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]

"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.

[keyed_up]

That's indeed very convenient.

Soph does some summer reading and she makes lunch and plays DDR with Kevin and provides tech support on the watching of movies.

[marrinikari]

Kevin approves of all of these activities. Even the reading, because it means he has time to explore by himself! He doesn't get into too much trouble, at least.

The summer progresses much as it began, with little deviation. Kevin's mother goes to work, he stays home, and he hangs out with Soph. He decides she is probably okay, unthaws a bit more and introduces her to Paddington, his bear. DDR happens, in spades. Art projects and cooking projects happen (Kevin sulks at being forbidden to use the oven by himself, but is very pleased when he can use it under supervision.) Before he even really notices it, a month has gone by. And in all that time, his mother has come home looking worried and tired once, and only once. He approves of this trend. She was looking too stressed. Less is better!

Until the day a couple weeks later, when Kevin's bed can be found to be empty of its usual occupant in the morning.