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 Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:28 pm
fire in the office!
"Who was that?"
Roxanna Castle peered at the strange, ragtag child as it emerged from her office and hurried around the corner at the end of the hall.
Lex turned just in time to miss the little boy. "I'm sorry, Ms. Castle. I didn't see anyone." He kept his curious gaze on Roxanna for a few seconds more before turning back to his laptop, or rather, the laptop Roxanna had bought for him when he had been hired as her assistant four days prior. There was no doubt in his mind that the woman had seen something, mostly due to the fact that in his short time working with her, Ms. Castle had proven to have a very limited imagination. The trait served her well in her position as the leader of her little organization, but it also meant she was hardly the type to insist there were people leaving her office when there weren't.
"Come with me."
Her office was bright and clean, paneled in dark wood like some old timey office out of a movie. Lex had never been inside, though he had seen most of it from the hall. On Roxanna's desk sat a small, potted Venus Flytrap. She strode forward, grabbing the plant and roughly examining it.
"Why did he leave this? I want it out of here immed..."
The little plant burst into flames.
Roxanna dropped the pot with a muttered curse and both she and Lex looked away from the glare of the sudden bright fire. When they looked again, the flames had gone out and in their place sat a lanky, green toddler with a basketball in his lap.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:46 pm
sid n' sinny
fun in the fun house
Someone was chasing him. Sidney peeked over his shoulder as he ran, weaving through the thin, mirrored halls. Where was the exit?
If he could find that, he'd be safe.
The beast roared, and suddenly it was on top of him.
"I told you not to run ahead," Lex said, grabbing the Venus Flytrap boy's around his waist and picking him up off of the ground. Sid kicked his feet and Lex grunted as the boy's boot made contact with some body part or another.
"But Unca 'Lexis, chasin' is more funner!"
"You can run around outside. If I put you down, do you promise to hold still?"
Sid nodded, his pale hair whipping Lex's cheek. Lex deposited him on the fun house floor and spun him around so they faced each other. He brought his handkerchief up to his nose. It was already spotted with blood.
"Wha' happened?" Sid asked.
"I ran into a wall," Lex replied.
"HA!" Sid slapped his knee and laughed about that for a long time, so long in fact, that Lex wasn't ready when the boy took off again, running through the mirror room as fast as his spindly legs could carry him.
And, of course, Sid ended up running smack dab into another kid. A red haired boy in jeans and a t-shirt was holding a small, green haired baby to look at the funny mirrors. They were right at the end of the hall and the boy's dark clothing prevented him from being noticed at first by the child.
Bailey blinked down, wondering vaguely why small children kept running into him. "Oh, hi...are you okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the flytrap.
Sid bounced back upon impact, landing on his backside and continuing to laugh, his breath hitching with the hilarity of the whole situation.
"He's fine," Lex said, coming around the last corner and down the hall, surprisingly sedate considering the fact that his favorite dress shirt now looked like someone had been killed in it. At least his nose had stopped bleeding outright. "I don't think he has any bones to break and he seems to like flinging himself around needlessly."
"I'm Sid!" the child said, standing up quickly and backing into Lex's leg with the suddenness of his movement. "Who's dat?" He pointed at the baby, then at the baby's leafy arms. "Coooool."
"This is Absinthe. He's my brother." the boy said, bouncing the tot a little. Sinny never had been particularly gifted with words but found himself gurgling a response to the child as well.
"Fan-koo."
"Well, we should get going, I suppose," Lex said, reaching for Sid's hand. These kids seemed nice enough, even if one of them was named after a hallucinogenic liquor, but it was probably a good idea to be outside when Sid decided to go wild again.
"Nuh uh," Sid disagreed. He took a step toward Bailey and looked at the mirror he and Absinthe had been focused on when Sid had interrupted them. He bent his legs, watching his body blob from 'normal' to 'super-midget-fat' in the blink of an eye. "What'choo do dere?" he asked. "Dat way's more mirrors," he said, pointing back where he had come from, his tone making it clear that he hadn't found them at all fun, even though he had been nearly hysterical with laughter moments before.
"Don't know yet. We've just come through from the mirrors and were looking at the last ones when you came by." Bailey explained, bouncing Sinny a bit so the tot could see himself change sizes - something that utterly delighted the monk. Sinny liked seeing himself get biiiiiiiiiiig and small, big small big small. He let out a shriek of amusement at it.
"Mm." Man, were these people slow! Sid wanted to run-run-run! He looked up as Sinny shrieked and Sid lifted a leg, grabbing his foot behind his back and hopping on the other.
"Sid," Lex warned. He pulled an apple juice box out of his back pocket and handed it to the boy.
Sid made a face. It was warm. "You's dun look like bruddas," he said, pulling the wrapper off of the juice box's straw and handing it back to Lex.
"That's cause we're both adopted. Mother found Sinny in a field after an explosion, and I came from outer space." the red child informed the hyper sprat. Honestly, some kids were so odd. But that was what made them interesting. Sinny was looking curiously at the juice box, all the while.
"Space!" Suddenly the pair were much more interesting in Sid's eyes. "Wassit like?"
Sid wasn't the only one whose interest was piqued. At the mention of the explosion that had preceeded the green-haired baby's entrance into the world, Lex was reminded of Sid's strange birth.
"I don't know. I was a baby." the boy said with a shrug. Truthfully, Bailey did know somewhat from his previous life, but at that time he was crazy so it didn't count much.
"Oh." Boring again. Sid noticed Sinny's interest in his drink and held it up for the baby to take.
"Did your mother tell you anything about the explosion?" Lex asked. "Was Absinthe injured in it?" He smiled the slightest bit, hoping he wasn't coming across as creepy. "I don't mean to pry, it's just... My employer was in a similar situation."
The tot gurgled happily and took hold of the juice box, sipping loudly.
Bailey laughed and pat the baby on his head. "Yeah, Sinny's got some burns on his arms. There was apparently a happy skipping businessman in a field full of hops plants and suddenly there was an explosion and he was off and running like he'd just won the lottery. Or that's how my mom and my brother described it. Sinny's got some burn marks but wasn't too freaked so I don't think he even knew there was an explosion. Or he came out of it. Either way."
Sid laughed too. "'S good," he said to the baby. "Better cold."
"Yes. Either way," Lex agreed. Well, besides the explosion, Absinthe's arrival and Sid's sounded nothing alike. Still, it was worth mentioning to Roxanna.
Sid reached up and grabbed Lex's hand. "C'monnnn," he said, crowding close and stepping on Lex's shoe.
Bailey laughed and pat Sinny on the head. "Um.....I hope you don't want the juicebox back. This little one is called the Droolmeister for a reason."
"Nah, 't's okay," Sid said. "Eeever'body should have juice." He began walking away from the mirror room, attempting to pull Lex's arm with him but getting nowhere with it until the man moved on his own. "C'mon!"
"Were you heading this way?" Lex asked. He felt sort of silly trying to herd children he wasn't responsible for, especially this one, who seemed rather grown-up on his own.
"Yes, most likely, if that's the proper direction of the fun house. We can't get out by going backwards. The only way to go back is to go forwards." the boy said with a nod, walking ahead into the next room, which seemed to be full of funny moving walkways.
"Ooo," Sid breathed. He let go of Lex's hand and scampered forward, kneeling on a nearby walkway and nearly getting his fingers caught by the edge of the conveyor belt. Lex kept his eye on the boy but kept his distance as well, at least until Sid started extending his tongue toward the dirty floor.
"Sidney..."
"Jus' kiddin'," Sid said, giggling to himself because he so obviously hadn't been simply fooling around. He reached down again and managed to grab what he had been trying to reach with his clumsy fingers. A plastic ring. He slid it on what passed for his thumb and stood, hurrying back on a bumpy walkway that was returning toward Bailey, Sinny and Lex. "Lookit," he said proudly.
Sinny leaned down to investigate the object, a small trickle of drool running down his cheek as he still suckled on the juicebox.
"Neat." the snake boy commented, though he was more wondering why a child would ever want to stick their tongue on a dirty floor like that, just for a ring.
Sid laughed and clasped his awesome, filthy ring to his chest. "C'mon again," he urged, reaching out a hand to Lex which the man ignored.
"Go on, Sid," he said. Unlike the plant child, Lex didn't get his jewelry from the floor. Rummaging around on the ground was a habit he would have to be sure to break Sid of, especially since it seemed more and more each day like Lex was going to be the one caring for Sidney during daylight hours.
The next room Sid burst into was preceded by a ramp and possessed a floor made entirely of transparent plastic. Underneath the room was a pit of alligators that were either really real or extremely lifelike. Lex had no comment. Outside, he had noticed a sign discouraging women from wearing skirts in the fun house, and this must have been the reason why.
and they all lived happily ever after...
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:49 pm
exi's house for halloween
everybody partay! exipotic The foyer is swept and the food laid out on the decorated kitchen table. Her cottage is cozy, but comfortable, through everything pretty much extends onto the other. She has managed to hide away most of her collectors items - little trinkets that make the place look like a weird antique shop more so than a home - but left her favourites out due to sheer pride in the items, like her novelty Mickey Mouse toaster and her old style Hermes typewriter. " Laaaaa, la la!" she sings horribly off key to the crinkling music tumbling out of her phonograph. She pops a few candies into her mouth and continues to sing, in spite of this. " Rah rahhh rahhh ruhhaaa!" Keppit Keppit pulled up in her truck, having followed the directions she'd gotten in the mail. At first she had almost thrown out he invitation simply for the fact that Charlie was ridiculously antisocial. Then she realized (or remembered as the case may be) that anti-social was a bad thing, and so with resolve she'd pinned the invitation to the cork board in the kitchen... Now here they were. She glanced over at her daughter in the passenger seat. Arms crossed, scowl on her little face, hair in two pigtail braids. The rabbit girl was in a pair of black leather-like torusers, with a white pirate's shirt and black knee-high floppy boots. Keppit had tried to convince her to wear something different, since this was what Charlie wore every day, but the rabbit girl simply wouldn't be convinced. Keppit herself was dressed up like a zombie... which wasn't saying much either since she used to actually be a zombie and still had the lovely green/gray skin, stitched up face and hands, complete with yellowed eyes. All she had really needed to complete the outfit was a couple of dirty and torn up pieces of clothing. She laughed suddenly as she opened Charlie's side of the car and pulled her protesting daughter from the car. "You realize, kiddo, that we've both come to a halloween party dressed up as ourselves?" "Don't care." Charlie just stood there with that deep scowl on her face. Honestly, Keppit didn't understand the child sometimes. Charlie would actually rather be sneaking about under tables, than enjoying the company of her fellow children... Keppit couldn't actually remember Charlie meeting anyone other than her immediate family... and now that Gus was gone.... "C'mon." Keppit hauled on the girl's arm and dragged her up to the building's door. "Let's see what's going on." Silverah Little white bus with no driverrrrrrrrr... Ranza was a pirate today, which wasn't to say she wasn't a pirate every day, but she was trying especially hard to look the part today. She was resplendent in feathers - electric macaw blue on her arms and head, a flash of green or yellow here and there, a peacock plume perched in her worn leather tricorn. She didn't like sleeves, so there was no puffy shirt for her, but she'd found a vest with some nice, oriental brocade on it and a big leather belt. Her ordinary pants did nicely, and so did a pair of big leather boots from the thrift shop. Mom wouldn't let her have a real sword or a real flintlock, but plastic ones from the toy store were convincing enough facsimiles. There was no one driving the bus, which went along nicely with the mystery that surrounded this. The handwriting on the note matched the handwriting from her treasure map, which made Ranza wonder for a moment if she out to bring her brother, but then she doubled her resolve to come alone and did just that. So she sat on the little white bus with no driver as it bounced through the countryside at breakneck speeds and came to a stop in front of a little cottage. Ooh, how fun! thought Ranza as she got off. There were already two other people here, waiting, she guessed. Well, parties were cool. She could go for parties! She did her best pirate swagger up to the door and stopped next to the woman and the little kid. A pretty convincing zombie and... another pirate? "Cool costumes!" she enthused, and rapped on the door. quietsnooze The door opens without Exi having to answer it. And lucky for the woman, too, because she's far too preoccupied with tidying up to notice she already has visitors. The little cottage is quaint and decorated for the party, welcoming the guests before the woman gets the chance to. A table of freshly baked treats begs for attention, competing with the game areas and the overpowering scent of a pie baking. Keppit Keppit smiled at Charlie once more and then bent over to talk to her. "Charlie, sweetheart, I'll be out here. This is your party, and I really really want you to try to have some fun please." She kept on smiling at the child despite the fact that she only got a deepr frown in return. The arrival of Ranza, however, was enough to shock Charlie out of her current mood for a second. She stared open mouthed at the other girl and looked her up and down. Then the other girl said something about the rabbit girl and her adopted mother's costumes. Charlie turned and looked at Keppit, and then down at her own worn breeches and shirt... suddenly she wished that she'd made an effort... there was feathers on that other kid! Feathers and belt buckles and shine and glamour.... not that Charlie wanted all that, but rather that she hadn't even dressed up at all. She didn't get a chance to speak however, since the door opened (seeminly without anyone helping it) and Charlie was forced to glance at the inside of the cabin. After having looked behind the door to see if there was anyone there, the rabbit girl surveyed the room at large. All in all, she approved. There were many things here that were just simple enough to make it a cozy and heartwarming place. A good hideout.... but she wasn't sure why that was important... it just kind of was. She turned back to her mother and felt a slight pang as the zombie woman motioned her inside and then stepped back to the truck. This was her party? Well then those were her treats on that table, so she marched on over and picked up a particularly orange cookie... then waited for something else to happen. Silverah Ranza followed the rabbit girl into the house and looked around curiously. She hadn't been in a terribly large number of other people's dwellings, and this was nothing like the apartment she shared with her mother and siblings. This was like... like something out of a fairy tale. She eyed the cookies warily but decided she would pass on them until she knew more about who had invited them here. Wouldn't want to wind up like Hansel and... what was her name? Pretzel? The dumb one. Anyway. Time to investigate... where was that smell coming from? And that music? "Hello?" she called, venturing further into the house. Keppit Charlie mowed down the cookie, leaving crumbs on the floor around her, and then followed the older pirate girl quietly. After all quiet was what Charlie was all about, and there was something about this other girl that just screamed 'adventure'... which of course, was another thing that Charlie was all about. She grabbed a second cookie before trotting off after Ranza. [Dg] As Charlene Phillip Dartsmoore had things to arrange at her own home for an upcoming party two nights hence, it was up to her eldest son to bring his little Hiccup brother to the party - not that Bails wasn't the one to take Absinthe out the most anyway. Instead of the small costumes they were planning on wearing to their own party, Bailey had thought to dress them up differently for this one. From a friend of his mother, the red boy had borrowed a large, crooked witch's hat and long vest, the hat with many belts and the vest with many pockets. He wore a large, white, puffy sleeved shirt, loose black cargo pants, and tight black boots with curly toes. The final little addition to his costume was a "wand" that he had attached to a small metal keychain at his waist. The chain was pretty much full of coiled elastic stuff that could be pulled out when he lifted the small stick to play, and then retract so the stick would hang there and not be lost. Absinthe, meanwhile was dressed in a much more silly fashion. Bailey had been playing around with some costume makings at home and had ended up crafting the boy a little outfit in honor of a song he'd been listening to. The drooly little monk baby was quite happily decked out in a small hoodie+footie suit that his brother had worked out for him. It was red with two black googly eyes on the top of the hood. The sleeves had two soft, foam claws on them that closed up to be like small gloves for the baby, or could be opened up if he wanted to use his hands. His face had even been painted red. The final part of Bailey's design was to attach small shiny stones all over the costume and a few on each of Sinny's cheeks - some would call it bedazzling, Bailey would call them correct. So, all garbed up for a party, the space criminal and the hops monk arrived at Exi's cottage and entered the open door to look about. Inside, Bailey noticed a few other children but figured he'd better get Absinthe what he wanted most before doing anything like socializing. So, of course, the two proceeded right over to the orange cookies so Sinny could nom on one. Smerdle Sid didn't waste any time running from the bus into Exi's pie-scented house as soon as the door opened itself. The little plant boy was wearing fringed brown pants, moccasins, a tattered but elaborate headdress and handprint-shaped splotches of paint on his pale green chest. In what had to be deliberate contrast, Sid's uncle Lex was dressed as a pilgrim. Lex wasn't running, but he managed to keep pace with the toddler easily enough. Spotting Monk Baby and his alien brother almost immediately after entering the room, Sid made a beeline for the pair. "Hey!" he enthused. "I'ma INDIAN!" "Please, Sidney. Cherokee, Apache, Cheyenne, Choctaw, anything else." Lex removed his hat and nodded to Bailey and Absinthe. "In-dee-un," Sid said, picking up a cookie and squishing it between his sharp teeth. quietsnooze Exi smiles and greets everyone with oven mitt hands, her mouth full with a cookie at the exact moment of noticing everyone's started arriving. She quickly swallows and turns to greet all the children, all of whom she can remember quite well, and one she's pleasantly surprised to see has grown. "Come on, don't catch cold, the wind's a little fierce this afternoon!" she coos, pretty much embodying the smiley face emoticon. "You all look so lovely in your little costumes, eeeee!!" [Dg] Juicebox boy! Sinny was delighted to see his tonguey friend again and waved emphatically at the other child. "Lo-lo~!" the tot greeted happily, dribbling out a bit of his cookie, which Bailey quickly mopped up with the side of a napkin he'd brought (what did you think was in all of those pockets?) Smiling politely at Lex and Sid, the red alien greeted them as well. "Hello again. How have you two been? You both look quite nice." he complimented in a friendly voice. When the shapeshifter reentered the room, Sinny glanced at her and giggled, waving a bit. Bailey smiled a bit more and bowed his head in her direction. Smerdle "Cookie's good, right?" Sid asked Sinny as he continued to neatly chew his own sugary snack. For all of Sid's lanky clumsiness in other pursuits, he was very good at keeping food in his mouth. Lex allowed a faint grin to touch his lips. He found he enjoyed this whole "father" thing, and he thought he probably would like it just as much without the ridiculous sum of money his boss was giving him to watch the boy. He tried not to think about that part because it kind of made him feel like a whore. "Thank you. Sid picked out the costumes. You two look very festive yourselves." Sid turned his attention to Exi as she reentered the room, captivated by her exuberance. "Hi!" he said. "I'm not cold!" As if anybody cared. [Dg] Sinny nodded repeatedly. The drooly little monk loved his cookies! Even if he was failing at keeping all the bits and pieces inside. "Nummy." he intoned in his tiny voice, cheerfully. Bailey smiled. "Thanks. I got a bit bored and was listening to a bit too much music the other day." he explained. Silverah Ranza looked around at the other children in costumes who had suddenly appeared, and then at the woman with the tray of cookies. This was all pleasantly bewildering to her. She scratched her head momentarily and then helped herself to some candycorn from a bowl on the table. Why was she the oldest child here? It made her feel out of place. She looked warily over at the 'In-dee-yun" and his guardian, and tried to remember the Earth holidays her mother had mentioned to her. "Thanksgiving's not for another month," she said, nibbling a piece of candy-corn thoughtfully. The irony was apparently lost on her. exipotic Exipotic turns on the spot, and beams down at Sid when he informs her that he's not cold. "Well that's great!" she exclaims, practically sparkling from being so chipper. "Wouldn't want the cutest.. In-dee-yun?.. to also be the coldest!" In truth, Exi has no clue what an "in-dee-yun" is, nor half of the other outfits, but really loves that everyone's dressed up. Her ignorance to the customs of the Gaian planet is at least one she wants very hard to remedy. She sets down the freshest baked goodies with the others and takes off her horribly ornate oven mitts: jack-o-lantern themed for the season. "Has everyone met one another?" she inquires generally, scanning the room and counting heads. [Dg] Bailey shook his head, lightly bouncing Sinny. "Absinthe's only gotten to meet Sid so far." he answered with a light shrug. What else was he to say? The toddler really hadn't met many people. exipotic Exi nods and hmms as if this is the most interesting thing she's heard all day. "Well, we'll have to remedy that, now, shan't we?" She tugs the bottom of her dress and twirls in place, her hat almost knocking a vase off her mantle when she does. "I'm Exipotic!" she croons, "And it's very nice to see all of you again! Very nice! Halloween is so much fun, don't you think?" She stifles a giggle into her fingertips. Smerdle Like Exi, Sid really didn't know Thanksgiving from Arbor Day at this point, he had just liked the costumes. "'Kay," he said in response to Ranza for sure and Exi possibly as well. Lex nodded at Bailey in response, then turned his attention to the other people he had failed to notice in Sid's initial hurry to see the people he had already met. A rabbit, a bird, a zombie and this overly exuberant woman. Interesting. "I'm Sid," said Sid. "I like costumes!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:12 pm
not in the job description
It had been a little more than two months since Roxanna had found the mysteriously combusting plant in her office that had marked Sidney's arrival, and there had only been a smattering of days in which Lex hadn't seen the boy since then.
"Unca 'Lexis! Catch!" Sid demanded, throwing his worn ball toward Lex with as much force as he could, which considering the fact that he was an extremely skinny little boy, wasn't very much at all. Lex flung his arms wide before easily catching the ball, and Sid giggled and shrieked. This was Sid's favorite game: he threw a ball and Lex caught it, utilizing some of the stupidest faces and most outlandish body movements he had in his arsenal in order to do so.
"Oh good, you're here," Roxanna said as she briskly entered Lex's office. As if he would be anywhere else at this hour.
"Yes, Ms. Castle."
"I need you to pick up some things for me."
Sid hurried across the office to Lex's side and the man handed the child his ball without looking down. "Certainly. I can call a car..."
"No, Alexis. These things are not as easy to retrieve as others I've sent you after. Pack your suitcase. I've booked you a flight."Smerdle the painting
"Please turn off all cellular telephones and stow them for the duration of the flight. The cabin doors are now closed."
Alexis Davis was ill. If he hadn't been sure of it this morning when he woke up with the mother of all headaches and a nose that wouldn't stop dripping, he was sure now. Surely if he had been well, it would have taken him longer than a minute and 47 seconds after he found his seat and stowed his belongings to nod off. The cabin doors were now closed and Lex was awake again. Wonderful.
He turned away from the tiny plastic window and offered a small smile to the little boy in the seat next to him, the little boy who obviously thought a window seat was far superior to the one in the center of the row, the little boy who reminded Lex of himself from twenty or so years ago, with his head of bright, curly hair and pale skin that people called 'translucent' and 'angelic' at that age, when in actuality it was just 'pasty' and 'easily sunburned.' The boy's mother sat on the aisle, pointedly ignoring her son. She reminded Lex of his boss.
"Why're you in Executive Class?" the child chirped, with as much emphasis on the special section they were in as it seemed he could muster. He pulled his legs up on the seat then kicked the right one out until it met the back of the chair in front of him. The pinched, disapproving businesswoman occupying the kicked seat turned and shot Lex a dirty look, which he returned. Wasn't his kid.
Lex slowly leaned over his own lap, sinuses screaming as he rummaged around in the bag at his feet, eventually pulling out a handkerchief and a bottle of NyQuil that was at least double the TSA's 3 oz gels-and-liquids limit. How he had gotten it past the security checkpoint was really anyone's guess. Off came the childproof cap and down went the 'Quil straight from the bottle, the warm, burning trail it blazed through Lex's throat oddly comforting.
"Are you a terr'rist?" the boy asked, eyeing the remaining green goop.
"I've got this thing with pills... Nevermind." He put the bottle away.
Lex rested his left temple against the cool wall and closed his eyes. He was asleep again before the plane left the ground.
---
Alexis Davis worked for a secret organization. It sounded silly, but it was the truth. He wasn't the leader. He was her assistant, and had learned very early on that she was a...demanding woman.
All right, fine. She was a b***h.
Most of the time, it seemed Lex's primary job function was to watch the boss's son, an odd plantish kid who liked playing catch. This week, however, he had been allowed out of the office. Ms. Castle had asked him to retrieve some important documents, as well as a trio of odd items, and Lex was more than happy to do so.
His last stop was a backwater town that took a three hour flight and a five hour drive to reach, a backwater town the likes of which city-bred Lex had never seen before. He couldn't fathom why the things he had been sent for were valuable at all, but Lex didn't ask questions when it came to his work, at least not out loud, which was why he was still employed in the first place.
---
"Please note the captain has turned off the Fasten Seatbelts sign indicating you are now free to move about the cabin. We ask that if you are seated you keep your seatbelt loosely fastened, in the unlikely event we run into some unexpected turbulence."
Alexis Davis jolted awake for the second time. He suspected it had little to do with the flight attendant's latest announcement, which he had heard the tail end of, and was instead the direct result of the small fist repeatedly punching him in the leg.
"Whas'dis?" The kid held out a Polaroid he had obviously stolen from Lex's bag, his grubby fingers trailing Cheeto-dust all over the picture's face. The aisle seat was empty. Where the hell had that woman gone to so quickly?
Lex coughed into the back of his hand. "A painting," he said. "A picture of a painting." His brain insisted that he should have been troubled by the picture's presence, but he found he was surprisingly calm.
"It's cool with da hands and da doll face and da..."
"It's supposed to be haunted." If Lex had had his wits about him, he would have realized those words weren't likely to scare the boy or shut him up.
"Like a haunted house?"
"Kind of. The man who owned it said the kids came out at night and walked around."
"Like a brudder n' sister."
"I guess."
"I wanta brudder but ma says no."
"Hmm. Probably not like that one," Lex muttered.
---
Alexis Davis thought Jeff Rafferty's musty basement 'apartment' smelled like a**, but he had better manners than to say so. Hopefully, he would be done with this place quickly. Once he was gone, Lex was certainly never coming back.
He kept his hands to himself as he made his way through Jeff's mother's kitchen, past a door decorated with a sign that read "NO INTERRUPTIONS - THIS MEANS U" and down the stairs. The stairs were steep, but the banister looked horrifically unsanitary, so instead of touching it, Lex just took his time on the way down. When his line of sight eventually cleared the overhang from the flight above and he turned his focus to the room he was entering he abruptly stopped moving, one shiny-shoed foot deep in green, shaggy carpeting and the other resting tentatively on the last wooden step. He shifted his gaze away from the opposite wall long enough to check the list on his Blackberry. Onyx letter opener, sandpiper statue, monocle. No painting. He peeked back up at the canvas.
"Beautiful, ain't she?" Jeff said, pride stretched across his rough features. "I found'er on eBay." He clapped Lex on the back and the younger man jumped. He fought the urge to leave immediately. This was his job. To stay.
"Mmm hmm. Yes. About Ms. Castle's..."
"Only a grand! ********' sweet. They say the kids get out n' dance at night, but nothin's shown up on the motion sensor cammers yet. I bet..."
"Please. Mr. Rafferty." Lex was staring again. He cleared his throat and looked away. "Ms. Castle's property."
"Oh, yeah." Jeff smiled. If he was disappointed in the fact that Lex didn't want to talk about the painting anymore, he didn't show it. "Roxie told me not to let you touch 'em direct-like, which... okay, so I padded 'em up and put 'em in a briefcase. Right this way. I'll show you where..."
Lex turned his back on the painting and followed. He managed to keep his eyes off of it for the duration of his stay.
---
"Would your son like a snack, sir?"
Alexis Davis had nodded off. Why was he awake? He blinked groggily at the flight attendant, then looked down at the little boy who was now sleeping against him. The child was still clutching the Polaroid. Lex sighed. His desire to make known the fact that the kid wasn't his argued with his desire to go back to sleep. It lost.
"Maybe some chips?"
The flight attendant smiled, her massive teeth crazy-white, and placed a minuscule bag of fancy vegetable chips on the aisle seat, which was still unoccupied. The child nuzzled into Lex's side, his skin radiating an unnatural warmth. Mmm, heating pad.
---
Alexis Davis was relieved. Jeff Rafferty had shown him the items, as promised, offered him a drink, which he had politely refused, and that had been that. Now Lex was back in his motel room, sitting on the bed and squinting at the small, vaguely fuzzy television screen as it played one of many Walker Texas Medicine Warrior Princess Woman & Order episodes. In another eight hours he would be on a plane home.
The tinny ringing of Lex's cell phone interrupted his pleasant thoughts. Caller ID indicated it was Ms. Castle, so Lex answered accordingly.
"Alexis Davis."
"Do you have them?"
"Yes, Ms. Castle. Onyx letter opener, sandpiper statue, monocle."
"And you haven't touched them?"
"No, Ms. Castle."
"What are you doing? Watching porn? Don't waste my money, Alexis."
"Mediocre a**-kicking." He stood and crossed the room to turn the television off.
"What?"
Unfortunately, Lex's attention had been diverted, so he didn't get a chance to explain himself until much later. There was something on the counter next to the coffee maker, something that hadn't been there earlier. It was a photograph and it was face down, several drops of water spattered across its back. Lex flipped it over with as little of his thumb and forefinger as he could and his heart fluttered as he stopped breathing for a moment. It was the painting. Quite a nicely colored, ably centered shot for a Polaroid, the aesthetics of which Lex might have appreciated more if the whole situation hadn't been so damn creepy.
"Ms. Castle, I'm sorry. I have to go." He didn't wait for her reply before hanging up.
Jeff Rafferty must have slipped it in his bag. When Lex removed the folder with his flight information, it must have fallen out. It must have. He prodded it off of the counter into the trash and turned his attention to packing his things.
---
"We have now begun our initial descent into the Barton/Gambino area. Please return all seat backs and tray tables to their upright and locked positions and stow any carry-ons and electronic devices you may have taken out during the flight. We will be landing shortly."
Alexis Davis was confused. He had fallen asleep again.
"Excuse me, miss?" He waved a hand at a passing flight attendant then covered his mouth with it as he yawned. The plane banked sharply and the woman stumbled into the row, taking the seat on the end as if she had meant to do so all along.
"Yes?"
"Where are they? The kid and the woman who were sitting here?"
"Oh. We moved them up front. The boy is very sick. If we weren't already so close to the airport we probably would have made an emergency stop!" The woman smiled. She might have been talking about how yummy cotton candy was for all the inappropriate emotion she was displaying. "Is that all?"
Lex's brow furrowed. He wanted to ask if he could see the kid or if they should all be quarantined or what the child's name was. Instead, he nodded.
The flight attendant smiled again and stood, hurrying down the aisle to check on the rest of the passengers. Resting on the seat she had just vacated was Lex's Polaroid.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:11 pm
cousin liam
"Unca 'Lexis?" Sid's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. Lex guessed it was due in no small part to the blue-skinned boy asleep in the next room. The crown of Sid's head peeked over the back of the couch, unmoving as he waited for Lex to respond.
"Mmm hmm?"
"Can you write dis for me? What I say? I wanna write 'bout Liam but I dunno all the words." He came out from behind the furniture then, clutching a worn composition book in his long fingers.
Lex took the book and opened it. Inside were pages and pages of Sid's drawings and what looked like the boy's alphabet practice. "Yeah, sure," Lex answered with a smile.
"'Kay, listen."Sid The other day I got a cousin named Liam. He is blue and has a lot of arms. He also has no eyes and doesn't close his eyes either. Liam sleeps a lot when I want to play, but he is nice and he is scary too. I don't think he means to be scary, but I don't want to ever sleep over Uncle Lex's house now and I used to want to. I wish it was Halloween again so Liam could scare everyone and get them to give me candy. Mom told me Liam had been spawned from the depths of hell and that Uncle Lex was lucky he was important to the organization or she would have kicked him out on his a**. I don't know what a lot of that means, but I know it's bad. That's okay though. Lex and Mom tell me I'm bad all the time.
"What?"
"A smiley. Dere." Sid pointed to a blank spot next to the words "out on his a**."
Lex filled Sid's request, carefully drawing a little smiling head next to his own neat handwriting. Reading Sid's words again, Lex felt a bit like he had walked in on something disturbingly private, like his parents going at it.
"Can I watch the TV?"
Lex slowly put his pen back in its holder before tousling Sidney's pale hair. "Yeah, just be careful with the remote." He handed the book back to the plant child and watched as Sid bounced across the living room and began clearing a spot in front of the television.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:12 pm
morning routine Roxanna Subject: Parcel To: Alexis Davis
From: Roxanna Castle
Date: December 6, 2008 08:03am
A little over a month ago, I sent you to the country to pick up a parcel from a Mr. Jeffrey Rafferty, do you recall? Lex Subject: Re: Parcel To: Roxanna Castle
From: Alexis Davis
Date: December 6, 2008 08:06am
Yes. Roxanna Subject: Re: Parcel To: Alexis Davis
From: Roxanna Castle
Date: December 6, 2008 08:10am
There was an onyx letter opener in with those items. Have you seen it? Lex Subject: Re: Parcel To: Roxanna Castle
From: Alexis Davis
Date: December 6, 2008 08:11am
Yes, I have. Roxanna Subject: Re: Parcel To: Alexis Davis
From: Roxanna Castle
Date: December 6, 2008 08:11am
Might you return it to me? Or better yet, tell me why you took it in the first place. Lex Subject: Re: Parcel To: Roxanna Castle
From: Alexis Davis
Date: December 6, 2008 08:15am
It is not on my person at the moment, nor would I be willing to return it if it was. Roxanna Subject: Re: Parcel To: Alexis Davis
From: Roxanna Castle
Date: December 6, 2008 08:15am
Why not? Lex Subject: Re: Parcel To: Roxanna Castle
From: Alexis Davis
Date: December 6, 2008 08:16am
Incentive. To prevent you from kicking me out on my a**.
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Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:41 am
shh! it's a secret
"Can I get somethin' too?" Sid looked up at Lex in a way that might have been cute if his eyes had been visible. As it was, the child just resembled an albino Cousin Itt. Lex was going to have to talk to his boss about getting the boy a haircut. Preferably that conversation would not need to happen in person. Lex sighed.
"Maybe something small. If you're good." Lex hated using the dreaded childhood threat of "if you're good," but it really seemed to work on Sid. It was like the boy had time to be serious, but only if it was scheduled.
The flytrap and his Uncle Lex spent the afternoon shopping for a boy named Nicolas neither of them had ever met, and in the end Sid didn't even complain when Lex told him he had to wait until Christmas for his own gift.Sid hi mai uncl sais presens ar nais so he helpd me get u sum i herd u hav long fete so heres sum sox  an i herd u hav a cat so heres cloz for it cloz wer cat tested on dis cat an i took a pictur i got u a toy to cus nobode dont lik toys. i lik dem thats it mery holiday
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:36 pm
A basket arrives just a few days short of Christmas, in the same manner as the basket that had originally arrived with the request to be filled. Many goodies are inside! Happy holidays!
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:00 am
christmas... almost
Sid hadn't really known what a Christmas was until about a week ago, but he didn't need much experience with the holiday in order to have it declared the Best One Ever.
"What the hell are those things?" Roxanna asked as she watched Lex drag in a basket tethered to four leashes of varying lengths, each one leading a strange animal.
"Pets?" Lex answered in a monotone. "I think we're just going to have to come to terms with the fact that Sid is a special child with special friends who give him slime monsters as gifts."
"You can take care of them yourself, Sidney," Roxanna said, smiling the smile she smiled when she wanted people to agree with her. "It'll teach you a bit of responsibility."
Sid nodded loosely, not really listening. "Cannai open presents now?" In addition to the admittedly interesting, but, sadly, already unwrapped beasts inching across the floor, Sid had a pile of presents under the tree he knew were for him.
"Sidney, those are for Christm..."
"Here," Lex interrupted, hurrying over to the pile and reaching for a package that wasn't wrapped as neatly as the rest. He handed it to Sid. "This is your Big Boy present." Roxanna shot Lex a questioning look and he lowered his voice, kneeling on the carpet so Sid could still hear him. "Remember when we bought those presents for Nicolas and I told you I would get you something too?"
Sid nodded vigorously this time, reaching out his hands for the box. "Cannai open this one?"
"Mmm hmm."
The flytrap boy squeaked in what must have been excitement before tearing into the gift. Soon he held several large bottles of ink, a mini spin art machine and a pad of clean white paper.
"For drawin'?" he asked.
"Kind of, yeah. I can read you the instructions if you want."
"Yeah, later! I'ma show Liam!" Sid said. "Thanks, Unca 'Lexis!" He grabbed his new things and ran off to his room, leaving the adults in uncomfortable near-silence, the shuffles of Sid's new animals on the rug the only sounds.
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:02 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:10 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:31 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:32 pm
sitting in a tree
Sid couldn't sleep. Actually, he had been sleeping just fine until he had started dreaming. His mom had often marveled at the fact that Sid could sleep nearly anywhere and in the midst of almost any noise or distraction, but none of those distractions were inside his head. Sid couldn't sleep at all when his mind was filled with sloshing and splashing and weird games where people threw knives at bullseyes and each other and laughed and smiled like those were perfectly normal things to do. The only comforting things he remembered that featured in his dream were his boots. He swung his rooty feet off of the bed and slid them into said boots, which were never very far away.
The first thing Sid noticed once his boots were on was that there was someone in his room that hadn't been there when he had gone to sleep. Liam snored lightly on the spare bed, a bed that, so far, had only ever had Liam in it. Sometimes, Sid's mom insisted that Uncle Lex stay late to work on something or other and then Liam would stay over too. Sid lamented the fact that there appeared to be a sleepover going on, but he hadn't been given the chance to reap any of its benefits. Usually there was hot chocolate.
The apartment was quiet as Sid made his way out into the living room. He hoped his mom was up, or that if Lex really was around he could be persuaded to read him a story. Sid yawned, scratched his head and turned at the end of the hall, only to be confronted with an interesting scene. His mom and uncle were kissing. It was dark, and at first Sid thought that the kiss was like a happy ending movie kiss, but when Lex and Roxanna pulled apart, Sid saw that it wasn't a movie kiss at all. His uncle's lip was bleeding, and his mom's skin was doing something Sid couldn't quite make out. He thought it might be sparkling, but that couldn't be, could it?
"Sid?" Liam's sleepy voice cut through the silence and Sid caught himself before he gasped in surprise. He spun on his heel and pressed a long finger to his lips, indicating that the other boy should be quiet. Come on, he mouthed, grabbing one of Liam's four arms and pulling him back to the bedroom. He stole one last glance back at their guardians, but it appeared the adults hadn't noticed the children briefly in their midst.
"I got somethin' to tell you," Sid breathed once they were halfway down the hall. It was the first time in the plant boy's brief life that he had ever truly whispered, but clearly this was the time for it.
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:33 pm
amnesia
It was a quiet day. Roxanna hadn't come up with any pressing errands for Lex to run, so he had decided to babysit Sid over at his apartment for a change. The boys were in Liam's room, giggling over Cooking Mama. Frankly, Lex was surprised the two of them had even figured out how to play.
"Uncl'Lex?" Sid bounded into the living room, a giant black top hat engulfing his head. Sid's new favorite thing was magic, and it meant he was almost never seen without the thing. Lex was sure this phase would pass quickly, but until then... at least Sid was young enough to get away with it.
"Yeah?"
"Can you come do the Sal'sberry Steak?"
Lex chuckled. "Sure. Let me just get..."
There was an odd scratchy knock at the door.
"Who's there?" Sid chirped loudly, bouncing in place.
Lex held out a hand in an attempt to retroactively silence the child. "Stay here." He got up and tiptoed to the front door, unlocking it quietly and pulling it open with surprising force. A pale, shaking young man fell inside, dropping heavily to the floor and letting out a startled yelp.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Lex said, his clipped tone broadcasting his unease.
"I don't know! Please don't hurt me." The man held his hands up in front of his face. Lex sighed.
"I'm not going to do anything to you," he said. "You're the one who was... all... creepily knocking in the first place." Lex cleared his throat and spoke slowly, as if to a child. "Now. How may I help you?" He didn't really want to do anything helpful, but the guy looked so pathetic...
"Can I come in? I mean... farther than this?" The man held out a hand behind him. "I need to get away from... that." Sitting at the base of the stairs was a filthy little animal that kind of looked like a dog. If Lex hadn't known better, he might have said the thing seemed sad.
"Puppy!" Sid exclaimed, suddenly at Lex's side. So much for following instructions. "Can Liam keep it?"
"No!" The strange man sat up ramrod straight on the stoop, finally sparing a glance for the sad dog-thing. "No one wants it, believe me."
"Just... shut up. You can both come in," Lex grumbled, looking around to make sure no one was aware of the scene they were making. He moved out of the way as the young man stumbled inside and followed Sid into the kitchen. The fuzzy little animal padded up the steps and bowed to Lex before it continued past.
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