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 Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:59 pm
Big Al's tree lot was huge, full of short trees, tall trees, fat trees, thin trees, all of them exactly spread four feet apart and waiting for someone to come chop them down and stick them in the corner covered in decorations.
It was just Tyler and Chris on this little trip, and the boy was experiencing his first snow. He paused, sitting down on his bottom and looking at his gloves, still not sure they wouldn't let the cold in. He was starting to realize that walking as he did (on all fours, with his knees bent) made him closer to the cold ground.
He didn't like cold. He looked up at his father, opening his mouth to complain, but his father looked like he was having the time of his life.
"How about this one, Chris?" Tyler asked him, stopping in front of a fat tree.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:07 pm
There was some loudly enthusiastic yowling, a noise like a weed-whacker, and loud cursing, and an enthusiastic dark-skinned black blur, bundled in a bright green puffy coat, launched itself into the branches of the nearest tree, only to be caught around his middle and dropped unceremoniously onto the ground.
Katrina was having one of those days, made worse by the fact that it was accompanied with a necessity for holiday shopping. She had picked up a handful of gifts for her crew—mostly spiced rum; pirates weren’t a picky bunch—and now was on a quest for a few old homey things she hadn’t had in years: a Christmas tree and a Yule log. It was oddly nostalgic, and as she walked through the lot smelling pine, Katrina wished that the effect wasn’t marred by Melchy’s excited attempts at climbing trees. She caught him by the collar as he tried to scale an already-unbalanced evergreen and looked around.
A fat, sturdy tree that could probably stand up to cats’ fascinations with branches and ornaments caught her eye, and her lips twitched in a smile. Setting Melchy down, she gently turned the boy in the direction of the tree. “What d’ye think of that one, boyo?”
Melchy gave a raucous meow and launched himself at the tree, missing and colliding with a leg. Katrina rushed after to pick up the discombobulated cat-boy, already mumbling a litany of apologies.
“I’m so sorry about his behaviour, can’t seem to teach him any better, I—”
The most peculiar child she had ever seen caught her eye, and Katrina set Melchy down on his feet to look the kid’s guardian in the eyes.
She would have bet all the rum that this kid had come from a cabbage.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:13 pm
"Hmm?" Tyler asked, glancing over at them. He had been hit, but he hadn't felt much. It was just a bump, after all. "No problem," he said with an easy smile. "Are you two looking for a tree, too?"
Chris sat down again, looking at the other boy curiously as he tugged his stubby leg over her lap to keep it from freezing. He didn't want to say anything because his voice was just as strange and different as the rest of him.
He didn't like being different.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:32 pm
Katrina flashed a smile back to Tyler, impressed by how easily the man elicited that response from her. Then again, she tended to be smiling more and more frequently. Maybe it was the holiday spirit.
“Tree and Yule log,” she answered, nodding sagely and giving a short bow. “Katrina Chandler at your service.”
It took Katrina a moment to register that she hadn’t introduced herself using her title. This was the first time that had happened in years upon years; perhaps it was the fact that she was on land and not, for once, dressed like a pirate. Pirate clothes were bad for increasingly cold weather. “The child yours?” she asked easily, flicking a hand in Christian’s direction.
Melchy put his head first to one side, then the other, regarding Chris solemnly until he decided what to do with this strange boy. He got up and prowled around him once, and then crouched down in front of him. “You’s got a tail,” he said solemnly, pointing. “I’s got one too.” He flicked his own tail, then paused for a moment. “You’s got horns like a dinosaur,” he added. “Cool,” he finished, flashing Chris a dazzlingly charismatic smile.
Katrina was silently thankful that Melchy was being polite for once in his life.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:43 pm
Chris grinned at the compliment, showing off his tusks before he spoke, in a halting manner. He had two voices instead of one, making it a bit startling for the first time hearing it. "Chris," he said, poking himself in the chest with his oversized thumb.
"Yep, this is my boy, Christian. I'm Tyler Deakon," Tyler said, bowing back after a second of hesitance. "This is Chris's first Christmas, so we're getting ready a bit earlier than we usually do. And that's your son?" he asked, glancing at Melchy with an easy smile.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:09 pm
“Pleased to meet you, Tyler Deakon,” Katrina said, reaching out to give a proper handshake when she recognized the man’s bewilderment with her typical greeting. She had a good, firm handshake, rather like a man’s, but there was no disguising that. Hopefully, Tyler wouldn’t think her that strange.
“Well, the word ‘son’ is debatable,” Katrina said slowly, though she was nodding, “But I guess you could call ‘im that if you were willing to make a stretch of the imagination. I’m his legal guardian, anyway. He’s sort of the entire crew’s, actually.” She flicked her fingers at Melchy in a vague sort of acknowledgement. “His name is Melchizedek, but we call him Melchy.”
She flashed a bright smile at the mention of Christmas. “This will be my first Christmas in almost fifteen years,” she said, “and it’s the boy’s first, so we want to get everything right.” She glanced down at Chris when he spoke, incredibly interested by the sound of the boy’s voice. “…wow,” she said softly, unsure of what else to say. “He must be fascinating to live with,” she remarked, completely earnest.
Melchy’s ears twitched in excitement when he heard Chris’s two voices, and he put his head to one side, having apparently decided that everything about this strange child was absolutely amazing. A bright grin spread across his features, and he puffed up the fur on his ears and tail. “I’s Melchy,” he said brightly, having long since learned that his full name was too hard for anyone to pronounce.
Katrina tapped him gently with the toe of her boot. “What else d’you say?” she prompted, and the little child flattened his ears sheepishly before looking back at Chris and adding a quick, “Pleased t’meetcha.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:14 pm
Chris grinned, nodding in agreement. Tyler shook his head. "He's still not quite sure about talking," he admitted. "He just started to the other day, after all. But he's a barrel of fun, aren't you, kiddo?" he added, picking the boy up with a grunt.
"Swear he's gained five pounds since he came out of the cabbage," he muttered. "You been sneaking cookies behind my back again?"
Chris nodded, largely.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:41 pm
"I understand," Katrina said pleasantly, aware that Melchizedek had briefly become self-conscious when he realized that most other small children didn't meow loudly when they got excited.
And then Tyler said the key word. "Oh, is he from--oof!" She winced, bending forward almost double as small and heavy Melchizedek hit her squarely on the back and clung, locking his arms around her neck. Katrina grimaced and shook her head, readjusting Melchy so she was holding him in front of her instead. "Is he from a cabbage, too?" she asked brightly, shifting Melchy's weight to her hip so she could tickle his ears.
She couldn't help but chuckle at Chris's enthusiastic response to Tyler's question. "Well, at least he's honest," she said with a smile.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:45 pm
"Yeah, he's from the Cabbage Patch," Tyler said as Chris climbed up him and started for the tree behind him. "No you don't, kiddo, I don't think that one can support your weight," he said, juggling the boy in his arms.
Chris looked over at Melchy, wondering if he disliked the cold as much as he did. His tail swished behind him, now that it was free of his hands.
"We're signing him up for the daycare over at Liberty, does your boy go there?" Tyler asked.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:12 pm
"Daycare..." Katrina said delicately, tasting the word and depositing Melchy on the ground again, where he promptly launched himself at Christian's tail with an excited mewl. "Well, I've actually been out on a bit of a...cruise...for the past two months or so...but perhaps I shall. I've never been one for company, but things have changed recently. I'm not the scourge of the seas anymore."
And that was a weird sentence. But Katrina had something to think about; perhaps she really should think about enrolling Melchizedek at the Liberty Center. It would do the child good to get some socialization. She picked the boy up by the collar when he tried to leap into Tyler's arms, shook him gently, and dropped him on the ground again. "The boy's a terror, though."
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:21 pm
Chris reached for the tree again, breaking an entire limb off as he grabbed it, then looking at it curiously for a moment. After a second he brought it over his back and shoved it down his shirt, using it as a back scratcher.
"Chris is ah... a bit of a handful, himself," he admitted. "and hard on the furniture."
Chris blinked, startled as his hand was now sticky.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:49 pm
Katrina couldn't help it; when Chris broke the entire limb from the Christmas tree, she giggled. Then she blinked and clapped a hand over her mouth, because she was much too old to be giggling.
Melchy had discovered a tree that he thought was suitable behind them, and he was clambering stealthily up the lower branches with a minimum of rustling, grinning like an idiot because he thought he was going to get away with it. And he was going to.
But as he approached the higher branches, the tree unbalanced. Melchy squalled and tried to bail, but it was no use. The tree crashed to the ground, carrying its yowling cargo with it.
Katrina jumped, whirled, and ran to rescue Melchy from the tree, or possibly vice versa, before giving the boy a stern talking to, half the words of which seemed like a completely foreign language.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:56 pm
Chris dropped to the ground, heading to pick the tree up one handed and toss it aside. It slammed into one of the trees nearby, falling to the ground.
"It looks like we'll be buying a few trees before we're done," Tyler said. "Well, we can stick the one you broke the limb off in the corner." He reached down, pulling the tree limb out of his son's shirt and tossing it aside.
Chris looked up at him, a bit guiltily, then licked at his sticky hand.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:05 pm
Katrina opened her mouth to respond, but a shrill voice caught her by surprise and made her twitch. She turned around and came face-to-face with a woman who was, presumably, somehow associated with the owner of the tree lot. Before she could say anything, Katrina pulled a wallet out of her coat pocket and counted a handful of bills out into her hand.
"That should pay for the damages caused by me and my friend here," she said, flashing a sweet smile to the woman and holding it until she went away. Then Katrina's face went dark, and she picked Melchy up and looked straight into his face. "There go all your Christmas presents," she said darkly. "We do not jump in trees."
Melchy blinked, and his bottom lip quivered. Katrina sighed theatrically and shook her head. "No, not all your presents. Oh, Melchizedek, what am I going to do with you?"
She turned quickly to Tyler and shrugged. "Don't bother reimbursing," she said before he probably had time to think about or suggest that. "I don't mind paying." She had more money than she really knew what to do with anyway--half of it obtained illegally (pirates were...not known for their honest business practices).
Shaking her head, she went over to the tree Melchy had knocked down. Pulling it upright, she sighed, and tried to figure out how to carry it and Melchizedek. "I'm sorry, but it seems to be for the best that I leave before this one hear breaks himself," she said, giving Tyler another sheepish smile.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:21 pm
"Um, thanks," Tyler said, not know what else to say. "Do you need help taking your Christmas tree?" He blinked a bit as Chris crawled under the fat tree, breaking it off from the ground like a flower. Then he grinned up at his dad, putting it over his shoulder as if he fully planned on carrying it home.
"I've got a free hand."
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