Chapter Text
Weak spots on the premises had been sought out and handled within the first few weeks by Evan and his Shadow. Evan could be calmer, knowing that the home and grounds were safe. While Sam didn’t really notice blindspots and potential hazards superbly, Evan and his Shadow prided themselves in doing so. They bonded through this, and through something that Shadow conceptualized telepathically and thought of as “Samaticism” (Sam fanaticism).
As a team, Evan and Shadow made up a collab of her biggest fan, number one admirer, main protector, security team, and safety net. Separate, they had to be those when they could, and Evan had the added pleasure of being her romantic partner, and seemingly, the love of her life.
Evan could give her no occasion and special occasion kisses on the lips. He could touch her in ways that nobody else was currently allowed, and spend nights, in the warmth of her bed and sometimes her arms. Meanwhile, all Shadow could do was watch and protect.
He kept other shadows from assailing her, even from approaching sometimes. Though, even if they were to ever get passed him, he knew that she could hold her own with any existing thing, dead, alive, or otherwise being. It was the principle. Not only would another shadow ever harm her, but other shadows were quick to learn that she was partially guarded by the Most Formidable Shadow of modern magic. Shadow could absorb them, into himself, making them a portion of his own being, or he could cast them out to find others and continue to grow his legacy as The Dark One’s Shadow. Shadow did love being a part of a known dark lord’s history in the making.
The bedroom was Sam’s sanctuary, after the bathroom lounge, and of course, the kitchen. But people weren’t simply allowed in the bedroom, and Shadow expected not to be invited inside. He eventually was, but until then, he had to be simply grateful that many nights, she fell to sleep on the couch with Evan and Evan later carried her to bed.
The sofa that they had put in there to replace the one that Sam previously had was a lovely black u shaped sectional with the tv center aligned with the center of the couch, where they mostly sat for their together time alone. Group together time tended to be in the kitchen at one of the islands. Sam’s older couch had been moved to Evan’s basement space, and the attic space omitted couches and chairs in exchange for a treehouse aesthetic, with one large bean bag seat and a smaller set of four, just in case. Jammer had returned to help him set up, since he had done so well when they were on their quest. There was a rug in the center, that was the design of a compass, and the corners of the room corresponded with the directions that each of his friends used during their ritual. K: North, Sam: West, Jammer: East, and Evan: South. It wasn’t quite "separate rooms in a treehouse,” but Evan and Jammer did make each corner “fit” their friend group in a way that didn’t necessarily clash with the tone of the space and Evan’s belongings being set up.
That was also the only room that had a book nook and the bookshelf was quickly growing with things that intrigued or were important to Evan. He had never had his own bookshelf and presumed that he could likely wind up using it more to set other things down than books, but having the bookshelf prompted friends to give him more books, and it felt rude not to read them.
Sam loved giving him gifts. She began with all of the books that she had been given over the past few years by authors, for interviews, and visibility (She had barely scanned most of them), but knew Evan would. They both remembered a lot from their time sharing Sam’s body, and sometimes, they spoke more about things acquired at that time. They had spoken at length one night as Sam made dinner - honey roasted pork chops, quiche lorraine, white bean soup, and endive salad (which she had been craving since their quest, now) - about Evan’s care for his nice shoes and a story that he didn’t love telling, because he felt so vulnerable.
She responded to his open emotional wound by getting him his first gift of shoes. His good pair, he’d purchased himself and it was a major accomplishment, but Sam’s gift had been designed, custom made, served the magic that he had for his shoes, and had been given with the sweetest sound from Sam’s lips, “Because I love you!” she cheered when he asked her what occasion this was for. He cried. He was always a soft boy who cries when emotions hit. She was used to it and simply cooed “awww,” and pet his fuzzy head.
His Sam shoes were black with green shoelaces . There was a gold signature by the designer, and they were fit for any terrain, if he clicked his heels together. “Is that a callback to me musing about what if I looked like the Wicked Witch?”
“YES!” She cheered, happy that he got it. She was happy that he remembered a conversation he had with her, because so often, people forgot things that she comforted or spoke with them about, even if they were the ones who’d brought up those conversations. It was very enriching to her internally whenever she noted that Evan was not going to be that type of partner to her. She felt even better about giving him this gift.
The basement was a little more active. He could play music however loud he wanted, and Sam’s not old, but former couch, was definitely a better thing to play video games and watch reels on. Jammer wanted a lot of stuff in there that Evan told him that as long as he was the one to bring them in, the things could stay there. But, Evan wasn’t interested in getting a pool table or billiards boards. They affectionately called it “Jammer’s Man Cave,” because he put most of the things in there and Evan only really used several of those things when Jammer came into town.
Evan spent more time being cozy in the attic whenever Sam wasn’t home, but when it was time for her to come home, he was generally waiting near the door, or outside, or at the gate, depending on how much he missed her and how forward to seeing her he was. Just like a faithful dog. He was still learning things about her, being inspired by her, and becoming even more devoted to her.
Butler Ranch was like a living organism that created the perfect environment and ecosystem for the inhabitants and guests. Everything that Sam had put into place made it her dream home and her guests favorite getaway, but it was also the home of the dreams that Evan didn’t know that he had. Dreams that he had never previously been able to conceive were birthed there.
For one thing, there was an Entity there. It was some type of Presence that didn’t seem to have a voice or a form, but tended to show up randomly to address needs by adjusting the vibes.
He had been living with her for 3 months before the first time she didn’t have a chance to call him to let him know things were running late at the studio and she had no clue when she was getting home.
That was NOT something that she could do to someone with Evan’s issues. He was quite stressed about her being late, and she wasn’t answering his calls or texts. He waited in the kitchen, then at the door, then outside, then at the gate. At every try, she had not shown up and she had not responded. It was dark out, but he still felt his Shadow show up, instead of her. The disturbance growing inside of him was felt tenfold with Shadow beside him. Both of them were concerned. “Go find her. Check to see that she’s safe,” he said. The Shadow vanished into the dark, through the gate and Evan walked back into the house, forcing himself not to slam the door. But… something was there.
He turned suddenly, to see if he could see it, then made an inspection with his magical intuition. Something WAS there. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to get in here, but if your intentions threaten my partner or her home, you will learn what it is like to face a natural and true dark lord…”
Suddenly, the lighting seemed to become green, and Evan thought about the Tadershecourt and that protection. The safety of having defensive magic and dampening power, overshadowed with the memory of the feeling of meeting the Frunthwinkle and feeling her Eucalyptus branch rub. Whatever was here was no threat to Sam or to him. He was quickly able to discern that much and he got the feeling that this was something that wanted him to feel better. “Who are you?” He asked.
The response was a shift in the air, a perfectly clear and cool temperature wind, scented with warm scented aroma. He took in a deep breath and realized that he’d needed it. So, he took a few more deep breaths. In the back of his mind, he could hear the melody to the song Pure Imagination. That startled him and he asked, “What are you?” His question was met with a bigger wave of peace and calm. “I. Don’t. Like. Things being inside of my mind!” And the feeling abruptly stopped. The tune, the air, the green lighting - all of it shut down the moment he expressed his nonconsent, and the extreme worrying about Sam returned. “Wait…” Evan started, clenching his shirt at the chest and gritting his teeth.
The air conditioner shifted. The actual lighting in the room was adjusted and the music began playing over the smart system. He unclenched his fists and teeth and took another deep breath. “You just wanted to help. I get that/ But… I’ve had my mind occupied by entities that meant me harm, and for so long, I was trapped with it. I am not in a good space for some new, unknown entity to do anything in my head… even to help… But, thank you… for your help.”
“His phone began buzzing and he looked to see the contact photo of himself, Sam, T2, and Shadow, cozied up for a “Samshot” (selfies taken by Sam) and her name, bordered by red hearts. “Sam! Is everything okay? Do I need to come with weapons?”
“Please do not! Shadow’s freakin’ everybody out enough without any weapons. So very sorry, sorry very much, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t let you know I was running late. Really, the assistant is supposed to, but she forgot that I have somebody waiting on me at home now. Things are still held up, but Shadow showing up really disturbed the schedule…”
“Come back to me,” Evan said.
“Okay, there he goes!” Same cheered. “Sorry everybody! That was just a security check. I know, I know… he wasn’t on the list, but that list doesn’t mean anything to him, because although he can read, he won’t respect it! Sorry.”
“Sam?” Evan said.
“Yes! I hope next time I’ll remember to remind her to let you know. Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yes, but, Sam… There’s something in here. It was trying to make me relax, but it won’t speak to me to tell me what it is.”
“Oh, yes! The Vibe Rater!” she said and giggled.
“The, what now?” (He heard vibrator)
“Vibe. Rater. It's like a home spirit, created by the energy of a magical home. Since I’m generally super chill, it’s usually resting, but sometimes a big shift of emotion or a spike in energy stirs it up and so it starts doing what it can to fix the negative energy that disrupted it. I call it the Vibe Rater because it rates the vibes then (she made a sound effect with her mouth that was similar to wind) it makes the home readjust.”
“Ah,” was all that he could utter.
“I forgot to mention it because they aren’t frequently out and about.”
That changed.
See, Evan stirred up the “spirit of the house” any time he got deeply upset. It was only a few times over a span of months, but compared to Sam’s spikes of energy, it was a lot.
Once, it was due to the house alarm accidentally being set off. It was completely a technical issue. Sometimes, machines just didn’t work right or did something odd. But, to Evan, until they got it deactivated and the entire property searched for intruders, he wasn’t going to calm down.
Another time, a hound managed to get into the gate and chased T2 on Evan’s watch. Evan panicked about his girlfriend’s familiar’s safety and the fear that he might lose him, and as a result, lose her. Accident or not, Sam and T2 were the deepest of companions that Evan had ever seen. He roared at the hound and it shrieked, then scampered away, much in a way that animals used to and Evan hoped that didn’t mean that They were back with him. They weren’t, but he worried about it for days.
And the biggest situation happened when Evan had an intense nightmare about the day he died. He revisited it in his sleep, seeing all of his friends mourning and his nightmare added even more grief than he had recalled. When he woke up with a start, the VR was there.
The soft melody played, the fresh air, the breeze to cool him off and a little nudge to look at Sam. She had on a pastel blue babydoll nightie with a matching bonnet and a sleeping mask. Her breathing was slow and steady. Her pig stuffy was cradled in her arms. She was snuggled up and not at all bothered. She was at peace, and that helped him to calm down. He touched her face and she made a small sleeping smile and whispered, “The tide will.” It sounded familiar, but he didn’t know where he’d heard it before. He snuggled up behind her and let the soft music guide him back to sleep. He felt something stroking his hair. He couldn’t tell if that was the Entity or his Shadow, but it was welcome and he was fast asleep soon.
.
“The tide will… Where is that from?” Evan asked at breakfast.
“The tide will?’ She repeated, with a confused face, preparing a super coffee. That thing was more sweet stuff than actual coffee. Creams, lacquer, sugars… “OH! Yes. The Frunthwinkle,” she said. “She said it to us the day we met her.” Evan remembered back to that day.
“The less you resist the energies of a place, you kind of… just flow with it…” he remembered.
“Wait! That’s… That’s what the VR is! It’s the energies of this place, and when we go along with it, things are great, but whenever we resist that energy, it… corrects the energy, so that we follow the tide of the energy that it is.”
Sam gave him a wide smile. “I love your big, smart brain. I never would have put that together.”
“You put things together all of the time. In fact, the reason I thought of it was because I woke up from a nightmare and the VR tried to console me by having me look at you having the best rest ever, and you said to me “the tide will.”
Sam scrunched her face in confusion. “Well, I was asleep, so I didn’t even know.”
“So, you’re even great at knowing what people need to hear in your sleep!”
“I love the spin that you put on me.”
“You’re the greatest wizard I’ve ever met,” he said matter of factly.