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

Sure, I'll have some.

[Truth be told, he feels a little sick now that it's all over and hopes some tea will make him feel better.]

Thanks.

[Layton puts down his ice, gets out a kettle, and begins to fill it with water. Suddenly, mid-pour, he raises a finger.]

All of this talk of tea has reminded me of a puzzle.

[... What?]

A puzzle?

[A puzzle? At a time like this? He is not surprised in the least.]

Which one, Professor?

It's called 'Tea For Two'. Would you like to hear it?

[Luke seems to be taking this in stride so he decides to do the same.]

Sure, why not?

[After a stretch of trying to remember if he knows this puzzle, Luke shrugs. Carefully.]

Of course I do.

Excellent. [We'll convert you yet, Maiza. He drops the top on the kettle before finding a pen and memo pad nearby.]

Here are two categories, A and B:

A Group:
ENAN
HIRS
OILE
AUGH

B Group:
RALE
MAER
TAOO
MIEN

[Of course, he writes all of this down for Luke and Maiza's benefit.]

According to this logic, can you properly sort ARGE, KELE, and URRE?

[Maiza is a fairly intellectual individual but puzzles are a new thing to him. He leans over the paper, and what does he do?

Why, read out loud all the gibberish words, of course! Arglebargle.]

[It's hard for Luke not to laugh at that. He gets up to join Maiza in looking at the paper, one hand tapping his chin in thought.]

Sometimes the answers to Professor Layton's puzzles are just hidden somewhere.

[While they're puzzling that out, Layton just turns the kettle on and contemplates tins of tea. Which flavour should they have today...?]

Hidden? You must be used to his ways then, aren't you? Let's see...

Just tell me if you want a hint, and I'll give you one.

[~~FOR A FEE~~ okay no.]

[Maiza glances at Luke and back at the puzzle. He thinks for a few minutes, and he can feel the answer coming-- but he turns to Luke again. It sounds like the kid is really into puzzles, so..]

I think I'll take a hint, then.

There's a hint in the puzzle's title!

Tea for two?

[... Pause. Taking a pause.]

I should add a couple letters to these words, shouldn't I?

Maybe you ought to try and see what happens.

All right. Let me give it a try.

[This is where he screws up a little bit. Because when he picks up the pen and starts writing in the letters, he does it way too efficiently for someone who didn't know the answer already.]

[A true gentleman is always observant of his surroundings. When Maiza has no trouble at all filling in the correct letters, Luke's anticipation turns into a scowl.]

You knew all along, didn't you?

... [Er. He blinks at Luke and then smiles sheepishly.]

I had a hunch.

[No sheepish smile is winning points with him right now.]

It's rude to pretend you don't know the answer like that.

[To do it - in Luke's view - to 'make him feel better' or something equally insulting. A lot of things are insulting at the moment, actually. Luke crosses his arms and turns on his heel, fully intending to storm off to the chaos of his room.]

Hey, wait up now-- [Maiza raises an arm to try to pause Luke, although he doesn't hold him back directly.]

I apologize if it came off as rude, but that wasn't my intention. And if you think it was to make you feel better, it wasn't, not in the way you think.

[That's about enough of that. Layton shuts his tea tin calmly but firmly.]

Luke. A true gentleman never loses his composure. Nor does he turn his back on an unfinished conversation.

[That stops him, all right. A whole pile of thoughts tumbles through his head. They came and took away his friend/not!brother/the kid who doesn't always seem to like him, and nothing they tried in a fight could stop them, they might be doing horrible things to Czes, and then Maiza treated him like a little kid with that puzzle, acting like he didn't know just to see what Luke would do, and now the Professor's scolding him and he's disappointed and- and it's making his head hurt, not to mention his chest, so Luke stops in the doorway.

And he stands there with his head down, shoulders slumped forward, not saying anything.]

[He approaches Luke and puts a hand on the boy's shoulder.]

I wasn't trying to tease you. I enjoy seeing folks do what they like to do, that's all.

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