Taking a step up to her, Clark smiled as he pulled her into a sympathetic hug. Christine’s eyes went wide at the sudden affection. This was the first time she had been hugged by a man and it made her heart skip a beat. She also appreciated the concern she could feel coming from Clark.
"It'll be okay," he whispered to her.
Closing her eyes, as she leaned more into Clark’s embrace as she felt his hands going along the fur on her back. Suddenly she felt light-headed as her vision fuzzed and a feeling of complete numbness came to her. She could no longer feel or control her body. It felt like she had lost all her senses. As the numbness faded, she was back to being an inanimate costume. Her vision fell to her chest as she heard Ian sigh with relief.
"Are you alright?" Clark asked Ian as he helped take Christine off him. An intense loneleness came to Christine as she felt herself being taken off, no longer being filled by someone. Ian’s warmth was so pleasant and the chill that ran through her empty body was saddening.
"I'm fine," Ian replied. "It just feels odd being able to move again. That was the most surreal thing I've ever experienced."
"I can only imagine." Clark said as Christine’s vision flew around wildly like the piece of fabric her body was. It was hard to make out what was happening before the room flew by and she ended up looking upside-down, looking back from Clark’s back. He had thrown her over his shoulder like a towel! Worst of all, she knew she’d likely have another boring, mind numbing, sleepless night as a costume!
The sound of a backpack being picked up accompanied a question from Ian. "So, what are you going to do with her?"
"I'm not sure." Clark said thoughtfully. "I don't want to just leave it, err, her here."
“I’ll think about what happened and what we might be able to do.” Ian wondered aloud. “Not sure if a magic store would be able to help either. Right now, I do need to get home."
"I’m not sure what to do either," Clark agreed as a door closed in the distance. Letting out a deep breath, Christine’s vision changed rapidly before Clark’s face came into view. He was staring into her eyes with concern. "Sorry, Christine. I just realized how indifferently I just threw you over my shoulder.” Putting her down gently onto a table he continued, “I have a few things to finish up. I'm going to put you in a bag for now..."
Christine's sudo-heart sank, knowing what Clark was going to say next.
"...so that no one can find you or put you on."
Hearing a zipper opening, she knew her fate was sealed as Clark picked her up and started to neatly fold her into a duffel bag. Darkness filled her vision as the bag’s zipper was closed, shutting her off to the world and to any semblance of normalcy. Being stuck in a dark bag was horrible as it really drove her current condition home. She tried to let her mind wander, to pass the time somehow as she accepted her continued fate.