Welcome to Gaia! ::

The mansion itself lies concealed amidst a sprawling landscape, meticulously trimmed and maintained to the owner's precise specifications. At the end of a "quaint" stone path leading along fountains and bushes trimmed into animal shapes, the mansion's great, pristine white structure appears almost oppressive. Windows two stories tall peer down at the viewer, tinted so that they can be seen out of but not into. Inside, a visitor is greeted by massive marble halls, furnished sparsely with an occasional flower pot or wall hanging. The rooms themselves--including two well-stocked libraries and six bedrooms (out of which only two are actually occupied)--are far more inviting, but a visitor to the mansion will be disappointed to find that nearly every door is locked to outsiders.

Such is the estate of Dr. Jason Malloy, though he himself has never actually been seen coming into or going out of the home. Even the neighbors, when asked, can say nothing of substance about Mr. Malloy, though a few of them think that his daughter isn't quite right in the head.

A squat woman came to the door, her dark brown hair pulled into a bun so tight it appeared as though it had given her a makeshift facelift. The woman looked up at Oual--she came only to the middle of his chest--without the slightest friendliness in her eyes.

"I'd thank you kindly not to rap on the door," she said with a voice that seemed to have gotten used to yelling as its default. "We've just had it redone."

The woman moved aside curtly, swinging the door open enough to allow Oual to enter.

"I'll fetch Violet," she said, giving Oual a disapproving once-over. "That's who you're here for, isn't it?"

She quickly bustled away, muttering something under her breath that sounded a bit like the words "dirty old pervert" as she disappeared up the stairs.

"AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING WHILE I'M GONE!" the woman's voice bellowed from the top of the steps.

From upstairs, the sound of the woman's voice could be heard. She appeared to be arguing with someone (though the person on the other end of the argument did not seem half as heated as she), but her exact words were inaudible. After a few moments of this, the woman's voice finally died and, seconds later, a second woman appeared coming down the stairs with Violet in tow.



Violet seemed oblivious to the argument that had apparently taken place upstairs. She was jumping down the stairs with a characteristic smile on her face, skipping a step in-between each hop. She was dressed in an eclectic selection of clothing and accessories, as per usual. As soon as Violet caught sight of Oual, her face lit up and she ran the rest of the way down the steps to the man's side, throwing her arms around his midsection.

"You came to see me, Mr. Detective!" she squealed.



The woman who had come down with Violet smiled at Violet's reaction as she came to the bottom of the steps. She appeared much more kindly than the woman before, and much more professional. She appeared to be in her early to mid thirties. Her hair was dark brown, flowing all about her shoulders, and she had a pair of black glasses sitting on her nose. She smiled a courteous business smile as she came closer to Oual.

"Forgive Rose," she said, referring to the woman before. "She doesn't agree with my decision to allow Violet to go on this outing. It appears that she questions your intentions. She is trying to do what she thinks is best for Violet, so please don't hold her rudeness against her."

The woman stretched out a hand for Oual to shake.

"I am Melanie Carter," she said, "Violet's caregiver. I don't believe we were ever formally introduced."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Oual," Melanie said with a slight nod.

Melanie smiled sweetly, in no way unnerved by what Oual told her. She already knew precisely who he was and how Violet had met him, but her smile still faltered a bit at the mention of prom.

"The decision to allow Violet to go to prom was not mine," she said with a small amount of disdain. "I had urged Mr. Malloy not to allow it, but he insisted."

She gave a sigh, her eyelids closing slowly as she allowed her frustration to dissipate. Then her warm smile returned as she met Oual's gaze once more.

"I am glad, however, that Violet ran into you," she said. "She's talked about you quite a bit since prom. You really seem to have made an impression on her. She's shown an amazing amount of progress in her ability to recollect details of your appearance and some of your conversation. I must say, after speaking with her, I've been anticipating meeting you. There must be something special about you to have triggered such a strong response."

Previous

Violet danced alongside Oual as he led her to the car. She turned, briefly, to wave to Ms. Carter, and then paused while Oual opened the door for her. Before getting in, she eyed the interior of the car suspiciously. After a pause, she relented and climbed into the passenger seat, though she still kept scanning the dashboard as though searching for a detonator.

"I saw this thing where a car turned into a big robot with shooty parts," she said to Oual. "This car won't turn into a robot with shooty parts, will it?"