hisapprentice | [Puzzle 011]

[Puzzle 011]

[It's early in the morning, and there's a commotion. The village knows about this commotion because things are scattered in the scuffle, including Luke's journal. It thunks onto the floor of the apartment, open and 'on' enough to record...well.

The sounds of a scuffle.

Bangs and clangs and the occasional mechanical whirr or someone shouting (classic noir American accent or subtle/overt British one, take your pick!) and the end result is a nice, spread-out flurry of chaos.

In which one of the people living in the apartment is no longer there.

After a while, there are footsteps; it's Luke trudging over to pick up his journal and gingerly talk into it.]

Um. They came and...took Czes- Benjamin. [Not without a fight!] Maiza and Professor Layton and I tried to stop them, but it- it didn't work. Sorry. [...] Maybe he won't be gone for long.

[[ooc: Those replying may get an answer from Luke, Maiza, or Layton! Depends on who's got the journal at the moment, and who's off trying to clean up the mess in a dejected manner.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think it's difficult to be the best gentleman I can be this early in the morning, too.

[What he actually does next is get back off the sofa, to pick up the journal he spots lying open near his door. He makes a quiet announcement, then brings it back with him, still shuffling.]

[Layton straightens his coat and sits gratefully, not one to snub Maiza's thoughtfulness. He listens to Luke make his announcement silently and takes a look around the room in the meantime. Hopefully, nothing of importance was broken in the struggle.]

Is this the first time this has happened to Czeslaw?

[Maiza excuses himself from the room to head the kitchen while Luke is making his announcement, coming back quickly and handing them the glasses.]

He hasn't told me it's happened to him before. [But Czes does not tell him much, actually.] Ah... Luke, do you know?

I don't think it has. Not like this. [Luke sips at his water, running his free hand carefully through his bedhead. Ow.] It's never happened to me either.

[Layton takes the water with a thank you.]

Yes, I should hope this isn't a common occurrence. I prefer my mornings violence-free, strangely enough.

I know one other guy who said he'd been taken by droids before. It's true they're not easy to take on, huh?

C'mon, Luke, let us take a look.

Well they're robots, aren't they? Made of metal and everything, of course we can't beat them in our pyjamas.

[This is his most hesitant face.]

Uhm, a look? [Usually he is more savvy than this but the hand-to-ribs gesture is such a giveaway it stings.]

Come now, it's clear that your injuries are bothering you. We'd best treat them as we can until we can get you to a doctor.

And you hit your head. [Don't hide it, kid.]

Can't ever take those lightly, Luke. You're a smart kid, so you know that don't you?

[He's smiling but this is a Look, Luke.]

It's really not that bad. [Really it isn't. Still, he doesn't want to risk Layton's Disappointed Tone so he unbuttons his nightshirt to reveal...almost nothing. A bruise is starting around his ribs on the left side but that's about it.] See?

[Sure, it's going to be a big bruise but that's details.]

[That's a good lad.]

Hmm. [He's no medical expert, but nothing seems out of place to his unpracticed eye.]

You will tell us if it starts bothering you, won't you, my boy? Though we should still get that bump on your head looked at. Just in case.

[Maiza is no expert either, at least not ones like this. The ones he's used to seeing and actually worrying about tended to involve more blood and weapons. He's glad none of that's applying to Luke at the moment.]

Can you see fine?

Mmhmm. [A bit indignant, he buttons his shirt again and resists crossing his arms. That would be a bad idea.] I could probably see better if we had more of the lights on.

[Realizing the possibility of Layton telling him not to be rude, Luke sighs and rubs the back of his head again, but differently this time.]

I wish they hadn't gotten him.

[He knows Luke is trying his best. He stands to turn those lights on, and maybe get some of that ice.]

I think it's safe to say that none of us are exactly pleased with this situation.

[Maiza bites his lip. He's not pleased at all. He'd been determined to keep Czes safe -- and look at the situation now. But he doesn't want to let that show too obviously, so he'll get to his feet and pick up some of the knocked over furniture around them.]

You got that right.

[It may not be too obvious but Luke remembers fragments of what Czes had to go through and thinking of it now makes him uncomfortable.]

They should leave him alone. [Fighting words, accompanied by a slight wince.] They should leave all of us alone.

[Luke's spirit is inspiring, but Layton doesn't let it take him far. There are few things more humbling than the chains of futility as they arrest you in your tracks.]

I only wish that they would. Taking a child in this manner and for such purposes is simply deplorable.

[Unlike Luke, Maiza knows nothing about Czes' experiences. He just thinks about his friend, and states what he hopes is true and hopes sounds more confident than he's sure he feels.]

... Czeslaw will come back, and we'll be here to make sure he's all right when he does.

Luke, you don't happen to know if there're any clues about where they take these people, do you?

I think it's some kind of...of laboratory somewhere? [This would not be out of the ordinary for his experience in the past few years, either.] Somewhere secret and outside the barrier.

[He drops some ice into a plastic bag before wrapping the whole deal in a towel, then repeats the process once more. Once he's done, he heads back over and hands Luke as many as he wants.]

And away from help and prying eyes, I suppose. They certainly know how to keep our hands tied. How long should we expect to wait before he's returned to us?

[Professor, you'd better bu using some of that ice too. You don't have any bruises under that hat of yours, do you? (it's so early and you're already wearing your hat...)]

... And what do the folks that get kidnapped usually say about the things that happen there?

[All of the adrenaline has worn off, and Luke accepts the bag of ice with a mumbled thanks. Holding it against his side, he turns to sort of lie down. Excitement over, he's ready to go back to bed.]

It's maybe a week, or more, usually. They don't...talk about it much. I think it's usually pretty bad. Sometimes people...come back with things, uh, sort of wrong. They can't see or they're the wrong age.

[The couch is not your bed, but Layton isn't really one to speak. He keeps the second ice pack for himself and presses it to his side while he carefully begins to pick up littered house items, all the while minding the hat that is very much on his head even at this hour because a true gentleman is never without one.]

... I see. Then we'll need to keep an extra vigilant eye out for his return.

I got it. [He picks up a chair and sets it right, gesturing to Layton to sit down. He'll even hand a cushion over to Luke -- he's not the type to care about kids sleeping on the couch; they're kids.]

Do those people who're the wrong age grow or shrink physically? [Hard to imagine Czes being anything other than ten.]

[Luke is trying not to let his sudden lack of energy get the best of him. These are important questions and what's more, they will worry about him if he just suddenly starts looking as worn as he feels.]

Most of the time they do, that I remember. [Ice is cold even through a towel and Luke is shivering a little between that and the crash.] But that wouldn't be so bad. Not...I mean there are...worse things.

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