Xaviers!

Erica waits outside her club, dressed exceptionally casually, more appropriate for painting a room than conducting business. There is also an SUV parked near the club.

"You said you had news." Vivienne spoke as she quietly approached Erica, she was similarly dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt two sizes too large, only out of place item was Cal strapped to her back.

"She also said fire was involved," Sam says, dressed in what looks like an old workout outfit.

"It does, and not here," she says, moving to the SUV. "It's not a perfect solution and it may not work in their direct presence, but luckily they're unlikely to come here unless forced. It should give you some wiggle room though."

"I can work with that. Being perpetually..."cranky" is beginning to wear thin." She slipped Cal off her back and prepared to hold it in her lap as she slid into one of the SUV's back passenger seats.

"You said it, not me." She says as she gets in.

Erica hops in the driver's seat and rives them to an abandoned industrial building on the edge of town. "One of the main objectives is to not tip your hand that you've been cut a little loose, so what I have in mind should keep that from happening." She pulls straight into the building and out the front window they can see what looks like a forge and some metal working equipment. Vivienne would be able to detect the magic floating in the air as if some magic had already been done.

"I have no objection. I am surprised you are still willing to help in light of our less then productive first meeting."

"It presented a challenge and we did make a deal." She gets out of the SUV and goes over to stoke the forge a bit.

"Besides, it's a deal with me, not with you," she says as she steps out of the vehicle.

"I stand corrected." She allowed Sam to follow Erica first.

"I must admit, I half expecting to see the Forgemaster himself standing there, repaying some debt to you, but am impressed to see you know the forge for yourself."

"Some magic is best worked by one's own hands," she says, sliding an apron over her head. "Morrigan, if you would manage the bellows. Lady, if you would fill that trough with water."

Sam twitches for a moment, her body tensing before she walks over to the bellows.

"...if that's how it's going to be, then alright."

"Would 'Samantha' work better? The magic knows despite the names," she says, pulling some tools from a bag and inspecting them.

"If it helps, think of it as a title, similar to "Lord" or "Lady"." Vivienne spoke as she looked over the poured slab under her feet a moment before smiling and moving over to a crack in the cement. With a touch of her hand a thick watery vague serpentine shape moved along the floor and into the trough as requested.

Erica begins heating some metal in the fire, watching as it begins to glow. "I trust you're not allergic to iron like some of your relatives."

"Usually it depends on the iron, the worst reaction, a rash similar to nettle stings at point of contact. Then again, in the past I was not so deeply...fey."

Erica takes the metal out and begins hammering it, working magic into it little by little as she does so. "The magic shouldn't need skin contact to be effective, but I don't foresee any issues given your dual nature." As she works, it looks like she's fashion the metal into some semblance of a bracelet.

"But that looks like you intend her to wear it."

"Of course," she says, "Where does one usually put chains? So where would it make sense to interfere with it? And if it were just my magic involved it might be a concern, but why do you think I asked you here and didn't just hand her a completed item? Symbolism is important. Fire provided by the Morrigan, water provided by the Lady of the Lake. The best magic is subtle. Flashy displays get you burned at the stake."

"A fate all would like to avoid at all cost and if there are ill effects you can simply call your bargain void." Once what trough was full she guided the water back into the ground.

"Something I would also like to avoid," Erica says, hammering the metal some more, before sticking it back into the fire. More attuned into the magic being worked, Vivienne can sense the weave that Erica is building. Sam can feel some things tugging at her, but in ways that are hard to describe. It's not unpleasant at all, though it certainly might be disconcerting.

"Why do I get the feeling you're connecting me to her?"

"In a manner of speaking, but not in any sort of binding way," she says, "It should give her some operating freedom that she doesn't have now without the Grey Lords noticing."

"I'm just... figuring out the implications," she nods, keeping the fire going.

"You are opposed to being bonded to me?" She asked with a head tilt.

"...no. But it would take some getting used to, aye?"

"Many attachments do," Erica comments, before her face screws up in more concentration as she pulls the proto-bracelet back out and continues hammering it into shape.

"Perhaps, but I have always been a true ally, if what has transpired between us since my return has failed to change that, I doubt magical loyalty will hinder us much."

Erica just chuckles to herself as the conversation goes on without her. She grabs another tool and slides it through the bracelet, using the oval shape of the tool help her form the shape. As she does so, etchings begin to appear along the edges of the bracelet, working their way towards the main arc. They glow with a purple light in contrast to the orange of the heated iron. They appear as knot work at first, slowly etching their way into a number of animals with a raven and wolf easily recognizable, but followed shortly by others. The more she works, the more a purple glow grows in her eyes. Somehow they get the impression that she's barely seeing the physical world anymore, though her hammer strikes don't seem to suffer for it. After more than an hour of steady work, she heats the bracelet one final time before shoving it into the water trough with a loud steaming hiss. She holds it there for a long moment and then holds it out on the tongs to Vivienne. The glow in her eyes fades, "It's not a key to your chains, but hopefully it will satisfy your needs."

"Moment of truth, aye?"

Viv gives Sam a nod and takes the bracelet. "Might as well, I have postponed my search for far too long." She slips her hand through the metal ring, letting it rest against her skin.

She didn't feel appreciably different, but Erica seemed to be a fan of subtle magic. Erica studies her for a moment and then asks, "So what's your frank opinion on the Lord of Turning Seasons?" The mystical clamp that she would normally expect to keep her from sharing such information appears to be held at bay.

"Lord Arathmus wears far too much pink and has a fondness for satyrs." She smiled at Sam.

"I think she likes it. I mean, I don't know the bastard myself, so I don't know if that's a scathing takedown or not."

"It looks like it does the job," she says. "As I said, it probably won't work in their direct presence, but that's the price to pay for keeping the freedom quiet."

"Not so much the insults, but the fact that I named him." She offered her hand to Erica. "You are good to your word and your work is sound. May you continue your long life."

"And may you find what you seek," Erica says, taking Vivienne's hand respectfully.