(Flashback) X Marks the Spot (Bob)

[Aello]

"Well... yeah, unless it opens up into a beach or something somewhere down here. Never been this far down the docks before... not really sure where it leads," Aello replied simply, thinking the answer to such a question rather obvious. A few moments passed in silence as Aello considered the rest of what Bob had said. "Well, in storybooks the treasure is always buried. So, perhaps, once we are standing over the place that corresponds to the "X," we will have to start digging. At least, if we're on solid land. I don't think you can dig through a wooden board without getting splinters... that would be no fun you know," Aello commented as she scrunched up her nose for a moment. "Splinters hurt a lot, and you have to dig at them with a pin to get them out, which just make them hurt even more." There was another slight pause. "So if we're not off the docks when we reach the X, maybe we'll have to dig through a box or something... an old abandoned crate maybe. Surely not the entire dock is being used by the sailors and fishermen," Aello commented as she skipped along, and gave Bob a sidelong glance as when he asked to see the map. Her eyes settled on him for several seconds, as though she were wondering why he would ask such a silly thing. Finally, she handed the map over to him, "just give it back in a minute, 'cuz I wanna be the one to hang onto it... keep it nice and safe for my daddy." OOC*Facedesks* Aello just age by five years, please, for the sake of my sanity. >.< Sorry this post is super awkward.

[Bob Barton]

And at a beach past the docks with all that sand, who was going to dig up the treasure even if no one said it? Yup, Bob already guessed it. A little girl can't be expected to do the menial work, unless he really wanted to be a professional kidnapper and Aello became his first product. So that would be up to Bob who is the biggest person here. While he liked to be bigger than others most of the time, this was the first time it worked to his disadvantage.

"You sound like you experienced the splinters before" Bob said to try and change the subject. Sticking sharp things into flesh always freaked him out. No matter how many times he saw Uncle Marny doing it. Which was why he chucked out the idea of being a doctor as soon as his uncle proposed it.

Bob took the map into his hands and felt the fabric through his hands. It felt very new and pristine. Either it was made overnight and Aello here was playing him for a fool, or her dad really treasures the map. Bob preferred to think it was the latter. It would only mean there is more for him to get at the end of all this. But the writings and markings were just too messy for him to make out straight away. Did her father really make this? "I have no idea what all this is so you better lead the way." Bob sent a suspicious questioning look at Aello while he handed back the map to her. Not knowing what to make of this.

[Aello]

Aello took the map back from Bob instantly, holding the paper tightly in each of her hands, as though it would be blown away any moment now. Or perhaps, she feared that he'd try to take it away again, or that she'd have it only a bit longer. After all, how long could it take for her father to find out what had happened? "Gotten a few," Aello replied simply as she continued skipping along. Increasing her pace ever so slightly. They were nearing the end of the docks now, and Aello could just make out a patch of sand. To her, it would appear a much larger expanse than what Bob saw it to be, as several waves rolled into the beige grains. They seeped into the ground, before being drawn back to sea, darkening the sand in wavy blotches, so it appeared as though it were coffee without milk. The white sea foam the bubbles formed once you started to mix the sugar inside. Excitedly, Aello began to tug on Bob's hand. "Come on! The treasure HAS to be buried somewhere up ahead, on the beach!" Aello exclaimed, as she tried to run towards the sandy beach, dragging Bob along behind her. When she finally reached the sand, Aello could see the shadows of gulls circling its expanse, as they looked for food, calling to one another periodically. The girl's eyes sparkled, a reflection of the sunlight. She held the map up again, hoping that Bob could see it, "so where do you think we should start digging?" she asked excitedly, as she glanced at the map once more; the large, darkened "X" in the top right corner, before casting her gaze out to sea.

[Bob Barton]

He continued on following Aello, even if he was walking rather slowly. He did not share in the spunk and excitement, stuck on thinking if the treasure was real or not. Bob could see the end of the docks now. The wooden ground bordering the sand beyond. Looks like they were going to have to dig into the sand instead of rummaging through crates. Suddenly Aello tugged his hand and brought him forward.

Arrgh, the beach. She had to remind him again. Bob looked at the map and the beach around him. There was no landmarks on the map which was on the beach as far as he could see. Maybe Aello was wrong? Otherwise they are going to have to dig up the entire beach just to look for this treasure. They had no way of telling and measuring the map to the beach to find the exact location of the 'X'. Speaking of ways, they didn't even have tools to dig.

"I thought you would have an idea. You know your father best. Maybe he had some hidden hints on the map. Otherwise we will be spending the entire week digging up the beach" be groaned. Bob didn't have a week, or a day to dig in the beach. He didn't even want to dig at all. He thought it was just going to be a simple retrieval. Walking up to the spot and taking what does not belong to him happily and running with it before Aello could say anything. What could she say anyway? As far as Bob knew she did the exact same thing to her brother so its only fair he can try too.

[Aello]

"Well...." Aello began, drawing out the word as she glanced down at the map again. "The "X" follows the black line after it curls around, away from the mountains a little bit," she explained, "so perhaps, we should look a little south of the portion of the beach farthest from the mountains." There was a slight pause as Aello glanced over at Bob, he hadn't been much help this whole trip. And he had always been so negative, not wanting to dig, not wanting to share in the fun of the hunt. Maybe, he wasn't really interested. Maybe he was only interested in the treasure, or was so bored that he came along simply because he could find nothing better to do. Aello couldn't be certain, but he sure was acting somewhat... strange. "Come on!" Aello called as she skipped over to the center of the beach, and rolled the map up, sticking it in the sleeve of her dress as she fell to her knees in the sand. She could see it welling up angrily around her flesh as she placed her hands down in front of her; palms flat in the sand. She curled her fingers, digging her nails lightly into the sand. She slowly traced them towards her knees, creating eight slender lines of sunken sand, since her thumbs were too short to draw their own line. "Start digging!" Aello instructed, as she pushed her fingers back, deepening the lines, before she began to claw at the tiny beige grains, pulling them away all the more ferociously so as to get to her treasure faster.

[Bob Barton]

Bob tried to recall what he saw on the map when Aello gave it to him earlier. Yes, there was a black line. The most important part of the map since it tells them where to go so it was not that hard to commit it to memory. It did curl around for some strange reason. But what? Why not just go in a straight path to the treasure? There must be something more. But Bob could not remember much of anything else.

He followed the skipping Aello to the center of the beach. Looking around the beach. The idea of the map giving so much problems. Not only they had to find the spot the treasure was buried in, they also had to walk the long way round. Bob started grinding his teeth in annoyance. Then he suddenly saw something along the other side of the beach. A large outcrop of rocks.

That could be the reason why there was a curve. Bob never heard of a man who could walk through rocks yet so it would make sense that Aello's father would make a curved line instead of a straight path. Aello was already digging and she also instructed Bob to do the same. Now he was presented with two choices. One to help the girl in her efforts which he thought were not getting them any closer to the treasure or tell her what he figured out.

One thing was that Bob did not like wasting time on useless things when he could be wasting it in fun useless things. He lifted his finger to the direction of the rocks "How about we try there? The map might be telling us to go around it." Then he waited for the exploration leader to make her decision. It was her map and if she insisted, Bob will help. Then he will come back the next day to the spot he thought was the right one. With a spade. And dig up his treasure.

[Aello]

Aello looked up from what she was doing, lifting her hands just above the surface of the beach. Several grains of warm, dry sand poured from the spaces in-between her fingers, crashing steadily into the sandy pool by her knees with a low swooshing sound, as though it were a waterfall. Several more grains had imbedded themselves in the space between her nails and finger flesh, causing them to tingle as she glanced up at Bob, closing her eyes only slightly to block out the sunlight that shone directly into them. She followed his gaze to the rocky outcrop he had indicated, and then glanced back at him, choosing to concentrate her gaze on his eyes. "That could be true. But what would it matter? If you're supposed to go around it, you'd just be going back this way, anyway," Aello replied. "Although, if you are right, perhaps it'd make more sense to dig in an area that the rock would hit if you dragged it in a straight line across the beach." With that, Aello sprang to her feet and wiped the palms of her hands against each other, freeing several more grains of sand that lingered there. She could feel them pushing lightly into her flesh, scratching a little as she kept on doing it, building up a slight sense of heat within her palms. "Why don't we move a little closer to the rocks and start digging over there?" Aello suggested, as she stopped pressing her palms together and moved her arms to her sides. She walked a little closer to the rocks, and plopped herself down in another section of dry sand. "You can start in another spot so we'll cover more ground," Aello instructed, as she lowered her fingertips into the sand, and began pulling away sections of it, as she tore at the earth. "Hey Bob," she called after a few moments of silence, "how deep do you think we should dig before we try another spot?" OOCUm... maybe one post of digging and then we wrap up... I can say Aello has to get home before her parents find out she was gone.

[Bob Barton]

Aello was just digging, intent on finding the treasure. Bob was watching her efforts. How far could she go only using her fingers? Not only she won't get to the treasure, but look at that. It looks like they are taking their toll on her fingers when the grains of sand brushed on her fingers. And it looked like those efforts were wasted after all when she decided to change spots to where Bob was pointing at.

Bob followed Aello as they went to the rock formation. "So how is your hands?" he said this more to have something to say rather than genuine concern. "Alright, another spot on this side right?" asking since it was her map. She should have a rough idea on what to do and he didn't want to get blamed by a little girl for any mistakes. After that Bob walked around the rock one time to see if he can find any signs of what they were looking for. Like maybe markings on the rock while his eyes went over its surface. He didn't waste time looking at the sand. Thinking that any markings there would be buried of blown over almost daily.

Having found nothing, Bob was disappointed. "Deep? How much do you think your dad wants this hidden?" he asked Aello in response. No doubt her father when burying this will have tools which they didn't have. Allowing it to be easier to dig up things. Bob went over to the sand near the rock. Picking up a random spot to start digging he only had his hands so they would have to do and he did not want to get outdone by a little girl.

Why did it have to be on the sand? Everytime Bob dug out a handful of it, some sand from the sides will slide down into it and fill it back up a little. Bob was not happy. But the greed of treasure compelled him to continue. Digging in his fingers into the sand and scooping out handfuls before throwing them aside. After a while, his skin started to get scratched and bleed. Thinking it was enough he stopped and looked for another area.

"How is it going on your end Aello?" Bob asked looking for another spot. Finding one near the rock he crouched down and prepared to dig. But as soon as he did he noticed a marking on the rock. Half concealed by the sand. It was definitely man made and not natural. Could this be the 'X' they were looking for? "Aello, I think I found something!" he called out to the girl. With the both of them working together they can end this faster and go home.

OOCOk, you see if we find anything then. Bob will just be helping."

[Aello]

"They're fine," Aello commented as she glanced up from her work at Bob, and nodded her head. She continued pulling away clods of sand, and piling it around the edges of the hole she was digging. As time wore on, and she continued to get closer and closer to the center of the earth, her knees began to ache. She could feel tiny grains of sand pushing against the cloth of her dress, against her bare skin. Poking tiny red, irritated holes in her flesh. "Difficult to say," Aello replied as she shifted her knees slightly, causing several grains of sand to cascade into the hole she had been digging, filling it up a fifth of the way. Her tone was strained, as though it were difficult for her to concentrate on digging and talking at the same time. Or perhaps, as though it were difficult for her to make her voice carry past the sound of the waves crashing into shore. "Since neither of us knows what he has hidden, which makes it difficult to determine its value and his need to hide it from everyone, assuming it's even his buried treasure." There was a slight pause, "just because... Leon found this... map... on our father's desk, does not mean that it was a map he made, and a treasure he buried." Another pile of sand dripped off the edge of one of the small hills that surrounded Aello's hole in the ground as she looked up at Bob's final question. "No! All I've found are some pretty sand-stained shells and a few icky rocks," she replied, as she shifted her knees uncomfortably once more, trying to get herself into a position that wouldn't make her legs go numb quite so quickly. Another sandfall made its way into Aello's hole, filling it up part of the way again. Aello sighed, apparently she wasn't very good at looking for buried treasure. Halfheartedly, she continued to pull sand away from the hole until the sound of Bob's voice met her ears once more. They seemed to prickle a little as she looked up, is that excitement? her mind whispered as she shot to her feet, kicking clods of sand towards her hole, which filled it up completely. "Coming Bob!" Aello shouted as she darted across the beach, kicking up piles of sand until she made her way to the rocks. By the time she had gotten there, her heart had began to pound, beating excitedly at the pace of her companion's own. Her throat felt tight, as though it were closing, as she tried to drag in another breath of salty, sea air. "What we looking at?" she asked, as she followed Bob's eyes, and his gestures to the "X" upon the rock. When she first spotted it, her brown eyes grew wide, as she delicately lowered herself onto her knees, and extended her right hand. She held it over the "X" for a moment, before curling all her fingers with the exception of the index finger into her palm. She traced the shape of the "X," with her finger, noting how it seemed to have been carved unevenly into the rock. For she could feel, small, jagged edges pressing against her pale flesh. Edges that sent small shivers up her spine, and made the rock seem far colder to the touch than before her finger passed over them. Aello allowed her hand to fall as she turned to face Bob. "How'd you know this would be here Bob?" she asked. "Because the treasure could be buried right beneath this X!" she shouted, excitedly, extending her arms towards him to give him a quick hug before she backed up, dragging her knees across the sand. When she had moved out of the way completely, she shouted, "lets start digging!" before she tore her hands into the earth, throwing piles of sand behind her excitedly, as a dog might when digging up a bone. As the two continued to dig, deeper and deeper, their hole extending beneath the edge of the rock, Aello began to lose hope. Maybe the treasure wasn't real after all, and the "X" was just some sort of joke. She was about to tell Bob that they should call it a night, when her eyes caught sight of a twisted rope cord. It was dyed a deep red color, and was stained by several tiny grains of sand. "Hey, what's that?" Aello asked as she leaned forward, and looped her right pinky finger through the cord. She began to pull on it lightly, attempting to free it from the pile of sand that was on top of it, but found that it was stuck tight. "Help to dig around that," Aello suggested, as she pushed sand away from the area. Within moments, she was able to wiggle the cord free. But it wasn't just a cord, it was a sort of drawstring. It was laced through the top of a red velvet purse- something that the rich may use to carry their money around. Tangled in-between the fine, soft hairs of the velvet was more sand, and the occasional pebble. "Do you think this could be our treasure?" Aello whispered, as she pulled it closer to her, trying to ignore its weight. It wasn't particularly heavy, but it didn't feel as though it were empty either. Not even bothering to wait for a reply, Aello would pull the cord apart, and peer inside, silently hoping that there was something good. OOCHockay so, we can end it here and let Oracle figure out if there is anything actually in there- even if it's only a pile of sand, meaning, some evil person got to our treasure first, or you can post again. Makes no difference to me... it's just I'm not sure we can play out actually getting anything of value, which is why I figured we'd end it now. Thanks for the thread Bob! It was fun =) P.S. And sorry I made a few assumptions about your pc in this post... I just figured he'd help. I can edit though if that's not cool...

[Bob Barton]

The way Aello put it was not very reassuring. What happened to all that pep and excitement? It was like suddenly she became unconvinced with the treasure as well. Probably realizing the same things about it which Bob thought about when it came to her brother and father. But he still hoped that after all this trouble and effort by her father there would be something good at the end. Unless her father was trying to play a trick on all of them. Its not nice to involve Bob as well though.

This just meant that Bob found something that Aello didn't. Pretty shells may be...pretty, but they are not valuable. Don't even get started on icky rocks. Bob tried to make it a point not to touch anything icky. But the prospect of finding something good and having ownership rights made Bob very happy and he started to dig in deeper into the sand. Pressing his hand on to the rock before putting his fingers down into the sand and pulling them forward towards him trying to make a hole big enough for him to see through.

Aello arriving ended up kicking a lot of sand up. Some reaching into his eyes while he used his sleeve to try and wipe them off. After his eyes were clear again he gave a queer look at Aello and back to the 'X'. "Because I am smart...and because the X just looked plain strange" a reply like it was the simplest answer in the world especially for a child. Then she suddenly started digging forcing Bob to get away from behind her to avoid the oncoming sand. He went across of her in the forming hole and started to help a little bit. Bob put his own hands to the side of the hole and started pulling back and digging the hole in the sand bigger.

Once they got out the pouch Bob just shrugged. How would he know if it was the treasure? But then quickly he started to pester Aello "We won't know until we see it. So hurry up and open it!" Bob peered into the sack with Aello to see what they got. After that only they can start thinking of how they are going to split it.

OOCOk so I guess we are sone