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Juniper had wondered why Liam, the man whom she had met months ago and obviously knew that she was being drawn to Other Ashdown, hadn't said anything to her that day at the store. It was a mystery that, though wasn't huge, was something she'd like to have the answer to. As fate would have it, she ran into Liam again at the store. Unfortunately though, she had been too busy to be able to talk so instead got the information she needed to visit him she had off time.

It had been at least two weeks since that encounter, but Juniper finally was able to get a day free.

She made her way to the office that he had told her about, and stopped in front of the door. She eyed it, unsure if he was even in. God, she hoped he was because the next few days her work schedule was at the most inopportune times to make visiting calls like this. So, raising her hand she rapped on the door, and waited impatiently to see if he was in.

Wc: 182

Juniper opened the door when beckoned and slipped inside of the cramped office. Closing the door behind her with a soft click of the lock, blue eyes darted around as she took note of all the...stuff, that was gathered in the tiny room. It seemed that every usable space was being utilized in some way or another. Not to mention that amount of books that were lining the shelves. It felt tighter than her apartment, and that was saying something.

Junie? Well, that was a name she hadn’t heard since college. It wasn’t her favorite nickname as she felt it made her sound childish, but that wasn’t why she was here. She had other things to bring up that were much more important than how he shortened her name.

“Hello, Liam.” She said casually, her eyes flicking from the crowded bookshelves to him. “I hope I am not intruding on anything but I do have a few questions for you.”

She took a few steps to his desk, after all, that’s all that was required before she practically bumped into the piece of furniture. “First off, why…” Then she paused, brows furrowing at him. “Wait, your voice sounds is normal.” She stated bluntly, a bit confused. “It’s not all echoey.” She thought for sure it had sounded odd the last time she had seen him. So why did it sound normal now? Was it something he could control?

wc: 239

"Professor Noor" She corrected herself as she slid into the chair in front of his desk. It creaked slightly under her weight as she leaned back a bit, crossing her long legs.

At his question she sat there, almost staring at him. "The night at the ball?" She questioned as her mind buzzed through the evening. The most obvious thing was the reason that the ball had taken place, but was that it? Or was there something more to it? "Well, it was the night that a sacrifice had to be made to strengthen the cage. From what I understand that wasn't what happened and instead the opposite occurred."

Where was Liam going with this, anyway? Did the ball have something to do with the fact that his voice was normal?

And, why the hell was she focused on this when she had other questions she had come her specifically to find out answers to?

Curiosity. Always, curiosity.

wc: 158

"Exciting conversations? And what exactly does the weakening of the cage mean for you?" Ok, this was interesting. Juniper was still very new to the whole situation that was going on with them. Other Ashdown, The Enemy and this cage. She was still piecing the puzzle together to make sense of it all and, to tell the truth, she definitley needed to locate more pieces so she could fully grasp the picture she was not involved in.

Eyes flicked to the books that Liam was placing on his desk. Tilting her head slightly she attempted to catch a glimpse of the titles that were scribed along the book's spine.

"Ah. Well, yes." She snapped her attention back to the man, trying not to look guilty that she was snooping on what he was doing. "I was curious, when we ran into each other at the department store a few months ago, and I mentioned your voice sounded weird, why you didn't say anything to me? Why not fill me in on what I was bound to walk into? Even after you had left, I still felt like I must have been hearing things and second guessed myself." Her words weren't accusing in any sort. At this point it wasn't a problem, but she had been curious ever since.

wc: 218

A brow rose at the responses she got. Leaning back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest while the foot of her crossed leg bounced in a rhythmic pattern. "I really wouldn't call your voice a speech impediment, but..." She sighed and gave a one sided shrug. "I will apologize and say that I probably shouldn't have brought it up, but I tend speak before thinking. Curiosity will probably be my downfall one day." That was a truth, utterly and completely. Juniper knew that her faults laid in her lack of caution towards things and her want to explore and learn stuff that tended to get her into trouble.

Her foot continued to bounce gently as she studied Liam for a moment. Eyes flicked to the book he was paging through. I wonder if he's looking for something in specific.

"Ok, this whole cage thing." She said, after watching Liam flip a few pages. "I won't lie and say I understand it. I keep getting little bits and pieces from people but I never seem to get a detailed explanation of what the thing actually is? And what it has to do with you, me, and the rest of us who can go into Other Ashdown." Pausing she tilted her head slightly as she unfolded her arms and rested her hands on her lap. "Is there anything you can tell me?" With the responses she had gotten form Liam before, Juniper was getting the impression that the man was not necessarily going to be the most cooperative with information. But, maybe, just maybe, she could get some info from him, especially if it helped them both in the long run?

Juniper was probably playing with fire here and had no damn idea.

wc: 293

Not much tended to perturb Juniper, not in the sense of giving her the creeps, but Liam's smile and response cause a literally shiver to run down her spine, resulting in small goosebumps to prickle on her arms. Thankfully, her long sleeves hid the reaction. The hell does he mean by that?

Thankfully it seemed he was willing to move on with the topic at hand, but Juniper was now feeling a bit uneasy. She did he damn best to try and hide it though.

"Nope. Hadn't considered that at all. But I feel like there has to be something more to all of this than what I've been told. So let's see I know, since the cage is weakening we can perform some magic in this Ashdown. The purpose of the cage is to seal in someone called The Enemy, which may I add, is not very original when it comes to names." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "Oh, there's apparently multiple pieces to this cage and the tithe thing was one of them. Last thing is that this cage, though it's keeping The Enemy in it's also protecting him and keeping us caged as well. The only thing I can conclude form that last bit is that it's keeping us from having magic?" She shrugged, obviously unsure of that last thought.

"See, bits and pieces. I can weave some stuff together and make an assumption but we all know what they say about assuming things."

"No one to blame but myself? Um, I know I didn't pick that name considering he or she or whatever this Enemy isn't someone I even met."

The next words though had Juniper slowly uncrossing her legs and placing her feet firmly on the ground, hands clutching at the chair's arm rests. She was obviously perched, ready to dart out of the room if needed. "What do you mean by that, exactly? By the way you were talking earlier, you don't want to keep the cage up, so what could you possibly mean...Wait, you aren't on The Enemies side, are you?" That had not been a thought that had crossed her mind. For some reason, why she wasn't sure, she had thought most were out to get rid of The Enemy. Sure there had been a few, at the ball, that seemed otherwise and, well...

Ok, well, maybe she was getting herself into a tight spot here. Even as she realized that, she had this urge to stay and see what other sort of information she could glean from Liam. See what he was willing to share.

"Whoa...wait...what?!" She exclaimed, obviously stunned by this bit of news. That was not something she had expected. At. All. At that moment she didn't know if she should run or not.

But Liam wasn't really being threatening towards her. Not that he really needs to be. Who knows what sort of magic he can do here.

Realizing she gone white-knuckled holding onto the armchair she force herself to let go and move her hands to her lap as she took a deep breath to focus herself.

Alright. So, if he can do magic I am screwed either way, right? Might as well dig a bit further.

"Ok. Alright. You're married to the enemy." She took a breath through her nose and exhaled. "Alright, seeing I don't exactly know the implications of what occurred to make The Enemy the well...enemy, I suppose I should ask why he was caged up anyway? What the hell happened? And what do you plan to do once he'd freed? Cause if we are past the point of resealing the cage like you said, you're bound to get your freedom and your spouse back. What then?"

She paused worrying at her bottom lip. "Maybe if I understood a bit more I wouldn't feel the need to be so apprehensive considering everything I've heard is mainly from those who haven't seemed fond of The Enemy or the idea of him, anyway."

Geez, please don't let this be a bad idea, please don't let this be a bad idea... That mantra kept being repeated in her head as she watched Liam with a hawk eye gaze.