Eerie, Indiana fanfiction: Invitation
Written for the 31_days October challenge
Day/Theme: 3 / Down the rabbit hole
Series: Eerie, Indiana
Character/Pairing: Mars, Dash, Simon, Marilyn, Edgar
Rating: PG
It was autumn, and the trees blazed red and gold against the duck egg blue sky. The sun was a bright circle of pale yellow on the horizon, and wispy streamers of cloud scudded swiftly by high overhead. There was a thin layer of frost on the pavement, but it was already beginning to melt as the low sun bathed everything in a clear, cool light, and the air was crisp and fresh and still carried the faint hint of last night's bonfires.
Already thin ribbons of smoke were rising from some of the chimneys and the smell of woodsmoke, warming and homey, drifted down the street to where a teenaged boy with premature grey hair huddled in his over-sized trenchcoat and tried without success to supress a sneeze.
The door to the Teller house banged open, and Simon and Marshall bounded down the front steps to leap feet-first into a neatly raked pile of dead leaves on the edge of the lawn. A moment later, Edgar Teller's half-exasperated, half-laughing shout of "Boys!" came from the partially-open living room window.
"Sorry, Dad!" Mars yelled back, not sounding even a little apologetic.
Marilyn Teller appeared in the doorway, shaking her head, and stepped out into the chilly morning. Her hair was tied back off her face in a messy ponytail and she was wearing one of her husband's old sweatshirts, the sleeves folded and double-folded and pushed up to her elbows. Her breath steamed in the frosty air and she hugged herself against the cold.
"Marshall!" she said, her tone chiding. "Your father just swept those yesterday."
"Sorry, Mom," Marshall replied, a half-second after Simon's own, "Sorry, Mrs. Teller."
Marilyn sighed.
"Come back inside and have some cocoa," she said. "Then you can clean this mess up before you head out on your latest paranormal adventure."
"Yes, Mom," said Mars, but he stomped and jumped about in the crunching, crackling pile a few more times before he actually obeyed.
As he passed his mother, she reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately. She was pulling the door closed behind her two errant boys when she spotted Dash standing across the street and waved him over.
"Mars has a couple of chores to take care of before he can come out," she explained, shooting her son a wry look. Marshall, for his part, looked like he wanted to die at how embarrassing his mother was being. "Why don't you come in and have a hot drink while you wait?"
Since he woke up in Eerie, Dash had encountered more than his fair share of the unknown, the unexpected, and the just plain unexplainable. But werewolves, larcenous ghosts, brain-swapping tape decks and colliding parallel realities had never made him as nervous as the entirely unfamiliar sensation of being invited into the warmth and noise of the Teller's home for the very first time.
Day/Theme: 3 / Down the rabbit hole
Series: Eerie, Indiana
Character/Pairing: Mars, Dash, Simon, Marilyn, Edgar
Rating: PG
It was autumn, and the trees blazed red and gold against the duck egg blue sky. The sun was a bright circle of pale yellow on the horizon, and wispy streamers of cloud scudded swiftly by high overhead. There was a thin layer of frost on the pavement, but it was already beginning to melt as the low sun bathed everything in a clear, cool light, and the air was crisp and fresh and still carried the faint hint of last night's bonfires.
Already thin ribbons of smoke were rising from some of the chimneys and the smell of woodsmoke, warming and homey, drifted down the street to where a teenaged boy with premature grey hair huddled in his over-sized trenchcoat and tried without success to supress a sneeze.
The door to the Teller house banged open, and Simon and Marshall bounded down the front steps to leap feet-first into a neatly raked pile of dead leaves on the edge of the lawn. A moment later, Edgar Teller's half-exasperated, half-laughing shout of "Boys!" came from the partially-open living room window.
"Sorry, Dad!" Mars yelled back, not sounding even a little apologetic.
Marilyn Teller appeared in the doorway, shaking her head, and stepped out into the chilly morning. Her hair was tied back off her face in a messy ponytail and she was wearing one of her husband's old sweatshirts, the sleeves folded and double-folded and pushed up to her elbows. Her breath steamed in the frosty air and she hugged herself against the cold.
"Marshall!" she said, her tone chiding. "Your father just swept those yesterday."
"Sorry, Mom," Marshall replied, a half-second after Simon's own, "Sorry, Mrs. Teller."
Marilyn sighed.
"Come back inside and have some cocoa," she said. "Then you can clean this mess up before you head out on your latest paranormal adventure."
"Yes, Mom," said Mars, but he stomped and jumped about in the crunching, crackling pile a few more times before he actually obeyed.
As he passed his mother, she reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately. She was pulling the door closed behind her two errant boys when she spotted Dash standing across the street and waved him over.
"Mars has a couple of chores to take care of before he can come out," she explained, shooting her son a wry look. Marshall, for his part, looked like he wanted to die at how embarrassing his mother was being. "Why don't you come in and have a hot drink while you wait?"
Since he woke up in Eerie, Dash had encountered more than his fair share of the unknown, the unexpected, and the just plain unexplainable. But werewolves, larcenous ghosts, brain-swapping tape decks and colliding parallel realities had never made him as nervous as the entirely unfamiliar sensation of being invited into the warmth and noise of the Teller's home for the very first time.