2020-02-11 - All in the family.

Coffee. Xanax. Leg. A meticulous amount of time to put her face and self together because she is never showing up in front of her great-auntie, Margaret Addington, in distress. Someone has to go do this battle of wills and Hyacinth, in all of her bullheadedness, has decided to put an end to it. Besides, as much as she fears her grandfather's involvement in her accident and though he killed her father, his son... well it's complicated. He was still her favourite person up until that point which makes feelings in the last 6 months, well, inconvenient to say the least.

Her Tesla pulls itself up in the long drive, her mind expanding and poking out to get a read of the place pulling up. She knows Margaret keeps track of minds coming and going, and frankly Hyacinth learned the importance of doing it from watching her example. It's entirely fair if not justified to her to only do the same in return.

There's a moment she looks for persons on site, and her brother.

For the record, Enzo is only doing this because Hyacinth counts as maybe the one or two people that he a actually likes and cares about. Otherwise he'd really rather not be here. There's bad books to write and job interviews to lie about, after all. He's a busy man. He's made it on time, pulling up in his car around the same time as Hyacinth. Getting out, he stares grimly up the driveway at his not grandmother's house. Not, we repeat, not his grandmother's house.

Hyacinth stands out of her car staring at the house. Odd. So very, very odd. She does, as a test, try to float her keys in her hand to see if it's perception, her, them. Look it's for science. Science is like important and stuff. It's not because she's nosy(she is) or feeling particularly infringed upon (she does).

Looking to her brother she takes a deep breath and says "We're going in." She's not budged yet, but she's decided. "The house feels weirdly empty. Really weird. Really empty. Strangely like it's not... at all." And that's all the faux-science to be said here. There's a faint smile to her brother as she begins that walk of hers up to their usual door of entrance, "Let's go get plot fodder for your next book."

"The house always feels weirdly empty." Does it? It probably doesn't feel this kind of weirdly empty, but Enzo is skeptical of just how full of life it normally is on a good day. He shoves his hands into the pocket of his long coat and falls into step next to her, eyeballing the place suspiciously as they approach the door. They get to it and he glances at his sister and then steps forward, ringing the doorbell. Like one does.

The door opens and it's their great aunt, not grandmother, that answers the door. Enzo's eyes run up and down the crack of space that she's allowed to be spared so she can stare out at them. Suspicious. He glances briefly at Hyacinth and squints at Margaret. I am putting this pose here before I close down this screen for the night.

Enzo frowns now, once again glancing to his sister and then back to great aunt Margaret. Hyacinth is probably able to tell from a lifetime of looking at his face that he has pretty much no idea what's going on here or what the old lady is talking about. But maybe Margaret won't! So he affects a concerned expression and manages a tight smile, "Where is he?" he asks and then lifts his shoulders to shrug. "Yes. Just enough to know that you did what you had to do."

Enzo just smiles politely at Margaret, like he's totally oblivious to that glance she spared his sister. It's too bad, Enzo can't be contained. Like Thomas (apparently) he's doomed to opening his mouth. Which means he's going to just going to push his luck here a bit more. "What else needs to be done? We're your family, we came to help."

They did?

"Especially with him gone."

"I have been accused of ruining things in the past," Yep, he's definitely been accused of stuff like that, it happens when you're habitually self-centered. "But I don't want the doors closed and the lights turned off. So consider me someone with a vested interest in survival." He glances down at her hand on the doorknob and then slowly rolls that gaze back up to her face. "You're the family matriarch, how do we burn the people that want to round us up before they tie us to a stake? I don't look good with crispy skin."

Not grandmother, Enzo. We have that mercy! Hyacinth stands, maybe a little taller whether meaning to or not is her bulwark against the brim-fire of scrutinizing. Is Margaret scary as hell? Yes and truthfully it's magnificent. Quietly she explains, "I never told Enzo." Oh he's bereft of some details here. When Margaret says 'he's gone' Hya's eyes flash with emotion that seems to be held at bay from the rest of her face. She has a lot of strong, unresolved feelings on this and admittedly not all of them terrible. Her hand extends to Enzo's elbow maybe in a gesture of bro, breathe, or perhaps I will fuck up some Baxters if they try to touch any more of my shit.

"We are sorry for your loss." She pauses and quietly adds, "Our loss." There's a small frown and her weight shifts to her back foot staving off the war or at least standing down. "We were visited by a vision. We don't want a repeat situation and-" She pauses squinting sidelong at her brother for the clearly self-serving reason posted... but can't argue the math. With a sigh she adds, "Yes, and my brother looks like a human handbag when he tans. He's not... wrong but I feel there are stronger reasons we can help the sum of us." She pauses and extends the olive branch she expects them to be smacked with. "Decisions are hard, and survival is key, and this isn't an age anyone can do everything on their own."

"Not if they are going to become more deft with their efforts."

Hyacinth holds not her brother's elbow loosely all the same. It might be assurance or a silent inform of don't run out of here on me. Not that he's suspect to, but all the same she wouldn't blame him. Her chin picks up and asks with her eyebrow arching, "Is it about the worms in the ferris wheel? I've heard... things." There's a pause and she offers, "No, one we had where we were you and Grandfather for a time, actually. It was interesting perspective. I'm willing to tell you what we saw if you are." Perhaps a play on words or not at all.

Enzo was probably going to say something like 'oh well since you were in this one too you probably don't want to hear about it' but he wisely closes his trap when Hyacinth chimes in again. More polite smiling.

Um, excuse you, Margaret, Enzo was politely smiling and keeping his trap shut! But if she insists (because he is a talker, damnit), he'll go with it: "It was you and Grandfather talking. You were saying that's all of them. That you had no choice. And Grandfather was saying, 'If you say so, Marge' over and over."

Hyacinth is never too proud to be curious. This is how one knows things. It's also how you lose a leg to the damn saw mill. Her eyes study Margaret's carefully composed countenance. "What gain is there to kill children on a Ferris Wheel? Or the Merry-go-Round." Her expression tightens

Matters at hand.

"There are very difficult choices to be made to protect the living it seems."

Hyacinth arches a slow eyebrow, but notes all of the land of NOPE around the house as well. Smart, but she doesn't remember he being able to do that per se. Something changed. Something else notable changed.

Her head tilts curious, "Wasn't my idea, but yes. I suppose that's the same. What's dead never stays dead in Gray Harbor. So in this, can we discuss so we can gather a plan together to defend the family when..." It hits her and her words halt. She pauses and continues, "The... vision was curious. is it true as they say the sawmill is haunted or did the Baxters curse that too?" She's not even angry so much as focusing on the math at hand. She glances to Enzo to see how he's handling and reading this and back.

With a sigh she asks what she should not but does so in the most reasonable way she knows how: directly. "I'm sorry Grandfather failed to do so. Things have gotten slack with a lack of information. Without information we cannot make sound judgments and align to the directive. And now? Frankly I'm worried of something happening to the both of you, and that knowledge becoming lost and the family and this city falling apart." It's not that she's mean she just like winning and seeing the family's things not get wrecked. The family's things being the whole damn town.

As much as this will go down on the calendar as a day Margaret gave her a compliment the other side is, well, she did have their grandfather murder their father. When Margaret says there's trying times ahead she's listening. If only because a serial killer ghost killing Addington family members was 'manageable' this should be a real treat and frankly? They all have things to do! ...like breathe and be better than other people so they have something to aspire to. Being a role model is difficult just as being a Heather is hard, okay?!

She listens to the bit about the saw mill and sighs giving the old woman an understanding nod, "Well things are easier to move piecemeal." Grim, sure, but like it's just a spatial factoid. She clarifies, "The light? The shimmer that shines that makes reality bend? That light I'm taking it." Looking around she addresses the null zone curious, but not accusing, "There's certainly none here right now. Is this deliberate?" Her expression softens from clinical assessment a fraction.

Hyacinth draws a deep breath pulling her up to her full height, dipping a nod of agreement watching her. "Good." They may have spent the summer being at odds but Hyacinth is just allergic to wastefulness and can respect good planning. Looking to her brother and back she assures, "I'll find out. It also seems he and father are a bit... indisposed. The Sawmill will need a caretaker." And yes, she wants that damn thing in all the will changes, or alleged will changes, she still wants that damn thing, but why would a carpenter not? And why would she not want to own the thing that tries to consume her, and had in part?

Does she expect an answer though right now? Not in the slightest. "We will find out what happened." She looks sidelong to her brother stating, "I have an inking where to look." Turning back to their great aunt she has the grace to not keep her detained. All her careful plans went to shit and grandfather apparently finally broke. Part of her misses him, and the other part is still angry at a lack of any personal convictions. "You should have your rest. Thank you. For meeting with us. Let's see what we can't do." Looking to her brother she give his elbow a squeeze. and makes a mental not for herself on the range of such things. Curious. All of this curious.