Greg & Others

Cruising slowly down the lot and easing over a series of speed bumps, the worn silver car pulled into lot 23. What space there was for a front yard was cluttered with pots and plant beds. Most of the area was devoid of plant life, but here and there the more hardy and early-rising of the perennials were just beginning to bud up from the ground to add a splash of green to the area.

Before getting out, Greg turned around in his seat to face Conan, "We don't have really any rules or anything, but..." He glanced to the tiny yard, "...try to stay off the beds. And-" Now he was looking to the gun with some uncertainty, "-my parents will probably fret about that. I'll tell them you'll keep it up in the closet, or something? Just... I don't know; out of sight, or whatever."

Matt was already out of the car, striding across the stoned path and knocking on the door. "Almost forgot! My mom's name is Summer, and my dad's is Collin. I'm sure they'll tell you this a million times themselves, but don't hesitate to ask them if you need anything."

Fresh, Tessa, Marbles, Muffins, Pisso, Dicerca, Kitty, Kasey

Fresh was sitting on the porch.He meowed and ran towards greg.

Muffin followed

Tessa and Marbles sat on the couch grooming themselves.

The 6 month old kittens were wrestling

Conan*Raimi

As he unfolded his long legs from out of the car, the teen once again balanced Raimi on his hip, looking the house up and down and watching the cats interact around him. He didn't even seem to hear Greg's caution about the gun as he was studying the house.

A place that looked further from the home of his birth parents could not possibly exist. The dark gloom of the small shack where had lived Michael and Rayna Carlyle and their four boys was completely missing from this place, replaced with a light, airy, somehow more welcoming feel. The teen lay down the rifle for a moment, crouching down to reach careful, steady fingers out to brush a small wandering vine of verbena, only now beginning to put out the tiny buds of purple, red, and yellow that would eventually attract every butterfly within several miles.

Greg & Others

"Ah, and the rest of the family." Greg chuckled, leaning down to scratch the heads of Muffin and Fresh as they padded his way, "I hope you like cats - we have a horde of them here." Standing back up, he took notice of Conan's interest in the plant, and gave a slight nod, "If you like plants, you should stop by our shop sometime. We've got - oh, hey Mom!"

The woman had come to the door, and wrapped Matt in a welcoming hug before brandishing a bright smile and stepping down onto the walkway, "This must be Conan! And Raimi?" The tan-skinned woman swept length of midback-lengh brown hair behind her shoulders as she walked down the path to greet the newcomers, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Summer." A hand was held out to shake, although she was usually more inclined to just outright hug others.

Nadeem stepped out from the car now, too, and followed along just behind Conan and Greg.

Conan*Raimi

He was just about to indicate his interest in both the cats and the plants when Summer came down towards them. It was a very, very good thing that she didn't try to hug him all of a sudden... he might very well have bolted. As it was, he gave her extended hand a long, hard look before he finally took it and moved up and down with it a couple times before dropping it as though it had turned hot in his grasp. Michael had been the beater in the family, who took his anger out on the boy... but Rayna had been the sly, sneaky manipulator, who enjoyed putting together any number of twisted plots and schemes to cause her son just a little bit of physical pain, and a whole lot of psychological agony. In fact, to tell the truth, it was incredible that the first human he'd ever gotten close to was Aralyn, for Conan had a deeply-instilled suspicion of all women.

But Raimi more than made up for his brother's reserved greeting. He obligingly began to coo and giggle, brandishing his most charming smile at Summer and peering between her and his brother, merrily chattering nonsense at them both.

Fresh and Muffin

Fresh began to purr and so did muffin.

Soon summer was followed by four kittens.

Greg & Others

Nadeem had been the one to warn the Wallocks of Conan troubled family, though he was considerate enough not to divulge any of the scant details he had learned from Aralyn and his encounter with the Carlyles at the farm house. He had kept it vauge, hinting only to the fact that the boy would probably need plenty of time to adjust to the settings.

Greg was surprised by the amount of hesitancy on Conan's part, and his face even betrayed it to some degree. But Summer took no ounce of offense, and meerly noted the reservation silently to herself and used it to guide the rest of her actions. While she had only raised one son in her life, she had spent a good deal of time working with shelter animals and strays, and more than understood why many of them shied away from even the nicest of words and gestures. A lifetime of abuse and neglect didn't go well to build trust in one's heart.

The smile never faultered from her long face, and cast a series of fine wrinkles around the edges of her mouth and the corners of her eyes that spoke of sincere warmth and friendliness. "Aren't you just the cutest thing? And you look so much like your brother!" Summer commented cheerfully to Raimi, and then spoke to the group, "Why don't you all come inside. I have some pancakes and muffins fixed. And we've got some homemade raspberry-peach jam." She turned back for the house, lengthy hair sweeping around with her motion as she ascended the steps and disappeared inside.

Fresh

The cats ran back in side..

Muffin lept up onto the table.

Conan*Raimi

Raimi wriggled and laughed at Summer, favoring her with that sweet smile as he looked between she and Conan, beginning to chant merrily, "Ras-Ras-Ras-Ras." But this seemed to disturb Conan, whose face turned very still for a moment, and so the boy stopped, reaching up to grab his older brother's nose in both hands, as a distraction.

That won a half-smile from Conan as he tickled briefly at the toddler's ribs and the kid spouted a laugh, but he was all seriousness again as he looked back to Nadeem, as if wanting to know that he wasn't alone, and moved into the house.

Greg & Others

While Summer had been turned away and didn't notice the unfavorable reaction from Conan, Nadeem spotted it in a heartbeat. A brief, assuring smile rose on his dark face, as a way to convey that he was indeed going to stick around for a little while longer. The young man followed right after Conan, and slipped off his shoes before crossing over into the kitchen where the others were congregating.

"Oh, honey, you don't need to do that." Summer waved a dismissive hand at Nadeem, "I've got to mop up this floor later anyway. Here, you two can sit here." She pulled out two folding chairs and scooted them up to the table, where Matt was already seated and helping himself to a plate of pancakes that were smothered in syrup. "I'm afraid we don't have a highchair, but there's a few garage sales around town that I'm going to check out today." The woman went on saying, as she took out two plates and piled them with pancakes. "You can come along with, if you'd like."

Conan*Raimi

Somehow, the teen seemed to take some kind of assurance from the brief smile Nadeem offered him, though he relaxed nary a mite as he sat down in the offered chair and began once again to split the contents of his plate between himself and Raimi. Fortunately, between the two meals he'd picked at this morning, Conan had just about had a decent breakfast, so that at least was not a cause for concern, at this point.

But all the while, as he retained his calm equanimity, something in the teen was wound tighter than a turn-top on Hanukah. There was something that just wouldn't let him relax, and though he was outwardly calm and cool, there was a tension to the shoulders and hands that only the keenest of eyes would spot. Much like Ben, the intense emotions that would not show on his face were often expressed in his hands, though in subtlely different ways than in the blue-eyed, manipulative head of the ATHA.

He quickly drew his midn away from where that line of thoughts was leading, and concentrated on steering another bite of pancake toward Raimi, still sitting silent and avoiding Summer's eyes, as if expecting her to smack him down at any moment.

Fresh

Fresh pawed at matts leg.

Greg & Others

Matt leaned his head over, frowning at the cat, "Beat it, Fresh. No pancakes for you." He used his foot to try and scoot the tom away from him, not being much for plants or animals like the others were.

Summer leaned down and scooped up Fresh, "Now, don't be pestering Matt." She scrubbed the top of the cat's head with her fingers, while speaking to him in a tone that was far from chastising. "Is there anything you'd like to do? Anywhere you want to go, Conan?" The woman looked to him now, keeping a respectful distance from him and his brother, while shining her unfaltering smile at the two.

Nadeem swallowed down a bite of pancakes before leaning towards Conan and whispering, "She knows sign language. I'm not sure if Collin does or not..." He glanced to Greg, who shook his head in a negative sign.

Conan*Raimi

The blue eyes that flashed around the room landed on everything that moved, from Summer leaning to scoop up the cat to the movement of Nadeem's hand as he maneuvered the fork. There was the sense of a penned wild animal about the movement of his eyes, and he almost jumped when the older man leaned over to whisper to him. He managed to repress the movement in time, but the spiked tenseness remained before he nodded his understanding to the words and put down his own fork, lifting his fingers to say, No, thank you. I just wanted to say that we are grateful that you are allowing us to stay in your home. He had realized, at this point, that he hadn't really been displaying any manners or gratitude that this family had taken him in, and that cleared him out of his suspicion a little, making him extend this thanks to Summer.

Raimi, of course, was delighted, and was now crooning, "Kitty kitty kitty," again, though heavens knew how likely Conan was to put him down on the floor so that he could play with the cat. It would probably take several days to get Conan comfortable enough to release his brother at all.

Greg & Others

Summer and Nadeem were the only two to pick up on the pent-up fear in the boy, and each reacted in a different manner. Nadeem, for his part, restricted his movements to slow ones, and made it a point to linger at the house for as long as he could before he would need to go tend to Abhay.

As for Summer, she pretended as though she saw nothing out of the peculiar in the boy, and treated him with the same unbridled kindness and non-judgemental attitude that she did with all the other people clustered in the small kitchen. "You are more than welcome, Conan." Summer spoke aloud, though she also signed back the identical message so that the teen wouldn't be the only one to speak with his hands. "You boys enjoy your meal, and I'll be outside if you need me." Not wanting to overwhelm Conan with her presence and constant questions, Summer excused herself as she set Fresh down and headed outside to tend to her garden.

Fresh

Fresh purred when he was picked up.

Muffin heard raimi and ran playfully toward the two.

Conan*Raimi

He was having more difficulty with this than he had first expected to. It took him several seconds after Summer had left the room to let out a long breath, fighting guilt that wanted to work itself into him. He knew exactly why Summer had left the room, knew why Nadeem had slowed down in his movements, knew why everyone was so tense and prickly at this moment... and he felt rather badly about it, since this family had been so kind to welcome him into their home without so much as knowing who he even was. So it was that after she left the room, he set down the fork and moved out of the chair, plopping on the floor and sitting Raimi in his lap, where Muffin could come to play with the boy, though his arms were still twined around the toddler's waist.

A small voice sang through is mind, I never meant to be so cold, never meant to be so cold, and he closed his eyes to quash the memory, lifting his hands and saying, I don't mean to seem ungrateful to no one in particular before he remembered that none of the young men in the room understood that, and instead dug through his pack and came up with his pen and paper again, writing this down and plopping it at his own feet, not forcing the words on anyone in particular.

Raimi, on the other hand, was completely at home, leaning forward to stroke Muffin with his two tiny hands, and still crooning, "Kitty kitty kitty kitty..."

Greg & Others

Matt sent a pointedly confused look to the collection of men in the room before speaking out the obvious, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure none of us know signing." His comment was met with an accusing look from Nadeem and a muffled sigh from Greg. Sometimes, Matt was just a little brash with his wording, though he never really meant to offend anyone.

Nadeem was the one who ventured to pick up the note and read over the scrawled words, "No one expects you to fit right into this, Conan. It's a big change for anyone - you especially. Take your time, really." He crumpled the note in his hand and set it on his half-empty plate of pancakes, "If you want, I can stay here for a few hours longer, and see to it that you get settled in."

Conan*Raimi

As with any other comment, Conan let Matt's less-than-sensitive words roll off of his back. This, at least, was something he was an expert at. he shrugged it off easily.

Nadeem's answer captured his attention, particularly as he crumpled the paper, as if to more permanently dismiss the words. That seemed to make him think for a moment before he scrawled some more on the notepad, and handed it to Nadeem.

NO, I'VE TAKEN ENOUGH OF EVERYONE'S TIME. GO HOME AND SEE TO THAT HANDSOME FELLA OF YOURS. IF YOU AREN'T THERE SOON, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE ANY PETUNIAS LEFT... HE LIKES THEM.

This was actually written down with a half-smile, as he had been watching Abhay munch while Nadeem had been out looking for Raimi, and had seen several of the colorful buds snapped up by the horse.

Muffin

She purred and rubbed up against raimi's hands.

Greg & Others

The new note got a laughter to rise out of the young man, who knew just how true Conan's jesting words were. "I suppose you're right on that one. Well then-" He stood up, scooting the chair in and nodding briefly to Greg and Matt, "Thank you guys for the help. And Conan, you have my number if you need anything."

Greg returned the nod and watched as Nadeem put his shoes back on and headed outside. "I guess, I can show you your room?"

Conan*Raimi

And Nadeem's laughter, in turn, got a smile out of Conan, who looked up as Raimi let loose a giggle and continued to pet the pretty kitty. As the older man got up to leave, Conan nodded his understabdung, and fixed his gaze on the Arab as he made his way out the door. But the man who walked out that door wasn't the enemy he'd been yesterday. Now, he was a friend.

That was what calmed him as he got up and nodded to Greg's words, balancing Raimi on his hip as he prepared to follow.

Muffin

Muffin followed raimi

Greg & Others

Crossing over from the kitchen to the homely living room, Greg led the way down a short hallway and into the larger of the two small rooms. The walls were a medium, slate-blue in color, with a slightler darker carpet. In one corner of the room was a large tv stand, in which an ironically tiny television was set, stacked ontop of some books to give it more height. Along one wall was a bed, and along another was a bookshelf filled mostly with matter related to plants, as well as a few random movies. A dresser was next to this, still filled with Greg's old clothes.

"Feel free to decorate as you like. Um..." He looked about his old quarters, before nodding to the closet, "There's an Atari in there, if you like games."

"...from the Stone Age." Matt quipped, as he appeared in the doorway. "Maybe Summer can find some stuff at the garage sales today. What do you like to do, anyway?"

Conan*Raimi

The tightness of the room bothered Conan a bit, but the window relaxed him a little as he looked about, always keeping it in his field of vision so that he could remind himself that he wasn't trapped in here. But his demeanor was otherwise relaxed as he swept his gaze over the room.

But Matt's question drew his attention, and Conan picked up the notebook, aware of himself enough, at this point, to remember that if he signed, Matt wouldn't understand.

YOU MEAN HOBBIES? I DON'T HAVE ANY. I'VE NEVER HAD TIME FOR THAT SORT OF THING. I HAD MY FIRST JOB AT EIGHT YEARS OLD, CLEANING OUT BARNS AND MOWING LAWNS. SINCE THEN, I'VE DONE A BIT OF THIS, A BIT OF THAT. I'VE NEVER HAD THE SPARE MOMENT TO DEVELOP INTERESTS.

He turned this up for Matt to read, but while most would have spoken on this matter with bitterness, in Conan's case it was only dry acceptance, as a blind person cannot miss sight that he has never had.

Greg & Others

"You serious?" Reading over the note, Matt raised a brow at Conan, before handing the notebook to Greg, who in turn handed it back to Conan when he was finished reading it. "Are you honestly telling me you've never played a video game? Sports? Been on a date?"

Before his best friend could ridicule Conan any more , Greg spoke up, "Nevermind, we'll figure something out." The young man looked about the room again, but as Matt had pointed out, most of his stuff had been moved, leaving the room rather bare. "I could take you out to the shop, if you like plants at all. Or we could go to the Wolf Center, where my friend works."

Conan*Raimi

To Matt's incredulous questions, Conan only nodded very evenly, choosing not to inform the young man that his life, thus far, hadn't really provided the resources or the means to have any sort of hobby. About the closest he had to interests were in plants and horses, but he wasn't about to speak on the latter topic because that would eventually lead him to discussions of Ammit, something that he didn't trust himself to "speak" on with equanimity right now. Instead, he took the notebook back from Greg and calmly wrote, I DO HAVE AN INTEREST IN PLANTS. AND SOMETIME I WILL TAKE YOU UP ON THAT OFFER. BUT IT IS PAST TIME FOR RAIMI'S MORNING NAP, AND IF I DO NOT GET HIM DOWN NOW, HE WILL BE LATE FOR THE AFTERNOON ONE, AND NOT SLEEP RIGHT TONIGHT.

He handed this back to Greg before he meandered over to the bookcase, selecting one and sitting down on the bed, paging through it before settling down with Raimi in his lap. And indeed, the toddler did look tired, curled against his brother as he was. Conan may not have known anything about dating or video games, but he was an old hand at caring for his little brother. He knew exactly how to lull his brother to sleep, and how long to let him sleep before he needed to wake him up.

Greg & Others

Here, at least, was something that Greg and his family could entertain Conan with. The small home was clustered with plants, from the most common of geraniums to the more rare and unusual plants like orchids and bizarre succulents and hybrids. That was nothing compared to their shop, however; but that was for another time.

"We'll be out in the living room if you need us. Or my mom will be around somewhere; just give a holler..." Greg faultered, realizing a bit too late that he had spoken in error. "Sorry, I meant, welll.... you know. Anyway, we'll be around." With a nod to the teen and his little brother, Greg and Matt left the room, easing the door close as they moved into the living room to watch some tv.