fey wonderer

for a horrible second, she thought she might cry. she was not going to cry in front of a stranger, much less while she was cursed to be a giant and wearing a borrowed dress that edna might kill her for. and of course it was the thought of the dress that almost put her tears over the edge — but she pressed her palms to her eyes to stop them and she spoke a little like that, eyes concealed, as she heard the strange voice speak.

"no," she said, sounding more wobbly than she intended. "nothing about this is normal."

peeling her hands off her eyes, she blinked down at him. "you're not affected by anything?"

"oh, okay. well." he looked around. "it'll probably fade in a couple of hours. maybe more. depending on how much you've had to eat." cornelius looked around the ballroom at the party unfolding.

cornelius shrugged like that was an answer. it wasn't a good answer. "i didn't have anything to eat or drink." he'd recognized that it was fae food right away. he didn't know if it would affect him.

the last time he was here, he'd almost eaten a cat.

the lovely shopowner already knew him by face, but just as a precaution he put on his sunglasses. at any rate, if the cat was here and wanted to cause trouble again, he could throw the glasses at it.

one of the things he didn't get to do much was wander. so much had happened the past few days (exhausting, perhaps, if he dared to admit the truth of the word), but once again the quickness of everything was what made life blur for him. "life," he whispered under his breath, almost a scoff, his eyes browsing past some match-strikers on a shelf. he couldn't remember what happened in the gala, or in which house, or which conversation was had. he needed to slow down.

he found his way down the aisle, heading to the ticking clocks not from any real want, but just to follow the path. here, he crinkled his nose at it all, his gaze going past the other man there until he spoke up. "apparently not inspiring enough," he muttered, "since it ended up here." krit tapped on a random watch face. "you're better off finding one in new elias that actually works. and doesn't carry dusty memories. better yet..." krit took off the watch on his own wrist, the same one he'd worn to the ball, and held it out to him, "my good deed for the day."

and perhaps a chance to get rid of evidence.

trinkets and stores that sold antiques were far more interesting to cornelius than shiny new products that didn't have stories attached to them. he found himself in antique stores quite often and when he wasn't looking at old stuff, he was talking to people. cornelius liked being around people too much to stay secluded in his apartment all the time. so he left, he explored, and he did what he came here to do: wander. it wasn't that he was lost, it was that he found it easier to look for answers when he didn't know the questions that he was even looking for. were there other places in the world rotting away? he should probably find that out. but he also believed that it would come in due time. he wouldn't leave his people to lose their spark.

"well, that's not necessarily true. what if she died? what if it's from 80 years ago? what if someone stole it?" there were plenty of reasons that it could end up in a shop like this. cornelius didn't need another watch and yet he was drawn to it. he bit down on his lip at the mention of new elias. "i can't always get to new elias." sometimes he tried and it was like walking through jelly, the underland didn't want to let go of him. that's what he got for the deal he made to be here. still. it was annoying when there were books and people he wanted access to outside the underland.

cornelius eyed the watch that was handed out to him. "i don't take gifts from people." there were always strings attached. "but thanks for the offer." he knew what might happen if he took it and something bad ended up happening to him. no, better to not take food or trinkets or anything from a stranger. "i like that there are memories attached to this one," he held up the pocket watch. the glass was cracked. "you don't find the memories interesting? that someone spend time, energy, and probably money getting it engraved for their loved one?" cornelius hummed, tilting his head to the side. "i want that kind of romance." not the one forced upon him. he wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel like, but it wasn't what he felt before.

violet gasped as she looked down at herself. "—WHAT?!" she screeched.

she'd managed to make it outside, to the gardens that she would have described as breathtaking and tranquil, had it not been for the rumbling inside the building and the distant clatter of armour chasing after everyone. there was still chaos out here, leaking out from the windows and doors of the house. she wasn't the only one to have made it outside, all of them hoping that maybe outside the grounds the world would be normal again...but this was not happening to violet parr.

somehow, she'd grown taller by two feet. now standing about seven feet tall, she was the same height as the fountain in the middle of the garden. when had it happened? while she was walking?

maaaaaagical side effect, a voice inside her head told her.

a soothing reminder. or a warning.

the fucking chocolate fondue.

violet put her hand to her head and breathed out a shaky breath. "this is fine, this is fine, this is fine..." she chanted.

some magic worked on him here and others didn't, but fey food didn't work on him. whatever was affecting everyone else didn't do anything to him, though he had shed the fake wings a bit ago, for no reason other than they seemed to be more of a hinderance than anything else. cornelius blinked up at the tall woman.

"are you not normally this tall?"

tw: body horror

The pain hit without warning. His breath caught. It felt like every bone in his body was trying to reshape itself at once. He staggered forward, catching himself against the trunk of a nearby tree as his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. A sharp crack echoed from his fingers. Not breaking. Changing. His nails lengthened into black, curved claws that dug effortlessly into the bark beneath his palm. Another cry escaped him as pressure built inside his skull.

Logan doubled over, one hand instinctively reaching for his head as they continued to grow, curling back along either side until the pressure finally subsided. The relief lasted only a heartbeat before another surge of agony rolled through him. His jaw ached. He tasted blood where his teeth had cut into the inside of his cheek, only for two elongated fangs to press against his lower lip. His breathing grew ragged.

He looked down at his hands...gray. The color was spreading rapidly across his arms, replacing healthy skin with the ashen tone he'd only ever caught glimpses of before. Veins of faint blue light pulsed beneath the surface, each heartbeat sending another stab of pain through his body.

The reflection staring back at him in a nearby window wasn't his own. Red eyes. Curled horns. Ash-gray skin. A demon. Logan's stomach turned. He stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing as another wave of pain forced him to his knees.

with the chaos of the statue behind him and people screaming, he stepped forward toward logan without hesitation, the way he always did when he saw someone in trouble. the light flickered in his hands without warning and he pulled back. sometimes he forgot that for the shadows to corrupt the light, there had to be light to begin with. very few people knew what he'd given up to be here and he wanted to keep it that way.

"we should probably get out of here," he bit down on the inside of his lip. honestly, he made no move to start getting out of here. he'd never gotten the hang of healing magic. "can you walk?" there's no urgency in his tone, instead he somehow felt calmer than probably most people in the building. just a normal tuesday, really. sure, he probably needed to find someone more useful for this situation, but he wasn't sure he knew enough people to help and really he did want to be smart enough not to be indebted to anyone.

The first branch came crashing through the ballroom with enough force to shatter crystal and send guests scrambling in every direction. Donald moved before anyone could scream. A sharp sweep of his hand sent a barrier of brilliant sapphire light surging between the crowd and the splintering wood. The branch slammed against it with a deafening crack, stopping only inches from the nearest civilians. "Move!" Donald's voice cut through the panic. "To the exits! Don't stop!"

The shield trembled. He felt it immediately. Something pushed back. Not the branch. His magic. For the briefest moment, the spell resisted his command, the blue light rippling with strange streaks of violet as though another force had reached into the weave and tried to pull it apart.

Donald's brow furrowed. "...No." The word was quiet, almost a warning. He planted his feet. The resistance surged again. A younger mage might have lost the spell entirely. Donald had spent nearly a century bending magic to his will. He refused to let it dictate the terms now. Drawing a slow breath, he tightened his grip on the staff in his hand. The sapphire glow flared brilliantly, washing away the violet corruption as the barrier solidified once more. The shaking ceased. The spell obeyed. "As I said," he muttered through gritted teeth, "no."

The tree lashed toward the fleeing crowd. With a flick of his wrist, ribbons of arcane light shot forward, wrapping around the trunk before wrenching it violently off course. It crashed harmlessly into the gardens instead of the ballroom.

he blinked at the tree. someone needed to calm it down, nature magic did seem like the best shot, but he looked around and didn't see anyone who could help near him. he did spot someone clearly using magic. if he was in better control of his own, he'd step in and help, though he didn't think light magic would work. the suits of armor were moving and attacking, the tree swung the branches around grabbing people, and a lot of people seemed to be affected by the food. and cornelius? well, he didn't know what to do.

he flinched at the man yelling at people to get out. "and go where?" it didn't make sense for people to spread out and get separated from the people who could actually fight. "i can probably help somewhere." offering before knowing that was bold of him and yet that's kind of how he operated. acting without completely thinking it through.