No notes today. Just smooth brain Ash just writing because she can.
Much love, mates! Hope you enjoy it!
"Do you think we lost them?" I looked over toward Toby as we made our way under the bridge with our bikes.
"I don't know." Toby let out a wheeze as we came to a complete stop. "I think I lost my lung though. Or maybe my ass." He nearly dropped off his bike as he allowed it to dropped to the ground after he weaseled his way off of it. "Was one hell of a bumpy ride to get over here." I chuckled darkly.
"Oh most definitely." I hopped off my bike and pulled the Oni gas mask off my face as we reached the canal wall. "You still got the photo?"
"Yup! Right here." He walked up beside me and showed me his screen. It was a perfect picture of the downright creepy scene. Strickler gesturing toward the mass of people before him as the bridge was some kind of twisted backdrop.
"Can you send it to me? Just in case, you know?"
"You got it, Jimbo." I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket as I knew already that he had done as I asked. "Rather be safe than sorry at this point." I nodded as he stepped forward with the horngazel in his opposite hand. He drew the half-circle onto the wall the caused the passageway to open down toward Troll Market. "Blinky is going to lose his mind."
"I think I just might first."
"You and I both, Soccer-Boy. You and I both."
"YOU LOST THEM!?"
"I'm sorry, sir. But they were able to escape us by Delancey street. They used an alleyway between Alex's and the flower shop and gave up the slip from there." I groaned as I looked over toward Nomura.
"Tell me again why we deal with such stupidity within the order?"
"If it was up to me, Stricklander, you know I would have weeded out the weak by now." I looked back toward the younger changeling that was before us and gestured toward the main door of the museum.
"Leave us. We've got much to consider from these intruders."
"Of course, sir." He gave a bow before making a hurried exit our of the main hall of the museum and promptly out of the building. I took a deep breath to conceal my composer before turning toward Nomura once more.
"Do we have any accounts on the intruders?"
"The security feed shows them arriving on two bikes decked out in almost completely black attire, a Mexican mask on the smaller one and a Japanese demon gas mask on the other. The cameras weren't able to get any more crippling details beyond that."
"No facial features? Not even an eye color?"
"Hoods were up and their faces were too far away for me to make out any of the sorts."
"So we've got nothing? Not even a hair particle?" I growled out my questions toward her as a smirk appeared on her face.
"I wouldn't say nothing, Stricklander."
"What are you going on about, Nomura?" She walked over toward a crate she had sitting on the floor before the bridge.
"This does not matter on the subject of intruders, but it will allow us to broaden our horizons." I gave her a curious look as she opened the crate. After a second or two of rummaging within the package before presenting me with a small circular object made of twisted metal and spiky poison green crystals on it.
"A fetch." I smiled at the object as I took it from her and weighed it within my hands. "You know what this means, don't you, Nomura?" I raised the object up into the light as she gave a smile in return.
"A new changeling to come."
"Changelings?" I gave Blinky a curious look as he squinted his eyes at the image once more. "What in the hell are those?"
"Children of the fae. Created from troll whelps that were taken by the witch Morgana herself to create spies for Gunmar the Black."
"Gunmar?" It was Toby's turn to present a question. Blinky leaned back to an upright standing position to gave Toby his full attention as he spoke.
"Yes. Gunmar. Leader of the Gum-Gums. A brutal warrior and the causation as to why the battle between trolls and humans was as bloody as it was. Caused a rift between his own people due to his hatred for humanity."
"I can tell by how you say it that Gum-Gums are supposed to be feared but what kind of fucking name is Gum-Gums?" Blinky didn't even blink a single one of his many eyes as he gave Toby a blank expression.
"When it means "bringer of horrible, slow, painful and thoroughly-calculated death" in Trollish, it fits rather well." I swallowed dryly at this as I leaned back against Blinky's island in the library. "Don't worry, Master Jim. Gunmar is not of a worry within this moment. He's cast away in a place called the Darklands. He is unable to harm anyone where he is other than his own kind." I looked up toward Blinky as I could tell there was hesitation in his voice.
"But?"
"But if Killahead Bridge is completed, he might just escape."
"Then what do we do? His Bular is the son of this dude, right?"
"Who is the main person fueling the changeling's operations, correct."
"Does that mean," Toby spoke once more as he gestured a hand between him and me. "To end all of this, Jimbo and I need to kill that dude."
"Or find a way to destroy, dismantle, or delay the completion of the bridge." I felt my knees nearly give out as I gripped the counter with almost all my might.
"I'm a goner. Tobes, we need to make a will."
"Oh come now, Master Jim." Blinky gave me a heavy slap into my left shoulder that shook me slightly as he had a soft smile on his face. "You are more than capable to accomplish this."
"Maybe. That doesn't mean I might not die first."
"What makes you say that?" I gave Blinky a soft look before glancing over toward Toby who only gave me a simple nod to continue. I took a deep breath before bringing my attention back toward Blinky.
"The guy in the front of the bridge is my history teacher."
"What does that-?"
"And he saw me dawn the armor." Blinky gave me a wide-eyed look as he seemed to put the pieces into order.
"Great Gronka Morka."
"Sleep well last night?" I gave Toby a half-hearted glare as I shut my locker with a loud click. He chuckled lightly at this as he gave me a single finger gun. "I'll take that as a no."
"No. I thought I had the best sleep of my life. Slept like a goddamn infant."
"Here I wanted to give you this that I found over by the canal. It's why I was a little later than normal to catch up with you." Toby handed me a small stuffed bunny that I weighed within my hands for a moment before giving him a confused look.
"And why did you grab it?"
"Because Blinks said that they used both troll and human infants right? To make more changelings? Maybe this is like, evidence of their last victim. You and I both know nothing normal happens at the canals."
"Totally." I slipped the bunny into my sweatshirt pocket on top of the amulet that resided in there. "Not like our lives completely changed because of that fucking bridge."
"Hey! Don't need to get sassy with me, mister."
"I'm gonna get sassy. Your dude here got only like thirty minutes, an hour tops, of actual sleep. I have the right to be moody." We moved to make our way down the hallway together. "If it wasn't for my hair always staying in place, I think I would look like a mess right now." Suddenly Toby stopped beside me as I gave him a curious look. "What?" He simply just pointed ahead of him.
"It seems you aren't the only one." I turned my attention ahead of us to just feel my face fall instantly at the sight ahead of me. A little ways ahead of us was Claire standing before her locker with her two best friends on the left side of her.
But she didn't seem like the Claire I was so used to knowing. Her hair was a bit more messy than normal as it was apparent she didn't care to maintain the mass of thick black hair that she usually kept in order with a barrage of hairclips. She wore a simple pair of joggers and what seemed to be a worn our Papa Skull concert shirt instead of her normal skirt-sweater-blazer combo. When we turned toward us to make her way down the hallway, I noted the dark circles under her eyes and tired look that caused her hazel eyes to glaze over like she was a zombie of some kind. I felt an ache spread through my chest as I saw the worried look of her friends as she started to walk away without even giving the two of them a single word of acknowledgment.
This was not the same girl I was talking to at the museum that oozed confidence and grace. It didn't seem like it, but it was and I hated it.
I didn't just hate it, I despised it and it caused a dull pain to spread through my system that I never thought I would feel.
As she started to pass Toby and me, I turned on my heels and decided to join her at her side.
"Hey." I kept my voice soft as I didn't want to scare her in any way with how sudden my appearance was, but it seemed that I did anyway as she snapped her head toward me like I called her out of some kind of daze. "Are you alright?" She blinked a few times before a soft smile graced her tired features. The sight causing my heart to clench.
"Not really. No." Her voice sounded exactly how she looked. Distant and lacking her normal warmth and happiness that would cause my stomach to fill with butterflies, but instead, it was filling with dread. "I'm not really allowed to talk about it though. Not yet at least." I instinctively placed a hand on her shoulder which caused her to give me a weak smile in return.
"Well, whenever you can, you can talk to me if you want. It doesn't matter whatever it is." This seemed to break the strong exterior that she was trying to keep as I felt her turn me toward her with a simple tug of my sweatshirt before she collapsed her head into my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my abdomen.
"My little brother's missing." She muttered the words gently as I felt her shake slightly against me. I was shocked at the sudden contact, but once I got over it, I wrapped my arms around her and leaned my head against hers. "His bedroom window of open with not even a hint of a clue of who could have taken him. Not a shoe print. Not a finger smudge. Nothing." I felt her bundle my sweatshirt into her hands as she started to soak my shoulder in obvious tears. "I-I knew something was off last night. H-He's n-never been tha-at quiet. I sh-should have known." She hiccupped softly as she spoke as small circles into her back. I brought my head up to look around the hallway to see that the occupied hallway was looking at us like we were some kind of drama skid in real life. Whispers started to fill the air as I clenched my teeth in reply. It made a wave of sudden anger fill my chest, but it quickly subsided as Claire buried her head deeper into my shoulder.
"How about we get you somewhere I bit quieter, huh?" I pulled back from her gently to inturn wrap and arm around her shoulders to direct her down the hallway together. "I know a place." She wiped the tears out of her eyes with the heel of her palms as she let out a quiet reply.
"Quiet sounds good."
We sat in the bleachers out in front of the soccer field in silence for a little while together. The silence was welcomed between us as I figured that I would let Claire decide when she wanted to speak as I just held her hand she had slipped into mine once we took our spot together here. I was keeping myself busy but forming unknown shapes into the back of her hand with my thumb as I looked out over the morning mist that covered the field in a gentle glaze. It was obvious by how there was a lack of buzzing in my pocket that we weren't missed or anything in classes by either how some of the staff must have witnessed what had happened between Claire and me.
That or those assholes in the hallways already had the word spread within the first ten minutes.
I felt anger swell into my chest once more as my thoughts continued.
What do they think this is? Some kind of TV show? You don't just watch as someone is obviously dealing with something. Especially when you know it's not them to act that way.
Claire isn't some kind of soap opera actress you get to whisper about as if she can't hear you through the TV screen. She's a real person with real issues, goddamn it. Fucking treat her like it.
I glanced over toward her to see she had her eyes closed as the gentle morning breeze toyed with the ends of her hair just the slightest. She seemed to be doing a lot better after her small 'outburst'.
Can you even call that an outburst?
I felt like slapping myself for that thought as I mentally rolled my eyes at myself.
This is why you're the dumbest mother fucker this side of the west, Lake. No wonder why people have those 'Athletes are stupid' stereotypes. Like, seriously dude. Not the right time.
"Thank you for bringing me here and I'm sorry for acting out like that." Claire looked over toward me but couldn't seem to bring her eyes up toward me.
"Don't mention it." I flashed her a smile even though I knew she wasn't going to see it at that moment. "If I was in your shoes, I would be more of a mess, honestly." I looked down toward the metal floor piece of the bleachers as I continued to rub circles into the back of her hand. "I don't even think I would have the strength to stand the night after. Let alone go to school."
"Trust me, I didn't even want to leave my brother's room as they were investigating." I brought my eyes back up to her as she spoke. "My mom said it was best to try and keep up appearances but I couldn't get myself to change into anything more than this." She gave a soft laugh as she gestured to herself with her free hand.
Doesn't matter really. You look beautiful either way.
"Thank you." I blushed as I realized that I was speaking my thought out loud. By the way a soft smile danced on her lips, I could guess that she was happy to hear the statement.
"Y-You're welcome." I slipped my free hand into my sweatshirt pocket as I felt the small stuffed toy within it. Instantly, Toby's voice echoed through my mind as I kept my eyes on the girl beside me.
"Maybe this is like, evidence of their last victim. You and I both know nothing normal happens at the canals."
"Hey," My voice caused her to look up directly at me as I decided to pull the stuffed rabbit from my pocket. "Could this be possibly your brother's?" Claire's eyes nearly turned into saucers as she grabbed the toy with her free hand as if it was made of glass.
"Snoozy Snooze. Enrique never leaves this behind. Can't even spend a night without it." She looked over the toy with a sad smile before turning her attention back toward me. "Where did you find this?"
"I didn't actually." I reached up and scratched the back of my neck gently as I tried my best to keep my eyes on hers. "Toby did. We were planning on dropping it off at the police station or something after school but we were running late this morning so we decided to do it after school instead."
Smooth lie, Lake. Smooth lie.
"Where was it?"
"At the canal. I don't know exactly where he found it, but I can ask him for you if you want?" She gave me a wide smile as this seemed to cause the weight on her shoulders to subside just the tiniest.
"That would be great, actually."
"Consider it done then." I gave her a smile in return. I felt a buzz come from my jogger's pocket so I pulled out my phone and checked it to see that it was Toby telling me that our second period was ending. "Second hour is about to end, just so you know. We should probably start heading back at some point. That is, if you want to." I watched as Claire scooted just slightly closer to me and placed her head onto my shoulder.
"Can we stay just a little longer? I really don't want to go back and be given either's people's pitty or bullshit just yet." I chuckled at this as I squeezed her hand gently.
"I wouldn't mind missing another class, actually." Claire laughed lightly at this as she squeezed my hand in reply.
"Thank God I didn't wear make-up today though. I think I would have stained your hoodie."
"I would have found a way around it."
"You wouldn't have been mad? With me staining your varsity hoodie you basically live in?" Claire brought her head up from my shoulder to gave me a curious look which I just shrugged in reply to.
"Not really. Also," I gave a small laugh as I continued. "I don't live in this thing."
"Are you sure? You wear it everywhere, Lake."
"I can go a day without it."
"Oh really?"
"I'll prove it." I slipped my free hand into my jacket pocket and grabbed out the amulet to slip it into my joggers instead. I brought my hand out of her to pull the sweatshirt off from over my head before dropping it into her lap. "Keep it for exactly 24 hours. I bet I won't ask for it." I smiled as an even better idea appeared in my head. "Better yet, you can wear it."
"You're kidding."
"Does this face look like it's joking?" I pointed toward myself as I gave her a small smile. With that, she hesitantly slipped her arms into the sleeves of the jacket before shooting me another cautious look.
"You're sure about this?"
"You'll look better in it anyway. It's just for 24 hours anyway." She shot me another cautious look, but she seemed to understand that I was completely sure as she slipped it over her head and adjusted it to cover the rest of her torso.
"Christ this thing is huge." I laughed wholeheartedly at her as she slipped her hand back into mine.
"Maybe you're just small, Nuñez." She shot me a half-hearted glare before placing her head back onto my shoulder. I smiled at the feeling as I leaned my head against the top of hers. A single thought ringing through my mind as we drifted back into a comfortable silence.
If Strickler and the other changelings do have a part in this, I'll kill them myself.