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[frogfear]

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2/22, text. (cw death, illness)

[clocktowers]

[ Sometime after staggering home with Qrow's assistance, being handed soup by Glynda, and letting a hazel-eyed little owl tuck in against his neck, Ozpin gets around to sending a text he thinks may be needed. He does not know whether she even noticed his absence, but it seems best to err on the side of caution, given that he did not return on the expected date. ]

Good evening, Willow.

It seems my absence caused some worry this past week. [ Gentle understatement: he has been gone ten days now. ] I'd like you to know that I have returned safely.

2/25, text.

[clocktowers]

[ The lack of response is... somewhat odd. But then, she is young and likely distracted, and his message did not necessarily imply need for a reply. For a day, he is unbothered; for another day, he is entirely too distracted by his new situation with Stanford Pines, and the resulting social chaos.

But then he sees that his message still has not been read, and worry sinks in. ]

I am loath to overestimate the significance of a text message, or to underestimate your assuredly busy schedule.

That said, Deerington being what it is, I do want to check in.

Please let me know if you, too, are safe.

Action

[survivalthroughhate]

[Before Maul had fully committed to the decision to go into the Mandalorian sarcophagus as penance, he still had a bit of rage to get out. Some was expressed towards the woman who had made herself a handy target for his anger. He'd found out where she lived, but when he got there, Willow was nowhere to be found.

Enraged to have been denied the chance to dole out punishment, he reached out with the Force. At first, he just meant to cause a bit of damage, break a few windows and send part of the roof caving in. But the more he let himself flow into the Dark Side, the more he found it easy to grasp the power and cause destruction. Beams groaned and then snapped and the whole structure shuddered as if under the strain of great pressure. Sure as a wrecking ball, Maul eventually brought the entire structure crashing down to its very foundations, the roof breaking down into the main part of the building before he dismantled it piece by piece till the entire structure was gone.

With what was essentially a giant temper tantrum finally satisfied, Maul soaked in the sight of the destruction he'd wreaked down. He could feel the Dark Side flowing through him strongly. Then, before anyone could see, he turned and walked off down the street into another part of Deerington.]

Action. Early September, Clockhouse

[justoscar]

[He couldn't sleep-- and the times were wrong when he could cross that threshold, where only darkness greeted him and nothing more.

Oscar Pine understood fatigue. He had dealt with it after his various injuries, but he had always been able to dream. Now, on this side of the ocean and the broken nightmare, no dreams greeted him-- and his exhaustion was felt as deep as the ocean.

After tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position, Oscar got up to change his view. He hadn't expected anyone else to be awake, but the dim stream of light that emanated from under Willow's door immediately caught his attention.

And, what better way to find sleep than with a friend?

He tapped lightly on the door and toed it open.]

Hey... Also can't sleep?

[frogfear]

[Willow can't sleep either - or, more specifically, she doesn't want to. She might be tired enough to lay down her head, but she's figured out turning into a wolf seems to be directly connected to going to sleep. So the best way to avoid it, is simply to stay awake.

So she keeps the light on. When she thinks she's about to start drifting, she gets up and paces to wake herself back up again, or splashes a bit of cold water on her face.

It's a relief and a welcome distraction when Oscar knocks and nudges the door open. She nods, and manages a bit of a smile.]

Yeah, I can't sleep either. So what's keeping you up?

[justoscar]

[A smile lit his face in the gloom to meet her's. It was a tad awkward and uncomfortable-- as if he had his own wizardly troubles adjusting... Or was just another teenage boy feeling strange in his own body.

Glad for the ability to talk without disturbing anyone, Oscar found himself talking before he had a chance to think.]

Things aren't feeling normal right now. Maybe it's just Squid Life, but it's gotten Hard to sleep at night.

[frogfear]

Yeah. I know what you mean. Things are really different here. Even all of us.

[She pats the bed beside her in an invitation to come and sit with her.]

And with everything changing so much, I dunno about you, but I'm finding it kind of tough to turn my brain off.

[justoscar]

Yeah. I guess that's it...

[But he wasn't sure. Oscar gamely took the invitation to go sit with her, throw blanket wrapped around his shoulders and all. He hadn't been certain where his destination was, and a blanket was always helpful to have regardless of circumstances.]

Change is hard, even when you know it's coming. We've got a lot of clean up, too. And... it doesn't look like everyone followed us here.

[Like Emerald. He was worried about Emerald, and what fate had in store for her in Remnant.]

[frogfear]

Sometimes it's harder when you know it's coming because you anticipate it too much and you start getting anxious over it.

[And therein lies the reason Willow is not sleeping - the changes that she's discovered so far have such a direct and substantial impact, it's impossible not to think too much on them, and worry about them, and what else they might bring.

She does not want to turn into a wolf, but apparently it's a new sleep time ritual. The trick, at least for now, seems to be to simply stay awake.

The distraction helps, so she glances around the room at the windows that were boarded up back in May, and the rest of the damage as well from what appears to be from years of neglect.]

A lot of us made it, at least. And the others might still come - I don't think I heard anyone say at all how often Sleepers come to shore and stop being squid. I like to think the people we're missing are still out there, and on their way, but maybe they're just taking their time a little bit more than the rest of us did.

[justoscar]

You turned into a wolf. And I...

[He trailed, sighing in his uncertainty over the newness of their entire reality. Beyond the repairs they needed to conduct on the house from last spring with the apparent years of neglect that the Clockhouse had endured, Oscar wondered how they would be able to fully repair their hearts. There was no doubt that there was a Yang-shaped hole in Ruby's heart, and that nothing would be able to fill it.

Ultimately, they needed to find a way to work with all this. No matter how hard it was.]

You're probably right. It's just tricky right now. After everything we went through together, it's weird not having everyone else around. We'll just need to work on that... and how being a squid makes life different for us in other ways too.

[Like the way their blood had changed colors, and the way many of them found their powers changing. Oscar looked up at Willow, worry furrowing his brows.]

...I haven't really had any dreams since we got here, and I'm having a hard time sleeping too. After everything with the eggs, and everything with our magic changing too... what if something weird happens and we just get stuck?.

[frogfear]

Yeah, I know... it's a lot all at once.

[And none of the changes they're experiencing seem particularly pleasant. Willow would just as soon not be a squid, or a wolf, or have new magic. Especially not magic tied to their blood, and apparently shedding it. She didn't really know any of those who haven't joined them yet, but she can feel their loss in the air, and she understands how hard it is not to have the people you love with you.

But none of it is in either of their control to change.]

I had one the first night, but it was really brief, and... honestly kind of hard to remember now. But every time I sleep now, I, uh. End up being a wolf again.

[It's frustrating, and worrying, and after the panic of trying to wake herself up before figuring out how to get back to her own body, she's also has a fear of being stuck.]

I don't know. I mean. There was a girl from Sunnydale who got stuck as a rat for awhile because she did a spell and didn't know how to undo it. I figured it out eventually - I guess I could write down the reversal and maybe someone could make it work? There's more witches who could pull it off here than just me, maybe not everyone's having the same problem with their magic.

[justoscar]

We can try...

[Oscar trailed, clearly distracted by thought.]

The magic in this place seems different. It's possible that people who never had any magic before can do something with it now. If you write it down, we can definitely try.

[There was just no telling what would happen, and that was a cause for worry.]

[frogfear]

It might be worth a shot. I mean, it's better than nothing? And there's got to be some way to make sure we don't get stuck. I've been worrying about that too - especially the first night it happened. I haven't really tried casting any of my old spells since we got here. The magic here feels so much different, I've been a little reluctant to try. I don't want anything backfiring and someone getting hurt.

[She shares his fears on this easily, especially given she's seen people get stuck in animal forms first hand, and in particular since she has figured out she needs to be close to her sleeping form in order to wake up.]

We'll just have to help each other and watch out for each other as much as we can.

[justoscar]

I... haven't really tried any magic except my owl trick either.

[A sigh left his shoulders sagging under the weight of his admission. A part of him was ashamed; after all, he was supposed to be a wizard's apprentice.]

After watching everything with Ruby, I'm kind of afraid to. We don't need any more fireworks right now. Instead, you're right. We need to be standing together.

And, trying to find better ways to put out fires.

[frogfear]

Maybe we should try. I mean, it's probably better to try when we don't really need it than to get into a situation where we have to and have something go wrong.

[She can't help but think of the times her spells failed in Deerington - from the Hound easily breaking through her protective barrier, to the confrontation with Salem.]

At least then if something goes wrong, we can help each other.

[She manages a little smile.]

Maybe we can find, like, a little fire to water spell for Ruby.

[justoscar]

Yeah... you're right.

[They didn't need fireworks, but they didn't need any surprises either.]

I was planning to learn different ways of doing magic anyway. This is a pretty good way to start.

[frogfear]

I mean, I don't know if fire to water is going to be the most helpful spell, but we can try it. When I first started really practicing, I learned to turn ice into fire, but that's definitely a lot less helpful and probably shouldn't be done in the house.

[She absolutely did that spell in the house as a teenager. Oops.]

[justoscar]

[Just. A sassy eyebrow.

Though he was a teenager in presence and demeanor, the more adult part of him recognized this tactic for what it was.]

None of this really should be done in the house, Willow.

[He chuckled.]

We kinda don't have a choice right now.

[frogfear]

[Willow grins and shrugs. He might recognize the tactic, but it was still worth a try.]

No, I guess we really don't. I mean, it seems pretty cruel to make Ruby sleep out in the rain just because she keeps catching fire.

[justoscar]

Yeah. The living room can burn before we let that happen. Hopefully, it won't have to.

[frogfear]

Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure something out before it comes down to either sleeping outside or burning down the whole house.

There's supposed to be like a library not far from here, I guess - maybe we can go do a little research and see what we can find. I mean, she can't be the first person this has ever happened to, right?

[justoscar]

You're right... And, she probably won't the last either.

That's a good idea. We should check it out and see what their reference shelves has.

[frogfear]

Yeah, that's true. She probably won't be. It'd be good to have a solution for the next person who has the same problem too.

[She smiles a little.]

Besides, a little library time might be just what we both need for the insomnia problem, huh? Kinda let us switch focus for a little bit?

[justoscar]

Yeah. We can pick up some light reading, too!

[It had been too long since he indulged in a fantastic adventure novel. This seems like the perfect chance!]

We are in the academic district, right? There should be plenty of places to get books. Let's check them out soon.

[frogfear]

Yeah, of course!

[Some light reading too sounds like a good idea to help them both unwind and maybe find some rest.]

Maybe we can go do a little exploring tomorrow and check things out, and see where the best places to go for books are?