11393/Weird Magical Traditions

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Weird Magical Traditions
Date of Scene: 29 May 2022
Location: 105 W 29th - Jon and Cael's Apartment
Synopsis: Jon and Cael move into their new apartment, which includes bread and salt, boiling water and milk to overflowing, and discussion of wards. And then an emotional discussion to clear the air a bit.
Cast of Characters: Jonathan Sims, Cael Becker




Jonathan Sims has posed:
    When Jon and Cael went to the leasing office, they found out they were in luck--there was a three bedroom apartment being vacated at the end of the month. Private balcony, southern views, naturally higher rent but they worked out the details. Jon was able to transfer most of his and Martin's deposit to the new place, paperwork got signed, and they started packing.

    Jon's been insisting on a few odd things while they're moving. He went through the whole of the old apartment with a broom and a globe of his water, using the broom to flick the water into corners in an act he described as 'cleansing the space' for whoever came in next. He's got a box of various bits and bobs, mostly candles, but there's also a pot and a juge of milk and a bag of rice.

    Most important, though? The bread and salt he's holding as they prepare to cross the threshold into the apartment for the first time. A container of the fancy sea salt he uses for cooking, and fresh rolls from a bakery across the street. He's offered some to Agnes and Cael if they want it; Agnes took a roll and a chunk of salt, herself.

    "It's symbolic," he says in explanation as they prepare to enter the place, the dogs waiting (one presumes) patiently. "The bread so we'll never go hungry, the salt so our lives are full of flavor. Astronauts have brought bread and salt to space stations, it's a common tradition."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Looking a little bemused, Cael takes the bread and the salt that's offered, pressing her lips together for a moment. "I've... taken to believing a lot of stuff I'd thought was complete nonsense, lately," she points out. "This is important to you." So, yes - she's humoring Jon, on this one. She doesn't believe in it. But does she really have to?
    She continues to wait outside the door - watching Jon, and prepared to follow suit with whatever he does. "You wanna know what rituals I always had moving into a new place? ...putting a container of mint chip in the freezer."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon looks a bit stricken at Cael. "Oh! I mean, first thing? We could do that, we could run out and--"

    "Dad, I don't think she means /immediately/," Agnes cuts in. "Unless you do?" She eyes Cael, curiously.

    Evidently this is important enough to make Jon pause with his hand on the door knob, key already in the lock. "I mean... if it's important to you to have mint chip in the freezer right away, we can do that. This is your place too."

Cael Becker has posed:
R    "At some point //today// - we'll get mint chip in the freezer," Cael remarks - a wry smile on her lips. "It's just- it's something Alis and I always enjoyed together, you know? So it's something I've always held onto. But it doesn't have to be //right now.//" She gives Jon a small smile, a suspicious amount of moisture in her eyes, which she hastily blinks away.
    "Show me what we're doing. I imagine Agnes already knows." The kid always knows so much more about all this stuff than Cael ever does.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I /really/ don't," Agnes says with enthusiasm. "I know about the bread and salt, and I figure the candles are for lighting, but what's the rice and milk for? And the other box with the silver Sharpie and all the magical implements?"

    Jon smiles at Cael in return, then turns to the door. "The milk and rice is an old Indian tradition. You boil it on the stove until it overflows, symbolizing the prosperity of a long life." He pauses. "Granny /insisted/ when she moved to the home, alongside the bread and salt. Made me get her a little one-pot burner and boil over the milk and rice. Drove the staff half-mad until I promised I'd clean it up." He sniffles a bit--maybe his eyes are moist, too--and then clears his throat and turns the knob, finally.

    The place is open and spacious, the ceilings a bit higher than the apartment several floors down. "There's a lot of windows to put candles in," Jon murmurs, but his eyes shine a bit. He's sad that Martin isn't here, but he's already been through this with his husband more than once. At least he can do it all with Agnes and Cael. He turns to the right, heading for the kitchen that's only separated from the living room by the space of the bar island.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...first thing you do in a house is waste food and make a mess?" Cael asks - sounding completely baffled by that idea. She immediately follows that up with, "Sorry, sorry. It just- ...//sounds// ridiculous to me," she admits as she follows Jon in. They'd done a brief walk through with the manager earlier - so she'd seen the space already. It was nice - and she can feel her heart thudding in her chest, some of her anxiety threatening to overwhelm her (was she really going to follow through with this? Was it really alright?) but it wasn't as bad as it had been in the leasing office, when they'd signed the papers - and Bear immediately appears at her side, nuzzling her with his cold, wet nose.
    "You, uhhh... Get to pick your room first," she tells Agnes. "I mean, other than the master bedroom. But I guess that's after we do... all this other stuff."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon gives Cael a patient expression as he breaks the roll and sprinkles salt on the inside, then takes a bite. He chews and swallows, and then says, "I'll clean the mess," in a patient tone. "I'll be doing a magical cleansing anyway--I can /feel/ the prior residents in the air." A beat, as he turns in a slow circle, right hand reaching out to feel the air. "DINKs, I think. No feel of children, even nearly-grown ones. Not a clue what they used the extra bedrooms for. I suspect they wanted the views and the balcony more than the space. Lots of bitterness and stagnation, but overlaid with a more recent feeling of... hope? Maybe they were slimming down their lives, and hoping to improve their relationship by moving somewhere smaller." He shrugs.

    Agnes nods to Cael, wandering down the hall while she copies Jon, breaking apart the roll and sprinkling on salt. She pokes her head into the first bedroom, frowns at something, then paces down the hall to the far one. She only sticks her head in the door for a moment, then turns back and says, "I'll take this one. The windows face east."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...you can feel all that?" Cael asks - likewise sprinkling some salt on her bread, and taking a bite. She still has food in her mouth as she adds, "'be be'er wi' butter." She gives Jon an amused look, before taking another bite.
    After swallowing she adds, "Fine by me. I'd rather not have dawn's light coming through my window in the mornings. Ugh." So - better for both of them, really, she can't help but think as she reaches down to scratch at Bear's head. "You're a good boy," she murmurs, before offering him a small piece of the roll.
    Hey. He'll be living here, too.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "There's butter in the cooler bag!" Agnes declares. She runs out to the hallway, grabbing the boxes that Jon had left in the hallway and offering Lady a piece of bread as well. "Dad, you should get the portal set up so we can start moving stuff while you're making a mess on the stove."

    Jon shakes his head. "Not you too," he grumbles, but focuses on a point in one of the few actual walls in the living room. A door opens to the living room of the other apartment, and he beams. "Oh, good! Okay. Rien says I portal with my heart instead of my head, so locations are harder to pinpoint... but it looks like 'my home' is easy enough."

    He goes to the box that Agnes has placed on the bar and starts pulling out the pot and milk and rice. "Alright, I'll get this going while you two grab boxes. I can probably float most of the furniture through on a platform. Oh! And the magical implements and Sharpies are for wards. I, ahh... well. Once we've got the place cleaned, we can start making objects to tie wards to. I'm thinking two layers, one of straight-up protection, and then an alarm ward in case anything gets through that."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well, hopefully in the coming weeks you won't try to portal back 'home' and end up in //that// apartment, surprising the new residents," Cael remarks in a wryly amused tone, finishing off the last of her bread - without getting out the buttle. For that - they'd need to find a knife as well. And that was too much bother.
    She starts toward the door Jon created as they start to talk about wards, and she pauses, looking back at Jon with uncertainty. "If we warded against angels... then Chas wouldn't be able to come over."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon frowns thoughtfully as he goes to put the pot on the stove and fiddles with the dials, figuring out how to turn it on. "Ohh, nice," he murmurs. "You can control the temperature to the /digit/. That's worth half the rent increase right there." Jon's got /priorities/, okay?

    He figures it out, and starts putting milk and rice in the pot. "Well," he says, "there's a few different ways to put together wards. Broad-spectrum wards usually won't keep out more powerful things--they're meant to protect against /all/ forms of intrusion, so they can't protect /as well/ against, say, an archangel. You can layer specific wards but that gets time-consuming and power-consuming and would be like a flaring beacon a mile off. And it's easier to make a ward that'll just act like a lock that you have to unlock than one certain people can walk through at will."

    They consider it while they turn back to the box and start pulling out candles. "I had intended a kind of general-purpose low-level ward that'll keep random spirits and low-level demons popping in, and then the alarm ward to warn us in case something bigger tries to push through. If you /want/ me to ward against angels specifically as well, though... the wards I put on Grand Central were against the archangels, and because of how angels work that affected the angels that served them. Chas /isn't/ tied to them, so him and Asariel and any other 'free' angels floating about would be able to get in just fine."

    Agnes is already coming back with a load of boxes marked 'living room,' which she puts off to one side. "I don't understand... Elias' whole house is warded against intrustion. You're the avatar of Ma'at, why can't you make stronger ward than he can?"

    Jon sighs. "Besides the fact that he's far older and more experienced than I am? Elias fuels his wards with other people's blood. I'm... not going to do that."

    Agnes frowns. "Oh."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "No human sacrifice, please," Cael remarks in a dry tone. "If we wanted to sacrifice a few bunny rabbits I'd be fine with it. As long as we ate them afterwards." Not a lot of sentimentality for the little fuzzy wuzzies there - is there?
    She frowns in thought for a moment before adding, "Warding against angels is not a //must// but... I would feel better? I dunno. I'll leave it up to you if it's worth the effort, and if it would make us more, or less safe," she remarks, before finally stepping through to get a box.
    Bear steps through with her, and into the old apartment - and then spends the next few moments bounding back and forth between the two apartments as if greatly enjoying this - and probably quite surprised to have the two spaces linked like that.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon looks at Cael gently. "They can't just /come here/ anymore, love. This plane, I mean. Back when... back a few months ago, you told me that in a normal situation you'd have certain things, like? Police protection, like that? Well... in this case... the perp's not only been locked up, he's /dead/. So the question is... is it better to put the energy into that ward, specifically, or into something a little more broad that would protect against more things?" A pause. "What's going to help you /sleep/ at night?"

    Agnes puts a box on the kitchen counter and then says, "Scrying. I want a ward against scrying. And I mean... I mean... nothing looks in. Nobody. Nothing. Just... as strong as we can."

    Jon turns to frown at her. "If I do that... I mean it's a dead spot. It'll practically /beg/ nosy sorts to come pick at the ward, and see what's behind it. Maybe something more--"

    "No!" Agnes cuts in, suddenly flaring into anger. "I don't care! I don't want... I'm tired of wondering if he's... every mirror, I stop, and I wonder, is he looking at me /right now/? Can he see what I'm doing? Is he... does he know where we live, is he going to come for me--"

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael lingers near the doorway as Jon says his piece about the angels, and retrieves one of the boxes - but before she can make any attempt to share her thoughts, Agnes is having a bit of a crisis herself, causing Cael's brows to furrow in concern, as she hurries to set down the box. "Hey... Hey, we'll figure something out, Agnes. We hear you. You're scared, and now we just need to figure out the best way to make you safe - and to make you //feel// safe."
    Hesitantly - she moves over towards the girl - putting a hand on her arm, but obviously unsure about going any further than that. "Is there a way to make any attempts at scrying... to show something false? Like putting security footage on loop? Or to redirect any attempts on scrying, so whenever they try to scry on this space - they get the apartment below us?" she asks, turning her gaze towards Jon.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    For a moment, Jon kind of gapes at Agnes, and it might seem like he has no idea where this is coming from. But then he reaches out, not quite touching her. He doesn't want to crowd her.

    "Oh, sweetheart," he says softly. "I know... I know /exactly/ how you feel. Trust me. I've lived with it longer than you've been alive." He swallows. "Look, we'll... whatever we need to do, so you two /feel/ safe, we'll do, okay? If that means I put up a ward of complete blank space to scrying and 'no archangels may enter' then that's what I'll do."

    He glances to Cael. "But... hmm. I think you're right, about the idea of... redirecting, maybe, instead of just blocking it out. I'd rather not just direct them to someone else... but 'footage on a loop' could work. Okay?"

    Agnes actually turns toward Cael a little bit, like the touch on her arm is comforting. "That... that'd... work... I just... it's just..." She looks at Cael with wide eyes. "He watches people through mirrors. He trapped me in a mirror. I d-don't... I don't ever want to go back there." She /wants/ to move in and be hugged, but Cael is hardly the person to do that.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I told you we would find you. Yeah?" Cael reminds Agnes. "Before I even knew you, and now I do. We'll do whatever we need to do to make you as safe as we can. And if Elias somehow finds his way around that - when you know Jon and I will come. We will always come for you. And hopefully... one of these days, we'll track him down and stop him, so you can feel safer. But no matter what, no matter who it is - we'll always come for you. That's-" There's a momentary pause before she plows forwards. "That's what family do for each other. Yeah?"
    Everything about this makes Cael uncomfortable - but it's clear enough that the girl wants a hug. And she can hear Alis' voice at the back of her mind - reminding her to be more like herself, more like she used to be. To love, and to trust, and to hug. This is her family. Isn't it?
    Hesitantly, awkwardly, she leans forward to wrap Agnes into a loose hug, her gaze clearly not sure where to rest as she stares at the wall across from her.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Agnes is pretty awkward, herself, unused to hugging or being hugged or... touching, in general. So she clings to Cael for longer than might be really comfortable, but pulls away when Jon taps her gently to get her attention. /He/ can see how awkward it is for Cael, at least, and he gives her a thankful smile.

    Then he wraps his arms around Agnes and holds her close. "I let you go once," he says softly, "but I'm never doing it again. Okay? Cael's right. She came down to Duat to get me, yeah? How far do you think she'll go for a kid?" He smirks at Cael as he says, "Elias Bouchard overlooks people like Cael. 'Normal' people. It'll come to bite him in the ass eventually."

    Agnes sniffles, and nods, then pulls away from Jon, looking embarassed. "I... I should just... I'll go get the, umm... I'll get the stuff from my room." And then she turns to walk toward the portal, giggling as she notices Bear jumping back and forth.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael is relieved to take a step back - shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans as she confirms Jon's words with a simply, "I will shoot him in his fucking face if he ever comes for you again. And I will get a great deal of satisfaction out of it. He's the very definition of a douchebag."
    She watches Agnes move towards the doorway - a brief smile crossing her features as Bear barks at Agnes happily, seeming to assume the girl has come to play with him and the door that should not be. After that, however, she moves towards Jon - and wraps them up with both arms, leaning into them. "We'll find a way to help her feel safe," she murmurs.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Cael, burying his face in her hair. "Same for you," he says, firmly. "If you need me to ward against archangels, I'll do it. If you need Chas warded out to feel safe... I'll do that too. Okay? This is your home, too. You should be able to feel safe sleeping here, whichever room you're sleeping in."

    What other purpose is there to having another bedroom, after all?

    He hesitates a moment, then says softly, "Cael... I... okay, maybe this is a bad time, but umm... do you blame me for you... dying?" A pause. "Please tell me the truth. Because /I/ blame me, so it's okay if you do too." Really, Jon? /Really/?

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I don't want your best mate warded out of your //home,// Jon," Cael answers quietly, while still holding to him. "That's why I asked. But I, uh- I was taken out of my own bed, so- sometimes it's hard to feel safe in my bed," she admits.
    At his question, she starts to pull back, concern and puzzlement showing on her features as she tries to study theirs. "Blame you?" she repeats. "I- no. No, Jon. I don't //blame// you. That isn't the right word. It's not your fault. You didn't do it to me. You weren't the one that hurt me."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon frowns down at her, searching her eyes, like he's trying to figure out the solution to a puzzle. She's surely seen that same look while he's holding his phone and doing the New York Times crossword over his morning coffee; the look that says if he just figures out the right combination of letters he'll get the key to the whole grid.

    Naturally Jon does the crossword on his phone. He's a millenial, after all.

    "Okay, so if blame isn't the right word... what is? Because there's /something/ there, and it... it's been bothering me." A pause. "I blame myself. I should have saved you. It's... been bothering me more than killing those men, even. If I could've saved you--or even just held you long enough for Sara to get there--it wouldn't feel like such a... I wouldn't be /questioning/ myself so much."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael holds Jon's gaze for a while - but eventually, she looks down, and away - and then tucks herself in against Jon once more, pulling herself in tightly against them, while closing her eyes. What //is// the right word? "I don't know," Cael admits quietly. "I- I love you, Jon. And I trust you. You came for me, and I was so... relieved. You were there, and I was safe, and everything was going to be alright. You were going to make it alright." Until suddenly... it wasn't. "And then I couldn't breathe. And I could see your fear - and I got so scared. I- I don't know. It's not you fault, Jon. It's not. But- it still hurt. I felt-" Felt what?
    "...betrayed?" she hazards, uncertainly.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "You trusted me, and I let you down," Jon says softly, tucking his chin on top of Cael's head. "And now... maybe, you think, 'I trust them, but what if they let me down again?'" He swallows. "I mean... /I'm/ thinking that. You trust me to put together the wards, the alarms, to keep you safe. But what if I fuck it up? Get it wrong, somehow? Nothing's foolproof."

    They sigh. "I could see... I could /see/ your fate, written on your face. You were going to die. And I just... I felt so damn helpless, in the face of that. I'm not... I'm not very good at just telling fate to 'fuck off,' if you haven't noticed." They laugh, ruefully. "When I found out I was going to die I didn't waste a lot of time trying to figure out not to die... I spent my time trying to figure out how to come /back/. Because nothing said I was going to /stay/ dead."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "You will always do your best for me, for Agnes. I //know// that Jon. I know that. I just- it hurts, knowing that sometimes our best just... isn't good enough. Sometimes there's going to be nothing any of us can do."
    She keeps her face buried against Jon as she adds, "I have no problem telling fate to go fuck itself in no uncertain tersm. I just- have no way of guaranteeing that it'll you know. Do what I tell it to. No matter how stubborn I get."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I could have healed you, though. The way to do it occurred to me while you were unconscious--not to mention it turned out I was healing people all wrong /anyway/." Jon shakes his head, just slightly. "That's just it. I had the power, to /keep you alive/, at least, and I hadn't... thought it through. I'd neglected my /job/ to focus on... on swords and energy blasts and..."

    They sigh and hold Cael tighter. "I will never give up on you again, okay? Never. Not until you tell me you want to. If you tell me right now 'if I die again I want you to fight for me' then I will, the gods be damned. And when..."

    He stops. His breath hitches.

    Softer, slower, "When you're old and grey and tell me you're ready to go see Alis again... /that's/ when I'll stop fighting. Okay? Not before."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "That's hindsight, love," Cael answers him quietly. "Everything is more clear in hindsight. You focused on- well. Where you thought you needed the most work. And you couldn't think in the moment, because the woman you loved was dying. I don't //blame// you," she insists. "I don't. ...but it' still hurt."
    Her arms tighten around Jon as she adds, "I'll never stop fighting to be with you," she promises. "Not until I'm old, and grey, and tired - and then I'll wait for you in the Field of Reeds," she promises. "As long as I stay on this path - as long as we kee each other true... We'll meet there. Yeah?"
    Freeing one hand, she wipes at her eyes, then pulls back to look at Jon again. "Agnes said somthing about Alis's... akh? That it's her spark, and her personality, and it's waiting in the Field of Reeds. But that it's possible to invite the... here? For a visit?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I gave up," Jon says. "That's... that's the problem. I gave up on you, when you fought like /hell/ to keep me alive, to bring me back. That's why... I /did/ betray you. Because I gave up. And I should never, ever have done that. So I won't, okay? Not ever again. I swear."

    Cael may not be able to feel the ripple of magic as Jon makes that promise, but /he/ certainly can. Ma'at backs it up. Magical oaths are a big deal.

    He sniffles and then pulls back as well. "Umm... maybe? Sort of? I can't say that it'd be... it's not like it was. It's not a ghost. It's more... she could maybe effect things. Send someone dreams or nightmares, make them sick or heal them. We could make offerings to try to ask for her help. But it's not really /talking/ to her, so far as I know."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael nods a confirmation of Jon's words, promising in turn, "I'll never give up on you. And I'll never give up on staying with you. I'll will my heart to keep beating with everything that I have."
    His explination of what the 'akh' is - what it can do - is met with obvious disappointment by Cael. "Oh," she murmurs quietly. "I- I didn't think it'd be the same as before. I didn't think I could see her. But I still- I would have liked to be able to tell her about my idea - and know that she'd heard me. That she knew she was.. that she's going to be remembered. Remembered by more people than she ever thought possible. I just- I wish I could her that."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "You can do that," Jon says softly. "We can make an offering, and the words will go to her. I can promise you that. The gods will make sure she knows."

    Agnes clears her throat, which makes Jon jump a little. She's standing in the living room holding a couple of boxes. Her dark cheeks are a little flushed. "Umm... yes. I was thinking, actually, where we're putting the altar...?"

    Jon nods to the wall the portal is in. "There, once everything's in." A pause. "I know, I know, but we /can/ set it up last. Why don't you take your boxes down to the room and then start setting up the candles in the windows? We won't light them yet, but at least that'll get the feeling going, hmm?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah?" Cael asks - some tension leaving her form with relief at his words. "I know I won't be able to hear her anymore. But- If she can hear me, or at least get my messages..." That was something. That was still something.
    She wipes at her eyes, pulling away from Jon as she hears Agnes' voice - but her gaze is towards the stove as she remarks, "Uhh - your milk is making a mess."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon yelps and turns to the burner, turning it off and beaming brightly. "Excellent! That's that done." They lean over to kiss Cael on the head. "Why don't you go start bringing some boxes through? I'll get this cleaned up and then start getting the furniture." With magic. Because... magic.

    Agnes giggles and shakes her head and heads off down the hallway toward her room, taking the boxes, with Lady trotting after her.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, love. Okay," Cael agrees. She lingers a moment longer, though, her gaze going to Jon's face, and her fingers reaching out to clasp theirs. "I love you." That's what she says out loud - but that's not what she means.
    This is hard,
    This is scary.
    This is worth it - because she loves Jon.
    Giving their hand a squeze, she makes her way towards and through the strange doorway that shouldn't be.