Neverending Loops

13

After they approached the door, she grabbed them by the wrists and practically pulled them inside, though she was still pretty gentle about it. It was brightly lit in the room, no sign of ink splatter or cobwebs. A record player was on somewhere, playing an instrumental version of 'Lonely Angel,' Susie's debut song for Alice's introduction.

Books and paper were scattered on a coffee table in front of a pair of couches, covered in doodles. And there in the middle stood two familiar faces; well the Studio's version of their faces. Boris and Norman, both staring back it the two of them with what Henry hoped was just curiosity.

Norman hovered behind the Boris's shoulder, seemingly nervous about the newcomers. Alice stood to the side, hands clasped together as if introducing a group of kids to each other.

"If it weren't for Buddy here, I wouldn't have even known you two existed!" Buddy ducked his head down, looking embarrassed by her praise. That confirmed one thing at least, that Buddy was in fact the 'perfect' Boris, and the safehouse was his at some point it time.

"So that's who was in there with us. You coulda stuck around and explained who you were though, would've saved a <i>lot</i> of worrying.'' Buddy whimpered, and Joey raised his hands in realization. "Oh, god I'm not mad at you Bud."

At the new nickname Buddy tilted his head, the fluffy tail behind him slowly wagging. It hit Norman repeatedly in the leg, prompting the strangely shy projectionist to move away.

The light of the projector flickered rapidly, and his hands clenched and unclenched at the same time. Joey had moved closer to Buddy, offering a hug, which the wolf readily accepted. Henry couldn't help but smile at the large grin on Buddy's face.

"Well, I'll leave you to get acquainted again for a couple minutes. I have to find the first aid stuff anyways." Alice gave a tiny wave before walking past Norman, though she paused to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Joey moved over to the couch with Buddy, and watched as the wolf picked up a piece of paper and a pencil. It seemed he couldn't talk in this form.

If he couldn't, maybe Norman couldn't either. Henry wasn't the best at sign language, but he could get basic messages across. He'd actually learned from Buddy, who used it to communicate with this grandfather when his hearing escaped him. Some of the other inhabitants of the Studio had learned too, like Norman, who preferred to sign when days got too stressful.

He moved a bit closer to Norman, shakily signing 'hello'. Norman tilted his head? Projector? And raised his hands excitedly, signing back so fast Henry could hardly keep up. He could make put a couple things though, like 'I' 'know' and 'me.'

'Too fast.' Norman was far more experienced, and the wound on his hand didn't really help. Sure, he could talk aloud, but he didn't know if Norman would prefer lip reading over signing.

'Sorry. Excited to talk to someone new.' He paused, as if suddenly nervous once more. 'Do you know me?'

'Of course I know you Norman. You are my friend.' As soon as he signed the last word, Norman threw his ink covered arms around him in a hug, the projector clicking and whirring in what Henry considered happiness. It wasn't a cold and terrifying embrace either, the ink felt warm. It was kind of strange, but welcome.

By the time Alice walked back in, arms full of a bunch of medical stuff, Norman hadn't moved, head resting on Henry's shoulder while he made a soft clicking noise akin to purring. She grinned, the top half of her face still covered in that odd shadow. Joey and Buddy had been sketching, opting to wait and converse when Alice returned.

"I'm glad I didn't have to walk in and break up a fight." She walked to the table, sitting the various medical tools down gently, carefully moving the sketches away. The more he watched, the more Henry realized that this Alice incarnation really did hold Susie's personality more than any other. None of the bloodlust or anger was present in the way she spoke or held herself, only something like motherly comfort.