|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:58 pm
1. Found
There are certain things a person does not want to hear at night. An owl, for instance, or the persistent scratch of a branch against a pane of glass. Such insignificant things can strike terror into the hearts of men.
Nothing, however, is worse than a scream.
Barry awakened with a start and looked toward the window. What an awful noise! It was like a cat in the grips of some wild beast. It seemed to die on the air, however, and the Urisk couldn't help but think it had just been a dream. He fell back to his pillow with a dull thud and closed his eyes, trying to regulate his breath...
...and then it sounded again.
Barry's hear twisted in his chest. He felt like he was the unfortunate man from the firs scene of a horror movie, the one to first encounter the beast and, more than likely, die in its clutches. He waited until the scream sounded a third time before slipping out of bed. He pulled a robe around him and shuffled into a pair of slippers before stepping out onto the front porch.
The man gave a little start at seeing the writhing shadow by the stair. He certainly didn't own anything of that shape. When it shrieked again, he trebled violently.
With slow, cautious steps Barry approached the thing, crouching before it and grimacing as it gave a shrill, direct blast of sound to his face. He waited for his eyes to adjust and soon noticed that this horrible, misshapen thing was, in fact, three objects of entirely average existence. The first was a basket, the second a folded note, and the third?
A crying infant.
In a flourish likely caused by raw paternal instinct, Barry lifted the basket and clutched it to his chest, running inside to free the child from the chill night air. He rushed to his bedroom and flicked on the light, taking the child from the basket and placing it, still wrapped in its blanket, beneath his bedclothes. Only then did he take the note up to read.
Dear Sir or Madam;
I feel I must apologize for this in advance, so I'm sorry if this is unwanted, yet I must make the request anyway. Please take care of the child within this basket. Your name came up during a search for a protector for the child, and I hope that you will be willing to accept the task. Should you decide to decline the offer, please send a letter to Chaco Shiroko, 12 Elton Avenue, and I will come pick the little one up. If you decide to accept the task of taking care of this child, you may name them what you wish. If you have any further questions or wish to meet more of this child's kind, please come to the address already stated above.
Many Thanks,
Chaco Shiroko.
P.S. In order to avoid confusion, this child is neither male nor female, and instead a hermaphrodite. I hope this doesn't cause any problems.
Oh my. This was certainly not what one expected in the dead of night. The infant gave another pained shriek and Barry sat beside it, petting its head. The poor thing yelled again and flailed away. Again, Barry leaped to his feet and plucked a small doll from the computer desk, running back to hold it above the infant, wiggling it and speaking in a bizarre high-pitched voice. The child calmed slowly, and then reached up for the toy. With a small smile, Barry handed it down. My my, it was about the size of the child itself.
With a heavy sigh, Barry stroked the baby's bald head and smiled slightly. Well, he'd just have to see how this went.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:00 pm
2. Barry's Journal
Sold four dolls today, one train, 1,100 gold
I have decided thus far to keep the child, and have named it Quinn. It is an abnormal child, that is to be certain, and I will no doubt be visiting this Shiroko estate to question its race.
It cries at night, all the time, and I'm barely able to sleep. Last night, I had to sleep with it upon my chest for it be silent long enough. To say I'm not growing attached to the child would be to lie.
I have begun changing my storage room into a room for the child and sold what it would not need. As I build the bed, I have to give the child doll paints and swatches of fabric to play with on the floor, or it will shriek in that ungainly way until I hold it. I can only wonder what the life of this child had been before I was chosen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:03 pm
3. A Furry Friend
It was the middle of the day, sun high in the sky, and Barry was gratefully taking one of his last-minute naps, sprawled over the couch.
And then it happened again.
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEA!"
Barry groaned and rolled over, shuffling from the couch to Quinn's room where he had left her to sleep. At least it had worked for an hour and a half.
The infant lay in bed, reaching for Rose and shrieking. Barry placed the doll back in the child's arms before heading back to the--wait...what was that? There was a continued skrit skrit skrit as someone or something scratched against the front door. The sun dashed out any fears of evil creatures that Barry would have had during the night.
That is, until he saw what was doing the scratching. It was a fairly large thing with huge ears and strange red eyes. Without warning, it rushed into the house and ran for the bedroom.
"Hey! HEY!" Barry yelped, chasing after it. His mind swam with images of that ugly, terrifying thing tearing his child to shreds and--sitting at Quinn's bedside, head tilted.
"Up?"
"Whaaat?"
The thing looked to Barry.
"Kashultz up?"
After a moment of indecision, Barry lifted the thing's back haunches and helped it up onto the bed, where it curled up against Quinn. Mm, another warm body. Quinn burbled and clutched at the fur of the thing twice zher size. Well then, this was a bit unnerving, but not entirely negative. Kashultz twitched his tail and heaved a sigh, closing his eyes and trying to nap. After an hour or so of watching the damned thing like a hawk, Barry was fairly certain that it wasn't going to do anything an, if it did, Quinn would give a loud report. The Urisk shuffled back to the couch and collapsed onto it again, exhausted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:54 pm
4. Pepper And Bananas Never Did Mix
"Hon, please shush. People are gonna think I beat you."
As if out of pure spite, Katya's despondent shrieking only grew louder. Darry winced. Her wings had beaten against her shoulders so hard they were blossomed with bruises, and he'd since learned better than try to comfort her during one of her infantile shitfits. So, Darry was walking along down the sidewalk towards the park, hoping he'd meet Roman or maybe, and he felt a little guilty thinking it, the State Adoption Service Secret Agents who would take Katya away into a home where there were...y'know, responsible people.
"How was I supposed to know you didn't like pizza, Katty," he said to the baby at random. "It's all I eat."
Katya shrieked in response.
Barry had no intentions of getting rid of his child, but he had brought zher to the park anyway. Quinn had gotten no real social interaction in living in the middle of nowhere, so the family had made a little trip to the nearest playground. It hadn't hit Barry at the time they left that Quinn was too small for most things. Because of this, he sat on a bench behind the little-kids swing set, pushing the silent child and her little doll slightly. Kas was in the currently empty sand box, digging furiously for treasures and other such things. So far, he had uncovered a gold coin and a button. This was not satisfactory.
"D'you want to go to the playground? Kids like that, right?"
Katya made an angry burbling sound and beat her wings, worsening her bruises and giving Darry new ones.
"Agh! Okay, okay. Alright. Playground," Darry said, his usually calm tone cracking under the pressure. He hurried into the midst of the playground and looked around. Plenty of metal death traps, but nothing really suitable for a child who couldn't even hold her head up on her own.
"...alright, we'll just...go on the bench. Yeah?"
"WROAAAAAA!"
"Jeez..."
Wishing he'd thought of a pacifier - or duct tape - Darry sat on the edge of a bench and held Katya carefully, in case she flailed so hard she ran the risk of breaking bones.
Barry looked to this new man a moment, ears folding back, and smiled. Ah, another man who felt the pan of a hideously loud child.
"Good afternoon."
Kas, however, saw this stranger as a possible problem. His treasures sat in his mouth and he spit them into Barry's lap before plopping down and glaring angrily at the man.
Darry, whose ears felt close to bleeding, interpreted the new guy's greeting mostly through lip-reading.
"Hey," he said, taking care to cover Katya's head with the blanket she was wrapped in. The sound was muffled, a little, but not by much. He noticed the freaky-looking dogthing, and tilted his head slightly to one side. Huh. So dogs came with horns now? Cool.
"I think your dog wants to rip my throat out," he added. "S'okay. Animals don't like me. I think it's the hair."
"Ah..." Barry reasoned, "He really doesn't seem to like much of anyone." Hm. This man hadn't stared yet That was a step forward!
"Th'name's Barry," he nodded, accent marring even his name to sound a bit bizarre.
"Buh," Quinn said, turning zher wobbly head to look at the new people.
Kas just sat there, head tilting to one side. Was that a good noise or a bad noise?
Darry grinned and shook Barry's hand.
"I'm Darry, but please call me Darrel since rhyming names is just plain silly when you think about it," he said glibly. Katya gave a monumental shriek in his lap as the blanket was shifted off her face.
"And this is Katya Josie. Say hello, Katty."
"Rrrrrrngh."
"Katty doesn't have people skills yet."
"Alright, Darrel," Barry smiled, his ears returning upright. Quinn gave a sudden yelp and reached for him, so he obligingly took her from the swing and began to wrap her in her...blanket...
He held the yellow thing up, looking between it and Katya's blanket. Oh my...
Kas, sensing something was up, walked over and shoved his nose into the new baby's blanket. Hm...certainly didn't smell the same.
"Baby?"
Barry nodded.
"Ah...would you mind if I asked where you...acquired Katya?"
Katya gave a furious squall at Kas's invasion of her privacy, and beat her wings ferociously to fend the creature off. How dare he!
"Katty, leave him alone," Darry scolded, moving Katya away so Kas wouldn't get the snot beaten out of him by those accursed wings. "Acquired? I didn' buy her offa the street, if that's what you mean. Some a*****e left her in a flower box. Couldn't just leave her there, she would've died."
Katya, for all Darry's obvious concern for her wellbeing, did not seem in the least bit grateful, and proved her point by grabbing hold of an errant dreadlock and pulling. Hard.
"Ghhhnk."
A slow smile spread over Barry's face.
"That's...quite the same as how I got Quinny," he nodded, displaying the blanket. Kas gave a derisive snort and jumped up between the men in a protective stance.
Slowly prying the dreadlock out of Katya's hand, Darry made a displeased noise.
"So...some sick freak is leaving kids out alone in some kinda Easter egg hunt?" he said, slow anger building in his voice. "That's sick. I oughta - ow, Katty, I need that to see - I ougta find 'im and punch his teeth down his throat."
Did that mean he'd have to give Katya back? Had she been stolen from some sort of...angry gray winged mother who was looking for her?
"Well...I got a letter..." Barry said, shifting through his bag. He'd started carrying it around with him where ever he went, lest he be possessed with the notion of finding this Chaco person.
"Gluh," Quinn said suddenly. Kas flinched slightly. Damnable babies.
A letter? Huh. All Darry had gotten was puked on about an hour or so after he'd found Katty.
"Huh. Guess they didn't want a return address with this 'un," he said, shifting Katya in his arms. She'd gone mysteriously quiet, glaring daggers in the direction that the 'gluh' had come from. What had that noise been?
Kas turned, staring at the grey baby. He didn't like this one. Not at all.
"Well...here," Barry said, offering the note over, "I mean, it must be the same person."
"Hmn," Darry said after reading the letter through twice. "Well, at least he's cordial about it. I s'pose I don't have an excuse to hit him now."
Katya glared at Kas fiercely, her moon-round face scrunching up like a bad prune. Had that thing made the 'gluh'? Probably. It was ugly enough.
"Krshhht!" Katya said, spraying spit. What was the Ugly looking at, anyway?! Did it have a problem with her or something? "GNAAAGH!"
"Hmn," Darry said after reading the letter through twice. "Well, at least he's cordial about it. I s'pose I don't have an excuse to hit him now."
Katya glared at Kas fiercely, her moon-round face scrunching up like a bad prune. Had that thing made the 'gluh'? Probably. It was ugly enough.
"Krshhht!" Katya said, spraying spit. What was the Ugly looking at, anyway?! Did it have a problem with her or something? "GNAAAGH!"
Kas lifted his lips and gave a deep, rumbling growl.
"HEY! NO!" Barry yelped, pushing the Jivvin to the ground. That just made him more angry.
"BUH!" Quinn said, eyes filling with tears. Loud noises! Kas suddenly ceased his growling and shoved his nose into Quinn's blanket, snorfling about and licking.
"I sorry."
Darry, who had not started, shouted or shown any reaction aside from a slightly raised eyebrow, shifted Katya in his arms again. The girl fluttered and grumbled angrily. Stupid Ugly! Stupid creature Ugly liked, getting all the attention!
"Hkkt!" she said, glaring. Oooh, she hated them!
"Katya," Darry sighed. "I woulda just let that dog rip my throat out insteada you. Can't you be at least subnormal."
"Tch!"
Quinn sniffled and clung to Barry's chest. Zhe did not like loud, unless it was coming from zher!
"Baaaaa..."
Barry gave a little sigh, putting a hand to his temple. This kid...zhe was going to drive him insane.
"I should probably get going, before someone loses a limb."
"Understandable concern," Darry said, nodding. Katya gave a low, moody grumble and beat her wings once or twice, smacking against her bruised shoulders. "Sorry she got your dog all riled up. See ya when I see ya, I s'pose."
And so Darry got up, shushing Katya patiently as she let loose yet another angry squall. She glared at Kas over Darry's shoulder, wings beating threateningly as he walked away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:32 pm
5. A Sleepy Visit To The Park
Evie didn't really know what the thing was that she'd found half drowned and frozen outside her house was. It looked like some sort of strange cross between a ferret, cat, and dog.
But damned if the little beast wasn't friendly as hell.
Horatio, as the little monster had been dubbed, was acting quite frisky, bouncing ahead of Evie, in his own little mind protecting her from the dangers of snow and old leaves. Horatio was fierce, yes yes.
Oh ho! An interloper! Horatio made a mad dash for the beast, but stopped when Evie called his name.
"Horatio, what did I tell you about harassing the squirrels?"
". . . Don't?"
"Yes. Don't. Come back here, fool."
By now, Barry was accustomed to his beast, if not a little intimidated by it. Quinn sat at his hip in a baby sling and Kas trotted beside them, watching for any kind of threat that may hurt his Warm Thing. Ugh...another Jivvin! If only he had known enough to discern its rank.
"...Evie?" Barry asked as he remembered the Supermarket-Woman's name.
Oh no!
Evie turned, a grin breaking out over her face when she saw Barry. "Why, hello! How are you, Barry?"
"OHM!" Horatio 'said'. New people! How delightful! And one would be his friend, because they were the same! How amazing! Horatio started to skuttle towards them, once again stopped only because Evie called at him.
"Horatio, not everyone wants your special brand of love, dear."
"Why?"
"I'm good, I'm good!" Barry grinned, "I'm--! A father!" He laughed slightly, motioning toward the sleeping infant with its tiny doll.
Kas, however, lifted one lip and snorted. Oh, no, he did not want this "special brand of love".
"Really? Congratulations!" Evie beamed, stepping closer. "May I see...?"
Oh, but it was far too late, Kas. You had been spotted by something that could only love with all of it's furry body. While Evie was distracted by the idea of a baby, Horatio carefully crept over towards the furry brown him and beamed.
"Hi!"
"Uh...it's not...biological," Barry smiled as he lifted Quinn slightly, "Its name's Quinn." It?
Kas snarled slightly. No. No, you hyper little ball of evil.
"Oh..." And Biological or no, Quinn was beautiful to Evie. All babies were. She was a loving woman. "Quinn is beautiful, Barry." She didn't question the 'it' too much, she had been raised in Gaia. Weird s**t happened there.
Oh, poor Kas. Horatio could not understand the anger. Hissing meant that you wanted to play! His tail wiggled and the hyper purple little ball of love pratically radiated sparkles of joy.
"Hiiiiiii! I Horatio! Hi!"
"Thank you," Barry smiled, "I see you have a...a...Thing too."
"Kashultz," Kas growled, "Go 'way."
"Why?"
"Remember what I told you about that question?"
"Mo-do-a-sun."
"Yes." Evie laughed. "And, yes, I have a thing. I found him half frozen in the gutter by my house. Brought him in, warmed him up, and he gives lots of random night time cuddles."
"She warm." Horatio told Kashultz, nodding and smiling. clearly, the jivvin did not understand 'Go away', because he just got closer. Yay, fuzzy friend!
"Mine invited himself in," Barry smirked and shrugged.
Kas gave a low growl and dropped his front end to the ground, arse sticking up in the air.
"Go 'WAY!" Kas yelped. He did not like this annoying purple thing one bit! Why was it so pushy?!
"Hopefully he won't attack H." Evie said, sounding worried. "He's an annoying little bugger, but he's someone to talk to that talks back."
Oh, but Horatio was gleeful at this movement! He mirrored it, little furry bum wiggling in delight. How amazing! Play! "Yay!"
"He...he might try..." Barry said a bit hesitantly.
Kas' eyes went wide in confusion and his muffle fell. He tilted his head. What in God's name...?!
Horatio wiggled his bum again. Oh, how he wanted to pounce on this delightful other furry creature! But! He had been told the Don't word at pouncing small things.
But, then again, Kashultz was the same size as him. Interesting.
He held out one paw, batting the air lightly. "Play. Plaaaaaaay." He said, tail and bum both wiggling.
"No! No play!" Kas said angrily, eyes narrowing. Oh but he'd be damned if that wasn't cute. Maybe he could use a friend...NO! No.
Bat. Bat. Batbat. "Plaaaaaaaay." Horatio insisted, covering his nose with one paw, batting with the other. "Fun! Why not want?"
Ugh! THAT WAS THAT! Kas roared and lunged at Horatio, tackling him to the ground.
"NO!"
But Horatio just made a shrill noise of glee. Awesome, play! He started wrestling with Kas, making various joyful noises. It was fun to play rough!
"Yay!"
Kas writhed and kicked and bit and growled, making a half-assed attempt at tearing Horatio's throat out. How dare he initiate a playful wrestling match when he--?! Well, it was pretty fun...
Bunny kicking at the other Jivvin, Horatio kept making his silly happy noises, a worried Evie looking on. This was fun! He nommed back, clearly just playing. Whee~
And Kas fought and fought and fought and played and played and--OH NO! He had been turned to the dark side! He gave a wild, childlike laugh and flailed playfully.
Yay! New friend was friendly and having fun!
"Plaaaaaaaay~" Horatio nearly sang out, play nomming more. Hooray!
"AWUGH!" Kas said brilliantly after a particularly hard tumble.
"Huh!" Barry commented, "and to think he tried to tear my face off this morning."
"He's got a good affect on most people." Evie said, watching the little ball of purple fluff with a laugh.
"Aha!" Horatio said with glee, rolling on top of him. He grinned, nomming on one of Kas's ears. "Gotchoo!"
Kas laughed and pawed at Horatio's face, folding his other ear back to try and protect it. Aww, the beast had been tamed.
Letting go of the ear, Horatio moved up and nibbled at the paws, pushing past them to get to Kas's face.
And then...
He licked him. Right over the cheek. "Aha! Good play, yes! Fun!" The little purple beast laughed, tail waggling.
"OOOOAURGH!" Kas roared, face contorting and trying to pull away. No! No licking, damnit!
Why yes, licking! Horatio stayed on top of him, flopping down.
"Fun! Like you! Playing good, yes! Playing hard fun!"
Kas growled and wriggled away, running to hide behind Barry's legs. No. No licking.
Oh, but he didn't get such subtle hints! Horatio followed him, rubbing against Barry in the process.
"Hi!"
Oh, God, not that again.
Barry couldn't very well let this poor thing be eaten...
"Horatio, I think Kashultz is done playing for today." And Kas growled. Oh, jeez.
Horatio looked up at Barry, nibbling at his pants.
"Why?"
"He gets...tired easy," Barry nodded and picked Kas up. The green thing just flopped, still growling. Hey, it was better than being attacked.
"Wh-"
"Is that a squirrel?"
"OMH!"
And the little bundle dashed off, in chase of the phantom squirrel. Evie laughed softly.
"He's chatter at home, at least."
"Aww, but he's adorable," Barry smiled, and Kas turned to growl at him. Eek!
"I should...probably get going," he said as he began to walk away, "I'll see you some time soon, okay, Evie?"
"Of course. Good luck with your little one, Barry. Good bye, Kashultz." She called, hearing a familiar yelp. "Did you find the squirrel?"
"Tree."
"Thought so." Sighing, Evie went to help the little creature out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:17 am
6. The First Quest
Barry heaved a heavy sigh, hefting the child in his arms onto zher bed. Ugh. Having a kid was far, far more than people cracked it up to be. Quinn burbled, rolling the two marbles she had procured from the dollar store across the ribbed tabletop.
Thud thud thud thud. … Thud thud thud thud. …
Barry wanted to explode. There would be no more company when he went fabric-shopping. The poor man slid the tiny plastic toolbox across the floor, the handle of which had been broken mid-tantrum. He had a feeling it would never be used for good…not with this whining little brat.
Then, of course there was the we-didn’t-quite-get-to-the-potty-in-time incident, which required a new pair of pants and a good wash. Then Kas, that damnable creature who was sleeping so smugly now upon the armchair, had taken it upon himself to lift Quinn from the last step of the escalator by the pants. Now it would need some heavy hemming, and Quinn had come home in yet another pair of pants.
As if this wasn’t enough for the poor man, Quinn suddenly began to cry. The child bawled, tears streaming down zher cheeks, reaching toward the floor before the nearby counter. Barry ran a hand backward over the top of his head, grabbing a clump of hair and pulling. Ugh. This kid was going to make him go bald.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!”
Kas responded to his Warm Thing’s cries and trotted in, sticking his nose under the counter and snorfling about. Aha! Marble. He rolled it out with a paw and Barry came to him, picking it up and returning it to Quinn who…continued to cry.
“What? Whaddya want?”
Quinn just clutched Rose to zher chest, reaching with the other arm.
“What? WHAT?! Want food?” Barry asked, walking to the counter. Quinn shook zher head.
“Then what do you--?”
And then he noticed the tiny doll sitting beside the sink. He’d taken it to dress it and had been sidetracked by, you guessed it, a wailing baby.
“You want the dolly?” he asked, picking it up. Quinn yelped and began to cry harder. That was a yes. He shuffled over, grabbed the child and doll in his arms, and collapsed to the chair before Kas could reclaim it.
Ugh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:04 pm
7. The First Ability QuestQuest Yay phallusbaby! Now that you've grown a little bigger, Quinn, it's time for a little arts and crafts project. You need to convince your guardian to let you help him build something. It doesn't matter what you help him build, or how much you help him, but you need to at least participate in the building of something.
Barry sat on the floor in his bedroom, knees folded under him, aligning a second floor for a custom doll house. Thank God for tiny screws and Krazy Glue! Once properly placed, he hammered it in lightly with a tiny balpeen hammer. Ahhh, perfect.
It was then that Quinn shuffled in from nap time, sniveling and rubbing at one of zher wet eyes. Zhe had been crying, of course.
“Daddyyyyyy…” zhe whined, the threat of another bout of sobs deeply lacing zher voice.
“Shhhh,” Barry cooed, trying to curtail any oncoming hysterics, “Come’ere. You can help Daddy make his house, okay?” Quinn seemed to deeply consider his offer for a moment before shuffling over closer.
“You need your tools, silly,” her father said. The toddler nodded and shuffled out of the room, rustled around a bit, and shuffled back in with zher plastic toolbox by the broken handle. Zhe approached the bits of wood on the rug and scooted zher butt over to sit beside Daddy.
“Wha’ I do?” zhe asked. Barry did not respond right away, but simply grabbed a pre-cut wall and filled a groove with a line of glue before pressing the wall into it.
“Hammer it in,” he nodded, “Tap on the top with your hammer.”
Quinn complied almost immediately, staring at the sheet of wood intently and hitting it lightly with zher little plastic hammer. The wall was set and stuck fast.
“Good job!”
Quinn just smiled. Aha! That was a good thing.
“Wanna do another one?” Barry asked.
“Uh-huh,” Quinn nodded.
…and so another way to tame the beast had been discovered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:55 pm
8. Fithing?
Sometimes it was easiest to blame the bad weather on that damnable groundhog than high and low pressure systems and terrible global warming. When the weather was nice, however, who was there to scold?
Barry stretched out in the grass, hands folded behind his head and eyes closed. Days this beautiful were terribly hard to come by this season. The tip of his tail flicked lightly to a beat in his head while Quinn sat on zher blanket nearby, babbling nonsense and playing with Rose and Lizzie.
As of the moment, the odd pair was hanging out beside a lake in Barton near a thick copse of trees, lest it actually begin to rain. The sun was almost directly overhead and white tufts of cloud floated lethargically by.
It was the perfect day for fishing, Beatz had decided that morning. The sun was shining, the clouds were big and fluffy, and the chance of rain was quite low. No doubt the fish would be plentiful. And thus, as she gathered her fishing gear, the badger cook decided to ask if she could take the ratling along with her. Give him a bit of fresh air, you know? Bantu had looked at her like she had two heads, before reluctantly allowing her friend to take her child along with her.
Kibarango seemed to be quite pleased with what was going on, as per usual. He churred softly from his place in the sling, brown eyes peering around at what he could see. Yaaay outing! He liked outings.
Beatz chuckled as she reached into the sling to tickle the ratling's stomach. Now, where to start fishing... ooh, that spot looked good! But there was people there already! Oh well, hopefully they wouldn't mind sharing.
"Hullo there!" Beatz called to the pair underneath the tree. "Mind if we fish over here?"
Quinn suddenly ceased movement, staring at the newcomers with zher mouth slightly ajar. Who were these people? Why were they invading her and her daddy's spce?
Barry, however, half-awoke with a start.
"Oh! Hi...uh...no, go ahead," he shrugged and settled back into his place.
Quinn stood slowly and picked up zher blanket, brushing it off and dragging it closer to the shore before spreading it out again and waiting. Hmm...new people!
"Hi."
"Thanks sweetie!" Beatz flashed Barry a grin before moving to settle near the lake. Having grown up in Gaia, there was very little that surprised the cook. She had seen a variety of species and people in her life, and had learned that practically anything was possible. This fairy thing seemed to have an adopted child, a very common practice on Gaia. That at least meant he was a decent person, as the child seemed to be in good health.
The badger cook unfolded her blanket and set it down near the water's edge and laid out her fishing equipment on it. Once that was finished, Beatz set down Kiba's little carrier and the rat baby was transferred from the sling to his carrier. A voice caught his attention, causing him to give a curious squeak. Who was there?
Beatz smiled at the child, giving her an acknowledging nod. "Hello there little miss. You come to fish with us?"
Quinn looked curiously to the meeping pink thing and tilted zher head. What in the world was that?! And why was it fuzzy?! At being asked a question, however, zhe looked back up to the bigger being.
"Fith?" zhe asked. Never before had Barry bought zher fishing.
Ooooh spotty thing! This was cool! He had never seen something like this before! Kibarango churred louder, hoping to bring the spotty thing's attention back to him. The rat baby reached up his little pink hands and waved them, squeaking away in his own little language. He wanted a better look at this spotty thing! Pay attention to him!
"Yeah, fish. Have you ever seen a fish before? There's big and shiny and they live in the water," Beatz explained as she set up her rod. "You can eat them if you like. Some people don't like fish, but there are enough people who do. You never eaten a fish?"
Quinn shook zher head almost violently.
"I eat fith, nah go fithin'," she explained, and then once more returned zher attention to the squirming pink thing, "Wha'tha? Ith lau'."
"Ooooh. Do you like eating fish then? How does your guardian make it?" Beatz was always interested in food. It came with being a cook, really. She was always curious as to how other people made their meals, and what sort of things they put in them. It helped inspire her to become a better cook.
She blinked at Quinn's question, turning her gaze to the "talking" rat baby. So Kiba wanted to see this little spotted girl. Beatz gave a soft chuckle and turned the carrier so the ratling could get a better look at Quinn. Immediately he quieted, peering up at the banana Sin with wide brown eyes. "This is Kibarango. We call him Fluffy. He was trying to get your attention." The ratbaby clicked his teeth together.
Quinn shrugged. How was zhe supposed to know how Daddy made the fishies? Zhe wasn't high enough to see the counter!
"Fuffy," zhe said indignantly, "Fuffy, yoo lou'." Upon seeing the clicking of teeth, however, Quinn tilted zher head slightly. What an interesting sound! Zhe pursed zher lips and pushed them outward, making a little 'pop' noise.
Mmm, toddler probably didn't help her dad out with dinner. Beatz didn't blame him. She did let any of the young thieves into her kitchen to help her cook unless they had proved that they were trustworthy. Though, she doubted that Quinn's guardian worried about his toddler stealing food while he was making dinner. With a small shrug the cook attached her lure and cast it into the lake. It was fishing time!
Kiba simply crooned softly at her words, reaching out to wrap his fingers around the ear of his bunny plushie. He didn't have a clue what the spotty thing was saying to him, but she was making a funny face! The rat baby tilted his head when she pursed her lips, ears perking when Quinn made a "pop". Woah! That was cool! Kiba giggled and waved his free hand gleefully, giving a happy squeak. Do it again do it again!
Quinn just blinked at the thing's waving hands.
"Fuffy, what?" zhe asked, "Fuffy?" Zhe turned to the woman then, tugging on her shoulder.
"Laydee, what Fuffy want?"
Kiba clicked his teeth together when nothing happened, tilting his head to the side. Why wasn't she doing it again? Did she not speak rat? Apparently not. "Bwrrrrrrr!" He said, stopping his arm waving and staring back at Quinn intently. If he could have popped like she did he would have repeated her sound, however his vocabulary was rather limited.
"Mm?" Beatz looked away from her fishing rod at the question, head titled. What did he want? She glanced at the baby, noting the intentness of the stare, before shrugging her shoulders. "Did you do something cool? He probably just wants you to do it again. He likes the attention."
Cool? Quinn hadn't done anything particularly chilly, even if it was getting hot out...
Oh well. 'Do it again' zhe understood. Turning back to the infant, zhe sucked in her lips again, attempted a pop, failed, and succeeded a second time. That wasn't all that interesting, really. What did the baby like about it?
Kibarango's world narrowed in on Quinn as she returned her attention to him. Was she going to do it again? Oooh, she was making the face again! But no sound. The rat baby gave a questioning churr when no sound came, but then started giggling when Quinn produced the desired pop. Yay!
Beside them, Beatz gave a soft chuckle. So that was what he was waiting for. Cuuute. A rough tug on her line made her focus her attention back on her fishing. With a grunt she began reeling her catch in, tongue between her teeth. Hooray for fish!
Quinn paid no attention to the woman, having much more fun playing with the baby. A smile spread across zher face, the elusive little thing. Zhe popped once. Twice. Three times in quick succession! Oh, it was so nice to watch babies laugh!
It was also quite irritating, though. Barry groaned and sat up, brushing blades of hair from the back of his mussed hair. Apparently, he wasn't going to be getting any sleep. The poor Urisk stood and plopped down beside the fishing woman. Hey, friends were always good.
"Fight too hard, and it'll snap away."
Yaaay she was smiling! Hooray! Kiba loved when people smiled at him. He was too young to know his own charm, something he would only have for a little while longer. The rat baby would be forced to stay in his Crinos form until he could manage a transformation to a more Homid state, but at this moment he wasn't worried about anything of that sort. He was more focused on Quinn's pops, laughing and squeaking as she continued. "Prrrrr!" Kiba said, attempting to copy what she was doing.
One of Beatz's black ears turned towards Barry when he sat next to her, never taking her eyes off the fish. "Fight too hard huh? Hmmm... You a fisher?" She asked conversationally as she gave the line another tug. Beatz didn't sound accusing, merely curious, as she continued to try and get the fish in.
Quinn shook zher head.
"No, Fuffy. Fuffy, 'puh'. 'Puh'."
Barry nodded, watching the struggling fish as he removed his shoes and dipped his feet in the water.
"You could say that. I get as much as I can from the land. Anything that doesn't need...de-germing." Yuck.
Kibarango quieted for a moment to watch her speak, brown eyes peering at her intently. Puh? That wasn't a pop but it was probably close enough. She probably wanted him to repeat what she'd just done. Well, he would give it a shot! "Tuuuuh?"
Beatz gave the line a final tug, dragging the fish up onto the beach. "Aha!" She crowed, moving into grab it and toss it into her bucket. Wewt for free fish! "Oh really? You a farmer of some kind then? Or just a naturalist?" Beatz liked her food freshly off the land too. Pesticides were not good for growing thieves.
Quinn shook her head again. Stupid baby!
"No, Fuffy. 'Tuh' id 'tuh-tul'. 'Puh' id 'puh-pee'."
"Nah," Barry chuckled, "Just an Urisk. I kind of live in the middle of nowhere, so I find it...easier to just go out and get my own things. Healthier, too."
Quinn shook her head again. Stupid baby!
"No, Fuffy. 'Tuh' id 'tuh-tul'. 'Puh' id 'puh-pee'."
"Nah," Barry chuckled, "Just an Urisk. I kind of live in the middle of nowhere, so I find it...easier to just go out and get my own things. Healthier, too."
Awww, even if it was stupid, the pink baby was cute.
"Nuh-uh. Tuh-tle."
"Mmhm. Urisk. An Irish pool fairy," Barry laughed, "I tend to not...spread that word around."
"Tuh brrrr?" He attempted, before grinning widely. That was close, wasn't it? He thought it was close! It sounded pretty close to the rat baby's large pink ears. This talking thing was hard! It was so much easier to just squeak or churr or click his teeth together. But he would get the hang of it!
Beatz blinked at Barry's species, before chuckling inwardly. An Irish pool fairy? That sounded kind of funny. The badger cook offered the Urisk a lop-sided grin. "So you're the Irish equivalent of a life guard? Not too bad, there are worse things to be. Can see why you don't tell people it that often. But I don't judge. The badger clan don't go around hating anybody so long as they don't go around hating us."
Quinn's grin grew even wider, and zhe clapped zher hands together.
"Ya! Tuuuuuh-tuuuuuuuul."
Barry nodded and flopped back into the grass, once again crossing his arms behind his head. He was never calmer than with his feet in the water. He turned to give the badger-woman a little grin.
"That's quite a nice way to live, I must say."
"Tuuuuh tuuuuuh!" Kiba crowed, clapping his hands together awkwardly. Yay! He did it! This sounded really really close! And Quinn looked happy too! Hooray! He started giggling again, clutching his plushie tight to his body. The rat baby was quite pleased with himself today and it showed.
"Quiet I'd imagine, living out in the country side. I live in the city myself, and not in one of the nicer areas I might add. Still, I'm just a cook so I can't expect to live the life of luxury and make a living at the same time." She shrugged her shoulders, apparently not too bothered by her choice of profession or her current place of residence. "Besides, my boss is nice and the little ruffians stay out of the kitchen. Suits me just fine. You ever been to the city?"
Quinn gave a positively gleeful giggle and leaned in to smooch the baby's belly.
"Oh, it's wonderfully quiet," Barry sighed and smiled, "I try to stay as far away from the city as I can. The...cars and pavement and yelling and smoke...it's not what my people were made fo--"
"DADDY! FUFFY SAY TUH-TUHL!" Oh, and Quinn was so proud of the tiny, stupid Fluffy. So proud.
Kiba squealed happily at the smooch, practically a wiggling puddle of glee. Yay! He did it! He had said something good! He didn't have the slightest clue what he had said or done, but she liked it and that was all that mattered. It was like getting a gold star sticker, only ten billion times better.
"Yeah, I can imagine," Beatz started, before she was interrupted by a triumphant spotted she-male. She had gotten Kiba to speak? Haha, the rat baby must be quite happy with that. The badger cook was surprised he hadn't started squeaking and hiccupping yet. "Very good job little miss! With you as his teacher he'll be speaking in no time!"
The ratling gave an enthusiastic squeak at this, still wiggling happily in his carrier. Yay!
Quinn laughed and tugged at Fluffy's carried, dragging him inch by inch closer to the adults.
"Yenno, I've never seen it this talkative before..." Barry said, peering over at Quinn. Huh!
"FUFFY!" Quinn yelped once close enough, "FUFFY, THAY TUH-TLE! TUUUUH-TLE!"
"...but it's always that loud..."
"This critter here seems to inspire them to start talking. I've had several kids come up to him and start babbling away even though their guardians say they're not the talkative kind at all," Beatz replied with a soft chuckle, watching Quinn drag Kiba closer to them. The rat baby was apparently an interesting little creature for toddlers of all ages, who loved to talk to him or pet him. It was a good thing that Kiba didn't mind the attention otherwise he might have been swarmed.
Kiba clicked his teeth together as he was jostled around, but stared intently at his audience. Oooh the spotted thing was calling again! It was his time to shine! "Tuuuuh tuuuh!" He declared proudly, grinning widely.
"Bravo!" Beatz said, clapping her hands.
Quinn gave a brilliant giggle-squeal and clapped zher hands together.
"Thee, Daddy?! THEE?!"
Barry laughed. Sure, Quinn was an infernal handful most days, but it were the moments like this that made him think perhaps it was worth it.
"I see! Good job!"
"Laydee!" Quinn said, suddenly shifting zher attention, "LAYDEE! I how'd Fuffy?!"
Kiba mimicked the clap with a delighted squeak, still copying whatever Quinn did. Zhe was like his teacher, showing him what to do and when to do it. He had no idea that his little performance was over, and was content to just keep doing what zhe did. Everyone seemed to enjoy it anyways.
Beatz blinked when the spotted child addressed her, before nodding at her question. "I don't see why not! Be very gentle with him though, he's just a little thing and he's very young," the badger cook cautioned as she reached into the carrier to scoop out the little ratling. "Hold your arms out." She gently placed Kiba into Quinn's arms, making sure he was settled before she let go. "There."
Quinn giggled and sat cross-legged, rocking slightly and snuggling the baby, kissing the top of his fuzzy little head.
"I've never seen her happy for so long," Barry said quietly, "Man, I need t'start payin' you to let me babysit."
"Fuffy, ah'luffyoo."
Oh, God. The cute. It was so ridiculous.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:45 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 2:51 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:36 pm
11. The First Aff/Av QuestQuinn Well Quinn you've helped your dad make something, but now it's time for you do something by yourself. It's not expected that you'll be welding things together or anything (we expect you to be safe), but it'll be a little creative project that you must do on your own. You need to construct something using five blocks, a pipe cleaner, two marbles, several bits of coloured paper and a thimble. You can arrange these items any way you'd like, and you can also use any means to stick them together.
Poor Barry sat at the dining room table, sewing a new tear in Rose's dress. Quinn was watching nervously, on zher tiptoes, eyes peeking above the wood.
“Daddy…she otay?”
“She’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. Why don’t you go play with you craft kit while you wait?”
“Otay!”
Quinn only left at the promise of Rose’s survival to zher bedroom, opening the little plastic box that contained construction paper, non-toxic glue, and safety scissors. Hmm…this wasn’t enough! Disappointed, Quinn reached around and gathered whatever was in an arm’s radius. Some blocks, marbles, pipe cleaners…and a thimble zhe’d stolen from Daddy! Hmm…what to do with them…
The thimble was filled with glue and the blue marble placed inside. Two locks were attached to either side and…yay! The structure stood! Quinn giggled and clapped, gluing another block to the top and a marble thereon. Woo…! OH GOD! The thimble and marble began to separate, rolling away. Quinn grumbled and grabbed a blue pipe-cleaner, bending it into a weak semi-circle and gluing it in front of the thimble. Hnf. There. That wouldn’t be going anywhere!
...but it looked so plain...
Aha! Quinn pulled out the scissors and paper, cutting little bits out and strategically gluing them to the bocks, marble, and thimble. There! Beautiful! What a wonderful creation!
“Daddy, look!”
Rose fixed, Barry stood and went into Quinn’s room. He handed the doll to the child and crouched beside the…horrible structure.
“What is it?” Barry asked carefully.
“The big buildin’!”
“Which one?”
“The one wif the guy on it!”
…the church?
“Well, that’s very pretty, honey.”
“I know.”
Ah, the modesty of children.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
