We Are Bulletproof

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 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.

"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."

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!

"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."

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?"

"...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."

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!

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."

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...

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."

"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?"

"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."

"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?!

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.

The giant man gave Susumu a Look and didn't respond, as if the answer was obvious and staring them in the face. Alva frowned. Fun wasn't exactly the word for it. More like alarming. Dangerous. Downright freaky.

"Don't ask daft questions ye already have answers to," the giant said testily, slapping the calendar down roughly before attending to some of the other papers on his desk. He raised his gaze to apply another Look to them, then proceeded to ignore them.

"Susu... Do you think he's telling the truth?" The man said that they would be put right after a few days, but how many days was 'a few' and how could they trust him? Could they take him at his word?

"Right," Susu said dryly. Zohod seemed less than pleased with the fact that Susumu was talking back. Honestly, if there were elders standing there with them, he never would have dared. Or at the least, he would have had the intelligence to disguise those barbs underneath a veil of civility. As the case was, Susu didn't exactly have respect for Zohod nor his charge. In fact, he was less than pleased that they were going around switching bodies around Hazleton and not once had Susumu heard about this little "experiment."

If he had, he surely would have warded Alva from it.

"Yes," he said after a moment, turning toward Alva and smiling his best reassuring smile for him. He even reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder. It was a little strange, since the shoulder was higher up than he was accustomed to. Also, Alva was currently inhabiting an able bodied man. Not a bad looking one, either, if he had to say so himself. It made Susumu wonder if perhaps they should be conducting experiments (ahem) of their own.

Somehow, he doubted that Alva would go for that but oh... he wished that he would. Maybe he could find a way to... lightly edge him in the right direction. In the meantime, however, Susumu crossed his arms and tilted his head as he regarded Zohod again.

"How long? You said a few days? What about this one? Any chance you could switch him back sooner?" Really, he only asked for Alva's benefit, although he would never admit as much aloud.

"Can't play favorites," Zohod said dryly, leveling Susumu with another Look as if the very idea of making an exception was out of the question.

Inwardly, Alva sighed. While it was nice to have functional legs, he missed his old body. He missed being himself. Maybe people thought that he was restricted by his wheelchair but there was a lot that he could do, too. He wasn't useless simply because he couldn't walk!

"It's... okay, Susu," he said quietly, reaching out to squeeze Susumu's arm. "We can just wait it out, I guess." It wouldn't have been fair to the other people who were switched, anyway. At least they had some answers now! That a strange creature locked away in a cell deep within some inner sanctum in the old library was up to no good. Part of Alva felt badly for him. What was it like to live in a cage? Wasn't there any other way to contain his powers? It seemed so... cruel, and so senseless.

He half-turned to look at the cage again, into the murky depths where the poor prisoner was held. Did he even do anything wrong? The eyes showed themselves again, a tiny little twinkle--easily missed if one didn't pay attention. Alva's smile was half full of pity and half full of encouragement. Maybe it was him but he thought those eyes winked again.

At Zohod's dry response, Susumu narrowed his eyes. Why not play favorites? It was quite obvious that the founders were playing favorites. Why wasn't this more triumphant? Susu had managed to find the source of Hazleton's current issue and yet, it still wasn't a celebration. In fact, he felt somehow more helpless for Alva's condition. Despite the luxury of being able to move again, Susu could tell from the expression on Alva's face that he had come for answers more so than a demand that he be switched back into his proper body immediately!

"Fine," he said stiffly, knowing he couldn't fight Zohod on his own, let alone the founders' circle in its entirety. If they wanted to let the little creature in there discharge his energy and "play" for a few days, then Susu surely wasn't going to be able to stop them. He just wished they'd expended his energy on something more worthwhile--like all the damned hunters crawling and sniffing around Hazleton lately.

As Susu turned back to Alva, he noticed with alarm that he had made eye contact with the creature in the cage. Quickly, Susumu grasped onto Alva's shoulder and pulled him in closer, turning him so that he was no longer looking at him.

"Don't look at it," he hissed quietly, not entirely unkindly but definitely with a strain of concern in his tone. "You're going to end up possessed."

"Huh?!" Alva stumbled into Susumu, grasping on to his arm to stop himself from tripping. He didn't know why but as soon as Susumu told him not to look, he felt an overwhelming desire to look. In fact, his head half-turned before he knew it, and he had to force himself to keep his back turned. "Possessed?!"

What did Susumu mean by that? Was that poor creature in the cage going to possess him? Surely there were safeguards against it. Then again, how many people knew about this room, much less knew how to get past all the doors? Alva felt an inexplicable shiver run down the length of his spine. He nodded and kept his eyes to himself, even though in the back of his mind, he heard a tiny voice telling him to look--just one more time.

"Maybe we should get out of here, Susu," he said quietly, though with no less urgency in his voice. The sooner they got away from this strange place, the better! Alva was no stranger to magical elements but this was a little bit beyond him. He could feel the hair at the back of his neck standing on end and although this wasn't his body, he heeded the warning.

"Absolutely."

There were no intentions to remain in this place. It had been a risky endeavor to show up here in the first place. And what had they been met with? Not the friendliest of the founders' group. Susumu didn't want to spend a moment longer there, half worried they were going to target him next. Was the creature still switching people or was he just playing with those he'd already switched? Susumu didn't want to find out.

Besides, he needed to get back home and shower. He was still stained with blood and drained from that fight with the feral werewolf back at home. And I have to take care of THAT, too.

"Let's go back home," he said softly as he urged Alva in the other man's body to come with him.

"Okay." Alva sure wasn't about to protest or make trouble with these people! Relieved, he turned to leave, taking care to avoid looking at the cage--no matter how tempted he was to do just that. Switching bodies was one thing. At least he had full control of his own mind! Being possessed just didn't sound like that much fun to him and he had no desire to experience that, not one tiny little bit!

Just as he made it to the door--or, rather, the series of doors both physical and magical--something ahead of them made him pause. It was a shadow, but it didn't look like a person's shadow at all. Alva blinked; the shadow disappeared. He looked back at Susumu to ask if he saw the shadow too, but felt foolish. What if it was just a trick of the light? He'd sound silly, babbling about shadows.

"Let's hurry, Susu," he said instead, as he crossed the threshold of the first of the magical doors.

Sharp eyed, he watched the shadow but said nothing. In fact, Susumu remained silent until they passed through all the various doors and stood out in the hallway. Even then, he took Alva's hand in his--it felt so different and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It could be days before he could see Alva again, in his own body with his own face. It was disconcerting, that much was for certain. Still, he didn't speak, only sighing as he led Alva out of the hallway and back into the library proper.

It wasn't until they were back in the car that he finally spoke, "That back there, that's normally a well guarded secret here. I took you there because this is an emergency but it could..."

It could place Alva in danger, knowing what he now knew. Even worse, he made eye contact with the darkness. It might lead him back here someday. All it took was a dream, a message, something that sparked curiosity. The only thing Susumu took comfort in was the fact that he doubted Alva would be able to remove all those magical wards... At least, not on his own.

He won't be that desperate to come back. Even if he was, he would surely show some kind of agitation that Susumu would pick up on.

Slowly, he reached over to start the car and it purred to life.

"Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody else about what we did."

Back in the car, some of the alarm faded. Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Maybe he was nervy and jumpy and on edge because of what transpired in that hidden room. Alva didn't speak for a little while, letting Susumu's words sink in. He stared out of the window at the library, quietly drumming his fingertips against his own thigh.

"I don't think anybody would believe me, even if I told them." He turned a softly wry smile upon Susumu. "Don't worry Susu, I won't tell a soul."

This was the kind of secret that he'd have to take to the grave, probably. Alva wasn't much of a gossip anyway and besides, the last thing he wanted to do was to send even more people into a frenzy of concern and panic. Having Ryland fussing over him dating a witch was bad enough! Alva couldn't imagine what would happen if he let slip that he went into a magically sealed room inside the old library, where a giant of a man guarded a dangerous entity who was capable of exerting its magic over the entire town!

"So... what now? Do we really just sit at home and wait this out?" He looked down at his legs and wiggled his toes. It still felt strange having functioning legs and feet, but if there was nothing else that could be done... He supposed that he ought to enjoy them while he had them...

Obviously there was something bigger happening in Hazleton and Susumu was now more aware of its origins. However, the information was dangerous. Why did he think it would be a good idea to bring Alva along? Now it meant that Alva was inducted into the small club of people who knew about the Founders. He concentrated on the road for a long moment, letting the implications settle in his chest uncomfortably.

"No," he said slowly--because waiting it out at home wasn't exactly ideal. He glanced over at Alva, still a little startled when he was greeted with the face of Alva's cousin rather than Alva himself.

"I suppose we're really partners now." He smiled wryly. "Only Founders and a certain coven know about what you just saw. You're not a witch but... Hm."

"I'm in the circle of trust," Alva said half-jokingly, giving Susumu a Knowing Look. Now that the ordeal was behind them, he felt a little better. At least there wasn't a giant warden staring them down and the occupant of the shady cell was safely locked away behind a million magical doors (and one heavily padlocked physical one). His smile was a little more free and he even laughed a little.

Sure, there was nothing explicitly hilarious about the situation but there would be an end to it, if the giant man was to be believed. That meant that at some point he would return to his own body and knowing that was a comfort in an of itself. Alva would have liked to pass on the knowledge to everyone else who body-swapped but he did just swear to keep this a secret. It was a shame--he would've liked to spare those others the fear and panic that he felt when he realized that he wasn't himself.

"Hey... Let's go back to my house, Susu." Last he remembered, Josh was at Susumu's apartment and Alva didn't know if he would still be there, waiting. The amount of blood on Susumu was also still mildly alarming and his house was closer, anyway.

"You are. Just... don't say anything about it to anybody. They're serious about keeping their secrets." He didn't want to have to say it aloud to Alva--that there was a reason nobody knew what they just saw. Only people who kept their mouths shut remained in that circle. People who liked to blab were taken out by any means necessary. Spells were cast on those who might have heard the wrong thing. There were people in psychiatry units, driven there by having their memories scrambled.

Susu didn't want to see Alva become one of those people.

He won't, he reminded himself. Alva wasn't some gossip. Still, there was the worry he might tell his cousin, who could tell his boyfriend, who could tell his brother, who could tell anyone. Susu hoped that both he and those that they'd left behind in the library were enough to keep Alva from saying anything. If not, Susu would have to erase the memory from Alva's mind. And if he did it, there would be another curse on Alva and... and he would just rather not keep cursing Alva just to keep him safe and by his side.

"Yes... mine's a little..." He grimaced. It was a mess by the time they left it. Actually, it was probably a crime scene by now, if anybody had happened upon it. Susu didn't want to walk into a crime scene any more than Alva did.

"I'm sorry." He couldn't apologize enough. "For dragging you into this."

(I'm closing this but we can start fresh in a new thread when you're ready!)