8450/A Brief Moment

A Brief Moment
Date of Scene:	27 October 2021
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Jonathan Sims, Tynan Ireton, Mairin Moran

---

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    It's been a rough day.

    First, she's not slept yet. She's still wearing a David Bowie T-shirt over last night's skirts, though at least she's washed her face. Her gray hair has been pulled back into a loose, high ponytail,a nd she has found shoes.

    She's not one hundred percent they're her shoes, but they were shoes.

    She made her way back to the Candle, Booke and Belle and made sure Mairin was wrapped up in a candy-corn colored afgan and set in one of the upstairs rooms to sleep. Charmed yarns do the darn-dest things.

    And so, it was late. The shop never opened. There were a couple of hand-written requests, and finally, a certain crow makes his appearance, giving a soft 'oof' as he lands on one of his perches around the shop.

    "... little much?" Nettie asks of Corvax, leaning over her tea counter.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon had popped in earlier and spoken to Mairin briefly. So now he comes and knocks on the door to the shop since it's closed. "Nettie? It's, ahh. Jon. Without an h."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty has been kinda waiting off to the side a bit. The woman is used to late nights, early mornings, and lacking of sleeps. It helps that she slept on the plane back. As she spots Nettie, the mercenary makes her way to the tea shop, and gently raps on the door. She looks at Jon a bit. "Hullo.", she says. The woman stretches out a bit.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The door clicks open as Jon knocks, and Ty is able to enter in with him. Nettie looks tired, but glad to see the two. "Hello, hello, come on in -- I'm still awake. Tea, anyone?" she inquires, and turns to start riffling through all those drawers behind her.

    SO many tea ingredients.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon hesitates, then says, "Umm... anything but breakfast tea, please." He walks on in, hands in his pockets. He's wearing a blazer and button-up today, making the lack of the sapphire pendant more obvious than it might otherwise be. "I dropped by earlier but you weren't here, I don't know if Mairin mentioned?"

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty snickers a bit, and shakes her head. "Somebody's got energy for looking so tired.", she says. The woman shakes her head a little bit before moving off to the side a bit. The mercenary looks at Nettie. "If you need some time off cause of a late night, or early morning, just let me know, and I can mind the shop.", she offers. "I spent half the day just reading some cheese nearby.", she says. Nettie has probably caught Ty with a few...books that is very age apporiate.

    "I have a few questions, Nettie, when you get the time.", she says.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Mairin was asleep when I returned; I'm keeping her here for observation while I try to determine what is causing her bad dreams, if it is coming from within -- which I beleive would be your expertiese, Dr. Sims, or without. Which might be one of mine." Nettie gives a smile, and she pulls a little spoon, and carefully puts ingredients into a small metal ball, and she turns, and points her spoon at Tynan.

    "You keep away from my secret and very personal collection of period romance novels, kitten." she warns, half-threateningly before she comes down off her step stool, and pours boiling water from her steam kettles.

    "And I'm highly energetic. Comes from my age."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon nods slowly. "She didn't mention bad dreams. Or... perhaps she did and I didn't think much of it." He sighs. "I'd be glad to try to help, if I can."

    He hesitates, glances to Tynan, then looks to Nettie. "So. Ah. Yes. I... had intended to ask you about learning magic, and I still do, but there's been a potential complication. I..." He takes a deep breath. Lets it out. "I do not believe it is in anyone's best interests if I continue to work with the Night Brigade going forward. And... I didn't know if that was any kind of requirement for studying with you."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty blinks a little bit, and looks around a bit. "Whats the Night Brigade?", she asks. The woman stretches out a little bit. "Is that what John is calling all those people that have been going out on those jobs?", she asks Nettie. "I mean, I wouldn't worry about it, Jon. I'm being taught magic, and I'm a mercenary.", she tells him in all honesty.

    "And should I be concerned that Little bunny may or may not be wetting the beds?", she asks. Ty smirks a little bit, and the looks over at Corvax. "I'll get you some damn good rum for those books, Corvax.", she offers.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    The sound of Mairin coming down the stairs preceeds her by several seconds. She's hardly trying to be quiet about it. When she's finally at the bottom of the stairs she's still blinking away the sleep, rubbing her eyes, and a little disoriented. Not to mention her slacks and blouse being all rumpled and wrinkled.

    "God, what time is it? How late did I sleep?" She looks around at everyone. "Oh. Hi Nettie, thanks for letting me stay here for a bit. I don't think I've slept that well in ages." She looks to Jon with a smile, "And hello again, Jon." Then waves cheerfully to Ty.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Once you're sorted, Jon. I understand that you yourself are processing through your own troubles." Nettie comments. "Then perhaps revisit the idea of returning to the Night Brigade, if that's what you think is best, right?" Nettie gives a smile, "But being involved with John Constantine's projects /is/ a byproduct of working with me. On account that we are actually quite close... he's about the only one who's seen me in my bare--" she begins, and then Ty smirks. Nettie does not approve. "Be nice, Mairin might save your life one day with her odd ability to take things apart at a sub-atomic level or sommit." she purses her lips a moment, and produces four tea cups.

    Jon's is blue and has an open book on it.

    Ty's has a tiger in mid-pounce.
    Mairin's has a robot on it.

    And Nettie's is plain black. She begins to pour tea as Mairin joins them.

    "Good evening, Rabbit. It's... getting late. You're welcome to spend the night upstairs if you think it'll help sort your rest."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I don't mind working with him, Nettie," Jon says softly. "But he... very much seems to resent my presence, or at least..." He sighs. "I set him off very easily. I think it's best I remove myself. Perhaps in time..."

    He shrugs. He looks rather resigned to the whole thing. Unhappy, but not as if he's going to make anything more of it.

    To Mairin, he says, "I hear you're having bad dreams?" Ty being a mercenary is a thing he merely nods to. It's the least surprising thing he's heard in a while, actually.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty shrugs her shoulders a bit as she watches things. She sips her tea carefully. "But as far as I can tell, I think John only tolerates me as somebody who has actual combat experience.", she sighs as after sipping from her cup. "Mairin is his favored one.", the merc explains.

    "Which leads me to my question. Should I be concerned about something attacking me in my safehouse, since I can't ward it.", she asks. "I mean, I had a clean shot the other day, and Corvax stopped me from pulling the trigger."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin walks up to the counter and leans against it as Nettie pours the tea. "Thanks Nettie. I think I will stay." She looks between her mentor and Jon a moment, then shrugs. "I guess it's best to tell you both. Who knows, maybe I am just going crazy."

    She pets Emily who has curled up on the counter as she tries to think of the best way to say it. "They start fine enough... spending time with..." was that a quick glance up at Nettie? "People I care about. Just... doing regular things. But then they turn... the whole tone. Even before anything happens I know something's going to. I can just feel it. This sense of.. evil. Of dread. It's terrifying. Like... being watched by something horrible.

    She takes a deep breath before pushing on, her gaze now focussed on Emily. "Then my bots... they... they start pouring out of my bag. Hundreds of them. All kinds of them. They... attack the people I'm with." The way she says 'attack' makes it clear that's an understatement. "They don't touch me. I'm always just there... watching. I can't tell them not to. I can't control them at all. And I can't look away. It's like something is *making* me watch. Watch while they just... And allways there's that oppresive feeling." She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I haven't been attacked, Ty," she answers after a moment. "If anyone really wanted to hurt me, my appartment would be easy for them to get into."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon frowns thoughtfully. "That sounds... actually eminently reasonable given your recent work, but..." He chews on his lip for a moment.

    "You just woke up. Your brain is still transitioning out of sleep. Maybe I can..." He hesitates, then says, "Mairin, if it's okay, I would like to... look into your mind. Psychically, I mean. I won't poke around at anything that's private, and I won't tell anyone anything I see beyond what's needed to help this." He taps the center of his forehead. "I /think/ I can at least tell if this is just... normal dreams or not. But only if you're okay with that."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty stretches a little bit. "I grew up with a Dad who believe that the Troubles would come to our door. He's always saying that paranoia is better then a lead alarm clock to the head.", she tells. "I'm just worried that something may sneak into my safehouse, and with everything I got in there. I can't move them with ease.", she tells.

    The young mutant listens in a bit, and then nods her head a bit. "It sounds a lot like you're worried about your new abilities taking over. Its a normal thing with mutants to fear that they're abilities will take them over. Hell, for a long time, I wondered if I would loose my sense of self cause of my secondary mutation.", Ty tells. Wait, what? "I would say a couple of days rest, and some fun somewhere would do you smoe good.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin nods twice to Jon, then turns to face him, only trace amounts of fear showing in her face.

    As Jon looks through her dreams, like looking back through the pages of a book, he can see that she *does* indeed have trauma dreams. Short snippets of her subconcious trying to deal with things she's experianced. Some from as far back as No Man's Land. Some as recent as the incident at the Wal_Mart. But all of them are normal. However, looking back far enough... he does encounter one matching her description exactly. Only she left out SO much detail. This dream is vibrant. Real. And horrific. And even looking at it so far from when it happened, he can *feel* the wrongness of it. The unnatural evil of it. This is *not* a normal dream.

    "But wouldn't that manifest as a dream about spellcasting? I mean, making bots is hardly a... power." she says to Ty as Jon sifts her brain.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Creation is a magic all its own, Rabbit." Nettie comments as she leans back and sips her tea. She has her own mental shielding up at the moment. She's not ready for Jon to venture into her brain and see what's been dredged up recently.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon stands there, looking /right/ into Mairin's eyes as he opens his Third Eye--that's the best way he can think about it, really--and focuses his entire attention on Mairin. He blocks out the other chatter, the scent of the tea and rose hips and dragon's blood, the emotions of the others around him. He's learning to think of it like he used to think about being on stage, blocking everything out but the /one/ thing he's focused on.

    He reels back after a moment. "Oh good lord," he whispers. "That's almost as bad as my dreams."

    And then he's rapidly scanning her form, looking for any trace of magical or astral energy.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty shrugs her shoulders a bit. "Well, I mean I can perfectly mimick what I see. And trust me about nightmares. I tend to get them after rough jobs. Thats why I party after them so hard.", she tells. THe woman stretches out a bit. "The world isn't pretty. I see that a lot. And thats why I want to make a merc company that gives Mercs a good name. A place for people that have skills that makes it hard for them to be normal.", she says.

    "Then again, I'm just a killer to most people. Somebody who only knows the value of a gun or explosive when it takes a life. Thats why I choose not to practice any offensive magic.", she tells.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin smiles at Nettie's comment, though her eyes never leave Jon's. His response, however, makes her flinch. "I'm sorry, Jon." She even reaches a hand toward her though she doesn't touch him. "I ddin't know it would be that bad for you." As though any of this is her own fault.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "This dream is not merely a nightmare," Jon says with conviction. "Something put it there, something from outside. Which... is indeed Nettie's realm of expertise. I can't tell /what/ the energy is, just that it's there. But the dream is /horrific/." He shudders, and turns to Nettie, who is thankfully warded.

    "Can you tell what's causing it? It's in the back of her mind, but it's there, this lingering, terrible thing, and I can't place the energy." He doesn't sound surprised; he's new to this whole business, after all.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie takes a deep breath, and she cracks her shoulder as she sips her tea.

    And she draws out a marker, and begins to doodle on her left hand. She's murmuring under her breath.

    "Jon. Be a dear and make sure she doesn't fall off the stool?" she asks of the good lad as she brings up her hand to investigate her work a moment, and then quick as a viper she brings her hand up to put it against Mairin's forehead.

    It is COLD. It feels like a cadaver's hand.

    And Nettie begins to chant in Lhasa as she works, her inhumanly colored eyes focusing on Mairin's face.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin lets herself gaze into her mentor's eyes, and if there is any fear in them, it's only that she's afraid of whatever's in her head hurting Nettie.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon steps forward and around behind Mairin so he can catch her if she falls. It also puts him in prime position to see /exactly/ what Nettie's doing, to whatever degree magical Sight can actually see the workings.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Ugh. Demons.

    Not really her wheelhouse, but never let it be said that she learned NOTHING from the nights she spent at John's side.

    "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te...cessa decipere humanas creaturas..."

    "Demonic influencer, I sever the bonds that you have inflicted and place this child under my protection." she states, smearing the blood on the back of her own left hand, and then grabing the sharpie she dips the tip of it in, and goes to scribble against her forehead.

    "The Mark of the house of Crowe protects this child from all outside influence."

    And then Mairin has a very fancy, if temporary, sharpie tattoo. Unfortunately it's on her forehead.

    And then Nettie goes to try and 'pull' the influence out, gripping her left hand in a loose fist against Mairin's forehead, and 'pulling' out.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin's whole body tenses as Nettie reaches in to 'pull out' whatever it is that has touched her. her hands clutch at the counter as she alternately leans into it, then pushes back into Jon. But whatever it is... isn't about to come out so easily.

    And that's when the screaming starts. Normal at first... then rising higher and higher until it is something inhuman. And *that* screaming, turns to laughter. Mocking laughter. As Mairin, or what *thing* is inside her, jeers at the struggling witch."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon grabs Mairin's arm, wraps his around her to hold her and make sure she doesn't fall. He looks between Mairin and Nettie. "What...?! A demon?" He frowns, holding Mairin fast while trying to think. And following Nettie's lead, of course.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Demon. And strong." NEttie hisses. Her left hand is literally smoking now, and she pulls herself away, feeling it push back against her and slam her into the back counter.

    "ANNETTE!" Corvax barks from above, flapping down.

    Her left hand is blistered and bleeding, and Nettie is stunned, sliding down and falling to the floor behind the counter.

    "Fff....feck/me/... that's a John Constantine job if there ever was one." she hisses.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    The laughing stops as abruptly as Nettie is thrown back and Mairin goes flying back the other way, right into Jon. She's muttering something... but doesn't seem coherent.

    Nettie meanwile, is retreating down to her rooms below to tend to herself, while yelling at Jon not to let Mairin out of the Candle until John gets there.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon stumbles back with Mairin and manages, somehow, to get her into a chair. "Oh, gods," he whispers. "Osiris give me strength, protect us from these ridiculous /demons/." Demons. Ugh.

    Once she's situated, he runs a hand through his hair and glances at the door. "Got it, Nettie!" he shouts.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin is tiny, so it's not hard to get her back into the chair. But it takes a few minutes more before her eyes are focussed and her breathing and heart rate back to normal. When she's cogent again, she looks at Jon with confusion. "What happened? I just sort of... blacked out. I remember Nettie was.." She looks around the room then tries to jump up, "God, what happened to Nettie?!"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon presses Mairin down into the chair, gently but firmly. He has his 'doctor voice' on. "You are touched by a demon. She tried to exorcise you and failed. She said you're not to leave the shop until John gets here." He frowns thoughtfully. "...Do we think the demon might try to get you to leave. Hmm."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin stays in the chair, but her stubborn face comes out. "Nettie. Is she ok?" She isn't thinking about anything else until that question is answered.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon huffs out a breath and folds his arms over his chest. "She's fine. Likely has a headache, same as me. That happens sometimes. She got up and went downstairs under her own power."

    He fixes Mairin with a glare. He's /very/ good at glares. "/You/, Dr. Moran, are either possessed by or at least /touched/ by a demon. You need to stay put and worry about yourself for the moment."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin shakes her head in confusion. "What? How? Why? I don't understand." She's never really believed in angels and demons before. And while that's quickly changed being around John and Nettie, she's still woefully uneducated about them. "How would that even happen?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon chews on his lip. "Hard to say. Have you been around anyone, besides John and Nettie of course, who truck with such powers?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "No... I mean... Not that I know of. I've been around other practitioners... One that is... less than savory... But I..." She stammers a bit then shrugs. "I honestly don't know." She pulls her feet up into the chair, wraping her arms around her legs. It's obvious that every horror movie she's ever seen is just playing itself out inside her head. All the possible ways this could go bad. "God, Jon..."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon leans down and grips Mairin's arms around each shoulder. Not hard, just firmly. He looks /right/ into her eyes. "It's going to be okay," he says. "However much John and I might be fighting just now, he is the /finest/ exorcist in the world. If /anyone/ can get this demon off of you, it's him. Okay?" He holds back every worry, every time John /hasn't/ managed to help, because... that's not what Mairin needs right now.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She nods, a little more emphaticly than she needs to, Then looks around the empty room. "Um... I know you don't really know me... But... Could you stay? I just. I don't want to be alone. I know Nettie is here, and I know the Candle is warded but... Please?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon's firmness softens and he smiles. "Yes," he says. "I'll stay. I'll make sure nothing happens, alright? I... trust me, I very much understand. But I promise you, things /will/ work out."

    Dangerous thing to do, but he can't let himself consider the alternative.

    He reaches out to cover Mairin with the blanket, then goes to grab the tea cups. Hands Mairin's to her, and takes his own blue one with the book to another chair, and sips at it. "Get some sleep," he says. "I'll wake you if that dream starts up again." He'll watch, evidently, with his Sight.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She sips her tea, closes her eyes, and tries to find her center. That calm part of her that blocks out everything else. But it's still so elusive, and she's been scared too badly to sleep. So her eyes open after a minute. "Can we talk instead?" she actually bluhses a little bit in embaresment. "Can you tell me a story? A happy one?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon chuckles and sits back. "Alright. Let's see. Ahh... oh! So my friends and I used to have this house in Oxford..."

    He goes on to tell the story of an April Fool's Day prank that left the house covered in glitter, a happy story of a happy time when he had friends and life was good.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin listens... rapt. Saying nothing but laughing often. An honest clean laugh that touches her eyes and chases away thoughts of demaons and nightmares. And eventually, after a few more stories, she does finally fall asleep. Emily curled up beside her. A deep and untroubled sleep.