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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 7:49 pm
Everyone Imnolu knew already knew about the Calamitous Hollow. About the fact that their lives may end very soon. they had everything prepared. Tomorrow was so close. And... who knew what may happen? Maybe it would be here, maybe it wouldn't, but Imnolu strongly suspected based on the extreme frequency of the storms and the complete lack of any kind of clear sky any longer that... That would be it. Tomorrow was going to likely be... Whatever it was. The only person Imnolu could think of that he knew, that knew anything about this magical stuff, was Isidor. A man that intrigued him. A man... who was just a man. Not magical at all. And therefore, had no access to the information Imnolu had. Imnolu was Isidor's sole link to the magical world, as far as he knew. And he'd already told Isidor about the Calamitous Hollow. Sure, it was only because Isidor had asked about the storms in the first place, but... He was responsible now. He needed to warn Isidor that the "for once and for all" was likely tomorrow. His heart hammered in his chest as he came by Isidor's office at the college and knocked gently on the door, dressed casually with his glamour earring on.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 10:10 pm
Isidor had kept his eyes on the skies all day.
He knew what was coming an a way many of the people around him likely didn't, and that left him ill at ease. But it wasn't like he could say so--wasn't like he could warn people of what the approaching storms meant. Not that anyone would believe him even if he tried, so it was a fool's endeavor all around.
He exhaled, unhappily, watching a flash of dry lightning across violet clouds, wondering if the increase in frequency meant that the monster--the Calamitous Hollow that was going to destroy everything and that he, personally, could not do anything about--was almost here.
He'd taken several drinks over the course of the day, but given his habit, he still felt relatively sober, all things considered. Unfortunate. Being trashed sounded like a good way to greet the end of the world.
There was a pile of papers sitting on his desk, waiting to be graded, but it was hard to think about that when...well. End of the world, and all.
There was a knock on his door, and it drew his attention from the window.
"Come in," he invited, since it was unlocked. He wasn't really expecting anyone, but maybe one of his students needed to drop by and ask a question.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 10:36 pm
Imnolu slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. He greeted Isidor with a soft smile and a wave as he went to sit down. "Hey, I, uh... I just wanted to come see you, before... We think it's happening tomorrow. Whatever it is. We're going to do our best to defend Earth. And I thought you should know. I, uh. The storms are so frequent now, it's... I just..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you got dragged into this mess and you can't be blissfully ignorant the way most of Earth is. You don't deserve to spend your last days worrying about this, Isidor."
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:27 am
Ah. So he'd been right, contemplating the sky and wondering if it might be coming.
"I...thought so," he said, softly. "The weather has gotten so bad, and so strange. It seemed like the only explanation."
But...no. He was not going to let Imnolu apologize. He reached out, resting a hand on his arm, shaking his head.
"Imnolu. I would rather know. I would rather understand what we're all facing than live in ignorance, blissfully unaware of the danger approaching. And...I don't think these will be my last days." He smiled, a little, even if it was sort of strained and tired. "You're all going to save us, yes? You and your magical friends? So I'm not afraid." Well. He was definitely afraid that whatever happened, Imnolu specifically might not make it back. That....would be...terrible, for reasons he really wasn't ready to think about.
"So don't feel guilty, Imnolu. I wish there was more I could do. But I'm glad for what I was able to offer."
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:42 pm
Imnolu blushed slightly at the touch, but thankfully it probably didn't show on the dark brown skin he appeared to have when he wore his glamour earring. He reached up and held the hand on his arm, smiling at Isidor's optimism. "It was nice to get to spend time with you," he confessed. "To talk to someone new. Maybe show off a little by taking you to my home planet." He laughed a little as he thought about it. It had only been a few days since then, sure, but already the memory had lost the small sting of him losing control of his emotions and crying about everything he'd lost. It was just... mildly embarrassing and funny at the same time. Isidor had been so kind and sweet to him during that, when they ought to have been more worried about the impending doom in the form of a giant space snake that ate entire planets. "I'll make sure I get to see you again. You've been a good friend to have, and... I'd like us to be closer, after all this goes away. Because you're right, we will make it go away. We'll, I don't know, how do you kill snakes on Earth? With a... baseball bat, or something? I'll find a giant baseball bat if I must." Imnolu grinned. "Sounds good?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2025 1:00 pm
Isidor smiled. fond, warm, and real, something that had been fleeting for the past several months. He couldn't help it; Imnolu made him feel better. Maybe that was the effect of someone who had saved your life, once, quite literally.
"I did like getting to see space," he said. "And to learnt hat magic is real, even if ti isn't the same magic I've been studying for my entire academic career." Aliester Crowley and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn would have lost their minds to know that aliens had once moved among Earth. Blavatsky would have exploded with the knowledge that Atlantis might well have been real and on another planet.
"And, Imnolu? I do believe in you. Completely. If it takes a very, very large baseball bat, I trust you'll find it. You'll have to tell me all about it, once the Earth is saved."
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