[FIN] What's Behind Door #32? (Jeremiah & Kaleb)

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb wanted to go to the library that afternoon, to do some reading, get a head start on next week's lecture material, and especially to enjoy the silence he couldn't find with his new musically-inclined roommate. What he ended up doing was wandering around on a warm, almost summery day, overdressed in his winter clothes as he walked in and out of every building he passed.

That bizarre other realm had changed since the last time he was there, it had always been raining in the past. But there were indications he couldn't ignore, like overgrown or crumbling buildings where he knew there were shops, or the occasional shadow moving on it's own, a disembodied whisper from off in the distance, or plants swaying without so much as a light breeze in the air.

So Kaleb had tried to stifle his worries for the time being, and following a tip he had received on a previous visit, was opening one creaky old door after another and stepping through in hopes of finding a way home. It had been a doorway that led him here, surely there was one that would take him back...

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

There was something about the air of other ashdown that was more invigorating. Jeremiah attached that to the fact that magic was so free and he was, at this point, filled to the brim with magic and, as a noble, truly coming into his power.

So when he came to this side, a mission on his mind, and felt as if there was something off he followed it. Gut instinct in this place was never a bad thing to follow but perhaps it was not the wisest idea to follow what was clearly his sense for danger.

Not that he had found it yet, no. Instead he caught sight of someone opening a door. Then another and another. It took only a moment for him to realize what was going on and another to realize who it was.

"Kaleb!" he called out to the young man, a hand lifted in greeting.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

So absorbed in his attempts to exit the other ashdown, Kaleb didn't realize anyone was nearby until he heard his name called out in the otherwise quiet street. With one hand reaching out towards the next doorknob, he jumped like he had been physically shocked. At least the voice was familiar enough, not to mention human enough, to prevent him from diving into a hiding place. When he turned around he immediately recognized the detective, and a second later the name came to mind.

"Jeremiah?" Kaleb asked, half in greeting, half for confirmation. The first time they met, he had been more interested in the man's cat, and the second time... well, it wasn't really a meeting so much as a general gathering of people and a string of events Kaleb would prefer to forget.

The youth put a pause on the door-opening efforts. "How is Hellbine?" He asked with a shy smile. Animals were easy to talk about, a nice, safe, neutral territory.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Doing well," he replied easily enough, coming to a stop down the steps from where Kaleb was at. "He was a little flustered by the shift that happened but otherwise still a small hellion."

Likewise, Jeremiah's memory of Kaleb was of someone who was a touch shy and otherwise pulled into a situation that was something else all together. "I shouldn't be surprised to find you here but I am all the same ..." His head tilted, that strange reflective glow making his eyes look bright. "Trying to find a way back out, I assume?"

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb smiled, glad to hear word of the small cat. He hadn't thought about how the change in magic might also have affected magical animals. Surely it was an even bigger change than what he had faced as an average, nonmagical human.

"Yeah, someone told me it was often doorways and borders that would take someone here by accident, so I thought maybe that might also be my best chance to get back home..." He explained, wondering how long Jeremiah might have been there to see. The teen's face flushed slightly with embarrassment, hoping his door to door attempts at escape hadn't been observed for very long.

He reached out to the doorknob once more, hoping maybe this one was the lucky exit, but before he could lay his hand on it he felt something... weird. Kaleb quickly pulled his hand back, but when he could see nothing outwardly wrong with the door he reached forward again. The feeling returned, not in his hand exactly, but definitely something in that vicinity. It reminded him of jagged metal, with sharp edges cut carelessly and left unfinished.

Kaleb paused, completely at a loss. He didn't want to touch that door.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Kaleb was fortunate that that was the case, though Jeremiah would've been understanding to see him try so many doors. It was not entirely unlike what he had done originally when he couldn't find his way to and from other ashdown.

"Not inaccurate info and the smart thing to do," he said with a small reassuring smile. Blinking, Jeremiah inclined his head just slightly as he realized that Kaleb was hesitantly reaching for door more than once only to pull back. The expression on the young man's face also gave him pause.

"Is there something wrong?" His attention focused on the door itself, mentally checking his own senses if there was something off. That gut feeling, that instinct for danger, was still prevalent but it didn't seem to be at this spot.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb shook his head, but there was still uncertainty clear on his face.

"No I... I don't think so," he replied, unable to explain exactly what it was that bothered him about the door. It was probably fine, just another way this other Ashdown was messing with his head. Maybe some doors were just not meant to be opened. In that case though, maybe Jeremiah had also experienced this strange sensation in the past.

Kaleb took a step back, away from the door. "In here, there are probably places you shouldn't go, right?" He asked vaguely, looking up for some sign of guidance from the older man.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"If your instincts are telling you something, it's best to listen. Intuition is a very real thing and sometimes a feeling isn't just a feeling." Jeremiah was serious. It was the difference between getting injured and not. He reached towards the door himself, fingers resting on the handle and then pulling away.

"There are places you aren't meant to go here but usually ... they're warded off. The college and high school are two of those places." His gaze flicked back to Kaleb. "I am actually chasing something right now myself, a feeling, but I also know that it's a particular ability of mine."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

"What are the wards like?" Kaleb asked nervously, taking another step away from the door as he watched Jeremiah approach. He couldn't suppress an expectant flinch when the older man touched the handle, nor could he keep the fearful relief off his face when the detective pulled back without opening the door.

"Does it... feel wrong?" He squeaked, realizing the unremarkable door was even more worrisome now that Jeremiah had given some credibility to his anxiety. "I don't have any ability or anything though, I'm just a normal person."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I say wards but they're ..." Jeremiah's hand flicked through the air. "It's almost like a force field in the case of the college. There's something there that stops you from crossing or getting too close but it's an empty field on the other side. The building is there but we cannot see it, I believe. The high school is more or less, if you walk to it you find yourself walking away from the rubble that it is." Again, it was up in the air if it was actually rubble.

His eyes turned their focus back to the door, staring at it a moment and then breathing deep as he really looked at it. Jeremiah's eyes normally had an odd reflective quality, not unlike a cat's, but now they actively glowed as he tried see if there really was something there.

"No, it doesn't feel wrong but there is something in the area. It's not even a path back that I can tell ..." His gaze flicked back to Kaleb. "... and you're far from a normal person, at this point, Kaleb. Especially if you're here."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Whatever it was on that door, it certainly didn't feel as benign as a force field or a redirection of physics...

"So the door, it's probably just a regular door, right? Not anything bad?" Kaleb asked doubtfully, watching as the older man examined the area. It wasn't the first time Kaleb had noticed the shining eyes that day, but this was hardly remarkable after all the other things he had experienced since moving to Ashdown.

However, it hadn't occurred to him that he could be anything other than a normal person who simply got caught up in the town's magical happenings.

"But I can't do anything magical," Kaleb protested quickly. "I just end up here sometimes, that's all."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Probably, though it doesn't necessarily mean that there's not something else going on with it." Jeremiah still gave the door a look over but there wasn't, so far as he could tell, anything going on with it. His glowing eyed gaze flicked back towards Kaleb and he let out a breath.

"You can do something magical, especially because you are here." His fingers wiggled in the air, coldfire flaring to life above them in individual flames that, as he twisted his hand so that it was palm up, came together in a small ball. "This place is magic and you can do magic just by being here."

Another flick of his fingers and the fire died away.

"Even that instinct you have? That there's something going on with the door? That could be magic that's just now blossoming."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb's somewhat skeptical expression also hinted at worry. Certainly he couldn't do anything like that, just making fire appear out of nowhere, or seeing magical doors. He wasn't even sure he could call that sensation of sharp edges and unpleasantness an instinct. In the past he had been told he could do a lot of things, which had eventually translated to being told he should be able to do a lot of things despite evidence to the contrary. Now it just made him feel rather lost.

"If it really is just a normal door, it's probably not a sign of magic instinct either," Kaleb tried to reason out. "It might be stress. Or I'm not getting enough sleep and confusing myself over nothing."

In spite of his own denial, he had given up on opening the door entirely. While he stepped back, force of habit tugged at him to change the subject.

"You can find a way back to the other side?" Kaleb asked, thinking about how Jeremiah had studied the door. Could he actually see magic if it was present? That would be a useful skill to have, even if the consequence was reflective eyes.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah was not quite sure what to do with Kaleb and his denial, knowing that it was - in the long run - quite detrimental to using magic. Doubts made things harder but also, in some cases, made them hit harder.

For the moment, he let it go, moving on as Kaleb had (but he'd likely revisit it). "Yes. I can see the places where the veil between this side and the other are thin; where you can cross over. The other side of that is that my eyes are a bit more sensitive to magic, so it always catches my attention."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Unfortunately for Kaleb, doubt was par for the course. He had doubted so much about himself and his abilities to begin with, and that insecurity with himself had led to his retreat from social interaction. Being on his own out in Ashdown had helped him get used to the exchanges required on a day to day basis, like saying hello to classmates, being friendly with the cashiers at the grocery store, greeting the elderly who's walks often crossed Kaleb's quiet reading spaces... But it would take a lot more work before he could be comfortable with himself.

"That sounds pretty useful," he replied. "Do you know what sort of magic it is when you see it?"

Kaleb began to wander away from the front of the house, towards the side yard where a dilapidated shed was visible. He had tried so many doors already, and wasn't about to risk missing one that might lead him home. Even if just looking at it made him thankful for tetanus vaccinations.

azuredreams