It was sometime late morning when Tic takes the liberty of waking both Isla and Margot (who actually decided to sleep in the same room together) by banging a wooden spoon against the side of a large pot. It nearly gives Margot a heart attack as her eyes pop open, and Isla at lightning speed springs up from where she had been laying.
"Good morning, sillies! Now's a good time he won't snap our heads off for approaching him so let's go!" He held up his arms in excitement, a bright smile plastered on his pasty cheeks. His disposition was way too sunny, especially since there was no light reflecting on them since they were still underwater in a sunken ship.
"You mind trying harder to kill us?!" Isla exclaims, roughly pressing her fingertips against her temples. Margot's heart flares up. 'Us'...? Oh god did that mean-
"Yeah, yeah." Tic waves his hand dismissively. "We need to hurry though. Since Cosmo's pretty much the caretaker, it takes a lot of toll on their magic when a lot of people leave this home."
"Wait, Cosmo has magic and we're not the only ones?" Margot nearly slapped herself silly. She never once questioned why the water had pulled her into the sunken ship, or why she hadn't seen any of the familiar faces from the party like Jeannie. Oh, jeez, poor Jeannie.
"Well, duh." Tic shrugs his shoulders as if it were obvious. "There's plenty of other places near the barrier where The Singer is. We can go everywhere except the barrier unless it's time." Margot's eyes soften as she remembers little Songbird. How restless she looked moments before she disappeared. She feels her heart break all over again.
"Yeah," she inputs quietly, glancing at the ground. Isla offers no comfort, as she stands and brushes the invisible dust off of her skirt.
Oh, wow, ouch.
Feelings obliterated, Margot stands up, straightening the pair of jeans that a girl had lent her, but they rose a bit above her ankles. She had no idea if this was intentional, as she knew nothing about fashion. It was kind of awkward.
"Okay, sleepyheads, let's- oh, look, a butterfly!" Tic's attention is immediately placed on a crack on the wall he assumes to be said butterfly, and Margot inwardly groans.
"Uh, Tic?"
"Yeah, Margot?"
"It's, uh. It's time to go."
Tic's vacant eyes blink. "Oh, right, right. This way." The three zigzagged through many rooms to find Cosmo, whose head was laying on the kitchen table, body slumped forward. They looked miserable.
"Heyyy, Cosmo!" Tic wastes no time and approaches the blue-haired pile of misery. "About that favour of mine-"
"No." Cosmo's tone has a sort of edge to it that Margot isn't used to. It pains her.
"Cosmo. This is really important to the ones that can still be saved," Isla brings up, and Margot feels inclined to add an input but her throat dies and she allows it.
"Hell, why not just slaughter the restuv us while you're at it?" Cosmo whips their head up, voice having risen louder and much sharper. "You didn't really come the same way we all did, didja? Didja really think I was dumb enough to not know that? The secrets, the fact you used a different name when you first came, and god knows what else you got yourself tangled in. I ain't contributin' to any more of it. You're on your own."
Tic clamps down on his bottom lip. His head slowly turns to face Margot and Isla. "Hey, um, do you think you could maybe step out for a second? I'd like to speak to Cos alone if that's not a problem." Margot audibly gulps.
"Yeah." She nods. "We can do that." They step into the messy pillow fort room, and Margot immediately takes refuge in a corner, placing her head in her arms. The gritty feeling of her coat against her eyes is incredibly uncomfortable, but she withstands it just to avoid Isla.
YOU ARE READING
solomon's lament | completed | final product under editing
Paranormal"I'll let you go in exchange for a deal." "Wh-What deal...?" "All I ask is you find something for me. I'll take you to that place where it is, which is safe and you cannot be harmed. But if you don't find it, I fear you won't live very long, and you...
