They stopped outside of a large brick building, which she assumed to be his apartment building since he was beginning to unbuckle and grab his things from the back seat. The city they drove into was much bigger than any town she had ever seen before. It was honestly a little intimidating to see so many people in one spot. It also had her stomach rumbling uncomfortably.
"You can get out, this is my apartment building." She tensed, not realizing that the witchling had noticed her hesitance. "Here, if you're worried about your appearance, wrap yourself in this blanket." He set a fuzzy, gray blanket on the center console for her to use.
She didn't thank the witch, though the blanket was the best one she had ever used in her immortal life. While there were many bad inventions made by humans, their updates of their blanket making was something she could get behind. They obviously thought that comfort should be at the top of the priority list.
After wrapping herself, she stepped outside of the car and shut the door. Her eyes scanned the large skyscrapers around them. Without the door to shield her from the bustle of the city-goers someone slammed hard into her shoulder. Her dark, mismatched gaze locked on a business man that cursed at her before he tried moving passed. He even had the audacity to apologize to whoever he was on the phone with. She took a step towards the offender when a chill went down her spine.
Walter stepped in front of her view, looking at the man who ran into her. The feeling of magic in the air sent goosebumps up and down her arms. Her head cocked to the side in shock as she watched someone on the third floor dump a large bucket of mop water on the businessman and the unfortunate people in the splash zone.
The witch looked back to her and used a guiding hand on her back to lead her into his apartment building. "People don't care about newcomers around here, Briar. You have to be careful about where you stop on the sidewalk."
"You hexed that man," she observed.
"It's one of my many talents," the witchling shrugged. Though she was still confused. Briar didn't know many things about witch culture, but it was well-known that minor or petty uses of magic were frowned against. "Into the elevator."
They entered the elevator and nearly got it closed with just the two of them when two men slipped in. Briar set herself in the corner furthest from the door, slightly behind Walter. The older man stood looking forward after pressing the eighth floor. Walter had pressed the button with five over top of it. The younger of the two didn't seem to care about minding his business. He watched her and her lead with a frown.
"Are you alright, miss?" She blinked over at the stranger without a word. The hybrid genuinely didn't expect anyone of this day and age to show concern from strangers. Even before she was set into hibernation people were taught to keep your head down in case you messed with any gang business.
"She's fine," Walter grumbled. He was staring hard at the number slowly going up as if willing it to go faster.
The younger man crossed his arms unhappily, looking the witch up and down. "I definitely wasn't asking you." He turned back to Briar and adopted a softer look. "I can call someone for you if you want?"
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Most humans only offered help when they wanted something in return. She wasn't going to be in anyone's debt if she could help it. "If anyone needs some help, it's him. Don't meddle in anyone's business unless you are ready to get cut for it." They left through the open doors as the older man smacked the younger one on the back of the head. He was scolding the boy but she blocked the sound out.
"Glad you didn't have them call the cops on me," Walter calmly mentioned as he struggled to unlock the door to apartment five hundred and sixteen. She watched him attempt to open the door while trying to avoid the loud rattling of the keys.
When he finally got the door open, he pushed the door open for her to go first and switched the lights on behind her. The apartment was rather cozy. The living room had a darker gray for the walls with wood floors. A brown loveseat sat in the middle of a striped rectangle rug with a few chairs strewn about. A bookshelf covered a white wall full of leather bound books. Those really sparked her interest. The kitchen was connected to the living room and had the same homy vibe as the living room. The thing that really tied them both together was the plants all over the apartment. Then there was also a staircase that led all the way up into a loft area where he probably slept.
He walked past her as she observed his home. He set his things on his kitchen counter, letting her take all the time she needed. "Sadly, I only have one room. So one of us is going to have to stay on the couch."
"You think I'm going to sleep in the presence of a stranger? No. I have no need for rest anyway." She scoffed at the thought, zipping over to sit on the loveseat. It was comfortable as well. She basically sunk down into the cushions. In her speedy travel, she grabbed one of the many old grimoires to read. "Even if I wanted to, I'm going to have to find someone to eat. You're obviously not offering."
He stared at her and the book she chose before he decided that this wasn't a battle he wanted to fight tonight. "No need. I had a budget for your food source." He opened his freezer and lifted a clear bag with a dark red slushie inside.
Her eyes widened in surprise, "Your coven is breaking many rules to be in my favor."
"We didn't murder people for it. There are things called blood banks. Don't get me wrong, it takes a lot of convincing, but we need you for the revolution." He tossed the bag back into the freezer and shut it with a loud slam. Then he went back to putting away his things around the house.
"I was awake when they started blood banks," she calmly mentioned as she flipped to the next page in the story. The witch to write this grimoire was very young when they started. Briar could tell by the clumsy cursive.
He mumbled something under his breath. She didn't care to try listening too hard. His neighbors were all rather loud in their own special ways. It was irritating her ears and nearly raising her temper. The witch disappeared upstairs into the loft for a moment before he returned to offer her a set of folded clothes and a towel. "Here, so you can take a shower. The bathroom is in that door in the kitchen."
She thanked him then followed his instructions. Briar was quick to lock the door as she tried to figure out how to use his shower. Since the water blocked out most of the noises, the hybrid took this as her time to think.
There were many things she would have to do. No matter how upsetting it was to think about, she would have to get help in taking the council down. The coven could follow her lead but making deals with witches were always one-sided in some way. The wolves would help if she brought up the past, though that was something she didn't know if she had the strength to dig that past up. Vampires would be easy to command. If she were to take over the rebellions running around they wouldn't have the minds to overthrow her. Though that would mean she would have to find them. They were slippery creatures to say the least.
There were so many creatures to consider. She would have to think it all through before she decided to pick one or the other. However, a conversation with the coven was bound to happen. No matter how many nerves the witchling stepped on, she didn't want him to be shunned from his coven because she wanted to do as much as possible on her own.
Briar sniffed at the bottle of shampoo sitting on the built-in shelf and was thankful that the smell wouldn't irritate her nose too much. It was quite satisfying to see the mud and blood wash down the drain.
A frown stretched onto her expression. She would have to start this war quickly. Strike quick when they're blind to her reappearance then disappear when it all was over and done with. Once she got her revenge, she planned to live out a long and quiet life in the middle of nowhere. She was ready to be done with this dark feeling in her chest. Done with the heavy weight on her ring finger.
She stepped out of the shower squeaky clean. She wrapped her messy curls in the towel to keep it out of the way. Rather than the dirty nightgown on the floor, she reached for the clean second-hand clothes. The shirt was on the larger side. It was a tan color with a band design on the front that she didn't recognize. It reached all the way to her mid-thigh and was obviously well-worn. Instead of women's underwear or a bra there were only a pair of boxers. They were most-likely old since they fit better than the shirt did. The pants that he gave her were made out of jeans but had no possible way of staying up on her hips.
The vampire creaked open the door just wide enough so the witch could hear her call. "Wallie!" She glanced back at the abandoned pants while waiting for his reply. There was a muffled 'what' near the living room. "I thought you had used women's clothes waiting for me!"
"I was supposed to, but my friend must not have stopped by yet. I sent her a text before I gave you those." He was closer to the door now, sounding like he was leaning against the wall beside the door to hear her better.
She decided not to ask what a text was and instead debated on her options. "These pants do not fit. I am not comfortable in this rather lacking outfit."
"I don't have anything smaller, Briar. What do you want me to do for you?" He sounded annoyed with this problem. For him, she was probably covered enough for people in this generation. However, there was no way she would feel comfortable walking around the room in just that. She slammed the door and leaned against it with her arms crossed unhappily. There was silence for a few minutes before Walter knocked on the door. "I brought your blanket. Until Mary comes by."
Slowly, she opened the door enough to grab the blanket. As soon as she was wrapped enough, she left the restroom to find her spot on the couch. Walter watched her from his spot against the wall. She flipped to the last page she read in her book, acting as if she wasn't half naked beneath the blanket. Neither spoke for a very long time. Then she glanced up at him, "Thank you, Wallie."
"Please don't start calling me that."