undergrounds | The New Establishment (CLOSED)

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The New Establishment (CLOSED)

The three girls had agreed to come separately. Or, at least, not all in the same car. Two people coming together wouldn't seem odd, but three might.

Abby arrived first and did a majority of the prep work. She brought chalk and candles and a large amount of sea salt. It was easy to bring the things over in batches, hidden in her bag so it didn't seem too odd.

There was a handmade sign on the gate out front of the little house.

COMING SOON
SEVEN SISTERS PSYCHIC
Tarot readings, palmistry, mediumship, and more!

And the first floor was done up like a typical sort of psychic shop, save the kitchen and a back room with a few cheap sleeping bags and pillows. Just a place for anyone who needed it to crash for the night. If Kenzi or Nancy wanted to work it as a "legitimate" business, they'd be more than welcome to. Abby certainly intended to.

On the second floor, however, the non-essential walls had been knocked down to open up as much space as possible. Here, the real magic would be done.

The to-do list was easy enough: a cloaking spell to hide the place from magic location, the casting of Cave Ininimicum over the front gate, and the swearing in of the three of them to some degree. She wouldn't insist on what she had in mind, but, well, she would suggest it.

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"Thanks for coming you guys."

It's strange, in a way. Smiling as they stand around. The first preparations have been done-- the small circle drawn in chalk and gone over in salt, candles of the appropriate colour placed at each of the cardinal directions as well as a symbol of each element.

Now, it's time for a more serious matter. To swear themselves to the coven, to step inside the circle, and make their vows. It's not magic, not really. This part is psychological. But Unthank always stressed to her the importance of something like this. It was a symbol, and symbols have great power in the mind.

"Bear with me. This is gonna sound crazy, but--" She takes out a pocket knife she bought from a corner store. "I'd like to do this in blood. We don't have to. Just... a suggestion. For the three of us. A strike to each palm, then join hands at the heart of the circle and make our promise to the coven."

She smiles, but it falters. "Unless that sounds totally insane. I might have seen too many movies."

Kenzi's opinion of the place notwithstanding, Kenzi wasn't really expecting this to be so ... real. And then Abigail pulls a knife out. "Woah!"

Her astonishment is largely a joke, but there's some real fear there in the face of commitment. "We're not gonna do the whole 'drinking the blood of the sisters' thing are we?"

She's grinning big, treating this like a joke is a lot easier than thinking of it seriously.

"Of course," Nancy said with a solemn nod. She'd come in last with her own supplies. She was good at arriving places undetected until she actually wanted to be noticed. Came with her territory.

At the idea of using blood, she glanced over at Kenzi. Abby, she was sure, didn't know of her professions. She had thought she'd be able to do a bit of business on the way home tonight, but... "It'll only be a little, right? And you're both absolutely clean?" She worried about things like blood born diseases. Quickest way for her to find herself out of a job, and Fagin furious with her.

"Little nick to each palm," Abby offers, giving a small smile. It's an uneasy expression because she knows this is weird. Probably too weird. Maybe she has a little too much of a touch for the dramatic. But... Well. She's already started, so she can keep going. "Then palm to palm among us."

Not something she wants to do every time there's a new member or anything, no, but it seems a good rite to start the coven with.

"I'm clean." From the look on her face once the question is asked, she obviously hadn't thought of it before. Still, she's hoping she didn't say something too stupid.

She knew Nancy was aware of her status but Kenzi didn't want to make Abby feel alone in this question. It was important to Nancy, so it was important to all of them. "Ditto." Kenzi's always been a stickler for safety for her own personal wants, but this is still...scary real.

Kenzi huffed out a shallow, shakey breath and fortified herself with what courage she could muster.

"Okay. Gimmie the knife," she makes a grabby hand at Abigail and swallows down her fear. It won't hurt that much, or so she tells herself.

Nancy nods with a sigh of relief. "Alright, good. I am, too." Because she had to say it as well, given she was the one to ask in the first place.

Still. Blood magic was... blood magic.

"Just be careful," Nancy warns, looking at Kenzi, who seemed, well, a little more manic than usual.

Abigail takes a deep breath before she makes the first cuts. A small line on her palm, just deep enough to draw blood. Then, she gets up and goes to the circle drawn in chalk and steps just inside the ring. All she can do then is wait. It shouldn't take long.

Her palms are up, ready to be taken by each of the others when they've drawn blood.

There's no real spell to do. Maybe the blood will be binding, maybe it won't. But there's an oath to make, in her mind. And a circle of salt and blood mingling gives it weight, even if there's no real power in it.

"Palm to palm, blood to blood," she says, keeping her voice as even as she can. "This circle is a sanctuary. Let none enter it who will not protect her sisters." The words are old, found in one of her mother's books. A woman who married into the Widdowson family and who wrote them before she had even met her future husband. They aren't tied to the Widdowson curse. "This oath is made in good faith. We will stand together, even if we stand in shadow. We will protect each other, even if we guard in secret. And we offer blood, every one to the others, to seal this promise."

There might not be a 'real' spell to do. But Kenzi feels magic swirling against them like hungry cats. There's power in an oath, and one made by three witches certainly has to carry some.

She's never heard this incantation before - but she's not surprised there. Her own family had their own brand of magic, and Abigail must as well being from an old line like hers. Kenzi, thankfully, keeps her mouth shut. She doesn't want to disturb the somber atmosphere.

Gritting her teeth, Nancy makes a small incision on each of her palms, following Abby and Kenzi's lead. Closing her eyes, she lets herself feel the magic, flowing between the three of them. It's amazing, to think there was such power here. That she was part of such amazing, otherworldly power. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

As Abby starts to speak, she squeezes Kenzi's hand just a little, trying to focus on the words, repeating them in her head.

"we offer blood to seal this promise," she repeated, the words falling out her red-painted lips reverently. It wasn't just a spell. It was a prayer. A prayer to keep them all safe in these dangerous games, to keep those they cared about away from harm. It was too late now to turn back.

Redbright would just have to deal with what her zero-tolerance policy had wrought.

It's strange, to feel the power flowing within the circle. Ultimately, it's the first time Abby has ever felt it. Even with just three of them, there's more to this coven than the sum of its parts. Binding together has changed things, somehow. It makes her just a little more sure of what she's doing.

She looks up at the others and gives a nod before letting go of each of their hands and releasing a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding.

"Cool." She lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she says it and releases both of the girls hands to begin examining the cuts on her own. They were so much smaller than they felt, but maybe the seriousness of the situation made them seem deeper.

"That wasn't so bad."

It's done. They're a coven now.

"Do we get cool nicknames now?"

The second Nancy let go of their hands, she felt exhausted. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand first, she immediately afterwards went to examining the cuts on her palms. Wrinkling her nose, she gently brushes one index finger over the wounds, then another over the other, concentrating. Slowly but surely, the flesh knit itself back together, leaving Nancy fully healed.

"Here, you two, let me see your hands." when it came to healing up small wounds like that, Nancy was an old pro. "While I fix you up, we can discuss, right?"

"I've got to learn that," Abby says, watching Nancy curiously. Still, though, out of the circle, she sits on the ground and offers her right hand first. Not having to explain the marks on her hand to her uncle? Very preferable.

Though, Kenzi makes a good point. "Well, we're going to be keeping it a secret." At least the other two members a secret, for now. "Code names might actually be a good idea." Another small smile. "And kind of fun."

Nancy could do Abigail first, Kenzi wasn't a stranger to cuts and bruises so they could stand to linger a few more moments.

"Gotta be something cool. Don't we need a name for the circle too?"

She's like a twelve year old being exposed to the idea of a club for the first time. Indulge her?

"I'll take codenames." She'd rather still keep her name out of everything.

Sitting down, she took Abigail's hands in her own, and, carefully, muttering a few phrases almost inaudibly, trailed a gentle finger down the cuts. They were already closing by the time she lifted her finger.

Once Abby was done, it was Kenzi's turn for Nancy to mom over her. "Ooh good idea. All of it should, I don't know, is it too cheesy if we play on a theme?

"We're forming a secret coven," Abby says, actually able to smile at the thought. It doesn't seem so dangerous now. The blood can almost be forgotten, as can Redbright and Daybreak. Kenzi's attitude is contagious.

She feels like a kid, forming a 'secret club.'

"I think a theme sounds great."

Suddenly this was a whole lot more fun than it was two minutes ago. Kenzi claps her hands excitedly and squeals before rushing into speaking, "Okay, okay...,"

Unfortunately, the only thing her mind gives up is 'The Babysitters Club'. Kenzi clicks her tongue in frustration.

"Nah. That'd be stupid. We're not babysitters."

She doesn't seem aware that her inner monologue is not an outer monologue.

Nancy had never read a Babysitters Club book, and thusly, gave Kenzi the weirdest looking face. "Kenz." She nudged her. "We can all hear you."

"Something that can grow with us, as the coven grows. So there isn't a limited number of things to be taken..."

"Something a little intimidating," Abigail suggests. After all, they're three girls up against the established government. They can afford to be a little dramatic in their naming. "In case it starts getting spread around."

She's going to have to talk about the coven at times. Because she's made a public stand for it. And names have power.

Kenzi goes silent (surprise) for a few moments before humming into speaking.

"Hm...what about 'Midnight Daughters'?"

If it sounded like an awesome band name, Kenzi figured she'd be on the right track.

"Daughters doesn't sound particularly intimidating to me." Someone had daddy issues, alright? But didn't everyone in this circle? "Something like that." Nancy wrinkled her nose.

"I'm awful at this part. Though, maybe... Maybe if our names were Midnight Daughters? Famous witches from history, or something. My other thought was Shakespeare."

"All I can hear is Redbright being patronising about us considering her our 'mother' still and that this is just a phase." The idea of 'daughters' anywhere in that... No. Under other circumstances, it wouldn't have been a bad idea, but, here and now? No. "But I do like the idea of using that as a basis for our codenames."

She was silent a moment, considering the problem of a coven name. Something intimidating but not a declaration of war.

"Maybe... Nightfall? I mean, it's not intimidating, but it fits the theme of Circle Midnight..."

Kenzi makes an aborted snorting sound that might be a laugh...or at least it is by the smile on her face.

"I think that one might be taken." By a Norwegian band, Kenzi. "I don't feel like getting sued on top of everything else."

Wasn't that Nightwish?

Same difference, really. "But you're on to something. Dark dark dark... Night... C'mon, throw words out. Something's got to stick."

"Dark-- Black-- Twilight?" It'd make a good point against Daybreak. But-- "Oh. No. Wait. No. No way."

Bad vampire fiction was not being used.

"Something... secret-y? Maybe? Hidden--"

"Shadow?"

Kenzi says it loudly, as if it had just popped into her head. Honestly it wouldn't be hard to believe she was just saying random words now.

"Shadow." Nancy repeats, grinning as she looked from Kenzi to Abby. She liked it.

Abby smiles as well.

"The Book of Shadows." Her way of agreeing that it sounds like the perfect name. Then, testing it again. "Shadow."

"Radical!"

Way to ruin the vibe, Kenzi.

"Shadow Circle it is! Ohmygosh - we should totally get jackets!"

She's a little wrapped up in the idea guys, sorry. Kenzi never officially belonged to a coven before. Her family was going to initiate her when she turned fifteen but...well, she ran away for the last time two years before that could happen.

"I think jackets ruin the point of this being a secret coven where no one knows each other's names, Kenz." Said gently with a hand placed on her best friend's shoulders.

"Speaking of..."

"Right. Code names."

Abigail considers it for a moment.

"I mean, we could just use false names. Everyday kind of things. Or, if we want people talking about us. Knowing by sound who we are. Then, we'll need something noticeable."

Mistress Hecate...

Mab's cold voice rang in Kenzi's head and she does a little shimmy dance to banish the jitters before clapping her hands together with a wide, very fake grin.

"I got mine! Hecate's like a witch-goddess or whatever and she's totally in Shakespeare." Kenzi you don't have to pretend not to be smart around these two. She might not be a super-nerd but she has her credentials.

"Does...that work?"

Wasn't Hecate only mentioned like, briefly when the Witches in Macbeth were casting spells? Whatever, she was no Shakespeare scholar, though she did enjoy the man's work. Especially the works based on his canon.

"I like it. It fits you. I've got to think on mine. It can't be anything awful."

Famous witches. It suited their purpose very well. A witch mentioned in Shakespeare and the Goddess of the Crossroads. Extremely appropriate.

"Lilith," she murmured. "For me."

A very dark mythological figure but she shared the title 'Mother of Witches' with Hecate, depending on the belief system. Besides, it was how she had to be seen. Something powerful.

"Radical. Bad bitch names."

Kenzi is grinning way too sharply for her to not be enjoying the hell out of this. She likes the idea of being a big player in the London-scene.

"Oh, damn it!" Nancy, for her part, was already pulling up the internet on her phone.

"Let's see here... 'Bad bitch names'. 'Mystical'. 'Supernatural.' 'Witches.'..." because it was really important to read out your google search terms so everyone knew what you were doing here.

"Ooh! Yes, this, here! Sigyn." She tapped at her screen displaying the wikipedia article, pronouncing it see-gihn "Loki's wife." Odd, but... "She's the one that held the bowl in front of the serpent, to keep Loki from being poisoned." It fit her, oddly.

Abigail smiled. Hecate, Lilith, and Sigyn. A circle cast. A promise made with blood. It felt... strange... having a coven. But she could feel it thrumming in the air, binding them together. It was worth it, certainly.

"We're in this together, now."

"Yeesh, this place looks like something my grandma would put together."

It's all very ... quaint on the first floor. She's just glad there aren't any doilies to speak of. If there were, she would have walked right back out the front door. Or so she thinks.

It's still amazingly stereotypical in the 'nice, friendly neighborhood witch' way. If they start taking in wounded animals she's gonna have words. But, Kenzi is placated by the fact that she has her own place closer to the heart of the city to do her work in. It's security for her. That she has a way out - if you will.

"So where's the other four of us?"

That 'Seven Sisters' thing isn't legit, right?

"Sorry. Should I have put up a sign 'Hey, Redbright, here we are, come and attack'?"

It probably says something about how honestly comfortable Abby's feeling that she can reply with sarcasm. She smirks just a little, tilting her head. It's easy enough, really.

"I can run a little 'psychic' shop. Besides, hiding in plain sight, y'know?"

Kenzi matches her smirk - glad to see Abigail actually doing something with her face that isn't a sullen little frown. It's good to know the girl has more bones than just her spine. After all, she stood up to Sylvia didn't she?

There was more to a person than bravery - or stupidity. It was good to see it.

"Hope you're looking forward to getting some crazies in here."

"Small price to pay to keep people from wondering why an 'unused' house is rented anyway."

After all, crazies? She could handle.

They couldn't be any scarier than looking Redbright in the face and making it clear she was going to protect her coven.

"Yeah that and rent. Which is how much again?"

She knows Abigail never actually told her what the rate was, but it's her half-assed way of sneaking the question in. Sorry Abigail.

"Oh, it's taken care of." Because, well. 'Rented' may also translate into 'bought.' Through a few companies Unthank had set up over the years to allow the Widdowsons their privacy with transferring funds. She'd never thought she's need them.

"Don't worry."

Rich people, Kenzi seethed inwardly and started unloading the box she had brought.

"I'm Russian. I worry."

"And I'm English."

She flashes a smile.

"I plan."

"Touche." Kenzi allows it. She also doesn't pronounce touché properly.

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The New Establishment (CLOSED)

The swearing in

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