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 Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:30 am
Caelum wasn't sure why he let his father talk him into these things.
"It'd be fun!" Rigel would say. "You'll have the time of your life!" he'd say.
Yea, well, I'm not, Caelum thought, itching at the ugly sweater of tinsel and yarn he was forced to wear a second time around for one of these caroling bouts. After dumping off his son with one of the groups, Rigel drove off to who knows where. Caelum was beginning to think his dad was just forcing him to these events to get him out of the house for someone else. Did his dad have a girlfriend?
Nevertheless, he tapped an impatient foot as he awaited the arrival of the other carolers. A few were milling about, humming holidays tunes that were to be sung and chatting with others, but there seemed to be a few stragglers. Hopefully the group wouldn't be as big as it was last time.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:17 pm
Dani groaned as she got out of Aunt Claudia's car. Aunt Claudia was having her go caroling with a bunch of strangers- while she herself would continue trying to contact Dani's Parents and Siblings. This was so not fair. This was supposed to be the Christmas that they all got back together! She slowly trod up to the group, barely noticing the boy with the ugly sweater - actually she thought it was cute- or she would if she was paying attention. "I just got here and now I have to sing to people? I can't even see my family first! It's not fair!" She grumbled.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:02 pm
"Yea, it totally sucks, right?"
Caelum's voice seemed to pipe up before his head did, causing him to blink when the girl beside him came into view. He didn't know anything about her (and considering his own ordeal and annoyance, didn't care to either), but her one comment seemed to snap something in him. The topic of family always does.
Eyeing her from face to feet twice, he sighed, and relinquished his bad temper there for the time being. "Did you get forced into doing this thing too?" he asked. "Go caroling, I mean. My dad's making me do this. Something about being festive or whatever."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 1:41 pm
Dani looked at the boy. She frowned and thought about it. "Yes, and no. I really wouldn't mind it. It's the reason why I have to do it. Right now, it's not about caroling. My aunt,(who's raised for the last four years) needed somewhere safe to stick me at the minute. My family is supposed to be reuniting right now."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 1:48 pm
"Huh."
The note he breathed was a gentle one, almost dismissive. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude, however; Caelum just wasn't sure what to say. Unlike himself where the caroling was only about shooing away the youngest son of the Dawson home, this girl's reasoning was far more important. He almost felt a little guilty for hating this.
"That's big. Like, one of those Christmas miracle kind of things," Caelum said. He internally relished himself upon saying that. It sounded like such a cliche. "Anyone in particular you're looking out for? I can help keep an eye out or something. Better than practicing carols or whatever."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 1:56 pm
Dani nodded slowly. "My older brother and sister are somewhat delinquents - and twins- they are 15 and their names are Andrew and Xandria Bones or more commonly known as Drew and Dria. My parents are Thomas and Fiona." She scowled when mentioning her older brother and sister.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:01 pm
In contrast to the girl's scowl, Caelum's own features brightened. He snapped a finger and nodded his head to the names, the reindeer antler headband with its bells jingling with the gestures.
"I've never met Dria, but I know Drew!" he said excitedly. "Man, it's been, like, forever since I last saw the guy. I've been... busy... with other things, but if he's your brother, then you're, like, his sister. His little sister. Whoa. I never knew the guy had siblings."
He had a vague remembrance of their possibly being a mentioning of a sister, but not two. Definitely not two.
"Then they shouldn't be hard to miss. At least, not Drew. I could that guy walking from, like, a mile away."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:13 pm
Dani stared at him in surprise. "He gets into that much trouble? Wow, my family must be at the police station right, bailing him out, if you know him that well." She imagined Drew doing really bad things. Dria must have shaped up, if the boy didn't know her name.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:21 pm
Caelum's smile waned come Dani's comment. Narrowing his eyes at her, he crossed arms over his chest and huffed.
"Man, who put coal in your stocking?" he said. "I don't know much of the guy's backstory, nor do I really care to be frank, but he's a nice guy. A good friend. Not a criminal or whatever. And I don't appreciate you saying crap like that, little sister or not."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:39 pm
Dani looked away. "Well I was only five when it happened. So I guess I could have misunderstood. We went to Egypt on vacation and everything was good. But when we came back, everything kept going from bad to worse. First the plane had to land on water. And then, Drew was very upset because Dria wasn't with him. Then Mom and Dad and Aunt Claudia started to get upset about whatever was going on with Dria. I didn't see her for a long time, and everyone was very upset especially Drew. I thought Dria did something bad and got in a lot of trouble. Drew started flipping out and doing weird things, like wearing all black, and getting into trouble. Finally, Mom and Dad made a decision. For the sake of the family, the family would break apart. Aunt Claudia took me across the country and I haven't seen the others since, all I know is that for a time Drew was getting himself into trouble, and then for a time, he shaped up, but eventually we lost contact, so I assumed he returned to being bad..." she signed.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:51 pm
Caelum's arms dropped to his sides. Even though he was mindful of jumping to conclusions, hearing Dani's take on Drew still crossed him the wrong way. To just assume something like that? It made him think back to his time to elementary school when they thought him a bad kid for not adjusting to Destiny City. It just wasn't fair.
"It's still a lame thing to think," Caelum said. "I mean, it's good to hear about him before. And you, too. But like I said, what he was like doesn't matter to me. He's still a good friend."
He began to scratch at his sweater, trying to use it as a distraction from the current topic at hand. His past self would've been labeling Drew as a criminal, but now, it seemed his ideals were a little skewed.
What happened to that heroic mentally, Cae? the boy asked himself in thought. Not everyone is the bad guy now? Have you gotten soft?
After a beat of silence, Caelum finally said, "So you just came to Destiny City or something? Like, you're new here?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 3:00 pm
Dani nodded. He may be right. "I just don't have enough information. I guess." She had jumped to conclusions probably. She did it a lot. He asked about being new here. "Actually, yes, just got today." She gave him a calculating look. "I've heard that it is pretty strange here; what's your take on it?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 3:06 pm
Caelum gave a laugh then. A genuine one, as he was part of the so-called 'weirdness' the girl asked of.
"Yea, it is pretty weird around here," the teen said. "Crap happens a lot. You just gotta keep your eyes peeled. You know that idiom danger lurks around every corner? Well, take that literally when you live in this city."
After realizing what he said, Caelum quickly added:
"But it isn't like you can't live a normal life or whatever! Just gotta be careful, that's all."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Dani laughed his words. It was the first time she had laughed in a while, and it felt good. "Sounds like it will be interesting to live here. I think it will be fun after all to sing carols - if you are here to keep me laughing. One thing though, so I can tell my Aunt? Is there a place where Drew normally hangs out?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 3:26 pm
Caelum hummed for a moment in thought, clutching his chin, before he shrugged shoulders to Dani's question.
"Sorry, I... don't really know," he answered. "It's been a long time since I've seen him. I can ask around though; he goes to Hillworth, if I remember correctly, and some boys hang out around Meadowview from there. If they know him, then it shouldn't be too hard to find out."
He pulled out his phone and flashed it to her. "I can text you the info, I guess? If I find out, of course."
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