|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:20 pm
And of course Sasha did not kill the boy. The doll was breathing rhythmically, as if in a deep sleep. He did not explain this to Hansi, instead staring at the palm of his hand as he ignored the complaints from the ground. He sat for a few moments, unmoving, as he studied his hand, and then…
He swirled around as Hansi finally stood, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt with both hands. Flailing, Hansi was swung back around until he stopped when the back of his head hit the table.
“What did you do?” Sasha snarled as the Hansi fought to get away, waving his arms wildly, even trying to push away at the shopkeeper’s face.
“Overreact, much?” Like the lunatic should talk. “I just did what I was told to do. The soul’s back, isn’t?”
“It does not feel right! I could tell before I touched him, and now I know why!”
“This would be a whole lot easier if you let me sit up. My neck is starting to hurt.” It took a few seconds for Sasha to make a decision, but he unwillingly let the man stand, backing away in case he had the urge to attack him again. He needed him alive and well, after all. “Now just tell me what’s wrong. Unlike you, I can’t feel these things.”
“It is like Lucas.”
“Oh. Well. You should have expected that. My power is limited compared to yours. If you had only done it yourself…”
“I own you.”
“And I accept that. Willingly. I am not like your others toys, though. I will let you control and manipulate me, but I have control over you, too.”
How could Sasha admit defeat? Anyone that actually talked to him could tell he had his pride, and it was this pride that kept the glare locked on Hansi. Hansi, in turn, stared back, wearing a grin Sasha ironically enjoyed to use: a grin that showed the pleasure he was getting from his words, from winning…
“I do not think it was you who did it. I think he was this way before.”
“Then control your temper next time. I quite like breathing, thank you.” Hansi waved a languid hand at Sasha, leaning on the table with the other. When Sasha did not answer, he grinned back once more before gathering his things from the table, tittering back to the desk where he packed them back into the drawers. “I’m going to go work on my things. You can stay here and figure things out. Just don’t break anything. That’s my job.” Grabbing his sunglasses off the desk he let out a giggle. “I GOTTA GO MAKE BARBECUE ICE CREAM!”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:21 pm
Sasha could not calm down until Hansi finally left, which he did waving his arms around and screaming gibberish. Sighing, he pulled out the chair, and he sat and stared. The doll was his responsibility right now, and he would have to answer to anything that went wrong. What was worse, he would have to answer to that woman for any mistakes, any of the others’ mistakes. He may not care about the boy’s wellbeing, but he loved himself enough to force himself to actually do something.
“Speak. I can feel you.”
When the body rose, it almost matched Sasha in grace. He was not like the boy from before; he was quiet and grinning. It was almost mischievous, but one could see true anger in the eyes. He only looked at Sasha from the corner of his eye, leaning forward to ruffle his hair, letting brown strands fall across his face, across the cracks. “So you can. Congratulations.” He spoke fluently, much like the salesman, and the elegance in his voice matched well with his movements. Everything planned and put in its proper place; everything had a reason.
“Unlike Hansi, I can feel you. Unlike Hansi, I can connect the dots. I know this was all your doing.”
“Did I hold the hammer? No. I just pushed things. I could have done much more. And is their a point in your knowing? What can you do about it?”
“I have many choices from which I can choose.”
“You cannot do anything.”
Now Sasha was grinning, rising from his seat so that he towered over the fearless doll. “Then you do not know who I am…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:22 pm
“So what was it?” came the voice from the other line. It had a certain quality to it that said the person was bored, somehow managing a deep tone even with a boyish voice. Eicca had very little interest with Sasha’s information, even if it concerned Bellus Pupa dolls.
“I had to put a seal over the cracks. It should control one side, and it should have locked away all the memories related to him for the other. He will be very troublesome. It should be interesting.” Sasha was still at Hansi’s, the boy’s body lying in front of him on the table, resting calmly just as before. Unlike before, however, there was now a strange marking on his forehead. It was a star, hiding under the strands of hair, with two lines going through it vertically on each side, swirls coming off them horizontally. A third line came from the middle down, ending like a cross over the nose.
“For you, maybe, but I really can’t use him for anything. He does not apply to me.”
Sasha leaned even farther back in his chair, maneuvering the phone around to his other hand. “I really wish you were more interested in these things. I teach you for a reason.”
“And I’m so grateful, Master, but I cannot find enjoyment in just watching things.”
“Stop that, boy,” he replied with a grin, leaning forward so he could examine his work on the doll, using his free arm to prop himself up. As always they were poking fun at each other, ignoring the seriousness of the situation. “If anything else happens I will call you. I need to call that woman as well...”
“Have fun.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:24 pm
The phone call with Kami was strange, to say the least. Sasha could barely follow what she said, for she could barely form a complete sentence without stumbling through it. What he did get out of it, however, was that she needed him to take care of the doll until she figured out what to do. It was not like Kami enjoyed the conversation any more. It was more nerve-wracking, but then again, so were the next few days.
As Kami later learned, Milena had made her the executor of the will. How could she leave it to a mere coworker? Why was she so special? Even if she had no family, like the woman over the phone had said, wasn’t there someone better? It troubled her. She didn’t need to take care of these things… The letter Kami found when she went to collect Milena’s things at the hospital didn’t make anything better…Quote: I have left Illias in your care. As you probably already know, I left everything else up to you, too. I do not know how well all this will turn, for I wanted to leave everything to him, but the fact that he is a doll made it difficult. I trust that you will take care of him.
Thank you,
Milena
---
It took some time before the boy awoke. This time Sasha handled it, carefully explaining what happened while leaving out the details. He got broken. He was brought here. They fixed him. The boy never screamed, he never yelled out about his guilt… It had worked. He was normal. He was happy.
And this made Hansi happy. The quiet, curious little boy excited the strange man. He was quite unsure of himself, passive and insecure, but Hansi quite enjoyed having someone so young around. By the same token, he slightly annoyed Sasha. To him, he was too young and naïve. He could be used, but not the way Sasha wanted. There was too little there… He finally convinced Hansi that he could not “keep him,” saying it was his responsibility. He was too different to be under anyone else’s care. Besides, when the woman came back, he would be gone.
Kami didn’t return.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:25 pm
At least, she didn’t return immediately, just taking so long Hansi began to wonder if she ever would. Kami waited until she got all the legal business out of the way before coming back for Illias. She wondered if Milena knew all the work she put on her, and if she didn’t, whether she would have if she had known. It didn’t matter. Kami couldn’t refuse doing something for her. It was a way to get rid of her guilt.
It didn’t help when she arrived at Divinations and the boy was nowhere in sight. And Sasha didn’t help it even more. “I will have to contact Hansi and tell him to bring him here.”
“You left him with that man?” Kami would have sounded disgusted if she wasn’t so tired. She did, however, muster up enough annoyance in her voice to get the point across.
“You do not have to worry about Hansi. He is not dangerous to children.” The shopkeeper motioned to Lucas with a hand, and as always, the employee understood, instantly picking up the phone. “He focuses all the harmful energy on older people.”
“Like that makes anything better.”
But at least the doll seemed fine when he arrived, if one ignored the fact that there were still cracks on his head and some strange symbol across his face. It took some time for Sasha to get the small woman to calm down, even pulling her out of the shop into the back room to explain. She was disrupting the customers. Plus, who knows what that would do to the boy?
“I have seen the dolls that have been brought here. I have felt their power,” he whispered behind the closed door, watching Kami’s eyes widen with each sentence. “He is not a normal doll even by those standards. I had to place a seal on him to keep him under control. I have also locked memories away, for if I had not, it would not be too long until this started again. His owner is dead, am I correct?” She nodded. “He does not know.”
“And what does this mean?”
“I do not think a normal human can handle him. If the seal breaks, someone needs to be around to fix it. There is magic at work here, and you are not knowledgeable in that field. Leave him with me.” He flashed one of his smiles, a grin of a salesman. Sure, he was attempting to keep something rather than sell it, but he had his idea to sell, and he could do that just as well. Even Kami could succumb to his charm. “Just let me take care of him.”
END
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
