2019-07-21 - Sibling Reunion

Monroe settles back in her seat after their guest leaves, glancing over at Elias. "See, he said it. Trouble." She shakes her head back and forth before she unfolds herself from her chair. She picks up the slip of paper and walks it to the counter, setting it down. "Still don't know if I believe that bullshit about wanting books on lighting, are you sure you're not in any trouble?" She lets herself look worried now that the audience has departed, it's just family now.

Elias's lips tick upward when Seth says absolutely, and he watches the man go for a moment before turning his attention back toward Monroe. He finishes off his own pastry and then focuses on the coffee. "Mhmn," he agrees. He watches her approach with the slip of paper, glancing down at it briefly and then up at her from where he sits on the counter. "From the Monaghans? Pretty sure." He certainly seems confident. "Though, you never know, in this town. There was that explosion, and some weird stuff that happened afterward. They could just be poking around the buildings downtown." He reaches out and toys with a strand of her hair.

Monroe doesn't give the slip of paper another look, it's forgotten now. She watches her brother, looking for signs that he might be lying, though he wasn't the type. "Good, because that's trouble that I don't really think we need." She makes a soft noise as he mentions the town and the weird shit that goes on there, her expression even as he talks of explosions and the aftermath. "Could be, just be careful Elias. We tend to do what we want, and that can sometimes have consequences." Her expression softens into a smile when his finger plays with a curl. "Sorry I've been so distant the last few weeks. I've been trying to drown myself in wine and memories. Obviously you can tell it didn't take."

"There isn't a sort of trouble that I can't handle," Elias assures her with that same easy confidence with which he faces most adversity. He doesn't seem to have any real interest for the piece of paper. Instead, the whole of his attention is focused on her. Dark eyes flicker over her features, "No, it never does." There's sympathy there. "No apologies," he chides though. "I'm glad that you're back."

"Always envied your confidence, brother." Monroe leans against the counter, very aware that Elias' attention is focused on her. She's a Weber, they don't cry in public. She aims a laconic look in his direction and allows herself a smile. "I'm glad to be back. Hopefully I'll be useful." She glances around the shop, her eyes falling on a pile of books on a cart. "Things have filled out here since I last visited. I was pretty excited when I let myself in earlier, found quite a few books that I want to pour through."

"The key is just convincing everyone else that you know what you're doing until you figure out what you're doing," Elias says with a flash of a smile. He catches her lightly under the chin with the curve of one finger and says, "You are wonderful, and perfect, and useful is hardly a requirement -- but if you want to be, then you will." He then glances around the shop and says, "We've got a solid inventory, and people still come in to buy books. Because of course, I've used witchcraft to enchant them." He waggles his eyebrows a little. "Take whatever you like."

"Oh, so basically what I do as a Councilwoman?" Monroe laughs, a sound very contradictory to her husky tones. When his finger chucks her under the chin, she aims an arch look in his direction, sighing before she bats him away. "Oh I planned to take a few home with me, but since I'm back in the main house, they'll eventually find their way back here." She pushes away from the counter, letting her fingers trail over books and other things as she wanders around. "Anything need done around the house? Here? I find myself at odds, trying to fill the hours. Too many of them in a day."

Elias laughs when she bats him away, and pulls his legs up so he's seated cross-legged on the front counter, taking another sip from his coffee as he watches her wander around, trailing fingertips over the books. "Yes, basically that." Then he smiles a little crookedly and says, "Apologies for the noise, then." When she mentions that she's back at the house. "Daniel's back at the house, too." Their cousin. He's 20, and decided to move back to Gray Harbor after having moved away with his folks for a couple of years. "You're welcome to putter around here if you like. There's always new stuff coming in, orders to put together for folks, etc. At the house? Not so much."

Monroe snorts softly and tries to keep a serious look on her face, but she fails. Very few people can bring a smile forth like her family can. "I have headphones, so when the noise gets to be a bother, I just lose myself in that." She pauses when Elias mentions Daniel, eyebrows raised. "Maybe it'll get to be a full house, just like when we were little. At least now we won't be trying to see how much we can break before we get in trouble." She sinks back into the seat she was in when Elias arrived, pulling the book back on her lap. "I'll putter then. Who knows if I'll be reelected. The investigation into Daniel and Lucas' murders surely didn't do anything to help my reputation in this town." She turns a page, gazing down at the book.

"Maybe," Elias says when she mentions the house filing up again. "A few more cousins and we might actually start to get low on space." He chuckles, "Or maybe the house will just grow to accommodate them." He takes a deep a breath then and lets it out slowly, "You are good at what you do, Monroe. The investigation found nothing, and people in this town, who really know this town, know that sometimes that happens. I'd be more surprised if you didn't get re-elected."

"Let's hope for that, or I'll have to open my own practice. Do boring things." Monroe flips another page, smirking at the thought of the house growing on its own. "Casual shit like that is why people look at us funny." She doesn't sound like she minds, if anything she finds it funny. "People love to gossip though, so, there will be talk. Eventually I'll be able to stick my nose in the air and ignore it. Moving on though, when are we going to go out and help me forget the last few months?"

"I wouldn't want to see what trouble you could get into if sufficiently bored," Elias says to her with a flicker of a smile. "And people think I'm the trouble in the family." He is, more often than not, the trouble in the family. "Good. They should look at us funny. And they've been talking about us since the Salem witch trials.. I'd just be excited if they came up with something /new/." He tries to soun desparately bored. He arches a brow then and dsays, "Depends on what you want to do to forget the past few months."

Monroe giggles at the talk of the Salem witch trials, and shifts on her seat, aiming a bright look at Elias. "I find that making specific plans keeps real fun from happening. How about we just plan an outing and see what goes on. It isn't like we can't afford bail if the fun gets way out of hand." Her eyes are bright as she reaches for her coffee, taking a deep drink since it's cooled off enough. She sets the cup down and glances down at the book. "We could always go to a bar or the club, how long has it been since you've been to the only club in town?"

"You missed it the other night. Frankie and I grabbed Tyler and we went out to have a private little dance on the roof of one of the old mills out north of Firefly Forest all dressed up in formalwear. It was quite the evening," Elias says with a little grin. "We were thinking of breaking into the high school gymnasium for the next one." He then tilts his head, "But we can certainly go to the club. I haven't been in a while, actually."

"Well shit, and I have a dress that probably would have been perfect for that." Monroe pouts for a moment and then she shrugs. "Let me know if you decide to get into shenanigans, I'll be happy to join in if I'm invited. Otherwise I'm going to go to the club, have a few drinks, dress up and look nice. Maybe needle the bouncer a little more." She grins over at Elias, head canted slightly. "You should come with me. We can get into trouble together."

"Of course, you're invited," Elias says with an amused smile. "We'll bring you out on our next adventure. But, in the meantime, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't get dressed up and go out to the club. You can flirt with your new friend the Monaghan bartender, and we can figure out what sort of trouble we can get into." He finishes off his coffee and pitches the cup into the trash behind the counter before folding his arms and resting them on his knees. "We haven't gotten into trouble together in way, way too long."

"Flirting might confuse him. I need to be rude to him some more." Monroe gazes down at the book, her shoulders shaking with soft laughter. "Met any cute boys lately, Elias? Tell me about your conquests, and when do I get to meet them?" She glances up at him briefly, turns the page on her book and give it her attention again. "You've given me a good reason to go shopping though. I might have to drive to the city and actually spend some money on myself. At least black isn't as boring now as it has been in the past."

"Oh, and here I thought that /was/ the flirting," Elias says idly, both brows arching just a bit before he chuckles. "My conquests, hm? I met a firefighter named Tyler. He's very hot, and an excellent cook." He says, "And of course, Frankie and I are still a thing." The two have been thick as thieves their whole lives, best friends with benefits. "You should buy yourself something stunning. Maybe something red instead of black."

"It's it's own brand of it, I guess." Monroe wrinkles her nose, brushing her hair back as Elias describes Tyler. "A hot firefighter that can cook? When he he coming over for dinner, huh?" There is a smile as Frankie is mentioned, another page turned. "How is she doing? Still telling the future?" She glances up at Elias, watching him for a few beats before she goes back to her book. "Stunning, I can do. I need to wear black for a few more months if I plan on staying in mourning."

"He's already been over for dinner," Elias says with a grin. "He cooked me a fantastic pasta dish and then well.. hence the apologies for the noise." He flashes her a grin then. "Frankie's good. She's telling fortunes. You should see the devil chicken that she has in her shop now. Stuffed rooster with red eyes. I think its name is Scratch." He studies her, meeting that gaze for a moment before she looks down, his eyes flickering to the book in her lap and then back up again. "Well then something appropriately black will have to do."

"Well next time, include me in the dinner portion." Monroe murmurs, laughing as she glances up at his mention of the noise. "If you make a habit of it, we'll talk, mostly to laugh about it. I don't mind the noise, there are plenty of empty rooms in the house if you get too crazy." She raises her brows, amusement writ on her features. "A devil chicken huh? Ambiance is very important when it comes to that kind of thing, I'm sure she charms when she tells fortunes." Instead of commenting about her color choices, she shrugs, shutting her book with a thud. "I think I'll make it an overnight trip. Go shopping, buy some shoes.."

"I haven't been into the city in a while. We were talking about going in to go clubbing at some point but never quite made it there," Elias says, and then offers "We could always go into town and get in trouble there. We could hit some of the clubs and bars there. We can get into some non-local trouble. Unless you feel like going on your own." He then nods toward the book and asks, "What are you reading?"

"You want to come with me? I wouldn't mind company, if you think others might like to go.." Monroe trails off, turning the book and holding it up so Elias can see it. "A book about the Civil War, I'm not actually sure why I'm reading it, it was thick and interesting and now I'm just.. drawn in." She sets it aside and gets to her feet. "Maybe we can go to Olympia for a few days, shop, trouble and see what we can get into. I'd actually like some fancy food too, and there isn't a place in town to get that if I remember right."

"That's up to you, I mean, if you want the company. Do you want to bring along others?" He glances down at the title of the book before giving another nod. "There's a whole section on the Civil War bac there. Not my personal favorite era and topic of study, but there's a lot there if you're interested in it." He stretches his arms over his head for a moment, before letting the fall again, watching as she gets up. "We could do that, maybe call it a long weekend, and get fancy food. There's the Patisserie Vydal now that has fancy pastries and things. But nothing too fancy dinner-wise."

"Company will keep me from getting too wild or spending too much, so sure. Company sounds good." Monroe crosses the shop, holding her arms out for a hug. "Give me a hug, brother, and then I'm going to go home and find some food and shower. See if you can get anyone interested in going out and having fun, let me know." She pauses when Elias mentions Patisserie Vydal. "That sounds like a place that I need to visit." She turns her head up, grinning at her brother. "Maybe I'll snag a book on lighting." She teases.

Elias uncrosses his legs and hops down off of the counter as she appraoches and meets her half way, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a warm hug before kissing the side of her head, "Go home, eat something, relax. I'll probably see you there later tonight. And I'll send out some texts, see if anyone ewants to come with us." He laughs. "Maybe you should. You can bring it with you when you go to flirt with your bartender."