Chapter Text
“So, there’s, like… anti witches?”
Phil presses his lips together and hums lightly, trying not to make Mark feel dumb, for lack of a better word. “Um,” he starts slowly, holding out the M as he glances helplessly at the others, who only look back at him expectantly. It’s clear to see that Phil is the most patient out of them all, meaning that it’s best to have him explain. “I mean, kind of? I wouldn’t call them that, but it’s fairly close to what I’m saying.”
Sighing heavily, Dan places a hand on Phil’s shoulder and leans forward, explaining, “Their like hunters, as cliché at that sounds. Way back when the only way to stay alive was to kill everyone else, it was nearly impossible to keep this whole supernatural world a secret. There was a group of regular people who discovered us and they didn’t think it was safe to keep us around, but they didn’t have the resources to wipe us out. Ever since, they’ve been trying to kill us, and we’ve been surviving.”
Mark inhales loudly, slowly nodding as he lets himself process the information. “Alrighty,” he murmurs, refusing to let the whirlwind of confusion in his head show on his face. He turns to Ethan – dark blue hair a mess, eyes still bloodshot, skin flushed red, and occasionally licking his chapped lips nervously. Suppressing a sigh, Mark asks, “And they were in your vision-thing?”
Ethan shrugs, shoving a finger in Dan and Phil’s direction with a deep frown. “According to them. It’s kind of traumatizing to experience a vision, so details don’t stick very well. They’re the ones who saw it.”
“Okay,” Mark breathes, blinking heavily as he turns to face the couple once more, “and how exactly did you see his vision again?”
Before Dan can offer a snarky comment (“He’s a bit cranky today,” Phil had warned Mark before they joined everyone else on the sofa, “so don’t let it get to you is he acts like a dick. I promise, he’s usually a sweetheart.”), Phil answers with, “Like Jack told you, we’re Earth’s, but we’re also something else. There’s a long Latin word for it, I’m sure, but in English we’re just called Visualizers.”
“Basically,” Dan cuts in, “we can tap into people’s memories via touching and talking. That’s why we held his hands and asked him questions. We were able to see his vision and analyze all the details, which is how we saw the symbol on a Van in the background and figured it out.”
Mark blinks once, twice, three times, and lets out a short, wheezy laugh. “A symbol?!” he asks, his face twisted up as if he’s just taken a large bite out of a lemon. “These assholes have a fucking logo? Are you kidding me?”
“It’s stupid,” Felix agrees with a nod, “but it’s true. They think we’re dumb enough to react when we see it in public, as if we don’t know it’ll get us killed.”
“To be fair,” Jack weakly reasons, “it worked at first, but then we caught on and learned to act normal. After three generations, though, I’m not sure why they keep trying that method.”
A strange, animalistic groan sounds from Mark’s throat as he nods slowly, trying to comprehend the situation. “This keeps feeling more and more like a movie,” he murmurs. “Am I in a coma or something?”
“I wish,” Ethan says, “but then my entire life would depend on your unconscious, so I take that back because I think I like my existence.”
Mark purses his lips. “You must me fun at parties.”
“Trust me, I’m a blast.”
“I’m sure,” Mark deadpans. “I forgot to ask, by the way. Did you call yourself Thor?”
Felix chokes on an intake of breath in shock while Jack releases a loud snort of laughter. Ethan parts his lips, but quickly presses them together as he fights off a smile, closing his eyes to keep his composure. “No,” he manages to mumble through a light giggle. Mark furrows his brows together, unsure of what he did to cause this reaction – even Dan and Phil are leaning on each other and chuckling. “I, uh- I did not call myself Thor.”
“Then what the fuck are you?” Mark asks, too confused to worry about being kind.
“I’m a thuar.”
“You just said Thor again!”
Jack has to stand and walk to the other side of the room to calm down his laughter. Felix follows a moment of high pitched wheezing, stumbling over his feet as he bends over slightly, clutching onto his stomach. “Thuar,” Ethan repeats, his lower lip trembling with held back laughter. “T-H-U-A-R. It’s Irish for predict.”
“Why Irish? I figured it’d all be Latin words.”
“The first thuar’s originated from Ireland,” Ethan explains. You can’t be a thuar without being related to one of the first five. It’s something undetectable in our genes.”
“Makes sense,” Mark hums lightly, ignoring the fact that Felix and Jack are still dying in the corner. (“Thor,” Felix breathes, face beat red. “Thor.”) “Why predict, though?” Mark asks. “I thought you had visions.”
Ethan nods, “I do. Thuar’s have visions that predict the future. What we see is only a possibility, and we have no way of knowing if it’ll actually happen. Most thuar’s are unable to see more than a month or two into the future, but there’s a rare case every once in a while where a thuar is able to see predictions that can happen years later.”
“Like you,” Mark states just as Jack and Felix finally return to their seats, both a little breathless and wiping away tears.
After a short hesitation, Ethan reluctant agrees, “Yeah. Like me.” With a shrug, he adds, “But don’t focus on that, okay? What we should be focusing on is figuring out what to do to prevent my vision from coming true at all.”
“Wait,” Mark cuts in, his face draining of color. “Fuck. These hunter people- what are they called?”
“Venenatis Interfectores,” Dan says. “It roughly translates to either killers of magic or sterilized killers, which are equally appropriate for what they do. We call them Fectores for short, though.”
Mark swallows harshly, staring down at his shaking hands, the shadow of his realization casting over him with a sense of anxiety. “Right. So, these people- these Fectores. They can be… anyone?”
Felix nods and says, “Yeah, basically. Just like us, they cover up their real lives from the rest of the world to protect themselves.” Mark doesn’t respond to that, instead becoming even paler, sweat beginning to shine on his forehead.
Cautiously, Jack questions, “Why are you asking this, Mark?”
With a shaky voice and looking ready to barf, Mark asks, “Does that means I shouldn’t have told my friends about this?”
“Who else did you tell?!”
“Just my friends, I swear! They’ve been my best friends for years and years. I didn’t know I was supposed to hide this from them!”
“What made you think–”
Before Felix can finish his thought, Jack interrupts with a frown. “Stop it,” he yells, effectively causing the room to go silent. Once everyone’s looking as him, he continues, “I agree, he shouldn’t have done that, but how the hell was he supposed to know better? Just take a breath, calm down, and we can figure out what to do.” He waits for everyone to nod before facing Mark and carefully asking, “How many friends?”
“Two,” Mark murmurs. “Bob and Wade. They didn’t believe me at first, but then I showed them how I can control water and they came around.”
Jack hums, reaching forward to place his palm over Mark’s trembling hands in a comforting gesture. “Okay, when did you show them?”
“Wednesday night, after you and Felix made up and all that. We were having game night at Bob’s house when they started teasing me for trying to trick them, and I got so frustrated that I just… showed them.”
“Alright,” Jack nods, “and what about now? Have they been acting different around you since then?”
Mark licks his lower lip and shrugs. “Not really. I mean, they’ve asked a bunch of questions about it, but other than that they seem normal.”
“Have they told anyone else, do you think?”
“No,” Mark instantly states with confidence. After a moment, he meekly repeats it, no longer sounding as sure as he did. “No. I mean, no? No- no, absolutely not. Like- no, they wouldn’t- they wouldn’t, right?”
Felix buries his face in his hands and lets out a muffles screech of frustration while Jack just sighs, dropping his hand to his side as he stands. “We need Matt and Ryan.”
“Why?” Ethan asks.
“Because Mark is gonna call Bob and Wade,” Jack explains, “and we’re going to meet them at Mark’s house tomorrow. Since Matt and Ryan can feel people’s emotions, they’ll be able to tell up if Bob and Wade are lying when we ask them questions.”
Mark parts his lips to object, but quickly snaps it shut with a sigh before reluctantly saying, “Yeah, okay.”
An hour later, Mark stand by his front door, watching it with bleary eyes as he waits for his two best friends to arrive. What did everyone else expect, honestly? After being unexpectedly dragged into this new world, he had to tell the two people who have been with him through thick and thin for nearly twenty years. However, now he was beginning to wonder what could happen – what if it turns out that one of them are a part of the Fectores? What’ll happen to their friendship? More importantly, what will all the supernatural people in this house do upon discovering that they’ve successfully cornered a member of the group that wants to kill supernatural people?
Will they kill them?
Mark shakes his head stiffly, swallowing the lump in his throat. That won’t happen. That can’t happen. He’ll make sure of it.
Suddenly, a round of knocks echoes through the small entry area, causing him to suck in a sharp breath, standing still for a moment to collect his thoughts. Here we go, he thinks softly as he steps towards the door, reaching forward with shaking fingers to wrap around the door knob and carefully pull the door open.
He leads his two friends down the hall, only bothering to mumble that there’s something important that must happen, before they waltz into the living room, where there are nine people waiting for them.
Jack stands up when they walk in, smiling gently at Mark before striding up to Bob and Wade to stick out his hand, faded light green hair falling gently into his face as he says, “Hi! I’m Jack, nice to meet you!”
Bob and Wade cast Mark a confused look, but he only offers a forced smile and nods. “They’re nice,” he promises, knees feeling wobbly as he leans against the wall behind the large black sofa. “Just concerned. I’ll explain in a minute.”
Felix steps up next as Jack goes to sit back down; his once somewhat blue hair is now faded, as well, causing his brunette locks to look merely tinted, only really looking blue when the light shines at just the right angle. He sticks out his hand to introduce himself, the same wide, crazy-looking grin that he had worn the night he met Mark at Matt and Ryan’s house. It goes down the line like this, Dan and Phil just kind of waving from where they sit while Ethan stands awkwardly for a moment before nodding and sitting back down. Once everyone’s been introduced, Jack gestures to open seats for Bob and Wade to sit in, who cautiously accept.
“So,” Mark starts, staring at the tips of his fingers as he anxiously taps on his thighs, “I told you guys about the witch stuff that was happening, and I wasn’t supposed to, but I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to. They’re all here to make sure you two aren’t… bad people.”
“Okay,” Bob says, still looking unsure but apparently understanding the basics of the situation. “Okay, yeah. What do we do?”
Ethan turns his head to look at Mark, who’s visibly terrified of the situation, and he offers, “Cooperation is a good sign, man. Try to breathe, alright?”
Mark nods solemnly, but doesn’t respond, trying to inhale slowly to calm his heart rate as Jack explains, “If you guys check out, then we’ll explain in depth so you guys understand, but just to be safe all I’m saying is that Matt and Ryan will be able to know if you’re lying, so when we’re asking questions we’ll know when you are and are not telling the truth. Got it?”
“After this, can we ask questions?” Wade asks, brows furrowed deeply. “I’m just really curious about this whole thing and Mark only ever talked about his own witch stuff, not about… all of you guys or what you do.”
Felix purses his lips and shrugs. “If we can trust you, then we’ll tell you anything you want to know. But you have to wait your turn.”
And then the interrogation begins. Mark doesn’t partake in the question asking, feeling his heartbeat in his throat as he leans his head against the wall, eyes closed, listening intently. A few basic questions are asked, just to make sure that Bob and Wade are aware that they really can tell if they’re lying or not, before digging into why they’re here. Jack, Felix, Ethan, Dan, and Phil take turns ask questions, stretching from anything vague (“Do you know about the people within the supernatural community?) to something more specific (“Before Mark showed you his ability to control water on Wednesday, did you ever believe in witchcraft or magic or anything similar?”).
It takes about ten minutes before the questions slow down, and so far, Bob and Wade have been answering everything truthfully. It seems like they’ve run out of things to ask when Ethan pipes up, saying, “Oh, wait, I have one! Have you guys told anyone else about what Mark told you?”
“Fuck, how did I forget that one?” Jack curses.
Mark holds his breath and cracks open his eyes just in time to see the two men shake their heads, only for Matt to instantly claim, “Nope. They’re lying.”
“Both of them,” Ryan agrees. “They’ve both told someone.”
All the air gets sucked out of Mark’s lungs as he slides down the wall to sit on the floor, his thoughts plummeting – they lied? Who did they tell? Was trusting them a mistake? Did the only two people who know nearly everything about him betray him?
Faintly, over his heavy breathing, he hears Matt say, “Get Mark upstairs and calm him down. We need to figure this out and I won’t be able to focus with all the anxiety coming from him.” He refuses to open his eyes again, eyelids too heavy to lift, but he feels someone grip his shoulder and gently help him stand. Two voices are speaking, barely audible through the blood rushing sound clogging up his ears, and he realizes – this, for the first time in a long time; this is a panic attack.
It’s rare for him to devolve into this panicky puddle that he currently is, and he prefers not to remember the moments when he does just so, for when he enters this state, he begins to fall apart – messy tears streaming down blotchy cheeks at an unstoppable rate; a runny nose that cascades snot, disgusting and sticky; shallow breathing that makes his chest hurt, his muscles weak, a sensory overload that sometimes causes him to black out from too much at once.
And now, as all feeling and sound fades away, it becomes aware that this is one of those times.
“What the fuck?”
Jack looks over his shoulder to see Ethan stumbling behind him, Mark now an unconscious lump leaning on his shoulder, causing Ethan to side step too far and hit the wall with a thud.
“Jesus Christ!” Ethan curses, hissing out a string of insults at the wall as he tries to support Mark’s weight. “Fuck, Jack, help, I can’t- he’s, like, a million pounds, or maybe I’m just really weak- y’know, that’s probably it, but still–”
He can’t help but chuckle as he steps over to help carry Mark down the rest of the hallway, peeking through doorways until they find what he assumes to be the man’s bedroom. They carefully lay him on the bed, making sure he doesn’t hit his head on anything on the way down, before stepping back to breathe.
“Why did he pass out?” Jack wonders out loud, feeling a bit of concern in the pit of his stomach as he racks his gaze over Mark’s body, as if to check to make sure he’s still breathing.
Ethan shrugs. “The hyperventilating, probably. It’s happened to me before. Not fun, but he’ll be fine. We just need to give him water when he wakes up, make sure he doesn’t feel sick and maybe get him something to eat. Passing out always makes me feel groggy, it could do the same to him and I know having some soup or something makes me feel better.”
Pressing his lips together, Jack casts a curious look to the blue haired man – until Ethan had that vision, Jack hadn’t really known anything about who he was. They never talked about personal things, only made small chat while trading certain spices and ingredients. Jack didn’t even know Ethan was a thuar until yesterday, and now that he’s starting to get to know him, he’s dying to know more.
Out of respect, however, Jack doesn’t ask the questions that he wants to ask. Instead he nods and says, “Yeah, that makes sense. Let’s go see what the other guys got out of Bob and Wade, and then we can get Mark some food and water for when he wakes up.”