[At your own risk. The Zee he's used to knowing would have objected, saying it was always at her own risk, but she knew better now, looking back. That there was so much there was he was right about them.
The fact that he'd been the ideal outlet for the rebellious streak of a 20-year-old with an overprotective father who'd known exactly what and who John was.
Giovanni Zatara had been a good enough man not to curse John just for sleeping with his grown daughter. And despite all the fights they'd had, he'd never outright forbidden her from seeing him. He'd known John would break his daughter's heart and that she'd learn from it.
He hadn't known how.
He'd been a good enough man to agree to help with the seance even though he hated the man. He'd been there to protect her, and he'd burned for it. Thrown himself to the flames to save her.
Since Zee's inherited Shadowcrest, the decor have been slowly updating themselves. There's a lot of kitsch and whimsy, and like Zee herself fails to be garish for all its whimsy.
The bones of the place are mostly the same, though the greenhouse is bigger and has a large portion set aside just for letting the rabbits graze. The library is the same, too. All rich leather and floor-to-high-ceiling shelves stocked near overflowing. Zee'd only been able to sneak John in once before, when the place was Dad's. Gio wouldn't have trusted him anywhere near this much knowledge.]
I'm not convinced some of them aren't breeding, if not rearranging themselves. [She's flipping absently through one of the smaller tomes while one of her larger cinnamons makes rounds between her lap and the alfalfa sprouts that keep tempting it away from comfort.]
[ it's just like her to change the subject, but he doesn't bother getting annoyed. john's eyes trace the bunny's trajectory while she commentates and all he can do is sigh, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. ]
You'd probably know where to start better than me.
[she hands him a pair of gloves, white cotton with runes in silver thread at the wrists and on the palms. They are not costume pieces.]
The wards are blood-locked to family. But you'll need to wear these to handle them. If there's blood on the gloves, the book burns to ash. Dad's safety precaution against anyone forcing him to bleed for the books.
So, I guess, no one with my blood on their hands- [her laugh is forced, and nervous, and startles the rabbit] I just got that. [A dad joke worked in to a blood spell. It feels about right.]
[She puts the gloves within easy reach for him, and presses the tip of the blade into the end of her thumb, and presses it to a stone set into the shelf below the first book.]
Even if I could touch them, I wouldn't know half of what I was looking at. Part of me wants to summon dad's ghost just to yell at him for keeping this all from me- these are things I should understand.
I need you, John. I need you to start teaching me.
When we were both young and stupid, and I didn't know half of what I was capable of.
[The ward drops once she's bled onto the stone, and she pulls her hand away quickly, moving aside so he can take the book, reflexively bringing her thumb to her lips to staunch the bleeding. Or at least keep the blood from getting anywhere it shouldn't.]
And we were both more distracted then. [By each other, admittedly.]
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2018-08-25 04:00 am (UTC)The fact that he'd been the ideal outlet for the rebellious streak of a 20-year-old with an overprotective father who'd known exactly what and who John was.
Giovanni Zatara had been a good enough man not to curse John just for sleeping with his grown daughter. And despite all the fights they'd had, he'd never outright forbidden her from seeing him. He'd known John would break his daughter's heart and that she'd learn from it.
He hadn't known how.
He'd been a good enough man to agree to help with the seance even though he hated the man. He'd been there to protect her, and he'd burned for it. Thrown himself to the flames to save her.
Since Zee's inherited Shadowcrest, the decor have been slowly updating themselves. There's a lot of kitsch and whimsy, and like Zee herself fails to be garish for all its whimsy.
The bones of the place are mostly the same, though the greenhouse is bigger and has a large portion set aside just for letting the rabbits graze. The library is the same, too. All rich leather and floor-to-high-ceiling shelves stocked near overflowing. Zee'd only been able to sneak John in once before, when the place was Dad's. Gio wouldn't have trusted him anywhere near this much knowledge.]
I'm not convinced some of them aren't breeding, if not rearranging themselves. [She's flipping absently through one of the smaller tomes while one of her larger cinnamons makes rounds between her lap and the alfalfa sprouts that keep tempting it away from comfort.]
no subject
Date: 2018-08-28 10:01 pm (UTC)I take it you've lost count.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-29 01:12 am (UTC)[she hands him a pair of gloves, white cotton with runes in silver thread at the wrists and on the palms. They are not costume pieces.]
The wards are blood-locked to family. But you'll need to wear these to handle them. If there's blood on the gloves, the book burns to ash. Dad's safety precaution against anyone forcing him to bleed for the books.
So, I guess, no one with my blood on their hands- [her laugh is forced, and nervous, and startles the rabbit] I just got that. [A dad joke worked in to a blood spell. It feels about right.]
no subject
Date: 2018-09-04 08:17 pm (UTC)This was a bad idea.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-06 03:48 am (UTC)[She puts the gloves within easy reach for him, and presses the tip of the blade into the end of her thumb, and presses it to a stone set into the shelf below the first book.]
Even if I could touch them, I wouldn't know half of what I was looking at. Part of me wants to summon dad's ghost just to yell at him for keeping this all from me- these are things I should understand.
I need you, John. I need you to start teaching me.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-14 07:51 pm (UTC)[ he concedes, snatching the gloves like they might burn him otherwise. then he's slipping them on with his gaze cast downward, away from her face. ]
I tried that once, remember?
no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 02:16 am (UTC)[The ward drops once she's bled onto the stone, and she pulls her hand away quickly, moving aside so he can take the book, reflexively bringing her thumb to her lips to staunch the bleeding. Or at least keep the blood from getting anywhere it shouldn't.]
And we were both more distracted then. [By each other, admittedly.]