Katalepsis 2.5

Alright, resuming the second arc of Katalepsis, "Atoms, or Providence." Raine, Evelyn, and Heather are in the medieval metaphysics room, and rageholic sort-of-werewolf Twil just started banging at the door. Evelyn has some kind of mirror contraption rigged up using a sample of Twil's own blood that she's planning to use against her when and if she comes in, and Raine is getting ready to open the door. Heather, meanwhile, thinks that werewolves are dumb and is trying to just opt out of this entire situation.

In any case, doggirl's day is about to get much worse than just the broken nose she already suffered. Granted, that might have regenerated by now, depending on whether Katalepsis' maybe-werewolves have that ability or not. Well, anyway, onward!

Raine didn't say a word. She didn't need to.

She stood up, the change in attitude evident in every shift of muscle and posture, instant and electric. She flexed her right hand, the one in the modified weightlifting glove, curling and uncurling a fist.

From anybody else it would have seemed empty showboating. A ridiculous playground gesture. Except I'd seen Raine beat a monster to death once before, grinning and flushed and loving the violence. My mouth went dry and my heart hammered all the faster. A tiny, squirming part of me acknowledged how attractive I found her when she did this.

Another part of me laid down the law: that response was deeply unhealthy.

Heather, at this point you're spending more mental energy angsting over how horny Raine makes you than you are actually lusting after Raine. Inefficient, to say the least.

"Let me in, Saye!" a voice called through the door, unmistakably petulant. Twil jerked the handle. The lock held.

"You're not talking to Evelyn, you're talking to me," Raine said, voice rock steady.

"Let her break it down," Evelyn hissed.

That seems like a waste of a perfectly good door. And also a big loss of privacy and security until such a time as you can get someone to fix it.

"Yeah, I know. I know you're all in there," Twil called. "Open the door, we need to talk, face to face, right now."

See? Totally unnecessary!

"Like earlier?" Evelyn called back. "Go get knotted, Twil."

Raine grimaced. "Evee, ugh. Sick."

There's a version of this chapter where Heather interrupts here and asks what that means, and the entire story is hijacked by a dry, technical deep dive into ABO while Twil keeps impotently banging on the door.

Twil growled, long and low. She rattled the handle again, then thumped the door. "Open up or I'll pull the hinges out the wall."

"Be my guest, please. Huff and puff and blow the door in," Evelyn said. "We'll get you thrown off campus and the university will charge you with property damage. This is the real world, you addled mutt."

"Quite right," I added. "Go away, you … you horrible person!"

Raine shot me a suppressed grin. I shrugged, desperate to contribute.

"Yes, hear hear." Evelyn said. "Go away, Twil, you're not wanted. Sod off back to your kennel."

Ehhh...you've still got a ways to go, Heather.

Twil whacked the door again. The impact shook the frame, the floor, and my nerves.

Raine stuck out a hand and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Hey, Evee, hold up, hold up." She tiptoed to the door and reached for the latch, every muscle wound tight and ready to spring. The tip of her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth.

"Are you mad!?" I hissed and scrambled to my feet. "You can't be serious. Yes, go ahead and let the werewolf in here, great plan! Raine, stop!"

"You're in the way," Evelyn added.

Raine inched toward the handle. "Twil? Tell me what you want, maybe we can talk. Gimme an explanation, gimme something to work with here."

A second of silence, then Twil spoke again, but her voice carried less confidence. " … save a life, maybe. Saye, the girl with you earlier, Heather, right? Whatever you've done to her head—"

Raine burst into motion.

She slapped the latch down and whipped the door open, jammed her arm through the gap and yanked Twil inside by a fistful of her collar. Twil yelped in surprise, all wide eyes and windmilling arms. I thought she was about to sprawl onto the floor or crack her head off the edge of the table, but Raine wasn't even remotely finished with her.

Raine kicked the door shut, pulled Twil around before she had time to recover her balance, and slammed her against the wood, almost lifting her off her feet. Twil grunted, a deep oof of air forced out of her lungs.

Then Raine shoved the exercise glove in Twil's face, silver wire an inch from her eyes.

Twil yowled, the most awful noise I'd ever heard from a human throat, inside a psychiatric hospital or otherwise. She flailed and thrashed, hands scraping at the door as if trying to dig through the wood and away from the silver.

"You think I don't come loaded for bear?" Raine said. Zero aggression. Blank and flat.

I was going to say that this is awfully cold of Raine, considering that Twil seemed like she might have been ready to stand down and talk instead of fighting. But, then I remembered that she tried to punch Heather in the face last time she could see it, which sort of puts the lie to her claiming to be concerned for her. If she was trying to save Heather from Evelyn, there were a lot of other ways she could have approached them.

So yeah, thinking about it more, that was probably an attempt at manipulation on Twil's part. In which case Raine's actions were the most logical way to avoid needing a replacement door.

Then Twil twisted like a fish, jackknifed a leg up, and booted Raine in the chest.

Raine staggered back winded and wrong-footed, her grip dislodged. Twil shook herself from head to toe, then growled and flexed both hands, fingers open wide like claws.

Between her hanging curtain of hair and her hunched posture, Twil looked the picture of a comic-book savage, halfway to animal already—but the effect was more than mere acting; a second figure was overlaid on her body. Ghostly half-flesh enveloped her own like an afterimage, fingers too long, bared teeth too sharp and too numerous, the front of her face too snout-like. From a distance, one might mistake Twil's additions as figments of a stressed imagination, a half-glimpsed hallucination.

Up close there could be no mistake.

She's doing the summoning-wolf-spirit-into-own-body thing now. I wonder if most people could see the wolf thing overlaying her, or if it's only visible to Heather with her From Beyond vision.

Also, how wolflike is this spirit, exactly? If it's a literal wolf, then that implies that the alien thing whose corpse her powers came from either wasn't actually all that alien, or it at least had some ability to...connect?...with more Earth-adjacent entities and concepts. If it's just a superficially wolflike creature though, then whatever.

Raine grinned, flushed and bouncing on the balls of her feet. She raised her hands in a classic boxing stance.

Violence is never easy to watch. One is pulled between a very sensible desire to hide and a desperate need to help one's friends. I'd mythologised Raine for two weeks straight. She was unstoppable, she was invincible; she'd killed a monster and she'd done it for me, and here she was after a kick to the chest, her opponent easily as frightening as she was. Incensed, shaken, confused, I almost broke—which way, I never found out.

Absurdity saved me as I pushed the last puzzle piece into place.

They both tensed, ready to bash each other senseless over a stupid misunderstanding.

"Stop!" I yelled. "Stop, both of you. Oh my goodness, stop fighting."

I forced myself to step forward, shaking, palms sweaty, dismayed to find that I'd unconsciously slid behind the armchair. Raine spared me a sidelong glance and Twil blinked at me, teeth bared. I had only seconds to de-escalate this. I focused on Twil.

"They haven't done anything to me." I spoke fast, concentrating on not tripping over my words. "You called me a zombie in the library, but I'm not being mind-controlled or coerced or seduced or anything like that. You asked what Evelyn has on me? Absolutely nothing. I saved her life, not the other way around. I'm Evelyn's friend, and I'm Raine's … friend, too. My name is Heather Morell and I know what you are and I can probably mind-zap you into another dimension if I try hard enough, and if I'm completely wrong about what you're thinking and instead you're determined to hurt my friends, then I will do exactly that."

Hmm.

On one hand, its a noble effort. I didn't catch the significance of the "zombie" comment before and thought Twil was just making a dig at Heather's dishevelled appearance, but yeah, she might have meant it literally. Or even just figuratively, but still, same idea. So, there's a chance Twil might have actually cared about Heather's fate despite the willingness to punch her, or - if not that - then at least inferred that Evelyn was up to something more sinister than usual and should probably be stopped before it escalates further.

On the other hand...I really, really don't know that she genuinely had any concern for Heather or was alarmed by the prospect of Evelyn zombifying people. The sect that Twil was born into is said to be less dangerous than the Sharrowford cult, but still dangerous. I don't know if Twil has serious moral reservations about using muggles for free labor and/or lab materials. And, like, the bitterness over Raine seemed to be more on Twil's mind than anything involving Heather.

But, on the other other hand, even if she was just using Heather as an excuse to pick a fight with Evelyn, having that excuse taken away might deflate Twil to the point of her giving up. If she cares about the appearance of having a good reason, then she'll probably also care at least a little bit if that appearance gets dramatically flipped around at her.

Well, we'll see. Worst case scenario, Heather's words have no effect and Evelyn is forced to use that blood-powered mirror cannon after all.

For a split second I thought I'd got this all terribly wrong. Staring Twil down was like trying to intimidate an actual wolf. I shook so hard I was certain my knees would start knocking together.

Are actual wolves that hard to intimidate? IDK, haven't interacted with one. I know that other wild predators can be pretty skittish though, and I also know that intimidating domestic dogs isn't always that hard if you know what you're doing, but wolves might be different so...yeah, I'm not sure if Heather is getting this wrong or not.

Not that it actually matters, since Twil is a human and the spirit bonded with her may not actually be anything like a wolf except in a few superficial physical details, but you know. Opportunities for nitpicking and time-wasting pedantry. When have I ever passed those up?

Twil lowered her hands; the fight went out of her. She straightened up and swept her hair out of her face. Human again, as if those bestial additions had been a trick of the light. She narrowed her eyes at me, an intense scrutiny that shifted in turn to Raine and then Evelyn. Poor Evelyn had gone very quiet and very pale.

"Yeah, what she said," Raine added. She shook her arms out and rubbed her chest where Twil had kicked her, then shot me a questioning look.

"It was pretty obvious once I thought about it," I said. "She thinks I'm a victim."

"You're sharp," Twil said. "That is why I came up here. Look, I don't … I don't wanna fight, I just wanted to … " She gestured at me, as if for help. "I thought … "

"You ever threaten my friends again," Raine said, "then I've got a lot more silver with your name on it."

"Oh, fuck off," Twil spat. "You started it."

"Raine," I said, as gently as I could. "Less of that, please, for me? This is all a misunderstanding."

Twil scowled at me. "It might not be. How do I know you're not too scared to speak up? Heather, that's your name, right?"

"Scared? Of what?" Raine asked.

Raine spoke with a smile, but she did a poor job of hiding her tension. She was still ready to throw down at the slightest wrong move from Twil. I could tell she wanted to, she enjoyed it on a level I didn't understand, and I had to keep talking unless I wanted to witness an actual fistfight.

"I think you should explain this in your own words, Twil." I injected just enough scold into my voice to make it clear what I thought of all this. I put my hands on my hips and did my best to look stern and unimpressed, despite the pounding adrenaline in my head and the painful ache in my chest, not to mention the fact I was standing in front of a werewolf. The alternative was to sit down in a hurry.

Twil grumbled and crossed her arms, looking for all the world like a moody teenager.

"I saw you and Saye go into the library together, down to her … stuff. What was I supposed to think?"

I'm definitely leaning toward "Twil was using Heather as an excuse and now is trying to save face." Everything about her presentation here makes it seem like she's making excuses for herself rather than actually reexamining assumptions.

Still, she cares enough about face to try to save it. And she specifically wants to be able to think she's the good guy when she fights Evelyn. So, even if it's all bullshit, it's bullshit that can be used to make her back off. The question is whether Heather and the others are willing to play along with it toward that end, or if Heather's going to be determined to cut all the way through. If the latter, well...this could go any number of different ways, depending on how defensive or enraged a humiliated Twil gets.

Now, granted: if it turns out that Evelyn has a history of escorting people into the library vault to murder them or whatever, then that changes things quite a bit.

Evelyn and Raine both opened their mouths at the same moment.

"Ah!" I held up my hands. "Stop, stop, just listen. Listen, please. What did you think, Twil?" She squinted at me, as if she thought I was an idiot. It wasn't an easy look to take from such a stunningly beautiful face, but I was too shaken to care. "I'm new to all of this," I said. "Humour me. What did you think?"

Looks like she's deciding to push it after all. Hopefully not a mistake.

" … that Saye had recruited a minion. An easy fool to … I don't know, sacrifice, use for magic. Something worse." She shrugged. "Wasn't gonna let her get away with it. Still won't." She shot a dark look at Evelyn.

"There we go," I sighed. "That's what I thought. Well, I'm not. I'm here of my own free will. Very happily, in fact."

"Should have said that in the first place, shouldn't you?"

"You made it quite difficult," I said.

Raine grinned and shook her head. "You absolute spanner, Twil."

"Sacrifice?" Evelyn finally piped up, scowling like thunder. "That's the sort of thing your lot do. This is all so much bullshit, Twil. Why on earth were you watching me in the first place?"

"I just happened to be in the library, alright? It's a free country, last I checked."

"No, I don't believe a word of this. A very creative excuse, that's what this is. You shouldn't even be in the city."

And Evelyn isn't playing along either.

And yeah, this doesn't happen often, but I 100% agree with Evelyn about this, regardless of whether or not saying it out loud is a good idea if they just want this situation to be over.

Twil bared her teeth and growled. Raine raised her fists. Evelyn flinched and almost squeaked. I felt an uncontrollable urge to duck behind the chair. All my hard work was coming undone.

Then Twil jammed a hand into her blue-and-lime coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She shoved it at Raine, a faint blush in her cheeks.

"That's why I'm here, alright? My life doesn't revolve around you lot all the time. Go on, open it. Fucking wasters."

Raine took the paper, unfolded it, and snorted a suppressed laugh. I peered over her shoulder.

It was a Sharrowford University Open Day flyer.

Come all ye prospective undergrads; see the departments, talk to professors, wander around the campus. No exclusion for secret werewolves.

"Yeah, go on, yuk it up," Twil said. "You'll see, I'll get in and I'll beat all your marks as well. I'm getting a fucking first. You think I'm just some idiot living in the woods."

"I'm not laughing at you," Raine said. She showed the flyer to Evelyn.

"You so are. Bitch."

"What degree course are you applying to?" I asked. "And stop being so rude." Twil blinked at me in a frowny squint. "It's a serious question."

" … biomedical science."

"What were your A-level results?"

"Triple A." She jutted her chin high, then wavered and lowered her gaze. "Okay, one A, two Bs. Predicted."

"Predicted? Wait a moment. Twil, how old are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm eighteen. I'm an adult."

"I had assumed you were a little older." I spread my hands in a silent apology. "With those A-level grades, you'll probably get accepted. Next year?"

"Yeah, keeping my hopes up. Maybe here, maybe Manchester. You know, get a little further away from home." She frowned at me. "Why the hell are we talking about this?"

I shrugged. "Because a little normality goes a long way. Because not everything needs to revolve around supernatural nonsense and … werewolves." I struggled to keep my voice free of pique. Twil smirked, showing too many teeth.

"Told you all about me, did they? Good."

"That we did," Raine said. "Didn't think you'd developed a white-knight complex, though. Impressive."

"Oh, fuck you, saddo. You can talk."

Raine laughed. "It was a compliment, dumbarse."

"From Raine, it probably was," I muttered.

Twil snorted.

Hmmmmmm. Yeah no, sorry, still don't buy it.

I mean, I buy that she's here as part of a prospective student tour thing, and I buy that she's considering enrolling at Sharrowford University. What I don't buy is that these decisions have nothing to do with Raine, Evelyn, or the library vault that her clan have apparently been trying to get their hands on for years.

If she wanted to avoid this, she'd go...literally anywhere besides Sharrowford. Her grades are apparently pretty good, so she wouldn't have trouble getting into another school. Maybe she'd have to go a little bit further from home, but like, England ain't that big, I can't imagine that being a deciding factor in the face of so many other obvious motives.

Now, regardless of her duplicity, Twil is attractive, about to become a longterm inhabitant of the campus, and the story has gone out of its way to confirm that she's a legal adult. So, like. She's going to be wedged into the naked-lubed-up-bodies pile along with the other three sometime in the next few arcs. It might take some character development before she's ready for the girlpile, but she will eventually be part of it.

"Sorry about the old rough-and-tumble, you know?" Raine mimed throwing punches. She didn't sound sorry. "Got a little too carried away, I guess."

"Got you good too, didn't I?"

"Meant what I said though. Don't hurt my friends."

"If I wanted to hurt anybody—and I don't—who's gonna stop me? You and what army?"
Raine shrugged, expansive and theatrical, playing to the crowd. "Silver runs about fifteen quid an ounce these days, I think."

I knew it was unhealthy, chest-thumping nonsense, but the way Raine stared her down, with that casual look, as if the outcome would never be in doubt, was far too attractive for me to deal with right then. Raine could use that look for evil if she wanted, I knew she could, and if she ever turned it on me in private I doubt I'd last long.

Too bad Twil was staring right back.

I was jealous.

Like I said.

What on earth did I have to be jealous of? They were ready to knock each other black and blue. On Raine's side that was at least partly in my defence. But I didn't like them looking at each other, butting heads with familiarity behind their words. I knew it was petty and stupid but I couldn't help myself. Raine wasn't my lover or my partner. I'd known her for less than a month. I felt like a hormonal teenager, and I knew why: because I'd never been allowed to be one before.

I told myself off and resolved to be sensible, measured, and diplomatic.

And to remind Twil that I'd already scored a point against her.

"I apologise for slapping you earlier," I said.

Twil shrugged. "Hardly matters, does it? S'cool, whatever."

I opened my mouth to request an apology for her attempted punch, but the words died on the way up.

There wasn't a scratch on her.

No bruise, no slapped face, no broken nose.

The only evidence of our clumsy slap fight was the red stain down the front of her hoodie, diluted and smeared. She must have scrubbed at it with a wet paper towel in one of the toilets.

Twil cocked an eyebrow at me. I realised I was staring.

"Werewolf, right." I huffed a sigh. It just wasn't fair. "Broken noses shouldn't heal in thirty minutes."

So, even more reason for Twil to apologize. Not that she will, of course, but more reason to.

Anyway, looks like the regeneration part of the pop cultural package might also have come from that probably-19th-century origin point.

Twil barked a laugh.

Even sullen and rude, she was far, far too pretty. How could I, frumpy shapeless pullovers and daytime pajamas and sallow stress-ruined complexion, compete with that? Twil watched me watch her, slow and thoughtful. I shrugged at her in silent question, not trusting myself to speak in case I snapped back with jealous nonsense.

Heather, with Twil's history with these two I really don't think you have much to worry about. Even if the swimming pool filled with lube wasn't sitting right there as a trump card solution to the problem.

"So why are you here, Heather?" she asked.

"In general?" Too much mocking hostility in my voice. I tamped it down. "Or you mean in Sharrowford, or here in this specific room?"

"I mean what the hell are you doing hanging out with these two? What's your deal?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," Raine said quietly.

I crossed my arms. "Quite right. Any answer to that is long and complex and very personal. I'm not comfortable talking about it, except with close friends."

"Oh, uh, right." Twil blinked and looked lost. I felt a little sorry for her. She did mean well, after all. My jealousy wasn't her fault. "Can I, like, talk to you alone for a minute?" she asked. "Out in the hallway?"

Hahahaha how about no.

"Twil," Raine said, a warning note in her voice.

"Whatever for?" I asked.

"Without these two listening in." She indicated Raine and Evelyn with a jerk of her chin. "How can I be sure you're not getting conned?"

I was about to say Okay, why not? Twil's only desire here was to make sure a timid-looking college girl wasn't being exploited by a pair of scary clued-up supernatural types. Well, that, and she probably wanted to irritate Evelyn. She was awkward and slightly intimidating, but I had a hard time imagining her actually wanting to hurt me, beyond a punch in the face in the heat of the moment. Also, that lost expression made her look even prettier. I wasn't immune to that.

Heather oh my god you just need to wait a few more arcs for the character development to happen, not now, please just wait, you can do it.

Raine spoke before I could open my mouth. "No way, no how, Twil. Absolutely not."

"Raine." I heard an unintentional whine in my voice. I killed it, not liking where that was going. "I can make my own decisions."

Goddamnit Heather!

"I'm not trying to control your decisions," Raine said. She stepped over to my side. "My danger senses are still tingling, really."

"Danger? Talking with her in the corridor for five minutes? She just wants to make sure I'm not being coerced." I glanced at Twil. "Am I correct?"

Yeah, what could possibly be dangerous about spending five minutes alone with a hyperviolent transhuman warrior who has every reason to want a hostage that Evelyn might actually care about?

"Right," Twil said. "This ain't convincing me, by the way."

Raine leaned in close, cupped my ear, and whispered. Her warm breath tingled on my skin.

"Heather, this could be a set up for a snatch job. Everything out of Twil's mouth is suspect."

"What?" I said out loud.

Raine went on whispering. "It's not impossible that the Brinkwood Cult knows about you somehow. I didn't mention it before, didn't want to scare you. Do not let Twil get you alone. I was skating on thin ice earlier; without the silver, she could pull my head off if she wanted. Kidnapping you would be easy."

Hell, that's not even necessary. Twil could have made that decision between the library encounter and now. Or hell, she could have come up with a kidnapping plan literally right this second once she realized that Heather is someone Raine and Evelyn might negotiate for.

Raine straightened up and squeezed my shoulder. I knew that confident, reassuring look. I'd trusted it on a sick and lonely morning in a dirty Sharrowford cafe, and it had saved me.

"I-I think you're wrong," I said. "But I trust you. Okay."

"Well?" Twil growled.

I shook my head.

"Fine, whatever," she grunted. "S'your funeral. Can't say I didn't try."

"I appreciate the sentiment, it's very sweet of you, but I'm fine, I'm safe. I don't need saving. Probably for the first time in my life."

"Yeah, I think we're done here," Raine said. "Time to go, hey Twil? You leave us alone, we'll leave you alone. Non-aggression pact, all that good stuff?"

Oh thank Azathoth she saw sense. I guess it took another hot girl telling her to do the opposite of what the first hot girl was telling her to do.

Twil grunted, then looked hard at me. "I don't trust anything these two do. Like, I dunno what exactly they told you about me and mine, but Saye's infinitely more fucked up than I am."

I felt myself bristle at the implied insult. "That's hardly a mark against her, even if true."

"Fucked up" as in "crazy?" Yeah, I can see why Heather might not take kindly to that being used as an insult.

Granted, Twil might have meant it in the moral sense, but that's not how Heather seems to have taken it.

"Whatever. Don't let her do any magic to you, that's for sure." But Twil must have seen the silent question in my expression, because she frowned and glanced between Evelyn and me. "Whoa, shit, that's not why you went down to the books, was it?"

I cleared my throat. "Well—"

"Was it?" Raine asked. "Evee?"

"Oh, no fucking way," Twil said. She unfolded her arms and flexed her hands, glowering and baring her teeth. "Nuh uh, not letting you mindfuck this girl."

"For pity's sake," I said, cursing my own open-book face. "It's fine, it's to help me."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Raine stepped forward, raising her gloved fist again. "Hold up, Twil."

Evelyn cleared her throat. "This is all very dramatic and edifying, I'm sure," she said. "But you seem to have forgotten something, you dense mongrel."

Twil frowned at her. "What?"

"Yeah, what?" Raine said.

"Your reasons are irrelevant," Evelyn spat. "Apologise and leave. One chance."

Time to break out the blood-powered mirror cannon.

"What? Fuck you, Saye, you—"

Twil's eyes went wide. She lunged for Evelyn. Raine yelled and leapt to intercept Twil. I jumped so badly that my heart achieved escape velocity.

"Oh," I mouthed, before Evelyn cast the spell we'd all forgotten about.

She twisted her fingers against the blood-smeared mirror, completed her infernal circuit, and spoke a rush of words which sounded like they hurt to pronounce, all throaty consonants and hard inhalation. Her maimed left hand thrust forward and squeezed into a fist.

The air temperature plummeted several degrees in an instant, enough to draw a gasp and shiver from me.

Static electricity sparked off my fingers and crackled across my jumper.

And Twil slammed to a halt.

She froze mid-step, fists clenched, mouth half-open on an unfinished snarl. Her eyes bulged with blinding rage. The muscles in her face twitched. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she vibrated all over, as if fighting to fill her lungs. Her right arm jerked up, millimetre by painful millimetre.

Raine caught herself on the edge of the table to avoid touching Twil. Static jumped from her hands to the metal table legs and she swore under her breath. Evelyn shook and panted, dripping with sudden cold sweat. She grinned at Twil, ugly and triumphant.

"You forgot what I can do," Evelyn hissed, effort in every word.

Disgust and fascination fought in my heart. I stared at Twil and then at the blood-thing in Evelyn's lap. This was impossible, my mind said, but there it was, the evidence of my own eyes. And Evelyn was enjoying it far too much.

"Evee, you've made your point," Raine said. "We don't want a body on our hands. Let it go."

"Body?" Evelyn choked out a laugh. "Oh, I think our canine friend can take a lot more than this."
Twil was gritting her teeth, hissing a sound halfway between a broken gas pipe and a dentist's drill.

"Yeah, but maybe you can't," Raine said.

That snapped me back to the moment. "She can't— Evelyn, Twil can't breathe," I said.

"That's the point."

So, temperature drop, ambient electromagnetic weirdness, and the target can't move or breathe. Interesting combination of effects there.

My best guess is that Evelyn summoned something. The temperature and EM effects are symptoms of its presence, or of the process that brought it here. Although...wait, no, if that's what it was Heather would probably be able to see whatever appendages its grasping Twil with. So yeah, no, the spell works some other way than that.

Very odd side-effects, but hey, as Evelyn herself said, nobody actually understands how these spells work. Confusing side-effects like these ones fit that summary.

Anyway, hopefully Evelyn is planning to take her finger off the button before things get dangerous. Twil might be tougher than a baseline human, but I doubt even she can last long without oxygen.

She clenched her fist tighter, knuckles white. Twil was so red in the face she looked ready to burst. Evelyn shook and quivered, a flu patient with the chills, about to collapse, blinking rapidly just to stay conscious. Raine looked wary of touching either of them, as if they carried live current. For all I knew, they did.

Huh. They actually might, yeah. Would explain the static around them.

"Evelyn, stop!" I cried. "I won't let you do this to somebody, not over me. It's not worth it! I won't have it. Not even a rude, ridiculous person like Twil. Stop!"

"Not about you." Evelyn had to force every word. "About respect."

"I don't care! I won't have much respect left for you or myself if I stand by and let you commit torture. Stop!"

The tug of war collapsed.

Eeeeeesh. Some family habits resurfacing in Evelyn, there. Not a good look. Even if Twil completely brought this on herself, it's not a good look.

Still, at least Twil is going to have some real trouble making the argument that Heather is being mind controlled now. Or even that Heather has been browbeaten and strung along. Unless Evelyn bothered to make her mind-controlled thrall beg her to stop the Vader-choke as part of some overly complicated deception, it proves that Heather is very much her own person.

Evelyn sagged and her fingers slipped on the bloody mirror. Twil crashed to the floor. Her chin bounced off the ground and she yelped like a kicked dog. I flinched, my own tension pulled piano-wire tight. Evelyn slumped and started to slide out of her chair, but Raine ducked forward and held her under the armpits, then pushed her back into the seat. She was coated with sweat and shivering all over. Her eyes found mine, guilty and ashamed for a split second before they fluttered shut.

Evelyn realizing she reflexively became her mother for a bit there. Because come on, she was totally just copying her mother during that attack. Falling back on what she knows to do when faced with a magical opponent.

It took a lot out of her, also. The magic probably blew a few neurons, on top of the emotional toll.

"Raine, what— what do I—" I stammered, hands half-raised in a please-let-me-help gesture.

"It's okay, I've got her, I've got her," Raine said. She clicked her fingers in front of Evelyn's face. "Evee. Evee, open your eyes. Don't go to sleep. Evelyn, open your eyes."

Evelyn coughed. "I'm fine. Stop clicking at me."

"Dammit, Evee."

Twil struggled to her knees, sucking in air like she'd run a marathon. "Oh yeah, nobody worry about me, just over here getting my guts fried. You shower of utter bitches."

Oh. Huh. It wasn't a Vader-choke, the not breathing was from electrical muscle paralysis. She was literally just electrocuting her.

"Come off it, you're basically invincible," Raine said, but she stood up and offered Twil a hand.

"Yeah, but I can still feel pain. Fucking hate you, Saye."

"Good," Evelyn grumbled, eyes still closed. "Perhaps you'll show some respect."

"Evelyn, shush," I said, with an unfamiliar lash in my voice. She opened bleary, confused eyes at me.

Dang. Heather seems to have a...thing...about being the cause of violence.

Her neurotic distaste for (and paired fetishization of) violence is something she should work on, but this? This is laudable. And it's getting her to show some more of the backbone we saw glimpses of previously. Evelyn being outright surprised by it, it sounds like.

"Bet you're out of ammo now, you—" Twil started.

"And you," I rounded on Twil. "Sit."

Oh don't you start with the dog jokes too now Heather...

"Yeah yeah, don't have to tell me twice." Twil winced as Raine helped her into one of our armchairs.

Even in the heat of the moment, it wasn't an easy sight for my fragile self-esteem: Twil with her arm over Raine's shoulders to help her stand, Raine frowning back at her with at least a modicum of care and attention. I told myself it didn't matter. We had bigger things to deal with now. I could be immature later. In private. Alone.

Oh for the...

Fine. Okay. Whatever. Just break out the lube and dildos now instead of in a few arcs. You obviously are in desperate, desperate need of them.

"Can't believe I have to be the adult in the room," I said, and took a deep breath. My hands were shaking quite badly, so I clasped them together to get myself under control. It was over, I told myself. It was done. We could all pretend to be sensible adults now.

The room temperature had returned to normal, and none of us seemed charged with static anymore.

Twil was hunched up as if around a stomach wound, though there was no visible mark on her, and Evelyn looked like she was asleep, with her frowning, conflicted expression the only evidence to the contrary.

"Right, I think we've all had enough for one day," Raine said. "We are going the hell home, and you're going to sleep, Evee."

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

Evelyn's frown darkened. Even with her eyes closed, she knew I was talking to her.

"Heather, maybe leave it for now?" Raine murmured.

"Standards have to be maintained," Evelyn said. "Debts paid. Boundaries drawn."

Twil growled, either at Evelyn or just to get our attention. "You're kidding if you think I'm going anywhere now. So desperate to stop me seeing what you're gonna do to this poor girl, huh? No way, Saye. You're doing magic. I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither of you are in any state to do anything right now," said Raine.

Evelyn scoffed. "Watch me."

"Sure thing, bitch," Twil shot back.

I wonder how much of Evelyn's collapse is genuine, and how much of it is her trying to hide from her shame. Even as she sinks a little bit back into Saye Mode in response to being pressed on it.

Also, why does Twil think she needs to be around whenever Evelyn does magic? Is it part of some stupid completely unenforceable treaty or something?

Raine rubbed the bridge of her nose. I sighed and hugged myself, feeling like I was under siege.

"I'm haunted," I said.

Twil blinked at me. "What?"

"Hey, you don't have to do this, Heather," said Raine. I shook my head. It didn't matter now.

"Haunted," I repeated. "By something much bigger and scarier than you. Evelyn's going to help me deal with it, and Raine's been helping me deal with it. You, I don't know what you're doing, but I suppose you've at least earned an answer, after Evelyn hit you with the magical version of live battery clamps to your sensitive parts."

Sometimes Heather's bookish word choices seem less like an awkward character who talks like a book, and more just clumsy writing. This is one of those times.

Also, Heather, tell us without telling us that you want to add electric clamps to the cart along with the handcuffs and whipped cream.

"S'that true?" Twil asked.

Evelyn opened bleary eyes to stare at our curious werewolf. "Quite. Heather's got the attention of something much worse than the sad little god your cult worships."

"Hey, don't call it a cult."

"I'll call it whatever I bloody well like. I could take it apart if I wanted."

Twil bared her teeth and let out a low growl.

"Girls, calm the hell down." Raine raised her voice and rapped her knuckles on the table. Evelyn winced at the noise and Twil jerked her head back in surprise.

"Why can't we just act like reasonable adults, instead of extras from a bad drama?" I asked. "Let's compromise, so we don't end up doing this all again? Twil, I assume that if you're not satisfied, then you're going to start following me around? Or go after Evelyn again?"

Twil blinked at me as if I had mind reading powers.

Lol.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, this one. But I guess we already knew that.

"And Evelyn," I continued. "If we're still on for your magical experiment today, do you object to Twil watching?"

Evelyn sucked her teeth in thought. "We'd have to go back to my house."

"Then I'm coming with you," Twil said.

"Over my dead body."

"I gotta agree," said Raine. "Though not the dead part. You ain't coming back there."

"The security would eat you alive," Evelyn said.

Twil flexed her back and arms, rolling muscles like a wrestler. "We can find out."

"No," said Evelyn.

That would be interesting.

The fact that Evelyn isn't saying "sure, go right ahead" suggests that she's not actually sure her house's guardian gigerspider would win that altercation.

"Why don't we do the spell here?" I asked. Three pairs of eyes looked to me. "Well, why not? You two have manoeuvred yourselves into a stalemate, and I feel deeply uncomfortable with being at the heart of it. I'm not thanking you for your concern, Twil, or you, Evelyn, for whatever ego-trip nonsense made you cast that spell."

Evelyn held my gaze for a long moment. I was too wiped out to worry about looking away. Bitter damage lurked behind her eyes, and I promised myself that after this day was safely over, I was going to give her a hug. I would be her friend. A real one.

"It's possible," she said eventually. "No reason why not. But I need tools from home. Somebody will have to fetch them."

"Ah," Raine said.

The impasse was obvious: Twil was barred from Evelyn's house; Evelyn couldn't go alone; Raine didn't want to leave us here with Twil.

"I'll go," I said. "It's for my benefit, after all. And to be honest, I could do with some fresh air after all that."

Raine shook her head. "No, not by yourself."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, it's fine. I'm hardly going to get snatched off the street."

"You might," Raine muttered.

She guided me a few steps toward the back of the room, out of earshot. I didn't mind—it was a very reassuring way to be handled. But a tiny voice in the black pit of my self-esteem giggled those damnable words again. Damsel in distress.

Heather, don't be stupid. There is very much a nonzero chance that Twil isn't here alone. Also, how do you even know that YOU can avoid tripping the security if you try going into that house without Evelyn or Raine?

...hmm. Then again, the gigerspider in the library had a little freakout when it first saw Heather. No such incident happened at the house, even though Heather first entered it without Evelyn even being there, and I doubt Raine has executive privileges anywhere near as good as hers. So, either the construct guarding the house is less hair-trigger than the one in the library, or it only guards a specific part of the house. In which case, I guess Heather could get the stuff from the house, or at least from most rooms in the house. There's even a chance Twil might be able to avoid it herself.

Raine dropped her voice to a whisper. "Heather, look, I don't like this."

"It's fine," I whispered back despite myself. "I trust you, but I think you're wrong. Twil's just concerned."

"And if I'm right, she might have others waiting for you. I dunno. It'll have to be me, I'll have to go. Here."

Raine tugged off the wire-wrapped exercise glove and held it out to me.

"Oh, I can't. Raine, no."

"All you gotta do is wave it in Twil's general direction, she'll back off right sharpish. She's weak at the moment. I dunno how long it'll take her to recover, but I can get to Evee's and back in under half an hour."

"It'll be fine, I don't need—"

Raine pressed a finger to my lips. The intimate gesture made my heart skip a beat. "No, I'm only doing this if you promise to do what I say. The alternative is I knock Twil's lights out, carry Evee home, and you come sleep at my place until we're sure Twil's gone."

" … Raine, really," I hissed, unimpressed, trying to ignore the bait. Sleep at Raine's? Yes please. She'd not taken me there yet.

She didn't even blink. "Hey, this is what I do."

I sighed and took the glove. "Fine."

"Promise."

"To what?"

"Don't get within six feet of Twil. Keep a chair between you and her. Don't answer the door to anybody but me. And whatever you do, do not, absolutely do not go out of this room with her. Promise me."

"If you think she's so dangerous, why leave in the first place?"

"Hey, you took the wheel here, Heather. You're in charge right now. This is your compromise. I'm just interpreting orders."

Now this is weird. Raine leaving Heather AND EVELYN alone with Twil seems distinctly out of character. But then, the way she deferred to Heather with the simple explanation that she's the one in charge right now, so it's her call...that reminds me of my earlier question of why Raine is so devoted to Evelyn in the first place.

IS Raine a homunculus? Or, at least, a brainwashing victim who Evelyn inherited from her mother and isn't sure how to un-brainwash? For all the cockiness and spirit, she has this weirdly servile core to herself that doesn't seem normal. I was being mostly facetious earlier when I suggested she was a synth, but now I'm starting to really wonder.

"All right, I promise."

Raine smiled, relief obvious, and I took selfish comfort in her absolute trust. Then she pulled me into a hug, and I took comfort in that too.

Maybe I didn't need Maisie. Maybe I had Raine now.

Or maybe I was just kidding myself.

Or dependent.

Okay but Maisie needs you though. Isn't that the whole thing? You feel guilty for giving up on her?

When Raine let go I wished we were anywhere but here, anywhere but in the Medieval Metaphysics room with an angry werewolf and Evelyn. Raine took a deep breath and crossed the room, whirling into action. All she needed was a long trench coat billowing out behind her to complete the look.

Hehehe, don't worry Heather, I've had you covered since the very first chapter.

"Right, Evelyn, what do you need?" she asked. "List me."

"Hmm. Paper. The silver plate underneath the stairs. The bottle of aqua vitae. That's still in the kitchen cupboard, has a picture of unicorn on it, you can't miss it. Inprensibilis Vermis, from my library, third shelf up on the left-hand wall, you know the one."

"That's it? S'not much."

"It's an experiment. Probably won't even work."

"Got it, no probs. And as for you." Raine turned to our grumpy werewolf visitor. Twil was still hunched up like a brooding teenager with her hair hiding half her face.

She shot a dark look at Raine. "What?"

"Heather trusts you. I don't. If she's wrong and I'm right, I'll kill you."

Raine's voice sent a cold hand crawling up my spine. That wasn't the Raine who hugged me a moment ago. That wasn't my Raine.

Okay but how horny did it make you?

Twil just grunted.

Raine turned to me one last time, winked, and then she was out of the door. The latch clicked shut behind her, followed by the sound of her footsteps receding down the corridor, walking fast.

I made a conscious effort to smile, but nobody was paying attention. Evelyn lay in her chair, watching Twil through half-open eyes. Twil stared back, the very picture of a wolf waiting for prey to slip up.

"Well then," I said. "Won't be long, I hope."

Alright. Well. I still think this is a bad idea, for multiple reasons, but Raine seems to have a strange inability to push the issue. Either character development fast track, or a whole lot of unnecessary trouble.


That's a chapter.