Lee sat down with her back against the wall on the bed, lifting an arm as Irene got comfortable next to her and resting it on her shoulders. "So, what's the plan now?" the werewolf asked.

"Well, I could have you sniff every single member of the local Coven. Scent is tied to memory in a way even magic can't alter." Irene rested her head against the wall, thinking. "... Come to think of it though, I didn't smell anything." She frowned.

"Er... I have a bit of a confession to make," Lee smiled sheepishly, her cheeks turning red. "When I was human, I had anosmia. I couldn't smell things. After I was bitten, I could smell things, just not very well. I'm assuming it's what a human sense of smell is."

"But the day you ran into my shop..?"

"I didn't know what to say." Lee looked down at her lap and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I realized when I came to that I was in a tea shop, and my favorite tea is chamomile. It was one of the few lucid moments I had; I broke out of my cell, broke out of their house, and just ran as far as I could. I saw this little store by itself and thought, It's empty, it looks quiet, I'm far enough from them that I can get my head back together." She sighed and rubbed her face. "But as I crossed the parking lot, my mind went blank. Then I woke up on your shop floor and you're helping me stand up and walk into your office, and someone was yelling at you, and then I passed out again."

Irene listened to her without judgement, lifting a hand and stroking her hair when the werewolf finally quieted down. "I'll just have to order more chamomile in the future then. I wondered why my stock started dwindling," she gently teased. Lee just smiled back at her.

"So you're- you're not mad?"

"Not really. If anything, just makes me want to grab whoever did this to you and bash them in the head with my staff instead of using magic." Irene settled back against the wall again. "My shop's considered a safe house by the Coven; it's covered in wards and charms to keep out unsavory types. How you broke through them probably has something to do with your current situation."

"Well, bum." Lee shut her eyes for a minute.

"At least we know that, whoever they are, they are definitely a mage or witch and they know how to break my wards." Irene thought for a few minutes in silence, listening to Lee breathe quietly next to her. "If they attack, would you know how many will be in the group?"

"No. I was always outside, with a handful of others like me. I don't think we have too many of us but... well, scrambled eggs for brains." Lee tapped her head.

"So worst case scenario, plan for twenty. ... Maybe more," she mumbled nervously.

"Hey, we've got tomorrow to think about this." Lee stroked Irene's hair. "Relax a bit."

"I hate procrastinating."

"Then help me work on my head while I fall asleep." She yawned.

Irene chuckled, tilting her head. "You think that'll really be a productive use of our time?"

"Sure, go for it." Lee sat forward over her knees.

"What's something vivid you remember?" Irene asked.

"I know I once busted my spleen driving an ATV. Crashed into a tree when I was... twenty, and fell down a ravine, smashed my side into the rocks. Honestly amazed I lived. It hurt. Not as bad as recovery did," she added, "but it still hurt. Your turn!"

"Wh- Sorry?" Irene blinked.

"Come on. I share, you share." She smiled at her and Irene found herself smiling back.

"Fine, fine." The witch thought and grinned. "One of my first spells was on my father. I didn't mean to hit him with it, I was aiming at a boy that was teasing me. I was... hm, I was just a kid. Anyway, the spell fires, and poof-" She mimed a cloud of smoke rising. "He was a newt."

Lee raised an eyebrow, grinning. "You're shittin' me."

"Nope. I've got pictures somewhere." Irene giggled. "The spell wore off a few days later. Mother was most unhappy with me, because their anniversary was that week."

"Oooo!" Lee laughed and rested her chin on her arms. "There was this movie I used to watch when I was in high school, what was it, um, three witches, wanted to eat a kid..?"

"Hocus Pocus?!" Irene smiled happily.

"Yes! That!" Lee grinned widely. "Every year for as long as I can remember now... which isn't much," she admitted, "I'd watch it every Friday until Halloween! I love that movie so much."

"Same! It's just, the potions are unrealistic, and we don't... we don't eat kids, or people," Irene chuckled. She saw Lee stifle a yawn and shook her head. "Come on, lay down with me, you need some sleep. I do too."

Lee nodded and settled down, wrapping her arms around Irene as she closed her eyes. "Mmh, could really go for some good takeout right now," she mumbled. It never took long for the werewolf to fall asleep and she was already starting to doze.

"What's your favorite?" Irene asked. She just barely heard her mutter Chinese food, for days and jokingly scoffed, shaking her head. "Chicken soup, you heathen. It's better." Lee didn't respond, out cold for the night. Irene smiled at her and closed her own eyes, soon slipping into peaceful sleep... and didn't dream an ounce.