~~Part 1: Lessons in Gambling~~
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"I'm just saying," you stated, sitting down at a dining table outside the place Alastor had brought you to. Both of you setting your food down in front of you, ready to start eating. "If you ever feel the urge to try something a little more modern, doing podcasts could be right up your alley."
"Perhaps," he sighed. "But I'm an old dog who would rather stick with what's familiar to me. No school like the old school, right?"
"Suit yourself, just an idea." You hummed, unwrapping your sandwich. Your mouth watered at the delicious aroma of it, your stomach making an audible rumble that instantly made you smirk and blush in embarrassment.
"Hungry, darling?" He asked with a gentle smile, politely acknowledging the sound.
"No, my stomach just likes to impersonate the mating call of a humpback whale." You quipped with a chuckle.
"Ah, I see." He hummed, laughing softly in amusement. "Well, dig in, my dear!"
"Thank you again. I can pay you back later." You said. Humming with delight as you took a bite, the tangy and savory sauce blending so perfectly with the succulence of the meat and veggies on it. Alastor wasn't kidding, this was one of the best po'boys you've had in a long time.
"Nonsense!" He chirped, dabbing his mouth with a napkin as some extra sauce had dribbled down his chin. "Pardon me... I offered to take you out to lunch. It was my treat, my dear."
"If you say so." You shrugged.
"Darling with all due respect," he paused, putting his sandwich down. "You haven't been paid by Charlie yet. So unless you've been doing some more gambling, I'm not sure how you could pay me back just yet. Not that I don't appreciate the offer, of course."
You snickered, unable to wipe the smug grin from off your face. "I could get the money no problem. No playing cards needed."
"That a fact?" He mused. "Think you could in... say, the span of five minutes?"
You raised your eyebrows, pleasantly surprised he would challenge you on the spot. You looked around at your immediate environment, scanning for a potential mark.
"This place is an opportunists dream..." you murmured softly, spurring a chuckle from the stag next to you as you mentally picked your target. Noticing two demons standing over by a bus stop, neither looking at each other as one was on the phone and the other was lighting a cigarette; you glanced down and noticed one's wallet was sticking out of their back pocket. It was a risk, you'd have to misdirected their attention so they don't notice their wallet being pulled out, but you could work with that.
"Make it two minutes." You chirped, wiping your hands with a napkin. Alastor's grin widened as he took out his pocket watch and opened it, watching the second hand tick, tick, ticking away until it got to the 12 at the top.
"Aaaand..." he trailed off. "Go."
You got up from your seat and scampered off, heading over in the direction of your target. Okay, you thought. Street sign is just low enough for me to jump and reach, could hoist myself up there and hide... worst case scenario I get caught, just act like I'm drunk and stumbling. Gotta make this count...
Looking around to make sure no other eyes were locked on you (aside from the deer mans, of course.) you were quick to act. You had to be, every nano second counted when you did these things. With two fingers you quickly and carefully tugged his wallet up out of his pocket and purposely put your weight into his backside as if you had tripped and fallen against him; the harsh contact hopefully distracting him from the feeling of his wallet being pulled out. You then skillfully jumped and hoisted yourself up and pulled your weight onto the top of the street sign, carefully sitting on the post and looking down below you.
"You got a fuckin' problem, buddy?" The man you had stolen from asked the other guy behind him who was still smoking a cigarette.
" 'Scuse me? Who the fuck you think you talkin' to-"
You stifled a soft giggle as the two demons began arguing with each other, and used that as an opportunity to leap onto a nearby overhang and swing down without being noticed by them. You took a quick glance over your shoulder to make sure their focus was still on each other and not on you before you strutted back to where you and Al were sitting.
Taking out the wad of cash from the piece of faux leather you handed him a few bucks, worth a little more than the cost of your meal before pocketing the rest and sitting back down. "How was that?" You asked.
"One minute and 34 seconds!" He hummed with a delighted smile, taking the money on the table before him and making it vanish within his hand. "Not bad, my dear."
"Fastest hands in the west." You teased, pretending to blow on your fingers as if they were a smoking gun.
"Where on earth did you learn how to do that so efficiently?" He wondered, both of you redirecting your focuses back on your food.
"Started with slight of hand magic tricks and somewhere down the line it sort of turned into pick pocketing." You answered nonchalantly, rolling your shoulder forward. "Same reason why I learned how to gamble. Some of my friends encouraged it. Especially considering my folks would hold out on paying me as much as I got a little older, I wanted to make sure I had extra cash tucked away for whatever I wanted."
"They withheld payment?" He reiterated.
"Just mine. I liken it to a parent taking back a child's allowance money." You nodded. "Between that and not letting me perform certain dates and putting me on cleaning duties, that was their idea of punishment."
"How could they just do that?" He asked curiously.
"My dad was the ringleader." You shrugged, as if the whole matter was no big deal. "They did whatever they wanted. Most of us were paid under the table anyway so, what were we gonna do? Complain to somebody?"
"That is a tricky situation. But that's life I suppose. In your case, you did what you could given your circumstances."
"And how." You nodded. "That's kinda why I have a knack for gambling. We constantly used card games in relation to pretty much anything in life, and I appreciate that."
"How do you mean, darling?"
"Well, what's interesting about it, is it's a lot like life." You started. "Making difficult decisions and, you're not always going to have all the information available at your disposal. It's sporadic and unpredictable. Things change all the time. There's variables, and there's luck. Same thing applies in the every day. You can have brains, skill, all the things you need to learn and get better at something; but, there's also a huge luck component."
"Go on." He encouraged, tilting his head to the side in intrigue and giving you his full attention.
"If your opponent only had one card -just one- that will beat you, despite the fact that every other card is gonna work in your favor; they could still win. And if they win it doesn't necessarily mean they out-played you, it could just mean they got lucky."
You paused as you looked over at some of the people passing by on the street. Wondering how many of them committed horrible acts of unforgivable sin; or if by some chance there were some who thought they were on the right moral path only to be surprised with a one way ticket to damnation.
"You can make a great decision. With all the information available and at your disposal... and you could still lose or have a bad outcome." Alastor said, enunciating your point.
"Exactly."
He chuckled gently with a wide, almost satisfied smile. "You're very smart, my dear. I think smarter than you lead on."
"I am smart, just depends on what we're talking about." You hummed with a smirk. "A broken clock is still right at least twice a day, after all."
"Touché sweetheart." He smiled. "You know we still have some time before we have to head back. Care to join me on an errand run?"
"You still want me around? I'm not annoying you yet?" You jested.
"Not at all, darling." He practically cooed.
"Huh. I'll have to try harder, then." You smiled.
"Cute." He chuckled. "No, as a matter of fact... I find you very entertaining."
~~Part 2: Magick~~
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~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~
Several weeks had passed since you and Johnny begun to hang out behind your parents back, your bond growing ever closer. It was strange, you were never really one for romance and the like; but for whatever reason, you liked the fluttery feeling you got whenever you were around him. You definitely had acquired feelings for him, and he didn't hesitate to tell you that the feeling was mutual. Weeks of sneaking off late at night to be with each other and stealing kisses when no one was around to see, you were certain you were falling in love.
There was an unignorable problem, however. Keeping this relationship secret from your parents was becoming more and more dicey. They were beginning to catch on to the fact that you were harder to find than usual. And, coincidentally, so was he when the rest of the staff needed a hand. Fortunately for both of you a few of the other performers saved both your backs a few times and lied to your parents on your behalf; but it was only a matter of time before the truth would inevitably come to fruition.
"My parents are getting suspicious..." you said lowly, folding your arms across your chest as you peaked behind your trailer.
"Fuck their stupid rule," Johnny said quietly but sternly. "You're a grown adult and you should be allowed to be with someone who makes you happy."
"You think I don't agree?" You huffed with exasperation. "I don't want us to affect my work, though! You know they'll cut my performances for the rest of the season... I love what I do but, I love being with you... it's not fair..."
Johnny's brows furrowed in sympathy, taking your hands and holding them in his. "Crew's all partying tonight after the show... Think you'll come around?"
"If I'm not too tired." You said with a cute, gentle smirk. Shrugging your shoulders. Johnny smiled down at you and cupped your cheek in his hand, his thumb just grazing against your bottom lip in a way that made your heart quiver in your chest.
"You? Too tired to have a little fun?" He teased. "I've heard it all."
"So I'll see you later, then?" You asked, leaning in.
"Of course." He promised, before closing the gap between you.
~~~~~~flashback over~~~~~~
"Y/n?"
Alastor said your name as he looked over at you. You didn't exactly hear him, being lost in your thoughts and staring straight ahead as you both kept walking.
"Y/n." He said again, this time snapping his fingers in front of your face. That finally got your attention, blinking several times as you zoned back into reality and looked up at him.
"Huh? Sorry."
"You seem distracted, dear." He chuckled softly. "Something the matter?"
"I'm good," you sighed, waving your hand dismissively. "My mind slips away from me sometimes. What were you saying?"
"I was saying, we're here!" He chirped, halting your stride as he stepped in front of you and opened a glass door for you; gesturing for you to enter whatever building he had stopped at. You glanced through the open doorway and at first look you saw an array of crystals, candles, and small statues.
"What is this place?" You wondered, walking inside. Immediately you we're greeted with the strong scent of various incenses.
"One of the metaphysical shops in this area," He chirped with a content smile as he walked inside behind you. "I've been meaning to stop by for a few days, now."
You looked up and around at your surroundings and were just in awe at the amount of things on display, as well as the overall tone of the shop. Alastor went off to fetch the things that he came in for and let you wander around; amused at how curious you were.
Shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books about magick and practices of pretty much every religion and spiritual path one could imagine. Some books bared no title and blank pages, which were meant to be used as grimoires, dream journals, books of shadows, etc.
Between them on separate shelves were candles in every color of the rainbow; some small, some tall, some incased in glass with spiritual and religious imagery on them; others carved or shaped in specific ways to resemble animals, the human form or just body parts. Containers full of herbs, crystals, vials of oils and copious amounts of incense were on display as well; as far as the walls would allow space for them. Jewelry like prayer beads, crystal beads, and pendants with runes were neatly kept on oscillating racks. Oracle cards were on display and tucked safely inside cases, it appeared as though they could only be taken out if you possessed a key to open the glass encasing that harbored them.
Statues of various figures were also kept behind glass, ranging anywhere between Baphomet to the Virgin Mary, gods, goddesses, and lwas and orishas; even a few mythical creatures like mermaids and pixies.
Falling deeper into the isles you discovered some oddities as well. Taxidermic specimens and posed skeletal remains encased in either glass or epoxy resin, old medical equipment like lobotomy tools; definitely an area that was less for the practitioner and meant more so for the strange and curious. The further back you went you saw signs for psychic readings, reiki healing, and classes for various practices. Approaching the back of the store you noticed an archway leading to another room but was blocked off from sight by a rather large tapestry. Curiosity getting the better off you, you decided to try and take a peak. Reaching for the curtain you were about to peel it back to sneak a peak but were halted when a hand had grabbed your wrist.
Their finger had wrapped around a part of your wrist where your sleeve was no longer covering you, and you immediately recoiled and pulled your hand away from the person who stopped you. Your mind was flooded with images of somebody being dragged out of their home by people who were dressed from a time long ago, then only visions of flames.
"Fuck!!" You muttered, blinking away the visions of some strangers torment and looked over at the demon who had caused it. An older woman, by the looks of it. Deep lines in her face especially around her deep, sunken eyes. One glazed over with a blueish white film, the other inky black. As these visions of fear and pain faded away, it left you with a feeling you couldn't ignore. You could just tell. You just knew. You could feel it in your bones...
She knew what you just experienced from her touching you.
Her smile widened softly, gentle as you peered back at her. "I didn't mean to frighten ya, dearie." She said sweetly. "But that room is not for your eyes."
"Sorry." You said bluntly, pulling the sleeves of the hoodie down so that your hands were covered once more.
"It's quite alright dearie." She hummed pleasantly, before taking your inner elbow in hand and gently guided you to the front of the store where Alastor had already cashed out his purchases and was patiently waiting for you.
"Thank you again, Elise." He hummed.
"Anytime, anytime." She said with a wave of her hand. "Before you head out I have something I want to give to your friend here."
You both eyed her curiously as she meandered over to the counter and pulled out a black rectangular box and presented them to you. You went to reach for your pocket to pay the woman but she stopped you.
"No payment necessary. Consider it as a gift." She said, holding the box for you to take. You hesitantly grabbed it from her and took a peak inside, to see a pair of thin black gloves. You raised a brow and looked up at her, her kind smile and knowing eyes reassuring you that you needed this more than you realized.
"Trust me." She said. "It'll help."