Quoted By:
>If I had two nickels...
The night air is warm and humid— not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to make you sleepy. Though that may also be from the white-noise drone of unseen insects, or from the gentle rocking of the bench you're on, or the half-drained cocktail in your fist. (To celebrate.) Richard, who didn't do anything, has sensibly opted for an iced tea: he said something about wanting to 'maintain his composure,' but you think he knows he doesn't deserve a buzz.
You're trying to think of what to ask, but all that's springing to mind is 'why is my late father haunting me, Richard,' and that just makes you want to gulp the rest of the glass. That and 'what's wrong with the key you gave me, Richard,' but that might make him ask why you think there's something wrong to begin with, and then you'd have to admit it got taken... you think you'll pass. You don't want the lecture and/or yelling, depending on his mood.
That is, unless you phrased it more diplomatically? Less 'what's the matter' and more... hmm. Hmmm. "Um, Richard," you say. "Do you want your key back? I—"
"Don't bother. I've already availed myself of it." Richard twirls it around his finger, just to show off. "Why?"
"Oh. I was just wondering, um, what the point of it was. You never told me."
"The point? I just wanted to keep track of you, Charlie. Normally I have no trouble doing so, but in the special 'environment' you were in... suffice it to say it's easier to pinpoint this than you. That's why I needed you to keep hold of it."
Is he going to mention you not keeping hold of it? You tense, but nothing follows but a faintly genial smile. Perhaps he didn't notice— or the blessing did something to protect you? Either way, you appear safe. Except his answer (while plausible) doesn't address the facts that the key snapped him out of the whole <span class="mu-i">thing</span> in the 'bomb shelter,' or opened doors everywhere, or was a... 'pupa'? Or ex-something? But you can't bring any of that up without risking the lecture, so— damn. Damn. "Okay, um, makes sense. I guess. So you were keeping track of me even when we weren't talking?"
"Quite."
"So you saw the monster? I don't really know what it looked like... it was big and lizard-y. Or snake-y, maybe, I'm not—"
"I didn't have visuals, Charlie. It was more of a spatial sense, which I'll be the first to admit is nonsensical in a nonspatial environment, but the detailed explanation would be taxing to— I haven't prepared diagrams. Suffice it to say it was spatial." Richard sips his tea. "So no. Why couldn't you tell? Was it dark?"
"Uh, it was me. I was—" You drum on the arm of the bench. "And it wasn't even the first time. Back in the manse today— I don't know if you can remember this— the same thing happened. It was a different snake-y monster, but I still..."
"Ah. So you see a pattern? And you want to know if it has meaning?"
(1/4?)
