A/N: Holy crap, how did this chapter happen, I don't even...words just kept flowing, like spaghetti from my fingers. A note on the previous chapter by the way, I don't if people realize or I'm just retarded, but it was ridiculously annoying to do Zatanna's magic. Typing shit backwards, let alone saying it, stuff that. Also the M rating probably starts to kick in from here, if it hasn't already.
As usual, I don't own Teen Titans or anything DC related, not the original idea for this story. Oh and it somehow became morning when I wasn't looking, so if you spot mistakes, let me know, I got the ones I could, but my eyes are kind of funky right now.
Chapter 2 – Moving in the Night
One the other side of Jump City, in a cramped alleyway on the docks, a small explosion of bright yellow smoke swirled into existence, disappearing down either side and pushed into the air by the buildings. When it disappeared, Ja'Riha was leaning heavily against one of the walls, breathing heavily and shaking all over, trying not to drop the figure bundled in his arms.
"Gods be damned, but that weren't fun," he panted out, eyes closed and gulping down the night air and the ocean salt. Ja'Riha hadn't thought it would be that hard to get out - there were residues of the spell left when all was said and done, but the main thing had been broken. He'd had to push himself through those lingering remnants and it had felt like molten fire caressing his skin. Every nerve ending was afire, sending signals of pain to his brain.
If I were stronger, then maybe...but no, he was only as strong as he was. There was no use bemoaning the fact that someone stronger - magically, at least - like Raven, wouldn't have had a problem getting past that energy. It wouldn't get him anywhere and he realized he'd been standing there for at least twenty minutes. He had to move.
Telling himself to ignore the pain, Ja'Riha pushed away from the wall and walked unsteadily down the alley towards a dimly lit street. He wasn't worried about the locals so much - it was late and most people knew to avoid the area at night. No, it was the Titans and whoever they'd gotten to make that room and cage that hurried him along. They'd have ways of tracking him, but thankfully he had a bolt hole not too far from where he'd appeared.
Actually, Ja'Riha had a number of bolt holes throughout the city, slowly adding to them as time or paranoia dictated. The one near the docks was one of his earlier ones, actually the oldest that he hadn't since used or had discovered. Plus, being on the other side of town from the cage room was a nice bonus, even if it did put him closer to Titans Tower. He was hoping that in itself would be something of an advantage.
He reached the end of the alley and peered both ways down the street from the shadow cast by the building next to him. Ja'Riha may not have been worried about the locals posing any threat, but being spotted was just asking for trouble he didn't need and a potential trail to him. As he stepped out under the dim street lights, power suddenly lanced out from the figure in his arms and cracked the glass tubes inside, plunging the area into darkness. He glanced down at Raven but couldn't feel any stirring. Using her powers subconsciously to help hide, eh? he wondered, silently amazed she could do even that much in her state. Still, he hoped that was all she'd had left in her, since leaving a trail of broken lights would be a little suspicious, though maybe not obvious. But Ja'Riha had heard plenty of stories about the Batman and his apprentices over the years and had no doubt Ravens old leader would make a connection if it was more than a single light.
Shrugging slightly, he continued down the street towards the dock warehouses, staying in the deepest shadows where he could. Thankfully he didn't have far to go, as the nights exertions were finally starting to catch up. He could the pain he was holding back slowly creeping into his system, blurring his vision just slightly and starting a pounding in his head. He was going to be in for a long night when he finally got to a safe place, relatively speaking.
Perhaps that's why, as he reached the large warehouses and turned down a small pathway between two of them, he failed to spot the figure expertly trailing him over the roofs. A figure peering down at them from a single eye in a half-black and orange mask. Watching the two half demons disappear between the buildings, the figure nodded to itself before jumping down and vanishing into the night.
Oblivious to their watcher, Ja'Riha reached a dead end, or what seemed to be one. It was the back of a building, of red brick, probably a harbor administration building of some sort. What he wanted, however, was a loose square of cement in the ground to his left. It didn't look loose, of course and it hadn't started out that way, or not completely. He'd discovered the semi-loose cement not long after he'd first come to the city and was sniffing around - literally - for Raven, or any scent of her magic. Hellhounds were rather excellent at both; he'd spent enough time being chased by them and chasing as one to know. He'd smelt something dead down this dead-end, and with nothing in obvious view, he'd been curious enough to have a look around.
What Ja'Riha had found, after he'd pried the cement up fully - no mean feat - was about ten foot of dirt covering reinforced steel, though parts of it had started to rust, probably from rain water dripping through over the years. Curious, he'd chewed his way through the steel - and dropped from a corner roof to find himself in what he later learned was some kind of nuclear or fallout shelter. He'd also found the dried corpse of whoever's shelter it had been. Ignoring that, he'd looked around, noting the empty supplies, the beds in one corner and the still relatively good condition of the shelter. Ja'Riha had then checked the proper entrance It was a large circular portal, with numerous metal poles thicker than his forearms thrusting into it from the walls and a small, empty depression in the middle of the door, probably for a key of some kind.
He'd tried his strength against it, in human form, and hadn't been able to budge it an inch. If he shifted, he could probably get through with no trouble, but he'd been satisfied. He'd grabbed the corpse, teleported out of the room and disposed of it, then went about making the shelter his own, and more or less magic proof.
Laying down Raven, gently, Ja'Riha looked around quickly before using a finger to trace an upside down triangle with a line through it. A purple glow followed his finger and when he was done, he lay his hand over the glowing symbol then stepped back, as it gently rose into the air. He'd made many improvements to the shelter over time, blocking teleporting and magically locking the entrances were the first. The stairs of earth that were revealed were second. Picking Raven back up again, he slowly descended the stairs into safety, temporary or not. The cement slab lowering back down after he passed, a mirrored symbol glowing on the underside.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, Ja'Riha gently lowered himself into the hole he'd widened and smoothed out, breathing a sigh of relief at being surrounded by his own magic wards. Sure, they weren't masterful, but they'd do the job; no magical entrances or snooping would get in, at least for a while, and they'd probably need to know where to look. Walking over to the beds in the opposite corner, he passed the now stocked shelves and various stacks of books on a table and slowly lowered Raven onto one, still careful not to move her much. He grabbed a blanket and covered her nakedness, noting with relief as he did so that a pale blue glow covered her whole body, her healing at work.
Leaving her be for now, he moved over to another bed and grabbed some clothes to put on, since he couldn't take them with him when he shifted forms. He was truly envious of those heroes and villains who could. The shelter did have a small shower area and he was covered in dirt, dust and sweat, but he was still putting the pain he'd accumulated through the night in a stranglehold and he knew he had to release it. There's be a lot more sweating then and he'd probably bite or hit something hard enough bleed, so he'd have to wait. But on the off chance that Raven woke unexpectedly early, he didn't want her first sight to be a naked man, so he threw on some underwear and a pair of jeans with a loose shirt and headed over to the table.
Sitting down in the only chair, Ja'Riha clenched his jaw and tried to relax his other muscles as he lowered the mental shields between himself and his pain and it all came flooding back in. He could probably have left it and eventually it would dissipate, but dealing with it while he could would get rid of it quicker and until he did it would be a drain on his resources. It was a trickle at first, barely noticeable to him, but it quickly picked up speed and he started sweating as he shook in his chair, trying not to make a noise as all his hurts clamored for attention; the bruised muscles from too much quick shifting, some actually torn. Bones just slightly out of shape and rubbing wrong against each other, organs out of place, though not drastically. His mind was raw from the bursts of magic he'd either given off or been next to and his skin felt scraped raw all over from his earlier teleport - an improvement over the original feeling at least. If he didn't know otherwise he'd thinks parts of it were missing.
He let out a low growl and slammed his fist into the chair arm as he sat through the pain, splintering the wood and almost breaking it straight off the chair. His muscles tensed and locked in place, which sent out new waves of pain and his face formed a grimace. He'd felt worse than this before, in his time as a slave. And this was a multitude of things, rather than a single punishment. He remembered the time he'd gotten caught after his first escape attempt, Ja'Riha and three others he'd been friends with for years.
Ja'Riha ran through the forest of dead trees under a blood red sun, with sickly orange clouds floating in the sky, breathing hard. He'd been running for hours, but he knew pursuit was close, so he couldn't slow down, even if his legs felt like they were on fire. He could hear his friends in the forest around him, crashing into petrified tree limbs, panicked breathing reaching him with their curses.
Suddenly a new sound entered his ears, an eerie howl that his ears could just hear. The howl was full force in his mind though and sent a primal terror through him, spurring him onto new speeds. They'd brought Hellhounds to run them down. His friends in the forest cried out in fear, recognising it as well, and the sound seemed to spur on the beasts behind. They came on like a tidal wave, their howls growing louder in their minds and beyond their ability to hear. They were completely silent when on the hunt, unless you could hear them mentally. Not that it would help you.
He noticed he didn't hear his fellow escapees anymore. Had they been run down? Or had they given up? Surely not. Their fate would be the same if they ran or stopped, why give up without a fight if you were going to die anyway!
Ja'Riha jumped over a dry stream bed, sprinting for all he was worth, looking with hope at the mountains ahead of him, like jagged daggers stabbing into the sky. If he could just reach them...then what? He didn't know, but he'd heard stories, stories of freedom. He'd never known it, but he dreamed of it constantly. A world where no one would tell him what to do, or whip for a wrong glance, like he was less than the dirt they walked on.
Rocks clattered behind him and he knew one of the beasts had caught up. They might not make noise, but their surroundings did. Spying a fallen tree limb on the ground, he ducked down to pick it up. It saved his life as a Hellhound, all yellow skin and flaming fur, it's fangs dripping saliva which melted into the ground, flew through the air where his head had been. Shuddering in fear, he lifted up the branch, a pathetic weapon against this monster, which turned to him with glowing eyes and snarled silently. It's back legs tensed as it prepared to jump and Ja'Riha tried to roll out of the way, swinging the branch as he went.
He managed to hit the creature, but it didn't seem fazed and it had scored a long slice down his arm, which burned fiercely from it's saliva. Panting, Ja'Riha watched it circle, his heart beating fast, desperation growing. The longer he took here, the more of them would catch up. Giving a primal roar, he rushed at the Hellhound, swinging his branch weapon wildly, hoping to get a lucky hit in. The Hellhound ducked and spun with unnatural agility, then it's jaws closed over one end of his weapon and it ripped it right out of his hands, crushing it as it went. Then it leapt at him, claws taking him in the chest as it rode him to the ground, fangs coming for his face.
Instinctively, he raised an arm in it's path and it bit down, hard enough he could hear bones snapping. Howling his pain at the sky, his other arm flailed on the ground, searching for something, anything to help him. The Hellhound shook it's head and he heard more bones break as his other hand found a large, smooth rock. Nearly blind with pain he wrapped his fingers around it and lifted it up, smashing it into the beasts head as hard as he could. It's jaws relaxed for a moment, before it started biting harder than before. Almost unconscious, not thinking at all, he hammered his free hand with the rock into it's head over and over, not stopping even when it's jaws finally released his arm and it fell off. Mindless, he flailed his blood covered weapon at the Hellhound again and again, as pain and poison ate at his body.
They found him like that not long after, the rest of the hounds forming up into a circle around him and the body of their pack-mate as their Master strode over to the deranged half-demon.
"Well slave," the Master said, "you've done pretty well here. Certainly better than your compatriots. No fight in them at all, barely even acted as a chew toy for these fine beasts."
The words, or perhaps the voice, penetrated Ja'Riha's mind and he finally dropped the rock and collapsed, breathing shallowly now but glaring up at the tall figure standing over him in hate.
"Yes indeed, you're quite spirited. It would be a shame to end you like the others. Spirited ones are always full of energy, if you can channel it properly," the figure said, noting Ja'Riha's anger. "You're in luck slave, you've impressed me. I think I'll let you live. Perhaps you'll try to escape again...? I hope so, this has been the most fun I've had for a while!".
The figure laughed and picked Ja'Riha up, not even concerned that he posed a threat. "You've caused a bit of trouble though, and I need to set an example for the rest of the slaves, so you need to be punished. Something fitting..." he mused as he walked, Hellhounds following without a gesture. Ja'Riha was too weak to even think properly at this point, let alone try and inflict any kind of damage. So the last words the Master spoke before he passed out didn't register, until he woke up screaming an hour later, hanging from chains as they cut and peeled the flesh from him in long strips, only stopping when he passed out so they could heal him and bring him back around, only to keep flaying him from where they left off. Three days later they stopped and he was put back to work, new skin tender and unable to talk from all his screaming.
Rising from the memories he shuddered from the remembered pain, but it helped put his current hurts in perspective. It was nothing compared to those days, where he hoped he would die and then begged for it, before falling to mindless pleading. It was probably one of the worst physical pains he had experienced in his life, and at the time he'd thought nothing would ever hurt more than that. Ja'Riha had been young and naive then though, in both body and spirit. At least physical wounds healed.
Eyes closed, Jinx breathed deep of the cool, night air and bathed in the silver light of the full moon as she stood atop a tall building in central Jump. She loved and loathed nights like this, since they reminded her too much of Raven. She'd thought they were friends and she'd actually started giving up her criminal ways, almost convinced to join the Titans, but then Raven just...up and left, seemingly without a word to anyone. Not that she'd ever asked the Titans, they weren't on the best of terms then and she tried to avoid them even now, though she'd been keeping a low profile, so it wasn't that hard.
Opening her eyes, Jinx looked to the building across from her, trying to think of the best approach. She could use magic of course, but she tried to avoid that when stealing, since it could be pretty obvious at times and would bring the Titans down on her like a landslide. If it looked like a normal theft, usually it was just plain old cops and Jinx was good enough not to leave any signs for those. Honestly, Jinx was kind of glad she'd never had to choose to give up thieving. The rush was just too good, the adrenaline during a job and the satisfaction afterwards, she didn't think anything else could compare. Maybe if Raven had stuck around...
Growling to herself and shaking her head furiously, Jinx focused back on the task at hand. Raven was gone and that was that. Putting her attention again on the building she intended to burgle, she looked over it's smooth floor to ceiling windows, the thick steel doors pulled down and magnetically locked on the ground level. She could spy a few cameras, both inside and outside, but she'd made sure beforehand that her current perch was out of sight of them.
Guess it's the roof then? Jinx wondered, then answered herself, Well you could go through a window stupid, but that might be obvious! Grinning, she decided a little bit of magic wouldn't hurt in this case, if it wasn't used directly at the scene.
Jinx had gotten a lot better with her magic over the years, thanks in no small part to Raven and her tutoring, but also because back then it had lit a fire of interest in her, and she'd continued to study and practice even after Ravens disappearing act. That's why, when she jumped off the building, she didn't fall down but continued to jump higher and higher, as if there was something solid still under feet instead of thin air. A very low green glow could be seen under her feet each time she landed, and in no time she'd jumped, hopped and flipped herself through the sky and onto the other buildings roof.
"Presto!" she shouted, striking a pose and bowing to an invisible audience as she stepped off the ledge and walked over to the door in the center. "No cameras on the roof, they might as well be inviting people through the front door," Jinx muttered to herself. Really, if people didn't want their goods stolen, they should try harder. Slipping a small pack off her shoulders, she pulled out a small multi-tool and quickly got the cover off the electronic pad that kept the door locked. Digging through the pack again, she came out with a hand-held device with a small cable attached and plugged it into a slot on the pads circuit board. Lights flashed green across the device after several moments and Jinx heard the lock disengage, courtesy of some techno-wizardry that Gizmo had made her a while back.
Putting it back in her bag she swung the door open and started descending the stairs, whistling as she went and stopping occasionally to dart around security cameras. Let's see, supposedly I need the twelfth floor, but you can't get to it via the main stairway or elevator, Jinx mused to herself and glanced at the floor number she was currently passing, sixteen.
Sighing, she hurried her steps along, not wanting to take more time than necessary. She didn't think she'd tripped any alarms, but it never hurt to be careful. Skipping her way down the steps she reached the eleventh floor and brought up the building information in her head. Were there cameras with a view of the door on this floor? Jinx mused. She thought there was. Shrugging, she trusted to her instincts, brought out a disc shaped smoke 'grenade' from her Satchel of Mysteries and opened to door a fraction, tossing it into the room and pulling the door shut again. She waited a few moments for it to do it's thing, fairly confident no one was actively viewing the camera feed, so she should have a little time. She'd timed this particular job so it would fall between shifts at the security office, but you just never knew with those types.
Opening the door again a fraction, she slipped through with her slim build as smoke started coming out, quickly pulling it closed behind her. Wouldn't do for it all the escape the room. She glanced around the roof - her metahuman eyes not too disadvantaged by the smoke - and sure enough, at least two cameras looked like they had a view of the door. Rolling over to one, Secret-Agent-Style, she grabbed her multi-tool again and made tiny scissors, cutting the wires coming out of the camera, then repeating it on the other one. It shouldn't be necessary, but she liked to play it safe. If someone magically showed up and let the smoke out, it'd be too late to keep her face of camera. At least she could knock out a person and make them forget about her.
Strolling casually to a metal door in one of the other walls, she quickly perused it for locks, but it seemed like just a palm and retina scanned electronic one. Nothing Gizmo's little tool can't handle, Jinx thought to herself and giggled, adding, no double entendre intended.
A little disappointed she didn't need to get creative, she pulled it back out and found the appropriate slot in the lock. The lights took a bit longer to turn green this time, but they did and the door hissed open, filling her nose with the scent of - imaginary - money.
"Not long now," she crooned to herself, stepping through the door and jumping up the steps inside to the twelfth floor. This particular job was a commission, though she'd verified all the details about it beforehand, from other parties. The criminal world was a sadly a place where you couldn't trust your fellow thieves and lowlifes. Not that Jinx thought of herself as a lowlife, but they were fairly abundant in her line of work. Luckily this guy had panned out, and his money seemed good. Sure, she could've gotten more from selling this herself, but there was a lot more risk this way and taking jobs for other people helped get her more work, when they could be trusted to pay up and not set her up.
Reaching the top she took a deep breath and pushed the door there fully open, since it had already unlocked from the one below. The floor here was pressure sensitive, so it was finally time for a workout. Putting her bag down and getting rid of anything that might add some extra weight, including her magic shoes and socks, she pulled out a small USB and prepared to make her way to the tall computer banks on the opposite side of the room. The USB was given to her by contractor, supposedly to download the information he wanted from the computers here. She'd sent it over to Gizmo and had him check it out and he'd given the all clear. The amount of times Jinx had been given a faulty piece of equipment that would purposefully set of alarms, it was enough to make a girl cry.
She stretched her body and shook her hands, securing the USB in a zipped pocket, before springing into a series of blindingly fast flips and cartwheels, making bare minimum contact with the floor as she went, her meta strength, agility and reflexes in such a slight body serving her well. Almost reaching the data terminals that were her goal, she gave a final flip and twirl and stopped in midair between two of them, holding herself up with her feet pressing against one on either side. Apparently it didn't matter which one she plugged into so, legs tense and keeping her aloft, she reached over and opened a glass panel on the one to her left. She unzipped her pocket, grabbed the USB and flicked it open, trying to insert into the terminal. Jinx growled when it wouldn't fit, before flipping it over and trying again. Bingo!
"God damn computers," she muttered to herself, "USB's can never bloody fit on the first go, can they." Still, information theft was one of the biggest for profits lately and it was certainly a lot easier to carry around then sacks of gems, jewelery or money. Even if those particular things attracted her eye much more. Maybe my next job I can do some gemstone liberation, she wistfully thought as she watched the light on the end of the stick blink red at her.
Crossing her arms and tapping a finger she waited for it to change to green, not the least bit uncomfortable in her current position. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the light changed to green and she was good to go. Pulling it out - "The drive may now safely be removed~" she sing-songed - Jinx put it back in her pocket, zipped it up and lightly kicked off the data banks, giving a repeat performance of her acrobatic skills across the floor and to the door. Pulling the door closed, she sat on a step as she put her socks and magic shoes back on, grabbed her bag and cartwheeled down the stairs.
She quickly exited the building the same way she entered it, closing doors that locked behind her as she went and retrieving her spent gas cylinder. She got back to the roof and was just dancing her way between buildings when she heard the alarm go off behind her and steel shutters slammed down behind the glass windows.
Jinx laughed as she reached her original building, quickly making her way down an emergency fire escape to the ground and setting off at a jog down back streets, away from the scene of her crime.
Jinx finally reached her reached her apartment building as the suns rays just started peeking over the horizon. She couldn't wait to get inside and collapse into bed, the night having exhausted her. It wasn't so much the robbery, that had been easy money, but apart from that she'd kept finding her thoughts drifting to Raven and the time they'd spent together all those years ago, still clear in her memory.
And then there was the magic she'd felt briefly early in the night as well as the rapid bursts of powerful energy from somewhere in the city as she made her way home after a job well done. They worried her - they'd packed quite a punch - but mostly they'd also brought Raven to mind for some reason. It's been happening a lot lately... Jinx thought. Not the magic, but Raven.
Sighing, she got to her door and unlocked it. She'd send a message to her client, saying she had the goods, grab a shower and then have a glorious sleep. Stepping inside, she was greeted with a meow from her pet cat, Athasia, a white Birman that had found it's way into her place and then never left. She smiled and bent down to scratch her behind the ears with an "Hello to you too," before moving into her small apartment and putting her bag on the coffee table, the USB inside. Jinx sat down on her couch and pulled her laptop across to her as Athasia jumped onto her lap, butting her head against her arm before turning around and curling up, purring.
"Don't get too comfortable, you," Jinx laughed as her laptop booted up and she put her password in and scanned her thumb. Her last session opened up and she noticed she had a new message in her secured mailbox. Looked like her client was eager to get his hands on his goods. She typed up a quick reply, telling him she'd gotten it with no trouble and setting up a drop for a couple of days later, sending it and closing the laptop again. Looking down at the cat in her lap, she lifted it up and placed it on the cushion beside her and stood up. Athasia jumped off the couch and gave her 'The Look', before flouncing into the bedroom.
"I told her not to get comfortable," Jinx muttered, shrugging and stripping off as she headed to her bathroom. One of the perks of living by oneself; not having to worry about people copping an eyeful. And then a fist to said eye. Smiling at that image, the now naked Jinx turned on the shower, hot, and jumped in.
Sighing as she stood under the hot water, she put her head down and let it just wash over her, relaxing her muscles. Nothing like a hot shower after a hard days honest work. Or a nights dishonest work, in this case. She felt her anxieties about Raven and the magic from the night ease as she slowly washed her pink, just-past-shoulder length hair. She hadn't changed the colour in all these years, but she had stopped putting it into horns, they were just too distinctive. Not that hair her particular pink wasn't, but most people just shrugged it off. Weird was everywhere in this city, especially lately. She'd heard someone had risen from the dead the other week? She didn't put much stock in that though, but there were a lot of odd stories going around these days.
She rinsed her hair out and grabbed her soap and sponge, washing her body as she thought about those stories. She'd been hearing them from places further away than Jump too, Jinx recalled. Apparently there'd been a case of spontaneous combustion in a wide area in Steel City. And then the entire building turning to stone in Gotham, what, 7 months ago? Plenty of other smaller things too, but that larger ones really stood out. Apparently no one knew quite what had caused any of the incidents either, which she felt was either strange, or just proof that it was all some kind of hoax. Not that she didn't believe that stuff couldn't happen; with the amount of near gods roaming the galaxy and even this planet, it was more than possible. But the larger scale stuff was still big magic - if it was magic - and Jinx couldn't believe she wouldn't have felt something, even from that distance. Not to mention the ones supposedly happening in Jump.
Dismissing such thoughts, Jinx finished her shower and got out, turning the water off and grabbing a pink, fluffy towel to dry off. Shimmying into the flannel pajamas she'd gotten out, she exited the bathroom and headed across the living room to her bedroom, intent on a good nights - or mornings - sleep. Jinx entered her bedroom and froze, feeling something was out of place.
She stayed in her doorway as she looked about the room, trying to spot anything out of place. At least it didn't look like anyone was hiding in here. She had put a view avoidance charms up around her place, but it wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility. Frowning, she slowly scanned the room again from top to bottom, when she noticed it. On the small table next to her bed rested a book, where she hadn't left one when she'd left. Looking over to her bookshelf covering half of the left wall, she noticed an empty spot.
So, it's one of mine. But why move a book? It doesn't look like anything else has been touched, Jinx thought as she slowly walked further into her room, tense and ready, in case something or someone jumped out at her. Something brushed against her legs and she nearly hit the roof, but it was her just Athasia, scaring her to within an inch of her life. "Beast," she muttered, hand on her chest, getting a meow in return. Deciding there was nothing wrong if her cat wasn't freaking out, Jinx decided to just make her way over to her bed and figure out what was going on. When she got closer she noticed a detail she'd missed from the door; a dark feather resting next to the book. She picked it up and twirled it, watching the hints of blue as the light caught it in a certain way. Frowning, she looked down at the book and noticed the title for the first time too, causing her to nearly drop the feather in shock. It was her copy of Edgar Allan Poe. And the feather...disturbed, she put the book back, with the feather in the cover and decided she needed sleep. She was imagining things, that's all.
She got into bed and her cat jumped up to sleep with her, a small bundle of warmth at her midsection. Jinx drifted off to sleep surprisingly easily, considering what she'd just found next to her bed. Must be more tired than I thought, she yawned.
That night Jinx dreamed of black feathers falling around her and a voice calling to her for help from far away.
A/N: Welp, there you go, probably not a whole lot that happened to really move the story along, but I'm mostly pleased with it still. And Slade, what are you up to, sneaking about alone in the dark, watching people. I see you, crafty bastard.
Also, I wanted to mention how troubling it is that the longest part of typing this was deciding what kind of cat Jinx would have. But then I realized...cats *worship*