The Red Winged Angels
https://i.imgur.com/3eQeK08.png *EDIT: This story has it's own blog now.... The Red Winged Angels Table of Contents (in spoiler): [ Spoiler ]
Forum Discussion
CHAPTER 4 - CHILDHOOD
4.1 - The Rainbow Gemstones
https://i.imgur.com/0VUHFg5.png
Kent – Dom som försvann
Now, Aaron wouldn't start school immediately after his birthday, but have his first school day towards the end of the dry season, or in mid-august, as it usually is called. So he does have some days to simply enjoy the dry season before he starts.
https://i.imgur.com/0vRDyHP.jpg
Good morning Aaron! Momma went to bed very late last night, so she will be sleeping for a good while still. Which means that you will have the house "to yourself" for some hours, that is, as long as you can avoid waking up mom.
https://i.imgur.com/GHmAK1H.jpg
Oh yes, grab the last piece of left over cake for breakfast. Well, it is yours, so have at it!
https://i.imgur.com/lSoLBJ3.jpg
Isaac is almost 10 and a half years old, 4 and half years older than you, so he is not so lucky. He has to go to school.
https://i.imgur.com/PLUWli2.jpg
I think mommy should get an easier time and be a little happier now that her second youngest son can be more self-sufficient and even help out around the house.
https://i.imgur.com/TlfvMA4.jpg
Natalie woke-up at almost half past two this "morning".... Good day, Natalie! Rise and shine...
https://i.imgur.com/F90RDBw.jpg
And Natalie does one of the things Natalie does best. Playing around with kids toys...
https://i.imgur.com/jIq00Ua.jpg
Now that Aaron had gotten older, he had become a bit of a caretaker for Billy. They had always had a close relationship when both of them were toddlers, due to their shared experience of being so poorly looked after by their own biological mother... and how none of them have never really had the experience of having their father nearby. It has always been worse for Billy, though, because to Natalie he has most of the time been treated like a toy, rather than a child...
The way she would nurture Billy looked a lot more like a little girl playing with her toy doll, rather than an actual mother taking care of a child...
And what happens to a kid if you leave it alone in the dark for to long? Their imagination starts running, and the faintest sound becomes an omen of something terrible. An unseen monster lurking in the dark; hiding under the bed, in the closet, or waiting tenaciously for you outside your bedroom door when you want to go downstairs to use the toilet at night...
https://i.imgur.com/Pmslo4Z.jpg
Aaron: I just hope there aren't any monsters under mama's bed..
https://i.imgur.com/ET6exVo.jpg
Aaron: Monsters! I knew it! I can't believe I slept in there!!
https://i.imgur.com/HDueYbG.jpg
.....
https://i.imgur.com/FueOXi1.jpg
Natalie:Hrmmph! He's sitting there playing with that stupid plush toy thing he got from.. I don't even remember who gave it to him, some stupid distant relative..
Oh, these children and their imagination. That's just one of Natalies weird stories again. She has completely denied and repressed that she was the one that gave birth to Billy five summers ago...
https://i.imgur.com/CG8leuX.jpg
"Oh, that toy, he came to me as a package in the mailbox" is what she would tell herself. And she had contemplated getting rid of him, but didn't dare to go there..
....did she really want to give birth to a child she had not planned for, and that came from her one off affair with her boss at work? She was in on it then, because she thought it was a good way to get a promotion to fulfill her lifetime wish a little faster.. and instead she got this.. a ruined reputation in her former workplace and a child she never wanted....
https://i.imgur.com/zpCduLW.jpg
Natalie: Get out of the way Aaron, I need to take a shower!
https://i.imgur.com/RKQWai9.jpg
Aaron: I want to host a tea party for the teddy bear, but I there is not enough space where I want to do it..
Sigh.. well, then you're just going to have to find another space.. there is enough room, stop being so darn stupid... :P
https://i.imgur.com/LLLDM7f.jpg
Well, he figured it out..
https://i.imgur.com/AQeX6La.jpg
Well, that was a new one. I guess Aaron and the toilet (?) won't become best friends any time soon!
https://i.imgur.com/Ho22BWR.jpg
Natalie: I need to use the toilet, but there he is blocking my path again playing with that silly toy..
https://i.imgur.com/aS61N4R.jpg
Natalie: Aaron, go do something sensible such as improving your skills instead of playing with that stupid toy everywhere, or I will take it from you!
https://i.imgur.com/mUq8B7w.jpg
Later in the evening, Aaron was playing tag with mama in the backyard.
https://i.imgur.com/f6UicCi.jpg
Natalie: Tag! You're it!
https://i.imgur.com/Iql09V9.jpg
Aaron: Mom.. can we buy a dollhouse?
https://i.imgur.com/VaXJCHI.jpg
Natalie: Hmm...
https://i.imgur.com/LcpIUFN.jpg
Aaron: Please, mommy, please.
https://i.imgur.com/MSMn3no.jpg
Natalie: Ok, Aaron.. we can go to Sir Duncan's Treasures and get one tomorrow.. now, let's go inside and get something to eat. It's getting late.
https://i.imgur.com/sZhYHJH.jpg
Aaron: Just don't take me to the swimming pool, mom.
https://i.imgur.com/cGD8RvE.jpg
Aaron: I'm afraid I will drown and die if I go there.
Hmm. That was random. Anyway...
Sir Duncan's Treasures is a toy store (with some other kids related items) on the second floor up from the Misterious Bookstore downtown, just across the river.
So, the next day they went there, like momma had promised.
https://i.imgur.com/T7KJl8f.jpg
Oh, come on.. smile a little! You're going to the toy store kids, not a funeral!
https://i.imgur.com/FsEubBd.jpg
Aaron: Hmm.. so this is where we can buy a dollhouse?
https://i.imgur.com/FR5oxqK.jpg
Natalie: Follow me, Aaron. The toy store is upstairs.
https://i.imgur.com/i6y5vKB.jpg
Aaron: Wooow, look at all those toys. Do they have doll houses here, mommy?
https://i.imgur.com/FwF4ixV.jpg
Natalie: Yes, the dollhouses are over there to our left. You can pick one of them, and we will go downstairs to pay.
https://i.imgur.com/qgnSVho.jpg
Aaron: Oooh, thanks mom! You're the greatest!
https://i.imgur.com/RBjqY9S.jpg
Aaron: I want this one with the blue roof! Can I have it mom?
https://i.imgur.com/scCu92t.jpg
Natalie: Of course, Aaron. Now let momma carry it downstairs, so we can pay for it and take it home.
After taking the dollhouse home, Natalie had to go to work. When Isaac came home from school, he decided to share one of those weird stories with Aaron.
https://i.imgur.com/7LnU0W5.jpg
Isaac: So there was this little baby girl that was born many many years ago.
https://i.imgur.com/i7ZNPpV.jpg
Isaac: And she had two parents, and they were both married to each other.
https://i.imgur.com/j6rc3Ow.jpg
Isaac: And they loved each other very much, but they loved their baby daughter even more.
Hmm, this is a bit different than usual.. I guess you're mixing up your mom's stories with others you have heard around town. Or imagining things. Like wishful thinking, maybe.
https://i.imgur.com/kC96WxL.jpg
Isaac: But then one night, a unicorn came to their house.
Oh no, here it comes..
https://i.imgur.com/yw7KCPv.jpg
Isaac: And he ate all the leaves from their garden trees!
Really? Was that it? Well, ok then.. :P
https://i.imgur.com/C19pSw7.jpg
Then the boys play tag with each other outside.
https://i.imgur.com/D5FBGSB.jpg
And as they were doing so, it was time for Billy to age up. He was now six years old, and soon of age to begin school.. of course Natalie never thought about having a birthday party for him, because even if she was childish, she wasn't childish enough to throw parties for her toys...
https://i.imgur.com/SjMBw9l.jpg
..but she would have to acknowledge that he was getting older...
https://i.imgur.com/dPnJlpR.jpg
Aaron continued playing tag with Billy.
https://i.imgur.com/xlWfW4Q.jpg
Natalie had done her best to instill in her children the same weird stories that she had come to believe in, which left in particular Isaac very confused. "Mommy says he is just a toy, but he is just like me and Aaron. He is kind of stupid, though and he doesn't talk very well".
https://i.imgur.com/BITLLEB.jpg
Not so strange, because everything Billy knew, he had to learn by himself, and his exposure to anyone but Aaron and Natalie was extremely limited. No one ever taught him to walk, talk or use the potty...
Isaac didn't understand Billy. He thought he was weird, and that Natalie probably had adopted him from somewhere.
https://i.imgur.com/p2DmcSr.jpg
Aaron: Once upon time there was a little baby girl...
https://i.imgur.com/YuoW9Dx.jpg
Aaron:.. and she got a teddy bear as a gift from a far away grandmother.
https://i.imgur.com/INhwGZM.jpg
Aaron: And the baby girl loved the gift very much. It was the best gift she had ever gotten.
Hmm.... but why are these stories almost always about a baby girl? Who is that baby girl you're always talking about!?
https://i.imgur.com/dNhRLB6.jpg
Aaron has the night owl trait, and had spent the entire night playing tag with Billy outside, and didn't go to bed until daybreak. So when everyone else was up and ready, Aaron was still in bed, sound asleep...
Natalie hadn't bothered to buy a bed for Billy, but he had tried his best to make one out of the dirty clothes lying around, which their certainly was no shortage of in this home..
And poor Billy would still sometimes think of himself as only a "toy" that was unable to take care of himself, which typically rendered him immobile whenever he was in his "mental toy state". He had become so brainwashed, literally, that in his world, he sometimes became this toy his mother always had told him he was...
https://i.imgur.com/ttTKdMk.jpg
And finally Aaron woke up, at almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon..
Billy saw Aaron as his best friend because he was the only one that seemed to care for him when he was in his toy state, and so he would always follow him around, sometimes to Aarons annoyance. Aaron was what had kept him alive by sharing his bottle of milk with him everytime his mom had forgotten about him...
https://i.imgur.com/eOUxTei.jpg
Aaron: Get out of here, Billy! I want to take a shower, you don't have to follow me everywhere!
https://i.imgur.com/wgZZZLS.jpg
Then I let the day and night pass whilst rotating through a few other households in town to fix some minor issues. When I return to Natalies household the next morning, I find Aaron outside the Solebant second hand store. To his left is Samira Mørch-Engebakken, an angel-werewolf hybrid.
https://i.imgur.com/5DctuGW.jpg
Mom was still in bed sleeping, and Isaac was just about to go home from a nearby graveyard after pretending to be an austronaut visiting a different planet.
https://i.imgur.com/iZlRkdh.jpg
Inside the second hand store Samiras parents, Line (angel) and Eric (werewolf) Mørch-Engebakken is having an argument about whether or not they should buy the family a dog. Eric, the werewolf, really wanted one, but Line put her foot down and said no. There was enough fur in the house already, they didn't need more in her opinion.
https://i.imgur.com/w70bwOb.jpg
Samira hopefully hears none of her parents arguing when she is outside doing her homework.
https://i.imgur.com/iwalObR.jpg
Then Aaron realizes he is hungry, and heads home. His thought bubble indicates he wants attention from either mom or dad.
(Well, you know where the refrigerator is.. you can help yourself this time!)
https://i.imgur.com/9xdDs7n.jpg
Natalie: Just the other day I had my five year anniversary at the Zombie Restaurant, and they gave me a hefty bonus! Now I can buy something expensive, but I am not sure what to buy. Do you have any ideas Aaron?
https://i.imgur.com/eXmowCn.jpg
Aaron: Congratulations on that bonus, mom! They must really like the food you're making!
https://i.imgur.com/uVZe7bx.jpg
Aaron, Aaron.. you just wasted a brilliant chance of wishing for something expensive! Don't you want anything.. furniture for your room? Toys? Really?
https://i.imgur.com/BoplNMe.jpg
Aaron hasn't even once played with the dollhouse he himself wished to get.. but Natalie has sure found it! Let's just hope she won't end up destroying this one too some time down the road..
https://i.imgur.com/BBLtRDD.jpg
Aaron is most of the time to caught up with taking care of Billy to have time to care about much else...
https://i.imgur.com/YgdmXw1.jpg
Hmm, I wasn't expecting to see that. Isaac had gone to bed much earlier than Aaron, so he woke up fully rested basically in the middle of the night to go to Aarons room and play with Billy.
https://i.imgur.com/MFUpcbd.jpg
He spent the rest of the night.. resting in the rocking chair.
https://i.imgur.com/LG7MJwO.jpg
The day before Aarons first day of school was leisure day, so everyone had the day off.
Natalie had received a letter in the mail that day from the Philosophical Center. They had somehow heard about Billy and his close relationship with Aaron, and thus wanted him to find some rainbow gemstones to make an elixir to "bring him to life" as they called it.
https://i.imgur.com/o1Z8kVC.jpg
Aaron didn't know where to find a rainbow gemstone, but he had noticed a few strange rocks lying about on the neighbours lot, so he went there to pick them up.
Aaron did not know what type of stones they were, so he went inside and gave them to mom.
https://i.imgur.com/gq4egKS.jpg
Aaron: Mom, I found these two stones outside.. are the rainbow gemstones?
Natalie: Hmm, probably not. They look like space rocks to me.
https://i.imgur.com/Vynb1tH.jpg
Aaron: Do you know where I can find rainbow gemstones, then mom?
Natalie: Sorry, Aaron. I can't be of much help there.. maybe someone at the Philosophical Centre can help you with that. I suggest you go there and ask.
Aaron: Ok, can we go there mom?
https://i.imgur.com/d9PVMEl.jpg
Natalie: Sure, I'll take you there.
https://i.imgur.com/mMz6KnL.jpg
Picture: The Philosophical Centre.
https://i.imgur.com/uYfgA0Y.jpg
Dr. Tristam P. Calami: Hi miss, how can we help you?
https://i.imgur.com/SzhCg53.jpg
Natalie: We received a letter today about my other s... about Billy, my son Aarons little plush toy, and were told to locate some rainbow gemstones to make him come alive. You wouldn't happen to know where we can find something like that?
https://i.imgur.com/b3BYdPk.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Aahh, you must be Natalie Goth, young Aarons mother. You can call us Dr. Tristam.
He pauses for a while as if thinking up what to say next.
Dr. Tristam:Well, to answer your question.. not really. We are in the process of mapping gemstones all over town, but so far we have not located any rainbow gemstones.
https://i.imgur.com/c4Tm3Oj.jpg
Natalie: And yet you would ask my son to find one and bring it to you... if you can't find it, what makes you think he will? He's just a kid, he hasn't even started school yet!
https://i.imgur.com/PA7XhyY.jpg
Dr. Tristam: We can understand your questioning Miss Goth, and surely we will be more than happy to aid him in the search. We have something for you.. if you would follow us into the next room.
https://i.imgur.com/KU6DCoX.jpg
Dr. Tristam: It may not look like much, but the small item on the table behind us could help you. We call it a collection helper. On it, we have installed a map of the entire town and surrounding areas, and using our very own Finders Technology, it will point you in the direction of any collectible type of object you choose, such as rocks and stones.
https://i.imgur.com/dnsPiqz.jpg
Natalie: So it will tell me where to find rainbow gemstones?
https://i.imgur.com/XrcJIdN.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Well, not excactly. We haven't been able to fine tune it to that level yet. It can only point you to where stones are, but to find out if it is the stone you seek, you will unfortunately have to go there yourself. But rest assured, we are looking into it!
https://i.imgur.com/Q4bpPqN.jpg
Natalie: But you must have some inkling of where they are most likely to be?
https://i.imgur.com/x3irlze.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Yeah, uhmm.. you are probably better off starting maybe around the Forest of Illusion by the Deathfish Pond, and then moving up towards Harlequin Forest and possibly around the cliffs up there. That is as far as we have come. If those rainbow gems are anywhere to be found, it must be up there somewhere.
https://i.imgur.com/wXIqqIz.jpg
Dr. Tristam: That is as much as we can tell you for the time being..
https://i.imgur.com/hCEP6cU.jpg
Natalie: Ok, well, we might go up there and have a look later, and if we find a stone we will bring it here.
https://i.imgur.com/AAluZ7V.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Splendid, Miss Goth! But don't forget to pick up the collection helper on the way out.
https://i.imgur.com/C8c6RnQ.jpg
Natalie: Alright, come along Aaron! We're going home! You're going to start school tomorrow, and we will probably have a long week ahead of us if we are going to find those gemstones...
....
4.1 - The Rainbow Gemstones
https://i.imgur.com/0VUHFg5.png
Kent – Dom som försvann
Spoiler
Jag har bränt mina skivor
Eldat upp dina brev
Och askan ligger i drivor
Solstickepojken han ler
Han bönar och ber
Tänd eld på dina tankar
Med dina svarta tysta tårar
Och vi vet och du vet
allt tar slut
Långsamt genom rummet
går hon ut
Kent - Those who disappeared
I have burnt my records
Set fire to your letters
And the ashes lie in drifts
The matchstick boy, he laughs
He pleads and prays
Set fire to your thoughts
With your black silent tears
And we know, and you know
Everything comes to an end
Slowly through the room
She walks out
Jag har bränt mina skivor
Eldat upp dina brev
Och askan ligger i drivor
Solstickepojken han ler
Han bönar och ber
Tänd eld på dina tankar
Med dina svarta tysta tårar
Och vi vet och du vet
allt tar slut
Långsamt genom rummet
går hon ut
Kent - Those who disappeared
I have burnt my records
Set fire to your letters
And the ashes lie in drifts
The matchstick boy, he laughs
He pleads and prays
Set fire to your thoughts
With your black silent tears
And we know, and you know
Everything comes to an end
Slowly through the room
She walks out
Now, Aaron wouldn't start school immediately after his birthday, but have his first school day towards the end of the dry season, or in mid-august, as it usually is called. So he does have some days to simply enjoy the dry season before he starts.
https://i.imgur.com/0vRDyHP.jpg
Good morning Aaron! Momma went to bed very late last night, so she will be sleeping for a good while still. Which means that you will have the house "to yourself" for some hours, that is, as long as you can avoid waking up mom.
https://i.imgur.com/GHmAK1H.jpg
Oh yes, grab the last piece of left over cake for breakfast. Well, it is yours, so have at it!
https://i.imgur.com/lSoLBJ3.jpg
Isaac is almost 10 and a half years old, 4 and half years older than you, so he is not so lucky. He has to go to school.
https://i.imgur.com/PLUWli2.jpg
I think mommy should get an easier time and be a little happier now that her second youngest son can be more self-sufficient and even help out around the house.
https://i.imgur.com/TlfvMA4.jpg
Natalie woke-up at almost half past two this "morning".... Good day, Natalie! Rise and shine...
https://i.imgur.com/F90RDBw.jpg
And Natalie does one of the things Natalie does best. Playing around with kids toys...
https://i.imgur.com/jIq00Ua.jpg
Now that Aaron had gotten older, he had become a bit of a caretaker for Billy. They had always had a close relationship when both of them were toddlers, due to their shared experience of being so poorly looked after by their own biological mother... and how none of them have never really had the experience of having their father nearby. It has always been worse for Billy, though, because to Natalie he has most of the time been treated like a toy, rather than a child...
The way she would nurture Billy looked a lot more like a little girl playing with her toy doll, rather than an actual mother taking care of a child...
And what happens to a kid if you leave it alone in the dark for to long? Their imagination starts running, and the faintest sound becomes an omen of something terrible. An unseen monster lurking in the dark; hiding under the bed, in the closet, or waiting tenaciously for you outside your bedroom door when you want to go downstairs to use the toilet at night...
https://i.imgur.com/Pmslo4Z.jpg
Aaron: I just hope there aren't any monsters under mama's bed..
https://i.imgur.com/ET6exVo.jpg
Aaron: Monsters! I knew it! I can't believe I slept in there!!
https://i.imgur.com/HDueYbG.jpg
.....
https://i.imgur.com/FueOXi1.jpg
Natalie:Hrmmph! He's sitting there playing with that stupid plush toy thing he got from.. I don't even remember who gave it to him, some stupid distant relative..
Oh, these children and their imagination. That's just one of Natalies weird stories again. She has completely denied and repressed that she was the one that gave birth to Billy five summers ago...
https://i.imgur.com/CG8leuX.jpg
"Oh, that toy, he came to me as a package in the mailbox" is what she would tell herself. And she had contemplated getting rid of him, but didn't dare to go there..
....did she really want to give birth to a child she had not planned for, and that came from her one off affair with her boss at work? She was in on it then, because she thought it was a good way to get a promotion to fulfill her lifetime wish a little faster.. and instead she got this.. a ruined reputation in her former workplace and a child she never wanted....
https://i.imgur.com/zpCduLW.jpg
Natalie: Get out of the way Aaron, I need to take a shower!
https://i.imgur.com/RKQWai9.jpg
Aaron: I want to host a tea party for the teddy bear, but I there is not enough space where I want to do it..
Sigh.. well, then you're just going to have to find another space.. there is enough room, stop being so darn stupid... :P
https://i.imgur.com/LLLDM7f.jpg
Well, he figured it out..
https://i.imgur.com/AQeX6La.jpg
Well, that was a new one. I guess Aaron and the toilet (?) won't become best friends any time soon!
https://i.imgur.com/Ho22BWR.jpg
Natalie: I need to use the toilet, but there he is blocking my path again playing with that silly toy..
https://i.imgur.com/aS61N4R.jpg
Natalie: Aaron, go do something sensible such as improving your skills instead of playing with that stupid toy everywhere, or I will take it from you!
https://i.imgur.com/mUq8B7w.jpg
Later in the evening, Aaron was playing tag with mama in the backyard.
https://i.imgur.com/f6UicCi.jpg
Natalie: Tag! You're it!
https://i.imgur.com/Iql09V9.jpg
Aaron: Mom.. can we buy a dollhouse?
https://i.imgur.com/VaXJCHI.jpg
Natalie: Hmm...
https://i.imgur.com/LcpIUFN.jpg
Aaron: Please, mommy, please.
https://i.imgur.com/MSMn3no.jpg
Natalie: Ok, Aaron.. we can go to Sir Duncan's Treasures and get one tomorrow.. now, let's go inside and get something to eat. It's getting late.
https://i.imgur.com/sZhYHJH.jpg
Aaron: Just don't take me to the swimming pool, mom.
https://i.imgur.com/cGD8RvE.jpg
Aaron: I'm afraid I will drown and die if I go there.
Hmm. That was random. Anyway...
Sir Duncan's Treasures is a toy store (with some other kids related items) on the second floor up from the Misterious Bookstore downtown, just across the river.
So, the next day they went there, like momma had promised.
https://i.imgur.com/T7KJl8f.jpg
Oh, come on.. smile a little! You're going to the toy store kids, not a funeral!
https://i.imgur.com/FsEubBd.jpg
Aaron: Hmm.. so this is where we can buy a dollhouse?
https://i.imgur.com/FR5oxqK.jpg
Natalie: Follow me, Aaron. The toy store is upstairs.
https://i.imgur.com/i6y5vKB.jpg
Aaron: Wooow, look at all those toys. Do they have doll houses here, mommy?
https://i.imgur.com/FwF4ixV.jpg
Natalie: Yes, the dollhouses are over there to our left. You can pick one of them, and we will go downstairs to pay.
https://i.imgur.com/qgnSVho.jpg
Aaron: Oooh, thanks mom! You're the greatest!
https://i.imgur.com/RBjqY9S.jpg
Aaron: I want this one with the blue roof! Can I have it mom?
https://i.imgur.com/scCu92t.jpg
Natalie: Of course, Aaron. Now let momma carry it downstairs, so we can pay for it and take it home.
After taking the dollhouse home, Natalie had to go to work. When Isaac came home from school, he decided to share one of those weird stories with Aaron.
https://i.imgur.com/7LnU0W5.jpg
Isaac: So there was this little baby girl that was born many many years ago.
https://i.imgur.com/i7ZNPpV.jpg
Isaac: And she had two parents, and they were both married to each other.
https://i.imgur.com/j6rc3Ow.jpg
Isaac: And they loved each other very much, but they loved their baby daughter even more.
Hmm, this is a bit different than usual.. I guess you're mixing up your mom's stories with others you have heard around town. Or imagining things. Like wishful thinking, maybe.
https://i.imgur.com/kC96WxL.jpg
Isaac: But then one night, a unicorn came to their house.
Oh no, here it comes..
https://i.imgur.com/yw7KCPv.jpg
Isaac: And he ate all the leaves from their garden trees!
Really? Was that it? Well, ok then.. :P
https://i.imgur.com/C19pSw7.jpg
Then the boys play tag with each other outside.
https://i.imgur.com/D5FBGSB.jpg
And as they were doing so, it was time for Billy to age up. He was now six years old, and soon of age to begin school.. of course Natalie never thought about having a birthday party for him, because even if she was childish, she wasn't childish enough to throw parties for her toys...
https://i.imgur.com/SjMBw9l.jpg
..but she would have to acknowledge that he was getting older...
https://i.imgur.com/dPnJlpR.jpg
Aaron continued playing tag with Billy.
https://i.imgur.com/xlWfW4Q.jpg
Natalie had done her best to instill in her children the same weird stories that she had come to believe in, which left in particular Isaac very confused. "Mommy says he is just a toy, but he is just like me and Aaron. He is kind of stupid, though and he doesn't talk very well".
https://i.imgur.com/BITLLEB.jpg
Not so strange, because everything Billy knew, he had to learn by himself, and his exposure to anyone but Aaron and Natalie was extremely limited. No one ever taught him to walk, talk or use the potty...
Isaac didn't understand Billy. He thought he was weird, and that Natalie probably had adopted him from somewhere.
https://i.imgur.com/p2DmcSr.jpg
Aaron: Once upon time there was a little baby girl...
https://i.imgur.com/YuoW9Dx.jpg
Aaron:.. and she got a teddy bear as a gift from a far away grandmother.
https://i.imgur.com/INhwGZM.jpg
Aaron: And the baby girl loved the gift very much. It was the best gift she had ever gotten.
Hmm.... but why are these stories almost always about a baby girl? Who is that baby girl you're always talking about!?
https://i.imgur.com/dNhRLB6.jpg
Aaron has the night owl trait, and had spent the entire night playing tag with Billy outside, and didn't go to bed until daybreak. So when everyone else was up and ready, Aaron was still in bed, sound asleep...
Natalie hadn't bothered to buy a bed for Billy, but he had tried his best to make one out of the dirty clothes lying around, which their certainly was no shortage of in this home..
And poor Billy would still sometimes think of himself as only a "toy" that was unable to take care of himself, which typically rendered him immobile whenever he was in his "mental toy state". He had become so brainwashed, literally, that in his world, he sometimes became this toy his mother always had told him he was...
https://i.imgur.com/ttTKdMk.jpg
And finally Aaron woke up, at almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon..
Billy saw Aaron as his best friend because he was the only one that seemed to care for him when he was in his toy state, and so he would always follow him around, sometimes to Aarons annoyance. Aaron was what had kept him alive by sharing his bottle of milk with him everytime his mom had forgotten about him...
https://i.imgur.com/eOUxTei.jpg
Aaron: Get out of here, Billy! I want to take a shower, you don't have to follow me everywhere!
https://i.imgur.com/wgZZZLS.jpg
Then I let the day and night pass whilst rotating through a few other households in town to fix some minor issues. When I return to Natalies household the next morning, I find Aaron outside the Solebant second hand store. To his left is Samira Mørch-Engebakken, an angel-werewolf hybrid.
https://i.imgur.com/5DctuGW.jpg
Mom was still in bed sleeping, and Isaac was just about to go home from a nearby graveyard after pretending to be an austronaut visiting a different planet.
https://i.imgur.com/iZlRkdh.jpg
Inside the second hand store Samiras parents, Line (angel) and Eric (werewolf) Mørch-Engebakken is having an argument about whether or not they should buy the family a dog. Eric, the werewolf, really wanted one, but Line put her foot down and said no. There was enough fur in the house already, they didn't need more in her opinion.
https://i.imgur.com/w70bwOb.jpg
Samira hopefully hears none of her parents arguing when she is outside doing her homework.
https://i.imgur.com/iwalObR.jpg
Then Aaron realizes he is hungry, and heads home. His thought bubble indicates he wants attention from either mom or dad.
(Well, you know where the refrigerator is.. you can help yourself this time!)
https://i.imgur.com/9xdDs7n.jpg
Natalie: Just the other day I had my five year anniversary at the Zombie Restaurant, and they gave me a hefty bonus! Now I can buy something expensive, but I am not sure what to buy. Do you have any ideas Aaron?
https://i.imgur.com/eXmowCn.jpg
Aaron: Congratulations on that bonus, mom! They must really like the food you're making!
https://i.imgur.com/uVZe7bx.jpg
Aaron, Aaron.. you just wasted a brilliant chance of wishing for something expensive! Don't you want anything.. furniture for your room? Toys? Really?
https://i.imgur.com/BoplNMe.jpg
Aaron hasn't even once played with the dollhouse he himself wished to get.. but Natalie has sure found it! Let's just hope she won't end up destroying this one too some time down the road..
https://i.imgur.com/BBLtRDD.jpg
Aaron is most of the time to caught up with taking care of Billy to have time to care about much else...
https://i.imgur.com/YgdmXw1.jpg
Hmm, I wasn't expecting to see that. Isaac had gone to bed much earlier than Aaron, so he woke up fully rested basically in the middle of the night to go to Aarons room and play with Billy.
https://i.imgur.com/MFUpcbd.jpg
He spent the rest of the night.. resting in the rocking chair.
https://i.imgur.com/LG7MJwO.jpg
The day before Aarons first day of school was leisure day, so everyone had the day off.
Natalie had received a letter in the mail that day from the Philosophical Center. They had somehow heard about Billy and his close relationship with Aaron, and thus wanted him to find some rainbow gemstones to make an elixir to "bring him to life" as they called it.
https://i.imgur.com/o1Z8kVC.jpg
Aaron didn't know where to find a rainbow gemstone, but he had noticed a few strange rocks lying about on the neighbours lot, so he went there to pick them up.
Aaron did not know what type of stones they were, so he went inside and gave them to mom.
https://i.imgur.com/gq4egKS.jpg
Aaron: Mom, I found these two stones outside.. are the rainbow gemstones?
Natalie: Hmm, probably not. They look like space rocks to me.
https://i.imgur.com/Vynb1tH.jpg
Aaron: Do you know where I can find rainbow gemstones, then mom?
Natalie: Sorry, Aaron. I can't be of much help there.. maybe someone at the Philosophical Centre can help you with that. I suggest you go there and ask.
Aaron: Ok, can we go there mom?
https://i.imgur.com/d9PVMEl.jpg
Natalie: Sure, I'll take you there.
https://i.imgur.com/mMz6KnL.jpg
Picture: The Philosophical Centre.
https://i.imgur.com/uYfgA0Y.jpg
Dr. Tristam P. Calami: Hi miss, how can we help you?
https://i.imgur.com/SzhCg53.jpg
Natalie: We received a letter today about my other s... about Billy, my son Aarons little plush toy, and were told to locate some rainbow gemstones to make him come alive. You wouldn't happen to know where we can find something like that?
https://i.imgur.com/b3BYdPk.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Aahh, you must be Natalie Goth, young Aarons mother. You can call us Dr. Tristam.
He pauses for a while as if thinking up what to say next.
Dr. Tristam:Well, to answer your question.. not really. We are in the process of mapping gemstones all over town, but so far we have not located any rainbow gemstones.
https://i.imgur.com/c4Tm3Oj.jpg
Natalie: And yet you would ask my son to find one and bring it to you... if you can't find it, what makes you think he will? He's just a kid, he hasn't even started school yet!
https://i.imgur.com/PA7XhyY.jpg
Dr. Tristam: We can understand your questioning Miss Goth, and surely we will be more than happy to aid him in the search. We have something for you.. if you would follow us into the next room.
https://i.imgur.com/KU6DCoX.jpg
Dr. Tristam: It may not look like much, but the small item on the table behind us could help you. We call it a collection helper. On it, we have installed a map of the entire town and surrounding areas, and using our very own Finders Technology, it will point you in the direction of any collectible type of object you choose, such as rocks and stones.
https://i.imgur.com/dnsPiqz.jpg
Natalie: So it will tell me where to find rainbow gemstones?
https://i.imgur.com/XrcJIdN.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Well, not excactly. We haven't been able to fine tune it to that level yet. It can only point you to where stones are, but to find out if it is the stone you seek, you will unfortunately have to go there yourself. But rest assured, we are looking into it!
https://i.imgur.com/Q4bpPqN.jpg
Natalie: But you must have some inkling of where they are most likely to be?
https://i.imgur.com/x3irlze.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Yeah, uhmm.. you are probably better off starting maybe around the Forest of Illusion by the Deathfish Pond, and then moving up towards Harlequin Forest and possibly around the cliffs up there. That is as far as we have come. If those rainbow gems are anywhere to be found, it must be up there somewhere.
https://i.imgur.com/wXIqqIz.jpg
Dr. Tristam: That is as much as we can tell you for the time being..
https://i.imgur.com/hCEP6cU.jpg
Natalie: Ok, well, we might go up there and have a look later, and if we find a stone we will bring it here.
https://i.imgur.com/AAluZ7V.jpg
Dr. Tristam: Splendid, Miss Goth! But don't forget to pick up the collection helper on the way out.
https://i.imgur.com/C8c6RnQ.jpg
Natalie: Alright, come along Aaron! We're going home! You're going to start school tomorrow, and we will probably have a long week ahead of us if we are going to find those gemstones...
....
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