Just a note

[Hannah]

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I should let you know what's been happening around here the last while.

It's been pretty quiet since Wie got back. She and Mom and Dad have been doing the domestic bliss thing.

Dad still goes out on patrols sometimes but he's not finding anything anymore. Kinda like everything up and lit outta town. I think it's because Dad's kicked their collective butts back to whatever hell spawned them.

School is actually pretty quiet. I think my teachers are kinda surprised by it all. They keep waiting for me to get into trouble, but it doesn't happen because there is nothing to get me into trouble. I have been kicking butt on the archery team. I like it because I can be measured against the boys too, and kick their butts. The coach says he expects I'll probably take the next state meet. Dad says that if things stay quiet like this we'll go after deer together next season.

Other than getting my driver's licence, things have been pretty boring overall.

Well except Peter. He's still on his hunt for whoever it was that killed his father. He's talking about some sort of professional assassin that was after his dad and how his dad was a bodyguard or a policeman or something. The story changes a little bit each time. I am starting to worry about him, but it's still good to spend some time with him out on our runs.

MJ has really changed too. Other than the first time we met, she's been pretty friendly to me. But now she's distant. She talks about what it was like to loose her mother and her sister a lot. I don't think she's ever really got herself sorted out about it. Now with her dad gone . . . I'm worried about her too.

I met the uncle they are staying with now. I don't think he's their real uncle. While Pete and MJ are light and fast, this guy is huge and kinda stumbles about. He's like a big ol' bear wearing a man's clothes. Reminds me of Kolya, but there's something a little more feral in his eyes. I don't think the guy likes me. When I met him he started sniffing the air like he smelled something strange.

Not Dad hasn't shown up since that incident in the restroom. It's good not to have him rattling around in my skull, but having him roaming free isn't any better. Stranger still, since he left I haven't been able to have any dreams with my dad or grandfather in them. I wonder what that means?

I do sometimes dream of the faeries and their world. The Grugach and I have lots of long talks, mostly about farming and plants and stuff. Sometimes we talk about my mother when she was little. Occasionally I visit the palace of the Holly King or the Oak King, though I make sure to stay away from Greenwood. I don't think Robin has totally forgotten what happened yet.

How is everyone else doing out there? It's been a long time since I talked to any of y'all.

Hannah

PS: Anyone seen or heard anything about Not Dad lately?

[Joe Smith]

Who or what is "Not Dad"?

Its been pretty quiet up in my neck of the woods. I have been spending all my free time relaxing and playing with my iPhone though, so its not like I go out looking for stuff.

[Hannah]

Hi Mr. Smith.

Not Dad is tricky to explain. He's something from my dreams . . . well my nightmares really. He decided to get up and walk around in the real world. He looks sort of like my father, that's why we call him Not Dad (well I call him Not Dad, everyone else calls him Not Ron. I won't repeat what my father calls him).

He used to cause us all kinds of trouble, but he's been really quiet lately.

Hannah

PS: You don't have to worry about him, you started posting here after the last time he escaped, so he doesn't know about you.

[Grace]

Well except Peter. He's still on his hunt for whoever it was that killed his father. He's talking about some sort of professional assassin that was after his dad and how his dad was a bodyguard or a policeman or something. The story changes a little bit each time. I am starting to worry about him, but it's still good to spend some time with him out on our runs.

You know... I'm not exactly without professional contacts in this particular field...

PS: Anyone seen or heard anything about Not Dad lately?

If I have, I have not recognized him as such.

[Joe Smith]

I wonder if my little scanner would work on "not dad".

From what I gather, hes not human, but closer to the little beasties that melt into shadow when you kill them. Might help if he looks exactly like the real Dad to tell them apart.

[Ron Caliburn]

It would be nice to have something to differentiate the two of us - any of us for that matter. It seems to be able to look like who it wants to look like. It just prefers my face.

[Professor Ali]

I can only speak about Islamic and Arabic mythology, but the description of this Not Dad did seem a little like a classical Ifrit. Ifrits are master shape-changers, but they prefer to inhabit abandoned buildings. Some ghouls can also appear as animals or people, but I know of no stories in which ghouls can copy the exact appearance of another person. Has this Not Dad been seen in any abandoned buildings?

[Joe Smith]

Well...the scanner seems to work. It has some drawbacks....like a very short range, and limited durability. But it works.

If you have an IPhone. I can send you the app that turns the iPhone into the scanner! The phone will even work!