xp_logs | Something Slender (and Awful)

On the way to meeting up at the safest place they can think of, Billy and Topaz put their heads together, and decide that maybe they can try to do something to keep themselves and their friends safe, or at least safer, until they can convince the adults that something awful is happening.

There was a sense of unease in the air that Topaz was fairly certain was all in her head but somehow, that didn't make it any better. She shifted her eyes to Billy, who was walking alongside her as they made their way down the street. "So faceless, otherworldly beings are stalkin' us," she cut right to the chase, "and the so-called authority figures don't seem to think anythin's wrong. Brilliant."

"That's almost the weirdest part." Billy frowned as they walked along. He couldn't shake the creepy hovering over the shoulder feeling, and every so often, his head whipped back to look behind them. "Do they really think we'd just make this up? I don't know what else we could have said to convince them, though. Whatever these things are, maybe they're messing with that too."

"Doesn't make any difference," Topaz replied shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "They don't believe us, they're not going to help. If these things really are making it so we can't convince anyone, then no point in wastin' our time tryin' otherwise. We're on our own." Well, that was bleak even for her. It was the truth, though. "Anyways, whatever these things are, they're at least partly magical, so I doubt anyone at the mansion would be able to help even if they did believe us."

"Yeah," Billy replied dismally. "Besides, even if we did convince someone, there's no telling how long it would take for any help to get here." He stopped short, staring across the street at a shadow cast by an awning, then decided it was just his imagination. "Magical, yeah, but what kind? Other than creepy magic. Any ideas what to do other than keep moving? Cuz I don't know what happens if they catch us, but I don't think I want to know. We need more time. Something to keep them back at least long enough to figure out what they are."

Topaz stopped as well, following his gaze but not really seeing what he was seeing. She didn't want to know what happened if these things caught up with them either. She raised a hand to rub the back of her neck. "Whatever it is, I'm willin' to bet it's not the good kind of magic," she said dryly, giving Billy a nudge to get him moving again. Not that walking was really going to help anything, but standing still made her skin crawl. "Maybe we could create a ward. Like what's up around the school, only it'd be for us. Personal wards."

"Good idea," Billy nodded, trying to remember what little he'd read about wards so far. After a moment, he shook his head. "So...any idea how? Cuz it's not like we can just call up Amanda and say, 'Hey, how do you ward off creepy stalkers. Theoretically. Because you wouldn't believe me if I said they were real.'"

Yeah, somehow, Topaz didn't see that conversation going well. They were on their own. "Personal wards," she repeated after a moment. "Somethin' we can carry with us." She knocked her palm against her forehead a couple times. Think, Topaz, think. Objects could be infused with magic...but it would have to be something more then any little trinket they would buy here. There was power in symbols. Maybe if they could make something...

"What about tattoos?" Topaz asked suddenly. "Not somethin' I've ever tried before, but if we could draw a protective symbol on everyone and infuse it with magic, it might work, for a while at least."

"Tattoos," Billy mulled over the idea. "That really might work. I mean, it's worth a try. Uhhhhh, do you know any protective symbols? I'm taking Divination instead of Study of Ancient Runes...easy A and all."

"Yeah, 'course you did, Potter," Topaz mumbled dryly. Symbols weren't exactly her area of expertise either. "Maybe...horseshoes?" She went with the first thing that came to mind. "People used to hang them over their doorways to ward off evil and attract good luck. Not sure I buy the luck thing, but wardin' off evil sounds about right for what we need."

"I dunno. I always thought horseshoes were more superstition than anything...real." Billy sounded skeptical. "Not that any of this seems real, but we probably need something with lots power. Like...garlic or a cross or holy water is to vampires. If only we were fighting vampires."

"Isn't half our problem that none of this seems real?" Topaz shoved her hands into her pockets, tilting her head back to look at the sky. "Something with lots of power." She felt as if she was leading herself in circles now. "Power in symbols. What else has power?" Think I'm going mad, she added silently, casting another glance around, just to be on the safe side. "Numbers have power," she said suddenly. "Have you ever heard of the power of three?"

"Like...third time's the charm?" Billy offered, trying to think back over the things they'd read for class. "Or bad luck comes in...uh, nevermind. Yeah, three's supposed to be a big number, right?"

"Exactly." Topaz searched her pockets for a pen, not really surprised when she came up empty. She settled for tracing a vague outline on her hand with her finger. "The triquetra is a religious symbol, it's a sign of the Blessed Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - which is about as far as my religious education goes. It's supposed to be a powerful symbol, though."

"Oh yeah, that thing," Billy nodded, visualizing the image as she traced it out. "Yeah, I think lots of religions have used that...so maybe it means there's something there. We can give it a try. I mean, it can't hurt. Do you think it needs to be a fancy design? Like the knots and curly-q's? Cuz I'm pretty bad at drawing."

"I don't think there's any deep meanin' to all the fancy curls and knots and everything," Topaz replied, shaking her head. "Just people tryin' to out-do one another. Something simple should do the trick."

"Well, if we need to add magic, we gotta do it ourselves," Billy started working through the details. "'Sides, even if it protects us from these things, I doubt it could keep my mom away if I got a real one. But I doubt permanent marker is...magical enough. Maybe that henna stuff?"

"That would work," Topaz agreed, turning in a slow circle to take in the shops around them. Not that it would do much good - she knew next to nothing about New York. "Do you know anywhere near here that would sell henna kits?"

"Not a clue," Billy shrugged, pulling out his phone. "Where...can...I...buy...he--nna...ink...in..N...Y...C?" he muttered aloud as he typed in the question. He glanced up to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything, impatiently twirling the phone about in the air while he waited. "Got it!" he said, as the map finally loaded. "Like two blocks from here. Let's go."

Topaz does her best to protect her classmates, fueling the ward with her own emotions, and the best they can do is hope it works.

Four teenage girls in one bathroom stall was ... crowded. Even if it was the handicapped stall, it was still not designed for four people and their stuff, and it wasn't exactly sanitary, even if it was clean - McDonalds didn't exactly leave their bathrooms gross, but it was still a -bathroom-. There were toilets and trashcans and slightly damp floors.

Hope crouched awkwardly on the floor of said bathroom, trying to keep her skirt from touching the floor. Nevertheless her legs were starting to ache as she watched Topaz mix up the strange substance the bowl before her. "I still don't quite understand what this is supposed to accomplish, Topaz? How will some henna protected us from these... creatures..."

"They'll create a ward," Topaz explained as patiently as she could. She'd been on edge since the first encounter, and sitting in the middle of a bathroom preparing to create magic-infused henna tattoos wasn't really making her feel any better about this whole situation. "These...things are magical - partly magical, at least-" Magical enough that she could sense them, "this will create a protective ward that'll make it impossible for them to come near us. At least for a little while," she added in a mutter under her breath. Hopefully long enough for them to get back to the school, if nothing else. "It's not just henna, there's also magic involved."

"I think these creatures are called Slenderman...that is what Mister Colbert said and hence why he thought I was full of it." Tandy still upset that he didn't believe her. She stood above Topaz and occasionally looked between the cracks of the door, sort of like a look out. "No faces, fancy suits....tall creepy looking guys...." The blonde turned back to the group, "Sounds complex, but as long as it keeps them away I'll be happy."

"But what if it wears off?" Molly said from her perch, sitting on top of the wash basin counter. Her legs dangled off the edge. She frowned, making a face. "No one believes us. How can we fight 'em?" All the bad guys/monsters had to be tricky. You couldn't just punch them? That wasn't fair.

"No, Molly. Maybe it will wear of, but it might give us the chance to find a way to fight them or otherwise find someone who does believe us." Hope tried to inject some confidence in her voice for the benefit of their youngest classmate, but there was still a faint shiver.

Tandy had no idea how to fight Slenderman, her knowledge of them was that they took children and that they were supposed to be made up. "We'll think of something Molly." Trying to put on a brave face for the younger girl, even if she was terrified. "As long as we stick together we will be fine."

"Tandy is right." Hope gave a small nod. "And we have already managed to find something that should work temporarily..." Her voice trailed of for a bit and then she asked hesitantly: "What prevents us from reapplying the tattoo's again when the magic fades? Would it not be as new then?"

"Available power for one thing." That came out a bit rude. Topaz pressed her lips together for a long moment before continuing. "I can only cast a spell so many times, especially since my energy source is...limited." Unless she wanted to start drawing off her classmates. But she'd make due with using her own emotions for the moment and hope that would be enough. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

"Hmm..." Hope quickly stood up and moved closer, not wanting Molly to overhear. "Could you do something like what you did when you shielded us a few weeks ago? Draw power from somewhere else?" She still was not completely sure what had happened back then, but if it could work again...

"Yeah, I could," Topaz replied without hesitation. "Why, you offerin' yourself up?" Her eyes flitted to Tandy for a moment, then over to Molly, then back to Hope. She was sure no one here would protest to being without their fears for a couple of hours. But now seemed like a bad time to be emotionless. "If it comes down to it I'll do whatever I have to, but let's hope we find a way outta this before then, yeah?" She moved on without waiting for Hope to answer. "All right, who's first?"

Molly stared at the bathroom door as the girls whispered amongst themselves, with the occasional glances back to her. It happened a lot, with her parents, and the adults and with the others. Her mom said they only wanted to protect her. But they hurt her trying to protect her. Why couldn't she know? What was so bad?

"Me," she said. Hopping off the counter, she marched up to Topaz and slid up her sleeve.

"Right then, hold still if you can. This might tickle a bit." Topaz carefully started laying out the triquetra on Molly's arm. It was a simple enough drawing, but skin was hardly a sturdy canvas and art had never been Topaz's strong suit. So she worked slowly, not wanting to have to keep restarting. It took her about five minutes to finish. She made a mental note to work a bit faster next time.

"Okay, this part shouldn't hurt," she told Molly as she prepared to infuse the tattoo. "If it does or if something doesn't feel right, tell me, because that means I'm probably doing something wrong." Blunt, but she didn't see any point in beating around the bush. She'd never done anything like this before. If she messed up, she needed to know sooner rather than later. She took a deep breath, reaching deep down to try and find the emotions she spent so much time burying, and muttered the spell in an inaudible tone.

Molly was very proud of herself that she did not wriggle while Topaz was drawing on her arm. It was kinda like going to the doctor, except the doctor drew on you and said prayers. So maybe it was more like a priest?

She waited until she was finished, then glanced down at the design.

"Um....should it tingle?" she said, lifting her arm to get a better look. She hoped it wasn't going to fall off.

Tingling. Well, tingling was better than shooting, stabbing pain Topaz decided as she turned Molly's words over in her head. She'd never done this before, she had no clue what was supposed to happen. "I'm sure it's fine," she said after a moment. She didn't want to say, "I don't know," everyone was worried enough as it was, and she was the one who was supposed to know what the hell was going on. Or at least have some clue. "If it keeps up for too long, let me know. It shouldn't be a problem, though."

Tilting her head at Topaz a moment, Molly finally nodded.

"Okay! Um...Amen," she said, doing a weird half bow/curtsie thing by bowing with her hands and crouching down a moment. She wasn't sure what else to do when someone did magic on you. She then sniffed her new tattoo. It smelled like wet hay.

"Oooh. I smell like Daisy!" Hay smell was better than other smells, though.

Tandy pulled up her sleeve and got down next to Topaz, "I am ready." If tingling was the worst that was going to happen with the henna mark than they were in good shape. "So you never done anything like this before?"

"You mean been stalked by other worldly creatures or created henna tattoos infused with a protection spell?" Topaz asked dryly as she set to work on Tandy's arm. "No, I've never done anything like this. Nothin' like learnin' on the spot." She carefully started drawing. "Luca did always say practical experience was the best way to learn," she muttered as she worked. "Not sure this is exactly what he had in mind, but ya know..."

She finished the drawing and repeated the spell on Tandy's tattoo.

Tandy lowered her voice so only Topaz heard, "You are doing a good job by the way. Thank you." She looked down and felt the tingling of her arm. "Yup, Molly is right. It tingles..."

Topaz blinked, surprise flitting across her expression at Tandy's words. "I...right, then," she said quickly, shaking her head. "Tinglin' is better than stabbin'. Hope, your turn."

Hope held out her arm so Topaz could draw the sigil on her arm with the henna just as Topaz had done with Tandy and Molly. As Topaz drew, a faint twinkle shone in her eyes as she murmured to Tandy: "Perhaps I should tell my mother I have a tattoo now..."

Tandy smirked a bit, "That would rail up her feathers a bit. Make it better take a picture and then send it to her."

"Perhaps I will when we get back." Hope gave the faintest smile make, glad to see that her attempt had worked. "Oh..." Suddenly the tingle the others had mentioned hit and she looked at her tattoo. "It's tingling."' She quickly clarified her reaction.

"At this point I'm assumin' that's a good thing," Topaz said with a nod, pushing her own sleeve up and sliding her bracelet down so it hooked on her hand and wouldn't get in the way. Three spells down, four more to go. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. Nothing like pushing her limits.

After a quick glace Hope picked up the bowl, holding it so it would be easy for the Indian girl to get the henna. As she worked Hope had to frown. Was Topaz seriously looking more pale or was it just the artificial light in the toilet. She threw a quick glance at Tandy and Molly, then leaned closer and asked: "Are you sure you will be alright?"

"Fine," Topaz replied without hesitation. "Thank you," she added as she dipped into the bowl and set to work. "Someone want to go see if Maddie's been convinced yet that we're actually not mad?"

Molly raised her hand. "I'll do it!" she said. Maybe if she did things people would want to include her in on the stuff.

"Be right back," she said, then slipped out the door.

Whether or not she could convince her was another matter altogether.