Nightmares Vs Magic

Laurence noticed she was becoming shaken up, despite not showing many visible signs. When Dove finished the last bit of her report and submitted the email, Laurence recommended she get some fresh air but wait before going home. It was dark out, and he was not keen on the idea of her going home alone. Dove simply said that she'll find some other things to work on and check to see if any of the other interns are willing to keep her company. 

She only said that as a half-truth, not really planning to go back to the lighthouse inn just yet, but also not planning to actually ask someone to keep her company on her way home. She still had to stick to the words she gave to Vernon hours earlier about coming to visit him when she finished her case, especially when Annabelle gave her a reminder about going up to see Vernon's flowers, before getting a call from Ursa and heading to the gym floor. It was late now but she hoped they would at least bump into each other on the stairs.

When she had gotten to the rooftop garden, not only was Vernon surprisingly still there, but he was in an oddly, positively energetic mood.

It was actually kind of familiar. The same reaction he had after he found those bones in the garden of the dollhouse.

"Dove! The skeletons I found two weeks ago are done being inspected! They gave me one of the skeletons that they couldn't identify, so I've been grinding the bones down into bone meal for my plants!" He said in the only softest joyful voice Dove has ever heard. 

He gently ushered her through his garden, excited to show her what he had been working on, and she was beginning to become his favorite listener as Vernon yammered on and on about the calcium level of the bones he was given, and which plants needed them. Dove listened serenely as she followed him, his hand hovering at the small of her back, not even touching her. 

During the daytime, walking through his garden was like walking through the beautiful side of the forest in a fairytale. At night however, it felt like I was an owl, gliding through the woods at night, without a care in the world. The gentle breeze in the night air, combined with the aroma of all the lovely plants that Vernon grew, and even the scent radiating off of Vernon himself, like honey suckles, could almost lull me into thinking back on a nostalgic night. Back when I was a child, back when things were peaceful because I was blissfully ignorant. 

They reached a clearing that only Vernon could find it seemed, as it seemed to have his own little personal work area. Instead of the clearing found during the daytime where there were sectioned off areas with different flowers, with some in pots, this one was different. It had a neat, big round table with some items on it; first was the obvious and very noticeable skeleton laid neatly and politely on the table, all the bones were disconnected, and appeared much cleaner than when they were found. The bones for the left arm and leg were missing. 

Next to the table was a big cauldron on top of a portable oven. When and how Vernon had brought an oven up, Dove wasn't sure, but she would ask later. The water in the pot was all cooled down but during the daytime, when her and Annabelle were busy the whole day, it was clear the Vernon had taken the skeleton apart and spent his time boiling the bones first to get them clean, before then laying them out to sun dry. 

He arranged the bones back into the places they once were. Next to the skeleton on the table was a mortar and pestle, where Vernon carefully guided her closer to see some of the bones he was grinding down before she came to visit. The little setup he created so that he could make bonemeal was oddly cute and very serene, if you ignore the human skeleton on the table. 

The entire setup was also in the perfect spot where the light of the moon lit up the entire clearing so that everything could be seen just fine. Whether Vernon knew about where to place his work area, or the moon and plants moved to where it was possible was a mystery. The only thing that was beginning to become certain, was that mother nature surely favored him. 

"So, how do you decide which plants need bonemeal?"

"It depends on which plants are having nutrient deficiency, but I also have to consider whether or how I can apply the bonemeal to the soil of the plants. I can't just sprinkle them into the soil or pour a little pile around the stem, I have to sprinkle the bonemeal near the base and work it in. I also have to be careful of the timing, as it would be more preferable to give them bonemeal during spring, or their growing seasons." He gave her a long and detailed answer as he went back to grinding down the bones in the mortar. 

Dove stood next to him but not too close that he'd feel her breath on him, just enough to watch the process. 

Although I was consciously aware that these were pieces of a human being that he is grinding down, what made it not so bothersome is that I knew he was not doing it maliciously. He doesn't think of the owner of the bones, or how the bones were that of a human, which sounds bad but, it only further implies how he has no malicious intent. Just doesn't care that much about people.

He was only thinking about his plants and how good the bonemeal would help them should they ever need it. A malicious person would not only recognize that the materials they're using were from that of a human but would also relish the idea and the actions of it.

"It's still the middle of August, so for now, I just have to make sure I store all of the bonemeal in airtight containers until March. I could give some right now but that may not be ideal seeing as most are doing well right now, and if I were to give them too much all because of the timing, their calcium or phosphorous levels would become imbalanced."

She nodded as she watched him pull some containers out from underneath the table. Glass jars and plastic tubber wares. With just a quick peak under the table, she could see a large jar that's already been filled with homemade bone meal. 

"Kind of like medicine, right?" 

He didn't turn to her when responding, focused on carefully pouring the freshly made batch into the first glass jar. 

"What kind of medicine?"

"Any kind really, for just like your plants with their bone meal, if a human takes too much of their medicine and at the wrong time, their body won't react all that well." She shrugged, shifting her gaze away from his work, feeling like she was invading his bubble of peace. 

"Or, like, protein powder, sugar, peanuts, cheese, and especially coffee. But most of those are just high in calories, so, I guess they wouldn't exactly cause an extreme imbalance? I don't know..." Her voice began to waver, and she searched for something else to focus on. 

She turned to look at the other plants surrounding them. There was soil on the ground, there was even grass growing from it. Around the clearing they stood in were trees that were also growing from the ground, not from large pots, but from the ground. Dove wondered if the sixth floor that had remained unavailable and unknown so far was due to it being used as extra space for the roots of the trees growing on the roof. If so, the structure of this building would certainly be a curious one. 

"I think you're right about those types of food. Having an imbalance of calories actually can be extreme depending on the circumstances and the body. Especially if the person has a certain illness or condition, one example would be people with diabetes."

She hummed to herself, unconsciously grinning as she kept looking at all of his work. Such vegetation and atmosphere are not easy to create, especially in a city dwelling. She wouldn't mind staying in this mimic of a haven for the entire night, listening to the gentle night breeze, and the swaying of the branches and leaves. 

"And yet nutritional imbalance still wouldn't sound that extreme when it comes to the human body, because no one would care enough to give up their favorite treats."

"The way you talk sounds different today." He suddenly said out of the blue. 

Dove turned to him surprised. 

Vernon still didn't face her, rather, he grabbed the right leg bones and put them into his mortar, beginning to grind them next. Still, he kept conversation with her. 

"You sound more casual today than the last time we had a long conversation alone like this. The last time was after you drove that guy named Theo back to his car. When I was talking to you about whether you were a good person, you were speaking really formally. And now, your word choices sound more casual." 

She didn't know how to respond, only humming in surprise. She gingerly took some steps towards him as he appeared to be finished grinding the next set of bones. 

"I guess I just can't make up my mind on whether I want to sound casual or professional. Mind if I help with that?" She said, gesturing to the mortar filled with newly grinded bone powder, and the empty jars next to it. 

He nodded eagerly, a glint appearing in his golden eyes as he carefully pushed the full mortar and jar to her, reaching under the table again to pull out a second mortar and pestle set. 

They fell into silence as he began grinding the remaining arm bones. One would assume the task would be unnervingly noisy, what with having to break the bones first before grinding them down, but not when next to Vernon, who was at peace, and so Dove also felt at peace even with the sounds. It didn't sound scary to her when standing next to him. 

There was only the sound of bones snapping into the bowl, and the sound of fresh bone meal being poured into a jar, as smooth and soothing as sand. 

They both then suddenly paused in their actions, when a new sound joined the night air. It was very soft at first, but Dove and Vernon, as they slowly turned to look at each other, both realized that the sound was growing louder, like it was coming closer. It was a peculiar experience considering how high up they were. 

The sounds were a rhythmic thumping at first, but as they grew louder and closer, I asked Vernon if he could lead us to the edge of the rooftop so that we could try to see what was making the sound. This proved to be more difficult than I expected, for the little Eden that he made was also like a maze where he was the only guide. We just couldn't find the edge, but we could still hear the rhythmic, beating sounds. I ended up deciding to give up and proposed that we just go downstairs and check the noise that way. 

By the time they got out of his forest and were about to make it to the door, Joon popped the door open, making the both of them flinch in surprise. 

"Yall!! I saw something out the window coming this way! It looks like a guy on a horse!" He said in an almost out of breath tone, and Dove could tell from the rise and fall of his chest that he had climbed the stairs in a hurry to tell them. 

"We thought we were hearing something-"

"Not thought. We knew we were hearing something."

"Right, we heard something coming, I wasn't expecting a horse, but honestly, that would explain the rhythmic sounds." 

As fast as they could, the three made their way down the stairs, except Joon was faster as he opted for sitting on the rails and sliding down. Dove watched in exasperated amusement as the boy would slide down the rails for each new flight of stairs, hop off just in time when reaching the turning point, and then hop back on again. She then noticed how Vernon took some gardening gloves out of his pocket and put them on neatly before then touching the stairway rails. 

"My mother always told me to be careful of touching public amenities." 

Honestly, fair. I just didn't bother using the guard rails and if I fall, well, then I fall.

They made it to the third floor, where Annabelle surprised all three of them by throwing open the door next, not only showing Joon how startling that can be as he nearly fell over, but also showing how she seemed to predict when they would arrive. She greeted her friends with an excited smile as she closed the door behind her, ready to run with them.

"I heard there was a visitor! I was just getting ready to leave on an errand with Ursa when she got a text message from Liora, saying that an old friend was arriving!" 

"A visitor coming this late at night, even though this a business building and not a house, seems a little rude." Vernon commented as the girl followed behind them, also deciding to slide down the rails like Joon, only on the opposite side. 

"Must be an emergency then, or the visitor is nocturnal, and this was the only hour where he was available to visit." 

"Wait, if Ursa was the one who got the message, shouldn't you be going to see the visitor with her?" Joon asked as stopped sliding on the rails and opted to simply run down the stairs with them. 

"She used the elevator, and I wanted to join you guys in our surprise to see this new person." 

When they finally got down to the first floor, the magic store was completely empty save for the wares on the shelves, and the curtains to the tarot corner were closed. Outside, instead of the 'hellos' and other greetings, the interns actually heard sounds of annoyance, shock, and exasperation. 

"You certainly showed up early, October is still like two months away." Lucia said as they all went outside to see the commotion. 

The last of the visitors and patrons have been long gone, and it's the hour for other nightmares to roam freely. Liora, Lucia, Bence, Ursa, Enzo, and Laurence were also outside, along with Leon who had a concerned expression. 

"What's going on? And don't you dare try to shoo us away just because it's none of our business!" Joon said loudly, gaining the attention of the ones standing in the parking lot with the mysterious visitor. 

Liora was the first to react to him, and urged him to tone down his volume as she gently made a shushing sign with her finger and lips, before gently pulling Lucia aside so the kids could see. 

As they all stepped aside, Enzo had a little smug grin as Joon's expression turned from calm to genuine shock and surprise, as he rarely ever saw the boy be anything but confident and unbothered. Normally, Joon was the one leaving him caught off guard and cautious all the time. 

There stood in the parking lot was a large, black stallion, wearing an old leather harness and with eyes that were darker than shadows. Standing next to the shadowy horse was its rider, a man dressed in a fully black, old colonial style attire. Leather boots, a black button up shirt, a coat with rows of buttons, and thick trousers. He had a cape pinned to his shoulders by what looked like iron buttons, thick gloves, and no head. 

Surprisingly, that wasn't the most shocking thing, but rather the weapon he had strapped to his back, as the guy first had his back turned to us when we first saw him. An axe, the last weapon I expected the headless horseman to wield, but I guess pumpkins weren't in season yet. 

"Kids," Bence cautiously addressed the group as he waved a hand, gesturing to the horseman stood there before them. 

"This is an annual friend of ours, whom we have named 'Hollow', and who we normally only see during the month of October. This year, however, someone caused him to pay us an early visit."

"Someone?" Joon raised an eyebrow. 

Dove was the first to take a brave step forward, coming closer to have a polite look at the headless horseman, before quickly shifting her attention to the person being held up and leaning against Leon for stability. He had his hands on their shoulder, holding them in place as they looked very tired. 

Liora walked closer and laid the back of her hand over the mystery visitor's forehead. 

"No fever from what I could feel, but they do pretty sluggish, must've been riding for hours, holding onto hollow the entire trip." She whispered to Leon.

Deep, green eyes. Those were the first traits I noticed, and the way they looked so tired. The owner of those green eyes was someone who was about the same age as us, but we would later learn that they were only 17 and had just taken the perfect opportunity to escape from a boot camp their parents had sent them to.

Despite his outburst from earlier, Joon became polite when Leon and Liora wanted to first take the new visitor upstairs to the apothecary floor for a quick checkup. Liora opened the door so that Leon could carry the person inside, naming out a list of items for Lucia to grab for them as the wendigo followed after her. Some instinct inside him had urged Joon to follow after Leon and help him. They went inside quickly, and Dove didn't know which one to follow and question, as it was quickly learned that neither of the new visitors were verbal. 

And yet, the headless horseman was able to communicate without any sign language that Dove was familiar with, but he only communicated through Bence. 

"His name is Hollow?"

Laurence nodded as Bence seemed to have a short, nonverbal conversation with Hollow, before turning to them.

"Yep, and the horse's name is Gunpowder. If you want, I'll explain later why that name was chosen for our annual friend. For now, we should all head inside, as he has a story for us." 

"Will Gunpowder the horse be coming inside with us?" Vernon asked, absolutely enamored by the shadowy, possible ghost horse. 

Him suddenly speaking surprised them, except for Ursa, who was the only one to realize he had moved all way from next to Dove, to the horse. Just like a silent cat. 

"Err, no."

"Why not?"

"Because like any other form of transportation throughout history, he has to wait outside. But worry not, once Liora is done helping Leon with the child, she'll come back out and look after Gunpowder." Ursa answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Can I look after him instead? I'll take him up to my garden, so that if any visitors come, they won't bother him."

His eyes could be seen through the curly strands of his hair, the gold of his irises twinkling, emitting his eagerness.

Dove tilted her head in confusion at his request. 

"How would you even get him to the rooftop? And, do you know how to take care of horses too?"

Ursa couldn't help but let out a low chuckle followed by a smirk as she lifted her hand up, motioning for Hollow the headless horseman to pass the reins of his horse to her. 

They went inside, with Bence and Laurence taking the elevator as they have to go question the visitor whenever they can. Laurence tried to reassure Dove that it was nothing she needed to be concerned or join them in being busy with, and they ushered her to follow Ursa and Vernon. 

It was then when climbing up the staircases to the top floor did Dove learn how big the staircases actually are, and how graceful a horse can actually be with their steps. It turns out there was a reason for why the steps were wider and shallower than normal stairs, and it wasn't so that four kids can all somehow safely run down the stairs together without tripping or falling, even if one missed a step going down. 

"As Bence had told you before, Hollow and Gunpowder are annual visitors. This is not my first time seeing him, and certainly not the first time I aided Gunpowder in climbing up the stairs, just to pass the time. Training him was rather easy."

"Did, did you need to take him up to a certain floor or the rooftop before?"

Ursa shrugged as she continued holding the reins and having Gunpowder stay in pace with her, while Vernon eagerly walked up the stairs, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see the horse's face. He had a blank expression, so it'd be difficult for anyone not familiar with him to tell whether he was happy or excited, but Dove could read his body language, and his body said that he couldn't wait to show the horse his garden. 

"I've had to hide him inside the building before. When annoying patrons and simple-minded people come to our agency, they just aren't smart enough to understand that you shouldn't disturb a horse belonging to a ghost. Especially one belonging to a Dullahan at that."

Dove's attention seemed to perk at the mention of the word 'Dullahan'. 

"May I ask what a Dullahan is?"

"You should ask Laurence instead, not me. I only know the label, not the species." 

They eventually got all the way up to the rooftop, and after opening the door, Vernon happily welcomed Gunpowder inside. The black horse walked in cautiously, likely having never walked upstairs and expected to see a garden, or more, a forest in this scenario. He took a look at his surroundings, a few careful steps, some sniffs and huffs at the air, and when Ursa took off his harness and let him roam free, Gunpowder began to explore more. He even followed Vernon who was excited to show his new friend around, and actually beginning to give a tour. 

"Is it weird that I'm feeling slightly jealous of a horse? He's never given me a tour of this place before, just had me follow him or find him in specific spots." 

"Don't ask me any questions regarding emotions, kid. I've never been one to understand them, so I certainly cannot explain them." Ursa said plainly as she turned around, holding Gunpowder's harness in one hand and opening the door with her free hand. 

"Since you likely have a lot of questions right now, why don't you go down and visit the apothecary floor? That new kid must be awake right now, and Laurence will help answer most of your questions." 

Dove mentally debated for just a short bit of time, looking to the garden, no longer able to know where Vernon and Gunpowder the horse have gone off to in this oasis if an Eden. She turned back followed Ursa through the door. 

The woman would take the harness with her to get it inspected, informing Dove that one of the many reasons Hollow the horseman visits annually isn't just to visit, but to also renew his gear. The man may be a legendary ghost, but he still has a physical form that sometimes requires physical gear capable of decaying after a year. 

Hardly anyone knows how he can manage to rough up his gear, even a horse's harness, in just one year, but no one has really questioned it. They simply take it down to the Alchemist's lab, and have it either repaired, or replaced with a new one, mostly bringing in the old gear as a reference. 

"Since I don't know whether Adan is still busy dissecting the phone of your most recent perp, Enzo will likely have a turn this year."

"Has Enzo had to replace or fix Hollow's gear or items before?" 

Ursa shrugged again, so nonchalant. 

"He'll either know, or spend all night figuring it out. Either way, he'll have time, because as it was also mentioned before, Hollow came to visit much earlier than normal. He has two months to figure it out before October rolls around." The woman said as she stopped at the door to the Alchemist's lab. 

Dove stared up at her as Ursa casually walked through the door, and she could hear on the other side Enzo's muffled voice. She couldn't hear what was said, but based on the volume and sounds, Enzo was unprepared for her request. Dove mentally planned to go visit that floor when she had time, but first, she continued to head down to the apothecary floor. 

The door of the apothecary floor, leading out to the staircase swung open just as she had arrived, with Joon at the threshold, like he'd been expecting her. 

"I feel a little unnerved at how predictable I've been today." She said as she stood there with a surprised expression. 

"Don't worry about it, I can be unpredictable enough for the both of us. Now come inside, you're gonna what know about what I just learned." Joon ushered her inside. 

After the door closed, Joon led her through the place, past the office and the place where all the pharmaceutical medicine was held, and the place where new medicine was made. She became increasingly wary as she soon realized he wasn't leading her to where she expected, which was one of the rooms with the cots where she knew Leon likely took the green-eyed visitor. 

"So, what did you just learn?"

"That apparently, there exists a product where coffee beans are covered in a chocolate shell and can be eaten like popcorn!" He said in a funny tone as he led her to what she would finally know as a storage closet. 

It looked like it was meant to store lost and found items, yet at the same time, every object inside looked like it belonged there. It was a small room, like a walk-in pantry. 

"What? I thought this was gonna be about the new visitor." She said with a slight annoyance in her tone. 

She crossed her arms yet couldn't help but step closer with worry as Joon began climbing the shelves. 

"Oh, I haven't learned anything about that person just yet. But if studying in engineering has taught me anything, it's that this new friend who came her and immediately needed attention, is probably gonna have some interesting things for us to learn about, and we'll want to be awake for all of it." He finally hopped down after rummaging through the top shelf, his prosthetic leg making him fall rather stiffly as it couldn't mimic the same bounce and absorption as his living leg. 

"It's not like the person was passed out, in fact, I saw them when Leon had them sit down and they were still awake, wide-eyed and everything. It's gonna be a long night, might as well make it fun!" He said as he then shoved a bag in her face, offering her a snack. 

Dove looked down warily at the bag, and sure enough, it was some type of brand she had never heard of, with a clear-plastic spot that allowed her to see some of the coffee beans inside, they were covered in chocolate, but some had their shell broken off, revealing the beans. They looked exactly like black peanuts. 

"Wait, how much did you eat when you found this?"

"I didn't eat any actually, I just found it, and then waited for you to show up so we could taste-test these together. I never test anything alone."

She frowned as she looked at the outer details of the bag more and then opened it to peer inside. 

The bag had an expiration date for years back, and the design had a late 1900s- early 2000s aesthetic. Also, it was half empty. My gut felt worried for whoever had these, whether that be recently or years ago. Until then, Joon and I thought it would be harmless to bring the bag with us as we went to see the visitor. It wouldn't hurt to ask about the past.