Stuck in the past with no way home and no viable link to any of his remaining family members, it was kind of nice to have this little piece of his heritage with him. Even if it was just a canine chimaera he had—quite literally—only just met. Still, Theodore wasn't going to argue about the sudden companionship; it was nice to have something besides his pain or his grief to focus on, anyway. In any case, Mr Pennycrumb didn't seem to mind the sudden attention nor the placid loving.
Pursing his lips in thought, Theodore asked. "Do you know where I am, Mr Pennycrumb?"
"Arf!" Mr Pennycrumb perked up, tongue happily lolling out of his mouth as he sat to attention. "You're in bed!"
"Yeah, but where in bed?" He pursued.
"In your room!" Mr Pennycrumb continued, helpfully.
Theodore tried again. "And where's that?"
"Right here!" He replied as if it were obvious.
"Yeah, you're no help" Theodore huffed a defeated sigh as the two kept going around in circles. It was like pulling blood from a stone; they were going to get nowhere, fast.
"Wha—! I am so helpful! Lila-Ent [Firstborn Lila of her name] says so!"
"Lila-Ent?" Theodore perked up at that. It was the first mention of a possible link that he'd heard since waking up. "Who's that?"
Mr Pennycrumb looked at him like he was stupid. "Your littermate, of course!"
"My littermate?" Theodore puzzled, "What's that? Like a rubbish friend or something?"
"No! It's…it's like…oh what is the word that terrans use for littermates?"
Theodore shrugged, just as lost. "I 'unno"
"It's the…the thing where—where two pups come from the same pack!"
"Like…family?" Theodore clarified.
"No, no, the word is much longer than that…" Mr Pennycrumb mused, "It is the word you use when two pups share the same alpha"
"Do you mean, 'Sélos [cousins]'?"
"Yes! Like that! That's the word! 'Sélos…' Such a funny word, 'Sélos'. I like 'littermates' much better"
"She's my cousin?" Theodore hummed to himself as he tried to fit the pieces together in his mind.
Was she his cousin? He couldn't recall if he had one…it certainly rang a bell, but wasn't she supposed to be younger? Theodore's mind was so jumbled and mushy that he totally believed that he could've forgotten about whether he had one or not. Hell, he'd already forgotten Milton's face and it had only been a couple of days (or years?) since he had last seen him, so he supposed it was possible—a little sad and made him slightly guilty for doing so—but still possible nonetheless. It made him wonder what she had been doing since they'd gotten here; had she been looking after him all of this time?
Propped up on his elbows, Theodore glanced about to find himself laying on a rather stiff bed in some sunlit bedroom instead of the waterlogged backyard he had landed in. It was a relatively open space, decorated in an odd assortment of turquoise & tan-coloured pieces of furniture. Across the room there say a pair of mismatching chair & desk with several layers of books & newspapers and at his feet there lay a rather curvaceous bay window that looked out unto the aforementioned yard. From what little he could see of his surroundings, the place appeared comely with several of its walls punctuated by windows and the world that peeked in through them. He supposed that fluorescent lighting probably wasn't really a thing just yet, so natural light was a wonder; not that he was complaining.
They weren't the only the light source, of course, there were also several lamps and porcelain lights hanging from the ceiling that dotted the room. It was almost amicably quiet in the bedroom—save for the chipper chuffing of the pug who had sprawled himself out across his chest & the nearby clock that chattered away in the corner—a fact that Theodore welcomed as he tried to get his head on as straight as possible. It wasn't working as well as he'd hoped, but he also wasn't sure what he would have of done if he'd woken to people hovering about him. So much had happened to him over such a short timespan, he had lost so much and Don Fën had successfully taken them back in time. If you could call what had happened to them, "successful"
Okay, okay, okay! Calm down! Let's look at the facts, what DO you know? Theodore hissed out a breath as he went over the facts as he knew to be true enough. I am in pain. I am now thirteen years old. There is a pug with the same name as my imaginary friend, on my chest. I'm in a vintage bedroom and I have a sélo that I may or may not have forgotten about. So, the time travel thing must have of ACTUALLY happened. He drew in a shaky breath and let it hiss out through wobbily lips. My vera…Vera is…is…I don't know where my dons or ven is. Nor do I know where I am. Where am I…? Vera—! Vera, help me! Please! Vera, help me—! What's going on? I don't understand! Vera—!
LICK!
"…Wha—? Ack!" Theodore flinched back from the sloppy wet tongue which slobbered itself against his cheek, doing a much better job of pulling out of his dour thoughts than the wet nose which had previously been prodding at him.
"Ruff!" Mr Pennycrumb appeared affronted by the fact that he was being ignored and even more so, irritated that he had had to duck the wildly flapping arms which had sprouted in retort to the surprise doggy kiss. "What was that for?"
"You're the one who licked me!" He retorted.
"You were being mushy!" Mr Pennycrumb argued.
"Ugh!" He groaned before collapsing back against the pillows with a heavy sigh. Theodore then turned his tearful gaze towards the water-stained ceiling as his expression mirrored that of his sorrowful thoughts. "…Y'know, I'll have to get up to pee eventually right, Mr Pennycrumb?"
Whilst he was not able to currently see the canine, Theodore could still practically picture the way his head had tilted in interest with his ears flopping to the side as he listened to the boy muse aloud. If Theodore closed his eyes, he could pretend that he was back in the Broadview Apartments complex and that the pug on his chest, was in fact, the chubby form of Mr Puddles begging to be fed. Again.
His nose scrunched up in discomfort as he felt the canine begin to move about as he wobbily scrambled to press himself closer to the prone boy. Without even looking, he could feel the canine standing over him thanks to the warm breath billowing down onto his face and his expression screwed up further in disgust when the smell, of what could only be described as "hot garbage", floated down. A smell that was then followed by another nice slobbery lick from chin to forehead.
LICK!
"Hey! Stop doing that!" Theodore squawked, smiling despite himself as he gently shoved the drooling puppy off of him; making him slide down to the side where he tucked himself into the Garde's armpit. Once free of the weight on his chest, Theodore freed his arm from the blanket prison to wipe the drool off of his face. "Burk [yuck]! That's so brut [gross]!" Theodore gagged. "You lick yourself with that thing! Burk!"
"Hehe!" Mr Pennycrumb looked entirely too pleased with himself as he tucked himself in close, laying his head on Theodore's collarbone. A look that was quickly wiped off of his face when the wash cloth that had stubbornly clung to Theodore's forehead (as evident by the wet strip plastered across his forehead), fell from its perch and flopped onto the chimaera's own head. "Wha—ack!"
"Haha!" Theodore giggled, in much the same manner as the canine before him.
"Aah! Get zis zing offa me!" Mr Pennycrumb panicked when he found himself suddenly blinded and furiously shook his head to get rid of the wet cloth. It was quite funny to see, actually; like when cats got their heads stuck in tissue boxes.
Later, when Theodore was finally able to grit his teeth and crawl out of bed, he spent his time marvelling over the new clothes he had been put in (he couldn't remember dressing himself, but his brain was foggy enough that maybe he had and he'd just forgotten) and searching for the bathroom to take a long-awaited piss. Mercifully, the bathroom was easy enough to find, after a few wrong turns and the jiggling of door handles as he hugged anything that could keep him upright.
With Mr Pennycrumb doggedly chasing at his heels, Theodore entered the little tiled room that was tucked away, off to the side. The little bathroom was obnoxiously tiled and decorated in a variety of pretty towels and soaps, that reminded him of the ones back in the bathroom of the cabin in Jackpine Road; the very same ones that Vera insisted were for decoration only. Admittedly, he felt odd going to the toilet with the little lady toilet roll cover watching him from the windowsil that sat above the cistern; but needs must and all that.
Even from where he stood as the hiss of urine filled the bowl, Theodore could still see the shadow of Mr Pennycrumb where he sat outside, guarding the door and waiting for the Garde to come back out. Despite the canine's questionable intelligence, Theodore was just thank that the chimaera had had enough sense to remain outside of the bathroom instead of coming in and watching him, just like Mrs Kowalski's cats often tried (and succeeded) to on occasion. What is it with animals and watching people pee? Is it a trust thing? Or are animals just that weird? Theodore wondered as he finished up and moved to wash his hands.
But then he found himself pausing as he gazed upon himself for the first time since he had returned to the past. His brown coils were just as impressively curly as they always were—especially after being doused in rain the night before (his hair always curled up into tighter ringlets when it became wet)—puffing up about his face like a little cloud that was reminiscent of some of his baby photos. But that was where the familiarities ended. The dribble of blood which had trickled out of his ears thanks to the gun going off next to it, had dried into a thin little line which was easy enough to pick off.
Although his balance was off-kilter, it didn't really compare to the rest of the pain he was in. His one lone eye kept flickering blue & brown as the Lien du Lorne pulsed throughout his system. And speaking of that particular syndrome, an entire half of his face was taken over by those pronounced veins, all pulsating in blue and beating like they had a heartbeat of their own. The blue webbing even climbing into the empty socket where his glass eye had once sat.
That's gonna need a clean…Theodore mused, gently tracing the crusty edges of that socket that stared back at him like the darkness of the void. He only hoped that there was a scrap of fabric or a spare strip of gauze lying around, that he could use to make a makeshift eyepatch because the haunted boy who stared back at him was rather scaring-looking. Enough so, that Theodore had a hard time connecting the fact that the haunted boy staring back at him from the mirror was, in fact, him.
When Theodore did eventually return to the bedroom, his gaze was drawn to a haphazard pile of papers which had been left out on the nearby desktop. Shuffling over to the tabletop, he pawed through the sheafs and found that each of them were separated into piles of newspapers, old timey magazines that were strangely shiny & new and a couple of crisp white letters addressed to either a Mr Theodore Hargreeves or a Ms Delilah Pitts. Picking up one of the freshly delivered letters addressed to himself, Theodore found himself curious of what was inside but what he found made his heart skip a beat.
Dearest Theodore,
A mother's love is the greatest gift we'll ever receive.
You were blessed enough to have such a caring lady to call "Mother"
Our sincerest condolences on the passing of your mother.
She was a very special woman, and she will be missed by many.
Sending prayers to you and your family.
Much love, the Gills
Most of them appeared to be much the same as the first condolence card that he had picked up. But with each envelope that he opened, it was becoming more and more apparent that he had a life here…Was…was the whole time travel thing just a dream? A fever dream cooked up by the grief of losing his vera? Because even with all of those Legacies out there, time travel was a little far fetched. And that would explain him forgetting about Lila, wouldn't it? How else could you forget that you had siblings? Or cousins? Or whatever the hell she was to him…But then again, he could still recall things that would not make sense, otherwise.
Thoroughly confused, Theodore turned to the rest of the documents on the desk. There lay another envelope with more condolence letters & cards inside, and another which was slightly thicker in volume. This one contained two letters.
The first was from his supposedly absent doro:
Apartment 2, The Stellar Suites
Vickery Meadows, Dallas, TX
April 4, 1914
Dear Teddy,
Do you remember the way your vera used to smile when she got a particularly tough piece [of music] just right? Like she was making up her own symphony, tinkling away on those ivory strings as she plucked out a song only she could hear. Sometimes I think that she heard things that the rest of could only dream of. I wonder what that was; her songs were pretty enough anyhow.
She reminded me so much of your ven [aunt] Anita; always lost in her imagination. Did she want to soar like her too? Whatever it was she heard, it sure made her happy. I know that it sounds silly, that I worried about your vera being too happy, but sometimes I felt like she was slipping away from me—from us—just like your ven Anita.
I know you did everything you could, just like I know how she tried to hide just how she truly felt, from you; the problems of adults should never be shared with their children. Maybe if I hadn't called that night. Maybe if we hadn't been fighting over something so silly (it seems so stupid, now). Maybe then, bath time wouldn't have ended like that.
Oh, how I wish she could've told us about the world she heard. My Teddy, there's so much I don't understand. About Vanya, about you, about everything. But I do know that what happened WASN'T YOUR FAULT. And wherever your vera is now, I'm sure that she's happy, lost in her music. And she'd want you to be happy too.
Good luck, Teddy.
Yours affectionately,
H.L.P. Jenkins
The second contained a series of documents pertaining to both himself & Lila; apparently from the family lawyer:
Apartment 2, The Stellar Suites
Vickery Meadows, Dallas, TX
April 2, 1914
Dear Mr Hargreeves & Ms Pitts,
I would like to express, on behalf of Tennyson Family Law, our condolences on the loss of your mother & aunt. Many of us knew her personally, and her bright smile was well-loved amongst our staff. She will be missed.
Attached are the documents you asked for. I hope that you'll find the closure you're looking for. Again, we extend our deepest sympathies to you and your family during this period of mourning.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Tennyson
Those aforementioned documents turned out to be the (forged) birth announcements for Theodore and Lila from the Dallas Morning News (he on April 1, 1901 and she on, October 1, 1899). There was also a list of known relatives who were apparently funding their stay in this apartment complex whilst they mourned the loss of Vanya Hargreeves—vera & ven, respectively. According to this slip of paper, their only living relatives were their a'doro [grandfather], R. Hilde Hargreeves and Lila's vera, T.C. Handler; the former of which was spending his retirement years, travelling whilst the latter spent her time working abroad.
A frown pulled at his lips as he realised that if he was truly in 1914 (as all signs pointed to), then there was no one here who he could even rightly remember, let alone get in contact with. According to A'Vera Katerina & her Cêpan, the Fall of Lorien hadn't come until around 1950, when the Mogadorians had invaded the glorious blue planet in search of power & resources. Following that, those who could escape, did; but the travel time between the sister planets took at least a year, even with all of that advanced technology. Meaning that when A'Vera Katerina's shuttle had landed on Earth, it was closer to the mid-to-late 50s, but by then two of the nine Council Ennead would already be dead [Evangeline-Ent in 1954 & Maggie-Zvee in 1957].
They were both deaths that had yet to happen in this timeline however, but Theodore had no clue as to where or how to find them because Lorien had yet to fall and so, they had yet to make the harrowing journey to Earth. But if Theodore remembered right—and he hoped that this was fact & not feverish fiction—then A'Doro—Hilde—was Evangeline-Ent's Cêpan and the owner of a Dallas business known as DS Umbrella MFG Co. So, if Theodore waited long enough, then A'Doro may very well come to him. Theodore just had to make sure that the old Loric would listen when he did; that he would see sense because if Vera's stories were anything to go by, he was a harsh man and not one to be trifled with.
Shaking off those thoughts, Theodore turned to the other sheafs of paper before him. There was nothing there about Theodore's dons [uncles] or ven [aunt], so he could only assume they weren't in their lives because they just didn't care. But there was things such an old DNA test which highlighted the unknown indicator of the Loric gene; Lila's shone more brightly than Theodore's, but they were still there. And then there was the subsequent enrolment letters which stated that both teenagers were to attend Saint Patrick's College & Boarding House in the new school year. There, lain bare, was everything that Theodore had ever needed to know. That didn't mean it wasn't hard to swallow. 1914, I'm in 1914. Theodore nodded to himself as he shifted through the papers, drinking in every word. Of COURSE I belong in 1914! What was I thinking? 2019? TIME TRAVEL? That's ridiculous! The stuff of fairy stories!
Whatever the case—be it time travel or a fever dream—here he was, in a world on the cusp of war with no way home and no one to help. He was alone again and it scared him. If those fever dreams were to be believed, then the First World War would begin this year and, according to the flyer he had found when he'd first arrived, they were currently in the middle of an influenza epidemic (which he was thankfully protected against thanks to the shots he'd gotten as a kid).
But before his thoughts could spiral any farther, the sound of a door opening further into the apartment followed by the murmuring of strange voices, had Theodore fleeing for the bed once more. He dove back under the safety of the covers, ignoring the way his body screamed at him for the abrupt movements as he scooped up Mr Pennycrumb along the way (much to the pup's glee) and prayed that the covers would be enough to protect them. He pulled the blanket back up over his head and hid there like the scared child he was, dog and all.