The Magic Touch

Killian Cassidy; 28. Bartender by night, witch whenever he feels like it. He might grant wishes, but only if you ask nicely. And have something good on hand. A 1x1 Rp Blog

[lillianparish]

Lily bit back a tiny groan, already regretting her choice in going out into the cold with him. Not so much the company, but more so at the weather it'self. He was manageable , for the most part, but paired up with the cold -    it was almost too much for her to take. She’d been promised by her brother that it would be a quiet, relaxing weekend in the woods with people that she lived with but did she know any of them? Rarely did she hold a conversation with any of them, let alone a few of the people that’d been there almost as long as herself. But they weren’t there. Only the one person she couldn’t even remember seeing let alone holding a conversation with him.  “All my ideas went out the window when the cold came in,” she replied through chattering teeth, biting down hard as she followed after his footsteps, stepping in the holes that he created to make things somewhat easier on herself. It wasn’t much of a step in the right direction but it was something as they landed on the road that lead back into town. Only a few more, hundred steps and they’d be there, right? Right. “Good to know that if you ever get worse, I just need to throw alcohol at you.”

[killiancassidy]

She groaned and he laughed. It seemed to be their pattern of things. “Should I leave the window open later in case they come back? Honestly, I’m curious.” Truthfully, he was, but by the look of everything so far, she seemed the type to use figures of speech and never fall through with them. Though, granted, he was far more equipped to bring metaphors and turns of phrase to life than she was all things considered. He let his gaze find her after a few quiet seconds of looking about the snowy white expanse surrounding the two of them, watching her struggle for a few more.

As amused as he was with her grumpy shivering and huddling, he did feel bad for her in that moment. Sure, he was all about gloating about being able to cheat and bend things to his will when they didn’t quite suit him, but for those who couldn’t, it was just kind of sad. Looking around again, he waited until she had her eyes glued to the footprint he’d made in the snow before sending a blast of warm air her way, quickly replacing his hand within the confines of his jacket pocket.

“Just make sure it’s in one of those plastic thermoses when you do, glass hurts.”

[lillianparish]

Lily rolled her eyes at his expression, moving forward through the snow with a bit of difficulty as her boots stuck to the ground and she could feel the coldness trying to seep in through them. If only she’d planned better for the weather that’d been out of her control, maybe she wouldn’t have been having to lug through it on the off chance of finding a store still open and full of alcohol.

"I thought about it and I changed my mind. Either that or the cold is making it harder to get along with you than I first thought possible." There was no real heat behind her words, focused more on not falling on her face as she made it down the steps and forward towards the road that would be somewhat less covered in snow. Or so she hoped. He moved in front of her, walking backwards and creating a path for her to follow as she muttered a small thanks in his general direction but unsure if he even heard her at all over the sound of his own voice.

"Are those my only two choices?" She shot him a small grin, clearly evident that she was teasing despite the cold temperatures that had her teeth rattling already as she tugged on her hat a bit more. Anything to keep it the cold out when it looked like nothing could bother him at all. Even now, he was walking through the snow like it was a sunny day and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was unbelievable as she shook her head to bite back a small chuckle that’d bubbled up at the thought. "Booze, definitely going to need some booze for the next two days. No offense, of course."

[killiancassidy]

Plans, who needed them? It seemed silly, to want to be able to already decide the future when not even the strongest magic could even come close to being able to do so. Silly, and a waste of time, he'd say, when trying to cheat got you nowhere. So what was the use of plans? They weren't any fun. Things set in stone weren't fun. It made people too determined, and then so sulkily upset when things obviously didn't work out the way they wanted them to. And what was the point in wasting away, sulking? Granted, maybe he'd be the same way if he didn't have anything and everything up his sleeve to keep him on par with whatever life threw at him, but then again, he didn't really think about that too much either. He just improvised. Like with this weekend, and the snow storm, right up until this moment. Nothing had gone according to plan, she was right, but he was all the more cheerful for it.

He looked back over at her bowed head, away from the darkening cloudy sky and pulling a shroud of feigned hurt over his features. "Well, unless you have any more ideas, which, by the way, I'm all ears. Though, just a tip, you can work on the delivery a little bit." He walked, or rather shuffled past their two parked cars by a cluster of evergreens, already up to the bumper with snow, and continued downward as he reached the hill that would begin taking them back down to civilization. He grinned, at her then, and shook his head. "None taken. Booze makes me more fun." He sounded proud of the fact.

[lillianparish]

Was it too much to ask for to have nice weather on the one weekend that she took off for herself? It must have been since she was zipping on her layers once again and had a beanie settled over her ears to head back out into the snow. If it’d been up to her, she would have stayed bundled up and in front of a fire rather than go out there but he was right, to some aspect, that if they were going to get through this weekend      they would need provisions. ”Careful now,” she warned with almost a hint of teasing in her voice, “You start agreeing with me than we might start getting along.” And then where would they be?

"Gee thanks." Her amusement didn’t last as she fought to brace herself against the cold they were about to walk out into as she tighten her hat around her head and her hands in gloves before taking the first few steps outside. The cold hit her almost immediately, pushing her backwards towards the door if it weren’t for him standing there and forcing to keep going forward. "Still think this is a good idea?" She shivered in her jacket, wrapping her arms around her waist as she started forward and down the road that would lead them towards the only store she’d seen for miles.

[killiancassidy]

"Us? Getting...along?" he repeated her words as she passed by him and the open door, feigning horrified shock despite the toothy smile on his face. "You know, that's the start of every great Shakespearean tragedy." Mock solemnity on his tongue this time. 

He watched her brace the cold head on, not moving until she was where the beginning of the porch steps would be- if they weren't covered in mounds and mounds of white. Not that he particularly cared what condition the outdoors were in. The sky could be falling (not that it ever would and not like he or any of his friends could ever screw up that bad that it would, despite some paranoid few) and he still wouldn't have really cared. Such was the case with reality warping cheat codes and loopholes. You stopped worrying about the little things. It was pretty nice, he'd say. Not that anyone asked, but he'd still say it.

It didn't take him long to catch up to her, extremities warm and comfortable in their boots and gloves, unlike her own, and he took to the stairs, skipping the middle one as he hit the solid frozen ground. Snow washed over his ankles and up his calves, but he was still smiling nonetheless. He turned effortlessly on the balls of his heels to face her as he started walking up the invisible path backwards. 

"'Course it's a good idea, Lily. What happened to the getting along thing?"

"Besides, what would you rather have? Being cooped up for two days with me and a fire, or getting a little fresh air, then being cooped up for two days with booze, me and a fire?" 

[lillianparish]

"About as much as I could trust you to tell the truth." Lily let out a small smile, one that was wrapped tightly across her features as she grabbed the last of her things and stuffed her phone into her jakcet’s pocket before zipping it up. If they were truly going to do this, she wanted to get it over with quickly before the snow started to fall again and left them trapped at some store or worse, in the middle of the woods that surrounded either side of the road they’d taken to get there. Her car was buried in the stuff, knowing that she didn’t want to be just like that.

"Of course you don’t. I just hope it doesn’t get us killed," she added softly, finishing her bundling up before looking back over at him with a curious look. Had she really gone almost two years without holding a conversation with this man at least once? What kind of odds were those? No one else had known about the trip except for the people in the building and she had hoped to at least know one person, not some stranger. But beggars couldn’t be chooser’s right? "Shall we?"

[killiancassidy]

He merely laughed again. "Fair point." And smart idea, if he was going to give her the full credit. After all, she was on the right track. He hadn't been a hundred percent honest with her from the beginning, not with the secret that everyone else forced him to keep. But would he be shouting it out to the world if he was allowed to, flaunting it like he did when he was on his own...or anywhere he felt like really? Probably not either. It would just be less stress on his shoulders, in the long run.

His jacket was already over his arms and zipped up by the time she had hers halfway on. His hands were in his pockets equipped with a tiny little heating spell. No one liked cold hands and gloves were a hassle. He merely raised a brow at her pessimistic 'we're going to die' comment before shaking his head as he stepped towards the door. One step forward, three steps back with her. But he wasn't going to give up so easy on Ms. Lily. Not until this weekend was over. He had something to do now.

He moved a hand out of his pocket, turning the handle and opening the rest of the door with his foot, the cold air from outside pushing hard against the warmed air of the fire. "After you, Lily."

[lillianparish]

"I’ve heard of it before," she shrugged with an easy turn of her lips that lasted onto a moment before it fell again along with her hands into her lap. It was one thing to ask for optimism and it was another to get it especially when it felt like the entire trip was slowly becoming a disaster. "Isn’t it a new kind of concept?"

Lily dropped her gaze momentarily, hiding a small smile budding at the corners of her lips as he spoke before looking up. She kicked her legs out from beneath her to show that she did indeed have two working legs. “Would I lie to you now? So soon in our relationship?” The tease felt almost too easy, slipping out from her shell as she pushed herself up from the couch and avoided his eyes, she could feel the heat on her cheeks from realizing what she’d just said but didn’t need to see it reflected back at her. “I’ll grab me coat, unless..” She paused. “You weren’t being serious?”

[killiancassidy]

He glanced out at the snow outside again, nearly missing his companion's first smile and only catching it in the glare of the window. He turned his head, eyes widening some in amusement as he waited in expectant excitement (was it excitement? Or something else? At least it was something close to it. It didn't really matter much what it really was, he guessed) for what she would say next.

...Another smile and a tease. Ah. So Miss Lily could be fun. 

"Well I'll be. Could've fooled me with that whole stick in the mud act. So maybe you wouldn't lie. But can I really trust you not to withhold the truth?"

He held her gaze for a moment more with his own teasing grin on his lips before moving to her couch where his jacket had been tossed haphazardly on its back. He hadn't much cared for where it had ended up when he got into the cabin.

"Please. Me not being serious? I don't even know the meaning of the phrase."

[lillianparish]

"I       I wasn’t planning on staying on the couch all weekend,” she started off with a mumble under her breath before picking her head up again and this time looking out the windows. “I wasn’t.” The snow was still out there, enough to make it that no one else would be able to join them that night but it wasn’t falling anymore. His offer was tempting, enough so that it might pull her from the sour mood that’d fallen on her shoulder the longer she’d sat still. It wasn’t often that she got away from her ‘life’ with work and school always bringing her down and forcing her to keep working instead of enjoying everything that’s out there.

"But if it’s so bad out there that no one can make it, what makes you think we could?" Though she didn’t even believe herself anymore, not with the prospect of doing something, anything, after sitting there for so long and being disappointed in everything that’d led up to this moment. "What if we get stuck out there.."

[killiancassidy]

Despite the mumble he still heard her muttered reply, and the reaction to his words brought a small amused smile back to his face as he let out a breath. He turned his gaze back on her as she asked her question. An eye for an eye, or an answer for an answer in this case, even if it wasn't half so personal a question as he had gotten to ask her.

"Oh you know, just a little bit of optimism, Lily," he said.

Well, that, and a few cheats up his sleeve to help them along the way, and they should be there and back again before either of them knew it, plus something to liven up the dour mood she was setting about the place in tow. "It tends to go a long way. And a car is one thing, but we've got four good legs between us. Unless you haven't told me something." 

[lillianparish]

Lily pursed her lips together.

"What do you mean? It’s not like we can go out there in this weather." It was the reason why no one else was there other than the two of them. She’d been punctual and apparently so had he, seeing they were the only ones that got through before the weather made a turn for the worse. "Or do you think there’s a secret stash in here somewhere that we haven’t managed to find yet?" Though considering the cabin had been rented out and no one had made it there yet, Lily didn’t think that someone would have stocked up the place.

[killiancassidy]

"Maybe," he replied, considering her second suggestion with a thoughtful roll of his eyes away from the window behind her and up to a dark corner of the ceiling in the low firelight. "Can't say I've done much looking around the place since I got here"- which was definitely a shame, "and I also can't say sitting around in the same place all weekend is going to be that much fun. Even if the people here before us weren't secretly party addicts, are you really going to spend your entire weekend off indoors on that couch?"

Hook, line and sinker, hopefully. Seeing as she was the only other living thing around for a few miles, he wasn't too excited by the prospect of never leaving the room they were currently in. The world wasn't a bubble after all, and he knew that well. "It's not even that bad out anymore." He gestured to the window behind the couch again. It was white out, but at least it was all on the ground for now, only a few snowflakes still lingering in the cold air.

[lillianparish]

Lily nodded, even if he wasn’t confirming or denying what she said was true, it’s most likely because he didn’t know. The same went for her, eyeing him carefully as he shared a detail about himself. It was the most she knew about the man other than his name and that they lived in the same complex and had for some time. Though work and school kept her otherwise occupied to the point where she interacted very little with most people who lived there. She didn’t see the point when they came and went so quickly that if she even attempted to get to know them, they’d move out and on with their lives while she was still feeling a bit, stuck.

"Well as far I can tell, you seem to be successful at your job    asking a lot of questions but seeing this isn’t a bar or that there isn’t a drink in sight, maybe keep the questions to a minimum… for me.”

[killiancassidy]

Another shrug of his shoulders. "Doesn't have to stay that way," he said.

What else were they to do when the snow barraged them from the outside, so much so that the only thing they really could do was talk to each other. Both their phones were 'dead' after all, and it wasn't like their options for conversation partners were all that big. Well, maybe for her at the least. He always had his loopholes, with his phone and even staying here, yet curiosity kept him in place, even if she was far less than willing to ease it.

"It's not like there's a world wide shortage of alcohol."

[lillianparish]

"No, I’m not one of those people.” Though it wasn’t hard from the truth, not when it came to her coursework and the countless hours she poured over the books in hopes that something would stick in her head. “It’s just that most of my clients request me on the weekends and I took this one off hoping for      something.” Anything that wasn’t work or school. She need the break, her brother helped pack her bags for the weekend, and the prospect of being able to finally let loose had grown on her significantly over the past few weeks until she found herself nearly completely alone.

Taking another steadying breath, Lily glanced back up and over at him with a tight smile, one that she didn’t feel even get close to her eyes. “And what about you? What do you do rather than ask a lot of questions?”

[killiancassidy]

"Something," he repeated with a slight nod of his head, an amused tone lacing the word. Everything was something if you looked at it the right way. Though maybe he could look at it the right way and through the right lens much easier because nearly anything was manipulable to him. Everything could be something more than it was and something that it wasn't with just a few words or a wiggle of fingers. Magic 101. It was the basis of everything. Well...maybe not everything, but to him, it was law number one.

"I bar tend," he continued. "But asking a lot of questions is in the job description." 

[lillianparish]

Counting backwards from ten brought her a sense of calm that’d been sorely lacking since she’d realized that no one else was going to make it through the storm. Part of her wished that she hadn’t also seeing as she was alone with one other person, someone she’d seen around but never personally met. It didn’t help that he kept asking her questions which probably wouldn’t have been so hard on her if there’d been a few other people in the house.

"Working and trying to finish.." She shook her head, pressing on a tight smile as she still didn’t raise her eyes from her lap, picking at her sleeves as she spoke. Not really wanting to get into the fact that she still hadn’t finished college. "I’m a personal trainer. This     was my weekend off.” Between work and classes, Lily rarely had any time to herself to just relax.

[killiancassidy]

He raised a brow as her sentence trailed off, but he didn't press for an answer. Sure he may be curious, and he didn't have bounds on a lot of things, but knowing where the lines were drawn with strangers wasn't something that went entirely over his head. Most of the time.

"Isn't it still a weekend off?" he asked, shifting so his back was leaning against the wall behind him. "Don't tell me you're one of those people who brings their work absolutely everywhere they go."

Not that he really believed that she was or that was the case, but he was good at playing the fool. It was a trade off for answers. 

[lillianparish]

"Would you rather it die completely on you without a fond farewell?" Like her’s had.

"I haven’t been hiding out.” Though it wasn’t far from the truth considering she’d been living there for the better part of a year, maybe two, and she hadn’t gone out with anyone that lived in the same complex until now. And judging by the weather and her living conditions for the night, maybe she would have been better off staying home. Now she was stuck in a cabin meant for a dozen people, a few of which she knew, with one person that she knew nothing about. 

[killiancassidy]

He merely shrugged in answer. She was definitely a ray of sunshine, that one, but he wasn't half as bitter about things as she was. He had no reason to be. He was ahead of the curve.

"Okay. Then what have you been doing?" he asked, a curious tilt of his head.

He genuinely wanted to know. After all, they all had a tight-knit group back up at the house. Such was the way of witches and covens. Yet she had managed to avoid it all so far, and though he new she was far from being the south side of normal like the rest of them, that didn't mean there wasn't still something about her, something to know.

[lillianparish]

Lily had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, trying to stay positive in this kind of weather wasn’t easy to do. She wasn’t much of a cold weather person and neither was she a stuck with a stranger person either considering she didn’t even know him. They apparently lived in the same complex since it was a residents only outing. It’d taken everything her brother had to push her out the front door and he wasn’t even there to help her through it. Wonderful. “That was nice of your phone,” she pressed on a smile, tucking her own away in her pocket since it was nothing more than an expensive paperweight. “Lily.”

[killiancassidy]

"You have a really strange definition of nice...Lily."

He noted the name airily, as if commenting that yes indeed, it was still snowing outside, and yes indeed, they were still stuck together for the weekend. Something obvious, but not annoyingly so. Unlike her though, he had a much brighter outlook on life and whatever got handed to him. He had a loophole for everything after all. "But strange is also...nice. Killian-" he introduced himself curtly before moving on. "So. How long have you been hiding out around the house? I've never seen you before and I know just about everyone there."   

[lillianparish]

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered into her phone, ignoring the man in the room as she tried to put on her smile as she looked up from it. "No signal. The storm’s taken out everything. It looks like we’re out here alone for the night, goodie.”

[killiancassidy]

While she was busy with her phone, he was busy with his own. He made a face when he saw there was no signal, but with a quick move of his hand managed to make it momentarily live again. Thank god magic was wireless too. His phone began to buzz incessantly, and pulling another face that he tried to stifle as soon as it appeared, he pocketed the device, not needing to read the incoming messages to know what they said.

Snow storm down here, going to last all weekend. Can't make it. Don't be you and go overboard with the magic thing, yeah?

Seriously. Magic at a minimum, dickwad. See you Monday. Maybe. Also don't get eaten by any bears.

SS gotta raincheck. No M. Got it?

Yeah, yeah, he got it. Maybe not the last one since their shorthand habit was god awful, but he'd heard it all from the fellow tenants of his house enough to know. Not that they'd really know if he didn't exactly follow the rules.

"And mine just wanted to let me know it's about 3/4 in its grave." The lie came smoothly. "But you sure are upbeat. Nice to meet you too, sunshine."