A Kid at Heart
"Long day." Cale stretched and yawned as he made his way down the hallway. He reached the end and opened the door to his room. The cool dark room seemed to welcome him as he made his way to a dresser. He needed no time to adjust to the dark, since he had been sitting in a dark house for hours. As he pulled out his clothes for sleeping in, he glanced at the digital clock. The red glow from the numbers left an eerie light around it as it said 2:00 AM. "Maybe I should rephrase what I said earlier." Cale chuckled softly as he changed. Then he slipped under the covers and rested on his back.
He heard something in his room moving around. "I know you're there." He said without opening his eyes. Cale felt something by the side of his bed. "Oh. All right. Come on." A familiar weight fell on the bed and Cale felt it moving around. Soon his cheeks were graced by a few wet kisses. "Midnight," the Warlord growled. The cat growled back as Cale opened his eyes again. He saw that the black panther's face was only a few inches from his own. The cat laid his left front leg across the Warlord's body in a strange hug. Cale grinned as he reached up and scratched the cat behind his ears. The panther started to purr, and how he learned it the man couldn't figure. "All right," he said again. "Now we both need to sleep OK?" The panther grumbled a growl and moved again to lie next to the man in the bed. "That's better." Cale closed his eyes again and quickly drifted to the darkness of sleep.
He stretched out a leg as he woke up. Something was wrong, and he moved around a bit more. Finally, declaring defeat on gaining any more sleep, he opened his blue eyes. He looked next to him curiously and nudged the lump in the bed that seemed much smaller than it should be. The lump under the covers moved slightly. Feeling like playing a game, Midnight grabbed the sheets in his mouth and pulled them down a little. The cat's eyes opened wide at the sight. Something was wrong. He listened carefully for a moment and then went to the door. The cat stood on hind legs and reached up and used its front paws to open it. He slipped through and dashed down the hallway to another room on the right side. His right front paw brushed against it several times. Finally it opened with a woman in a robe standing there.
"What is it Midnight?" Unacera yawned as she rubbed something out of her left eye. The panther rushed back to Cale's room, brushing a paw against it. "Is something wrong?" The cat nodded and Unacera rushed to the room with a large winged leopard following behind them. Midnight jumped on the bed and pulled down the sheets from the bed more so the woman would see what he did. Unacera gasped and quickly backed up to shut the door as she heard voices. Dragon Wind barely got through in time without losing his tail. Sekhmet just woke up and came downstairs. The other Warlords can't see this. The panther seemed to whimper in response. "I'm not sure what I can do either." Unacera walked up to the bed and knelt beside it. "Cale? Cale? Wake up." I'm not sure this is the right thing to do, but right now it's the only way. "Cale," she shook the lump in the bed again.
The voice mumbled something and finally he woke up. He looked at the woman curiously. Unacera almost found herself laughing at the sight, and forced herself to hold it in so no one else would hear. She shook off the feeling. This was something serious.
"Unacera are you up?"
"Uh.." She panicked for a second before she thought an answer. "Cale and I got up and ate earlier Sekhmet. Right now we're really into a game of Go in here. So you and Dais will have to fix your own breakfast this morning."
At first she thought she heard a grumble of complaint from the Warlord. "Oh. OK." He answered from the kitchen.
Unacera breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned back to her original problem. Cale was rubbing his eyes. "Cale? Are you all right?" He just looked at her curiously again.
"What," he answered in Japanese. "Where am I? Who are you?"
Uh oh. The Archdruid panicked more. This is worse than I thought. Something must have happened last night, but I don't know what. Somehow Cale's been turned back into when he was about eight years old. She looked at Midnight, who still looked worried. Then she turned to the child, trying to think up an answer to his question. He's the cutest thing. The Archdruid smiled and noted the absence of Cale's scar. "I'm a friend of your parents. They told me to watch over you today." She paused in her Japanese tongue and hesitantly asked, "Do you know what year this is?"
"Of course!" The boy answered with the correct date. He folded his arms before his chest triumphantly.
Well that's a relief. Whatever did this, adjusted it a little so he knows his surroundings. Still Unacera chuckled at the boy. "You must have been playing dress up last night." She motioned the clothes that were way to big for him.
"Oh." The boy didn't seem to notice before. "I guess I was." He rubbed his head with his small hand. "So what am I doing here?"
"Your parents dropped you off at my house last night. You were asleep at the time."
"Oh."
"Let me get you something to wear all right?"
"All right."
Unacera you're crazy, she thought as she looked through the dresser. "I'm sure I put that stuff here somewhere." She despaired even further before, in the last drawer, she found a small clothing that was in the boy's size. "I found them!" She took them out and looked at them for a moment. How the heck did this happen? How did any of this happen? "Here you go Cale. Tell you what though. I have guests right now so you have to stay in here and play with Midnight." She motioned to the cat as she said his name. "Later I'll tap on the door and let you know when you can come out. All right?"
"All right." Unacera was grateful for the child's ease of accepting her logic. She walked out of the room with Dragon Wind behind. As she reached the kitchen, she noticed both Dais and Sekhmet eating.
"I thought you and Cale were playing Go?" Sekhmet asked.
"We still are. It's Cale's turn. I needed to take a small break." She grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl. Then she smiled as she turned around to the two men again. "Just in case we get hungry again," Unacera explained. Dragon Wind growled. "No, no you stay here. Bad enough we have Midnight in there. We don't want something to happen to the game board." She then walked back to Cale's room and knocked. "Can I come in?"
"OK." She nearly panicked from how loud the boy spoke. Unacera opened and quickly shut the door.
"Here." She gave the boy the box of cereal and the bowl. "You'll have to eat with your fingers, because I forgot spoons. Unless you want one?"
"I can eat with my fingers." He announced proudly.
"All right Cale, but please keep it down if you can OK?"
The boy nodded in response and he opened the cereal box quickly.
"I'll make this all up to you later." She walked out again and back to the kitchen. She leaned against the wall and smiled.
"Are you winning?" Dais asked, trying to figure out the reason for the expression. She shook her shoulders. "What then?"
"Cale was just talking and he was thinking about time alone.."
"Stop right there," Dais interrupted. "I understand now and I really don't want to know any more. I'm sure Sekhmet and I can find something to do for today."
"We can?" Sekhmet looked curiously at Dais, who gave him a stern look. "Oh. Oh yes. I know somewhere we can go."
Unacera smiled in return. "Thanks."
"Well, like I said I don't want to know." Dais replied as he continued to eat more quickly.
"This is a big house."
"Yes it is. Do you want to explore it?"
"Sure!"
"Go ahead. Just don't enter Dais' and Sekhmet's rooms upstairs. They're the rooms with the closed doors."
"OK." The boy answered as he rushed up the stairs. Midnight sat and looked up at the woman.
"Follow him Midnight. You'll have to watch him more carefully now." The panther nodded and raced up the stairs to reach and tackle the boy. Unacera then walked to the phone and looked up a number in the phone book there. She read it and picked up the phone. She listened for a quick moment before talking. "Yes I would like to order a medium pizza with..."
After finishing the order, she hung up the phone. "That should make Cale happy, I hope." She sighed. "Just what did this? What if he stays this way?" Unacera resolved for watching TV and waiting for the delivery of the pizza.
Agonizing minutes passed as the television did nothing to distract the Archdruid's worries. Finally the doorbell rang at the front door and Unacera answered it, pulling out her money. Giving the appropriate amount, she then took the pizza inside, shutting the door. She placed it on the kitchen table and opened the box. The steam from the hot pizza piled upwards. Unacera took out a couple of plates. "Cale? Cale? I ordered some pizza for us. It's here."
As she suspected, the sound of pounding feet came down from upstairs almost immediately. The boy ran up to the table and sat on a chair. "Oh boy. Pizza!" Unacera took some well sized pieces and placed them on the plate. "Thank you. That's great." He took a piece in his small hands. A pout from beside him made the boy purposely drop a piece of meatball on the floor. Midnight quickly swallowed it and licked his face.
"Careful now. It's really hot." Unacera took out a few pieces for herself and sat down to eat.
"I know." He blew on the piece for a moment and took a small, careful bite. "Mmmm. Delicious."
"I'm glad because I'm really sorry about this morning."
"Mmm datz mm OK.." The boy tried to say as he ate another bite of pizza. He then pulled a stringy piece of cheese through his mouth.
Unacera chuckled very quietly. I wonder if I should take pictures of this. That would drive the real Cale I know crazy if I did. She sighed again as she wondered how permanent this really was. "How about we go for a walk and to a playground after this?"
"Sounds good."
"Higher! I want to go higher! Push the swing harder Unacera!" The boy laughed as he went forward and back. He giggled even harder as he saw his blue hair flying like crazy around his face.
"I'm tired Cale. How about you just swing by yourself for now?"
The boy still laughed and didn't seem to care.
"Is that your child?" A woman came up to Unacera and sat on a swing.
"No, he's my.." What can I say? She certainly wouldn't believe the truth that this child is my boyfriend. "Ahem. Sorry. My voice isn't that good today. He's my best friend's kid. I'm watching him for today."
"Oh." She watched the boy giggle and swing. "He's very handsome. One day he's sure to steal a woman's heart."
"That he has." Unacera smiled at the woman. "He's stolen mine already." They both laughed.
"Unacera! Unacera look! Look how high I am now!" Cale cried out. "I think I can see over the hill!"
"Be careful! Don't fall off!" Unacera cried back.
"I won't!" He laughed again.
"A truly wonderful child." The woman agreed. "Sorry to excuse myself so soon, but my daughter may get upset if we aren't to the restaurant on time." She stood and walked away to her little girl who was climbing a fort.
Unacera sat on the swing, watching Cale and sighing again.
It was night once more. Unacera sat up, just doing nothing except thinking about the situation. Cale and Midnight were already in their rooms and hopefully asleep. Dragon Wind sat by her side, occasionally glancing up. She reached down and rubbed him. A noise from her room dragged her thoughts away. "What the..?" She raced to the room and opened the door. Midnight looked up to her and lowered in a stance of defeat. Behind him was a little figure covered in a black cloth. Unacera walked up and knelt before it. She raised the cover a little to see Cale's face. Dragging on the floor on his left side was a fake toy katana. Unacera laughed. "Oh Cale."
"I'm sorry. I found this stuff in a trunk and decided to play Samurai with Midnight."
Unacera chuckled again. "All right you. Time for all good Samurai to go to bed." She picked up the boy and walked into his room. After removing the cloth and toy katana, she tucked him in. "Do you want me to tell you a story?"
"Sure."
"All right. It's an old legend about nine magical armors..."
Unacera woke up early the next day. She got out of bed quickly and put on her robe. Then she dashed into Cale's room, the door still unlocked from last night. She opened it and walked in. Hesitantly, the Archdruid walked up to the figure in the bed and pulled down the covers. Now Unacera wished she did have a camera on hand. Cale was hugging Midnight as he slept. More importantly, he was back to himself again. "Whatever it was. It thankfully passed. I hope it never happens again," she whispered as she pulled the covers back up. While walking out the door, she looked back for a moment. "Still. He was an adorable child." Cale turned and moaned a little. "Should I tell him about this? I don't know. Let's see how he is when he wakes up." Unacera smiled as she shut the door and went back to her own bed to sleep in a bit more. Sekhmet and Dais will just have to fix themselves breakfast again, she thought as she drifted contentedly back to sleep.