and there shall be an age of darkness

[impetuous_force]

Bella is careful.

Bella is careful to go to the magic shop during lunch - not at night, not when her parents might notice her leaving home, not when her teachers might notice her skipping classes. She is careful to wear her crucifix, carry her holy water gun, keep her demon whistle ready to hand. She is careful to wrap her occult purchases in disguising packaging: chip bags, gym clothes, grocery totes. She is careful to restrict herself to spells that are necessary - whether "necessary" means for the result or for managing her mercifully limited dependence on the damn things is always carefully recorded in opaque code in her notebook, and if the ratio gets too low, she goes cold turkey outside dire emergencies for at least three days. This is uncomfortable, and it kills her class performance and her temper for those days, but she has to be careful. Her parents don't want her doing magic. They're afraid she'll get addicted. (Done.) They're afraid she'll get snapped up by the USADI, drafted into casting more than she can handle or things that shouldn't be cast at all. (Not done; and another reason to be careful.) They're afraid she'll get a spell wrong and hurt herself. (Not done; yet another reason to be... careful.)

She is confident that witchery has saved her life at least twice, possibly as many as four times; she's sure it's saved others more than that. A month ago she located the hiding place of the Gem of Amara, determined it ludicrously easy to find, and conjured it to her for safekeeping in Forks under considerably more sophisticated wards placed gradually over the course of weeks. (Not in the house; any vampire with a non-vampire demon friend could bypass that protection and she doesn't want to put her parents in harm's way. But in a house, because the protection is non-negligible; USADI experimental reports say that squatters count as living human residents, and she can get into the basement section of a consistently occupied old Victorian close to the city walls without bothering - or alerting - those who make it their hangout.) With this gem more securely stowed, it will at least take longer for some vampire or other to come across it, render themselves invincible, and slaughter an entire metropolitan area before USADI calls in something sufficiently heavy-duty to get around the damn thing.

She's looking into how to destroy it, but while Forks has the advantage of safety, it also has the disadvantage of a relatively cruddy magic shop. The Witchnook is capable of special-ordering things, albeit with a lag time of weeks or months, but Bella's not sure how far to trust the proprietor. She supposes her parents don't know she's a witch yet, so it can't be "not at all", but, well. She'll come up with some other books to order in the same batch, as cover.

Bella is careful when she goes out at night. She wears her cross, she carries her holy water gun and her demon whistle. She sets her alarm clock at maximum volume for fifteen minutes after she expects to be back, with a note taped to it for her parents, in case she runs into trouble. And usually she doesn't go out at night at all.

Tonight she needs a spell ingredient that cannot be out of doors during the daylight without losing its potency, though, so if she wants to get it home at all, she is going to have to spend ten minutes walking to the Witchnook, pay for her twilight powder, and spend ten minutes walking back.

Forks has walls.

She'll be okay.

She'll be careful.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"My family actually lives right within walking distance of the school, next door to the church around the corner," says Angie, "and we have a spare room - I'll need to ask, but it might work out." She mentions the church with the gentleness of someone who has been made aware that her new classmate might have a particular fear of vampires but doesn't want to poke at it directly.

[eversomuchfun]

"That," says Sherlock, "would be very kind of you."

[alicornucopia]

"You aren't wearing a cross," observes Angie. "Do you want one of mine?" She touches the one at her throat. "I have a lot."

[eversomuchfun]

"I noticed," he says with a quirk of a smile. "I - yes. Thank you."

[alicornucopia]

She unclasps her necklace and offers it to him. Between it and her bracelet, it's the plainer, more plausibly unisex item. "You're welcome."

[eversomuchfun]

He takes it and puts it on with a sigh of apparent relief.

[alicornucopia]

Angie pats his hand, once, not too familiar, and smiles, and spears one of her peach slices.

[eversomuchfun]

He smiles back and drinks his juice.

[alicornucopia]

Lunch will continue to pass in companionable silence unless he chooses to say something.

[eversomuchfun]

Companionable silence it is.

[alicornucopia]

Bella is out sick the next day, too, but Angie is still well, in spite of having been to visit Bella the previous afternoon.

In bio, she tells "John": "My parents say it will be all right for you to stay with us at least to see if it will work out, and you don't have to come up with rent either, if you'll do a few things around the house and maybe look after my brothers occasionally. They're eight."

[eversomuchfun]

"That seems more than fair. Thank you."

[alicornucopia]

"You're welcome!" says Angie, smiling.

[eversomuchfun]

'John' smiles tentatively back.

[alicornucopia]

Biology ensues. This is a lecture class. Angie does her level best to take Bella-quality notes so that she can bring them to Bella later. She has a copy of Bella's notes from the day she herself missed on hand.

[eversomuchfun]

Lacking a notebook, John just pays attention.

[alicornucopia]

"Do you have stuff you'll need to move in?" Angie asks Sherlock, between bio and lunch.

[eversomuchfun]

"Not much of it," he says. "What I'm wearing, and a backpack."

[alicornucopia]

Angela nods. "You can just walk home with me after school, then, and I can show you the room and introduce you to everyone."

[eversomuchfun]

"All right. Thank you again."

[alicornucopia]

"You're welcome!" They sit down to lunch. "Do you want some of my sandwich?"

[eversomuchfun]

"Oh, I couldn't," he says. "You've been so kind to me already. If I'm going to eat your food at least let me be the one to cook it."

[alicornucopia]

"If you're sure," says Angie. She is apparently a unique soul who can say those words without implying that she is being less than perfectly literal with them.

[eversomuchfun]

"Yes. Thank you."

[alicornucopia]

"It's no trouble," she assures him, and she sets about eating her lunch.