When Leela wakes this morning, she will find the boy Thorn missing. Not only is the boy gone, but the clothes he borrowed from Tom are neatly in their respective dresser drawers and closet, clean and unused. The hedgehog seems to be healthy and fed, and no food has magically reappeared in the fridge but, by and large, all signs the boy was ever ( Read more... )

She walked him through the nexus and out to the path near the lake at first. She wanted Thorn to see everything piece by piece so hopefully he wouldn't be overwhelmed by everything. The far trees and mountains were covered in January snow, but her land, the area within the wards were lush and green, growing ( Read more... )

It's becoming more commonplace, Thorn's leaving of little notes to tell the household not to worry because he'll be out and back by some vague time, usually defined by being before or after a certain meal. One afternoon the note appears and Thorn disappears not long after his last lesson of the day. The effect of this one is 'don't wait up' and, ( Read more... )

Thorn is back by late afternoon, dripping on the carpet, but with a relatively human Courtney in tow. The house is terribly quiet, this time of day. He hurriedly leads her into the homey kitchen, where any saltwater he's tracking in can be easily mopped up. One can bet he won't leave that task for Matthew, either.

*Thorn waits until he has two days in a row with no tutoring sessions to go visit the Trüble Mansion. He leaves just after breakfast, trying to maintain the illusion that all is relatively well. He only says he is going out for the day, and after slaving over his lessons the way he has been, one can hardly begrudge him a break. In fact, he has ( Read more... )

*Thorn sits at the garden's edge, frowning deeply. He is angry with himself for forgetting his books in the Nexus, and even more annoyed to have found them gone when he slipped back in for them later. Leela will be home, sooner or later, and he has no idea what to say to her, but he cannot say nothing at all. He doubts his own ability with words, ( Read more... )

*When the tutor arrives at the house, Thorn is nowhere in the house. He is in fact, not even on the grounds, as any immediate search will reveal. He knew what time the tutor was coming, and was very excited about it the day before, albeit understandably nervous. His earlier question to the Nexus might have something to do with his absence, but even ( Read more... )

The packages are wrapped around the tree, and the cider is warm and brewing. Somehow Leela got up before Matthew did, and when he appeared in the kitchen she shoo'ed him back upstairs for a while. Whistling cheerfully she finished baking the muffins, and set out eggnog, tea, cider - and of course, coffee. She takes one last look at the Christmas ( Read more... )

The boxes were all over the floor, pine cones and tree branches strung together into garlands lay stretched out, waiting to be wrapped around the railings. More branches strung together over door frames, and above the fireplaces. Glass bulbs of violet, gold, blue red and green were haning down from thick red velvet ribbons in front of every ( Read more... )

*Thorn waits until he is fairly certain everyone else in the house is asleep before beginning his project. He has been gathering the supplies for a few days, but he is not looking forward to the process ( Read more... )