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 Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:04 pm
Well, now Archie noticed a lot of things. How could he not? First off, Autsu looked and sounded as though he was going to be the one to throw the next punch. Archie swallowed. "Oh, no, really. You don't have to. Definitely find the kids, but you don't have to worry about the guy who did this. I think he was probably just misguided." Not to mention noticably younger and half a foot shorter than Archie was. "I started it anyway."
His eyes were momentarily caught by the rhythmic motion of Autsu's hand. It seemed the boy didn't realize he was doing anything at all. Archie might have said something, but Kian's remembrance of this Karl distracted him. He made a mental note of the child's appearance; perhaps if he was on the lookout, he could help find at least one of these mystery kids. Archie looked down again for a second as Kian's third eye found Autsu. Well, if neither of them felt the need to speak of it, Archie wouldn't ask.
Archie tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he thought on what was being asked of him. A headquarters. A neutral one. It made sense. "You're always welcome here," he began. "I just don't know if there's enough space for what I think you're going to need." He continued tapping, otherwise silent for an uncomfortable half a minute before his fingers stopped. "There is someplace else, but we'd have to keep things really quiet until we were established. Moved in so much that moving us out would be more trouble than letting us stay." He suddenly realized he was including himself in these plans and cleared his throat. Obviously he was just there to arrange things before bowing out gracefully. If he ever set foot near anything that could be described by the word 'training,' he would most likely make an a** out of himself. Or lose an eye. Or both.
"My neighbor," he pointed toward the wall behind Kian and Autsu, in the direction of Carrie's house. "She moved away, but she left her key with my daughter, to keep safe for if she ever comes back. I don't think she's going to, and even if she did, she would just tell you guys to leave, not call the cops or anything. It has furniture, and I'm sure I could get the electricity turned back on in secret for now, but Dixie can't know anyone's in there until it's too late." It seemed like a good idea, even if Archie's dwindling interplanetary income meant he had to get a job to keep things running smoothly.
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:40 pm
It took no more than the brief increase of pressure from the tail at his wrist to make Autsu aware of his hands again. For a second, he simply stared in confusion at his own fingers, as if he'd never seen them before. Then, slowly, carefully, he curled them back into a fist, and let that fist fall to his lap. First, he had to get through this meeting.
Then, he could kill himself. What was wrong with him?
Archie was speaking. The man, in many ways, held the place of an Ex' in their group more firmly than Kian did. Kian was a leader, but he thought and acted as a Di'. Archie was... an organizer. Distanced from the events in some ways. It made sense that he wouldn't understand why this attack was such a problem. He wasn't enough of a soldier to see the details.
Someone was targeting him. This could only be malicious, and if it concerned Archie, it concerned all of them. An attack on Archie was an attack on the entire group. Already, it seemed the unit had an enemy.
"I will need a description of this person." He looked at the man then, trying to disguise violent intentions with an attempt at a smile. "If he is misguided, we must reguide him."
But, on to bigger, more important things. So, Archie had a place for them? That was good news, and frankly, Autsu didn't know enough about the legalities to care about the details. There was a place, and they could have it. Moving in quietly didn't seem like much of a difficulty, and they'd be close enough to Archie to protect them. Perhaps the housing would only be temporary, but it would offer them a chance to try things out before finding someplace new.
"I believe this could be good." He glanced to Kian then, his expression inquisitive, so caught up in planning that he momentarily forgot his nervousness with the boy. "Yes?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:07 pm
Kian was...confused. So was Autsu up for physical contact if he was upset or frustrated? Is that something his people did? Well, his hand was gone, and there was still that arm that was captured by his tail. His own thoughts a little distant, Kians webbed fingers moved, resting over the hand that his tail had captured by the wrist.
"Reguide." The word was echoed by the tone was distasteful. His upper lip peeled back, reveling white shots of teeth. "Do not feel as if you need to defend the other, Ahrchi. If there is reguidance..." A Look was shot to his comrade, one eyebrow arching up sharply, "There will be no marks to verify that words were said."
So he thought as a Di. He thought as a renegade, in his world. But they were here, on Gaia. This was not his world and there were no Domes. Ther was no protection from the goverment.
Kill. Or be Killed.
Either way, the older man kept talking and Kian found himself trying to picture this house. It was close to the Archie and it was nearby to their own homes. All of the gaurdians would know where it was. So, at Autsus question, he looked back at the other. Faintly, very faintly, he smiled.
"Yes. Archie." Kian looked back to the older man, head tilting up. "We will not destroy. And if there is an outside, it would be a good place in which to practice. You would be willing, in the trust? For the place, with us?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:48 pm
"Yeah, a description," Archie said, letting the words hang in the air as he thought about the 'reguiding' he would be doling out by proxy if Autsu and Kian didn't forget about Jedediah. "I'll get you one, I promise. I just don't want to leave anything out." He didn't deny that he was trying to defend the absent criminal, but he also hadn't said that nothing should be done about him. Maybe Jed would join them, if he could ever be deemed trustworthy.
Archie brightened at the reactions he received to his offer of Carrie's house. "Sure I trust you," he said. "I'll get some extra keys made the next time I know Dixie's going to be out for a while. We probably shouldn't go in now either, but I can show you the outside if you want."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:20 am
Now there was a tail around his wrist and a hand on his hand. His other hand was jealous, and he had to curl his fingers tighter to keep from reacting in any other way. Nevermind, though.
Just, nevermind.
There were, after all, more important things to focus on then his body's idiot concept of attraction.
"I would like to see it." He was willing to drop the subject of the enemy for the moment, though he knew it would have to come back up. This was a problem that could no simply be ignored, because of Archie's gentle feelings. But, as Kian said, you could not push the gentle too hard without breaking them.
Sliding off his stool, he looked from Kian to Autsu expectantly, waiting. "It will be good to be located near you. You will be better protected."
Archie had done his best for all of them. And if kids were landing elsewhere now, that didn't change things. He was deserving of their returned support, certainly.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:22 am
Kian, only vaugly aware of his friends upset, left his hand. If the other hadn't reacted, it either meant it was a good or a bad thing. Sometimes it could be both but the alien had not yet learned about that. So it stayed, light against Autsus skin, but there and cool all of the same.
His attention was drawn back once again to Archie when he was speaking of looking at it - then Autsu moved, off the stool before Kian, and inadvertedly moved the hand off. Lips twitched downward a bit in loss but his response to Archie was that same neutral monotone as usual. "It would be good to see, Archie." The drawling out of his name ended with the look and Kian pushed himself from the stool as well.
Looking at the home would give them an idea on how to keep things OUT of the home, especially small beings Kian did not fully trust. Such as Rothe. He shuddered inadvertedly, tail tightening and eyes narrowing a bit before looking up at Archie again.
"To see it would give an idea on how to protect it. Ideas are very good thing. Yes? Show us." A heartbeats pause. "Please."
It wasn't a question, really, as archie had already offereed. But there was a please.
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:22 am
Archie nodded and was already halfway to the front door before he turned around to make sure the other two were following. This was exciting, having a purpose and, to a slightly lesser extent, sneaking around. Maybe it was what he had been missing since the last child had landed here.
"It's right over there," Archie said, leading Autsu and Kian across the grass back to the short wire fence separating his yard from Carrie's. Her house was nothing special - a one-story spread out thing similar to Archie's - but it was clean and the neighborhood was quiet. Suburbia. The neighborhood was also nosy, but they would just have to deal with that problem when it came up.
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 11:53 am
It was not a fortress, and Autsu would have liked one. A place to hide, should they need to hide, a place to fight from, should they need to fight. But it was a place, and a place they could call theirs, at least temporarily. Maybe, in time, they'd move. Hopefully. But for now, it would do. The proximity to Archie was important. He needed watching, protecting.
"We can use this." He said, after a moment of study. A look to Kian, and the look was, for the first time that day, relaxed. In this moment of triumph, he could allow himself to push away the other issues, the ones he didn't want to think of. "You will contact us when it is better to move in?"
Goal achieved, he was restless, ready to go. He wanted to tell the others.
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Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 10:14 am
It was a good deal more a fortress then anything Koreshan had held. It had solid walls, it looked rather large and...even better... "No one would think we would be in the middle of this neighborhood." He said finally, chin tilting up. The rebel was pleased. The best way in which to hide would be right under the noses of those seeking harm and it would be the best way in which to keep the eyes on those who needed it.
A look to Autsu, who had spoken before him, and he allowed his lips to twitch upwards briefly in agreeance. But as the other continued to talk, taking care of the details, his eyes roamed over the yard. There was a tree. That could be useful. A high populance... All good. "And.." Hem urmured, once Autsu was done asking his question, his single forehead eye moving to peer at Archie. he had NO idea how unnerving that could look. "Do you know how I could come to get the floorplans for this fashion of home?"
Archie didn't have to get them for him. He just wanted to know how. he didn't want to have to ask Patrick.
"Many thanks, Archie. For your aide." A starting of a closing.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 7:56 am
"Mmm hmm." Archie nodded, still looking at the other house. "It shouldn't be very long before you can come back and get settled in." He was fairly certain his original plan to not tell Dixie wasn't going to fly. She needed to know what was going on... literally in her own backyard. It wouldn't be fair to keep it from her, and knowing his daughter, she would find out on her own. He needed time to tell her, but then Autsu and Kian could do anything they liked.
"I've got plans for my house somewhere, but they aren't the same. Similar though. Maybe that would be a start? When I find them I'll send you a copy." He looked back at Kian. "I think the broker that wants to sell this place has probably got the actual plans. Or the city." Archie had been forced to file a lot of paperwork when his house was built, but getting that same information about an existing property was a bit beyond his knowledge.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 12:38 pm
"You are very helpful." Autsu stated, as Archie began to attempt to accommodate them in this latest request. There was something else he wished to say to the man, but he was not entirely sure he had the words he wished to use. He had attempted it earlier, but he got the feeling that Archie had not entirely understood them.
"This house--" He put his fingers against the fence, staring through at their HQ to be. "You will be welcome. You are ***"
He stumbled, throwing in low hissing word from his own language when no Gaian one would do. A shake of his head.
"We will be there, when you need us."
What he wanted to say was that he owed Archie a debt. That he was grateful, and that he liked the man for reasons he wasn't even entirely sure of. He wanted to say something about Archie's strange avoidances and skitishness, but he would not confront him on those. So he offered his protection, which was all that he had.
All that he was.
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