Hey peps enjoy this chap, thank you for all the reviews!
Some shout-outs to wolf girl811, genbo, Quillink14, sweetasiana, WlydClaw, Alicia, Wolfheart929, and all the Guest reviewers. You guys rock :)
It was only late that evening, that Nod worked up the guts to talk to Thryn. He had made it back to brunch before Grub had noticed he was gone. Thryn came in a little later, her eyes a bit red from crying, but nobody asked or said anything about it. Brunch continued and then Nod and Thryn spent the day with Queen Ariel. She had them play hopscotch, card games, board games, and a match of kickball. Nod couldn't help but laugh or smile in her presences. She loved having fun and being youthful, and even Thryn laughed a little, despite her current predicament.
The day was coming to an end, and Thryn was walking back with him to their rooms. Outside the door, he stopped, deciding now be a good time as any.
"Hey can I talk to you," he rubbed the back of his head. "In private?"
She nodded, and they walked into her room. It looked much the same as Nod's, with a flower bed in the corner, shaded lanterns for light, another door leading off to a bathroom, and a square table dominating the center of the room. The table was piled with books, drawings, and bags of dead bugs for Sterling. As they went in, Sterling tried to get to a bug, but Thryn shooed him away, made the dragonfly perch on a chair, then gave him one.
They seated themselves, and Nod had to push books away to create elbow room. He gazed at some sketches of butterflies before Thryn cleared her throat, reminding him she was still here.
How should he start this? Of course, there really was no easy way to tell her, so he should just get it over with, "I followed you and your dad. I eavesdropped on your conversation."
He waited for all hell to break loose, even shut his eyes tight just in case. Instead, there was silence, and he peeked open an eye, to find Thryn staring at him with silent contempt. Guess she wasn't much of a yeller.
"How much did you hear?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Your going to loose your bug farm to Bufo, because your dad is in debt. And your going to steal money from Moonhaven's treasury to pay it off."
She was digging her nails into the table, marring the wood. Sterling buzzed nervously, feeling her anger. With fear, Nod realized that she was capable of killing him, to keep the secret. But he couldn't back out now.
"I want to help you," he reassured. "I don't want to turn you in, and I don't want you to loose your job because of your father's mistakes."
"How can you help me?" she asked, furious. "Do you so happen to have eight hundred copper coins in your pocket?"
Nod blanched at that. Eight hundred coppers? Her dad must be nuts! Thryn nodded her head in something close to defeat, "Unless you have a better idea, then I have to steal from Moonhaven. I don't want to, but I have no choice."
"There's always a choice," Nod didn't know exactly what he was saying, but he kept going. "Is the bug farm important enough to ruin your career?"
She glared at him, "Exhibit A: it's my home. Exhibit B: if I don't do this, then good people loose their jobs, and exhibit C: I don't want Bufo to win."
Nod opened his mouth to say more, but she went on, very angry now, "That's the thing! He always wins! He cheats, lies, steals, and God knows what else, but you can't nail him! He's untouchable, and he ruins lives, like he trying to ruin mine right now! Somebody should do something, but how do get a guy who can cover his tracks so well?"
Nod remembered working for Bufo. He lost races on purpose so Bufo could get more money, and when he was supposed to win, but didn't, he got bruises to the gut. He was payed, but it wasn't honest money. He didn't know at the time, but he may have ruined lives being Bufo's employee. If it wasn't for Ronin, then he'd be still doing it.
Thryn was right. Somebody should do something, but all Nod could do was sit in the palace, like a prisoner. All he knew how to do was cause trouble. He clenched his fists, then stood up.
"Meet me in the hall tomorrow, earlier than usual."
She looked at him strangely, "Why?"
"We're going to pay a visit to the debtor."
"What? No, you can't leave Moonhaven!"
"I'm trying to help you Thryn," he said. "I'm your friend, and I'm not going to let you make a stupid mistake. This is the only way I can help."
"Say if agreed...what can you say to Bufo that'll make him change his mind?"
"I'll offer him a deal he can't refuse."
She stared at him, an eyebrow lifted in question.
"I'm only going to tell you, after you promise not to try and stop me, and come with me instead," Nod said, crossing his arms.
"And if I refuse?"
"I'll tell Ronin."
"And if I threatened to tell him your trying to escape?"
He shrugged, "It won't matter, cause you'll be out of a job."
Thryn felt like a cornered animal, "Your trapping me," she growled.
"Sometimes you have to box your friends in to help them," he replied. "Just know that the feeling's mutual when it comes to Bufo."
The girl slumped her shoulders in defeat, looked at the books and drawings on the table, glanced at Sterling, then met his eyes. Nod was surprised to find her close to tears.
"What do you have in mind?"
He took that as an agreement, and sat down again, to tell her his plan.
"Here's what we'll do."
That same evening, M.K. came home after a night out with her friends. They had gone to a movie and then had some dinner at the local diner. Jason had dropped everybody at their homes, and M.K. was the last in the car. She tried her best to not let an awkward silence fall between them, but eventually ran out of things to say or talk about.
They pulled up the driveway of her house, and M.K. was glad to be home. She had a physics essay due on Monday, and she hadn't even started yet. The windows were dark, but that was expected. Her Dad didn't get home until it was late.
"Well here we are," Jason said, unnecessarily.
"Thanks for the ride," she said with a smile.
"Oh it was nothing," he said. "Did you have a fun time?"
"Yes, it was great. To bad I got homework to do." She looked at her house.
"Yeah, to bad...well you see M.K. I wanted to ask you if-"
"Hold that thought," she interrupted. M.K. got out of the car and walked a few steps to her porch, but didn't go up the stairs. She squinted through the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust.
A car door slammed and Jason came up behind her, "What's wrong?"
She replied in a whisper, "My front door's open."
Sure enough, the door was open a little, and they could see a ragged hole where the doorknob was supposed to be. Jason ran back to his car, and took out a tire iron. He and M.K. sneaked up the steps, Jason in front, and silently pushed open the door. Though it was dark, the moonlight spilled in, and M.K. could make out objects and papers strewn across the floor. Jason, with his tire iron raised, flicked on the lights.
It was like a wild beast had come through and knocked over every piece of furniture, and torn through every book and manila folder. The foyer had spilled over boxes, broken display cases of her father's forest collections, and papers everywhere. She and Jason picked their way through the wreckage, trying not to break anything else.
She was about to call out Ozzie's name, but Jason raised a finger for silence. He pointed upstairs, "I'm going to look there," he whispered. "Arm yourself and stay down here."
M.K. nodded and Jason silently went upstairs. He was being incredibly brave, but she didn't let herself admire this for too long. She picked up a broken piece of wood and walked through her house like she was the intruder.
The kitchen was a disaster, with the chairs and table upturned and the contents of the fridge scattered everywhere. Broken plates and glassless covered the counter top, and the more she saw of her house, the angrier she got. She hoped the vandals who did this were still here, for she felt like hitting them really hard.
Finally, she made it to the her dad's study. This was the worst room yet. She couldn't even see the floor through all the papers, books, science instruments, tools, and even smashed computer hardware. The only thing untouched were the video monitors, except one had a cracked screen, like someone had taken a frustrated punch to it.
"Ozzie!" she exclaimed when she saw her dog. He was passed out on the floor, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. She knelt next to him, and picked him up. Thank God, he was still breathing!
"M.K." Jason called from upstairs. "Everything's alright. Whoever was here are gone now!"
But everything was not alright. Her house was ransacked and her dog unconscious.
That physics paper was going to have to wait.
The police arrived and taped off the entrance of the house. M.K. was continually blinded by flashing blue and red lights. Jason had called, and they had waited outside for them. Jason mentioned Ozzie over the phone, and a paramedic had come along, even though dogs wasn't his specialty. Ozzie was being checked out now, and M.K. was distracted by worry. She tried hard to listen and answer the questions the police woman was asking.
They recounted their discovery to the police woman, not leaving out a single detail. A car pulled up the driveway, and her dad got out of it. His forehead was creased with concern, and he rushed over to them.
"M.K." he said breathlessly, and pulled her into a comforting hug. It was nice, but it wasn't going to fix what had been broken.
Her father pulled away, "Is Ozzie...?"
"I think he'll be okay Dad," she reassured, but she didn't feel as sure she sounded.
"Excuse me, but are you the father?" the police woman asked.
"Yes, that's me, Professor Bomba Radcliffe."
"My name's Detective Harriet Sullivan, and I would just like to ask you a few questions."
"Of course, of course go ahead."
"Well first off, is this your wife?" she pointed behind them, and M.K. turned to find a woman. She had the perfect hourglass figure, long blond hair, and green eyes framed by silver glasses. She wore a smart-looking blouse, black skirt, and gray jacket, with heels. She blushed when the detective had popped the question.
"Oh no, I'm just a colleague from work, that's all," she said hurriedly. "Terry Britt, I'm a scientist at the Oak Valley Institute of Conservasational Science."
Detective Sullivan scribbled this down, while M.K. stared at this woman with astonishment. Her father had never mentioned this colleague of his.
"You must be M.K." Terry beamed. "It's nice to finally meet you, Bomba can't stop talking about you at work!"
"Oh uh...yes it's a...pleasure."
"Excuse me," Bomba asked Sullivan. "But when can I go in the house. Maybe I can help you find what was stolen."
"In a minute sir, our forensics team are sweeping for prints, and we can't have the area tainted."
The detective continued to ask a series of questions, ones M.K. had already heard. She wandered off to the her porch and stared into the open door. Through the tape, she saw men in blue windbreakers and rubber gloves, picking up various items off the floor, inspecting them. She hated that her father's work was being rummaged through by the police, and knew with dread, that some of it would be carried off to the station for evidence. She didn't want people to have, even an inkling of an idea, of what her and her dad do.
The girl's eyes scanned her porch. Maybe the police missed something. Her gaze fell on the splintered hole where the door knob and lock used to be. She wondered how the thieves pulled that off, for it looked as if someone had punched it in. On the wood, she noticed something. It looked familiar. What is that? she thought.
"Hey M.K.!" Jason came up behind her, tearing her gaze from the door. She knew it was something important, but the answer was floating in her head, out of reach.
"I'm so sorry about your house..." Jason began.
"It's alright. That was very brave of you, you know. Coming inside with me, with a tire iron."
He smiled, "Couldn't just leave you to go in all by yourself. The paramedic told me your dog's going to be fine. He was just knocked out with chloroform, and he's a bit drowsy, but some food and water should make him feel better."
M.K. felt relief lift a weight of her shoulders, and her spirits bolstered. "Thank God for that," She turned to her house and glared at it. "I hope they find they guys who did this."
"Me too," he agreed. "Um...I know this isn't the best time, but I need to ask..."
She remembered that she had abruptly interrupted him in the car, and felt a bit guilty for that.
"What is it?"
He kept blinking and started wringing his hands together. This was new to M.K. She had never seen Jason so nervous before. Usually he was cool, calm, collected, but now he looked like a kid presenting a blank paper in front of the class.
"Would you like to...go out some time...just the two of us?"
Now it was M.K.'s turn to feel nervous. She knew that she shouldv'e expected something like this, but the timing was terrible and it threw her off guard. Nod popped in her head. She couldn't go out with Jason when she was with another guy, even if that guy was two inches tall and lived in the woods. Then again...were Nod and her even in a real relationship with one another?
Jason's beautiful blue eyes were boring into hers, and she knew that her silence was only making things worse.
"Jason," she began. "I...I like you but...I can't. I have a boyfriend."
The look she got made her want to hit herself, "You do?" he asked, stunned and red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry...I didn't know."
"It's okay," M.K. reassured. "We can just be friends..."
"Of course, yeah...I need to get home," he said. "Good night M.K."
"Good night," and he walked to his car, hands in his pockets, and drove away, leaving M.K. feeling worse than she already was. She was about to sulk off to her dad, when she remembered the door. She got as close as she could without ticking off the cops, and squinted at the wood.
Her eyes widened, and her heart stopped. No it can't be! How is that possible?!
Festering on the wood, like a disease, was Boggan rot.
Wrathwood had always lived in shadows. When daylight leaked away, the Boggans had to make do with no light, until dawn arrived. Some Boggans preferred this, and some didn't, but it was just the way it was, and always would be.
This didn't apply to their leader of course. He must have some light, day and night, for his extensive library of books and scrolls. At the moment, he hunched over his rotting desk, scrawling away on paper that hadn't disintegrated yet. He wore a shiny black cape with a red hourglass mark on the back; the skin of a black widow. He had kept the legs, which hung off the back and over his shoulders. Sometimes when he moved, the legs looked as if they had a mind of their own, and were still alive to a writhing black widow. His face was hidden behind the head of the spider, his eyes peered out of two empty sockets, though some said he could use all eight of the sockets, and never be surprised from above, behind, or the sides. No one knew his real face.
He turned and rolled up the scroll, the spider legs swinging at the movement. The leader hardly ever spoke, but when he did, it was a deep, old voice, that sounded wise and menacing at the same time.
"Get this message to Bufo, the bookie," he commanded a Boggan guard.
"Yes, Lord Batlash," the Boggan said, bowing then hurrying away.
Lord Batlash internally sighed. He wasn't a king like Mandrake, he was only a Lord, and he couldn't change it. The ancient laws of the Boggans decreed that he could not have the title of King, unless he was given the throne as an inheritance gift. Both Mandrake and Dagda, had died before they could pass on the power to anyone else.
The only way to be called a King now, is to do something worthy of a king. For Boggans, that was invading and conquering their neighbors. For Batlash, however, it was getting the King's rose.
Hey guys I finished the first character sketch of Ross heres the link:
art/Ross-383751865
if you cant get to it, ill just post on my profile for good measures :)
As always, please make an effort to review, just type up a few words, if you do or dont like it. Its all I ask... ;)