It was true, Declan was a feared person in Blackhaven, various reasons of course. Some for his family, others well...they knew his powers and what he was fully capable of. Most had no reason to fear him, but still did this was no different when they'd arrived at Moby Dick's, the whaling and nautical atmosphere was a nice touch for a seafood place...it really added to the ambiance too. Still he'd not requested the private or VIP area...but was appreciative of it, going as far as to give poor waitress $50 for her troubles and also to ease her a bit.

"Merida has a boyfriend, who he is I don't know, she won't give that information out, probably due to dad's reaction. You know he wanted to marry her to a MacIntosh, Dingwald, or MacGuffin. Needless to say that didn't go over well. Merida got so upset about that particular Highland Games, she accidentally turned mom into a bear..."

How had that happened? He didn't know, he wasn't able to make it home in time for the games, he'd arrived that night in fact. Merlin had him on spring break, so he was able to stay home for the week, the house in Perth actually. The summered in Aberdeen...and Declan had been left unknown to Fergus, an estate on Skye. Still Merida had involved herself with a witch that masqueraded as a wood carver...Declan at this point was only 19 years old with Merida being 17, so he was only in the 689th circle in his training, still an apprentice but almost a sorcerer, one would need to reach the 700th circle to be a full fledged sorcerer or sorceress. Still Merida had kept it a secret while Declan did damage control at court, Merida and Eleanore seeking a reversal, Declan couldn't help break that curse...

This is where their blood feud with Mordu had started, a former druid that liked the form of the dire bear, Mordu had injured Fergus when Merida was 5 and Declan was 7...though he was with Merlin when it happened. This changing Eleanore into a bear furthered the feud, as Merida needed to seek out the sacred stones, the famed Ring of Brogdar on the Orkney Islands...the same islands that her brother Declan had been born...in the city of Kirkwall. Eventually the siblings managed to undo the curse, with Merida mending the family tapestry...one that her brother Declan wasn't on...but she now added much to Fergus' objections. Declan had managed to impale Mordu with an ice spike and watched him tumble into the sea...his fate unknown.

"Still, use caution with my brothers okay? I don't want them to cause you harm."

He took in the comment about Merida...well he needed to give some more insight.

"Merida just doesn't want to see what happened with Tinkerbell...well to happen again...I can't explain why she's protective of me, she's always been that way especially with the way dad acts. But the Tinkerbell thing made her more so...still I am hoping we can meet this boyfriend before too long, I suspect dad's reaction is why we've not met her. Did my mother give you any insight? Or say anything to you about us?"

Declan was wondering if Eleanore had commented about approval or something to the effect of them being a match or couple, she was good at pairing people...but usually in the sense of the upper class.

Flagging down the waitress, Declan made a request.

"Miss, getum við fengið nokkra drykki? Alkóhólisti vinsamlegast?"
 
Oriana nodded when he asked her to be careful with his brothers and pinked a little at the mention of his Mother asking questions.

“Oh I was a bit…embarrassed from what happened.” They hadn’t really discussed their brief kiss and Oriana had tried not to remind him of it. “She was…saying that I shouldn’t think about what everyone was saying since she was…erm, pleased that it had happened either way. I thought it was strange but I never responded to her because you came back with the bag of spare clothes and shoes.” She shook her head, “But she didn’t mention much about Merida just smiled when I asked…I think she knows but Merida may not know her Mother knows."

There was a soft sigh. "I think it’s nice that Eleanor is so supportive of you guys…you’re lucky in that sense.” Oriana couldn’t help the envy in her voice as she said that but her eyes widened in alarm when Declan was once again muttering incantations at the waitress.

“Hey-hey! No!” She protested, “No conning the poor waitress she’s been nice to us so far! Do you know how hard it is to serve tables in places like this?” Oriana’s schooling had been a bit spare in her early years, she still didn’t understand the concept of different languages and locations. Her initial thought when she had left her Mothers control had been to travel far and wide but those dreams had shattered when she realized that those plans required quiet a lot of money.
 
"What are you talking about? I am not conning anyone, I was just ordering drinks...okay I was doing it in Icelandic, but the point remains"

He'd passed much of Oriana's conversation with his mother with a mere nod, nothing out the ordinary there form his mother's standpoint, still he'd not put it past Eleanore to know who exactly Merida's boyfriend was. He wasn't going to pry himself, that would earn him severe kick in the ass from Merida.

"Well my sister is a bit hard headed and driven that's for sure, mom says she and dad are similar, then again I've never seen a terribly nice side of my dad...unless I was leaving with uncle Merlin to go wherever it was for training. That was another thing entirely...training was quite the experience..."

Stopping there, he didn't want to get in to it, it was hard to even think about let alone talk about, the things he'd seen, the deaths, and even the enemies he'd made over the years. It was a lot to take in and he didn't think Oriana needed an overload on that. He thought about that annoying bird from earlier, something about that bird screamed inflated ego and arrogance, but he couldn't quite place it.

The Hatter on the other hand, well he was nuts, but he wasn't an idiot, if he failed to come through with Oriana's rather large check, well things would get ugly and painful for him in a hurry. He'd never crossed the sorcerer before, fear of both Declan and Merlin had made that a certainty....and he was always trying to gain favor with Merlin.

Alice on the other hand, well it was hard to say, she clearly had an issue with the various drugs and strutting around without clothes...not everyone wanted to see her topless, but she was always showing it off. All five foot two inches of her...she also fancied herself a singer of sorts, but only at the Tea Party. This made Declan wonder how they would show up this evening...well the Hatter knew how to dress...though he liked bright colors, Alice on the other hand...well he'd just be happy if she didn't fall out of her top...or in fact was wearing one.

"I guess I don't need to caution you about Alice do I?"
 
She was a little embarrassed, she couldn't tell the difference between his incantations and other languages. She did't recognize it until he would start telling her what they were. For the millionth time in her life she cursed her Mothers strange upbringing and outwardly tried to shrug it off with a sheepish smile, "Just speak English around me..."

"No you don't need to...I might know more about Alice than you." Oriana had always been observant, she could stand in he shadows and silently gain information worthy enough to write books on people. As a woman herself she didn't judge other women on how they dressed or- well, didn't. That part she firmly believed was self choice. The problem came from Alice's attitude. She expected everyone to adore her, salivate over her and expected the world to revolve around her. The personal appearance and dropping of the clothes wasn't just a method to get by in life, to make a living in hard times or even for just her own enjoyment. That was something Oriana could have forgiven and understood.

No, it was the thrill in which she tried to push young impressionable minds down darker paths. Down the rabbit hole as she would always simper when expecting them to service the clients. All out of a desire to appease the Hatter.

Many times Oriana had on the sly intervened, cornering the barely adult teens in the corners of the Tea Party's darkened clientele rooms and handing them portions of her own salary and convincing them to leave. To leave the drugs and the work that Alice was painting as a life of luxury.

Sometimes it worked...they'd walk off with enough money to get by enough for a few nights, but at least she didn't have to watch them be exploited and sometimes she had never managed to get through to the already brainwashed minds. She'd eye them sadly returning to the Hatters VIP lounge as they turned into the next branch of Alice's Girls. Groomed and percectly obedient. Loyal.

It disgusted her to no end.

Seeing her failure she would return to her tabletops with a sneer on her face as Natalya tried to convince her that she was attempting something that Blackhaven would never allow to see through. This town can't be cured Oriana...move on.

If she was powerful enough she'd have brought down Alice's trafficking ways but the girl had a way with words and Tinkerbell's assistance with the pixie powder hadn't helped non. That and by the time Oriana had started working for the Hatter she was already hated by Gawain.

At that moment the doors opened with a thud and Oriana peered past the group of waitresses at the front to see the Hatter and Alice had entered. As usual they were dripping in extravagance, heavy jewelry and glittering clothes. Probably trying to put on a show and intimidate her but thankfully with Declan sitting right there that plan failed. "Oh here they come."

One of the waitresses was seemingly trying to argue with Alice about the purple ball of fluff in her arms but Alice was too busy strutting forward to care, leather black skirt tight on her and a sheer grey sparkling top - which Oriana was surprised to see considering what Alice was like when it came to fashion wear, she had even bothered to wear a bra for once which Oriana lauded to the Hatter insisting.

Moby Dicks establishment wasn't somewhere you could turn up in the nude after all. Some lines had to be drawn.

As the pair seated themselves, Oriana gasped in shock to realize that it wasn't a ball of fluff but a purring cat which was giving her a leery grin. She turned her head to Declan, thinking that poor cat was not normal. They'd obviously colored its poor fur and it's eyes were all over the place...pixie dust. They were feeding the poor thing pixie dust. There was no doubt about it. No cat looked like this one.

"....That's animal abuse." Oriana said coldly, feeling uncomfortable at the small animals plight. The Hatter looked gleeful at her words and seated himself next to Alice, not even nodding his thanks at the waitress who handed them all menus and provided Declan with his requested drinks.

"His name is Cheshire! I prettied him up." Alice cooed down and petted now hissing animal. "Oh hello Dec-decy-dec-?" She sure did like playing the insanity card. Her heeled boot made contact with Oriana's ankle but luckily the redhead didn't react, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

"Declan." Oriana snapped, knowing the other woman was simply trying to make digs. As if Declan wasn't important enough for his name to even be remembered.
 
Declan's own interactions with Alice had been minimal, she never had been able to get him in one of her theme rooms or even get him for herself. This was a sore point between her and Tinkerbell, though he didn't know if it still was nor did he care at this point. He also had to admit surprise to see Alice actually wearing clothing that she didn't look like she was going to fall out of, after her recent magazine shoot...trying to promote her latest album failure, it was the shock to see her clothed.

"Nice to see you Alice, with the latest album failure I would have thought you'd be resting."

He could dig too, he was figuring she was on something and probably wouldn't notice, though he could sense Oriana's discomfort with the cat, clearly that was done to get reactions, nothing could be done till they got what they came for. Trying to create another illusion, he grabbed Oriana's hand and squeezed, then said in a low tone.

"Wait til we leave, then you can deal with the cat."

Sure the Hatter was all dressed up, and one could see his discomfort at the situation at hand, the menu's being brought eased some of his tension before he blurted out something.

"Did you hear about our movie we're making? It's going to be Oscar worthy!"

"I didn't think adult movies were eligible for Oscars...aren't they more for the adult film awards?"

"No no! Not that kind of movie, our last one like that failed, no we're doing a remake of a classic! It's going to be big big big!"

"Well, then that should prove interesting shouldn't it?"

Declan could have cared less, he knew the Hatter was making small talk and testing to see how long he could do it before Declan brought his attention to giving Oriana the check, for now Declan was playing along...for now.

Declan had put the menu down, he knew what he wanted and would wait till the rest were ready, in the meantime he prepared himself just in case he needed to be more persuasive.
 
Oriana squeezed his hand back only to signify that she had heard him and understood but didn't miss the way the Hatter was staring at both of them.

"So, how did you two meet?" Hatter asked curiously, dropping the false cheer regarding his movie. Alice suddenly looked particularly interested all of a sudden.

"Yes, you both looked....just wonderful last night." Her voice was dripping with that saccharine sarcastic tone that told Oriana she thought anything but.

The waitress was waiting patiently for their food order, so once the other two idiots had ordered the most expensive dish available she looked down at the least pricey item listed. "I'll have the erm-" She shuffled under the sneer of Alice, who fully knew what Oriana was trying to do. "Lobster Frittata?"

Letting the waitress turn her notepad to Declan, she took a sip of the drink Declan had ordered her in Icelandic and nodded her head in approval at the taste. "We bumped into each other at the Tea Party actually." She casually omitted the night at Mushu's details. "We're actually just colleagues in a sense. I'm his apprentice." She flicked a small lick of flame at Alice's foot, knowing that she was aiming to kick her again and smiled in satisfaction at the other woman's wince. It was barely a blister, nothing to cry about. "He can help me control my little...problem. See?"

"You-you, did you just-" Alice was spluttering in anger.

"I just what?" Oriana challenged and the other woman instantly looked to Declan before quieting down.

"Well I think it's fair to say you're the talk of the town after the stunt you pulled on the dance floor Oriana...I was wondering why you were..." Hatter smiled at Declan, as if to say 'Good show old man' and raised one eyebrow. "So tired lately at work. Speaking of which I was hoping we could end this silly talk about leaving work. You work well with Natalya. How about I give you both a lil pay rise...instead?"
 
Really? Trying to be persuasive...cute, two could play this game, but only one could end it and quickly. Clearly the Hatter was trying to bait or fish for something he shouldn't be. Well by this time Declan had revealed his hand with his dragon ring, whose eyes were glowing a fierce red color. Of course he'd be rude not to order first.

"The Alaskan grilled salmon, with the vegetables, replace the steamed carrots with with extra squash, and the house salad."

Declan had been aware of what Oriana had done to Alice, he played dumb as if nothing had happened, and he wasn't going to do any parlor tricks for the Hatter...yet, only if needed, he was sure Oriana was more shocked than he was about the Hatter's attempts to back out on the deal, while Declan had expected dirty tricks, he wasn't without his own...plus Oriana was the wild card in this, if she caught on she'd know what Declan was up to.

"Oh really, and here I thought the talk of the town was Ana's drunken antics and hitting on that statue. I mean that was low even by her standards I am sure you can agree."

By now Declan had folded his hands, not showing what he was up to, but it was in incantation one of which would make both Alice and the Hatter shit should he choose to use it, now how to play along was the next question, overly charm? Over intelligence? Brute force was out, as that was more of Hercules' thing. The Hatter was bat shit insane, but not stupid enough to really press the sorcerer or his uncle.

"Funny, I think she works better with Merida than Natalya and I'll just point out that if you keep up trying to keep her on at the Tea Party, you're going to have pay more than we originally agreed on, so by all means keep talking...you're driving the price up."

He unfolded his hands again the faint blue glow was noticeable, but only for a moment as he grabbed Oriana's hand again, this was their wild card, an incantation that was from the old frost giants of Jottenheim, taught to him by Gwydion for the sake of dealing with the mad. The Loki incident being the prime example. What it would do when used would bring the weak minded or in this case mad, under control for moments to get what the caster desired, as this was for Oriana, Declan had transferred it to her.

To further give the Hatter a show and get a rise out of Alice, Declan leaned close to Oriana's ear as if he was kissing her cheek and whispered to her what he'd just done and the command word to trigger it, she could use it on Alice or the Hatter, but to wait to see what the crazy bastard came back with.

"Anyone up for a starter?"
 
Oriana very nearly did use the trigger word to focus the incantation, Alice’s antic of whistling low at Declans pretend kiss to her cheek making her roll her eyes. Honestly, is this whole town immature?

She was stopped however by the Hatters frantic perusal for his cheque book within his suit jacket and the numbers that he wrote out made her eyes widen and almost forget the incantation Declan had whispered into her ear.

“Here.” Hatter threw the cheque at her, making her frown but she wouldn’t push for manners out of that mad man and instead let the slip of paper fall on the table between them. She’d pick it up once they were gone.

“Gladly.” Oriana signaled the waitress and ordered them all some fried shrimp and calamari with their special sauce. “If you pay for our meal I’ll give you the money back with the cheque amount later on when I’ve cashed it.” She whispered back in his ear and indicated that he ‘calm’ down from the glow he was still radiating out. It was drawing attention from the other customers already seated and Oriana figured it wasn’t nice to ruin their meal either with the terrible smell that Hatter and Alice would pong the place up with if she used Declans prank spell.

“Are you sure you are just his apprentice?” Slid in the annoying voice of Alice, she paused enough to let the staff start piling the table with their requested dishes plus the added starters. “You both don’t act like it…”

Oriana could have let her head fall into her lobster frittata. “Yes. Friends. At best.” She hissed out through teeth and took a large gulp of her drink. It probably didn’t help that Declan was always whispering in her ear but she supposed if she saw that happening to someone else she might fall to the same conclusion.

“And Ana was rather funny, but I imagine the statue is the best she can amount to so let’s cut the girl some slack and carry on with this lovely meal.” Oriana added to fully diffuse the situation.

“Indeed…mind, we were mighty concerned to hear about your apartment.” Alice tsked, tucking into her oysters and moaning obscenely at the taste.

“Erm…I wasn’t there. It was a gas leak I think.” Oriana said quickly in response, thinking that was the best excuse.

“Oh really? Nottingham didn’t think so…we bumped into him earlier this afternoon didn’t we Hat-Hat?”

“Oh yes, yes, we did. Say Declan ol’ chap he was saying it was an arson attack…and Oriana, where were you last night if not at home? You’re lucky to not have been there I say I say! Ol’ Notty lad was saying…well, never mind what he was saying. You’ve already said you’re just friends.”

Hatters voice was getting louder at each word and it took a dark look from the redhead to bring him back down to a normal tone.

“I was with…Declan, training.” Oriana winced inwardly at not being able to come up with a better excuse. “I am his apprentice, we try to fit in training where we can with me having to work for you during nights but since you’ve now paid me this lovely cheque I can finally concentrate on a day job now can’t I?" She could have screamed, between Eleanor, Morticia, Nimue AND Merida she didn't need all the town talk.

Maybe she needed to find someone to casually date. Just to divert their attention and stop making her and Declan feel so awkward. Well, at least from her side anyway.

Meanwhile the poor cat, Chesire was going wild in Alice's arms trying to reach at all the fish laid out on the table but the woman kept hugging-no squeezing the feline to herself tightly.

"Excuse me - please can we have some tuna in a bowl and some milk." Oriana asked the next waiter to pass their table, there was no need to starve the small thing.
 
While Oriana was not willing to pick up the check written to her, Declan did and stuck it into her coat pocket, well it was his jacket but she was wearing it, still that probably didn't help the rumors, but there would always be said rumors. Mayor White's re-election was beginning and who knew if she'd get another term, he was rather surprised that it hadn't come up in the conversation, as he was certain there were kick backs being paid to her office in order to allow what went on at the Tea Party to continue.

"It was as she said, we were training. Oh and you could tell Peter there are more reasonable ways to get in touch, you know this new thing called a cell phone?"

He may have been fishing, the ring was still glowing but not as it was shortly before, though it was as if it was saying I'm watching you Hatter. Still he played it off about Oriana that it was nothing more than what she said, though her commentary might lead Alice down the road to think Declan was within her own grasp, as he'd always been elusive to her.

"Well I for one think that Ana was more of show than the actual show. I am also surprised they'd let Elsa in there with that dress she was wearing...she looked like she was going to fall out of that top at any moment."

Misdirection was the next tactic, getting it on another subject.

"Well you know that Nottingham was caught with his pants down over there at Old Mother Hubbard's right? It was all over the news, that and the whole crack down on Jack Horner's Porno Corner."

They'd gotten what they came for, but still could get something good to eat out of it. Oriana's concern for the cat was interesting, given Alice seemed to be over enjoying herself, he suspected she'd be in a hurry to exit for one reason or another, he'd know if she pulled the Hatter out quickly which reason it was...still there was some information he needed.

"Mr. Hatter, do you happen to know what the best things to do at the Capricorn?"

"Why on earth would you go to a casino resort? I always figured you to be too up tight ol' boy. But if you insist, you must try the buffet and the slots! Those alone would loosen you up!"

Gambling and the buffet, well some information was better than nothing, now he'd have to decide how to play that off when they got there. He said nothing about going with Oriana as he wasn't showing all his cards just yet.
 
Oriana had fallen silent as Declan fished for his information via the Hatter and she pretended to concentrate on her meal. Her requested additional dishes came for Cheshire and she watched fondly as the drugged feline probably got its first proper meal in days – one that wasn’t covered in pixie dust just for Alice’s amusement.

Not that it was a hardship to quiet down and enjoy her food, considering how lovely it was to have a meal of this standard. She tried not to make the same noises as Alice, it wasn’t pretentious but genuine surprise at the taste and rich flavor that she hadn’t experienced before. When the waiter came past them to check if they needed anything else and to see if everything was to their liking, she gave a genuine smile and nod. Winstons good but…come on.

Perhaps she would buy him a book on Seafood dishes. Oriana smirked thinking the mutt would probably blow his pipe in her face with a ruff huff. He was a little moody at times but loveable all the same. Not that she’d tell the butler that.

The conversation went on about the casino and she perked up but deflated, gambling wasn’t really her interest, but Declan had said they had work to do and were not really going for a vacation.

Eventually the table was cleared and the Hatter was already making excuses. “Best be off now, up you get Alice - oh dear-!” The woman was already heavily drunk having consumed a bottle of wine all by herself. The cat fell out of her arms as she wobbled on too high heels and it landed on Oriana’s hair with a loud hiss and suddenly there was a chaotic struggle to get it out of her red locks.

“Oh gods.” She hissed, finding claws at her scalp. “Hey now, I fed you! Show some loyalty.” She told off the purple fur before managing to pull him off and hand him back to the Hatter with a grimace. Crazy cat for the crazy lady.

Once they were gone, having caused a scene with the waiters for trying not to pay for their half of the meal but Hatter had finally thrown some hundred dollar bills on the counter and pulled a swearing Alice away.

“Can’t go anywhere without creating a scene can they?” She asked with a wry laugh and looked at Declan. “Are we staying for dessert?” She asked excitedly, moving to sit where Alice had been so she could be opposite him now that there was more space. She smoothed her pony tail back up since it had unraveled thanks to Cheshire. "Did you get what you wanted out of them?"
 
Declan had passed the rest of the meal in silence, no need to kick the Hatter can further down the road, Alice on the other hand had of course caused an amount of unwanted attention, but provided enough to get them out of there, much to the relief of the sorcerer. Did he really get anything meaningful out of the Hatter? Not really, he just got enough of what to expect upon arrival.

"Not really, though you got more out of him than I did, but I know one of them will go back to Peter with what I said."

He'd have to get better information on the Capricorn, what he had was minimal but his presence wouldn't be known there, sure he was the sorcerer and Fergus' son, but that didn't play at a casino-resort when there were so many of the wealthy or other figures in town that would show up. Dionysus himself might or might not even be there. But the famed Graeae sisters would be there, they were the keys to dealing with the Gorgon sisters, the hydra was another matter, and one he'd have to go to Saint Paul's church to gain information on.

"Oh sure, we can stay for dessert, our evening is free now, that we got what we needed."

Declan's ring at this point had stopped glowing red, but would not come off his finger despite his attempts to take it off. He didn't say anything about the cat and it's adventure on Oriana's hair, as to save her embarrassment, it might have been funny had he not been on edge throughout the meal. The Hatter was right in saying that Declan was a bit up tight, but one would have to know what he had endured at the hands of Tinkerbell and his killing Mordred.

"Just be thankful Alice's clothes stayed on! But yes that's tame for them, normally it goes wilder than that, though I am sure the Hatter is going to expect me to put in a good word with my uncle."
 
Merida had returned to Arcana Cabana a few days later, feeling tired from her exploits in the neighboring town of Sleepy Hollow but nonetheless happier.

Since she had left right after the Halloween Ball she had rang her Mother for all the necessary information, or the more untactful word called ‘gossip’ and was amused to know the towns folks opinion of her brother at the moment. What Eleanor had failed to mention, perhaps lack of knowledge on her part since she didn’t really read Pinocchio’s column that Oriana’s home had been burned to the ground and that the poor girl was living now with Declan.

She entered their home and put a finger to her lips to Winston and dropped her suitcase lightly to the ground. Merida pushed her curly mane into a bun and slipped on a dark mask, one that would easily be seen as the usual item sold in children’s costume shops but with the bulbs off would only serve to hopefully make Declan jump in panic.

Winston obviously rolled his eyes and left the living room, leaving the tv on and picking up a newspaper on his way to his own little hideout. He didn’t want any involvement in these childish antics.

She might accidentally get blown down the staircase but hey-ho, her brother would recognize his mistake and fix her up. She was sure.

Getting upstairs was no trouble, Merida knew all the floorboards which would creak but the only problem was getting up behind Declan without him sensing her.

When she passed the guest room she frowned, the light was on and she could hear some soft humming from within the room. Do we have a guest?

She peered through the small gap of the slightly ajar door and raised her eyebrows. It was Oriana! Well, maybe she was using the room to study some of the text Declan usually kept for training purposes.

Not one to dismiss these types of chances she slid her hand through to the wall inside the room and switched off the light, moving fast on her nimble feet to encircle an arm around the now yelping woman. “It is I…your worst nightmare.” She growled in a bear like voice into the redheads ear.

The combination of a strange voice suddenly next to her and the darkness surrounding her set Oriana’s panic system off, triggering her into the memory of the night with the Ripper and before she knew it, both her and the stranger were being thermal blasted out of the room and a fire was escaping her hands. “No!” Oriana cried, struggling against the now shocked Merida and inhaling smoke in her attempt to get back into the room and put out the fire.

“It’s me, Mer-Merida, stop I’m sorry!” This had been a bad idea. Merida didn’t know why Oriana had reacted like this but didn’t understand why she was now putting herself in harms way to try and get into the burning room. “Oi! Dec!” She held the other woman by the arms ignoring her protests. “Ori-iana, it’s too much smoke! We need to put it out before it spreads!”

Oriana for her part continued to struggle. All her belongings were inside and knowing that it was just Merida next to her was angering her beyond her ability to calm herself down. She had only settled into that room a few days ago with full furnishings and belongings, the fire inside that room could come out any second but what was stressing Oriana out was the fact she had just repurchased some things from her own salary. The cheque from the Hatter had brought her quiet few precious items which were now being lost to her once more.

She was by no means materialistic but her owning things that Declan hadn’t had to purchase for her meant a lot to her.

“Not again.” Oriana said in a panicked voice, putting her hands in to her now sooty hair and trying not to cry. “I just-not again!”
 
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Declan in the mean time had left Oriana to get acquainted with her new room, then the fireworks went off...literally. He'd been in downstairs in the library area looking to see if there was anything he needed to wary of in dealing with the Graeae sisters, when the smell of smoke and Merida's call for Declan to help came about.

"Oh what'd you do Merida?"

He noticed the room and the billowing smoke coming out, he was able to put two and two together and quickly caused a rainstorm contained to Oriana's room to put out her thermonuclear flame blast. He had to use a decent water effect as not to cause more structural damage and of course create more work for the mops and brooms...who were probably now pissed off with Merida. Winston merely rolled his eyes and tipped his hat slightly to help with the fire containment.

Declan went up soon there after and blew the smoke out using a wind spell to dissipate it that way it didn't draw Nottingham or the fire department's attention. Surveying the room, all he could do was shake his head, at least Oriana's wardrobe had survived, that was the beauty of the closets in this building, Winston had seen to it they all were enchanted. Declan then sifted through to see if anything Oriana had bought was salvageable, he couldn't determine that, he'd have to leave it to the mops and brooms.

Letting them take over the clean up, much to their annoyance, he stepped aside and went down to deal with Oriana and Merida. He was only in a Snoopy t shirt and cloth pants, no need to wear jeans when they weren't going out, but still the whole incident was ill advised.

"Okay Merida fun's fun, but c'mon that was a little too far you know. You know Oriana hasn't got full control yet."

He wasn't pissed off, more like an annoyed tone to him, that was saying Merida could have picked a better way of a prank .

"Okay Ori looks like we're going back to control lesson one tomorrow. On the plus side some of your books are okay as well as your wardrobe, but you're going to have to move into my room till the brooms and mops can get it rebuilt. On the plus I guess, this gives us practice in sharing a room for the trip to the Capricorn."

He didn't say much more before turning back and going upstairs to his room, leaving Merida to sort it out with Oriana, he had to change the sheets and make it more comfortable.

Declan's room wasn't what one would picture for someone who was single, in fact he did have a king sized bed no frame, instead it was on lift that had drawers underneath. There was a 52 inch screen TV mounted on the wall so he could watch TV either in bed or when using the shower/bath that adjoined, the bathroom was modern, complete with walk in shower and bathtub. His furniture was nice the dresser below the TV had pictures and statues adorning it, the bookshelf was mostly empty as he was trying to decide if it were to be a display case or house some books he didn't want the public to see. Though of note all the rooms including Merida's and the one that just went up in flames, had runes carved in the door frame which were protective in nature.

The wall hangings weren't anything of note save an autographed picture of Laurel and Hardy, the others were well just pictures, one that was a moose print from Alaska, another was a joke picture that said "Shut the Duck Up" , and he had one of Washington D.C. the skyline at night. Probably the oddest thing he had was a literal metal Jack 'O Lantern, that hung behind the door, it was used for various reasons but mostly due to ward away spirits when he was called on to do so.

Merida had one too, a refrigerator, a small one, it kept drinks and snacks. Winston had also installed an electric tea pot and an array of teas for when Declan first got up in the morning.

He sighed as he was working on getting the bed made and the extra pillows out, this wasn't the same bed he and Tinkerbell had shared, that one had met the same fate Oriana's room had just met. All he could do was hoped she liked these sheets and the feather pillows. It was getting colder now as winter was approaching, Thanksgiving always marked that. So he got out the microfleece blankets and the new comforter he'd purchased...he was going to make her as comfortable as possible.
 
Merida, who was still unaware of Oriana’s incident with the ripper looked to Declans retreating back with indecorously. “Oh come on, it was a normal prank! It’s not my fault-“

“I thought you were the ripper.” Oriana couldn’t stand to watch the mops and brooms try to salvage her belongings and stormed off, leaving Merida to gawp at her retreating back too. There wasn’t anywhere to go really so she entered Declans room and paying him no mind, locked herself in his bathroom so she could sit on the toilet and sob. Her eyes hadn’t even dropped to his attempts to make her comfortable in his room and if she had been there before she would have definitely commented on the tv. She did love watching tv.

As it was, she was too upset to see anything beyond the tears blurring her vision and the bathroom door locked with a snap. She just hoped Declan didn’t use his skills to open it. She needed this moment.

It was humiliating that after all her hard work he was now setting her back to ‘controlling’ her powers.

She simply couldn’t do it.

Oriana did hold Merida responsible. If she hadn’t had surprised her she would still have that room and not be a burden to Declan plus would not have lost the small amount of respect she had earned.

Merida after prompting by Winstons judgmental stare sighed, the bulldog only updated her with a few choice words but it was enough to fully guilt her up. She stepped into Declans room with an apologetic shrug. “I didn’t know…” She said in explanation then walked up to lean against the bathroom door to where she could hear Oriana crying, albeit quietly as possible. “I’m sorry okay! I didn’t know. Come on out of there, what if Declan has to pee on the carpet because you get stuck in there?” She tried the door handle but the bathroom remained locked and she could hear a soft whisper of ‘Go away’.

“Any ideas?” Merida asked her brother with a grimace. So far from what she knew, Oriana was a self-sufficient and independent personality. She must have been rather attached to her new room already to be feeling this way. No doubt this was full on delayed reaction to loosing her home as well and the terror response to what the Ripper had tried to do. "I honestly didn't know she'd be like this."
 
"I didn't do anything Merida, but I would suggest you just give her a moment, I am trying to make things comfortable for her since she'll be in here till we get that room redone, I get it you didn't know, hence why I am not angry, but she's had a bit of a rough time as of late. Maybe have Winston put on some tea, I did order that sour cream cake that's in the freezer now."

He was going to take Oriana at her word in leaving her be, but he was serious about control, she'd made real progress in his mind, but this set it all back, and they'd have to cover it all over again, still the emotion was key factor in her control, and that's where they'd have to focus. She couldn't take on a familiar or anything of that nature until she got her emotional bond to her powers bent to her will.

"I don't know what has gone on with her prior to you and I getting involved, but she did seem to like mom, maybe you should arrange that tea with her. However that Ripper thing really did set her off. I still have to tell Wednesday about the loss of that knife...it was destroyed along with the Ripper. Next weekend we're going to the Capricorn, I wish I could say it was pleasure..."

Declan painstakingly finished making the bed and clicked the TV on, he wasn't sure what Oriana wanted to watch, but chose one of those prime time TV cartoons that was really more geared at an adult audience. He wasn't sure if he should say anything but relented and thought he should.

"Ori? I am not going to come in there, Winston's going to make some tea and we're going to have that cake I bought, I can bring you up a piece."

He left it at that, and took his sister by the shoulder and led her out, it was the best he could do right now and he wasn't mad at Merida but she did have to understand what was going on. As they were going down the stairs he told her about what was supposed to happen at the Capricorn and why they were going undercover.

Pulling out his laptop upon arrival in the dining room, he was looking over the Capricorn's website and trying to get a feel for the place and an idea on how they were going to have to act...seeing as this wasn't Casino Royale, it was very clear they didn't need formal attire, more relaxed attire, that was a massive relief.

"You need to spill it sister, who is the boyfriend?"
 
Inside the bathroom, Oriana took the time to sob all her emotions out until she was tired of her own tears and itchy eyes. She used Declans face-wash with cold water to calm her skin down from looking angry and splotchy, not caring about whether he’d be miffed at her use of his towel either.

Once she’d fully settled her nerves, only then did she open the door and breathe a sigh of relief. They were both downstairs. The television was on with some comical cartoon that she didn’t know the name of. She was still sniffing and should another ill word be said would probably end up in an emotional mess again but for now, there was a semblance of control.

The bed looked utterly comfortable and before her own room had gone up in flames, she’d already been feeling tired but now after exhausting her gift force the soft covers and pillow case looked increasingly inviting.

One of the brooms came speeding in and made her jump, hanging off it was one of her more fuzzier pajama sets designed for the cold and she took the garment gratefully so she could change out of her tight jeans. Her clothes were immediately taken from her by the broom who amusingly had ‘turned’ it’s back to her whilst she changed which made her quirk her lips.

Even the brooms here were polite. It was endearing.

“Thank you…” Her voice was a little hoarse, but a spot of tea would fix that. Thankfully what she wore wouldn’t be a cause of self-consciousness during the night with Declan as she was mostly covered. There was no need to make things more awkward between them.

Declan had also mentioned cake but she had no immediate appetite. Oriana clambered into the bed, pulling as much as the duvet around her body and holding it up to her neck.

At that point Winston pottered in with his trolley and she gratefully took the cup of tea from it with a sheepish look to Winston's face. He looked although sympathetic behind those big eyes but still tired. As if he was silently asking her if she could not have picked another night for a spot of arson.

It wasn’t like she had meant to do it on purpose.

Meanwhile, downstairs Merida was staring at Declan with something akin to mistrust. “I swear. If you laugh. You’re done. I will stick an arrow up your arse so quickly…” She put her hands up her hips and tried to look unapologetic. “I met him in Sleepy Hollow.” She paused, “It’s….Ichabod Crane. He’s a…historian.” She knew the triplets and her father would be howling in laughter at her. Merida, crossbow extraordinaire and woman of adventure had picked a man of intellect. The shock. The horror.

If only they truly knew.

“You could learn a few things from him Declan. He knows quiet a lot about the occult.” Merida rubbed the back of her head. “He’s also…English.” She wondered if Father was going to be annoying with this that she’d pretend that Ichabod was Irish….he didn’t look it, but he could put the accent on when drunk enough.
 
"Oh well, dad's going to be thrilled at the prospect of another historian in the family, I mean c'mon...seriously, he's in fits just cause that's what I tell people to cover up the other stuff. Still, you could have done worse I suppose. You know my stance, he breaks your heart, I break something much worse on him."

Merida was his only real ally in the family feud, sure Eleanor was too, but she couldn't be as outward as Merida. It was the typical big brother speech, but the difference was that Merida knew Declan would actually break something on Ichabod Crane, and probably enjoy it too...still she was trying to play up on him about their common ground as historians, but Declan had more direct question.

"What does he know about me? That stuff Saint Paul's has up? Or something that I need to be concerned about?"

Was Declan scared? No, merely trying to protect Oriana in this case, but also he didn't need the slander that dogged him so much to keep on going, he'd been good about ignoring it thus far, but now he had Oriana to worry about and she wasn't ready for this portion of things, not yet anyways. He was still going through his laptop trying to get more insight to the Capricorn Casino and Spa, but nothing more that could help him in terms he needed. Determined he'd need to pack some trinkets for them to use was where he was at now, he talk about it with Oriana.

"Okay Dec, now you know my secret, what's the real deal with you and Oriana? Let be honest here, there are so few women out there that can actually lay hands on you without harm...I mean this has to mean something right?"

"I don't know what it means Merida, I really don't. Oriana is my apprentice, yes there's some bond there...what it is I cannot say, because I don't know."

"You're holding back big brother, I know that Tinkerbell thing still weighs on you, I see it you know you can't stonewall everyone."

"That's easy for you to say, you just had to help pick up the pieces...you weren't the one that endured the betrayal."

"True. But come on, you need come out of the darkness, like you did with Mordu."

Declan could only manage a nod, he was simply too tired from everything. Having a firestorm go off didn't help matters either, but there was no sense in staying mad at the situation. Then of course Winston put his two cents, in headbutting Declan in the calf, then on Merida's urging, as she was eager to get on the phone with their mother to chat about Ichabod Crane...Declan went upstairs...cautiously, he didn't want to invade Oriana's personal space, but it was his room...still.

He slowly opened the door, hoping not to catch her in an awkward state of affairs, sure he was a male and that would have been welcome, but at this moment in time that would have been bad.

"Ori? Wondering if you got settled in okay...I've got some things to go over if you're up to it, if not we can go over them tonight."
 
The only thing he could probably see were two large green orbs flashing from between the TV and him at the doorway. Oriana reluctantly dropped some of the duvet away from her face and neck to nod at him tiredly. “We can do it now…” To be honest even though it was early she wanted to zonk out sooner rather than later. Plus she didn’t want the awkward, ‘which side of the bed do you want’ conversation with Declan. If she was already asleep then there wasn't much he could say to her.

“Is it…about what I did?” She said with an uncomfortable sigh. “I have no excuse. Honestly, I’ll move out soon. You won’t have to put up with me long.” Oriana figured she could get a one bedroom flat, perhaps not something decent or nice but at least she wouldn’t be terrified of blowing up Declans home.

Today it was one room. Tomorrow it could be the whole place.

What if Merida was stuck in a blaze and Declan wasn’t around? How would Oriana ever help her and should anything happen to her would Declan forgive her for hurting his sister.

She didn’t think so.

Tomorrow she’d trawl through the newspaper.

Surely something would be available and if not, there was a bus that went from Sleepy Hollow to Blackhaven. She could always move to the next town and commute back and forth for her lessons.

She had options. Choices. And she’d give them serious thought.

There was a sudden thump and Oriana glanced over at the window before Declan could reply and briefly caught a flash of feathers. It looked like some dumb bird had tried to make it’s way through the window, not realizing the glass pane was in the way and slowly slid down the barrier with a dumbfounded feathered face and a smushed beak. The blackened creature slowly slid down the window and disappeared from view.

“Robeen…?” Oriana muttered, shaking her head. “Daft nosy bird.” She’d recognized those singed feathers. It had only been earlier today that she’d flame balled the daft creature. “Honestly…doesn’t know when to give up that one.”

She looked back at Declan pensively. “Sorry, carry on…oh and you can come in…it’s your bedroom after all.” Had he left her alone earlier so he could tell her off now when she had supposedly calmed? He would be in for a rough surprise if he did because the tears weren’t that far that they wouldn’t rise again.

Plus the daft sorcerer had returned with no cake in his hands.

She wasn’t hungry.

But still.

Where was the thought?
 
"What you did? No not at all, that's done and over. Move out? No I...we...want you to stay. Put that whole thing out of your mind, this is just as much your place as it is anyone else's."

He was almost taken aback by that, to him that was an odd comment to make. Not that he was that obnoxious radio DJ that tried to do giveaways and give opinions on the air, and when callers didn't agree with her, she got butt hurt. That ego was something else...aside from annoying. Still he made a gesture and Merida came in with a slice of cake for Oriana, a peace offering, while one of the brooms came in to top off the tea. Merida was on the phone so she made it quick.

Oriana had picked the side of the bed Declan never used, he was always on the right side of the bed, that way he couldn't kill the alarm clock or the cell phone should it go off.

Thought that stupid bird hadn't escaped his notice, that thing had some serious issues, he wondered if it suffered from enlarged ego as well? Certainly it wasn't the webcam stripping that DJ did prior to getting the current job...rumor was she also was a cleaning lady...though in some circles it was mentioned that was a fetish thing for "other purposes".

That aside, Declan slid on the right side of the bed with the laptop, showing Oriana the full run down of the Capricorn Casino and Spa. He was careful not to make any sort of uncomfortable movements that could be misconstrued. Concern about her burning down this room was nonexistent, the wards prevented that sort of thing.

"So here's the layout of the Casino-Spa, I can't get much more off of the website, but check out the list of events..."

He indicated the events list and the big events in gambling at the casino, plus the VIPs that would be showing up. Declan and Oriana weren't know to Dionysus and his crowd, this was an advantage, since they didn't meddle in the affairs the divine did, they preferred the food and drink aspects to anything else. He was making himself comfortable on the bed, when Winston checked in again, making sure Oriana had a blanket that was hers, he managed to save it from the disaster earlier.

The bulldog butler, also was making sure everyone was settled before the Arcana Cabana was shut down for the night, he always did this, but now that Oriana and Declan were sharing a bed, he was doing as if to ensure nothing changed, this was lost on Declan for sure...but was it on Oriana? Declan got up and went to the bathroom to change and returned wearing his moose micro-fleece sleep pants and a Snoopy t shirt, he was still bandaged from the encounter with Peter and it was visible, though the mark could be seen slightly under his shirt, if Oriana was looking, the bandages would need to be changed the following day. Still Winston watched them giving either a look of approval or 'Declan get your ass in bed' look.

Declan briefly spoke about the casino-spa, intending to play some of it by ear, but he wanted Oriana to see what they were in for.
 
“You know if this wasn’t a job it would be a nice play to stay.” Oriana commented, picking at her plate of cake idly. Sure, she’d noticed the bandages and made a mental note to help him wrap fresh ones up again in the morning. “Are you sure I’m not going to goof up like I did at the ball in this?” There were quiet a few important and well known personalities in attendance and the last thing she wanted was to fall on her back with him on top of her again.

One time of utter humiliation was enough thank you.

She was thankful to Winston from bringing her spare blanket and managed to refrain from petting his head like some common dog. Instead she wrapped it around her shoulders to keep warm and adjusted the laptop in her lap so that both her and Declan could view it together. It was odd having another person next to her in the bed.

“So…I guess we’ll have to act like a married couple?” She added, picking at the duvet cover and shifting so her body wasn’t on his side of the bed. Oriana had a bad habit of sleeping slanted and taking over the mattress. “Otherwise we will raise suspicion.” She had a flashback of earlier on in the day when Declan had his arms around her and surprisingly felt a strange twisted sensation in her stomach. Nope. Not going there. I’m spending way too much time around him. That’s all.

“I’m thinking I’m not any good in gambling, so we stick to the slot machines at first and observe quietly. Then once we notice the setting and vibe we can approach the tables…I’ll probably stick to being your good luck charm rather than placing any bets. Knowing my fate we will both come out having to sell someone our kidney first.”

Merida had come in and out so quick that Oriana was a little insulted, talking away on the phone about her boyfriend without really sparing a glance to make sure if Oriana was really okay. But then again, maybe she didn’t want to trigger her again and Declan was with her wasn’t he?
Oriana had really concentrated on him earlier to see if he was hiding any frustration about the firebomb but he genuinely seemed aright with it all.

Which made her wonder why. If it was her, she’d be royally ticked off that a part of her home had been destroyed and that she had to share a bedroom.

So why did these things simply not phase Declan at all?

Strange fellow. Yet…she was fond of him. If it hadn’t been for him she would have been penniless and back to sleeping on the park bench but then again…would the Ripper have taken interest into her had she not been his apprentice?

Gosh, it was sure complicated.
 
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