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 Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:57 pm
Jane let the boy pass her and then, nodding to the other in the ally, walked past her, deeper into the ally. She came to the river and looked around. "Ok, now where is this entryway again?"
"Two houses down and on this side." Shade replied. His eyes scanning the other bank for people.
The two walked in silence until they found a smaller allyway with a door hidden deep in the shadows around it. Jane got out her picks and started to work on the door, smiling as the lock gave way to entrence. Only then did she stop and say, "Wink. That's what he reminded me of."
"Who?"
"The boy who was in the earlier ally. The one in the shadows."
Shade thought about and nodded, "His eyes."
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:33 am
Dani watched as the manboy left the alley, seemingly in a hurry. She could understand his reasons for wanting to leave. The person coming down the alley wasn't exactly normal. The face looked like it belonged to a girl, especially the eyes, but the hair and the way the person held themselves reminded Dani of a teenage boy.
When both were out of sight, she asked, "Was that him? The one we were tracking?"
Arba sniffed around on the ground for a few seconds before sitting at her feet. "Yeah, its the same scent."
"Well, he didn't really look injured..." Dani pointed out.
Arba managed to shrug at her, getting up and stretching. "It could be internal or something. Come on. Let's get going." When she didn't respond, the daemon gently bit her hand and tugged. "Come on. Your father will be angry if he catches you out when you're supposed to be watching Sam."
Dani sighed and began walking down the alley. "How much time do we have left?" Arba paused for a few seconds, then answered, "About two minutes."
"What?!"
"Two minutes, one hundred twenty seconds, one thirtieth of an hour, one fifte -" Dani cut him off.
"I know how long two minutes are! Why didn't you tell me earlier? We're never going to get back before Father cleans up." With a quick glare at Arba, she ran out of the alley and towards her house. The wolf followed slightly behind her, a grin on his face.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:35 pm
Alirialie said nothing as she walked beside Walter. He felt a surge of love for her; she knew that he needed no intrusion, not even from-
"You're going to have to deal with this," she said in a whisper.
Walter looked down at her. He should have known better. She wouldn't leave him alone after what had just happened. "I will," he replied, unconciously matching his daemon's low tone of voice.
"No you won't," she quipped, planting herself in front of him and forcing him to come to a sudden halt. "Luke's still here, but you know that. And I know that look. You can't face him, because you didn't fix everything." She paused, leaving him a chance to speak, but he stayed silent, regarding her with calm green eyes. Golden eyes narrowed, and her whisper took on a sharp edge. "You can't leave him here while you put yourself back together; it's not fair to him, and it's not fair to you. Not to mention me," she added in a long suffering voice.
"I'm going to," he murmured pacidly, "I just needed a minute."
"Good, you've had your minute. Go talk to him. He's already been watching us for a good thirty seconds; it would be rude to make him wait any longer."
Walter stiffened very slightly, then slowly turned. A figure was partially hidden in the shadows several yards away. As a thief he had learned, among other things, to notice. The figure had the right build, and, more importantly, the right uncertainty of posture. This was completely disrgarding the fact that if Alirialie said it was Luke, it was. Sighing inwardly, he wondered how long she'd been aware that his little brother was coming.
Well, that wasn't important now. Walter walked toward his little brother, hoping desperately that he didn't hate him as much as he should.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:33 pm
Luke wasn't sure at first, it was dark and he didn't want to believe it lest it turn out to be wrong and his hopes dashed. But as the figure came closer he became more and more sure of it. Older yes, and taller certainly but it was still him.
"Walter?" he asked softly, almost too afraid to believe it.
"It is him, I'd recognise that scent anywhere, and Alirialie too," Rhynll said. Of course it was unlikely that they would recognise Rhynll; though the ferret had been his favourite form as a child he had yet to settle on one form when Walter had left.
With Rhynll confirming the fact, Luke broke into a huge grin and suddenly ran forward, grabbing his older brother in a big hug. "I knew you'd come back, I knew it! If nothing else I knew you would come back!" he said, his face burried in his brother's shirt as Rhynll almost hesitantly approached Alirialie to give his own greetings.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:26 am
Jane had slipped into the house. She and Shade walked silently to where the painting hung in the library. She found it easly, having scouted the place for a few weeks before tonight. The painting was simple, two girls playing in a garden with a nanny watching over them. The nanny was holding a young boy who was playing with a wooden horse.
Jane set down the package and slowly opened it. There in front of her lay an exact copy of the work on the wall. She smirked, "Almost an exact." Shade twicthed an ear. "Where am I placed this time?"
"Your hidden under the bench with the nanny and boychild. Part of the shadows. They wouldn't notice unless they really look."
Jane's commissioner had one of his friends make a copy of the painting, Jane wanted to put her 'calling card' in as well. In everything she stole, she replaced with a copy that had a small black fox somewhere hidden in it.
She took down the work and replace it with the copy, tied the painting in the package, and left. Her work was done.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:48 pm
Walter didn't smile, but after a second he hugged his little brother back. His chest was nearly bursting with guilt. The fact that Luke wasn't angry or bitter or anything but ecstatic drove home exactly how sad, lonely, and desperate the kid must have been.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alirialie, who didn't seem to have guilt in her range of emotions, hook her broad paw around a small furry shape he assumed was Rhynall and bring it close enough to nuzzle. He finally smiled his slight, secret smile. It would work out.
"Didn't I say I would?" He asked gently, ruffling Luke's hair. He'd let it get a little long. "Sorry it took as long as it did."
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 6:15 pm
Luke was still grinning broadly when the two pulled apart. Glancing to Rhynll he was glad to see him and Alirialie seeming to recognise each other and be just as fond as meeting up again as Luke was with Walter.
"It doesn't matter," Luke said to his brother's appology. "You came back and that's what matters. So did you end up making your fortune? What's happened over the years?" he asked eagerly. But then he remembered something and glanced back over his shoulder, towards his house and where his father no doubt was waiting for him, and he bit his lip. He didn't want to go back in there but he knew that the longer he was out the worse it would be when he did go back in and likely it would end with more than just an alcohol bottle being thrown at him this time. He wanted to think that Walter would take him away from that but he didn't want to get his hopes up; too many times before had his hopes been dashed whenever they were risen.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 6:31 pm
"Yes, I guess you could say I did make my fortune," Walter said calmly, ignoring his brother's nervousness. "Unfortunately, my chosen trade was of such a nature that..." he trailed off, then tried again. "That is, it would have been more dangerous for you to come live with me than to stay put. Until recently," he added. "The incidents in London have redefined the equation, so to speak."
Daemons rarely speak to anyone but their human, so Walter was surprised, though it didn't show, of course, when Alirialie cut in smoothly. "What he's trying to say is that you can come back with us, if you want to."
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:39 pm
Luke nodded seriously when Walter mentioned the murders. "I don't understand them... I mean what's the point of them? Killing one and not the other doesn't achieve anything...." Luke trailed off, giving his head a shake, dismissing the thought. Not that he need to have bothered since the surprise when Alirialie spoke directly to him drove it from his minds and his eyebrows rose in surprise.
His face literally lit up when it sunk in what she had said. "Really? It's ok? Thank-you! Of course I want to! Thank-you!" he said, ecstatic once more and practically jumping on Walter with another big hug, Rhynll climbing over Alirialie and licking her to show his appreciation as well. Luke, not normally a particularly touchy-feely person, was making an exception with his brother this time.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:45 pm
Jane whisted softly to herself as she and Shade made their way home. Her eyes were looking all around her. Some late-night straglers where still on the streets, but other than that there was no one around.
"Best hurry. I don't like this." She said to Shade.
"You feel it too?" was all Shade said as the pair broke into a small jog. They where still acting and didn't want to draw attention to themselves. They finally reached their home, hidden by a storefront for a flower shop. Jane and Shade entered, dropped the package containg the painting and slipped out of her clothes. On her bed was a note that simply said: Tomarrow, 9:30 am, his shop Jane read it and then threw it into the fire. She laid down and fell asleep.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:45 pm
"Wait until you see what you're getting into before you thank me," chided Walter. After a few seconds, he pushed the boy back. "If you don't have any objections, I think we should leave right away. I had a fantastic heart to heart with father," he added, somewhat dryly, "But I don't want to push my luck. I'll get you new clothes when we get to Oxford. Alright?"
He suddenly turned to Alirialie, who was engaged in licking Rhynll's fur the wrong way, like a mother cat would a kitten. "Will you cut that out?" It was hard to think when her attention was elsewhere. The panther looked at him with amused eyes, but obediently moved to stand beside him. Walter turned his attention back to Luke with an enigmatic half smile. "I hope you don't have a problem with traveling with Gyptians."
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:00 am
Rayne noticed a church man heading her way and ducked into an alley. The men of the church tended to be very suspicious of lone witches, especially this far south. She didn't see anyone else down the alley, so she creeped into the Maze, as it was know, the network of alleyways that stretched for miles, tall buildings either side, with the occasional doorway. People often joked that in the maze, you could travel for half a dozen miles in any directions and you would never see the sun.
She set off, striding confidently, but ducking in a shadowed doorway whenever she saw someone approaching.
There was a lot of clergymen in the Maze for some reason, and Rayne was uneasy. A priest spotted her, and then there was another one at the other end of the alley. she barged past the first one, the ran full tilt until she reached a familiar looking door, locked from the inside and with no keyhole, and picked up a small amount of grit from the floor. she blew it where the key-hole would be, there was a click, and it swung open. She ducked inside and pushed it shut, just as a clergyman ran into the alley. Spying through a hidden peep-hole in the wall, she watched him look around, try a few doors, then run on, never noticing the small gap between bricks.
She sighed, and looked around. She was in a small room, very old, and full of dust. She had discovered it once, but the occupants of the house had never noticed the hidden door in the servant’s corridor, and neither had the servants. They had never noticed that from time to time, noises would come from behind a wall. And they had never noticed the gaps on the plan of the buildings, secret tunnels that led to all the important rooms in the house, and sometimes to other hidden rooms, normally with a few spy holes. Someone could live for weeks in this house, never being seen. And sometimes, Rayne had had to do just that.
From behind a box she took a few pieces of dried meat, chewed them, took a slug from an ancient bottle of Tokay, hidden here century's ago, and then pushed open the door and set out again, being careful not to be spotted by anyone.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:10 pm
Dani and Arba ran by the front of the bakery. They were already late, so it wouldn't matter if Dani's father saw them. Bursting in the side door, Dani stopped short at the sight of her father sitting on a chair, Sam in his lap. The boy had a bandage around his hand. The daemon of both were sitting nearby, her father's hawk perched on his shoulder, and Sam's, this time in the form of a tomcat, stretched out on the floor.
Arba stopped beside her, pressing his body against her leg in some small form of comfort. The six of them were in silence long enough for both Dani and Arba to catch their breath from running back to the house. By the time her father did speak, Dani was already breathing regularly and trying to fix her hair, messed by the wind, back into something presentable.
When her father stood up, placing her brother on the chair, Dani stopped fidgetting with her hair and looked at the floor. Her father strode across the room and shut the door Dani had left open. The loud noise made all of them flinch. He walked back to the chair and sat down again, rubbing his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low and tired. "Where were you?"
Dani, afraid to look at his face, meekly answered, "Just out. For a walk." Her father slammed his fist onto the end table, startling the girl enough to look into his face. When she did, she immediately wished she hadn't. Her father's face was contorted with rage, grief, and disappointment. She immediately lowered her eyes again.
"Out for a walk? With a murderer out in the city?" Her father yelled, "My God, Danielle, you don't ever think, do you? He could have killed you, or Arba, and no one woul dknow about it until they found your body in the morning! Not to mention the fact that you left your brother home alone again. This time, he knocked over a lamp and cut his hand on the pieces. Luckily, it wasn't deep, but next time, who knows?! It could fall on his head or he could wander outside! You never think about anyone but yourself! You're a selfish little brat! I don't know why I allowed your mother to raise you like this!" Her father's eyes widened and he ceased yelling. It was considered taboo to talk about Dani's mother. Using her name to reprimand his daughter was way over the line. He sighed and looked at Dani, the anger fading from his face. His daemon's feathers slowly went down, they had become ruffled during the shouting match. Sam sat on his lap, smiling as he always did. The tomcat slept on the floor.
"Go to your room. Don't come out until morning. Tomorrow, you'll help me with the shop and watching Sam."
Dani placed a hand on Arba's trembling flank, and together they walked up the stairs to her room. Just before she shut her door, she heard her father's voice, talking to the hawk, "I don't know what we're going to do with her. I might send her out of the city, to her uncle's..."
Dani shut the door and climbed into bed, fully clothed. Arba jumped up next to her, curling up near her side. Tears began to roll down Dani's face as she crawled under the covers, and Arba pulled his nose out from under his tail to lick them away until Dani fell asleep.
((Sorry for the delay, everyone.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:19 pm
When Walter mentioned their father, Luke's ecstatic grin turned to a frown. What exactly did he mean, a 'heart to heart'? But once more the thought was pushed out of his mind by what he said next.
"Oxford?" Luke repeated, incredulous. He had never been to Oxford, never left London for that matter. And new clothes? He looked down at what he was wearing, his normal shirt and pants, dirty and torn, especially where the shards of glass from earlier had gone through and embedded into his skin, then looked to Walter's, clean and fashionable clothes. Seems he really had made his fortunes then, Luke thought as he smiled slightly.
Catching Rhynll without looking as he jumped up into his arms after being released from Alirialie, Luke struggled to digest this new piece of information. "Gyptians? How did you end up coming to work with gyptians?" he asked, curious as ever, while Rhynll set about straightening his fur.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:59 pm
Walter started walking, assuming that Luke would follow. "I'm not working for them, exactly. Traveling with a Gyptian caravan is a good way to avoid certain types of trouble. Much more importantly," he said, easily changing the subject, "What exactly is the situation with the murders? The Church is trying to keep everything pretty quiet outside of London." While this was technically true, Walter knew all the particulars of the incidents anyway. Still, it couldn't hurt to hear another side of it.
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