Cloverfield Magic

Chapter 8 - Survivor

Alice is flying. Her eyes fling open as the grip around her leg flings her small form into a world of blurred lights. She collides with the hard ground and lies there, stunned. As Alice struggles to understand what just happened, a human eventually picks her up in a surprisingly loose hold. Wriggling a little, Alice scouts the strange new world from its higher vantage point. Next to her head, a small object catches her attention. As a rabbit, Alice is constrained to seeing the world in blurry monochrome, but the glow of the magic energy swirling around the stone was perfectly clear.

Was this spellcaster stupid? Leaving a soulstone so vulnerable to theft. Alice steals the magical conduit without a second thought and evades the hands of the idiot humans until it makes it deep into the woods where their large, clunky forms couldn't follow. 

+

"So you're telling me that you pulled a rabbit out from a hat by accident?." Rowen repeats incredulously.

"You don't look as surprised as I thought you'd be." Issac shrugs tiredly. Indeed, once the initial surprise passed, Rowen looked more thoughtful than disbelieving.

"I feel crazy saying this, but do you think that barista from the Witches' Brew could be a real witch too?" Issac questions. "I've been feeling weird ever since I drank that tea." Rowen taps his finger on his elbow, lost in thought.

Issac continues, "Or maybe I'm dreaming again right now." Issac makes a move to slap himself but Rowen stops him.

"You're not dreaming. How important is that rabbit to you?" Rowen asks.

"I couldn't care less about the rabbit. It's what the rabbit stole that I'm pissed about losing." Issac growls.

Rowen saw the broken pendant string in Issac's hand, and he felt the pieces click into place. "Ah, I see."

Issac could tell Rowen was deliberating something in his mind from the way his friend's eyebrows pinch together in concentration as his lips press down into a frown. "Meet me after school tomorrow. Bring the hat and what's left of your necklace."

"Huh? Why?" Issac asks.

"I think I know of a way to get your pendant back."

+

"It's been a while since we've properly hung out after school lately," Issac couldn't help but mention offhandedly.

Maybe he was overthinking things, but Rowen felt a slight bite to his friend's words. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So, where are we headed?"

"Circe's."

"Circe? Oh! From the Witches' Brew. Is that where you've been lately? The tea shop?"

"Yeah, do you have a problem with it?"

"Why would I - no, I don't have a problem with it. I just don't know why you didn't ask me to come along!"

"... I didn't think that you'd be interested."

The two friends fall into a long silence.

Awkwardly, Issac asks, "This isn't some joke, is it? You think Circe can really help me find my pendant?"

At the mention of Circe, annoyance paints Rowen's expression. "Oh, I'm sure that she can. It's just a question of how we're going to convince her to actually help."

Before long, the two arrive at the dilapidated tea shop once again. Issac follows Rowen's lead as Rowen rings the bell by the cashier along the way towards the backroom. Poking his head through the partition, Issac is stuck with confusion.