Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 2, 2008 1:03:26 GMT -5
I seem to be terribly ill and losing my voice. Enough that my dad made the comment that I sound like a man. Anyway. Commentary, I know you want some.
Theofilus isn't the most observant man when he places trust in someone. >_> Keep that in mind when you're reading. People notice things LONG before him.
Enjoy the fluff.
...So the board is doing something psychotic. *tries to repost*
Theofilus hated the cold. He despised it enough that he wore a think cloak around his neck that went down to the ground. It was difficult to fly in, but well worth it. Did not curse as much when he wore it.
He struggled to fly with the cloak on, along with a clipboard and pack that he had strapped to his back. His boss had given him another job away from t he firm. "Extend our reach. You're reliable, Theofilus, so you're perfect for the job," said the boss.
It was really just an excuse to get him out of the office.
Theofilus rolled his eyes as he glided close to the ground. Why they needed to extend their shipping firm to the boonies of the Lakes, he had no idea. He could see expansion to other realms, or the more populated geographical regions but this just seemed like a pointless exercise. What would anyone want to ship from here?
Theofilus' thoughts were interrupted when he passed over something that was too out of place to be normal. He flapped his wings furiously so he could stop, and then he walked the few feet back.
A sandy brown color was peaking out of the snow. The sparrow leaned forward, peering at whatever it was. Fabric? He raised a feathery eyebrow, slipping the piece of fabric in his mouth he gave it a good tug.
And an arm popped out of the snow.
He let out a horrified squawk before gathering his composure. He hurried to brush snow off of whoever was under the mess. It didn't take long to do with the help of the beating of his wings.
It was a young human boy, and he was still breathing.
This definitely wasn't what the sparrow expected to happen today. He looked down at the small and frail figure in the snow. He let out a long sigh. Apparently he was going to walk the rest of the way.
***
He had burst through the door with the boy on his back. The inn keeper had nearly dropped what he head been holding. When he had exclaimed that Theofilus was an idiot, he was promptly corrected by the sparrow who demanded a room and a doctor. It was a rare occasion that a human child would be anywhere near the establishment. Let alone one that looked so roughed up.
It took a while to find a doctor. But the inn keeper's wife and Theofilus did their best to keep the boy warm and breathing. Once the doctor arrived things went well. Thankfully the boy wouldn't lose any limbs from frost bite—he hadn't been out in the snow for very long.
Night fell, and Theofilus stayed by the boy's bedside. He had missed his meeting with his clients because of all the excitement. But it was worth it. The boy hadn't died, and the meeting could always take place tomorrow. His employer would understand, and hopefully the customer would as well.
Theofilus sat quietly and read in the candle light.
The boy stirred, shifting in the sheets. Theofilus only looked up when he heard the small cough.
The boy looked at him from under the safety of the covers. Black eyes peering at the white and blue bird.
The sparrow moved his glasses further up his beak. He smiled, though he figured the boy would have trouble telling. Some people didn't understand reading emotions on birds.He personally had a hell of at time understand human faces. Not like he would ever admit that aloud. After all, he got it when it mattered. Angry, happy, and sad were generally emotions that shone through no matter what you looked like.
The expression on the boy's face at the moment wasn't something he could read very well.
"Hello," Theofilus said, waving a wing in greeting.
The boy sank back into the covers.
"Uh..." Theofilus sighed as he looked at the boy. "I'm not good at this. I'm sorry. What's your name little boy?"
The boy remained under the covers, only his dark eyes were visible to the sparrow. He coughed again, and sniffed a bit before responding with a meek whisper, "Conway. What's your name pretty bird man?"
Theofilus couldn't help but grin. "Theofilus."
The boy's eyes narrowed. The sparrow couldn't really tell what that meant, he was thankfully when the boy spoke to clarify.
"That's a really long name."
"I suppose it is."
"Can I call you Mr. Birdy instead?"
Theofilus blinked. "Sure."
"Thank you, Mr. Birdy for helping me... I should get going now though. I can't stay here for long." He said, as he removed the covers from himself. He wore a rather interesting outfit for a young child. A rather odd suit with with a tail coat and a moth eaten cravat. Theofilus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he watched the boy get up and move towards the door.
Of course he couldn't walk for very long. He fell to the floor in a heap, whimpering pitifully. Theofilus shook his head before going to help the boy up. "Grab onto my neck you silly boy. You're obviously very ill so don't push yourself."
The boy's features were unusual. The color of his hair a sandy brown that bordered on dirty blond, his clothing was also a sandy color and just odd for a young child to wear. The most disturbing thing was the bracelet that he wore. It was attached to an actual muscle that the doctor had said lead directly to his spine. When they had lifted the back of his shirt and coat off he had seen the actual exposed spine. The boy must have been from the Hisstor Wastes. There was no other explanation for such a strange mutation. But he was just a boy....
Conway listened to Theofilus' direction and grabbed on to his neck. He found himself placed onto the bed, where he flopped down. Theofilus picked up the covers with his beak and slipped them over the boy to the neck. "Why were you out in the freezing cold in nothing but that?"
Conway didn't respond, he simply grasped onto the covers.
"Don't you have any family to take care of you?"
"Mom and Father are dead." He said flatly.
Theofilus' eyes widened as he looked down at the small boy. His parents were dead? That was awful... What was he supposed to say in response to that? "D-don't you have anyone else?"
"He hates me. And he took away my sister."
Damn. It couldn't get any worse could it? Theofilus swallowed the lump in his throat and gave the boy another smile. He didn't seem to be able to tell at all. Oh well. He carefully brushed a wing by the boy's cheek. There were a few tears trailing down his cheeks, even if the boy was doing his best to hide it. Theofilus wished he had hands, but he could easily do without them.
"It's all right to cry, you know. If you're hurt you shouldn't keep it all inside." Theofilus needed to listen to his own advice.
Conway shook his head. He reached up to wipe away the few tears that were still there. There was no point in crying for his family now. Not in front of a complete stranger who didn't understand anything. It was all his fault his parents were dead. It was all his fault that he would never be able to see his sister again.
And he now had no home to go to.
Conway shivered. Sitting up he looked at the bird with his black eyes, a frown on his face.
Theofilus frowned in return, even if the child couldn't pick up on it. He had to do something—anything to make the child smile even a little bit.
He looked around the room for something warm. They didn't really have extra blankets. He chirped happily when he saw the solution hanging on the coat rack. He hoped over and pulled the scarf off the rack. It was something he had packed just in case, and he was happy it could serve a purpose. Hopping over to the bed he wrapped it around the boy's neck.
"There." Theofilus said cheerfully, adding a chirp at the end of sentence. "It's not much, but it'll at least keep your neck warm."
Conway was confused. He raised his eyebrows at the bird's actions. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Because you're cold, and there aren't any extra blankets. Plus I don't think sitting on you would get anything accomplished."
And there it was. A smile crept its way onto the boy's face. He giggled a bit as he looked up at the bird. "You're really weird."
Theofilus fluffed his feathers for a moment before taking a bow in a very extravagant fashion. "Why thank you, good sir."
Children were adorable.
"Now, you should get to sleep," Theofilus said quietly as the boy giggled. "We can go shopping for proper clothing in the morning."
The sparrow wasn't sure what to do with the boy. He wasn't sure he could take care of a child like this. But he couldn't leave him alone. The sparrow would have never forgiven himself if he let a cute little boy like this suffer more than he had to. Patting the boy on the head with a feather he went over to the chair to finish up a bit of reading.
***
"I'm sorry about yesterday, Mr. Augustus. I ran into a bit of trouble with my little friend here." Theofilus said brightly as he motioned to the boy sitting in a chair at the other end of the room. He didn't seem to like other people and had remained silent whenever more than one person was in the room.
"It's not a problem, Mr. Theofilus. You did quite a wonderful thing saving the boy's life. That was far more important that coming to a meeting with a stuff old man like myself." The bipedal canine said with a smile. He was a high ranking rich King, who owned quite an interesting bottling company.
"Yes, but you wanted to discuss shipping your water to different regions."
"Yes, yes indeed. But...." The man leaned forward.
The sparrow wanted to pull back, but he didn't want to offend a King. He was only a nine, even if he was a red suit he still needed to respect others. He didn't want to be like his mother, after all.
Augustus' voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe we should go shopping for the young boy. I heard he doesn't have a family to go back to... so why not?"
Theofilus blinked. "Y-you would do that sir?"
Augustus gave the sparrow a tooth grin, "I always wanted children. Never got the chance, but this seems like a perfect time. We can go shopping with him and discuss the contract. Sound all right to you?"
"I suppose...." Theofilus honestly couldn't get over the spontaneity of it all, but giving into the demands of an eccentric old man didn't seem all that bad. If shopping for clothing and making a child happy were all that it took to make a deal that would prevent the firm from going under, Theofilus would certainly accept it.
"Conway," Theofilus said turning around to look at the boy. He had been twiddling his thumbs and kicking his feet silently. He was a quiet, nice and obedient boy. Why on earth would anyone hate him? He may have come from a strange realm, but that didn't mean people had to hate him. "We're going to get you some proper warm clothing."
The boy looked at him for one long moment, and then smiled. Hopping down from the chair he hurried over to Theofilus. The coat that he had borrowed from the inn keeper's family was an inch too long for the boy. The sparrow couldn't really tell his age, being that he had never met a human younger than thirty, or if he was supposed to be as skinny as he was.
They took a trip to one of the tailor shops in Augustus' carriage. It wasn't a long trip, but it was safer than walking in the freezing cold.
A fire was roaring on the inside of the tailor's shop. The man sat behind a counter mending some of his own cloths. He quickly straightened up when he saw Augustus walk in. The canine wore a lavish set of clothing and various layers. A shirt, a vest, a coat reaching the floor. He also had a top hat and cane and even wore specially made pants just for him. It was obvious that they were in one of the best tailor's shops in town.
And Theofilus felt terribly naked.
The boy reached up and squeezed Theofilus's neck as best he could. The sparrow leaned down to the boy's level. Conway seemed terribly thankful of this action, and whispered into the sparrow's ear.
"Oh, is that so?" Theofilus said looking at Conway with a smile on his beak. He looked up to Augustus. "He says he wants to have a coat like yours, only with puffy trim."
The old man chuckled. "Did you here that Taylor? You have your job cut out for you!"
"I do indeed sir," said the man as he hurried from around the counter. He raised a furry eyebrow at the human boy. This was obviously something he hadn't done before. "I need to put him on the stand so I can take measurements. The coat should probably take two days...."
"Perhaps you could go faster than that." Augustus said. "Take a preexisting coat and re tailor it for him, perhaps?"
It wasn't really a suggestion coming from the King. Even Theofilus could understand that.
"Y-yes sir! I still need measurements however."
Theofilus looked to Conway. "Go on and follow the man, we'll be right behind you.
Conway gave the man a worried look but nodded anyway. He followed the directions of the tailor and took off all his clothing except for his underclothing.
"Dear Suits," Augustus said, "He's terribly thin."
Theofilus drooped a bit. Even for a human the boy didn't look natural. But he wasn't from this region either. Everyone here in the Lakes was used to bulk, and something like Conway looked like a frail doll. "I hope to fix that." Theofilus said in reply as he watched the boy get measurements.
They spoke of all the arrangements of the contract while the tailor was modifying the coat for Conway. Everything went smoothly.Conway walked away from the shop with a brand new fur lined coat, and Theofilus walked away with a new business partner. They were escorted back to the inn a smile on both their faces.
Before they entered Augustus put his hand on Theofilus' shoulder. "Perhaps before you get going back home, you and Conway could come to dinner at my manor?"
"Of course we would! Thank you very much for the invitation!"
"Then tomorrow night I'll have a carriage pick you up."
***
"Is something wrong Conway?" the sparrow asked the young boy. He was fiddling with the fluff on his coat, looking down at his shoes—which were barely visible. He smiled at the boy, who seemed to be catching on what a smile was for a bird. He was a quick learner.
"No..." he said looking at the bird with a small smile. "I'm just a little nervous I guess."
"Mr. Augustus is rather fond of you, there's no need to be shy."
"Is that so?" Conway asked, an indescribable look on his face. The sparrow couldn't quite place the emotion beyond that of worry. Humans really were difficult to read.
"Something else is wrong then?" the sparrow asked with a furrowed brow. They had been traveling in the carriage for what seemed like a long while, and Conway had been uneasy the entire time. Theofilus understood that the boy disliked people, but it seemed like something else was bothering him.
Conway shook his head and remained silent.
This was like pulling teeth, and Theofilus didn't even have any teeth. "It's all right to tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else."
The boy pondered the statement for a minute before speaking. "If I talk in front of more than one person, only one person can hear me."
Theofilus blinked.
"See. You don't believe me." Conway said with a humpfh as he crossed his arms.
"It's not that—well it is that. But that would explain why you don't say a word when there are other people in the room. But... that can't be true."
"Watch," Conway said as he hopped off his seat. Opening the window to the carriage he leaned out. "Mr. Cab driver! Please slow down!"
Theofilus heard Conway clearly. And expected the Cab driver to do the same. He raised an eyebrow when the pace stayed the same. The man had said he would listen to any of their requests. Theofilus nudged Conway away and poked his head out of the window. "Sir, could you possibly slow down the carriage."
The man called back, "Certainly!" And the pace slowed.
Theofilus looked at Conway. He was still skeptical. "He mustn't have heard you."
"I'll show you tonight then."
"Of course," Theofilus said with a raise of his brow. They came to a halt sooner than either of them expected. Before they knew it they found themselves being lead up a pristine white staircase.
The manor was huge, obviously expensive, and made the pair of them feel small. Theofilus could only hope to be as great and successful as that one day, while Conway could only hope to live a normal life.
They were greeted by a cheerful looking Augustus at the top of the stairs. He was accompanied by a woman, who looked to be around the same age as him. She gave them both guests a smile, however she leaned down in her biped form to look at the boy face to face.
Conway backed up a bit. One of his hands grasped Theofilus' wing out of reflex.
"It's all right," she said quietly. "I just haven't seen anyone with a human form in a very long time." She gave him another kind smile with her feline mouth. She carefully patted the boy on the head before turning to Theofilus. "How is Clari doing?"
Theofilus blinked. Wait. How on earth did this woman know Clari? "She's fine...but how in the name of the suits do you know her?"
"Oh! Little Clari is my niece! I know she doesn't speak of me often, but I thought she would have mentioned me at least..." the woman shrugged, "My name is Temperance. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Theofilus and Mr. Conway."
"Shall we go inside? It's rather chilly out here. We wouldn't watch to catch a cold." Augustus said as he motioned to the overly ornate door.
***
Dinner that night was strange. Theofilus had watched Conway's numerous attempts to speak up, and had watched everyone ignore him. Actually, it was proper to say not hear him. He said quite a few rude comments, that Theofilus was sure that their dinner hosts would have reacted to if they had heard.
It was the end of the dinner when they were sitting around the fireplace that Theofilus noticed something extremely odd about Conway.
He had no shadow.
It was impossible but the more Theofilus looked at the sleeping boy on the arm chair, the more he noticed how the boy cast absolutely no shadow. None.
He had to speak with Conway about that the next morning.
"It's a bit late for you to go back to the inn. Why not spend the night here?"
"That's a generous offer, Mr. Augustus, but all of our belongings are at the inn. And I have no intention of imposing on you when you so cordially invited us to dinner." He said with a smile. He was indeed refusing a King's invitation. This was something he wanted to kick himself over, but he wasn't going to spend the night in a strangers house when he had just noticed all the strange things about Conway.
He was sure someone else would notice too.
He moved over to Conway and nudged the boy to wake him up. He just wanted to get out of here quickly.
Augustus didn't look pleased. "But Mr. Theofilus, I would love it if you two would stay the night. You wouldn't want to walk in the freezing cold, would you?"
Theofilus wanted to slam his head against a coffee table. "I swear to the suits," He said suddenly. "Every high ranked person I have ever met throws around their rank like their God's greatest gift to the world. I hope you choke on a chicken bone for threatening me and a child. No man in all of the realms is as low as you." The sparrow said as his feathers puffed up with anger.
Conway was very awake at the moment, and wrapped his arms around the sparrow's puffed up neck. "You really shouldn't say stuff like that. They might get angry and do something awful to you." He didn't need to whisper. No one else could hear him. Both Augustus and his wife Temperance watched as the boy's mouth moved and no words escaped it.
The sparrow's feathers unruffled slowly as he helped the boy down from the chair.
"Good Night, sir. You can contact my employer if you have any problems with our contact." Theofilus said with his eyes narrowed. He readjusted his glasses before turning to the exit.
And so, they walked back to the inn in the dead of a winter night.
At least it didn't snow.
***
Two days later Conway disappeared. The sparrow had been ready to head home from the disaster of a business meeting with Conway by his side. But the boy had left during the night, leaving nothing but a simple note that said "I'm sorry."
Theofilus didn't know what to do.
Augustus came around as he stood outside waiting for a carriage. He had no intention of flying home with Conway, so he had gone out of his way to arrange a cab service. Theofilus eyed the canine as he stood next to him, not speaking for a while.
"I'm happy you didn't leave yet. I came to apologize to you and the boy. I was being an idiot."
"He's gone. And I'm not planing on staying for much longer."
Augustus' ears drooped for a moment. It was his fault the boy was gone, he was sure of it. He had caused so much trouble and had only now thought to apologize. "I hope, that one day, you can forgive me."
"We'll see if that day ever comes."
OMG! Two more chapters of this crazy project in ONE POST *gasp* Kudos to you who are still reading. <3 if you comment you'll eventually get something nice out of this.
So yes, first chapter is about Theo (which is short...ish), and the second is about Conway being a pet for two years of his life. Chapter Six will be "Accidents Happen."
It was a nightmare. He knew it was a nightmare, but he couldn't wake up.
Theofilus sat at the end of a lake. His brother was sitting next to him, nuzzling him.
But his brother wasn't breathing. He was dripping wet, shivering, and covered in all sorts of plant life. Theofilus was shaking, gagging, and gasping for air. His brother had drown because no one was willing to safe "just an Ace."
He never went back. He watched his brother sink. Die. And he had done absolutely nothing. To help him. Who was the biggest monster? Him or the people who wouldn't save an Ace because Myron was an Ace.
"I love you," Myron said.
Theofilus couldn't find the words.
"Why don't you love me?"
He shuddered as he felt the wet seeping into his feathers. "I'm sorry," Theofilus whispered. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. I was afraid. I couldn't even swim. I still can't."
"But why didn't you come back?"
Theofilus woke up with a start, falling off the side of his bed with a thud. Muttering to himself he rose to a sitting position. He straightened his feathers out as he climbed back onto the bed.
Really? Why hadn't he gone back? Was he that afraid to face the past?
With a mumble he flopped back onto the bed and fell back to sleep. The dream would be forgotten when morning's light peaked in through the window shades.
***
"What's wrong?" Calia asked as she sat down next to him. He had managed to acquire an apartment for the pair of them and the family in Capital City. He had been hoping for a larger one, but Zane and Ez got along well enough sharing a room. Not to mention Ceren needed time with her sister. Malc was still always the same wanderer.
Theofilus shrugged. "Nothing."
She gave him a look. It was the look he had gotten many times before that meant "You're obviously hiding something, please tell me so I don't worry about you." And he gave her his typical "I swear it's nothing." look in return.
But of course she would worry anyway until he said what was wrong. And of course there was something wrong, he was just being an idiot and hiding it. He had been hiding it for years now, and Calia still didn't know.
"I've told you numerous times that I've had a brother."
She nodded as she poured him some tea. He couldn't help but watch her. Without hands she did amazing things sometimes.
"Today's the anniversary of his death. I suppose that's why I'm depressed."
"Oh Theofilus," she said in her kind and warm hearted voice. It was amazing how two words from Calia could make him feel better. In all honesty, that's all he needed to feel better, but Calia always did so much more.
But before anymore words or motions could be exchanged, the door opened to the apartment, and Ez walked in, caring a large bag. Zane followed behind him, closing the door for his brother.
Theofilus raised an eyebrow at the pair.
"Mom!" Ez said happily, "Hi Dad." He said as an after thought while he dropped what he was carrying to hug his mother.
Zane rolled his eyes and picked up the few things that had spilled out of the bag.He eventually went to hug his mother as well, giving his father a smile.
"What are you two plotting," Theofilus asked as he looked from the bag to the pair.
"Just an art project Dad! Nothing serious! Shouldn't you be getting to work anyway?" Ez said in his usual cheerful tone.
Theofilus looked at the clock.
"Oh stars above. I should have left an hour ago."
***
Having a family was Theofilus' biggest dream. He had gotten it. Then he had joined the courts. His childhood dream had come true as well. Life couldn't get any better.
For a while it got worse. He decided to take a "Quest" on for the Queen of Hearts. The Lowlands were probably the worst possible place for him to go, and he got stuck with a psychopath cat. While things tumbled down hill at least he found his human form.
And with it his rank became that of a King. But not for long.
He took a small leave of absence from the court to recover from what happened in the Lowlands. Actually it was more for Eilwyn, the boy he had picked up from the Lowlands. He had to teach him just about everything about the world outside the Lowlands. Which was difficult. A lot more difficult than teaching his family. But at least he had plenty of people to help him.
The sparrow was staring at the ceiling. Eilwyn was asleep in the next room. They had just finished visiting the doctor yet again. Everything seemed to move smoothly, though the doctor still seemed worried about him having ailments because of conditions.
"Why is everything so bloody complicated," He muttered into his wing ash he brought it over his beak.He should try to get used to his human form... he should be responsible. Theofilus narrowed his eyes, and shifted to his human form.
He sat up so he could look in the mirror. It was odd seeing himself as a human. His glasses slipped down his nose as he leaned forward. Pushing them back up he studied his features with bright pink eyes.
Hopefully he would come off as noble. Sometimes he couldn't tell what he should dress like or act. Being blunt was easier than dancing around the maypole like everyone else. That really hadn't disappeared when he joined and worked in the courts for a while. People just gave him dirty looks every so often.
There was a knock in the door, he shifted to his biped form and went to answer it.
Zane was standing there with a frown on his beak. "Sorry Dad. I know you've been pretty stressed, but I can't find something to make dinner and I was wonder—" He cut himself off as he looked at his dad more carefully.
Theofilus blinked. "What's wrong?"
"Dad," Zane said with a raised eyebrow as he looked at his father's chest. "When did you... become a Queen?"
There was an awkward silence that filled the hallway. Theofilus stood there and looked down at his chest.
He left the door open as he walked over to the mirror to double check.
There was red "Q" on his chest instead of the red "K" that had been there earlier. Had he been so absorbed in himself that he hadn't noticed the change? Or had something else triggered it? He traced the letter on his chest.
"I have no idea." He said to Zane as he sat down on his bed.
"Congratulations though, this is wonderful Dad!" Zane said as he came into the room. He watched as his father remained staring at the mirror. It was strange seeing your logical put together father filled with utter confusion.
"Thank you." He replied quietly. The sparrow was at an utter lose. So many things had happened in such a short period of time. How was he supposed to process all the information. Not to meantion he was now a member of the courts. He couldn't retain his title of King if he was a Queen. "It looks like my break is going to be shorter than I anticipated."
"What do you mean Dad?" Zane asked with a note of worry in his voice. It was the same note his mother had sometimes.
"I mean I need to go back to the courts and clear something up." He said as he shifted to his human form, once again examining the suit. "I have a responsibility. Hopefully I'll be able to have a new court title and another responsibility soon."
"You know. You're one of the coolest Dad's to have." Zane said with a snort as he nudged his father's arm.
Theofilus didn't really have words to respond. Instead he hugged his son before exiting his bedroom. He needed to check on Eilwyn.
There was a nice woman who taught him how to read and write in the Forest. She was a bit of an outcast in the place, and people often gave him dirty looks. Eventually he left the nice woman. He went from region to region, place to place. Alone. Afraid. Trying his hardest not to get caught. He learned quite a few things here and there.
And then in Capital City he ran into trouble.
Stealing was the only way he could get food. But he got caught. And he was beaten until he lost consciousness.
The major problem, however, was that he now woke up staring up at another human figure. She had silver hair and various bangles hanging from its untamed mass. Her outfit, he was pretty sure from the angle, didn't match. The boy wanted to hide, but he found that it hurt the move.
When he tried he started coughing. The girl made a worried noise as she looked down at him. "Your really should stay still. The guy hurt you pretty bad. If my Daddy hadn't stopped him you probably would have died."
Conway blinked. He looked at his hands and felt his face. Bandages. That probably meant that they had to take off his clothing to mend him.
Oh. oh shit.
But he wasn't dead. That was a good thing, right?
He glanced over at the other people in the carriage. They were both well dressed and wore ornate clothing of a blue-ish color. They both had human forms. One was a rather elegant looking woman with dark blue hair, while the man had bright silver hair that was short cropped. They were giving him a look that made him feel smaller and scrawnier than he already was. They must have known...
"Hey, what's your name?" The girl asked quietly as she leaned forward. He hair obscured his face from the view of the adults, and she began to whisper. "My parents aren't to happy about you, but I'm not going to let them throw you out. So don't worry."
He was still suspicious. "Conway," he whispered in return. Her parents couldn't here him of course, but he said it so it was barely spoken. The girl looked confused for a moment, but was able to guess his name by the way he moved his mouth. She nodded happily.
The girl leaned back up and smiled. "I'm Tabitha! Everyone calls me Tabby! It's nice to meet you Conway!"
Both her parents raised an eyebrow. Obviously they were confused as to how she got his name. But they didn't speak a word.
She continued to talk to Conway, keeping him on her lap by pining him down carefully with one hand. Apparently she didn't want him to move. That was fine with him, he supposed. Moving when he was in this much pain was trouble. "We're going to my house. It's a bit of a trip, but you were asleep most of the time. We're going to be there very soon!" She said cheerfully.
Her house huh? Conway wasn't sure about this.
"Tabby, darling. You should let the poor boy sleep," said the woman.
Tabby looked disappointed, but she nodded.
Conway wasn't sure if he was thankful or not.
***
When he woke up again he found himself on a feather bed mattress. Apparently he had been out for quite sometime, yet again. Sitting up he looked around the room. It was small, like a closet, but it had enough room for the large bed that he was sitting on. There was nothing else in the room besides the bed. There was a small window that looked like it had been placed there as an after thought.
Despite all the aching he managed to sit up and edge towards the window. Once he was settled his elbows were on the window sill so he could peer out at the surrounding area.
It was a very awkward place to build a house. All he could see was mountains. And everything was blue. He frowned as he slipped back down to the bed.
There was no getting away from this place, was there?
The door to the room opened. The image of the man from earlier was framed in the light. Conway shot up, and edged to the corner of the room. His back to the wall as the man entered. There wasn't much room for him to walk, but it was enough. His eyes narrowed as he suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Conway by his coat.
"Listen here, boy." He hissed, "The only reason why a freak like you is alive is because of my daughter. I know what you are. If you ever hurt her I'll have your head on a pike. And you will do as I say when I make requests. Understand me?"
Conway nodded. He wasn't going to struggle.
The man dropped him and walked towards the door. "She's waiting for you in her room. Find your way there. Don't think of running either. You'd never make it to town alive."
He walked out, leaving the door slightly open.
Conway sat in silence for a long while. His chin was on his knees as he stared at the open space. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Someone knew what he was and they weren't going to let him go.
The door creaked, but he didn't look up. He looked down at his feet and he listened to someone slink into the room. He didn't look up when the woman wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him softly on the head. He could feel tears dripping into his hair. It was the woman who was supposedly Tabby's mother. Why was she so terribly sad? Why was she crying into his hair?
"I'm sorry." She said. Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his hair. She was hugging him now. It was something that Conway could appreciate, but he didn't understand why it was so...sad? Hugs were supposed to be happy things, weren't they?
He remained silent though.
"I'm so sorry. I'm going to treat you the way I treat Tabby. You don't deserve to be treated like a monster." She said through all her tears. It was odd. Conway could feel he pressed up against him. His spine hurt because of it, but he wasn't about to make a sound of protest.
She let go. Conway turned to look at her tear stained face.
The woman looked like his mother had in human form. His heart sank. He could feel the tears streaming down his face now, and he began to cough. The bruises burned as he collapsed on the bed, crying.
She couldn't hear a sound of it. As frightened as she was, though, she still tried to comfort the boy. "D-don't cry! Everything is going to be okay!"
No. No it wasn't. Conway knew it. It was all his fault. He had been a bad person all his life so he was being punished. He deserved to be treated like a monster. His sister deserved better than him. His Uncle was supposed to hate him.
"Mommy!" the voice of Tabby called. She hurried into the room happily, completely oblivious to all the pain.Her mother straightened up, her hand was still patting Conway's back however.
Tabby noticed the boy and stopped in her tracks. She wasn't that far away, but it was still pretty dramatic. She stared at the young boy and up at her mother. "Why's Conway crying, Mommy?"
"I don't know sweetie," was her meek reply.
The girl frowned as she made her way onto the bed. She flopped down so that her face was at Conway's level. She brushed a hand over his hair and tried to make him look up. Conway did his best to ignore her and cry into the sheets.
Then she pulled his hair.
He yelped and shot up, trying to get away from the girl.
Tabby grinned. She grabbed Conway's hand and, causing him to blink in confusion. "Let's go have tea! That'll make you feel better."
It was safe to say it wouldn't make him feel better. But he was literally dragged by the girl. He was the equivalent of a living rag doll to her. Nothing more and nothing less.
This was worse than being treated like a freak and a monster.
***
"Conway!" Tabby said cheerfully as she hugged the boy from behind. After two months of the treatment he had learned that protesting just made things worse. She hugged tighter, and if her "Daddy" saw him struggle when Tabby was out to the doctor he would get a beating. Conway was nothing more than a pet.
This was not a way to live. No wonder his mother locked him away from the world.
She gave a small tug on his hair and pointed to her bed. He rolled his eyes and sat on it. Not a word had come out of his mouth since he started to live in this horrible place.
He watched as Tabby went through a large chest, sorting through various pieces of clothing. He watched as she empty the chest piece by piece. Pulling out feather boas and other odd things. Then she squealed for a moment as she pulled out a top hat.
"This'll make you look adorable! Then we can have a proper tea party!"
It was like a punch to the face. Conway's grip tightened on the bed as she place the top hat on his head. Things just couldn't get any worse.
"Tabby dear!" called her mother. "Daddy needs to take you to the doctor!"
She looked crestfallen. Conway watched as she crossed her arms and pouted silently to herself. But going to the doctor was important. Despite all her energy she was sick often. Conway had his share of illness, but he was surprised that Tabby could get up and bounce around like she did.
"I'll see you later Conway," she said with one of her smiles.
And she was gone. The boy gave a sigh of relief as he flopped on the bed. No "Daddy" to deal with or Tabby. He was left alone with her Mother. The nice woman didn't bother him since that night she came in crying.
He still wondered about that.
"Conway," said the soft voice of Tabby's Mother.
He looked up at her from his place on the bed. His eyebrow quirked as he watched her sit down on the bed. "I'm very sorry about Tabby. She just doesn't have many friends. I'm very thankful that you can play with her."
Conway remained dead silent as always.
"I was wondering if you wanted to learn how to knit. It's not much of a thank you, but whenever you decide to leave it'll be a useful skill." Her voice had fallen to a whisper.
"Your husband won't let me leave." He said flatly.
She was surprised that he spoke. All this time she had thought he was mute. She nearly fell off to bed from shock, but being the graceful woman she was she managed to pull herself together. "Of course he won't. But that doesn't mean you won't figure out a way to leave. You can't stay here forever."
"Why not. Tabby seems pretty convinced."
She snorted. That was a sound he hadn't expected. "My darling daughter is a special girl indeed. But one day she'll figure out what you are and you'll be able to leave. Now. Do you want to learn how to knit?"
"I guess," Conway said as he sat up.
So when everything was said and done. Knitting was hard. He struggled with the needles and the moving and just about everything else. She said he would get better at all of it in time, but he couldn't see how.
***
Two years. Two long years of being dressed up, humiliated, and treated like a stuffed dog. He was tired of top hats and brightly colored clothing. He was tired of tea parties and crazy kitchen experiments. He had mastered the art of knitting, and had picked up sign language out of sheer mind numbing boredom and humility.
Hugging was terrifying. Something he had enjoyed so much as a child was reduced to a repulsive act. Her father had become over bearing, and her mother had fallen in what seemed like a depression.
And then the nightmares began. Conway had dreams about his mother and father's death. The blood dripping down his mother's neck as she laid on the floor in a puddle of blood. The body of his father gasping for air and gurgling when it found none. He woke up screaming more than once.
No comfort to be found. No one could here him.
And then Tabby finally noticed something was "wrong" with him.
"You don't have a shadow Conway."
He made the motions with his hands, 'I've never had one.'
Tabby's brow furrowed. "And I didn't notice?"
Conway shook his head. Was Tabby's mother right? Had she finally figured out what he was?
"I love you, Conway."
That was brick to the face. There was no other way to describe that comment that came from nowhere. 'What?'
"No matter what you are. I love you, Conway."
He stared blankly at her for a long while. The tension hung in the air as thick as fog. This wasn't what he had expected at all. He was a twelve year old boy. She was younger than him. She was crazy. Dressed him up. Called him "Snookie" every once in a while. She had tea with him. That was not love. That was being a play thing. She couldn't even understand what he was capable of and she just said those words.
'You are an idiot.'
Tabby's eyes widened.
"You are a complete and utter moron," Conway spoke at her. "I am a monster. A horrible creature that no one has ever had the pleasure of loving. I don't have a rank. I don't have a symbol. I'm not supposed to exist!"
The girl was obviously shocked.In two years she hadn't heard him speak. In two years he had pretended to neutral to everything she did. Two years was enough time to build up all the anger and have it boil over. If it wasn't for Tabby's Mother it would have happened sooner.
"Go burn in vat of acid. I'm leaving." Conway said as he walked out of the room.
Tabby didn't follow him. She remained on the bed. Staring at the doorway.
Conway stood in front of the doorway out. There was a commotion behind him, but he ignored it. Tabby's mother was screaming, so was her father. Conway knew the consequences of leaving, but he'd like to see them stop him.
He felt bad that he didn't say thank you to Tabby's mother. She really was the kindest person he had met in a long while. Just like his mother.
A gun shot went off. Blowing a portion of the wall out of existence. Conway turned around with wide eyes. The image of Tabby's father with a musket filled his vision. Thank whatever god or gods that were out there that guns had poor aim and took forever to load.
The door flung open as Conway ran with all the speed he had. Thinking that it would be easier if he were a Spade was enough to make him go faster.
Entirely too fast.
He tripped, fell, and tumbled down the side of a small hill.
Life couldn't get any better than that.
Theofilus isn't the most observant man when he places trust in someone. >_> Keep that in mind when you're reading. People notice things LONG before him.
Enjoy the fluff.
...So the board is doing something psychotic. *tries to repost*
Lost Boy
+ Before the Death of a Man
+ Before the Death of a Man
Theofilus hated the cold. He despised it enough that he wore a think cloak around his neck that went down to the ground. It was difficult to fly in, but well worth it. Did not curse as much when he wore it.
He struggled to fly with the cloak on, along with a clipboard and pack that he had strapped to his back. His boss had given him another job away from t he firm. "Extend our reach. You're reliable, Theofilus, so you're perfect for the job," said the boss.
It was really just an excuse to get him out of the office.
Theofilus rolled his eyes as he glided close to the ground. Why they needed to extend their shipping firm to the boonies of the Lakes, he had no idea. He could see expansion to other realms, or the more populated geographical regions but this just seemed like a pointless exercise. What would anyone want to ship from here?
Theofilus' thoughts were interrupted when he passed over something that was too out of place to be normal. He flapped his wings furiously so he could stop, and then he walked the few feet back.
A sandy brown color was peaking out of the snow. The sparrow leaned forward, peering at whatever it was. Fabric? He raised a feathery eyebrow, slipping the piece of fabric in his mouth he gave it a good tug.
And an arm popped out of the snow.
He let out a horrified squawk before gathering his composure. He hurried to brush snow off of whoever was under the mess. It didn't take long to do with the help of the beating of his wings.
It was a young human boy, and he was still breathing.
This definitely wasn't what the sparrow expected to happen today. He looked down at the small and frail figure in the snow. He let out a long sigh. Apparently he was going to walk the rest of the way.
***
He had burst through the door with the boy on his back. The inn keeper had nearly dropped what he head been holding. When he had exclaimed that Theofilus was an idiot, he was promptly corrected by the sparrow who demanded a room and a doctor. It was a rare occasion that a human child would be anywhere near the establishment. Let alone one that looked so roughed up.
It took a while to find a doctor. But the inn keeper's wife and Theofilus did their best to keep the boy warm and breathing. Once the doctor arrived things went well. Thankfully the boy wouldn't lose any limbs from frost bite—he hadn't been out in the snow for very long.
Night fell, and Theofilus stayed by the boy's bedside. He had missed his meeting with his clients because of all the excitement. But it was worth it. The boy hadn't died, and the meeting could always take place tomorrow. His employer would understand, and hopefully the customer would as well.
Theofilus sat quietly and read in the candle light.
The boy stirred, shifting in the sheets. Theofilus only looked up when he heard the small cough.
The boy looked at him from under the safety of the covers. Black eyes peering at the white and blue bird.
The sparrow moved his glasses further up his beak. He smiled, though he figured the boy would have trouble telling. Some people didn't understand reading emotions on birds.He personally had a hell of at time understand human faces. Not like he would ever admit that aloud. After all, he got it when it mattered. Angry, happy, and sad were generally emotions that shone through no matter what you looked like.
The expression on the boy's face at the moment wasn't something he could read very well.
"Hello," Theofilus said, waving a wing in greeting.
The boy sank back into the covers.
"Uh..." Theofilus sighed as he looked at the boy. "I'm not good at this. I'm sorry. What's your name little boy?"
The boy remained under the covers, only his dark eyes were visible to the sparrow. He coughed again, and sniffed a bit before responding with a meek whisper, "Conway. What's your name pretty bird man?"
Theofilus couldn't help but grin. "Theofilus."
The boy's eyes narrowed. The sparrow couldn't really tell what that meant, he was thankfully when the boy spoke to clarify.
"That's a really long name."
"I suppose it is."
"Can I call you Mr. Birdy instead?"
Theofilus blinked. "Sure."
"Thank you, Mr. Birdy for helping me... I should get going now though. I can't stay here for long." He said, as he removed the covers from himself. He wore a rather interesting outfit for a young child. A rather odd suit with with a tail coat and a moth eaten cravat. Theofilus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he watched the boy get up and move towards the door.
Of course he couldn't walk for very long. He fell to the floor in a heap, whimpering pitifully. Theofilus shook his head before going to help the boy up. "Grab onto my neck you silly boy. You're obviously very ill so don't push yourself."
The boy's features were unusual. The color of his hair a sandy brown that bordered on dirty blond, his clothing was also a sandy color and just odd for a young child to wear. The most disturbing thing was the bracelet that he wore. It was attached to an actual muscle that the doctor had said lead directly to his spine. When they had lifted the back of his shirt and coat off he had seen the actual exposed spine. The boy must have been from the Hisstor Wastes. There was no other explanation for such a strange mutation. But he was just a boy....
Conway listened to Theofilus' direction and grabbed on to his neck. He found himself placed onto the bed, where he flopped down. Theofilus picked up the covers with his beak and slipped them over the boy to the neck. "Why were you out in the freezing cold in nothing but that?"
Conway didn't respond, he simply grasped onto the covers.
"Don't you have any family to take care of you?"
"Mom and Father are dead." He said flatly.
Theofilus' eyes widened as he looked down at the small boy. His parents were dead? That was awful... What was he supposed to say in response to that? "D-don't you have anyone else?"
"He hates me. And he took away my sister."
Damn. It couldn't get any worse could it? Theofilus swallowed the lump in his throat and gave the boy another smile. He didn't seem to be able to tell at all. Oh well. He carefully brushed a wing by the boy's cheek. There were a few tears trailing down his cheeks, even if the boy was doing his best to hide it. Theofilus wished he had hands, but he could easily do without them.
"It's all right to cry, you know. If you're hurt you shouldn't keep it all inside." Theofilus needed to listen to his own advice.
Conway shook his head. He reached up to wipe away the few tears that were still there. There was no point in crying for his family now. Not in front of a complete stranger who didn't understand anything. It was all his fault his parents were dead. It was all his fault that he would never be able to see his sister again.
And he now had no home to go to.
Conway shivered. Sitting up he looked at the bird with his black eyes, a frown on his face.
Theofilus frowned in return, even if the child couldn't pick up on it. He had to do something—anything to make the child smile even a little bit.
He looked around the room for something warm. They didn't really have extra blankets. He chirped happily when he saw the solution hanging on the coat rack. He hoped over and pulled the scarf off the rack. It was something he had packed just in case, and he was happy it could serve a purpose. Hopping over to the bed he wrapped it around the boy's neck.
"There." Theofilus said cheerfully, adding a chirp at the end of sentence. "It's not much, but it'll at least keep your neck warm."
Conway was confused. He raised his eyebrows at the bird's actions. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Because you're cold, and there aren't any extra blankets. Plus I don't think sitting on you would get anything accomplished."
And there it was. A smile crept its way onto the boy's face. He giggled a bit as he looked up at the bird. "You're really weird."
Theofilus fluffed his feathers for a moment before taking a bow in a very extravagant fashion. "Why thank you, good sir."
Children were adorable.
"Now, you should get to sleep," Theofilus said quietly as the boy giggled. "We can go shopping for proper clothing in the morning."
The sparrow wasn't sure what to do with the boy. He wasn't sure he could take care of a child like this. But he couldn't leave him alone. The sparrow would have never forgiven himself if he let a cute little boy like this suffer more than he had to. Patting the boy on the head with a feather he went over to the chair to finish up a bit of reading.
***
"I'm sorry about yesterday, Mr. Augustus. I ran into a bit of trouble with my little friend here." Theofilus said brightly as he motioned to the boy sitting in a chair at the other end of the room. He didn't seem to like other people and had remained silent whenever more than one person was in the room.
"It's not a problem, Mr. Theofilus. You did quite a wonderful thing saving the boy's life. That was far more important that coming to a meeting with a stuff old man like myself." The bipedal canine said with a smile. He was a high ranking rich King, who owned quite an interesting bottling company.
"Yes, but you wanted to discuss shipping your water to different regions."
"Yes, yes indeed. But...." The man leaned forward.
The sparrow wanted to pull back, but he didn't want to offend a King. He was only a nine, even if he was a red suit he still needed to respect others. He didn't want to be like his mother, after all.
Augustus' voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe we should go shopping for the young boy. I heard he doesn't have a family to go back to... so why not?"
Theofilus blinked. "Y-you would do that sir?"
Augustus gave the sparrow a tooth grin, "I always wanted children. Never got the chance, but this seems like a perfect time. We can go shopping with him and discuss the contract. Sound all right to you?"
"I suppose...." Theofilus honestly couldn't get over the spontaneity of it all, but giving into the demands of an eccentric old man didn't seem all that bad. If shopping for clothing and making a child happy were all that it took to make a deal that would prevent the firm from going under, Theofilus would certainly accept it.
"Conway," Theofilus said turning around to look at the boy. He had been twiddling his thumbs and kicking his feet silently. He was a quiet, nice and obedient boy. Why on earth would anyone hate him? He may have come from a strange realm, but that didn't mean people had to hate him. "We're going to get you some proper warm clothing."
The boy looked at him for one long moment, and then smiled. Hopping down from the chair he hurried over to Theofilus. The coat that he had borrowed from the inn keeper's family was an inch too long for the boy. The sparrow couldn't really tell his age, being that he had never met a human younger than thirty, or if he was supposed to be as skinny as he was.
They took a trip to one of the tailor shops in Augustus' carriage. It wasn't a long trip, but it was safer than walking in the freezing cold.
A fire was roaring on the inside of the tailor's shop. The man sat behind a counter mending some of his own cloths. He quickly straightened up when he saw Augustus walk in. The canine wore a lavish set of clothing and various layers. A shirt, a vest, a coat reaching the floor. He also had a top hat and cane and even wore specially made pants just for him. It was obvious that they were in one of the best tailor's shops in town.
And Theofilus felt terribly naked.
The boy reached up and squeezed Theofilus's neck as best he could. The sparrow leaned down to the boy's level. Conway seemed terribly thankful of this action, and whispered into the sparrow's ear.
"Oh, is that so?" Theofilus said looking at Conway with a smile on his beak. He looked up to Augustus. "He says he wants to have a coat like yours, only with puffy trim."
The old man chuckled. "Did you here that Taylor? You have your job cut out for you!"
"I do indeed sir," said the man as he hurried from around the counter. He raised a furry eyebrow at the human boy. This was obviously something he hadn't done before. "I need to put him on the stand so I can take measurements. The coat should probably take two days...."
"Perhaps you could go faster than that." Augustus said. "Take a preexisting coat and re tailor it for him, perhaps?"
It wasn't really a suggestion coming from the King. Even Theofilus could understand that.
"Y-yes sir! I still need measurements however."
Theofilus looked to Conway. "Go on and follow the man, we'll be right behind you.
Conway gave the man a worried look but nodded anyway. He followed the directions of the tailor and took off all his clothing except for his underclothing.
"Dear Suits," Augustus said, "He's terribly thin."
Theofilus drooped a bit. Even for a human the boy didn't look natural. But he wasn't from this region either. Everyone here in the Lakes was used to bulk, and something like Conway looked like a frail doll. "I hope to fix that." Theofilus said in reply as he watched the boy get measurements.
They spoke of all the arrangements of the contract while the tailor was modifying the coat for Conway. Everything went smoothly.Conway walked away from the shop with a brand new fur lined coat, and Theofilus walked away with a new business partner. They were escorted back to the inn a smile on both their faces.
Before they entered Augustus put his hand on Theofilus' shoulder. "Perhaps before you get going back home, you and Conway could come to dinner at my manor?"
"Of course we would! Thank you very much for the invitation!"
"Then tomorrow night I'll have a carriage pick you up."
***
"Is something wrong Conway?" the sparrow asked the young boy. He was fiddling with the fluff on his coat, looking down at his shoes—which were barely visible. He smiled at the boy, who seemed to be catching on what a smile was for a bird. He was a quick learner.
"No..." he said looking at the bird with a small smile. "I'm just a little nervous I guess."
"Mr. Augustus is rather fond of you, there's no need to be shy."
"Is that so?" Conway asked, an indescribable look on his face. The sparrow couldn't quite place the emotion beyond that of worry. Humans really were difficult to read.
"Something else is wrong then?" the sparrow asked with a furrowed brow. They had been traveling in the carriage for what seemed like a long while, and Conway had been uneasy the entire time. Theofilus understood that the boy disliked people, but it seemed like something else was bothering him.
Conway shook his head and remained silent.
This was like pulling teeth, and Theofilus didn't even have any teeth. "It's all right to tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else."
The boy pondered the statement for a minute before speaking. "If I talk in front of more than one person, only one person can hear me."
Theofilus blinked.
"See. You don't believe me." Conway said with a humpfh as he crossed his arms.
"It's not that—well it is that. But that would explain why you don't say a word when there are other people in the room. But... that can't be true."
"Watch," Conway said as he hopped off his seat. Opening the window to the carriage he leaned out. "Mr. Cab driver! Please slow down!"
Theofilus heard Conway clearly. And expected the Cab driver to do the same. He raised an eyebrow when the pace stayed the same. The man had said he would listen to any of their requests. Theofilus nudged Conway away and poked his head out of the window. "Sir, could you possibly slow down the carriage."
The man called back, "Certainly!" And the pace slowed.
Theofilus looked at Conway. He was still skeptical. "He mustn't have heard you."
"I'll show you tonight then."
"Of course," Theofilus said with a raise of his brow. They came to a halt sooner than either of them expected. Before they knew it they found themselves being lead up a pristine white staircase.
The manor was huge, obviously expensive, and made the pair of them feel small. Theofilus could only hope to be as great and successful as that one day, while Conway could only hope to live a normal life.
They were greeted by a cheerful looking Augustus at the top of the stairs. He was accompanied by a woman, who looked to be around the same age as him. She gave them both guests a smile, however she leaned down in her biped form to look at the boy face to face.
Conway backed up a bit. One of his hands grasped Theofilus' wing out of reflex.
"It's all right," she said quietly. "I just haven't seen anyone with a human form in a very long time." She gave him another kind smile with her feline mouth. She carefully patted the boy on the head before turning to Theofilus. "How is Clari doing?"
Theofilus blinked. Wait. How on earth did this woman know Clari? "She's fine...but how in the name of the suits do you know her?"
"Oh! Little Clari is my niece! I know she doesn't speak of me often, but I thought she would have mentioned me at least..." the woman shrugged, "My name is Temperance. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Theofilus and Mr. Conway."
"Shall we go inside? It's rather chilly out here. We wouldn't watch to catch a cold." Augustus said as he motioned to the overly ornate door.
***
Dinner that night was strange. Theofilus had watched Conway's numerous attempts to speak up, and had watched everyone ignore him. Actually, it was proper to say not hear him. He said quite a few rude comments, that Theofilus was sure that their dinner hosts would have reacted to if they had heard.
It was the end of the dinner when they were sitting around the fireplace that Theofilus noticed something extremely odd about Conway.
He had no shadow.
It was impossible but the more Theofilus looked at the sleeping boy on the arm chair, the more he noticed how the boy cast absolutely no shadow. None.
He had to speak with Conway about that the next morning.
"It's a bit late for you to go back to the inn. Why not spend the night here?"
"That's a generous offer, Mr. Augustus, but all of our belongings are at the inn. And I have no intention of imposing on you when you so cordially invited us to dinner." He said with a smile. He was indeed refusing a King's invitation. This was something he wanted to kick himself over, but he wasn't going to spend the night in a strangers house when he had just noticed all the strange things about Conway.
He was sure someone else would notice too.
He moved over to Conway and nudged the boy to wake him up. He just wanted to get out of here quickly.
Augustus didn't look pleased. "But Mr. Theofilus, I would love it if you two would stay the night. You wouldn't want to walk in the freezing cold, would you?"
Theofilus wanted to slam his head against a coffee table. "I swear to the suits," He said suddenly. "Every high ranked person I have ever met throws around their rank like their God's greatest gift to the world. I hope you choke on a chicken bone for threatening me and a child. No man in all of the realms is as low as you." The sparrow said as his feathers puffed up with anger.
Conway was very awake at the moment, and wrapped his arms around the sparrow's puffed up neck. "You really shouldn't say stuff like that. They might get angry and do something awful to you." He didn't need to whisper. No one else could hear him. Both Augustus and his wife Temperance watched as the boy's mouth moved and no words escaped it.
The sparrow's feathers unruffled slowly as he helped the boy down from the chair.
"Good Night, sir. You can contact my employer if you have any problems with our contact." Theofilus said with his eyes narrowed. He readjusted his glasses before turning to the exit.
And so, they walked back to the inn in the dead of a winter night.
At least it didn't snow.
***
Two days later Conway disappeared. The sparrow had been ready to head home from the disaster of a business meeting with Conway by his side. But the boy had left during the night, leaving nothing but a simple note that said "I'm sorry."
Theofilus didn't know what to do.
Augustus came around as he stood outside waiting for a carriage. He had no intention of flying home with Conway, so he had gone out of his way to arrange a cab service. Theofilus eyed the canine as he stood next to him, not speaking for a while.
"I'm happy you didn't leave yet. I came to apologize to you and the boy. I was being an idiot."
"He's gone. And I'm not planing on staying for much longer."
Augustus' ears drooped for a moment. It was his fault the boy was gone, he was sure of it. He had caused so much trouble and had only now thought to apologize. "I hope, that one day, you can forgive me."
"We'll see if that day ever comes."
OMG! Two more chapters of this crazy project in ONE POST *gasp* Kudos to you who are still reading. <3 if you comment you'll eventually get something nice out of this.
So yes, first chapter is about Theo (which is short...ish), and the second is about Conway being a pet for two years of his life. Chapter Six will be "Accidents Happen."
Protect This Land
+He takes charge
+He takes charge
It was a nightmare. He knew it was a nightmare, but he couldn't wake up.
Theofilus sat at the end of a lake. His brother was sitting next to him, nuzzling him.
But his brother wasn't breathing. He was dripping wet, shivering, and covered in all sorts of plant life. Theofilus was shaking, gagging, and gasping for air. His brother had drown because no one was willing to safe "just an Ace."
He never went back. He watched his brother sink. Die. And he had done absolutely nothing. To help him. Who was the biggest monster? Him or the people who wouldn't save an Ace because Myron was an Ace.
"I love you," Myron said.
Theofilus couldn't find the words.
"Why don't you love me?"
He shuddered as he felt the wet seeping into his feathers. "I'm sorry," Theofilus whispered. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. I was afraid. I couldn't even swim. I still can't."
"But why didn't you come back?"
Theofilus woke up with a start, falling off the side of his bed with a thud. Muttering to himself he rose to a sitting position. He straightened his feathers out as he climbed back onto the bed.
Really? Why hadn't he gone back? Was he that afraid to face the past?
With a mumble he flopped back onto the bed and fell back to sleep. The dream would be forgotten when morning's light peaked in through the window shades.
***
"What's wrong?" Calia asked as she sat down next to him. He had managed to acquire an apartment for the pair of them and the family in Capital City. He had been hoping for a larger one, but Zane and Ez got along well enough sharing a room. Not to mention Ceren needed time with her sister. Malc was still always the same wanderer.
Theofilus shrugged. "Nothing."
She gave him a look. It was the look he had gotten many times before that meant "You're obviously hiding something, please tell me so I don't worry about you." And he gave her his typical "I swear it's nothing." look in return.
But of course she would worry anyway until he said what was wrong. And of course there was something wrong, he was just being an idiot and hiding it. He had been hiding it for years now, and Calia still didn't know.
"I've told you numerous times that I've had a brother."
She nodded as she poured him some tea. He couldn't help but watch her. Without hands she did amazing things sometimes.
"Today's the anniversary of his death. I suppose that's why I'm depressed."
"Oh Theofilus," she said in her kind and warm hearted voice. It was amazing how two words from Calia could make him feel better. In all honesty, that's all he needed to feel better, but Calia always did so much more.
But before anymore words or motions could be exchanged, the door opened to the apartment, and Ez walked in, caring a large bag. Zane followed behind him, closing the door for his brother.
Theofilus raised an eyebrow at the pair.
"Mom!" Ez said happily, "Hi Dad." He said as an after thought while he dropped what he was carrying to hug his mother.
Zane rolled his eyes and picked up the few things that had spilled out of the bag.He eventually went to hug his mother as well, giving his father a smile.
"What are you two plotting," Theofilus asked as he looked from the bag to the pair.
"Just an art project Dad! Nothing serious! Shouldn't you be getting to work anyway?" Ez said in his usual cheerful tone.
Theofilus looked at the clock.
"Oh stars above. I should have left an hour ago."
***
Having a family was Theofilus' biggest dream. He had gotten it. Then he had joined the courts. His childhood dream had come true as well. Life couldn't get any better.
For a while it got worse. He decided to take a "Quest" on for the Queen of Hearts. The Lowlands were probably the worst possible place for him to go, and he got stuck with a psychopath cat. While things tumbled down hill at least he found his human form.
And with it his rank became that of a King. But not for long.
He took a small leave of absence from the court to recover from what happened in the Lowlands. Actually it was more for Eilwyn, the boy he had picked up from the Lowlands. He had to teach him just about everything about the world outside the Lowlands. Which was difficult. A lot more difficult than teaching his family. But at least he had plenty of people to help him.
The sparrow was staring at the ceiling. Eilwyn was asleep in the next room. They had just finished visiting the doctor yet again. Everything seemed to move smoothly, though the doctor still seemed worried about him having ailments because of conditions.
"Why is everything so bloody complicated," He muttered into his wing ash he brought it over his beak.He should try to get used to his human form... he should be responsible. Theofilus narrowed his eyes, and shifted to his human form.
He sat up so he could look in the mirror. It was odd seeing himself as a human. His glasses slipped down his nose as he leaned forward. Pushing them back up he studied his features with bright pink eyes.
Hopefully he would come off as noble. Sometimes he couldn't tell what he should dress like or act. Being blunt was easier than dancing around the maypole like everyone else. That really hadn't disappeared when he joined and worked in the courts for a while. People just gave him dirty looks every so often.
There was a knock in the door, he shifted to his biped form and went to answer it.
Zane was standing there with a frown on his beak. "Sorry Dad. I know you've been pretty stressed, but I can't find something to make dinner and I was wonder—" He cut himself off as he looked at his dad more carefully.
Theofilus blinked. "What's wrong?"
"Dad," Zane said with a raised eyebrow as he looked at his father's chest. "When did you... become a Queen?"
There was an awkward silence that filled the hallway. Theofilus stood there and looked down at his chest.
He left the door open as he walked over to the mirror to double check.
There was red "Q" on his chest instead of the red "K" that had been there earlier. Had he been so absorbed in himself that he hadn't noticed the change? Or had something else triggered it? He traced the letter on his chest.
"I have no idea." He said to Zane as he sat down on his bed.
"Congratulations though, this is wonderful Dad!" Zane said as he came into the room. He watched as his father remained staring at the mirror. It was strange seeing your logical put together father filled with utter confusion.
"Thank you." He replied quietly. The sparrow was at an utter lose. So many things had happened in such a short period of time. How was he supposed to process all the information. Not to meantion he was now a member of the courts. He couldn't retain his title of King if he was a Queen. "It looks like my break is going to be shorter than I anticipated."
"What do you mean Dad?" Zane asked with a note of worry in his voice. It was the same note his mother had sometimes.
"I mean I need to go back to the courts and clear something up." He said as he shifted to his human form, once again examining the suit. "I have a responsibility. Hopefully I'll be able to have a new court title and another responsibility soon."
"You know. You're one of the coolest Dad's to have." Zane said with a snort as he nudged his father's arm.
Theofilus didn't really have words to respond. Instead he hugged his son before exiting his bedroom. He needed to check on Eilwyn.
Bad Luck Boy
+After some kindness
+After some kindness
There was a nice woman who taught him how to read and write in the Forest. She was a bit of an outcast in the place, and people often gave him dirty looks. Eventually he left the nice woman. He went from region to region, place to place. Alone. Afraid. Trying his hardest not to get caught. He learned quite a few things here and there.
And then in Capital City he ran into trouble.
Stealing was the only way he could get food. But he got caught. And he was beaten until he lost consciousness.
The major problem, however, was that he now woke up staring up at another human figure. She had silver hair and various bangles hanging from its untamed mass. Her outfit, he was pretty sure from the angle, didn't match. The boy wanted to hide, but he found that it hurt the move.
When he tried he started coughing. The girl made a worried noise as she looked down at him. "Your really should stay still. The guy hurt you pretty bad. If my Daddy hadn't stopped him you probably would have died."
Conway blinked. He looked at his hands and felt his face. Bandages. That probably meant that they had to take off his clothing to mend him.
Oh. oh shit.
But he wasn't dead. That was a good thing, right?
He glanced over at the other people in the carriage. They were both well dressed and wore ornate clothing of a blue-ish color. They both had human forms. One was a rather elegant looking woman with dark blue hair, while the man had bright silver hair that was short cropped. They were giving him a look that made him feel smaller and scrawnier than he already was. They must have known...
"Hey, what's your name?" The girl asked quietly as she leaned forward. He hair obscured his face from the view of the adults, and she began to whisper. "My parents aren't to happy about you, but I'm not going to let them throw you out. So don't worry."
He was still suspicious. "Conway," he whispered in return. Her parents couldn't here him of course, but he said it so it was barely spoken. The girl looked confused for a moment, but was able to guess his name by the way he moved his mouth. She nodded happily.
The girl leaned back up and smiled. "I'm Tabitha! Everyone calls me Tabby! It's nice to meet you Conway!"
Both her parents raised an eyebrow. Obviously they were confused as to how she got his name. But they didn't speak a word.
She continued to talk to Conway, keeping him on her lap by pining him down carefully with one hand. Apparently she didn't want him to move. That was fine with him, he supposed. Moving when he was in this much pain was trouble. "We're going to my house. It's a bit of a trip, but you were asleep most of the time. We're going to be there very soon!" She said cheerfully.
Her house huh? Conway wasn't sure about this.
"Tabby, darling. You should let the poor boy sleep," said the woman.
Tabby looked disappointed, but she nodded.
Conway wasn't sure if he was thankful or not.
***
When he woke up again he found himself on a feather bed mattress. Apparently he had been out for quite sometime, yet again. Sitting up he looked around the room. It was small, like a closet, but it had enough room for the large bed that he was sitting on. There was nothing else in the room besides the bed. There was a small window that looked like it had been placed there as an after thought.
Despite all the aching he managed to sit up and edge towards the window. Once he was settled his elbows were on the window sill so he could peer out at the surrounding area.
It was a very awkward place to build a house. All he could see was mountains. And everything was blue. He frowned as he slipped back down to the bed.
There was no getting away from this place, was there?
The door to the room opened. The image of the man from earlier was framed in the light. Conway shot up, and edged to the corner of the room. His back to the wall as the man entered. There wasn't much room for him to walk, but it was enough. His eyes narrowed as he suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Conway by his coat.
"Listen here, boy." He hissed, "The only reason why a freak like you is alive is because of my daughter. I know what you are. If you ever hurt her I'll have your head on a pike. And you will do as I say when I make requests. Understand me?"
Conway nodded. He wasn't going to struggle.
The man dropped him and walked towards the door. "She's waiting for you in her room. Find your way there. Don't think of running either. You'd never make it to town alive."
He walked out, leaving the door slightly open.
Conway sat in silence for a long while. His chin was on his knees as he stared at the open space. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Someone knew what he was and they weren't going to let him go.
The door creaked, but he didn't look up. He looked down at his feet and he listened to someone slink into the room. He didn't look up when the woman wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him softly on the head. He could feel tears dripping into his hair. It was the woman who was supposedly Tabby's mother. Why was she so terribly sad? Why was she crying into his hair?
"I'm sorry." She said. Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his hair. She was hugging him now. It was something that Conway could appreciate, but he didn't understand why it was so...sad? Hugs were supposed to be happy things, weren't they?
He remained silent though.
"I'm so sorry. I'm going to treat you the way I treat Tabby. You don't deserve to be treated like a monster." She said through all her tears. It was odd. Conway could feel he pressed up against him. His spine hurt because of it, but he wasn't about to make a sound of protest.
She let go. Conway turned to look at her tear stained face.
The woman looked like his mother had in human form. His heart sank. He could feel the tears streaming down his face now, and he began to cough. The bruises burned as he collapsed on the bed, crying.
She couldn't hear a sound of it. As frightened as she was, though, she still tried to comfort the boy. "D-don't cry! Everything is going to be okay!"
No. No it wasn't. Conway knew it. It was all his fault. He had been a bad person all his life so he was being punished. He deserved to be treated like a monster. His sister deserved better than him. His Uncle was supposed to hate him.
"Mommy!" the voice of Tabby called. She hurried into the room happily, completely oblivious to all the pain.Her mother straightened up, her hand was still patting Conway's back however.
Tabby noticed the boy and stopped in her tracks. She wasn't that far away, but it was still pretty dramatic. She stared at the young boy and up at her mother. "Why's Conway crying, Mommy?"
"I don't know sweetie," was her meek reply.
The girl frowned as she made her way onto the bed. She flopped down so that her face was at Conway's level. She brushed a hand over his hair and tried to make him look up. Conway did his best to ignore her and cry into the sheets.
Then she pulled his hair.
He yelped and shot up, trying to get away from the girl.
Tabby grinned. She grabbed Conway's hand and, causing him to blink in confusion. "Let's go have tea! That'll make you feel better."
It was safe to say it wouldn't make him feel better. But he was literally dragged by the girl. He was the equivalent of a living rag doll to her. Nothing more and nothing less.
This was worse than being treated like a freak and a monster.
***
"Conway!" Tabby said cheerfully as she hugged the boy from behind. After two months of the treatment he had learned that protesting just made things worse. She hugged tighter, and if her "Daddy" saw him struggle when Tabby was out to the doctor he would get a beating. Conway was nothing more than a pet.
This was not a way to live. No wonder his mother locked him away from the world.
She gave a small tug on his hair and pointed to her bed. He rolled his eyes and sat on it. Not a word had come out of his mouth since he started to live in this horrible place.
He watched as Tabby went through a large chest, sorting through various pieces of clothing. He watched as she empty the chest piece by piece. Pulling out feather boas and other odd things. Then she squealed for a moment as she pulled out a top hat.
"This'll make you look adorable! Then we can have a proper tea party!"
It was like a punch to the face. Conway's grip tightened on the bed as she place the top hat on his head. Things just couldn't get any worse.
"Tabby dear!" called her mother. "Daddy needs to take you to the doctor!"
She looked crestfallen. Conway watched as she crossed her arms and pouted silently to herself. But going to the doctor was important. Despite all her energy she was sick often. Conway had his share of illness, but he was surprised that Tabby could get up and bounce around like she did.
"I'll see you later Conway," she said with one of her smiles.
And she was gone. The boy gave a sigh of relief as he flopped on the bed. No "Daddy" to deal with or Tabby. He was left alone with her Mother. The nice woman didn't bother him since that night she came in crying.
He still wondered about that.
"Conway," said the soft voice of Tabby's Mother.
He looked up at her from his place on the bed. His eyebrow quirked as he watched her sit down on the bed. "I'm very sorry about Tabby. She just doesn't have many friends. I'm very thankful that you can play with her."
Conway remained dead silent as always.
"I was wondering if you wanted to learn how to knit. It's not much of a thank you, but whenever you decide to leave it'll be a useful skill." Her voice had fallen to a whisper.
"Your husband won't let me leave." He said flatly.
She was surprised that he spoke. All this time she had thought he was mute. She nearly fell off to bed from shock, but being the graceful woman she was she managed to pull herself together. "Of course he won't. But that doesn't mean you won't figure out a way to leave. You can't stay here forever."
"Why not. Tabby seems pretty convinced."
She snorted. That was a sound he hadn't expected. "My darling daughter is a special girl indeed. But one day she'll figure out what you are and you'll be able to leave. Now. Do you want to learn how to knit?"
"I guess," Conway said as he sat up.
So when everything was said and done. Knitting was hard. He struggled with the needles and the moving and just about everything else. She said he would get better at all of it in time, but he couldn't see how.
***
Two years. Two long years of being dressed up, humiliated, and treated like a stuffed dog. He was tired of top hats and brightly colored clothing. He was tired of tea parties and crazy kitchen experiments. He had mastered the art of knitting, and had picked up sign language out of sheer mind numbing boredom and humility.
Hugging was terrifying. Something he had enjoyed so much as a child was reduced to a repulsive act. Her father had become over bearing, and her mother had fallen in what seemed like a depression.
And then the nightmares began. Conway had dreams about his mother and father's death. The blood dripping down his mother's neck as she laid on the floor in a puddle of blood. The body of his father gasping for air and gurgling when it found none. He woke up screaming more than once.
No comfort to be found. No one could here him.
And then Tabby finally noticed something was "wrong" with him.
"You don't have a shadow Conway."
He made the motions with his hands, 'I've never had one.'
Tabby's brow furrowed. "And I didn't notice?"
Conway shook his head. Was Tabby's mother right? Had she finally figured out what he was?
"I love you, Conway."
That was brick to the face. There was no other way to describe that comment that came from nowhere. 'What?'
"No matter what you are. I love you, Conway."
He stared blankly at her for a long while. The tension hung in the air as thick as fog. This wasn't what he had expected at all. He was a twelve year old boy. She was younger than him. She was crazy. Dressed him up. Called him "Snookie" every once in a while. She had tea with him. That was not love. That was being a play thing. She couldn't even understand what he was capable of and she just said those words.
'You are an idiot.'
Tabby's eyes widened.
"You are a complete and utter moron," Conway spoke at her. "I am a monster. A horrible creature that no one has ever had the pleasure of loving. I don't have a rank. I don't have a symbol. I'm not supposed to exist!"
The girl was obviously shocked.In two years she hadn't heard him speak. In two years he had pretended to neutral to everything she did. Two years was enough time to build up all the anger and have it boil over. If it wasn't for Tabby's Mother it would have happened sooner.
"Go burn in vat of acid. I'm leaving." Conway said as he walked out of the room.
Tabby didn't follow him. She remained on the bed. Staring at the doorway.
Conway stood in front of the doorway out. There was a commotion behind him, but he ignored it. Tabby's mother was screaming, so was her father. Conway knew the consequences of leaving, but he'd like to see them stop him.
He felt bad that he didn't say thank you to Tabby's mother. She really was the kindest person he had met in a long while. Just like his mother.
A gun shot went off. Blowing a portion of the wall out of existence. Conway turned around with wide eyes. The image of Tabby's father with a musket filled his vision. Thank whatever god or gods that were out there that guns had poor aim and took forever to load.
The door flung open as Conway ran with all the speed he had. Thinking that it would be easier if he were a Spade was enough to make him go faster.
Entirely too fast.
He tripped, fell, and tumbled down the side of a small hill.
Life couldn't get any better than that.