eek, monsters

[pandion]

Time goes by. Trouble keeps right on bringing desserts (and once a quiche and once a loaf of bread with nuts in it). The Swans are uncomplaining. On Christmas Eve he brings two kinds of cookies and an astonishingly edible fruitcake and stays overnight on the couch. (Andi, self-servingly, got him a little box of assorted Genuine Maple Products. Bella got him an inexpensive yet adorable miniature sewing machine.) Robin comes over too, Christmas day (Andi gives her a packet of guitar strings and sheet music for assorted Green Day songs. Bella gets her a tiny tape recorder.)

School is back in session in January, after New Year's. (The twins set off small fireworks in the driveway - well, Andi does. Robin is invited to this event; Trouble is not, it somehow does not seem wise.)

Now it is the first weekend after the resumption of school.

Robin's supposed to be over any minute for practice for Nameless Band Which Kind Of Needs A Third Person But Bella Doesn't Want To. Andi taps out beats on her drums. Taptaptap. Taptaptap-kish. Taptaptap. Taptaptapkish.

Comments

[hold_infinity]

"Right," says Robin. "Now if only we had a way to check."

[instar]

"Unless the store has only recently become a front for alien activity, they probably maintain normal operations during the day," says Bella. "If any of us has an excuse to go to that kind of store, we can look for out of place things, there. I'm not that keen on the idea, but more information is better."

[palmofyourhand]

"I'll take a look," offers Ethan.

[instar]

"Okay, good. And if it's something like, I don't know, a tire shop, a liquor store, someplace we can't reasonably be, we're somewhat out of luck, but most stores are places where fifteen-year-olds may appear without too much suspicion."

[palmofyourhand]

He nods agreement.

[instar]

"Robin, can we get you anything besides meringues?"

[hold_infinity]

Reminded, she grabs another one.

"I could use a cup of tea," she says hesitantly.

[pandion]

Andi gets up, goes to the kitchen, and peers into the tea cupboard. "Peach, raspberry mint, white with cinnamon, chanomile?" she calls.

[hold_infinity]

"White with cinnamon," Robin decides. "Thanks. You're a star."

[pandion]

"No problem." Andi puts a glass of water in the microwave and leans on the threshold. "Bella, if we figure out what's going on what happens next?"

[instar]

"If we could know that before finding out what's going on," Bella says, "there would be no point to the finding out."

[hold_infinity]

Robin snorts.

[instar]

"If they're friendly and doing a bad job at it, or friendly and doing the best they can but it's not very good, then it's relatively straightforward, for contact with an alien species. If some of them are friendlier than others - depends on the exact politics of the situation, I guess. If they're all unfriendly then - documentation, lots of it, and finding some sort of trustworthy authority with more firepower than four teenagers."

[hold_infinity]

She nods slowly.

[instar]

"Do you guys own cameras with instant-developing film? Me and Andi have one between us. I might be able to figure out how to muffle the noise it makes. The kind that require developing is better than nothing, but we don't know how many aliens there are or whether their interactions with humans might tend to be more diplomatic. Digital is also better than nothing but it'd be harder to demonstrate that the photos were untampered with."

[palmofyourhand]

"I can get my hands on a digital," says Ethan.

[instar]

"And it won't be confiscated back by your parents?"

[palmofyourhand]

"Not bloody likely; I borrowed it six months ago and it's been sitting in the back of a drawer ever since."

[instar]

"Ah, all right then. Robin?"

[hold_infinity]

She shakes her head.

[instar]

"Okay. We don't yet know that documentation should be the done thing, but if you see an opportunity to grab one do. The ideal would actually be one that could take video."

[hold_infinity]

"I'll keep it in mind."

[instar]

"And of course this only applies if there are theoretically circumstances in which you're willing to poke around potentially hostile aliens' lairs. It's possible I shouldn't make runs in person at all just because I'll trip over something and get attention while attempting to be stealthy."

[hold_infinity]

"...Theoretically," she says, recalling the demon with a wince. "Very, very theoretically."

[instar]

"Can you tell us under what circumstances?"