Well here's the next chapter, guys.
I hope you guys do keep reading, and I liked my first review, it was oh-so helpful. Well anyway, enjoy this chapter!
Lots more plot progression.
I was shocked to see Caitlyn at me door. Of all people why we she here? I've heard many things about her and yordles, and I really hoped that she wasn't here to take one of us out. Teemo was here, too, and I knew that they had a little bit of history together.
"I have a few questions for you Professor Ziggs..." Caitlyn said as she looked at her surroundings.
"S-S-Sheriff!" I managed to blurt out. My heart was pounding now.
"Excuse me, Professor, but are you alone?" Sheriff asked me as she looked behind me, down the hall of my house. I swallowed loudly.
"I-I'm not, sheriff." I said back. She nodded back to me.
"Well, not to be rude or anything, but what I have to tell you has to be done in private. No one else except us two can hear this." Caitlyn said back to me. I nodded and looked behind me. I nodded against and walked back from the door into the kitchen doorway.
"Hey guys…" I said to them, trying to break the news as best as I could.
Teemo interrupted me. "Yes, we know, we'll be leaving." He said to me, all I could was nod.
"Sorry guys. I really wanted you guys to stay, but that's not going be possible." I said back to them as I looked down at the kitchen linoleum. And it was oh so true, I wished that they could stay, but if Caitlyn took the trip to come here, then it must be important enough for her to come more than once for.
"It's alright," Teemo said as he got up and came to give me a hug. It was the first hug since Kennen's and I already missed the feeling. It was so comforting and loving, it was something that I really needed in my life. . "Just be careful with Caitlyn, alright? Who knows what she wants, she's not all that trusted with us yordles, you know." Teemo said to me with a smile.
"Yes. Now do go, alright? Drive safely." I said as I looked over at Kennen who nodded. I got out from the doorway to Caitlyn who was looking around at the doorway.
"I see you had guests." She said to me in a somber tone.
"Yeah, they were going to stay here a little longer after Rumble left, but they'll leave since you need us to be alone." I said to Caitlyn. I could hear footsteps behind me as Kennen and Teemo rushed off.
"So, about the conversation I needed to have, where shall we have it?" She asked me, almost impatiently.
"We can go to the backyard, it'll be uncomfortable to have it in the house since you'll have to be crouching and sitting on a child-sized couch." I said to Caitlyn.
"Alright, lead the way." She said to me. I nodded and walked outside behind Caitlyn and to the right. Caitlyn followed me around my round house to the backyard, where the dinner table was still set up, the plates and some leftover food still scattered about.
"Yeah, we had a dinner party last night during out little argument," I said to Caitlyn. She cleared her throat and nodded as I walked over the stone bridge. Caitlyn reluctantly followed. I took her to the canopy near the fireplace, and then the memories of what had happened her rushed back. Rumble and I having beautiful sex on this thing, it was a great day… I came back into reality as I looked at the canopy, it was still in the bed form. I cleared my throat. "So, we can have the conversation here, I'm sorry if this thing stinks or is stained, Rumble and I…" I drifted off, trying to hold back any thoughts of feelings about my blue yordle.
"It's fine, I understand." She said to me as she crossed her legs.
"So, uh, do you want me to get you tea or anything?" I asked her awkwardly, she nodded.
"That would be lovely, I was just about to ask you." She said to me. I nodded, got up and made my way back to the house. I quickly went into the kitchen and put a kettle to heat. My stove would be able to make it squeal in five minutes, so I wouldn't have to wait long. I looked through my cupboards, only finding yordle sized teacups. Hopefully Caitlyn wouldn't have an issue drinking from a yordle sized teacup. I opened one of the drawers under the kitchen counter and took out a small box of teabags. It was Earl Grey, and I hoped that Caitlyn liked it enough to drink it. I patiently sat, looking out the window. I believed in 'a watched pot doesn't boil,' so I never watched my pots and kettles as they boiled. After a few minutes of waiting the kettle began squealing and I took it off the stove. I took the kettle in my right hand and the two teacups in my left, with the teabags safely sitting in it, and made my way outside. I went over to the canopy and I set the kettle down on the concrete in front of the fire pit.
"Here we go, I hope the size isn't an issue for you." I said to Caitlyn as I handed her the teacup. She took it in her right hand and she studied the small teacup.
"It's no issue, if anything, it's really adorable." She said to me as I took the kettle off of the floor and poured the hot water into our teacups. I gave her the teabag, and she dropped it into her teacup. I dropped mine in mine, and then it hit me that I forgot spoons.
"Well, that's awkward, forgot spoons." I said to her. She shrugged.
"No issue, I can drink tea without them." She said back casually. I swallowed loudly and took a sip of the scolding tea.
"So, uh, why did you come?" I said to her. I didn't know any other way to break the ice.
"Oh yes, this is very important," She said as she took the teacup away from her face. "So, Tristana called in to the authorities and reported a missing person. She said that they said they were going to go to Tristana's place after leaving here, and he never did come. She called the authorities late into the night. They knew that they would not be able to handle this case all by themselves, especially since Rumble is one of those people who if he was the one that vanished by choice, we'd never find him. So they called me early in the morning and told me to come down her to tell you, since you guys were…mates." She said to me, awkwardly delaying mates.
"Mates? Are you talking about..." I said, Caitlyn interrupted me.
"Yes. Rumble." She said to me. It all seem to hit me.
I couldn't believe what she had told me. Rumble had disappeared? Vanished? Guilt settled in and then it hit me…this was my fault. I should've never let my pride get in the way, and look where it got us! A lonely yordle who needed his lover and a yordle who had vanished.
"Anyway, I'm here to tell you this, and I'm going later today to search for any clues to his disappearance, I'm going to go to Tristana's and Rumble's place later today, and I really do hope that I don't get attacked out in the city, I know you yordles aren't very…positive about me." She said to me. I was holding back the tears, now. I nodded to her.
"Y-Yeah, that won't be good." I said to her. She took a sip of her tea and gave me a puzzled look.
"What's wrong?" She asked me, curiously. I shook my head, trying to shake off any suspicions.
"Nothing." I said back, gingerly taking a sip of my tea. She shook her head and 'tsked' three times.
"It's not 'nothing.' Feel free to tell me, I may be a crime killer, but I still have emotions and empathy." She said to me. I sighed and looked up to the clear, blue sky.
"Well, I'm worried about Rumble now that you told me this. I want him back, I want him to be in my arms, on my lips… This is all my fault, I knew I shouldn't have started such a ridiculous argument." I said to Caitlyn. I fought even harder to hold back the tears. Tears are weak, I told myself.
"I see. Well, you guys really did love each other, didn't you?" She asked me, I nodded back.
"Yes, very much so," I said, taking in a big breath. She had finished her tea and had put the teacup aside. "So, do you want to go do your duties now?" I asked her, she nodded and stood up.
"Yes, I will get going. It was a pleasure to talk to you, and do expect a visit from me tomorrow. I'll bring more information to you about what I find at the locations I'm going." She said to me and I nodded.
"Sounds good, good luck out there!" I said her as she walked towards the house. She turned around and chuckled.
"I don't need any luck." She told me, and I couldn't help but laugh.
I woke up the next morning in almost a daze. I didn't even remember what I did yesterday after Caitlyn left. I sighed and got up from the bed. I looked down at myself and saw that I was in my bright green underwear. I guess I had showered, since I smelled really nice and my fur looked all bright and fluffy this morning. I finally gathered the will to get up and dress myself in some white jeans with a white shirt, I really felt lazy today. I went downstairs to the kitchen and served myself some cereal in a bowl, no need to make a giant breakfast since I was alone. I was eating my bowl of cereal as I looked out the window and saw Caitlyn approach the house. I got up and opened the door before she got to the door.
"Nice to see you again, Sheriff." I said to her, as she approached the house.
"It's nice to see you again. Yet again I come with more information." She said back and I nodded.
"Right. Want to go out in the field to talk? I haven't been out in it in a long time and there's no other place I'd like to finish my breakfast as than in the field." I said to Caitlyn, chuckling a little bit. She nodded and I quickly went inside and got my bowl and came out again. Caitlyn followed me out to the field and we sat in the middle of it. The long grass swayed with each whisper of the wind. We quietly sat I slurped my cereal.
"So, Ziggs, we have some grim news, I guess you could say." Caitlyn said to me as she fiddled with her gun.
"Oh…alright." I said, a bit worried as to what I was to hear.
"So, I found nothing at both the locations. Nothing has been touched in weeks at Rumble's home and Tristana hasn't seen him. So there's two things that have happened. One." She said as she raised a finger. "Rumble has vanished off the face of the planet in an attempt to become a hermit or two." she raised a second finger. "He's been abducted. But I have my doubts about the hermit thing." She said to me. I sighed and looked down at my now empty bowl.
"He would never become a hermit, despite being grouchy and hated, Rumble needs yordle interaction. As much as I hate to say this, I think he's been abducted. But the question is, who?" I said. I looked up at my bowl, seeing that Caitlyn had a worried face. I felt tears build up again. I can't cry again! I cannot let myself grief, tears are for the weak!
"You really are scared for him, huh? You want him back." She said to me. I nodded and let a tear fall out of my eye.
"Yes," I said, turning my gaze back down. "Gah! I hate crying! It's weak! It's useless!" I shouted loudly as I tossed my head back. Caitlyn was startled by my sudden action.
"What? Crying isn't weak, Ziggs. It's an important feature. It shows empathy, grief, sadness, angst, anger, frustration, defeat. It's an important clue to solving things in people, Ziggs. You should never say it's weak, it just means that you're yordle, not a robot." She said to me. I looked up at her and let out a small smile. She was so positive for someone who the yordles disliked so much. I wiped the building tears away.
"Thanks," I said and took in a big breath. "So, what's going to happen now?" I asked, taking in a big breath.
"I thought that you could come help me look around the city, maybe he's still here. If he's still here we may be able to find him, but if he's left Valoran, well, that's out of my jurisdiction. Hopefully he still is here, which he probably is. He wouldn't be able to leave Bandle undetected." She said to me and nodded.
"Alright. Sounds like a plan, do you want to go now?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Yes, that would be nice." She said to me and gave me a small smile. The sheriff smiled!
It seemed almost like a miracle.
Rumble's POV.
I awoke with a startle. I looked around at my surroundings, which were so dark that I couldn't even see the chair that I was sitting on. The last thing I remembered was that I was walking down the streets of Bandle to Tristana's house and suddenly my eyesight went black and I seemed to pass out, and now I was in this dark room. Where was I?
My arms were tied behind the chair and my ankles were tied together. It was a human chair, so my feet dangled high off of the chair.
"Hello?" I shouted loudly, me voice echoed. I heard a loud chuckle which echoed off the walls, giving it an eerie feel. It sounded raspy and harsh.
"You're awake? Well that's good." The voice said. It sounded a little bit familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. I heard footsteps and then I heard a click. In an instant, a lightbulb hanging in front of my lit up. Someone was standing in front of it. It was Gangplank.
"What! G-Gangplank? What am I doing here! Explain yourself!" I shouted. I began to panic and I thrashed my tied hands behind me, only to end up hurting myself. Gangplank got closer to me and he placed his hands on my shoulders and inched his face a few inches closer to mine.
"Shhhh, don't struggle, it'll hurt you more." He whispered to me. His breath smelled like rum, so I moved my head to the side so hopefully wouldn't have to smell it. He took his hands off of me and he got further back.
"Why am I here?" I asked him with anger in my voice.
"No hellos? Alright." He said to me as he sat in a chair under the lightbulb. I could make out boxes surrounding us, almost like a room made of boxes. They had markings and words on them but I couldn't make them out.
I took in a big breath. "Please, let me go. I didn't do anything to you!" I shouted, tears began to fill the edges of my eyes. He let out a loud guffaw.
"Right. You didn't attack my ship and killed all of my crew, huh? Your little friends treated me like a dog on the ship once they left." Gangplank said as he dug crud out of his nails.
"You deserved it! You're nothing but a dog!" I shouted back as I thrashed my arms again. The ropes around my wrists stung and cut at my fur.
"Well, whatever. I wanted that electric gerbil or that scout rat, but I guess I'll settle for you. Hell, I would've even liked the pyrotechnics cat." He said as he let out another raspy laugh.
"Why, though? Revenge isn't the answer." I said back to him, letting out a whimper as my wrists stung again. He laughed again and he stood up from the chair and made his way over to me.
"It is. And I'm plenty sure to get mine." He whispered as he inched himself closer, and in an instant he pulled back. He reached into one of his pockets and took out a thin black ring.
"What is that?" I asked him, worrying even more.
"An earring. I'm going to make you as my own." He said to me as he got closer. I began to move my head left and right in an attempt to deny him my ears.
"No! You're not touching me!" I yelled as more tears built up in my eyes. I knew that in the end I'd end up losing, but I had to give it a try. He let out a laugh and he grabbed at my head roughly. He rubbed the fur on my face and gave out a quiet sigh.
"Your fur is extremely soft. More to have fun with." He purred. It sickened me the way he purred. I shivered as he grabbed my giant ear in a rough way. He gripped it like it was a gun, making me wince.
"Please…don't." I whimpered as tears streamed down my face. He let out another loud laugh and I felt something sharp rub against my ear.
"Don't worry, this will only hurt a lot." He whispered and I felt the earring pierce my ear. I let out a loud yell of pain as he did so, more tears streaming down my face. I whimpered once it got through and he fastened the round earring. I felt blood fall down my ear, caking my fur in my red lifesource. I cried and sobbed into the air.
"Why…" I whimpered. All I wanted to do right there and then was to rub my bleeding ear.
"Because you're mine now." He said to me and he turned around. We walked out of the round circle that the lightbulb left and vanished from my view. I cried even louder, my sobs echoing in the room.
"Ziggs…" I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
