The Metaphorical Key Book I- Call of the Raven

Chapter XI

It took a substantial amount of conversation before the group of them figured out what the hell they were supposed to do about Ada and the children, a conversation that Aiden was not exactly present for. He spent too much of it consoling Leslie, which mostly consisted of pressing a cold pack to the dark bruise on her jaw and wrapping her in his arms.

She reached up at him, gripping his arms so tight Aiden knew the shape of her fingers would be tattooed onto his bicep until at least the next day. He didn't hold her as tight, too afraid that she would just shatter, and she trembled apart in his arms.

"Please," Aiden said. "Don't do that again."

Leslie nodded, sniffling.

Smiling softly, Aiden shifted forward and kissed her on the forehead, pulling back to thumb the tears away from her eyes.

"Pinky promise?" He said, holding out his pinky.

Leslie giggled and wiped her eyes. "Pinky promise," she said, and Aiden tugged her down so her head laid in his lap. She was asleep within minutes, her arm hanging off his lap, her fingertips bumping the floor.

"Aiden?" Came Rico's voice, and Aiden flinched, unconsciously tugging Leslie closer to him as she stirred.
"Shh," Aiden said, running his fingers through her hair. Aiden took as much of the couch fabric as he could and gathered it up in his left hand, his free hand.

He twitched his hands and shifted the material around in his palm like tough, fabric putty. Maybe the metaphor got a bit lost there, but it was better to focus on the feeling of rough fabric against his fingertips and the click of his joints as his hand twitched than it was to think about whatever the hell he'd gotten himself into.

"Sorry," Rico said, folding his hands behind his back. He smiled softly down at the child napping on Aiden's lap. "Cute kid."

"Yeah," Aiden said. "She's my sister." My baby sister, just a baby, good fucking god she's so young and small, she is a baby. I hold the whole world in my hands.

"Not—" Aiden started, then laughed breathily, a sharp exhale through his nose. "Not by blood, obviously," he said, gesturing at himself, with his deep brown skin, black, natural hair, and deep brown eyes, then at Leslie, with her pale skin, blonde hair, and pale blue eyes (although they were slipped close, and so didn't really matter when it came to the comparison, but that didn't matter, did it?)

"Yeah," Rico said, barking a quick, sharp laugh, then breathed in. "So, we've figured out where Ada and the kids will be going."

"Oh?"

"Yes. They'll be headed to Aevenia. We've contacted our moles in the Catago, specifically the Records office. They'll wipe Ada's file like they did with your's, but we don't need to make her disappear, so we'll be replacing her file with a new one. Maddy Grey. Enough details kept the same for them to be easily remembered, and enough details changed for the two identities not to be too similar. We'll be supplying her with the most permanent red dye we can find, hopefully it'll be awhile before she has to touch it up, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Blue eye contacts as well, and, well, then we'll be ready to go, I think."

"Right," Aiden said, gnawing at his bottom lip. "Should I wake Leslie up?"

"I think so, yes."

Aiden sighed and swallowed in the hopes that it would loosen the lump in his throat (it didn't.) "Right, okay. Will you...will you give us a minute?"

"'Course."

Rico ducked out of the living room, stepping outside and shutting the door behind him with a click that guaranteed enough peace for Leslie to weep openly.