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The Fourth Dimension, Monday

Medusalith hadn't listened to the radio last night. If she had, she would have been out searching the island with a fine-toothed comb, not sitting in an art gallery contemplating whether that statue would be shown to better effect over by that painting. So she started the day perfectly calm, maybe even a little bored, but mostly in a good mood.

That would change.

Until that point, however, the gallery was open.

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Which would be right about... now.

Lockjaw, who had spent the night running over the island and various other non-island dimensions, was at a complete and utter loss as how to find Blackagar. He could smell the trail left, but couldn't get himself there.

Which meant he was going to show up in the gallery and whine pitifully at Medusalith.

"Lockjaw?" Medusalith asked as she rose from behind the desk. "What on Earth?"

~~What is it, boy? Did Timmy fall down the well?~~

TIMMY TOTALLY FELL DOWN A WELL. WHAT IS A WELL?

Lockjaw hurried loser to attempt to put his head in her lap and whine even more. Why didn't they have anyone to translate complex things with animals?

If only he were her cousin! But then they wouldn't have this problem. "Lockjaw, what's wrong?" Medusalith asked him. "Where's Blackagar?" Maybe he would know what was wrong with the dog. He spent more time with him, after all.

At Blackagar's name he whined even louder, shoving his nose at her. Because that would help her figure it out. Really.

Medusalith scritched behind one of his ears and asked him again, "Where is he, hmm?" And then it sort of...clicked. She was a lot more worried when she asked, "Where's Blackagar?" again, and bent down to ask the dog, "Lockjaw, can you take me to Blackagar?"

Lockjaw barked once excitedly, concentrating on where Blackagar's scent ended and...

Brought them to the middle of a maze.

What on Earth? "No, Blackagar," Medusalith told the dog. "Take me to Blackagar."

He was trying here! Lockjaw whined and tried again to bring them to yet another part of the maze. This one had extra cobblestones!

Sometimes Lockjaw could be kind of dumb, maybe that was it... "Blackagar isn't here, Lockjaw," Medusalith stated. "Please, can you take me to where he is?" It was time to break out the big guns. "I'll give you a treat!"

TREATTREATTREATTREAT!

That was cheating, Medusalith. Cheating. Lockjaw barked in understanding before he sniffed the air again. Catching the scent again before trying again for... more maze.

Lockjaw whined, circling her frantically. Where was he?

Medusalith was really worried, now, and this was reflected in her hair, twining and lashing around her in a nimbus of concern. If Lockjaw couldn't take her to Blackagar for a treat...

Something was very, very wrong.

"Blackagar?" she called, as if he'd just step out from behind the corner, his whole body shouting 'surprise.'

Lockjaw howled pitifully, sitting down with a thump. It was somewhere he couldn't find! What was going on?

"Oh, no, don't!" Medusalith cried, because sad Lockjaw was terrible. "We'll find him!" They had to.

He whimpered, shuffling over to her to rest his head on her leg. They would, right? They just had to.

She patted his big head in what she hoped was a soothing manner. They had to, or else Maximus would be king, and Medusa didn't know what she would do. "We'll find him," she said again, then asked, "Can you take me to where you saw him last?"

Perking right up, he teleported them both to the park bench where Blackagar had been sitting before the strange smells had taken him away.

And Blackagar nowhere to be found, of course. Medusalith looked around, as if she would find clues, but she was hardly an expert detective. "I wish you could tell me what happened," she sighed.

It was a frequent complaint, although she usually kept it inside her own head, and it wasn't usually directed at the dog.

Lockjaw looked up from the squirrel trail he'd been following and gave her a sheepish look. He was a dog, darn it! He was doing his best here!

Medusalith sat down on the bench and said, "I know you're trying to help. I know you are," as she looked around, as if there was something she'd missed. Nothing. And Lockjaw couldn't even tell her how long ago he'd seen his master, because he was a dog.

She sighed and stood. Nothing for it. "Take me back to the gallery, please," she requested, hoping he'd get 'gallery.' She'd have to close up properly before she could go looking for Blackagar.

Closing his eyes, Lockjaw pressed his head against her chest and took them back to where they began. Then whined and pressed again for scritches.

Through dint of long practice and strength greater than a human of the same size, Medusalith did not fall over when Lockjaw leaned on her. She reached to scritch behind his ears and tell him, "Good boy."

Sophie came downstairs from her apartment a bit later, and had a moment of sheer horror that there was a mastodon in her gallery.

Then she realized it was a dog and was just as dismayed.

"...Medusalith? What...?"

"Blackagar is missing," Medusalith said, distraught and distracted enough that her hair was not behaving in what could be called a human manner. "I have to go."

That did nothing to explain the dog, of course.

Sophie had had suspicions about that hair. Well, wonderings, more than suspicions. They were somewhat confirmed by the agitated state they were in now.

"Nice puppy. And I'm so sorry! What's happened?"

"I don't know!" Medusalith ~~wailed~~ said. "Lockjaw can't take me to him, he keeps winding up in a maze!"

Yes. The dog the size of a large pony was named Lockjaw.

"A maze... does this dog talk?" Sophie checked, willing to believe anything at this point. She looked at Lockjaw, and took a fortifying breath. "I'll go with you, perhaps we can mark a trail of some kind?"

Yes, that was just what Medusalith needed, a human tagging along. She--was her hair moving? Of course her hair was moving. Her hair's default state was moving. She reached up to grab a few handfuls of it and hoped Sophie hadn't noticed. "Of course Lockjaw can't talk, that's ridiculous. He's a dog." Obviously. "And he can't find him. There's no trail to find. He's just gone!"

Edited 2010-12-07 03:45 (UTC)

"On this island, I'll believe anything," Sophie said calmly, then lightly added, "Don't do that to your hair, it's upset enough. Now. We should report this to the police, and to your principal, so people can start looking for him. He's a friend of yours?" Clearly, at least that.

"He's my cousin," Medusalith said. Also, her crown prince. Also, her boyfriend-slash-love of her life. "Police," she scoffed, "what are the police going to do?" Possibly Medusalith didn't entirely understand what the police were, beyond 'those dolts in white armor I see around town.' "No, Lockjaw and I will find him," she said. "It's my duty."

Sophie gave the pony-sized dog a look, and frowned. "He's certainly big enough to be good protection-- but please, I want you to check back in here later. A phone call at least. I'm certainly not going to keep you when you're this upset, but something strange is going on, and if your cousin's disappeared...." Well. Sophie would hate to have Medusalith disappear as well.

And she was definitely reporting the disappearance of -- Blackagar? If he didn't turn up by tomorrow.

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The Fourth Dimension, Monday

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