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 Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:54 pm
TRIGGER WARNINGS: suicide attempt, seizure, drug overdose Relief and Relaxation
soul gathering
WHO: Anita & Cruz (ex o ex Snoof) and Duncan (Zanaroo), with a special visit from his son-in-laws and the Petits.
WHEN: Summer 2012
WHERE: At Duncan's residence.
WEATHER: A bright, sunny day.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:32 pm
A boy of 10 named Jerri Petit bit his lips as he tried to recall the tense for ninety-six. He was a very unsure boy, frightened like a deer in headlights at the idea of failure, and when he heard his sister giggle from behind him, Jerri blushed furiously and stared up at his Mama with those remarkably blue eyes of his.
His mother, though, a stiff pianist of regretably fading youth, merely stared from her stool from Duncan's kitchen and waited in perfect silence. She stared once at Jillette and the girl knew enough to stop her laughing, and when Jerri saw her sister leave his side and pitter-patter away towards the side of their uncle, he chewed at his thumb.
"Mama--"
"Maman," the pianist corrected, adjusting a pin in her hair, "Try again, sweetheart. If you start back up again from 90, we can take a break for a little bit."
Duncan ruffled Jillette's hair and glanced back at the unwitting Jerri and his sister-in-law, who didn't so much as laugh when Jerri started to stomp about the floor lightly in frustration. Jillette did the favor of breaking the silence sooner than later, piping up as much as she could above the sizzling sound of pancakes on a skillet. "Mama! If Jerri messes up again, can I eat his pancakes?"
"Oh, don't be so mean to your brother, Jill," Duncan laughed, lowering the heat from the burner and easing out the first batch of pancakes, "And Becky, can you get some plates for these pancakes?"
Jerri nearly bolted towards where Duncan and the cabinets were, and eased his pace if only because he noticed his now-solemn mother glare at Duncan from her seat-- his uncle often pressed leisure, which made Jerri and Jillette frequently pine for more time over at Uncle Clarke's. Becky only reluctantly agreed, and only if the children agreed to review their French exercises in earnest. Nevertheless, neither of the siblings spoke whilst Becky stood from her place and sauntered quietly over to the cabinets, reaching to where the dishes are and grabbing four from the set.
Duncan watched awkwardly as his first batch of pancakes were still placed awkwardly on top of his spatula, the other batch bubbling delightly meanwhile. She placed them on the kitchen island and Duncan plopped one down on each dish, perfectly circular, and made to flip his second batch.
Becky sat down at the dining table with her children, and Duncan glanced over at the clock overhead: it was almost 12, which was alarming news, but he adjusted his glasses and circled around the kitchen island towards Becky.
"Running late, Duncan?" she was adjusting the forks and knives on the table that Jillette had put out, and the two children jumped up from their seats to press their faces against the glass pane watching the garden just ahead.
"Unfortunately... uh, I'm sorry to do this, Becky, but could you handle this batch while I get some things ready? We might need to get three more plates, for the guests and Mordekai, too, if you don't mind. Excuse me--"
Ding!
The Petit children's line of sight zoned in towards the door ahead, and Jillete pressed Jerri's head against the glass to get a quick head's start, yelling loudly enough for her voice to echo throughout the entire house: "I'mma get it!"
Her brother trailed reluctantly afterwards, trying to fix the scruff of hair bothering his eyes while 3-foot-something Jillette pulled open the door and poked her head past the doorframe. Jerri instinctively hid behind her, and the two stared wide-eyed at their guests.
Jillette was more enthuastic in greeting the two, nearly star-eyed as her gaze met the Raevan's green, well, everything.
"Uncle Clarke! Can they do magic tricks?"
Duncan, meanwhile, was scrambling upstairs, and Becky was near-jogging towards the door.
"Jillette, Jerri, go back to the kitchen!"
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:11 pm
The air was crisp, a bright Summer sun casting its rays down upon the vehicle as Anita drove through Barton. It was a bit much for her, so she kept the sun roof covered and a little bit of air conditioning blowing towards her while Cruz had all of his vents shut and the window rolled down. His arm rested on the side, fingers feeling the heat radiating off the exterior as the wind caressed his face and tousled his hair. The frei's eyes were closed, a content smile resting upon his features. These months were surely his favorite, when the sun was high and there was hardly a cloud in the sky.
If only it could stay this way all year long, but then there would be no beautiful red leaves twirling through the air or the elegant white coating upon the ground. To himself and other cold blooded Raevans, warmth was something dire and important but what set Cruz apart from the others was that he didn't outright dislike the effects -- they were more of an inconvenience than something negative and as he now had a taste for each season he could safely say he enjoyed every one of them for their own unique merits.
As the car slowed, his eyes fluttered open and Cruz's gaze was met with a large grassy valley in the center of which stood a large but unimposing structure with many windows and corners.
"Can you hand me the directions?" Anita asked the croc once they were at a complete stop. Cruz reached into the glove compartment and fished about, pulling out a folded sheet of notebook paper and handing it to her. With one glance to the address, she confirmed the house number upon the mailbox at the end of the long driveway. There were numerous vehicles dotting the area of all makes, models and colors. Their silver SUV seemed to stand out among them somehow. "This is it," she grinned at Cruz who smiled and tapped his nails against the door excitedly. Anita chose a parking space carefully, one she was sure neither of them would accidentally nick someone else's car, and the two hopped out.
While Cruz was decked in his standard wear, Anita decided she wanted to make a good impression. She didn't know what to expect but a family get together like this usually meant everyone was on guard and ready to judge others at a moment's notice -- at least, that was how her reunions always went. Instead of something typical like a spaghetti strap tee or wife beater and jeans for the weather, she dressed similarly to the garden party Lab held not long ago. This time it was a short white sundress with a pale green floral pattern and a pair of denim shorts that ended at the middle of her thighs. Her hair was back to the normal double braids which rested over her shoulders at the front and took some attention away from her pale shoulders.
Fetching their "peace offering" from the trunk, Anita rested a dish of home made cookies covered in cellophane in Cruz's hands and the two made their way up to the door. "Mr. Clar--err, Duncan's really nice so I'm sure his family will be too," she assured him and Cruz nodded. Thus far, anyone Anita had introduced him to had been the pinnacle of pleasant and enjoyable company. He was certain this visit would be no different or less enjoyable than meeting Axel or Alex and Zul.
The door swung open, revealing a young girl who was quickly accompanied by a boy roughly the same age. They stared in awe while Cruz and Anita beamed. A low rumble escaped his throat as he turned his head slightly. This was the first time he had met young humans face to face. "Hi there," Anita chimed, ready to introduce herself, but the girl seemed to have another idea in mind.
"Uncle Clarke! Can they do magic tricks?"
Anita sputtered out a laugh, resting a hand on her pale cheek that was already flushed from the sun outside. "No, no magic," she giggled, though quickly directed the children's attention to the plate, "Brought cookies, though." Beside her, Cruz held the plate out in presentation, low rumble persisting as his lips curled enough to show off his pointed teeth. "Is Mr. Duncan arou--"
"Jillette, Jerri, go back to the kitchen!"
The new, boisterous voice caught Anita off guard and she recoiled slightly, taking a single step back. Cruz's smile faltered slightly until the owner of the voice rounded the corner, to which he continued beaming and holding out the plate of cookies with pride. "H-hi," Anita recovered, returning to her original position and offering a bashful smile to the woman, "Um, I'm Anita and this is Cruz. We were invited here by Mr. Duncan? It's nice to meet you."
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:00 pm
Ms. Petit stared Anita and Cruz up and down before finally lowering her guard a bit and holding out her hand in efforts of a stifff handshake. Jerri and Jillette didn't move back into the kitchen, and merely tugged at the end of their mother's dress while hopping exciteably at the idea of both cookies and pancakes for lunch. Jillette swerved around to the other side of Ms. Petit to whisper to Jerri, though her constrained voice was still loud enough to hear, "Jerri, I want all the choc'late ones!"
"No!"
Becky narrowed her eyes briefly and stared down at her two children before patting their backs and scooching them along their way. She laughed, albeit sheepishly, and nodded her head towards the staircase behind her. "It's nice to meet you, Anita and Cruz, I'm Rebecca. Duncan's upstairs right now, but it's best if we head back into the kitchen. Would you like anything to drink?"
She headed back into the kitchen while Jillette and Jerri stood in front of the table, hands tugging at their clothes as they eagerly jogged towards Cruz and Anita. The two couldn't stop at Cruz, and Jilette diverted her attention to stare delightly up at his guardian. "Miss, Miss Anita, is it okay if I have a cookie? I think you and Cruz look very pretty today, because your greens match, and green is my favorite color, and it sounds the prettiest in French."
"S'no fair, green's my favorite color," Jerri crumpled his hands together and watched Jillette shyly as she spoke, slowly worming back and away to where his mother was while she was fixing the pancakes. The blonde woman glanced down at Jerri with a warm smile and put the second batch of pancakes onto the newly set out triplet of dishes.
"Would you two like anything to drink at all?" she glanced impatiently back at the stairway, then towards the fridge, "Cups are in the cabinet, feel free to get yourself whatever. Sorry we're having pancakes so late in the day, Duncan promised the kids that they'd be able to have some, but we were running a little late."
The man in mind, meanwhile, knocked on the plain white door to Mordekai's room and waited quietly for a reply. He could hear a muffled sound from the inside, but not much else.
"Mordekai, are you in there? Lunch is almost ready. I'm afraid Johan hasn't shown up yet, but he did tell me he might not make it out today."
No response, and Duncan furrowed his brows-- he cautiously opened the door and poked his head through the crevasse, squinting to see against the dim light of the room. The window blinds shut out most of the light from outside, and the room itself was a bit warm from the constant din of the television. Duncan scratched his ear and quickly turned the television off, then made his way through the muck of paraphernalia and clothing to peek through the window blinds.
Save for the unfamiliar SUV, which he reckoned was Anita's, Duncan found nothing out of the usual. Mordekai's scratchy corolla was parked right in front of the house, untouched since they went to the garden gathering. Duncan scratched his head and turned back around and out the door, only to notice a little post-it resting right at the knob.
He took the note and squinted, nearly pressing the paper to his nose for it to be legible, and it read: "Took bike. Going to the Kirks."
Duncan frowned, stuffed the note into his pocket, and retreated back downstairs in silence, greeting his guests with a small smile from the staircase.
"I'm sorry, Anita, Cruz. It looks like Mordekai won't be joining us for brunch. Would you like anything other than pancakes?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:23 pm
Anita sighed with a bit of relief when the children broke the sudden awkward air (at least, it felt awkward for her) and loosened up for her handshake with Ms. Petit. "Nice to meet you, too, Rebecca," she smiled, nodding. Cruz smiled as well, pulling the cookies protectively back to his chest. The offer of drinks sounded good and Anita nodded as Ms. Petit backed away from the door to allow her entry, "Oh, thank you." Once Cruz was inside, she turned back and closed the door carefully so it wouldn't slam before directing Cruz to follow Rebecca down the hall and into the kitchen.
The interior was immaculate, not to mention well decorated without being too gaudy. It was definitely a home earned through years of hard work and countless savings but it still had that cozy, comfortable charm that made Anita feel at ease. Nearby, the excitement from the kids was contagious and when they were spotted their smiles broadened. At being addressed as 'Miss Anita', she put a hand on her cheek bashfully and crouched down, below resting on one knee to proper head up. Now eye level with the kids, she motioned for Cruz to lower himself as well and he did so as Jerri mewled about his favorite color. "Thank you very much," she cooed appreciatively, though paused to think for a moment. "Green in French... Verte, right? she applied the accent as best she could, though it was clumsy from not being used since high school. Grinning despite Jerri's pouting, she leaned closer to the two and hunkered even lower, as if imparting a very special secret. "You know what? That's really cool, because green's our favorite color too, right Cruz?"
A throaty grumble left the Raevan as his ribbon collected limply against the wood floor and he nodded, looking between the two children, "Green is best."
With a light hum, she reached over and pulled back the plastic wrap from the plate and smiled at both of them. "How about I give you both one cookie now, but you have to promise not to spoil your lunch." Now unwrapped, Cruz held the plate out to Jerri and Jillette, giving them the option of choosing their cookies. They came in all shapes, both chocolate chip and sugar but both came in vanilla and chocolate form. Stars, hearts, butterflies and flowers, some lightly decorated with sprinkles but the only color those came in were green.
At Rebecca's reminder of drinks, Anita laughed at herself and stood back up while Cruz stayed put with the kids, "Oh yeah, thanks." Navigating to the cabinet Ms. Petit indicated, Anita pulled out a medium sized glass and made her way to the fridge. There were all sorts of juices, in particular pomegranate, as well as milk and a few carbonated drinks, including beer. "Man, I haven't had pancakes in forever. That sounds awesome." Since it was breakfast food and cookies for lunch, Anita pulled out the gallon of milk and poured. "Cruz, do you want any water?"
"No thank you, Neeta," he murmured, covering the cookies again as best he could once the kids had picked theirs and begun eating. As he floated back up to full height, he rested the plate gently on the nearest counter which happened to be the table, just beside Rebecca.
Returning to the kitchen's entryway with her fresh glass of milk, Anita was about to take a seat when Duncan came into sight. She beamed before waving quickly at the air. "That's okay, I'm sure he's busy," at the offer, her eyes grew wide and she nodded eagerly, "Oh, no, pancakes sound great~"
Sticking close to the kids, Cruz bowed his head in greeting to Duncan though a smile was plain on his face as well. Still, there was some confusion on his face and he locked eyes with Anita before attempting to recite the name of this food he hadn't heard of before. "Pamm cakes..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 5:20 pm
Jillette nearly clapped with excitement when Miss Anita spoke French, though only a word, and Jerri scootched in closer as well. French was always such a droll assignment to both of the Petit children, but other times it felt like a secret language to them, and anyone else who knew it must have had to endure counting from un to cent, too.
Jillette couldn't help but giggle in delight, "Le vert est ma couleur aussi préférée!" Becky overheard Jillette and Anita, and she bit her lip a bit at the pronunciation, though she couldn't help but smile nonetheless.
Jerri's expression seemed to glow if not a bit curiouser when Cruz said green was his favorite color, too, and he piped in, "Miss Anita, how do you and Cruz like the same color and not fight all the time? Because all my toys are green and I'm scared Jillette will steal all of them if she likes green, too, but I don't want her toys 'cause I don't like pink."
While Becky momentarily interfered with the four's conversation while setting the plates onto the table, Jillette and Jerri quietly took one cookie each from Cruz and Anita's platter without much interference from one another (though both of them chose the same kind of sugar cookie, and both of them were delightfully green stars). Duncan moved in after Becky to arrange the forks and knives, after which Jillette sat down at her chair again and nibbled away at the corner of her star.
Jillette glanced over at Jerri, "I'm not gonna steal your toys, dummy! I hate birds, an' that's all you have, anyways."
"Don't call your brother 'dummy,' Jillette, and calm down."
After some final preparations, and the table fully loaded with an arrangement of fruit, a nice glass container of maple syrup, and a bowl of whipped cream, Becky sighed with relief and sat at the edge of the table away from the kitchen. Jillette and Jerri were at the two seats facing away from the garden and Duncan, cleaning his hands off with a hand towel. He grinned at Anita's cheerful response, chuckling to himself because of the children's delighted energy despite the minor discontentment of Mordekai's absense.
"Alright, then. Feel free to take as much fruit as you'd like, there's a lot more where that came from-- Becky, would you like anything else?"
"Can we have cereal afterwards, Uncle Clarke?"
"Very funny, Jerri," Becky murmured while helping herself to some fruit. "But no thanks, Duncan. You said you had something to show our guests, though, right?"
"Oh, the vials!" Duncan adjusted the rim of his glasses and walked past the dinner table, towards the piano settled into the entertainment room just in front. When he returned, he sheepishly brushed away some of the dust that had collected on the bottles, and sat in his respective edge seat near Anita and Cruz.
It was, perhaps, not polite for an afternoon conversation, as the two children that were previously busy with fancying their pancakes sat in their seats staring at the bottle of floating rain-- Jillette nearly edged off of her seat, while Jerri's head was rested on her shoulder. Duncan held it out for Anita to hold, "Here they are... I'm afraid my memory is a bit spotty, but I do recall you wanting to see them at the Garden gathering. I got it from mister Ezekiel back in the fall, but..." Duncan frowned, "I'm not quite sure I'm so good for capturing this "soul" for the Laboratory. I've just been so busy."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:04 pm
Counting from un to cent wasn't so hard during the lessons in middle school. Now, however, that was an arduous undertaking that she could hardly recall. She could still remember how to count all the way to vingt but ask her to spell them and she would stare blankly. Though Jilette's words flew over both she and Cruz's heads at first, Anita pondered a moment and the meaning clicked. At least French was a fairly easy to dissect language if you listened closely, since so many of the English language's words were based on it and Spanish with a ton of similarities therein.
The two children's faces aglow with delight and curiosity, Anita couldn't help but beam at them and Cruz grinned appreciatively of their attentions to his woman and the color green. "'Cause we share," she chimed simply after their mother doled out some quick verbal discipline.
Anita smirked at Jerri's cereal joke, leaning back in her seat. With her hands pressed together, held in place by her knees, she grinned at Duncan. "If you guys made chocolate chip pancakes, I'm gonna eat 'em all," she poked her tongue out before turning curiously to Betty. Before she could even open her mouth to ask what he wanted to show, Duncan blurted the answer out and scurried off. Her eyes widened and she looked over to meet Cruz's gaze. His fingers were drawn upon the table edge and initially he appeared concerned, but Duncan didn't take long and once his own emerald gaze was placed upon the jar of floating rain drops his eyes matched Anita's in size.
"Oh wow," she breathed quietly, leaning closer to have a better look.
Cruz did similarly, floating higher and resting his forearms against the table. Behind him, his ribbon floated and twirled towards the ceiling and his rune pulsed with excitement. Tentatively, he lifted a clawed hand and gently placed the tips of his fingers against the glass of the jar, ignoring the soul bottle for now which was decidedly empty.
An awe-struck smile was locked on Anita's face as her eyes ran over every single detail present. The color of the soul cloth -- a beautiful and vibrant red which contrasted starkly to the pale rain, how the rain drops moved and bobbed in their confines, completely disregarding gravity. It wasn't until she heard Zeke's full name that she blinked and returned to reality, looking back up to Duncan while Cruz continued to gaze upon the jar. "That's okay, you just take it at your own pace. Did you have any ideas for what you wanted to get? That was the hardest part for me." Briefly, she glanced to the green frei and wondered what Duncan would think if she told him the story of the crocodile's capture.
A quiet, throaty growl emanated from Cruz. His fingers moved gently against the glass, cool to the touch but not cold enough to cause him any distress. In fact, the coolness was soothing to the constant heat of Summer and he found it somewhat refreshing. The surface was so smooth, and yet it seemed as though the drops could feel his presence some how. Where ever his fingers touched, the drops that were closest shied away. Some bumped into each other and combined while others hit the wall of glass and dispersed. "Beautiful..." he sighed dreamily, voice soft and low despite his rumbling.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 10:56 pm
"All of 'em are chocolate!" Jillette beamed, prodding her pancakes-- or nearly stabbing them for that matter-- with her fork and knife. Jerri was already eating his share of pancakes, though they were as plain as day except for a couple of pomegrantae arils to the side, which he grabbed with his hands halfheartedly.
He couldn't help but glow with unexpected pride when he noticed Anita and Cruz awing the soul bottle, and found himself scootching ever so slightly closer to take another look of his own. Smiling, he mentioned, "There's the droplets I was telling you about... they're simply beautiful. As for a soul, I'm not too sure-- the idea of capturing one is still so foreign to me, though Ezekiel did explain it as best as he could. I'm afraid my imagination's dwindled a significant amount these past few years."
Jillette looked up from her plate of pancakes and exclaimed, waving a hand in the air, "Miss Anita! Can I see next?"
"Me too..."
"No, we're gonna take turns! I asked first."
"Don't talk while chewing, you two."
Jerri, already dishearted (and bored) from trying to raise his head to see anyway, picked up an aril from his plate and watched it gleam from the garden light from behind him. When he squeezed the aril hard enough for it to pop, its juice contents spurted onto his hands. A small bit spattered onto his shirt, and his eyes widened with looming fear. Becky only noticed when he shuffled in his seat and turned away from Becky and towards Duncan, who stared at his sister-in-law with approaching caution.
"Oh-- oh God, Jerri! What are you doing?!" Becky stood up and Duncan followed in near unison, and he hurried into the kitchen and reached for wet towel on the island. Becky pried it from Duncan's hands and rushed over to Jerri, nursing his hands and throwing the now hollow (and squished) aril shell onto the plate, "I thought I told you, Jerri, not to play with your food!"
Jillette remained silent while Duncan rushed towards where Becky and Jerri were, though Becky snapped up Jerri's hand and pulled him out of the seat without so much as a word. The woman marched with her near tear-eyed son towards the bathroom, and just as they were out of sight, Jillette bounced up from her seat and rushed towards them, to which Duncan gingerly grabbed her shoulder and guided her towards his seat, nearer to Anita and Cruz.
"Don't bother your brother and mother, Jillette," Duncan said, wearily, "Here, you can take my seat, so you can take the bottle."
Jillette watched with her hands at the rim of her skirt and nodded before quietly taking her place at Duncan's chair. Duncan looked back towards the bathrooms before returning his attention to his guests-- he figured he'd apologize to them later, about the behavior. Duncan tried to hide his grimace nonetheless, though one of his thoughts about the soul did arise, however misfortunate the time, "Ah, I... well, I did have an idea. Ezekiel did mention that souls came from anything natural, and the only natural things I've the heart to capture are in the garden, back there," he nodded towards the glass door he was facing, "Perhaps a flower, or something small. Perhaps you two could help me choose one?"
He looked over to Jillette and Jerri, "And maybe Jillette and Jerri, too."
It earned a tiny bit smile from Jillette, and she scooted closer to Anita to stare quietly at the bottle.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 11:59 pm
Anita gaped. "All of them?"
Her green companion was thoroughly uninterested in the concept of pamm cakes or whatever they called them, especially when there was something as mysterious and lovely as a real essence up close. The only other time he had the honor of seeing one was in a picture -- Axel's, to be exact, and though the corsage of white forget-me-nots was gorgeous, he would have loved to hold its container just once before it was shipped off, not to mention the intense rainbow which filled the round soul bottle.
Compared to a filled one, the empty bottle was disappointingly boring. The red cloth attached seemed lonely against the clear glass. "Do not understand either," Cruz assured Duncan without moving his gaze from the rain drops. Gently his fingers shifted, nails clacking quietly against the glass as he tapped them. The vibrations fanned out, moving the droplets in all directions. A sharp toothed grin spread across his face and he narrowed his eyes in amusement. If this essence had as much to do with the unborn Raevan as his mistletoe did with him, they were going to be fun.
Jilette's urging startled Anita and she let out a quick laugh in surprise. "It's not mine to show~"
She was going to continue by nudging the young girl to ask her Uncle Clarke for permission but before she had a chance there was a wet squish and Becky's frantic voice overtook any conversation. For what appeared to be a small family get together, the events all seemed rather standard to her. There was always at least one over bearing parent who wanted to make a good impression to the family but especially to people they didn't know, but one who likely had difficulty loosening up or felt like she was unable to because everyone had to like them. So, already well versed in these types of family reunion scenarios, Anita barely bat an eye and merely chewed her lip thoughtfully while gazing at the red design of the soul cloth.
Unfortunately, Cruz did not have as much experience with awkward family meetings. In fact, he had none. To say that he was shocked would be a gross understatement. When Becky panicked and hurried to the kitchen, Cruz froze. His hands lifted quickly away from the jar and stayed in place as if he were signaling for the truce. The tip of his ribbon slowly dipped as the frazzled mother gathered her young son and began wiping at him, though she quickly switched rooms. Frowning worriedly, once they were out of sight he looked to Anita who had shifted position to resting her chin on her arm across the table and poking at the soul bottle.
"'N-Nita..." he whispered, lowering his hands to the table edge once he was back to a normal 'seated' posture.
"It's alright," she returned airily, sounding thoroughly unphased. When Duncan directed Jilette to his previous seat, Anita perked back up to her original demeanor -- all smiles -- and rested her arms on the table in front of her. At the same time, she and Cruz's eyes went wide with interest and the frei seemed to forget his worries about the sudden change of atmosphere. "Ooooh," she cooed, hands reaching up to smoosh her own cheeks, "That'd be so great! Could we really?"
Without another thought, she made to abruptly stand but stopped halfway when she felt her empty stomach drop like a lead brick. Plopping back on her rump, her gaze flicked dangerously toward the plate still stacked with warm pancakes and she tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table top before giving Duncan a sheepish smile. "Is it okay if I have a couple, first? I didn't really eat much before we left..."
Cruz sighed and chuckled. Thankfully, he had gotten nearly a full meal of cheek kisses from Anita's mom (and a few from Tango) before they left.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 1:02 pm
Duncan laughed and sat down where Jillette had previously, gingerly swapping her plate with his before nodding, graciously, for Anita and Cruz to sit comfortably. He was all the more anxious to have them eat now that Anita told him she hadn't eaten much at all-- after living so long in the Bellamy family, a large Greek-Gaian house both in blood and tradition, having anyone go hungry was the ultimate taboo. "Of course! We wouldn't have it any other way."
It wasn't long into eating the pancakes that Jillette slowly settled back into her previous cheerful demeanor. Jerri and Becky returned from the bathroom not long after the other four had dove into their separate plates-- it was apparent that Jerri had been crying from the pink swell of his eyes, nose, and cheeks. He grabbed nonchalantly at the collar of his shirt and tried to poke his nose into it, as if he were hiding someplace, until Becky shooed him backed to his seat.
The brunch itself was resolutely silent, but once everyone had had their share and another round of water and juice were in order, everyone retreated into the Clarke garden.
Duncan closed the glass door behind him while Becky wryly sat on one of the iron-wrought chairs near a perched umbrella and table, where she placed her drink. The two adults shared awkward glances before Duncan decided to move on past the shade and into the sunlight, towards the nook of a tiny little shed that was little more than a few square feet wide. The entrance of the shed had no door to speak of, and within moments he came back out with five sunhats (six, technically, though Duncan was already wearing his usual gardening hat) of varying shapes, colors, and sizes.
"The garden is quite big, so I suggest you grab at hat for yourself, there, Anita and Cruz," Duncan said while Jerri and Jillette each grabbed their own-- a plain straw hat and a lavish pink one, respectively.
He glanced at Becky, who responded meekly, "No hat for me, Duncan. Thanks, though," and stood up to join the fray.
Once they were settled in, Duncan faced the Garden and stared at the Soul Glass in his hands-- he left the essence behind for anyone who wanted to grab it, and didn't pay any particular mind about it. The front of the garden was a flourishing display of various flowers in various colors, and at the very center was a circular platform that held a single pomegranate tree.
Nearer to the right corner, flora made way for a gate of green that led to shadow and a cobblestone road. Light poked past where bushes lay, and Duncan tipped the corner of his sunhat to contemplate.
"Ezekiel did say something about the Soul Glass, ah... I believe it has to follow the color of the cloth. A nice red," he scratched his forehead, "There are a few red flowers at the front. You guys have a good look-through, then we can go to the fruits and vegetables. How about that?"
"Poppies are red!"
"So they are!" Duncan chuckled, and helped Becky along as she trailed next to him, "Pick as many as you'd like, just be sure to be gentle. A few fairies are here and there, so they might not be so friendly, elsewise."
Duncan wasn't quite sure of Anita and Cruz would believe them, but they seemed to be Gaian natives, so the idea itself probably didn't seem so foreign. He looked towards the ivy-wrought gate nearer to him and looked out for a wandering pair of glowing red eyes, but there was none to be seen, and he sighed in relief.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 3:12 pm
With a belly full of delicious, syrup covered pancakes and melted chocolate, Anita felt more than prepared to take on the "dangers" of Duncan's back yard. Their young companions were boisterous and Cruz tagged along with them, floating low enough that the tip of his ribbon would occasionally touch the grass. As instructed, Anita and Cruz had both grabbed themselves a hat; she took a big floppy straw one with a big light blue ribbon while Cruz helped himself to a simple brown cap and pulled his ponytail through the space in the back. It would serve Anita well, since she had forgotten to put on any sun screen, and with her pale complexion burning came easily. On the other hand, from the air conditioned home, Cruz felt extremely comfortable in the balmy outdoors but from his experience with getting overheated at the garden party he was more than happy with anything that would help him sustain a happy medium in temperature.
When they made it outside, Anita was awe struck by how large and gorgeous the garden was. Duncan hadn't been kidding about the size and her eyes and smile widened with excitement. In her daze, she fell behind slightly in order to take in all of the beautiful colors and arrangements, but quickly caught up with the small group, her grin undaunted. The older man's words took a moment to sink in. The idea sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn't entirely sure Zeke had given her those precise details at the time. It had been so long since she'd acquired her own soul bottle, it was impossible to tell. At any rate, if that info came from Zeke it was probably accurate so Anita nodded along with the explanation.
"That sounds great," she chimed, looking to Cruz who was hanging back between Jerri and Jillette. The enthusiasm was clear in the young girl's voice, though Anita couldn't be sure if she completely understand what was happening or what would be the result of this soul searching endeavor. Anita wasn't very knowledgeable on flower types or what they might have available in their garden, but if it was just red things then they could get this done easily and have a large collection to choose from! "There's some really nice red tulips over there, too," Anita pointed in their direction, causing Cruz to glance over his shoulder with a grin.
Duncan seemed pleased with this whole scenario and Anita couldn't blame him. This was exciting! She was caught off guard when he mentioned there were fairies in their garden, however. Of course things like that were normal as far as Gaia went; vampires, aliens, magic, it was all true and a part of their society. However, Anita's life was fairly mundane despite this and she had never experienced any such thing up close. Perhaps that was why she was so drawn to the Raevan project to begin with. "Really? We don't have anything like that near our apartment, but our gardens aren't nearly this beautiful, either."
Her eyes lit up curiously and she glanced over to the patch of red tulips, then stepped over slowly and knelt before them. "Um. Hi. Excuse me, but if there's any fairies in here, I'd like your permission to take one of these flowers? Just one." She felt a little silly asking like this but Duncan did say they might not be friendly so this was probably the better option than just taking one and being on her way.
Cruz barely bat an eye at the mention of fairies, not knowing what they were to begin with. Instead, he followed the children closely to the collection of poppies and grinned at their color. It was certainly a bright red like on the cloth of the bottle. "I can hold what you pick," he offered, presenting both of his empty hands. This way the kids could keep on picking whatever they liked without having to drop them off anywhere and they could move along quicker.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:51 am
When Anita mentioned the tulips, Jerri and Jillette enthusiasically tugged at Cruz's wrist and fluttered over to where they were. Bright and beautiful, Jillette was able to cup a single one into her hands to marvel at it, her bright green eyes lit with splendor. While Jerri didn't do quite the same, sticking within close proximity of Cruz, he tugged at the edge of his own jacket and picked one out from the edge of the garden.
"Really? We don't have anything like that near our apartment, but our gardens aren't nearly this beautiful, either."
"Thank you for the compliments, Anita. We've had this garden for a long time... for 40 years, I believe, since we got started on it when Cerise was pregnant." Duncan chuckled and retrived a few baskets next the glass entrance from whence they came, and Becky tugged her chair a little closer to table when he did. It was awkward for Duncan to shuffle past her, and he'd almost hit her in the head with one of the three identical baskets, but he offered one to Anita and hectically moved on with his life.
"She was the one who laid down most of the foundations, of course... and she'd never gardened before. You should have seen the mess, it was really something else," he offered Cruz a basket with a chuckle, and when the deed was done, he moved on towards inspecting the flowers himself. He gravitated towards the pomegranate tree, idly seeing if any were ripe enough to pick, "Thankfully, Cerise's mother and Rebecca were there at the time to help us out. The whole Bellamy lot was here ripping out stray weeds and clearing the area, and Becky was only 8 or 9 at the time."
Duncan's idle conversation was interrupted by a few small forces, though. When Anita spoke to the flowers, a few dimly lit fairies stuck their heads out from behind leaves and petals, their small heads protected by hay-like hair with dew dripping from their luminescent skin. They didn't respond to Anita in words, but one (who smelled and looked faintly of vanilla) peered through the veil and walked near Anita's hand.
A few others peered through the vine where Cruz and the children one, pointing towards their hands, as well, their spindly root-fingers tickling the tip of their fingers. Jilllette giggled brightly while Jerri backed away, almost frightened, backing away and towards the safety of his uncle's side.
It was only then that Duncan noticed the small fae spring towards with eager company. "...Oh! They usually don't come out from the garden in the afternoon..." he walked towards where Anita was, and croutched forward to stare at the vanilla-like Seelie, pointing still towards Anita's hand, "It looks like he wants to climb onto your shoulder, Anita, but he wants permission to do so."
Jillette had already scooped up the fairy (who was kicking, with as much strength as a lightweight could, but to no avail) into the grip of her hands and plopped it square on her shoulder. It was true that these fairies had no wings whatsoever, and Jillette's in particular looked more a well-crafted mound of dirt and left-over flower petals, but they had no mouth to bite with and nothing peculiar to say. It was, all in all, a friendly bunch, and those who didn't stray towards Duncan and his group were staring deep into the ivy gate.
"I think they'd like us to go into the fruits and vegetables gardens. I was going to go back there a little bit later, but... what do you say, Anita? You too, Cruz."
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:24 pm
Cruz smiled pleasantly as both children tugged at his wrists and lead him over to Anita and the blossoming tulips. There was an assortment of colors, lovely pinks, purples, white, and yellows, but the reds stuck out and were plentiful. How many would be needed to fill a soul bottle? That was something Cruz still couldn't wrap his mind around, the filling process. Perhaps those questions would be answered once he saw it in action.
"That's amazing." Anita sighed, in awe at Duncan's short story. She couldn't recall if he had spoken the name Cerise before but it wasn't too hard to figure out who he was referring to, a faint trace of sympathy lining her features afterwards.
Looking back to the flowers, Anita's and Cruz's eyes widened. Jerri stuck close to the frei, one small hand still wrapped around his low hanging wrist. Both arms were dropped limpy, lips parted to show his teeth in a perplexed and enthralled pout, bright emerald eyes gleaming with sunshine and childlike wonder. The initial warning of fairies went over Cruz's head, never having heard of or seen such creatures before, but the luscious, earthy scents met his nostrils and the frei hovered comfortably lower, ribbon tangled in the grass like a curled snake. His guardian had a similar reaction, her own green eyes wide and alert, pale cheeks flushed with excitement. Anita kept very still so as not to startle the tiny creature. Its scent was inviting and, once it began the approach, her smile couldn't help but give way to a quiet laugh. Jillette's giggle caused Cruz to chuckle himself, though it was soon interrupted as Jerri released his arm and darted back towards Duncan. His posture straightened and Cruz floated up a bit higher, scaled wings twitching anxiously.
"Are they usually in another place?" Anita asked, her eyes not leaving the small sprite as it stretched out a hand and pointed. She tilted her head slightly, smiling in bemusement, but Duncan quickly assuaged her confusion. "Oh! Yes, please," she chanced another laugh at herself, keeping the hand the fairy wanted still and steady while her other gestured to grant its request. For good measure, she gave the fairy a polite bow of her head.
The touch of its skin to hers caused a delightful tingling sensation. Once it was nestled on her hand, Anita gently raised it up to her shoulder so it wouldn't have to climb its way up and waited until it was seated comfortably before getting back on her feet. Cruz took the opportunity to return to his normal height, giving a quick flap of his wings to perform the act in one swift motion, and curled his fingers between Anita's own. She was so used to the action from him now that she didn't even need to look back. Instead she returned the hold and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"What do you think, Cruz? Fruits and veggies?"
Cruz glanced between Anita and Duncan, Jerri and Jillette, then to the fairy perched gingerly atop Anita's bare shoulder. The curve of her sun hat gave it the perfect amount of shade so it wouldn't burn or be too hot. It looked so strange compared to reavans and humans, but then again so did dogs. Its lack of mouth was perhaps the most disconcerting to Cruz for, despite its inability to speak, its eyes still looked worried. Dozens of similar eyes were locked onto the ivy gates of the fruit and vegetable gardens and Cruz could feel their tiny stares.
Something felt... off.
"Yes," he answered simply, though his tone was somewhat tentative. Realizing this, Cruz forced more of a smile and nodded, attempting to show more enthusiasm than uncertainty. "Let's see the veggies."
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:22 pm
Jillette sprinted through the ivy gates without so much as a warning, her fairy companion gripping tightly at her collar lest it wished to plummet head-first to the ground. Duncan followed shortly after, glancing at Cruz and Anita brightly, Jerri still clinging to his wrist.
The ivy gate itself was tall and so covered in flora that the metal was hard to see. As soon as they passed through it, a cold breeze washed over them and the shade of tall trees above fended against summer's swelling hot. Only splotches of sunlight showed through from above, which the fairies themselves were very attaracted to, excitedly tugging at their new friends' sleeves to edge them closer.
A majority of the fruits and vegetables were segmented off by fences, leafy greens from watermelons to others. A very small patch of strawberries stood right at the front of the impressively sized garden, expansive and about double the size of the flower patch.
Duncan took off his hat and fanned it, further cooling him off from the previous hot. It wasn't any remarkable feat to sweat admist a garden that required so much maintenance. Jerri finally let go of his hand, though it was only because he looked back and saw his mother trailing quietly after, marveling to herself at the solitude and quiet of the latter half of the garden. All in all, Becky enjoyed this area much more.
"Is it alright if we take some of the strawberries here, Duncan?" Becky leaned down and brushed her hand into the strawberries, marveling their spectacular red color and cool dew. "They look so fresh."
"No need to ask. Anita, again, if you'd like anything, feel more than free to take as much as you want. There's always more where these came from," he chuckled.
Becky waved her hand over at her children, and Jerri and Jillette obeyed, instincitvely drawing closer. They knelt next to their mother and picked a few strawberries, though after a while Jerri's eyes wandered over to the splotches of light just in front of the patch. He frowned at the fairies there, as they scared him a great deal, though they were pointing somewhere familiar.
Jerri stood up, which Jillette didn' take any notice to. Rebecca did, however, and she glanced up at the boy, who walked nearer to Duncan again, a safe spot-- that was, at least, until the boy slid right by, even past Anita and Cruz. Rebecca picked up the rim of her dress and paced past Duncan, who looked on at Jerri.
He grabbed Becky by the shoulder, who glared at him with caged frustration.
"He's just going out back, Becky. He didn't seem too enthused to pick flowers in the first place."
The rustling of bushes, and Jerry had already made his merry way through the second, smaller gate. It was harder to see through that one, and fairies were staring as he passed.
Becky pursed her lips. "I'm just trying to keep an eye out."
"You've been a bit tough on him today, don't you think?" Duncan turned to fully face Becky, furrowing his brows, "You told me earlier that Jerri's been through a rough time lately at school. Maybe he just needs some time alone for himself."
Becky frowned.
--- 
Jerri knew this road well, even if the entrance was squeezed through some brushes. Past that, there was cobblestone clearly leading far, far ahead, closer to the sound of a stream a half-mile away. Even closer, though, was a gazebo, which Jerri missed very much.
The walk itself, if taken leisurely, was a good ten minutes away. But Jerri was good at running, so he decided to as much, slowing down only when he saw the silhouette of his family's beloved gazebo, filled with comfortable pillows, a desk, and many, many books.
Strangely, though, there was someone in there.
"Hello?"
His voice echoed through the trees, though only the faintest whisper of it passed through the garden. It caught the attention of the fae, who stared amongst themselves and marched away from the other humans.
---
Becky was staring tentatively at where Jerri had left almost immediately, then at the strawberry patch. Jillette stared back, smiling an innocent smile, but Becky sighed defeated and paced past Duncan.
"Just... I'll be right back, okay? I just want to check and see what he's up to."
"There's no way he's at the gazebo yet, Becky. Maybe after a few more minutes? The fruit--"
Becky had already wordlessly went on through the brush, though, and Duncan watched helplessly. He stared at the ground, where fairies were staring back at him, as was Jillette.
"I'm sorry about this," Duncan looked up at Anita, "Becky's been very stressed lately. And I've never in my life seen her pass up Cerise's strawberries, she loves this garden so much."
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:13 am
Relief from the heat was instantaneous. Anita closed her eyes and sighed, relishing it. Her own small companion clung to the spaghetti strap of her dress shirt, though it was partially shielded from the wind by a thick, dark braid hanging over one shoulder. Cruz felt the breeze too, and it was a nice momentary respite, but the croc soon searched for and straddled any line of direct sunlight and warmth to keep himself at a high but balanced temperature. Everything in this garden smelled so fresh and ripe, not to mention the colors which were so vibrant Anita could swear she just stepped into a painting.
Anita turned attentively to look at Duncan and Becky, beaming with delight. The property was so expansive and gorgeous, she was glad Cruz was here to share it with her. Even if it was normal to Duncan and the rest of his family, it was as close to a fantasy adventure Anita had ever been on.
"Thank you," said breathlessly, gazing around at all the things she could pick with no idea of where to start. First thing was first, she wanted to get Duncan squared away on red things so that was what she would concentrate on. Once they had a good enough collection of choices, then she could pick out things to take home and share. "Cruz, you go ahead and pick anything you like. Color, texture, shape, anything, okay? Cruz?"
Like Becky, the frei was distracted by the boy's sudden departure. He tilted his head, fingers shifting nervously, then turned to watch as Rebecca began to follow. When she was stopped, Cruz's gaze immediately fell back to Jerri just as he slipped into obscurity past another gate. It was easy for him to pick up on the tension between the two humans, as well as the worry coursing through Jerri's mother. As she pushed passed and began to follow, Cruz glanced back to Duncan, Jillette, and then Anita, before pursuing Rebecca. The raevan kept his distance enough not to disturb her gait, but close enough that he could easily see where she was heading. The two slipped past the gate, one after the other, and left Duncan, Anita, and Jilette to the fairies.
Anita pursed her lips. She could also tell that there was some tension, but it mostly read as awkward mothering to her. Something that Cruz shouldn't butt into. However, she didn't want to cause a ruckus by calling him back, perhaps startling Becky and making things seem even more dramatic. Instead, she reached back and adjusted her sun hat, checked to see that the vanilla scented fairy was still safe and secure, then joined Jillette and Duncan near the strawberries, one bright red tulip still in hand.
"It's okay," she assured him, offering a smile, "I'm sure once she sees nothing's wrong, she'll come back." Another light breeze shifted, ruffling their hair and clothes. "I don't blame her, this garden's beautiful." One glance to the bright red strawberries, plump and juicy looking, sparked an idea, "Do you think one of them could work for your bottle?" and she pointed towards Jillette with the tip of the flower.
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