[Plot] A Lonely Island

[Edmond Spencer]

"I could.... solve that for you..." Edmond offered. He sounded a touch hesitant, but his expression didn't seem it.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette shook her head. "Oh no, I asked. Apparently converting is not good enough. Zey are Orthodox."

[Edmond Spencer]

"I'm aware. That wasn't what I meant.

My influence seems to have a permanent effect. She.... listens to me.

So if I were to gently advise her to go easier on you... "

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zat... feels as zough it would be... slightly immoral...." Colette was very clearly conflicted by the implications of the offer. Everyone would be happy, sure, but did that make it right?

"I... will consider zis. But perhaps we should postpone zis proposed meeting until after Basil is found, oui?"

[Edmond Spencer]

"As you wish." Edmond replied, unconsciously mimicking his progeny yet again.

-----------------

Kiwa would clear lunch and Edmond told the group they were free to roam at their leisure and do as they would to amuse themselves for the rest of the day. In the evening, Kiwa would lay out some dinner as well, but she didn't eat it. She took off with some excuse about 'training', taking an obscenely large hydroflask with her. She seemed to think there were plenty of people to look after Edmond who she'd assessed as a non-risk that she was comfortable to leave him 'alone'. Edmond cleaned up dinner, and disappeared to let the others to their own devices again.

Eventually he could be seen out of any window relaxing in what could best be described as a man-made onsen, some kind of heated pool visually designed to mimic the real thing.

[Colette Rosenhof]

By the time lunch was done Colette was fairly close to her old self, and by the end of dinner Kiwa and Edmond both would have a better idea of the type of woman Basil was enamoured with. One that seemed to take delight in anything food-related that was put in front of her. While she carried a worried expression the rest of the time, meal time seemed to be when she actually follow the advice to relax that she'd received from their gracious hosts.

The gelatinous girl had gotten a glimpse of the onsen earlier that day, so when the evening rolled around she had decided to investigate it further, only to find it already in use by the patriarch of the house. However that didn't stop her and Colette was soon near the edge of the water, crouching down to examine it more closely, even going so far as to slip her hand into the water.

"Mon dieu, zis is... zis is somezing special." Her visit to the estate had given her a few ideas about her and Basil's own home - and already she was feeling a twinge of guilt from all the work he'd have to do if she wanted something similar in their back garden.

[Edmond Spencer]

Edmond sat eerily still in the darkness of the evening hours, as if frozen in his spot.

"Thank you Ms.Rosenhof.

Alas, I did not build it. My father did, after my uncle passed the island onto him as a wedding present."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"It is lovely, all ze same."

The concept of having enough wealth to give islands and homes as wedding presents was still a very alien concept to Colette, even if she had been "sold" a townhouse for 20 quid. The rich really did live in a totally different world. She fidgeted a bit, something on her mind but a little apprehensive to mention it.

"Monsieur Spencer, I am afraid zat I must ask you somezing. Somezing zat I zought might be inappropriate in front of ze ozers. I... somewhat understand ze arrangement zat was made between ze Spencers and ze Bensons. And now I have some understanding as to your disappearance. But zere is somezing zat I still do not know.

"Were you aware of Basil's search for you, once he suspected zat you were his biological fazer?"

[Edmond Spencer]

"No. I did not know he was looking for me until Chisaki retreated here.

And if it helps put your mind at ease, she didn't know either until she realized he was trying to contact the family. She did not tell me until she returned because we all agreed the less I knew about him, the better."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette sat herself down at the edge of the pool even going so far as to let her feet and lower legs slip into the water, seeming not to care about them getting wet.

"Well, now zat he does know... what will you do?"

[Edmond Spencer]

"I don't know."

He replied in earnest.

"What do you think I should do? You likely know him better than I."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I zink... zat you should talk to him, at ze very least. His is an adult now, and has a better understanding of why zese sorts of decisions are made, and an appreciation for ze fact zat zey are not always easy to make."

Colette let out a soft sigh and looked upward. "No one is expecting you to take him to soccer matches or to teach him how to light a campfire. But ze family he does know are not understanding of his..." Colette hesitated. Calling it a gift didn't seem right anymore, but mutation also seemed like an ugly word. "... abilities. But having a relative zat he can confide in, zat actually knows what he is going zrough, zat may be of great benefit to him.

"And maybe work boz ways."

[Edmond Spencer]

There was a long, awkward pause before he responded, something Colette would be used to by now with Spencer men.

"That is where we will have to agree to disagree.

The Spencer family never approved of my behavior. I was an outcast from the moment I hit puberty. When we eventually realized that what was going on was more than me being blessed with abundance of... mundane charms, my parents and brother came to view my abilities as a deformity. My sister... empathized with my plight, but she never fully accepted me for who I was.

And besides that, Jessica and I had a... tumultuous relationship to put it politely. And to put it impolitely, we were abusive to one another. It is my opinion that a child should have never been born from that relationship in the first place. But obviously my opinion doesn't matter two shits when it come's to what someone else does or doesn't do with their body."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I do not zink zat you are correct in disagreeing. From how you describe it, Basil's experiences have been similar to your own. Perhaps not as severe, but certainly no bed of roses, yes? Ze sort of treatment he would have received as a child zrough no fault of his own. His family are hardly more accepting of his powers zan yours were, his mozer especially so. He has had his own... destructive relationship zat went furzer zan it should have. You can accept him, empathize wiz him in a way zat not many can. Ozers look and zink zat he has nozing to be sad about, how could someone wiz such money and status be unhappy? You know how it is possible."

Colette gently kicked her legs in the water as she spoke. "Perhaps your relationship wiz Madam Benson never should have resulted in a child. But it did. He is a sweet, honest, and kind young man. Perhaps ze only good zing you brought into zis world. It would be a shame to let it go to waste." Like most things the girl said, she didn't intend it to be insulting, but English as her second language tended to result in her being a bit more abrupt at times than she intended. That, and she was getting a little choked up thinking about her boyfriend again, and how she'd spoken to him before he disappeared.

[Edmond Spencer]

Unlike his son, Edmond was a middle aged man with more than enough experience keeping his cool when he was insulted, accidentally or otherwise.

"You know, it occurs to me that I could make you forget him. Maybe not literally, but for all practical purposes it will be like you never cared about his existence at all.

Granted, you'd be obsessed with me as a side effect, but that would fade eventually once contact was broken for long enough."

Edmond let the comment linger long enough for her to register it.

"Do you really want your boyfriend influenced by someone who that would occur to?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette watched Edmond for some time before she spoke.

"Are you familiar wiz l'appel du vide?"

[Edmond Spencer]

"Ahhhhhh... Oui je comprends." He replied in amusement.

Of course he took French.

"The Call of the Void.

You mean to suggest that you believe my idea to be an intrusive thought and nothing more?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette shook her head. "Not entirely, as I believe it to be somezing more. If what you said is true, you could do to me as you said you can. But, you have chosen not to. I have more trust for someone who is capable of bad zings but chooses not to do zem, zan someone who claims not to zink such zings."

[Edmond Spencer]

Silence again. After a few moments pass, a rueful chuckle.

"You are a very strange girl. I can see why he likes you."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette looked down at herself and patted her hands on her hips.

"Oh, I suppose I have absorbed a little more water zan usual...."

[Edmond Spencer]

His head tilted quizzically, his face still obscured in the darkness.

"I am twenty years or more your senior, and father to your boyfriend.

I'm giving that observation such a wide berth I might end up subjugating native Bahamans."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette let out a little titter before she got back to her feet.

"Furzer proving my point. Despite what may have happened in ze past, or perhaps as a result of it, you are a good man Monsieur Spencer. I hope zat zis comes as a realization to you sooner razer zan later.

"But I have intruded upon your solice long enough. I hope zat you rest well tonight."

[Edmond Spencer]

"Sleep well Colette." He called from his spot in the darkness.

[Edmond Spencer]

All visitors were given their own room to rest in, and the next morning, the trio of house residents woke up and snuck out of their rooms. Diego however had stayed in Chisaki's. And so when Edmond slid the door open and whispered.

"Watāme, wake up. Let's go." He failed his stealth check against the boy's heightened senses. he hadn't noticed though, and shuffled as quietly as he could downstairs.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

And Chisaki followed after as she was instructed, also trying not to wake Diego and probably failing.

[Kiwa Ealdwine]

The familiar sound of a console lobby springing to life was followed by a groggy complaint.

"It's too early for this shit." Kiwa replied at an entirely normal volume, apparently not caring if she woke anyone up.

[Edmond Spencer]

"Come now, this might be our last chance." Edmond replied as a starting screen melody played in the background.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"I will pick!" Chisaki whispered in excitement as the sound of different songs started overlapping each other.

[Diego Zapata]

Diego quietly stretched as he awoke, eyebrow arching as he became awake enough to recognize the sneaky behavior from Ed. Against better judgment, he quietly followed the familiar sound to see what was up. When he picked up on the excitement, he merely moved normally. It didn't seem like anything worth caution for.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

From Diego's spot on the landing, he could see the loading screen for "BOOGIE UNIVERSE", a game he knew to be one of those camera based dance games.

Chisaki of course seemed to choose the one that was the most pastel of all, as the other two participants took their places. Chisaki was front and center to the action, the others acting as her back up.

Once the music started, they were now running the serious risk of waking others.

Chisaki was super into it. Apparently this was the sort of silly distraction from her problems she appreciated. Maybe a bit too into it. In her kigurumi she looked a bit like a mascot engaging in antics for a crowd.

[Edmond Spencer]

Edmond was more than happy to play second fiddle, as long as it was putting a smile on Chisaki's face. Where Chisaki was moving about with a bit more jerky herky motion, Edmond was fluid and easy. He was probably the only one of the trio who could be considered dancing properly. Feeling the music, he sang along to the words he did know.

"I'm like chardonnay, get better over time-"

Onlookers would notice he wasn't wearing his shades. The were folded neatly onto the belt of his dinosaur printed kimono.

[Kiwa Ealdwine]

What Kiwa was doing could barely be considered dance. She was hitting the mark on everything with precision, but it was more like she was running through the drills than enjoying herself. At least, from the blank expression she was wearing.

Her night robe only made up for the stoicism with it's dramatic flourishes when she moved about.

[Diego Zapata]

Diego did a little dance in place along with the catchy music. But mostly he was just enjoying watching Chisaki let loose.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It seemed that Colette was one of the last ones to stir, the girl was able to sleep through quite a bit of comotion - maybe her auditory constructs were disassembled as she slept, or maybe they were always on and she was just a heavy sleeper. The short notice nature of the trip had forced Colette to travel even lighter than usual and as such she approached the cacophony dressed in the same clothing she'd been wearing the day previous. Seeing Diego dancing in place as he peeked she moved up behind him and leaned over to peek around his shoulder at the goings on.

It seemed like a happy little family scene though Colette didn't really understand why Diego was "hiding" - or at least not making his presence more obvious. But his relative silence encouraged her to keep her lips sealed.

[Diego Zapata]

"This is adorable," he said quietly so not to interrupt the fun.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zey make a very sweet family." Colette softly agreed. Chisaki seemed genuinely happy here, as did Edmond at the moment. Madam Ealdwine... Colette didn't know her well enough to get a good reading.

[Edmond Spencer]

The trio wouldn't notice them present until they were done. Edmond glanced over at the pair peeking on them sans glasses.

Deigo wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Colette however... His eyes weren't blue like his son's but hazel, with what appeared to be little flecks of gold in them. And for a brief moment, they were all she wanted to look at.

Edmond broke line of sight by slipping his shades on his face.

"... I think I'll go and work on breakfast."

[Diego Zapata]

Diego energetically sauntered over to Chisaki.

"Well that was fun to watch," he grinned.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette's knees suddenly turned to jelly. Well, more jelly than normal. The girl had to grab onto the wall to steady herself. It had only been a moment but it had been enough to have an effect on her. And her brain was mush... well she didn't actually have a brain, and what she did have was already softer than most, but it struggled to try and understand. She only felt this way around Basil, but Basil was missing? But Basil was right there, he had to be, because she felt this way. But weren't Basil's eyes blue? No, they couldn't be, because those eyes weren't blue.

The addition of sunglasses just left her in a stupor. "Buh?"

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"It is fun to play too! Would you like to try?" She asked as Edmond walked off to handle the task of cooking.