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 Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:12 pm
Who: Anastacia, Xiu, and Zeke
When: Sunday evening
Where: Hazeline's bookshop
Weather: Muggy outside, though cooler air is coming in as the sun sets
"Ready to go, Anya?"
The Frei turned from the glass doors that covered the way out and looked at her guardian. Oh yes, she had long since been ready to leave the Lab, but Zeke had been causing a delay. He had to do final Lab secretary-related things, clock out, say goodbye to Alex, thank and compliment her over and over for the lunch she had made and given him extra of to take home, pick up said extra food from the cafeteria, and take his sweet time getting back here. Anya wasn't happy with the delay, but she wasn't entirely mad at her man either. In fact, looking at it now that he had returned, his delay gave her some sweet respite from his chatter-happy attitude even if she had sort of wasted it by looking out into the blurry, dusk-covered world. She kept it in mind not to do that ever again when he was making a delay, but nodded to his question all the same.
Zeke smiled.
"Okay, let's get going then." With his bags of homecooked food in one hand, he pushed the glass door open for his Frei and did the customary 'ladies first' maneuver. As he did so, he saw his Frei's face take on a momentary look of (smug) pleasure at the long since routine action and he couldn't help but smile more. He spoiled her as often and much as he could, but truly something as simple as holding a door for her and letting her out first made her so happy so easily, and he was happy he could make her so. It put a bounce in his step as he followed the Frei out, but once he was out into the still humid air, Zeke made a pause to look around.
The sun was setting, but there was enough light to give them about an hour of solid daylight left. It had been a nice day - one that he hadn't been all too happy to spend indoors but what could he do - and it was still too nice to let pass by completely by going straight home. And why go straight home? It was summer now, so no threat of sudden chills to cause his Anya harm, and summer meant time to be out and about and having some sort of fun. Sure it was probably a bit too late to make a date in the park with his Raevan, but they could go someplace else. Where, he couldn't quite say just yet, but the option was still there.
"Hey Anya," the vet began, and then looked to where the virus Raevan once was but was now gone from. Some surprise came up at her disappearance, but before he could start looking all around himself for her, he spotted her floating next to his car - waiting to be let inside. Zeke chuckled and walked over. "Sorry, I sorta spaced out there for a minute."
I noticed. The Frei thought, moving away from her guardian as he neared and slid his key into the front passenger door to unlock the car. Again still not entirely mad at him, but she was slightly annoyed he made an unscheduled stop, though that feeling did lessen and almost vanish as she heard the click of the lock and as Zeke once again let the lady in first. She had trained him well.
"There you are my dear, Zeke said as he opened the Frei's door and watched her easily float inside. Best to ask her now, he figured. "Say...I have an idea. Tell me what you think, okay?"
Anastacia looked up at her man from her usual seat once she had her knitting bag set down next to her. An idea? And he wanted her opinion on it? Well this was out of the blue...but she didn't say 'no'. Granted, she didn't say anything at all to him then, but still.
"Well, it's still pretty light out and it's summer now, you know?" Zeke smiled sweetly, but Anya felt the urge to roll her eyes. Great, another tangent before he got to the meat of whatever it was he wanted to say. "So since we're now free of work and things...What do you say we go out and do something? We've got the whole evening ahead of us and it's not fair or fun to keep us both cooped up inside all the time. We both gotta have some fun now and again and what better time than right now?"
The Frei looked at her guardian, no emotion written on her face. Despite that blank look she was rather interested in his idea, surprised, and even a little puzzled. This was sudden, but then again, he was right this time. Since the cold and chill of winter and even early spring had passed, the spider queen found herself disliking being inside Zeke's home and offices more and more. It was an odd urge for the homebody Raevan, but one she felt she had to quench for some mysterious reason or another. However...What did her man have in mind?
"Where will we go?"
"I...Haven't quite figured that out yet." Zeke gave a sheepish chuckle. "But let me get into the car and we'll go from there." To this Anya nodded and, after making sure her ribbon wasn't near the door, gave her guardian a look that said he was free to shut the door. He did so, and soon was in his own spot in the driver's seat, unbuckled for easier access to his Raevan as he gave his ideas.
"It's still kind of late," he began, "but I'm sure there's plenty of places we could go. The park for one, if you want. It might be dark by the time we get there but we can still try for it."
Anastacia shook her head. Out and about was all well and good, but while she was rather nocturnal in her own right, her eyes weren't any better in the darkness. Zeke hummed and took this into consideration.
"Okay, how about the beach? Or the boardwalk?"
Again she shook her head. The beach was something she'd rather an entire day at and the boardwalk...Well she had never been but a news report from there made it come off as a noisy place filled with a few too many people.
"A museum? Or the aquarium?" Zeke paused then shook his head. "Though maybe those would be better for a day trip...And we'll take plenty of those when I'm on vacation, I assure you."
He winked, but Anastacia's face remained impassive. Well, he had eliminated his own idea, so she felt no obligation to even think on them.
"Hmm..." Maybe it was his work-addled brain that was causing him to come up short, but Zeke found himself without many ideas. It was an odd feeling to the raver, but he took it in stride. He might not have much at the moment, but maybe Anya had one or two. "How about you, Anya? Any ideas?"
Zeke's questions had been extended to her before, but she still found herself a little surprised he had extended the branch to her. A little surprised...and more than a little pleased. Where would she like to go? Well...Not a museum, not the beach, not anywhere he had suggested. No, she had her own idea of where to go and it was as plain as day to her now that she had been given the reins.
"Shopping."
Zeke laughed, and one of the Frei's brows twitched. What was so funny?
"Shopping. O-Okay. I guess we could do that." It was still 'out and about' even if it wasn't really as outside as he had hoped. Sure there were farmer's markets and flea markets, but the former would hold nothing of value to the Frei and the latter were held during the early mornings and afternoons. Besides, maybe it'd just be window shopping in the end. "What d'you wanna shop for? Clothing, more knitting stuff, books...?" He cut off there, looking at the book he had kept on the passenger seat the entire day. That seemed like a good idea. He had gotten Anya plenty of books before, sure, but he had seen her reading them and had a feeling she could do with some new ones. "How about books?"
Books? Well, she hadn't been thinking of going shopping for anything particular, but her thoughts probably never would have traversed over to books. Now that it was out in the open though, it was something. And Zeke's guess was correct - she could do with some new ones. She had long since grown out of the story of Dan - who she had come to learn was actually named Todd - and his eternal struggle of running to the right and though she rather enjoyed knitting as her foremost hobby she knew the value of options. Besides, she had enough knitting supplies and still preferred her chitinous bodice to the soft fabrics of human clothing. She nodded her agreement.
"Okay, books it is then!" As she agreed, a thought struck him of just where to get said books from. He hadn't been to the bookshop in ages, but he still remembered where it was and the clerk whom he had bought a book from the last time he had been there. Xiu had been a nice Raevan to chat to, and while he remembered the Frei's apprehension to meeting his ward, time dictated that he forgot he had in fact promised the pale Raevan that he would call ahead and schedule a sort of meeting between them. Besides, even if he had remembered, Zeke knew Anastacia wasn't dangerous, and he'd be right there the whole time. Plus it was high time she met more of her kind, events preceding her or not. Why not start now? "I know just where to go. Buckle up, Anya!"
---
The shop they pulled up in front of was not what the spider Frei was expecting. Compared to the larger book chains she had seen in the mall and on the street in general, this place was down right dingy. However, she wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth and floated out of the car once Zeke had done his chauffeur duties.
"This is a nice place," Zeke said upon closing the door and locking his car, "and there's plenty of books inside, so don't let the front fool you." He started up the walk toward the door.
Was that so? If he was right, color her surprised, but until she saw for herself she would remain skeptical. Anastacia followed her guardian, but once again floated in before him as he did his door routine, this time greeted by chimes than the hinges squeaking. First thing she noticed upon entering the establishment was the powerful scent of books. The air was cool, dry, and papery with an underlying smell of ink and maybe a little dust. Not unpleasant, but not something she would easily get used to either. It was a bit too out of the norm. From there she noticed how vacant the place was, so much so that there was no one behind the counter, and how Zeke had once again been correct. The place was lined with shelves and walls of books. Given she wasn't truly bookish, no wave of excitement or delight hit her, and instead the Frei kept with her normal, flat expression as she moved inward toward the closest shelves.
"I guess he must be upstairs or something," Zeke commented lightly in the sort of tone Anastacia took no interest in. It sounded more like he was thinking aloud than directing his words toward her and thus she paid little attention to that. "Go ahead and look around, Anya. If you find anything, give a shout. I'm gonna see if the clerk is in." It'd only take a ring of the bell on the counter top anyway.
As if I would shout. The Frei rolled her eyes at her man's back but still floated right out of his sight with nothing said. She was brought here to get a book or two. He could do as he pleased and she would do the same.
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:40 pm
Business today had been slow. Slow enough in fact that Xiu had taken the opportunity to leave the countertop and tackle the stock keeping work in the backroom. It was a backbreaking task, involving many tiresome hours of shifting boxes and jotting down stocks of books. Nevertheless Xiu wasn’t about to complain. It was something he could do at least. Having grown into a Sigel had given him some added strength so that he was now physically stronger than his guardian and the wiry housekeeper that lived with them.
The ringing of the bell surprised the Sigel and Xiu hastily set aside a box of “Cooking with Fire: The Right way” to see who was it that needed his assistance. Floating forward, Xiu smiled a welcoming smile, something he had learned during the course of his stay at the bookstore. People were a lot less likely to take off if you were smiling; sanely of course.
The smile on the Sigel’s face widened when he recognized the person ringing the bell. It was Zeke. A staff of the Lab. It had been a while since the Sigel had last seen the rather colourful man. Giving Zeke an acknowledging nod, Xiu raised his eyebrows in a friendly manner in the typical gesture of “How may I help you?”
Oddly enough, the Sigel had not noticed Anya who had floated some distance away to look at the books on display.
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:20 am
The moment Xiu floated out into the storefront, Zeke's brows went up in surprise. Even with the high counter separating them, the fact the white Raevan was now a Sigel was clear to see. He hadn't seen the now Sigel in a few months time but he had made a big change. The addition of a stomach was the most obvious feature but the Raevan also looked different about the face. More mature. Xiu had really grown up.
Despite his shocked stare, Zeke's smile didn't leave his face. It took a more intrigued turn, sure, but that silly grin didn't falter for an instant. When Xiu nodded at him and gave his brows that slight raise, Zeke chuckled and extended his arms out slightly in greeting.
"Hey there Xiu! Long time no see!" The vet chuckled and dropped his arms to instead fold them over the counter before him and lean over it. He remembered how polite the Raevan had been when he last saw him and though he didn't come off as quite as excitable as some others of his kind, the raver was still happy as anything to see him and catch up. "How have you been?" And because it was so obvious it hurt; "You've grown!"
Zeke had started chirping again but it was at someone who was as obscured from her view as her guardian was. Anya didn't mind this. The fact he was gabbing at someone other than her was a good thing in her books; he wasn't doing it at her and she could be left in some form of peace for some length of time. A blessing. Still though, the fact he hadn't been silent for long even in a place of business made her roll her lavender eyes again. The man had absolutely no off switch.
Hmm... Zeke was occupied with someone named...Shoe? What sort of name was that?! She had heard of some awful names in her short time alive but Shoe? Who named someone--She shook her head. No matter. While there was curiosity as to what someone named 'Shoe' looked like and how they managed to hold their head up with a name like that, the draw of the books before her, the knowledge Zeke would buy her one or two, and the desire to stay away from her chatty man for as long as she could kept her from reappearing. She would in due time of course, but not now. Now was the time to browse and look and then buy. But what did she want Zeke to buy for her?
The shelves that surrounded with her were tall, long, and fully laden with books. Paperback, hardback, thick, thin, red, blue, and green...It was a mishmash of everything and had she been born a true bookworm, she might've been made dizzy at the prospect and launched herself at the shelves. She wasn't nearly so self-embarrassing though. The Frei lofted herself up to look at a card that marked the nearest section.
'Romance'. No. She had once caught part of a romance movie on TV and had seen plenty of that sort of stuff firsthand when Brad would stop by to visit Zeke. Hugging, kissing, touching; it made her skin crawl with disgust just thinking about it and she quickly moved down the line. Not romance. Not at all. She wanted anything at all so long as it fit her criteria - something interesting, something that didn't repulse her, and, perhaps, something with pictures.
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:57 pm
Zeke’s surprised expression did not pass unnoticed by the white raevan and Xiu let out a silent chuckle at his remark. It never ceased to amuse the white Raevan when people appeared shocked to see him grown. Well, it had been rather sudden and the events that had led up to it seemed so far away now in the comfortable if bookish atmosphere of the bookstore. At Zeke’s question about how he had been, Xiu shrugged nonchalantly. It was alright. Life had been whirlwind of events and this made the Sigel enjoy its peaceful moments all the more when he had them.
Taking out a small notebook that he kept about him, Xiu took a pen from the table and on a clean sheet, wrote “So what brings you here, Zeke? A book? We have just received a shipment of zoological ones last week.”
The Sigel then tilted his head as though remembering something from the past. The pen was once again applied to the paper and in a neat script “Or…has the Virus raevan emerged from its slumber?” Blue eyes stared intently into the veterinarian’s face. Zeke had after all promised to bring his charge over once she had left the tank. The white raevan still harboured some doubts about said raevan. Anything that could have caused such a catastrophe in the past was well…dangerous. But then again, he had promised the vet that he’d at least give the new raevan a chance to prove itself. It was not its fault that the good doctor in the Lab had decided to create it using the virus. Xiu still thought of Dr.Kyou as mad but then again, it was this madness that had created the raevans in the first place. This madness and…a tint of demonic dabbling on the doctor’s part. Xiu was not at all sure he could trust a human like that. A raevan created out of a demon’s soul was…different. Like the virus raevan, it did not have a say as to its origins but for a human to willingly…
He had done the same, hadn’t he?
Pushing the thoughts aside, Xiu once again focused his attention to the vet, waiting for Zeke’s answer.
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:59 pm
Zeke's head tilted as Xiu brought out a small spiral bound notepad and pen. Any idea of the Sigel having been taking inventory in the back was cleared from the vet's mind as Xiu passed the book over to him and he read the words upon it. His brows, having since relaxed after the initial shock of seeing Sigel Xiu was over, raised again and he had to look the Raevan over quizzically but he made sure to reply to the written question first.
"I was in the neighborhood," he said simply, telling a half-truth because of who he was with and how she might need a proper introduction to the male who floated before him. "I figured I'd stop in and say 'hi'." He skipped over the part about the zoological books and instead the vet spoke his mind quite clearly. "Sorry if I'm butting in but...Is there something wrong with your voice, Xiu?" It wasn't said in a rude tone and sure it could have been phrased or walked into a little better, but curiosity and concern overruled that. Xiu didn't look sick and the last time they had met, the white Raevan had come across as quite the mild one to Zeke. He definitely couldn't picture the Sigel losing his voice at a rock concert or a rave.
When the paper was slid back over, Zeke read it carefully. Seeing what was on the paper made him chuckle. Well, it seemed Xiu hadn't forgotten their last meeting just as much as Zeke had, and now that Xiu had asked the question, it made it just that much easier. Somewhat.
"She has." He replied, and slid Xiu's notebook back over to him. "In fact..." He held up his right pointer in a 'wait a moment' gesture, and turned from the Sigel to the bookcases.
From Romance she had drifted down the line to the Classics section, turning hither and thither to look over all the novels on the shelves. She had picked up a few as she went, but none of them captured her interest by cover alone. She had skimmed the backs of some but otherwise if the cover did not grab her, Anastacia put it back down where she found it and moved on. It was rather frustrating in some respect, but then again maybe she had just been looking in the wrong places. With a section name like 'Classics' she had a little more hope. For starters, the covers of these Classics had interesting pictures on them. A plus, and one such cover came under the title 'Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass' with a girl standing next to some squat old...woman? in red in some sort of garden. Probably not eye-catching to most, but against the gray of the book's binding the colors popped and kept Anastacia's eyes on it.
Upon opening the book and flipping through the pages of the hardback, Anya was pleased to discover the book did in fact have pictures. There weren't many of them, certainly, and all were in black and white, but the book did have them unlike all of the others she had grabbed. Some of them were the most odd depictions of things too, but that only fueled her curiosity of what sort of context they were in. It didn't take her long from there to decide that this would be one of her picks.
Thanks to her fully absorbed browsing and months spent honing her 'tone Zeke out' ability, the spider queen was unaware that Zeke had both seemingly been talking to himself and that he was now on his way over to her. She didn't even hear his footsteps along the hardwood floor and only became aware of him when he spoke directly to her.
"Hey Anya."
She jumped, nearly sending her book tumbling from her arms as she was ripped out of her peaceful inner thoughts and into the waking world by that oddly soft tone from her man. The femme caught her novel and clutched it to her chest, immediately turning around to see who had disturbed her while wearing a look to show she had in fact been disturbed and was not pleased by it.
Zeke chuckled.
"Sorry," he said in that same library quiet voice, "I didn't mean to startle you."
Anya gave him a look at that. He ALWAYS said that when he made her leap damn near right out of her skin and ALWAYS seemed more like he was trying not to laugh more than he was trying to really apologize to her. Ugh, that man. Anyway...Why was he here now? They weren't leaving already were they? She had just found a book and wasn't done browsing the rest! The vet won a point blank stare from his ward which again only made him chortle.
"I mean it, I'm sorry." He took a step from behind the lip of the shelf he had appeared from and raised his left arm to gesture out toward the front. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. Would you do me the honor of coming out and saying hello?"
One of Anastacia's brows raised at that. Would she do him the honor? That was new. Was he trying to play to her or something? She couldn't tell for sure, but while the chivalrous words did play to her self-determined regal side, she most certainly wasn't done here yet. He might have said a book or two, but she wanted to see if she could find something that would make that two before Anya floated back toward the shelf she had been browsing, eyes never leaving her man's face.
"Just a 'hello', Anya." Zeke said, then noticed the book in her arms. "Found something you want?"
She nodded and loosened her grip on the novel so she could once again look at its cover.
"Well if you come up front, I can have that taken care of for you and you won't have to be weighed down with too many books. Sound okay to you?"
Now that was a ploy from him, just like the one he had tried by playing a board game with her in order to get her to talk more. She had been younger then, but she still remembered it now. Oh no; she was too smart for that.
"I'm fine." She weighed down her statement with a hard stare, telling her man she was on to him and she wouldn't play his little game. She would come back out when she was ready to and not a moment before. Whether that was now, soon, or later would yet to be seen, but she would not be budging, thank you now go away.
Zeke looked surprised by that but knew he couldn't shake her resolve. He gave a little defeated sigh, a matching smile, and tipped his hand to her with an added playful little bow.
"I'll be over there when you're ready then, my dear." Zeke then spun on his heel and walked back towards Xiu, smiling lightly if not a bit sheepishly. "She's got herself wrapped up in looking at your selection," he said by way of apology. "She'll be out when she's found another book; it's the other part of the reason why I stopped in. I hope that's okay."
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:06 pm
To say that the white Sigel was not expecting Zeke to notice the absence of his voice was a lie. Taking the notebook back from the vet, the white Sigel wrote “I lost it around the time that I grew”. It was not the whole truth but it was a simplified one. One that (with luck) would not require him to elaborate on it too much. The white Sigel still entertained the notion that one day, he would get his voice back but as to the how and when… Xiu decided he would work on that when the time came. For the time being, the white Sigel was more interested in meeting the Raevan Zeke had brought with him. The word ‘she’ was duly noted and Sigel subconsciously folded his wings a little more primly and contrived to not look too wary of the new raevan.
By then the vet had already disappeared amongst the rows of books and Xiu heard the vet talking to someone called Anya. For whatever the reasons, Anya was being rather silent as the lively human chatted away; albeit apologetically. Curiousity suitably aroused, the Sigel floated from his place behind the counter to see the raevan Zeke was talking to;- only, it appeared that their conversation was done and the human was walking away from the Classical Books isle.
“It’s fine,” mouthed the Sigel as the human approached him. Anyone who had an interest in books was, in Xiu’s opinion, a good thing. Floating a little higher, Xiu contrived to look over the human’s head to get a glimpse of Anya. What the Sigel saw amongst the rows of books was…
Well, she was a raevan for a start. And she had a fine head of hair. But what caught the Sigel’s attention was…the crown of spidery legs that adorned her head and the black jewels that were positioned on her forehead. Her wings too, was of a rather spidery persuasion…
“Spider?” mouthed the Sigel in surprise as realization hit him. Looking at Zeke, Xiu wondered what prompted the man to choose such a combination. Spider brought to mind a creature prone to injecting toxins into various bloodstreams and virus…well, the image of a syringe filled with something deadly came to mind. Combine the two and you get…
Anya.
The Sigel could not help looking incredulously at the human before him.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:16 pm
Though Zeke wasn't the best lip reader in the world, Xiu's mute words didn't fall on blind eyes. It was fine with Xiu; that was good. Looking at the Sigel, he didn't seem perturbed by the fact the Raevan born of the contagion that had made him and several other Raevans sicker than sick was only one bookcase away. That was also good, but as Zeke moved back toward the counter, he sort of expected Xiu to follow. He was colored quite surprised to see the Sigel steal a glance at his ward.
Well then, he thought, smile shifting to show that surprise clearly. He definitely hadn't expected that, but he wasn't mad that it had occurred. The fact Xiu was being so mild toward knowing that Anya was in his abode was astonishing and not quite what he had expected, even if Xiu had shown he was of the amicable variety. Speaking of the Sigel, given the older Raevan's angle as he took his cursory glance at the book browsing Frei, Zeke missed his mouthing of the word 'spider'. This didn't matter much in the long run, because once Xiu turned around and saw that incredulous look the vet knew he had to learn what caused that expression.
"What's wrong?" He had to ask, but then reminded himself of Xiu's muteness and quickly went to the counter to get the Sigel his notepad. When he grabbed the pad, he saw the statement Xiu had written. While the Sigel might want to know something right this moment, the vet couldn't just leave this alone. "You lost it when you grew?" He looked to Xiu, then the pad, and then back to the Sigel. "Have you gone to the Lab about it? Maybe Dr. Kyou can help you."
Once Zeke had spun on his heel and vanished behind the thick wooden case, Anya had gone right back to browsing. She fully intended to find another book and so help her, she would. One down, one to go, but if a third caught her eye then she would add it along with the others. She felt she could get away with stretching the limit. She did have Zeke around her finger at times after all.
She stuck to the classics, lavender eyes forward and flicking over spines and the titles written upon them, but of the four on her brow, the farthest one on the right caught motion through its sight shortening fog. Anastacia froze, turning her head just enough so that the second eye atop her brow could help assess what she saw.
The bookcase was a brown haze dotted in colors both dull and vivid. Beyond it, the dying light that drifted in through the front windows gave everything an ethereal glow. Had it been midday, everything might have been soaked with white or yellow. Since it was not and the setting sun gave everything an orange hue and with that contrast Anastacia could plainly see the spy was not her man. Couldn't be her man at all - the hazy shape peering at her from behind the case was damn near colorless even with the setting light filtering in. A lot of white was what she saw there and she had to frown at the person's poor effort to conceal his or herself. Had they even tried?
Anya debated between turning around fully to the white figure or giving a curt 'What?' but before she could decide, said white figure had moved behind the case and out of sight. Fine by her. She didn't mind being admired or gazed upon but she certainly didn't like being spied on. The fact she just had - poor attempt at it or not - made her wings twitch and she frowned. Come to think of it, who did that person think they were, spying on a woman such as she? And why hadn't Zeke stopped them? He had been just right there after all, surely he had seen!
"And he calls himself my guardian," she muttered and struck another mark against Zeke.
Then again, she did think the man was rather dumb and incompetent at times. Perhaps he had relapsed into incompetence, but no matter. She could handle herself and deal with such things with grace. Where Zeke and others failed she would succeed and unlike the figure who had spied on her, she knew she could spy on them and not be seen. Books minus the one she had in hand forgotten, Anya did just that. She gave her wings a wide stretch then folded them tight against her back. Her chosen novel was once again pressed to her bosom but with only her right arm instead of both. She moved silently, making sure she only appeared to be moving toward the cases at the other end of the store rather than on a mission to see who had just been spying on her and to spy on them in turn. As she passed by the opening, she saw her man and the white figure as nothing more than human-shaped blots amidst the shapely blots of other things in the room. Not focusing on them in full didn't help her either, but in her mind that was fine. She was only passing after all.
Once she was certain she was clear of her man's view (if he did see her at all), Anastacia turned around. She unfolded her wings and gave herself a slight push, keeping close to the case on her left as she neared the opening between it and its neighbor. She stopped herself just short of the end. Unlike the white figure - who still didn't cross her mind as possibly being this "Shoe" - she didn't need to peer over to snoop. She had something different. Something better. Something that made her the superior spy.
The Raevan lowered herself slightly and carefully flicked one of her web-lined pinions over her shoulder. She carefully stretched it out until it was aligned with the lip of the cases and set it on the ground. It wasn't a power she had used since she had discovered it, but it would be perfect now. Should one of them move - and she had her bet set on her overactive guardian for that task - she would see everything.
Too easy.
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:43 am
Xiu floated after the human as Zeke made his way once more to the front desk where the notebook lay. In truth, the Sigel would have very much liked to meet the younger raevan personally but Zeke seemed to think that it was probably for the better that Anya be left alone for the moment. Besides, the Frei seemed deeply engrossed in browsing the shelves. Perhaps leaving her unsupervised for a little while longer would not hurt.
Folding his wings neatly behind him, Xiu realized that the vet had asked him a question. Three actually, but judging from the statement that followed those questions, Zeke was probably asking about his lost voice. Giving a small grimace, Xiu took the book from Zeke and wrote “Yes, actually, Dr.Kyou happened to be one of the first to see me after I have grown. It is unfortunate but for the time being, I would have to bear with it, Zeke,”
Whilst the human was reading his reply, the white Sigel could not help but…feel that he was being watched. It was the same familiar…creepy-undertone feeling that he had got during the events of the Anime Convention and during…the last couple of days prior to his sudden growth. The feeling was…almost predatory in a sense and Xiu could not help glancing back a little nervously as his stone wings twitched. There seemed to be no…apparent harm in sight and apart from Zeke and Anya, the store was empty. But there was just that slight…sense of expectancy in the air. It was not…outright malice or ill intent but…
Floating a little to the left so that he was now beside the human, Xiu gave Zeke a glance to see if the man had noticed anything odd. Apparently not…
Perhaps it was just the play of light against the deepening shadows. The evening was growing old and in an hour or two, the rest of the family would be back. Perhaps it was just him being overly flighty. There were times when sudden if brief attacks of fear would hit him. As though the nightmares of that…incident had never fully ended. The white Sigel subconsciously fingered the healed wound on his shoulder. His growth had apparently speeded up the healing process and there was hardly any scar to be seen but sometimes…Xiu could feel the wound throbbing deep beneath his skin.
But that was all merely in his mind, of course…
Looking at the relaxed posture Zeke was in, Xiu felt himself calming down a fraction. Nevertheless, blue eyes stared out warily…
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:05 am
“Yes, actually, Dr.Kyou happened to be one of the first to see me after I have grown. It is unfortunate but for the time being, I would have to bear with it, Zeke."
"Ah jeez, I'm sorry. I hope something can be done or found so you can get it back." The vet couldn't begin to imagine what it was like to go from speaking one day to mute the next, but he felt as though for him, it would be greatly disparaging. Xiu however seemed to be handling it well and the vet felt a little awe because of it. The Sigel was certainly mature.
Handing the notebook back again, the vet did not feel that feel that sense of being watched like his companion. Given he was in the midst of a conversation - a tad awkward as it was - and facing forward, the vet was oblivious to his ward and her current actions. Had he been aware (or seen her as Xiu moved out of the way to float at his side, which struck Zeke as a little odd in its suddenness) he would have laughed and called her out. Given he was not and did not see the sliver of chitinous wing poking out, the vet instead could only look at his companion curiously, especially as the Sigel suddenly raised one hand and rubbed a spot on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Although he didn't like making people feel awkward about things, Xiu seemed a little on edge. Turning to the side to look at Xiu, Zeke posed his question in his sunny way to help fight that rather than one steeped in too much curiosity or concern. Given how mild the Sigel had seemed looking at Anastacia browsing, the raver didn't even begin to think it had something to do with her or her presence in the shop.
Again, Zeke was doing all the talking. There had been some scratching of pen and the rustle of both cloth and paper sheets, but no other voice. This made the spider queen's brow furrow in disdain, never having encountered a mute being before. She was selectively so of course, but she was still used to the idea that when one person spoke, another did in turn. The fact that Voice Number Two was utterly silent struck her as off. Hell, she could feel that something was off with Number Two, but couldn't say how.
Hmm...
Frowning, she mulled on that as she waited for her man to move. When he did so to turn to the Sigel now at his side, his step released those little ripples of motion that arched out and crawled up Anastacia's outstreched wing. When the first hit, she closed her eyes and unfocused the ones without lids, watching the picture rise up in her mind. Zeke, the shelves, the counter beyond, the register...everything in the shop stood out as white on black to the Frei. However, one thing was missing - Voice Number Two. Brows furrowing again, Anastacia removed her wing from the floor and rose so her ribbon was also off the ground, clearing the picture almost instantly before she opened her eyes.
Peeking out from behind the shelf again, there was clearly someone there. All white, but tinted orange in the light from the sun in the windows. Blur prevented her from seeing Xiu's ribbon clearly but the word 'Raevan' rose up in her mind right then. Of course he couldn't be a ghost or anything - they didn't exist and were just creatures in stories and bad TV documentaries. Her frown deepened at this obvious revelation, but she did not chide herself for not getting it at first. It wasn't her fault that this Raevan was as blandly colored as the day was long and thus had his ribbon bleached out by the light! Still, he was obviously the one who spied on her, and she'd have to show herself at some point. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, the Frei looked down at her chosen book again before looking at those that were on the shelf next to her.
"...Fine." She whispered, lofting herself in the air and flicking her wing back over. Giving both her pinions a shake, the spider queen inclined her head and floated out. She would see this spy for what he was, show Zeke what she had found, and go from there. While disliking conversation, it did occur to her that no conversation could come from someone that was unable to speak.
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