Welcome to Gaia! ::

The Churning Waves

Valkyrie and Fade spend some time at home with Worf.

The Universe Expands

Valkyrie grows to a toddler.

The Holly and The Ivy

It was not your typical Christmas. There was no tree, there were no stockings, and certainly there was no milk or cookies for Santa Claus. Valkyrie's blindness meant that most of the usual holiday antics were all but useless to her joy, and so instead the house was simply covered in the scent of pine and freshly baked cookies-- via the use of an air freshening system, of course.

Fade had her wrapped up warmly and snuggled up by the fire on the couch. They had listened to Christmas music for a while until the girl fell asleep, and then he had gone to fetch the presents he'd acquired for her.

Not knowing much about the ways of little girls, he'd had a rough time figuring out what to get. Still, the salesperson had been very helpful, if a bit miffed at the idea of finding toys for a toddler who couldn't see. After all, most toys for that age were designed for visual stimulation, not necessarily tactile or auditory.

She certainly couldn't play any video games, and was probably too little for that sort of thing anyway. And the same went for many of the other smaller toys. Still, he found some that made pleasant sounds and got her some blankets and other soft, plush toys of the kind that she seemed to enjoy. He'd even bought some "home made" cookies for her to munch on in the morning.

Staring into the crackling fire, he wondered for a moment just why it was he had agreed to keep the child. Perhaps it was just her complete helplessness; being blind and so young, there was no way that she could take care of herself. And it wasn't as though he'd know where to go in order to get rid of her.

Something told him, however, that neither of those were the whole answer. It was just something -about- her. Something beautiful, something unique. She just...drew him. She needed his protection, and he was going to give it, even if he didn't know what he was protecting her against. And he'd keep her as happy as possible while doing so.

If that meant burying her in teddybears and learning how to cook, then so be it.

The Sun's Rays