Spells at Coombs & Co.

[jiyunnies]

After a few hours of her morning shift at Coombs & Co, Riley decided it was definitely going to be a slow day. Only two customers had come in and she was about three hours into her shift.

Pulling out her phone, she shot off a quick text to Val;

[text] Busy? Come by the shop and I can do the protection spell. We got all the supplies here.

She hit send, sighed, and looked around the room. What could she work on? She got up from the register and did a quick count on their stock of good fortune potions. Aha, not enough! It was a best seller and they had three vials left. Beaming, Riley slipped into the back of the shop to gather up her supplies. She'd hear the door if anyone came in.

Comments

[bewitchinghaze]

Val felt her phone buzz against her leg and, after helping out her customer, answered the text: On my way now. :))) Picking up tea on the way so I'll be about ten minutes.

Hauling off her apron and giving her face and arms a quick scrub, she flipped her sign to closed and headed off, stopping at the Quill to grab a couple cups of tea for them both.

She pushed the Coombs & Co. door open with her shoulder and stuck her head in. "Ji-Yuuuun. Your ever loving little sister is heeere." she called.

[jiyunnies]

Riley can't help but roll her eyes to herself. "Be right there!" she calls from the back of the shop. She finishes adding a pinch of garlic into the cauldron, turning the heat on the burner off and giving the potion a quick stir before sealing it with a lid.

She pushes through the door and enters the front of the shop, untying her apron and tucking it neatly under the counter. "You're an angel," she says as she sees Val with the tea and grabs a cup from her. "Busy day?"

[bewitchinghaze]

"I know I am," Val smiled, taking a sip of her own drink. "It's been pretty hectic. Flower orders go up hardcore in spring. Everyone wants a little piece of nature for themselves."

"We doing this in the back room? Want me to flip the sign for you?" she practically bounced, full of energy from working with her plants all morning.

[jiyunnies]

"That's good. I bet your flowers are happy to get new homes at least." Riley takes down a few notes in the shop's ledger as she sips her tea. "Mmm, what'd you do to my tea this time? I never know what charms you put in my drinks."

She nods, bending to grab her book of spells from under the counter. "Yes, please. It shouldn't take long, but I haven't done one of these in a few months. Have you seen the guy at all today? It won't work if you have."

[bewitchinghaze]

"Energy charm! I figured it'd help out today. I'd rather you not fall asleep while bespelling me and all," she skipped to the door, flipping the sign and locking it. "Nope. Thank god. It's been a Grant-free day so far, just the way I like it."

[jiyunnies]

Riley laughs at that. "Good thinking! I'd hate to have to let mom and dad know I put you into a coma like Sleeping Beauty or something. I might get grounded at the sweet age of twenty-four."

"Ooohh, his name is Graaannt?" she teases, completely forgetting that hey, this is a bad crush, not a good crush. Riley pushes open the door to the back, holding it open for Val.

[bewitchinghaze]

Val giggled. "Hey, at least I'd know who my true love is if you did that."

"Ugggh don't even start," she groaned, giving her the finger as she walked by. "His name sounds so... TV cop-ish it's not funny."

[jiyunnies]

"Me??" Riley grins. "Or the guy I'm wiping from your vision?

She smacks Val's hand. "What's his last name? I'll put it on my list of 'cops I don't want to deal with'." She gestures to a seat for her sister, setting her book on a table nearby and opening a cupboard door where she digs for a few ingredients. She finds what she needs pretty quickly: ginseng, rosemary, and a few tea leaves to add some flavour just for Val. She quickly mixes them together and pours the concoction into a glass. "Drink up. This will prepare you for the spell."

[bewitchinghaze]

"GOD. Gross! Neither! Whoever kisses me to wake me up, you loser!" Val gagged, pulling a face.

"Middleton. Typical rich boy surname, right? Grant Middleton. His name sounds like what he is. Disgusting." She takes a seat and downs the drink. "Your mixes are getting tastier, unnie. Remember that time you got me to test a luck potion and I ended up throwing it all back up it was so nasty?"

[jiyunnies]

"Well damn, now I know how you really feel!" she scoffs.

Riley smiles as she writes his name down on a slip of paper. "You got it bad, kid." She grabs three candles and sets them in a triangular shape around Val, lighting them as she laughs. "Ummm I thought I told you to never speak of that again. I've figured out if you add a tiny bit of flavour, it makes all the difference. Okay, hold this paper with his name on it. I'm going to read off the incantation and when I'm done, rip the paper with his name in half and blow out the candles one by one. You ready?"

[bewitchinghaze]

"Um, Riley, you're my sister. If you were my true love there would be something incredibly wrong with us." she cringed.

"I'll stop speaking of it when I stop being able to remember the taste of it. It was like Satan barfed into a potion vial. Bleh." She took the slip of paper, fingers crinkling the corners she was so tense. "So very ready. I will never be readier in my life."

[jiyunnies]

"Not in that way, gross."

"Oh stop exaggerating. You were just being a baby. Alright, let's get this over with." Riley grabs the book, giving her sister a quick once over to make sure she set up everything correctly. Once she's satisfied, she reads off the incantation and nods to Val when it's time to rip the paper.

[bewitchinghaze]

Val rolled her eyes. "You're my true sisterly love then, ok?"

"I was no such thing!" She shut her mouth as her sister started the spell, vaguely recognizing it from a book they'd both studied from. At Riley's nod she gleefully tore the paper into tiny pieces, scattering them to the wind and leaning in to blow out the candles.

[jiyunnies]

"Fine, I'll take it."

"How do you feel?" Riley leans in to look at her sister, touching her cheeks and forehead.

[bewitchinghaze]

Val took a moment to sense that all of her body parts were still in place and she could still feel all her limbs. "I'm good, I think! Unless I've suddenly sprouted a tail or my stomach is in my chest cavity now." she teased. "But you're pretty good at what you do so I guess I'm probably safe."

[jiyunnies]

"Pretty good," she snorts. "I'm damn good, if I say so myself. No tail at least. Wanna test it out?"

[bewitchinghaze]

"Oooo. Someone's got a big head now, huh? I'm kind of disappointed I didn't get a tail... I'd be cute as hell with one, okay." she laughed. "Sounds good to me. Go for a walk?"

[jiyunnies]

"I can most certainly give you a tail to match that sass." Riley gathers the ingredients and candles and locks the away in the supply cabinet before grabbing her bag. "Okay. Shall we stroll by the station you think?"

[bewitchinghaze]

"A cute bunny tail?" Val teased, gathering her stuff. "Sounds awesome to me. Think we need an excuse in case they ask why we're there?"

[jiyunnies]

"A long alligator tail."

"Ummmm finally paying an old fine? Not that we will. But I'm sure they'd definitely believe we have a number of fines stacked up in there."

[bewitchinghaze]

"Wow. You get a nasty rat tail for that."

Val laughed as they headed out of the shop. "I'm pretty sure if we paid off our fines they'd be able to remodel the entire station."

[jiyunnies]

"I'd still work it."

"Best not to ever do that then! It's not because we can't afford it, it's because we don't want them to have nice things." She smiles, tugging Val's arm into her own as they make their way to the station. "I'll let you know if I see Grant and then we'll know for sure."

[bewitchinghaze]

"You wish!" she laughed, squeezing Riley's arm.

"If they ever get nice things we need to find a way to trash them without them ever finding out." Val laughed. "Sounds good to me. Fingers crossed I don't see him..."

[jiyunnies]

"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something. We can be very creative when we want to be." When they arrive at the station, Riley casually glances around and spots Grant. "He's here. Hanging out by the entrance. He's on his phone."

[bewitchinghaze]

Val looked around where Riley was looking, frowning in concentration. "...Nothing! I see nothing!" she squeaked gleefully. "We should probably get out of here before he spots us thought."