For Jelani

[bitterguardian]

Balthazar Blake doesn't always answer his PINpoint texts right away, but when more than twenty-four hours go by with no reply, that's worrisome. The Arcana Cabana sits empty, doors locked from the inside, but of course he's not the most tidy person so it's hard to tell if there's any minor signs of struggle. Nothing seems terribly out of place, though, at least no more so than usual. The nearest thing there is that could be a sign of abrupt departure is the coffee left in the pot, but that's not reliable either. Sometimes he just forgets.

Upstairs, Saint is sleeping on the couch, but slithers off and hobbles over to slurp on Jelani's hands, tail wagging. There's still a little food in his bowl, and water. Not much, but the bag is sitting on the floor. If he's gone another day, the dog will be able to knock it over and feed himself, but he's apparently well-behaved enough not to do that when he doesn't need to.

It's while Jelani is upstairs investigating that a sound comes from downstairs. It's a thump, impossible not to notice. Impossible to mistake for nothing.