[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

[jamesthorn]

James is outside doing a walk around the perimeter of Avant Garden. He had fetched his flashlight front his car, and he's shining it on the ground, checking for footprints. Blood. Anything. But there's nothing out of place here either. His cellphone buzzes in his jacket and he retrieves it, relieved to see that it's Grant.

"How many times----" James pinches the bridge of his nose. Not worth it. Especially when he thinks he's about to deliver some bad news. "Listen, is Valeria Jung with you? Or have you seen her today?"

[grantmiddleton]

Grant's smug smile is immediately replaced by a sinking feeling in his chest. If James is calling him at this hour and asking about Val...

"No, I haven't. I've been at a dinner party with my mom all night. Didn't even text with her today. James, what's up?"

[jamesthorn]

James knows Riley is standing right behind him, and there's no need to upset her. He knows his friend will be upset too, since it's his, well, his very close friend. But Grant is also a cop. James thinks he can handle it.

"I need you to come to Avant Garden. We're just trying to...figure out where she went. Her sister is worried because she hasn't checked in. She was supposed to head home," he says.

[grantmiddleton]

Grant's already shrugged his coat back on as James talks. As soon as he mentioned that Val was missing, he flipped into cop mode.

"I'm on my way," he says, clipping his gun into his holster and his badge onto his jacket. "Do you need me to do anything before I head over?"

[jamesthorn]

"I was off-duty when she called me, so I'm in my car. I dunno. Maybe we should go ahead and phone in the report? We're at about---" James checks is watch. "About four hours. That's usually not long enough. She was walking from Avant Garden to her house. Like, I said. She never made it."

[grantmiddleton]

Grant slides into his car, immediately switching the phone to bluetooth as he starts it up. "I'll call it in. File the report so as soon as the clock hits, we can start a proper search. I'm gonna run the route she usually takes. See if I can find anything."

[jamesthorn]

"Good," James says, when Grant starts getting on the move. He is going to need back-up here. He doesn't know why, but he just has a bad feeling about what's happened. "I'll be here waiting. Be careful." Who knows what had happened, and in this town, it could be more than....well....it could be anything.

[grantmiddleton]

"I'll be over in ten. Just stay with Riley." Grant's not blind. He knows how close the girls are and as strong and stable as Riley may come across, that's highly dependent on her sister being happy and safe. Both of which are up in the air right now. He's witnessed Val's blow-ups, he doesn't want to see one of Riley's, to be honest.

He drives along the path Val typically takes home, stopping at the places she usually stops and trying to completely ignore that weird feeling in his chest. It's a feeling he rarely gets and usually only concerns his mom, Alex, and that one time that James went missing with the Coombs girl. Fuck. He cares.

When his ten minutes are up, Grant hits the steering wheel and curses as he presses the button to roll up the window. After a quick text to Alex, just to make sure she's safe and accounted for, he arrives at Avant Garden. Grant climbs out of his car, zipping up his coat as he appears at James' side.

"Nothing. I called the captain and reported it. Alex is at home." He adds the last bit because he knows the thought crossed James' mind. "What's it look like?"

[jamesthorn]

James is waiting out front by his car when Grant arrives, arms crossed over his chest. He had checked all the exits and windows on the outside of the building, and at the moment, he's just trying to piece something together. He isn't getting very far. Grant comes up to him, looking eager.

He shakes his head, shrugging. "Honestly? I have no clue," he says, but he is happy to hear that Alex is safe. That's one relieve off his mind, and he suddenly wants to call all his siblings. "If it's a kidnapping, there's absolutely no sign of a second person..."