Introduction
Coming Home
This was the FS entry I used to receive Canti
Quote:
C. You (the parent) Have just received your ant-child from D-corps facilities. No matter what happened the result was the same; you became a parent.
And now, you're taking the little toddler into your house. how does he react? Is it clean or a complete mess? Happy or upset? Focus on your parent-child relationship in this one. XD
The ant wasn’t so sure that he liked this man, but at least he was clean. Black, glistening fingers pushed themselves imposingly into the feathery sienna-brown strands just within reach, running the texture over the sensitive digits. There was no trace of dust or dirt (or any semblance of split-ends, for that matter!) and if he leaned in just a bit… Yes, this man smelled quite nice, too. Lucas raised a brow silently at the little insectoid, but made no moves to interject. In fact, the photographer was quite excited- a child that actually seemed stable and could sit still for more than three minutes just playing with his hair? It almost seemed too good to be true!
“What’s it
doing?” Came a distinctly masculine voice to the side. Oh. The ant had almost forgotten about him. This male was much taller than the brunette, but that accounted for nothing much when the man had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The D-Corper didn’t know the object quite yet by name, but he was scared of it and the way it created smoke that stank and made his eyes itch every time the breeze passed it up to him. Wasn’t that man afraid that it was going to light him on fire once it got close enough? Maybe it was a fuse… Luckily for the ant, it didn’t seem as if his male (yes, the clean one was his now) enjoyed the smoke either and kept more than a few paces ahead.
“
He seems to be entertaining himself,” Lucas, the guardian, stated, then inquired, “…What
are you doing, Canti?”
Oh, that was his ‘name’ now, wasn’t it? At least that was who the two men looked towards when the word was spoken. ‘I am Canti, and Canti means me,’ he reminded himself, slowly lowering his fingers from the brunette’s hair. To the question, he gave a non-committal sound and leaned his head in, cushioning it against the guardian’s shoulder. He tried to ignore the red-haired man following them, especially when the man casually glanced to the side then shamelessly scratched himself. This was a public street!
“Look, Canti, there’s our home!” Lucas announced in an excited whisper, trying to get the boy’s attention somewhere other than his guardian’s ‘angel’. If he knew Keiran –and he did- the draconic man was doing something unfavorable –as he often was- and would corrupt the poor ant before they even managed to get him home. Thankful for the reprieve, Canti swung his head around.
The mound-to-be was… quaint. Two-storied, and relatively small, the house looked like a pleasant place to live if the outside was anything to judge by. Sure, the higher windows seemed to be beginning to mold and the paint was faded with all the sunlight coming to it, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed! The boy licked his lips as he studied it, then smiled silently- it’d do. As they passed through the gate in the picketed fence, Canti made note of the squealing hinges. Someone should really fix that…
With a jumble of keys, the front door was opened, but there was a pause and a moment of jiggling while Lucas wiped off his feet and stepped in. Keiran simply strode in behind them, kicking the door shut once he was through.
“Well, this is welcoming hall and over there is the den. Through that door is the kitchen and then the washing room. Then there’s upstairs… Well, I guess you’ll figure it all out soon, huh? Want to go explore or see your room?”
“Explore?” The ant inquired, looking around at the house. So dusty! Sure, in some places –like the coffee table and the television- it was clean and hinted at the presence of lemon-scented pledge but the rest of the house was just collecting dust. Was Lucas afraid to touch it? As he was set down on the tile floor, Canti eyed the latex gloves his guardian seemed to insist upon wearing. Not all man-things did that… “Live alone?” Were they the only ones here?
“No,” Lucas smiled softly, trying to keep the expression from going awol, “You’ve got two big brothers, bud.”
“Brothers?” The word was repeated curiously. What did this word mean? Before he could ask anything or go anywhere, there came a yowling from up the stairs. As if on cue, their came a blur of brown and tan, smudged with blue and green. The mass of fur rolled down the stairs, shaping out into what seemed to be two serpentine bodies intertwined. Ferrets, though at the time the insect had had absolutely no idea what to call the overgrown animals. Seeing the trio at the door, the fighting paused, then one of the weasels reared up to a stand and roared an imitation of something scary.
“Look, Frances! Our dino-leader has brought food home!” They bellowed (quite pitifully with such a young voice), using one clawed paw to point. The ferret-boy was clad in a pair of khaki shorts and a very tattered excuse of a green plaid shirt. Dear God. Frances(?!), on the floor, giggled at his twin’s antics and slowly rose to his feet, bearing his sharp teeth in comical ferocity at the newcomer.
“Yes, brother. Let’s eat him quickly!”
Canti made a rather inhuman sound at that moment, sounding partially like a squeal. No! He didn’t want to be eaten. Twirling around, all four of his arms latched onto Lucas’ pants and hauled him up into the man’s arms, still screaming and all but ready to sink his teeth into something. Lucas gripped his abdomen and waist responsively, curling his arms reassuringly around the boy. He peered down at the ferrets scolding as they slunk closure, growling their little pretend-noises. “Frances! Carlton! Don’t go scaring your brother like that on his first day. No dinosaurs today… and
what do you have all over you? Keiran!”
The dragon held his sides, bellowing out short spurts of laughter at the predicament and making no move to help. Now it was getting good! Panting and shivering still with his latest shock, Canti gave the boys below a look of scorn. That was a mean trick! They weren’t really going to eat him! …Were they?
“It’s kool-aid-“ Frances began, but was abruptly cut off by Carlton’s exclamation of “BLOOD!”
Lucas shook his head slightly, patting reassuringly at his quaking child. “You alright, Canti?”
“Come on, brother. If the leader says you’re a part of our family, then we aren’t allowed to eat you. Come down! Let’s play!” Carlton called, echoed by Fances’ ‘Yeah, let’s play!’
“No.” Lucas told them plainly, shaking his head. “You’re all getting a bath! Look at you! You’re fur is all stuck together… you’re a complete mess! Don’t groan at me- don’t give me those eyes. It’s not going to work. Jesus, your clothes… Yes, I think you all need a bath. What do you think, Canti?”
The ant perked, blinking. A bath? A small smile touched his lips, and there came an ecstatic nodding. He liked this man, Lucas, after all.
--Oh, the horrors to come
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