[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.
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.
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.
You have been summoned to an interrogatory interview regarding the Brownstone Fire case. We will be expecting you on Wednesday 21st, 2018 at the 9th precinct in New York City at 9.30. Please, don’t be late.
WHO: Marley Rose and Dani Harper (additional mentions of Team LN and Team Fuck Doors members)
WHEN: Friday, January 27th, 2018; late evening
WHERE: outside Mr. P’s Menagerie
WHAT: Marley and Dani find each other in the aftermath of Operation #SaveKurt.
WARNING(S): mentions of injury and near death, fire, maybe a lesbian kiss or five.
Marley simultaneously pinches, grasps, holds onto parts of herself in an attempt to further tether herself physically to her surroundings again, while the names on her lips grow hoarse with her shouting and the smoke still affecting her lungs. "... Tina... Sam... Matt... Dani..." she keeps trying between coughs. It's several seconds before she thinks to pat herself down and find her phone, stomach lurching with fear and anxiety once more as she sees missed texts from Sam, from Dani, from the big group text. Oh Aether and Earth Mother, where was everybody?? 'Miss, are you okay?' She looks away from the burning house to the woman speaking to her. She recognizes the Cardine uniform instantly. 'Do you need a medic?' "No, I need..." her voice trails off as it trembles, her gaze returning to the smoking house. 'The others are doing what they can to get stragglers out of the house. But miss, you're bleeding-' "I'm fine," she insists. The sun will heal her up soon enough. "I'm fine, I just need my friends to be okay." The woman nods curtly and steps away. 'Get her a blanket, she's shivering like crazy,' she hears the voice command, and Marley curls into herself, not realizing she's been cold this whole time. What did chilly weather matter when second by second was passing with no sign of their team?
Dani has been out of the house for a while, fighting the urge to get back inside to find her friends. She got out with Quinn alright, but the moment she had turned she had seen the flames behind the windows. She had no idea how big the place really was, or if they´d make it out in time, and she had been desperate to help them. Marley´s still in there, she thought, having fought off the medics who had been meaning to look at her. There´s chaos everywhere and she tries to hold on to the fact that they´re all better trained than her. It´s not long before she hears someone call out her name and it almost breaks her heart. Relief floods her at the same time though, because no matter what she looks like, if she´s hurt or not, at least Marley isn´t dead. Dani needs a moment to find her in the crowd but when she does she bolts for it as fast as her feet are still carrying her. "MARLEY!" She half yells, half sobs as she throws her arms around the other woman, almost knocking them both over.
Marley nearly gets knocked over a second time, an alarmed cry forcing its way out of her at the contact. But she recognizes the voice that comes barrelling in along with it, her heart easing up, if only minutely, in her chest. "DANI!" she cries in relief, grabbing onto the other girl and holding on. She's real. She's here. She's okay. Is she okay? She pulls back to touch her head, her face, her shoulders, arms, all in a quick attempt to assess for damage or injury as her breathing speeds up again. "Are you okay?? I thought I'd lost you, I thought I'd lost all of you," she babbled through worried tears.
Dani doesn´t really notice that she´s crying, but the pain in her chest is easing up just a little. She hasn´t found everyone, but she´s found Marley and somehow that´s most important. She touches the other´s face, her chest, her arms, all while Marley does the same and Aether she´s here. She´s bruised and bloody, but she´s here. "I´m alright. I´m fine," She babbles as she pulls Marley into another hug, pressing her lips against the other´s cheek. "I was going to look for you...I did...I opened every god damn door I could find..."
Marley "It's okay, it's okay," she insists, though a lump rises in her throat. She'd promised Dani she'd find her if something happened, and she hadn't even been able to do that much. "I was stuck in a room, I couldn't move, I was..." Disappearing? Disintegrating? It was difficult to explain when she had no point of reference. That didn't matter now though. "I was so scared, one step in and I'd already lost you, all of you. But you're here, you're okay." She had to laugh through her tears, holding the back of Dani's head as they held the hug. "Thank Aether. I'm so sorry we got split up."
Dani thinks about the burns on the insides of her hands from where she´s opened every door, even the ones whose door knobs had already been heated up from the fire, it hurts, but it´s nothing compared to the thoughts of her friends not making it out. "I found you..." She mumbles. It might not have been what they had both promised, but it´s something. She pulls back, resting her hands on either side of Marley´s face, the burns only stinging slightly. "I was going to go back in..." She says quietly, trying to blink away some tears. "But they wouldn´t let me...so I told them who to look for...and they found you."
Marley laughs through another cry, though it's hard to not face her own mortality with that in mind. The building was burning down. Fae and fire did not mix well. And she couldn't move until that Cardine had tackled her to the floor. She should've been dead. But she was out, she was alive. "Aether... I promised to save you but you saved me instead," she mused, though it was only for a mere second as that sunk in. She reached up to cover the hands holding her face, willing her erratic heart and lungs to relax even the slightest. They were okay. Dani was real. She was real. She could feel her touch and she was there.
Dani "Oh trust me, you saved me." She speaks quietly, a small laugh escaping her throat. Maybe not today. And not here, but Aether Marley´s save her from drowning in her own misery. From walking away from NYADA and probably ruining her entire life yet again. She leans in, pressing her forehead against Marley´s. "Are you alright? Shouldn´t a medic have a look at you?" She whispers then, because she knows someone should have taken a look at her own hands and she knows how stubborn Marley can be. Both of them, really.
Marley lets out a shaky laugh. "No, I'm fine," she insists, shaking her head. "I've endured much worse injuries, believe it or not." Maybe not quite of the mind, but she's come out with all of her limbs intact and minimal bruises and cuts. It's a definite step up. "Are you sure you're okay? You didn't get injured, did you?"
Dani "No...no. It was just...really weird." She thinks back on the fog and the Nephilim and Quinn Fabray opening up to her of all people. "Just some burns...but they´ll be fine. I´ve gotten out better than I thought I would." Not that she had really cared what would happen to her. Dani´s never put herself and her well being above all others and for once she´s found people who are the same. "You know what?" She eventually whispers, pulling back a little, but not letting go of Marley.
Marley frowns a little when she mentions burns. "That's okay. I can try to heal them later," she offers, the darkening sky above limiting her offer until the next day. There wasn't much she could do without the help of sunlight. But at least Dani was in fair enough shape. This rescue mission had not left her permanently scarred or maimed in some way. "What?" she asks in an equally quiet voice, searching her face for some kind of answer.
Dani shakes her head. "I´m fine. It´ll heal." It´s really not the worst she´s endured either during her short lifetime, but it doesn´t really matter. What matters is that they´re alright and the fact that Marley is alright gives her hope that the other would be too. Somehow. "I told myself that, if we made it through this, I´d ask you out on a date." She laughed. "Some might say this isn´t the right place, but to quote Ronald Weasley. "I know, mate, so it´s now or never, isn´t it?"
Marley can't help laughing through the tears and the fear again. "Well, I told myself when - not if, when - we completed our mission, I'd do this-" Her hands dropped from Dani's to wrap around her waist instead and pull her in while her lips found hers in a damn proper kiss. No sneak attacks where she had no time to respond. No hesitation or conflict. Just doing precisely what she'd wanted to do all along.
Dani has to admit that she did not see that one coming. She´s briefly thought about kissing Marley, but then she had seen her and just wanted to hold her and so she´d done that instead. When their lips meet however she gasps and almost misses half the kiss because she´s laughing. It´s a happy laugh, amidst all the chaos surrounding them. Her hands are burned, her hair´s dark with ash and there´s a god damn burning building right behind them, but all she cares about in that moment is wrapping her arms around Marley and kissing her back.
Marley hears Dani's laughter and can't help but laugh as well, pulling her in that much closer. Aether, it's such a stereotypical, movie magic sort of cliched moment, but she decidedly doesn't care. She's been through hell. Dani has too. And aetherdammit, she was going to celebrate this fleeting moment of victory however the hell she wanted, and that meant a kiss upon a kiss upon a kiss. "Now or never," she agrees breathlessly when she finally pulls back, reaching up to brush soot and ash away from Dani's face. The shouting of Cardines fades in, as does the crackling sound of fire and the awful smell of smoke. She'll probably need treatment for pollution poisoning when they get back to campus but she didn't care. Dani was safe. And she had to believe with everything in her that the others were going to be okay too. That somehow they would find Kurt before it was too late. "They're gonna be okay," she finds herself promising Dani. "We always somehow come out okay."
Dani doesn´t mind that it´s stereotypical because she´s never had that. She´s never even had anything close to a happy ending and if this is what she´s getting then damn, it´s great! She´s a little breathless when they pull apart, but her lips are curved into a smile, a real one this time. She doesn´t know how many times they´ve been through something like this, but something in Dani trusts Marley when she says they´ll all be alright. She slides her hand into the other woman´s, intertwining their fingers and squeezing Marley´s hand. "Yeah," she then nods. "We´ll be okay."
WHAT: Trying to get information about Kurt and the other missing LN is hard, man.
WHEN: January 24th and 25th.
WHERE: Around campus, and at the Manhattan Branch of the Lusus Naturae Protection Committee.
WARNINGS: Some mentions of injuries and mention of death.
[ 1.24.18 ]
Matt stops over at Avicenna first, citing an excuse that involves running and an upturned root. He’s patched up quickly and sent on his way, thankfully, but he’s still sore as he heads to his first class; but that is from the spell, and the untreated bruises around his torso that he didn’t know how to explain away. Rubbing at a spot by his navel, his steps slow subconsciously. The posters around campus are something he’s not sure he’ll get used to. He studies them, and he wonders if these people really have someone to look out for them.
A couple minutes late, he mutters an apology to the professor and sets his things down, choosing to sit by the back. It’s been hard to pay attention lately, and he would rather not have a professor breathing down his neck as he stares into the distance. Not engaging their attention in the class seems to be a popular choice, as he hears two students muttering amongst themselves. They don’t really talk, but they do share a couple Naturalization classes, and by the looks of them they’re talking about something depressing.
“Do you know anyone who’s missing?” Matt asks as he leans towards them. That is more of a conversation starter than an actual question; everyone knows someone who is missing.
“Yeah,” one of them says, smiling sadly, as the other one goes quiet, “a few of our friends.”
Matt nods. “Have you heard anything about--”
“No.” The guy who had answered him before is left with a half-open mouth and a half-formed thought, as the girl who’d stayed quiet replies. “No news.”
“Oh,” Matt says. It’s pretty obvious they don’t want to talk about it, and the professor is starting to glance their way. “Alright.” He sits back again, and pretends to pay attention to what’s being said at the front of the room. No news, she’d said, but it sounded like there were news. Well, at least the group chat is alive as ever with the information that they all gathered. Maybe that’s all he can hope for right now.
Matt was wrong. He can get some answers on his own too. When Dani mentioned getting some information at the Committee, it seemed obvious that it would be a choice.
So now he’s there, and he hadn’t expected how nervous he would be. He thinks it’s okay, because who has a loved one go missing and isn’t nervous, right? Aether, it’s almost his turn, and he has no idea what to say. People all around him are carrying pictures, some of them have flashcards and other stuff and they just seem about a million times more prepared to do this than he is.
“Next,” the lady at the counter says, and his heart skips a beat. Damn it.
Smiling, or trying to, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Hey,” he starts, and has to clear his throat to get rid of the shake there. “I was just wondering, uh, if you could give me any information on Kurt Hummel. He’s, uh...” A friend? It seems too vague to say that. A friend can mean anything. Frantically, he looks around for an idea, and he sees a family sitting quietly by the side. “My son?” He kicks himself internally. “Fuck! Not my son, obviously. I’m only 24. That’s an inside joke, fuckin’ hilarious. He’s my...” Matt can feel his brain going over dozens of possibilities, “brother?”
One look at the lady and he knows getting elbowed in the subway was in vain.
[ 1.25.18 ]
This week, any sort of notification from the group of people in the group chat catches his attention immediately, but even though he’s working, when he sees the word ‘footage’ he almost throws the book he’s holding straight at Beowulf’s face. Taking a moment to breathe through the initial jolt, he mutters something about needing to take this, shuffles his way into the Rare Finds room, and tries to prepare himself.
When he opens it, queasiness sneaks up on him. Kurt was hurt. And that man, well, Matt doesn’t think he took Kurt to have a picnic at Central Park.
This video, it’s not an answer any of them want, but it’s one of the more tangible answers they have; it doesn’t lie. Swallowing, he goes over what they have found out, trying to connect the dots. Unless this dick had actually helped Kurt, and then dumped him somewhere, the kidnapping theory seems to pan out.
The disappearing posters tell a story of their own, along with the rooms being emptied out, and he wracks his brain. What does it mean?
A knock on the door snaps him out of it. Fuck, he’s in the middle of a shift. Saving the footage to his phone, he slips out of the room, but his gears keep turning.
The time to act is now.
Lazarus, thank Aether, eventually finds his distraction strange, and upon asking him if he feels well, sends him home. Matt, in turn, had jumps straight on the subway; if there is ever a moment to try to get answers from the LN Protection Committee it’s now.
It’s a long shot; it’s around the same time he was there yesterday, so it’s likely the same woman is available to answer questions, and, well, he is probably the sort of person the employees get together to roll their eyes at or laugh at. So he has a plan.
With a hoodie on, he ducks into the public restroom that’s closest to the Committee, and locks himself into a stall. On his phone, he brings up a picture; it’s another man, similar sort of looking dude to him, and he thinks back to his classes. He’s absolutely not good at Illusion, but he can’t always go running to Santana when he needs something like this done. Taking a breath, he begins to cast.
It’s a real shitty plan. As soon as he walks out, he doesn’t even chance looking at himself in the mirror, lest he get discouraged. The hoodie still on place over his head, he tries to hold his head high as he steps into the shortest line; while it leads directly to the same woman who saw him yesterday, he knows this illusion won’t last long, and he needs to get it over with, fast.
It’s just his fucking luck that the person in front of him decides to get into an argument; he’s saying that they got the wrong apartment, that they’d cleared out all his stuff and he’s demanding a compensation for all the items that had been lost. Matt starts sweating as minutes go by; he wasn’t expecting this at all.
By the time the man is ushered out, he’s not even sure what verdict they have reached, and the woman there takes a look at him and all he sees is exhaustion. “Let me guess, you’re here for your son? No, your brother?”
“Uh,” he thinks to argue, but the only lie that pops into his head is he has a twin brother or that his double is shockingly still alive. Even in this moment of desperation, he knows it won’t work. With a disappointed sigh, he smiles sadly at the woman, “I’ll see myself out.” And he does.
Aether, he hopes someone else has had more luck than him.
