Careful What You Wish For

Glen swallowed, glancing back and forth between the house looming before him and the letter in his hand.

167 Old East Blvd. This was the place.

He glanced at the clock tower on the castle; it was nearly 11:30. He sat down on the curb of the street, resting his head in his hands. Glen couldn't believe it...his missing grandfather had been found.

And he was dead, to boot.

Glen frowned, Just my luck, he thought, looking back at the house. It wasn't extremely large nor was it especially beautiful, but something about it was imposing; something about it made you want to look at it, and then look at it again.

He must have been looking at it for quite some time, because he was snapped back into reality when someone behind them cleared their throat rather loudly.

Glen staggered into a standing position, coming face-to-face with a plainly dressed older man. "Are you Glen Sawyer?" he inquired. He had a no-nonsense air about him tha tmade Glen shift uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Um, yes. Yes, I am." he said, offering a hand.

The man took it, shaking it quickly, "I am sorry for your loss."

Glen nodded slowly. "Y-yeah. How did he...how did he go, exactly?"

The man's eyes revealed nothing. "He was identified by his engraved pocketwatch. A group of children found it in the woods near Kakariko and he..." the man hesitated, "His...body was still attached. He appeared to have been deceased for quite some time and it looks like he had a nasty fall. There doesn't appear to be any signs of foul play..."

Glen nodded again, aware of what the man was implying. "I see," he said simply.

"You're his heir apparent; he had no will, and your mother, she was his only child, I understand. Your parents are, umm..."

"Deceased," Glen finished for him, not wanting to make the man any more uncomfortable than he already was, "They are deceased as well."

The man nodded. "The house and all its contents belong to you. We talked to locals, but no one seemed to know him. He didn't have a home in the area, and we didn't find a house in the woods or anything like that. He never checked into an inn. The only thing we found was this book nearby in a hollow tree. It appears to be a diary of sorts.

Glen took it, "Thanks."

"The deed to the house was inside. It fell out when the book was found."

Glen nodded a third time.

"Again, I'm sorry for your loss."

Glen forced a smile, "Thank you...and thank you for your time."

The man gave a small, brief smile of acknowledgement, then left Glen to himself. The young man stood on the sidewalk for a moment after, before slowly starting down the walkway to the house.

"Home, sweet home..." he mumbled.

"...And he lives right around the corner, here," Tara was explaining to Cis as the latter was led by the hand down the sidewalk.

"Okay," she said sullenly, holding Boof to her chest. "Ehh... Cross the street," she asked softly, freezing at the sight of the official-looking man.

"No problem." Tara nodded once to the approaching man, then crossed the cobblestoned street. "Now then, where was I...?"

"You were... telling me about how blue the sky was yesterday," Cic prompted hopefully, praying that the Wyndryder's birdlike personality would keep her from remembering the previous subject.

"Oh, yeah! It was great! I could see the entire town from way up there, and I was wondering if you were out. I passed over your house, and-- Oh! that's what I was going to tell you about! I saw this guy yesterday, and I wanted you to meet him. It'll be good for you," she said over Cicero's quiet moan. "And he lives right around here."

Cic blinked gloomily. "Oh, goody." Spotting another man-person headed up his walkway, she poked Tara in the arm. "Cross the street again." Please let that not be him. Please... I don't want to meet anyone new today...

It wasn't who Tara was talking about, but she decided to say hello, anyway. She was friendly like that.

"Hello!" Tara greeted from the sidewalk. "You're a new face!"

Cicero stood behind Tara, holding Boof and wishing she could vanish right about now...

Glen glanced up and smiled briefly. His mind was elsewhere, but he spoke nonetheless, "Hello, there. Are you my new neighbors?"

Tara pointed to the girl behind her. "She is, kinda. Down the street, around the corner a bit. Nice to meet you!" She stuck out her hand good-naturedly. "I'm Tara. This is Cicero."

Cis waved timidly, not making eye contact.

But Boof's gaze never left Glen.


{{Haha... Prey.}}

He shook Tara's hand, smiling, "Well, it's a pleasure."

Glen glanced up at the house, sighing quietly, "I'm just about to figure the distance between my new house and my job."

"Oh?" Tara sounded pleasantly interested. "What do you do?"

"I'm a carpenter," he said, smiling, "I do all sorts of woodworking."

Cicero swallowed, blinking several times. "Tara," she said weakly, "I don't want to me rude, but I really need to go now..."

"Are you ill?" he asked, concerned, "I'm sure I can get you some water or something." Glen offered.

Cis smiled as best she could and shook her head, taking a pace backwards. "N-no, thank you. I'm fine, really."

"Oh, um...okay. Do you need help home?"

"No!" she said quickly, a bit more forcefully than she had intended. "I mean, no, thank you. I'm not that far from here; I can find my way. Thank you for offering, though."

Tara watched her cross the street. "...Yeah... That's Cis."

"Is she alright?" he asked, concerned, "I woudln't have minded helping her."

"She's fine," Tara said, nodding. "She's just...--ah, how do I put it?-- insecure in public."

"Oh, well...I'm glad it wasn't anything I said." he said, smiling lopsidedly.

[[*cough*]]

Tara, not one for thinking before speaking, nodded. "Yeah.... except it kinda was... She's not a lover of carpenters, she isn't."

Glen blinked, puzzled, "Oh...oh, um...I'm sorry."

"Mneh.. not your fault, really. Well, okay, kinda. But just a little bit." She shrugged. "So, anyway, this is a nice house you've got, here."

Glen blinked again, "Oh, um...thanks. I have a lot of moving to do...I just um...inherited it."

"Really? That's neat. Who from, if I may ask? And would you like help moving in? I'm sure Cis would help, If I asked." Waving her hands animatedly, she flicked from one subject to another.

"My deceased grandfather. And uhm, I'd hate to impose..." he said.

Tara made a face, waving her hand in the air. "Neh, no trouble at all! Just tell me where, and when, and I'll be there, Cis in tow!"

"Well, I was just um...just checking the place out. I'll start moving things here in a little while...if you're sure you want to help."

"Oh, sure! I'd love to help." Tara nodded, and it was a wonder her head stayed firmly upon her shoulders. "I'll just drop by later, then, okay? Do you mind if I bring Cis along? It'd be good for her. Yeah, I'll do that."

"That's fine...I appreciate it."

So lively...