move your little finger and you can change the world

[enjoythe_ride]

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[packguy]

I'm supposed to give you a ride downtown to have a chat with Freya Mikaelson.

[Because nice try, Harvey, but Aiden is the type to do his homework. Especially when it comes to someone working with Freya (20). He doesn't want to piss her off by picking up the wrong person.]

All due respect, I do know how to use Google.

[rehire]

( He tried. An easy test passed. A modicum of respect has been gained. )

All due respect, it's been a long time since I've been waved down by a sign saying my name. Well. One drawn crudely in marker. Shall we?

[packguy]

[Aiden nods, before turning and leading the way back to the car.]

We like to keep things simple in the Big Easy. I figured it would be less complicated than me coming up to some stranger saying I'm here to pick them up.

[And then, he'll hold out a hand and be less rude.]

I'm Aiden, by the way. I'm a member of the local pack.

[He's assuming if he's meeting Freya, he's some kind of supernatural.]

[rehire]

I didn't know I'd be met at the airport.

( Freya Mikaelson is official, isn't she? He shakes Aiden's hand locking that eye contact in. )

A werewolf. Doing an airport pickup for a vampire?

[packguy]

I'm married to the vampire's right hand. An emergency came up and he asked me to handle it.

[He's not going to say that that emergency was a bestie date planning adventure, because it's not relevant.]

But your friend Donna's got some clout. She probably saved you some trouble.

[rehire]

( That's not something he's heard before: a vampire-werewolf union, the second official event he's been privy to today. More respect piles on. )

Donna's more than clout and she earns every bit. Are you two acquainted?

[packguy]

Not directly, no.

[He just knows that when Marcel's asking for people to be escorted on behalf of a friend, he doesn't do that for just anyone.]

But my husband works for Marcel Gerard.

[rehire]

Someone acquainted with Donna. You're taking me straight to Freya Mikaelson?

( He asks, ready to open whatever car door is nearest. Let's get the show on the road. )

[packguy]

Yep.

[And with that they will hop into the car and drive right through to the French Quarter. As promised, there are beignet shenanigans afoot, and the various factions are setting up their booths and kiosks to participate. Harvey will see Aiden give a friendly honk hello to a couple of bayou wolves, as well as Malia, who is eagerly awaiting samples.

Food is good. She intends to enjoy it.

But, he pulls to a stop in front of Rosseau's, and nods to the door.]

Freya's inside. When you're done, I'll drop you off at your hotel.

[rehire]

( It's a scene. Donna wasn't exaggerating about the ... adorability of it all. It's quaint, if ... saccharine. )

Werewolf and Uber.

( The wolves in Nola are multitalented.

Ignore Harvey, Aiden.

He gets out of the car, gives Rousseau's the once-over, buttons his suit coat and walks inside. )

[deathlessness]

[The inside is fairly busy for an afternoon, considering a good chunk of the clientele tends to be nocturnal, but they also have a few more tourists than usual, what with the festival happening right outside their doors. The some are just idle humans, finishing their lunch, others are witches, werewolves and vampires, lingering and enjoying time with their community.

It's likely odd, given how segmented other portions of the world tend to be, how freely the factions mix and mingle with each other, but it's credit to the years of work that Josh, Davina and Hayley have put in to soothe old wounds.

Several do glance Harvey's way as he enters, looking slightly out of place in his suit among the more casually dressed. Did Freya surround herself in safety because she doesn't trust Harvey, or is she simply flexing her connections? The world may never know.

The witch in question is leaning against the kitchen door, chatting with another witch with a drink in hand. She also turns at the sound of the door, and straightens when she sees him. Seems that she too, knows how to Google.]

[rehire]

( Freya cannot be Googled (4), so the array of tourists and locals doesn't give Harvey a leg up on who he might be meeting, but instead, he perches at the bar and orders a scotch. )

[deathlessness]

[That's okay, she's pretty good at introducing herself. She pushes away from the wall, moving to stand at the bar next to him and orders herself a refill.]

Down here, most usually drink bourbon.

[Of the whiskeys, that is.]

[rehire]

I'm not from down here. This is actually my first time.

( Is this Freya? )

You wouldn't happen to be Freya, would you?

[deathlessness]

I am.

[Because what reason would she have to hide it? The hubris that comes with the very powerful and the very old.]

Welcome to New Orleans, Mr. Specter. Shall we sit?

[rehire]

( They relocate to one of the booths further from the bar, and far enough from the high tops that their conversation doesn't travel.

He produces the damnium essentia from the shoulder bag he's brought, setting it out in front of her. )

[deathlessness]

[Her head tips to the side curiously, carefully reaching for it, and studying it curiously.]

It's been a long time since I've seen one of these. Especially one that's so new.

[New, but not unused. Magic swirls under the surface, so whoever created it has clearly been hard at work.]

Where did you get it?

[rehire]

A client of mine, and they got it from your every day average hunter who used it on a Bennett witch.

( He tries to give just enough information to leave David out of it if he has to. )

[deathlessness]

[Her interest does peak at Bonnie, but she doesn't mention it for now. She's not trying to put Harvey's client in a difficult position.]

Does that witch need help getting her magic back? Or is there something else you need from me?

[She places it back down in the center of the table, raising an eyebrow curiously.]

[rehire]

She has her magic back. But, my client believes someone in such a low tier of - Tamara Monroe's outfit shouldn't have gotten their hands on something that ancient.

( He let's ancient fall out of his mouth knowing the magic is ancient, but the object itself isn't. If Freya can, she can prove her worth and notice that, too. )

[deathlessness]

The spell you mean. This lovely little artifact is less than six months old.

[Come on, Harvey, ask her a hard question. It'll be fun.]

But I think you already knew that.

[The door opens behind them, and a few more new faces filter into the room. They take seats in the booths and by the bar, and Freya doesn't recognize them, but she doesn't pay them much mind beyond noticing they're there.

This conversation is more important.]

Bonnie also isn't the only witch it was used on. There's maybe five or six other magical signatures swirling around inside.

[rehire]

Yes. The spell.

( How else can he gauge. As a lawyer with a (6) would anything look out of the ordinary? )

Then you know only someone with a specialized knowledge could create it. And that someone has an in inside Tamara Monroe's army. ...A very low-brow in. Do you know where the spell originates?

( Because he does! )

[deathlessness]

[Not as far as Harvey is concerned. They may as well be tourists for all he can tell. But there certainly are a lot of them.]

Well, like most things dark and twisted in this world, my family is tangentially related. When I was a teenager, we were living near what's now known as the Knightsbridge coven. They were looking for something they could use to ... take care of problematic witches, and reached out to Dahlia as this wasn't exactly their area of expertise.

[White hat witches don't know how to punish their own but don't want to get their own hands dirty in the process. She's heard it all before. She's about to continue when the door opens again, but this time, who walks through holds her attention. Mostly because he's not supposed to be there.]

Scott?

[Perception check, Harvey.

In the meantime, Freya gets up as he comes closer.]

I thought you were supposed to be on a date.

[rehire]

( Tour groups... happen. But, there are more pressing concerns. )

Dahlia.

( An (11) rings a hollow bell, one he's heard of but has never defined for himself.

"Freya. Davina never made it. I thought maybe she stopped here first, or maybe she called. Witch business?"

(15) for Harvey's perception check as he ignores the twenty-something who tracked Freya down. )

[deathlessness]

[Harvey notices that some of those people he dismissed as tourists earlier are now sitting up and paying attention. They're bracing themselves in the corners, and almost all of them are looking at Freya and Scott.

And Freya notices too. Her eyes aren't looking at Scott directly, but around him as she speaks.]

No, she would have asked Vincent to cover it. She's been looking forward to this all week.

[She swallows and then glances back to Harvey. Then back to Scott.]

Aiden still outside?