"Where'd My Flashlight Go?"
Kiri yawned a bit as he reached out to shut off the screaming alarm. It was WAY too early in the morning to be dealing with that, and he didn't remember why he'd set it this early, or why he didn't just chuck it out the window as it was.
Ari was curled up beside him, shaking, and clinging to the pillow Kiri had been using.
It was pitch black, everywhere Kiri looked, but the eyes of the shadow. Had the power gone out? Maybe that's why the alarm went off... He got up, and slid his slippers on, shuffling out of the room to the kitchen, Ari trailing along after him.
"Hang on, Ari - I'll get the power back on.. just... let me find something to see with..."
He opened the drawers of the kitchen counters, and rummaged about in the ones he knew didn't contain sharp objects. Somehow, he just couldn't find his flashlight...
"Well... Maybe I'll find something to see with..." he murmured, still rummaging around. "This isn't good - I SWORE I left the flashlight in this drawer..."
Ari knew where it was. He tugged on Kiri's sleeve quietly, and pointed.
"Riirii.... aririri. Ri ari ri riariari. Ari ri. Riirii!"
Kiri had since learned what his shadow called him. 'Riirii' was his attempt at Kiri. So apparently the boy had something to tell him.
"You know where the flashlight is, Ari?" he asked, turning around, and gripping the boy's hand so that he could tell where he was. "Show me?"
Instead of showing him, the shadow flowed over to the table where he'd set it earlier, from playing with it... and swallowed it. With the flashlight in his belly, he moved back over to Kiri, and brought it back up, flicking the switch with his tongue, and opening his mouth.
"You ate it?" Kiri asked, amused. "I'll have that back - but you can play with it for a little longer... Let's go find the breaker so we can get some power back on, yeah?"
Ari nodded, and walked forward toward where Kiri was leading, mouth open, and feeling very happy to be shining the way to more light.
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