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 Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 12:12 pm
__Part 1
"It's two o'clock in the morning, Len, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little Mishap-"
Crow was rudely interrupted in her mumbling lullaby by a faceful of mashed peas. Lenore giggle and bounced in her highchair, painting her face with the dark green glop. Crow gave a groan and unfastened the cheerful child from the chair, stumbling back into the bedroom. Wiping Lenore's face off as best she could with a now ever present cloth from her baby-wipe box, Crow laid Lenore in her crib and began her drawling song again.
"I'm begging you, go to sleep - " Crow said weakly, her eyes heavy and aching.
"BWAAAAA!" Lenore screeched in response, clapping her hands at the sport of watch Crow jump and tumble to the floor. With a moan of exhausted misery, Crow hoisted herself up and stumbled to the bookcase.
"Okay, how about if I read you a story? Would you like that?" Crow asked Lenore in a monotone. The baby's eyes lit up in anticipation and she bounced, waving her bladed arms and badly scratching the wooden bars of her crib. With a heaving sigh, Crow grabbed random books from the towering bookcase in the wall and knelt next to the crib.
Lenore screeched all the way through "Cinderella", belched twice during "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", and blew spit bubbles during "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". Picking up the last book with an air of desperation, Crow flicked to a random page and began reading at random.
"...'The Thing cannot be described - there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order.' " Crow paused and frowned, trying to process what she just read.
This wasn't one of the fairy tale books. "The Call of Cthulhu, by H.P. Lovecraft," was emblazoned on the leather bound cover, with a gilt skull beneath it. As Crow made to discard the book in favor of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", Lenore gave a startled cry of protest. Crow looked up at her charge in astonishment - she had actually been quiet! Crow read another passage from "The Call of Cthulhu", smiling tiredly as Lenore listened raptly and quietly.
It was five o'clock in the morning by the time Crow was nearly finished reading the story, Lenore finally drifting off to sleep as the first pink rays of sunlight lit the iron gray sky. With a sigh of relief, Crow snapped the book shut and slumped to the floor, asleep before her head hit the carpet.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:25 am
__Part 2
Crow wandered into the room, holding Lenore carefully in her arms. She had wrapped the baby Mishap in a thick blanket, and taken extra care to wrap up the child's arms in pillowcases. She watched Lenore flap her wrapped up arms in childish pleasure, giggling as she watched the tips of her razor-sharp metallic wings saw through the thin fabric.
"Remind me to pick up some first-aid kits before we leave, would ya?" Crow murmured to the baby, who burbled spit-bubbles in response.
Looking up, Crow noticed anothyer young woman in the room, with a Mishap of her own. She approached shyly, hugging Lenore close (though very carefullly).
"Um, hello," she said
Jizzy smiled at the arrival of a new child and guardian.
"Hello.. Pleasure to meet you.. I'm Jizzy, and this is Deimos."
She said kindly. This girl seemed very nervous. She rocked the demonic child in her arms slightly, smiling up at her.
Deimos had his attetnion turned to Lenore. Cheerful one, she was.. It made Deimos burble and flail his arms to her.
"Deimos seems ot want to touch her, can she defend herself in case of attack?"
She asked, her tone slihglty joking, but Deimos' fierce nature was not one to toy with.
Crow's shyness dissapated a little. She smiled and pushed her helmet up, brushing a few wayward strands of hair out of her eyes.
"Pleased to meet you! I'm Crow Ezili Adyamaur, and this..." she hoisted Lenore up to exhibit to Jizzy. The baby flapped her arms again, causing her metal wings to completly poke through the pillowcases. "...is Lenore. Say hi, Len."
"Brabbaaaaa!" Lenore shrieked, delighting in the ear-piercing noise she created. Crow winced, almost certain she could hear glass shattering in the background.
As she tried to shush Lenore, Crow took a close look at the flailing baby, Deimos. He seemed rather intimidating for an infant - but perhaps it was just the wigs on his forehead that were a little off-putting. She smiled at Jizzy again, and ventured a little closer.
"He can try, if he likes. And, yeah, she can defend herself pretty well," she trailed off, eyeing the razor-like "feathers" that sprouted from Lenore's arms. She gave an inward shudder and a wince at the remembered pain of the numerous cuts she'd received from them. "Just try to avoid the wings, they're a bit on the pointy side."
Jizzy smiled at the small child, she found her noise rather cute and placed Deimos softly on the floor.
"There, lets see if they get along."
Demios had scrunched up his face at the loud scream.. How annoying.. He felt his mother place him on the floor and burbled in seim-cheerful way. Finally he was free. He seemed to want to make his way out, but as he couldn't yet crawl very well, he simply resorted to burbling and gazimng up at the loud Mishap..
Crow followed Jizzy's example and set Lenore gently on the floor. Her shrieks died down at once - it seemed she was suddenly far more interested in this new baby than in making her guardian's ears bleed.
Lenore gazed intently at Deimos, her cheerfulness turned to wary curiosity. Her eyes followed his every movement, an instinctive need to protect rising up in her. There was something...different about this creature. And she wasn't sure she liked what she sensed. After a moments consideration, she creeped towards Deimos in a way that allowed her blade-wings to face outward, ready for attack or defense.
"Flartha?" She ventured shyly, murmuring in the clumsy baby-language Crow seemed to understand.
Deimos eyed her curiously as she spoke, his eyes falling almost immediatly at the blades on her arms. His eyes shone with a genuine curiosity as he extended his hands out towards them.
"Brubleth.." He said, in the same baby talk, which Jizzy had no clue how to understand. He wanted to touch the shiny blades..
Jizzy would have stopped, him, she really would have but.. she decided to give him an experience. He'd just keep trying to touch them if she pulled him away. She kept her eyes on him, making sure the blades didn't harm him to much.
Lenore held very still as Deimos' hand stretched towards her. Her bright eyes watched his movements with the intentness of a hunter, her body tense to react if he meant to harm her. The differentness she felt in Deimos, the unease she felt from his presence, seemed to rouse instincts she had been designed with.
"Halthya," she said in a warning tone, but allowed Deimos to come closer. As he ventured closer, she flexed her long-fingered hands in anticipation. Those wing-llike little things on his face were so fascinating...
Deimos's forehead wings perked up slight as he extended his hand futehr to the wings.
"Hathult.." He replied and touched them finally. He gave a slight gasp, but didn't scream or cry. He gazed at his small finger which now had a pinprick of blood on it. Then he looked back up at Lenore and smiled. He placed the fingers in his mouth,sucking cheerfully. He soon removed them and allowed his mother to apply a small bandage on the small, and not bleeding, wound.
"Frimgh.." He said in a burble and a friendly tone. What and odd one he was. He didn;t try to touch them again, but just that fact that she had a weapon seemed to him, regard her better, as long as she didn't attack of course.
The world suddenly unfolded several times, and light poured into Tori's being, making him squint. "Oh, darn.." He mumbled, absent-mindedly reaching up to smooth down his messy hair. "Fell asleep again..." A soft sigh escaped his lips, and the tall man patted around his lap for a few moments, relieved to feel the lightly snoozing form of Wycliff.
After the short inspection of the important things in Tori's life, he blinked away some of the fuzziness in his vision, peering around to see if anyone else was still there. Another Guardian and Mishap had joined Jizzy and Deimos in the toy room, and the two little ones seemed to be interacting, if a bit painfully.
Tori raised his eyebrow, clearing his throat. "Er...I'm sorry for falling asleep, guys....Um....Is everything alright, with those two?" He bit his lip, hoping they weren't hurting each other too much.
Crow flushed as she wiped the small rivulet of blood off of Lenore's wing.
"Sorry 'bout that, Jizzy. Guess they're a lot sharper than I thought..." she trailed off as she watched Deimos beam at Lenore. Len observed Deimos with a look almost of mistrust, but then eased into a smile and giggled, curling her long toes and flexing her fingers in pleasure. She finished polishing off the blood, and got up, knocking into the newly conscious gentleman behind her.
"Oh, sorry," she said, flushing even brighter and wringing the bloody kerchief in her hand.
Jizzy smiled and picked up the small child, without any protest. She glanced over at Tori and Crow with a smile.
"It's alright, he didn't seem to mind."
Deimos bubed cheerfully at Lenore, streching out his bandages finger to her cheerfully. This was the first time Jizzy's seen him, cheerful, ina way.
"Ahh, sorry..." Tori got up quickly, grunting softly as he hefted Wycliff along with him. "I tend to blend in with the background, when I fall asleep..." Laughing softly, the tall man bowed his head slightly, in his own modified greeting. "My name is Torikonero, which you may shorten any way you wish...Who are you?"
Wycliff shifted in his Guardian's arms, opening his little mouth wide, and yawning. Small, horned arms raised over the little rhino-boy's head, stretching as much as they could. The world was too much for him right now; he would much rather sleep in this warm cocoon of love, than venture out and do anything.
The far shorter Crow craned her neck to look up at Torikonero. At her feet, Lenore was contentedly bashing her wings together to make a curiously bell-like ringing that set the windows to rattling. She waved somewhat meekly upwards, trying to make herself heard over the din.
"My name's Crow, and this is Lenore, Torki-no, er, Torik. Pleased to meet you."
She watched the gray baby in Torik's arms yawn and stretch. Lenore seemed to require little sleep, if any, which made for very long nights of half-conscious playing, changing diapers, and feeding.
"Your Mishap's so cute,"Crow chattered politely, trying to ignore the fact that Lenore's wing-crashing seemed to be making her skull vibrate. "When did you adopt him?"
CLANG.
Lenore delighted in the chrashing reverberation that sounded from her thin wings. The feather that Deimos had cut himself on seemed to burn slightly where the thin trickle of blood had traveled, but she tactfully ignored this unpleasant sensation by bashing her wings together all the louder. She glanced over at Deimos and gave a toothless smile. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as she had originally thought.
"Ahh..." Tori smiled warmly, kneeling down so he was at a better height for Crow. "That is a wonderful name...and Lenore...." The crashing made his head pound, but he was used to headaches, so he didn't mind so much. "She is very nice..." His voice was as loud as he could get it, which wasn't very loud; Tori was a naturally polite person, and disliked trying to be better than anything, even a sound.
A small blush slid onto Tori's cheeks as Crow spoke about Wycliff. "Ohh, well, thank you..." He said, wiggling happily; Wycliff's body slid back and forth in his Guardian's arms, apparently used to these motions. "He is a cute one...Although, a bit lazy right now..." Tori gently poked Wycliff's nose, hoping for some movement. Unfortunately, this guesture didn't seem to faze the sleeping Mishap.
"Er, maybe he'll wake up soon..." The tall man laughed sheepishly, hoping his words would have some effect on Wycliff.
Crow smiled politely, unsure how to further the conversation. To distract from the somewhat awkward silence, she scooped up Lenore, who was preparing to crash her wings together even harder. Settling the momentarily startled baby against her shoulder, she gave a little half-curtsy to her companions.
"It's been a pleasure meeting everyone, but Lenore and I have to get going," she said, pushing her helmet up again. With a wave and a burbling laugh from Lenore, she left the room.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:29 am
__Part 3
Crow made her way down the hall, looking down at Lenore as she glared up at her guardian from a shallow cardboard box. The Mishap had been in an uncharacteriscally bad mood today, and had take a few swipes at Crow in irritation. Not daring to hold the bladed baby, and already nursing a few smarting wounds, Crow had elected the best way to carry her charge would be something that allowed no close contact. Thusly, the blanket-filled box.
"Why do you keep looking at me that way?" Crow asked Len in a hurt tone. Lenore blew a couple spit bubbles in response, turning her nose up and grumbling. As Crow puzzled over her Mishaps snub, she forgot to watch where she was going and walked directly into something tall and solid.
Tumbling backwards with the box in a death-grip, Crow fell to the floor. Lenore remained firmly tucked into her makeshift baby-carrier, apparently indifferent to her guardian's dilemma.
"Oh, sorry, I was distracted." Jabir got on his knees and tried to help Crow getting up. As he got hold of her hand he noticed the baby Mishap glaring at him.
"Hello Raven," he said in a friendly tone.
KiiMeLwi walked towards both toppled Guardian and the tall Jabir. "Good..er...day." She smiled at both, and also offered to help Crow.
Shavira shifted in her sleep, and made KiiMeLwi go stiff...then relax when the baby just snuggled closer to her body for warmth.
Blushing a deep shade of scarlet, Crow allowed herself to be hoisted up by KiiMeLwi and the tall and solid man she had walked into.
"Thanks," she mumbled, adjusting her crooked helmet and smiling politely up at the man.. Her smile vanished as her mouth dropped open at the sight of the man's extraordinary appearance. She was doubly astonished at Lenore, who clattered her wings together grumpily at the man''s kind greeting, shifting in her box-carrier and averting her eyes.
"Uh, sorry," Crow said quickly, making a slight bow in apology. "She''s not usually like this."
"So I believe. It's been a while since I last saw her, as well as Sybil." he turned his head to the sleeping Shavira.
He started pick up the papers he left scattered on the ground when he bumped into Crow."I still remember the day they arrived here. The poor little Raven smelled like death and was a pain to give her a bath," he pointed to some scars hidden in the dark pattern of his hands. "Luckly Sybil arrived a lot better. But it wasn't easy to change her diapers." he gave a small laugh.
KiiMeLwi looked up at this tall Jabir in awe. "Sybil...I remember..." She looked at Shavira's sleeping face and lightly ran a finger on Shavi's nose. "It's a nickname of hers now, I guess." She giggled slightly and grinned up at Jabir. "Thank you for taking care of her. I know what you mean about diapers."
Turning to Crow and Lenore. "Is she alright? Or just grumpy?" She smiled. "Shavi can get like that too sometimes."
Crow nodded knowingly as Jabir spoke of how delightful it was to give Lenore baths. She bore the marks of the most recent one on her arms, scratches and welts from Lenore's long fingers and toes digging into her like a cat confronted by water.
Wait...diapers?
Crow bent down and sniffed gingerly at Lenore, who had apparently "smelled like death" when she had first arrived.
"Uck!" she said, pinching her nose and wincing. Lenore looked up at Crow sternly, as though silently chastising her for forgetting. Hey, it didn't smell like death, but it was still pretty unpleasant. In the haste to finish moving into the HQ rooms, she had left Lenore to stew in....well, at least she knew what the problem was now.
Picking up Lenore with the air that she was a ticking, slightly stinky timebomb, Crow grinned sheepishly at Jabir and KiiMeLwi.
"I'd better get going before she tries to cut my head off - I'll see you guys later, okay?"
With a wave and an irritated burble from Lenore, she sped back to her room.
"Wait! You might want to have this," he went after the and dropped a small note inside the cardboard box. Then he stepped back and went next to Kii.
"I believe you'll be wanting yours, too." He took another note from between the papers and handed it to her.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:09 am
__Part 4
Lying slightly crumpled in one corner of Lenore's baby-carrier cardboard box was a slip of paper Jabir had given Crow the night before. Scrawled across it in elaborate handwriting were the following notes about Lenore:
Jabir
Raven's Infirmary Notes:
- Bad odor when arrived. Isn't permanent
- Wing blades are quite sharp and light. Can scar someone quite fast
- Doesn't cut herself with her blades
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 11:42 am
__Part 5
It was one o'clock in the morning. The room was quiet - Crow had accidentally fallen asleep, leaving Lenore to fidget and yawn in boredom in her playpen. Her diurnal "night" woud be coming soon, which meant sleep. Lenore hated to sleep. It left her vulnerable. Exposed. She couldn''t protect things if she was asleep, least of all herself.
Pulling herself up by grasping the metal bars of her pen, Lenore reached out and grabbed at the remote that was lying in Crow''s slack hand. Fumbling with it for a second, Lenore pushed the power button and scrabbled to turn down the volume. She didn't want to wake Crow, both because she wanted her guardian to get some rest, and because she herself didn't want to be disturbed.
Pushing the channel button clumsily, Lenore gave a delighted smile as a frantic raspy voice, distorted by static, whispered its message to her. A fiendish boy wearing rollerblades and waving a dented baseball bat laughed wildly on the screen, waving his weapon threateningly.
"Must not run away... Must not turn your back on him... He comes for people who''ve been driven into a corner and have nowhere to go... Must not talk about him... Must not think about him... Rumors help him grow... Imagination, paranoia nurtures him..."
Lovely - she hadn't missed a minute of her favorite program. Lenore glanced over at Crow, and turned the volume down a little lower. She preferred to watch her programs alone. After all, that's what shows like Paranoia Agent were for - to help her get through the lonely night hours that Crow had been unable to conquer.
"Maromi," Lenore mumbled thickly. Turning back to the flashing television set, Len choked back a delighted giggle and settled down to watch.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 7:09 pm
__Part 6
"Len, spit that out."
Lenore gave a grumble, caught, and grudgingly spit out the acorn. Crow rolled her eyes and pulled the small playpen a bit closer to her lawn chair, clearing out any hidden stashes of plantlife before returning to her book. A small portable cassette player was rambling an audiobook version of Stephen King's "The Shining", which Lenore had been listening to with gleeful attentiveness before diving into her stash of Things She Shouldn't Be Eating. Giving the now reading Crow a reproachful look, Lenore returned to her audiobook and burbled.
Crow looked up from her magazine for a moment, looking around to see if any of the other Mishaps or guardians were lurking out on the Terrace.
The small child in Jizzy's arms was protesting and crying as she made her way onto the terrace, actually hevaily intent on going back to the room. But then his crying stopped as a familiar glint of metal caught Deimos' eye, causing him to burble slightly and yank towards the direction of Crow and Lenore.
Jizzy, who was rather upset at her mishap at the moment, quickly noticed his silence and followed his gaze. A playpen, good. Perhaps if Deimos could play with other for a while it might calm him, maybe some social skills would develop, who knows.
"Heylo,"
She cried out to Crow, making her way there.
Lenore gave a start, all concentration on her audiobook disrupted. That presence....Deimos. With an almost involuntary motion, Lenore grabbed at the feather tip that still bore that faint stain of Deimos; blood from their first encounter. With a discomfitted mumble, she looked through the reinforced metal bars of her play pen at the emanation of the source. She saw
Jizzy and Deimos coming closer, and she felt her body involuntarily tense as she made eye contact with the child.
Crow started and looked up from her magazine. With a smile, she waved Jizzy and Deimos over, taking a sip of her tea and tossing her reading material aside.
"Hey guys! C'mon over!"
Deimos burbled loudly as he achieved eye contact with Lenore and he actually sounded exited. He bounced in his mother arm's flailing againt her grip to go to Lenore.
Jizzy smiled and made it over to the pair quickly. SHe eyed the tea for a moment.. Deimos had gotten her on a strict coffee regimen and she had barely the time to enjoy tea anymore. Seeing Deimos struggle, she gently nuzzled his head before putting him down beside Lenore's playpen. He still couldn;t crawl to fast, so he wasn;t going anywhere..
"It's nice seeing you around here.. I've don't come to the Terrace often, so it's quite a coincidence to find you here."
After being placed on the outside of the playpen, Deimos peered inside, his tiny hands gripping the bars. The small eyebrow wings flapped in exitement as he burbled a greeting, his eye shifting to the blood stain on her blade and making him seem even more exited.
Noticing Jizzy's covetous look at her tea, Crow pulled out her thermos and poured some into an extra cup. Handing it to Jizzy with a smile, she glanced down at Lenore and Deimos. Len wasn't looking particularly cheerful at the sight of Deimos, though the boy certainly seemed happy to see her. With a smile, Crow looked back up at Jizzy.
"So, how're you doing?"
Lenore felt suddenly very trapped in her metal playpen. Deimos seemed very happy to see her, and she felt a tad guilty about her predatory alertness around him. He was probably a lovely Mishap that would make an excellent friend, but she simply could not ignore the instinct to protect herself and her caretaker if he tried anything funny. Trying to ignore the burning feeling that had flared up on her feather, Lenore gave a cautious smile and watched to see what Deimos would do.
Jizzy took the tea, shocked at first, but at the first sip her worries melted away temporarily.. Goodness she missed this stuff.. AFter taking another long swig, she finally spoke.
"We're doing alright.. Well Deimos is at least.. He's learning to crawl so I have to keep a sharp eye on him, luckyly for me, he isn't to fast. Are you and Lenore doing alright as well?"
Deimos heard his mother say the small child's name and set it to memory.. To current date he knew 3 names: Dei, which was himself, Ma,which was Jizzy and Ai, who was a Tall Tale he had visited and become quite fond of not to long ago. Now his toung stumbled over trying to sound out Lenore's name.
"Le.. Le.. nnnn.."
He couldn;t seem to get the rest of the sounds quite right no he resorted ti simple, Len..
"LEN!"
He cried out suddenly, sticking his hands inside the metal bars to try and come into contact with the mentioned Mishap.
Crow gave a start and did a spit take with her mouthful of tea. She looked at Deimos in astonishment, wearing the same deeply surprised look as Lenore.
"Deimos can talk already?" she asked Jizzy in surprise, wiping tea off of her shirt. Composing herself as best she could (which was hard to do, since she had spit out her tea all over herself), she set her cup down.
"We're doing okay. Len's been teething, which means I've been getting about fifteen minutes of sleep per week. She's totally nocturnal - this is the first time I've been outside during the day since I first got her!"
Lenore looked up at Deimos, who was reaching out to her eagerly. He had said her name - something even she herself was not yet capable of doing. Nibbling on her lip with her tiny emerging teeth, Lenore crawled over to the bars and sat down, keeping her gaze carefully blank.
"Deyem," she said, leaning forward a little.
Jizzy chuckled softly, taking another long sip of her tea. SHe'd never seem someone actually spiut out thier drink in shock. She thought it was just soemthing peopel did on TV.
"He can say a few names.. but nothing else.. He shouts much more than he talks.. Do you think I could, put him in the play pen with Lenore? I don't want him crawling off.."
Deimos heard her and he clapp and squealed in exitement. So far, Lenore was by far his favorite Mishap, though the resoning behind that probably had something to do with blood.
"Len!" He said, extending a finger and poking her softly in the arm, cautiously avoiding the blades.
Crow gave a nod and poured herself some more tea.
"Sure! Len's probably been a bit lonely - we haven't seen any other Mishaps for awhile."
Len gave a jump as Deimos touched her. Edging back slightly, she raised her arms so that the feather tips pointed out. She didn't mind sharing her space with Deimos, but she would have to stay on her guard.
Setting down her tea, she moved over and picked up Deimos. At first, he retorted, he didn't want to leave yet, but once he was set down inside the playpen, his crying stopped.
"There..."
She said, and moved back to her tea.
Deimos was in shock when his mother had picked him up and began to flail and cry. He didn't want to leave yet. Once he was set down next to Lenore however, he quieted and gave a cheerful burble. He crawled over to her and his eyebrow wings batted in exited, much like a dogs tail. Soon he was sitting next to her, his tail swishing cheerfully as he reched up to touch Lenore's hair.
Sitting very still, Len watched Deimos as he reached up to touch her feathery hair. She had made her defenses very obvious, but they didn't seem to perturb Deimos that much. With a slight grumble, she allowed him to come closer. Crow had seemed eager for Len to make friends, and the Mishap supposed that an intrusion into her precious personal space came along with friendship.
Deimos touched her hair and fingered it for a moment, then smiled and burbled. In return he swush his demonic tail near Lenore. If she let him touch her hair, she could touch his tail.
Lenore looked at Deimos' tail uncertainly. It was a fascinating thing - so unlike her own tail of feathers. Reaching out to touch it gingerly, Lenore's feeling of distinct unease doubled. She knew through her magically programmed instinct that this child was something she shouldn't be getting too friendly with, but her naturally created curiosity encouraged her to explore. With a deft motion, Lenore leaned forward enough to brush the tail with her fingertips.
She instantly regretted it.
"Nyaaaaah!"
It felt as though the bloodstained feather had caught fire -it burned like her hand did as every cell in her body rejected the overwhelming presence that Deimos was full of.
Deimos' eye grew in shock. Why was Len crying? Had somone hurt her?He took his tail back, moving it away. DId his tail bother her? When she continued crying, Deimos did the only thing that occurred to him, he began to call his mother.
"MA!!! MA!! MA!!"
He shrieked, waving a desperate hand in Len's direction, his eyes filled with genuine worry, something Jizzy had never seen in them before.
The pain was alien to Lenore. She'd felt the discomforts of her own body growing, teething, and the occasional bout with colic. But this... it felt as though the skin on her fingers was on fire, and the stain of Deimos' blood burning through the metal feather like acid. She dared a glance at Deimos, and was rather shocked to find him looking worried for her. Her cries of pain eased as she felt Crow scoop her up into her arms, taking her away from that frightening presence.
"Shhh, shhh, Songbird, it's okay," Crow crooned softly, rocking Lenore gently and allowing the Mishap to claw at her as she tried to make herself secure. She felt Lenore's frantic breathing ease, and was slightly unsurprised when she felt the baby's head droop against her shoulder and the frantic fidgeting cease.
"She usually sleeps during the day," Crow explained to Jizzy, still rocking Len gently. "She drops off at about six o'clock, and sleeps right through the day until evening. I guess she was just a little grouchy since staying up until afternoon is like staying up 'til midnight for her."
Easing the sleeping Mishap into her cozy carrying box, Crow packed up her things and waved goodbye.
"I'll just put her to bed, and maybe I'll meet up with you and Deimos again later."
Deimos waved his arms franticall to reach her. Where were they taking Len? Was she ok?
"Len! Len!"
He cried out of his own mother scooped him up. He fought against her, wishing to reach the other mishap.
Jizzy held tight to Deimos sighing softly. She feared he'd never make friends.
"Shh.. Deimos.. She'll be fine..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:00 am
__Part 7
"There. Last of the load."
Crow stuffed in the last article of clothing and slammed the washing machine shut with a triumphant grin. Lenore, nestled in her carrying box on top of one of the dryers, gave a half-interested burble before returning to her battered teething ring. Crow stuck her tongue out at the Mishap, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"You may think it's not much of an accomplishment, but that's five baskets worth of socks, towels, cloth diapers, and underwear in that machine right now." Crow said mildly, to which Lenore gave a giggle and blew spit bubbles. Lifting Lenore off the dryer and settling her on the floor with a grunt, Crow started up the machine and sat down on the floor, leaning on it. Taking out a book that was tucked into Len's box, she looked around briefly for other guardians before starting to read.
Jizzy hummed a few lines from Phantom of the Opera as she held a large plastic basket in her arms. It was full to the brim with bundled up clothes, some covered in dirt, others in food, and the occasional garment was covered in droplets of blood. There was a large bump in the middle of the basket, which Jizzy didn't really notice.
She reached the laundry room without incident and lay the basket down ontop of the dryer. SHe began to unload the clothes when the lump grew twice in size and yelled "BOOO!" at her.
Jizzy leapt back, clutching her heart, truly scared until she heard chuckled coming from the basket. She remained at a distance from the basket, plotting her next move.
Crow made a funny little "eep!" sound and jumped up, searching for the source of the very loud "BOO!" Looking around in a semi-panic (she had been really quite startled), she spotted Jizzy looking as though she was about to faint from her fright.
So, of course, Crow had to make things worse.
"HEY JIZZY!" she shouted, quite unnecessarily, since the laundry room wasn't really that big.
Lenore glanced up from her teething ring, feeling a far too familiar prickle on the back of her neck, and a faint burning where a rusty red bloodstain marred one of her feathers.
Here we go again, she thought mildly (though since she was a baby, it probably wasn't thought that way).
Not to far from where Crow was, a battle was raging. Deimos, who had hidden in Jizzy's pile of clothes, had struck the first blow, sending a sock flying at her face. Jizzy retailiated by lunging at the basket and tickling the small child inside. The giggles could be heard a mile away. Deimos flailed against the evil tickles, but to no avail, he even tried throwing some more clothes at Jizzy, but her attack was relentless. Jizzy looked up at Crow's cry and in her moment of distraction was hit with a large bundle of socks, knocking her backwards..
"Hey Crow!"
Crow winced as Jizzy was hit full on by flying clothing. Grabbing Len''s carrying box and launching herself into a flying leap over the middle row of washers and dryers, she landed neatly on her feet and bounded up to the battling pair. Picking up some of the socks that cluttered the floor and tossing them gently back into the clothes bin, Crow gave a smile and set Lenore on the dryer next to the bin.
"Soooo, how are you?" she asked eagerly. Having not seen another human for nearly a week, Crow was starved for a little girl talk that did not involve trying to teach Len not to scream "Maromi" at one o''clock in the morning.
Lenore looked coolly up into the clothes hamper next to her box, gnawing at the tough rubber teething ring Crow had bought for her off of the computer. Relishing the relief from the constant ache in her gums, she sat up a little to see if Deimos was in fact the happy giggling creature flinging clothing everywhere.
Jizzy pulled the socks out of her face, raising her hands in surrender as Deimos' head popped out from the basket.
"I'm doin really well actually.." She said, despite the fact she was covered in stinky clothes.
Deimos gigles and burbled in triumph! He had both scared mother and caused her to surrender, this was certainly a productive day. As he gave another happy burble, his nose picked up a familiar scent and he wheeled arund int he basket.
"LEN!"
Crow bit back a laugh as she watched Deimos play around in the clothes hamper. Lenore wasn't nearly as playful... she was a bit too serious for a baby.
"That's good. I'm doing okay, too. Getting used to sleeping during the day so that I can stay up longer with Len," she said, glancing over at her Mishap fondly.
Lenore was prepared for Deimos' attention this time around. Sitting up and looking directly at the other Mishap, she said loudly and clearly,
"Maromi!"
She was very proud of achieving the gift of speech, even though the only word she could say over and over and over was "Maromi". After all, "Lil' Slugger" was a bit too complicated for her. Clamping her jaws firmly onto her teething ring, Lenore grabbed hold of the sides if the clothing hamper and hoisted herself up.
"Maromi?" she ventured, relishing the powerful feeling she achieved from speaking a real word at last.
]"Oh, noctural. Deimos just sleeps at odd times, but when he does, at least he sleeps. I tend to just drop dead whenever he does."
Jizzy said with a faint chuckle, now staring to pile the clothes into one of the washers.
"LEN!" Deimos replied eagerly and instead of lifting himself up, he simply knocked over the basket so he tumbled out along with all the other clothes. He crawled towards her and burbled. He wanted to know if she was ok, last time he'd seen her, she'd been hurt for some reason beyond Deimos' knowledge.
"I don't mind her being nocturnal so much now, but I do wish I could see the sun once and a while..." Crow trailed off, looking at her very pale skin. Living indoors and venturing out only when the moon was out was doing a number on her complexion - she was always pale, but not this much. Leaning against the dryer, she glanced over her shoulder at the toppled bin and kept on eye on Lenore, just to make sure she didn't fall.
Lenore didn't tense up, nor did she feel her protective instincts flare up at Deimos' approach. She knew that he meant her no harm - after all, he had cried for help when he had inadvertently injured her, hadn't he? Chewing voraciously on her teething ring, Len simply sat back down in her box and watched Deimos crawl towards her. The bloodstained feather gave a feeble burn that she determinedly ignored, and gave Deimos a little smile.
She was determined to either make friends with this strange little creature and ease her discomfort every time he was near, or find some way to evade him and save her a load of trouble.
Jizzy continued piling clothes into the washer, slamming the door shut and turning the confunded machine on once she was done.
"Well, if you ever need to catch some rays, just gimme a call and I'll bring Deimos along for a playdate inm the garden, that should keep Len up."
Deimos promptly sat himself down near Len and burbled a happy greeting. She seemed ok, and that was good enought for him. He glance at Crow and burbled at her approvingly. She was taking good care of Len.
"How about tomorrow?" Crow asked quickly, already fantasizing about laying out in the sun, maybe doing a little exercise, running around, stretching her magical muscles with a little spell practice she'd been putting off ever since Len started cutting her teeth... feeling slightly encouraged by Deimos' approving look, she clasped her hands together and looked at Jizzy hopefully.
Lenore returned his cheerful greeting with a happy squeal of "Marooooomi!". Playing with her hair with her long fingers, she burbled at Deimos with interest and glanced with only a slight bit of apprehension at his tail. Feeling a familiar sense of discomfort and an urge to protect, Len quickly shifted her gaze. There would be no need to protect anything, she told herself firmly. Deimos isn't going to cause any trouble.
Toying with her hair with one hand and her tail of feathers with the other, Len glanced at Crow. Her guardian was caught up in conversation with Jizzy, so it looked as though she was going to be with Deimos for awhile. Nibbling her lip in thought, Len looked Deimos over. His nice gesture had sort of blown up in his face, and she did feel a little guilty about that. Taking hold on of one her looser tail feathers, Len bit her lip and winced as she plucked it out. Crow had impressed strongly on Lenore that friends liked getting gifts, so what better gift to give than a feather?
"Blitha," Lenore said amiably, holding the feather out to Deimos.
Jizzy smiled at her fellow guardian's anticipation and nodded. "Sure, why not? I'm sure Deimos won't mind, he cries out for Len at random moments in the day, so I take it he likes her."
Deimos gaped for a moment, then took the feather gratefully and placed it in his hair. He burbled cheerfully, turning to the guardians for a moment and pointing at the feather. "LEN!' He exclaimed to them before turning to Len.. He had to give her something back, but what.. He began to look around and his face fell as he found nothing to give to Lenore in return.
"Oh man, thank you!" Crow said excitedly, caught up in daydreams of sun, clouds, and sunburns.
Lenore gave a giggle as she watched Deimos put the feather in his hair. It did give him a rather fetching look...
"D'mos," she said thickly, her tongue bumping clumsily against her new teeth. If he could learn her name, she would have to try her best to learn his.
Jizzy laughed at her exitement.. "You must really miss the sunlight to be this thrilled." She said, watching the clothes now go into the dry cycle.
Deimos' chest swelled up in pride at the sound of his name and he pointed to himself. "Dei!" Then he pointed to Lenore and shouted "Len!". He made a mental note to find something for Lenore later. He'd bug mother till they found something nice.
Crow gave another excited titter. "I've seen the sun about twice this month, once at dawn, and when I was out on the terrace with Len,' she said, still dreaming of sunburns and solar glare.
Lenore struggled to sound out Deimos' name, feeling a flare of frustration at her inability to speak it properly.
"Dei," she said finally, giving up on the full version. "Dei Dei Dei Dei!" with a cry of delight, Len recited the name over and over, enjoying a renewed sense of heightened self esteem as she spoke. Pointing to herself, she played with the syllables for a few moment before gurgling out "Lennnn."
She made a prolonged "nnnn" sound, before pointing back to Deimos and repeating his shortened name.
And, pointing surreptitiously at Crow, she cheerfully screeched, "Dammit!"
(This being Crow's curse of choice, and having allowed Len to hear it far too many times for it not to be learned, whether or not the child knew what it meant.)
"You poor dear.. I'll even make us some lemonade. " Jizzy said cheerfully, offering her cooking skills for this worthy cause. he suddenly chocked at Lenore's words, alughing out loud. "Well now we know what your curse of choice is."
Deimos clapped loudly and now pointed at Lenore. "LEN MINE!" He cried out. He'd claimed her now, now that she accpeted him. He bounced up in place, feeling the machine hum and whir beneath him.
Crow blushed deeply and gave a nervous giggle, mentalling noting to tape her mouth shut around Lenore if she was in a cursing mood. "You have my undying gratitude, honestly," she said.
"Don't worry, it's no biggy. The least I could do for a friend." Jizzy said, smiling down at her. She was already planning the outing out in her head. She's make lemonade and chicken.. oh yes some chicken, some of it cut up in little pieces for finger food for the little ones.. Yes, this would be a splendid outing.
Deimos heard the giggles and turned to the adult for a moment before, going back to Len, his mind was still reeling, what could he give her. He couldn't pull out his wings or tail and hair wasn't as cool as a feather. He seemed to be deep in thought about this subject."I'll bring some stuff for the kids to eat - Len's in love with this beef mash stuff that comes in a can. I'm not sure if Deimos would like it, but Len refuses to eat anything but that and mashed peas with milk." Crow glanced over at Mishaps, and made a sound of surprise as she saw the tail feather entwined in Deimos' hair.
Looking Len over, she noticed that the feather tail was one short, and a small fleck of blood on Lenores fingers.
"Lenore Ligeia Adyamaur, did you pull that feather out?" she asked the giggling child in half-earnest accusation. Lenore giggled louder and waved her bladed arms in response. Rolling her eyes, Crow tucked the happy girl back in her carrying box and hoisted her up.
"Well, Len's due for a diaper change right about now, so I'll catch you tomorrow out at the terrace, maybe noonish?" Crow said as she halfway waltzed out the door, thoughts preoccupied with the sun.
Lenore settled into her box, content and impressed with herself. She had mastered her instincts of protection, allowed herself to interact with Deimos, and made him a friend in the process, and had begun to speak another word besides "Maromi". A good day's work, all in all.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:57 am
__Part 8
The sun had risen just a little over the horizon as Crow tucked Lenore into her cradle. The baby gave a wide yawn and looked up at Crow with sleepy eyes, smiling vaguely. Crow returned the smile and sat beside the cradle, rocking it gently and crooning Len's favorite song to her to lull her to sleep.
"Holding hands
Skipping like a stone
On our way
To see what we have done
The first to speak
Is the first to lie
The children cross
Their hearts & hope to die
Bite your tongue
Swear to keep your mouth shut
Ask yourself
Will I burn in Hell?
Then write it down
and cast it in the well
There they are
The mob it cries for blood
To twist the tale
Into fire wood
Fan the flames
With a little lie
Then turn your cheek
Until the fire dies
The skin it peels
Like the truth, away
What it was
I will never say...
Bite your tongue, swear to keep
Keep your mouth shut
Make up something
Make up something good...
Holding hands
Skipping like a stone
Burn the witch
Burn to ash and bone..."
Lenore gave another yawn and closed her eyes contentedly, her breathing falling into the steady intone of sleep. Crow stretched and yawned too, thanking every celestial being for Queens of the Stone Age, and fell asleep as the first rays of sunlight crept into the room.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:02 pm
-- Deimos' Midnight Visit, perhaps the first of many --
Deimos could hardly contain his exitement as he snuck outside his room, the key in one ahnd and a small pendant in the other. At the end of the pendant was a small vial, filled with what appeared to be blood, Deimos' blood.
He'd just made this gift for Lenore, as a return one for her feather. He was so exited to have finally found it that he just ahd to sneak out. He searched the doors on the floor until he found one with some letters he recognized as L, E and N. That spelled LEN! He rapped quickly on the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet in exitement.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:12 pm
(__Part 9)
Crow looked up from her book in confusion. Was somebody knocking at her door? She gave a quick glance over at Lenore in her metal playpen, who wore the same look of perplexion. It was midnight - no one had yet come to visit, but midnight was certainly an odd time to entertain visitors anyway. Muting the television and setting her book down on the floor, Crow made her way to the door and cracked it open, taking care to leave the chain lock on. Looking out into the plush hallway, she looked left, right, up and down.
"Deimos?!"
Taking off the chain lock and opening the door all the way, Crow looked around for Jizzy. Not seeing her with Deimos, down the hall, or hiding behind one of the hall's decorative plants, Crow knelt down to the toddler's eye level concernedly.
"Deimos, what are you doing here?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:21 pm
Deimos was smiling broadly as he held up the vial pendant. The blood looked extra eerie in the dark, but Diemos held it proudly.
"Present for Len!"
He exclaimed proudly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:31 pm
Crow looked at the vial in his hand carefully, and then glanced at the glossy black feather he wore in his hair. Comprehension dawning on her that this was something important for Deimos, she opened the door all the way.
"Well, why don't you come in and give it to her, and then I'll bring you back home."
"Dei?"
Lenore peered through the scratched and chipped metal bars of her playpen curiously. Why on earth was he here so late? Grabbing hold of the bars and hoisting herself up, she stood unsteadily on her toes and looked at him. What was that he was holding up to show Crow?
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:38 pm
Deimos bound into the room proudly, making a beeline straght for Len. It wasn't until he was standing right next to her that he realized how much taller he really was. Before he and Len would see eye-to-eye and now he ahd to look down in order for his eyes to focus on her.
"I have present for you!"
He said, holding up the vial once more so lenore could see it properly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:50 pm
Goodness, Deimos had gotten tall all of a sudden. Even standing at highest, Lenore hardly made it up to Deimos's chin.
"P'sent?" she asked, struggling to sound out the alien word. Looking up at Crow, who had followed Deimos closely, she held up her arms and burbled.
"Uppie!"
Crow obliged to Len's order, lifting her from the playpen and setting her down next to Deimos. Looking at the vial again, she watched a brilliant red liquid slosh around inside. Knowing full well what it was, Crow held her tongue and watched as the children interacted. Blood was an odd gift to give, but she had an idea of how important it was for Deimos to give it to Len.
"Dei? P'sent?" Len asked again, eyeing the strange object in his hand curiously.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:53 pm
Deimos nodded, the soft black feather that topped his head shaking in tune to the movement.
"I get present for Len. Len give me feather, me give Len present too."
Deimos explained. He pulled the string open slightly and cautiously let it drop over Lenore's neck.
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