Welcome to Gaia! ::

Misha regarded Rob with a sympathetic smile. Somehow she managed to walk the fine line between laughing at his little tantrum and pointing out some basic facts about the desert in a very dry manner. As she told Brian once, she was an out and out city girl but she had family in Arizona and summer visits happened fairly regularly. She knew something about deserts. "You're just frustrated," she offered, "and cold."

With a shrug, the brunette adjusted her own coat and stuck her hands into her pockets. "About more than the weather, I bet." She remembered his vote; it had been the same as hers. Misha shifted her gaze back down the street. The brown dreariness weighed on her nerves. She was not anticipating the upcoming interview. "And this is going to be rough."

Misha's expression immediately slipped into pure professionalism with a sympathetic slant; it matched well with the neat bun she had tamed her thick hair into and the dark slacks she wore, visible under her pea coat. She held out her hand. "Mrs. Robinson? We're Agents Durand and Attewood. I know this will be hard for you," she said gently, "but may we come in and ask a few questions about your son? We've been assigned to focus on finding him."

"Please don't apologize." Misha reached out a delicate hand and rested it atop Mrs. Robinson's free hand. It was just a few heartbeats but it drew the older woman's attention to her. Misha smiled encouragingly. "He sounds like a great kid," she agreed. "I'm sure he's okay. We will find him. We won't stop until we do."

Mrs. Robinson tried valiantly to return the smile. Misha sat back with a firm nod. Then she brought out a small notepad and pen; she had included them in her purse as an afterthought towards effective props. She flipped it open and settled an attentive look on the other woman. "If it's not too painful, we want to get a better feel for what happened, Mrs. Robinson. When was the last time you saw him? What was he wearing and carrying?"

"Maybe." Misha stopped at the door Mrs. Robinson had indicated and took a breath, her hand resting on the doorknob. She seemed to be bracing herself for something. "But, if he's out there and not gone furry, I'll actually be more worried about him than not." She glanced over her shoulder at Rob wth a grimace. "It gets crazy cold out in the desert at night. Temperatures hit bottom fast."

Then she shook her head and pushed the door open. The room they found themselves stepping into was pure teenage boy. His mother had seemingly left it untouched. The bed sat unmade, blankets strewn about haphazardly. Some band posters hung on the wall, mostly rock with a few hip hop artists. The bookcase held a selection of books but more odd knick-knacks than books - including three very well-made models of army vehicles.

Misha moved further into the room. As she did, she motioned to Rob, a clear indication to shut the door behind him. "I really hope he's okay," she murmured. "His mom is so sweet."

When she circled to the other side of the bed, though, her attention was abruptly caught and drawn by the corner of a small notebook sticking out from its hiding spot between mattress and bed-spring. Smiling with sudden hope, she dropped to her knees and tugged it free. Upon opening it, she made a low noise in the back of her throat. "Found his diary," she announced. "Do boys keep diaries? Or are they called journals?"

Not waiting for an answer, she quickly began skimming through entries, starting about halfway through. It took some work to decode Joe's handwriting but, once she caught the hang of it, she was able to make proper headway. Nothing caught Misha's eye, though, until she was nearly to the end. Then she caught her breath and looked up at Rob. "Rob, there's something here about a magic club and some woman trying to talk him into joining it."

"No but let me get a word in edgewise next time, will you, hon?" Misha's tone remained mild and even, sweet almost, but even in his distracted state, Rob could tell she was deadly serious. She was not interested in being sidelined, in being arm candy. "Two heads are better than one and it's all about asking the right questions."

She turned her head to peer out the window and a faint frown creased her forehead. Suddenly, she straightened. "Pull over," she ordered.

He did not argue and Misha was out of the car just as soon as it stopped. A new trio of teens leaned against a chainlink fence outside a children's playground; they appeared to be her target. Charm fully activated, Misha smiled sweetly as she approached. The two boys flushed and looked at their feet, scuffing their toes a bit, suddenly shy. The girl stared, wide-eyed, at the curvy brunette. Misha waved. "Hey, there! I'm Agent Durand."

"Uh... hi?" The teenage girl offered a crooked smile. "Agent?"

Misha nodded reassuringly. She made a gesture over her shoulder to indicate Rob. "This is my partner Agent Attewood. We've been assigned to look into the weirdness that has been going around here." She leaned in a bit and suddenly the three teens brightened at the sense of conspiracy and invitation she projected. They nodded quickly, attentively. "Like the disappearance of one of the high school students."

"Oh, my god, you're looking for Joe?" The girl clasped her hands in front of her and hope lit her face.

"We are, yes. How well did you know him?"

The girl blushed and that answered the question well enough. Misha smiled gently and reached out to squeeze her hands. A crush? Maybe. Definitely an in on the conversation. "We've already talked to his mother. We'll find him."

"I... I hope so."

One of the teenage boys spoke up then. "Are you gonna look into the other weird stuff?"

Misha turned her light eyes on him and cocked her head, undiluted attention directed at him. He blushed and shrugged. Then he motioned to the playground behind them. "Like the weird noises that you hear around here if you're out after dark," he explained. Then he grimaced. "It kinda started about when Joe went missing."

"Noises like animal noises?" Misha prompted. All three teenagers nodded eagerly. "Or voices?"

"Both but more like animals lately. Like... Creepy noises. Howling and barking and I dunno. Coyotes don't usually come this far into town."

"Hm. Okay. That is really good to know." Misha rewarded them all with another of her sweetly reassuring smiles. Then she reached out to shake each of their hands. "Thank you so much. We'll find Joe and we'll figure out what those noises are all about. Promise."

Then she looked over her shoulder at Rob, lifted her eyebrows, and walked along the fence until she could enter by the gate. The Dionysus Chosen followed her closely. Chewing on her bottom lip, Misha kept her eyes on the ground as they began searching together. "Do you think it's him?" she whispered. "That he's hanging out here?"

Before Rob could answer, though, Misha caught her breath and pointed. Beneath a spreading oak, just barely seen, the remains of some sort of circle could be seen. Crushed plants and scattered herbs further marked it as unique. "Well, s**t. Someone is hanging out here. That's for sure."

"s**t, yeah," Rob whispered back, gaze following Misha's pointed finger. "And whoever's made this isn't making much of an effort of hidin' it, are they?" Walking carefully and quietly over to the circle, he took a closer look at it. Herbs and the remnants of a small fire were at the center of it, the shape of the circle formed by small rocks. There were other things too, more ominous… bits of fur, bones, and paw prints that looked like they belonged to some kind of dog. Clearly this was Circe's handiwork -- or that of her minions.

He turned back to look at the kids Misha had spoken to, then thought about the kids at the basketball court. How many of them knew about this, or worse, were involved?

"We should get out of here." Rob nodded at Misha. "Before they come back."

Rob instinctively kept a lookout as Misha rummaged through the car. When she emerged with the bag and opened it to reveal its unmistakeable contents, he felt a sense of dread. "Yeah, it's Circe we're dealing with, alright, innit? I recognize them flowers." He thought about going back and quizzing the kids some more, but that might raise suspicions about himself and Misha, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't want to inadvertently drag innocent kids into this, if they weren't already involved.

He walked back to the circle, hoping to find more clues there before whoever made it returned.