Cloudy with a chance of Magic.

[Chris Sloan]

The weather forecast was quite clear today that there would be clear skies for the duration of the afternoon. Like all weathermen, he was wrong. Dark clouds began to form over Westbrook, and only over Westbrook. Every few minutes there was just a sprinkle of rain. Sometimes it wasn't even rain, and snow actually fell to the ground, melting instantly.

On the roof of Westbrook Academy, a short teen was singing a melancholy tune.

“Hoc terram ubi angeli concinunt. Et daemonia ludere eorum impiorum ludorum.” The voice belonged to Chris, lost in thought as he tried to focus on the song for the spell.

“Terra ista de gaudia, dolorum luxit. Ex lacrimis caeli, et occulta diebus.”

He could only think about why. Why Holly didn't think it was worth the risk, why she thought for certain he couldn't be happy with her. He tried to tell himself that it was for the best, but he didn't want to believe that either.

“Di lucis umbram aquae et igne. Adtendas orationem, et dona nobis pacem.” This time rain poured from the sky directly over the school building. It would rain for well over an hour, as he continued to sing the song on the roof, the rain grew faster or slower depending on whether he successfully cast the spell.

Chris could still only ask himself why, but he knew he had to accept it. He didn't stop singing for over an hour, until finally he was so worn out that the spell messed up entirely. Chris could just barely manage his flight spell to get him back to the ground as a miniature storm cloud now followed him a few feet overhead, occasionally sending sparks of tiny lightning into his shoulder. At first Chris didn't pay any attention to it, just putting up with the occasional shocks. After a while, when he started to head into the dorms, he finally decided to get rid of it.

"Ex igne fiat glaciem, ex ventus fiat terris. Aufer a me et inimicos meos." Sparks formed in his hand and shot up to the lightning cloud, draining it of the energy stored inside and making it dissipate.

Chris looked down at his now soaked uniform, and figured it was best to go change.

[Chris Sloan]

Another day, and the weather still took a turn for the twilight zone. Those observant enough would find Chris under one of the trees between Westy's and the Memorial, still singing the same song, in the same melancholy tone.

“Hoc terram ubi angeli concinunt. Et daemonia ludere eorum impiorum ludorum.” Clouds darkened overhead as he thought about what he was going to do now. He hoped that they could still be friends, but didn't want to ask face to face because it might cause her even more problems.

“Terra ista de gaudia, dolorum luxit. Ex lacrimis caeli, et occulta diebus.” The clouds flashed as sparks of lightning flew from one to another, the winds shifting slightly. Before he did anything about it, he knew he had to talk to someone first.

“Di lucis umbram aquae et igne. Adtendas orationem, et dona nobis pacem.” Rather than rain, a single burst of snow fell to the ground as his concentration broke, thinking back to her. He knew there was really only one person he could talk to about it. The one who warned him in the first place that it was a bad idea.

Chris saw the snow falling and shook his head, Another failure, he thought to himself. If there was one thing he was good at, it was messing up. But he was persistent. After clearing his throat, he started the song anew. He was pushing himself to the limits to get this spell usable as quickly as possible.

After a few more failures, resulting in snow, hail, and a single lightning strike to a tree near him, Chris finally managed to get smooth, steady rain. He didn't stop singing though, even as the rain poured through the leaves and the branches, falling on him. The rain picked up speed and slowed down several times as he tried to keep it going.

Rather than yesterday, stopping when he knew he should, he kept going. Through rain and sleet and snow and hail, he still sang the song. The familiar storm cloud formed over his head, and he cast the spell to drain it's energy. A few songs later and he couldn't even finish the second verse, and just collapsed on the bench.

Half an hour later, Chris woke up, totally soaked from the rain. He picked up his bag, which had thankfully been shielded from the weather by him when he collapsed, and made his way slowly back to the commons to change and take a nap.

[Chris Sloan]

Chris grabbed his bag, and was about to head out of the commons when he was approached by a teacher. Tall, slim, and well dressed. Chris thought he had seen him around the halls but never talked with him. “Uhm.. may I help you?”

“Chris Sloan, right?” The man looked down to him to verify.

“That's me.” Chris nodded in response.

“I'm Mr. Sanderson, I teach some of the Applied Metahuman Abilities classes here. I understand you have been causing a disturbance with the weather lately?” The man asked Chris.

Chris nodded again, “Yeah... sorry about that. Been practicing a new spell...”


Mr. Sanderson nodded again, “I understand, but if you intend to do so again today I'd have to ask that you follow me. We can't have this keep happening above the academy.” He turned and began to walk towards the exit of the campus, giving Chris a moment to catch up.

“Uh, sure...” Chris followed in step behind the teacher.

They left the campus, and Chris wasn't quite sure where they were going. He didn't ask, and trusted the teacher enough to take him somewhere okay. When they boarded the tram, Mr. Sanderson finally spoke, “We're getting off at the Talos stop.”

Chris nodded to him, and when it came to the Talos stop, prepared to get off. From their they caught a bus to the beach, and Mr. Sanderson paid an already waiting ferryman to take them to one of the islands. Pointing out at the island, Mr. Sanderson informed Chris that that was the location they were going to be using for practice this time.


When the boat arrived, both Sanderson and Chris made their way to a patch of grass just off the shore of the island. There Sanderson began to sound more like a teacher. “Okay, we'll be staying here for the duration of your practice today. Please find a spot to sit.” He motioned to the ground around Chris, and Chris sat down where he was. “Now, my ability is to suppress and limit the power of a single meta. So, while you're casting your magic, I'm going to be here making sure nothing goes out of control.

“There won't be any rain, but you will be able to tell if the spell works. I assume the clouds will gradually shift, based on the nature of the spell. I've worked with some magic students on related matters in the past.” Mr. Sanderson sat across from Chris, focusing his gaze on the student.

Chris could feel himself weaken, but only to a degree. He could still feel strong enough to use magic, but not to it's full power. So that's what he meant. Chris looked up to they sky, and began to sing the spell. At first, nothing happened. He sang it again and he could almost swear a few clouds 'twitched'. They didn't get closer, darken, or let out a single drop of rain, but they did respond. Chris sang through the spell again and again, each time getting no more than a twitch, and often less than that. Nearly a half hour later, he was sure that they were starting to twitch with every passing of the song. A couple attempts later to be sure, and he nodded to Mr. Sanderson across from him.

“I think that's all I can do for today...” He was obviously worn out, but would have been willing, and even insistent on continuing if Sanderson tried to stop him, and he knew that just from the look on they boy's face.

Mr. Sanderson nodded, “Very well, let's make our way back then. If you ever practice any large spells like this in the future, it would be much appreciated if you give me a call.”