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 Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:28 am
:: Starting Again ::
01.03.05; It begins, again ... The weather was still cool, but Wren wasn't bundled up as he usually was. Instead, he was taking a walk in the early spring weather and enjoying the slight chill in the air that still persisted. The only thing he had on him was a scarf to keep himself warm, if necessary, otherwise he couldn't be bothered by the cold. Even if demons preferred things hot over cold.
Right now the weather was just what he needed to get his mind functioning, not stumbling over a plot point for his book. Except it was stumbling and somewhere along the line the fact that the house was so occupied didn't seem to help him out. Actually, it was odd that he pulled inspiration from those around him in the first place, but today it wasn't working. The red-head needed to clear his mind and get everything sorted out so that he could get the book going again.
"Can't," he muttered under his breath, "do that. The character wouldn't do it, outside of their morals. I really need to stop pushing them to their limits in stories. If they were real, they'd be out for my blood. Unfortunately, this particular plot this has been worn out, they all ready know who and what he is, but maybe something else thrown into the dynamic, to get through to the end of the book ..." Wren trailed off, thoughts turning inward as he walked along the path. There were trees lining either side, and for that he was grateful. It kept the sun out of his eyes, despite the occasional reflection from a still standing pile of snow, too resilient to melt away quite yet.
Shoving his hands into his pockets to get rid of the chill that came over them ( the benefits of having what was considered small hands, they got cold far too quickly, which was irritating as hell ), Wren lifted his head up from studying the ground to look ahead of him. His mind was shifting gears again, away from his book and back to the family he had left at home. "At least it's a little more quiet. Two to be gone on vacation, but Mael's louder now. Trying to talk. So close too ..." His thoughts continued on in that strain, kicking at the ground with the toe of a shoe as he walked along.
There could be a lot said for having hearing that was a little more acute than most people. It allowed you to hear things that most would normally miss, and for that Wren was grateful ( except for when it meant he heard insults and that just made his hackles raise ). Now, on the edge of his hearing, he could hear something that sounded like sniffling. Pausing in his steps, ground crunching underneath his feet as he turned around, he tried to listen harder.
Then, of course, the one that had chosen to not reveal himself from Wren's shadow just had to make an appearance. Hawk's Eye butted up against Wren's head, floating forward into the slight shadow that a nearby tree offered. It was greater than Wren's own, but -- well, Hawk's Eye never went to far out of his shadow.
"Don't tell me you're being helpful," Wren said, eyeing the wisp warily. Wordless amusement flittered across his senses and the short demon sighed. Right, Hawk's Eye was helping. Not a good thing, necessarily. "At least there's no cars around here to walk into." The words were muttered and Wren moved forward, trying to ignore the nudges from Hawk's Eye then on out. The sniffling was soft, not very often, but it was there and it got louder as he approached one of the larger trees.
He was about to circle around it when he paused. There, hanging over the side of a root, was a piece of cloth, a scarf it looked like. Eyebrow raised in curiousity, Wren moved forward at a slightly slower pace, eventually crouching lower to the ground when he was finally able to see over the curve of the root.
"... why is there a baby out here?" The words were quietly spoke, blue eyes focused intently on the sleeping baby between the roots of the tree. A pair of darkly colored ears were on his head, blending in with hair except for the bits of white to them, an all most perfectly white tail grasped loosely in small hands ( sweet merciful deities, why couldn't he remember when Mael's hands had been that small? ). The baby sniffled again, turning over and trying to curl up more in the gnarled tree roots, and Wren found himself reaching a hand forward cautiously.
Did he have a cold? And who would leave a baby out like this? He'd have to do something about this, take the baby with him, and maybe call the authorities about finding a possibly missing child. It wasn't like he was suppose to find this kid, was he? His fingers lightly touched the tip of one ear before pulling back and going to curl around the curve of a small shoulder, except once he did he was met with a pair of silvery-blue eyes that nearly pierced right through him.
The tarot cards were all neatly laid out on the table, the reader was leaning over them and his fingers were lightly pressed to a couple of them as if in thought. The hood he wore was falling down some, a dark pair of ears revealed, and somehow the sound of a tail swishing could be heard, despite the fact it wasn't visible.
"No terrible death in my future, Lafe?" It was a quiet voice, one that reached forward with a hand to rest it on top of another card, but did not move it, only inspected it. Silvery-blue eyes glanced up, much older and holding a look with seemingly endless knowledge.
"Oh, no. See, according to this and that palm reading I gave you earlier? You really should be wary of being stolen by a cunning thief. No clue what it means exactly though." The grin on that face was mischievous.
Wren held himself from jerking back the moment the vision filtered out of his mind and he gave a small mental shove at Hawk's Eye. Was he responsible for that? But for once Hawk's Eye was completely silent and there was nothing from him at all, not even that usual smug amusement at bombarding him again with something.
Instead the red-head found himself looking towards the baby again, the sniffles continuing on, but those silvery-blue eyes focused on him intently. The ears twitched slightly, as if picking up on the fact that Wren's heartbeat was picking up speed, but that wasn't likely possible.
"Tell me your name's not Lafe," he whispered, quietly, but there was only a sniffle in response and a flick of the tail towards him. "... silly me, expecting a response." Very carefully, Wren changed his grip on the baby's hand, noting the fact that he was under constant watch. The -- were those fox ears and a tail? he wasn't sure -- baby tried to squirm out of being picked up, but Wren managed it after a moment. It took some shifting to get him into his arms comfortably, scarf piled up on the babe's chest and was all most immediately used as something to hide behind.
"Just take you home with me, for now, all right?" Wren muttered, but all he got in response was a tail thumping him in the chest.
It figured.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:51 am
:: First Visit ::
02.03.05; RP; Still in tears and a first visit to the Legend HQ ... Wren was a little worried. Only a little, mind you, and he honestly had no clue what would make this particular situation better. The baby in his arms was sniffling quietly, which was a change from the bawling that had been going earlier. No matter what he tried to do, there was no pleasing or making the fox-child happy. He simply wouldn't crack a smile at all and the crying had only really stopped when he had fallen asleep.
So Wren had left the house, the baby in tow, in hopes that maybe it would calm things down. Lafe, as he was apparently to be called ( the name curtesy of Hawk's Eye, who couldn't leave well enough alone ), was rubbing his eyes with a hand, sniffling every so often. He kept a grasp on his tail with the other hand and squirmed in Wren's arms, not entirely comfortable with being held. There really wasn't a choice in the matter.
Trying to hold in the grumbles, Wren went inside the building in front of him. As far as he knew, it had something to do with Legends.
These nighttime walks were becoming a bit of a ritual, the only real escape Chandra had from Kiran lately. Chandra was in her own little mind as she stepped into the HQ again and removed her coat. It wasn't until she had hung her outer garment up that she noticed someone else was in the room.
"Hello?" she said suspiciously, surprised to see someone.
As she did, a wave of sad recognition washed over her from that damn wisp and she gasped, trying not to cry. She was already on edge, or it wouldn't have even bothered her.
"Er, hi." Wren said, somewhat surprised that someone else was around. There was flash of interest and surprise from Hawk, who was lurking in the shadows near his feet. Wren ignored it and stepped further into the room, shifting Lafe in his arms. "I'm Wren," he said slowly. Though, just what was Hawk interested in?
Lafe merely let out another sniffle, hand tightening it's grip on his tail. His face was hidden against Wren's chest now, ears cocked back. No, he wasn't a happy baby.
"Why are you here?" Chandra questioned, fighting off the waves of feeling coming from the wisp hiding behind her knee. Strangers did not belong in the Legends HQ.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground, wondering what sort of child the man held.
Demare's wings twitched a little bit as he opened his eyes, his nap having been disturbed by the sudden noises. How long had he been asleep...? Somewhere inbetween the last switch and now, obviously... because the entire day seemed to have gone by. Sleepily, he sat up from the couch, lifting his hands to rub at his face as he tried to place the voices within the room. One of them wasn't very familiar... an older man? The other was a young girl, he knew... and it sounded a little familiar.
"... because I thought, perhaps, Lafe," Wren ignored the subtle mental jab from Hawk about calling the baby that, and the fact he was floating up towards his shoulder, "would quiet down if I took a walk with him." He shifted on his feet, careful with the baby. No need to get him going again. "Besides, I thought that maybe this would be the place to get an answer or two." Great, he needed somebody to be suspicious of him. Did he look evil? ... well, okay, there were demon horns on his head, but come on.
Lafe's ears twitch at the sound of another voice, finally paying attention. His head turned slightly, part of his face hidden by his clothing, but one silvery-blue eye focused on Chandra for a moment.
"The baby is Lafe." Chandra said, repeating what the man had said to confirm it to herself. "I assume he is a Legend then."
A tear leaked out of her left eye and she blinked, sending it running down her pale cheek. Otherwise her face was expressionless as she studied Wren. She decided he probably wasn't capable of doing anything with her name.
"I am Chandra," she said, uncrossing her arms finally.
"It's the only thing I can think of," Wren replied, "if only because of the lack of answers." He shook his head, eyes wondering about the room. Was there someone else. A pulse from Hawk seemed to give the impression -- and why was there a tear running down that girl's face? She didn't seem sad.
"Nice to meet you, Chandra." At that, Lafe let out quiet cry, fingers tightening around his tail. "No, kiddo, don't start again." Wren was all most instantly smoothing his fingers through Lafe's hair, an absent gesture to scratch his ears not achieving anything at all.
There was something wrong to Lafe, something missing, but it wasn't like he could get that across.
Demare eased backwards to rest against the back of the couch, his eyes shifting to look toward the door where the voices were coming from. Who was that man, anyway? Another Legend guardian...? He recognized Chandra from before (though not from last night, since Clare couldn't see who Demian was talking to), but she seemed to look a little uncomfortable. Had something happened? And what was she speaking to...? He could hardly make out the baby from where he was sitting, but the child made no effort to move or make his presense known in case the two were talking about something in private.
"You do not appear to be doing a very good job of comforting the child." Chandra pointed out, wiping the tear off her chin with a quick brush of the back of her hand. "Would you like me to sing him a song? Children like music."
Chandra reached into her tunic and pulled out her flute in a fluid motion, hoping a song might soothe the wisp as well. It's insistent empathic projection was starting to wear on her.
"I usually am, that's the thing." Wren shook his head, giving Chandra an awkward smile. "Well, you could try that. It'd be welcomed." He moved closer and shifted Lafe a little in his arms, in hopes he would hear the music and calm some.
Lafe squirmed again, ears twitching once more at the sound of music, and the crying continuing. There were tears in his eyes, and his fingers were holding on tightly to his tail, all most as if it was a security blanket. The baby was sad, all most, in a way. But the music was distracting, somehow, and he squirmed until both eyes were actually focusing on Chandra.
Chandra finished the song quickly and put the flute away. Fighting the wisp was draining any energy she had arrived with. She blinked a couple times in Lafe's direction before making her goodbye.
"I have to go," she explained to the child. "You are welcome to visit if you wish."
She snatched behind her at the wisp and brought it up in front of her face, opening her hand so that Wren and Lafe could see it.
"If you do, do not do whatever it is that is upsetting my shadow fiend. Her emotions are uncomfortable for me."
Demare winced as the baby began to cry even more, his right hand coming up to cover his ear. Obviously, Demian didn't care for the music and screeching it seemed, but Clare felt a bit of concern. Deciding to leave his temporary sanctuary that was the couch, the child stood and made his way cautiously to the others, noting the appearance of the baby in the man's arms as he drew closer. Ears and a tail... They weren't the same, but this made him think of Manior.
He stood watch for a moment, moving his hands to fold them behind his back as he waited for Chandra to finish her song. However, the song was done and the girl was gone before he could listen well enough. Shadow fiend...?
"... ah, my apologies. I did not realize you had one." Wren said slowly, peering at the wisp in Chandra's hand. Could it be Lafe? Or himself? "Mine does not do the same, but I'll see if I can not cause it again." Hawk's Eye actually floated forward, as if he was trying to peer at the other wisp there in Chandra's grasp before she departed.
Lafe had gone back to the quiet sniffles, once again rubbing his nose. There was intelligence in his eyes, watching Chandra, all most an understading that she had to go. Leaving, but no one was coming.
"You take care, though." Wren finally said, since Chandra was departing. "We're likely to run into each other again, if we've both got wisps."
With the girl gone, though her music hadn't really soothed the babe in his arms, Wren sighed. Except -- well. "... er, sorry. I didn't see you walk up," he said to Demare, turning so that he could face the boy. Hawk's Eye was all ready floating back to the darker parts of his shadow, not really interested at the moment. Though these Legend were curious.
Lafe was rubbing at his eyes again with a hand, the tears still there, and not wanting to go away. There really wasn't anything to be done about it. The music had helped a little, however, the crying stopping to sniffles. Though the sight of another made him shrink back in Wren's arms some, simply because he wasn't use to running across them yet.
Demare couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, a slight smile curling onto his lips. "That's... all right," he assured the man, moving a hand from behind his back to rub the back of his neck. "I seem to have that affect on people."
Now that he was much closer, Demare noticed that the baby didn't seem very comfortable with the presense of others. The way he shrunk back like that... Was he frightened, or just shy? Deciding to keep his distance to be safe (and so Demian wouldn't grow upset with the crying), he waved his fingers a little bit at Lafe in a hello before placing his hand back at his side.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you two around here," he admitted, speaking a little more softly. "Are you ne--...oh my. Forgive my mannors, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Demare, and I believe you said his name was... Lafe?"
"That and I'm a little unobservant with this kid." Wren shook his head, smiling awkwardly once more and wrinkling his nose in hopes of moving his glasses up a little. Really, he was more observant than this, but ... well. Lafe had him wired the wrong way.
"And, well, I've never been before. Neither has Lafe, for that matter. First visit." Not a good one, either, from the sniffles. Wren cast a worried look at Lafe, who had gone still at the moment, face partially hidden now. There was only a small swish of his tail at Demare's wiggling fingers, paying attention to him somewhat. His scarf hung over the side of Wren's arm, card dangling from it.
"Eh, no need to worry about manners. I forgot too. I'm Wren," the demon-ish looking man replied easily, "and the not-so-happy bundle in my arms is Lafe."
Then, of course, there was blue gem that was concealed in wisps of shadows in his shadow, but that was better ignored. Irritating thing.
"A pleasure to meet you both," he said with a nod, his wings fidgetting a little bit. "And... er... welcome to the headquarters? I don't come here TOO often, but normally there are more people around then this. It seems so quiet lately, however, and it worries me."
Demare felt a little bit a relief as he noticed the child's tail flick in response to his wave, putting him at a bit of ease. Perhaps it really was just a shyness that was greater than his own.
"I heard you meantion something about looking for answers. I... might not be able to answer your questions, but perhaps I could be of some help anyway?"
It did seem rather quiet, but Wren wasn't all that bothered by it. Neither was Lafe, though the quiet was broken by his sniffles and the words of those around him. He tugged on his scarf a little, trying to get it into his grasp properly. Something to hide behind.
"I answered one on my own, that Lafe is a Legend, but ... I do not think the others can be answered," Wren said, giving Demare a small smile as he loosened one hand and picked up the scarf so that it was all with Lafe. The baby looked a little more comfortable at that. "Lafe here, he won't seem to put an end to the tears, except when sleeping. It's just sniffles now, but it was crying -- and yesterday." There was no explaining the abrupt all most screaming from Lafe yesterday.
"I've done just about everything to try and calm him, make him happy, and it doesn't seem to be working." Wren finally pushed his glasses up properly, glancing down at the sniffling Lafe and used his fingers to brush away stray tears. A face was made at the touch, but accepted all the same.
Demare listened, curious as to what was upsetting Lafe himself. As a baby, he remembered how he'd be scared of complete darkness, and how uncomfortable being around those he didn't know was. Perhaps for Lafe...
"Well, is there anything in your home that might possibly be scaring him...? Or perhaps a better question would be, how long ago did he arrive?"
"Well, I'll give you that some of the house occupants can be scary, but I don't think there's anything that's scaring him ..." Wren didn't think that was anyone in the house, at least. Mael had tried to mess with Lafe's ears, but that quickly ended with a scream from the new baby. Never mind Wren was quick to try and make sure everything was perfect. No need to upset new kids, and all.
"He arrived yesterday afternoon, or that was when I found him. He's been crying one way or another since." At least talking outloud about this helped to get the gears running in his brain. This had him slightly frazzled.
"Ever since you found him?" Demare questioned curiously. "...Was... he quiet when you found him?"
"I wouldn't have noticed him, except for the fact he was sniffling a little." Hiccuping too, but that was something else. "But he was otherwise quiet, not really awake when I found him. Thought it was a runny nose or something, to be honest." Wren shrugged his shoulders, in a manner that said he was at a loss. He shifted Lafe in his arms again, only to get a silver-blue stare in return and a tail hitting his chest before being caught by small hands once more.
Demare thought about this information for a moment, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his hair, scratching the back of his head a little bit. From the sounds of it, the baby had already been upset when Wren found him... which could be understandable, since the kid was alone. It almost sounded like some form of abandonment.
"Perhaps he's upset because he's not used to company?" he suggested, resting his hand behind his neck. "I know it may sound odd, and please don't think I'm being rude, but if you merely found him... He just might not be used to you yet. He appears to have calmed down right now, but he began to cry while Chandra was here, didn't he? I wouldn't put it past that if I came any closer, he could do the same. If he only arrived yesterday, then I would think that might be a possibility, sir..."
Lafe was otherwise calm, eyes half-way closed, a stray tear at the corner of one eye and he only sniffled every so often. It could've been because he was working his way towards being asleep, but he did seem calmer.
"That could be it." Wren nodded, applying it to what he all ready knew. "It is certainly possible, just a first with the children." Then again, Lafe was unique it seemed. "Though there doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason with the crying. It just happens, but perhaps he's not use to the surroundings." He could hope that was it, believe it was, because if it wasn't, Wren was at a loss. He idly scratched one of Lafe's ears and it twitched slightly, the baby shifting in his arms a little.
"And you can call me Wren, sir's not necessary." Formal wasn't really required with him, despite things. "Nothing's rude if it's helping me figure out what's wrong with the little guy," said Wren with an easy smile.
"Ah..." Demare rubbed his neck a little bit, a light blush washing over his cheeks. "S-sorry... I haven't had much interaction with adults since I grew... I'll try to remember that."
"I really hope that he'll be okay, however," he added, dropping his hand and looking to the baby again. "I imagine he's shy... so it could take a bit getting used to things. But, you seem awful nice, so perhaps things will get better soon?"
"Mmm. Adults are finicky, but you're a polite young man, so you'll do well." Despite the fact that there seemed to be two different facets to the boy, now that Wren really looked at him.
"Thanks," Wren said quietly, for the inadvertant compliment, "and I think things will get better, once he's adjusted. Just a shock to the system that he's like this." There was a small pause. "... I think he's very shy, with the way he behaves." ... and perhaps so was who he was talking to, but that was something else.
Lafe's eyes opened up a little more, not just bare slits of eyes seen, and he looked about the room. For a moment, he focused on Demare, ears twitching as both the boy and the other spoke, before he merely let out a small yawn, followed by a quieter sniffle. Not so bad, perhaps. The crying was over for now and he was worn out from it and the day. Lafe squirmed in Wren's arms, trying to hide his face somewhere to get comfortable. If he couldn't get out of being held, he'd make use of it.
"... and, I think I may have to go. To get him to bed." Wren chuckled, very quietly. "Left home to see if a walk would help, looks like it did." He shifted Lafe gently. "Maybe next time you see the kid, he might not be as ... well, as he is now." It was a good hope.
Demare smiled a little bit, unable to help but think how cute Lafe was hiding like that. A part of him wondered if Manior was the same way when one held him... and then he began to wonder how everyone was doing. Were they worried? ...Did they even notice he was gone...?
Thinking for a moment, the halfling reaching his left hand behind his back, and carefully plucked a loose feather from his white wing. Bringing his hand back around, he held the delicate feather out to the man, a silent request from Demian. (Something about those demon horns...)
"I don't know if it will matter to him much, but could you give this to Lafe when he wakes up?" he asked quietly so he wouldn't disturb the baby. "I... don't do this very often, but it's a gift. Perhaps to assure him that when he is comfortable, there are those that would like to be his friend."
Well, that was -- Wren smiled widely and nodded his head at the youngster's actions. It had been a while since he had seen such a purely white feather, from what looked like an angel's wing. Not that, demons ran into angels often or anything like that. Riiiiight.
"It's the thought that counts, or something like that." Wren's voice was just as quiet as he spoke and then reached out to take the feather from Demare. "I'll make sure to give it to him when he wakes. It's a very thoughtful gesture. Might make him more comfortable when he gets older." A small glance down was given at the sleeping baby. Yeah, he could give this to him when he woke. Didn't seem the sort to stuff it in his mouth or the like.
Demare's smile widened, feeling he'd done something good for once. "If it does, then I'm glad to be of help. I certainly would like to see him again some time, so long as I don't make him uncomfortable. I'd hate to be a reason he's upset is all."
Lifting his scarf from around his shoulders, he shifted the material so it would wrap around his neck instead, like it normally did. "I need to be heading home myself, now... I'm afraid my guardian might be worried about me."
"I can understand that. It's why I'm worried about him crying all the time. It won't do any good if none can get close, but maybe in the future -- so I can bring him by and he can see you again, since you gave him something and all." Wren shook his head, glancing down once more. Yes, Lafe was fast asleep, so it was best to get him home before he woke up and the water work got going again.
"And go home." He grinned. "It's nice talking to you, you're a sweet kid, but if somebody's worried -- it's better to get there sooner rather than later." Tilting his head towards the door, Wren started walking that way so that he could head out. "But take care, too," he added after a moment and then made sure Lafe was properly held in his arms so that he could head on out. That and secure the feather so that it would be fine before he could put it up until later.
"You as well, si--...I mean, Wren," Demare responded as he headed toward the door as well, waving to the two. "I look forward to seeing you both again in the near future."
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:55 am
:: The Arrival of Alejandro ::
04.03.05; RP; ... and so he arrives. Wren was in the Legend HQ, sitting on the couch he wasn't familiar with, but trying to get comfortable one way or another. Lafe's crying had intensified over past few days. Though he had a habit of working himself up, then falling asleep, it had left Wren without much sleep -- though it didn't look like it.
Lafe was currently in his crying mode, Wren sitting on the couch with the fox-child in his lap, singing ( surprisingly well ) under his breath to try and soothe him. It just wasn't working, but he was trying, because every so often Lafe would focus on him.
It had worked last time he had come here, the baby had gone quiet and fallen asleep, but now -- with this walk -- it just wasn't working.
It was the oddest thing really. Halo had been inside playing with Otium and Mael (well trying to.. Mael wasn't cooperating yet) and realized she was on the last couple of diapers for the children. Wren had just gone out with the new one, Lafe, to try and soothe his crying.
And of course Wren had forgotten his cell phone..
The woman left the kids under Freyr's watchful eye and headed out in hopes of either catching Wren or picking up the diapers herself.. and as she opened the door.. something was watching her with glowing purple eyes through the darkness.
The baby boy was seated on the doorstep, unaffected by the nighttime cold, and just staring at her with his remarkable lavendar eyes. His skin was pale as death and his hair was so black that it blended with black coat he wore. His tiny hands rested on top of a box containing 4 compartments. He didn't make a sound. Just stared.
Now here she was. She'd never even got the diapers! This baby had shown up and by the dust on his coat he appeared to have crawled straight up the stairs of the house!
"Wren?" Halo looked around the Legend HQ for her husband a bit uneasily. What was it with kids just showing up at their house? Especially creepy evil looking ones... Though she admitted he was cute.
"This baby followed me home." Alex was still against the woman, still holding the wooden box in his arms.
Demare cautiously peered into the headquarters, his bi-colored eyes glancing about to see if he could find anyone familiar. His ears had immediately filled with the sounds of a baby crying, however, and it was a little hard to concentrate...
"What the hell is that racket?" Demian demanded, the two red eyes open slightly. He could see, but things looked very different through the strange colored eyes.
"I believe it's quite obvious," Clare sighed, stepping into the lobby quickly and standing away from the door in case he might be in anybody's way. Looking around again for a moment, he recognized the two on the couch. "It seems Wren and Lafe are here today."
"That little cry baby?" the demon snorted. This trip was a waste of his time.
"Demian, give it a rest..." Oddly enough, the child wasn't in the mood for his other half's antics today. "You've been complaining all day how you wanted to get outside, and you've done nothing but whine all the way here. If you're so angry about everything, why don't you just allow me some peace for a bit?"
"Because THAT would be too easy."
"Right, I forgot... You have to make my life difficult."
Taking one more look around the lobby, Demare noticed someone unfamiliar. A woman speaking with Wren, carrying a pale child in very dark clothing. A pitch black that just seemed to eat all the light around the baby, in his eyes, and a dark feeling that just leaked into the air. Who was that...? Curiously, the halfling Legend slowly made his way closer to the couch, his bi-colored eyes fixated on the child in question.
No, see, they had kids that related to -- no, that wasn't something that needed to cross Wren's mind. The red-head all most instantly stopped his singing to Lafe, looking up at Halo with wide eyes, wider behind the lenses of his glasses.
"He followed you home?" Wren asked slowly, eyes looking down from his wife's face and to the baby in his arms. He looked, well, evil, but his eyes were rather compelling. They glowed, even reminded him of -- Wren shook his head, derailing that train of thought. "Anything with him? Besides that box?" As in, was there something to give them a hint about what was going on.
And somehow, Wren had missed it, but the moment Lafe squirmed around enough in his arms to focus on the other baby, the crying stopped. It died down to sniffles and Lafe was all ready nuzzling up against Wren's shirt absently to fix that. Darkened silver eyes were focused on this new baby, intently.
Halo looked at the abrupt end to the crying and blinked. "He stopped.." She said idly before shaking her head.
"Well we are running out of diapers.. You know you were supposed to pick some up.. But I opened the door and he was staring at me. Just like that. And he had this box. It has carvings in the lid but I can't open it. I tried. His coat was all dirty. I think he crawled right up the steps. Some kid huh?"
The little boy stared at Lafe and then a small smile spread over his face and he raised a tiny hand and made a grabby wave at him. He started to squirm in Halo's arms to be brought over, so she complied and walked to the couch.
"He --" Wren blinked, torn between looking at the new child and Lafe who wasn't crying, and helpfully drying his nose on his shirt. Gee, thanks. Lafe was quiet though, no longer crying, eyes all most completely dry. It was, well, amazing.
And was that Demare that had just come in? Wren gave a curious look, about to say something to both him and Halo before Lafe let out a noise that sounded suspiciously happy -- HAPPY -- particularly as the Halo drew closer. He was squirming rapidly in Wren's arms, tail swishing back and forth, and he all most crawled out the demon's grip.
"... uh." Wren just blinked, not quite sure.
"I think we're missing something." Halo was really taken by surprise by the children's reactions. She sat down on the couch and set the child in her arms down next to her, between she and Wren.
"I guess I better name him." She glanced over at Demare and offered the strange boy a smile.
As he was noticed, a small smile curled up on Demare's lips, lifting his left hand to wave his fingers in a hello.
"Forgive me... I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he apologized, his wings fidgeting a little bit as his eyes turned down toward the two babies. Interesting... He never imagined the company of another child would calm Lafe down.
"It's all right, Demare, just ... um. Another addition to the family, I guess." The demon spoke to the boy, giving him a smile before looking towards his wife and trying to wrangle the squirming child in his arms. "This is Demare, Halo, I met him when I was here last time. I mentioned him to you."
Hawk's Eye, of course, found the perfect time to interrupt them. The wisp moved forward, out of the comfort of Wren's shadow, towards the new baby. It was another interesting baby, one that probably wouldn't make grabby hands at him -- he hoped.
Wren stared suspiciously at Hawk's Eye, feeling the curiousity and the amusement. He all most tensed, expecting something, but nothing came, and instead he spoke up to Halo, finally coming up with an idea for a name.
"Maybe you should name him --"
The campfire of the traveling pair was approached slowly, all most cautiously, as if the one approaching was cautious of actually revealing himself. Except the ones that were watching him didn't show any emotion on their faces that spoke of ill will or dislike, except for the curiousity on the face of the hooded figure.
"You've got us at a disadvantage, since we're sure you know our names, but we've no clue what yours is." The elder spoke, giving a glance to his traveling companion. The hood slipped down, a glimpse of silver eyes, but more importantly somebody playing with a white tail. He merely nodded in agreement, still watching the newcomer.
Taking a breath, that wasn't really necessary, he spoke. "Alejandro. My name is Alejandro." And then, he really stepped forward into the light of the campfire to join the two for the evening.
"Alejandro?" Wren voiced aloud, dazed for a second, all most instantly glaring at Hawk's Eye. The little thing was about to get hit, he didn't need to get bombarded when he hadn't gotten any sleep. Except in the moments that it took for the vision to flicker and fade in his mind, Lafe had all ready scrambled out of his lap and towards the space between him and Halo. He paused, eyes peering at the other, and reached out to pat him with a hand cautiously, before a small smile was on his face.
"Hi Demare.. I'm Halo, Wren's wife." She waved and motioned for him to come over before looking at the children. The little boy looked up at Wren when he said the name and apparently Halo took that as confirmation that the name fit.
"Alejandro it is then. That's a mouthful though. Alex for short." She reached down and fluffed the little boy's black hair.
Alex set his box aside finally and clapped his tiny hands together, smiling widely to show a pair of pretty hazardous looking fangs in his mouth.
"There," Demian blurted out, the red eyes opening a little more. "That thing right there..."
"What are you talking about...?" Clare asked, his eyes searching for something unknown.
"That little shadow... Don't you see it?"
"...No, I'm afraid I don't. Lately, I haven't been seeing ANY shadows, remember? It's like my eyes are purposefully blocking out darkness for some reason."
"That's because you're not controlling your power. The light's eating all of the shadows."
"I'm... not quite sure what you mean."
"Oh, forget it! I'll explain it later!"
Demare blinked a few times, a bit puzzled by Wren's suggestion to name the baby. There was something odd about that... like it wasn't something that just came to him. Never the less, he smiled once more to Halo.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said politely, bowing his head a little bit as he stepped over to stand next to the couch.
"... yeah, yeah," Wren muttered, rubbing his head and swatting at the wisp that was all ready floating back to the bits of his shadow. "Blame Pierce," he finally said aloud to Halo, obviously meaning Hawk's Eye. Which meant explaining more later. He sighed, but finally gave Demare a warmer smile. "It is a good name though," a small admittance.
Lafe, of course, wasn't paying attention. He had settled comfortably into a nice little niche between Wren and Alejandro. He didn't even looked phased by the fangs ( and if he had been, it wouldn't have showed ), but instead wriggled forward to get closer, tail still swishing from side to side and batting both Wren's side and Alex's shoulder. He let out that happy noise of his again, something of a growl and a coo at the same time. Certainly ... interesting.
Halo looked at them both and shook her head. "I'm stumped." Bloodstone of course peered up over her shoulder when Hawk's Eye had appeared and then sunk back down into being hidden. Thankfully she hardly got horrible side effects from her fiend.
She decided, since the boys were fine, to look at Demare. "You're a legend too Demare, I assume. It's good to meet you. Especially with Alex. Someone he can get to know.. well besides Lafe here. They seem to uh.. well have hit it off well."
Alex reached his hand to Lafe's tail and petted it nicely, running his fingers through the thick white fur.
Demare nodded to confirm her assumption. "Yes, I'm also a Legend," he explained. "A... little different from the others, but the same none the less. And Alex sounds like a nice name for him." I get the feeling he and Demian might get along... I guess we'll see.
The halfling couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at the two babies, nearly overwhelmed with how cute they looked. Did Neko used to think that about him when he was a baby himself...? True enough, she would always call him her little angel, but somehow it was hard to imagine if he'd ever been like that.
"It looks like they'll be good friends... I wonder if they knew each other in the past?"
"It's possible."
"If they were, I guess that makes them a little like us, doesn't it? Except, they were born separate..."
"...It kinda makes me jealous."
"What?"
Demian didn't reply. What'd he mean by that...? Clare decided not to question it for now, as he didn't want to start arguing here.
No, see. It wasn't horrible side effects. Hawk's Eye was revenge and that was that.
"... you're stumped, sure." Wren sighed, lifting his glasses and rubbing his eyes a bit. "This just makes my brain shut down completely." He shook his head, leaning back against the couch and only glancing at the two babies out of the corner of his eye then to Demare, before closing his eyes for a brief moment to rest. They were all fine, and -- no -- he wasn't going to sleep.
Lafe's small smile widened a little, tail slowly it's rapid movement since Alex had started to pet it. His ears twitched, another little happy noise made.
Halo smiled at the babies but leaned over to kiss her husband on the temple, "Take a nap love. We'll live without you."
Alex looked up at his new mother as she leaned over himself and Lafe but just went back to putting his attention on the other. He moved his hand from the tail to grab a fox-ear very gently. He rubbed his fingers over the soft fur and then into the other's hair.
Halo turned to Demare. "You can come over and see them if you'd like. Probably easier to see them now that there isn't any crying." She chuckled.
Demare blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Ah, s-sorry... I'd just wanted to give them their space," he explained, smiling a little bit as he moved to stand in front of the couch, then took a seat on the floor where he wouldn't be in Halo or Wren's way.
He seemed to be intent on watching the two, his left wing ruffling its pure white feathers while the black leathery bat wing curled around his right shoulder a little bit. He could feel Demian's annoyance with him being here, but Clare was just happy to have a little silence in his mind. Even the dagger at his side was generally calm, as if it were resting.
A part of Clare wanted desperately to speak with the two new legends. To speak, and be understood... However, he remembered what it was like to not be able to talk back properly to those around him, struggling to say simple words like 'hello'. It couldn't hurt, though, right? To just say something...
"Hello..." he started rather softly, a little slowly, as he smiled a little bit. "My name is Demare."
Wren might've murmured something, but apparently he was able to doze off that quickly. His glasses slid from being on his forehead to actually being on his nose properly. For the moment, he was out like a light. Besides, it would just take a prod to get him going.
Lafe only sunk down some when Halo leaned over to mess with his father, as it were. Of course, he also had to tilt his head to the grabbing of his ear, but unlike with Mael, there wasn't an ear piercing baby-scream let loose. Instead, he just giggled, head tilting and pressing up into the hand.
His ear cocked in Demare's direction at the sound of speech, one silvery-blue eye also looking at him in curiousity. He, vaguely, remembered this one.
Alex turned his head to look at Demare but it was sort of a side look because he'd moved over to lean up and gnaw on Lafe's ear. Apparently he was one of those babies that shoved everything in his mouth.
He nibbled and gnawed and looked quite unphase that he'd get fur in his mouth. He didn't' know Demare.. though he was interesting to look at.
Halo made a face. "Oi.. Alex.. Fur." But the baby continued. She just shook her head. "Kids."
Demare only blinked a few times as he watched the child gnaw on the other's ears, trying so hard not to laugh. This one was... funny. And a part of him was reminded of For'mir back at home.
"I... I guess he likes to chew on things...?" he tried to reason, still amused by the action.
Lafe's tail thwacked Alex, all most as if saying 'Oi!', but the fox-child only squirmed a little before letting it continue on not bothered. By that point, though, he was all ready crawling to situate himself somewhat on and against Alex. Like any canine might do if it was petted properly and could do.
His eyes, while briefly focused on Alex, went back to Demare. Mostly looking at his face, as if he could figure it all out by just looking.
"I hope he doesn't start gnawing on the furniture or something. I don't need fang holes in the upholstery." Halo chuckled and glanced at the boys as Lafe climbed all over Alex.
".I think they will be a handful already." Halo picked up the wooden box Alex had come with and looked all over the top and sides.
Alex gnawed and didn't care that Lafe was crawling all over him. He looked at Demare innocently.. but it made you wonder how innocent he really was.
Clare immediately recognized that look. Demian used to do that all the time when they were still alive... The innocent, deceitful look, right before he'd smack him in the back of the head. Sadly enough, Clare had fallen for it every time.
He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, however, and he reached a hand cautiously over to see if he could pat Alex on the head.
Somehow, some of the words the seemed to come through his partially asleep mind registered, and Wren was rubbing at his eyes to wake up. "... not to," he yawned, "interrupt or anything, but somebody mentioned diapers needing to be bought?" He glanced at Demare, giving him a small sheepish grin -- probably for falling asleep, but who knows?
Of course, looking at Alex and Lafe, well, that just lead to him blinking rapidly. "Er. He chews. Lafe doesn't mind ..." It was amazing, really. The baby wasn't crying -- and sweet not so kind deities, he could sleep again. "I'll go get them, lover, but I'll leave Lafe here. ... you know, less of a headache." He pressed a quick kiss to Halo's forehead and waved to Demare. "You should come by, Demare, if you want to visit the kids sometime. And I'll see you, Halo. Don't cause too much trouble." Freeeeeeedom.
Lafe just glanced up at his moving and departing father, not even really interested in him at the moment. Instead, he actually seemed to scrunch down some when Demare's hand came closer to Alex, slinking closer to the other baby, but was otherwise quiet. He was cuddling close, in any case, a tiny yawn escaping.
Halo kissed her hubby on the chin when he kissed her on the head and watched him flee. She smiled a bit. "he hasn't had much sleep with Lafe being so fussy. I guess we found out why. Pretty weird huh?"
Alex made a point that only his head was touched and blocked any way of touching Lafe. He did let his head be patted though and his dark hair was spiky, fluffy and very very soft.
Demare was a little surprised by how soft the hair was, seeing how spike it was. It made him smile, however, and to make Lafe feel better again, he took his hand back away.
"I... can understand, I think," he admitted, looking up at Halo for a moment. "Maybe Lafe had... missed Alex? Being reborn and left without his friend, I'm sure it must have felt awful if that was the case." I wonder if Demian felt that way when we first arrived...
"They must be tied together somehow if that's the case." Halo tilted her head to look at the boys. Now that they had found each other they seemed quite comfortable. The two had settled back against the couch and now looked like they were falling asleep.
Lafe was curled up as much on Alex as he could be and the vampire boy had his arms over top of Lafe defensively. Alex yawned large and showed his tiny fangs. Lafe was already snoozing.
"It makes you wonder what happened that separated them." Halo petted Alex's head as he blinked sleepily at Demare.
Demare only now noticed the fangs, and Alex's brilliant eyes. They were beautiful... such a bright contrast against the boy's pale skin. Like he's never seen the light of day... Just like For'mir...
The child almost opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. His answer for something like that would have simply been that the two had died, because there wasn't any other way he could see the two separating willingly. Instead, he offered something else.
"Perhaps... they became lost?" he suggested. "It's hard to tell the sort of thing right now, but... in most cases, a Legend's past is revealed to them slowly throughout their new lives. Maybe you'll find out what happened that way?"
Halo nodded. "Yes.. I'm sure I'll find out. These two are so new. It just makes me wonder. Especially with the surprise of them two .. knowing each other it seems."
Alex's bright eyes finally closed and his tiny hands gripped Lafe's shirt lightly as if for comfort. He had a long day and he was tired!
Halo looked at the boy's sleeping and smiled. "I should get them home to bed. It's getting a bit late for me as well.. I had to get up early this morning." She smiled at the boy.
"You should come by our house sometime. You can visit the boys. We have two others as well, slightly older. And Freyr seems like he's around your age. You two may get along." The mohawked woman ran a hand through her dark hair and idly played with one of her horns.
"It was very nice to meet you. You'll be alright here by yourself?"
Demare smiled at the invite, his wings twitching a little bit. "I'll keep that in mind, ma'am," he said politely, nodding a little bit. "I'd love to see them again once they're all situated with their surroundings."
"Er, yes... I'll be just fine," he then assured her, standing himself up off of the floor. "I'll be heading home pretty soon, myself."
"Don't call me ma'am! Call me Halo, please. Ma'am makes me feel so.. old." She gave the boy a grin and reached out to ruffle his hair lightly.
Halo finally got up and looked at the boy's unsure of how to do this with them all latched all over each other. She put her hands on Lafe and Alex immediately opened his eyes and gave her a look.
"I have to pick you both up. time to go home, crazy."
Alex uncurled his fingers from Lafe's clothes and let his mother pick the baby pooka up and tuck him in her arm. He shifted and frowned and cracked his eyes, looking for Alex. The other was soon to come and luckily they were still small enough that she could manage them both with a long arm (she thanked her parents that she was so lanky). Alex once more put his arms over Lafe but made a point to keep his eyes open so no one would bother the sleeping Lafe.
"Silly kids."
She held Alex's box under her one arm. Quite a handful!
Demare gently rested a hand on top of his head when his hair was ruffled, bi-colored eyes watching the woman gather up the other two boys. They had good guardians, it seemed... Good parents. Smiling, he wished them a silent safe trip home as he watched them leave.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:10 am
:: Bite the Hand ::
04.03.05; RP; Putting babies to bed should be easy. Halo butted the front door open with her behind as she balanced the two snuggling lumps of baby that were Lafe and Alex. The newest child had stayed quite awake a good while after the left they Legend HQ until he had realized that there was no one threatening around and, in fact, he could enjoy the act of sleep as well.
Normally she would have called up but it was a bit late and the other children should have been put to bed already. She figured Freyr was even getting ready for bed as well and Gallium and the feiens were probably in their respective sleeping places or just together causing trouble. There was no reason for her to disturb a rare moment of silence in their house.
Halo headed up the stairs and the boys she held shifted and snuggled closer. It was really rather cute. She just hoped her husband had the foresight to get the new child a bed ready when he'd gotten home.
Wren had arrived home not too long before Halo did, but it was amazing how fast he could work on lack of sleep and needing to get things done. The room, the one that been cleaned up and cleared out for Lafe, now had the addition of another crib in it. There was an assortment of baby things, and toys, everywhere else in the room, but the cribs were neat and orderly.
The benefit of having Freyr help him with that before the young Theos had gone off to bed himself. It was a small miracle the rest of the house was silent, not even Mael protesting going to bed on time for a change. Perhaps the fact that Otium did so easily, and the fact that his dad looked like hell made him give in quickly. Plus -- well, leave it at there was no sound of really small feet and wings.
Sighing to himself, wondering when Halo would arrive home with the children, Wren leaned his forehead against the newest crib, eyes closing for a moment. Honestly, he was amazed at having another addition to house, but his mind was also on the fact that he'd be able to sleep. Wonder if I can sleep through to the next millennium, not like I'll miss anything ...
Halo bumped open the door to the children's room with her behind, just as she had done with the front door, and backed in slowly, careful not to knock herself on the swinging wood for fear the children would wake up. When she turned she found two cribs and inwardly thanked her husband.. until she realized he was there.. sleeping. Or trying to at least.
"Love?" She said it softly, part of her not wanting to wake him. She knew he needed the rest. "Wren, love, I'm home." She did sort of need help getting the boys out of her hands and getting them apart though. So much for letting Wren rest.
"Mm?" Wren lifted his head up slowly, hair in his eyes which were only partly opened. "Ah, welcome home, dearheart ..." The words were murmured, partially, as Wren stretched out and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand before sliding it through his hair to get it out of his eyes. He straightened up after another moment, a sleepy smile on his face.
"They're asleep, I take it?" he questioned, once he was as awake as he could get. Moving forward, closer to his wife, he rested a hand gently on top of Alex's fluffy hair. "Rather adorable."
"Mmm hmm.. So are you actually." Halo chuckled and leaned down to kiss her shorter husband lightly on the forehead. "Once we get them settled down you can have your well deserved rest."
Halo adjusted the children again. "Alex has been protecting Lafe since he fell asleep. he draped himself over him so no one could get to him. Makes you wonder really. I almost regret having to pry them apart." She chuckled softly. Alex merely shifted when the hand rested on his head.
"Flattery gets you everywhere, you know, but letting me sleep? Guess I'll let you keep me." Wren grinned, pulling his glasses from a pocket and slipping them on so that he could see more than just blurs.
With Halo's words, of course, Wren gave the position of the children a closer look. Lafe was snuggled up Alex, despite the fact the other baby was draped over him. He, for the first time since the fox-child had come to the home, looked happy to be where he was. "... well, maybe ... " Wren paused, looking up at Halo. "Maybe this is what was missing," he finally finished. He meant Alex, of course, in Lafe's case since he was calm now and resting. "But I see what you mean about prying them apart, but they need to get to bed as well." The demon's fingers brushed through Alex's hair, actually fluffing it up a little bit. It was really soft, considering how spiky it was.
"Mmm yes. it probably was. Which just makes me all the more curious. But we have plenty of time for their mysteries. I do not have plenty more time hauling around these lead weights though. My arms are stick thin.. I'm not the hulk.. Come on. You take your half and I'll take mine." She looked over at the mostly bare crib of Alex and decided she needed to go shopping for him very soon.
"There's no way I'm contemplating any sort of mystery tonight." Wren chuckled quietly, it was obvious why he wouldn't when he yawned. However, he nodded in agreement with Halo, and very gingerly, making sure to not disturb Alex too much, he started to slip Lafe into his own arms.
The small pooka was asleep, but at the movement, sensing that he was being moved, his ears twitched and one sleepy silvery-blue eye opened. Lafe started to squirm a little, letting out a small displeased grumble.
Alex's eyes cracked a bit as his mother started to move away as well and pull her closer to herself. His hands tightened in the cloth of Lafe's shirt and he made a low grumbling growl noise.
Lafe, if anything, once he felt the tug of Alex's hand on his clothing, reached out to grab a hold of Alex as well. He was just fine where he had been and he didn't want to be moved. His grip, however, wasn't anywhere near as strong as Alex's seemed to be, but he was stubborn. His eyes opened up completely, still not entirely awake.
"He's strong for a baby, isn't he?" Wren murmured quietly, particularly when it was apparent that he wasn't easily going to be able to get Alex to let go of Lafe's shirt. Then again, the growl was something else entirely. Never mind Lafe's squirming in his arms and the tail swishing about rapidly.
Halo frowned. "Well.. they need to go to bed. Maybe the first night is time to show who's the uh.. parents?" If discipline had to come.. well you know.
Halo slooooowly pried Alex's fingers from the cloth one by one. With each finger she got loose, the more awake the boy became and the more his tiny lip raised and the louder his growl got.
"Yeah, agreed." Wren replied, though the look on his face was somehow unsure. The children did need to let go of one another, to be able to get to bed in their cribs.
Lafe's fingers were far easier to get loosened from Alex, but the moment that he had gotten that done, the baby let out a displeased keening noise. One that gave away the fox side of him, but also reminding Wren of the previous days of no sleep. Never mind the fact that Alex's growling was beginning to worry him. Lafe's ears went flat, back against his head, and his hair on his tail seemed to fluff out more.
Halo had no idea why Alex seemed to growl and bare his teeth when he didn't seem to have any animal traits in him (unless you count the fangs). When Halo started to work on Alex's other hand and tried to hold his free one still, the little boy let out a snarl and all it took was a quick turn of his head for him to sink his needle like fangs right into her forearm.
Halo yelled. She yelled and she cursed. Loudly. She yanked her arm free and was lucky that the little boy decided to let go (because judging by the bite he seemed like he'd be able to latch on pretty good. "ALEX!"
As soon as he let go he threw himself across Lafe again and growled, gripped on and glaring at both his mother and his father. If it was possible, his hair fluffed up more like an animal trying to intimidate. Halo let him for now, still caught up in the shock of being bitten. There was a curved line of bite marks and two red puncture wounds form the fangs. "I'm bleeding. Wonderful." Not so pleased.
Wren wasn't use to seeing somebody move at that speed, in fact he hadn't seen anybody move that fast since he had seen his father, but his eyes caught the movement and he winced as Halo was bitten. He let out a few choice words of his own, but none of them in any known language.
Moving forward just a little, when Halo yanked her hand free, regardless of the fact they were trying to separate the two, Wren went to get a hand under Alex as well. Lafe's tail was still fluffed up as well and it was easy to see the animal side of him in his eyes and the way he was looking at him. Lafe's fingers latched onto Alex, tail resting against the other, and he looked like he wasn't planning on going anywhere any time soon.
Now, now Wren was hesitant to do anything. "... I'll get a look at that in a moment, love, but we've got to do something about Lafe and Alex first." And hopefully no more biting.
Halo looked at the wound. "it's already starting to stop.." Which was odd on it's own but HE BIT HER.. She was in a bit of shock. "Maybe.. we should leave them together.."
Alex had a tiny red tinge on his lips from the bite and he licked it free. Halo didn't catch it but it only made him more determined to clutch to Lafe.
"I'm not going in to separate them again. Not without wearing a suit of armor."
"... honestly, too tired to argue here, and not eager to be bitten." Things just were different with these two from the other children in the house and Wren wasn't sure he'd be able to get it through his brain that Alex. Bit. Halo. ( Which, honestly, made him have to push down his own protective urges. Alex had to be doing it just because they were pulling him apart from Lafe, and ... well. Halo had said Alex had been protecting him since the fox-child had gone to sleep. )
Wren did, however, catch the brief action of Alex licking the blood from his lips and he blinked, very slowly. Closing his eyes, he merely nodded his head once more in agreement with Halo. "All right, we put them to bed together. Just, uh, let's move slowly towards Lafe's crib, hm?"
Lafe didn't even look like he was remotely bothered by the actions that had occurred, if anything, he merely squirmed his way towards Alex as much as he could. His tiny fingers latching onto the other. Though, when Wren started to move, he let out a tiny warning growl. As if telling Wren that attempting to pull them apart again would be a bad idea. Not that Wren was going to try for it.
"Yeah crib.." Halo was, frankly, a little wary of her own child now. She'd at first thought he may have just been a little dangerous looking.. or creepy.. but sort of morbidly cute at the same time.. But this kid obviously was dangerous. He'd bitten someone who he'd chosen as a guardian (or she tended to think of it that way). She, frankly, was scared (not for herself, but everyone else) of what he could become when he got older.
Wren wasn't sure what to think. Maybe his brain just wasn't firing away as it should've been, but he couldn't be bothered. He'd think about it all after this was done. Giving his wife a reassuring smile, attempting to, he directed them towards the crib.
When they got there, he slowly gestured to, at once, lower the babes into it. "All right, now, we're putting you two in here to sleep, all right? No more fussing, we're not going to take you away from each other." The only response Wren got from Lafe was a piercing silvery-blue stare. It was unnerving the way those eyes of Lafe's seemed to penetrate.
Halo assisted in laying them down and once they hit the softness of the mattress pad Alex gave both of the parents a bit of a smirk. Was that a cocky 'We Won' look? Halo chalked that up to her being tired as well.
Alex immediately snuggled and close against Lafe and pulled a bit of his cape around them like a blanket.
"... not saying a word," Wren muttered to himself, in regards to that look on Alex's face. There might have been a similar look on Lafe's face, but it faded too quickly to be noticed. Lafe all most immediately curled up against Alex, snuggling up against him. His ears moved to a more relaxed position slowly. Those small hands of his were clutching at the fabric of Alex's clothes.
"Sweet dreams, you two." He murmured, actually tugging up another blanket around them lightly so they had that as well. Cautiously, he scratched at one of Lafe's ears ( which twitched a little at being scratched ) and then patted Alex lightly on the head.
Alex didn't seem to care now and parents could have not even be there. He looked like the most content baby in the world (besides Lafe) and yaaawned sleepily and wide. He simply nuzzled into Lafe and closed his eyes finally.
Halo was puzzled. She was absolutely lost and confused. Not to mention she was bitten. "I think we need to go to bed love.. Before this all sinks in and I do something bizarre."
"Uh, no. You do nothing bizarre, the bizarre has been handled and done for the day -- and not even by us. It's time for bed, but I'm going to clean up your arm first." Wren leaned up to press a kiss to Halo's cheek, right below her eye. "They're happy where they are, so ... it's all well and good." Plus, somehow, he wouldn't put it past them to voice their displeasure if they were bothered in some way.
Lafe was happy, a small smile on his lips, and let out a tiny yawn, before his eyes slid shut once more. His tail swished slowly, but eventually stopped as he slipped off into sleep.
For the most part, Wren wasn't even trying to contemplate the events of the night. Not now, at least. Tomorrow maybe, when his brain was actually in his body and not elsewhere like he thought it was. He grabbed a hold of Halo's hand and tugged on it so that they could leave the room and let the babies be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:13 am
:: Children ::
14.03.05; RP; Seeing old faces, meeting new ones. Apparently with the Alejandro in the house, Lafe had calmed down out of the crying phase and was well into a phase on the opposite end of the spectrum. Or, at least, that was what Wren thought. The pooka was squirming in his arms, attempting to crawl up to look over his shoulder, but he had been doing that since leaving the home.
Since Lafe had calmed down considerably, Wren had figured it would be a good idea to take him back to the HQ. After all, those previous times he had been in a 'bad mood', but now was entirely different. In fact, as they walked inside, Lafe pointedly ignored the grumbling from Wren and thumped him in the chest with his tail. He hadn't made any signs to show he wanted to go out.
... but his ears twitched and cocked suddenly, picking up the voices of others present. Joy and rapture. People.
The dagger and stone could only occupy Karan's interest for so long, and he was starting to grow bored. All the big people did was talk. Even if they talked about pretty things, if he couldn't play too, it was stupid.
Movement near the door caught his eye. Finally, someone new to play with. Karan tugged at Demare's sleeve and pointed to the floor. Talk was boring, and maybe the new kid would play with him!
"No, but if you ever do yourself, tell me where you found him so I can thank him for this," Demare smirked, slipping the dagger back next to his side.
As the door of the HQ opened, his bi-colored eyes turned to see who had entered. It was that whiney little fox... Though, oddly enough, he wasn't whining today. In fact, he looked like he didn't want to be around. Funny... Demare could relate to that.
EDIT: Feeling the tug on his sleeve, the halfling looked to Karan and saw he wanted down. Hmph... fine then. Crouching down, Demare gently placed the baby on the floor to let him do what he wanted.
"Actually...no. I never have, now that you mention it." Prana said, answering Chandra's question. "I wonder who he is."
"A mystery." Chandra said with satisfaction, straightening up from her position on the floor. She had noted the entrance of another set of people she knew.
"I must be going," she said, glancing about. "It was good to see you Prana. Hopefully it will not be this long again before we next meet. But if it has to be, I hope you are well in the meantime."
Chandra pulled up her hood, feeling the need to get out of this space. The pressing closeness of so many of the living was wearing on her.
Freedom! Though it seemed that the moon girl was going anyway. Karan waved at her as she left, then continued on his search for a playmate. Where had that new kid gotten to anyway?
Lafe had gone particularly still in Wren's arms, the fox-child still squirming every few seconds, but otherwise his eyes were intently focused on those around him.
"What? No more escape attempts from you?" Wren asked with a slight chuckle, though he gave a small smile and nod to those around he knew. Which was, admittedly, few.
Lafe, as was usual, didn't pay attention to Wren's words. Instead he peered over at the one girl who seemed taller than the rest. She -- she was familiar, but different. Though there was another he could vaguely recall, the rest of the lot he didn't know. He tugged at his scarf a little, as if to hide himself behind it the further Wren walked in.
With a bit of reluctance, Prana got up, nodding and waving goodbye to Chandra.
"It was good to see you again." She smiled sadly, hoping she would see the gril sooner that later after this absence. "Please stay in touch."
Wondering who had entered, Prana looked at the doorway to see a brand new Legend there. At least, she thought it was a Legend. She tip toed over to the child, and recoiled immediately. It was a fox. Fear gripped her, and she took a step back, then another. There was a fox in her dreams...
Running back to her Guardian, she looked over at DS, who she assumed had been here more than her mother had.
"Who is that?" She asked, her concern tinging the edge of her voice.
Faevan looked up, following her Legend's gaze, and found the fox child.
"Oh..." She leaned in to DS, explainng the odd situation. "She's afraid of foxes... This should be interesting."
DS, who had miraculously solved the incident with the stripping baby, and was taking a few moments to rest, opened one eye. "Hrm? Who, where?" At Fae's comment, both eyes went wide. "Really? I... I never knew that. And I don't know who that is, sorry," she finished in a soft, somewhat sad voice.
Aha! So he was up after all! Pity that he hadn't stayed up, but then he didn't want to make Demare into his own personal taxi. He could do this all by himself. A determined expression plastered on his face, he crawled over to the man and tugged one pant leg. "Eyo!"
Prana nodded at DS, crawling up onto the couch and rummaging through her Guardian's carry all and pulling out a large picture book, which she tried to hide behind. Hopefully, a big copy of Where's Waldo would keep her out of the line of sight of the new legend...
Faevan frowned a bit, this behavior was very unlike Prana. Usually, she was bright and bubbly, eager to meet any new child. But to hide? Tghose dreams must really be affecting her. Suddenly, her conversation with Airez made a lot more sense. Deep inside, Faevan hoped that Prana's frers would never manifest in this child, or any other one for that matter.
... it was entirely unexpected, at least for Wren. "Um. Something the matter? I mean, I just brought Lafe in for a visit ..." He blinked, oddly, to see the young girl come forward to see Lafe and just as quickly pull back in what looked like fear. Not a good thing. He spared a glance down at Lafe, who merely peeked out from behind the scarf. "Er." Wren blinked at the child tugging on his pant leg. "Can I help you, young sir?" At least this one wasn't running off.
Another moment, and the girl far gone, Lafe tugged his scarf down entirely. There was a faint glimmer of curiousity in those eyes of his, a swish of his tail as well. He wasn't too comfortable around people, but ... somebody running from him like that didn't settle with him well. Making a small noise, frowning, he grabbed for his tail and held it between his hands. Never mind that one at dad's feet. No clue what to do about that.
Faevan rose, patting Prana on the head and walking over to Wren and Lafe.
"Hello, I'm Faevan, Prana's Guardian." She offered, extending her hand. "Please dont' be put out, she's been having nightmares lately, she thinks I don't know about them." Faevan leaned a bit closer to the other guardian. "She talks in her sleep." She whispered. "I think it has something to do with her past...but I don't know. She's scared of foxes." She sighed heavily, bending down to look at the new Legend. "I don't know why she'd be scared of a cutie like this though...hi there." Faevan gave a wide smile to the baby, wiggling her fingers in a wave. Looking over her shoulder, she gestured to Prana. "Prana, come say hi." The look in her eyes, was gently, but stern, and Prana swallowed hard, sliding off the couch and sneaking up, hiding behind Faevan.
Pink stepped out from the kitchen with Guinevere in her arms who she set on the grownd to waddle around to find her friends. "Phew, that medicine took longer than expected. You'd think kids like bubble gum flavor stuff." She said to no one in particular and headed back toward her couch.
Over her shoulder Guinevere was sputtering as she waddled around trying to get that icky taste from her mouth.
"Wren, Lafe's guardian." Freeing a hand up, Wren reached out to take Faevan's hand and shake it with a friendly smile before releasing it. After listening to her continue on, he nodded his head slowly. "Oh, I wasn't put out, just confused, but it is understandable if she's having nightmares." He chuckled as Faevan leaned to look at Lafe and hook his head slightly. "Honestly," he murmured, "I wouldn't be scared of Lafe. Think he's shy to the bone."
As if to illustrate, Lafe's hands tightened his grip on his tail and his eyes went a little wider as he looked at Faevan. At least he wasn't trying to make himself smaller or anything. Curiousity settled back in when Prana came forward and the fox-child tilted his head just slightly to look at her. The frown on his face shifted into a small smile slowly.
The smile calmed Prana a bit, and she peered a bit more over Faevan's shoulder, curious green eyes pondering the child. Yes, it was a fox, but no, it wasn't Anasai. She offered a small wave, her heart flip flopping with fear, but the rest of her trying to be brave.
Well, phooey. No one was really paying attention to him. The man did, once, but before he could do anything, a woman started talking. Everything was all talk again, how boring. Making a "phhhbt" sound in annoyance, he flopped over and sat on the man's shoe. That should get noticed, he thought.
Lafe had gone still, but he was moving once more. The fingers of one small hand loosened from holding onto his tail and he mimicked the action that Prana made -- a wave. The smile on his face widened a bit, another small happy noise made. It was a convincing smile, because Lafe was -- apparently -- trying to make friends.
(( Edit: )) And, of course, Wren glanced down at his shoe. "Guess I'm not going anywhere, am I?" Apparently this one wanted something, but he wasn't sure what.
Halo walked in rather briskly, wincing slightly at her son Alex held in her arms. He was being quite a terror to her at the moment and she had some suspicion it was because he knew Lafe was out doing something fun without him. Or at least doing something involving people other than the house and for some reason Alex had a problem with that.
"Owowow.." The small boy had managed to crawl up his mother's chest to grab one of her prominent ears (and all her earrings) and pullpullpull on them. "Leggo! Look.. Lafe is here. And daddy.. Please stop..OW!"
The tiny black haired boy gave her one strong tug (and he was a strong little bugger) before he turned and wiggled in her arms to get near his father and Lafe.
Halo felt rather rude having to rush past people and children to find her husband but having one's piercings ripped out wasn't much fun.
"He's being a little pain in the a.. uhh.. he acted up as soon as you left Wren. I had no choice but to bring him."
The woman suddenly realized that she was also face to face to a few adults and children and she blinked awkwardly, though wasn't very embarrassed.
"Uh.. hi." She offered them all a small smile and tried to keep a hold of her wriggling and growling baby.
Guinevere, eyes wide, spotted Karan...sitting on a man's shoe. She didn't ask herself why she just toddled to him with open arms. "Kar, Kar!" She repeated a few times before she flung herself onto him in somewhat of a hug.
Faevan looked about. The HQ was getting busy, but unfortunately, it was also getting late.
"Sadly, I think it's time to go for tonight. Hopefully we'll see both you and Lafe soon." faevan inclined her head toward Wren, returning to the couch to gather her things.
Prana threw her cloak on, waving to DS and Karan before darting out of the HQ behind her Guardian.
DS waved to Fae and Prana as they left, before curling into a ball on the couch. Such a long day this was turning out to be...
"Oooof!" Karan meeped, knocking back against the man's leg hard. That HURT. Even though it was nice to see a friend, it hurt. Uncertain whether he was supposed to be happy or upset, he let out a soft moan and clutched his head.
Guinevere giggled as she huggled her friend. When she pulled back she looked at him. "Oh noes!" She said, "What wrong Kar?"
Pink, like her rambunctious little girl, jumped on the ball of person on the couch with a mighty yet full of laughter, "ROARhehehe!"
Wren winced slightly in pain, as his leg was suddenly attacked by not one -- but two babies. "... I'd believe it, sweetheart." He said to Halo after saying goodbye to Prana and Faevan. "Lafe was trying to get out of my arms the moment I left. Didn't really want to leave the house, but ... uh." He made a gesture and pointed down at the children at his feet. The one latched onto the other, and the other rubbing his head. Kind of a 'I don't get it' gesture.
Lafe was quick to pick up on Alex's scent, even quicker than that of Halo's, and he was all ready moving again. Attempting to crawl over Wren to get to Alex. After all, Alex was safe, Alex was familiar, Alex was someone he knew -- and all these others he didn't know. His scarf well down partially, dangling towards the ground, but he ignored it in favour of letting out something between a yip and a coo towards Alex. The world's most charming smile was on his face.
"He started pulling my earrings out.. or trying too. I thought he was going to bite me.. like before when he wasn't keen on getting his diaper changed and more keen on trying to crawl around naked.." What was it with babies and little kids wanting to be naked?
Halo glanced down at the rolling ball of children on the floor, "Did someone lose these?" She wasn't the most sensitive woman in the world.
Alex squirmed and wriggled and looked as if he was about to bite his mother with those tiny sharp fangs of his before she finally held him out for Lafe.
"I think we should put them down.. to do ... their thing."
"Aaa! Pink!" DS toppled over as she was attacked. "Are you sure you should be doing that in your condition, honey?"
Guin was nice, but she was weird too. "Fine," he mumbled, still rubbing his head. The pain was finally starting to diminish, and he realized that all the commotion probably would have gotten the attention of someone up. Eager to see, he tilted his head skywards.
Nothing? Tough crowd.
One thing caught his eye though. That one had a scarf! Neat! Shakily standing up, he extended one hand to see if he could reach it.
Guinevere followed karan's gaze and saw two new legends. She rubbed her little hands together at the thought. Oh boy. Two new baby friends. She leaned her head up even farther and called out. "Yoo hoo. Up there. Wanna pway?" She said, beaming a bright smile at the two new ones.
"Pshaw!" Pink said, rolling off of DS and snuggiling into a spot on the couch. "Just a little rumble tumble fun." She said with a wink. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while."
"... eh, I still say we're lucky Lafe didn't decide that naked was the way to go too, then." Wren shook his head. Lafe wasn't exactly keen on being without clothing, but he couldn't complain. It was one less baby to go after during diaper changes. "But, yeah, I guess we should set them down, though I think they're being called for." He blinked, glancing down to the baby who was reaching for the scarf -- never mind the one that wanted to play.
Lafe's tail thumped against his father's chest rapidly, as if trying to make a point. He could care less about his scarf right then, but the moment dad made the motions to set him down, he squirmed and wiggled until he was. Except, the moment he was on the ground, the moment he noticed the other two babies, his ears went flat and he was trying to scoot back.
"I'm... fine, I guess. It's been a rough day, but I'm managing. What about you?" Finally righting herself, DS leaned back against the couch. Pity that coffee was gone, she could've used a pick-up of sorts.
Finally progress! Karan smiled as the boy was set down. He had funny ears like the scritchy boy, how neat! But the thing that really intrigued him was the scarf, which he tried to grab, putting his own stained sun scarf out for the other Legend to examine in return.
Alex immediately gave the two babies on the floor a suspicious glare. Apparently they both deserved it, in his mind, because one was trying to touch Lafe's scarf and the other seemed to be his age yet still talked weirdly like a grownup. Not even Mael and Otium talked like that and they were older.
"Lafe naked and escaping would be cute! Alex.. is just sort of creepy. But I love him anyway!!" She corrected herself.. sort of, at the end of that statement and set Alex down next to Lafe.
The black clad boy immediately shoved himself between Lafe and the other children. His lips quirked and his fangs bared and he made a tiny hiss noise. If Lafe was hiding then he would defend him!
Guinevere didn't move not wanting to scare the baby. "It otay. We nice. We pway nice honest." She said nodding. Her eyes focused on Lafe's scarf, and smiled brightly at him. "Pretty scarf!" She told him as she looked around for something to offer to him in returns of letting her pet his scarf. "Cape?" She asked, extending her full body cape that adorned her body outward to him.
Just as the other baby was set down with barred fangs she screamed a short yet loud scream and backed up. Pointing at the new baby with a waving finger she whimpered. "Scary. Me just wanna pway. Why you be scary?"
Pink patted DS gently on the shoulder. "I hope everything gets better dear. Mine's wasn't bad, a little tirring but nothing out of the usual order of things. Anything happen you want to talk about?" She asked her dear friend earnestly.
DS shrugged. "Karan ripped his box today, and that really upset him. I never knew anyone to get so attatched to a crib, much less a makeshift one." Luckily he seemed better now that he was interacting. "And I assume yo heard about the coffee catastrophe."
He hadn't even noticed this one at first. Still, it was strange that he was shoving himself in front. Maybe the other one was scared. Well, if this one would play, he didn't have any problems. Karan shrugged and shifted his focus to the darker child, offering the scarf to him instead.
Lafe's scarf looked like it flames on it, though the one side that was kept close to him had a tarot card attached to it. His fingers were holding onto his tail and he wasn't so sure about investigating someone else's scarf -- or letting his be touched, but it wasn't him at least.
... and then the girl with her cape? What was so interesting about his scarf? He didn't really understand. His fingers latched onto his tail and he sort of situated himself behind Alex, enough so that when he peered around the other baby, his head was partially covered by the dark cloak he wore. He rubbed his cheek against a shoulder, piercing silvery-blue eyes watching the others curiously right up until that scream, and then he was hiding again, ears back because it hurt them. ( Never mind he wasn't even bothered by Alex's apparent scary demeanor. )
"Um, sweetheart, I think we've a situation here." Wren murmured quietly to Halo, gesturing to the children. It wouldn't be a good thing if the kids couldn't play nicely. Though he was of the mind to let it sort itself out, he was worried a little.
Halo glanced down at the children. Alex was being his little bully self again.
"Let's see what happens first." They were there, afterall, if anything happened. "Kids have to learn these things you know. I know they are babies.. but it's you know.. social structure and interaction... and things like that." Well she sounded more sure when she started the sentence than when she ended it.
Alex's brows scrunched together and he bared his fangs more when Guin screamed. What was the dumb girl-thing yelling about? She had tried to touch Lafe and Lafe didn't want to be touched.
He looked at the other baby, the boy, with his intense lavendar eyes. The sneer of his lessened slightly as he looked at what he was offered. He was unsure about this. These other kids with their touching and stuff. He eyed the scarf. It was sort of pretty. He didn't have anything like that.
They weren't playing, but at least one of them was interested. Karan took that as encouragement and crawled away, over to the bag. Parts of the floor near the couch still had puddles of now cold coffee, but he didn't notice as the brown liquid soaked into his pants. Where did that bag keep his fun toys?
Guinevere have a sudden moment of backbone glared at Alex when he bared his fangs more. "I just wannaed to pway. I try nice and you be mean. Why be mean?" She asked, wondering if he would comment on the mean question because he didn't comment on the scary question. "I was even gonna wet you pway with teddy!" Guinevere said, reaching into her cape and pulling out a soft, rather large, brown plush teddy bear.
"Aww. If you need help makin a new one, or buying one for that matter, just ask sweetie." She said. "And I heard from Fae about the coffee disaster. I'll say the same thing I said to you as I said to her. I hate coffee, it stunts your growth don'tcha know?"
And Lafe was being his typical shy self, with Alex there as his protector. Wren sighed and shook his head. "Believe me, I know all about that, lover-mine, just a little concerned that's all." But he'd leave it be, because it was the right thing to do.
The tip of one ear appeared from behind Alex's back, followed by one silvery-blue eye, and then the flick of a white tail. He watched Karan move off, with curiousity. He didn't seem so bad and he poked his head out a little further, giving a curious glance to Alex.
But the girl, she was something else. She kept speaking, but he didn't quite understand. It was something nice, from her tone or the look on her face and he, for a change, let out a tiny growl. No being mean to Alex. He gripped part of Alex's cape with a hand, tugging it without realizing.
... and what was up with that teddy-bear thing?
Alex's nose wrinkled at the screeching girl-thing. If he was old enough to think of anything as obnoxious, that noise would be it. It hurt his ears.
He felt Lafe tug on his cape and turned his head to look at the other, his wrinkled expression smoothing to something friendly and comforting. He followed the other baby's eyes to Karan and watched him too, covering his ears with his hands.. or trying to.. to block out the noise.
"It's caffine," DS shrugged, "and tastes better than soda. I'd have brought cocoa, but we're all out. Besides, this way I know the kids won't get into it. Even Eri thinks coffee tastes like dirt." And for the most part, she agreed with him, but she decided not to mention that.
Aha! Karan grinned jubilantly and tipped the bag over. Out rolled a medium-sized, clear ball, which rolled over to the trio of toddlers. It stopped just next to Guin, as if waiting to be played with. Maybe that would get them interested, Karan thought. They just had to stop fighting and see that playing was far more important.
Guinevere looked at Alex and frowned. Was he covering his ears so he wouldn't have to listen to her. That must be it. Just as she started to get up to waddle away and tell her Mommy she wanted to go home a familair ball rolled to her feet. Oh BOY! She thought, happily picking it up. She remembered playing this game with Karan and the pirate child. She smiled and rolled the ball as hard as she could to Karan that was on the other side of the room hoping it would reach him. She decided to stop talking and keep her mouth shut for now, she didn't need any more mean and nasty comments of gestures to come her way.
Pink rubbed her stomach thinking about cocoa. "Mmm. Are you SURE we don't have any cocoa here? They usually keep the supplies in full quanitites around here." She asked, heaving her stomach into the air and pushing with her hands on the back of the couch to raise herself up.
No, no, no! She was supposed to roll the ball to one of the new people! Did he have to do everything? Putting a little more strength into his push, he sent the ball back the other way. It completely passed Guin this time, but also passed the other two, rolling to a halt just behind them.
Oooops. Well, maybe one of them would get it.
"I'll go check," DS offered, rising slowly and stretching her back. "Keep an eye on the kids, mkay?"
Lafe watched Guinevere cautiously as she moved away, but his attention turned to the clear ball and there was a flicker of curiousity in his eyes. He finally turned back to Alex, one small hand going up to tug Alex's hands down a little from his ears. It was all quiet, the girl was quiet. He gave him a small smile and finally started to move out from behind him, no longer hiding partially under his cape.
... but, really, was this all about that clear ball now? So it would be all right? He looked at Alex, as if to confirm that it was fine now, just as the ball went by. Luckily, his tail stopped it and he gave an experimental push of it towards Alex. Wasn't much to it -- it looked harmless.
Alex watched the ball and uncovered his ears. Lafe seemed interested.
The pale little boy looked around at everyone to make sure it was ok and then smiled at Lafe to confirm it was for the moment.
He stopped the ball with his hand and looked at it with interest. he then looked back up at Karan and pushed it as best he could towards the other.
He didn't push it to the noisy girl. He didn't like her.
That was better. At least, he knew that the two new ones probably knew eachother. They reminded Karan vaguely of the time Demare slept over, and they helped eachother a little. So they were friends. And that meant that they could make friends. And that was all the information that really mattered to him at the time.
He managed to get a little closer to the others again before smacking the ball once more. Where it went though, he had no clue due to the hastiness of his hit.
Guinevere scampered in front of the ball and caught it in the hem of her cape. As she picked it up she looked between the new babies. Deciding she didn't like the fanged one for the mroe she looked at him and saw his actions he reminded her of that nasty Breena girl, yet Lafe still stood a chance of being a good playmate she she tossed the ball a little, only giving it a bounce or two before it rolled the rest of the way to the fox boy.
Pink sighed and heaved herself back onto the couch. "Why must everyone always tell her to stay once she got up. "Ok," She said softly after DS and watched with smiling eyes at the children. They seemed to be playing so nicely with the ball and she was happy for that.
Wren was, personally, happy things had calmed down. At least Lafe had come out of trying to be Alex's shadow ( he ignored Hawk's Eye pointedly ). He nudged his head against Halo's shoulder, giving her a small smile.
Lafe merely eyed the ball as it rolled towards him, in fact, he reached forward to stop it with a hand. His tail was swishing back and forth a little and he rolled the ball back and forth a little between his own hands. It wasn't that interesting, but the other two seemed to be enjoying it. Finally, he gave a push and rolled the ball towards Alex. After that, his eyes settled on the dark cape he wore briefly.
Halo looked down at her husband and smiled and put her arm around him, kissing him on the forehead lightly. She didn't admit she'd have found it amusing if Alex bit someone.
Alex stopped the ball that Lafe rolled to him and looked at it again. Was rolling all it did? Everyone seemed okay though. No one was trying to bother Lafe so he was fine too.
Alex rolled the ball away again again to one of the waiting children, though he wasn't sure who, and turned to look at Lafe who was looking with interest at his cape.
Karan swept the ball into his lap when it rolled to him, smiling. The box, the coffee, all earlier incidents had been temporarily forgotten. He had a mission, and that was to have some fun with the new people. Now that he'd gotten their interest, the fun would start.
His eyes twinkling, he tossed the ball up into the air, watching it make short, high arcs back towards the others. This was the real game, or part of it.
Guinevere stood up on her feet, and rocked back and forth only once till she found her balance, much faster than other days and walked toward the bouncing ball, catching it after a little fumbiling it inher hands. She beamed from ear to ear and she bounced it a little harder than Karan had, into the ground toward the two new babies, following the arching motion of the ball it gave off with each bounce with her head, by bobbing it up and down.
For the moment, ignoring the ball ( it was still bouncing in mid-air ), Lafe scooted forward to tug on Alex's cloak a little more. Honestly, he liked it, since he could hide somewhat in it -- something that one could be safe in. He gave Alex that charming smile of his, tail swishing back and forth with a renewed good mood.
... except then the ball came bouncing over and it bounced right over to his side, rolling up against it. He wrinkled his nose up a bit, but quickly pushed it onward to continue it's motion. That was how it went, apparently.
Pink, who was thinking DS was taking way too long to make some cocoa was just about to go in after her - she had even heaved herself up and off of the couch too, when her watch went off. "Aww." She said, and went over to pick up her bobble head daughter who jostled a little in her arms before relaxing, resting her head against her mother's shoulder and waved goodbye to Lafe and Karan. "Nigh, Nigh!" She said as they walked out, only after Pink poked her head in the kitchen to tell DS she was leaving.
Alex ended up ignoring the ball since Lafe had quickly pushed it to roll away from them. The other was tugging on him so he started to tug lightly on Lafe's scarf and smile back.
It was a nice scarf with color that he personally lacked. The baby soon waspulling his cloak up and over his head. It was really a struggle and he looked like a lumpy black mound for a while until he got the fastenings around his chin and over his head. He offered it to Lafe but felt rather naked in only his black and red onesy.
The ball rolling away, and the other girl gone ( though that was barely noticed ), Lafe actually laughed a little watching Alex struggle with his cloak. When it was offered to him, he slowly pulled it to himself, fingers running over the fabric. Alex, of course, was rewarded with a particularly bright smile from Lafe and the baby crawling forward to put his own scarf around him. Not that he could manage it well, but ... well. Scarf for Alex!
With Guin gone, and the other two entertaining eachother, Karan found himself alone again. Sure, the ball had come his way, but with no one to play with it was just a rubber bubble. Pouting, he folded his arms. He could wait. He could wait.
Heck with waiting, he wanted to play!
The determined face from earlier emerged once more, and he crawled over to the pair, plopping himself in front of them.
Alex smiled and tried to adjust the scarf and got a bit tangled in it. it was so long! He did manage to get it around his neck though and sunk his head down so he was hiding behind it, just like Lafe did. Only his bright lavendar eyes peered overtop of the fabric.
Lafe's tail continued to swish rapidly, giggling a little more with how Alex looked hiding behind his scarf. It was just like him! ... which meant he had to try to get on the cloak, and after a little struggle, he managed to get it on -- though it wasn't on and clasped, but it was on. He tugged it around himself, the back of it moving with the movements of his tail.
Ears cocked forward, he turned his attention to Karan and studied him briefly. This one wasn't so bad as the girl. In fact, he gave a slight nudge against Alex so that he'd notice him. Kind of a '... well, he's not so bad' thing.
Mimicking an action he had seen earlier, he raised his hand and wiggled his fingers at Karan, the fingers of his other hand curled in the scarf wrapped around Alex
Finally, some recognition. A wave even. While he got the distinct feeling that he was being ganged up on, in a strage sort of way, he ignored it and waved back. "Eyo," he chirped cheerily.
As he waved, a small piece of cardboard flew out of his sleeve and landed a couple feet away. As soon as Karan saw it, his eyes dulled. The box. He had nearly forgotten about it.
Alex looked over at Karan and didn't seem so nastily mean now that the girl was gone. He mimicked Lafe's wave but wondered why the other boy seemed so suddenly sad about that thing that fell out onto the floor.
He crawled a bit forward, still behind the scarf, and picked up the piece.
Lafe's tail swished as he tried to peer at what Alex had picked up. Of course, the other boy looked sad -- but why? Over a piece of something? Very slowly, cloak around him and obscuring a good part of his features, he scooted forward to inspect and then peer at Karan.
... was there something wrong with the piece?
"Cavan go plat," he offered as explanation, for the third time that day. After that stunning revelation, he pointed to the cardboard, and then to him. It was, after all, his box, and he wanted that back.
DS yawned. "Goodness," she murmured sleepily, "look at the time." Or she would, had her watch been working. But the coffee from earlier had shorted it out, another thing she'd have to replace. Wonderful.
Still, at least there were adults around to ask. "Excuse me, do you have the time?"
Wren blinked, head tilting and distracted from his thoughts and somewhat snuggling Halo. He had been nursing along an idea for his book, but he couldn't seem to get past a particular plot hole.
"Um, actually, I don't." He grinned sheepishly, holding up his hands. There wasn't a wrist watch on either wrist and he didn't carry a pocket one. "It's probably late though." Not that the kids seemed to notice. They were all most nocturnal it seemed.
Lafe's ears cocked forward once more, trying to decide if what Karan said was important or not. It must have been, if he was sad, but ... a piece of something that was his? So was it not complete? He didn't know. He merely looked at Alex and the piece, crawling forward to sit next to him.
Then, after a moment ( and very slowly, as if he was expecting to have to pull back in an instant ), he reached forward to pat Karan lightly. It could've been a 'there, there' gesture, but who knows.
Alex blinked at the piece and then at Karan. The boy said something he didn't understand but he did get the bit about wanting it back.
There didn't seem to be anything special about it. He couldn't use it for anything. So the boy crept forward again and held it out for Karan to take. If it was his, he could have it.
Halo had spaced out completely while watching the kids and looked out the window. "Yeah it's dark. So I guess that means it's late enough. I think we should head out."
Karan let himself be petted, neither liking nor disliking. What he did like was that they were finally paying attention to him, and that the darker one was giving back the part of Box. "Dakoo," he nodded.
Then it occured to him. That boy had weird ears, like the other one. And Keita liked his ears scritched. Maybe this one did too. Curious, he reached out a hand-
-and was promptly snatched up by DS. "I think you're right," she said as she shifted the infant's weight. "Oh, and I'm DS, and this is Karan. It's nice to meet you." However short the meeting was.
It was a good thing too, because Lafe was all ready pulling back to avoid his ears being touched. He still wasn't too sure about this one and it didn't help that suddenly there was an adult around.
Lafe was all ready situating himself ( crawling over ) Alex, basically curling against him and snuggling up, some of the cloak covering the other as well now. He made a small noise, a quiet drawn out yawn, and rubbed his cheek against Alex's shoulder lightly.
"Probably, yeah. Time to go." Wren chuckled, pushing himself up and heading over to the kids. "I'm Wren, and the fox-child over there is Lafe. It's a pleasure." Despite the fact their meeting was short. He was all ready leaning down to scoop up both children and -- surprisingly -- he was able to do it ( at least, he had been able to in the past, and with these two it was better to carry together than apart ).
"I'm Halo and that's Alex.. the mean one." She smiled a bit.
"It's nice meeting you DS." The tall woman leaned down to pat the boy on the head as well. "And you too Karan. Have a good night you two."
She walked ahead to get the door for her husband so he didn't have to worry about handling more than he had already.
Alex put his arms over top of Lafe once he was picked up. He yawned a little too and turned to snuggle against Wren when he finally shifted into a comfortable position.
"Nice to meet all of you." DS retrieved the soggy baby bag and the ball and started for the door herself. "Get home safely," she added as an afterthought.
Already bored again, Karan curled his fingers around the cardboard again. He'd have to start a new one soon, and be sure to make it even better than the last one. And then other people could see it, and he could show the new friends, and Guin, and everyone!
But first, perhaps a nap would be in order. Just this once...
"Second what my wife said, DS. Maybe we'll run into you and Karan in the future." Who knew? Wren gave Halo a smile of thanks, since she got the door for him. It was more than enough to handle Alex and Lafe in his arms.
Lafe was properly snuggled up against Alex and his father, eyes fighting the urge to droop, but they did anyway. His fingers curled in the fabric of Alex's outfit, tail curling around him partially.
"... see, now they're being angels." Wren shook his head, chuckling a bit at some private joke as he headed out the door.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:16 am
:: The Moon ::
16.03.05; A small light in the darkness. The fingers of Lafe's small hand were brushing carefully along the card attached to his scarf in his sleep. The scarf had been left hanging over the edge of the crib that he shared with Alejandro since it never seemed to be too far from his own presence. Still, the fox-child was deep in sleep, curled up against Alejandro, but his fingers had stretched out, reaching for the card unknowingly in his sleep and moved along the surface of it.
Back in the farthest of his mind, far away from all that was conscious or even unconscious thought, there was a dark area. It was the dark area of his mind that was active now, controlling not-quite-awake movements of the fox-child. Without truly knowing, Lafe's mind could grasp the meaning of the card that his fingers were touching. The bright glimmering crescent moon in the absolute darkness of the sky it held itself in. Animals, wolves it seemed, were barking at the moon and in Lafe's mind the card was rapidly turning into a thought from that dark area to a dream of his own creation that bled through to the rest of his mind.
Except the dream wasn't content to stay that. It took shape, the image that was on the card building in his mind until it was an entire scene that the fox-child was trapped in. Lafe was sitting on a grassy path, rocks visible nearby and some covered with moss. Ears twitching and cocking one direction, he could hear the sound of running water not too far away. Turning his head, silvery-blue eyes focused on the sight of a small stream not too far from where he was sitting.
The entire scene was unsettling and all most instantly Lafe's fingers were clutching at his tail, the small hands burying themselves in the white fur that was starting to stand on edge. His ears went flat against his head, held back, though the sound of the trickling stream still reached them and he couldn't get rid of the sound.
He tried burying his face in the scarf that he wore, trying to hide his eyes from seeing any of this because somehow it was unsettling. Except the scarf wouldn't cover his eyes it seemed and as he peered at the scarf curiously, wondering why it didn't do what it usually did, he focused on the fact that the card was gone. It was then that he heard the growling and he abruptly turned his attention towards the horizon.
In the distance there were mountains, a tower blocking the view of everything beyond it. Except Lafe hardly noticed it, those piercing of eyes of his were looking on at the sight of wolves down near the stream now. One was turning it's head down from it's position and Lafe looked up to see the moon, heavy in the sky and barely a visible crescent but still casting so much light on the earth below it.
As he looked back down, the fox-child could see the wolves approaching him now. They had picked his scent up upon the wind that blowing through the area and their growling was only intensifying, getting louder as they came closer and closer to where he was. Lafe couldn't seem to move, rooted to the spot and unable to get away. His body wasn't responding! He couldn't run away!
So the wolves got closer still and Lafe could smell their breath, bloody and nauseating all at the same time. In one blink of his eyes, they were there around him, circling him repeatedly. Snapping out at him every time he let out a quiet whimper, trying to shrink in upon himself and make himself not a target of whatever it was they were doing. Except it wasn't working and they just kept growling and the drop of one of the wolf's saliva upon his skin made him keen -- but not in the way a baby would.
His view shifted, no longer in the situation, but above the situation, watching it and unable to do anything. A small red fox kit was cowering on the ground between the snarling wolves. His white tail was waving frantically behind him in fear, a motion that seemed to antagonize the wolves more, and the fox kit could only let out another cry, hoping the wolves would back off.
They didn't and as the kit continued to scream, one wolf launched itself forward, it's teeth sinking of the soft fur and flesh of the kit's right side. The sound of bones crunching and flesh tearing echoed and the kit continued to scream even as the wolves did not relent their attack on him.
"Terror. Hidden enemies. Danger. Darkness. That's what The Moon represents here ..."
The words echoed across Lafe's mind, even as he continued on stuck in the dream turned nightmare and the gruesome scene before his mind's eye. There was no escape for the young kit, even as it struggled to get free of the jaws of the wolves that were attacking it.
"And after all occurs, there shall be silence."
There was silence after the wolves finished their killing of the kit, licking their chops of the blood from the small fox off of their muzzle and then trotting off from the scene as if nothing had ever happened, to go play as wolves were like to do.
Lafe found himself back in the scene, not within the body of the dead kit, but instead right next to it and staring at it with wide-eyes. His fingers clutched at his tail still and when he looked down at his tail he could see blood seeping into the white fur and all he could do was let out a baby's scream of terror as the dead eyes of the kit were slowly turning into his own.
From the realms of dreams to the waking world in the blink of his eyes, Lafe was wide awake and crying loudly. Wren came into the room only a precious few moments later, into on comforting the wailing child -- if Alejandro would let him get close enough to do so.
And The Moon, in all it's glory, was still clutched in Lafe's hand as he continued crying.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:22 am
:: Chance Encounter ::
18.03.05; RP; Not all the same ... Not quite sure how he had managed it, Wren was out of the house with Lafe in tow once more. The fox-child, as usual, was keen on squirming and wriggling in his arms. In fact, he had to stop as he was on his way to the Legend HQ a number of times to make sure the baby didn't get out of his grasp.
It was a big difference from Mael and when he had been a baby. Mael had all ways latched onto to him. Lafe was independant to the bone, or didn't like being held. Wren was betting on that. Babies were far, far too finicky.
Opening up the door to the HQ, he looked around to see if anbody was around. "Hello?" he called out.
And, of course, right at that point, Lafe let out a particularly loud squeal. Or was that a yip? A keen? It was something, and it sounded all most like a noise a fox would make. The baby glanced up at his father and blinked his eyes innocently at the stare he received as they went on inside. What? Was he not suppose to be so playful this time of the night? Not that he particularly cared Wren had a schedule he liked to sleep on.
No, Lafe was wide awake and tail swishing rapidly from side to side. He was in a good mood.
STUPID MORTALS!! That must have been Demian's thought of the week as he opened the door and slipped into the lobby, his eyes a narrowed glare of annoyance. That... that... b*****d!! Neko took his dagger away for the time being after Demare had "accidentally" cut the head off of one of Manior's plushies with it. Who the hell cared about a stupid... plush toy?! Hate... HATE!!
But if he was so angry at the moment, what lead him here? It wasn't like anything good ever came out of these visits. ...Well, maybe sometimes it did. However, that was only sometimes. His wings fluffed and fluttered a little bit as he looked around again, his arms folding across his chest as he noticed Wren and Lafe in the room. How eerie was that...? It was like most of the anger left him while Demare began to feel at ease, curiosity beginning to pick at his brain as his bi-colored eyes merely stared at the man for a long moment. What... WAS he, anyway?
His eyes opened to their somewhat normal size, still a slight glare as he decided to move closer to the other two inhabitting the room at the moment.
Wren shifted on his feet and turned around as Demare came closer, a nudge from Hawk's Eye informing him that somebody else had entered the room. Granted, the fiend had made himself small for the time being, slipping into Wren's shadow and hiding. The fiend had felt ill at ease ever since growing.
"'Lo, Demare," he said, voice friendly as all ways. Odd, the child was glaring and he wondered why. "Good to see you again."
Lafe had gone still again, as Wren turned. There was another present in this place, one that he recognized. The fox-child squirmed until he was sitting properly in Wren's arms, eyes and ears alert for anything it seemed. Though that wag of his tail hadn't quite stopped. He let out a small noise, as if pleased, for some odd reason.
The movement of the shadow caught the demon's eyes, the red glimmer under his bangs widening just slightly to peer into the darkness behind the man. Something was there... Something had ALWAYS been there. But what was it...?
His white eye managed to look up on its own for a short moment before the black one followed, blinking once as he seemed to think about what Wren had just said. This comfort was almost unsettling, and he couldn't help but look away to get a better look at Lafe instead.
"Hi," he said quietly, a slight grumble as the annoyance continued to seep out of his body. His head tilted to the left a little bit as he noted the child's quiet behavior, not remembering him being this... calm before. "And... hello to you, too."
Odd, Demare was acting odd, and it piqued the demon's curiousity. Wren tilted his head to the side, eyebrow raised at the child's behaviour. He could feel Hawk slinking forward a little bit in his shadow to look at the child as well, mimicking his curiousity in some way.
"All ways seem to run into you when I come here," Wren chuckled, trying to difuse the odd feeling situation. He couldn't place his finger on it. "At least, this time around, Lafe's not crying though ..." He smiled, awkwardly, and glanced down at his child.
Lafe spared Wren only a glance upward, before focusing on Demare again. The fox-child was very observant for someone his age, piercing eyes carefully watching Demare's movements. As if he could figure everything out somehow. He knew this one and wasn't as shy about him as the others could make him be ( he was different from them as well, not as loud ). His tail swished a little faster, the gears in the baby's mind rotating one way or another.
Demare continued to watch the baby in Wren's arms, tilting his head to the right after a moment as the silvery eyes pierced his own. Those eyes... It felt like they were reading him, like they knew something about him. Like Chandra's...
"I... noticed," he said a bit absently, his red eyes shifting slightly as they continued to watch Wren's shadow. Something was moving, hiding in the shadows. He could feel it.
"...You're a little like me, aren't you?" Demare suddenly asked, his leathery wing curling around his shoulder a little bit. He didn't care if it was rude or not, he just wanted an answer so the question would leave him alone.
Lafe, after studying Demare for long enough, seemed to reach whatever conclusion he had come to. A half-smile was on his face, fingers finally coming up in a small wave before they curled about his tail to clutch at it as usual. There was even a small baby laugh, Lafe leaning back in Wren's arms and getting comfortable, no longer squirming as much for the moment.
Wren glanced down at Lafe again, still sure that he'd not get use to Lafe's behaviour around others any time soon. It was Demare, however, who had his complete attention. Ignoring Hawk, the brush of emotions against his mind and everything else, he straightened up some.
"A bit like you?" he asked, head tilting and thinking it over. Well, the child did remind him of being stuck in between. Neither angelic or demonic, but he -- well, that was something Wren didn't need to think about. "Well, if you're referencing what I think you are, then yes, I am like you in a way."
Demare was a little puzzled by Lafe's little laughter, wave, and smile. ...What was it with all these babies smiling at him?? He didn't really feel like striking fear in anyone at the moment, so he let it be... and even allowed his own fingers to raise up and wiggle a little bit in a wave.
His eyes turned upward as Wren answered, however, and he thought for a moment. So he was a demon! That would explain why he felt rather calm around the man. Then, what was that thing he kept seeing? A familiar? Another demon?
"Is it... different?" he asked, his fingers wrapping around some of the loose bandages on his arms a little bit. "Do others accept you for who you are?"
The wave was more of a greeting than anything else, though the laugh from Lafe -- who knew. It meant something, but nothing was for certain in his mind. More, it was a sign of him being fine with Demare for now. Besides, he was more interested in fiddling with his own tail at the moment. The conversation they were having was hardly interesting to him.
Wren smiled faintly, and for a moment, those blue eyes of his seemed to hold a glow, but it faded. Demare seemed so young, but where he had been, perhaps things had not been the same as they had been for him. For just a moment, Wren could've swore he felt Hawk's small fingers on his forearm, but it faded away, and he only glanced to his shadow with a scowl.
"Pierce," he grumbled under his breath, before shaking his head and focusing on Demare. The scowl was gone and his voice serious. "You could say that they do accept me for who and what I am where I'm from. At the same time, however, it's odd for them to see me. Running into what's considered a full-blood demon." Odd, he hadn't used that phrase in ages. "Here, there's so many pathways to other places, and where I come from ... Well, things are very different."
Wearily, Chandra pushed open the door to the HQ and slid into the foyer area. She shrugged off her cloak and hung it up, one hand touching her swollen black left eye gingerly. The cloak hid it in shadow, but now that it was exposed - she was worried.
With a inward sigh, she brushed her hair forward over her ear on that side and stepped into the main part of the HQ. It seemed that both Demare and the noisy child were here. The child however seemed relatively silent.
Nodding slightly, Chandra passed them and made her way to the kitchen with a couple softly spoken words.
"Greetings Demare, Lafe."
Demare's red eyes had found it. The thing lurking in the darkness. ...But what was it?? It held no real aura, and it didn't exist anywhere outside of the shadow behind Wren. It was odd, the curiosity overwelming him.
As Wren mentioned being full-blooded, there was a sense of longing that washed over Demian's soul. That feeling of desire... The lust for wanting to be whole once more. It made him jealous, and almost angry, that someone could live that way.
"You're lucky," he whispered, his hands grasping lightly onto his cold greyish arms. "I can only dream of such things."
Clare, on the other hand, didn't understand Demain's desires. Did... he not like being with him?
He straightened up a bit as another voice spoke, glancing over his shoulder to see who it was. Funny... he'd thought about her not too long ago.
"Hello," Demare simply answered, his wings stretching a little bit before relaxing again.
Hawk's Eye was oddly intrigued by the boy that was before Wren, which was why he was playing the game he was. Making himself slightly visible and then sneaking right back into Wren's shadow. For sure, it was irking Wren, but he was amusing himself. This one, he was similar to Wren, but he wasn't sure how. He let himself become visible again, eyes peering at Demare, but as Chandra entered the building, he disappeared once more into Wren's shadow.
Even if there was another fiend about now.
As it was, Wren smiled lightly at Chandra coming in, giving her a small nod, but his attention was on Demare. "I," he said quietly, "suppose I am, but ... I think I know what you mean by that." This boy, he wasn't quite a demon, and he wasn't an angel either. "But I'm not so lucky at times." He shook his head and glanced down at Lafe.
The fox-child was crawling about in his arms again, leaning out over them all most as if he was trying to get a better look at who had come in and gone past. This one, this was the one that had tried to play music for him. There was something about her ... Lafe's tail swished, ears cocked and straining to listen.
It had been a complete and utter mistake to go on that past-midnight walk and allow his beyond weary feet bring him where they would. It took him so long - more than a month now! - to build something "better" for himself.
Just a mindless, careless walk leads to the destruction of all that he'd accomplished.
Door handle under hand, he runs his left thumb across the thick metal, completely in a state of separation of mind and body. Something about this seems all too familiar, he decides, but his throat is rough and dry from a hard night at the club where he had just recently performed his third gig this week. Two more are set for tomorrow, and here he is, Headquarters door handle in hand and his feet finally going nowhere.
The door tugs open without warning, or rather without intent on Dare's part. He hadn't noticed his hand beginning to push in the appropriate way, the way that felt most natural, to open the door.
And then it hit him, just as the soft and warm glow of indoors touches his face in a similar way. Except this.. this isn't comforting like the Headquarters used to and still felt like they should be. No, this is the enemy now, and he had, quite literally, walked up to the doorstep and allowed himself passage inside.
Inside the dimly lit kitchen, Chandra started pulling open cabinets and drawers in search of a towel. When she found one on top of a pile of identical ones in a corner drawer, she pulled out out and cupped it in her hand.
Then, moving more purposefully, she made her way over to pull the freezer open. The door opened much easier than she had anticipated, sending it flying open with a bang. Startled, Chandra reached with a slightly trembling hand to take out an ice tray.
Lafe nearly jumped at the sound of the bang his ears and was suddenly hunching down in Wren's arms. There were so many noises. With the sound of that door opening, piercing silvery-blues were focused on the door way, despite the sudden noise.
His eyes were wide, staring at the figure that was coming inside. And father? Father was only shifting him in his arms, and that wasn't it at all.
Demare could only listen at the moment, feeling he understood well enough what Wren was saying. It was true... Neither demon, nor angel, and not good enough to be human. The only place he belonged was here, and yet at the same time... did he really belong there?
He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as the door opened once more. Glancing over his shoulder, his bi-colored eyes rested upon the musician that stood at the doorway, recognizing him only from having seen him play the guitar once as a baby. A stranger... A feeling of uncertainty. At the same time, however, something felt wrong. Why did the man look...
Demare's thoughts were interrupted by the sound from the kitchen, his head quickly snapping back to look forward. Chandra had gone in that direction, hadn't she? ...No, why did he care? Why did he feel concerned? But what if something happened? Someone else would surely take care of it. Someone else... I hate this.
"...If you'll excuse me for a moment," the child muttered as he cautiously made his way toward the kitchen, unsure if the woman really even wanted any help. He had to see, though, just to at least ease his mind.
Upon reaching the doorway, he merely peered inside the dimly lit room and waited for a moment before piping up, "You okay?"
Chandra looked back over her shoulder from where she was putting ice cubes into a towel by the sink at the sound of Demare's voice. Her gaze quickly flicked to the still open freezer door before returning to the split child.
"I am fine," she said, nodding slightly. "The freezer door seems to be loose on its hinges."
She faced the sink again and turned on the faucet to refill the ice cube tray she had emptied. When it was filled to her satisfaction, she walked over slowly to replace it in the freezer, which she closed with care.
"I needed ice cubes," she said, rather unnecessarily.
Returning to the bench, she gathered up the towel full of ice cubes and placed it against the side of her face.
"The ice should reduce swelling."
Wren nodded his head, eyes closing, and then it -- damnit. Why had he let himself get caught up in his thoughts about demons and angels and his existence. He turned ( Lafe squirming in his arms, trying to scramble up and look over his shoulder ) towards the kitchen and took a step forward and another.
Chandra, as he was sure that was her, had a bruise underneath her eye. Though Demare was all ready there, he was wondering if it was a situation that required an adult. ( And he could all ways thank his grandmother for her teaching him things in regards to healing and first aid. ) Somehow, he doubted it, but ...
Ice and swelling? Well, that would do it. He finally looked down at Lafe who had managed to make his way up to his shoulder. ... kid was part squirrel, had to be.
Demare blinked once, then twice before it completely clicked in his mind. She'd been hurt?? Who would hit a gi--... Well, he wasn't really one to talk, since he tended to beat up on Minami all the time. But she wasn't a girl! he used to protest.
"Can... I ask what happened?" he asked quietly, wondering in the back of his mind if there was something he could do. If Clare had only tapped into his powers...
Dare stares dumbly into the fairly well lit hallway, blinking twice before the entire thing processes in his head.
"... s**t."
It's not too late to turn around, he reasons, hesitating only slightly before shutting the door on the light and the scene. The harsh contrast of light and dark, having now shut himself off from basically the only light source, forces his eyes shut with a slight sting. He gladly takes this opportunity to rub at his closed and tired eyes, enjoying this chance for more reasons than one. Had anyone seen him come in..? Doesn't matter. They wouldn't say anything, and if they did end up ratting on him he'd.. he'd..
Deny it all. Or, blame it on being so bloody tired. Yeah, that's a belivable explination.
In this prolonged anguish, Dare's shoulder falls limp, the strap of his precious guitar case, still in perfect condition considering all circumstances, slides across the material of his jacket, threatening to fall off. With a mixture of a sigh and a growl, he separates his left hand from its soothing place against his eyes and forehead to nudge the strap into a more comfortable and safe position.
None the less, fate seems to like sending its demons after the Ranger this night. When he takes a step backwards from immediately facing the doorway, the porch wood breathes a sigh and gives out just a tad, but enough to send noises through the night air. First, the wood groans and snaps in more than one place, next exhaling as a toe sized hole splinters in the ground beneath his foot. His heel slams down in response, creating even more of a racket than he wished wouldn't happen..
Eyes moving from foot to door to wood to foot again, he does nothing more than to short circuit on the spot. Hissing angrily, he curses quite colourfully, having picked up on that from the downtown life. Tugging at his thick boot, he tries to pry his foot away from the wreckage. Someone was bound to have heard now, but if he's fast enough they'll be lucky to catch a glimpse of his back when he runs away.
Chandra wondered how effective ice would be given that she already had a lower than normal body temperature, but she kept that speculation to herself.
Meeting Demare's eyes with her own, she raised one eyebrow slightly at his question.
"You may ask, but I will choose not to answer. My weaknesses are my own affair."
She broke eyesight with him to look over at Wren and Lafe, who had also appeared in the area. Was everyone there to stare at her? She had not made that much noise.
Feeling uncomfortable, Chandra was relieved when she heard a sound outside. Her eyes narrowed and she marched out into the living room, blowing past Demare and Wren.
"Kiran, if you have followed me..." She muttered, throwing open the front door. "I will only put up with so much of this nonsense!"
Lafe hadn't been staring, no, his attention had been on the front door and the man that had gone back out it. Though the fact that Chandra went breezing right by made him swish his tail a little bit, but she was all ready gone by. For the baby, this was all very much interesting.
Wren, however, merely shrugged his shoulders. "Her business," he said simply, leaving it at that. Though it worried him, that she was bruised. That was general, though, odd that he was filled with such compassion for others at times.
... but who was Kiran? Since Chandra was moving that fast.
Well. Isn't this just peachy?
His eyes kept low, Dare gives his foot another violent tug. He could recognize that voice anywhere, though it has a slightly older touch to it now. That clue doesn't settle in, though, with the irritated and extremely exhasted Ranger as his plan of excape has been exposed and tossed aside. Another tug of the same value, and his foot breaks free from the broken board, rocking him backwards just a little.
Fuming silently at himself, as he knows this unwanted encounter has no one to blame but him, Dare grits his teeth and keeps his eyes fixated in a glare at the hole.
"Nonsense is right, eh? That's all I've ever been 'round here, nothing but amusement for everyone's ******** pleasure. S'all I'm ever gonna be, used but never damn taken seriously."
Forcing out a dry and bitter laugh, he shoves his gloved hands into his pockets, his eyes keeping their place on the darkness surrounding his feet.
"Nothing to see here, gate's closed, show's over, time to pack up and leave for the next town, to amuse the next set of people." He closes his eyes, the area around his left temple pounding, and his entire body feels as if it cries out simply for rest that usually comes after the eyes are closed.
Demare was still as Chandra slipped past him, not even bothering to look back as he heard the sounds from outside and then the front door opening. The musician... There was something wrong with that man. However, his throughts had remained on wondering who Kiran was. Was that the thing that hurt her? This... Kiran.
None the less, the child couldn't help but feel a little helpless. He shouldn't have asked. After all, he never let anyone meddle with his affairs, so why did he expect someone to allow him to help in theirs? Why did he even CARE?? The feeling was so odd... He sighed lightly, finally turning around to see that Wren and Lafe had also come to the kitchen.
"Are girls always like that?" he couldn't help but ask.
"You are not Kiran." Chandra said, startled. "The nonsense remark was for Kiran."
She had just assumed. Who else would be out skulking around in the dark?
With her free hand, Chandra nervously adjusted her clothes without being aware of it. Then she transferred the ice filled towel to her other hand and reached out to Dare.
"Are you physically stable?"
Lafe was shifting and moving about, but finally settled with a huff back in Wren's arms. There was no getting to look at what he wanted, though his ears went flat against his head, as if blocking out additional noise. His fingers were back to holding his tail, tugging on it lightly.
Wren smothered a small chuckle and glanced over at Demare. "Ah, well, not all, but if some have that type of personality -- then yes. Anybody can be like that though, Demare." However, it was curious. The fact that something was going on and ... well. Wren just hoped that there wouldn't be a fight. He didn't need to play mediator to teenagers.
Wasn't his business anyway.
Dare barks a laugh of surprise. Stable? Well sure, his foot wasn't broken or sprained or anything.
"I'm just fine," he insists immediately after a quick inspection of a foot twist. As her hand comes into view, however, he might as well have waited to answer that question.
Eyes following up from her hand to the origin of her shoulder, the height alone indicated the change to the Ranger. He doesn't take the hand offered to him; instead, his eyes are glued in stupid bewilderment at the sight he really hadn't bargained to expect when he looked up.
From behind dark glasses, Dare's green eyes change from their tired usual glance to a full out, widened awe at his oldest friend's transformation.
"What the hell happened to you?" he says in a weakened voice; whether the weakness was from his earlier vigorous singing or.. otherwise.. he couldn't [or wouldn't] tell. "You went and got old on me, Chandra."
As she realized that he didn't need assistance, Chandra withdrew her hand and used it to placed the now slightly damp towel back up by her eye.
She really wasn't sure what to say to Dare, so she concentrated on continuing to breathe and ignoring the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach like she was falling into a bottomless pit.
"I," she started, trailing off in an uncharacteristic manner. "As you said, I got older. It has been a while since we last spoke."
She took a deep breath, placing her free hand lightly over her stomach. Looking pointedly at Dare's shoulder, she wondered what she should even say. He seemed to be in a poor mood, which made the likelihood of him forgetting his feelings about their last encounter low.
"Why were you skulking around in the dark outside the HQ?"
Fully awake now, or as best as he'll ever get running on four hours of sleep for the past few weeks, Dare hangs on to every motion and word that Chandra expells. From this angle, he hadn't yet noticed the black eye, and that's probably for the best. Tipping his sunglasses over his eyes, he leans past her to shut the door, closing out even more light from his person.
"I wasn't doing anything," he says very roughly, his throat scratchy and increasingly sore. His large boots make a point to walk in the space around the hole, bringing him to the ledge of the porch area. Back turned on her, he finds it much easier to talk to her as if she wasn't really there.
Leaning forward on his arms, he squints through the dark glasses. Absolutely nothing can be distinguished from this view of the lawn - good.
"When'd'it happen?" His voice is lower, perhaps to emphasize something but in another respect to save his voice. He'd need it, if she was going to bring up .. that. Pain underlies the tone he uses, and he doesn't bother to remove it from his speech. It happened, they both knew it. Sticking around small talk would probably be best for the time being..
Demare only huffed at the thought, rolling his eyes a little bit. Girls were weird, he decided, and grown up girls were the worst. They were pretty, though, he had to admit... However, it just wasn't for him. Glancing toward the door for a moment, he noticed the angered mood had changed into a slightly sappy one. BLEH!! Okay, now he didn't want to be here anymore.
But how to leave without having to see them?
Looking around for a moment, he didn't really notice any doors in the back. Well, there went plan a! There weren't really any windows, either, so plan b was out as well. Thinking for a moment, it only left him with one option. ...It was just a matter of being not seen.
Glancing at Wren and Lafe for a moment, he waited for them to look away before he quietly stepped closer to the wall, and a little further down the dark hallway. Concentrating for a moment, his two red eyes opened fully as the halfling child began to melt into the shadows, watching the two until he seemed to just disappear from the headquarters completely.
"When did what happen?" Chandra asked, the volume of her voice rising to compensate for the even tones which tended to get lost over distance. "When did I grow? Several days ago at least. It is difficult to measure time as you do, since it passes differently in Death."
Caught up in the explanation, Chandra's hand shifted from her stomach to lightly stroke the cover of The Book. Wondering what level of detail about her adventures would be comfortable for Dare to hear, she sighed softly. After a couple moments she decided that trying to figure out what would make another person uncomfortable was beyond her, even if it was Dare.
Moving her hand from the cover of The Book to her hip, Chandra moved closer to Dare - but stayed behind him and out of his line of sight.
"Do you not like that I have grown? Am I not... attractive and desirable?" Chandra asked softly, deliberately recalling the same words Kiran had used to make her so uncomfortable.
"When did what happen?" Chandra asked, the volume of her voice rising to compensate for the even tones which tended to get lost over distance. "When did I grow? Several days ago at least. It is difficult to measure time as you do, since it passes differently in Death."
Caught up in the explanation, Chandra's hand shifted from her stomach to lightly stroke the cover of The Book. Wondering what level of detail about her adventures would be comfortable for Dare to hear, she sighed softly. After a couple moments she decided that trying to figure out what would make another person uncomfortable was beyond her, even if it was Dare.
Moving her hand from the cover of The Book to her hip, Chandra moved closer to Dare - but stayed behind him and out of his line of sight.
"Do you not like that I have grown? Am I not... attractive and desirable?" Chandra asked softly, deliberately recalling the same words Kiran had used to make her so uncomfortable.
"Wisdom is not born of age, but experience," Chandra chided gently, waving a hand to clear the smoke from the air in front of her. "Those will kill you," she added mildly, "and I can tell you from experience that Death is not a pleasant place."
She took a step back from him as she spoke, turning to the side so the side of her head she was holding the ice filled towel to was hidden from his inspection.
"What would you like me to ask of you?" She questioned, looking out at him out of the corners of her eyes. "What can I say that will not make you uncomfortable?"
Noticing a small trickle of water dripping off her chin, Chandra removed the towel and inspected the side of her face that was turned away with delicate fingers. Excellent, the area appeared numbed - which was all she had wanted. Clenching her jaw, she looked down and tossed the now useless and wet towel off the porch and into the darkness.
Wren had only looked away for a moment, distracted by something he heard from the two outside. While he had been waiting for Demare to say something, he obviously wasn't going to get a response. The child was gone and nowhere to be seen. ( "Good bye, kiddo," he murmured to thin air and shadows. ) At the faint trace of amusement he felt from Hawk's Eye, he was pretty sure he was missing something. Except he knew that -- well, he'd leave it be.
Lafe had seemingly fallen asleep in his arms, the tell-tale occasional twitch from his ear said otherwise, particularly when he started to move more. Those two out front were likely to be all right, and as it was, if he poked his nose into it -- just leave it at that Wren was thinking he'd lose his nose so to speak.
Humming a tune under his breath, really attempting to put Lafe to sleep, he found the backdoor out and headed out. Alex was probably causing a ruckus anyway, without Lafe around to play with. "I felt for sure last night and once we said goodbye," he sang quietly as he disappeared along the back path and out to the street going home, "no one else will know these lonely dreams, no one else will know that part of me ..."
Lafe only thumped once with his tail and shifted to get more comfortable.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:14 am
:: Ten of Swords ::
27.03.05; Pain not remembered. Fingers clawed, pulling at the metal, and the man that was wounded keened, the sound very reminiscent of a fox, as the cold iron blade could not be removed. His hand would not keep hold on it. Nasty marks were starting to race the lines of his veins, burns were on his hands from where he tried to grip the iron, and blood was pouring out from the wound at his side.
He keened again, knowing there was no way out of this end. To be killed was not how he thought of himself going, but that seemed to be how it was and he clutched at the grass beneath him, his tail slowly stopping it movements and the ears on his head relaxing from their constant twitching.
As he slowly sank into darkness and loose earth, those breaths farther and farther apart, he thought of a single person.
And then, like his life, the thought slipped away.  With Lafe one would think that the thing that would draw attention to him the most would be the fact that he had fox ears and a tail. The tail being the most obvious considering it was white, as opposed to the rest of him that was dark ( though his skin was pale, but still his tail was strikingly there against the rest of him ). Or even those pale silver-blue eyes of his that had the habit of seeming far too knowledgeable despite their owner's young age.
Except, those things were only the things that drew the most attention when the baby was dressed and staring at you and not so long ago, the fox-child had been changed from one set of clothing to another. It had been somewhat difficult to get the fox-child out of his onesie so that it could be cleaned, but Wren had managed it, and now the baby sat on the playing with some lego blocks that had been brought out when Mael had first arrived. Mael had grown past playing with them and Lafe seemed thoroughly attached to playing with them when Alejandro wasn't present.
That was the farthest thought from Wren's mind, however, as he pushed himself up so that he could sit on the counter and watch the small child play with the blocks on the kitchen floor. Instead, his eyes were studying the small fox-child, the very same one that had woken him up over a week previously from some sort of nightmare. It had been hard calming him down from the nightmare, harder because Alejandro was there as well and in full protective mode. Granted, Wren was barely lucky he came out of the situation with no bite marks -- from either child as it were.
It was becoming more obvious with each passing day that there were things about Lafe that Wren was probably never going to understand ( and he was beginning to wonder if this was common place with babies from this realm, but if he bothered to think about it his parents probably never understood him at that age and, well, he couldn't really blame them, he had been more than a little odd ). Still, the fact of the matter was that Wren had never encountered a baby with scars and that's what was on his mind.
Birthmarks were understandable, perhaps some sort of markings, but not actual scarring. It was something Wren couldn't seem to wrap his mind around. At least how Lafe ended up with the scars, because it did not look it was recent. Any attempts to get a closer look or touch the scars along the baby's right side lead to fussy behavior and snapping. The only time Wren could really get a look at the scars was when he changed Lafe's clothes or when the baby was getting a bath ( and that was never fun, because drying fur took forever ).
It was there against Lafe's right side, the scar tissue centered on a spot right below the baby's ribs, but seemed to stretch up above it and below it. As if something had pierced the skin then moved about without a care for the damage it would do or the pain something like that was likely to cause. The scar stretched from that one central point and traced out along the veins below the skin, except it wasn't truly like the rest of the scar, the flesh looking ashen, darkened along the veins and tinged a color that couldn't be named. It was as if poison had seeped through the veins from where the skin had been pierced.
And it was that scarring, those dark lines, that drew the most attention. At least in the case of the demon that looked after Lafe it did. When everything else about the child he could possible explain or understand ( eventually ), that scarring was the one thing he couldn't. The one thing that seemed out of place despite it all.
... but even then, somehow, it was in place. Though Lafe seemed reluctant about the scars, to the point that he'd shift and move to try and hide them it seemed when Wren paid attention to them, they were a part of the baby.
The sound of crashing blocks brought Wren's attention up, his eyes moving from Lafe's side to his face. The demon found himself under the penetrating stare of pale silver-blue eyes. Lafe was leaning forward slightly, his palms pressed flat to the ground and his tail swishing lazily behind him as he looked up at Wren. The lego blocks that he had been playing with and building up where spread out all around him, as if the baby had toppled them himself.
As if he had wanted to get Wren's attention on him.
And as Wren's thoughts turned away from the scarring on Lafe's back to the baby himself, he couldn't help but think there was something about those eyes.
Those pale silver-blue eyes.
What was he missing?
"Ten of Swords; you could pull it's meaning from the card itself. A prostrate figure, pierced by all the swords belonging to the card. Pain, tears, sadness, and desolation. It is loss and more."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:32 am
:: The Hanged Man | Part One ::
02.04.05; A glimpse into what has been ... "Stay right where you are. Don't even think about it, brat." Wren had abandoned the shopping cart and was standing in the middle of the grocery store aisle with his arms spread out. His current opponent, Mael, was only a few feet away, tail curled around his ankle but loosening to sway back and forth in that mischievous way. The toddler held a can of vegetables in his hands that his father had let him pluck off the self to hand to him to put in the cart. He was grinning from ear to ear, that smile not so much charming as impish.
"No." The demon reiterated, taking a step to pick up his errant charge just as said charge took a step back, and another, and then another -- and then the toddler broke out into a toddling run, can dropping from those hands of his to the floor with a clatter. "... bugger."
Rubbing his fingers against his temple, Wren turned back towards the shopping cart and the younger child that was buckled into it's seat. "You stay right there, I'll be right back." Turning his back to the fox-child that was still in the cart, he started to walk towards the end of the aisle, still hearing far too well the pitter patter of little feet and knowing it wasn't a good thing. Pausing for a moment, not quite wanting to have to leave Lafe alone for even a few seconds of time to snag Mael, he looked back over his shoulder and groaned quietly.
Really, he'd have to ignore the way that Lafe was staring at him, as if to say that if he could get out of the cart, he would do so and probably do exactly like Mael was. Except less for mischief and for the fact that he didn't like being contained. "... note to self: find way to send the Host a bag of dirty diapers -- I am not some personal joke." The grumbling faded slightly as Wren leaned out to look around a corner, only to get nearly ran over by a speeding toddler. "Hey, HEY!"
Lafe's ears were flat against his head, a tiny disgruntle growl escaping his lips as he continued to squirm in the seat he was in. While his fingers could get the buckle holding him in place undone, he didn't really fancy the fall that would come if he tried to get of the cart. All in all the fox-child couldn't understand why exactly Wren had to bring him along with Mael. Not like he wanted to, he was much more comfortable staying at home and playing with Alex.
He let out another disgruntle growl, tail lashing a bit irritably as much as it could in the small space he was buckled too. His small hands flattened against the bar and he smacked down on it briefly. This. Wasn't. Fair. Though his ears twitched at the sound of a display crashing to the ground nearby and a tiny smirk appeared on his face. At least Wren was having trouble dealing with Mael or so he thought.
Just as Lafe was starting to lean forward, head going to rest on the shopping cart handle, the sound of someone speaking reached his ears. One twitched backwards, intent on listening to the voice. Except the words that were spoken didn't seem like anything he could remember others speaking around him and while that meant this was something new to his ears, he couldn't help but find the words soothing and familiar.
Wriggling in his seat, Lafe tried to turn around to get a look at the speaker, only to come face to face with the stranger that was speaking so fluidly and fluently this different language. The man was far taller than his father, taller than mother as well. His hair was pitch black and his eyes a brilliant shade of blue. His skin seemed to shimmer somehow, but when Lafe blinked his eyes it didn't seem like it did anymore.
And even as the man seemed to say something else to him, in that tongue that Lafe seemed aware of, part of him was unwilling to trust the man while part of him wanted too regardless. The baby let out a small babble in greeting, the words falling slowly and shyly from his lips, just as his hand awkwardly raised in a small wave. Instincts and intuition were the things that Lafe was letting himself follow ( his sixth sense helping some ), telling him if this was dangerous or not.
The proverbial warning bells were not going off in his mind, even as the stranger smiled at him warmly and reached forward to grasp his hand. Lafe only peered up curiously at the man, letting his tiny fingers curl around and hold onto the tall dark man's thumb after a moment of judging it safe to do so. The skin Lafe held onto was warm, as any other's was, but smooth as well. Possibly the fingers of someone who didn't do work that involved his hands or had others do his work for him, but that didn't come to Lafe's mind. What came to his mind was that this man seemed nice, that he wasn't a threat, that he was --
"You'll never learn control if you don't center yourself." The voice was barely a whisper, but right up next to his ear, it was far too loud to his sensitive hearing. He all most instantly folded that fuzzy ear flat back against his head. Turning his head, the younger of the two gave the older man a glare.
"I am! Why can't you realize that?" He spoke in a near growl, trying to ignore the shaking of the dark haired man's head as he stepped away and moved to the other side of the camp fire they had built up for the night. He sat down as the younger man continued to glare at him.
"No, Lafe, you are concentrating, there's a difference between that and finding your center." The man nudged the fire a bit, willing it to pick up so that it would continue to burn through the cold night. Those eyes of his, however, were focused on the other man intently. The young man felt like they could pierce through to his very soul. "I'll give you that you could concentrate while the world is falling down around you, but you can't find yourself in that chaos -- and that's what you need to do."
"What are you saying? I thought you said I needed to concentrate to be able to grasp my gifts?" Those fingers, quick and deft, were running through the fur of his tail as an nervous habit, a twitch that he couldn't seem to rid himself of. He still couldn't quite understand what the man was getting at. Yes, he was his teacher, but at this point his teacher was not helping him very much at all.
It was probably one of those things he thought it best he figure out on his own.
"You need to concentrate, yes, but you need to center yourself as well. Find the calm in the storm, if you will. The one part of yourself, your power, that is all ways at ease, never turbulent, never nervous, never worrying about the next moment because the next moment is known. You'll need such a thing when your powers are overwhelming you with a vision, if it is too much." The words fell smoothly from the elder's mouth and the other found himself nodding in agreement. Somehow, a part of him knew what he was getting at now, and with that information in mind, those words in mind, he closed his eyes and tried again.
"... just center myself and control will be mine ..." The words were murmured, but even as they were, the young man was trying his hardest to succeed at what the man was attempting to coach him into doing.
-- that the images and words in Lafe's mind that appeared were startlingly clear and precise. He knew them instantly, as if they were his own memories, and though the baby did not quite understand them, they were locked down quickly within his mind. Information that was necessary for him, important all most, and he knew it regardless of being a baby. His tail swished slowly, mind pulling back from the vision and his eyes clearing from the fog that had covered them.
The dark man was still standing there, his thumb still in Lafe's grasp, and he was wriggling it a bit, as if testing the baby's strength as little as it seemed to be. Lafe held onto the thumb regardless, cool blue eyes peering up at the man. Just what had he imparted to him?
The man mumbled something in that gibberish of his and Lafe wrinkled up his nose a bit. He didn't like the sound of that one bit. Chuckling lightly, the man ruffled his hair lightly with his other hand and spoke again -- Lafe still didn't like whatever it was he was saying and he shook his head, abruptly scowling at the dark man for touching his hair. Letting go of the man's thumb, he brought up his small hands and rub them at his hair as if getting rid of the icky aspect of the other, the uncomfortable feeling that crawled underneath his skin whenever someone touched him and he could do nothing about it to stop it or put an end to it. When would others learn that he did not like to be touched? And it was only okay when he was okay with it?
Laughing to himself, and only making Lafe want to start growling at him, the man shook his head with barely concealed mirth at the baby. Just who did this man think he was? Getting ready to actually growl, Lafe's ears all ready cocking back and his lips pulling up in a small snarl, baby fangs visible for one brief instance, and his tail beginning to thump irritably, he found himself suddenly put at ease by the sound of Wren approaching and Mael's squirming and hissing to get out of his arms.
"Damn, Pierce, if you're going to try and help me catch Mael, don't send me a vision of where he's going to be -- just tell me," the demon said in a grumble, slowly coming to a halt by the cart, arms still trying to contain the wriggling snake-child who's tail was lashing about in attempt to get him free. Except his eyes went from the seemingly getting towards extremely agitated Lafe to the man standing next to him with mirth in his deep blue eyes.
"Do I know you?" Wren questioned, the words coming out far more suspicious than he meant. He spoke without a second thought as to guarding his tone and making sure his true feelings weren't heard. This time they were and the dark blue eyes on the man that had been focused on Lafe turned to Wren.
"Ah, I do not believe so, young man," there was a glint of mischief in the man's eyes as he said young man, "but I was merely having a few words with this baby here." The man made a small gesture towards Lafe with his hand, who was now ignoring him if only because of those words he did not understand and did not like.
"Just what would you have to say to a baby?" The question was, still, laced with suspicion. Wren was never too cautious with strangers and his children, particularly after the incident with Nora. Though Mael was still squirming and struggling in his arms and he finally planted the toddler firmly in the cart itself, a sudden hiss of his own making the boy go still.
"Lots, actually, but I don't think it matters now." There was a smile on the man's face that Wren didn't like; it was a smile that was far too knowing. "Still, there's something a bit different about this little boy, besides the ears and tail of course." The man reached out with a hand as if to scratch at one of Lafe's ears, but stopped mid-motion, his eyes turning towards Wren who was staring at him.
"And just what is that?" The tone was sarcastic and Wren suddenly cast a nervous glance of his shoulder towards Hawk's Eye before looking back at Mael briefly, then Lafe and finally the man. Things were all right, but why did he have the odd feeling he was once again missing something?
"Have you really looked at his eyes before?" the man murmured, lowering his head to be on eye level with Lafe. "His eyes are such a unique color of blue, pale with hints of silver. They're all most luminescent, but they are most definitely changeling eyes ..." Raising his head, black hair falling over a shoulder, the man's own brilliant blue eyes met Wren's. "I wonder, if you realize, that this child may be fae?"
Wren's hand was resting on top of Mael's head, trying to still the child and his attempt to climb right back out of the cart he was in. His eyes followed the man, his ears took in the words, and then his attention was drawn to Lafe. "... now that you mention it," he murmured, eyes going wide as things suddenly started to click into place for him.
"A faerie relating to animals, obviously the fox," the words were interjected, regardless of the fact Wren may have had something else to speak. Not quite caring if Lafe objected or not, a pale hand reached forward to lightly envelope Lafe's own, the hint of some tattoo under a sleeve briefly visible on the man's arm. "He'll need protection as he gets older, from many things, I am sure," the man chuckled, muttering under his breath again in that language that Lafe knew, but could not remember. "No matter, he's likely to be safe in your care, if not because of where he belongs." Squeezing Lafe's hand lightly, the man pulled his hand back and stepped towards Wren. "Perhaps we shall see each other again, hm?"
Barely even nodding his head, not quite sure how to deal with such a surreal moment -- even for him -- Wren felt the man pat him on the head ( resisting a snarl of his own ) and disappear down the aisle. His eyes were on Lafe, who's attention was on the man departing. There was a fierce look in his eyes, full of understanding far beyond his years.
Just why did it all ways seem that Lafe knew far more than he did?
"The past shall shape your future, and you can only hope that the perception of The Hanged Man will help you on the roads ahead."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:58 am
:: The Hanged Man | Part Two ::
02.04.05; Who are you? "I can't see how I missed it!" Wren muttered to himself, pacing back and forth in front of Lafe who sat comfortably on the sofa firmly ignoring Mael who kept trying to reach out and scratch his ears. Every time Mael got too close, Lafe let out a particularly nasty growl, for a baby, and snapped at the toddler. It was enough he was letting the older boy into his bubble of personal space ( which was quite large as it was ), but he would not tolerate the other touching him -- it wasn't acceptable.
'Missed?' The words echoed faintly across Wren's mind and turning his attention from the two children, about to break up a potential fight, he looked towards Hawk's Eye who was peacefully lurking within the shadows while dying afternoon light filtered into living room. His eyes glowed faintly from the shadows and for a moment Wren's thoughts drifted away from the children and his fiend, to that of his parents. The demon's mother had all ways said that his eyes, though not the same color, glowed in a way that was similar to his father and to his grandfather. Not as brightly, but they could all the same.
"Well," the demon started, but then shook his head trying to clear his thoughts away and focus on what was truly on his mind. "I can't see how I missed the potential of Lafe being fae." Wren's eyes went once more to Lafe who was still on the sofa. He had scooted back now, further away from Mael and his lips were curled in a slight snarl as if warning the toddler that to come closer was to forfeit any and all chances of them playing nicely.
'Fae?' Hawk's Eye shifted closer, his curiousity for once child-like and not entirely mischievous. 'What's that?' Wren smiled faintly, holding back the answer that wanted to come to his lips. It wouldn't do, not to reveal such things, but it couldn't hurt in some cases -- not the half truth, at least. It wasn't like the children present in the room truly understood him, though sometimes he had to wonder. The demon found it easily to call his knowledge of fae to the front of his mind, letting Hawk's Eye have a look at what he would share.
"It's just a term for a particular type of being. They've been referred to as many things over the endless time that's passed so far. Faeries is another term for them, though not all like to be called that are and some don't even refer to themselves as such," the words flowed freely from the demon's lips, even if it wasn't an easy concept to explain, and what he couldn't exactly express to Hawk's Eye in words, the fiend picked from his thoughts and memories of knowledge gained. Things were far easier to explain when the one you were explaining to was a tag-a-long in your own mind.
'... and Lafe is fae?' Hawk's Eye was creeping closer the pair on the sofa, his eyes warily watching Mael, but more interested in Lafe at the moment. Eventually the fiend just shifted his form until he was nothing but darkness and shadow himself, hiding near the table and he could peer up at him. Mael was far more interested in getting reactions out of Lafe as it was, though Lafe was at the point he was ignoring him. The fox-child knew the snake was only doing what he was doing for the sake of riling him up. ... and potentially scratching his ears, but Lafe wasn't aware of Mael's particular fascination for fuzzy soft things.
"I believe so." Crouching down, arms folding across his knees, Wren balanced himself on the tips of his toes and watched the two. "It's odd that man noticed, odder how he was interacting with Lafe, but I can't ignore his words. I guess I can't be too surprised I missed the possibility of Lafe being a fae, but here things are different. People can be part animal and all that, and never mind that back home," if he could call the plane of existence he came from home, "fae are rare, very rare. Nature is no longer plentiful, only a few sacred places of it left, and even then there are few fae who know where a place like that is or made it through all the destruction. It simply isn't a place that can truly support the existence of faeries ..."
The fiend did not respond that time, merely cutting his eyes towards Wren, though the demon did not notice it. It was easy to see the thoughts crossing his guardian's mind, though these were the ones he was willing to share, not the ones that were carefully guarded by the strong defenses of his mind. There was a flash of earth, not green and flourishing, but endless deserts that stretched on, no trees visible, and the light in the distance of a vast city of metal and concrete, where dark things lived -- things that were potentially darker than Hawk, and he was a part of the shadows themselves.
"Still," Wren's voice cut through Hawk's drifting thoughts and curiousity at where he came from; the demon's eyes were on the children still, "considering that, I can see why I missed it, but if you think of -- never mind that." He was rocking back and forth on his heels now, watching the way that Lafe's fingers were tugging on the scarf so that he could bury his face into it as another example that he was, indeed, trying to ignore Mael.
"The bloke mentioned Lafe being related to the fox, which I all ready realized, but a faerie relating to animals?" Talking out loud was good for helping him work through things and the only one truly realizing his words was Hawk's Eye, Mael might've but he ignored it as it was garble, and Lafe? Lafe looked like he all ways understood, but just didn't bother to admit it, though that could've been Wren's imagination. "Mother would tell me stories when I was a kid, about all sorts of things, particularly when it would get me to go to sleep so mom and dad could have their 'private time'. Brought up faeries a lot, most of the time, since -- well, they were all most mythical in a way. You didn't see them all that often.
"The only one, though, that comes to mind as to being related to animals is the pooka." Watching carefully, Wren let out an amused chuckle as Lafe wrinkled up his nose and snapped at Mael as he tried to go after his ears once more. Those silver-blue eyes suddenly glinted deviously and Lafe went completely still after he pulled back from snapping. The fox-child had gone entirely silent and was unmoving, which served to pique Mael's interest. The demon wasn't quite sure what was up, but he watched, starting to speak once more since Hawk had drifted back to his shadow.
'What's a, ah, pooka?' If Hawk had been visible, Wren might've seen his face wrinkle up as he tried the word out mentally. It sounded odd, but he spoke it nonetheless.
"Some say it was a dark faerie, which probably explains why mother talked about it, that could take the shape and form of an animal. The pooka was just as mysterious as it was mischievous and liked to cause chaos for those that crossed their paths. Mom use to say that you really shouldn't take anything a pooka says for face value either, since lies tend to be the language they speak best, but you shouldn't even believe that either, because a pooka probably started that rumor, just to confuse everyone." The demon chuckled once more, shaking his head. "Anyway, pooka are able to shift forms into an animal -- though some legends say only one form, and others say many -- in any case, they probably carry animal like characteristics. Usually relating to whatever animal they're partial to, and Lafe's features are rather vulpine in appearance, so ..."
'He's a pooka.' Hawk whispered into his mind, not really leaving any room for it to be a question. Wren merely nodded his head in agreement, the tips of his fingers pressing against the carpeted floor and pushing up so that he could stand and stretch out.
"I assume as much, but I could all ways be wrong. It's not like I can go and drag my mother here and have it confirmed." Actually, he probably could, but he wouldn't all the same. Honestly, whenever his family came into contact with Halo he had this sneaking suspicion that Halo enjoyed it far too much ( and so did Wren, but he really tried to seem like he wasn't ).
A sudden yelp of a hiss brought Wren's attention back to the two on the sofa, Hawk's Eye snickering in the back of his mind ( a clear sign the fiend had seen whatever coming and did not inform him, if only because it was affecting Mael ). Mael was apparently on the far end of the sofa, away from Lafe, and holding his hand with the other. After a moment, he brought it up and his forked tongue flickered out to lick at the bite mark.
Lafe had totally suckered him in and made him pay for trying to mess with him when he didn't want to be messed with. The fox-child, pooka now in Wren's thoughts, was sitting back comfortably against the sofa, his tail swishing back and forth lazily. It was the devious glint in Lafe's eyes that threw Wren off, the way his eyes looked far too knowing once more.
Sighing, the demon moved to go have a look at Mael's hand and separate the two before anything else went wrong. It was just another sign that when he thought he knew everything about Lafe, he was proven entirely wrong. This baby kept his secrets, and kept them well without even realizing it.
"Wisdom and intuition shall help you overcome the trials of this card, The Hanged Man. You see the future ahead of you, but not all ways clearly, and will, in time, realize the need for sacrifices made because of this. Be wary, however, of being drawn into crowds -- though in your case, I think that may be a little too late."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:10 am
:: Another Late Night ::
18.04.05; RP; Passing on ... the egg?! Glancing from his cupped hands to the steps before him, Levi sighed. Aki was so difficult sometimes! Taking the first step, grunting as he pushed upwards, Levi brought his other foot up as well. Both feet together on the same step, he repeated the process....making his way as carefully as possible to the landing before the door.
"Ah did eet!!" Grinning back at Aki, Levi wobbled...glancing down to his cupped hands with worry. The egg was still intact, cradled gently in the lad's hands. Letting out a sigh of relief, the young pirate shifted his gaze back to his guardian. "Hopen."
"Please."
Levi scrunched up his face, glaring at the elf as she made her own way up the stairs. Manners were for girls.
"Guh. Hokay. Peas."
"I'd be happy to!" Opening the door with a smile, Aki stepped aside...watching Levi stroll in. He held the egg so carefully! Perhaps he was more responsible that she'd thought...
Levi paused in the center of the room, turning in a complete circle before peering back at Aki. "Wha? War es?"
"Sweetie, I told you it might be empty! Let's hang out for a few minutes...we'll head home before too long!"
Lafe was glaring all most balefully up at Wren through his dark red hair. His fingers were firmly clasped around his tail, occasionally running his fingers through the white fur. He hadn't exactly wanted to go out, but the demon had insisted -- never mind he wasn't exactly fond of being cradled in the man's arms and he would have rather been at home playing.
Then again, Wren had an ace in the hole, so to speak. He just hadn't let Lafe have it yet. It was his own tarot card set, a deck of cards similar to The Moon card that was attached to Lafe's scarf and he was so careful about.
"We're all ready here, Lafe." Wren murmured, shifting the child in his arms as he pulled the door open. "So stop glaring, eh?"
Levi spun as the door clicked open, surprise rapidly turning to shock as the egg in his hands rocked dangerously. Fumbling with it, eyes wide, Levi finally found his grip...a fox eyed smile blossoming as he grinned from it to the other Legend.
"Kikiki! Heh!"
Levi didn't risk waving, holding the egg carefully to his chest. Instead he cocked his head at Lafe, still grinning behind his fall of dark bangs. "Co mah!"
Aki simply smiled, offering Wren a little wave as the two entered. It looked like they'd put off going home just a bit longer!
Wren slowed his eyes, the sound of Levi's voice making pause. "Oi, 'lo there kiddo!" The demon grinned easily, getting one hand free to wave it at Levi before waving it in Aki's direction, as well as giving her a polite nod in greeting. "Nice to see some others here," he said as he came further inside, carefully handling the squirming fox-child in his hands.
Well, pooka to be specific, but he didn't think it necessary to let that out yet. Not when he had only recently finally figured it out.
Lafe merely leaned over Wren's arms, sharp grey-blue eyes peering at Levi with mild curiousity. Still, he only vaguely remembered this one and he wasn't too sure about him. ... and just why was he holding that thing so close to him like that? His fingers slowly let loose of his tail, attention still on Levi, deciding what to make of him and utterly silent.
Lucifer Force Okay, that just tasted gross. Luciel, mancubus in all her glory, poked her head into the Legend HQ. Gyre was sitting atop one of her caretaker's shoulders as more feather fluff landed on Lu's face. The woman spat and sputtered, stumbling full-on into the front room. Gyre giggled and slowly slid down to the floor. "More babies!" she cried joyfully, not caring whether or not the babies were happy to see her. Dashing blinding into the kitchen, Lu dunked her head under a facet to clean her face off. Levi met Lafe's gaze, smiling with enough amusement to make up for the other boy's reserved demeanor. Opening his mouth to repeat his offer, Levi was interrupted before he could speak...mouth staying open in surprise as the newcomer rushed forward. Shutting his mouth slowly, Levi's eyes stayed wide with interest as he watched Gyre...one hand sliding off the egg as his arms lowered to his sides. Jumping as he realized it, Levi yanked the egg back up to rest against his chest. His gaze flicked to the side as he tried to see if Aki had noticed. She had, but the elf gave no such indication to Levi. Besides, his reaction was more telling than his close call. Regardless, the egg was in one piece. No harm done, really. Peering at Gyre once more, Levi looked from the newcomer to Lafe...trying to read the other boy's reaction. There was something odd about this new Legend...Levi couldn't quite figure out what. Perhaps the kitty boy knew! Wren actually tried to move to side, avoiding getting bumped into or anything of the like, particularly with the newcomer -- someone he didn't recognize -- came stumbling in. His own fault for not moving that far away from the door of the place. The grip on Lafe tightening for just a moment, it loosened when he felt that tail thump him in the chest for the unwanted gesture. Lafe himself had been distracted by the sudden entrance, his ears going back, flat against his head at the loud call. He took a sniff of the air, none of the scents familiar, except for Wren's, as well as the other boy's and the woman -- the others were unknown. His eyes settling on Gyre, a piercing studying look, it could very well stay that way. Fingers suddenly finding a tight grip on Wren's clothing, the pooka glanced up at him. ... though he was a little curious to see Levi and what he was holding. His attention shifted back from Gyre to Levi and his fingers loosened their weak grip on Wren's shirt, particularly since the demon was all ready making the motions of letting him go with a quiet chuckle. He could feel the slight amusement and worry. He'd be fine! ... really, he would be! Lucifer Force Spitting and wiping the remainder of the water on her shirt, Luciel breathed a sigh of relief. That infernal itching had finally subsided, and.. Oh! New people! She waved, smiling, from the kitchen. She calmly walked back into civilization now that the feather fluff crisis had been averted. Gyre sniffed the air as well. Another cat-thing? Lovely. Didn't Legends come in something other than cat? She fluffled her wings, turning away from Lafe to look at whomever had gotten the cat's attention. He was holding...an egg? "Didjoo lay an egg?" she had to ask, toddling up to see first-hand. Was he a bird? Did he lay the egg? Levi kept his eyes on Gyre, angling his body slightly to keep a shoulder between the newcomer and his burden. "Mah eck." It wasn't that he didn't like the new Legend, but he knew the consequences of having the little white egg shatter...it had taken him a whole week to talk Aki into giving him another chance. "Whahew? Aye 'Vi."Waving slowly to the woman as she emerged from the kitchen, Aki gave her a slightly puzzled smile. That was quite an arrival! "Hi! I'm Aki, this is Levi! It's, uh...well, great to meet you!!" It was hard to chat and keep an eye on Levi at the same time. Luckily, he seemed to be playing nicely with the others...what a nice change of pace! Wren gave a wave in greeting himself, from where he was crouching on the ground. Lafe was still close to him, merely watching the other two and not quite sure what to make of them. Then again, he wasn't even sure if Lafe would -- scratch that, it looked the other woman and her baby were disappearing off again to creator knew where. Finally standing up, Wren raised an eyebrow to see just what Lafe would do, before smiling over at Aki and speaking. "See we ran into each other again." Lafe's fingers were clutching at his scarf, but he released it slowly, eyes studying Gyre and Levi and then just Levi. ( Though, there was something unsettling about Gyre to him, the fox-child just wasn't sure what. ) Finally, after a few moments, he started to slowly crawl ( walking wasn't even something he had thought of yet ) forward to see for himself. Wasn't like he could expect the boy with the egg to come to him, could he? Brow furrowing as the newcomer was whisked away, Levi watched the door click shut curiously. Who... was that?! What an odd meeting!! Shifting his gaze back to Lafe as the boy crawled forward, Levi plopped back onto his bottom...holding the egg in one little hand. Making scritchy motions with his other hand, Levi's face brightened with a grin. He remembered Lafe...he had ears like Dema's brother!! Levi was a little jealous... he didn't have furry ears!! "Whedat?" Voicing his interest without bothering to specify the question, Levi shrugged at Lafe. Even Aki had pointy ears...except hers were naked. "Wha?"Aki winced at Levi as he plopped backwards...sighing as the egg remained intact. She didn't know how he could see with that much hair in his eyes, let alone navigate well enough to spare his burden! Shifting her smile to Wren, Aki returned the nod. "It's good to see you again! You know...if you have time, there is a question I would like to ask you." She left the question hanging...there was no point in bothering the poor man if he wasn't staying much longer. Besides, it was a tricky thing to ask, Aki was worried about coming across as nosy. Scooting over to make room on the couch, Aki pulled her bag onto her lap. She hoped she wasn't prying... Lafe's movements paused, his head tilting just slightly and his ears going back. He knew that motion that Levi was making with the hand not holding the egg and it distracted him from everything else -- it meant he wanted to touch his ears and Mael made it all the time, and sometimes father did, but he avoided it as best he could. It wasn't like he felt any sort of mischievous intent from Levi, but he wasn't too keen on the idea of his ears being scritched, scratched, whatever. Ears still back, not letting that stop him, he started to move forward again at a slower pace. Finally, he arrived just out of the reach of Levi's arms, falling back into a sitting position, his tail swaying a bit behind him as he got comfortable. The pooka merely offered a small wave of his one hand, the barest hints of a smile on his lips. Levi seemed all right ... Watchful eyes turning from the two children ( though wondering briefly about the egg ), he turned to Aki with a raised eyebrow. "I've got the time," he replied easily, walking over to her and smiling in thanks as she made room on the couch. It would be a pain to be sitting on the chairs, or dragging one closer to the couch at least, and it had the best view of where the kids were at. He sat down easily, head tilting to peer at Aki. "So feel free to ask whatever it is." Though he wasn't sure what to expect, from the way she spoke. He nudged his glasses up with a finger, eyebrow raised again in expectation. Aki smiled with gratitude, eyes dropping to the bag on her lap. Speaking quietly, not wanting to trouble Levi, the elf raised her bright eyes briefly as she asked her question. "Does Lafe...ever have dreams? Sometimes, when Levi is asleep, he gets so riled up over what he's dreaming..." It was a hard thing to ask. Not only was she hoping she'd remembered the boy's name correctly, it was hard to stress the point of her concern. She'd woken up on several occasions because of Levi's stirring in his sleep...the laughing was the worst. Lifting her eyes once more to Wren's, Aki smiled sadly. She didn't know if it was normal...for children of their age, children of their type...but she had to be sure that Levi was okay. Levi rocked back as Lafe paused, tuning out the adults completely. Dreams were the farthest thing from his mind! The boy had his ears put back...that always happened right before a Sylph snapped at him. Withdrawing his hand, not particularly wishing to be bitten, Levi chuckled. He should introduce Lafe to Alex! Talk about a firm bite!! Instead, he simply returned Lafe's wave, following the other Legend's gaze down to the egg. Brow furrowing as he placed the egg on the floor between them, Levi pointed to it proudly. "Ah spons'bo."Only a few more hours! As long as he could take care of it for an entire day, Aki would give him what he wanted!! Growing bored at discussing his egg, Levi peered at Lafe's swishing tail instead. "Preekiki!"Wren's eyes shifted briefly from Aki back over to Levi and Lafe before he focused on her once more. He gave her a small half-smile, before really turning back to look at her. "He's had dreams, yes. A few night terrors that have woken the wife and me up and needed tending too, and a normal dream, I think -- he just got too into whatever it was." His tone was quiet, fingers toying with the sleeve of his white shirt. "Why do you ask?" His eyes were firmly focused on her. It wasn't like dreaming was out of the ordinary for babies. Lafe's ears slowly came back up as Levi's hand was pulled back, one twitching slightly as if listening to whatever the adults were speaking of, but not quite tuning in. Not like he cared. ( Though, the truth was, he was likely to bite if scritchies occurred if he wasn't in the mood for them. ) Lips quirking up into a very slight smile, a small nod as if he understood just what Levi said, he reached out a hand to tentatively touch it to the egg gently. If the other was taking care of it, then it would be a bad idea to let harm come to it, right? Right. His eyes shot up when Levi spoke, one eyebrow raised as if he had no clue what he was talking about. His tail, however, kept swishing regardless. Had to wonder how ended up with a white tail, but it wasn't like anybody knew. Wrinkling his nose as Lafe pawed gently at the egg, Levi's face relaxed back into a lopsided grin as the egg was revealed unharmed once more. Lafe was a decent fellow, it seemed...he didn't take Levi's egg, or smush it out of jealousy that Levi was given such a big token of trust. Okay then! Crossing his legs, baggy dark pants folding over his wrapped feet, Levi leaned forward in that limber manner of children and peered at the scrap attached to the boy's scarf. There was a picture on it! Pointing, Levi sighed in admiration. "Whadat? Eh?"Aki glanced from the children back to Wren, coloring pink at his attention. She'd gone and embarrassed herself...of course Lafe had dreams! "I ask...well. I suppose I'm talking about...anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes, I can hear him laughing...so deep and long, so heartfelt. I've...never heard that when he's awake." Shrugging, Aki toyed with the clasp of her bag. It was a silly thing, really, but to be jolted by that laugh in the dead hours of the dark morning...sighing, she offered her companion another tight smile. A silly thing. Lafe was hardly that sort! ... well, mostly he was hardly that sort, on a different day and a different attitude there were no guarantees. Besides, the egg seemed important, that was enough for him to leave it alone if Levi was a trustworthy bloke. Eyes following where Levi was pointing, he reached forward with his hands to brush his finger tips across the card before pulling back. As much as it was pretty to look at, the card bothered him. A lot. It was unsettling to have it there attached to his scarf, but he did like it nonetheless. Looking back at Levi, he -- for a change -- actually attempted to speak. "Mm-mmh- mmph." Lafe wrinkled up his nose, letting out a tiny growl of frustration. He wasn't sure what to say, and even then, he couldn't say it and didn't know how. Not that he was a fan of speaking, even in that garbled baby speak, and how could you say that it was shiny, what he had, but he didn't quite like it either? Too much to express. Wren only smiled a little easier at Aki, particularly when she blushed. "Night terrors are out of the ordinary, but this seems to be the complete opposite -- what you're talking about." He leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I've no clue. I mean, who knows what he could be dreaming. He's a special boy, you know?" With all the children being Legends and all that, but that was something else, or maybe not in this case. Who was he to say? "It may just be passing, these dreams, but they might not be. If they're that happy, it's a good thing. Unless you can dreamwalk or something similar, I doubt you'll find out what they are exactly." The demon blew a strand of hair out of his face, not quite sure how to get out all that he did know about dreams. Aki rocked back, gazing at Levi for a long thoughtful moment as she listened to Wren. "Dreamwalk? I've heard stories, but I have no such talent. Do you...know anyone who does?" Shifting her gaze back to Wren's face, searching for a hint of mockery, Aki's smile faded. Levi grinned, eyes suddenly wide behind his brush of dark bangs as Lafe babbled something indistinct. It mattered little to Levi...adults rarely made sense either. He simply assumed Lafe had said ' this is mine' or something of the like. "Tesher." Speaking clearly, just like Aki did when she tried to teach him a new word, Levi pointed to the card. In a flash of sudden insight, he glanced to Aki. The elf was talking quietly with Lafe's guardian. Reaching into his outer shirt, Levi pulled out a photograph. A young woman's face, freckled despite the overexposure, smiled up at the camera...silhouetted by the azure sea beyond the cliffs. "Tesher." Treasure, indeed. It was the picture he'd found in the book at his home...the dusty book filled with scribbles. Lafe liked pictures it seemed...maybe he'd like this one too! This was the reason Levi had stared at the squiggles so long...he knew words meant stories. That was a picture of the story he wanted to hear. "Not anyone I know personally, just rumors I've heard." Wren shook his head, lifting his glasses up for a moment to rub his closed eyes. When they were back down, of course, he did look at Aki -- there wasn't a hint of mockery or anything else in his expression or in his eyes. With children, no matter what, his concern was all ways genuine, so was the urge to be helpful. ( Though he was likely to have some laugh at him for that, that it was like that with him, but Aki wasn't human he thought, so they couldn't laugh much! ) "Just give it time, see what happens. If the dreams continue on for a extended amount of time, then do something. Or look into finding another avenue of information. Books, perhaps?" There were plenty around this particular place, Gaia, after all. No telling what was in some of them. Lafe's ears cocked forward, intently listening to what Levi had to say. Did the other want him to repeat after him? Was that it? His lips move silently as if trying out what the other was saying, but it wasn't completely grasped -- just what was Levi saying? Piercing eyes focused on the photograph and then up at Levi. Was there something special about this picture? It was pretty, but it looked different that some of the other pictures he had seen. What did this one mean exactly? Though Levi seemed to like it ... "Thr-" he started out, quietly, before trying again. "Thrs-" The pooka shook his head, nose wrinkling up. "Thrsh." He finally said, obviously not pleased with the babble, but it seemed to be the best he could do -- that last syllable just wasn't going to work out. "Y...yah!!" Beaming at the muttering boy, Levi chuckled...Lafe was definately worth talking to! "Tesher!"If Lafe was so smart, maybe he was responsible too! Levi lifted his egg gently from the ground...still giggling as he peered down at it. If he kept it from breaking all day, he'd get to hold the knife Aki had taken away from him! Maybe if Lafe kept it from breaking, he'd get a knife too! Levi's eyes went wide at the thought. They'd both have knives...and how great would that be!? Lifting it slowly, eyes never leaving the pale shell, Levi passed the egg to Lafe. "Ah tesher! Nundop it!"Aki had all but tuned the boys out, seriously giving Wren's suggestion some thought. The man seemed genuine, perhaps she could do some research! She'd give anything to know what Levi laughed for... Glancing reflexively to her charge at the thought of him, Aki's mouth fell open as she watched Levi offer the egg forward. What was he doing?! Lafe was so young, he was giving away his only chance to have his dagger back! Closing her mouth slowly, Aki kept her concerns to herself and simply watched. It was rather...unexpected, to see Levi give something up. Lafe smiled for a change, not the half-smile that everybody usually got ( everybody with the exception of Alex, who got his full smiles ), and let out a small laugh of his own. If repeating vague sounds got that reaction, well, who was he to deny doing it? For now, anyway. Watching Levi carefully, he peered at him curiously. Just what was he -- oh! He wanted him to hold the egg, but Lafe only gave him a slightly unknowing expression with what he said after he took the egg carefully. It was cradled in both his small hands, not quite sure what to do but to hold it. He'd seen these things go splat before and it was a yucky mess, it wouldn't do for that to happen. It wobbled a bit in his hands, but he was steadfastly making sure that it didn't fall as he held it. Wren was barely keeping an eye on Lafe, though his fingers finally did settle on the tarot card set in his pocket. He'd have to give it to him later then, the baby was likely to enjoy it he hoped. Though, at the egg exchange, he merely raised an eyebrow and chuckle. "Cute," he murmured, before turning to look at Aki. "Didn't expect that, I take it?" he ventured, in reference to the egg, mind for a moment away from the topic they had been talking about. Aki shook her head, laughing in sheer surprise. "Not at all! Oh, my poor boy...he must be exhausted. That's the only thing I can think of!" Still laughing, Aki got to her feet. That wasn't entirely true, Levi was very sweet when he wanted to be, but usually gift giving was a bit more calculated. Random generosity was unusual! Digging in her bag for her little note book, Aki scribbled her number...ripping the sheet off and handing it to Wren. "I appreciate your advice...if I come across anything, or any one, I'll let you know." Offering him one last smile, Aki slung the bag over her shoulder and strolled over to Levi. "Let's get moving, kid! Past your storytime!" Levi had been smiling at Lafe, delighted the other boy had actually laughed. Maybe he was like Kaimana! Shy at first, but friendly after a few meals together! The young pirate was so wrapped up in this train of thought that he didn't realize Aki was looming over him until it was too late. Snatching the photograph, shoving it back in his shirt, Levi glanced up with huge eyes to see if the elf had noticed. Aki had indeed, it was a hard action to miss. Blinking at the brief glimpse of the picture, she furrowed her brow at his reaction...before smiling in sudden understanding. Maybe that was why Levi had given Lafe his egg...he'd been given a pretty picture first! Scooping up Levi, Aki blew a little kiss and offered a tiny wave to Lafe. "Goodnight boys! You two played so well together! Wren, if Lafe would ever like to come play, you're both more than welcome!" Levi sighed, drumming Aki with his heels. He was really getting too big to be picked up...but he wasn't about to complain. Waving to Lafe, ignoring Wren entirely, the young pirate gave the pooka a smile. "Nini!Wren chuckled at Aki's explanation, nodding his head slightly, even if he wasn't quite sure that was it. "Perhaps, it is late," he replied, shifting and stretching some on the couch -- only a little, so he didn't disturb Aki where she was sitting. ( Not that he could, not that he was that tall in the first place, and not that he was that large. ) Taking her phone number, he smiled warmly. "Thanks for that. I'd be interested if you did." Slipping the number, watching Aki move towards Levi, he pushed himself up as well to get Lafe. It was bound to be past the point where even Lafe would have to sleep; didn't matter if the pooka was nocturnal half the time. Lafe's ears went back slightly as Aki approached, the egg being brought closer to himself as if protecting it. He tried to make a gesture that the woman was approaching, but couldn't, not with the egg in his hands and a particular thump of his tail was hardly a sign. Grey-blue eyes looked up at Aki, briefly watching Levi as he put away his 'thrsh'. Lafe merely blinked curiously as a kiss and a wave was given in his direction. ... just what was that all about? "I'll remember that!" Wren called after her, all ready crouching down next to Lafe to scoop him up. ( But looking for the best way to do so, considering the pooka was being protective of the egg. ) "He just might, since him and Levi got along so well." Which was a good thing, considering how shy Lafe was. Lafe, ignoring his father for the time being, gave Levi a tiny smile in goodbye since his hands were busy holding onto something. He gave Wren a slight glare as the demon moved to pick up, but the man merely smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be careful," chuckling Wren continued on, "besides, I've got something else for you too." Not that Lafe understood that, but who was he to complain when he finally let out a yawn to admit to being tired. It was time for home, and sleep, and seeing Alex, and bed. To Lafe, at least.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:13 am
:: Aftermath ::
18.04.05; Tarot cards and eggs for breakfast. Lafe was content in his high chair, carefully guarding his egg that Levi had given him. He would take good care of it, he knew he would. He just have this bad feeling that if he let Wren get too close to it, something would happen to the egg and that wasn't acceptable.
It was why every time Wren came near him he let out a small growl and leaned himself over the egg to protect it where it sat on soft cloth. Alex didn't quite understand why he was being so protective of an egg, but he allowed Lafe his quirks and watched the father figure go about the kitchen preparing breakfast for the house. Lafe and Alex were usually the first ones up, or they hadn't even been asleep yet in this case. They had stayed up most of the night playing with one another.
Wren leaned with his elbows on the counter and listened to the sizzle of bacon as it cooked, chuckling when Alex wrinkled his nose up at the smell. Between Alex and Lafe, Wren had a sneaking suspicion both of them might have preferred things a bit on the rarer side, but in the case of bacon it would be cooked or not eaten at all.
The demon continued to watch Lafe guard and watch over his egg, remember the scene from last night when Levi had handed it over to him to watch. It was, actually, rather cute. Particularly the way that Lafe was guarding it from others, especially him.
Pressing a hand against his mouth to hold back a yawn, Wren stretched his arms out above his head and turned back to check on the bacon. It was all most done and then he could put in the eggs and scramble them. This morning it was going to be a light breakfast for all of the house, unless Tom or Carmine decided to cook something else for themselves ( which they likely could, considering they had their own kitchen, but did so enjoy raiding their breakfasts sometimes ).
After another moment, Wren suddenly remembered what he had planned on giving Lafe when they were at the Legend Headquarters. With a quick glance at the bacon, making sure it was all right for a few seconds ( and turning the heat on low ), he departed out of the kitchen and moved towards the front hallway where his courier bag was. Fishing around inside it, he pulled out the set of tarot cards he had meant to give Lafe.
Humming to himself, surprising the two babies in their chairs with his happy behavior, he walked over to Lafe with a grin. Lafe, of course, emitted a low growl and crouched over the egg slightly. He was still wary of Wren, figuring the man was going to do harm to the egg, one way or another.
"Oi, I come in peace!" Wren held one hand up pleadingly, the other behind his back. Alex could see what was behind his back and peered curiously at the cards. He couldn't make heads or tails of them, but maybe Lafe could ... Particularly since it looked like they were about to be given to Lafe.
The young pooka still continued to growl, before he let out a small yelp of surprise at the cards that were deposited on his small table. Wren spread them out in front of him and grinned mischievously.
"You've got one attached to your scarf, so I figured you could do with a full set, hm?" The demon leaned down some, so that he was eye to eye with Lafe. "So, what do you think?" There was a hint of hope in the voice, Wren hoping he had just given Lafe something that would make him very happy.
It took a moment, but the pooka slowly shifted from his hovering position over the egg and pressed his fingers against the tarot cards. He didn't even notice when Wren placed his hand on the tray attached to his chair as well, cheerfully smiling down at him as he investigated the tarot cards. Small fingers pressed against the glossy cover of the cards. These were old cards, old cards that tingled his senses and told him they were well used.
For now, he was distracted, and he quickly began pushing the cards aside, looking for one particular card that called to him despite being a part of a larger deck. There was one card he wanted to see right now.
"Glad you like them," Wren finally chuckled, rubbing his hand against Lafe's hair and then smoothing it back out when he got a disgruntle look for what he did. He, absently, picked up the egg that had been on the tray and Lafe barely noticed so entranced with the tarot cards he know had at his mercy.
He was still searching for that one particular card by the time he noticed that the egg was missing and a heavy feeling came over him just as he heard the crack of an egg against the side of a skillet. Lafe let out a sharp cry and then growled, silver-blue eyes staring accusingly at Wren.
"... bugger," the demon muttered, realizing he was likely doomed to be on Lafe's short list for a good while now.
And he seriously doubted the young pooka would buy it if he brought another egg over to him. The tarot cards couldn't smooth everything over with the baby, it seemed.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:29 am
:: Fate? ::
09.05.05; ... not all of us are certain. Lafe was situated on the couch in the Legend HQ, the tarot cards Wren had given him once again in his hands and being looked over. It was probably a little odd that a baby would have a set of fortune telling cards as his chosen toy, but he did like others -- these, however, held his attention far longer than any other toy. ( Most times, but there were moments he was interested more in playing than poking at cards he could only vaguely understand. )
His tail was swishing about with his good mood and he let out a little giggle as he finally thought he knew just what the card he held in his hand meant.
And Wren, for the record, was currently in the HQ kitchen and getting some ice for the drinks that had gotten hot on the trip over. It was taking longer since the ice tray had been empty, and he would peek out of the kitchen every few minutes to make sure Lafe was all right. He had brought the baby over in another attempt to get him to socialize, but since no one was here, it was rapidly going down hill.
... just a little bit longer, the man thought.
It had been some time since Chandra had ventured to the HQ. In fact, as she stretched out a pale cold hand to open the front door, it felt like an eternity had passed. The painful feeling in the pit of her stomach that flared up whenever she thought of the last time she had been here was not gone, but felt more like a dull ache - the sort of thing one could easily ignore.
Steeling herself inwardly, Chandra stepped through the front door with her usual unnatural grace. Without a wasted movement, she made her way through the foyer and into what she thought of as the main room of the HQ. She almost smiled when she saw the only resident was a child. None of the children ever asked anything of her that she couldn't give or asked uncomfortable questions. Making her way over to the couch, Chandra looked down at Lafe and asked quietly, "May I sit with you?"
Lafe's ears twitched at the sound of someone approaching, a scent coming closer that wasn't entirely unfamiliar. He stilled slowly, eyes peering up at Chandra with a curious gaze. After a moment, as if he had reached the conclusion that pleased him, his tail started to swish again and he raised his hand in a small wave.
She could sit, though he wasn't quite aware that was what she asked.
Taking the child's vigorous tail waving as assent, Chandra seated herself beside him and peered curiously at the cards he had been playing with. Settling her hands in her lap, where they would be visible but not threatening, Chandra leaned in a little closer.
"What have you got there," she said quietly to Lafe, not expecting any real answer. "I do not believe I have ever seen cards like those."
The cards were similar to the one that was attached to his scarf, though they were not of the same set. While he was a little shy about Chandra leaning in close, but she seemed all right.
When she showed interest in the cards, he gave her a small smile. The cards told you things! ... just he couldn't figure out what exactly yet. Letting out a small noise, Lafe slowly offered pushed a card towards Chandra and babbled on as he pointed at the card -- as if he was explaining it to her in his own terms.
Chandra blinked down at the card Lafe had pushed towards her and wished, not for the first time, that children were born able to speak. But she nodded seriously anyway, giving Lafe her full attention.
"I have no idea what you have just said, but I will assume for the moment that you are trying to convey something of importance about this card."
She lifted a hand from her lap and tapped the card once with one finger to emphasize what she was speaking about. Using that same hand to then push her hair behind her ear, she looked the child over again.
"I do not suppose you are here alone little one. Where is your guardian?"
The only speaking Lafe was able to do was mimicry and it was a far cry from anything that anyone could understand. That tiny smile changed into a full one and he nodded his head a bit.
She understood! ... well, somewhat. Lafe's tail continued to swish happily for a change, watching Chandra tap to card with her finger. He had done that himself, but no one quite got it ...
Wrinkling his nose up as she continued to speak, his ears twitched slightly as if he picked up a noise. He glanced in the general direction of the kitchen, all most expectantly, before giving Chandra a sidelong glance.
And, of course, it was about that point that Wren came out with Lafe's sippy cup in hand. "Oi, kiddo, I got your drink. Going to have to wait for mine, but at least you've got -- er, hi." The short man paused, eyes widening slightly at the sight of Chandra sitting on the couch with Lafe. "I leave you alone again Lafe and people appear. I'm beginning to wonder." He shook his head with a small grin, nodding his head towards Chandra in greeting.
"Nice to see you."
"And you as well," Chandra said politely, studying the man who had emerged from the kitchen. He looked familiar and she had a feeling there was something about him that she had wanted to ask about. But before she could vocalize it, the thought was gone.
"The little one and I were discussing his cards. They're very interesting," she said mildly, "but I am not sure I completely understood Lafe's explanation."
Wren merely smiled warmly at Chandra, coming closer and crouching down in front of the couch near Lafe. He glanced towards the young lady with a raised eyebrow, chuckling.
"Were you? Lafe's been attached to the set since I gave it to him." He paused for a moment, eyes going from Chandra to Lafe. "They're tarot cards, so each one has it's own meaning -- and I'm sure that was what he was trying to explain. I think, at least." Holding out the cup for Lafe to take, he smiled at his charge.
Lafe set down the card he was holding, leaning forward to grasp the handles of the cup being held out to him. His scarf fell down from his shoulders once more, but he didn't seem to care as he finally got a drink. If he could've talked, he might have said something along the lines of 'Let me get a drink and then I'll finish telling you all about these cards ...' to Chandra.
"Tarot cards," Chandra said, filing that knowledge away as she looked down at the cards again. "What does this one mean?" She delicately used one hand to push the card Lafe had pushed at her earlier towards Wren, her eyes wide and unblinking. It was never wise to pass up another chance for knowledge.
Glad that Lafe seemed content with his drink, Wren turned his attention towards the card that Chandra was nudging his way. "Ah, let me see." Fingers sliding under the card, Wren picked it up under the watchful eyes of Lafe.
"Hmm. It's The High Priestess." The card features a woman in a flowing dress sitting on a stone seat, a scroll held in her hands, a crescent moon at her feet, and a pillar on either side. "She holds secrets, possibly the future not yet unrevealed. Generally, the card can represent mystery, silence, or wisdom." He flipped the card upside down and looked back up at Chandra. "But if you reverse the card like I have, it's meanings change. There could be wisdom, but there is also conceit, moral ardour, passion ..." He chuckled, shaking his head. "It all depends on how you apply the card when you give somebody a reading and how the person receiving the reading takes it."
Lafe was leaning forward himself, watching Wren as he talked about the card and glancing up every so often at his face and then towards Chandra. He'd be able to do that one day, explain the cards and all that. He took another sip from his cup before placing it to the side, making a small noise that could've been agreement with what Wren said.
Interesting. Chandra hadn't known there was such a deck of cards. Her experiences had been limited to games. Furrowing her brow slightly, she reached out for the Pristess card.
"It depends on the person as well as the reader? So they have a choice in their fate?"
Fate seemed always to be on her mind lately - popping up all over the place. Looking over at Lafe, she met his eyes with a grim look.
"This is heavy stuff, kiddo."
Tarot cards were considered a game to some, to those that only played around with them at least. Not to somebody who could actually see and tell the future.
"They have a choice in how they see their fate, yes." Wren paused, glancing towards Lafe who was peering up at Chandra curiously. Though it was likely to all ways be the same. "Though I tend to think it's only different paths to the ultimately the same fate." It was hard to change somebody's fate drastically, very hard. Or that was how Wren thought of it.
Lafe's eyes narrowed, comprehending Chandra's words to some degree and the look on her face. His own face took on a serious look, those silvery-blue eyes seeming older than he was. Reaching forward with a small hand, he lightly patted it against Chandra. He knew, even at this age, that using there was a lot to what he seemingly tried to do with the cards.
Chandra sighed as Lafe patted her, letting out air and tension all at once. No need to get worked up over fate, either her choices would bring her closer to it or not - really nothing she could do.
"I would like to think there are different paths and not that our fates are set long before we do anything worth punishing or rewarding."
She looked idly at Wren, placing the card back down. She wondered what his opinion was. It was good to talk to someone who she didn't have to constantly question their motives.
Lafe looked up at Chandra, lips turning up in a small smile. He was, if anything, attempting to scoot closer to her. Chandra, to him ... Well, Lafe merely thought it was a good idea to get closer. It was all most as if he felt the urge to offer a little comfort, but didn't realize it.
Wren sat back on his heels, fingers held together on his knees. "True ..." He trailed off, thinking. "The sum of our existence determines the fate we receive?" Is that what she meant? It was something he had thought of before. "I tend to think that we have singular fates, our actions take us to that fate, but they also change it -- for better, or for worse. Punishing us or rewarding us, utlimately in the end." If that even made sense.
Chandra looked back down at Lafe and put out a hand to him if he wanted to take it. He felt nice, not as energetic as some of the other young ones. He was calm, a state she could appreciate.
"So we can change our fate through the choices we make. Can others make those choices for us as well?"
Chandra puzzled along, letting the words come out as they entered her mind. It was nice not to have to let everything remain pent up inside.
Lafe paused for a brief moment, watching Chandra's hand and then her face. It passed though and he put his hand in hers, taking it and scooting so that he was at least up against her side.
Wren, wisely, chose to say nothing about Lafe's movements. It was rare for the baby to make any forward actions, but Chandra was a lot more reserved than most that Lafe encountered. "People can't make your choices for you, no. They can manipulate you and if you go along with their manipulations and make the choice they want you to make, then yes they can." The demon shook his head slightly, knowing far too well of some who did enjoy manipulating fates of others.
Chandra said nothing when Lafe moved closer to her, knowing that if she were in his place, she would not want such a motion to be remarked upon. Even with the realizations she had made lately about the need to be with others, she was not quite comfortable with the notion that she was not necessarily best on her own.
Chandra slowly blinked her large eyes in Wren's direction, absorbing his words and turning them around in her own mind. They seemed applicable to her situation and in line with some of the decisions she had made, but it almost made her nervous to have such direct confirmation that she might have done the right thing.
Quietly she questioned him, her voice even.
"Might there be situation in which the actions of others constrain the choices you yourself can make? In that way others would be able to change your fate without your own consent. After all, no one lives their life in complete isolation from others."
Lafe made little noise, besides the sound of his tail swishing back and forth slowly as he found a comfortable spot against Chandra. His ears twitched, picking up the words that were being spoken between the two in conversation. Absently he nuzzled against her side, all most fox-like in behavior. She felt, to him, nervous and perhaps wary.
"Like a mouse in a maze," Wren murmured, blue eyes focused on Lafe and then Chandra's own eyes as she spoke to him. The demon wondered briefly what could possibly cause such questions to be asked, but he'd leave it be. "It is possible, I suppose. Through manipulation of one's enviroment. If they limit your knowledge, what you can work with, along with other things? Well, they can force you to see the solution only they want you to see."
Pushing up his glasses, Wren gave Chandra a small smile. It could've been seen as grim, as it words weren't exactly something he was fond of saying. The demon would never be one to enjoy the games some played with the fates of others. "... just, in that kind of case, remember to look outside of the box contained in. Outthink and outsmart whomever, you know?"
Chandra nodded solemnly to Wren, letting his words sink in. She sighed very softly and used her free hand to sweep her fine hair back behind her ears. When she was done, she let her hand settle back down at her side - as always, moving as economically as possible.
"Making one's own choices is so very difficult."
She thought perhaps she would leave it at that, but then reconsidered. Up to a point it seemed like the less you told someone, the more they wanted to know more. She might be able to stall further questions by revealing a bit more information.
"I am not entirely sure who would like me to do what. I am stuck doing nothing," she glanced down at Lafe, "until I am sure that I have an option that someone else has not already aniticipated."
Studying the top of Lafe's head, Chandra could not help but be curious about the child. He seemed very reserved at first glance, but had become more friendly as time passed.
"What is Lafe's favorite color?" She said curiously, an idea forming in the back of her mind.
"The choices we all make tend to get harder as time passes," Wren wrinkled his nose up at the thought, but said it nonetheless. "It's how things go." He gave a shrug of his shoulders, fingers playing with the tarot cards still somewhat spread out next to where Lafe and Chandra were. He blew a piece of hair out of his eyes, fingering a card absently.
Lafe raised his head slightly, one ear cocked sideways and the other not, as if he felt Chandra's eyes on him. Those silvery-blue eyes focused on her briefly, face all but neutral in expression except for a moment when there might've been a flicker of a smile. All most an involuntary attempt at a 'it'll be okay' type smile. His small fingers reached and latched onto a bit of Chandra's dress, curling into it lightly while he turned his head back down to peer at it.
"Ah, well." Wren said after a moment of silence, turning to look at Chandra once more. "Waiting is usually your best option, in some cases. If you can't move one way or another, without becoming further ensnared then wait. The only thing is, if someone is doing that ... Strong enough to manipulate such things around you?" He paused, giving her a warmer smile than before. "Well, unless they're gifted with the gift of foresight, they can't possibly see everything that's too come either."
Going silent, and thinking about Chandra's question, the demon turned his attention back to his child. "You know, I can't really say. He seems fond of dark colors, particularly red." There was a small snort at that, considering Lafe's attire. "... but he seems fond of lavendar too." Which was odd.
Pondering the conversation she had been trying to get away from, Chandra decided perhaps opening up was not as bad of an idea as she thought. It seemed as though everyone was always telling her not to, so the best option might be to do so. Blinking several times to clear her mind of circular thoughts, she spoke again - this time even quieter.
"The one person involved who can see the future seems to be losing her grip on the present. I can no longer trust what she says and I believe this may be connected to the others. The ones who wish me to do something I am not sure I am comfortable with."
Chandra brought her free hand up to shuffle through the cards that Lafe had been playing with, randomly choosing one to study.
"I have some gifts I have given to friends in the past. I shall attempt to find one suitable for Lafe, so that he may also be connected."
She flipped the card around in her hand, wondering about it's meaning - but not wanting to ask directly.
Wren frowned slightly, brows drawn together in thought and he really tried to push the displeasurable idea of Chandra being controlled like this from his mind before it really started to irk him. This wasn't something he could get involved in and he knew it -- it was Chandra's business and he figured she'd handled it as best she could. At least, from what he thought of how she acted and seemed.
"From what I've heard, that's about right. The future is never certain, the paths to different, but ... if this woman is losing her grip on the present then perhaps that's in your favor. Just because someone knows the future doesn't mean they know the correct way to orchestrate things to lead to that future." The demon could only wonder just what exactly these people wanted Chandra to do. Nothing too good, if she was dealing with potentially powerful people.
"I'm sure he'd like it regardless of what it is." Wren chuckled, looking at Lafe once more. "All most as sure he'd give you a tarot card reading when he's older, as fascinated as he is with them now." An absent gesture made to the cards. Lafe squirmed around some, one of his hands going to rest against Chandra's arm as he started to focus on the card she was looking at, briefly looking at her as well. That one was one he liked, at least how it looked to him didn't seem bothersome. Like The Moon on his scarf -- that he didn't like.
Chandra couldn't help but give Lafe a rare smile, her mouth moving slightly to display the rarest of her publicly displayed emotions. She brought the card closer to him so he could see it clearly, and then asked, only slightly kidding, "What do you think it means, little one?"
She didn't look up at Wren, but she was taking in everything he said. It was true that Kam had been difficult to trust even before her latest bout of what seemed like insanity, but she had been one of the only anchors Chandra had. Kam at least pretended to have concern for her daughter's well-being.
Thinking this all through, Chandra couldn't help but stiffen slightly - becoming noticeably still, even if one had thought she was still before.
Once more casting Chandra a briefly shy look when she moved the card towards him, he looked back to it when everything was still deemed fine. The baby actually seemed to look intently at the card, fingers reaching out but not quite touching it with his spare hand. He shook his head some, scarf moving out of the way, before he quietly let out something in that soft-spoken garbled baby language of his.
... and if older people didn't understand, it was there own fault. Lafe knew what he was talking about, really! The card obviously meant things about the future and crowds. Crowds were bad. Except Chandra had gone still and her body stiffened and Lafe turned his attention back to her. Lafe let out a quiet whine, head nudging up against her side and ears held to the side slightly. Something about going that still didn't sit right with him.
Wren was just watching the two of them, letting Chandra digest. Raising an eyebrow at the whine, and the way that Chandra seemed to have gone entirely still, he stopped himself from reaching forward. Lafe all ready reacted. "I think he's got something to say about all the cards," he spoke, eyes studying Chandra. Just what was going through that girl's mind? Though he'd likely not want to know.
"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" Chandra mused, mostly to herself. She had often wished there was a better way to communicate with children. From experience, she knew that dragging Lafe's soul into Death with her might reveal an older psyche - but she had no idea what the side effects of such a journey would be. The only one she had taken and returned was Dare - and he was special in his own way, connected to Death through his powers of Time.
Suddenly feeling tired (thinking of Dare perhaps, or the phoilosophical discussion weighing her down), Chandra extracted a hand from Lafe and moved to rustle his hair, pausing briefly above his head as she thought better of it.
"I think I may be going soon," she said, looking at Wren seriously. "I am feeling weary."
"Mm, it does. Can't say it seems a bit odd, but ..." Wren just trailed off, letting things go unsaid. What can you do about children who are considered Legends in their own right? Nodding his head slightly, he started to pick up the tarot cards that had been spread out. "You do look a little worn around the edges. You should get some rest, if you can. I probably need to get Lafe home too."
Lafe's ears went back slightly when Chandra moved, eyes staring first at her hand in the air above him. He shifted, when she didn't, the tip of one ear brushing against the palm of her hand and it was left at that. The fox-child started to move until he could sit comfortably and have a good hold of his tail. His eyes fixated on the white fur, tugging on it some while glancing between father and Chandra. As much as he figured? It was getting close to time to go.
Chandra grinned at the fleeting touch of Lafe's ear on her palm and then stood fluidly, making her way towards the door.
"It was interesting to speak with both of you," she said simply, pausing before leaving the room.
It was good to see Chandra grin or smile, but Wren kept that to himself as he cleaned up the cards, turning towards her as a thought crossed his mind and she was leaving. "It was, and you take care of yourself." The demon paused, a thought crossing his mind, and he also added. "And, if you'd like to visit Lafe or anything," if Chandra needed help or anything of the like went by unsaid, "you can come by the house. You could see Lafe and Alex. Don't you've met him, but you might like him." An odd smile was on his lips at the thought of Chandra and Alex meeting. The two were more than likely to either get along in his mind or ... something else. He wasn't sure what.
Quickly pulling out a pen and writing down the address on a stray piece of paper, Wren picked himself up and walked over to Chandra to hand it to her. "That's the place. Just be warned, I may attempt to get you to babysit if you come by." The last words were mostly said jokingly. "Just teasing though." He smiled at her.
Lafe let out a small whine, crawling towards the edge of the couch and trying to get Wren's attention for a change, but it was fleeting. He looked past him to Chandra and raised his hand briefly in a small wave, tail wagging lazily behind him. It was as much of a good bye the baby could manage.
Taking the paper and tucking it into the recesses of her dress, Chandra nodded at Wren and gave Lafe a quick finger wave before disappearing out the door.
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:34 pm
:: Journal Entry ::
29.05.05; Written in by the guardian, Wren. This is the first time I've written an entry about Lafe. I ... don't know what to say about him, honestly. He's not quite what I expected when I first found him abandoned on the path I walked through the forest. I can't believe that I somehow missed the fact he was fae from the beginning. All things considered, I should've noticed right off the bat -- particularly since ...
Well, some things are better not said and written down. The point remains, I should've realized it. Then again, after being here in this dimension for so long I'm beginning to realize it's numbing me to the more strange things about beings. I mean, where I come from, I thought everything was diluted and tainted and inbred. Here? It's like that, but even worse, or better if you consider that some things aren't tainted, but pure. It really isn't surprising that I thought Lafe to be some sort of human fox hybrid, but he's none of those things.
He's a pooka, through and through. It makes some of his behavior understandable. The more mischievous moments he has now, I can relate back to the fact he's a pooka. Like when he lured Mael in and bit the hell out of him -- that was the pooka's version of revenge, I'm sure.
Mother all ways did say that a pooka was one to not wrong, as they were vengeful little buggers when they wanted to be. Which I totally can see now, because whenever I do something wrong with Lafe? I end up paying for it for a while. Like ... when I cracked that egg by accident. He was so grumpy with me for a while, but thankfully it didn't last too long. It's bad enough he only tolerates me holding him for a certain lengths of time. If he didn't tolerate me at all, I don't know what I would do. Somehow, I doubt my lineage would help me gain any favor with him.
Maybe when he's older and I can explain things to him, otherwise there's no point.
... and Lafe seem thoroughly attached to the tarot cards that I gave him. I admit, it's my old set so it's likely not very tuned in with him and his energy, but he seems to be making use of it. He's playing with the cards whenever he's not playing with Alex lately. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing at this point, I can only assume it's something that he knows is good for him.
Though, truthfully, I can deal without Carmine saying that if Lafe's meddling with tarot cards at this age, just wait and see what he's meddling with when he's older. I know Carmine's got some abilities as a pre-cog, but he's not that good and can't possibly know what's in Lafe's future.
Hell, I'd expect Hawk to know and not share -- even though he's still out of sorts because of -- ugh, I am so not bringing that up in here. There are some things that are best left unsaid, but at least the kids in the house have picked up I'm still out of sorts myself from what happened. Lafe's even been a bit more agreeable, but I doubt that'll last for very long. When I look after Lafe, I've got the feeling that I may be the father type person to him, but I will never be his father. I really am his guardian, not a parent.
... even if I will look after him as a parent would.
It'll probably be the same with Alejandro. Those two, if it weren't for the fact their babies, I don't think they'd need Halo or myself. All those two need is each other and things are all right. That's something we learned quickly, after the first night we tried to separate them and put them in different cribs.
Still, I have no clue what the future's going to be like with looking after Lafe. I'm just happy Pierce hasn't bombarded me with visions of any sort. Lafe's pretty intelligent for a baby, but I doubt seriously that he'd talk any time soon, even if he could. He's stoic and silent, except for the noises he makes when he wants somebody's attention or he's playing with Alex. I think, when Mael and Otium are receiving their lessons, I'll let Lafe and Alex sit in on a few. See if they take anything in.
... but for right now, I'm going to go check on Pierce, see how he's doing after everything. I think I have someone to visit to day, anyway. Better to end now before I really start rambling.
Wren
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:48 pm
:: Chaos! ... Or Something Like That ::
10.06.05; RP; A visiting friend. The house was fairly large, though it seemed like a good majority of the houses on this particular block in the Port Gino neighborhood were, and few would actually ever find out that it was even larger on the inside. It was all most entirely non-descript, one wouldn't think of the chaos and insanity that was within the seemingly normal looking home. The yard was well kept, the porch just as neat with a swing on it as well as a few seats. If there were any toys out in the yard, it was because they were only forgotten in coming inside quickly from the rain.
Anyone actually coming up to the house was bound to notice the fluttering of the curtains on the house next door, the sure sign that Nora -- the neighborhood gossip -- was once again spying on the family she considered freaks and the like. It couldn't be helped, she was nosy. Still, the house was nice, the pathway leading up to it not cracked in the slightest and the porch well taken cared of it looked like.
There was a doorbell to the right of the door once somebody reached it, as well as a knocker ( Wren insisted it wasn't overkill to have both ). The knocker, of course, being the more intricate ( and shiny, but shh ) and somehow covered in rain drops from the light shower than had rained earlier in the day.
At least, with the earlier rain, the air smelled fresh and it made for a good day to visit someone.
Leading her boy by the hand, Aki paused to check the scrap of paper once more. This was it!
Levi was stumbling as he stared, taking in the porch swing and twisting to gape at a dew wet toy...glimmering like a tempting gem in the grass. Arm tugged as Aki outpaced him, Levi galloped to catch up...other hand securing the cloth wrapped dagger at his hip as he ambled back down to a walk.
"An 'unch?"
"You can't be hungry again! Just enjoy the visit, Levi. Aren't you excited to see Alex and Lafe?"
Levi thought about that, chuckling as the memory of Alex surfaced. That's right, with the action figures! And the hissing!! And the biting!! That was great!! The other, however...she was talking about the kitty!!
"Luff? An kiki uhna eck foh ahna tesher-??"
Aki began to laugh, startling Levi out of his babble bout. It was so cute when he rambled, especially when he looked so genuinely serious! Lifting him up to her hip, opposite her bulging sling bag, she pointed to the knocker.
"Yep, Lafe! So, knock and they'll let us in! Maybe. If you're good."
Levi wrinkled his nose at Aki, snorting derisively at her humor. Reaching forward with a grabby hand, he happily seized the shiny ring.
-thunkthunkthunk-
"Oi! 'Ello!!"
Expecting the knock, Wren had situated himself in the living room with his laptop and was writing while waiting for Aki to come on by. Of course, he had put down Mael for a nap at some point, which left him with Lafe who he was trying to not let nap. The small pooka was nocturnal enough as is, sleeping during the day would only ensure him being up more hours of the night.
"Looks like we've got visitors, Lafe." There was a smile on the demon's face and it only widened as Lafe looked up at him with a look that clearly said '... and your point is ... ?'. Placing his laptop on the coffee table nearby, he reached over to ruffle Lafe's hair with a hand, only to get a tiny growl for his actions.
Lafe was playing with the tarot card set that Wren had given him and he didn't like the man distracting him when he was trying to figure things out. Clearly, the way all the cards were spread out around him said something, he just wasn't sure what exactly. His tail twitched in irritation, another growl spared at the slight scratch to his ears and the grumpy look on his face only faded when Wren walked away.
Shaking his head to himself, Wren walked out of the living room and down the very short distance to the front door -- chuckling at the sound of Levi's voice as it filtered through. The door was pulled open a moment later, a smile in greeting all ready on his face.
"Aki. Glad you here," his voice was, as all ways, pleasant, "and you too, Levi. I'm sure Lafe wouldn't mind seeing you again." He pulled the door the rest of the way open, gesturing for them to move on by. "Please come in."
He'd done his knocking...no point in being carried any longer! Pushing away from Aki, sliding to the ground with a thump, Levi spared Wren a glance before wandering towards Lafe with a smile.
Levi was wearing his head scarf properly for the first time in ages...hair swept back from his face, and the ends of the wrap curling about his ankles as he stopped a few feet from the pooka. Little grin in place, he squatted to peer at the cards.
"Ah dis? Eh pipper?" Pointing to the most eye-catching card, Levi shrugged in questioning. What did you do with it? What a weird game!!
Aki spared the boys a glance as she slid the heavy bag from her shoulder...stepping inside gratefully. Shaking her hair out of her face, she offered a hand somewhat awkwardly to Wren in greeting.
"Ah, hi! Hey! Thanks for having us over...they're off to a good start, hmm?"
Smiling distractedly, trying to spot a place to set her bag, Aki finally took a look around . "You've a nice place! Are Alex and Halo home as well?"
Wren grinned a bit at Levi, before turning his focus to Aki and taking her hand in his own briefly. "Wouldn't have asked if we didn't want you to visit," he said, eyes glancing towards Lafe and Levi and nodding his head in agreement as he released her hand. "They are, which is all ways good." Lafe had gone still, briefly, before he really got a good look at Levi and a whiff of his scent from a sniff to the air. His ears, while they had been cocked back, were slowly relaxing and his tail swished a bit. The other just looked a little different.
"Thanks, I really do love this place myself. ... and Halo and Alex are out at the moment, but they should be back at some point." Taking a moment to pull his glasses off his face and rub a spot of them with his shirt, he added in, "You can just set your bag there on that table, Aki. Tends to be a resting place for anything that's not a coat. You can have a seat anywhere in the living room too."
Lafe was ignoring the adults for the most part, head tilting as he was trying to figure out how to explain the card that Levi was pointing to. It was The Star, a card with a kneeling woman ( scantily dressed, but mostly covered ) and held a jug in each of her hands. One was being poured into a small pond and the other to the ground nearby. There were several brightly colored stars on the card, but one was larger than the rest and in the top center.
The pooka's fingers reached out and brushed the picture on the card, his own scarf falling off his shoulders as he leaned forward. This card ... this one could contradict itself. "Lhpaa." The words were highly garbled and probably a mixture of more than one word. Lafe would figure out how those adults speaked eventually!
He eventually just started to point to the other cards around him, tapping them with his finger, since Levi looked curious. Didn't Levi know? People were suppose to read the cards together and they all mean something! Like a story.
Levi concentrated, rocking back on his heels as he chewed his lip. He wasn't good at 'remembering' games, but he'd try his best!! Gently tapping The Star with an appreciative chuckle, touching it just like Lafe did, Levi glanced around for the one the boy had tapped next.
"Hum. Disin? Ohhh...dis?"
Bother! Had it been the one with the man, or the one with the sky?! Chewing his thumb as he pondered, still resting upon his heels, Levi finally gave up with a shrug and a laugh. He'd try harder next time!!
"Eh tesher?"
With such careful pictures and lovely colors, Levi was willing to bet they were. Angling the cloth wrapped dagger carefully over his thigh as he settled onto his bottom, Levi glanced up in mild annoyance as Aki loomed suddenly over head.
Handing the boy his little bag of treasures n' toys that she had fished out of her pack, Aki raised a brow. "Be gentle, those are fancy cards! Here, take this to share."
Nodding as Levi accepted the pouch, Aki finally took a seat near Wren. Knees together, skirt smoothed carefully over her lap, she leaned forward with a smile. "It has been a while since we talked! How is everything with you and yours?"
Eyes drifting to the laptop as she settled into her surroundings, Aki supressed a momentary interest in letting her gaze linger. After all, she'd learned quite a lesson from Halo's!
Lafe wrinkled his nose up a bit at Levi touching the cards after him, but after a careful glance to Wren to see if the man said anything about it, it seemed all right. Not like they were his cards, because these kinds of cards you just didn't let someone else touch! It'd throw things off if they kept in contact.
His tail flicked a bit, Lafe's fingers going to it momentarily. He didn't think Levi quite had what he meant with the cards, but he seemed to understand. That was good enough! Nodding his head, though Levi pointed to the wrong card after he did, he pointed to the proper one before glancing at him.
Of course, he did know that 'tesher' word. It meant something important and he could only nod his head in agreement, a very small pleased smile on his lips. It faded momentarily when Aki appeared and he leaned backwards some until she moved back away, a curious glance given towards Levi. He made a gesture with his hand towards the pouch, sort of saying 'what's that?' without actually speaking.
"It has been, hasn't it? It's been going well." Minus an incident or two he'd likely not mention, Wren smiled at Aki as he spoke. "Things are quiet for the most part, and considering this house? It's a miracle." He chuckled, shaking his head. Though, after a moment, he leaned forward that look in his eyes if he had just realized something particularly important.
The demon leaned forward to type something on his laptop, a line for his novel that he had just thought of. It was perfect. Really, he could so easily get lost in his writing and thoughts sometimes. Which was why he gave Aki a sheepish grin when he leaned back.
Levi beamed as Lafe showed interest in the bag...upending it upon the floor between them. His bangs curled around his ears, curving along his cheek as he bent forward to peer at the pile of bright goodies.
Poking past a handful of pogs, a stubby plastic crystal kaliedescope, two toy ships and a carved wooden wolf, Levi pointed to the brightest object in the pile...a shiny butterfly clip. He didn't quite remember where he got it, it was a bit girly for his tastes, but who was he to refuse treasures?
"Ah booberfy! Ahyah? Booberfy?"
Listening with interest to see if Lafe would say it too, Levi idly plucked pog from the pile...flipping it back to rest with the others. None of it was as interesting as his new dagger, but Aki had told him it had to stay wrapped up around other children.
Aki noticed none of this, again letting her eyes drift to the screen out of habit. Blushing, she dropped her eyes...she didn't mean to be nosy! He had been typing right in front of her though. The glimpse she'd caught...
"What, ah...what are you working on? I don't mean to pry, but I don't mean to disturb you! Well." Smiling as she shrugged, feeling silly for asking, Aki tried to keep her eyes from drifting that way again. She was being a horrible guest!!
Lafe made a noise, a garble of baby-speak, that probably had a good about of b's in it as he attempted to get something said in response. More like it was "Bohbber" before he gave in and shook his head slightly. It was so much harder to talk to others that weren't Alex, with him everything was just understood, plus he didn't really get the whole talking thing that others did -- and, ah, that clip was shiny. The other items were interesting, but Lafe's silvery-blue gaze was drawn to the butterfly.
Small fingers letting go of his tail so that he could lean forward, he reached out to poke and prod at some of the items, before scooting a little closer to get at the clip. His hair fell into his eyes, a small growl of irritation as it blocked his vision before he shook his head a little, and he glanced back up at Levi. He had good things in that pouch of his! The wag of his tail gave away his good humor at being able to see the things within.
"Er." Wren started, before fighting down a slight blush of his own. Not like he wasn't use to being caught writing, but he couldn't help it. It was his job after all -- and, well, he leaned in right in front of her.
... bother. Oh well. "S'novel," he explained quietly, before his voice went back to it's normal tone, "a romance one. It was going to be, ah, 'futuristic', but I decided I liked working with something like the Victorian Age. Bit supernatural." He snorted, shaking his head. Supernatural? Considering where they were that might as well be normal. "And you're not disturbing, either, I'm suppose to be the host and you're my guest, not the writer getting distracted." Wren chuckled, but he couldn't help it. It was a pivotal scene in the novel, really. About time the two lead heroines got their act together and, well, got together!
Levi chuckled, plucking the clip from the pile. Lafe tried to say butterfly, but it came out as more of a burbled growl. That was okay, Levi couldn't make words sound like grown up words either. Not that it bothered him...who'd want to be a grown up anyway?
Fumbling with it until the clip snapped open, he took a quick look over Lafe...azure eyes seeming unusually sharp and full of humor now that his face was free of hair. Leaning forward slowly, trying not to startle the kitten and make him scratch, Levi clipped the bauble closed on the nearest thing he could reach...the fur tip of Lafe's swishing tail.
"Ahyah! Eh booberfy ahnana kiki!! Eheheh!" Chortling in delight, he leaned back on his hands...raising a brow at the tail as it twitched. "Tesher ufuh Luff."
He distinctly wished he had a tail...it would be so fun to whip around! Levi peered up at the nearest table, eyes narrowing at a little lamp. With a tail, he could probably knock that right over.
Oh, how he loved those breaking sounds. Even in a day dream, they were as sweet as milk.
None too far from the very same lamp, Aki sat with wide eyes and a pale face. A...romance novel?! The glimpse she'd caught, perhaps she hadn't been mistaken!!
Flipping open her sling bag, digging out the newest in her series, Aki leafed to her bookmarked page. The new character that had just been introduced...that was the same name she'd seen on the screen! That meant...
"You write fan fiction?! Oh, that's so interesting!! I've tried my hand, but I really have no talent for it..."
Jumping to a skewed conclusion, she trailed off as her cheeks stained slowly pink. Raising her eyes to Wren sheepishly, she realized she'd just admitted not only to reading 'those types' of books...but to avidly following one of the most notorious series!! How embarrassing!! Her only saving grace was the fact that Wren apparently read them as well.
The fact that he seemed to be writing them eluded her almost completely!
"I...well...that is..."
Crossing her arms over her chest, book hidden protectively, Aki sighed. What a day.
Lafe wasn't entirely sure what the butterfly thing was, but it was pretty to look at and the purple at the edges reminded him of Alex's eyes. His nose wrinkled up briefly, wondering where the other had gotten off too since 'momma' had him with her.
His attention suddenly shifted to Levi as the young pirate-to-be, going entirely still and leaning back as the other leaned forward. His tail was swishing, and just as he was about to let out a warning growl that his nice little bubble of personal space had been invaded, Levi had attached the butterfly clip to his tail.
... what the?
Tail-twitch.
Levi attached the thing to his tail? What was the point of that? He wasn't aware butterflies went on your tail like that ... But it still was shiny, and even if the weight was odd on his tail, he could swish it about still. Never mind that he could thump things with his tail and it wouldn't just be soft and fuzzy when it came into contact. Now there was a good thought.
Glancing up at Levi, turning his attention away from the butterfly clip and back to him, he gave the other child a small shy smile in thanks. Since, you know, Levi had given him a treasure and all.
And about then, Wren was trying to not blush himself, particularly when Aki pulled out the novel that was far too familiar to his sight and opened it up. He ran a hand through his hair, fingers messing it up more than he intended, but it was a small nervous action. He stopped when it became apparent Aki didn't quite realize the truth of the matter.
( Sweet merciful deities, if Halo was here she'd probably be laughing at him -- or enjoying the fact that he was blushing for a change, when it took a lot to get him to do so. )
"Um." He started, not sure how to explain this. So he wrote the books under an assumed name and not his own, that was all right. Shaking his head, a small smile on his face, he started talking again. "Well, I'll admit I've written fanfiction in the past, but I don't like playing in other writers's sandboxes." A split second later, he added, "... so to speak."
Wasn't like there was anything wrong with it, though he was beginning to think that Aki was likely to be embarrassed to have said she read those sorts of novels, but to him it was just fine. "Hey, it's all right," there was that grin on his face again, "you read them, but I write them for a living. At least it seems you enjoy them, I hope, and that means a lot -- at least to me."
The demon wasn't quite sure if that was obvious enough, however, but the book series was all of his own creation and in the end, he could only thank his muse for causing them to come into existence.
Halo had just needed to stop by her shop to make sure everything was running smoothly and then stop by Tom and Carmine's to do the same while they were vacationing. She knew Aki would be coming over today and had done her best to get there on time but she wouldn't know until she actually got inside.
The woman pushed the door open with little Alex balanced on her hip and chewing on the head of a hard plastic army man (because they weren't so easy for the little boy to tear apart).
"I'm hoooooooooome Looveeeerrrr!!" Halo could be loud.. and she was in this type of house. Wren could be anywhere so she made sure she was heard. But she looked to Alex because she knew what was coming.
The little boy had learned from his mom and plucked the figure from his mouth to send his own call through the home for Lafe (and he was unusually loud for a baby), "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEIIIIII!!" It wasn't an attempt at the name (thought it could've been.. but he was too young for that) but more like a loud howling yell of greeting.
She pulled off her spring jacket to hang in the entrance hall and juggled Alex around while she did so, waiting to hear a response (if any). Her little boy didn't need a jacket.. his skin was unnaturally cool all the time.
Aki's gaze lifted slowly, cheeks that had been pink now fully flushed. Was he actually saying...oh! Oh my!!
Suddenly Halo's teasing made much more sense. Aki was embarrassed to be caught reading them, while her husband wrote them for a living!!
"I....wow!" Taking a breath, willing her blush to subside, the startled elf nodded slowly. "I'm, um, actually not a fan of the genre...usually...I prefer a bit of skill mixed in with the adjectives! Haha! Um. So I was...ah...interested when I finally picked up your work! Well...thank you!" Finally laughing, she gave up trying to express her sentiment. A moment later, Aki nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the door and Halo's resounding call....clutching to book to her chest once again.
"Oh hi! Hello! Ah, hi Alex!!"
Levi smiled back at Lafe, crossing his legs as he waited patiently. Surely the boy would share at least one of his fancy cards!! After all, that's what happened when you gave people things, right? Thay gave you something back!!
The thought was driven out of his head by the sudden yell. Scattering the pogs and he turned swiftly, Levi stared towards the doorway...waiting to see who had entered.
It took a few moments to register. It was Alex! Oooh, and he even had one of the action figures! Laughing in greeting, he nodded to the pale boy across the room. Off with the head!!
"Eh! 'Ello!! Coh meh!!"
Levi was back on his feet, too excited to say seated. Headscarves bobbing as he bounced on his toes, the young pirate grinned at the fanged child. Two friends?! That was rare!!
The grin on Wren's face only widened when Aki reached the right conclusion. ( Though those kinds of novels weren't the only ones he wrote, but hey. )
"Well, personally, if I'm going to bother reading something in the genre myself, it's got to have some sort of substance in it -- more than usual. Otherwise, it's just boring." He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "So I can understand what you're saying. And, really, thank you." It meant a lot to him that there was at least one person who enjoyed what he wrote.
Just as he was about to suggest something, he turned his attention in the direction of the front door at the sound of Halo's voice. "Living room," he called back, all ready grinning more because Halo was home. Then, of course, just like Halo he waited patiently for Alex to make that call out of his.
Lafe was grasping his tail in his hands, peering at the butterfly clip attached to his tail, before he glanced up at Levi. Was he ... waiting for something? His eyes turned to look at the cards still spread out around him, before his ears went flat againt his head. Looks like momma was home! And just as his ears were moving back to an alert position, he heard Alex.
The young pooka practically let out a happy squeal in greeting, crawling and moving forward, his scarf falling off and left where he once was. His attention was quickly gone from whatever it was Levi had wanted and on Alex who was going to be coming along.
( Though he didn't realize Alex knew Levi or vice versa, but the pirate child looked happy to see him too. )
Letting another a greeting of his own, Lafe would've been tugging on Halo's pant's leg if he was close enough. Instead, he was intent on getting Alex's attention and sharing the fact that Levi was here at the moment.
Halo stepped into the room and waved to Aki and Levi, "Hey you guys! I meant to be here before you but I suppose I missed it.. Not been having too much fun without me?" She leaned over to pat Levi on the head and Alex started to wriggle strongly in her arms. She'd learned to not struggle aginst her little boy because not only was he strong, but he bit as well.
Alex got down onto the floor and looked up at Levi, letting out another noise that could have been a greeting or could have been a, 'get out of my way I am trying to get to Lafe.' It really wasn't clear what he was trying to say but he crawled his way around Levi's legs to find the pooka on the other side.
He grinned a big fanged grin and latched right onto the other little boy with a tiny squeal of delight.
Levi's eyes narrowed in pleasure as Alex crawled towards them, watching with interest as he glomped Lafe. Wow, the kitty didn't scratch! Maybe that was because Alex had teeth like a kitty?!
Snapping his own teeth in amusement, the young pirate was still happily recounting the beheading. Ah, those were the days!! He took quick inventory by pushing the items around on the ground as he settled down once more...wrinkling his nose. Pogs were no good for biting, even though they were neat to look at with the pictures that seemed to pop out! The wolf was too hard...and the ships wouldn't be fun to bite at all. Rigging was pokey.
Maybe one of the cards? Pointing downward, perched on his heels, Levi made an inquiring noise as he glanced up at the boys. "Ahda?" It might be fun!!
Aki smiled quietly, giving Wren and Halo time to greet each other properly. Shaking her head at the woman's question, she let the book settle into her lap.
"We just got here, actually! Great timing. Have an eventful day?" She couldn't help but ask...she had no idea if the excited arrival was commonplace. It was certainly warm, though...it had been ages since Aki had lived with another adult. Halo and Wren were lucky to share such joy!
Or it could've been that Lafe had teeth just like Alex's, but not as sharp. They were visible when the little fox-child broke out into a full out smile, tail swishing about rapidly as he latched back onto Alex with a laugh of happiness.
Then again, it was probably something else watch Lafe act like that when he was shy and withdrawn all the other times. Quickly tugging on Alex some, Lafe wanted him to come with him over to the cards. He had been trying to use them for Alex! Read something for him, just that he really had no clue what he was doing ( at this point in his life at least ).
He started to point to the individual cards, babbling something out to Alex with each one he pointed at as if it was some great important revelation. The fingers of one hand were still holding on to Alex's cloak.
After a moment though, he gave a glance to Levi, since he was pointing at the cards as well. He made a small noise of question in Levi's direction. Did he know what the cards meant? Though he had been going through the other things ...
Wren was pushing himself up from his seat to draw Halo into a hug and pull her over to where the adults were, with only a small glance down at the children. They were doing fine, so far. "I second that, and add in a how was their store?"
Alex went along happily when Lafe held onto his cloak and tugged him along. He was always willing to do what Lafe wanted or needed him to do. He watched the other boy pointing and babbling about the cards and he didn't know what they were but if they were important to Lafe, well then, they were important to him too. He looked intensely at every single one Lafe showed him as if he were studying and absorbing them and committing them to memory. Alex even put together that they matched the card on Lafe's scarf and he picked up the discarded garment from the floor and draped it back on Lafe's head.
Ok so he missed getting it around the other boy's neck.. but it's the thought that counts!
He turned his sights to Levi too, brows lifting as he pointed at the cards and talked something that Alex didn't get. Something about the cards... he thought. He knew this boy from before so instead of acknowledging the card comment, he picked up his hard plastic army man and bit into it's head with a "GRRR!!"
Halo hugged her husband and leaned down to give the shorter man a gentle kiss. "Not too exciting. My shop's fine. Business is starting to pick up.. The Spring and all.." She winked. "If you ever need any intimate apparel.. or.. other things.. Maybe I can hook you up with a discount Aki." The tall woman winked at the other again and wiggled her brows like a perv.
"Tom and Carmine's is fine too. All locked up tight." She looked at her husband as if there was other meaning than the obvious behind her next statement, "Security.. measures still in place and unchallenged." The shady look turned to a smile. "They sent us a postcard by the way.. It's uh.. " She coughed. "In my purse we'll read it later, eh love?"
Halo found herself a seat on the couch and explained a bit to Aki, "Tom and Carmine are... old friends who live in the other wing of the house. They own a shop too but they are on vacation so we are looking after it."
"Oooh, more housemates? Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a hermit, I know how much Levi loves to be social." Smiling brightly, if not a touch sadly, she thought back on the rest of Halo's day.
"Intimate...or...other? Oh. Oh!!" Blush once again firmly in place, Aki smiled through it regardless. Simply because she was unused to talking about this sort of thing with relative strangers (and in front of children) didn't mean she was opposed to it. The book on her lap was proof of that!!
"I, um...could use a new nightgown! Perhaps I'll stop by!" Offering Halo a rare wink, Aki laughed...hoping Wren didn't feel left out. Now that she was getting used to the other woman's sense of humor, she was learning to recover a bit more gracefully from the unexpected.
"Oh, you got a postcard? We...Levi...got something in the mail the other day as well!" Glancing at the boy for a moment, smiling out of habit, intrigue tugged at Aki like a long denied craving. "If you have a moment..."
Peeling back the flap of her bag, Aki gingerly withdrew a bundle of tied cotton fabric...pulling the string at moving the cloth gently away. Underneath was a folded section of brown, oiled paper...crumbling and cracking at the edges and creases. Various stamps and stickers colored the dirty wrapping, a dim rainbow of history.
"It was wrapped in this. There is no return address, and it's addressed to Levi...by his full name." Tapping the smudged and faded writing, Aki's finger came to rest on the word Lovekill. "I am familiar with most of the places postmarked, except these three. Have either of you..."
Trailing off, Aki motioned to the first two. "Mayda...before that, Bacalao..." She spoke the names awkwardly, unsure of the pronunciation. According to every resource she checked, the islands simply didn't exist. "I can't find information on either of those places, nor the oldest mark. This one, here. Rupes Ngra."
Levi's head came up slowly as he tuned into the conversation, twisting to peer at Aki in puzzlement. What were they talking about? For some reason, his back ached...kind of like when he ate too much ice cream too fast...
Distracted by Alex's sudden attack on the army man, Levi gave a startled laugh...rocking back to whump down onto his bottom. Adults forgotten, he watched with interest...not the least bit disappointed that the head stayed put.
"Grrr!" Levi tried to mimic Alex, but he was smiling too widely to be a threat. Distantly, he realized he should get Gyre and Alex to hang out...this was way better than shopping for dresses!! Silly Gyre.
Still looking around for something to bite himself, Levi was once more distracted...this time by the lamp light jumping off the few holographic pogs. There were plain ones as well, and one or two foils...staring at them gave Levi a sudden idea for a game! Scooping them closer, he plucked one from the pile...a picture of a bright fireball!! Glancing back to the cards, he placed it next to the most similar card. There! Perfect!!
"Yoh tin! Goh!"
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