then turned towards his now new employee, Jayce.

“If you wouldn’t mind starting now?.. I’ll pay you at the end of the day.”

He looked at Jacobi, giving him a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry this didn’t work out, Jacobi..” The poor guy was probably unawares to their family’s history and rivalry. Sage didn’t much care about the rivalry, he saw the Ayers as a minor threat compared to the Crusaders and in fact thought they should be friends given their common enemy. He couldn’t push his luck with Robin hiring an Ayers though.

Jacey made note of Kaitlyn's paint marred clothes with a wry affection, it reminded her so much of her mother. "The look suits you." She complemented before the stale and tepid air from outside found it's way indoors when a rakish older boy with a devious crooked smile wandered in. Her perpetual hyperactive joy wavered ever so slightly as he made it known he wanted to also apply for the position with a confidence rivaling her own. Damn. Now it was more of a competition, but in truth she preferred it that way. She never backed down from a challenge. This Sage sure was a popular guy though...

Her liquid copper eyes shifted downward as they talked, tracing haphazard paths through the shop between the narrow isles set by rackety shelves, almost as if she were nervous or something of the like. Juliet Christina Fortis, who had never been nervous a day in her life. She was unwittingly accounting the sudden storm roiling in her blood, weather in her bones, and the shudder lacing up her spine like a cold finger counting her vertebrae for interview jitters though she had never had jitters about anything before now. What else could it be if not that? What she had failed to realize was that it was in fact a sort of sixth sense, her own inner radar if you will, for witches, that allowed her to feel this palpable static floating in the atmosphere like that before a lightning strike. She had no clue she was the only not magically inclined being in the room because she had no clue that magic really existed.

Sage was just in the middle of telling the boy to come back later, much to Jacey's excitement--calming her 'nerves', when yet another individual joined the party. Just how many people could they fit in the cramped little store? It was certainly filled to capacity now. The tingling that was trailing up and down her spine ever since her interview began, that had seemed to ebb just for a moment with her renewed enthusiasm, burst back into a full blown burn actually causing her to slightly wince when a dark haired slinky older woman strutted into the store like she owned the place. What the hell? Every molecule within her scorched and moaned in pain as the effects of her internal warning system seemed to berate her body into actual discomfort. It was trying to tell her something was going on here a seriously ardent way, she just couldn't pin down what it was. The woman rested against the counter casually while simultaneously seeming to look down her nose at them all, chatting them up before rudely implying the Sage should look elsewhere for new employees, completely ignoring the fact he had two perfectly good applicants right there. Jacey scowled at the woman openly, not hiding her dislike before shooting Jacobi a sympathetic glance. What. A. Bitch. She opened her mouth to speak up when timid little Sage gave her the best news she had heard all day.(Granted, it was only the early morning and there were many more hours of daylight to go.)

"I've already hired someone. This is Jace, my new employee." A glittering smile broke across her face, like the waves of the ocean crashing upon the shore. It lit up her whole countenance in an instant before a small laugh broke free. Not a dry anxious spasm of laughter but a chuckle of genuine means, pure, ringing like coins shaken loose from a purse. "Seriously!? Awesome." Her moment of triumph was short lived however, because this boy's(She assumed)mother or aunt demanded they meet upstairs, Kaitlyn included apparently. Jesus, why does he let her yank his chain like he is some well trained dog? I'd tell her to stick it where the sun don't shine. She thought dryly. "Don't worry about it, I can manage fine on my own for a few minutes. Though at this rate, your likely to have half of New Orleans in here nosing about." Jace milled around to the other side of the counter and took her position. "Go, go see what the wicked witch of the west needs; I'll keep the place from burning to the ground."

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Jacobi looked at Kaitlyn, who pointed to the male then nodded his head towards her with a smile. "Thanks." The male seemed to be a bit preoccupied though so he waited his turn. He knew that doing this was a big mistake and that he might have to hear it from River or Jacqueline later on but he took a risk. Sooner, the air got colder as another female presence walked in. Jacobi studied the female's features and flashbacks started to play-out through his head as he remembers his mother talking about her. How mean and evil she was. When she nearer him, his eyes diverted towards hers as she questioned why he was here. "Yeah, well maybe I don't want to work in a herb store. Maybe..." He was cut off when she snatched the paper out of his hand.

He balled up his fists and the room was suddenly getting hotter but he cooled down and looked towards Jacey, who looked like a regular old human but it seemed like there something more to her than to his knowledge. The older female walked off, calling for some family meeting. His eyes then drew towards the male, who was being a little sympathetic. He gave the male a half ass smile then rolled his eyes. Jacobi had a scolded look on his face towards the older female now, who name came out to be Robin. She had to the leader of the coven or something by the way her demeanor is.

Jacobi turned towards Jacey again, extending his hand out towards her. "Congratulations." He said with a bright smile while leaning on the glass counter top with his elbows. "I haven't seen you around here before, you new to the area?" He was much new himself but this was just his odd way of flirting. Jacobi eyed the Jacey's features and licked his lips while glancing back up and to stare into her eyes. "By the way, that wicked witch of the west comment. More like, wicked bitch of the west." He laughed a little then slapped his hand on the counter top. "Well, I guess I should go then. It was nice meeting you." He said while putting out a small piece of paper from his pants pocket, grabbing a pen off of the counter and writing his number on the paper.



"We should hang out sometime. I don't have nothing else better to do." Jacobi said while handing Jacey the piece of paper. If she accepted the paper, he would turn heel and exit the store but not before he knocked a few items off of the shelf.

Robin directed her gaze towards her outspoken granddaughter. She might have smiled at her nobility in standing up for Sage, been proud of her boldness had it not been directed towards her. She expected the women in her family to be strong and none were stronger than Kait to the point where she was downright bullheaded. Whether Robin was impressed by this she never showed. It was only when she was disappointed that she made her feelings abundantly clear, whether in the moment or at some later point in time.

“It’s one thing to have non-Coven coming in and out of the store. It’s another to have one in our presence at all times. It is dangerous having associations outside of the Coven, for both our sake and those who become involved.” She answered with surprisingly reasonable. She did not elaborate on said dangers. It was hard to tell if she was simply bluffing for manipulative purposes or if there were actual risks involved that she had seen before them. Most Coven member’s awareness of the Matriarch’s infallible third-eye intuition would make them err on the side of caution though.

She tore her steely eyes away from Kait at last and opened the door behind them. “It is your decision not to come to church, my dear. But it will be such a shame not to have the whole family there. We rarely all congregate under the same roof. And a family that prays together stays together, no?” With that said, she left the upstairs vicinity.

As she got down to the bottom floor and made her way to the exit with a languid stroll, she gave Jaycie behind the cash register a cordial nod. “I will see you later.. and your little dog too.” She didn’t even glance in Jacobi’s direction though it was obvious whom she was referring to. She turned the handle of the front door and exited, not even bothering to close it behind her. The door drifted lazily until a few seconds later a harsh wind sucked it shut from outside, rattling the whole wall.

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The hot air began to intrude upon the upstairs room once Robin had left. Sage quietly went and grabbed a broom from the corner with the dust pan. “Just.. Just great.” He muttered in contained frustration, tramping back over to the broken china and beginning to sweep, “I’ve pissed her off. Now she’s scheming something..” So much for having a good day. His fortune-telling skills were rusty. He pointed the dust pan incriminatingly at his cousin, “And you didn’t help matters. You should have stayed out of this. Now she’s not just mad at me, but you too.”

He set the pan down on the floor next to the pile of shards and brushed the glass a few more times before letting go and allowing the broom to continue the chore by itself. “You need to come to church, Kait. She’s already unhappy with you. It’s bad to cross her twice.” He paced anxiously around the round table, arms crossed tightly across his chest, “And I can’t watch all the younger cousins by myself. It’s hard enough getting them all to cooperate for Winter Solstace, I can’t imagine getting them to sit still for a sermon at church!”

"Congratulations. I haven't seen you around here before, you new to the area? By the way, that wicked witch of the west comment. More like, wicked bitch of the west. Jacobi chirped hyperactively, turning his attentions to her now that she was the only other person in the room. Jace laughed outright in response. "Preach!"

She found she was having a hard time keeping up with all he had to say but it made her smile genuinely. His ADD had to be off the charts but he was charming enough and easy going, lax. He also didn't seem to take being passed up for the job too personally which was an admirable personality trait to have. "Uh, thanks. I think he just picked me because I showed up first and to spite her. I'm not new to the area...but I have been away for a while, just finding my way back, you know...and that's kind of like being new." Jacey allowed herself a moment to muse on the fact of the statement. Even though all of the streets and buildings were familiar, the people themselves all seemed to have drastically changed or moved on without her. Life didn't stand still because Jacey Fortis blew town so she'd just have to move on as well and start fresh.

Jace was about to, in turn, ask Jacobi what his deal was when the aforementioned bitch made a guest appearance downstairs once more, stopping to sneer at the both of them like some vaudeville villain, poorly concealing her dissatisfaction with a polite nod of her raven haired head. "I'll see you later...and your little dog too." She mocked with the sincerely creepiest smile Jacey had probably every borne witness to. She didn't doubt it, that woman was hardly the type to take a loss in stride. She'd see Jacey's working there as an affront to her winning streak which was undoubtedly long and glorious.

As soon as Robin strutted back out the door, leaving it carelessly open behind her before a strong gust of wind blew it closed, though the air had been still and lifeless most of the day oddly enough, Jace turned back to her compatriot with a grimace. "I guess that makes you Toto. Not a bad rep to have though, could be worse." She winked at him before biting her lip and nudging him again with her elbow playfully to lighten the mood. What had she gotten herself into by signing on to work there? It would be war but perhaps a fight was what she needed this summer to keep herself occupied.

"Well, I guess I should go then. It was nice meeting you...We should hang out sometime. I don't have nothing else better to do." "Yeah.. me either. You'd think we lived in some Podunk nothing-to-do part of Louisiana instead of the quarter for all the fun we are having." She shrugged. "And I'd like that if you want to risk showing your mug around our denizen airbender." Jacobi slipped her a piece of paper with a string of numbers on it that she assumed with seven digits had to be his cell number and she accepted it, pocketing the slip with a cheerful returning grin. So maybe he didn't seem to be her type of friend, which was the weird and the freaky, but he was nice enough and it was a start.

It was lunch time now and River sure as hell wasn't staying in, she was going out. Really she was....or at least she meant to. She had finished closing shop about thirty minutes ago but she languished over her creative coding decorated laptop, typing out DNA sequences and mathematics furtively and talking aloud in undergrad speak that few were likely to understand if they were there to hear her processing aloud. This might have appeared boring to most, but then again, most missed the real beauty of things when they could only manage to spare it a cursory glance. Number and sequences spelled out everything around you, there was nothing that wasn't quantifiable, not even magic-- River was sure of it. She had just yet to crack the code but she wouldn't stop until she did.

Scientists did not go into the field for a lack of passion, of feeling. Scientists viewed the world like a lover; possessed a need to understand it on every level, a need to cherish it, a need to write volumes of love letters about it, a need to document it so that everyone else could love the world too...and there were none more truly as passionate about it than her.

One of her numerous cousins, though hardly her favorite one, Amber, waltzed in the door, disturbing the catatonia that normally accompanied River's staring at base pairs. "Hey. You hard at school work instead of work work? I still don't understand why they let you run this place if you'd obviously rather be elsewhere." The girl complained, envious of River's position. River spared her a squinty eyed glare. While she had heard her clearly she wanted an extra second of not answering for the sake of articulating herself. The initial route of self-preservation presented itself as sarcasm. "It's not a school project, just a personal experiment of mine...besides, I'm on my lunch break. My brain must feast upon science or else it might starve and wither away to look something like yours. Can you imagine the horror? I would conceivably be a Neanderthal."

Most of her family weren't a part of her cheer squad or fans numero uno. Her dalliance with the philosophy science and magic were one and the same seemed to rather piss them off. It was possible that her desire to study magic on a scientific level and slight objective professional excitement at being born prenaturally able to manipulate physics with the mere grey matter of her brain could be taken as an insult to her fellow genetic lottery winners who chose to see magic as a gift horse not to be looked in the mouth. But being born this way and knowing others like her was such a unique opportunity to study the potential mutation in their genetics that would be hard to find anywhere else. She was trying to respectably catalog witch genomes, but in order to effectively document anything, she needed more than one subject of study. Just looking into her own DNA strands wasn't going to hack it. Hence her having enlisted Jacobi in her little field experiment earlier that morning.

"Whatever." Amber stated with an exaggerated eye roll. "Have you heard the news? About the Windsors?" She chirped with all eagerality of a vapid shallow teen with her teeth on a juicy bit of gossip. "No. And I don't really care either. You know, their lives aren't our business. They're supposed to be our friends. We ought to examine our own lives before we scrutinize anyone else's." River couldn't conceive why Amber had shown up in her store, she knew better than to think open minded laid back weirdo River Ayers would be hooked like a fish by dangling an idle canard in front of her face. "Ugh, will you stop being such a downer for like two seconds! I'm trying to tell you something interesting!" River sighed and gave her cousin her full attentions. "What." She finally conceded, not really posing the inflection like that of a question but Amber seemed pleased enough to accept it as such. "Robin Windsor is dragging her coven to church! Helena said that sage pissed her off royally by hiring a normie to work in his shop and she is dragging them before the crusaders to sit right in front of the pulpit for what reason I can't imagine. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!"

She couldn't. It was suicide. Robin really had lost her mind. "I'm going to see our matriarch. Somebody should tell her about this. Someone has to talk sense into that crazy devil woman, Robin, and something tells me she wouldn't listen to either of us low level witches."

River wiggled her fingers in a mock wave goodbye as Amber trailed out of her shop with a huff. Her cousin wasn't too pleased to not get more of an outright appalled reaction and even more displeased to be interrupted by the likes of Jacobi. River turned back to her kinder relative with exasperation as soon as Amber cleared the door. "One morning and the whole world goes to shit! Well, maybe not the world..." she amended. "But at least the greater part of the witch populous in the quarter."

Jacobi responded by hoping up onto her counter for the second time that day and grinning, swinging his legs back and forth like an overgrown toddler. "So, I met this girl, River. Her name is Jacey and she is awesome. Sad news is, I met her in the Windsor's shop, where she now works but I don't know if she is a witch or not. Yeah, I was there for the whole Robin taking her family to church thing. I was going to burn the place down but...I didn't want to use my gift in public." At least he had the audacity to look abashed by this tidbit of news. She was beginning to realize if this boy wasn't in trouble by 12 noon, he went sniffing it out.

"What the Hell were you doing in the Windsor shop? Their family isn't exactly chummy with ours. I know you're new to the area, but come on dude. That ones obvious. Didn't think we needed to give you a handbook; witches guide to living in the quarter, who to talk to and who to steer clear of." She shook her head, dreads bobbing back and forth. "And I don't want to rain on your parade, you know me, I always say let your freak flag fly and do whatever the fuck you want to do, but...Jacey isn't an Ayers or a Windsor that I know of...which means unless she has the last name of one of the other three coven families, which is unlikely or else we'd know about her moving into town, she's a normie, dude. I doubt even our coven leader would be cool with you dating the magically challenged...even if your mom did it." River's brow puckered as her cognac eyes swept over his disheartened face. She was sympathetic to be sure, it couldn't be easy for him here. "As for the arson route...I doubt Robin would appreciate her store going up in flames...but it would be kind of a funny sight to see." She gave a light half smile but it quickly slipped off her face like a rain New Orleans never saw trickling down a window pane. She felt like a hypocrite telling him not to do what made him happy and to just be his self because she had very selfishly gone to school and ignored her family's rules and wishes to explore her academic side. But Jacobi's self wanted to burn the town to the ground despite his happy-go-lucky temperament because someone had irritated him. He kind of seemed unstable now that she thought about it.