Shawn knelt down a bit so the two were at eye level. "Right now, Ralph, you need to keep yourself safe. We just need to find a place you can hide."

Ralph was sniffling now. "O..o..o..oo..o..o..o..o..o..OK." And Ralph stood there in a pathetic state. Now snot had added to the tears, his cheeks crimson red.

"It...it..it..it..it's..j..j..just...he..he..he's..my..my..my..my..brother." Ralph stammered, somewhere between an explanation to Shawn and a confession that he was totally at a loss in terms of what to do about the situation.

And so, without any direction, he just stood there, fat belly hanging out from under his shirt, hands nervously fiddling.

"Junior!" A woman's voice shouted from somewhere deep inside the house, perhaps the kitchen just beyond the hall. It sounded like maybe it was Junior's Mom. "Junior! Are you outside? I thought I told you boys not to leave the house without telling me first. It's not safe in the neighborhood."

There was a tone of anger and annoyance in the voice

"Yes Mom." Junior said obediently. "We're still inside the house."

Shawn saw a way to possibly solve two of his problems - keeping Ralph safe, and freeing him from interference from Junior's mom. "Hey Ralph, maybe you should help out Junior's mom for a bit? You should be safe as long as you're with an adult, then Junior and I can figure out how to solve the problem."

"Yeah Ralph." Junior piped up, clearly reading the situation and coveting 'alone time' with Shawn. "My Mom still has some cookies! Remember?"

Ralph nodded his head, ran the back of his hand across his snotting nose. Then he rubbed his eyes clear of tears with both hands. He trudged towards the kitchen with a despondent gait to his walk, head hung low, sniffles coming out periodically.

Then he turned the corned of the hallway and was gone.

Shawn could hear Junior's Mom say "Ralph! Honey, what's wrong!?"

Shawn breathed out a sigh of relief as he turned to Junior. "Wow, that was pretty crazy. Do you want to go to your room and figure this out?"

Meanwhile, he also sent out a thought towards Feddler, in the hopes that he was paying even a little bit of attention. See, Bobby might be in trouble - even if you hate me, you can't take that out on Bobby. C'mon, please help, I don't know if I can do this on my own. Despite Feddler's earlier outburst, he was hopeful the imp had just been mad and said stuff he didn't mean before - he'd seemed protective of Bobby before, after all.

OOC: The Storyteller has made a secret roll to determine actions between NPCs

Suddenly, in the house, there was a ringing sound. The phone gave a chilling call outward, its urgent chiming resonating throughout Junior's house.

"Yes!" Junior elated with a fist-pump. "Can we play G.I. Joe's first! Then we can figure..." and he waved a hand dismissively towards whatever Ralph had been upset about. "That." He finished, disinterested.

"Hey, maybe after we are done, you can tell me stories about what its like to be in the movies!" Junior suggested.

OOC: The Storyteller has made a secret role to determine interactions between NPCs.

"Hello?" Shawn could hear Junior's Mom pick up the phone.

Shawn was a little curious about what Junior's mom was doing, but it wasn't like he had a good excuse to stick around. "Okay, let's see your room!" He hoped Feddler would come back and help him, but ultimately he would move forward and do it on his own.

Shawn followed Junoir down the hall.

Of Feddler there was no word. Just a silent echo of a feeling. Resentment? Shame? Vulnerability? It was just a faint echo of one or more of those feelings. And behind these immediate but faint whisps of Feddler's emotions, there was a deeper ocean of rejection. But it was distant in Shawn's mind. It was coming from the Imp no doubt. There could also be no doubt that Feddler was sealing himself away, for Shawn felt this. Deep away and into the far recesses of Shawn's mind and subconscious. If and when the Imp came back Shawn didn't know.

Further down the narrow hallway they were walking Shawn heard Junior's Mom in what sounded like a panicked conversation. The woman was saying things into phone like "Oh my God!" and "Here!? Here!?" and "Are you alright?"

Shawn sent a feeling of apology a deep into his own mind as he could, trying to reach Feddler before he could seal himself completely away. He didn't like the sound of the conversation Junior's Mom was having - were they talking about missing kids?

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Occult with the following results:

0 Successes: Feddler seals himself away, the messages is sent but it is not recieved

1 Success: Feddler seals himself away after he receives the message. It is unknown if he bothers to read it

2+ Successes: Feddler seals himself away, but Shawn knows that Feddler read the message

OOC: 22:23, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,2,6,9. Wits + Occult.

"...and this is the picture of my Mom at her marriage to my first Dad." Junior said, showing Shawn all of the pictures on the wall.

"...and this the picture of my Mom that she still hangs on the wall from my first Step-Dad." Junior explained, pointing to a picture on Shawn's left that was on the wall, the Man had a mustache like Tom Selick.

"And this is my Step-Dad right now. I mean, my second Step-Dad. The one that lives here." Junior pointed to a third picture of a rugged looking guy on a motorcycle.

"My Step Dad doesn't like that my Mom has all of these pictures of my old Dads up. But my Mom said that its her life and she likes to remember it."

Feddler had now sealed himself away. Shawn knew the imp was not coming back for some time, if ever. And just as Shawn was contemplating that loss, it was clear that Junior's Mom was getting increasingly agitated on the phone. Finally she yelled out

"Junior! Is Ralph still here!! Have you seen a boy named Shawn!?"

Shawn follows along with Junior's tour with every sign of interest, but he freezes a little when he hears Junior's mom call his name. He makes eye contact with Junior, puts a finger over his lips, and then shakes his head. The message is as clear as he could make it - 'don't tell her I'm here'.

"Maa' I just...!" Junior started to yell back and then he stopped mid sentence upon seeing Shawn's signal. He gave a silent nod and hurried Shawn towards Junior's room, as if ushering into a space that they could hide.

Shawn could see a wide-eyed grin on Junior's face, as if pleased that he and Shawn were sharing some secret that might bond them closer together as friends forever.

Shawn winked at him, and as they hurried towards Junior's room, mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Junior. Fortunately, it seemed Junior was willing to cover him.

They got to Junior's room which was covered in pictures....of the movies Shawn had been in. Large movie posters that Shawn didn't even know were ever in production. The movie Kid Knight was on display in large letters above Junior's pillow.

Junior turned to Shawn with a big smile on his face. In the background, Shawn could hear the frantic yelling of Junior's Mom as she searched the house for the boys.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Stealth  Vs. Wits + Composure of Junior's Mom (which will be a dice pool of 3)

OOC: 19:08, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 7,1,4,6. Wits + Stealth.

OOC: 20:13, Today: Storyteller rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((2,8,8)).

Shawn looked around the room in vain. In a few moments, Junior's Mom came running in and explained that Shawn's Mom was looking for him and the Junior wasn't allowed to leave the house.

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: In a Hotel Room With Mom