Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ianna Umbridge, as usual, was at her desk. However, the sling her arm was in was digging into her shoulder, making her rather irritable and uncomfortable.

The crying Coailiann wasn't helping things much either - she had been in the playpen for FAR too long and she hadn't slept well the night before, leaving her a cranky little Sidhe.

Which made for a cranky not-so-little Ianna, especially when one arm was out of commission.

Her silver-haired head fell to the desk with a little thunk, "God, I hate my job."

It was a quaint little place, and pretty clean. Not like the city from whence she'd come. Another unwanted tremor rippled at the base of her spine, sending the young black woman clinging to the nearest wall until the feeling subsided. She hadn't even had time to change out of her apron with all this shuddering as of late. And she was supposed to be home now, but her feet had gained a mind of her own. Poor Sibuna, who had been asked to leave the diner early after she finally dropped coffee into someone's lap. Maybe, if she allowed her body to steer its own way, she'd be okay to return to work the next day.

Oh, she was really just trying to humor herself. Some new disease had surely claimed her to cause such spastic reactions and she'd be dead within the week. A visit to a magic shop wasn't going to make much of a difference if her bones were slowly turning to mush. Oh, Lord, hadn't she drunk enough milk? As she passed into the main lobby, her grey eyes slowly focused upon Ianna. The poor woman! In a sling and very unhappy-looking to boot. There was a child whining nearby from the sounds of it.

"Hello?" Sibuna cautiously approached the desk, though was more than happy to grip the front of it once she was there. She didn't want her legs to suddenly give out beneath her and cause anyone, especially this injured woman, to cast her a second glance.

Ianna lifted her head and looked to the woman standing there, an eyebrow raised slightly, "Hello. Welcome to Ghosts of the Past!"

Matilda's nagging voice in the back of her head, albeit slight weak, told her that the woman was a future guardian. Of course, the last wand was the Meliae, and Ianna would be ecstatic to get rid of it and have her life go back to NORMAL.

Or some semblance of it.

At the new arrival, Coailiann stopped her crying to eye the woman with interest. New people?? Yay!

Oh, how wonderful! At least she wasn't cranky enough to snap at her. Sibuna gave a small smile. "Ghosts of... the Past? Oh, I'm not here for business! I really don't know why I'm here." She laughed nervously, her eyes immediately darting away to look at something else. She didn't really have enough money to buy the objects that were for sale even if she'd wanted them. "My feet have a mind of there own...."

Seeing the baby made her smile even wider, and much more sincere. She was quite fond of children, after all, but scared of owning one of her own. "Hey, littlun! Give us a smile, hm?" It was too dangerous to give a baby candy. A shame, seeing as she always had a peppermint or two in her apron.

Ianna was usually pleasant to future guardians - because if she wasn't, Matilda would probably attempt to kill her. If she wasn't already doing so with all the missions she was sent on.

"I know why you're here," came her response, a small smile touching at her lips as she leaned further across the desk, pushing a large leather bound book towards her, "It's rather simple, you see. Just touch the book and you'll get the answers you seek."

The minute the woman would touch the book, the cover would fly open, an invisible wind winding through the pages and blowing them rapidly open until it landed, quite suddenly, on a well-worn page. On this page was a very realistic sketch of a earthen staff, vines wrapped around it.

Under the picture read:

"Greece. Wand ID 00014. A Soul has been trapped within the confines of the wand. Congratulations, you have become the next guardian to take on the task of raising it from infancy to greatness. We, Ianna and I, have the upmost faith in you to complete your task dutifully. Best of luck,

Matilda."

Sibuna would, after touching the book, proceed to throw her hands over her face. The wind was picking up all of the sudden. But they were inside!

'Devil magic.' Hissed that little voice in her mind, advising her to bolt back to the safety of her home. It was only a book though, what harm could that possibly administer to her? She peeked between her fingers to read the pages, shifting uneasily. Oh, dear. She was a simple girl- producing all these big words wasn't the best way to get Sibuna to comply or less uneasy about herself.

"W-well..." She said softly after a while. "Where is the dear?" This was not to be her first child, thankfully. Some soul was reincarnating itself in a jar at her home as they spoke, in fact. She was beginning to get used to the idea, but not when it came to the issue that she was the one taking care of them. She was nothing special...



Ianna reached behind the desk and picked up the staff-like wand, sliding it across the desk. The dark green vines wrapped itself around the dark wood, lighter colored leaves blossoming from the vines. Sporadically around the wood were beautiful little white flowers.

"It's here. A Meliae, a Nymphi Dryad, I believe."

"Nymphi. Driad." She repeated, furrowing her dark brows. Seemed like she was long due for a trip to the book-store, hm? Her fingers tentatively reached out, almost blending with the ash-wood when the two came in contact. Immediately, that awful little feeling in her limbs faded away. She was cured! The digits slowly curled about the staff and pulled it closer to her. It smelled good.

"Is there anything else I need to know? Can it go to school?" Surely she wouldn't be a proper teacher! "Or anything special about how it's to be taken care of?" These things weren't human babies, after all. Maybe it had more special needs..

"Yes, A Nymphi Dryad," Ianna confirmed, giving a little yawn, "It can go to school, the only difference is, they will need help practicing their magicks and developing their gifts."

She smiled and brushed her silver hair away, "When it hits a wisp stage, however, you need to be careful of strong wind gusts and whatnot - it's the most sensitive of the stages, other than infant, of course."

She issued a brief nod before drawing the wand off the desk, allowing the end to hit softly against the floor similar to a cane. She'd pick it up again when she was ready to leave. "Right. And... Will I be given instructions on how to teach it? Will you teach it? Will it teach itself?" She asked a lot of questions, didn't she? She really just didn't want to screw up the kid's life. That was understandable, right?

And where were her manners? "I'm Sibuna, by the way. Are you Ianna or Matilda?"

'Who cares? Witches. Sound like a couple of witches to me.'



"I'm Ianna. Matilda is my daughter - she's not in this realm, unfortunately," a nod of her head and another weak smile, "You will need to guide it, or you can hire someone to do so...I can't, I'm far too busy...." she indicated to the little girl.

Who blew a raspberry.

"Before you go, please, touch this?"

Ianna picked up a small piece of paper and slid it to her. Written upon it was gold letters saying "Press Me". As soon as she did she was transported into a large room. As they entered the main lobby Via the portal connecting the shoppe and the headquarters, the first thing they would notice is the vast...largeness...of it. The high ceilings, edged with gold, the large chandeliers dripping with crystals, the smooth white tile-floors, colorful rugs, and beautiful paintings.

To the left was a large recreational area complete with a large flat-screen television, several rows of various games, movies, video game systems and books. There was a basket of toys in the corner, full of plushies, dolls, cards and various other objects which would appeal to most ages. Included in the area were several comfy looking couches and plush chairs just made for sitting, lounging or bouncing in. It seemed to be heaven on a fluffy carpet. It even had a foos-ball table and an air-hockey table....and for the slightly more food-minded GoTP, a mini fridge always full.

To the right was a large elaborate counter, which seemed to have a force-field of some sort around it, keeping anyone who was not Ianna or Matilda from going behind it. On the counter lay a roster with the names of all the Ghostly children and their guardians, and an appointment book.

From there, it branched off into halls with rows and rows of rooms. Some were storage, some were guest rooms, some were bathrooms, and one very large and ornate door to the end of the hall led to the gardens. "Welcome to Headquarters, Sibuna, You're welcome here at any time."

"Ah huh... I see." But of course she really didn't. Some mornings the woman couldn't put her shoes on the right feet, much less comprehend the thought of a whole different dimension.

"Of course, I'll do the best I can to take care of it. Please don't think I'm being neglectful..." That was also a habit of her, assuming that people thought the absolute worse of her. "I work, you see. And though I have approval to take my children there with me -I'm to have one more, eh... child- I don't think it's best for a child to be kept inside." She had some money, maybe she should get a nanny to watch them through most of the day...

'Or you could get yo' self a man...' Poked her 'conscience' cattily. Had she been a shade lighter, one would have seen her ears darken red.

Though, she couldn't help but laugh softly at the infant's antics; a soft, melodic sound that was a bit scratchy from apologizing all day. Those tremors had helped her to pour almost a whole cup of coffee into some man's lap before she could finally control herself. Luckily, he wasn't a regular customer, though Chef had to dock a little of her pay that week when the guy raised hell.

"If I receive a child as charming as yours, I don't think I'd mind being busy at all." She gave a sincere smile with those thick lips, winking at the little girl. "Thank yah, ma'am." She didn't hesitate too much in touching the piece of paper, reminded of a story her mother had once read to her. 'Press me' sounded like the 'Drink me' and 'Eat me' from that book, but she sadly couldn't remember the title.

Just a blink of an eye was all it took and she was standing in that elaborate hall, belittled. Her grey eyes slowly grew round, staring at all the things the room had to offer. Needless to say, her grip on her 'wand' tightened significantly, but it certainly wouldn't harm the thick wood. Sibuna stood stunned for a moment, but slowly reached for her wrist, to check the time. Well, she had some to spare. Perhaps she'd stay for a little. If there were other names on that roster, other people should have wands as well. And one was bound to show up sooner or later, right? Such a thought was probably one of the most positive she'd produced all day.

Eamane smiled softly, her height made her appear much younger than she was, "I'm always a little nervous when i get ready for a new arrival but once they finally get here it goes away immediately" She tilted her head to the side and surveyed the woman in front of her. She seemed overly nervous, perhaps she was a recluse? That would be interesting "And there is no need to appologize...is this your first charge then?"

Eamane gracefully lowered herself to the ground again and patted the grass beside her inviting Airaka to join her. She set the trident in the sun beside her full skirt

Airaka smiled weakly, and with a quick nod of her head, followed Eamane to the ground, jeans wrinkling with her movements. Her wand was still clutched in her hands, yet slightly less clung to. She blinked down from the wand, and nodded her head.
' Yes, my first child. Never had one before. Yet I must say I've thought of it, never thought the whole thing would be placed in action.'
Her smile became less shy, and she grinned up at her fellow wand wielder.
' You've had more than one, eh? I wonder how many of the others have had more than one child...'
Her last sentence came out as more of a murmur, her thoughts coming out in words. Puzzlement could be read on her face for a couple seconds after, then she sighed, and nodded her head, seemingly agreeing with whatever she had spoken within her mind. She turned back to Eamane, the smile back on her face.
' I am awfully nervous.'

Eamane sighed and with a dreamy expression gazed up at the bright sky. "I have had many children...well actually I've only had one, the rest were adopted but it doesn't change how you feel about each new arrival" She grinned and turned back to Airaka "I think you're going to do fine, you seem so gentle and kind"

Her thoughts turned to the other guardians, how many were there anyways? "I haven't met anyone else really, I got a glance at one and of course Ianna"

First child? A pair of soft grey eyes centered themselves on Airaka with a sort of mild curiosity, as well as a muddled sense of delight.

'Eavesdroppin' dun build character.'

Her thoughts were broken by a miniscule tug at her sleeve. If she had so chosen, she could have just pretended she didn't feel it. She ran her fingers through the boy's silvery hair instead, reassuring him that she'd get to him in a moment. Daemyn shuffled his feet restlessly, though for Sibuna he'd keep his complaints quiet. The Stick was getting way too annoying for him to carry, and now that she was out of work...

" 'scuse us." Sibuna passed the two women a apologetic smile, preparing to make her way across the garden with her other child in tow. However, Daemyn paused. Curious little boy he was, with blackened skin and even darker eyes. Though, the most prominent feature about him had to be his ears, which were about the size of a foot in length and pointed at the end. These twitched now, as if sucking up the conversation. Sibuna gave him a questioning brow.

"Why can't we stop here?" He questioned, leaning against the large wand that was to be his new sibling. "Nice an' sunny."

"People are talking here." Sibuna gave him a little pat on the head, a patient one. "Here, let me take the wand now."

Airaka placed a hand behind her head, and blushed slightly at Eamane's last comment. Gentle, and kind. She wondered what the woman would think of her if she had know her while she was younger. Her eyes flicked to the foliage, then back to Eamane, thinking over her latest comment.
'I've only met Ianna.... And you, I guess.'
Her eyes dashed away from Eamane, and blinked at the woman who just walked past the two of them. She grinned at the little boy childishly, and look a quick look at the wooden wand.
'Oh?'
Airaka's small question came out in a quickly disappearing breath, and her sapphire eyes moved from Eamane, to the child, to the woman, then to her wand, where her she lingered for a second before lowering to her wand. Her fingers curled around the wand once again, the raised her head eying the woman.

Daemyn let the wand slip from his fingers, straightening himself up somewhat as the woman passed him a grin. He blinked quietly, but was quick to reflect the expression. "Sibby, she's got one too."

"Hm?" Sibuna's lips stretched, giving off a warm smile towards Airaka and Eamane, though her eyes focused on the one making the most action at the moment. "Oh! Well would you look at that? What color would you say that was, hmm?"

Clearly it was to the boy, because he immediately furrowed his brows. "...yellow?"

"There's a better word than that."

"Mnngh." Daemyn snatched at one of his ears, pulling it at the lobe as he tried to think it over. In the meantime, Sibuna gently shouldered her wand, making it seem like some sort of club now.

"You're the second one I've seen with a wand." All the others had children. "Did Miss Ianna, 'scuse me for pryin', tell you what sort of child was to come out of it?"

Airaka caught their small discussion, feeling suddenly very nervous as they talked over her and the wand. Her face was tinged slightly the same colour of her hair, and she gave a slight twitch. The blue eyes darted away from them, to one of her feet that were set to the out side of her cross legged sit.
When the question was asked of the wand, she raised her head, and tilted it slightly, a sort of dog like look. She pondered over the question, seemingly have forgotten it, before she blinked, and muttered the answer that was beating on her brain since the time the question was asked.
'A wyvern. Ianna said that the soul possessed within this wand is that of a wyvern.'
Twas all she knew, and even that made her head ache at the thought. So much confusion and thoughts that opposed each other were constantly ramming around in her head. A slight smile was worn on her face, yet it didn't show much emotion.

Airaka nodded her head, feeling more under pressure then when it was just her and Eamane. What was this woman doing her anyway? It wasn't everyday someone appeared from the foliage. Airaka felt lucky the woman had walked out like she did, instead of attempting to scare them. She could see herself bouncing into the air with a screech. Wincing at her own thoughts, she slowly brought her mind back to reality, and focused on the boy, who had just spoken.
Her eyes flicked between the two with their little conversation, and when Sibuna started speaking directly at her, Airaka flashed a weak smile in retaliation to the other woman's fake one.
She didn't know much of mythology, it wasn't her strong point. Yet she was one for fairy tales. When Sibuna mentioned ''nymph'' she grinned slightly, and sighed inwardly, happy she could actually recognize one of the wands. Sorta.
' Airaka. And, I got my wand a while back, as well. But not too long ago.'

Airaka nodded her head, feeling more under pressure then when it was just her and Eamane. What was this woman doing her anyway? It wasn't everyday someone appeared from the foliage. Airaka felt lucky the woman had walked out like she did, instead of attempting to scare them. She could see herself bouncing into the air with a screech. Wincing at her own thoughts, she slowly brought her mind back to reality, and focused on the boy, who had just spoken.
Her eyes flicked between the two with their little conversation, and when Sibuna started speaking directly at her, Airaka flashed a weak smile in retaliation to the other woman's fake one.
She didn't know much of mythology, it wasn't her strong point. Yet she was one for fairy tales. When Sibuna mentioned ''nymph'' she grinned slightly, and sighed inwardly, happy she could actually recognize one of the wands. Sorta.
' Airaka. And, I got my wand a while back, as well. But not too long ago.'

"Ah, so.. we seem to be at the same stage." She breathed something of relief, glancing to her wand. She had originally thought she'd been doing something wrong with it. Of course, the thought never crossed her mind that this other woman(girl?) could be doing something wrong as well.

"Nice to make your acquaintance." Sibuna offered, observing with idle interest as this other girl winced. Ah. Maybe she was feeling as awkward as the waitress herself was. However, with the grin had come a loosening of muscles that bunched in the back of her neck. Her large lips pressed themselves together and returned the smile. A much more comfortable one, of course. "Can I ask you a silly question?"

Airaka's blue eyes floated back over to the wand, as she listened to Sibuna's statements. The woman's thoughts were faintly focused on Sibuna, more focused on the wand, wondering what they would look like when they finally spouted from their wands. Her fingers coiled once more around the wyvern wand, before she moved her eyes back over to Sibuna. With a shrug of her shoulders, she mustered,
'I don't mind. Ask away.'
Children usually blurted out their questions, not seeming to care if they were rude or not, so Sibuna's statement surprised her slightly.

"What... do you do with your wand? I mean, do you carry it around with you everywhere or do you just bring it here? And when you're at home do you talk to it?" Because she was /just/ asking. Sure, children liked to go ahead and blurt out her questions, but technically Sibuna was no child. She was twenty three. Chances were, she was older than a good bit of the owners here.

Airaka blinked at the question, fiddling with it in her mind. She then parted her lips in a slight smile, before letting the words issue from her mouth,
' I do carry the wand around everywhere. Although, most of the time it is hidden my bag. I've never really came her before, so I can't really say I only bring it here. I doubt I would anyway. It goes everywhere with me. Even to the school where I work.'
She pondered a bit on the last question before shaking her head,
'I've never really thought to speak with it.'
She fingered the wand before starting again,
'The children I baby sit enjoy playing with it. I don't think they understand. But then again, neither do I. '
Airaka blushed slightly and dragged her self to her feet. She dusted herself off, and stood facing Sibuna.
'I really don't know much about these guys.'

"You teach?" Sibuna asked, her soft gray eyes quietly taking in Airaka's looks before her gaze flickered to her own wand. Airaka didn't remind her of a school teacher. Then again, Sibuna might as well have belonged to an Amish county with all the mean-faced school marms whose weapon of choice was always a strong hickory stick. "Mine is... a little large, but I carry it to work as well." She laughed softly. "Well, Daemyn here does. No one asks a child their motives while they're alongside an adult."

"Ah, well we have that in common. I'm starting to think I'm doing something wrong," She confessed, one of her fingers absently stroking a petal of one of the wand's many white flowers. "I plan to go to the library soon as I can get off work. I'm on lunch right now." She shifted her wrist to check the time. A watch was one of the only things she tolerated. She wouldn't very well wear a sundial on her wrist, could she? "I expect I'll treat it like a child, though, whatever comes out. An' if anyone at work says different... well, I'll deal with it. It was a nymph to begin with, though. How much mo' human can you get?"

"No.. Not really... I have a teaching degree, and a math degree... but I'm a counsellor. The school is an Elementry and Jr.High."
Airaka gave Sibuna a grin, finding the woman more comfortable now. Here eyes moved to Daemyn as his name was mentioned, then back to Sibuna with a nod.
"The library seems like a good idea. I didn't know they had one. Then again, I never thought to look. "
Airaka nodded again, finding it slightly difficult to inderstand the womans accent. She grinned, and said,
"A child is a child, no matter how they look, or how they act. These children deserve to be treated like what they are, children."
Even if they sprouted wings, had tails, or magical powers.

"Yuh huh. I saw one out near the lobby there. Didn't really look, either... but I there's books just linin' the walls out there." Yes, sometimes she did slip. The voice -her conscience- was much worse, though. "That's real interesting! So you interact with children every day? Best I got under my belt is five brothers and a sick big sister."

She looked thoughtful for a minute, clearing her throat so her accent was sorted out in the next sentence. "I agree whole-heartedly with you. It's not their fault if society doesn't like them. It's really not society's opinion that counts. What matters earlier on is how I'm going to be raising it, and I plan to give it as much love and care as if God had set it right in my belly." She reached out as she said so, setting her hand firmly on Daemyn's shoulder. He was definitely not her biological son with those long ears, black skin, and white hair. Still, he shuffled quietly closer to her, one of his hands gripping the hem of her shirt as if reassuringly.

The serious Sibuna faded away quickly, giving Airaka a warm smile. "I'll love them no matter what." Even if they did spazz out and nearly tear down the walls. Or take hours on end to find if they didn't want to be found. "Would you like a peppermint?" She had a whole bunch of them in her apron.

Airaka nodded her head, and cocked an eyebrow at the comment about siblings. Six was an amazing number, three ... no two... was enough for her.
She resist the urge to roll her eyes, when Sibuna commented about 'God'. Instead, she grinned,
"Exactly."
She was getting giddy about all this child talk,
"It'll be amazing, whatever we get. Child wise, that is."
She nodded again, confidently, but paused at the offering of the peppermint.
"No.. No. Thanks, though."


Of course it was a ridiculous amount. Couldn't one get a brief idea why God was used so much in that house? "You think so? Well, they are...um.. souls come back from beyond? Issat it? That's pretty amazing by itself."

She checked her watch again, 'hmm'ing softly before she glanced back up to Airaka. "Well it's been a pleasure meeting you Miss Airaka, but I must be off to work again. Hopefully the next time we meet, we'll be able to show each-other a couple of infants, hmm?

"Yes souls from the past come to live again. Amazing."
And yet magic. Which was sickening. Airaka tilted hr head as the woman peered at her watch again, then nodded her head.
"Of course. It'd be great to see you again. Have fun at work! "
She said the last sentance with a large smile, and gave Sibuna a bow of her head.

The sunlight was a pitiful light filtering down beneath all the layers of leaves the backwoods had piled upon its canopy. Even so, Sibuna could tell the weather was fair. Not a cloud in the sky... Which just meant there was sure to be rain in Gaia in a few days to come. Today was all that really mattered, though.

She was alone, save for the thick piece of ash wood gripped in her right hand. There was no one to bother them. Daemyn was left at home, listening to the gospel on the radio while she herself scaled their backyard fence in her roughest pair of denims. He'd be safe in that house by himself, she was sure. She had taught him not to talk to strangers or answer the door without her. He had to recite all emergency numbers to her any time she asked him to wait on her.

"There's a nice breeze out." Sibuna sighed comfortably, reaching her hand out to brush the strong trunk of a nearby pine. "Pretty good for your first time in these woods. Usually it's hot. Or its too cold."

The wand gave no response. Why should it? A few more meters and the dark-skinned woman was humming a tune while keeping a look out for any debree littering her path. She didn't want to trip or anything.

"Oh... my... Something smells great!" She suddenly gasped, taking in the fragrance she caught on the breeze. What was it? Honeysuckle? Jasmine? It was close for sure. Sniffing, she went on, no longer really looking where she was going.

'Stupid woman... you gonna get yo'self in trouble.'

Like stepping in a, oh, hornet's nest?

The first sign was the crunch. The second was the angry buzzing. Uh...oh..

The twenty-three year old woman went careening through the woods at an amazing, unstable speed. If she smacked into a tree? Splat. Dead. What were the people in heaven going to say when she showed up and had to tell just what had caused her death?

She wasn't thinking. Civil, humble, hand-sanitizing Sibuna was gone for the moment, and the wild child from her younger days frantically swung the wand at the impending mass of insects. She'd run out of steam soon enough, and then they'd have at her. Lord Jesus, don't let Daemyn come find her swelled up like a balloon!

'Swingit 'gain! They comin'!' Pft. Like that was going to do anything more than make them more angry. Still, her left wrist flicked and sent the wand swiping through the air again. Goawaygoaway!

It happened in slow motion, perhaps, the way the end of the large wand spewed a smokey substance that had the hornets dropping as a mass. That.scared.the.crap.out.of.her. Sibuna didn't even try to waste time, gripping the wand to her chest and sprinting the final stretch to the fence.

Her landing getting over the fence was less than graceful with her face burried deep into the grass, her tall form trembling with the after-effects of running. Everything had just happened so fast! What the heck was...

The smell. It was still around. A sort of fear that it may be the bees again welled up inside of her. She turned her head and tensed her body, planning to leave the wand behind (the bees wouldn't bother it) and dive behind the safety of her screen door. However, her face met a soft, almost misty substance. The smoke from earlier had taken an oddly human shape, but it stretched every now and again, as if to amuse itself. It seemed to pulse at Sibuna. Laughter?

The woman reached out weakly, trying to touch the wisp, but it easily moved away.

"Daemyyyyn! Come help Mother.." She called, grunting as she sat up. The dark boy peered out from behind the screen door.

"You're really dirty." He noted.

"Can you hold the door open for me?" It was a good thing was like a crutch. She leaned heavily upon it when she stood.

"Wassat?"

"Your new sibling." Sibuna sighed, moving past him in hopes of throwing herself on the nearest piece of furniture. The wisp bobbed in her wake almost cheerfully. Bees were so easily confused with fragrances. It was just pure luck the wisp had come out when it did. She could thank it properly later, maybe. First time to sit down.

[will fetch color later]The chill of the library did not bother her at all. And even if it did, she would dub the temperature worth it to be among the shelves of books. Kyo wandered among the various aisle, her dark blue eyes scanning for nothing in particular. Sometimes she came here in her free time just to walk. And if someone found her passed out on the floor with a book in hand? They'd probably leave her to it and not make such a huge deal over it like other places did.

Okay, so it really wasn't wise of her to let the sleep overtake her when she was following behind her students downstairs for lunch, but she couldn't help it! She'd warned the school of her health condition but still they let her teach so long as she carried pills around with her.

As of late, though, she hardly felt tired. Whether it really had to do with the wand she kept in her messenger bag was unsure. She just knew that whenever she was tired and felt the visions of times that once were licking at the corners of her eyes, all she had to do was tap the impaled skull of the wand and it went away. Now she walked along with the flap of the thing open, where she could easily access it. That and it gave the little purple wisp at the top some room to float around.

"Shiniee?" Iamel was curious, peeking around the bookshelf with a beam to his face. The little bird thing flounced around the library, dragging the pregnant, dark man behind him. Yashi was toddling along beside them, giggling and using his wand as a little cane.

"Tousan~" The kitsune squeaked curiously, fingers rising up to twist in the older mans jean, tugging slightly. "Tousan?"

"Hmm?" Patrick, distracted by his eldest, glanced down at Yashi with a little smile. "Yeah, small fry?"

Yashi hesitated, nose wrinkling up. "...watage~"

"No, sweetheart. I'm 'tousan'. No watage around."

"Watage!"

Ahiru drifted along behind Stray, wondering what the red-headed angel could possibly want in this area that felt of must and age. Of course, she couldn't really tell why the other did most things, even to why she bothered to cook. And now she had to follow the crazed woman as she looked around a bookshelf at a hugely fat- Ahi could almost say he was pregnant- man, a multicolored boy thing, and a kid with kitsune ears.

"You know him?" she asked in an annoyed tone as she peered around the bookshelf as well- it would prolly seem weird when a voice came out of thin air. There was no response from Stray, but the angel's amber eyes were alert.

Soulless things could be so weird. Especially Stray, who still acted like she had a soul. But redheads, seventh sons of seventh sons, mother-like figures, mages and some such ilk were the only ones who could see her. Ahiru sighed again. If the man was pregnant, maybe he wouldn't start yelling about a ghost, like the last place Stray had gone had.

A belated response from Stray sent the ghost-like woman jumping. "Yes, I think so." Her voice was quiet, almost whisperish. "I'm not sure."

There came from one of the rows of books a soft, startled cry. Never would she stand on her tip-toes and try to pick up a book again. No, next time she was getting a stepping stool. So what if she was tall for her age?

Sibuna found herself on her rear, in a daze, with several books strewn across the floor and clumped in her lap. She was only trying to get the thick book of 'myths' and, damn, had she ever gotten it. Right to the forehead was where she'd gotten it!

"Uhh..." Soft brown fingers ran themselves through her dark curls, messaging the scalp and her temples in attempt to make the headache pass. Inside of her mind, a voice was scolding her for the incompetence she already knew she had. Sibuna sighed, looking around. Had anyone seen her? She certainly hoped not! And thank the Lord she'd been wearing jeans today and not her characteristic skirt.

Her nails scraped across the covers of the various books as she piled them in her arms. Fine. She'd read them all and compile more knowledge than she had originally planned to, that was all. She glanced up, however, at the sound of some foreign language coming from the other side of the shelf. Curiously, she pulled some of the books out of the shelf before her and peered through.

Books.

Books.

The room was enough to make Ari pause on her way from the gardens and Nephy. She was supposed to be going back to the car, to take Artemis home...but one little stop in the room filled with books wouldn't cause anyone much harm would it?

She looked down; Artemis was still sleeping soundly, Ari smiled.

Rooms filled with books were naturally quiet. The soft pages made their amount of noise, so powerful to those who could hear that a hush would fall over the right person in their presence.

Ariel was such a person. Books were, in a way, A large part of her life. She had no idea what she would do without the books she had read. Holding Artemis in one hand her other gently caressed each book on the middle self as she passed, memorized.

A sound snapped her out of her trance and as she turned the corner she saw what appeared to be a gathering of people.

Not just any people, Ari thought to herself, more Guardians!

not sure how to approach, and certain that yet again, her entrance would be muddled with noise or falling or something clumsy and embarrassing, Ariel simply set Artemis on the table, and gently pull her along it as she approached the group, a smile on her face.

She stopped, out of the corner of her eye there was a book she had not seen for ages! "Secret Country!" she shouted, forgetting to be quiet, and realizing, that yet again, she had given herself away. Face to palm, Ari hoped she wasn't red.

Artemis slept quietly in her carrier on the table, taking no notice what so ever.

"Must find!" Coailiann complained to herself, wandering around the vast library. She couldn't quite read yet, but she figured the pictures in the book she was looking for would be good enough. She would, eventually, maybe ask Patrick to teach her.

...Whenever she saw him and Yashima again.

"ARGH!" she growled, trailing her finger along the row of books in an attempt to find something that looked like a book on harps, "Why is reading so hard?"

It wasn't as if anyone could h--What WAS that? Giving a little jog to the end of the book shelves, she peeked out to see the other people milling around. Oh! Guardians! Several looked vaguely familiar and...was that Patrick?

"PATRICK!" She screeched, bounding out towards him, her long white hair blowing around her and the breeze her movements made causing her pink dress to flutter around her.

...She needed to go shopping. Badly.

Wouldn't her Pat be proud when he saw her?

Unfortunately, she ignored everyone else.

Watage? Kyo blinked slowly at the sound, trying to figure out where she'd heard the word from. And then there came a girlish squeal that gave her the exact answer she was looking for. Ah, Patrick. Was the same pregnant man she'd met in head-quarters really here? Well, if he was, that'd be a pleasant surprise...

She stiffened suddenly, however, upon feeling a rather sharp pain coarse through her shoulder. The babe that she had been carrying around for quite some time now had begun to get irritated and now glared up at her with a set of glowing golden eyes and bared teeth. Kyo gave Zetsu a soft rock and a short coo, but it only seemed to ruffle him more.

They wanted to be put down. Now. Who cared if the place was foreign? It was full of hard objects perfect for chewing on. Good for ripping and tearing and...

Eating. Maybe those things around them now were eatable? They were also hungry, the two beings than inhabited the body of this scrawny little baby with mismatched skin. Kyo needed to get them something to eat, not talk to them. They'd been cooed at and talked to enough. Now it was time for some..

Destruction. Now. Let us down!

But Kyo would have none of this. Instead, she simply reached into her bag and drew out a pacifier and inserted it into the baby's mouth. That'd hold him off for a while. Hopefully.

Her eyes found another female down the aisle, except this one was on her rear and had probably taken a nasty topple while Kyo's mind was wandering. But really... what was she doing looking through the book cases like that? "Excuse me... Do you need help?" A gesture to the books. She only had one hand, sure, but she'd still be willing to help.


Patrick screamed, like a little girl - like he had been screaming when he first came along his eldest child. The pregnant man ducked away from the girl who was SO very intent on tackling his rather large body, hiding behind the small frame that was his oldest child.

Iamel yelped and was instead the one hit by Kay. The redhair clashed rather well with that white wig that Kay was wearing and he went tumbling to the ground with a screech.

"What teh ********!?" The bird yelped, writhing, trying to free himself from the sidhe. "SHINIEE! What the ******** was that?! GOddamnit!"

Patrick just shook his head, nose wrinkling. "She DIVED at me! Kay!"

"Kay?" Yashi squeaked out, wide golden eyes turning to the sidhe. "Iiiya! Watage! Ahhi watage!"

"I wouldn't want to know him." Ahiru grumbled, shaking her hair out of her eyes as the other woman got the most owl-faced 'gasp bad word' look she'd ever seen. She (Ahi) drifted down the hallway- the better to hear this chat, which promised to be interesting- with Stray trailing after her like a puppy.

It was kind of creepy in a way. "Ahiru~..." Stray said in a half-whining tone. "Slow down." She was practically trotting after the other, hands linked together tightly. "Ahiru!" she repeated, when the other stopped right behind Patrick, getting a slightly crafty look. The invisible woman tapped him on the shoulder gently. "S'cuze me. I can't get to my book." In case he could see her- effectively ruining the prank- she pointed upwards with the hand still resting on Patrick's shoulder to a fantasy novel a little beyond Patrick and Iamel.

Sibuna jumped at the attention from the woman down the row. And she'd thought no one had seen! Oh well, too late now... However, as a scream erupted through the library, she looked back to see the flailing man and his child.

Whadda bad chile. Usin' Satan's words to do his angry wordin'. I tole you you shoulda brought dat holy water down here whicha but you jest dun listen to me...

Sibuna ignored the voice, making a small cross over her chest before she turned back to Kyo. "I'm sorry ma'am. I dun wanna be troubling your or anything. I just took a bit of a tumble. Nothing too bad." However, she did offer the woman a book so as not to be rude in some odd way.

She feared for her wand suddenly, which rested on a table not too far away among piles of literature. The little purple thing piqued her interest as well, but she bit her tongue for the time being. It looked like Miss Kiarna's and Mister Daniel's wisp as well as the one that had recently developed over her own wand. Maybe it was one of... /those/ things?



Ari was being looked at. Great she caused another scene. With people offering to help her, she was greatful that she hadn't caused as great a scene as the pink girl who had seemingly ran over to the Man, who looked ...big....

The boy beside him kept mumbling, she listened closely and almost didn't believe her ears.

She smiled at those who had spoken to her, "I'm fine, sorry for the scare." she grabed the book, sat it down beside Artemis, who thank gods was still asleep, and walked over to the boy. She kneeled in front of him.

Her eyes were serious until she squeeed, " Ah kami-sama! Kawaiii Chisai Kitsune san!" She smiled brightly, "Watashi no onamae wa Mason Ariel desu." She seemed pleased, and relaxed, and almost overly cute speaking in one of her better known languages. She pointed generally twords the girl, whom the boy called 'Watage' "Onanako desu ne?" She asked, slightly confused. "Demo, Sore wa ona ga sukoshi watage desu na... Demo demo, Watage ga hanasenai ii desu yo. Ne, Chisai-Kitsune san?" She covered her mouth, " Aaa gomen! Chisai kitsune san onamae ja nai no ne...Onamae wa nan desu ka?"

She smiled at the little boy with the fox ears and tail.

Kay blinked as she crashed into Iamel, giggling foolishly as she rolled off him and sat, squat on her rear, in the middle of the floor, "Patrick! Look! Look at me!" she giggled again and stood herself up, green eyes glittering proudly.

See, she had grown! Then she heard Yashima and her smile simply brightened, "Yashi!" she moved over to him and picked the toddler up, hugging him and nuzzling at him, "Hello there my kitsune!"

The young girl had switched to gaelic, the musical words floating from her lips.

The sidhe didn't seem to pay any mind to Ari, pulling her best friend close and cuddling before she sat down. It seemed that the little girl finally realized she, Patrick, Iamel and Yashi weren't the only ones in the room and she decided to be polite and let the lady she'd never seen before talk to Yashi.

She simply nuzzled into his neck, listening to the language she didn't understand.

Babbling in... Was that Japanese? The toddler in her arms shifted and grumbled at the sound of it, understandably. Kaze -one of her adopted children- spoke a variety of languages, but it was Japanese that seemed to be the neon-haired teen's mother tongue. Now that it was being spouted beyond the wall of books, she could understand the child's unease. Still, he was pacified, and that was all she was concerned with as far as he went.

Kyo took the book from Sibuna delicately, tucking it under her arm. She could see the woman's stare direct to the purple apparation floating around her bag and simply ignored it to an extent. If the woman asked, she'd explain, but otherwise she didn't feel up to rambling. "Where would you like this?"

Gaelic? Wow, okay... Now Kyo turned her eyes to the bookshelf and squinted. In response, several colors in the obscure shapes of humanoids appeared, alerting her as to every mood. Patrick was startled, perhaps a little bit frustrated. There were three smaller forms with him- children, she supposed. The calmer color would be what she took for Yashima, but she wasn't quite sure. There were two adults near Patrick and... oh, my. One was touching him from behind. Was that really such a great idea?

Yeah, good move. Stand behind a spazztic, pregnant black man and talk into his ear. She was lucky his water didn't break right there and hell broke loose. Instead, the dark male gave another loud yell, hand flashing back to smack at the invisible little thing behind him. "What the ********?! GO AWAY!" Sure, he had no clue but...this was Gaia. Anything was possible in Gaia.



Yashima just stared at the girl talking to him in Japanese. He understood a good deal of it and he talked to Youko a little in it before but.... The fox just whined deep in his throat, pushing his fingers against Coailianns skirt. She would protect him. Wouldn't she?



Something. Either way, he shook his head, pointing a chubby finger at the Japanese-speaking girl accusingly. "Geel." He spurted out in the closest thing in English he could muster. Girl. Girls were bad to him. Bad girls.

Despite the fact that Patrick had hit her pretty hard, the "invisible little thing" was laughing her a** off, occasionally saying "ow" and pausing to rework her jaw to where it was supposed to be, then collapsing into apocalyptic attacks of giggles again. "That was great!" she managed once, while trying to place her jaw back into its sockets for the fourth time.

"That was kind of rude, Ahiru." Stray said, crossing her arms and staring at the girl who was still laughing hysterically. "And he just told you to go away, didn't he?" A muffled response from the floor between giggles. "I think he is technically your elder, even if he's not your mother." Another response, this time grumbled. "You do have to listen to 'im. He's older than you, and was polite enough about it." Ahiru looked up at her balefully, saying something about being treated like a child. "Well, playing pranks like that, maybe you are a child."

This was scary. If you happened to be some religious valley girl who was taught voices without a body were either angels or devils. Sibuna was. And from the way the female? was cackling, she was almost sure it must be the latter of the choices presented. She nearly bumped her head on the shelf once Kyo took the book.

"Oh! Ah... That table over there with all the books... There seems to be couple of those. Just follow me." The dark-skinned woman pushed to her feet and wobbled, teetering upon stilts for legs as she walked towards the tables. She paused upon seeing a sleeping Artemis and smiled to herself. She'd do her best to set her books down quietly and get out of Kyo's way.

Then she turned towards the group, who she could see and be seen by clearly. She wasn't going to be noticed unless she made a lot of noise, or made any sudden movements. "Thank ya again, Missus. What's that little 'un there?" What's his name, that was. She didn't really care to know what sort of thing was supposed to be half black and half white. "Did he come from that wand you have in your bag? If you don't mind me asking..." She glanced to Darva's wand and pressed her fingers lightly to the wood while the green wisp at the end floated here and there.

Ari looked a little confused at the boy "Geel-san? Kowaii onamae desu ne.." She decided the little boy was done with talking, even before she had started. "Saa... Mata ne Geel-san." Ari bowed and nodded to the man and girl around the little kitsune. "My name is Ariel." She explained, not sure if they had understood the conversation. "I just came in to see the books and now that I've seen them I better get going, I'm late as is." She nodded at the group and politely excused her way over to Artemis. She smiled at the lady near the girl.

Artemis had been sleeping, and for this Ari was most grateful... now if only she would remain sleeping for the car trip....

Ari left the room of books and down the hall until she was back in the shop again. Ari sighed, left the shop and went to her car. It was going to be a long drive.

"Hey sugar, how was class?" One dark mahogany hand reached down to stroke through the top of an even darker child's head. Sibuna smiled down at her son -her little warrior, she was coming to accept- as he stepped out the door of the fighting academy. It wasn't necessarily a very prodigious establishment, nestled between a grocery store and a video arcade, but it was affordable and productive. She thought. The boy often practiced his forms in the back yard, but just what were they for?

"Good!" Daemyn grinned up at his mother. "How was work?"

"Oh, the same. Now that we're done, though, we can get home and do some more."

"Work?" The black-skinned fae asked, tilting his head while fingering the dark green belt cinched about his waist.

"Mmm. Tonight we need to figure out how we're going to be setting up your sister's crib. Never know when we'll have a baby on our hands." Up until now, the ghostly green apparition had been ignored and left to swirl atop its thick wand. Pretty hard to catch attention just this way, huh? Darva wasn't really concerned about it, lacking the ability to multitask in such a way while she was entertaining herself by seeing how far her wispy body could stretch.

With a sigh, the double doors of the market's exit hissed aside... and remained so for a moment. The woman before them had suddenly become occupied, holding an infant aloft by the back of his shirt inches above the unforgiving tile of the store floor. It had been a surprise for the teacher to say the least, seeing her baby throw himself forward out of the carrier perched atop the cart. It had been an attempt to grab onto her, but the leap had fallen short. For a moment the boy was able to hang on with gums and fingers to the bottom of her shirt, then eventually just fell. Kyo had been woken up enough by then to snatch him up before he smacked the floor.

Xerksis gave a short huff as if oblivious to the danger, wriggling in hope of getting some actual contact. A moment later and he was lifted up and pressed against a rather ample chest, and allowed to slightly hang over the woman's shoulders. Kyo sighed, turning her head to look the boy over with tired dark blue eyes, checking for any signs of bruising. No, the Illithid seemed to be just fine if not a little grumpy. How dare she try and keep him away from her. One hand reached up and grabbed at those long strands of black hair, fisting them in his fingers and giving a reproachful yank. Bad. Xerk not pleased.

Other than a soft grunt from feeling some of her hair pull free from the roots, the woman made no protest. Instead, she silently thought to herself the possibilities of dropping this child and watched. Oh, look... her cart was rolling into the parking lot.

"Woah, run-away buggy!" Before Sibuna could protest, Daemyn was gone from her side, running right out into the street! to save the rolling cart.

"Daemyn!" No cart of groceries was worth the fae's life! Walking as fast as she could (Darva might blow away if she ran), the woman followed the boy's path and perched worriedly at the edge of the sidewalk as he caught up to and retrieved the cart. Cars had already stopped after the first time he'd shot past them and now waited running while he wheeled the thing back.

"It's alright, Mother, I have it!"

"Baby, that ain't the problem..." However, she was distracted by the woman still standing in the door. Wait. She seemed oddly familiar. "Miss Kyo?"

Hearing her name, the older woman was shaken from her thoughts and swung her head slowly about to take in Sibuna. Yes, she must know this woman. The toy store, and the library, she recalled. Of course she couldn't remember the other female's name at the moment to save her life. Yet she remembered the wand- some sort of nymph, right?

"Oh... Hey you," She greeted softly, shrugging her shoulder in hopes of dissuading Xerksis from his game of pulling her hair. Her eyes flitted to Daemyn, who had caught her cart. "Is that little gentleman yours?"

"Muh." Said Xerk smartly, boredly looking over at Sibuna. There was no recognition from this proximity. He had been a wisp the last time he'd met the woman, after all.

"He's mine," Sibuna murmured absently, more focused on Daemyn crossing the street with the cart. Sometimes she wished he wasn't hers the way he had her worried, but that was rare. "Watch out, baby, there's a car." Yeah, but they were waiting. She hated those tin cans on wheels so much, she could hardly stand the thought of possibly losing her adoptive son to one. Right now she was very paranoid that the whole parking lot was going to explode. As soon as Daemyn was back, she took the boy by the shoulder and steered him to one of her wide hips, pressing him into her side. "You haven't ever seen this lady, have you, Daemyn?"

"No ma'am." The boy answered, his black eyes studying Kyo and her brood. "Nor the baby."

"Baby...." Sibuna repeated, before she finally noticed. Baby! The other had a baby! "Is that who I think it is?" She asked, a grin on her dark features.

"Who?" The fae prodded, trying to look polite. To an experienced eye, he was restless.

"Oh, Miss Kyo, this is Daemyn, my eldest," Sibuna went on, nodding to the boy. "Daemyn, this is Miss Kyo and her son..." Help her out here, Kyo. Meanwhile, the little dryad twisted above her staff, emitting pleasant smells to indicate mood but terribly oblivious of Xerk.

"Xerksis." Kyo finished, nodding. One pale hand wrapped around the cart and tugged it back, holding it in one hand and Xerksis in the other arm. The aforementioned baby merely snorted, clutching at his mother's shirt like the spoiled, possessive brat he was. "Hello, Daemyn. And the little Meliae..." The corners of her lips creased, as if she would smile if she could.

"They have both grown since we have met. She's close now..." The dark-haired one rambled.

Phew! Well, there was today's dose of hard work out the window. Not there was much left of the day now that they were finished. Sibuna stepped back to admire their work and propped a hammer-wielding hand on her hip.

"Young man, ah do declare a job well done!"

Daemyn still seemed skeptical. He shook the wooden frame of the great crib that had taken residence in the adult's bedroom near the curtained window. It was an optimum place here, just enough sun to warm the child now that it was spring. The opaque white of the fine curtains were also sure to keep the rays from the baby's delicate skin. And most of all, this crib was in her room, just a few feet away from where Sibuna slept. If there was anything she learned growing up with her brothers, it was that you had to keep a close eye on everything a baby did.

Sighing contentedly, the woman laid the hammer across the inn table nearby and made her way towards her own bed. The 'wand' laid there, and the spirit hovering over it. It smelled like clover, the atmosphere around the thing. It was always different.

"All that's left for you to do is come on home," She soothed aloud as her soft brown fingers curled around the staff and slowly hoisted up. The whisp at the top spun very slowly, leaning towards the energy of its guardian. But there was nothing there to feel when Sibuna stroked the atmosphere above it, cupping her head around the supposed head. Slowly she made the procession to the crib, "You'll be snug as a bug in a rug. Safe, too."

"Super safe," Daemyn added, apparently done with his evaluation and about to check the nearby baggy for the spare screws added in the kit. The constant digestion of little pieces of metal made him hungry all the time.

"We'll be needing to go to bed just as soon as I tuck this one in," Noted the woman with both a fond and firm quality to her voice.

[TBC]