CHAPTER 7: VISION TROUBLES

– POV: CLOVER –

(ROLEPLAYERS: VEN, TEA)

(ADAPTATION: VEN)

When Clover wants to go somewhere, he gets there.

So it is that when he strode up to the White House demanding to see the President that the guards let him right in. Even though he was only seventeen, he was the only enchanter of high blood left in No Man's Land, and that held a lot of weight. He knows that.

It's too much pressure, sometimes. Too much work, too much responsibility. But at times like this, it works to his advantage. Because at times like this, he really needs to see the President, Izaiah, because he has urgent, urgent, urgent news.

See, Clover had been having visions as of late. Not just any visions, though – enchanters had small insights on the regular, but these were more intensive. Indicative of the necessity of a Glimpsing. They starred the Cabinet, which was especially concerning – he needed all of them to be gathered for this, and, well.

There's only one person who can really do that.

Knock-knock-knock, on the office door.

"Mr. Marris?" Instead of Mr. President, Clover knows he hates that title more than anything. Finds it embarrassing. But the hybrid can't help but be formal with the man, he's older and wiser and more war-hardened than him, even if Clover isn't actually afraid of him in the slightest.

"I need to talk to you. And like – soon, maybe? Right now, even? If you can?"

There's a palpable silence that follows. Clover almost wonders if he's even there. Surely, he would be? At this time of day?

And he was right – a sound of distinct shuffling follows, and –

The door is cracked open, just enough to be peered through. Then, abruptly, it swings open. The President stands in the doorway, and it rivals his own height.

From Clover, there's nothing but a blink as the door swings open with such force. He almost winces, but doesn't – he knows he's not going to come to any real harm here (unless the door had hit him in the face). He smiles up at the President, Izaiah, anxiously.

"Do you need something." Is the first thing that leaves Izaiah’s mouth, automatic. He blinks, almost like he's processing the rest of Clover's words. "You need to speak to me? About?"

"Yes, I do!" Clover hops from hoof to hoof, the motion making a quiet clack-clacking sound on the hardwood. "I've been having, uh, visions ..." Clover's face screws up in thought as he tries to figure out how to word this appropriately.

But. There could be people listening, and he doesn't want to cause undue panic.

"... I don't think I should talk about it here, though," Clover murmurs uneasily. As headstrong as he can be, he's still nervous at heart. "Maybe in the office? Where less people are ... you know." His brow furrows, he wrings his hands together uneasily.

"You're having. Visions," Izaiah echoes. Clover feels a prick of indignance, but waits anxiously for his answer. Finally – "... Yeah, okay. Fine," Izaiah steps to the side, allowing the young enchanter to pass through. "Step in."

"Yep," Clover says quietly as he passes by, confirming the visions part of his statement. It's an enchanter thing. He knows it sounds weird to literally everyone else, but to him? It's just normal. Every day, he sees something or other, and honestly?

Half the time, the visions are more annoying than actually scary. Like, he'll be trying to relax and then see flashes of war, and it's like – hey. I'm trying to read my book and take a breather. Get out of my face!

But this time – this time was different.

"I think – I think that I need to arrange a Glimpsing," Clover blurts out as soon as he's within the office proper, turning to face Izaiah. "With ... with you. And the Cabinet. I've been seeing things – stronger. Stronger than usual –" Now he's starting to sound anxious. "And it's – worrying me." A pause.

"And to see it in full I need all of you to be there, I think. Because the things I'm seeing, they're about you guys. It – it doesn't have to be now or soon but sometime maybe –" God, Clover. Breathe.

"Ey, ey." Izaiah snaps his fingers. "I don't need you panicking this quickly. Relax, kid." Clover huffs internally. He doesn’t need to be told what to do! Even though he was just trying to calm. "... You need the Cabinet." Izaiah says slowly. "For this. To take it all in, I assume?" He crosses his arms together.

As Clover is about to reply, the President continues.

"... Listen, Clover. I don't want to dismiss your concerns, but. I guess you could say we're a little preoccupied, right now." The young enchanter feels his face start to burn. "Can you tell me? What you saw. ... Now."

"I know you're preoccupied!" There's a loud CLACK! as Clover stomps his hoof on the floor in visible frustration. Yeah, he's a bit of a spoiled kid, maybe, but also, this is really important. Like, really, really important!

Izaiah raises an eyebrow at the brief outburst. His only visible reaction to the enchanter’s upset.

Clover grits his teeth. No one seems to understand how important a Glimpsing is, no one seems to understand how important enchanters are besides enchanting tools and weapons of war and hurt and pain, no one seems to –

Breathe, Clover. He just wants to know what you saw. He takes a moment to try and relax, like Izaiah had just said. Clover inhales, and then exhales, and folds his hands together with a frown.

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"It's hard to put to words, but ... I don't know. I saw your faces, and the Emperor's ... and I felt like something was wrong." He shudders at the memory. "It was vivid in the moment, but like a dream I'm ... struggling to remember it. Mother and father said Glimpsing sessions with the people in visions makes them clearer."

Clover has never performed a Glimpsing before. He knows how woefully underprepared he is. But God, this seemed so important, and if the Cabinet got hurt or worse because of his negligence, what kind of (almost) head enchanter is he?

A silence. But then –

"The Emperor?" Izaiah asks. "And our faces? Is that all you can remember?" He presses, slightly. It’s obvious.

"Yes," Clover answers immediately. "The Emperor, I remember him very clearly and –" He pauses, face screwing up as he thinks deeply. "I remember feeling – sad, and scared, and angry all at once, but – but almost like I wasn't feeling it, but you guys were feeling it, as I saw you." He frowns.

The goat hybrid crosses his arms and sighs, shaking his head.

"I feel like there was more to it that I just can't remember right now. I'd tell you all of it if I could, but it keeps slipping away every time I try to grab it, you know? Like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands." He makes a face. It's not a happy one, he knows.

Izaiah’s lips press into a tight line. Clover feels anxiety spike in his chest.

"Are you experienced, with 'Glimpsing'?" The President asks, and Clover’s heart sinks. "You ever done this, before? Any possible hazards? Etcetera, etcetera?"

This is the part where Clover's expertise ends. His ears droop and he looks almost guilty for what he says next –

"No. No, I'm sorry. I haven't done it before. I just – I'm remembering what my parents told me. They taught me how to do it and I've practiced but I've never really done it – I guess ... I know side effects ..." He frowns quietly. "It can give you headaches, and uhm."

Clover wrings his hands together.

"The vision is shared. Both the enchanter and the person involved see it. It's – I don't know." He shakes his head with a huff. "It just feels like I should do it." A lot of things with enchanters are about just feeling like it – emotions, mental urges, that kind of thing. Logic rarely applies.

"... Just headaches?" Izaiah narrows his eyes. Clover feels exasperation, now. No one ever trusts him with this stuff. "I don't want you getting migraines, kid. You think your dad would be okay with that?" Oh, now he’s bringing his dad into this? Mx. Andrews, Queue, the community manager?

"I get headaches from visions all the time," Clover says, and admittedly it's almost a bit whiny, but God, he's trying. "It's like, an everyday thing. It goes away with a little soothing potion." He frowns, realizing full well that doesn't answer whether a Glimpsing would entail the same level of headache.

He fidgets with his hands. Clover is not about to admit to Izaiah that he hadn't really talked to his dad super in-depth about the Glimpsing and that he'd just run off to go talk to Izaiah about it as soon as possible after getting those visions. Because this involved his dad's safety, and his dad's friends' safety.

Clover just wants them all to be okay.

"Look – I think I can do it. I really do – please. Just trust me? For a little, at least?" He feels a little like he might explode into a million tiny pieces if Izaiah says no. Emotionally.

There’s a pause of silence.

"See, I'm pretty sure that you can," The President starts off. "I'm sure you're perfectly capable, aight? I just don't want you causing any sort of –" Another pause. Clover frowns. "– Strain, to yourself. Because, to some extent, that falls on me." That lingers, for a moment. Clover goes to speak, but then –

"Listen – I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything happening soon, but." But...? "I'll – I'll think about it, yeah?"

He’ll think about it. He’ll think about it?!

"Just don't do anything stupid." That last comment is like rubbing salt into the wound. He sounds exactly like Clover’s dad.

Clover is a little bit livid at first.

It's obvious from the way his face scrunches up – but ultimately, there's some gratitude buried deep under that initial anger. And I'll think about it is better than nothing. And the reassurances, while a little misunderstanding, are ... welcome, kind of.

He shifts from hoof to hoof, quiet clack-clacks sounding out. Clover lets out a long sigh – and then smiles, faintly. Maybe it was relief he was feeling, now. Yeah, almost definitely.

"Thank you," Clover says, and while it sounds a little bit strained, it's honest. "I won't do anything stupid, I swear. Or – uh, well, I'll try not to." He cracks a half-grin. An attempt at a reassurance of his own.

"Good." Is all Izaiah says. He can be a man of little words, sometimes. There’s another silence as they both look at each other. "... Is there anything else, you need?" He asks. And it almost works like a cue, of sorts. Clover knows it’s a you can go, now.

But he almost wants to ask something else. Something like – are you okay? Are you guys going to be okay? Is everything going to be okay? But he doesn't. Because he knows Izaiah wouldn't have the answers to most of those questions, and they're just the anxious ramblings of some kid.

So instead, he says –

"No, I'm alright," And gives a light smile. "I'll be on my way, now. Thank you for listening to me!" Clover turns and trots away towards the door, hooves clack-clacking on the floor the whole way (it was always going to be like that, it seems). He's almost reluctant to leave, but ...

The President deserves some peace, especially if the visions were to be trusted.

"... No problem." Izaiah’s voice sounds out from behind Clover. "Make sure to close the door behind you. Thanks."

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Marris," Clover says with a light smile, opening the door, stepping through it, and then, as promised –

Closing it behind him.

There's much to think about.