The Trio was alright, and Alex didn't mind talking to Marina, but she decided the Hermit had a good idea. Seeing that the three hooligans were busy, she decided to go looking for Aiden.
"Aiden... Oh, Aiden... Where are you?" She called in a singsong voice. There were only so many places the kid could hide after all. She wanted the fight to be fair, but her enhanced senses made that difficult.
She searched the kitchen, the dining room, the garage, the backyard, and all the bedrooms. So far, she hadn't found him. This is ridiculous. How hard can this be to find one little human?
Her "prey" was currently hiding in one of the many linen closets. He much preferred being here when the Author started yelling. Although she had brought him here, and was being more accomodating to him than the Trio, he still didn't like it when people started yelling. It reminded him too much of life at home with his father.
He had heard Alex calling his name and had crawled further into the closet. He knew her a little, since they'd been in some of the same classes, and she was pushy, loud, and so happy it sometimes scared him. He put his hands over his ears, buried his face against his knees, and pretended to be invisible. It was a strategy that had worked well against his father. At least for a little while anyway.
Alex finally found the scent she had come to associate with Aiden. Ah, fear, anxiety, and... clean linen? That stumped her for a minute. That wasn't the smell she had expected.
She sniffed again and realized she was standing in front of the linen closet. "Aiden, come out. Please? I'm bored and Hermy won't let me bug her." The Trio ran by screaming and Alex nearly hissed at them as she pressed against the door. "Aiden? If you won't come out, can I come in? It seems safer in there."
Alex heard no response and sighed. It seemed as if she was going to either have to take drastic measures or go away. And I'm not one to give up so easily. "So, I was thinking about our English class. I was having a hell of a time figuring out that book. I mean, who has time to read?" She chuckled softly as she sat outside the door. She stared at her nails, playing with them.
Aiden glanced up from his hiding spot. Was she really trying to get him into a conversation? Well, it's going to take more than that. He closed his eyes and buried them against his knees.
"Aiden. Come on. I don't want to melt the lock to come in there. Just talk to me... Please?" Her voice had taken on a bit of a whine and she hated herself for it.
Aiden looked up, frowning. How could she melt the lock? "What... What do you want to talk about?"
Alex gave a little cheer. "Well, how about that book. I mean, did you have time to read it?"
The Hermit was chuckling. She could see her creation trying to make friends. At least he'll be more understanding, Alex. Good luck. She pulled her notebook to her, the one that contacted The Author and wrote in it. "Well, at least they're starting to talk."
The reply was almost instaneous. "Good. Maybe he'll come out of that closet and we can actually use it like it's supposed to be used." The Hermit laughed. It wasn't the response she was expecting, but she had to focus on her new character. Mac was going to be a technopath, a girl pretending to a boy. She was going to have a lot of fun with this one.
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