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 Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:31 pm
Jane sighed raggedly. "Tell her she'll have to finish my route with me if she leaves your house." She had to finish work, but she'd go pick up Casia if there'd been a fight. "Tell her she's not in trouble." Yet.
Casia shook her head. Thali didn't believe them! "I'm Casia!" she demanded. "He's Jash, there was an accident! Are you listening to me?" This situation was getting seriously hairy. "Jane!" the siren yelled, hoping Jane would hear. "Jane, I'm in Josh's body! Jane!"
Jane frowned, straining her ears. "Thali... Is Josh yelling something for me?" she asked, perplexed.
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:36 pm
Thali nodded. "Sure, I'll tell her." She patted Josh on the head. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble." She frowned, and shook her head at Casia. Mortals wouldn't believe something like that, the elf knew better.
"He's trying to get Casia out of trouble." Thali told the confused mother. "He's always been the noble sort. He'd rather take all the blame than have any girl in trouble." She paused. "I'll see you in few, then?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:40 pm
Casia paled. "No, I'm telling the truth!" Rushing forward, she made a grab for the phone. "Jane, help, she's not LISTENING!"
Jane looked concerned and stared at the phone again for a moment. "I'll be right over." she said quickly and hung up, turning the truck around. Whatever was going on, she was going to get to the bottom of it.
The siren sagged as Jane hung up. Thali was a mom, she was supposed to fix things. Why wasn't she? Feeling vulnerable and lost, she looked longingly back at her body and bit back tears which stubbornly came out anyway, her eyes blinking fast to try to slow them down. Halfheartedly she tried to rally herself, if Josh wasn't going to cry she wasn't going to be a wuss and start either. Wiping at her eyes furiously, she looked at the phone again, as if Jane would magically call back with a solution.
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:44 pm
Thali frowned, she hadn't expected the kids to cry. Now she felt bad. "Don't cry, Casia." She went and hugged Josh's body. "It's for your own good. Maybe once you understand one another, you'll be able to get along better."
Yeah, she was pretending to not notice that her son was also crying. Josh sniffled. He hated this. Why was she being so cruel? But then again.. when she was mean, she usually had a good reason for it. He sighed.
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:48 pm
Casia's eyes widened. She believed them? Backing away from her slowly and shaking Josh's head, the siren said "No... No this isn't boss!" All of a sudden, Thali seemed much more sinister. "You're wrong!" she shouted. "Just wait till Jane comes, she's going to go ape on you and fix things." She shot the elf a siren-glare, which was less effective out of Josh's eyes and only made her feel angrier. "You'll see." she said uncertainly. She didn't like Jane, but the woman would surely do something, right?
Fists clenched and shaking, Casia ran to the door to wait for the guardian. She couldn't stand to be next the lying, manipulative elf anymore. How could she think this was for the best?
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:45 pm
Thali shrugged. "That is, if she believes you." She said. She felt bad for lying, she really did. She was bad at lying, and knew it. She looked at Josh. "You know it's for the best, don't you? You'll be able to be friends if you understand each other better. I know you two don't get along very well, I heard the singing."
At this, Josh frowned. So his mother knew they didn't get along, and she was using this to her advantage. He'd never known his mother to be mean, but now...
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:18 pm
A knocking came at the door and Casia perked up, picturing the dull-yet-familiar face on the other side of it. Jane! Throwing open the door even though the house wasn't hers, she looked utterly relieved. "JanethankgoodnessIwastrppedinJosh'sbodyandThaliisn'tdoinganythingbecauseshe'sabogueandpleasehelp!"
Jane blinked. "Hello Josh," she said in the polite tone she tended to use when she didn't understand something. "I'm here to pick up Casia." The siren rolled Josh's eyes. "No, I'm Casia, aren't you LISTENING?" she demanded. If Jane was going to be bland and lame, she could at least be useful. "Tell Thali to change us back, please."
Jane walked tentatively into the kitchen. "Thali?" she asked cautiously. "What's all this Josh it talking about?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 7:41 pm
Thali didn't know what to say, she knew if she lied again, both children would be angry and she would be guilt ridden. "Well, they were singing. And they couldn't get along.. so I don't really know. That's when I called you." She paused. "I think they're just confused."
She led Jane to Josh, who was busy sniffling. He didn't want to go with Jane! He could understand Casia now, he could keep up with her!
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:29 pm
Jane looked hesitantly at 'Casia; and back at Thali. The guardian could tell something was wrong, but she didn't quite know what and her experience with the bizarre was limited. "Come on Casia." she said to Josh. "Let's just finish up my route and go home."
Casia watched in horror. Jane didn't believe her and she couldn't run and couldn't fix it. Stiffly, she got up and looked at Thali. "Where's the bathroom?" she croaked petulantly.
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:40 pm
Thali frowned slightly, and looked at Casia. "It's the first door on the right, can't miss it." She said automatically. She gave a glance at Josh. For doing what she knew was right, she sure felt guilty about it.
Josh took one look at Jane and shook Casia's head. "I don't want to go!" His, well, Casia's voice sounded whiny. "I'm Josh! Can't you tell I'm Josh? I'll sing better this time! Don't take me away!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:55 pm
Casia didn't hesitate, but headed into the bathroom and sank to the floor, taking slow, measured breaths. She couldn't watch the farce anymore. Figuring it would be easier to deal with Thali if and when she started to miss Josh, because Casia had long ago learned that sometimes parents didn't keep children for quite as long as previously anticipated, the siren waited. She would confront the problem, but she just needed a moment. Burying Josh's unfamiliar head in his too-tall knees, she tried to imagine she was herself again, tried to fill herself up with something other than exhaustion and hopeless insecurity. How had she ended up in such a trite plot twist?
Jane took 'Casia's' hand firmly. "Casia, we've worn out our welcome." she told her sternly. "No one is asking you to sing better, all I'm asking you to do it behave and be a good girl and we'll talk about this on the way home."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:00 pm
Joshua gave one more helpless look at his mother, before walking out the door. If his Mom wanted this, then he guessed he would have to go through with it. "Okay, let's talk." He said with a sigh.
As soon as Josh left the house, Thali felt bad. She felt more than bad. It was the first day of school all over again. As soon as Jane's shift was over, she would call and explain.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:38 pm
Casia came out of the bathroom when she heard the doors shut and stepped back into the kitchen. Looking apprehensively at Thali, it was clear that the siren blamed her for her total failure to fix the dilemma, and that furthermore she was in no mood to be trifled with. "What was that?" she demanded of the elf. "What the..." She paused for a moment, but didn't quite dare, "What sort of hairy stunt are you trying to pull!?" Suspicion flashed rife in her brown eyes. "What gives you the right?"
Jane looked helplessly at 'Casia' in the mail truck. She started the car and looked at her daughter carefully. Finally, she said "Casia," and paused, thinking for a moment, "I know that you're upset and all. I know I'm not Anna, and that ou might not be ready to trust people yet." She waited for a glare and when it seemed safe, she finished, "But please, try to behave yourself when you're a guest."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:20 pm
Thali didn't know what to say. How could she explain to a little girl that... "Look, after this is all said and done, you and Joshua will get along better." She paused. "Anyway, it's just until I figure out a way to turn you back. I'm not liking this any more than you are."
Joshua sighed, and looked at Jane. "Look, I know you won't understand, but I don't even know who Anna is. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not Casia. Mom must have done something to make us switch. So really.. If you want to lecture Casia wait until we turn back."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:42 pm
Casia glowered. Typical adult response. Why did she have to get along better with Josh? Why did people just assume she wanted to be best friends with everyone? She barely managed to wrestle down her sharper Greystone thoughts sometimes, it was tiring being friendly. But Thali had the power in this situation, so the siren bit her tongue. She felt vaguely ill at ease, unable to look charming, sound charming, or use any of her normal methods to try to get adults to do what she wanted in Josh's unfamiliar body. So instead she asked "How did this happen? The last thing I remember is drinking that... thing." She frowned for a moment. "That 'kool-aid'." Demonwater!
Jane blinked. It wasn't like Casia to act like this, especially when Anna was mentioned. Carefully, she said "Come on, Casia. Stop pretending." But she didn't think Casia would even pretend not to know Anna anymore. "All you need is love you know, and you can't pretend to forget Anna loved you just as much as..." She paused. Saying as much as I do would not go over well. "As any mother would."
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