Ghostcat shenanigans

[technicallyhellbound]

It had been a few weeks since they'd started this arrangement, and so far the Cat had, in fact, been a surprising amount of help. Enough so that Charles had stopped being mostly on-guard while in his presence and had even taken the 'puppy' nickname in stride, though he still hadn't really looked too deeply at why it didn't bother him as much as it probably should.

That particular day was neither a Monday nor a Friday, and was in fact a Wednesday, so while it wasn't one of their scheduled briefings, it was a visit that had been arranged in advance, a few hours while Crystal and Charles were at a concert, the kind of thing that while Edwin enjoyed being invited to, really wasn't the kind of thing he actually enjoyed going to, and the others both knew it, which was why they continued to invite him, even if he always declined.

It was late afternoon, not yet early evening when he stepped out of the mirror into the cannery, tugging at the collar of his slipover in much the same way he did the lapels of his usual jacket. He'd been branching out from his usual look, just a little, in bits and pieces, and now had something of a range of shades of those softer jumpers, this one was a deep bottle-green and was nearly a cowl-neck, but definitely less severe than his usual look.

It had been raining in London, or rather it had been misting heavily, and he wasn't quite sure if it was still raining here or if it had just finished, there wasn't the same kind of moisture in the air, which meant that if it was raining it hadn't been doing so for long, and all he knew was that the Cat had something planned for them to do, he was only now considering that he probably should have asked a few more questions beforehand.

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[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin had been able to tell what was there even just entering the chamber. could feel that energy hanging in the air like a sort of humidity, probably not the same way the Cat felt it, because as it was ley lines were one of the few things that could make a ghost more fully corporeal for a time, and the only one Edwin knew of that wasn't uncomfortable in the process. He wondered if it was something the Cat knew or not, and he might even remember to ask once they were done.

Even this one that was frayed, in a way, partially depleted like an ore vein having been stripped nearly bare, was still enough to have him hesitating just inside the threshold, not yet near enough for it to fully affect him just yet, but it was still enough of a distraction, that nearly-sensation, that he almost missed what the Cat was saying, blinking slowly and collecting himself again enough to answer, "I'm not entirely sure how much help I'll be for something like that, but I'm willing to give it a go. What do you need me to do?"

[catting]

There's a thrumming under his skin when he stands in this room, and enough raw power still hanging around that it makes him feel strangely on edge, like teetering on the precipice of fight or flight. Coming here with Esther was always a shitty time — because a witch can't feel what a Cat can feel getting close to this kind of thing, and she would always taunt him about losing control of himself — but Edwin seems almost owlish in his take on it, and the novelty of it is almost a balm to the Cat's haywire nerves, and he even manages an actual smile.

"You must have read enough about these things to know how they work, right? Natural energy needs a natural band-aid. I have everything I need here for the upkeep. I just need you to monitor. We used to take it in turns, but things got a little," he sucks his teeth. "Dicey. Now and again."

He's not sure why it isn't spilling out of him — it isn't like Esther is going to come storming into the warehouse to beat him to death again for divulging her secrets, but there's clear tension in the way he balls his hands at his sides.

"I can't get too close to it. The ley-line itself and the telluric current here, it— it fucks me up. My magic is too elemental. Esther could, because hers was learned and inherent by birth, not by biology. You can get close, too. I've never heard of a ley line do anything to a ghost but make them stronger."

He rolls his shoulder a little, keeping his gaze on Edwin for now, rather than looking anywhere else, as if the ghost is as much an anchor as an accomplice.

"I thought that your little binding spell might help, unless you have anything stronger."