[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bemGSrE.png[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/fGCaIL3.png[/img][/center][right][b]Interactions:[/b] Ella [@FernStone], & Nora [@NoriWasHere] [code]The Warehouse[/code] [s][code]Party[/code][/s] [code]Massacre.[/code][/right][hr][hr] Kari approaches the window, hand braced on the frame, ready to climb, but suddenly everything shifts. Her thoughts falter, sounds distort, and movements slow down. A sharp pain and a sense of wrongness flood her mind, then she sees it: Isabelle, a thread in her chest pulling violently out of place, as if space itself warps and lifts her body without support. The thread tugs again, then stretches away into the outside. Her body jerks with the force of it, and a cry escapes her: [color=#eac6ae][i][b]"ISABELLE!"[/b][/i][/color] The feeling of loss is immediate and [i]raw.[/i] Her body freezes, caught between escaping and being fixed in place. She clenches her fists on the wall without feeling it. Confused, she recalls how she was attentive (she [i]knew[/i] something was wrong) and wonders why she hadn’t acted sooner. Another pulse hits her harder, causing her world to wobble. She missed the signs, misunderstood the danger, always presuming there’s [i]time.[/i] But she was watching. That’s the point. Yet everything still seems to slip away. The thread weakens and fades; her chest tightens. Desperate, she struggles to think and move, but her mind clings to understanding, trying to catch up with what’s already occurred. It’s impossible. That truth hits hard: she’s always behind. For a brief moment, Kari stops—then [i]something[/i] sparks within her. Kari doesn’t fall. She just... stops. The warehouse noise becomes distant, like it’s happening behind glass. Her breath catches, not from fear, but because something inside her has shifted. Then the presence arrives. Just there, like someone sitting beside her. “Ah. There you are.” The voice is old but smooth, familiar in a way she doesn’t understand yet. “She’s a bit early, isn’t she?” “Early? No, no. She's [i]right[/i] on time. She’s just dramatic about it.” Kari tries to speak, but nothing comes out. [color=#eac6ae]“What.... is happening?”[/color] A pause, as if they’re smiling. “Oh, that’s a good question.” “You’re kindling, sweetheart.” Her mind stalls at the word—[i]kindling[/i]. “Long story short? We’re your ancestors. Curators of the Owl’s Library. Or what’s left of it in you.” Her chest tightens further. [color=#eac6ae]“Ancestors…?”[/color] “Oh yes,” the first voice says casually. “[i]Very[/i] old family business. Watching. Recording. Not interfering unless things get really messy.” “.... And things are getting messy,” the second adds lightly. “In case you hadn’t noticed.” The space around her shifts—like awareness itself is turning. “You’ve got White Lux,” the first continues. “Information. Perception. Seeing how things connect when others cannot.” [color=#eac6ae]“White Lux...?”[/color] “Not flashy,” the second voice says, almost fondly. “But very, very important.” A pause. “Especially now.” Kari’s breathing steadies (Just barely). [color=#eac6ae]“Magic is real?”[/color] And a soft laugh answers. “Oh, yes. Always has been. People just get [i]very[/i] creative about ignoring it.” "And our specialty is [i]Observation[/i]," the first voice adds, with the word standing out differently. It resonates more strongly than the others. “All-seeing eye. Look far enough, and distance no longer matters." [color=#eac6ae]"Observation..."[/color] A quiet hum of approval. "It's an old spell,” the second voice explains. "Handed down. Not something you start with. Something you learn.” Kari’s thoughts tighten. [color=#eac6ae]“What does it do?”[/color] "It allows you to see and hear places as if you’re there,” the first voice states simply. “If you focus. If you learn how to anchor it properly.” A pause. “You’ll need to learn it on your own. We just don’t have the time to teach you now.” Something shifts again—her perception expands outward uncontrollably. [color=#eac6ae]“Then why tell me now?”[/color] A gentle sigh. [i][b]“Because you’re going to need it.”[/b][/i] “Your friends are waking up.” That hits harder than anything else. “Not like you,” the second voice says. “Not White Lux. Different paths. Different [i]sparks[/i].” “But they are changing,” the first continues softly. “And there's only one like you in Cornell.” A pause. “The observer.” Kari’s fingers twitch against the wall. [color=#eac6ae]"[i]Observer..?[/i]"[/color] “The one who sees [i]first[/i],” the first voice explains. “The one who understands what’s happening [i]before[/i] it happens.” “And the one who keeps them from dying because no one else knew how to look,” the second adds, almost matter-of-factly. Kari’s breath catches. [color=#eac6ae]"I... don’t know how to do that.”[/color] A gentle, affectionate laugh. “Oh, you will.” “We didn’t either,” the second voice admits. [i]“At first.”[/i] A pause. Then more quietly: “You’re not just watching, Kari. You’re responsible for what you see.” The weight of that settles slowly—like gravity shifting in the wrong direction. [color=#eac6ae]“That’s... not fair.”[/color] Another pause—then warmth again. “No,” the first voice agrees with a shrug. “It isn’t.” “But you're the only one who can do it,” The second voice begins. "The other ones, they have strength. They have [i]power[/i]. But to stay alive, you're going to need a little more than muscle, if you catch my drift." The world sharpens around her. Far beyond the warehouse, something shifts, threads she can’t yet name, but can [i]feel[/i] beginning to form. Then, briefly—so briefly it seems almost accidental- “The Owl will explain more,” the first voice says. A short pause. “He’s... complicated. Old. Curious. A pain in the ass. Keeper of the Library.” A slight hesitation, as if choosing words carefully. “You’ll understand him fully when you meet him. Not now. We don’t have time to do him justice.” “Just remember," the second voice adds softly, “He sees [i]everything.[/i] Always has.” A pause. “You’ll learn about him the same way we did. The hard way.” The first voice exhales softly. “She’s going to overthink this.” “Of course she is,” the second responds. “She’s ours.” A pause. "Now, look, sweetheart." Kari recalibrated, returning disoriented. Still unhealed, unsettled, as if she’s been abruptly dropped back into reality. The sound precedes her vision: screams, overwhelming panic, and a shattering sensation that shouldn’t be possible. Her sight fixes on Ella, luminous and surreal, rushing toward the chaos as if victory is within reach. Nora is closer than expected, standing directly in the danger zone of an uncontrollable creature. The monster shifts, causing Kari’s perception to falter. For a second, everything feels delayed, like the world is happening half a heartbeat ahead of her. Her chest tightens. No. No, no— [color=#eac6ae][i]“Ella, NORA, [b]what[/b] are you two doing?!”[/i][/color] Her voice cracks hard, sharp enough to cut through the noise but not enough to control it. Ella keeps moving. Nora doesn’t back up. Kari’s panic spikes instantly. [color=#eac6ae][b]“GET BACK-[i]GET AWAY FROM IT![/i]”[/b][/color] She takes a step forward without thinking, then immediately hesitates as the air around the monster warps again, like reality itself is refusing to agree on its shape. Danger is imminent, too close, and wildly unpredictable. Her breath falters. She yells helplessly, pleading for them to stop moving closer. Too close. Her breath stutters. [color=#eac6ae][i]“STOP—[b]DON’T[/b] GO ANY CLOSER!”[/i][/color] The monster moves too quickly for Kari’s slow perception to keep up and then strikes. Ella is in the middle of a motion, hope, and the idea of herself as capable, when the creature hits her, throwing her sideways into the wall with brutal force. The impact is so sharp that Kari feels it more in her teeth than in her eyes. Nora, caught in the same instant, is knocked off balance. For a brief moment, everything freezes in a terrible stillness; Ella slumped against the wall, Nora falling back, the monster already turning away as if it wasn’t the point—and Kari’s mind tries to process, fails, and then breaks as she accepts that it’s moving on to a different target. Kari acts before her thoughts catch up, moving with lightning speed. She reaches Ella in an instant, a pace that doesn’t seem her own, and drops beside her, hands hovering nervously as if touching might worsen things. [color=#eac6ae]"Ella-Ella! Ella, are you okay? Can you hear me?"[/color] she asks sharply, her voice breaking slightly at the edges. She quickly turns to Nora, eyes wide and breathing unevenly. [color=#eac6ae]"Nora—Nora, talk to me—please, are you okay?!"[/color] Behind them, the monster continues its approach towards a different target. [i]Vicky.[/i][hr][center]... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...[/center][center] [i][b]Something[/b] broke. In ways I’ve seen before. A fracture not in ground, but in agreement—like reality can’t decide what “here” is anymore. Trying to exist in two places and failing. Something deeper is pushing through. The Pit. Close enough to stain. And [b]she’s[/b] coming because of it. I don’t need more. Too late and it’s gone. Too early, and I lose her again. Cornell won’t hold this. Either way—it’s begun.[/i][/center]