Chapter 2
Observation Notes by Bartholomew H. Allen, High School years summary (sort of):
It took me a while to really wrap my head around my familiar being able to touch things around me and have others see it too. We didn’t even start testing it out really until the bullying from Tony got to the point that I was getting in trouble for actually skipping school. Joe was really upset with that phone call from the office.
When we did start testing, it was because Tony had me shoved against the lockers, again, just after the bell so no teachers were out to see, and I reached out with one hand to burry it in Nor’s ruff (He’s decided he’s a he for now and he would like a name, but Nor’easter is too long, so he has very kindly agreed to Nor..for now. Nor’easter’s are pretty fascinating actually. They’re these micro-scale cyclones that occur along the upper East Coast of the US and Atlantic Canada. They get their name because the strongest winds are going counter clockwise from the off-shore air masses and that has them travel from the northeast to the south west over…what? Right, sorry, rambling again. Nor, remind me to delete this later.) as I listen to Tony start in on picking on me.
It doesn’t even take a moment before Nor reaches up and places a paw on Tony’s arm and that has Tony snapping his mouth shut, which has me looking down at what Nor is doing, which is now dragging his claws across Tony’s arm. Red marks are appearing, not scratches, but definitely something no familiar should be able to do.
Tony cries out, sadly doesn’t let go of me, and shifts his body. I’m still staring at his arm, too shocked at what Nor was ale to do to someone that isn’t me and certainly not my soulmate, so I don’t see that the shift Tony made was to haul back so that he can punch me. In the face.
The black eye is hard to explain, but the red welts on Tony’s arm are harder and I certainly wasn’t helping him. Any time Tony came after me after that Nor and I tested. Which was admittedly the dumbest way to test, but it was for science!
It all ultimately ended in senior year, the middle of lunch, with all the witnesses in the world…but no teachers. Seriously, why was there never a teacher around when you needed one? Tony had me pressed face first onto one of the tables and Nor had hopped on to the table trying to get at him. All of this only worked though if I was the one actively touching Nor, so him pressed against my side and back to get at Tony wasn’t working, and Tony had both of my arms pinned behind my back. I’m not sure if he had figured it out too or if it was just dumb luck right then, but his timing, as always, sucked.
Nor was literally howling mad by the time I managed to slip one of my hands free and get it wrapped around one of his hind legs. I couldn’t see Tony, but I knew he could tell that something had changed in the moment. Nor had started a fresh howl when my hand had connected and Tony’s grip on my remaining arm became bruisingly tight, I’m certain that he could hear Nor howling. Nor shifted and Tony screamed and pulled away from me. When I twisted around I saw that he was cradling his bleeding arm and looking at me like he’d never seen me before. Nor was refusing to let me up until he was able to make sure I was ok, but we were drawing a lot more attention now, and that is, of course, when the teachers showed up.
Unsurprisingly they didn’t believe me when I said that my familiar had scratched Tony, but they couldn’t blame me for it because too many people had come forward and told them that I was still face down on the table when it happened.
Joe still grounded me for getting in another fight at school.
Barry was running late, again, but it wasn't his fault! Not entirely this time. He'd missed the last train out of Starling City and then been kidnapped by the Green Arrow's team. The Green Arrow who had turned out to be Oliver Queen! Barry was still in a bit of shock. He'd helped save Oliver's life even, though the rat poison hadn't been a popular option, especially when it had seemed that Oliver had started hallucinating. Oops...
But yes, Barry was running late getting to CCPD from the first train into Central City from Starling, there had been signaling issues on the lines, or something. Not Barry's fault at all, but still late. How was this Always Barry's luck?
He couldn't even complain to Nor because the wolf had stayed back at his lab in Central because he'd thought it was a wild goose chase. Though it had also been a test to see if they /could/ get this far apart from each other in case they needed to. Barry had a separate notebook just for familiar observations that he always carried with him.
The only side effect that he could make a note of was an odd coldness in his hands. He'd noted that he normally kept at least one hand on his familiar at all times if he could simply because he could, so maybe that was where his and Nor's bond was strongest? He'd have to ask the wolf..once he stopped chastising him for time mismanagement again.
Barry got out of the elevator and onto the main floor for his level just as Singh was coming through the bullpen doors. He narrowed his eyes at Barry.
"One, don't you ever do that again. Two, you had better be glad that a detective from Starling called and vouched for your help up there. Three, whatever you left in your lab go and stop it because no one can walk passed it without feel like they're being watched. Even people's familiars have been complaining to then, Allen, so whatever you have running up there, Stop. It." He pointed sharply to the stairs that lead to Barry's lab, and Barry just nodded sharply before he bolted.
The door to his work space was shut tight, an actual "BEWARE" sign taped to the door. He pulled it down and opted it. Sitting just inside was Nor, hackles quickly going down now that Barry was in front of him. Barry dropped everything in his arms and wrapped them around the wolf.
"Has your bad mood actually been affecting everyone that walks past the door?!" He says in surprise.
Nor wraps one fore paw tightly around Barry and hooks his head over his human's shoulder, "one of them came in and tried to take something that you hadn't filed yet. I didn't recognize him at all. Just the audacity to mess with our territory like that while you aren't here!"
"You're actually snarling," Barry said, amused. "But how were you affecting so many people /and/ their familiars while I was gone?"
Nor pulled back and looked at him, head tipped to the side, considering. "I was probably only affecting their familiars, if one of us is upset enough others around can pick up on it and..."
"But no one seemed to care how upset I was that night..." Barry interpreted, the start of anger in his voice.
Nor leveled a look at him for interrupting and Barry leveled a look right back, unapologetic for having done so, going one step farther and cocking an eyebrow at his wolf. Nor licked his face, knowing full well that the saliva would remain and Barry would be forced to clean it off.
It was Barry's turn to snarl as he pushed Nor away to stand and get some paper towels.
"So you weren't upset that night?" He asked as he rubbed his face dry.
There was a huff from behind him, but he didn't turn, "why do you think no one found us in that corner? Their familiars were stealing them away from it. I was beyond angry that our pack was taken from us Barry, and I know you know that."
Nor's tone was cold, and when Barry did turn around, the wolf was facing away from him as well. Barry rubbed his hands over his face and went back to his wolf, kneeled down and wrapped his arms back around his neck.
"I'm sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?"
"You know what I want."
"You also know I can't afford to get that on a Forensic Assistant's pay scale."
"We could always borrow it with out the intent to return...it's not like you wouldn't know how to cover your tracks."
"You are a terrible soul, and I did this for you last time I was in the 'dog house'."
A utterly pleased emotion rolled through Barry and he knew that it was coming from Nor and he just sighed and buried his face in the wolf's ruff.
"Could you at least act like 'borrowing' is bad?"
"It is a terrible thing and should never be done...without supervision."
Barry wanted to bang his head on his desk, but that would involve getting up, and he had been away from his familiar for several days, the farthest physical distance that they had ever been, and he didn't feel inclined to move just yet.
The moment he heard foot falls rushing down the hallway he was up and moving though, which was then followed by up and moving out the door and into Joe's car and to a crime scene for the rest of the day. Nor by his side.
The evening was supposed to be the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator with Iris and then bed, but it didn't quite do that way.
Barry and Nor had ended up back at his lab after a mugger had tried to take Iris' purse, Detective Pretty Boy had saved the day and Barry had failed in front of Iris.
And now there was a crisis at the accelerator, a literal storm, a crash of thunder, a bolt of lightning and Barry knew no more.
-----
Leonard Snart had noticed a great many things that his familiar could do to anything he, himself, was touching. Such as the ropes the night his father had beaten him and Chain had sliced through them with his claws.
Leonard was also not amused with his familiars choice of name. The big cat claimed it was from a weather documentary that had been on one night in one of the prisons Leonard had been in, something to do with Chain Lightning, but Leonard had asked the feline if he wasn't trying to refer to a ball and chain since the were in a prison. The cold shoulder he'd received for the next 40 hours was worth the scandalized look on the cheetah's face though. Chain broke at the 40 hour mark and had slunk up to Leonard's side and pressed himself there and purred, Leonard for his part had smirked and done little more than lean into his familiar.
Leonard had been sitting on his bunk in his shared cell with Mick at the time and he and Mick had been in the middle of a conversation when the cat had come up to him. Mick had gone silent the moment they'd made contact. Leonard cocked his head to the side and looked at his partner, waiting for him to start up again.
"Was that, Snart?" Mick asked, gesturing next to Leonard, to the side his familiar was on.
Leonard didn't move to look, just cocked his eyebrow in turn and said, "how do you mean, Mick?"
"Something sat down next to you, I can see it's butt print clear as day right there," Mick huffed, annoyed. "Is'at your familiar? How's it doing that? Mine's next to me and it ain't moving the bed."
Leonard sat stock still for a long moment, face as impassive as always before picking up a hand and gesturing away from himself, "a magician never reveals their secrets, Mick."
"You're so full of it, Snart."
There was a time in a different prison, away from Mick, where a guard had decided that he didn't like Leonard's attitude and was going to do something about it. Chain didn't like that one bit, so the moment the guard put his hand on Leonard, Chain sank his teeth into the guard's leg.
The moment the guard let go of Leonard, Chain phased right through the guard. Guard never went after Leonard again and no one else in that prison did either. Word ended up getting out about the incident and Leonard got a handy reputation that no one should ever lay a hand on him.
At least from people that traveled in those circles. The people in Central City had not gotten that memo by the time Leonard eventually made it back. He actually couldn't wait to play with the families to see what he and Chain could do do them.
"Don't go picking fights."
"Fights I can't win, sure, but when was the last time you and I lost a fight?"
"Len I'm serious! Let's do this job and leave Central. I hate being back here. Too many bad memories and we never make good ones when we roll through."
"We were in Central that night..."
"I don't care that we were here that night all those years ago when I had that fit and long range connected to my soul! We never found out what exactly happened to a man and a woman so we were never able to narrow it down to look properly. And the only thing at all that happened in /Central/ that night was to some kids parents! Which you ruled out due to age differences," the cheetah hissed, tail lashing back and forth.
Len sighed and ran his hand from the back of his head forward. In reality neither of them liked being here thanks to the memories from Lewis, and if it wasn't for Lisa, Len would never come back at all. That's what he told everyone that asked anyway.
Truth was, ever since the night Chain had connected, Len had just felt pulled back to Central every time he was gone for more than six or so months. So he would come back, collect a crew, plan a heist to the second, do the dead and roll back out. CCPD hated him because he was so clean about all of his heists there.
It was a good feeling to know that even their best CSI's couldn't pin anything on him. Members of his crews on the other hand were not so lucky, but none of them had ever flipped and ratted Len out. He never broke them out of the Heights, but they didn't have it as bad as they could have.
The heist Len was planning for now was one that needed a lot of set up and people that knew the streets of Central better than average. He needed a crew of people that had grown up here like he had if he had any chance of getting what he wanted.
Len felt something hit his leg and he looked down, Chain was looking up at him, a flat expression on the "tear" stained face.
"I swear to the maker, if you were counting seconds or thinking about that stupid diamond while I'm trying to be upset with you, then I will go find somewhere else to watch the accelerator coverage tonight!"
Len's lips quirked up and he reached down and placed a hand on Chain's head.
"No you won't, who will you talk to then if you do that?" Len smirked as he tweaked one of Chain's ears.
"Myself, obviously. Maybe if I'm lucky my soul will be just as excited and we can bizarrely connect again," the big cat said, pulling away from the suddenly stock still Len.
There was a long beat of silence and then, "Do you think..."
"No, Len," Chain said, cutting him off. "Nothing is going to happen ever again that will connect me to my soul until you meet them. Thirteen years ago was a fluke that no one you spoke to could explain. Please, it's time to let it go."
Len sighed and sat down. Had that really been thirteen years ago already that he and Chain had a glimpse into his soulmates life?
"We keep coming back to Central because O feel drawn to it when we're gone for to long," he said instead of saying one way or the other about letting go of the past connection Chain had made.
All of the cheetah's attention was back on Len and he came over to place a forepaw on his leg.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I thought at first you might feel it too."
Chain was silent, resting his head on Len's other leg, before speaking again, "familiars have never acted like compasses. If anything we're more like close range proximity detectors. Often times times though meetings between soulmates are still oddly left up to chance. I never felt the pull you felt and I can't tell you why you are feeling it, Len."
Len leaned his head back to rest against the back of what he was sitting on, glad that it was padded, and brought his hand up to carefully run his fingers over Chain's head.
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