These rules are meant to break us all. {For James}

[chasingtwisters]

Moira shows up to James' cottage with a peace offering of wine and the undisclosed item of interest she'd promised to bring tucked away in one of her old school bags. For once, her hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and she's dressed in slacks and a sweater, a sure sign that whatever she has to discuss with James, it's of a most pertinent and significant matter.

Early evening casts the woods in a slightly dimmer glow of sunlight, giving the area around James' place a rather ethereal glow. A good conduit for magic, she notes, taking in the wildflowers and brambles framing James' yard. It's dangerous, letting herself relax in the nature of this place. Someone might see her and start asking all sorts of uncomfortable questions. She shakes her head, dispelling the last of her curious gaze as she sets her face to a more determined, less open expression.

She hesitates a minute more, wondering what the hell she's getting herself into, before she knocks.

Comments

[jamesthorn]

James was only ten years old when his mother was murdered. June only a newborn. Much of the time he recalls as a blur. With family members and police and townspeople invading the family home. He remembers his father going into a rampage when he found out. He can still see the line of reporters at the funeral. He remembers sitting in the front row at the cemetery with Demetri and Daniel beside him, each of them taking turns holding and keeping June from crying because their father had been inconsolable during the ceremony and days after. It had taken a toll on James. Changed him. When something that tragic happens, murdered in cold blood, life never goes completely back to normal. The Thornton family, no matter how rich and powerful, definitely didn't once his mother was gone.

That's why he had never been able to let it go. His life's obsession, practically. Even more when he landed on the police squad where he had training and access and more resources to case files. He did anything and everything to connect the evidence the authorities found at his mother's murder scene with other cases. There was signs of a ritualistic killing but no one could ever tie it back to a suspect.

Slowly, trying not to disturb his leg too much, he leads Moira to the door he keeps locked on most days, hidden from all eyes, including his other siblings. He never wanted them to know. Or make them dredge up all those memories if they didn't need to. He was okay with bearing the burden alone. Once they step inside, he looks around at his work, somewhat proud of it, of the maps and documents hanging off the walls. Pictures of crime scenes and suspects from not just his mother's case but other cold case murders that had never been solved in this town. He had always tried to find a connection between them and his mother, but he never found it.

"Just how much do you think your mother is capable of..." he asks watching carefully as she looks into the room. "There are a number of unsolved murders in Siren Cove. Despite what the Mayor's office indicates in their crime reports."

[chasingtwisters]

Moira watches James as she follows him, understanding that this is a huge show of trust for him. She remembers the headlines when his mother died, tragedy and sensation blending together at the whims of the journalists reporting on it. She had been about eight at the time, and she had only just lost her uncle, Fabrice his father, about two years prior. She remembers watching the funeral procession weave through the streets from one of the largest windows of the house. She remembers her mother's words clearly, the same, cold ones she spoke after the death of Uncle Reginald: "Accidents sometimes happen." At the time, Moira had thought nothing of it.

Years of exposure to her mother's true nature, the late nights she waltzed back home, ignoring their father's questions as to where she had been; the moment Moira recognized her mother hadn't been crying in earnest through the crack in her glamour at her uncle's funeral, the same crack she revealed at her father's ceremony. And then, of course, coming upon her correspondences with the Grimhildes.

"Oh my God," Moira breathes once they enter the secret room, taking in the maps and pictures, the underlined notes and countless pieces of evidence lined up on the walls. She recognizes most of the names, she realizes, a growing horror settling upon her. Nichole Weaver, a seance who'd once viciously argued with Violet, who met a tragic end driving off a cliff. Suicide, the papers read. Moira knows better now.

She closes her eyes briefly, gathering her strength to herself. She shares the same blood as her mother; the potential for evil runs in her veins, and in this room, it becomes more real to Moira than her past suspicions.

"I have something that doesn't prove much, unless we can find someone to translate it for us," Moira shakes herself out of her trance, bringing her book bag around and pulling her own object out. No one, not even Fabrice, knows about it, something she feels slightly guilty about, considering it technically belongs to her cousin.

"My uncle wrote this for Fabrice," she admits, unfolding a letter written entirely in ancient runes no longer in use during this modern age, holding it up to the light and to James. "I am almost certain this was written the night of his death; see the patches of brown in the corner? Blood, possibly both his and my - Violet's."

She turns to James and waits for his reaction.

[jamesthorn]

He watches her in earnest as she views the evidence on the walls, nervous that she'll think he's out of his mind. Putting this much focus on something that happened years ago, that others had let go of a long time ago, isn't normal. He knows that. She remains silent though taking in the room. For him years of work and he hopes one day everything he needs to avenge his mother, but he realizes as the emotions change on her face that this is damning evidence against her mother--against Violet. He's telling Moira her mother is quite possibly a deranged serial killer, responsible for dozens of deaths over the past two decades. Maybe longer.

Handling the paper she holds out to him carefully. If it really is from her uncle, it may one day be needed as evidence. "How did you get this?" he asks, not knowing what to make of the symbols on the page. "Does anyone else know you have it?"

[chasingtwisters]

Moira feels James watching her, wondering what to make of everything she sees in the room. It's an odd feeling, to have suspicions you've harbored over years confirmed by another man's obsessive, yet thorough, collection of evidence. Moira remembers when she first became aware of her mother's nature, when she saw through the crack in her glamour at Uncle Reginald's funeral, the underlying satisfaction beneath her tears wrought by magic, not genuine emotion. She feels a combination of cold and hot run right through her like lava; the woman who gave birth to her took the lives of so many others.

She takes a deep breath, shoving her primal instincts to the back of her thoughts as she watches him take the letter.

"I found it in the fire place of the library at Coombs Manor," she admits, running a hand through her hair. "Buried beneath a pile of ash. Uncle Reggie must have been more clever than people took him for; no one else knows about its existence, not even Fabrice."

She winces, knowing she is obliged to tell him, at least, one day. "I can't tell him yet, not while he's just getting over his own attack. I don't want to put him at risk. If Violet knows this exists, she will obliterate the entire town to ensure its destruction."

[jamesthorn]

He places the letter onto the worktable he has set-up in the middle of room. It's stacked with file boxes and old files. He leans his crutches against the ledge, hobbling for a second into his chair, needing to sit down again. Once in his seat, he can get a better look at the letter. He isn't sure, but the stain she indicates could be blood. It has to known until he runs through the lab.

"It's probably best if you don't anyone. Considering she's dangerous," he says, nodding, peering hard at the letters again. He sighs, looking up. "I can probably get the spot tested at the station to see if it's even blood. But....I assume you know how to deal with the translation."

[chasingtwisters]

Moira watches as the letter joins the pile of evidence on James' desk, an odd feeling caught in her throat. Part of her feels like she's betraying the family, but then, the fiercer part of her, the part of her that stormed out of the house at eighteen, tells her that this is for the best, that potentially this is preventing more lives from being lost. So she stands her ground, watching James observe it.

"Unfortunately, I absolutely suck at runes," she admits, again running a hand through her hair. "I have contacts though, and I've been trying to sift through to find someone trustworthy and reliable. It's...a task, to say the least."

[jamesthorn]

It's a different feeling having someone to share his investigation with now. He's spent hours in this room hunched over the piles of evidence, scrutinizing everything over and over again, looking for anything he's missed. He never imagined the first person he told would be Moira Coombs. She used to be on the wrong side. The wrong family. The wrong kind. Now he doesn't know where the sides run anymore. He just knows that it feels like they can figure this out together.

At her admission, he remembers something from the ball that may help out. "I think if we ask Lara. She'll help us with the trustworthy part." Lara Quinn was the most connected woman in Siren Cove. She would find them someone. "And she owes me a favor."

[chasingtwisters]

Moira doesn't know how both herself and James wound up working together against...her mother, but it feels weird in a good kind of way. She feels more vindicated in her actions in separating herself from the family home, like every mistake she's ever made has led her to this point, where she can move forward with someone who believes her.

"Lara? Yes, yes you're right," Moira says, startled she didn't think of her friend sooner. "She owes you a favor? For what?"

[jamesthorn]

He scratches his head for a second, a small smile playing across his lips. "I dunno," he says, shrugging. "She just came up to me the other night. At the ball. She just said she owed me one for...you. Actually."

He shakes his head. "I'm not sure what you told her, but apparently I saved your life or something."

[chasingtwisters]

"Well, you did," Moira tells him, not seeing why she should hide it. "You took care of me in my cat form and you saved me from Medusa. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

Is he smiling? she thinks to herself, wondering what that could possibly mean.

[jamesthorn]

He nods, unsure how to accept her thank you completely, but she seems to genuinely mean it. "Medusa," he repeats. All you could do was shake your head. "I still don't understand everything that happened down there."

But maybe. Just maybe things had ended up okay. In a roundabout way, it had given him new direction on his investigation into his mother's death. And even Moira. Their kidnapping had given him a chance to see her differently. He wasn't sure where it was meant to end up yet, but it was something new.

"I mean. You know you saved my life too. Several times," he says seriously. He was a cop. He could appreciate someone risking their life to save yours. Moira had done more than her fair share to keep him alive. He should've said something sooner. After a moment, he switches gears, back to their task. "Do you mind if I keep this? Maybe you can talk to Lara about the translation?" He gathers the paper she'd give him into an plastic evidence bag, thinking maybe they will be able to collect a couple fingerprints too.

[chasingtwisters]

"Neither do I, but the important thing is that we're still around to wonder about it," she says, meaning that too. She thinks now that, had anything more permanent happened to James, she would be terribly upset. Perhaps it is a strange thing to admit, to finding herself oddly enjoying finding James in a new light, but enjoy it she does, even if it somewhat unnerves her at the same time.

She shrugs when he acknowledges her role in helping them navigate the labyrinth, a strange warmth unfurling within her at the way he thanks her in so many words.

"Go right ahead," she tells him, not even hesitating when he asks, which is something she wouldn't have done a couple of weeks ago. But she trusts James, trusts him like he's Fabrice or Alodia. "I'll make sure to talk to Lara as soon as I get the chance."

It's a promise, and she means it.

[jamesthorn]

He inhales a short breath, knowing that she was trusting him to keep this evidence a secret. That she trusted him not to take his evidence public and not to take the accusations of her mother to the local newspaper. Something about that, her quick trust in him makes him feel good, content even. But he had also trusted her with the contents of this room, and he had a gut feeling that it was the right that to do. That of all people, she was the one to tell.

"Alright," he says, nodding. He moves to stand back up, grabbing his crutches again. "We'll see what happens. And..." he jots down his number on the paper pad sitting on the table. He rips off the top sheet. "My cell number. Maybe just call if you find anything. I'd rather not give the paper more to write about."

He pauses thinking that may have sounded rude. "I mean. Not that this wasn't okay. Tonight."

[chasingtwisters]

Moira doesn't feel the urge to remind him to keep the letter a secret. She doesn't feel panicked that she's trusting such an important object to James without a second thought. He knows how to make use of it, she is certain about that. She is certain that he is the one to trust to help bring her mother to justice.

"Just, be careful, okay? My mother owns several law firms and has various corporations wrapped around her finger; I'm almost certain she has political connections, too," she tells him. It's the only thing she feels the need to warn him about. She really hates the thought of anything terrible happening to him, especially again because of her mother.

"Alright," she says, taking his number and putting it in her purse. She makes a brief gesture with her hand, muttering a few, precise words. "I just put my number in your phone, if that's alright? It seems convenient." He'll probably dislike the fact that she used magic, but she felt an urge to make sure he has her number.

"No, tonight was...eye opening," she settles upon at last.

[jamesthorn]

He nods at her warning. He is aware that Violet is dangerous, and he vows to keep his siblings out of this as much as possible.

"Uh...okay," he says, as she recites the short spell. He definitely isn't sure he is 100% okay with her use of magic, but he can't change his mind now about this. Not after tonight and the information they've shared with one another. Considering they've been discussing her mother using magic to murder numerous people, Moira using her powers to give him her phone number almost seems harmless.

"Eye opening." He gestures for her to pass through the door before he follows. "That's one way of putting it."

[chasingtwisters]

She notes his nod, takes it as his acknowledgement of the severity of the situation, glad he is aware of the dangers surrounding their predicament.

She is pleasantly surprised by James' 'okay' as a response to her magicking him her phone number; just from the past couple of weeks he seems more open minded toward magic. It makes her feel proud, almost, as she walks before him through the door.

"Indeed," she notes. "And how would you put it, James?"

[jamesthorn]

"I don't know yet," he says, shrugging, as he pauses near the front door. Not meant to rush her away, but not wanting to assume she intends to stay much longer. Now that business was complete. The truth is, he doesn't know what tonight was exactly. It was business, but it was also dinner and pleasant. He isn't sure he can properly define it yet. But he is willing to admit there's more to figure out.

[chasingtwisters]

"I guess we'll just have to figure that out, then," she says, moving to get her coat and purse. She isn't in any hurry to leave, but she imagines James' probably wants to rest, much as he might protest as being helpless on his couch, and she has to admit, she has a lot to mull over, considering what happened beyond 'business' tonight. "I'll see you later, James. You have my number if you need me."