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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:39 pm
It was a beautiful day, the kind of winter day that was just bordering on spring. There was still a little bit of snow, crispy around the edges and lurking in shadows and crevices. Anything that could have melted into mud had and the air smelled tantalizing, like things were gearing up to start growing. A fine day for a nature walk and perhaps a picnic, Maxwell Peace had decided.
They'd made their way to a local park that was full of trees and little nature trails and perfect hideaway clearings to spread out a blanket or a tarp. Which was what Max had just done, setting out the blanket and the picnic basket. Nearby Darsh was cheerfully poking a stick in the mud, watching it squish and letting out a little giggle every time it made a farting sound.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:58 pm
Although winter had a certain thoughtful tang that Martin liked, he was happy to see its departure. He wouldn't have admitted it, but their was an ache in his joints that had not been there before, and the cold was hell for it. Besides, there was something uplifting about a day like this, like Gaia was coming back to life.
It seemed like a waste to spend such a day inside, so he had taken daughter, dog, and book down the the local park and set himself up under a sprawling old tree. Whitman was being a good sport about it, for the most part, but Dawn was bored. She made an angry gurgling sound, and, when Martin failed to notice, crawled off to amuse herself. There was a little boy on the other side of the clearing that she had been watching, who was quite glittery and pretty and had a stick that she wanted.
She made it over to him, carefully avoiding the dirtiest areas, and sat down on the other side of his patch of mud to glare and burble accusatorially at him.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:03 pm
Something shiny-pale caught Darsh's attention and he tore his gaze away from the mud to blink at the girl. A slow smile broke over his face in a rather enchanting fashion and he poked eagerly at the mud, babbling back at her as if to show her What A Delight sticks and mud were and How Wonderful It Was to have someone to share this with.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:15 pm
Dawn did like his stick, which was long and skinny and interesting, but she did not like the mud. She made a face and growled like her puppy did, although it sounded even squeakier and patchier coming from her.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:19 pm
Darsh knew all about dog noises, there was an entire pack of half-feral animals that roamed around their property. They were wonderful romping pals, although a couple of them were far bigger than the small boy and played a little roughly. He made a soft growl in the back of his throat and held out the stick as an offering. Of course, to get the stick (the muddy end, even) the girl would have to reach a little bit over the mud-puddle.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:59 pm
The boy growled back, and Dawn gave him a look of slightly grudging approval. Then he held out the stick, the lovely, bumpy, solid stick, and she looked at it longingly.
"Blech," she said imperiously, but she wanted it in spite of the slime on the end, and her arm darted out to snatch it from him before he could change his mind. Dawn was small, though, and a little clumsy, and the motion unbalanced her, sending her wrist-deep into the patch of mud.
She hurriedly pulled her hands out and stared at them, her eyes prickling with tears. It was not so much that it upset her to have her hands dirty (although it did), but that it was in front of someone else.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 12:07 pm
Darsh had been planning to pull her into the mud when she grabbed the stick, but the clever girl had put herself in the mud without his help. He beamed at her for being So Very Smart and clapped his little blue hands before plunging them into the mud as well. It was so much more fun being dirty with someone else. Taking one muddy hand, he slapped it on his chest leaving a perfect brown handprint. "Darsh!" He said proudly. One of the very few words in his repetoire.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:02 pm
Dawn looked at him suspiciously, then repeated, "Darsh," and blew a raspberry. It was not a bad name, but she was annoyed and her hands were sticky and dirty and that was at least partly his fault for holding out the stick.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:57 pm
Darsh's eyes narrowed slightly. On the one hand, he was having fun playing in the mud with this new girl. On the other hand, he had the sneaking suspicion that she was mocking him and Darsh did not like to be mocked. He wasn't sure what to do, so he blew a raspberry back at her and then looked towards his guardian hoping for guidance. None came from that quarter, though. Max was nose-deep in a book idly working his way through the picnic basket. Fleetingly Darsh hoped that there'd be food left over for him. But his attention returned to the girl soon enough as he tried to decide between some sort of overture of peace or slinging a mudball her way.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:33 pm
Dawn was pleased when Darsh returned her raspberry, and probably would not have minded if he had slung a mudball, because that would have been acceptable grounds for a war. She made a face at him in response, sticking out her tongue and pulling down on her cheeks until crescents of red showed under her eyes. Her muddy hands left wet, brown marks on her face, but that mattered less than countering his raspberry.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:02 pm
Pursing his lips a bit, Darsh contemplated the situation before sticking his dirty fingers in his mouth and pulling his lips back, baring his teeth and sticking out his tongue with a garbled sounding "Neeeeh" noise, his nostrils flaring a bit and then sat back to see what she would do. He was still undecided what he thought about all of this but had to admit the face-making was fun.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:49 pm
Dawn, without meaning to at all, burst into infectious, bubbling toddler giggles at the noise he had made. She covered her mouth with both muddy hands, but it was hard to stop, and even harder to compose her face into a winningly outrageous expression.
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:17 am
This was much closer to Darsh's comfort level. He had made her laugh which, in his book, meant success. His own face broke into a broad smile and he caught her laughter, grinning wildly at her and clapping his little hands together a couple times.
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:51 pm
Dawn's fit of giggles died down and she lowered her hands, leaving smudged bars of mud where her fingers had pressed against her mouth. She grinned at the other boy with approval, and then pointed at herself.
"Dawn," she said, nodding proudly. Then, "Darsh!", with considerably less malice this time.
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Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:21 am
"Dawn." He repeated. "Dawn!" It was a pretty name and he heartily approved. Of course, it would be awhile before Darsh really understood the importance of a good name. It was doubtful he would consider "Darsh Star-Song Moonchild Peace" a Really Awesome Name.
He picked up his long dirty stick again and then cast his gaze around. His eyes caught on another long and skinny stick, though not quite so long as his, and he offered it to the girl. "Dawn." He said again. He now had another word to add to his repetoire along with "No!" and "Want!"
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