lookinside (lookinside) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-10-05 08:58:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #november 2017, sebastian |
Who: Sebastian
Where: The McCarthy House
When: Night, Friday, Nov 17
Status: Complete
With all that was going on, Sebastian almost forgot he had a ritual to perform on the new moon. It wasn’t exactly something he kept on his calendar between rehearsals for the play and the school dance, so it was late when he finally got around to it, the house quiet, most likely asleep. He leaned against the bathroom counter as he ran the bath, looking over his notes. He was supposed to stay in the bath until the water ran cold, and until then he needed to relax, open his mind, and connect to his element.
Hopefully, this would improve his control. Ever since Reagan and Caius had broken the spell, things had felt… off. He could still perform magic, but it seemed like the simplest spell seemed to trigger something else as well. He’d turn water into ice and somehow light a candle, or he’d move a pencil and a book, when all he was trying to move was the book. It wasn’t anything big, but it was frustrating, especially since it hadn’t been happening before they broke the curse. Maybe it was the influx of the Baron magic, but that had to calm down at some point. It felt like things were beginning to settle, for which he was thankful. He could use a little bit of normal at this point.
When the bath was full, Sebastian prepared to get in, debating at the last minute whether to turn the light off or leave it on. He’d relax better in the light wasn’t so bright, but there was no moon tonight, making the bathroom pitch black otherwise. After a moment of thought, he grabbed a candle from his bedroom and lit it, setting it on the bathroom floor before climbing into the tub. He poured the prepared ingredients in and watched as they dissolved into the water, almost expecting to see the magic work before his eyes. He knew it didn’t work that way though, and eventually shut his eyes.
Sebastian didn’t take baths often, but as he sunk beneath the water he thought he should probably change that. He wasn’t sure if it was the water or the ritual or just that he was actually taking time for himself for once, but it was easy to drift into a sort of trance, relaxing completely as he connected with his element. It felt like the magic was flowing through him like water, in through his fingers and out through his toes. Every body of water felt connected from the bathtub to the pool out back, all the way to the coast that Overlook sat perched upon. He wasn’t sure what sort of ritual other elements might similarly perform, but this was something he’d definitely be doing once a month.
He could feel the magic begin to dissipate when the water turned cold, and by then he was ready to get out. The hot water had been divine, but it was the wrong time of year for a cold bath to feel even remotely good. He shivered a little as he pulled the drain on the tub, then dared to used his magic to flip the light switch back on, hoping that he could manage that without any other side effects. When the light came on and nothing else happened-- the sink didn’t turn on or the soap didn’t randomly levitate --he breathed a sigh of relief. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out of the tub, then bent to blow out the candle… and froze.
The candle was still lit, but the wax was spread all over the bathroom floor in a pattern that was far from natural. There was no explaining how it had happened; the candle was still upright and there’d been no wind to spill the wax in such a way. Sebastian leaned in to get a closer look, tracing his fingers over the symbols, unsure what to make of them. Maybe this was part of the ritual and Reagan had forgotten to tell him? She had been distracted, but then she’d also not told him he needed a candle. Sebastian licked his lips, trying to decide what to do, then finally grabbed his phone and snapped a picture. Maybe he could ask Reagan next time he saw her. Right now, he just wanted to clean the wax off the tile floor and crawl into bed. There was no one to ask this late at night, so he’d just have to worry about what it might all mean another time.