gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

WHO: Micah St. Clair & ~~OPEN~~ Reece Downing
WHAT: Micah sees something suspicious.
WHEN: Friday, January 5. Evening.
WHERE: Near the Ornery Oak, between Quail Trail and Bear Trail.

The Ornery Oak is one of Micah's favourite places on campus, especially in the evening when it's late enough for the Oak to be asleep. Not that watching the Oak pelt people with acorns isn't its own kind of delightful, but he likes watching the ribbons swaying in the nighttime breeze, or to look up at how those massive branches spread across the sky like they're trying to engulf the stars.

He's sitting under the Oak with his camcorder in hand (set to nightvision mode), panning it around him at random, when he spots a figure standing in the shadows of the trees. He's wearing a white mask. Micah's winged mask, from the Masquerade, and—his suit—

"Hey!" Micah scrambles to his feet. "Hey! Hey! Stop!" When Micah grabs his bag and runs for him, the boy runs too, alarmingly quick. (It is a boy, isn't it, he's not that tall—) "Come back!"

Without a second thought, Micah dashes straight into the forest, without a trail to mark his way back.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Evening rounds used to be a time for quiet contemplation for Reece. He knows that people were definitely always misbehaving, but as a sophomore prefect he'd very rarely caught anyone out of bed or misbehaving. This year, it's been different. And after the incident with the MACUSA agents and the (apparently nonmagical) moose before break, tonight he's on high alert.

So. Seeing Micah St. Clair running off into the woods at a breakneck pace probably doesn't surprise him as much as it should.

He still takes a second to react, though - he's never been one for action. Between that, and the fact that he'd been further up the trail than Micah had, and the other fact that he is just not as in shape as a Quidditch player like Micah inevitably is means that the younger boy gets a considerable head start on him. He tries to follow Micah's path into the woods, but - it's dark, and he didn't really see where he was going - and he has no idea where Micah is now, which is--

Bad. It's very bad.

Reece lights his wand with a lumos charm, holding it above his head to try to cast some light out into the woods. He's far enough now from the tree line that he's not sure where it is, exactly, but that's a problem for after he finds Micah.

"Micah?" he yells out. "Micah, where are you?"

Edited 2018-01-03 02:00 (UTC)

It takes far too long for Micah to realize he's basically running alone in the woods... in the dark... in the cold. "Fuck," Micah whispers, and rubs his hands together for warmth. (He'd thrown his camera into his bag, and his bag onto his back without breaking his stride, an awesomely awkward maneuver he'd perfected after years of running away from prefects catching him filming cute girls on the lake shore. Not that he does this anymore! Mostly.)

The boy's nowhere to be seen. Micah wonders what he's going to see when he returns to his cabin and ransacks the corner of his cabin where he stores his film costumes. Will his masquerade mask be gone, or will it still be sitting there, untouched since last month? It's not like the boy in the mines had needed to steal Micah's clothes.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Maybe he's hallucinating. Is that better or worse? Waiiiiit, there's a way to check that. Micah shifts his backpack around to search for his camcorder, except it's dark as heck out here, so he grabs his wand from the side pocket and—

Someone's calling out his name. He freezes. Then listens. Is that...?

"Lumos." Micah turns in a slow circle, holding his light out in front of him. Maybe this is how he dies. Total Blair Witch style. Except his camera isn't even on for this? Come on, Micah. "I'm here!" he yells as he reaches into his bag again.

Even though the moon is mostly full, it's very dark in the woods, and as Reece lowers his wand again to listen for the source of Micah's voice he realizes that his eyes haven't adjusted. He's not so blinded that he can't see another light deeper in the woods, though, and he starts off in that direction.

It takes him awhile to catch up, even though the other light is stationary, and when he finally does he holds his own wand up again.

"Micah?" he asks, taking another step towards him. The question in his voice is probably just because he's spooked himself - it's definitely Micah, unless there's a third student out here. He can't let himself get psyched out. It's just the woods.

Reece finds a boy standing alone, a camera trained on him and the glowing wand in his hand, which, for the record, looks incredibly creepy when it's silently coming at you through the dark woods.

"Reece!" Micah lowers his camera. "What are you doing here? And okay, yes, I can tell you're about to ask me that same question, and maybe also, Micah, why are you not on the trail when you know perfectly well that going off the trail is like number one on the list of What Not To—"

The boy breaks off as another voice rings out, from an unknown distance away. "Reece! Reece, I'm here!"

It's Micah's voice.

Edited 2018-01-03 03:16 (UTC)

Reece is about to cut Micah off himself, because no shit is it a stupid thing to do to go off the trails at night, and wasn't Micah there when Quinn was chewing everyone out for doing exactly this last year? But before he gets the chance, he hears another voice. Or... the same voice.

It's undeniably very spooky. All the hairs on his neck are standing up. He looks in the direction of the voice, but sees nothing. And he looks back at Micah, and sees what is very clearly Micah.

"Let's go back to the Lodge," he says after a tense moment, volume dropping to little more than a whisper.

"No," Micah says, too quickly for him to have put any thought into it. Because of course, when does Micah ever think about what he's doing? He takes a step back from Reece. "I'm sick and tired of watching over my shoulder for... for whatever the hell that is! My face might not be the handsomest face in junior year, but by god, it's mine and I'm not letting some freaky ghost-alien-bodysnatcher steal it!"

Micah hefts his camera again, turns on his heel, and marches after the source of the voice.

Oh, absolutely not.

"No," Reece snaps, going after him with a surprising speed. Thank the adrenaline. "Micah, no," he says again, grabbing him by the shoulder to try to pull him back, away from the voice, and (Reece assumes) back towards the school. Without really thinking about it, Reece concentrates his efforts on Micah's camera. Maybe if he can get it away from him, Micah will be more inclined not to go chasing after the forest monster.

No.

Reece's command echoes not through the forest, but into his and Micah's heads. The desire to do much of anything is halted in both of them. For a second, they don't even breathe. And then something—someone—remembers, and they both inhale. Ahead of them the shadows coalesce into a humanoid form, slim and tall, with juvenile antlers that meld into the trees and cloudy sky above. Anon is barely visible, only one step short of a trick played on the eyes.

Mean people have definitely tried to snatch Micah's camera out of his hands before, so by instinct he pulls it out of Reece's reaching grasp, although this really just results in Micah dropping his camera into the snow. (Nice slippery fingers, Mr. Azurcrest Seeker. Geez.) They've saved from further stupid grappling by a voice echoing through his head. Reece's voice. No. That was...

Micah grabs Reece's jacket without thinking. "Ummmmm." Very eloquent. "What was that?"

Edited 2018-01-03 04:31 (UTC)

Reece can just barely see the Moose. He doesn't think Micah's spotted it. That's fine. His wand is half-raised defensively, but something about - whatever it just did to them - makes him feel like a wand wouldn't be much use anyway. He lowers it a fraction.

"I don't know," he says, grabbing on to Micah's arm when he grabs his jacket. "Can we go back to the Lodge now?" The please is implied, and he wishes he was capable of being a little more forceful.

Unfortunately for Reece, of all of Micah's bad qualities, a total lack of fear is the one that's running loudest now. "My camera," he says, and stoops to grab it off the ground. He hasn't tried to pull his arm out of Reece's grip, but nor is he making any moves to get back to the Lodge. Wherever it is.

"Hello?" Micah calls out. There's something in front of them, something familiar. In a good way. They're all old friends, aren't they? "Two, is that you?"

Affirmation rolls off the shadowy figure in waves, and it begins to walk toward them, taking shape before their eyes. Still, it's a struggle to comprehend what they're seeing. Details shift and change, and the only features the boys can say they saw for certain are his delicate hands, and his eyes like deep, cool water.

Two, he says, voice rustling like aspen leaves, in a way that almost sounds like laughter. No. Yes? I told you two because we were two. My brother and I are two.

Edited 2018-01-03 18:35 (UTC)

Reece instinctively tries to pull Micah back from the creature as it speaks - speaks? whatever it's doing - but really just ends up tugging on his arm, since he doesn't move either of them. He feels a little like his feet are stuck or numb, nightmare-style, and he's not sure he'd be able to run if he had to.

He's still not big on the idea of talking to these things, but they're supposed to be friendly. He almost asks it what direction the school is in before remembering this one is the one that occasionally lures children out to their deaths in the woods. So he asks the next thing that comes to his mind instead.

"Where is your brother?" he says. Maybe it's because the creature was already talking about it, maybe he's been worrying over whatever happened with MACUSA before break. Probably he's not really thinking at all.

Considering that Micah nearly died after he was literally kidnapped by Anon last year, "joy" is probably the wrong reaction to have in this situation. Regardless, his face obviously lights up. He even forgets to turn on his camcorder.

"So what's actually your name?" he says curiously, as though Reece hadn't spoken at all. "Like, we can't just call you Anon, right? Because you're not anonymous, you're... you."

Anon tilts his head and considers Micah's question first. No names. A quick flash of an idea pops into Reece and Micah's head, an alien disconnect from the idea of names. There are so many humans, that's why they must need them. You and me was all he'd ever used until he found humans. The intrusive thought is gone as quickly as it came, and Anon begins using his "voice" again.

My brother is looking for the strangers. He points one long, slim finger deeper into the woods. He sighs, like wind on the fields around Coppertale in spring, and the air around the boys buzzes with unhappiness. And staying away from the new adults and your parents. They broke a promise.

Reece is honestly relieved to hear that Brother isn't dead or detained, because the we killed a real moose story had a bad smell to it. But he's also still not at his ease. It would be hard to be, with Anon's moods palpable in the air around them.

What Anon says creates more new questions than it answers, though, and Reece flounders for a moment as he tries to prioritize his questions. The Mooses' helpfulness has always been fleeting, and Reece isn't sure when it'll run out.

"What strangers?" he asks, still holding on to Micah.

You and me. Micah is human, with parents and neighbors and classmates, but he understands something of that special insularity anyway. When there's your brother, and everyone else.

For once, he has nothing to add. He just looks from Anon to Reece, with the same question in his eyes. Who else is here?

The entity is quiet for a moment. The question has left him uncertain. Explanations have never come easily from either brother. Humans like you brought them. He gestures, like trying to describe something far away, but it's not quite right. A long time ago?

There's a sense of annoyance around them now. Irritation at whatever these strangers are, like having ants in your kitchen. My brother will get rid of them.

Not a super helpful answer, but Reece wasn't really expecting one. The annoyance in the air puts him a little on edge - he really doesn't want Anonymous's mood to sour while he and Micah are still lost out here.

"Well, uhm," he says, not really sure what the proper level of formality is when you're addressing a forest guardian. "Thank you, and him. And I'm sorry about the moose," he adds for good measure, beginning to pull Micah back towards where he thinks the school is.

"The moose that was totally not our fault," Micah quickly adds. Kidnapping or no kidnapping, he wants to stay firmly on the good side of Anon and his brother. Something he said was interesting, though. Vague as all heck, but still interesting.

Micah lets himself be pulled along, but he's still watching Anon. "'Humans like us'?" So, what, this weird face-stealing clone is man-made? "Wizards, right? Or regular non-magical people? Are you sure it's not aliens?"

The ones like you who change what's real. Anon waves his hand, fingers posed like he's holding wand. There are stars visible in his palms, like his brother's eyes. The strangers cannot hurt you. They are weak. Ants. Mistakes. Annoyances. A minor infection.

And then somebody laughs, like they just heard a bad joke. It's the laugh of someone who saw another person fall down a short flight of stairs. Except it sounds exactly like Zachary Zheng, who's never laughed like that in his life. Anon freezes, and then turns to face the laughter. The silhouette of the entity standing in front of the boys grows, and becomes more incomprehensible. They know in their hearts it must have taken effort for him to appear so small, and so human. He growls like a dog (or a wolf?) as he stares out into the darkness behind him. It rumbles in their chests, both terrifying and comforting. Dangerous not towards them, but for them.

Go home. They're repulsed by the forest. Go sleep. They're tired. You're safe. They're reassured..? Regardless, they know it's time to leave.

Edited 2018-01-05 03:24 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only