Shake it off!

[Mikko Ashby]

"Hooo boy... what have you gotten yourself into, Mik?" Mik asked his reflection in the small bathroom mirror as he dabbed at his face, after having splashed some water into it. He still felt kind of shaky and truthfully, he should have been resting after that weird... heart attack thing, but he couldn't sit there and do nothing while Cori was out lost and alone and scared. The fact that someone tried to kidnap him was crazy. An innocent kid like that with no ties to anyone shady? Why him?

Mik suspected it had something to do with his mother's disappearance. Why else would people start attacking them out of nowhere? Allie, Cori, Mik, they were all assaulted in some way for getting mixed up in this affair. He had no concept of the unifying element behind this—whether it was a person or a particular event—but he knew that they were in quite a lot of danger.

Which was why they needed to find Cori and stick together, and hopefully by virtue of numbers, they would overcome this. Whatever this was.

Sighing, he slowly made his way out to sit on the bed and wait for Lieve. He had already checked himself out; the nurse at the station protested but ultimately they had to let him go. Mik did arrive with his own clothes... but since he'd fallen into the mud at the shelter and then was whisked away in them to the hospital in an ambulance, they were pretty grimy and nasty. Aunt Shel had promised to bring him a change of clothes but an emergency came up at the shelter, and Mik told her not to bother until much later.

Suddenly, his phone went off on the bed beside him. An unknown number? Mik replied anyway; it wasn't uncommon for people trying to get the shelter to hit up his personal number. It was listed under the shelter website as an emergency contact as well. Then his eyes lit up—Rip! He was still texting with Rip, probably with a goofy ass smile on his face, when somebody walked in. Mik didn't lift his head yet to see who it was; he juuuuust had to fire off one more text...

Lieve Averesch Trash Bat

[Lieve Averesch]

None of this was sitting right with Lieve. He had a Bad Feeling^TM about the entire ordeal and he was pretty sure it stemmed from Mik's new crush. All the connections were tied to him. Every time Mik said Rip, Lieve couldn't help it. His lip curled a little. All he could imagine was some old guy using Mik, abused by some boyfriend? How did Mik know this was true? Did he even see the boyfriend? It could all be made up for pity points! Oh, feel sorry for me, take care of me! A thirty year old man!

But he couldn't keep razzing on Mik. It would only drive a wedge between them and they were friends. He just... he didn't like it. Even more, he didn't like that it was involving Cori, who was his best friend and really did need taking care of.

Mik said he had something of Cori's though, and that should be enough to track him. That was enough to push him into action immediately. He wouldn't be home when the cops arrived to take his statement but eh. The cops couldn't take care of this. Not if magic and magic baddies were involved.

Clutching a paper bag of clothes to his chest, Lieve hurried up to the hospital entrance. The storm that had come in with unnatural force was finally started to abate but the sky was still grey and Lieve didn't trust them not to open up over him.

Inside, he headed for the room Mik told him he was waiting in and he wasn't all that surprised to see him on his phone. What he didn't expect was the goofy ass smile. Lieve marched over, plopping the paper bag onto the bed before setting a hand on his hip and looking at Mik with a raised eyebrow.

"How can you be smiling at a time like this?" He reached for the phone with his other hand. "Where's Cori's mitten?"

[Mikko Ashby]

"Exqueeze me," Mik tutted as he looked up after sending his text, to see Lieve being disapproving. "I was having a private conversation, miss thing." Without much fight, he let Lieve take the phone because he had nothing to hide. And also that was a fast hand coming at him and he was weak from his ordeal.

Sighing, he got off the bed and opened the paper bag. Ah, clothes! Normal ones! "Mitten is on the bedside table. That's his right? Ooh but Rip said Cori got away! Scroll up, you'll see."

Meanwhile he let the flimsy papery gown slide off and started putting on the clothes that Lieve so nicely brought for him. "Huh... you DO have normal clothes! Go figure!" Jeans, white tee. Pretty classic actually! "Is it still raining? We should get a cab out to Greenwood since that's where Cori was last right?"

[Lieve Averesch]

"He got away?"

Cori? He was kidnapped and he got away? Lieve did scroll up and he saw what Mik was talking about... but... he sighed with exasperation before he dropped the phone onto the bed like a hot potato. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to read the two of them flirting with each other. Gaaaaag.

Picking up the mitten, he nodded. It was definitely Cori's. He could feel his energy in it. Cori always had a warm energy about him. A bit like the sunshine dappled through broad leaves. If things weren't so serious, maybe he would be smiling too but he was worried sick.

"I like how he didn't say how Cori got away," Lieve said as he held the mitten in both hands. "And no, the rain stopped but it's still ultra cloudy so... and yeah, no, I got a cab already, it's out there waiting for us."

But something was wrong. While Cori's trace energy was on the mitten and should have been easy to track... It was like somebody had cloaked him in some kind of anti-tracking spell.

"I can't find him. Somebody's blocking his energy trace."

[Mikko Ashby]

"As long as Cori got away, that's all that matters!" Now Lieve was just nitpicking because he didn't like the guy. For whatever reason. Probably good reasons, to be fair; Lieve wasn't the quick-to-judge type, since lots of people were quick to judge him. Mik had an aversion towards people like that for precisely this reason, knowing how much heat Lieve took for looking and acting different. But he was a genuinely good guy, and someone who cared about his friends—like Cori and Mik.

So he didn't take offense at the fact that Lieve disapproved of his budding relationship with Rip. But once Lieve met him, Mik was sure that he would change his mind. He would see what a sweet soul Rip had—but hopefully not also fall for him because c'mon, this was Mik's time! It was his chance at having a boyfriend and experiencing all that lovey dovey junk that couples always talked about!

"Wait what?" He zipped up the jeans quickly and walked over to look at the mitten. All he saw was a mitten... because he was human. "You can't—what? Is that a thing? Someone's stopping us from finding him? Who?" Mik touched the mitten... but all he felt was a mitten. Of course. "Well then let's get out there and start looking! He can't have gotten far if he's on foot right? Come on."

Taking Lieve by the hand, he hustled on out of the room, hastily grabbing and stuffing his phone into his pocket. "Can you think of anywhere Cori would go if he was in trouble? We should stop by the shelter too, I know he likes to hide there sometimes. I'll try calling Aunt Shel, let her know Cori might stop by and to keep him there until we get there."

[Lieve Averesch]

"Yeah... but..."

Cori getting away did matter--he wasn't going to contest that. But where was he and why was he being hidden? That sounded suspicious. Didn't it sound suspicious to Mik? That somebody kidnapped Cori and then let him go... but hid his energy trace? It didn't make sense. But it was certainly all kinds of suspish.

"I don't know... There's just... nothing. Like he vanished off the face of the earth."

But he couldn't be anywhere else. And all they had to go on was Mik's weirdo crush and his word. He said that Cori got away, but didn't say how. And that he had been held in Greenwood, and so had to be close to that area. Ahhhhh. Lieve pulled at his own hair. This was... maddening! But the only real clue they had was Greenwood.

"We'll check around Greenwood first. But... the safest place... I mean, the first place he would probably go is to me. You know, home." He said all this as they briskly walked through the hospital halls and out to the lobby. Luckily, the cab was still waiting for them. Lieve was half afraid he'd run off on them but they didn't waste much time. Sliding into the back, Lieve directed the driver to Greenwood.

[Mikko Ashby]

"I don't like magic Lieve," Mik muttered as he got into the back of the cab with Lieve and curled an arm around his for solidarity and comfort. "I do not like all of this nonsense and I want Cori back without some weirdo masking him from being found by the mitten." Even what he said didn't make sense! That was how messed up magic was! Everybody was going nuts over the stuff but Mik wasn't having any of it from now on.

Life was simpler without magic!

But now he was worried too, and he started to wonder if something happened to Cori again. After he ran off. Like did he get caught? Rip would have told him about it... But Rip was out, he said, at the phone store. So Rip probably didn't know anything and Mik didn't want him to go back to his apartment in case his crazy ex Keith was there. It sounded like maybe Keith didn't go home? Maybe he was still around, and he got his dirty filthy hands on Cori again?

Rip was safer at the shelter with Aunt Shel. And they could find Cori by themselves and rescue him from that asshole Keith. God, he hated that guy—and he didn't even know what he looked like! "Do you think we should split up if we can't find him the first time around? Cover more real estate? I mean if Cori got away he'd know to go home and stay there, that's what we always tell him to do if he gets in trouble. Let's check back home too, after we check the shelter. He seriously can't get far, I mean... this town is dinky tiny!"

[Lieve Averesch]

"It can be a wonderful thing when it's in the right hands."

Lieve personally loved magic but that was because his was natural magic. He didn't use evil spells or really have any dark magic at all within him. Dryads were a natural subset of fairies, just like sylphs and ifrits. They were spiritually tied to an element, pure and simple. Natural magic. Even that could be perverted and twisted in the wrong hands, of course. But Lieve wasn't one of those people. He really just used his magic to make a living.

"Should we go home first then?" Lieve asked. "He was supposed to head back home. I asked him to when he was worried that he had a curse on him..." That now seemed the least of their problems but... That was also on the problem list.

"Do you want to check the shelter while I check back home?"

[Mikko Ashby]

"Good......... idea.........."

Mik said distractedly, typing away with one hand on his phone. What? He had a lot going on right now between different parties, okay? Rip was talking about stars, Lieve was trying to convince him that magic wasn't a huge heaping shovel full of steaming hot mess, Aunt Shel was freaking out about him checking out of the hospital and... Rip was talking about stars and it seemed important. What? What?! He could be worried about Cori and still do other things!

"Okay. What? Yes. You go home, I'll go to the shelter. We'll cover more ground that way. If anything happens, let me know immediately! And I'll do the same."

That sounded like a plan! Mik leaned forward to ask the driver to drop him off at the shelter; it was on the way, and Lieve's place wasn't much further from there. Going to Greenwood was a long shot anyway since Cori would be long gone from there by now. He sighed, long and deep and wearily, as he sank back against the seat.

"Try the mitten again. Keep trying, maybe you'll see something eventually."

[Lieve Averesch]

Lieve eyed Mik with flat, unamused eyes. Obviously, he was more consumed by whatever his crush was talking about over text. Suppressing the urge to sigh, Lieve grabbed a hairband from around his wrist and began tying his long hair up to get it out of the way. It was something to do with his hands--and he was a nervous wreck on the inside. If they touched Cori... if they hurt him, if that sicko abusive person hit him or worse... It took a lot to make Lieve mad. And he was mad that somebody would kidnap Cori.

"Sure... I'll let you know," he said, although with the way Mik kept typing and checking his phone, he got the feeling Cori came in second to this Rip weirdo. "I just hope that's where he went. Home. He knows he's safe with me. I just have to get there..."

Why would he go back to the shelter--the scene of the crime? Surely... surely he would finally come home to Lieve after he practically begged him to come home when he found out he was cursed.

"Unfortunately, while his energy trace is on this mitten, when I try to follow its thread, it's blocked by really powerful magic. What if it's a trap? They kidnapped him, did something to him, then let him go... That's what it sounds like, doesn't it?"

[Mikko Ashby]

"You're literally the first person he goes to for anything Lieve. Of course Cori would go home to you! Or try to." But on the off-chance that something happened along the way, the shelter was closer and Cori also knew that Aunt Shel would protect him to the best of her ability. That made him worry about his aunt, though. And Rip, if he went to the shelter like Mik told him to...

He thought about what Lieve said, about it being a trap. Then he scrolled up along his conversation with Rip, reading and re-reading what he said about Cori. "I don't know... It sounds like Cori maybe escaped to me. Well Rip said he helped Cori escape, right here..."

But if Lieve didn't trust Rip then naturally he would be suspicious. MIk didn't understand what he meant by 'they're not looking for him,' though. Why not? If they went to so much trouble to kidnap him... Why wouldn't they be after Cori? That cast another little seed of doubt, one which he tried to brush off. He could ask Rip about it. He should—Cori was his friend too, and he had a duty to find Cori and protect him. Even if it was from Rip, which he highly doubted but... all the same...

"Also they wouldn't know that you can track Cori would they? Like you specifically, unless they've been stalking you guys or something and know what you are. But... A lot of this doesn't add up for me," he admitted finally, shaking his head.

[Lieve Averesch]

"That's what I'm thinking, too."

He was just worried that something would block him from coming home. Or that under some misguided attempt to save Lieve, that Cori might choose not to go home. But without a phone, how were any of them supposed to get a hold of Cori to make sure he went home or to the shelter. Where else would he go? Those were the best bets...

"Exactly!" Lieve finally exploded as Mik agreed with him. "This is all--it's not making sense to me! I'm not trying to shit all over your crush here. Age difference aside, it's all this other stuff that's really bothering me. Date a fifty year old if you really must. But if the guy is involved in the kidnapping of my best friend--!"

He wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head.

"We'll get to the bottom of this. We have to..." He looked up. They were already coming up onto the shelter. Lieve sat up straighter, anxious. "Hey, check the shelter really quick and let me know if he's around, will you? Before I go home."

[Mikko Ashby]

"I'll just... I'll ask. No point speculating, right? We don't know what went down there, it's easier to ask Rip." They had nothing to lose at this point anyway, with Cori already disappeared on them. Mik fired off a quick text, feeling nervous as hell. What if Rip's response cast more doubt upon his intentions? What if Lieve was right about him?

But the goldfish. The kitten. That sweet, soft kiss they shared at the shelter and the way Rip looked at him just moments beforehand, with his soft touch to Mik's face. How could anyone exude genuine feeling like that, then turn around and screw the same person over? Did Mik have such bad judgment that he couldn't see what Rip was really up to? He really doubted it; he knew himself and he knew that if Rip was the least bit suspicious, he would have never allowed him to get that close.

Meanwhile, the cab pulled up to the shelter gate and Mik nodded. "Yeah, good idea! Sit tight, I'll be right back!" He sprinted up the path to the shelter and burst on through, calling his aunt's name. She emerged looking harried and immediately grabbed him in a tight hug. Then shouted at him for scaring the life out of her by running out of the hospital before he was due to be discharged.

"Aunt Shel, quick. Did Cori show up here?" Mik hugged her back and held on to her—mostly to stop her from hitting him.

"Cori? No, I haven't seen him. Why—Mik! Mikkos you come back here!"

Mik was out again, sprinting back down the path. "No Cori. Go home. Quick, see if he's there. I'm gonna take a look around inside and then get back out and go around to Greenwood. Maybe someone around there saw him. He was dressed pretty weird, we have a good chance of him being noticed."

[Lieve Averesch]

"What else am I going to do?" Lieve asked as he watched Mik rush out of the cab and run for the shelter. Meanwhile, he sat and waited, agitated. Come on, Mik. Don't take forever. He kept looking and waiting for any sign of him coming back. Hopefully with Cori, although he wasn't holding his breath. Cori usually ran to Lieve when he was in trouble... why would he come back here? And... Lieve checked his own phone. But there was nothing from Cori. Of course not.

Then Mik came back, breathlessly giving him the update that there was no Cori.

"Okay," Lieve said, the tight ball in his chest growing. "Keep looking. Tell me if you see or hear ANYTHING!"

And then he was directing the cab back to his own place, that ball of tightness growing as he held his phone and waited and waited and waited. It felt like two hundred years before the cab stopped in front of his place. Biting his lower lip with anticipation, Lieve paid the cab fare and slid out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind him as he ran up the path to his home and leaping up the front steps.

As soon as he was inside, he called out to Cori, immediately moving through every room in the house.

[Cori Viera]

Cori huddled in the corner of his closet, curled up into the tiniest ball he could make of himself. It was dark in there and it was hot and cramped; he kept hearing noises that he imagined were those weird crazy people coming after him again, that they had found him and were going to take him back to Greenwood. His heart throbbed mercilessly every time he thought about Rip, too, imagining him stuck there while Cori had to make a run for it.

He promised he'd find help for Rip, but here he was. Miserably Cori curled into himself even further. He had run all the way home from Greenwood without stopping. In the moment of panic and fear, he didn't feel tired; he just ran and ran and ran, imagining that cloak over him the way Rip told him to. Even now, it was still there, some invisible barrier covering him and keeping him from being found by bad guys—and by good guys, although he didn't know it.

When he got home, Lieve wasn't there, which made him panic even more. He ran into his room and got into the closet and just sat there for what felt like forever, while he tried to think of what to do next. The problem was: he didn't know what to do. Usually when he got into trouble, he came home and talked to Lieve (or his mom, when she was still here) and Lieve had the solution. Sometimes the solution was to ignore the problem and wait for it to go away but this didn't seem like one of those times...

Cori stiffened. Footsteps—he heard them distinctly. Putting a hand over his mouth to keep himself from making any scared noises, he wedged himself even harder back against the wall, shutting his eyes and desperately imagining his protective invisible cloak was there...

"Lieve!" That was Lieve's voice! Cori struggled to get to his feet and burst out of the closet stumbling on a fallen coat. He fell, got up, and ran outside where he threw himself into Lieve's arms. "Lieve! You're back! You're back!"