caveat uxor

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara is beginning to be concerned.

There's a pattern here. She knows there is. But it's subtle, it's so subtle she thinks she might be imagining it. A flyer appears on the wall of the coffee shop, announcing that his band has a show there that week. There's so few details that she thinks she must be mistaken, someone else here must have decided to use that same band name, it wasn't that creative- but she goes back to look again the next day, just to see, and it's gone.

She finds a jelly doughnut left on the hood of her car while she's out shopping. They're Kevin's favorite, and she has to talk him out of eating it- they don't know where it came from, it can't be safe, just throw it out, see how someone's already cut it open? It's oozing red jelly out over the roof of the car.

Little things, one at a time. Spaced apart enough that she's never quite sure they're related to each other. A week before something new happens? Two? Once there's two incidents in three days, then nothing for almost a month. She could be imagining it.

...maybe.

She finds a stuffed dog in their front yard. It's very generic, one of those silly plush dogs you can get at any store for a few bucks, and it's arguably, plausibly, a dog toy. But the tag on the dog's collar says 'Tammy'. And it's been torn almost to shreds, viciously. And none of her neighbors have dogs.

Tamara calls the Watcher's Council. And then she calls Bella.

Comments

[marrinikari]

Kevin is eventually coaxed into trying the new game. His legs aren't really long enough for the activity, but he does fairly well considering, and ends looking rather pleased with himself.

"Thank you!" he chirps once he's done. "So... Bella said you were Glinda, right?"

[keyed_up]

"I'm a good witch, if that's what you mean. But less pink."

[marrinikari]

"That's good!" he tells her sagely. "Then the wicked witch won't know it's you. You can be all sneaky."

[keyed_up]

"Yep. I dress up just like a regular person! Am I doing it right?"

[marrinikari]

Kevin regards her consideringly. "Well. It's a lot of bracelets," he says rather plaintively. "But I guess it's okay."

[keyed_up]

"I like 'em. It's too hard to pick which ones to wear."

[marrinikari]

"Are they magic bracelets?"

[keyed_up]

"Not yet. I can't do too much magic all at once. It's not safe. So I just do it sometimes, and I haven't gotten around to magicking my bracelets yet. What do you think a magic bracelet should do?"

[marrinikari]

"Fire!" Kevin says immediately. "Shoot beams of fire at people!"

[keyed_up]

"That might be a good idea! I know how to set things on fire with magic, but I don't have a bracelet that does it."

[marrinikari]

Kevin looks at her suspiciously. "Aren't you a good witch? Why do you set things on fire?"

Five year olds are bad at logic leaps like you just suggested the good witch should have fire bracelets.

[keyed_up]

"It's in case I meet bad guys!"

[marrinikari]

"Fire is really good on bad guys!" Kevin agrees. "Like Jack-Jack!"

[keyed_up]

"The baby in the Incredibles?"

[marrinikari]

"Yep!" Kevin looks very pleased that Soph knows this. "The Incredibles was great!"

[keyed_up]

"Pixar does know how to make a movie."

[marrinikari]

Kevin, being uneducated in the ways of movie studios, just sort of looks at her blankly. "Yep," he says finally, not sounding at all confident in this answer.

[keyed_up]

"Pixar is the people who made the Incredibles."

[marrinikari]

"Oh!" Kevin is much more enlightened now. "Yes. They made a very good movie! When I get big, I wanna be Jack Jack."

[keyed_up]

"Even though Jack Jack is little?"

[marrinikari]

"I just haven't figured it out yet!"

[keyed_up]

"What've you tried?"

[marrinikari]

He frowns. "I just... think about it really hard? And ask my mum. I don't wanna be flown at a plane."

[keyed_up]

"Well, if you figure it out, let me know, it sounds very interesting."

[marrinikari]

"Okay!"

More DDR ensues. At some point the Incredibles is brought out and rewatched. There is not, probably to Soph's relief, a repeat of the flour incident.