Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ One of those days ❯ The Giovannis ( Chapter 1 )

As the train rushed out of the city and into a stretch of country one of the passengers was grumbling to himself.

 

“Why today?!” he grumbled, tail tuft swaying irritably back and forth, “It couldn't have been tomorrow or even next week. No, they have to shut the line down today!”

 

This was Vincent Callender, an agent of sorts. He worked for an agency that helped and advised parents of the ever growing number of daemons, angels, and mages being born. Vincent, or Vince as he preferred, was a daemon himself. Most of his body was human except for his legs from a little above his knee down, which were like a goat's. He also had a long lion-esq tail that was quite prehensile. The final difference was the small curved horns he had. They started a bit above his hair line and were about six inches long. Otherwise, he was human. He also enjoyed his job. It was just his boss that tended to make it a bit of a trial.

 

“I knew Dave looked way too happy,” Vince muttered, as he stared out the window.

 

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When he'd arrived at work that morning to pick up the client folder, his boss, Dave, had been waiting at his desk. It was unusual enough to put Vince on guard.

 

“Good morning, Vincent,” Dave had said. There was a certain gleam in his eye that Vince knew he didn't trust.

 

“Morning, Dave. Did you need me for something? I have to go see a client today.”

 

“No, just wanted to mention something before you went.”

 

That gleam got stronger and Vince began to have a bad feeling. He wasn't going to like what came next. “Ok.”

 

“You're going to have to take the direct line from here to Surry Park,” Dave informed him. He patted Vince on the shoulder before walking away, leaving Vince staring at the place he'd been standing. It was a moment before Vince recovered.

 

“Wait, what?! Dave!”

 

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In the end he'd had no choice. He had to go see his client today. It was one of the few days she could take off. He had to take the line through Paradise City.

 

He sighed and ran a hand through his slightly spiky chestnut hair, pausing to scratch the base of one horn. He knew that just going through the city shouldn't irk him so much, but it held a lot of bad memories, and the fewer the number of times he had to be in the city the better.

 

It's a two hour ride anyway, might as well take a nap.

 

So he took out one of the head phones and settled more comfortably in his seat. He trusted himself to hear the name of the stop, even asleep. It was just one of those skills you developed over the years.

 

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Two hours and fifteen minutes later he stepped off the bus at the corner of Greenbriar Expressway and Hegan Lane. He double checked the address and started walking down Hegan Lane, reading house numbers as he went. He crossed another, smaller road and stopped at the corner house.

 

“256, this is the one.”

 

It was a modest single story house with a neat yard. He followed the stone path up to the porch and knocked. He didn't have to wait long.

 

“Elia, Laika! Would you calm down?” the woman shouted back into the house as she opened the door. She turned to him and smiled. “Hello Mr. Callender, how've you been?”

 

He smiled back. “I've been good, Mrs. Giovanni. How about you and the kids?”

 

She let out a sigh, “Great, except for the fact that they're running me into the ground. Fast and loud these two. And call me Lucina.”

 

She moved aside so he could enter. Vince carefully brushed his hooves off on the mat before stepping into the house.

 

“Sure, and call me Vince. Mr. Callender makes me feel old. How loud is loud?”

 

“Well, it's …” Lucina was cut off when a piercing shriek sounded from further in the house.

 

“Ow!” Vince grabbed his horns as the sound faded. For whatever reason, that shriek had hurt his horns a lot more then his ears.

 

“Kids, inside voices!” Lucina shouted.

 

“Sorry!” they shouted back.

 

Lucina shook her head. “Sorry Vince, I was going to say it's as much frequency as volume. They've cracked glass before.”

 

“Ah.” Vince rubbed his horns a bit more. They were going to ache all day now. Growing horns and resonance did not make good bedfellows. “I suppose that makes their ability obvious.”

 

Lucina ran a hand through her blond hair. “Just a bit.”

 

She led Vince into the living room.

 

“Why don't you crash on the couch here and I'll get the tykes.”

 

“Sure. You don't mind the hooves on the carpet, right?” he asked. He always tried to make sure. Some people were peculiar about shoes on carpet or nice tile and he had no shoes to take off. But Lucina just waved the question off with a shrug.

 

“Better than the kids' claws,” she said as she wandered down the hall.

 

Vince shrugged, took off his backpack and sat on the couch. Moments later two small blonds barreled into the room and leapt on the couch, which lurched a bit. Here would be the reason he was here; Elia and Laika Giovanni, a pair of three year old daemon twins. They'd grown quite a bit since the last time he'd seen them, which had been not long after their birth. They had hair now, a few shades darker then their mom's, and their fur had lightened to match it; otherwise, they looked about like he remembered. Their legs appeared to be feline as far as he could see with a matching tail, and they had small talons at the end of each finger which clarified Lucina's earlier comment. The wings on their backs were still relatively small and Vince wondered if they would ever grow to a usable size.

 

“Elia and Laika, what have I said about jumping onto the furniture?” she asked in a stern voice as she followed them into the room.

 

“Oops!” they chorused, looking innocent.

 

She shook her head and dropped into the corner couch seat between Vince and her mischievous kids. Laika, the little boy, immediately crawled into her lap. Elia, his sister, sat close to them in a cat like fashion, tail wrapped loosely around her feet. They both stared at Vince with open curiosity.

 

“Elia, Laika this is Vince. He's the guy I said would come today. Vince, these troublemakers are the kids.”

 

Vince nodded to them. “Nice to meet you Elia, Laika.”

 

“Hi,” Laika said with a wave.

 

“You're gonna talk `bout da…dae…daemon stuff, right?” Elia asked, struggling a bit.

 

“You got it, Elia.”

 

“Like about our bodies and stuff?” her brother chimed in.

 

“And your ability.”

 

“What's that?” Laika asked, tilting his head to one side.

 

“It's something that you're really good at, without trying hard,” Vince told him. It was a way oversimplified explanation, but good enough for a three year old. “For example, I'm really good at playing instruments.”

 

“Oh! So it's like Mom says me and Elia can scream loud enough to break windows?”

 

Vince grinned. “Bingo! Your ability lies in your voices, so you will need to learn to control them.”

 

“How?” Elia asked, sliding off the couch.

 

“Singing lessons would probably be a good start.”

 

She pulled a face. Clearly she wasn't up for the idea. But Laika's face lit up quite a bit. He seemed to like the idea.

 

“That's boring!” she whined.

 

“Ok!” her brother cheered at the same time.

 

Lucina chuckled. “Sounds good to me.”

 

“But I don't wanna, Mom!” Elia pouted.

 

“Sorry, kiddo. You gotta learn somehow. Besides, Laika likes the idea,” Lucina said, patting her pouting daughter on the head.

 

Elia huffed and slunk off to sulk.

 

Lucina rolled her eyes. “I suppose that's settled. Did you get the doctor's report, Vince?”

 

Vince nodded.

 

“See anything he didn't?”

 

“Nope, everything looks like it matches up. The only thing I'd keep an eye on is their wings.”

 

“In case they start growing later?”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“You mean Elia and me could fly?” Laika asked excitedly.

 

“Maybe,” Vince said with a shrug.

 

“That'd be cool!” Laika climbed out of his mom's lap and raced off to tell Elia.

 

Lucina sighed again and rubbed her eyes. “So nothing besides the wings?”

 

“Nope, no weird joints.”

 

“Good. So they're cleared for Pre-K?”

 

“They are. Just warn the school about the shrieking,” Vince said with a chuckle.

 

Lucina laughed too. “I'm sure they'll love that.”

 

“Do you have any other questions?”

 

“Nah. I can always call you in a panic later, right?”

 

Vince laughed and stood up. “Of course!”

 

Lucina stood as well. “Thanks for coming, Vince. I know it was a long way.”

 

“It was my pleasure. I don't mind a bit of travel.”

 

They walked to the door and found Elia waiting there, no longer sulking. Vince crouched down to her level.

 

“Think you can survive the singing lessons, little miss?”

 

“I guess.”

 

“Good. Do you have any questions before I go?”

 

“Do your feet get cold?” she asked, poking his left hoof with one of her little talons.

 

Vince laughed. “Only if it's really cold. Anything else?”

 

“Can you pick things up with your tail?”

 

“I can.”

 

Just then he felt his tail grabbed by two small hands.

 

“Wha?!” He looked over his shoulder to see Laika holding his tail about a third of the way up with a triumphant look on his face. “Ah! So you think you've won.”

 

Laika grinned and nodded. Vince grinned evilly back and wrapped the end of his tail around Laika's chest. Laika shrieked in surprise when he was lifted a few inches off the ground. Then he laughed and clapped. Vince smiled and put him down.

 

Unwrapping his tail, he said, “Never underestimate the tail.”

 

Everyone laughed. Vince shook both of the kids' hands.

 

“It was nice meeting you two. Be good for your mom.”

 

“We will!” they chorused.

 

Vince stood and shook Lucina's hand. “It was a pleasure seeing you again, Lucina.”

 

“You too, Vince. I suppose we will see you again in a few years?”

 

“Yup.” He opened the door and stepped out. “Until then!”

 

“See ya!”

 

“Bye-bye!” the twins said, waving furiously.

 

Vince waved back and walked down the path. He had just reached the sidewalk when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket.

 

“Why is Elaine calling me?” he muttered to himself.

 

He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. “What's up, Elaine?”

 

“Nothing much. Dave said I should give you a ring and tell you to hurry over to the Soun's place.”

 

Vince raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

 

“Apparently, they have a shocking situation with little Vini.”

 

Vince groaned and hung up so he could call a taxi.