#savekurt

[alyricalberry]

04/27/2018 || Testimony - Rachel Barbra Berry 🌟

[Rachel was nervous. She'd testified before, of course, at the AAA trial two years ago, but that trial hadn't exactly ended well. But she felt prepared for this one. Fuchs deserved to pay for what he did and Rachel knew that if her and her friends' testimonies weren't strong enough, he wouldn't. So she had to keep a level head through this. Walters was going to try to tear them down, so her testimony had to be airtight. She could do this. She sat on the witness stand and swore to tell the truth before beginning. She'd already thought about what she was going to say]

Rachel: On January 26th, a group of NYADA students and I went to the brownstone. We knew that Kurt Hummel had gone missing and after some investigation, we were led there. We devised a plan to get Kurt out and went in. Our group was separated, and Blaine Anderson and I ended up finding our way into a greenhouse after having gone through a hallway with graphic pictures of L. Naturae hanging on the walls.

[Rachel paused and took a deep breath, remembering the disgust she had felt.]

Rachel: I remember the plants in the greenhouse being mostly dead, rotting. It smelled terrible. Kurt Hummel and Kirk Hammill were both there, looking hurt and near-starved. Blaine and I helped them both, I tried healing them as much as I could. Blaine took Kirk and I went with Kurt to find Santana Lopez.

Rachel: I used a spell to find Santana. hen Kurt and I got to the office, we saw her there with Dedric Fuchs. He had her trapped. He was wearing white gloves of some sort. He attacked us when we walked in, trapping our ankles in the carpet. When we tried to counter-attack, he took Santana and used her as a shield from one of my spells. It seemed like he knew he was losing. He put his hands on the wall and cast a spell—he said something about burning memories— to set the office ablaze. Kurt, Santana, and I were barely able to escape.

[Rachel could feel her hands shaking. She had to wrap this up before she lost the calm composure she'd been able to keep up until now.]

Rachel: There is no doubt in mind that Dedric Fuchs had kidnapped Kurt since he seemed to be in the process of doing the same to Santana and burned down the house to hide the evidence of what he'd done in the brownstone.

[infinnite]

( self para )

Finn was waiting on the front step of the man’s brownstone house, trying not to look suspicious as each member of the team went inside. He wanted to go in too, kick down the doors like he could in Call of Duty or burst in like a character from Overwatch, but he knew he was nothing but a supporting dude in this scene. ‘Maybe someday I’ll actually be something more than that.’ He thought. ‘Nahh, who are you kidding, Hudson.’ Finn stroked the side of his head and thought hard to focus on the gross cold desire that the man had shown when he had met Santana. This fucking pervert made Finn feel so sick inside and maybe that was lucky that this emotion was so clear to grab onto. Finn could hear the pull of other moods inside but they were one single note of self-hating obsessiveness. Finn didn’t get pulled under it even though it was something he could empathize with easy on the spot. It was the feeling of being stuck in Ohio and knowing he was rotting away. No wonder Finn’s dad left him.

‘Shit, don’t think that shit.’ Finn thought. Finn was the lookout. He had to only look out. He wasn’t no leader who stabilized people like Blaine, or did things to action like LN dudes. He couldn’t even heal right like Sam and Quinn. Finn was lookout. Everyone was capable af. Tina with her magic. And the best of the fucking best, Puck had gone in there too, so it was gonna be aight. Finn had the sticker that Santana had slapped on him. He had everyone’s numbers to send the group text if he sensed anything wrong. It was gonna be aight. ‘Christ Hudson, you’re a piece of shit.’ Finn thought and shook it off. ‘Concentrate on that motherfucker, idiot. Don’t let the other moods affect you. C’mon remember Liberty Island? That was you, you sonnuva. That was you. It changes everything.’ He had no damn clue on how to send his encouragement to everyone through the house and receive that man’s mood at the same time, but he sure wished everyone well. That Mr. P guy had no idea what was happening.

Finn breathed hard when a sharp realization ran through him. “Oh fucking shit.” The dull cold was turned up into a blizzard inside Finn’s skin. The amusement was gone. In its stead was preying anger and the desire to fuck up someone for fun. “Santana!” Finn quickly thumbed the keys to text everyone with shaking hands.

[Text] GET THE FUCK OUT NOW

[gotmattitude]

1.22.18 @ ~11:15

[Matt battles with his shoe as he gets ready to meet his group members for the presentation, and he considers, for the hundredth time, if he should even show up. Going to class and doing schoolwork at this point is just going through the motions, something that numbs and distracts; and that is exactly the point. He’s not falling for it.

The aetherdamn geek that still lives in a corner of his mind insists, though.

He finally slips on his shoe and he throws on a jacket just as he walks out of the door. Then he kicks it closed as he sends a text to his team announcing he’s on his way, when something catches his eye.

Movement.

From Kurt’s room.]

[Everything freezes for a moment, and he stares. Someone who is definitely not Kurt, and who doesn’t look nearly emotionally invested enough to be family, is emptying out the room. Cold dread settles in the pit of his stomach, pushing him to approach the--what are they? Government officials? 

“Hey,” he says, and immediately regrets it. Government officials, Matthew. “What’s going on,” he scrambles to think of something polite to say, “officers?” 

“I am afraid that due to privacy concerns I cannot answer that question.” The agent dismisses him, and goes right back to packing up his stuff; clothes, bed sheets... 

“What does that mean? Did you find Kurt?” Matt tries to peek into the room, but the other agent walks right in front of him, so close he practically gets a damn nose boop from their shoulder blades. 

“In order to protect the student’s privacy, we can´t--”

“You can’t tell me shit. Right.”

He goes back into his dorm, but leaves the door ajar so he can keep an eye on them. Why would they clear the room? They don’t look like they’re gathering evidence; it just looks like they’re clearing it out. And why would they do that unless-- No, this is not the time to freak out and run around like a headless chicken. He texts Santana.]

[alyricalberry]

[Santana and the Santanitas] : Group text (Santana, Elliott, Marley, Matt, Dani, Tina, Rachel, Blaine)

Elliott: Because if someone cared to look for him in an official way then they will see Kurt as "deceased" and stop looking, but we were a step ahead with Santana and Matt's deal. We already know he is alive somewhere.

Elliott: Definitely there is someone or a group of people... that are trying really hard to hide Kurt.

Elliott: But why?

Elliott: Oh aether... kidnapping...

Elliott: Well, I don't know if they all lived near the area, but definitely some of the disappearings are very similar's to Kurt, so that connects them somehow. We should look it up.

Dani: True...

Dani: Completely unrelated to this.

Dani: Oh aether is the same as "oh god," right?

Dani: But yes! We should check, I´ll try and talk to some of the missing students´ friends tomorrow. Has anyone gone and talked with Kurt´s boss? In that place he worked?

Rachel: I can speak with his boss at Divine Design tomorrow.

Rachel: Yes it does.

Rachel: Why would anyone want to kidnap him? It makes no sense.

[shiftingdani]

[ It´s with horror that Dani notices that all the people she cares about, all the people she´s come to know over the past months. are HERE.

There´s no one back at NYADA, or in New York itself, that isn´t putting his life on the line right now.

She thinks about Kurt. The only person who´s accepted her and who understood how she felt.

Santana, who´s been fierce from day one and who still blushes around her.

She thinks of Sam, who shouldn´t be kind to someone like her, but who is.

Tina, who seems so closed off, but who has a good heart.

Quinn, who´s worth much more than she believes she is.

Blaine, who´s probably the kindest of them all.

Matt, who´s heart is in the right place, who´d give his life for his friends.

Elliott, who´s accepted her and pointed her in the right direction. Who opened up to her so she could do the same.

Rachel, who´s much kinder than anyone gives her credit for. And who loves Wicked as much as Dani does.

And Marley. With her beautiful eyes and a smile that could brighten up Dani´s world. And maybe she´s not in love with her yet, but Aether what if she never gets the chance to TRY?

Please be alright. She thinks. Please let me find you. ]

[cohentoplaywithmagic]

not the only ones | self para

WHO→ Tina Cohen-Chang and others. WHERE→ Brooklyn, Abandon City Hall Station & Manhattan’s Times Square WHEN→ Wednesday 24th January 2018, Evening  WHAT→  Tina walks up to face that she shouldn’t be doing the spell. WARNING→ Blood mention, swearing, death mention.

Something warm and fluffy is brushing against her cheek, as she sterns waking herself from a drained sleep. She rubs her tired eyes gathering her bearings to see nothing but a starless sky twinkling above her. It had only been the early hours of dawn since she had been here, how long had she been out cold? Tina shoots up, as the night sky flickers, nothing but an illusion that slowly dissolves a flaking wooden ceiling.

Jumping at the feeling of something fluffy on her shoulder, she leaps out falling from her sleeping haven to the floor. The fluffy thing, jumping onto her chest. Tina holds her arms up to guard herself in a blind panic but groans as a dull ache are present in her left hand. Her hand was wrapped in a bandage tightly. 

“What the...aether...” she whispers to herself. 

Once again the fluffy monster jumps this time on her face. Tina isn’t alarmed as she pulls the fluffy beast from her face watching their tiny nose twitch with their whiskers moving in a positive motion.

”Alice!’ she clings onto her tutor’s familiar but gulps deeply. If Alice was here, meant her tutor was not too far behind. She wishes she was mistaken but, aether was she right.

Click, click. The sound of fingers tapping away on a keyboard was never a good sign, with the clicking of the mouse, but she knew it was not just any mouse. From the scrapping friction of a finger tracing over the mousepad to a thunderous click, someone was on her laptop. Her mouth feels dry knowing things that could be found on her laptop fallen into the wrong hands. The tech witch really needs to upgrade her protection programs. If it was easy as just accessing her laptop while left open, the horrors that people might find. 

Her eyes look up at to the dusty, worn out armchair where he sat, her laptop perched on his crossed knees. One hand clicking away from the other had a cup of tea. His gaze falls to the tech witch, cold and vacant. 

““ E 7r4(|<4\/\/17(|-|.exe,” he stated the download like a vile taste in his mouth, though he does not wait for her to answer. He knows he won’t get one from her, as this was Tina he was talking too after all. “Elite speech though, really child?”

Tina shifts herself so she back is leaning against the couch, looking up at him. Nothing really gets by his prying eyes. “Elite speech is not my thing, you know I prefer binary code...or the codes I create.”

“Your codes are terrible,” Cid keeps on scrolling through,”Terrible because no one is able to understand them but you.”

“Isn’t that the point?” Tina darkly laughs. 

Cid shuts her laptop, taking a long sip of his earl grey. He allows the warm liquid to slip down his throat as let’s out a hum, “Besides the point, people need to know what you are doing so you don’t do something like you did.”

Tina looks away again burring her face away into Alice’s snow-white fur. 

“So are you going to tell me what you were doing back there?”

“You know what I was doing back there,” she grumbles.

He plays it coy,”Oh I know it was a tracking spell or should I say a hacking spell, I warned you of this before but seems like you don’t seem to heed my warnings all too well, Tina. They are only empty words to you. Out one ear and out the other. So please enlighten me to what the spell you were doing down there with the downloads and the pictures.” 

“You were the one who stopped the power?” Tina squints her eyes at the old man. Her words a little woozy as rest was something that she felt the need for. 

Cid only smirks. She fully knows well that it was him who stops the power. “Now who was it you were tracking child? Or should I take a wild guess? The Anderson child seems to be safe...for now at least, so it can’t be him.” Cid leans forward in his seat, “I've stumped her Tina if it is not your Blainey Days, who must it be?”

Tina can only but laugh, “You work from the UMC Cid, surely you know what has been going on since the doors appeared...again.”

“Again?!” Cid arches an eyebrow in surprise. “Child what do you mean again!?”

She covers her mouth with fears she has already shared so much. But something softer seems to ease up in Cid’s eyes, the constant questions felt like for once he was honestly surprised by what she has to tell him. He removes his hat, holding it low. “Please, Tina...what do you mean again?” 

“I’m not going into specifics but this isn’t the first time I’ve....we’ve experienced the doors,” she hugs herself, “But this time...you know how it has been for the LN.”

Tina had only known Cid for a few years now but never has she seen him like his. He lowers himself down so he is next to her. She doesn’t say nothing as he is taking the thoughts in himself. “Tina...” he says her name alarmed at how much she has endured. “Give me your hand.” 

“What?”

“Just give me your hand....no the left one,” he held out his hand, as she rested her bandaged hand on his. Slowly he starts to unravel the bandage, allowing to fall to the floor. “Look at your hand. You scar and you bleed. You are a human Tina, even if you are a witch, you bleed. You should never put yourself in harm's way.”

She scatches her hand away, “You are telling me that I should be careful but that is all I ever am is careful. To be careful means that I am doing nothing, being useless.”

“You would be useless if you were to get caught,” Cid retorts. 

“I can’t please everyone can I.”

“You really can’t,” Cid tells her simply. “How important is the person that you are trying to seek?”

“Important to people I know.”

“To you?”

“That doesn’t matter.” 

He passes her a card that read ‘aid’. “Bandage your hand, there is something I want to show you.” 

                                             ******************

Time flew by in silence as they made their way from Brooklynn to Manhatten. As the student and tutor walked a distance apart: Cid leading and Tina following lagging behind. 

“Keep up child,” he calls behind.

Tina stifles back a yawn, “Where are you even taking me?” 

He doesn’t say anything just swishing his trench coat dramatically in the direction they need to be. Cid keeps on walking and she follows. Though the strain of the spell was starting to take a toll on her, as her bones were screaming in exhausting, her legs were starting to cave in. And never before has she wanted her bed as much as she wants it right now. Yet she follows her tutor waiting to see a lesson he tries to teach her. She tugs onto her cardigan as the night wind blows, making it slightly harder for her to stand up straight. Tina stumbles a little, but Cid places a hand on her back making her stand straighter. 

“Be respectful,” he whispers to her.

Tina looks up as there are a sea of candles in front of her. She gulps as memories came back from that one time in high school were most students held the candles as bouquets of flowers laid in front of the missing girl locker. That time did not hold a light to the people that were standing here. Anguish, fear, lost and frustration was fueling the night air.  These were not witches, these were Commons. A few stand in protest lost in their sing-song chanting to grab the attention that is needed. No answers were given to the commons. Everything they knew was simply a lie but this lie was better, peaceful even despite the many that had been lost. 

Tina remains solemn through the protesting mourners, sticking close by to Cid as he weaves his way through the crowd, bowing his head to each person they pass. Strangers, all suffering a similar heartache to lost and missing. Some stranger hands them both empty candles, others offer to light them as they walk the opposite direction. She bows her head down watching as the flame flickers against the cold air trying to hold strong. 

Cid walks over to a well-built man and a slightly shorter ginger girl. He greets the man with two kisses on the cheek with a firming handshake. The girl, with a ruffle to her hair and a one arm hug. Tina stands there with half a smile on her face.

“Ace and Jackie,” Cid nods in Tina’s direction, “This is the student I’ve spoken about.”

Tina gives a slight wave getting a grant from the two of them. 

“A witch?” spat the well-built man who she assumed was Ace. 

“Nothing wrong with witches, Ace. We’ze been with this old geezer for aether how many years?” Jackie sniggers. 

“Not enough,” Cid jokes but expression changes, “Has there been any luck with King?” 

Tina looks up at Cid as twinkle as if he is about to cry wanting there to be some remnants of hope. As the two exchange looks from the ground to one another, Tina knows it is not good news. Cid certainly knows that it is not good news at all.  

“They took his things this morning, Cid,” Jackie explains snapping her fingers, “Everything gone, like that.”

“I fucking hate it,” Ace lashes out, crushing the candle too easily in his hold, “He was here the other day and gone the next. Sure King likes to bounce but the idiot knows not to get in trouble, that sly motherfucker. He can’t be fucking gone.” Ace is breathing heavily. “Missing but treated like a criminal...because of what we are.”

Cid is not saying a word at all. He purses his lip shut. Tina looks at her tutor the first time he might have conveyed some sort of information.

“I’m sorry,” Tina pipes up a little, bowing her head to Ace and Jackie. “I hope you find your friend.”

“Fuck friend, he is family!” Jackie adds. 

“Family is the most important thing,” Tina comments stupidly, “I hope King is safe.” 

“Polite little one she is Cid-ers,” Jackie nudges him.

He finally smirks, “I taught her well....but if you excuse me we have to get going.”

Cid storms ahead pulling his hat further down as he walks away from Tina. Seems like everything was rippling further than it seems. 

[agentfenris]

#SaveDomino but maybe also #SaveKurt k thx #brooklyn

[aquaevans]

Just a puzzle piece

Who: Dani Harper and Sam Evans ( @shiftingdani)

When: 1/24/2018, morning

Where: NYADA, a bus, Manhattan Branch of the LN Protection Committee, cafe

What: Dani and Sam elect to skip classes and hopefully get answers about Kurt.

General Notes: Just a Bloodline and an LN casually sneaking out of school to do what needs to be done. Brief passing mention at the end of Sam watching what he eats.  

Dani had to admit that she didn´t really mind skipping classes. Sure, most of them had been interesting, but ever since hearing about Ellie she hadn´t felt like doing much and saving Kurt should really be their top priority. So when Sam told her that he was game with skipping at least the first few periods to sneak out to Manhattan she hadn´t hesitated. With her hair brown and her whole appearance rather discreet she snuck as far away from her student´s building as she could, waiting for Sam to meet her.

Sam really felt like having classes was pointless right now. He found that even as he tried to attend, all he could think about was the missing classmates and how the professors just seemed to be going about their day like it was normal. The only person he found himself thinking of besides Brett was Kurt. So while he probably shouldn't be encouraging Dani to skip classes, who was he to say no when he didn't even want to be there himself? Making up some excuse that he had some bad pizza the night before, he sent an e-mail out before heading to the student building where Dani was. Waving at the girl, he put his hands in his coat pocket to keep them warm from the cold. "Hey, ready to go?"

Dani knew she wouldn´t have been able to concentrate on her classes anyways, not with Ellie dead and so many of her classmates missing. She didn´t know many of them personally, apart from Kurt, but she had a feeling they were still somewhere out there and she couldn´t stand the thought that they were hoping for someone to come and rescue them, only to learn that nobody cared. When she found Sam approaching she pushed the hood back a little so she could see him. "Ready," She nodded. "And...thanks for coming with me." The truth was: She would have probably been able to sneak out looking like someone else, but that would have been illegal and while Dani didn´t care all that much about breaking the law she knew she wouldn´t be able to help Kurt, or the others, if she was in a cell.

Sam nodded politely and gave her a small smile. In truth, he felt guilty for even so much as trying to look happy. He just felt like anything that he did would be taken the wrong way and he liked Dani, he didn't want her to think badly of him. But this wasn't about him so he kept those insecurities to himself. "Of course, this is important and we need to find out what's going on." There were people out there who were depending on them to keep their voices heard and they couldn't let them down. No one was around to stop them at least and he led the way off campus. "Was there any place in particular you wanted to check?" He asked by way of getting a sense of direction.

Dani shuffled close to Sam, just to be sure, but there was nobody stopping them. It was strange, how this place had become like a prison to her, but as soon as she was with a witch it seemed like she could just walk out the door and never return. And maybe she would some day, maybe she´d have to use one of her friends to do it, but for now she´d focus on Kurt. "I´ve read about the LN protection committee, they have an office in downtown Manhattan," She explained as they walked. "Maybe we can have an insight on Kurt´s file. Or ask about him. I don´t know if they´ve got anything, but it´s worth a try," It was sure as hell better than sitting around.

Sam had thought about going to the committee, but he wasn't too sure how he'd be received, someone wondering why a Bloodline cared about an LN. But hopefully no one would ignore them and if anything, he could use his status to get answers. He hated the thought of doing so but like Santana once said, sometimes you had to use your privilege to get the answers you wanted. "I know where it is. They could have something we could find useful." There was never any harm in looking. If it helped Kurt or any of their missing classmates, then how could they not check? Finding the bus stop for downtown, they didn't have to wait long before the bus arrived.

Dani settled into the seat next to Sam silently. She would have been bothered to make conversation, but she was exhausted. Everything that had been happening during the last few days had drained the energy from her and she had to force herself to get out of bed. Maybe the search for Kurt was what kept her from going completely insane. And Marley. Marley helped too. She pushed the thought aside as she pulled the rope to get the bus to stop. "So..." She eventually speaks up, just to make conversation at all. "This whole AMS campaigning thing...what´s that all about?"

Sam was quiet on the bus for a moment, keeping an eye out for anyone who could look at them and recognize at least him as a witch. He wanted to protect Dani at all costs since he didn't even know what was happening. Her voice was a bit of a surprise but when she spoke, a feeling of guilt went through his stomach, thinking of the campaigning he should be doing but elected not to do. "Oh, witches and LN students can campaign to be representatives for each of their colleges. For example, one of the LN students can be a rep for Aequitas, a student from Florence Farr can represent their year, like that. They work with the other reps at their college to work towards making events, classes and changes for the better. So those who are running are preparing to give a speech this weekend so students can vote and decide if they want them to represent their college for the year."

Dani listened to his explanation as they got off the bus. Once they stood on the sidewalk she linked her arm with his, just to be save. She hadn´t been in Manhattan since hearing about Ellie´s death and while it was highly unlikely to run into any of her old friends she was still a little uneasy about it. "Oh, so it´s basically like running for class president, only bigger." She nodded, she had only seen a couple of posters around campus as she had walked around. "Is anyone we know campaigning?" She then wondered out loud, more to herself than for him to answer really.

Sam accepted her arm with his, keeping her close but making sure she had her own space so he wasn't bothering her. Nodding his head, Sam understood what she meant when she made the statement. "Yeah, although not everyone seems to be in the mood to campaign." he wrinkled his brow as he thought of the anon he had seen Finn answer, but was he going to campaign? "I saw something on Tumblr about Finn being nominated but I don't know if he's running. I know Quinn was planning on it, but I haven't seen anything from her on it now that I think of it." It seemed like everyone was more focused on the missing students than AMS. He was honestly curious why the AMS thought it was a good idea to run at the same time. He was almost losing himself in his thoughts so he looked at her. "I was going to begin my campaign for second year rep, but it didn't feel right to while so many people were missing. How could I speak for my school when so much was going on, you know?"

Dani glanced over at him, lips curving into a soft smile. "That´s a good, you know? Maybe they did it to distract people. Or maybe this is the time for people to show their true faces. Both the people who run and those who vote. If you´re willing to vote for someone who doesn´t care about missing students, no matter their heritage, then you´re a scumbag." Dani rounded the corner and the building they were looking for came in sight. It was strange, he had passed the building many times while living here, but she had never known what was inside.

Sam found he couldn't argue with her there. There was no telling what anyone said versus what they actually felt. And he was actually...kind of annoyed with the people he had seen campaigning, some of whom had said good things about their LN peers. "Couldn't have said it better myself," he told her honestly as they found the building. He had been here a couple times when his parents showed him where UMC branches were located in case he ever did need to come. But he never expected to need to do it like this. "Let's see what happens." He said, hoping they could find an answer somehow.

Dani offered him another smile, glad he seemed to be agreeing with her. She hadn´t known whether she´d get along with witches at all, especially after running into Quinn and also Hunter ( she was still bitter about his cookie betrayal ) but she had found some friends in witches. Tina, Sam, Rachel and Blaine had accepted her for who she was, even though she hadn´t been so sure herself, and she´d never forget that. "Alright," She nodded then, unlinking her arm from his and pushing open the door.

Sam walked inside and could see that it was a bit busy. People were walking quickly, some on their phones or looking at papers in their hands. There was a crowd of people, some who appeared to be LN based on the posters in their hands, and some officials trying to get them to calm down. They walked to the reception desk and Sam cleared his throat. "Yes, how can I help you?" the woman asked. "Hi." He said before clearing his throat, "My name is Sam and this is Dani. We were hoping to find out some information about a friend of ours who is missing."

Dani followed Sam inside, taking everything in. The people passing by, other´s who were on the phone, and somehow she could feel that the atmopsphere was tense. Which it should have been, given what had happened over the past couple of weeks. Dani ended up with a flyer in her hand and she nodded at the girl before coming to a stop next to Sam. "Yes, we´ve been worried about him. They´ve been cleaning out his room and they wouldn´t even tell us why." She glanced at the woman, putting on her best teary eyed face, which wasn´t all too hard considering how emotionally compromised she was.

Sam could see the woman was reluctant to say anything and Sam tried to look as sympathetic as possible. "Look, ma'am, I'm sure you have a lot on your plate with so many people missing. But we're really worried about him. For him to be gone this long, it's not right and he has a father." He hoped appealing to the family aspect would work. "Someone misses him and he deserves to have answers." The woman looked at him critically for a moment before sighing, "What's his name?" Sam was slightly surprised it had worked so easily, but at the same time, he also knew that any ounce of sympathy he could drum up for Kurt should be something that could work. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel." Sam said.

Dani kept looking at the woman, a desperate look in her eyes. It might have been a bit much, but considering how many people probably came here every day, asking about missing people, she´d understand if the woman was swamped. Besides, desperate times called for desperate matters, right? Once the woman had typed a few things into her computer she nodded. "Yes. His file was updated on the 19th as we got permission to clear his room." She looked up. "I´m afraid that´s about everything I can tell you."

Sam would have loved to get more information, such as who had updated the file but he sighed. "Not even why you had permission?" He asked, but the look on her face was clear. She wasn't going to give them anything more. "Okay. Thank you for your time." He figured being polite was best, especially if he got fed up enough to come back and try again. Because at this point, it was hard to see whether they took this seriously.

Dani glanced back as the woman sighed, obviously affected by it all, "Wait." She told them, raising an eyebrow. "I can´t tell you who updated the file, that´s classified information, but if a room is cleared it´s either because the things are being moved, or because someone has been declared or assumed dead. Why, however, isn´t something I´m being told," She gave them another pitiful look and Dani nodded, "Thank you for your help," She managed as she turned to link her arm with Sam´s again. "Declared dead. Why would anyone do that?"

Sam was really glad the woman was moved enough to give them something, even if it wasn't very helpful but at least it gave them someplace to look. They at least had two possible courses of action so maybe this meant Kurt wasn't dead. "Yes, thank you." He said by way of being polite before holding onto Dani's arm carefully, keeping her close. Now he just felt even more protective. "I don't know, but to get rid of their things like that without knowing for sure? It's not right. And what are they doing with his things?" It just left him with a weird feeling inside. "I think we've done what we can do for now. We should head back before anyone notices we left." He didn't know who would notice, but at this point, he didn't trust anything.

Dani nodded at his words. "Either they´re trying to cover it all up or they´re declaring all the missing kids dead so they won´t have to go looking for them. But then wouldn´t they have done it to all the kids that were missing on campus?" Something in this equation didn´t make sense, but Dani couldn´t quite put her finger on it. "We´ll still tell the others," She then added as they pushed open the door and moved out onto the street. "Hey," she then stopped, "Wanna grab a coffee before we head back? I know a nice place just around the corner."

Sam thought that there was so much out of place and they honestly didn't have all of the answers. Even if they got answers, they were so little and led to nothing. Or at least nothing they could hold onto that was concrete. "Yeah, they would have. But something isn't right, we just have to keep looking." He nodded in agreement. "Of course. I'm meeting up with Elliott later, I'll let him know what we found." He wasn't in too much of a hurry to go back. Being on campus made him feel off so when she suggested coffee, he nodded. "I'd love to. Lead the way." He said, figuring a nice cup of coffee could help settle his nerves. For now at least.

Dani offered him a smile, nodding. Maybe, if they all worked together, they´d be able to pierce the puzzle together at some point. She just hoped Kurt would still be alive then. She was quick to shake off that thought as she lead Sam down the street and around a corner, towards a small French style café. She hadn´t been here in years, but it still felt like coming home. "Come on," She then smiled as she pushed open the door. "Oh, they also make some mean cupcakes and muffins here."

Sam was really hoping that this would all lead somewhere. Everyone who was missing deserved to come home. He could see the cafe and it looked really cute. When she mentioned cupcakes and muffins, he could feel the need to check his workout routine, but when he thought of it in the grand scheme of things, well, a cupcake was something that could comfort him for the moment. "Now you're talking." He said with a smile as they went inside.

[aquaevans]

for nothing

[Sam thought he would be able to get answers one way or another. He knew there were some Cardines on campus and after all this time, maybe they would be willing to talk.  Asking nicely at the LN Committee had worked yesterday, so maybe he could try again.

He had gone to the student building and saw a couple Cardines speaking with people. So once they finished talking to a student who had come up asking questions, he walked over to them.

“Hi, excuse me, I’m Sam, I was hoping to talk to either of you.”

The man just gave him a onceover and the woman smiled politely. “Yes, young man, I’m Officer Susanna Kim and this is Officer Yamshoe Zester. What do you need?”

“Well, my friends and I have been really worried sick about our friend, Kurt, he hasn’t been seen in weeks and I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about what’s being done to find him and the rest of the LN that are missing.”

Officer Kim gazed at him for a moment before speaking, “We are doing everything we can to find out what has been going on, but unfortunately, I can’t give you any information.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Sam asked tersely. “I’m concerned about how many of my fellow students are missing, my friend Brett’s been missing for almost a month, Kurt’s nowhere to be found, and you can’t tell me anything?”

Yamshoe spoke up then, “We can’t discuss an ongoing case with civilians. Simple as that.” His gaze was harsh, as though daring Sam to keep talking.

Civilians. He was considered a civilian. Sam bit his lip, this close to saying his last name, pointing out he was a Bloodline, that he should know.

But then Marley and Elliott’s faces popped up in his head. Dani’s face and he bit back the retort he was about to give. No, he wasn’t going to use his status to try and get a response. But hadn’t Marley said to use his privilege? He could try but when he looked at Cardines, he could see they weren’t going to budge. It wouldn’t work anyway.

“Thank you for your time.” For nothing, he thought bitterly as he turned and quickly walked away.]

[aquaevans]

coffee and news

[Sam woke up that morning with a purpose. Everything that happened the day before was still running around in his head. Santana, Quinn, Marley, their words were somehow getting him up and going. Even if he had to do this alone, he’d try to see what he could find out.

His morning jog took a little more time than normal. Most students probably thought he was just very pensive but in actuality, he was trying to see what he could hear. Eventually, the cold began to get to him so he ran the few steps it took to get to Coughing Coffee.

It was empty as it had been the last time he was here with Tina. But even though it was still not the same as before, the students seemed pretty chatty today. He was about to sit down when he saw Jared, Brett’s sponsor, talking with another LN, a Satyr.

He walked over to them and cleared his throat. “Hey, mind if I join you?”

“Not at all, man. This is Gemma, she’s a friend of Brett’s too. Gemma, this is Sam. He’s cool, I promise, if a little dense like me.”

Sam couldn’t argue with him there. They both were privileged and just hiding behind it was something they had been learning not to do so much.

“Hello.” Gemma was holding onto her coffee like it was a lifeline. 

“Hi.” He took a seat in between the two, putting his hands out on the table in a show of comfortability, to not make things as awkward, he hoped, because so much was up in the air.  “So, has there been any news?”

Jared shook his head. “No, nothing. Gemma was just telling me the Cardines cleared his room out yesterday, along with a whole bunch of other missing LN’s rooms.”

Sam’s stomach dropped. So that’s what was going on the day before. Wait, other missing LN? Did that mean they also cleared Kurt’s room? 

Gemma sniffed and she looked angrier than she had a moment ago, as if the memory had been tempered by the appearance of someone unfamiliar.  “Like he didn’t matter. Like they didn’t matter. They’re just considered missing, maybe dead. It’s like they don’t even want to look for them. Just get rid of their stuff like they were nothing.”

Sam knew words wouldn’t be enough here. Saying ‘I’m sorry’ was something he was quickly learning did not always work in these kinds of situations. Especially coming from someone like him.

“What about the ones who still have families?” He knew Kurt had his dad, surely that counted for something. “I know someone, a Changeling, pretty sure he still has his dad. They can’t just assume they’re dead without proof, right?” Sam asked, almost hoping.

Jared shrugged his shoulders. “Technically there’s supposed to be a window of time before you can officially declare it, but then again, do those same rules apply to LN?”

Gemma gazed at him harshly. “You know they don’t.” She shook her head. “Forgive me, I can tell you two are trying but it just...I’m so angry.”

“Of everyone in this school, I think you and the rest of the LN can safely say you have nothing to apologize for. Even if some people think otherwise.” Sam muttered the last part under his breath. 

Blinking slowly, he decided he better ask. If this was part of the reason Marley was so angry yesterday, he had to ask. “You don’t by any chance known Kurt Hummel, do you? Would you know if they cleared his room? He’s been missing since New Year’s.”

Gemma turned her gaze to Sam, eyes hard but voice still steady.  “I’ve never met him. But if he’s not on campus, you can be sure his room was cleared out.”

Sam felt sick to his stomach and he pushed his coffee away.  Damn it.]

[aquaevans]

A visit to the hospital

[Sam decided to see if there was a way he could check on people at Avicenna Hospital.  It had been a couple weeks since the Doors happened, but a lot of people still had serious injuries. He knew a couple of people from LNWA who were still hospitalized and thought he could talk to them.

When he arrived, he asked Nurse Penny if there was anything she could tell him about how they were doing.

“Sorry, Mr. Evans, you know the rules. I can’t give out information for their privacy. You can visit but not for too long.”

Sam nodded his head, “Right thanks.”

When he arrived to visit one of his friends, Erin, he smiled kindly. “Hey, how are you doing?”

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl could only smile. She had lost her parents in the disaster and hadn’t been responsive. But today she seemed to be in better spirits, despite everything. “As best as I can. I missed their funeral.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Can I get you anything?”

“i’m good. My friend Melissa bought me some music to try and keep my mind busy. She would not stop talking about the Cardines though.”

Sam wrinkled his brow. “Cardines?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah, apparently there’s a lot of Cardines on campus and security is heightened. They checked every single item in her bag when she came to the hospital.”

Sam was surprised to hear about this. What were the Cardines doing here?]

[aquaevans]

[Something was pushing against him. He could barely make out sounds of someone yelling, pushing until Sam’s eyes opened blearily.  Faintly, he heard the sounds of someone once more,

“Get away from the door if you’re alive in there!”

Blinking himself awake, Sam could barely feel anything but blinding pain and...did he smell smoke?

Rolling away from the door, Sam collapsed back to the floor, but sweet relief did not come as he was lifted into someone’s arms. His head found its way against a broad chest, barely able to move as someone raced him from the room.

He felt something warm against his face, smoke filled his nostrils and when he opened his eyes again, all he saw was smoke.

Soon enough, he was outside, a medic shouting, “Get him over here!” He was dropped down onto something hard and it caused Sam’s eyes to open abruptly.

Slowly turning his head to the side, Sam found himself looking up at the flaming building.

“No...Marley...Dani...Kurt...Rachel...” So many names he wanted to say, but once more, his eyes closed as the pain seared into his body. “Save them...please, save them.”]

[shiftingdani]

What We See In The Fog // Quani

Who: Dani Harper and Quinn Fabray ( @wingedfabray )

When: 1/26/2018, 

Where: Mr. P´s Menagerie ( The Aviary )

What: Quinn and Dani get separated from the group and have to work together to make it through this fog filled room.

General Notes: Quinn and Dani hold hands. Oh yeah and there´s some creepy ass fog and voices that belong to Nephilims who seem to have been sentenced to eternal damnation

Warnings: body horror ish, death mention, child abandonment mention

Quinn didn’t know who had followed her through the open doorway, and she really hadn’t cared. It took everything in her just to push through the door. Tendrils of mist seemed to reach through every open crack, rolling from underneath the frame, reaching for their feet before dissipating into the air around them. It hit her like a wave, when she finally made her way in. It was moist against her cheeks, clinging like dew in her hair. There was a noise that she couldn’t quite make out, yet; shapes in the distance that weren’t really anything. She backed up a step, finally looking over at whoever had followed her through…did they have to? Was this really necessary?

Dani didn´t care who was following her into the room, everyone or no one, but she didn´t notice that it was only Quinn Fabray ( of all people ) and her until they were actually in the room. Where had everyone else gone? How many rooms did this goddamn place have? She noticed the fog a moment later. It seemed to fill up the whole room and for a moment Dani wondered if it was just an illusion, like the one Santana had created earlier this week to distract the agents. There were shapes in the distance, shrouded by the fog, and Dani couldn´t quite make out what they were. "Where the hell are we?" She asked, eyes meeting with Quinn´s.

Quinn met Dani’s eyes, Dani, of course. It seemed like they were the only two who had found the…wherever they were. The place was far too large to get any sort of bearings. “I’m not sure.” She answered honestly, looking forward once more. It was hard to make out anything in the fog, but the distant sound of something, of a lilting cadence of words seemed to tug her feet blindly forward. It sounded familiar, if she could only just get closer. “I’m not sure, but we should keep moving forward, yeah? We already know what’s behind us…”

Dani wasn´t sure how Quinn and her had ended up in this place. Two people who didn´t have much to say to each other. The only words they had exchanged had been pleasantries about their dresses, simply because Dani hadn´t know better about the Bloodlines and her own heritage. Now wasn´t the time to discuss that, however, they had to focus on finding Kurt. "Yeah." She then agreed. If they wanted to find Kurt they had to move forward. "Maybe it´s...some sort of test? To see if we make it through?" Dani then added. "But...we should stick together," She´d been having a bad feeling about this house, but it seemed to only worsen the more she moved into the room.

Quinn ’s footsteps paused. It only made sense, to stick together. The fog was thick, and it only seemed to grow thicker, and she’d learned long ago that some things were better faced in pairs. They might not know each other, but there was no way Quinn was going to tackle whatever this was alone. “Right, together.” She spared a glance a Dani. It made her think of Kurt, new and stumbling into a world full of prejudice and hate. Dani carried herself differently, though. They hadn’t argued. Yet. Quinn sighed, the fog shifting around the breath. “It could be.” She allowed, moving forward. “Aether knows we’ve seen enough of those.” A hovering figure displaced the fog ahead, and Quinn’s breath caught on a yell as she almost stumbled into it. It was barely there, more an echo than an actual shape. But it had cold, empty eyes, arms and legs that dangled from where it hovered just above the ground. “It’s a…” Sylph, but she couldn’t say it. “But it’s…” Her voice caught as she looked at the eyes. There was nothing there, not anymore.

Dani glanced back at Quinn and even though she could barely make out the other´s eyes in the fog she knew that they were thinking the same. They had to make it through, time for arguing, or discussion wasn´t something they had. They had to find Kurt, and Santana for that matter, and for that they had to focus. She barely caught a glimpse of the figure hovering about a feet in the air when she was distracted by Quinn. "What...?" She turned to look, but there was nothing there. Dani frowned. This place was...strange. There was whispering, almost...singing and while she felt drawn towards it she could also feel it weighing her down. It was a feeling she had felt more than enough during the last week so she hadn´t immediately noticed it. "What...are those?" She eventually spoke, glancing between another shape in the distance and Quinn.

Quinn swallowed thickly, taking another step closer. A breeze moved through the air, and the figure seemed to drift with it, fog rolling around translucent limbs. “I think it’s a sylph.” She finally managed, recalling text books growing up. “But it can’t be, they’re myths.” There was no other explanation jumping to mind. She’d seen ghosts, she could still feel the phantom grip of Hunter’s hand in her hair sometimes. This was different. The lilting sound of words grew stronger, and something shifted in the air around them. It was really familiar, but still just too quiet to make out. Someone was singing, many were singing. It was sad and lonely, and Quinn could almost make out the words, if they could just find out where it was coming from… “Dani, you hear that, right?”

Dani frowned. "Sylph?" It was hard for her to grasp that, even in a world of magic, there still seemed to be things that surprised people who were born into that kind of society. But it wasn´t a good kind of surprise, because it meant that neither of them knew what they were doing with. Dani took another step closer to the figure, almost enthranced by it, until she saw the wide eyes and their mouths hanging open. She froze, not quite able to take her eyes off the being. Were they real? Why did they look so pained? Quinn´s voice pulled her back from her thoughts. "What?" She asked, turning to see just how far she had moved from the other woman. "Yes...it´s like...a lullaby," She then returned. "Which is weird because...I never had someone to sing me a lullaby..."

Quinn simply nodded, unable to find the words to describe what they were looking at. She’d explain later; how they’d stumbled upon something old and thought to be a myth, something that shouldn’t be here, only to find it dead. She looked away from the empty eyes and stepped further into the fog. It only seemed to close in further, making the room feel all the more claustrophobic. Quinn unconsciously moved closer to Dani, finding it hard to even see a few feet in front of them. “I don’t think it’s a lullaby.” The sound grew closer, and Quinn swore she heard something rustle. Dead things don’t move, she thought, but the words were growing clearer. They were starting to make sense. Her breath picked up, her hands balled into fists. The sad feeling that had been a small tug in the background before grew until it seemed to permeate the air around them. “It’s Enochian.” She looked at Dani, willing herself to stay calm. But her voice shook, and for the first time since entering she just wanted to stop. “It’s the language of the angels, and they’re…they’re sad, they’re so sad. They’ve been forsaken. They say they deserve this.”

Dani was torn between wanting to know what they were dealing with and also not wanting to know, because she had a feeling she wouldn´t like it. The beings didn't look like they were going to attack though so she figured it could wait. Everything could wait, everything but Kurt. "You actually understand this?" She asked, moving closer to Quinn as she felt another tug on her stomach. At the other´s words she looked at the beings that seemed to appear and disappear into the fog again. "Hey," despite the way this place seemed to weigh her down she could sense that something was off with Quinn too. For a moment Dani hesitated, but then she reached out to take the other woman´s hand. If they were going to get out of this place they´d have to do it together. "Nobody, no matter what they´ve done, deserves this. Alright?" She spoke softly, ignoring the way the sadness seemed to come in waves now, pictures of Ellie, Kurt and various memories of families that hadn´t wanted her, had sent her back, flooding her mind.

Quinn looked to Dani. Her first reaction was to pull her hand away, and she barely suppressed it, fingers twitching then settling. Dani was new to this, to all of it, and Enochian was unfamiliar to even most Witches. But Quinn knew it was more than just a language, that feeling it was inherent to speaking it, to understanding it, and without understanding the words and their context, you were left with just the feelings. And the feelings were harsh, lost and sad and broken. She squeezed Dani’s hand in return. She was really starting to rethink what others deserved, even those she’d spent her whole being told were less. A figure shifted up ahead, feet scuffing against the ground, expansive white wings seeming to droop behind them. It was just visible through the fog, Quinn could just hear the ‘I deserve this. But he’ll help. He’ll help me find Heaven. He’ll help me find God. Oh, oh I’ve been so wrong.’ With a deep breath, Quinn returned in the same language, “You don’t deserve this.” The words seemed loud in the silence that followed. Then everything seemed to move at once, the fog danced around the beat of wings, the voices picked up in volume and fervor.

Dani usually wouldn’t even have thought about holding Quinn‘s hand, and she’d probably deny having done so later, but in that moment it felt as if she needed the other woman to keep herself grounded. To not give into the sadness trying to overwhelm her. She didn’t understand much of what was going on here, but she knew that, whoever was holding Kurt hostage, had also brought these creatures here. She forced herself to take a breath as she focused on one of the beings. „You don’t deserve this,“ she echoed, squeezing Quinn’s hand as she remembered that she had told them this before. „Neither of us deserve the pain we’re feeling!“

Quinn glanced at Dani, caught for a moment. This hurt her, too? There was so much more to this world than the halls of her Lake George mansion, and it felt like she was still discovering it day after day. Through people, through experiences. She wondered if the Nephilim could understand Dani. If they heard either of them. If anything, they only grew louder, ‘No! No, we are damned, we are sins.’ The language was quick fire, full of emotion, quaking with something old and broken. Quinn had never heard Enochian quite like this. “I don’t think we’re helping.” They should move on, they should keep looking for Kurt, but Quinn couldn’t bring herself to move away, to even think of leaving them. “I don’t think they care what we have to say, but…”

Dani didn´t understand what the beings told them, but she could tell that their words were full of pain, pain that translated into her own. But Quinn and her were right, whatever this was, they didn´t deserve this. And Dani didn´t deserve the pain either. None of the pain she had suffered through had been her fault. Ellie´s death hadn´t been her fault. She used her free hand to wipe at her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing that seemed to get harder by the minute. "We have to get out of here..." It might have been a trick, or the beings could have really been trapped here, but as much as she wanted to help Dani knew there wasn´t anything they could do. They´d just be trapped here for eternity. She squeezed Quinn´s hand and pulled the other woman closer. "There has to be a way out of this." She told her. "I´ve survived so much, I´m not dying in a room full of fog with creatures that were probably put here by some maniac that thinks it´s fun to torture and kidnap not only LN but also any other creature he comes across!"

Quinn knew Dani was right, but she still couldn’t bring herself to move. “They’re not…” Creatures, but she’d argued that her entire life, hadn’t she? They’re just creatures. They’re not human. They were beings from the Aether, unstable and dangerous. But they hurt like humans, they cried like humans. Dani’s hand in hers felt just like any other hand, and her voice was just like any other voice. “You’re right, we need to go.” Her feet finally moved, but she couldn’t get the words out of her head, the gentle cadence of the language of the angels. “You’ll be alright.” She said in Enochian. Wings rustled, the fog shifted. “We’ll find him, and we’ll end this. You’ll be alright.”

Dani had no idea what these creatures really were, she might have understood Quinn´s hesitation if the other woman had taken her time to explain it to her, but they both knew they didn´t have time for that, so she didn´t blame her. "How do you know that language?" She then found herself asking, half because she really cared and half because she wanted to distract Quinn. She held on to the other´s hand a little tighter, as if to ground herself, as they moved forward through the fog. Dani had no idea if there was a door at the other side of the room, but they had to try and find one anyways.

Quinn focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to block out the words dancing around, but not quite able to. “It’s Enochian.” She explained, just loud enough to be heard over the Nephilim. “It’s the language of the angels.” Her footsteps faltered as a figure walked directly in front of them, a man with white wings stretched behind him, drooping. Tears trailed like stars down his cheeks. He didn’t even see them, simply crossed their path and moved on. “They’re Nephilim. You should look them up, when we’re done here.” Quinn wasn’t sure she could explain wishes, and how lost one might feel without a purpose. Not here, not while they were crying and lost and damned. “Do you see a door? I can’t see a thing.”

Dani shook her head. “But that doesn’t explain why YOU know how to speak it,” Dani replied as she moved forward through the fog trying to ignore both the Nephilim and their chanting. She knew next to nothing about Quinn Fabray, but she knew that they had to get out of here. “When I was little I grew up in an orphanage,” she eventually spoke, feeling an ache in her chest at those words. “I was passed from family to family, no one wanted me. Then they wanted me for the money it got them. So when I was sixteen I shifted to look like someone else, walked out and never got back,” she could feel the slight hesitation in Quinn’s steps so Dani turned, walking backwards so she could look at Quinn as she walked. “Then last week my ex girlfriend, the person that’s responsible for putting me into a dark cell and in NYADA, was killed,” she trailed off, blinking away the tears. “And yet I’m still here. And I won’t let some weirdo ruin that for me.” She focused on Quinn, squeezing her hand. “When we make it out of here and find Kurt they will find whoever did this, and they’ll also help these...the Nephilim,”

Quinn pulled in a breath, even the aching words around them seemed to quiet. It was the first time any of the LN had actually opened up to her. The general response was ‘fuck you,’ which she understood, as it was generally the response she was expecting. Santana’s shadow notwithstanding. There wasn’t much to say in the semi-silence that followed, and she only gave a nod, and a quiet “You’re still here.” It was more than just a statement, perhaps and acknowledgement that Dani was stronger than Quinn had given anyone credit for, and there was always more to a person than met the eye. But they didn’t have time to linger, and the din of voices was growing again, the pressure building in her chest once more. “I grew up in a mansion.” She offered in return, focusing on feeling her way through the fog. They had to be close to the other side. “All the rooms were empty. My family works within the government, we…” She looked around, “Our magic was passed down to us from the angels themselves. I speak their language, and through their blessing and faith, I practice their magic.” It almost looked like there was a door ahead, somewhere in the mist. “I shouldn’t be here.” But I am.

Dani hadn’t expected Quinn to say anything in return, but it came as a pleasant surprise as they made their way through the mist. It seemed easier for her to ignore the voices when she was talking to Quinn. Surely, they might not have gotten along outside of this hellhole, but that didn’t matter, not now anyways. “You know, that’s pretty cool,” Dani replied with a chuckle that seemed to lighten the weight on her chest. “You surely do have the looks of an angel,” She had meant to follow that up with something when their walk was put to a sudden stop. Dani felt something crashing against her back, a wall? Yes...no...not just a wall. There was something pointy, pressing into her lower back and making her curse under her breath. A door knob.

( Quinn rolled a die. The die showed: 6 )

Quinn really should have warned Dani, but the thought was quickly lost because it was a door. They’d finally, blessedly reached the other side. For a moment, she could only think of getting out, getting away from the empty eyes of the passed Sylphs, and the mournful cries of the Nephilims. But she froze, the phantom tug still pulling at her chest, closer to the cries. “It’s the way out.” Her voice was a monotone. She looked to Dani, holding her gaze for a moment before pivoting the other way. “You’ll be okay, you’ll find heaven.” She spoke in Enochian. The cries only grew louder, bouncing off the high ceilings above. “You have to believe, you have to.” Louder. Quinn pulled a rosary from her coat pocket, hers, the old one she’d made when she was too little to understand what it was. She wrapped it around her hands, then put them together as though she was praying. << Find rest, and peace >> She said clearly, and her magic circle spun to life underneath her. There was something else, the beads in her hands warming, Enochian sigils scratched into the fog in front of them. The cries quieted, but they did not disappear. They were a soft keening, somehow even worse than before. Quinn swallowed past the lump in her throat. She draped the rosary around the doorknob. “Let’s go…”

Dani a warning would have been nice, because she already had no idea what was going on most of the time, and even though she was getting used to magic and spells this was different. It almost felt as if she was witnessing something she shouldn’t be witnessing. So she simply pressed herself against the door and watched, listening to words she couldn’t understand. The mournful voices of the Nephilim seemed to quiet down though and Dani was glad. She took in a breath and as she watched Quinn drape the rosary around the door knob she waited another moment before wrapping her arms around the other, knowing she probably wouldn’t get another chance to do it once they were out. “I’m glad that, out of all the people, I was in here with you,” she whispered before pulling back and reaching for the door knob, turning it to push the door open.

Quinn didn’t quite reciprocate the hug, hands moving up a moment too late, eyes wide. Before she could think about it for too long, Dani had moved onto the door, and the moment was over. They had other things to focus on. Like Kurt, and whatever in the Aether dead Sylphs and Nephilim were doing in a misted Aviary. She released a quick breath, casting one last look over the fog-shrouded room, heart turning over the sad song that seemed to follow her, even as she finally, blessedly moved through the doorway.

Dani couldn’t even begin to explain how glad she was to be out of that god awful room. She took in another breath, sill feeling the weight on her chest, but it seemed to slowly ease away. As she turned to look at Quinn she noticed that the other woman was still looking back. “Hey, come on,” She then spoke softly, but firmly, extending her hand towards Quinn, it wasn’t like anyone would see them. “They’ll be alright once we get this done, I promise.”

[shiftingdani]

[The Aviary was found to have evidence of Nephilim presence, but no Nephilim were found.  A window was reportedly broken in the roof of the room, with feathers around the break. 

The weight on her chest lightens a little as she reads those few lines. Many LN were found dead, it was a horrible thing to imagine and Dani doesn´t think the full extent has hit her yet, but the Nephilim escaped.

Quinn and her had done something right.

Thank God.

Or...Aether.]

[shiftingdani]

Enchanted Needles // Danchel

Who: Dani Harper and Rachel Berry ( @alyricalberry )

When: 1/25/2018, afternoon

Where: NYADA, Divine Designs

What: Rachel and Dani stop by Kurt´s old work place to see if 

General Notes: Just Dani and Rachel doing their duties, and it might be a little gay at the end. Because everyone was talking about how pretty Rachel was and Dani couldn´t agree more.

Dani hadn´t really spent any time with Rachel lately. Things had been strange and there had been too many things happening, but she was glad the other woman was alright, physically at least. It was clear that they had to do something about Kurt, so when Rachel had texted her and asked about whether or not she wanted to come along to talk to Kurt´s employer Dani had been quick to agree. She was waiting outside Rachel´s building, hair a light blonde with pink tips, coat pulled tightly around her. It was freezing outside and the sky was hanging above like a grey mass, it fit Dani´s mood just right.

Rachel pulled on a sweater and a large coat. It was cold today, but she was determined to find something, anything, that would help them find Kurt, so she knew she needed to be prepared to endure the cold weather. She could always summon a little bit of fire if she needed, though. She was happy to be going out with Dani. It was nice to have a friend around in this kind of situation. Plus, Dani knew Kurt probably better than anyone on campus, so having her input was incredibly helpful. Rachel tried not to think about the fact that wherever Kurt was, he was probably alone and terrified. She went out to meet Dani and gave her a small smile. "Hey you. How are you doing?" she asked.

Dani wondered if Rachel really cared how she was doing or if it was just the thing you said once you´ve met up with someone. She pushed the thought away and offered the other woman a smile. "I´m as alright as one can be," she then answered diplomatically. "I´m glad you texted me though. I´ve been meaning to go to Kurt´s work place, but I didn��t want to go alone." Truth be told: She could have gone alone, but she´d rather have someone there, someone who knew more about magic than she did and Rachel seemed to be the right person for that. "Shall we?"

Rachel nodded. "I have to. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner," she said. "Let's go," she said as she let Dani towards Divine Designs. "You knew Kurt before he came here, right? Did he have enemies? Anyone who would want to kidnap him?" she asked, keeping her voice low to not be overheard

Dani shrugged her shoulders as they walked. "We only met a couple of times," She then told Rachel. "And you know Kurt, he´s not someone who holds back with what he has to say or thinks, but I don´t think he had enemies. Not people who could do this to him." Besides, this had been happening to more people on Campus, they had disappeared and now they were declared dead. Dani had a bad feeling about this, something was off and even though she couldn´t put her finger on it, it rubbed her the wrong way.

Rachel nodded. "You're right. This has to be something else entirely. I kust wish we could figure out what it is," she sighed. She opened the door to Divine Designs and followed her in. She looked around for a second and then asked the girl at the register if Remy LeBeau was in. She nodded and disappeared to go get him. "So, do we just ask him if he's heard from Kurt? Or if he knows anything about why he disappeared?"

Dani stepped into the shop. It was so very Kurt like to work here and for a moment she had to stop and force herself to take a deep breath. She missed him. He was her only connection to her old life, the only person who understood what it felt like to just be thrown in here. "Yeah...let´s ask if he´s heard of him. I know people keep saying Kurt has run off, but he´d never just leave a job he likes without formally quitting. So unless he´s done that we know he hasn´t run away,"

Rachel unzipped her coat and nodded. "That's a good point," she said. Just then, Remy LeBeau stepped out and looked at the girls. "Hello! I hear you were looking for me. Are you here for a new wardrobe?" He asked, looking Rachel up and down. Rachel shifted uncomfortably, vut she was mostly used to Kurt's snips about her wardrobe that it didn't even affect her anymore. It did make her miss Kurt though. "Um, no. We're here to ask about one of your employees. Kurt Hummel? We think he's missing and we were wondering if you'd maybe heard from him?" She asked.

Dani the man´s expression darkened at Rachel´s question. "So I´ve heard." He then nodded. Dani had assumed he´d notice that Kurt was gone, but seeing his expression she assumed Kurt hadn´t just quit. Not that she hadn´t known that, but it made everything painfully more real. "Yes. We´ve been wondering if there´s anything you can tell us, really, anything could be helpful." She then added with a nod.

Rachel Remy LeBeau shook his head. "Well, I haven't seen him," he told the girls. "And he hasn't contacted me. He hasn't shown up for a couple of shifts so I just figured he was sick," he told them. "It's too bad, really. He's such a talented designer. He doesn't use magic either, believe it or not," he praised. Rachel nodded. "He is very talented. We're trying to find him. Will you let us know if you hear from him? I can leave you my phone number," Rachel said.

Dani held back a sigh at the man´s words. She knew it had been unlikely that he´d known anything about Kurt´s whereabouts, but she had still hoped to get anything useful out of him. "We will. He´s told me just how much he likes working here," Dani commented, offering the man a smile. She felt her stomach drop as she bit her lip then, glancing over at Rachel. "You don´t have a different way to contact him, do you?" She then tried. "I just know that he would often ignore calls from us, but he´d never miss a day of work."

Dani Remy looked at both the girls, nodding. "I highly doubt I´d be the first person he´d contact, but I might just be able to help you," He nodded, seeming t think some things over in his head. "I once gifted him a set of sewing needles. He was polite about them, though he didn´t like the fact that they were enchanted. They´s automatically point towards their owner." He smiled at the memory, his face brightening all of a sudden. "You know...I could make you another pair, if you have Kurt´s DNA, that is."

Rachel 's eyebrows shot up when Remy said he could make some sort of tracking needle that would point them to Kurt. "Oh my gosh, really?" she said. She looked to Dani. "I don't really have anything of his. Do you?" she asked.

Dani could feel her heart missing a beat at the new found information. The man had told them about it so casually, but for them it could have been the one piece of information that would help in finding Kurt. "No...but I know Marley took a hairbrush, we should text her!" Dani pulled out her phone. "How about I text her and you go and get it? That way we´ll be quicker!"

Rachel nodded at Dani's suggestion. "Yes, that sounds perfect," she said. "Thank you so much, Professor LeBeau. I'll be right back with something with Kurt's DNA on it. We really appreciate it," she said before taking off to Marley's dorm.

Rachel returned about twenty minutes later, Kurt's hairbrush clutched tightly in her hand. "Will this do?" she asked Remy.

Dani nodded as she watched Rachel take off. She could feel her skin tingling slightly, as if they were finally getting closer to where they needed to be to save Kurt. The man nodded as he went to go back about his business while Dani went to check out the store. Everything here seemed to remind her of Kurt and while she felt a tug on her stomach at that, she knew they were doing the right thing. When she saw Rachel approaching them through the window she went back to Mr. LeBeau. "She´s back!" Dani called and the man moved back out front, nodding as he took the brush from Rachel. "Yes, very good." He then muttered. "Just give me a minute." And with that he was gone. Dani turned back to Rachel, her lips curving into a smile. "This is it. I can feel it!" she told her. Dani took a deep breath as she leaned against the counter. "So...how have you been? We haven´t really talked,"

Rachel allowed herself a giddy grin when Remy went back to do his thing. She grinned at Dani. "Let's hope so, anyways. I do have a good feeling about it, though," she said. She leaned against the counter and bit her lip at Dani's question. She wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't really want to talk to anyone about the Asterismos thing going on. It was too complicated, and she didn't even know what to make of it. She just smiled. "I've been alright. Mostly just worried about Kurt," she said. "How about you? I like your hair today, by the way. It's really nice."

Dani offered Rachel a smile. "I´ve been...pretty awful." She then answered honestly. It probably wasn´t what Rachel wanted to hear, but if she had learned one thing with Kurt going missing it was that life was too short to bottle it all up. "But...it´s been getting better. Hey, you know what? I´ve got a familiar now." She had already taken off her coat, but now she peeled up her shirt to reveal the tattoo on her ribs. At Rachel´s compliment she smiled again. "Thank you. I usually like to put a touch of color in it. Brightens those awfully dark days."

Rachel reached over to squeeze Dani's arm. "I do understand that," she said. She smiled when she saw the tattoo on Dani's ribs. "Dani! No way! Congratulations! Have you named them yet?" she asked. "I can't wait to get my familiar. I'm sad it's taken me so long. I wonder what it'll be..."

Dani glanced down at where Rachel was squeezing her arm and she smiled. It felt good to open up to her, even if it was just a little bit. "Well he´s a sassy orange cat, so I´ve naturally named him Fiyero," She replied with a laugh. "I´m sure you´ll get something really cool. And graceful. Marley said hers in a bird, which I find really fitting." It only took another moment for Mr. LeBeau to return with two sewing needles, which he had placed in a small box. "Here you go, girls." He nodded. "Normally I´d have to charge you for these," He then added, "But since this is to find Kurt I´ll make an exception."

Rachel gave a bright smile when Dani told her her familiar's name. "Fiyero! I love that! Wicked is one of my favourite shows!" she said "Poppy is so cute. I'd be lucky to get a lovely familiar like Marley's," she told her. She took the box from Professor LeBeau and ran a hand over it. "Thank you. We really appreciate this. Kurt will be back with us in no time, I know it."

Dani smiled, glad that someone had recognized her Wicked reference. She hadn't doubted that Rachel would though. “I love it too. Maybe we could go see it some time?” She suggested, watching as Rachel took the box. Dani felt a twinge of excitement, they were definitely on the right track! “Alright, come on,” she turned to the Professor, thanking him, before slipping her coat back on and offering her arm to Rachel.

[shiftingdani]

[ Dani´s changed herself into one of her old selves, the brown haired, innocent girl that worked at the café down the street in Manhattan, before making her way to Kurt´s room.

She stays hidden around the corner, though she can feel her fingernails digging into her palms as she watches the man packing things into boxes. How can they just pack up his room after he´s been missing for barely three weeks?

You can´t just declare a person dead so you don´t have to look for them anymore, she thinks, forcing herself to take a deep breath so she wouldn´t just storm over there and punch them in the face.

Instead she pulls out her phone to text Santana. They have to do something about this!]