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 Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:52 am
Early meetings and late reunions.Sable comes back to visit Mercury and Nereus. Mercury introduces her new cabbage and Sable finds out he started a trend. The scientists meet their former technician's newest project, and everyone is charmed by Leviathan's cuteness. Levi makes friends with his 'aunt' and 'uncle'.completeCabbages are Trendy!
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:33 pm
We do too name our garden vegetables!
“We need to name her, Nereus.”
“Mercury, it’s not a baby yet. Normal people do not name their garden vegetables. It's bizarre.”
“Not anymore so than naming embryos! Some women choose their children’s names before they even have children!”
“Mercury, this child was your idea and not mine! You can name it whatever you want whenever you want. But if you want my input and you want both of us to name it, I don’t want to until it really is a child.”
“But Nereus!”
“Merc, I don’t want to name a cabbage. I want to wait until it’s a baby.”
“Baby?” Angelique asked from the doorway. She looked from Mercury to Nereus and then frowned a little bit. “Thought weren’t really together?” she asked. Mercury looked at Nereus, who blushed.
“No, Angelique,” Mercury said, coming to her best friend’s rescue and shaking her head. “The cabbage is going to be a baby.” Angelique’s frown deepened, and she walked into the living room and looked at the large cabbage that her mother and Nereus had set in the light that filtered through their French doors.
“Baby cabbage?” she asked, completely perplexed.
“It’s going to be your little sister,” Mercury answered. Angelique looked at the cabbage, at Mercury, at Nereus, and then pursed her lips in a sulky pout that would befit a child of about twelve, not a young woman in her twenties.
“Don’t understand,” she wheedled. Nereus came over and patted Angelique on the head.
“It’s a cabbage now, yes?” he said carefully. Angelique looked at the plant to make sure, then looked at Nereus and nodded. “Well, soon the cabbage is going to hatch, like an egg.”
“Cabbage egg?” Angelique stared wide-eyed at the plant, and Nereus nodded.
“Cabbage egg,” he agreed. “And from the egg is going to hatch a baby.”
“Baby chick?” Angelique had raised a few chicks in an incubator when she was younger, and she understood eggs. Nereus shook his head.
“Baby person,” he corrected. Angelique looked at the cabbage, chewed on her lower lip while she thought, and then looked at Nereus.
“So…cabbages human eggs?” she asked. Nereus started to shake his head, but Mercury put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him.
“Don’t confuse her more,” she hissed to him, and then smiled at Angelique. “Something like that, love,” she answered. Nereus shook his head and walked away, mumbling.
“Great, now she’s going to think that she wants to settle down and have cabbages.” Angelique didn’t hear him and Mercury ignored him.
“The cabbage is going to be your little sister. Like Saint is Rook’s little brother.” Angelique thought about that, frowning as she was forced to dwell on her homicidal Nobody counterpart and his Heartless brother, both of whom scared her witless, and then nodded a little bit.
“I be good sister, not like Rook,” she said decisively and fiercely, petting the cabbage like she would a cat. Mercury nodded and patted her on the shoulder.
“Do you want to water the cabbage for me then?” she asked. Angelique looked at the cabbage and then at Mercury and nodded. Mercury smiled, reaching down and picking up the misting bottle she had gotten when she had been given the cabbage. She handed it to Angelique. “Just pull the trigger, just like any other spray bottle. You can’t overwater with one of those.”
Angelique nodded and misted the cabbage, looking back for reassurance and getting it. She did it a few more times and then handed the bottle off to Mercury. Mercury took it, patting Angelique’s hair and nodding.
“You’re a really good sister already, love.” Angelique petted the cabbage again a few times, and then trotted off, presumably to read something or perhaps to play pretend. Mercury moved the cabbage so it wasn’t in direct sunlight and then sat down and looked at it. Whether or not Nereus approved, she was going to name it before it became a little girl. She needed something to call her daughter right away.
“What do you think about Ishizuke? Ishi?” She asked the cabbage. It said nothing, though that was rather unsurprising. Mercury shrugged. The name had been thrown out randomly, nearly as a joke, but it was the name of Mercury’s favourite—in her opinion, the most beautiful—bonsai tree form.
And she was starting to become rather fond of it.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:03 pm
Early hours for new arrivals.
“NEREUS!!!”
Mercury’s gleeful shrill startled Nereus enough to knock him straight into a standing position before he had even really woken up. He blinked and swayed, completely bewildered for a moment, and then managed to look over at the clock. Four in the morning.
Oh God, Mercury, what are you doing at this hour?
Mumbling to himself, Nereus looked around for a shirt to pull on, found one, and ran out into the hallway as he dressed.
And in the better-lighted hallway, he stopped and swore out loud. Mercury needed to stop leaving her laundry in the same pile as his. Sure, it all got taken to the laundry room in one trip when she did, but Nereus didn’t look good in baby doll tees ever. Especially not when they were pink and had hearts and stars on them.
“Nereus come here now!” But apparently Mercury was overexcited and needed him, and so he didn’t have time to change. This better be really important.
Mercury was in the living room, holding something in her arms. For a moment, Nereus thought she might have overturned one of her bonsai trees. He looked over at the custom-built shelf on which they all stood, scanning them for any damage, but they were all intact. All, except for the cabbage, which was split open and laying limply and slightly damp on its side. He blinked for a moment, wondering what Mercury was holding if her cabbage was broken, and then it hit him.
“Mercury, is that the cabbage?”
“No.” Mercury looked up at him and walked over, grinning like Christmas had come early. “It’s our daughter.” She shifted the bundle in her arms a little bit, and Nereus found himself looking down on a little girl somewhere between infant and toddler, with blond hair that fell softly over her forehead. Nereus blinked and cooed in spite of himself, reaching down to stroke that blonde hair. Over her left temple, there was one white streak. Unusual, but lovely in its own right.
“So it really is a baby,” he whispered. Mercury nodded, leaning forward to kiss Nereus on the cheek.
“Ours. Sort of. In a platonic way,” she said. Nereus laughed and continued to pet the baby’s hair. The girl shifted, opening striking grey eyes that actually looked a lot like Mercury’s, and took a hold of Nereus’ finger. Mercury’s smile widened, and Nereus looked back up at her.
“So now we can name it,” he said. Mercury looked down at the girl and then steadily back up at Nereus.
“Ishizuke. I’ve been calling her that for days now, and I think it suits her.” She pointed at the tree in the center of the table, her favourite. There was no denying it was a beautiful tree, and it was an ishizuke form.
“All right,” Nereus said eventually. “But I’m nicknaming her Ishi. And she gets a proper middle name. Something in Romani,” he added, winking at Mercury. She grimaced; all but the barest knowledge of the language had managed to evade her.
“Can I think on that?” she asked. Nereus looked down at the girl again, and nodded.
“I don’t think that’s important right now.”
He leaned down and kissed the girl on the nose. “Hey, little Ishizuke.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:32 pm
Girl's a survivor.
“Nereus.”
“Nnnn…”
“Nereus!”
“Leave me alone, Mercury! I was awake at four this morning, and I’m exhausted.” Nereus promptly rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head. He heard Mercury huff annoyance, and just barely caught a muffled,
“Fine. I’ll take her out to play in the yard on my own then.”
Then he fell asleep.
“Oh my God, NEREUS!!”
The shrill scream, more urgent this time than it had been at four in the morning, woke Nereus what felt like bare minutes later. Mercury was really scared this time, and Nereus rolled out of bed and sprinted to the door, not even bothering with a shirt.
“Mercury?”
She was standing in the foyer holding a shrieking Ishizuke, her eyes full of tears and her face white.
“Have Angelique call 911 and tell them it’s a burn. Get the first-aid kit! I’ll be in the kitchen!”
Nereus didn’t take the minute most people would take to think. He just turned and ran down the hall, pounding on Angelique’s door on the way to the bathroom.
“Angelique, call 911! Say it’s a burn!” He heard Mercury’s older daughter give some sort of affirmative, but then he was in the bathroom. He grabbed the first aid kit and was back in the kitchen as fast as he could sprint.
Mercury was holding the still-screaming baby girl, bathing her face with a cold washcloth and murmuring comforts despite the fact that her hands were shaking almost too much to hold the cloth. Nereus came over and opened the kit, pulling out burn cream and motioning for Mercury to move her hand aside. She did, and Nereus blinked.
The entire left side of Ishi’s face looked like it had come into contact with hot metal. The girl’s eye was swollen shut, and some of the skin was already starting to blister. Taking the cloth from Mercury, he slathered it in cream and smoothed it over the burns. The girl wasn’t shrieking so much as sobbing now, hiccupping on the breaths she managed to take.
“You’re gonna be okay,” Nereus murmured over and over, even though he wasn’t sure if he was telling her the truth. “You’re gonna be okay. What happened, Mercury?”
“I just took her outside and set her down in the sun and she started screaming and when I looked at her this!” Mercury took a deep breath and passed Ishi into Nereus’ hands so she could sink down and sob. Nereus put a hand on her shoulder, doing his best to calm both the crying females.
***
Five days and four dermatologists later, they had a diagnosis. Photodermatitis. Allergy to the sun. Inability to cope with exposure to ultraviolet light.
And Ishi was lucky to survive with half her face intact and full sight in one eye. The other was almost completely blind, and her face was permanently scarred. Thank God the girl healed as quickly as she grew.
***
“How is she going to go to school, Nereus?”
“I don’t know.”
“How is she going to live a normal life? She can’t even go outside!”
“I know, Mercury, I know!”
“Mama,” Ishi said softly, looking up at Mercury across the poorly-lighted breakfast table. The previously-bright kitchen windows sported heavy black shades now, taped to prevent light. Ishi was sitting up, talking and eating solids. “Mama, I go play today?”
“Maybe,” Mercury said. “I’ll take you out tonight, okay?”
Ishi grinned and clapped her hands. “Yay!”
And she clambered down from her booster seat and dashed off to play with Angelique. Mercury looked at Nereus.
“I have a middle name for her.”
“Oh?”
“Baxtala. Means lucky in Romani.”
“Big name to live up to,” Nereus said softly, looking at where Ishi had been. Things had already changed so much for the girl’s safety, and would be changing more no doubt. They had never expected this.
“I know,” Mercury answered, and sighed heavily.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 3:22 pm
New friendships after dark.Mercury takes Ishizuke to the mall and drops her off in the creche while she does some shopping. This leaves Ishi alone with a rather peculiar, bubbly, rainbowy girl and her rather more assertive (and terrifying) redheaded sister. Ishi learns the difference between silliness and scariness, and manages to get herself traumetized by Jace and rather bewildered by Wisp. Certainly, no friendships are made here.discontinuedLate-Night Shopping
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 3:46 pm
Books and babies.In order to get her sister out of the house, Angelique takes Ishi to the library. Ishi meets several kids, most of whom she is rather afraid of. But she does come across Nerissa, who's like something out of her favourite book. Intrigued, she's certainly willing to check out what happens next.discontinuedAt the Library
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:08 pm
Way past bedtime.Mercury takes Ishi for a late walk in the park to enjoy the outside. They come across Becca and Jamie, and Ishizuke seems to make a fast friend in this interesting little boy who doesn't focus immediately on her scars. Mercury learns that not everyone is talkative, and also that sometimes, you don't intrude upon other people's space. Ishi gets a promise from Jamie to be her friend, and hopefully they'll meet again soon.completeUnder Starry Skies
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:57 pm
In which a new houseguest arrives,
Angelique has an attack of the sulks,
and Ishi makes a friend.
"Ishizuke, come here and meet your cousin," Nereus called from teh door. Ishi shook like a leaf and clung tightly to Angelique's leg. Angelique stroked her hair, murmuring softly. Footsteps in the hall, coming into the living room, announced the other resident of the house.
"Angelique," Mercury sounded annoyed. "You're encouraging her."
Ishizuke looked up and watched Angelique's expression change from concerned to disdainful.
"Don' like the other one," she answered. Mercury frowned at the olive-skinned girl and put her hands on her hips.
"I don't care. Ishizuke needs to meet her. Come now." She gently picked up the little girl, holding tightly when Ishizuke struggled, and started out into the hallway. Ishi squirmed and whined and was almost crying by the time they stepped into the foyer to meet their houseguest.
"Don' want new friends!" she yowled, but curtailed herself when she made eye contact with the stranger. She tilted her head solemnly, turning to fix the newcomer with only her good eye.
The visitor looked a lot like Nereus: tall and blonde, with blue eyes. She smiled at Ishizuke, a little nervously; the smile died when Angelique rounded the corner to glare absolute daggers at her. Ishi didn't notice.
"Hi!" she said, flashing a winning smile that suggested nothing of her previous misgivings. Straightening up, the young woman fingered the hem of her jacket and looked at Ishi again. The little girl preened in the attention. "I Ishi," she continued brightly. "You scared for moving?" she asked. The young woman smiled again.
"Hello, Ishi," she answered, and her voice was funny: soft with a bit of a lisp. "My name is Karenina. I'm not scared. I have lived here before, you see."
Angelique growled like an animal in response to that statement. Ishi paused, confused, and then frowned.
"Kah, ren...na?" she asked. Karenina smiled and shook her head.
"Kah-ren-nin-a," she said patiently. Ishi screwed up her eyes in fierce concentration and eventually decided to leave it alone.
"Karena!" she said brightly. "Renna!" She clapped her hands, and Mercury laughed softly.
"Do you mind?" she asked. Karenina shook her head and reached out to ruffle Ishizuke's hair. Ishi giggled, but behind her she heard Angelique snort. THen her footsteps started; Ishi heard her stomping furiously up the stairs.
"Renna," Ishi cooed. Karenina chuckled and gently removed Ishi from Mercury's arms. Mercury nodded as she handed her daugthter off and went to stand with Nereus.
"I'm glad you're making friends," she said. Ishi clapped her hands and gently took a handful of Karenina's long blonde hair.
"Friends," she repeated, satisfied. Karenina looked vaguely nervous, but relaxed again when Ishi didn't tu.
"Friends." She nodded and kissed Ishizuke on the cheek. Ishi squealed and giggled, flailing happily but remembering to let go of Karenina's hair first.
"Renna, you live here?" she asked when she had calmed down, looking confused. Mercury hadn't been very specific in the detail. Karenina nodded.
"I'm going to live here until I'm old enough to start teaching," she answered.
"You live here before?" Ishi's eyes were both bright, and even the misty grey one was fixed intently on the blonde's face. Karenina smiled.
"Yes, for a month, before you were born." Ishi frowned.
"Before?"
"Yes, before."
"...like Ange?"
Karenina's expression went a little sad, and Ishi blinked. "Not be sad!" she insisted.
"Sorry," Karenina answered. "Angelique and I aren't very good friends." Ishizuked frowned again, thinking, and then grinned.
"But both my friends!" she answered. "So all good!"
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:49 am
Winter is more fun.Mercury takes Ishizuke out to learn about the snow. Ishi (literally) runs into Harper, and makes some sort of a friend...at least, she thinks so. She instigates a snowball fight and everyone discovers a previously-unknown wild side in the shy little thing. Perhaps she's not just a doll, after all.discontinuedWalking in a Winter Wonderland
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:03 pm
So it turns out boys are dumb.Mercury takes Ishizuke to the pool, so she can get a little bit more outside-world socialization, which really doesn't seem to be agreeing with the poor thing, at the moment. Ishizuke meets Leviathan, who's supposed to be her friend, and Merroth, who's...a jerk. She gets in a fight of her own starting and makes a few enemies in the process. Seems like the little thing's not just sunshine and daisies, and it turns out she can hold her own, as well. Who knew?discontinuedSplish Splash!
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:07 pm
New friends are wonderful!Ishizuke comes into contact with a lovely young girl and her very cute kitten. Boys and their stupidity are discussed, and Ishi sortakinda shares some things with the little girl. In general, they make reasonably good friends as far as toddlers go, though Ishi's still just a bit too shy for her own good.discontinuedIshizuke and Elizabeth
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:16 pm
Shooting stars..and land-bound ones, too.Mercury takes Ishi to the park, yet again, and she meets another kid who, it turns out, isn't a complete idiot and doesn't try to hurt her. Ishi learns the wonders of both siblings and hide and seek. In the process, she makes a new friend in the little glowing Orli, discovers a talent for reverse psychology, and learns that not all stars are in the sky.completeStarlight, Star Bright
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:47 pm
Like a weed...
or perhaps a garden vegetable.
"Mama!"
Ishizuke's voice jolted Mercury awake, and she blinked and sat up, tilting her head and squinting at her clock. Nine o'clock at night. What was supposed to have been a two-hour nap had managed to eat up nearly her entire day, and she hadn't heard her alarm go off. Damn. Sitting up and mentally berating herself over the fact that she had missed the alarm, she groped in the dark for her glasses and squinted at the doorway. She had heard Ishizuke's voice, but the owner of the silhouette looked more like Angelique.
"If you girls are playing jokes on me because I overslept..." she warned, putting on her glasses and blinking in astonishment when she realized that the figure silhouetted in the doorway was her youngest, and not her eldest, daughter. "Ishi?" she asked, reaching out and turning on the lamp beside her bed. The warm yellow light, little brighter than a candle's glow, confirmed it. It was Ishizuke, about a foot taller than she had been only the day before. Mercury rubbed her eyes and yawned. "How...?"
"I know, Mama!" Ishi said delightedly, turning in a tight circle that might have been out of sheer happiness, rather than a desire to show herself off. "You were right about me getting so tall all the sudden. Look!" Squeaking with delight, she jumped and ran into the room to hug Mercury. Just as quickly as she had come, she dashed out. Mercury pushed back her blankets and was still in the process of getting sleep-stiffened muscles to cooperate when Ishi came back, expression suddenly thoughtful.
"Mama," she began, "d'you think I've grown out of being allergic to the sun?" Mercury paused, looked at her for a long time, and then shook her head.
"I don't think it works like that, sweetheart," she said softly, walking over to Ishi and running a hand through her hair. "I think it's going to be something that stays with you forever." Ishi's gaze dropped to the floor, her elated expression disappearing instantly, and Mercury leaned down to hug her. "Oh, sweetheart, don't worry," she said. "You've done fine already, and I'm sure you'll keep doing fine."
"Can I at least stay out a little later?" Ishi asked quietly, looking up at Mercury with a look that suggested she was trying her hardest not to cry. Mercury looked at her, smiled, and nodded. "I think you're old enough now that you can stay out until sunrise if you stay in the yard and have Angelique watch you."
That brought the brightness back into the girl's face. "Really, Mama?" she asked, beginning to grin again. Mercury smiled back and nodded.
"Yes, I think so." Ishi squealed with delight, caught Mercury in a rib-crushing hug, and then pulled back so suddenly it almost looked like she had been physically jerked away.
"I can't wait to go tell Angelique and Renna and Nereus!" she said breathlessly, and was gone before Mercury could say another word.
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:45 pm
Strange time to meet a little one, isn't it?Newly-grown Ishizuke discovers a rather strange small unicorn boy, who is appears to want to be very brave, and his older sister, on their way to watch the sunrise while she flees the same thing. She has a bit of an odd conversation with him, but in general, things seem to go fairly well, and Ishi accidentally gives herself a lot to think about in the process. So maybe she's not as much of a freak as she thought...?completeThe Sun Also Rises
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:46 pm
The best types of reunions are the happy ones.Ishi meets Jamie again, and is quite happy to discover that he's grown, and that he's still as nice as she remembers him being. She meets his robot and is rather fascinated at the idea that Jamie builds things, and they discuss their families. Looks like Ishi really does have a friend or two in the world. Hopefully this will remain the truth in the future.completeLate Night Coffee Goers
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