Nightmares Vs Magic

Dove woke up early the next morning, getting dressed and putting her hair up. Then, as she was brushing her teeth, she looked around the bathroom, at the cabinets and the rugs, and at the mirror. Ever since she began living in this spare room in the lighthouse, she'd been diligently keeping it clean.

This was not so I could make sure I get my deposit back. This was because I knew that before I moved into this place, the old couple would use it for their kids or grandkids who came to visit. It was only basic respect that I take care of this room while I'm occupying it.

Last night after coming back to a very concerned elderly couple, she did her best to reassure them before asking if there were any decorations that they still needed help with. It was very late already so Annie pushed her by the back to just wash up and head to bed. Her hands smelled oddly of iron and the woman commented that there was dirt on her face. 

Looking in the mirror soon after, Dove soon learned that Walter managed to give her a few bruises on her cheek. The elderly couple couldn't see it very well, much to her luck, and so the next day, she looked for a way to cover it up as the daylight would definitely help them see better. 

Dove cursed under her breath as she rubbed lotion over it but that didn't help and she had nothing else to work with. The girl never wore makeup simply because it was expensive and she wouldn't have the energy or will to put it on every day, so it seemed like a bad investment. Now, some makeup would be very useful. 

The girl grabbed her phone to look at the clock, wondering how much time she had when there was a sudden notification. Somebody was calling her. 

She tapped the green button on the screen and held it to her ear as she rummaged around her items and clothes, looking for a face mask. At that point, she was seriously considering making one from scratch. 

"Hello?"

"DOooOve!" Annabelle's voice rang out in a singing tone. 

"Want to grab some coffee before work? This is my subtle way of checking on you after realizing we nearly died multiple times yesterday. Especially me! I almost got digested, ha-ha!"

Dove paused in her search and had a blank stare as she frowned. 

"Why and how are you awake and cheerful at this hour? Are you not feeling sore anymore after yesterday?"

"My father's fae genes that he passed to me make me very durable, and sunlight entered my window as I woke up today! Now I know how cats feel."

"... Okay, I'll just meet you at a nearby coffee shop. Give me some time to get dressed and I'll send you the details." 

She ended the call and to her luck, remembered that in the cabinet under the sink, there was a small box of face masks, then she got a quick idea.  

She had not used her laptop in a while, mostly because she always made herself too busy doing other things to use it and the charger cord for her laptop always burned hot, making her word about burning anything. Today however, she plugged the cord into the outlet wall, turned on her laptop as it charged, and searched for a website with online games, and spent her time finishing up her look with a good outfit.

October in Maine was very clouded and usually cloudy, so she wore a black, long sleeve turtleneck sweater tucked into grey suit pants, putting a grey blazer over it.

There was a chance of rain today, so she searched for a raincoat and hung that over one arm before checking the block on her charger cord. 

Burning hot, especially due to the website that was opened. Picking up the block, she placed it to her forehead and let it heat up her head as she closed the website before any crashes from the number of ads could happen, turned it off, and unplugged the cord so she could keep walking with the charger block on her forehead as she put on her shoes. 

The new dog was already barking at her door as he does with other guests. To the dog's luck, he alerts them just in time for breakfast so nobody can be too upset with him.

"Just a minute Billy!" She said to the door.

When her head felt hot enough, she coiled the charging cord and placed it by her laptop on the bed, adjusted her face mask to properly cover up the bruise, out the door. 

Billy, the new dog, greeted her at the door and swept through her legs, wagging his tail. He had white fur with streaks of brown and black that went from around his eyes to the back of his head. The good boy got his name from his last owner, a farmer who had Billy goats, and he retired due to being blind in one eye. 

Whether the farmer retired him because of the disability or because the dog was old, it wasn't clear. Joel explained that the farmer was a friend of his so he might know more.

Dove walked carefully around the old dog as she headed downstairs, out of the lighthouse building, through the door of the wall connecting the lighthouse to the rest of the inn, and downstairs again. 

It was too bad she had to rush her way; she liked to take her mornings slow because she loved looking at the interior of the inn every chance she got. No other modern buildings had the same style as this little lighthouse inn, except perhaps the archives and detective's floor of Macabre House. 

Annie and Joel were in the shared kitchen like usual. Joel had woken up an hour earlier and went fishing. He caught some and brough them in, but they were small this time. He pondered about looking for some stray cats to feed them to, for there was no way he could feed them to Billy.

As soon as Dove went and said good morning to them, Annie tried to get her to eat breakfast before leaving like usual. Dove made a fake cough, put on a raspy voice, and kept a distance from her, saying she likely caught a small fever last night. The girl told the older woman that she had to head out quickly for some Benadryl or aspirin. 

Joel told her that they had some medicine she could use, but she turned him down politely with the excuse that she didn't want to pass on her fever to Joel, Annie, or anyone else. Especially not through the use of their medicine. 

When attempting to leave the inn's shared kitchen, Annie tugged her back by the collar of her blazer, stubbornly telling her that she still has to eat something before leaving. 

Why is everyone so adamant about making sure I eat?

"I'm going to meet a coworker at a coffee shop. I'll eat something there." She continued to speak in a raspy voice. 

The muffling of the face mask added some effect and helped her sound sicker. Annie only clicked her tongue and kept pulling her along, back to the shared kitchen with a scowl as she thought about the pastries at the local coffee shops.

"The food they serve at those places are filled with no nutrients at all! Only sugar to wake people up and make them feel happy, but you know something? Sugar is just like any other drug, only less poisonous to the mind but horrible for the body. Just like cigarettes."

"That's a very unique and actually logical analogy."

"Haha, except, sometimes having a little sugar can't hurt, unlike a cigarette."

Annie let go of her blazer and walked over to the table that had complimentary muffins for everyone. The lighthouse inn offered free breakfast to their guests, but Dove always skipped those. They reminded her of the breakfasts she used to have at her middle school, and she doesn't the 'strange' feelings that nostalgia gives her. 

The woman took two large muffins and put them in a brown paper bag, then folded and closed the top. She turned and grabbed Dove's wrist, placing the bag in her hand. 

"Here. Share these with your coworker, and I highly recommend eating these first. I baked them with boiled eggs inside. Lots of protein and much healthier than all that overpriced junk food they sell to keep everyone's blood sugar high."

Dove coughed as she held the bag close to her chest. 

"Thank you, Ms. Annie. I'd hug you but, well..." 

She waved her off with her usual, diligent smile. 

"No trouble at all. You're just like any other guest I've had, only long term and you pay more by being a helping hand, so I give you more treatment than other guests. Now run along. I won't keep you."

The girl nodded, holding the bag in the same hand that had her raincoat over her arms as she took her phone out and left. She kept up her sick act, keeping a careful distance and giving an awkward, passing nod to other guests as she left the inn. 

She unlocked the driver seat door of her car and put her items in the passenger seat, searching up the address for the nearest coffee shop and sending a link to Annabelle before starting her car. 

The frigid air made the leather seats of her car feel colder, not that she would notice much. 

Not many people wanted to be out on cold days, save for workers and students, so traffic was lighter. 

Her phone was hooked up to a phone holder that stuck to the dashboard right next to the steering wheel. Helped her look at the map easier as she drove rather than just listening to directions. 

Take a couple more turns in the city area, find a decent, free parking spot, and she walked the rest of the way to the coffee shop. 

It was a unique one that had the appearance of a gothic cafe, and what made it easier to find was the sight of a girl with bright, blonde hair. It felt like Annabelle would've recognized her no matter what. Waving excitedly to Dove as she stood outside the door, Annabelle greeted her good morning and pulled her inside, out of the cold. 

"Goodness your skin is cold!" She shrieked lightly as soon as she held her hand to pull her in.

"That's what Calder said yesterday..." Dove spoke to her in a normal voice.

"That must be saying something if even he thinks you're cold, and he's from Norway."

Dove raised an eyebrow as they stood in line.

"Where'd you hear that?"

Annabelle gave a cheeky ear-to-ear grin.

"I may or may not have done a lot of snooping when procrastinating on my papers last night. He has relatives in Norway, but aside from that, I'm sure he's felt colder temperatures being in ocean waters. Still, you should wear some gloves instead of a mask. Why are you wearing a mask by the way?"

Dove leaned close to her and covered the side of her face with one hand, pulling the mask down just enough to show the bruise right where her cheekbone would be. Then she pulled it back up and changed the subject.

"Did you finish your papers?"

"At around the witching hour I did!" 

When it was their turn to order, the cashier nearly yelped and jumped when she saw Dove, prompting the girl to frown and ask if they were ok. 

"Oh, sorry. You looked like a guy I once saw." 

Dove frowned even more in concern. 

"Was there someone who bothered you?"

They shook their head. 

"No, no. Not like that, the guy was really nice and polite, but he had the same eyebags as you. Looked tired as hell, and I mean he was so tired that he just ordered a large cup with multiple shots of espresso, no cream or sugar, and I remember seeing him down the entire thing in just a few gulps." The cashier spoke with her hands, motioning the size of the cup. 

"Ooh! Interesting!" Annabelle said over Dove's shoulder as she kept looking at the menu. 

"That's not even the strangest part. When he paid for his drink, he used cash, which isn't weird, just that the cash he used were these large dollar coins that looked old and haunted and had strong smell of iron that I don't dare comment further on. I swear I heard whispering voices from them after he left, it felt like the coins were haunting the cash register!" 

Dove squinted her eyes in thought as Annabelle placed an order of a Frappe, a hot mocha, a flat white, and a latte all to go. 

"Interesting, very interesting." 

"Yeah, he really left an impression so I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. You just look a bit like him with the eye bags. I share that story with other baristas who also had similar customers like him, except they didn't pay with haunted money." The cashier laughed

One customer waiting behind the girls became agitated after seeing the cashier lightly laughing with Annabelle and Dove who pulled out her card to pay. They were having a nice conversation as Dove asked the cashier more about the mysterious customer as they waited for their orders. 

"Could you hurry it up? Some of us have places to be!" The upset girl said as she tapped her foot against the floor and crossed her arms. 

"We ordered four drinks, that's why it's taking a while. My apologies." Dove said over her shoulder to the woman. 

That only made the woman even more upset for some reason. 

"How about you stop chatting with the barista so she can do her job, instead of standing around and gossiping?!" 

Dove had patience for these people, she's worked customer service, and it was the morning. Plus, she couldn't use any cruel words in public, that would create a bad image. Annabelle couldn't care less about image and spun on her heel, getting right up in the woman's face with a large, toothy grin and wide eyes staring right at hers. 

Easy to off put the woman like that, especially since Annabelle was around six feet, tall for a lady. That was thanks to her fae genes. 

"Ma'am, if you think you're aggressive and unhinged without coffee, imagine how uncontrolled I must be without it." She said in a whispered chuckle to the woman. 

"Simply wait, and if you're somehow going to be late because you chose to get coffee instead of clocking into work, you can only blame your timing. This place opens at five-thirty am and the time is just now eight am!" She added cheerfully but this time, loud enough so nearly anyone in the vicinity could hear. 

"Also, this woman is the cashier, not the barista silly! She's supposed to stand here and talk as we wait for the actual baristas to make our orders!"

"Okay but-" 

"NO MORE BUTTS UNLESS IT'S ABOUT ME SHOVING MY FOOT UP YOURS." The girl responded in a quiet, low, seething voice that could only be compared to that of a female cackling imp as her the white in her eyes nearly darkened for a moment. 

The woman froze like a deer in headlights, still and silent as Annabelle recoiled her face from her. She kept her sharp, smiling face and eyes pointed at the woman as she stood next to Dove again, looking over her shoulder at her the entire time. 

Even when their drinks arrived and Dove took the coffees in the cup holder, thanking the cashier as they began to leave, Annabelle still kept her eyes on the woman. Her smile unwavering and her staring almost unblinking until they left the cafe. 

Annabelle laughed it off, blinking and her smile going back to normal size as she took the Frappe from the cup holder. 

"Ahahah! I love obnoxious people!" 

"I'm sure you do." 

Since they were both heading to work, Dove didn't even have to say anything other than opening the passenger car seat for Annabelle. She moved her raincoat and picked up the bag of muffins, holding it up for her friend to see. 

"My landlord packed two muffins inside. Very sweet person, wanna eat these before heading to work? Or you can eat yours during the car ride."

Annabelle suggested they eat before the car ride to work and absolutely gushed about how good they were. She very much liked the boiled egg inside the muffin and planned to make the same kind herself when she has time. 

Dove drove them all the way to work and Annabelle took the empty paper bag so that Dove could have a free hand to grab her coat. Annabelle would throw the bag away for her as they went inside. They said good morning to Lucia who was setting up shop and headed for the elevator. 

Annabelle still had her Frappe in her hand and pressed the elevator button for the Alchemy labs, grabbing the flat white to take to Joon. Dove got out with her, needing to take the stairs to bring the latte to Vernon, who she already knew was in his garden. Annabelle told her to wait and let her grab Joon so they could visit him together. 

After climbing the stairs, the group saw Liora in the garden who was having a talk with Vernon. They sat by one of the benches that Vernon grew. Edith the cat rested in Liora's lap as the kittens ran around, using their feet and legs as obstacles.

Liora knew none of the animals had any magical capability with him but allowed them to stay for a couple days. Today, she is telling Vernon about a nice rehabilitation center for the raccoons, the mice, the possums and opossums. She told them that although his garden is a nice environment, it won't protect them from the cold, and they will soon enter the stage of needing to eat lots before hibernation. 

Vernon was fine with the negotiation as she brought a tablet to show reviews and photos of the facility, but he stubbornly refused to have the cat family be sent to a foster home.

Roswell's final wish was that his kittens stay with their mother, and Vernon did not trust a foster home to not eventually separate them.

"I can bring proper cat food here, and I can do all the research I need for litter boxes, warm cat houses and heaters. Maybe I can't take proper care of all of them, but I can watch over six cats."

"You have midterms coming up. You won't have enough time to come back here and take care of all of them. They need baths, to be checked for ticks, get their fur groomed, and much more. It's not just about the cold and their diets."

Liora then looked over at the other interns who came up to visit.

"And Annabelle won't have time either. She also has midterms. After that is exam season. Hardly anyone will be available to watch the cats."

"Would it be alright if I move them to another place?" Dove asked out of the blue, surprising her friends.

Liora hummed, inviting her to continue.

Dove took a quiet sip of her mocha, the latte in her other hand as she slowly made her way further in the garden before talking.

"I'll ask my landlords about it first, but they have a very pet friendly place. Sometimes they have me going on errands to get pet supplies."

"Don't they already have a dog?" Vernon questioned, tilting his head.

"Retired Border Collie from a farm. The couple found him entertaining with how he'd even herd the guests into their rooms. Might be able to help keep kittens in line too."

Liora thought about and decided Dove could try. Even she knew that it might be better than a foster home or adoption agency. She bid her good luck and that she'd see her later, heading out of the gardens and to the door. 

Joon turned his head to her as she walked over to hand the latte to Vernon. The witch was sitting quietly on his homemade bench, petting Edith as he took the cup from Dove. 

"Won't it get kinda crowded with six cats? Would your landlords really be okay with that?"

"One of them likes to fish. And I did say I would try, not that I'm promising anything." Dove shrugged. 

"Do they even have a room for pets?"

"They might after I move out."

Her friends interrogated her after that line, thinking that meant she was leaving or moving to a new city, changing jobs and such. 

"I'm apartment hunting!" She corrected herself, hand and mocha held up to put space between her and their questions. 

"My current landlords are a sweet old couple who let me rent one of the rooms at their lighthouse. But the bedroom was clearly a place they used to let their grandkids stay at when visiting and I can't stand staying there any longer because they're so hospitable to me!" She said in one breath. 

Joon frowned. 

"You don't like staying there because they're nice to you?"

"No. The guilt is why I can't keep staying there."

"Perfect!" Joon cheered, almost spilling his flat white. 

"My sisters are moving out of my apartment!"

"Why were your sisters living in your apartment and not with your parents?" Vernon questioned, asking for the cup holder tray Dove still had, and putting the latte back. 

Joon was silent, his face contorting into this resting expression of disappointment as he grimaced lightly. He squeezed his cup in his hands. 

"Oh no, are they dead?" 

"No but they are to me."

"What?"

"They are currently on vacation in Singapore!" He said in a louder, lighter voice. Overshadowing the grimace that he was sporting earlier.

"No clue when they will be back, couldn't care less, but my first youngest sister is moving into her college dorms, and the other is moving in with her boyfriend! I'll have the place all to myself now, until you're ready to move in!" 

Dove stared at him with wide eyes, reading him for a minute before nodding and thanking him, saying she'd think about it. She then asked of Eden was anywhere, and Vernon told her that they didn't visit today, they're busy with the skeleton puzzles Bence assigned to them.

"The complicated thing about necromancy is that if you want to reanimate a corpse that's in pieces, you have to know how to assemble it anatomically. They'll be busy for the rest of the day."

"Oh, well, they might be on my floor, so I guess I'll give them your latte if you don't want it?"

"Go ahead. I don't actually like lattes, but I didn't want to be the only one not holding a cup."

He pulled out his laptop from his book bag as they all left to head to their workplaces. Some pinecones also fell out of his bag, likely for his research paper. 

Joon then asked Dove, since she and him were the only ones who didn't have any college work, if she could help him with a report. 

The nightmare compass that Laurence used yesterday was a prototype, and after coming back, the detective returned it but didn't have time to give any feedback on it. Adan needs the feedback so he can know how well it works and see where improvement is needed. 

She told him that she would first ask Laurence about it. If he was busy and she had some time, she'd do it. 

The girl used the elevator to go down to the detective's floor, still not liking it but she wanted to give Eden the latte before it got cold. 

As soon as she stepped off, she saw many people at their desks, still working on examining objects for spirits or curses. 

Laurence was in the conference room alone again. It might as well have been renamed his cluttered study, and through the window, she could see him examining some doll houses. 

Since he seemed busy, the girl made a mental note to talk to him later after going to search for Eden. A coworker told her that Eden was with Bence, down the hall where there was only one door. It sounded ominous but seeing it in person was actually quite comical, for the door wasn't even at the end of the hallway, just right near the corner.

Through the window that only revealed a portion of the inside, it looked like a nurse's office, based on the diagrams of skeletons and anatomy on the wall. But then when seeing an old Tome with Latin on the cover and some black candles in the sconces on the wall, she knew it must've been Bence's office. She knocked on the door, Bence opened it, and beckoned her inside. 

"I don't mean to bother; I just wanted to see if Eden might want this latte. Vernon doesn't like these." She held the cup in the little cardboard tray up. 

Inside the room, which was bigger than expected, it appeared less like an office and more like a little mortuary. 

"So this is why there was no other room at this side of the hall." She muttered, seeing the walls of square lockers doors. 

One wall had solid metal doors with locks, for the bodies and bones. The other wall had a columbarium for the ashes and urns, and the next had the usual equipment for autopsies, and tools used to prepare bodies for funerals. In the middle of the room was a metal table with an incomplete skeleton on it. Eden was standing over it, figuring out which piece went where.

"Apologies if the place disturbs you. Sometimes I do funerals for people who, let's say would have a hard time with regular funeral homes. Hard to explain that your evil uncle must have his body be disassembled and buried in different location, so as to prevent his revival. I try not to judge but you do have to wonder what causes people to end up with requests like that."

"... I can imagine." Dove responded, surprised not exactly by the fact there is a mini mortuary on this floor, but from knowing how strange a request for a funeral can get.

Eden stopped what they were doing after giving up and wanting a break. They put down the chopsticks that were for picking up bones, and noticed Dove, holding a drink out for them. Before taking the cup, they pointed to their face and raised an eyebrow. 

"Hmm? Oh, the mask? Last night Leon told me I was at risk of a fever."

"You have a bruise on your face, don't you?"

"Yeah..." Dove looked away from Bence, defeated by his guess.

"I don't suppose you have any makeup I can cover this with?"

"Malicka might have some foundation you can use, but you won't be able to hide it from Laurence.

Dove nodded and thanked him anyway. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide it from Laurence he was the first to notice it, but he chose not to say much, knowing she did not want to make a big deal about it. 

Last night, he told her that after listening to the recording, he wasn't going to let Walter get away. Then, after Callius brought her back to shore after falling, he saw the bruise on her face and decided then that he was going to stab him. 

When searching for Walter, Ursa's hounds led her to another edge of the island where she saw, over the cliff, a small boat slowly making its way into the waters. Walter of course had his own motorboat; otherwise, how else would he go on and off the island for supplies and to post flyers? Ursa alerted the others. She was about to consider asking the sirens to go after him but paused after seeing a look in Laurence's eyes. Ursa knew what look he had. Laurence knew that she knew. 

And so, she didn't say anything when Laurence took out his gun and shot the guy from a distance. Aimed right for his head, just in case he tried to use his phone to send whatever message to whoever he was working for. Ursa requested that Merel use one of her tamed nightmares to fetch his body. 

Laurence confessed all of this to her, because he knew she deserved to know, and she would rather live with the harsh truth, than be oblivious. He told her that whatever reasons she had to jump off the cliff, he would not judge, just that if there was anything he could do to help ease her burdens, he would help her. 

And if she ever tries again, he wouldn't stop her. When she asked why, he said that it was because he understands. 

Dove frowned, wondering how he would. The house prevents anyone from lying, but it may not prevent people from saying what they think is true even if it isn't. 

She thought about those words all night and nearly shook her head when she was about to think about them again. 

Dove focused back on where she was and offered the cup to Eden.

Eden took the lid off the latte cup and took a whiff. They recoiled their nose from it and put the lid back on, passing it back to Dove.

"Oh, do you not like lattes either?"

They shook their head.

Bence didn't want the latter either. He preferred tea. 

The girl stayed a bit, watching Bence remind Eden which bone is which. 

Dove had a knowledge of human anatomy, she could help him teach Eden, but she chose not to. She left the mortuary and went back to the shared office space. 

Curiosity got to her when she saw the door to the conference room open. She went inside after looking through the window. 

There were three dollhouses inside and they were all extraordinary and very detailed. One looked like it was modeled after a Victorian era house, another seemed like it was attempting to mimic a Machiya house from 1600s Edo period Japan. 

The third dollhouse was the one that had a very peculiar structure and interior design. It appeared to be made of cheaper material yet was also the biggest among the three, almost like a mansion. There was so much inside. There were four floors, including a basement and attic, furniture, a detailed kitchen and bathrooms, but the strangest were the dolls sitting stiffly at what could best be assumed as the dining room. 

Four dolls, but they had no faces or appearances aside from having human shapes.

Dove did not know if any of these dollhouses were considered cursed, but she walked closer to the peculiar one, very curious. And, it had been years since she had time to look at a dollhouse. Not play with one, just look. 

Laurence walked back into the room, holding a clip board and some sheets. One examination paper for each dollhouse. He made sure his footsteps were heard, even cleared his throat as he entered. Dove did not seem to notice his presence. 

"Careful or you'll spill your drinks." He said. 

"I've got it." Dove responded, relaxed and not even caught off guard. 

She was only suddenly became caught off guard when realizing Laurence had long entered the room and was behind her, yet she didn't react. Normally the hairs on the back of her neck would shiver if anyone was behind her. 

Dove turned around and gave a small apology, asking if it was alright that she was in the room. 

He assured her it was alright, as long as she didn't get too mesmerized that she ended up spilling her drinks. This reminded her that she was currently holding two coffees and a raincoat over her arm still. Taking into consideration how it was early morning, and she didn't see any cups at his desk or in the wastepaper basket beside his desk, she offered the latte to Laurence. 

"It's early enough I guess." She said, surprising him. 

He took the latte and then let it slip that it's been a while since he had a latte. When Dove asked why, he said it was because he didn't know how to make one, but he didn't want to go to a coffee shop. The girl pushed further and asked why he would bar himself from going. 

The detective set his clipboard down as he took a sip of the latte, sighing in content and reminiscence. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, showing that the story he was about to tell is embarrassing. 

"He was in zombie mode the last time he went to a coffee shop!" A new voice suddenly entered. 

"Scared the crap out of the poor cashier lady with his order, and then paid with haunted coins, which he was supposed to bring back to the office to be examined!" Merel peeked her head into the doorway and said with a smirk, remembering the man's slip up like it was yesterday. 

"Merel why are here?!" He screeched, putting the cup down and talking with his hands. 

The woman who resembled a modern, tattooed, less mistreated version of Marilyn Monroe, chuckled and left without another word. 

Dove only raised an eyebrow and sipped from her mocha. 

"Well, that sounds very similar to a story the barista at this one shop told me." She said, tilting her mocha in a circle as Laurence grimaced in embarrassment. 

"Anyway, as you can probably tell, these two dollhouses are safe, it's just that one dollhouse that I have a bad feeling of." He pointed to the peculiar one. 

"The family who sent this to us for inspection recalled that their youngest, an eight-year-old Connie, suddenly became quiet one day and stayed in their room for two days. When the family realized the door was locked and broke in out of concern, they found the child with bags under her eyes, and this dollhouse that they have never seen." He showed her the report on the clipboard.

"Connie somehow took apart a bunch of items and her own toys to put it together, they don't know how, ah, the mother has a feeling something possessed her child into making it- I think she's right, because when moving the tiny carpet with tweezers, I found a tiny pentagram made of fabric. The family confirmed that little Connie's hands were bleeding, they thought it was from the demonically induced arts and crafts session, but well..." He took some tweezers placed next to the house on the table and moved the carpet from the little living room of the house. 

Dove hummed at the sight of the tiny pentagram. 

"I, see that you'll be busy." She did not know how to react. 

"Goodluck, you should get Bence to help you- I'd help you, but I was also going to ask if you could go to the labs to help with a feedback report on the nightmare compass, and since you can't, I'll have to do that." 

He nodded, taking another big sip of the latte as he kept examining the house. 

"Go on ahead, this isn't my first creepy dollhouse, and it certainly won't be my last." 

Dove finished her mocha and threw it into the trash by the door. Before she left to go to the alchemy labs, Laurence asked for her attention once more. 

"Oh and, Dove?"

"Yes?" She paused and turned to look back at him from the doorway. 

"... Thanks for coming into work today."

Dove didn't know how to respond, or how to feel about what he could possibly mean by that line, so she only nodded. She told him to be careful and that she'd be back soon to help him. 

Minutes after his intern left for the alchemy labs, Laurence continued his examination on the dollhouse. 

He noticed something about the tiny pentagram and used his phone's camera as the nearest magnifying glass. It turns out the lines weren't crooked, they were made out of tiny words, written from a toothpick dipped in blood.