Confrontation (Casmir vs Aaron, closed thread)

[MP]

The force of their momentum threw the hunter onto his back. Aaron should have had a clear opening then . He'd mean to pin the hunter down - and goddamn keep him there. But the agent's follow up was strangely sluggish. A hair slower, a shade clumsier than it should have been - almost a stumble.

He ignored the ache in his gut. He barely felt the blow to his shoulder, though it was already bruising. He drove a knee down on the hunter's wrist, keeping the limb outstretched and preventing the hunter rolling away. But even then, some distant part of him noted the faint tremble in his limbs. These limits only fueled Aaron's frustration, added more force to his blows. He aimed another at the hunter's face, then another, using every ounce of leverage he had to keep his opponent vulnerable and in place.

[luscen]

Casmir's attempt to disrupt the Agent's assault backfired, sending both men to the ground. Telmore didn't waste any time capitalizing on this, settling his weight to pin the Hunter down, awkward though his movements may have been. His knee pressed against Casmir's right forearm; given the angle, the blonde wouldn't be able to pull it free, and it kept him from defending himself, which the Agent took full advantage of. A gloved fist smashed into the other man's face with a sickening squelch of cartilage, the nose giving way and a stream of crimson flooding down his face.

The pain briefly stirred Casmir, only to be replaced by fear sinking its claws into his brain. In his mind, he saw her; the succubus that wore his mother's face, hugging him and using her infernal strength to slowly squeeze the life out of him, all while mockingly cooing and reassuring him using her voice. A perversion of the sacred act between a mother and her child, used now as a means to inflict a slow, painful death; even now, over a decade later, Casmir could feel the memory of ligaments tearing, ribs cracking and slowly puncturing his insides. It didn't matter that Telmore was simply trying to pummel him senseless, his blows no less heavy for his exhaustion. Casmir couldn't see him- he could only recall the thing that haunted his nightmares, that made him recoil from the slightest embrace, the gentlest touch. 

Even with someone as innocent as Sara.

As the Agent's fist came down again, Casmir - driven by his survival instincts - unexpectedly twisted his head and caught Telmore's sleeve in his mouth, clamping down on it. The brunette's blows paused, briefly, and the Hunter's eyes - wild and hate-filled - bored into the other man.

"Get. OFF!" he growled through a mouthful of fabric. His free hand pressed against Telmore's chest, and there was a crackle of blue light as Casmir invoked the Algiz rune. Then, a heavy force like a horse's kick - accompanied by a sound akin to a thunderclap - launched the Agent backwards several feet, knocking him away from the Hunter. 

[MP]

Even through the haze of his anger, Aaron flinched back from that palm. The press over his heart sparked a bone-deep memory: a swell of dread, of something deeply wrong inside, before the darkness. That touch was death. Don't let him -

The force of the thunderclap threw the agent backwards, all the more violently for his recoil. The ground struck him hard - back, shoulders, head - spots bursting in his vision as the agent skidded to a stop. He lay there for a long moment. Struggled onto his side, coughing and wheezing through the weight in his chest. One arm moved dazedly as if to push himself upright, but he couldn't seem to orient himself. Something moved down the back of his skull, hot and trickling, 

Get up. He had to...had to...

The ground swam. Aaron couldn't get his thoughts straight, couldn't suck in a clean breath. But his arms belatedly obeyed. He got them under him and struggled to push upright. His eyes turned, searching for the threat, and there was nothing in them but a dazed, flat violence.

[luscen]

Casmir pressed his thumb to his broken nose, re-setting it and wiping the blood from his chin. His eyes blazed furiously, reason largely abandoning him in favor of anger- he wasn't thinking, at the moment, simply acting, and the thing before him was an opponent, not a person.

'Move,' he commanded, ignoring the way his jaw ached and the side of his temple throbbed. His arms felt leaden, but with effort he managed to push himself up to his knees. 'Move.' 

His legs didn't want to cooperate. Try as he might, they weren't moving as they should- a result of the repeated blows to the head. Stray thoughts, like glimmers of light, flashed across his vision: Sara. Atol. Rhys. Sjira. The faces of children, the grinning, leering faces of monsters. The Skin-walker. Black Annis. Women dead. Children dead. Because of him. 

Because of him.

The Hunter's face looked over at Telmore without truly seeing him; on some level, he registered the other man. Saw him as Sara's fiance, who'd let Atol take his wife, apparently without offering up even a shred of resistance, and was now so afraid or incapable of making an action that, instead of helping Casmir, he was fighting him. Where was this, when Atol took Sara? What right did he have, to bar the Hunter's way, to stay here and be so damn obstinate, when the one good thing the pillock had was her? 

'Dead because of you,' a voice in Casmir's mind thought. He couldn't be sure to whom the voice was speaking of, or of what; Sara's beaming face filled his mind's eye, then quickly changed to Szymon's wry grin, then his mother's warm smile, in turn. 'Dead because you didn't do anything.'

The Hunter let out a rattling, bestial breath. With effort, he pushed himself to his feet, forcing his body to obey him. He was done playing around; he fumbled for his colt, grasping the handle and drawing it with an unsteady hand. If the glowworm wanted to continue playing this stupid game, then he could damn well have his stupid- 

Another memory bubbled up in his vision: The forest. His nightmare. Anger overwriting all reason, a blood-soaked faschinenmesser, and an all-too familiar brunette face staring up at him, accusingly, from eyes that had yet to fully dim. 

It felt like Casmir had been doused in ice-cold water. His sidearm slipped from numb fingers, the anger-fueled hold he'd had over his body fading and forcing him back down to his knees. Dimly, he remembered the words the Telmore from his nightmare had thrown at him:

'She was never yours to protect!' 

Sara was in danger, and he was standing here, having a slugfest with the woman's groom. What the hell had Casmir been doing this whole time!?   

[MP]

Aaron's eyes were fixed on the revolver as he pushed forward. His vision was swimming, one leg threatened to give out, but urgency lent him a burst of strength. He saw it leaving the holster. He could envision the barrel rising, could sense the trajectory the bullet would take. Put the hunter down - now. Aaron was too slow. He wouldn't make it. Wouldn't make it.

Fueled by desperation, he lunged for the hunter, aiming for the joint of the shoulder where - maybe, just maybe - he could turn the shot, wrestle away the gun. He barely noticed when the gun slipped, or when the fight drained from the hunter's expression. All he saw was the threat of the man, and Aaron was so fixated that he never saw the shadow descend.

A massive claw flattened him to the platform, pressing down on his back and shoulders in a protective screen. A restraint.

"Get off!" he roared, but his voice was drowned out by a deeper roar - a sound that set the bones trembling and muffled all other sound.

Lin slammed a fist down the revolver, cratering concrete. A piece of crumpled frame came away with his fist as he reached for the hunter next. A bellowing snarl, half animal, half human voice, spilled from between six inch tusks. For a moment, it looked like the reptile might crush the hunter as readily as he had the gun.

At the last moment, Lin gentled the blow. Self-control. Or maybe it was the strange chill in the air. The prickle down the spine. The impossible weight pressing down on Casmir's back, restraining him more surely than any human agent could. Lin's claw blunted off the odd patch of air, and instead of a crushing blow, the reptile simply took advantage of the pinning weight to pat the hunter down for weapons or wards. What he found, he cast aside, none too gently.

"Lin." It was Aaron's voice, but too flat. Too sharp. "Let me up."

Lin's ears perked, but he only patted Aaron's back in a consoling kind of way. He kept the agent down, albeit with a gentler hand. Every so often he flicked an ear or stared at a particular patch of air above the hunter's back. Whatever he saw, it seemed to calm him, at least enough not to bring those claws to bear on Casmir's undefended back.

[luscen]

Telmore's tenacity didn't register with the Hunter. He didn't even stir until the massive, draconic form suddenly crashed down between him and the brunette. The bestial roar shook him out of his stupor, and his eyes sharpened, his survival instincts giving him a bit of second wind. He swayed back from the beast's claws, reaching for his rune pouch. There was a flash of blue as he brought his arm up to catch Lin's second swing, but as Casmir's eyes fell on the dragon's uniform, he seemed to jerk involuntarily, the rune's glow fading as it clattered to the floor from the Hunter's unexpected inner conflict.

Just then, Casmir felt a monumental pressure that compelled him down to the ground so completely, he may as well have had a magnet in his stomach. He was pinned again, this time more completely than he'd ever felt before, his chest slammed into the pavement. His whole body tightened, and he tried to push himself back up, to no avail.

His blood thundered in his ears. Somewhere in the distance, he could feel the dragon roughly pawing at him, ripping his toolbelt away and sending the runestones clattering across the subway pavement. Casmir just managed to twist his head, his wavering, crimson eye catching sight of a ghostly image hovering above him, hazy in the harshness of the station's lights.

"Spadaj." A single word, spoken through clenched teeth, nostrils flaring. The shadows of Telmore, Lin, and the Hunter himself began to quiver and ripple violently. "Weź... swoje ręce... ODE MNIE!" 

Tendrils of shadow exploded upwards, snapping around Lin's neck and limbs, trying to pry the dragonid off of the Hunter's back. The rest thrashed wildly, furious and unfocused, like a cornered dog snapping angrily at anyone trying to approach it. Casmir himself growled more like a beast than a man, trying to push himself to his feet despite the massive, improbable weight bearing down on him.

[MP]

Lin jerked back, one claw coming up to tug at the shadowy grip on his neck. He tossed his head, horns goring at empty air, only for more to latch on. The reptile's free hand came down on Casmir's back, grasping for his wrists, but there was no hand symbol to interrupt, no runes or conduit to confiscate. He rasped out a growl, bring his other claw around to snatch at flailing tendrils. The phantom pressure pinning Casmir changed not an ounce. If any, it only seemed to intensify in response to the struggle.

Aaron was there in a second. The moment Lin released him, he pushed upright and towards the writhing shadows. The magic, he thought. Every spell, every second muddied the etheric traces they had to work with. A glow blossomed in Aaron's hand, pulled from the lights above, and he knew even this would harm their evidence. That knowledge was a knife in his gut, a haze over his vision as he seared the shadows clear. He was losing her. Every second here lowered her chances.

The light was almost searing. Lin, already drawing back to remove his shadow, recoiled more sharply as it lit his chest. Aaron was barely aware of it, barely aware of some vital inner drain. The burn of the light intensified, came down on Casmir's shoulders like a second weight.

Lin turned at the sound of Todd's silent alarm. As he did, Aaron swayed, and the light faded. The reptile only just turned in time to steady his coworker. The man didn't smell right, didn't look right. Even Lin could see the odd lack of focus in his eyes.

Get him back, Todd warned, and Lin had to agree.

Aaron offered little resistance as the reptile ushered him away. He barely seemed to process what had happened, staring instead at a spot on the concrete. Lin looked too, but aside from Sara's fading scent, he noticed nothing pressing.

Leave him to Todd, he started to sign, but he had to cut the movement short as one of Aaron's knees buckled.

Lin caught him around the chest, and he found the agent's body feverish through his shirt. With a huff of worry, he steadied the agent and helped him down the platform, half urging, half supporting. Aaron shook as they walked, and Lin couldn't say whether it was magical shock or sobs.

[luscen]

The iron-gripped tendrils wrapped around Lin's neck and arms seared away under Aaron's touch, releasing the drakonid and giving him freedom of movement, again. the light seemed to smite Casmir's exposed skin, from its intensity, the shadows pulling away to hide beneath the Hunter's body, some instinct causing them to retreat away from its lethal luminosity. Unfortunately, the photomancer couldn't maintain this countermeasure in his current state; the moment his light began to fade from exhaustion, the shadowy limbs sprung back up again, responding to Casmir's almost feral desire to get out from his pin, and every attempt to force him down seemed to only cause him to fight back that much harder.

Casmir's red eye focused on the ghostly shape of Todd's face- the spiteful intensity of it almost unnerving. This wasn't an expression given to just anyone, but something far deeper and more ingrained in the Hunter's psyche. His shadowy tendrils continued to swipe and rail across the Agent's astral form, but to no avail, but - unknown to anyone else - a thin trail of black crept along the floor, clutching a discarded rune. It nearly took hold of it, in fact, before there was a sudden keening whine that insistently tore through the air, assaulting the eardrums of everyone present. Even Casmir, in the throes of his anger, was forced to pause and screw his eyes shut from the shrill pitch pounding away at his ears.

The noise abruptly cut off when suddenly what seemed like... a tear in a piece of fabric slowly rent its way down the space besides Casmir. Two spidery limbs poked out, pushing it further open, and then a large arachnid shape with a young girl's torso standing atop it tumbled out. Her two sets of gemlike, striking azure eyes looked around anxiously, then she quickly reached down and snatched the rune Casmir had been trying to grab from the ground, tossing it away. 

"Casmir," the newcomer said breathlessly, kneeling down and placing her slender fingers on his face. "That's enough. Please..." she trembled, and brushed her thumb along his scarred cheek, her voice quiet and shaky. "You have to stop, now." 

The Hunter blinked, panting, then looked up at her in bewilderment. "D... Delphi?"

[MP]

As the hunter continued to struggle and arachnid limbs pushed out of empty space, the phantom pressure changed. There was a sense of weight shifting, moving from Casmir's arms to his back. The presence was above him now, and Delphi's hand met a strange weight in the air, as if pushing through deep water.

It was only when her hand fell gently on Casmir's face, when the hunter responded, that the weight and resistance eased. Without warning, Casmir's arms were free from the phantom hold. In that space, the two of them were alone to converse. But it was a brief respite.

The agent arrived just a few minutes later, moving at an easy jog and calling out as he approached.

"I'm Agent Amato with the WDSA. Don't move, don't reach for those runes, and for the sake of everything holy, do not touch anything else."

The arrival of another agent might have been alarming under the circumstances, but this one seemed more drowsy than anything else. His hair was coming loose from its ponytail, unkempt along one side as if he'd been sleeping on it. His voice even as he pointed at Casmir was too conversational, more of a drawl than any kind of authoritative posturing.

"I don't know what you're doing here, I don't know who you are," His finger swung briefly to Delphi. "But I'm going to need you both to come back to the precinct and explain to occult forensics what went on here."

He put his hands on his hips, staring between them like a disapproving parent.

"You realize this is a crime scene, yeah? Slinging magic all over the place, opening gates from who knows where? And I don't know what you hit Aaron with, but you're explaining that one now. Otherwise -" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "You're explaining to Lin. And he's not so nice."

[luscen]

Delphi's eyes jerked from Casmir's face to the newcomer, only to suddenly twitch and try to focus on anything else. The Dryder's skin was pale, and her breathing was short, now. "W-wait, Todd - that is, A-agent Amato, I-" upon saying the man's first name, her blue eyes swung back to him, and in the golden strand of light she saw above him reaching up to the sky, she beheld a cascade of various images and impressions: a young, dark-haired boy walking alone, conversing with someone unseen while keeping his eyes focused on the sidewalk. A dark, sparsely-furnished apartment with a figure huddled up beneath a blanket, rolled up like some kind of human burrito. A charming, grinning face speaking in earnest to a brunette man with a tired, stoic expression. And - somewhere in the future - the sight of a cresting tower of ice, glistening coldly in the pale sun.

The black-haired girl screwed her eyes shut, a hand reaching to Casmir. The Hunter took it, looking askance at Amato and clearly not quite completely bereft of his battle-high. "W-we can't go to the precinct," Delphi tried to explain, fighting to keep her breathing calm. Her blood thundered in her ear, and she had to struggle to keep her racing thoughts in check, her mind trying to come undone like an unraveled piece of cloth. "I... I c-came here to help," she pressed on, squeezing Casmir's gloved hand and using his presence to try and anchor herself. "I c-can help, b-but I need... I need..."

Delphi cut off, her frame trembling violently, her spider-half quivering and clacking anxiously against the ground. The blonde-haired Hunter placed himself between the Dryder and the Agent, with some effort. He gently embraced her, and after a moment her form shifted into that of a young girl barely in her blossoming years.

"She has agoraphobia." he grunted by way of explanation. "She shouldn't even be here..." there was a regretful note in his voice, and he uncharacteristically ran his free hand through Delphi's dark hair, though his body language was slightly stilted, as if he were fighting himself to do so.

Casmir took a moment to survey the crime scene, his expression unreadable, then said a single word under his breath. "What is it you need, Delphi?" he asked her patiently, pulling back slightly so she could reply properly.

The girl placed her hand on Casmir's chest, fingers curling slightly as if wanting to cling to him like a lifeline. "A-Aron. I-I mean-! Agent Telmore," she replied, looking up at him, then briefly flicking her blue eyes towards Amato, then away again. "I need to see him, here, in order to get a proper picture. I-it'll help. With the... with the reconstruction."

The Hunter didn't reply, continuing instead only to soothingly stroke the Dryder's hair. "You heard her, Medium. She wants to help, she needs Telmore, and she needs him here. So, what are you going to do?"

[MP]

"Right now, I'm going to move you both away from a very sensitive crime scene until we're done here," Todd said, hands moving to punctuate each emphasis. "And then I'm going to be expecting some serious answers."

The 'we' became apparent as the sound of dragging scales returned. Lin was loping back, and with him, a team of other agents. Some came for the platform, others moved discreetly at the peripherals, already working to cordon off the area from civilian eyes. Todd looked around at the platform, at the spots of blood scattered across the tile, shaking his head.

"You still don't get it. Whatever you're used to, I'm not letting a pair of civilians waltz onto the scene and run any tests before our guys have gone over it. You can wait here until we're done, relax in the car or open your portals offsite if you need to get away," He nodded at Delphi. "And we'll get your buddy patched up. But if you want to try anything, you do it after we've gone over the scene. And as for Aaron -"

The man's eyes flashed, turning to the hunter. For the first time since Casmir had met him, Todd's gaze was entirely present, and none too friendly for it.

"The guy looks like astral swiss cheese. I'm getting him looked at, not dragging him back out here so you two can chuck more magic at each other."

Todd crossed his arms, but it was a pointless gesture. No sooner had he started talking, his hand flew up again, one finger chopping the air.

"This is the second time - the second time you've popped up at a crime scene before anyone else even knew about it, and this time you pull a gun. The only reason we're talking without a metric ton of dragon butt on your back is because I know you weren't going to fire. But if you're not going back to the precinct," Todd jerked a thumb at one of the nearby benches. It did not look like a request. "Then I'm getting your account here and now. No bullshit this time. What the fuck are you doing here?"

[luscen]

Casmir regarded the Medium with a level look. If the threat of sicking a dragon-man on the Hunter was a concern, he didn't show it. 

"I came here because Atol was here," the scarred man replied in an even tone. 

"How did you know he was here?" Todd returned. Now he had Casmir's cooperation, it seemed the brief flash of impatience was gone.

"I-" Delphi began to say, but Casmir spoke over her.

"I placed a bug in Telmore's coat," he explained, maintaining eye contact with the other man. Walking over to where the dragon-man had tossed his utility belt, Casmir took out a cigarette and his lighter. Tapping one of the white sticks out and then clamping it between his teeth, he lit the end of it and took a long draught, letting the tobacco fill his lungs.

"The Soundless don't really like Photomancers," he continued, tapping out a few embers onto the ground. "Kind of a serious threat to their Goddess, you see. Figured it was only a matter of time before they made a move against Telmore. Didn't expect it to be Atol himself, though..."

"And you, ma'am?" Todd said, looking to Delphi. As Casmir saw it, he preferred a more conversational approach compared to the likes of the dragonid or Telmore, and he spoke with a genuine kindness. It made sense; he could feel her anxiety firsthand, after all.

Delphi licked her lips, before speaking up. "I-I'm his spotter."

Casmir looked at her sharply. "Delphi-" he growled around his cigarette.

"I h-helped him find his way here," she continued, trying to ignore the blonde's agitated look. "To find... to f-find A-Atol." The girl seemed as though she'd wanted to say a different name, the one she spoke sounding a bit odd on her tongue.

Todd raised an eyebrow. Delphi wasn't nearly as used to questioning, and so Casmir had to try and keep her from incriminating herself. But while the Agent could have pushed, it seemed he knew when to pick his battles.

"Right," he said. "And did you see the attack?"

"Delphi, you can't just-" Casmir interjected, advancing on her.

"Yes I can, Casmir," she replied, looking back at him and tilting her head back in an effort to try and maintain some semblance of dignity. "I-I came here because of you. You and-" she stopped, shooting Todd an anxious look. "Y-You and... A-Agent Telmore."

She turned properly to Todd, then, though she still refused to look directly at him. "No. I didn't see the attack. Atol created a Fold- um..." she broke off, gesticulating as if trying to rephrase her choice of words more properly. "A-a pocket... dimension? I can't see into those, because of the way they are."

[MP]

"Uh huh. You and me both. -" Todd glanced between them. "So you came because of the fight?"

He cast a quick glance toward Casmir, the question clearly directed at them both.

"Between Aaron and Mr. Dabrowsi here? You saw that happen?"

“Yes,” Delphi answered, running her fingers through her hair. “And it.... it didn’t end well.”

“Delphi!” The Hunter snapped. “That is enough!”

"Do I need to separate you two?" Todd looked at Casmir this time. "Is there a reason she shouldn't speak? Or is there something about the fight you don't want me to hear?"

Casmir's eyes snapped to Todd's; they were not so flat, now.

Delphi, sensing the situation escalating, moved in front of him. Her breathing grew heavy again. "Casmir," she said quietly. "Please. We need their help."

"Maybe we do," he replied, not breaking eye contact with the Medium. "But what happens, afterward? There are things that can't be closed once they've been opened, Delphi."

"Like what, exactly?" Todd threw up his hands in exasperation. "What are you so concerned about, Mr. Dabrowsi? Because if it's not impeding an investigation, assaulting an agent, or the end of the fucking world, I'd like to know what you consider so dire that you're trying to shut down a willing witness and the only good word you have."

“That isn’t your-“

“Who were you talking to?” Delphi interjected.

Todd blinked. "What?"

“On… on the sidewalk,” came the reply. Delphi was looking at Todd now, her blue eyes gazing into his. “O-on your way to…” she grasped at her hands, clearly distressed. “You were… were s-speaking to someone. Who was it?”

"Uh. Agent Lin? Russo?" The medium scratched his head. "Talked to a lot of people on the way here. You telling me you scried the location?"

Delphi shook her head. “You… didn’t know Lin… at that age, Todd.” She looked ashamedly at him, trying not to curl in on herself.

“Delphi…” Casmir muttered regretfully, his shoulders slumping.

Todd furrowed his brow at her, and one could see that keen intelligence working behind his eyes.

"I'd guess telepath, but I wasn't thinking of any..." He glanced between Delphi and Casmir, his interest piqued. "You're not some run of the mill psychic, or scryer. What is it then? Memory reading? Dreamwalking?"

“It’s…” Delphi replied, struggling despite herself. “I-it’s…” she grasped her hair, struggling to breathe.

Seeing her distress, Casmir hurried over and draped his heavy overcoat onto her. She calmed, somewhat, but still trembled.

The girl gazed at Todd with her gem-like blue eyes for a moment, before speaking. “That will be Agent Ruiz. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her about me, yet.” She pulled Casmir’s coat tighter around herself, sinking into it.

Todd's answer was interrupted by the muffled sound of Dancing Queen sounding from Todd's pocket. He answered, though he kept his eye on the pair in front of him.

"Hey, Nora. Yeah. Yeah, kind of out of it, but he'll be fine." His gaze moved to Delphi. "Don't worry about it. He'll be coming back with Lin, but let them know we may need to treat for burnout. Same feeling, yeah. Uh huh. Uh huh."

He rolled his eyes a little.

"Okay, Mom. Bye."

Todd hung up and turned back to Delphi with a commiserating sigh.

"So. Precog?" He paused, scratching his head. "No, past vision too. Past-cog? What do we call that?"

“Try the name, Agent.” Casmir suggested. “Delphi. Like from Greece.”

"Kind of funny, coming from you," Todd said, though he didn't sound much offended.

"Alright Delphi, so you saw things would get ugly here and came to step in, is that right?"

The Dryder nodded. “There were no good outcomes. Nothing that… that didn’t involve me coming here.”

She looked over at the crime scene. “I can help, Agent Todd.” Delphi’s voice was quiet, and worn. She clung tight to Casmir’s coat, using it as a buffer to the outside. “I understand you have protocol to follow, but I can at least show you what happened. But I need Agent Telmore for that.”

"I understand that." Todd's voice was patient, genuine even. "But our guys need to know what type of magic you're using to do that, so we know what to filter for if you're adding some magic or spiritual signature to the scene. If Atol made a pocket dimension like you say, the evidence could be especially sensitive to tampering. Our guys need to know what tests we're running in advance, and in what order, and what results we can expect, so we can gauge the risk. And there's another issue."

He looked at her, looked for something in her eyes, as if he might be able to see the scrying happening.

"Have you heard of burnout before?"

Delphi shifted in Casmir’s coat. “Do you mean stretching your thread too thin?”

"I'm not sure what a thread is to you," Todd admitted. "But burnout is a medical condition you see in mancers - elementalists. Their magic comes from internal energies, right? Not channeling or any external source. So when a mancer expends more magic than they can handle, that magic tries to take the deficit from the body, and you get burnout. Critical etheric deficiency. It can be life threatening if it isn't treated, and Aaron is..."

Todd glanced over his shoulder, for the first time looking a little guilty. None of them liked revisiting old scars.

"Well, he's not the most magical guy around. Whatever he did here, with Atol or Mr. Dabrowsi, he crossed that line for sure. I've felt him like this before, and it isn't good. Even if he was willing to come, I can't let him. He needs medical attention. And with your friend here..."

He shot a sideways glance at Casmir.

"Well, it's clear you two don't get along. Aaron's not himself right now. I don't want to risk him losing it again and using more magic."

A thread of irritation wormed it’s way through Casmir’s emotional wall. “If it’ll help him feel better, I can go wait in the magazine racks. I’m sure Fafnir, here, can keep an eye on me.”

“Casmir…” Delphi chided tiredly.

"Aaron," Todd said, enunciating each syllable, "needs treatment. Now."

Maybe it was Casmir's flash of irritation reflected back at him. Or maybe it was just the long, miserable night. Todd sighed.

"I have a few more questions for you both - especially you, Mr. Dabrowsi - and then we can finish up here. Get someone to take a look at that." He gestured at Casmir's bloodied face. "When he's cleared by a doctor, and once they're done here, Aaron can reach out to you. But it may be a day or so, if your methods aren't time sensitive."

“I’ll pass,” Casmir replied in a clipped tone. The thought of being pawed at by a medic made his skin crawl.

“Could I help him?” Delphi asked. “I’ve patched Casmir up more than a few times… I could help Agent Telmore recover…”

“Leave off, Delphi,” the Hunter grunted. “He said the Glowworm was burned out. You can’t heal that. Though he looked fine to… me…” The scarred man’s face drew into a subtle frown, his forehead ridging in contemplation.

The expression wasn't lost on Todd. Those pale eyes, though perpetually distant, fixed on Casmir with a keen intensity. 

"What is it?"

[luscen]

Casmir didn't reply immediately. He was reliving the moments of the fight, except looking at it through calmer eyes; Aaron hadn't looked very wounded, when the Hunter had first arrived on the scene. All he'd seen, at the time, was Aaron standing uselessly in the crime scene after Atol had absconded with his fiancé. Casmir's mounting panic, anger, and frustration over the whole ordeal had unfortunately been focused on the Agent in lieu of a proper target, and so he hadn't really looked at the situation as he should have. 

"Details..." Casmir muttered, more to himself than to the others. "Hunting is all about the details..." 

He turned to Lin properly, then tapped his chest. "Your boy was skewered. I didn't register it, at the time, but he used his power directly on Telmore.  There were lingering traces of corruption from where Atol struck him."

Delphi looked hopeful. "Does this mean we could trace him? Find Sara that way?"

Casmir shook his head. "No. Atol's blood magic is... difficult. I still don't understand it, but he..." the Hunter scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Most mages like Aaron only have one element that their bloodline is tied to. It's possible to learn others, but in those cases it's like learning a language- you have your 'root' tongue, and then you have the ones you pick up, later. There's always a distinction, which is what my tracking charms work off of. But that doesn't seem to apply to him. I think it's because of the way his powers work. Or maybe it's that thing on his arm. I can't be sure. Regardless, if Atol struck him, it's not a physical blow he's going to be suffering from, but a spiritual one. You're going to need a specialist to heal him, properly." 

[MP]

Lin uttered a snort at the touch - a bass, animal sound that shuddered through the listener's chest. It did not sound particularly tolerant. But Todd only stared at Casmir, pale gaze piercing the hunter's mismatched one. The hunter's claim did corroborate the damage he'd seen. Finally, the medium unfolded his arms.

"Alright. I think you did plan to help. In your own way." Still, the steel hadn't quite left the medium's eyes. "I'll take your full statement once our guys have looked at those injuries. Miss Delphi, you can keep him company if you like, or warp back your place to wait - but I'd ask you to please move offsite before opening any more doors."

The medium attempted a faint smile, as if to lighten the words. But his eyes still stared through and beyond them, into some distant point only he ever seemed to see.

"I'll make your intentions as clear as I can, but I need your full cooperation here. No more stunts, no more magic, no more surprises. And Mr. Dabrowsi?"

Todd furrowed his brow.

"We gotta have a talk about that worry of yours. No stories this time."