KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours

Aspen Creek Mystery - Part 1

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Avery Zain

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Location: Outside the Aspen Creek Pack Territory - Aspen Creek, MT
Skills:

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Montana was a wasteland in the middle of January. A cold, white, frigid wasteland. Avery blew on his gloved hands, trying to warm the tips of his fingers up. It was insane to feel cold like this. However, Avery would have to stand outside for as long as the wolf, who stood a hundred yards from him, kept him there.

Yellow eyes met him through the trees, a low snarl vibrating from its throat. The sound raised the hair on the back of Avery’s neck. He shifted his eyes away from the wolf and bowed his head.

”Peace, Brother Wolf. I come at the orders from the Marrock.”

A week ago, Avery received a phone call from the original werewolf asking for help. It had been a strange phone call. Firstly, you never wanted to receive a call from the Marrock. Secondly, he never asked for help. But whatever was going on, Bran needed the extra muscle and Avery couldn’t deny the alpha of all werewolves his request. No matter how difficult it would be to leave Kiki.

Avery had asked his girlfriend to come with him, but she was otherwise detained. Kimiko was a private investigator by trade and had been working on a case when Avery received Bran's call. Of course, Avery understood her need to stay behind to work, but that hadn’t made leaving easier. As soon as Avery had left Caden’s property, Avery’s breathing had grown restricted. He had made it to the airport in record time, shaving twenty minutes off the usual drive time. Now that Avery was standing over fourteen hundred miles away, that anxious, uneasy feeling he was experiencing from missing a part of his soul, didn’t go away. And the wolf staring him down was only making the man more agitated.

Avery’s skin prickled with the feeling of magic in the air. He looked up to see a man standing where the wolf had been. Charles, Bran’s executioner and son, stood with a distant look in his eyes.

“We would have picked you up from the airport,” Charles simply said.

Avery swallowed and shrugged his shoulders, looking away from the more dominant wolf.

”Needed the space to adjust to being…” Avery trailed off, feeling the words getting caught in his throat.

“Ah. You’ve mated. That feeling doesn’t get easier. Come. No need to freeze your ass off.” Charles walked forward, leading Avery to the house hidden within the Montana wilderness's thick pine trees.

”If you think this is cold, try Chicago. The wind off the river is nightmarish with the humidity. You never warm up,” Avery informed Charles.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He opened the door, leading Avery inside and down the hallway to Bran’s office.

The Marrock sat in a large office chair that somehow seemed small despite its size. The man who encompassed it had that larger-than-life personality. Avery looked away instantly, knowing Bran was the superior here. The power of the original werewolf was undeniable. At least Caden seemed to dim his magic so as not to overpower Avery. But if Caden and Bran ever got into a pissing match, Avery wasn’t confident Bran would win.

The man looked up and smiled as if Bran could hear Avery’s thoughts. “Avery Zain. Welcome back. You are looking well.” Bran nodded to the chairs sitting on the other side of the desk/ Avery took a seat, and Charles left them to it. “How is Caden?”

”On vacation. Somewhere far warmer than this.”

Bran chuckled. “Yes, I’m afraid it does get rather cold in the Northern Basin. You’ll get used to it.”

Avery raised his eyebrows. ”How long are you wanting me here?” Avery was expecting a week at the most. He wasn’t sure he would be able to last longer than that without Kimiko.

Bran grinned, a twinkle in his eyes before he shrugged. “We’ll see. For now, let me catch you up to speed.”

Aspen Creek Mystery - Part 2

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Avery Zain

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Location: Aspen Creek Pack Territory - Aspen Creek, MT
Skills:

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Forty-five minutes later, Avery walked out of Bran’s office, the remnants of a chuckle shining in his eyes. Bran’s hand rested on Avery’s shoulder, leading him towards the kitchen.

”I’ll head into town, see if there is something I can sense or uncover,” Avery said. He walked over to a bar stool and took a seat next to the counter. ”Do you have a car I could borrow?”

“Of course.” Bran rummaged through the fridge, searching for various food items before he started cooking. “I appreciate your help on this, Avery. This is normally something I or Charles would be able to easily take care of but it seems I need something, or rather someone, with a bit more finesse.”

”Honestly, I’m flattered you thought of me,” Avery said.

“Well, I confess my reason for asking you is double-sided.”

”Oh?” Avery looked at Bran with interest. Bran looked at Avery with a sheepish smile. Slowly, Avery realized what Bran was probably referring to, and he started to shake his head.

“Oh, come now, Avery. You had to know I was going to ask. I still don’t see why you wouldn’t want your own pack. Caden has helped you grow infinitely stronger and wiser. I’m confident you would thrive leading your own pack.

”Well I’m not,” Avery said defiantly.

New York Mystery

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Raúl Alonso

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Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Raúl slowly smiled when the woman asked to see his badge. He supposed she had every right to, even if she was just a bystander rather than a witness to the crime. Raúl slipped a hand inside his jacket and pulled out a card. He flipped it over and handed it to her.

”Raúl Alonso. I’m a private investigator. I was called in to assist with the case,” he briefly explained to Amara. ”I would suggest heading home. The streets at night won’t be safe until whatever did this has been stopped,” Raúl stated.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

The shadows shied away from Annika’s touch, seeming to taunt her. They danced around her hand before fading from her completely. Annika opened her eyes, dropped her hands, and pouted. She stared at her father’s shadow knife, still intact even though Annika had been trying to mold the shadow to her will.

Annika crossed her arms and huffed. Jack’s words filtered in, informing her of his struggles, but Annika didn’t understand it. What she did understand was what Jack could do. Now. She wanted to do the same and then improve upon it.

”See through shadows? How do you see through shadows?” Annika’s voice turned petulant, annoyed with her lack of progress.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Antoinette McCarthy

Location: Botanical Gardens — New Orleans
Skills:
Fit

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Chrysi didn't seem to care about Antoinette’s statement or any of the others. In fact, she seemed down right apathetic. Antoinette frowned and took a step forward before she collapsed. A strange fog coloured Antoinette's mind, like she was waking after a deep sleep or hungover.

Antoinette blinked and sat up to the sound of Pietro's voice in her head, but Pietro was nowhere around her. Grey emptiness sounded her, but as it started to fade she saw Guin was with her. They had to be inside Chrysi’s mind then. But where was Mary?

Antoinette stood, feeling physically unharmed and looked around. ”Mary?” Antoinette prayed Mary's mind was still present. If Antoinette was responsible for breaking the last ties Mary had to holding back Chrysi, Antoinette wasn't sure what she would do.

Edus's voice was a temporary distraction. Antoinette mulled over his words, knowing his plan was close to what she was originally trying to do. Antoinette was willing to try again, as was Guin it seemed. Antoinette watched the door appear and noted the sword in Guin’s hand. Antoinette couldn't help but picture an Artemis-like figure at seeing Guin ready for battle. Antoinette decided she would like to paint that picture. Without further hesitation, she nodded and followed Guin through the door.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

Patience had never been Annika's strong suit. She was a perfectionist, and for her, that meant getting the trick right the first time. She stared at the shadows, feeling a familiar kinship with them and reached out to touch them. However, they quickly faded to do her father's bidding.

Annika had always been fascinated with watching her father work. She knelt on the ground, watching the shadows shift and form with rapt attention. Annika looked up at Jack when he relayed his instructions. She nodded curtly, her face contorting to one of concentration before she shut her eyes. She held her arms out, feeling more connected to the shadow realm when she did such things. The power of the Everdark came to her easily, the trick was keeping its attention long enough to work with her.

Annika pictured the knife in her mind's eye. The colour, the weight, the feel, and the shape. She wanted to create something authentic and real, but with the power the shadow contained. She tried not to force the change like her father had instructed but Annika was eager.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

Annika sighed and spun around on the ball of her right foot. She tucked her hands behind her, clasping them, and walked into the hallway with her father. The house had shifted again, something that Annika had grown used to it. It made hide-n-seek a lot more fun.

She looked up at her father, measuring his words and the truth behind them. Magic made sense to her. It had come easily, but more challenges came as Annika grew. It came harder for a spell to work just right, but the thrill Annika felt when it did work made all the frustrations more bearable.

”I understand,” she said. ”Doesn’t make it any less frustrating.”

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

Annika frowned, her nose scrunching up before she sneezed. A strange quirk she had developed when her curiosity spiked, and her questions remained unanswered. Jack always seemed to answer her in riddles when it came to anything that dealt with the Shadow Realm.

As Annika grew, she came to understand that the Everdark accepting her was a rare thing. It made her appreciate the little things more, but it didn’t make the whole place any less frustrating. If the shadows and the Everdark dictated whether Annika succeeded with a spell, then what was the point? If she studied hard and knew the spellwork forwards and backwards, but the shadows still denied her request, why bother trying?

Annika huffed and rubbed her nose after she sneezed. ”You sound like that Alice in Wonderland book,” she informed her father.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

Annika watched Jack with rapt attention as he created something from seemingly nothing. Although Annika knew the shadows were not nothing. There was substance to shadow, and as Jack created the bookmark from shadow, Annika knew there was potential, too. She played with the fridge of the bookmark before her father’s voice captured her attention again.

Every lesson Jack taught was another moment to get to know her home better. Every story, more instructions on what Annika needed to know. This was no different, and yet she understood it more deeply.

”Influence over the shadow,” Annika murmered. She touched the inky, black rose with light fingers, waiting for it to vanish. When it didn’t, she took the stem out of her father’s hands and examined the flower closely. ”But if the shadow doesn’t want to be manipulated, it won’t be. Or can you really control it?” She looked back at Jack, holding the rose to her chest protectively.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

The gentle sighing of the house at the sound of its master’s voice encouraged Annika to enter the room. She hurried over to her father’s chair and plopped the book onto his lap, pointing to the spell on the page.

”This feels… I don’t know, different.” She flexed her hand, looking away from the page and concentrated on the feeling of her muscles contracting and flexing. ”Maybe I was meant to create something. Like you.” Annika looked away from her hand and into the deep purple eyes of her father.

For as long as Annika could remember, Jack was hell-bent on finding answers and family for her. At first, it was fun, exciting even to jump between planes of existence to search for a family she didn’t know. But at some point, Annika stopped worrying about finding answers. She just wanted to live up to Jack’s standards. To impress him and make him proud.

✨ Under Black Stars ✨

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Annika had what one would call a unique childhood. For one, she didn’t grow up with children her own age. In fact, she didn’t know any children her own age, but she did know how to read and write. She knew her times tables and the infinite space of galaxies, but she also knew of worlds unknown. Places only a few humans have seen. She knew witchcraft and spellwork, shadow magic and combat skills. She learned to create friends from shadows and had developed a deep love for the place so few could survive in.

The Everdark.

A mystical place between space and time. A part of the world and yet completely separated from it. It was strange and confusing. There wasn’t much Annika understood about it, but she knew it breathed and lived. Sometimes, in the moments of stillness, she thought she could hear the air around her breathe and would slow her own breath to match its inhale and exhale. She loved it here. This strange little inquisitive place.

Annika sat on the porch of the home she shared with her father, Jack, reading one of the books he had written about the magic in the Everdark. Even though Jack Hawthorne had told her he wasn’t her biological father and was hell-bent on helping her find her family, nothing could change the knowing that Annika had developed. Jack was her father; even if he was rather unconventional.

“Dad, what about this one?” Annika untangled herself from where she sat and bounded back into the house to look for Jack. She held the book open on a page about shadow manipulation and creation, feeling drawn to the power and the spellwork. She often felt the Everdark shift to create shapes and unseen creatures around her. Maybe it was a sign.

The ten-year-old girl tucked her dark-brown hair behind her ear as she peered into Jack’s office, seeking out the brilliant purple eyes and black mess of hair that was a part of her father’s signature look. If Jack had never told Annika that she had been adopted, the dark-skinned girl would have figured it out quickly. She and Jack were near complete opposites. What with his light complexion to her tanned, his sharp features to her more rounded ones, not to mention the eye colour and different textures of hair. It had been glaringly obvious to Annika that Jack was not related to her, but blood relation mattered very little to the girl.