.(i'm not crazy); just going insane

[Xaver]

Xaver swallowed, releasing Cody's face.

"I do not know, Cody."

The we part, worried him.

[Ginny Weasly]

"I thought that when someone died, they went away for good...?" Cody's statement was a question at the same time. He tilted his head, looking at his father with a strange look.

"Are you ok, Dad?"

[Xaver]

He had thought the same.
The dead were supposed to stay dead.

He'd been along that rift enough times, he thought he'd understood at least that.

Xaver looked at Cody for a long moment, his thoughts gravitating through shock, confusion, and a similar curiousness.

"No," he admitted, softly to him.
The weight of the confession was untold, but the honesty was good in its truth.
"No. I will be, though. Once I understand this.. these things.."

He shook his head.

"But I can't believe we're in a candy store and you aren't running wild. Time, you know! Better make a dash for your stash, my son."

[Ginny Weasly]

"Are..." Cody began, then let it drop. He nodded and obediently went to a candy shelf, looking through all the different kinds he was able to choose from.

But he glanced back at Xaver now and then, worried about his dad. He had said he'd be ok. Cody hoped so, he loved his dad alot and didn't like it when he was upset.

[Xaver]

Xaver wandered the shop a little aimlessly, reserved, and silent, though his features actually displayed the thoughtful discontent he felt. He trailed Cody, habitually noting, and keeping tabs on every other heartbeat in the shop.

This was mental. Rediculous.
Cody saw her too, he reminded himself none too lightly.

Suddenly, randomly curious, he fished the note Ginny had written to him out of his pocket, sliding it open to see what it read..

[Ginny Weasly]

'Milk, eggs, bread, cereal, sugar, hamburger, noodles...' The list went on, common foodstuffs for a small household. Ginny's small script was easy enough to read, there was nothing but food on the list.

Cody picked out a few candy bars, and walked over to his dad, "Got 'em! Look, here's this dark stuff Mom likes...and here's stuff with caramel..." He rambled on,m hardly paying attention to what he said. Instead, he watched his father's eyes, his young brain already picking out distinct things. He couldn't tell what his dad was thinking, but he knew it wasn't happy.

[Xaver]

Xaver slid the note back into his pocket as Cody approached him, his gaze flickering over the candy bars, and then his son's face, amusement flickering to life like a warm flame behind his blue orbs.
"You mother loves those darks.."


"He likes sweets much as Lady Kylie did, doesn't he?" came a voice to the left of them, speaking almost as if from Xaver's own thoughts.


Xaver tensed, his head turning swiftly to the side as he moved slightly closer to Cody. Fierce, protective instincts set in as soon as his late little sister's name was mentioned in the formal terms, and it showed, in the way the Fallen lord nearly bristled.
It was all in body language, though - Xaver neither pulled a face, or shuffled Cody behind him - the hard, cool instincts in his burning gaze were threat enough.

"Excuse my intrusion, my lord."
It was a male, built lean, and tall, bronze of skin with a hawk's eyes. Fierce, golden jems that fell away, as he made into a low bow.
When he straightened, it was all smooth, easy movement.

There were no wings, or obvious signs to give him away - though the way he moved, the subtle differences, the way he smelled, the way he looked - it was obvious enough, if one knew what to look for, that he was a Fallen.


Xaver rested a reassuring hand on Cody's shoulder, but never glanced away from the other male, his head tipping to the side very slightly, his gaze unwavering.
"Yes.."
It was both a statement of acceptance, and a pushing order to get to the point.

The other Fallen didn't miss it.
"I need your help, Milord."


Xaver watched him, a moment longer, before reaching down to Cody, gently taking the sweets from him and sorting through them, before ushering him down, to the register. He paid for the sweets, and dropped a golden coin or three in the tip jar, then offered Cody the little bag.

"I thought that was the purpose of my leaving so early. That, and so you would not bother me whilst I was with my family."

Xaver's gaze was sharp, his tones quiet, and easy, but sharp.
The other, who had followed them lightly, clamped his mouth closed, looking away.

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody kept his mouth shut. He didn't know the man was a Fallen, he only knew there was something strange about him. He also knew his dad was a bit peeved that the man had shown up.
Cody took the bag from Xaver, occasionally looking at the man with interest. He wasn't scared, just curious.

[Xaver]

"I didn't think-"

"I assumed as much, you may be certain."

Xaver cut the other a razor glance, but the bronze Fallen seemed to ignore it.

"What is your name, little lord?"
He knelt down, before cody, coppery gems not missing the similarities between father, and son.

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody clenched the bag tightly in his fist, his own ice blue eyes observing the man with intelligence. He inspected him for a long moment before answering, "Cody."

He saw nothing wrong in admitting that much. He slid a glance upward at Xaver, to see if it was okay.

[Xaver]

Xaver clenched his jaw when the other knelt down, instinct having his fingers itching to pull Cody up into his arms, and simply walk away. Hurry, if necessary.
Propriety kept him in place.

Cody's reserved answer actually loosened his nerves, slightly, and when his son looked up at him, Xaver smiled down at him, the warmth emenating from him honest.
He placed a reassuring hand on Cody's shoulder, and nodded.

"Cody Xian. Stars and stones, won't those werecats fear you-"

"Miixan."
Xaver tilted his head to the side, even as he shook it, his frustrated blues burning with reignited fury.
"It would do you well to keep from mentioning any more. Walk with us, if it suits you."

-Where else would you like to go, my son?- Xaver's tones were far gentler, far warmer, in Cody's thoughts.

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody gave the man--Miixan, possibly?--a strange look when he mentioned werecats and praised his name. 'Cody' wasn't his full name. It was a shortened version of his middle name, actually. Nonetheless, he looked up at his father as he heard the thought directed at him.
"Three Broomsticks." He answered, aloud.

Ginny kept avoiding teaching him telepathy.

[Xaver]

"The Three Broomsticks it is."
Xaver ignored Miixan's odd expression, confusion written over the bronze features, and took Cody's smaller hand within his own.

"So that's it?"

Xaver blinked, turning back slightly to look at the other Fallen.
"What?"

"This conversation is over? You're walking away?"

Xaver frowned, tiredly.
"Go home, Miixan. I will come to you. Later."
His gaze hardened.
"Unfortunately, your problems do not come first. Cody does."

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody smiled as his father clasped his hand, but the smile faded as Miixan spoke. Cody was a genius, but it didn't take one to realize that Xaver was annoyed with Miixan's bad timing.

He said nothing else, simply kept his hand in his dad's, taking it as a sign of comfort.

[Xaver]

The amber eyes of the other Fallen burned with threats untold, and he hissed slightly, before shaking his head, angrily. Suddenly, light brown wings materialized from his back, shimmering to life and full form - and he jumped, growling slightly, up into the air. He jumped high, over the heads of some, and there he spread his enormous wings to the shrieks and surprised yells of spectators, and in one beat, he was gone, ascending high into the skies.

Xaver frowned in his wake, and at the disgruntled stir among the other people on the street, looking around as if wondering when the next odd winged-man was going to pop out, and not knowing there were two more in their midst.

He bent down, and scooped Cody up into his arms, holding him at his side and continuing to walk, the boy's weight not bothering him in the slightest.

"Today has been eventive, hasn't it?" he asked, lightly.