Summer vacation elapses, and sees their storefront doing one heck of a business in the Avalon with the help of their griffin employee. There is a suggestion box for new spells they should invent, some of which have to be long-term projects but others of which are converted into new product fairly promptly.
School starts up again. Darren and Bella are both skipping straight into twelfth grade. (Bella looked into just starting college early, but while she does technically have the sort of resume that can lead to that kind of thing, she can't exactly write an essay about how she saved the life of another person and this caused her to have Moral Character, let alone about how she started a small business - so skipping one grade it is.)
They apply to colleges. They both get into University of Washington and get sufficient scholarships to accommodate both going there.
Summer ensues again.
One afternoon, Bella is over at Darren's, and has fallen asleep - in purring fullform - across his lap on the couch.
Generated:
Post last updated:
peryton
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren's still in human form, reading a book about magic that's slightly less unhelpful than other books of its type. But only slightly. It's naming the failed attempts at doing certain things magically, and what the results were. He's trying to reconstruct what runes were used and figure out why those attempts failed. While he's really got no reason to try and do most of the spells here (why would he even want to boil someone's blood in their veins, if he were feeling murderous there are better, easier options), it's the academic exercise that's important.
He's petting Bella, gently, as he reads. He's not planning on getting up any time soon, she can sleep as long as she likes.
He's petting Bella, gently, as he reads. He's not planning on getting up any time soon, she can sleep as long as she likes.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Mmmm petting purrrrrr zzzzzzzz.
Something dark seeps flatly under the front door.
Something dark seeps flatly under the front door.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Pet, pet, pe-
-What is that?
-What is that?
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
It shoops, flat and liquidy and silent, across the floor.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Okay. Okay that is probably not friendly.
"Bella," Darren murmurs, gently shaking his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, he starts wracking his head for a spell.
"Bella," Darren murmurs, gently shaking his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, he starts wracking his head for a spell.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella yawns groggily and shifts a wing.
The shooping blackness - unflattens. It piles up on itself until it's thick and squodgy-looking and approaches the couch.
The shooping blackness - unflattens. It piles up on itself until it's thick and squodgy-looking and approaches the couch.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Well that's utterly terrifying.
"Bella," he says, fear tinging his voice a bit. "Bella there's a - thing. Wake up."
It's - like darkness personified. The first obvious idea Darren has is to combat it is with light - does he have a light scroll on him? He might, if not that's an easy spell and he can - draw that out pretty quickly.
"Bella," he says, fear tinging his voice a bit. "Bella there's a - thing. Wake up."
It's - like darkness personified. The first obvious idea Darren has is to combat it is with light - does he have a light scroll on him? He might, if not that's an easy spell and he can - draw that out pretty quickly.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella shifts again. "Mm? Thing?"
One wing flops down off his lap, towards the blackness.
The blackness opens up and swallows her wing in one gulp, and she screams.
One wing flops down off his lap, towards the blackness.
The blackness opens up and swallows her wing in one gulp, and she screams.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Fuck.
"Shift," he tells her, trying to - pull her away from the - creature but not getting very far due to the weight of a fullformed sphinx on his lap. He's piecing together half remembered pieces of a spell, searching his clothes for a light scroll or something that will do light or something.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I -" If she tries it, it's hard to tell.
The blackness spreads past her wing and gets the rest of her, and then there is not a weight of a sphinx on his lap anymore - just a squodge of inky blackness, now retreating.
The blackness spreads past her wing and gets the rest of her, and then there is not a weight of a sphinx on his lap anymore - just a squodge of inky blackness, now retreating.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren will wonder, later, exactly what went through his head when he saw his girlfriend get - eaten by an ink monster. He won't be able to recall. He'll try to describe it as 'a deadly calm' but that's not what it is at all. It's focused, it's logical, and it's - like a tidal wave of emotion, pushing him to act and to act decisively.
But he will be able to remember what he says, in perfect French, and how he managed to get the fire scroll out of his pocket before the ink - thing makes it to the door.
"Light, heat, sunlight brought to life, come forth, come forth without harm to any but darkness," he nearly whispers. "And do some fucking smiting."
But he will be able to remember what he says, in perfect French, and how he managed to get the fire scroll out of his pocket before the ink - thing makes it to the door.
"Light, heat, sunlight brought to life, come forth, come forth without harm to any but darkness," he nearly whispers. "And do some fucking smiting."
The inky thing flattens when the light pours onto it - but it absorbs it all, blacker than ever, and slips out the door.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Fuck. Fuck, he miscalculated -
He is off of the couch and after the - the ink monster as fast as he can manage it, and he's already trying to figure out a new angle to kill it. Because he is going to kill it, it ate his girlfriend, it is not allowed to keep shooping along like that's perfectly fine, it gets to die. It gets to die efficiently, damn it, except he can't figure out how to kill it, not yet. He just knows that he's going to.
He is off of the couch and after the - the ink monster as fast as he can manage it, and he's already trying to figure out a new angle to kill it. Because he is going to kill it, it ate his girlfriend, it is not allowed to keep shooping along like that's perfectly fine, it gets to die. It gets to die efficiently, damn it, except he can't figure out how to kill it, not yet. He just knows that he's going to.
Shoop shoop.
It melts into a storm drain.
It melts into a storm drain.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren hisses a curse word and grasps at the storm drain, briefly trying to see if it will do what he wants it to and be ripped out of the fucking ground, but no, no it holds just fine. Damn engineers. He tries to tell what direction the ink - thing goes, see if he can follow it, but it's too dark down there, he can't tell.
He indulges himself by allowing himself a primal scream of rage and despair. Once. He makes it a good one.
And then he stands, turns on his heel, and marches back to his house to start composing a spell to find the ink monster, and then a spell to kill it, and then he's going to do both in rapid succession and maybe it will spit his girlfriend out.
Or maybe not. She could be dead. Please don't be dead.
He ignores the cold pit of fear gripping his heart. He adds another item to his list of things to do, and that item is 'find way to torture the information out of ink monster about the whereabouts of his girlfriend.' He doesn't even think about the ramifications of it, it's just a mission that he is going to accomplish. Because it ate his girlfriend, and Darren wants her back right this instant.
He indulges himself by allowing himself a primal scream of rage and despair. Once. He makes it a good one.
And then he stands, turns on his heel, and marches back to his house to start composing a spell to find the ink monster, and then a spell to kill it, and then he's going to do both in rapid succession and maybe it will spit his girlfriend out.
Or maybe not. She could be dead. Please don't be dead.
He ignores the cold pit of fear gripping his heart. He adds another item to his list of things to do, and that item is 'find way to torture the information out of ink monster about the whereabouts of his girlfriend.' He doesn't even think about the ramifications of it, it's just a mission that he is going to accomplish. Because it ate his girlfriend, and Darren wants her back right this instant.
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"Darren," says a panicked father, having heard both screams. "What -"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Call Savannah, I require her. Ink monster just either kidnapped or ate Bella."
And then he walks off to make spells. To find, torture, and then kill the ink monster.
And then he walks off to make spells. To find, torture, and then kill the ink monster.
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
Vernon calls Savannah. She says not to bother picking her up, she's flying home, it's important, and that she gives no fucks about subtlety. Vernon does not enforce the swear jar, just this once.
And then, wondering what on Earth he's going to say - Vernon calls Charlie.
And then, wondering what on Earth he's going to say - Vernon calls Charlie.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Hello?"
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"Hello. There's been a problem." Vernon pauses, and closes his eyes, and then says. "Another creature just attacked my house."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"You need help?"
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"Possibly. It - took Bella."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Took?"
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"The exact terminology Darren used was 'kidnapped or ate.'"
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"What kind of - what happened? How did it happen?"
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"I wasn't there. Darren was, he said it was an ink monster, I can only assume it snuck into my house and -" Vernon trails off.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"He got time to explain it to me or is he up to his neck in magic?"
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"He said two sentences to me and then went off to do - what I assume is magic. I can ask?"
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"I need to know. Especially if there's - anything I can do."
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"Yeah, understandable."
He goes and finds Darren.
"Darren, Charlie's on the phone."
He goes and finds Darren.
"Darren, Charlie's on the phone."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren is currently at his computer, notebook in hand, drafting out spells with the rune-sorting program in the background. He looks up at his father, impassively. He takes the phone, because maybe Charlie has resources that can be used.
"Five minutes ago a pitch-black ink-like monster flowed under the door like it was part of the floor, formed up into a shapeless flowing mass, and then - swallowed Bella." There is a faint waver in his voice at Bella's name, but otherwise the tone is curt and flat. "I hit it with a light spell, it didn't hurt it in the slightest, and then it fled to a storm drain and melted through. I tried to see what direction it went but I couldn't tell because storm drains are dark. I'm making a spell to find it."
And then he is going to ask it in no uncertain terms where his girlfriend is. Then, he kills it.
"Five minutes ago a pitch-black ink-like monster flowed under the door like it was part of the floor, formed up into a shapeless flowing mass, and then - swallowed Bella." There is a faint waver in his voice at Bella's name, but otherwise the tone is curt and flat. "I hit it with a light spell, it didn't hurt it in the slightest, and then it fled to a storm drain and melted through. I tried to see what direction it went but I couldn't tell because storm drains are dark. I'm making a spell to find it."
And then he is going to ask it in no uncertain terms where his girlfriend is. Then, he kills it.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Anything I can do? Anything else funny go on around that time?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Came out of nowhere. You can get me a map of where the storm drains go, that might help."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Will do. Anything else? You sure it went through the drain somewhere and wasn't just hiding out waiting for you to leave?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"It did not care about my presence in the slightest," informs Darren curtly. "I could have been wall-dressing for all it cared. It's much smarter for it to travel by out of the way methods to - where ever it goes." Pause. "I'm going to give the phone back to my dad, I'm going to find it."
There is no hesitation in his voice, only disturbingly calm certainty. He will be finding it.
There is no hesitation in his voice, only disturbingly calm certainty. He will be finding it.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"You do that," says Charlie.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yup."
And then the phone goes back to Vernon.
And then the phone goes back to Vernon.
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"I will - talk to some friends of mine. See what they know," says Vernon, half to Charlie, half to Darren.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Friends who know about ink monsters?" asks Charlie.
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"They might. No guarantees, but it's - worth checking."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Right. Keep in touch. I'll drop off the map soon as I can."
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
"Mhm. Thanks. I'll call you if we find anything."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"Mm-hm."
Click.
Click.
Vernon Sanders
steppingup
Click.
Well. Now he's got some other people to talk to.
Well. Now he's got some other people to talk to.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren - prepares. He tells himself that he will do Bella more good if he walks into whatever he's walking into full prepared for everything. So he prepares.
He makes a spell to find the ink monster. He makes several other spells that seem like they might hurt it - light obviously doesn't work, but maybe something involving stealing energy, or ripping it apart, or - various other things. He has lots of ideas, he wants to have as many as possible on him for the inevitable ink monster confrontation, because he is going to kill it no matter how unkillable it seems. It ate his girlfriend. It dies.
His sister can't really do much right now, but she prepares, too. Her preparation is less cerebral, and more - going out and buying knives. Lots of knives. She'd get a gun or two, but can't on such short notice, and not while she's still seventeen. She practices throwing the knives, takes to it pretty quickly, and deems that while not as good as guns, it's faster than magic and not utterly useless. She grabs a few combat scrolls, practices saying them in Spanish (because Darren's sure as hell too busy to help her with pronunciation, and Spanish is at least more straightforward in that vein) so she can use them, and then - waits. Practicing with her knives.
It's not a long wait, Darren turns out to be exceedingly efficient in this sort of crisis, and soon they're ready to go. They debate over bringing Mrs. Adams, and eventually decide against inviting her due to her lack of wings. They can make it to the necessary location faster than she can - so they tell their dad that they're leaving, and then they use Darren's spell to locate where to go, and they go.
The flight is several hours, but in terms of geographical placement it's relatively close by. Lucky. It wouldn't matter if it wasn't, though, the twins are pretty committed to this. They are going to kill at least one creature today. Possibly more.
Darren turns them both invisible, and then they start investigating when they're close to where his spell says to go.
He makes a spell to find the ink monster. He makes several other spells that seem like they might hurt it - light obviously doesn't work, but maybe something involving stealing energy, or ripping it apart, or - various other things. He has lots of ideas, he wants to have as many as possible on him for the inevitable ink monster confrontation, because he is going to kill it no matter how unkillable it seems. It ate his girlfriend. It dies.
His sister can't really do much right now, but she prepares, too. Her preparation is less cerebral, and more - going out and buying knives. Lots of knives. She'd get a gun or two, but can't on such short notice, and not while she's still seventeen. She practices throwing the knives, takes to it pretty quickly, and deems that while not as good as guns, it's faster than magic and not utterly useless. She grabs a few combat scrolls, practices saying them in Spanish (because Darren's sure as hell too busy to help her with pronunciation, and Spanish is at least more straightforward in that vein) so she can use them, and then - waits. Practicing with her knives.
It's not a long wait, Darren turns out to be exceedingly efficient in this sort of crisis, and soon they're ready to go. They debate over bringing Mrs. Adams, and eventually decide against inviting her due to her lack of wings. They can make it to the necessary location faster than she can - so they tell their dad that they're leaving, and then they use Darren's spell to locate where to go, and they go.
The flight is several hours, but in terms of geographical placement it's relatively close by. Lucky. It wouldn't matter if it wasn't, though, the twins are pretty committed to this. They are going to kill at least one creature today. Possibly more.
Darren turns them both invisible, and then they start investigating when they're close to where his spell says to go.
The place in question is a warehouse - it would be sort of like the kind of warehouse that might conceal an Avalon if it didn't stand far apart from its neighbors and have much more obvious security guards around the door.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Oh, look, guards. How quaint.
Too bad they're not guarding this patch of wall, over here. Because Darren brought a few scrolls that let the twins just - phase through a wall. A muttered chant, a pair of held hands, and then they're both inside.
First priority: find Bella. Second priority: kill the hell out of the ink monster and whoever was responsible for sending it.
Too bad they're not guarding this patch of wall, over here. Because Darren brought a few scrolls that let the twins just - phase through a wall. A muttered chant, a pair of held hands, and then they're both inside.
First priority: find Bella. Second priority: kill the hell out of the ink monster and whoever was responsible for sending it.
The warehouse is divided inside with those fuzzy cubicle walls. They have phased in to a section with a coffee machine and some boxes and a filing cabinet (locked).
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Maybe at another time, Darren would be interested in what the filing cabinet has in it. He might find interest in it, later. Right now, though, nope. Bella. Ink monster. Bella.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah leads the way, because she is the one with the knives. Let's go wandering, hmm? See what kind of things they find. Preferably sphinx shaped, they are looking for a sphinx.
(Personally, Savannah doesn't think Bella's alive. Of course she hopes she's wrong, but - well, she's not an optimist. Realistically, she's dead, and Savannah will be killing every single person in this warehouse. Darren can help.)
(Personally, Savannah doesn't think Bella's alive. Of course she hopes she's wrong, but - well, she's not an optimist. Realistically, she's dead, and Savannah will be killing every single person in this warehouse. Darren can help.)
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
How is a loud familiar scream at convincing Savannah she's wrong?
"I DON'T KNOW - I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING - AAAAAAAAUNGH -"
"I DON'T KNOW - I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING - AAAAAAAAUNGH -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Pretty damn good. She has to stop Darren from rushing off to go be heroic - she can feel him pull insistently at the hand gripped in hers towards the source of the scream. She pulls him back. They will go, but they're going to go carefully.
The people that took her want to keep Bella alive, if they want to know things from her. The twins can do more good if they get a good grasp of the situation instead of going in proverbial guns blazing. Savannah's aware of this. She hisses her explanation of it to Darren, under her breath.
"And then," she finishes, still in a murmur, "once we have a good position, we kill them all."
The people that took her want to keep Bella alive, if they want to know things from her. The twins can do more good if they get a good grasp of the situation instead of going in proverbial guns blazing. Savannah's aware of this. She hisses her explanation of it to Darren, under her breath.
"And then," she finishes, still in a murmur, "once we have a good position, we kill them all."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Fine," growls Darren, after a pause, sounding like he hates the word.
Back to investigating. Someone in charge, they need someone in charge. Someone to stop Bella's torture.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"TOLD YOU I DON'T AHHHHH FUCK STOP NOT - SINGAPORE!" comes Bella's wildly inventing scream. "THE SPHINXES ARE IN FUCKING SINGAPAAAAAAAAGH!"
Here is a whistling fellow in a business suit with a coffee mug approaching the coffee machine.
Here is a whistling fellow in a business suit with a coffee mug approaching the coffee machine.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Why, hello, whistling fellow in a business suit. How important does he look? Like he's in charge of anything?
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
He seems pretty full of himself, is that a hint?
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Enough of one, yeah. Hand squeeze, gentle pull of held hands in the fellow's direction. Hey, Darren, think we should?
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Return of hand squeeze, then Darren starts murmuring something under his breath, a chant for the correct spell. That's a yes, they should.
The spell's so no one will hear the fellow scream.
The spell's so no one will hear the fellow scream.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Because oh is he going to scream.
Savannah releases their held hand, waits for Darren to be finished with the spell, and then, after it goes - the fellow is tackled to the ground.
"Hello," purrs Savannah, into his ear. "We have some questions for you."
She's invisible, but he gets to feel the knife, at his neck. Look at it, so sharp. So insistently at his neck.
Savannah releases their held hand, waits for Darren to be finished with the spell, and then, after it goes - the fellow is tackled to the ground.
"Hello," purrs Savannah, into his ear. "We have some questions for you."
She's invisible, but he gets to feel the knife, at his neck. Look at it, so sharp. So insistently at his neck.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
The fellow is very surprised.
"Wh-what? Who's...?"
Meanwhile: loud jagged sobbing.
"Wh-what? Who's...?"
Meanwhile: loud jagged sobbing.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"The lovely lady with a sharp, pointy knife and a silencing spell, that's who. Tell me, who's in charge of this? Who thought it was a good idea to snatch up the sphinx?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
(Darren is so glad that a breaking heart isn't audible. He wishes there was a way to tell Bella to hold on, that they'll be there, they'll be there soon. Just hold on, Bella.)
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella is unrelieved in her ignorance. "Oh god n-AAAAAAAAAAH -" panicked gasping, "AAAAAAAAAAAAH SADISTIC FUCK -"
"M- no, I can't -" the gentleman in the suit says, struggling, trying to feel around for the invisible knife and pull it away from his neck.
"M- no, I can't -" the gentleman in the suit says, struggling, trying to feel around for the invisible knife and pull it away from his neck.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Mhm, that's real cute, trying to find the invisible knife. What about this other invisible knife over here, this one that's ever so delicately moved to threaten some fingers from the hand trying to find the invisible knife?
"You can't? Are you sure? Because I can always ask your, hmmmm..." She slams the offending hand into the ground with her palm, knife threatening the pinky finger. "Talkative pinky finger, here. Look at it, pretty, isn't it?"
Does she draw blood? Oh yes, oh yes she does.
"You can't? Are you sure? Because I can always ask your, hmmmm..." She slams the offending hand into the ground with her palm, knife threatening the pinky finger. "Talkative pinky finger, here. Look at it, pretty, isn't it?"
Does she draw blood? Oh yes, oh yes she does.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Hsst- look - I really - the boss'll," pants the fellow in the suit.
And screaming and screaming and screaming -
And screaming and screaming and screaming -
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Don't worry about your boss right now, just tell us -" Slice, that'll hurt, oops, clumsy her. "Where a person that can stop the torture on our lovely screaming sphinx is. Or you get to start putting her to shame."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
The man in the suit yelps.
(But not as loudly as the sphinx.)
He doesn't talk.
She starts a panicked gabble through what sounds like it has to be the hundredth time of saying she thinks it was her mom, she thinks her mom didn't know, she doesn't have any aunts or uncles or live grandparents, she thinks that side of the family is some combination of English and possibly Swiss but not for generations and she doesn't know she doesn't know she doesn't know.
(But not as loudly as the sphinx.)
He doesn't talk.
She starts a panicked gabble through what sounds like it has to be the hundredth time of saying she thinks it was her mom, she thinks her mom didn't know, she doesn't have any aunts or uncles or live grandparents, she thinks that side of the family is some combination of English and possibly Swiss but not for generations and she doesn't know she doesn't know she doesn't know.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
And that is what finally causes Darren to snap.
"This is taking too long," growls Darren. "Invisibility's about up. She's in pain, we can't just -"
"This is taking too long," growls Darren. "Invisibility's about up. She's in pain, we can't just -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I have another idea," says Savannah, quietly. "Hey, man in suit. Last chance to squeal, or bad things happen."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Can't," gasps the man.
"No," Bella sobs. "No no no please -"
"No," Bella sobs. "No no no please -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Sucks to be you."
And then she slices his throat wide open.
And then she slices his throat wide open.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"... What's the idea?" hisses Darren in an undertone.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Invisibility's up in - how long?"
She turns the man over, to be face up, probably still spluttering. Good thing Savannah's not squeamish.
She turns the man over, to be face up, probably still spluttering. Good thing Savannah's not squeamish.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
He is indeed still spluttering and twitching.
And now Bella's howling again.
And now Bella's howling again.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Just about now, Savannah why are we -"
They both turn visible.
They both turn visible.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Cool."
And then Darren gets to see the way she's prepping a knife - the saw-like one, the one that can cut through bone. Over the ribcage.
She's going to eat a heart.
And then Darren gets to see the way she's prepping a knife - the saw-like one, the one that can cut through bone. Over the ribcage.
She's going to eat a heart.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"... Okay. Go, I'll - be invisible, follow after."
He finds another scroll for that, and starts getting on making that happen.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Scream.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah hasn't ever ripped a man's heart out from his chest before. She hopes she doesn't screw this up because it's not done very neatly. It's - actually very messy, there is blood everywhere.
Then she gets the entirety of the heart out of the corpse. She looks at it. Savannah takes a deep breath, and then she starts eating.
She's pretty sure this is supposed to taste disgusting. It doesn't. It's delicious.
"... Head rush," she half-laughs, after she's done. "Woo, that's fun."
Then she gets the entirety of the heart out of the corpse. She looks at it. Savannah takes a deep breath, and then she starts eating.
She's pretty sure this is supposed to taste disgusting. It doesn't. It's delicious.
"... Head rush," she half-laughs, after she's done. "Woo, that's fun."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Fun?!" Darren hisses, tinge of panic in his voice. "How the hell can you -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Tsst. Figure of speech. Didn't just get the form, damn, no wonder Perytons took ages to get discovered."
Then she stands, covered in blood, and she shifts.
She ceases to be a she, and ceases to be covered in blood. Her clothes are an exact copy of the - set the fellow was wearing when he died. She pats herself down, stretching a bit to get used to - everything. It's a very thorough shapeshift. Walking's going to be fun. How do men do it? Whatever, she'll adapt.
"I think," she says, sorting through the vague flashes of memory that she's getting from the man (she didn't get everything), "that I can just walk in there and get her out."
Then she stands, covered in blood, and she shifts.
She ceases to be a she, and ceases to be covered in blood. Her clothes are an exact copy of the - set the fellow was wearing when he died. She pats herself down, stretching a bit to get used to - everything. It's a very thorough shapeshift. Walking's going to be fun. How do men do it? Whatever, she'll adapt.
"I think," she says, sorting through the vague flashes of memory that she's getting from the man (she didn't get everything), "that I can just walk in there and get her out."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Stop, please, please, stop, I don't know anything -"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren twitches. Not that she could see, he's still invisible.
"- Okay. Do. I'll back you up."
"- Okay. Do. I'll back you up."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Mhm."
And then Savannah turns and - oh, that's lovely, she knows how to walk like him, too. In an eerily accurate facsimile, she walks towards the source of the screams, smile and all.
And then Savannah turns and - oh, that's lovely, she knows how to walk like him, too. In an eerily accurate facsimile, she walks towards the source of the screams, smile and all.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
It's a bit of a maze in here.
But she's still hollering, so eventually -
there she is, still in fullform, deprived of her medallion, chained to the floor by each paw, looking like she's fallen off a few cliffs in rapid succession - broken wings, bruises and cuts everywhere. It looks like she's been declawed on three of four paws and one of the guys is wiping blood off a - thing. The other one has her hair in his fist and is getting in her face and saying in a low, level voice:
"If there's one of you there's more. If you're such a magic hotshot there's teachers. Where are the other sphinxes?"
"I don't know," she sobs, and he kicks her hard in the ribs with a sick enough thuck noise to suggest that there's metal in his boot.
But she's still hollering, so eventually -
there she is, still in fullform, deprived of her medallion, chained to the floor by each paw, looking like she's fallen off a few cliffs in rapid succession - broken wings, bruises and cuts everywhere. It looks like she's been declawed on three of four paws and one of the guys is wiping blood off a - thing. The other one has her hair in his fist and is getting in her face and saying in a low, level voice:
"If there's one of you there's more. If you're such a magic hotshot there's teachers. Where are the other sphinxes?"
"I don't know," she sobs, and he kicks her hard in the ribs with a sick enough thuck noise to suggest that there's metal in his boot.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah doesn't flinch at the brutality. She doesn't even look surprised, though underneath the coating of the businessman she's plotting ways to kill every person in this room.
"The boss is getting impatient," she says, in his voice. "I've got a better idea. Give me some alone time with her? I've got something better."
"The boss is getting impatient," she says, in his voice. "I've got a better idea. Give me some alone time with her? I've got something better."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"She's still got claws on one foot," objects the guy with the instrument in his hand.
Bella whines miserably on the floor.
Bella whines miserably on the floor.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Not going to matter," laughs Savannah, not because she wants to laugh but because her - peryton instincts are telling her it's what the businessman would do. "Trust me, I've got something special."
There's a heavy dose of menace to her voice.
There's a heavy dose of menace to her voice.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Uh, sure," says Guy With Instrument.
Guy Without Instrument kicks the sphinx again and then follows his co-worker out of the section.
Guy Without Instrument kicks the sphinx again and then follows his co-worker out of the section.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Hey. This is a jailbreak. Do me a favor," says Savannah, in an undertone, "and start pretending to freak out for me, okay? Dare, got anything for the chains?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Maybe," murmurs Darren, all worry and concern and barely contained anger - he touches a part of Bella that is not injured, gently, lovingly. "It's us, Bella."
He starts trying to see if he has any scrolls for breaking chains, one hand buried in Bella's fur trying to offer some measure of - of comfort.
(Fuck they hurt her so bad, he wants to cry. He wants to burn down the warehouse and then cry.)
He starts trying to see if he has any scrolls for breaking chains, one hand buried in Bella's fur trying to offer some measure of - of comfort.
(Fuck they hurt her so bad, he wants to cry. He wants to burn down the warehouse and then cry.)
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella inhales sharply when spoken to, eyes going wide, and - freaking out, right, okay, she doesn't have to reach hard for that, she bursts into loud miserable tears.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren leaves the hand in her fur where it is, and then finds a spell that can be aimed to get rid of the chains. He murmurs the chant, and then -
Nothing?
"... Vana, I think there's something here preventing magic."
Nothing?
"... Vana, I think there's something here preventing magic."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Mmm. Makes sense. Lemme look, I'll find something."
Savannah starts investigating the area for key-like things, or, conversely, something that will cut through chains.
Savannah starts investigating the area for key-like things, or, conversely, something that will cut through chains.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
There's a key on the little tray of grotesque instruments.
Bella sobs, either unable to explain or not willing to break up the audible freakout for it.
Bella sobs, either unable to explain or not willing to break up the audible freakout for it.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah takes the key. She also pockets some of the more useful grotesque instruments - she's still plotting murder. Also torture, now, because they need to know who was responsible for orchestrating this.
She starts unlocking chains.
She starts unlocking chains.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"It's okay," soothes Darren, softly, because he can't just leave his girlfriend to freak out like this. "We're here, we're getting you out."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
I know, Bella mouths silently, and then she produces a credible wail to keep the torturers from wondering what's up.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He smiles, just a little - she can't see it, because he's still invisible. He murmurs, "I love you."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
And - click, there goes the last of Bella's chains.
"My vote - kill all but one, keep that one for interrogation, figure out who's in charge of this shit and then make sure this never happens again."
"My vote - kill all but one, keep that one for interrogation, figure out who's in charge of this shit and then make sure this never happens again."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"We get Bella out first," hisses Darren. "So she can heal herself, and then we work from there."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella makes an attempt to stand up.
It doesn't work especially well.
"Ink monster's in the building," she warns hastily before screaming again.
It doesn't work especially well.
"Ink monster's in the building," she warns hastily before screaming again.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren shifts to fullform, and then he's there beside her, invisibly trying to support her while not hurting her. As much as possible.
"I've brought lots of spells. I think I can kill it, that was the plan if you were -" He stops, because he can't choke out the words 'If you were dead.'
"I've brought lots of spells. I think I can kill it, that was the plan if you were -" He stops, because he can't choke out the words 'If you were dead.'
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"They're going to find the corpse soon, it's a matter of time 'til they do. Dare, you do your thing, stick with Bella, I'm going to start killing people."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay. Want an invisibility scroll?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Couldn't hurt. If I find ink monster, and it comes after me, I'll scream like a banshee. Come blow it up, if that happens."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"It's fast," hisses Bella, "I almost escaped once but it got me again - AAAAAAAAAAH," she adds as a helpful afterthought, "but I don't think it flies."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren passes the invisible invisibility scroll towards Savannah, and after ten seconds away from him, it turns visible.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah takes the scroll, reads over what its chant is, and then pockets it. "Okay, minute they find the corpse I use invisibility and start flying around being death from above, got it. Dare, don't be here with Bella when that happens."
She straightens up, drops back into an eerily accurate body language of the fellow whose heart she ate, and then she (he?) turns and leaves.
Off to go kill people.
She straightens up, drops back into an eerily accurate body language of the fellow whose heart she ate, and then she (he?) turns and leaves.
Off to go kill people.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella's still struggling to stand up so she can get out of the antimagic field.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Her boyfriend is - trying to help her do that. Gently.
"You can lean on me, it'll - probably hurt, though, because - well," he murmurs. "I'll help you move, though."
"You can lean on me, it'll - probably hurt, though, because - well," he murmurs. "I'll help you move, though."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella leans, and this scream is a little less unfeigned than the last one.
Heavily favoring her most recently declawed paw, she drags herself out of the room.
And then collapses, healed.
Heavily favoring her most recently declawed paw, she drags herself out of the room.
And then collapses, healed.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren glances around, then retrieves another invisibility scroll - his last one, in fact - and uses it on Bella.
He shifts to midform, drapes an invisible wing over her while still keeping thumbs, and he waits. For either the corpse to be found, his sister to be caught, or Bella to wake up.
He shifts to midform, drapes an invisible wing over her while still keeping thumbs, and he waits. For either the corpse to be found, his sister to be caught, or Bella to wake up.
"HOLY SHIT," says one of the torturers, who went to get coffee. "ROB, HE'S REALLY REALLY FUCKING DEAD!"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Want to know who else is really, really fucking dead? Rob. Rob is really, really fucking dead. Savannah wipes off her bloodied knife onto his shirt, wondering if it's worth the time investment to eat his heart and take his form. The call from the coffee-retrieving torturer tells her that it's not. She gives the corpse a kick, because the bastard deserved it, and then she gets out her invisibility scroll and ceases to be visible.
She shifts in her wings, and she takes to the skies. She heads over to the torturer, the one that's found the corpse. This one gets to be the one that gets interrogated.
"Rob's not here right now," she says, in the dead fellow's voice. No use blowing her identity if she can avoid it, even if she's way better at the terrifying purr in her voice than dead fellow was. "Can I take a message?"
She shifts in her wings, and she takes to the skies. She heads over to the torturer, the one that's found the corpse. This one gets to be the one that gets interrogated.
"Rob's not here right now," she says, in the dead fellow's voice. No use blowing her identity if she can avoid it, even if she's way better at the terrifying purr in her voice than dead fellow was. "Can I take a message?"
"HOLY SHIT," repeats the non-Rob torturer.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Nah, I don't look like shit at all. I'll accept the divinity, though."
She slams into him, invisible, keeping an eye out for the ink monster and ready to jump back into the skies at a moment's notice.
"So who's your boss?" she asks, pleasantly, like they're getting coffee together.
She slams into him, invisible, keeping an eye out for the ink monster and ready to jump back into the skies at a moment's notice.
"So who's your boss?" she asks, pleasantly, like they're getting coffee together.
"Oh my god who are you what's going on," babbles the torturer, flailing his hands at the invisible attacker.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I," says Savannah, dodging the flailing hands and adding in some knives to the equation, "am the holy not-shit. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. This is an interrogation, I'm better at it than you are!"
She's still talking in a dead-man's voice, but the rest of her body's hers. She knows how to use it well. Knife. Knife to throat, and then one of the man's arms gets to go snap, because Savannah does not want to deal with its shit right now. The other gets pinned by Savannah's knee.
She's still talking in a dead-man's voice, but the rest of her body's hers. She knows how to use it well. Knife. Knife to throat, and then one of the man's arms gets to go snap, because Savannah does not want to deal with its shit right now. The other gets pinned by Savannah's knee.
He can dish it out, but he can't take it; he chokes back a scream.
Meanwhile, near the corridor of cubicle walls where Bella is passed out with Darren's wing over her, a darkness shoops around the corner.
Meanwhile, near the corridor of cubicle walls where Bella is passed out with Darren's wing over her, a darkness shoops around the corner.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Tsk, tsk, I'm disappointed, that wasn't even the opener, it was just your arm annoying me," snorts Savannah. "But hey, if you want to make my job tons easier, go for it, pretend to be a knocked over jar and spill all of the beans."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren looks up a the darkness, and then he sort of growls. That thing? That thing is going to die.
He retrieves a scroll, and he starts chanting, softly, under his breath.
He retrieves a scroll, and he starts chanting, softly, under his breath.
To be fair, he isn't spilling any beans, he's just tearing up and gibbering. He still has three functioning limbs; he is now using them to try to get away.
Shoop shoop.
Shoop shoop.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Blah, annoying man. Now his other limbs are annoying her.
So, in turn, one by one - they get to go snap.
So, in turn, one by one - they get to go snap.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren's not sure if this spell will work, but it seems the best bet of all of the spells he has on him. Energy-draining, life-stealing - he is going to unmake that - thing. Steal its essence away to nothingness.
He finishes his chant, and the spell goes.
He finishes his chant, and the spell goes.
The torturer isn't struggling anymore. Well, he doesn't have much to do it with.
The darkness shudders - but doesn't stop.
Shooooop.
The darkness shudders - but doesn't stop.
Shooooop.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"See, isn't that nicer?" soothes Savannah, in false-sweet tones, once all limbs have gone snap and he's stopped annoying her. "Now we can get started! Exciting, isn't it? You sure you don't want to start talking now? Don't worry, I'll give you a breather, you can have some time to collect your thoughts."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren hisses a curse word, and he starts fumbling for another scroll - what the hell will work against the thing, what on Earth kills it?
Another scroll - ice. He'll freeze the - thing. Whatever it is. He chants, and then - spell goes.
Another scroll - ice. He'll freeze the - thing. Whatever it is. He chants, and then - spell goes.
The shooping darkness does not seem to be freezable. However, it doesn't like moving on the frost that forms on the floor. It stops, and starts edging around it.
The man takes his breather. During it, he breathes.
The man takes his breather. During it, he breathes.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah waits.
Then: "You ready to spill some beans?"
Then: "You ready to spill some beans?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Well, that's - something, at least.
Another ice spell, not even aimed at the shooping darkness, but aimed to cut it off from getting to him and Bella. He needs time to think - what can kill - inky darkness?
Another ice spell, not even aimed at the shooping darkness, but aimed to cut it off from getting to him and Bella. He needs time to think - what can kill - inky darkness?
"What do you want?" he asks fearfully.
The shooping darkness turns around.
An extremely optimistic person might think it has given up.
The shooping darkness turns around.
An extremely optimistic person might think it has given up.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Who's your boss? Why does he want to know where the sphinxes are? Why kidnapping and torture, you could have just as easily sat down for tea with the sphinx you snatched."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren's not extremely optimistic. But - this is something, at least.
He shakes Bella, a little, hoping she'll wake up and - magic fairy princess the shooping darkness away.
(He thinks of which scrolls he should try, next.)
He shakes Bella, a little, hoping she'll wake up and - magic fairy princess the shooping darkness away.
(He thinks of which scrolls he should try, next.)
"We worked for the guy you killed - he was working for somebody - we didn't snatch her, it was the dark thing!"
Bella shifts when shoved, but doesn't wake.
Bella shifts when shoved, but doesn't wake.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Well that's unfortunate. Hmm.
"Ah, yes. That thing. Not to worry, we have someone working on it, right this minute." She hopes. C'mon, Dare, don't let your sister down. Kill the hell out of the ink monster. "Got anything useful to tell me, or do I have to force it out of you?"
"Ah, yes. That thing. Not to worry, we have someone working on it, right this minute." She hopes. C'mon, Dare, don't let your sister down. Kill the hell out of the ink monster. "Got anything useful to tell me, or do I have to force it out of you?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Right. Right, okay, then - the ink monster's going to be circling around. Darren has one more ice scroll left, but it's not enough to cover the surrounding area in frost. That's fine, he's got a magic marker. He'll draw out more runes to - get a protective circle of frost around him and Bella. And then he'll try to figure something out from there.
Scribble, scribble.
Scribble, scribble.
"I don't know anything about who he was working for!" wails the guy. "I'm a specialist!"
The ink monster is fast, but either it's not very good at mazes, or it's given up, or it's doing something else.
The ink monster is fast, but either it's not very good at mazes, or it's given up, or it's doing something else.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Let me guess. You specialize in torture."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
That's - worrying, he hopes it's not going after Savannah, but it's not like he can carry Bella out right now. He definitely isn't going to leave her. So, protections it is. It gives away where they are if anyone that isn't the ink monster shows up, but Darren can handle anyone that isn't the ink monster. Probably.
He finishes the ice spell. One chant later, and the circle around them is a bit more complete. He could finish it with the scroll at this point, but that seems like wasted resources. He'll draw out another spell, and keep the scroll in reserve.
He finishes the ice spell. One chant later, and the circle around them is a bit more complete. He could finish it with the scroll at this point, but that seems like wasted resources. He'll draw out another spell, and keep the scroll in reserve.
"That's what I - was hired for," whimpers the guy.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"By dead dude. Mhmmm."
She will have to investigate the paper trail.
"Well, how's that working out for you, jackass? Feel proud of yourself?"
She will have to investigate the paper trail.
"Well, how's that working out for you, jackass? Feel proud of yourself?"
"Oh, God, what do you want," says the jackass.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
If she had time to work, she'd make him suffer for torturing Bella, and be sure that there isn't anything that she missed, intelligence wise. But there are guards outside who will probably catch on any minute, there's an ink monster that hasn't been accounted for, and an unknown number of people that are running around here.
She does not want to deal with a hostage, or a prisoner.
"Just one thing," she informs him. "You're getting off lucky."
And then she slices open his throat.
She does not want to deal with a hostage, or a prisoner.
"Just one thing," she informs him. "You're getting off lucky."
And then she slices open his throat.
The result is predictable.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Entirely.
She takes to the sky, and goes looking for - others. Other people to question, other people to kill, or the ink monster.
She takes to the sky, and goes looking for - others. Other people to question, other people to kill, or the ink monster.
There's the ink monster. Slipping out the door of the warehouse.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Okay. Bad that it's alive, Darren hasn't gotten to it, yet. Or he lost. She does not think he lost. She suspects it's going to warn the guards, get some backup, instead. That's bad, they'll have weaponry, they'll be aware that she's invisible and watch each other's backs.
Hmmm, what's a way to turn the tides with the materials she has, when outnumbered...
Out the monster goes.
The door opens. Guards, with guns, come in.
The door opens. Guards, with guns, come in.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Yup. Called it.
Where's the power? She's going to need to separate them and - well, she ate the heart of their boss. Let's play with them a bit. She soars on silent wings, searching for a way to cut the power.
Where's the power? She's going to need to separate them and - well, she ate the heart of their boss. Let's play with them a bit. She soars on silent wings, searching for a way to cut the power.
There's a big fusebox on the wall over there.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Oh, how nice. All of these switches that are switched on? They get to go off now.
And on the first day, Savannah said, "Let there be darkness."
Lo. It was dark.
And on the first day, Savannah said, "Let there be darkness."
Lo. It was dark.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren flinches in alarm at the darkness. Wing, over Bella, she is going to be safe. That - must have been where the ink monster went. Clever bastard. Okay, well, ice has been the only thing that's worked so far, but Darren can't draw out the runes for it in the dark.
The problem is not that there isn't a solution. He came prepared. Night vision goggles weren't possible on short notice, but a scroll to help with seeing in the dark? For him? Much easier. He just has to get to it. And to find the right one, that requires being able to see, which requires the scroll and - well, catch twenty-two.
He solves it by using his cellphone. Just enough to see by, and - bam, scroll. The light from it was possibly noticeable, but so's the ice ring, and he needs to see in the dark. Worth the risk.
One murmured chant later, and Darren can see in the dark.
The problem is not that there isn't a solution. He came prepared. Night vision goggles weren't possible on short notice, but a scroll to help with seeing in the dark? For him? Much easier. He just has to get to it. And to find the right one, that requires being able to see, which requires the scroll and - well, catch twenty-two.
He solves it by using his cellphone. Just enough to see by, and - bam, scroll. The light from it was possibly noticeable, but so's the ice ring, and he needs to see in the dark. Worth the risk.
One murmured chant later, and Darren can see in the dark.
The guards, for their part, have flashlights.
The ink monster stays near the doorway, where there's sunlight, rather than following them back in. It is a puddle at the door.
The ink monster stays near the doorway, where there's sunlight, rather than following them back in. It is a puddle at the door.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Yeah, Savannah figured they would. She'll just - use them to see by, too.
She floats to a place out of the way but near the guards. Some place they can get to but not easily. She switches to her other voice (the male one) and then says, pathetically, like she's wounded, "Help, please, is - someone there...?"
She floats to a place out of the way but near the guards. Some place they can get to but not easily. She switches to her other voice (the male one) and then says, pathetically, like she's wounded, "Help, please, is - someone there...?"
"Boss?" says one of the guards. "Where are you, what happened?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Over here, something - didn't see them, sphinxes, maybe - attacked me. It broke my leg, I can't move."
"Are the sphinxes still here? Is the antimagic area intact?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"It said something about - teleportation. Probably going to grab the one we got and teleport away with her. Augh -" she winces with false pain, hoping it's convincing in this foreign voice, "- come get me, I think once they get her I think they're going to kill me, but you can't - can't let them get away with the sphinx."
As in, split up, gang. C'mon, fall for the ploy. You know you want to.
As in, split up, gang. C'mon, fall for the ploy. You know you want to.
"I'll call an ambulance," one suggests. "We need to find the antimagic zone or we're sitting ducks."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"You wanna explain the torture equipment to the ambulance?" hisses Savannah. "Because I don't. Just - carry me out, I need cell reception, I know someone that can help -"
"Paramedics won't have to go far enough in to see anything," argues one of the guards.
"Do you know how to get the dark thing someplace they won't see it, though?" asks one of the others.
"...Point. Boss? How do we control the dark thing?"
"Do you know how to get the dark thing someplace they won't see it, though?" asks one of the others.
"...Point. Boss? How do we control the dark thing?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Fuck.
"You won't be able to," she says, thinking on her feet. "Too complicated - I've got it, but I have to be close, drag me to it, I'll get it. Then - paramedics."
"You won't be able to," she says, thinking on her feet. "Too complicated - I've got it, but I have to be close, drag me to it, I'll get it. Then - paramedics."
"Right then," and they move towards her voice.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Some of you - I need you to check on the anti magic field, if it's intact that's where we need to be, paramedics or no, I don't know if the sphinxes are still here."
Meanwhile, in Savannah's head - maniacal laughter. It's working, it's working. Ha.
Meanwhile, in Savannah's head - maniacal laughter. It's working, it's working. Ha.
"Garcia, Johns," says the guard in charge, "you get him, we'll check the antimagic."
Garcia and Johns obligingly peel off towards Savannah.
Garcia and Johns obligingly peel off towards Savannah.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
How nice of them.
Savannah just needs to wait until the other guards are out of sight, and then she swoops around and glides behind the two of them, landing on quiet shoes. She has the absurd urge to say, "I am the night" but then she realizes where that's from and decides that she's been spending too much time with her brother. The nerdiness is spreading.
She stalks the one in the rear, and then when the other's eyeing something else - slice. One more, down. One to go, then she deals with the other group.
Savannah just needs to wait until the other guards are out of sight, and then she swoops around and glides behind the two of them, landing on quiet shoes. She has the absurd urge to say, "I am the night" but then she realizes where that's from and decides that she's been spending too much time with her brother. The nerdiness is spreading.
She stalks the one in the rear, and then when the other's eyeing something else - slice. One more, down. One to go, then she deals with the other group.
The other group knows where the antimagic field is. The entrance to it is - right behind Darren and Bella, actually.
They're invisible, but the ice isn't.
"What the hell -"
They're invisible, but the ice isn't.
"What the hell -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah takes care of the second guard, and then she's in the air and heading towards Darren -
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren barely dares to breathe.
He needs to shield himself and Bella from gunfire, but - but they'll hear him if he chants. So he stays absolutely still and just - waits. To see what they'll do.
He needs to shield himself and Bella from gunfire, but - but they'll hear him if he chants. So he stays absolutely still and just - waits. To see what they'll do.
"Sphinxes?" asks a guard dubiously.
"Doing what? Well, step careful."
They go over the ice, step by step.
"Doing what? Well, step careful."
They go over the ice, step by step.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah - doesn't know if Darren's inside that ice circle, but she has suspicions. That wasn't an accident, he deliberately did that, it must have been to protect himself and Bella from the ink monster. Worth giving up the element of surprise if it means her brother doesn't get shot.
"We're doing stuff," says Savannah, in her own voice, from behind them in the air, adding a laugh for theatrics. "The others are gone with her, we win, fuck you. You can tell 'cause of the ice circle, for future reference, it means they teleported."
"We're doing stuff," says Savannah, in her own voice, from behind them in the air, adding a laugh for theatrics. "The others are gone with her, we win, fuck you. You can tell 'cause of the ice circle, for future reference, it means they teleported."
Now there are guns firing in her general direction.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Of course there are. She expected that. She expected that, right? Fuck, this was a bad idea. Darren owes her one.
One of her wings catches a bullet, and she hisses and uses the other to - spin to the floor, shifting mid-way to full human to get her delicate wings out of the way of any more harm. She's had better landings, certainly, but this one's hard to hear over the gunfire.
She hopes to hell Darren is actually there and can use the distraction she just bought him.
One of her wings catches a bullet, and she hisses and uses the other to - spin to the floor, shifting mid-way to full human to get her delicate wings out of the way of any more harm. She's had better landings, certainly, but this one's hard to hear over the gunfire.
She hopes to hell Darren is actually there and can use the distraction she just bought him.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren is both there, and he can use this to his advantage.
A scroll, a mumbled chant, and then - the guards are all on fire.
A scroll, a mumbled chant, and then - the guards are all on fire.
They stop, drop, and roll.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
That's time enough for Savannah to get another knife and - well, rush in to do some stabbing while they are dealing with this 'on fire' problem.
"No AoEs!" she growls, for Darren to hear. Then she realizes what she just said, as she is slicing open a guard's throat. Oh, hell, it is spreading, she's becoming a nerd, too, she just used a word that Darren would use and used it perfectly. She'll nerd out every full moon and go running off to live in a basement or something. Great, just great.
"No AoEs!" she growls, for Darren to hear. Then she realizes what she just said, as she is slicing open a guard's throat. Oh, hell, it is spreading, she's becoming a nerd, too, she just used a word that Darren would use and used it perfectly. She'll nerd out every full moon and go running off to live in a basement or something. Great, just great.
When one of them sees another's throat opening up he gets up, still slightly on fire, and tackles the general area Savannah's in.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Oof. Down Savannah goes.
She struggles, and then she starts trying to stab her attacker.
She struggles, and then she starts trying to stab her attacker.
He's still got a gun, although he's sort of unclear on what to aim at.
Bang.
Bang.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
It hits her shoulder. Ow.
Savannah, unlike the guard, has a much better idea of what to aim at. Knife, knife to heart, knife to face, knife to literally anything she can reach, get the gun away from her she doesn't want to die.
Savannah, unlike the guard, has a much better idea of what to aim at. Knife, knife to heart, knife to face, knife to literally anything she can reach, get the gun away from her she doesn't want to die.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren has finally retrieved another scroll that will not blow his sister up along with the other guards -
Chant, chant, and a guard goes down from having a very severe case of brain freeze.
Chant, chant, and a guard goes down from having a very severe case of brain freeze.
Death. Death.
One live'un left.
He isn't on fire anymore; he scrambles over the ice towards the source of Darren's voice, firing.
One live'un left.
He isn't on fire anymore; he scrambles over the ice towards the source of Darren's voice, firing.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren abruptly realizes that he probably should have created a shield before speaking and letting people know he's here. This is about the same time that a bullet enters his right arm. Ow. Pain. Lots of it.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah shoves the corpse off of her, huffing and ignoring the pain in her shoulder -
Darren.
She doesn't think, she just reacts, and then there is a knife in her hand. Then it ceases to be in her hand, because it's buried in the guard's back. Then she retrieves her kill's gun, because she is officially pissed and if they touch her brother they get to die with extreme prejudice.
And then she gets up, and she stalks over to the guard, and she shoots him.
Over. And over. And over. Until she is out of bullets.
Darren.
She doesn't think, she just reacts, and then there is a knife in her hand. Then it ceases to be in her hand, because it's buried in the guard's back. Then she retrieves her kill's gun, because she is officially pissed and if they touch her brother they get to die with extreme prejudice.
And then she gets up, and she stalks over to the guard, and she shoots him.
Over. And over. And over. Until she is out of bullets.
It doesn't have that many bullets. Soon it's over and the warehouse is quiet.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella chooses this moment to stir slightly, whimpering. (This may jostle Darren's bullet wound.)
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren winces with pain, but he doesn't undrape his wing from Bella, he just - grabs a hold of his right arm in pain. Which, ironically, makes it worse. Ow.
"That could have gone better. Bella. Bella are you awake?"
"That could have gone better. Bella. Bella are you awake?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah doesn't say anything for a while, she just - breathes. Heavily. And then she sinks to the floor in a heap.
"Dare, Dare tell me you are all right," she whimpers.
"Dare, Dare tell me you are all right," she whimpers.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'm all right," he assures. "Just - bullet clipped my arm."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Oh god I hate the smell of blood - what's -" She squints in the dim light of the dropped flashlights. "What's going on -?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"We just killed," declares Savannah, "a fuckton of people."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Are - are you okay - I can probably heal you - which one of you is hurt worse, bleeding more - are there more people, did you get the monster -"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Monster's - at the door, waiting I think, Dare, the ice circle, is it for -"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Keeping the thing out, it doesn't like traveling over ice. Bella, I've been shot, but I've got scrolls, I can handle it. Savannah, you?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Shot twice. Wing, shoulder. Hurts like a bitch."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Okay - Darren, please heal yourself, I can't control this thing and if you're going to be shot right next to me I might well pass out and then Savannah's going to go on being shot -" Bella heaves herself to her feet with effort.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Mhm," agrees Darren, scooting away and then getting to retrieving the correct scroll with his left hand. He looks like a mess. But then he heals himself. He still looks like a mess, but at least he's stopped bleeding on things and being shot.
"Got it."
"Got it."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I'm over here," says the still invisible Savannah. "I don't know where you are, I'll stay put, just - follow the sound of my voice."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Mmhm." Bella kisses Darren on the top of his head, and starts edging over the ice border towards Savannah's voice. "Can one of you find my medallion after -?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Yeah, I'll - find the fuse box, turn back on the power so we can see. Go looking for the medallion. Those should be all of the guards, I think, if there are more we all fly up in the air and - Darren blasts them."
She's breathing heavily. She shifts to fullform, inspecting the injured wing and wincing.
She's breathing heavily. She shifts to fullform, inspecting the injured wing and wincing.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella nods.
"Okay, this is the first time I've tried to do this on purpose -"
She concentrates. It doesn't work immediately.
"Okay, this is the first time I've tried to do this on purpose -"
She concentrates. It doesn't work immediately.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah - waits.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'll get the fuse box," says Darren, standing with a groan. "I can see in the dark now, it's easier for me to do it."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"How the hell does my fairy princess magic w," says Bella, and then she collapses.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Thanks," murmurs Savannah. "Dare, good plan - go, I'll protect her."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren nods, and then flies off to fix the lights.
He stops, when he sees the ink monster at the door, and he hovers and - watches it.
He stops, when he sees the ink monster at the door, and he hovers and - watches it.
It is a pool of void in the doorway out of the warehouse. Sloshing back and forth slowly.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Hmmm.
Darren goes and gets a flashlight from - one of the many dead guards, warily watching the ink monster. Is it going to come after him during the vulnerable time when he's on the ground?
The ink monster does not leave its position.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Interesting.
Darren goes back up into the air in midform, and then he - shines the flashlight down at the ground in front of the ink monster. What does it do?
Darren goes back up into the air in midform, and then he - shines the flashlight down at the ground in front of the ink monster. What does it do?
It sloshes forward, extending into the new patch of light.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren turns off the flashlight.
It shoops disconsolately back into the area of light provided by the open door.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Aw, poor little kidnapping horrific void monster thing, it breaks his heart to see it sad. Except not. Not at all. Darren would like it to be dead.
He starts looking around for some paper. He's got an idea for a spell to draft.
He starts looking around for some paper. He's got an idea for a spell to draft.
There are officey places in this warehouse. File cabinets, desks.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Easy places to find paper and a pen in. He finds both, and then he flies over to inform Savannah of what he's doing.
"The ink monster," he says, "only stays in the light. I'm going to make a spell that traps it in darkness, and see what happens."
"The ink monster," he says, "only stays in the light. I'm going to make a spell that traps it in darkness, and see what happens."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"... Ooo. Ooo, okay, then - don't turn on the lights."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren snorts. "Really? Don't, you say? I never would have guessed."
Spell drafting, spell drafting, runes runes runes runes.
Spell drafting, spell drafting, runes runes runes runes.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah laughs a little, and then she settles in to wait. The only sound is of Darren's pen, and occasional muttered cursewords as he gets things wrong. He'll get it eventually, she believes in him.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
And then, entirely predictably, he does.
"Got it," he informs, and by this point his invisibility has worn off. "Let me go try this out, wait here."
He flies off, back to the door, to look at the ink monster.
"Got it," he informs, and by this point his invisibility has worn off. "Let me go try this out, wait here."
He flies off, back to the door, to look at the ink monster.
It is stirring itself around in little circles.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Charming. Let's see what this does.
"Light, sunlight, brightness, begone. Surround and entrap that which is dark with your absence. I ask you, I order you, begone. Turn away, and brighten that place no more, let it suffer without the light. I order you - begone!" he says, in French.
And then the ink monster is thrown into total darkness.
"Light, sunlight, brightness, begone. Surround and entrap that which is dark with your absence. I ask you, I order you, begone. Turn away, and brighten that place no more, let it suffer without the light. I order you - begone!" he says, in French.
And then the ink monster is thrown into total darkness.
Well.
Nothing visible happens within the scope of the darkness spell.
Nothing visible happens within the scope of the darkness spell.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
That's - Darren's not sure if that's a good thing or not. He decides to wait and see if it worked. He has no idea how long the area will be covered in darkness, so - time to go medallion hunting, before his 'darkvision' wears off.
Copious searching will eventually reveal the medallion in a desk drawer under the coffee machine.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren gets to see various corpses during his search. That's - a bit disturbing, but okay. Medallion, that is the thing he's after, and he just got it. He'll worry about the disturbing implications of this entire trip later.
He flies back to Savannah and Bella.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella is still snoozing on the slowly melting ice, head resting on her re-clawed left forepaw, wings folded tightly to her back and tail coiled around a rear leg.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Landing, Darren gently slips the medallion over her head. Where it belongs.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Is the thing dead?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I have no idea. I put it in darkness but it's not like there was a way that I could check. I'm waiting for it to wear off and then seeing if it's gone or not."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"And if that didn't work?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"... We never ever get a nightlight?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I mean how do we kill it?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"If I knew that, it'd be dead already. If that didn't work I'll - try something else. I'll kill it."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I know you will," agrees Savannah.
And then they silently agree to spend the time waiting for Bella to wake up in silence.
And then they silently agree to spend the time waiting for Bella to wake up in silence.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Eventually, Bella wakes up.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Hey," says Darren, gently. "Got your medallion back, figured out a - weakness the ink monster has. It doesn't like darkness, so I hit it with a darkness spell, we're not sure if it's dead now or not. Thus, why the lights are off."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"No idea how to domesticate it?" Bella yawns, scooting closer to him.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"No idea. Kind of don't want to, useful as it would be if we managed it. It ate you."
He wants it to die because of that. It's a subtle thing, now, he's not as angry now that Bella is obviously safe and healthy, but it certainly hasn't gone away.
He wants it to die because of that. It's a subtle thing, now, he's not as angry now that Bella is obviously safe and healthy, but it certainly hasn't gone away.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I don't think it was very smart. Maybe a little brighter than a dog." She puts her wing around him, tucks her head under his chin, sighs.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"If I didn't kill it with the darkness spell, we can see about - trying to domesticate it," he says, dubiously.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I'm - patching together clues - Savannah, did you eat that one guy's heart?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Yup."
She doesn't sound like she regrets it.
"Tempted to eat some others, here, since they're all dead anyway."
She doesn't sound like she regrets it.
"Tempted to eat some others, here, since they're all dead anyway."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Don't," winces Darren. "Please."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"And that let you pass for him - do you know how he was directing the monster?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Nope, no idea. I got - flashes of memories, but not all of them, I know he likes pumpkin pie, for instance. But not how he directed the ink monster. Sorry."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Who he was working for?" tries Bella. She extends claws, scratches the ice with a horrible sound.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"I - don't have enough to go off of. I got the voice, it was soft and quiet but it echoed across the entire room, almost like a whisper but sweeter. Rather unforgettable, so that's - something. I know dead-person was terrified of him, that he scrambled to do everything to make the boss happy. But other than that... Not much."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Do you know if any of these people were critters?"
She's squeezed very tight to Darren, trembling a very little.
She's squeezed very tight to Darren, trembling a very little.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren kisses Bella's forehead, and then wraps his arms and wings around her. Some measure of comfort.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"If they are, they were in human form. We'd have to check for medallions. Which we should do, we'd make a killing if there were any."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Sure. Loot the corpses," sighs Bella. Snuggle. She will obviously not be participating any time soon.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren does not want to participate, either. Snuggle.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Looting, wheee," says Savannah, and then she fumbles her way to a flashlight and gets to looting.
One of the guards who was supposed to bring "the boss" out to where paramedics could collect him has a satyr medallion, and the torturer she didn't extensively talk to has a nokk medallion. Everyone else is either a (dead) human or very thoroughly shapeshifted by other means.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Meanwhile, Bella murmurs to Darren: "If she eats the others - the memories might add up to something better."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Oh, look, two medallions. Those are Savannah's, now. Ka-ching!
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"... Possibly," allows Darren. "But I'm - worried about her."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Do you think eating the hearts will make it worse?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I have no idea. It's - kind of a... Unique situation."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah. But - they're already dead."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"They are," he agrees, quietly.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Would you feel better about that if I went into extensive detail on why I'm not significantly upset?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'm not upset that they're dead," clarifies Darren. "I'm just - I think we might be losing something if we sent my sister to eat their hearts for convenience."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"It might not be convenience. If they know things about the person they were working for, and Savannah can piece them together, we could find him before he finds another monster to eat me right out of your lap."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay. Okay, then - she can... Go ahead with it." He buries his face in Bella's shoulder.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella hugs him.
She's still ever so slightly shaky.
She's still ever so slightly shaky.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Snuggle. All of the snuggles. Darren's obviously not well, wither, but it shows differently. He's more quiet, with a sort of far-off look in his eyes.
He's going to need to invent more spells to make sure this never happens again.
He's going to need to invent more spells to make sure this never happens again.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah, meanwhile - is mostly fine. She herself doesn't seem shaken up, but every now and then during her looting she just so happens to stop by and check to see if both Darren and Bella are there and safe. That is the most important thing. She loots, too, but - she preps again for another attack, picking up several fallen guns to keep. She'll practice with them, later, she doesn't like how she reacted to the recoil of the first gun. Savannah will fix that, she'll be a champion marksman in no time.
Once she's done looting and loaded up with weaponry, she informs them, "Okay, done. Unless you changed your mind on eating the hearts? It would be useful to have, in case I need to be sneaky."
Once she's done looting and loaded up with weaponry, she informs them, "Okay, done. Unless you changed your mind on eating the hearts? It would be useful to have, in case I need to be sneaky."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Not for sneakiness purposes, but if you think you could find out more about whose orders they were working on, that could be very important. If the guy whose heart you already ate was the only one who knew anything - don't bother."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"He probably is, the guards seemed kind of out of the loop, the torturers, too. But I can always check."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Then - I don't know, if they only vaguely might know something - I guess I don't care."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Dare?" asks Savannah, when Darren doesn't immediately volunteer his opinion.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'm - not sure."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah blinks. "Okay. Well if you're doing that thing you do where you're worried about my innocence or some shit, don't bother, I got this."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Are you sure?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Yup. I know me better than you do. I'm not freaking out about killing them, but I do want to be as prepared as possible if this shit ever happens again." Pause. "So, I want to eat all of their hearts."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"If you say so. Were there any critters? You can't use those, right?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Two. I don't think I can use those. I can always try," she shrugs. "If all else fails, guess I have dinner early."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"You seem strangely enthusiastic about eating raw hearts."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"It's the practical thing to do, and they're surprisingly delicious."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Ew."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I suppose you're - built for it," says Bella dubiously.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Guess so! I'm not complaining. I'd still do it if it wasn't delicious, but I'd probably have a harder time at chewing it."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah."
Bella snuggles closer to Darren.
Bella snuggles closer to Darren.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren snuggles her back, closing his eyes.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah gets to work. She's polite enough to drag the corpses out of view of Darren and Bella, before she starts. She leaves out the satyr and the nokk, but everyone else's heart? She's going to try to eat. She shifts halfway through the second to fullform, and then it just sort of - comes naturally. It seems absurd that she can fit this many hearts in her stomach, but... It works. It just works.
"Done," she says, once she's eaten the hearts of everyone they've killed. Her face is covered in blood and gore. "Time to check on the ink monster?"
"Done," she says, once she's eaten the hearts of everyone they've killed. Her face is covered in blood and gore. "Time to check on the ink monster?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Maybe. How does the spell on it work, Darren?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren launches into a very technical reasoning - he lists out the runes he used and ballparks the configuration he put them in, but can't get it exactly right from memory without redoing the math.
"I'll remake it when we get home, certainly. It seems like it could be useful."
"I'll remake it when we get home, certainly. It seems like it could be useful."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Okay. Let's go see what it did."
Bella heaves herself up onto her paws.
Bella heaves herself up onto her paws.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Her boyfriend follows in fullform, and off they go to the exit.
Is the ink monster still there, noticeably alive?
Is the ink monster still there, noticeably alive?
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
The spell has worn off.
There is a puddle of goo. It doesn't slosh around.
"How do we tell?" wonders Bella.
There is a puddle of goo. It doesn't slosh around.
"How do we tell?" wonders Bella.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"It was sloshing, earlier," says Darren, dubiously.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I don't know if it's smart enough to play dead, but I don't know that it's not either."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Hmmm."
He goes off, grabs a flashlight, and then flies up and shines a light down at the ground in front of the ink monster. Is it going to go into the light? Or has it already done so? (Ha.)
He goes off, grabs a flashlight, and then flies up and shines a light down at the ground in front of the ink monster. Is it going to go into the light? Or has it already done so? (Ha.)
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
It doesn't move.
"Looks dead," sighs Bella. "I guess I didn't really have a good idea of how to retrain it, anyway..."
"Looks dead," sighs Bella. "I guess I didn't really have a good idea of how to retrain it, anyway..."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Imagine trying to play fetch with it. It'd be a nightmare."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I think I'd find it very satisfying if I played 'fetch your old boss's boss', personally."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Good point. Then it'd be a nightmare for other people."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yes."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Well. It's a bit of a flight home, Bella, are you up for it? Or should we - try to get cleaned up and then find a hotel we can afford?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"How much of a flight is a bit - and how much of a hilarious comedy of errors will it be to try to hose down here so we can eat something first? They weren't feeding me."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren's eyes narrow, a bit. "... Of course they weren't. We have a backpack, we brought some sandwiches, we stashed it outside."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Pass on sandwiches, I'm full."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Of course you are. I could really, really use a sandwich right now," sighs Bella. "What does the outside of this place look like, where are we?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Several hours south of Forks. We may or may not be in Oregon, there weren't any road markers to let us know where we were."
Darren lands, and then - carefully, carefully steps into the light. Is the ink monster definitely dead?
Darren lands, and then - carefully, carefully steps into the light. Is the ink monster definitely dead?
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Well, it doesn't move. Whether this means it's dead or hibernating might be a question for people more versed in the ways of ink monsters.
When it doesn't attack him Bella steps forward too.
When it doesn't attack him Bella steps forward too.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He eyes the ink monster for any sign of attack after Bella steps forward, but upon seeing none - off to lead Bella to the sandwiches. He pauses, when he notices something after Savannah's stepped back into the sunlight.
"... Savannah. Your shadow's weird."
"... Savannah. Your shadow's weird."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Mm?" says Savannah, and then she turns and looks at it.
She's not even in midform, but her shadow is of a peryton in fullform.
"... Huh."
She's not even in midform, but her shadow is of a peryton in fullform.
"... Huh."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"That could be inconvenient for stealth, but I guess most people don't study each other's shadows... and it could be awkward among critters too, I suppose."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Little bit. If they know why I've got it. But think of the icebreaker!"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Oh my god, you're a murderer, get away from me? That kind of icebreaker?"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah cracks up. "It's not a perfect solution, I'll admit!"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Well, maybe people won't notice and if they notice they won't know what it means, I guess. Let's get the lights back on and see if there's plumbing in here so we can get less - bloody."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Sure, I know where the fusebox is."
She heads back inside to turn on the lights.
She heads back inside to turn on the lights.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Sandwiches, meanwhile?" prompts Darren.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yes. Please tell me they're in plastic bags so I don't have to touch them with my hands."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"They are, don't worry."
Off they go, to retrieve sandwiches.
Off they go, to retrieve sandwiches.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella takes a sandwich. She eats it in about a minute and a half and then starts on a second one a bit more slowly. She leans on Darren while she eats, shivering.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren has his own sandwich, and is perfectly happy to be a Thing To Lean On.
"Are you all right?" he asks, gently, when her second sandwich is taken care of.
"Are you all right?" he asks, gently, when her second sandwich is taken care of.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Define 'all right'."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I - don't know. It's kind of a stupid question, anyway, you're obviously - not. What can I do to help?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"You're doing it," she assures him softly.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay."
He hugs her. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do. I'll even pull another daring rescue again, if you need me to."
He hugs her. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do. I'll even pull another daring rescue again, if you need me to."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I know. It's very comforting."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Good."
Nuzzle, nuzzle.
Nuzzle, nuzzle.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Any chance of a third one of these?" asks Bella when she has finished her second sandwich.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yes, Savannah opted out of sandwiches."
A third sandwich is produced, and Bella-ward it goes.
A third sandwich is produced, and Bella-ward it goes.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Nom.
"Oh, shit, we need to call our dads."
"Oh, shit, we need to call our dads."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"We do!" agrees Darren with a yelp. Cell phone, cell phone -
Then he dials Charlie's number and offers the phone to Bella. "You first."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Thanks -" And when Charlie has picked up. "Dad - it's me - I'm in one piece - Darren and Savannah saved the day, we're going to fly home soon."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren waits patiently. He will get a turn to call his dad shortly.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Love you too. I don't know how long a flight - Darren?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"A couple hours, I'm not sure about the exact time. Three or four, I'd say?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Three or four hours," Bella reports. "If it looks like it's going to take longer I'll call again, okay? Okay. I'll see you soon, Dad."
End of call.
End of call.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"We probably should have done that earlier. Whoops."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Whoops," she echoes, and she hands over the phone.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He takes it, and calls his dad.
"Hey, dad. Got Bella, she's all right - Savannah and I are fine. Nope, no clue. They're - um. They're all dead, we don't know who hired them, though. Yeah, yeah I'm all right. ... Yes, please. Love you, too. We'll be back in about - fourish hours? I think? Mhm, heading straight home. Yeah, we did. First thing. Bye, dad, see you in a bit."
"Hey, dad. Got Bella, she's all right - Savannah and I are fine. Nope, no clue. They're - um. They're all dead, we don't know who hired them, though. Yeah, yeah I'm all right. ... Yes, please. Love you, too. We'll be back in about - fourish hours? I think? Mhm, heading straight home. Yeah, we did. First thing. Bye, dad, see you in a bit."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"We did what first thing?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Called your dad, let him know you were all right. I mean, technically it was after we made sure you were all right, and let Savannah loot and eat some hearts, but uh - yeah. First thing we did when we remembered we had the cellphone."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"First phone-related thing," Bella nods. She peers back into the warehouse to see if the lights are on yet.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
They are! Savannah's currently looking for the plumbing.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella goes back in, stepping around the puddle of ink monster, to help with that search.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren, too, though more for the sake of hovering protectively over his girlfriend rather than looking for the plumbing.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Eventually Bella finds a spigot in a cubicle-walled space that contains a little dishwasher and a hose and a bucket and other things that one might expect to find near a water source in a warehouse. She locates a bunch of rags.
"Hose each other down, wipe off any stubborn blood with the rags, air-dry on the way home?" she suggests. "Lucky it's summer."
"Hose each other down, wipe off any stubborn blood with the rags, air-dry on the way home?" she suggests. "Lucky it's summer."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Sounds good."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Me, first, I am - I feel like a crazy person, I'm just covered in blood."
Savannah is indeed covered in blood. It's kind of icky.
Savannah is indeed covered in blood. It's kind of icky.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella hooks up the hose, turns on the spigot, and aims.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Wheeeeeeeee!
"I feel," says Savannah, when she has been mostly hosed off for blood, "less sticky and psychotic now."
"I feel," says Savannah, when she has been mostly hosed off for blood, "less sticky and psychotic now."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"The clothes are probably not salvageable," says Bella. "I don't suppose you brought spares?"
Her own supply of blood is mostly not on her clothes. She was in fullform at the time.
Her own supply of blood is mostly not on her clothes. She was in fullform at the time.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Yeah um, no."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren's similarly mostly clean, aside from the bullet wound in his arm. Savannah's the one who was a mess, really.
"It didn't seem important at the time. Whoops."
"It didn't seem important at the time. Whoops."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Oh well."
Bella shifts one bloody paw in at a time and washes them off. One is noticeably cleaner than the other three. She washes her face, and rolls up her sleeves to get her arms, and puts her wings on to rinse them, and then calls that good.
"Flying home time?"
Bella shifts one bloody paw in at a time and washes them off. One is noticeably cleaner than the other three. She washes her face, and rolls up her sleeves to get her arms, and puts her wings on to rinse them, and then calls that good.
"Flying home time?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren knows why that one paw is cleaner than the others. It makes him feel sick. He shifts to full form and wraps a wing around her, nuzzling a bit in comfort.
"Yeah. We should grab the backpack, first."
"Yeah. We should grab the backpack, first."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Possible we should torch the place. Arson and some disappearances might add up better than warehouse full of inexplicable black goo and several people missing vital organs."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Agreed. Plus we left our blood at the scene, I don't know about you but I don't want the police to play CSI: Miami with us as the perps."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'll - draw out a huge spell, burn the place to the ground?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah. That way it won't even look like conventional arson, I bet."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He nods, and then he gets to work. He finds the largest open space in the warehouse, retrieves a sharpie, and starts drawing out the runes. His ruler's not nearly big enough, but he makes due. Bella's welcome to help.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
She does. Draw, draw, draw.
"You can incant this from outside the warehouse, right?"
"You can incant this from outside the warehouse, right?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yeah. And then we run away because with the runes this size it'll go up like a torch."
Draw, draw, draw.
Draw, draw, draw.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Well, fly away. I still can't really run."
Draw draw.
Draw draw.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yeah. Fly away," he agrees. "The heat will even lift us up."
Draw draw.
Draw draw.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"How convenient."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Very!"
And soon enough, they're done.
"Do you want to chant, or is this mine?"
And soon enough, they're done.
"Do you want to chant, or is this mine?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"If you could."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Certainly."
He fiddles with the chant a bit to compensate with this being such a large fire, and then - chanting.
The warehouse is devoured by an inferno shortly after.
He fiddles with the chant a bit to compensate with this being such a large fire, and then - chanting.
The warehouse is devoured by an inferno shortly after.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Wow. Remind me to never piss you off, Dare."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella smiles slightly. And acquires wings, and takes off.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Off they go! Well, after Darren grabs the backpack. Back to Forks, at last!
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella flies very quietly.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren, too. It's - kind of the situation for a quiet flight.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah wisely does not disturb their quietness. Flying, flying, flying.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Eventually Bella starts to recognize stuff.
"Are we stopping at your house first - or each going to our respective homes - or what?"
"Are we stopping at your house first - or each going to our respective homes - or what?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Mm - not sure, what would you prefer?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I - I want a shower and a nap but I don't want you to be far away either."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I go with you to your house, embrace my inner pillow?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah. That'd be good."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay. I'll call my dad, he'll understand."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Thanks. I love you."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I love you, too."
Cellphone, out. "Hey, dad. Yeah, nope, we're fine. Bella would like to keep me and use me as a pillow for right now. Mhmm. That's the gist of it. Yeah, I'm all right. Rain check on the hug. Love you, too, dad. I'll be home after. Bye."
Click.
Cellphone, out. "Hey, dad. Yeah, nope, we're fine. Bella would like to keep me and use me as a pillow for right now. Mhmm. That's the gist of it. Yeah, I'm all right. Rain check on the hug. Love you, too, dad. I'll be home after. Bye."
Click.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Thanks."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"You're welcome."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Unless you need me to be there," says Savannah, "I will go home and fall into a coma for the next week or so."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Enjoy your coma with my blessing."
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Happily. Also, burning my clothes. Good thing I didn't love them anyway."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Never wear your favorite clothes on a rescue mission. Do we have extra invisibility scrolls to cover our landings or are we coming in via the woods?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Woods. We brought all the invisibility scrolls with us, and used them all. Next time, more invisibility scrolls, apparently we didn't bring nearly enough."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Entire bindersful," says Bella. "Do you suppose we could enchant a three-ring binder or something to make it clear which scrolls in it were already used up? Then we could just bring forty of everything and clear it out and replace the paper later."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"That is a good idea. We need to do that."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I'm very clever," she yawns, and she starts circling for a sufficiently obscured landing in the fog of the woods near her house.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"You are!" he agrees, following behind.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah waves, and then heads off to her home, to go be in a coma. She's tired. Killing people and eating their hearts is hard work.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella lands on soft paws, then trades them for shoes, and puts away all her nonhuman parts, and waits for her boyfriend before walking to her house.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren lands shortly after, putting away his hooves and wings and returning to human form. He takes her hand, and then - off they go.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella lets herself in the back door, lets her father hug her briefly, and then kisses Darren and says she'll be back in a little bit and scurries upstairs for a shower and change of clothes.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
And Darren - is there, with a bullet wound obviously in his shirt, looking drained and exhausted. He returns the kiss, and watches Bella go with a very obvious 'in love' face. Then, he looks at Charlie.
"I'll do my best to make sure this never happens again," he promises.
"I'll do my best to make sure this never happens again," he promises.
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"I believe you," Charlie says, eyeing the bullet hole in his sleeve.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren follows his gaze, and looks at the bullet hole. "Oh. Um. I healed it, it's fine," he says, lamely. "We kept Bella out of harm's way once we got to her."
Charles Swan
sundayfish
Charlie nods.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"... Mind if I go crash on your couch?"
Charles Swan
sundayfish
"You're welcome to it."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren smiles a little, and then - couchward.
Flop.
He's out like a light in record time. Savannah's not the only one who was tired.
Flop.
He's out like a light in record time. Savannah's not the only one who was tired.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Some twenty minutes later his damp girlfriend cozies up to him right where he is.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
That's fine, Darren shifts a bit in his sleep to accommodate her. It's not like she could ask, what with him being asleep and all, but she's probably welcome to use him as a pillow.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
She presumes so.
Snuggle snuggle zzzzzz.
Snuggle snuggle zzzzzz.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren concurs. Zzzzzzz.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella, over the next couple of weeks, makes a lot of variations on luck spells, and casts them, on top of each other, on herself, on her house, on Darren's house, on Darren, on Savannah, on Charlie and Vernon, on Angela and their griffin storefront operator for good measure.
And she works on her fairy princess magic.
She has now done it accidentally a few times and sort of on purpose once - and the first couple times she doesn't even know what she was doing, because she wasn't injured. So it probably isn't just healing unless she and Darren did both have very quiet cancers, but it beats her what it would be. Maybe she can do other things. Maybe she can learn to do them without passing out.
Maybe if she does something smaller than healing somebody of potentially lethal injuries she'll be able to feel what's happening while it's happening.
She gets a piece of thread and snips it in half and puts the cut ends close together and puts her chin on her desk in front of them and stares them down.
And fifteen minutes later she's at Darren's door practically battering it down in her excitement.
And she works on her fairy princess magic.
She has now done it accidentally a few times and sort of on purpose once - and the first couple times she doesn't even know what she was doing, because she wasn't injured. So it probably isn't just healing unless she and Darren did both have very quiet cancers, but it beats her what it would be. Maybe she can do other things. Maybe she can learn to do them without passing out.
Maybe if she does something smaller than healing somebody of potentially lethal injuries she'll be able to feel what's happening while it's happening.
She gets a piece of thread and snips it in half and puts the cut ends close together and puts her chin on her desk in front of them and stares them down.
And fifteen minutes later she's at Darren's door practically battering it down in her excitement.
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
Savannah is the one to answer it. "Oh, hey. Darren's magic nerding it up, fair warning, what's up?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Magic is up!"
Savannah Tiffany Sanders
morethanimaginary
"Oh, goodie, you can magic nerd it up with my brother," snorts Savannah. "C'mon in."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella plunks down next to her magic nerd.
"Guess what?"
"Guess what?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren is currently buried in magic notes and is drawing out what seems to be three spells at once. "What?" he asks, amused.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella presents him with the string, pulls out a pair of scissors, cuts it in half, puts the string down on top of his spells, and says, "Watch."
And then she stares down the thread, and it slowly knits back together.
And then she stares down the thread, and it slowly knits back together.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"What."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Fairy princess magic," she cackles. "I haven't gotten it to do anything else without passing out yet but I can do that and I don't need a diagram!"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Oh. My. Gosh, magic fairy princess," cackles Darren, and then he scoops his girlfriend up into a hug. "We need to try things, how does this even work?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Hug! "I have to think really, really small," Bella says. "I've done this specific thread before so I don't have to be an inch away looking at the individual fibers anymore, seems like, but the first time - it only started doing anything when I was, in fact, thinking about each fiber connecting up with its neighbors."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Does it work with other things, too? Should we try paper, or cloth or something, or...?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"We should try! This was my first experiment, it might work on all kinds of things, when it worked I came straight here to show you."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"You're the best girlfriend of all time. Want to do experiments together?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yes. Yes I do."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren cackles madly and then goes off to retrieve things to break that his girlfriend can fix. Paper, a shirt he's not attached to, some twigs - he can always get some other things, but these are things to start off with.
"Which would you like to do first?" he asks, grinning.
"Which would you like to do first?" he asks, grinning.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"After we figure out if and how the repairing generalizes," Bella says, scissoring one piece of paper in half and tearing another for comparison purposes, and producing her notebook for experimental records, "I want to see what I can do besides fixing stuff, if anything."
And then she sets about staring at the cut paper.
And then she sets about staring at the cut paper.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yeah, but this is good for figuring out the limits of your ability to fix things without passing out immediately after. Once we figure that out we work from there."
Then he gets to watching the cut paper and seeing what it does. For science!
Then he gets to watching the cut paper and seeing what it does. For science!
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Eventually -
Millimeter by millimeter -
The paper knits back together, seamless, good as new.
Bella sits back up, triumphant, and writes this down.
Millimeter by millimeter -
The paper knits back together, seamless, good as new.
Bella sits back up, triumphant, and writes this down.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren giggles. "I'm a bit curious - once we're done with fixing things, do you want me to get like - a pen, scribble something, then see if you can change that?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yes."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay!"
And then he goes off to get a pen, and he starts scribbling on the newly fixed cut paper. She doesn't have to do the test right now, but he is prepping for it!
And then he goes off to get a pen, and he starts scribbling on the newly fixed cut paper. She doesn't have to do the test right now, but he is prepping for it!
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"If I can learn to do that quick and without so much focus on the detail work it's possible I could make scrolls happen faster than drawing," she observes.
The ripped paper heals just like the cut paper. She takes a twig and breaks it and starts concentrating on that.
The ripped paper heals just like the cut paper. She takes a twig and breaks it and starts concentrating on that.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Now I'm really excited," he giggles, watching her fix the twig with interest.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"This is harder," she observes absently, staring at the twig, but eventually - entire twig.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Harder in what way?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"The twig has more structure to it than the paper or the string. I'm doing all of this consciously above about the cellular level, it's really concentration-intensive."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Aha, so if it has more to fix, it's harder to do," muses Darren. "Interesting."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Which doesn't explain how I manage to do comprehensive healing," she says. "That's definitely not conscious."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Yeah, that's - hmm. It's almost like there's two modes? One where you do it yourself and stay conscious and another one where you don't but pass out."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Which is really weird."
She heals all the objects intended for healing - then, thoughtful, cuts along part of the hem of Darren's supplied shirt, lines the edges up, and stares them down.
She manages to reunite them with a sort of chevron pattern in the visible stitching.
She heals all the objects intended for healing - then, thoughtful, cuts along part of the hem of Darren's supplied shirt, lines the edges up, and stares them down.
She manages to reunite them with a sort of chevron pattern in the visible stitching.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Her boyfriend watches with fascination. "You know, if not-Hogwarts fails you can always take up tailoring," he deadpans.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I'll keep it in mind when I take my career aptitude test."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"By day, magic teacher. By night, best tailor of all time."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Where in there do I get my beauty sleep?" she snorts. "Do you want the embroidery on the shirt or should I put it back?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Obviously you will run entirely off of coffee. And magic. Don't worry about the shirt, it's not my favorite one in the world, feel free to embroider it."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Cool." She cuts a stripe entirely out of the left sleeve, and very slowly manages to turn that sleeve into a swath of embroidered whitework attached to its original location. It's not especially pretty embroidery - she is not, despite fairy princesshood, a seamstress - but it is sort of visually interesting, and, of course, magic.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I like it," pronounces Darren. "I declare this to be test subject shirt, do whatever you'd like with it."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Hmmmm."
Bella stares at the shirt.
A splotch of green slowly spreads from the collar.
Bella stares at the shirt.
A splotch of green slowly spreads from the collar.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren grins madly when he sees this. "That means - you can probably do designs, too. Or, more practically, runes. Do you want to try runes? We can pick a simple spell and see if you can use magic fairy princess magic to do even more magic?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Lemme see how well it works on paper at all - and it's slow; it might be neater than drawing but I don't seem to be faster," she says, leaving the green splotch at about two square inches of collar-area and picking up a piece of paper.
She manages to "draw" a line on it in black.
She manages to "draw" a line on it in black.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Her boyfriend hugs her, grinning. "It could be useful, if you're being sneaky," he points out.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"That's true," she acknowledges. "Okay, good harmless simple spells..." She starts rummaging through her notes.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
There's a simple one for making a little light.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
She props that up for reference, gets a clean sheet of paper, and draws it, slowly, neatly, carefully. It is definitely slower than drawing.
Then she incants it.
Then she incants it.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
And there, lo and behold, is a little tiny light.
Darren cackles.
Darren cackles.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Eeeee!"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Hugs! All of the hugs!
"Best magic fairy princess girlfriend," giggles Darren.
"Best magic fairy princess girlfriend," giggles Darren.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"So I can do mending, and drawing, and I'm sort of tempted to start giving myself papercuts to see if I can do small healing without passing out."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Do you want me to sell my finger for science? Because I can, a paper cut's not a huge deal."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"It might be easier to concentrate on if it's not me, but I'll want to try on myself eventually anyway," she says.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay. Paper cut, then..."
He goes about trying to make this happen. After a few attempts: "Ow! Okay, got it."
Bella is presented his wounded finger. Look at it, bleeding just a little from a tiny paper cut.
He goes about trying to make this happen. After a few attempts: "Ow! Okay, got it."
Bella is presented his wounded finger. Look at it, bleeding just a little from a tiny paper cut.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Sorry," she apologizes, and she scoops up his hand in hers and looks.
She looks dizzy for a second - but doesn't fall unconscious - and lo - Darren is healed.
She looks dizzy for a second - but doesn't fall unconscious - and lo - Darren is healed.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Don't be sorry," he says, smiling. "Thank you for healing me - no falling unconscious?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I think healing must be really automatic? It almost slipped into the wrong - mode, but then I concentrated on the details enough and stayed awake and did it."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Hmmm. Is the - automatic mode just for healing?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I don't know. It does seems suspiciously strange that we would have both needed healing without knowing it right after I turned, doesn't it?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"A bit, I mean we still could have both secretly had cancer, but - yeah. A bit strange."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"But I don't know what else it would have thought was important enough to do all by itself. Or if 'thinking it's important' is even the right metric."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I... have no idea. Do you happen to remember what you were thinking about at the time?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"That I was dreaming," she says wryly. "That I could not possibly have really turned into a winged quadruped."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He snorts. "Oh, right. 'Welcome to my freaky transformation dream,' indeed."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"It was very freaky."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I bet," he laughs. "But you got magic out of the deal, so that's pretty cool."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah. And I didn't, say, accidentally use sphinx magic to turn myself into not-a-sphinx. So that seems like a dead end."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Hmmm. Yeah, ugh, that's annoying. I have no idea how to solve this problem, I can't math at it to make it go away."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I wonder if I can trigger automatic mode on anything other than healing. It could come in handy in any situation where as long as I succeed it's okay to nap for half an hour afterwards."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Well, what sorts of situations would those be?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"If I'd known how to kill everybody in the warehouse," she suggests darkly.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He winces.
"The problem with that is hitting other people that are innocents in the warehouse, or missing guards that are just outside of it," he points out gently.
"The problem with that is hitting other people that are innocents in the warehouse, or missing guards that are just outside of it," he points out gently.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...you and Savannah did, in fact, wind up killing everybody in the warehouse," Bella points out. "And I knew there were guards present. I'm assuming here a reasonable state of knowledge about where I'm aiming my magic carpet bombing."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I mean in a future warehouse situation. I uh - yeah, we did end up killing everybody in the warehouse."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yeah."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Hug.
"We got there as quickly as we could," he promises.
"We got there as quickly as we could," he promises.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I know."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I - maybe there's a way to do automatic defensive magic? Put a shield up and be safely asleep inside it where no - ink monsters or anything can get you."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...That sounds worth doing. I'll try it before I go to bed, maybe, passing out during the daytime wrecks my sleep schedule."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He nods.
"I love you."
"I love you."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I love you too."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Good!"
And then there are snuggles. "Any other experiments we can do? I bet you can do some cool things to technology if given the chance."
And then there are snuggles. "Any other experiments we can do? I bet you can do some cool things to technology if given the chance."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I'm afraid I'd break any technology I got if I tried to do something more complicated than fix a cracked screen."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"We'll throw money at it after we're rich. Give you lots of things to play with."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Yay, toys. I mean, if you have busted stuff cluttering up the garage, that's another thing entirely, but I don't want to touch anything hard to replace."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Nnnope we had some broken stuff but we left it in Detroit. Sorry."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"No big deal. I'll - try magic on various things that come up in everyday life, get a feel for it."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help? Fairy princess magic is pretty cool."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Will do."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He grins at her, and then starts being a huge magic geek and talking about his various magic projects - he's still trying at true invisibility, something that works on cameras along with people, but there are other things, too. One to be bulletproof, for example.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella will happily magic geek with him all day long.
College approaches. There's a big shopping trip for all the essentials. They rent the furnished apartment above their store from the same Avalon landlord, and move in, a few weeks before school starts. It has one bed in it. They wind up falling asleep on each other all the time already, quite innocently; Charlie doesn't fuss. There are housewarming presents.
Bella's birthday is a short while before the start of classes.
College approaches. There's a big shopping trip for all the essentials. They rent the furnished apartment above their store from the same Avalon landlord, and move in, a few weeks before school starts. It has one bed in it. They wind up falling asleep on each other all the time already, quite innocently; Charlie doesn't fuss. There are housewarming presents.
Bella's birthday is a short while before the start of classes.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Vernon doesn't fuss, either, but he does drop off various housewarming presents. A few of which he hides. The most notable of these is found at around eleven o'clock at night, when Darren drops a sheet of scratch paper for magic and goes to retrieve it. He sees something red under the bed, and peers at it.
"Bella," he says, confused, "Why is there a huge bowl with a bright red bow on it under our bed?" Pause. "Why is it filled with condoms?"
"Bella," he says, confused, "Why is there a huge bowl with a bright red bow on it under our bed?" Pause. "Why is it filled with condoms?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"What - what? I didn't put that there. And I can't really see Charlie doing it, it must have been your dad."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Darren retrieves it, turning red to match the bow and looking - generally embarrassed. "I don't even - he left a note."
'Congrats on the apartment,' it reads. 'Now if you make me a grandfather before I'm fifty we will be having words. Here you go.'
"Dad did it," snorts Darren. "Wow. Wow."
'Congrats on the apartment,' it reads. 'Now if you make me a grandfather before I'm fifty we will be having words. Here you go.'
"Dad did it," snorts Darren. "Wow. Wow."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I mean, I guess it saves us a drugstore trip?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I - um. Probably like twelve drugstore trips, this is an absurd number of - of these, how many did he buy?" Pause. "How long has he prepared for this?!"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I assume he knows when my birthday is, so - hard to say."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Why would your birthday have anything to do with...? Oh."
And then Darren coughs.
And then Darren coughs.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"So you haven't been counting the days, huh?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
He opens his mouth, and then he second guesses that sentence and closes it.
"I didn't realize it would be something you wanted to do?" he tries, again.
"I didn't realize it would be something you wanted to do?" he tries, again.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...Have I somehow left you with a misunderstanding about my sexual orientation?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"N-No, no I'm - I um - oh, hell, there is no way I'm not going to be in trouble for this, um. It genuinely did not occur to me that we could have sex?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I don't understand."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I'm not - now that I have been reminded that it's a thing we can do I'm all for it, but I was literally not thinking, 'Okay I'm going to wait until she's eighteen to - to have... sex.'"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Whether the date entered your mind isn't my confusion, just - I have spent extended periods of time sprawled over you nibbling on your neck. And you did not mentally take that any further? Ever?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I have trouble thinking conscious thoughts at all when you're sprawled on me nibbling my neck," says Darren defensively.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...good answer."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Thanks."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"I am not completely unconfused, though. You're not just claiming to be all for it because you think I'll be upset or something? Do you want a bit to think about it since you did not get any... thinking about it... done in advance?
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
".... Nnnnnoooo I'm pretty sure I want to," coughs Darren. "I just needed to be hit across the head with -" He peers at the bowl of condoms. "- that plastic monstrosity."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Do you have any idea why the plastic monstrosity was necessary? ... I was also planning to use, like, language, at some point, probably today, because, eighteen now."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"Because I'm an idiot sometimes?"
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Bella flops on him. "I was hoping for more information than that."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"You um. Never mentioned, and I never asked?"
He is totally, totally fine with being flopped on.
He is totally, totally fine with being flopped on.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...I'm not going to have any, like, clinical surprises, am I? The source of my information is health class and this one thoroughly embarrassing book, mostly, plus pop culture, and none of these things have suggested that it is typical for teenage boys to have this experience."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"'Clinical surprises'?" echoes Darren. "Um. Regular teenage boy, I swear."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"If you say so."
Snuggle.
Snuggle.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Snuggle.
"This might be one of the most mortifying moments of my life," he muses. "This entire - 'Darren forgot that he could bang his girlfriend' thing."
"This might be one of the most mortifying moments of my life," he muses. "This entire - 'Darren forgot that he could bang his girlfriend' thing."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Well, you couldn't, before today, not unless we wanted to sneak around," she points out.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"True. That makes me feel better. A little."
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Just a little?"
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I still feel like a huge, huge dork," clarifies Darren.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"...I am trying to figure out how to smoothly segue from point A to point B and I don't have a line," confesses Bella.
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
"I think I have an idea of what point B is and we can just - start - skipping to it."
Blushing. So much blushing, look at him, he matches the bow.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
"Oooh."
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
Kisses?
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Kisses!
Darren Elliott Sanders
castmyown
They find their way to point B easily enough.
Isabella Marie Swan
shesepankh
Happy birthday to Bella.