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 Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:58 pm
<< I HAS A CABBAGE! >>
SOLO ENTRY-cabbage Echo was crouched over on the couch. Her legs were curled underneath her and her hands held the book that had her so captivated. It was really good - a sci-fi novel about a girl in space who was kidnapped by space-pirates and now had to fend for herself against the hardened brigands. The character was just about to draw her hip-knife when....
BANG BANG BANG
....it caught on her safety strap. What was that doing there? Who ever said that fighting was glamorous and perfect was seriously mistaken! But one of the crew was almost to her, if she didn't get her knife out in time....
BANG BANG BANG!
For the love of..... "MACKEREL!" Echo yelled, still crouched over the tome, trying to figure out where exactly she had left off. "CAN YOU GET THE DOOR?"
"I am NOT a maid!" came the snorky response.
"Get the-" the woman paused. Wait a minute, she hadn't ordered anything... Reluctantly, Echo fished for her bookmark. The book wasn't even closed before she heard the sound of bare feet running.
"I'LL GET IT!" Mackerel yelled authoritatively, sounding much older than her obiovus child body suggested.
Well, not things were really weird. The girl never helped out. Echo could be on the floor with a knife in her leg, and Mackerel would either not show up, or step over her bleeding body to get to the cookie on the counter. So, to have her answer the door - even after making a witty comment - was unheard of.
Echo's feet touched the carpet, and as she turned out of the room, almost ran into Mackerel, holding a wrapped package. The woman didn't even glance it it, instead she tried to read the girl's face. "Kerel, are you feeling alright?"
The girl rolled her eyes, but then nodded. "Yes'sum. I'm okay. I'm just going to go back to my studies."
The woman took two steps, and blocked the girl's path. "No, you're not - you never are.... what's going on?" She then saw what was in Mackerel's arms. "What's that?"
Mackerel shoved the round package-wrapped thing behind her. "Nothing, now if you excuse me," she tried to push past Echo's bigger and adult size.
"It's never 'nothing' with you, now hand it over." Without any trouble, Echo leaned over and plucked the thing out of Mackerel's hands. "Is this what was delivered? Did you buy this? Where'd you get the money? What else have you bought?" She made each demand as she turned and walked towards the living room - back towards her book - to open the curiosity.
The whole time, Mackerel didn't answer the questions, but followed closely, occasionally tripping over Echo's (not so) big feet. "It isn't anything, give it back, Echo! It's not yours to take! In fact, that's called stealing and is highly looked down upon in society! Come ooooon, give it back!"
Echo ignored the comments, and returned to her original spot. She held the package on her lap, and Mackerel took a spot nearby to steam and glare about her possession being 'stolen'.
"Is this some secret weapon you plan to take over the world with? As if your good charm and dashingly good looks didn't work enough for you already." She was already opening it, and after so many layers was finally down to that last one - and it was plastic. "Oh, maybe it's a ball covered in slime so you could throw it at houses and make more of a mess. You know, the cops said if you are brought in one more time, they'll press charges... and then how can you-"
Echo stopped and looked at what rested inside that plastic wrap. It was green, and leaf-layered. To the touch, it was moist with small droplets of dew, and the thick leaves were veined. It was...
"A cabbage?" Echo looked up and at Mackerel, in complete confusion. "What in the world did you order a cabbage for!?" It must have costed a lot... and the shipping fees! Why have a cabbage delivered? Usually, one could not keep Mackerel in the house for very long. Now she was worried how much had been spent... because the child didn't have a job - in fact, she just took all of Echo's money! But instead of flipping out, the woman took a few deep breathes and waited.
Mackerel looked offended, "It's not just a cabbage! It's maaaagical! The guy I bought it from said that if you take care of it, it will turn into a child!" There was a spark in her eye, and Echo might have thought it was one of interest and curiosity, a child's sparkle... but it looked so out of place on Kerel's face and was gone so fast that she doubted her eyes.
"Uh huh." Echo mumbled. "And, where did you get this?"
Mackerel blinked, and it almost seemed that she wouldn't answer when the girl shrugged. "E-Bay."
Swearing under her breath, the woman took some more deep breathes. Chances are, it would just grow some more and be... a cabbage. "And you are going to take care of it."
"Of course," Mackerel snorted, what a silly question.
A dark eyebrow arched up. "You've never taken care of a thing in your life. It's hard enough to get you to open the door to let the dog out! How do you intend to care for it?"
Mackerel sniffed distastefully, "Like I do with everything else. If I leave it long enough, you'll deal with it anyways." The girl stopped short and gave Echo a long stare. "Just remember, it is MY cabbage." And then she walked away, leaving the newly arrived vegetable in Echo's hands.
Echo sighed and looked down at the cabbage, caressing the silky leaves. "Well, I guess you are mine now - cabbage or not. She'll probably forget about you in a couple days anways." Another sigh. "Welcome to the family, Mr. Cabbage Head."
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:19 pm
<< I HAS MANURE! >>
SOLO ENTRY-cabbage Echo sat on her heels, looking at the equipment scattered about her. It was a couple says ago that she had the cabbage mailed to her home. As predicted, Mackerel was adamant about getting it back during the first 24 hours, but then promptly lost interest and had dismissed the fact that she had even created the fiasco. Now, the woman was sitting outside in the dirt, preparing to plant the cabbage. It felt sacrilegious, but she had kept the thing in the refrigerator to keep it from spoiling. That's all she needed…a possibly would-be child cabbage rotting in her kitchen during summer. The smell alone was enough to avoid such a possibility.
Now, she picked up the book she bought.
1. Transplant or thin small cabbage plants to 15-18” apart in rows 32-36” apart.
Well, that wasn't an issue. This lone cabbage would be the only one in this small and somewhat pathetic garden.
2. Prepare a rich, loose soil that holds moisture well and has a pH level of 6.0-6.5. Use a starter fertilizer, soaking the root ball thoroughly prior to transplanting.
This was done. The soil was prepared for the new arrival. There was, of course, fertilizer in there. She had gone to great lengths to get the best: and not the chemically-enhanced junk one picked up in a convenience store. Now, she had gone to a local farm and bought it direct. Thankfully, this did not entail going out to a pasture and picking it herself.
Now, Echo was there, her hands smudged with dirt and the moisture mixing with the soil and soaking the knees of her pants. They were going to stain, but this had to be done. She did as the book said, and soaked the root ball. There were pictures, even – colored ones! – that perfectly showed what they meant.
3. To help deter Cabbage worms, use row covers in the earlier part of the growing season - this will prevent moths from laying eggs on the plant. It also helps to manually remove cabbage worms if visible.
The small woman put in three stakes around her cabbage. Over them went a thin, fine mesh cover. She didn't have an actually "row cover" so she had improvised. The mesh still allowed sunlight through, but was fine enough that no moths, worms, or eggs, were going to get through and threaten her cabbage. Echo was not taking chances.
After the cover was firmly in place, the woman took out her spray bottle and while on "mist" made sure the cabbage was comfortably wet without drowning. Then, Echo padded the ground and pulled out any offending weeds that might have grown since she tilled the area two days ago. The sprouts were unable to resist her and came out very quickly.
Echo still wasn't convinced about this cabbage turning into a child. Granted, it wasn't the strangest thing she had heard of or seen, but the doubt nagged in the back of her mind. But if it didn't turn into someone else, at least she had a nice clean cabbage that she could enjoy later one. But time would tell. Really, all she needed was another angst child around the house… breaking things, making messes, and being altogether unpleasant…
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Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:40 pm
<< I HAS CHRISTMAS! >>
SOLO ENTRY-cabbage The tree was set up, the music was blaring. Even some presents were wrapped and waiting under pine boughs. Mackerel was off, leaving the house to her care-taker.
Echo glanced at the recipe and did a quick visual sweep of the kitchen. The oven was set to 325 degrees, the pan was greased and covered in raw cookie dough, and the cookies were in the oven with the timer set. There was nothing else for her to do except wait.
After glancing at her watch, the woman looked outside as some plump snowflakes fell from the sky. Her outside decorations were done, but she was feeling bad for the cabbage which was stuck in a corner, protected from the harsh elements of winter. What cruel fate, to be alive but as a cabbage during Christmas.
Well, she would bring a touch of the spirit to the cabbage!
Echo went to her mostly empty boxes of Christmas decorations and thumbed through what was left. Satisfied, she took her armful outdoors, only stopping to snatch her coat from its position on the chair. No point and making yourself sick for Christmas Day!
Manuevering decorations, the small woman opened the door and walked outside where the wind nipped at her cheeks. Making her way to the cabbage, Echo uprighted a chair with her foot and put the armful there. The small shrub next to the cabbage was prime for her ideas. The woman hung some bio-degradable tinsel, as well as ornaments that were selectively chosen as they wouldn't crack and grumble under the winter cold.
Finished, Echo stood back and looked over the design. It wasn't the same as it was inside, but at least it was better than nothing. But something was missing....
With a small gasp, she ran inside. When she returned, a small package - wrapped in waterproof wrapping - was in her hands. Smiling, Echo put the present under the decorated shrub. Whoever - and whatever - came out of the cabbage would have something for him/her right away.
Echo sat down in the chair, wrapped in her thick coat, and just spent some time with the cabbage. Until, of course, a chime sounded inside and she had to run and rescue her cookies from the oven-monster.
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:59 pm
<< A CHILD THIS WAY COME >>
SOLO ENTRY-baby The snow howled outside as a late in the season blizzard raged. Even Mackerel, who rarely liked to be at the house, was around - lounging and eating Echo out of house and home. A levelled teen bored out of her mind, the structure of the very building was at stake. She regularly took a little from here and a little from there - where would the limit be for the attic? Who knew.
Echo was getting the itch during her time indoors as well. The weather this bad, and the second day running... she wasn't working. Luckily, she had stocked up on food - at the rate Mackerel was going they might not have much left by the end of the week. She just hoped there weren't any snowdrifts that kept them there snowed in. The small woman was in her library, keeping the fire going as she read a book...something about yadda on a beach and yadda about a wave and just lots of warm paradise-like places.
Mackerel was at the counter by the kitchen seperation. She was occupied with a bowl of her personal "party mix" with dried strawberries, bananas, apricots, and chips of nutella (specially made). A handful here, munch munch munch, and another there, nibble nibble.
The door opened, and a snow-covered child entered from the back (unlike the front, it was not locked - and who would be walking around during a blizzard anyways?). Mackerel didn't even flinch, but watched the figure walk to the counter. In fact, the teen ate her mix, her eyes never leaving the target.
The snow form paused and seemed to looked at Mackerel (how is unknown, only snow indents showed where the eyes were). Then, without a word, it crawled onto a chair, then on to a stool, and finally settled on the counter, directly across from the green-haired teen. A blob of snow on a stick of snow came out. Flabberghasted, Mackerel put a strawberry in the middle where it sunk in to the snow.
The strawberry was taken, and plopped into an opening at the top of the snow. Some sticky frozen water fell from the face and revealed a dark-skinned child with bright golden eyes. The eyes sparkled as the now unfettered hand was extended again, for another chewy morsel.
Mackerel repeated the process, until the child (a baby, really, a little girl) was melted and sitting in a puddle of water.
She was small, and looked to be in a padded flightsuit. Little booties completed the outfit, but it was what sprouted from her back that really caught the Herald's attention. They were... WINGS! But nothing like she ever saw before. There was a definate root and heart to the structure, and thin white metal was screwed and stitched to attach. Gears and gyros could be seen inside, and as the child shifted, you could hear their ever-constant hum.
While intrigued, Mackerel was not really all that pleased. She felt that Heralds were the superior being and did not want to be giving up such thing to this... child. And where had she come from anyways? When the blizzard stopped, she'd have to check on that cabbage. And if the cabbage was gone, just as the description on eBay had said it would to reveal a child... she would be furious. No way would something she bought would outshine her. Not that she was worried, she just didn't even want the possibility to be there.
With a final glare, Mackerel stood up, leaving her mix to settle in the pool or water, which was still dripping to the ground and creating multiple more puddles. "ECHO!" she yelled as she turned around. "THERE'S SOMEWHERE HERE TO SEE YOU!"
With an exasperated sigh, the woman got to her slippered feet and stretched. She was just in a good spot, where the main character was soaking in a nice relazing hot spring. Oh, how she wished she were there. But Mackerel was not one to be ignored - she would scream and holler until she got her way. And Echo was just not in the mood.
As Echo turned the corner, she wasn't paying much attention. The moment her toe came into contact with the running water, she squealed and fell flat on her bum. Seeing stars, the woman looked up, only to see a young face peering down at her with a giggle in her eyes.
"Can I help you?" Echo squeaked, a hand going to her head while her clothes soaked up the water, saving a part of the chore she'd have to complete.
The baby only waddled back and sat down comfortably in the water. She was already wet, so was there was no further discomfort. "Ma.Ma"
Echo sat up, an eyebrow arched. "Oh...this is not going to go well...."
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:09 pm
<< FLIGHT LESSONS >>
SOLO ENTRY-baby Echo sat on on the couch, playing with one of the white metal feathers that Zahira had made. The child was impossible! Only a toddler and she had demanded an extra room to herself as a workshop, which was something rather difficult given her limited speech.
She knew how to get the materials she wanted, and always managed to portray her meaning. Once she got both, Zahira started working on feathers. At first, they looked like childish attempts of barely shaped blobs, but now... they actually looked like feathers. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the toddler was doing - she was making replacements. While the root of the win was embedded into her back, everything else was able to be taken off, examiner, repaired, and replaced, as needed. But the material had to come from somewhere, and such appendages were not self-generating.
Only when it came to her wings and workshop was Zahira anything but a toddler. All other times she was laughing and giggling and acting as any near-infant should.
Even now she was crawling on the floor (it was easier for short distances) and chasing around a yapping toy pooch. She seemed to really like dogs. Without warning, her wings flared up, knocking the vase off the table. Echo yelped and dove for the flowers and potential water-spillage...and flopped on the hardwood floor. She missed the vase, but as it ended up landing on her back and bouncing to the floor without breaking into a thousand edged shards... well it could have been worse even if her back was now wet. Seemed to be a common theme with the child, which she knew now had really come from the cabbage.
Zahira had froze when a wing hit the vase, and watched in a kind of awed horror as it fell. Even if it had shattered, it wouldn't have been the first. In fact, she was accident prone in terms of her wings flailing at the most inconvenient times. Like spasms of a seizure.
Echo, only bruised and slightly wet, sat up, and took the vase with her. The flowers she gathered and returned to another vase that was on the table. Really, she should learn not to keep breakables.... well, anywhere. No matter how how she might keep them, Zahira had a habit of spasm-flights which could reach any height below the ceiling.
That taken care of, Echo leaned down and lift the child (wings away from the face and such breakables as her eyes). From there, she went to Mackerel's room. The blizzard had let up long a go, but the Herald seemed inclined to stick around lately. Maybe she thought she'd get something for her birthday.
"Mackerel?" Echo knocked on the door before entering. Hefting the child, she stood by the enterance.
"Will you please give Zahira some flight lessons?" Echo sighed. This was a common discussion, and it always ended the same with Kerel's refusal.
"No," the Herald teen mumbled as she continued to organize her CD's.
"Mackerel, this is getting rediculous." Echo sighed, shifting the toddler. "She needs to learn to fly. And the sooner the better. We both know she's doing so instinctively, and not very well."
"So you teach her." Mackerel still hadn't looked up.
"As I told you before. I can't. Flying airplanes is different than having your own wings." Echo did the best she could to be stern.
"So," Mackerel snorted. "I had to learn by myself, she can learn on her own as well."
Echo glared, "No you didn't! Arrakis taught you! And besides, you couldn't fly until you were taught... Zahira is doing things.... on her own."
Mackerel just rolled her eyes, not even admitting her mistake.
"Come on, who know what she'll break next! It might be your CD player... or your iPod! A wing might accidentally flap and smash it against the wall. And you know she doesn't do it on purpose." Echo had to put a hand on the girl's back as she clung to Echo's neck to avoid looking too intently at Mackerel (who yelled at her a couple times for entering this most 'sacred' of rooms).
Whatever it was, Mackerel paused and then looked up with her two-toned eyes. The corner of her lip lifted as she sneered. "Fine, I'll teach her! But only once the weather is better! I won't go trasping around the snow."
Echo's eyes danced - she actually won a battle with Mackerel! However, the idea was daunting. "Outside? Are you sure that's safe? What if she ventures too high?"
"Then she'll learn." Mackerel growled, and stood up, smoothing out her layered skirts. As she came up to them, she lifted her hands and took Zahira into her own arms. She could be careful when she wanted. "But for now, I'll go teach her to control her wings so my stuff doesn't become wall fodder."
Echo nodded and left the two alone.
Mackerel looked down at Zahira, who smiled toothily up at her. The teen sighed, "Alright, let's go do this... not in my room."
They went to the high-ceilinged parlor.
"Okay, Zahira," she stood the child up on her feet. "We'll work on basics today. Now, I want you to just lift your wings." Mackerel demonstrated.
The issue with Zahira was control and not strength - which had been the intial issue with the Herald. Because of that, there seemed to be no limits.
"M'Kay." Zahira giggled. She was able to lift her left wing, but her right started to flap uncontrollably. Due to the irregular pattern, no flight was obtained but it was good there was nothing nearby.
Mackerel jumped back, just to make sure. "No, no, Zahira. You must go slowly. Think - lift. down. lift. down. Like to the measure of the song, to the beat." At least that was one thing they both enjoyed. Pulling a remote out of her pocket, she pressed a button and some easy-beat music could be heard playing. Mackerel slowed her own wingbeats to the music.
There were a few more frantic flaps, but eventually Zahira was able to control them. She flapped her wings slowly and carefully to the music. But when her eyes started to droop and the mechanics whined with more and more irregular movements, then Mackerel knew it was time to stop. Perhaps they had taken the first lesson too far.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:49 pm
<< Sneaky Sneak >>
CLOSED ENTRY-baby Participants :: + Casia
Link :: +Here+
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