2019-09-01 - Holding Out For A Miracle

With Alexander discharged from the hospital, and Isabella loath to disturb him from some much needed rest (and bask in the freedom of getting away from Purgatory - or at least, the city's closest equivalent to it), she has texted Minerva to indicate that she will be more than happy to stop by her apartment whenever she is free. At the appropriate hour, ever prompt and punctual, the young woman arrives, dressed as casual as can be and fresh out of visiting Byron Thorne: a burgundy romper, wedge-heel sandals and her hair up in a pair of chopsticks. She also carries a box of treats from Vyv Vydal's patisserie, though considering her lack of a sweettooth, such visits to a place where they specialize in dessert is always a chancey prospect - she tends to just purchase a variety, in hopes that one of her choices would hit the right mark.

Whenever the door opens, she flashes Minerva a smile, subtle concern crawling over her expressive face. "Minerva," she greets. "How are you? I thought..." She lifts up the box. "It's almost tea time."

No point in making a visit unpleasant, surely.

Minerva had met Isabella at the stairs to the apartment and there's a smile to her, "Hello, Isabella, thank you for bringing treats." she tells her with a smile. All the while there's the sound of puppy paws in the background. She steps back and allows Isabella into the apartment. It's much different than the first time. It's brighter and everything is uncovered. Table has been reset in the kitchen area.

"Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I can make coffee or tea if you like." she offers as she closes the door.

"Coffee, please. I have a long night ahead of me," Isabella tells Minerva with a small smile, before she follows the woman in. There's a glance, first of all, at the spot on the floor where Alexander fell, her expression tightening faintly - but she pushes that aside. There seems to be some relief there, when she sees the space take upon the old familiarity that she has associated with it, in her first visit there.

There's a pause so she can bend slightly over the floor and smile at the puppies. Fingers slip in to try and scritch their noses, if they're amenable to pets. But she forces herself to pull away, a longing look flashed at the animals, and sets the box on top of the table.

"Thank you again, for everything you've done. Without your protections, Alexander would have been..." She pauses, if not just to prevent herself from revealing anymore of what lies underneath. "I know you wish that you could do more, but if it weren't for you, we would have lost him."

"I can understand that." Minerva tells her as she heads over to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. The puppies push the door open on the crate as it's not locked and start snuffling Isabella's shoes and legs. NEW PEOPLE! "Alexander is at home resting now?" she asks her as she turns to look to her. Then there's a smile to the puppies, "They'll calm down in a minute, I can put them back if they become too much." she chuckles.

Then she runs a hand through her hair and there's a nod to Isabella, "I know I did all I could, but it's just not something that I want to go through again. If we'd not bene as prepared as we were he'd be dead and that would be on me. No matter what." she breathes out. "I'll get over it, I was just glad that it wasn't worse." she admits.

"Coffee should be done in just a moment. But you can have a seat and we can discuss what is happening now." she smiles.

"Yes, he is," Isabella says, and there's no small measure of relief on her features. "His injuries were severe, but he is fortunate that he knows a few people who can put him back in the action relatively quickly." Her tone is faintly aggrieved there, but also the subtlest trace of pride. "He wouldn't have it any other way, honestly, outside of the fact that he's a terrible patient to begin with." Pot calling the kettle black.

At one of the snuffling puppies, she can't help but smile, looking down at them once she's taken a seat. She reaches out, because she can't help it, and if Minerva doesn't protest, she'll scoop up both Azrael and his sibling, and cuddles them both on her lap. "They're so adorable," she murmurs, immediately besotted by the fluffballs as she wiggles her pinky on Azrael's nose.

Looking up at Minerva busying herself with the pot, she continues. "Before Alexander fell, he was able to touch the spirit's mind. He was agitated about getting placed in a box, and it turns out that we do need one, to be able to contain him. He was originally interred in a pine box, in the Veil, where his bones were found, and that we were the wrong three to cage him in that manner. He suspects that if we're the wrong three, that there's a right three. I don't know who those people might be, but considering your expertise, he also had the idea of consulting with you to see what you might think we would need in order to construct a box that can trap a spirit like his. You were able to keep him at bay, Minerva. To keep him from..." Killing Alexander, though she doesn't say it out loud. "...making things worse. If there's anyone who would know how to construct something like this, you're the only one we can think of who would."

When the coffee is done, Minerva settles the pot on the table and then goes to retrieve two cups and the cream and sugar. She listens though and she listens carefully as Isabella talks. "I don't like hospitals either. Sometimes there's things that talk too much. And it's not the other patients." she shakes her head as she settles down.

Minerva doesn't protest the picking up of the puppies, "They're big sweethearts. Glad I found them when I did." she tells her as she pours Isabella a cup of coffee. "I'll let you add cream and sugar if you like." she tells her with a smile. "I crate them a bit during the day when I'm down working. But the rest of the time they are free range puppies." she chuckles.

Then there's the news of something that might trap him and her brow rises for a moment. "There are things that might be able to be built. Or we could try to trap him permanently at the asylum. In Jewish lore, we call malicious spirits Dybbuk's. There's been a few accounts where they were trapped into boxes. Someone actually purchased one and opened it. Which caused a serious of very bad events for them." she admits. "I could start researching what I'd need to do." she tells her.

"They're very sweet," Isabella says, and is unabashed when she buries her face into their fluff, no matter how much they squirm. Though if they do wish to free range around the apartment instead of basking in affection freely given, she will lower them on the ground, and watch them run free, before those eyes turn back to Minerva.

Sitting with her now, she can't help but be reminded of their first conversation - the bits and pieces of her past that the other woman had shared with her; a fraught childhood, a lost love - her skin crawls, that old remembered fear raking down her spine at the idea that the Dark Men may have taken her fiance, that they may have been responsible for whatever else had happened to him. She is friendly enough, free with her smiles, but she can't help but wonder whether she has been so if not just because she leads a relatively solitary life. Eyes roam over her apartment, hunting for pictures. Of friends, family, some reassurance that she isn't alone - if there are people who would miss her, hunt for her, if the worst ever happens.

Finally: "...would it be alright if I visited them on occasion?" Somewhat awkwardly, haltingly, unaccustomed to opening her own broken heart and not so willing to admit her own vulnerabilities in that regard. If not just an excuse to see Minerva, though that particular admission would have to be dragged out of her by wild horses. There's a faint smile. "I can't keep pets, my place is too small and my work requires constant travel, so I can't keep any even if I was inclined."

With that, she falls quiet, listening intently to the words of an expert. "Would we be able to do so without a body?" she asks. "He's presently possessing the body of Thomas Addington and using him to kill. Alexander mentioned that he's a prisoner, not a parasite, and if we destroy the host, it might really set him free. But anything that you can provide would be welcome, Minerva. I know the younger Addingtons are also attempting to see whether they can unearth some secrets regarding the mechanism in their own family home."

There's a few pictures in the apartment, mostly of when she graduated and her parents are with her. Otherwise there's not really any signs of the obvious attachment to others. There's just Minerva and her work most times. And the puppies and spiders.

Minerva doesn't seem to mind the solitary nature of life though, she had been weird since her eye went missing. "You are more than welcome to come and visit the boys or I could bring them out to the park sometimes." she offers.

The news that he's possessing Thomas Addison makes her blink and there's a bit of a breath out, "Well...we'd have to draw him out of Addington's body. More like we'd have to excocise him from the body, because I doubt that he's going to leave the body willingly." she sighs. "Killing what anchors him to the world will most assuredly set him frree and we might not be able to catch him without some serious power." she admits. "So we don't want to injure Thomas, we need to get Billy out of his body, but exorcism's can be agonizing to the body of the host." she frowns.

"Honestly," Isabella begins after a pause. "We might not have a choice if the only way, in the end, is to confine him in this asylum - the one I mentioned to you before. But Alexander seems to believe that it's a feeding ground for...them." She stresses the words, and meets Minerva's eyes. "So keeping Thomas there might not be a great option, either, in the long run. If we fail, we'd need to make some difficult decisions. I know his granddaughter refuses to make the call, though his sister is more than willing to keep him imprisoned there." She refers to Margaret Addington, Gray Harbor's grande dame. After a pause... "They're both dangerous, by the way," she tells the psychologist quietly. "I'm surrounded by those rich with the Talent, and those extremely practiced with it - you, Alexander and a few others. But she's something else entirely. It felt like sitting in the same room as a nuclear reactor."

She listens, nodding once - an exorcism, and while she's largely agnostic bordering on atheistic, she is a child of Gray Harbor. Here, the rules that blanket the wider world do not apply. "Thomas Addington is already old, and worse, a lifelong alcoholic, from what I heard from Alexander and his relatives. The strain might be significant. If there must be an exorcism, we might need someone present who can keep him alive." She pauses. "His great-niece is a talented healer. Her potential is significant, and by her admission, she's spent years investing and honing her skill, and I believe she has been educated in medicine. Do you think she would be helpful in such an endeavor, if not just to help with the physical end of things?"

Minerva gives a look to her and there's a dip of her head, "Then I can see about an exorcism rite that can be performed. Unless we want to call a priest in that might do one off the books. They get really pissed off it its not approved by the Vatican first." she breathes out. "If they are both as powerful as most of us then they are probably going to put up a fight if things go south." she nods to that. "Thomas because he's actually Billy. Margaret because she probably wants the situation over." she tells her quietly.

She sips her coffee, which is black because she's distracted by things and then grimaces, "Gross." she laughs. Then she sobers again, "Having someone that is well versed in healing whether is is mundane or supernatural then we'd be good to have them on hand in case Billy gets in the mood for knifing people." she shakes her head.

"I think Margaret Addington is willing to have us try and find another way to contain it, if it means saving her brother's life and sanity," Isabella says after a pause, before she finally picks up her cup of coffee and taking a sip. There's a hint of a grin when she laughs about her coffee, before she nudges the treats towards her. There's an array of foodstuffs within, donuts, assorted croissants, some macarons and a few fruit-and-cheese danishes. It's quite the spread, but she has no idea what Minerva might end up enjoying, so she has decided to bring a variety.

"Alright, when the time comes, I'll put her on the list - not like I can keep away any of the Addingtons, really. The younger ones, anyway. Hyacinth and Erin - they're invested. Hyacinth is Thomas' granddaughter, and Erin is Margaret's granddaughter, and Thomas' great-niece." She takes a quiet breath. "Thank you though, Minerva. I know I've said it plenty since walking through your door a few times now, but I feel that it bears repeating. How have you been after...?"

She makes a vague gesture - she doesn't just mean the seance, but everything else from that first conversation.

"We'll try to not let him die, or let anyone else get hurt in the process." Minerva tells her. Then there's the box of treats and a donut is spotted. "Ooo. Donuts." she grins and snags one. She's not shy about food. "My parents own a bakery. I was a pretty chubby kid. Felt like I was violet from Willy Wonka sometimes." she muses as she settles the donut down on a napkin after a bite.

Then when she mentions Hyacinth there's a gentle nod, "I am friends with her assistant, though I've not seen him in awhile. It's probably because he's been dealing with so much." she states. "Hopefully we can get this settled for the Addington family and have some semblance of normalcy come back." she states. "Or as normal as it gets around here." she muses. "And you don't have to keep thanking me, there's very few people in town that have my Occult Knowledge. It's better used for situations like this, even though most would think we're nuts." she shakes her head.

Then she smiles a bit softly, "I've been okay. Got everything cleaned up and started back to work. Just...can't stop moving due to set backs." she admits. "And if we might not live through the next few weeks...it's better to do what you love." she tells her quietly. "I know that's pretty grim, but we don't know how things will end." she admits.

"Yeah? I never liked too-sweet things, but I love bread...I just can't eat a lot of it." Isabella glances down at herself with a grimace. "There are days when I wish I could eat all the bread I want, though. But between you and me." And she lowers her voice, as if imparting a terrible secret. "I can be really vain." She winks at Minerva at that. "I mean, I wear way too expensive lingerie under my clothes just because I want to, and just for myself." A secret confidence booster, if nothing else. That bravado has to come from somewhere.

There's a curious look at the mention of Hyacinth's assistant though at the moment, she doesn't know who he is - just that he was mentioned a few times already. A man named 'Edison'. "If it helps, I don't think you're crazy. I've seen what you can do...have indirectly benefited from it." After a long pause, and an awkward moment or two, she delicately extends a hand, for Minerva to take if she wants. If she does, she'll give it a squeeze.

"I know it's grim," she murmurs. "But no use sugarcoating the risks. I can't help but hold onto a little faith, though. It must sound naive..." After a moment, she flashes the doctor a brilliant smile. "...but I can't help it. With a ragtag bunch of meddlers like us? Who knows? Maybe we might just be able to pull off a miracle."