The news had been a buzz with the discovery of the boy's body. Jayden had to take his phone off the hook to keep it from ringing nonstop. Everyone wanted an interview.
The police took it pretty well. They gave him the fish eye for a bit, sweating him in an interrogation room. But the complete lack of evidence coupled with his willingness to allow them to search his car and place of residence, left them with one conclusion. He was innocent.
The cat he had rescued had been returned to her grateful owner. The old lady clearly had no money, but wanted to reward him somehow. So for a week he had more food than he knew what to do with being delivered by the old lady's nephew, Joseph.
.....
Things had been so weird ever since the message he had heard in the clinic. He had odd thoughts cross hus mind. Things he wouldn't normally think. Like hiw warm the sunbeam he was laying in, even though he hadn't been in one, DC had been.
The revolver was never far from him, and gave him a feeling of safety.
Tonight was just too much. He was sure that he was hearing the voice of his long dead grandfather. The one who owned the pistol he clung to for comfort.
Jayden
A gun and a cat. Jayden had never thought two such disparate things could so quickly come to mean so much to him.
He hated guns... and he thought he hated cats.
Jayden was beginning to think he didn't have any idea what was going on with him. And now he kept thinking about his grandfather and the old man had died when Jayden was in his teens. He hadn't thought about him in... well, in a long time.
Maybe it was the gun... but why the gun? Hell, why the cat?
His mind was running in circles.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She is worried.
It doesn't take an expert is all matters of dark spirits to know 'something' is coming; she can feel it in the air. And Jezzabella had warned them. And somehow she has to protect her burden. And Jezzabella is still out of commission. She has visited the older cat's home a couple of times adding wards, about all she can do as practical assistance. She had done the same to her new home. But as the tension builds she feels much less inclined to leave Jayden alone.
Though he is not alone really as that DS (Damned Spirit) is always hanging around.
She has been trying to communicate more with it, especially when her burden is asleep but there are limits to how much conversation one can have in her burden's presence.
She feels inadequate. Her lack of experience concerns her. She needs to touch base with some of the others but doesn't want to spend time away. So she has spent most of her time next to the front window hoping to see one of them.
She looks at the spirit again. And then at Jayden sitting before the box that hums and flashes occasionally. And then back at the spirit. Certainly in all her observations the spirit does seem to want to help her burden. And she is sure they communicate.
Could she communicate with her burden through the spirit?
Should she communicate with her burden through the spirit?
Two very different questions.
She stretches, one of those stretches that goes from the tips of her front paws all the way through her lean body to the tip of her tail. Then she sits up, starting to wash her face. This always seems to calm her burden and she feels he needs that reassurance.
She eyes the spirit. Should she?
The spirit seemed to be ignoring them both, but it continued to hang around.
From the front window Tiger spotted the approaching burden before the tell tale knock came. It was a strong firm knock, that of a man of authority.
[Is Jayden opening the door?
]
Jayden
Jayden opened the door...
[OOC: Got distracted somehow... sorry.]
It was Sheriff Baker the cop who had sweated him for a few hours after the discovery of the boy's body. His paunch over hung his Sam Browne leather belt, his right had returning to its place near his holster with the Smith and Wesson 9mm service automatic rested.
His right hand went up to run through the few strands of thinning hair that pretended to cover his balding pate. His brown eyes shown with stress.
When the door opened he said "Morning sir. I came by to ask you a couple more questions if you have a minute?"
Jayden
Jayden closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath before reopening his eyes and holding the door wide.
"Come on in, Sheriff. Could I get you something to drink? Water, coffee?"
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She had been watching the spirit, wondering if this was an opportunity to try to communicate with it whilst Jayden is out of the room. However she can hear sounds of him returning with another.
She settles down again. The moment will come.
The spirit seems interested in what is going on with Jayden. It interposes itself between the two burdens.
"Coffee would be great," the man admits. He nods and enters.
"Just to clear this up, I am not here to question you again with regard to Louis." The boy's name was still odd. For a while the law man had called him boy rather than give him a name. He was obviously trying to trip Jayden up. Yet that didn't work.
He accepted the coffee and sipped it black. "You make excellent coffee," he said slightly guilty.
"The question I have for you with regard to your trips to the woods. Did you see anyone else out there? Even a glimpse? If so where?"
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She is on her usual window ledge, looking like she is dozing but with one slitted eye on the man and the spirit.
Jayden
He shrugged and sipped from his own cup.
"The machine deserves all the credit," he said, pointing toward the Keurig on the counter.
"Anyone else?" Jayden thought for a moment.
"Couple of policeman. I only went out there twice. Seems like I saw what may have been a searcher or two, but only at a distance."
The spirit seemed to be trying to keep them apart, but as an insubstantial creature, it wasn't having success.
The man of the law nodded "I figured as much. I was just hoping for a break, some kind of a lead. It is hard to show up to work with no real idea of what to say to the people who are hurting." It was probably the most human he had seemed since they had met, but...
Jayden
He nodded and took another sip of coffee, his hands and mouth working automatically and without conscious volition.
"I've never had a kid... but I can sort of imagine your predicament."
"Wish I could help you."
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She doesn't understand what is being said but can detect some sort of undertone. And the spirit seems concerned.. that worries her. Maybe she needs to do more?
She stands and does one of those mexican wave stretches that moves from one end of her body to the other. Then she jumps down, pausing to wash just one paw.
"So do i. But that isn't the only reason I came by. I wanted to let you know that while we aren't any closer to answers. We have determined that you don't fit the profile for our killer. I just wanted to come past, shake your hand, and say I am sorry." He stuck out his hand.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She doesn't know what is happening but her hackles are rising. The spirit's behaviour seems to indicate that this other burden is some kind of threat. Suddenly she really doesn't want her burden to touch him.
She bounds over and bites the policeman's leg, backing off straight away, ready to flee.. or maybe attack again..
Jayden
"Not your fault, Sheriff. You were just doing your..."
But then he stopped in mid-sentence and in mid-reach to grasp the man's hand.
"Dizzy! What's wrong with you?" He called out as the little cat bit and fled.
"Sorry, Sheriff. You think she thought you might be some sort of threat to me?"
He gave a loud ow as the cat reacted. His foot had come back but not to kick, more to get away from the enraged animal. He rubbed his leg and said "well I suppose I could have appeared that way."
The moment over he stood and said "I better be going." He looked for a place to set down his now empty cup.
Jayden
"Here, I'll take it."
Jayden smiled apologetically.
"Thanks, Sheriff. Let me know if I can help with anything."
The man nodded his thanks and exited. From the stairs he gave a wave. Then he was gone.
The spirit spoke to the cat "I had it in hand." It almost snorted in annoyance.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
"Perhaps if you communicated more, we could work together!"
She too is annoyed but holds her cool, cats always do what they mean to do.
"Maybe if I could tell you something, you could tell him?"
Jayden
Jayden waved goodbye to the departing sheriff and then turned to face the young feline, waggling a finger at her as he remonstrated.
"What brought that kind of behavior on, Dizzy?"
The spirit seemed to consider the cat's proposal. "I think my descendant will not listen. He seems rather thick headed. Gets it from his mother I am sure. But we may try. What do you want to tell him? How much of an imbecile he is?"
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
Looking at his behaviour, not at all pleased even though she had saved him - though from what she isn't sure, she is inclined to answer the spirit's last question very negatively!
But she considers as she moves slowly to her burden and rubs around his legs, an action that burdens seem to find reassuring for some reason. Then she responds.
"Then we will need to train him.. but nothing right now."
She seems to have gained the spirit's cooperaton which could prove useful in the future. She muses about how she might use it and how she might train her burden to listen.
Jayden
Shaking his head, Jayden rolled his eyes as he reached down and stroked her behind her ears.
"No figuring women," he mused.
"Even women cats..."
Some time passes, the pair performing their regular routine. Night falls, and the world quiets as people retire for the evening. Eventually the time of bed came and the depths of sleep came to Jayden.
Tiger is awakened during the night by a feeling, something out of place. Her burden is still lost in the land of dreams.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
Her usual nightly routine is to curl up on the bed but also to do her sentry rounds, check all is well, check her wards are in place, catch up on the gossip, that sort of thing. But this time she feels something is different.
Opening one eye, she checks on her burden, then on the spirit and then jumps down off the bed to start her patrol.. each room of the house and then outside is her normal route.
The spirit seems complacent but near her burden. The patrol inside yields nothing much. All is as it should be.
Outside though she has the distinct feeling she is being watched.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
Something isn't right. She is not sure yet but she has to find out, her burden's safety may depend on it. There is a large overgrown bush in the yard, she sometimes uses it as a toilet. She heads for it and disappears inside, her nose sniffing for any trace of anything else occupying it. Once inside she whispers her true name backwards and then, hopefully invisible to any watcher, she starts to search around for any trace of another.
She hopes that one of her colleagues might visit. It would be good to have company.. and backup.
Outside the favorite bush shows no sign of another. Invisible she stalks out and begins to take a more careful look. She spots the tracks of another near the outside of the route one might take to climb up and look in her nap space, if one were a cat.
Inside Jayden wakes, though it is unclear what it is that has disturbed him.
Jayden
Suddenly he found himself sitting upright in the bed, wincing at the crick in his back caused by the sudden movement.
"What the..." he mumbled, looking around in the almost complete darkness.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She puts her nose to the tracks sniffing to see if they smell of cat.. and of a cat she knows. Depending on the scent, she may follow or not.
It does smell of cat but for some reason the scent is muddled. She can't identify a particular or single cat.
Inside Jayden is feels comfortable like he is wrapped in a warm blanket fresh from the dryer
Jayden
He still did not know what had waked him, but he felt... well comforted and comfortable and, for a brief moment, he wished Dizzy was with him to share his comfort.
She'd be okay, he thought... she's around here somewhere.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
Hmmm..
She is not sure what to make of it but she can't sense a specific threat. She'll do one more circuit, check her wards and then head back to her burden. Never a good thing to leave them to their own devices for too long... even when asleep!
She enters through the cat door as if summoned by him. Tiger can see the spirit near her burden in a guarded pose.
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
"Everything OK?" she enquires of the spirit. "I thought I sensed something earlier but I can't find anything out of the ordinary."
The bed looks very tempting and she gracefully jumps onto it seeking a warm spot.
The warmest spot is behind her burden where he had just been laying, in the middle of the sheets of course.
The spirit answered "I felt an evil presence. That has to be the stupidest line I have ever thought. A spirit feeling that way, but it is true. Something approached the window with a malevolent intent."
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
She moves to the warm spot, wriggling to get into the most comfortable space, meowing softly whilst she talks to the spirit.
"Are you here to protect him? And what can you do?"
She needs to know just how much flexibility she has.
"Is the presence still here?"
"The presence has left." It answered first. "He called me, so I am here to protect him."
There was a silence "I do what I must do," it answered, which of course was no answer at all. It seemed to know that and finished with "I can shield him from physical attack."
Tiger-Lily/Dizzy
No threat.. and the warmth is getting to her, her eyes are closing and she starts to purr softly.
"Good."
Interesting and useful but two can play the ambiguity game as she doesn't quality what she means by good. Just a warm doze, conserve her energy...
[OOC Well shall we move on to the day for which the game is known? Just need a scene where Shadow, Tiger-Lily, and Jayden can all be together. ]
[Maybe a day to finally tidy up the yard before winter sets in. Jayden might want to cut grass, paint the fence, weed.. that sort of thing. Dizzy would be there to protect and renew any of her wards that need sorting. Shadow could come by. Any other ideas?
]
[I like it. What do you think Ex? Though it was a condo type structure maybe we can adjust? Shadow if your reading this pipe up too. Or we can swap to ooc.]
[OOC: It would suit me, Pandemonium...]
[Does it abut Shadow's territory? If he has motive to get in range, sure.]
[OOC It does now...
Will try and get the new thread up tonight after the Stupid Bowl. :)]