[PRP] This is a Trope (Elliot & Horace)

[The Semblance of Unity]

There was a storm rolling in. Even in the other side of Ashdown, the signs were unmistakable. And now, as always, Horace loved it. One day, he'd pay the price and catch pneumonia from dicking around in the rain, but that hadn't happened yet and Horace always did like to tempt fate.

So he was leaning against the side of some building, watching as the clouds lay down, their heavy backs crowding above the town. He kind of wished he had his camera.

saedusk

hey does this work?

 

[saedusk]

When he'd gone inside, it definitely hadn't been raining. When he came back outside, it wasn't raining quite yet, but boy were there thick, angry, ominous clouds overhead that hadn't been there before. It distracted him enough that the multitude of other oddities surrounding him didn't jump out immediately. Nothing moved. In fact, there were no people. The once bustling gas station parking lot was entirely devoid of life.

Elliot never thought himself unobservant, but it took getting into his car and turning the key to realize something was off. There was no rollover, no nothing. Silence, absolute and utter silence. That was when he finally noticed how grey the world had become.

"What on earth," he muttered to himself, getting back out of the car. It had been a routine stop—get gas, pull into a parking spot, go inside for a hot coffee. Now he was alone and his car wouldn't start. Where they hell had everyone gone?

He pulled out his phone and tried to shoot Oliver a text, but nothing would send. After at least five minutes of waiting, he gave up, grabbed his coffee, and starting walking. "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful." Despite the eerie chill creeping up his spine, Eli tried to pretend like nothing was wrong with occasional self-banter and sips of gas station coffee. Unfortunately, and he knew it too, something was very, very wrong indeed.

The Semblance of Unityyyy

ya!!

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace was busy trying to classify clouds when he heard something odd that most certainly wasn't the distant rumble of thunder. Those were footsteps and maybe a voice. Horace stood up, cracked his neck, and peered over the stone fence into the street. Oh. Oh, if that was who he thought it was.

Nice a**, Eli. Wolf-whistle. Because he wasn't sure if a whistle would actually work in thought, he just pinged the words at Eli, before ducking down to hide a bit.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

If there was a better way to break up the tension crowding around Elliot's shoulders, honestly, who cared? The response was immediate and he stopped in his tracks, head whipping around, free hand on hip, eyes slanting in suspicion.

"Who even says wolf-whistle out loud?" he asked the air. "If you can't whistle, then just don't bother." As if to say 'not that I care,' he took a long, slow swig of coffee.

"So, whoever that was, are you planning on showing yourself anytime soon? You compliment my a**—which is nice, I know—and don't even bother to introduce yourself first." It didn't seem to register right away that the words had gone straight to his head with no discernible physical source.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

I didn't say it out loud, Eli. Can whistle, though. As if to prove his point, he let out a long, low whistle. He had to peek up over at Eli every time he sent a mental ping, but it was fun.

Find me. He sing-songed, because wow, he was bored, but here was Eli.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Unfortunately for Eli, he missed every bounce of Horace's head above the protection of the wall. On the other hand, that whistle was something physical, something more than a voice in his head reverberating from all angles. Now he was turned in the right direction, at least partially.

"Say, your voice is awfully familiar," he mentioned as he took a few steps closer to the wall. "You know my name, too." Not to mention the whole smart a** let's play a game vibe was difficult to ignore.

A small plip of rain hit his nose as he he crossed his arms and nestled his half-empty coffee cup safely against his elbow. "You're going to make me look for you in the rain, are you?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

It's barely raining! Does your hair frizz? After a moment, Horace put his back against the stone wall. Eli liked musicals, didn't he? He tapped his fingers against his thigh and, impulsively, began to sing.

"Flattering child, you shall know me. See why in shadow I hiiiide. Look at your face in the mirror, I am there inside-" His voice was a pleasant baritone, boarding on a straight bass. Horace used to win state choir back in high school. ********, that felt like a lifetime ago.... At very least, it would likely lead Eli to his position.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

A rumble of thunder overhead, closer, ominous. The drop from before became two, then three, picking up in frequency. No, the sky hadn't opened wide yet, but it would, and soon. At least this mysterious meeting served to distract Elliot from the poorly buried panic he'd been feeling as he walked through Ashdown and saw no one else.

"Frizz, not really, but it'll go limp," he said with a small sigh. "That wouldn't be flattering at all."

No time to worry about that, though. The voice was back, physical and real and very much leading him where he needed to go, but in song. In song. Eli didn't just like musicals, he lived them like the natural rhythms of his heart. A ham, Eli was a ham and boy did he love to sing. It took no effort at all to pick up right where his new phantom friend had left off.

"Angel of music, guide and guardian, grant to me your gloryyy," the words rolled off his tongue sweet and clear and obvious in their classical training. "Angel of music, hide no longer. Come to me, strange angel." The verse ended in perfect sync with Eli rounding the wall to find Horace on the other side. It was far too good to be coincidence because, well, it wasn't. He'd waited and timed it that way.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace clasped his hands to his chest as Eli rounded the corner. "Am I your angel of music?" His voice was deliberately full of wonder. Then he smirked and dropped the wide-eyed innocent act.

"Hi, Eli, I didn't know you were magic." Nugget made a small peeping sound from where he has half hidden in Horace's hair.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"You really don't pull any punches, do you Horace?" If you didn't count the whole come find me, Phantom of the Opera escapade, Eli was sure he'd never gotten such a bluntly straight to the point greeting before in his life. "I never mentioned it," he said, "because I'm not magic." It didn't sound like some defensive attempt to deny what would be blatantly obvious to anyone who had knowledge of Other Ashdown. The response was genuine.

"So I'm not quite sure what makes you think I am." Both eyebrows arched. "Did you know your hair is speaking?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"There's a lot I don't pull." It could have been innuendo, could have been suggestive, but about what? "You have a great voice, by the way." Horace stifled a yawn. The pressure changes in impending storms always made him feel a weird mixture of tired and energetic.

For a moment, instead of answering Elliot, he simply looked at him, wondering if he was serious. "Under my hair is Nugget," he said. "And you're magic because you're here."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Why, thank you. I do take pride in my voice." That was genuine, too, no jokes, no games. Many years and many tears had gotten him this far. Unfortunately, it was never the lessons that made him cry, it was always his parents and their harsh insistence, their lack of affection. Ah well, water under the bridge.

"Nugget?" he questioned, squinting and learning closer. "Wait... Wait, wait, wait-" that's when it finally seemed to hit him, a realization. He was here because he was magic and the world was grey and there were no people and his car wouldn't start. More than once he'd gotten an explanation from Oliver about where he had to go, without fail, every single month. It simply... didn't click until this very moment because Eli assumed after all this time that he was destined to remain normal and un-magical forever.

"Other Ashdown...?" he muttered, thrumming his fingers against the coffee cup.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

It was like watching a water faucet turn on, or a sudden deluge come pouring from the heavens. It was immensely satisfying. Horace suddenly wished he had a party popper for Elliot's realization. "Congratulations," he said, clapping once and grinning widely.

"Yer a wizard, Eli. Is this your first time in the other kind of Ashdown?" Horace would bet real dollars it was. "And Nugget is my bat." Another raindrop fell, spatting on Horace's forehead. It was coming.

saedusk"

 

[saedusk]

"Your bat. Christ, this really is Harry Potter." Fingers threaded through his hair and Eli looked torn between a freakout and acceptance. If nothing else, he'd managed to bypass most of the stages of grief. "This is my first time here. I never... I thought I'd stay non-magical. It happened to Ollie so quickly, but me..."

Then it started to drizzle in earnest, the singular plop-plop-drops replaced by a misty, steady rain. "Great," Eli mumbled, though there was no way the both of them hadn't known this would happen. It was only the beginning.

"Of all the times to find out I'm magic, right?" he said it as a joke in reference to the rain, but it sounded a bit strained. He was still trying to wrap his head around all of this.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Nugget, my bat. I'm a warg - means I can chill with my bat homie, essentially." Horace watched Elliot. He was taking things pretty well, overall. "This is a good time to find out you're magic. You're here with me." Horace hesitated for a second, but Elliot was one of his, for lack of a better word, touch-buddies. He held out his hand and grinned.

"Come on, I just passed by a weird gazebo thing earlier. Can't have your hair get ruined."

saedusk