Lost Souls Found

"I"m stunned." Thorn murmured. "I hadn"t known what to think." He"d barely left his teens though considered an adult in the past.

In this present, he was still viewed as a child. That annoyed him, but he acknowledged there was much to learn.

Jonah shrugged. "Well, I suspected something was off with those two ladies when we encountered them the fortnight prior to what happened with Eduard." He folded his arms. "This wasn"t what I dreamt would happen though."

Thorn didn"t know what to think. His planned future just went off the rails. "Is what you said about Melinda the truth?"

Jonah grunted. "Does it matter anymore?"

"Yes." Thorn snapped. He was embarra.s.sed to think that he"d left certain items to a female not worthy of his attentions.

"I only said that to prevent Jessie and Rose from becoming rotten with jealousy." Jonah confirmed. "She was a tad wild, but not loose with her affections." His voice quiet. "She was going to confess to you if we"d returned as planned that night."

Pained at the knowledge, Thorn closed his eyes. "Well, considering everything that happened. She may have dodged a horrific ending after all." He might be able to search the archives to find out what happened to the rest of the myriad siblings they"d left behind. Melinda was one of the few ladies, he"d admired and respected. Now though that literally was in the past. "Did you have no one you admired or respected back there?" It didn"t occur to him until now to wonder about Jonah.
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"No…not any of the female persuasion that is." Jonah was quiet. "Do remember that not all of us are female crazy."

Oh, that"s right. Jonah was different in that respect. He"d chosen to remain pure and removed from all earthly desires towards females at any rate. So why had he fallen prey to Eleanor"s allure? Thorn found that rather suspicious.

"If you"re wondering about Eleanor, she caught me by surprise." Jonah muttered. "The audacity to masquerade as a man." He grimaced in disgust.

For the first time, Thorn espied the incisors he rarely exposed. "So, you"re a beast in more ways than one."

"I certainly scared Eleanor witless once she realized she"d caught a wild animal in her trap." Jonah shrugged indifferently. "I don"t believe she meant to a.s.sault you or Eduard. She just mistook you both for me."

Thorn grunted. "You know I don"t believe that at all." He told Jonah curtly. "She already suspected our true natures before she had the stupidity to go after you." He wasn"t going to let Jonah take all the blame for what happened.

Jonah chuckled. "We should sleep. There is a long day ahead of us as we attempt to learn how to adjust." His reminder made Thorn scowl.

He still wasn"t sure what to think of being tricked into the future. Granted, Jessie and Rose had given them the chance to remain in the past. Then rescinded it in the time it took to realize the children lived. Then they just took them away without warning. He sighed. Time for sleep indeed. His mind finally slowed and drifted elsewhere. Enough that he was able to drop into a deep slumber.

*

Eight hours later, soft babbling and laughter made its way into his consciousness.

The unfamiliar sound of water running in the walls, and warmth emanating from walls made Jonah awoke with a jolt. He yawned, saw Thorn watching the children with gentle amus.e.m.e.nt. He had one hand resting in the cradle, while his left arm braced his weight on the reinforced rim.

They babbled which made him realize it was Thorn laughing that woke him up. A slight change in one of the baby"s noise made Thorn peer at him over his shoulder. "Hmm, they know when people awaken already." Thorn murmured as he straightened.

Jonah blinked. "Is that so?" He yawned and slowly rose to his feet. He stretched, feeling his joints crackle and pop. Feeling alternating drafts along his skin, Jonah frowned. "What in the world happened to my clothing?" He grumbled.

Aware of the fact that the door was open, much to his irritation, he kept his sheet wrapped around his waist. He became aware of Thorn studying him. "What?"

"You"ve lost your clothing." He gestured to Jonah"s left. "Though I admit, no one would know that you"re not in your twenties with your current appearance." Thorn grimaced. "I however, still look like a teenager." His scowl made Jonah sigh.

"I can see this is going to be a problem." Thorn was sensitive to his lack of height. A problem that Eduard hadn"t helped with either. Jonah counted in his head and shrugged. "If I"ve got it right, you still have time for a growth spurt still." He gave Thorn a cool stare. "I"d recommend worrying more about how you"re going to explain why your shirt is shredded." He noticed that Thorn managed to retain his pants. "Unless I"m the one responsible for the torn clothing?" It was possible.

"You"re not." Thorn yawned. "I chased two curious mischievous females out earlier. They thought it would be funny to strip us while we slept."

Jonah scowled. He didn"t appreciate such antics. "Are they trying to make us feel welcomed, or afraid for our chast.i.ty?" He grimaced because that was the last thing he needed to worry about right then.

"Don"t know but I doubt they"ll try that in the future with us again." Thorn grinned. "I might recommend we attempt to find other lodging soon though."

Jonah nodded. He would do that. As much as he appreciated Ramon"s thoughtfulness. The prank the girls indulged, he read as they overstayed and weren"t welcomed any longer. With that in mind, he dressed back in the pajamas and paused when finding other clothing. "Huh, maybe we were supposed to change into these?" He motioned to the new clothing.

Thorn joined him, inspected the clothing, and after a moment, he nodded hesitantly. "Aye, but how do we adorn our bodies in this?"

Ramon appeared. "I can help you with that." He looked at Thorn. "Thank you for not tolerating their hara.s.sment earlier. That was rude, even for them." He frowned. "I felt as if they weren"t the same two, I generally interact with."

Jonah and Thorn frowned. Not the same? A cold chill ran down Jonah"s spine. "You don"t think they could"ve switched to return to the past?" He hoped not.

Ramon winced. "I remember they regretted distressing you with their arbitrariness." He paled. "Well, for now, I"ll instruct you how to get dressed."

In ten minutes, they were neatly dressed and learning how to use the basic utensils for eating and making food.

It didn"t take them long to a.s.similate the daily activities. Learning how to greet people and use all the electronics was something else entirely. Jonah discovered he had a bad habit of making things explode. Thorn on the other hand mastered them with unflattering ease.

"It appears I will need to find a trade that keeps me from rendering electronics useless." Jonah observed wryly. He didn"t doubt he could find something. After all, it appeared certain trades were making a comeback if he read articles correctly.

"What are you thinking about?" Ramon eyed him curiously. He"d been frustrated earlier with Jonah"s very slow progress, but now he appeared willing to listen.

Jonah hesitated. "Do people occasionally work in the blacksmith or creating clothing by hand?" He"d a knack for either skill. It made for interesting times in the past. He"d wound up making an unexpected addition to sewing circles. He"d embarra.s.sed his family with such skills. However, he thought perhaps it might work out better in this present than he could"ve imagined.

Ramon eyed him speculatively. "Well, I don"t see why you couldn"t try doing something of that sort." He stroked his jaw thoughtfully. "Let me ask around and see what I can find." He looked around. "There might be some material that isn"t earmarked for other projects that Jessie or Rose are currently working on."

Now that he thought about it, Jonah remembered that he"d struck up a conversation with Rose at one point when they"d worked on a project. However, he doubted Rose would appreciate him bringing up that now. He shrugged and smiled at Ramon. "I appreciate whatever help you can give me." In the meantime, he would continue seeing if he could avoid making the electronics explode. He looked around. "Maybe if I wear gloves, I could handle the remotes?"

Ramon blinked. "I didn"t even think of that." He smacked his forehead. "Bah, I had a friend with similar problems." He vanished without warning.

Thorn stared at Jonah with amus.e.m.e.nt. "You really know how to make people feel somewhat uncomfortable, don"t you?" He shook his head. "I had forgotten how much you enjoy sewing and such. I think that you"ll fit into the present without problem after all."

Jonah gained the impression that wasn"t a compliment. He didn"t care if it meant he could do something useful and profitable simultaneously. "As long as I can be useful somehow, I don"t care."

"Well, the sewing thing will come in handy." Rose shocked them. "I just remembered what you"d shown me when I was attempting to fit in with the ladies that one afternoon." She regarded Jonah thoughtfully. "I should be able to find something after all." She smiled when her grandfather returned. "I just thought of something that I could help Jonah with." She glanced at Thorn. "Jessie might be able to help you with anything else you can think of to be useful."

Ramon came back with a pair of gloves. "That would be great if you could." He didn"t miss a beat. "Don"t force Jessie to work with Thorn just because you"re able to help Jonah, Rose."

Thorn inclined his head to Rose. "While I appreciate the offer, I"d like to see what I can do through my efforts first." He smiled briefly at Rose. "You"ve done enough as it is."

Rose bristled at him. She said nothing and shrugged before disappearing into another room. Ramon grinned at Thorn. "You"re smart, not letting her boss you around." He glanced at Jonah. "Be careful that she doesn"t turn you into her permanent lackey." He warned. "or else, you won"t receive credit for anything that you"ve done."

Hmm, words to consider. Jonah nodded. "I"ll keep that in mind." He"d rather remain independent. He would learn from Rose, yes, but he wouldn"t stay at her side as a lackey, minion, or slave to her demands for longer than necessary to acclimate to this time. "In the meantime, what else should we learn how to do outside?" He was restless.

Remaining inside the house bugged Jonah. He wanted to stretch his legs and get to know the neighborhood and community. Else, he wouldn"t get familiar with the layout and for him, that meant being trapped. Not something he enjoyed at all.