Brittle Brush was surprisingly busy for a Monday evening, but Carmen had to assume the nice weather after so much rain probably had people excited. She hadn’t been to many havens, especially since she grew up in a normal human city, but she was fully aware that the general vibe they carried was crowded. With havens being so few and far between, with little room for expansion, their buildings were often full, which meant their streets were often bustling.

Carmen hadn’t really felt the need to go visit many of the havens. One small town couldn’t vary too much from the next, and with her first one being Broochport it kind of felt like the rest would pale in comparison. She did want to visit New Eden at some point. Her best friend from mortuary school, another reaper from a smaller clan, moved to a little place called Violet Vale that was popular with fae, dryads, and plant witches. Apparently, it was hidden deep in the redwood forests—somewhat close to Broochport—and the city was built entirely in the trees. It sounded magical, even to someone who could literally cast spells.

Brittle Brush’s population was mostly made of vampiric entities, witches, and a concerning amount of demons. From what she understood, New Eden was much the same but it was home to one of the country’s few fallen angel orphanages. A fallen angel named Epiphany Jones who had been adopted by a few witches lived in town and was an absolute delight, and they worked late shifts at The Styx helping Celeste make drinks. It was a rarity for an angel to be in such a nocturnal haven. Carmen simply hadn’t had the time to really stop and look at what all Brittle Brush had to offer. Now she had no choice, she had to be more alert and was noticing a lot more about the place she now called home.

When she stepped into the local witchery shop, the chatter of the town outside vanished. She loved this little business and its serene aesthetic. It didn’t have a name, so most people simply called it Circe’s Place since it was, in ace, Circe’s place. All of the walls were covered in ivy, tiny terrariums full of magical plants sat on shelves next to bowls of crystals and boxes of tarot cards. A few brooms made from the trees surrounding the town hung in front of the windows, and the bookshelves along the righthand wall were stuffed with spell books.

As Carmen went to approach the counter, she nearly gasped. Giles Orwell, one of the local reapers, stood with a notebook in his hand and his glasses nearly sliding off of his nose, deep in thought as he read. He was a tall, thin, spindly man that reminded Carmen of a stick bug. He had tawny skin, bright blue eyes, and box braids adorned with blue beads covered in magic sigils. Unlike his sister—actually, unlike most reapers—he was immensely gifted when it came to magic and spells. Most reapers had some small amount of magical energies, but Giles was otherworldly. He was a powerful water witch who could, quite literally, make it rain if he felt inclined to.

The Orwell siblings were part of a young clan of reapers, recently recruited by Death Herself, marking Giles and Monique as second generation employees. Giles seemed to care little for his job. From what Carmen had gathered during their few conversations, he preferred his seasons working at the local lighthouse in Aspen Harbor over dealing with Death. Monique, however, took it very seriously. Scarily seriously. She scared Carmen, so she was glad it happened to be Giles she’d bumped into. She didn’t feel like dealing with Brittle Brush’s local gravedigger/cemetery owner/funeral director/reaper extraordinaire.

“Hi, Carmen,” he said with a smile when he noticed her presence.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Carmen asked.

“I needed to get some incense, the town has felt… off. Have you noticed?”

“I mean, there’s literally a goat-woman making boba drinks and ghosts next door, like… off is typical.”

Giles snickered as he pushed his fashionable hexagon-shaped glasses back up. “True! I hope I’m simply being paranoid, I think all of the rain has made me feel strange. Heavy. Too much moisture in the air, I feel swollen.”

“That sounds… awful. Hopefully a few clear nights will help, but I can also imagine the spiritual energies are going to go haywire here since we’re barreling toward Samhain season and the dark months.”

“Ah, true, I didn’t consider that. I appreciate your view on it. Monique teases me about my sensitivities so it’s nice to be heard and reassured that there are more options than what my imagination believes. How are you settling in? You’ve been here a few months now, yes?”

Carmen shrugged. “About a month and a half, if I’m counting correctly. It’s weird being away from home but I really like my job.”

“I’m glad, I see Lionel at the grocery store in town every so often. He seems nice,” Giles said as he closed his notebook. “I do hear you about the being away from home weirdness, but I also like my job and it’s a breath of fresh air being away from the pressures of my parents. Being a new reaper clan means a lot of eyes are on us at all times, but I can hide in the lighthouse and let Monique handle it so I’ll gladly go play the part of the proverbial hermit if it means I don’t have to have meetings with Death and deal with bodies.”

“I don’t mind the bodies, it’s the paperwork that drives me nuts.” Carmen smiled.

Circe, the owner of the shop, stepped out of the back with a pack of incense sticks that smelled of sandalwood in her hand. Giles finished up his transaction and took his small pack of sticks with a smile and a happy dance.

“Have a lovely night, Carmen. It was nice chatting with you,” Giles said before he left the shop with a skip in his step.

“Howdy, li’l reaper, what can I do for you?” Circe inquired. She was a fire witch and a half-demon, Carmen felt the temperature raise by a few degrees when she’d walked back into the room and her eyes glistened like infernos.

“The vibes are off in my new place, I think I’m missing something. It feels… airy? But like, not in a refreshing way. Open, like I’m vulnerable, and it’s making me uneasy so I was looking for something to help… I don’t know, firm up the walls? If that makes sense, keep things out that don’t need to be coming in and the vibes and energies I want inside from seeping out? I work at a funeral home so I have a lot of grief following me around,” Carmen said, trying to be vague and not give away the fact that a ghost had taken up residence in her unit. She also didn’t want to have to add Link to her renter’s policy, she wasn’t sure how much a ghost roommate would cost her extra per month.

“That apartment building is old, I bet the wood is kind of weak and could use a refresher, honestly. Like you said, with the spiritual energies raising here shortly things may seep in that you don’t want. I’d recommend a mixture of a wood oil to coat the seams of the walls and floors, some incense to cover the air and keep unwanted things out, and a sigil strand to hang in front of the windows to add an extra layer of warding.”

“That all sounds perfect.”

“I’ll get a bag ready for you, then. Do you need some exorcism tools, too?”

Carmen titled her head. “Why?”

“Pretty sure you have a ghost following you around, saw him floating behind you with the saddest look on his face this morning when I went to get my mail.”

Carmen swallowed hard. “Oh, yeah, no he’s fine. Well, he’s not fine, he is sad. The whole being dead thing is hard, but he doesn’t need to go anywhere. The person he’s supposed to haunt is also sad, so it’s like… negatively feeding off of both of them and the other person is sick now so I’m letting him hang out until things get… normalized? I guess? That way we don’t cause any issues with so many bad vibes in one house. But we’re keeping it hush, so if you wouldn’t mind forgetting you saw him? Especially don't mention it to Mr. Happy Dance over there?”

“That’s sweet of you, can't be easy adding more blah to your place with a bummed out spirit. Not many people would take on that weight. If he’s not causing any issues then my lips are sealed. I think I might have something to help with the sad boy energy, if you’d like?”

“Yeah, that would be great. I’m sure that’ll also help mellow out the weirdness in my place.”

Circe threw her a wink and walked back into the back room. Carmen felt her cheeks turn so hot it almost hurt, she was such a sucker for a beautiful woman and she'd been bombarded with them today.

She tucked her black locks behind her ear and went about looking at the wares for a moment to pass the time. She looked at the brooms with pursed lips, she’d always wanted to fly one but they were incredibly challenging to use even for gifted witches, as well as extremely expensive. She started to wonder if Giles had one, he seemed like a broom guy. It fit his whimsy and free spirit.

After about five minutes, the fire witch returned with a selection of items. The aforementioned wood oil, the incense sticks, a beautiful charm that looked like a wind chime with sigil-covered wards to hang in the window, and a box of loose leaf tea. Circe explained it was a spiritual blend meant for stressed spirits—both living and dead—to help center their souls and remove negative energy. She mentioned Carmen could use it, too, if she felt inclined but that it tasted like drinking a garden center and wasn’t pleasant. Carmen thanked her for the items and paid, then headed off to her apartment to go oil up the walls.