[Circle of Sirens] Missing

[bewitchinghaze]

 To say it had been a long day would be an understatement. Val has been hard at work in the back rooms of Avant Garden preparing spelled plants by the dozen all day. By the time she closes up for the day and finishes tidying, it's well past eight in the evening. Stretching out the kinks in her back, she gives a soft sigh as she hauls her phone out of her pocket and sends her sister a quick text:

[txt] Long ass day, unnie. Sales low again. On the way home now though. Chinese for dinner? xo

Finally satisfied that everything's in order, Val steps out and locks up. Turning around, she tuts at the fog that seems to have rolled into town despite the chill. Its thick as pea soup but she's never really needed her sight to make her way home anyway, not with the mixture of her sister's magic and her plants calling to her. But... Something seems odd. A soft melody slowly winds its way through the air and into her ears and something about it makes her want to hear more. To get closer.

Val steps into the fog, which, by all means, should be cold and clammy but somehow feels warm and soothing, and blinks in mild surprise as it seems to part to reveal a beautiful garden. Its absolutely gorgeous, full of plants she could never dream of working with and...

"Val! Over here!"

She turns her head as Grant's voice beckons her and she spots him, sitting on the porch of her cottage, waving her over. She bounds over happily and feels his arms wrap around her and his lips press against her own. "Welcome home," he murmurs with a grin that momentarily stuns her. "Riley's inside making dinner. She said to remind you to wash up before you go in."

It feels like her heart's going to burst, she's so happy right now. This is everything she could ever want and she's more than content to live like this forever. But then it starts to fade. Slowly, at first, she gets glimpses of a cave and her head feels... fuzzy, to say the least. Then the vision disintegrates faster and its all she can do not to yell at it to stay. Then it's gone and she's standing in a cave, blinking around at the walls as her mind wraps around her loss.

"Fuck."

Comments

[jiyunnies]

Riley takes a deep breath and lets it out, keeping an eye on the jacket pocket where James stuffs his phone. She's almost willing Grant to call back immediately, saying he kidnapped her sister or something. She'll kill him.

"Yeah," she nods, waving an arm at the general direction of the shop. He's right...the shop looks normal, she can even trace her sister's steps with her typical closing routine, there wasn't a struggle, at least here. Wherever Val went, it seems she went willingly.

"Um, just don't touch anything in jars or beakers? Magic and potions can be very dangerous if you don't handle them correctly." The last thing she needs is to carry James Thornton's lifeless body to the hospital.

[jamesthorn]

James nods his head, looking at few of those dangerous jars sitting out on the table in front of them. "Yeah, I'll be careful," he says. Everything about this was already weird. People usually know their family well, and Riley especially seems to know her sisters habits. Where she would go, what she would do. She says it isn't like her not to call, and she's probably right.

Something must have happened to make her change course between here and her house. Something changed her track, and James decides maybe he needs to be looking outside. "I'm going to take a look outside. Around the building," he says, heading back out into the cold air.

[jiyunnies]

Riley finds herself following James outside. As much as she doesn't really know him, she doesn't want to be alone right now. Especially in Val's shop. She tugs her coat closed and keeps a distance from him, not wanting to hover or be too annoying right now. He's looking for her sister and she's willing to give him the space he needs to work.

"Se--" Riley snaps her mouth closed. She was about to ask him if he sees anything, but she shouldn't nag. Instead she bounces a little in place, trying to keep warm.

[jamesthorn]

Eventually James hangs up with Grant and he turns back to Riley. "Grant has not seen your sister all day," he tells her, not wanting to lie to her. He has a feeling Riley would know if he wasn't giving her all the information anyway.

That's when he admits, "I don't see anything out of place out here either."

[jiyunnies]

She's not really surprised by that answers, but Riley's shoulders still fall. She was hoping. "I see."

Riley looks around. "So now what?"

[jamesthorn]

James hangs up the phone with Grant. He figures it will be a good thing when he gets here since he knows Riley. It is probably going to be a long night.

"Before we can get the full support of the station, we'll have to wait. I understand the circumstances, but she hasn't been missing long enough. I want you to continue to making phone calls to anyone you can think of that might have seen her," James says. "Grant is on his way."

[jiyunnies]

Riley nods. She understands the law and it's not going to change just because her sister is the one missing this time. "I can do that."

Pulling out her phone, Riley turns and starts going through her contacts.