|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:06 pm
Unwilling to let Donat very far out of his sight after the boy's brief disappearance a few days before, Kumoru kept one hand resting on the young goat's shoulder as they walked through town. The mage was still not completely sure if he should still be punishing the boy for running off like he had in the middle of the night, or spoiling him with small treats for returning home safely.
The latter seemed easier, and so the necromancer figured a small trip out for ice cream was in order. If nothing else, it would ensure that he had Donat's full attention long enough to lecture him on what a bad idea it is to leave the house alone at midnight.
Donat looked uncomfortable as he walked alongside his father, wondering if he was going to get yelled at or something. The mage's slender fingers held fast to his shoulder, tighting their grip ever so slightly whenever the goat got a pace ahead.
With any luck, they would run into someone to talk to or something, to get rid of the unhappy worry Donat felt. He knew Daddy was glad he was home safe and all, but it still left a rather awkward feeling between them for the time being.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:27 pm
Anoki was so happy he actually skipped down the street, feet clopping against the pavement noisily. Things were finally starting to look up. The two new additions to the household were settling in, and he was even a bit used to them. Myung-Ki had actually listened to him when he asked the dragon to back off Harkaitz for once. And he was doing better in his math lessons, so well in fact that Raven was treating him to ice cream. Him. Without the others, who were stuck at home with Mahou. It wasn't that Anoki wished the girls ill, just that it was nice to have a little downtime with his mother once in a while.
The good mood was slightly infectious, and Myung-Ki scuttled to keep up with Anoki. After all, it wouldn't look right if he was walking behind his person. The thought of ice cream wasn't driving him; even if he knew what it was he would have shied away. But he was promised a new shiny to replace the one that exploded, and he liked that idea a good deal more than any food.
Grimacing, Raven walked a few paces behind Anoki and Myung-Ki. The next time she would stay at home with the terrible twosome instead of offer to take this duo out for a treat. Or better, she would just leave all of them with Mahou and go for a nice walk. That would be relaxing. But having to keep up with rambunctious children wasn't what she'd had in mind when she'd proposed the outing. While Anoki had grown somewhat, he didn't seem to have matured in the slightest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Donat perked up a little at seeing a stranger with horns approach. He was not sure he had seen another child with pointy horns like him before, even though this stranger was older than he was, and his horns were curly. And he had a beard.
Grinning, the goat waved to the approaching horned friend, determining immediately, of course, that anyone who looked that much similar to himself had to be a friend. "Hiyas!" he called. "You getting ice cream, too?" Perhaps their similarities were even more deep-set than superficial appearances.
Seeing the boy return to his usual cheerful and almost recklessly outgoing self erased the lines of worry from Kumoru's forehead. He let Donat go and strode ahead to get the door to the ice cream shop to hold it for the goat-boy, and the other approaching figures if they were, in fact, headed to the same place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:22 pm
The approach of the younger boy startled Anoki, despite the fact that he could see him coming. The question startled him further, but he nodded. "Yeah. Mama R-ray and m-me. I'm n-nor sure Myung-Ki w-wants any."
At the mention of his name Myung-Ki looked up, glanced at the new boy, and snorted. If someone was trying to fool him with a lookalike of his person, they had a lot of work to do. This one was too short, and the horns and eyes and everything were all wrong!
Before Anoki could continue, Raven had caught up. "Are you coming? If not, we can go home." Despite her statement the teacher kept walking, straight through the door that was being held open without so much as a thank you. While she was there she might as well treat herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:04 am
"What's your name?" Donat asked, his voice thick with excitement. "You have really cool horns!" he added, pointing at them. They were so much curlier than Donat's own. The goat doubted his would ever get that long.
Kumoru shrugged off being passed by without a thank-you. It had happened before. He remained standing in the doorway with his foot propping the door open, waiting on Donat and his friend and, er, dragon.
"Come on in, before I let too many bugs into the ice cream shop."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:18 pm
"Anoki K-kenelm. And th-this is Myung-Ki," he added, gesturing to the dragonling next to him. At the compliment he colored, though the blush was barely noticable. "Th-thanks. I l-like yours too!" Sure, they were shorter, but at least he didn't lose one of them. Then he realied he didn't know the boy's name, and opened his mouth to ask.
"Anoki Kenelm, stop gawping and come in, or we're going back," Raven warned from inside the shop. Her voice was level, but still carried onto the street. If he wasn't in the shop by the time she had ordered, he would miss out, but she wouldn't.
Flinching, Anoki pointed inwards and slowly started towards the door of the ice cream shop. "C-coming?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:11 pm
Donat bounded in after the other boy excitedly, and bowed to him a little. "Nice to meet you, Anoki Kenelm! I'm Donat," he said, grinning broadly as he straightened. "And Myung-Ki looks awesome, too!" the goat added, bowing to the dragon as well.
Once they were all inside, Kumoru let the door swing shut behind them, and walked up closer to the counter so he could see the menu above it. He glanced at the two boys and the dragon and considered trying to direct their attention to the selection of ice cream flavors, too, but then figured that Donat at least would not be kept from a treat like ice cream for very long, and would look himself. Besides, it seemed like there were so many flavors, the mage would need all the time he could get to pick for himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:00 pm
Anoki had never been bowed to before, and it caught him off guard. What was he supposed to do in return? He decided on a nod, which he could still do while walking. Once they were inside he took a deep breath, allowing him to respond vocally. "Th-thanks!"
Even though the words weren't entirely clear, it was obvious that the boy was praising him. And why not? Myung-Ki was fully confident that he was a prime example of what a dragon, or anyone really, should be. The bow was icing on the cake, and enough to mollify the dragon. Whether or not this new kid was an impostor, he had good taste.
"Chocolate with marshmallow sauce, please." It was a forgone conclusion that Raven would order chocolate, as it was one of the guiltless pleasures she frequently indulged in. The marshmallow sauce was a bit unusual- normally she would have gotten hot fudge- but the company was different, and she felt that a change in flavors would be appropriate.
At the sound of Raven making her order, Anoki twitched and looked at the menu. "W-wow," he breathed, taking in all the flavors. "Wh-what are you g-getting?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:43 pm
Donat turned to look up at the menu, his wide blue eyes widening a bit more at the selection. He could read quite well by this point in his life, but it still took him a few minutes to get through the whole list of flavors and choices.
"Wow, I dunno," he told Anoki as he scanned the list again.
The necromancer smiled faintly and glanced over at the boys. "I got a banana split the last time I came here, and that was really good, if you need a recommendation," he told them, then turned his gaze back to the menu. "I think this time, I might just get a double-scoop of that cherry vanilla, though."
Banana split? Donat had seen a picture of one once in one of his picture books, but he had never tried one. He liked ice cream, and he loved bananas, so it stood to reason that this banana split would be twice as good.
"'kay, I want a banana split," the goat declared, looking at Anoki, then following his father over to the other open register at the counter, beside Raven, to place his order.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:29 pm
The menu was mindboggling. With so many choices, even Anoki had a tough time figuring out what he wanted to eat. Somehow he had to narrow things down. The reccomendation was taken to heart, and even though Anoki had no idea what a banana split was, it sounded good. Good enough to eat, hopefully. "B-banana sp-split for me t-too, please."
At the other end of the counter, Raven nodded crisply and handed over her money. "And a banana split, please." The server was quick enough with her chocolate ice cream cup- cones were far too messy for Raven's nitpicky tastes- and the woman started right away. Letting the mashmallow and chocolate melt together wouldn't taste good at all, and ice cream was best cold anyway.
The sight of the actual ice cream made Anoki antsy. He started shifting from foot to foot, eyeing the cones and cups and flavors behind the counter. Hopefully the person who put everything together would be fast, because he wasn't sure how long he could wait!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:40 pm
Kumoru placed his order and handed the cashier the money, then passed the eager Donat his little paper bowl when the banana split was ready.
"Want to go sit down?"
It was huge! Donat needed both hands to hold it.
"Sure, let's sit down," the goat agreed with a touch of urgency in his voice. Not only did he want to start eating this right away, but he was afraid he would drop it if he stood there too long trying to hold it. The paper bowl felt a little floppy.
"Where are you sitting?" he asked Anoki with a smile. Seemed like there were enough open tables, so Anoki could pick one and he and his dad could just sit at the one right next to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:58 pm
It really was a big treat, and Anoki couldn't wait to try it. Once his was served he grabbed it from the counter and watched Donat, before realizing that he was supposed to choose a seat. There were so many, but a couple tables near the window of the shop seemed to have the most light. "M-maybe there?"
Raven frowned. She hadn't planned on staying to eat the ice cream. But if they left, the boy would probably spill his ice cream and complain. Worse, if she protested, the man might get the idea that she didn't have control of the situation. That settled it. She took a seat next to Anoki, setting her ice cream on the table. Hopefully he would eat fast.
Ice cream wasn't up Myung-Ki's alley, but at least the table was near the sun. The dragonling scurried underneath and curled up near Anoki's feet, letting the sun touch his back but not his face. It was a decent spot for a nap, at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:25 pm
Donat followed Anoki and plopped down at a booth adjacent to Anoki's table. He set his ice cream down on the table, leaned around the seat on the other side so he could see the other boy, then figured it would not be held against him if he started bolting down his ice cream. He had to eat it before it melted, after all.
"Enjoy your banana split!" Donat told him with a grin, then promptly dug in.
Kumoru slid into the booth seat across from Donat, with Anoki and company behind him. He was about to caution Donat about the dangers of eating ice cream too quickly, but as the boy attacked his banana split with a spoon, the mage decided that brainfreeze was something that one had to discover for himself.
The mage ate a few bites, then turned sideways on the bench so he at least did not have his back to the others. He watched Myung-Ki curl up under the table, then glanced up at Raven.
If Donat was eventually supposed to get a dragon, too, it might be good to start asking questions now. "How old is Myung-Ki?" he asked, glancing at both Raven and Anoki.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:49 pm
"Y-you too!" Anoki returned, immediately sticking a spoon into his ice cream and taking a first bite. The first bite was special and usually worth savoring when it was something delicious, like really good ice cream. This was even better than usual, and as soon as the first bite was finished he started to wolf the rest down.
Eating at a far more sedate speed, Raven only looked at the others when a question was asked of them. Usually she would let Anoki answer questions about his dragon, so she knew he was paying attention, but the boy was too occupied with his treat. "A few months, I would say," she answered. "Four perhaps. Why do you ask, sir?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:42 pm
"Well, Donat will be getting a dragon of his own at some point. We don't quite know when, yet, but I was just wondering how much work it takes to take care of a dragon like that. Do you keep him at home and all?"
Kumoru picked up his cup of ice cream and held it as he glanced back to Raven and Myung-Ki. Easier to just forget the table, since he was between it and the people to whom he was talking. And he could just eat carefully so he would not spill any on himself. The mage was not counting on the cherry-vanilla lasting long enough to melt.
Donat scooped a heaping spoonful of ice cream off of the top of his banana split, studded with nuts and dripping with chocolate sauce. Then he opened his mouth as big as it would go, and slurped at the sweet chilly lump. As he swallowed, though, he started to get an unpleasant tingling all up the side of his neck, and into his head.
Was this that "brainfreeze" thing he had heard about?
Setting the spoon aside, Donat tilted his head to the side and shook it a little, trying to get the pain to fade. It started to go away after a second, but not quite fast enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
