outrunning karma; torrence

may 2004

It was pleasantly warm in Dublin, the sun shining, but there was some wind and not a rain cloud in sight. A relatively beautiful day, really, and the streets were quiet too. Not too many shoppers in the district, no crowds to speak of, but none of that mattered because Reed was livid. Ticked off, aggravated, and looking for a fight, the wizard stalked toward Torrence Regan’s shop and threw open the door. “Piss off,” He told the shopkeeper behind the counter after he’d seen that it was neither Torrence nor Poesy and then made himself comfortable causing chaos.

Reed knocked over a display of pewter cauldrons and broke a couple of vials on the floor as loudly as possible, waiting for the stock boy to run and fetch the owner. Any sane wizard would have been scared shitless to cause such mayhem in a Regan shop, especially one run by Torrence himself, but Reed was out of sorts today. He was off his rocker, preheated to 450 degrees of havoc, and hoping to ruin the other wizard’s day.

“The fuck you selling Basil that shit for?” He shouted into the ether of the shop. Basil had OD’ed, again, and it wasn’t recent, and it wasn’t right then, but Reed’s mind didn’t work on a strict timeline. He’d been away when it happened, and he’d already gone to Basil’s since, but it didn’t matter. Now it was Torrence’s turn to feel the wrath. “You know he almost fucking died, again.”

@Torrence Regan

"What?" Torr had asked as he saw Eve in the doorway as she called his name, his eyes only straying away from the vial of a very new, very temperamental potion when he heard the note of distress in her tone that wasn't often there. Her wide eyes paired with the enormous crashing from the front of the shop made him curse, glancing at Poesy who was by her workbench. "What the fuck," he bit out as he grabbed his wand and stormed out of the workroom, hearing more glass crashing to the floor. Whoever the hell was wrecking his shop had a death wish because he was not going to--

Reed? What the fuck was he-- Torr stopped short as his normally calm, cool, and collected friend looked like he was about to burst out of his skin and become anger incarnate. Torr knew the feeling well. He just hadn't had Reed's particular brand of wrath angled at him in quite a few years.

"Out, both of you," Torr said, his head turning slightly to direct it at the two women he felt at his back, lowering his wand that he had aimed at his friend before he realized who it was. "No, Poesy, now," he said, his voice hard as she started to argue with him, just like always, his gaze staying trained on Reed. When he was like this, it was risky to let your guard down for even a second. He knew that all too well.

The accusation about his brother didn't sit well and Torr narrowed his gaze, trying not to notice how much shit Reed had destroyed in his shop already otherwise it would be a quick start to a nasty fight. "How do you know it was my shit?" Torr asked lightly. Sure, he felt bad the kid had overdosed, again, but how was that his fault even if it was bliss. Had he forced the kid to buy it? Had he poured the shit down Basil's throat? Don't think so.

“Who the fuck else’s shit would it be, Torr?” Reed spat back at his friend, the venom in his voice as poisonous as ever. In his right mind, Reed probably didn’t blame Torrence for Basil’s mistakes. It was Basil’s fault he was addicted to drugs, it was Basil’s fault he’d done too much, and it was Basil’s fault he had nearly died. Reed was unbelievably aware that all of the blame fell firmly on his baby brother’s shoulders, but somehow, that made managing it even harder for Reed. If it was all Basil’s fault, then there was no one for Reed to take it out on to protect him. There was no way for Reed to fix it, make it go away, and help his family. And if there was one thing Reed hated more than anything in this world, it was being left without choices.

Being out of options made him chaotic, and it was like a fire that devoured every bit of calmness Reed fought so hard for. Eventually, his thoughts had backtracked, and his temper had brought him to the source. Torrence. “You need to tell the bastards who sell for you to blacklist my brother, you understand me?” It wasn’t unusual for Reed to bark out commands, but never to someone as strong-willed as Torrence. The two wizards were a lot alike in many ways, and neither one of them would bend for someone else. They were alphas in a world of betas, kings in a den of jacks.

The temptation to knock over the shop some more was too powerful, it was cathartic in the most destructive way, and Reed let it fuel him. He kicked the cauldrons on the floor, and one of them crashed into another display. More things fell to the ground, clattering loudly, and the itch to cast spells, break windows, and set something on fire grew. Reed focused on Torrence instead. His nostrils flaring as he set his jaw, Reed was practically daring the other wizard to push back.

“From now on, Basil Stricklander is persona non grata.”

"What, you think I make every party potion on the street? Kind of you, but no," Torr said, sarcasm mixing with levity in his tone, but he knew he was walking a precarious line when Reed was like this. When he got angry, he was a demon in wolf's clothing and even Torr had seen him do some shit with a wand that he had never came across before. He was not looking forward to having all that rage directed at him. But that was why he had sent the girls packing the moment he realized. Still, him showing up here in his shop, in his place of business, airing all of his dirty laundry? Not appreciated. Torr's brows sunk lower over his eyes as he tried to hold on to whatever sanity and calmness was left between the two of them.

Blacklist Basil? Torr's brows rose, a patronizing, tolerating expression on his face. "Do you honestly think blacklisting will help?" he said, his very tone telling Reed just how well he thought that would work. Oh wait, it wouldn't. "It'll just make him more desperate, turn to the hard drugs. Shit you really don't come back from even if it doesn't kill you." He had seen enough people go that way to know it and he was surprised Reed was so blinded that he didn't see it too. Not to mention the fact that Reed thought he could bust in here and start making demands? Torr gritted his teeth at the sheer audacity and tried to remind himself that Reed was a friend. An idiotic one, at the current moment, but usually a friend.

"Stop destroying my shit. Last warning, Reed," Torr said, his wand gripped tightly in his hand as he called out over the clatter of cauldrons the other wizard knocked over, glass crunching under his boots as he moved around the periphery of the room. But he saw that look in Reed's eyes and understood it fundamentally. He was looking for a fight and while Torr wasn't exactly in the mood to beat the insanity out of his friend, he would do it as a personal fucking favor.

Torr shrugged insolently. "If you think that'll solve it," he said, kind of agreeing, but mostly not as he looked right at him and smiled.

"It was fucking bliss, Torr, not just some party drug, it was your party drug," Reed had done some digging and had found out what drugs were in Basil's system when he was brought to the magical hospital. Basil might have never told him (not that Reed had asked), but that didn't stop him from getting the information from other sources. And Reed could be unbelievably clever when it came to squeezing information. The mediwizards had been tight-lipped, but the cute record keepers hadn't sworn any healer-patient confidentiality oaths.

Reed didn't like being told his plan wouldn't work, and he hated that Torrence was making sense even more. Glaring at the other wizard, Reed's hands curled into fists and then stretched out again, antsy to punch something. "So I should just let him keep doing it?" Reed spit back, but deep down, he knew Torrence was right. There wasn't much he could do, and forcing anything would likely make things worse. And Reed knew first hand that no matter what, things could always get worse.

Torrence's warning struck Reed, and he blinked silently. The blood rushing in his ears, that glorious mix of anger and adrenaline burning through him like wildfire. And all he wanted was to keep breaking things. Reed wanted to start a fight, to hit something and not stop. But what good would that do? Despite himself, the wizard did the math, and it didn't add up in his favor. It wouldn't stop Basil from doing drugs or killing himself, and it wouldn't stop Torrence from making drugs that Basil would inevitably find a way to use regardless, so there was no use.

Instead, he moved across the room and slumped into the chair by the counter. His head fell into tattoed hands as he sighed. "What the hell am I supposed to do now...?" He asked the floorboards, staring at the ground before him. It wasn't just Basil that Reed was worried about; it was Violet and the rest of their family too. Reed was familiar with protecting people who didn't want his help, the British Ministry paid him good sickles to do it, but this was different. Basil's selfishness would get him killed, which would destroy their family, and Reed felt helpless.

Torr's brows rose. "You sure about that?" he asked, his head cocked to the side. But then it was Reed. Of course, he would know. Torr didn't even want to guess at how he had found out. Besides, it's not like he had poured the shit down Basil's throat. It wasn't his fucking fault. So why did he hate that Reed thought it was.

His cobalt blue eyes darted down to his fists, curling and stretching at his sides, Torr still kept his guard up. Reed could be a sneaky little fucker when he wanted and he knew not to underestimate him. "Hell if I know," Torr replied. He could barely keep his own life straight, practically a junkie himself despite his motto not to sample the product. He had found himself blissed out a few more times than he had intended this past month. He wasn't even sure why.

He was just glad that he didn't have an annoying twit of a brother like Reed breathing down his neck about it. Although Nessa could be irritating at times.

Torr saw the fire go out in his friend's eyes, replaced with something almost worse. It made the Regan exhale, the tension he had been holding in his shoulders slowly easing away as he walked closer, not needing careful distance between them anymore. Reed's question was met with silence, Torr outlining the depressed shape he was making, his head hanging low, speaking to the floor. Whatever answer he gave, he knew none were actually helpful. He didn't even know why Reed was asking him, he was literally the last person that would be capable of being useful in this moment. Fuck it. "Are you sure he wants to be helped?" he said, speaking the question on his mind. "He's not going to change just because you want him to."

So, yeah, he knew it wasn't the comforting or helpful thing Reed was probably looking for, but hell, Torr had never signed up for that bullshit anyway.

As Reed sank to the chair, he made sure to check for anything that might stick to his suit. He’d done a fair bit of damage to the shop, enough that potion vials could have spilled, and he didn’t want any of it on his custom-made Marchesi trousers. The wizard’s head fell into his hands, and despite himself, Reed asked for advice out loud even when he didn’t want it. It was a moment of doubt, a brief flickering one, and it made him feel like an idiot. He didn’t need Torrence to tell him what to do. Reed didn’t need anyone to tell him what to do. Still, he was quiet as he heard the other wizard moving around the shop. Reed half wondered why Torrence hadn’t stopped him from destroying things earlier. He didn’t ask, nor did he have any intention of apologizing.

“Basil doesn’t do a damn thing I want him to,” Reed countered, exhaling as he sat up and pulled his head from his head. He looked up at Torrence and shook his head. While no one had ever asked Reed to take care of Basil and their siblings, the oldest Stricklander had always sort of assumed the role. He wasn’t their father, but he tried to take care of them the best he could. And for the most part, they let him. Except for Basil and his addictions. “Kid almost died, though; you’d think that would knock some fucking sense into him.”

The tattooed wizard pulled a silver case of cigarettes from inside his jacket and placed it between his lips before pausing. He looked around and then up at Torrence and speaking with the unlit cigarette dangling dangerously from his bottom lip. Reed asked, “Is anything going to explode if I light this?”

Torr watched Reed, his head in his hands, and only one thought kept circling back around:

What the fuck was happening.

He and Reed were friends, but they didn't do this sort of pillow-talk, relating bullshit. Hell, Torr could hardly do that with anyone. He didn't think he was capable and yet here Reed was, his heart on his sleeve. Torr frowned as he went behind the counter, glass crunching beneath his heavy boots, and he came up with the solution that usually helped him: he pulled out a bottle of vodka, two glasses, and a tin of cigarettes that were right under the counter. It wasn't rare at all for him to indulge while at 'work'.

But then he saw Reed had his own supply, one dangling from his lips, a flippant question between them. Torr gave him an arrogant smile. "Let's hope not, Otherwise, I'll have to add that to your bill as well," he said with a glance around at all the destruction before he took his own cigarette and lit up, clearly not sharing the same concerns Reed had.

He took a drag as he eyed his friend in his expensive suit as the thoughts circled around just like the smoke that was hovering about his head. "Have you talked to your brother?" Torr asked, wondering if it would even be possible to get all of his dealers not to sell to Basil. Doubting that that would work at all. Then again, if it was Gia in a similar spot, Torr would burn down the world just the same so he couldn't really blame him.

Whatever part of Reed that had the bad sense to let emotion flicker through was starting to fade into the background, replaced by his usual demeanor. Reed wasn’t as angry as he felt before, but he wasn’t apologetic either. Reed returned chaotic energy with calm confidence and lit the cigarette dangling on his lip with ease. Tucking his wand back into his suit, Reed made a noise halfway between a scoff and a laugh when Torrence mentioned billing him. “Fuck your bill,” he said, his words chased by the smoke from his last drag.  The cloudy puffs lingered around his menacing features, and with every breath, Reed felt more centered, more like himself.

“I have, but that little shit doesn’t listen,” Reed explained, but it wasn’t a complaint so much as a statement of fact. Basil did what Basil wanted, and if he were doing just about anything else that would not lead him to an early grave, Reed would have been standing behind him, saying hell yeah. Reed did whatever he wanted, too, and no one could stop him. He wondered if he’d accidentally taught Basil the bad habit when they were growing up.

Reed stood up from the chair and headed toward the counter where Torrence had laid out glasses. The wizard reached for the bottle and took it upon himself to pour them hefty drinks. “Got any potions to clear up stubbornness in this shop?” He asked over the rim of his glass before knocking it back, one fluid drink, without pause. Reed was probably going to need another, too.

Fuck your bill. There he was. Torr smirked and watched as the smoke whirled around the man in the suit and then drifted upward and disappeared.

His brows moved up and then back down quickly, a sardonic look on his face. Younger siblings not doing as they're told? "Welcome to the club," he said darkly. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but his younger siblings seemed to be just as irksome as Reed found Basil. Gia, in particular, had lately done a lot of things he hadn't recommended. One particular older guy that she was 'dating' came to mind, and Torr's knuckles went white as his hand fisted at his side as he remembered that fucking guy. What a predator.

He laid his palms on the counter as Reed came closer, some of the sanity seeming to come back to him.  Good, just in time for him to clean up the fucking mess he made. Torr watched as he poured them drinks and then took the glass in his hand and held it up to Reed. Who knocked back the glass in a blink. Torr smirked and saluted him before taking a drink himself, holding the glass near his waist as he looked heavenward. "Actually, we're all out of stock this week on that. All the poor married sops bought it for their wives," he laughed darkly before he took another drink.

Reed chuckled low in his throat and took another long drag from his cigarettes. Siblings were more trouble than they were worth, and Reed knew Torrence was familiar with the idea. They both had a handful of siblings to watch out for, and it wasn’t like their sisters were any better. Right about now, though, Reed felt like he’d prefer to kick walls in because Torrence was hitting on his sisters instead of selling his brother drugs. Though, remembering the first and last time he made the mistake of looking twice at Torrence’s sister Nessa, he thought better of it.

“Sucks to be them,” Reed said, another laugh chasing his words, and he felt himself getting back to normal. The chaos was still there, lurking beneath the surface – it always was – but it was calmer now. Letting what was left of his cigarette dangle dangerously from his lips, Reed pulled his wand from the specially designed inner pocket of his custom Marchesi suit and started to put things back together in the shop. A bit of wordless magic, a mutter here or there, and the glass vials he’d broken began to mend.

As the display he’d turned over righted itself, Reed glanced back at Torr with a sinister smile. “The shit here breaks too easily,” he offered unhelpfully, the cigarette still hanging wickedly from his lips. “You should look into that.”