The Demon Boy

Day Seven - Midday

     Balor quietly tends to his glasshouse garden, checking on Casper from time to time as he steps around him. Casper, for his part, is dozing fast with the blanket pulled over his head to keep the light of day at bay. Every now and again, he'll twitch and stir, seeking a more comfortable position before nodding off again. The sun climbs to its zenith, the glasshouse is nice and warm, and Casper shows no signs of getting up anytime soon. Balor has finished for the day and is hovering over him.

     "Casper."

     Casper mumbles and rolls over.

     "Casper."

     "'M up, 'm up. Quit your hollerin'..."

     "Are you quite sure you are awake at this time, Casper?" Balor asks loudly.

     Only now does it dawn on Casper that it's not Sister Temperance who's come to wake him up this morning and that he isn't at St. Whichever-It-Was. He digs his head out from under the blanket, eyes wild, and sees Balor, tall as a mountain over him. "I wasn't sleepin'!"

     "I had not claimed that you were asleep."

     "Yeah, well, you didn't say it, but you meant it. An' I wasn't sleepin'. I wasn't. I was just... closin' my eyes for a bit."

     "Of course you weren't." Balor chuckles and Casper sees the hint of a smirk making its way across his face.

      "Anyways!  You, uhh... You gonna drag me off to the ol' drunk now?" Please say no. (Don't kid yourself.)

     "If I were, I would not have let you be and would have woken you earlier in the day."

     "I wasn't asleep."

     "As you say, Casper." He's still smirking.

     Casper huffs. And people accuse him of being cheeky. "So, what happened? Did the coot call the search off?"

     Balor's smile falters and he reverts back to his default inscrutability. "Something along those lines... I dare say you might try to address your uncle with a bit more respect, if only to get into the habit. I realize he is not particularly desirable as a family member, but he is your uncle."

     Casper cocks his head. "You sure 'bout that?"

     "I... Ah... For what other reason would you be here if not that?"

     Casper slumps and shrugs. "Beats me. All I know is the damn toffs come in, sayin' the found me an uncle I never heard of out in the sticks an' the next thing I know, I'm on the first train to Nowheresville the next mornin'." He sighs. "What I really don't get is how the hell did they know I have an uncle somewhere if even I don't know my own mum."

     Balor nods slowly, pensively. "It does raise several questions, yes... Do you mean to say, then, that Myr might well be a perfect stranger and that you could very well be here by mistake?"

     "Dunno. Probably. Don't figger it matters either way; you seen how he went for my throat that one night. He'd've killed me if you didn't step in, so... Uh. Yeah." Casper clears his throat and looks away. He absentmindedly traces the ring of yellow bruises around his neck. "... Thanks." The word's no louder than a sigh.

     Balor takes a deep breath and sits down on the edge of a planter, next to Casper who watches him from the corner of his eye. Casper gives him his space. The big guy looks like he's got a lot on his mind.

     "Umm... Which of these are eatable again?" Casper points at tender shoots peeking out of the earth bed.

     "Hmm? Oh. Ah, the dark green ones are espinac, which is what you were eating yesterday. And Casper? Please take only a few leaves from each plant at a time. They are not full grown yet and so will grow more leaves if you let them."