OTHERWORLDE: CRS 101 March Assignment

She sat on the floor of her brother’s dorm room, her legs spread at a slight angle as she hunched forward, examining the paper that was off to her right a little ways. In her left hand she held a doll of her likeness while the other gripped a rounded piece of chalk, poised over the wooden floorboards as she looked over the diagram she was basing the sign off of. She wasn’t the best artist but she was confident that she would be able to reproduce the hex sign more or less exactly. After all, mere copying didn’t require the imagination actually creating the doll had. Still, she didn’t want the spell to go wrong in the slight possibility that it would damage her brother’s—or worse, Conrad’s— property. She had to be more careful than usual if she was casting spells in unfamiliar territory.

Entering the dorm room had been easy enough; she knew her brother usually left the window unlocked and of course it had been easy for Lacie to levitate up to it and slide it open. However, the reason she was there was a bit more complex.

Lark had been avoiding her recently, refusing to meet her eyes though he was the one person she could comfortably uncover both of them around. He had never been one much for talk after their death, she knew that, but she also knew that she was the one closest to him. She took pride in this, but it also caused her to worry about the wellbeing of her twin. Something was obviously wrong with him, but he refused to talk to her about it. She had decided that forcing it out of him would be the most reasonable solution, and so waited now for him to return.

Lacie furrowed her brow, still in the same position she had been in several long moments before. She moved a little, her joints cracking, and glanced back at the slightly crumpled sheet of paper once more. Finally placing the smooth tip of the chalk onto the floor, she began to copy the symbol as best as she could manage.

A good and solid ten minutes later, she had completed the hex sign. The lines were a bit shaky due to her unsteady hand and inexperience as an artist, but it at least was recognizable if one knew what they were supposed to be looking at.

Placing the doll in the relative center, Lacie danced a few steps backwards, swooping down to snatch the loose paper from the floor. It had a few incantations that she didn’t recognize, but she went over them in her head, silently and slowly. When she was at last ready, she read the spell aloud, her voice ringing out clearly in the empty room, snapping the quiet tension that wavered there.

A slight tingling sensation ran through her body quickly as she felt herself connect with the doll. A small smile touched her lips when the sign began to illuminate the darkened room slightly, fading as quickly as it had appeared.

The door opened, causing Lacie to look up at the light that suddenly poured into the room and the boy that followed it. “Conrad, why is it so dark in here…?”
Lark entered, flicking the lights on and squinting in the sudden brightness. His jaw slackened a bit and his eyes widened when he saw his twin. He strode quickly across the room, evidently irritated. “Lacie what are you doing he—”

Lacie interrupted him by suddenly jumping in front, in an attempt to block his foot from coming down on the doll. However, her movements only sent him slightly off course and he ended up kicking the doll to the side of the room.

She flew back slightly, a sudden jerk in her stomach causing her body to shudder and bend inward.  She emitted a slight yelp, her arms instinctively crossing against her stomach in a protective motion. Wincing she looked up and smiled a bit through the pain, trying to crack a joke. “I know you’re mad but you didn’t have to kick me.” She barked out a laugh that turned into more of a strangled hack when she found that any sudden movement caused a shooting pain throughout her entire body.

Lark looked horrified, his eyes darting from the doll, to the symbol he was standing in, and then staring at his sister in alarm. “Are… are you trying to perform voodoo?” He asked, blatant disbelief written across his face.

Lacie got up, her movements careful and slow, holding her stomach gingerly. “Not trying; I’ve succeeded… evidently.” She corrected, moving to pick her doll up from off the floor. She then straightened and turned to smile at him.

His look of concern vanished and his lips tightened into a hard line. “Why are you here?” He asked quietly, looking at her with a darkened expression. Lacie stepped towards him raising her free arm and placing it on his shoulder. For a second, something that looked like fear flashed in his eyes and his breathing hitched in his throat.

“I care about you, Lark.” She said softly. “You are the only one that’s ever been there for me. Please, tell me what’s wrong, and I can help.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” He muttered, brushing her hand off with ease and glancing to the side.

“Just tell me what’s going on. I know something’s bothering you—”

“Could you just shut up?” He finally looked at her but there was no kindness in his gaze. “You’re always so nosy. It doesn’t concern you!” Lark’s voice was loud, but cut off quickly as he brushed past her, setting himself on his bed with his back turned towards Lacie. “Leave.” He said, finally.

The words stung more than the physical damage she had sustained earlier. They did not fade with time and the pain they caused did not come in a short burst before out. Rather, they hung thickly in the air, building an invisible field between the twins. It was the first time that Lacie had felt the string that synced them so collapse entirely. Or maybe she had pulled it too tightly, and it had snapped. It didn’t matter now anyway.

Gathering her belongings in silence she scurried hurriedly out the door, ducking he head and not bothering to close it behind her.