Welcome to Gaia! ::

--Adults--
Adrian V. Karlet: Malachite's father. Tristin's da' has taken a liking to him. Tristin has figured that he won't get much from any of them once they start cuddling.
--GCBs--
Mekt: There's been a second meeting between the two. Mekt didn't seem quite as off this time, but Tristin couldn't really get much out of him before he left.
Malachite: Tristin still likes him as much as ever. DEspite this, it has been a while since the two have talked. A true bother, that.
Mikhail: The little jerk... He made a pest of himself the whole time he was around. Insulting Nothing(I think...) and kicking Tristin without any reason. Gotta do something to get the brat back.
Aponi: This kid's not too bad. Tristin didn't have much time with him, but he didn't seem off like a number of the other kids around. Tristin hasn't given his name to him, yet.
Raissen: Well... He's a man. Confirming that is the only interaction Tristin's really had with him so far. He was cuddling the jerk who kicked his head, though. That's definitely a problem.
--Others(Non-GCB)--
Gully: One of Mako's boys. Frighteningly hyper and never seems to really settle much. Tristin likes him, though his excessive energy bothers him at times. The lad has left the house.
Lucien: Mako's other boy. A training battlemage. Tristin finds him interesting, though he seems a bit off at times. Though training was promised, after the first attempt, nothing else was said about it. And it seems it'll never come, now. He has left, along with Gully.
Xyre: Tristin has forgotten about this thing, pretty much. It had been forever and a day since he was seen. Why, the thing wasn't even mentioned as Mako packed up.



--Tristin's plushie - Bought for him by Nothing

--Tristin's gem - Found before coming to Nothing's house and, seemingly before the mansion.

8/3/05
Mr. Nothing suggested that we all clean up the house today. It is a bit dirty. Everybody else was working on a different room while I did my bedroom. I hadn't realized just how drab this room looked. I started on the window first, scrubbing away at all the dust that had clung to it. I needed a bit more light in this room before I could really clean it up. It took a good while to get all of the dust off, leaving my rag absolutely filthy.

"Ugh..." It looked like even a few bugs had gotten stuck in the dust. That's terribly nasty. It made me wonder just how long it had been since the window had been cleaned. Filthy. Just filthy. Shaking my head, I just dropped the rag in a corner, a cloud of dust puffing up from the carpet when it landed. turning to the window, I couldn't help but smile, though. It looked great, the sun shining through Xyre's tree.

Even better once I turned back to the room. Still looks terribly unclean. It was even more clear with the sun now shining into the room. Sighing, I went to work on the dresser and table and rest of the furniture. Using a bit of furniture polish and a napkin, I went to dusting everything. Yet another disgusting thing. I had to fold the napkin over several time so it was just a small square to wash with before I was done. I continued like this, washing and cleaning everything. Always a moment to be happy about how the cleaning looked. Looking around and finding something else to clean.

It had certainly taken a while. Mr. Mako and Nothing had come in a few times, seeing how I was. The room looked great now, though. I couldn't help but grin at it all. The evening sun streamed in through the window, looking even better than when I had last glanced outside. The furniture was clean and looking better than it had since I've arrived. A nice quilt I had found in the closet while I was cleaning it was laid over my bed, matching Gully's in a light green and purple. It looked unusual, but felt quite nice. And finally, the walls and carpet were finally their right color instead of the grey of dust which had been worked into both. The walls were all the same color, a dark green. Didn't look too bad with everything else. And the carpet was a pure white. Looked wonderful. And it felt quite good underfoot after all of the dust had been worked out of it.

I stood, admiring how it all looked now. Much, much better. Not a sign of dust anywhere. Don't think I'll really mind keeping it clean, as long as it looks this good when I do. Heh...

"How're ya doing in here, bud?" Nothing peeked in just as I sat down on my bed, giving the room one last look. He looked about, a smile slowly spreading. "Wow... this place looks great! May have to get you to clean up the rest of the house." Chuckling, he pushed open the door and stepped in. It was quite obvious where the room stopped. The carpet made a stark line, seperating the pristine white from a still-dirty grey. "This place looks better than it did when we moved in." Chuckling again, he grinned. "Wanna be a maid? Betcha'd like it. No pay... But you'd get to clean stuff." He gave a quiet snort of laughter.

"Uhm... That wouldn't be too bad. Would make the house look much better." Nodding, I smiled and laid back on the bed. Nothing shook his head and chuckled, walking out of the room.

"Well, ya'd better do a good job! No dinner if you don't." I rolled my eyes. He was such a dork. So wierd... I laughed softly and crawled under the quilt, nuzzling down into my pillow. The room even smelled better. Chuckling once more, I started nodding off to sleep, quite happy with the state of the room now.

RP between Tristin and Lucien

As the next day arrived, spreading what little warmth it had to proffer through the rickety house, Lucien could be seen rising with the sun, sneaking into the yard wearing a somewhat ceremonial looking cloak and casting it off as the sun's rays spilled over the surrounding valley like water might through a cracked dam. As a beam of the sun's golden warmth flooded over the house and intersected Lucien, he threw off his black cloak, which, instead of falling limply to the air, caught in the air behind him as if filled by an invisible model or an incarnation of the wind itself. Slowly, the color seemed to drain out of wherever surrounding shadows lay, but then, as quickly as the process had progressed, it reversed, and the cloak was now back upon Lucien's body, along with a smirk that it seemed to bring to his face.
"Ah, Sun God, how ironic that it is your power that helps to invigorate me - thus is your punishment for bestowing it so carelessly upon these filthy humans. You did not expect a creature of hell, did you? And yet in your arrogance you ignore the shadows already under your eyes. How amusing. How amazing. Creation and ignorance sustaining eachother for so long. Your revelation will be wrought in destruction. How amusing." Seemingly muttering to himself, almost in an insane, and certainly obsessive manner, as if not even realizing that his thoughts were materializing into words, the eyes peeping out of a window behind him went unnoticed.

Tristin was unhappily roused by the sunlight streaming through the window. Apparently, he had forgotten to close the curtains. How bothersome... Mumbling to himself, Tristin lazily kicked his covers off of him and, clinging to his penguin, he wandered to the window. Reaching up to pull the curtains closed, he noticed that Lucien was already outside. Just then, Lucien threw the cloak off of him. Tristin watched as the cloak caught in the air. Glancing quickly to Gully to be sure he was still sleeping, he kneeled down slightly, watching as Lucien continued, never having seen him doing this before.

Having finished his morning ritual, Lucien surveyed his surroundings - the same as every morning; a shabby patch of land complete with dying grass and a little too much dirt. A chain-link fence circled half of the lot, but abruptly ended in the back in a twist of metal, as if it has been blown apart. Lucien remembered when he had done that, and how it had shown him the frailities of humanity. 'The only thing keeping me bound anywhere is my body,' he had thought, and with the flick of a wrist, he had mangled the metal and simply walked off to wherever he felt like going, only to return to a manic household later that night. Since then, they had learned not to question his whereabouts.
Lazily, Lucien cast away his memories and levitated a stone a few feet away from his feet, but as he extended his awareness in his craft, his magic sensed another...watching him. He was so used to this happening that at any other time, he would've paid little atention, except now his only thought was 'How much had that Tristin kid seen?!' His frustration didn't last long, however, as he quickly reminded himself that he was dealing with a simple human - evem if he had seen the whole task from beginning to end, he would never begin to comprehend its significance. Raising his voice to an enlightened tone, he called out "Why don't you join me, Tristin?"

Tristin flinched and hid away hastily as an instant reaction to being caught watching Lucien. "Uhm..." He peeked back over the window sill after a short moment, examining what he could of Lucien while he was covered in the dark cloak. It didn't seem he was really angry. Nodding, he took the shortest possible route, opening the window and climbing out it. It's quite a good thing he had been cleaning the room regularly since the first time. The window had always made a great noise whenever someone tried to open it before. Closing the window back before continuing, he couldn't help but ask the obvious question. "What were you doing, Lucien?"

Lucien laughed under his breath; he loved catching people off guard, and here on earth it seemed to be so simple that it almost got tiresome after a time, but Tristin still amused him. Gracefully casting off his cloak as Tristin climbed out of the window, he let it fall on a part of the fence that was still in tact. The clock had served its purpose, he didn't need it anymore - not for now, atleast. Turning on his heel to face Tristin, he hid his annoyance with the question - fashioning tales was not his strong suit.
"Just a...small morning ritual" he replied with a small inflection of a lie. "And what were you doing? Hope...I didn't wake you..." He just barely avoided saying 'Hope you didn't see too much.'

"Ah... It looked interesting. Hmm... Is it just something you do out of habit?" Smiling slightly, Tristin stepped away from the window slightly, a slight frown flashing as he remembered he had meant to close the curtains. Glancing back, he figured Gully was a heavy enough sleeper that it shouldn't really matter. "Ah... I was just going to close the curtains. You caught my attention as I was doing that, though. But you didn't wake me. The evil sun did it... Shining through the window and all that. The mean thing." He chuckled softly, sure to show he was joking.

"Yes, quite like a habit." He let the boy wander further into the lie. Sensing Tristin's concerns, Lucien flicked his wrist and the window closed shut behind him. He'd rather not risk having that idiot Gullivan intervening anyways. As tristin continued talking, he flicked his wrist again and the curtains were pulled shut. "Oh, yes, the evil sun..." He looked up to the sky with a smirk on his face - it was clear that he was also finding humor in the situation, although it was doubtful that it was the same as Tristin's. "Yes, the sun can be quite...bothersome...at times...blinding, hides the real truth quite often, doesn't it?" Laughing inwardly to himself, he doubted that Tristin would pick up on his true meanings, but he was amusing himself nonetheless. "Well, you were interested in magic, weren't you? Still curious?" Changing the topics abruptly, he was sure not to dig himself into a hole with the other one.

"Yeah... The sun is terribly problematic at times..." Tristin trailed off as it seemed Lucien wasn't talking about the same thing as him. He risked a glance up through Xyre's tree at the sun, most of the glare shut out by the leaves. His gaze snapped back down quickly as Lucien mentioned magic again. Nodding, he couldn't help but smile. "Ah yes, I'd still be quite happy to learn. I have things I could use it for now, ways it would be quite useful. If you can teach, I'd love to learn, o master."

Lucien smiled as Tristin trailed off, knowing, as he had predicted, that the boy wasn't speaking on the same level as him. Lucien followed his gaze to the treefort through the back of his mind - he knew that Xyre wasn't even there. He got up earlier every morning and headed off into the hills. 'Probably the smartest one out of the rest of these fools,' Lucien thought, 'atleast having enough sense to get out of this nest of misfits.' His words, however, didn't match these thoughts at all. "Well, then, I can teach you a little. What might you be keen on using it for, though? I wouldn't feel right about giving you this gift without knowing what it was going out in the world to do..."

Tristin watched Lucien for a moment as he waited for him to reply. He hesitated for a moment once Lucien asked for what he could use it for. He knew he would likely find the reason to be weak. "Well, I... I promised to protect someone. They can't do it themselves, so I'll have to. Though I'm sure that I'll find many other uses for it once I learn a bit. Ah..." Tristin smirked slightly as he called up one obvious use. "A slight use for that parlor trick you showed me before has already come to mind."

Lucien was slightly surprised by the earnestness of the answer - he had expected the boy to quickly cover himself with some lie, only wanting to know magic to show off to his friends with. Although Lucien typically used his magic for destruction while Tristin seemed to be planning on doing somewhat of the opposite, he could respect the serious tone in which the boy spoke, and knew that teaching this child magic would atleast not be as waistful as teaching a parrot to repeat the same words over and over again. "Alright, then, yes, magic can be used for protection. If you're planning on using levitation to hurdle your opponet away from your friend, however, then you're going to need to train the body and the mind. Know this - magic is directly dependent upon your body's ability to function properly - upon your energy output, your strength, your endurance, your reflexes, everything. It'll be far easier to magically pelt somebody with a mini hailstorm of pebbles rather than actually lift the person themselves, but to do that you might as well not even use magic. Understand? This is something serious, not some hobby to take a second seat to card collecting or something of the sort."

Tristin listened intently as Lucien explained everything he would need to work on to be proficient in magic. He nodded quickly as his brother asked if he understood. "I know. I have nothing else to really distract myself with. No particular hobby yet. So I'll be quite focused on learning this." Nodding, he looked down at himself. He certainly wasn't in very good shape. Relatively small and his stamina... Well, it could use some work. "Am I in a shape to even do the most basic things? Will I need to work myself up for even that?" Sighing, he caught himself rather quickly. "Not that I'm thinking doing anything with this will be easy."

Still smiling, Lucien could see that this boy would atleast be able to produce some magic, where as many could do none at all, since they lacked the will. Anybody who shared a room with Gullivan and was able to keep their head on their shoulders must have a stronger will than usual, he thought, amusing himself. "That's good, because with magic, you won't have much time for any silly hobbies, and even in your free time, you will be too tired to participate in them anyways." Pausing, ha gave the boy a quick onceover. "You seem to be of normal physical fitness, as long as your mind is prepared, then your body shouldnt react drastically to anything small. You might feel a great fatigue after the firsttime - the first time is always the hardest, but that goes for nearly anyone. Oh, and one last thing - not everybody can do magic, it is a matter of will - but not forcibly so. Assuring yourself and remaining calm will achieve much greater ends than thinking so hard as to give yourself a headache, not to mention make yourself look like an idiot."

"Ah... Well, I assume this magic isn't the kind where I have to study for years to learn anything, right? Hmm..." Coughing softly, he glanced to see if the sun had moved much since his last look at it. He was getting a bit antsy to just get started with his training, and it showed rather apparently. Rocking slightly on the balls of his feet, he had started nodding at everything Lucien had said. "Is there anything else I need to know before we start? I'd like to do at least a bit before everyone else gets up... It might be a bit harder if everyone else is wandering around, bothering us."

Lucien smirked. "No, that won't be needed unless you plan to heavily undertake magic, like I have." Despite how much this boy differentiated himself from everybody else here, he heavily doubted that this would happen. Sensing Tristin's impatience growing, he progresed the conversation. "Well, to start, you should, as I said before, calm your mind. Try to clear it completely, if you can. Reach your most meditative, relaxed state. Actually, wait..." Stopping for a second, Lucien reached deep within his robes to pull out Tristin's stone, which he had given him yesterday. The stone was still glowing, in addittion to softly humming, as if it had thrived in Lucien's care. "That should help you." He knew that it wouldn't help much, but it would give the boy confidence, which was more important than anything else. "Now, if you have trouble clearing your mind, try to focus it on one thing, like whatever motivates you." Stepping back, he gave Tristin the proper space for him to relax himself in, sensing his aura become purer and purer as his troubles drifted away.

"Ah... Very good. I don't think I could really give up quite that much time, really..." Nodding, he smiled slightly at the sight of his stone. Taking it, he clutched it between his hands, wondering about the humming, but not bothering over it. Sighing, he grasped the stone between his hands and focused on what had really had him set on learning magic. Adrian's son, Malachite. Sighing once again, he bowed his head, calming himself and trying to clear his mind, accomplishing both mostly. "Okay, Lucien. I'm calm... What next?"

((Hmm... Well, this has turned out to be much longer than I thought it would be. Shall just put the important things up now in later entries. Unless anyone cares for the entire thing... PM or some such if you care.))

9/6/05
Today was Tristin's first day of school. He was certainly more excited about it than I was. Still doubtful whether I should have sent him off to a public school. From what I recall, they don't generally like people who aren't as... Infantile as them. I suppose the kid may have grown up a bit since I had been in school. Tristin had seemed like his day had been relatively good. He just came wandering in a few minutes after I had gotten off work, smiling slightly, sliding his backpack off and dropping it in a corner.
"So... How was your first day? It wasn't too bad, was it?"

Laughing softly, he just smiled broader, shrugging before heading down the hallway to his room, leaving me to just watch as he wandered away. Closing the door behind him, the smile lingered for a moment before he sighed quietly, causing Gully to look up from where he was splayed out on his bed. Waving him off, Tristin silenced Gully before he could inquire about anything. Slipping away from the door, he plodded to the bed opposite his older brother's, crawling up onto it and pulling a small notebook out from a crease in the covers. The cover of the notebook was coated with doodles, mostly cat-things which, strangely enough, seemed to vaguely look like Tristin. Opening it, he tugged a stubby pencil from the rings holding it together.

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Tristin's rantings, ravings, and ramblings-- Simplified for easier reading

Dad sent me off to my first day of school today. I don't want to whine about it, but it's nowhere near as fun as I had thought it would be. There's doesn't even seem to be anyone too interesting in my class. Hmph... I tried to bother a few of the boys, but they all just kind of shied away from me. That's nowhere near fun. Though there was one kid who just kind of wandered off to the corner of the room who seemed to be interested in me, if nothing else. He just continued to watch me whenever I decided to try and bother someone. He's a wierd one, though. When I talked to him during lunch, he settled into the bench and ate his fries. I didn't even try to bother him, either. Well, maybe I can get a bit out of him later. I at least need something to interest me, don't I?

The rest of the day wasn't too interesting. A few little things were done, nothing too hard. Strangely enough, despite being out a few weeks, I had no trouble doing most of the work. It was just simple stuff. That is a good thing, if nothing else is. I can have some nice sleep time, while everyone else is doing things.

Oh, and I didn't see anybody I knew. That's kind of sad... I could at least bug them whenever I get bored. But... Seeing how my teacher reacted to the few times I tried to bug someone, I don't think I could have too much fun. School will certainly pick up after a while though, I think. Everyone's probably just getting used to me.

10/11/05 - (Egh. Far too long since the last update)

Tristin came to me today, asking about trying out for a sport. It was... Soccer or swimming or something. I'm dunno, I wasn't really paying attention. I gave him the go-ahead, signed the form so he could try out.

As long as he stays away from football and such, I'm happy. Won't have him bashing his brains out or what-have-you. That, and I don't even like football. I likely couldn't muster up the excitement to even go to a game. But if he wanted soccer, I think I could get excited about that. Wouldn't be too bad, I don't think.

--------------

I went to Da' today to see about joining the swim team. They had an announcement today, saying anybody could try out, as long as they had a physical or something done. Don't suppose that'd be too bad, whatever it is. The teacher said if we wanted to try any sport, we had to get a form filled out to be sure our parents were okay with it. It's not a big thing. I think Da' would sign anything.

So, I took it to him today. He was sitting at the computer again, Mr. Mako leaning over his shoulder. Dunno what they were looking at, but it seem it had them relatively entertained. I had to tug Da's sleeve for a while before he noticed me, but I just had to wave the form to him before he quickly signed it. Well, at least he's useful for something. He didn't even seem to care what sport I was playing. He gave the form back before I had finished talking and shooed me off rather quickly. Heh... I don't care. It shouldn't be too bad, seeing as how I already like swimming. Though it's nearly impossible to convince Da' to take me to a pool. It should be good, getting to swim during school.

11/18/05

Digging through a heap of junk, Tristin extracted his journal from the pile. Even more scribbles adorned both covers, though no difference in the skill or subject was apparent. It was also in a much sadder state. Lucien's anger and the... unusual guest which had arrived a short while ago all made it a bit harder to keep his things intact. Half the pages looked like they had either been crisped or dipped in blue ink.

Taking a moment to whine over the condition of the book before flipping it open, he leafed through rather quickly to see if any permanent damage had been done. Good thing he had scribbled his entries in randomly. Most of the first few pages were ruined, but other than the first entry, everything was in good shape.

Glancing about his new room, he shrugged and placed the journal on the shelf over his bed. No need to keep it hidden away anymore. Well, hopefully not. Can only hope the others would stay out.

"It was a real bother... But I've finally got my room!" Chuckling, Tristin hopped onto his bed, his legs swinging over the edge as he glanced about. Sure, it was still quite dirty and he had only gotten the bare essential in place, but it would like be quite nice once everything is put away. "Heh..." Grinning, he scooted to the head of the bed, plucking his journal from the shelf again and opening it to a random page.

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Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? Quite a bit has happened since the last entry.

Swimming practice has been working up. It is, indeed, quite fun. It's well worth staying after school. Though a few of the kids are more than slightly stuck-up, it's quite easy to ignore them while swimming. It's nice, just swimming, watching my time slowly go down. I even think that Mal came in once to watch me. I'm not sure, though... He was gone by the end of practice. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise though, as Mr. Karlet and Da' still seem close, even if they're not talking too much anymore. I really think Da' should go bother him some more. There are still no fun kids around here, other than Mal.

And obviously, the added room was very big. we had to clear out for a while, 'cause all sorts of stuff was going on. We stayed at Da's parent's house. Gran is still very weird... But I don't suppose that's much of a surprise, looking at Da'. It seems she broke her leg, since I last saw her. It's not too strange though, considering all the stuff she ends up doing... She's a real psycho. Feh... While I was staying there, she decided she was tired of crutching around and just dumped her crutches in her bedroom while she walked on her cast. She nearly fell and broke her other leg, then. I guess she does need company... Da's da is gone, so she's all alone. I'm surprised she even survived as long as she did, living without anyone.

Ah... And while we were over at Gran's Da' picked up... Something. I didn't notice it until after we got home, but Da' cleared out one of the closets for him. The demon-beast can't stand the light, apparently. So of course, he has to bother us at night. Hoi... The first thing he did with me was steal my penguin. Now, he tries to snatch it each time it's around, even though he always just kind of... sinks, when I get mad at him over it. I don't know what to think of it... Maybe if he'd just leave Pengi alone, I'd like him. He seems properly eccentric.But 'til my Pengi's safe, I'll just have to be wary of the beast.

12/27/05

...Yup. It's been forever times two since I've last written, hasn't it? Nyeh... I really should keep better track of this thing... Though I may need a new one, soon. With our new guest (and he will be a guest.), this thing is getting even more beaten up than usual. I think there's only four or five pages left unmussed. Really, that boy should know how to bathe, at least. It seems he doesn't even care whether he's caked in grime or not. He might even be going out of his way to dirty himself up. I really bet he is.

Ah! Something wondrous and exciting! Presents! Free thingies! Heh... It's just wonderful. I got lotsa stuff. Da' said it was for Chris Miss or something like that. I don't know why I'm getting presents because of the guy, but I like him. Free stuff is always good. Ah, I got more penguins! A friend for pengie, a movie, a blanket, and... Well, a whole lot. Even a little backpack-thing. It's better than my old one, for sure. That thing's starting to fall apart. Heh... And it's really fuzzy... I think it's also supposed to be a pillow. Normal backpack aren't nearly as nice.

Hmm... Did I talk about this? Doesn't seem so... Really, I should write more often. The swim meet's come and gone. I did... Horrible, really. Got one spot in front of last place. But it was still fun! Those people are like penguins, though... They just move so fast. I really need to work more. I wish Da' wold get that pool. It'd make it easier for me to do a bit of practice. And maybe I could get a bit more peace. It seems I'm the only one who even cares for water, really.

Oi! And I need to rework that visit Mal was going to have. Da' forgot completely about it, even though I whined at him the whole day... Really, it seems he doesn't even listen anymore. But at least I have Mr. Mako. He'll listen, as long as him and Da' aren't playing. But really, they play a lot... But he's better than Da', at least. Yup...