OPEN to all - robin hood comes home to roost

[callmeemily]

"Hey! Stop!"

Raleigh's walking Oscar - it's a long walk today, even though it's definitely making her leg regret it - and she doesn't even pause when she hears somebody behind her yell. It's the beginning of tourist season, and the sidewalk's full of people she doesn't know, and she's so worn out from the last week that she doesn't really have the energy.

"I said stop! I know you!"

Huffing out a breath, she keeps going; she hates it when people yell in public. She's got that Southern mentality, the one that keeps disputes behind closed doors where it's between the two of you and everyone else listening at cracks to figure out the gossip.

The last thing she expects is the rough hand on her arm that yanks her around. Stumbling, she catches herself on the parking meter that's next to her as the guy - mid forties, handsome in that New-England-Polo-Shirt-and-Sperrys kind of way - stares at her.

"It's you! It is!" Oscar's exploded into a barking, growling, half-grown dog between them, and the guy steps back as he raises his voice. "You know what I'm doing? I'm calling the cops. This is the girl who shot me! Back when we were medieval or whatever? She shot me and took all my money! She's a thief!" The tourists had backed up into a circle around them, with Raleigh, Oscar, and the guy in the middle. "She could have killed me!" He's pulling out his phone even as Raleigh protests and tries to explain as the people who're just staring at her shake their heads, and a phone, then another gets pulled out to film the whole thing.

"It's not- I'm not- I'm not a thief, I- It wasn't me--"

OOC: Raleigh's Fairy-tale shenanigans have come home to roost! Open to anybody. :D

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[callmeemily]

When she hears the offense in his voice - and she does, because he's not even trying to hide it, she just sort of freezes where she is for a long second.

"I..." She tries to delicately phrase it, but her fingers are white-knuckled on her chopsticks. "I did, yeah. I mean, no, not just all witches, because it's all sirens, too. What I was asking," she says, her voice sharper than she means, because she's so incredibly tired of having everybody and god sweep this under the rug, and she's honestly scared. "Is just if this kind of thing is actually possible. Like, Coop heals people. Is Nerium like... special, and she can somehow make people not know who they are because it's her... I don't know, specialty? Or could anybody with magic do that? It's a valid question, Davin."

She takes a deep breath. "And it would be really great if you just didn't assume I was being... I don't even know the word. Bigoted, I guess, towards magic users. Just because people are capable doesn't mean they will, but if I know it's not something that everyone can do, then I know a little bit more what I need to be ready for because I live in this town. That's why I asked."

It's not until the end - the end, when it's this weird mix of him unboxing what happened to him, but there's this implication that she's writing off magic users or something by asking a question that makes her stomach twist and the words just spill out of her mouth. "A siren and a witch kidnapped me, tortured me, and were about ten minutes from sacrificing me so they could get eternal life, and most of my friends minus you, Spencer, Sylvie, and Mira are witches. So, yeah. Not lumping them together. Thanks." She's never talked about it in such frank terms before, and her face is about the color of milk. She hadn't even meant to bring it up, but it's so harsh and Davin was the last person she'd expected to hear that from.

"Listen, I don't want to argue with you, I should have just gone home. I got freaked out by the whole thing that happened in the street, and it messed me up a little. Maybe- I think I should maybe go. Get some air."

[davin]

Davin is on the edge of saying that yes, maybe she should go, because he can't deal with this right now. He doesn't think that he should have to right now. But he can tell that she's scared, and he has answers to her questions. She seems to just be thinking of herself in this moment, but that's the nature of people, he supposes.

"No, not every witch can do that," Davin grits out, facing away from her as he stacks dishes into the sink. He's shaking, and he winces a little when she lists off her human friends and includes Davin on the list. Now, it just feels like lying. "Not even Nerium could do it by herself. She had help, multiple witches working together t'cast a powerful spell. James and I-- she almost killed us, but she couldn't, not after I--"

Not after he broke the spell. He grips the edge of the sink with his good hand and then turns around, jaw clenching as he looks at her. "Coop can heal, Joel has visions, and I--" He swallows hard and lets out a shaky breath, looking at the silverware on the counter and making it all float a few inches above the surface. "And I'm a telekinetic, among other things."

The silverware clatters to the counter and he meets her eye. "I broke Nerium's spell, and her powers are gone. She can't hurt anyone, not anymore. Not with magic, at least."

Davin is so tired, and he sinks against the counter and covers his face for his good hand for just a moment. He never meant to actively keep it from Raleigh, but now it feels like lying. And if she's going to be sharing her fears about witches, she should at least know that she's talking to one.

"So I assume ya can imagine why I got upset," Davin says as he pulls his hand away. "Seein' as you're talkin' about me an' mine."

[callmeemily]

He says not every witch can, and it's like the tension just winds out of her, somewhat. She's got no idea what witches can or can't do, and she's not been able to get a straight answer from most people - Les is worse than useless in that regard. That's all she'd been really trying to find out, and yes... it's been scaring her. It's been scaring the shit out of her, and she has no idea why Davin's being so touchy about it past him generally having a hard few days.

But then.

She's staring as he makes the silverware float, and it's like her mind's just sort of stuck in the this isn't happening that it originally comes up with. She jumps, when it clatters to the counter, and she looks... betrayed, is probably close to the right word. Hurt, definitely. Confused, some. But then he says she's talking about me and mine, and saying it makes sense he got upset, and her face twists to something different.

Anger.

"No. I don't understand why you got upset, Davin. Because I asked you - and it's got nothing to do with you being a witch - if something really bad and horrible that could put me in jail is something that any witch can do. Because I don't know what witches can do, and I can't do anything to stop spells or anything like that. You? Are not allowed to be offended that I asked a question because I'm trying to keep myself safe. No matter what your answer was, I wasn't going to suddenly think that every witch I know was going to hurt me, but it would mean that I would know better what people who I've never met before are capable of."

"It's good to know, what you told me. Because Nerium had help, which means there are people out there who agree with her, and I know that I need Joel to beef up the wardings on my apartment, and that I need to put money in a separate account away from here to automatically pay my bills in case I just end up thinking I'm someone else again. And that? You're not allowed to be offended, just because I don't know how magic works."

[davin]

Instantly, Davin regrets telling her. There was a reason she didn't know, and he regrets his honesty. He wishes he could take it back.

She's angry, and Davin can feel it. He can vaguely make out what she's saying, that she's telling him what he's not allowed to feel, and his breath hitches. This is too much, and when he closes his eyes, he sees Roman.

He stumbles backwards and hits his counter painfully, eyes wide as he stares at her. It's like he's back in that warehouse, and he's freezing cold. He wants to reply, wants to yell at her, but he can't seem to breathe.

He's terrified, and he's panicking.

"I-- I need need you to go," he chokes out, shaking his head and backing away from her. His chest is aching and he doesn't really know what's happening, but he can't do this. He's backed as far into the corner of his kitchen as he can get, and he feels trapped. He knew going out for food was a bad idea. He just knew. A shuddering breath escapes him and he shakes his head again, resisting the urge to curl in on himself.

"Get out, Raleigh," Davin grits out, voice choked and panicked. "Please."