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Post by seraaches on Oct 19, 2007 19:41:53 GMT -5
Rai’s ears flattened at the sharp sound of a head cracking on the ground. It was less that he was angry at the child for being frightened; heavens knew he’d often been afraid as a child. No, he was concerned the Four had been injured and he didn’t want to be worried. His tail twitched. After a moment and George’s first outburst, Rai turned back around, staring silently down at the small being.
Rai hadn’t nabbed the human by the scruff simply because he wasn’t certain if human forms –had- scruffs and he didn’t want to hurt the lad. No, no, he didn’t want to damage the goods. That was it; whoever at the Courts was looking for the child, likely wouldn’t want him injured. He ignored the fallacy in that logic if George’s fears were true.
”Do you want to just sit out here and be caught?” the equine asked sharply instead of answering the Clubs’ question. He turned his head away, eyes searching the night around them. He couldn’t bear those tears. Blast. Double blast.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 19, 2007 19:54:34 GMT -5
"N-no...I..."
What on earth could he do? His only options at this point seemed to be either to run or follow this man inside. He knew that running wouldn't work...he would have to go in.
"Yes, sir. Come on, Merlin" He whispered after a few moments of pained silence. He stood shakily, slightly dizzy from the fall but it was clearing.
He staggered forward, trying to stop his legs from shaking. He was terrified of this Equine..his blank face and flat tone of voice spoke to him of nothing but mistrust.
George regretted desperately telling the Marsh dweller his name. He wasn't even sure h he had done so, he had just so hoped...
He scooped up the fuzzy green form of his Bander and hugged the tiny body close to his for reassurance.
He looked up at the Equine once more, eyes half closed as though he expected to be struck.
"W-what are you going to do?"
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Post by seraaches on Oct 19, 2007 20:24:16 GMT -5
The inside of the small suite was much like his cabin back home in Josiggy; decorated in a plain, neutral style with just a hint of masculinity. There were few personal belongings to be seen and those were still very business-like in nature. A set of packs over by the wall, a first aid kit, and some simple stationary on the desk were all that could really be seen in the living room. The kitchen gave no other signs than he was neat and didn’t cook often. A closed door gave no hint wot was behind it, though a simple guess would say it was the bedroom.
A gentle kick from a hind foot closed the door behind the child, and Rai absently turned around to lock it before continuing further into the small set of rooms. ”Go sit down,” he ordered in the same vague tone and clicked his way into the kitchen, pulling out a pot of water to stick on the stove. He began making preparations to make some tea; George was still shaking like a leaf.
”Now, why exactly is the Court after you?” He couldn’t make his voice sound caring, but he did manage neutral. Mostly.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 20, 2007 17:39:44 GMT -5
George heard the door shut with a heavy "thud" behind him. He felt as though he had just walked into one of the prison cells, old and unused, beneath his mother's palace.
He looked around at the somewhat barren surroundings, feeling colder at the sight of the bachelor's pad...he was so used to his mother's room. Knick-knacks strewn about soft pillows, pictures, and calming scents all around. He shivered at the plain-ness and felt dejected.
At the command to sit, he very nearly fell to the floor in his haste to obey, climbing up into a chair and watching as the Equine appeared to being...cooking? What?
Now he was a bit lost.
The next question set him right back on edge though.
"I-I can't tell you, sir...I don't think he'd even want me to tell you...he might kill you if you knew."
George answered truthfully. There was no doubt in his mind that his father would kill the Equine if he thought his secret might leak out for all to laugh about.
"All I can tell you is that I d-didn't do anyhitng but exist...I'm sorry."
He looked down at the floor, watching as Merlin snuffled around...he didn't look like he was going to chew on anything but George was ready to leap on him at any time.
"Do...do you need help with that? I have...I have thumbs.."
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Post by seraaches on Oct 20, 2007 18:14:41 GMT -5
(( so much... inner dialogue... xD; ))
Rai’s ears briefly flattened as he listened to the child talk and the crack about thumbs wasn’t much better. True or not. Pride fought with practicality; pride won. He was a Heart, he was a Jack, and he was an adult. He’d lived his entire life this way thus far and there was absolutely nothing wrong with not having thumbs. Even if this now stiffened his resolve to learn how to attain bipedal form.
Was it worth pressing the topic or not? He didn’t know how many Diamonds were associated with the Court of Hearts, but there was an equally good chance it would be better if he didn’t know. Then he couldn’t be found lying. Not knowing ate slightly at the edge of his consciousness, though. Was this a risk worth making? Maybe the terrified persona was an act. He glanced back into his living room. He sincerely doubted it. Even if George could fake the look, it was nearly impossible to fake the scent that flowed with the fear; and that stink clung to the boy like a spider’s web.
Well, perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was a freakin’ Four of Clubs. A low Clubs somehow associated with the Court of Hearts. He had that sinking feeling again. He shouldn’t have been swayed by those large eyes.
”Who…” He hesitated briefly, pretending he was more concerned with getting out the cups and tea bags. Did he –really- want to ask who was after the child? If it was the Queen…. No, why would the Queen of Hearts be associated with a Four of Clubs? Still, better to not ask that particular question if he wasn’t going to push for why the Court was after the child. ”Is your father after you?” Rai asked instead, waiting for the teapot to whistle. That should be a safer question and would give Rai a better understanding of George’s family dynamics.
Maybe he could find a simple way to foist the child off onto other family members. The pursuer was a ‘he’ after the Torquehelm child, (belatedly Rai thought of those purple eyes staring and placed the region), and if the father was a Heart it would be easy to think that the poor sap was just embarrassed by his offspring. Rai really, really hoped that’s wot it was. The mother, then, would be either a Spade or Club, though following that, logic would strike out Club. Hard to hate the suit of your mate, after all. Supposedly. Rai gave an inner sigh. He wasn’t a detective; he was a tour guide.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 20, 2007 22:05:52 GMT -5
George raised his eyes without raising his head. He didn't like to lie...and how would this man make the proper connection anyway...he was a Club...
"Yes.. Yes, my father wants to kill me..." He whispered. Barely able to stand saying it. Father...why did you have to...
Why, that was always the question on his mind. It wasn't his mother's fault, things couldn't be helped, it wasn't his own either...
Why mother, why Uncle Nathaniel, why me....? He felt stupid thinking it, and he hated the tears as they started sliding down his cheeks again, making his eyes burn from all the salt.
"Why d-does it matter to you? I-"
He jerked his head up suddenly, glaring through his tears.
"Who are you, anyway? Y-you won't even tell me who you are...are you going to kill me or just hand me over...just tell me now."
His voice was muted, soft. Not angry, simply tired and sad. As though the anger had all burned out long ago.
"What will you get if you tell them where I am?"
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Post by seraaches on Oct 20, 2007 22:37:54 GMT -5
The abrupt vehemence caused Rai’s ears to fold briefly backwards, but the swiftness the passion disappeared with concerned him a great deal more than he cared to admit. The teapot whistled into the silence between them and the horse carefully pulled it from the flame and poured it into the cups. He clicked off the stove with the practiced motion of a hoof.
It took a careful series of motions and a tray with a handle to get the tea to the child. He put it carefully down within reach of the boy then stood before the Club and the Bander. He shifted his weight to stare down at the Torquehelm for a long moment before speaking.
”You may call me Whip,” he finally said quietly. Might as well use a nom de plume until he knew where he would stand with the Court. ”If I was here to kill you or turn you over,” he pointed out in the same flat tones. It wasn’t that he sounded kind, but he wasn’t trying to be frightening. ”Why would I bother asking questions? I would just take you back or finish the job.”
He hope the logic would help put the child at some ease, but he didn’t think it would be fair to be less than forthright. ”Until I find out more, however, I’m not saying those aren’t possibilities.” Somehow, he thought the small Clubs could handle the truth of the situation. ”For now, however, I have no reason to just send you off.”
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 21, 2007 0:31:41 GMT -5
"Whip..." He murmured. He hadn't expected the man to actually give him his name..he had expected a snort and then to be ignored..and tea was just beyond anything he could have hoped for. He reached eagerly for the cup...then waited patiently for his host to take a sip first. He then eagerly bent to enjoy the hot drink...it soothed his nerves somewhat...as did knowing the man's name.
The logic of the man's...Whip's next statements threw him off however.
He could turn him over, but he wouldn't. Yet. He could learn more about him and that meant that he didn't want to turn him in, George had figured that the more he learned the more eager the other would be to hand him over.
”Until I find out more, however, I’m not saying those aren’t possibilities.”
George shuddered. What did this man, this Whip, want from him? Why, oh why had he come inside?
"I-I was led out of my home by a friend of my mother's, a Lowland rat...I-"
No, he couldn't drop the name, as much as he had disliked the man...he couldn't put him out in the open like that.
"He...he left me and told me to run, I've been running ever since. I can't go back and I need to keep going, I'm not far enough away. Please...I just need to go...somewhere. Can- Will you...let me go?"
He knew better than to ask for help, after what had happened last time, he knew better.
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Post by seraaches on Oct 21, 2007 0:58:07 GMT -5
The horse’s hide twitched at the mention of the Lowlander. This boy was a friend of Lowlanders? Rai turned his back suddenly, working to control his expression. The loathsome, foul, disgusting creatures. The horse nearly sent the child out of his suite right then.
No, no, don’t think about revenge, think about the best way to profit from this situation. Deep breaths. Think.
The Lowlander had just sent the boy out on his own to fend for himself. That was unacceptable; a Four of Clubs –and- a child should not have been told to run on his own. Yes, there was a way to swing this. The need to make everyone prefer Josiggy Marsh over the Lowlands was instinctual.
”Where are you trying to get to, George?” He purposefully used the boy’s name, tightening the reality and humanity of the child in his mind; binding them a tiny bit closer.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 21, 2007 1:10:09 GMT -5
"Away from my father, away from that rat, away from everyone. I need to disappear..."
He watched the Equine's flanks twitch and his features harden at the mention of the Lowlander. His eyes widened.
"D-do the Lowlanders scare you too?"
He asked. The rat had terrified him, dragging him along as a favor to his mother, then dumping him as fast as he could, telling him to run or his mother would die...
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
"He...he terrified me. Every moment I thought he was going to turn and drag me to the Court of Hearts instead...I don't trust him near my mother...I know he'll help kill her someday..."
His voice trailed off near the end of the sentence as he desperately tried not to begin crying into his tea.
He looked up again, suddenly realizing that Whip used his name, that seemed odd, almost forced. He wasn't quite as frightened as he had been when he had come in, but he was still nervous and ready to bolt. He watched Merlin sniff the leg of his chair and tapped the Banders' back lightly with his toe to reassure himself. Merlin ignored him, interested in the new smells.
"Where do you go to disappear?"
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