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 Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:15 pm
Caden sat on the table in Ethan's dorm, his face two inches away from the computer screen. Images of algae lined up in an orderly fashion in Caden's light turquoise eyes as the skewed reflections of cyber-reality. Looking through the half-opaque little boy, Ethan bit his tongue in concentration. He was working on starting a biology project due the next day.
It was obvious that this little boy was getting a headache, and Caden looked back at Ethan, who -- for the moment -- saw right past him. By making himself more "concentrated", Caden solidified his tiny half-opaque body.
"Oh! Hey buddy, care to take a walk?"
Caden waved his hand(s, ahem) in the air. A bit franticly, I might add, but that was all it took for Ethan to understand him. A little poncho hung on the wall, for occasions such as this, and Caden took to this bright yellow thing quite well as Ethan stuffed him in and raised the hood.
"Alright, we're ready to go. Oh, and you don't need those rubber boots today."
Two bright turquoise eyes flickered about and a wink briefly covered a third golden eye; Ethan gently swung Caden over his shoulders (because Caden's as light as air and might sort of be flung all the way across the room if you're not careful -- it's happened before) and headed down the stairs to a soggy exit.
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:25 pm
Outside upon a bus stop bench they sat. A tall, long, blonde haired woman and her young, black spiked hair child. The boy was sitting on the bench with his feet hanging from the bench, swinging them while he hummed a happy tune.
They had just left the mall and were now awaiting the bus to come and take them home. Sure they could have walked, but Elazu had seen a bus drive by and wouldn't walk until they rode on a bus at least once.
As she looked down at her emerald eyed child, she couldn't help but snicker at his excitement for something so ordinary to her.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:15 am
They took a long walk, the spirit-child and his guardian. They walked up and down multiple streets, arrived at a park, and spent time circling the grand old fountain with a bronze goldfish rising out of the water. Halfway through all this nonsense, the rain came a-tumbling down just as Ethan had predicted on his way out. Not to worry, though, for this young man came prepared with a slick zebra-colored umbrella with a handle adorned with, well, an ornate design made of stainless steel. When Ethan finally set Caden on the ground, the little boy decided he'd rather hover two inches above the cement than get his feet wet, and took his time looking over the contraption that set the fountain water ablaze. There seemed to be something that was of such drastic importance to little Caden that Ethan decided to follow the fog spirit's gaze. Much to his surprise, Ethan found himself snapping out of a trance some twenty minutes later, with only the poncho as a clue to where Caden had gone.
Meanwhile, the deviant Caden had floated off to seek something that would fulfill his short attention span. Due to his fog-like state (a lack of scent and visibility), he discovered that he was able to catch little birds and squirrels without hindrance, and Caden played his tricks with undue enthusiasm. Little by little, as babies do, Caden lost interest in his current activities and longed for something more exciting. He shook off the water droplets left by the sudden shower, and set off at a rapid pace for the silhouette of a distant bus stop bench revealed to him by divine lightning.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:21 am
The storm had been...less than expected. The pair still waited upon the bus bench, but were now much more closer together. Risika's jacket had become a makeshift umbrella as she drapped it over her head, pulling her legs up to sit indian style.
Elazu was sitting in between her legs, in a very similar indian style, leaning back against her chest in order to keep the rain off of him by staying under the safety of the jacket. Whenever he saw lightning, his hands automatically covered his ears and he kept his eyes wide open, grinning widely up at Risika. He liked the sound of thunder, but it was much louder outside than it was when he was inside and it hurt his ears a little bit.
Risika smiled down at him and held him closer, making sure he wasn't getting too cold or too wet. She was almost tempted to call a cab by now, the bus was unusually late, or at least compared to the stated time that it was supposed to be here. But Elazu wanted to ride on the bus, so she would hold out for now.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:30 pm
Through the afternoon drizzle Caden ran. Through the flashing lightning and blaring thunder he dashed. Under trees, over rocks, and above streams -- all without moving his feet. The shadows of that bus stop bench loomed ever closer, with a shivering black mountain resting on its surface. A normal little boy would have been afraid. A normal little boy would have been way more than drenched after standing for an hour under the pouring sky. However, Caden wasn't afraid. He'd seen this all somewhere before. He's stood in the rain some years ago, though he didn't know when that was, for he was only 16 months old. As he got closer, the mountain became a volcano, with steam steadily rising out of the top, and -- reaching with his left hand -- Caden clenched his puny fingers tightly around boulders and cliffs of 70% cotton, 25% polyester, and 5% nylon.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:50 pm
Risika jumped, a surprised squeak escaping her lips as she turned around to see what was behind her. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of what seemed to be a cloudy boy.
" Uhmmm. Hi?" Whatelse could she say? What else could she do without freaking Elazu out.
Elazu peered out from his mother's coat, smiling up at the fog. " Hi foggy!" So innocent...
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:00 pm
Believe it or not, Caden was equally surprised by the moving volcano. Because volcanoes usually didn't move, not like this one had. In a second or two he was face to face with two... things. Caden didn't quite know what to call them, since they didn't look very much like himself nor feel very much like himself (or Ethan, for that matter). This strange confrontation lasted only a few moments, and the following steps went something like this:
1 Caden's mouth drops wide open, and his eyes darken and light up over and over again in silent alarm as...
2 Risika attempts to say something, not really getting much out before...
3 Caden's body "configuration" sinks inwards, creating a swirling cloud of fog along with a *puhhg* sound and...
4 Ethan comes a-slipping by and stops himself by crashing head-over-heels into the bench
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:19 pm
" What the hell was that," she muttered, eyes now staring at a cloud of fog that was on the bench. She couldn't believe that there had been a child floating there and not a moment later it was just a cloud of fog. What was that?
" Mama, watch your language." Elazu snickered, leaning forward so he could run his hand through the fog. " Don't be scared Foggy."
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:31 pm
Recovering from his fall, Ethan tapped Risika on the shoulder.
"That would be Caden. I'm sorry to bother you, but we'll be moving along now."
He turned to the mysterious cloud of fog, and discovered little Elazu swinging his arms in and out of what's supposed to be a little boy with blond hair and turquoise eyes.
"Come along and put on your poncho, now. I've gotten all tired running around looking for you, buddy. *pause* No, nothing's going to happen. We're walking back home, so you better put this one before you get any wetter."
The boy with an easily-recognizable turned once again to face Risika.
"I'm sorry, um, I hope he wasn't any trouble for you, um, well, good bye!"
Though he said goodbye for the both of them, Caden -- still a floating bunch of fog -- didn't move. Ethan straightened up, and smoothed down his brown hair which had gotten messy in his rush to search for Caden. He spoke to the haze laying on the bench like it was a completely normal thing to talk to fog, as if he's been doing this for about 16 months.
"I'm going then. And I'm calling a cab. You can stay here yourself."
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:56 pm
Risika tilted her head to the side in curiousity. Apparently this guy was caretaker of the fog creature. Was the fog similar to Elazu? She looked down, seeing Elazu still poking at the fog, giggling each time he did.
"Elazu, please behave," she muttered, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close again. " You need to stay close so you don't get too wet."
Elazu frowned up at his mother the turned back toward the fog, smiling at it as if it were still the image of the boy. " Hi foggy! I'm Elazu, what's your name Foggy?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:02 am
A bit torn between getting over his fright, the shock of Ethan's proposal (of leaving him alone at the bus stop), and a curious... thing with black spiky hair, Caden rose out of his puddle of fog. Two hands stretched out to two recipients -- both whom tickled Caden's baby-mind. His right hand, not quite completely there, towards Ethan, and his left hand, whole, towards Elazu. Ethan recognized this signal, which was meant to grant unequal importance to the "opposing sides": Caden wished to stay, and another contagious wave of curiosity washed over his young guardian.
"I guess we'll stay..." was the half-hearted response, for Ethan was already intrigued by Elazu's previously hidden tail. He lifted his head up for a moment, making eye contact with Risika, sharing his golden gaze. "Is he... yours?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:12 pm
Elazu grinned at the reappearing child. He knew that he would show himself again, he just needed some time.
" Hello Foggy, my name's Elazu." He held his left hand out toward the foggy child before him, a grin plastered upon his face.
Risika glanced up at Ethan, smiling gently. " I'm his guardian, yes. And I'm guessing this one is yours as well?" She smiled, a knowing look crossing her face, for she knew that the wispy child before them was like Elazu, very much like him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:31 pm
Ethan was in space. What an odd thing to do on a rainy day, to find another spirit-child. This discovery was the only thing needed to excuse his hollow tone and words that bubbled out of his mouth without second thoughts.
"Yeah. This is Caden."
Ethan was visibly frozen to the ground, staring at Elazu.
"Hey Elazu, um, how are you?"
His voice took on a cooing tone, nothing like the voice that he uses to talk to Caden, mostly because he had no idea how to handle someone else like his very own baby of the London Fog.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:09 pm
Elazu's emerald orbs flicked from Caden to Ethan, a curious expression crossing his face. Was the adult talking to him, and what a silly voice he had.
" I'm good! I like your foggy, he's nice. His name is Caden?" He had figured by now that maybe the foggy couldn't speak. He wasn't the same age as Elazu, so maybe he was too young?
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:38 pm
"Yes his name is Caden. Actually, Caden would tell you himself, but I'm not sure if he could..."
As if he already detected where Ethan was headed in the conversation, Caden gently twisted his right "hand", reassuring everyone that yes, it was his name. Rest assured, however, that Risika wasn't the only one surprised. In fact, everyone was, even Caden himself.
"I guess he just doesn't like to talk much, then."
This time, the price was right. Caden's entire being lighted up as if he were the flashing lights in the antique American game show. With this sudden burst of excitement, the whole cloudy rainy pouring day seemed to brighten.
"How about you boys go play on the swings for a second? Risika, tell me about Elazu."
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