Nightmares Vs Magic

I used to wish I had close friends I could have those 'girl times' with, especially throughout middle school. Why? Well, no specific reason. I didn't wear makeup so I couldn't talk about that, and I didn't go shopping but I thought it might be a fun pastime with the right people, minus the spending. I guess I just thought the company would be nice and fun. 

This,,, was not. Nice.

As soon as they arrived, Annabelle checked with her to see if the two Sirens had arrived and visibly sighed with relief when Dove told her that they drove to a different area of the beach. 

This was the first time I ever saw her with a smile that looked crooked. No. Not crooked. Nervous. 

They both waved to Bence before he left to go join the two gentlemen, as Annabelle dragged her to Claire's house. 

"You have... So many makeup kits..." Was all Dove could say as she entered the familiar house again, only to see the living room suddenly transformed. 

A dozen outfits were pulled out and laid over the furniture, and several different boxes of makeup sets covered the coffee table. Multiple different shades and themes of eye shadow pallets were neatly organized on the floor, likely color-coordinated by shade, along with the different shades of lipstick and lip gloss, that were separated in rows and ordered by color. 

"Did a very important event suddenly come up?"

"No... I, may have overdone it with the whole, distracting her." Annabelle side with a rare nervous glance as she scanned the room with Dove. It was like she too was taking in the sight for the first time, even though she watched it happen. 

"Sometimes I forget there are still people out there who are willing to go this far to fit whatever beauty standards we have this, month." She whispered, tilting her head to Dove in an exaggerated manner, like two gossiping girls.

Claire was pacing the room, somehow managing to not step on anything as she searched her, audibly using the speaker function to search faster. 

"What is the hottest summer look to catch attention with?" She said into her phone, which quickly dinged with results. However, she seemed to be upset by them. 

"Ugh! I need something new! Not these basic getups!" She screeched mostly to herself. 

"Now, now, dear!" Annabelle said in her usual lighthearted tone as she walked over to get Claire to stop pacing. 

"I know I told you to try dressing in a way that might impress them but that's only because I don't know their tastes! And I only said to try. Who's to say they might be taken anyway, or just not interested? I mean they hardly said anything to you."

"Just because there is a might, doesn't mean I can't still try. Besides, what would you know, when you talk like a grandma?"

Annabelle internally seethed. 

Dove took a turn, gently coercing Annabelle to step outside for a breather, to which the girl gladly took. She opened one of the windows and leapt out through there, with distant sound of footsteps in the sand following after. 

Dove kept a safe distance from the woman who went back to pacing, sifting for more ideas through her phone. 

"You know what?" Claire suddenly lifted up her head, staring at nothing in particular, but Dove still felt unnerved anyway. 

"I might actually be able to dress myself up just fine if I just pretend like-No! If I just record myself doing another recap of a criminal case! I always put on my makeup and hair just fine when I talk about that stuff." 

Dove's eye twitched, and she crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall.

"... Are you one of those influencers who does their makeup while casually talking about murder victims and their families?"

The women pointed her eyes at her with a proud smile as she began walking around to set up her camera and mic. She laughed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Why do you ask? Starting to recognize me?"

Dove stayed silent, giving her a blank stare as she shook her head. 

...

On a different part of the beach, an area where no level-headed person would go unless they wish for multiple broken bones, Bence and the two Sirens were walking past the 'NO TRESPASSING' sign. 

There was a large metal fence with a gate that had chains connected by a single padlock, locking away an area that was walled away by large rocks and hills that no person could climb, no matter the amount of safety gear and athletic skill they had. Even if they did somehow climb over, the poison from the plants or hidden slugs in the weeds covering the whole area will have already taken effect. 

Before the rocks and hills is a hidden, safe path that only few knew about. If you don't walk this path carefully or stay inside it, you'd be stung by a poisonous mystery insect by now. Don't bother trying to find them within the tall grass and weeds. They were hidden underneath the same veil that most nightmares hide under. I was told this by one of the Siren gentlemen, after this case was closed.

They went past the gate, opening the lock with one of Bence's skeleton keys before locking it behind them so that no one come disturb their work. And also, for any curious person's safety. Macabre House is very firm when it comes to locking away certain areas from the public. 

"Do you guys think those selkies are anywhere around here?"

"Just a little further down." The Siren with the wavy green hair finally spoke, now that it was just them and Bence, who is familiar with their voices. 

To Bence, the voices he heard from them were simply professional, a frank tone, practical speech, but also friendly. 

The green-haired Siren pointed down the rocks, as they noticed one of the Selkies basking in the sun on a flat rock. He was naked of course, having peeled his pelt off and folded it neatly beside him while he relaxed. The funny thing about meeting creatures or beings thought to be mythical, a large number of them tend to be commonly naked. 

Bence rolled his eyes, not wanting to judge a different species' way of living, as he and the two Sirens made the trek down, quietly. By the time they had quietly reached the male Selkie who was close to falling asleep, the two Sirens stood on either side of him, popping into his view with casual smiles and a wave. Bence greeted the Selkie after them, showing his Macabre House ID, along with proof that he was a necromancer and hence already aware of the supernatural and his kind. 

This was all just in case this particular Selkie was skittish, as most are, for humans have proven multiple times that they are the most dangerous creatures. 

This particular Selkie however, didn't flinch one inch, much less seemed to pay them any reaction as he stayed in his laidback position, holding himself up by his hands as he leaned back. Instead, after Bence made his quick introductions to show he was friendly, the Selkie simply smiled, giving him a nod. 

"What can I do for ya, officers?" He jokingly asked in a flirtatious tone. 

"We're here to ask some questions about the Selkie activity here, just making sure not too much meddling is happening between your pod and the humans a good distance from here."

"I don't know what you mean!" The male Selkie suddenly sat up, acting playfully aggressive, like a stubborn witness. 

"My business is my business!" He said, trying not to smile and laugh as he acted.

Bence suddenly felt annoyed, having a suspicious thought in his head, and quickly turning to look at his coworkers. He was slightly glaring. 

"You both purposefully arranged a meeting with a difficult one, didn't you?"

The blond Siren chuckled, hiding his cheeky grin behind his hand.

"No, he's just a bit high." He says, pointing to a dead pufferfish laying near the foot of the flat rock, deflated like a balloon. 

Bence takes a deep breath as he plants a hand on his hip, the other rubbing his temple as he groaned. 

...

Annabelle hadn't come back for a while, and I already got the idea that she opted for scoping out the area, rather than possibly get into another friendly yet passive-aggressive rant about whatever topics Claire brings up. I think she tried them with me, but I worked in customer service long enough to know that some people just want to start fights to vent. I know she's upset, but I don't have the energy to give her a therapeutic session right now. 

"I mean, real life isn't that far from horror movies now that I'm saying it out loud, right?" Claire asked as she was carefully putting on her eyeliner. Whether it was towards Dove or her camera, it wasn't clear. 

Dove did another round around her house and found nothing of what she was looking for so far. She was paying attention to Claire what with her glances to the woman's direction every now and then but never made a sound or a response. The young woman also made sure to stay out of the way of her camera.

I was looking for signs of a spirit or something. I found displays of voodoo dolls sat next to an incense burner, more dream catchers, another incense burner in the bathroom, and checked all the windows again. There's a handprint on the one in her living room, it's not very visible but I guess the lighting helped this time. Looks like it might be on the inside but when I rub the window spot where the handprint is, it doesn't smudge.

"When he heard a weird noise from his backyard, he then peeked through his windows to check it out, so of course! The stranger started shooting at his windows. What else did the guy expect?" She shrugged as she looked at the camera, which also sat in front of her mirror, before then breaking eye contact to search through her makeup.

"So yeah, he died. On the bright side, nothing from his house was taken, the killer just didn't want any witnesses, the family only had to worry about their dead relative, nothing more." She said without an ounce of thought as she was searching through her different shades of blush to finish off her look. 

"I'm gonna have to do so much editing later..." She muttered mostly to herself, implying she was going to edit out that part too.

"Can you stop recording for now?" Dove quietly interjected, hoping she wouldn't be heard that much by the camera. 

She stood by the window, hand resting on the glass to mark the handprint that was on the outside. She stared down at the woman with no other words, waiting for her response. 

Claire, having already learned what happens when she pushes Dove too much, reaches for her camera to turn it off. Dove stands patiently as she watches the woman also turn off her ring light where the camera was placed in, before then turning to face Dove, still sitting in her spot. 

"Did you need something?"

"Aside from more evidence for a possible hypothesis of mine, I just had a sudden thought." She said simply as walked away from the window, but not before taking her phone out to take a picture of the handprint from a distance, both to remember where it was on the glass, and where the location of the window was. 

It never hurts to be more specific. 

"Your posts about true crimes in particular, do you make a lot of them often?"

Claire shifted in her seat, not exactly uncomfortable but being cautious and on guard. 

"I mean, not that often. They aren't the main topics of my most, I just make a few because they're trendy. They don't get as much views as my other content, so I just post them on my other media instead of my channel."

"Do you remember all the crime stories you talk about in each post? Or do you simply research one that's happened and write a brief summarized document to read to your viewers?"

Dove knelt down to be at eye level with her, Claire was merely sitting on an oversized, fancy pillow.

"No,,, I tell the newest stories."

"New ones, as in documented crimes or incidents that recently happened?"

She nodded.

"As in, early enough that perpetrators have not been caught yet and the family is still mourning?"

Claire shied away from her gaze a bit, suddenly cringing to herself, before then responding back.

"I don't say anything bad about the family! I'm not making up any lies."

"And yet you had such a condescending tone." Dove squinted a bit and tilted her head at the women. 

"What?!" She responded, feeling offended. 

Before Dove could explain, Annabelle suddenly returned, announcing her presence with a knock at the door as she leaned against the frame. Her arms were crossed, and she purposefully let the door swing wide open, so as to let the two witness the sudden weather change.

"Did any of you notice the fog outside?" She asked with a curious smile. 

Dove frowned, and as Claire stood up to look out the door, Dove turned her head to the window with the handprint. She could see light mists and clouds of fog beginning to roll in, the handprint now becoming more difficult to see.

"I was looking outside just a minute ago." Dove murmured, before darting towards the door.

She gently brushed past the two ladies, going outside and seeing the full effects of the fog. It wasn't too thick, she could still see her hand in front of her, even when extending her arm as far as she could. Other people could also still be seen in her peripheral, some were nervous and confused, others excited and confused. Many took out their phones to begin filming, which was honestly a smart move as there were no weather reports or signs that a fog would be rolling in. 

Bence appeared walking through the fog towards Claire's house, Dove made a careful beeline towards him. It seemed that while the mist was the light while in the air, it seemed to cover the ground more heavily. Some residents were almost tripping. 

"Did something happen?" She asked quietly. 

Bence had a calm expression, which made her relax on the inside, not that he'd notice. Most of her feelings were internal. 

"In a way, but it's nothing harmful, at least to the non-targeted people."

He raised his hand up, waving and wafting at the fog as he stared at the general space around him.

"Still, such a pretty thing that water can do, mixing with air to create something that can be mystifying or terrifying, depending on the circumstances."

She frowned, almost squinting in thought before guessing out loud. 

"Was it the two Sirens?"

He lightly grinned, at her, impressed.

"Yes, their voices aren't the only tricks they have."

She hummed in curiosity, before refocusing and pointing to his leather suitcase. 

"Is there any tape in there? Preferably black tape?"

He propped it up on the palm of his hand, unlocking and opening it. Dove couldn't see what was inside after he turned and faced the opened suitcase to her. 

I didn't expect to see pitch darkness in a suitcase, or what looked like a void for that matter. There is a lot I don't know and honestly it takes less effort to simply not ask and just experience it. I trust Laurence and the others to not let me die from curiosity and zero context.

She reached into the black void of the suitcase and pulled out duct tape, exactly what she requested, and first gave Bence a quizzical look.

He shrugged as the suitcase shut on its own, and Dove only sighed in response as she turned to go back to the house. 

Following her knowledge of the house and searching for the outer side of the window that she photographed, Dove carefully squinted and looked for the location of the same handprint from the outside. A bit of her finger, which she used to try and figure out where to square it off, nearly smudged the palm edge of the print. Dove paid this small mistake no mind but would make note of it for later, before using the black tape to fully cover and mark it visibly. 

She's pretty careless about locking her doors and windows, but Claire at least knew how to take of her house. I could tell because while doing this, I thought I saw a flicker of dust in the window, but it turned out to be a silhouette. It could've been my own reflection at first, or I could've just seen some silhouettes of either Annabelle or Claire moving inside. The fog was mostly near the ground so it couldn't have affected the transparency of the glass. Plus, fogs can't exactly be reflected in glass all that well, so I knew one of the girls was inside. 

"What's the tape for?" Annabelle asked from behind Dove, hands idly held behind her back. 

Dove whipped her head around to see Annabelle casually standing behind her, curiously looking at the square spot of tape that she had just finished putting a second layer on. 

"... When did you get out here?"

"A little while after you did. Claire was done putting on her makeup by the time I arrived and left the house to look for her bodyguards." 

She then leaned in, whispering to Dove as she cupped a hand around her mouth, Dove humored her and leaned her ear in.

"Although, considering their new disguises, she'll be wandering like Alice in Wonderland."

"So you already knew what they turned into?" Dove asked, gesturing to the ghostly winds around them. 

Annabelle shook her head and began to happily explain. 

"It's not what they 'turned' into; it's their 'disguises'. Connected to the sea, they may be, but they aren't made of water. That's more of a Näcken thing."

The silver-haired girl frowned, not in disappointment but thinking, hand under her chin as she took in the new knowledge and name of a new species she hadn't heard of. 

"I'll make a mental note of that. That aside, if Claire is also outside then..."

She turned back around to the window, peering back inside to look for what had slipped past the corner of her eye earlier.

It had a silhouette, a figure sort of, it wandered through the house like some anxious maid, levitating around all the mess. I could almost imagine the spirit tutting at all of it, hands on their hips and shaking their head. 

"Do you see it too?"

"The very upset spirit inside her house? Well, it's not like we don't always see beings like them. What's so special about this one?"

"It's far too animated, I mean, I can't decipher a detailed appearance of it, but it looks right at home in the place Claire made a mess of. Like it's been there awhile." Dove turned around to face Annabelle again, stepping aside to give her a better view. 

As Annabelle peered more into the window, she turned to look at Dove, questioning. 

"Do you think the stalker was a ghost this whole time? That could explain how he would've followed her so quickly."

Dove quickly shook her head.

"No, not a suspect. But they might be solid evidence for an answer I've been trying to find. Would you mind going back inside her house to try and find it again? They disappeared. I'll also ask Bence if he can help you."

After Annabelle nodded to her request, before Dove could walk away, the smiling young woman quickly tossed her a question.

"Are you planning to look for Claire on your own?"

"Yes."

"Why? The fog is covering the entire vicinity of this area by now, she'll be watched over just fine."

"You told me the fog is simply their disguise, not their current form, correct?"

Annabelle squinted her eyes as she tilted her head at Dove. 

"Yes."

"Then because of that, their real bodies, which are hidden, might not be with Claire right now. We didn't see them come to her house when the fog started, they're either searching for her as we speak or hiding while exploring the rest of the neighborhood. This would be their first visit here after all."

"Ah! I see. Then while Bence and I search her house for this ghost, I'll make it clear she's not here."

"Will do. Thank you."

She watched as Annabelle entered the house, and turned around to quickly find Bence, but not before hearing the eccentric young woman shout unabashedly and seemingly with joy.

"Such a good thing Claire is not in this house! She's just out wandering about, looking for two handsome men!"

A wave of secondhand embarrassment climbed up her spine, yet it was mixed amusement. She quickly searched for Bence, telling him a summary of why he should join Annabelle in searching the client's house. After listening, it brought his attention to the haunted book Dove asked him to bring along, pulling it out of the void of his leather suitcase. He held it up, raising an eyebrow as he side-glanced at her when she kept urging him towards the house. 

"Your gut instincts are oddly good, I gotta say." He lightly tossed the book up and caught it in the palm of his hand, experienced enough with haunted books to be able to safely play around with one without unleashing any captured horrors. 

Dove eyed the title carefully stitched onto the cover of the book, 'Captum', it said. 

Latin for captured, or captive.

"One more thing, actually." Dove had a sudden thought, stopping him one last time. 

"If it's alright, don't capture it once you find it."

He hummed, confused but interested. 

"If you don't want me to capture it, I can't guarantee my skills in convincing a spirit to stick around long enough for you to come back and chat with it. I also can't guarantee I have any good negotiation skills to make it listen to us."

"It's alright, I have a feeling we might not need to."

He tilted his head, intrigued. 

"Evidence?"

"Two or three possibly. One- I know there must've been a cause for her dreams. Your explanation helped but the description of those dreams of hers, they always felt too specific, too helpful to me. Two- When Annabelle and I saw a glimpse of the spirit, it lingered in her living room, staring at the mess like a disappointed roommate before dissipating."

"But the figure who spoke to her in her dreams was described as a disturbing being, not a friendly one."

She began to walk away slowly, finger tapping at the side of her cheek in thinking. 

"Demons appear in beautiful disguises to fool us, but angels will appear in ugly forms to sift out the ones who will genuinely have faith in them. I think there was a quote on that, but I can't remember."

She suddenly remembered she had intended to go look for Claire and began to speak more rushed. 

"The third evidence I'm not exactly sure of. However, if recent learning experience about rituals to bring Sennentuntschi to life has taught me anything, it's that we should take a more serious look at her collection of occult items. They might not actually be decorations. Which is exactly why I should hurry and go find her!" She said before sprinting off, running as best she can in the solid but sandy ground, dodging and trying not to trip now that the ground was completely covered in fog. 

"We need her permission to view her stuff!"

Even though she couldn't see what with her back turned and getting farther away, Bence nodded anyway and headed to the house, knocking on the door left open before carefully and respectfully taking a step inside. 

Annabelle ran out from a certain room down the hall, hearing the knock but also, carrying something odd in her hands. 

Bence looked at her inquisitively and quirked a brow up at her. She greeted him from the living room while also refusing to stop moving as she ran in circles, holding what appeared to be a small square vintage box in her hands.

"Nobody told me not to touch things I didn't know about!"

"Uh... Huh." He replied, amused and confused as he stepped through fully, about to continue walking towards the circle she was running in before he froze. 

His eyes wandered up to a floating silhouette chasing her, it was barely visible, you could almost mistake it for some sort of powder floating in the air. 

"And, why exactly did you grab the box?"

"It was shiny and suddenly popped open, I was just trying to close it!" She said in between her short pauses of running. However, every time she stopped, the floating bits of powder in the air would then aim right for here. 

Ever the fast one, she dodged every time. 

Bence, after watching enough of the scene, gently put his suitcase on the floor, along with the haunted book, and waved a hand towards Annabelle. 

"Carefully toss me the box and get behind me."