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 Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:51 pm
It was the worse place to possibly be in with a small child, bar none. Well, Michael had to admit to himself, that wasn't entirely true. He'd rather have Tansi here, then say, in the middle of a firefight. None the less, he tried to keep the bratty young Eden away from toy stores when possible. It was always hell and then some, getting her out again.
Yet she'd spotted it, as they were walking toward the Eden HQ, and that meant there was no help for the detour. It was meant to be a good day, a good day for her. And that meant, perhaps, giving into her demands, at least a little bit. Otherwise, she'd start screaming, and he'd nearly lose it, and, well, that wasn't such a good day for either of them.
This, though, only put off those events. Michael could see them looming over the horizon, ready to hit the moment he tried to get her out again.
"Da'deeee..." The young girl tugged gently at his hand, staring up at him with bright guileless eyes and a sweet smile. "I 'ike you."
And then her eyes fell on the wall of stuffed animals, and if she liked him, well, it looked like she liked those more. Eager hands reached for a giant stuffed frog, almost as big as she was. And from over it's fluffy green head, she laughed up at him. If she wasn't so damn cute, it wouldn't be such a problem, he thought.
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 4:43 am
Nahuel had made a few clumsy attempts at walking back in the apartment, but all that had resulted in was a pair of skinned knees and a few shed tears. Finding herself sorely unprepared to deal with a toddler, and her home even more sorely unready, Eshaa made the decision that a run to the toystore was in order as a distraction.
Nahuel was picking at the band-aids on his knees periodically as he squirmed in her arms, but Eshaa was not putting him down for him to either crawl or try to walk on this kind of pavement.
Finally, they arrived at the little toy store and walked into the air conditioned fluorescent-lit building.
"So, Nahuel, whatcha want to play with?" asked Eshaa.
The boy looked around and another feral grin crossed his face. Eshaa decided to take him towards stuffed animals first. Those were fun, after all. She and her cousins had all had those as kids. Though these hardly looked like the plush bears her grandfather had bought in the hospital gift shop. These were fancy.
Nahuel gave a grab for a brightly-patterned parrot.
"You like that one?" asked his mother.
The jaguar child made an attempt to bite the doll, which Eshaa narrowly deterred.
"No, you can't bite these. They're not ours. They belong to the store."
Nahuel dropped the parrot and fought his way out of Eshaa's arms to crouch on the floor, staring at a large display of plush jungle creatures. His eyes fell on an enormous frog, already occupied by another child. He scooted over and poked the bulbous creature. Was it edible?
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 4:29 pm
"Mama TOYS!" Caprice exclaimed, and, letting go of said mama's hand, she was off like a spark.
"Reesy, no!" Lisi Larkin returned, yelling as though she would at her dogs. The bookworm hadn't quite yet gotten used to this..."parenting" thing, but she had quickly warmed up to the child. That hadn't been hard to do. Caprice was fun and affectionate; plus Lisi was glad to see she had a natural curiosity about the world. The librarian didn't think she could handle raising a child who didn't want to learn...even if it was a child who came from a leaf.
Of course, taking care of a toddler wasn't exactly the same as training dogs. Toddlers rarely obey. Especially this one. "Come back here!" But it was too late. She was fast for a girl with the soul of an animal that had no legs. Lisi just couldn't understand it.
She had decided to take a walk with Caprice, instead of putting her into that silly bicycle sidecar. Caprice needed to be exercised, just like her dogs - perhaps even moreso. She was a bundle of energy, and Lisi was nearly running ragged trying to keep up with her. Though only in her twenties, Lisi was no match for this toddler. Maybe it would be good for me though, Lisi thought to herself. Maybe now I'll get more exercise.
Sighing, Lisi had no choice but to follow her into the toy store. "I suppose this can't be all bad," she told herself. "She does need something to entertain herself..."
Already, Lisirra had realized that though she was young, Caprice was bright. She needed to be enriched, needed something to keep her smart mind busy. Hopefully this store would have a decent selection of educational toys, the librarian thought to herself as she stepped into the air conditioning and attempted to locate her toddler.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:20 pm
Wren had to eventually come to a solid conclusion.
He had never bothered with halloween. He had never dressed up before. And thus, he had no idea where one could buy costumes.
...
Oops.
There was still the classical "white sheet with holes", but that would be over his dead body. No, his little lady needed something... beautiful ! Something... special.
Well, the toy store seemed as good of an idea to start at than anything else, and the young butterfly could have used more toys after all. She had those dolls he had picked up eons ago and that was pretty much it.
Hana walked wobbingly while latched on her father's hands, and when Wren realised she was getting tired, he scooped her up in his arms to enter the store. She couldn't quite walk without aid yet, but this was a good begining than anything - he wasn't keen on having her faceplant in a toy store.
He looked for costumes, but Hana had other plans - she spotted the plushies first thing and tugged on a tuff of green and blue hair until Wren turned. "Dadaaaa...~"
Wren eyed the plush, then the price. "Can't have that one, pretty lady. It's a bit too expensive for dada." He couldn't help but smile when she pouted. "Pout all you want, we can't take that one. See, there's a frog over there, it's pretty, no ?"
Crisis adverted, and Hana forgot all about the jumbo teddy. "Fwogee ?"
"Yeah, that's right. Froggie. See ?" He started to make his way toward it. There where even other children around ! This would do well.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:26 pm
Tansi had, up until recently, led a sheltered life under her father's care. Other children were new, a revelation. They were unlike her own sister and cousins, they did not act or react in ways to be predicted. It startled her, still. So, when the boy approached her, when he poked the frog that she was clearly already claiming, her first instinct showed itself as she backed against Michael's leg and held the toy more firmly.
Hers. She had it first. That meant no one else could touch it.
But then the other girl began to approach, with wings, and Tansi hesitated. She hadn't wanted the toy that much. Not so much that it was the most important thing ever. And the girl and the boy both looked kinda neat. Maybe more fun than holding the frog all by herself. A soft little sigh, and the passion flower child held the frog at arms length, so that the boy could touch it better, and the girl too, if she wanted to.
"I foun' i'!" She announced proudly. "I's a f'og."
Oh, she was so clever. They would want to be her friends forever, now that they saw how clever she was.
Michael, daughter now detached from his leg, only watched the girl. She was reacting better than he'd expected. His little princess didn't usually like to share. Mind, among her cousins, that made sense. It was take or be taken. But here, if she could learn to allow others to play as well... Maybe she wasn't as much of a wretched brat as she seemed.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:18 pm
Nahuel smiled and gave the frog another poke, giggling when it jiggled as the beans inside it shifted. He glanced over at the other girl who had just sat down with him. He blinked at the girls, then blinked at the frog.
"'Neat," he stated, and grinned toothily. He examined one of the critter's floppy limbs, lifting it up and then dropping it again.
Could they be friends? Maybe they liked climbing on kitchen cabinets as much as he did? Mom got mad when he did that, but maybe if the other kids liked doing that it was okay and mom would let him.
He turned around, grabbed the parrot, and held it up for the girls.
"Bird!" he proclaimed.
See? See? He could name things, too!
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:51 am
Lisi scanned the room as she entered, looking for Caprice with a bit of anxiety. Relieved to find her among other children - Reese was such a social girl - she decided to hang back and instead, look for some nice things to buy her.
As for Caprice, as soon as she saw other children, she headed straight for them. There weren't any other kids to play with at her house, and so this was what she wanted most. She approached the group gingerly, trying to see what they had that everyone seemed to interested in. There was a boy with crazy hair and two girls that looked nice, so she stepped right up to them and announced herself. "Hi hi!" she exclaimed. "Whatsa doin?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:31 pm
"'sa pwetty fwogee." Hana nodded. "Pwetty birdie !"
There where so many things in there, so many little treasures, and playmates to boot ! Hana's little wings fluttered back in forth in excitment as she, in turn, burrowed into the sea of plushes to find her own. Eventually she found one shaped like a panda, sat, and hugged it. "Lookie ! A bwear !"
Wren couldn't help but smile.
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:07 pm
Now they all had animals. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing? Tansi wasn't sure. She clearly wasn't at the top anymore though. It was hard to be the coolest when everyone had animals. Well, almost everyone. The newest girl to approach was tragically animal free. The brat princess was shocked to feel a wave of sympathy for the girl. It was okay for her to be the only one with an animal, but not for a single girl to be the only one without.
"We go' amibals. Wan' one?" She wasn't, of course, going to give up her giant frog, but the girl could have a different one. Reaching blindly behind her, she managed to get a grip around the neck of a giraffe, which she held out encouragingly, "'s howse."
And that was clearly the first nice thing that Michael had seen his daughter do in too long. He nodded silently to himself, and almost seemed to smile. It wasn't exactly a friendly expression, at least not on his rough wolfish face, but it was a start. There was real affection there. That much was true.
Horrid brat that she was, at least she wasn't completely socially inept. He just hoped she wouldn't start screaming anytime soon, like she had last time she was around strange children.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:49 am
Nahuel, fairly content with his bird, looked at the new girl and grinned toothily. He scooted over to make room for her in their little circle. Something about the plain and simple fact that he was the only boy here made him happy.
Clapping the palm of his hand against his chest, he proclaimed, "Nahuel!"
Eshaa, who hadn't seen him say this much or be this friendly since his arrival, smiled and looked at the other parents. "Hi," she said as way of introduction, "I'm Eshaa Cooper. Nahuel's my son."
Wow, that was odd to say.
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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 2:25 pm
Caprice looked curiously at the girl holding out the toy to her. Understanding, she smiled in thanks and took it. Lisi, watching from a few feet away, reminded her to say thank you. "Tank yuu," Caprice told the girl promptly. "Ambals?" she inquired, testing out the word. Testing out her "ambal" she bent its long neck and giggled uproariously as the giraffafe looked at her upside down. Letting its neck go, she set him upright on the ground and danced him around. She made the sound horsies made - "Neiiigh! Neigh neigh neiiigh!" and walked the giraffe up to her friend's froggie. "Wat's yur name?" she said, in an altered voice that tried to sound girrafe-like.
Caprice returned Nahuel's grin with one of her own. "Hiya," she said cheerily. "You's gots big hair," she stated matter-of-fact. When Nahuel slapped his hand against his chest, Reese looked at him for a moment like he was insane. Then, eyes alight with understanding, she clapped hand to her own chest and said, "M'name ish Cuh..preese." Caprice had only just learned how to say her full name. Lisi was so proud.
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 6:55 pm
Much like the other two before her, the monarch tapped her chest. "'m Hana." She grinned, then rose the panda. "And tat's... Myaa !"
Wren couldn't help but smile, not having the heart to tell the little one that pandas did not make cat sounds. Instead, he nodded to the woman. "My name is Wren."
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 7:13 pm
"I's Tan-zi." The passionflower girl announced, rounding out the introductions proudly. She liked her name. She liked most things about herself really. She was beginning to think she liked friends too. As long as they realized how great she was.
"Wibbit. Wibbit." She knelt to the ground, showing a surprising amount of natural grace for such a young girl. The frog was hopped toward the giraffe in awkward flopping movements. "My name is Gween."
That was a good name for a frog, right? From her kneeling position, she looked up expectantly at the other children, waiting for them to get in on the action. "W'as you names?"
Michael was less comfortable with the introductions going on, he'd never been comfortable in the little groups of chattering, proud parents, even though he was as proud a parent as any. Maybe worse than some. But small talk was a game he didn't like playing, so when the introductions reached him, he answered with a shrug. "Michael. I got the flower brat, there." Reaching out with a toe, he nudged the child in question.
Casual. Detached. Funny to think how much he actually loved the girl.
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Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 7:28 pm
Birds flew, right? Nahuel dropped his floppy little parrot in on the action from above, and it landed ungracefully between the bear and the frog. What could he call the bird? He couldn't just call it 'bird', could he? No, he couldn't, because that was sort of boring. So, what could he call it?
It was red, wasn't it?
"Red!" he proclaimed, wiggling the bird. Eshaa cringed.
"I don't suppose yours do this whole monosyllabic thing, do they?" she asked the other parents.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:11 pm
Lisirra was trying very hard to be invisible without being rude; pretending to be very interested in bins of small toys over by a counter. Maybe the other parents wouldn't notice her. She never knew what to say to people. Small talk was torture, simply torture. She never knew what to say and usually ended up just smiling a lot to make up for her silence.
That was completely opposite of her little girl, though - Lisi had yet to reconcile herself to the term "daughter," however, she was beginning to feel more at ease in that role, ever so slowly. Caprice shined around others her age - around anyone, in fact, that would talk to her.
Playing blissfully with the other little girl Tan-zi, Reese was lost in her imaginary interactions with the toys. "M'name is..." The dolphin girl thought long and hard about the appropriate name for her long-necked friend. "Necky!" she pronounced with a giggle and a grin.
Finally, Lisi was beginning to feel bad for avoiding the gaggle of parents, and approached them casually. The meek librarian just heard the tail end of Eshaa's question. "My Caprice has actually been quite vocal," she piped up with a hesitant smile. "She really loves the sound of her own voice, it seems."
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