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 Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:08 pm
Rivener was simply leaning back languidly against the large brick chimney stack (god only knew what it was used for, there were no fireplaces in the apartments...), and watched the whale dance and sing in the night sky. It was pleasant to watch that little splotch of red against the dark starlit sky. Rivener couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so peaceful.
Inside the apartment, things weren't so peaceful at all. Aph was also being asked many questions, mostly pertaining to his relation to Isi... How did he know the boy? Why did he think this would be a safe place for the boy? How long had he known about this misbehavior on the part of the boy's guardian? All these, and a slew of other questions, pelted at Aph like sharp stones. Even though Aphismet knew he'd done nothing wrong, he still felt ill at ease, and so he managed to seem very suspicious. As usual, the man thought the worst, and assumed that the policemen would think he was a *****, luring young boys to his apartment to do god knows what.
The Officer, finally snapping his notebook closed when he'd asked Aph all the relevant questions, turned to his partner and nodded. The second officer, the one who had been talking to Isi, smiled at the boy and closed his own notebook as well. "Ok, I think we've asked you enough questions. If you'll come with us, we'll go see your grandmother and have a look at the situation over there. There's a social worker on the way, too; she should be joining us over at your house. We'll call her on the way. Come on," the Officer got up, and was waiting for Isi to follow him.
"Erm, excuse me, I'd really like to come with him, if I can," Aphismet interjected in a rare display of courage (well, speaking up in the presence of policemen would be considered courage in his book...). "M-mostly for moral support."
Rivener had drifted to the side of the rooftop, looking down into the street below. He had "eaten" enough, and now was mostly enjoying the view. There was a policecar below. Rivener frowned and cursed. Damn! That means I missed the policemen, and won't be able to perform!
The Frei sighed in dissapointment. A moment later, he saw the officers exit the building, accompanied by Isi... AND Aphismet?!
"What the hell?!" Rivener straightened, frowning. "They're leaving without us!" He knew Aph often went places without him, but for some reason, this time, Rivener felt insulted. "Hmph! Well, we'll just see about that. C'mon, Beauregard, and stay quiet! We're going on a spy mission." And with that, Rivener set off flying (yes, that most hateful of exercises), following the squad car.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:03 pm
Sitting in the leather seat next to Aphismet as he held his crutches with his other arm, Isi felt quite awkward and he shuffled his weak legs. They had been shuffled into the car and Isi was a little worried when they left without telling Beauregard and Rivener that they were leaving. They left a note on the door detailing directions and they had hoped that would be enough. Where were those two, anyways? They had disappeared without a trace.
The car jolted and Isi lost his train of thought as they drove over a speed bump and left the residential district and turned onto the road that led to the nothern country. The police car looked more intimidating from the inside in the dark than it did on the outside.
"Aphi?" the crippled boy asked as they barreled out into the countryside, "Thanks for coming with me."
Beauregard followed after Rivener in new bursts of energy. Usually he was tired by this time of night, but he had taken a nap and this was too awesome of a situation to miss! Flying by the raevan's side, the red whale wailed in booming base, completely ignoring the frei's warning to be silent: The James Bond theme song.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:43 am
Aphismet was feeling just as uncomfortable in the squad car as Isi was. When the boy spoke suddenly, Aph actually startled. He brought a hand to his heart to try and slow it, and turned a weak smile to Isi. "Don't mention it. I felt like I should be here, it's what family does, right?" He reached over and patted Isi's shoulder. "Don't worry, hopefully this will be over soon."
He then looked back out the window. "Wow, you do live very far, don't you? You walked all this way to chase Beauregard that night? A-and to come to my house? There's no bus, or, or train or something?" Isi's courage and strength of will was now clearly apparent to Aph; crippled as he was, it was probably not an easy task to walk along this uneven country road, and yet Isi does it pretty often, apparently...
Rivener flew, following the police car from above, his dark silhouette easily lost against the sky. If only Beauregard would be quieter... Well, for now it wasn't a big deal, since the people they were tailing were in the car and wouldn't hear them. Later, though, Rivener would have to make sure Beauregard understands that he should be silent. Silent with a capital S, even.
Riv had no clear idea of what he would do, but he knew he wanted to make the two regret not thinking of him. He wasn't just some piece of furniture that happened to float in Aphismet's house. All of Aphismet's talk about finally finding family, blah blah blah... Where the hell did that leave him? Wasn't HE Aphismet's family? He didn't count, he was like some kind of pet? Surely Beauregard felt the same way! They'd regret it.
The Frei actually bared his teeth as he thought, his frown darker than any Hollywood Villain's.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:41 pm
Beauregard somehow channeled into the frei's feelings, most likely by stealing a glance in his direction when Rivener's frown deepened as deep as a crevasse. Immediately, as if someone had pressed a button or turned a dial somewhere on Beauregard's rubbery body, the whale changed tunes and started in on Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars.
Isi nodded his head as if it were no big deal. "Yeah. Well, actually, I enjoy the walks. It takes a long while, but it's enough time to think and its very peaceful at night. There's no way to get from my house to anywhere else but to drive and I'm not old enough to drive yet. Besides, even when I do become 18, I'll still have to worry about my legs."
The crippled boy turned his head and peered out the tinted windows of the squad car. They were half way to his home in the country and they had just turned in the crossroads, the same crossroads that he and Roux had turned on a couple months ago. A dirt road now underneath their wheels, the police jar jostled and rumbled as they took the hardly traveled path into the middle of nowhere and passed through rolling green hills.
It was about fifteen minutes later that the police car finally rolled in onto the uneven driveway. The trees in front of the home were tossled slightly by the evening wind and the trees that surrounded the marsh behind the home were even quieter. The Ancient One, a colossal tree that was split in half by lightning, stood silently in its charred armor far and away from the home by the stream that fed the marsh. There were no lights on in the white-washed walls of the victorian home except for one, the kitchen. Isi furrowed a brow.
Everything seemed normal...A little...Too normal.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:25 pm
Aph gave a low whistle at the house as they neared it. It was right out of a movie. Serene house, surrounded by majestic trees, babbling brook nearby... "Beautiful house," the man whispered.
The police officers exited the vehicle and walked around to open the doors for their two passengers. Aph got out gingerly, minding where he placed his feet in the darkness, and hurried over to Isi's side.
"It's kinda quiet... could she have passed out, maybe? From the alcohol?"
Rivener, as soon as the squad car had stopped, had reached out with both arms, grabbed Beauregard and clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shhhh! Now we have to be reeeeaally quiet, so they don't know we're here, OK?" He wanted to wait and make sure the whale understood this before they went down closer to investigate.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:56 pm
Isi struggled out of the car, manuvering his crutches through the car door and onto the ground. The crippled boy listened as Aphi listed off the most probable suggestion and he hoisted himself up, wobbling slightly on the cobblestones until he fixed his crutches underneath his arms. He twisted his mouth into a frown and surveyed the house, "I guess...It's entirely possible. I locked her in her room though. She must've got out because I didn't leave the kitchen light on."
The duo and the two police men slipped around the car and made their way to the wrap around porch where Isi pulled out a secret key from the mouth of stone angel that guarded the door. Plugging it into the keyhole, the boy unlocked the door and opened the doo steadily, taking it open himself to lead the troop into the realm of his home. He felt as if it were his responsibility.
The entire home was silent and the golden light streamed from the kitchen doorway where they heard the sounds of weak old feet scuttling about on the tiled floor and the soft whistle of a pot of tea. Isi motioned the others in behind him and he slowly hobbled across the wooden floor with dull soft clunks to the kitchen door. He opened it, peeked inside, and asked softly, "Old Maasi?"
"I'm in here, dear!" called the sweet old lady voice. Isi cast a look of bewilderment over at his shoulder at the two police officers and Aphismet. He didn't know what was going on. Why was she acting all innocent and...sane?! They won't believe him then! Edging into the kitchen, Isi hobbled in so that he left enough room for the others. What they found was quite the opposite of what Isi had described. The kitchen was clean from what they could see and Old Maasi was in her oldlady clothes, her white curlly hair all up in a bun and her blue apron on as she toiled over a hot stove. "I made you some tea, dear. Did you have fun at your friend's house? Oh! You brought them along, now did you? How sweet."
"Maasi..." Isi asked warily, "What's going on?"
"I'm making tea! she bubbled in happy reply.
Beauregard nodded his big whale head and he placed a flipper in front of his mouth and made the zipping motion. He was going to listen and stay quiet.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:11 pm
Rivener nodded as the whale motioned it understood. He let go of his floating buddy, and made his way down to the back yard of the house, creeping among the shadows expertly until he found himself near enough the kitchen window to hear what was going on inside.
He planned on sitting here and waiting. He would listen and wait for his opportune moment. It would come, sooner or later, but the key was knowing. He had to hear everything, and be secret.
Aphismet blinked helplessly. This was the old woman? She looked fine! It was hard to believe this kindly old grandma could HIT anything! Aph's mouth dropped open and he could only watch in confusion as the police officers stepped forward.
Officer number One took the lead, taking off his cap in greeting. "Good evening m'am. This here is your boy? Mind telling us where he got that bruise on his cheek?" They were experienced officers, and knew that people tended to try and look innocent. They had to give Isi's story the benefit of the doubt, just in case it was true... But honestly, both policemen's money was on Isi's story turning out to be a BIG FAT LIE.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:03 pm
Beauregard wandered about, but he floated silently and always within reach of the raevan and out of the view of the kitchen windows. It was hard not to sing, so the whale pretended that his volume was on mute. So, mouth forming words, but making no sounds, he sung a silent song.
The frei, from his position, could see something that officers failed to notice. They were at a position where they couldn't see what Riv could see. What he saw was...An upside down cake that looked...Very oddly like a cooked boot...with forks jabbed into it at all angles and cherries and a...Sock? stabbed onto their silver teeth.
"Of course, little Isi is mine!" Old Maasi exclaimed with her raspy old woman's voice. She smiled a smile that could give just about anyone cavities. "Oh, that thing. He simply fell while trying to get down the stairs that's all. It's not very easy to get down those steps on crutches, you know.
Isi, completely shocked, angry, and fearful, turned his head from his grandmother and back to Aphismet. His storm filled eyes were throbbing with desperation as his mouth gaped open in silent protest. What was going on? Why did she do this? Did she know? She probably did! She probably saw them coming up the driveway!
When the officers turned reprimanding gazes upon Isi, the crippled boy shook his head eagerly, "She's lying! Don't believe her, she's not telling the truth! She hit me!" the boy pleaded, casting a look of hurt in Old Maasi's direction. While the officers had their backs turned, she gave Isi a sinister grin and wink of her blue eye.
"Lying?" exclaimed the hurt grandmother, "How dare you say such a thing, child!"
Isi angrily gritted his teeth against her and he said again, "I'm not lying! She's faking it!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:32 pm
Aphismet looked around quickly, in a clear moment of clear-headedness. He had to find something else that showed the old woman's insanity. This room yielded nothing, however. Defeated, he turned his attention to the policement and frowned at them meekly (only he could pull off such a strange expression). "I really think we should search the house. You can't just ignore the child's accusation and leave without making absolutely sure that he's safe!"
Aph was practically begging, but he didn't really need to. The two policemen, lips drawn tight at the thought of being forced to look through the house when they obviously wouldn't find anything, turned to Old Maasi. "We're sorry, m'am, but he's right. We have to search the premises. If you'll please follow Officer Toms, here, into the living room, I'll get started here in the kitchen, and move through the other rooms quickly. It shouldn't take long," he added. He truly didn't expect to find anything, and Aphismet got the sneaking suspicion that the officer wouldn't look very hard.
With a resigned, dissapointed sigh, Aph simply held out his hand to Isi, motioning for him to come along. He would at least stay close to the boy while he could... And heck, he might even insist on staying over to make sure the old woman isn't going to try and hit the poor kid again. He wished there was more he could do, but...
From the kitchen window, Rivener had indeed seen the boot. What the hell was that all about? Was the old woman truly batty, or did she cook that boot as practice for what she'd do to Isi? Hm, this was quite the situation. On the one hand, he could calmly float inside and tell them about the boot-cake, but on the other hand, he didn't really CARE if Isi was safe or not. The only reason Riv hesitated, was because he knew that if Isi left to stay with the old woman again, he'd take Beauregard away with him.
A moment later, as the Frei waged his mental battle, the First Officer began searching the kitchen. "Ah, good. He'll find the bootcake, and I won't have to meddle and reveal my presence just yet. Good, good!" He decided to stay close to this searching officer, and keep and eye on what he found. There might be some interesting things discovered.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:13 pm
Unfortunately, both Aphismet and Isi realized with a sickening gut twist, that the crippled boy had been forced to clean the house by the supposedly wacko grandmother before he left. At that, Isi felt his stomach drop deep into the pit of an abyss of worry. Isi hobbled closer to Aphi's side and his lips were pulled into a tight worried frown, it made his bruised cheek hurt. With a shaking voice he said, "Aphi...I was forced to clean the house before I left. They won't find anything unless they look in her closet! It's filled with costumes, but even then, they'll simply say that it's where we keep all our halloween costumes. They won't suspect her for her closet!" the boy stayed near to Aphi, and he whispered softly, frightened that his grandmother, who was confidently showing the house to the policemen, would hear him, "If we're going to win out, we need to draw out her crazy side somehow..."
Beauregard the whale, watched what was going inside the home and he knew that his master was in danger. Judging by his terrified facial expressions, the boy didn't look like he wanted to be with his grandmother anymore because of what had happened that afternoon. Turning his large whale mouth into a frown, the whale landed on Riv's shoulder and cooed softly in a melodic tune,
"So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here."
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:42 pm
Beauregard seemed to be upset. This was surprising, for some reason Aphismet thought that the whale disliked his master as much as Rivener disdained his guardian at the moment. The song was open for interpretation, but Rivener was almost sure it was Beauregard's way to ask Riv to do something.
Riv rolled his eyes. How annoying. He came here to wreak havok, not save the day! However, he didn't want his little buddy to be upset. "Fine, Fine!" he hissed. "What the hell do you think we should do? If we just burst in there, it'll look strange and suspicious!"
The Frei hung out near a window, keeping an eye on the cop and the old woman, watching his guardian and Isi talking in the living room.
Aphismet nodded. "I didn't think you clean the crazy out of a house... Well, what should we do? What normally makes your grandmother crazy?" Since he didn't know the old woman, Aph was at a loss on how to proceed, but he would be more than willing to help his friend in whatever plan he might cook up.
He kept a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder while they spoke, to remind him that they were here together, and they'd get through this.
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:21 am
Beauregard rubbed against his cheek and gave a great huge appy whale smile of encouragement. Then the red whale proceeded to sing the beginning of a Christmas song,
"Do you hear what I hear?
Isi looked around, struggling to find something that would induce his grandmother's insanity. He knew that she hated pink frosting frosted the right way on a cake, but it would take far too long to make a cake. They had limited time. They had to do something quick and effective. Digging through all the memories of Old Maasi, Isi knew that if they were able to remake gunshot sounds, they would be able to spark her old Aekeanam paranoia. However good that sounded, Isi knew that if they did that, they were going to get yelled at by the police. If they got yelled at by the police, then their chances for becoming family were lessened by a lot. What else, what else?
Isi briefly thought of the time that Roux came over when he felt a cold shiver of despair descend upon him as he ran out of ideas. Old Maasi had been crazy then, tricking and hanging Isi by his legs in the trees, but when her blue eyes fell upon Roux, she immediately stopped in amazement. Then, as if nothing had ever happened, she meandered back into the house. What if a bodiless raevan had the same effect on her only in reverse? If Roux made her sane then, then maybe a frei would make her crazy now? Then, what if then stuck an old army jacket on him from Aekeanam that was in the entryway closet?
"Aphi, do you have any means of contacting Riv?" Isi asked, after he had split his plan to the man beside him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:58 pm
Aphismet smiled sheepishly. With a slight shrug, he said: "No I'm afraid I don't... As far as I know, Raevans aren't psychic, they can't hear my thoughts." Aph sighed. "Besides, even if I could, he'd take almost half an hour to float here. He's back at the buildling, remember?" The man shook his head and leaned forward, putting elbows on knees and hunching over on himself, both hands crossing fingers behind his neck. "This is a disaster. Anything else? Is there anything that she keeps, which might make her crazy? Or, seem crazy? Like voodoo dolls or something?"
This didn't seem to go well at all, as the policemen were being ushered about by Old Maasi. Although they had asked her to go with one officer while the other looked around on his own, they didn't seem to be enforcing the order, both men walking at the woman's pace, listening to her stories about this doily or that painting. She seemed quite sane.
Rivener frowned at Beauregard. This time he did NOT know what that was supposed to mean. Putting his ear to the window, the Frei could hear what Old Maasi was prattling on about. Of course, Riv had been following Maasi and the cops, thinking that Isi and Aph were not the items that needed watching.
"I don't know what that means, Beauregard! I should listen to Maasi? She's talking about doilies! How's that supposed to help us?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:46 pm
"Darn," the boy said, gritting his teeth and leaning heavily on his crutches, "I can't think of anything but things from the Aekeanam war. She has a hand that is supposedly hers kept in a jar, but I have no clue where it is. It would have to be somewhere in her bedroom, I'd imagine. I don't know, Aphi, I don't know!"
Isi looked heavily distraught. The more time that passed by the more he believed that Old Maasi was going to escape with ownership over him and he would certainly be kept within the house somehow so he couldn't go to Aphi's anymore. She'd probably do something like hide his crutches in the tallest reaches of a tree so he couldn't walk.
Beauregard then pointed at Old Maasi and it began to sing in a mock old lady voice. He was obviously attempting to mimick her and put words in her mouth as he sang a tune from Oingo Boingo.
"Id love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed
Id love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head
I wish that I could keep you in a precious chinese box
On sundays I would pray for you so it would never stop
Id love to hear you laugh tonight, Id love to hear you weep
Id love to listen to you while youre screaming in your sleep
Id love to soothe you with my voice and take your hand in mine
Id love to take you past the stars and out of reach of time
Id love to see inside your mind, to tear it all apart
To cut you open with a knife and find your sacred heart
Id love to take your satin dolls and tear them all to shreds
Id love to mess your pretty hair, Id love to see you dead."
It was really over the top, certainly, but Beauregard felt the need to exagerate to prove his point.
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:10 pm
"God, Beauregard, this is important! Can't you just TALK to me and tell me what we should do? I'm already aware that the old woman is batty as all hell, and wants to hurt your master... I need you to tell me how we can make the COPS see that!" Rivener frowned. He turned back to the window, looking at the old woman and the officers. They seemed to be finishing up their rounds, heading back to the living room now.
"Dammit, they're going to leave soon!" Rivener growled under his teeth. His head snapped up and he suddenly shot off to the second floor, where he rattled at a bedroom window as quietly as he could, attempting to get inside the house. After a moment of struggling, he managed to fit his sharper-than-normal nails under the window's seal, and pull it up enough to slide his fingers under. With a strong heave, he then smashed the window up, breaking the glass pane in the process. Riv winced. He hadn't noticed the window had been locked, and that was why it was so hard to lift at first...
Aphismet also bore a tortured expression. "I don't know what we could do apart for mention the war, perhaps in conversation with the officers? Mention that she was a veteran or something, and hope that she goes off on a hallucination-filled narration?" It was a last desperate clutch at something, as Aph watched Maasi return to the living room with the two officers at her side. They were all laughing so pleasantly!
There was a sudden crash upstairs.
The officers instantly drew their guns and turned to face the stair. "What was that?!" One of them asked.
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