Gatt looked at the crate in front of the counter. Len was scowling. "It all has to go back, this isn't our order." she said. He frowned. She'd had to return two crates for the same reason already and shipping wasn't refundable. It pissed him off when things needlessly cost her money.

"I'll take care of it." he promised his boss.

"Where's Blade?" she asked.

"He went to get something from the house he said." Gatt told her.

"Well he wasn't there a little while ago and I didn't see him walking." Len said.

"You want him to call you when he comes back?" Gatt asked.

She nodded "On this, tell him not to lose it." she said and handed Gatt the cell phone she'd just bought so she could keep up with her foster son.

Gatt nodded. "You going to physical therapy?" he asked. She nodded.

Once his boss had left gatt nailed the crate back.

Blade had hurried very quickly away from the girl's house. He had tried so hard not to look at her mother. He didn't want to stare. It would have made him want to break his promise to the kid even more than he already wanted to.

It didn't take him long to make it back to the gallery because he had broke out into a run the moment he was entirely out of sight of the girl and her mother. By the time he reached the gallery and went inside, the kid was breathing heavily.

He paused briefly to check the gift shop and saw that the man he was looking for wasn't there. So he heads for the back rooms.

"Gatt!" he calls out breathlessly as he comes through the doors. "Where are ya?"

Gatt was just coming through the doors that lead to the rooms behind the actual gallery. "Len was looking for you." he told the boy. "Everything okay? You sure were gone a while." he said.

"Oh shit," he mutters while trying to catch his breath. "Was she upset that I wasn't here?" he asks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long." He went on to tell Gatt about the girl who had been being picked on by the two boys and all that fun jazz.

"I freaked myself out Gatt! I shoved them both without touching them! The one kid... I broke his middle finger that he used to flip me off!"

"Huh? She was worried, I think she was hoping to catch you before she went to her physical therapist's. She left you this and said to call her." Gatt said handing over the phone. He mulled over what to do about Blade's obviously budding powers.

He reached out and took the phone from Gatt. "Sweeeeet," he said eyeing it. "Call her at the house or what?"

He looked at the phone for only a brief moment more before returning his attention to Gatt.

"Man it was so freaky," he says. "I didn't even mean to. I just wanted to get the boys away from that little girl. They were picking on her so bad. Then one of them called me a faggot and it pissed me off."

"I'm assuming her celphone if she's at PT. Well do you belive me at least, about your er, abilities?" He asked.

"Alright," he says. "I'll call her in a few. I'm too wound up to call her right now. She'd want to know what was up and I can't tell her what I'm telling you."

He paused for a moment to think about Gatt's question.

"I don't have much choice anymore," he answers with a slight nod of his head.

"I don't know much about what you're doing, I know a lot about healing and protection, the rest of what I know is basic. But I think I know someone who could teach you. If I can convince her...." he said.

"Someone to teach me?" he asks. His /full/ attention is on Gatt at this point. "Awesome! Who?"

"Yeah, My sister if I cn get her to....talk to me." Gatt says sheepishly.

"The one you said my magic feels similar to? Or something like that? Oh what was her name that you said..." He pauses for a moment to think. "Viv was it? You had said something about me possibly being related to her or something?"

"Let's let Viv draw her own conclusions about that, she can be, not so nice sometimes." Gatt warned. Is it clear his sister intimidates him?

He nods slightly. "Alrighty," he says. "Will do."

Pause.

"She really that bad?" he asks curiously.

"She can be, very unpleasant." He said absently as he dialed her number. He sounds very meek while talking to her.


"She'll come she says, tommorow. Will that work for you?" Gatt asked.

The boy just stood there and watched Gatt dial his phone. He got a curious look on his face at the meekness of Gatt's voice as he spoke on the phone.

"Yeah. Sure," he says. "Tomorrow's fine."

"She'll meet us here. You should call Len now." Gatt said.

(feel free to leap ahead)

"Alright. That's cool," he says. "I'll call Ellen right now," he says and starts to head into one of the work rooms. He talks to her for a few minutes before hanging up. He then stands there looking at the project he started but ends up turning and walking away from it. He heads out into the front. "I'm going to head home," he tells Gatt. "See ya tomorrow." Then he leaves.


..........leaping ahead..........


The next morning, the boy wakes up bright and early. He's feeling better after getting a good nights sleep. He'd ended up going to bed early for some reason. He had to assure his foster mom that he was feeling okay and that he really was just tired before going.

He got up, ate a bowl of cereal, showered and got dressed. He's wearing a pair of baggy jean shorts that barely hang on his hips and a red fishnet tank top. His red boxers can be seen through it. On his feet are his red sneakers. He pulls his long black hair back into a pony tail and ties his red bandana around the top of his head. The boy leaves a note for Ellen on the table letting her know he's off to the gallery again to continue working on the thing he started and out the door he goes. He knows that one of these days she's going to catch him before he leaves because he's been avoiding doing anything that has to do with schooling. His art seems to be more important to him than anything else at the present time.

It doesn't take him long to get to the gallery because he makes no stops in between. He's in quite the good mood today. So good that he might actually be able to work some more on the project that he started without getting discouraged and walking away from it.

"Hey Gatt!" he calls out as he strides into the gallery. "You fed the fish yet?"

"Uhuh." he said as he still moved about turning on individual lights on paintings and in display cabinets. "Why don't you ever mes with school work?" He asked curiously. He wondered what Viv would make of the kid. She could be very strict much like Mac at times.

"Sweet," he says. "Then I got here in time." He's got a big grin on his face. "Can I feed 'em today? You can watch and make sure I don't give 'em too much."

Oh damn. His grin faltered slightly. "Um... I... uh..." he stammers. "I'd rather work on my art," he finally states with a nod of his head to give it emphasis.

As long as she doesn't lock him in a dark closet, he'll be fine.

Viv's strict not cruel to children.

Gatt watches the boy feed the boy feed the fish. "Well It's up to Len I guess, what you do anyways." he said.

"I... um... have been gettin' up and headin' here before she's even up and about yet," he says and fidgits with the container of fish food. "Alright... so I've been avoidin' it."

"Can't Len get in trouble for that?" Gattling asked. He was pretty sure she could.

The boy fidgets a bit more.

"I... um..." he stutters. "I dunno..."

He thinks maybe but doesn't say so.

"But Gatt... I'd rather work on my art and stuff..."

Cause don't you know, art is so much more important than reading.

Sure...

"It isn't me you'll have to sell on that." Gattling told the boy softly.

"I know..." he says and puts the fish food away finally before he ends up spilling it all over the place.

"But this thing I've been workin' on... It's so cool," he says with enthusiasm and a returning wide grin on his face. "No one can see it till it's done though."

He glances around briefly. "Need any help turnin' stuff on?"

"Nah go work on, your secret project." Gatt said smiling at the kid.

"Alright," he says grinning. "If you need help with anything, just hollar."

With that, he turns and heads into the back work room that he had stashed his project into and pulled it out so he could start working on it. He tends to get pretty wrapped up in what he's doing. So... if Gatt needs him for anything, he'll have to hollar pretty loud.

Gatt doesn't need him for a darned thing for about four hours. That's when Viv shows up. They have a hushed converstaion themselves before Gatt goes back to get Blade.

After four hours straight of working on his project, he decides to put it away and take a break for a little while. He was just finishing putting it away and walking out of the room when he spotted Gatt.

"Hey!" he says with a wide grin. "I was just takin' a break. My hands were gettin' tired. Whatcha up to?" Blade's been using an awful lot of slang language when Ellen's not around. Swearing too.

"Vivienne is here. She's a grouchy serious person, I'm sorry. She really can teach you though." Gattling said.

"Oh," he says. "Eh, it's alright. I can deal." Sounding just a little cocky there boy.

The blood mage stood out in the galery waiting. She examined a painting while she did. One of Len's it was of water sprites. Very fanciful piece.

"Viv this is Blade, the boy I told you about. Blade this is my sister Viv." Gatt said.

Vivienne turned around and examined the boy. She gave him a gentle probe too and lifted an eyebrow.

Blade followed Gatt out into the gallery where the woman was waiting. As they neared, he pulled his back up straight and walked... no, that's not right... strode towards her. His head held high and proud. Green eyes darted over the woman briefly before settling on her face.

"Pleased ta meetcha," he says as she turns around. He notices the raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Gattling a warning might have been nice." Viv said lowering the eyebrow. She means about the boy's paternity. "Where are you from?" she asked.

Can we say confusion? That's exactly what's starting to show on the boys face. He's very nearly ready to say something smart assed but changes his mind in mid-thought.

"California."

Vivienne shakes her head. Mac had always taken a lot of trips. Now how was it that two of Mac's bastards had wound up in the same city as her? she still didn't know what to do about Patrick <aka Sin>.

"Gatt says you need a teacher. What's been happening?" she asked. More probing ever so gently. Mac's already been at him, it's not a nice thought.

He frowns slightly as he watches her shaking her head. "What?" he asks her. He turns his gaze towards Gatt. "What??" He wants to know what that was just all about.

"I dunno," he says. "Weird shit. Door flyin' across the room. Window breakin' when I'm not near it. Shovin' two boys without even touchin' them. Broke one of those boys middle finger for flippin' me off. It just happens."

"Gatt is there some place in here where no one will bug us?" Viv asked her brother.

He nodded. "Blade Why don't you and Viv go use the Yoga room?" Gatt suggests.

He scowls as it seems his wanting to know what they're talking about is going ignored. The boy can sometimes be easily annoyed like that. He doesn't like to be ignored. At all.

"Alright," he says and turns around quickly in the other direction. As he nears the yoga room, the doors thrust open before he even reaches them fully. "It's in here."