Conan*Raimi

And this is the day when we all laugh and sing;
This is the day when we all fly on painted wings
But my wings are torn, and now I can't see,
Are you out there in the darkness, or is it just me?

After having picked Raimi up from Tahmores' place and moving toward yet another friend's house to shower, dress, and burn his old clothes, Conan made his way back to the designated temporary headquarters of their underhanded operation. The toddler was balanced on his hip as the teen stood silently in the front yard, staring at the house, not daring to enter it without invitation.

Nadeem & Others

"Nadeem, come check it out!" Abhay nickered, bobbing his head a bit before giving it a good shake and trotting towards Conan, "The nice kid is back!" Blissfully ignorant to the ordeals that the humans were going through, the Marwari dropped his muzzle down to give the teen a nudge on the shoulder, demanding to be pet.

Standing docile under a large oak that overlooked part of the driveway, another ebony stallion was standing. 'Ignorant simpleton.' Harthrou was watching the other stallion with a bit of contempt, seeing his actions as unbecoming and foalish. He had already spent the better half of an hour rebuffing any attempts Abhay had made at playing with him, and swore the other's ceaseless talking and bragging were going to drive him nuts before the day was over.

"Conan!" Opening the front door, Nadeem stepped out, calling the other's name, "Are you alright? Oh, I thought they had gotten you as well!"

When Nadeem stepped out from the doorway, it was soon filled by the tall figure of Ethan, who wore a pleasant, and all too innocent smile. There was nothing of warning or malice in his face, but the man seemed to hold an aura of forboding about him, and as genuine as his smile appeared, it was almost too nice.

Conan*Raimi

The small smile Conan allowed himself to greet Nadeem with, as he reached up with his free hand to obligingly scrub at Abhay's nose, was wiped away instantly by the sight of Ethan. 'No, they didn't get me,' he thought to Nadeem, as though the older man could hear him, 'Not the way you mean, at least.' But of course his thoughts went unheard by the Indian, and unspoken by himself, as he remembered that Nadeem had been 'captured by the CS' and that he, Conan, was not to correct the man's view of this. Instead, he turned out a little from his stance beside Abhay, allowing Nadeem to see both in his movements and his manner that both he and Raimi were unharmed... physically, at least.

Truly, he'd not had a wink of sleep the night before, but the weariness that might have shone on his face was pulled back in favor of a calm facade, not giving away anything of what he thought or felt about having murdered Carl. And it was with this gaze that he fixed Nadeem and Ethan, his hand now resting on Abhay's warm side as he waited for Ethan to tell him what he was expected to do now.

Nadeem & Others

Seeing that his friend and little brother looked fine, Nadeem hefted a weary smile, "I was worried that something had happened, what with all that's gone on. You wouldn't believe how sly the CS are, and how serious they are for revenge! But, that's a story for another time - I'm just lucky that Ethan found me before they went ahead with their plots. Oh, I've forgotten my manners!" The Indian shook his head, "This is Ethan, a friend of Benjamin's."

"Conan." The tall man gave a nod to go along with his greeting, "We've met before, actually." He sounded just as cheery and pleasant as ever, still smiling before he seemed to recall something out of the blue, "Speaking of Ben, I have a message for you, Conan. He wanted to thank you for looking over his horses last night, and that he informed the Wallocks that you wouldn't be excpeted back until later today. He got back into town about an hour ago, and was wondering if you'd stop by later."

Conan*Raimi

Conan couldn't speak well enough to tell Nadeem that he was glad to see him alive and well, though he wouldn't have with Ethan standing there in any case. The tall, smiling man awakened Conan's protective instinct, making him clutch Raimi tighter in order to compensate for keeping his face clear as he nodded to indicate he had, indeed, met the creepy fellow before.

He carefully noted that he'd been 'looking after Ben's horses', and easily drew the conclusion that Nadeem was not to know otherwise about this, either. So instead, he merely nodded again to show that he would visit Ben later, and turned his attention to Nadeem, now practically ignoring Ethan. The hands came up again in the familiar request for paper and pen, now wanting to figure out just what story they'd told Nadeem to get him to believe it was the CS who had him, and the only way he could was to write the questions down.

Nadeem & Others

"Right, of course." Understanding by now what the hand signals meant, Nadeem turned back for the house, where Ethan obligningly stepped aside to let him in. And while the Indian was fishing for some paper and a pencil, Ethan casually spoke again, cryptically relaying more information to the teen, "Ben would also like to extend his appriciate for doing such a fine job."

Ethan again stepped aside, as Nadeem exited the house once more to hand Conan the pad and pen, "You were looking after Ben's horses then? If Abhay's anything to judge by, you must be very good with the equines." He complimented with an endearing smile, completely ignorant that a whole different conversation was going on right in front of him.

Conan*Raimi

Conan's eyes turned sharp to Ethan's praise of a deed that had made the teen hate himself more fervently than ever, revealing partially how he felt about being forced to break his own morals. But he couldn't let that be seen for long, because Nadeem was coming back. Taking the utensils and sitting unceremoniously down on the ground, Raimi in his lap, he printed out a block of text.

I DO HAVE A CERTAIN SMALL TALENT WITH THEM, YES. THOUGH I DARESAY ABHAY HAS NEVER MET A STRANGER IN HIS LIFE. BUT TELL ME... THE CS DIDN'T-

He paused, as if wondering whether he could write it down, but after a moment he finished it out. THEY DIDN'T HARM YOU, DID THEY? ARALYN WOULDN'T FORGIVE ME IF I LET YOU COME TO HARM. These were the contents of the pad he handed up to Nadeem.

Nadeem & Others

With the first part of the note read, Nadeem laughed a bit, "I can't refute that one, for sure. You need only to spare a look in his direction to be his new best friend." Light stuff out of the way, the young man sighed quietly, "No, nothing more than a bump on the head, fortunately. Brazen creatons; they waited for me in my own home!" His voice turned offended and carried the note of bitter disbelief, but he was quick to point out the brighter side of the situation, "I'm just glad that there are still decent people in this world, like Ethan."

The man took his cue to speak up at this point, "And it's a miracle that the CS were foolish enough to leave you locked in that warehouse without a guard. Something big must have gotten their attention, for them to justify leaving a prisoner locked up alone for as long as you must have been." Ethan let loose a low, drawn out whistle as he shook his head in wonder, "If they hadn't been distracted by something, I warrant you'd have ended up swimming with the fish by now." A sly, underhanded warning to Conan of what could have been, if he hadn't complied.

Conan*Raimi

With Nadeem's gaze so intently upon him, Conan didn't dare dart Ethan a look full of loathing, especially when the taller man had Nadeem so thoroughly fooled. If Ethan's actions during the Aralyn incident hadn't been enough, just association with Ben was enough to make Conan suspicious of the man, so of course armed with the knowledge, the teen was not about to trust Ethan as far as he could throw him. But none of this could be spoken with Nadeem in the room, so instead he reluctantly turned his attention to the Indian's reply, scribbling on the pad some more.

YES, HOW FORTUNATE. I AM GLAD YOU CAME OUT OF IT SAFE. THOUGH IT BRINGS TO ME CAUSE TO WORRY FOR SUMMER AND COLLIN. I DO HOPE THEY ARE WELL. I PROBABLY SHOULD NOT STAY LONG IF I AM TO VISIT BEN BEFORE I HEAD BACK. I'D HATE TO LEAVE THEM ALONE IN THE HOUSE AFTER DARK. AND OF COURSE, WITH ETHAN AND BEN TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF YOU, THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR.

Internally, he wanted to spit at the sheer disgusting compliment he'd just paid both men, but he didn't dare betray either of them at this moment. To Nadeem, both of these men must seem to be kind and benevolent. The teen only prayed that when inevitably Nadeem found out he'd been suckered, he'd forgive Conan for lying to him.

Nadeem & Others

"And I'm glad you're safe. With all that's going on..." Nadeem shook his head, letting the words die away without finishing them, "Nevermind what could be. Everything's well now, and hopefully the CS will be preoccupied with whatever has their attention at the moment, and will forget about us for some time." Seeing little use dwelling on the negative, the young man bolstered another radiant smile and a bit of a chuckle as he went on, "I talked with Summer not too long before you got here, and she's rather excited to show you all the clothes she bought this morning. And it sounds like she's got more than a toy shop's worth of toys for Raimi."

Conan*Raimi

In spite of the idea that Ethan was in the room with them, and the solemn knowledge that he was lying to Nadeem, Conan couldn't repress the sliver of smile that grew at the thought of the sheer exuberance with which Summer had undoubtedly been shopping most of the afternoon. It prompted another paragraph on the page.

I CAN IMAGINE. SHE IS A KIND WOMAN, AND VERY PATIENT. I MUST ADMIT THAT I HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN COMPLETELY FRIENDLY TO HER, BUT SHE HAS NOT HELD IT AGAINST ME, THAT I CAN TELL. THAT SORT OF PERSONALITY IS A RARE FIND.

Now this was something odd that perhaps Nadeem, if he wasn't so thrilled at the moment, might have noticed. Conan wasn't ordinarily so forthcoming with his praise of anyone, but was finding it necessary to overcompensate a little in order to keep the troubles in his mind out of his face. The smile and the warm words in reference to Greg's mother were part of this charade he was playing to the older man.

Nadeem & Others

Still naively blind to just how much he was being played, Nadeem was more than glad to keep the conversation light, despite all the recent troubles the two had gone through so recently. Obliged to erease any worry on Conan's part that he may have not been as warm to Summer as he might have liked, the young man spoke again, "Rare indeed, particularly when living in a place like this. But don't fret about hurting her feelings, or Collin's for that matter. They are certainly two of the most forgiving souls I've ever come across, and I don't think you could offend them if you tried."

"Speaking of the Wallocks?" Ethan piped up again, casually working back into the conversation, "I've done some repair work for them now and then; quite a peaceful family, unjudging, very hospitable."

,hr> Conan*Raimi

This line of events was the last thing Conan could take along these lines today. As Ethan wedged his way back into the conversation, again with the sickeningly sweet false innocence, Conan made up his mind. He couldn't stay here and watch the smiling imp manipulate the innocent, naive Nadeem any longer. So to make an excuse, he yawned and stretched, his jaws cracking convincingly as he reached again for the pad.

YOU'LL EXCUSE ME - I DIDN'T GET MUCH SLEEP LAST NIGHT. ONE OF THE HORSES WAS MISSING HER MASTER QUITE BADLY, AND I HADN'T THE HEART TO LEAVE HER ALONE ALL NIGHT. SO I THINK I'LL HEAD OVER AND SEE WHAT BEN WANTS, AND THEN HEAD TO THE WALLOCKS' AND TO BED. I DO HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE ME. TAKE CARE.

And he darted a look to Ethan as he propped Raimi on his hip, before he headed toward the door. This glance held a combination of several things: a question as to whether there was anything else Ethan needed to tell him before he went to Ben's, a warning that no harm was to come to Nadeem, and, when he was absolutely certain the Indian's eyes were turned away, a heat of pure loathing which blinked in the eye before fading out.

Nadeem & Others

"Oh, yes of course. Just be careful out there, Conan." Nadeem responded, loosing a bit of the smile for a show of concern, "And if you need anything at all, you have my number. Feel free to call at any time." The man set his eyes to the northeast, frowning a bit, "I'll probably be out that way somewhere. There's a curious group of deer out that way." Mo< Standing slightly behind Nadeem, Ethan was more free to express his own feelings through his facade, and when he was given the unsavory look from Conan, he flashed back a chilling expression of coldness himself, baring just as much warning in it. And as if to mock it all, his voice was calm and pleasant as it had been through all of his previous words, "See you around, Conan."

Conan*Raimi

With Raimi bundled up against him and Nadeem turning back toward him, Conan had to sacrifice the heat of the glance he favored Ethan with, nodding evenly to the Indian, though his eyes were on the eerie fellow behind him. He thanked whomever was listening that he couldn't speak very well right now, or he might not have been able to turn around and head back out the door, turning his steps toward Ben's.