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 Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:16 am
Who: Anita and Zeke
When: Early afternoon
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Sunny and cool
There was music filtering down the hall of the Lab's first floor, a mix of electric pops, whirs, and a fast beat set to lyric-less song. Zeke had made good on his promise to bring his iPod and its little plug in speaker and even though he was occupied in the cafeteria, he could still groove to the beat while the two things sat on the receptionist's desk. The sound was softer down here, which was good for him and anyone occupying the rooms upstairs right now, but any one coming in would be hit with the rave beats.
Zeke was in the mind that the day would be like the other weekends he worked here (save for two) so his music was up, on shuffle, and he was doing his chores in a much faster speed. He didn't feel quite so bored now that he had his tunes and his own style of dancing complimented nicely. While he was back here, washing down the tables and other cafeteria surfaces, the receptionist's desk was left unattended, but with a sign taped on the front saying where he was if needed. Farther down the hallway, two Raevan tanks with lights on them were the same as yesterday - no noticeable change in growth or any anomalies, but the fact remained that there was now another glowing from within. Zeke was going to check in on both after this was done, but still, seeing the neighbor tank to the right of the quarter-formed being active was both a comfort and a delight to the pierced man.
Maybe I should call Anita. The thought came through his mind once again, even though the beats of his music filled his ears. He hadn't heard of any guardian coming back down to visit their growing child before and the girl had seemed rather taken with the idea that Zeke could do just that on the weekends. And he wouldn't even have to touch the Lab's phone, he could dial her on his cell phone!
"Okay," He said aloud to the table he was rubbing down with lemon-scented cleaner. "First this, then a quick pop into the back, and then I call Anita." A nod. It wouldn't hurt for her to see her Raevan starting its growth (even though the tank was still empty appearance-wise) and he would like the company too. Win-win!
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:10 pm
The warm sun mixed with the cool air was a nice change, it was near perfect weather and Anita didn't have to do more than wear a light jacket, grey and white stripes. Her hands held on to the bottom of a large rectangular container from the nearest donut shop; she was unsure of what kinds other people liked, much less Zeke, so she tried to get at least one of every major flavor into the dozen that would fit; original glazed, chocolate glazed, custard filled, cream filled, jelly filled and all of the assorted combinations therein were aligned perfectly.
Keeping a light step, the brunette crossed the street and continued at a steady pace, head held high. Occasionally she would practice an expression or two, urging herself to get it right; should she come off as simply jovial, or jokingly sarcastic about her unannounced visit. The doughnuts, a vague sort of bribery for some kind of second tour, was all she could hope for to take another gander into the tanks, even if it was her last. About a week ago during her first visit, the pierced man had shown her the Raevan tanks and one had been lit--developing a ribboned person within--and oh, how she had envied Zeke when he told her it was his Raevan charge developing inside, working at the Lab and being able to check up on the formation whenever he wanted.
This was one of the reasons she was going today, besides wanting to thank him for being so good at his job, and of course the multitude of questions she had brewing inside of her. Now she didn't have to haphazardly call Josh or even David for answers, there was a true source and it was close by. I hope he even likes donuts... she thought idly, adjusting the box so one of her hands was free to pull open the door, pushing it open the rest of the way with her sneaker.
As soon as she entered, she was assaulted by a rave beat full of thumping bass and electric noise. Zeke was nowhere to be seen, even as she squinted and gritted her teeth while looking behind the desk. The source of the music was an iPod and its speaker home and with no owner to be seen, Anita set the box of donuts down on the desk and sidled around behind it. Setting a finger to the touch pad of the MP3 player, she swung it around a good 180 degrees and the volume lowered instantaneously, but was not muted. With her ear drums no longer being bashed against, she left the desk and retrieved her box of donuts, standing in front of the double doors leading to the rest of the Lab.
Pushing open one of the doors very slightly, she peeked her head through and called out the worker's name, "Zeke?" only to realize she wasn't even certain if he was working today or not. Well, if he wasn't, she would still share the donuts with whoever was here but doubted she would have the chance to go behind the scenes again.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:45 pm
Thanks to the pulse of the music on the desk, Zeke didn't hear the jingle of the door as Anita opened it. Instead, he was in his own little world filled with heavy, fast beats and dance while trying not to breathe the cleaner in too deeply, lest he get a raging headache later on. The table he had spoken to about his plans was now wiped down and the bi-colored veterinarian was hip swinging his way to the next one, cleaning rag flailing wildly as he grooved to his own self-made dance. Anyone who came in would get a show for certain and even if Zeke caught the stares he'd still keep at it, maybe even toss his supplies down to offer up a hand for a partner. That would make for quite the afternoon in his book, or at least, it would if someone showed up here and if his music hadn't suddenly died.
Don't tell me that thing's battery died, I just charged it yesterday! He thought to himself as his own tempo died right then. The spray bottle and rag were set down on the table next in line and Zeke made his way to the cafeteria's double doors. Wouldn't take long to just go down there, check on his device and handle that from there. If it was dead as he thought, he'd wake the computer and put one of those online radio stations on. One of his instant messengers did have a satellite radio feature with a decent electronica channel after all, so he wouldn't be without sound as he worked. His gloves-free hands pushed both the doors out before him and even without his tunes Zeke's steps still had a rhythmic bounce to them.
"Zeke?"
His head turned right then at the sound of his name echoing down the hall, squinting just a tad thanks to the natural light filtering in through the windows of the lobby. He could make out a form against the door but the voice that spoke his name was familiar, even if he was still simply an aquaintance to the one who owned it.
"Anita?" He said, his feet already in progress of carrying him down towards the front room. As he neared, he saw it was her and a smile lit his features, which were lightly slick with a touch of sweat. "It is you! Hey! What're you doing here?"
He'd hug her in a friendly manner since he did think well of the dark haired woman, but more than just his face was sweaty then and he didn't want her to get Zeke-musk on her nice jacket. He saw the box in her hands and wondered what could be in it, but the light, sugary smell of baked goods was able to pierce through that chemical lemon smell. That awakened a gurgle of hunger in his stomach, though he wouldn't get his hopes up. She might just be stopping by to say 'hi' or get a quick progress report of her crocodile and mistletoe being.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:08 pm
Exactly the voice she wanted to hear in response, Anita chuckled out a "hi" before he continued with a question. "Well, I actually came to see if you were hungr--" her words were interrupted by a light rumble from her acquaintance, she stopped speaking and was silent for a second, locking eyes with the sweaty green and purple man before laughing again. She stepped back, holding the door open for him with her back, allowing him to enter "Brought donuts. What kind do you like?"
Once he was in the room, she let the door close and lowered the box onto the desk beside the iPod, opening it to reveal the glazed, surgary baked treats. She had her eye on the cream filled with chocolate icing, but as she hadn't the slightest idea of what Zeke liked, she would allow him to pick first and if it turned out that he wanted that one, the original, chocolate or glazed icing would suit her just fine. Either way, she could scarf down just about any donut except the jelly filled, they never sat right with her taste buds.
"Working you hard?" she snickered, pointing to his sweaty form. Though this had only been the second time she came to the Lab, both times they were the only two people in the building so it was definitely an ironic statement. He couldn't be working so hard when there was no one in there, but he was definitely working, that much was obvious. At least without managers or other staff breathing down his neck, he could get away with blasting his music like he had been. Now that they were close to it, the music still thumped quietly, and the iPod most certainly hadn't run out of batteries.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:40 pm
He half-cursed that hungry rumble his stomach made but also broke out laughing with Anita when the young woman realized he made the sound.
"Question answered!" He said with gusto, entering the lobby while Anita held the door open for him. His attention was on the girl, the fact his music had died down to a lower volume cast to the side for now. At the word 'donuts' his eyes lit up and he eagerly padded on behind her as she made her way to the desk. When it was open he eagerly surveyed the contents, his caramel brown eyes finally stopping on one that looked as though it would be jelly filled (though he wouldn't mind a custard surprise either) and plucked it from the box.
"Hard? Nah." He moved off to the side so Anita could have her pick, biting into his chosen treat and pleased to taste raspberry jelly encased in the dough. Chewing happily, he reached his free hand up and wiped his brow, looking at his palm where the dampness collected. "I was goofing around in the cafeteria as I cleaned the tables. Dancing. Actually, I came out into the hall to see what was up with my iPod..." He trailed off there, finally noting the lowered music and moving behind his desk to look at the screen. The device's screen displayed the time, but a quick touch to the center dial and he saw it was turned down.
"Ah good, it's not dead. You turned it down? Sorry if it was super loud, I wanted to hear it back there but not get it messed up with the cleaning supplies." He took another bite, relishing the sweet taste as he chewed and then swallowed the mouthful he had taken. Looking at Anita and her box of donuts, he realized he never told the young woman he only worked the weekends. Last time they had met, the two of them ended their meeting on a positive note for Zeke; Anita saying she hoped her own Raevan would be friends with his. Her reasoning for being here wasn't only out of goodwill was it? Zeke's eyes narrowed playfully and a his smile turned decidedly cheeky as he worked the situation out.
"You arrived at a good time, knowing I was hungry and worked up a bit of a sweat like this. These donuts you brought...They wouldn't be some sort of bribe to check on a certain tank would they?" As he spoke his smile only continued to stretch, his donut raised in a way that was similar to one of those lace fans proper ladies used to shield their lips when gossiping about secret things.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:03 pm
So a raver Zeke was, how very interesting. Well, if ever it came up, she would know what to get him; glow sticks and black light body paint. She chuckled to herself, grabbing the donut whose scent had been teasing her the entire time. The warm dough was still fresh, having been made just before she ordered.
So it seemed, when he wasn't assisting people or checking on the tanks, he was providing janitorial services. "Does anyone work with you during the day?" she didn't know how hours or days, but it seemed odd that there would only be one person working at any given time. If she had known him better, or was more familiar with the Lab as a whole, she would have taken a seat on the desk to eat but she opted to be more proper and courteous and keep to a stand, not wanting to undue any impressing she had some how managed to do with the man. When he addressed it, she turned to look at the white speaker housing as well and nodded while chewing, the white cream being exceptionally sweeter than from any can, "Yeah, sorry about that, " she spoke while tucking all food to the side of one cheek, "I didn't want to go exploring without you so I turned it down so you could hear me. I actually wasn't sure you were here, but I figured coming on Sunday was a good bet since that's when you were here last time."
As he chewed, she saw his expression turn from grateful to a playful and cheeky grin. Her own chewing slowed and her expression faltered as he spoke. He could read her like an open book. Was she that transparent? Finishing the bite, her eyes diverted back to the iPod and she didn't speak until she swallowed. "Ehh... yeah. Yeah, they would be," she could feel the color of embarrassment rising to her cheeks for being called out on her plan, even if he didn't seem at all angry or annoyed by it. Well, the easiest way to a man's heart, raver or not, was their stomach, right? And seriously, who doesn't love donuts? "If that's not allowed, I understand, but I gotta admit,"--she scoffed at herself, swinging her head slightly to get a piece of hair out of her face--"Pretty jealous, Mr. Lab Employee." Anita offered him a wry smile to soften what she'd just said, wondering if it was a bad thing.
The curiosity really had gotten the better of her, both on the progress of his Raevan as well as her own. When she had first seen the lit tank, the figure had barely been formed; no obvious gender traits, barely a face, but some hair had begun to sprout with no color visible. Its arms had dangled, half ribboned like most of its body, and its torso hadn't developed past the collar bone. While oblivious to how long his charge had been within that tank to begin with, it did make her wonder if her own had begun to take shape at all yet.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:20 pm
"Alex and Zul do," he replied. "But both of them are out today taking care of other work. It's not too bad though, Alex usually hides stuff around for me to find so even if I'm done doing small tasks I have something to keep me occupied for awhile." He chuckled at that, remembering some of the things his sister had hidden around the lobby and her office for him. Mostly the troves he found were candies he enjoyed - blow pops, jelly beans, taffy, and some chocolate - but there had also been other surprises like a small bottle of bubbles and some glow sticks. Each discovery always tickled him and Zeke had since been returning the favor; writing riddles and tiny makeshift maps on post it notes and leaving them on her desk for her to find.
Given he had someone to talk to now, Zeke shut his iPod off completely and moved that off to the side so the box of donuts had more room. He shook his head to her apology. "No need to apologize. It got my attention well enough and that way you weren't left standing in the lobby." He beamed at her before taking another bite, a bit of jelly leaking out of the corner of his mouth which was caught and devoured with a quick flick of his tongue. He listened closely as she explained that she was here to "bribe" him, laughing in his chest as she said she was jealous of him.
"You're bribe's a good one Anita. I'd be happy to take you to the lab and I think you'd be rather happy to see what's back there." A slight pause to swallow what he had tucked into his cheek. "For future reference, I only work weekends. I'm a part-timer for the Lab, since I've got a full time job as a veterinarian out in Durem. So if you want to visit me or get a free pass to the back, you'd most often catch me here Saturday and Sunday." He tossed her a wink. Though he had already been in contact with three individual Raevans other than Zul, only Alex - and Dr. Kyou most likely - knew he worked those given days. None of the others ever asked when he told them he worked for Lab, but he rather liked Anita and it was quite admirable she had come back with hopes of checking in on her future Raevan. He figured could give her that chance. "I don't see why it wouldn't be. I don't think any other guardian-to-be has taken such an interest in their Raevan's development; besides myself of course." He still felt rather lucky in that regard. He had that chance to visit the virus Raevan freely and he didn't squander that in the slightest. He really should get a car, then he wouldn't be restricted to just the weekends.
"Jealous?" He laughed again. "Okay, now I'm definitely gonna take you back there. Hell, I'll try to do that each time you visit. It's quiet around here most weekends from what I've seen, so I figure we won't get in trouble. If Alex catches sight of us well...I'll take the fall, though I doubt she'd be too mad if Zul was the one to give you your bottle and Essence." He didn't know the full story behind Anita's gifts, but when he had told the demonic Frei Anita wanted to talk to him he became quite pleased. Quite the guy, no matter how much demon was in him. It made the vet wonder how the spider Frei would turn out on that note, given how Zul wasn't very "demonic" from what he had seen. How much influence would both parts have in his? Only time would tell.
"Okay," he said as he finally finished his donut, pulling a packaged wet wipe out of his pocket. "After you've finished with yours, I'll take you back there. No food or drink, you understand." Last thing they would want is contamination. Despite how eccentric he got or how 'other side of the tracks' he seemed, Zeke was quite the law abiding citizen. He didn't break too many but rules of a laboratory were ones he knew well and that were absolute. No cutting corners.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:25 pm
Anita couldn't help but smile at the mention of Zul and his guardian, and her mind whizzed at the sorts of things Alex might leave for Zeke. The very idea was quite cute, and she wondered if Zul had any hand in it as well--he seemed the type.
Her eyes locked back on to Zeke as he approved of her bribe, her body going rigid with excitement. So she would like what was to be seen? Of course she would, the scientific magic being conducted within these walls was magnificent and breath taking, anything he could show her in here would be as wonderful as the first time she had ever seen a Raevan. She could still picture the first one she had encountered, a female wearing a blue corset with long brown, fluffy hair and eagle-like wings. Anita had never learned the Raevan's name, or if she didn't she couldn't remember it, much like she couldn't remember the name of her green haired guardian, but they both left an impression on her memory.
Letting out a short sound of acknowledgment, Anita took a couple more large bites out of the donut before swallowing and wiping her fingers and mouth with a napkin. That made perfect sense, who would want sticky finger prints on the pristine, white walls or tanks? And who knows what side effects there might be if there were food items introduced into their situation, it could lead to a disastrous... and delicious result. Too bad no one wanted an edible Raevan.
Anita's thoughts began mirroring Zeke's own when they began walking back towards the tank lab, wondering what sort of effects the old crocodile soul would have on the mistletoe Raevan, and what the mistletoe would do to it as well. This gave way to her first question, "What does the Essence have to do with the Raevan?" Thus far, she knew nothing of any of the Raevan's traits or powers, so there was much to learn. The only essences she truly knew of were her own, LuLu's and the virus, so she hoped Zeke would teach her about some of the other essences and the Raevans that held them within themselves.
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:01 am
He uttered another laugh as Anita scarfed down the rest of her chosen donut. After he wiped his own hands off with the little wet napkin, he tossed it in the trash bin and pulled another from his pocket, handing it off to the girl. He waited for her to be done with cleaning herself before moving around her toward the doors.
"If you'll follow me please." He said with an air of false, playful professionalism. That cheeky grin rose up again and settled on his lips quite comfortably, already on the move towards the end of the hall and the laboratory beyond the doors there. Zeke gave himself a stretch as he walked, arms over his head. Anita's question came with mild surprise, though he figured he should expect - and welcome - questions by now. His arms lowered, lightly tapping his bearded chin with the index finger of his right hand, thinking back to talks with Alex and if the Italian spitfire had mentioned anything of the sort.
"Well," he began, "I believe the Essence has a lot to do with the Raevans." It was a real Captain Obvious statement, but it was the truth. Zeke started that motion of sucking lightly on his lip ring, an activity he was usually unaware he was doing but helped him think nonetheless. "One thing I know for certain the Essence deals with is some of the Raevan's powers and abilities." He thought of the burns Zul had left Alex with under the influence of the virus, shuddered slightly, then thought to his own Raevan. It wouldn't have any Essence-derived powers thanks to the seal, so maybe the spider soul would have powers to compensate. He wasn't entirely sure though, but they'd see. He wondered what sorts of abilities mistletoe would create for the crocodile.
"I think it also influences their appearance a bit too." He thought to Vyn and how the rose Frei had been two parts shadow to one part rose in her looks. "One Raevan, her name's Vyn, her soul is a rose and her Essence is some sort of shadow. When I met her, she was wearing a mostly black halter top, black arm warmers, and her sclera were also black. But she had some red to her too - her hair and some accents on her clothing were rosy." Could Anita expect a predominantly green Raevan then? And could he expect the same, but with purple? "I'm sure the Essence influences more than just those two things, but I can't for the life of me remember if Alex told me any more. Sorry about that Anita."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:50 pm
Following in Zeke's step, Anita jokingly swung her hips and held herself in a stereotypical rich lady fashion, the sort who carried their miniature dogs in their purses. This didn't last long, as she laughed silently to herself whether Zeke had seen it or not, and she returned to her normal posture and pace. She listened avidly to his response, thinking of the mistletoe as he spoke.
If the essence had to do with the Raevan's powers and abilities, then what sort of things would mistletoe give her Raevan? Well, it was a plant... would it be photosynthetic? It was here that Anita realized she really knew absolutely nothing about mistletoe and resolved to study up on the plant beyond its holiday traditional status. Still, its one innate ability was giving way to a slight turn in her stomach; if the mistletoe forced her to kiss everyone she came in contact with, and the essence gave powers to the Raevans, would the resulting Frei be kiss crazy? In all of her pondering, she nearly missed the rest of Zeke's answer, but she listened close to what the pierced man said.
Anita's green eyes lit up at the description of this Raevan named Vyn; black like a shadow, and a rose. As soon as he finished spoking, the pigtailed woman chirped happily "I've met Vyn!" before immediately correcting herself; "That is, we bumped into each other. I didn't know her name, but she's beautiful!" There were a few other Raevans she had caught brief glimpses of. So few did she know by name, and so few did she know at all. It made her wonder how many there were in existence at that very moment, and how often they were created within the tanks. If an essence was required, then it stood to reason there were as many Raevans as there were essences, or would be, but then that gave way to more questions. "What about souls? Do they have anything to do with their powers? 'Cause LuLu has a rabbit soul, and she can talk to bunnies," she remembered the time in the pet store when she had first met the rabbit Frei. LuLu didn't seem particularly keen on her, nor listening to Josh, but it didn't take long to realize why once she figured out what her soul was.
Poor LuLu. Would all of the Raevans have such a strong connection to their souls and the others who had it? Would her Raevan speak frequently to crocodiles or Zeke's associate with spiders? Did Vyn prefer the company of flowers to people? Anita found herself quickly getting caught up in the fascination that she barely noticed they had stepped into the laboratory until the doors shut with a hiss behind her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:39 pm
Zeke had caught that hip swinging motion from Anita and he had laughed heartily up until she had stopped and posed her first question. With that out of the way, he was rather pleased to see his companion had met one of the few Raevans he had met, even if it was only briefly.
"She really is," he agreed with a nod of his bearded head. "She's also really quiet, but polite. I enjoyed talking to her when she came into the animal clinic I work for. Actually, I should be seeing her again sometime soon since her dog is scheduled for a few shots in April." He wondered if his Raevan would be born by then and, if it was, how to best go about that check up for Thorn. Zeke was sure for a time the Raevan would be coming to work with him so maybe letting it stay in the office would be best. Though if it turned out to be a clingy sort of being he'd have no other choice than to introduce the spider to the rose. Before he could think too long on that though, Anita posed her next question.
"I think you answered your own question there Anita." He said with another cheeky grin to his friend. "A rabbit souled Raevan with the power to talk to rabbits. If that's the case, then I guess both parts tie into what abilities they have." He didn't dwell on the idea of his Raevan being in cahoots with spiders like Anita was thinking but instead on how much or how little silk and webbing he could expect to find in his apartment once the Raevan tapped into that ability. He knew spider silk was pretty strong and durable thanks to specials on various learning and animal shows, so would that - could that - be amplified x-fold in the Raevan? He shook his head. Those were thoughts for when he wasn't entertaining guests, plus they had just arrived to their destination.
As the doors shut with that sealing hiss Zeke moved from Anita's side and meandered slowly towards the tanks in the center of the room. Instead of going toward the one that housed his Raevan however, his feet carried him to the one to his left of it. The chamber was aglow with the same inner light the virus Raevan tank had, but unlike its neighbor this one appeared to be quite empty. At the top of the machine on the side where both soul bottle and essence vial were housed while the science was in progress was lit with a red light that seemed to say 'occupied' though there was no label. The pierced vet paused where the tangle of cords and flexible piping began, turning on his heel to face the pigtailed girl with one hand held back and gesturing like one of those showgirls on Price is Right.
"This is the tank that will be housing your Raevan, Anita." He said, smile obvious on both his lips and in his voice. "I know it looks empty and not like much now, but I'm sure the magic is already starting to happen as we speak."
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Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:39 pm
The memories of the shadowy rose Raevan, who she now knew was named Vyn, came flooding back as the two spoke of her. It was shortly after Anita had moved to Gambino to live with her mother, she took Tango for a picnic in a park and when Vyn and her guardian, a man who looked very professional (maybe a lawyer?), came walking by, Tango got excited and ran up to them. The man didn't seem to mind, but Vyn certainly did. It was because of that, Zeke's mentioning of her having a dog herself caught Anita off guard and she did a double take. "I thought she didn't like dogs..." was mumbled, but she let it pass. Perhaps she had been scared at the time, but Tango had made some sort of impression?
Wishful thinking.
Anita laughed at Zeke's next response, listening closely to his take on it. "Seems like. I mean, I don't know how much like a rose Vyn might be, in that case, but LuLu's very rabbit like. Ears and all," she found herself pondering what Zul's soul was, but it all stopped short. They were there again, they'd arrived, and Zeke was walking up to a lit, though empty, tank just beside the one that housed his forming charge.
All words from Anita ceased and her mouth hung slightly open. Truly, there was nothing within the tank besides water, but the fact it was lit was causing her to imagine a figure very similar in progression to its neighbor.
"My Raevan..." no matter how many times she said it, it never seemed any more real than when she had opened up the box containing the mistletoe and the soul bottle. Cautiously, she stepped closer to the tank and stood on her tip-toes to get a better look around the inside without touching anything. The water inside was murky and the red 'occupied' light made it difficult to see details, but no matter how scientific it all looked, Zeke was absolutely right: this was where magic happened.
Checking her fingers first to make sure they were absolutely clean, she reached forward and lightly touched the white outside, careful not to leave any fingerprints on the glass. "How long it takes, that's different for each Raevan, right?" How long would it take hers? What was the shortest span of time? The longest? Was there any way to predict it like child birth or would it be a surprise every time? She could feel her heart racing as each new question whizzed by in her mind, immediately being replaced by another. Laughing slightly, she moved away from the tank and looked up at Zeke, remembering what Zul had explained about the way Raevans fed. "I wonder what ours will eat."
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Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:24 pm
Listening to Anita mention this LuLu Raevan's close resemblance made him look to his own Raevan's tank. Nothing but hair on the scalp seemed to have grown any more since Anita was last here, but the very notion that while Vyn was clearly more shadow-like while LuLu was more rabbit made the vet wonder how his would turn out. And, for that matter, how the one in the tank he was next to would appear too. So different, these Raevans, every one! It made Zeke excited at the prospect and chuckle in a low voice that only he could hear as he remembered how he had to stop himself from imagining what the Raevan would look like the night of the capture. He had been so sure the spider would be set free and he'd get something new, but now he didn't care what went in, as long as whatever came out was healthy and his.
"Yes, yours." Zeke dropped his arm and moved out of Anita's way, letting her near the tank - her tank - without hindrance. He made sure to linger near though in case she tripped accidentally and to answer any remaining questions she had. Which she did. "I assume so, but I'm not completely certain because I've never seen a Raevan born." Had it really been only two months since the spider was captured and he was hired here? Time flies. "Since they're man-made by science and magic, I'm pretty sure they don't have a set time between conception to birth. I figure the soul and essence set the time somehow." He had to grasp at straws for that one and he'd have to make sure to quiz Alex on it at some point to get a more definite answer. He couldn't deny though, that it was rather neat not to know and let the whole thing be a surprise.
"I wonder what ours will eat."
"That's a good question." And something he hadn't really thought about yet, regarding his own. He'd been busy planning for its arrival and juggling work and school that the barest of necessities escaped his whizzing mind. Good thing she had brought it up now or else he could be stuck weeks or months later! "Not anything we can, that's for sure." He commented on the Frei-stage Raevan's lack of a stomach as well as any other lower bits where that consumed food would have to exit. He thought back to her question in the hallway and shrugged. Maybe the idea wasn't too far fetched. "Maybe that's something left up to the Essence as well, Anita. I guess we'll both know when they get here."
With that he moved himself to a table opposite the one Ebony had pulled him over to and sat down at last night. A few charts were carefully moved out of the way before he plunked himself down on the stool before it, content and confident Anita could handle herself well in front of the tanks. Zeke's sneaker-clad feet swayed before resting on one of the stool's metal bars, looking past the girl and her Raevan's tank to his own. What would it eat indeed, especially if food tied into the Essence. Viruses? Sickness? Maybe even...Health? He shook off the last idea. That couldn't happen, even if it was part virus. That'd be something to really wait and see for, and hopefully whatever his Raevan needed would be in ready supply when it was hungry.
"So! Anymore questions? I like this game."
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:53 pm
Nodding with Zeke, she watched the man move over from her side and her empty tank to take a seat on a stool sat in front of a desk. All of his answers, though likely not exact, were painting a broader spectrum of things for her to think about. Her questions, too, were allowing her to ponder things she hadn't before, when suddenly something hit her; the first time she was here, she briefly brought up the subject of names. Glancing over to the tank the virus Raevan floated lifelessly in, no gender was able to be determined, same as before.
"Did you pick out a name for both genders yet?" Vaguely, she recalled the man mentioning he compiled a list but not whether he had settled on anything concretely or not. Of all the Raevans she had encountered, they bore short, strong names; Zul, LuLu, Vyn. Pausing, Anita scrunched her eyebrows and came to the conclusion of a better question, waiting only so long as it took Zeke to answer the first before speaking again. "How many Raevans are there? Have you met all of them?" Since he was working at the Lab, no matter how new he was, it was likely he had met at least several of them, a fair few more than she had at any rate, and she was eager to know all about the others. How diverse the small assortment she knew of were, she could only imagine how different others could be.
Giving another glance to her empty tank, Anita withdrew her hand and smiled, taking a pretzel-legged seat in front of it on the floor. She was mindful of the cords as she situated herself, but was at an angle where she could see both of the "filled" tanks well, and keep eye contact with Zeke. Gingerly, she folded her hands into her lap and listened to his responses while trying to come up with other questions for this game. "What are some of the essences you know about? And souls?" The two parts that made a Raevan were so mysterious and intriguing, and she knew so little about them. Still she didn't know Zul's Essence, just that he fed from absorbing ice. She still laughed at the image he had conjured of her Raevan feeding from worms and berries, or maybe trees. Whenever she pictured her Raevan, it was always with a crocodile head, and it likely would remain so until she saw it begin developing within its tank. It was lucky she hadn't learned of Zeke's Raevan's soul before seeing its developing form, or she might have pictured a large tarantula head atop its body.
If the essence truly was tied to the feeding method of the Raevans, then it would be a mystery as to how either of theirs would feed; it could be as specific as hers gobbling down stalks of mistletoe or Zeke's slurping up illness to something much more abstract. Was that even possible? Anita hadn't the foggiest idea of what LuLu or Vyn fed from, or rather absorbed, but she knew for a fact that Zul absorbed ice directly into his skin.
"It'll be interesting to see," she mumbled to herself, turning her gaze fondly towards the neighboring tanks. Her only hope was that neither of them took too long to come alive. All of this sitting and waiting, rocking back and forth in limbo, would end up getting to her. Anita always hated surprises.
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:23 am
"Names? No, not yet." A sheepish smile graced his features then. "I can be a bit indecisive when it comes to naming, so I decided to take an alternative route. I looked up names for each gender that I liked, made a list, and then tacked them up on my door at work to run a poll of sorts." He couldn't recall if he told her of his idea, but it never hurt to reiterate once right? His poll had been getting pretty good results since he put it up who knows how long ago, though he was still getting the obvious 'so what is this poll for anyway?' questions. He was running out of excuses for his over-curious coworkers and had been sticking to a mysterious (if somewhat repetitive) 'you'll see soon enough'. Zeke could only begin to imagine the rumors that would sire, but Anita's next question pulled him out of that before he could even step in.
"Hm...There's way more than a dozen. When I read the virus report Alex gave me, at the most ten Raevans were infected with the Essence and cured." The Italian woman had told him what happened to one Raevan named Ekundayo, how she hadn't been treated and almost died. Luckily she was found before that could happen, but since then she had been in a coma. Her guardian was AWOL or MIA, so measures were being taken to rehome the poor Frei. He hoped she would go to someone good when it was time. "I haven't met them all," he said, "So far I've only met Zul, Vyn, Xiu, and most recently a Frei named Cordelia." She had been here just last night actually and her guardian had been standing where Anita now sat. Zeke ticked the names off on his fingers and realized he was missing one.
"Oh, and a Sigel named Rivener. Appearance-wise he's older looking than the Frei's and at the second stage of growth. He's got a full abdomen." That's all he could really remember of the scorpion, the passing months making the rest of the Sigel's looks fuzzy in Zeke's mind. He did remember Beauregard plenty well though! "So I've only met five, and am in the most contact with Zul. You...You don't have to sit on the floor Anita." Zeke laughed, finally realizing she was sitting on the linoleum tiles. It had to be pretty cold down there. He gestured to the stool on the opposite side of the table. She could sit there or tug it to where she was, he didn't mind either way, eagerly soaking up the next question.
"I know about ours of course," He said. That was rather obvious. "I also know about the Essences and souls of the Raevans who were infected since they were detailed in the reports, but I doubt I could name all of them off the top of my head." He stopped to think. Vyn had a rose for a soul and some sort of shadow for an Essence. Xiu had been some sort of Chinese animal and blood...White blood. Cordelia had a basilisk for a soul but he couldn't recall her essence. Rivener, he had no idea. Zul, though, that one stuck in his head. He remembered nearly choking on his coffee when he finally got to the demonic Frei's file and saw what had been put down in those slots. Based on that information as well Zeke felt even more that with the Self Replicating Virus within his own Raevan, it wouldn't turn out malignant. There was a powerful demon within Zul yet he had never seen the Frei do anything or act in a way that could be called "demonic".
"I can say for certain that Vyn's got a rose for a soul and a shadow for her Essence. The Raevan I met just last night - Cordelia - she has a basilisk for a soul, but I don't recall the other part of her. You think I would, given how much I've read those files and all my notes over and over." He chuckled lightly. Seems that some information had to be pushed out to make room for the new stuff at both work and school. He hoped Anita wouldn't be too disappointed by that. He had also left his copy of the files and his notebook at home, so he couldn't list everything off without breaking into Alex or Dr. Kyou's office. As Anita turned to the tanks Zeke looked to them as well. He'd be sure to never forget the key ingredients in both of these Raevans, that was for sure.
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