How far do we go?

It was loud, so loud he felt the childish need to cover his ears and sit down in a corner the avoid being looked at. If only he could find a corner without constantly bumping into someone. He had, for this rare occasion of social interaction, even brought along his cane. It was less about orientation, Ardy was happy to lend him a hand and help him move around her house.

He had brought it to escape the fate of looking rude to people who didn't know him. His cane immediately signalled his blindness, why he didn't look people directly in the eyes, why he bumped into a table ever so often. It was comforting.

Being at a party with so many people also meant that he was in touch with way more magics than he usually was. The big room was filled by a few of them, mostly not very powerful, Catherine being one of them. B was walking around the room, presumably sniffing at peoples clothing and playing with their shoelaces. At least that was what her movements looked like.

He caught himself scanning the room for Calisters unmistakable aura, yearning for the beautiful colours. He had, in a rare moment of retrospection, decided that it was useless to lie to himself. So what if he was absorbed in getting to know him. There was no denying that he was an interesting character. An interesting character indeed.

But no matter how much he looked, Calister was nowhere to be seen. Reed looked for Catherines flame and walked towards it, his cane moving in front of him in a steady motion. He was surprised that he managed to reach her without any incidents.

“Cat, do you know if Calister will be here tonight?” He spoke softly as to not alert her or her friends. Catherines aura flickered a bit as she let out a low hum, obviously thinking about the right answer.

“He wasn’t sure, if I remember correctly. Should I text him for you?” Reed instantly shook his head and held up his hand to signal her no.

“If he’d be interested, he’d come, right?” He smiled at the duality of that statement and was relieved when Catherine laughed about his answer.

“You are right. Just think about how hard it was to get you to come here and dress up. Cal is his own kind of weird in that sense.” That comment didn’t sit well with him. And he knew why, he knew it.

He was way too invested in the life of a person, a stranger, that didn’t know him. Not really. In that moment he really didn’t feel like partying, he didn’t feel like listening to the horrible and loud music, he didn’t feel like talking to boring people he didn’t know.

Regardless, he laughed about Catherines comment, he drank the gross mixture of soda and alcohol she handed him and he talked to a few new people. It was exhausting but it took his mind off other things.

He had found a relatively comfortable spot on one of the couches, left and right people were coming and going, sometimes talking to him and sometimes just relaxing. He had started to feel the alcohol some time ago, his face and hands growing warmer and his mind fuzzy. He wasn’t drunk in any sense of the word, but he certainly was tipsy enough to look approachable.

The couch dipped next to him as someone sat down, a girl judging by her perfume. She leaned closer to him, her arm pressing into his and her lips brushing his ear as she tried to talk louder than the music.

“Hey! I’m Jessi! Wanna get out of here?” She had a lovely voice but it was slurred and low, both of which he attributed to how intoxicated she probably was. Her hand made its’ way up his thigh and he shivered, nearly jumping to his feet.

“I was about to go home, sorry!” He was slightly disoriented but luckily he soon heard Ardy next to him. He reached in her direction and got hold of her shoulder.

“Would you lead me out? I’m a bit tired already.” She murmured a few words to the friends she’d been talking to and took his arm.

“Let’s get you your cane and get you a taxi. You’re in no shape to take to bus now.” He nodded and was glad when he felt the cold night air hit his face and the music was reduced to a distant low beat.

Ardy was still holding onto his arm and he leaned against her as she made a call to the taxi company. He always got so cuddly when he was tired and today wasn’t different. Still, as he got in next to the taxi driver, he didn’t tell him hi address, he told him to drive him to the cemetery.

Maybe it was the nostalgia brought on by the date and the way the fresh autumn air smelled, maybe it was the inexplicable sadness that coursed through his veins, but he had the incredible desire to visit his grandmas grave.

Only as he paid the driver and crawled out of the passenger side of the car into the cold, it hit him that he hadn’t been here in over ten years. He relied heavily on his cane as he carefully took step after step towards where he assumed the entrance to the cemetery should be.

It was cold, colder than the day had been and his cape was not helping him stay warm. He cursed himself under his breath and continued walking, listening to the owls and cicadas that filled the night air with sound.

Then, off in the distance, he saw something that made his heart jump in joy, but also clenched his chest tighter than he ever thought possible. B was sitting straight ahead on the path and a few hundred meters behind her he could see the flares of colour and light that was Caslisters aura.