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 Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:02 am
Nifty, Rabid thought before speaking, "I wouldn't want to eat you out of house and home and, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't generally eat solid foods." Her stomach grumbled in protest and she felt a bit faint. Stupid blood lust. Stupid bad planning.
"Sadako," Ike said as he leaped off the couch and wandered over to Julian, "We find Len. Then, when find Len, Ike gnaw on Julian, 'kay?" He walked over to a cabinet and removed a jar filled with brown stuff. He sniffed it and smiled. Smelled like nuts. He shook the jar violently until a gob of the brown stuff landed in his hand. He carefully screwed the lid shut and put the jar away, licking the brown stuff off his hand.
"Be careful," Rabid warned her son, "Remember how stuff slides off Vampies? We don't wanna get anything on Julian's nice floor."
Ike nodded, tightening his grip on the gooey stuff and holding his other hand below it. He sat behind Sadako, watching her carefully.
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:15 am
Sadako seemed to cheer up slightly when Malachi mention the gnawing. Personally she would have preferred sucking the life out of the Brother and throwing him off a bridge, but gnawing would do just fine.
" 'Kay."
Eyeing the doll with perfectly reasonable nervousness, Julian stuffed pudding into his mouth and swallowed hastily. The KitchenBot set an egg-and-grit laden plate next to him and hovered off to clean.
"Well, uh, feel free to look around and steal things. I'll be in the study if you need me - it'll only take a couple minutes."
Spearing a grit with his fork, he dipped it into the pudding before wolfing down the mix eagerly. As he left, Sadako gave a low rattling hiss.
"Die."
Julian rolled his eyes.
"Cripes, you're never gonna let it go, are ya?"
After he slammed the door to his study shut, Sadako gave a loud hmph and crossed her plushie arms sourly.
"Jerk."
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:23 am
Rabid laughed lightly at the doll, supressing the now-strong urge to bash through the door and puncture Julian's jugular. That just wouldn't do. Not before they found Crow and Lenore, anyway.
"Mmkay," Ike grinned and finished licking the brown stuff off his hand. He looked down at what was left as it dripped down his wrist, as if it were liquid. He quickly leaped up and grabbed a napkin, cleaning his arm off and tossing it away. He then returned to Sadako. He'd grown mildly attached to the doll since they'd met. She was the only other person...thing...that seemed to miss Len as much as he did.
"I wonder who he's calling," Rabid voiced to nobody in particular, "and why he's so secretive, while we're at it." She huffed and leaned her head back. They'd better get going soon. For all they knew, Crow could already be...no.
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:46 am
Still muttering about the annoyances of possessed toys, Julian abandonded his breakfast and sank into the leather chair behind his gigantic desk. Propping his elbows against it and holding his head in his hands, he tried to ignore the sick feeling welling up inside him.
He did want to die.
The only person he cared about in the world was gone, and it was all his fault.
Slamming a fist against the polished wood desktop, he ignored the stinging sensation that prickled over his head injury. The feeling subsided in a moment, and he absently touched the spot where the bump had been. The spot was still tender, but the headache at least had subsided.
"Another perk of being a Construct," he said bitterly to himself.
Picking at another pudding-dipped grit, he pushed a button on the desk console. A holographic display flickered to life from the projector installed in the desk, displaying the Rijani national seal as it booted up. As Julian waited for the phone to warm up, he looked out the bay window behind his desk. The prairie that bordered the southern half of the city stretched on for miles, an uninterrupted stretch of grass speckled with trees and the occassional wild Vehilii.
If he hadn't been so rude just then, he was sure Rabid and the others would have been keen to go exploring with him.
"Just not my week," he murmured, quipping his father's favorite complaint. The holo-phone fully booted up at last, loading into the welcom screen with a cheerful mechanical chirp.
"Call Seth."
The phone obliged, dialing out and connecting instantly. The holo-projection on Seth's side was dark - and remained that way until Julian increased the ringer volume.
"Dammit, alright, alright, I'm up! If this is another dergrakkin' telemarketer, I'mma find out where you live and rip your bloody-"
Julian cleared his throat.
" 'Lo, Seth."
The man projected on the holo-screen gaped and swore, staring at Julian in disbelief.
"Julian? Izzit you?"
Julian had the grace to smile slightly.
"I need to call in a favor."
---
Twenty minutes later, Julian left the study with a grimly satisfied expression. Turning to Rabid and the others, he ran a hand through his hair tiredly.
"Get ready to go - we're off to meet the folks."
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:56 am
Rabid's face flushed when she saw Julian, and her pupils shrank momentarily. Folks? Regardless of which meaning this 'folks' had, it filled Rabid with a great amount of dread.
"Alright," Rabid stood and smiled, "but I ain't responsible for any physical damage done within the next...few hours or so. Lead the way. There's not much to get ready."
Ike grabbed Skelly and leaped onto Mummy's back, offering a free hand to Sadako, just in case she wanted a higher ride.
"If Folks do-s anything," he murmured, still looking at Sadako, "Imma rippout their spl--eyeballs."
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:10 am
Sensing the animosity, Julian sighed.
"Sorry 'bout the outburst. Didn't sleep good last night."
This was a complete truth - he'd spent the night tossing and turning, tormented by nightmares about his sister being burned to death.
Sheesh.
"I'll be down in a couple minutes. There's some clothes left over in the guest room down the hall from the last time Crow was here - try to find something decent to wear, not that tourist trap rag. My parents have don't go for the whole middle-class thing."
Stomping back to his room, he kicked the closet door open and started tearing clothing out, looking for the box he'd kept hidden for so long. He found it at last under a spare mask, and cracked it open wearily.
The knife was untouched by dust, its red blade bright as ever. After a moments careful thought, he took it out of the box and stuffed it into its calfskin sheath.
---
Ten minutes later he was downstairs again, the knife hidden under his frock coat. Pushing another button on the remote, he watched silently as the window wall opened out onto the small terrace.
"Seth'll be here soon to give us a lift," he called to Rabid over his shoulder.
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:18 am
Rabid quickly made her way down the hall to said guest room and threw on some...obscenely elaborate dress. She had quite a time of shoving herself into it. Being 6 foot 1 was not a good thing when it came to sharing friends' clothes.
Ike, feeling that he didn't have to change, being a 'pet' and all, scampered out to join Julian.
"We find Crow and Len, right?" he asked, feeling that Julian would have all the answers, "Right, Julian? They be okay?" He snugged Skelly and sat down.
Rabid came out of the room almost immediately after hearing Julian speak. She approached him and leaned against the wall.
"Who's Seth?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:39 am
Julian glanced over at Rabid.
"He's a friend from school - we haven't seen each other in a while, and he was glad to help out." He paused, and then gave a shrug in reply to Malachi's questions. He'd been thinking the same things since they'd come here.
He looked Rabid over carefully. So, she'd found Crow's old clothes - even with the instant size adjusting in the cloth, it was a bit too small for her. But, the dress was supposed to fit sort of tight, and Julian doubted very much it would matter.
"He'll be here in a minute."
Cole emerged from his patch of shadow on the ceiling at last, looming over Julian and squinting in the bright sunlight. After a bit of hesitation, Julian gingerly patted the dragon's emaciated snout. Cole gave a growl that was only semi-threatening and wandered over to Malachi, ember eyes still resting on him appraisingly.
A moment later, a behemoth Vehilii jumped into sight. It docked itself next to the terrace, and a young man still in rumpled pajamas and a trench coat toppled out of it, falling hard on one knee as he tripped out of the portal. Julian gave a bark of laughter and tugged the man up by his arm, patting him on the back and shaking his head. The man adjusted his glasses and gave Julian a good natured whack upside the head, yammering in Rijani.
The foreign conversation went on for ten minutes before Sadako cleared her throat loudly. The bespectacled man looked up and jumped back in surprise as he noticed Rabid and the others. Julian murmured something in Rijani, and the man's expression grew taut. Smoothing down his uncombed hair, he nodded a greeting to the group.
"The name's Seth. Shall we be going, then?"
And without another word Seth climb back into the waiting Vehilii. Julian made no excuse for Seth's shortness, climbing in after him. Cole gave a growl and entered the Vehilii warily, giving Rabid a worried look.
Sadako tugged at Malachi's ear, urging him into the Vehilii.
"Lenore." she rasped.
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:53 am
"I see," Rabid muttered, watching the conversation curiously. She arched and eyebrow and followed Julian into the Vehilii. She was feeling more and more out-of-place as each moment passed, and increasingly more useless.
Ike giggled when Sadako grabbed his ear, and he climbed in obediently.
"Mmhm," he whispered to her as he sat down, "We find Len."
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 6:54 am
The ride to the Haedermann mansion was short and deeply uncomfortable. Seth glanced every now and then at Rabid and Malachi furtively, as though expecting either one to pounce on him and try to rip out his throat. Julian smacked him oonce or twice, muttering scoldings in Rijani. Seth shrugged and snapped something in reply that made Julian roll his eyes and shake his head in irritation.
"They're not gonna eat you, you know."
Seth merely shrugged again.
"I don't go for the whole common-bred thing. You know that."
Julian's hands balled into fists involuntarily.
"My sister is common-bred."
Seth flushed clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Well...I don't hold anything against her, you know that. S'not her fault."
Julian clapped a hand to his forehead and gave a sigh of exasperation.
"Are we there yet?"
Seth nodded, deciding that further conversation might be more trouble than it was worth.
---
Julian exited the Vehilii gratefully when it finally landed. Seth had always been a Construct-superiorty minded sort of guy, but other than that he was usually decent to non-Constructs. Wondering how he would excuse his friend's rudeness to Rabid, he pointed to a landing pad just outside the mansion walls.
"Put us down there."
A gigantic fence that would have put the Great Wall of China to shame encircled the perimeter of the mansion, patrolled by imposing guard dogs and their equally imposing handlers.
"Don't come out 'til I tell you - I'll be right back." He said over his shoulder. Walking towards the gate nonchalantly, he didn't even bat an eye as one of the gigantic dogs lunged at him, barking viciously and ready to bury its overlarge teeth into his throat.
"Hullo, Jeffa."
The dog skidded to a halt, ears perked up in surprise. It sniffed at Julian suspiciously before giving a puppy-like yip and wagging its stumpy tail, tongue lolling out and dripping. The dog's handler sprinted up to the pair, tazer gun in hand.
"Master Julian?"
Julian gave an indulgent smile to the guard, who was staring at him as though he had grown several extra heads.
"I'd like to bring some guests into the house to see Mum and Dad, Herold."
Herold jumped and blushed violently at being addressed by name by a member of the house, and quickly darted into the guard station outside the gate. The gate opened a minute later, and Julian montioned for the Vehilii to follow him inside. Jeffa and Herold watched in bemusement as the giant creature followed him in, squeezing its way into the courtyard.
As the gate closed behind them, Julian climbed back into the Vehilii and thanked Seth in a low, tired voice. Glancing over at Rabid and the others, he bowed them out of the Vehilii.
"Well, let's get this over with."
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:34 pm
"Seth there is quite the nervous little frigger, inn't he?" Rabid muttered softly to Julian, eyeing nearly everything with deep suspicion. She elected to not speak again during this little outing. No need to condemn herself further.
Ike huffed, having also noticed Seth's strange looks. He leaped upon Mummy's back, Skelly now shoved into the waist of his pants. He triewd to act as pet-like as possible, keeping a vacant expression and swishing his tail strangely.
Julian was so dead...
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:53 pm
Julian elected not to reply, merely jerking his head and motioning for them to follow him. Cole and Sadako leapt out of the Vehilii and made to follow, but upon seeing the intruding animal, Jeffa went into a wild rage and tried to attack. Cole gave a scandalized shriek and took flight with Sadako, soaring over the wall and away. Julian looked on blankly as the pair disappeared.
"Great. Just... great."
Jeffa gave an apologetic whine at the dirty look Julian gave him. Watching the speck that was Cole soar into the distance, Julian set into the house, shaking his head.
---
Walking from the foyer to the middle of the mansion took half an hour. Massaging a slight stitch in his side, Julian pointed out the indoor garden where his parents whiled away the days in slothful contentment.
"Come on, I'll introduce you." he said flatly to Rabid.
Tramping into the garden and ignoring the gasps of surprise from his parents' attendants, Julian ripped his coat open and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the still-unhealed ring of cuts above his heart. The burn had healed, however, leaving the eye symbol broken.
At the center of the garden, luxuriating in a raised pavilion and amiably ignoring each other, were Yagadath and Feriska Haderka. Yagadath looked up from his paper for a moment to tell off the servants for speaking, but all he made was a faint gurgling sound as he caught sight of his son. Feriska, lookng up from her needlework to make a scathing remark about the gurgle, simply squeaked when she noticed Julian too.
Climbing up the pavilion steps and ripping his shirt open further to fully exhibit his wound, Julian cracked his knuckles and bowed insolently to his parents.
"My lord, my lady. As you know, it is as pleasurable to visit you as sticking a scalpel in my eye. So, I'm just gonna get to the freakin' point. Who did this to me and why did they want Sarah?"
Yagadath blanched and sunk deeper into his chair, bringing the paper up over his face. Feriska stared in none-too-concerned curiousity at the ugly wound before sniffing at the air exaggeratedly. Looking at Rabid and Malachi in distaste, her lip curled as she noted Rabid's borrowed clothing.
"Ucch. You dare bring a common-bred and some sort of bipedal rat into our home? Your manners have grown rusty over the years you've been away, Nahalthes."
Yagadath gurgled again behind his paper.
"Yeah, uh, what she said."
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:05 pm
Rabid huffed at Julian's silence, suddenly feeling quite irritated. She followed him for the full half hour, trailing a bit behind. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing.
For the most part, she was completely ignorant to what Julian was doing. let him try what he had to, as long as they got in and out quickly. She absorbed what appeared to be Crow and Julian's names, almost subconsciously. The words "common-bred" and "bipedal rat" pushed her unquestionably awful mood over the edge, though.
"What..." she growled deeply, her pupils narrowing as she arched one side of her upper lip.
Man, Ike thought, Julian's Mummy is evil.
He stayed his "pet" act, no matter how much he wanted to violently attack the snobs. He grabbed Mummy's hand quickly and squeezed, trying to keep her calm.
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:58 pm
Feriska snorted at Rabid's response.
"How adorable. Almost as though it knows what we're talking about." Turning to face her son, she slid off her chair and approached him as though afraid he would bite her. Tracing the wound with a silk gloved finger, she turned to glare at her cowering husband.
"Yaga, this wouldn't be some idiotic work of yours, would it?"
"No, dear. 'Course not." Yagadath replied from the plush depths of his armchair, refusing to look out from behind his paper.
Julian batted his mother's hand away, his lip curling.
"I'm not a complete idiot, Feriska. I know they're symbols of alchemy." He looked over his shoulder at Rabid and Malachi, his expression softening almost imperceptibly. Grabbing his mother by the wrist and digging his nails into her skin, he pointed at the two.
"Apologize to my friends, or so help me, I'll break your arm."
Feriska looked stunned, her thin-lipped mouth stretching wide in an expression of shocked pain as Julian bent her wrist back coldly.
"I will not apologize to that scrap of genetic filth," she whispered.
Snap.
Feriska gave a shriek as Julian snapped her wrist. Cradling it and staring at her son in fury, she spat fluid curses at him and Rabid. Yagadath dared to peek over the top of his paper, quailing under his son's venomous gaze as he stomped up the steps onto the platform. Pointing to his wound in rage, he tore the newspaper out of his father's hands and lifted him out of the chair by his collar.
"What did they want with Sarah?!"
Yagadath coughed and spluttered as Julian shifted his grip from shirt collar to throat. Feriska watched, stunned and cradling her wrist, as Julian choked the life out of her husband.
"Don't make me repeat myself!"
Feriska gave a shuddering gasp of pain as the broken bones in her wrist knit back together. Flexing her fingers experimentally and smiling briefly at how well she'd healed, she stood and adjusted her gown in a huff.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Yaga, answer the boy before he kills you."
Yagadath flailed and gasped, rasping.
"I-sold-her-gkkk!-soul-!"
Julian released his father, his face blank in shocked horror. Feriska put her hands on her hips and gave an angry sniff.
"Well, the bloody secret's out. Happy now?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 9:26 am
Rabid's anger quickly faded away at the mention of a friends and, of course, a sold soul. Sure, sould were overrated, but Crow certainly still deserved hers. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"I apologize for my outburst, m'lady...m'lord," she grinned broadly and gestured elaborately with her hands, "but I haven't had a bite to eat in some time. Sarah is my best friend, and I'd like very much to know where she is! If not, I may be forced to make you both my next meal." She flashed her fangs, trying to make a point. Even if they couldn't exanguanate, she could try.
Malachi hugged Skelly to his chest. Her soul? Were they after Len's soul too?! He whimpered, his eyes filling with tears.
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