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For a majority of the few days they had been there Isi had done everything within his power to stay in the couch of the upstairs lounge, which included foregoing meals, falling asleep on the couch when it came time to go to bed, and throwing his crutches to the other side of the room. He had nothing to entertain him but a few science magazines he had already read several times through about things he couldn't quite understand, and he had a broken dream catcher that he was trying endlessly to weave back into shape. When Aphismet came upon him then, he looked up with the eyes of a child whose puppy had just been run over by a diesel truck. He knew that he had to get over this eventually, but, at that point in time, he wasn't in the right place to start acting optimistic or forgiving. Isi was in a strange place, a building that he didn't know, one that wasn't his, and he felt nothing but dislocated and uprooted, a feeling which, for someone who once had no where to call their own, was as devastating as if he had lost the ability to move his limbs.

Setting the failed dream catcher hoop in his lap, he positioned himself in a stance that spoke of acceptance, of this strange and new idea of moving houses. Whether he wanted it or not, he came to realize that there was nothing he could do to save his plantation home and that he had to choose another. He glanced over lamely to the empty space beside him on the couch.

"Yeah," he said, forcing himself to say something to fill up the awkward silence of Aphismet's opened ended question, "Sure. Let's get this over with."

Shifting himself in his seat, Isikoro tried with all his strength not to let his mouth sag into a deeper frown. All the while Aphi started organizing his mess of papers on the table before them, Isi felt his stomach collapse in further on itself. He felt like he were being put into a position where he had to throw his kitten in a river to save a potato bug. But, clever metaphors aside, he knew that he had to make a decision not just for himself, but for his entire family. So, with a heavy breath, he leaned forward and peered at the tentative choices laid out on the table.

"I'd like to see all available options before I make a decision," he said, his voice coming out with a bitter bite. He paused, frowned at himself and then looked up apologetically at Aphi, "I mean, if we're to make as big as a decision as this. I want to be careful. Make sure we get everything we need for everyone."

Pointing to a few of the houses, he furrowed his thick brows, "These ones don't look like they have much green for Eiry to feed off of, and these ones are too close to the city for Riv to see any stars." he said, and then, squinting at the written details, he moved his face into the palm of his hand, losing his apologetic energy, "And some of these are too small. Only three bedrooms? With the rate our family's been growing, we need more than that. Especially with all the pets once we get them back from the kennel. We need a big place to breathe in and a lot of these seem too little."

Picking up one sheet, Isi eyed the house with the pool and then the house near the wooded area. These ones seemed to better fit what they needed, and they were in a decent price range, "These ones, though...These aren't bad. But I think we could do better." Isi set them to the side. "Any more?"

Isi had to scoot closer to Aphismet once he picked up the computer. While it booted up, Isi glanced again over at the papers lying on the table. They were a start, he concluded, but, there were none that he really felt okay with. They were just houses. None of them seemed like homes. Adjusting himself on the couch so that he pulled up his awkward and skinny legs up underneath him, Isi leaned foward and peered at the screen while Aphismet meticulously clicked from possible home to possible home.

To Isi's surprise, the first few homes were actually not that bad, not that bad at all. The first home immediately caught Isi's attention as it looked like it were in a quiet part of the neighborhood and it was surrounded by trees and plant life. Isi nodded his approval of the Victorian home. "Eiry would like that one a lot, he really would." At the second home he shrugged his shoulders.

"Better than the ones on paper, but...Not as good as the first." he commented, "It feels...soulless. It's not a home." It was easy to see that his hackles were slowly falling down. The boy wasn't nearly as tense as he was when Aphismet first entered. The third home also caught Isi's attention and he gave another nod of approval. Pointing at the screen to emphasize his point, he nodded and said, "That one too. It looks nice. And that next one, it looks alright, just, it has no trees like the others one do."

Isi peered at the newly renovated home, he nodded his head again, "That one has places for Riv to lean out and look at the stars. And it looks alright for Eiry too." The next home, Isi's eyes widened a bit. "That one has a lot of land and trees and a nice kitchen for you to cook in." The last home, Isi shook his head, "No, not that one. That one gives me bad vibes."

Now he was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices. Furrowing his brows, he watched the choices scroll across the screen, thrown up and stashed away into tiny tabs. Half of the time he was trying to remember what web page was what house. But he did have a few that he liked, a few that he made sure to remember. Pushing away the papers of the printed houses before, Isi shook his head at the first batch of houses.

"Those ones are nice in price, but none of them really suit what we need in a home," Isikoro concluded, "But these last few homes...They're okay...They're big for our big family...They're surrounded by a lot of green and they're far enough away from the town so that Rivener can actually see some stars. The last home is too...Eh...Too much. The first two are okay, not as good as some from the second batch, but...I think the winner out of this bunch is the home with the skylights for Rivener."

Isikoro looked at all the other houses again, watching carefully at the prices and the descriptions of the houses. When compared to the house in the last batch, none of them could quite match up to or exceed the home with the skylights. A few came close.

"My favorite from the last bunch and the one with the skylights are my favorites so far," he murmured, then he thought of something. Looking up at Aphi, he furrowed his brows, "How much money do we have from the insurance? What's our budget, Aphi?" He was surprised at himself for not asking this before.

For a long time still, Isi looked over the houses and the choices laid out before them, carefully comparing each one to the other like someone older than his age would do. Each detail he eyed with scrutiny. This was, after all, a heavy decision, not just any kind of decision that they would be able to pass off with a grin and a shrug. This was one that they would have to stick with for the next long stage of their lives, perhaps even their entire lives! So Isi wanted to be as sure as sure could get when it came to picking the next Delaran home. But still, even with comparing and looking underneath the prices and the details, the house that it came down to was the one with the skylights.

Looking at the picture, Isi stared for a long and hard time before offhandedly mentioning in a pleased mumble, "It's the same color as our old home." He turned it over in his hands, reading the back, before looking again at the picture, "And a wrap around porch, Aphi. We could put chairs on it. Rocking chairs and bench swings." Isi found himself giving in, more and more, to this home. The more he looked over the description, the more he could see the Delaran family living in it. "And it has a laundry chute, that would be a lot of help. And I'm sure Eiry will use it for his shenanigans. And it's three floors, just like the old home. And it has like...An old feel, like the plantation home. I like that. The skylight room looks wonderful for Rivener...And Eiry will love the garden. I'm sure he'll be bummed about the attic, but he can get over it. And it looks like I will have to wear grip socks for the rest of my life..." Isi paused for a moment, not enjoying the sound of his last observation before he hurried and covered it up with another one, "Is the kitchen big enough for you?"

Then, a more important question, "When can we go see it?"

Isi watched with a dejected slump of his shoulders as Aphi stood up and walked away. It was weird, to have come to a decision that monumental so quickly, and the weight of it pressed down on his shoulders. For a few moments he felt doubtful, even regretful, as if he had betrayed someone or something that lived and breathed within the walls of Old Maasi's house on the marsh.

But...Aphi was so very happy.

And, the more Isi thought about it, the happier everyone else would be. Rivener might come out of his slump, Eiry would surely find new ghostly friends to talk to, and their pets would have a nice time in the new house. Isi would just need grip socks and he would be more or less alright, none less worse for wear. He would miss the memories of the old plantation home, miss the ghosts that will move on once the place is demolished, but at the same time...Isi would be free from those nightmares too. He wouldn't have to remember the place where Aphi smashed his head against the counter top as Old Maasi picked up a helpless Isi and raced away, he wouldn't have to pass the window he was so freely tossed out of, he wouldn't have to be in the same kitchen where he was nearly throttled by a murderer's ghost in Aphismet's body, he wouldn't have to remember the warnings of Fletcher, nor the painting room where he was fatally poisoned by Rivener, or the dark hallways where Eiry crawled through, mad and raving with rage and illness, as well as the time where he and Alex were pulled into the very woodwork of the house, left to hang in suspense, or when he was yanked into the basement to suffer at the hands of Eiry's madness-induced mockeries and traps.

Isi felt a relief then. He wouldn't have to be reminded of any of that, ever again.

And, for the first time since the flooding of the Delaran home, Isi gave an honest smile. Perhaps he will go down to the cafeteria and allow himself to be treated to another one of Aphismet's sweets.