There was still uncertainty in Sam’s mind as she parked the Beetle outside of Adelyn’s grandparent’s house. Adelyn had given her a call, insisting that she was better and was ready to help her. The gunshot in her foot had been bad. Sam was worried it wasn’t healed enough for her to be running around, especially at the places she planned to bring Adelyn. After all, they needed to go to the place where he had disappeared from.
Underneath her long sleeved turtleneck and her loose jeans, she was wearing the new suit that she’d been given. Purple and black and with a much more comfortable fit than her ten-year-old suit had been. It didn’t match her phoenix mask anymore, but Sam had plans for a new mask. This one would have feathers and would be even more beautiful than the last mask. For now, she had one of her two old black upper face masks on. The other was in her bag, alongside a short cape, both painted in the reflective paint that distorted cameras. Those were for Adelyn.
After all, she couldn’t run around as Phoe– as Crow– as whoever she was now, with a very easily recognizable teenage girl. The mask cut off on the bridge of the nose, so hopefully Adelyn’s senses wouldn’t be muddled by it. But for her own safety, Sam was going to insist on at least the mask.
She tugged on the ribbed collar of the new suit, then covered it as best she could with her shirt. Sam left the backpack in the car, on the passenger seat. Inside was the rest of her gear and the gear for Adelyn. She stepped out of the car and locked it, then headed up to the door. She patted her pocket to make sure the other gift for Adelyn was still there, and the slight bump told her it was. Sighing, she walked up to the door.
There was no reason for her to be so nervous. Except that the last time she was here, she had been sewing their granddaughter’s foot shut. So maybe nervous was okay. But her grandparents knew Sam only wanted what was best for Adelyn, that she believed in the girl. So maybe that was on her side.
Either way, she raised a hand and knocked on the front door.
The door swings open the moment Sam’s knuckles brush against it, and Adelyn comes rushing out, ducking under her still-outstretched arm and hopping down the front steps, her paws soft against the stone despite her hurry.
“Going now! Love you! Bye!” She calls over her shoulder, already racing for the car. There are grumbles from within the house, but she ignores them in favor of sliding over the hood of the car and ducking down on the other side. She pops back up a moment later, peeking over the expanse of metal to wave Sam over. Her smile is tinged with an eager sort of nervousness, and neither the hand nor the paw that come up to hold the edge of the hood are covered by her usual gloves.
Then Gramps appears in the doorway like an angry specter, puffed up with worry and indignation, and Adelyn ducks back down with a squeak. The old man sighs, heavy and put-upon, and assesses Sam with a measured look before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Ah-hem. Right.” Another sigh, and a glance at the car, Adelyn’s paw disappearing from sight as soon as he lays eyes on it. He somehow manages to convey rolling his eyes, though they remain as blank as ever. “You take care of her, ya hear? We owe ya for bringin’ her back, but don’t think we’ll forgive her getting hurt on your watch.”
“Grampaaaa…” Adelyn whines, and he shoots her a look so sharp it sends her ducking down again in a swirl of hair. Ooh, they are not happy with her.
“I do hope you find what yer lookin’ for,” he finishes, curt but not completely unkind. He puts a hand on the door and sends one last withering look in Adelyn’s general direction, then spares Sam a faint smile. “Good huntin’.”
The door starts to close, much more softly than it had opened, Gramps already turned to go back inside.
There was a moment of movement and Adelyn was past her and out the door, rushing for the car. But not before Sam saw what Adelyn had done. She breathed in sharp as she saw the panther nose in the middle of her friend’s face. It looked good on her, all things considered. But it meant that Adelyn had sacrificed more of her human self for this, to help her find Todd.
Todd was going to be so sad about that, but Sam found herself trying not to cry. It was a beautiful gesture, a beautiful change, a beautiful sacrifice. It hit her deep in the gut to know that Adelyn cared enough to help them like this. That was why she was watching Adelyn when her grandfather turned up at the door. She quickly whipped back around, turning her full attention to the older man.
“I’ll keep her safe. I promise. I won’t let her get hurt, sir.” She gave a nervous look, understanding what Adelyn has given up. From what Sam knew, Adelyn would always be this now. She wouldn’t ever be as human as she once was again. That was such a huge sacrifice. “Thank you. I mean, for the good hunting.”
She took a step back as the door started to close, heading back to the car to join Adelyn. She looked over her shoulder at the girl, her friend, and gave her a small smile. She waved to suggest the car was unlocked and she could get in.
Adelyn, hearing the door shut, cautiously peeks up over the hood of the car again. Her shoulders drop when she sees that it’s just Sam making her way back to the car, and she stands fully, a sheepish smile on her face. The wheels smell like rubber and road, and while she doesn’t mind getting so closely acquainted with them, exactly, she can’t say they’re her favorite smells ever. She’s glad to be out in the open air again, where the smells are more diffused.
Maybe she should’ve taken a little more time to figure out how her new nose works, before jumping into the search for Todd. But that would’ve meant talking to her grandparents, which would’ve meant talking to her parents (again), and she’s just not ready for that yet!
But she will be! … Eventually.
For now, she pulls lightly on the car door’s handle, tugging it open and propping it against her hip as she scoops up the backpack currently occupying her seat. She’s quick to bundle herself into the car, setting the backpack on her lap and letting the door fall mostly shut, kept open only by the light press of her hind paw.
She doesn’t open the backpack, although she’s itching to know what’s inside, but she does give it a very curious look as she waits for Sam to join her.
Sam took a few extra seconds than she needed, moved a little slower than she normally would have, to get to the car. And even then, she paused at the door. She had a deep apprehension about taking Adelyn where she was going to, but it was… necessary. She had a bag of his clothes in the trunk, but she knew that the crime scene where they had found his mask hadn’t been cleaned up by the city yet.
His blood was still there.
She knew it had been tainted chemically with bleach, but underneath that, the scent should have been the same. If she were right, that was. She also might be considering taking Adelyn to the crime scene for nothing. Maybe the scent on the clothes was enough. They were two weeks old, almost three at this point, and the scent had probably faded off them, but… it was worth a test shot.
She opened the door and slipped into the driver’s seat of the old Beetle. She stayed facing forward for a moment, then turned a tired smile onto Adelyn. As she had seen, the nose in the middle of the girl’s face was no longer human, but feline. It suited her, in a way, with her completely milky eyes. She took a breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t sure what to say. Should she compliment the nose? Or not? Maybe she just didn’t address it. Adelyn knew she could see it. And she wasn’t about to scold her for it.
“Okay. I suppose we should get started immediately. The faster we do this, the faster we potentially find him. I have clothes that he wore the night before he disappeared. I don’t know if the scent is strong enough, but if it isn’t… I have somewhere I can take you. But if we go there, I’m going to ask that you wear one of my old masks. It will distort any camera footage, and keep them from being able to locate you.”
She reached back into the back seat, for the duffel with Todd’s clothes, then paused. She straightened back out. “If that sounds good to you. We’re doing this together, and I trust your judgment and want your input.”
