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Tweak says, "Byakugan!"

adam young is not your typical hellspawn (humanincarnate) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-05-24 00:30:00

Entry tags:

!@event, !closed, adam young, castiel, claire winchester, dean winchester, gabriel, sam winchester

WHO: Adam Young and Castiel (open to Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Claire Bennet, and Gabriel)
WHAT: Adam stops by for a visit.
WHEN: Mid-afternoon
WHERE: Apartment #401D
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

After having spoken with Castiel over the network, and having to keep in mind that everything that was said there could be seen by any angel who wanted to be nosy, Adam decided that he wanted to speak to him in person. It wasn't that he had anything important to talk about, really. He just missed chatting with Castiel. They weren't necessarily close, but they'd formed a bond of sorts and Adam, to be frank, was tired of having everything that he'd come to consider good about Colligo slowly but surely stripped away from him. So he headed to the apartment where Castiel was staying with Sam, Dean, and Claire. He decided on his way that no one - aside from Gabriel - would be able to follow him, or would know where he'd gone, or would see him leaving. He figured that more than covered his bases and spent the rest of the trip racing Dog down the streets and across lawns until the apartment building finally came into view.

He continued the race up the four flights of stairs - forgoing the lift in lieu of burning off excess energy - and only came to a grinning, panting stop right outside the apartment door. Dog bounded about excitedly and Adam hunched over a bit to pet him behind his ears. "Be good now," he told the canine. "No chasing the dinosaurs, 'kay?" Dog yipped softly and hopped up on his hind legs. Adam smiled, rose to his full height, then knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

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heavenslancer
2010-05-24 05:24 am UTC (link)

Castiel was doing what he had been doing most of the day, and the day before and the day before that, staring out the window and not drinking tea or reading the paper or eating a thing. Every now and then he would move away, usually in the evenings to watch a little television though laughter had been hard to find, even the silent kind.

His head was full of concern, contingency plans and the locations of all the apartments that were free to use. The day before he had pulled the key from his pocket and buried in the pot plant by the window. He was tired of feeling it every time he put his hand in his pocket. Half an out later Squeaky had dug it up and deposited it at Castiel's feet. The angel patted the dinosaur and put the key in a drawer instead.

Castiel was on constant alert, his senses stretched to their limits yet he didn't jump at the knock or the barking of the dog. There was nothing to be concerned about there. He walked over to the door calmly and opened it without pause. That wasn't to say he wasn't surprised. They had few visitors and few knew where to visit them but this one likely always would. "Hello Adam," Castiel game him a tiny smile. "Please, come in." He didn't ask him if he had been followed, adam was smarter than that. He just closed the door behind Adam and gravitated towards the window again though at least facing the boy this time.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-24 05:36 am UTC (link)

Adam smiled when Castiel opened the door and followed him inside. Dog bounded in behind him, put his nose to the ground, and immediately began following the various new scents in the apartment. Adam paid him little attention, knowing that the animal would behave himself. For the most part, at least. So instead the boy kept his focus on the angel that he'd come to visit.

He knew, almost instantly, that Castiel wasn't doing very well. He didn't have to ask. It was just one of those things that he knew as surely as he knew his own name. To say he was pleased with that discovery would be lying, but Adam also understood the reasons behind it. He still didn't like it much but he wasn't going to force the angel to cheer up. At least, not by trying to order him to do so.

"I hope you don't mind I stopped by," he spoke after a moment of simply studying Castiel. Moving toward the couch, he sat down and leaned forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees. "I got to thinking and I decided that there wasn't no good reason we couldn't play checkers and have tea and talk and all that stuff just on account of you being stuck here."

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heavenslancer
2010-05-24 08:08 am UTC (link)

Castiel cast a glance at the window. He had many things to do but there really was not the need to stand by the window all the time. He moved towards the bench free of crumbs. "I do not mind," he said placidly. "It is good to see you Adam." And it was. Adam who had come to see him merely because he wished. Adam who's little dog was suffering the attentions of Squeaky. Adam who was something of Aziraphale. Adam who wanted to play.

Castiel knew he didn't have to play. He could have just sent the boy on his way and gone back to his largely pointless hovering. He wondered which would ease his nerves more? He looked at the bench, ready for a boards and little plastic discs. He looked at the unused tea pot. "There are chocolate cookies," Castiel said walking around the bench. He didn't know who bought them but he didn't doubt Adam would be allowed some.

He picked up the kettle and filled it with water, finding the tea leaves and the strainer, laying it all out neatly. He added three spoons of tea leaves, one for each of them and one for the pot just as Aziraphale had shown him. He added a little sugar to his cup. He liked his tea sweet. Soon the water was ready and he added it to the pot. He replaced the lid and rotated it;s chubby body three times before letting it settle. Two minutes then he placed the strainers over the cups and he poured the tea in. It was golden brown colour. Once the cups were full be slid one over to Adam. He smiled gently at the boy, barely a smile, and lifted the cup to his lips. He closed his eyes.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-24 10:56 am UTC (link)

Adam perked up at the mention of cookies. "Cookies sound grand!" he agreed as any boy his age was apt to do. Then he fell silent, allowing Castiel peace as he made the tea. Adam wasn't foolish. He knew that this was going to be just as difficult for the angel as it would be therapeutic. However he had faith that, if nothing else, he could help ease Castiel into the acceptance part of grieving in his own, small way.

Once the tea was ready, a checker board appeared on the table. The pieces were already lined up and ready to be played. In retrospect, Adam had to admit that his part in the whole set-up was much easier than Castiel's. However the balance they'd had back in the apartment they'd shared with Aziraphale and Crowley all but dictated that Adam provide the entertainment and Castiel provide the beverages. He wasn't going to go upsetting that now; besides, tea that he created out of nothing just didn't quite taste the same.

Raising his own cup of tea to his lips, Adam took a small sip after blowing across the top of the cup for a few seconds so as not to burn his tongue. He peered up at Castiel, through the wafting steam, his blue eyes studying the angel closely. As Crowley had often insinuated, when Adam looked at someone it felt almost as though he was looking right through them. Sizing them up. Seeing things that no one else could possibly hope to see. He didn't mean to do it, of course. He simply had quite a bit of power and far too much curiosity for it to properly be satiated in normal ways.

This time, however, he did his best not to be too intrusive. Some things just had to be sorted out on their own. So after placing his cup back down he didn't comment on anything he might or might not have seen. Instead he simply nodded at the checker board and said, "You can go first."

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heavenslancer
2010-05-24 11:18 am UTC (link)

Castiel wasn't in this borrowed apartment, for a moment, he was home, with his friend in the living room reading the paper or maybe some light tome because that's what you did when you drank tea in the living room. He didn't really want to open his eyes but not to would be unkind to his present company so he did, lowering the cup. "Is it acceptable?" he asked of the tea. Before waiting for the answer he placed the biscuits between them. He left his cup aside. He wasn't ready for more yet.

"Thank you Adam," Castiel nodded. As usual Castiel did not expect to win but, then, he didn't care if he did or not. The game wasn't the point. It was the excuse. It had never really been about the game or the paper of the ducks. Castiel lifted the little red disk carefully and advanced it a square. "What kind of things have you been doing with Gabriel?" Castiel asked casually. "Does he join in your games?" Castiel knew Gabriel had far greater capacity than he did for world building and creating space to explore. It was something his older brother did as a matter of course it seemed, certainly from all reports he had become very practiced in his time on Earth. The best Castiel could manage was checkers but Adam had never complained.

He wondered if the boy would teach him another game one day. Perhaps one with cards or a different board. He picked up his tea again. This time it was just tea... and it tasted good, familiar but a little different too. Castiel picked up a cookie. It would be the first thing he had eaten since the ice cream. He bit off a corner and chewed thoughtfully.
Yes, when all this was over he and Adam would learn a new game.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-24 11:51 am UTC (link)

Adam munched happily on one of the biscuits and slid one of his black checkers forward a square. He was perched on the edge of his seat, his feet swinging idly back and forth and the toes of his trainers scraping softly against the carpeted floor. His gaze darted up from the board, back to Castiel, and he gave a slight nod of his head.

"Yeah, he'll play if I ask him," he admitted in regards to Gabriel. He paused, considering how best to put what he wanted to say into the simplest terms, and finally settled for, "But it's not really the same. It's all well and good, 'course, but it just don't seem quite right." It wasn't that Adam had any issues with Gabriel. He actually got along fabulously with the Archangel. However he was so very different from both Aziraphale and Castiel that, at times, the boy almost wished for the more formal interaction than the laid back approach that Gabriel seemed to have to most everything.

Adam gave a faint shrug and reached for his tea. "The tea's really good," he added with another smile as he took a sip. "Gabriel don't really do tea much. He would, if I asked I think, but I don't think he'd really 'preciate it just right." It wasn't Gabriel's fault, of course. He was just too Americanized for his own good, is all it was.

Setting his cup back down, Adam took another bite of the biscuit in his free hand. "What about you?" he asked curiously. His expression became an almost knowing one. "You ain't been spending all your time just moping about, have you?"

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heavenslancer
2010-05-24 11:50 pm UTC (link)

Castiel didn't really understand what Adam meant though he understood some people were easier to get along with that others. Was he saying that Gabriel was more difficult company than himself? That Adam preferred the company people who were quieter by nature or was it more specific, was he comparing Gabriel to Aziraphale? All were his prerogative. Castiel himself had preferences when it came to people he wished to spend him time with. He nodded. Perhaps he did understand some of what Adam meant.

He slid another red disc along the board. The tea provided another clue. "Tea required precision to prepare and to appreciate. It is best to have few distractions when enjoying it." This was Castiel's way of saying he doubted Gabriel had the necessary interest or patience for enjoying tea, which was not a slight against him, merely a fact. Tea was not to everyone's taste and Castiel was sure Adam understood this too. After all, he had made the effort to come here, to wait quietly while Castiel prepared the tea in the careful fashion he had been taught because he understood, too, that it was the way to get the result they both wanted. Castiel and Adam, they had an understanding, a gift from Aziraphale.

Castiel didn't react to Adam's question, merely answered calmly. "No. I do not have the luxury of self indulgence at this time." Castiel had been performing his duty however he had spoken less that the little he already did, seeking out the company of those he felt needed it but desiring none for himself. Castiel was far more concerned with doing than feeling. It was, he decided, the best way to keep his focus. "How are you keeping?" he asked Adam, a far more specific question than it sounded.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-25 03:55 am UTC (link)

Adam studied Castiel for a long moment as though trying to sort out just what to say in response. Finally he gave a bit of a shrug and slid one of his own checkers forward. He picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea and glanced down at the biscuit in his hand. "You know," he said, forgoing discussing himself for the time being, "way I see it, there's nothing wrong with thinking about yourself sometimes too." He peered back up at the angel, almost looking at him through his lashes. It was an expression of calculated innocence that Adam had mastered quite some time ago.

"Sometimes, I think it might even help. Otherwise all that stuff you're trying not to think on could turn up at a pretty bad time," he pointed out in a reasonable tone. Then he took a bite of his biscuit and grinned as he chewed.

"And I reckon I can't complain much. Lucifer said I ain't gotta worry about him getting all bent out of shape over me not siding with him," he admitted. Pausing to swallow, he added pointedly, "Not that I was all that worried, mind. But Gabriel's right in that I shouldn't really jump into all of this on account of it not being my fight, and I reckon if Lucifer had decided otherwise I wouldn't have much choice." If he felt any guilt at not just fixing this problem for all involved, Adam certainly didn't show it. He simply took another sip of his tea and finished off the last of his biscuit.

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heavenslancer
2010-05-25 04:52 am UTC (link)

Castiel took one of Adam's pieced with barely a thought. "You are concerned for me," he said absently. "I understand." Castiel was going to deny he needed anything. He was going to make a case for staying focused on what needed doing and on ignoring the emotional impact of that and, had it been most other people questioning him he probably would but Adam understood so there was no need to deny it.

"I keep seeing him, when I close my eyes. I know what I have lost is not the same as what Crowley's has lost and so I felt I should ignore it. There has been much to think on but even that has been a poor distraction. He was always there, my first friend here and a good friend. I felt safe with him, content. I felt he understood my situation better than most but now he is gone and I do not feel this is the time to bring this concern to my brothers, they lost him too. Michael has lost his charge. They have their concerns and the public boards are not the places to grieve."

Castiel lowered his head a little. "I miss Aziraphale. I cannot believe I will not see him again though I know I will not. It doesn't make any sense." There, it was done, it was out. He took a long, slow sip of tea. He closed his eyes. "As for Lucifer I am glad he is not pressuring you. It would not go well for him if he was."

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humanincarnate
2010-05-25 05:15 am UTC (link)

Adam's expression was a sombre one as he peered down at the board between them. He made no move to reach for another biscuit, or his tea, or even one of his black checkers. He just sat there, his forehead creased and his mouth turned down a bit at the corners. Finally he gave a soft sigh and looked back to Castiel.

"Well, first up, Lucifer wouldn't have much room to really say much to me. He's not 'xactly known for doing what he should," he pointed out simply. Then he moved on, or rather back, to the important topic of discussion. Emotions were, of course, tricky things but Adam had quite a bit of insight for someone so young and saw no problem in sharing that insight with anyone who would listen. And, in some cases, even with those who wouldn't.

"And the way I see it, Dean and Sam and Claire are all here. They don't need the silly old board to talk to you and I know that Claire, at least, really cared a lot for Aziraphale too." He chewed absently on his lower lip before pointing out, "There ain't a thing wrong, I don't think, with talking to your friends about the stuff you're feeling. I can't say if the other angels would want to hear it all that much since, like you said, they've got their own troubles, but I think it'd be good for you to do that too once this is all over with. I know Gabriel misses Aziraphale in his own way, though he might not grieve in the same sort of fashion that others do." He didn't want to speculate on the others because he didn't know them as well as he knew the Archangel, but he silently thought that they probably would listen too. There was just a time and proper place, is all, and Castiel was right that this wasn't either.

Jumping Castiel's piece with one of his own, he pulled it off the board and absently twirled it between the fingers. "I do know that Aziraphale wouldn't want you to be alone and sad, though. He wouldn't want that for nobody, least of all one of his brothers."

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heavenslancer
2010-05-25 01:43 pm UTC (link)

"I have been speaking to them but not on this. Sam and Dean were never close to him and Claire is worried for her family. Perhaps I should speak to her all the same. I have little doubt she is experiencing what we are. Perhaps she is in need of a little tea." Ever practical, tea was easier to understand than words and, to Castiel, said what he wanted to say rather more eloquently. "I do not think speaking to them is wrong," Castiel said, "It is simply a practice I have not developed. I would speak to Aziraphale because he would speak to me of such things. Dean and Sam less so though I have found it easy, of late, to speak to Sam. That is... when I have not angered him."

That was something Castiel really didn't want to discuss. As far as he was concerned it was over and he was learning as quickly as he could how to exist balanced between two worlds and many roles. It was not beyond his capability but he was not going to develop it in an instant either. Claire and Adam were helping him immensely and he did not underestimate the value of their assistance.

Castiel nodded. "I never doubted the days after Lucifer was taken down would be for grieving, for those who are left to mourn those who are lost. I can wait until then to speak to them of this. I wish to be with my family then. That will be our time for restoration." Castiel had no doubt it would be needed. He only hoped there would be no more to grieve for than there already was. He made a conservative move with one of his pieces and smiled a little at Adam, a guarded smile. "I am not alone. As for sadness, it is there but it is not all that there is. Aziraphale left me many things to value." He picked up a second biscuit, feeling the need to keep his hands busy. "My friendship with you is one of those I am most appreciative of. I am glad I listened to him, on everything he ever said." Castiel lowered his eyes. "I will miss his guidance." Then the introspective moment was over. "Have you spoken to Crowley?" Castiel asked, with keep interest this time.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-26 12:26 am UTC (link)

Adam's own hands were resting on his legs, his palms pressing into his thighs. The jeans he wore had frayed spots across both of the knees and the tip of one of his fingers worried absent-mindedly at one of them. By the time the day was out there were better odds than not that the frayed patch would become a full-blown hole, which was when the pants finally would be comfortable in Adam's opinion. For now, however, it was simply a few strands of white material that stood in stark contrast to the rest of the blue-coloured denim.

He smiled brightly at Castiel. Anyone who was treated to a smile like that would argue to their last that there was no possible way that the boy was in any way, shape, or form related to Lucifer. Castiel knew the truth, of course, but it made Adam feel a lot better to hear the angel admit that he no longer considered that the most important thing about him. "I'm real glad we became friends too," he agreed readily before plucking another biscuit from the plate. He broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Washing the bite down with a sip of his tea, he glanced down at the murky liquid before looking back to his tea-drinking, checker-playing companion.

"I did," he admitted, in regards to Crowley. With a soft sigh, he set the tea cup back on the table and frowned thoughtfully. "I asked him if I could go by the bookshop the other day. I just wanted to be there for a bit. I'm not even rightly sure why, really." Adam slid one of his checkers forward a space then peered back up at Castiel.

"He said it was fine so long as I didn't mess nothing up, but I didn't go. I don't reckon it was really fine as much as he just figured it was good sense not to tell me no when I wanted t'do it, and that just don't seem very right somehow." He shook his head a little and sighed; he glanced down at the biscuit. "Gabriel said he reckons if anyone is going to come up with a way to stop Lucifer, it'll be Crowley. At first I thought he'd just gone a bit mad. Crowley made it awfully clear that he wanted nothing to do with any of it. But now..."

Adam shrugged slightly and met Castiel's gaze. "Now I think he might be right. Way I see it, if anyone's gonna be able to figure out a way to really get to Lucifer, it's gonna be him. Nobody else can really look at stuff the way he can. And nobody else - not even you or me - are as hurt about Aziraphale either. That's... that's..." He trailed off, looking for the right word.

"That's right and proper-like," he finally settled on, "I'd think."

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heavenslancer
2010-05-26 06:45 am UTC (link)

All of this talk of Crowley and Aziraphale made Castiel think of Michael and Charlie and of himself and Dean. How would he feel if- But it wasn't the same. As important as Dean was to Castiel they had not been together for millennia, together by choice and not circumstance. Castiel could appreciate but not even come close to understanding the depth Crowley's pain. He found that hurt too. It made Crowley seem even more alone and Castiel didn't like that. He was determined Crowley would not be left alone. Yes he would have his space now but eventually he would need someone to share things with. Castiel understood that, the pain it cost an angel to be alone. He did not think Crowley any different.

"I have not been back," Castiel said softly, speaking of Aziraphale's shop. He avoided it for different reasons to Adam. For Castiel it was what he would see, would image he would always see when he thought of Aziraphale's shop now no matter how hard he tried to remember it how it was. He sighed. "If you wish me to I will accompany you, when you feel it is appropriate to return." For Adam he would go back. Maybe even for himself. He disliked avoiding those things of his brother's but he appreciated Adam's respect of Crowley's feelings. If Crowley's wished it Castiel would never go back. All he could do was wait and see.

"Crowley has said he does not want to get involved however I do not believe his association with these events has ended either. I believe Father knew this too. I only hope the answer comes to him soon. Much harm is being done while we wait." Castiel was working hard on not letting his frustration control him. Today he was doing better than yesterday.

He was not concerned with who had the most right design that plan though he didn't say so. As long as it was done with as little loss as possible, or none. As long as it was done soon, that was all that mattered to him about it. Castiel chewed his biscuit thoroughly before he swallowed and nodded. "I would like for Crowley to find his peace, however he needs to." He tea cup was now empty. He filled it again, moving his piece but not paying much attention to the game now.

Castiel's gaze drifted to the window. "I would like to do something for my friend Claire," he said, distracted. "And I would like to ask for your help."

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humanincarnate
2010-05-26 12:57 pm UTC (link)

Adam's smile had softened from brilliance to true caring. A rare expression seen on his face if only due to the fact that he was an eleven year old boy and they simply didn't openly express themselves in such a fashion. Not unless they wanted to spend the next few years being unmercifully taunted by their peers, that is. However Adam allowed it this time because not only did he know Castiel wouldn't taunt him for such a thing but no one else was around to see it.

"Thanks just the same," he replied, "but I reckon if you go back into his shop it ought to be because you want to. Not just on account of me." Of course, if Castiel would rather go with Adam than on his own, the boy would understand, but for now the unspoken agreement seemed to be that it was too soon for either of them so he let the subject alone and moved smoothly on to the crux of what the angel had said.

Well, first, he paused. Only for a moment as his forehead crinkled in thought and he finished off his tea. His attention fell to the few drops that remained in the bottom of the cup and he tilted it back and forth, watching as they rolled around the smooth surface. He was always hesitant to agree to help someone and as much as he cared for Castiel, this was no exception. Adam knew, of course, that the angel would never intentionally ask him to do something that he wasn't comfortable with doing, but that was the problem. Adam himself didn't really know just what he was and wasn't comfortable with doing. His abilities were still too newly discovered and his place in the world still too uncertain for him to have an answer to that just yet.

Still. He thought of Claire. Of the fond way Aziraphale spoke of her. Of the fact that she clearly cared for Castiel, too. He'd seen her around on the network as well and she seemed to honestly be a good, nice person. So long as Castiel didn't want him to solve this whole Lucifer problem for them just for her sake or something, he didn't see any reason he would have not to help her. Finally, he looked back to the angel across from him and absently slid a checker forward a square.

"What did you have in mind?" he questioned once he'd finished his move. His feet had stopped swinging as he waited for the reply.

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heavenslancer
2010-05-28 02:48 am UTC (link)

Castiel nodded. "I do not wish to go yet. It is... not the time." He would go, eventually, he knew that, alone or with another he would go. He did not want his last memory of that place to be so quiet. He didn't want think of Aziraphale alone when the end came. He tried not to picture his brother's last sight, looking into the face of one of his own if it was even his face he saw.

Castiel did not like asking for help. He did not hold Adam to any obligation, would not be concerned if the boy declined. He had not asked Claire if she wanted what he was trying to procure for her. She may refuse. It was still worth asking.

"The ones I care for, they are here but Claire, those she cares for... she cannot see them. She must hide here. I know she is concerned. Is there a way... she can see them? She can know they are safe that will not put her at risk of being followed?"

Castiel slid one of his pieces into a gap in his line and took a delicate sip of his tea.

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humanincarnate
2010-05-29 06:47 pm UTC (link)

Adam thought for a moment about what Castiel was asking. His head tilted to the side a bit and his face scrunched up into a contemplative expression. Finally he straightened up and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I don't see why not," he replied simply. Scratching at the side of his nose, he looked down to the checker board and considered his next move.

"I can make it so can't nobody follow them coming or going from here, easy," he admitted as he slid another of his pieces forward - effectively sacrificing it to get one of Castiel's pieces in a more prime position for jumping. He peered up at the angel. "'Course," he added carefully, "it couldn't be all the time and I can't much stop them from telling nobody if they get asked."

He hesitated. "Well, I can," he admitted, "but I don't much like messin' folks about like that. No, that just don't seem all that fair. But making sure they can least come here and see her, just so she'd know they're okay, I can do that." He could also make it so any correspondence between Claire and her family was kept confidential, but he didn't offer that right off the bat. Instead he just scratched the side of his nose again and went back to idly swinging his legs.

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