Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vate was pacing in the hall. His teenage son, Howl, had ended up being, well, a bit of a rebel. This wasn't your typical teen going out and doing drugs, sex, and going to raves. No, the dark elf might have preferred that. Anything would have been better than having an abnormal teenage wizard as a son.

He didn't go out to parties. He didn't do drugs. He didn't show the slightest interest in anything sexual. Vate would have thought he was--well, queer, if he hadn't known the boy was already married.

Vate decided it was time for drastic matters. It was time to call in a normal teenager--well, as close to normal as the dark elf could think of. Howl did have that pretty redheaded friend; maybe she would help? Surely she could encourage Howl to participate in normal teenage activities?

"Hey, Kali? It's Vate, Howl's father. I was thinking you could come over for a few hours. Maybe invite Howl to a party or two--anything to get him out of the house, really." Now Howl had taken it upon himself to take everything his father said literally. If Vate said there had been a tornado in Howl's room, sure enough, there was one. If Vate said the living room looked like a dump, there was suddenly a pile of garbage there. If Vate said--well. Howl was throughly enjoying himself.

"Anything's better than how he's been," Vate said with a shrug. Drugs and parties were things he could deal with. That was how he'd expected his teenage son to behave; with some girls mixed in. "He's been taking everything literally," the elf complained. "You know. Using spells to make every metaphor accurate. So I can't say anything--about anything! I told him to stop acting like a child earlier today, I think that's done it. Haven't heard from him since."

Which was surprising as a whole, really. When Howl wanted something, he whined. Or he sulked. Or he was altogether loud and demanding about it. This new found silence was both relieving and troubling. "Do you think you could come?" Vate repeated, hopefully.

Vate was quick to open the door with a smile. "That was fast," was his initial comment, before moving and holding the door open. "Come on in." The dark elf studied her, before nodding. "I've checked," he said. "There's no slime coming out from under his door, so you should be safe."

With that, Vate led the red headed mage into the hall. "Well, you remember where his room is," he said, giving the teenager a smile. "If you need anything, just ask. Just... Don't say your skin's as rough as a elephant's or something."

A carefully curled head of blonde poked out from Howl's bedroom. The figure was probably two feet tall, with dimples and large blue eyes. His cheeks were rosy with youth and--well. He was a perfect child--if children could look so perfect, that was. As soon as he caught sight of Kali, an audible gulp sounded.

"Twinkle," Howl corrected her. Clearly this was a form he had taken before; and liked. If only for the trouble he could get away with when in said form. He sent a frown in his father's direction, but in his current state, it didn't resemble much more than a pout. The dark elf seemed to get the point, though; he left the two teenagers in the hall, and went for the livingroom. "Come for ice cream?" Howl asked.

He knew better. He was in for some trouble; he knew by the look on Kali's face. He had seen such an expression before. It was the look Sophie had given him before threatening to dump water onto Calcifer. Or sending him to bed without dinner.

He wasn't quite sure which one was worse. "Come on," he said, walking into his bedroom. "I'll explain."

"Dad hasn't been listening to me," Howl said, frowning as he climbed onto his bed with some difficulty due to his size. "I've told him over and over about what Mom's obviously doing. He ignores me! He acts as if it isn't happening. I don't care if she calls. No one's that busy."

He crossed his arms and glared at his friend; which wasn't very impressive. "He's upset! Leyla hardly knows she has a mother. Devin thinks Mom's forgotten him. Alexei--well. I don't know what Alexei thinks about anything." Alexei was Howl's older brother; who spent more than half his life sleeping. "So I've been getting his attention this way," the little wizard added in explanation.

"It's been working, mostly. He goes to visit Aunt Thali more often than he used to. And everything I've done is harmless. Illusions are useful."

Howl crossed his arms, frowning. He seemed to be thinking. "He hasn't been listening to me," he repeated. He flopped down on his quilt and laid there, staring at the ceiling. "And I haven't been causing that much trouble," he added. "Just small things. Little annoying things," he added as an afterthought.

"Nothing more than a few illusions, really. They really are harmless." He sat up and glared at her. "I don't miss her," he said, rather defensively. "I don't miss her at all. I'm angry with her, because--" he huffed.

He hopped down off of his bed and went to look up at Kali. "Because she's hurting my family," he said. "And no one's doing a thing about it. Dad's not. Leyla's not; I've tried! I'm still trying! I figure if I cause enough trouble, they'll notice, and--"

With a quick movement of his hand, Howl stood, his tall, lanky teenage form returned. He glowered down at Kali, scowling. This was one of the rare times the heartless wizard had been angry. He hated being angry, for good reason. It wasn't just that he disliked anything unpleasant, he often lost control of his magic in such situations; Howl certainly had a temper.

In fact, he was really quite hurt that Kali was so upset with him. She was usually on his side, after all. He really was just trying to help. Well, he had been, until Vate had stopped listening. "You've no idea," he snapped. "I have been helping! I even started cleaning! Calcifer and I've been taking care of--ugh." He turned away from Kali before he lost his temper. He didn't want to turn her into some kind of unmentionable, after all.

"You aren't listening either," he said. "Do you think I don't understand what Dad's been going through? I tried giving him advice! I've tried watching over the phone so I can talk to Mom and tell her how she's ruining everyone's lives. Forget it, Kali. I won't get involved. I've got enough issues."

Howl turned to stare at her. She wasn't yelling at him? What on Gaia? He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. "I really was just trying to help," he muttered as he hugged her. "I thought it'd get Mom's attention, and--" he sighed.

"I guess I shouldn't have caused so much trouble," he said, still hugging Kali. "But dad was being frusterating. Do you know, he suggested I go out and get drunk? I almost took him up on that, but--" The wizard didn't seem to want to let go of his friend. "And you won't yell?" he asked. "If I come talk to you?"