Electrocute [Open]

[Deleted]

10.7.2024

Another day, another dollar that she necessarily didn't need. Of course, Nico loved working for Dystyl Phaelanges. Her boss was super nice, even if a little bit stern, and the fact that she was able to take home any bones they weren't using, damaged or not, was always a plus. They were great for rituals. And helping her own personal store. Creating tokens for people got expensive after a while so much easier to have random bones on hand to connect the magic to. And luckily enough, most of them were animal bones so it didn't mess with the magic. Overall, her time at the store was pleasant. Some of the customers could be a bit too creepy for her tastes but for the most part she even had decent customers. The itch to still own her own place one day was still in her though. As neutral as the practice was, Voodoo was still seen as an illegal and not too well known form of magic. So no matter how she felt, she still would not be able to own her her store and sell her goods. It still made her heated, thinking about the time she'd gone to apply for her permit to run her own shop and them telling her no because they though they knew more about her magic than she did. Even now it made her roll her eyes, which she did before looking around and making sure none of the customers in the store were looking at her. She couldn't afford to isolate any of their customers, considering there were so few at any time of day. It was okay. The day would come where she would be able to sell her own wares in the open and no one would be able to tell her otherwise. For now, she would settle with doing it in secret. And even then she still had some pretty decent customers. The doorbell over the door rung out and she stood up just a little bit taller in her place in front of the store. "Welcome to Dytsyl Phaelanges. Browse to your heart's delight and holler if you need me." she smiled at the customer who was entering.

Tag; Open

[mina pandora oliveira]

@nicolette

10.07.2024

Her hunger was unbelievable right now. Not like, hunger for knowledge or a craving for human interaction – Mina got enough of both of those in a work day, sometimes too much. Today, right now, she felt like she was going to die of starvation. Being in a rush to get into work early this morning in order to sign off on a huge delivery of new books, she had forgotten her lunch at home. There was little hope for it being there when she returned too, because she was almost positive that the second the door to the apartment had closed her dog would be up on the kitchen counter chowing down on her sandwich and snacks. That also meant she needed to get home before Callisto, making sure any mess her pooch made was cleaned up and non-existent by the time the queen of the house arrived. The addition of all that would not culminate in a great day, if that was even salvageable at this point in time. The one positive about today (and there was one), was that having to go in super early meant she was done by the early afternoon, her boss being kind enough to pick up the closing shift from her. It was only the two of them now that school was back in session and the high demand for books had disappeared. The next few months until Christmas were going to be dead like usual.

Seeing as she was able to escape work and have the rest of her afternoon to herself, Mina found her way towards the part of Diagon that tended to have food. She didn’t want to drop a ton of money on lunch, preferring to just go home and either eat what remained of her original lunch, or make a new one altogether. Unfortunately she was easily tempted by the lure of food and the multitude of smells that assaulted her nose as she tried to sneak by the restaurants. Ducking into one for a few minutes, she had a sandwich quickly made up for her and devoured it just as swiftly, dropping her money on the table and bouncing back onto the street. With that out of the way, she had the rest of her day to do whatever she pleased. Usually that meant day drinking, but she wasn’t feeling that today. As Mina pondered what to do next, she idly walked into Knockturn Alley. She frequented it enough on her casual strolls around the area that she didn’t really mind the characters that typically found themselves lurking around. They were all bark and no bite, while she was both when she wanted to be. Mostly the second one.

Abruptly stopping at the storefront of Dystyl Phaelanges, Mina grinned and pushed her way inside. The voice that welcomed her meant that she had come in on the right day. “I always need you, love,” Mina chimed as she spotted Nicolette. “Anybody buy that bone couch I was interested in yet?” she asked as she made her way towards the counter, leaning on it heavily. “Because the dog would absolutely adore it you know.” She didn’t actually want the couch, but it would be fun as hell to have something that creepy in the apartment. Callisto would lose it for sure, and that would make it all worth it.

[Deleted]

10.7.2024

Nico had been fully ready to give whoever it was that walked into the door her full attention so that she could get them what they needed. That is, until she realized exactly who it was that walked into the door. And they definitely weren't a customer. Nico's smile noticeably tightened as she watched Mina sauntered in through the door with a grin on her face, spouting the same old nonsense she usually did. She wasn't really supposed to say anything outside of the usual politeness of store conversation and selling anything she could, but when had that ever stopped her? "You sure do need something but that's far beyond my capabilities, hun" she squeezed out through her teeth as the girl approached the counter. Mina something-or-other, she knew the last name she just didn't care to remember it right now, was someone she definitely hadn't expected to meet again when she moved to the UK however many years ago it had been. The girl had practically driven her mad while she'd been in Louisiana running back and forth between the few Voodoo Practitioner shops that existed between her grandmother's and the bigger names in New Orleans. While she could be annoying, she was pretty funny and lively. She had thought she'd seen the last of her when she'd left but, as she'd thought back then, Mina was probably someone hard to get rid of. So here she was, in the flesh, and probably here to bother her. "And even if we still did have that bone couch, I definitely don't want it ending up a dog's treat. The craftsmanship was just wayyy too good on that one." She kept her posture up even though she wanted to sag on the counter just a bit. Not good for business. "What's got you over in this neck of the woods. I know you didn't come all of this way to bother me? Shouldn't you be at work right now anyway?" Nico knew the truth. The girl absolutely would come over to bother her.

Tag; mina pandora oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

@nicolette

10.07.2024

Oooooh Nicolette was being sassy today! There had been enough of that directed towards Mina whilst she was in New Orleans to last her a life time, but lately she felt her sass reserves dipping drastically. Getting a refill today wouldn’t hurt at all. Mina giggled dangerously at the comment though, knowing full well what the other woman was getting at. There were loads of things Mina needed if she were to be fully honest about it - namely money, alcohol, and fluffy dogs – but what she needed the most right now was more human interaction, especially after having to eat lunch all on her own. “Since we’re on the subject, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me picking your brain about what it is I actually need,” she stated, narrowing her eyes at the shopkeeper and refusing to put her grin away. All of this was a game until it wasn’t. Pushing buttons and limit was her game anyways, and it felt like forever since she had really let loose on someone. Callisto was getting boring lately and was way too busy to deal with nonsense when she was home. Nicolette, on the other hand, always seemed to give it right back, and that was what Mina wanted the most out of this exchange.

Despite wanting to grin Nicolette to death, Mina was forced to put on an embellished pout when she was told that the bone couch was no longer there. She ignored the part about it not being a chew toy for a dog, because that would still be the best aspect of it. Like, who wanted a bone couch for anything other than that anyways? “Done for the day,” Mina said casually, straightening up from her slouched position so that she could walk along the counter and look what was on the shelves nearby. “I was in super early this morning for a delivery, so the boss gave me the rest of the day off.” She stopped and turned back to face Nicolette. “See, at least you’re not asking me why I’m not in school right now. Pretty sure that was how our first conversation went way back when.” That had been one of the biggest problems Mina found herself with while in the US. Despite having graduated, she was also still only seventeen, and muggles over there were so cautious about a seventeen year old girl wandering around on her own. The lack of legal drinking had almost killed her, not to mention that the first few months she was there she wasn’t able to purchase cigarettes either. Hell, she was just now finally able to get a drink at a bar over there, having turned twenty-one six days ago. There was something messed up about that. “What if I’m actually interested in buying something today?” Mina finally answered the first part of Nicolette’s question. “Not going to turn away a potential customer, are you?”

[Deleted]

10.7.2024

Some sense. That was at the very top of the mile long list of things that Mina needed because clearly she didn’t have any considering she insisted on coming to bother her while she was at work. While she clearly had customers in the store. And while it was clear that it wasn’t nearing closing time yet. Nico gave her a look that conveyed that thought to her before he took a deep breath and fixed her face. Didn’t even know why she bothered, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot that phased the girl. And while it was an admirable quality, it was equally a bother on days like that one. ”I think it’s safe to say you need to get out of this shop before you scare all of these good customers away,” she commented without looking at the girl, more interested to see if one of her customers could call her away from the situation she’d ended up in. All she need was one puzzled look of confusion, one raise of the eyebrow at her to show that she was needed…. And nothing. Everyone else was too invest in looking at the wares nearest them. She couldn’t really complain, it was what they were there for. The pout that formed on her face at the mention of the bone couch not being there made Nico snicker and shrug. She really didn’t think Mina had any interest in it but she knew if it had been there Mina would go through the motions of pretending to be interested in it and probably making her do the work of bringing it out for her to see it. Nico was only half listening to the tale the younger girl wove right up until she mentioned the old days when she was back in New Orleans and Mina was equally as bothersome. She felt her face try and push itself into an amusement look but she held it back. Can you blame me? Back then you still looked like you were just starting school. Not so much now so congratulations on finally growing into your adult body,” Nico spoke dryly but there was an unmistakable note of teasing still in her voice. Her face quickly shifted, disbelieving any word coming out of her mouth about being a potential customer. ”So you’re telling me you actually have money to spend? Your drinking hasn’t drained you dry yet?” Nico didn’t like alcohol, not even a little bit. She didn’t understand how people could when it caused people to lose their minds like it did. Not to mention that it smelled awful.

Tag: mina pandora oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

@nicolette

10.07.2024

Mina ignored the threat that was thrown her way. She was actually serious for once about being a customer, only because it meant she could wander around a little more while bugging Nicolette as much as humanly possible. Calling the customers ‘good’ made Mina snort though. Anyone that was in Knockturn was either looking for something sinister or had something sinister to hide. That was a well-known fact. And then there were the idiots like herself. She was just as much of a freak as the rest of the folks that wandered the alleyways with shawls covering their faces were – and while she only had the blood of werewolves and wasn’t actually one, there were more ties she held with these shady figures than she did with the normies back in Diagon Alley. “Don’t worry, I won’t get close enough to them to do that,” she said as she ran her fingers across an intricately carved sculpture. Whatever bone the object was comprised of, it was rather sizeable. Like, human femur sized. Mina shivered at the thought of human bones being used in some of the store’s wears, even though she knew that was a possibility.

Tugging out on her clothes as Nicolette said she had finally grown into her adult body, Mina looked up at the shopkeeper, confused. “You must be seeing something completely different than I am then. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to look young forever, but pretty sure most people think I’m like, fifteen still.” Rolling her eyes, Mina moved from the leg-bone looking statue to a glass case that held smaller, more suitable pieces. Something that would probably be in her price range. In case she decided to make a purchase today. “I’m not that bad these days. Remember that dog I mentioned? My sister basically forces me to take care of all of her expenses, and Merlin knows she needs to be groomed every other month,” Mina paused, internally groaning when she remembered that there was another impending grooming session the following week. Why did she have to pick a breed that only had white fur, and happened to need extensive grooming maintenance? That was so unlike her. “And plus, if my muggles are busy I won’t go on a bender. Not worth my money if they aren’t there to enjoy it with me.” The whole having a job thing got in the way too, but spending money as fast as she earned it was no way to live. It had only taken a few years to get the gist of that.

Backing off of the cabinet she had been looking at, Mina felt her back bump into something solid, tipping her off balance just enough that she reached out for the closet object (which happened to be the aforementioned leg-statue thingy) to catch herself. While she and the statue managed to stay up, whatever it was she had backed into was on the ground in a clatter, the skittering sound of bone fragments along the floor signifying that she had royally messed up. Mina ran a hand through her hair as she turned to look at the damage she had caused. “I’m so sorry Nicolette…” she started as she stared at the pieces at her feet. Whatever the object had been, it was no more. Why did this happen when she was actually interested in buying something and acting normal, but when she was completely trashed she could do the dumbest shit in the world and not get in trouble? “I uhh…how much is-was it?” she asked, correcting herself mid-sentence as a pang of guilt whipped itself through her. She was going to have to cough up whatever she had left in her wallet and then some – there was no way that thing was cheap. And after that? Probably a lifetime ban from the shop.