He Did What!?

Who: Brian and Isabella
Where: The phone
When: 12:45ish

After dealing with Domino's scathing lecture about not going off on his own when he was being attacked, Brian called the next person on his list of people who needed to know where he was. This time, it wasn't because she needed to know where he was, but because she needed to know what had happened there. He dialed up Isabella, safe in the pitch blackness of the bathroom, and waited for her to pick up.

Isabella had just switched off her laptop and stood from her desk, stretching and stifling a yawn behind her fist. She'd been holed up in her house for the past two days, ignoring the television and news. Cutting out the outside world, so to speak. It was the only way she could truly work and concentrate. So she wasn't surprised when she turned on her cell phone and it began ringing not ten seconds later. She recognized Brian's number and answered, making her way to the kitchen to make some tea. "Hey handsome."

"Hey, beautiful," Brian answered with his habitual response, but it sounded absent. "Good to hear your voice. How is everything?" He was guessing she was safe and sound and unharmed, or he probably would have heard about it by now.

"Fantastic. It's like when I get into a certain state of mind writing, I can't stop. It's probably the best feeling in the world." She paused, grinning as she grabbed her teapot. "I swear, it's better than sex." Flipping on the sink, she waited for the water to run hot. "How have you been? I've been meaning to call you..." Which she really hadn't. Nothing existed outside of her house when she wrote.

"There's not much out there better than sex, woman, you're talkin' crazy now." He ran a hand, still gloved, through his hair, and he winced at the feel of the shock through the glove. Fucking backlash. "Hey, um. We've had a problem, past couple days. Attacks. It's... hard to explain. I'm at Hunt's right now, and I kinda hoped I could, uh, get some advice from you...."

Isabella snorted and began to fill up the teapot with one hand. "Believe me, there is nothing sexier than creation - and I don't mean the kind that arrives in nine months." She set the teapot on her stove and turned off the water, frowning. "Attacks? What kind of attacks? What's going on? Is Hunt okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. A little cut up, but I've seen worse." Well, all right, not really. He hadn't ever been quite this bad, but he'd never actually lived a life where he was getting in close quarters with things that sliced and cut and hurt. He shook off the little lie and went for the explanation. "Attacks from weird-- shadow-people. Hunt was, too, and he's okay, he just-- won't wake up. Like it-- broke him, or something. Could a spell do that?" And then there was the whole issue of him casting spells and snapping a shadow's non-existent neck. But he'd bring that up later.

Isabella's blonde eyebrows drew together in confusion and she turned away from her stove, tea momentarily forgotten. "Shadow people. What the hell are shadow people? And what do you mean Hunt won't wake up? What does that have to do with magic? It could just be he's badly hurt and needs medical attention, Brian." Concern was seeping into the confusion, making everything worse. She placed her hand on her hip. "Is he unconscious?"

"He's not hurt that bad," Brian said. "I patched him up pretty good, and he did just fine back when the shadows were attacking." After a minute, anyway. "And... Bella, he did magic. Saved my ass. I don't know how, but he did. Turned the lamp cord into some living thing that strangled shadows. And then he collapsed. That's why I'm wondering if it had something to do with that spell I think's on him...."

"He did..." Isabella's mouth fell open in shock and she quite literally forgot how to speak for several seconds. She reached out for the counter for leverage. "Magic? Hunt did magic?" Trying to push past the disbelief - Hunt, Mr. Skeptic who had a logical explanation for everything - did magic. She walked over to sink into the small round kitchen table set up by her bay window and tried to focus. "If... if he had some kind of spell or cursed placed upon him to keep certain abilities at bay, to keep from seeing certain things... if he's put in a traumatic experience where the magic broke through? Then yes, I could see it having a damaging effect on him."

"Shit...." That's pretty much what Brian had been afraid of. "Is there something I can do? Just wait it out?" Or was there something Isabella could do? He felt around, relatively sure he knew where Hunt was, and dropped a hand gently on the top of his head when he found him in the dark, worried.

"I don't know," Isabella answered honestly. "You need to just wait for him to wake up. Talk to him, make sure he knows who he is, make sure he's coherent. Dealing with something traumatic like that, performing magic? Especially if that particular magic broke whatever spell he had on him... I can't imagine the mind fuckery, pardon my french." She sighed and rubbed her temple. "He could be okay, or he could be... well, his mind could be irrevocably damaged."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. "Okay." The thought crossed his mind again that Isabella would know better than he would what to do-- but this time he remembered the shadows. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt, either. Maybe once things calmed down, she could come by, see if the spell was still there, if it was just half-ruined or... something. Take it off the rest of the way, free him from whatever it was. But maybe right now would be a bad time. "Okay," he said again, wearily. "Once he wakes up, I'm taking him to my place. It'll be safer, more of us to keep the shadows off him. I don't think I can leave him here.... Do you think it's okay to move him?" As if he were somebody injured-- which he was, but not like that. Probably a stupid question, but hell, what did he know about this shit?

"As long as he's not suffering from bodily injury, like bleeding head wounds and such, he should be all right to move." Isabella dropped her hand to the table and then instantly pulled it back, standing to get a rag and wipe the table down. "Do you need me to come over? Do you need my help?" She suddenly felt mildly guilty as she grabbed the cloth from the sink and went to clean off her fingerprints from her table. "I was going to call him yesterday about seeing him. I got distracted." Maybe if she had seen him earlier, she could have figured the whole thing out and he wouldn't be hurt right now.

"I would, but I don't think it's really a good idea...." Brian sighed, dropping his hand to his knee again. "As soon as I turn on a light, we're probably going to be attacked, and I don't want you in the middle of that. It's bad enough me and him, I've only got my working, I'm no real fighter, and him-- yeah. Probably not gonna be good for much, if what you say is true."

"Do you know why you're being attacked?" she asked. "Because I'm not being attacked, and I've seen no shadows in my house. Do you know anything about these things? What they want? Why they're here?" Isabella was guessing he probably didn't have many answers at all, but it never hurt to ask. She flipped on the stove to start heating the teapot and left her kitchen. She was going to start looking through her grandmother's books for anything that could resemble what's happened to Hunt.

"If I had any kind of clue, believe me, I'd be telling everyone I know," Brian sighed. "But I know they only attack people other than their actual targets-- me, Hunt, my familiar-- if they're attacked, first."

She heaved a sigh, as if this was somehow all Brian's fault, even though she was well aware that it wasn't. A part of her felt like if she had just stayed in town this summer, the whole place wouldn't have gone to hell. Of course, she had no idea how she would have prevented it, but the thought was there. "All right. Take Hunt to your place, and keep him safe. When he comes to, make sure he'd aware of who he is. Call me and let me know how he is as soon as you can."

"Will do," Brian promised. "As soon as we get him home, and I know what's happening, I'll let you know... as soon as the shadows stop attacking--" Because they would. They had to. "--I'll need you to come look at him. See what this spell is, if it's even still there. Okay?"

"Of course." As if he could keep her away. It was difficult not to find her keys and drive over to Hunt's right now, just to see them both. "I'll start looking through some of my books to see if I can find anything on what might have happened to him. Just keep him safe for me." Isabella paused. "Anything you might need, you call me. Stay safe too, Brian, okay?"

"I'll do my best," Brian said quietly. His best wasn't always good enough these days, but he'd do his best.