Welcome to Gaia! ::

Curiouser and curiouser... today, the washboard seems to have been moved slightly. It's tipped onto its side, and seemed to have been dragged a little bit. Small footprints surround it, as if something tried to take it with them and just gave up after a bit.

Perhaps those who had been watching heard Fern's request... or perhaps this was the result they had planned all along. Instead of the washboard being present the next morning, a clump of laundry seems to have fallen onto the cold ground. Nothing unusual really... until the bundle begins to move.

It had been far too long since Trio had set foot near the small building she'd first met Jaden at. And really, she was feeling rather guilty about it, as she watched the two girls look around. Annora seemed to know where she was, to a point - she went to the door and knocked lightly, big eyes peering up curiously before deciding that clearly, no one was coming to the door and she should just go play in the yard. Makana, whose attention span was slightly longer than Annora's gnat-span, remained before the door for another ten seconds or so before catching sight of a butterfly flitting around some spring flowers nearby. Immediately, her ears perked up, and she crept closer, tail swishing behind her.

And Trio, who had brought them both in the hopes that getting away from some of the packing and insanity might do good, decided to flop down in the grass, a bundle of dark blue fur draping against one leg with chilling comfort.

This was...actually...unfortunetly... the first time Fern had ventured to the place where that card had indicated. Liusaidh was cuddled against her mothers chest comfortably, beaming up at her with a baby smile. Fingers knotted with spiderwebs flexed against Ferns white shirt, red hair peeking over her shoulder at the upcoming building and the....people? outside of it.

The kids didn't look too much like human (or even faerie or dragon) kids.

Fern paused a few yards from the playing kiddlets and the sprawled out woman, chewing at her lower lip worriedly. "....uhm. Excuse me? I'm looking for a place where I got...this one.."

All the time, her mind was racing with thoughts of: ....holy mother, was that little girl a cat?

Kyrianna made her way up to the cottage, her silver hair pulled back in a loose pony tail to keep her two daughters from attempting to make her go bald. Eirwen was currently strapped to the front and Eires was sitting on her shoulder, autumn wings twitching every now and then.

"Home." the little girl demanded, brushing her blonde hair away from her face as she tugged on Kyri's. She didn't WANT to be outside - she wanted to be at home. At least at home she could bother Eirwen without Kyri so much as noticing.

Eirwen, it seemed, was squirming rather uncomfortably in the baby sling. Her blue eyes were clouded with annoyance, and the frost child was definitely in a bad mood if her fists pounding at Kyri's chest showed anything.

"Eires, Eirwen, stop it," the feline's voice rang out as she stopped, seeing the group of people outside. More people this time, thankfully.

And nobody bumped into her! A miracle.

"Hello?" she asked softly, shifting Eirwen in the sling so the cool air could hit her more directly then the heat from her body. It seemed to calm the girl down and her eyes closed.

Coldness was good.

Well, perhaps Etain looked like a fairy... And in all actuality, she was a sylph.

She was also flying full-tilt towards Trio, happy to see her mother, but when she saw Fern, she stopped short before darting back behind her father as Shiromaru walked into the yard. The water demon paused where he was, then broke out into a huge grin, unable to keep from laughing aloud.

Trio blinked, looking up at all the newcomers. Either they had radar, or she'd just come at a good time. She figured on the latter for all but one, smirking as she waved at her fiance. But it was Fern she turned to, eyes sharp as she gentled her smile. Clearly, this one was new to parenting a Changeling...

"Hi. I'm Trio," she offered brightly, getting to her feet and sticking out her hand.

Not far away, Makana's ears swiveled, the sound of a rather feline voice catching HER attention. The sound made her feel odd in the pit of her stomach, and before she could credit it, the normally shy abyssinian was heading over to stand just at Kyrianna's side, peering up at the woman.

Oh s**t. People. Lots of people. The former mercenary jumped just slightly, blinking and tightening her grip on her new - her only - child. "I'm Fern..." Her voice was slightly low, shifting Liusaidh to one hip so she could shake Trios hand firmly.

That's what humans did on Gaia, right? Fern thought so... She hoped so. Otherwise she just seriously ******** up.

"Uhm.. this is Liusaidh."

The little redheaded girl beamed at Trio, fingers flexing in a faint unfurling motion. She knew how to wave! Wave meant hi!

Kyrianna smiled down at the little girl, "Well, hello there!" it wasn't too often the woman saw a full cat anthro - hell, it was rare (strange enough) that she even met another person who had feline features. Then again, she didn't exactly go out much.

She was perfectly content to stay holed up in her house or work. At least with work she got to play with people's minds.

In the most professional sense of the word.

Eires spread her wings and fluttered down, sitting down on her shoulder. She was prettier than her mother was, and besides, she would be further away from her "older" sister. Considering Eires was very tiny (A fairy, after all!) she could do so without hurting Makana any, "Hi!" she giggled, giving a small bounce as she tickled the girl's ear, "Eir..Eir...es!"

She was still getting the hang of talking.

Eirwen, however, was quite amused at the sight of everyone - especially the little red headed girl. So many new people! She wanted OUT of the carrier, darn it! Giving another squirm and a firm squeal, she lashed out at Kyri again.

"Argh, fine you little terror, I'll let you out, okay?" she quickly pulled the girl out of the carrier, unbuckled it, and let it fall to the ground. It was uncomfortable anyway, "Where to, huh?"

Eirwen giggled as the cool air rushed over her almost completely naked body, "Googah!"

"I don't know what Googah means..." she sighed, "Anyone know what Googah means?"

At least she wasn't crying this time.

"Not in my baby dictionary yet, sorry," Shiro offered cheerfully as he joined the group.

Etain, ever shy in front of strangers, stayed behind -- she couldn't get into trouble around here. Unless, of course, there was... "Annora!"

The little siren had been cheerfully playing by herself, utterly oblivious to the others for the moment, but before her name had completely cleared Etain's mouth, she'd jerked around, scrambling to her feet to run at Shiro and Etain.

"Last I checked, it meant ground... sky... food... change... it's a very versatile word," Trio said, seeming to pay little attention to Fern's handshake beyond returning it. "Hey there, cutie," she added, turning back to the child at hand. "Aren't you beautiful?"

Makana held VERY still as the fairy settled down on her shoulder, one hand going to the front of her coveralls to shelter the pocket on her chest even as wide golden eyes watched Eires. "Eir Es?" she tried softly, ears nearly flat against her skull.

As he looked between the others, Sankouri quickly decided the two who would likely need the most herding were the siren and her tag-along sylph. Knowing Trio was busy, he padded over, green eyes as cold as his fur.

Cutie? Oh. She meant Liusaidh. Thank the gods. Fern didn't want to deal with her jealous lover more then one or twice in a lifetime.

She smiled faintly, fingertips tugging at the wavy red hair of the banshees head. Liusaidh knew very little other then when she talked, her mommas got upset... so she didn't gurgle or babble as babies were prone to doing. Instead, she smiled ("It's not just gas, Fern! She's smiling!") at the Trio, fingertips moving to grab at her.

"Are.. uhm... Do you know what she is?"

Eires gave a small nod of her head. She didn't know many words, and her name was the hardest of them all to day. Eye-Reese. Eyyyyeeee - Reeeeese. She could still remember Kyrianna saying it over and over again. Still, she insisted on pronouncing it "Iris"

It was easier, darnit! "You?"

Kyrianna made a face, "Mmph, well, I'll take it as 'ground' right now," she muttered, setting Eirwen on the soft grass - which made the baby giggle as she flopped backwards against the blades which were slightly wet, "Thank you."

Leaving the frost child to do what she would, Kyri stepped over to the cluster of adults, "I'm Kyrianna, the frost imp over there is Eirwen...I swear, my house is an igloo. The fairy currently on the sweet little girl's shoulder is my second daughter, Eires. Autumn." she tilted her head.

"I'm waiting for Spring and Summer to show up on my doorstep, to be honest...And to answer your question, I uh...I think she's a Changeling. If you got a card with directions here, anyway..."

Eires looked over to her sister who was currently rolling around in the grass and sniffed, "Sis. Strange."

Eirwen ignored the Autumn fairy and simply picked a piece of grass, raising it to her mouth to chew.

Kyri glanced over, "Uhm, I'm rather new to this. Grass shouldn't be eaten, right?"

No, Kyri, it shouldn't. Stupid question.

"Depends on whether or not you have a centaur-type child, I suppose. I'm Shiromaru," the demon offered, nodding to Fern and Kyrianna. "It's nice to meet you all."

Etain sank down to the ground, then closed the last few paces between herself and Annora, hugging the other girl gleefully. If Annora was there, then everything was okay!

...Maybe they'd be needing Sankouri's assistance in keeping them out of trouble, after all.

Trio chuckled wryly at the question, shaking her head even as she let Liusaidh's fingers wrap around one of her own. "Not a clue," she informed Fern cheerfully. Jaden would know, but as he didn't seem to be around, she figured it was best not to hazard any guesses. "What does she like?"

Annora wrapped her arms around Etain in a brief, hard hug before pulling away and grabbing Etain's hand, tugging the sylph off without saying hi to the adults. She'd found a nest of ants not far away, and the small hill definitely deserved attention.

Sankouri started to follow them, but at the sound of the word frost, his head came up, and he peered toward the small child on the ground. Hesitating only a moment, he padded over, sniffing at her curiously.

"Not a clue?" Fern almost deflated at that remark, watching as her daughter started to gum at one of Trios fingers with a giggle.

Giggles didn't seem to kill things..but o utright laughter, blathering and the like...that did. The grown woman was terrified it would happen here, hurting one of the kids or something. "She.. well. She likes chewing things like fingers." Fern shrugged, "And wool. She likes being covered by thick stuff."

Kyrianna bowed her head lightly, "A pleasure to meet you, Shiromaru. She wasn't good with meeting new people outside the office, but so far so good. She hadn't made a complete fool of herself.

Though the way she looked, she'd be the last person you'd expect to have children. Peircings, black trench coat, slightly darker expression.

Eirwen looked up to the creature which came up to her and giggled softly as he sniffed. That tickled! The frost fairy reached out, grabbing some of the thing's fur carefully (not enough to hurt! She just wanted to pet!) and smiled gleefully. He was cold! And fluffy! and CUTE!

Where could SHE get one of these?

Comparatively speaking, Shiromaru didn't look like one's usual idea of a father, either -- dyed, long hair; short shorts; boots; earrings... He looked more candypunk than anything else.

At least for today.

A grin was shot at Kyrianna, then Shiro's attention was diverted to Fern and her comments. "Some babies do. And is she teething right now? That might explain her gnawing habits. But I have no idea what she might be, either... though if we can get an answer from inside the house at some point, someone in there might know."

Etain floated over the ant hill a few inches, poking at the ants with a fingertip and giggling when they crawled over her hand. "Big ants," she announced, sagely. "What are we gonna do with'm?"

"Watch 'em," Annora said, pitching her voice to be soft. In deference to the fact that they couldn't actually SEE inside the anthill, she grabbed a stick and poked a hole in it. "See?"

Trio was normal looking enough - a warm blue sweater that bared enough of her midriff to leave people wondering what the point of it might be and grey slacks with black boots were entirely too plain compared to Shiro. She wore some jewelry, including a glowing necklace that seemed designed to capture the attention of anyone with crow-syndrome. "So far, you've described about ninety percent of the kids out there. Anything special, like a super-strong voice or anything?" she asked gently, unconsciously looking over at the quiet siren before returning her attention to the adorable girl.

Sankouri's eyes narrowed as his fur was grabbed, and he blinked when he realized it wasn't being yanked. Curious about this entirely too courteous child, he settled down near her, curling his body still sniffing at her.

Makana had finally moved, edging away from the feline to go press against Shiromaru's side, her arms wrapping around his leg. That voice made her feel almost sad...

"Uhm...she kills things when she talks." Her voice was hesitiant, "I think she does, anyway. When she blabbers or anything...things fall down dead outside or nearby." Fern shrugged quietly, watching the girl and her daughter.

Liusaidh, tired of finger, released Trio and shoved her fist into her wide little mouth. She sucked at her fingers and spiderwebs, giggling once more.

Eirwen gave a happy little squeal as the cold creature curled around her, using her arms to maneuver herself so her head was on his body and her little fingers could pat at his fur. Of course, the movement caused her longish white and blue hair to fall over her eyes, which temporarily blinded her.

With another squeal, this time a little shocked, she shook her head in an attempt to fix the problem. Unfortunately, it made it worse.

"Googah!" she whimpered, shaking her head again. The hair was annoying!

Eires, however, remained on Makana's shoulder and looked up at the man she was currently clinging to with bright green eyes. Oh! He looked interesting! Fluttering her wings she left the feline's shoulder and took residence on Shiromaru's, giggling.

"Hi!" she greeted, cheerfully.

Automatically, Shiro set a comforting hand to Makana's just-vacated shoulder, keeping her close; his attention, however, settled on Eires, golden eyes blinking at green before he broke out in another grin. "Hey there," he offered cheerfully. "How are you, little one?"

Etain leaned in further, then started to pat at the ant hill herself, forgoing a stick in favor of her hands. "How many d'you think are down there?"

Immediately, Trio's cheerful smile faded into a concerned look. "May I hold her?" she asked, reaching toward Liusaidh. "She's not a siren, I know that much. Annora doesn't kill with her voice, though it sometimes hurts... And definitely not a sylph," she murmured, more to herself than Fern.

"Don't touch!" Annora said, forgetting to keep her voice soft as she reached out and grabbed Etain's hands, flicking away a couple of ants and shuddering. "They're mean..." She tugged the sylph back, eyes immediately going back to the ants trying to rebuild their hill.

Makana pressed close to Shiro, eyes once more peering up at Kyrianna shyly, and her ears slowly coming forward. Daddy was safe. He'd make her feel better...

Sankouri, on the other hand, looked bemused, leaning in to lick the hair away from Eirwen's face with a long, wet tongue before nuzzling her neck gently. It was rare he was cuddled with this much! Most people didn't like the cool he exuded.

Fern hesitated before offering the girl towards teh other woman. "It's not like she bites or screams really loudly.. SHe's shut up a lot since we first got her."

Liusaidh continued to suckle at her hands, making a soft little noise and snuggling into the other woman.

"What's a siren? A sylph?"

Eires was acknowledged! That made the little fairy glow with pleasure, "Otay! You? I Iris!" she giggled and bounced on his shoulder slightly, her little arms hugging onto his ear.

Since she was too small too do much else.

Kyrianna laughed at the Autumn fairy, "Her name is Eires, not Iris, and she's very hyperactive."

Eires stuck out her tongue, little wings beating furiously.

"You know I love you." Kyrianna paused a little bit and turned to look at Fern, "Things die when she speaks?" she bit her lip a little bit, "My grandmother used to tell me ghost stories when I was little. They say that the Banshee's voice rang out when people were supposed to die. Is that a possibility, do you think? It's a little different but..."

Eirwen settled down immediately once her hair was removed from her face, clear blue eyes gazing adoringly at the creature. It was her hero! "Fuff!" she giggled and pet at him again, little nails scritching the best they could.

The little frost fae loved the cold. In fact, their entire house was the temperature of an igloo due to the fact if it got any warmer, she'd cry. Not that she couldn't HANDLE the heat. She just didn't like it. It made her uncomfortable. "Fuff!" she repeated.

Apparently, it was her word for "Fluffy."

Laughing softly, Shiro offered his fingertip up to Eires, as if to try and shake Eires' hand with it. "Eires, huh? I'm Shiro." The demon kept one hand still on Makana's shoulder, glad to feel her relaxing a little. "Etain, over there, with the wings? Etain's a sylph, an air elemental, essentially. Etain also apparently needs to learn about the dangers of ants," he added, groaning quietly.

Etain squeaked when her hands were tugged away, her eyes going wide. "Ants are mean?" she echoed, confused and stunned. "They're little... How're they mean? What do they do?"

"I... dunno," Annora said, dropping back into the quiet voice that was so unusual for her. "Kikuei says they're mean." She frowned at that - she'd never known the Ieldi to lie to her, but confronted with the question...

Settling Liusaidh into her arms, Trio frowned quietly, bouncing her a little. "Banshee? I ran into some stories of those when I was looking up sirens... er, my daughter over there, the blue one? She's a siren. We're being careful what she learns," she added wryly, nuzzling Liusaidh's hair. It was hard to believe someone so small and beautiful could be so dangerous...

Makana ducked more behind Shiro as Kyri talked, beginning to frown faintly. Daddy wasn't taking her somewhere to cuddle. That was odd. Daddy liked to cuddle with her, after all...

Sankouri remained silent, letting Eirwen tug and pull and play with his fur with the overly-long patience of one who'd been around TONS of children. She'd settle, once she got used to him...

"...a banshee?" Fern frowned, racking her brain for the few things she knew about legends or fay other then herself - she was from a few worlds to the left and five dimensions over, after all...

"Aren't they supposed to be harbringers of death?" Eyebrows arch quietly, shifting a bit, unconciously, from foot to foot. "So I have a screamer of death on my hands? Siren? Wait, didn't they..." Oh, remembering.

The redhead giggled madly and nuzzled back to Trio, "Gyaba?" Her voice was small, a whisper even - it was a beautiful little tone...until she heard the shift thud of something falling from a tree. It was a small sound - probably just a beetle - but it was large enough make her listen.

That was a familier sound...so her mouth clamped down, pushing her hand into her mouth once more.

Eires shook his hand with both of her tiny ones, "Nice!" she nodded sagely before settling down, her head buried against his ear. He was nice. MUCH nicer than Arta was.

The little frost baby yawned cutely and looked at the creature as she continued to pet it, gently, softly. She was getting sleepy from all the excitement - and sleeping was her favorite past time. Mostly because she got tired so easily.

"Fuff," she murmured tiredly, eyes drooping closed.

Hmmm... Shiro considered Eires, then Makana, then stepped back a couple feet, sat down, and settled Makana in his lap for some snuggletime. Clearly that's what the little girl was wanting, if she was still hiding behind him like that.

"Annora... You're being weird," Etain noted solemnly, looking up at her sister. "Why are you so quiet?"

Annora frowned at Etain, brows drawing together. She was NOT being weird. Just because she didn't want to hurt any more... Before she could finish the thought, she turned, hunching down near the ants and poking at the hill again.

Trio nodded to Fern. "Yeah, Banshees' wails are supposed to foretell death, isn't that right?" she asked Kyrianna, glancing over at her. "And sirens were the ones that lured sailors to their deaths, yes," she added, voice ever so slightly flat. "We're working to make sure Annora understands that's wrong." As she was whispered to, Trio turned back, looking down at Liusaidh sadly. "Looks like things are gonna be frustrating for you for a while, sweetie..."

That was MUCH better. Makana scrambled onto Shiro's lap, hooking a claw into his shirt as she nestled and began purring. Daddy was holding her - she liked it when he did that. He knew where to scritch to calm her nerves. Eyes drifting shut, she tugged on her paw, giving up after a moment as her claw held tightly to Shiro's shirt.

Sankouri came as close to smirking as a Zurui was capable of, setting his three cold tails over Eirwen's body in an odd parody of a blanket. This was a nice change, and the snuggling was beginning to make him dozy too.

"Huh." Fern blinked and turned her head to watch Annora with amusement on her face. "Well... it looks like you're doing a good job. Usually girls like that aren't so cute and well-adjusted.."

Liusaidh blinked back, beaming at the other with a soft giggle. Her smile was filled with toothless gums and one slobbery hand.. that was offered up to Trio as a gift.

Eirwen finally gave in to the pull of sleep, her little head nuzzling the Zurui as she shifted, got comfortable, and was still once again.

"Well, there's a bunch of us around reminding her that she's loved and adorable..." Trio paused, then rolled her eyes and grinned. "And vain. Definitely vain," she added, whith a chuckle. She eyed the drool-covered hand being offered up to her, thought wistfully of baby wipes, and then reached out, taking it. "You're pretty, too, little one..."

"Vain can be good." Fern smiled at the other woman getting along so well with her daughter. "She's going to be raised spoiled.. My lover thinks she's a gift from the Goddess or something. She looks like her mother."

Liusaidh looked delighted, fingers wriggling with a giggle, body shifting to cuddle closer. Gray eyes blinked to her mother, shoulders rolling before she started to doze.

"Oooooh. Good luck with her then," Trio laughed, then glanced at the others around. "Listen, why don't we go get a coffee. Doesn't look like Jaden's gonna answer any time soon." She handed Liusaidh back to Fern, then whistled to the kids and Sankouri, herding them toward the road. "There's a nice little hole-in-the-wall down the road a mile or so. Best coffee around."

Fern meets Trio, Shiro and their sprogglets. Done before Iain existed:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=3123413

"Iain?" Ferns voice was rough around the house, holding Liusaidh close to her. Sure, the little sprogglet hd been running around like crazy, dodging everything and trying to hit everyone with that ******** DOLL of his...but he'd fallen quiet as of late. It worried the draconic female (even if Rose didn't mind too much).

The child squealed on her hip, throwing her arms aroundFerns neck. Her momma was worried - kisses would make it be--

"It just DIED." Iains loud voice broke through the otherwise silence and the hard clops of his feet down the stairs could be heard. He had somehow procured a pair of large, leather, strappy sort of boots. Fern didn't ask where he'd gotten them or when - they fit, they made him happy and he didn't try to smack Liusaidh with it.

Good enough for her.

But now the child was jumping towards them, naked except for a pair of bright pink boxers and his boots, hair tied back in hundreds of little braids, and looking quite the little Highlander. She was raising a Highlander. Oh s**t. Wouldn't daddy be proud. At least she'd managed to get his hair tied back..somewhat. He only allowed it if the braids were really allowed to fall free around his head - but still. At least it was tied back.

There was a lizard in his hand.

His fist was clenched around a dead lizards head, waving it around in the air. The boy didn't seem very pleased about the status of the lizards health, grumping abit.

Clomp.
Clomp.
Clomp.

"It was moving and wriggly and we were having fun and now it's DEAD." He snarled, face twisting up and shoving the lizard into his caretakers face. The woman leapt back a little, hugging the little redheaded girl to her chest. "How did it DIE?! What did you DO, woman?"

"I didn't do anything!" Fern protested, covering Liusaidhs ears to speak to the boy privately. "Your little sibling-thing is a bean-sidhe, Iain! It means when she talks, things DIE. Be happy it was just a lizard and not YOU, you little purple-faced snot rag."

The child paused, eyeing Liusaidh critically and he held out his arms. His lower lip poked out, huffing slightly. "Let me hold her."

"What? ******** you! No way! You'll kill her!"

"Luccee LIKES me." He grumped, dropping the lizard to the ground and holding out his arms stubbornly. "Let me HOLD her."

Fern hesitated and then held the small redheaded girl out to her brother. Iains arms wrapped around her, gazing down at her with curious eyes. "Luccee," He informed his sister, "One day, you will kill people for me when you'll get bigger. And we'll take over the world."

Oh s**t.

"I'm raising Fidel Castro..." Groaning a little, head shaking a little bit.