Keeping Silent - Phone Message for Ashbelle Harkin

Who: Isaac & Ashbelle
When: mid-morning
Where: Voicemail, then the Harkin's House

Voice message to Ashbelle's personal cell phone voicemail ('cause he's just that special):

"Hi, uh ... this is Isaac. Um ... look, I know you're really busy and if you totally want to ignore this or something, that's okay, but ... I really ... need somebody to talk to. About some things. Ahh ... could you call me back maybe? Whenever you can, I know you're busy. I already said that. Okay. Um, thanks. ... oh, and don't tell Thom. Please. For right now. 'Kay. Bye."

Response to Isaac:

"Of course you can talk to me. I'll be home tonight at around six, I'll make something to eat if you haven't had supper by then. If things are more urgent than that, I can move some appointments around and come home early. Let me know. If not I will expect you then."

~*~*~*~

Isaac listened to the message his best friend's mom left and immediately called her back. He'd honestly been dying to talk to her, and he knew that she would know that meant something big, because it didn't usually happen that way. She was not someone you confided in a lot. He just honestly needed her sense right now. He let it ring and hoped she picked up this time.

Ashbelle looked down at the phone and picked it up, having kept it close just in case Isaac called her back letting her know it was an emergency. So, she answered straight away. "Hello, Isaac." she said. "Did you need me to see you sooner than six? Is there an emergency? You know if there's something serious going on, I'll do whatever I can." she said, just so he knew that yes, he was still important enough even as nearly an adult that she would drop everything if he really needed something.

The boys really only needed her sparingly in their lives--Thom was so independent by nature in the first place, and Isaac could usually get very sound advice from him--but it was an option that was always present. That hadn't changed because Isaac hadn't really needed anything for quite a while. And really, wasn't going to change ever. She may not be viewed as being as steadfast as her son could be, but he had gotten it from somewhere.

His throat closed up briefly. Should he really do this? What if Thom had cracked and she didn't know about it yet and everything went horribly wrong and he was really betraying his best friend in the world? Which didn't make any sense, in the long run. If Thom was sick, Ashbelle would take care of him. It was simple as that. But if he wasn't ... "It's not really an emergency, I mean, nobody's dying or anything," he said, hating the meek tilt to his voice. "But yeah, it feels ... serious. Can I? See you sooner than six? I mean, that won't totally wreck your day, will it? I just ... really need to talk to you."

Ashbelle had already looked into moving around her appointments, just in case Isaac had called back with an emergency, and that seemed good enough for her. "It won't wreck my day." she assured him. "I can be there..." she glanced at the clock. "In twenty minutes. I'm positive that Thomas isn't home at current, but I'll call ahead just in case. I'll see you there then." she said easily, shutting her planner, and starting to pack up her things. "Don't worry, I'm sure whatever's happening, we can work with." she added. She didn't promise it would be okay--she didn't so that sort of thing when she knew no such thing. But almost everything was workable in some fashion.

Isaac checked his own watch. He wasn't sure how she knew Thom wasn't home for sure, but as usual, her word was more solid than God's. Ashbelle just knew stuff like that, and he couldn't ever remember her being wrong. "Okay," he said, sounding a bit relieved. "I'll be there. ... thank you. Really." And with that, he hung up, knowing how she wasn't much for extended phone-goodbyes.

After getting everything moved around, Ashbelle came home, wondering what the problem was. Whatever it was, she believed it to be serious, considering Isaac certainly wasn't given to random flights of panic. So...it had to be important. That was why she didn't mind dropping everything, and she walked in the door five minutes ahead of schedule. Walking to the kitchen, she started to make iced tea for the both of them.

Isaac had been watching out the window of his own house for her to pull up, and wasted no time crossing the yard and walking in. He wondered briefly where Thom was, then decided not to worry about it. Tucking his healing hands into his pockets, he walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a seat, watching her. "Thanks again," he said quietly.

"You're welcome, Isaac." Ashbelle said, not looking up from making the tea. She made it how she recalled he liked it, then went to sit it in front of him. She took her own seat, and let her steady gaze fall on him. "Now what's going on?"

He put his hand on the glass, but didn't drink it yet. He did, however, look at it instead of her. Because now that he was under that steady, assessing gaze, he wasn't terribly sure whether or not the whole of yesterday had even happened. Which would've been something like a relief. "I came over yesterday to see if Thom wanted to eat," he started, prefering to detail the course of events instead of launch right into how crazy he felt he'd gone. "We were gonna go into town, but we got to talking. About Kaysen and the fire."

Nodding, Ashbelle listened, taking a sip of her own tea. She didn't know a lot about the situation. Which she had her suspicions on, very much so, and more so now. But she did need some clarification. "What about it?" she asked. She would hopefully get everything she needed from that question.

"That she didn't burn," he said, glancing up at her. He was positive the knew that bit already. "We both saw her fall in. I burned getting her out. But ... there's not a mark on her. She's totally fine, didn't lose any hair, anything. I don't really have an explanation for it." Except what his best friend had posed. Isaac gnawed on his bottom lip for a second. "So, apparently, Thom got this book about ... elementals. And gave it to her. He told me thought she was a fire. Which ... kinda led into a really weird conversation about --" he paused and made a face; here went nothing, "-- supernatural stuff."

So that's it. went through her mind. "And now you're not sure what to think?" she suggested. That seemed to be the tone he was taking, and with the clear hesitation going on, she figured that the bomb had been dropped, and now it was time to pick up the pieces. Well, she could help with that, though she rather wished he hadn't had to find out at all.

"Right, exactly," he said quietly, and fell into silence for a minute as he took a ponderous sort of sip of tea. He couldn't bring himself to say to Ashbelle what he'd been wishing he wasn't thinking all damn night. 'I think Thom's lost it' was not something you told his mother. She could draw that conclusion herself if it was there. He picked at the tablecloth. "He said ... that he was raised with it," he added, glancing up again.

"That would be because he was." Ashbelle said calmly, if a little gently. In fact, her tone for the rest of the conversation was going to remain a notch below normal, because she knew this sort of thing wasn't easy. "I suppose you thought it was insane." she continued. "Don't worry. You're supposed to think that. It's a normal, rational reaction, and if you bought it straight away, I might have wondered about you. It's not the easiest thing in the world to accept, and honestly...you shouldn't know about it at all."

While part of him was saying you're goddamn right it's not the easiest thing to accept, the rest of Isaac was caught in the feeling that his stomach had been dropped about twelve feet down. He hadn't realized it, but he'd expected Ashbelle to frown and be concerned in her way, and clear things up. Straighten up the misunderstanding. Clarify for him. Make it normal and okay. But ... she wasn't doing that. Quite the opposite, really. He drank some more tea to try and cover the way all the color drained out of his face, already knowing it wouldn't work.

It didn't. "Take your time." she said. "One thing you'll have to try and understand dear, is that most people don't know about any of these things, and they never have to. There's a reason that most of it is fully considered to be insanity at worst or myth at best. Populations of the supernatural specifically set out to keep their existence unknown because they need to to survive. They need to keep themselves secret from humans, of course, because as a species, we're a panicky, irrational and ultimately violent lot, aren't we? Also, the less anyone knows about them, the less they have to worry about what else is out there hunting them as well. So it's a whole grop of people in hundreds of sub-groups beyond that, most of which avoid detection at all costs, both from the rest of society and those doing the same thing." she paused, letting him digest that.

Isaac was trying not to freak out. Again. This wasn't someone you freaked out in the presence of. He sat forward and put his elbows on his knees, dropping his head to breathe. He could doubt Thom's sanity -- much as he hated to -- but Ashbelle's? No. What she was saying was absolutely true, it had to be. He was quiet for a couple of minutes, looking down at the floor that didn't look quite so familiar anymore. "He thinks Kaysen is," he murmured finally. "One of them."

"Elementals are human, Isaac." Ashbelle said first, in an even more gentle tone. "So stop that sort of thinking right now, she's not a 'them'. Not everyone who's got something different about them is anything other than a human who can do something other people can't, just like you've got a knack for music, and other people couldn't pluck a tune if their lives depended on it. Quite a lot of it is random, as far as I understand it. It's not something you're going to need to be worried about, just aware, now that you have to be."

That made him blink a little, and he looked across the table at her again. He knew she'd never ever be cooperative, but it kind of made him want to drag Kaysen over her, plop her down in this seat, and make her listen to Ashbelle. He chewed on that for a while, face concentrated and thoughtful. "I'm totally lost," he said after a couple of minutes. It was flat, not that he didn't comprehend, more that he was overwhelmed.

"Alright, what do you want to know about?" she asked. "Anything you want to know, if I do know about it, I'll tell you. If you don't know where to start, I can just start talking, and stop me if Thomas has already gone over it, or if you would like to ask questions about it. Is that acceptable?" Ashbelle was watching him closely, not wanting to rush him through anything. They had all day. She'd spend as long as was needed for him to sort everything through.

Isaac thought about that for a minute. He might as well start where it was the closest, right? "What else do you know about elementals?" he asked. The word still felt odd and not right in his mouth, but if that was what Kaysen was ... he wanted to be able to talk with her about it.

Ashbelle paused and thought about that. "Not a lot." she admitted. "I've heard of them before, and I know some basics. I know they're human, and that they have affinities with one of the four elements. Earth, air, fire, water, and that they have personality traits that seem to go well with each one. Such as earth elementals would be the types who would be very stable, and fire elementals would be more erratic." And yes, she knew perfectly well what young Kaysen was like, it wasn't an insult, it was truth. "I know that they can get very powerful, though I'm not certain where the limits of their abilities lay."

Isaac knew perfectly well what his sister was like too. He'd kind of missed it the first time when Thom told him, but 'erratic' definitely covered Kaysen. He sat and tried to digest that for a minute. It was easier to focus on something that seemed sort of small -- she'd said that his sister was still human, after all -- but he had to ask: "So ... everything we've always been told isn't true ... is?"

Ashbelle paused. "To a degree." she said. "Not everything you see on television or in the movies and literature is true either, mind. And what is true is skewed. Such as there are vampires out there, but they don't really resemble Dracula. Or at least, not all of them. The supernatural is just as varied as all the cultures of the world, and not really 'everyone falls into this one category and has these traits' like media presents them."

"Holy shit," he muttered, and ran his peeling hands through his hair. In one way, it was relieving to know that his best friend wasn't crazy. In another ... not so much. Because it made him feel crazy, just listening to it. Isaac realized he'd been staring blankly at the floor for he didn't know how long. He blinked and looked up at her again. "It's so big," he said to his surrogate mother, with something like awe in his voice. "I don't even know where to start asking questions, really ... goddamn."

"It's alright." Ashbelle assured him. "It is big. It's a lot to know about, and a lot to take in all at once. Give yourself some time. It's not like there's going to be a test, and really, Isaac...the farther you stay away from it the better. Part of the reason that people don't know, is because it's safer for them not to. People who know are automatically put at risk, just for knowing. Like I said before, there are things out there who specifically set out to make sure no one has that knowledge. And there's other things. People in the know tend to look for it in the events around them, and if they're looking for it they may find it, and then get involved. If you aren't supernatural of a fashion yourself, that puts you at great risk."

He took a deep breath and let it out slow. Then frowned as something occurred to him. "So ... are you and Thom involved, then?" he asked. It was a troubling thought, combined with what she'd just said. He thought again about how Thom had handled the knife with the cats ... the same one his mother had inscribed with crosses in her own youth ...

And this was the tricky part, where she started to have to skirt issues carefully to avoid sudden death. That would help no one. "In a manner, yes." Ashbelle confirmed. "And I apologize, Isaac, but I can't get into what our involvement is, and neither can Thomas. I assure you that it isn't anything to do with you, and if circumstances could change, we would do that. I can tell you almost anything else you ask but the specifics of that." She sounded as regretful as she felt. It was even in her eyes. It was a burden that was heavy--much heavier than one would think if it was boiled down to simple wording. 'You can't tell anyone'. It sounded so simple, yet wasn't.

That was ... hard to swallow. If he wasn't looking at her and hearing her, Isaac might not have believed it. But it was Ashbelle, and he'd known her for a very long time, and he'd never heard that tone to her voice that he could remember. Isaac shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyebrows drawn together. She couldn't tell him, and neither could Thom. That was going to bother him, he knew already. "Okay," he said quietly, after a minute. And again, wasn't sure where to go from there.

"I'm sorry." she repeated herself. "I know it isn't fair. Trust me, it's not fair on this end either." she added. She'd lost people over it in her time. Quite a few, and she didn't want that happening to her son. "I know it'll be difficult to accept, but I hope you can understand. You're Thom's best friend, have been since you two were children. I know that you are both good boys, and good for each other. I couldn't have asked for a better friend for my son, and I wouldn't ever have traded you in his life. I hope now this doesn't mean that you'll be absent from it." She paused.

"Isaac, don't mention this to Thomas, but I have to say this. It's lonely, on this end. Keeping silent about something so important, having to keep it from everyone. Not everyone's understanding. I couldn't blame those who washed their hands of me over the years over it, as I wouldn't be terribly comfortable with it either. But then, I never had anyone like you, either. Please keep it in mind."

Somewhere in there, Isaac's eyes dropped down to the tabletop. Because they were starting to fill up, and while it wouldn't be the first time he ever cried in front of Ashbelle Harkin, he kinda didn't want to. His cheeks burned at the appreciation for the things he never thought twice about. He didn't feel like such a great friend at the moment, seeing as how he'd more or less walked out on his best friend ever because he was scared to hear him out. And had thought he was maybe crazy and everything. He'd just always thought they were so much the same, and now they weren't. In a big way. But her words made him look at it from the other direction. And the things that Thom hadn't told him? Thom hadn't been able to tell him. There was a difference. Isaac swiped at his eyes quickly. "He's still ... like my brother," he said and cleared his throat.

She nodded, and was relieved to hear it. "I'm glad you feel that way." she said genuinely. "You'll always have a place here in our family. And I know you know this, since you called today, but if you need anything, you can always come to us, or here if you just need someplace to be. The world isn't quite what you thought, and there's a lot to learn about it, but it's still the place you lived your whole life. There's just more to it."

He nodded, stuck on the idea that he owed Thom an apology. He just had to have his head together when he did it. They were rarely emotional with each other, and he didn't want Thom to think he'd flipped his lid. "Thank you," he said to Ashbelle in the meantime. "I know. Here's always been my second home. Sometimes first, it feels like." He smiled faintly. "And I might have more to ask you, once I've got my head together. ... if that's okay."

"It's fine." Ashbelle assured him. "I'm here, so if you have questions about anything, I can do my best to answer them for you. Thom's very well educated," she added, a tiny little smile on her lips. "But he doesn't know everything. I don't either, but I've had a lot longer to learn about it all than he has, so I've got a lot of odds and ends tucked away in my head. But first and formost...with your sister, it should be okay. She might need some support too, learning about her abilities and the like, though expect irrationality." So it shouldn't be any different than usual, from what she knew of the other St. James child.

That actually got a little chuckle out of him. "Par for the course, I guess," he said, looking down at his hands in his lap for a moment. "She won't like hearing it. I joked with her about being a superhero the other day, with the non-burning and all and she started going on about how that makes her a freak. Irrationality is a daily occurrence." But he hoped to God (did God even exist anymore?) that she would be okay. Isaac loved her.

Ashbelle was stunningly unsurprised by that. "It makes her different." she said. "Special, in a way, and if you keep telling her that, maybe eventually she'll buy it. I know she'd be more likely to listen to you than anyone else on the planet, so be patient. And if you need anything else in regards to that, let me know. Really for her it's a natural ability, therefore she should feel better the more she learns about it. It's never good to keep an ability under wraps, or undeveloped if you have it, it goes against the person's nature. So in the end, this sort of thing has the potential to help her on other levels too." she said, to give some perspecitve, and hopefully something positive to look forward to.

Isaac smiled a little easier. "Hope you're right. She always acts like she'd rather die than listen to me." But he knew better. He waited a beat, then finished off the last of the tea in his glass and stood up. She wasn't a huggy woman, but she was gonna get one anyway. Even if she'd just helped turn his world on it's ass, she'd done it in a comforting sort of honest way. So he held his arms out and up-nodded to her.

She smiled at him, and stood up to give him a firm but warm hug. "You're her big brother, she'll listen." Ashbelle informed him, seemingly pretty confident in that. She gave him another squeeze before she let go and stood back, but it had been a nice hug that she hadn't ended too quickly. She was after all, there for him. "Just remember...anything you need..."