A Pleasant Morning...

Chelsea Sharp stifled a yawn as she dipped her brushes in a small cup of water, muddying it with a mix of yellows and browns, before setting them aside and stepping back to appraise the picture she had painted. An inland taipan shyly stared back at her through the page, coiled amongst the scorched red sands. Elsie liked reptiles. They were simultaneously insanely cute and infinitely interesting in her mind. This particular snake had featured in a documentary Elsie had watched the previous night on the many dangerous animals living in Australia. Despite its apparent adorableness, the inland taipan was actually the most venomous snake in the world. Thankfully, it lived reclusively in the remote regions of the Australian outback and tended to flee as opposed to fight. There was something admirable in that, Elsie thought, having such a dangerous weapon at its disposal yet still preferring to avoid conflict.

“Needs more white,” Elsie mumbled to herself, unsatisfied with her current portrayal of the beautiful snake on the canvas. As it was, the glimmer of light wasn’t quite captured in the rich hues of her tan and olive scales. ‘I’ll let the paints dry first,’ she decided, standing up to stretch her limbs for the first time in hours and to let her eyes look at something that wasn’t canvas.

Her studio was a moderately large room made claustrophobic by the sheer amount of stuff packed in. The majority of the floorspace was littered with easels, boxes of art supplies and materials for sewing. Several mannequins also kept her company during Elsie’s long periods of isolation cramped within the space, wearing garments of mostly her own designs with a few references mixed in. The entire north-easterly wall had been replaced by large panes of glass to allow plenty of natural light to shine in on her working space, while the opposite side the room had been cluttered with drawers filled to the brim with sketches, as well as racks of finished canvas works - covered, of course, by a heavy cloth to protect them from long exposure to the sun. And tucked away in the far corner of the room was a large working desk with enough room for a laptop, her textbooks, and a sewing machine.

Her eyes wandered to the analogue clock that hung above the door frame. It was twenty to noon already, meaning she’d been working for almost five hours straight. A morning well spent as far as she was concerned.

She unfastened her apron and hung it on the coat rack by the door before straying out of her studio to prepare a cup of tea in the kitchen. But once the kettle was on, she was left drumming her fingers on the countertop and looking down at the treetops in the park far below her, wondering what to do. Usually Sam was around by this time.

Elsie lived alone in a large apartment, 48 floors up and in one of the many buildings framing Springfield’s largest park. It was an ideal location to be sure, but it was also far too much space for Elsie to occupy on her own. It was more lonely than anything. In stark contrast to her studio - and her bedroom - the rest of the apartment was entirely orderly and absent of many personalised touches to its vapid modern decor. You see, her parents were fashion designers in charge of a self-made company, and were more often than not out-of-town or overseas on business. This apartment was simply a convenient way to keep Elsie rooted in Springfield while they followed the industry.

That’s why Sam had made a habit of regular day visits and sleepovers, relieving Elsie of her loneliness. The quiet now reminded her of how grateful she was for that. Funny that nowadays it was unusual for her not to be around. ‘She must have gotten smashed at Emelia’s party,’ Elsie mused, still uncertain on whether she should have gone herself. ‘She’ll probably walk in here a few hours from now nursing her head and complaining it’s too bright again,’ Elsie chuckled lightly.

She turned on the stereo synced with her phone to fill the silence; and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons began to play through the apartment. Eh, she wasn’t feeling baroque today. She thumbed through her playlists until she found something a little more invigorating. She settled on metal - courtesy of Sam.

Glancing at the kettle she figured she still had a few minutes to wait, enough room for a quick shower in between, and soon embraced the warm cascade of water over bare flesh. By the time she was drying herself, the whistle of the kettle could be heard from the bathroom. She hurried out with only a towel to cover herself to silence the kettle and finished making her tea before bringing it back to her room and changing into a fresh set of clothes.

She sat on the bed and browsed reddit for a bit, occasionally sipping from her tea, before deciding to text Sam.

Chelsea [11:53]: Hey, are you alive?

It was several minutes later that she got a reply.

Samantha [12:03]: Holy fuckballs

Elsie could practically hear Sam’s pain through the text.

Chelsea [12:03]: Hangover that bad, huh? =P

Samantha [12:04]: Yeah… but also holy fucking shit on a stick soaked in jizz, things r a mess.

Elsie’s brow furrowed. Sam was not what you’d call a calm person at her best, but even through text she seemed panicked.

Chelsea [12:04]: Okay… what happened??!

Her worry built as Sam spent a noticeably long time forming her reply.

Samantha [12:04]: nvm, I’ll call u

Elsie barely had time to read it before her phone began to rumble and Sam’s caller ID appeared on the screen. “Sam? Are you okay?” she asked as soon as she answered.

“Honestly? It’s not been a great morning,” the girl grumbled from the other end of the line. “Things have been... complicated. The situation has developed.”

“What do you mean ‘situation’?” Elsie asked, confused.

“You know! With Newman! We were investigating him?!”

“Oh… that,” Elsie sighed, a slight blush coming to her cheeks as she recalled her confrontation with him the previous day. “So, developed how?”

“Well… the party was pretty crazy and everyone was really drunk and having a good time but when I woke up this morning I couldn’t remember half the night and Em and a few others wouldn’t wake up and I knew Newman had to be involved because… well I confronted him and then he revealed he’s a wizard or something and his girlfriend is a werewolf and Moira Brighton is some Paladin of God and we did some investigating and found out that Em was bitten by a vampire and it turns out I’m that vampire but then we realised that I wasn’t the reason Em was **** but we didn’t know what to do so Newman called this wizard cop and then we found out we all took some **** and that’s what made us forget things and there’s this whole underbelly to the world called the Abyss full of magic shit and monsters and I always knew there was strange shit going on! I called it! I fucking called it and don’t you tell me I didn’t tell you so!”

“Okay, deep breaths, Sam, deep breaths… I think I understood some of that,” Elsie replied uncertainty. “But I gotta ask, are you sure you’re not high?”

“Fuck no!” Sam hissed back. “Look, you don’t have to believe me! Well, except the part where Em’s comatose - that part is definitely true. Just come down to Springfield Memorial Hospital! You only live a minute away anyway!”

“I’ll come,” Elsie assured her, taking a deep sip of her tea before pouring the rest of the cup down the sink.

“You better!” Sam replied quickly. “...But uh… just be on guard, yeah? I’m not sure I trust everything that’s happening right now. My memory’s already been wiped once and I’m afraid they’ll try it again. I need you as back up,” she pleaded.

“Sam,” Elsie began, her tone firm but reassuring, “I’m coming. Just stay safe, ‘k?”

“Okay, thanks, Elsie,” Sam sighed.

“Be there in a few minutes,” Elsie replied. She was about to hang up when Sam hurriedly spoke again.

“Also…” she began but petered out.

“What?”

“I, uh…”

“Come on Sam, what is it?” Elsie rubbed the bridge of her nose and exhaled.

“ImayhavesleptwithhimI’msorry,” she blurted out.

“Who, Newman?” Elsie responded, not really registering what her friend had said.

“...Yeah…” Sam replied dejectedly.