|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 7:29 pm
"It's called Glory's Peak. Still on the air, I think. I was the kid-sister type, so thankfully I didn't ever have any of those silly love scenes. I never kept up with it after they killed me so I have no idea what's going on now." She listened to Elysia talk about the Furies with interest. "Gems, huh? I've heard of some weird things coming out of the most ordinary objects lately. I mean, I've lived in Gaia all my life, I guess I just never paid attention to stuff like that before. Now it seems like every other kid came out of a book or an animal or a piece of food. Not that I mind, of course," she added.
Sylvester scratched at his arm for a second before answering, "I don't know how I found it either, really." He laughed. "It was a weird place."
He briefly glanced at Smerdle again before looking back at Rhea. "We should play Hide and Seek. I think Mama would be worried if I ran around a lot, even though we're inside. You don't have to run as much in Hide and Seek." He might have rolled his eyes, but he didn't really mind his mother's inconsistent doting, at least not yet. He sat up straighter before launching into an explanation.
"Okay. The first thing we've gotta do is pick who's It. That's the person that does the seeking. The other person hides and the It person counts to some number. I guess we pick one. Then the It person says 'Ready or not, here I come' and finds the one that's hidin'. And if the It person gives up looking... well, I don't know. My uncle's real good at finding me." He bit his lip. "That's it. Did I miss anything? I probably did. D'you have any questions?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:07 pm
Elysia couldn't help but laugh as she pictured this poor woman being "killed off" on TV. "Are you serious?" she said between giggles, "You were the kid sister type and they killed you?! That's really unfortunate. I hope you didn't mind the loss of your job!" She chuckled again, and gave an "aaahhhh" of satisfaction, as if she'd just heard a great joke.
"I don't think I've been in Gaia all my life...I just sort of woke up here one day...That was about two years ago, and I can't remember anything of what came before I got here," she said, replying to Smerdle's thoughts of babies coming from inanimate objects. "I've seen so many strange things since I've been here, but I'm not sure if I saw them before I came here either. It's been fairly normal for me to adopt children of questionable background. I even have a son that grew from a piece of fermenting sushi. It's been...quite an experience."
Rhea listened to Sylvester explain the game with rapt attention. She wanted to be sure that she played the game correctly. It was important to Rhea to be upstanding when playing games, and she made sure that her behaviror was always good sportsman-like. The competitive flame within her suddenly lit up, and she rubbed her palms together in anticipation.
"Okay, we'll be quiet. I'm sure we won't be loud enough to bother your mom or mine. They look like they're enjoying each other's company at least...So, who's It?" she asked. "I can be It first if you want. But if I can't find you, and it's been a really long time, you should just holler out. OR, I can say, "Sylvester, come out come out wherever you are! I GIVE UP!" She gave a nod at the end, just for enthusiasm's sake, and grinned widely.
"Wait, how long do you think I should look for you before I ask you to come out? I wouldn't want you to have to hide forever..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:49 pm
"Nah, I didn't mind losing that particular job," Smerdle said with a grin. "It was a mutual decision. They needed someone to kill for November sweeps, and I thought the place was weird. Too weird to stick around. I'm happier with the voice overs and stuff, even if I don't get a regular paycheck." She nodded.
"Sushi? Really? That's certainly interesting." Smerdle couldn't really imagine her food coming to life, and luckily she didn't have to try for long. Brownie had dozed off after listening to as much of the boring adults as she could stand, but now she twitched in her sleep and awoke with a sharp cry. Smerdle yanked her hand away from the baby's back, just in time to avoid the blade-wings as they sliced through the air. "Ha HA!" Smerdle laughed with triumph. She looked to Sizzla apologetically. "Sorry," she said. "It's just I avoid them so rarely." She sat back and reached into her pocket, offering the baby her house keys to play with.
"Anyway," Smerdle said, "Running your own shop sounds really interesting! Publishing too! I should really get out more."
"Yeah, you should be It," Sylvester agreed. He wasn't sure exactly how good he would be at hiding, seeing as how he was rather...cumbersome, but he would try his best. It was different when you played against an adult. They were all huge!
"That's a good thing to yell," he said, smiling back. "We should just play down here so I can hear you if you yell it," he added. Plus, the upstairs was much more fun for exploring than hiding in, and since Rhea had already agreed to exploring at some point, they could do it later. Exploring and playing were probably best left separate anyway.
He quirked his head when she asked how long she should look for him, but quickly straightened when he felt his glasses start to slip. Good question. "I don't really know. It's supposed to be fun, so I guess until you're not havin' fun anymore. A couple of minutes?" he ventured.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:51 pm
"Hey, whatever works, you know? You've gotta get by somehow. At least it was a mutual decision." Elysia thought back to the first time she saw Kappa, and she smiled. "Yeah, it was interesting...and very unexpected. You could say he was my first adopted kid. He's a good kid though. Right now, he's talking about moving in with his girlfriend. They get so old so fast!"
Gasping as she saw Smerdle barely miss getting cut by the baby's blade wings. "Damn, that's frightening! I'd probably get cut all the time! What's her name? And where did you find the little bundle of joy?" She laughed slightly, still eyeing the deadly wings.
"Running the shop gives me something to do, and it helps me meet people. I really don't get out as much as I should...I'll bet I'm in as much as you are! I like being at home though."
"Okay. Just downstairs then. We don't need to go too far. I'm afraid I won't be able to find you!" Rhea nodded vehemently, truly believing that Sylvester might be able to camoflauge himself somehow. "I'll yell that out after it seems like it's been a long time. Or, if you get bored, I guess you can just come out."
Then, the little girl closed her eyes tightly, and to enforce the point, she covered them with her hands. "Okay, I'm readdyyy! Go hide! And be sure to say when you're ready..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:50 pm
Smerdle smiled. She couldn't imagine Sylvester ever growing big enough to want to leave home, let alone have a significant other. And really, were there any Tales tall enough?
"Oh yeah, I like staying in too, it's just that when I do come out I feel so out of the loop. Lately, I've only been here or at my friend's pawn shop, and sometimes I just feel I should be doing more. It's just a... quarter-life crisis or something, I'm sure." She chuckled.
"Way to bring down the conversation, huh? I don't know what gets into me sometimes, honestly." Brownie suddenly threw the keys on the ground and looked up at Smerdle expectantly. "Oh, and you," she said, picking up her keys and returning them to Brownie. "Her name's Brownie. She's my best friend's daughter, but he's kind of out of town at the moment. I think he told me he found her in the garbage, but he could have just as easily been kidding. He mentioned there being other kids like her out there. Well, not exactly like her, I suppose, but from the same place. Like Rhea and Sylvester are. She's not so bad most of the time, but she does like to use those wings. There's not much force behind them yet, or I would probably be missing fingers."
Sylvester waited until Rhea covered her eyes and then waved his hand in front of her face briefly. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it just seemed like the thing to do. Then he tiptoed away toward the back of the shop, slipping into a room he'd always wondered about.
Boxes. Well, the dream of a room full of candy or toys was shattered, but that didn't make it any less of an excellent room to hide in. Eventually, he found two fairly large, empty boxes stacked on top of each other. Perfect. He propped the bottom box open a little, but then thought better of it and closed it gently, instead going back over to the door and yelling, "Ready!" This game would really benefit from him learning to throw his voice. Sylvester rushed back over to his box and got in, carefully closing the lid and hoping he wasn't seen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:17 pm
Quarter-life crisis eh? Elysia could feel that...times had not been so easy for her either. But once she arrived on Gaia, her life had become much more pleasant. Maybe it was because she had more things to occupy her time...Who knew? But still, she couldn't complain. She was pretty happy being a homebody too.
"Well, since we both like staying at home, maybe we could switch it up sometime...Perhaps we could hang out at each other's houses every now and then. You know, if you ever feel like getting out, but feeling homey at the same time. I'm just as out of the loop as you are, I'm sure." She smiled, totally honest with her invitation. Smerdle seemed cool.
And hey, maybe Elysia would get a new friend out of this trip to the store too...Most adoptive parents were pretty good people, and all the Tale authors she'd met so far had been quite pleasant.
Looking at Brownie, Elysia made another googley face at her, hoping to crack a smile from the serious kid. "Well, it's good that you've avoided them so far...Those things could slice off a chunk of a leg or something! God knows what she'll do with them when she gets older...I wonder if she'll be able to use them to fly? Do you know if she can?" Elysia was almost as full of questions as her young charge.
At the first mention of Sylvester's readiness, Rhea slid her fingers apart a bit, scanning the room through "Finger-Vision". Seeing that he wasn't immediately spottable, she quickly began examining the front room of the shop, looking behind shelves and display tables. Not finding him, he checked behind the front counter. Glancing to and fro, she put a hand on her hip. No spots. No Sylvester. "Syl---vesss---terrrr! Where arrreeee youuuuuu?!?" She was just teasing him at this point. If she got more desperate to find him, she knew the trick to use...
She turned to the doorway at the back of the shop--the one open to the back hallway. Scanning into the dim light of the hall, she noticed a few cracked doors...Perhaps he was in one of those rooms, she thought. First, she'd try the door on the right.
Putting her fingers in the crack in the door, she slowly pulled it open, her eyes adjusting to the things inside. A squeal of fright came from Rhea's lips as she looked up to face a very scary creature!
It's head looked like it had dreads like her mother!
And it was TALL!
And SKINNY!
"Eeeek!! Oh Sylvester, you scared me!" the little psion shouted as the creature plopped down directly on her head. Realizing what it was, she laughed heartily.
"Of course," she thought from beneath the pile of brooms and mops. "It's the supply closet..."
Standing up again, propping the mops and brooms back up against the wall, she stepped out of the closet and shut the door. No one needed to play hide and seek in there...
Walking across the hallway, cattycorner to the broom closet, there was another open door. It was her next target.
((I'll let you get a suspenseful Sylvester post in here before I continue...))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 5:19 pm
(( xd ))
"Oh, that would be fun!" Smerdle said. With her best friend wandering the country somewhere, Smerdle was at a definite loss for things to do with herself.
Brownie looked up from bashing the keys into Smerdle's leg and smiled back at Elysia, managing to fill the expression with a surprising amount of false sentiment for one so young. That, combined with her fairly sharp teeth, made quite a negative impression.
"Stop that," Smerdle scolded. "Well, she weighs as little as other kids her age I've held, so the wings must be fairly light. If she ever learned to fly, I'd fear for Gaia."
Sylvester sat in the dark box, accompanied only by the sound of his own breathing for several minutes. He finally shifted his weight. Maybe this hadn't been the best place to hide.
"Eeeek!!"
What was that? Sylvester stood up and pushed his box open with the top of his head. He heard a clatter and then laughter. If someone was laughing nothing bad could've happened, right? He could see the open door from his vantage point, so a minute later when a shadow fell across the floor in the hall, he ducked and the lid fell a few inches, jostling the box on top. Oh great. He smiled and squished himself up as small as he could get in the bottom of his box.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:26 pm
"Hey, any time you wanna hang out, I'm free..." she said, laughing. "I have no life. I'll give you my number before we leave." Elysia was pleased to turn back to Brownie to see her smiling at her. "Aww, look at that! A cute face! I didn't think it was possible!"
Obviously, Brownie was not happy.
"Yeah, I'd be afraid to know what she'd do if she could ever fly. Looks like she might have plans on wreaking havoc on the world..." Sitting back in her chair, she looked around the shop, no longer hearing Rhea and Sylvester's voices. "They must be playing hide and seek now...I wonder how that's going? They seem to be having a good time together."
Rhea walked in through the open door, looking right...and then left. Nothing. The room was dark, but lit enough from the light of the hallway for Rhea to be able to see. She started moving around the room, searching behind boxes and bags and shelves. But Sylvester was nowhere to be seen.
"Sylvester-r-r-r, are you in here?" she asked quietly, moving around to the other side of the room to search further. Not thinking of looking between two boxes stacked on top of one another, Rhea stopped and closed her eyes, picturing Sylvester in her mind...
Pushing her thoughts outward, focusing on Sylvester, Rhea called again. But this time, it wouldn't be heard out loud...Only Sylvester would hear the voice, ringing through his head.
Sylvester! Are you here!? Come out come out wherever you are!
She hoped it'd give him a bit of a scare. She was only trying to have a little bit of fun...She rarely used her powers, as she was still getting used to them...but at least the headaches were going away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:44 am
Havoc. That sounded pretty cool. Brownie looked down at her hands and flapped her wings slowly. Maybe she should try this flying thing.
"Yeah, they certainly do," Smerdle said. Sylvester had never really been one for running around with others, preferring to stand around and ask questions, but Rhea seemed to be bringing out an childish activeness in him. "He plays around the house by himself," Smerdle added. "I didn't know he knew the rules to Hide and Seek. It's funny the things he picks up when I'm not paying attention."
Not more than a minute after he ducked back into his box, Sylvester started to hear rustling and nearby boxes moving around. Oh, he was certainly found out now! But then the scuffling moved away and Sylvester heard Rhea's voice. It was quiet, but still in the room. Then there was nothing.
Had she left? He didn't dare look out in case she was waiting for him to slip up.
Holding still and waiting... Sylvester had never been very good at it, unless he was sick. But...
Sylvester! Are you here!? Come out come out wherever you are!
What was that?! Sylvester made an squeaking sound and shot up out of the box, but all he saw was Rhea standing still and facing the other way. Come to think of it, the voice had sounded like hers. And who else would be asking him to come out?
"Rhea! That's so awesome!" The box above the one Sylvester was hiding in, which until now had been precariously balanced on the lid he held propped open, fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 7:03 am
"Yeah, kids tend to pick up stuff you'd never imagine. Rhea's a little thinktank if you ask me. She's always asking questions about things, and if I don't know the answer, she'll go look it up in a book or on the Internet. It's as if she wants to know everything there is to know. Let me tell you, she's got more wrinkles in her brain than I do," Elysia said. Suddenly, she remembered something she wanted to ask Smerdle, and all the other guardians she'd come across so far. "What was Sylvester's question? You know, in the tome?"
Giggling, Rhea spun around on her heel to see Sylvester pop out of the two boxes. It had worked! "Hey, there you are!" she said, pointing at him and giggling to the point where she almost had to sit down. She was pleased that her telepathy had worked. It was something she'd been working on, and it had been getting easier as the time went on. "I think it's cool too! I just learned how to do it not long ago..." she said, slipping off into her inner voice.
I wonder how far I can project? Can you hear me clearly? she asked, curious about how far she could push her mind. Maybe I could try my mom...Or your mom! she suggested, now wanting to try it out more. She was surprised that it had worked, and now she wanted to test out her newfound telepathic powers. She'd never actually tried it on a living person before, but she'd spent many hours in her room, thrusting her thoughts at stuffed animals who would never react.
"But guess what?!" she said out loud, before they could finish talking about telepathy. "I found you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:42 pm
"Sylvester used to ask a lot more questions," Smerdle said. "Not that he still isn't curious, I just think he gets most of his answers from the television these days. Probably not the best source of knowledge," she admitted.
She sat up straighter and glanced at the Study when asked about Sylvester's question. It still creeped her out, thinking of her experience in there. Sure, it had left her with a sweet little boy to take care of, something she hadn't thought herself capable of, but she had never been as scared in all her life as she had been in that room. "I... it was 'How did you know it was me?'" she answered. "I wrote something about blood... 'It's in your blood.' An old lady on the street told me to, and I didn't think to ask why. I never saw her again. It was the strangest thing." Smerdle stared ahead for a moment before Brownie punched her leg and muttered some baby-curse. "But I'm thankful, of course. If I hadn't had such a strange day, I wouldn't have Sylvester now." Smerdle pulled Brownie's hair away from the toddler's back. "What was Rhea's question?"
Sylvester laughed and half-climbed, half-stumbled out of his hiding place. "Yeah, you found me," he said. "But that was too cool to keep hiding!" He came to stand at her side again. "I could hear you just fine. I don't know how Mama would react though..." He grinned. She would probably flip out. Hey! "Can you do it to Brownie?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:14 pm
Elysia nodded. Kappa had been a huge fan of televison the first time he'd seen it, but Rhea had been nothing like him. "Rhea's not a huge fan of television...I think she can see through the transparency of things...I dunno. She seems to get most of her answers from books...and she's learning how to use the computer now too. I'm afraid I may have started an obsession with the Internet..." She chuckled, knowing that she herself was an Internet junky.
"Interesting question and answer..." She said, a finger tapping her chin. "Do you have any idea what it means? I have some idea of the meaning behind Rhea's question and answer...but there are causes left to be discovered." She paused. "Her question was 'Why does my head ache?' And the answer: 'It's all in your mind...just a figment of your imagination.' Strange, isn't it?"
"Before Rhea came, I had been getting horrible headaches, and I'd been having strange, but very vivid dreams. In them, I looked like an older version of Rhea, and I was looking out over a very strange technicolor landscape. I had these dreams on several occasions before I came to be Rhea's guardian...I can only think that it was meant to be," Elysia said, shrugging.
"Awesome! I was hoping that you'd be able to hear me loud and clear. That's a good sign. I've been trying to make it work, but I haven't been able to try it on anyone yet." Rhea giggled at the thought of mind-speaking to the toddler with the deadly wings. Hopefully she wouldn't freak out. After all, those blades looked sharp.
"Yeah! We should try it!" She exclaimed, hopping on her feet a little bit. "I'll bet it'll scare her!" Rhea ran to the stockroom doorway, and poked her head around the other side, looking down the hallway to where the adults were talking. "It looks like they're busy...We can just walk up there and talk to her....Or maybe I can do it from further away. I'll just have to try it out I suppose."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:17 pm
"That is strange. But interesting too. I didn't have any dreams, but that woman did seem to know about the Tome beforehand. I hope they don't all have some sort of Grand Purpose," Smerdle said with a bit of a scoff. "It would be nice if they could just be normal kids. Or as normal as any kid is on Gaia."
Brownie tucked a wing close to her body and lay back on Smerdle, bored with the adults yet again.
Sylvester peered around the doorframe too, but pulled his head back in the room before speaking. "We could go out into the hall a little bit and pretend like we're just walking slow or something," Sylvester said, excited about possible Brownie-torment. It wasn't like the head-talking hurt or anything, and it was unlikely Brownie would even remember it when she got older. "Do you need to think a lot to do it, or can you walk around and look normal?" He had been so shocked by her voice in his head that he had failed to notice if it seemed to take any effort.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:46 pm
"Yeah, wouldn't it though? Very few of my kids are what you'd call "normal". Most of them have crazy powers or have grown up from gems and pieces of food. It'd be nice to have a kid who just likes to go outside and play."
Glancing toward the back hallway, Elysia could see the giraffe Tale and the pison peek their heads out from the storage room, and then quickly duck back in. "Look," Elysia said, motioning with her head toward the pair. "They look like they're plotting something," she commented with a sly smile.
After watching Sylvester peek his head through the door, Rhea plotted, wondering just how close she'd have to get. "I can do it pretty easily," Rhea said, addressing his concerns. "I'll bet we could just walk up there, and I could do it without being obvious. Let's just try walking over there, and I'll try to talk to her when we get a bit closer, okay?" She nodded, looking giddy. This would be a fun trick...
"Ready?" she asked, stepping out into the hall and looking toward the front of the shop. "I am when you are..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:17 pm
Smerdle leaned back in her seat and peeked out of the corner of her eye at Sylvester and Rhea. "Yeah," she said to Elysia. "I wonder what."
Brownie sighed, not paying attention at all. She was tired and she just wanted to get home and play with her Idle Thoughts. Sylvester was stupid, adults were stupid, Sylvester's new friend was stupid. She poked a finger into her own leg and made a quiet peeping sound for fun.
"Okay. I'm ready," Sylvester said. He stepped out into the hall just after Rhea and tried to look like he wasn't being sneaky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
