[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]

He follows her over to the door, watching closely as she opens the door. He's been through a missing person report before...and through enough emergency situations. He knows a person that's barely hanging on, and he senses the tension coming off Riley in waves. He wonders if he needs to call for back-up. She wouldn't be so upset if this wasn't serious.

But he waits for her to explain. He even takes out a small notepad and pencil to write down what she tells him, jotting everything down. Except the last part. He looks up at her with an eyebrow raised. He doesn't know if, special magical connection is....proof.

He is taking this seriously, but he needs more. "Do you think she is with Grant? Did you call him?" James knows she probably did, but he needs to ask. "Do you know if she saw him today?"

[jiyunnies]

Riley watches him jot things down and she's not even surprised when he doesn't write the bit about the magic. She's not surprised, but she still thinks it's stupid that the police and law don't recognize anything magical as "evidence." The connection between the girls is most likely stronger than anything most of the department can even imagine. But she's always had a love for science. The logical side of Riley knows why magic isn't proof. But she's emotional and on edge, so that slight stings a little more than it should.

"I tried calling him. He didn't answer. Val would tell me if she was going to see him though. Even if her phone died, she'd find a way to contact me. She doesn't make me worry because she knows how anxious I get." She shakes her head. "Not unless he went to the shop to see her. Val's been working there round the clock."

[jamesthorn]

James pulls out his own phone, after he hears her answer. He doesn't want to just guess whether Grant has seen Valeria. But he doesn't want to alert any more people than necessary, not when Riley's sister has only been gone a few hours. He simply texts Grant with a message asking for him to call him back. "Let's just see if he calls back," James says, tucking his phone back in his jacket. He makes a few more notes on his notepad then puts the pad back in the pocket of his jeans.

"Uh, can I look look around?" He knows he won't be able to stop her from worrying, but he still says, "There's nothing that jumps out to me. Nothing's broken. No struggle. I don't think she was hurt. Okay?" he says, patting her on the arm. He doesn't even see signs of anyone else being here.... "So one step at a time. We figure out if she's just gone on a really long detour. Or if she's actually..." he hesitates for half a beat. "...missing."

[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.

[grantmiddleton]

Grant's been at a fancy dinner party with his mom all night. He's felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, but he did promise his mom that she had his full attention tonight, especially with how important this dinner is for their family's investments. The dinner finished up not long ago and Grant finally walks into his condo, stripping himself of his bowtie and fancy dinner shoes when he hears his phone buzz again. He checks the message and sees it's from James. Grant immediately hits the call button.

"Hey sunshine, what's with the late-night booty call?"

[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..."