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 Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:48 am
Earako's eyes, hidden as ever behind her dark sunglasses, darted nervously between the siblings, hit the outfit and settled there. She folded it carefully, her movements quick but elegant. Her expression, when she handed the bundle to Emi, was hard to read. Maybe there was pride in their. Maybe just embarrassment. But all she said to the other girl was, "I hope it looks nice on you."
And she did. It was the first thing she'd made that wasn't for someone in her family. And she had dreams sometimes, dreams of a little store, with dresses and jewels, where people would come and buy things she made. But Earako was afraid of dreams, and that particular one had never been voiced.
Her attention fluttered to Lian now, the boy's enthusiasm and general lack of threat slowly moving him from potential threat into known quantity. She wasn't always terrified. In the safety of her home, she was almost a different person. Almost.
"Thread and fabric, yes," she said, resettling her wings into a slightly more relaxed position, instead of keeping them wrapped tight around her shoulders. "It's not hard, it just takes practice. Like shooting."
A brief, nervous little smile then, that faded to nothing, "I can't make a cupcake either. But my cousin, she lives with us, she's a good cook." She was the only one in the family who knew how to use a stove, and Earako was sincerely enjoying her addition to the household.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:27 pm
Emi smiled and took the garment. For a moment, she rubbed her fingers over the fabric gently, eyes half-closed in pleasure at the feel of it. The swan had always been a sucker for the pretty things, the feminine, beautifully textured clothing. She didn't respond to Earakos' lightly spoken hope, backing up instead and fluttering off towards her bathroom.
Each child had their own. A perk of having a wealthy, formerly mercenary mother - she enjoyed privacy when naked and bestowing the same upon others in her home. Dagger even let her have pink toiletries.
"You can shoot?" Lians' eyes went up in a clear expression of disbelief. It faded quickly into an impressed chuckle. "That's wicked! Do you like, shoot guns? Or bows? 'Cause arrows would be totally Indian! Ma won't teach me anything like that but Auntie Rapier's lettin' me learn the whole knife-fighting thing. It's kind cool but -"
Another shrug. Dagger made sure to drill manners into Lians' brain since he first stepped into her home. One of the rules? Don't sit next to a young lady when you don't know her. Especially the shy girls! Be nice. Be polite.
"Yeah? Who else do you live with? The typical like, Gaia family? A buncha kids an' a single parent or or?" He crouched down, tail coiled loosely around his legs, peering over to the girl. Lian wasn't at an angle to be peering at any skirts - he just didn't want to tower over the poor thing and Emi lacked anywhere else to sit. "Where'd you learn to sew?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:02 pm
Earako tried her best to hide her surprise at Lian's admission that he didn't know how to shoot. In her world, everyone knew how to, at a minimum, handle a gun reasonably well. Those, like Earako, who had rather obsessive concerns for their own safety, learned how to use one with finesse.
"I don't have any siblings," she replied, answering his second question first. "But I have cousins. They live with us now. And my Aunt, Lithle. She's my Dad's friend."
"Lithle's the one who taught me how to shoot. No one taught me how to sew. I read books about it, when I wanted to learn." She was clearly more at ease now, though not so much so that she stopped glancing at the door, waiting for Emi's return.
"I can do a bow, but not as good as a gun. Lithle says it's not worth it because I can't carry one with me. So mostly I just practice with my guns and my knives. Dad got me a nice little revolver, for my purse." She shook her head briefly, a dismissive gesture. "It's just, I'm not good at fighting. So if-- when--. Well, it's just that Dad and Lithle think I should--"
She laced her fingers into a nervous little knot, her expression an odd mixture of fear and resignation. "I just need to be able to defend myself."
((Technically, Earako has a younger sister, but I've used her so little and her shop is so dead I think I'll just write her out of things...))
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 7:13 pm
"So if and when someone tries to hurt you they'll get their butt totally wrecked, right?" Lian finished her sentence with a casual smile, his arms draped comfortably over his bent knees. "Yeah, s'what Ma and Auntie all say too. It's dangerous for girls out there, specially on their own. Ma says I have to protect girls - specially girls like you and Emi! The quiet and shy ones.
"But Ma also says just showing a weapon would totally, like, just scare the idiot off when he sees it, won't even have to fire. Hey! I have an idea!" Lian grinned again, wide to the point where his bright eyes almost squinted shut. "Okay, so, like, I know you have some sort of kick-butt family if they're teaching you how to shoot but Ma and Auntie have taught us all some moves only to get muggers and junk away, right? I can show you those, you show me how to shoot. Arrows, guns, whatever, y'know? It'll be fun! Emi doesn't like to fight so she'll probably say no but I think it'll be fun! Don't you?"
Poor Earako wasn't going to be getting a save from Emi for the next few moments. Out of their side, the swan had taken up her time by looking at herself in the mirror, adjusting this and that to hide the growing ridge of rib, to fix some ruffled hair or feathers. It was pretty! It fit! She simply wanted to be perfect.
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