"An Act to Follow"
Disclaimer: I'm running out of disclaimer ideas! Help! *runs and hides*
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Author's Notes: Fresh out from Canada, from a trip to Niagara Falls, I have returned! *pauses dramatically* *crickets chirp* Well, ahemYes, I'm back, and I'll probably be back at college by the time I post this, though at the moment I'm still at home in my brother's old creaky wooden chair, playing with my new computer. *fidgets* Yes, the falls are absolutely astounding. I mean, you hear jokes about people going over them in barrels and stuff, but man, the real thing is justwoah. Don't look at me like that! No, really!!! Er, Chapter 11, folks. Enjoy! *stumbles off muttering incoherently*
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An Act to Follow – Part 11 – We've got Cabin Fever!
Ana gave Sond a strange look as the young girl suddenly took refuge behind her. Being rather sharp, she recognized the girl from late last night, but was perplexed at why she should suddenly use her as a refuge. Ana's answer was to come quite suddenly. Immediately following Sond were several members of the Guard, flanking their Captain.
"Greetings," Viscen said airily. "I've been looking for you."
Keisou, who was standing next to his wife, looked confused. "Us?"
"Indeed," Viscen replied, his eyes moving to the pair of eyes peering from behind Ana's billowing dress. "This would be Tejina, I presume?"
"Tee? Well sir uh-" Kei was suddenly cut off by Sond, who was making wild hand motions at him. He raised an eyebrow at this strange behavior.
"Yes?" Viscen either was extremely patient, or just not very observant.
Kei squinted. Sond inclined her head towards Viscen, then pointed to herself. As she pantomimed, a violet glow ball detached itself from behind Sond's head and perched on his shoulder.
Fluttering its wings in agitation, the glowball hissed urgently in Keisou's pointed ear. "Pretend she's your sister for now. Just trust me on this one." Kei shrugged, amazed that Viscen didn't seem to notice this at all.
"Aye sir, that's her." he answered the Captain, shrugging again.
Viscen nodded. "Amazing what a little makeup can do, could've sworn her hair was blue before"
Kei's eyes widened. "Yes, well, it looks better when we match, see?" He forced a smile, indicating his own blue shock of hair.
The Captain grinned. "I was amazed at that show of yours, sir. Was able to catch some of it before the- well, before I was called off to investigate something." He peered at Sond and tried a halfway decent smile. "No need to be shy, Tejina. I'm not that scary, am I?"
Sond kept up the pretense of shyness, chewing her lip and refusing to move. Ana, who had caught on, shrugged and changed the subject.
"What did you need to see us about, sir?"
"Well, technically it wasn't me who was specifically looking for you. A colleague of mine-" Viscen's voice strained a little at the word colleague'-"wished to ask you about a certain incident which occurred during your performance."
Keisou blinked. "D'you mean that thing with the crates and bottles – was that vandalism?"
"Well" Viscen started. "Don't mean to sound too suspicious, but it wasn't an accident. Veneer wanted me to-"
Ana and Kei exchanged half a glance. "Veneer?"
"Yes, Veneer Chatrail. Heard of him, have you?"
"We've met," Keisou said shortly. "As to what happened that night, we haven't a clue, sorry."
"Didn't think you would," Viscen sighed. "Veneer's getting a bit paranoid. Sorry to detain you from your day, last day and all. I suppose you will be leaving town after today?"
Kei nodded, trying to look nonchalant. "We've got a show in Labrynna next week, Captain. Can't keep them waiting too long, can we?"
Viscen blinked. "I suppose not. Well, you three enjoy the Festival and all," he said, wearily. "I still have duties. Good day to you."
Bowing, Viscen melted into the mid-afternoon crowd, flanked by his juniors. Ana, Kei, and Sond watched them go in silence. Nothing was said for a while, until Kei flickered an annoyed look at Tael, who was still buzzing by his ear.
"Hey, you mind not doing that? You're like a mosquito."
"Sorry" Tael mumbled, retreating behind Sond's shoulder.
"Now," Ana turned and fixed a glance at the young girl. "What exactly is going on?"
Sond chewed her lip and took a step backwards. "Tee's got to hide cause there's a bad guy called Veneer after her n Timbre."
Kei raised an eyebrow. "What? What would Veneer want with two little kids- wait" Kei's eyes met with Ana's for a moment. "You don't think thatwas Tee, do you?"
"It wasn't. It was Timbrehe's a – welluh, what I mean isoh he's innocent!" Sond looked frustrated. "And now that bad guy's after him, and Tee too, and he came to the room this morning and they jumped out the window and it's just awful, that's all!" She stared into her coffee cup, too upset to look up.
Kei scowled. "So your friend is the one Veneer's afteris he the one I caught chasin' Tee? Little guy?"
Ana nodded. "Him and Teehave a lot in common," she said carefully.
Kei blinked. "I see." Bending down to look at Sond, he posed a question. "So where are they now?"
"I don't know!" Sond wailed, looking even more upset. "They ran off, and I had to stall Viscen and the others, I didn't see which way they went. I'm sorr-"
"Sond!!!" Several voices rang out at once, belonging to no other than Kat, Ty, Kafei, Chiron, Nick, Link, and even Tatl. The latter fairy also zinged over to her brother in what appeared to be a tackle.
"We've been lookin' everywhere for you!" Tatl screamed. "Where you been?"
"We've been a little bit busy," Tael explained.
Sond blinked. "Tael and I were keepin' away from th' Captain and the Guards, sorry if I've worried you."
Ana sighed a little. "Now that you're all here"
"I found Tim and Tee," Link blurted, remembering his promise.
"More like they landed on ya," Tatl murmured, and Link shot her a warning glance.
"AnywaysTee said to tell you where she was and that she was safe and everything." Looking confidential, he leaned in towards the two adults. "They're by the Laundry Pool in the old storage cabin."
"One problem there," said Kei. "How long do you honestly think they'll want to stay in one place? I know Tejina's attention span is rather short and all-"
"I wouldn't worry about that too much," Kafei smirked. "You see, I have the key to th' place, and I locked the door. They aren't going anywhere for a while. They can sit tight."
Ana looked thoughtful. "I suppose cabin fever is better than the alternative"
"I take it you know about that Veneer, then," Kat said darkly.
"Unfortunately, yes." Ana sighed. "We've been slightly acquainted with him. Dangerous man, thinks that everything that isn't human is out to destroy the world."
Ty chewed his lip. "And I take it he's convinced Captain Viscen the same"
"At leas' everyone's safe, tho'ee mi' jus' take off, yknow, if he don' fin' them again" Nick said.
"Again?" Ana and Kei looked startled.
Sond was still staring at her coffee cup. "Uh, they were spotted by that Bomber's gang kidcaused a ruckus and a half."
Ana and Kei sighed in unison. "And we thought she could stay out of trouble this once"
"Guess we should've warned you," Link grinned. "Trouble follows us like monkeys follow bananas."
Kasumi yawned, as if bored. To the casual observer it might appear that the caped young man were merely dozing, leaning nonchalantly against the wall directly preceding the entrance to the Laundry Pool. But Kas, being the observant being he was, was far from asleep.
He'd been watching for Captain Viscen for at least an hour so far, but his search has so far been fruitless. And he wasn't exactly ready to leave town yet. He was about to restart his search, when a voice stopped him. The voice had a certain edge to it that was slightly uneasy.
"Get me Viscen."
One of Kasumi's eyes opened slightly, catlike.
"R-right away, sir!"
The man who had spoken to the frightened Guard was none other than Veneer. With a sigh, Kas crossed his arms, as if still asleep. Minutes passed, and finally the harsh voice spoke up again.
"Greetings, Captain."
Viscen didn't look in that good of a mood. "I found that family you were originally looking for," he said grudgingly.
"And?"
"Nothing, Veneer! Nothing at all! No wolf, no ideas, nonothing! Your hunches, your ideas are all turning out to be dead ends, wild goose chases, and rumors. And I've had it. Veneer, if you do not make any progress by midnight tonight I will dismiss you from my services, as well as from Clock Town."
Kas had to force himself not to react.
For once, Veneer seemed taken aback. "Calm yourself, Captain. You wouldn't want to get rash. What if your dismissal directly proceeds an attack? It would be mostunfortunate, wouldn't it? And I cannot hold myself responsible if that's the case."
"Is that a threat, Veneer?" Viscen's brow furrowed, and his armor glinted furiously in the afternoon sun.
But Veneer was already walking away. "I still have a lead, and when I find that trenchcoated brat, you'll see just how wrong you were."
Again, only Kasumi's sheer will stopped him from reacting. Still, he reassured himself, if they haven't found him yet, that probably means he's hiding somewhere. That's fortunate. With that revelation, he was able to relax slightly.
Viscen glared daggers at the retreating hunter. "One more day, Veneer." And not a moment too soon, in my opinion. As he turned to walk away, the corner of the Captain's eye caught the image of a young man with gray hair leaning nearby. He completed a full pivot before his stomach suddenly gave a lurch. The witness! From that night, he'd know the kid's name! Turning quickly around, Viscen squinted.
The wall was empty. Whoever had been there moments ago was gone.
"This job must be getting to me," Viscen mumbled to himself, turning away again. "I'm starting to hallucinate."
"Would you stop pacing already, Timbre?!"
Tee's voice was beginning to become hoarse from exasperation, and she was about ready to pull her hair out. Or better yet, his.
Four steps forward. Pivot 180 degrees. Four steps back. Pivot. Four steps forward. Pivot. Four steps ba-
"Timbre!!"
"What?!" The boy snapped, looking up from the floor finally.
"Juststop, okay? Your fidgeting around is not going to help in the slightest." Besides, she thought, you're making me fidget.
"Fine," Timbre slumped down in a corner, staring at his boots. There wasn't much pie left, at least in a flavor he liked. Not that he was really hungry anyway, but it would've taken his mind off that infernal door. Being locked in made him feel very nervous, and from the looks of it, Tejina wasn't faring much better.
"They had better come back soon," he muttered between gritted teeth. "It's bad enough we're in here at all, but we're even missing that competition-"
"I didn't know you could sing." Tee looked up.
"Well, yeah" Timbre admitted. "Probably the only thing I actually am good at," he stared at the ground. "Everybodywe sometimes play as a group, you seewell, they all play instruments, some of em sing too, but I don't play an instrument."
"so they're going to compete tonight?"
"I'd be shocked and appalled if they didn't. Wonder what they'll play?" Timbre stared at the ground. "Wish I could compete, but they're not gonna let me."
"Well, think about ita big stage at nighta big stage, that'll be lit from the front. Like, bright lights, spotlights directly in your face. Why do you think Kei and Ana had the stage lit from either side instead while we performed?"
"Well, I didn't notice, butI dunno, thought it had to do with doing the illusions"
Tee chewed her lip as Timbre continued his verbal thought-process.
"but if the stage was lit from the side, rather than the frontthen your eyes wouldn't reflect, at least as much as it would from the front"
"And that," said Tee resolutely, "Is the exact reason that you shouldn't even think about competing. Veneer will be there; after all there's gonna be a crowd. The moment he saw a hint of glowing eyes he'd have your head on a pike."
"I guess you're right," Timbre said grudgingly, playing with a loose strand of hair. "But I'm still mad that I can't at least watch." Angrily, he stood up and started pacing again, as Tee made an exasperated noise behind him. In mid-stride, however, he got sick of pacing.
"Argh! Stupid door!" Timbre charged the offending object and proceeded to take out some frustration on it. He kicked the door several times, then as an afterthought, banged his head against it, causing it to only thud dully. "Ow."
"Oh, so now we're going masochistic? Like that will help any." Tee closed her eyes and stretched. "It didn't the last time, either," she added snidely.
But Timbre wasn't listening. "Hey, there's a knothole here, I can actually see outsidekind of."
"Oh joy," said Tee. "Does this mean you'll be quiet now and sit still?"
Timbre didn't retort. The hole was low enough that he had to kneel to peer out of it. The view was limited, of course, but it was better than nothing. He squinted through the peephole, and was able to just catch the glare of the sun off of the Laundry Pool's liquid surface. A few blades of grass waved temptingly in the wind beside the small rickety bridge that ran across the water. Nobody was around, obviously, except maybe a few frogs. But even as Timbre thought that, a man came into view.
"Kas!" Timbre yelled suddenly.
Tejina opened one eye, not so much due to Timbre's exclamation, but due to a second disturbance. Ignoring her fellow captive, she quickly got up and wandered over to the second peephole, the one that gave a view of the Curiosity Shop. True to her premonitions, there was movement inside.
"Kas!!!!!" Timbre was still yelling, as outside he watched Kasumi sit down cross-legged at the edge of the pond, staring at something close to the ground.
"Shush!" Tejina hissed urgently, a lump quickly forming in her trachea. "Veneer's inside the Curiosity Shop, dummy! He'll hear you!"
Veneer was indeed inside the Curiosity Shop. Pushing his way through the door, he squinted. The entire shop was lit by a single lamp at the moment, making it rather dark. In a corner, a large vulture-like bird crouched grouchily, one of it's wings tied with a bandage
"Goway, I'm closed." Said a voice from behind the counter, back turned to Veneer. "Come back later tonight, alright?"
"I need to ask you a few questions," Veneer started, totally ignoring the man's orders. The hunter scratched his bristly chin an looked about. Hmm, a pawnshop. Most likely the pawnings of petty thieves and unscrupulous traders, no doubt. But Veneer was searching for his quarry everywhere, no matter how unlikely the setting.
"Hold yore horses, then," The owner of the Curiosity Shop muttered, as he finished polishing a bronze plate, which he set back up on its shelf with a snort. In the corner, the bird squawked loudly. "Aye, I'll feed yer in a moment, Takkuri." Turning around, he looked up at his customer and sniffed. "Alright, what'd you want?"
"Just looking for someone. You get kids in ere?"
"Heh, not too often, unless Takkuri managed to filch something of theirs. But ee got injured, some punk kid wi' red hair sliced im in th' wing with a dirk las' week." He paused, as if interested. "Why you ask?"
Veneer leaned on the counter with a creak. "I'm looking for a specific boy, kind of short, black hair, black gloves, trenchcoat-"
The Curiosity Shop owner smirked. "There's lots of em, you know, kids"
Veneer blinked. "You sound as if you know who I'm talking about."
"Well, my memory's a little rusty, y'see," the man grinned messily. "Of course, a rupee or two could helpaid it."
Veneer as about to suggest a punch on the jaw as a good memory enhancer when a dull thud from the back wall caused several nearby metal shields to rattle. Takkuri squawked in agitation.
"Argh." The shop owned rolled his eyes.
"What was that?" Veneer quirked an eyebrow.
"There's a storage shed on th' other side of this building. Usually it's locked, but I guess some kids found th' key or something. Loud, aren't they?"
A second barrage of dull thuds followed the first after the man's simple statement. This time, there was a muffled voice shouting-no, two voices.
Tejina glared at Timbre from her side of the peephole. "Would you shut up, honestly? Veneer can hear you!"
Timbre was too intent on escaping to really care, however. "KAAAAAAAS!! Come on!!!! Over here!!!" He pounded his fists against the door, making a loud dull thud that shook the walls. But either Kas wasn't listening or simply chose not to respond. He was still staring at something near the water's edge with a small unreadable expression playing on his face. "KAAAS!!!"
Tejina had had enough. "Look, if you don't shut up in about two seconds, I'm going to make you be quiet!"
"KAAAAAAAAS!!!!"
Both Veneer and the Curiosity Shop owner raised an eyebrow as the loud noises became suddenly more violent. Dust motes, stirred by the shaking, gently floated to the floor. The bird ruffled its feathers irritably.
"Are you sure those are just kids? Sounds like someone's being murdered in there." Even Veneer, who was usually a very stoic person, seemed concerned.
"Eh, who'd want to hide out in a junk place like that anyway? It's out of th' way and a bit of a wreck. I'm surprised it's not been condemned yet, actually."
"Squawk!" Takkuri looked disgruntled.
"Ah, you'd think this bird had been mortally wounded, or something!" The shop owner threw his hands in the air. "Alright, I'll feed you" Tripping over an old trunk, the shop owner pulled a dead rat from somewhere behind the counter and threw it over his shoulder. The bird neatly caught the dead rodent. "Now, about this kid"
The ruckus from the back wall abruptly stopped as the man spoke. Shrugging, Veneer flipped a blue rupee onto the counter. "Talk now."
"Yeah, I seen a kid wi' black gloves an' a trenchcoat. Hangs around wi' a whole bunch o' kids, I seen im around th' festival a bit. Las' time I saw th' kid was yesterday, ee was chasin' after some girl or something. An' that's all I know. For a fiver, anyway"
"That will do." Veneer wasn't too disturbed by the crunching from the bird's corner too much, but he was more than glad to be out of the Curiosity Shop. It wasn't the most pleasant of places. Besides, he had an excuse to leave: He needed to see this Laundry Pool for himself.
Kasumi had, until the moment that Veneer entered the Laundry Pool, been in a very intellectual conversation with a philosophical frog on the meaning of the universe. The young man looked up from the frog's croaking speech, and held a finger up to his lips.
Veneer. The man who was after something he didn't understand. Kasumi sighed, shaking his head. He'd heard the loud shouts of Timbre coming from the door to the storage shed, but he'd pointedly ignored that. If he was locked in to protect him from being in danger, then that was a necessary difficulty that the wolf would have to live with. So Kas had focused on what the frog had to say.
Veneer looked around, finding the door. Striding towards it purposefully, Kas's eyes widened slightly. Veneer's hand was feet from the doorknob. Inches
"Hello," Kasumi said suddenly.
Veneer jumped and turned around. "Where did you come from?"
Kasumi shrugged mellowly. "I've been sitting here for a while," he said finally, giving a slight shrug.
Veneer sniffed. "I see." Then suddenly, he thumbed back at the door. "What's in there?"
"Old junk. Dust. It is very run down, and has been empty for years. Some say it is haunted. It is a private property of the Mayor, off-limits."
"Really now," Veneer raised an eyebrow, suddenly becoming suspicious of the young gray-haired man in the cape. "And what are you doing here, when there is a Festival going on?"
"Enjoying the weather, and listening."
Veneer approached. "What?"
"Just what I said." The philosophical frog jumped, onto Kas's shoulder, then onto the young man's head. "Listening."
"Ribbit," it clarified, both eyes blinking out of sync as it stared at Veneer with one eye and beyond him with the other.
"Humans aren't the only living thing in this world that have important things to say," Kasumi said, blinking slowly. "Sometimes it pays to listen to others."
"II see," Veneer said, locking eyes with the impassive gray eyes of Kasumi. "I supposeI have business elsewhere then." Veneer left the Laundry Pool, perhaps even more quickly then he had left the Curiosity Shop.
Kasumi didn't say anything to Veneer's retreating back, but he did smile a little.
Tee glared. "Hope you're happy with yourself, you almost got us both killed."
Timbre was still curled up double on the floor, eyes squashed shut and face contorted in pain. Tejina had forcibly pulled him away from the door, and when that hadn't quieted him, she had elbowed him heavily in the stomach twice, winding him completely.
"If Veneer didn't hear us, in fact, I'd think he was deaf. Nice going."
Timbre gurgled.
"Now, are you going to stop being such a stubborn jerk?"
"I will" Timbre wheezed, sitting up, "When you stop being such a bossy know-it-all!"
"Hmph!" Tee turned away with her noise in the air.
"Hmph!" Timbre followed suit in the opposite direction.
The silent treatment continued all afternoon, and was still going strong when Kat, Kafei, Nick, Chiron, Sond, Kei, Ana, Ty, Kasumi, Link, Tatl, and Tael arrived around dinnertime, this time laden with a smorgasbord of food items.
"Hmm," Link said. "Having fun, are we?"
"Not really," Tee said. "Can I go back to the Inn now?" She looked up at Kei and Ana pleadingly.
Ana looked slightly severe. "Tejina"
The girl looked annoyed. "I know, I know"
"Tomorrow," Ana said. "I'm still a little nervous about Veneer being around, and from what Mr. Kasumi has told us, he may well be gone tomorrow."
"Just Kas, please." Kasumi said quietly.
"So, what have you two been up to all day?" Sond asked.
"Stuff," Timbre said, not looking at Tee.
"Junk," said Tee, not looking at Timbre.
Sond was about to answer when Kat suddenly burst out of her otherwise silent thoughts.
"I got it! I know what song we can sing tonight!"
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Well folks, I'm-a back at college, and so my writing should be back on track. Not too much left to this story, as I've got one more night to write about, and I know how this is gonna end now, thank you Sond! *scarfs Ben and Jerry's* Nummy. Now go review. ^_^!!