The room fell dead silent and with reason of course, it was well known that Remmington wasn't one to lie. In fact, whenever he stood up for a person he was always right. People would often joke around about him being an "All knowing God of truth". Yet, this was such an outlandish statement he supported. Although they still held uncertainty they ended up piping down with their disbelief. Not because they agreed with this bizarre claim but rather because they trusted Remmington.
Baxton sank in his seat and looked out the window as if he was defeated by his two friends and this new stranger. Remmington looked over his shoulder only to notice a defeated Baxton and lightly kicked his foot with a bright smile as if telling him it was ok. Baxton only huffed and continued looking out at the swirling clouds in the sky as he mumbled "It'll rain..." With a carefree laugh Remmington nodded, "Mhm!"
Shortly after, Percivl nodded towards Remmington's table as if thanking them. He then continued, "I understand if some still do not believe me, after all, this is such an abnormal conclusion. However, I know we all agree that this needs to be solved as soon as possible for the safety of our people. I would like to ask those who are interested in solving this case to stay after and discuss further plans for action after. Once again, thank you all for attending."
With that said he nodded and briefly smiled as he left the tea shop to get some fresh air. More than three quarters of the people in the room had decided to head home, some shook their heads in disbelief as they sighed and spoke among each other. Those who stayed were more so quiet as they sipped their tea, all were thinking of how to approach this case. Around 6 people were in the room, 3 being Lexxon, Remmington, and Baxton. The other 3 were in a group, they looked like a family with two elders and one young adult.
A couple of minutes passed as Ms. Keystone came back out from the kitchen. She chatted away with the others and came around to Lexxon. Per usual she radiated happiness as she asked, "Looks like the meeting was a bit bittersweet but I sure am glad you all are here to help! I was wondering if you could bring Percivl in, it may start to rain soon and I don't want him getting drenched!"
Lexxon nodded in agreement as he stood up and left, leaving behind Remmington and Baxton to chat away with Ms.Keystone. Baxton sighed, clearly not wanting to have to listen to Ms. Keystone ramble on for another hour while Remmington, a social butterfly, looked forward to the chat.
Lexxon stepped outside to see Percivl sitting down on the floor and leaning against the shop while smoking a cigarette. Given his elegant atmosphere Lexxon did not expect to see him smoking. He blew out a puff of smoke following a sigh and expression of confliction. The smoke spread around him like fog complimenting his mellow burnt orange eyes. Quite a charming sight to behold.
Lexxon sat down next to him, curled up in a small ball, unlike Percivl who had his legs stretched out. The two looked out at the sky in silence, not because they had nothing to say but rather because they enjoyed the view. Stormy clouds were gathering within the air and spiraling in different directions. They took over the entire sky with this and it complimented the forests around them well.
Percivl put out his cigarette as he asked, "Did Ms. Keystone send you to get me?" Lexxon shifted his gaze towards him with a simple nod, "She's worried you'll get drenched by the rain. I also wanted to say, you brought up valid points out there. I know not everyone was convinced but I do think you were onto something."
Percivl grinned as he got up, "Mhm, thank you Lexxon. I appreciate it." With that he extended his hand and froze up after, "Ah..." Lexxon took his hand and tilted his head, confused, "What's wrong?" Percivl immediately shook his head with a small laugh, "It's nothing, don't worry about it." Percivl seemed to be a bit dazed and with that he pulled Lexxon up with a bit too much strength. This caused Lexxon to get up fine but bump into Percivl in the process. Lexxon blinked a few times as he looked up at Percivl. He had a crooked expression as he internally questioned how Percivl was so much taller than him.
You see, Lexxon was at shoulder length of Percivl. Percivl looked down at him and then away as he coughed. Lexxon was then snapped out of his thoughts as he laughed and backed up, "Sorry about that, I was a bit dazed for a second!" After all, he couldn't just blatantly admit that he was caught up in how tall Percivl was. With that done the two headed inside.
They were out for about 5 minutes and when they walked in Ms. Keystone had already taken his seat and began chatting away nonstop. Baxton looked half dead as he leaned back in his chair like a lost soul while Remmington continued talking non stop as well. Lexxon could tell that Baxton had used up all his energy for the day but still enjoyed this amusing sight. This is why he grabbed another cup of tea and sat at an empty table.
Percivl was standing in the middle of the room as he noticed that all 3 tables weren't too far from each other. With this, he grabbed a cup of tea and approached Lexxon as asked, "Is this seat available?" Lexxon nodded with a bright smile while slightly laughing because of Baxton, "It is!" While Lexxon was distracted by Baxton, Percivl sat at the seat next to him as he looked away for a few seconds and covered his mouth. Shortly after, he snapped out of it and got himself back in shape as he took a large sip of his tea which warmed him up.
His cheeks slightly flushed because of how warm the tea was on such a cold day and with that he spoke to everyone, "I am glad a good portion of people stayed, now, can I ask the ages of everyone in this room." With that said Ms. Keystone started to head back to the kitchen so the meeting could commence.
They all ended up nodding in agreement and spoke one by one :
Lexxon : "28"
Baxon : "25"
Remmington : "27"
Male elder : "73"
Female elder : "72"
Young adult : "21"
Percivl finally spoke, "28, now that we have that established, if we want this plan to work I will need either Baxton or the young adult over here." The young adult had short brown hair and round brown eyes to match, his clothes were a bit worn but he still kept himself in shape. He was about to speak right when the female elder cried out, "Olly absolutely can't! He already lost his brother because of this abnormality! We can't lose another child...but we will do what we can to help...."
The woman began weeping as her husband held her in reassurance, yet, they were both so caught up in each other's grief that they failed to notice the empty expression their son had. His eyes were blank and empty, they were eyes that looked dead and drained from too much loss. As if instinctual, Lexxon got up from his seat and rushed over to him. Without hesitation he kneeled down and looked him straight in the eyes with certainty, "It's ok, we'll find a way through this and I swear on my life we will do whatever we can to find your brother. That's why you must stay strong, we have to make sure no one else disappears."
With such simple words tears started to fall from his eyes as he clung to Lexxon, like he was his last ray of hope. It was clear that his parents had been neglecting his well being because they were too caught up in themselves. The poor kid couldn't go on much longer and it was clear at that moment, he needed anyone or anything to give him a sign. His sign to carry on was Lexxon. This lasted for around 5 minutes and Lexxon patted his back and reassured him that it would all be ok even if it wasn't at that moment. He mumbled to Lexxon, "Please let me help..." Lexxon glanced at Percivl and swiftly answered back "Hmm...Friday...5 pm...Constance Temple..."
He thanked Lexxon over and over again as he finally let go. The parents with him were shocked by what they witnessed as they thanked Lexxon and shortly left with their son. It was clear that they felt bad and were going to have a long talk with him. In that moment they had realized how neglectful they had been and even if it was late, they still wanted to be there for him like they should have to begin with.
Lexxon came back to his seat as he sipped more tea, he was wondering if the poor boy would be ok. Was his comfort good enough, he looked fine on the outside but internally he was extremely worried. As if trying to snap him out of it, Percivl poured him more tea with a small smile, "You did good."
Baxton and Remmington both grinned, Baxton's much smaller though, as they spoke at the same time, "Good job Lexxon." It was as if they were proud parents who praised their child for doing the right thing. Lexxon then looked down at his tea as his eyes softened, "Mm, thank you." Percivl then clapped twice as he straightened his posture, "Now then, back to the point. Do any of you want to be directly involved in catching the culprit?"
With that said, all 3 of them nodded in unison, "Mhm!" Remmington looked back at Baxton with a wide grin, "I thought you didn't agree with him? Right, Bax?" Baxton immediately started to fume as he punched Remmington's shoulder, "I want to help catch the culprit in order to prove the three of you wrong." He crossed his arms and glared at Remmington which caused Remmington to laugh a bit too hard. He regretted it in an instant as he started coughing, "No need to be so stubborn! Haha...stop! My ribs hurt from laughing!"
Baxton rolled his eyes with sigh as he patted Remmington's back, "Yeah yeah, believe what you want." Percivl tried to keep his smile up as he felt flames rising from within him, "Now now, back to the point. I have a brief idea of what we should do. That kid wanted to help, right Lexxon?"
Lexxon shifted his gaze up to Percivl as he nodded, "Yes but we must keep in mind that his safety is a priority..." Lexxon felt that the poor kid was being reckless but at the same time he knew he was going to help regardless of what they say. He sighed a bit in concern as he looked down at his tea. He could see his own small and distorted reflection. It all laid in that cup, so much so that it scared him. He knew himself better than anyone and could see all his hidden thoughts riling up within that teacup. With these thoughts consuming him whole, he immediately drank the rest of his tea until he couldn't see himself anymore. That's the way he liked it.
No one else could notice as Percivl continued, "Then I suggest we use him as bait and have him enter the Constance Temple alone. I am sure we can keep him safe if we prepare properly. Just to be extra safe we can use Baxton first even though he is already 25, it may have less of a chance of working out but it is worth a shot. Our prep can involve having a signal or sound if they sense something is off, we'll be right outside and ready to enter if something goes wrong. Now, do any of you have fighting experience or practice in the heavenly arts?"
Remington looked a bit anxious as he responded, "I have experience in fighting...but I'm not sure if Baxton should be bait. It still sounds too dangerous, how can fighting experience apply to an evil soul?"
Baxton sighed as he shook his head, "I'll be fine, I'm proving a point. Remember? Besides, that's even more of a reason I should go before the kid. I have experience in fighting as well."
Remmington still felt uneasy as he looked out the window, quiet for once. Lexxon spoke up with reassurance, "It'll be ok Rem, we just have to trust Bax's word. I'm sure he'll be fine, he always proves us wrong when we worry. I also have experience in fighting."
With those words Remmington nodded, an expression of relief but uncertainty formed on his face as he quietly tapped his fingers on the table. Baxton lightly punched his arm causing him to snap out of it and pay attention to Percivl. Percivl then continued, "I am going to bring all the supplies and further develop the plan on my own. Thank you all for helping in advance, when will you all be free?"
Lexxon answered quickly in place of what he told the young adult, "What about Friday, around 5pm? I know we have that day free!" Percivl nodded with a wide grin, "Perfect." He looked down at all the tea cups and got up to help clean up the place. Lexxon walked over to Remmington and Baxton as he fiddled with his sleeves, "I'm going to stay behind to help fix up the place, you two should go ahead and discuss the plan further."
With that said the two walked out together with a small gloom, Remmington was worried about Baxton's safety despite what Lexxon said. The two were going to have a long talk on the walk home. In the meantime, Lexxon started gathering all the cups and placing them on the table closest to the kitchen so they could quickly be carried back.
He was focused on his task as he briefly asked Percivl, "How have you been liking your stay here so far?" Percivl gathered the pastry plates as well and placed them with the tea cups as he responded, "It's been great, the people here are welcoming. I came up here from down south, the weather is much different but I prefer it here."
Lexxon finished and began to help Percivl collect the rest of the plates, "I'm glad to hear that! If you don't mind me asking, where are you staying? I stay in the outlandish part of town but I know citizens tend to enjoy the central part of town."
Percivl was backing up from a table to place his dish back where the others were when he accidentally bumped into something or rather someone. He heard a shattering noise followed by a thud and immediately looked down behind him and sure enough, there was Lexxon with a broken dish. Percivl's eyes widened as he quickly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't see you there! Are you ok?"
Lexxon looked up at him with a carefree laugh and glowing green eyes, "That was quite a tumble! I'm ok!" Percivl looked away and offered his hand as he mumbled, "Let me help you up." Lexxon continued to laugh at himself as he took his hand, "Thanks!" Percivl began to laugh a bit too, not because he thought it was funny. In fact, he did feel a bit guilty but laughter can be contagious after all, "I'll clean this up!"
Lexxon kneeled down to help and the two collected the large pieces of glass. As they went to throw it away Percivl answered Lexxon's earlier question, "Well, the move was recent so I don't have an official place to stay yet. I've been renting a hotel for a few days while researching this case. I wanted to help with this case because I know it's not easy to lose loved ones. I've gone through something similar before."
His expression was at ease but by the time he finished talking it appeared that he was more so cold. This brought forth a conflicted feeling in Lexxon as they threw the glass away, he looked at Percivl and softly smiled, "Well that won't do! You should stay with us until you find a new place, I know it's not much but there's free space in my room. That's if you're comfortable with it!"
Percivl thought about it for a couple seconds before he replied, "I'd feel bad for taking up your space though." Lexxon shook his head, "Hmm, it's completely ok! I'm sure Bax and Rem won't mind anyways!" The two went on to discuss it until Percivl finally agreed, Lexxon was quite insistent and felt that giving him a place to stay was the right thing to do. It's not like it was the first time he had done it anyways.
With that agreed upon the two ended up getting along well and talking a bit more before they finished up cleaning. Lexxon had gone to check on Ms. Keystone in the kitchen but she had ended up falling asleep. She had a long day and it was already late evening, her kids had come by earlier to let her know they were taking a nap. Lexxon walked back out as he approached Percivl, "We should write her a note, it looks like she needed a bit of rest for the day."
In agreement they crafted a note thanking her for helping host the meeting and apologizing for the broken dish while leaving behind compensation. With that finished the two stepped outside and took a nice breath of fresh air. It was an autumn night which brought forth a small chill in the air. Lexxon looked up at Percivl as he stretched, "I'll walk you back and we'll meet up tomorrow to help unload your belongings."
Percivl nodded as he yawned, "Mhm, sounds perfect." The two had then set off on the path to Percivl's hotel as the moonlight lit the way ahead of them. The air was crisp and clear, it was an autumn day after all. The burnt orange leaves had drifted along with the breeze as they continued to talk the night away.
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