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[right][code]13 Mourningdove Lane[/code][/right]
So there was no way to get rid of it.

Great. She was stuck with these whispering shadows for the rest of her life. Goodbye ever sleeping well! Goodbye having even a moment of peace! What a fucking joke. Her life was such a fucking joke. Like she didn’t have enough demons whispering in her head.

Her own thoughts were bad enough, nevermind these ones.

Bea’s expression wasn’t particularly good, hands shoving into the pockets of her leather jacket with a scowl. Even Rowan’s joke didn’t really do much, dragging out just a hollow laugh and a sarcastic response. [color=475ca0]”I quit my job and the entire park’ll fall apart. Hard pass.”[/color] 

But annoyed as she was, Bea still followed the group to the library.
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While almost everyone else was reacting with strong, negative emotions, Bea didn’t feel much at all watching Lena’s cabin burn down on the screen. Just a deep apathy.

After all, what did she have to lose? She lived alone. Her dad was already dead, and she rarely visited her mom and half-siblings. So… Who was really in danger? Rowan? Rowan was leaking just as much ‘magical energy’ as her. Was there anyone else she really cared about?

No. 

And she cared much less about her own lives than those of the people around her. Living didn’t bring her much. Just day after day dragging herself out of bed to a job that drove her closer to the end. So she couldn’t bring herself to care about her possible death. If anything, it’d be welcome. 

As apathy and dark thoughts filled her mind, the shades around her slowly reacted. 

Some slunk off into the darkness in the room, shadows dancing across the walls for any looking close enough. But blink and they’d be gone- or had they ever been there in the first place? Others clamoured at her feet in the shadow she cast, whispering temptations to her.

[color=535264][i]Why struggle?[/i][/color]
[color=535264][i]Why not take them all down with you?[/i][/color]
[color=535264][i]Strike a deal, save yourself.[/i][/color]

A flickering, flamelike shade near Lena, whispering in Bea’s mind about burning everything down, began to grow in size. It only became more fiery- as if the shadow was imitating the fireball giving it such a delicious shadow to grow in. Like it was feeding off the nightmare that had unfolded in front of the poor woman. 

But it wasn’t visible to anyone else, too busy feeding. 

Bea wasn’t so lucky with the others. It was like they wanted to add to the chaos around them… And she hardly cared enough to stop them. Could she, even? 

A tiny, shadowy hand manifested, only to flick through the pages of Mason’s book like a child begging for attention. Every time it seemed he'd get a chance to read, or he'd change the page back, it would mess with the book again.

[color=9494a9]”[i]They’re watching us. They’re always watching us.[/i]”[/color] A sinister whisper came from right behind Pom. If she looked around, she’d find nothing but the shadows cast by the chair tauntingly wobbling.

[color=9494a9][i]Drip, drip, drip.[/i][/color]

Matt- and anyone close enough to him- would hear a continuous dripping sound. An almost wet sensation as a shadowy puddle formed at his feet. It seemed to be continually growing, like it was trying to become the lake he feared.

Another slunk around Cailean, softly whispering how they weren’t like her mother. Less than even the lesser elves…

[color=9494a9]”[i]Ooo, so weak, destroying everything.[/i]”[/color] A shadowy tendril appeared next to Emmy, hovering over her hands and the well worn fabric of the gloves. Before she could try and go for it, it disappeared back into the darkness. 

Bea didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything going on around her. About Elvish infighting, or how idiotic their hunters were, or if some old elf thought they should go off the grid. Nor did she give a fuck about the third Ravensmere. Why struggle? Why bother?

The shadows could do what they wanted. It wasn’t like others could hear them, could they? And if they did, they could join her in being crazy. Haunted by fucking shadows that just kept appearing out of nowhere. Her shade covered eyes moved towards the bookshelves and Rowan on the ladder. More vibrant than normal with knowledge at her fingertips…

Shadows welled up at the base of the ladder, clawed hands reaching out for the wooden frame to shake it. A shot of fear broke the heavy apathy that encompassed so much of Bea’s life. 

[color=475ca0]”[i][b]Stop![/b][/i]”[/color] Bea’s eyes flared bright yellow underneath her shades, magic briefly flaring out of her to command the mischievous shadows. All those still visible- the hand flicking through the book, the growing shadow puddle at Matt’s feet, and those about to shake the ladder- stilled. 

Then, they disappeared. To everyone but Bea, the room’s shadows went back to normal. For her, the whispering only returned to its normal level as all of her shadows congregated on her again. 

[color=535264][i]Why would you stop us?[/i][/color]
[color=535264][i]It’s just a bit of fun…[/i][/color]
[color=535264][i]Aw… you can’t handle it like they can…[/i][/color]
[color=535264][i]Why don’t you admit it? You’re scared too.[/i][/color]

[color=475ca0]”Fuck! I don’t give a fuck about all this other shit- when can we start learning to control it? That’s why we all came here! That’s how we stop those shitty witch hunters. Training is the solution or whatever, so why are we just standing around talking about whether to go camp in the woods or who their fucking sister is?! Some of us are gonna lose our fucking sanity before we get started.”[/color]