Nana's reasoning made sense. Still, Phobius could only stare down at the enticing chink of bread and frown a little, the fear of sinking into even deeper trouble keeping him conflicted. But then the woman gave him a nudge with her foot, and it was enough of an encouragement for him to push aside his anxieties and doubts. Picking the bread up from his lap, Phobius lifted it to his mouth, then paused and glanced at the woman's face before taking a big, grateful bite.
He continued to eat as she talked, his curious amber eyes attentively set on her own. Since he'd suspected as much, he wasn't too surprised to hear that her own shadow had run away, though it did raise an bigger question: were they the only two people who'd been abandoned by their silhouettes, or was it happening to others, too? Was the entire city chasing after their own shadows?
The old men that'd been arguing didn't seem like they'd lost theirs. Or maybe they had, but instead of panicking they'd decided to sit down and talk about it. A reasonable thing to do, but Phobius doubted that he'd be able to do the same, if he were one of them.
The boy's smile widened a bit when Nana said that she'd keep him from being caught. Then she got up and came over, and all of a sudden he felt her arms wrap around him, pulling him into a hug. At first Phobius didn't know what to make of it, unconsciously flinching at her touch, as though he feared that she would try and hurt him. Half a tick later he was at ease, again, and let himself sink into her hold; she was comfortingly warm, and had bent down just enough for the boy to be able to rest his cheek on her shoulder, if only for a moment.
Like most if not all Inartans, Phobius was beyond comfortable with physical contact, to a point that would ward off some who were less-receptive . Even so, he was usually the one to go around and give hugs; people didn't usually tend to give him one.
All in all, it was a really pleasant surprise. So much so that Phobius almost selfishly wished that Nana had held him a bit longer when she finally drew back, announcing that they should get back to their search. And as much as he had enjoyed the hug, he had to admit that she was right. By now, their shadows had probably had enough time to find the nearest exit and flee the building. That, or they were still running around and doing things that living shadows liked to do. Nodding in agreement, Phobius un-crossed his legs and got to his feet, wobbling a bit as he regained his balance. Then he trotted over to the pantry door and pressed his ear against it, listening for the sounds of bickering or nearby footsteps.
What he heard was absolutely nothing. The floor they were on seemed like it was empty. Figuring that it was safe to head out, now, Phobius slowly eased the door open with his shoulder and stepped out into what he'd mentally dubbed the mens' sitting room. "Do you think they're still in the house...?" he thought aloud, looking around at the scattered books and papers that littered the floor.
Personally, the boy wasn't so sure, but he began to search the room anyway, getting down on his knees to peek under couches and accent tables. There were plenty of shadows in the room, but none of them were the ones that they were looking for...which was pretty confusing, considering that the place was full of stuff, and some of that stuff just happened to be in a shape that managed to resemble a person.
Phobius sighed after a while, feeling none-too-hopeful about the situation. It wouldn't be long before those old men came back, having looked through the rest of their house for the stowaways only to find no one. Staying around for too long wasn't a good idea.
Just then, movement flickered off to his left. Startled, the boy turned his head, only to see what looked like a woman's silhouette leaning out from the shadow of one of the couches. It was a mystery as to who'd spotted whom first, but the shadow quickly shrunk away, only to dart out into the open a moment later and go running underneath Phobius' feet. He jumped and balanced himself on one foot.
"There! The door!" the boy shouted, pointing at the fleeing creature as it vanished out the door. Another shadow followed closely behind it, and he assumed that it was his own, which would make the first one Nana's, wouldn't it?
...come to think of it, it kind of seemed like Nana's shadow had been running about with his ever since he'd met that dog, a while ago.
Not knowing what else to do, Phobius took a few steps toward the door.
Out of seemingly nowhere, another mass of shadows appeared and reached it before he did, jumping and running as if they were beyond happy to be free.
Confused shouts sounded somewhere behind him, and Phobius turned to see the group of old men having run up behind him. Spotting their intruders, they brought themselves to a halt, though most of their attention appeared to be set on the figures that'd just ran out the door.
Uh oh...
OOCI hope you know what you've done, now.
At some point, Pho's gonna accidentally call her "Mama" instead of "Nana" and I won't regret it. XD
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.
He continued to eat as she talked, his curious amber eyes attentively set on her own. Since he'd suspected as much, he wasn't too surprised to hear that her own shadow had run away, though it did raise an bigger question: were they the only two people who'd been abandoned by their silhouettes, or was it happening to others, too? Was the entire city chasing after their own shadows?
The old men that'd been arguing didn't seem like they'd lost theirs. Or maybe they had, but instead of panicking they'd decided to sit down and talk about it. A reasonable thing to do, but Phobius doubted that he'd be able to do the same, if he were one of them.
The boy's smile widened a bit when Nana said that she'd keep him from being caught. Then she got up and came over, and all of a sudden he felt her arms wrap around him, pulling him into a hug. At first Phobius didn't know what to make of it, unconsciously flinching at her touch, as though he feared that she would try and hurt him. Half a tick later he was at ease, again, and let himself sink into her hold; she was comfortingly warm, and had bent down just enough for the boy to be able to rest his cheek on her shoulder, if only for a moment.
Like most if not all Inartans, Phobius was beyond comfortable with physical contact, to a point that would ward off some who were less-receptive . Even so, he was usually the one to go around and give hugs; people didn't usually tend to give him one.
All in all, it was a really pleasant surprise. So much so that Phobius almost selfishly wished that Nana had held him a bit longer when she finally drew back, announcing that they should get back to their search. And as much as he had enjoyed the hug, he had to admit that she was right. By now, their shadows had probably had enough time to find the nearest exit and flee the building. That, or they were still running around and doing things that living shadows liked to do. Nodding in agreement, Phobius un-crossed his legs and got to his feet, wobbling a bit as he regained his balance. Then he trotted over to the pantry door and pressed his ear against it, listening for the sounds of bickering or nearby footsteps.
What he heard was absolutely nothing. The floor they were on seemed like it was empty. Figuring that it was safe to head out, now, Phobius slowly eased the door open with his shoulder and stepped out into what he'd mentally dubbed the mens' sitting room. "Do you think they're still in the house...?" he thought aloud, looking around at the scattered books and papers that littered the floor.
Personally, the boy wasn't so sure, but he began to search the room anyway, getting down on his knees to peek under couches and accent tables. There were plenty of shadows in the room, but none of them were the ones that they were looking for...which was pretty confusing, considering that the place was full of stuff, and some of that stuff just happened to be in a shape that managed to resemble a person.
Phobius sighed after a while, feeling none-too-hopeful about the situation. It wouldn't be long before those old men came back, having looked through the rest of their house for the stowaways only to find no one. Staying around for too long wasn't a good idea.
Just then, movement flickered off to his left. Startled, the boy turned his head, only to see what looked like a woman's silhouette leaning out from the shadow of one of the couches. It was a mystery as to who'd spotted whom first, but the shadow quickly shrunk away, only to dart out into the open a moment later and go running underneath Phobius' feet. He jumped and balanced himself on one foot.
"There! The door!" the boy shouted, pointing at the fleeing creature as it vanished out the door. Another shadow followed closely behind it, and he assumed that it was his own, which would make the first one Nana's, wouldn't it?
...come to think of it, it kind of seemed like Nana's shadow had been running about with his ever since he'd met that dog, a while ago.
Not knowing what else to do, Phobius took a few steps toward the door.
Out of seemingly nowhere, another mass of shadows appeared and reached it before he did, jumping and running as if they were beyond happy to be free.
Confused shouts sounded somewhere behind him, and Phobius turned to see the group of old men having run up behind him. Spotting their intruders, they brought themselves to a halt, though most of their attention appeared to be set on the figures that'd just ran out the door.
Uh oh...
OOCI hope you know what you've done, now.
At some point, Pho's gonna accidentally call her "Mama" instead of "Nana" and I won't regret it. XD
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.
