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 Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:35 pm
"Pretties..." Oria murmured, looking at all the crystals that were for sale at the booth. Her guardian, Chelle, had brought her to Cellet to purchase some of the living crystals that were available only on the islands here - the woman needed them for her work. Of course, the toddler didn't really know all of this. She knew only that they were 'travwing' again, and this time their destination had 'pretties' - all sorts of crystals that mages used, and she wanted one. Reaching out, she grabbed one, and started to stick it in her mouth...
"No, Oria." came the melodic voice of her guardian, laughter in her voice. "I'll buy you one, but they aren't for eating." The woman was slightly short, but rather voluptuous, with striking violet eyes and long strawberry blond hair that fell in waves to the back of her knees; in the front, she had a slim braid that framed the right side of her face. She wore the robes of a mage, though she wore them a bit tighter and in a bit more of a seductive style than many would. Soon, they'd picked out a bright green crystal for Oria, and were on their way through the crowded market again, Oria on the lookout for anything interesting.
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:27 pm
Aiolos tugged hard on Klotho's hand. He loved going to the marketplace, and he was glad Klotho had decided to take him. They'd left Megaera and Alexander back at home under the watchful eyes of the many novices Klotho had taken in. "I can has a new swowd?" Aiolos asked eagerly. Watching the knights spar was one of his favorite things to do, and he so wanted a wooden sword of his own to play with.
Klotho held tightly to the little half human, half elf princeling's hand and winced when he asked for a new sword. "We'll see, love. I still can't believe you broke the other one..." she murmured. She turned down the lane that held the crystals; she needed some to study, and to buy some for Shika to make some jewelry out of. She'd tied her long red hair back into a braid, the tip of it brushing the top of her skirt.
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:36 pm
Suddenly, Oria saw something very interesting. It was a boy her age, and he had on the prettiest hat she'd ever seen! She wanted that hat! She gave a sly look up at Chelle, then suddenly slipped her hand away from hers and bolted. Like all her people, she'd learned to walk early and well - now at three years old, running through a crowd and dodging people was an easy task. She went right up to the boy, looked him in the eye, and smiled prettily, her horns sparkling in the light, her tail flipping happily. "I like your hat. I twade?" she asked, offering him her newly purchased crystal, ignoring the woman with him.
When the little girl took off, Chelle shouted her name, getting frightened, and went after her. However, with the crowd, it was hard to keep up. Then, seeing where she was, she calmed down a little, slowing to a walk, panic subsiding; she wasn't running away - she was running to something. That was... still bad, but not as bad as she'd thought. On arriving at the scene, she bowed to the woman accompanying the boy, and sighed. "I'm sorry she interrupted you." she murmured, her voice melodic. "I'll try to pry her away now."
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:42 pm
"Uh?" Aiolos was surprised by the girl who ran up to him, it took him a moment to realize what she wanted. "Nuh uh. Is my cwown!" He smiled at her though, always happy to meet someone new. "Pwetties like that awe for giwls. I not a giwl!" Giggling, he put a hand up to his circlet and pushed it further onto his head.
Klotho was taken aback, usually it was Ai who was running to meet someone new. She saw the woman walk up to them, and returned the bow. "It's okay, she's not interrupting anything," she said cheerfully. "I'm Klotho, and this is Aiolos. Nice to meet you." She smiled brightly and held a hand out to the new woman, keeping an ear on the little ones.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:16 pm
She pouted, then suddenly blinked. "Hey! Pretties are not just for girls!" she told him, frowning deeply. "Chelle says... says mages use vem for magic. Boys too." Then she put that aside and smiled at him prettily. "Can I just see your ha... cwown?" she asked, pronouncing it the same way he had. "I'll give it back. Pleeeeaaaaaase?"
Chelle smiled easily, taking the woman's hand and shaking it firmly. "I am Chelle, and the little one is Oria." she murmured, then looked to her three year old handful. "Oria, it isn't nice to beg." she reminded gently. "It's his crown, and it's impolite to ask for it." The girl only turned her head and stuck out her tongue at her guardian, then turned pleading eyes back at Aiolos. Chelle sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "They're impossible at this age. I should have remembered." she murmured, chuckling.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:54 pm
"Yeah yeah," he rolled his eyes as he smiled back. Just a toddler and already he was a sucker for a pretty smile. "I unno...mama 'n Klotho said I shouldn't..." But he had already taken it off and was holding it protectively in his hands. If there was one thing Aiolos was very attached to, it was his circlet. Even more than his wooden sword, he loved the little silver thing.
Klotho laughed lightly. "Yes, they can be a handful as toddlers. I have two more at home, though Aiolos is definitely the one most likely to be getting into trouble." She smiled lovingly down at the little boy and was suddenly grateful for all the help the novices she also watched over gave her with the little ones. Sooner than she might have liked, all three toddlers would be novices in their own right and they'd be going off doing jobs like Alecto was at the moment.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:09 pm
And Oria saw that. She wanted his hat, but she wasn't a monster. She realized that asking him to give up his circlet was like asking her to give up the little tiger plush that Chelle had given her - and suddenly hugged the boy tightly. "I sorry." she told him sincerely. "You dun havta let me see your cwown." She even went so far as to give him a kiss on the cheek, to apologize.
"I used to have another, but well... he decided he didn't want to be a mage, and so when he got older, I sent him to a knight for training. He still writes, but it's not the same. I had forgotten what it was like when they were toddlers though. He was sent to me when I was very young, and I'm definitely older now." she laughed and shook her head, then blinked as she suddenly saw Oria kiss the boy, sighing. "Oh dear."
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:57 pm
Aiolos froze when Oria hugged, then kissed him. Then a smile slowly spread across his lips, along with a blush on his cheeks. "Is otay..." he said, then held out the circlet. "Yew can hold it for a while, kay?"
She smiled. "Yes, it's much easier to raise little ones when you're not just a little one yourself." She wondered if her daughter Megaera would stay on the path to becoming a mage. She was so quiet; the life of a cleric would suit her well, though Klotho did hope to see her break out of her shell more. "Aw, how sweet," she cooed when Oria kissed Ai's cheek.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:39 pm
"Wow..." she breathed, taking hold of the circlet carefully, reverently. "It's very bootiful. I mean, hansome." she corrected quickly, giggling. She looked down at it, lightly touching one of the prongs, then hugged it to her chest. "I hope I can have one someday." she told him, eyes wide. "Maybe Chelle will get me one."
"She can be, when she puts her mind to it." Chelle murmured, then smiled and shook her head at the girl's comment. She'd be pestered until she bought or made the girl some sort of crown now. "Getting that back from her might be tricky." she warned Klotho in an undertone. "She may give it right back, she might not. Be prepared for reluctance and tears."
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:15 pm
He grinned. He knew how pretty his circlet was, and he was glad she liked it. It made him proud that it was his. "Sank yew. Mebbe she will! Then we can be twins!" he giggled and made grabby hands for it back. Okay, she'd had it long enough, he thought, now he wanted it back. It wasn't that he thought she'd take it, he was just possessive of it.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's the same with Ai. He's usually a pretty good kid, but he can be a handful." Watching Oria and Ai carefully, Klotho hoped that this wouldn't turn into a screaming fit match between the two toddlers. Ai seemed to be okay so far, but he had been known to cry at the drop of a hat to get what he wanted. Not that it worked on Klotho since most of the time they were fake. "Crocodile or true tears?" she asked, a smile in her voice.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:05 pm
She watched him with slitted eyes, obviously contemplating whether or not to give it back. Then she sniffled, and a large, single tear rolled down her cheek as she held out the crown to the boy, hand trembling. It wasn't that she didn't want to give it back, it was just that... she wanted one too, so very badly... The girl sniffled again, and a second tear followed the first.
"Likely crocodile." Chelle answered, then looked down as the girl sniffled. "Oh for heavens sakes." she murmured, pulling out one of the blue crystals she'd bought that day. Closing her eyes, she focused her energy through it, murmuring a few words. A blast of cold air moved over the group, and when it subsided, Oria was wearing a glittering crown of magical ice, no more elaborate than Ai's crown - she hadn't wanted to start a fight, after all. "There you go. It'll melt in a few hours, but now you have a crown. Please stop crying." Chelle hated it when the girl cried, crocodile tears or no - she tended to give in.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:30 pm
His eyes widened like saucers when she started to cry. "Nonono! Pwease don't cwy!" He pushed his circlet back toward her, then stared at the ice crown Chelle made for her. "Ooh looky! Now you has yer own!" he giggled and slid his on his head.
She nodded; Aiolos had a tendency to fake tears, too, to get what he wanted. She watched as Chelle gave in and made Oria a little crown like Ai's. "Oh, how pretty!" she crooned. "I wish I could do things like that. All I'm able to do is simple healing magic. Which comes in very handy with boys who like to play rough."
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:48 pm
Oria sniffled once more, then beamed, her tears banished. "Yay! Now I have a pretty hat!" she cheered, then glomed onto the boy, hugging him tightly. "We is twins now." she giggled, lightly touching first her crown, then his. "We'll hafta get... what is it... mawwied." she giggled again, then planted another kiss on his cheek.
"And here I wish I could heal." Chelle told the other with a laugh. "I can do some flashy things, but nothing really useful. Well, unless it comes to battle magics. Then I can be quite a handful if you're against me." She grinned, then blinked and looked down at her charge, rolling her eyes. "Okay, you little heartbreaker. Lay off the kisses and the marriage talk."
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:42 pm
He giggled and hugged her back. He loved affection of any kind. "Yus! Twins!" he laughed at first, then stopped at the word 'mawwiage.' "B-but we jus' met!" he countered, then blushed a little at the kiss. Squeaking, he hid behind Klotho's skirts, peering out at Oria cutely.
She tried so hard not to laugh out loud at the two of them. "Oh, how typical of a man. First mention of commitment and he hides!" Twisting at her waist, she looked at Aiolos. "What's the matter sweetie, you can be the little player, but you can't take it?" She giggled again.
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:55 pm
Oria pouted, reaching out her hands to the boy. "But... but... you could be the king an'... and I could be the Queen." she told him. That was her understanding of marriage and crowns, after all. "And we could be rulers and make laws and procomations and have all the pretties and golds that we want, and... and..." her brow furrowed, as she tried to think of what else kings and queens did. "And we could have balls and dance, and wear pretty clothes." she finished triumphantly.
"Gods help us all, Oria, if you become Queen." Chelle teased the girl, ruffling her hair. "You'd have us all taxed to death to support your needs." She winked at Klotho, then smiled at Aiolos. "You tell her, Ai, if you don't want to be married. I wouldn't want to marry her either." she laughed, then looked down at the girl again.
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