undergrounds | It was a ball, it was a blast (OPEN)

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It was a ball, it was a blast (OPEN)

A: Library

Kenzi has been a busy little bee as of late - something that has gotten her a sizable hill of cash. (She doesn't do banks. Not when people like her are around to steal innocent folks identities.) However, for all her success, Kenzi has yet to find the goose what laid the golden egg.

Figuratively. Or maybe literally? She doesn't know yet. All she knows is that when Barnet was taken over and Jenny from the block's stuff became hers, she found a page of a book. At first she didn't think it was anything worth taking - but it was old, the writing almost like Old English, and therefore worth a quick glance.

What she saw there made her stuff it in her bra and wait until she was home to read it more thoroughly. It was torn from a spell book of some kind, that much was clear. One made by a Circle Midnight witch, by a Circle Midnight witch if what little she could read was any indication. The page told her that this book - wherever it was - could help her summon a Fae long before she was technically powerful enough to do it on her own.

Not that she was alone now. But she wasn't about to pull Nancy into her mess, and Abigail might have been their merry band's leader - but it didn't mean she trusted her beyond that role.

So Kenzi was trying to do some research.

It was a pretty amazing place in Kenzi's opinion. The British Library was near the King's Cross station, which didn't make it hard to find. And while the more accessible public areas were fantastic for the collections they had, what Kenzi wanted was in the basement. Specifically the basement below the basement. It was no secret in the supernatural community that the person in charge of the downstairs was...something else. Nobody knew exactly what. Some people suspected they were a dragon wearing human form, and that their hoard was more books than gold. The specifics of the rumors eluded her, but she wasn't here to learn about the owner.

The sub-basement was dank and musty, the lighting in the hallway was sparse and covering the rows and rows of books was floor to ceiling wire gates. Spell books were scattered among their ranks, and the feeling of old power leaking from the racks of books was heady. Whether or not they were white or black spells, Kenzi didn't care.

There was a good-sized room hidden behind the books with a thick oak table and four mismatched chairs of assorted fabrics and wear. It took her an hour or so to start picking out the oldest looking books and placing them on the table.

B: Tarot

Once again on Portobello, Kenzi has her fortune telling stall open for business. Her working name is printed on the cards she hands out from her stall as Madam Czigany - palms, runes and tarot readings. Everyone on the street knows her as the blond hippy Russian who was way too into wiccan stuff. They didn't know she was an actual witch, and they didn't need to. Neither did her customers, as far as she was concerned. It wasn't as if they cared.

Kenzi waited patiently under her covered booth at the table, alternatively smoothing out the thinning shawl she'd placed on top to cover the stains on the plastic top and shuffling her cards. People ate up this gimmick, so she wasn't anxious.

C: Stealing from a Dead Woman (a...again.)

Kenzi had a cousin (she has a lot of cousins doesn't she?) who used to work at the Kitterick hotel where Carmilla had kept herself, before it had become the decrepit mess it was now. When Anton (her cousin) told her suddenly the power was back on and that a bunch of people had been seen coming and going from the penthouse floor up until a few days ago - Kenzi figured she could at least start watching it and scoping out the place to see if she could maybe make a profit. (This is open to interaction!)

Once she realized that nobody was coming back to the place, Kenzi decided to call her very best friend - and the only other person interested in making some money this way that she knew right now.

The vampire's attendents had abandoned all of Carmilla's valuable and beautiful things in the penthouse and where ever the finery was, Kenzi only saw a profit to be made. She rented a truck to park in the loading bay of the hotel's kitchen, so as to transport things like the curtains and creepy chair with a little less effort. Though she didn't have any preliminary security set up to warn her of when someone might stumble upon their work, Kenzi had some nasty little spells ready to go if she needed to fight someone off.

She was also armed with her keen lies as well.

D: W-W-WILDCARD!!!

Make up your own if you feel up to it!

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So many people, so much bartering. Meaningless paper given value by a commonly accepted delusion exchanged for something of concrete value. She understands gold and silver, even if, ultimately, it is nearly the same thing. What use is shiny metal to someone who was hungry or cold? Still, silver and gold can be held. They have weight. Money... Well.

The cards are the strangest things.

The actual way of using them, she knows. It just seems so foolish. That money is, now, not even a thing a person touches or sees or counts. It's all left to computers and to the people who are in charge of those computers. The number of people who might cheat someone had been limited, yes, but that supposed that the few who were involved might not be criminally minded.

Yet, she can feel a sense of magic in the air.

Coming from a very unusual place. A little stand with someone claiming to be a fortune teller. How strange to find someone who might actually be capable of it here. Still, even a witch needs to fill her stomach.

Azula approaches, making use of how young she looks to mortals. It's easy to have a hint of a smile with a mix of a question at the corner of her lips as she draws closer. She watches a shuffle of the cards.

"Can you really tell the future?"

Everything about her, even as she goes for 'innocence', likely screams 'princess.' At least in the modern, extremely entitled rich girl sense. The question is almost genuine, but there's just a bit too much of a dry edge to her words to sell exactly what she's pitching. But it's close enough, she figures. She hasn't been among mortals for quite some time. It'll take getting used to.

"I am merely interpreting the cards, child." She affected her usual thick Serbian accent that went with this persona and, though she couldn't have been more than ten years older than this girl, it was more in character to talk down to her.

"Please, come. Sit." Kenzi gestured to the uncomfortable looking bench where the customer would sit. She made sure it wasn't a nice seat, to keep the person across from her always on edge. It made them less likely to think to question her.

Azula slips into the chair quietly, looking at the cards. There could be real magic involved or merely a girl turning a profit. Either was possible. Still, she likes things like this. Seeing how mortals react. How they ply their trade.

"I've heard about Tarot." She can't lie about it, after all. "What do you charge?"

"Sixteen quid." For all the flower-child imagery she has going, Kenzi is very pragmatic about money. At least she keeps the accent?

"Double if you want two. Shall I?"

Kenzi gestured to the cards and spread the deck out across the table with a card flourish she learned when she was young.

"We'll start with one."

At the very least, she's not bored. Not yet. And money isn't a problem. She has some, but she also has other things. Things that a human with a brain to think of would find more than fair. But, first, she'll see how this plays out.

"Could we see what they say about love? For me, that is."

Kenzi was used to customers trying to get a reading in first before fucking off with the payment she asked for - especially from younger kids, which Azula looked the part of. So she didn't beat around the bush.

"Eight quid first."

To offset her straightforward talk, Kenzi began shuffling the cards with practiced slowness.

"Then I'll look into your love life, darling."

"Ten, then," Azula murmurs, setting the money down on the table. "A tip is considered acceptable, isn't it?"

After all, it's worth buttering the mortal up a bit. It isn't as if she needs the money. She can always find more where that came from.

"Very." Kenzi tried not to look greedy as she took the money and put it into her locked box that was meant for her transactions. After all, she did have to legitimately pay for this spot on the road. Even if it was at a family discount.

Kenzi knocked the cards against the table before setting them down before Azula.

"Cut the deck, and we'll get started."

Azula considered the cards carefully. She knew she was probably sitting across from a charlatan, but she'd play the part correctly, at least. So, she reached over and took a section of the cards in hand, cutting the deck.

"Like that?"

"Just so." Kenzi was, at times, grateful she had the accent for this job. It made things like that sound much less ridiculous.

Kenzi took the lower half and dealt out seven cards in a long formation. As she turned them over, one by one, she explained.

The first card shows a man on a horse, clad in armor and looking quite the hero. In his hand he holds a pentacle. If this girl knows anything of tarot, she might be a little off-put by the fact that the card was reversed. Not that Kenzi couldn't spin it to be positive while still telling the truth.

"Falling in love will not be what you expect. You may have already wasted the opportunity to find your true love. But hope is not lost. Do not be so discerning with your eyes."

Kenzi added in the 'hope' line to keep her from walking out. Sometimes negative spreads were good hooks. When people thought they were being scammed, it was usually less beneficial to tell them good things.

The next card, like the last, is reversed. The Ace of Swords is a bit intimidating in Kenzi's opinion. A hand from the heavens wields a sword that has a crowd circling the tip of the blade and what looks like long weeds hang from the crown itself.

"The attraction between you, while intense and there from the start, might not be as easy to spot as you would wish. It may frustrate you to wait, but you must have patience."

She contemplates, if the next card isn't positive, telling an outright lie. But when she turns it over, Kenzi lets out an unconscious breath of relief.

The Star is a traditionally feminine card, and while Kenzi doesn't like to assume what teens want and don't want, she tries to word it so the gender is vague.

"This person is considered a great beauty. You're a very lucky girl."

Kenzi almost winks. Almost. And moves on quickly from her shitty explanation.

The next card is the Hermit. Upright. It shows a cloaked figure with a staff on a dark background. There's honestly nothing outstanding about this particular card. In fact, it's one of Kenzi's least favorites.

"However, for all their looks, this person struggles with their emotions and dealing with the hard truths of their life. They would rather keep moving on than confront their issues."

And then, lo and behold, the Death card shows up. Kenzi glances at Azula quickly to gauge her reaction; she loves it when people see the card and their faces fall in terror. Telling them the card isn't as bad as they think is it's own reward.

"In order to even start this relationship, you will need to change your ways greatly. This card represents a great change in your life that you must undertake if you are to be with this person."

The next card is the first to be reversed since the Ace of Swords. The Nine of Pentacles shows a woman in a garden that is honestly, top to both of the card, surrounded in pentacles. It's like they're roses.

"And in order to be with you, they will need to regain their sense of independence and worth."

The last card she turns over is upright, and depicts three swords piercing a heart. It isn't anatomically correct, or particularly violent.

"You will meet this person once you have both let go of your past, the weight of your burdens must not trouble you any longer in order for you to both find each other."

She folds her hands in front of her, as if to say 'this concludes the reading! Now fork over the rest of the money.'

"Interesting."

The amount of 'not buying it' in her voice is pretty evident. But Azula does hand over the rest of the promised money. After all, the girl could be useful later. Especially as a contact in the mortal world. If her first impression is correct, then this girl might well end up needing help getting out of scrapes.

"I don't really believe in fortune telling, but you almost convinced me."

Her smile's easy enough.

"I appreciate your time."

Kenzi isn't about to pressure a customer into buying another reading. If she wanted another one, she'd ask for it.

"I am not here to make believers out of people."

She nods, pocketing the cash as well; Kenzi retrieves a card from a small stack near the corner of the table and holds it out to Azula.

"Please, take my card."

If she has any friends who might want a reading, Kenzi will gladly try to get more customers if she can.

"Of course." Azula takes the card and puts it into the small wallet she carries in her bag. The cards are mostly dummy cards, things with no actual value attached to them, but they look real enough, along with a Chinese ID. She'll have to change it for a UK one soon, but that hasn't been on the top of her priorities.

"Perhaps I'll come back and see you another time."

"I hope so."

She doesn't know how wrong she actually is.

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It was a ball, it was a blast (OPEN)

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