Post by Alecsander on Jul 31, 2017 22:06:20 GMT -5
Alex turned the small chest around in his hands, he'd found the tiny trunk whiling away the hours, searching through the huge Estate. Generations and generations had built and squirreled away their own little secrets, and if he read the writing right, this was Curse's secret. Or at least one of them. Alex had found plenty of those over the years, though since Curse's passing his discoveries were less and less frequent.
Caressing the warmly varnished wood with a absent hand, he raised his wand and summoned his patronus, sending it winging to find his nephew. He had a feeling Max would be very interested in the contents of the chest.
When Max arrived Alex had settled in the library in front of the fire, notes and papers spread across the desk, the chest laid to one side. He looked up and nodded in greeting to his nephew, laying his quill down from where he was taking notes.
Post by Max Kameren on Jul 31, 2017 22:48:33 GMT -5
Max had been surprised to see his uncle's patronus call for him in his office at Mungo's; it was rare Alex asked Max for anything, it was usually Max playing the pestering nephew and showing up at the Estate to pick his brain or use the Kameren library. It had worked out perfectly, though, that there were a couple free hours open in Max's schedule that afternoon. As soon as he got the potion he was working on to a stable place, Max took a step back and apparated to his ancestral home.
"Alex?" Max called out from the entry hall of the Estate, shrugging out of his Mungo's robes to reveal his muggle clothes underneath. He turned straight for the library; when Max was looking for Alex, the majority of the time the library was the right place. His guess was correct again, and he joined his uncle on the other side of the desk near the fire. "I got your patronus, what'd you find?"
His emerald eyes fell immediately on the small, cherry-stained chest Alex rested his hand on. He didn't need to be able to read Curse Kameren's secret coded language to recognize his father's slanted handwriting etched along the top. "That's dad's alright. Any clue about what it is?" He arched a brow, picking it up and shifting it gently back and forth with an ear to the side, listening.
"That's dad's alright. Any clue about what it is?" He arched a brow, picking it up and shifting it gently back and forth with an ear to the side, listening.
"Not yet." His voice was frustrated and amused both, perhaps Curse had secretly been a niffler? He'd hidden things all over the place, Alex had made a point of searching for them after his death. One last connection to his brother. "No noise, but its certainly weighty for its size."
Alex pointed his quill at the notes he'd been taking and the papers covered with notes on Curse's secret codes he'd pulled out of the hidden cubby in the desk. He couldn't read Curse's version of parseltongue, but this wasn't his first time encountering it, and he tried to take thorough notes every time.
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 1, 2017 22:05:33 GMT -5
"Not yet." His voice was frustrated and amused both, perhaps Curse had secretly been a niffler? He'd hidden things all over the place, Alex had made a point of searching for them after his death. One last connection to his brother. "No noise, but its certainly weighty for its size."
"Damn dad and his codes for everything." Max's fingers outlined the carving on top of the chest. It wouldn't be opening anytime soon, not between the two of them. Violet had inherited Curse's parseltongue, and his codes were almost written with pinpoint precision for Arianna and Arianna only to crack.
When Alex took out his notes Max did the same. He reached into the pocket of his robes, now thrown over the chair, to retrieve a small brown leather-bound notebook. He searched through the first few pages, searching for his etched version of Curse's parseltongue that Violet had spelled out for him. "I've got a list of some of his old passwords, those might help. Violet wrote them out phonetically." He put his notebook down when he found the page, revealing Max's interpretation of Curse's writing, followed by his younger sister's neat handwriting spelling out in English how parseltongue was pronounced. Even written out, though, it was hard to determine. Snakes weren't very big on vowels. "We could run down the list. Or, do you have floo powder?" He gestured with his head to the fireplace behind him. "We could just call the Godric's Hollow house and see who's home."
Post by Alecsander on Aug 12, 2017 21:19:58 GMT -5
"We could run down the list. Or, do you have floo powder?" He gestured with his head to the fireplace behind him. "We could just call the Godric's Hollow house and see who's home."
"Lets see what we come up with first." Alex suggested, summoning a chair over for Max. It would be pretty embarrassing if the password was on one of their lists but they had called Ari or Evie for help first. He tapped the paper in front of him, where he was writing down and crossing off things he had already tried. Curse had definitely went to a lot of effort with this chest. Alex had found it under a loose board while moving furniture. He could do it by magic, but this time he had been doing it by hand, enjoying the physical endeavors.
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 13, 2017 17:47:50 GMT -5
"Lets see what we come up with first."
Max nodded, taking the seat Alex conjured for him and bending over his notebook. He went through slowly, comparing Curse's carvings to Max's interpretations in his book; it was always strange, researching things his dad left behind. He could almost picture Curse etching the coded phrase into the box, casting a spell of his own invention to protect it. Even several years later they found new secrets; there was so much he never told them.
After a few minutes of studying, Max glanced up from his notes to look at Alex examining his own scribbled notes. "So..." His green eyes darted back down, continuing to examine his notes. "You and Elle? How's that going?"
Post by Alecsander on Aug 22, 2017 23:31:36 GMT -5
[[madman's vixenly, ethylene evil one]]
"So..." His green eyes darted back down, continuing to examine his notes. "You and Elle? How's that going?"
Alex felt a small flutter at the mention, but tamped it down hard inside him, studiously ignored Max's question. Of course, Max was an empath. But maybe he could lessen the impact. Suddenly he wished they understood empathy more, he knew how extremely hard it was on Max. He remembered how outgoing he'd been before it manifested, and now he was practically a hermit. He shook his head, pushing those concerns aside as he suddenly recognized something.
"...one." Alex tapped the chest, he was surprised he hadn't seen it before. Numbers were something he was more familiar with. He squinted at the first word. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. He rifled through his desk, finally pulling out a crumpled paper from the far reaches of his secret drawer. He mumbled as he searched the paper, finally finding what he was looking for. "I-it llooks like...mm-madman?" Alex studied the two words, there was some subtle difference but they looked essentially the same.
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 23, 2017 13:39:34 GMT -5
“So… you and Elle? How’s that going?” Max couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face as he felt his uncle try to cover the flutter that went through him at her mention. He was truly happy for them; Alex hadn’t quite been the same after Elle was caught in the flux. With her return there seemed to be a missing color added back into Alex’s aura, Max could catch its glimmer every now and then. Contentment, he’d call it. “Good. I’m glad it’s going well.”
He chose to ignore the twinge of guilt he felt swirling in Alex’s affection for Elle. Max knew well enough what it was about: he was the living documentation of a failed Kameren research project. As hard as they’d tried, Curse and Alex couldn’t fix Max. His empathy remind Alex of the failure every time, and his pity for him reminded Max in turn. He put the thought out of his mind, making like his uncle and putting head down into his notebook.
"...one. I-it llooks like...mm-madman?"
“Madman….one.” Max bit his lip in concentration as he wrote out the phrase, leaving a large space between the words to fill in. He stood up again to get a closer look at the etching, his mind spinning with the possibilities. He paused as he looked over the chest when he noticed something that wasn’t quite right.
“Alex, do you have something thin and metal I could use? Scissors, or tweezers? Or a pocket knife?” He held out a hand for Alex to hand off to, his other hand running his fingers over a slightly-discolored sliver in the wood. “I think dad might have wedged something in a crack in the wood.”
Post by Alecsander on Aug 25, 2017 17:09:43 GMT -5
"...one. I-it llooks like...mm-madman?"
“Madman….one.” Max bit his lip in concentration.
“Alex, do you have something thin and metal I could use? Scissors, or tweezers? Or a pocket knife?” He held out a hand for Alex to hand off to, his other hand running his fingers over a slightly-discolored sliver in the wood. “I think dad might have wedged something in a crack in the wood.”
Alex reached over and handed Max the little knife he used to sharpen his quills. He ran a light hand over the lid, feeling the imperfection now. His hands typically didnt have touch sensitive enough to notice things that small, not only were they calloused, but some of the scars he'd recieved from the demon had injured some of the nerves and he felt spotty numbness all down his arm.
"What is it?" he was glad to hear his voice come out smoothly this time. He watched as Max pried at the wood, finally pulling out their prize.
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 25, 2017 19:22:46 GMT -5
"Thanks." Max took the knife Alex handed him and started scratching at the discoloration until it gave, splintering out to reveal a tiny, tightly rolled piece of paper wedged in a crack in the wood. Emerald eyes flashed up at Alex and Max grinned.
"What is it?"
"Hopefully it's a clue..." Max unrolled it and squinted down his nose to read his dad's tiny, slanted writing. "Your Five? Hmm. Your fi - " Max jumped up with excitement as a spark of recognition hit him. He'd seen this prompt used before in a protective charm. The day after his death, Max and Ari had opened a howled her left with the names of his children. "I know what this means! Dad's 'five' are his kids."
He sat back down, picking up his pen and scribbling in his own notebook. Max, Eden, Evelyn, Violet... "Shit. Alex, do you remember the name of Dad and Ari's first daughter? The one who died?" He stroked his beard as he thought about it, green eyes searching the ceiling in thought. "Ellie...Ashley?"
Post by Alecsander on Aug 25, 2017 22:00:32 GMT -5
Of course Curse had left a clue somewhere... whether that clue would be useful or if it would be as useless as the scribblings engraved into the box. Sometimes his brother just hid things with no other motivation than to hide them.
"I know what this means! Dad's 'five' are his kids."
Max jumped with excitement, squinting at the paper. Alex took his word for it, he was in no mood to squint at a tiny paper with his brother's writing even more cramped than usual to fit. Kids... Five? It took a moment to register, and then he remembered a conversation long ago. A pain so real even a non-empath could feel it. It brought back even more memories, of the time before the war, when Curse had been at the lowest point Alex had ever seen. A place he'd never wanted to see again.
"Shit. Alex, do you remember the name of Dad and Ari's first daughter? The one who died?" He stroked his beard as he thought about it, green eyes searching the ceiling in thought. "Ellie...Ashley?
"..Ashlynn." Alex said softly, still looking into the past. "Two N's."
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 25, 2017 22:34:13 GMT -5
"Shit. Alex, do you remember the name of Dad and Ari's first daughter? The one who died?" He stroked his beard as he thought about it, green eyes searching the ceiling in thought. "Ellie...Ashley?
"..Ashlynn." Alex said softly, still looking into the past. "Two N's."
"Ashlynn." Max nodded, writing it down with his other siblings. "Eden, Max, Ashlynn, Violet, and Evelyn." He glanced over at the box. Nothing. His green eyes bored into the paper and he squared his shoulders, leaning on the table in his concentration. "Madman - one."
Max knew Curse. Not only was he his son, he was his personal healer and Potions apprentice for the last few years of his life. He didn't just know the basics about his dad, Max knew his mannerisms and quirks better than Curse did. With his empathy, he knew what the inside of his head was like. He knew how he thought. He stared back and forth again for another few minutes, thinking. Think like Curse.
"It's an anagram." Max went through and crossed out the letters they'd used - his M and A, Eden's D, Ashlynn's A. He looked at the remaining letters and the space between the two words they'd deciphered. "Damnit, dad."
Post by Alecsander on Aug 26, 2017 11:52:35 GMT -5
[[madman's vixenly, ethylene evil one]]
"It's an anagram." Max went through and crossed out the letters they'd used - his M and A, Eden's D, Ashlynn's A. He looked at the remaining letters and the space between the two words they'd deciphered. "Damnit, dad."
"Eden, Maxime, Ashlynn, Violet, and Evelyn."
Knowing what to look for helped greatly, and Alex flipped to another page, one hand tracing the page as he wrote in his own script, crossing out letters. V and I for Violet, an X and E for Max, N for Ashlynn, L, and Y for Evelyn. "Your full name, Max." Curse would have used his full name for this. More letters.
"Eden, Maxime, Ashlynn, Violet, and Evelyn."
Madman vixenly. One. He looked at the remaining letters, Eeimshlynlteve. Evil? He wrote that down as a possibility.
Post by Max Kameren on Aug 26, 2017 21:33:38 GMT -5
"Your full name, Max."
"Hmm? Oh, right." Max shook his head at his own oversight, scratching a few extra letters onto their list. Save for legal documents and his mum when she was mad at him, no one called him Maxime since his childhood in France. Sometimes he nearly forgot he had a 'full' name.
Madman. Vixenly. One. Eeishlynlteve. Evil?
That was a word Max definitely had translated. He flipped through his notes until he found it. “Evil one. Madman Vixenly Eshlyntee Evil One. Ah, fuck it.” Max pulled out his muggle phone: there were some things the muggle world just did better. He found an anagram solver on his phone and punched in the letters. “Shit.” Nothing. Max looked between the word jumble and the assembled words for another few minutes, thinking. “Madman’s Vixenly Ehlyntee Evil One. Ehlyntee. Elynthee. Ethleye. Ethylene. Ethylene?” His brow furrowed and he returned to his phone, punching the new assemblage in. “Madman’s vixenly ethylene evil one.”
Clnk.
With Max’s words, the chest clicked opened and the text on top disintegrated.
Post by Alecsander on Aug 27, 2017 22:02:56 GMT -5
"Hmm? Oh, right." Max shook his head at his own oversi
Clnk.
Alex reached out with a careful hand, lifting the lid gently, unknowing what he would see inside. Seven long slender vials glowed silver as he let the lid fall open the rest of the way. They nestled upright in their packing material. He lifted one up, turning it to see the inscription on the label. Milton.
He looked at his nephew, raising a brow. Whatever he'd expected, this hadn't been it. Why had Curse gone to so much trouble to protect these? What valuable secrets did they hold? Curse was eccentric but he didn't believe he would have hidden these with such care if they hadn't been important. He replaced the vial, selecting another at random. Ari.
"Max..." He said slowly, replacing it and pulling out another. Curse always had a reason, and for some reason the little box now filled him with dread.