INT - Windgrace Manor
Murke, despite that fact the spore clouds not too thick on her side of the fence at least, had half her face covered by a mask and even more by hair, leaving only one eye mostly visible in the shade outside the widow. Paired with dark clothes and fingerless gloves, one might not expect the light tapping that comes from the side window. Though rather than an intent to break in, she'd simply been too afraid to step onto the very open and highly visible front porch.
Dorian was in fresh clothes, having dressed and bathed post-ride so that he no longer smelled of horse. He was ready for company which was fortuitous because just as the window knocked he was coming down the stairs. He'd call to the help inside the high-ceilinged manor home, "I shall get it!"
Even if his booming vocals weren't precisely heard some impression of them should make it past heavy wooden doors. It'd surely reverberate into glass. He traipsed on nimble feet there and opened the door wide, swinging it in toward himself, then advancing to the threshold to look outside the home for and call her way, "Ho there Miss Murke, is that you?" He peered closer and upon clocking the distinctive hair colour he'd been fairly sure he had it right. Enough that he continued on, evidently unafraid of the world's most adorable masked burglar. "If that is you under there, how glad we are to have you, please come in, make yourself comfortable, as I said last we met, we owe you a debt for looking out for our kindred when we could not!" His welcome was gladsome and unassuming past the obvious assumptions about identity, but the visitor had a unique look, and not one often visited upon their doorstep.
Murke is in fact wearing the exact same clothes as yesterday. At least the outer crust however has been brushed and broken off, so that she doesn't leaving dirt crumbling off of her and onto their nice floors and the mask is pulled down once inside. Her eyes dart around the room, as if afraid to land on him directly. "Yea. Uhm. You're..." The pause comes to gather up courage. "Not a vampire or anything, right?" His friendly and welcoming demeanor, lacking the authority his sister had used previously, is all that does bring her to step closer, drawn in by the warmth. "Cause you've got this giant rich family and all of you are scarypretty, then the dealing with all sorts of bad supernatural things and got shot, but..."
Dorian doesn't wear the same clothes two days in a row unless he is out of the house that long, a very rare occasion indeed. His butler would have words for him if he presented himself less than pristine as his appearance reflected on Mr. Song. At the question about what he was, frank and furtive, while backing in to admit her he'd be laughing. But as not to seem too arch, which he did not consider himself, he'd answer in equally warm tones, "I think I have to admit to being anything, but not to being a vampire. I live and breathe and eat. But I do heal quickly, aided by my sister's art. One cannot help the family they are born into. But in that I was rather fortunate." It was not the full story at all, though all of it was true. He was surely leaving to suggestion that he was more mundane than he was, but that was old habit. Being a Windgrace was literally fortunate. "It was only a bullet fragment that grazed me, anyhow. Can I get you a drink? We must at least serve you tea, but I bet you prefer something a little stronger,
Dorian: hn?" The way his brows waggled would suggest at least that he'd be hoping for partaking in something more spirited.
Dinah: "Who is it dori?" Dinah's voice came from upstairs and she leaned over the rail to peek downstairs with the little gold crab held at arms length. She brightened a little on seeing the stranger from yesterday. "Oh, hello!" she chirped, coming down behind her twin.
Smiling cheerfully, she certainly seemed as unharmed as her brother, and far less overtly arcane than she had been yesterday with the ritual markings etched into her skin.
"We didn't get a good chance to introduce ourselves yesterday, did we? I am dinah. it's nice to meet you" she reached for dorian's arm, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek
Murke's hunched shoulders relax with his answer though then comes the head tilt of confusion, with the offer of a stronger drink. "Oh. I brought gifts. Because I was visiting." Her gaze swaps from his shoes to Dinah's face as she simply accepts what Dorian has told her as truth. "Do you like wine? It's good to meet you, again, Dinah and that you were there yesterday. I think things might have gone bad with the cops if you weren't." She twists around to dig into her pack and pull out the cheapest bottle of cooking wine and also a handful of loose jewelry which is obscured currently by the hand holding it. Both of these are held to the pair and finally she meets Dorian's gaze. "But. Tea is fine. I like most things."
Dorian would go about properly introducing the violet haired guest, "Dinah, dear, Miss Murke made good on her promise and come to visit. Yes, we love wine, thank you, this is far too kind." He hadn't an eye for cheap wine, he rarely saw it except when someone poured it for him at a winesink over the long years of his existence. He'd move to take the bottle but not jewels from her, and was altogther too embarrassed to know what to do about them being offered that he'd leave that to his twin. "My sister has a way with words, does she not? Hahaha!" Heading further into the house he'd go to take the wine into the kitchen and while in there request tea service from Keiko who was attending the kitchen just now.
Dinah grinned and she waved her hand in mock-humble dismissiveness "constables are agents of authority in the city, or at least, they like to think they are. if you actually have more authority that doesn't come from a badge, most of the time they remember their place and back down." she grinned. Whilst Dorian handled the wine, Dinah peered with interest towards the jewelry.
"oh, how very sparkly! Are you fond of jewels? there's so few places in the city who sell nice jewelry, isnt there?" she beckoned for Murke to follow her as her brother headed for the kitchen.
"Rather a pain, that ball of ghosts, isnt it? I've never really gotten involved before but of course i'd heard about it. i'm pleased you came to visit, though. things were getting a little hairy on that bridge. Blake called you 'grapes', are you a friend of his?"
Murke follows after, the jewels still held out. "You're welcome." There's a small noise of distress when they aren't taken, the slight shaking of her hand before it's dropped, realizing they aren't going to accept the offerings. With a shrug they vanish into a a pocket and she offers a bouncy nod to Dinah's question. "Yea, we've been friends for a while. He let me stay with him and his... family once when things were bad. It's, I know he's mentioned you before, you're nice to hm. He likes you, so you have to be good people." With no realization of how much she's giving away that's already obvious to their pair, she adds "I don't know about the shops. I don't go to them much. I don't really like jewelry, but most people do. Do you like other things more?" She peers around the corner to watch Dorian vanish. "I think you both do. It explains why people listen, if you're not vampires with mind control."
Dorian had been flattered to be called scarypretty and was still circling the adjective as he tended to business before reemerging to the sitting room where the others were. He'd chuckle again at the mention of vampires and mind control, explaining once more with the mirth yet ringing in his voice, "Our family has been here as long as the isle has. We helped pull it up from the sea. Well, not the three of us, but.. you know what I mean." That early investment was why they'd come here now, to keep the flow of aether and the weatlh and influence it brought going. Current weather made that impossible but compared to many they were still sitting pretty on larders that had been stocked very well before shortages became such a pressing issue. He'd move to the record player and put on some uptempo blue from the American continent before going to pour from a decanted bottle of brandy. Rather than a half full old fashioned glass he'd only pour a thumbs worth into his glass, looking over to either of the ladies to see if they wanted any too.
Dinah noted the noise of distress and she cocked her head to one side, smiling gently. "I am grateful for the offer, dear. But we have a lot of jewels, and they might do better for someone that needs them more than we do. Thank you" she said softly, though she beamed as Murke expanded on her knowledge of them from what Blake had said. "I would like to think blake and us are family by now too. He is a good boy, when he remembers how to behave in ways that don't get him into horrid trouble" she settled herself in a chair, curling her legs up underneath her.
"I have learned very little mind control. I am not very good at it, it's good for emergencies only. But...we were raised with money and that in itself is a form of mind control for some people. but no, we aren't vampires, dear. We were born mortal. We just learned magic. Dorian there is more physical, whereas I know the rituals and rites" she beamed proudly, the golden mechanical crab scuttling down her arm to perch on the seat beside her. "and what of yourself?" she asked with interest. Dorian's offer of brandy was declined with a wrinkling of her nose, but she gestured her fingers in agreement with what he said.
"Windgraces have always had a foothold here at least, even if none of us lived on the isle until just lately" she agreed.
Murke pulls off her bag and sits it next to a chair, unable or at least unwilling to sit in the chair with the bag full of the necromancer's instruments. There's a faint freeze in her movement, lasting only a breath when Dinah speaks on Blake's behavior and trouble finding ways. Then her eyes are back on the lovely and intricate carpet with the rest of her words. She almost falls backwards into the chair with a tiny "Oh." Her voice cracks with the surprise, getting slightly higher as her shoulders hunch once more. "Okay. Uhm. It is yea. Being here since the start, now wonder your family is..." She struggles to find a word that isn't derogatory as her fingers tense. She nods at Dorian's offer of the drink in the hopes she'll be able to hide behind the glass, drink, and never have to speak again. "I'm from uh, I don't remember the name now. My family taught me magic. Necromancy mostly. You, your house, kind of remind me of them." The way her eyes dart around, with each 'uh' proves not only is this not the whole truth, it's not even a part of it, while the simplistic statements, hold the glimpses of her past. "Then I left when I uh, when the house burned down because of my grandfather. I moved in across the street with my friends and things have been nicer since."
Dorian: || Depite shortages across the isle, tea service at Windgrace manor just came with different nibbles. On the bottom layer of a three tiered tray, there were jam sandwiches instead of salmon. Luckily cucumbers were locally in season so those could make an appearance inside fresh bread with crusts cut off. The second tier of the tray held scones, clotted cream and lemon curd, and the top tier was where real improvisation came into play. Instead of anything Western, Keiko made do with what was on hand and prepared servings of zunda mochi: pounded rice made into chewy balls topped with bright green sweetened smashed soy beans. All this to accompany a pot of fragrant black tea with lumps of sugar and milk in dishes as well as three cup and saucer sets. After bringing all this, Keiko shuffled her way back into the kitchen and moved to put the wine Dorian had settled her with away in the cellar with the other bottles the family possessed.
Meanwhile Dorian was pouring a heaping helping of brandy for their guest, the half cup full of rich amber liquid he loved from the Armagnac region of France when it wasn't war torn. Though there was an end in sight to the supply he shared, believing, having to believe that more would be along before they ran out. He'd bring the heavy crystal glass over and intend to give it over into her hands before taking up a seat for himself, keeping his silence as the women spoke.
Dinah chuckled at the slight hitch in their guest's words, but she nodded. "Necromancy is admirable in it's way. I have never had much talent for coralling the dead like that. I have enough trouble with the living sometimes. hermeticism is far easier in that regard. it's like cooking." Not that di had ever cooked a thing in her life. "I'm glad that things are nicer for you. It's always better to get away from unpleasant situations" she looked up as the maid came by and she gave her a smile and a polite "Thank you, Keiko" before reaching for tea, smiling towards her Twin as he passed by to sit opposite. The other two could keep the brandy, as far as she was concerned. The food though, she'd leave untouched at least for now.
"you said you lived across the street. Which one is yours? We do not really talk much with the neighbours. I know the widow Esher lives at one of the larger houses, but I admit, we've been a little antisocial in reaching out to those who live around us. I've always worried about being seen as a bother, I suppose"
Murke stares at the snacks that come with their teatime, the three tiered tray given a look of repulsed hunger. Though the delicious and artfully arranged treats wear down on her fear and she darts out a hand to take one, about to shove it in her mouth until the other woman speaks. It's held in one hand while the cup of brandy Dorian had given her sits in the other hand's tight grip. "Thank you Keiko" is mimicked in a murmur before a slightly louder "Thank you" is aimed at the red arm of the chair which Dorian's arm is on for the glass in her hand. "Hermeticism... I don't know much about it. Where I'm from... it wasn't common. Is that the warding you did? And it heals you both too?" True curiosity pulls her gaze up to meet Dinah's briefly. "Oh, The cat fence one. With all the holes and the cannon in the yard. Lady Esher's is much nicer, but hers doesn't have a cafe in it. Blake visits it a lot too... and I'm not sure why, but most people don't really like it. You could both still come by if you want though. Other people do all the time, most just don't come back. Blake might like that."
Dorian met his twin's eye as he'd seated himself, his his grin ticking up a fraction as he did. Though he was wearing a threepiece suit and unbuttoned his jacket before sitting down, he seemed comfortable in it as he was in the riding clothes he'd worn to the bridge the day previous. Looking to their violet haired guest, he'd quickly dart into the conversation again, "So it is true? There is a cafe practically in our yard? Ha! I was sure anyone who said that was mistaken. We shall have to investigate this, won't we Di?"
Dorian took up a jam sandwich and made it disappear in two prodigious bites. This was washed down with brandy and done not just to sate his sweet tooth, but also to show it was wholesome and that they would consume it, in case their skittish guest had a thought it might be poisoned. He had thanked Keiko in the kitchen upon placing the request. Probably.
Dinah bobbed her head at Murke's question of hermeticism and she smiled, sitting back in her seat with the teacup rested on her lap. The metal crab skittered from one side of the seat to the other, looking between Dorian and Murke, and Di reached her free hand out to catch him on her palm and deposit it onto her shoulder once more.
"Hermeticism is like...alchemy. old traditional rituals. If you imagine a traditional wizard, that is often what they perform. it's very slow, very laborious sometimes. it does, however, make very strong wards" she agreed cheerfully. "The healing is mostly a result of a long time of performing other rituals. we both have an innate talent for healing now. If it wouldn't be so messy, i could cut off my hand right here and it would be grown back before my tea were cold"
Murke would be able to see that Di's gaze was at least pointed in her direction, but still unseeing and blind, the crab, however, was watching her intently.
"there is a cafe in there? I had no idea." she nodded towards Dorian at his assertion that they ought to visit. "A cafe so close would be far more convenient than trying to find my way down that horrid hill into town with all this fog. more than once i've nearly tripped and fallen flat on my face. it's dreadful" She screwed her face up and puled a face. "I don't think blake has ever mentioned the place to me, has he? maybe in passing, but I didn't realize it was right there"
Murke mimics Dorian, as if his eating of the snack was permission rather than proof of safety. The zunda mochi vanishing into her mouth and chewed probably at least once before it's swallowed nearly whole, the brandy following it just as quickly. "The yard is a little dangerous. Rene's been digging holes in the yard for the coffee." The deranged statement is said casually as she tries to pry up mochi from her teeth with her tongue. She looks to Dorian. "Though I don't know what kind of food you like and right now we have a bunch of snakes and lizards in the house too. Maybe because of all the spore clouds outside? But they keep trying to eat our mascot, Kitty, but I think it's still open. No one's told me to stop coming in for work... Though would you like if I brought stuff over for you both sometimes? So you don't trip? It's so close it's not a hassle or anything and..." Suddenly she stop as she actually processes what Dinah's said. Grey eyes go wide in an otherwise expressionless face and she looks at the crab, breath caught. "Really? You can do all of that with rituals and... I learned a little alchemy, what's needed for high level Necromancy and creating different kinds of servants, but... Can. Can I see?" There's a pause. "The rituals, not the hand cutting off."
Dorian watched Helios scuttle about before returning his attention to Dinah's face while she explained Hermeticism without resorting to any swearing at all. He couldn't imagine doing so otherwise, but he was not the bookish one. Nor the second most bookish one. At least when it came to magic tomes and arcana. He'd append to his sister's complaint about the hill, "I did offer to carry you down the hill any time you wished." And he was not even joking, wildly impractical as his offer had been. He could not help laughing as Murke spoke about coffee holes and snakes and lizards. He was just going to contradict that he had to go to the place now, and that the could not accept the generous offer of delivery but he didn't get to it. Not when their guest was so keen on seeing Dinah do her magic. He clapped his hands together in anticipation of what his twin might do, and was all grins directed at whiles at both women.
Dinah lifted her teacup to her lips and she blew on it and sipped, pausing for a moment. "...digging for coffee? trying to find it, or planting it? does coffee grow here?" she mused, though she pulled another face.
"I don't dislike lizards and snakes, but if they are trying to harm your little friend, that is less than ideal. Those spores are just one more reason to stay inside. thankfully at least I have plenty to read" she smiled at the offer of bringing them supplies but when Murke got so excited about seeing her rituals, she leaned forward again and smiled, setting her teacup down.
"of course." she bobbed her head. "What would you like to see?" she asked curiously. "Hermeticism is very malleable. If you like, I could make one of those jewels of yours an amulet? I always wear at least one. My emeralds" she tapped the pendant around her throat with a pointed fingernail. "Or I could turn something into gold...the house is already warded, otherwise I would demonstrate that, but..." she grinned at her brother's excitement "It all depends on what you would like to see, Murke dear." She picked herself up from her seat, smoothing out her dress.
Murke is so excited she forgets she's still holding the glass in hand as she stands, though her expression is still placid. Curiosity keeps the fear at bay so that even with the clap of Dorian's hands, she doesn't flinch. "Uhm..." Faced with so many choices, she digs into her pockets to pull out the mass of jewelry and sorts through it as she sorts through her racing thoughts. "Can you make it so this will glow if uhm... anyone tries to use mind control near me?" She stops sorting through the stolen goods to dig in another pocket, this time for a ring with a golden beetle that had once been living and now was encased in resin. "On this? It used to be a talisman, but Rainer's gone. The metal is warmed to power, should take well and you can have all the other jewelry to pay for it. I know power isn't free and I don't know where you get yours from."
Dorian scooched toward the edge of his seat because watching his twin be amazing was one of his favourite sights. He was just going to lift his voice to offer to go and get her anything she needed for supplies, only in his heart of hearts he knew she knew that he'd go should she find herself in need so he sat tight, until everyone else was standing. Then he'd find his feet, because that was the mannerly thing to do in such company. Upon Murke's request he looked to Dinah, wondering how she'd do the thing, not if she could. Of course, with his belief his sister was a goddess who got her power from her very divinity, that was no surprise. He'd toss back all his brandy before settling the glass upon the table from where he stood.
Dinah made a thoughtful noise in her throat and she reached for the beetle-ring. Turning it in her fingers, she considered it a moment. "It might not glow... but it will make you aware. Sometimes the magic takes differently than it ought to. Perhaps it will wriggle, or prick you. but i can make it work" she agreed cheerfully. Handing back the ring, at least for now, she bobbed her head. "one moment, sweetling. I need my supplies" she wiggled her fingers and headed for the stairs.
Thankfully, most of her supplies were still in the basket. it was only a matter of changing out her jars, so there would be the sound of clattering from the room at the top of the stair before she would return downstairs again with the wicker picnic basket, still a little spotted with blood, and set it on the bare wood of the floor.
"Generally in all hermetics work, we start with a circle. The more serious your magic, the more 'physical' you need the circle to be, and often the components of what you create the circle with will be a part of the ritual itself." she set out the candles in the four cardinal points, like yesterday. "This isn't terribly arduous, so it should not require a physical circle drawn. but the candles help focus the magic. we are in luck, actually" she gestured a hand towards the orrery "The stars are in leo. they will align well with a spell like this"
Murke's nod is quick and small as she takes the ring back. While Dinah leaves her and Dorian alone to get her own supplies, grey eyes fall on him. Then the glass he's sat down. She sets her glass next to his then looks back to him, eyes shifting as she studies him to figure out what social politeness would demand solely based off his stance. Thankfully the tiny mimic is all too soon distracted. "I don't know what would be easiest. It can even bite. I don't like pain, but I like being controlled even less. Having something to tell so that my gr-uhm. It would be good." It comes with a crouch down, a ways back from the candles. "Hermeticsim focuses on celestial bodies? Oh... I know some spells are better at night or days of the year, but I never thought about..." She looks up at the ceiling. "The stars." Cardinal points is at least familiar, used often in her own work. "Necromancy's not much different, with big things the more I have to do. I'd been working on a-" She cuts off with the speed of a car hitting a brick wall and for a moment is just as devastated. It takes a moment to swallow and blink away tears. "Never mind. The stars, is it to do with the pull of gravity? Or more about the weight of ritual, building up resonance so that with each spell of that type made, it reinforces the next?"
Dorian scooped up a mochi to consume while watching all of this take place. While his sister was gone clattering away upstairs, he'd smiled at their guest and assured her, "Give good cheer Miss Murke, she really is world class, you will see. To those at Khymeia she's known as Professor, and the school couldn't ask for a better teacher in the Hermetic Arts."
Upon Dinah's return, he'd head over toward the more open part of the room, popping the mochi into his mouth and chewing it up in one mighty mouthful. He made a little sound of relish as he did which might indicate that even if he took the contents of their pantry for granted, he appreciated it. He could not wait for the refresher on astral effects on magic. He'd go from grinning over Murke's candid interest to looking at Dinah who lacked many truly devoted and interested students.
Dinah smiled towards Murke as she approached and she bobbed her head at the questions. "hermeticism focuses on seven basic principles. it teaches that we are but the dreams and thoughts of the Infinite Mind, but as microcosms of the Infinite Mind, we are also the dreamers. and therefore, we can harness that to control the world around us." she explained. "it is less about the gravity as much as the astrological positions lending their particular energies to magic. Leo is a very passionate, fiery sign, and is very much about being independent, for example" she set about lighting the candles. No lightning from her fingers today, just a usual match. She grinned over towards her twin.
"do stop me if i sound like i am lecturing, dori darling. I know you have heard all this a million, million times" she said playfully as he munched, setting a silver bowl in the center of the circle.
"one of the primary things we need to be concerned about in hermeticism is balance, unless we are doing something that particularly favours a certain element or gender. We learn that everything in the world has an equal and opposite force, therefore, we want something like an amulet to be balanced so it remains so" she crouched down onto the floor, reaching for the jars.
"So. with that in mind. Angelica, which is a feminine herb under the element of air. it clarifies vision and is a powerful protection reagent. Bay leaf, masculine. Elementally under the plane of fire, and it increases your own psychic awareness. Bladderwrack for water, which protects from psychic invasion" she touched each of the jars in turn "And Carnelian stone, for earth, to help prevent mental manipulations" she peered up from the floor with a pleased smile towards both. "do you have any questions?"
Murke nods with each piece of familiarity, the carnelian stone, the elements and balance, though for a moment the mentions of femininity and masculinity is met with a touch to her face and a glance down as she considers the variance in her own studies and of how herbs are categorized. "Okay. Do growth conditions matter? I know with my studies wild versus hot house grown makes a difference, but when it's more about the nutrients available for the sacrifice... I know both will work for me, but usually hothouse grown, more nutrients, healthier specimens, they're better. The closer to perfection..."She swallows as she holds the ring back out for Dinah to take. "Do you need me to do anything?"
Dorian waves off the possibility that Dinah could bore at all, even if her topic was dry, even having heard it a million times, he could not ever tire of her voice. He'd never considered if how plants were grown or harvested might make a difference, but he was really beyond his ken in all of this. He held his tongue as he had nothing to contribute to the meat of the conversation, his job was to stand there and look pretty. And of course to help Dinah up again when she was done like a magician's assistant. Or a magus' loving brother. He would keep a careful eye for when to step near and offer his arm, until then he was just standing by Murke whom he was glad was getting just recompense for having pulled their big brother to safety.
Dinah reached her fingers for the ring, letting it roll onto her palm.
"Not especially for most rites. it only depends on if you are doing something that requires purity. If you are handling something with the intention of performing alchemy, after all, the more certain you can be that something hasn't been adulterated or tampered with at all is better. If I were showing you Palingenesis, for example, that would require absolutely pure samples to ensure that the phoenix could rise without pollutants. but. that isn't a one-day-demonstration sort of practice. I've been teaching my students how to make one" her smile became impish and she shook her head "No, dear, you needn't do anything. I shan't need anything from you directly unless you wish it tied specifically to yourself" she reached out for one of the candles, bringing it to a sprig of dried angelica and watching as it started to burn, moving the herbs into a ring around the carnelian stone.
"sometimes if the ritual calls for it, i would call upon the guardian spirits of the four quarters. that is only if i feel the circle needs more protection. like last night" she explained as she settled down and took a deep breath, holding the ring over the smoke.
"chokmar et Binah ad oculos, noli me tangere" she whispered, fingertips coiling the smoke around the ring in wispy loops, encasing it as she turned it, carefully making sure that every scrap of it was coated in the silky incense smog.
Murke's gaze falls on the wall for a moment before she looks to Dorian. "Has anyone ever told you your wallpaper looks like eyes?" The words are quiet before she's distracted by Dinah's answer, committing it to memory and relieved by the answer, the differences between their arts. Rather than ask questions now as the ritual is underway, she watches, possessed by the desire to learn, to wring from this every piece of useful information which Dinah offers in her explanation. The mention of guardian spirits is tucked away in her mind, a silent promise made to herself made to find out more later, in the library. The ritual, using the smoke as a coating, is carefully watched with unblinking eyes.
Dorian had, just as Murke mentioned what she did about wallpaper, noticed the record was in need of turning so he crossed away to do that at the gramophone cabinet, shaking his head in answer as he did. He actually stopped the thing playing so his sister's ritual got the silence it merited. Without laughing but looking for the eyes in the wallpaper, he ably made his way back over. Once there and having seen the eyes she meant, he'd watch Dinah speak the words, move the ring through the smoke, like he was watching a priest perform mass: attentively and with reverence. They hadn't even given the place its structural decor, but it suited just perfectly.
Dinah retained her focus for a few more moments before satisfied, she pulled the hand holding the ring up from the incense bowl. She studied it carefully and beamed, then licked her fingers and snuffed the candles in the opposite order to having lit them. She reached for her twin, offering the ring out on the flat of her palm.
"there we are. One mind-control talisman" she said cheerfully. "obviously it will take actually being afflicted to test it, but i have no qualms that it should work. None of my other talismans have ever failed me unless pushed far past the point of their capacity" she turned her blind-eyed gaze up towards her brother with a bright smile.
"we will have to bury the incense when it goes out, but it should be good for the flower beds at least." the crab on her shoulder turned towards the walls. "...so it does. I had never noticed that before. isn't that strange? perhaps if it were blue it might at least be peacock feathers" she reached out to take Dorian's arm, standing to press a kiss to his cheek.
"we should go shopping when the fog lifts. I will need to restock my little collection. at least with the stones I can make more"
Murke gently takes the ring back, afraid of leaving dirt behind if she were to make even the slightest skin contact. It's hard to tell if she's impressed, but she remains somber. Though their own contact is met with a blank look of pure acceptance, with not a moment of question regarding their familiarity with each other. She looks away to slip the ring on, rubbing a thumb over it before she looks back up. "Thanks. This...it might not save my life, but... it might do better in a way. If you need anything, I'm good at finding things. If they're already on the island, I can get you some. You can make me a list of what you need. If you want... Also." She pulls away to pick up her bag. "Also, if you see a man, blonde. Tall, evil, goes by Eli Keating, you should avoid him. Don't look him in the eye. Don't talk to him. Or you might want to make the same talisman for yourself too. I don't want bad things to happen to you both."
Dorian bent to offer his sister real help up, not just an arm for show. He'd pull her gently to her feet. And once she was standing he'd offer her his arm still as if they might be starting to dance at any moment. Unlikely with her blinded and the music off, but it was a pose he was accustomed to, and he liked keeping her so near. It meant kisses were nearby. He only didn't indulge himself in kissing her back because they had company. He chuckled at his sister's remark about the wallpaper and assured her, "We can go to bury the remainder together, my love-ly sister. And on the morrow let us go into town and see if we cannot get our hands on some supplies for you." He'd almost given the game away as if the blush inducing cheek kiss had not, nor the adoration in his face when he looked at his sister. Dorian cleared his throat and stood a little straighter, watching for if Murke was impressed as he was.
When she was not openly impressed but instead earnestly appreciative he was satisfied. And though he'd not done the work, he'd offer, "You did us a tremendous favour in taking care of our brother as you did. Neither of us wants his job, you see." Though spoken lightly it was not untrue.
Dinah held onto her brother, close at his side, the crab snipping his claws merrily on her shoulder. She bobbed her head when Murke said she was good at finding things, and she gestured her incense-smoke sooted fingers to the bowl. "as you can see, I am nearly always in dire need of plants" she laughed "I grow some and dry them myself, but other things can be somewhat a pill to obtain" she cocked her head at the description of Eli Keating and she made a noise in her throat.
"I will be careful. But I can assure you that anyone that steps unbidden into my mind will often find themselves in inhospitable climes. And the second that I were free of such an influence, I would absolutely tell both of my brothers and my friends, and he cannot look more than two people in the eyes at once." she smiled, though unlike the rest of her sunny disposition, this one had an edge to it that showed a little too much tooth. She nodded her agreement to dorian's words, that they were grateful for helping Drystan, and she stepped in closer against his side.
"We will warn Drystan about this keating fellow too. Thankfully there aren't too many tall blondes on the isles besides darling dorian, so even I should be able to spot him easily enough. I hope."
Murke looks between the pair nodding and breathes out a sigh of relief. "I'll look into plants, I found a - good spot recently. If it's safe I'll share it with you and I'm glad your brother is safe. I don't know what his job is, but I know what it's like to have family that protects you and how scary it is you might lose them. I didn't want anything bad to happen to him either." For the first time she smiles at Dinah, or tries to smile. The expression is stiff, it exposes teeth, the corners certainly stretch in what could be called a rictus grin. An attempt at forced friendlies, effort made but pained to do so before it's quickly dropped. "Good. You are strong and smart and I think you'll safe, but even the strongest of us can be caught of guard. I'm hoping he won't be a problem for much longer though....I should go. Thank you. For you help."
Dorian: "Take a scone at least!" came Dorian's response to hearing she was going. He had yet to get their guest looking like she was comfortable, he reckoned he might get another bit of booze into her to start, only she was departing. He also appended, "I will keep my eyes peeled for this Keating fellow. I mislike the idea of a villain with my rough description haunting the isle. Should I find him first I will give him a piece of my mind and I doubt he shall care for it." Normally because the pieces of mind the elder twin subscribed to were fist shaped.
Dinah hummed and she nodded her gratitude at Murke's words of securing plants, and once more, her fingers gestured to the basket. "If you'd ever like to learn more, I do teach at the academy. or, if you would prefer, I could tutor you privately. I already have one private student." she offered. "if you are already adept at necromancy. I have no doubt you would learn it quickly" she grinned up towards her brother at the insistence of food and she nodded. "if you did want to take any food, please help yourself. things are scarce out there." she added to his words, expression warming at the 'smile' murke showed her.
"you will be welcome here anytime. There is normally at least one of us three around, if not all of us. Thank you for coming by, and for the warning." she squeezed her brother's sleeve and she hummed "..maybe i ought to make you a talisman too, if you are going to be spoiling for fights with people that can mess with your mind. Especially with how much damage you can do"
Murke does not have to be told twice, she moves for the offered scones, grabbing one in each hand, only because she cannot easily fit more. Bag on her shoulder, scones in hand, the offer for private lessons stops her in her tracks. She swallows. "I'd. Like that a lot. I don't like schools. I'm bad at schedules." She looks at Dorian with wide eyes, as full of emotion as the grey flat expression can manage easily. "I'll see you around." Then she turns to escape out the same window she'd come in, as if struck by a terror brought on by that very emotion, afraid of it as much as she'd been of the cops on the bridge Dinah had defended them all from.