[Puzzle 011]

[hisapprentice]

[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.]]

Comments

[contaeoro]

[It may have only been a moment ago for Maiza. He's silent for a few seconds before he smiles at Firo, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head a little.]

Thank you, Firo. But not everyone can be like that, I don't think.

[immamartillo]

[Baffled, he shakes his head slowly.]

What do you mean? I know you can't trust everybody, that'd be stupid. But you can trust family!

[contaeoro]

[Maiza shakes his head in response. People grow to be products of their environment. Firo grew up up with the Martillos, and he was in his thirties by the time he left his house. Czeslaw was little, and who knew what he saw over the last two hundred years?]

I think for Czeslaw, becoming able to trust us as family is what's difficult.

[immamartillo]

You think so?

[Come to think of it, he knows very little about Czes's life before or after the Advena Avis. Had the Martillos not welcomed Firo to their Family, he probably would have grown up into quite the bitter adult; he has to wonder if Czes has never had the same opportunity that he did.]

...Then how do we make him trust us?

[contaeoro]

You can't make people trust you. You've just gotta let him take his time, and know that it might be years until then. Time seems slow for folks like us.

[But not one to let Firo stay down, Maiza pulls his face into a grin and reaches over to give Firo's shoulder a strong pat.]

Just be a friend to him, for now.

[immamartillo]

Time...

[He looks up when Maiza pats his shoulder and nods. Firo can be patient, if it's a cause as worthy as this.]

All right. I'll do the best I can for him.

[He won't say it, but Czes's standoffish behavior makes him worry that this might be difficult.]

[contaeoro]

I won't tell you it'd be easy, but I'm sure he'll come around someday.

[He pats Firo's shoulder again and looks around.] Well, it looks better than earlier.

[immamartillo]

[Well, if Maiza says it... Firo's face brightens.]

Yeah, I'm sure he will.

[He looks around, the place does look like less of a battlefield.]

You think so? Is there anything else we gotta do?

[contaeoro]

I don't think so, I believe we've got it all. Thank you for your help, Firo.

[immamartillo]

No problem--just gimme a call any time, you can count on me.

[contaeoro]

[He nods, knowing this is true even without Firo's reminder but appreciating it all the same.] Thank you.