[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019cb167-a9e2-77e8-a0a3-555f04118e32.webp[/img][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c691d-d580-726b-b8c2-c4d4d9b6d5ce.webp[/img][right][code]The Bracken House [/code][/right][hr][/center] The clock on the nightstand showed it was three in the morning. Almost four. Tommy was awake. The last few nights had been rough, and “rough” was putting it charitably. He found sleep hard to come by, his mind restless in a way that made it easier to wear himself down mentally by staring possibilities in the face than to just shut his eyes and sit still. He sat on the edge of the bed, head bowed forward, fingers knitted together. The Watcher was curled up between his feet, not dissimilar to a dog that was napping by its master. Balor floated above the desk where his notes lay. He didn’t move in the air, and his eyes were shut. Raptor and Porter were stored away. Next to him, a small notebook sat open. Tommy had taken to writing down what he could, he found that it helped make sense of things. [indent] [code] There are categories of magic. Kari has one and I have another one. There’s a pattern to it that I don’t understand yet. Kari mentioned White Lux. Her information magic. Mine is different. Tyler’s teleporting is a different one. So is Vicky’s bat. How many kinds of magic are there? Can we have more than one? Is it[/code] [s][code]genetic[/code][/s] [code]Ancestors pass it down. Why do I need my deck for it? Why does Vicky need her bat? I can’t fucking sleep. [/code] [/indent] Everything was shifting in small ways. Yesterday, on his way home from town, Tommy had noticed a street sign that used to say [i]King’s Street[/i] suddenly read nonsense. The letters weren’t letters, they were just writhing shapes that couldn’t sit still. He blinked and it went back to normal. He wondered if people pretending that things hadn’t change made things change [i]less.[/i] Or [i]slower.[/i] If that was the case, then maybe it was a self-sustaining process where normal lead to more normal. But if that were true, why did things still go wrong? There had to be an explanation. The condition Cornell was suffering from originated in that warehouse, and was sprawling out everywhere. There were people walking around like no one’s son or daughter had died, and also acting like they weren’t from here. Some people completely ignored the roads that weren’t present the day before. Not even a real police report. Just a [i]disturbance.[/i] Tommy stood up and rolled his shoulders. He grabbed the book and sat down at his desk. He wanted to try his hand at more creatures. But he only had so many cards in the deck- Tommy wondered if he could connect his magic to another deck, maybe something like Tarot cards or blank ones that could behave differently if his summoner shit was channeled in. He started writing again, under a desk lamp. [indent] [code] I saw ancestors. Mine. I didn’t recognize any of them. Something tells me mom or dad wouldn’t either. “Be proud.” What does that even mean??? They were being cryptic. It’s like they wanted me to figure it out myself. Kari’s gave her way more. Tyler’s apparently did too. Did theirs just hand them spells? Could the old guy have given me a creature? That fucking woman had a snake around her neck. Why’d they expect me to do this the hard way? [/code] [/indent] Not that it wasn’t working. His monsters weren’t the most impressive things in the world. Tommy didn’t have anything to compare them to, so he had no idea if he was doing anything [i]right.[/i] What else could he make? If he were to chop up one of those things crawling out of the cracks in the world, what could he use those for? Kari’s magic gave her a way to see through Balor, and he wondered how much of that was the connection compared to the information magic. He sighed. [color=a79500]”…I don’t suppose any of you dead people are listening now?”[/color] Nothing. [color=a79500]”Figures.”[/color] He rubbed his eyes. He had to do something. People were dying. Tommy didn’t want people to die. Cornell sucked, but it wasn’t “Let everyone die” bad. [i]Beep.[/i] His phone went off. He checked it, and… Yeah. That sounded right. Tommy wasn't the only one trying to make sense of this. Kari was too, and the others were surely getting curious about what they were capable of. He quietly typed a response to her. [code] Tuyen says she didn't get magic but I know she knows. Showed off to her when we ran into each other one day. Turns out people who didn't get exposed can't even see the things that are happening. Can't sleep either so I'm coming. Don't know if she's awake at this hour. Don't have her number anyway. [/code] [right][code][@Evil Ghost Note] [/code][/right][hr] [center] [hider=Lord Huron: The Night We Met] [youtube] https://youtu.be/wGF7PswOENQ?si=FWXLNCwYSEKwk-5X [/youtube] [/hider] [/center] The radio was just quiet enough to be heard between the sound of the engine's rumblings. The headlights were off, because he didn't need them to see under the moonlight and the street lamps that were, strangely, still on at four in the morning. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not, or perhaps the universe was helping him out. The streets were empty, no one walking, no one driving. The town knew that nothing and no one good skulked about at this hour, even if they were pretending to keep up appearances. Tommy's eyes peered left and right, watching for anything dangerous. A person's eyes had a way of seeing things that weren't really there when it was dark. The corners of vision were always swimming with shapes as the brain tried to parse the lack of sight into something with sense. He was used to this quiet. Eventually, the car rolled into the Cornell High parking lot. Above the building, Raptor circled around and landed on the chain link fence. He didn't see anything, and neither did Tommy. He could just barely make out the presence of light. Someone was in the cafeteria. Instinctually, Tommy’s hand found his switchblade. Going out alone like he was doing felt dangerous. Bright lights in the middle of the 4AM darkness felt dangerous. Did she fucking walk here on foot? At least he was never technically isolated. Tommy reached into the backseat where Porter was resting. The beast unfurled, and Tommy withdrew a can of cold brew. He made a point to stock up on a few things lately. Like things to drink and eat, tools like a pry bar and measuring square if he got into an emergency. The can wasn’t cold, but the chain store coffee was fresh enough. Switchblade, check. Notebook, check. Phone. Deck of monsters… Check. Tommy held up a hand, and Balor appeared, one eye open towards him in the dark. [color=a79500]”Fly over. Then stay. Go easy on her,”[/color] He instructed, opening the door and letting the orb soar up. Balor stopped a dozen feet above the school’s roof, and then floated in place. All of his eyes slid partially open, allowing Kari a sign that Tommy was both here, and giving her an [i]unmoving[/i] picture of their surroundings. Porter and Raptor disappeared as he stepped out. He took one long look at the school and cracked his can open. The caffeine hit his throat, and he knew it’d be a long night. [color=a79500]”Okay.”[/color] He walked across the parking lot, one hand in his jacket’s pocket, and then through the building. With the hood draping over his head, it was difficult to see him in the gloom. Every shadow held his attention longer than it would have a month ago. Every single blade of grass warranted a once-over and Tommy [i]hated[/i] that he needed to be so careful right now. Every tile on the floor, every painted brick in the walls. There was something so fucked about being in a school at this hour. All the rooms pitch black, the way he stopped and listened for every single noise as if it’d be another werewolf [i]thing.[/i] Tommy didn’t dare shine a light down the hallways. Nothing that would give his attention away to something hungry or pissed off at the existence of a person. How long would he have to do this for? Traipsing through places like this at this hour, knowing damn well demons from hell or wherever the werewolf crawled from could be watching him, lurking in the shadows to avoid being spotted by things he barely had a name for? He heard voices around the corner. Young voices, bantering voices. He recognized them, so he hurried along and entered the cafeteria. There, Tommy put aside any doubt he felt, and put on a confident face. Kari Wilson, Lupe Sanchez, Zakira Watson. He wasn’t on particularly familiar terms with any of them. [color=a79500]”The hell are you three doing up so late?”[/color] He joked, deadpan, taking another drink from his can.