[ The pool party was fun, with its abundance of paints and expression, its opportunities to inscribe beautiful things onto equally beautiful canvases. But Matt finds that amid the carnival atmosphere of the harvest festival, his mood has started to sour.
Some of it is time going by. Summer felt like an eternal moment, unchanging amber globule of sweat and sex and discovery (and sometimes cannibalism). The chill in the evening air reminds him he won't be starting over anytime soon. No school, no internship, no harnessing his magic to serve the city he lives in. He's still trapped. On a simpler level, the changes to the grounds remind him that something's coming. And if past is prelude, it'll probably be something bad.
When the bonfires are lit, Matt wanders among them, but not to partake. He finds himself looking to the base of the fires, superstitiously afraid he'll catch a glimpse of charred bone or familiar clothes.
What he notices first is paper.
Matt blinks, staring as the pages glow orange, then blacken and curl. A moment later, he looks up to see-- ]
wildcard 🔥🔥🔥
Some of it is time going by. Summer felt like an eternal moment, unchanging amber globule of sweat and sex and discovery (and sometimes cannibalism). The chill in the evening air reminds him he won't be starting over anytime soon. No school, no internship, no harnessing his magic to serve the city he lives in. He's still trapped. On a simpler level, the changes to the grounds remind him that something's coming. And if past is prelude, it'll probably be something bad.
When the bonfires are lit, Matt wanders among them, but not to partake. He finds himself looking to the base of the fires, superstitiously afraid he'll catch a glimpse of charred bone or familiar clothes.
What he notices first is paper.
Matt blinks, staring as the pages glow orange, then blacken and curl. A moment later, he looks up to see-- ]
Koby?