corwin

Who: Corwin and Ivan
Where: The hospital, then Ivan's house
When: Around 8:30PM

Who: Corwin and Shannon
Where: The Quinlan house
When: Shortly after sunset

Back on the rounds again. Getting into a routine again. That's what Corwin was hoping to do, that night. Sure, he had some specific errands to run... but those wouldn't take him all night. All he had to do was get those out of the way, and he could get back into his routine of checking each various house along his "route" to make sure the people inside were still safe and sound. Maybe watch them a little from afar, through a window, before he moved on.

At this first house on his stop, though-- not quite following said "route", as usually his first house was Delilah's, but this was one of his errands-- he wasn't here to watch. He actually got to be here legitimately, and come right up to the front porch and knock like a real, living person visiting a friend.

Eric was bouncing on his heels behind him, brought along, as promised, and a little antsy about it.

Who: Shannon and Corwin
WHere: Emails
When First Missive Sent at 8:30am

To: CorwinLovesCats@gmail.com
From: LadyQuinlan@gmail.com
Time: 8:30AM
Subject: Checking In

Corwin,

I'm sorry I didn't try and make contact yesterday, things got a bit busy over here. Aiden left on one of his trips in the morning, and then the rest of the day I seemed to have lost myself in my painting. It's something how a terrifying experience can inspire a person. I must have worked nonstop from dawn til dusk and filled three blank canvases.

Who: Chelo and Corwin
Where: Emails!
When: First message sent around ten

From: feedme@aol.com
To: corwinlovescats@gmail.com
Sent: 10:03AM

HEY. Guess what - I'm back from vacation! And it's both good and bad. Good is that I have access to my computer, with all my games. And I'm back in my own apartment, which I have missed. Not that my family is bad, and I already sort of miss them again, but...space is nice.

6:11PM, Saturday, September 29
Music: Blink 182, Down

Delilah went back home today. I miss her already :(

Who: Corwin and Ivan
Where: The phone!
When: Noon-ish

Who: Corwin and Delilah
Where: Corwin's house
When: Late morning, around 10

Corwin was asleep.

And he had been asleep for the past several hours. Given the past few days, it was like heaven. He hadn't had more than half an hour here and there, with the sole exception of about two hours two mornings ago, which had the disastrous effect of letting in over a dozen more of those shadowy things in to attack as soon as he'd turned on the light. After that, his sleep had been even more spotty, because he refused to put Delilah in danger like that again.

Who: Michelle and Corwin
Where: Corwin's place
When: Evening

Who: Corwin and Ivan
Where: Corwin's house
When: 7:45ish

Corwin sat on the steps that led from basement to house, well out of the way of the last rays of sunlight and any shadow that happened to come waltzing through the open hatch doors across the basement, leading in from the outside. He wasn't expecting shadows, however: he was expecting Ivan. He'd timed this carefully, using his best guess as to when shadows would come looking for him and Delilah and the ghosts-- though thank god Theresa had gone out, once she'd appeared again, and smashed a few mid-mirror-transit, so now they were down from sixteen to twelve. She was being remarkably helpful, though when asked all she did was mutter that it was for the girl and stalk off.

None of that, though, changed the fact that after fighting most of the day the day before, and after being torn to shreds again that morning, Corwin was in rather dire need of another meal. He couldn't go out yet, and even if he did he was afraid he'd be gone far too long; he couldn't ask Delilah after her donating the day before; and he couldn't ask Shannon or Olivia-- they had their own worries. And, well, Ivan had offered... kind of....

So it was Ivan he called, first in the morning-- no answer. Then in the afternoon-- no answer. And finally again, just half an hour ago, apologizing and embarrassed and half-begging and starving, dammit, in the hopes that he'd come over. And he was. Corwin could have kissed him, he was so grateful, if he didn't know that would be a bad idea. He'd just have to make do with biting him.

Who: Corwin and Delilah
Where: Corwin's house
When: Dawn

Corwin. Corwin!

"Wha-- what. What?"

Dawn's coming. You really oughta get the doors closed.

"Oh... oh. Damn, I fell asleep?"

Yeah. But it doesn't look like they came, anyway....

Corwin felt around for the wall, then followed the wall to the basement doors. He shut them by feel alone; the thick forest and lingering night beyond blocked out all the light. Maybe the attacks were over... maybe with dawn, they'd be safe....

"Is Delilah...?"

Asleep, Eric said. Or, well, quiet. She's in bed, so I'm guessing asleep. Kirk and Alexi are both up on the bed with her.

"I think she's just a dog person," Corwin chuckled a bit, and made his way blindly across the basement to the stairs up into the rest of the house. He didn't bother turning on any lights. It was his house, he knew it well, and any cats in the way would move for him. He climbed both sets of stairs, creeping into his bedroom... currently Delilah's bedroom.

To: LadyQuinlan@gmail.com
From: CorwinLovesCats@gmail.com
Time: 8:16AM
Subject: Checking In

Shannon,

Are you okay? Please email me back if you're okay. I know you had your brother, and I didn't hear back from Gin, so maybe you will be, but I just need to know for sure. I don't know if you got attacked, too, but if Delilah and I did, I'm thinking maybe you did, too. By the mirror-shadow things?

Let me know if you need anything, help or chatting or whatever. I'll be in all day. I brought Delilah over, my other Dreamwalker friend, just in case all this happens again.

Worriedly,
Corwin

To: bleedingmoorhen@gmail.com
From: CorwinLovesCats@gmail.com
Time: 8:05AM
Subject: Checking Up - Are You Okay?

Ivan,

Just a quick email to see if you're okay. I know you were seeing the shadows in the mirrors, too. I got attacked by them this morning, me and the ghosts. They couldn't hurt the ghosts, and I'm healing up pretty well here, but I need to know you're okay.

I have a friend coming to stay with me for the while (in case the attacks happen again) because she's blind and can't fend them off on her own and I refuse to let anything more happen to her. Just so you know in case you want to stop by. If you need help, LET ME KNOW. I'll find some way to send it, even if I can't come myself.

Also, if you have a phone number, and don't mind sharing it with me, I would appreciate it. It's a much quicker way to get ahold of you than email.

-Corwin

Who: Corwin and Delilah
When: dawn
Where: phone, their respective homes

Delilah woke up to Alexi's frenzied barking. She sat straight up in bed, heart pounding hard, disoriented and confused with the deep dark of real sleep still clinging to her braincells. She hadn't walked since the night Corwin's dream had felt so horribly wrong. It had seemed like the smartest thing to do, but the lack of it had been making her twitchy and irritable. Not that that was particularly on her mind at the moment.

What was on her mind was what could possibly be wrong with her dog. She was just opening her mouth to ask, when there was a rush of the movement of air, and something -- somethings -- caught in the sleeve of her nightgown, cut through it and into the flesh of her arm. There wasn't any pain at first, just heat and numb, but it came readily enough, just as her face was clawed.

Who: Corwin
Where: Corwin's house
When: Dawn

That was close, Eric said as the front door shut, mere seconds before the sun came up.

And not quite close enough, Theresa grumbled.

"You're telling me," Corwin sighed, and shot a glare at his dog. "Bad Kirk."

Kirk merely looked up at him happily, tongue hanging out, and ignored the half-hearted rebuke. Irritating dog, needing out so late in the pre-dawn, and then leading him on a merry chase around the lawn-- which was starting to die, fading a much uglier shade of grayish-brown than the neighbors' autumn-yellowing lawns-- until he finally consented to be caught and led inside. It hadn't helped when Theresa tried slamming the door in his face, laughing, and nearly slammed his hand in it in the process.

Corwin turned to rest his back against the door with a relieved sigh, considering a hot shower and an early bedtime, when Kirk started barking.

To: bleedingmoorhen@gmail.com
From: CorwinLovesCats@gmail.com
Time: 6:15AM
Subject: So SH is apparently scarier than I remembered

Hi Ivan :) How are things? Hopefully better over there than over here :P

Who: Corwin and Rafe
Where: The lakeshore
When: Early evening

Though Corwin was perfectly happy to spend the rest of the storm indoors, the animals didn't do so well with that-- especially Kirk. Trying to litter-train a dog was much harder than litter-training a cat, and he wound up too full of energy, anyway, if kept indoors too long. So Corwin ventured out into the drizzle, the three-legged dog on a leash at least until they made it to the lakeshore. Once where, he snapped the leash off and let Kirk run while he wandered aimlessly after him, hood and scarf down and the rain falling freely on his face.

After all, why shouldn't he relax? Even if he'd had horrible dreams-- not like that was unusual-- and had seen that horrible shadow outside the mirror-- imagination or lingering nightmare, he was certain of it-- and had scared the wits out of a handyman who also happened to be a fellow dreamwalker... it had still been an okay day. The mirrors were empty, Patches had actually started moving around a bit on her own, he'd finally lured that pregnant cat inside, he'd spent the day vegging out, and he wasn't likely to run into many people out here in the rain. So he was going to relax and let the rain fall on his face, for once.

Who: Corwin to Billy
When: 6:47AM

Hi, it's... Corwin. I'm sure you don't want to hear from me, but I wanted to apologize for scaring you. I'm not... I don’t.... Nevermind. Just know I'm sorry. You left your stuff here. What do you want me to do with it? I don't have your address, so I can't drop it by or even mail it over. I can leave it outside, but I'm not sure I trust my neighbors not to go pawing through it, and it's still raining, besides. So... whatever you want to do with it, I guess? Just... yeah. I'm sorry.

When: Four minutes later

Did you wake up and think those shadow things were outside the mirrors and hovering over you, too? Sorry, I'll stop calling now. Sorry.

Who: Corwin and Delilah
Where: In dreams
When: Early morning

After not sleeping for nearly two days straight, it was no wonder Corwin wound up falling asleep on the couch in the small hours of the morning rather than after dawn, in the middle of some coding for his boss and surrounded by cats. The sound of the rain over the sound of the softer music he'd chosen-- stupidly; he knew how tired he was... though maybe there was a part of him who'd hoped it'd help him sleep, at last-- lulled him and he wound up nodding off sitting up, head rolled back on the back of the couch, hands still resting on the laptop on his lap.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was the active day-- and the scaring of Billy the dreamwalker-- or maybe it was the weird positioning, but Corwin was actually dreaming, too. The fact that he'd spent all afternoon and into the evening watching Ivan play Silent Hill seemed to have seeped into his subconscious-- not necessarily a good thing, when one is already a little afraid of dreams-- because the walls were rust-covered and the hall was lined with shut doors, all numbered. There was a weird, echoing sound down the hall, half fog horn and half alarm bell, and Corwin was running along the rotting carpeting, trying doors desperately as he did.

Who: Corwin, Sammy, and Marek
Where: Marek's house
When: After dark

After taking Ivan home-- he couldn't well let the guy run home in the rain, after dark, now could he?-- Corwin had a few... errands to run. He chugged along in the van towards from the bank to the rounds of friends' houses-- with the exception of John's house; he couldn't just drive by there and be subtle about it, after all-- to the last house on his list, Sammy and Geo's current home. The home of that-- madman, or whatever he was. With the fangs and the blood and the floodlights.

He parked across the street and sat there for a good ten minutes before he finally got up the nerve to get out and cross the street to head up the front walk. Sammy hadn't emailed him back for three days now, and he was getting worried. He knew better than to try and sneak around like he usually would; he didn't want floodlights trained on him! But that meant going to the door... which meant maybe dealing with that-- wannabe vampire, or whatever he was.

Who: Corwin and Ivan
Where: Corwin's house
When: Late afternoon

Ivan had just gotten out of the shower and slipped into clean clothes. His return to his house after the outing into town had left him a bit drenched from the rainy downpour and in need of a good cleansing. Granted he had taken a shower the morning before he left, but hadn't taken into account the sound of rain from the outside. He felt stupid afterwards, but needed to leave his house for the store and such to get more food and other essentials.

Who: Corwin and Billy
Where: Corwin's house
When: Morning

It was a strange thing, being so nervous but still looking forward to something. Corwin barely knew Billy, but he knew he was a dreamwalker, and right then, that kind of eclipsed everything else in his mind-- finally getting his floor started, having given Billy his friends' numbers, even what Theresa might do or say while Billy was here and working. He needed to know if the other dreamwalker in town saw them, too.

So he sat on the basement steps, muffled as always in all his layers, with Kirk safely locked up upstairs and a couple cats, instead, as he waited for the handyman to show up.

To: LadyQuinlan@gmail.com
From: CorwinLovesCats@gmail.com
Time: 5:15AM
Subject: Dreamweavers and Mirrors

Hello Shannon! I'm guessing you can figure out who this is from the email name :) How are you? Me, I'm a bit tired. Haven't been sleeping well. Stupid Theresa :P But otherwise all right.

To: muted.raven@gmail.com
From: corwinlovescats@gmail.com
Time: 6:15AM
Subject: Paranoia on this end, now

Sammy,

I'm really sorry if I'm over-reacting, I know I'm prone to doing that. But you didn't answer my email yesterday, and I'm a little concerned. Especially after meeting that guy you're staying with. Is everything all right?

Please let me know.

-Corwin

4:15PM, Friday, September 21
Music: Nine Inch Nails, Survivalism

I went from thinking I was crazy, to thinking I wasn't crazy, to thinking I was crazy again, all in the span of twenty-four hours! Fun, huh?

To: corwinlovescats@gmail.com
From: bleedingmoorhen@gmail.com
Time: 9:31AM

Corwin-

I just want to say thank you for the blankets and sweatshirts and stuff... You really shouldn't have. I mean, I'm happy you did, but... I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay you back... at least not financially. I'm probably 10-20 degrees warmer now at night. (I kinda used your coat as a blanket, but it's not dirty from it or anything... sorry.)

Who: Corwin
Where: Ivan's house
When: About 2AM

Corwin had been busy that night at thrift store that had kept its doors open late, whether out of habit or just for him he didn't know. The results of his shopping were not fancy, nor were they designer, but they were functional and clean and, above all, warm. Waiting outside Ivan's house for when he first stepped out in the morning-- or the afternoon, whenever he actually got outside the house, were four brown paper bags on his front porch. Folded neatly inside Corwin had left three slightly moth-eaten blankets, a thick and only slightly too big pea coat, several sweaters of various colors and styles, and a somewhat-new set of sheets and towels.

Pinned to the coat, right on the top of the first bag, was a neatly-typed note.

To: muted.raven@gmail.com
From: corwinlovescats@gmail.com
Time: 3:12AM
Subject: Floodlights?

Hello Sammy. Sorry I took so long to send this. There have been some strange things happening around town the past couple days, and I've been a bit busy. :(

I did bring a couple cats by the other night, as I promised. There's a big black one named Horus and a smaller gray named Bell. They can't actually come onto the property, though. Apparently whoever you are living with is paranoid or a high-class government spy or something. I don't know if you noticed, but as soon as Horus started across your lawn, these huge, bright floodlights came on. For a *cat* on the *lawn*. Then this guy came out and threatened bad things if a cat got near his house. It was very strange, and are you sure you're okay staying there? I might be over-protective and jump to conclusions about some people, but that just... gave me a bad feeling, I guess.

Regardless, those two are around, if not right on your property, if you need anything and can't get to a computer. I hope you're doing all right, you and your brother.

-Corwin

Who: Corwin and Ivan
Where: Lower Harbor Park
When: Half an hour after sunset

As it turned out Corwin was a little early. He headed into the park, Davey bounding around his feet and chasing the hem of his coat, and JP riding along on his shoulder, purring happily at the occasional scratchings Corwin gave him as he walked and digging his claws into the well-padded shoulder for balance. Not for the first time was Corwin grateful that he preferred multiple layers and wasn't uncomfortable in them.

Early or not, Ivan was still probably already there, if he stopped working at the art show at or before sundown, so Corwin kept his eyes open for him. "See if you can't find him for me," he suggested to JP, who had actually met Ivan and so who might be trusted to actually find the right person. He lifted JP down. "You remember him, I'm sure."

The black and white cat gave him a put-upon look but trotted off into the park, anyway. Corwin followed, hands in his pockets and feet beset by a hyperactive siamese.

Who: Corwin and Delilah
Where: The phone and stuffs
When: Late afternoon

After spending a day and a half stressing out about reflective surfaces and covering or putting away all the mirrors, decorative plates, teapots, and hint of chrome in the house-- including on furniture and televisions-- Corwin felt completely and utterly insane. He really did. A small thing like calling Delilah-- which he'd been meaning to do for a while now-- seemed like nothing compared to obsessively getting rid of anything and everything that returned his image to him. Corwin didn't like feeling watched. Stared at. Judged. He hadn't even gotten any sleep, too busy needing to get rid of that horrible feeling.

And besides, Judiel was friends with Olivia even though he obviously wanted more. Again. So maybe it would be possible to just... keep back and still be friends, anyway. It wasn't as if Corwin expected to really get anywhere with her, anyway. After all, she was probably a perfectly normal person, and any perfectly normal person would never in a million years be interested in someone who looked like him, didn't care for sex particularly, and was dead. Could he even kiss anyone without hurting them?

There was no time like the present, and since his after-sunset time was booked, now was definitely better than later. So, worn out and not feeling stared at for the first time all day, and feeling as optimistic as he really expected he ever would about such things, Corwin headed into the dimly lit kitchen for the phone and dialed in Delilah's number. She ought to be home from school by then.

2:23AM, Wednesday, September 19
Music: Rise Against, Dancing for Rain

God, so much has happened since I posted here last... it's been a whole week! All my online fans must be dying to know what they've missed about my life!

Oh, no, wait.... :P