Alex stared absentmindedly at the painting before him while sothing gnawed at the back of his mind.
What it was though, he couldn’t tell.
Just as he opted to figure it out later, his senses picked up that he wasn’t alone, prompting him to glance back only to find Arwen standing at the doorway.
"Are you alright?" She worriedly asked.
Managing a smile, Alex nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?"
Arwen said nothing, her gaze shifting from Alex to the faceless paintings arranged in the room.
Each painting evoked a sadness in her heart and though she couldn’t figure out why, she understood that it served as a telltale to what Alex felt.
Unwilling to engage her in yet another conversation about his suffering, Alex opted to change the topic. "Shouldn’t you be in bed?"
"We have a visitor." Arwen calmly replied. "I asked him to co back tomorrow but he insisted on wanting to see you."
"Why?"
"He didn’t say. Sothing about a missing daughter."
Alex paused, his expression shifting as the gnawing at the back of his mind took center stage yet again.
Massaging his temples to give himself so respite, Alex inquired. "Who is he?"
"No idea. Though from his clothes, I’d reckon he works in the mines."
"I see." Alex nodded only to drift off again as an annoying ringing sound echoed in his ear.
Noticing his discomfort, Arwen stepped into the room. "Alex."
"... I’m fine. Co, let’s et with this guy."
"..." Arwen said nothing though her expression made it clear that she wished to speak.
Alex flashed a reassuring smile as he walked up to her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I promise, if there’s an issue, I won’t hesitate to let you know."
"... Alright then, I trust you."
"Now co, I don’t plan on listening to a client without my assistant."
A soft smile lined Arwen’s lips as she replied. "Even if you did, I’d still co along."
"Of course." Alex conceded.
And so, together, the two stepped out of the art room, closing the door behind them.
anwhile, the painting of the field filled with green grass seed to briefly glow before returning to normal.
***
Alex arrived in the living room with Arwen trailing behind him.
There, he found the man Arwen ntioned waiting.
He wore a brown cento with a black birrus accompanied by a pair of brown sandals.
Currently, the hood of his birrus was down, and he was sipping on a cup of grape juice Arwen had provided for him.
Though he appeared relaxed, Alex could tell this was only temporary.
His visitor was like an arrow on a bow that had already been pulled taut.
The wrong move could... Alex paused on the stairs, feeling a faint sense of déjà Vu as he stared at the man.
The man, noticing his stare, raised his head to et his gaze and for a mont, silence persisted.
Furrowing his brows, Alex opted to take a seat, and then he asked. "Hello, I’m John Smith. What’s your na?"
Silence persisted briefly as the man stared at Alex only for Arwen to facepalm.
"Oh gosh..."
"What?" Alex glanced back at her.
"I forgot to tell you, he is deaf and dumb."
"Ah..." Alex was unsure of what to say as he glanced back at the man and then at Arwen again.
Letting out a sigh, he got to his feet and said to Arwen. "Get so ink, two quills, and so paper."
Then, he moved to stand next to the man, who seed to grow anxious at his presence.
"Don’t worry." Alex flashed a warm smile. "I don’t want to harm you."
As he snapped, exerting his Will on the aether, he added. "I just want to help."
Then, he reached out with his other hand, gesturing for the man to take it and though the man remained nervous, he ultimately reached out and grabbed Alex’s hand.
The next mont, Blessings of the Dark Moon took effect.
Alex watched as the man trembled like soone experiencing an epileptic episode before he cald down.
"Can you hear ?" Alex asked to which the man stared at Alex in disbelief.
Alex repeated his question at which point the man slowly nodded.
"That’s good." Alex let out a relieved sigh. "You should try not to speak right now since I’m guessing it’s been a while since you were deaf and dumb."
The man nodded in agreent, and soon after, Arwen returned with the items Alex had requested, along with a diary and an additional quill to record the minutes of the conversation.
"Now then, you write and I talk," Alex said. "My na is John Smith. What’s yours?"
Hesitant at first, the man ultimately used the quill after dipping it in so ink to spell out his na. "Leokhares."
"Okay, Leo. Why are you here?"
"I’m looking for my daughter."
Alex stared intently at the write-up, his deanor turning sour with each second that passed.
Finally, it took a cough from Arwen to snap him out of his reverie.
"Apologies. Tell , how long has she been missing?"
"Three days." Leokhares wrote with trembling hands. "I left for work in the mines that day and when I returned, she was gone. I tried to ask around once it got late but everyone I asked told that I didn’t have a daughter!... So even said I was mad, but I know, sir, I know I have a daughter and she is missing!"
Alex glanced at Arwen, unsure of what to make of the case.
"Did those you asked genuinely not know or were they lying?" Alex asked.
"I don’t know, but they sounded really genuine."
Alex glanced at Arwen who didn’t hesitate to write down Leo’s neighbors as suspects.
Once he was certain she’d penned this down, Alex continued his questioning. "Have you reported this to the task force?"
"Those bastards didn’t even take seriously," Leokhares replied, his expression betraying a hint of annoyance as he recalled so unsavory mories with the task force.
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