It had almost been three months since her incarceration at the Ministry of Magic where she had spent a month sitting in their holding cells waiting for her life to end - either with a life sentence in Azkaban or on a ship back home where the Canadian Ministry would likely sentence her to death (they didn't take kindly to werewolves especially those that skip out on their parole after attacking a city full of muggles) Lexus was only saved by the rare a precious friendship she had cultivated with Jonas Trevelyan a private investigator that had gone back to the Ever Vigilant Auror Corps. Jonas had struck a deal and now Lexus was working for Level Two as a CI under the watchful eye of the Aurors. She was to infiltrate the culture of Knockturn and report back as much criminal activity as she could. The biggest part of said assignment was to establish her presence in Knockturn - which was why she was here.

Lexus had gotten it on good authority that the small shop had been abandonned since the Second Wizarding War. The owners hadn't been seen since, which wasn't all that surprising. Most of the shops along Diagon had closed down during Voldermort's second rise to power, it only made sense that one or two in Knockturn would as well. Maybe the owners weren't death eaters, maybe they had been killed for not joining up or just run off to keep themselves safe. Whatever the reason it gave Lexus a good place to start. She entered the shop, having to break a window to get the door open (apparently they were more concerned about someone using Alohomora on their locks than shattering their windows) It smelt like dust and mold and all sorts of foul things that Lexus couldn't help but wretch into the nearest corner. Her enhanced sense were a curse at times.

The shop itself was tiny only about ten feet by twenty in the main area - the amount of decay and neglect was obvious but nothing she couldn't handle. She was happy to see that the door at the back led to two staircases, one up one down. The bottom staircase led to the cellar which smelt worse than the shop itself. If she had anything left in the stomach it would have found it way onto the cellar floor. The upper staircase led to a small livingspace that was the same size as the shop below. With a closet, three murky windows and a hearth it was all she needed out of a flat. Granted it was nowhere near as posh as the flat she'd be leaving behind but she needed to make herself convincing.

Lexus spent a little over a week getting the place ready. Clearing out the left over garbage and using a large array of household reconstruction spells to make the place presentable again. The cellar was filled with bottled potions and fresh and preserved ingredients. She even installed a good size firepit in one corner to be able to brew potions without stinking up her small apartment. The storefront was newly painted with a long mahogany counter outfitted with a glass display case and an antique looking cash register. The shelves behind the counter were covered in various potions she had spent the last two months brewing to make sure she had enough product to open shop.

The small living space upstairs had been remodeled as well. She spent as much time as she could making it cozy and as bright looking as possible - moving all her belongings from her old flat to this one. The small closet (whose floor had been littered with bones she didn't want to know the owners of) had been once again outfitted as a safe room. Now as a registered werewolf she'd be required to report to the Ministry itself or the nearest sanctioned safe house but her friends in Knockturn didn't need to know that. With chains and manacles hiding in her closet anyone would simply assume she spent her full moons locked away at home.

Lexus tied back her long golden and silver hair and stepped to the front of her shop glancing out the window at the shiny new sign hanging overhead marking the small shop as 'Wonderland'. With a long deep and nervous breath she flipped the sign from CLOSED to OPEN.

Elves with pixie sticks!! Gah, she couldn't go back there again. Anadotti didn't have many limits but the smell, flippin' turkey necks, did a nundu eat dead skunks then belch the alphabet in there? It had all the comforts of home Dotty could ask for under a fire escape: soft stuff in the dumpster, plenty of rough brick to climb, a storm drain of big enough size to squat on. But no more, her little slice of easy street was shot to heck. And the worse thing about the smell was what it attracted...

((In all actuality, there was a bad smell in Dotty's little nook, but not from a gaseous nundu: while Dotty had been out scrounging for food, various things had been dumped back there, the previous owners hoping no one would look, including spoiled dragon's blood and doxy eggs. The resulting smells, along with Dotty's state of mind on returning "home" where causing massive hallucinations.))

They were after her! Frock coat!! And turning into a squirrel wasn't going to help, they ate rodents like that! Dotty stumbled and ran through Knockturn, looking for an escape. The fifth door she tried was unlocked. She fell into the old shop that smelled like stale potions. Better than the stench out there.

Anadotti hadn't noticed the woman by the door until she looked up at hair like tattered copper.

"Don't open the door," Dotty shrieked. "Ghouls!! Ghouls are in the alley!"

The shop had been open for all of twenty seconds before the front door burst open and a young disheveled woman barrelled in. Lexus was about to thank her lucky stars for an early break on business when the woman started raving. She rolled her golden eyes and glanced out the shop window to appease the girl. She didn't see anything but then again that really wasn't saying much. Walking down Knockturn Alley Lexus had learned to rely more on her heightened sense of smell and sound than her sight. With all the shadows and dark and dirty creatures that made this place home you never really knew what you were looking at.

She made sure the door was closed all the same and took a few steps back towards the large counter, as much to get a better look at the girl as to keep away from the smell. She was apparently one of those dark and dirty creatures that took refuge here.

"Ghouls? Are you sure?" Even in a place like this where a myriad of people came from all walks of life Lexus' Canadian accent still stood out. She had given up on trying to hide it these days, it had become too much of a hassle. Besides if she was going to be an established presence here it would only do her good to be as true to herself as she could.

"You alright? You don't look so well." Without further word Lexus went around the counter and pulled up a bottle of glowing blue liquid, her specialty health potion that had made her rather popular amoungst the health crazed muggles of downtown London. The sales for these little puppies had paid for most of the supplies she had bought to open shop, "Try this, it'll make you feel better." She offered the glowing bottle to the young girl.

"And make sure Olive gets them to sign the waiver."

Lana Gaddam stared at her boyfriend from behind her desk in The Inkwell, looking a little unimpressed. "I know Dietrich. Waivers will be signed, the inks will be organized, I know. Not to mention Damian is coming in this afternoon. Now go." She made a dismissive gesture and he laughed, turning to (reluctantly) leave his parlour in the dainty hands of the tiny receptionist. The Gods knew what mischief those women would be up to when he left. Scented candles and honeyed tea! There was a time when his clientele were happy with only ale and conversation.

Dietrich left the shop and walked deeper into Knockturn Alley, his back to the brighter street of wizarding bustle. Saturdays were busy days for most shops but he did little business until the drunks started streaming in, normally closer to nightfall. Time plenty to find what was needed for their piercing studio; cleaning solution. They were running low on account of all the youths coming in to be needled over the summer. He was just walking by a particularly pungent corner of the Alley when something came hurtling out of it an erratic pace.  Dietrich gazed after the creature with a quizzical look and watched as it rattled doors along the path. Gods, it was a wonder that things surprised him still in these neck of the woods.

Then, catching him by surprise, the creature fell through into one of the shops! A potions shop. Huh. Stranger coincidences have occurred, though as he approached the door, Dietrich could not think of any. He had not seen this establishment before. A new one? Probably. Shops came and went. The wizard stopped at the display window for a moment to glance at the list, written messily in Olive's childish scribble. Cleaning solution, salve for infections and anaesthetic.

Anaesthetic? Had they used all theirs up already? He frowned, crumpled up the list and made to enter the potions shop. The door opened with a squeak and as soon as Dietrich was in, he could detect that awful stench again. His gaze fell first on the filthy little witch he had seen earlier and then on a woman holding a bottle of glowing blue liquid. The owner. She looked a little too neat, he thought. "You open for business?" Dietrich addressed her, frowning indiscernibly and ignoring the source of the stench infront of him. 

"Ghouls? Are you sure?" Dotty looked out the windows and ducked. "Shure I'm sure, rat munching haggard looking ghouls, they crawl out of the sewers. They spread spatts...spatz...spazzergot-that skin fungus disease! I think one bit me!"

She shrugged out of her out open zipper hoodie, heart tattoos visible on her front shoulders. Nothing on her arm suggested a bite.

"You alright? You don't look so well. Try this, it'll make you feel better."

Anadotti spun around to look at her. All thoughts of phantasmic ghouls left her when she caught sight of the neon blue slosh in the bottle. "So rad..." Dotty said, enthralled like a moth to a florescent porch light. She reached for it. "Is it Blue Toad?" That was the name of a favorite wizard booze of hers they had in the states.

One gulp and it didn't taste like Blue Toad but a soothing coolness flowed down her throat.

"You open for business?" came a voice with the opening of the shop door. Blue slosh had yet to achieve a full effect so paranoid Dotty twisted to face the newcomer, bottle clutched tight and fumbling for her wand.

"GHOUL!" It wasn't a ghoul, though, rather a shaggy blondish man. "Dude, get in quick! There's an army of ghouls out there!"

James was once again running errands.  Since the spider shop that he had a chance encounter with Jonas had closed, he was looking for something else to try to put in his nutrient potions.  Figuring that one potion shop was as good as another, James went in, since he had not recalled seeing it in Knockturn before.  James had not really been in the Alley since Cinaed's reputation nose dived, but found that it felt good to be back in the Alley.  He really did need to keep his contacts up as well as appearances.

He walked into the new establishment at the same time someone mentioned an army of ghouls.  Debating whether or not he should cast a sobering charm on the person, James decided not to.  The young lass looked far beyond his skill, though admittedly James did have a fair amount of practice with hang-over remedies.  He also smelled something rotting.  James thought that it was probably a potions experiment that had gone wrong, but he never really could tell in Knockturn and was usually too polite (or wise) too ask. 

Ignoring the other clientele as best he could, he slowly started browsing the more obscure ingredients that he could find, and safely use in a nutrient potion.  Through the years, James's skill with that particular magical discipline had grown, largely through trial and error.  Still, he was not too impressed with the selection thus far, but he sort of expected that for a relatively new store that had yet to get the smell out.  Though he did his best to ignore the other clients, James could not help but crack a smile when he saw her.

"Lexus?" he asked, not really sure if he recognized the woman.  It had been several months since he had last seen her, but he certainly had fond memories of it.

Lexus couldn't help but giggle a bit when the girl asked if her health potion was Blue Toad. Having been a bartender in a wizarding bar in Toronto she knew all about the alcoholic beverage that was said to give hallucinations and could on occassion make you fly (though whether that was all just part of the liquor's trip, Lexus never knew) She was about to respond to the harried girl when a large man entered the shop and the paranoid woman launched into another speil about Ghouls.

Lexus rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the actual patron, "Yes, just opened. Potions, supplies, ingredients and almost anything on special order. You name it I can likely brew it." She smiled trying to convey the right sort of confidence that didn't border into cockiness. She knew she wasn't the only potioneer in Knockturn, hell her best friend dealt in potions, but she was hoping to create a niche for herself that solidified her cover without cutting into Dazmond's profits.

"Was there anything you were looking for?"

She looked up suddenly at the sound of her name and caught herself blushing. Though it had been a long time since she had seen James, he was a hard man to forget as was the night they had spent together. She had definitely changed since then, the tainted wolfsbane she had taken back in march had given her appearance a more lupine feel to it. Her honey brown hair was now a mixture of gold and silver, her dusty blue eyes were almost completely gold they actually shone, her teeth were abnormally sharp especially her canines and her nails, worn long, had hardened, almost becoming claws. There was no mistaking of her nature which was why setting up shop in knockturn made the most sense. Not many self respecting wizards would eagerly buy from someone that was so obviously a Lycanthrope.

"It's great to see you again James," Her tone held a soft seduction to it, "Did you come to shop or were you just saying Hello?"

Dietrich glanced behind him as the proprietor spoke and then back to the witch, whose reaction to her latest customer was (to say the least) unusual. A previous acquaintance? Lycanthrope or not, there was a distinctive feral tone to the way she addressed the other man. Tactfully, Dietrich cleared his throat and gestured vaguely to the rest of the shop: "I'll just browse..." he walked around the odious creature who'd warned him of ghouls, moving towards the wooden shelves with surprising light-footedness.

There were bottles everywhere-- on every shelf and table, ever corner. Everything labelled, fortunately. The wizard's eyes ran across the walls without really seeking out anything in particular yet. He was trying to get a feel of the shop, this new place on the Alley that seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere like a weed while he wasn't looking. It definitely looked accomplished.

There would be no problem finding what he needed here, as his list was pretty unremarkable. Dietrich's gaze had settled on a large bottle of bright fuschia fluid when he paused in his appraisal to glimpse back towards the entrance, only to notice the flighty witch from before. Whatever the shopkeeper had given her seemed to be working; she looked less frantic and more human. He nodded at her in greeting: "Are you alright, girl? Looked like you had a mighty shock back there."

Dotty was finding much comfort in the neon blue slush, paranoia about ghouls fading away from the potion's detoxifying effects. Finishing the stuff with a long draft, she shivered for a moment where she sat on the floor near the door. Head cleared, runny nose and hangover gone, though she felt drained for some reason.

As she sat, lips around the bottle as she tried to suck out the last drops, shaggy man from before looked at her. "Are you alright, girl? Looked like you had a mighty shock back there."

The neck of the bottle left her lips with a -fwoap- as the suction imploded. "I'm flunky-dory," Dotty said, rising. "It's just...wha?..."

Her mind lost track of what her previous rant had been about, given the effects of the potion. One sniff of her outer jacket summed up the overall experience. When you lived life on the street you got used to certain smells but even Dotty had limits.

"Eeeewww!" she flung off the outer layer. "Never mind, life sucks. The most comfortable dumpster I could find to sleep in and that stuff had to be dumped in. Now I've got nothing."

"I'll just browse..." the other man said.  James heard him, and silently thanked the man.  He could still smell the girl who had slept in a dumpster, and internally debated whether or not to cast evanesco or aguamenti in order to help the lass out.  He decided that he really did not know the girl well enough to do one thing or another.  So deciding, James focused back on Lexus.

James took a better look at her and could not help but noticed that she changed a lot.  Until now, James honestly had no idea that Lexus was a lycanthorpe.  The last time he had saw her, he was too turned on distracted to care.  Now that he was out during the daylight hours, James noticed the change.  He was still attracted too her though.

"I actually just came into shop.  I'm always looking for obscure ingredients to try in nutrient potions.  I have not seen you in a while though.  What have you been up to?" James asked, figuring that he should try to catch up with her.  After all, he had not seen her since her birthday. 

As he waited for Lexus to answer his question, he wondered what caused her to go into potions.  Last he had heard, she was working for a private investigator or something.  Obviously, he had a lot of catching up to do.  Then again, when he had last seen her he was still playing for Tutshill.  Still, going from one quidditch team to another did not seem as large of a change as Lexus had undergone.

Lexus nodded to the shaggy blonde with a toothy grin hoping her greeting to James hadn't compromised her customer service. Then again she wasn't really sure what was considered normal when it came to customer service in Knockturn. She had well developed social and personal skills thanks to her years as a bartender and those tended to transfer well to working retail but she wasn't sure if being bright and cheery in the middle of the most notorious Alley in all of Wizarding London would gain her respect or mark her as a fool. She decided at the moment it didn't matter, she was just going to be herself, "Let me know if you need any help or have any questions."

She glanced at the girl as she shed her odorous jacket. She was itching to cast a few cleaning spells on the girl but that raised more problems than it would cure. First off she had told those at Daz's birthday party that her wand had been confiscated when she was captured back in March and secondly her magic was still on the fritz thanks to the Egyptian curse Jonas had unknowingly gotten her involved in. Thankfully she didn't need to use her wand when making potions.

She turned her toothy grin back to James, " Not sure if I've got any rare ingredients just yet but I'd be happy to track down a supply of something if you'd like." She tucked a golden lock behind her ear, "Where to I start?" She chuckled softly with a quick glance at the other two to make sure she wasn't needed, "My job at the Investigation office fell through, got into a bit of a fight with Jonas and he closed the office down not much later, he's an Auror now actually. Been working ever since, scraping up all the coin I could get to be able to open this shop." She decided to skip over the part about being captured, detained for a month and having to go to trial. She figured it wouldn't do her business any good if her customers found out she ended up in jail by brewing a botched potion regardless of whether or not she was actually responsible for the tainted ingredients she had used.

"How bout you?"

"Never mind, life sucks. The most comfortable dumpster I could find to sleep in and that stuff had to be dumped in. Now I've got nothing."

Dietrich wasn't sure if a dumpster to sleep in was much to have in the first place. He'd had some tough times when he travelled across the pond but his beds had always been clean. Well, depending on who he shared them with anyway.

He frowned at the witch and took out his wand, "You've got your senses," he said as he lightly motioned towards the jacket she had shed. With a muted pop, it shook and shimmered before flopping back to the floor. The odious scent that had pervaded the shop eased off considerably, making each breath a little more bearable to take.

"Or at least I think you do," the artist muttered and glanced back at the dishevelled witch. Not the kind of folk who came strolling into the Inkwell looking for a mark. More like the kind who came in looking for work, he thought, reminded of his piercing assistant. Knockturn was a magnet for lost souls with thick hides.

He pocketed his wand, looking at the bottle the girl had drained: "Ghouls still chasing you or are ya good now?"

"You've got your senses or at least I think you do," said shag man.

"What the frock is that supposed to mean?" Dotty asked. "Duh I have senses. Sight, smell, sound, s'touch and...tasty hey what are you doing--!"

Her coat spasamed on the floor and Dotty picked it up to check for lice mice. Instead that unbelievable stench was gone. She wormed back into it.

"Ghouls still chasing you or are ya good now?"

"Watch the tone, buddy, apparently you've never been chased by lurking monstrosities," a phrase that only made since from Dotty's point of view. Or rather, from Dotty's point of view as a squirrel nearly eaten by an actual ghoul some years ago.

"I'm peachy-cleaner, I'll just air out my dumpster so they don't come back." It suddenly dawned on her that she was in a shop with different potions shelved about. She turned to the shop woman. "Hey, you got any industrial strength cleanent? Or maybe Monster Repellent?"

"Well, I've recently switched teams from Tutshill to Falmouth, but that's about it.  I really do not track down ingredients, I just see what obscure items are available.  I have yet to master a nutrient potion that seems to be working as well as it should," James said.  As he thought of this, his thoughts briefly turned to the Black Chimaera for a second.  He had not had their shepherd's pie in a while.  He might have to stop by there sometime incognito. 

As what James assumed was the source of the smell in the shop asked for monster repellant, he was very tempted to ask if she just used her smell to keep them away.  He refrained though, never knowing whose pureblood cousin he accidentally might offend in this neighberhood.  It was obvious that he wanted to say something to the young girl from the dumpster though.

Allowing Lexus to make whatever answer she wanted to the potential customer, James figured he should at least support her entrepreneurial endeavor.  Looking for some common ingredient he could use, he found it in a bottle of capsaicin.

"Well, I need some of this anyways.  Out of curiosity, what is the most obscure ingriedient you've ever used in a potion?" James asked, just trying to keep the talk small.

"Thanks." Lexus nodded to Deitrich, glad to have the wretched stench fading from her shop. With her enhanced senses what they were it was all she could do not to vomit over the smell the girl had brought in with her. If it hadn't been her first day of business she may well have thrown the girl out, telling her not to return until she had bathed.

She turned back to James with a soft smile, "Tutshill to Falmouth? That must be exciting." She hoped she wasn't as transparent as she felt. She knew absolutely nothing about Quidditch, had never had any interest in the sport and had never actually known what team James played for in the first place. All she had known was that he was a player and knew his way around the bedroom.

"Well in any case let me know if there's even something generic you'd like me to keep in stock."

Lexus turned her golden eyes to the disheveled girl in her shop frowning slightly at the request for industrial cleaner, "Got some pretty potent cleaners, nothing I'd really call industrial strength though. As for Monster repellent . . ." She trailed off as she walked behind the large mahogany counter and opened one of the glass cases behind it, "Take your pick, I've got slug repellent, ghoul repellent, hag repellent, unwanted stalker repellent. I've got just about everything." She turned back to the girl leaning over the counter with a toothy grin, "but if you ever get sick of sleeping in a dumpster come find me. I may be able to help you out." She was willing to take a chance on the little wretch, a bit of karmic payback so to speak. Jonas had taken a chance on her all those months ago it was about time she repaid the favour, even if it was to a complete stranger.

As James brought the bottle up to the cash she rang him through giving him a reasonable price on the ingredient he had chosen, "Most obscure? That would probably have to be Wendigo testicles. Bloody hard things to get your hands on but the most potent stuff you'll ever find. If you grind them up right they'll make any potion a hundred times stronger than it normally would be. Lot of black market dealers were trying to pass off yeti balls as the stuff a few years back, does nothing, even came across a shady guy that had managed to get lycan balls, now that was just wrong on so many levels and that was even before I became a werewolf."