Normally, Abe woke up easily without the use of an alarm clock to start his day. He wouldn’t call himself a ‘morning’ person exactly as the Moroi generally kept a nocturnal schedule, but since that schedule didn’t apply in Atlantis, he preferred getting up and going in order to take his time rather than rush through the morning. Today, though, was proving to be a different story. It was past 10 AM, and Abe was still in bed asleep. His phone buzzed at him from the nightstand, and he groaned, rolling over and bringing the covers above his head. When the phone rang instead of buzzed with messages, he let out a huff and sat straight up, glaring at the bright screen that dared to bother him while he was having some important me time before he played video games until lunchtime.
Me time? Video games?
That was when he saw his hands. His tiny hands and his legs under the covers that only extended barely a couple feet out in front of him. Hands went to the sides of his face and no longer did he feel the coarse beard but instead smooth skin and small features that weren’t his own. His fingers then went to his mouth, his teeth, and he sighed with relief when he felt the prick of his fangs still present. At least he was still a vampire.
But even without looking in the mirror, he knew what had happened to him. Abe Mazur was a child. Again.
There was both the feeling of dread and excitement. His normal personality coupled with the exuberance of a child. Truthfully, he’d always still held onto a few youthful traits, but he knew when he could push those and when he needed to be an adult. Right now? The last thing he wanted to do was go to work and be an adult. Gross.
His clothes were all too big, but he dug through the closet and managed to find a pair of pants and shirt that he’d held onto the first time he’d become a child. He spiked up the front of his hair and wrapped a too-long scarf around his neck and was out the door. His roommates had already gone to work, so the house was empty. He skipped along the streets of Atlantis and knew exactly where he was going to go. Instead of going to the bar, he decided to dart off and go to the beach instead. Why? Because he could.
There wasn’t much about a fight that Janine wasn’t normally and very overly prepared for - but Atlantis had quickly taught her that no matter how skilled she believed she was that no amount of a tactician’s mind and a protective personality could prepare her for the absolutely unpredictable nature of the island. That, of course, left her more on edge here than she ever was at home - though, with no Strigoi, she also in the oddest way found it easier to relax as well. Or, relax as good as she ever had been at it. With everything that had been going on and the Arena still fairly fresh in most people’s memories - Janine had really amped up her security rounds.
Admittedly, it was actually pretty nice to be able to patrol the whole island - rather than to be on constant patrols of some hotel or some castle or some house somewhere. Janine never would have complained about life as a Dhampir, but there was certainly something to be said about the fact that security rounds on Atlantis could be the base or the city proper - or see her taking a longer walk towards the beach so she could eat her lunch outside. That was a luxury she was happy to get used to.
Janine had just stepped onto the sidewalk when a small boy darted past her, causing her to take a half step back - eyebrows arched as she looked after him, “Don’t you have school or… camp or something.” It wasn’t like there weren't any children on the island, but almost being ran over by one was something Janine genuinely questioned.
He would have continued on running past most people, but when Abe saw the flash of familiar red hair and the sound of a familiar voice, he screeched to a halt and turned around. Oh, this was going to be a lot of fun. Abe liked fun no matter his size or age. Skipping back over to Janine, he smiled broadly up at her.
"School's out for the summer," he sing-songed. "And I didn't sign up for any camps. Do they have those here?" He genuinely didn't know the answer to that since it wasn't as if he was responsible for anyone, much less someone who was school-aged.
"Where are you going? Can I come?" He didn't really have any intention of spending much time at the base while he was amped on more energy than he'd had at his normal age in years, but he was curious how Janine Hathaway would handle a young child like him especially before she started to realize who he really was.
"I was going to the beach. You could go there instead," he suggested and slowly began to smirk. "I can wait for you to go back and get your swimsuit."
Janine actually didn’t have an answer to that question - she hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time around young children, at least until lately. She had probably spent more time around children on Atlantis in a few months than she had back home entirely. Of course, there had been good reasons for that, but right now she was sort of wishing she knew a little more than ‘there is school’ and ‘normal kids go to camp’. She was pretty sure about that at least, human children went to camp. She was fairly sure that meant that Atlantis would have such an offering - Ivan, however, was too young for camp and the girls were well past the camp age. That was - months in - still an adjustment, but she steeled her face and none of her contemplation showed as she eyed the child.
There was… something familiar about him? But Janine was very sure the only child she interacted with often was had grandson. That was a word that had taken getting used to. The red headed woman squinted down at the child - she was skeptical but she was going to make an attempt, “I was going to have my lunch on the beach.” She ignored the swimsuit comment, it was odd and definitely not a middle-of-the-workday nor with-some-random-child activity. “I’m guessing you might need a little supervision.”
The child’s mannerisms reminded her of Abe and Rose and she knew precisely where that amount of precociousness could get someone. The answer was, would remain, and was solidly trouble. Plus, if this became an issue beyond her own lunch period she could text someone to come corral the child. It didn’t even cross Janine’s mind yet that this may have been a very big practical joke brought on her by the island.
Abe could tell that he might have taken her a little by surprise with his demeanor and mannerisms, but that was all a part of the fun. Several others would probably remember what he looked like the last time this happened, but Janine Hathaway hadn't been here. Abe wasn't Abe if he didn't take a little advantage of the circumstances.
"I'm always in need of a little supervision, Guardian Hathaway," he said, this time with a wink. He was little by little giving himself away, but that didn't matter. He was still having fun with the banter.
"Lunch on the beach. Good idea. It's the perfect day for such an outing." Stepping over next to her, Abe smiled up at the occasionally menacing guardian. He reached out and linked his arm in hers. "Then let's be on our way."
If Janine had been on top of her game she likely would have realized it was Abe - rather than just speculating quietly to herself, but there were certainly parts of her that had yet to truly adjust to Atlantis and perhaps this was one of those situations where that was a bit more obvious than others. Guardian Hathaway was very good at playing perfect paragon but even she, in times of uncertainty, had her flaws. Not recognizing Abe as a child was somewhere between flaw and willful denial. A fairly concrete sign that there were parts of her, perhaps, that her and her daughter should be a little more conscious that they shared. Ironically - only made more difficult by the things Rosemarie got from the man-child stood in front of her.
In Atlantis she had three grandchildren - compared to the none at home and two being adults that had certainly been a whole thing - so you could say that Janine was, truly, only recently acquired with the actual realities of what being in a parental or parental adjacent role meant. She loved her daughter, it just didn’t mean she had a lot of experience and that was… probably very obvious in her awkwardness around this somewhat-familiar-but-coudn’t-put-a-finger-on-it-chid. Caing her Guardian Hathaway only made that worse; as it were there were several generations of Atlantis born children around, enough for her not to question it immediately at least. This was, after all, a child. Even Janine Hathaway wouldn’t wish to upset a child.
“Supervision and I get my lunch, I suppose our direction is the beach then.” It was stoic, she really didn’t know how to talk to young children. But she did know how to corral them towards the beach - and that is what she did.
"If you're gonna eat then maybe we should pick something else for me too," Abe said and looked up at her curiously as they walked. He still had his arm linked in hers, though at his current height it was somewhat more awkward than normal whenever he linked arms with a woman. Not that he minded. Abe was still carrying on as his normal, confident self; he just happened to be several feet shorter than usual.
"Simp Hop is close by. And they have fast takeaway." He knew that from experience. Abe enjoyed cooking whenever he had quiet nights at home, but there was only so much bar food he could eat when staying late at the bar. Speaking of the bar, he probably ought to call out for the foreseeable future. It was hard to imagine that most people would take him too seriously in this form.
"Do you like living in Atlantis?" Abe asked her once they were about a block away from Simp Hop. He was actually genuinely curious as to what her answer would be. She'd been here before and had seemed to enjoy it well enough, but it was hard to tell how she was handling it this time around. Janine Hathaway appreciated order, and Atlantis was generally anything but rule and order. There were also no Strigoi in sight (anymore), so her style of fighting likely had been adjusted since she arrived as part of the security detail.
This child was very confident. Not that Janine was unfamiliar with confidence, she had plenty of it herself even though it wasn’t particularly as laced with ego as it was with many. Her brain was still scratching the surface at why this particular child that she was fairly sure she didn’t know seemed so familiar and she was, if that wasn’t obvious as well, certainly curious how a child could know her and her not know them. Then again she had two grandchildren here that knew her (Ivan aside as he was a bit young to really count as ‘knowing’ someone) that she certainly didn’t know so it probably didn’t register as strange as it would have if she had been freshly to the island. She was quite determined to figure it out.
“Oh, well I suppose it wouldn’t be very fair to keep an eye on you and not get you lunch as well.” A child running around being mischievous could easily become a security concern anyway so technically it wasn’t even entirely out of her normal job. Janine was very close to considering this a working lunch.
Narrowing her eyes she looked down at the child, “It is a tad chaotic.” Janine admitted, though she was becoming too aware of the fact that she had no idea who they were and… theoretically this could as easily be an island quirk or COS or an actual child. The odds were pretty even between the options. “You know, for someone very keen on asking questions and knowing me you haven’t introduced yourself and I would daresay I hope wherever your parents are they’d instilled a little more manners than that.”
"It can be, but sometimes that adds to the fun and excitement." It could also be hard and cruel at times, but he didn't bring that up. Abe didn't want to get into that aspect of what Atlantis was like. Not when he was barely four feet tall and his impulse control felt much less than even normal.
They arrived at Simp Hop, and Abe skipped inside with Janine close behind him. As they waited in line to order, he looked up at her for a moment. She really still hadn't been able to figure out who he was. He wasn't giving himself away, but there were a few hints here and there that he'd tried to slip in to see her reaction. He shrugged. "They tried," he said of his parents and smiled. It was one of those knowing smiles that Abe had given her more than once over the years.
"Atlantis likes to play tricks," he remarked, not answering her question on his name yet. "You weren't here for the first time this happened, but this is the second time I've had the chance to relive my youth." He paused, waiting to see if she was getting closer to the prize.
Deciding to give himself away, he switched to his native tongue, "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, my dear." He then switched back to English. "Ibrahim Mazur, at your service," he said, bowing just slightly and then stepped up to the counter to order, acting as if he'd just told her what time it was. "Want anything?"
And there it was, of course Janine had had the nagging suspicion in the back of her mind but she was, after all, still herself and there was certainly a part of Janine that was still grappling with just how to handle Atlantis. She wasn’t exactly the sort of woman who was predisposed to fits of fancy or whimsy - so even when she thought she might just have figured something out, her brain still sort of held her back from time to time. Clearly she really needed to work on that as her instincts had ultimately been correct, as they should have been. “Well, you know, I really should have seen that one coming.” As stiff as she could be from time to time, she wasn’t above a little bit of a joke about herself. She’d known in her gut that child was familiar and with a little… playfully dejected look on her face she had to admit to herself that she had let herself overlook it.
“You can feel free to make fun of me for it later.” She answered him, in Turkish, before switching back to English herself. “But for now, I think you might be in just a bit of too much trouble even for you, Ibriham.” She couldn’t help but chuckle, now that she knew it was him - this went from strange curiosity to amusement. And Janine could use a little more amusement in her life, so if this was what today was going to throw at her - she was prepared to go with it. No doubt was their daughter likely to get amusement out of this little run in as well.
Arching an eyebrow she looked down at Abe, still perhaps a bit perturbed with herself, “I do already have my lunch but I think I may collect on the offer at some later point in equal payment for you playing a joke on me.”
"Oh, don't worry," he said with a smirk. "I will." While there may not have been any reason for her to suspect that Abe had been turned into a child, he still could tease her about it taking some time for her to figure out for months to come. He'd held lesser information that was not nearly as much fun over people's heads in the past.
He shrugged his shoulders and went ahead to order his own food after she didn't want any. He had no doubt she'd collect on that offer some day in the future, and he looked forward to it. He'd never held back his enjoyment over spending time with Janine in whatever capacity. Having fun - again, in any capacity- had never been an issue with them.
As they waited for his food, Abe bounced and rocked back on his feet a couple of times. He'd been an active man over the years, but the energy pouring out of him was definitely a boost that he was going to have to take advantage of while he had it. He'd drive himself crazy if he felt like this all of the time.
"So, beach?" He asked her again once the food was ready and they both had their lunches in tow. He wouldn't be able to stay out in the open sun for too long, but it didn't seem to bother him quite as badly today. Whether that was thanks to his youthful exuberance or an Atlantis side effect he wasn't sure.
"I want to see if I can chase the seagulls before I get too hot."
In many ways Janine had to be relieved at some level that it had been Abe. If it had been something else this would have turned into a rather embarrassing situation, where as with it being Abe this was going to be something she laughed about later, in his defense - he had always been able to provide that little bit of amusement to her life that most others didn’t pull off. Perhaps it was because they’d known each other so long, and outside of any other social or professional roles they played, or perhaps it was something else. Which made it almost all too fitting. Janine had few people she was comfortable with socially and so it was relieving and both something she knew she would very much have to get back at him for later. She’d save that later for when it felt right. Janine Hathaway, after all, was nothing shy of a master tactician.
Right now, she had to just focus on getting through this mid-day lunch or perhaps the afternoon and not getting herself scraped up trying to keep a very young and assumably hyper Abe out of trouble. Definitely a bit of karmic retribution for something or another there. But she’d just count on ‘forcing’ him into a meal later to get over it. Forcing was, perhaps far, far too strong of a word but it was applicable situationally.
“I have no intentions on letting you ruin my lunch plans.” She said, looking down at him with an arched eyebrow. It was true, Janine wouldn’t have. But it was also a joke in many ways people may not have understood coming from her. “And if that entails having to remind you that seagulls aren’t great for your hair repeatedly, I am, very much still getting my lunch on the beach.”
"Good. Because I have no intention ruining those lunch plans." Lunch on the beach and a little fun running and splashing around sounded like a good afternoon to Abe. He'd probably regret it later once the afternoon sun started to take its toll, and who knew how he would feel once he was his normal age again. He could foresee himself taking another day off from work.
"Don't worry, my dear. I'll have them chased away before they ever dare touch your hair." And what nice hair it was. Abe had always been fond of it when they were younger and still was. Red to match the fire she carried around from time to time. Most thought that Janine Hathaway was stoic and all business, but Abe knew a different side of her that most either had forgotten existed or had never seen.
It took a little time, but they made their walk to the beach. Once they were nearly to the public entrance, Abe turned back and smirked at her. "I'll clear the area for us," he said and barely a second or two later he ran ahead and charged at the seagulls that were minding their own business on the sand. He'd make it up to them later and offer the birds a few pieces of food to bring on a swarm of them, but for now it was lunch time and no seagulls allowed.
Life as a kid for Abe was by far one of the easiest days in Atlantis yet.