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 Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:37 pm
Perhaps he was being a little too silly and rambunctious, but Ren's nerves, combined with his irrational fear that Jove would not want to be his little brother anymore was making him feel slightly giddy with relief. That, and he was trying desperately to ignore the anxious butterflies in his stomach, overcompensating for them by being ridiculous.
He would probably never stop treating Jove like a kid - at least, not completely. When Jove grew older and wiser, able to do things completely on his own, Ren would know when to back off. But the boil would always be his little brother to him, no matter what. That much was clear.
His eyebrows rose, slightly surprised. "Now?" Ren said. "You want to go now? Well. Er. Okay. That...that works."
Tail flicking, Ren smiled down at Jove, rocking back on his heels. "I'll go back and grab some things, then; meet me in my room in ten minutes, and we'll head for the station."
He ruffled Jove's hair, turned, and made his way back to his own room.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:45 pm
Jove sighed, fluffy ears flopping sideways in a defeated gesture. Now what?
He picked himself up off the floor and grabbed a bag, before realizing there really wasn't much he needed for a quick trip. He had even forgot to ask Ren how long they would be visiting... If it was anything like his brother's usual trips, he would need something to sleep in, and maybe a book to amuse himself if he didn't want to sleep. He tossed in the nightshirt and book. After some additional thought, he changed into some nicer clothes, something much more presentable after his first meeting with Ren's family.
After some hesitation, he grabbed something off a shelf and crammed it into his bag as well, before throwing it over his shoulder and heading off to the monster dorm. He poked his head into his brother's room, warily at first in case Ren had the same idea he had to dress nicer. Was the gryphon still packing?
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:49 pm
Ren was standing in the middle of his room, wondering what in Jack's name he was doing.
He had just invited Jove to his house.
To his house. Where his parents were.
And, after the last impression his parents had gotten of Jove, they were slightly less than thrilled. Considering that Jove had slammed a door in the faces, well...it was understandable. And entertaining.
But bad. Very, very bad.
Ren squared his shoulders. No, he thought, it would not do good to dwell on the past. He was taking Jove home to see Baroque, that was it. He knew very well his parents would still be there, but he was doing it all the same.
"Hi," he said, when he heard footsteps and the door creak slightly. It was open, as usual, but Jove was leaning against it, looking a little uncertain. Dressed in his usual attire - a pair of black slacks, white dress shirt, and vest, Ren was wearing a step up from what he had used to wear.
"Ready to go?" he asked the puppy, after haphazardly throwing a change of clothes, nightclothes, his skellyphone, and a few bags of Alessa's homemade cookies into a bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:55 pm
The little wisp made a jokingly exasperated face. Of course he was ready to go, why else would he be waiting around in Ren's room? The gryphon was certainly taking his time! But Jove's tail wagged, and he nodded anyway.
This would be an adventure, if nothing else. Sitting on the train, seeing the sights, actually entering Ren's house without being smuggled in via duffle bag... Maybe there would also be more sandwiches.
Although he didn't quite remember his way back to the train station, the pup decided it was his job to lead the way from the dorms to the school entrance.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:03 pm
Ten minutes later, the pair found themselves sitting on the red vinyl seats of the Hogwarts Express train that would take them back to Ren's home.
Or rather, Ren's house, since he did not care to think of that place as a home any longer. Amityville, despite all of its oddities, weird exams, dangerous field trips, and vast assortment of inhabitants, was more a home to him than his parents' house had ever been.
"This is better than the last time, don't you think?" said Ren, with a smile to Jove. The boil was sitting across from him, and Ren tossed one leg over the other, leaning against in his seat. His wings were folded neatly against his back. Outside the marbled grey sky was flashing by, the scent of rain in the air permeating through the glass window.
"I mean," Ren said. "Since you snuck into my duffle bag the last time. I'm sure a train seat is much more comfortable than sitting on a pile of books."
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:39 pm
Jove nodded, and his fluffy tail wagged beside him on the seat. It was a lot better. He didn't have to sleep through it all, he could sit up and look outside, or watch the people sleeping or watch Ren watching people or looking out the window. Although... Once he had snuggled in between the books, the clothing had been quite a comfortable cushion.
The thoughtful look vanished quickly as they passed a herd of giant bovine monsters in a field, the little pup's ears perking straight up to watch them zoom by. It was amazing how much space there was out there. The only thing that could have made the trip better was being able to stick his head out and actually smell the air.
Still, by the time they arrived at their stop, he was happy and eager to continue onwards. It would be nothing more than a big, adventure until they reached the gryphon's house.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:43 pm
By the time they had arrived at their stop, Ren was second guessing anything and everything he had thought about bringing Jove home.
Why in Jack's name had he agreed to subject his little brother to this?
Except the fact remained that he could not just abandon Jove. He could turn around, perhaps, but that would be both rude and probably unsuccessful, since Jove had just climbed into his bag the last time.
"Okay, so," said Ren, once they were standing on the platform. He reached a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck before dropping it and gesturing to the side. "It's, er...this way..."
It only took them a few moments to arrive at the large, expansive manor that spanned nearly a quarter acre in size and sat on land twice that. Enormous white pillars stood imposingly at the front of the house, past the wrought iron gates that prevented unwanted visitors, and lush, flowering gardens were visible to one side - gardens that were professionally managed, not the small, humble ones Ren himself cared for.
He and Jove had barely made it to the front door when it was abruptly opened.
"Ren."
Medieval was giving him a surprised, almost suspicious look. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
Golden eyes flickered towards the foxfire by his side. "And what is - that - doing here?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:10 pm
The large mansion reminded Jove of his caretaker's home. It shared many things in common, the gates, the gardens, the well kept lawns... But unlike the home of the Viscount, the gates were closed. There were no climbing vines, or welcoming golden orange flowers, and the pup knew from prior experience there would be no warm welcome at the door, with hugs and friendly greetings.
He was actually surprised when the door opened in front of them, and he half expected to see the friendly, fanged smile of his caretaker behind the grand door. But it was only the evil clone. The pup's ears flattened, had he really been expecting more than this? Well, maybe he expected to make it up to Ren's room without hassle, rather than being blocked at the front door, but one never knew where evil clones would show up.
He readjusted the bag thrown over his shoulder and frowned back, a determined "I'm here with my brother," expression on his face. If Medieval was going to give him trouble, he would put up all sorts of a fight to stay by Ren's side.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:29 pm
Medieval was looking at Jove with the expression of one who had seen a bug and was contemplating squashing it.
"That's none of your business, now is it?" Ren said pleasantly, and putting a hand on Jove's shoulder, he propelled him past his sister and forward into the house.
Inside it was all white marble, a black and cream patterned floor, and gold trimmed staircases. There were elaborate tapestries hung from the ceiling, heavy scarlet drapes curtaining off the windows. Ren bypassed all of these, however, and said "Where's, er...Baroque? Is she with..."
He trailed off, not wanting to say mother.
His sister slowly turned her golden eyed gaze onto her brother. For a few moments she was silent, regarding him coolly, but then -
"She's upstairs, in your old room. Mother's asleep in her room."
Ren nodded. A wordless thanks passed through his eyes, but Medieval had already turned, disappearing down the hallway.
"C'mon," Ren mumbled, and led Jove up the stairs, towards the bedroom he had grown up in, pushing open the door.
The first thing he saw was the crib - large and white painted, decorated with tiny golden suns. And, sound asleep in the middle, surrounded by pristine white and pastel pink blankets, lay Baroque, sound asleep.
"There she is," Ren whispered. He swallowed hard, then carefully stepped forward, nudging Jove to come with him. "This is Baroque, Jove."
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:29 am
Jove just frowned back up at Ren's sister as they passed. Why did she have to be so nasty all the time, like she had a whole lemon stuck between her teeth?
He let Ren lead him up the stairs, to the room he had visited the last time he was in the gryphon's house. It was hard to keep his anxiety under control. For a minute he didn't really want to meet his brother's new sister, he didn't want to feel left out or awkward for not being family. But he had no choice in the matter as he was led into the room. It looked much the same as it did on his first visit, except... cleaner. And it had a peculiar cage-like object in it that hadn't been there the last time. Did baby gryphons get crate-trained too?
The pup dropped his backpack on the floor, and let Ren nudge him closer to take a look. Inside was the smallest, roundest little person he had ever seen, just sleeping there without a care in the world. He glanced suspiciously at his brother as if saying "That's not a gryphon. That's too small to be a gryphon." But when he took another long look, he could see the scareling's little silky ears. She had hair that was lighter than Ren's, but if he looked close, he could see freckles.
His tail started to wag. Was this what scarelings were, all soft looking and sleepy?
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:09 pm
Baroque looked the same as she had a few days ago. A small, dark skinned little ghoul with a smattering of cinnamon colored freckles across the bridge of her nose and spreading over her cheeks. Her hair, still the same yellow as the rest of her family, was a shade lighter than Ren and Medieval's, curling in wispy strands against her face. On her back were tiny brown wings, a minuscule tufted tail poking out from underneath the blankets. Fluffy gold ears, small and soft, were barely visible, as her head was tucked downwards.
She was beautiful, and Ren loved her already. Often times he wondered how she was going to be raised; whether or not she would be safe here, but now was not the time.
"Meet Baroque," Ren said to Jove. He had seen the boil's tail wag, seen the curious, almost eager look on his pale, freckled face, but he did not know what it meant. Shifting from one foot to the other, Ren moved closer to the crib, peering down inside.
"Do you...want to hold her?" he asked his little brother quietly.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:30 pm
The little pup glanced up from the scareling, a startled expression on his face.
Baroque seemed like a very "look but don't touch" little ghoul, Jove was afraid to even think about holding her. What if she woke up, and started to cry? He could see her little hands, they were ridiculously small and tiny. And that tail. What if he hurt her? He didn't even know how to hold a scareling! The pup didn't want to do anything that might make Ren's teeny little sister uncomfortable, and it was clear in the way his tail fell between his legs, and his ears flopped back.
His expression tightened into a worried frown before looking back down at the baby gryphon. She was just so small...
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:46 pm
Ren gave Jove a reassuring look, reaching out to put a hand on the top of his teal haired head.
"You'll be fine," he said gently, and lightly ruffled his hair, guiding his little brother over to the squashy armchair a few feet away.
Once Jove was settled, Ren stepped back over to the crib. For a few moments, he just looked down at the small, sleeping ghoul; and then, very carefully, he reached towards her and lifted Baroque up into his arms.
She did not wake; squirming a little in her sleep, she curled her tiny hands into fists, nestling easily against his chest, and Ren felt a surge of love and pride race through him unexpectedly. Swallowing, he slowly walked towards Jove.
"Here," he said, and very carefully he took Baroque and laid her in Jove's arms.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:11 am
Jove made a little fretful noise from the chair as the scareling was picked up, and for a second he even thought about running away. But he couldn't disappoint his brother like that. Instead he just gave Ren an increasingly anxious look until Baroque was put in his reluctant arms.
The first thing he noticed was how heavy she was. The dense, little bundle easily weighed more than he did in his natural form, and it might not be long before she weighed more than his human form as well. And she was warm, just like Ren. He held her tightly in his arms, and sat stiffly, almost afraid to move and somehow wake her up. His brother was lucky to have such a beautiful little thing.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:34 pm
The image of Jove holding Baroque - someone even tinier than the boil himself - in his arms made a warm feeling of happiness spread throughout Ren's stomach.
Jove's clear stiffness, however, made him stifle a smile. He knelt down in front of the two of them, reaching out to tug back the blankets just a little bit more so that more of the little ghoul's face was visible.
"You won't hurt her," Ren said quietly to Jove. "You can relax - really. She'll be all right. And if she starts crying, I'll just take her. But for now, just...relax."
His fingers brushed against Baroque's warm, soft cheek, ran through the pale, spun gold hair on her head and dusted over her forehead. She was so quiet, so small, the only sounds that of her breath as her body slowly rose and fell with each one.
"And look, Jove," said Ren softly. "She's got freckles - just like you."
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