the moon is bright enough (LUNCH CLUB) DISCONTINUED

your only witness are the clouds above

"You can't be serious."

At least Travis has the decency to look ashamed. His ears lower and he averts his gaze, looking exactly like a dejected puppy.

Carson rubs the space between his eyebrows and speaks again. "You just left? Didn't even try to help?"

"No one expected it," Travis mumbles, ears flat against his head, "He just ran out there and it – it –" his voice breaks off. A low whine rumbles in his throat and Carson's eyes soften. He reaches out, combing a hand through Travis' orange fur. "I'm sorry."

"Go easy on him, dude. He's just a kid." From across the room, Cooper stands, gills fluttering. Carson shakes his head and steps away, foot tapping at the wooden floorboards.

"He should know what to do, we've been over this," Carson responds in a huff. "Now we have a rescue mission on our hands and we don't even know how powerful they are." He takes off his glasses, blowing on them before wiping them off with the fabric of his shirt. "Travis, did you see anyone else there?"

The adlet's tail attempts to wag, but it's too tightly curled. "Mhm! There were two other people with the flying goat thing."

Carson's eyes light up. A lead. "Can you find them? Like, show us where you last saw them?"

Travis smiles. It's small and shy, but it's a smile all the same. "I'm part dog, of course I can."

They head out.

Travis leads. His face is already changing as he grows in-tune with his instincts; his nose and mouth elongate to form a snout, fur grows more thickly across his body, and his shuffling walk becomes one of a more graceful, loping stride. It's a fascinating transformation that Carson will never grow old of.

To Travis' left is Cooper, shaded from the sunlight by an entire brick wall. Since Cooper is part fish, he dries up easily in the sun, which is a shame considering they live in California.

Then, there's Carson. He's not part animal like the other two. He looks like any other human, which is possibly his greatest strength. One day, when the humans and the magics unite, he could become a detective. Until then, he'll do his best to save every damned magical being he can.

They brought reinforcements, too. Noah and Ted are at the back of the group as lookouts and guards. Noah's telekinesis means that he can protect Cooper's sensitive scales and block enemy attacks without much effort. Ted, however, is one of the most powerful. They brought him along just in case they run into that winged goat.

Ahead of Carson, Cooper gasps.

It's understandable, really.

They stand at the edge of a crater at least six feet deep and a crack splits the earth, running about twenty metres long.

No one needs to announce it. It's obvious that this is the place.

"Travis, are you sure the guy who got struck didn't straight up die?" Ted asks.

The adlet shrugs. "If he was dead, wouldn't he still be here?  The crater's still smoking; it can't have been long."

"Maybe he's crushed," Noah quips. "Like dust? We could be standing on him right now."

"That's disgusting, kindly shut the fuck up," Cooper snaps. Noah begins to retort when–

"Can you guys shut up? I'm trying to concentrate." Carson's crouching at the mouth of the crater and he presses his hand to the dirt. The group falls silent.

Concentrate, Carson thinks. Focus. What happened here?

An ant crawls over his knuckles. He closes his eyes.

The images flash in his mind. It's a struggle to see. It's all blurry, like someone tried to wipe the memories away. Like someone tried to smudge it. Hide it.

What were they trying to disguise?

He grunts, arms trembling from the force of the images. It feels like an ache in your sides after a punch, like an insistent migraine. It shakes him, unbalances him, the ground splits beneath his feet. The light is blinding. It slams him to the ground and shoves him as far as it can. The ground, it's so hard, so tough. Someone's trying to move him. Tension is in the air. Can't breathe.

He sees horns. Wings. It's the goat-man, but he can't quite –

He can't quite see –

They speak. It's a word, a name. Are they speaking to him? He can't make it out.

"Ch–"

"Char–"

Why do they sound so scared?

The goat-man leaves before he can focus. Another takes his place. Smaller, pink, white. A glow. What are they doing to him? He can't feel his limbs. Are they drugging him? Hypnotising him?

He can feel the push of another's mind into his, seeking his thoughts.

A mind-reader.

Carson yanks his hand away so hard it hurts. He stumbles backwards, into Ted's arms.

"Carson, are you with us? Are you okay?" Ted sounds anxious. "What did you see?"

Carson shakes his head, gasping in air. This is bad. This is so, so bad.

"They took him." His voice is so shaky. "They did something to him. I don't know what. They- they have a mind-reader, and someone who can do magic. I'm not sure what kind. It felt like they drugged him."

"Did you get his name?"

"Started with Char."

Travis smiles thinly. "Maybe it was Charizard."

That draws a chuckle from most, but it's nervous, too tense.

"Maybe Charles? Charlie?" Cooper suggests. "Travis, can you sniff out where they went?"

Travis' face is human at the moment, and he growls at the idea. "I just transformed back! Do you know how much effort that takes?" But he's already shifting again, body hunching, claws forming. He flashes his teeth in the parody of a grin, then crouches down, sniffing at the ground around them.

He makes a sort of snarling noise and follows an invisible trail.

The rest of the group exchange a glance. They will have to be careful. They need to rescue Charlie first.

They can't be seen.

And with a being that powerful, who knows how many allies it has?

"We got this," Carson rallies them, "We'll be fine. For Lunch Club!"

"For Lunch Club!"

Their cheers are quiet but strong, and Travis' howl splits the air. It signals the start of their chase. Their mission.

It's time.