[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[charmed_life]

[Parsing that for a moment]

Does that mean you're hurt somewhere?

[direstnews]

Something seems amiss.

[Rubs absently at his chest.]

[charmed_life]

You feel it, too. After you touched that--- [wave of her hand] whatever it was.

[direstnews]

As you say.

[charmed_life]

... I don't know what it is. What's missing.

[direstnews]

But something is.

[charmed_life]

But that creature--- it's gone! How can we get what we lost back?

[direstnews]

I think it less a doing of the creature and more a doing of... that substance.

Whatever so took control of it.

[charmed_life]

Great. Another puzzle to add to the ever-growing stack.

[direstnews]

At the least, we shall not be bored.

[charmed_life]

[Almost laughs at that. If she could even feel like laughing right now]

Were you worried about that?

[direstnews]

Not terribly. It's remarkable how often things seem to turn up.

[charmed_life]

Too true.

[A pause as she replays tonight over in her mind]

How did you know it would go after the puppet?

[direstnews]

It ceased its pursuit of me to dig at precisely the spot it lay buried, and its pursuit of me was rather pointed.

[charmed_life]

Right. Right.

[Pinches the bridge of her nose] Did you see where that thing came from in the first place?

[direstnews]

[Sherlock is here, and Chrono is already poking around at the circle he made, so this answer is not a fifth as evasive as he'd like it to be:]

Not particularly, as such. More sort of a general idea.

[charmed_life]

What did you see?

[direstnews]

Its arrival.

[charmed_life]

Could you be a little more specific. It might be important!

[direstnews]

I drew upon the ground the circle to call one who would aid us.

When it arrived, that substance spilled forth and washed over it, wresting control.

[charmed_life]

You were able to summon something here? And it made it! Sort of.

That's good, right?

[direstnews]

I would be loathe to try it again. That it was able to take control of such a creature at all speaks of great power.