tramitem_log | Do you believe in magic?

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Do you believe in magic?

Who: Alec, Fell, Elliot and whomever else
What: "Magic" testing
When: June 11th
Where: Meeting room

He's cleared out a space, shoving all the metal chairs and plastic tables to the side so there was plenty of room. He had thought of adding a sarcastic bucket of water but decided that it might be too confrontational. Things were going to be confrontational enough since he told Elliot and Fell different times and Fell would put up a fuss about but-- but it was better than him hovering over everything and being overly concerned. Alec was older than him and Anthony too. He could take care of himself.

He briefly checked his watch before folding his arms and leaning against the wall. He hoped others showed up but he doubted there would be much to see-- memories were one thing but this was still real life for fuck's sake.

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Elliott straightened up behind the camera. He cocked his head, looking Alec over and trying to fit the words he thought he heard with the man's expectant posture.

"Uh.. sorry?"

"It's what you claimed to do, isn't it?" A look. "I can sign a waiver if you like."

Elliott stared, wresting down the surge of emotion he'd been expecting for the past several minutes- a unique blend of frustration, anger, and disbelief that only seemed to flare up in response to this one person in particular.

A waiver- like absolving himself of responsibility was his greatest priority. Just the way Alec spoke, the tone and words he used, felt purposely incendiary.

Claimed. Like this had just been a way to test him. He swore it was almost as though they were navigating different languages entirely.

"..I could," he said once he'd tampered down the now-familiar urge to snap. No one had ever before been able to test the limits of his patience so quickly. "But I didn't come here to hurt you- or anyone. That's not what I want to use it for."

"Good to know." And he tried very hard not to be dry and sarcastic about it. "Look, I want to believe you. I want to understand--" He gestured. "This. But no matter what you set on fire I'm going to have a hard time believing it unless it's me. I'm not saying to turn me into burning man, just a small one would do."

Elliott searched him for several long seconds, anger draining as he felt out the sincerity of the request. He wanted to believe? Wanted to understand? Swallowing, Elliott hit record, then stepped out from behind the camera to approach.

His darker titles called out to him as he took slow steps toward the man. Darkspawn. Dreaded Child of Darkness. A person like that would probably delight in the suffering of others. But he wouldn't- not ever.

"Let me heal it, after." A request on just this side of a plea.

He grimaced.

"I'd really rather you not. It'll be fine. There's a first aid kit somewhere." There was just something about healing that made his skin crawl.

Frustration mounted, but it rose and fell in a wave. He'd half-expected him to refuse based off their previous conversation of course, but his stomach still flipped with guilt.

He shouldn't do this, but if truly nothing else would do, then..

Elliott brought his hand up, fire springing to life in his palm as though it had always been there, simply awaiting his fingers to unfurl. He held out the handful of flickering flames out to Alec, but made no move to actually touch him with them.

"If this is really what you want..."

He narrowed his eyes. Right in the palm of his hand? It felt like cheating. He paced around the boy, checking him over seeing if there was anything he might be using to make this. He pushed back his sleeve too, checking, though gingerly, trying not to actually touch him.

There didn't seem to be anything.

Maybe there was a trigger in his palm?

"Can you douse it?"

Well, at least he wasn't in a hurry to burn himself.

Elliott waited patiently through the inspection, relieved enough by that at least, to let him check him over for tricks.

"Sure."

His fingers curled back inward and snuffed the flames without fear. He let them fall lax again, certain they'd be next to fall under scrutiny.

They did.

He looked into his hand, pressed two fingers down against his palm gingerly. It wasn't even hot. There was no trigger or anything that he could feel. It couldn't be real. It couldn't. It had to be some sort of trick. Something. He refused to believe it.

His expression got darker as something knotted high in his chest.

"Light it again."

"Okay."

No fanfare with his fingers this time; he simply willed the flames back into existence and watched them flicker while he waited for whatever came next.

Edited 2020-06-14 21:45 (UTC)

Sweat beaded the back of his neck and he swallowed convulsively. It was just an illusion then. Some projection. Some technology. Had to be. That was the only explanation.

He took a moment to steel himself and ran his hand through the flame.

It seared--

And a millisecond later his sleeve caught.

"Christ!" He flailed his arm, stumbling back as the fire raced up his arm, his heart jamming against his ribs. There was a sudden fwoosh and the sprinklers came on, cold water raining down and putting him out.

He stumbled against a wall and heaved, trying to catch his breath as his heart galloped.

Elliott extinguished the flames in an instant, but not nearly quickly enough. His heart dropped, seized by a panic that he really just set him on fire, and sprang after him.

"H-hey! Let me-" He didn't know what, but he'd do anything to help right then- until rain poured down from overhead in the form of sprinklers and solved the worst of it. "Th-thank the Goddess."

His entire body shook, unable to quite wipe the vision of Alec's sleeve going up in flames. Didn't mind the water as he fought back tears, his arms and legs going nearly nerveless even as he shifted a few steps closer.

"Are you- Goddess, are you alright? Please let me help."

"You're fine." Don't mind him wheezing. He was fine too. The boy could stop having a moment now. "My fault. I was stupid." But then as he got closer. "I don't want your help."

He had intended to arrive extra early to set up; had his supplies packed and ready and everything. And then he had taken a phone-call from a museum in New Jersey and, well. He had been distracted. It wasn't like the start time wasn't for another ten minutes or so anyway, so he should still be early--

"I'm terribly sorry I'm late." He entered in a flurry, bags of supplies in hand, including a first aid kit. "The A train was running behind and--Good god. Why is it raining indoors??" Oh. That wasn't rain. That wasn't anyone's power at all, except that amazingly clever power known as indoor plumbing manifested in the form of a fire-sprinkler system. Fire sprinkler system. Which had been set off already.

"Crowley!!" He shucked off the bags has he crossed the room to the two of them, trying not to slip on the wet flooring. Elliott earned a glare which Aziraphale was still deciding if he deserved or not, and then all fussing was directed at Alec. He tentatively touched Alec's hair, his face, then his arm, trying to help hold him upright as he attempted to check the pulse-point at his neck. "Good lord, what did you DO? You were supposed to WAIT for me, you stupid, idiotic man. Are you- Are you hurt?"

Elliott whipped around as the door opened and a familiar voice barged in.

He cowed under Mr. Fell's glare and stepped out of the way to let him handle 'Crowley' as he was apparently known.

"I'm sorry," he tried, guilt flooding his voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Get off..." He growled this but didn't have the strength to shove him off. He just needed a break. Needed to sit down for a second. To take his pills. But not in front of either oft them. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Wasn't his fault. I was the idiot who decided to play with fire. He's just a kid." So don't lay into him, Fell, he wanted to say but he had to focus on keeping his legs under him in the insistent slippery wet

His lips tightened into a thin line and he considered doing as asked and respecting the request to let Alec go. Instead, he pulled Alec's arm over his shoulder to support him and fussed over his person. "I think not. Are you burned?"

He could lecture them on their poor decisions later.

"Elliott, be a dear and find us a chair?"

He didn't expect Alec to defend him. That surprised him nearly more than how wet the floor was.

"Y-yes," he said, turning and veering straight for the chairs stacked up across the room. Carefully, carefully, giving his mind something else to focus on as he went.

Elliott brought the chair back, setting it near them and pushing wet hair out of his face.

"I tried to help, but he won't let me heal him."

"Oh will you stop fussing. I'm fine." But he lets himself be taken and sat in a chair while he compulsively loosens his tie.

"And don't talk about me like I'm not in the room. It's fine. I'm fine. Let it go." This was why he'd told Fell to come later. He felt like he was being slowly suffocated by pigeons.

"Well, I guess I understand." Magical healing provided a host of possible issues. But Alec was refusing first aid, too, so that was another thing entirely.

He stomped his foot, splashing a bit of water with the step. "No! I'm not letting it go. You invited me here, and if you really did not want someone to witness your poor choices and clean up after them, you wouldn't have included me in the first place." He was convinced that Alec could have just as easily never updated Aziraphale on his activities or provided a time and place. "Your self-destructive tendencies are getting out of hand, Alec, and I need you to understand that."

"Sorry," Elliott said again, stepping away from the pair. It felt like he was intruding on a conversation he maybe shouldn't really be part of.

"I'll um, go see if I can find a way to stop the sprinklers."

He flushed and folded his arms, then had to unfold them, gritting his teeth.

"I had to know, alright. I had to understand. To see if it was real. But you and Anthony want to put me in bubble wrap like I'm bloody china. Maybe I should just go back to Edinburgh so mum can put me in a care home. That way no one will have to pretend to worry about me." He regretted the words as soon as he said them, if only because he knew they weren't pretending but now it would be this whole thing of aching sincerity.

Shit.

"The hell of it is I still don't fucking believe it." It was frustrating. There was something wrong with him. Broken somehow. Maybe he was the freak here. The oddball. The one who didn't belong.

He gently took Alec's hands in his own, one at a time, examining them for injury. Aziraphale cradled the burned one and thought about the aloe burn salve and bandages in his kit. He should go get it, tend to the wound. The skin was red and blistery from the burns, but part of him was a little scared leaving Alec would give him a chance to run off.

"Please don't. I'd miss you something terrible." Perhaps he could try to be more considerate of Alec's autonomy and not be so protective, even if it felt like second nature.

Someone had to question everything, because they were already well on their way to believing themselves Demons and Luminaries, and rock-stars and space warriors... He could see, however, how lonely and isolating that path must be. "Objects are appearing, we are obtaining abilities we didn't have. That is undeniably real--it is happening to us, physically and against our consent. But the why and how of this is still unknown, and I've always admired your determination to not give over your faith blindly. Maybe we need you to doubt and question for us, and if so, I'm sorry for the burden that puts on you."

The sprinklers shut off only steps away, but at least he could somewhat effectively pretend not to be paying attention to the conversation at hand.

His eyes scanned the room, then caught sight of the tripod and camera with a sharp breath.

"Oh no," he said, rushing for the drenched bit of tech to see if it could be salvaged.

Edited 2020-06-15 04:58 (UTC)

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