a spell for the moon & the tides. (closed)

@ slumflower
Lucilla sat behind her small cash register at the Numbered Pages bookstore, knowing that her shift was so close to coming to an end. It was a quiet day because no one really came into the store; it did not look all that impressive. Not that it really mattered to Lucilla, she happened to love this little bookstore. Sure, there was a Border’s Bookstore in this very mall, but there was something special about Numbered Pages, aside from its array of strange books. It was just a quirky little shop, with books stacked in uneven piles and the shelves organized by how the owner, Madam Julie Vocula, just ‘felt’ was right. It did not make any sense at all and yet, many of the people in their fine city loved Numbered Pages.

Those people were, of course, those of a more supernatural existence rather than the mundane. Numbered Pages was special because it housed both books for humans and books for others (witches, vampires, werewolves, etc.). It was a bookstore that could answer two questions: how do I do a locator spell and what’s the hottest summer romance this year? For that, Lucilla was grateful. She enjoyed both of those activities: reading and witchcraft. They were essential to her entire identity. It was definitely an enjoyable job, to say the least.

Lucilla was pretty absorbed in her book on Representational Magic when the bell rang and she glanced up. “Jeremy, hey,” she said, closing her book and smiling. He smiled at her in response, plopping both himself and a lemonade on the table.

Jeremy and Lucilla grew up together in their coven and have always been practically inseparable. Their mothers were just like them when they were younger and as such, even had a linking spell performed on them to strengthen their magic. Sometimes Jeremy and Lucilla discussed it, but both of them did not really need the assistance. They were both well studied witches and their magic got them through high school and into their beginnings of college. Where she was weak in magic, Jeremy was usually stronger. He spent more time than Lucilla studying different kinds of magic and his parents were wealthy enough to take him traveling around the world and to other covens. In fact, Lucilla only just started leveling the playing field when she got her job here. She was on her way to being well versed, but wasn’t on his level just yet.

“Madam Vocula will kill you if she sees you up here,” Lucilla said, taking a sip of the drink.

“Yeah, well, she’s busy at the Elders meeting so, who cares? Can you believe that sex store really opened? What kind of weird fucking mall is this place? A magical bookstore, a sex shop and H&M. I guess we have everything,” he said with a wink.

Lucilla laughed, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We may as well move in.”

Jeremy smirked, “I think it would be for the best. We’ll open a mattress store and just live here. It’s a perfect life.”

“Well, I’m so glad you have our whole life planned out,” Lucilla said laughing. “Did you go into the store yet?” She asked, biting the tip of her straw. To be honest, she probably would never venture into a store like that. It didn’t seem necessary as far as sex goes. People have been having sex for thousands of years without all these toys and latex. Personally, she never needed help when it came to sex, so why start now? Jeremy, however, always seemed to be messing around with weird things, so it would not surprise her if Jeremy was their very first patron. That was what Lucilla loved about him, though. Jeremy was playful and bold when Lucilla was often a bit more timid. If she were to ever get in trouble, it was almost always Jeremy’s fault.

“No, not yet. Wanna go later? When is your shift over?” Jeremy asked, a little twinkle in his eye. There was truly no way for Lucilla to get out of a plan once Jeremy got that look. He was determined to do something stupid once a day for no reason whatsoever. Before Lucilla could even say no, Jeremy started up again. “Come on, please, Luci. It’ll be fun and besides, maybe you’ll find something, you know, exciting,” he joked, wagging his eyebrows up and down. “Or you’ll finally confirm your bullshit theory that sex is fine without any little extra surprises. In which case, I may give up on you completely.”

Lucilla rolled her eyes, “Fine. I’ll be off in 30 minutes. We can go."

All in all, Aida was having a pretty good day. She had just helped her sister Rei open up a brand new sex shop at their local mall, lovingly called "The Toy Box". Her parents had been pretty proud of her older sister when she graduated from grad school with another Business degree but had not at all been prepared for her to set up a sex shop right in the middle of the only mall that they really went to, not that they shopped a lot. That being said, her parents weren't exactly prude so Aida and Rei didn't really run into much trouble although their dad usually changed the subject and started talking about coven business as soon as Rei started animatedly talking to their mother about new dildo shipments for the stock room.

Besides that, Aida was feeling pretty right with the universe. She had woken up this morning, ready to pull a pretty long shift like the other employees although she was kind of a co-owner (although this really was mostly Rei's whole thing) and could've said no if she had wanted to. Aida figured she'd put off her pestering sister and that the money didn't hurt either since she was swimming in college debt already and still going through with being an artist anyways. That being said, the day hadn't been too bad - no underage kids trying to snoop around and get in, no elderly people standing outside the doors and praying for the devil worshipers inside (re: Aida and Rei), and best of all, no one hitting on her while she rang them up or helped them select things from the store. She had even chosen some lavender and rose incense throughout the shop and brewed a floral tea blend to sip on throughout her shift, keeping her and those in the shop feeling at peace.

Overall, Aida really liked working at The Toy Box, and it helped that she really liked sex. In fact, she found that her magic worked best when she was satisfied in all aspects of life and that included sexually and erotically. Most people and mainstream society did a lot to shame consensual, enjoyable, passionate sex and the autonomy of women during sex so she liked knowing that she was completely in control of her body, what it did, and the pleasure she was given by others and gave in return. Not only that, but for Aida, everything could be erotic so long as it gave her that sense of pleasure - painting, taking herself out on a date, intimately talking to friends about soul work, looking to the universe and delving into what she saw there, and of course - pulling apart and weaving together the magic that pulsed through her veins.

Aida brushed her curly hair up in a bun since it had started to make her forehead sweat a little bit, and looked at the simple gold watch clasped around her wrist. She hummed along to the music playing in the background (Prince's Purple Rain) and nodded to herself as she saw that she still had about 3 hours on her shift and no one new had walked in as or after she'd helped a new customer figure out which kind of lubes would be best for him and his partner (and their new sparkly dildo). Aida went back to the register after walking around again, perching herself up on her little stool and pulling out the book she'd been working herself through (a new crime drama thriller that one of her coven members had just published during their day job).

@ slumflower
Lucilla was watching the clock very closely, sipping her drink until it was just ice and wondering if Jeremy was going to forget about their little plan. He wasn’t, of course. That was wishful thinking. The fact of the matter was, Lucilla was also nervous to be seen walking into the sex store. Jeremy’s parents were open and peaceful. They were a part of the coven, but they honed their magic into more white magic because, otherwise, Lucilla’s coven used darker magic requiring blood and enchantments of all kinds. Lucille’s mother lived for everything their coven stood for: sanctity in blood, strength within the coven and purity in actions. Lucilla’s mother almost always said, “If we step too far, the magic will taint us. We must always walk the razor blade that is who we are and what our magic can do.”

This was what was nagging at her as she followed behind Jeremy, feeling a little nervous, across the mall and towards The Toy Box. She did feel silly, on one hand. There was not anything to be ashamed of about a sex store, not really. At least, their wouldn’t be if Lucilla was anyone else in the world, but she was herself. Her mother was a very important Elder in the coven and Lucilla lived in a very strict world. Someone was going to see them and she’d have to answer to her mother, even if she was an adult now. It was complicated, but Lucilla did understand. There were many stories of witches from Lucilla’s covens who had gone a little too dark. Stories like Madge who harvested the magic of children and babies, before they begun practicing, and then killed them. These were the stories that haunted her and the ones that were discussed at almost every single dinner. So, yes, it was just a sex store, but to her, it felt like she was wandering somewhere a little darker than she had ever been before.

“Don’t worry, Luci. Times are changing. Your mother is as closed-minded as a treasure chest sitting at the bottom of the fucking ocean. Besides, it’s a Tuesday afternoon. Who’s gonna see us?” Jeremy asked, pulling her along until they finally stepped inside.

The place was well organized, smelled both of latex and packing beans and was as clean as it could be. It was clearly new and there were no remnants of the many shops that once took residence in this very space. Lucilla would be surprised if the store stayed open. Things in this particular spot seemed to change monthly and besides, how successful could a sex store in a mall really be? In fact, there were only three other people in the store: a couple discussing if they really did actually want to try handcuffs this time or not and the girl at counter. Lucilla glanced around, offering a tentative smile to the girl.

Jeremy smirked down at her, his brown eyes shining with that familiar twinkle. “Look, Luci,” he said whispering to her, “You haven’t caught on fire or started bleeding from your eyes. It’s a miracle.” He turned then, waving casually to the girl behind the counter. “Really lovely shop you’ve got here. Tell me, what’s the best thing to use to like actually remove something from someone’s ass?”

“Jeremy!” Lucilla exclaimed, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. “I am so sorry. Please pretend he never opened his mouth."

@ oldbook;

Aida was another twenty pages into the crime thriller resting on her hands, none of the customers in the shop seeming to want to buy anything quite yet. The wards she and her sister had set up over the shop tingled, a sense of warmness shooting up Aida's forearms. She flipped the page and looked up, the wards not alerting her of any maleficient or evil energies entering. Instead, when Aida looked up and she saw a girl offering a hesitant smile while accompanied with another guy who seemed around her age. They whispered something together and the taller of the two raised his hand to wave at Aida. Aida nodded her head at the two and figured they were either some excited kids who'd never had a sex shop in town or they were possibly a couple excited to get into something new.

She didn't feel like the two were a threat to herself, others or the store so she ducked her head back down to continue reading her book, thinking that the two were probably magic users from a coven nearby. She heard a voice address her and looked up, seeing the guy who had just entered in the shop asking a question. Aida dog-eared the page she was currently on and raised her eyebrows, a smirk resting on her lips as she eyed the blushing girl besides him. They were both cute, something that Aida could assess even though neither of them seemed to be her usual type - the girl looked like she was terrified to be in the store and the guy seemed

"If you can't get your fingers up in there with lube to remove it, I'd try the hospital," Aida responded, eyes twinkling with amusement even though her face usually communicated disinterest (which was great at a sex store where guys would usually try to hit on her). "Don't worry, that's one of the easier questions," Aida said to the girl whose cheeks were a bright red.

(sorry for the super late response!)

@ slumflower
Lucilla practically squealed when the girl responded. She had a sparkle in her eye that Lucilla almost recognized because she has seen it a thousand different time. It was the very look that Jeremy gave her just moments ago when he forced her to come into this store in the first place. In fact, it was the exact look that Jeremy had now as he burst into a fit of laughter.

“That was amazing. Holy shit,” Jeremy said.

Lucille felt her cheeks heat up even further, a darker and deeper red than maybe ever before. She wasn’t certainly out of her comfort zone in this store and she felt uncomfortable. Jeremy’s candor was something that she could never understand, get on board with or even pretend to be comfortable with. She did, however, find it refreshing. She needed it in her life, even if it did make her all red and blotchy.

“So, listen,” Jeremy said, waltzing over to the counter, leaving Lucilla in between the lubes and the vibrators. This was yet another thing that Lucilla was extremely familiar with: Jeremy turning on his charm. It wasn’t hard for girls to swoon over her best friend. Jeremy’s messy curls, hazel eyes and perfectly straight teeth always worked in his favor. Lucille turned her attention towards one of the vibrators that promised ‘mind-blowing vibrations.’ She didn’t like to get in Jeremy’s way when he was hitting on a girl. They were always so threatened by a girl best friend. Either way, Lucilla was sure that Jeremy was spitting the best game he possibly could. Though, Lucilla was pretty sure that a girl who worked in a place like this was probably too much for him to handle.

Lucilla peered out of the corner of her eye, taking in the scene. Jeremy was ruffling his hair and flashing a smile. The girl at the counter lost that sparkle in her eye. Instead, her face was smooth and flat. It gave Lucilla the opportunity to look at her while her own face turned a little less red. The girl had the smoothest skin, long lashes, and eyes that seemed to be carrying a secret. Lucilla felt something flutter in her stomach and she wasn’t sure if it was curiosity or something else. At least, she did know that she wanted to figure out that secret.

(no worries!)