Welcome to Gaia! ::

It started when Ice didn't come home with his cherries. And then it went downhill from there.

Silva stood on the chair in the front room, his toothpick working in his mouth as he chewed it in irritation, his large red scaled wings flexing slightly as he looked down at the baby boy on the floor. Blonde, duel colored eyes, and a scraggly looking hat. Not to mention a metal... thing... next to him. Silva looked over at the female heading in from the kitchen. His bond. HIS Ice. And said coldly, "Take it back."

"Take what back?" Ice said as she dropped down on the floor next to the newcomers. "Hiya, fella. Don't let the scary looking fairy get to you with his ugly looks. He was born that way." She said as she pulled Walter to his feet, supporting him so he could walk. Walter smiled at her, drooling just a little as he let out a gurgly laugh.

"I've put up with little girls. And tigers. And an ancient. And Soho..." Silva drawled. "But not with a baby. I'm not about to start now."

"Don't worry. I'm just taking care of him until I get ahold of his caretaker." Ice said, glancing up at the feien. "But until then, Silva, I swear if you make this kid cry I'll get out the newspaper."

"You really think that scares me?" Silva asked with a snort.

"It should! I'm talking the Sunday edition!" Ice said rashly. Walter waved his arms, turning his focus on the little talking bat like man just out of reach. He liked the colors on that one, too! "He's just a baby, Silva. He needs to be protected and cared for." She leaned forward, bussing Walter's belly. "Isn't that right, little fella?"

Walter giggled and squirmed, loving the attention in an innocent way that only a baby could pull off. Then he reached for the speaking creature on the chair again, wanting to touch... and maybe taste. Tasting things was good. Sometimes they didn't taste so good, but you ate them anyways because food was hard to come by. Not that he was thinking this logically, but that was how he had been trained.

Oblivion was watching the fairy with red eyes, her tail twitching back and forth at his tone. She didn't like this creature. Not if he didn't like her forgotten. And she was a lot bigger than it was! Although she wasn't very fast... or tough. But that didn't matter when it came to protecting her bond.

"Then at least throw out the metal thing." Silva said, not willing to give up so quickly. "It's getting rust on the carpet."

"You're being an a**, Silva." Ice said. "Where's Aleric? Why aren't you bothering him?"

"Aleric's... indisposed." Silva said.

"Huh?" Ice glanced up again, nearly dropping Walter as he took an unexpected step. She scooped him up off of the ground to keep him from hitting carpet. "Is he sick?"

"Only in the head."

"...We are talking about the same feien, aren't we?"

"Purple marks? Girly hair?"

"Right."

"Yeah. That's him."

Walter took advantage of the distraction, reaching for the feien with a triumphant coo. Only to miss by bare inches. He pulled his hand back, looking at it blankly, as if wondering how it had missed.

"Then what's wrong with him?" Ice asked. "I mean, I know Kisa moving in with Jade might be a problem for him, but I don't see why we'd need to move his terrarium--"

"It's not that." Silva said, stepping right before Walter tried to grab him again. "It's that damn flute of his."

"Oh, I suppose he has gotten rather attached... Then what about Soho? What's she doing right now?"

"Downloading music on your computer again." Silva said. The kid was starting to get to him, and he bit back a snicker as he stepped just out of reach again. The look on Walter's face when he was thwarted was amusing, even to a cynical b*****d like himself.

"I hope it's the free stuff." Ice said, shaking her head. She was still holding Walter there, watching idly as he tried to catch the feien. Games like that were good for his reflexes, and if he did manage to catch Silva, well, he probably deserved all that happened to him. "You're surprisingly good with kids, Silva."

"Like hell I am."

"And watch your mouth. Little boys have big ears."

"He's rotted your brain already." Silva muttered.

"No, babe, you did that waaay before he was born." Ice said with a smirk.

Oblivion watched silently, a slight creaking sound coming from her tail as it swung slowly back and forth. She still didn't like the talking bat winged thing. She would have to keep an eye on him...

Yet another deceptively warm day in Febuary found Walter and Oblivion sitting in the front room of Ice's house as she tapped away on her computer. Once in a while she would glance over to see if they were okay with the plush animals Jade and Kisa had provided, but it was clear that she was deep in thought. Idly she noticed that she needed to get the poor babies some toys of their own. Perhaps a shopping trip was required.

Walter clambored clumsily onto the back of his daemon, wrapping his arms around Oblivion's neck and gurgling something non-comprehensive at her. He didn't want to play with the strange things around him, he wasn't even sure what they were there for. But he waved at them nonetheless, figuring that they deserved that much before he and Oblivion left them behind. Odd how they didn't seem to move in reply... but oh well.

He kicked his little heels against Oblivion's side, much to her irritation, and scooted, trying to get her to move. He was hungry... well, not really. But he felt that he had to eat SOMETHING before he got to that empty, hollow, icky feeling that he had only lately realized wasn't the norm. With a creaky start Oblivion trudged across the carpet, doing her best to please her forgotten, even though she wasn't very keen on this riding idea.

Slowly they crept past the writing Ice, heading for the kitchen to see what they could find. A tall, square rubber trashcan stood in the corner, mocking them with the smells that came from it. Someone had thrown away almost perfectly good food! In mutual consent Walter slipped off the back of Oblivion and Oblivion headbutted the trashcan, once.

"What do you think you're doin?" The tenor drawl made both of them glance into the air, where the small talking fairy guy from before was floating. He scowled down at them, fingering his toothpick for a moment as he waited for a reply.

Walter waved his arms over his head happily, gurgling out a cheerful little response that didn't make any sense. It was the colorful, tasty looking thing! He went on to explain that they were getting something to eat from the big box thing, but all he got was an irritated look.

"Riiight, kid... you still don't speak English, do you." Silva said. "Great, shits, drools, and cries, but doesn't know how to talk. Just what I'd want for a pet, alright." His sarcasm was laden in the air, but Walter, being a baby, didn't have a clue.

"Ah-meeehba." Walter said decisively, reaching as far into the air as he could in hopes of grabbing the flying thing. His arm wasn't long enough.

Yet another flying thing came down the hall, stopping when he caught sight of Silva, and then glancing down. "Um..." Aleric said, trying to get his bearings. "Are we babysitting?" He finally asked.

"Damn, old man, don't you pay attention to anything that's going on around here?" Silva asked. "Or are you too in love with that flute of yours?"

"I--" Aleric stopped. "I've put the flute away for the rest of the day." He said finally. "So if you would, please, brother, explain what is going on and why Kisa is moving out of our room?"

"See this kid?" Silva said, motioning to Walter. "And his... thing over there. They're Ice's new kids."

"What?"

"Yeah, old man. We've got another pair."

Walter was getting bored with all the talk, and his stomach was going to grumble soon... at... any moment now... well, at least it should be. He wasn't quite sure why it wasn't, but that didn't matter! So he looked over at the irritated looking Oblivion, waiting for her to reassume her assault on the trashcan.

Which she did. The thump! thump! thump! sound made both fairies glance down in surprise and jerked Ice from what she was writing on the computer.

"What's going on in there?" Ice called from her chair. "Walter? Where'd you go, fella?" The sounds of her crossing the room made Oblivion move faster, ramming her head against the trashcan side before the white skinned female got in the way. Thumpthumpthump!!

Ice came into view then, right as the trashcan tipped and fell to the ground, sending the trash flying through the air. And straight onto Ice's clean, white jeans. She yelped and jumped back, looking down at her pants in horror even as Walter gave a triumphant cry and dived into the trash on the ground, grabbing for a mostly uneaten cookie.

"That..." Silva said slowly. "Was actually worth sticking around for."

Ice sighed and reached down, grabbing Walter from the floor and heading for the back. "Looks like we both need baths this time, fella." She said. Oblivion followed them with one last glance back at the fallen trash. She could have sworn she saw something shiny in there...

Ice never once thought that she would be making a metal heart. As interesting as the idea seemed after she came up with it, it just hadn't crossed her mind before she got Walter and Oblivion. Well, in this case, mostly Oblivion.

Valentine's Day had come to the Ice household, red and pink ribbons were strewn everywhere and dozens of roses sat near windows, slowly blooming towards the sun. The smell of chocolate and chocolate covered cherries drafted on the breeze, accompanied by chatter of the wholly feminine persuasion. Other than Silva and Aleric the household was full of females, after all. It was no wonder the two males had skipped out with the roses Ice had given them. Anything was better than being here. And they had girlfriends to appease.

Ice leaned back, eyeing the metal heart she was beating out of sheet metal on the back porch. She probably should have just asked one of her family memebers to cut it on the water jet, or even grind it at the shop... but this seemed much more loving. And would get it done on time.

Oblivion was sitting at her feet, waiting for the hammer she was weilding to fall, or better yet, the unfinished heart. Or both. She could really go for both. Walter was sitting on the porch and slowly working his way in scoots and crawls towards the trashcans in the corner. Ice had replaced them with rubber... when she hadn't had another choice. The metal ones were gone to the depths of Oblivion's belly.

"I've heard of shitting razor blades, but this is ridiculous..."

The steady bang! bang! bang! of hammer against the metal filled the air for a good long while until it was cut off by a "Perfect!" as Ice held up the large metal heart to the sun. It was rounded and a little bumpy thanks to the hammer, but she didn't think she needed to sand it smooth. Oblivion (or Spiral, as Jade still liked to call her) wouldn't really appreciate waiting that long. And she still had the heart peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to make for Walter's lunch.

She turned, handing the heart to the daemon and barely retrieving the hammer. "Happy Valentine's Day, sugar!" She said cheerfully as metal jaw crunched into metal heart. It was a squeaking, sickening sound if one wasn't used to it. As it was it just made Ice turn to Walter before he knocked the trash can onto his head.

She picked him up, earning a cheerful explanation about what he had been doing, (she couldn't understand, of course, but nonetheless cheerful!) and a grunt as he reached for the trash over her shoulder. "Nope, I don't think so. You've already had your bath for the day." She said as she headed up the steps.

Oblivion turned, looking at her blankly before dragging the heart laborously up the stairs and into the front room. The metal screeched against the concrete, sparking once, but she didn't notice. She took a moment just to eye the hammer in Ice's hand, wistfully.

"Momma?" Jade asked from where she was already starting the sandwiches. There was a tiny trace of chocolate next to her lips that made Ice bite back a laugh. "I put the brownies in the oven!"

"Are you sure all that chocolate won't make us sick?" Ice asked.

"No, but it tastes good! Don't you think, Walter?" Jade asked as she leaned in to kiss the little boy on the cheek. "I'll have the food ready in a few moments. Can you get the drinks?" She paused as Walter leaned forward, holding out his arms for her to take him. "Or... finish the food?" She finished as she picked the boy out of Ice's arms.

"I think he's got a crush." Ice said as she expertly finished off the sandwiches, cutting them into hearts.

"No, he just likes my earrings, isn't that right, fella?" Jade asked, bouncing him on her hip. "They're shiny!" She added as he giggled. "Have you found out any more about that man Patrick told you about?"

"I found out a little." Ice said. "His name is Wren, he's one of the feien owners. I picked up his address at work the other day. I keep telling myself that I'm going to go over there and talk to him..."

"Why don't you?" Jade asked.

"Because... well..." She sighed and looked at Walter. "What if there IS something I need to know? Or worse, what if Patrick shouldn't have been the one that got Walter? I don't... I don't want to give them up."

"Sometimes..." Jade said softly. "It's better to know these things, even if they aren't want to hear."

"...I know." Ice said with a sigh. "Just not today, okay?"

"Not today."

The next few days grew abruptly colder, degrees in the single digits sent the family inside, cuddled around heaters and huddled under blankets. The feien had set up camp in Aleric's terrarium, much to Silva's irritation, with a blanket draped over the top.

Nick and Nack cuddled together in the corner, watching the others silently. Ever since the cupcake incident, when Silva had almost killed Nick, they had stayed quiet. It was unnatural for the two, and Silva was starting to worry. A slight frown pulled at Silva's lips as he glanced up from his hentai manga. The two looked away.

Soho had an ipod and a set of speakers set up in another part of the terrarium, and she was looking out the glass as she listened to the music, watching silently as the three human sized females tried to put Walter into the new bed Ice had bought him. This was his room now, painted blue with white clouds, with white accents. But the baby didn't seem very happy about it. She frowned slightly as he let out a wail. Babies were more trouble than they were worth. Even if they had gotten this one for free.

She glanced over at Silva, then followed his eyes to Nick and Nack, breaking into a grin at the sight of the two boys. "Dance with me!" She said as she headed to the two, grabbing their hands and hauling them to their feet. She pulled them back to the ipod, earning startled smiles from the two as she started to dance. "Aleric! Join us!" She called.

Aleric look up from the book he was reading, then headed forward, joining in the wild, flipping, kicking martial arts that the boys called dancing. Soho playfully tried to imitate them, falling on her bottom several times.

Ice glanced up from where she was trying to calm Walter down, smiling slightly at the sight of the feien and animal boys dancing. Then she glanced over at Kisa. "Hang the blankets over the windows, and get the room heater. We'll put it in the corner. But it's getting too cold in my room for him to stay there."

"You could close the window and leave a sign for Patrick?" Jade offered.

"He can't read." Ice said with a sigh. "I'll hang something over it, but I won't close it. I hope he's okay in this cold weather..."

Walter wasn't happy, not one bit. A new room and new clothes, and a new bed, and--It was overwhelming and far too much abrupt change for him. Especially the fact that he was cold. It had been so long since he'd been cold, and now he was once again. He didn't like cold, almost as much as he didn't like being hungry. And they expected Oblivion to stay on the ground? Oh no, he didn't think so!

His wailing got louder and he shook his tiny fists angrily. Oblivion's eyes were red as she bunted her head against the back of Ice's leg, once, twice, until Ice yelped and looked down at the metailic creature. "And now you've got a problem, too?" She asked with a sigh.

But before she could do anything about it, Kisa reached down, picking up Oblivion and putting her into the bed with him. "Don't you think that's a little..." Ice stopped as Walter wrapped one sleepy arm around Oblivion's neck. "Okay... fine. Now we're ready for bed, right?" She asked as she tugged the blanket over both babies. She hoped that Walter wasn't cut on any sharp parts of Oblivion.

"I know you probably don't like all these changes." She said as she tugged his hat off and put it on the pillow above his head. "But it's too cold in my room right now, baby. You'll be warmer here."

"Maybe you should sleep in here, too, Momma." Jade said as Kisa plugged in the room heater and flicked the switch. "You'll be warmer."

"I'm fine." Ice said. She was about to go on when a knock sounded from the front door. It was loud, as if the person was pounding his fist against it. All three females jumped and Silva took to the air, shoving the blanket out of the way so he could escape the terrarium.

Ice headed for the front room, a frown on her face. "Who would be coming over at this time of night?" She asked. "Patrick wouldn't knock on the front door, and I can't think of anyone from the feien--"

She peered through the peephole on the door as her hand hovered over the door lock. There was someone standing there, wrapped from head to toe in winter wear. It was a tall person, most definitely male. He stopped slamming his fist against the door, as if he knew she was on the other side.

"Momma?"

"I'm not sure." Ice replied with a frown.

"It's freezing out here!" The muffled shout came from the wrapped up man. "Let me in!"

"Let him freeze." Silva said. "We don't know him."

"It's true... letting a strange man into the house is probably--" Jade started out.

"C'mon, Ice. Let me in already!"

Ice went perfectly still.

"Momma? Do you know him?" Jade asked.

"Baby? I want you to go to the back bedroom." Ice said through numb lips. "Silva--"

"Like ******** I'm leaving."

"Then disappear." Ice said. Silva almost argued. But he nodded and drifted back slightly, fading into the shadows that were his elements. Ice had forgotten about him by then. There was only one thought in her mind.

She had to protect her babies.

"Dammit Ice!" The male shouted again. "Open this damn door!"

"Go away, Shade! We don't need your type in this dimension!" She said coldly.

"That's too ******** bad, baby. Because I'm here to stay." The door started to glow and split down the center slowly, as if it were a curtain being parted. And the male stepped in through the hole. It closed behind him with a jerk.

He pulled off his gloves with an irritated motion, then unwrapped the scarf around his face. His face was as pure black as Ice's was white, save for two white streaks from his eyes to his chin. His long, lizard like tail snapped behind him, spattering snow onto the floor.

"What... in the hell... is he?" Silva demanded.

"A professional killer." Ice said blandly.

"You've got some screwed up taste in friends, Ice."

"You're telling me." Ice muttered. She squared her shoulders, looking at the intruder, ready to fight. "You're not getting near my babies, Shade."

"I've missed you, too, love." Shade said dryly. "What? No kiss hello?"

Then Walter wailed once again, making both of them jerk and turn.

Things were awkward, to say the least. Ice stared at Shade for a moment, wishing she could pull her baby from his grasp, and at the same time...

"Put him down, Shade." She said.

"Huh? Why? The kid likes me!" Shade replied, bouncing the boy once on his hip to get a better grip on him. "Isn't that right?"

"He's a baby. He hasn't developed taste yet." Silva drawled.

"You can sleep in my room." Ice said before Shade could reply. "It's this way." She reached out, taking Walter from his arms and putting him back into his bed with Oblivion before leading Shade away.

"I've waited too damn long to hear those words." Shade replied. He followed her into her room, glancing around and shivering slightly. "A bit... cold, isn't it?" He headed for the cracked window, blinking as her tail whipped out and slapped his hands.

"Don't touch the window." She told him. "Don't ever touch that window."

"You're kidding me, right? It's ten degrees out there! I'm freezing my a** off! And you want to leave the window open?"

"Yes. I do."

"You've gotten seriously confusing in the last few years." He said.

"It's more important than being cold. It's a matter of trust. But you wouldn't understand that, now would you?" She asked. She turned, heading for the strange closet door. It was a door that led to somewhere different every time it was opened, almost. But he was distracted just enough not to notice.

"Here, you can take a warm shower in my bathroom." She said. "It'll make it feel less cold in here."

"Good point." Shade said. "I do want to smell my best." He reached for the door handle, pausing right beside her and leaning down. Ice gulped, unable to stop looking into his eyes as he whispered against her lips. "I've missed you, love..."

"Tell me, Shade... who?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you here for? Really? Your... job?"

"Oh, just a cheap little mechanic. She's been doing jobs that some... businesses want to do for more money." He paused, digging in his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "Name's... Trin... Trinityblue."

Ice jerked, then reached down, turning the door handle for him and slamming him through the opening. He stumbled, unprepared for the assault, and fell face first into the sea on the other side of the door.

"Don't you DARE come back." Ice shouted before slamming the door shut. She leaned her forehead against the cool wood, taking a deep breath to try and calm her heart.

Because Trinityblue... was her sister.

"Ice?" Aleric's voice barely reached her. "Ice, are you okay?"

"No... No I'm not." She said. "But I will be." A single tear crept slowly down her cheek as he reached up and wiped it away. "Sooner or later." She felt his warm body leaning gently against her neck. But she didn't say anything. "He'll come back. He never leaves a job unfinished."

"We'll be ready for him, then."

"I sure hope so."

They wheeled slowly through the aisles, earching right, then left to see if they were being watched. At least Oblivion did. Walter was having the time of his life, oohing and awing over all the different colors that surrounded him. These things weren't meant for him, they were just... well... things! She his red and blue eyes widened as they approached the largest shelf he had ever seen in his life.

And it was metal.

Brightly colored magazines stood in rows, stepladdering up into the sky. But Oblivion's blue, excited eyes were only on the easiest part to reach. The leg. She turned her head, opened her mouth and CHOMPED!

A loud, weary creaking sound came from the tower and it started to sway as she ate away at the foundings. Until... BAM! It fell forward, barely avoiding the babies before it slammed into the wooden shelf in front of it, then the one in front of it, and so on, until like a row of dominoes the entire library shelving system had fallen before them. Oblivion hesitated, then moved forward again and took another bite of the metal shelf.

"WALTER!" Ice shouted, jumping over books and clamboring over fallen shelves.

"Who... Who did this??" The local head librarian asked as she came out of the office. "Oh dear... oh dear... was anyone hurt? Oh the books... oh the precious books!!" She finished, bursting into tears.

Ice found them then, stopping and staring as she caught sight of Oblivion's happy little feast. With a muffled sound of irritation she scooped them both up and looked around. "It looks like we've got some cleaning up to do."

"Ma'am! Ma'am, I'm so sorry, I looked away for a second and--"

"Momma? Is Walter--"

Ice glanced up as all three college aged kids came forward, looking shocked. "Jade, call your aunt Trinity, Kisa, see if you can keep these two from causing any more trouble, and you--" She stopped, looking at the fox boy blankly. "You help me start setting the shelves back up. And call any college friends you might have. Ask them if they'll help, too."

No one moved so Ice's tail snapped like a whip and she gave them a "Don't mess with me, I'm the mother" look. "NOW!"

"Ma'am, you don't have to--" The librarian said as she noticed what Ice was doing. "I had no idea that the legs of that shelf were rusting out. I should have, we've had it for years and years--"

"It's fine." Ice said. "Seriously, it's what any lover of the library would do."

Walter peered over Kisa's shoulder, babbling away in baby talk as he tried to say that Oblivion wasn't through eating yet! But nobody listened. Again. This baby thing was starting to get frustrating!

Then he stopped, his eyes widening slightly as one last, slow piece of paper slowly fluttered to the ground. He had been so busy watching Oblivion that he hadn't noticed earlier.

And Walter began to cry.

Warning: PG-13 for slight suggestiveness.

Little boys like soft pillows.

"He's a perv." Silva muttered after a few moments of watching Walter crawl into yet another one of the family females (Jade's in this case) lap and wrap his tiny arms around their waists. His head was gently laid on her breast, his ear to her chest to hear her heartbeat.

"Silva! He's just a baby! He can't possibly be thinking what you are right now." Ice said, torn between laughter and irritation.

"He's a perv. He wouldn't dream of cuddling up to a guy like that." Silva said.

"There aren't any males in the house large enough." Ice replied. "And he's used to females."

Walter let out a little sigh and moved his head just slightly so he was more comfortable. Regardless of the conversation he looked as innocent as could be. Jade wrapped her arms around him loosely, whispering soft loving words in his ear. She was ignoring Silva completely.

"I give you odds..." Silva said as he leaned back against the couch cushion next to Ice. He fingered his toothpick for a moment before going on. "That the brat turns into a woman chaser the moment he learns to talk."

"If you're any influence he might." Ice muttered.

"Nope. Doesn't need me for this one." Silva replied calmly. "Kid's already halfway there."

"You're being ridiculous." Ice said. "But I'll take those odds."

"A lifetime of cherries."

"You've already got that."

"During the off seasons."

"Fine fine... A new room for Soho. Bigger."

"Yeah, whatever." Silva said. He was still watching the boy, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Walter cooed softly and rubbed his head against the soft, fluffy pillows that all females seemed to come equipped with. He was one happy little boy, even ignoring the faint irritation coming from his daemon. It was good to be a baby... Especially with three different sets of pillows to enjoy!