Dani laid back against the headboard of the queen-sized bed with a map unfolded in his lap. Just a few minutes had passed of him plotting his next move for once he was done with this place when he felt a powerful vibration ripple through his room. From what he could tell, it had come from the direction of the mountain. He stood, stalking over to the window in bare feet with a second failed attempt to find the view.<br/><br/>Tch. He could see nothing, which he already knew but instinctively still wanted to see. He looked down at the street, streetlamps completely out as confused people came from indoors to see what the fuss was about. As the lights slowly began to flicker on again, Dani shut his curtains roughly before returning to the bed. Something strange was happening here, and he would much rather stay only as long as needed. Removing his shirt, he pushed his things to the opposite side of the bed before again laying down for the night.<br/><br/>Before he knew it, his consciousness was stirring all too soon from his slumber for his liking. Face in his pillow, his body felt heavier than usual. As though he'd been doing one hell of a workout the day prior, but he'd only gone riding. Nothing out of the ordinary. Groggily, he turned to his side but felt the pillow catch awkwardly by his mouth. Absentmindedly, he tugged his teeth free of the fabric and yawned widely while his hands stretched out on either side of him against the mattress. He felt his fingernails sliding through the fabric like scissors through paper, but that couldn't have been right. His mind still slow to wake, he sat up and rubbed his face with his palms while threads of the bed covers clung to his fingers. Bewildered by the sensation, immediately his hands were pulled from his face to a distance at which his eyes could clearly focus on them. As he turned and inspected the bizarre sensation of fabric between his nails, upon a closer look he could see each of his nails were no longer cleanly square cut but finely pointed much like claws of some sort. Looking from either side of himself he could see each finger's trail in the sheets where his newly sharpened nails had split them. There were even extra claw marks where he'd tossed in his sleep as he further investigated the blankets.<br/><br/>His eyes widened in shock as he fumbled clumsily out of bed fully alert now, to which his foot also caught in the fabrics of the sheets and when relieved of, he could distinctly see similar claws had formed on his toes. He stood there for a moment, in awe matched with distress but eventually decided to go to the bathroom in order to splash cold water in his tired face. Whether it was a dream or real, he couldn't be sure for the moment as the sensation of cold calmed the heat rising in his skin. He found his reflection and took several deep breaths. Claws weren't so bad, right? He nodded to himself with a bit of a shrug of hesitation. It hadn't seemed all that bad... Until he felt the strange unevenness in his mouth. Shifting his jaw a little, he opened his mouth to a rather alarming sight of elongated canines and carnivorous teeth made for ripping flesh from bodies. Shutting his mouth instantly, horror was the first emotion to land in his chest just before disbelief. Unsure of whether what he'd witnessed had been what he thought he'd seen, he parted his top lip wearily as he leaned into the mirror just enough before straightening his back and shutting his mouth again. Yes, it was indeed what he'd thought he'd seen. Blinking wildly and trying to keep calm, he took several deep breaths. As he continued his breathing exercises, he couldn't help but notice the smell of crispy salty bacon next to sweet maple syrup poured over soft butter waffles, fresh fruit and sausages... An entire spread materializing in his mind's eye from the amazingly distinct aromas. He smacked his lips hungrily as the smells invaded his initial panic.<br/><br/>But. How was he able to smell all that delicious food from the confines of his room? His bliss had been shaken again by the surreal ability of the enhanced sense, pinching and wiggling his nose incredulously. However, with some determination, Dani resolved to at least get ready for the day. Claws, teeth and all.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>By the time morning had come, Gretchen had lost count how many times she'd awoken in the night from night terrors and cold sweats. She shut her alarm off before it even had the chance to inform her it was 7AM. It was her day off, but she had a habit of getting up early anyway thanks to her inability to sleep peacefully through the night. She sat up on the edge of her bed, a hand massaging her temples to ease the headache threatening to takeover her day. It'd been quite a while since she'd had such a terrible time sleeping, she felt in her gut that it wouldn't bode well. But she was unable to completely shoo those notions away as the headache was beginning to demand her attention instead.<br/><br/>Sighing heavily, she shuffled her way to the bathroom to wash up and take some aspirin. In her distracted state, she failed to notice that everything she touched for a prolonged period of time created condensation and was left cold to the touch. It wasn't until she'd reached her kitchen and began pouring herself a bowl of cereal did she notice something odd. Icy shards of milk came from the opening of her milk carton, as though it'd been frozen. She looked at it quizzically for a moment before entirely disregarding it and carrying on with breakfast.<br/><br/>Tired was an understatement, but she'd promised to help her brother help their parents today. She knew he often attempted to bring them closer in this manner, but she only agreed to it this time because she knew their parents were out of town for the week visiting some of their friends in the next town over. She loved him, but she was too old to fall for his tricks any more. They both were.<br/><br/>Knocking three times on his door, she sat on his porch bench crossing her legs. She watched a few of his neighbors scurrying passed nervously, as though they were being watched. Granted she was watching them, but it wasn't anything to act so paranoid over. Something didn't feel right about it as she recalled passing a few townsfolk on her walk over to her brother's behaving similarly. What was making everyone in town so skittish and on edge...?<br/><br/>She uncrossed her legs and stood, slamming the knocker against his door brutishly a few extra times. "Richard?? What's taking so long, you said 8, I'm here," she yelled at the door as though it would relay her message to him. It wasn't like him to be late... Perhaps she should be worried?<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Books and papers littered the broad wooden desk in the dimly lit study. The long hand of the clock just striking 3AM, Richard's heavy eyes looked up briefly from grading his students' papers. It had been a pretty normal day for him, school and then tending his parents' flower shop in the afternoon until evening. He'd arrived home at a decent hour with enough time to have a light dinner and get to bed early for his day at the shop tomorrow. But something had shifted in his internal clock the moment after he'd felt the electrical field surrounding his neighborhood blow out momentarily. No one seemed to know why it had happened, and power had returned to normal not too long after the incident so he hadn't paid it much mind. At least not until he spent an hour laying awake in bed staring at his ceiling. He was able to convince himself that nothing was entirely out of the ordinary, but as it became two... Then three hours laying tiredly awake in bed, worry set in.<br/><br/>He was not the type lay awake sleepless at night, sleeping had never been a problem for him. Between himself and his sister, she had always been the one tossing and turning through the night unable to sleep. He'd always been able to have restful sleep and for once he was experiencing the distress she undoubtedly felt so much of her life. And to put it lightly, it was frustrating.<br/><br/>Eventually, he simply gave up. It was pointless to lay there a moment longer despite the strain it took to keep his eyes open. But if he was forced to stay conscious, he would be spending it productively. And so there he was, grading papers in the wee hours of the morning. The letters were beginning to blur after several hours up long after his bedtime. His head drooped involuntarily against his hand. A few moments later, he jolted awake again, kneaded his eyes distractedly he felt little granules against his fingertips. Looking down at his hands, he rubbed his fingers together to find small amounts of sand stuck to him, some even sprinkled across his papers. Odd.<br/><br/>Could it be from the shop? He was certain he showered before attempting to get to bed. With a large sweeping motion, he gathered the sand to the edge of his desk where he caught it in his hand and then let it fall into the trash bin beside his desk. Clapping his hands free of any more sand that might remain, he returned to his work indefinitely until birds began to chirp outside his window. It must have been 4 or 5 in the morning now... Bleakly, he looked outside before dragging his exhausted body back to the comfort of his bed.<br/><br/>It felt like he'd only blinked when he heard the distant knocking. Completely passed out, it wasn't until the more violent knocking took place that he vaguely stirred from his slumber and recalled the commitment he had for the day. Gretchen, she must be waiting for him as he looked at his clock. Was it just him or were the hands moving slower than usual..? He shut his eyes again, unhappy about his obligation to leave his bed. He rubbed his face against the softness of his pillow until there it was again, the sensation of sand sticking to his skin. Frowning, he lifted his head to find the scattered particles again. He hit the fabric and shook it out so the small amounts of grain would fall to the ground. He could sweep it later as he was already late, which he hated being. Still confused about the sand, he rubbed the back of his neck as he unlocked his front door to his disgruntled little sister.<br/><br/>"Sorry, I couldn't sleep last night. I'm just getting ready, did you have breakfast already?" He side stepped to allow her in before shutting the door with a quick snap.<br/><br/>Gretchen's expression was sharply quizzical. "That's unlike you. And yes, I did. Do you want me to make you something?"<br/><br/>"Yeah, tell me about it. I spent all night just grading papers because I couldn't sleep." A light laugh escaped his lips as he returned to his bedroom to get ready. "Coffee please."<br/><br/>The hot dark liquid bubbled, the smell of hazelnut permeating throughout the house as Gretchen patiently waited for her brother on a stool at his counter. As she tapped her fingers on the counter, her eyes wandered vaguely until they came across another unusual sight. A small trail of sand had followed her brother from the front door to his bedroom. It was odd in the sense that he was such a clean and pristine man. She wasn't entirely sure of what to make of it...