as we pass through arrangements of shadows

[shreds]

Comments

[tearhiseyesout]

[Innnnnnnnnnteresting.

She steps back, leaning her invisible self against the opposite wall, and waits. If they're hungry, sooner or later they're going to have to come out and get the food.

In the meantime, she'll text back to the car:]

Room 414. Waiting for someone to come to the door.

[tramplemain]

( 👍🏻

In the blink of an eye the bag is gone, but being so honed in whatever magic is at play, there's the briefest of glimpses of something? a parallel hallway that flashes as a door closes?

she does catch the wisp of someone mentally! roll to reach out to their mind. )

[tearhiseyesout]

[It's hard when she can't make eye contact, but she does her best to grasp onto something, anything about the mystery food snatcher (10).

But she will throw herself forward as an attempt to catch the magical door, see if there's a chance she can slip in (12).]

[tramplemain]

( There is someone there (7), on the other side of this door and it's who she's looking for. Some hate wrapped up in the picture of a good old boy from Puritan times.

She does not slip into the door, but she does slip through whatever is there.

It's an identical hallway to the one she was just in with one glaring exception, the ornate red door in front of her, closed. )

[tearhiseyesout]

[Yep, that's a confirmation, at least. She debates whether or not she wants to try and get in the door herself, but she instead opts to wait for backup.

She pulls out her phone and texts back down to the group chat:]

Come up now. He's here.

[And she's just going to wait here quietly until the cavalry arrives.]

[praevaricatio]

( Well, if that isn't the bat signal. )

Do we have a game plan?

( Meanwhile, from behind the door, she hears a voice. "The door's unlocked." )

[tearhiseyesout]

[Jaqueline raises an eyebrow, before sending a second text:]

We have an invitation.

[David glances down at the second text, then shrugs.

"I think right now the plan is convince him to come in. But we should definitely have an exit strategy if his goes to shit."]

[praevaricatio]

Great. So. We join.

( He closes the car door behind him, waiting for his husband to join his side and they make their way in and up. )

[tearhiseyesout]

[That they do, and when they make it to the fourth floor and the missing room, they are forcefully grabbed by someone on the other side and yanked into the magical in-between.

Jaqueline's already dropped her invisibility.]

Took you long enough.

[She then nudges them towards the door.]

Let's go.

[praevaricatio]

Just like - fine. Right. The invitation.

( "I hear more voices," he calls out again. "You know, your breakfast is getting cold," he calls out again.

The door opens to a great room, a long table before them with place settings for four, enough for four, and candles lit in the middle of the table.

No Barnet, though. )

[maleficum]

[David raises an eyebrow as he makes his way inside, looking over the setup.]

Wish we had known in advance.

[His tone is dry and he slides his hands in his pockets.]

We already ate.

[praevaricatio]

( He makes an entrance, sweeping in from the left between two curtains, suit and tales. Entirely overdressed for a breakfast rendezvous.

"I was the first male in the Colony line to gain the sight," he says, grandiose, clearly talking to hear himself talk. "Of course, gifts like these are never enough. I could not gamble. I could not read your mind like some of us. I did not know which three witches were sent in search of me, but that there were three." He sighs. "And I did not see you eating without me. The Double T Diner really is one of a kind."

But, whatever.

"Two of you are infamous. I am sorry, that the woman has escaped me." He never did pay close attention. "Three does seem like overkill,".

He is ONE man. )

[tearhiseyesout]

[Jaqueline rolls her eyes, because really? Fine. She grits her teeth, before making her way over to one of the chairs.]

I'm sure you didn't have us come in just for breakfast. What do you want?

[praevaricatio]

( He's not your favorite person?

"Oh, that's easy. Let me go. Give up whatever old fashioned crusade you've been sent on. I have long lived past the standards and practices of this time," he purports. "I know, I know, it only takes one," he says. "But, is this really the cost of one piddly witch life?" )

[tearhiseyesout]

Crusade is too strong a word. If this were a crusade, we would not be standing here, talking.

[She would have killed him already, and not lost any sleep about it.]

Unfortunately for you, we've been asked to bring you in alive. Which means the Colony has other plans for you. Depending on how high you are on their shit list, you might wish I was on a crusade. But one way or another, Barnet, you're coming with us out that door and we're turning you over to Allura. That is how today is going to go.

[David points to her when she finishes. "What she said."]

[praevaricatio]

( And if they were the polite sort of company, they'd be seated.

"That sounds like a series of threats," he says, simply. "And all for the Colony, an outdated notion trying to modernize against every ancient impulse. Tell me, why the modernization? Why fix what isn't broke?" )

[tearhiseyesout]

Because what doesn't evolve, goes extinct.

[It's the one thing that she and David actually did agree on. They were going to revitalize the Colony, make it work for the modern age, now they're doing it with different people, for different ends.]

And let's face it, Barnet. You're a dinosaur. You're not even recognizing the major players anymore. Especially considering, the woman who "escaped" you? She's a fucking Melroux.

[And with that, her magic begins creeping in, fringing on the edges of his mind. It's not a nudge, she's knows he's too strong to respond to that so she goes for the works, reaching into his mind to pluck out his greatest fears and turn the dial up to eleven (17).]

And I take after my father.

[tramplemain]

( Here he thought they all could talk this out. Jacqueline Melroux has other ideas, ideas that haven't and don't give him the foggiest. Melroux is a name that doesn't carry any weight with him (5), like her magic. She does do her very best, but Barnet doesn't indicate that anything he fears has taken up any residence inside his or anyone's minds. (17)

David and Ezra, too, can do a sense magic check. )

Perhaps, you should've taken after your mother.

[maleficum]

[Jaqueline is too frustrated that things didn't go her way that she's not paying attention (3), but David is (19). It's part of the reason why he let her run her mouth, get in over her head. So that he could stand back and make sure that he understands what happening here.

And he feels it.

There's too much magic in this room. Too much power to be contained to just one man. And as much as he may have brushed off Jaqueline's assault, David knows how strong she is. That's not actually an easy feat.]

Let's leave Helene out of this.

[It's for the best. He steps forward and leans forward to rest his hands against the table.]

Look, Barnet. She's not wrong when she says there's only one way this is going to go. We don't bring you in, we don't go home. But I'm also willing to bet this isn't about some one you killed. You're sitting on a conduit, and they want it.

[tramplemain]

( He really doesn't know who David is talking about in the slightest. )

My, my, David Gainor all grown up. And, not the demon inside, yes? Time tends to weave together, the older you are. To which conduit would you be referring?

[maleficum]

Any of them. All of them.

[He really doesn't enjoy that mention of his demoic days and his ability to give a fuck about whether or not he lets Jaqueline tear into him more is slowly whittling away. But he shrugs and tries to keep his expression casual (5). He's not doing a very good job.]

There's way too much magic in this room, even with the magical powerhouses that happen to be here. You're drawing on something, and I'm willing to bet they want it. Or you've really just shit in too many people's Cheerio's. Either could be true.

[tramplemain]

You're right. There is too much magic. But, do you really think that this much magic can be drawn from something, Mr. Gainor?

( Ezra straightens up, stepping closer to his husband, already unnerved by the demonic mention (12) but managing to hold it together.

"It's someone." )

[maleficum]

[Yeah, David's really not great at keeping the anger out of his expression now (3). His face darkens almost instantly and he closes his eyes, trying to pull deeper and see if he can get a better handle on the tether, and if he is given enough leeway, he wants to put himself in a position to snap it if it won't hurt the conduit itself (20).]

And that's supposed to make me feel differently about bringing you in? That you're using people as a battery, so we should just let you go?

[tramplemain]

( Barnet's tether is no match for David's anger, and how personal he would take to a person being used for their power. His tether is someone in fact, and that power is stripped as quickly as he latched on.

There is no leeway, no defense Barnet has in his posturing with the (1) he got to defend himself.

The magic cripples him, as he props himself up, hands bracing against the table. The magic leaves him in stretches, his young face wrinkling before them, as he rapidly ages. )

[maleficum]

[... Oops. But hopefully the backlash isn't happening to the person he was draining.

David rolls his eyes, then swears as he steps forward. Because they do have to bring him in alive. They can't just let him age to death. Fortunately, this is a fix he's made before.

Reaching into his pockets, he fishes out a few supplies, mixes a quick collection of herbs and ingredients, before speaking to Jaqueline:]

Hold him still.

[Jaqueline does as she's told, holding the old man down, before David shoves the ingredients down his throat. It'll stop the rapid aging, and sustain his life, but only long enough to get him to the Colony.]