#will:threads

When an acquaintance had suggested at Kavika's party that Will would enjoy Lewis Carroll's writing he had simply smiled and nodded, telling them he was not particularly interested in fiction. A few days later, however, he had been forced to eat crow when a copy of mathematician Charles Dodgson's writings had arrived on his door. The writings described a potential system of election which relied on preferential, rather than majority voting. It was fascinating, even more so when Will read the note on top which told him that Charles Dodgson and Lewis Carroll were, in fact, the same person.

He had brought the pamphlet, titled A Method of Taking Votes on More an Two Issues to Beaumont tea room with him, eager to read more before his next sitting.

"Perhaps I do need to read Alice in Wonderland!" He spoke out loud, unable to resist his own excitement over the pamphlet and wishing to discuss it with anyone as soon as possible. "If Mr. Carroll can write such a fascinating system of election, he surely can also design a very exciting fantasy world!"

Will clenched his fist. His magic was back, coursing through his body as naturally and easily as oxygen through his lungs--yet for a short, terrible moment the night before, it had disappeared. Inside the aquarium, everyone's powers had vanished, shrunk to a mere wisp of their former selves, and though Will had no grand abilities--no Hulk strength or Superman flight--it had still felt like being broken, like a part of him was missing. Today, his familiar was back in full form--a large, furry grey dog, wrapped around his heels, and as he opened his fist, water pooled in his palm, small waves rippling too and fro at his control. If he had been able to do that last night, he might have been able to quell some of the flooding. If he'd had his powers, he'd have been able to heal the injured, and maybe today, the hospital wouldn't be overrun with patients. If he'd had his powers, he might have been able to talk to the escaped shark, convinced it that human wasn't on the menu. Efe would have been safe then. And Bex wouldn't have lost her hand. And the others--

where: the pumpkin festival who: nickleby dalton (@endlessreruns)

Will still didn’t entirely know what to make of Nick, despite having crashed on their couch a few times now. They were quiet and shy in a way Will wasn’t used to except from his sister, and Nick was definitely not his sister.

“Didn’t take you for the type of person to be into Halloween. You look like a slamming door would spook you,” he said with a faint smirk from beneath his cowl.

Everyone in town knew about the haunted house on the hill. It had been there for as long as Will could remember, a centerpiece to many a game he'd played as a child: friends daring one another to get close, setting bets on who could make it to the doorbell without being struck by lightening. Scary stories were told over campfires at camp about classmates who entered the house and never returned. Will would be shocked to learn that any of the stories were actually true, but he still felt a vague layer of trepidation as he parked his baby blue pick-up truck outside the abode and walked up the creaking steps to meet his date.

He still didn't know her name, the mysterious blonde siren who lived inside this haunted house, but he remembered the way her kiss tasted and the sound of her laugh, and weighing those pros over the cons of her zipcode, the storm clouds up above didn't really seem to matter all that much. A bouquet of daisies in hand, he knocked on the door.

If asked his favorite Christmas movie, Will knew he was supposed to answer Die Hard--or at the very least, Home Alone. But the true answer was The Santa Clause 2. It was the one about love, the romantic sequel where Santa Clause has to find a wife--with a little magical help and the sprit of Christmas. One scene in particular had always stood out in his memory: when Santa Clause had magically created a horse drawn carriage --complete with freshly-fallen snow overhead and hot cocoa in hand--to woo the love interest. Will had always secretly wished to recreate that moment, and finally, he had someone worth sharing it with. In this version, there was no snow--which was for the best, as the woman he was trying to woo couldn't get wet, and the last thing they needed was snow melting on her--but he had brought blankets and hot chocolate (hers with a straw) and with the lights twinkling all around and the clip-clap of the horse's hooves, it felt very much like a Christmas Hallmark movie.

"What do you and Serra usually do for Christmas?" Will asked Savannah.

Will jumped up onto the front counter at The Magnolia Inn and sat beside the computer where Reese usually registered new guests. His familiar, Stacey, was busy sniffing around the entry and coaxing pets out of anyone foolish enough to stop and scratch her head. "You seen Efe lately?" he asked in a would-be-casual voice, his eyes on his phone as he finished sending off a text to their dads in the family group chat. Will had never liked keeping secrets from Reese. All their lives, she'd been the first person he wanted to tell anything to--especially any bit of really good gossip. But he was also inclined to omit information he thought might hurt her, and the knowledge that her ex-husband had injected himself with an unknown substance because a mysterious note-writer had threatened Reese's life, seemed like the sort of thing she was best off not knowing. "Not that you should," he added quickly. "Or have to, I mean. Just missing him at work, is all." He cleared his throat and decided to steer the conversation away from the topic he had brought up because clearly he couldn't pull off nonchalant. "You think there will ever be aliens in Lunar Cove? We have everything else."