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 Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 7:22 am
Aurick ll 1
Aurick yawned into his hand as he rounded the final street corner on his way home. While he knew the release of the autumn menu was always a busy occasion that didn't make it any easier to live through. Early mornings came even earlier and evening clean up bled into night. Mya's had even brought several of his cousins from the farm to help out for the week by running deliveries and prepping supplies. It was always a treat to see them and while the rush could be hard at times Aurick was always pleased to know it was because they were so well loved.
When he came through the front door he half expected to be bombarded by the sounds of children playing, especially since he hadn't heard anything when he'd been outside. The silence was more than a little off putting. "I'm back! Anyone home?" Maybe they were all out?
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 7:25 am
Audra ll 1
"He's back." She hissed and turned over her shoulder toward the door. Keeping things quiet and out of sight had been hard enough with their mama home. So long as they didn't make too much noise she wouldn't have to be disturbed, but with him...If they didn't come out to see him he would track them down and it would be ruined!
They couldn't keep the little beasty hid forever.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 8:15 am
Harika 1
"I'm here~" Harika had a bundle of material in her arms as she walked downstairs to greet Aurick, the hybrid constantly busy now with making costumes for the theater. There was a whole production of a classic fairytale in the makings for autumn release and she was commissioned to do costumes for the majority of the cast, some of which she was just helping with designs while the rest she had taken on making herself to confirm that every stitch and detail was perfectly done. Thankfully the morning had been rather quiet without any of the children asking for her once they had finished with breakfast, and so Harika had gotten several designs started. It was nice knowing that she could work at home now, a far cry from how she once lived in a tiny studio and ran back and forth through the city to complete projects. Though now that she thought about things...maybe it was too quiet? The girls hadn't even asked her for dresses as of late, which was fairly surprising at least for Azeria who normally wanted something new or altered once or twice a week.
"Though the girls should be home too." The older ones were out for a bit, but the younglings...where were the girls? Harika frowned and looked towards her husband. "Do you think something is strange here?" She whispered, frowning as she looked between Aurick and the stairs where the girls normally would be rushing towards their father to greet him and check for treats.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 8:30 am
Azeria 1
Azeria tugged at the piece of cloth that the duruf puppy was holding onto. She had been quietly sitting down on the floor while playing with the puppy, the tug-o-war going back and forth until Audra's comment made her drop the cloth. "Duke can behave, right?" She addressed the puppy, going for a regal name after washing him up to reveal a cream colored pup with light russet brown speckles. Perhaps she watched too many fantasy productions about nobility and what not, but she enjoyed the name after a long debate.
"We have to move soon or they'll come check on us." She frowned before moving, adjusting her colorful skirts and giving the puppy a pat on the head as she walked towards the door. "Behave." She knew that they couldn't hide the puppy forever, but it wasn't as if she could just run down the stairs with him...right? So far they had managed a few days of hiding the puppy...but it was getting harder the more comfortable he got in the house, especially when he got excited and started barking when they played or he heard something outside.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 8:49 am
Audra ll 2
"I hope so." She adjusted a piece of ribbon around his neck and tied it off into a pretty bow. When she sat back, Audra stared at it a moment longer before undoing it, retying the bow for a second time, and then a third before nodding. Better. Much better.
Audra rose up and looked down at the puppy. Part of her didn't want to leave him alone in the room, especially after seeing the way he'd tried to chew on just about everything. Still, it wasn't like she could stay with him so she gave the duruf a long look before going out the door.
"Welcome home papa!" They were a little late getting to the stairs, but it was better than not showing up, right? She was genuinely happy to see the man so the smile she wore as she came down was bright. "Azeria made a tea party for us so we wouldn't bother you, mama. We just had to change first."
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 8:55 am
Aurick ll 2
Aurick let out a mock gasp. "My worst fears have come to life. The fabric has swallowed my wife and taken her prisoner." How could she even see to get down the stairs with all of that in her arms? Hanging his satchel on a hook by the door, Aurick closed the distance between them and while he did lean in to give her cheek his arms reached for the bundle instead of the woman. "Here, let me help."
As he adjusted the bundle he tried listening for them again and frowned. "This isn't goood," he murmured towards Harika. Even when the younger two came into view he was suspicious. "A tea party? And you had to change? If you spilled tea on your dress you should bring it downstairs so we can wash it before the stain sets."
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 11:50 am
Harika 2
"Guess it's a good thing I have a prince to help me." Teased Harika as Aurick grabbed some of the materials, a smile of amusement dancing across her features at his commentary. "Thank you." She shifted what remained in her arms and nodded her head at the murmuring, her gaze only narrowing more when both girls appeared. "Is that so? I agree with your Papa. I can go grab the dresses if they're dirty, I needed to do some washing as it was." She shifted the material in her arms again, setting it down on the nearby table and returning to try for the stairs.
"Do you have anything else that might need cleaned?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 11:55 am
Azeria 2
"Cute." Despite her nervousness, Azeria appreciated the bow before making certain that Duke was still entertained by the piece of cloth. They would have to find other toys for him soon, but she hadn't had the chance to go shopping yet without her mother hovering around. Next time though she was determined to sneak in one of the little wooden figurines to hopefully prevent him from chewing on other things in their room. For now though she just prayed the twisted strand of cloth was enough to amuse him while they were gone, as much as she hated leaving him alone.
She wasn't certain what Audra was going to say, but the excuse of a tea party seemed fair enough and the girl nodded along with it. "St-stains? Oh! No! We just wanted to wear more casual things...were we going out today?" Azeria rushed as soon as she realized their mother was going towards their room. "Right, Audra? Did we not want to go shopping if Mama or Papa had free time?" Oh, but that would be an even worse idea if they left the puppy alone...what did they do now?! "Though I might not feel up to it...so maybe I can stay behind if you go out."
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:04 pm
Aurick ll 3
If he hadn't been suspicious before he certainly would be now. Aurick cocked an eyebrow, resisted the urge to look at Harika in an 'uh huh, check this out' sort of way before turning toward Azeria. "Sweetheart, if you aren't feeling well you really should be in bed. How about I tuck you in, make some soup and once Mama gets the wash started we can have a nice, quiet evening inside?"
She could be feeling unwell, but Aurick had a hunch there was something more going on here. Something they didn't want their parents to find and now he just wanted to know what it was. Not because he was mad - he trusted his kids not to hide anything nefarious - but just out of genuine curiosity.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:08 pm
Audra ll 3
"We wanted to go shopping but we...uh...we got tummy aches. From all the sweets. So now I think we should, uhm, go outside! Right, Azeria?" She looked at her sister with a half smile. "Fresh air is good when you're feeling bad, right? So we should definitely do that. Also it's so pretty and mama's been inside all day, papa just got home....It would just be good."
Anything to keep their mother from going up those stairs. She was already up far enough that Audra wanted to grab her dress and pull her back down.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:38 pm
Harika 3
"Is that so? We definitely can't go out today then, not if you aren't feeling well." Harika paused on the stairs as she listened, her gaze flickering between the girls and her husband. What was happening here? They definitely were up to something, that much was fairly obvious at this point. Had they destroyed their room somehow? She hadn't heard any explosions while she was working on costumes...but then again she had been fairly distracted this morning with everything going on. "Or maybe we should just open the windows and air out the house, get some of that fresh autumn air in here to cool things off." She mused with a small smile, determined to get to the bottom of things about why the girls were so keen on staying away from their room. "If you want to go ahead outside with your Papa then I can go take care of the windows."
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:41 pm
Azeria 3
Oh shoot! Why wasn't anything working out in their favor? It really looked like Mama was determined to get into their room and the very thought made Azeria's heart race. Should she have hid Duke in her closet? Maybe that would have made more sense that leaving him there by the bed to play with the makeshift cloth toy. "I uh..." She glanced between Audra and her parents, trying her hardest to not appear completely overwhelmed and panicked.
"I can open the windows, if you'd like. You have so much going on, Mama. You definitely should go ahead and get some sunlight with Audra for a break, let me help out instead." She tried, knowing it was a weak answer even as she moved up a stair to try to be one step ahead of her mother.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 1:10 pm
Aurick ll 4
"Azeria, come on, your mother can handle it. She-" He paused when he heard a noise from upstairs; a sort of rustling and- "Was that a whine?" It definitely sounded like one, but maybe he'd misheard. The man tried to listen for another one and when he didn't hear one he looked at the girls, this time with a firmer glint in his mismatched gaze.
"I think...you should start with the window in the girl's room, Harika. If Azeria isn't feeling well then that's where we should go first, right?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 1:13 pm
Audra ll 4
"You shouldn't start in anyone's rooms because nothings wrong!" So she definitely shouldn't have gotten that loud, but this was too much! Audra moved forward to go around her father, little hands reaching out to push him toward the back of the house. "Come - on - we gotta - go - outside."
That stupid little pup was going to get himself caught! Was he lonely? Was that why he'd made the sound?! And there! he was doing it again!
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 1:52 pm
Harika 4
"Girls?" Either they had done something to a neighbor that had gotten on their nerves or there was a small creature upstairs with that whine. And Harika truly hoped her young daughters hadn't started kidnapping other children in the area or anything like that. "I think I really should go and open that window." She took another step forward despite her protests, the hybrid pausing after a moment and letting out a sigh.
"Or you can tell us what's going on before I enter the room. Maybe we'll listen." Right? She glanced towards Aurick, her gaze puzzled despite the firm press of her lips as she tried to appear stern towards their daughters. If they were hiding something upstairs then the gig was up, that much was for certain, but at least she could give them a chance to explain. "We can go outside after we figure out what's going on here."
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