Do the birds suffer so?

For once, he's initiated his shapeshifting himself, the way he used to before that damn curse. He changed into a set of shifting clothes, Underarmor mostly, and charmed his necklace to be able to hold an extra set of clothes. He sets off from his house at a run, exhilarating in the morning dew against the pounding of his hooves and the beating of his heart. He breathes in the air, gradually transforming from summer sweetness into the full spice of autumn. This morning is beautiful; sunshine pouring through the trees as though they were windows stained with glass. Surrounded as he is by mostly quiet, the woods turn into something of his own cathedral like this.

Fabrice doesn't know how long he runs for; he listens with a deer's instincts as he meanders through the forest, surely out of sight of anyone who could recognize him for what he is.

When he does stop, he finds himself in a meadow near the edge of town, framed by tall grass and flowers. He chooses that moment to turn back into himself, quickly gathering both the clothes he'd packed and the picnic breakfast he'd prepared with what little skills he has in that way.

He flops with little ceremony into the grass, leaning back on his elbows to take a sip of coffee and exalt in the glorious day before him.

[OOC: Feel free to have had your pup see Fabrice running as a day/shifting. A really great time to meet him, actually. Set to this morning and open to all! ST/LT welcome. :3]

Now that Fabrice has moved back in, gotten settled, and assured his beloved cats that yes, this time, they are home to stay, he really craves a Quill run. He has the rest of today off, not starting work back at the zoo until tomorrow, and he desperately needs a greasy junk food fix. Sating his cats with an extra can of wet food (and God, do they ever have him wrapped around their paws, with their big, sad eyes and pitiful meows every time he so much as blinks), he grabs his wallet and keys and heads out the door. He pauses for a moment in his walkway to send a text to Cecilia, just to see how she's doing, before shoving his phone into his pocket and heading on his way.

He could ride his bike for the extra exercise as he heads into town, but today, with its slightly less humid temperature and overcast sky, feels like a day for walking. It's been too long since he's last had the chance to enjoy the view of Siren Cove coming in from the outside; the gradual decline of trees into civilization is a beautiful sight, and if he had any artistic abilities, he would dearly love to paint it.

And, he thinks to himself, though he tries not to, this venture is also a test, of sorts. Ever since that night in Oregon, at that bar, Fabrice has had more cause to worry about venturing out in public. That asshole, Donny, he thinks, who started bragging about how many wolves he's killed; he continued from there about derogatory remarks about the women he's slept with, and then wound up getting in Fabrice's face once he saw how uncomfortable he'd been at the source of his conversation. He kept prodding at Fabrice until he nearly punched him in the face. Said asshole also turned out to be a witch. A damned good one, considering how quickly and subtly he'd managed to curse Fabrice.

Fabrice now lets out a steadying breath. He refuses to let that jerk win, from however many miles away they are apart. As long as he remains calm, and he doesn't let his nerves get the better of him, he ought to be okay.

Surprisingly, his resolution holds; he doesn't encounter any mishaps on his way to Siren Cove. At least, not until he reaches the edge of town, where various people sprawl in the damp grass, on blankets with books and significant others to keep them company. He smiles briefly at the sight, though his heart aches a little at it, too. He manages to clear his head of those thoughts a moment later, distracting himself with thoughts of a black raspberry iced tea and a bear claw to go with it.

This is, of course, the moment that a teenager nearly collides into him on his bicycle. Fabrice's stomach drops as the tingling sensation that comes with every transformation begins spreading across the tiny hairs on his arms, like wildfire. He desperately looks for a place to hide, but by then, he's already dropped to all fours, and it's all he can to quickly shove his wallet and phone in his mouth as the magic takes over.

He arises minutes later, fully a deer. The teenager gapes at him, before running off and screaming. The various people gathered begin to panic in their own ways. Shit, he thinks. And then he runs, back towards the woods, knowing he's already failed his own test. And possibly a few laws, while he's at it.

[OOC: Basically, Fabrice's curse is that he transforms into his animal form every time he's startled/overly nervous. I want to play it out as a plot for a little bit, so I do ask that any magical suggestions not work for while yet. Eventually, he'll overcome it, but not yet. Set to late morning/early afternoon; feel free to have witnessed him transform from anywhere on the edge of town by the woods! Have him nearly run your pup down or whatever you like. A good time to meet him, despite everything. Open to all!]

Okay, so. I have a Coombs problem, and I've been toying with bringing Fabrice back for awhile now but. Plotting with Julia makes me determined to bring him back, so I thought, following in her footsteps, I'd put up a general plotting/brainstorming post for anyone interested? He'll be mostly the same: still working at the zoo like the nerd he is, living in his same house, magic focusing on animals and healing, with his same three cats, still bisexual as fuck, still a shapeshifter.

Only I'm retconning it so that Julia's new!Alodia is his twin sister. They do all the normal sibling things - magic, getting into fights when anyone threatens the other, shapeshifting and accidentally setting stuff on fire. You know, the usual. His animal form is now also going to be an owl. Or a deer. Probably a deer, now that I'm thinking about it. But I'm still deciding. And I'm considering having him getting cursed so that he winds up transforming when he's particularly startled or something like that, just for a fun plot to get him reintroduced.

Beyond that, I'm sure there are other things that I'll change, too. But I just wanted to get this post up for plotting purposes. :D

He'll be coming in after I bring Lexi, because God knows she's been a long time coming, but he's definitely returning in the near future. :D

The Cove has been out since God knows when this morning and Fabrice hates today as he hasn't loathed a birthday since the first one he'd spent without his father. Having tea with Riley helped a great deal, even if he still feels uneasy and the churning in his gut has yet to subside. He can't help but worry that Violet Coombs is going to return to town and murder Demetri in cold blood. Or that Demetri's father will do something equally as heinous. He doesn't know the Thornton patriarch, but he knows the rumors and the whispers; he also knows the look in Demetri's eyes whenever he speaks about his father finding out about his true nature.

In short, the supposed town curse and the goddamn family rivalry is yet again eating away at him.

So Fabrice finds his way into one of the local bars in town; decidedly not Coombs Tavern, or anywhere where people might recognize him. The pub he's in now is antiquated, small, and fashioned after an old, English inn. He finds himself a small corner and tucks himself away from any prying eyes, of which, thankfully, there are only a few of here. He begins with a glass of beer, which he nurses for a good hour before moving on to harder stuff. He downs a couple shots and another couple of glasses of whiskey. His throat burns, and the ache in his chest from his worrying fades a bit.

He doesn't usually get drunk; really, he only ever drinks on social occasions, especially after that beach party. But tonight, his heart hurts, and guilt clouds his every thought; he can't stop worrying about Demetri, and the fact that today is his birthday stings like a rusty nail into the side of Fabrice's skin.

"Happy birthday to me," he mutters, finishing off what remains of his last glass of whiskey before making an attempt at getting up from his table.

He winds up falling flat on his face.

OOC: Find Fabrice in the bar, having recently fallen flat on his face. He's having a grand old time for his birthday, as you can see, and he's basically drunk off his ass.

Okay, so. This is perhaps a culmination of me listening to the Nutcracker score constantly, a desperate need to have a dancing character, and my nostalgia for my own dancing days, but I've come to realize that Fabrice is a dancer. Or, he was. He took lessons until he graduated high school; he was decent, but he never was going to be professional, and he always put it beneath animals and magic in terms of his hobbies. He loved it, he just never realized how much. Dancing was a way for him to express himself; he never felt shy while in tights; he felt liberated. He's going to start taking adult lessons again at the local studio, which I'll work on at some point, and he's going to perform in this year's performance of the Nutcracker.

BUT he's not going to realize his need for dance in his life, a way to release stress, until he snaps at someone. I really liked what Amanda mentioned about Fabrice being a "fluffy blanket over steel" sort of character. It makes me realize I totally based him on Sansa Stark without even realizing it. And maybe Jon Snow a little bit. But, the point is, he is fiercely loyal and kind until people start hurting the ones he loves. Then he'll do anything to defend them. So, I think, at one point, I'm going to have him get in a barfight of sorts? He won't be using magic, because he is utter crap at offensive and defensive magic. This will be resorting to fists. And, normally, he never resorts to violence. But someone is going to go too far, and he's going to defend them. If anyone wants to do anything plotwise with this, please feel free to let me know!

It's in the aftermath of this that Fabrice will realize he needs a way to let off stress, and he'll return to dancing. And if you have characters that dance, please feel free to plot with anything revolving around that, as well! Ah, I'm sorry for rambling; I just got struck by this gigantic piece of headcanon, and well. Here we are. :)

Fabrice calls work once he feels able to hold a conversation over the phone and the pain of his scars dull to a manageable roar. Of course, he gets his mother on the line, who worries instantly and, before granting him an excused leave from work, insists on bringing him back home. Her tone leaves little room for argument, and Fabrice finds himself too tired to even make an attempt. So he gathers the little he packed to begin with, gathering it around him as he waits for his mother to arrive.

She doesn't say anything when she arrives at his hotel door, just throws her arms around him and pulls him close. He clings back, shaking with more tears as the severity of the past couple of days continues to haunt through him, like a poltergeist. She brings him out to the car while whispering comforting words, the way she used to do when he was a child.

"The zoo will run just fine without me," she insists, when Fabrice attempts to protest at his mother staying with him at home. She brings him to his old room, still decorated as it was before he left for college, dinosaur comforter and all. She tells him she is making soup before she heads back downstairs.

He curls up on his bed from his youth, his phone next to him on the bedside table. He knows there are texts from multiple people wondering where he is; he'll look at them in a minute, he tells himself, as his eyes fall shut again.

OOC: I know Emily was looking for a way to get in contact with Fabrice, so if anyone knows him/asks around, they'll hear he's staying back with his mother and can get in contact with him that way. Fabrice seems to be my outlet for angst, lately.

Fabrice's mother, Sarah, formerly Davis, married to the youngest Coombs, Reginald, at the age of twenty-two, giving birth to Fabrice only three years later. When Fabrice's father perished tragically out at sea five years later, Sarah proved to be the glue holding her family together, balancing her work as a vet at the local zoo and raising Fabrice on her own. When she lost Reginald, Sarah never remarried, or even dated anyone else; she felt her husband to have been the love of her life, and she has never gotten over losing him, especially when their child was so young.

With the business at her job, Sarah had to often leave Fabrice in the care of others, but when she could be with her son, she showered him with all the love and affection a mother could give. As a result, Fabrice and his mother have always been close, even when Fabrice moves out into his own place just down the street.

Sarah is a strong, determined woman who is confident in her abilities, especially as a witch. She taught Fabrice everything he knows, and is always willing to help any witch who might need her assistance. She never shared her husbands suspicions, or, if she does, she manages to keep them well hidden, very much aware of the dangers in voicing them aloud. She took Fabrice to see their cousins on a regular basis, thus creating an image of something of a normal family.

Sarah is a warm, nurturing woman accepting of anyone. She speaks in a soft, warm voice that makes anyone feel instantly at home. She loves to cook, especially for her son and any friends he might bring home with him, as well as her nieces. She receives people with open arms as much as she can, determined to find the positives in life. Fabrice is often told he takes after Sarah, though Sarah sees the same determined glint in his eyes as his father's, a thought that always concerns her, as she worries about her son constantly.

OOC: Just wanted to flesh Fabrice's mother out more. If you want to use her for anything, let me know!

Fabrice actually makes an effort at cleaning his entire house, starting from just before he has to go to work and continuing right after he gets out early, thanks to a a somewhat half-truth about having an 'extremely important affair' to attend to. He uses magic and regular cleaning products both, determined to make his place look even more presentable than it did the last time Demetri came around.

His cats are looking at him as though he's grown an extra head, mewing at him as he trips over himself trying to arrange a basket of wildflowers he'd picked that morning on the kitchen table. He figures the flowers are simple, not overly obvious way of decorating, depending on how casual Demetri wants to keep this. There are candles, too, in the windowsills of his kitchen, glowing with magical flame that smells like orchids and won't spread if knocked to the ground.

When he feels as though the house is up to snuff, he takes time to play with his cats, feed them special treats, and assure they have plenty of food and water, ways of ensuring they don't cause trouble tonight. Only after this is done does he see to getting himself ready.

He dresses himself in an outfit similar to last time, his nicest pair of jeans and a deep green shirt he bought the other day that actually compliments his appearance. He thinks Alodia would be proud, though he still does need help with the rest of his wardrobe.

Once he's satisfied with himself, after about twenty minutes of messing with various looks, Fabrice makes his way to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine from his pantry and setting it on the table. He makes his way to the living room, then, to stare longingly out the window.

OOC: Pretend this was posted on Wenesday and not Thursday morning, lol.

Fabrice is exhausted when the witches' meeting finally breaks up. He sends his cats home ahead of him, wanting them to be able to rest and not having the energy to conjure up a glamour for them. His head feels sluggish from the wine and the volley of seemingly never ending arguments, especially between his cousin and Nerium. He loves Moira, but he worries that her stubbornness is going to get her in trouble one day, no matter how justified she feels in how she acts.

He lets out a sigh, wrapping his arms around himself as he makes his way through the park, much too consumed by his own thoughts to bother calling for a cab of any sort. Besides, he enjoys walking, even if his pace tonight is slowed by both his weariness from the meeting and lingering aspects of last night.

Last night. He finds himself smiling as thoughts and images of Demetri flicker through his mind, those blue eyes, that damned bewitching smile; his cheeks warm at the memories of his scorching kisses and sweeping touches. And then falling asleep with and waking up to the other man the next morning. He makes a wistful noise, not quite a sigh, at the thought of returning to a home without Demetri in it.

Then memories of the witches' meeting creep back into his thoughts again and Fabrice wishes, for once in his life, that he smoked.

Even out of the hospital and on his way to recovery, people still insist on treating him like he's fragile. He visited Siren Coven Wildlife Refuge and Zoo to see about coming back to work, only to be told he still has at least another week of leave and a psych evaluation before he can fully return to his normal routine. He understands, but he can't help but sigh and pout, even under his mother's fond, exasperated gaze, as he makes his way out.

He hates feeling so useless; he's making a decent recovery, thanks to both medicine and the potions and charms he's taken. He has several scars across his abdomen that seem to be more severe and haven't yet let up, even with the assistance of magic. His nose wrinkles as he tries, again, to make sense of that night; he remembers with clarity only a flash of silver and purple - everything else remains a blur. He still doesn't think he was stabbed, despite what the various tabloids across town say.

And now Moira is missing, presumed dead, some whisper, even if they won't say it to his face. He refuses to believe that; he can't lose another loved one. He won't.

He sighs, his thoughts heavy as he makes his way out of the zoo and in the general direction of the boardwalk. Perhaps the ocean air will alleviate some of the tension now building in his scrunched up shoulders and shaking hands, which he hastily stuffs into his pockets.

Of course, he doesn't make it more than several feet in that direction when various members of the press, especially eager after the events of the past two weeks, surround him, causing him to start and causing the trembling in his hands to spread to his entire upper body.

"Fabrice, what happened that night you were stabbed?"
"Do you think it was the Thorntons acting in retaliation?"
"Have you heard from your cousin at all during this past week?"

He tries to tell them to leave him alone, but words fail him. He feels as though he's swimming in shark infested waters. His breath starts to come in ragged when his beloved cats appear out of thin air, encircling him like a furry cocoon, hissing in the general direction of the paparazzi.

This, of course, only inspires more camera flashes, and Fabrice knows it's going to be a long afternoon.

(OOC: Find Fabrice dealing with the paparazzi or immediately after he escapes. I've been thinking about his character all day while at work and just wanted to make an intro post for him.)