Lobo's Den - Afterword

If you find yourself asking - what was that? - well, that's OK.

Lobo's Den was a bit of fun and a bit of an experiment.

I have, for a while now, wanted to explore Cassie and Don's relationship but struggled with finding the right format. Posting as a regular narrative following the events of that time in Cassie's life would have been, a bit like Cassie's album Haunted, darker and more overtly sexual. I wasn't comfortable going there. At the same time, the story kept nagging at me. 

I seem to recall talking it over with my wife one evening and we stumbled on the talk show idea. The idea of telling Cassie's story, limited to the four short blocks between commercials, struck me as a great writing challenge. Could I fit enough narrative into what someone could logically say in a 10-minute TV segment? I actually Googled "how many words are there in a 10-minute speech" (1500 was the most common average). So, I gave myself that limit. 

In terms of the larger Wyrd Tales narrative, Lobo's Den is actually very ambitious. I wanted to revisit the prologue of Year of the Wolf, exploring Cassie's story between the events of Raven's Apprentice and the start of my main storylines. I wanted to explore, even lightly, Cassie and Don's relationship and maybe redeem Don a little. He wasn't a great guy, but he wasn't a terrible guy either and she loved him. I wanted to recap on some key events from the first three stories. Finally, I wanted to touch on characters and events we haven't seen in a while, do a "where are they now" and hopefully tease some characters we may see again in upcoming stories. A lot to do in five short chapters. 

I'll let you be the judge of how successful I was.

Some of the feedback I got on forums was very positive, with a least one person commenting that they really felt like they were watching the show. So that was nice. 

Also from forum feedback, some folks were confused about the "technical difficulties," either forgetting or missing the relations between them and the fact that Cassie really is a witch, and when her emotional control slipped things went Bang. Hard to showcase that in the narrative quite as clearly as maybe I should have.

Ultimately, Lobo's Den was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you had some reading it. It's a format I may use again.

I'm going to be taking a little time off over the winter holidays. I don't expect to post anything new here during December. So, I'll say Happy Holidays now. 

Wyrd Tales will return.

Lobo's Den - The Circle and the Future

“We’re back, talking with Cassie the Raven Witch about twenty-five years of music,” Diego Lobo said. 

“So, Brookside and Firelight were your comeback, then with Forgotten Dreams and after that The Circle, you were on top. Cassie Goth, a world-famous, award-winning musician.”

“Yes, poor little Cassie Goth,” Cassie laughed. “Let’s not forget, I grew up as the heiress to the Goth family fortune. We weren’t exactly hurting for money or opportunities. I could have sat back and done nothing and still lived a very comfortable life.”

“But you didn’t,” Diego said. “Instead, you became a famous musician and singer.”

“It’s more fun,” Cassie laughed. “It’s just important to remember I had a lot of opportunities that some don’t. My father, the best-selling novelist, said many times that the best writer he ever knew was a schoolteacher in Willow Creek who never got published because he spent all his time helping his students and his friends. That’s why we, who have the means, need to help give others the opportunities we got handed.”

“You recently endowed a scholarship program for aspiring artists and performers,” Diego pointed out, “and you are partnering with Londyn Huntley in Iris Entertainment.”

“That’s right,” Cassie said.

“Speak of Londyn,” Diego said, visibly trying to regain control of the interview. “After The Circle, you decided to take a spin around the stage as an actress. What brought that about?”

“I was on top,” Cassie smiled. “I was looking for a new challenge and someone suggested acting. I just jumped in with both feet and hoped. Talk about privilege giving you opportunities.”

“Oooh, I don’t know,” Diego smiled. “What do you think, folks? Was it just fame or can Cassie really act?”

The audience again erupted in applause.

“See, they love you,” Diego said.

“Well, it helps that for my first acting jobs, I was literally playing myself,” Cassie said, but she smiled. “The Raven Witch, doing a couple of guest spots on popular shows. It wasn’t exactly a stretch… but I got lucky and got some help from some very talented actresses, like Londyn and Vanessa Jeong. With their help, I managed to at least not embarrass myself. Miranda was still pretty embarrassed, but like I said, she keeps me humble.

“So, music, acting… things were shaping up,” Cassie said.

“OK, let’s talk about the Mill Lane Incident,” Diego said.

“I forget that’s what they call it,” Cassie said, a hint of bitterness touching her eyes.

“Five years ago, May 22^nd, 2021, you and your family went missing from your farm on Olde Mill Lane,” Diego said with surprising gentleness. “There was blood on the scene, signs of violence… and no sign of any of you. After several days, everyone assumed you were dead…”

“Not everyone,” Cassie said softly. “Some people looked for us.”

Only those who knew her recognized the anger simmering in her voice. Diego, regrettably, did not.

“It’s been suggested that…” Diego started.

“That my father died because he looked into it,” Cassie snarled.

Somewhere overhead a stage light burst in a startling rain of sparks. Someone in the audience gave a muffled shriek.

“That Don died because he looked into it,” Cassie continued, her black eyes boring into Diego’s suddenly horrified face. “That a reporter, Olivia Kim-Lewis… who was a close friend of my little brother, did you have that bit of gossip, Diego? She died looking into our disappearance.

“We reappeared, more than six months later and after my stepmother, Bella Goth, blew her cover as an Agency Operative to bring down Nancy Landgraab’s criminal syndicate,” Cassie continued coldly. “Are you going to ask me if we were hiding from the Families, Diego? Are you going to ask me if they kidnapped my daughter a year later, because we were involved in taking down the Landgraabs? Is that your question, Diego…”

The image on TV screens around the country flickered and changed angles suddenly, as the studio cameras unexpectedly shorted out.

“No comment,” Cassie’s voice was a whisper, that echoed in the silence as the last camera died, leaving viewers looking at black screens.

------------------

“Sorry folks, we had some technical difficulties here in the studio,” Diego said, all smiles. “We’re still here, talking with Cassie about her music and her film career. You were saying how you didn’t think much of yourself as an actress… but Curse of the Pirate Queen. Big hit.”

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Cassie smiled.

Nothing on either of their faces suggested to the average viewer that anything unpleasant happened moments earlier. There simply weren’t so many people who were close enough to Diego Lobo as to recognize the tightness around his eyes. Those close enough to Cassie to see behind her smile already knew the truth.

“I enjoyed working on Pirate Queen,” Cassie continued.

“So, do we have more movies in our future?” Diego asked cheerfully.

“We’ll just have to see,” Cassie replied. “Right now, I have a wedding to help plan and a production company to get off the ground.”

“Very exciting,” Diego said. “You know, I don’t think I got my invitation to the wedding,” he teased.

“Well, it’s just going to be a small thing,” Cassie said. “Family and a few friends. It’s the reception you want to crash.”

“Be careful, I might just,” Diego smiled. “Cassie, thanks again for being on the show.”

“Glad to be here, Diego,” She smiled back.

“Well folks, that’s all the time we have tonight,” Diego said. “Sorry again about those technical problems. Join us next week when we’ll be talking to Orange Bailey-Moon about his new book - ‘Yes Means Yes, a Dude’s Guide to Consent.’ See you then, in Lobo's Den.”

Lobo's Den - The Comeback

“We’re back,” Diego Lobo said. “Talking with Cassie Goth about twenty-five years of music.”

“So, Cassie,” Diego continued. “After your famous… and heart breaking… break-up with Don Lothario, you dropped out of sight for several years.”

“Yes, I did,” Cassie said. “Ten years, in fact. So, really, it’s more like fifteen years of music and ten years of raising chickens and being a mom… but that’s not as catchy.

“Anyway,” Cassie continued. “After uni, Gwen had inherited a lot of money and a farm in the country. When Don and I split up, she offered me a place to stay ‘while I sorted myself out.’ I didn’t realize at the time that that was her way of saying ‘for the rest of our lives,’ but you know how it goes.

“The first thing that happened was I discovered I was pregnant,” Cassie said. “That was actually a pretty big shock. I knew that it meant I needed to make some big changes in my life. The biggest was that I stopped drinking. Thanks to Don, I’d already started working on that so it wasn’t as hard as it might have been. It was still very, very hard but it was what I needed to do for my daughter. I am now twenty-one years, seven months and… what’s today, Friday? … three days sober.

“So, like I said, I spent the next ten years working on a farm, raising chickens and a beautiful daughter,” Cassie said. “I didn’t do much gardening. Actually, after my first few tries, Gwen rather pointedly asked me to look after the chickens. Gwen and I got married, shortly after they made it legal. The first lesbian couple, and only the second same sex couple, to do so in the town’s old church. I also wrote music. I spent ten years writing music… because that’s how I express myself. Some people keep a diary. I write songs.

“Then, one day, I ran into an old friend,” Cassie smiled. “Octavia Moon was visiting the Finchwich Fair. I forget why… but we started talking.”

“Now, you know me and gossip,” Diego interjected. “There were some rumors about you and Octavia while you were with Don…”

“Let’s just say that Don and I and Octavia and Thorne, back before we three all hit it big, were neighbors, and became very good friends, and leave it at that,” Cassie said with a sly grin.

“So, Octavia and I started talking and kept talking,” Cassie continued. “I’ll admit, that show-biz bug had started nipping at me again and, with Octavia’s, and fairly quickly Thorne’s, support and encouragement, I got in touch with their producer. Which eventually led to Brookside, my comeback album.”

“And what a comeback,” Diego said. “Top of the charts, record-breaking sales…”

“Well, here’s the secret about taking ten years off and spending it writing songs,” Cassie smiled. “When you start deciding what to put in the new album, you get to pick the fifteen or sixteen best out of a couple of hundred.”

“Well, that’s a point,” Diego laughed.

“Honestly though, I was shocked,” Cassie said. “My fans are amazing. I mean, the fact that after ten years I still had fans amazed me. They have been so supportive… through my musical growth, through the ups and downs of my crazy life. They’re fantastic.” Turning to the audience, “You’re fantastic!”

The applause dwarfed the earlier boos directed toward the memory of Don Lothario.

“Alright, alright,” Diego said, calming the audience. “You’re all wonderful… now let the lady talk. So, Cassie… You were back in the spotlight.”

“I’d missed it,” Cassie said with a grin. “I really had. I mean, it’s madness. It’s music tours and hotels and promotions and recording sessions… but there’s that moment, when you’re on stage and the music is playing and the crowd is cheering. That’s magic, Diego. That’s pure magic.

“So, Brookside was a hit,” Diego said. “Not just a hit but a mega-hit… and after Brookside…”

“After Brookside was Firelight,” Cassie said, “which followed the same theme of healing, and growing and self-discovery. And yes, before you ask, because you always do… some of Firelight, but not all, was taken from those ten years of songwriting.”

“Now, you’re right I’ve asked you that before,” Diego conceded, “but let me ask you this - Ten years of songwriting. Are there songs we’ve never heard? What about them?”

“Well, some of them aren’t very good,” Cassie laughed. “But yes, there are songs from that era that never got recorded. Maybe they will someday. Maybe not. I keep saying, my music reflects my life. Those years were important to me… but that’s not where I am today. Not who I am today. I’m about moving forward, not back.”

“Alright, so, moving forward,” Diego said. “Forgotten Dreams, which was again a bit of departure from the two albums before it, though not in the same way as Haunted.”

“Forgotten Dreams,” Cassie said after a moment’s pause. “Forgotten Dreams is about a lot of what I was just talking about… that magic of being back on stage, back on tour, back in the spotlight… the good and the bad and the ugly of it. So, yeah, it’s different… where Brookside and Firelight are quieter, Forgotten Dreams has more energy. It’s Cassie the Raven Witch, instead of Cassie who bakes cookies for her daughter’s school bake sale.”

“You’ve said that your daughter Miranda keeps your grounded,” Diego put in.

“I’ve said Miranda keeps me humble,” Cassie corrected with a smile, “and she does. No matter how many albums I make or awards I win. No matter how loud the fans scream my name, I can always count on Miranda to roll her eyes and tell me how embarrassing I am.”

“That’s a good person to have around,” Diego said sincerely.

“The best,” Cassie smiled.

“Stay with us folks,” Diego said to the audience. “We’ll be back with more Cassie, after this…”

Lobo's Den - Haunted & The Lothario Incident

“We’re back with the Raven Witch herself, Cassie Goth,” Diego Lobo said. “Talking about twenty-five years of music.”

“Though really, we’ve only covered the first three so far,” Cassie put in. “So, we’d better get going.”

“So true, but…” Diego paused seriously. “Can we talk about Haunted?”

“I guess we have to,” Cassie said, a touch ruefully.

“Your third album, and definitely your most controversial,” Diego said. “I know fans are still very divided about Haunted. It was a real departure in tone from your first albums… critics have called it darker, more mature…”

“Let’s call it what it is,” Cassie said seriously. “It was much darker. It was more overtly sexual, and not always in positive ways… and I say that with the benefit of hindsight, and a lot of therapy… but I still think it’s very important.”

“I’ve said my music reflects my life,” Cassie continued. “Haunted reflects a time in my life that started in a very dark place. My last year of uni, I was in a very bad place emotionally. I drank too much. I had a series of flings with frat guys who were more than happy to tell their all buddies they’d ‘done it’ with the Raven Witch. I ended up losing almost all of my friends, except the ones who enabled me… and Gwen, who just would not be pushed out no matter how hard I tried… and I tried.”

“She stuck by you,” Diego said sympathetically.

“She did. She really did, for a long time,” Cassie said, misty eyed. “But she couldn’t save me. She said to me once, years later, that she knew couldn’t save me until I was ready to save myself, but she knew she had to be there for me, no matter how much it hurt her.

“Anyway, I managed to graduate, barely,” Cassie continued. “I moved to San My and worked on my music. When I wasn’t drinking myself half to death, that is. Then, I met a man who would change my life.”

“That would be Don Lothario,” Diego said. 

At the sound of Don Lothario’s name, the audience booed so loudly the host, and his guest, were forced into silence.

“Hey, hey, hey! Quiet down,” Cassie finally shouted, her singer’s voice cutting through the noise of the angry audience. “Don gets a bad rap, OK? He was a good guy.”

“Well, he did famously cheat on you, publicly and repeatedly,” Diego pointed out. “He used your fame to promote himself, and he, in fact, left you at the altar, while you were pregnant with his child.”

“Well, when you say it that way, it sounds bad,” Cassie admitted. “We can’t talk about Haunted, or my later music… my later life... if we don’t talk about Don. 

“I met him at a party, thrown by my producer for some of my more disreputable musical associates,” Cassie continued. “I remember, I was with my friend, Jess, and we were both working on getting drunk enough to go into a back room where these guys said someone had brought some ‘really good stuff’ that they said would ‘blow my mind.’

“So, just before I was about to go try seriously hard drugs for the first time… which probably would have killed me, if not that night, then soon… this guy comes up and steals my drink,” Cassie laughed. “Lifted it right out of my hand and drank it in front of me. Then he thanks me, looks me up and down and asks me if I want to dance.

“So, instead of OD’ing, I spent the night dancing with Don Lothario.” Cassie shook her head. “Of course, I think… what the hell, he looks pretty good. I’ll give him what he wants… what every man wanted. So, I suggest we go upstairs… and he said to me something that, at that time in my life, no man had ever… ever… said to me.”

“Will we have to bleep this out?” Diego laughed.

“He said ‘no,’” Cassie grinned. “He turned me down. Flat. Me! I was shocked. He said I was way too drunk and when… not if, mind you, when… we slept together, he wanted me to remember it. I admit it. That was it. I was hooked… but let me tell you, when we did… well, I remember it.

“So, I ended up with Don,” Cassie continued. “We started going out regularly, and eventually I moved in with him.”

“Ok, I have to ask, because people always ask, where was Gwen during this?” Diego put in.

“We separated,” Cassie said. “Gwen's… Well, when I told her I was moving in with Don, that I was leaving, she wasn’t upset. She didn’t argue. She said that she understood this was what I needed. Looking back, I realize that she knew… absolutely knew… that we would be together in the end. She was willing to wait for me to figure it out.  Anyway, she moved to the country. She still came into the City from time to time, and we’d see each other, but mostly she stepped away. It was as if she knew that Don would be there for me when she wasn’t, and in a way she couldn’t be… and she was right.

“The thing about Don,” Cassie sighed. “Yeah, he was shamelessly self-promoting. Yes, he thought monogamy was when you embroider your initials on your clothes… and, let’s face it, he wasn’t the brightest bulb. But he started me on the road out of that dark place I was in. He got me to drink less. He got me focused on my music and my career again. More importantly, he got me to start seeing myself as worthy again.

“With Don, I redefined my relationships with men, with sex and my own sexuality, and with my music,” Cassie said with sad smile. “I found my self-esteem, again, thanks to him. When he left me at the altar, yes, it broke my heart… but I think it needed to be broken to really heal. That’s what Haunted is really about… being haunted by the pain of the past and laying those ghosts to rest in order to heal.

“Also, let’s not forget, Don gave me the greatest gift of all… our beautiful daughter, Miranda.” Cassie’s smile brightened. “Who is getting married soon, if you can believe that.”

“Oh, don’t remind me of how quickly they grow up,” Diego groaned. “We’ll be right back, folks.”

Lobo's Den - Raven & Spirit Dance

“Hal’loooo, Cassie,” Diego said. “Welcome back to the Lobo’s Den.”

“Hi, Diego,” Cassie laughed. “Always great to be on the show."

“So, lots of big news for you. Let’s start with the one I still don’t believe,” Diego smiled. “You’re getting ready to celebrate a huge musical anniversary.”

“That’s right, Diego,” Cassie replied, half to the host and half to the audience. “This summer we’ll be celebrating 25 years since the release of my first hit single, Willow Weeping.”

“Which came out when you were… what, four years-old?” Diego asked slyly.

“I was eighteen when Willow Weeping hit the charts,” Cassie laughed, “and yes, before you do the math… “

“I wouldn’t dare,” Diego interjected with exaggerated horror.

“I am forty-three,” Cassie continued.

“Well, you look fantastic,” Diego grinned, turning to the audience. “Doesn’t she look fantastic, folks?”

“Why shouldn’t any woman look wonderful in her forties?” Cassie said proudly, before looking abashed. “But, I will admit, I look young for my age.”

“What’s your secret? Botox? A little nip and tuck? The blood of virgins?” Diego turned theatrically to the audience and added, “I ask her this every time, folks, and she never tells me.”

“It’s magic, Diego. Pure magic,” Cassie said airily. “Actually, I’d feel better if I had a few grey hairs, some laugh lines…”

“Honey, I’ll trade my grey hair for your magic any day,” Diego replied.

“I’ll have my people call your people,” Cassie laughed. 

“So, twenty-five years,” Diego said, “and it all started…”

“With The Raven Headmistress,” Cassie said. “My father’s best-selling novel which they turned into a movie.”

“I loved that movie,” Diego put in.

“Well, they needed a song for the end credits, and my father suggested me,” Cassie said. “Actually, I think he insisted. He was always very supportive of my musical ambitions, and he knew I had written a song, Willow Weeping, that he felt would be perfect.”

“Now, as I understand it, your father wrote The Raven Headmistress and you wrote Willow Weeping in memory of your mother, Victoria,” Diego said gently. “Who passed away when you were still very young.”

“That’s right,” Cassie said with a sad smile. “She died in a car accident when I was three. My father kept her memory alive for me, telling me stories about her. He always called her his Raven. Anyway, yes, we both wrote in her memory, in our own ways, so I guess the song and the story did fit together in that way.”

“I remember really feeling that, when I heard it,” Diego nodded.

“Well, I guess a lot of people did because it hit the charts,” Cassie smiled.

“Top of the charts for seven weeks in fact,” Diego said.

“The start of my musical career,” Cassie smiled. 

“Now, your first full album, Raven, came out the next summer,” Diego said.

“That’s right. I did Raven, and my second album, Spirit Dance, while I was at university,” Cassie said nostalgically. “When I listen to them now, I can remember the joy of that young woman… finding myself, exploring my music and life and love. I was so Sure of everything then. It’s a little embarrassing to think about really.”

“The music of your life,” Diego mused.

“It really is,” Cassie said eagerly. “My music has always really reflected where I was in my life. Raven is this young woman, just ridiculously excited about making her first album and still young at heart… a teenager in love with life, and with the love of my life, Gwen, for the first time.”

“That’s your wife, Gwen Silveroak,” Diego clarified.

“That’s right,” Cassie smiled. “We met in high school and when to university together. If my music reflects my life, she’s somewhere in every album. She’s got a couple of songs on Raven… I’m sure you know the ones.”

“So, Raven is the young woman, first album, first love,” Diego said.

“Then we have Spirit Dance,” Cassie said. “So sure of myself. So grown up, as only a nineteen-year-old can be. Really exploring what life has to offer… my first boyfriend, my first…,” Cassie laughed. “Well, a lot of firsts.”

“Now, you know I’m not going to let this pass,” Diego teased.

“I walked right into it, didn’t I?” Cassie sighed theatrically.

“So, Gwen is the love of your life,” Diego said, “but then you had a boyfriend… who, if I remember the gossip (and you know I do) was none other than Rohan Elderberry. How did that happen - the Raven Witch and Windenburg’s conservative representative?”

“There was a lot of exploring going on,” Cassie replied, with a hint of a blush. “I will say Rohan’s changed… though even then we had some great arguments about things. It made making-up fun. We’re not really close anymore but I have good memories.”

“Much as I’d love to hear more, we need to take a break,” Diego said. “We’ll be right back folks.”

Lobo's Den - Intro

“Hal’loooo everyone,” the host said with his signature howl. “Are we feeling fab’u’lous tonight? You should be. I know I am. I’m Diego Lobo and you’re in Lobo’s Den!”

“We’ve got a fabulous show for you tonight folks,” Diego said. “First, let’s spill some Hot Gossip.”

“It looks like heartbreak for heart throb Christian Harp. His whirlwind romance with sultry starlet Jenny Poole may be over.  The Urbz actress announced today that the couple has broken off their engagement. I think the real question on everyone’s mind is… will Alexandra take Christian back? 

“Make him beg, honey,” Diego said slyly.

“In Entertainment News,” Diego continued. “It looks like storm clouds, not rainbows, for Londyn Huntley’s Iris Productions. The superstar’s new production company is facing a downpour of legal action from Symphony Entertainment, claiming that top directors, writers and actors signing up with Iris are in violation of their contracts with Symphony. 

“An unruffled, and perfectly coiffed, Londyn replied to the lawsuits, calling them frivolous and a desperate attempt by Symphony to distract from their own bad press after their money man, Nick Alto, was convicted of racketeering.

“Ooo, loving you, Londyn.”

“In Society, the rich and powerful were out in force at Hugo’s,” Diego said. “Celebrity chef Hugo Villareal’s five-star restaurant hosted a fundraiser for brother-in-law and conservative representative Rohan Elderberry. Yes, folks, it was a night of rich, old men in boring suits and trophy wives in slinky dresses… 

“But wait… what’s this,” Diego adds, exaggerating for effect. “Elderberry’s eldest berry, Genie, caused a colorful stir when she publicly called on daddy to reject the conservative party’s anti-LGBTQ platform. 

“Well, I sure hope Genie gets her wish.”

“We’ve got a great show tonight, folks,” Diego grins. “Cassie Goth, the Raven Witch herself, is in the Den talking about twenty-five years of music. Come join us.”