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The Perk, Saturday Afternoon

After Quinn spoke with Santana at the picnic, it didn't take her long to realize she and Puck needed to meet up and do damage control. She'd been so focused on her mother and Finn that it hadn't even occurred to her that Puck might invite people, too. And she didn't need Santana Lopez thinking she had randomly gone crazy in two separate universes.

She and Puck needed a cover story, and it would help if it was the same one. She texted him to ask him to meet her for coffee -- and to leave the guests behind.

For now, she'd sit at a table by the window, staring into the street and contemplating whether running away was any kind of an option.

[OOC: Open coffee shop, yes!]

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Scully had a moment of indecision, then she smiled back, and nodded to Karla, waving her over.

"Mom, this is my friend Karla," she said, then to Karla, "My mom, Margaret Scully."

Mulder was getting more espresso. Not that he needed it. He'd be back all too quickly....

Margaret smiled and held out her hand to Karla. "Hello, it's so nice to meet you. Dana's told me a little about you?" The questioning tone might be for, Funny, you don't look like a witch?

Karla took it and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Scully. And since this is Dana we're talking about, I assure you that everything she's mentioned about me is completely true. Depending on what she's said, it might not be flattering--" she darted an amused glance at Scully as she said that, "--but completely true nonetheless."

"Dana never lies to me. Keeps things from me," which got Dana a stern look, then a smile, "but no, she doesn't lie." She shook Karla's hand, and said hesitantly. "Which is why I'm surprised. You're a witch?" She cocked her head at Dana. "And my daughter doesn't doubt you exist?"

"I'm a witch who comes from another world," Karla elaborated slightly, with a smile. "And I can be very convincing when I want to be. Though, I think it was more my uncle who helped convince her, rather than anything I said or did. Unless it was the venom?" Karla asked, tilting her head at Scully.

"It was the venom," Scully admitted sheepishly. "And partly your uncle. I just require a great deal of convincing."

Margaret was looking even more boggled, which was probably what attracted Mulder's attention back to the table, and had him wandering over, tea in hand. "Hi, I'm Billy. Dana's big brother," he said cordially, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet one of her friends."

The look on Scully's face was along the lines of, I'll get you later for this.

Karla arched an eyebrow at him. "Billy, Dana's older brother," she repeated, in tones of polite disbelief. Billy's psychic scent didn't back up his claim of relation to Scully at all. "How very nice to meet you." Thinking back to their conversation about Scully's inherent honesty, she added wryly, "I take it certain traits are passed along the distaff line."

Just to confuse things further, Margaret was giving him a disapproving but still affectionate look. "He takes after his father's side of the family," she said, making it obvious where Scully got her deadpan.

Unfazed, Mulder snagged a chair and sat down, sipping his tea, straddling the chair with a who me? grin. "Well, Dana did get Mom's eyes," he pointed out. "And Dad's hair. Genetics are so tricky. So, you're the one who was freaking her out making things disappear?"

"Are you asking for a demonstration?"

Amused Karla was amused.

Scully was saying, "You don't have to," having already done this to Karla months ago, at the same time that Mulder was nodding his head like a bobble-doll.

The urge to head-table was strong.

Karla waved away Scully's protest. "You forget. I love my Craft. I don't mind."

Eying Mulder, Karla thought of what she could do that would convince the skeptical Scullies. Perhaps she could--ah, yes.

On the table in front of 'Billy,' Karla's tea-things appeared out of thin air. A kettle, several cups, and a tea ball full of leaves. Crooking her finger, she called over a carafe full of water from a nearby counter. It poured half of its contents into her teapot and then trundled back over to it's previous location. Several tongues of witchfire appeared over the surface of the water, bringing it to a rapid boil.

"While it steeps, perhaps we could chat?" Karla suggested. "Unless, of course, you'd rather examine the teapot."

Margaret was watching in open-mouthed amazement, as Mulder tilted his head completely sideways to examine the witchfire, eyes alight.

"Well," Margaret said weakly, but with a genuine smile. "I'm very impressed."

Mulder was waving his hands over the flames, then staring across them at Karla like he'd just seen her vanish the Statue of Liberty. "Sc-- Dana wrote that she thinks you manipulate physics to a high degree, with an innate talent augmented by a stored power source in a jewel? That's connected to physics in your home dimension? And that your genetics are not baseline human?" he said, rapid-fire.

Both Scully women kicked him, Margaret more gently than Dana.

"I'm not entirely sure about the first, agree entirely with the second, or, at least, most of it," though her hand came up instinctively to touch her Sapphire anyway, "and I suppose it depends on certain definitions for the third. According to my people, I am fully human. According to yours," she held up her right hand and extended her serpent's tooth, "perhaps not."

After a couple soft 'ow's, Mulder leaned forward to examine her finger. Without looking at her, he said, "It has to be alienating, being so far from home, in a new world...." He abruptly looked more serious. "It's good you have a way to defend yourself," Mulder added, meeting her eyes.

Karla pulled her snaketooth back in, checking the tea. It was almost done steeping. "This is not a way to defend myself without serious duress," she said quietly. "It's fatal and quickly so. The attacker wouldn't have a chance."

She wasn't going to explain how she knew this for a fact.

Mulder gave her another thoughtful look for that, but Margaret headed off whatever he was going to say by saying, "I want to thank you for your patience with all of Dana's questions. I know that some of that must have seemed fairly personal." She was still looking at the tea with wonder, and a tiny smile. "I've never seen anything like this before," she admitted.

"What I've done here is just basic Craft," Karla said, extinguishing the flames. The teapot rose in the air and began to pour. "Tea?" she offered around the table. "This is Craft that any member of the Blood can accomplish. There are other demonstrations of Craft restricted to certain castes. Priestesses, Healers, Black Widows, and Queens all have special caste-Craft."

She sipped at her tea. "And no thanks are necessary. I enjoy talking about Craft, even if it's answering questions to get someone to believe."

Scully gave Mulder a warning look, then said more carefully, "Karla's uncle was kind enough to entertain even more of my questions when he visited a few months ago." She paused, and added, "We agreed that some of our difficulties in understanding each other were just semantics and different philosophies. Karla's approach is very instinctual."

"That must have driven you crazy," Mulder observed to Scully. To Karla, he said, "She doesn't call it real until she has it measured and annotated. So congratulations for passing her tests on that." He took the tea, sipped, and smiled. "It's good. And you don't run into trouble here, aside from people like Dana, who need to see it to believe it?"

"Me?" Karla asked, innocent. "Trouble? Not at all."

Karla wasn't sure how much Dana had told her family about some of Fandom's more interesting experiences and wasn't about to spill.

"Model of propriety and decorum, that's me."

Scully snorted, and Mulder gave Karla a skeptical look worthy of his partner. "Hey, remember---" Then he remembered that talking about FbI adventures, even with a teen from another world, probably wasn't a good idea. "I'm reminded suddenly of something I read about... with two kids breaking into a secure facility to watch a light show. I think their expressions were probably equally innocent." He toasted Karla and took a drink of his tea again.

Mrs. Scully looked admonishingly at Mulder and then asked, "Is anyone from home visiting you this weekend, Karla?"

Hey, unless Scully wanted Karla to regale them all with tales of a giant radscorpian and a half-vampire friend of theirs, she could keep those snorts to herself.

"Yes," she replied, looking back at Mrs. Scully with a smile. "My cousin Morton. I'm pretty sure he's demanding a thorough recounting of my activities from every teacher I've ever had."

Mulder would ask for details, so no. Ahem.

"I talked with Principal Winchester. Such a nice woman. Solid," Margaret said, then smiled at Karla. "I know better than to check up with the rest of Dana's teachers. She doesn't need me embarrassing her when Billy is attempting to do so."

Mulder was now the one trying to look innocent. With very little success.

The Perk, Saturday Afternoon

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