NamelessworkthatIcantthinkupattitlefor Chapter 2

Dr. Colbert went through the sliding glass door that led to the back of her estate; going to check on the vegetable garden. She felt the cool grass underfoot; she loved walking outside barefoot. When the garden came into view, she noticed something amiss. Someone had uprooted one of her carrots and one of her tomatoes was missing from its plant (she takes extra pride in her tomatoes and would know if one was missing). She hurried over to the scene of the crime to investigate. No damages seemed to be done to any of the garden, so she ruled out animals; but in the soft part of the soil, near the carrots she found a footprint, the odd thing about this that the footprint was more of a very large hoof print. Just as Dr. Colbert was about to investigate this further, she heard a rustling in the shrubs around her apple tree. Turning around, she could see a figure crouched there trying to stay out of sight.
Very decisively, she said, “I do not tolerate thieves to hide in my bushes. So I will ask you to come into plain sight.”
Dr. Colbert saw the figure stand up and take a few steps to the side of the apple tree. It was a man, a large one, though smaller than Alister. She was slightly surprised at the appearance of this man, most, upon seeing him, wouldn’t call him a man at all. He dressed like a man, wearing a dirty blue-gray t-shirt and a pair of very torn up and slightly too short jeans. He had a thick figure with long large arms. He had dark, grayish skin, but the most unnerving trait he had was his eyes. His eyes contained no pupils or irises; they just were off white orbs.
A few heartbeats passed with neither person speaking. Both persons simply stared at each other.
Finally, He broke the silence, “I’m not a thief.” He said.
The stranger’s deep voice made Dr. Colbert find her words again, “What?”
“I’m not a thief,” he said again, “I was going to chop and stack some firewood as payment for the food.” As he was saying that, a long tail with two spikes near the end whipped round from behind his body and pointed to Dr. Colbert’s neglected wood pile next to the garden. His brow furrowed and he seemed to regret his actions and quickly pulled his tail back behind his body.
“You-“ Just as Dr. Colbert was about to speak, she noticed a large, bloody gash above the stranger’s left foot, or more specifically, his left hoof. “You’re hurt!”
The stranger glanced down at his hooves and mumbled something about a dog.
Dr. Colbert waved the stranger towards her, “Come inside, we must get that tended to.”
The stranger put up his empty hand in protestation until the words seemed to sink in, “No no no- wait what did you say?” He tried to take a step forward, but his injured leg caused him only to take a very small limp.
Dr. Colbert noticed his limp, but didn’t seem to really hear his statement since she was talking to herself, “We’re going to need a disinfectant and an abrasion that size will probably need stitches, so we’ll need a needle and wire and a numbing agent…” She whipped out her i-phone and punched a few apps, “Alister, could you come out here; we have a guest that needs some assistance.”
The gruff voice of Alister spoke through the speaker on the phone, “You need me to help with a guest?” He put emphasis on the word “me”.
“Yes, so please come outside” Dr. Colbert turned off the phone and put it back into her pocket. She turned to the stranger and motioned to the vegetables in his hand. “I’ll take those, there’s more food in the house.”
The stranger seemed rather confused by this scenario and how Dr. Colbert was responding to all of it. This confusion seemed to be increased when he saw the massive form of Alister step out through the sliding glass door.
“Miss,” he exclaimed, “What is going on? Why are you not afraid of me?”
The booming voice of Alister was the one to answer as he reached the garden, “Should we be afraid of you sir?” Looking down on him he continued, “I’ll admit you are a strange looking one for sure, but that is no cause to fear someone. Unless you are suggesting that you have a dishonorable character, in that case I would ask you to leave either peaceably or forcibly.” Alister’s brow furrowed over his eye, creating a very intimidating and penetrating gaze.
“Alister!” Dr. Colbert, “That is no way to speak to a guest!”
Alister turned from the stranger to Dr. Colbert, “Virginia, you’ve always been too naive.” His gaze turned back down to the stranger, “you don’t know who this man is, or anything about him.”
The stranger tried to back away, but his limp impeded him, “Look, I’d rather just get going and let you two settle this,”
“Oh, nonsense” cried Dr. Colbert, “You’re in no condition to go anywhere but inside.” She turned looked at Alister, “Help our guest into the house.”
Alister did not move, but simply scowled at Dr. Colbert.
“Please.” She said curtly.
Alister grunted and walked over to the stranger, “Put your arm around my shoulder.”
The stranger obliged and the three slowly proceeded into the house. It wasn’t until the stranger turned his back that Dr. Colbert noticed the large spikes that protruded from his back down his spine. This would be troublesome once they were inside the house, since those spikes would most likely shred any chair or couch that the stranger would sit in. Dr. Colbert pondered this until they went through the sliding glass doors. Once inside, Dr. Colbert immediately began scanning the furniture for the chair she cared about the least. She decided and asked Alister to help the stranger into that chair.
His injured leg seemed to be causing him more pain, for he sat down very quickly. As expected, Dr. Colbert heard the sound of the upholstery rip when his spikes punctured the back of the chair.
“Oh, sorry about the chair,” said the stranger.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dr. Colbert said as she walked toward the hallway closet, “It was from a thrift store” When she came back into the parlor where the stranger was, she was holding a large first aid kit, a bowl of hot water with a washcloth in it, and a towel. “Now then,” she said, “let’s get you patched up.” She placed the towel on the coffee table in front of the chair and scooted the table so it was within reach of his leg. She tapped the spot with the towel, “Just set your leg up here then,” she said.
The stranger placed his injured leg upon the table with a small grunt.
“Now then,” said Dr. Colbert, “Let’s clean all the blood off.” She put on a pair of gloves from the first aid kit and grabbed the washcloth out of the bowl, wrung water out of it and started to wipe down his leg. The stranger winced a bit as the washcloth ran over the bite punctures.
As Dr. Colbert was cleaning the wound, Georgiana was doing her best to gracefully walk into the room, “Doc, I heard a stranger’s voice,” She said, her voice dripping with over the top charm.
Dr. Colbert whipped around to try and tell Georgiana to stop.
As she entered the room, her eyes went from the stranger to his wound. Her face went pale when she saw the blood and her snakes started to hiss. She tried to take a step to leave the room, but her legs crumpled under her. She fell to the floor, fainted.
Dr. Colbert looked back to the stranger, “She’s a severe hemophobe. Seeing even an oozing paper cut will make her shaky.” She said. She set the towel back into the bowl of water and looked to Alister, “Could you help Georgiana to another room so she can come to her senses?”
Alister nodded and walked over to the limp form of Georgiana. He helped her to her feet and let her rest her weight on him. With his arm under her arms, he walked her out of the room; her person looking like a toothpick resting against Alister’s massive figure.  
Once she was sure everything was taken care of with Georgiana, she picked up a piece of gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, “Let’s get back to the task at hand shall we?” she asked.
The stranger’s brow furrowed at the sight of the soaked piece of gauze, “and this is going to hurt isn’t it?” he said.
“It’s to help ensure there is no risk of infection, but yes, it’s probably going to hurt.”
On that note, Dr. Colbert began rubbing down the wound, the smell of rubbing alcohol fuming through the air. As the doctor suggested, it was rather a painful experience for the stranger; causing him to grit his teeth and shift his weight several times during the cleaning.
Dr. Colbert felt bad, but she couldn’t help but snicker at how much the stranger was reacting to simply cleaning the wound, “If you keep squirming, it’ll make it more painful.”
The stranger only grunted in response.
In the background, a door could be heard squeaking open and a slapping, flapping kind of footstep could be heard walking up a stair case.
Dr. Colbert had finished cleaning off the wound and so she pulled off her gloves, trapping the gauze inside the inside out glove and set them on the table. She took a new pair of gloves out of the first aid kit and put them on. “now,” she said, “It looks like you’ll only need a few stitches on the one puncture”
“Stitches? Cool!” a voice said in the background.
Dr. Colbert turned around to see Percival standing in the parlor, soaking wet and dripping water onto the floor.
“Percy!” she scolded, “how many times have I told you to dry yourself off before walking around the house?!”
Percival rolled his large green eyes and whined, “But Mom, I’m not even that wet!”
Dr. Colbert sternly looked at her son and nodded to the puddle of water forming around his feet.
Percival looked down and droned out an, “Alright!” and stomped (as much as someone with flipper like feet can stomp) down to the hallway linen closet.
“And please make sure to dry up the trail of water you left young man!” Dr. Colbert yelled after to him.
Rather confused by all the various people he had just seen, the stranger exclaimed, “What kind of place are you running her ma’m?”
“I am not running anything Mr. ah-“
“Nolan,” the stranger said, “My name is Nolan”
She nodded her head once, “Nolan, I am not running an institution if that’s what you mean, this is my, our home. In a sense I am the head of the household, but in no way am I running anything. I live here with my son, whom you just met and the others whom you’ve already met.”
Nolan’s eyes seemed to scan the surrounding room before he looked back to Dr. Colbert, “Well I just seem to have become the house spectacle despite all these types of,” he seemed to struggle for the right word, “People that have come to see me.”
“What are you insinuating Mr. Nol-“
Before Dr. Colbert could finish her question, Percival came back into the room carrying a towel. Kneeling down to dry the puddle off the wood floor, “Can I at least watch you give the guy stitches, mom?”
“Yes Percy,” Dr. Colbert sighed, “Once you finish drying the floor and yourself, you can watch me give Nolan stitches. But do not forget to dry the stairs to the basement because I know you didn’t and I almost slipped down the stairs.”
Percival groaned and rolled his eyes as he stood up and headed for the stairs.
“I saw that eye roll young man.” Dr. Colbert said without turning around.
Surprise caused Percival to stop for a moment and stare at his mother in bewilderment before continuing to the stairs.
Nolan nervously watched Dr. Colbert put on new gloves and sterilize the surgical needle for a few moments before speaking, “So you said he is your son, huh. Who’s uh- who was the father? He doesn’t seem to…. look… like you.”
Dr. Colbert glanced behind her to see if Percival was out of ear range.
“He’s my adoptive son,” she said quietly, “But I raised him myself, so he’s as much my son as if I gave birth to him.”
“Sorry I asked.” Nolan mumbled. He was about to speak again when he was cut off by the surgical needle being inserted into his leg. “Ow!” he cried. “At least give me a little warning before you do that.”
Dr. Colbert grimaced, “Oh, sorry,” she said. “But as I said when I was disinfecting it, the more you squirm the more it’s going to hurt.”
“Okay,” Nolan grimaced as he clutched a large, thick fingered hand to his left leg.
“Mom!” Percival protested as he re-entered the room, “You said I could watch, why didn’t you wait for me?”
A small smile graced Dr. Colbert’s lips, “Calm yourself, Percy, I didn’t say I’d wait for you. Wounds need to be cleaned and stitched as soon as possible to lower any risks of infection.”
Percival’s shoulders slumped at his mother’s logic. Seeing the futility of arguing, he flapped over to the armchair that sat across the coffee table from the surgery going on in the big house’s parlor and flopped down in it. He quickly repositioned himself, to get a better angle on the scene and watched with fascination. To his disappointment and Nolan’s relief, the stranger in the parlor only needed about five stitches, so the procedure was soon over. With no more pressing excitement to watch, Percival began to further examine the stranger sitting across from him. He found very little to be truly extraordinary about the stranger (only in this house would someone think that), but the thirteen year old did think it was cool that he had a tail. Only when Percival noticed the stranger’s eyes did he find something noteworthy. He squinted and stared at the man’s white orbs; finding no distinguishable marking among them.
“What’s wrong with his eyes?” he asked to the open air.
Dr. Colbert gave a side glance to her son, “Percy, be polite.” She warned. She set aside her needle and wire and began applying bandages.
Nolan looked up at the scaly boy in front of him, “No, it’s okay,” he said gruffly, “he’s certainly not the first.”
To further test whether or not there was any markings on those eyes to tell where they were looking, Percival began move around in his chair. He moved up, down, back, and forth several times, “They’re really creepy.”
“Be nice Percy.” She warned again.
Percival slumped back in his chair, “Being polite is no fun,” he mumbled to himself.
“I heard that,” His mother said. She finished putting the tape on the last bit of gauze, “There, you are good to go,” She said as she looked up at Nolan; she had to agree with her son, his eyes were nearly creepy.
“Thank you,” Nolan said flatly. He grunted and stood up from his chair, putting all of his weight on his non-injured leg, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get going.” He turned and began hobbling toward the back door.
Dr. Colbert stood with a start and quickly placed herself between Nolan and the door, “Nonsense!” she said rather forcefully, “If you leave now, you could rip you stitches and permanently damage that leg of yours.” She placed her hands on her hips, “Besides, I offered you a meal, in exchange for the vegetables.”
Nolan tried to sidestep Dr. Colbert while his brow furrowed, “No, you didn’t”
She stepped back in front of her injured guest, “Well, I’m offering it to you now, you must stay for dinner.”
Just as Nolan was about to come up with some kind of rebuttal, Alister’s deep voice resonated through the parlor, “Once Virginia sets her mind to something, she becomes a force of nature. You may as well give up the fight, lad.” He was back from helping Georgiana to someplace comfortable; to rest of the shock.
Nolan cocked his eyebrow at the mention of “lad”, since he was 32; but he realized that Alister was right. He raised his arms in surrender, “Alright”
Dr. Colbert’s face shifted into a somewhat sheepish expression, “Well, dinner is not for a few hours, but I invite you to make yourself comfortable in the meantime.” She waved a hand to the layout of the parlor, “May I get you something: coffee, tea, water?”
“I would like a green tea if you don’t mind,” he said flatly.
“Alright then,” She didn’t quite seem sure of what to say next. She turned to Alister who had been hovering in the background, watching this, “Can I get you anything?”
Alister, who was cleaning his monocle on his polo shirt, glanced up at her, “No thanks, Virginia, I think I’ll just get back to my reading.” With that, he placed the monocle back in his pocket and went up the stairs, back to his study.
She turned back to Nolan, “I’ll be right back with that tea. Please,” she motioned again to the chairs and sofa, “make yourself comfortable.” Dr. Colbert spun around and headed for the kitchen.
Nolan turned around and sighed deeply. With much pain from his newly disturbed wound, he hobbled back to the loveseat he ruined earlier. Only once he was seated did he notice that the woman’s son was still sitting in the chair across from him. The boy wasn’t looking at Nolan anymore though; instead he had his back laid across the armrest and was staring at the ceiling. Nolan couldn’t tell if Percival was ignoring him or just zoned out.
Percival spoke suddenly, solving Nolan’s mental debate, “You smell,” he said very unemotionally, “When was the last time you showered?”
The brutal honesty and abruptness of the boy’s questions caught Nolan off guard, “Uh, last week,” he said.
“Oh” Percival said with the same lack of emotion. He sat up and somewhat rolled out of the chair and onto his feet, “I’m going to swim in my pool,” he said and left Nolan in the now empty parlor.
Nolan now felt a bit uncomfortable, alone in the room of the big house. This was cut short by a sudden wave of weariness that swept over him. He found himself yawning very deeply and blinking with heavy laden lids. He laid his head back against the chair and was about to try and shake off the sleepiness……

Dr. Colbert came back to the parlor carrying two mugs, she figured she might as well make a mug of tea for herself too, “Here’s your t-“ Her statement was cut short when she saw Nolan: eyes closed, breathing deeply, tail curled around the bandages on his right leg.
At that moment Alister came back into the room, today’s paper tucked under his arm, “Well, you did say for him to make himself comfortable,” He said.
Although Alister did not speak loudly just then, the depth of his voice has a resonance that causes it to carry like few others; this caused Nolan to snort and shift in the chair.
Dr. Colbert couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. “I did didn’t I? I certainly didn’t expect him to accept it so readily. He seemed in a hurry to leave earlier.”
Alister only nodded in response for not wanting to wake the stranger.
She glanced down at the two mugs in her hands, “Are you sure you don’t want that tea?”
A smirk formed on Alister’s face, “Again, no thank you.”
Dr. Colbert looked down at the two mugs she was holding and took a sip from the one in her left hand; which was the tea she made for herself.  “Pity,” She whispered. “I guess, we should just let him rest for now.” She set the mug of tea on the end table nearest to her, “But if you could, stay with him.” And left the parlor.
Alister nodded again and watched Dr. Colbert leave; heading for the kitchen. He looked at the sleeping guest while sitting down in the parlor chair that was meant for him. It was a mammoth easy chair; one of the few that he could fit comfortably in. Once he seated himself comfortably, he pulled his monocle out of his breast pocket and continued reading the day’s paper.
The room was silent for several minutes except for the soft snoring of the sleeping guest and the rustle of Alister’s newspaper. Added to this silence was the padded thuds of slipper-socked feet. A young woman in a very relaxed garb: pajama pants, a tank top, and sweat shirt; came in, a laptop under her arm. She sat down, cross-legged on the couch juxtaposed to Alister’s colossal sized easy chair and blew a wisp of brown hair out of her face. She flipped open the laptop and while she was typing through the pass codes, she glanced at the sleeping stranger to her left.
“He’s a strange one,” she said, “even to our standards.”
Alister nodded to Sarah, but didn’t take his eye off his newspaper.
“Who is he?” she asked.
Alister lowered his newspaper, to get one more look at the sleeping stranger, “He said his name is Nolan,” he said quietly.
Nolan snorted and shifted in his chair.
“But I do not know who he is.”
Sarah smirked and gave a curious glance to the sleeping Nolan.