#faetience

[faeveries]

DUBIOUS MAGIC (1/3)

A snippet from an AU RP with @orionsjester ! Megumi belongs to them :)

Context: A month after going missing, Olvia Sábado is found on the side of the road, on the brink of death. Now discharged from the hospital, she and Megumi try to return to their normal lives. But the guilt felt by both parties is insurmountable, and Olvia gives in and uses a magic necklace to show him what really happened that night.

Words: 657/1499

[PART1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

The door flickers and a hologram-like version of it appears, milky with soft speckles, as if filtered through the moonstone talisman. The not-door swings open, and in comes a pair of not-people in their moonstone light. Megumi spins into the entryway, laughing, carrying a giggling Olvia in his arms.

She erupts into laughter as he peppers her face with kisses. ”I know it’s late, but this is the Blue Moon we’re talking about! Once in a lifetime chance!”

”I would come over regardless,” he hums, earning himself a big smooch on the cheek.

The holographic couple pass by their flesh and bone counterparts, giggling and murmuring and laughing until they disappear behind the sheer curtains leading to the backyard…

…To sit in the grass and watch the moon and stars. To hold hands as a light show unfolds in the sky. To talk about space and stars and wonder does magic exist the same on other planets? and maybe it won’t be magic to them. Megumi knows all these things to be true, knows what happens next in this not-world, because it is exactly what happened the night before she disappeared.

“Olvy, I- I can’t watch this again,” he croaks.

Olvia says nothing. Her grip is steel around his wrist.

Yelling. The holographic couple flickers into the room, Megumi’s expression panicked, Olvia’s glaring.

“No, Olvy, it’s too dangerous!”

“This is the only night we can do this; with the Blue Moon, all the gates are open and closer to our world than they ever will be. It’s- it’s- it’s the only way, and Goddesses know when it’ll happen again.”

“O-Olvy. Olvy. Listen to yourself. Please. You want to-“

He squeaks when she grabs his elbows, eyes boring into his. ”I have had nightmares these past few days. Of you, crumbling to dust in my arms. And all I could do is watch.” Her grip tightens as she clenches her teeth. “It’s—it’s all too real. This is the only way to prevent it from actually happening.”

Tears prick his eyes. “Olvy, please. I can’t lose you.”

Olvia leans in and searches his face for one, harrowing, second, before she releases and steps back, looking away.

”…You’re right, it is dangerous… Let’s take a break, then have some hot cocoa together,” she murmurs.

Megumi sighs. The anxiety is so clear on his face, yet he can’t get himself to voice it. He swallows thickly. “…Okay. Okay.” He sighs again and scrubs his face. ”…Okay, okay… I’m… sorry.” And he leaves, heading towards the bathroom.

”…Not your fault,” she murmurs to his retreating figure.

The door closes behind him, and the vision flickers as a strange sensation tickles the real Megumi’s brain, like a wire disconnecting. Olvia’s grip tightens once more. If he listens, he could hear her breathing heavily.

…Not-Olvy stares at the door a while. Expression slowly draining, drop by drop, until blank. She pushes herself off the couch and enters the kitchen, starting the kettle, grabbing items. A single mug, a single packet. She empties the cocoa mix into the mug, and when the kettle begins to scream at her, the hot water too. She stares into the murky water for a long, long moment… and produces a tiny bottle from her sleeve. One drop, two. Mix it in. Stare at the liquid.

Stare at the door.

When it finally opens, her expression brightens into a sweet smile. Megumi’s face relaxes instantly, and he scoops her up into a tight hug.

”I’m sorry,” he breathes into her hair. ”I’m so sorry, Olvy. But I c-“

”It’s ok, Megs. It’s ok.” She grins and holds up the mug. “Hot cocoa?”

He looks at her with an expression so soft, so full of love. And he takes the mug, takes the sip, and gives it back so she could have some too. ”Tha-“

The sound scarcely leaves his mouth before his eyes roll back and he topples over.

[PART 2]

[faeveries]

DUBIOUS MAGIC (2/3)

A snippet from an AU RP with @orionsjester ! Megumi belongs to them :)

Context: A month after going missing, Olvia Sábado is found on the side of the road, on the brink of death. Now discharged from the hospital, she and Megumi try to return to their normal lives. But the guilt felt by both parties is insurmountable, and Olvia gives in and uses a magic necklace to show him what really happened that night.

Words: 479/1499

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

The sound scarcely leaves his mouth before his eyes roll back and he topples over. She moves to catch him, but—THUNK. There he go. Olvia cringes.

”Shit... That was unintentional, I swear,” she murmurs to the sleeping figure sprawled on the floor. She grabs him by the wrists and drags him into the closest bedroom. When she reappears, strikingly Megs-less, she lets out a long breath and looks around.

“…Okay. So that didn’t work out. But plans rarely do, eh, Olvy?”

The vision flickers again and speeds up. Olvy pushes furniture aside for more floor space. Grabs chalk, candles, a lighter, dumping everything onto the counter. The vision slows to normal speed. She kneels on the ground, chalk in hand, inching closer to the floor…

”Aw, stars, Olvy, you forgot the most important part! It’s a miracle you survived this far.” She hops to her feet, flickers out of sight, and reappears with a dog-eared tome in hand. With the reverence of an acolyte, she places the behemoth on the ground and flicks through the pages before landing on one with a green, dove-embroidered bookmark.

And she gets to drawing.

A large circle, two smaller ones outside (during which she murmurs something about Mickey Mouse), and even smaller ones in each of the three to create borders.

“…Now the fun part.”

She begins to draw within the borders, curving lines connecting intricate symbols, and when the chalk begins to curl and react to her marks, she sighs in relief and wipes her forehead. Oh—she’s sweating. She didn’t even realize.

…Hopefully it won’t smudge anything.

When the borders are done she moves on to the candles, carefully placing them outside the circles, measuring distances while glancing at the book. She draws lines radiating from the candles, lines connecting them to each other and the circles. She lights each one, following a specific order. And when she finishes, shirt soaked with sweat, she stands and steps away. Her eyes widen. It’s…

“…A map of the sky. Of course it is,” she murmurs. “Candles for stars, big circle for the moon, little circles for the Earth and… Sun.” She bites her lip and stares at the empty circle to her right. Eyes wide. Lips beginning to bleed. Finally, she sighs and storms off, flickering out of sight. She reappears with a lion plush, drops it into the circle, and slaps a Hi! My name is: MEGS sticker on it.

“I love irony.”

The plush droops in response. :(.

With a weary chuckle, she steps into her own circle, the Earth one, and undos her hair. An ocean of green waves poofs out. A dagger slips out of her sleeve, and she slices off a chunk of hair without a second thought.

Inhale. Exhale. Her knuckles are white around the cool touch of metal.

And she tosses the hair in.

[PART 3]

[faeveries]

DUBIOUS MAGIC (3/3)

A snippet from an AU RP with @orionsjester ! Megumi belongs to them :)

Context: A month after going missing, Olvia Sábado is found on the side of the road, on the brink of death. Now discharged from the hospital, she and Megumi try to return to their normal lives. But the guilt felt by both parties is insurmountable, and Olvia gives in and uses a magic necklace to show him what really happened that night.

Words: 363/1499

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

And she tosses the hair in.

The hair disintegrates into white flame and ashes before it touches the ground. The candles flare blindingly bright. The chalk begins to glow and move, as if gears in a clock or…

”…A planetarium,” she murmurs in awe. As the chalk moves the candles flicker, dimming and brightening like constellations passing through the sky. They spin and spin until…

Everything stops. The lights, the chalk, Olvia. The woman can scarcely breathe as the room goes dark. The candles reignite, softly, in small oval clusters, starting from the door and moving towards the circle. Each patch fades after the other, like… footsteps. The lion begins to shake, but Olvia is too enraptured by the light to notice. The sound of fluttering fills the air—pages, feathers buffeting in an imaginary wind. The steps shine brighter and brighter, the lion shakes more and more, until the light touches the circle.

And the lion explodes.

”…Oh.”

All hell breaks loose. A horrifying, eldritch wail rips through the air, as if the sky itself was tearing open. The candles and circles burst into a fire as tall as the roof. The wail morphs into screeches of pain as the inferno contorts, thrashing around the room as it shifts wildly from a deep, angry red, to a sickly green, a despairing blue, and an eye-burning pink. It scorches the floor, the furniture. Yanks cabinets from their hinges, tears curtains apart.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-“ Olvia, hyperventilating, tries to yank herself free of the circle, but her shoes are stuck to the floor. Her dagger glints in the rainbow light, but before she can cut herself free, the flame turns towards her and barrels into her chest. The image flickers violently before cutting out as Olvia’s scream fades into silence.

…The Not Not-Olvia (aka, the real Olvy), has frozen solid. Sweat drips down her face and her breaths come in slow, quiet pants. One hand clenches Megumi’s wrist, and the other is latched onto her shirt, twisting it. The deer in headlights look is on her face again as she stares blankly at a memory that is no longer there.

[FIN.]