A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.
It was easy to tell which of the two Nathan was. He was wearing almost all khaki, as his explorer's hat rested on his black locks. His brown eyes expressed clear joy, as his lips were upturned into a wide grin. In the picture he was just about to bite into the food item. On the table next to him was a rolled up map and a compass.
Next to him was Drem in the fortune teller's outfit. Or at least she presumed it to be him, but his characteristics were hidden by his costume. Only his large smile could be seen, while the purple and teal cowl covered the rest of his face and hair. His purple and teal robes looked quite large on his smaller frame, making him look cute.
She visibly frowned at the thought, but in her defense he was just a child in this picture. He wasn't the sadistic jerk that she knew, or he could've been, but he just didn't display that side of him in the photograph. (F/n) glanced to the left-hand side of the photo and noticed the crystal ball near Drem.
Of course, she could be totally wrong in assuming that it was Drem in that costume. For all she knew, it could be another one of Nathan's childhood friends, but why would he have hid the picture, then? Did the antique collector have multiple people who he no longer wished to associate with?
"Drem, this is you, right?" she questioned, lowering the picture for him to see but keeping a firm grip on it. She didn't want him to snatch it and tear it up. It could be the only form of evidence that she might find in the house after all.
He came closer to her and examined the picture. Surprisingly, he actually answered her inquiry and nodded his head in response. She pulled the photograph back and looked it over again. If this was really him, then she had solid proof that he had been telling the truth about him being human originally. Still, she wished that she could reach into the photo and push the cowl back; she desired to see what he looked like before becoming his present state.
Personally, she wanted to put a face to the one who had been causing her job, which was supposed to be simple and easy, to be a literal nightmare at times. Right now, the only face she had of him was the monkey's or Otis's face. So, it would be better to learn what he had actually looked like or still looked like.
Keeping the photograph out, she put the false base and decoration back into the box. She closed it up and set it back on the shelf, while the picture remained in her hand. Before she moved onto the next box, she wondered where to put the picture. Placing it on the ground would work, but Drem could have easy access to it, then. Technically, he could probably take the picture from her at anytime if he desired to do so.
"Answer me truthfully, Drem. Will you ruin this if I set in on the floor?" she asked, peering down to him. He shook his head back and forth. Could she trust him? Then again, why would he want to rip up the photo? It wasn't like it gave any clues as to how the relationship between Nathan and him fell apart. If anything, it proved that the two of them used to be really close friends.
Deciding that she might as well trust him with this, she placed the picture on the ground and picked up the next box. Drem did go over to the photograph and pick it up in his plush hands, but he didn't ruin it. Instead, he just stared at it, like he was going down memory lane.
For just a moment, she felt bad for him. She realized this quickly and instantly pushed the thought away. No, she shouldn't even feel that. Presently, she didn't know the whole story, and it would be a poor move on her part to give into how torn Drem appeared at that moment.
Granted, she couldn't actually see his expression or anything, but it was just the way that he never moved his gaze from that picture. Mumbling at herself to get a grip, she sat down on the floor and began to examine the contents of the second box.
As for Drem, he was pondering why Nathan still had this photo. Was it because they were children at the time, and Nathan still enjoyed his memories of their childhood days? If so, why hadn't his little doe found more pictures of Nathan and him when they were children? Did Nathan only keep this one because of the cowl? It did cover his face, meaning that Nathan wouldn't have to really look at his friend's features.
If that were the case, Nathan was worse than he thought. It would've been better if Nathan had disposed of the image. This was more of an insult if those facts were true. His friend couldn't even look at his actual appearance, so his friend decided to just hold onto the only picture where his face was hidden.
Despite this, the photo did still represent a pleasant memory. That Halloween had been a good one, and they had retrieved an abundance of candy that evening. He even had told a few fortunes that evening for some of the adults handing out candy. The adults had played along and laughed at some of things that he had stated, thinking it all a child's joke.
Unbeknownst to them, all of those fortunes were true. They were probably shocked when they happened just as he told them that they would. Of course, he only told of the positive ones back then. Nathan would reprimand him otherwise.
Still, it had been fun to see the looks of disappear fall onto the countenances of the individuals that he told fortunes of negativity to. Their frowns and looks of worry would morph into ones of fake laughter, as they thought him to merely be messing around with them. A pity that he couldn't read fortunes anymore after the incident; it would give him insight into what would happen with his little doe.
Dropping the picture, he made his way back over to the doe and sat close to her. She jumped a little when she noticed him. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips, while he leaned his head against her side. To this a sigh escaped her lips, and a groan followed it, yet she didn't push him away. By now, though, she knew better not to go against his actions.
Even though that image portrayed a cheerful time in his relationship with Nathan, the present was more important to him. Right beside him was his little doe, whom was perfectly gorgeous in his eyes. She was steadily caving into him, and she would completely give into him eventually. A doe couldn't outlast the hunter forever. No, she would make a mistake or several, and she would come to him.
His eyes looked up to her, and he adored the expression on her face. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, her lips were pursed in slight irritation and her eyes were filled with determination. Personally, though, he wished for her to focus not so much on the past. He wanted her to have her attention on the present with him. That's what mattered, and he craved for her to only think about him, not his past relationship with Nathan.
Nathan no longer needed to be in the picture. He wasn't important. Only his little doe was. For now, however, he would let her delve into the past. She clearly wanted the whole story; she desired answers to her questions, which were probably many. Maybe, he would be kind enough to tell her some things a few days before the two weeks were up.
Directing his attention away from her stunning face, he looked to the box that she was emptying. From what he could tell there wasn't anything important in there: just some old blankets that looked worn out beyond repair. Nathan was most likely keeping them because they held some memory value.
Eventually, she put the items back in and went to grab the next box. This process continued for awhile. No more of the boxes unveiled anything of use to her search. It was incredibly easy to read how frustrated she was, especially since she grumbled continually throughout the process.
Looking to the shelves, he saw that there were five boxes left. Like all the others, the first two didn't produce any results. The third held a picture of Nathan blushing. This image depicted something a little more valuable to the doe's investigation, yet she wouldn't know that unless she knew what had specifically happened on that day.
Frankly, it didn't come as a surprise that Nathan had kept that picture. It was the first day that he had encountered the distraction after all. He had begun to tease his friend and took a picture of the blushing antique collector. Of course, this was just to keep up appearances, as he was incredibly jealous on that day. He did hold back his jealously for a time, however.
The doe set the image aside and loaded the other items back into the box. She moved onto the fourth box and opened its lid. As soon as she pulled out the first item, he froze. He slowly glanced up to his little doe and saw her confusion. Her eyes met his, and she raised an eyebrow.
"So, either Nathan had a girlfriend at some point, or you two really liked to dress up secretly," she voiced, holding up a fuchsia dress.
A chuckle would have escaped his lips if he wasn't worried. So, Nathan had kept some of the distraction's things, even the first dress that he had bought her. It was a simple satin gown that had been for their first date to an auction house. Before the distraction, he had usually gone with Nathan to some of those auctions. The memories pissed him off, but he had to remind himself that only his little doe mattered now.