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 Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:53 am
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 Curves
Pops and cracks from joints littered the air as Zeke gave a hearty stretch from his seat behind the receptionist's desk. His gloved arms were over his head, left hand holding the right, reaching for the hanging light as far as they could comfortably go. Zeke's head was tilted back, giving his neck a proper pull as his legs stretched out beneath the desk, feeling the relieving cracks in his knees before he heard them. When a pleased groan passed over his pierced lips and his back gave a final, lasting pop the young man with the dual-colored hair relaxed, slumping in the swivel chair once more with each stretched area tingling pleasantly. That had felt good.
The ticking of the small black clock on the desk was now the only other sound audible besides the twenty-five year old's breathing and soon that sound caused soft brown eyes to be placed upon its face. It was eight-thirty P.M. now and Zeke's shift would end in another half an hour to which he was looking forward to. The day had been a good one, though slow as usual, and Zeke was feeling up to getting home, having some Chinese food, and lounging on his futon couch for the rest of the night watching movies or whatever was on the tube until he was tired enough for sleep. He did have his full time job tomorrow...Oh wait, tomorrow was the twelfth. It was his birthday and he did take the day off, so score for him! He must really be tired if he was forgetting such a detail, but no matter. He'd just have to remind himself to shut off his alarm when he got home. Zeke had earned some sleeping in time. With that thought and the time in mind, the young veterinarian felt it best to do a last check of the lower portion of the Lab. Alex had Lucia to take care of since the middle of March onward, so the Italian woman would leave earlier to take care of the cat Frei and leave him in charge of whatever reception work needed to be done. This was one of the things, he figured, and while Dr. Kyou lived above the Lab, he guessed it wouldn't hurt to poke around for the warlock. Plus, he thought as he rose from his chair and proceeded to the door between the lobby and the inner sanctum of the building, he could say good night to both his Raevan and Anita's.
He hummed as he walked, checking into rooms on either side of the hall that weren't offices to make sure everything was as it should be. Nothing seemed out of sorts with each door he checked and soon Zeke was at the ones that led into the laboratory as well as Kyou's office beyond. He let himself in. As usual, only two of the tanks were aglow, but within each tank was a Raevan in vastly different stages of growth. Anita's - on his left - was simply a head, neck, and the beginnings of a pair of shoulders that descended into a long spiraling ribbon. To the right was his own, the older of the two development-wise. From this distance he couldn't see much through the murky water, but he did happily see that it appeared more growth had occurred around the Frei's chest region. Its arms were almost fully developed now and only the fingers truly remained before those appendages were complete. He approached the neighbor tanks, hand resting upon and attention turning toward the chamber that held Anita's growing charge.
"Hey there," he said softly. Like the opposite, the water inside the glass and metal contraptions was too murky to make out features. Whether this one was male or female was lost on Zeke, but he would talk to and pat the glass of this Raevan all the same. Ever since Anita had brought the soul of a crocodile and mistletoe that made people kiss, he had taken on a sense of guardianship of this Raevan and was just as protective of its slumbering form as much as his own. "Anita will be happy to hear you're growing so well. I'm sure she'll stop by next weekend to see you but I'll tell her how big you've gotten all the same when I get home."
If anyone off the street saw him doing this, they might think him mad, but Zeke didn't feel silly at all. On the contrary, he'd just say it was like talking to a pregnant woman's belly and that would be that. He gave the crocodile Raevan's tank another soft pat and smiled up at the bald, genderless face before turning around to the tank on that Frei's eventual left side, eyes automatically resting on the also genderless face, though this Raevan had a head of hair whose length just brushed against the spot where eyebrows would eventually be.
"Hi..." he trailed off with a surge of pride and parental instinct. Unlike Anita's Raevan, his own had limbs and they moved slowly within the tank. He had been here and talked to his own enough that he knew it was likely just the water causing the motion or maybe even the still-growing brain letting off charges, but he still liked to pretend it was because it could hear him in there. "You've grown more over the week. Does that mean you'll be coming home with me soon?" His question got no response but his tone was doting and beyond happy nonetheless. He had participated in two homing of Raevans in his time at the Lab and both times he had felt small pangs of jealously toward the guardians who got to take their wards home with them so easily. Well, honestly to a lesser extent toward Rong Wei because of his personal feelings at the Chinese woman's attitude and that smile Ripley had left him on but it was still there regardless. He'd get his moment soon enough, especially with the recent developments south of the spider Frei's collar. Zeke's eyes finally moved south from the face, taking in the torso and arms that had developed over the weeks and had now developed a couple more inches since last weekend. His approving smile grew wide but then faltered.
What is that...?
There was a shadow of something there at that point on the Frei, but the glare from the overhead lights made it hard to see. Zeke moved closer to the glass, trying to see through the murk. He still couldn't tell even as his body blocked off most of the fluorescent glow, but even with that gone the shadow remained. Zeke raised his hands, pressing the glove-covered body parts against the surface of the six inch thick glass. His face moved in between them, leaning in as close as he could until the tip of his nose was touching the cold panel. He squinted through the cloudy water, but soon his eyes widened in surprise. He knew what that was. He didn't go looking for it normally, but dammit he knew what it was regardless!
"Well I'll be..." A grin broke through his surprise, hands spreading away from their spots until they were as far apart as they could go and Zeke was literally hugging the panel, unable to contain his excitement and joy. The roughly two inch long shadow against the Frei's chest was the start of a curve that would become a bust line. His Raevan was a girl. The fel virus, a female black widow spider, and Dr. Kyou's blend of science and magic had come together to make a female Raevan. His female Raevan! Zeke uttered some shaky laughs, too overcome for the sound to not come out wobbly, as his shaven cheek rubbed against the chamber. "Oh you...You...!" He struggled to get something out but he still didn't have a name for it - HER! - yet. He remembered his poll at that moment and with a laugh knew his first small task when he got home or come the morning: write up a new poll message and once he got to work on Tuesday he would take down the boys names side of it. It wasn't needed now!
Some time passed and Zeke hugged the tank for a few minutes longer before reluctantly peeling himself away from its inwardly illuminated surface though the young man's hands still lingered. His eyes were a bright orange-brown as he placed them upon the Frei's face; for the first time and despite the murk seeing feminine qualities in that shadowy face. He danced on the spot, trilling with glee and now wanting time to go slower so he could spend as much of it here between the two tanks. It was silly how just a hallway's walk of time ago he was ready to leave, and now he wanted to leech as much of that time back to stay a few more precious seconds with her. Eventually though, the phone in his pocket made that soft, multiple 'ping' sound to announce it was nine o'clock and he knew he had to leave. The bus ride back to Durem would take less than an hour but he was going to stop for his supper too. Zeke pulled himself away, taking his time as he walked around and over the cords on the floor to stop and look over his shoulder.
A girl.
The smile would be stuck on his face all night, even as he slept, and it wouldn't surprise him if it was permanently stuck there from now on. Hell, he'd welcome it! Finally he freed himself from the electric tangle of wires and padded on across the linoleum floor toward the door. He had to grip the handle hard to keep himself from going back over there as he gave one last look for this weekend, bubble of pride and excitement for taking on this endeavor (despite the possible risks he knew so well) welling up in his chest again. As he let himself out he remembered what Ebony had said about calling the Frei 'baby' until he knew its gender. A snort came out in place of a laugh at that. He'd never have to use 'him or her' and 'he or she' ever again now. From now on until he had a name chosen out, it'd be 'her' and 'she' and he couldn't be more elated at the prospect of a daughter. |
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:38 am
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Happy Birthday Zeke
Breathing had slowed considerably and the hands brushing against the tattooed skin of his back in a lazy massage eased in time as well. While Brad succumbed to the dark blanket of sleep, Zeke remained awake; eyes trained on the olive skinned face of his loved one though his mind was far off from this place. His attention held, but in reality he was remembering the day that had come and gone by. The clock on his nightstand behind him ticked over to read 11:58PM and there were only two minutes remaining until April twelfth - his birth day - was gone for another year. He smiled again, likely the thousandth time he had today alone, brain working his inner eye's clock back through the hours, minutes, and seconds until his gaze became unfocused - lost in thought.
Like he had planned the night before after remembering he had taken the following day off, Zeke had kept his alarm off to let himself sleep in late. Come six a.m. there was no annoying wail from his clock radio and the young vet had kept himself snug beneath the covers until his phone started to chime at nine. The sound the flip phone produced was not the pinging of an extra alarm, but a familiar beadle of notes that had the tousle-haired man reaching behind him for the device. He didn't have to look at the screen to know who was on the other end of the line, but his sleepy off-orange eyes rested there out of habit and fueled a small wave of pleasure in the young male. 'Brad', the screen read with a colored tint of the alert lights, and Zeke hastily sat up in bed before answering the call by its third ring.
"Hello baby," he greeted in a sleepy tone that he was trying to hide but failing at. There was a chuckle at the other end of the line, the older man clearly amused by what lay in his boyfriend's tone.
"Good morning angel, and happy birthday!"
"Thank you Brad." Zeke could hear the smile in his loved one's words and in turn it made him do the same, already feeling that the day would be one of the best he's had in awhile - from start to finish.
From that point onward the two men chatted over the phone for awhile, catching up on various happenings in each others lives. The most recent developments in Zeke's life were that his present term at grad school would be ending for the summer soon, that he was thinking of taking the next semester off to free himself up a bit, and - of course - the illumination of the Raevan's gender that came last night. Brad listened to the younger man go on, laughing as Zeke apologized for rambling and in turn asking how he was. The Italian man said everything was fine with himself, that work was the same stuff on a different day for now, and that he missed the veterinarian. That last part earned the older man a soft sound of agreement and soon plans for Brad to come over and spend the day together were made. Zeke couldn't imagine a better way to spend his birthday!
I love you's and goodbyes for now were spoken and as Zeke hung up he was already working his way out of bed, mind set on a shower and shave. A hand rubbed one stubbled cheek as the other nabbed his hairbrush on his way out and Zeke crossed the hall and let himself into the bathroom, door latching behind him.
With a shift against his slumbering boyfriend and the mattress, Zeke remembered how the spray from the shower had just the right amount of pressure and how the water itself was pretty much perfect in terms of heat. He had even decided to take a longer stand beneath the roaring jet which, to his pleasure, remained hot despite the increased duration. Once he finally pulled himself away from the shower and cleared the mirror above the sink clean of accumulated fog, Zeke had nabbed his electric razor and started up that part of his grooming. There was a bit of burn against his cheek from pressing down a bit too hard, but that would dull and after the razor went back into the cabinet hidden behind the glass, Zeke trimmed his beard to an even and acceptable length and padded out of the bathroom again - otherwise naked as a jay save for the towel he had wrapped around his head.
"It's my birthday Dusty," he said to the kitten sitting daintily on the arm of the futon as he strutted into the space between the front door, kitchen, and living room, pausing there to let the light coming in through the windows in the latter room hit his marked skin. "You know what that means right?" There was no response as Dust Bunny seemed more interested in the patch of sunlight she was sitting in but Zeke beamed at her all the same. "...That's right! Naked breakfast!"
From there the now twenty-six year old walked himself into the kitchen and grabbed all he would need to make his meal. Lack of cooking skill dictated that his breakfast would be the usual scrambled eggs and toast (two slices - one with butter and the other with peanut butter), but Zeke jazzed it up some for his birthday with a small plastic container of fruit salad he had picked up at the grocery store deli a couple days before. The wall clock just outside the kitchen - slash - dining area read 9:30 as Zeke finished his plate and downed the last of his milk. Since Brad lived in Aekea, the vet had plenty of time to get dressed and finish grooming before the older man arrived, but he wasn't one to procrastinate for too long, especially if it could hold up his day with the Italian.
With that in mind, his dishes were dumped in the sink and run beneath the tap for a few minutes before being tucked into the dishwasher. The towel wrapped around his head was removed and tossed in a hamper as he returned to his bedroom. Ten minutes later Zeke came back out again - clean, clothed, and hair styled in its usual mohawk while the longer portion was tied back in a ponytail.
Zeke passed the time by making his apartment presentable before flopping down on the futon to watch a little TV. The deviation of his attention worked like a charm and before he knew it, it was 10:45 and Brad was knocking on the door.
"Babe!" He had launched himself at the older man as soon as the door was open, arms wrapping tight around Brad's neck and planting a kiss on his lips. It was a wonder the Italian man didn't drop the cardboard box packed cake his sister had made, but then again it was clear he had been expecting more than just a 'hello, come in!'.
"Careful Zeke, or else your cake will fall." That got the younger man to pull away enough for Brad to hold it out to him. Inside the box was a large, beautifully made strawberry shortcake. The sight of it earned the baked good a hungry look but the one Zeke cast up to his loved one was awe, flattery, and poorly restrained delight. "Alessa said to tell you 'happy birthday'."
"I'll be sure to really thank her the next time I see her," he replied, "but right now it's you and me babe!" He made to take Brad's free hand but found it was wrapped around the handle of a large shopping bag. Zeke lofted a multi-pierced brow. "Groceries?"
"Dinner." There was a deeply affectionate smile on Brad's face. "You didn't think I wouldn't cook for you on your birthday did you?" That earned the Italian a laugh and another - albeit softer - hug, pulling away to let Brad in.
"Here, let's get that stuff out of your hands. Fridge has plenty of room." He took the cake, looking through the flimsy shrink wrap window to gaze at the sugary strawberries coated in sweet whipped cream. Alex, he was now certain of, was a baked goods and dessert goddess. "Man this looks good..."
"Dinner and dessert's not all," Brad said as the refrigeration-required parts of dinner were tucked away. Zeke could see the Italian's smile grow from his spot by the counter, and once he stood straight again he pulled a white envelope out of his back pocket before holding it out to Zeke. "I got you something too."
"You didn't have to Brad..." Zeke's expression was surprised and his cheeks took on a flattered pink color though he took the envelope all the same, receiving and returning a kiss once his hand touched the white paper.
"Yes, but I wanted to." The Italian man's curiously blue eyes filled with mirth as he watched his boyfriend open the envelope's lip and pull out what was inside. A rumbled laugh escaped him at Zeke's face, which was going through a plethora of positive emotions in a span of a few seconds.
"Brad," he said with more than just a touch of awe and delight as he held two tickets to a planetarium in his hand, "you know me all too well!" Brad was then jumped again as the man with the dual-colored hair wrapped him up in a thankful hug, rubbing his shaven face into the Italian's green button up. "Thank you babe, thank you so much!" And then it dawned on him, "Could we go today? Please? Dinner's awhile yet!"
"That was the plan," was the return and Zeke got another kiss for his delighted expression as his beloved agreed.
For a few lingering minutes all the two men did was impart affection, but soon enough they were able to unstick themselves from each other to let Zeke nab a light jacket (just in case!) as well as his apartment keys to lock the door before they departed. The drive to the planetarium was filled with laughter, teasing, and mild flirting as well as general talk; standard banter between the men when they were together. Had they not been such a good match and left to sit in silence, the drive would've taken forty-five minutes, but instead Zeke exclaimed that it had felt like barely a fraction of that.
From the parking lot, both could see the building clearly. It was of the large dome-roofed variety, mimicking the shape of one of those large galaxy gazing telescopes commonly found on mountains for the best view and lack of light pollution. The planetarium was a stark white color and with the sun beating down in the nearly cloudless sky it was nearly blinding. Zeke fished some green-tinted sunglasses from his jacket pocket before shutting the passenger door of the Aston Martin, putting them on before taking his boyfriend's hand with tickets firmly held in the other. They crossed the lot and took up the sidewalk which was lined with short, neatly cropped hedges from their spot to the entrance, the latter of which had a short flight of stairs before the actual double doors that led inside. The moment the two men stepped inside the were swaddled in science - displays, inlet wall cases of space memorobilia, photos, and information, various signs, and even murals of various achievements in the field were decorating the lobby.
"Hello!" Zeke greeted the woman attending the ticket stand a few short feet from the door. He handed his and Brad's tickets over, took back the stubs, and chatted with the middle age brunette for a short time about the various exhibits before receiving two pamphlets about the planetarium's history as well as information behind some of the various halls and rooms in the building. He soon rejoined Brad's side, handing the older man one of the two brochures as they set off through the lobby to look at what it offered before treading into the halls and heart of the building.
"So, how about lunch?" Brad asked hours later as he and Zeke left the planetarium; with all sights having been looked at and the actual planetarium show of the building having been seen. He got a playful look through green-tinted shades and a smile in response, Zeke leading them both down the cement walk toward the car with a noticeable bounce in his step.
"You're just spoiling me today aren't you?" He teased, causing them both to laugh at that.
"Always," came the reply, "but it is your birthday remember?"
"I didn't forget Brad. S'not every day a guy turns twenty-six." He squeezed the older man's hand as they arrived in front of the car before letting it go so Brad can unlock it, uttering a carrying laugh as Brad went to the passenger side door to open it for Zeke. "You're a wonderful guy, you know that?" There was a grin in reply before the door was shut behind him, watching the Italian walk around the front and finally join him inside.
Lunch had taken place at a small hole in the wall cafe Zeke had discovered on one of his coworkers-included lunch breaks, finding the atmosphere great and the food even better. Talking continued between the two men as they sat together waiting for their meals and then dined, most of their words revolving around the place they had just visited as well as plans for the rest of the day ahead. With the weather having been as nice as it had, after the fulfilling lunch there was a trip to one of Durem's nicest in-city parks to enjoy the early spring air and toss around the frisbee Zeke had stashed away in the Aston's trunk the previous fall. By the time the sun started to descend beneath the horizon, both Brad and Zeke were left breathless but feeling exhilarated and both were in the mind to head back to the latter man's apartment for that much needed dinner.
"How about dinner and a show? A movie or two in the living room?"
"Sure! Anything in mind?"
"Mmn...Not off the top of my head," he was much too bamboozled from the event filled day to focus on remembering anything other than the afternoon right then, "but when we get back we can find something, how's that sound?" His silly grin was met with a rumbled chuckle and a quick glance from the road, along with a squeeze of his hand.
"Sounds perfect babe."
And perfect it was for them. Brad had made a favored dish of Zeke's by him - lasagna - and while that cooked both men picked out and started on a movie. Dinner was eaten in the living room as well, Zeke's kitchen actually too small to comfortably sit the two, especially the older man with his larger size. After multiple helpings were had, plates were cleared, a slice of cake was had, and the rest of the two food items were wrapped up for Zeke to have later if he so chose, both returned to the living room to enjoy a couple more movies and curl up together on the futon with Dust Bunny at the other end before the day's exertions at the park, full stomachs, and the overall fun came back to slowly work the tired into them. As the movie came to an end, both men were thinking one thing, but Zeke was the one to give it a voice.
"Stay with me?"
Thus, here they were now, Zeke coming out of his movie-like review of his birthday as the clock ticked over to 12:01am. His birthday had come and gone but the memories would stay strong with him for longer than he could forsee. The day's events ended on a fuzzy note, his mind slowly starting to cloud over with creeping sleep. The vet made a jaw cracking yawn before he slipped down the length of his boyfriend's side, tucking his now loose haired head beneath the older man's chin. He drew the blanket up over his own shoulder before wrapping his arms as best he could around Brad, snuggling in close to leech precious heat while he slept. As the corners of his eyes let the darkness in to carry him off, he still couldn't take a small smile off his pierced lips.
Best birthday ever.
And then he was out. |
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:03 pm
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Name Game{Part Two}
Something about the start of the work day was appealing to Zeke. The clinic had just opened a half hour ago and so far the lobby - slash - waiting room was empty save for the receptionists, a few lingering veterinarians, and Rocky who was preening himself on his perch. Zeke was no where near that part of the clinic however, he was in his office and working diligently on a new notice to tack up on his now inward-facing door. He had planned to scribble something up yesterday but Brad's arrival at his apartment and the following birthday celebrations put the note on the backburner until now. Now, with a quick roll of his shoulders, Zeke was tapping his marker against his lip ring, lost in thought as to how to word this. He didn't want to give the Raevan's existence away yet, he wanted it to be a surprise. Ever since he had tacked the first note and the two names lists up, he had been bombarded with the expected "what's this for anyway?" questions and dodging them had been a challenge all its own. The new note and loss of the boys names list would light that up again. He'd take it as it came.
Lessee... He said in his head, drawing the pen away from his mouth and instead hovering the exposed tip over the horizontal paper. His tongue stud clucked against the roof of his mouth like a metronome, helping to spur his slightly hazy brain to get to work on this.
Hey again!
Thanks to some recent (and I mean really recent!) revelations, I no longer need a boy's name. I do, however, still need a girl's one so I'm editing my poll a little bit. The boy's list will be gone and instead I'd much oblige it if all focus was on the girls' list instead. I haven't edited that list, so if you voted before no need to worry about doing it again. The poll will also remain up indefinitely as before, so no worries there either!
Thanks again guys, you're the best!
--Zeke
He read the note over a few times before deeming it satisfactory. Short, simple, and to the point. Perfect. Zeke blew on the paper to help the ink soak in and dry fast, fishing for his tape once the paper was laid down on his desk again. The small reel was set atop that and Zeke moved off his swivel seat and toward the door. The three papers there were showing the wear of hanging and being read and touched for a couple months but with what he saw on Sunday Zeke had a feeling they wouldn't be there for too much longer. His Raevan's growth to the Frei's full bust was going to be completed soon, so there after maybe it would be ready to go home with him. He dearly hoped so.
"What're you doing Zeke?" A male voice called out as Zeke was taking down the list of boys names. The younger vet turned toward his colleague, crumpling the tape and paper into a moderate ball.
"Editing." He replied with a smile, holding the wad of paper up. "My poll's taken a slight turn so I'm fixing it a bit." The other vet, Rick Monroe, padded over to see.
"Girls only? What are you doing Zeke?" A finger tapped a name on the worn list, identifying that he had chosen that one - Sophia. Zeke chuckled a bit. He had expected it! "I voted for that one when you first put it up."
"Like I said then - it's a bit of a surprise. Speculation's gonna ruin my reputation, but so be it. Hopefully it won't be so much of a surprise soon though Rick." He left it at that, hoping he was cryptic about it. He could see the gears in the older man's head turning even as Rick shook his head and dropped his hand.
"A surprise huh?" He didn't sound like he believed it. Rick moved from the paper, turning to head down toward the lobby for his first patient's documents. "Better be a good one Zeke, you're leaving all of us in suspense. Break room gossip suspense." Both men laughed at that and Zeke waved to Rick's back as he took off down the hall again, dropping it once the other man waved behind him.
"It'll be a great one, I promise Rick! You'll all enjoy it when it arrives!" He tossed the ball into his recycling box and repeated the same motions for the note. He stepped inside his office and taped the paper up in the latter note's place, giving a certain nod once the white paper fluttered to a stop against the office door. "She'll be a great surprise; for everyone." |
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 7:36 pm
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Welcome Home Anastacia
So this was 'home' that Zul had talked about. This was the place that was hers now, to be shared with her guardian, but hers nonetheless. Foyer, bathroom, bedroom...She couldn't remember the entire list, but now after her first car trip it was all before her. Hidden beyond sturdy floor to ceiling walls was 'home' and even with her poor vision and only just floating into the place, she could already see Zul had spoken the truth. It felt larger and freer than the room that up until an hour or so ago she had called her world. It felt open, warmer, and definitely less medical than the Lab and the office she had been housed in. Scratch the office being hers; 'home' was hers, as was the man just shutting the door behind her.
She neither jumped nor turned as the door clacked into its latch, but there was no hesitation in her movements as she cleared the space that could be constituted as a 'foyer' - lavender set of eyes roaming over the earthy-colored walls at her sides while the two pairs of dark blues kept unblinking and steadily forward. Behind her, Zeke pressed his back to the door, eyes fixated on his ward with that continual mixture of excitement, parental delight, and nervousness.
Welcome home, Anastacia, was what he wanted to say, but the words weren't vocalized. Not yet. They would be in due time, that was for certain, but only after she seemed settled and right now it was plain as day she was taking everything in. He'd give her all the time in the world - and the space to do it in of course - and thus remained still as the newborn left the spot she had originally settled in and wound up hovering near the open space where a door would commonly be.
"Kitchen." Anastacia remained silent, lavender eyes ticking around the room that was small enough that it was only blurry in the far corners. There were strange items on the tops of the counters, but none of them captured her intrigue as quickly as her mirror had; the mirror she still held in her arms. Soon her head turned, eyes coming to focus on her guardian. Zeke had moved and was standing nearby, placing his bag down by a row of hooks attached to the wall; a couple of which held coats of various materials and thickness. It was one of the rooms Zul had mentioned, but the older Frei hadn't elaborated on any of them past their names. Her head tilted and Zeke wasn't sure what to make of his Raevan's silence. She was a newborn, yes, but she had been able to ask for her name easily enough...Then again, no child was quite talkative so young right? Zul had likely influenced her enough to want a name, so that was likely it. She'd learn though, he'd see to that. If anything in the future was certain, it'd be that she'd get an education. "It's the place where humans make food and eat."
Humans. Not Raevans like her.
One room into this home - her home - and it was one she had no use for nor interest in. She moved on, past that small room and into a space that would be a crossroads of sort for her. To her right was a hallway with multiple doors on one side and seemingly one on the other, while before her was a large room with two equally large windows; the walls painted a burnt orange and the floor hardwood that was light enough to seem the same to such poor eyes. Looking between the two places for a moment, the Frei finally decided on the large room. She floated and Zeke followed, watching her move about with a slowness that wasn't tired. It was more like she was...Assessing the place and the things therein and this one, unlike the kitchen, held her interest.
"This is the living room," Zeke said and Anastacia once again turned toward her guardian's voice, "it's a room you'll probably like better than the kitchen. Books, games, stereo, television...I'll take you out soon to some shops and we'll see if we can't find you anything you'd like so it can be added to what's there already." He gestured to the appropriate things as he spoke their names in turn - bookcase, a couple colorfully large plastic bins with games both board and electronic, the stereo system, and the modest TV propped up on a standing case which had DVDs, a couple video games, and the required devices to play them inside the cupboard portion. Zeke was hovering at the junction of the living room, hallway, and the short walk toward the kitchen and door, watching as his ward turned back to float toward the two bins with their eye catching colors. Would she take interest in any of them? Would she want to play? He'd be more than happy to if she did! He had quite a collection, but given Zeke lived alone and only had a visitor or two every so often most went unused thanks to the whole 'for two to four players' bit. He couldn't bare himself to part with them though; they provided him with good times during school and still did when he had company. Now that Anya was here, he'd have company all the time and maybe the games wouldn't grow to be dusty anymore.
As a matter of fact she was taking interest in the games and their bins, but mostly what Zeke said about going out and finding things for her. So all of these were Zeke's things, yet the tone of his voice seemed to say he would be willing to share with her. She liked that idea, even if she wasn't sure of the pierced man yet. Slowly she floated down enough to reach into the first of the two - a red bin - and touch over the cardboard boxes therein. Their titles were illegible to the newborn, but she still looked through all the same, vaguely interested in the pictures on the covers. She was aware of Zeke watching her, but since he wasn't speaking anymore she wasn't feeling obligated to look at him. He was strange; constantly smiling since they had met and now he was watching her with a sharp eye, waiting for her to do something. She was looking around, was that what he wanted? Was he expecting her to speak and voice her opinions or question? If the latter was the case he wouldn't be getting anything out of her. Anastacia was only a few hours old and already she knew speaking was not for her - at least now. If she needed to find something out, she'd do as she was - taking initiative and exploring for herself. Asking questions would be used - they would be necessary at some point! - but it'd be a resort she'd do her best to keep minimal.
Zeke kept his eye on his Raevan; watching the femme go from the first bin to the next after inspecting the former's contents. He was pleased she was taking to the place so readily, even if her profile didn't show any traces of positive or negative emotion. She was quite...Placid. That's the word he was looking for. As he watched her float in place before that second bin a light went off in his dual-colored head. He still hadn't made Anya's bed. He wasn't expecting her arrival so soon, so he had procrastinated on the whole 'setting up' business. They had the whole day, sure, but it was only a matter of time before she would make her way down there and he wanted her to see her room with her bed ready made. That was sort of the thing that would seal this all in. If your bed was made and waiting for you, to Zeke it was saying that this was your home and that this place in particular was yours to rest your head in.
"Anya," he said as he cleared his throat. The nickname and the noise made the Frei erect herself and turn her head toward her guardian once more. She didn't like to talk, but it seemed right enough that she look to the one who had addressed her. Zeke noticed her expression hadn't changed and he could only begin to wonder what was going on in that leg crowned head of hers. "I've got something I've got to do down here," he pointed down the hall, "but you go ahead and explore as much as you want, okay? It's your home now too after all."
"Yes." Was the reply, though to what part of what the man said she was agreeing to was anyone's guess. Zeke chuckled all the same and soon disappeared down the hall, giving a message of 'if you need me, I'll be down here' before he departed. His footsteps carried down the hardwood but were soon muffled by the walls and room between Anastacia's new bedroom and the area she was in now before dying off altogether as he set about with his task. Anastacia was left alone for the first time since she was put in that room back in Lab earlier in the day and she relished that. Now she could explore as she pleased and not have someone watching, waiting, and making her feel as though she had to pull a trick before the eyes would relent.
After exploring the contents of the second bin, Anastacia left the two to float toward the case of books Zeke had initially pointed out first. It was a moderately tall thing with four long shelves, each of which was laden with books and a knick knack or three per shelf. The books on the wooden holding trays were of various ages and treatments - some were older and definitely well loved while a sparse few were newer and had yet to take more than a mild beating. Their colors were also varied with reds, blues, blacks, greens, leather browns, and - in the case of the hardbacks - multicolored due to their dust jackets. Like the games, their titles were unreadable to the newborn Frei, but she still took to looking at them and the items Zeke had stored in front or to the sides of them. These were also hers after all, she best familiarize with at least the colors and maybe extend to the shapes the letter symbols made as well. Anastacia let her fingers brush over the tomes on the second shelf, drawing them away with no dust sticking to her digits. She then pulled a squat but thick book from the very end of the line, one that was leaning at an angle against its neighbor. The cover was black and shiny with white font in varying sizes, the largest of which was the title but then slowly decreased until the tiny font quoting reviewers. On the cover was the head of a raven outlined with a purple smog-like effect; its beak open and almost seeming to spew out its border. It wasn't threatening to the Frei, in fact she liked the purple despite it being darker than her own shade, but to any others it was the clear sign of the cover to a horror novel.
Curious about the thick book's contents Anastacia opened it in the middle and was greeted with two pages full of minute text that covered each side of paper from top to bottom. The longest word she had learned so far was her own name, but a few of the words on the pages seemed to be just as long, if not longer. She held the book up and close to her eyes to look, but like the titles of the games she could barely begin to read the tiny font. Despite that setback, she still flipped through the pages with idle curiosity, wondering if the bird on the cover was anywhere inside.
As she hunted for the purple-vomiting avian within the book, Anya had little knowledge that she wasn't truly alone in the room. Near the TV and not pointed out by Zeke was a cotton and cloth cube that was colored with bright hues of green and patterned with cartoons of blue fish and red bowls that had the word 'milk' on them. Curled inside the cube with some soft toys littered around her was Dust Bunny, only now just waking up from an afternoon nap. It was common for the kitten to run up and greet her owner, but today the cube had soaked up sunlight and she couldn't resist the warmth of that and a nap. Zeke could come to her for all she cared. Even awake she was feeling up to staying in the box with her catnip mouse and tinkle toys but couldn't resist flipping over to peer out the porthole of her bed.
From there she could see a jagged but fluttery black ribbon dangling in midair. Anya's partial torso was cut off by the overhang of the roof of the bed, but even if Dust Bunny could see it that wouldn't have attracted her eye. As the Frei slowly bobbed up and down in her hover, so did her ribbon and the kitten's predatory eye followed. Had Zeke brought her a new toy? Despite the wild ride she had gone on at Christmas involving Zul's ribbon she still retained her love of the cotton strips on a plastic rod and this one just outside her nest was no different to her. Dust Bunny didn't register the danger that the ribbon spoke of with its jagged edges and thanks to the light from the windows the delicate silk webs on its turns were rendered invisible to her off-green eyes. Her nap was soon forgotten as the kitten stretched and then gingerly stepped from the cube, setting her body to hunt mode once all four legs were out. Her tail twitched in time with the ribbon's bobbing dance as she crouched against the floor, judging the distance between herself and its tattered end. One jump should be enough. Just one and the ribbon would be hers! In three...two...one...
The book yielded no other pictures like the one on the cover and with Anya's eyesight and her lack of reading skills it was rapidly losing her interest. She flipped the pages through once more with a soft 'whish' sound coming from the ink printed paper and then closed it with a light but brisk snap. She hadn't missed anything - there were absolutely no pictures in the book. How dull. The Frei's arm extended and the book just barely touched the edge of its home shelf when the spider femme felt a tug and was lowered barely an inch or so downward. She hadn't been expecting a thing so her crown and wings immediately flared out, the shock causing the book to tumble from her hand and land on the floor. Her gaze quickly shifted from the shelf to the floor; her bust momentarily becoming a buffer so her eyes didn't at first catch sight of her attacker. Anya's movements caused the ribbon to pull free and dangle more temptingly in front of the kitten and that caused the furry creature to launch at its end again with a mewl of delight. Her claws snagged the ribbon once more and tugged it back, revealing herself to the startled Raevan.
At the sight of the kitten Anya's wings flipped to their dual purpose attack-defense posture, curved and dangerously slender ends straightened out toward the cat. Unlike the Freis before her, Anya's wings were easily Sigel-like in their size so with their length out as such she was formidable and easily able to wield them. The hand that had held the book fell to her side and took hold of her ribbon, yanking it free of the kitten and up toward her partial chest. With her lack of words so far, a hiss passed her lips instead of a threat and she floated up at an angle, trying to keep out of reach of the unknown creature as the cloud around her rune spread and contracted rapidly in warning. This little creature, it seemed to say, better back off lest the sharper ends of this Raevan be used for the first time. Dust Bunny was close enough that her aim would be better than trying to attack a farther away target, and Anya was a Raevan who looked out for herself.
The hiss from the female Raevan reached the Maine Coon's ears and for the first time her eyes traveled up and met Anya's form. The light from her rune - though dim - was enough to make the kitten's eyes narrow, backing away from nearly beneath her angled chest to see better. Despite the points spread and angled at her tiny form as well as the way the Frei's eyes and rune-cloud flashed the cat grouped Anastacia into her mind with Zul; remembering how the demonic Frei had tugged his ribbon away from the kitten to play with her. In her play-driven, nap fresh mind, this was very much the same thing, just a different quarter bodied person and dangly ribbon shape. With the end of the ribbon still free to dangle and twist a mewl of happiness fell from her short muzzle and Dust Bunny launched once more, claws reaching for that tattered tip.
Immediately she was rebuffed.
Like a switch had been triggered or a gun for a relay race fired, Anastacia's right wing shot downward, dragging the Frei's right side down with it as it flew toward the floor. The spear-like tip missed the kitten by a few inches and pierced the floor instead, sinking into the hardwood almost like a hot knife through butter, though it didn't go completely through. Dust Bunny's cat reflexes went off just as fast, pulling the kitten backwards before flipping her around to attempt to run, but not before a loud, frightened yowl left her small body and echoed throughout the room as the second of Anya's two wings snapped into action - once more narrowly missing the kitten and sinking into the floor.
Despite her strength and quick movements the Frei was unable to pull her wings out of the floor. Her right was stuck to the side and nearly behind her while her left was lodged to the front. Anastacia found herself looking at the floor in a predicament similar to that of a human who attempted to do the splits and got their knees and hips locked halfway down. She could raise herself up only so far before both tugged on the joints that connected them to her back - causing her more than a little discomfort - but her head easily raised to its full stature to just catch the kitten launching herself into her cube and send it sliding back toward the wall. Her once placid expression was pulled into a grimace of disgust and aggravation that showed a very thin line of her upper teeth; canines noticeably longer (but not too much so) than the four between them. That creature - that thing - had attacked her! And her counterattacks had missed and now she was unable to pull her spindly webbed wings from the floor no matter how she attempted. It could come back at any moment and try it again and even though her arms worked fine she wasn't letting go of her mirror which, unlike the book, had miraculously not been dropped.
While Anya was stuck partly in the floor and Dust Bunny was pressing herself into the farthest wall of her bed in fright, Zeke was just about done with the bedspread. Cloud white cover sheet and top sheet were both on and he was busying himself with the pillowcases when that scream from his pet ripped through the apartment. Immediately the half dressed pillow fell from his hands and Zeke whipped himself out the bedroom door before he took off down the short hall. When he saw Anya he would have thought her stance humorous had he not caught the ugly expression she was wearing and seen Dust Bunny's sleeping cube shaking from his corner of the room. Words were on his lips but instead of becoming sentences he could only gape and make odd sounds, body frozen and face paling as his mind tried to take in the scene and process what he was looking at.
She could just see her guardian out of the corner of one of her outermost spider eyes, but while this arrival should have spurned her to try to free herself all the more Anastacia remained still. Her expression was still "ugly" as Zeke would have put it, but now her lavender set of eyes were wide and staring at her extended left wing as though she were both amazed and puzzled at the same time. It hadn't taken Zeke even a minute to get from down the hall to the living room, but even before he came into sight she knew he was coming. Yes, she had heard his footfalls but it wasn't that. She had felt him - felt his steps through the floor - and had almost...seen him coming. At the farthest point away it had been choppy due to the walls, but as the pierced human came closer the pinpoint of his location that she saw in her mind became clearer. Each step Zeke had taken released ripples of vibration through the floor that spread out much like the ones on a still pond before reaching and being picked up by Anastacia's stuck wingtips. Once the ripples hit her chitinous wings a veritable colorless and detail-less picture of the man and the walls around him arose in her mind while a series of return waves bounced back but almost immediately were eaten up by another series from Zeke's sneaker-clad feet. That didn't matter now though; it was the fact she had just discovered a latent ability that was drawing her eye, but the moment Zeke finally regained his voice she was easily snapped from her puzzled trance and with it the ripple-formed outline of the man's solid form vanished too.
"I..Wuh...What happened?!" The final arrival of his voice spurred Zeke into action and he was quickly at his Raevan's side. He reached over her partially formed back and took hold of her backwards-facing wing, glancing at the back of the female's head as though expecting her to start trying to whack him with it. "Hang on Anya, I'll get you out."
As the words were spoken Zeke gave a tug and the point pulled free, releasing the Raevan and allowing her to swivel it around before pulling the other - and herself - out of her predicament. Immediately she raised right back up to her full height and Zeke had to duck and dodge to get away as she began to flap and stretch her appendages; ending with them drawn over her shoulders once more to see if they were damaged or dirty in any way. It didn't take her long after that to swivel toward her guardian on her nonexistent heel - one finger pointing at the quivering cube though truly at the animal lodged inside.
"That...That...!" She couldn't give voice to exactly what it was, but the look she was giving Zeke was of offense rather than hurt or embarrassment and he could piece together what had happened then. The Frei still had her ribbon clutched in her hand and only held it closer to her body as her guardian walked over to the box and crouched beside it. Her discovery of a passive power was shunted off to the recesses of her mind as the man reached his hand in and immediately recoiled with a hiss between his teeth. The kitten hadn't known who was coming to grab her from her box so in her own defense Zeke's hand got assaulted. No blood rose to the surface of his skin but there were four short tears above his thumb and forefinger and they stung all the same.
"Dusty come here. It's okay, it's just me." His hand went back in and tugged the clinging ball of fur out again. Zeke's hand was eagerly bit and clawed upon again once the kitten laid eyes on Anastacia, but the vet held on, including his other hand in the task as well. He held his pet out to the Frei but once those dangerous wings rose up he returned her close to his chest - an action that awarded him some scratches there too.
"Did she tug on your ribbon?" His words were spoken gently to his ward despite the fact he had run in here expecting quite a different scene. The spider Raevan nodded though her eyes didn't leave the Maine Coon's backside, expression not lessening and eyes still flashing with contempt. Zeke sighed, rubbing the kitten's back with one hand to calm her down but she wasn't having any of that just yet. Danger was still in the room and Zeke wasn't letting her run from it! "Okay. Okay, I know what happened now." He wasn't mad, just relieved neither of them had gotten hurt and understanding that Anya's newborn status exempted her from punishment this time. Best get introductions and explanations to the Frei out of the way so something like this didn't happen again. He pulled Dust Bunny away from his collar but this time only turned her toward the virus Raevan.
"Anastacia," he began, "this is Dust Bunny. She lives here too - she's my pet." Anastacia's head raised a little; dark blue eyes looking at Zeke while the lavender pair remained on this Dust Bunny-pet thing. It would've been an odd picture for any other to see, but for the Frei this was her vision and the lower of the two was quickly becoming disliked. When her expression didn't relax Zeke sighed again - to calm his rapid-fire heartbeat mostly - and continued. "She's a kitten, Anya, she thought your ribbon was a toy."
Now the lavender pair turned up to Zeke's face as well and the human nodded affirmatively to her before looking around and over his shoulders for the actual toy. With a soft 'ah ha!' he located it, shifting the kitten's weight into his right palm while his naturally dominant hand grasped the ribbon dancer.
"This is a toy for kittens." He bobbed the stick up and down to make the ribbon and its collection of feathers at the tip dance in the air. Anastacia's eyes followed the motion and then looked down to her own. They were different, but similar too. Zeke held the stick out to the Raevan for her to take, but Anastacia only looked at it with her scowl still in place. Zeke soon put it back where he found it, a bit discouraged by this development. He'd do his best to clear out the hostility; he'd have to! "But...See? She thought your ribbon was like her toy. She didn't know you were on the other end. She's a baby -" in truth nearly a year old now, but still small thanks to her breed and birth order - "she didn't know any better. I'm sure she won't do it again," he had positive feelings on that case, "so can you forgive her Anya?"
Zeke's look was hopeful but not pleading and despite not knowing either just yet she could tell it was her choice to make. This...thing...was Zeke's pet. On one hand, it was his and by reaches hers. On the other, it had attacked her, even if it didn't know any better. Her expression slowly lessened until it was back to that placid, neutral look but her eyes were still all bright and wary of the kitten. Zeke, taking this for forgiveness, slowly held the cat out again with a small, starting to be cheery smile on his face.
"Do you want to pet her? She's nice, really, just scared." Maybe, his optimistic side said, a touch or two would help this blow over. Just a misunderstanding after all. Dusty didn't mean to scare Anya and Anya couldn't help but defend herself. Maybe this could end up as something we all laugh about years down the line...
But Dust Bunny wasn't having any of that. Anya thought it over for a second and even though the animal's first impression struck home and hard, it was being offered and she might as well take it though this pet was most definitely Zeke's and Zeke's alone to her. Her ribbon-free hand reached out slowly, but when it was only inches from Dust Bunny's fur the kitten whipped around and made a slashing motion at the Raevan's hand with claws extended and a loud, feral hiss accompanying it. Anastacia immediately recoiled as Zeke had done but unlike the pierced man her wings snapped up and over, ugly expression right back on her face and preparing to hit the mark this time. Zeke made a warbled yell of words and flinched to the side holding his pet, able to swat the strike away from himself and Dust Bunny before it could happen. The cat took her chance and leaped to the floor - clawing her master on her way down - before once more flying into her cube for protection. Zeke clearly wasn't going to give it if he was so willingly going to hold her out to the lavender-haired witch! Screw them both!
Though the cat had vanished again Anastacia's opinion had not. Dust Bunny, cats in general - maybe even animals as a whole - were forevermore a solid dislike. Zeke had blocked her attack before she had been able to align it and even though he had touched her before to dislodge her it was this one that she recognized. The first could count as a service, but this? Oh no, far from it. A pout was pushed forward on her cherry red lips and with a soft clatter of chitin Anya pushed herself away from her guardian and the soft cube he was protecting. This room was officially done with being investigated and with the cat still in here she wasn't going to linger. There was still the hallway to explore and even though Zeke called her name to either stop or come back her mind was set. She turned just short of the couch and floated out to the next place in the apartment she hadn't yet discovered.
The moment her hourglass birthmark was to his front Zeke was already in motion to follow his ward. Though he had no other pets in the house, seeing his new Raevan leave in a huff like that just didn't sit well. This was supposed to be an easy, pleasant time for them but especially her and already it appeared there was a huge set back in this plan. He was also a parent now, so it was his job to set things right. With a few soft words to the cube and the kitten inside he took off after Anastacia, keeping his distance so he didn't invade her area and possibly turn her ire onto him. She didn't seem to notice or care he was following for now and at least, he noted, she had finally dropped her ribbon. Getting herself out of the living room had, in his mind, at least made her more comfortable if that was down proper once more.
Anya was aware Zeke was following her and now that she was out of the living room and between two doors in the hallway she did feel more comfortable. No less calmer though, not yet, as the cat was still numero uno on her s**t list. Her pout slowly decreased with every long exhale through her nose until she no longer looked enraged. Along with that, both her breathing and her rune's cloud evened out, but her eyes kept with that brightness that was most certainly not out of joy. She looked down at her ribbon and though to someone on the street it would appear to have gone through a shredder, to Anya no harm had been done to her physically. At least there was that, but that didn't clear Dust Bunny of any wrongdoing in her book. Not now, and likely not ever.
But back to the matter at hand.
Truly there were two now - the tour and the quirky feeling before seeing thing - and Anya would make sure to get to both in turn, but picking one or the other wasn't hard. The former was her choice as the hallway now lay before her and offered up three different doors for her to try. The closest of the three was on her left and the Frei (now knowing how a door worked thanks to Zul back at the Lab), grasped the knob. This one was unlike the one at the Lab - spherical and crystalline rather than rectangular and silver colored - and for a moment she found herself puzzled as she tried to push it down much like the demonic Frei had done. A soft chuckle greeted her ears and Anya immediately looked toward her guardian, not amused in the slightest and showing it.
"Allow me." Zeke offered and before he could get close enough to touch her Anastacia had moved out of the way, but remained close enough to watch the man turn the knob toward her. There was a soft click as the latch was freed and the door swung inward. Zeke backed away from the doorway and instead took to standing off to the side with his left arm held out and into the room, offering the Frei to go ahead and look around. She watched him closely for a few heartbeats then did just that, floating into the room and doing much like she had in the living room.
Unlike the living room however, this room was much different. There was a TV on a stand in the room before her and to her left, but otherwise the furnishings were much different. To the right was a bed; its sheets a light blue and the blanket atop it a shade that matched her twin sets of eyes. Instead of being crisply made like Zeke had been making Anya's, however, this one was disheveled and there was noticeable wrinkling throughout those lighter cotton covers that only showed up more and more as the Frei moved closer and farther into the room itself. On the floor to the side of the bed one would see as they came through was a rainbow in the form of a pile of worn clothes. Shirts, socks, pants, underwear...If it could go on Zeke's body it was liable to be in there. The vet seemed to realize this and padded in himself, sheepish smile on his face.
"Whoops, forgot about these." He said with a mild, chuckling air that still felt rather forced to him after what he had just witnessed a short walk away. Zeke scooped up his laundry and Anastacia watched him place the armful of fabrics into a large plastic bin with a matching lid that was situated by the wall near the door. There was a soft but rapid scraping of skin on skin as her guardian rubbed his palms together as though clearing dust and he soon pivoted on his heel once more to face his exploring charge. He let her examine the room and its contents a little longer and waited for her eyes to pass over him before he gave her the name of this particular room.
"This is my bedroom," he said and the name of the space drew the Frei's attention onto him again. If she was anything at all she was polite enough to give her attention when spoken to or prompted, regardless of emotions. "This is where I sleep at night and where all of my stuff is kept. You've got a room of your own," his tone filled with delight and renewed excitement as he said it, "right next door. Would you like to go see it?"
Her eyes left her guardian's as he questioned her, drawing one more look around the dwelling. A bedroom of her own. The home was hers...Well, it was shared. Zeke had let her look into his room, his place of sleep, so she could learn about her home. But he was saying she had a sleep room too, and if this was strictly Zeke's, hers would be just that - strictly hers. Yes, yes she would like to see it. Anya gave a nod, but didn't speak and that was enough for the man with the bi-colored hair.
"Okay then, come this way."
Zeke's hand made a 'come on' motion before he put himself into motion. He let Anastacia leave the room first and once he also crossed the threshold he shut his bedroom door once more. The vet then took the lead, passing by the bathroom door on the right to the last door in the hall. Like the door to his own room, Anya's room was on the left, but unlike his own her door was already opened thanks to that little run he had taken minutes ago. The young male repeated the arm out 'after you' motion and the spider Frei floated on in.
The first thing noted - besides that this was hers of course - was that it was less furnished and decorated than Zeke's room. The light, sun touched walls were bare of everything but a few shadows, the floor was rug-less, and there was no stand for a TV, a chest of drawers, a hamper, or other odds and ends in it either. Despite that, it looked more open than her dual-colored guardian's private area and it did share a couple similarities as well. There was the bed and the door on the opposite side of the room that would showcase a currently clean but empty closet. It was vacant, it was open, it was hers and Anastacia didn't hesitate to poke around. She started with her bed and steadily moved inward; taking in the sights of her new abode.
Like before in his own room Zeke lingered by the door, but then took a few steps in to finish what he had left off. His focus wavered between the pillow he picked up off the edge of the bed, his ward, and the currently vacant spot where the old bureau was. The old one couldn't be saved, his father had told him, so he had gone ahead and taken the liberty of making a new one by hand. It'd likely be done and ready to set up in a few days time, but until then any clothing he picked up for the Raevan would be stored in the closet and she'd have to rely on her kidnapped mirror or the one in the bathroom to look at herself. Once the pillowcase was tugged on as far as it could go, said pillow was placed with its brother and Zeke turned his attention fully on his ward again. She was inspecting the closet but was soon drawn to look out the windows at the buildings across the way and the street below and Zeke once more felt a prideful surge of parenthood. The room would no longer be empty and Zeke now had a child to tend to. His filling schedule, the fel virus, even other Raevans he had and yet to meet were not on his mind at all and instead he was just...happy. Excited and deliriously happy. Anya both was and was not what he was expecting in more ways than one and he could only have positive feelings for her. There'd be bumps - there always were in life - but he had made a promise months ago to be there for this creation of science and magic and now that she was here it only stuck with him more. She was his just as much as he was hers. Any facts about her existence didn't change this in his books.
"Do you like it Anya?"
Zeke's question was spoken on a hopeful note and like before the Frei turned from her observing of the outside world to look toward him again. He was a blur from this distance but a colorful one all the same so her eyes rested right on him. He wouldn't be hard to lose sight of from any length, that was for sure. She pondered his question for a brief moment or two before nodding once.
"Empty." Yes, it was satisfactory though it was bare. Her word was spoken on a flat, but knowing tone and the way she had said it caused the man across the room to bark a short laugh. Anastacia's brows knit over her lavender eyes. What was so funny? It was true.
"Yes...Yes it's empty Anya. But don't worry, we'll go out soon enough and get you some things to make it your own." He couldn't paint the walls, but maybe some framed pictures and a rug or some sheets in a color other than cream would do for her. He beamed at his charge then was struck with the reminder he had bought some odds and ends for her weeks in advance. His hand raised up and gave the 'one moment' gesture, completely unaware of his charge's disability. "I've got some things for you now though! Keep looking around as much as you want to, but I'll be right back."
Without a word from Anya either way he exited. Left to her own devices the Frei moved from the window back toward the bed, touching over the sheets and pillows on it. This was her sleeping place; like Zeke's but hers entirely. She hovered at its side before floating up and "sitting" over the sheets, hands resting on her top sheet while her natural floating ability kept her aloft. It was comfortable feeling, even if she wasn't fully resting yet, and her wings and crown soon relaxed in comfort as well as though the cat incident hadn't happened. They kept that way even as Zeke's voice carried down the hall; words directed at said cat who had likely just come out of her hiding place once she realized the Raevan hadn't come down the hall with Zeke. The sound of the young human's voice also stirred up the notion of that odd "feeling picture" she had experienced. It was strange to almost see an image (one behind her no less) through touch rather than sight. Strange, but effective. She could "see" Zeke better that way than she did with her standard sight and this notion piqued the Frei's curiosity. This room was more cut off than the living room. Would it work again now? And to what extent or how well? The questions went through her mind and soon she found herself slowly raising and then dropping her left pinion to the floor. The tip of the wing rested delicately on the hardwood - poised almost like a ballet dancer in those special slippers - and she waited.
And waited.
And waited a little more.
Though Zeke was moving around out in the foyer area of the house - talking to both himself and the cat - she couldn't feel-see him. The walls and the distance hindered those ripples of footsteps along the floor and even if the odd one or two came along their journey from point A to B barely triggered a cloudy image in her mind, if anything at all. Slowly she took in this revelation and tucked it away for now. It was likely to be important at some time in the future though the newborn didn't know it yet. Anya waited for a few more minutes and though she wasn't getting any ripple images she kept her wing to the ground, balancing on that sharp angled point.
She continued to feel nothing through the floor from Zeke for five more minutes, up until a triumphant 'ah ha!' was heard from the area around the kitchen and the veterinarian started his walk back. Anya's purple pair of eyes had lidded and through that blackness she soon saw images of the door, wall, and a glimmer of Zeke as he walked - each growing in intensity until she could see a perfect line of the man as he walked in from the hall. She reopened the two and turned her head toward the man, watching him draw close enough to touch her but then place an armful of plastic bags on the bed.
"Almost forgot where I hid these," Zeke said with a sheepish chuckle, looking toward his charge and taking one of the bags into hand, "I found them though. These are all your things. Necessities." He said the last word slowly, enunciating that these were different than the mirror she had claimed as her own. "First we've got...Why is your wing on the floor Anastacia?"
The moment he brought it to light the Frei picked it up and folded it back with the other without a word. The vet merely smiled, confused but not going to question the action. Her way of relaxing, perhaps, or just a slip.
"Anyway..."
Zeke went through the contents of the bag with ease, passing off various small items like a hairbrush, comb (should she prefer), toothbrush, toothpaste, and other sorts of things that could count as 'necessity' to anyone - human or Raevan. Anastacia looked over each item as the vet passed them over to her and listened as he explained what they were for and that he'd teach her how to use the tooth-related ones. Her expression didn't change as she looked over each one and for that reason Zeke was both rather concerned and curious as to what was going on in that leg-covered head of hers. He could only imagine as the Frei wasn't giving up any secrets just yet, but she was a newborn and thus she was excused.
From there he went along explaining various bits of the room and even though it was hers, Anya's want to know of her home was permitting the vet to stay and delve farther into its reaches without upset. He gestured to the space where the bureau once was, spoke of it and its absence to his charge, but was met with the same placid (if not apathetic) face. When each corner of the room was explored and given a name of its own, Zeke finally decided to retire from his hovering and let Anya move about freely. He extended the invitation to do so, and soon after he padded out of the room did the Raevan take to doing just that.
Each room - including the yet to be seen bathroom - was turned over, scoured, and explored and with that keeping her occupied the day passed on. Occasionally she would bring a thing to Zeke and hold it out for identification, but mostly Anastacia kept to herself as she went about her work. The vet, though he wasn't hovering, kept an eye on his charge as she went around and it was a good thing he did because a standoff or two between Frei and cat came to light as the day passed by. He did his best to preach respect and getting along to both of them but each time Anastacia floated off in a huff, leaving the man covered in scratches and with the task to start moving the cat from the living area into his own room.
With all that going on, time flew by and soon the sun was down and the lights in the apartment were on. Hunger hadn't yet hit the newborn Frei so she avoided the kitchen with disinterest when Zeke had made himself dinner, but once he was done he joined the Frei in the living room once again. He was still smiling, she noted, and even though she had never heard the tale she was wondering if his face was frozen like that at times. The evening continued on with Zeke attempting to make conversation but getting very little out of his charge (something that left him feeling deflated inside), but once Anastacia had yawned and blearily blinked her eyes both knew it was time to retire. The Frei didn't need the prompting Zeke gave her about going to bed and getting her first night's sleep and, with wings and array held lower than any time during the day, Anastacia took down the hall and floated to her new bed. It took some time to adjust both her wings and that permanent fixture on her head to get comfortable, but by the time she managed and was settled a knock on the still open door had her sit up once more. Peering around the frame was Zeke, looking rather different with his hair down and the clothes he had worn throughout the day replaced with sleepwear. Anastacia lofted a brow as the vet smiled fondly at her but before her tired mind could start to come up with a reason for it, Zeke gave a brief wave and drop of his hand, resting it on the knob.
"Good night Anastacia." |
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:09 pm
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First Morning
First light crept in through the slats in the window shades roughly around 5:35am that morning. A half hour later - give or take a few minutes - a dull but nasally beeping resounded through the wall separating the two occupied bedrooms. The sound grew in intensity but was quickly killed off by that point, accompanied by a creaking of springs as Zeke rolled to and then fro in his bed. From the room behind the human's two sets of navy blue eyes enlarged their pupils, looked sightlessly around to find the now gone sound. With its presence silenced and any traces of it in the air vanished, each dark center point contracted once more as the bearer of the four immediately drifted back off into dreamless sleep.
An hour passed, then another. The alarm went off a couple more times in the earlier spans of that time, but unlike its first alerting the man in the first bedroom didn't let it drone. He got up long before the second hour came, setting about his pre-breakfast routine with the ease that came with it being Saturday - though there were some disgruntled mutterings about having forgotten to turn the alarm off added in as well. It wasn't Zeke's footsteps or respectfully low singing along with the radio that stirred the Frei from her bed however. In fact it wasn't a sound at all. It was a smell - one that came from the kitchen - of eggs and browning toast that filtered through the apartment's air and beneath her door. There was a certain warmth to that scent and despite the lack of a stomach Anastacia found herself shifting beneath her covers, trying to break herself free. Her attempts at getting comfortable the night before had all be in vain as during sleep she had shifted, turned, tossed, and eventually spread herself haphazardly over, under, and around her bedspread. If she had thought Zeke's own bed was poorly made when she first saw it, hers would look worse once she finally got out of the cotton-blend mess.
Finally she did manage to get out of the self-made cocoon and floated off the bed to its side, head turning to cast a wary, half awake glance at the offending material. Though the snarl she had gotten herself into was bad, if the Frei had legs the damage to her own entanglement would've been worse. Likely, if anyone or anything were in bed with her during the night, they might have woken up in a heap on the floor.
"Hmph..." was all she managed to get out before a yawn rose up from her half chest and took over. The scattered array of spindly legs atop her head flexed out behind her periwinkle hair while a slender hand raised up to cover over her mouth. The motion was extended - 8am still felt early for the Raevan whose soul was rather nocturnal in nature - but once it ended she turned her sights to her nightstand. Most of the items Zeke had presented her with yesterday were tucked inside the slide out drawer but a small few were resting atop the wooden stand. The hairbrush and her mirror were two of those few with the former resting on top of the alarm clock that was similar to Zeke's but newer while the latter object was tucked near the lamp and alongside her lace-trimmed cuffs. She regarded the first for a lingering moment before taking it from its perch, angling her crown back and wide so none would snag her skin or the brush as she worked.
Unaware of his charge's awakening, Zeke was keeping himself busy in his small but modest kitchen. His specialty - and truly the only thing he could cook without risk of char and flame - of scrambled eggs was coming along nicely and if he timed it right both they and his two slices of toast would be done together. Complimented with some fresh fruit, butter on the toast and maybe a smidgen of cottage cheese with said fruit, it was truly a beautiful thing. Dust Bunny too seemed to realize this and was seated at her owner's feet, looking up at him with off green eyes and wondering if she'd be able to snag a bit of that eggy goodness. This wasn't to say she was over what had happened the day previous - far from it in fact - but egg was delicious and even though Zeke was a vet he lived by the 'once in awhile won't do harm' rule. And it had been 'awhile' since her last offering of scrambled egg from between her owner's fingers.
"D'you want some of this?" Zeke said as a soft mewling reached his ears. He looked down from his stove to the kitten, smiling lightly at the face that was upturned to his own, doing so all the more when a hearty meow came at the end of his question. "I guess this means you've forgiven me huh?"
Humans tended to be so far off from the truth they were in another area code.
Since kittens couldn't speak English - unless they were named Lucia that is - Zeke had no idea of the real reason his pet was seated by his bare feet so he merrily went back to making his meal. The eggs sizzled in the frying pan while that warm bread smell wafted from the toaster that was set between three and four out of six. The butter was out on the counter and placed near the toaster to help it soften enough to be spreadable. Fruit and that cottage cheese were keeping cool in the fridge, but maneuvered close together so no time would be wasted when Zeke went to retrieve them. The thought of the meal, coupled with the scent of it all coming together, made the vet's stomach growl once again. The moment the eggs were his brand of perfect and the toast popped up from the counter top machine's innards, the motions to get everything on his plate began.
Practice at this particular ritual meant Zeke's food was on his plate then set on the table in less than a handful of minutes. Once the stove burner was turned off and the frying pan moved to one of the cold back burners the vet sat himself down to breakfast with Dust Bunny following his steps and sitting down before his chair. She wanted some of that egg and the man with the two-colored hair had seemed all too happy to give her some. She just had to wait really.
It was at that time Anastacia finally made her exit from her room. Her first time brushing her hair had been a success to the Frei and the task was simple enough that her hair was looking just as sleek and done up as it was the day before, much to her pleasure. Of course, she was of mind that she looked quite beautiful no matter what, but the fact her hair fell about her face and her double bun was up just the same as it was yesterday was noteworthy enough. She had done well for her first time. Perhaps this was the beginning of a trend.
As she floated past Zeke's room and the bathroom, the clinking of the vet's silverware on his plate caused the Frei to make pause and turn in that direction. She was still avoiding the living room for now, so this way was the only other option for her, and with another crown-creaking yawn she struck off again. It wasn't long before the smell of food was overpowering to her new senses and she had crested the frame of the kitchen door way.
"Ah!" Zeke's pleasantly surprised cry turned the Raevan's head, once more coming into sight of that constant smile. "Good morning Anastacia. Did you sleep well?"
The man seated at the table got up and extended his hand to the Frei to welcome her into the room, beaming all the while. Anastacia kept still for a moment - this was the room that hadn't struck her fancy the day before after all - but now that Zeke was in there and doing a motion most pleasing there was at least a little interest to poke around. She avoided her guardian's hand as she floated in, once more taking in the sights of the kitchen and the newest additions on the counter top. She hovered before the counter but didn't approach too close just yet, surveying the devices on its mica top. They were strange, foreign, and since Zeke had gone back to munching on his meal he wasn't providing any unprompted words of guidance. This wasn't right, especially since the man had been so keen to point, gesture, and explain the night previous.
As Anastacia's six eyes flickered between the objects they soon turned toward Zeke, following the motion of her lavender-colored head until they came to rest on the human. They only took in that visage of the now-reseated man for only an instant before all fell toward the lump of fur seated on the floor by his feet.
Immediately once both creatures laid eyes on each other, each one made a low hiss of threatening and gave the other a very nasty look. Both females raised their specific scare tactics - Dust Bunny puffed her fur to make herself look larger while Anastacia's wings flared to do much of the same - and moved back from each other in their own ways as well. Dust Bunny's latter motion, however, was not majorly of her own accord as Zeke's foot hooked around the small cat and pushed her beneath the table as he got up. There was a look of shock and horror on his face and it wasn't because he was trying to separate the two creatures (well he was but that was a bit less at the moment) as much as he was trying to get to his ward and keep her from placing her hand on the still-hot stove burner.
"Anya! Look out!"
Of course, as one leg was pushing the kitten out of the way, the other just had to tangle itself up around the chair. This made the vet easily lose his balance, now falling more than running. Anastacia's eyes widened at this, and instead of going down, her hands and wings flashed up and pushed herself away from the tumbling man. She was only vaguely aware of the rush of warmth to her otherwise room temperature skin and all out did not notice that her rune and the cloud around it had brightened in that moment; her concerns and attention was firmly wrapped around getting away from her guardian who would otherwise land on her in his spill.
And, of course, with that precaution taken, Zeke did not land on his charge. Instead, he was able to catch himself, but not before his hand landed on the very burner he had used to fry up his eggs.
Immediately the pierced man cried out, using any and all momentum of that forward fall to scramble to whatever foot was available and pull himself back with his hand automatically going to his chest. He flinched to the side, cradling the offended appendage to him, hissing through his teeth and balling said hand into a fist. Oh god the burn there would cripple him for weeks! His skin would be red and shiny raw and the pain! The pain the pain the pain the pain the pa-
There was no pain. There wasn't even any heat, save for the kind created as his own temperature rose thanks to the pounding of his blood beneath his skin. Zeke's eyes, pinched firmly shut as he recoiled and hissed, opened once more and slowly widened as he moved his hand from between his pectorals and opened it. His skin was still the same pale peach, and the small callouses on the upper palm therein were absolutely fine too. He clenched, opened, and then wiggled his fingers, looking much like a person discovering they had movable digits for the first time. That look of horror and pain was replaced with disbelief and wild wonder, attention going from his not-offended hand to his defensive postured ward to the stove top burner.
"What the heck?" His softly spoken words were hoarse and the after notes of his sudden scream hung buzzing in the air. Anastacia, with her wings tossed over her shoulders and ready to strike, ogled her guardian in her own manner of disbelief. What had just happened? And - now that the moment of shock and horror had passed - why was she feeling so warm? She also felt a weight settle around her rune, and though she didn't know it, it was a feeling much like someone had after eating a light lunch that was settling in their stomach. Slowly her wings fell back from that 'ready to go' position and it seemed even her war with the cat had been forgotten as she went between watching her human hover a hand over the stove and rubbing at her now-tingling arms.
"I...Don't get it?" His words were questioned as though either of the two in the room with him had an explanation. Zeke's hand was still hovering over the burner but in an instant a finger had dropped and rested on the coil before immediately returning to its space. Cold. The coil was cold. It was like he hadn't just used it to cook and instead it had been sitting there all night, off, with no heat flowing. Zeke let his hand rest on the burner fully, and now it was his turn to ogle. On his end, however, was concern. "Are you okay Anastacia?"
The Frei's eyes focused on her guardian once more, but the motion of rubbing her arms with her hands didn't pause. She looked at the burner, then at him, and then where she was now (nearly against the wall) and nodded.
"Yes." Zeke gave the barest traces of a smile. So that was in order, though the rubbing was odd. Cold shock? Goose flesh? Maybe.
"Okay," he sighed, "as long as you're okay, that's what matters." He knocked on the burner, making the metal ring beneath his knuckles. "I don't get it though..." The rubbing only continued even as he trailed off and as his eyes were turned lower Zeke finally noticed the brighter quality of his Raevan's rune. "You sure you're okay Anastacia? Your rune is brighter."
The vet pointed to it and that caused the Frei to look down. Yes, it was brighter and the cloud around it was flickering in a slow, contented way in the Raevan version of a happily fed sigh. Slowly the tingling in her arms - though it was really in all of her skin - died down and the Frei gave another, albeit terse, nod. She did say she was fine once didn't she? Obviously she still was! Just...Perplexed in a way similar to Zeke, but different.
That seemed to be enough for Zeke and he gave a light smile as well as a sigh, retreating back to the table and his half eaten meal upon it. He placed himself heavily in the chair, picking up his fork with his right hand and twirling it between his unburned fingers. Odd. Maybe Anya could have done something? She was close after all...But that didn't seem right. There was no trace of heat or flame in regards to her Essence or soul. She was a virus and a spider, simple as that, but then again not so simple, given the former trait's history. That burner had been hot, and since there was no flow of moving air, it couldn't have cooled off that fast. Could it? Then again, he had never timed the burner going from flesh meltingly hot to that safe room temperature, so what did he know? He looked to Anastacia again, the Raevan watching Dust Bunny slink out of the room but still, thankfully, kept to her place by the wall. Viruses and spiders did prefer warm places - humid, more or less - didn't they? He couldn't say much for black widows but any tarantula he had seen had always had a heat lamp or pad in its tank on one side, with a bowl of water nearby for hydration and likely to keep the tank humid too. He wasn't a spider expert, but he knew it'd be in his best interests to reread those web pages he had bookmarked on them again. He took a drag off his glass of juice as he contemplated, gesturing to the chair opposite of his own once he set it back down.
"Why don't you take a seat Anya? You might be more comfortable than hanging up by the wall." She was given a winning smile and even though her face was set back at that placid, rather apathetic expression she still approached. Zeke was right in one respect - the wall wasn't comfortably suited for her large wings and once she moved away she could stretch them out at her leisure. The fact she did come closer gave Zeke a pleased thrill. The day before she hadn't been talkative at all save for a few various times, but maybe after a long night's sleep and a slight shock to the system had awakened her enough to be more sociable. He hoped so, at the very least. They'd be around each other quite often and one of the things he had wished for during her growth in the tube was that they have a close bond like Alex and Zul. He knew his sibling would do anything for her charge and while he was the same, it would mean all the more so if they were able to talk as easily as those two.
Anastacia made her approach, but simply hovered before the aforementioned chair, looking down at her guardian as though expecting him to do something. Unlike some Raevans she had no interest in human food, so the spread Zeke had set for himself was ignored. Her man, so far and save for that moment of him yelling out, was rather dull. He smiled a lot as though looking to please or impress and even though he was her caretaker she didn't feel any sort of...Well she didn't know the word but whatever it was she didn't feel it. 'Heat' would suffice, she assumed. She didn't feel any heat toward him. Zeke was doing his best to be welcoming, warm, and of course establish that parental link toward her, but toward him she felt nothing besides disinterest. He was her man, as Zul has said, but he was dull. The yell of pain that had been momentarily startling had passed, and he was back to being dull. And under her gaze, he was withering.
"So...Would you like to sit?" Why was it so hard to start a conversation? His smile faltered and he struggled to keep it alight, uncertain what to think or even assume was going on behind that look she was giving him. It was like she was wearing a mask of both disinterest and sternness and it was hard to get past that. He couldn't give up though. Maybe she was the kind who needed to be pried open to get to what was inside. Then again...Maybe she didn't understand. That had to be it. Sit, chair...He really shouldn't be this bad at explaining with all the preparation and such he drilled himself through. Without prompting Zeke stood again, this time careful not to get his feet tangled up in one another or anything else, and approached the Frei. Automatically she made distance between them, watching closely as the man pulled the chair out, turned its seat toward her, and opened a palm down at said seat. "It's okay Anya, really. I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. Sit with me." Please? His eyes said the word he didn't speak, but Anastacia didn't move from the spot she backed herself into.
Space. Is that is? She likes her space? It was clearly a guessing game for now, but all the same Zeke backed down and returned to his own chair, watching her between bites of egg and trying not to succumb to that apathetic but intelligent glance.
And, slowly but surely, Anastacia did approach the chair. The chitin of her wings and head array creaked as she moved, but she did and Zeke felt that little trill again. Space, okay. He could give her that at the very least. The table alone had space between them. Soon enough she was at the chair's side, looking across the table at her guardian's manner of 'sit' and slowly working out how she could do the same. She thought of her bed and how she had hovered over the middle of it last night and repeated the action, ribbon tucked under her on the lightly padded cushion, just in case the cat came back in again. She could just hear Zeke's little relieved sigh and looked toward him, wondering a sharp 'now what?' in the confines of her fast-working mind. And Zeke's mind was working just as fast. He had her here, and he best keep her here. It wouldn't take her much to just get up and float out of the kitchen after all. He wracked his brain and then, once more, his eyes fell on his plate of breakfast. Maybe...
"Would you like to try some of this?" He pointed to his eggs, still warm and that happy yellow-white color. He was well aware of her lack of stomach and ability to actually eat anything past...whatever she did eat with her rune...but tasting couldn't hurt could it? Zeke didn't think so. He saw the Raevan's eyes look to the plate and again, there was no flicker of anything here or there on her face. That mask was hard to crack. Even without word here or there Zeke got a small plate from the cabinet and scooped a bit of the egg onto it, sliding it across the wooden surface until it was nearly in front of his charge.
"It's really good. I don't mean to brag but I make some pretty darn good scrambled eggs." Scrambled eggs were the only things he made that were 'darn good' and not burnt. Toast didn't count; it made itself.
Again though, she wasn't interested in human food. The smell was interesting at first, yes, but now that she had been in it long enough it wasn't as prevalent to her senses anymore. Plus, these 'scrambled eggs' looked less than appetizing. When Zeke moved them from plate to plate, they hadn't so much rolled off the spoon he had left neglected on his napkin as they had flopped. The color wasn't appealing either and even with her eyesight the texture didn't look like anything delicious. A fork clinked on the plate as the veterinarian passed it over, AGAIN smiling but also looking expectant. It wasn't a conscious thing on his end, but it was rather noticeable to the Frei. Inwardly she scowled and now she was the one withering beneath a gaze, enough so that she did start to reach for the metal utensil resting on the plate's lip. Her wrist hovered over the warm eggs and there it froze. Even covered with her cuffs, she could still feel it. The heat, slight as it was, was floating up from the food and into the air. Heat rises, cold sinks, as any scientist would say but the thing about this heat though was that it wasn't arching around her wrist to get higher. No, instead it was absorbing right past her lacy wrist cuff and into her skin. The tingling soon followed though unlike before it was lighter and almost not there. Anastacia dropped the fork from her slender fingers and the clatter it made, as well as the curious look on her face made her guardian's brow furrow.
"Anastacia?" He placed his own fork down, making less of a clatter. "Something wrong?" Zeke couldn't see it, but once again her rune got a little brighter and to Anastacia that feeling of being fed came back, setting in atop the previous layer of it comfortably, albeit lightly. The Frei didn't respond, but pushed the plate away once the heat was all gone from the eggs and took in a long, slow breath through her nostrils. Zeke took it from her once it was close enough, looking confused more than concerned. That was until he took his fork up again and speared some egg from the plate he had passed over. He took the bite and, to his dismay but overriding shock, found them cold. Cold as though they were left out for hours, but more pressingly, suddenly cold like the coil of the stove burner. He hard swallowed the now unappealing eggs, washed them down with the rest of his juice, and cleared his throat.
"I get it now," he announced, eyes bright as the light bulb went off his his head. "You eat heat, Anya. Take it right out of whatever's hot, like the coil. That's why I didn't get burnt before!" Hot or warm, as the second case may be. The Frei still had her wrist positioned oddly but was looking at her guardian now. So that was the source of that sensation and reactions? But she hadn't done anything like Zeke had done with his food! Though, she couldn't deny that she did feel fed. Not full - the two amounts weren't nearly enough to fill her - but fed. And better too, more awake at the very least. Interesting.
Hmph. Even if he was dull he was smart. Wiser than Zul had been for certain. He knew things, could figure what he didn't know out fast, and she could give him that until she knew more than he did. This revelation was just one step down that road as well as the one about learning about herself fully and she took it. She ate heat, somehow without chewing as her guardian did, and it made her skin tingle after she did so. At this time she didn't know how independent that could readily make her but it would when the time was right. For now though, she tucked this bit of new found information away for later and Zeke did much of the same. She'd be easy to feed really, and it seemed to happen automatically when she was hungry. The virus' influence? Perhaps. It was only sealed after all, not dead, and it was an Essence at its core. It sustained her, and Zeke knew one day he just might have to explain to his ward what her parts were. She was bound to see the method of Raevan creation sooner or later and who knows, she might just get curious enough to approach her man.
He'd have to tread lightly on the subject when that day came to pass though. While he didn't want to hide everything from the girl now floating off the chair and away from the table, learning that part of herself was sealed away for good would very likely not be taken well by her, though Zeke was sure anyone learning something similar would react negatively (and justly so really). She was already the black sheep among a few Raevans now and only a day old; it'd probably be in her best interest not to know why for now at least, but not forever. Maybe.
"But, Zeke said in a low tone as he finished his meal, watching the Frei exit the kitchen on her own whims - possibly to seek out more heat from something and really fill her up full, though in truth now bored with the man and certain no other revelations could come from this cramped space - "we'll cross that bridge when we get there." He wouldn't put his cart before his horse, and when that time came, he'd expose it then but not before. Bare as much and hope for the best, but until then the enigma child spawned of the fel virus would live her life as a normal Raevan. At least, as normal as one could be. He'd see to it and make it certain. |
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 12:00 pm
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Family Ties
A call had already been made to Alex about the nature of the situation. It was important - unavoidable really - and depending on what happened and how time passed, he and Anastacia wouldn't be in for work until early afternoon at the very least. The very, very least. After all, Zeke hadn't told his folks about the Raevan save for the mention of a 'surprise' a few months prior, and he was certain when they saw her, he'd have to explain quite a bit long before the actual morning's task could get underway.
He was prepared, or so he had thought, because as soon as a knock had reached his ears from his door he was rushing around to pick up odds and ends and calling down the hall to his ward, who was awake, but had returned to her room for whatever reason she had besides the fact it was hers.
"Anya, come out here please! There's some people here I want you to meet!" He was loud enough to carry, but hoped that the two people on the other side of the door couldn't hear him even though the distance from the hallway and the door wasn't great. The door should be thick enough to buffer right? Right. She was still a surprise and, even though he was sure to get grilled by his parents on all topics about her, he did want the week-old Frei to stay that way until they were both in the apartment and he could introduce them proper. Take charge, like a good parent should. Another rapping on the door came again and Zeke gave a cheerful "coming!" just as he reached it. The lock scraped in its rut as the veterinarian freed the door from its jam, pulling it open and immediately being wrapped up in a firm hug a short woman with a few swatches of black left in her otherwise gray hair.
"Izzy!"
"Mom!" He croaked, because even for a woman standing only five-foot-two and weighed down by plastic shopping bags in her hands, Nancy Farris had quite the bear hug which she loved to reserve just for her son. "Happy to see you too! Can't...Can't breathe though."
"Oh come on now Izzy!" Her squeeze only increased and she snuggled happily into her boy's chest. Even though Zeke visited when he could, called every so often, and had been out of their house for years now, her mother hen tendencies toward her only son and child hadn't faded at all. "Hug your mother back!"
"Okay, okay I'm hugging you!" Even though he was sure he could hear his ribs creaking in protest, his own arms twined around the short woman's back and gave her a squeeze. His smile hadn't faded either, only spread and it only grew a relieved twinge when the woman let him go, shopping in those plastic bags clanking and brushing together. Zeke rubbed at his side, beaming at his mother before turning to his father, the tall man in a green bandana standing off to the side and shaking his head in an amused and faintly apologetic manner toward his son. "Hey dad."
"Hey Zeke. Ribs still aligned?"
"Yup, just a bit cracked though!" He winked and the men laughed, though the woman between them only rolled her eyes. She had the right to hug her son, no matter how old or out of her house he got! "Glad to see you too! Come on in!" And he moved out of the way, letting them both in and finally noticing the shopping his mother held. "Mom what's that?" Slightest exasperated.
"Groceries. I'm stocking your fridge and making you meals because...Look at you! Can't even cook for yourself!" She held up the bags she had brought, smiling brightly as her son usually did even though the young man shook his head.
"You don't have to--"
"So you think! You can't survive on scrambled eggs and take out Ezekiel!"
"Don't fight with her son, you know she's adamant." Joshua came in last, and even with his bum leg and cane he was easily able to pull in the small trolley with a large brown cardboard box on top of it. Zeke had flinched at the sound of his true first name but the moment he saw the parcel he immediately turned to help his father bring it in more.
"Is this the bureau?"
"Yup! All handmade, by me--"
"With some help." Nancy added on a slight chime, looking through her bags for what had been bagged where and otherwise not watching her husband and son's conversation but still of the mind her husband shouldn't take all the credit for work he had assistance on.
"With some help," Joshua agreed though he sounded deflated by that fact, "and just needs to be put together and set up where you want it. Ah...Where do you want it Zeke?"
"In the room the original one was in, but ah..." He gave the back of his dual colored head a light rub as he made his pause. He had been prepared, but now that preparedness had all but dried up like a puddle in a summer afternoon. His falter made his father give him a 'but what?' sort of look, especially as his son started to take steps back toward the hallway just off to the right a short ways away. Since Zeke had almost bumped into his mother on his way backward, it made her look up from her groceries and give him a similar, though more motherly expression.
"Izzy?"
"Well the thing is..."
Even though Zeke had called her before he went to the door, Anastacia had remained in her room. Meeting people wasn't high on her priorities list at the moment and she was currently absorbed in one of the many picture books Zeke had gotten her over the past week. Unlike the first book she had encountered - the one with the crow on the front but no pictures of it in the middle or anywhere else - these books held true to their covers. The characters who were on them were prevalent throughout and even though she hadn't even attempted to read the words, the pictures were more than enough to hold the young Frei's eyes and attention. By pictures alone she could make up her own story, and that was better. It was an adventure to her own creation and far more entertaining than those tiny font worded books Zeke had on his shelf.
Dan ran right... Dan was the name of that 'cashier' person at the store where Zeke had gotten her books, and with no knowledge of others past her own, Zeke's and that stupid cat-thing's, Anastacia printed that into her story about a human boy who looked nothing like the actual Dan. But there her thoughts paused.
Even though Zeke's voice hadn't been enough to rouse her past a faint flick of one of her four navy blue eyes to her door, the cry of a name she had never heard before as well as the chatter from the owner of that cry and someone else new made her raise her head. The only other person besides herself and her guardian who had ever come over was that Brad guy her man seemed taken with; his "boyfriend", whatever that meant, and even then he hadn't been back. These voices were new and confusingly going between 'Izzy', 'Ezekiel', and the well known 'Zeke', though the first two were only spoken by a femininely light voice. She was curious - she did have a brain to feed with knowledge after all and it could be quite greedy - but she wasn't very keen on being thrust into conversation. Already Zeke had been trying to do just that with them alone and time and again he had barely received more than a few words or a sentence fragment from her at the most. The guardian attributed it to her youth and maybe the fact she hadn't met more than a handful of people, plus her clear like of her space, but he was still apt to try and make her polite at least. In actuality the Raevan just didn't like to converse - apathetic to it really, so far - even if the human ladies in those few movies she had caught Zeke watching on the living room television (and taken some ideas of how she should already be treated) willingly and ably did.
Still, curiosity was there, but she did have a trick up her non-existent sleeve. Idly she cast her wing out and down off the bed, much like a fisherman casting a line, and placed its sharp, slender tip delicately on the floor. She hadn't used this technique since she had first discovered it so it hadn't been improved, but even with that in mind Anastacia was still able to pick up vibrations of those a hallway away. When any of them moved - and they were, even if it was just a slight shifting of their weight - they sent out a ripple effect of vibrations in a circle. When they hit the wall or any other object, they bounced off and went back to the caster as well as spread out farther around. It was a confusing array of pings and bounces but even then Anastacia was able to get a feel for where those three humans were and even how they were shaped, as well as the locations of the walls and various furniture or whatnot around. And one of those casters was moving backwards, towards the hallway and - since she just knew it was Zeke - her room as well.
She sighed, though it sounded more like a huff. He'd likely bring them in here, her room, and even though she wasn't against an appreciative glance or extended look to her natural beauty (she did turn heads when she went out with Zeke but the true reason for it was lost on her so far), she did enjoy her personal space. With three extra people in here and only one exit? She wouldn't be able to leave of her own accord so easily, which could be bad for all parties depending on how things went. Even against speaking as she was, that thought of the lost personal space of her room was enough to make her rise from the bed and exit the room, leaving Dan eternally running right until she returned.
"Zeke, what is it?" His father was doing the one brow raised look of confusion Zeke himself sometimes used and had inherited, leaving the box of bureau parts behind as he took a couple staggered steps toward his son. Did he have a roommate? That was fine, he could help put the dresser with himself and Zeke. Joshua didn't get what was the deal to make his kid pause, but when Zeke turned his head down the hallway he seemed to regain what he wanted to say.
"Dad, do you remember how a couple months ago I told you about a surprise?" That made his father stop in his tracks, eyes flicking to the ceiling though it was to recall that specific conversation stored at the top or back of his head. Anastacia drew nearer all the while, and Zeke would have to hurry it along. "Well, the surprise is here and...Well...Ta-da!"
The Raevan crested the space between the hall, living room, and area that led to the kitchen and front door, giving her guardian an annoyed yet slightly perplexed look. The sudden gasp from Zeke's mother made her turn, attention now on the older male dressed in jeans and a sports tee who was taking a wife-prompted step back and the woman in a nice blouse and jeans who had one hand free of her bags and twined into the back of her husband's shirt. They were ogling the Raevan; her overall form and lack of anything below her bust shocking, and her spidery appearance frightening, if not stunning as well. Not quite the roommate they were expecting.
"Surprise!" Zeke said on a nervous little laugh, taking in the faces of his parents with worry and some dying hope. His mother - a woman who stood up to any spider or pest with vicious resolve to eradicate it - had paled. Even the spiders on nature TV weren't quite as large as this, and it was plain as day the purple haired woman who had just floated into their midst was one of that eightlegged family. Or...at least...looked like one of that family. She was clearly not a full arachnid. She wasn't a full anything.
"Izzy?" She said in a shaken voice and Zeke gently poked his charge in the back, earning a sound of dislike and a sharp 'I said don't touch' look along with a flutter of those chitinous wings that moved her away from her guardian as well as the people before her.
"Say hello Anastacia." The vet said in a polite, hopeful tone to his ward. He was met with a disgruntled glare, the femme twining one hand around her back to just rub at the offended spot with her fingertips. Maybe she should have just stayed in her room. She could have shut the door after all.
Zeke could tell now that prompting her wouldn't do any good, and with a brush over his mohawk and a sheepish grin added on for effect, he looked toward his stunned parents, hoping he was ready for the barrage he expected would come.
"Mom, dad, this is Anastacia." His hand went from his parents to the Frei, paused and then swished back at the same speed. "Anya, this is my mom Nancy and my dad Josh." Introductions seemed to work better, oddly enough, because the Frei then looked at the two, raised her head in a proud manner similar to a matron looking down at her subordinates, and repeated the word Zul had spoken to her when they had met.
"Welcome." Then she fell silent again. It was as the ladies in the movies did - spoke when introduced, not when jabbed in the back as Zeke had attempted to do. Though she wasn't as chatty as they were, that was something that stuck and felt right to the Raevan. Just like Zeke opening the door to let her in and out of his car and opening other doors to let her go through first. Propriety amidst silence.
Her single word seemed to break that spell of silent shock that overtook the older humans, making Zeke's mother shake her head in disbelief before taking another wide-eyed stare at the Frei while his father merely blinked at her before pulling his gaze to look at his son, words on his lips.
"Zeke? Who...What...Is she?" Zeke had never seen his father so innocently baby-eyed curious before. It made the raver bark a short laugh.
"Izzy this isn't funny." His mother ruffled at him though her eyes were still on the Frei, who was putting up quite a staring contest with her six eyes; four of which were forevermore unblinking. Time for Zeke to explain and now that it was asked, he felt he could do the explaining easily.
"Her name's Anastacia. She's a Raevan and she's my...I guess 'ward' is a good enough word." He beamed at the Frei, though she wasn't paying her guardian any mind, soaking in the looks she was getting from the short woman in the blue blouse and the man in the Aekean Aeros tee with her chin slightly raised. "There's a bit of a story behind her, kinda long really, but in the end she's my responsibility. I'm kinda her parent now!" He sounded jovial at that note, regardless of the hard time he was having with getting the Raevan to be more sociable and establish that parent-child bond that he had heard about from numerous places long ago. He still cared for her and knew people could be different. Plus she was only a week old now. A baby. She'd need time, that was all.
Zeke's parents didn't know what to make of this revelation, though Josh was the one to speak first.
"Well...I AM surprised. That's for sure." There was a small side-smirk that flared up before it fell back to that blown away expression, the bandana-wearing man coming out of it fully when his permanently injured leg gave a twang of discomfort. He'd need to sit in due time, and that was just a warning to that. "It's nice to meet you, Anastacia."
The spider Raevan turned her head and gazed at the man. Her face remained set in that neutral expression and the human felt a more than a bit uncomfortable by that pale lavender stare. She wasn't showing anything on her face, but she was thinking. Assessing, actually. Nancy and Josh. Mom and Dad. What was mom and dad? Zeke used 'my' so they belonged to him, but who were these people? Older than her man, clearly, and dressed more like the people on the street and in the stores than Zeke did. Neighbors? They dressed like these two did at least. But no, she hadn't seen them around and Zeke had hummed about everyone on the floor having seen her in the week she'd been here. They looked at her like the neighbors did at any rate, though most people on the street seemed to look at her the way the neighbors did. Odd.
The silence that fell was awkward and uncomfortable for the two people who came to visit and Zeke, feeling it in the air, hastily cleared his throat.
"So how about that bureau dad?" The vet gave his father a smile, gesturing to the box on the hand trolley that had all but been forgotten. "Gotta get it set up sometime today after all." This seemed to jog the man out of his amazed stare and he hastily nodded, hobbling back toward it to pull it in farther.
"Joshua, let Ezekiel pull it." Nancy had been pulled out of hers as well when her husband moved and knowing the man as she did, she could tell when his leg was bothering him. "Izzy?"
"Yeah, let me. I've got a stool if you need it, or we can pull a chair in there instead if you want dad." He knew the signs too and even if he had been rusty to it, that worried crease between his mom's eyes was a telltale sign. Anastacia didn't know what to make of this sudden change, but turned her sights to the box on the metal wheel thing like the rest of them. It was big. What was inside? And where were they taking it? She floated behind them, stopping when the Nancy-woman halted to pick up the bags she had put on the floor before and retreating backwards as the entourage came toward her again, trolley and box in tow.
"So it'll be going into Anastacia's room right?" Joshua asked, just to clarify as they moved toward the Frei with the unassembled dresser in tow. He cast another look to the Frei, now just realizing that the crown atop her head had changed position from resting and stiff to raised almost out of alarm and/or curiosity at the situation. Her face remained neutral though, and that was a bit unnerving to him.
"Yup! She'll likely need a place to store things when winter rolls around or if she discovers a like of shirts--"
"She's got quite a lot of cleavage on display," Nancy said in a murmur, more a notation than open dislike in front of the Raevan. She still smiled sweetly at Anastacia as though not to offend the twenty-something looking woman, but Zeke knew better than that. Eighteen years under one roof save for the occasional sleepovers at friend's houses? He knew his mother and knew that like PDA, she was not the sort to approve overly skin bearing clothing.
"Mom!" He fumbled for a moment or two to grasp the right words, watching his charge keep that same blank face though one brow was lofted in a manner that meant she didn't understand the word, her grand display of skin, or that it was anything that could be considered offensive. "She was born like that." And she hasn't shown any interest in any other sort of clothing when we've gone out either... But time would tell, wouldn't it?
"Born like that?" The woman sounded incredulous, but then again her barely there tube top seemed to be connected to that spiral ribbon of hers where the rest of her body should be...
"Well...Yeah! I mean, she's only a week old and--"
"A week?!" The words were said in harmony between both of his parents, now going between their son and his bust of a ward in shock and surprise. Again, it seemed, the bureau would be forgotten and with it Zeke wouldn't be into the Lab until just that much later. The raver nodded, confirming the outcry as fact.
"She was born last Friday, so a day over a week really." He hummed a bit, looking for how to continue without spilling everything and thus ruining his 'wait until she's older' plan about her origins. "It's the reason why she's quiet and doesn't seem to react to much I think, since she's a still a baby."
"But she looks like she's your age!" Nancy said, sounding exasperated and going back to ogling the Frei again. Anastacia seemed immune to it on the outside, but inside she was both liking and annoyed by the attention. Too much too fast perhaps?
"That's the magic behind the Raevans mom." Or at least he guessed so. When he browsed the files in his spare time at the Lab, it seemed that only two Raevans ever looked like children in their Frei stage, but by their records they were Sigels now. A couple others looked like preteens and the rest looked like teens or young adults. Anya, he was both happy and sad to say, looked the oldest of the Frei bunch. Mid-twenties at least, and more like a Sigel just without the developed abdomen. That might just ostracize her more, maybe, amongst the Raevans though even if she fit well among the Sigels themselves he didn't want her taken advantage of. She was turning out to be more special than he could have imagined and he didn't want any harm or misguidance to fall to the young and presently aloof Frei.
"I want to know more about them," the woman replied, looking Anya up and down this time, taking in everything from her serated ribbon to the double bun atop her head. She wasn't frowning, but she didn't seem taken with the idea. Never before had she seen such a creature, and she had lived in Gaia (where strange seemed ordinary) all of her life.
"All right, but after dad and I get this set up." He looked between his parents, wanting to get the task out of the way. If he guessed right, Anastacia would go right back to her room after the proceedings were done and then he'd be able to talk freely with both of them without worry. "If that's okay?" Both husband and wife looked at each other and shrugged in an 'okay' sort of manner. They did come over here for specific reasons and the newest addition could wait until the first ones were taken care of.
"That sound fine Izzy," Nancy said, looking at her son again and holding out her bags. "I did promise to make you meals, didn't I? Well they won't cook themselves!" She gave a cheery laugh and given smiles in return from all but the Raevan. Her face remained as placid as ever, unnerving the woman this time. Even babies reacted to laughter, but with this one the sound seemed like it was hitting a brick wall and bouncing back at her. She didn't say a word to it though and instead parted from the group to head into Zeke's small and understocked kitchen. Both men were left alone with Anastacia, Zeke all smiles and his father looking between his son and his charge.
"So shall we Zeke?"
"Yeah just...Anya?" He got the Frei to look at him, though he could tell by her eyes she was still bothered by the poke from before and likely wouldn't keep her attention on him for long. "We're gonna set this up in your room. You need to stay out here until it's done, okay?" That seemed to grab her more; they were entering her room, her private space and domain.
"Mine?" Her tone was flat, not agreeable already to Zeke and this stranger going into her room. It was hers after all, Zeke had said so, and even if it was a part of his house the man had always lingered by the door instead of coming in when he wanted to attempt to talk to her or fetch her for something. The fact that she was this way made Zeke chuckle and that smile that he always had on his face only grew.
"Yes, your room. We won't touch anything, I promise."
"Mine." Again, not agreeable, but the flatness was waning. Whatever they were doing was pointless because they weren't going in. With a huff the Frei floated around the two men and into the hallway, showing Zeke's father that telltale hourglass for the first time. With all her spidery bits, this caused the tall man to blanch for the first time, but he kept his ground even as another twinge shot up his leg and the Frei turned around, wings flared and arms crossed across her chest. "No. Mine."
"Disagreeable for an infant huh Zeke?" There was a bit of humor to his words as he watched the Frei be so against their intrusion, floating a little higher than them both and stretching her web-lined wings out to the sides all the more to seem intimidating and make sure they couldn't pass her.
"Yeah, but it is her room. I guess I made that a bit too clear when she first came home." He did have an idea of how to get her to move and take their presence better. It would work, as she hadn't been against the idea of it so far yet. "Anya," Zeke said, "what if I told you what we're going to do in there is set you up a gift?"
"Don't do that, you'll just make her spoiled!" Nancy's voice called over the rush of water in the kitchen sink. "Young as she is, she's impressionable Zeke!"
"I know but--"
Impressionable as she may be, the words seem to have worked. The Frei's wings lowered slowly, considering this idea. Something for her, like the books or the hairbrush and other trinkets Zeke had gotten her, but judging by the size of the box on the metal contraption, this was big. Big was nice, and better it seemed. Zeke's car was big (to her at least, in actuality it was a moderate sized sports car) and it was clearly better than the rust buckets on the road and in the parking lot outside. In those few movies she had watched, the fancier people had big mansions and the ladies had larger dresses. Impressionable was a good word because - besides those little 'necessities' and her mirror - she had quickly learned that bigger was better. Now this box. It was big, and it was for her, and all it would take was to let the two men by for her to have whatever what was in it? Well then, that was a whole 'nother kettle of fish wasn't it? Plus Zeke had said they wouldn't touch anything else, so all her things in there were safe. In a week she had readily learned he was a man of his word.
"Okay." And she easily lowered herself down and moved from their way, mind made up just as fast as she had moved herself there. She didn't have any look of glee or excitement, but there was a new brightness to her eyes that was noticeable in the way they all shone.
"--But it worked."
"Just don't do it again, Izzy, you know how we raised you." And she would hope he would stick to the same ideals. Her son, a parent now?! And to something that looked nothing like a child...
"I won't mom. Just this once, so we can get this done." He didn't hear the older woman's sigh because of the water coming from the tap, but it was just as well, because the moving of the package was under way. Anastacia watched her guardian pull the trolley down the hall and the older man keep in time with him (though his gait was starting to waver). When he put his hand on the wall just before her door, her wing mimicked the motion on her own stretch, feeling the man's movements as he and Zeke moved that metal thing with her gift on it around to just the right spot.
With the males doing that and the only other female - besides that damn cat - occupied, Anastacia was now left to make her own amusement while her gift was being prepared. Her wing lifted from the wall and she spun around, ribbon flapping in the wind caused by that sort of action. Living room was an idea - there were games there that Zeke was attempting to teach her (likely another ploy to get her to speak as well as start to learn how to read), as well as some of her books that had been left in there the previous night. TV would have been an option for the Frei but she wasn't yet able to work the remote and the TV Zeke owned lacked any sort of apparent button panel on its front. Either way she could be alone and occupied - at least until said men were done - and that sounded fine to her, at least until her rune gave a hungry little pang. Food. Feed yourself. And even from here she could just feel some heat wafting from the kitchen where Nancy was making Zeke enough food to last him the rest of the month (if not longer in the freezer).
Hungry. She turned toward the kitchen, giving her large wings a flick and gliding noiselessly toward the doorless frame that was the entrance. The woman Zeke called 'mom' was in there (of course), but instead of being seated at the table like Zeke normally was, she was hastily going between the sink and oven, doing a whole manner of motions the Frei had never seen before. What held her interest more than those odd mannerisms was the stovetop. While it was commonplace for only one of the four burners to be occupied or used at any given time, with Zeke's mother in the room all of them held a pan or pot atop a turned on and slowly reddening coil. The oven - which was never turned on ever unless Brad or Alex stopped by in the past - was also on, and even though it was only preheating the Frei could feel the warmth permiating the metal box. It felt delicious and her mouth watered just a little. Her rune gave another pang - feed yourself - and she didn't wait another moment, woman in the kitchen be damned.
The chitin of her wings and head array only mildly creaked as she moved and thus her forward float was mostly silent. Her presence, however, was not lost on the older woman as that feeling of not being alone any more caused the downy hair on the back of her hair stand up and made her turn just in time to see the Frei's hand reaching for the saucepan of boiling water.
"Anastacia, don't!" Nancy moved quickly, the short woman able to cross the short distance nimbly and grab the Frei by her wrist cuff. Anastacia hadn't touched the hot pan's side but had stopped just short of it, focusing on that one point as her skin greedily absorbed the heat from both the metal and the water within. Her skin began to tingle again - as it did when she fed - and even though the older woman had violated her personal bubble the process of eating and getting her fill seemed to deter that fact from her mind.
Nancy, on the other hand, was ogling the water. What had been heartily bubbling liquid was now turning back to a placid resting state. The steam that had been raising off the surface was waning before her very eyes. The coil beneath the pan was red hot and untouched (save for the farthest outer edge) and it was like it wasn't doing its job properly, if at all! Some bubbles still rose to the surface, but it was only on the far side that was away from the Raevan's hand. It was as if the heat came up and took a hard turn to the right into Anya's skin with no concern to its actual duty.
From the pan Zeke's mother turned her head and attention toward the tall Frei's face. Anastacia's gaze was intent, as though concentrating, but a look of having a good meal was settling into her eyes and corners of her lips. Though her cheeks didn't flush to a rosy red or give any of the normal signs it was clear she was growing more lively. Her eyes brightened and what could have been gems on her forehead (though Nancy was quickly finding out that was not the case) did as well, her rune brightened and the cloud around it expanded, then her nostrils flared as she drew in a deep breath and then the spell was broken. The lavender set of eyes the Frei owned blinked twice, clearing her head and her vision of the dying bubbling in the pot. The realization there was a weight attached to her wrist became apparent as she tried to move it away and the Frei's gaze fell to the short woman. That lively look was replaced with one of offense and with more strength than the human woman had anticipated Anastacia wrenched her wrist from Nancy's hand.
The pot then exploded to life with a new wave of bubbles and steam as the pipe of heat from water and coil to hand was broken.
Anastacia gave the human woman a ruffled and agitated look, holding her hand up and across her largely exposed chest as though she was about to backhand her right across the face. That wasn't the case - as Anastacia was not aware of such violence yet - but looking at the Frei, Nancy flinched back as though it was a certain fact. When no hit came she regained her posture, looking between the now bubbling pot and the Frei, disbelied taking over her features. What had she just witnessed? It was impossible!
One of the Frei's slender brows raised as she watched the human woman try to find the words for what she had done. She had no idea what 'mom' was, but she could readily say Zeke familiarized with dumb people. A dumb person - that's what this Nancy woman was. Her guardian had gotten it right off the bat the first time and, hell, even explained it to her! Now the tingling sensation in her skin wasn't a stranger (though it was odd, that she couldn't deny). The third or fourth time the woman looked at the pot, Anastacia had enough with the lingering. She was full, and with that in mind, the heat sources she was hovering next to were still pumping the stuff out. Her skin kept sucking it up despite that fact and the tingling was getting overbearing. With a roll of her eyes directed at the befuddled woman, the Frei left the kitchen and went to the living room. A short time later, Nancy did the same.
When the short woman crested the space, she saw the Frei lingering in a papasan-like chair, book held out in front of her like a newspaper for the lack of lap or knees. She was immersed, or so she appeared, and despite the occurance that was still fresh in her mind Zeke's mother sat down on the couch, though at the arm farthest from the Frei. On her shoulder was another bag she had carried in, though this one was canvas instead of plastic. It was set down at her side and two metal knitting needles with a project in progress joining them together was pulled out and readied for continued work. Soon, said work was started up again, and it wasn't long before the metallic 'click click click' caught the Frei's attention in the otherwise silent room.
At first it was just a minor annoyance, tuned out to 'manageable', but the persistance of that light sound soon piqued the Frei's curiosity as well as the first emotion toward it. Just what was making that sound? She kept the book aloft in her hands but as she flipped a page and turned her eyes to the left, they went farther than the typed font and pictures and focused in on the woman sitting a few feet away. What she saw only struck that curiosity more. A short fall of what appeared to be cloth, with Nancy's hands mostly eclipsing whatever was happening at the top of it - though whatever it was it was fast and involved two strings of mint green and white that were slowly being eaten by the needles. A line of green and white loops on one side was steadily growing shorter and it wasn't long before one needle was cleared, swapped around, and the one with the new line of loops was fast at work at being used.
What an odd thing. The string was eaten, the loops were lost to the other side, and the short cloth got longer. She could make that much out, but couldn't see the true process, and for a Raevan who so far didn't take an interest in much of what Zeke offered her silently getting up and floating over to the busy woman was quite a thing. Sadly, Nancy did not witness it, and so when she finally realized the Frei was at her side and staring down at her she got quite the start.
"Oh! Anastacia!" Her work immediately stopped as one hand flew over her left bosom, feeling her pulse rush faster and her face flush with the red of surprise. The Frei was staring intently at her hands but the moment the work stopped all six flicked to her face. Had she not seen? How? Anya had been floating there for roughly five minutes after all and she knew she wasn't the easiest person to hide. "Is...Is there something you want dear?"
Instead of replying the Frei only cast her glance back down at the craftwork, staring at it as though simply doing that would cause the woman to automatically know what she wanted explained. Even a dullard could figure it out, honestly! And Nancy did, it just took her a minute or two of calming herself down and trying to see through the Frei's eyes about what she was looking at.
"Do you...Want to know what I'm doing?" She took up her work again and gave it a light shake. The needles clicked and the two strings of yarn trembled as though threatening to fall off if she did that again, but she wasn't looking at that. The Frei considered the question and nodded.
"Yes."
Nancy felt a bit of relief then. The way the Frei had looked at her in the kitchen and just now had unnerved her but she could do something like this. She was a tutor after all. And the first thing to do was get the Frei at her level. Hovering over wouldn't do either of them any good.
"Well I'm knitting, Anya. Uhm...How about you sit down here?" She moved her bag to the floor and patted the now-free seat next to her. The Frei didn't move save for lofting a brow, and Nancy had to tell herself the Frei was still a baby, even though she looked much much older and had a sharp intelligence in her eyes. "I can show you this better if you sit down. It's all right dear." She patted the spot again and the Frei took it into consideration. Soon after, she moved, and Nancy got to witness the odd way the Frei "sat". There was a space between them but the Frei had gone back to staring intently at the craft, waiting and watching. Nancy cleared her throat.
"Okay. This is knitting, Anya, it's a craft. All you really need for it are these two needles here," she pointed them out, "and some yarn like this." She tugged on the two strings, almost losing her stitch but she was able to pick it up before it got to that point. "When you do a couple easy motions - which I'll show you - you start to make something." Nancy turned the project-in-progress out. There was nothing fancy to it like other projects she had worked on and now that she looked at it, that was a pretty good thing for the moment. She held it out enough that the Frei reached a hand over and touched the cloth. It was soft, but felt different than the clothing Zeke wore and the towels she had seen him folding the other day. She shifted it around and saw how, when tugged, the cloth had small but apparent holes between each one. Sort of like the lace at the ends of her cuffs, but not really. She soon released it, waiting for the demonstration of the speedy process to make it, and the older woman showed her.
"First you take the needles and hold them like this with the bare one in your right and the one with the loops in your left. You tuck the bare needle behind and take your yarn like this," she nabbed the dangling strings and looped them around, "and loop. Then you bring the needle at the back to the front, and hook it through the first loop on this one. Then you slide it off." She did the motions as she spoke, ending with the slid off loop on the bare needle. "See? It's easy."
Anastacia watched intently though her face remained neutral and mildly interested. It did look easy, and only more so as Zeke's mother did the same for the rest of the loops on the line. She explained it again as she did so, but once seemed to be enough for the Frei so the repeat passed over her ears without going in. Instead of listening Anastacia was working the motions out in her head enough that the fact the woman had said something different had almost not occured to her.
"Anya? I asked if you'd like to try." The craft was being held out to her and there was a light smile on the woman's face. "Maybe it's something you could do for yourself. It's nice - you can make lots of things when you learn more and you don't really need more than one person to do it." Scarves and hand towels would be the starting creations, but if she worked at it, she could make sweaters and capelets and a variety of different things. Plus it'd be nice to see a child getting into something as "archaic" as knitting. It wasn't the right word, but then again, when was the last time she had seen any youth trying to get into something like that? A long time, that's what. It wasn't the "cool" thing to do, she guessed. Either way, she was hopeful in regards to the Raevan. Impressionable, as she had told her son.
The Frei looked between the woman and what was being offered and, interest thoroughly piqued, she took the knitting. Tugged, was more the proper word, but it was her way of making sure skin didn't meet skin as she took what she was being offered. Once it was in her hands the needles were taken up between lithe fingers and held the way that was appropriate. Okay, now to apply the motions she had watched, and Anastacia soon found that it wasn't quite as easy to start up as it had appeared. The yarn seemed to have a mind of its own in the newbie's fingers and readily slipped and fell from the needle as the Frei tried to work it around. She dropped a single stitch multiple times and when she finally did pull it through like instructed, one of the two loops remained on the opposite side. Frustration quickly started to show on the Spider's face, but Nancy was right there with positive reinforcement and airy pantomimes of what was to be done. When a stitch was successfully made for the first time (both loops on the same side) the human woman dolloped on the praise and fed the Frei's ego. That agitation was worked away and only fell farther the more she was spoken to like that. Soon Anastacia was back to her placid face and just in time to reach the end of the line.
"Now you just flip the two around...Good girl!" An infant, but her mind worked so rapidly! Frustration was going to come and go but the fact she was applying what she had only seen so quickly was a wonder to the woman. She made to say about starting a new line from that, but Anastacia was already looping the two strings of yarn around the needles. Nancy's brows raised, impressed despite her intial reactions to the Raevan, but they didn't linger as a timer went off in the kitchen. "Ah, no time to rest anymore." Anastacia's head turned slightly as though she had been spoken to, but Nancy only shook her head. "I've got to get back to cooking, but you keep that up. I'll check on your progress in a little while, okay?"
"Yes." And that was that; the Frei was soon alone again with only the various sounds from various rooms reaching her ears. Over all of those though was the clicking of the needles as she continued on. Her progress was slower than the older woman's (and having her ego stroked had improved her standing in the Raevan's books at least a little), but she was working with gusto now. Things still slipped and stitches were lost on the transfer over, but the praise she had received helped to keep the frustration at bay. Padded her against it most likely, but there was something else - the hobby. The looping and tugging, repetition, flow of strings and creation of something solid...It felt natural to Anastacia. She felt herself lulled by the actions her fingers actively did and was soon slumped back against the futon couch, relaxed, at ease, and fully taken up. This...This was something she could most definitely keep. |
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