(no subject)

[powerof_water]

After a few weeks in the hotel, Adam had come to the conclusion that if any magic was to be used on the door, it would require a good deal of planning and a day of power. Luckily for him, Samhain seemed to be on the horizon even though it had already passed back home and with that day, he thought he might be able to channel enough power to blow the door back to New Salem wide open.

Until then, he filled his hours with research and the occasional odd job around the hotel to keep him in pocket change. The gardening had been something to fill the long hours when he needed a break from reading and researching and he was in the greenhouse at the moment, a book spread out on his lap (Ancient Rituals of the Druids) and dirt streaked across one cheek.

He had never been particularly self conscious about anything and least of all when his mind was focused on a task.

When he heard the creak of a door and soft footsteps, he looked up, trying to see who had come in and whether or not he would have to vacate his private study place. If it was someone like Bella or Isaac, he wasn't too worried; both seemed to understand how badly he wanted to get home and were people he considered allies, more or less.

"Hey, who is it? Can I get something for you?"

Adam realized this was a dumb question, considering it wasn't a bar or restaurant, but it was out now. Nothing to do but go with it.

Comments

[vampire_shield]

"That depends," Bella said in her music-sounding laugh. "Are you peddling rare plants now?"

She'd stopped being self-conscious about the way the sun hit her skin and made her look like a walking diamond in the way she threw prisms. It was still disconcerting at times, though, even for her.

[powerof_water]

"Yeah, are you looking for a peace lily?" Adam joked, taking a moment to look at her in the sunlight. It was beautiful but he could also see why she didn't seek it out - it was very conspicuous.

"I was researching. I just like working with the plants in the meantime."

[vampire_shield]

"Oh definitely. First thing I said to myself when the sun came up was that I needed a peace lily in my life," Bella responded, matching his teasing tone.

She held her face to the sun and sighed. "One of those many ironies of my life, but I love being in the sun, so I can't fault you working out here in the slightest."

[powerof_water]

"I always liked the rain," Adam said, laughing again, "But that's mostly because of the water. It's my element of choice. So, care to read some dusty old books with me? The company would be nice."

[vampire_shield]

"I'd love to," Bella sighed in relief. "It's been another very long night."

She took her spot next to him and picked up one of the books he'd brought in with him, examining it. "I grew up in Phoenix, so probably the worst place ever for you, huh?"

[powerof_water]

"Hard to draw power in a place like that," Adam said, nodding slowly. "But it's likely that if I grew up in the desert, I would have an affinity for something other than water. Otherwise, what kind of witch would I be?"

Not really a good one, that was for sure.

"I'm looking for something to draw and focus a lot of power. I know that's vague but I want to get as much information as I can before I narrow things down."

[vampire_shield]

"Pretty ineffectual," Bella nodded, an odd smile turning the corners of her mouth as an idea started turning over in one part of her vampire's mind. "Maybe you'd have that connection with a different element, like earth? I knew someone who could manipulate the elements. He punched the ground and created a chasm in the earth and create wind where there wasn't any."

I smiled, thinking of Benjamin, and hoped that he and Tia were well wherever they were.

[powerof_water]

"Maybe. Our Circle had someone who was closely aligned with earth and I know some of her methods," Adam explained.

"I do fine with plants, for the most part, so maybe I should try to draw on earth. Let's see if we can find anything on that."

[vampire_shield]

"Okay. So I'm looking for anything about plants and drawing power?"

Bella nodded and opened the cover on the book in her lap. The pages didn't so much blur as she read through them, but they did flip by very fast.

[powerof_water]

"Crystals too," Adam added.

"They can focus a lot of existing power to make it do what you need. I think if I make an attempt at Halloween we have a good chance of getting the door open. As good as any, anyway."

[vampire_shield]

Bella set the book in her lap aside and searched around for paper and something to write with. "This one's got a few references to crystals but I'm not sure if it's anything that will help or not." She smiled. "I can find the words, but I think I'll leave it to you to figure the last part out."

[powerof_water]

"It at least makes the process faster," Adam said, flashing her a smile as he took the book from her.

"Since I can't scan that quickly on my own. We can put in a couple hours today, maybe?"

[vampire_shield]

Bella returned his smile and noted down the pages she'd found references to stuff that might be useful and passed both over to him. "At least that. Nice to be able to do something that keeps me occupied. I was going a little stir crazy, to be honest."

[powerof_water]

"Hopefully, if I can pull this off on Halloween, I'll at least be able to go back and finish what I started."

Adam did find that he didn't necessarily want to leave, as he liked it in the hotel, but his sense of pride demanded it. Besides, he was worried about Cassie and the rest of the Circle and that was never really going to fade away unless he did something.

[vampire_shield]

"I hope you can, too," Bella said, small smile turning the corners of her mouth. "Not that I won't be sorry to see you go, it's been nice to have a friend to hang out with, you know? But I do understand the need to return to things you left behind. If I had arrived here just a week earlier than I did, I wouldn't be nearly as calm about it."

[powerof_water]

"Maybe I can come back sometime," Adam said, thinking that might be possible if Black John were defeated and the world safe again.

"I wouldn't mind hanging out more, that's for sure. I've never had a vampire as a friend before."

[vampire_shield]

"Then we're even because I haven't been around many humans since I became a vampire," Bella said, then started laughing, the sound like wind chimes.

"We should totally do something with this for Halloween. If you're still around, I mean."

[powerof_water]

"We can, yeah. This isn't going to be really feasible until late at night anyway so if you wanted to do something before? I heard there was some kind of party," Adam said, smiling a little. "And I would love to go with you, especially if I don't get to see you again after Halloween."

[vampire_shield]

"I'd like that," Bella agreed, oddly saddened by the prospect. "We could even go as each other, you know? I can dress as a witch, black dress and pointy hat, and we can find some fake fangs or something for you."

She'd worry about the other vampires here, but something told her that Nick and Eric would probably get a kick out of someone going all Dracula at the event.

[powerof_water]

"I think that'd be great," Adam said, laughing easily even if he was a little sad.

"For what it's worth, I hope I can go back and forth after I open the door back up. I like it here, weirdly enough."

[vampire_shield]

"All right then," Bella nodded. "I'll start going through doors at night or something, see what I can find."

She was quiet for a second or two before adding, "I hope you can, too."