Glass Figurines: A Collection of Tales
By: Mokona-Midoki
"Humans can be so very fragile. Like glass they fall and break and then the others step on the pieces and get cut."
Descant: Part One
Disclaimer: Petshop of Horrors does not belong to me. Xxxholic does not belong to me. Sad day I know. HOWEVER Laurence, Louise, and the Takada family are all mine! Please don't touch them without permission.
Kimihiro Watanuki was not one to believe in horoscopes. Not the ones in the paper anyway. They were usually either totally random, or totally fake. The one time he had actually had a real fortune telling done it had been done by a colleague of his boss who, if nothing else, could be counted on to know the workings of the supernatural.
And so when Watanuki read that morning in the paper that Aries were going to have a wonderful week he, assumed the worst.
He wasn't that far off.
--
"It's a beautiful night is it not?" Count D stood on the roof of Neo Chinatown, the building which housed his Tokyo shop. "Do you not think so, Pon-chan?"
The small raccoon smiled as she looked out over the city of Tokyo, then up to the moonlit night sky. There was not a single cloud covering the dark sky, and the full moon seemed to be larger than usual in the sky. "Yes it certainly is Count!"
"Now on to other matters, do you see Laurence?"
"No, not yet."
The count pursed his lips. "He should be back by now. I wonder what's keeping him…"
There was suddenly the soft rustling of feathers and both the Count and Pon turned to see a boy land gracefully on the ground behind them.
He was not particularly large in stature, but not small either. Still, when compared to many of the animals in the Count's shop He looked incredibly plain. He had shorter brown hair that was tipped in black with darker streaks running through it, and large black eyes. He wore a simple outfit of brown and white, and two large brown and black wings stretched out from his back in order to steady him as he stood.
"Ah, there you are Laurence." The Count smiled.
The boy, Laurence, looked up and smiled shyly at the man who had rescued him. "Hello Count D. I'm sorry I'm late." His voice was like a song, lilting and soft.
"That's quite alright. Did it take a little longer than expected tonight?"
"Yes. He seems to be getting worse."
The Count frowned slightly. "I see."
"Louise stayed behind to watch over him."
"Good."
Pon, forgotten about until now, went forward to the boy and threw her arms around his slender waist. "I've missed you Laurence!"
He laughed and patted her blonde hair. "I missed you too, Pon."
"How's Louise?"
"She's doing well."
"As much as I'd love to discuss this, the night is passing by, and we have things to do." Count D interrupted them.
They looked up and nodded.
"Let's go then."
He turned and went to the door, his robes billowing softly behind him, the raccoon and nightingale following after.
--
Louise watched the young boy sleep as she perched on the chair that accompanied the desk behind her. Like her counterpart, Laurence, Louise wasn't the most extravagant looking creature. Soft gray hair fell around her face and down her back, and she had bright sharp light brown eyes. Her clothes were brownish-gray edged in white and made more for comfort than anything else. Despite her appearance though, she was bright, sharp-witted, and a quick thinker. And right now, she was very worried about the boy who lay in front of her.
A few weeks ago, a woman had wandered into D's pet shop looking for a pet which could help her son sleep at night. The young boy seemed to be suffering from nightmares that came and went even with medicine. Count D had quickly appraised the situation, and sold Laurence and Louise to the young mother.
The two had become accustomed to life with the small Takada family which consisted of the wife, Yuriko, the husband, Hiroyoshi, and the young son, Takashi. They had quickly gained great affection for the three humans who treated them like members of the family, especially for little Takashi who had become quite attached the them. And they had immediately gone about helping the child sleep. It had worked quite well the first two weeks, but the nightmares seemed to be getting worse. And so, Laurence had gone to Count D for help.
Suddenly the child in front of her moaned in his sleep tearing Louise out of her reverie. Standing quickly, she made her way over the bed, and took his hand in hers. She absently brushed his bangs out of his face with her other hand.
She opened her mouth and began to sing.
The song seemed to weave itself around the boy, rising and falling in a beautiful melody until his face relaxed once more, and his hand went limp in hers.
Waiting for a few moments to make sure there wasn't going to be an immediate relapse, Louise sighed. It had happened again.
The mockingbird once again took her previous perch on the chair, watching her young charge with bright eyes.
--
"We aren't quite sure what is wrong, so we came to you for advice." Laurence finished his tale.
"I see." The Count set down his teacup and leaned back, thinking.
"If it were just regular nightmares, Louise and I could take care of them without a problem."
"Then you believe it's something more? The boy could just have a disturbed mind."
Laurence nodded. "We took that into consideration as well, but we think it might be something more along the lines of the supernatural."
"Have you spoken to the parents about this possibility?"
"No, we thought it best to speak to you first. We are unsure of how the would take the news, and they are both in quite a fragile state as it is. We want to spare them any further harm if possible."
The Count's eyes softened as he looked over his young charge. "Then you are happy with them?"
Laurence smiled softly. "Very."
"Well on to business then! This branch of the supernatural is not exactly my expertise, but I know someone who will be able to help. You should be able to find her home without too much trouble." He produced a piece of paper and a brush from somewhere and wrote a short note. "Give this to her. It will explain who you are."
"And, uh, how will I know I'm at the correct house?" Laurence asked nervously."
Count D smiled. "Just look for a butterfly and a house surrounded by wards. You can't miss it."
"Right then. I'd best be getting back. Louise will be expecting me. Thank you Count."
"Do come back and visit Laurence. We all miss you and Louise."
"Of course Count! You all are our family after all." He paused. "I, want to thank you again. We are very worried about this matter, and we didn't know who else to go to so…thank you." With that, the nightingale exited through the door, and out into the night.
--
Hello everybody and welcome to Glass Figurines! This is a continuation of a previous fic, Tokyo Has Enough Weird Shops As It Is… It will be a collection of oneshots or 2-3 chapter fics. Thank you for reading.
Footnotes: Yes, yes, I know. There wasn't a whole lot of our xxxHolic gang, but they'll be here, I promise!
Descant: A descant is a high melody that is played or sung over the basic melody in a song.
Nightingale and Mockingbird-Both are songbirds who are widely recognized as having two of the largest 'vocabularies' when it comes to singing. The mockingbird is especially skilled at mimicking any sound it hears from dog's barking to a song (It's also the state bird of Tennessee. Yay TN!) Nightingale's are usually considered to have the most beautiful songs.
Laurence: Laurence is a nightingale who was rescued from a currently unknown situation by Count D. He is soft-spoken and kind. He was originally supposed to be a girl named Florence after Florence Nightingale, but after learning that only male nightingale's sing, I switched him around, and renamed him Laurence.
Louise: Louise is a mockingbird from the southern U.S. She is quick-witted, and excitable. She is named after the character Scout from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout's full name is Jean Louise. I haven't found anything that says only male mockingbirds sing, so Louise is a girl. She was created after Laurence became a boy, and was originally not going to be in the story.