Waverly Earp learned at a very young age how to spot someone who’s looking to run. It’s something of a necessity when your sister is Wynonna Earp, and as much as you may love her, she had so many reasons to run from Purgatory that started stacking against her from a young age. What is a rare, uncommon occurrence, however, is someone who decides to run to Purgatory, rather than away from it.
Yet, on this particular day, in the middle of winter, a tall, willowy blond charges into Shorty’s, plops herself on a stool and looks up at her with the kind of pitiful eyes that come with someone who is looking to get far, far away from the things that are troubling them. Waverly’s never seen her before, which means she’s not getting ready to run from their desolate little plains town, but for some reason has decided to come here to hide.
That’s a new one.
“Whiskey,” the woman nods. “Neat.”
“One whiskey coming up.” Waverly picks up a bottle and glass nearby, before tipping her head to the side. “Come for all the Earp shenanigans?”
The blond blinks. “What?”
As she sets down the glass in front of her, Waverly points to the sign behind the blond that reads: Drink where Wyatt drank. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, and usually, a new face means tourists.”
“Oh.” The blond blinks in surprise. “ … Sure.” It doesn’t sound convincing, but if she doesn’t want to give the real reason why she’s here, then it’s not Waverly’s job to press. It’s only her job to be friendly.
“Well then, welcome to Purgatory.” She holds out a hand to her. “I’m Waverly. I’m pretty much the local Earp expert in these parts.”
“Lizzie.” Lizzie shakes Waverly’s hand, offering a smile in return. “He was a cowboy, right? Big lawman, or something like that.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Waverly drapes a towel over her shoulder. “If you have any questions or need any local info, just let me know. I’ll be around.”
Lizzie nods, and before Waverly could get too far down the bar, she speaks again. “There is someone I’m looking to find. A couple of someones. Mattie and Gretta Perley?”
“Oh.” Waverly reaches up to rub the back of her neck and glances around the bar. She doesn’t know who this stranger is, but if she’s looking for the Blacksmith and the Iron Witch, then Lizzie is undoubtedly looking for supernatural answers and Waverly feels the need to stick close if she can. But she’ll play dumb for now. “I’m sorry but Mattie passed away a little over a year ago, and Gretta left town a while back.”
Lizzie’s face falls immediately, and she knocks back the glass in front of her before gesturing for a refill. “Of course they are. That’s … pretty much status quo for this trip.”
“I’m sorry.” Waverly pours her a refill. “Maybe there’s a way I can help? My family’s been here pretty much as long as the Perleys have. I might be able to help you find what you need.”
Lizzie drums her fingers against the bar, before tipping her head to the side. “Do you know if there are any other archives in town? I’m looking for someone, and while the Perleys were my first lead, I might be able to find something else in the records here.”
At that, Waverly grins. “In that case, I am totally your girl. As I said, no one knows more about Purgatory than me.” She glances down at her watch before frowning. “I have a couple more hours left on my shift, but after that, I can show you what I have of the old records?”
“Perfect.” Lizzie grins in return. “In that case, I better order a burger and open a tab.”
Waverly takes her order, as well as her credit card for the tab, and quietly texts Jeremy on the side to run a search through Black Badge’s records, to be on the safe side. If Lizzie Saltzman is something to worry about, she probably should check it out before she winds up stuck in a closed room with her.
But hopefully, if Lizzie is some type of supernatural, she’s more of a white witch than a black one.
- - - - - -
Upsides about Lizzie Saltzman: her background check came back clean, and she’s as much of a mega nerd as Waverly is. You wouldn’t assume it by looking at her, as she definitely doesn’t seem like your traditional bookworm with her in your face personality, but her pop culture references are always on point, and she moves through Waverly’s records like someone who thoroughly trained in the process. It takes her about a week to sort through all of Waverly’s old boxes of town records, but in the end, she only manages to come out disgruntled.
“Damnit!” She slumps back against the bed in Waverly’s old apartment; the one Waverly loaned her while Lizzie was in town, and scrubs a hand over her face. “It’s all dead ends.”
“Hey,” Waverly reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder gently. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe if you told me more about the situation, I might be able to point you in a better direction?”
For a moment, Lizzie looks like she might tell her. She’s been so secretive about her life before Purgatory – all she’s shared is that she’s from Virginia – but before anything could come out, Lizzie’s phone rings. The name “Josie” flashes across the screen, and Lizzie huffs, before swiping ignore on the lock screen. It’s not the first call Lizzie ignored, some from “Josie,” but others with names like “Dad,” “Mom,” and “Hope.” Whatever she’s running from, Waverly only hopes that she’s giving them some sign of life in return.
Still, that reminder is enough to make Lizzie clamp down on her secrets and shake her head.
“I just … I don’t know what to do. And I’m running out of time.”
Waverly takes a breath before shaking her head. “I know what we should do. We should take a breath, go downstairs, have some drinks, do some dancing and just … reset our brains. We can start fresh in the morning.”
Lizzie looks over at Waverly, then back to the text in her hand. “You know what? I’m not sure that’s the right idea, but right now, it seems like the more fun idea, so let’s do it.”
What follows is a lot of whiskey. So much whiskey. It also involves some karaoke, a lot of pool and some dancing. Somewhere between the whiskey and the dancing, personal space becomes less and less of an issue, until Waverly’s pushing Lizzie up against the wall just beyond the stairwell and kissing her just because she can. Lizzie kisses her back with the fervor of someone convinced that this may be the last kiss they ever have.
It bowls Waverly over in a way that makes her even less inclined to resist than she was previously, and lets herself be led down the hallway to the apartment until they’re collapsing on the couch together in a tangle of limbs and lips.
- - - - - -
The thing that wakes them both up, unfortunately, is the sound of Jeremy’s ringtone irritates their sizeable hangovers. Waverly groans as she tries to fumble her hand forward without both disturbing Lizzie or to move much at all, but her phone happens to be out of reach and she finds herself tumbling to the floor with a thump. Lizzie jerks awake in response, before wincing.
“What is that awful sound?”
“My phone. Just … one sec.” Waverly finally finds her phone and answers it, placing it to her ear with a sigh. “Hey, Jeremy. What’s up?”
“You okay? Wynonna said you weren’t at the homestead last night.”
“Yeah, I was just … busy.”
“Busy with your new blond friend?”
“Jeremy, I’m very hungover, so if you’re calling me just to gossip, can we do it later?”
“Right, sorry. We need you. We got a revenant sighting up by the Blacksmith’s old place.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be right there.” There are a few more comments to confirm details before she hangs up and then turns to Lizzie with an apologetic look. “Normally, I’m not the type to wham, bam, thank you ma’am, but … I gotta go.”
Lizzie props her head up in her hand and smirks like she knows something Waverly doesn’t. “Something to do with your Black Badge friends?”
Waverly starts in response, squinting at her. “How did you …”
“You weren’t the only one who vetted the other. Or has friends in shady government places.” Lizzie swings her legs over the side of the couch and starts reaching for her clothes. “Can I come?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Lizzie pulls her jeans up her legs and then fumbles for her bra. “Please? I can help, and I can’t spend another day trapped up here, pouring over records that aren’t helping.”
It goes against all of Waverly’s better judgment, but she can already feel herself caving. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I can handle myself.”
Waverly purses her lips, knowing that she should stay strong in the face of Lizzie’s pout, but in the end, she relents, nodding in agreement. “Okay. Fine. But if it starts to get too crazy for you, you go back to the car.”
“Deal.” Lizzie grins. “You won’t regret this. I kill it at Hero Time.”
Waverly can’t help the smile that darts across her face in return, before pulling on her jacket and leading Lizzie out the door.
- - - - - - -
“So this is the Blacksmith’s place, huh? Spooky.”
Lizzie’s peering closely at the abandoned structure, almost as though she’s looking for something that Waverly can’t see. She tries not to reason it too much as she climbs out of the car and heads over to where Wynonna and the others are waiting. They’re down the hill from the building, so the revenant in question doesn’t see them coming.
“That’s what happens when you die, and your sister splits town without a word.” Waverly looks over at Lizzie, her gaze slightly sympathetic. “Look, my sister is going to be Wynonna about this so just … don’t take it personally, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard worse.” The two of them swing out of the car and make their way closer, and true to form, Wynonna seems more than a little surprised when she sees Lizzie at Waverly’s side.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that today was Take Your Booty Call to Work Day.”
“It’s not?” Lizzie crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Then what’s he doing here?” She nods towards Doc, and Waverly can’t help but cover her mouth with her hand to hide the laugh.
“Excuse me?” Wynonna snaps back, and Lizzie rolls her eyes.
“Oh, please. I’ve been living at Shorty’s all week and you two aren’t exactly what I’d call subtle.”
“She’s kind of got you there, Wynonna,” Jeremy comments, and Wynonna rolls her eyes.
“Okay, listen, Karen—”
“Lizzie.”
“Whatever. Doc happens to be a valued member of this team. He has proven his worth. I barely even know who you are.”
“As I said. Name’s Lizzie. Here to help. So why don’t we assess the situation instead of giving me the third degree about my intentions?”
Wynonna blinks, then looks at Waverly, who shrugs. “She already knows what Black Badge is. I think she can help.”
Wynonna grits her teeth before nodding. “Fine. The situation happens to be less shit than usual, because the revenant doesn’t seem interested in leaving the forge, but that doesn’t mean we can leave him hanging out in there. Eventually, he’s going to get bored.”
“Shouldn’t that make the situation pretty easy?” Lizzie raises an eyebrow. “Go in, do your thing, and get out.”
“Problem is, we don’t know why he’s stuck,” Jeremy volunteers, then waves. “Hi. I’m Jeremy. Nice to meet you.” Wynonna glares at him, and he falls silent after that.
“The Forge used to be the home of …”
“The Blacksmith, Mattie Perley.” Lizzie glances up to the forge again, and Waverly could see the lines of disappointment that she had gotten there too late. “He’s probably trapped in her wards.”
“Exactly.” Jeremy smiles. “So we don’t know if we can go in there without also aggravating the wards, and we don’t know how to disarm them.”
“Also, we don’t know if we should. Mattie was protecting a lot of powerful magical stuff,” Waverly points out. “A lot of it we don’t know or understand.”
“Guess it’s a good thing Waverly brought me then.” Lizzie then charges past Wynonna, heading up the hill towards the revenant in question before anyone could stop her. The team stares at her back, gaping, and she’s about halfway up before she glances back over her shoulder. “You coming or what?”
Waverly doesn’t have to be told twice, and she begins to jog up after her, shotgun in hand. She’s, at least, not going to let Lizzie get killed if no one else is coming. As they crest over the top of the hill, they can see the revenant in question thrashing in the open doorway of the building. Lizzie charges forward, undeterred, before holding up a hand to the wall and closing her eyes. Waverly watches as the edges of her hand begin to glow, and when Lizzie pulls it back, she swings her hands forward in a push motion.
“Patere.” The revenant flies back towards the wall, pinning him in place. Then, Lizzie smiles. “Hi, there. I don’t think this place belongs to you.”
“Put me down, you bitch.”
“Now, that’s not very nice.” Lizzie tips her head to the side. “Especially coming from a Sons of Anarchy cosplaying wannabe who got himself caught where he’s not supposed to be.” She smirks. “Now, I could drain all these wards and let you go peacefully, but I have a feeling you would do some not so nice things, so I think, for the time being, I’m gonna wait for the Heir to get here and take care of business herself. What do you think, Waves?”
Waverly, who’s mostly just been awestruck this whole time, blinks, then nods her agreement. “Yep. I think that’s the best plan.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Fortunately for the revenant, Wynonna isn’t far behind, and it takes one well-placed shot to send him back to Hell where he belongs. As the fires recede, Lizzie drops her arms down and rolls out her shoulders, a look on her face that says managing to be useful is a good look on her.
“So,” Wavery nods. “You’re a witch.”
Lizzie’s proud smirk turns a bit sheepish, and she nods. “I am a witch. Strictly on the Glinda side of things, I swear.”
“Good to know.” Waverly takes a deep breath before looking around the Forge. “Guess we better get started sorting through all this, huh?”
If Lizzie appreciates the deflection, she doesn’t say one way or another. Instead, she looks over the room like she’s hungry for what she might find and nods. “Yeah. I think that sounds like a great plan.”
sing it loud so i can hear you ~ tvdverse/wynonna earp ~ 3,342 ~ part 1
Yet, on this particular day, in the middle of winter, a tall, willowy blond charges into Shorty’s, plops herself on a stool and looks up at her with the kind of pitiful eyes that come with someone who is looking to get far, far away from the things that are troubling them. Waverly’s never seen her before, which means she’s not getting ready to run from their desolate little plains town, but for some reason has decided to come here to hide.
That’s a new one.
“Whiskey,” the woman nods. “Neat.”
“One whiskey coming up.” Waverly picks up a bottle and glass nearby, before tipping her head to the side. “Come for all the Earp shenanigans?”
The blond blinks. “What?”
As she sets down the glass in front of her, Waverly points to the sign behind the blond that reads: Drink where Wyatt drank. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, and usually, a new face means tourists.”
“Oh.” The blond blinks in surprise. “ … Sure.” It doesn’t sound convincing, but if she doesn’t want to give the real reason why she’s here, then it’s not Waverly’s job to press. It’s only her job to be friendly.
“Well then, welcome to Purgatory.” She holds out a hand to her. “I’m Waverly. I’m pretty much the local Earp expert in these parts.”
“Lizzie.” Lizzie shakes Waverly’s hand, offering a smile in return. “He was a cowboy, right? Big lawman, or something like that.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Waverly drapes a towel over her shoulder. “If you have any questions or need any local info, just let me know. I’ll be around.”
Lizzie nods, and before Waverly could get too far down the bar, she speaks again. “There is someone I’m looking to find. A couple of someones. Mattie and Gretta Perley?”
“Oh.” Waverly reaches up to rub the back of her neck and glances around the bar. She doesn’t know who this stranger is, but if she’s looking for the Blacksmith and the Iron Witch, then Lizzie is undoubtedly looking for supernatural answers and Waverly feels the need to stick close if she can. But she’ll play dumb for now. “I’m sorry but Mattie passed away a little over a year ago, and Gretta left town a while back.”
Lizzie’s face falls immediately, and she knocks back the glass in front of her before gesturing for a refill. “Of course they are. That’s … pretty much status quo for this trip.”
“I’m sorry.” Waverly pours her a refill. “Maybe there’s a way I can help? My family’s been here pretty much as long as the Perleys have. I might be able to help you find what you need.”
Lizzie drums her fingers against the bar, before tipping her head to the side. “Do you know if there are any other archives in town? I’m looking for someone, and while the Perleys were my first lead, I might be able to find something else in the records here.”
At that, Waverly grins. “In that case, I am totally your girl. As I said, no one knows more about Purgatory than me.” She glances down at her watch before frowning. “I have a couple more hours left on my shift, but after that, I can show you what I have of the old records?”
“Perfect.” Lizzie grins in return. “In that case, I better order a burger and open a tab.”
Waverly takes her order, as well as her credit card for the tab, and quietly texts Jeremy on the side to run a search through Black Badge’s records, to be on the safe side. If Lizzie Saltzman is something to worry about, she probably should check it out before she winds up stuck in a closed room with her.
But hopefully, if Lizzie is some type of supernatural, she’s more of a white witch than a black one.
Upsides about Lizzie Saltzman: her background check came back clean, and she’s as much of a mega nerd as Waverly is. You wouldn’t assume it by looking at her, as she definitely doesn’t seem like your traditional bookworm with her in your face personality, but her pop culture references are always on point, and she moves through Waverly’s records like someone who thoroughly trained in the process. It takes her about a week to sort through all of Waverly’s old boxes of town records, but in the end, she only manages to come out disgruntled.
“Damnit!” She slumps back against the bed in Waverly’s old apartment; the one Waverly loaned her while Lizzie was in town, and scrubs a hand over her face. “It’s all dead ends.”
“Hey,” Waverly reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder gently. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe if you told me more about the situation, I might be able to point you in a better direction?”
For a moment, Lizzie looks like she might tell her. She’s been so secretive about her life before Purgatory – all she’s shared is that she’s from Virginia – but before anything could come out, Lizzie’s phone rings. The name “Josie” flashes across the screen, and Lizzie huffs, before swiping ignore on the lock screen. It’s not the first call Lizzie ignored, some from “Josie,” but others with names like “Dad,” “Mom,” and “Hope.” Whatever she’s running from, Waverly only hopes that she’s giving them some sign of life in return.
Still, that reminder is enough to make Lizzie clamp down on her secrets and shake her head.
“I just … I don’t know what to do. And I’m running out of time.”
Waverly takes a breath before shaking her head. “I know what we should do. We should take a breath, go downstairs, have some drinks, do some dancing and just … reset our brains. We can start fresh in the morning.”
Lizzie looks over at Waverly, then back to the text in her hand. “You know what? I’m not sure that’s the right idea, but right now, it seems like the more fun idea, so let’s do it.”
What follows is a lot of whiskey. So much whiskey. It also involves some karaoke, a lot of pool and some dancing. Somewhere between the whiskey and the dancing, personal space becomes less and less of an issue, until Waverly’s pushing Lizzie up against the wall just beyond the stairwell and kissing her just because she can. Lizzie kisses her back with the fervor of someone convinced that this may be the last kiss they ever have.
It bowls Waverly over in a way that makes her even less inclined to resist than she was previously, and lets herself be led down the hallway to the apartment until they’re collapsing on the couch together in a tangle of limbs and lips.
The thing that wakes them both up, unfortunately, is the sound of Jeremy’s ringtone irritates their sizeable hangovers. Waverly groans as she tries to fumble her hand forward without both disturbing Lizzie or to move much at all, but her phone happens to be out of reach and she finds herself tumbling to the floor with a thump. Lizzie jerks awake in response, before wincing.
“What is that awful sound?”
“My phone. Just … one sec.” Waverly finally finds her phone and answers it, placing it to her ear with a sigh. “Hey, Jeremy. What’s up?”
“You okay? Wynonna said you weren’t at the homestead last night.”
“Yeah, I was just … busy.”
“Busy with your new blond friend?”
“Jeremy, I’m very hungover, so if you’re calling me just to gossip, can we do it later?”
“Right, sorry. We need you. We got a revenant sighting up by the Blacksmith’s old place.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be right there.” There are a few more comments to confirm details before she hangs up and then turns to Lizzie with an apologetic look. “Normally, I’m not the type to wham, bam, thank you ma’am, but … I gotta go.”
Lizzie props her head up in her hand and smirks like she knows something Waverly doesn’t. “Something to do with your Black Badge friends?”
Waverly starts in response, squinting at her. “How did you …”
“You weren’t the only one who vetted the other. Or has friends in shady government places.” Lizzie swings her legs over the side of the couch and starts reaching for her clothes. “Can I come?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Lizzie pulls her jeans up her legs and then fumbles for her bra. “Please? I can help, and I can’t spend another day trapped up here, pouring over records that aren’t helping.”
It goes against all of Waverly’s better judgment, but she can already feel herself caving. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I can handle myself.”
Waverly purses her lips, knowing that she should stay strong in the face of Lizzie’s pout, but in the end, she relents, nodding in agreement. “Okay. Fine. But if it starts to get too crazy for you, you go back to the car.”
“Deal.” Lizzie grins. “You won’t regret this. I kill it at Hero Time.”
Waverly can’t help the smile that darts across her face in return, before pulling on her jacket and leading Lizzie out the door.
“So this is the Blacksmith’s place, huh? Spooky.”
Lizzie’s peering closely at the abandoned structure, almost as though she’s looking for something that Waverly can’t see. She tries not to reason it too much as she climbs out of the car and heads over to where Wynonna and the others are waiting. They’re down the hill from the building, so the revenant in question doesn’t see them coming.
“That’s what happens when you die, and your sister splits town without a word.” Waverly looks over at Lizzie, her gaze slightly sympathetic. “Look, my sister is going to be Wynonna about this so just … don’t take it personally, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard worse.” The two of them swing out of the car and make their way closer, and true to form, Wynonna seems more than a little surprised when she sees Lizzie at Waverly’s side.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that today was Take Your Booty Call to Work Day.”
“It’s not?” Lizzie crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Then what’s he doing here?” She nods towards Doc, and Waverly can’t help but cover her mouth with her hand to hide the laugh.
“Excuse me?” Wynonna snaps back, and Lizzie rolls her eyes.
“Oh, please. I’ve been living at Shorty’s all week and you two aren’t exactly what I’d call subtle.”
“She’s kind of got you there, Wynonna,” Jeremy comments, and Wynonna rolls her eyes.
“Okay, listen, Karen—”
“Lizzie.”
“Whatever. Doc happens to be a valued member of this team. He has proven his worth. I barely even know who you are.”
“As I said. Name’s Lizzie. Here to help. So why don’t we assess the situation instead of giving me the third degree about my intentions?”
Wynonna blinks, then looks at Waverly, who shrugs. “She already knows what Black Badge is. I think she can help.”
Wynonna grits her teeth before nodding. “Fine. The situation happens to be less shit than usual, because the revenant doesn’t seem interested in leaving the forge, but that doesn’t mean we can leave him hanging out in there. Eventually, he’s going to get bored.”
“Shouldn’t that make the situation pretty easy?” Lizzie raises an eyebrow. “Go in, do your thing, and get out.”
“Problem is, we don’t know why he’s stuck,” Jeremy volunteers, then waves. “Hi. I’m Jeremy. Nice to meet you.” Wynonna glares at him, and he falls silent after that.
“The Forge used to be the home of …”
“The Blacksmith, Mattie Perley.” Lizzie glances up to the forge again, and Waverly could see the lines of disappointment that she had gotten there too late. “He’s probably trapped in her wards.”
“Exactly.” Jeremy smiles. “So we don’t know if we can go in there without also aggravating the wards, and we don’t know how to disarm them.”
“Also, we don’t know if we should. Mattie was protecting a lot of powerful magical stuff,” Waverly points out. “A lot of it we don’t know or understand.”
“Guess it’s a good thing Waverly brought me then.” Lizzie then charges past Wynonna, heading up the hill towards the revenant in question before anyone could stop her. The team stares at her back, gaping, and she’s about halfway up before she glances back over her shoulder. “You coming or what?”
Waverly doesn’t have to be told twice, and she begins to jog up after her, shotgun in hand. She’s, at least, not going to let Lizzie get killed if no one else is coming. As they crest over the top of the hill, they can see the revenant in question thrashing in the open doorway of the building. Lizzie charges forward, undeterred, before holding up a hand to the wall and closing her eyes. Waverly watches as the edges of her hand begin to glow, and when Lizzie pulls it back, she swings her hands forward in a push motion.
“Patere.” The revenant flies back towards the wall, pinning him in place. Then, Lizzie smiles. “Hi, there. I don’t think this place belongs to you.”
“Put me down, you bitch.”
“Now, that’s not very nice.” Lizzie tips her head to the side. “Especially coming from a Sons of Anarchy cosplaying wannabe who got himself caught where he’s not supposed to be.” She smirks. “Now, I could drain all these wards and let you go peacefully, but I have a feeling you would do some not so nice things, so I think, for the time being, I’m gonna wait for the Heir to get here and take care of business herself. What do you think, Waves?”
Waverly, who’s mostly just been awestruck this whole time, blinks, then nods her agreement. “Yep. I think that’s the best plan.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Fortunately for the revenant, Wynonna isn’t far behind, and it takes one well-placed shot to send him back to Hell where he belongs. As the fires recede, Lizzie drops her arms down and rolls out her shoulders, a look on her face that says managing to be useful is a good look on her.
“So,” Wavery nods. “You’re a witch.”
Lizzie’s proud smirk turns a bit sheepish, and she nods. “I am a witch. Strictly on the Glinda side of things, I swear.”
“Good to know.” Waverly takes a deep breath before looking around the Forge. “Guess we better get started sorting through all this, huh?”
If Lizzie appreciates the deflection, she doesn’t say one way or another. Instead, she looks over the room like she’s hungry for what she might find and nods. “Yeah. I think that sounds like a great plan.”