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 Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:34 pm
Finding
In Progress Coailiann - PinkLu - GreenAshoka - BlueIanna was absent from the desk that day - in fact, she would be absent for a while. Thus, Coailiann had been commanded to watch the front desk and the shop until the four guardians made their way into the shop to pick up their wands. She still had no idea what any of the wands were supposed to be but she had a feeling that at least one of them was a dragon of some kind.
After all, the ice dragon wrapped around a pole seemed to give it away. Xtol would be happy - maybe, depending on if it was shiny.
But right now? Right now she was very, very bored and pondering playing pickup sticks with the wands.
"See, look how neat this old shoppe is! It's even got the "-pe" on the end!" Lu giggled, pointing up at the sign with glee. Wands were interesting to her, as looking at the neverending amount of designs. Callix, however, looked bored as ever. They were supposed to be out looking for books and Christmas gifts. Sighing, he kept behind his Guardian with a sullen look.
Stepping into the shop, Lu peeked around, spotting a familiar face. "Kay? Kay, is that you?" Callix lit up and pushed past her, entering into the shop to give Kay a formal bow.
Lu took to looking around as Callix was strutting for the girl behind the counter. "I didn't know you ran a shop, Kay..."
"Achoo!"
Ashoka rubbed his nose, closing the door behind him. He took a good look around, digging through his coat pockets for a tissue with his free hand. Even as he was fiddling through his pocket, he had to wonder how he had ended up in this little shop anyways. He was headed to his mother's place, just like usual, and had taken a detour. He thought it was a detour, anyways.
Charming enough place, he sniffed and sneezed into his tissue, looking at the shelves, but you can practically taste the dust in here, it makes my nose itch. He paused to contemplate this. Or maybe it's just the season, damn hay fever.
A second glance around the shop, and he noticed several other people there; his demeanor visibly shifted. Shoulders straightened, a smile quirked at his lips, and he stuffed his crumpled tissue into his pocket. "Hello?"
"I don't," Coailiann answered, fighting the frown that wanted to make it's way to her face in favor of the beaming smile at seeing her friend. Ah, yes, seeing Callix would definitely bring up her day.
"My mother's taking care of my sister and SHE owns this place." This time, Kay did indeed scowl. She didn't mind helping her mother but doing all the work herself was certainly something she could live without. Especially when she couldn't even read.
Hopping down from the stool she moved to give the red-head a hug. It was interrupted, however, by another voice. The small head lifted to look at Ashoka and she forced a pleasant smile on her face.
"Hello, welcome to Ghosts of the Past!"
Right. Now she was supposed to somehow get them to touch the book - for she felt the pull from both Lu and this new man, and give them the wands the book said to give.
...But how?
Callix huffed at Ashoka and Lu, both of the interupting his valuable time with Kay. He frowned at the two adults and looked at the wands. "Why did you mother leave you here? That's not very nice, making you take care of a whole shop while they go out and play."
"Kay's mom is taking care of her sister. Kay's being a very good daughter by taking care of her mother's shop, you know." Ruffing up his hair while standing behind him, Lu smiled. "What do you have there? Hey, these are neat-looking! You selling them?"
Batting his Guardian away, Callix ignored the other adult in favor of watching Kay and looking around boredly. "Ghosts?" he asked, eyebrow raising. He didn't much care for ghosts, at least, not the ones on the television. The ones that haunt you and things. But he didn't see any ghosts around here. Odd.
Ashoka looked down at Coailiann and then looked at Lu, Callix, and then Coailiann again. He hadn’t meant to intrude on anything, but the look on the boy’s face said he had.
He still couldn’t help from smiling at the girl, folding his hands behind his back, “Really? Ghosts of the Past? That’s a strange name for a store.” But Gaia was quite a strange place, so he didn’t put much weight on it. And she kind of reminded him of his niece (then again, any little girl that so much as flashed him a smile reminded him of his niece); it made him more inclined to believe what she had to say, in any case.
Still, hadn’t the sign outside said something different? The Wand Shoppe, right? Speaking of, “so you’re a wand shop, then? Is that it?” The shelves might have given it away, but still.
"UH! Uh...Not really, not those. You gotta....uh...." Think, Kay. Think think think. How do get them to look at the book? She couldn't very well say 'you need to look at this book because you have babies on the way!' could she?
Then she remembered the thing that her mommy always bought things out of. A catalogue? Right!
"You gotta look at the book and choose what you want."
Her little hand pointed toward the large leather bound book. It didn't generally look like a catalogue but then again....This didn't look like a normal shop to begin with.
Kay's attention was brought back to Callix and she beamed, "Yeah, I'm a Ghost. Sorta....I told you 'bout what we are?" she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Your momma's 'bout to get one of us."
Then louder to Ashoka, "You too! Please?"
Callix blinked and whispered back. "Can't we just take you home instead?" He sounded kind of offended at the idea that they couldn't just kidnap Kay and bring her home. That would make life so much easier back at the cottage. He did briefly remember the idea, Ghosts were like the Fa'e, only slightly different. How Kay came from a wand, he would never know. But how he came from nothing? That was strange too.
Lu brightened. "We get a free wand? That's so neat! Let's see, what would I like..." Wandering over to the book, Lu's fingers twitched in happy anticipation. Maybe she was one of those millionth customer winners that won a free wand! And the other man too, of course.
At the mention of a book Ashoka's eyebrows raised into his hairline. Oh, he liked books. And even if it was just a book of wands, it was a book. The paper, the binding, the ink. Mmhmm. It was a trait he supposed he picked up from his mother. Although his mother much more appreciated the process of putting that ink on the paper. He prefered the finished product himself.
He fiddled with his jacket sleeve, coming up beside Lu, almost looking over her shoulder at the book. Oh, someone hasn't been taking very good care of this book at all. He fidgeted slightly, looking over it with a frown. Strange condition to keep a catalogue of your stock, though. He fidgeted again and shifted alongside the woman to get a better look. Of course, his gentlemanly...ish manner took over and he nodded to Lu. "You go first."
"I wish you could," she answered Callix with a nod. Maybe Lu'd let her sleep over? or let Callix sleep over? Kay was getting MIGHTY bored with just her sisters around. Besides, Callix was like, her best friend now that Yashi wouldn't talk to her.
But when Lu and Ashoka went to the book, Kay couldn't help but smile. That had definitely been easier than Coailiann thought it would be. At least, Lu would have been easy. After all, she liked her and trusted her, right? It had been the new man that she had worried about.
The minute that Lu touched the book, an invisible wind picked up in the shop, blowing the cover open, pages rustling and blowing about until it landed on two well worn pages. On one of the page was a sketch (though beautifully DETAILED) of a dark colored wand with scratch marks through it, a scorpian tail, and wings. It was obviously of one of the four wands laying on the desk. Below it read:
"Manticore. Wand ID 00034. A Soul has been trapped within the confines of the wand. Congratulations, you have become the next guardian to take on the task of raising it from infancy to greatness. We, Ianna and I, have the upmost faith in you to complete your task dutifully. Best of luck,
Matilda."
Kay tilted her head, "I think Callix gets to get a sibling now." she turned to Ashoka, "It's your turn now."
Hopefully there would be no problems! She couldn't lock the doors like mommy had with Danny.
Callix gaped. "I already have a sibling and she's a smelly, nasty thing. Maman, can't we take Kay home instead? She doesn't smell bad and she's nice!" he whined, hoping that pouting would allow him to get his way. When it didn't, he rolled his eyes. Another sibling? Gods. But at least it was a Ghost, like Kay, and that was one more thing for them to bond over.
Lu squealed with glee. "Really? Umm... well, thank you, Matilda, wherever you are. I'll try my best, I promise! Manticore..." Tapping her finger against her chin, she frowned. Research must be necessary, and would take top priority when they got home. Picking up the wand, she closely examined it. It looked priceless, if a bit damaged from the claw marks, but it was so interesting. She would find a nice, safe place for it.
The incubus child started to talk to the book, as if it would give him a direct link to Matilda. "Don't let her keep it, Matilda. She'll kill it, I swear!"
"I haven't killed you."
"Yet." he huffed.
Oh. That was different. Did books do that, anyways?
In the least, it was peculiar. But still a book. Ashoka fidgeted, fingering an earring awkwardly. "My turn, huh?" The thought was only whispered under his breath; only meaning to be a stuck in the safety of his mind, though, somehow, it had seeped into his speech. He didn't seem to hear the exchange between mother and son beside him, perhaps to far gone in his own contemplations.
He checked his watch anxiously, and then sniffed as his nose began to itch again. Ugh, way late. Mother is going to kill me. For a fleeting moment he considered pulling back and walking right out, but she could wait a little bit longer. He'd been on time every other time. One time a little bit tardy wouldn't put too big of a black spot on his record. Hopefully. Maybe. She was rather unpredictable.
So, he still didn't really know what the Hell he was doing, or why the Hell he was still here, but, he reasoned as he touched the book rather hesitantly,
Why the Hell not?
The wand glowed briefly the moment Lu touched it, acknowledging it's new guardian. All was well and the spirit inside was satisfied.
Kay couldn't help but laugh at Callix's protest and shook her head a little bit. It'd be nice to go live with Callix - but she had a feeling neither parent would go for it.
The same thing that happened when Lu touched the book happened with Ashoka did. This time, on the page lay a detailed sketch of a smooth wand with bones hanging from it and an orb filled with an unknown substance sitting atop it.
It read:
"Zora. Wand ID 00035. A Soul has been trapped within the confines of the wand. Congratulations, you have become the next guardian to take on the task of raising it from infancy to greatness. We, Ianna and I, have the upmost faith in you to complete your task dutifully. Best of luck,
Matilda."
"There! My job's done!" She closed the book and handed Ashoka his wand. The same thing happened when his fingers came in contact with the smooth surface.
"Congratulations!"
Callix gaped. "I already have a sibling and she's a smelly, nasty thing. Maman, can't we take Kay home instead? She doesn't smell bad and she's nice!" he whined, hoping that pouting would allow him to get his way. When it didn't, he rolled his eyes. Another sibling? Gods. But at least it was a Ghost, like Kay, and that was one more thing for them to bond over.
Lu squealed with glee. "Really? Umm... well, thank you, Matilda, wherever you are. I'll try my best, I promise! Manticore..." Tapping her finger against her chin, she frowned. Research must be necessary, and would take top priority when they got home. Picking up the wand, she closely examined it. It looked priceless, if a bit damaged from the claw marks, but it was so interesting. She would find a nice, safe place for it.
The incubus child started to talk to the book, as if it would give him a direct link to Matilda. "Don't let her keep it, Matilda. She'll kill it, I swear!"
"I haven't killed you."
"Yet." he huffed.
“Zora?”
Huh. Ashoka looked down at the smooth red wand in his hands quizzically. Yeah, sure, he’d seen just the same thing happen to that nice young lady there just now, but that was still not the same thing as it just being shoved into his hands just like that. But he supposed he should have seen it coming. Really.
So if the lady’s wand was... well the book said it was a manticore, did that make his a Zo-what’s-it? It probably would help if he knew what one was in the first place. The wand itself did say much about the soul within, but truth be told the bones that hung from around it didn’t make him feel any better about it all.
He opened his mouth, not quite sure what to say, and ended up with the typical canned formality, "T-thank you?" I suppose.
Oh, it seemed he would have a great deal more to talk to his mother about today than the tea or loans.
Yeah, like grandchildren. He was not looking forward to that conversation.
(To Be Continued...)
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:54 pm
GRANDMA
Narrative
"NO."
"Come on-"
"-NO."
“-It’s not that ba-”
"-NO. Ashoka, I won't. I won't.”
His mother gestured with her hands wildly as she spoke, violently, and with no trepidation of knocking her son upside the head.
Actually, at first glance, no one wouldn’t be able to tell that this particular lady was Ashoka’s (or anyone’s) mother. For one, she had quite a set of well working lungs. For two, her vibrant orange hair had not been grayed by the trial of time. For three, she looked a good decade younger than Ashoka himself.
“Adeline-!”
Adeline, his mother, gave Ashoka a viscous, seething look. “I hate that- you know I hate- shuddup.”
The harsh words struck quickly, and Ashoka’s next comment died in his throat. Adeline proceed as if the man had never meant to say anything in the first place. She stalked back and forth and around the coffee table and back around again.
"A-and leading me on to let you in!" Adeline practically threw her hands in the air; Ashoka was sure they would have hit the ceiling had they not been connected to her wrists. "Under the pretense of tea a-and loans!"
Ashoka's face became sheepish. "Well, now I intended to talk about those things too-"
Adeline... most certainly wasn't listening. Her cheeks flushed, the rest of her skin went chalky white, and she had run her hand through her hair so many times it had fallen out of its ponytail. "And only to drag me into some silly little situation you got yourself into," yet, Ashoka felt, he probably had no choice in the matter in the first place, "and expecting me to just iron it out for you! It doesn't work like that, 'Shoka. I've finally got a life here, okay? I've got Cam, and Jaque, a-and Asha, and I can't spend the time babying a man who's solidly on his feet. I most certainly don’t have time to be a grandmother." The parade of words stalled as she took her time to breathe, placing a palm on her forehead and flopping onto the couch. After a moment, she continued, far calmer. "I'm hardly your mother."
Ah, the hot button. Knew it had to be pushed eventually. Nevertheless, a smile crept up his face. “That doesn’t stop us. You are our mother, no matter what rules you apply yourself to.”
Adeline let her hand slip off her face and let it fall to her lap, where she fiddled her thumbs awkwardly. "Nah, I'm just the bus driver. Got you from one place to another. All that happened is the passengers mistook my house for a bus stop and decided to spend the rest of their lives."
A longer silence than before stretched between them, partially for Ashoka to digest the awkward metaphor as he settled on the couch next to his mother and partially for Adeline to find something else to do with her hands. Before she had the chance to, however, Ashoka spoke up. "So you're not the least bit confused as to how a kid is supposed to come out of this," he lifted the smooth red wand, the scales and the fish bones jangled, "stick?"
Laughter shook Adeline's body, and she leaned slightly to the left to touch the top of the wand gently. "'Shoka? Cameo came from a grape, I don't think I'm surprised that babies can come out of magic sticks."
A third, childish, muffled voice broke into their conversation. "I thou't b'bies c'me fum Ma'ic Ewasers."
Adeline went absolutely frigid, every joint in her body ceasing to function. It was quite a feat, really, for her to maintain that look of utter Oh God no, Ashoka thought. He had to crane his neck to look around her, however, and spotted his only (but favorite) little niece in the mouth of the hallway. She was quite muddy, from head to hoof, and her hair was all awry. The KiKi she held in her hands, it seemed, had escaped most of the mess. Though, this was probably from consideration of cleanliness on her part, seeing as how she held the plush by the ear in her mouth rather than her hands (because, as she would later relate to her aunt Alex, 'my hands were dirty an' I didn't want to get 'er dirty too').
"Hello Cameo."
Cameo grinned around her plush, and waved a muddy hand at him, mumbling something that must have been 'hi'.
Finally, after seemingly an eternity, Adeline melted back, letting go of Ashoka's sleeve and pulling herself back upright. "Cam, this isn't really the time, I'm talking to your uncle, and-"
A grin broke from ear to ear on the toddlers face, and KiKi fell from her mouth. "They come fum magic sticks too?" She scooped up the plush in one motion and clattered down the hallway, "Now I have s'mthing knew ta tell Yvette!" They could hear her hooves against the wood flooring all the way to the backdoor as she stumbled once, twice, and her childish voice as she threw the door open. "Jaque! Jaque! Guess what?"
The backdoor clicked closed, and finally they were alone again. Nevertheless, Ashoka turned to his mother, mouthing dubiously: Magic Erasers?
Adeline laughed airily, and she diverted her eyes away from his. Momentarily, the distant look on her face dropped as something wicked blossomed on his mother's face.
"So, Zora you say? I think I vaguely remember something that could help."
“Zora, Zora, Zora, Zo-ra...” Adeline clicked her tongue, skimming her finger along the spines of the books on her bookshelf, tucking her loose hair behind her ear with the other hand, “That starts with a Z, right?”
The sound of his mother’s voice only barely treaded on Ashoka’s consciousness; the man sat on a pulled up chair, fiddling half heartedly with the scales on the wand. The image brushed across his mind, of the page with the picture of the wand that was in his hand, and those words. Zora. Wand ID 00035. A Soul has been-
Z. O. R. A.
Ashoka twirled the fishing wire around his finger -trapped within the confines of the wand. Congratulations- “Yeah.” Amazing really, that this shiny little thing was supposed to have a soul trapped within it. The red material looked so delicate. How could it? Though, he supposed, the mechanics of a soul didn’t apply to the material world.
Huh. Here he was, contemplating the workings of a soul.
-you have become the next guardian to take on the task of raising it from infancy to greatness-
“Adeline?”
She didn’t look away from the bookshelf when she responded, almost completely submerged in her search. “Yeah?”
Late afternoon light illuminated the silver scales and the off white fish bones in the palm of his hand. “How did you feel when that kid laid Cameo on you?” He tilted his hand slightly towards the window so that the refraction of light changed and the scales sparkled.
“Cam? Oh, nervous, disbelieving, couldn’t believe the little guy couldn’t find someone else he knew to take her on.” Adeline pulled a thin brown book out, glanced at the cover, and slipped it back onto the shelf.
Ashoka unwound his finger from the fishing wire and rewound it again. “Why didn’t he?”
“He said everyone he knew already had someone to watch out for, or didn’t want a kid.” She shrugged, pressing a book a little further into the shelf as her eyes drifted across the title. “I guess he was just looking for whoever he could find.”
-We, Ianna and I have the upmost faith in you to complete your task dutifully.
“He must have had some sort of faith in you, though.”
“I suppose faith might have had something to do with it. Couldn’t say, I’m not in his head, you know?” Light fluttered across her face as her cat patted the blinds with a paw. Shadowed like that, she looked even younger than she was. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she smiled. “Why do you ask?”
Best of luck, Matilda.
“Oh, no reason.”
It was hardly a paragraph, but, Ashoka felt, he was sure it marked a turning point in his life. The power of words huh? His mother knew plenty about that, and so did he by connection, but he was sure printed ink wasn’t supposed to be so... so... revolutionizing.
He was pretty sure, as well, that that wasn’t the right way to phrase it either.
“Oh. Oh no.”
The distress inching into Adeline’s voice made Ashoka look up from his hands, to find his mother gnawing at her lower lip. Her eyes pointedly avoided his, watching the tail of her cat flick lazily back and forth instead.
“What is it?”
Wringing her hands, Adeline looked over at him from behind her bangs shyly. Oh, oh something certainly wasn’t right. “It seems I lent it to Lucie.”
Dread clawed at him as pieces fell in place around the name Adeline provided. Ashoka’s face wrinkled in a wince, palming his ********>
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:57 pm
JOURNAL Well, that didn’t go as expected. I thought Mother would have thrown more things. Like a chair, or a vase, or something. After she burnt out she was actually rather compliant. I think the concept of being a grandmother at her age just set her off.
Either way, whatever the case, the fact is that this wand is supposed to become a baby. Somehow. Which means that I’m going to have kid on my hands in an undetermined amount of time. That’s a lot to think about. A kid, huh? And why me, really? Of all the saps on the street that would get lured in by a cute little girl, why was I the one?
Jesus. I would have never thought it when I walked into that place. This wand doesn’t look like it could...
I’m thinking too much. I know I’m thinking too much. I need to stop thinking too much.
Ugh.
Adeline says that Lucie has a book that might help me out. She didn’t have it, she says, because Lucie bullied it out of her several years ago. Knowing my sister, that book could be, well, I don’t want to think where it could be. Or what it might be covered in. So, I have to go see her, because there’s no way I’m just going to let a little thing come into the world and me not having any clue what it is. But before that, I'm visiting the local library.
I really, really don’t want to talk to her.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:59 pm
WATERLOGGED
Narrative
He really, really didn’t want to talk to her. Really.
Yet, here he was, standing in front of her teal colored door. He hated this door. Granted, it was just like any other in this complex – its paint chipped off easily, the three tarnished bronze letters indicated the apartment number (this one was 279), and it looked generally in disrepair. But a cloud of “not good” seemed to perpetually hang around it, and however hard he tried he couldn’t bypass the tingling of the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Rather nervously, he ran a thumb along the smooth surface of the wand. He was doing all of this, for the little kiddy that was supposed to come out of this little red thing. Amazing what the prospect of parenthood could do to a person.
He rag the doorbell. Several seconds passed before he heard the shuffle of feet and the click of locks, and the door opened. He was immediately greeted with a wave of warm air and a nose full of the thick scent of incense, cheap perfume, and ash. A redhead stuck his nose around the door and looked up at Ashoka quizzically. The man rather reminded him of something of a lazy a** with his long messy hair pulled shabbily back like that and dressed in wife beater and drawstring shorts. But that, and the fact that he was sweating like a pig, might have had something to do with the fact that the room was sweltering hot. Ashoka loosened his collar.
But, at least she hadn’t answered the door. This way Ashoka didn’t have to force a smile. “Hello Raun.”
Raun’s eyebrows rose, and he stepped to the side to let the other man in. “‘Shoka; don’t know why you’d be here, but glad to see you, man.”
Ashoka stepped inside, and Raun closed the door behind him. “I live right upstairs. And I see you almost everyday.”
Raun pondered this for a moment as he latched the door again. His thumb, slick with sweat, slipped against the lock. While he tried to fit the locks properly, he hummed. “Mm, yeah, yeah I guess so. Didn’t see you yesterday, though.”
Oh, yesterday, that was the day- He looked down at the wand in his hand and a smile quirked his lips. “I was busy.” Yeah, ‘busy’ was one way to put it.
His brother seemed to have gotten the lock, because he was at Ashoka’s side shortly, wiping his palms on his shirt, not that it did much.
“So Phantom sent you here then?”
“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”
“You don’t come here without reason. And I don’t think you’re here talk to me out of the blue. So what does Lucie have that Phantom didn’t?”
He always knew, didn’t he? “I need a book.”
“Well, you could go to the library for that.”
Grudgingly, he had to admit, in a very low tone, "The library didn't have the information I needed." In fact it had none, zip, zada!
That got a good laugh out of Raun, a laugh that made him throw his head back and that showed all of his teeth. “God that's good! Lucie! ‘Shoka’s here for you!”
Oh, great, now he had to deal with her.
Lucie peered out of the door way down the hall, looking only half aware with her eyes partially lidded and her dark red hair falling over her face in that way. She always reminded Ashoka of something like oil. Her movements were always smooth and fluid, but there was a heaviness about them. “‘Shoka? Come on in here." He did, leaving a laughing Raun behind him in the living room, and tugging hard on his turtleneck to loosen it. When he entered the room, Lucie was back at her desk, clicking
"Phantom said you’d be coming over.”
It took all of a half a minute for Ashoka to realize who she was talking about. He didn’t call Adeline by her preferred name often, and it had fallen into disuse and lost its meaning to him. Or something like that.
“She says you’ve got a book I need.”
“Perhaps.” Lucie flashed him a smile, leaning back in her chair. “So, Zora is it?” Without waiting for a reply, she spun her chair around so she faced her computer and set to typing. Several screens popped up, a database of some sort, she typed in several characters, Ashoka really didn’t follow it very well. Either way, he managed to voice himself after a few moments.
“She told you?”
“Mmhmm. Whatever you told her she told me.” Her eyes drifted towards the red wand in Ashoka’s hand. “So, I’m going to be an aunt huh?”
Disregarding the creepiness of that concept, Ashoka pressed two fingers to his temple. “So, what do you know?” He might as well make the best of it, the more he knew, the better in his case.
“They’re fish people.” She shrugged, wiggling her fingers around her cheeks in a sort of ‘look-these-are-gills’ kind of movement. “Scaly blue things, with tails on their heads.” She paused. “At least, I think those are the ones you’re talking about. There’s, like, nasty ones too, all finny and spit fire and stuff.” The motions she made with her hands made the image all the much clearer, really. “The ones with the tails on their heads are the smart ones.”
Ashoka gave Lucie a good long look. “You read the book, then?”
“Of course. I didn’t borrow the book from Phantom just because it looked good on the shelf.”
“Is that all you know?” He felt like he was fishing for information here, but if the book he was looking for didn’t bring up anything...
“I haven’t looked at that thing in years, I don’t remember much more than that, ‘Shoka.”
“And besides, it wasn’t just about the fishy people. It had, like, rocky people, and, like, regular people with pointed ears-”
“-Elves?”
“-and, well ‘Shoka, it’s a history book, it goes all over the place.” She leaned back again in her chair, so that the rear of the seat groaned and creaked. "By the way," Lucie nodded sideways to the wand in Ashoka’s hand, “that’s not glass.”
That jolted him to attention. “What?”
Lines wrinkled Lucie's face as she frowned, clearly disapproving of his lack of attention. “It’s not glass. That’s red ice.”
“How the Hell would you know?” And how the Hell did she know that he was theorizing it as glass? Not fair.
She smirked. “That was one thing they did cover in the history book. Nasty thing, red ice. Can't melt it like normal stuff, can't break it at all. The damn thing's durable, it is." The longing way she talked about it, like her head was up in the clouds while talked, irked something in Ashoka that kept him from just smiling and nodding.
Perhaps Lucie hadn't borrowed the book for a history lesson.
"What the hell were you doing looking up something like that?"
"What, are you accusing me of being up to something?" Ashoka didn't reply, but gave her a 'yeah, duh' look that made Lucie laugh. "It's just I was working with things and needed to do some research." Yeah. Right.
Lucie struck the enter key once hard, and grinned as a new window popped up. “Got it!” Lucie grinned manically, and stood with a flourish of her coat. With an equally elegant gesture of her hand, she led him to a door to the left. “Here, come with me.”
The room that Lucie led them into was far cooler than the rest of the house, and the lights were significantly dimmed. Bookshelves lined the walls to the ceiling on all four walls. Even at the round table at the center of the room, books piled upon themselves. Someone who didn't know Lucie might mistake this as a love for books. Ashoka knew it merely happened to be an affinity for old things.
"It's over here." Lucie's wistfully distant voice fluttered slightly as she drifted over to the furthest shelf. "Here-here!" She slipped a moderately thick brown book off the shelf, and had to cradle the weight towards her chest. It had no title along the spine (which made him wonder what Adeline had been looking for yesterday) and the only design was three golden triangles impressed upon the front. "There you go, anything else?"
“Well, while I’m here, do you have anything else that would be of interest?”
Lucie heaved a big, dramatic sigh, placing her hand daintily on her chest. “What are you, Belle? You’re going to go rob me blind if you keep this up.”
Her theatrical performance did nothing to make Ashoka miss a beat. “Yes, and you’re the Beast, cough it up.”
Lucie rolled her eyes and snaked an arm to the top shelf, grabbing a thin pale blue book. “Here, far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise, what more could you want, Belle?” She paused for only a second to rethink what she had said before she handed the book over. “Okay, well, princesses in disguise, rather. Mm, one princess. But close enough. That should satisfy your little bookworm needs.” She practically dropped the worn little book into Ashoka’s hesitantly outstretched hands.
A pretty little castle complete with dulled and old glitter and the title in shiny golden letters. “Sleeping Beauty?” He opened the cover curiously, and found his voice choking in the back of his throat.
To Cam,
Love Mom
Short, sweet, and somehow, he didn’t think that Lucie had gotten borrowed that one with permission. He closed the book and slipped it under his arm with the first. He wasn't going to be returning this one to her, he thought.
Lucie ushered him out the door and to the living room, staying behind him the whole entire time, presumably so that his sneaky bookworm hands wouldn't steal one of her precious books. The heat of the main living room made him squint, and he had to try very hard to keep from coughing on the dry air. And his toes were still itchy. As Raun closed the door behind Ashoka, he could hear Lucie singing slightly off key; when he looked over his shoulder, he caught the shortest glimpse of her waltzing by herself.
“With a dreamy far-off look, and her nose stuck in a book, what a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:01 pm
JOURNAL Note to self: Lucie watches far too many Disney movies.
The book Lucie had for me was nothing short of damaged. I’ll give her this much, it wasn’t covered in some unidentifiable substance, but the pages are stiff and crispy and moldy. Obviously water damage.
I can’t help but sigh. This is going to be a long ordeal, I think, to set this all straight. And I don’t even know when the little one is going to show up.
And:
Girl or Boy?
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:02 pm
JOURNAL Everything is covered in mold! I can’t read a damn thing! Lucie!
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:03 pm
TIME TO THINK BY MYSELF (WITH A FRIEND)
Narrative
Several days after the incident with Lucie, Ashoka came home to find his front door creaked open. For a moment his heart skipped a beat and he gripped the delicate looking wand close to himself. Then his eyes caught the corner of a red square paper underneath the welcome mat. Ah, so it was Hilian. The man was a like a ghost sometimes. Never around when he wanted him to be, and always around whenever he felt like it. Ashoka closed the door with a click behind him and proceeded to set the grocery bags on the counter.
The man stretched out lazily on the sofa craned his neck over the back. "Hello 'Shoka."
He started taking cans out of the plastic bags, placing them with single packets of Top Ramen and away from the bread and fruit. The shiny red wand lay on the counter a safe distance from his elbows. Ashoka didn't bother to look up at his brother when he replied. "Hello Hilian, had a fight with Adeline again?"
"No." Hilian tipped his head back, turning down the volume on the television with a few clicks of the remote. "I just needed my space." Which translated almost directly to: 'Could I stay the night and maybe the next? 'Cause I did have a fight with Mother but I'm not about to admit it.'
Ashoka had taken to sticking the cans upon themselves in stacks of three or four each when he took them out, and once he finished emptying the plastic bags he started to put things away. "The spare bedroom hasn't changed since the last time you were here."
"I know, already put my bags there."
Silence befell them as Ashoka finished putting the groceries away. He didn't feel very much like talking this afternoon. He'd been hoping to spend some time by himself, truthfully. He was still sulking over his failed attempt to gather information on the Zoras from his sister. He hadn't yet returned the book yet (and really wasn't planning on it for a while, it was in a way the beacon of his woe). Today he really wished that Hilian would leave him to wallow in his own misery. Preferably until he drowned, or he found what he was looking for. Whatever came first.
Of course, he seemed to have radiated these negative thoughts, because Hilian turned around to talk to him again. "Why're so blue anyways?" He paused, realized that this was a stupid question, and added. "What'd Ghost do?"
"Moldy book." Ashoka mumbled touchily, shoving a can in the pantry with a little more than normal force. "And I needed that one too."
Hilian snorted, hardly able to restrain a grin. "Damn, she always pushes your buttons."
"That's why I avoid her." After closing the pantry door, he slipped into the armchair grudgingly and placed the wand on his lap. "But in this case she had something I needed."
"And what you needed was a moldy book?"
"It wasn't supposed to be moldy. "Ashoka mumbled, sinking further into the armchair. He sight, rolling his eyes upwards. He rolled them back down, and gave a look to his brother that was clearly questing or information.
Hilian shook his head. "Before you ask, no, I don't know about your fishy folk."
Another, very short, dead end. Whatever, he was beginning to think he was never going to understand. Which was a very bad thing.
"I don't get why you reread books."
The abrupt change of direction in the conversation caused Ashoka to refocus his attention on the other man. "What?"
Hilian waved the worn and torn paper back copy of A Tale of Two Cities that he obviously acquired from the side table. "You read this, like, once a week."
It made Ashoka wary that he knew that. Well, he supposed, he was over often enough to know. "I like reading, it's more nourishing to the brain than collecting rocks."
His brother mad a face, glaring at him best he could over it. "Har har." He slouched, resting his elbows on his knees. "You're just as bad as she is." And now, he knew, they were talking about a different 'she'.
"Didn't she give you those rocks in the first place."
"Does it even matter with her?"
That made Ashoka laugh, burying his face in his palm. "You two just can't get along, can you?"
Hilian stretched his arms above his head, sighing. "Finally, I thought you were never going to lighten up."
"What?"
Hilian tipped his head back so Ashoka could hardly see that his eyes were closed and he looked vaguely relieved. "You're so hard on yourself, you know?" He tipped his head back up to look him solidly in the eye. "And you worry more than Phantom does, and she does a lot you know."
Ashoka paused, immediately seeing the big bold letters between the lines. "You didn't come her because you and Adeline had a fight, did you?"
Hilian didn't do guilty looks, but the slight downward twitch of his lips was about as much as he would get. "She's worried about you, you know."
So that was it. Huh. Ashoka pursed his lips, looking down at the wand. The light from the ceiling lamp reflected off of the red surface. "Why so?"
"She thinks you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Cheer up a bit, think on the bright side of things." Those words sounded weird and awkward coming from his mouth, like they didn't belong (and they probably didn't). Most certainly he had been prompted by Adeline. Great. Of all that fan-freaking-tastic things for their mother to do, this had to be the stupidest.
Hilian caught the doubt in Ashoka's eyes obviously, because he slouched a bit into a more comfortable position. "Ya know, it ain't so bad having little things around. Makes things more lively." He motioned vaguely. "At least you aren't alone."
There we go, Ashoka thought, that's the brother I know. He quirked a smile, running a thumb over the wand. "It's not the prospect that's making me like this, it's the fact that it kinda got shoved on me, you know? 'Here, this thing's going to be a baby someday, and don't you say no or it'll die. Again.' That's kinda not-subtle, you know?"
His brother snorted, covering up a smile with the back of his hand. "Cam was shoved on Phantom too, ya know. Not like 'live or die' kinda way, but still. Look at what she is to us."
And, he had to admit it, their days would certainly be darker without their little ray of Cameo brand sunshine.
Ashoka had too smile down at the wand. So, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Hilian's clumsy attempt at cheering him up had worked, strangely enough, made him a bit more comfortable about the whole deal. But still, why send Hilian of all people to cheer him up?
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:49 pm
JOURNAL I don't know what drove Adeline to send Hilian, of all people, to cheer me up. If she was that worried about me, she could have just sent Alex. At least she doesn't have the social skills of a rock. Although I'd suppose having her show up on my doorstep is more suspicious than having Hilian lazing about on my couch. Ah, as well, he's going to be staying over for a couple days. It seems the two really did have a fight.
I think I'm (more) okay with this whole deal here now. The whole wand deal, I mean. It's kind of off-setting, but in a way what Hilian said made me feel more comfortable. The fact that it did makes me feel increasingly disturbed.
And on the subject of disturbed Lucie: the fact that this (untitled) book was completely molded makes me wonder how she read it in the first place. Either she's BSing me or she's had this one for a heck of a long time.
I call BS.
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:59 pm
A CASE OF THE MONDAYS... OR AT LEAST DARK ENERGY!
In Progress D and Faolan - Dark BlueTodd and Ako - Orange Ashoka and Sydney - BlueD hadn't been there when . . .things went wrong. In fact, Faolan hadn't been back to Headquarters for quite some time and D had thought that the little boy should be around others like him.
Of course, when he'd actually stepped into the shop, he'd been most perplexed. There were piles of glass shoved in the corner - new furniture and a T.V. bolted in to the wall. There always had been one though, hadn't there? D couldn't remember. The bar completely disappeared, there was no chandelier - though he suspected that's what sat in the corner - and there were some new additions to the place. . .
Like blood.
Blood and a strange sort of feeling that sent the hairs on the back of D's neck on edge.
"What happened. . ." He murmured, eyes wide as he looked around. The place seemed to be falling in on itself, though it was obvious that it was still inhabitable. Faolan, the fussy wolf child squirmed in his arms, looking around nervously with his golden-brown gaze.
"Nuh-uh, Faolan," D whispered, planting a small kiss on his sons head, though his eyes never left the sight of the demolished headquarters. Go missing for a few weeks and everything gets turned upside down.
Great.
Cautiously, the pink haired man made his way around the headquarters. Maybe he shouldn't stick around. . .? The place surely didn't seem particularly hospitable, much less sanitary.
The blood in particular was very disconcerting.
"Blahg!" A little grunt from the little man that was bundeled in D's arms. A soft wolf toy, covered in drool marks, was being held onto by one of Faolans hands but his eyes were large as plates. The boy could sense that something had happened here. . . but what?
The feelings, the dark energy, made Faolan very edgy. And not exactly the most happy of children. D would protect him, the child knew, that was what D did. But the darkness that radiated throughout the room. . . .
Oh no. Not a fun feeling at all.
A little whimper, a little crinkle of his features.
D winced. Maybe they'd visit later. He didn't need Faolan sobbing here! "Oh no - it's okay, baby. It's all right. See? It's okay here - really." The pink haired man set the baby carrier down on the couch. He leaned forward, trying desperately to reassure his little wolf child reborn. "That's right - give me a smile. Flash me those pearly whites, there's a good one! Whose got the prettiest ears in the world, huh? Is that you? Is that you??"
Yes, it was a disgusting display of paternal affection. But D couldn't help it - he dripped like a leaky faucet with love and adoration for his children and h didn't care who noticed."What the bloody hell happened in here?"
The speaker was a young boy, blonde, rather short, and cute. Deceptively cute. Deceptive, since no boy of this age had the right to be carrying three or four knives and a straight razor hidden away in his pockets, or a foot-long bloodstained blade in one hand.
The blade in question was a wand from the Headquarters, but Todd didn't really care. Sharp objects were sharp objects.
The destruction didn't seem to unnerve him much. He picked his way carefully across the floor, avoiding any remaining glass.
"Oy! You!" he shouted to the pink-haired man with the baby. A wierd inhabitant for a weird place. "Did you see what happened? I heard somethin' about shadows and stuff, but..."
Taylor had not been very descriptive in her tales of the Headquarters and the Other Place. Still oozing reassurance and affection for his Faolan, D all but jumped when he was shouted at. Back turned, he hadn't noticed Todd's entrance to the . . .mutilated headquarters. But the sharp shout, the order, did cause D to jump.
Turning around, blue eyes wide, Faolan in his arms, he stared. And continued to stare. Who the hell was that!?! His surprised was reflecting in a pink brow arching upward. If the blonde was only wearing leather and mesh, D might feel more assured. The knives - a smidge disconcerting - were nothing compared to some BDSM night clubs he used to inhabit.
And yet . . . Part of D wouldn't be surprised at all if Todd were the one to cause the blood smears on the wall. How did the saying go. . .? Beware the cute ones?
"Uh," he stammered, trying to figure out exactly what words had slipped so violenetly out of the boys mouth. "I - I really haven't a clue what's gone on here. One day it was headquarters, the next it was like this." Broad shoulders shrugged helplessly. It seemed both of them were lost in the dark.
Foalan, who had been enjoying his attention, glanced at Todd. His downy ears perked forward, a display which meant curiousity and interest. It lasted but a moment, before the baby was distracted by the dark energies. The feeling of the place was disconcerting, and made Faolan a smidge uncomfortable.
Something wasn't right. . .
And Faolan gave a soft whimper of reminder. D naturally cuddeled the small one close, offering the baby a kiss on the top of his head. "Shadows. . . .? That's - that's more than I know."
If the area wasn't safe, though, then why was headquarters still open to the public? Would Ianna ever close down? Who knew. A little note of explaination might have been nice, of course.
Foalan stared at Todd, and the sharp things that he held. Some were shiney. Shiney pointy things. "Grwah." He stated, reaching a clawed hand out.
Leave it to Faolan to want to play with knives. D was right to be a little wary. Todd hadn't ever used any of his knives... yet... but he did have a liking for sharp objects and a knack for putting them where they didn't belong. He was currently inspecting the blood smears with more then a little interest, so he didn't really notice D's distress.
"Hm," he said absently. "I guess you had to be here. The nerd I live with says it went all bloody shadowy and some people died. All I know is she came back limping and and and jumpier than ever. This place does look pretty dodgy..." he added, kicking at a piece of rubble on the floor.
Todd finally seemed to notice Faolan's gesture. "Oi, who're you?" he said, not unkindly, giving the baby a poke in the nose. "You want this? Knock yourself out."
The wand was handed over to the tiny werewolf. Todd didn't care if he wanted it or not- he had no special attraction to the thing. Taylor had just told him to get it out of the house for a while. "Some died?" Huh - where the hell was he when all of this went down!? Part of the pink haird man was glad he missed it - what if one of the hurt and wounded had been Faolan? But if death had happened here - and so nonchalanatly - maybe it wasn't the safest place to be.
It looked as if someone had attempted to make something out of the wreckage, but the debris on the floor and broken glass windows was not a safe haven for a baby or child. It wasn't safe for anyone!
Before D had a chance to say one word, Faolan had wrapped his hand tight around the wand. The wolf child was enchanted by it - not only did it feel similar, but it was shiney. And pointy. And had fun bits attached to it. The boy gave a giggle, delighted by this new toy. "Grwah!" He growled playfully, eyes bright as he shook his wand-held-hand in delight.
D was stunned by the fact that some boy just gave his son a knife~!! Not a knife - a SWORD! Free hand instantly lifted up to better grip the wand. THe pink haired man hadn't a clue that it was a wand - it looked like it needed to be behind glass in a museum! - and could only gape at Todd. "Uh - I mean - er," he stammered, not sure if he wanted to yell at the blonde or beg him to take the sword back!
All he needed was for Faolan to run his hands along the edge and chop off a finger! Or . . or . . . D's imagination began to grow wild. Right now, Faolan was interested in the texture of the handle, though his right hand had yet to release its grip. His other hand was playing with the bits of fabric attached to the edge.
He liked those.
"Uh - interesting choice of item. But, uh, you may want to take it back. I don't want Faolan drooling all over it." His voice was calm, but there was a bit of a spark in his eyes close to hysterics. His son did not need to play with swords.
Chew toys and headphones were one thing - but a SWORD!?
No freaking way.
As if to prove a point, Faolan leaned down and attached the hilt to his mouth. Yummy. It was fun to bite.
D gasped. OK - yeah - time to take the sword away. Gently, carefully, the pink haired man tried to remove his sons teeth from the hilt. One wrong, flailing motion and Faolan could still hit his hand against th edge of the blade.
Holding a baby in one hand, the sword in the other - and yanking it out of his sons mouth was NOT an option - he glanced over at Todd. Yep. A little bit of help might be in order. "Yeah. Somebody died. Whatever." Todd shrugged nonchalantly. Death wasn't such a big deal, as long as it wasn't happening to him. He couldn't quite see why people kept getting so worked up about it. Like stupid Taylor.
He didn't see why D was getting so anxious either. Ok, so he'd given the kid a sword. So what? If he lost a few fingers or put out an eye, it was his own fault.
"Aww, fine," he said finally, after watching D panic for a few moments. "I don't think drool can hurt it. The thing's been through a lot. C'mere, you little bugger."
He reached over and gripped the hilt, avoiding both werewolf teeth and sharp steel. But he hadn't counted on the fact that the entire thing was well and truly covered with drool at this point.
"Your baby," he said flatly to D, "is bloody drooling on me. Is it planning on stopping anytime soon?" He wiggled the hilt around, trying to get it out of Faolan's teeth, with not much success. It was far too slippery, and Todd was severely lacking in the arm-strength department. He could stab things, not arm-wrestle them. After a good deal of thought (not), sometime to himself (in the company of his friend), and a great deal of time (because he was a slacker), Ashoka finally worked it up in himself to wander back in the general direction of the wand shop. Well, if his mother couldn't help him, the library couldn't help him, and the only help his sister offered was a moldy book, then perhaps, he figured, it was time to backtrack to this Headquarters place. Or whatever.
What he was not expecting was to find it like... this.
Ashoka pulled his coat a little closer around himself, slouching noticeably. Or, well, he hadn't noticed he had been standing so straight in the first place. "Oh ******** Hell." He breathed, tightening his grip on the red wand in his hand. This... this was not good, was it? Well s**t. It hadn't been that long since he'd been here that first time, had it?
The sight of a man and a young boy trying to wrestle a sword out of a baby's mouth didn't make the scene look any better. Actually, it was quite off setting, really. Disturbing, at least. But they looked like they knew what they were doing here. So they were the kind of people he was looking for. He thought. Maybe. Possibly. He thought briefly of asking the man what happened here, weighing it against the risk of looking like a fool for being the only one not too know. Well, he did come here to gather information, so why the heck not?
"Um, excuse me?"D kept Faolan firm in one arm, with his other hand still hanging on to the hilt to steady it. As Todd came over, though, he let the man have the hilt and quickly removed his sons hands.
Faolan wasn't pleased, as it appeared his toy was being taken away, and bit down further. HIS! Gold eyes danced from D to Todd, the delighted light suddenly changing in to disgrunteled annoyance. A small growl could be heard rumbling throughout the babys throat, though it only helped serve more drool to run down his mouth, chin, and ultimately the sword.
D felt a twinge of annoyance at the young man known as Todd. What sort of response was that!? Yes, his son was drooling on the sword, but it was Todd's damned fault for giving it to him without asking! "Probably not," D replied cooly, wincing inwardly as the boy wiggled the sword.
ALl Faolan needed was to loose a tooth - great, GREAT! "He's a baby, they drool. Better get used to it." And that was that. He didn't have time to argue with Todd about whether or not Faolan would stop - the concern was getting his sons vice-like jaws off the wand without causign damage.
"Just don't yank it," he warned calmly. "Come on, Faolan - let it go." Reaching up, he attempted to physically remove his sons mouth from the hilt. His teeth weren't dug deep, but they were sharp enough that a few tips *were* dug in.
. . . . well. . . it left no choice.
"Here - why don't we. . ."
And then another entered. Distracted, the pink haired ex-raver looked up at the newcomer. No one he recognized, but there was a wand. "Uh. . yes?" He asked, quirking a brow.
D didn't want to be rude, but he was a bit frustrated by his sons stubborness. "Can we- help . . you?" His attention was quickly drawn back to his son. Deciding that the only way to unlock his sons jaw was to give him a mouthful of wand. . .
well . . so be it.
Releasing Faolan's hands, he grabbed the edge of the hilt, and pressed it closer to his sons mouth. Surprised, Faolan realized there was FAR too much wand to be easily chewed, and it kind of hurt. Releasing his grip, the boy jerked away, face crinkling up in wounded pride and frustration.
Todd now had his sword back, and D didn't have to worry about his son losing an eye.
"Cover your ears," D warned, before it happened.
It started as a pathetic whimper, a whine, and then a full blown out wail. The black-striped baby had been blessed with a set of lungs, oh yes. And the wolfish tantrum was in full place.
D turned Faolan towards him, and began the process of soothing. Reassuring patting of the back, whispers, and rocking.
The howling continued. Faolan wanted his toy back and he wanted it back now.
Thanks Todd. Thanks a lot. "Um, we're a little busy right now," Todd said to Ashoka, barely sparing a glance in the man's direction. There were more important things at hand. Like getting the stupid fuzzy baby to stop slobbering all over him!
Aha. There! The sword popped free, and Todd snatched it back triumpantly, using a handful of his shirt to start wiping the drool off. Unfortunately, this made him a little late in blocking his eardrums.
Faolan's howling resulted in a visible wince, then the sword-wand clattering to the floor as Todd shoved his fingers into his ears.
"What the bloody- what's wrong with this kid?" he grumbled. "Should we give him the sword back? Because he's not getting anything else of mine."
Not like Todd posessed anything a baby could play with without risking mortal flesh wounds.
"Maybe give him that thing," he suggested, gesturing to Ashoka's wand with his elbow. He wasn't going to unplug his ears anytime soon. Ashoka winced as the infant in the one man's arms let out a monsterous cry, and instinctively covering his ears with the heels of his palms. The red wamd was held securely with three fingers, making sure it didn't drop.
Over the cries of the child, he tried to make himself heard, "Well, I was wondering... if you could..." Ashoka stuttered to a halt, looking at the blond child with indignation. "Pardon?" Well, that came out more like a squeak than anything remotely supposed to be an offended yelp.
Well, his sister did say that the material it was supposed to be made out of was extraordinarily durable. But since when did he believe his sister? He weighed the options briefly, not sure exactly what was the best thing to do.
"Umm..." Faolan was still pissed as hell that his toy had been forcefully removed from his hand and mouth! That was his chew toy . . . !! His cries were both baby shrieks AND literal howls. Nicely put, he sounded like a dog being put through a paper shredder.
D, having raised his son since being nothing more than a wand, had grown used to it. The cries weren't so much sobbing as it was wailing and noise. He'd learned to decipher the differences between pouty-shrieks and genuine sadness. The screams of this were nothing more than wounded pride.
"No, no," D reassured over the wails, still rocking and cuddling his upset son. "He doesn't need any wands, he has his own!" Stepping closer to the couch, the man fished around the neglected bab carrier. Finding what he needed, D offered both to his baby.
"Here, how 'bout this? Huh? Come on - look at what I got, Faolan. . " D held in his hand a small wand and a wolf plushie. The wolf lookd as if it had seen better days - chew marks and various bits of down were sticking out of it - and the wand looked . . . like a wand, but smaller. Almost like a rattle. A small wolf-tooth and fur were attached to it.
The wolfs howls diminished, for a moment, as the wolf boy grabbed at the toys. He held his own wand in his hands protectively, but ignored the plushie completely. He didn't want soft - he wanted sharp!
For just a moment - relief - until Faolan saw Todd with the sword. His face, tear stained and red from his tantrum, crinkled and twisted in to what looked like another pout.
But then - thank goodness - the baby realized another one was there. Ashoka!
Ears pricked forward, the baby sniffled, clinging tightly to his wand, but his gold yees only on the newomer and the bright red wand. Oooh - who was that and what was that??
An occassional whimper was heard, but Faolan's gold eyes stared only at the newcomer.
Thank. God.
He was awfully cute when he wasn't shrieking. "There we go, that's a good one," D encouraged, wiping away his sons tears with the plushie. A kiss on his head, and D gave an apologetic smile to Todd and the newcomer. "Sorry about that - the perks of having a wolf reborn." "Come on, it's just a wand thing," Todd complained to Ashoka, over the ear-splitting howls. "This one stabbed shadow monsters or something. I'd let the wolf chew it if Pinky here wasn't going round the bend."
Obviously, he didn't care much about anything that wasn't his. Their wands could break or get drooled on all day, and it wouldn't bother him. And he was more worried about his slobbery fingers then the state of his own wand.
Finally, Todd removed his fingers from his ears as the painful howling faded away, looking carefully at the baby as if it might explode again. "And this is going to turn into one like that?" he asked himself, retrieving the sword-wand and giving it a similar cautious look. "Bloody hell. Taylor's an idiot."D partially ignored Todd, his priorty still in calming his fussy baby. The little boy was usually quite good so long as he had something to chew on. He giggled, laughed, smiled and could get awfully clingy. But be that as it may, when he was bad? He let the entire world know.
His wails were piercing, and as all they just experienced, quite effective in getting something to be done. Did D spoil him? But of course - what parent didn't? But the pink-haired man could only hope and pray that his son would lose the temper tantrums and howling. The sooner the better. At how . . sensetive Faolan could be sometimes, D doubted his hearing would last much longer.
Patting his son on the back, keeping him nuzzled close to his chest, the blue eyed man finally looked back up at the pair. "I wouldn't say he'd turn out just like this," D added mildly, though his pose turned a bit defensive. He tightened his grip on Faolan, and gave his son another kiss on the head. "I suppose it depends what your wand's past life was. Faolan's was that of a werewolf, so it makes sense that when he wails he wails. But -" he continued, quirking a brow at Todd. "Tantrums are going to be thrown by any baby. Expect to be woken up at all hours of the night, regardless if you're the sole caretaker or not. It's work. It's a lot less sleep, a lot more aggravation, dirty diapers, and less money. But I wouldn't trade Faolan in the world, even if it did mean relief on the ears."
And that, was that.
No matter how frustrated D felt with his son, all it took were those gold eyes staring up at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread. A wag of the tail, the splayed ears, and that happy smile.
It could melt his heart anytime.
But then again, D was a notorious sap.Awww. How cuuuuute. D's devotion to Faolan would have been touching to anyone, except ultra-cynical Todd. The boy rolled his eyes, making a not-too-subtle face.
"Well, this bloody thing-" he waved the wand absently, coming dangerously close to poking the others- "was apparently a vampire. That eats energy. Don't ask me, I don't give a crap. It's not even mine. Taylor just told me to get it out of the house."
"At least it's not a wolf," he added. "Aren't vampires all sneaky and stuff? I dunno what happened to it in the past. But if it's too bloody annoying-" he gave the sword a very meaningful angry glare.
Not that he meant it. Todd just didn't take things very seriously, whether they were babies, wands, or death threats. But it was probably a good thing he wasn't going to be the wand's main guardian.It took Ashoka a good few seconds more than he should have needed to realize that these people were in somewhat of same boat he was - or at least the man with the child was, the blond kid seemed to be insinuating that the sword... wand... thing wasn't his responsibility - minus the fact that they they new what boat they were in. Werewolves, vampires, manticores? Ah, why was he left in a boat with no paddle?
...Yeah, Ashoka was bitter about being in the dark, but he wasn't about to let it show... too much. And the stupid metaphors he was using were reminding him of how alike he was to his mother, and that made him wince outwardly. Great.
He gestured his hands (one of which still held the red wand) awkwardly while he tried to form the proper words for conversation. "Ah, um, your son," because he didn't think that he remembered hearing a name anywhere in there, "he's quite a handfull then?" And if that was any indication of what he would have to deal with eventually... he just hoped the baby that would result from the shiny red wand wouldn't be spitting fireballs like his sister had suggested. D continued to cradle and cuddle his little, tribal marked, painted son. The wolf boy was settling in his arms, finally, though his gaze continued to drift back and forth between Ashoka's red wand, and the previously drooled upon sword.
It wasn't so much that he wantd them for any purpose, but they felt nice to be around. Cuddling his own little wand, the wolf nibbled upon the moon-like orb that sat upon the top. His fingers reached and groped at the soft fur that wrapped around beneath it, somehow managing to not yank it free.
D suspected there was some sort of magic involved in keeping the wand all in one piece. For with how rough Faolan could be, any other 'wand' might very well be broken, or at the very least the fur should have been ripped out.
The pink haired man didn't know what to say to Todd, so he decided to focus his attention on Ashoka. Not only was the boy with the sword-wand a bit too agresive and snarky for the ravers taste, he was simply rude. And D didn't like that quality in the least!
"Faolan here," he introduced, "is a bit much to handle. I mean, he's sweet and affectionate, and can do the most adorable things. . . but he's a bit protective of what he thinks is his, and isn't very subtle when throwing tantrums."
The wolf boy kept his ears twitching - one to face Ashoka, the other swiveled to listen to the jibberish that came out of D's mouth. Eyes bright, and his tear stained face drying, the boy really wasn't that awful to be around when his mouth was shut.
His little tail wagged happily, swishing back and forth underneath D's arms, as if the boy were agreeing.
"Grwawr!" He exclaimed, taking his free hand and making a grabby motion at Ashoka.
D tried not to roll his eyes. They did not need to go through another wand-attack again. Ignoring him, D finally glanced over at Todd. "A vampire you said? I don't know what to think. It's a war of nature versus nurture, I think, so his personality is probably going to depend on his upbringing."
"I'm D, by the way," the pink haired man finally remembered his manners. Better get the introductions out of the way so they weren't staring dumbly at each other later on.So D thought he was rude. Whatever. A lot of people couldn't handle Todd's particular brand of snark. It was probably a holdover the story that had created him- something about a mass murderer barber. Not that Todd knew any of this. He just did what he felt like, which was mostly pissing people off.
"Well, I'm Todd. Pleased to meetcha'," he said, a little bit sarcastically. It was a bit late for introductions at this point, but why not?
"And it's a sie-aww-nick vampire," he drawled, carefully pronouncing the strange word. Psionic. Not a part of his normal vocabulary. "So it eats energy instead of blood."
"And if Tayor's in charge of his upbringing, then we'll have a wimpy bookworm vampire to deal with," he added. "Your werewolf sounds way more fun. So what's that one going to turn into?" He pointed towards Ashoka's gleaming red wand.The introduction from both D and Todd prompted Ashoka to do so as well. At first he was tempted to outstretch a hand for a shake but, realizing that D's hands were probably to full at the time, and not really wanting to risk losing fingers to the kid with the sword, he opted for otherwise. This "otherwise" was to scratch a spot on his neck, and smile nervously. "Ashoka - ah, I'm Ashoka. Philips, if you need a last name. It's my mother's last name, but it's on all my papers." He shrugged, and his smile quirked a bit truer. "Just 'Shoka is fine, though."
However, at Todd's question towards the red wand, Ashoka had to frown. He held it a bit closer, so that the fish bones jangled against the scales. "A Zora." The lines in his forehead deeped with another frown, this one thoughtful. "My sister says it's a fish... creature of some sort. But she's not really reliable, so..." The inflection on the last note implied the 'I'm not really sure' that he was too stubborn to admit in the public face of strangers. "Huh. Never heard of it." Todd muttered, leaning forward to squint at the shiny wand. "What are you gonna have to do, keep it in a bathtub? That sucks. Unless mebbe she's wrong." He'd picked up Ashoka's lack of confidence about the species.
"Hey, you got a skeleton on there?" That prompted another, closer look. "That's briliant! Mebbe your thing kills stuff too! Like this one's all bloody. sooo... it's probably dangerous."
Which, in Todd's eyes, was a good thing.D stared at the two with wands. Ashoka seemed nice enough, if a little nervous and unsure, and Todd . . .well. . maybe it would be better if he just kept his thoughts about him himself. An interesting sort, but not the type he'd want Faolan around for any length of time.
The blue eyed man stayed quiet as he listened to the exchange. So, the new one didn't know what a Zora was? Well. . . it wasn't as if he knew what it was either! In fact, he'd never heard of the creature before. What was it? A poisenous fish. . .?
Interesting. VERY interesting.
As Todd spoke of his bloody wand, D took a second glance at the sword. Blood was indeed stained on the blade . . . but if it were a vampire, then that made sense, didn't it? Oh dear.
He hugged his baby close, offering the squirming thing a kiss on his hair. Faolan settled a bit, almost giving up on desiring one of the others wands. He had his own, sure, but the others were very interesting! Todd's had tasted pretty good. . . maybe Ashoka's would too?
"Grawr~!!!" He growled softly, flicking his ears a bit.
D ignored him. "If you're not sure, there are always books to be found. The library here had quite the extensive collection, and Ianna seemed quite knowledgable about a variety of species. You could always talk to her," he suggested softly with a shrug of his shoulders.
Thankfully, werewolves had been around for a great length of time and weren't some obscure species. How crazy would that be, trying to raise a baby whom you knew almost nothing about?
D was lucky. A werewolf was difficult enough to handle, much less a poisenous fish or vampire.
Todd would have to beware bite marks. Okay, so Ashoka was about as opaque as saran wrap, and just about as sturdy. As he listen carefully to what Todd said he crumpled a bit, his shoulders slumping at the mention of how dangerous a Zora just-might-be. "I-I'd hope not, that wouldn't be good... at... all." He shifted his arms slightly, so that the fish skeleton jangled against the scales again, almost mockingly. Ashoka repressed a shiver. So the skeleton disturbed him just as the not-knowing did. And if-
-Dang it, he was not going to be manipulated by a kid.
Deciding it best to divert the conversation, Ashoka smiled wearily at D and ran his free hand through his hair (which was getting longer than he normally kept it, as he'd been so wrapped up in this mess he hadn't taken the time to get it cut). "I've been looking through books, I guess just not the right ones." At the other man's suggestion Ashoka pressed his lips together tightly. "I suppose that would be the next thing I do. Although, she'll be wrapped in all of this," he gestured mildly at their surroundings, "won't she?" And his mother wanted to talk to him sometime within the next week, which left him with distinct time restraints. "If I don't find anything soon, I suppose."
But he was getting really uncomfortable on this subject. He shifted his feet nervously and ran a hand through his hair again. "So..."The little British boy certainly had a talent for messing with people's heads. He'd have to remember that for the future.
At the very least, he might be able to shove the future-vampire around.
"Taylor's been reading a lot of stuff," he offered, as the book topic came up. "I dunno if she's got anything useful or not, but... that seems to be the prefered method of finding out s**t."
"Hey, don't worry," he added to Ashoka, seeing his reaction. He hadn't realized he'd creeped the guy out that much. "If it starts out as a kid you can train it, right? Then you could have this big dangerous thing to do your bidding. That'd be briliant!"
The rest of the conversation left him with a slight frown. "Who are you people talking about? Who's Ianna?"
Dammit, he didn't like being left out of anything!(To Be Continued...)
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:06 pm
For Probable Journal Entry
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:08 pm
RICHARD IN THE NEIGHBORHOODPart I
Link to Original Thread
Complete
Richard and Samuel - Dark RedAshoka, Sydney-the-wand, Phantom, Cameo, etc - BlueRichard dropped his last box on the wood floors. He wipes his brow with his forearm, looking around the entryway. With a grin, he turns on the spot to greet his dog, who's tale is wagging happily.
"Samuel, this is going to be great! New home, new life, new . . . umm . . . things!" With a grin, he reached down and itched his beloved mutt behind the ears. The dog's left leg thumped on the ground happily, as if it was running at top speed. The dog's tongue hung out the side of his mouth happily.
"Come now, we will have to start organizing the boxes into rooms. I hope we have enough space.""Pakulyar Madmoazel!"
Ashoka wanted to palm his face, but resisted the urge to do so. Well, at least he knew how Lucie had managed to get the Sleeping Beauty book from Cameo. She had indulged his little niece in Beauty and the Beast. Just great. It wasn't like children weren't fickle enough already, she had to go and provoke her.
But while Cameo's toddler attempt at singing was adorable, that wasn't the subject at hand. Rather, that happened to be his mother, who was pointedly trying to ignore him as he waved his hands wildly (red Zora wand held tightly, of course) and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Mother! I can't believe Lucie, Mother! All she had to offer me was a moldy old book! And-" He choked back saying something, and paused to rephrase it. "And you sent Hilian of all people to cheer me up! Hilian! That man doesn't have a speck of sensitivity!"
Of course, Phantom wasn't paying a lick of attention. She looked both ways briefly, saw there were no cars, and crossed directly across the road, Cameo hold her hand tightly even as she attempted to skip to her own tune.
"There must be more than this pohvential life~"
"Mom-Mom-Mom-What the Hell are you doing?"
They reached the door of the next house across the street, and Phantom finally turned around to adress him. "Greeting our new neighbor, now shut up." Grinning madly, Adeline turned back around and rapped on the door quickly several times.Richard's head jerked up at the sound of shouting outside his door, including what sounded like "hell", "greeting new neighbors" and some horrid French. Panic began creeping up in his mind. 'Neighbors? Now? French, yelling, rude neighbors? Oh no . . . oh no . . . '
Immediately, Richard closed up the lids of nearby cardboard boxes, concealing his meager magical supplies and books. Sliding them away (the floors are wood, you know), he gingerly opens the door to his new neighbors and is stunned to see a small . . . pink girl with hooves? And a woman with vibrant, tangerine hair? And some man with a red stick? It looks like a mugging-stick to Richard. A dangerous one, too.
Cautiously and meekly, the frightened man softly says, "H-hello?"Before Ashoka could mutter a word, his mother took the stand and threw one hand in the air. "Good day sir! May we come in? Thank you!" Without so much waiting for an answer, Adeline sidestepped her way inside, grinning wildly still.
Not quite sure what to do, Ashoka put his hands on Cameo's shoulders, the wand delicately balanced between his thumb and forefinger, and gently steered her inside too. He muttered sideways to Richard, "I'm sorry about my mother, she's ... enthusiastic."
Phantom didn't catch this, or if she did she didn't take notice, and instead she pivoted with her arms spread out. "What a wonderful place you have here! Lovely, absolutely lovely!" With a flourished gesture she held her hand out to Richard, "We're your new neighbors - Cam and I, 'Shoka lives a ways out of town. Glad too meet Monsieur, you can call me Phantom."
What neither of them noticed, was that Cameo had gone as stiff as a board at the sight of the mutt on the floor. Any of her previous cheeriness evaporated, leaving her clinging to her uncle's trousers.Richard seemed to have shrinked in the presence of the woman, this "Phantom". He side-stepped to the wall behind him, watching the man who was much older than the woman call her "mother" and the little girl hide behind his legs. So these were his new neighbors . . . joy. 'Maybe I should have checked the neighborhood a bit more before I moved in.'
Samuel sat next to the boxes, watching each person lazily. When he spotted Cameo, he wagged his tail. That little dog simply loved children! They would run, and play, and fetch, and scratch, and pay attention to him! But Richard hadn't told him to not sit, and he knew that Richard knew best. He looked up to his master, whining softly.
"Ermm, a true pleasure. I . . . I am Richard. A-and this is my d-dog, Samuel." Richard gestured to the sable dog sitting by a stack of cardboard boxes. "We just moved here from the city, in hopes of . . . catching a peaceful break.""Too late." Ashoka muttered, only to recieve a not-so subtle jab in the ribs from his mother.
"Richard!" She acted like Ashoka had said nothing, and that this was a grand, fabulous occasion. Making another over the top gesture at the dog in turn, she continued. "Samuel! Welcome the neighborhood! We've been quite lonely recently, what with the-the-who's-its that lived here before moving out and all."
Another mutter from Ashoka, this one getting him a heel on his toe. "I wouldn't be suprised if you were the one that drove them out."
"We live right across the street, if you've got any problems just drop on by, there's usually always someone home."
"Because I'm sure Hilian'd love that." Ouch, that was his other big toe.
Cameo wimpered as she saw the dog notice her, and leaned closer to her uncle. He barely took notice, but wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her back. Nasty dog, nasty, nasty dog. Richard appeared terrified of these people for a moment, his eyes wide.
He snapped his fingers quickly, and Samuel rose from his seat. He trotted over to Richard and sat by his leg, eyeing the tangerine woman now.
"Errm, like I said, it is a t-true pleasure. Would you come in?" He gestured toward a small path through the boxes, leading into a space next to a large window. "I can make us all drinks. I am afraid I only have water, hot chocolate, tea, and coffie. I haven't stocked up on much else yet."
He shrugged slightly and tried flashing a smile, but what showed was a pathetic little twitch of his lips. Biting his lower lip, he hesitantly lead the group through the jungle of stacked boxes and into the clearing, his loyal dog trotting behind with a slowly wagging tail."You're scaring the man, Mother."
Phantom stuck her tongue out at Ashoka, hands on her hips. She quickly regained her composer, grinning at Richard. "Certainly, thank you so very much. Water please. Cam?"
The little toddler had been diligently watching every move of the dog until she was jolted out of her thoughts by her mother's voice. "Uh?"
"Cam, hot chocolate?"
She nodded hesistantly, looking at her hooves. "Wit' marshmellows."
The cheery demeanor Phantom put on slipped briefly while she delt with her daughter, frowning down at her. "Talk to Richard, Cameo. Be polite."
With a final glance at the dog, Cameo looked up at the man and swallowed. "Can I haf marshmellows too, sir?"
Phantom slipped easily back, beckoning her daughter to her side. Cameo came, trying to hide just as well behind her legs as her uncle's. "Cam! Don't be so shy, this isn't like you." But the thought was never followed through, because she soon turned to Ashoka. "Water?"
Ashoka smiled at Richard. "If you could, thank you." Absent-mindedly, he fingered the scales on the red wand in his hand, twisting the fishing wire around his finger."Errm, right away." Richard nodded, then gestured to a spot next to the window with a stack of large, puffy pillows of multiple hues. "Take your favorite and please make yourself comfortable."
With a weak smile, Richard hurried off to the kitchen with Samuel wagging his tail and following. In the kitchen, Richard opened the box clearly labled "mugs" and pulls out two red cups and two orange cups. Filling all of the cups with water (one orange with water heated by the already-plugged in electric water kettle), he opens a box near him labled "drinks" and pulls out one pack of hot chocolate with marshmellows inside. Shaking it, he opens and pours the contents into the warm mug of hot chocolate. Closing his eyes, he mutters a few words over the mug, causing it to swirl and mix. When his eyebrow began twitching with concentration, Samuel whined softly for his master's safety.
Finally, he moved his hands away, panting heavily. Magic was still immensely hard for him; he couldn't get the energy flowing properly. Healing was easier, but mundane charms are much more practical. Pulling out a large plate from a box labled "plates", Richard set all the mugs on it and carried it out to the group of people.With the dog gone, Cameo ran as well as she could into the nearest pillow, burying her face in it. The great weight seemed to have lifted up off of her shoulders, and perhaps as a celebration of this she began to hum to herself (because, if she sang to loud, the dog might come back). "What a puzzle to the res' of us is Belle~"
Phantom had found a seat next to Cameo and had begun to ruffle Cameo's hair when she went stiff. There was no denying the feeling that waved from the general area in which Richard had gone. A twisted grin split her face. "'Shoka, do you feel that?"
Indeed he did. He had flinched, and his eye flickered to the direction Richard had gone. It kind of hurt to have something like that shoved at him sudden, even if he lived right upstairs from an advanced practitioner. "Someone's working magic."
"Not just any someone. Our own little Richard." Leaning back on her palms like that with her chin tilted up and her smile unwavering, she looked positively wicked. "We've got a novice magician on our hands." She practically sung the last part, breaking into giggles.
Ashoka rolled his eyes, much more interested with Cameo's sudden mood swing than the fact that their neighbor was a magician. "And you aren't novice?"
Phantom's face twisted into something ugly. "Intermediate. I've cast an upper level spell too." Before Ashoka could interject and point out that that was a complete accident, she continued. "Nevertheless, I think there's something we can make of this, maybe."
"Oh?" He sounded doubtful, but things were always iffy when it came to her.
"Just watch and see, 'Shoka." When the nice young man reentered the room, Phantom slipped back to her previous demeanor. "Thank you, Richard."Richard smiled weakly at the group, bending down to offer them all their drinks. First, he knelt to Cameo, but was slightly confused by her head in the pillow. With a slight shrug, he carefully set an orange mug next to her filled with steaming hot chocolate and small marshmellows. He flashed a small reassuring smile before offering Phantom a matching orange mug with clear, shimmering water. "I hope the water is to your liking."
He shuffled across the wooden floor to Ashoka, offering him a bright red cup, also filled with clean, pure water. Giving him a small nod, Richard set the plate down and grabbed his own red mug. Taking a small sip, he folds his legs and watches the group curiously. His dog trots next to him, his tail wagging slowly. Richard muttered a small command under his voice, and Samuel walked in a tight circle before plopping down on the wood floors. He flops his head at the part of people, watching them with large puppy eyes.Cameo looked up at Richard with a smile, smelling the nice hot chocolate near her, but her expression faultered when she spotted the dog. She quickly grabbed the mug and crawled a bit further away from Samuel, watching him carefully.
Ashoka accepted his own mug with a muttered 'thank you' and sat down. He set the red wand down on his lap, and slipped lightly on his water.
On the other hand, Phantom took her own cup and immediately started in the poor man. "So! Richard! What is it you do?"Richard hesitated before replying to Phantom's question. His mind tried deciphering what she meant by that. 'Does she mean what I do on a daily basis? What I do for a living? What I was trained to do? Oh dear . . . ' "Errm . . . I worked at a clinic before I left to rethink my life and re-organize my plans. So, in other words, I am a doctor."
He drank a small amount of water from his red mug before nodding to what he said. He frowned slightly at Cameo's behavior, also wondering why she seemed frightening. 'Did I scare her? Oh, I hope not. She is such a sweet girl. And she's seems so polite. Maybe it is my clothes? Or my home? Maybe she's terrified of cardboard boxes . . . or Samuel?' "Might I ask if . . . Cameo's behavior is normal? I don't want her uncomfortable here.""Congratulations on landing on Crazy Street." By the end of this evening Ashoka was going to be so severely bruised that he wouldn't be able to sit up properly the next morning. That was his rib.
His mother chose to otherwise ignore him, and leaned a little bit, balancing her chin in her palms and her elbows on her knees. If she hadn't been wearing her cream colored turtleneck, that position might have given Richard a rather generous view of her cleavage. "A doctor, eh? A clinic, is that so? You must be a very intelligent man then. Do you happen to have any hobbies? Everyone needs a hobby. I mean you can't just be totally work-minded, could you? Those kind of men are boring." Tilting her head to the side slightly as she drew out that 'o', she ruffled her hair unconsciously. "For example, do you, say, dabble in the occult?"
Oh, she was not going to be that straight forward.
He didn't know what was worse: that, or the fact that his mother was flirtingwith this guy! Ashoka opened his mouth to intervene, but the question about Cam's behavior managed to cause him to stutter to a halt. She wasn't behaving like her normal cheery self. Her spirits had been in the clouds when they knocked on the door.
What could possibly be going on that they weren't aware of?
Then two and two clicked. Phantom ranted to him at one of their tea evenings a long time ago about an incident involving a werewolf and Cam in a tree. Oh, crapshit.
"Mom-"Richard frowned heavily at Phantom's accusation. The occult? He had no idea what that even was. 'Wait - isn't the Occult some rock band my neighbors played quite loudly during the nights in the city? Or was that Hug? Or Kiss? Or maybe Smootch?' "Errm, I do not believe I am participating in any rock group, but that is neither here nor there. I am a man of reason and intellect, yes. And . . . why are you bending over like that? Is your back in pain?"
Yes, Richard was smooth. Very smooth. Pathetically, Samuel covered his muzzel with his paws and whimpered slightly at his master's horrid behavior.While she was feeling quite frustrated at the density of this man, she didn't let it show. Instead, she attempted a warm smile. "No, not a rock band, Richard. And this position is quite comfortable for me, actually, thank you."
She was, however, doing a fan-freaking-tastic job of ignoring Ashoka.
"Mom-"
"-I would hope, however, that you knew the very nature of what it is you do-"
"-Mom, Cam-"
"-I mean, you are a smart man, you said so yourself,"
"-Mom-"
"-But I must indicate that, at its very core, Richard, what you do is occult."
"Mother, Cam's afraid of dogs."
Cameo looked up from her careful observations of Samuel, and the diligent sipping of her hot chocolate. Her wide green eyes met with Phantom's gray.
It took a second to sink in, but once it did Phantom lept to her feet, some of the water splashing out of her cup onto the wood flooring. She looked down at her daughter, to Samuel, to Cameo again, and she finally found how the two pieces of the puzzle put together. "Ah <********>." Flipping out her cell, she quickly dialed home, hands shaking the whole time.
"Hilian? Get your lazy a** over here and get Cam. Don't ask why, just come and get her. We're right across the street, you dumbass. I don't care that your show's on. Yes. Now. Thank you."
She flipped her cell closed, and sinked back into her previous seat, allowing Cameo to crawl into her lap with her hot chocolate. "There, there. Where were we?" Her voice shook only slightly (I mean, how could she have gone all this time, and not noticed?), but she gave off the impression that the brief conversation with Hilian had never happened, and that they had merely been briefly inconvienienced.Richard's eyes grew wide as this all happened. She was afraid of dogs? Why didn't anyone tell him! "Ma'am, please, I can just send Samuel to the backyard. There is plenty of space for him to frolic!"
He didn't want to cause this . . . Hil-man to get uncomfortable, and that language wasn't needed in his home. He whistled, causing Samuel to stand up and look inquiringly at Richard. "Samuel, outside!" Richard barked an order in a loud, dominate voice, quite unlike what he was using in his conversation. Samule wagged his tail while trotting to the open door that lead outside.
"I am so sorry about this! I didn't know Cameo was afraid. I wish you told me sooner, I could have sent him to the back. What can I do to make this up to you all?" Richard resumed his slightly nervous state. He bit his lower lip, hoping he didn't make a bad impression on his neighbors.Rather guiltily, Phantom had to admit, "We didn't know either." She ran her fingers through Cameo's hair, smiling softly. Ashoka nodded hesitantly in agreement, his own fingers wrapping around the mug. "There was nothing you could do about it."
And anyways, Hilian had already arrived. To Richard, of course, he only appeared to be a rumpled looking young man with astray strawberry blond hair, and rather slapped together in only sweatpants and a jacket. A brief glance at Richard and then at Cameo, and he spoke. "Come'n Cam, let's go." Richard appeared heart-broken. His first day in the neighborhood and he terrorized the neighbor's daughter. He glanced at Hilian with his grey eyes, then looked down in confusion.
"I am still sorry I did not move my dog earlier. How can I make it up to you all?" He looked up to Phantom, eagerness to help clearly in his eyes. He will make this right, or at least try. Ashoka had to palm his face. This man was as dense as a rock. "It's not your fault." This came out hard off his tongue, and a bit more sharp than expected. "You don't need to d-"
Holding up a hand to shush her son, Phantom spoke. "Actually-" That smile that blossomed on her lips was positively unnatural, "there is something you can do for us."
Hilian, quite confused, looked between the people in the room in turn (giving Phantom a look that clearly said: You are going to tell me what's going on when you get home), and then bent down to pick up Cameo. "Let's go." No response from the little green haired girl, who was quite content on her mother's lap. Hilian sighed, time to try plan B. "Alex's making cookies." The mention of cookies caused the toddler to look up from her mother's lap. She looked down at the hot chocolate mournfully, took one last sip, and set it on the ground next to her mother. Her uncle heaved her up underneath her arms and settled her on his hip slightly, her arms wrapping around his neck. And, without even a goodbye (except for a wave and a smile from Cameo), they were gone and out the door.
Well, Ashoka thought, that was alway the way with his brother.Richard waved farewell to Cameo, returning the smile weakly. He then looked at Phantom with an inquisitive expression. "What is it I may do?"
He folded his hands on his lap, straitened his back, and waited patiently. He had many guesses of what he just got himself into, but who knew what would happen? 'Maybe she will ask me to make them dinner? Breakfast? Lunch? Maybe she will ask to move in? Move out? For a rose? Maybe she will ask me to jump of a cliff? Ooo . . . I hope not. I hate hights.' Worry began to creep into his mind as he thought more and more of horrific tasks that he could be assigned. His hands fidgited nervously. Phantom took this chance to be overly theatrical. Again. While Ashoka was slumped over remorse that his mother was taking advantage of this poor man's pointless guilt, she snatched the red wand off his lap. "I ask-" She pointed the wand at Richard with a flourished movement that caused the scales and fish skeleton to jangle, "-that you tell me what it is you know about Zoras!"
Ashoka buried his burning red face in his hands. Richard took a deep breath of air when she pointed the wand at him, bracing for a horrifying punishment, then frowned when he heard the request.
"Zora?" Zora . . . Zora . . . where was it he read about those? Zora . . . Zora . . .
"Aren't those fire-breathing fish monsters?" Richard asked gingerly, raising an eyebrow at Phantom. "I am not sure . . ." He then looked toward a stack of boxes. "But I think I can help you." He slowly rised from his comfortable position, flattening out the folds in his white shirt and blue pants. Phantom clapped her hands together happily (which was a little hard, since she was still holding the red wand). "Oh hurray! 'Shoka, did you hear that? The mystery can now be solved!"
But the thought that the spirit stuck in the red wand was a fire breathing fish monster made her poor son freeze stiff. Nononono, his sister simply couldn't be right. Nuhuh. No way. He'd been holding out hope for the fishy people with tails on their heads, at least. Although, he had to note, the woman he had met at the shop - her wand had the soul, spirit, whatever, of a manticore.
He felt kinda sick to his stomach.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:19 pm
RICHARD IN THE NEIGHBORHOODPart II
Link to Original Thread
Complete
Richard and Samuel - Dark RedAshoka, Sydney-the-wand, Phantom, Cameo, etc - BlueRichard approached the stack of boxes with a grin. Knowledge? That he can do. Grabbing the top box, he inspected the lable. "'How-to-do-it Guides? No . . ." Richard let the box drop to the wooden floor with a loud thunk, then peered at the next box. "'Philosophy and Religion'? No . . ."
He continued through over twenty boxes, ranging from "biology" and "mathematics" to "science fiction" and "fantasy stories". He didn't seem to find the box he was looking for, however. With a frustrated expression, Richard then walked over to the pile of boxes he was dealing with before the Phantom family entered his home. Under "writing utensils" and "socks", he found his goal!
"I have it," Richard called out to the Phantom family, "I found it." Carrying a rather oversized cardboard box that concealed his face from the sitting guests, he gently set it in front of Phantom. Grinning, he gestured to the lable, reading "Fantastic Creatures and Beings".
"Well, in my investigations on . . . umm, mythology and entities, I cumulated a good collection on mystical and magical creatures. I think I've read about Zora before, and if I have, the book is in here." "Goodie!" Phantom set the wand on the ground, approached the box, plopped down, and leaned over, looking at what was inside. "Ah! Richard, I told you you were magical!" And she actually sounded (and looked) sincere, practically bouncing and full of glee. If not for her thirty-something looking sons and the toddler aged daughter, she might have looked like the young woman she was.
Ashoka managed to pull himself out of his misery and slid over next to his mother, picking up the red wand left on the flooring. He looked down into the box and then up at Richard, smiling. "Do you have any clue what that book might be? The title, I mean."
He recieved another jab in his ribs from Phantom. "Don't be ungrateful, he did this for us, don't just keep asking for more!"
And she should be the one talking about being ungrateful? Whatever. "I believe the title is Civilizations of the Deep. It is a thick blue tome, if my memory serves me properly." Richard stepped back, smiling at his neighbors. With a content nod, he sat back down, folding his legs once more. 'Phew, glad I didn't have to jump off a cliff.'
"Do be careful with those books, they can be delicate. Some are quite old, and some are quite . . . ermm, potent with energy." Richard bit his lower lip as new worry and fears flew into his mind. 'What if they rip a book? Or take out its pages? Or . . .' He began fidgiting with his hands again. "It's okay, it's okay, I know what I'm doing." Ashoka, contrary to his demeanor only a few seconds before hand, he was positively brimming with energy. It seemed the word 'old' in conjunction with 'books' had struck a new fire within him. "Civilizations of the Deep, Civilizations of the Deep, Civilizations of the Deep, thick and blue huh? Civilizations of the Deep..." Well that pretty much solidified that they were dealing with a water creature, not like the scales and fish skeleton didn't indicate that.
"Ashoka knows how to treat old things." Phantom grinned sincerely at Richard. "He especially loves books. He's our own Belle." ". . . Bell? Like, ding-dong?" Now Richard was growing particularly confused. Her older-than-his-mother son knows how to treat old things, like a bell? What kind of neighborhood did he enter now?
"Nevermind, I just hope that the book holds what you are looking for. It was hand-written, you know. First-edition from an Abby far north. A bit tricky to translate, but it is still based off of the Germanic root language." Richard smiled reassuringly to Ashoka. "I am sure it would be a piece of cake for you."
The fidgeting decreased slightly, but he was still worried for his books. After all, he did a lot to get them. They are his children Phantom was begining to find Richard's thickness more endearing than anything. She smiled sweetly, folding her hands on her lap. "No, like Beauty and the Beast Belle. You know, 'she's got her nose stuck in a book' and all that?" Ah, the pleasures of being a mother to a toddler girl.
Ashoka, on the other hand, was quite enjoying himself, especially when he found the blue book Richard had been talking about. His face practically lit up when he recognized the title. "Translation's no problem as long as I can read it, at least it isn't covered in mold like the one my sister gave to me." Yeah, he was still looking to extract revenge for that one. ". . . You are saying your son is like some Disney woman? How . . . nevermind. Well, I am glad you will be able to handle the book properly. I was in the process of translating it, so I might have your Zora translated. I am not sure . . . I'll have to send it on a DVD or something for you." Richard nodded to Phantom, then to Ashoka. He flashed a more relaxed smile before sipping some more water.
"I think I translated about half-way through. I was thinking of publishing it while I was off of work. You know, try to earn some extra money."
Richard chuckled lightly before stretching slightly and taking yet another sip of water. Phantom rolled her eyes. "Blame my daughter, she started it."
"In fact," piped Ashoka, "Blame Lucie for everything. Death, the Black Plague, even, I wouldn't be suprised if she was behind that too." Ow that was his neck. He clutched the book close to himself, looked down at it, then up at Richard, then down at the wand, and then up at Richard again. "If you do have translations that'd be greatly appreciated, it'd save a good deal of work."
And, it seemed, Phantom was back in her own fantasy land. "Ah, languages. The power of the word, you know? I imagine you could make a good piece of gold off of it too." This time it was Ashoka's turn to give a not-so-subtle elbow in a vulnerable place, only to be elbowed back."Errm . . . right . . ." Richard rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He wasn't use to domestic violence in any form, and seemed to try to ignore it. Finishing off the water in his mug, he rose slowly. "I will get more water. Do you want a re-fill?"
He set his mug on the plate and lifted it, tilting his head slightly as he watched the Phantoms mug eachother. 'Oh, I do hope they do not include me in their combat . . .'Phantom grinned, offering her and Ashoka's mugs up (since when did she get that?). "Yes, thank you." Well, so much for letting him speak for himself. Although, he did want more water.
Whatever the case, Ashoka settled back to flip gently through the blue book gleefully, letting the antics of his mother pass. Ah, it was always nice to have a new... old book in his hands. If that made any sense.Richard bowed his head to Phantom before carrying off the tray of mugs to the kitchen. He set the plate down next to the sink, and taking each mug, he filled them with clean, fresh water. Smiling, he then wiggled his fingers and focused once more. Letting his own energy flow out of his body, he slowly drained the heat out of one small area in each mug. When drops of sweat began to drip down his slightly twitching brow, Richard released the hold over the magic. A small breeze rushed over him as one ice cube in each mug grew out of the water. Releasing a long and slightly stressed breath, he leaned on the counter. Clearly, he had to catch his breath.
A moment passed before he took the tray out once more, smiling much more confidently then earlier. "Who wants ice-cold water?"The second time, it was far less obvious, but Ashoka looked up from the book balanced delicately in his lap to Phantom, and she looked back. Yep. More magic. And considering the books he had, well, it would come to no suprise if Richard practiced magic. Actually, it was rather undebatable at this point.
When Richard reentered the room, both of them locked their eyes on him. Phantom smiled, Ashoka tried to, and then looked back down at his reading. Or skimming. Or whatever.
"You could have just put ice cubes in them, Richard!" Phantom tutted, putting the missing ice cubes, ice cold water, and surge of magic together quite nicely, but accepted the mug happily."The ice cubes were there, weren't they?" Richard smiled criptically. He still had beads of sweat on his forehead and did appear a bit more worn out. However, his attitude and demeanor are much more cheerful and relaxed. He, as before, folded his legs and sat down. With a grin, he took another sip of his water.
'These people seem much more . . . liberal than what I lived with. Maybe they aren't afraid of mysticism.'Phantom looked down at her cup, up at Richard, and down at the cup again. Well, s**t, an ice cube indeed. She was going senile. Or just quick to jump to judgment. "Well I'll be damned."
And Ashoka? Ashoka really liked the book. A lot. Richard frowned slightly, confused by Phantom’s remark. ’I’ll be damned? Does that mean she is upset? Happy? Shocked? Was that sarcasm? Oh, I do dislike sarcasm. It is so hard to detect at times . . .’
“Errm, okay.” Richard nodded hesitantly before taking yet another sip of water from his mug. With a satisfied sigh, he lowered his mug, then decided to do something very bold for him: he decided to start up conversation.
“So why do you want to know about Zora?”And poor Phantom had no clue whatsoever that what she did perplexed her neighbor so much. She just smiled, took a sip of her water (that did have ice cubes in it, silly girl). When the subject of why came up, she rather started, not expecting that question. "Oh, we're, you see, it's hard to explain."
Ashoka waved his hand dismissively at her (the one that held the red wand, so it was hard to determine if he really was gesturing at her or was indicating the wand). "I just... need to know what to expect."
What? Of course he was stiill praying against the spitting fire fishie. He didn't think he, or his book collection, could handle a spitting fire fishie.Richard's curiosity has been sparks, and with a small smile, he continued to press the issue. "Well, expect for what?"
He watched the wand for a moment before eyeing both Ashoka and Phantom appraisingly. Now they were concealing secrets. This was intriguing to Richard, and his mind now buzzed with many more questions.
'What is that red stick? What are they hiding from me? What kind of family is this? What do Zoras have to do with this entire situation? Is there something bigger here than I can not see yet?'For people who loved poking in the situations of other people, they sure hated having their own lives prodded. Phantom pursed her lips tight, folding her hands in her lap.
"Now, if we told you we'd have to kill you. Pull out your innards by your throat and feed them to our carnivorous plants, actually." She said it so seriously it almost seemed plausible, until her own son turned and gave her a dubious look.
"What?"
"I'm joking. Joking." Phantom slumped slightly, crossing her arms. "Jeebus, 'Shoka, I thought you'd know when I wasn't serious."
Ashoka rolled his eyes. "Yeeeah. Right. No one can tell. Carnivorous plants? Honestly." He flipped a page, smiled wistfully, and looked up at Richard. "Don't mind her, she's having too much fun funneling her frustrations of being a grandmother towards outside disturbances."
Phantom grumbled and flopped backwards onto the ground, thoroughly dispirited. "I'm too young to be a grandma."Richard now looked perplexed. ‘Why on earth did she mention that death thing?’
“Well, I am still curious, and I think I have a right to know what my book is being used for.” Richard was trying to take a firmer stance, which was slightly unusual for him. His years of avoiding tricky questions let him know that these two were avoiding answering. Besides, it is a new neighborhood and a new life. If he continued being meek little old Richard, he wouldn’t get very far. He had to assert himself to make a new and better life for himself and his dog! And that was just was he was going to do.Phantom and Ashoka traded looks. This situation was really something they didn't want to get into, but if Richard wasn't going to give...
Ashoka frowned, not sure how to phrase it, without sounding like a crazed maniac. "You see, I'm-" oh, it sounded so weird to say this, "I-I'm going to, eventually, ah, be a father. Adopt, but, you understand, I don't know where this child is coming from. See, he-"
"-or she." Phantom jabbed in, with a rather irritated snip.
"-or she," Ashoka acknowledged, nodding his head, "is Zora." Was a Zora, whatever, he wasn't really looking forward to explaining that one to their new neighbor. Maybe sometime later, if the poor guy didn't promptly move out after this encounter. Very reluctantly, Ashoka continued. "I just need to know where the little one is coming from, that's all."
Okay, so they were still staying vague, but still.Richard watched Ashoka a little longer before taking yet another sip of water from his mug. Pondering for a moment, he looked into the rippling fluid in the orange cup. He was obviously deep in thought.
“You are adopting a creature, but you have no idea what this creature is, exactly? And yet you are willing to devote a lifetime of work to this unknown being? That is very selfless of you.” Richard nodded absentmindedly. He was speaking softly, as if more to himself than Ashoka. It confused him to hear that a man would devote his life to the unknown, but he assumed it was an act of exalted statue that he has yet to experience. One day, he hoped to be able to be confident enough to do so."They are a child, not a creature, Richard." He did not raise his voice, but he spoke particularly firmly, with just the slightest bit of venom seeping into his voice. He understood that Richard probably meant no harm, but a kind of fatherly instinct was beginning to fester in Ashoka, and it wouldn't stand for the slight made on the to be child's nature. "They are not with a human body, but they are a child, all the same."
Phantom looked sideways at Ashoka, a smile curling up her lips. For once, she didn't speak, and as she looked down at her lap and her hands folded so neatly there, she seemed utterly lost in thought.“I know that this . . . Zora was it? Yes, that this will be a child. But that doesn’t mean that preparation is present. You might think you are prepared to raise the child, but do you know how to work diapers? What a proper diet would be? Any common childhood illnesses with this species that might pass over for this child? How about immunization shots? Demeanor? How fast the child would grow? There are a lot of facts that might not be known that would be essential to raising this child. I can try to help – I was in an internship with a clinic that dealt with single parents and neglected children. I have seen a lot of . . . cases where the parent meant well but wasn’t prepared.”
Richard nodded, then took yet another sip from his drink. He tried to not think about the internship too much, but it was hard. It gave him the tough hide needed for medicine, but by doing so Richard felt that a piece of his idealism and innocence was destroyed. It was an unsettling feeling. A very unsettling feeling.
“If I can, I will help your endeavor.”Phantom chuckled, placing a hand delicately on her chest. "Richard, a piece of advice. Around here, it is impossible to be prepared. Life changes at the drop of a pin." And that had happened, what, twice to her so far recently? Cam and Jaque (Asha she had adopted by choice, so he didn't quite count in this matter) had both arrived to her in an unusual and prompt fashion, completely out of the blue.
The only hint that Ashoka aknowledged his mother was speaking was the fact that he didn't speak until she had finished. "T-thank you, Richard for your concern. As far as research goes, I'm doing what I can now." He gently wrapped a hand around Civilizations of the Deep. "It was sudden, wasn't really given a chance, really, to mull it over. Um, life and death, really." And it was hard. He couldn't explain to Richard why he didn't really have a choice in the matter of "adoption" at all, without risking sounding like a complete nut job. Granted, Richard seemed to have some knowledge of magic and such, but he also came across as being naive in the matters. Reincarnation, past lives, the concept of guardianship... Ashoka would be hard pressed to explain that, as he hardly understood it himself. "Thank you, though, yes, mm, any help would be... good." Lame.
"Although, you do have a point," it was Phantom speaking now, tilting her head, "I should probably send Alex to stay with him. She's been a real godsend with Asha, you know. She knows how to care for kids."
That sent a bristle through Ashoka, his eyes widening significantly. "Alex?" What was she trying to do, get Hilian to visit even more often?
Phantom smirked, tapping her lower lip with her finger. "Well, she has been wanting to get out of the house. Although, moving in is a bit drastic. I could just ask her to drop in on you every once and a while. That'd work."Richard seemed uneasy when Phantom explained about how easy it is to prepare in this area. He always loved a good plan, and was constantly prepared for whatever he thought might happen. This was helpful, since he wasn't too talented in spontaneous decisions. Stress didn't help Richard in any way.
"Well, I am sure that you chose the wisest decision, Ashoka. I apologize for doubting you, but you must understand where my point of view originates. I will help you as best as I can."
Richard nodded, then sipped a little more water from his mug. This was one weird neighborhood. Ashoka smiled distantly, looking downwards at the wand in his hand. "Thank you, Richard, for understanding. A lot of the circumstances here are, mm, quite unexplainable at this point in time." He tilted his head back up slightly to look at Richard. "If you would be patient with me, when things get clearer," and perhaps when he trusted him more, "I could explain without beating around the bush."
After taking a deep sip of water, Phantom interrupted. "'Course, he explained it just fine, really. Life or death, sudden, doesn't know more than it's a Zora fishie." She shrugged, and then shortly after bit her lip thoughtfully. A little rustling followed, as she dug in her pantspockets. Eventually she found a piece of folded paper in her back pocket. Ashoka, getting her drift, handed over a pen from his coat pocket. Phantom took it gratefully, and quickly scribbled a couple phone numbers down. As Ashoka leaned over her shoulder, he caught the names she labeled them with: Phantom (Adeline) Philips (home), Phantom (cell), Ashoka Philips (home), Ashoka (cell). Phantom creased the paper right under Ashoka's cell number, folded it over, then again the other way, and very delicately tore the paper along the crease. With a flourish, she handed both pieces over, along with the pen. "Here, Richard, these are our numbers, the ones you'll likely catch one of us at. Now can we get your number too?"Richard paused to look over the piece of paper, then nodded slowly. His eyes flickered between Ashoka and Phantom, seeing if they were sincere.
"Very well, I shall give you my phone number. I do hope I recall the home phone's information properly." With a small nod of his head, he scribbled down two numbers on the blank piece of paper torn by Phantom. It held the numbers for Dr. Laer - Home and Dr. Laer - Cell, just in case.
"There you go. I hope that our numbers never need to be used in an emergency, but they are good to have anyways." He chuckled lightly before flashing a brief smile to the Phantoms."New numbers are always hard to remember, don't worry. If we get the pizza guy when we try an' call, we'll know you got it wrong." Phantom smiled, taking the numbers gratefully, and tucking them away in her back pocket. Shortly thereafter, she downed the rest of her water, set the cup on the floor, and stood.
"Now, I think it's time for us to take our leave." This seemed to be a cue, as Ashoka stood up quickly after, holding the book and his arm and the glinting red wand in his hand. "Thank you for your time, Richard." Phantom said, tipping an imaginary hat.
Ashoka echoed her with his own 'Thank you' and an added smile. Laying a hand on the book under his arm, he said, "I don't think you know how much you've helped me with this, but you really did. Thank you."
"Like I said, if you need anything, someone's always home, and we're just across the street, so don't be 'fraid to drop in. Ciao."
Ashoka gave a short wave, already taking a step to leave. "See ya, sometime, hopefully not under unfortunate circumstances."Richard smiled meekly, and rose to meet the Phantoms. He walked over to the door to open it, just like any gentleman would. "It has been a true pleasure." He bowed before opening the door for the Phantoms, trying to act as respectful and humble as he could. "I do hope to see you soon as well, Mr. Ashoka."
Richard wondered how these were unfortunate circumstances, but he didn't ask. It wouldn't have made this any easier, and he was having a good time. He had house guests over, didn't make a fool of himself, and actually made what he would consider friends. It was, all in all, a wonderful experience. [ The End]
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:59 pm
JOURNAL Why does Mother pull me along on her errands? I mean, other than the fact that I'm the only guy willing to let her. She always seems too urgent, but she just wants me to carry the grocery bags, or baby-sit Cam, or meet the new neighbor. At least she pays me, as little as it is (25g), but I do have a (part time) job, and something of a life.
Okay, not really But I have to admit that meeting Richard was quite an... intriguing experience. Not only did Mother make herself more than at home, she made the man as uncomfortable as he could practically be. The poor man. He lives across the street from my mother.
I'll send him a card, maybe:
"RIP Dr. Richard. I'm sorry you had to live near my mother."
Second intriguing thing of the moment: Cam is afraid of dogs. I think the experience with the werewolf way back when she was an infant scarred her more than we had imagined?
Third news, the most important: HOLY F I MIGHT HAVE FOUND WHAT I NEED. Finally. FINALLY. I knew it had to be SOMEWHERE. "Civilizations of the Deep". Hallelujah. Richard lent it to me with the translation journal. It's going to be another long night, but (maybe?) this is the light at the end of the tunnel.
I mean, I know that that D guy said that the HQ library was a good reference, and, if this doesn't work out, that's the next stop. But... anything I can do to avoid, erm, having to admit I'm lost is a good thing.
Er.
Yeah.
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