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 Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:32 pm
Who: Vyn, Ethan, Lucretia, Asahi Kumoru and Xiao Huo.
When: Late afternoon - tea time.
Where: A small tea shop specialising in a variety of authentic teas.
Weather: A chilling wind blows outside, but inside it is pleasantly warm.
The atmosphere of the tea shop was one that was very calm and collected. A peaceful tune hummed out of hidden speakers, and when coupled with the tasteful bamboo furnishings it created a genuine, non-tacky, oriental feel. Steam rose from Ethan's cup as he poured in piping hot water from a simplistic teapot. The old man let out a sigh of relaxation as the aromatic scent of his beverage reached his nose. He'd been to the little teashop before. One of his business partners was indeed fond of the orient and this place had been where they had met to discuss business matters. However, today his visit was not for work but for relaxation and to provide Vyn with a quiet get away from the general hustle and bustle of life; perhaps in this peaceful environment she'd open up and talk to him.
The tea that he'd chosen for them to drink was a Chinese green tea named white monkey, a favourite of the business partner who frequented the teashop. The description read; white monkey is a rare China green tea that grows in the Taimu Mountains. Only the youngest leaves and unopened buds are gathered and processed by hand, to produce a beautifully delicate, light and naturally sweet tasting tea. It was expensive due to it'd rarity, but Ethan had no qualms about spending his money on things he, or his newly adopted daughter, enjoyed. He sipped the still steaming tea and again let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Would you like to try some?" He asked, taking the tea pot and hovering it near his raevan's tea cup.
She was too busy taking in the shops interior to reply straight away. She'd been pondering if Xiu, the oriental boy raevan she'd met not too long ago, had ever been to this place. It seemed like the type of environment that he'd fit into, what with his intricately carved wings and clean white clothing. However, her train of thought was interrupted by her guardian's offer and so that he would be satisfied she nodded curtly; allowing him to pour her some of the pale green hot water that he'd called 'tea'.
After he'd done so and had returned to sipping his own cup she directed her attentions back to examining the surrounding again. As it stood, she had no real desire to strike up conversation.
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:47 pm
The peaceful atmosphere was interrupted as a little boy pushed his way (with great effort) through the somewhat heavy door into the cafe. The child was tinier than any human toddler capable of walking should have been, but he moved about with relative ease, standing well enough on his own as he braced the door open and beckoned to others waiting outside to hurry up and come in.
The boy's gestures were accompanied by a telepathic projection of sorts - not forming actual words, but rather more of a feeling of urgency. All who were listening would have been able to "hear" it in their minds, but it was primarily directed towards whomever was accompanying him: hurry up, the door is heavy! gonk
A moment later, a tall slender man with long dark hair and blue robes stepped inside, taking the door as it slowly started to close on the little boy. He largely ignored the Raevan that trailed him inside, and ushered the boy up to the counter to place his order.
The white-skinned Raevan who came with the man and the tiny boy had her arms crossed, and fluttered her glowing blue wings a bit with agitation, but then turned away from them as they went up to the counter. She had no need for tea anyway-
-There was another Raevan in the shop. The girl's expression changed from one of huffy indignation to one of complete blankness as she studied the other Raevan across the room. She looked familiar, but Lucretia could not put her finger on who it was.
Figuring she could leave her father and the boy quite alone for the moment, the Ice Rose drifted slowly closer, staring at the one like her.
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:12 pm
Vyn noticed the new arrivals almost instantaneously, she had nothing better to do than observe what was happening around her after all. She raised a curious brow as the boy tottered in, which was followed by an inquisitive tilt of the head as a robed figure entered and finally her mouth formed a small 'O' as a raevan trailed in after the pair. She recognised the pale skinned girl and trawled through the shadowy crevices of her mind to recall their first meeting.. She couldn't remember much, but she did know that it'd been brief. In fact, even the raevan's name eluded her..
The girl also seemed to have noticed her and Vyn was unsure what to do as the fellow floating torso drifted in her direction. Should she summon her over? Or should she go to her? Should she just sit and ignore her..? The latter seemed a little rude and Vyn opted to go to her, meeting halfway between Ethan's table and the counter where her guardian was presumably ordering tea. She was sure that Ethan would not object to her leaving - he was a vigorous encourager of her socialising.
Her mind made up, she floated out of her seat and across the tea shop towards the other frei.
As she met the other girl she felt a little lost for words. What did one say to someone who you couldn't remember the name of? A small p***k of embarrassment flushed her pale cheeks and to avoid standing in silence making a mockery of herself she mumbled; "Hello, we've met before.. Haven't we?"
Ethan was too busy savouring his tea to notice the instant that Vyn was gone. However, he soon realised she'd drifted off and blinked in confusion at her floating off. However, a smile formed as he spied another raevan was present. She was beautiful, like all the raevans seemed to be, and had a cold yet perfectly formed appearance. Internally he debated getting up and following Vyn, but decided against it. It would be good to let do some socialising without him cutting in on her.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:22 pm
Kumoru placed a hand on the tiny boy's shoulder, both to keep him from running off, and to prevent the child from attempting to climb his leg to see over the counter. Finally, he bent down and caught the boy under the arms, lifting him up.
From his new vantage point, Xiao Huo radiated excited feelings at all the big canisters of tea; apparently he was trying to explain that he had been to a place a few times that looked kind of like this. But not really. It was a little different. Or maybe a lot. He does not remember.
Then he twisted around, wrapping his arms around the neck of the man holding him, and watched Lucretia while the mage finished ordering and paid the cashier.
Lucretia smiled and bowed politely; even though she had had a bit of a spat with her father, it was no excuse to forget her manners. ... Though she had definitely forgotten the other Raevan's name. They had met... was it at some sort of party? Regardless, it had been a while.
The other Raevan was here with a guardian, though. The Ice Rose decided that she would converse as normally as possible for as long as she could, and perhaps in that time, the guardian would call the other Raevan by her name, therefore saving Lucretia from having to ask herself.
"Hello," she said, features remaining blank for a moment longer before she smiled faintly. "And yes, I believe we have met, but it has been a while. How are you?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:54 am
The other frei greeted Vyn back and the rose returned the other's polite bow with her own dip of the head. "I am..." She began to reply, thinking carefully how to explain how she felt, "slightly bored." She frowned slightly and gestured backwards at her carer who was still drinking tea, looking rather content with himself. "That man is my new guardian." She stated; remembering that when she'd first met the other raevam Shuura had still been looking after and felt the need to explain to the pale girl, "I was taken away from Shuura but the LAB rehomed me." She quieted and felt the familiar pang of sadness at her loss. However, rather than musing over this subject and leaving the conversation hanging as per usual Vyn pressed onwards, keeping the conversation from going stale as it so often did with Ethan.
Her conversational skills were rudimentary and didn't have the same flair as Ethan's businessman tongue and so she trundled into the expected reply, returning the guesture of asking how the other frei was. "How're you..?" Vyn fumbled for a name, she really didn't wish to ask and possibly make a mockery of herself but when no name sprang to time she sighed slightly. "Your name's slipped my mind.. I'm sorry." Wincing at her crude apology Vyn waited for the other to respond, hopefully the other would not be too offended by her forgetfulness - after all they had met a long time ago - but if the cold raevan did get irritated Vyn knew that she could drift back to Ethan.
Continuing to watch the pair as they talked Ethan sat back in his chair, again sipping the scolding hot liquid. Vyn seemed to be managing a conversation just fine and a satisfied smile formed on his face - perhaps he was finally getting through to the shadowy girl? His direction soon slipped from the raevans to the man and child who had entered with the icey looking girl. One was wearing rather peculiar robes whilst the other was miniature. Ethan lofted a brow in curiosity; Evidently raevan guardians were as diverse as the raevans themselves.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:44 am
Lucretia leaned to the side a little to peek around the other Raevan as she indicated her guardian, catching sight of him and smiling briefly regardless of whether or not he noticed her. Then her brow furrowed for a moment as she considered how she might feel should she ever be taken from her father. He was angry at her, which was frustrating, but the Ice Rose was not sure what she would do if she could not somehow follow Kumoru around and make sure he was ... well, at least as satisfied as she could manage by herself.
"Worse than I was about a week ago," the girl admitted with a small shrug. "But I think I will be able to make everything alright again." She glanced back over her shoulder at her guardian, frowning as she turned, but was unable to keep from smiling as she met Xiao Huo's eyes instead.
The Porcelain youngster was determined to make his excitement known, so that it was easier for him to ignore the obvious strain between the two big people he had come with. Meeting another Chaos made it that much easier.
After squirming a little to get Kumoru to put him down, Xiao Huo toddled up behind his sister, peering at the unfamiliar Raevan and radiating a feeling of wonder and amazement. He also projected a more specific curiosity at Vyn, wondering who she was.
"Oh, I'm Lucretia," the Ice Rose told the other Raevan with a small smile and another bow. As her adopted brother came close, she leaned down a bit to rest slender white fingers on his shoulder. "This little guy is Xiao Huo. I hope you don't mind him too much."
The boy shivered at Lucretia's touch, and bowed awkwardly, as much to get away from her cold hands as to be polite to the stranger.
Kumoru waited by the counter, watching his children, until his tea was ready. Then he picked up the small tray that held one steaming cup, one full of ice and a cheerfully pink beverage, and a third tall cup that contained just ice, along with a plate stacked with a pair of cookies. Selecting a table near the window, he glanced between the other mostly unfamiliar Raevan and the only other patron currently in the small teashop, whom the mage assumed was her guardian. If the older man caught Kumoru watching, the latter would offer him a polite smile and a bow.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:06 pm
The girl's reply made Vyn tilt her head in curiosity. What had happened to make things bad? Judging by the frei's glances back to the man at the counter Vyn assumed that the problem was related to the robed man. However, as she was about to open her mouth to inquire what the issue was.. Perhaps since she too had problems with her guardian, she could offer, or even seek, advise?? But the boy that'd been clambering around on the man scuttled over to them a cheery smile on his face, cutting her short as Vyn hushed herself, just in case the boy repeated to the man that something was wrong.. Landing the icy femme in trouble. Instead Vyn gave the boy an observational glance with dark eyes, taking in his short stature and pale skin; an ivory colour almost like her own.
Thankfully the blue skinned beauty had not taken offence at Vyn's forgetfulness and introduced herself as Lucretia - at this Vyn nodded, something akin to that name had been on the tip of her tongue when she'd been trying to recall it. Lucretia also introduced the boy as Xiao Huo. "I am Vyn." Vyn replied, returning the boy's polite bow with her own dip of the head. Turning, she glanced at Ethan, the girl's father was seated nearby now that he'd been served and Vyn assumed that it wouldn't hurt to ask the girl to sit with her. "Would you like to sit with me?" She drifted to turn back to the table, pointing a black nail at the table where Ethan was sipping his tea. She also waved a hand at Lucretia's carer, adding, "your guardian can sit with us too... I'm sure Ethan would find talking with him interesting.."
Indeed, Ethan did seem to be finding Kumoru interesting as he stole another glance at him, baffled by the other guardian's quirky clothing. Robes seemed like something out of a fantasy book, and didn't quite fit with the quaint teashop setting.. Then again, floating rune powered torsos didn't seem right at first to him either, but now he hardly batted an eyelid when he stumbled across another raevan.
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Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:19 pm
"Sure, I can join you," Lucretia replied cheerfully, satisfied that she had secured the other Raevan's name without having to ask. Then she glanced back at her father, her smile fading, before returning her attention to Vyn. "Let me just go talk to him, and we'll be right over."
She touched Xiao Huo's cheek lightly with one finger, and laughed softly at the way he fidgeted before drifting over to the table Kumoru now occupied. The Ice Rose conversed with him for a few moments, looking back once to nod to Vyn, and then took the cup of ice cubes before floating back towards the other Raevan.
In his Chaos's absence, the little Porcelain boy remained rooted to the spot, staring up in wonder at the other Raevan. He gave off a little jumble of projections, directed at Vyn and carrying the flavor of questions. Xiao Huo's young age, coupled with his nervous excitement, kept him from being terribly articulate, but he seemed to be pointing out that Lucretia was an ice flower, and was trying to ask what Chaos Vyn was?
As Kumoru and Lucretia rejoined him together, he giggled shyly and clutched at the human's robes with one hand, but did not take his eyes off of the red-haired Raevan.
"Hopefully he will not bother you too much," Kumoru told Vyn with a small bow,. Then, with a patient but fond smile, he gently tugged the fabric of his clothes from Xiao Huo's hand, and instead gave him the cup of pink fruity tea.
"Miss Vyn, I am Kumoru, Lucretia's guardian," he then told her, bowing again carefully to avoid spilling the remaining drink or the cookies from his small tray.
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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:45 pm
Lucretia drifted off to talk to her guardian and Vyn was left with the child. She floated nervously, unsure what to say to the boy.. He'd been strangely quiet, when she'd seen children in the street they'd always been loud and demanding towards their parents. However, suddenly a flood of questioning thoughts descended upon the rose frei and she jolted backwards from the boy, a disturbed confused look in her dark eyes. As the boy's projections explained that Lucretia was an ice flower Vyn nodded slowly, still not quite understanding how he was telling her without moving his lips. When he inquired excitedly what type of chaos she was she was baffled.. However, considering how he'd been rattling on about how Lucretia was an ice flower she assumed he was inquiring about her fel essence.. "I am.. a shadow??" She responded as Lucretia rejoined them alongside her carer who introduced himself as Kumoru.
Vyn nodded at the man, mentally noting how polite they all were - all of them had introduced themselves with bows. She could not refuse the desire to understand just how the boy could talk without actually speaking and decided to ask the robed man. "He does not bother me.. But, how does he... speak like that?" Her face contorted with confusion, gesturing at the boy as he clasped onto his father's sleeve.
Ethan, who had been casually observing the raevan and her carer noticed the man stand and go to Vyn. He listened carefully and understood that Vyn had invited them to sit with him and her. He smiled at them and raised his voicr, inviting them to come and sit down. "No point in standing around. Come. Sit down and relax."
Nodding Vyn drifted back to the table, taking her tea cup again and sipping the now slightly cooler liquid, expecting the other raevan and her family to follow her lead.
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:23 pm
The boy seemed satisfied with the Raevan's response, and he continued to give off curious projections like he was trying to decide what to ask next. When Vyn asked Kumoru about him, though, his mood darkened a bit, and he chomped down on the straw in his tea and started drinking it. He kind of wished the question had been for him instead of just about him... but then he also could not exactly understand what she had inquired.
It was the principle of the thing stare
Kumoru herded the Porcelain boy over to Ethan's table when the man invited them over. As he did, he told Vyn, "I am still not completely sure how his kind communicates like that, telepathically, but it's how all of them naturally talk to each other. I have met others like him who speak aloud, but I think it's something they have to learn."
When they reached the other table, the mage set his tray down and provided Xiao Huo with his cookie, too, and made introductions to the other human who was sitting there.
Lucretia followed her father, and grinned and waved a little when he introduced her. "You're Vyn's new guardian then?" she inquired, studying him for a moment with a decidedly critical eye. Not that she had known the previous guardian very well, if at all, but... well, as long as he was nice.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:44 am
Kumoro introduced himself and his children to Ethan and the businessman nodded. Internally he was pondering how peculiar the family was; a robed man, a tiny child and a raevan. He and Vyn looked relatively normal compared to them. All the same he remained polite on the exterior and nodded warmly at the frigid frei girl who had been introduced as Lucretia. "That's correct. Ethan Blake, nice to meet you all." He drained his cup and sighed, refreshed. The small child seemed to be displeased at something, waves of annoying radiated off him - it was peculiar to say the least. In an attempt to cheer up the lad and shrug off the dark mood he was excreting Ethan caught his eye and pointed to the pink drink. "That's a vibrant drink that you have there. Is it nice?"
Whilst her guardian was finishing his drink Vyn took the first sip of hers. It had cooled enough so that it did not scold her. After swallowing the first sip she found that, surprisingly, she quite liked the delicately sweet tea. Replying to Kumoru's explanation she said, "Ah, it just took me by surprise." She bowed her head apologetically to the child.. Ethan seemed to be attempting to distract Xiao from his annoyance and so as not to worsen the situation she decided to strike up conversation with his raevan sister.
"How have you been since we last met?? Has much happened?" Lot's had happened to Rivener over the time she'd missed and she pondered if this fellow flower also had tales to tell.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:24 am
Xiao Huo peered at Ethan, then down at his drink. Then he took a long sip through the straw, closing his eyes as he considered the taste. After a moment, he settled on telling the other human that his drink was sweet and tasted like pink, so that was good enough for the moment. The boy then considered the cookie in his other hand, scrutinizing it for a moment before taking a tiny bite.
Kumoru had assured him that he would not get sick from anything he ate anymore, now that the scary doctors at the hospital had told him exactly what made his stomach get so angry. Still, the child could not help but be wary of everything he ate. Mommy was the one who knew best what he could and could not have-
--Oh, the cookie was really good eek Xiao Huo shoved the treat into his mouth to get another bigger bite, then took a drink to help wash it down.
Lucretia laughed softly at her brother and turned away to ignore him while he made a mess of himself eating.
"Yeah, quite a bit has happened," she told the other Raevan, looking upwards as she tried to remember when precisely they had last met, for starters.... "We just got Xiao Huo recently, and his older brother Jilan, too. Same type of creature, but Jilan talks more."
She sighed a little, and spared a brief adoring glance towards her father before returning her attention to Vyn. "Other than that, I've been helping Daddy with his magic." The Raevan's expression then darkened slightly, and she added, "Oh, and I went on a date for Valentine's Day, but it wasn't really much fun."
"What about you?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:00 pm
The boy seemed to be willing to share his thoughts on the drink and a wave of feelings washed out from the boy and over Ethan. Pink, sweet and was fairly pleasant. The older man raised a grey brow. It was mind boggling to think that this boy could be able to tell him everything without sparing an audible word. Exploring this new phenomenon further Ethan prompted some further conversation; "Ah, personally I'm not too fond of sweet drinks." He revealed his teeth, almost perfectly white due to his vigorous cleaning regime - appearances were important for the businessman, first impressions were vital after all. "Too much sweet stuff is bad for you teeth." He added as the boy moved on to devour the cookie, but a wry smile replaced the warning.. "But you're young and I'm sure you father makes you brush your teeth."
The shadow frei winced, visibly wilting, as she heard that she'd missed out on even more.. However, Vyn could relate to the girl's experience with Valentines day and she brightened slightly. "I attempted valentines day too." She paused, tilting her head.. She wasn't too sure what a 'date' was. "I don't think I did a date. But I tried to help Ethan.. But that.." Again she considered how to put it, pale cheeks turning red at the memory of her failure. "Went a bit wrong. I think Ethan sound it funny."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:53 pm
"I made a date for Kumoru, too, but I don't think he fully--" the Raevan trailed off, as though she could no longer force the words out. She glanced at the mage, then sighed, turning back to Vyn and telling her, "Well, I guess I should not talk about it."
"Maybe it will be better next year, though," she went on, seeming to perk up a bit. "And there are plenty of other holidays, too."
Lucretia fell quiet then, wondering what else to talk about. Then, suddenly eager, she hurriedly asked Vyn, "Hey, do you like laser tag?"
Xiao Huo smiled and nodded at Ethan, chewing on his straw a little between sips of tea. He did not really understand everything the human said, but that was okay.
... Wait, his father? The Porcelain child projected confusion, then glanced back at Kumoru. Backing up until he was standing and resting one shoulder against the mage's knee, he tried to convey to Ethan that Kumoru was not his father.
The mage smiled faintly and ruffled Xiao Huo's hair when the boy was within arm's reach. "I make him brush his teeth, and then try to stop him from eating the toothpaste," he clarified to Ethan with a wry smile. "For the most part, though, he is fairly cooperative. He just has a very big imagination."
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:33 am
Personally Vyn had chosen to steer clear of further big celebrations in the human calendar, they seemed fairly trivial to her.. Plus, Ethan hadn't seemed that concerned by Valentines day anyway ((the only reaction he'd had was because his work college had confronted him regarding the email Vyn had sent)) and from observations she'd made whilst out and about the celebrations seemed aimed at younger humans, therefore she assumed that Ethan didn't really bother either. The new topic of lazer tag baffled her also. What was it?? She had heard of lazers before; once or twice on the television, a wide screened impressive object mounted on the wall of the living room, she'd flicked onto a channel with a sci-fi movie. From what she could recall the lazers had been like beams of light that cut or burnt stuff. Tag was a concept she was more familiar with, when walking in the park she'd seen children playing it. The mixture of the two seemed quite intimidating in Vyn's mind - especially since most of the characters in the movies died or got hurt when hit by a lazer. "I've never done it.. What are you meant to do??" She inquired, curious how the game could be enjoyed without hurting each other.
Ethan chuckled at the toothpaste reply and then at the boy as he indicated the height difference between Kumoru and himself. "Well, I can see you're not his biological son. But he looks after you like a father I assume? He retorted, looking to Kumoru, just to check he hadn't got the totally wrong end of the stick.
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