Toma
He had to move.
He could feel his muscles vibrating with an urge to do something.
He just couldn’t keep sitting still, looking at the terrified look in that little girl’s eyes.
Toma knew intellectually that it wasn’t actually Lu that was making him react this way. He wasn’t seeing her eyes, per se. It had happened with Aida when she told him about Magnus too. The same eyes again.
They were her’s.
Always her.
He had spent the last 10 years trying desperately to get that damn look off the face of a dead woman.
This wasn’t the time to think about it, so Toma did what he usually does when this happened. He stood up and moved.
It was several minutes more before he realized that the room was quiet, and that the others were all watching him pace the room like a caged beast. The two children clutched each other’s hands tightly, staring at him with eyes the size of saucers, looking distinctly like they were prepared to run at the slightest indication of trouble. Aida, meanwhile, had paused with a little ball of fluff in her fingers, poised over Charlie’s left shoulder. She had an unreadable look on her face. He didn’t want to think about that look at the moment either.
With a frustrated grunt, Toma tugged the front door open, thinking it would be better to take his nervous energy outside.
He almost tripped over the enormous black cat that was sitting on the stoop.
It surprised the hell out of him, and instinct took over before he realized what had happened. From the perspective of the rest of the room, he vanished. In actuality, he had wrapped an illusion of nothing tightly around himself. It was an old defense mechanism he had developed as a child. After all, you couldn’t hit a kid if you couldn’t find him. It was a little embarrassing to find that he had accidentally done it now. He was too keyed up, and the hulking black feline that was currently sauntering into the room like he owned the place had been the final straw.
Aida didn’t seem to be especially phased by the fact that he had disappeared. She was too busy being excited to see the animal. Was that actually a cat? The thing was bigger than most of the dogs Toma had ever met. “Shadow!!” she cried excitedly from behind Charlie. The blue medicine was beginning to cause the boy to glow. “I’m so glad you’re okay! I was worried when you weren’t here!” She stepped around the table as the glow got brighter, and threw her arms around the massive animal. As Charlie lit the room around them, Shadow snuggled his snout into her neck, for all the world as if he were returning Aida’s hug.
Toma was starting to wonder why he was suddenly projecting intelligence onto a cat when he remembered he was still cloaked in his illusion of nothing. He tried to relax and dropped the illusion again. His abrupt reappearance made Aida glance up at him with a puzzled look on her face.
Nope.
Still not gonna think about it.
Certainly not gonna talk about it.
Without a word, he stalked out the front door.
Aida
Now what in the world got into him? Aida wondered as the door slammed shut behind Toma.
She was about to follow him when she felt a small hand touch her arm. When she turned, Aida was face to face with a very nervous looking Lu. The poor child had always been a little reserved. Her recent experience seems to have pushed her into “skittish” territory.
“Is that man mad at me, Miss Aida?” she asked nervously.
Oh, Toma… Aida thought as she gazed at the little girl’s wide, frightened eyes.
“Of course not, sweetheart” she said gently, placing her hands lightly on the girl’s shoulders. “Mr. Toma isn’t angry with you. He just got upset because you and Charlie got hurt. It can be scary for grown ups sometimes when we hear about children getting hurt and we don’t know what we can do to help make it better. But don’t worry. Mr. Toma and I are going to work together to make sure you two are okay from now on, and that the men who hurt you won’t be able to do that to anyone else.”
She took a deep breath and stood up.
“Now, I’m going to go find him and see if we can’t figure out a plan. In the meantime, can I ask you to do me a big favor?”
Lu looked up at Aida and nodded solemnly.
“Shadow here has been away from home for a while,” Aida said, pointing at the large feline, who was sniffing at Charlie’s shoe until he heard his name. He looked at Aida for a moment, then returned to his investigation of the shoe. “ I’m worried that he might be hungry. I know he doesn’t eat well enough when he’s on his own, even if he’d never admit it.” The cat huffed in her direction and shot her a disdainful look. “I have some dried fish in a jar in the pantry that I keep for him. Can you go get it and make sure he eats at least two big strips?”
Lu smiled a tiny smile and nodded again.
“He likes to play hide and seek better than just being fed normally, so you should break the strips up and hide little pieces around the house so he can sniff them out. Can you do that?”
Now the smile on Lu’s face was a little bigger, and the nod was more enthusiastic.
“That sounds fun, Miss Aida! I can do that! Charlie can help too!!”
“Fantastic! Thanks so much for helping me feed Shadow.” Aida answered with apparent relief.
Truth be told, Shadow had no problem with being fed in a bowl on the floor. He’d also happily eat off a plate at the table if given an opportunity. But this “hide and seek” method would keep the children busy, and Shadow would certainly play along if there were fish strips involved. They were his weakness, and Aida knew it. The look Shadow gave her as Lu grabbed Charlie by the wrist and scampered into the pantry communicated very clearly that he knew what she was doing, and was not at all amused.
“They’re scared and all alone, Shadow. Just keep them occupied while I talk to Toma and figure out a plan, okay?”
Shadow rolled his eyes and nodded. Then with a dramatic sigh, the cat got to his feet and followed the children out of the room, flicking his tail to display his continued disgust at being asked to babysit.
That cat loved to pretend to be a crotchety old grump, but Aida knew he’d do everything he could to keep the kids entertained and out of trouble.
With that issue taken care of, Aida yanked the front door open and went to find out what was wrong with Toma.
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