The Warp and The Weft

Chapter Seven: A Weaver's Touch - Margaret

Walking along the busy pavements of Paris was always a chore in the late morning hours. Harried assistants running back and forth with phones clamped to their ears getting their bosses' 11 am coffee,  suited inner city boys moving between meetings, the ten thousand tourists moving between local haunts, and don't even mention the entitlement of people on bicycles. Late September also gained the addition of swarms of students from the 46 different universities in the Paris area, all clamouring to get to lectures or hand in assignments.

Every single one of them had ten thoughts racing through their heads at once. And Margaret could hear them all.

She skillfully wove through the crowds as she approached the eyesore of a hotel Rebecca had picked out, this great big white stucco wall covered in perfectly aligned windows and terraces, overflowing with flowers so pink that she wanted to vomit. She lifted the brim of her wide-set sunhat and looked up, and up some more, as she followed the telltale pulses of power.

She had been waiting for this moment for over three months, she hadn't seen Philip since her impulsive stop at the Skinwalker tribe on her way from Baltimore to San Diago. She admits, that appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night to see Philip since she was passing through was a little risky since the Skinwalkers are quite secretive. She was lucky Philip's host Bodaway didn't just blast her on the spot when she found the two of them in bed together the morning after.

As she stepped through the moving crowd up towards the palatial entrance to the hotel, Margaret garnered some stares from passersby both pedestrians and hotel patrons. Her grandmother, Agatha Wilson the former Congregation member and CEO of Wilson Apparel ad Cosmetics, once said Margaret would be the best-dressed girl in the world, this held true with only Ysabeau having a better sense of style, fostered over thousands of years.

She strolled up to the high doorway in a loose stark white summer suit with leavers lace trim accentuated with a high waist wrap, showing off her wide soft curves. She stood out among her friends and family, most of whom are trim and athletic, with her gentle curves, high waistline and smooth soft figure that she knew exactly how to accentuate with everything she wore. However, the wash n' go hair, whiskey-gold eyes, and redient sepia skin was dulled with the heavy disguising spell draped over her body in layers.

Like all weavers, her skin and aura shimmered with power, a power visible to all vampires and even warmbloods under certain circumstances. She wore a vail-like spell over her skin in public, removing the shimmer as well as downplaying stand-out features and attributes, therefore drawing attention away from herself.

Stepping through the doors, she was met with the smell of magic, several powerful witches had spent time here recently. She sent out a pulse of magic through the building, a small rush of power undetectable to any of the humans while being impossible to ignore by any witches Guess who? she projected along with the pulse. Her eyes scanned the large foyer with grand white walls and carved ceilings, Becca really knew how to pick the most unnecessarily extravagant hotel possible. Her eyes crossed those of a tired-looking guard who was already closely watching her, a look of high accusation.

She widened her eyes and looked through his like she was threading a needle, she prodded his mind and was greeted with the basic feeling of your everyday racist. He was on edge however and unlikely to say anything about it and as she withdrew she caught the tail end of memory with the familiar face of Angelique.

She broke her eye contact, the entire interaction lasting less than a second. He had obviously tried throwing his weight around with Ange only to be thoroughly cowed by Rebecca. Frankly, she was surprised the girl didn't break his fingers. She stands still and observes the area, one hand on a suitcase and the other on a large handbag, made gifted to her by her grandmother.