(Pov Jason)
Rhea Martinsen: What she did was risky, but she couldn't have died. After Jasmine interfered, it wasnt going to waste the energy needed to reach her mind. At least from what she described of the mistake your sister made. It might have hurt if she got stabbed, though there wouldn't be that much force in it. She simply wasnt dealing with something powerful enough that it would bother killing her.
Jason's shoulders sank, the knot of worry in his chest loosening. Sophia hadn't wanted to talk about it after Jasmine stepped in yesterday. She hadn't wanted to say too much about how she was doing either, other than some rather not-so-reassuring reassurances. At least this meant that there wasnt anything supernatural he had to worry about.
Jason Smallers: Thanks, I really appreciate it rhea. I got a little worried for a bit there. And I am sorry for me contacting you out of the blue to ask about this stuff, it's just that I was planning on reaching out anyway, and Jasmine said I should ask you
Jason Smallers: How do you know so much about this stuff anyway?
Rhea Martinsen: Don't worry about it, Jason. I am glad you reached out.
Rhea Martinsen: Well, it's my job, I am a theurgist by profession, I guess. Though that term is lacking, it's not really a normal job. Specifically, I am a demonologist, so I study the types and ecology of spirits. That does include actual demons, though I try to avoid them when that's practically possible.
Jason Smallers: Do you know what it was she dealt with?
Rhea Martinsen: it seems to be a tomte, which means it's friendly or at least helpful. These aren't humans so even if they are helpful or friendly doesn't mean they aren't harmful. Spirits also tend to be offended by odd things. But a weaker tomte is about as safe, or at least as harmless, as it gets. It would probably only have done something to give her a migraine for a few days if Jasmine didn't interfere and placate it. At worst she might have spent a few days being slightly out of it, like, slow or less responsive
Rhea Martinsen: she might have been a little too harsh, though quite frankly there was no way for her to know that in the moment
Jason stopped outside Sophia's bedroom door. The subtle creak of steps on old wooden floors emanated from the room. At least she's awake. Jason knocked lightly on the door.
It didn't take long before the door opened. Sophia was still somewhat bleary-eyed, having probably just woken up. He let a small smile spread across his face.
“Hey, can we talk for a bit?”
Sophia groaned, a quiet yet deeply tired sound.
“Sure.” She stepped aside, letting him into the room. It was far more tidy than he had expected it to be, though it was still full of stuff, simply well-organized stuff. He sat down in his old chair, the thing protesting at his weight.
“What is Jasmine?” Sophia's tone was carefully controlled as she sat down on the bed.
Well, I should have expected that. It was an obvious question really, and with his sister's obsession with magic there was never a chance she wouldn't be interested. Even more so, she had seen it; she had seen what Jasmine had done with those shadows. She would probably figure it out on her own, or god forbid, break into Jasmine's place to do it. After last night, he wouldn't put it past her.
“My… girlfriend?” The word felt odd in his mouth, coming out slower than he intended.
Sophia's eyebrow rose slowly, like glacial ice moving in response to weather, the rest of her face remaining entirely passive. “You know that's not what I meant, dumbass. And we will get back to why it sounded like you were lying about it.”
Jason sighed, adding a bit of theater to hopefully get her a little distracted from the last question. “You need to promise me you will never, ever, tell anyone, ok?”
She nodded slowly. “Sure?” Suspicion was audible in her tone.
“Jasmines a noctian…” He didn't get any further than that before Sophia interrupted him.
“She's a god, damn vampire!” She almost shouted, her voice trembling with… excitement?
Jason frantically motioned for her to lower her voice. “Shhhh… Mom and Dad might hear you, Jesus. Yes, I guess you could sum it up like that, though not exactly.”
“Sorry.” She rubbed her shoulder. “And I know what a noctian is. Basically a Bram Stoker vampire or dhampier depending on how wrong you wanna be.”
“Who?” Jason tilted his head.
“He was an author in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but it's not important.” Her eyes landed on his earwrap, narrowing. “Jason, has Jasmine talked to you about what a thrall is?”
It suddenly became harder to meet his little sister's gaze. “It might have come up once or twice in conversation. Why do you ask?”
She gave him a deadpan look. “Because she's your girlfriend and you are wearing jewelry at all. It's supposedly common, but finding anything about them is really hard. She is your girlfriend, right?”
“Yeah, she's my girlfriend.” It didn't sound compelling even to him.
“Jason, did you elope and then come back and not tell anyone?” Her voice was low and controlled.
“NO, of course not. When would I even get time to do that?” He could barely keep his voice down. She wasnt gonna back off. Telling her wouldn't hurt; she could keep a secret, right? “She's my fiancée; we are engaged. And I don't want mom and dad to know. They're gonna have a lot of… opinions on that.”
It wasnt like his parents weren't going to have objections to him getting engaged to someone he had known for less than six months. Especially if they learned the reason wasnt a love match. Not that he didn't feel anything for her; he felt rather a lot, actually. Though it hadn't started out that way.
“Well, no shit they're gonna have a problem with you being engaged to someone you and they barely know. If it's long enough of an engagement, you might survive it. Just remember Mom's no bastards rule.”She smiled a little towards the end. She wrung her hands slightly before continuing, her voice softer. “But I am not gonna tell on you.”
Jason's jaw unclenched, relief washing over him. “Thanks. I will tell them eventually, just not yet.”
Sophia grinned. “Just let me watch when you do; Mom might actually beat your ass for not telling them sooner.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds before she shifted on the bed. “So you got me an interview, huh?” Her voice was small, quieter than earlier.
“Well no, Jasmine's the one who arranged that. I was just talking about it, and she had a way to arrange it.”
Her eyes locked on his face, searching for something. After what felt like a short eternity, she sighed. “Still, thank you, Jason. I really, really mean it.” She hesitated for a bit. “And if you… you know felt pressured into anything. You could let me know. I might not be able to do anything about it, but we could like talk about it.”
Jason couldn't help it; he snickered. It was nice to know that she cared, even if she might only be saying it because she was currently feeling grateful. “Well, I don't, but we can talk more about it later.” He looked her over. “So you're still gonna go for it then?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, I am. Yesterday was terrifying.” Her gaze locked with his, a fire burning in her eyes. “But did you see the thing it made. If I can do that when I mess up, just imagine what I can do if I get it right.
(Pov Jasmine)
Jasmine leaned against the hood of her car as she waited for the call to connect. She had briefed her aunt last night about what had happened, but she needed to follow up on it. It wasn't her regular phone, of course; her aunt would never allow that.
Her back straightened as the call connected.
“Jasmine, hey, how are you?” Henriette's voice was warm, reassuring almost.
“Hey, I am good enough. I was just wondering if you heard anything about what I brought up last night. From one of your little birds.”
“Not yet, but it was only a few hours ago. My little birds, as you called them, are good, but they aren't miracle workers. Well, mostly some are close to that. We'll, keep an eye out though.”
Jasmine's shoulder sank. That was good; at least they weren't moving yet.
“How much warning can you give me?”
She didn't answer for a few seconds. “Ehhh… I am not sure. The magic regulatory board is far better at their job of keeping things quiet than the rest of the federal government is. If it was only the FBI, I could probably do something about it. With the board, maybe a few hours; after all, they need to bring in outside resources to deal with this.” She hesitated. “But Jasmine, there isn't any guarantee that they have noticed or will notice before that no longer matters. It was from your report, a small ritual, relatively speaking. I will never tell you not to be vigilant, but even I can feel how tense you sound over the phone. You can probably let down your shoulders like half an inch.”
Jasmine scoffed. “Like you're one to talk; I have only seen you truly relax three times in my life.” She was right, though; it wouldn't hurt to just relax a little. Not fully, though; just because they didn't know if they had noticed didn't mean they hadn't. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Was that apparent in my voice? It shouldn't have been; she tried not to let that kind of thing show.
“Ahh, my dear, it's my job to worry. After all, I have to worry about any of the younglings fucking up, or about thegnal intelligence taking too keen an interest in us. The FBI and Homeland Security too, I guess, but they are quite frankly far less scary.” Her tone filled with the warm edge of curiosity. “So how's your beau? Is he handling all of it well?”
Jasmine couldn't stop the small smile that spread across her face.
They continued talking for nearly half an hour. It was rare for Heneriette to be available to simply talk for that long. Though given that the woman was the spy master for all the clans, she got why.
It didn't take long before she saw Chloe and Jason emerge from the school building. Jason had wanted to go to some arcade thing, and quite frankly it sounded fun. She was driving, of course, because if she had any say in it whatsoever, there was no chance in hell her man was driving. Not that he couldn't; he seemed quite competent there. No, it was purely an honor and propriety thing.
“You guys ready to go?” She gave them a wide smile and winked at Jason.
“Hey Jasmine. And yeah, we are.” Jason gave her a smile, a warmth spreading in her chest at the sight.
“Jasmine.” Chloe gave her a curt nod, her lips pursed awkwardly.
“Chloe.” Jasmine returned the nod, but kept a pleasant smile on her face.
She wouldn't let this get any more awkward than it needed to be. Chloe had quickly gotten busy looking over the car.
She walked over to the car and opened the door. Opening the lock on the seat to get to the seats in the back was tricky, but she had done it thousands of times before.
“Now, gentlemen first.” She motioned for Jason to get in. She couldn't help but smirk at his dumbfounded expression.
“He's sitting in the back?” Chloe gave her a strange, almost amused look.
“Jason.” She turned to him, barely suppressing a grin. “Would you go on another date with Chloe?”
It took her enormous effort to stop herself from snickering as Jason's jaw dropped. Chloe made a strange sound next to her, and she could see the girl trying to hide her curiosity. She knew the answer ofc, they had talked about it after Jason and Chloe went out. He did want that, and given how the girl had behaved, she probably did too.
“I… I… Yeah, I would like that if she wants to.” His eyes were avoiding both of them, though she caught him glancing at Chloe.
“Really.” Chloe's voice was higher than it normally was. She cleared her throat, a small blush already visible on her cheeks. “I mean, yes, I would like that.”
Clasping her hands, Jasmine let the grin split her face. “Fantastic then. Let's say this is a dry run for a date with all three of us. And since I refuse to let anyone else drive my car while I am here to do it, Jason's gotta sit in the back. Since I don't trust you two to not start making out in the back seat and since we can't rotate, Jason's gotta be in the back.”
Her grin only grew as she took in the look of disbelief spreading across their faces.