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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 6:58 pm
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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...
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 4:31 pm
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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.
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 9:59 am
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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.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:55 pm
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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.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:30 pm
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"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."
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:03 pm
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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.
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