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“Mom where do the cabbages go” Bishop asked as she stared at the lone large piece of vegetation that sat on a crate of water bottles in the backroom of the store. It must have fallen away from the rest of the cabbages it had been with. Although Bishop didn't remember the store ever having had cabbages never mind one quite so big.


Confused at her daughter's question Carol handed the convenience store's current customer their change then closed the register and went to see what was going on. Perhaps Bishop's imagination had gotten to best of her at last. It was only once she opened the door to the store room and looked in that Carol froze and blinked in confusion. There was cabbage, a huge one at that sitting on a crate of water bottles . It made no sense, where the heck had it come from? It couldn't have just sprouted legs and walked there and Andrea was in the house napping so how did it get into the store room? Joey perhaps might have left it as a joke though Carol has no clue what it was supposed to mean.

Looking into Bishop's confused eyes Carol just shook her head equally perplexed. “ We don't sell cabbages honey” She said and picked up the object in question. Strangely enough the outer leaves felt hard. They were the normal deep green of a cabbage and as she held the thing to her chest with one at and filled with the tip of a leaf Carol found it was pliable just harder and heavier than normal.

Carrying it back out into the store so she could examine it more thoroughly and keep an eye on any customers that might come in Carol felt a sense of familiarity come over her. She knew this, had heard about this before, giant strange cabbages.

The sweet smell of exotic flowers wafted into her nose as Bishop skipped in front of her, flower pendant from kaimi swaying back and forth as she did so and suddenly it hit the woman. Kaimi , Naomi had said Kaimi came from a cabbage. There was no guarantee that this was the same type but it'd be worth the effort to make a phone call and try to find out. In the mean time Carol'd put the odd faux vegetable the relative safety of the house.

“ Bishop can you take this and put it on the table. Please don't eat it or let anything bad happen to it ok? You can spray it with water like the houseplants if you want to though.” A little water probably wouldn't hurt it after all it still seemed plant like.

As soon as she was relived of the burden Carol walked back behind the store counter and reached for the phone. Time to make a call.

Carol was stretched out on the couch watching tv, the woman was bathed in the muted glow of light projected from the screen. It was late , the girl's were sound asleep and Carol was taking the time to catch up on show's she'd recorded on her DVR and hadn't had time to watch. There was something relaxing she mused, about watching other people get frustrated over being horrible handymen and struggling desperately to finish the assigned projects.

From time to time she'd look down at the cabbage that currently took up residence on the coffee tables beside her mug of coffee. She'd called the Liberty Centre as Naomi had said and they'd confirmed that the large vegetable was one of theirs and while they would collect the bioplant later the child that would appear from inside was hers if she wanted it. Unable to deny the offer, especially with Bishop and Andrea watching her intently as she made the call Carol had agreed.

She'd called Nickle later and asked him to come over Friday to help her clear out her office so she'd have room to give the child their own room, despite Bishop offering to share. It just made more sense in her mind to give each kid their own room. Not to mention that apparently there was a possibility that the child would be very young at emergence and might wake one of the other girls if it shared a room with them. A separate room with a baby monitor was best.

On screen a woman cursed as she drilled too far into a wall just before the show cut to a commercial. Granite eyes flicked downwards again only to see liquid leaking out from the bottom of the cabbage, the leaves also looked like they were starting to spread apart.

Carol watched fascinated, a small part of her reminded the woman she didn't have anything set up for the kid yet since she'd assumed it would take a week or two for the cabbage to fully develop. Still a smile tugged at her lips as the leaves slowly parted. More liquid, hopefully water, leaded out from the bottom and each parting leaf seemed to be coated in it too.

Suddenly as if the child inside had had enough of the process the cabbage split nearly in half and revealed a small.. Carol wasn't sure. The child was wearing clothing strangely enough; a soaking wet toga clung to the child's body.

Boy or girl they were certainly interesting to look at. Ruby red eyes blinked blearily at her from beneath large ridged eyes brows. It's skin skin was a slate grey covered the whole body as far as she could tell. Instead of hair the child, no Rook, Rook was a good neutral name, had an odd crown formation at the top of their head with thin blue webbing strung between spines.

As Rook stretched on the table the toga moved and Carol confirmed him as a boy. Standing slowly so as not to scare him she reached out and gently grabbed the damp boy. His skin was rubbery like the whales at the marina. " Hi Rook I think you need a bath and then a nap ok? Carol's words were soft and reassuring.

The three fingers of each of Rook's hands tightened on her arms and he looked up at her uncertainly. Carol just smiled and lifted him up. " You can even have bubbles ok?."

An hour later Carol lay in bed beside Rook watching him sleep. he'd curled into fetal position with his thick tail resting over large two toed feet. He was an odd one her Rook what with metal and jewels embedded in his akin plus a shackle and a few links of chain that refused to come off; still, he'd fit in just fine.

Carol slowly pushed Rook's stroller through the mall with Andrea and Bishop walking beside her.They were out shopping for clothes for both Rook and Andrea. Rook because he had nothing besides the toga style robe he'd been born with and Andrea because she was just a bit bigger than bishop and almost none of the other girl's clothes fit her. Both children needed several sets of outfits, Rook needed shoes( if they could fit any to fit his strange feet and both could use some personal items for their rooms.

Rook who crawled more than he could walk at this point was being pushed because there was no way the young boy was steady enough to walk during an an entire mall trip. Each day he seemed to get a bit stronger but he wasn't yet ready. At least, Carol mused they could use the space under the stroller to carry shopping bags. The woman had learned the hard way that Bishop tended to swing bags around haphazardly if given them to hold.

“Can I go look at the animals because I don't need clothes?” Bishop asked throwing Carol a charming smile. The girl had a habit of using that smile whenever she wanted something, or was trying to keep out of trouble.

“ Sorry” Carol said shaking her head “ but you're too small, we're sticking together.” Malls were too crowded this time of year for Carol to take any chances of Bishop getting lost or grabbed. Besides it wouldn't only lead to the girl begging incessantly for a pet for the next few days.

The dark haired woman wheeled the strolled into a nearby children's clothing store. Nothing too fancy but nice durable clothes at reasonable prices. At their age Carol didn't see the point in fancy clothes on children unless it was a special event. Children were meant to play and have fun and get dirty, it made sense for their clothes to need to stand up that kind of treatment. Besides the old fashioned blue jean hadn't gone out of style yet.


~
Andrea enjoyed trying on new clothes, it made this feel more permanent because the group homes always just gave her leftover clothes to wear.new clothes were fun and the fact that she was allowed to choose her own, within reason was awesome.Since it was winter she'd have to wait to pick out things like shorts and t-shirts with funny images on them but there were still pairs of pants and some sweaters had logos the blonde girl liked.

Bishop was helping too, after figuring out what sizes Andrea wore her new sibling had made sure to help Andrea look through racks on clothes she liked for things in the right size.Every now and again the amber eyed girl would pick out something random though and show it to Andrea for approval. For the most part the two had different tastes but Bishop had found her a really cute camouflage hoody that stuck a chord with the girl.

That too was nice, having siblings again. Andrea stilled missed her brothers and sister from before, still wished every day that she could have her family back. It wasn't that she didn't like Carol or Bishop or Rook just that they could never replace the family she'd once had.


~

Bishop bounced about the store carrying clothing too and from her sister as well as to and from the change room. It wasn't as fun as trying on clothes herself but it was interesting. Winter clothing was usually soft and fuzzy and it was nice to run her hands over the fabric. Plus when she got bored the girl merely imaged herself in a giant bazaar each tall circular rack was a vendor hawking wares, trying to get her attention.

Knowing nothing about boy's clothes she couldn't really help Rook which made her a bit sad because he was her new brother and she wanted to be nice to hi. She couldn't even help pick out a winter hat for him because his head was shaped funny and a hat wouldn't fit on it.

Passing a table filled with items an idea hit the girl. She could pick out a scarf and mittens for him to wear. He'd need them for playing outside once he learned to walk better.

~

Rook sighed and whined as various clothes were put on him and then taken off again as his mother tried to find things that fit and din't make the young boy squirm. He didn't like clothes they bugged his skin and were too tights and didn't let air breath. Fussing he swung his legs back and forth while seated on a bench in the change room. The chain attached to the shackle on his left leg jingled softly as he did so.Rook found the predictable jingle oddly comforting and every now and then for no reason he would twitch that leg just to hear it .

“ Too tight,” he whined as his mother thrust him into another turtleneck.” No” he crossed his arms and looked at her crimson eyes stony as he tried to make his feelings clear. This shirt was not ok.

“ It's exactly the right size Rook it can't be too tight.” His mother argued.

Six fingers reached up to claw at the neck “ Too tight “ he repeated. It wasn't comfortable and he didn't want to wear it.

A moment later cool air caressed his chest as the shirt was removed. Better now he felt ok again.” No more” The little boy whined, curling up with his head on his knees and his tail curled around his feet.” Please.”


No, there was more and more until his mother was satisfied. At least the things he saw her buy were stuff that didn't bug him too much to wear. Still he was happy with practically no clothing on at all to be honest. Although he sort of liked the ankle socks and matching mittens Bishop had picked out. He'd whined when she tried to add a scarf though, he didn't like constricting clothes at all.

~

Carol found that bedroom shopping was so much easier than clothes shopping for children. First she'd gotten things for Rook's room, which Nickle had come over to help with earlier than planned. She'd rush ordered a bed that he could grow into, some other furniture and a toy chest that would be delivered at the end of the day.

Rook had picked out simple blue sheets and blankets avoiding anything with a pattern. Though he had looked at her pleadingly for a child sized body pillow which she'd given in and got him.it was the sort in which heat packs could be placed which might help keep the boy warm on particularly cold nights.

Andrea had been a bit fussier being older and having a more definite sense of what she did and did not like. Fortunately the girl didn't mind the furniture already available in the guest room. She had simply wanted to be able to choose a comforter of her own, along with pillow cases and a lamp so she could read at night before bed and not have to get up and be cold to turn off the light.

All three children had been promised toys soon enough after all Christmas was coming.That and carol knew hours could be spent looking for just the right doll and all of the kids had started to get a bit grumpy. Instead she'd offered them lunch at the food court and an ice cream cone each for dessert. That had brightened everyone's spirits and the shoppign trip was overall a success.

PD with Joshua
link http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=14226587
summary

Rook sat on the couch and watched with wide eyes as the Christmas tree in the far corner of the living room lit up with red yellow green and blue lights. They blinked on and off merrily for a minutes before going dark. He frowned before seeing his mother's hand on switch that turned them on and off. They weren't broken, she just didn't want them blinking while the family tried to decorate the tree.

Rook was helping too just not yet so he didn't want to be in the way while everyone else tried to put stuff on the tree. Besides this way he could nibble unnoticed at the tray of mixed nuts on coffee table. He really liked the half moon ones.



Carol backed away from the tree and left Bishop and Andrea to figure out where the ornaments and candy canes were going respectively, Since everyone had wanted to help she'd split up the jobs. Set up and lights, they'd got a fake tree but not a pre-lit, was here job. Bishop was in charge of ornaments, Andrea in charge of candycanes and Rook was adding some tinsel and a star to the top of the tree at the end.

Everyone seemed happy with their assigned jobs and while Carol would have liked to have had a bit more control over where things went and the overall finished design she figured who cared as long as the kids were happy and she kept an eye on them on the ladder. Practically no one was going to see the tree anyways even if it did look funny. Although she wasn't above reorganizing some of the decorations if it looked like they would end up overloading one area and unbalancing the tree.




Bishop stood carefully on the small step ladder and began placing ornament nears the top of the tree . She was working her way down while Andrea worked her way up. She had a plan too. at the top would go round ornaments, clear then coloured, then next would be the picture frames at the front and the little rocking horses on the sides. Then there would be fairies and other pretty ornaments. Lastly near the bottom would be little nutcracker soldiers and drummer boys to protect and alert the rest of the tree. All in all she thought it was a good plan.


Andrea methodically placed candy canes along the bottom branches of the tree. Normal ones, pink and white, white and green, white and yellow. The blonde placed one after the other aroudn the tree then switched the pattern on her next next of chosen branches so that all the ones of certain coloured weren't in the same spot. She's seen the technique used on tv the other day and thought it looked cool and better than just tossing the candycanes wherever.

She was careful to leave Bishop space to place her ornaments and looking up she could tell the other girl was doing the same for her. They worked well together and the ache in the girl's chest for her lost family lessened just a little.

This was the season for family closeness and of course it tore at the girl when she thought about her former one . Still, they were trying so hard here to love her and Andrea couldn't help but want to really belong. Anything was better than back to the foster homes but this place was special.


In the end the tree turned out decently in Carol's opinion. A bit unconventional but certainly pretty in it's own way. The lights were set to blinking on and off slightly and the shine of them made the light sprinkling of tinsel sparkle even more. The rest of the decorations looked lovely and all in all she felt the tree was a success. From the way the kids looked at it with wide grins she could tell they felt the same.

Ringing in the new year

PD with Kaimi
Link: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=14349563
summary: new years fun at the connor household

Rook had been sleeping beautifully when a string ringing sounded in his ears and his body seemed to light on fire. He awoke with a start to see the crimson jewels on his left arm flashing with an inner fire and a quick look in nearby mirror confirmed that the jewel on his forehead was doing the same. The boy froze wanting to call out but help but worried that someone might get hurt if he did. Rook had no idea what was wrong with him and he didn't know what to do about it.

All of a sudden his body was bathed in bright red light and Rook watched confused as his body began to morph uncontrollably. Painlessly the rubbery grey skin on his legs stretched out before his eyes as his legs lengthen and the two toed feet attached to them grew. The shackle on his left ankle seemed to grow as well and remained firmly in place.

It was fascinating if sort of strange to watch as the light generated by the jewels receded from the changed parts of his body and worked it's way up. His tail stretched out and got thicker and heavier he noted as it hung off the side of the bed. To be honest all off him seemed a bit heaver as his chest expanded and the rest of his body filled out leaving Rook looking several years older.

When the light died down and the jewels on his arms when dull again , the young boy slipped out of bed to examine his new body. He found that as heavy as it had felt before he was already becoming used to it and that everything still moved the same way it had before. Still, Rook found it sort of disconcerting to have suddenly grown. He now stood tall over both his sister's heights and they were both far older than him. How had this happened?

Tired, the boy climbed back into bed and curled up. He was worried but it could wait till morning , he wasn't hurt and he didn't want to wake his mother up. Confused and feeling more than a little strange Rook settled down to hopefully sleep again. Perhaps everything would make more sense in the morning when he was rested.

A dormant need inside the boy awakens and the clock begins to tick, how long, how long until he can find them?

Rook sat at his desk in class, tail poking out through a slot in his chair and swaying behind him in agitation. This wasn't right, this was not how things were supposed to be.

The boy had taken a test to get into a special school that he and Bishop and Andrea now attended, though Bishop was smaller than him she'd scored a bit better and was in a harder class as was Andrea , so Rook was left to navigate his first school year experiences alone.

At first it hadn't been so bad with classes being the same every and a rigidly timed schedule with bells to keep everyone informed of when things were happening. This orderliness made Rook happy and he'd settled into the routine, trying hard to learn his lessons as best he could.

Right now though Rook was finding his nice placating routine ruined. it was writing time where the children were supposed to be practicing writing out their letters in cursive as well was writing that weeks spelling tests words out in normal print and cursive. What was really happening though was that the teacher was out in the hall disciplining another student for something and the while class seemed to have erupted into whispers and airborne crumbled paper balls that bore notes for those who were too far away from each other to whisper.


It was irritating and unsettling for Rook who'd come to expect mostly silence during this time, well a sort of silence that included the odd rustling of paper and the sound of pencils scratching paper. This however was just a cacophony if noise and it was stressing the young boy out to the point where he could no longer focus on his own work. Instead the Rook ended up with his head buried in his arms trying to block out the noise and calm himself down. He didn't know why this was
happening why it made him jumpy and upset but it did and Rook hated it. All he wanted was quiet and to go back to work.


" Please be quiet and go back to work " he whispered softly from where he sat, not wanting to really say it out loud and upset anyone. "Please be quiet and go back to work." He murmured and gently rubbed at oen of the jewels on his arm trying to comfort himself.

As hard as he wished for it the general atmosphere of the class did not change although a few students did cease talking not that Rook was aware of it or aware that his innate talents had for once tried to work in his favor.

Fortunately for Rook a moment later his teacher, Mr Samuels. returned and the class soon quieted down and returned to it's normal order. Still, Rook spent the rest of the morning until lunch shivered a little and trying to quell the uneasy feeling that had risen in his stomach. He really really didn't like when things didn't happen like they were supposed to.