13564/Mischief Loves Company

Mischief Loves Company
Date of Scene:	28 June 2021
Location:	Breakstone, Westchester County
Synopsis:	Megan Illyana and Remy discover a spooky bookstore.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Magik, Gambit

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Pixie has posed:
It's only been a couple of weeks since Illyana promised to take Megan under her wing as her latest protege..Which may or may not be such a good thing, given their shaky history. But one thing is for sure: Given her aptitude for magic, and her curiosity, and penchant for getting into trouble, sooner or later, she's bound to stumble upon an even more dangerous spell than last time..And she won't always have Illyana to bail her out.

She had spent a lot of time reading in the library, although it was quite hard to find any decent books- or any books at all really, on magic. Luckily, or maybe ironically, a new occult bookstore had opened up on some  random road in Breakstone, a country strip of little stores scattered about.

Now...If only she can find that cool new occult bookstore, and you know, use this sweet 40 percent off anything! coupon she found..Too bad she didn't have a car and is just walking along the road..

Magik has posed:
    Illyana hasn't really thought too hard about the last time she spoke with Megan. She said that she'd train her and that was a follow-up from a previous time she'd said that she'd train her. And this time, the agreement was mostly as a safety issue. Afterall, the last time they spoke, Megan was performing magic way beyond anything she should be attempting. The kind of thing that could get the mansion sucked into an unfriendly hell dimension if someone isn't careful. But their talk led to a trip to Limbo. Which led her back to responsibilities in Limbo... while Megan has responsibilities not in Limbo. So things were left in a holding pattern.
    But what she didn't mention was that while Megan was in Limbo, Illyana did have time to cast a spell. An alarm spell that could follow Megan around. Something that would alert Illyana if the magics around Megan started to get a little intense. She didn't mention it obviously. It's a good test to see if Pixie's learned anything. But in the last few weeks, thankfully the 'alarm' has been pretty quiet.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau is not magically inclined. He isn't even that superstitious. He's seen too many monsters turn out to be muntants, machines or made merely of mundane matter. (How was that for alliteration?) So his being nearby is a total coincidence. He is out for a casual run with Jack at his side. The one eyed dog whose tail makes up nearly half of his body length is a derp most of the time but makes an excellent running companion, and the two lope side by side down Greymalkin Lane and headed for the doughnut shop.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn probably should have sought safer magic books from Illy, but Illy isn't exactly the easiest person to get ahold of, and Megan was terribly impatient..Which meant that once she left Limbo, she had at least promised to only look at books on magic history and theory, and not practical magic..At least for now.

"Totally not aware of the alarm spell on her as she peers around at the small smatterings of shops here and there at the tiny strip mall. "Oooh, there that cute thrift store, I should check it out again!" coincidently, the thrift store is near to the donut store and it doesn't take her long to notice familiar Cajun and his doggie.

"Doggie!" she beams and waves, having only met Jack a small handful of times, so she forgets his name and he probably forgets her entirely, so she is cautious in approaching, offering him her hand to snuff.r
"Heey, mister Remy! Whatcha up to out here?"

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins a bit coming to a slow stop and taking a pull from his water bottle. "Jus' out gettin' dis lunk some exercise, ain' we Jack?" he says leaning down to rough the dog's ears. Jack for his part neither knows nor cares who Megan is. He is simply aware that there is a human with hands not currently giving a belly rub, and he has a belly not currently being rubbed. Ergo he flops on his back, tounge lolling out and looking up expectantly. Remy just shakes his head and asks "So what got yah out 'ere?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn awes, scratching his tummy when it's offered her. "D'awwwe, you're a good boy, aren't you..Aren't you? Yes you are!" she giggles as she plays with doggo. "Ooh, well, I heard there was a new occult bookstore that opened in town..Hidden Dimensions or something? Have you seen anything like that around? I got this super cool coupon for it too..

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau very deliberately does not roll his eyes at that but says simply, "Nevah 'eard of it." Still he shrugs and can't help but grin as Jack's leg starts to twitch. "Non, he's spoiled an' waging a one doggo war on all of shoe-kind." He says with obvious amusement in his voice that betrays the Cajun obviously has a serious soft spot for the mutt.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn pouts, "Awwwe really? It's gotta be around here somewhere..Saay, I haven't tried that direction yet..Cmon, five eyes are better than two!" she points towards the far end of the parking lot where a shady looking store dressed up to look like an ancient log cabin painted black can be seen. Oooh, it's a little spooky too.

Megan pauses briefly, frowning up at it. "Phew, it's...A little spooky. I can sense real magic, maybe?" magic practitioners? Magic artefacts or the books themselves? Hard to say for sure, but it sends an odd shive4 down her spine. "Oh hey look, that sign says feee dog treats within, ooh and there's a cool refreshing tub of water for doggo!"

Well they're just too good to be true, aren't they?

Gambit has posed:
Jack, who has just made a "Newest-bestest-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world" Rolls back to his feet, wagging his tail with bruising forse between Remy's shin and Megans and barks happily. He has no idea what is going on, but he is game. He tries to then follow Megan, dragging Remy who still has ahold of his leash. When Megan says she can detect "real magic," Remy does in fact roll his eyes, but only behind Megan's back. No point in hurting the girl's feelings. Still he does appreciate seeing how "Pet friendly" the store is, tying jack near the water and saying "Try not ta eat anyt'ing... yah know like de sidewalk?"

Magik has posed:
    Illyana hasn't even really thinking about her conversation with Megan and the expected training. And from her perspective, it hasn't necessarily been weeks. Time flows differently in Limbo anyway. So when her magical alarm goes off for Megan, she does get a little annoyed. "...can't stay safe for /how/ long....?", she mumbles to herself. She's about to silence the magical ringing in her head before suddenly the spell cuts out completely. Which shouldn't happen. Something is interfering with the spell. Which means that it's almost definitely deliberate. This isn't the kind of thing that would happen if Mega were just experimenting with magic. Immediately, she summons up a stepping disc to send her to somewhere are least in the vicinity of where she sensed the alarm sound.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn ooohs, peeking through the window at all sorts of colorful posters, sale signs and other promotional material. It looks like a very mysterious building, but Megan barely even hesitates as she climbs the slightly creaky steps to the front porch. "Oooh it's so cute, like an old Victorian house or something..Think doggo will be ok out here? Cmon, let's look for cool stuff!"

She barely even hesitates, just disappears into the creaky old house..Illyana may just see a wing tip vanish into the darkness.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks a little bit, "Sure, Jack is an anti-elephan' attack dog. Since Ah adopted 'im, Ah 'aven' been atacked by elephants once." He still follows Megan into the store, mostly to make sure the poor girl doesn't get herself into trouble or accidentally buy some sort of mind altering substance.

Magik has posed:
    Illyana's stepping discs aren't always especially accurate. But they're close enough usually. This is one of those times where she's just barely accurate enough. Just out of range of being able to see Pixie disappear inside the building, but close enough to see the magical building that's brimming with magical energy. Yuck. This looks like a trap of some kind. Not something to trap /her/. But a trap is a trap. Frowning to herself, she starts to make her way towards the building herself, not quite close enough yet to see Megan and Remy enter the building. But at least she's headed the right way.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn peers at Remy, quirking a brow. "Anti elephant, what now?" she giggles, "You totally just made that up!" and then she do ears inside. Within, the place is rather melodramatic, with a deep royal blue carpeting, a vaulted speckling depicting some starfield display..And a maze like display of bookshelves with all sorts of books. There's even a restricted area with 'special ' books, hidden behind a little locked gate and some books are even in cages requiring a key ti open. Boy, some of the bindings are quite gorgeous with gold leaf bindings and engraved adornments on some of the front covers.

Soft, otherworldly new age Celtic music sings softly from the speakers in the walls and numerous tables and plush chairs are set up here and there. There's even a little quiet reading room or two. It's like this quaint little store is much much bigger on the inside than outside.

Theres just one staff member working this evening, a young handsome blonde guy who looks more like a surfer dude than a quiet goth type, and he smiles charmingly at Megan and Remy as they enter, though his attention is focused more on the fairy girl and those wings that she never bothers to hide.

"Welcome..Wow, what gorgeous wings you have, miss. Let me know if you need anything.."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks a bit but puts on a faux air of indignation. "Ah did no such t'ing. Yah seen any elephants 'round? Jus' go ta show yah 'ow good at 'is job Jack is." He does make a bit of a face at the Dr. Who-like extra space that seems to be inside of the store rather then out, but chalks it up to some form of optical illusion. Like the force perspective in Disney World. This belief is further cemented by the Surfer behind the counter. Remy walks over and lifts a small jar from a shelf. It's the sort of jar one would keep penny candy in, and this one appears to have some sort of Jerky. "Poisoned Dragon's Liver," He hesitates and then asks "Ah gotta know, do dey poison de whole dragon, or jus' de liver?"

Magik has posed:
    By the time Illyana reaches the door, she's not really questioning her opinion of what's happening here. Magic shop with real magic that appears out of nowhere near the X-Men's home? That's not usually a coincidence. As she reaches the front of the shop, she sees the dog and raises an eyebrow. "At least /you/ knew better than to go inside", she says to the dog. Taking a breath, she steadies herself for whatever she's likely going to have to deal with inside. Maybe Pixie hasn't gotten into trouble yet. Maybe she got here in time. But she's not counting on that happening.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blushes and practically swoons at the cute surfer guy. "Ooooh you really think so?" her wings flutter at that, turning brilliant shades of sunset gold to red to pink too, like she's showing them off or something.

"They're real too, see? Oooo my name's Megan, what's your's?"

Surfer dude flashes a charming grin at Megan, "My name is Marty. May I interest you in a book on beginner's magic, Megan?" When Remy asks about the poison dragon liver he just smirks. "Ah, that is actually, the liver itself is poisonous. Very useful ingredient for poisons and dark magic. Best to leave it alone unless you are a very advanced practitioner?"

Magik has posed:
    Illyana enters the shop and sees all 3 occupants immediately. She looks a little frantic for just a moment due to what she was expecting to see in the shop. But as she sees that nothing's happened yet, she visibly calms down. She recognizes 2 of the people there. But the person that works there is given a suspicious look. She doesn't ask him for anything just yet, letting him "help" his current customers. And she doesn't even say anything to Megan or Remy yet, more waiting for the store person to tip their hand. But she /does/ appear to start browsing. Just watching the store clerk. What is going on here?

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks a little bit, just shaking his head. "Ahh, naturally." he offers as he puts the jar back where he found it... pretty sure that what is actually in it is teryaki flavored beef jerky. He continues to look around staying close to Megan when Illy arrives. He gives her an amused raised eyebrow and nods in her direction. Outside, Jack begins to have a heated debate with a passing squirrel.

Pixie has posed:
Outside, two hooded figures seem to glide towards the bookstore, passing by Jack and whispering to each other in some weird foreign tongue. They slip quietly in the store, hovering near the entrance quietly.

Megan notices Illyana entering out of the corner of her eyes and grimaces. Bah, she promised to teach her magic but it's been a few weeks. Perhaps more important duties came up but Megs is too darned impatient either way.

"Uh..Sure, lead on!" and she follows him as he leads her down a maze of bookshelves near the quiet reading room.

A soft click can be heard as if the front door just locked..Or maybe that was a creak in the floor boards? Hard to tell.