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 Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:41 pm
The night he learned about Ciro, he spent it staying awake and walking through the rain without direction or purpose, thinking and wondering and trying to decide what to do next.
The morning after, he lay sprawled face-down on the downstairs couch, legs akimbo and hanging off the end. The tips of his fingers just barely brushed against the carpet, and all he could think about now was how miserable he felt, lying in a haze of cold and hot and sick. Even now he could barely stay conscious, and the washcloth that had been so carefully laid out on his forehead had disappeared behind the couch somewhere.
He had to stay awake! Sydni was playing, putting together a puzzle and pushing her little dolls around, but he had to keep an eye on her.
He closed his eyes, for just a moment. He just wanted to sleep.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:49 pm
Vale did it on purpose.
Quinn knew it, deep in his very soul. Vale knew. He knew Quinn was working off the debt of all the things he broke in the supermarket down the street. He was completely aware that Quinn had been forced into being delivery boy for the man until he paid off the debt, which didn't look like it was going to be particularly soon. Quinn had a job, and he didn't like it.
What he also didn't like was his current assignment. He stood in front of the apartment in little Romania and held the package in his arms. He hadn't realized what the address meant until he had gotten to the street, and had hoped the entire time that he was miscounting the apartments, and this was not the one he was supposed to go to.
But it was, and he couldn't ignore the colorful letters plastered on the curb decreeing the number.
Vale did this on purpose.
He stalked up to the door and banged on it.
"I've got your ******** chicken soup, open up."
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:56 pm
She looked up from her puzzle.
There was her brother, sick and out cold on the couch. But the door was banging, and her brother wasn't getting up to get it. She glanced back down thoughtfully at the ragmuffin doll she was dressing up, and then looked back to the door. He still wasn't getting up, and the knocking was getting louder.
Quietly, she pushed herself up off her knees and teetered on her feet, chancing another look at her brother - but even his catlike reflexes didn't bat an ear at her movements. He was real sick.
Soon, she was in front of the door, staring up at it hesitantly, cloth doll held in one hand as she reached, stretched, to turn the knob. Thankfully it was a rather short door. She cracked it open, peering silently and shyly up at the godling.
He looked like a rainbow.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:00 pm
Quinn looked down at the girl with the doll, and melted. His face immediately grew into a giant grin, and his feathers bristled happily.
He liked kids.
"Hello there! Who are you? I brought some soup for you."
Who is she?
Vale mentioned he had a sister. Named Sydni. A young one.
"Are you Sydni? I brought some soup for your big brother, he ordered it from the supermarket man down the street. Mind if I come inside?"
He liked kids. Under his proper mindset, he would never have dreamed of inviting himself inside of Valeriu's house.
But she was adorable! How could he resist?
"I'm one of your brother's...Friends. Sort of. He's probably mentioned me. Or not. I don't know. Valeriu does live here, right? I thought he did, but..." He trailed off, grin returning.
She's adorable!
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:06 pm
She smiled back.
Then remembered. Her brother was sick! Quickly her face grew solemn again, as her voice dropped to a hushed whisper.
"Varu sick." She hugged her doll closer to her, concern plain on her face for her older brother. "Sick sick." So sick he didn't even go into work that day! Honestly, it was a bit scary, but the babysitter had come and gone once she'd found out Valeriu was staying home for the day.
Hopefully she looked up at the man. She had no idea about even half of what he was saying - most of it was like a steady stream of babble to her young ears, and her vocabulary was limited at best. But he was an adult, like her brother. He could therefore fix things, like her brother could.
"Fix Varu?" She thought, and after a moment, belatedly added a "please?".
That ought to do it.
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:15 pm
Quinn frowned. He was torn. On the one hand, Valeriu had obviously done this on purpose and made him deliver his food. And had probably done this on purpose--luring Quinn in with his sister so that he could pull some sort of surprise attack and/or embarrassment.
On the other hand, he could be sick, and Quinn hated when people were sick. Sickness was so...nasty.
And how could he resist the broken speech and adorably cute face?
I doubt she's lying. Children have trouble lying that young.
And she did say please...
Quinn nodded. "Alright, I'll 'Fix Varu'." He laughed and patted her on the head, pushing the door open and walking inside.
"Valeriu? I brought your soup. Don't freak out, your sister asked me to come inside to help you. I'm technically on duty, but I can make up an excuse, I guess." He set the cans on the ground and followed the girl to Valeriu, on the couch. He sighed.
"You look terrible." Not waiting for Valeriu to respond-- and in fact, he wasn't sure if he was even awake, he took a can of the soup and looked around for a kitchen-like area. It took him another minute or so to find a suitable pot, and then he turned on the oven, looking at the directions on the can.
"Uh, so, I turn this knobby thing, and, uh, pour out the soup...Do I heat it up with the can, or without?" He assumed without.
Why am I helping him? I owe him nothing! It's his fault I have to work off all of that damage.
No it isn't.
So?
It was going to be a long day.
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:33 pm
"Thank you!" She chirped, happily trotting along in Quinn's wake. Her little fingers hooked onto the lower legs of his pants to follow along, reassured that he was going to help fix her brother. Now, she was curious, and stared more openly at how colorful he was, and the feathers, and the long hair! It was definitely different from other adults.
Maybe he was like her brother.
Vale, on the other hand, was not quite so curious. In fact, the voice was like a stake driving into his mind with every word, loud enough to drag him out of his haze.
He wished his god would shut up, and then realized his god was gone from his mind for now.
Did Sydni turn on the TV?
He squinted an eye open, blearily searching for his sister, only to find she wasn't where he'd left her. He scrambled to sit up, head reeling in dizziness and her name upon frantic lips...
And then he saw Quinn.
And Sydni. Hanging onto the back of Quinn's legs like she so often did to Valeriu.
And Quinn was in his house, at the stove top.
What.
He blinked hard, once, twice, closed his eyes longer, and then opened them again. Was this some strange fever dream? Was he hallucinating?
He pinched himself. It hurt. He wasn't doing either.
He groaned and lay back down in defeat, head swimming and body aching and deciding he'd rather be hallucinating.
"V'hy?" he asked the heavens, but of course they didn't answer. The other gods never did. Just his own, and the usual response was laughter.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:00 pm
Quinn finally figured out the general idea of soup-cooking, and had the soup heating up. He walked back over to Vale to check on him, and saw that he had woken up.
"Oh. Hello, you." He glared. "I am doing this because you have incredibly polite siblings. Not because I like you. Just so we're clear." He went back to check on his soup, and then searched around for a bowl to pour it into. He thought long and hard about giving it to Vale with no spoon, but then shook his head and found one. He stuck it into the bowl with particular force to demonstrate that he didn't want to be doing it for his arch-nemesis.
It didn't have the effect he wanted. He trotted back over to Vale and shoved it into his lap. "Here." He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Do you need--" He took another deep breath. "Anything-" He paused, then forced it out, "Else?"
I'm going to wash my mouth out with soap, later.
He looked down at Sydni again.
Or at least rinse it out with water.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:18 pm
He looked down at the soup, and back up at Quinn.
Well, two Quinns. Even laying down he was still dizzy, and there were definitely two of them there. Just what he didn't need.
He figured he ought to be angry, outraged. Maybe attack the other godling. He still vividly remembered watching himself kiss a complete stranger. But he was tired, and cold, and moreover he hadn't been able to get worked up over anything since yesterday. It all paled in comparison, until he felt like all his energy had been sifted and drained.
It was a struggle to sit back up and keep the bowl balanced, but he managed it, looking back down at the soup tiredly.
"Thank you," he murmured quietly, and meant it. At least for now. "For going out of your v'ay at my sister's request. I do not need anything else."
Of course Sydni was still attached to Quinn's legs, and seemed to have a silent fixation on the other boy's braid.
"I apologize for her troubling you." At that, Sydni's gaze switched from Quinn's braid to Vale, growing decidedly pouty. She got the feeling Quinn and her brother weren't on the best of terms, and it seemed like Vale was all too willing to let Quinn leave.
She sat down, still hugging onto Quinn's leg.
"Not troubling," she carefully pronounced.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:29 pm
Quinn was all too ready to leave Vale there, but Sydni continued to cling to him, and while he knew he could easily toss her off, he couldn't bring himself to. "She's right. It isn't troubling at all. I'll do anything for cuties." He grinned and leaned down to pat her on the head.
"I'm not good at taking care of sick people. Just going to come out and say that. About as good as I am at cleaning, if that says anything." It said a lot of things. "I'll do whatever you need, though. Do you have medicine somewhere around here that I should get?" He looked down at Sydni. "She's cute, but I doubt she has any idea what kind of meds you need to take."
Quinn reached down and pried Sydni carefully off of his leg, and lifted her up in the air, carefully. He held her with both arms, smiling. "Now, how could someone like Vale be related to something so adorable and not-evil? You better promise not to grow up to be as boring as your bubba, okay?" He tickled her playfully.
He was partially serious, and wondered if he needed to rescue her from an obviously boring existence.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:47 pm
He still had the energy to scowl at the other boy.
And scowled further when his baby sister started laughing and hugging onto Quinn more. It made him want to reach out and snatch Sydni back from the claws of that snake. He didn't think Quinn had any ill intentions with her (he was just insane), but still...
Time for Quinn to leave.
"That ee's alright, I do not need any medicine." He carefully set the soup bowl on the corner table - no sense wasting it, and Quinn did take the time to make it. But he wasn't that sick!
"Ee't ee's just a cold."
He didn't need to be taken care of like a little kid. Valeriu was a man, and he could stand on his own two feet.
He moved to prove that he could.
And he found out he couldn't even get past pushing himself up before his arms gave out and he was flat back down on the couch, blood rushing uncomfortably through his head and ceiling spinning. His tail bristled, ears laid flat, and he glared at that spinning ceiling.
Weak.
He sighed in defeat. "Green bottle, ee'n the upstairs bathroom cabinet." Sydni smiled down at him, before turning back to Quinn and happily tugging on his bangs.
"Up!" She pointed at the stairs.
It was obvious who really ran the household.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:17 pm
Quinn nodded, and carried Sydni up the stairs to find the bathroom. He set her down to rummage through the cabinet.
There was more than one green bottle. He put one in his pocket, and handed one to Sydni. "Here, hold this."
She's just a child!
"Oh. Don't drink it, kay?" He then began to snoop. He felt like snooping. "We'll go back to Vale in a minute, but I'm going to look around, alright?" He began walking, slowly so as to not knock the girl off of his leg, and opened a closet quietly, wincing when it creaked.
His eyes were immediately attracted to a photo album, and he grabbed it and headed back down the stairs, holding Sydni in his other arm so that she didn't have to walk down them. He set the medicine next to Vale, and took the other one out of Sydni's hand. "I didn't know which one you wanted." He looked at the one he had given to Sydni. "Huh. I wonder what the skull means." He shrugged. "You can use your soup spoon, right?"
Before waiting for an answer, he plopped on the ground and pulled Sydni into his lap, opening the picture book and flipping through. "Wow, your mom was pretty. Your dad looked cool, too." He kept flipping. "They all look so happy and not-boring. Where did you come from, Vale?" He pointed at a picture for Sydni. "That's your mommy and daddy!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:47 pm
His urge to kill was rising.
"You do not hand bottles v'ith skulls on them to children," he stressed, growling and hands itching even more to save his baby sister.
"Do not take her out of my sight again. Next time she may come back choking to death!" He snarled and muttered and glared, fur refusing to settle down. But he couldn't even push himself up, let alone snatch his baby sister back.
Quinn didn't mean harm, Quetzalcoatl had told him. He tried to keep that in mind. He didn't mean any harm.
"V'hat ee's - ee's that my photo album? Put that down!" He scowled as darkly as he could, trying to summon up the energy to make it especially fierce. But one look at the pictures themselves had his ears perking up.
"Of course they are pretty and cool. They are our parents." Darn it all, but now he wanted to look through the photos himself. It'd been a long time since he'd seen them - he'd nearly forgotten it was even there. Andrei had taken way, way too many pictures of them, and Dana had piled at least a dozen of the albums up in the closet.
It had always been too painful to think about going through them.
"Sydni does not remember them," he admitted. Indeed, his sister was staring at the photos in a mixture of curiosity and recognition - but the only recognition was for her brother. Not for the figures standing next to him - not for the mother he diligently pinned laundry with, nor for the father throwing a surprised, much younger Valeriu playfully into an inflatable pool set into the small backyard. Not even the photo of Dana holding a newborn Sydni up to the camera caught her eye.
He remembered why he didn't want to go through them in the first place. It just hurt like new all over again.
"I probably should be taking photos for them to look at, v'hen they get back. They v'ill v'ant to see v'hat Sydni's been doing." Of course, Valeriu wouldn't take photos of himself. Just seeing him would be enough of a surprise. "I v'onder v'hat they v'ill think, to see me?" he mused. He shook his head - the flu was getting to him.
He settled for a half-glare at Quinn, expectantly holding out his arms for both book and sister. "You should be getting back to...v'hatever ee't ee's you do, now. V'e v'ill be fine. Thank you for taking care of me." Soup and medicine qualified as more than enough care, in Valeriu's eyes.
"Now, give me those." He was serious, hands out in 'gimme' motion. Perhaps a bit childish, but he didn't have the strength to take them by force. Only by demand.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:57 pm
"Well, she didn't drink it, did she? I told her not to. She's fine." He waved at Vale dismissively, and continued flipping through the photo album.
"Now, now, I'm pretty sure I've seen enough T.V. shows where people have done the heimlich that I could save her, in the event that that happens." He paused. "Which it won't."
"Yah, I suppose Sydni had to get her cuteness from somewhere." He tickled her playfully. "And you had to get your...baddassiness." He shrugged, and finished looking through the pictures.
"Yah, maybe you should. Do you have a camera?" Quinn smiled at Vale. "Where are your parents, anyway? I assumed they were gone, like my dad, but you talk like they're coming back."
He gave Vale a blank stare. "I came in to help little Sydster here take care of her brother. I'm not leaving till you're better. You can have the photo album, we're going to go start running a bath for you. Right, Sydni?" He grinned, and picked her up as he stood up, handing the photo album to Vale.
Quinn was proud of himself for that-- coming up with the bath thing all on his own. Sick people needed warm baths, right?
Are you sure you aren't just doing it to get him undressed, Quinn?
In front of Sydni? Never!
A part of me doesn't believe you.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:12 pm
"I do not know." He had to bite back a yawn. "But they are coming back. Or I v'ill find them. Either v'ay."
He groaned, rolling onto his side to better glare at the other boy, photo album tucked in his arms. At this point, it wasn't much of a glare - more sleepy and sullen than angry, really.
"I do not need a bath. And you are not taking Sydni near a bathtub and v'ater."
That was a recipe for disaster.
"I do not v'ant her drowning, either. You are cursed." It was a matter of fact.
Drowsily he pillowed his head on the side of the couch, tail curling up around his feet with a grunt. Subconsciously, he was fortifying himself.
You shall not be giving me a bath. I am dead weight, and immovable. For serious. Sick kitty does not want bath, sick kitty does not get bath.
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