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 Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:05 pm
"Wanna go hoooome!"
"We'll go home in a little bit, Selah," Aiden's voice, obviously tired, came a few moments later after shushing the red-headed child in his arms. Khalindra was skipping along in front of him, kicking at a rock with the toe of her shoes.
Her father had MADE her wear shoes today - but at least they were pretty Mary Janes.
"You're going to just leave me here, right?" Khalindra asked, looking pleadingly at her father as she neared the door to the stationary shop. Someone was always there and she really did NOT want to be around her younger sister at the moment.
She was cranky and bratty and WAY too hyper for her liking. Not that Khalindra was always calm and collected - she wasn't. But that was at night time, not during the day.
"I don't know...."
"PLEASE daddy!"
"We'll just see if someone's here that's old enough to look after you, then. And if so..."
"THANK YOU DADDY!" and off she zoomed, into the store, "Helloooo?!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:36 pm
Donny found himself hiding out at the store more often lately, as it was a warm and comfortable spot where he knew he would be safe, and his parents would look for him if they ever needed him. It gave him a perfect getaway without actually getting in trouble, and he enjoyed flexing his new independance. He'd really gotten used to being on his own.
Of course, that didn't make the loneliness any easier.
"Helloooo?!"
He perked up from the book he was reading on Napolean, when he heard an unfamiliar call. His first instinct was to look up towards where he knew Linneas would pop out and greet visitors, if he was available. A few moments later he realized, Linneas wasn't. With a sigh he closed his book, and put it carefully back on the shelf behind him. He remained curled up in the soft, cushiony chair he loved so, and bent his head to get a good look at the doorway.
"In here."
It was a little late for visitors.. but then, when would any of the Tales ever really worry about what time they visited the shop?
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:44 pm
Hearing the voice, Khalindra peeked in the general direction. Ah! someone was here! Hopefully, he was older than her and would agree to 'keep her safe' so her father would leave.
Maybe she'd turn on her little charm.
"Hi!"
The little tale dressed in pretty layered skirts and a plain white long sleeved shirt made her way towards him and very comfortable looking chair.
Aiden followed, grumpy baby in his arms, "Hello. I'm Aiden, this is Selah, and the little girl oogling your chair is my daughter Khalindra."
Since Khali wasn't introducing herself, he would.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:50 pm
Donny stiffened slightly when he saw how many had come in, and he knew none of them. A little bright one caught his eye as he greeted her, and he watched her curious eyes carefully, following them as they went about their business.
He looked up at Aiden for a moment, sizing the man up before nodding brusquely and turning his eyes back to the Tale. "My name is Adonis." A soft, capable voice murmured. "Nice to meet you."
He offered the Tale a bold, charming smile, as his keen eyes took her in. She looked familiar.. he couldn't quite place it.. but he liked it. The little girl was acceptable.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:55 pm
"A pleasure," Khalindra returned, giving a small curtsey. It was easier to do with these loose clothes than it had been with the more restricting victorian clothing.
It was the politeness of the golden-haired boy that instantly made him okay in her book, "What're you doing here?" She asked softly before sitting down on the floor beside him, "Are you like me?"
Aiden nodded and was about to speak when Selah let out a piercing scream that sounded much like demanding they leave. Obviously, Khalindra was in meeting mode and would NOT go easily.
"Uh...Would you mind terribly if I left to bring this little brat here home?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:10 pm
She reminded him a little of his sister Vidya, as polite and almost as friendly as the blue Tale had been when she was just a child. As she moved to sit down on the floor, he winced and curled himself up tighter into one corner of the chair.
"Don't sit on the floor, it's dirty. You'll get your dress all mussed. There's enough room for you on this chair as well, you're small and it's too big for just one person anyway."
Before he could answer any of her questions, the piercing scream tore through his thoughts. He covered his ears with his hands, and glared up at Aiden.
"Go!" Adonis commanded, waving him off with one hand though it was ready to cover his ears again should the tiny scream machine let out another howl.
Once he was sure that there would be no more interruptions, he shook the echoes of screaming out of his head, and collected himself. "As I was saying.. I was reading here. And if you mean am I a Tale, then yes, I'm like you. In fact.."
As he was saying this, his eyes slit, and he stared her down. Was that it..?
".. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you and I look quite a lot alike."
This had never happened before. He'd never met a Tale, or anyone really, who looked like him. There were some obvious differences of course, but.. she kind of looked like she could be his sister.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:23 pm
The offer was definitely an addition of a few hundred points to Donny's score and Khalindra beamed up at him, "Thank you! Daddy got mad at me last time I ruined one of my skirts," she said wisely before she moved to sit on the chair with the young man. It was much better than the floor and it was easy to see why Donny seemed to like it so much.
And then her sister let out a howl that would break windows. Narrowing her eyes at the little child, "Please."
Aiden raised a brow at the boy demanding he left and shrugged. His daughter seemed to be in perfectly good hands and thus, giving attention to the squalling little one, he turned and left. He'd be back shortly.
"Reading?" she perked, almost drowning out the rest of his words. This boy knew how to READ? She was still learning, really, but she could do little sentences. The fact that he was reading added another fifty bajillion points, "I'm just le--! Oh!"
She caught that.
Narrowing her eyes a bit she examined him. Blonde hair...Well, yes, she supposed they did look quite alike.
"We do, a little," she admitted. He didn't have her pretty eyes, though! However, he had really really pretty wings. How come she didn't have wings? "But you have really pretty wings."
There. She said it!
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:52 pm
Discerning eyes watched her stop herself in mid-sentence. Something to hide? Well, didn't we all.
His wings puffed up slightly at the compliment. Smart child, she was. "Yes, they are." He agreed, slowly unfurling them. They had been pulled together tightly in order to fit on the seat, but now that he sat at the corner, he could unfurl them out behind the chair. They continued to open to their full length, pressing against the bookcase to their left. He liked to show them off.
The night sky within them twinkled at her, each star winking in and out in a very lively fashion.
The wings had unfurled so far that it looked as though he could take her and the chair up and fly away if he just held on tight enough.
"But, you didn't come all this way to admire me." Well, maybe she did. He wouldn't have blamed her if it were true, but she was new to him, and therefore would never have known what she was missing. "Did you come for a purpose, or just a visit?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:02 pm
Her eyes widened as the wings spread out and she breathed out in awe. Man. Those were some pretty spifftastic wings. In fact, she had to resist the urge to reach out and touch them.
In fact, she had to sit on her hands to stop herself.
"No," she agreed. She certainly had NOT gone to admire him, "Came to visit and maybe see Mel or Sylvester or Viddy or...or..." well, she had hoped she wouldn't run into Tiwaz, "Maybe even Nen."
Nen was at least kind of funny.
"Do you really read?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:27 pm
Adonis had no idea who Nen was, but the other names struck chords of familiarity. He would have liked to see some of those people here as well. "Viddy, she's my sister. And Mel.. that's what people call Armel, isn't it? He's my best friend. It seems you've been around, little one." He didn't mention Sylvester; he only met the boy once, and still wasn't exactly sure how he felt about him.
"They're not here today, though. Just me." His voice indicated that he was a better suited companion to visit than anyone, anyway. Khalindra was a lucky girl.
"I can read, though it took some time. It's not easy. I still can't really understand some of the older books, they use silly useless words that are too long for anyone to want to pay attention to them, anyway."
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:45 pm
"Viddy's your sister?" She smiled at that, "She's my prince! It's nice that she's your sister. My sisters and brother are annoying." a face was made, forehead wrinkling as she thought of her siblings.
Well, Emi wasn't THAT bad....
"Armel's my best friend, too. I gave him one of my barettes. They're special, you know." a finger pointed to the silver and sapphire star barettes in her hair.
As Khalindra listened to Donny talk about reading, a wistful look came over her features, "I'm still learning. I only know how to read a little bit - Angelus taught me."
Angelus. How WAS he doing? She hadn't seen him since that day they read Stinky Cheese Man.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:53 pm
A flare of jealousy burned within Donny as the girl spoke of Armel as her best friend. The treachery of such a thought.. it only worsened when she pointed to her star hairclips and retold them being given as a gift. Donny lifted one arm, turning his wrist up and giving it a stoic glance. There was the 'missing tooth' hole still equally dispersed between the stars that orbited his wrists continuously. He had given Armel a gift as well, recently. There was anger boiling up within him that a similar gift had been given by someone else.
For all the jealousy that raged within the boy, his face didn't show a drop of it. The only change in his demeanor was his sudden bout of silence, easily mistaken for being a good listener.
"Reading is helpful. You learn about the mistakes of the past, in order to keep from making them in the future." He murmured quietly.
Donny fell silent, conflicted as to where he should place the girl. Their relationship had begun with such promise, but Donny was too fickle, too selfish. Where did Khalindra lie in his world of friends and foes?
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:02 pm
It was a good thing that the jealousy didn't register with the young child - she wouldn't have understood what she had done wrong. Instead, her eyes were sparkling over the entire reading discussion and she looked quite happy over it.
Though she didn't quite understand what that meant, "D'ya mean that if you read more you learn what ways not to say something 'n' the ways to say it right?"
A long pause, then..."That makes sense." a firm nod of her little head.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:22 pm
He mulled over her question, and nodded. "That is one way of putting it." His way had been better, but hers was also acceptable. In it's own way.
He looked up at the books, and pursed his lips. "None of these books would suit you." He tightened his wings behind him and pushed himself off the chair, looking for a suitable book for someone who was just beginning to read. His friends and family had found him many suitable books, so he was sure he would know one if he saw it.
He picked out a book from the young children's section, and flipped through it's pages. A picture book. It wasn't an easy one.. there were several sentences on each page. It would be smart to challenge her, and test her strength. He could use it to gauge what kind of ally or foe she would be, if he ever managed to make that decision.
"Here." He climbed back up into the chair, and snuggled into his side. The two would have looked cozy enough together to a passing outsider, sharing the chair this way.
He handed the book to her. It was titled "Ottie and the Star." "Try this. Look at the pictures before trying to read the words. They make it easier for you to guess what you're reading if you can't figure it out."
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:29 pm
Getting something that had initially confused her made Khalindra feel good inside. Philosophy wasn't a subject she had really gotten into yet - you know, considering she had a hard time spelling cheese...
The book was taken and she opened it eagerly. Words plus challenge ended up with a very happy and content Tale.
"Oh! It's about a star!"
It was then, adding the final point tally to fifty bajillion, one hundred and twenty, that she decided he deserved one of her barettes too. However, she was only wearing about three of them in her hair.
And if she took one out...her hair would be in her face. Debating for a moment she reached up and carefully removed the middle barette, handing it over to Donny.
"Because you're shiny and deserve a shiny," she said simply before diving into the book to try her hand at reading.
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