Ah, darkness. Night time was the right time, wasn’t it? Nerissa enjoyed it - and not just because it was when Zander came over to play either (during the day he often guarded her cottage, perched on the roof in total stone form). But because when she was on patrol, she could tilt her head toward the sky and see so many bright stars dotting the black canvas of the night. Out here, it was more freeing. In the midst of the small town, she was more used to the warm orange glow of street lamps.
But when the twilight faded to blackness, that washed away any drab dealings and grind of the day. Night was when the good stuff happened.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting for patrol, out here with Jayati. However, it was probably a good thing that she was with her dragon friend and not Zander - the handsomeness of the latter was just so distracting. Also his grumpiness was endearing when she did get distracted, because he was so...business-oriented about protecting Summerview.
Ness was too, of course. In her own way. She wore leggings with pockets and a tactical mock shirt, good for running in cold weather. Sneakers were on her feet; she’d left the knifepoint shoes at home. “So, the same rounds as usual, boss?” she asked, adjusting her ponytail, completely intent on keeping her hair out of her face.
Jayati liked Nerissa in general, but specifically patrolling with her. As a rule she patrolled with everyone on a rotation, it made all the pairs shuffle a bit so they could work together and encouraged cohesiveness, and helped her get a feel for how things were going. They needed to have at least a passing...Not comfort, but at least familiarity with one another, and how they moved, how they thought, if worse came to worse.
They weren’t soldiers, but at least they weren’t children. Mostly, at least. She had fought beside those far too young to be on the field, and this wasn’t that. So she treated them like adults, when they behaved like them.
Which is one of the reasons she was fond of Nerissa. There was a viciousness not that far under the surface that she appreciated, and the younger woman could go from casual to a complete professional between one beat and the next when the situation called for it. Jayati, like Nerissa, was dressed with practicality in mind. Though a mite less fashionable and clothes a little older most likely and more worn in. Stretch black pants, heavy steel toe boots and a thick leather jacket — you play to your strengths, and close up brutal strength happened to be one of her’s. That, and if things took a turn she would put herself between the thread and whoever she was with, whether in this form or in her scaled one, she would take whatever she could to turn that in her favor. A little something to give a stronger hit or to slow down a blade would be better than nothing.
“Evening.” She greeted as a bit of hair escaped the braid pressed tight to her scalp, “A bit more thorough than usual, if you have a little extra time tonight.” Most of their routes were fairly standard, though Jayati made little adjustments, just so they weren’t that predictable, but they were going to start being more methodical than normal with the news she had heard from one of the other Sheriffs — and then the paper to boot.
“I got the time, don’t worry,” Nerissa assured. Zander was working tonight, slinging drinks and earning tips by showcasing his people skills (ha, that was funny), so if she hadn’t been patrolling then the sea serpent would have just settled in with one of those shitty Netflix Christmas films and an entire pizza from Vinny’s.
Of course she could consume a whole pizza on her own. ‘Don’t hate me ‘cause you ain’t me,’ was her motto.
“Well, let’s get started then,” she started along their usual route, but hung back to watch Jayati and see how much more thorough she planned to be. “Did something ping your tingly-sense though? Something out of the ordinary?” That would be interesting - though admittedly, something Nerissa had been expecting. You couldn’t keep a supernatural town hidden forever.
That was a relief. Jayati required them to be in pairs during patrol, but it was an open secret that she was known to patrol — the skies and the ground — on her own both formally and none. Sometimes it was just that she had so much trouble sleeping it seemed more useful to take a stroll with a watchful eye on the woods instead of restlessly pacing her house.
Her feet were pulled down one of their familiar paths, already planning out a slightly different search than normal. Wider probably, instead of an almost casual walk down a section of the barrier with an eye and an ear out for anything obviously off. Further deep into the forest and other bits of town that were close to it, more likely. “Did you read the article in The Gazette yesterday?” Jayati was very pro freedom of the press, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about that sort of information being public. Or as public as a magically protected paper and newspaper could be.
The Gazette, the supernatural community newspaper, the - hmm, no. Nerissa couldn’t recall having (figuratively) picked it up yesterday. She usually read online, not really one to sit down with a copy of the paper and a cup of tea - her news and gossip were brought to her on the go, checking out her phone, or straight from the horse’s mouth during her work days.
“Which article?” she asked, tilting her head a bit. “But likely, no. I didn’t read yesterday’s edition at all. Why, is some shit going down?”
The moon was high in the sky now, guarding the night - just like these two were guarding the town. Nerissa felt her hackles raise. She hadn’t heard what the newspaper article was about yet, but already she didn’t like this.
Jayati found herself relieved that Nerissa hadn’t heard about it. That means it hadn’t spread yet, by word of mouth or from the article. Since she had heard about it a few days earlier, realistically anyone could have, but she was partially hoping the transient nature of some of their residents would take some of the blame. No need to panic yet. But the ones who patrolled needed to know that they should be extra watchful. Besides, Nerissa wasn’t a child to spread it about in the wrong way.
Hopefully.
“A few people have gone missing from a couple other Cities.” A branch cracked under her boot as she walked, eyes on the faint shimmer of the barrier that shone through the branches. Normal. Consistent. Oddly comforting in the same way that the mountains had been from her village as a child, “We don’t know whether they just moved on without warning or something else.” There was a possibility it was the former, she had her doubts, but she also knew she was more jaded than some. In the same way as some of the others that patrolled Summerview.
“If it’s more than a couple people, probably something else,” was Nerissa’s guess. That was a kind of pattern that could be described as ‘disturbing.’ People just didn’t go missing in groups, after all. “But if they’re protected by a barrier too, it could be happening on the inside.”
There was always at least one person who was disgruntled enough to want to fuck it up for everybody. Someone with their own agenda. Ugh, movie of the week villains - so annoying.
Dark, reptilian eyes flickered, pupils slitting - she took in her surroundings, senses on high alert now as they walked. Maybe it was the nature of what was in that article, but Nerissa didn’t like traitors. And that whole situation</i> sounded fishy. “What me to go check it out? Zander was looking for other gargoyles anyway. It could just be disguised as a trip to connect with some of ‘em.”
Yeah, that was what she was leaning towards too. Even though she didn’t want to. And not just because she didn’t trust her intuition not to go there without enough evidence, too much history behind her that lead her to be a bit too jaded instead of biased. Especially when she got emotional. Rational Jayati was accepting of other groups, even of humans.
Emotional Jayati only saw bodies and the faces of lost loved ones.
“That’s what the rumors are saying. But they have to be getting back out with them in an unusual way even if they were one of us.” It was definitely worse if it was one of them. Harder to catch. Harder to punish, and in a way it was a lot more of an insidious fire to put out than if it was if it was the standard kind of hatred.
The reasons were never that simple when it was someone on the inside, sadly. Jayati much preferred the simple, straight forward answers. Her eyes widened with a bit of surprise as she turned them from the path ahead back towards Nerissa, “That’s a good idea. Do you think he would mind? And possibly more importantly, could he bring any information back instead of just acting on it?” There were boht meaner and nicer ways to ask that question, but some of them wore their open wounds a little more on the surface than others. Zander had some very personal — and justified — with the humans.
“I’ll talk to him about it,” Nerissa promised. She wouldn’t make the decision to go for him, but she had a feeling Zander would be okay with it. They would have a clear destination in mind and could get there in a night; they wouldn’t just be wandering with no place to hunker down during the day when he was forced to take his stone form. “He’d definitely bring back information though. It’s in the interest of protecting this town, which is what he wants to do. Above all else.”
Summerview was his home now - where his new ‘clan’ was located, small in number as it was, but he was building it up. Slowly yet surely, more tortoise at than than hare.
Jayati nodded, relaxing a little even as they continued to walk, sharp eyes taking in their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. Having a plan, even a little bit of one, made her feel better. Or rather, just feeling like she was doing something other than sitting around and stewing.
“I would appreciate that.” And she meant it too. Zander was a smart, observant type that she appreciated, so it genuinely felt like this might be useful instead of just throwing darts at a board blindfolded. “This town, or you?” Jayati asked with a fond, amused quirk of her mouth. Zander wanting to look after the town in general, but Nerissa specifically wa something that made her far more fond of him, truthfully, on account of how she could relate to it. Hopefully he would be more successful at protecting the woman he loved than she had.
They emerged on the other side of a thicket of trees so they could walk along the small gap that was kept between them and the barrier proper the whole way around to give the Witches and others room to work when they had to, and easier for those like them to see anything that was awry. “How are you two doing, by the way?”
Nerissa grinned, fangs glistening beneath the stars there. “Probably both?” she admitted, since she lived in the town and Zander was serious business about keeping her safe or whatever. To be protective over his ‘people’ was ingrained in him, in gargoyle DNA, not something he could change - and she wouldn’t ask him to, so she just went with it even if they both knew that she wasn’t a wilting flower or anything. “It’s kinda sweet.” She meant that - because she never really had anyone looking out for her in the way that he did. “But yeah, we’re good. Happy. I love him.”
Bleeeeeeh, someone pass her a barf bucket.
She walked the familiar route, closer to the barrier now - she could feel the thrum and pulse, almost. “How are you and the hot mechanic? Is that still a thing?”
Jayati may be older — well, older for the town and older than Nerissa and Zander maybe but definitely not old for a dragon — but that didn’t mean her heart had heartened completely. She was happy for them, genuinely wanted them to stay together. After all, why else did they build and protect this town if not for people like them? Even if it was an odd match. Jayati certainly didn’t have a problem with it because of that. “I think you’re a good match.” Nerissa so, well, herself and Zander so stoic and contained. It was a good balance, at least from an outsider’s perspective. “I’m sure you would protect him just as much, if it came to that.”
At the question about Daniel she shrugged, “I don’t think so. But it’s fine. I’m still in my mourning period, really.” Dragons had been known to mourn for a lost mate for their whole lives even, so if Jayati took a few hundred years or more to go on a proper date or have a dalliance none of her kind would blame her.
“Nerissa.” Her tone different now, direction a little less vague and eyes locked on a part of the barrier that had just come into view and appeared to be discolored, almost as if it were rotting.
Hell yeah she’d protect Zander if some pesky humans came around with their weapons to try to smash him to smithereens like they did the rest of his clan - she’d cut a bitch and then some. Go all snake-face, and no one wanted that. Jayati got it, and on the flip side, Nerissa got the whole idea of a mourning period, after your mate died - some of her kind were like that too.
“I think the right person would be there to help you through - oh, shit,” she too saw the discoloration in a chunk of the barrier, immediately going to investigate. Her senses prickled, quickly looking to and fro to see if anyone else was around. But it was just them.
She knelt to examine the rotting portion, hand hovering over it slightly. “Someone’s been fucking with our barrier...”
She appreciated that Nerissa didn't give her any pity or try and convince her to try something with Daniel her heart wasn't in. She took the risk of the former when she spoke of her loss so openly, but the latter was uncomfortable for everyone and not useful.
Jayatis senses were on high alert when she followed Nerissa, taking a knee beside her as she pulled out her phone to take pictures. Rotting, poison, these really weren't her fields of expertise,and in company like this she wasn't afraid to admit that. “What does it feel like to you? Anything familiar?” Was the barrier failing, were the Witches being lax, or was it for sure poison?
Best case scenario would be the first, but she had a sinking feeling it was the last.
Nerissa knew some about poison - she was venomous herself, which just meant that her bite was how she transferred her own poison to prey. “It’s gotta be a toxin,” she said, squinting, still studying the composition of the rotting portion. “Came from a plant or fungus - poison can disrupt magic though, I think. Might be part wormwood? That shit’s used in a lot of nasty stuff. Bad spells and bad juju.”
Taking pictures was a good idea - she’d want to get someone else to look at this for sure. To add to that, carefully she slipped on one of her leather gloves (she kept a pair stuffed in her pocket, it was fucking cold some nights) and rubbed at the discolored portion to see if any residue would come off. It’d be something, anyway. “Any of the witches particularly good with poisons?” she asked. “They might be able to confirm or deny.”
It was hard to say what the goal was of the poison, was it supposed to spread and bring down the whole thing? Make it impossible to repair again? Whoever this was thought like a snake, if she of all creatures could be forgiven for such a metaphor, and she was glad she had Nerissa and a few others like her whose minds were a bit more flexible than her own. “Hopefully it’ll narrow down who produced it, if we can get someone out here who deals in it they might be able to trace it back.” Magic was handy like that, even potions. It left a distinctive trace, even if she wasn’t the best at tracking it.
Jayati finished, flipping through her gallery quickly to make sure she got an idea of the general size of the thing and the colors before stowing her phone. “We’ll need to get eyes on here on a regular basis, I want to know if it grows, and if there are any other spots.” She watched Nerissa touch it, pleased that she was wearing gloves at the time even though she expected no less, “Did it feel odd? Burn or anything?”
“It burns a little - like maybe it’s trying to give the barrier a fever,” Nerissa observed. And what happened to the regular ol’ human body when a fever got too high? Organs shut down. Similar concept, bringing down the barrier.
But that was only speculation. “I’ll save my glove as a sample for the more witchy folk,” she winked, taking it off and wrapping it up, tucking it away safely. “One of ‘em ought to be able to look closer at it, especially when they come out here to see this mess firsthand.”
That would kind of suck, if the poison spread. They had to stop it in its tracks. Immediately.
“Lovely.” Jayati said, dryly, as she thought of another, somehow worse possibility. Someone using the barrier to poison the town, low and slow like she cooked a pot roast. Was that even a thing that could happen? She honestly wasn’t sure, maybe someone who studied these sorts of magic — including barriers and poison — would know off the top of their head, but she did not. The phone was pulled back out of her pocket. That was one of the annoying things about cell phones, as soon as you put it away you realized you needed it again. A few rapid fire texts were sent out, one to two more sets of guards, one to patrol and one to keep an eye on this, and another to the group thread she kept in with the Witches in town at all times. They were chatterboxes but she liked being able to reach them all at once easily.
Jayati stood, “Good idea, I’ll have a few of them meet us here and some others to take over our route for the time being.” There were contingency plans for the barrier being poisoned, in place long before Jayati arrived, though it wasn’t one of the ones she was most familiar with. Should have been though. “If this just turns out to be a distraction for something worse I’m going to be pissed.”
“Oh, fuck no,” Nerissa rolled her eyes. “Whoever is responsible for this is gonna feel my wrath - but if it’s just a distraction? Hell hath no fury.” She so wasn’t kidding about that either.
But for now she’d just wait with Jayati until some of the others she’d contacted showed up, and her mind would be whirring with possibilities about what this shit could be. Damn, it had been an interesting night - thanks to the fact that what was expected to be a regular patrol route turned into anything but.
That earned a snort and a dry laugh from her, “You and me both. This is not my preferred kind of war.” Not that she preferred war at all, at least not when she was serving in the capacity she was now. When she was just playing a sword for hire? Sure, why not, but not right now, not for Summerview. Too many non-combatants. If she did have to wage war though, she preferred the direct sort. Fire and havoc.
“And now, hurry up and wait.” And think, which was definitely the worst. Damn, she was going to have to wake the mayor up for a meeting after this.