#ch:bex

Nell’s house was completely empty, save for all the decorations that usually hung on the walls. They seemed almost...slightly off. As if someone had taken them all off the walls and moved them one inch to the left. Somehow, the fog was inside the house, too. The little birdy from outside had followed her in, fluttering around the house. Bex watched it for a moment, before it zoomed off towards the back of the house. “Wait!” she called out, following after as best she could. The house felt too eerie, too strange. The emptiness of it was making Bex’s skin crawl. The bird led her to a door, fluttering just outside out of. It knocked its beak against the door. “Is this--” Tentatively, Bex reached for the door and opened it. It creaked loudly and she peered inside. The bedroom was empty save for its decorations, but somehow she just knew, this was Nell’s room. 

The little bird zoomed inside and nestled into the bed. Bex blinked and in the next moment, Nell was sleeping in the bed. “Nell?” her eyes perked up. “Nell, you’re he--” she started, but her voice was cut short, as something pulled at her insides. That familiar feeling she always tried to ignore. “Wait, no, stop, I don’t want to--” but it was too late. Her hand touched Nell’s head and she tumbled through darkness. 

Her back hit the ground in a sudden rush, but it didn’t hurt. When Bex was brave enough to open her eyes next, she was in a dank room, dripping with moldy water. She could smell rusted iron and stale water and blood. She sat up quickly, the liquid splashing around her. Someone was crying. She turned in circles, squinting through the dark, and saw a figure inside a cage, hands reaching through towards someone, something. Her voice was familiar. “Nell?” she stuttered, began crawling towards her. Yes, it was her. She knew it, it had to be! Bex broke into a sprint, slamming into the side of the cage, tears of joy, relief, streaming down her face. “Nell, I found you! I found you! I’m here, you’re here! You’re--” but something wasn’t right. Nell was crying, too, but not out of joy. She was caged behind bars, and when Bex followed her line of sight, a sense of dread began to fill her up. Blood pooled in the water, and the source-- someone chained to the wall, chopped and bloody. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth as she fought off the sudden nausea. “Nell, who is that?” she muttered, “Wh-what’s going on?”

It was happening again. Ever since that fateful day in late spring of last year- the day she’d watched her sister fall apart before her very eyes— Nell’s sleep had been plagued by frequent nightmares. They were enough to make her dread sleep, and seemed to only grow worse whenever Bea wasn’t sleeping in the Vural home with her sisters. Without her presence there...it felt far too similar to the month following her death, an emptiness in the eldest daughter’s room making for a matching vacancy in Nell’s sleep patterns. Beyond her usual nighttime terrors, Nell had been avoiding sleep after hearing of the increasing pattern of unwilling sleepers, unwilling to fall into the same pattern that seemed to be gripping the town in its claws. If she fell asleep and didn’t wake up, who would make sure the demon cult didn’t eat Adam alive? And who would ensure that Bex didn’t stay in her state of unconsciousness for the rest of her life? 

Nell couldn’t fail Bex. It’d been so long since the witch had someone relying on her in the way the younger girl did. Come to think of it- had she ever had someone rely on her in such a way? It felt nice to be needed in the way Bex needed her, and Nell wasn’t going to let the girl fall. She’d do most anything to protect Bex from even half the things White Crest had thrown her way. These were the thoughts that had run through her tired mind while sleep took her. It was unplanned, and brought about by the simple inability to stay awake after refusing to sleep for so long. Unfortunately this was how she also found herself without the only defense she had against nightmares such as these, her bottle of Aram forgotten on her bedside table.

How long had Nell been watching the ever shifting figure of a twisted Montgomery and Jax hybrid torturing her sisters against the wall, forcing her to bear witness from the confines of her cramped cage? Her breaths were coming far too fast, and she couldn’t tell whether it was from the feeling of the cage closing in on her, or the blood trailing down the necks of her sisters. But then...something changed. Another presence that didn’t match the energy around her. It wasn’t a calm in the night, but it was certainly less worrying than the murderer standing before her. That voice. She knew that voice. The cloudy panic of her eyes cleared for a moment as she looked over to her student in magic, confusion finding her before frantic concern quickly replaced it. “Bex? Bex! You can’t be here- you have to get out of here before he hurts you too!” 

“Hurt me? What? Nell, I-I don’t understand, what’s going on? Where are we?” Bex looked around again, before settling her eyes back on Nell. “Who are those people?” They looked oddly familiar, but Bex couldn’t quite place their faces. Either way, all she knew was that she needed to get Nell out of this cage. She started yanking at them, searching around for a door, a lock, anything. It felt as if out of nowhere a lock appeared as Bex’s hands grazed over some of the bars, the world shifting and manipulating around them. She plucked a bobby pin from her hair and set to work. “Here!” The door swung open and she reached a hand in for Nell. “C’mon, w-we gotta get out of here.” Wherever here was. Bex didn’t like the feel of it. A shadow crept up behind her and she turned to look but there was no one there. “Nell, what’s going on?”

Nell couldn’t take her eyes from her sisters, pain carved into every crease of her face as she watched their lives drain away into nothingness. She’d brought Bea back. She’d brought Bea back only for her to die again. She’d raise her again. She’d raise her sisters however many times it took for them to be by her side. One without the other two was incomplete, a set that no longer matched. But Bex shouldn’t be here. She’d only get herself hurt, and Nell didn’t know if she’d be allowed to bring Bex back. “You have to go, Bex!” Nell began desperately, her hands clutching the bars of her cage until the knuckles of them turned white. A lock appeared before her very eyes, and bewilderment was once again claiming Nell’s face. “How’d you do that? I didn’t teach you to do that.” Making a lock appear from nothing may have been instinctual magic, but it was more detailed and finite than Nell would have guessed to be possible at a time like this. But Nell was free. Immediately she stepped from the confines of the cage, her lungs filling with to the brim for what felt like the first time in years as she stood. “My sisters- I can’t leave them-” she continued, already reaching for their bodies. “But you- you need to go, Bex!!” A machete came down before her fingers, narrowly missing its mark. Nell turned to look into the vacant eyes of the patchwork man wielding it, eyes ablaze. “I’ll fucking kill you- I’ll kill you, and then I’ll send your soul to rot in fucking hell.”

“Do what?” Bex asked, blinking in confusion. Nell darted from the cage and started rambling about needing to get out and killing and-- “Nell, stop! Wait!” But when she turned, there was a disjointed figure swinging at them. Bex screamed and leapt out of the way as Nell turned towards the figure, poised to attack. “Nell, who is that? What-- what’s happening!?” Something flickered in her outburst. The world around them distorted for just a moment, and Bex could see out back into Nell’s room, as if looking at it through a telescope. She was thrust back into this place quickly and she stumbled, blinking again. Her head was spinning and she tumbled over, splashing in the murky waters. “What…” but when she looked up again, the shadowy figure was still there and so was Nell. Anxiety began building up inside of her again. She hated this place. She hated whatever was going on. Why was she here? Why had the bird led her here if Nell wasn’t going to help? “Nell, I--” she started, but suddenly the figure turned and it was bearing down on her. It was the darkness again, staring down at her with two beady eyes. “Nell! Help me!”

Nell had barely opened her mouth to answer Bex’s questions before the world shifted around her, the familiar sights of her bedroom momentarily stunning her into silence. What the hell? The moment was over as quickly as it had come, leaving Nell dazed in its absence. But she didn’t have time to process what it was she had seen before the darkness was upon Bex, and instinct washed away rational thought as she ran for the shadowed figure, attacking it from behind as it loomed over Bex, a violent yell tearing its way from Nell’s throat. “Don’t you dare hurt her!” Nell screeched in a fit of rage, hands searching the places on her body where her knives were usually hidden. The multifaceted man turned to face Nell with a sharp grin as she barreled towards him. After all- he was her nightmare, not Bex’s. The thought came without warning, and suddenly things began to click into place. The flickering of the bedroom, the reason she couldn’t remember how she and her sister had gotten her in the first place, how Bex had seemed to materialize out of nothing...she was dreaming, wasn’t she? None of this was real despite the way it made Nell’s stomach turn in fear. Standing tall, she glared down the men who dared to terrorize her sleeping hours, trying her best to ignore the still frantic cries of her sisters. The sound of them made her want to vomit, just as she had when she’d woke up next to Bea’s body. It’s a dream, she desperately tried to remind herself. “It’s okay, Bex. It’s okay- none of it’s real. We gotta- we gotta get out of here somehow. Go someone else. Somewhere better.” But dream walking had never been Nell’s forte, and she hadn’t the slightest idea of how to escape her own mental hell.

Nell’s yell of anger startled Bex and she scrambled away as the shadowed figure turned back towards the other girl. Her back hit the wall and she curled her legs up to herself, but suddenly the mood around everything began to change. Even the whimpering cries of the two women tied to the walls began to dissipate and Nell’s eyes turned sharp as Bex watched her. The shadowed figure was melting away, fading back into the darkness that it came from. “Yeah, no shit!” Bex said, hands tight around her knees. “But from what I’ve figured out, it’s not a normal dream!” At least, out there it wasn’t. Was this the same as out there? She didn’t know. She hated all of this. It was so confusing and scary and she just wanted to go home. No, not home...somewhere safe. She wanted to be somewhere safe. Her mind zeroed in on the first place she thought of. The dream flickered around them again, but this time, instead of Nell’s room, it was a house full of plants. The garden. Nell’s garden. A shadow crept towards her again, loud voices, angry whispers. Bex stood up quickly, scrabbling against the wall. “Why is this happening? Nell, what do I do? How do I make it stop?” Her voice wavered, full of fear. “Make it stop!” Louder now, the world shifting again. “Make it STOP!” 

And suddenly, everything was quiet. A bird chirped somewhere, and she heard distant crickets. Bex opened her eyes slowly, and found herself pressed between two bushes. “N-Nell?” she stuttered, glancing around. “Nell?”

Surprise flickered over Nell’s features as Bex proclaimed that she’d already known it was a dream. From what she’d experienced figments of a nightmare weren’t usually so self-aware. At least- they usually weren’t in her nightmares. Despite the misunderstanding of thinking Bex to still be a part of the older witch’s dream-world, Nell instinctively reached out to Bex as she began to fall apart, trying to grab the girl’s hand in her own to give it a calming squeeze. “It’s alright- it’s okay,” she tried to comfort fervently. She hated seeing Bex in distress, even if it was simply a dream Bex. But as her garden came into view it was, once again, Nell’s turn to look around in surprise and vague confusion. “How did…?” Shifting her dreams wasn’t something Nell was adept at, not being much of a lucid dreamer magical or otherwise. After taking in the serene surroundings of her backyard, and her treasured flowers, her gaze finally landed back on her young student. “Bex?” she asked tentatively, trying not to be too hopeful that this was the actual consciousness of the girl, and not a structure of her dream world. “That’s really you? And you-” fixed my dream? There was a brief moment of eagerness, excitement, and pride that flashed over Nell’s face. Bex was a dreamwalker! If she was doing all of this so instinctively, surely that meant she had a natural proclivity for mental magic and dream magic! Oh, she couldn’t wait to tell Morgan that they’d found the young witch’s specialty. Unfortunately the enthusiasm was quick to wane as she remembered that Bex had been trapped in the dream world for quite some time now, and showing no sign of waking. “Oh Bex- I’m so happy to see you. How have you been doing? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, right?” People didn’t really get injured in the dream world, right? But perhaps the strange magic keeping everyone asleep played by different rules. 

Through the quiet, Bex heard Nell and felt her hands on her arms-- like actually felt. Not that strange, there but not feeling one usually had in a dream. It was solid and real and visceral and Bex immediately felt herself wanting to break down into tears. How long had it been since she’d felt that? How long had she been stuck here? She’d lost track of time so easily. She collapsed into Nell’s arms, relief flooding through her body like the breaking of a dam. “It’s me,” she said, “it’s me, it’s really me. I’m real. I’m the real me.” At least, she hoped it was the real her. The rational part of her knew it was, but the part of her that wanted to keep denying all this told her that it wasn’t possible, that this had to be some sort of very bad, very vivid dream. She’d been having vivid dreams and night terrors since she was a child, after all, this wasn’t any different than that, right? “I-- I’m not hurt, no. I just-- I don’t understand what’s going on. Is this a dream? How am I here? How are you here? What is-- what was that just now?” 

As Bex crumbled in on herself, Nell steadied her legs to support the taller girl’s weight, wrapping her arms around the other witch as if she were trying to make sure she didn’t break apart into little pieces just like the pot had done at the Vural home. “I’m so glad you’re here,” Nell sighed with relief, feeling some of the tension that had been living in her shoulders for the last few weeks dissipate. “I uh- well you’ve been asleep for so long now, and I’m trying to find a way to wake you up- but I’m just glad to see you. To talk to you.” Even if Bex wasn’t in the waking world, at least Nell had confirmation that she was still alive inside her mind. “There’s a lot of people asleep in town right now. And they won’t wake up, just like you. But don’t worry, alright? I’m working on figuring things out, and trying to get you awake.” Nevermind that Nell hadn’t made any promising progress on the matter. Why did mental magic have to be her absolute worst discipline? “Yeah- it’s my dream. I think you...brought yourself here.” That was the best Nel could do as an explanation when she wasn’t mentioning magic or anything of that like. Still- she couldn’t help but feel another blossom of pride as she thought of how Bex had done this on her own. If she was so naturally gifted- who was to tell how well she’d do once she was trained? The stiffness of her shoulders returned as Bex asked about the nightmare, Nell almost embarrassed that her friend and student had seen such a dark piece of her mind. “Ah- a nightmare. It’s fine, though. I’m used to it.”

Bex let herself enjoy the feeling of someone solid holding onto her as she held onto Nell, the feeling so foreign at this point she’d wondered if she’d ever get to feel it again. But she was here, she was really here, and so was Nell, and that meant that she was going to be okay. Nell would help her, she would save her. She’d said she would fight for her, even when Bex couldn’t fight for herself, and she really needed Nell to fight for her right now. Not that she’d ever admit that out loud. Needing other people wasn’t what she was taught to do, to know. She pulled away enough to look around, taking in the garden-- it was just like she last remembered it. “H-how long have I been asleep? How many people? So it’s not just-- it’s not just me? How come I can’t find anybody else in here then?” Words and questions tumbled out of her mouth before she could contemplate them herself, but it didn’t matter. She was safe here, she could feel it. “How did we get in your garden? I-- I don’t know how I brought myself here if I did. I was just following this little bird and it led me to your house, but your house was empty, so I was looking around for you and I texted you but I couldn’t understand what you were saying, a-and then I went to your room and the bird was there again and you were sleeping in your bed and then I touched your arm to try and wake you up and now I’m here.” Did people not need to breathe in dreams? She inhaled sharply. “Sorry. That was a lot, sorry. That-- nightmare. You-- who were those women? And that man? Who was he? Why did he want to hurt you? Are you in danger?”

While Bex stepped away, Nell held onto the tips of her fingers, keeping her hand wrapped around the other girl’s as if she were trying to anchor Bex to herself. “It’s been a few weeks,” Nell answered quietly, knowing the truth would most likely give Bex a nasty shock. No doubt time in the place she was trapped passed strangely. “Where have you been? Just in...other people’s dreams? I don’t know the exact count- but it’s at least a couple hundred or so. There’s more every day so it’s hard to completely keep track.” Nell waited patiently for Bex to finish her sentence, endeared all over again as she talked far too long and fast. It’d been so long since she'd gotten to hear one of Bex’s barely breathing tangents, and she’d begun to think that she might neve get to hear one again. But she’d take all the train of thought word vomits from the girl in front of her she could get while she was able to. “You don’t have to apologize,” Nell waved Bex’s words away, the slightest of grins on her lips. “It’s good to hear your voice. But I’m pretty sure you’re the one that brought us here- like I said.” From what Bex said, there was no doubt in Nell’s mind that she truly was gifted when it came to dreams and mental magic. “It’s sort of like the pot you fixed. Maybe...some part of you wanted to see me? So then you let yourself have it, and you brought yourself here. What did the bird look like?” Nell asked curiously, uncertain what a bird might mean. Maybe it was a spirit guide of some sort. As the conversation turned back to the nightmare, Nell’s answers were short. “It’s fine,” was her knee-jerk response. “They’re my sisters. Bea and Luce. The man was...a combination of people who hurt me. But it’s okay- I’m not in danger from either of them.” Not since Remmy had killed Jax, and Nell and her sisters had made sure to give Montgomery his long and tortuous penance.

“A few wee--” Bex started, but the word caught in her throat. She felt suddenly dizzy. “Week-weeks. Weeks?” Oh god, her parents were going to absolutely kill her. Her heart seized and she subconsciously squeezed Nell’s hand extra tight. “Where have I-- oh. Um...I don’t...I don’t know. Maybe? I’m not sure. This place is-- well out there it’s like White Crest, but not. Everything is strange or twisted or messed up. And there’s something-- I think there’s something following me. Or chasing me, or something. It’s just-- dark. All the time. When I stop moving it catches up and I can’t get out. Well, mostly. The-- the bird helped. It helps me get out of wherever that place is. It um-- kinda looks like a little falcon? It’s got really sharp claws, and a tiny beak. It’s kinda cute, actually.” She scratched the back of her neck. “I’m-- I mean, maybe? I just...this place is frightening and I feel so out of control and you’re always so nice to me and you’re teaching me control and I just thought, if anyone knew how to help me, it would be you.” Bex might not have been the most intelligent with intrapersonal emotions, but she understood that Nell didn’t like talking about her nightmares. Bex understood-- she wouldn’t want anyone to know about hers, either. “I-- sorry. I’m sorry you...see that.” She held on a little tighter and stepped a little closer, glancing around. “So how-- how do we get out of here? I wanna go home, Nell. I wanna wake up.”

“It’s alright!” Nell assured hastily, even though she was certain the words would have little effect when it came to actually calming Bex. Still- she couldn’t just standby and watch Bex have a potential meltdown. “I’m gonna find a way to wake you up- I promise,” the witch said fervently, echoing the words she’d sent to Bex online that had never been properly delivered in their entirety. “Shit- I’m sorry Bex.” The dreamscape that Bex was trapped in seemed just eerie enough to set a person on constant edge, no way to relax with a literal shadow watching over your shoulder at all times. “I think you have more power here than you realize, though.” If she could convince Bex that she wasn’t entirely a victim to the dreamworld due to her abilities- maybe she’d stand a better chance fighting back. “You can take control just like I taught you.” With that she gave Bex’s hand another reassuring squeeze. “And...I’m glad you thought of me.” These words were softer, a little more bashful than Nell’s usual and brazen way of speaking. She’d always been lackluster when it came to speaking in softer and more sincere tones. “It’s okay.” It seemed that Bex had gotten the hint that Nell wasn’t all that fond of speaking about her night terrors, or even acknowledging them in the first place. “It just is what it is.” Now...how to get out of here. For Nell, the answer was clear- she just needed to wake up, and then she’d be back in the real world granted the same mysterious sleep that had trapped Bex hadn’t taken hold of her too. But what about Bex? Nell still didn’t have a way to get her out. If anything, Bex probably stood a better chance of getting herself out with a proclivity for dream magic. “I think you could be the key, Bex. You brought yourself to me. And then you brought us to my garden. I think you could maybe bring us back into my room, too.”

“Don’t-- you shouldn’t say that,” Bex said quickly, shaking her head. “Deirdre and Morgan and Mina all said you shouldn’t make promises. They’re dangerous.” She shook her head again, trying to not let everything that had happened bare too much on her. She didn’t want to have a breakdown again, in front of Nell. All she did was breakdown in front of Nell. “It’s fine. I’m kind of used to being alone, anyway.” And it had made her prepared for situations like this, hadn’t it? Not that she’d ever noticed that. In fact, Bex often only felt weak, small, easy to control. She rarely had control, instead allowing others to take control of herself. It was one of the things she hated most about herself. “Me? Oh, n-no, I don’t--” she started, then stopped. “I’m not-- I don’t have power. I just happen to blow things up from time to time.” Well, at least she could openly admit that now. She looked away, shame sculpting her face. “I’m not anything.” But Nell’s soft words made her heart unclench, just a little, and she gathered enough courage to look up at Nell again. “I’m still sorry,” she mumbled back quietly. The sounds of the garden penetrated the silence for a moment before Bex spoke up again. “Wha-- me? No. I didn’t-- it was the bird. I can’t do anything. I’m not-- There’s no way I did this. I can’t do something like this.” 

Despite the inconvenience of the situation, Nell couldn’t help the dry half-smile that came over her as she realized White Crest was already teaching Bex the smaller ins-and-outs of the supernatural world. It was good that they’d taught her to avoid promises, and even better that Bex heeded that warning. “Don’t worry- I know what they’re talking about. It’s okay if I say them to you. You’re smart not to make your own promises, though.” The mention of loneliness made Nell’s grin turned to slightly pursed lips, already knowing as much from conversations with Bex, but still finding no joy in the truth of her situation. “That doesn’t make it okay,” Nell replied softly before taking Bex’s other hand into her’s, giving both of them a squeeze of reassurance. “Isn’t that power?” Nell pushed ever so slightly, perhaps a little more than she would have had circumstances been different. But desperate times often called for desperate measures, and if Bex had dream magic- there was a possibility she could get herself out of here. “That’s not true,” Nell began fiercely in a protective tone, hating that Bex thought herself to be anything less than a person who could take control of her life. “I know it’s scary for you. All the strange things that happen. And I know you wish it would go away. But taking responsibility for your successes like the bird...and the pot, and anything else you’ve accomplished with your control is something you deserve. You deserve recognition for the good you do. And you deserve to have the faith in yourself that you can get us out of here. I would do it for you if I could but- this is something only you can do. And I know you can do it.”

“People keep telling me that, too,” Bex frowned, but she supposed this wasn’t the time to have that discussion, was it? She didn’t know all the rules around saying those words, only what Mina and Morgan and Deirdre had told her about them. She looked down when Nell took her other hand and felt another wave of relief go through her. Feeling someone solid, someone real, gave her true hope that she’d be able to get out of here, that she’d be able to wake up somehow. “I-- I mean, technically, sure, yeah, I guess, but I-- it’s not a good power. It’s not like-- I’m not like--” she stopped talking, though, because she didn’t know what she was arguing for, or what she was trying to say. Nell’s words were sticking to her and making her skin prickle. Why did Nell believe in her so much? What had she done to deserve this sort of compassion from her? She had to look away, tears forming in her eyes. “But how-- how do I do that? I don’t know the first thing about any of this, I don’t-- I’m not like you, Nell. I’m not good at whatever this is. I’m not--” magic. She didn’t want to say it. Even here, she couldn’t admit it. The pain tore through her like a knife and she screwed her eyes shut. “I don’t know how I did any of that. I just-- when I got here I was lost and scared and all I wanted to do was find you because I knew you would help me. And now I did, and I--” she opened her eyes to look at Nell again, wet with her restraint. “Tell me what to do. I-- I wanna help you. I wanna get out of here.”

Nell waited patiently for Bex to find her words, knowing that this had to be entirely overwhelming for the young witch who had barely even scratched the surface of understanding her abilities. “It’s okay, Bex,” she comforted again, using the sleeve of her nightshirt to wipe away some of the moisture from Bex’s eyes. “I know you can do it. And even if it doesn’t work- I promise I’m not gonna be disappointed or anything like that. You’re already come so far in such a short amount of time, and it’s not fair that you have to do something like this so soon. But what’s important is that you try. And then if it doesn’t work we can figure something else out. Just the fact that you’d take the first step is the most important part. From there anything else is just a plus.” Nell took a deep breath that filled the entirety of her lungs before slowly letting it out, as if signaling to Bex to do the same. “You know what to do. Like I said- you wanted to see me, and you probably put some intention behind it, and then you found your way here. It’s the same formula we’ve used for everything. Want it. Envision it. Let it build up in you. Guide it. Release. And then you have it. Follow the little piece of you that knew how to get here in the first place, a part of you that feels like home but also new all at once.” Not for the first time, and feeling for certain that it wouldn’t be the last— Nell wished Bex could see herself through the summoner’s eyes. The fact that Bex had already begun to use magic intentionally was astounding to say the least, a feat that wasn’t easily managed, and something any mage wielder should be proud of. “We can get out of here. Together. And I can help with powering us out- you just have to be the one to guide it. 

“Try,” Bex repeated quietly, nodding. “I-- I can do that. I can try.” Cause this was all just a dream after all, right? And in dreams, you could accomplish anything. Right? She squeezed Nell’s hands tighter and followed suit, breathing in deep and letting the air sit in her lungs before letting go of the breath. She felt her entire body relaxing as she did so, something buzzing inside of her. It was the feeling that often came with her anxiety, came with broken windows and headaches and nosebleeds and cracked sidewalks. But this time, it felt different. It felt soft. It felt...safe. Holding onto Nell made her feel safe. As she listened to Nell’s words, her instructions, she let her eyes close, let the energy of the world around her fill her up. Her faith hadn’t given her much, but it had taught her how to connect to the world around her, to spirits and the energies that flowed through the earth. She let those feelings guide her and she picture Nell’s bedroom, clear as day. Suddenly, another energy began to mix with her own. At first, it scared her, but without even opening her eyes, she realized it was Nell. It just...felt like Nell. She squeezed her hands tighter and tethered herself to the other girl. Let her energy guide her. Let her words guide her. Together. They could get out of here together. The garden began to melt away, Bex could feel something pulling but-- it wasn’t pulling her. The garden was phasing between Nell’s bedroom and something else. “Is-- is it working?” she asked shakily, her voice wavering. “Nell?”

Nell let her magic flow through her, rebounding back and forth between herself and Bex as she did her best to power Bex’s natural gifts. It was always special to channel magic together with someone new, the melding of energies in a way that could never be put into words or explained no matter how hard one might try. It was two mixing and melding, working towards one united purpose in a dance of intentions and magic. She still wished it could have been under different circumstances- that this didn’t have to be Bex’s first experience with the intimacy of joining one another’s innate abilities. But this was simply how it had to be. As the magic worked and swirled within them, the details of Nell’s room began to take place, and she could see her body somewhere beneath her as she began to descend upon it. “It’s working!” Nell exclaimed in the pure joy that could only be garnered by a hopeless situation suddenly finding new life. “I knew you could do it, Bex! You can see it right? My room? I knew you’d be able to-”

Nell looked up to the other girl, suddenly realizing that she was floating away from the other witch. “Bex?” Her exuberance was quickly turned to concern. Something was wrong. She could see it in the way that Bex seemed to be fading before her very eyes as Nell grew closer to the real world. She could feel it as their magics began to pull apart, unable to stay aligned while they began to exist in different realms. “Bex!” Nell called out to the girl, a hand reaching as high as it could go to try and grab for her. There wasn’t much time left. Nell could feel the link of their abilities growing weaker by the second. “I’ll come back! I’ll come back, and you can find me again- and we’ll try again, okay?” She wanted to tell Bex that she’d done amazing. That even as the fear of losing Bex gripped Nell’s chest in a vice-like grip that there was another sensation buried beneath that worry. The blossoming pride of a job well done, of a teacher- a friend watching their companion succeed. “I’m not leaving you, Bex! I’m gonna find you a way out. I promise!” I promise. Nell heard the last two words echo against the walls of her room as she jolted awake in her bed, the last of her vow to Bex ripped away from the pair of them as the waking world greeted a dreamer back into its grip.

“It’s working!” Bex exclaimed with Nell, her eyes lighting up. She could feel the energies around them pulling them together, mixing, and shooting back out. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. It was the same energy that always burst from her when she worried or got too anxious or too upset or too angry-- but this time it was hopefulness, and excitement, and something peaceful. Even as the world whipped around them and started to flicker in and out, nothing felt terrible or scary or frightening. But then Bex began to feel Nell slipping away from her. Her hands faded straight through Bex’s and the world around her began to change again. It wasn’t Nell’s room, it was an empty field. “Nell?” She began to feel that panic again, and the energy inside of her slipped. She felt the world tilt sideways, she could barely see Nell anymore, floating below her, falling away from her. “Nell!” she called out, tears already forming in her eyes again. “Nell, don’t leave me! Nell, please! I don’t wanna be alone anymore! Nell!” She reached for her back as well, fingers close, so close. If she could just reach a little farther, then she could--

Nell couldn’t deny that she was excited as the crisp morning air tickled the insides of her lungs, and she walked amongst the thick trees of the Outskirts as her and Bex ventured out behind the Vural Home. The forest was already tall and broad here, but the two girls were still within the line of the perimeter spell the three witch sisters’ had set around the home. Nell hadn’t wanted to wander too far from the home, not entirely keen on some normie finding the two of them practicing magic and throwing questions their way. Bex needed all the encouragement and concentration she could get, and interruptions such as those were less than welcome. Stopping beneath one of the largest trees, Nell began to scurry up it’s trunk with little trouble, confidently grabbing branch after branch until she was nearly forty feet above ground and looking down on Bex. “Alright!” she yelled down to her student. “So I brought you out here to learn one of the very first intentional pieces of magic spellcasters tend to learn! How to fall slowly!” Technically...it was a toddler-grade spell, taught to little magical beings in the hopes that they’d be able to save themselves from nasty falls when parents couldn’t get there in time. But Nell wasn’t going to tell Bex that. “Are you ready for the demonstration?”

Bex was still infinitely nervous about all this magic training business, but if she wanted to find any sense of normalcy again, she had to accept it. And she had to accept that she also had magic. While she’d found some solace in the words of the books Morgan had gotten her, there were still the pressing questions of why her and how had it happened. But...those weren’t important here today. It was the earlier hours of the morning, but Bex was used to being up at this time, so her body, though exhausted, was okay with it. She followed Nell out into the forest, keeping close, wondering where she was taking her and what they were going to do today. She was even more confused when Nell started climbing a tree. She really hoped Nell didn’t expect her to climb that tree-- Bex was very bad at climbing things, but very good at falling down them. “Umm, sure!” she called back, stepping out of the way and giving a thumbs up of reassurance. Maybe that would hide the unsureness of her voice. “Fire away! Or, um-- fall away?”

“Alright! Here we go!” There was an excitement to Nell that wouldn’t have been present otherwise. Magically making herself fall slowly was about just as exciting as making a sandwich after a lifetime of doing it, the novelty having worn off somewhere around age five. But the fact that Bex was willing to learn added a newfound spark to the spell, and Nell was eager to see how Bex would react. Letting the Latin spell fall from her lips, she then let herself fall as well- dipping her foot off the side of the tree as gravity began its work. Instead of plopping into a mess of flesh and broken bones at the base of the tree, Nell fell gracefully at a controlled speed, the tip of her toes making contact with the forest floor the same way a feather might drift to its landing place. “So- we’re obviously not gonna start with you in the tree, but that’s the general idea!”

Bex's heart might have pounded out of her chest had her ribs not been there. She watched with bated breath-- and tightly wound anxiety-- as Nell poked her foot out off the branch, then simply leapt off as if she wasn’t forty feet up a giant tree. She almost called out when it first happened, but then, suddenly, right before her very eyes, Nell was simply floating down as if gravity had just turned down for a moment. Bex had to blink, rubbing her eyes. She followed Nell’s body the entire time as she floated down, feather light, and touched the ground with a simple ease. She scurried over to Nell, as if somehow this were fake and Nell really was injured or hurt or not here-- but she wasn’t. She was fine. Bex patted Nell’s shoulder to make sure she was real and that she wasn’t dreaming again. “I should let you know right now, I’m afraid of heights,” she squeaked, clearing her throat. “Also, how did you do that!?”

Nell chuckled as Bex got the bulk of her initial reaction out, the summoner's grin bright as the other witch seemed to meet Nell’s magic with more curiosity than horror. In only a couple of months, the younger girl had come so far, and Nell couldn’t help the swell of pride that filled her everytime she was reminded of this truth. “That’s okay- I’m not gonna make you fall from the tree. And who knows? Maybe once you master the slow fall you’ll be a little less afraid of heights knowing that they don’t pose a danger to you anymore.” As for how Nell did it. That was a simple answer. “With a spell. Spells help give magic shape in a more concrete way. Like cooking with a recipe instead of by instinct. Here- I’m gonna write it down for you. How much do you know about Latin?” Nell asked before summoning a paper out of thin air into the palm of her hand, beginning to write the proper words onto it before handing it off to Bex.

Bex let out a long sigh of relief. “Oh thank fuck, becaue there’s no way I could do that right now. Let alone climb that tree.” She looked up at the tree, then back down to Nell. “I don’t think it’s the danger as much as the...height itself. I get real bad vertigo. And anxiety. But, well-- maybe it will help! It’s like...exposure therapy, right?” She shrugged and nodded along with Nell’s next statement as if she somehow understood what she meant. It made sense, but she was still wary of accepting magic and spells and everything at face value. Though concocting something with a recipe sounded more logical than magic being some sort of inherent power that people controlled. “I know all about its historical roots and etymology, as well as the spread and decline of the language all through the ancient times and what modern and medieval languages it inspired. But, speaking it? Absolutely none.” She took the slip of paper and frowned at the words. “Is there any way we can translate this into Hebrew? I’m much better at that.”

Nell chuckled at Bex’s reluctance, not exactly surprised by the fact that the younger witch had little interest in jumping out of trees or climbing them in the first place. “I mean I wouldn’t expect much else from a nerd,” she teased gently, knowing the term had never actually bothered Bex. “But yeah! Maybe it could be like exposure therapy if you wanted to try it. Either way it’s just a good spell to know for if you ever do need to stop yourself from splatting like an egg on the ground or whatever. A basic safety spell.” Nell’s excitement grew like a balloon inflating itself as Bex spoke of her Latin knowledge, already thinking of how naturally spells might come to Bex if she already had a good understanding of the language. But it was quickly popped by the witch’s last few words of knowing little about actually using it. “That’s alright,” Nell said in an attempt to quickly hide her disappointment. “Hebrew?” She mulled the thought over for a long moment, brows furrowed together as she thought. “I mean...I guess I don’t see why not? I just don’t know how to translate it. Maybe we could figure it out together though.” And maybe she’d ask Adam to teach her some of the language so that she might be better able to assist Bex. “So this is basically what the spell’s saying-” Nell stretched to write on the paper where she’d written the Latin, taking a moment to change it into a decent enough English version of the incantation. “Now you could turn it into Hebrew, and we can try it.”

Bex huffed at Nell and stuck out her tongue. “Boomer.” She looked at the piece of paper in her hands, not noticing the growing excitement on Nell’s face. Latin had just never been a language she’d had any interest in learning to speak, there was little point to it. All she needed to know about it was its roots, its influence, and why it died out. Then again, being able to read it might help. She looked at the English words Nell wrote down and nodded slowly. “Easy enough,” she said, saying the words individually in Hebrew as she read them from the English. She couldn’t help but feel excited at the idea, though. This was how old languages were translated, how people of different cultures were able to communicate with each other, through shared languages and translating it back. It was incredible. She looked over at Nell. “I-- think I’ve got it. What um-- how should I try it? I’m not jumping from a tree. Or climbing one. Maybe I can drop a rock, or a tree branch. From a safe height. Like--” she glanced around, “--like from on top of that small overhang. Does that work?”

“The difference is that it’s true when I call you a nerd, and it’s absolutely not when you call me a boomer,” Nell retorted playfully as she stuck out her tongue in Bex’s direction. The witch didn’t have the slightest idea of whether or not Bex had translated the words in a fashion that would continue on the magical integrity and purpose of the spell, but she supposed there was only one way to find out. “Oh, absolutely not,” Nell began with a shake of her head, apparently not even on board for Bex jumping from an easily manageable height. “We’ll start with this.” She grabbed a stick from the ground before holding it in front of Bex and letting it fall to the ground, displaying the usual speed with which it sank. “It’s never a good idea to try a new spell on yourself. Not when you haven’t experienced what it’s like to channel it, and see where you might go wrong. Otherwise the magic might end up doing something you didn’t intend for it to do in the first place. Especially when it’s been recently translated to a language it wasn’t created in. So we’ll try it with the stick first.” Without further ado, she handed the lackluster piece of wood over to her pupil. 

“Right, that all-- makes sense,” Bex said, scrunching her face up. She wasn’t entirely sure it did, but she understood the base meaning of it all. Practical magic. She could do that. Float a stick, or not let it fall too quickly. She could do that. She reached out to take the stick Nell offered her and held it in her hand as if it might spontaneously combust. Most things did with her, so it was a fair worry. Cast a nervous glance over at Nell, before she focused back on the stick. All she had to do was give it intention, right? Wasn’t that what Nell had said? Intention. She narrowed her eyes at the stick, let herself feel the flow of energy that always-- always-- made her nerves spike up. It always-- always-- had meant something bad. But maybe this could change that. A stick, some words, and a friend. Bex said the words and let go of the stick-- she almost wanted to slam her eyes shut as if something bad would happen. As if the stick would fly up, or backwards, or splinter, of break. But it didn’t. It floated, almost as if it were a feather, and not a stick, and landed softly on the ground and Bex stared at it for what seemed like hours before she looked back up at Nell. “Did I do it?” she asked with bated breath. “Was that-- did I do it?” Even though she knew the answer.

Nell could barely contain her excitement as she watched the stick drift towards the ground, her hands shaking with excitement as her smile grew wide. Somehow she managed to keep it contained until Bex asked her question, not wanting to break the other witch’s concentration and ruin her success. “Yes! Yes, you did it!” she laughed brightly, never getting tired of the pride rushing through her veins as she watched Bex flourish and grow. “That was perfect! You really are such a fast learner, Bex! And your instincts! You’re so good at listening to them and letting them guide you in the spell! Did you want to try again? On something heavier?” She was already summoning a skull sized rock from the other side of the clearing, willing it to drift closer to the pair of them.

Bex was already bending down to pick up the stick again, this time holding it with a confidence she rarely found herself feeling. Nell was just as excited-- it was in her voice, her eyes, the way she bounced on the balls of her feet. Perfect, she had said. Perfect. For once in her life, she’d done something right. Something good. Something perfect. She was already dropping the stick again, watching it flutter down when Nell offered to try something heavier. The rock was floating towards them already and Bex looked eagerly at Nell. Yes, she wanted to try so badly. Yes, she wanted to do more things that made Nell proud. Yes, she wanted to use her magic. She reached out for the rock and held it in her hands. It was heavier than she thought. She poured her entire focus into the rock, held it out and-- it thunked to the ground loudly. Bex crinkled her nose. Picked it up again. Tried again. Another thunk. She frowned and looked at Nell. “What am I doing wrong?” Something felt off. She felt like someone was watching them. She turned her head to look around. Her focus was off. “Do you feel that?” she asked, turning again. 

The change in Nell was like the flip of a switch. As quickly as her joy had appeared, it was gone in a flash as she felt a familiar ping against her wrist. The perimeter spell had gone off, and the signature that crossed it wasn’t one the magic had seen before. “Stay there, Bex,” she commanded in a tone that left no room for argument, stepping closer to the young witch as Nell pulled one of her knives from its well-masked hiding place. She didn’t even have the time to commend Bex on her magical intuition, knowing the girl might have also felt the spell around the Vural property flicker seeing as they’d been training so close to it. Uttering another spell in Latin, Nell stomped a foot against the ground, sending out a pulse of magic that would tell her the location of any life signatures larger than a small dog. There. Somewhere behind the trees, someone was lurking. Brandishing the blade in their direction, Nell’s jaw was set tight when she spoke again, her voice rough and demanding. “I know you’re there. Come out before I make you come out.”

Frank had been watching Odelia for a while now. His arms shook with the memory of his father’s instructions. He had been given a duty and he was failing it. He had only one goal and that was to keep Odelia safe and he was failing it. He’d never thought it would get this far, that it would get this bad, but here she was, practicing magic with someone in a quarry of trees. She was magic. No one had told him she was magic. This wasn’t what he’d signed up for. But he couldn’t stop now, his heart wouldn’t let him. He knew she was being influenced by fae. He knew it. That girl, the brunette he’d seen her with so many times, the fae-- she was controlling her. But his senses weren’t going off now, which meant she wasn’t around. He stepped free of the treeline, holding his hands up, even as they shook. “I don’t want to fight,” he said, nodding at the knife pointed at him. “I just came here to talk. To Odelia.” 

Oh, so it was bad. Bex immediately scurried herself behind Nell, the irony of the situation lost on her. Nell’s short frame barely covered her, but she felt somehow much more safe now. Nell was drawing a knife and brandishing it towards the treeline as she stomped. Bex felt the pulse go out and shivered, stepping closer to Nell. All she could do was float sticks and sometimes fix broken pots. Neither of those were practical in this situation. And then the figure stepped from the bushes and it was-- “Frank!?” Bex exhaled, stepping out from behind Nell. It was both relief and a tight anxiety that gripped her. “What are you doing here? Talk about what?” She stepped unknowingly closer. “There’s nothing to talk about. And how-- how did you find me?”

Frank? The boyfriend? This was him? Nell gave him a thorough and well-practiced once over, as if she were sizing up a new fighter in the Ring. The shaking in his hands didn’t comfort Nell in the least. “Her name’s Bex,” she replied haughtily, taking an instant disliking to the young man. “Well you’re on my property, and it sure doesn’t seem like Bex even wants to talk to you. So why don’t you leave, and then you can avoid the fighting that you don’t want to do.” It was the first time Nell had ever displayed this side of herself in front of Bex apart from speaking of how she occasionally stabbed people online. But speaking and doing were two different things. How had he found her? If Bex didn’t know he’d been coming, then he had to be halfway decent at tracking or keeping tabs on people. “Stalking’s not fucking cute, Frank. So get to the point or leave.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Corpsey come to investigate the new intruder on his mistresses’ land, a low and moaning growl erupting from the reanimated corpse as he took in the picture of Nell holding a knife poised towards a stranger.

Frank didn’t know who this other girl was, but she was extremely hostile. This was going to be harder than he thought. Coercion wasn’t an option anymore. Sighing, he dropped his hands and shrugged. He had to do this. He had to. He drew in a deep breath. His father had prepared him for a day like this. The fae’s hold was getting stronger on Odelia, it must be. Otherwise why would she act like this? Why would she shrink away from him? He was supposed to be her guard, her parents had made sure to instill that in him. Make sure nothing happens to her, at any cost. She was important, they needed her and she needed them. She needed him. “Sorry,” he said, “Bex.” His eyes locked with hers. He held out his hand. “Your parents are just worried. They want you to come home. And so do I. Where it’s safe.” His eyes got sharp, and he glanced over to the other girl for a moment. “Please. Don’t you trust me?” 

Bex looked between Frank and Nell. They were both so on edge. It was just like when he’d come to find Mina. She didn’t want anyone to fight or get hurt, especially because of her. She stepped between the two and turned to look at Nell. “Nell, i-it’s okay. He’s not going to hurt me. He’s just--” she looked back over at Frank, “he’s just trying to do what he thinks is right, isn’t that right, Fra--” she started, but in the next moment, hands had wrapped around her stomach and were yanking her backwards. She fell into Frank’s grasp as he pulled her away from Nell, and started heading back for the treeline at an incredible speed. Wait, hadn’t Morgan said he was a hunter? Someone with special abilities? To sense others? Did he think Nell was like Mina? She didn’t have a lot of time to process anything before she started struggling against him. “Put me DOWN!” she shouted, fists hammering into his arms. “PUT ME DOWN! NELL! HELP ME!”

He moved with a speed that told Nell he couldn’t be simply human. That much was obvious with the way he’d managed to grab Bex in the near blink of an eye. What exactly he was, she couldn’t yet say. Either way it didn’t matter as Bex cried out for help, and Nell saw red. She flashed towards the man and Bex, hand clutching her knife with a determination that screamed its use would be imminent. “Put her down.” Nell growled through gritted teeth, the words being less of a demand and more of a command. It only took Nell a split second for the magic to flow into her veins and reach out to the blood that was singing within Frank’s, claiming it as her own. Tearing his arms away from Bex, she was none too gentle as she freed the dreamwalker, and she remembered how Kaden and Montgomery had screamed when she controlled them like this— the pain nearly unbearable as she forced their bodies against their own will. She hoped Frank screamed too. No one would threaten the people she cared about. Not on her property. Not while she still had breath to spare in her body. 

Frank was sure that he was homefree by now. Odelia struggled but she was no match for him, even with her magic. Once they were somewhere safe, he could explain. Tell her everything. Why he was so worried, why he kept coming back for her, why that girl was so dangerous. But then a pain, steady at first, then blistering all at once, over took his body. His arms wrenched away from Odelia without his command and he toppled backwards, screaming into the leaves. His body twisted against his will as he struggled against it. Unwilling iron boiled to the surface in his blood. It calmed the strain for a moment, and he managed to sit himself up, scramble back to his feet before more pain seared through his veins. “What the hell are you!?” he shouted at the other girl, teeth clenched. His eyes fell to Odelia, who was already retreating. “Odi, n-no--” he strained, “come back! I can help you! I can save you!” From this girl, from the fae, from her parents-- from the magic that kept her hidden. He could save her.

Bex tumbled to the ground. Leaves shuffled around her, spraying every which way as Frank screamed. Her eyes gaped wide as she watched him fall to the ground, his agony apparent in the sound of his screams. She slapped her hands over her ears and shoved herself away, searching desperately for anything solid to hold onto. Where as Nell? What was going on? She let go of her ears and pushed onto her hands and knees, mud wetting her jeans, her palms. This time it wasn’t a vampire baring down on her, it had been someone she knew. Someone she’d once trusted. She hoisted herself up and ran. Because that was all she could do. Floating sticks wouldn’t save her from a vampire or a zombie or cockatrice. And it wouldn’t save her from a once friend who had turned against her. She ran straight into Nell and wrapped her arms around the other girl’s and tugged. “Let’s go, please,” she cried, “Please, I want to go.” Before he got back up, before he came closer, before Nell did something she’d regret. “Please.”

Nell didn’t bother to answer Frank’s question in the way he wanted to her, simply advancing on him until she had him prone in front of her, still in her grip and control as she brought her knife to his chin, using the tip of it to tilt his face towards her’s. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m someone who’s not afraid to kill you.” She let the knife slip a fraction of an inch, her eyes burning as she let the edge of it slip across Frank’s neck, mirroring the scar she had along her own skin in the same place. A trickle of red began to drip from the thin line, the pressure on the blade being just enough to break skin. “And won’t hesitate to do it if you hurt Bex.” The witch was already considering it as she toyed with the feeling of the hunter’s life lying in her grasp, and how good it’d feel to snuff it out, to make sure he never even got the chance to hurt Bex in the first place.

Bex’s grip on her arm had Nell’s head snapping towards the girl, her gaze still full of the promise to kill as she looked towards her student. A small frown came over her lips as Bex asked to leave, to get away from this place. She couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Bex. Her features softened in the slightest, looking over Bex’s face with care and concern as the young witch broke through the surface of Nell’s tunnel-vision. “Alright. Okay- we can go.” Looking towards Frank, she let the knife linger a moment longer before withdrawing it, taking a step back with a careful and protective hand drawing Bex along with her. “If I find you here again, I’m not gonna tell you that you’ll leave alive. And I’m patient when it comes to things like this. So don’t think it’ll be over quickly.”

Frank did not fight back as the angry girl with dark skin descended on him. Sometimes, his dad had told him, it’s best to take the loss and live to fight another day. He would remember her. He would remember the people around Odelia who thought they were protecting her. He would remember that he needed to find her alone next time. He didn’t move as she slit his throat, pain wasn’t anything new to him. This kind, at least. His veins still buzzed. He’d have to ask his mother about that. About what this woman clearly was. Had to be. He swallowed, sat up as she backed away, putting a hand to his throat to wipe away the trickles of blood, iron filled. If only there was fae around. He looked at Odelia one last time as well, frantically tugging at the other woman. There was hope there, then, otherwise she’d have let her kill him. He stood up on wobbly legs and backed away. “Fair enough,” he mumbled, before turning to limp away, like a dog with its tail between its legs. Next time, he would succeed. He had a better plan now.

The look on Nell’s face scared Bex for a moment. She knew the anger wasn’t directed at her, but she’d never seen Nell like this before. If Bex had not asked her to, would Nell have killed Frank? But he didn’t deserve it...did he? Her eyes went up to Frank’s retreating form, meeting his gaze. She looked down and away, tucking her head into Nell’s shoulder. She wanted to go home, back to Morgan’s. Back to Mina. Somewhere she felt safe. She tugged again on Nell’s arm, stepping backwards. A twig snapped below her foot and she looked down at it. Ruined, broken. She wished they could have just kept floating sticks, or rocks, or anything. She tugged on Nell’s shirt. “I wanna go back,” she said quietly.

Bexley couldn’t help but pace. Her skin was vibrating. She hadn’t studied enough. There was no way she could have studied enough. She hadn’t memorized everything her parents had told her about the professors she was going to have this semester. She didn’t know how to talk to them properly and “work into their good graces” like her parents wanted her to. They rustled around in her head and suddenly Bexley couldn’t breath. Oh, not this again. Not now! “Please not now!” she hissed under breath, rushing past the boy by the door and around the corner into the empty computer lab. She knew that this room was always empty at this hour (and especially so during the break) because she made sure to know which rooms were empty at what times-- no one could see her like this. Her parents would be so ashamed. By the time she made it to the room, the world was getting fuzzy and black dots were eating away her vision. She pressed against the wall and slid down next to the door, holding her head between her knees and rocking back and forth. She was okay, she just needed to breathe. Just breath! 

With a loud crash, half the computer screens suddenly shattered. Electricity popped, a few of them fell over, and Bexely screamed, leaping from her spot on the floor. She turned to try and bolt from the room-- no one had seen her come in, no one would see her leave-- and pretend it had never happened. But before she could even reach the door, a body was in her way and she slammed right into them. “Fuck-- sorry. Sorry! I didn’t mean to curse! O-or run into you! I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened! The computers, they just--” she gestured wildly behind her, scooting away from the girl in the doorway, “--you know? But it wasn’t me, I swear! I just happened...to be...here…”

Nell didn’t frequent the college campus all that often, but today was an exception as she lurked the halls of the university, on the prowl for one of ‘Ben Campbell’s’ usual lecture halls. If she was going to cause maximum havoc in one of his classes she needed to see exactly what she was working with. It was by chance that she was passing by the computer lab at the same exact moment a pulse of magic worked its way through the air, large enough to make her instinctively turn her head towards the source, and instantly change direction to find the root of it.

Honestly the thorough destruction of the lab was impressive, though perhaps a little messy and crass. Instantly her nearly black eyes found those of the girl before her, curiosity sparked in them as she looked her over. “Did you do that?” she asked reflexively despite having heard the girl’s previous denial. Who else would it have been? The rest of the lab was empty. “It’s fine if you did- I’m not a narc! I’m not gonna tell.” Eagerness was coloring her tone at the prospect of possibly having found another witch near her age, and one she wasn’t related to. “Fuck school, amirite?”

“What? No! It wasn’t me!” Bexley shouted in return, back pedaling away from the girl. “Why would you think it was me? I can’t do anything like that. Stuff like that isn’t possible, anyway, so of course there’s no way I could’ve done it!” She blurted any words that came to her mind because she needed to just keep talking, because if she kept talking, then surely she’d convince this total stranger that she hadn’t done that. And she hadn’t. Of course she hadn’t. That-- whatever that was-- wasn’t possible. Wasn’t real. All the strange things people said about White Crest were just rumors, they weren’t real. Bexley clicked her jaw shut and drew in a deep breath. “I have to-- can you-- I’m gonna be late for my class-- meeting,” she pointed past the girl and towards the doorway, even though the statement was completely untrue. She was over half an hour early for class, like always. She’d wait outside for fifteen minutes before going in, picking the same seat, and setting up her spot in just the same way every time. “But you should call the janitor or something. To clean up this mess. This mess that I definitely didn’t make. Thanks.”

“It’s fine! Really!” Nell persisted, certain that the young witch didn’t want to reveal her powers for fear of being found out, ostracized, or hunted. “I’ve got magic too- watch.” And with that she chanted a quick spell of reparation. In unison, the computers closest to them seemed to move in reverse, the glass shards and scattered keys of their keyboards rising from the ground to fit themselves back into place. In a few short moments, it was as if no harm had been done to them in the first place, good as new. Or at least...good as the school budget could afford. “See?” Nell offered innocently, waving a hand towards the computers that had been fixed. “I’m like you.” She was certain this young witch didn’t have a coven in the area— otherwise Nell would have already known about her. That prospect alone was enough to blossom a flutter of hope in her chest. If the girl didn’t have a coven, she wouldn’t yet know that Nell was an outcast of their kind...right? This could be her chance to find a witch that wouldn’t run in fear or sneer in response to Nell’s presence. This could be her chance for a friend who understood magic the way she did, and the bond it could create. 

Bexley watched with wide, nervous eyes as the computer seemingly went in reverse and fixed itself, as if someone had rewound a tape. She blinked, rubbed her eyes. “No, nope. No.” Shook her head, backing away from the girl now. “You-- no. Nope. Not true. Cause magic isn’t real. That was just--” she gestured wildly towards the computer that was fixed now. Or always had been fixed. Or had never been broken in the first place. Whatever made sense in the moment-- “an illusion. Obviously. Sleight of hand, or whatever. Obviously.” Did she already say that? She already said that. It was too late now. But the way the other girl was looking at her made her nervous. Bex backed up even further until her back hit the desk in the corner and she started shuffling the random papers on it around. “You’re not like me. I’m not like you. That’s impossible. Do you even go here?”

Maybe Nell should have led with her name or something else relatively normal before coming out of the gates with a magic trick. Perhaps it was better late than never, and despite the girl’s protest of her obvious magical abilities, Nell did her best to backtrack. “It’s alright, it’s okay— I’m Nell.” Where was she meant to go from there, though? Nell considered the girl in front of her with a long and puzzled look, trying to figure out how it was that the other witch could have performed magic yet..not believe in it. Didn’t she feel it? Didn’t she feel the rush of power and weightlessness that came with harnessing the life of the universe? “I can do sleight of hand, but that wasn’t it.” Her tone was more controlled this time around, not as insistent or overbearing when it came to the existence of magic. “I- no I don’t go here, but my friends do.” Should she try showing off a bit more magic? Would that help convince the girl? “I could show you another thing if you want.”

 “I don’t care what your name is,” Bex snapped back, feeling the room begin to close in on her. If she didn’t get out of here soon, who knew what would explode next. Not that she had made those things explode, of course not! But something was going to happen and if it wasn’t the computers, then it was going to be Bex. “And I don’t want to see another trick! I want you to move so I can get out of here!” She stomped her foot and a rush of wind brushed into Nell, as if trying to push her out of the way. Bex slapped her hands over her mouth again and stared wide-eyed. Someone must’ve just left a window open somewhere. Must’ve just been a huge gush of wind from outside. That tingle that always came after the surges filled her to her fingertips and she felt herself relaxing for just a moment. “Um...I’m sorry. That was rude of me. To yell. I’m sorry. Sometimes I just get really stressed and I have this thing about small spaces and being trapped and my name’s Bexley, by the way? Did I say that? Bexley Ochsenstein. Of the-- Ochsenstein and Feldman. The-- big law firm in town. I really should’ve been more mannered, please don’t tell anyone.”

Nell’s brows drew together as the other girl’s voice took on an entirely different tone, and she could feel her own temper beginning it’s quick rise to match her snappiness. The gust of wind only further confirmed Bex’s magical prowess, and did nothing other than solidify Nell’s stubbornness when it came to figuring out exactly what it was that was going on with the caster. She was obviously untrained if her magic was still lashing out with every emotional swing as it seemed to be. Which...unfortunately meant she was potentially dangerous to herself and others. There was a reason casters were taught from young ages to control their feelings, or at least channel them into something productive rather than destructive as Nell did. If they didn’t— disaster was often quick to strike. Had Nell really stumbled upon a caster who had no clue what power they held? When Bex’s tone returned to normal, Nell felt the tenseness and defensiveness in her shoulders relax in response. “You can leave if you want to. I’m not keeping you here,” she replied, stepping to the side in case Bex had thought the older witch to be blocking the younger one’s path. “Like claustrophobia?” Nell asked, not intending to pry, but knowing a change of topic was something that might help the girl in front of her be calm. The name certainly rang a bell, though. She was certain her mom had mentioned the family at times. “Do you always introduce yourself as a law firm?” she teased, hoping to set the girl a little more at ease. Nell knew plenty about being born into a legacy that was bigger than yourself.

The offer to leave went in one ear and out the other because all Bex could focus on now was the other girl’s-- Nell’s, her name was Nell, she’d said as much, Bex would do well to remember that-- teasing. It felt strangely light-hearted and a little sudden, considering Bex had just been yelling at her and she was claiming to have magical powers. Which wasn’t real. She was just one of those weirdos from Whtie Crest who thought the strange things in town were, like, paranormal or whatever. But-- she was being polite and she was even joking now and Bex really needed to make sure people didn’t see her insecure side like this. Swallowing, she shrugged away from the desk and back over towards the girl, holding her hand out. “Oh, uh-- yep! That’s me. A whole-ass law firm. My mom was a law and my dad was firm.” She smiled sweetly, trying to let the awkwardness roll away from her shoulders, not daring to glance around the classroom at all the broken computers and remember what had just happened. “You said you have friends here? Who uh-- who are they? Maybe I know them. I know a lot of people. Could be a like six degrees of separation thing. Did you know that that’s practically a proven thing? Everyone knows someone who knows someone. Isn’t that crazy?”

If she were being honest, Nell normally wouldn’t have been so quick to forgive the other girl’s outburst and sharp words. But this was different. This was special, because there was a caster standing right in front of her who didn’t seem to have the slightest inkling of what she was, and if Nell wanted her answers she’d have to make sure that Bex was willing to speak with her in the future. Even if Nell’s teasing had originally possessed ulterior motives as the driving force behind it, she found her lips turning upwards into a genuine but slightly crooked smile as the girl continued to babble. “Well as long as you’re going with the whole-ass law firm, and not the half-ass law firm- that’s what’s important. But if those are your parents...then aren’t you half-ass law, and half-ass firm?” Nell took in the wreckage they were still standing amongst, resolving to repair the rest of the computers once Bex was gone. “Don’t worry about those- I’ll take care of them later.” No doubt it’d be funny to see if Bex had a reaction when she returned to the computer lab at a later date, the room no different than it had been before wayward magic had struck. “But yeah- I have Blanche,” she instantly responded before continuing through a list of names. “There’s Adam, Ariana, Rio and-” Nell paused, uncertain if it was kosher to list Morgan, a professor, as a friend in front of a student. “And I know Professor Beck.” Nell couldn’t help the slight raise of her brow as amusement found her. It was impossible not to find a little humor in the way Bex seemed to be rattling on. “So crazy,” Nell said in a tone that was half meant as another tease, though not one meant out of malice. “It’s hard not to know people here when the town is so small, too.”`

“Oh, you know...on second thought,” Bex said, realizing way too late that she didn’t actually know anybody that went to school here, considering she had just started here this semester and classes weren’t even in session yet. Which reminded her of her very poor excuse to leave this room at the very beginning of this conversation. She felt like her skin was vibrating again. “That was a bad thing to ask. I don’t actually know anyone here yet, I just started this semester. Or, I will, when the semester starts! Cause I know I said I was here for class, but it’s more like a ‘catch up on what you missed!’ thing, not a class thing. Cause there’s some weird stuff going on with my credits and--” she paused, “--you...probably don’t care about that. Sorry. Again. I talk a lot sometimes. If you’re busy you can go do whatever it was you were doing. Don’t let me keep you! I didn’t mean to bother you about--” she still didn’t look around the classroom, just pressed her lips thinly together, staring hard at Nell, “--whatever caused this mess. Or-- I can walk you there! Wherever you were going. I don’t need to be where I’m going for like at least fifteen more minutes.” Because walking someone to their place was the polite thing to do, and whoever this girl was, maybe this part would rub off more than the whole exploding computer part. She could hope, at least. She grinned. “People always say small town, but I guess it really does apply here, huh!”

The nervous energy was practically rolling off the girl in front of her, and Nell supposed she couldn’t blame the witch if she was in the dark about her powers. To be magical and not know the reason for the chaos that ensued around yourself...surely it had to be unnerving. Nell couldn't fully grasp the concept, having known she was magical for as long as she could remember, but it was easy enough to begin to imagine the confusion and anxiety that might ensue from being a walking time bomb. “Well if you find any of the people I listed on campus you should say hi.” On second thought… “Especially Professor Beck.” If anyone would know what to do with a baby witch- it would be Morgan. And she had the added bonus of being mostly immune to the magical outbursts Bex might have. Nell waved a hand towards the girl and her apology, not paying it much attention before she said, “Don’t worry- I talk a lot too, sometimes. I do! Care though, I mean.” Nell cared if it meant she’d get to know this mysterious witch better. “I’m actually not really that busy.” Snooping on the human Ken dolls business could wait until later for she’d found someone much more interesting.