Can you be my light?

[Shimizu Susumu]

The county library was quiet during this time of day. It was far too early for students working on papers or parents who wanted the library to babysit their kids for them over the summer. Susumu had chosen this area rather than his own apartment because of what had happened there. And the conclave... Well, there was no bringing Alva into that mess. He doubted Alva would want to even if it invited.

So here he was, politely perusing the books on a reference shelf and noting that many of them were pretty dusty. Not a lot of people used this old county library anymore. People talked about closing it every year but it stubbornly clung to life, serving the small town of Hazleton proudly. Susumu smiled at the librarian, whom he was familiar with. Personally, Susumu had always loved libraries, in all their musty smelling glory.

After a moment, he found a book that dealt with something he thought might be similar to their current situation. It probably wouldn't have any easy answers but it was about reading between the lines. Susu held the book close to his chest and looked up to see that somebody was prancing about downstairs. A redhead. Alva's cousin. Ah! Alva! Susumu hurried over the balcony and looked down at him but he couldn't get his attention simply by waving when Alva wasn't looking up. With a sigh, Susumu hurried down the steps with the book in tow.

"Alva?" he said hesitantly as he approached the virtual stranger before him.

Blue  (no rush dudeetttte)

[Alva Ren]

Alva was trying his best to not attract attention but... well, prancing around in his new body did unfortunately draw unwanted attention. Probably because grown men didn't usually jog around the library with goofy big smiles on their faces, marveling at their own legs. Ryland had nice legs, though. Even from a bystander's perspective, one had to admit that he had nice legs--and they worked just fine, as Alva was discovering.

Though slightly winded from running and leaping and jumping around, Alva kept going. After he was cautioned by Susu, he kept to the side of the building and away from people but probably more than one person thought that he was insane. Correction: That Ryland Ren was insane. Alva didn't think his cousin ever went around doing things like this... without Aldon's influence.

Huffing and puffing, he finally stopped to sit on a bench when he ran completely out of breath. It had been so long since he'd run! He forgot what it felt like to be out of breath, with his hair disheveled and sweat rolling down one side of his face. Still smiling like a goof, Alva checked his messages. He'd have to remember to delete all of them from Ryland's phone! Some things were normal. Some others... decidedly sappy and not for prying eyes.

Just as he finished sending another text, he heard a familiar ring tone. Then he looked up to his name, and Susu's voice, and to Susu looking hesitant and unsure. Alva paused for a beat, tempted to pretend not to know him as a prank--fox-like instincts were hard to squash even in times of peril, it seemed. But he wasn't mean enough to do that, so he leaped off the bench with a grin and waved. "Susu!"

Making use of his temporary new legs, Alva trotted over to Susu and latched on to his hand. "You're here!" he declared unnecessarily. Then he looked beyond Susu's shoulder, to check to see if Rae was hanging around. No. Good. Rae would never be found within a mile of the library anyway--he wasn't really a bookish guy.

[Shimizu Susumu]

"It really is you!"

Not many people called him Susu or looked at him quite so fondly. Without even trying, simply being greeted by Alva (even in another body) made Susumu instantly perk up and smile. This body he was in right now was handsome enough, too, even if it wasn't the one that Susumu had ultimately grown fond of. Still, he did give him a discreet once-over. Just in case they weren't able to move bodies back to their rightful places, he ought to get to know this body. At least, that was how he reasoned it.

He gave the unfamiliar hand in his a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The look Alva in the new body sent about the library was obvious; he was looking for interlopers. Luckily enough, Susumu had chosen a place he highly doubted Alva's ex would step foot in. That, and they were going to be heading into a back room that he also doubted a person like that ex would even know existed.

"Come on," he said, lightly tugging Alva into the direction of the elevator. As the doors opened and he pulled Alva inside, his smile turned wry. "Don't worry about the blood, by the way. Your ex's friend is... a feisty one."

Feisty, to say the least.

"I don't think he switched," he said thoughtfully. He'd been trying to make some pattern out of those who switched but so far, there wasn't enough information. "But that might not be the case if this is some kind of staggered spell. Say, it hits X number of targets every hour."

[Alva Ren]

It was easy for Susumu to say don't worry about the blood, by the way but Alva was alarmed by the rust-red stains all over him, until he noticed that they seemed to be splashed onto him from someone else. The cuts that he did sport didn't seem deep and while Alva was troubled by them, at least they didn't appear to be life-threatening. Any explanations would have to wait until later, however; he saw the wisdom in not standing in the open blabbing about witches and magic and everything supernatural.

With his brow still creased in concern, he followed Susumu into a service elevator. Alva had never taken this one but he trusted that Susumu knew where they were going. He stayed close and fretfully inspected some of the cuts and deeper scratches as the elevator lurched on its descent. "Josh isn't feisty, he's insane," he muttered to himself darkly. Only Josh would do something like this. Obviously a fight happened while Alva switched bodies with his cousin but hopefully wherever Ry was, he was safe--and far away from Josh.

Maybe it was petty, too, but Alva felt a sense of deep pride at the fact that Susumu had come out of the encounter with Josh on top. Obviously. Well, it was almost a given that a skilled witch would best a mere werewolf, even one enhanced by the virus. Alva squeezed Susumu's hand again, giving him a soft smile. Odd time for pride, but what could he say? Susumu was proving himself both capable and superior!

"I'd feel sorry for whoever he did switch with," Alva grumbled, as the elevator doors slid noisily open. They were greeted by a dark hallway, with several closed doors on either side. Alva peered curiously about as he stepped out. Seemed like quite a number of storage rooms and utility rooms to him. "I need to patch you up, Susu." Figuring out the body-switching nonsense would have to wait. Alva was grounded in practicality--first-aid first!

[Shimizu Susumu]

"I'm afraid I'm not going to argue with you there," Susumu said wryly. Feisty was only a polite way of saying what Alva already said. Josh had turned out to be more than a little past sane when he'd come for Susumu's throat. It was clear that he didn't want to just hurt Susumu. Murder was in his eyes and the only thing that saved Susumu was hexing him. That, however, he kept to himself for the time being. Alva didn't seem particularly fond of Susumu's magical field of study whenever it came up but one couldn't always help where their skills decided to lie.

His wry smile warmed as Alva lightly squeezed his hand again. This, Susumu could get used to. He rather liked this, standing side by side by Alva, hand in hand. Perhaps selfishly, he wished that Alva could remain this way or that Susumu could find a way to cure his ailment once he was back in his body. It was a discussion for another day; at the moment, the clock was ticking on them.

"I think I'd feel more sorry for whoever was around him," he ruminated as they stepped out into the ill lit hallway beyond the elevator's doors. Yes, wherever Josh might reappear, the people around him surely would suffer--especially if they weren't people Josh liked. Which, to Susumu, seemed to be 100% of the world's population. There might be a soft spot for Alva's ex-boyfriend but a soft spot didn't really mean much except a sore spot to exploit if needed.

"You can do that when we get to the Founder's Study," he said, quietly, just in case there were any eavesdroppers. "It's that room, the last one down the hall."

And it was an ominous appearing room just from the door alone. It buzzed with magical wards and shields but even those without magical sense could see the practical and physical locks that kept the door closed to the wandering public.

"If anything in this town has answers, it'll be this place."

[Alva Ren]

When it came to Josh, all bets were off. Alva wasn't sure what kept him tethered to this plane anymore--he was clearly operating on some far-flung level of extra-crazy that no human brain could comprehend. Why he wasn't in an asylum, but was allowed to run free, was a complete mystery. Why Rae ever thought that he was a friend--and not only that, but a good friend and a best friend--was also a complete and utter mystery.

Alva shook thoughts of Rae and Josh from his mind and followed Susumu to the end of the hallway, where an imposing door stood alone. It was only a door but the magic buzzing in the air was palpable--not to mention the sixteen deadbolts running down the door. Letting out a shaky breath, he reached out with a hand to feel the air around the door.

"Is there... someone inside?" he whispered too, not because he feared someone eavesdropping but because the atmosphere felt so oppressive and somber that to raise his voice felt sacrilegious. Alva clung tighter to Susumu's hand and pulled his other hand down to his side. "Do we have to go in Susu?"

[Shimizu Susumu]

"...yes."

Not somebody anybody in Hazleton wanted outside those locks, though. One of the Founders' children. Somebody with more power than anybody knew what to do with... so what did they do with it? Lock it up and hide it. Still, even Susumu was hesitant as he stood before that door. His heart beat quickly, too. He'd only been here once, in his youth. Even then, he hadn't wanted to be there but those damned witches at the coven weren't going to do it. And if there were any answers to be had about big magic in Hazleton, those answers would be here.

"And if we don't..."

There was no pressing reason to go in, his weak side told him. This didn't have to be on Susumu and Alva. They weren't the ones responsible for this and surely somebody else could take care of this situation. Why leave it to them? There were older, stronger, and more capable witches in the community that should be here. But they're not.

"It has to be us."

Taking in a deep breath, Susumu reached out and he exerted his own magical signature to begin unlocking the deadbolts and the magical safeguards. Everything at once felt as if it moved too slowly and too quickly for Susumu's liking. The doors clanked open but the magic barriers were still fairly strong. Susumu looked over at Alva, his gaze softening, even though it wasn't his Alva's eyes that he met.

"You can wait, if you want. You don't have to go in with me."

[Alva Ren]

Of course.

Of course it had to be them! It couldn't be some other responsible person willing to shoulder the fate of half the town. Oh, no--it had to be them, right this instant, right now. One of them wasn't in his rightful body and the other was injured by a mad werewolf. But it had to be them!

Alva worried his lower lip as Susumu began to undo the magic barriers, although he didn't voice his complaints. He understood why it had to be them. It didn't make the knowledge sit any lighter on his shoulders, but he understood and if Susumu thought that they were the ones to do it, Alva couldn't in good conscience stop him. After all, Alva had based his entire life on helping other, less fortunate people too. To give up now would have been to turn his back on everything that he stood for.

"No!" He exclaimed quickly, ramming into Susumu as he took a hasty step forward--as if Susumu would sprint through the partially open door without him. "I'm going wherever you go! We're partners!" Even if there was a great big monster behind that door, Alva was going in. He wasn't going to let Susumu do this alone!

[Shimizu Susumu]

He smiled, his gaze slowly dropping as Alva rammed himself against his back. His smile grew a little, although there was a shade of sadness marring it. Partners, were they? It was easy to be partners but it was more difficult when the partnership grew sticky with emotion and neediness. Susumu regarded the tips of his impeccable, expensive shoes for only a moment longer before he nodded solemnly.

"We're going in, then," he said, sliding his hand into Alva's. Not Alva's. It was still a little strange, even for a witch that dealt with magic, knowing that Alva's mind was with him but the body... Well, the body was all wrong. Not bad, mind. But... wrong.

He held onto Alva's hand as they passed through the threshold of the many doors. They created a corridor all their own, there were so many. Once they passed through the last door and barrier, Susumu spoke low and made a gesture with his free hand. The doors closed behind them with a sense of finality and the lights flickered on in the stone room they now stood in.

The lights were magic, too. The stone room--the Founder's Study. It was a vast room with low ceilings and walls upon walls of foreboding, dark books. The desk in the back of the room looked as if it had been made for a man far larger than a normal man. At the moment, nobody sat there but it was decorated with typical desktop ornaments: a desk lamp, a shiny nameplate, a stack of paperwork, books, a schedule.

Although nobody sat at the desk, the pair were not alone. There, in the back, near the study was a small, iron clad door--one that wouldn't look out of place in a maximum security prison. And from that door, a face peered out at them, two hands holding onto the bars. Susumu slowly made his way up to the desk, which was mounted upon a platform and several steps. Susumu looked down at the schedule, the calendar that was set in the middle of the desk. There were strange marks on several of the days. Susumu tapped one.

"This symbol means transfiguration."

[Alva Ren]

Were all those doors necessary? Alva gawked at them as they passed through, noting that aside from the first one, none of the others had physical locks. He was sure that there were magical locks, though. Maybe the deadbolts were just to deter ordinary thieves--ones who didn't know what resided within. Letting out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding once they made it through, Alva studied the room that they were in with amazement.

"Wow," he breathed, head on a swivel. To think... this room had been here all along! Then he let out a dismayed sound as his gaze caught on the door and the pitifully thin face peering out at them. It looked like a child--or at least someone very, very young. While Susumu busied himself with the desk, Alva walked hesitantly toward the door at the back. It was mostly hidden in shadows; he wasn't sure what it was that drew his attention to it, but now he was fixated.

"...who..." His outstretched hand was at the bars before he knew they were rising. It felt like his body wasn't his; that his actions weren't dictated by his own brain. Alva watched his own hand--or rather, Ryland's hand--lifting and the tips of his fingers connected with the bony hand curled around the bars. The thin face, with its sunken eyes and paper-white skin, pressed itself against the bars. The eyes peered into Alva's with a burning intensity and just as their fingers curled around each other, someone came bursting through another door at the back.

Alva jumped as a giant of a man thundered through, barely squeezing his body across the threshold. "What do you think you're doing?!" His voice echoed around the room as he charged at Alva, roughly jerking him away from the door. The face shrank back into darkness, but Alva swore he could still see the eyes...

[Shimizu Susumu]

Transfiguration actually made sense. It was the art of magically changing one thing into another thing. Susumu smiled to himself, feeling quite confident that they had found their culprit. The not-so-good news about it? It was somebody in one of their covens. The Founding coven, even. That part complicated things. Susumu leaned closer and tried to memorize what he saw scrawled across the page until they were interrupted by the thunderous approach of a man far too large to be called human. (Because he most certainly was not.)

Susumu scowled.

"Zohod," he said to the Djinn, as if he wasn't scared half to death by his voice alone. Or the fact that he came at Alva with what appeared to be violent intent. Susumu quickly moved forward and put his hand up.

"We're just here to see who's behind all this body switching business." He looked over the giant Djinn with disapproval. "It seems like we've found it."

[Alva Ren]

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't--I mean, I was just looking..." Trailing off, Alva stared up... up... UP... at the giant of a man who held one of his wrists in a vice-like grip. It hurt--a little bit--but he barely felt it through the shock. Did giants exist?! Were they allowed to grow this BIG? He felt rude staring but this was the first time that Alva had ever seen somebody so large! Sure, there was the occasional park ranger who towered over everyone else, but nobody on this scale.

"Hehe."

Alva swore he heard a thin giggle coming from inside the cell as Susumu mentioned body-switching. He turned to look inside but now even the eyes were gone, as whoever was inside retreated to the far end. Then the comments caught up to him and he turned to stare at Susumu. They found the culprit? It had to be the one inside the cell then, since the giant didn't look like he had any sense of humor whatsoever. He looked downright furious, if anything.

Stumbling as the man let him go, Alva quickly scooted back to Susumu's side. He held on to Susumu's hand and shuffled a half step behind him to whisper into his ear, "Susu... what's going on?"

[Shimizu Susumu]

"It's... complicated," he spoke softly, although his gaze remained fixed on Zohod. Being a peripheral part of the coven (not a witch but a sort of... friend to them), history went pretty far back. But Zohod likely wasn't the culprit, this was true. It was his charge that was the culprit. Susumu lightly massaged his temple and closed his eyes for a moment. What a headache, this whole thing.

"But this is Zohod." No point in hiding that--he had already greeted the Djinn. "And Zohod, this is Alva... although he's presently occupying a body that isn't his. Which I'm sure you already know about."

Zohod didn't look amused by anything happening, which hardly surprised Susumu.

"Zohod is supposed to make sure the boy in there--" Susumu indicated the cell door that didn't look as if it belonged in the study. "--doesn't make trouble, exactly like this. It seems like he hasn't been doing his job."

[Alva Ren]

"D-don't let him hear you say that Susu!" Alva whispered quickly, nervously eyeing the giant who had stomped back to his desk. He sat down so hard that Alva was already bracing for him to go through the chair before his butt hit the seat. The seat held, though it creaked in protest at the sudden weight that it was forced to bear.

But seriously. Insulting a giant--or whatever he was--didn't seem like a good idea. Alva looked again at the cell and saw a quick flash of something. It looked like a wink. Was the prisoner inside winking at him? He smiled hesitantly back and the winking eyes vanished again. There was a soft rustle from inside, then nothing more and his attention was drawn back to Zohod, who snorted as he flapped the calendar at them.

"Y'got no eyes or somethin'?" Alva stared at the calendar, unable to understand the cryptic markings on them. Apparently Zohod expected Susumu to understand them, judging by the annoyed look he shot at them. "He'll put 'em right in a coupla days. Elders say to let 'im have a bit o' fun."

"F-fun?!" Alva couldn't help but cry out in outrage. This was supposed to be somebody's idea of fun, switching bodies and causing mayhem out there?!

[Shimizu Susumu]

If they were going to be murdered by Zohod, they'd be dead before they were even aware of Zohod. Susumu chose not to say that part to Alva, since he already appeared so nervous in his presence. Most people were, truly. Susumu couldn't say he had been unaffected the first time he'd made his acquaintance. People just weren't supposed to be that large. However, Susumu also learned quickly that whatever power Zohod might have was neutered effectively by the elders--the founders of the town. Susumu lightly crossed his arms as his gaze followed the flapping calendar.

Transfiguration. That was what Susumu had gathered from his cursory glance at it. Now from Zohod's mouth, it sounded as if the elders were letting the little monster in the cage exercise some of his abilities. ...Alarming, to say the least. Something bigger must have been going on. Maybe the kid had done something that had proven the need for him to discharge some of his power.

"If it's so fun, why do you have a ward against the spell cast on you?" Susumu asked, raising his head slightly as he regarded the Djinn.