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 Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 1:27 pm
: ||Reserved for Finding|| :
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 1:28 pm
Beginnings
Picking Leith May 17, 2006
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Coailiann?"
"How come those wands are still there?" she sat quietly on one of the stools, feet swinging back and forth in rhythm to a song in her head. She, amazingly, had spoken in english. She'd been having quite a bit of trouble with that lately.
"I don't know, Kay," Ianna said warily, shifting on her stool and laying her elbows on her desk, "Hopefully their guardians will get their behinds in here so I can stop sitting in here day after day...At least until another one turns up."
"Do you like your job?"
"Huh?"
Coailiann had spoken in gaelic again.
A deep blush touched the young child's cheeks, "Do you like your job?" she repeated, making sure her words were english. Ianna gave a nod of her head, but did nothing else, eyes sinking closed.
Michael tipped his head slightly to one side as he drew to a halt. It was a rare occassion indeed when the man ventured outdoors, and usually such outings were characterised by a haste that clearly said the man wanted to get his task done as quickly as possible and then retrear back to his own living quarters as fast as humanly possible. Perhaps becuase of this, Tovar found he'd walked quite a few steps before realizing that his companion had drawn up. Starting -- thinking for a moment that Michael might have fallen and cracked his head open when he wasn't looking -- Tovar floundered about and turned his attention hastily back to the older man.
Michael's features were drawn and thoughtful, eyes lingering on the slightly darkened windows of the shop front he'd stopped at. "Tovar."
"Er?"
"Let's," he said, moving to the door. "Go in here."
Tovar blinked, glancing up at the shop's sign. A...wand...shop? He'd heard of a few low grade hedgewizards and witches in need of magical assistance to augment their skills, be it through an artifact such as a wand or an amulet, but he'd never known Michael to be interested in such things. In fact, Tovar was almost certain Michael had called them 'ridiculous and silly,' and had gone on to say quite a few more rude things about the magic users who owned them... --but he could never be sure with Michael.
Frowning slightly, Tovar moved to the door and levered it open. He held it apart for the doorway for Michael to slide in, and then closed it gently behind.
Both men were greeted by a very beautiful looking young girl, who, upon arrival, slid from her stool and ran up to meet them. Her pink dress was floating around her in quite a flurry, as well as her white hair.
"Hi! Are you two guardians?!"
"Coailiann!"
The sidhe turned around to look at her mother, giving her a look that simply said, "What?" before turning back to the men, "So are you!?"
Ianna, had she not been in front of people, would have slammed her head into the desk, "Sorry about her, you two. Welcome to Ghosts of the Past, may I help you?"
The taller and elder of the two immediately drew back from the child, shooting her a long look down the length of his nose and taking full advantage of the opportunity presented by the gibbering of his younger apprentice to settle himself farther from the child. Michael didn't like children; they were dangerous.
Tovar ignored him. Inside his own home, Michael might have been perfectly tolerable to live with (well, mostly tolerable anyway), but outdoors he was a right nuisance; all dark and forboding like some shadow lurking in a corner. He blocked the man from his mind, instead turning his attention first to the young girl -- though she only recieved a slightly mindless blink or two --, before his gaze traveled to the woman behind the counter.
"Ah...excuse me? --Oh. Yes, yes. Of course..." He hesitated, glancing toward Michael over his shoulder. What on earth had the man wanted in here; and what could the girl possibly mean by 'guardian?'
Ianna raised a brow and Coailiann looked absolutely crestfallen that someone was pulling away from her when all she had done was greet them. The sidhe huffed softly, full of hurt before she fled behind her mother.
"Mmph. Well. Only one way to tell, hmm, Kay?" she muttered, dragging the leather bound book up and to the top of the desk. Matilda had been away for some time, so the book would be the one to tell her if the men were guardians or not.
"Come closer, please," she murmured, barely loud enough to be heard. Slowly, she sank back onto her stool and picked her daughter up to set her in her lap.
...She was getting too big for that.
Tovar desired nothing more than to glare questioningly at Michael. Instead, heavily aware of the man's eyes on his back, Tovar moved warily forward toward the woman and her heavy looking book. Michael followed, but remained a good foot farther away from the desk than his companion, and he continued to look at the two women with a clear sense of watchfulness; a certain cautious way that spoke in his movements as much as his gaze. Clearly the older man was paranoid of something, though the cause was certainly not apparent.
Tovar fidgetted. He wished Michael would stop that. He could feel the man being haughty and disdainful somewhere behind him, and it made the place between his shoulders itch uncomfortably. Or perhaps that was the formidable appearance of this book, and the way the two females (and even Michael, in some manner) seemed to be privy to some extensive knowledge he was all but in the dark on.
It was rather disconcerting.
Ianna narrowed her eyes towards Michael, definitely not liking his attitude, "I'll need both of you to touch the book, please?" she asked, softly yet again. The young woman with silver hair looked harmless enough, and of course, Coailiann was just a giant bundle of cute.
"Wanna hear me play my harp?"
Ianna winced, "You really don't want to," she muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, sweet heart."
When Michael touched the book, nothing happened. At all.
The minute Tovar touched it, however, the cover flew open, an invisible wind winding through the pages and blowing them rapidly open until it landed, quite suddenly, on a well-worn page. On the page was a very life-like sketch of one of the wands on her Desk. It was the piece that looked more like driftwood with braided seaweed hanging from it. In fact, the piece even looked water logged. The Kelpie? Interesting.
Under the picture read:
"Kelpie. Wand ID 00027. 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."
"Mmph, sir, whatever your name is - You're a father."
Inwardly, she was thankful that Michael had not been the guardian.
Tovar stared openly at the book as it went on it's merry way of utterly freaking out. He snatched his hand back abruptly, as if afraid the pages might take off it's fingers with their flurry of motion. Fingers clutched against his chest, taking stock of himself as if to make sure he still had all his skin, Tovar barely had time to register what was happening before the book settled.
He squinted at the text, crooking his head to one side. He was rather bad reading upside down...
"--Wait, what?"
"Lovely," Michael murmured, tone pitched low and grating, running like sand paper over the air.
Tovar shook his head. "Nevermind him. What do you mean...?" He grapsed for the right phrase, and then simply opted to let the question fall of lamely and unfinished.
Coailiann bounced in her mother's lap, "Oh! OH CAN I TELL THEM?!"
Ianna sighed wearily, "Sure, go ahead, you're going to anyway."
The sidhe blew a raspberry and slid from her perch on Ianna's lap, making her way over to them, "We're people," she began, "of magic. We lived before, but we died. I Think. Right mom?"
Ianna nodded, "Yes, you died, Coailiann."
She had had to sit down and explain to the sidhe what had happened to her when she first came home from her quest.
"But we got saved! Like...We got trapped in the wands, you see?" she pointed at the wand on the desk, "Til we could find someone to take care of us and give us another chance! I was...The first? Mommy?"
Ianna shook her head, "No...You were the uh...Fourth? Fifth? Anyway, there's about close to thirty children now. Including that one. I'm assuming it's a boy."
Tovar blinked, clearly a little dumbstruck. Apparently the poor man, magician apprentice or no, just wasn't very good with taking in information under certain circumstances. Or, he at least didn't do it with a very becoming look settled across his features. Rather, than man looked a little like a half drowned, or excessively confused animal -- and immediately began looking awkward and silly because of it.
The older male didn't seem remotely phased by the statements of the women; meaning his dark expression didn't change much.
"A boy?" Tovar chittered nervously. "How can you...tell? I mean...it's...--excuse me, but. It a stick." Alright, it had a bit of stuff braided at the end but, technically speaking, it really did look just like a stick some child plucked out of the river.
Michael sniffed absently, lips thinning into a severe line. Too logical by far; after so long in his service, Tovar really ought to know better by then.
"Touch it! Go ahead!" Coailiann said before Ianna had a chance to say anything. At least she lessened the silver haired woman's work load? The sidhe bounded over and picked the wand up, offering it up to Tovar.
When he touched it, there came a flash of light and a warm pulsing that flowed through him. It lasted but a moment before fading back to normal, but it had definitely been there.
"You've been acknowledged," Ianna said, cutting Coailiann off, "You can feel him, can't you?"
Tovar took the wand without consideration. He was used to doing what people told him; besides, he was still a bit thunderstruck by the whole book-freaking-out, dead-children-telling-him-stuff sort of thing. He started and nearly dropped the bit of driftwoo--ah, wand--when it lit up. It tingled under his fingers, and Tovar had the momentary sensation of holding a living thing across his palms. It was more than a little creepy, to be perfectly honest. It felt like he was being watched, even when the logical part of his brain insisted that the only thing in his hands was a piece of wood and a bit of damp grass.
Granted, the predominant part of his brain -- the part that had been a magician's apprentice for upwards of ten years -- argued that it was perfectly possible, just rather incredibly rare.
It didn't make the feeling any more welcoming. Still creepy, still a little unsettling. Tovar wasn't sure what to make of himself, much less the thing in his hands.
"Is that it?" Michael questioned from behind him, arching one eyebrow smoothly at the woman behind the desk. "So you're just going to give the boy the stick and send him off like that?"
"Of course not," Ianna said, raising a brow, "There are about thirty more people like him, and my home is always open for them all. In fact, it's usually crawling with guardians. I expect him to bring the child here to see the others. They need to socialize, you know."
Coailiann smiled at the two and tugged gently on Tovar's shirt, "Yeah, cause I wanna meet him, okay?" She was too cute, how could anyone resist?
Peering down at the little girl on the edge of his shirt, Tovar blinked thoughtfully a few seconds before casting a wand another glance. "Er," he said, and that was about the length of his functioning capabilities at the time being.
Micheal sniffed, turning dark eyes away from the little girl and his apprentice, back to the woman still behind the counter. "Well then, if that is indeed all - Tovar, we should be going. Your unicorn doesn't like who we left him with."
Tovar gawped, shooting Michael a dirty sidelong glance before switching his attention briefly back to Ianna. "I don't...need to sign anything or so forth, right?"
"No, but I need to show you the headquart---" she was beaten to it by Coailiann trying to drag Tovar through the door to the right of the desk. Rolling her eyes, Ianna coughed, "Uhm, sorry dear..She's a bit exciteable."
Coailiann cast a glance to her mother but stopped at the door, "I am not citeable!" she protested, crossing her arms over her chest, "But it's my home too and it's not my fault if all I could do all this time was drool and wave!"
"You're right," she agreed, laughing softly, "Follow us, then?" She stepped through the door portal and into headquarters.
As they entered the main lobby Via the portal connecting the shoppe and the headquarters, the first thing noticable was 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 my house!" Coailiann gleed as they entered, already situating herself on the couch.
Ianna followed, a look of exhasperation on her face, "Welcome to Headquarters. You're welcome here at any time."
Tovar, allowing himself to be drug along by the little girl (Michael, meanwhile, falling in step behind Ianna off the obvious assumption that he was invited inside also), faltered almost the moment the vaulted ceilings and ornate decoration came fully into view. He was rather used to odd rooms and Things That Shouldn't Fit Fitting, due to Michael's personal penchant for sticking add-ons to architecture that weren't actually there but this...
Tovar eased his eyes off the gold inlay and the expensive looking paintings, casting a wary eye around the rest of the place before his gaze settled back on the pale haired little girl.
"Lovely home you have here," he managed.
By the looks of it, Michael's interest too had been piqued. Souls trapped in wands? Whatever. Giant houses in the back of little shops? This was certainly more to his immediate interest.
Coailiann smiled at him from her perch on the couch, "Thank you!" she chirped, green eyes moving to the television which was currently playing some Disney movie that Ianna didn't quite know.
"This is in a pocket realm created by my eldest daughter, Matilda. Outside of Gaia and controlled by her. In fact, this is the only thing IN the pocket realm. Safest place to really be..."
A small shrug of her shoulders before she looked around, "The hall way has about thirty eight doors, but it's been a while since I've counted. Some are bedrooms, some are bathrooms, some are closets. There's a library to the right and a training room to the left. At the end, there's a door to a very large garden."
By the sound of it, Tovar was impressed. The young man made a faint noise in the back of his throat which clearly said 'Dear god, my brain hurts from all this...this...--I need a few Advil and a nap, definitely.' Meanwhile, Michael facial features were expressing much the same sentiment - the impressed bit, rather than the Advil and a nap bit anyway. The older man sniffed and set to snooping around, as much as he could from where he was standing, anyway. Magically Snooping might have been a better term; searching for seams or nodes used to create and anchor the pocket dimension, tracking old fragments of the weaving.
Or trying to at least. It was a bit difficult to detect anything solid about someone's magic he wasn't used to studying, or it had been for years now. After of few seconds of trying, feeling the essence of it sliding just out of his line of sight, he lifted a hand to rub at both his eyes and then stopped trying. Later, he mused, if he ever got the opportunity to dig into the magic again. It was interesting though; it's very own dimension...
She noticed the look on Michael's face and laughed softly, "You won't find anything. Matilda's taken very high precautions in trying to conceal anything and everything about this place. She has enemies, you know..." she smiled a bit at that, "It's connected to a second pocket realm, her own. Much smaller than this, though. I'm not even allowed there."
Coailiann looked up from her cartoons, "It's a lot smaller," she confirmed before going back to watching her television.
Michael sniffed absently, tucking his hands impassively up the long sleeves of his shirt. It was rare for Michael to wear anything remotely normal - it was probably a miracle of Tovar's blackmailing and politician abilities that he'd wrangled the man into a sensible, if baggy, sweater for the day's errands - and he clearly wasn't used to not having any hidden pockets to tuck his bony hands into. "You can't fault an old man for his curiosity."
Tovar turned a sour eye on the man, brow furrowing. "Speaking of, didn't we have somewhere to be before you stuck your nose in here? You dragged me away from my work to run your damned errands."
Michael blinked, casting his apprentice a thoughtful glance. After a moment, he shrugged. "I don't remember; it must not have been that important."
Tovar's face. Palm. Fhwack.
Ianna snorted, "You two act like an old married couple," she commented before moving to sit beside Coailiann, "If you're hungry or thirsty, you're welcome to stay. If you have other things to do, that's fine as well."
Coailiann rested her head on her mother's lap, giving a soft yawn as her attention continued to stay glued to the television screen. How it got reception Ianna didn't know - but she was grateful for it being there. It kept her Sidhe entertained.
The younger of the two immediately went into some sort of fit at the woman's statement. Michael's expression flickered into a dark, twisted sort of grin that clearly said this sort of thing had happened before, and he was thoroughly entertained by it all.
"I think," said Tovar, recovering from his pufferfish-like state (the man had gone up like a balloon, slightly red in the face, and then immediately losing all color to his complexion. "We should probably be going. Right?"
Michael chose to ignore the snappy tone the question had taken. More of a demand, really. Harumph, apprentices these days. "If you insist. You have a chimney to clean, don't you Tovar?"
"Huwha--?!"
Offering Ianna a broad, if not particularly bright and cheery and rather more diabolical and I-have-malicious-things-in-store-for-the-day-to-come, smile and a slight bow, Michael turned back toward the doorway of the shop. "I suppose that means we'll be going then. Tovar, thank her for having us."
"--and goddammit, I am not cleaning that fireplace just because you-- What? Oh. Uh. Yes, thank you very much. Er." Hesitating, Tovar wheeled visibly between being angry with Michael and being polite to Ianna. "I suppose...I'll...see you both again sometime. Soonish. Er. Yes."
She tried brilliantly hard not to laugh at the two, shaking her head and biting her tongue to keep quiet. Unable to talk, she just nodded her head and went back to stroking at Coailiann's head.
The child, on the other hand, burst out laughing, gleefully wriggling on the couch. Not much could pull her away from her television shows, but the two arguing seemed to do it quiet well.
"You two're funny. Come again soon!"
And right back to the show at hand. Children.
And that seemed to be the end of that. Opening and closing his mouth all of two times, completely unable to think of anything to say in response that that, Tovar finally seemed to come to the conclusion that Somewhere Up There was having a huge laugh at his expense that afternoon and it might just be better to say 'Screw it,' and get the day over with before he committed some horrible act of violence that might get him imprisoned for the rest of his life. It was a bad idea, he reasoned, to snap off both your mentor's arms and then proceed to beat him with them. As such, he turned carefully on his heel, and led the way through the doorway back into the shop.
Michael smiled at the back of Coailiann's head, chuckling. "Christ, I love children," he noted gleefully, and then promptly took his leave through the doorway.
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 6:15 am
6/19/06 - Tovar's Journal - Entry #1| Dear Journal,
More children, it looks like. Maybe this is what Pukio meant when she said Gaia was 'unsafe' and 'hazardous to the bank account.' If that's the case, I don't think it's very prudent of me to be wandering around so recklessly. At this rate, I'll have eighty billion children to take care of, nevermind Michael. I really should be more careful about what I get myself into these days. -I mean, I suppose I could say something like 'No, I don't want your freaky kids, so leave me alone!' but...I don't know. That seems rude.
Oh well. At least Michael seems to like this one better. Then again, at the moment it's just...well...a stick. I feel bad saying that, but honestly except for when I first touched it, it really doesn't seem all that special. Generally I'd think the lady at the wand shop was off her rocker, but seeing as Michael's taken an interest, it has to be something somewhat special. He's not one to tinker with pointless things.
At least I won't have to divide my attention away from Etain that much at this stage. I can pretty much just carry the thing around in my back pocket and feel like a responsible parent. Or...whatever. Michael even seems halfway willing to 'watch' the thing. Ugh, I bet as soon as it turns into a baby he'll rop interest like a rock in...-- alright, I can't really think of a decent metaphor at this moment in time, but can you really blame me? It's a little stressful.
I should probably do a little research -- Ianna said the spirit in the wand was...a Kelpie, I think. Michael seemed to know what she was talking about, so I'll start with asking him. And then go look in the library or something.
I hope Etain likes the idea of having a little brother...
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:49 pm
Craft Store from The Abyss
Meeting Xerksis June 19, 2006
Tovar frowned at the display, features and expression dark, lips drawn into a severe line.
The coils of wire and various other jewlery crafting supplies started merrily back at him, at if perfectly oblivious to the fact that they were being rather irritating. Sighing, Tovar consulted The List again.
"Damn Michael, picking up new hobbies left and right. Can't he just get his things..." Mutter, grumble, mutter. Sulk.
Tovar was rather used to running utterly pointless errands, but he had been in the middle of helping Etain with his school work when Michael demanded he go out and get necessary busy-work supplies. Right. Then. Tovar was hoping his prompt response to the demand would mean more frequent lessons in the next few days but...he sort of doubted it. Grimacing, he pulled down a roll of hemp and a coil of silver wire from the shelf, dumping both that and a large tube of glass beads into the basket. Now, he wanted charms or something... By the looks of it, Michael had scribbled a few rough approximation sketches in the margins of the list he'd given Tovar. Squinting at the designs, Tovart endeavored to find some sort of matching metalwork in the aisle - or at least something similar enough to Michael could magick into the proper shape.
He was, despite the distraction of errand running, heavily aware of the stic - uh, wand - stuffed in the back pocket of his jeans. Since he'd gotten it, it hadn't left his pocket for very long (which was honestly probably the only reason Tovar hadn't lost the poor...thing).
"Avarice, put that back."
"Don't get yer panties in a wad, D, you know what I gotta do."
"But that lady saw you."
An audible hiss sounded from behind the shelf beyond Tovar's, followed by a lower. "Why are you so damn loud? That nut you call an uncle is corrupting you. ********. You even have his hair."
The conversation dimmed, and seemed to be quite finished for the moment. A small scuffing noise was present at the end of the display line should he be listening. A child, slightly hunched in his stance, was pacing down the aisle at a rather stiff pace. A grumpy expression populated his features, almost hidden beneath a mop of dense, green curls. As the boy -he couldn't be more than ten- made his way through, Tovar was ignored to a point. His stance almost completely changed at the new display of shimmering things. His shoulders relaxed and pulled themselves back- his walk turned into a sort of casual sway.
He was persued by another green-haired child, though this one had a more radioactive air to him. This one pinpointed his counterpart immeadiatly, and sent him in a bee-line to the other's side. A golden pair of eyes lilted upon Tovar, a shy sort of smile being offered even though the man might not see.
The one with the darker green hair gave the boy an idle sort of stare, grunting. His opposite creased his brow slightly, as if giving an uncertain expression. Then his eyes flitted to Tovar again, then his cart, golden gaze suddenly lighting up with glee. He was at the man's side at an instant, bobbing up and down alongside the stranger.
"Hey!" Dionaea grinned excitedly, showing off rows of serrated teeth. "Are you gonna make bead animals with those?" A pair of semi-transparent wings twitched on his back excitedly, giving off an obnoxious buzzing sound. Was he... some giant fly?
Meanwhile, the other made his way along behind Tovar, using the distraction to run almost feather light fingers over the man's back pocket and gently prod their way inside. Come on... this guy seemed like he'd have something good on him, though what his hand closed on seemed kind of wet. Avarice was going to try to ease the wand from the man's back pocket, not really knowing what it was, but wanting to see if he could get away with it all the same. And if he was found out? Run. Yeah, that usually worked. Little punk.
Tovar blinked, glancing sharply down at the boy. His attention was caught almost immediately, drawn to the mostly-transparent wings for a few seconds before drifting back to the boy's face. "Excuse me? Animals. Uh..." Not exactly. "Well, honestly, I don't know. They're not for me, you understand." No, just an old bitter man with too much time on his hands and not enough work ethic, Tovar grumped inwardly. Even so, the boy's cheerfulness had served to smooth the man's features -- if only temporarily.
"Tovaaaaaar." The high pitched squealy chirp of a call originated from the end of the aisle. Tovar looked beyond Dionaea, a start of surprise streaking across his features.
"Etain! What are you-- when did you dissapear?" He could have sworn the little boy had been with a few seconds ago... But by the looks of it, the unicorn had been distracted in one of the other aisles. In his little hands, Etain was balancing a rather large box of children's art supplies. He'd probably picked it up because the case was made of some sort of glittery plastic. With a determined expression on his face, Etain wobbled to his guardian and the two other boys - one of which was doing something in Tovar's pocket. Weird. He gave both boys a thoughtful once over when he approached, setting the case of stuff down carefully at Tovar's feet.
"What'cha doin'?" he piped up, apparently in question to the second boy by Tovar's back.
"We're getting things for Michael you know thaaugh!" Tovar jumped two feet in the air when he caught sight of the boy, nearly trampling Etain and Dionaea when he came back down. "What are you doing?"
"Messin' in yer pockets," Etain supplied cheertfully.
Everything was going swimmingly. Dionaea had taken his signal to go distract the man -albeit reluctantly- like the obedient brother he was and the victim to seem none the wiser... That was until Etain came tromping along. If looks could kill...
No, kid. Go the hell away. But it was too late. Tovar was freaking on him, and Dionaea was squeaking in what seemed like surprise, but was really a signal to run while he attempted another distraction. The boy could seizure on call in times like these, but with a sudden jerk of Avarice's head, the action was suppressed.
"I want your lent." The thief said darkly, twitching ever so slightly. Dion almost began to giggle, but gripped onto Tovar's cart instead, trying to use it to get higher and get a look at the list.
"He likes his lent, Ava." Dionaea stared at him reproachfully, before his eyes flickered up to Tovar. "You should see the big ball he's made out of our family's lent! It's blue an' silver an'..." He trailed off, attention jerking to Etain. "Does he... fingerpaint?"
Meanwhile, Avarice had removed his hand from the man's pockets and seemed to be scouring his fingers for something, if only to play off on his lame lie. If this didn't prove fruitful, he'd use his power to sap the energy from the man for a moment and run. He was quite sure he could take down the kid if he had to.
Etain smiled broadly, turning his attention brightly to the other boy. "Nu-uh. C'n I, Tovar?" As if to bring the request home, the little boy stooped and retrieved the bright plastic box of paints and markers, shaking it slightly for emphasis and looking up mournfully at his guardian.
Tovar looked slowly between all three boys. Self-consciously, he reached into his back pocket and moved the damp sti--uh, wand-- from one pocket to the other. There was probably a dark splotch where the condensation had seemed into the denim, he thought darkly. He tried to ignore it, shifting slightly to put his back to the rack of crafting supplies. "We can talk about this later, Etain. -Where did you two boys come from, anyway? Is your...mom around or anything like that?" It seemed strange that they might be running around all by themselves. How old could they possibly be? Probably not that much older than Etain.
"I have a cousin who'd love-" Dion paused slightly, eyes widening at Tovar. "Are we in trouble?"
"We dun have a mother." Avarice supplied, eyes slowly following the transfer of the wand. Something he wouldn't ever truly be interested in. "What is that?"
"We have a babysitter. A grandma, I think." Dion commented quietly. "But we hid from her and got away." A small smile flickered across his face.
"There you are..." Farther down the aisle, a rather pale woman swayed. Black hair matted over her eyes for the moment, but she made no move to brush them away. She simply slid forth towards the group, gripping a long piece of black material firmly. In the crook of her arm lay a corpereal form, purple in coloring and a bit jagged considering its wispy exterior. The woman didn't seem to notice she was carrying a squid of sorts.
"Kyo." Avarice turned towards her, suddenly scowling.
"Hm..." The curtain of hair moved to face Tovar as she approached. "They haven't been causing you any trouble yet, have they, sir?"
"Avarice was doing it again."
"Shuddap!"
Tovar shook his head quickly, offering the spindly woman a faint smile he no doubt meant to be warm. "No, no trouble at all. They just...surprised me a bit." He chuckled, a rough nervous sound that died quickly. Unconsciously, his fingers found the top of Etain's hair, twisting faintly into the boy's pale hair. Not enough to hurt or pull. More of a head rub than anything - like someone might give a favorite dog or cat. Etain settled comfortably into the head rub, features content. Tovar found it was usually a good idea to distract Etain when he met new people - he could never be sure when the boy would freak out or not...
Even so, Tovar's attention was quickly drawn to the...entity...at the crook of the woman's arm. He didn't realize he was staring until he jerked his gaze up to the woman's face, offering a brief apologetic smile. "Ah, er. Sorry. Didn't mean to stare..."
A pale hand lifted, exposing the shackled wrist of her free hand as she parted the veil of hair over her face and tucked one half behind her ear. A navy-colored eye settled on Tovar before moving along to Etain, then her own. The hand then was held out, palm facing outwards, towards the boys that seemed to be under her care. Dionaea moved immediatly to this gesture, hopping off the cart. A smile was given to Etain before the boy trotted towards her. Only Avarice stayed behind; rebellious.
"They have that effect. Especially this little one here." She moved her hand fondly over the boy's toxic green hair, which was spattered with purple splotches. Still, she kept her eye on Tovar, Avarice, and Etain.
"No, it is alright... This is his effect on others." A lazy, dismissive gesture with her free hand was given.
Meanwhile, the little head turned towards Tovar's general direction, what seemed like tentacles reaching. "We're sorry to have been in your way... Avarice."
But the boy wouldn't move, glancing between them suspiciously. "Who carries a wet stick around with them everywhere?"
Tovar glanced uneasily between the three -- four, that thing in her arm was definitely a someone and not a something --. Etain didn't seem to note anything quite so suspicious as Tovar's gut instinct did, though. Rather, the fair haired, bright eyed unicorn offered all of them a bright smile as he chewed lightly on the corner of his thumb.
"Hey, missus - what's on yer arm? Is it gooey?"
So much for tact. Tovar winced slightly, clearing his throat. In an attempt to overlap Etain's questioning, he looked quickly to the second boy - Avarice, was it? "It's not a stick," he corrected absently. "It's a wand. Supposedly there's someone inside it." Or something like that.
Kyo blinked slightly down at Etain, lips pursing at the question. However, her normally dead eyes seemed to spark with laughter her tired body couldn't muster at the moment. Cute. He was cute. "It's a little boy, just like you."
"Someone inside it?" Good thing he hadn't managed to touch it for long, then. Avarice could suck the life out of the wand if he so desired, though he probably wouldn't. He glanced to Kyo again and her wand. "Like Xerksis?"
"...Did you... receive that wand from a woman named Ianna, then?" Kyo had never heard of spirits coming from wands before. The thought of coming across another wand-owner was enough to make her suck up her silent embarrassment and linger a little longer. She wanted her charge to come into as much contact with others in the same situation as she could manage. This man seemed a little shaken and awkward -this was what she interpreted his aura color- but not hostile.
Etain eyed the gooey thing in the lady's arm suspiciously. It didn't look like any boy he'd seen before. His little face scrunched up into a slightly sour expression, lower lip pouting out slightly in serious consideration. Well, if she said so...- she was a grownup, and grownups usually told the truth, right? Except for Michael anyway. He said mean things and lied sometimes; like when he tried to get Etain to stuff his head in the cookie jar because there was a prize at the moment if he could...
Tovar hadn't been happy about the big hole his horn had left in the bottom.
The man's fingers closed on the wand in his back pocket, a startled expression streaking across his features. "Yes - that's right. Ianna from the wand shop. He's..." Tovar hesitated, eyeing the 'little boy' in the woman's arms thoughtfully. "It'll turn into that?" It seemed somewhat insensitive to think of his own wand as an 'it' or a 'that,' but Tovar just couldn't wrap his brain around someone living inside the stick. Not yet, anyway; not enough to give the person a diffinitive sex, even if Ianna had said the soul inside was male.
"...I don't know. I'm supposing yours is... a different race than mine." She had ignored Etain for the moment. The little unicorn didn't really believe her, but she wasn't troubled. He was young- he'd learn not everything was as it seemed and that things took time to change into what was considered 'normal'. The two kids with her didn't really believe Xerk could be anything more than a monster, either.
"May I see yours?" She asked, gently rocking the ghostly child when it tried to wriggle towards the new minds not too far away.
"He's a Kelpie," Tovar supplied absently, not entirely confident with what he was saying. Ianna had told him that too, but... Shrugging, Tovar carefully pulled the wand out from his back pocket. What could it hurt, right? By the looks of it, the woman knew what she was talking about, even had the same kind of...child? Besides, if she tried anything, Tovar was fairly confident he could take her.
The wand really didn't look like much. Just a long, slightly knotty stick with bits of river grass hanging off it. The only physically interestesting trait of the sti--wand--was that it wouldn't stay dry. Tovar had tried to, but fifteen paper towels later he'd decided it just wasn't worth it and it wasn't fair to the environment to keep trying.
"A..."
"What's a kelpie?" Asked Dion curiously, though quieted as he was patted again. Generally, Kyo didn't like giving out Xerk's race, but this man seemed to be in the same boat of 'evil' races. She craned her head a bit, searching for something with her eyes. "Male, but you knew that. Soon, you will probably achieve a similar stage to this... But I really have not seen any other wisps aside from mine. They've all been children, which... mine will be soon."
Kyo had a few nasty tricks up her sleeves, but she wasn't planning on snagging his wand. She wasn't that sort of person. "Mine is... an Illithid. A Mind Flayer. That's why he looks like this... Do you know what those are?"
Tovar pursed his lips into a thin line, glancing to Dion regretfully before his features bloomed into a careful smile. "It's...a magic horse." Etain glanced up, elongated ears pricking slightly. "Like'a unicorn?"
Tovar floofed the hair behind his ears and murmured something noncommital in response, raising his eyes back to the woman. Honestly, he had no clue what an Illithid was. Michael would probably know, Tovar mused; not that Michael knowing would help him at that precise moment. "No idea. I'm afraid my study of...races has been a little limited." At least he'd heard of Kelpies before, though; Tovar couldn't ever recall hearing something similar to a 'Mind Flayer.'
Dion cocked his head slightly, considering the idea of a 'magic horse'. He was satisfied with the answer, though, as he made no more comment about it. Instead, he simply smiled towards Etain, friendly by nature even though he allowed his much more malicious brother to push him around. The other boy looked soft! Next to him, Avarice gave Tovar a barely-concealed look of disbelief.
"Well, it's something of a..."
"Slimy squid!" Dion interjected with a grin, obviously not at all grossed out by the concept. "Lookit! Tentacles!" As he pointed roughly towards the whisp, the baby ghost reached out with its smoky hand and nabbed at his finger. However, it still turned its head towards the newcomers, sending a few psionic waves the child's way first.
What was more or less shoved at the little unicorn with no teqhnique whatsoever was an image of purple smoke, and nothing more. However, it might come at the cost of a small migrain. Maybe it wouldn't quite reach the other or simply bounce off- that had happened a few times. It was simply a test, for the ghostling was eager to send pictures or images to someone ever since it had been spoken to in its wand stage. Of course it wouldn't consider if it would hurt anyone in the process.
Tovar blinked, watching the slow, undulating moment of the creature neatly clasped in the woman's arms. "A squid, huh?"
"Tovar," Etain squeaked, burying his face into the young man's thigh, tugging slightly at the hem of his sweater. For a moment, the chestnut haired man brushed the call off. The little boy probably just wanted to talk about his paints set again. Etain was getting understandably bored with his guardian talking to so many strangers at so many hours of the day - it certainly seemed to happen quite a bit as of late. He was fully ready to inquire further on the spirit's state until the unicorn tugged at his sweater again.
Frowning slightly, Tovar glanced down. "What's wrong, Etain?"
"My head hurts," the little boy muttered into the fabric of his jeans. "It's all foggy and stuffy in their and it makes behind my eyes ache."
Tovar suddenly felt remarkably guilty for having ignored the boy. Carefully, he floofed Etain's hair in a clearly hopeful matter that it might make the pale skanned boy feel a little better. He did like his hair played with... It didn't seem to help though. Frowning further, Tovar glanced to the woman and her children.
"I...I apologize; he's never done this before. Maybe we've been out too long. You know how kids are."
Dissapointment was a feeling the little ghost did not know yet, but it knew its message had not conveyed itself. That was fine- there was still one more new mind left! Perhaps they'd be able to entertain him a little. Just looking around now had become boring to it.
"You got a headache?" Dionaea asked, eyes suddenly alight. "I've got something for that, I think..." And he began to dig in his pockets excitedly, quite ready to play doctor.
Kyo's expression shifted ever so slightly, keeping her gaze away from Xerksis at all costs. At least Etain didn't burst into screaming tears like the little baby had when Xerk tried prodding at their mind. She could fix the headache without exerting any force, but she refrained from reaching out to the boy. Only if he really started crying would she help, but until then she kept her ability to herself. Perhaps it'd fade away after a bit...
"He's fakin' it." Scoffed Avarice unhelpfully, eying Etain while Dionaea begin to pull all sorts of things from his pockets. "Dion, band-aids aint gonna help..."
"No?" Dion frowned, shoving a rather large frog into Avarice's hands. "Maybe you should let him get a nap, mister."
Xerksis had finally gathered up enough power to send out another message, shoving it this time in Tovar's direction. Kyo had known what was going on, but she didn't dare mention it was her child that was causing the little boy pain. 'Oh, yeah, he makes people have headaches sometimes.' Like that wouldn't be enough of a reason to stay away from him. She didn't want the child to be lonely even before he came fully into the world.
"Yes, I understand. It's quite alright- at least he isn't throwing a tantrum like a few little boys I know... It is really me who should apologize to you. Will you... head home?"
"No, no," Tovar assured her, smiling faintly. "I'm sure he'll be fine, right Etain?" Truth be told, he wanted to stick around a bit. He really wouldn't mind finding out a little more about this Mind Flayer creature. Etain's headache was a little worrisome, but Tovar was willing to be it might be fixed by a trip to the park and a good lunch. He did stoop and retrieve the paint set that Etain had laid out across the aisle floor though, tucking it under one arm.
As he straightened, Tovar winced slightly and bit the inside of his cheek. That was strange... -Starting, he looked quickly in the direction of the infant-shaped cloud of fog. He could have sworn - but that was ridiculous. His head throbbed, suddenly plainful between the temples. "Actually," he said at length, clearing his throat slightly. "I'm beginning to feel a -a touch light headed myself. Perhaps it would be a good idea if we did get going."
Navy-colored eyes took in the two's visible auras as they shifted and dotted themselves with discomfort. They weren't lying- not that she thought they were. As Tovar looked towards the wand, Kyo almost started, but managed to plant herself firmly. Did he know? As if feeling the gaze, the spirit turned its head towards the man and twitched its four astral tentacles in smooth succession.
"I think it's time we made a journey home as well," Kyo announced softly, reaching out and lightly smacking Avarice's hand away from a display shelf with surprising agility. "Before these two get in any more trouble. It has been a pleasure meeting you, Tovar. Etain."
"We havta go?" Avarice whined, looking towards the man he had previously tried to pick-pocket. Dionaea beside him made no protest out loud, but worry was clearly etched onto his features. Kyo seemed to be in no mood to humor the sin's protests, nudging the boys gingerly in the direction of the store's entrance. She spared one more glance towards the other two before sliding after them, holding the ghost and it's wand closer to her, as if she could shield the others from the psionic powers with her body alone.
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:50 pm
In the Library
Meeting Kishi and Artemis June 19, 2006
Ari brough in the lively Artemis in her arms, "Mommy needs to look uip somthing, would you like a book Art?"
"Bah looo..." Artemis Giggled. Ari smiled as she went to the childrens books, and pulled out a small stiff paged book with little puppies inside. she, for a moment, sat Artemis in her carrier. She laid out Artemis's blanket on the ground and Lupus and put the book on top before placing Artemis on the blanket.
"I will be really quick, don't go anywhere ok sweetie?" And Ari went to the near by shelf to start looking for the book she needed.
Her work had allowed her to do some of her work while at home until Artemis could be baby sat. This work required her to look up something and without a computer, the cold Library of Head Quarters was her best bet.
Tovar didn't usually have much use for libraries -- the ones beyond the large room stuffed with books in Michael's house, anyway. However, seeing as the older sorcerer had currently comandeered (and locked) their personal library, he found himself resorting to different methods.
And as much as he would have preffered the public library, Tovar wouldn't have even known where to start somewhere that big; at least here, in a semi-private library of the shop's headquarters, he had a little less space and fewer books (though, the number was still impressive) to shift through.
Even so, he wasn't really looking forward to it. Not for the first time, Tovar quietly wished Michael kept a computer - or technology of any sort, really. Then again, Michael always said books and first hand accounts were the only things to be trusted when doing research.
Sighing, cooped up in a corner of the library, Tovar pulled a heavily bound book of the shelf. Stuffed in the back pocket of his jeans, the wand made a faint dark spot where the condensation of river water seeped slowly into the thick denim.
"A Book for Zah a book for Zah purple Zah a book for zah'" Kishi sang as she followed after her father.They'd just returned home after a shopping trip whe're she'd bought her flowerkitten a new collar and her some colouring books. Now they were going to the library to find a book for Zah her favorite friend.
"A book about Zah, well his kind anyways" Malen corrected. He'd promised to babysit the young drow for Neveah that weekened and he wanted to be prepared. He was postive the butterfly woman had foudn books on drow in the library before so that was the best place to look other than bothering Talon and last he'd heard from her the woman was up to ears in sick kids.
Upon entering the library he spotted a young woman and baby he'd never met before " Well hello there" he said softly so as not to startle them.
Ari jerked her head up, her attention pulled from her books, to look at the man and the toddle at his side. The girl seemed preoccupied with a melody in her head, but the man had addressed her. "Hello." She smiled, setting down the book in her hands in such a way to keep her page as she extended her hand for the greeting. "I'm Ariel." she smiled at the baby girl who found slamming the book down on her blanket while giggling far more entertaining then just looking at it, "This is Artemis." She finished the introduction.
Tovar shifted where he stood, pausing a moment to quirk his head slightly to one side and listen hard and the buzz of the air conditioning unit somewhere over head. He could have sworn--
Ah, yes; voices. He must have been here longer than he'd thought, he could have sworn the headquarters' library had been empty when he'd first found his way there. Tucking the current book in his hands absently under one arm, the chesnut haired young man carefully inched his way to the end of the bookshelves and toward the voices, peering curiously around the corner toward the other inhabitants of the library.
"Must be other guardians," he murmured absently, unconsciously tinkering with the dog-eared pages of the book under his arm.
The attention of the man appeared to have wandered off, so Ari shurgged and went back to shifting through her book to find what she had come to look for. She winces as a repetitive tapping sound came from what she would guess was one playing with the cover of a book with real pages.
This left Artemis out completly.
Ari hated when she didn't know if someone was around so she called out, "Is anyone else here?"
Tovar started at the sudden outburst, nearly dropping the book out from under his arm. Quickly taking a firmer grip on the volume, the young man edged out into the open and offered the group a faint smile.
"Ah, yes. I'm here." And he could only assume he was included in the broad range of 'anyone.' "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...ease drop or anything." It was just a little difficult to not. As many books as there were in the room, the voices hadn't been completely absorbed in the pages and the hard shelves they were stacked on.
Ah well; it wasn't as if he didn't have a valid excuse to be there.
"Of course," Ari smiled at new comer, "No, I was merely cautious of another presence." Ari couldn't help but blush. She was a very paranoid person when it came to a room she was in, especially one that she had no control over.
Artemis had crawled over to Ari and was hitting her hands on Ari?s lap. This meant she wanted to be picked up, and paid attention to. Ari lifted up the baby girl and looked back at the man who had appeared, "This is Artemis," She smiled, presenting her charge. "Who are you?" she asked curious.
Malen who'd been momentarily sidetracked by trying to ignore a sudden muscle spasm had completely missed what had been going on around him the last few minutes. He'd simply stood off to the side concentrating on willing the pain away and trying not to look in too much pain in front of Kishi for fear of worrying her. Now able to pay attention he smiled from his potion on the wall " Artemis hmm? I'll have to tell Kierla there's another wand child running about with a greek mythology thing going on."
Kishi walked over Ari streched to her tip toes to get closer to artimis " Hi ." The other child seemed interesting enough despite lacking wings or anything purpel that she could see.
"I'm Tovar," he answered smoothly, shrugging slightly with one shoulder. He was getting alot better at introducing himself to complete strangers on a random basis - meeting people seemed to happen quite a bit once you had children from these...association things. He paused a moment, and then continued with the explination, in case simply his name wasn't what the woman had been interested in.
"I'm a guardian. Another one, apparently - I didn't know there were so many of these..." He hesitated. "Wands." It might be offensive to the other two to pander slightly with the word. Besides, he couldn't be sure all the wands looked like a lump of driftwood.
Ari smiled to the both of them, "Its very nice to meet both of you." She loved meeting new guardians, despite her need to find this book she figured she could waste a moment. "So what brings you both to the Library beyond the obvious?" While Ari was making small chat with the adults, Artemis decided the new girl was cute and fun.
Upon the little girl with wings greeting Artemis immediatly wiggled to get over to her. Ari put the wiggling Artemis down on the ground where she proceeded to crawl twords the girl with wings. Artemis lifted one hand, delicatly balancing on three limbs she shook her hand around in the attempt of a wave as she made babbling noise, "Gyah pfft bya!" Artemis finished with a giggle.
Tovar frowned slightly, trying to think of a remotely intelligent way to answer the question. He hadn't been aware there was any reason but the obvious to come to a library...
"Looking for...a book on Kelpies," he explained absently. That probably wasn't what she wanted to know, but he honestly couldn't think of any other answer to offer. Ah well - it was the truth, at least.
" It's a pleasure to meet you to and I'm just prepping for some babysitting I'm going to do." Malen stated watchign Kishi with amusment, it pleased him that she was capable of beign gentle when playign with others.
Kishi smiled at Artemis amused by the greeting "you're cute I like you" she said with a firm nod of her head. Kneeling to lessen the height difference kishi placed her wand on the floor beside her and waited for Artemis to make another move, she looked very gentle not the type to play hard like zah or the funny pink wisp so she wasn't sure what do do with her.
"I'm here looking for a book for work." Ari explained, feeling it only natural to explain her own presence. "It’s nice to meet both of you." She smiled up at the two from her position on the ground.
Artemis decided to crawl closer to the girl with wings, putting her hand down she wiggled and crawled her way over to the girl, and then lifted herself up to pat the girl's knees with her hands. Artemis continued to babble and giggle at the interesting looking female who she found nice.
Tovar nodded in agreement, offering the both of them a swift grin that trickled down to the younger children before his features slipped back into a friendly, but relatively passive expression. After a moment or so of hesitation, he cleared his throat and inched a little closer to the cluster of children and their guardians.
"If you don't me me asking...-- are those your children? From here, I mean. Er." Great; he was being oh so eloquent. Way to make an impression, Tovar. "I mean, the ones from the wands? I'm a bit...Frankly, the only child I have came as a kid, not from an object."
One would think Tovar, being a magic worker and an apprentice, would be used to this sort of 'souls in inatimate objects' sort of thing, and maybe he was; he just wasn't quite so used to them being children. Once dead children. That would be coming out again, perfectly alive.
"It is a pleasure to meet both of you" Malen said " and yes Kishi is a ghost of the past" He motion'd with his head towards her wand " They grow in size as the children do so be prepared for a child running about smackign you with it if you end up with a hyper one." Malen considerd himself fortunate in the fact that despite Kishi's tendency to use her wand as a weapon he'd never been struck by it.
Kishi placed her hands over the other girls and was amazing at the size differnce. It was hard for her to imagine being that small not too long ago.Flapping her wings gently she created the tiniest of winds to blow at Artemis.
"Really? They grow? Interesting..." Ari looked at the small hand held wand that was Artemis's. She couldn't imagine it bigger, but she supposed as it was linked to Artemis that it too must grow. "Oh, sorry..." she smiled at the man who had asked about Artemis's origin, "Yes she is from here, I got her as a baby though, so I can't say I know much about the wand stages in her life."
Artemis had stopped patting the girl’s legs, as her arms were being held down and a nice soft breeze was coming from the wings. Artemis giggled, liking the feeling of moving air on her face; she chirped in glee and continues to giggle. She shut her eyes, mind of as a reflex for keeping them most, but also because it felt right. Artemis liked this girl.
Nodding thoughtfully, Tovar studied the two children thoughtfully. The wand...grew? From what little he'd read on Kelpies, Tovar wasn't sure how keen he was to having a small kelpie boy running around with a weapon other than whatever abilities the child was born with. The thought was...a little frightening. As it was, Tovar was already planning to put some sort of caution tape on the perimeter of the small brook on Michael's property. --Or something like that.
He found himself chewing the inside of his cheek and forced himself to stop.
Suffice to say, this child was probably going to be a way bigger handful than little Etain. Unicorns and Kelpies were two completely different, er, horses.
Malen eyed Ari, she'd missed out on the wand stages of Artemis's life, how unfortunate, as far as Malen was concerned the wand stages especially the wisp and baby host stages where the time when parent and child truly bonded the most." It's a pity you didn't get to enjoy her before she became a baby, though I'm sure you will make the most of what is to come." Malen had no words for Tovar, the man seemed quiet like Lithle.
Kishi smiled down at the baby on her and began to hum a lullabye that she liked her father to sing to her. While the words were in another language and she didn't understand it to sing it the melody was soothing and pleasent.
Ari smiled up at Malen, "I don't mind, Artemis and I are getting along fine. She looked down to the book in her hands and let a small laugh escape, "Imagine that," She held up the book, "This is what I was looking for."
Artemis began to grow sleepy, music always had a nice effect on her, and she seemed to love it a great deal. Even the most simplest of lullaby's seemed to lure her to sleep. she cooed a yawn and laid her head on Kishi's lap. Kishi was nice.
Consciously, Tovar's fingers drifting to the wand in his back pocket. For some reason, given Malen's words, he felt like perhaps he should be paying more attention to the slightly damp...stick. Oh, he had it in his pockjet but he didn't really chat with it or anything. A slight frown tilting at the corners of his mouth, Tovar pulled his fingers away from the wand and began turning the book that had been under his arm over in his hands. Come to think of it, this book seemed to be the one he'd needed too...
"Huh, imagine tha--"
A sudden crackling noise punctured Tovar's words, and he quickly put the book aside, pulling the necklace tucked into his shirt out into the open. A small drop-shaped pendant hung on the cord and hissed at him. "Tovar, your damn kid is being obnoxi--Hey, don't do that!" the crystal spat and fizzed, sounding only remotely like the man on the other side, using it to communicate.
Tovar pursed his lips for a moment, frowning darkly. "Alright, I'll come home then." Grimacing, he stuffed the pendant back down the front of his shirt and glanced apologetically between Ari and Malen. "I'm sorry, I think...the house is going to hell in a hand basket; I should probably be going."
Malen laughed and nodded to Tovar " By all means to save your house and comrade from child induced danger." Malen knew he'd end up having other chances to meet this strange guardian so it was no loss that their meeting had been cut short. Turning his attention to Ari he grinned " Congrats hoepfully it will be of help to you or at least an interesting read."
Kishi looked down at artemis and grinned, she'd tamed the other girl much like her kitten tamed her.She wondered of Artemis would visit a lot when she got bigger so they could really play, however for now she was content to hum and let the other girl rest on her.
"Hope to see you again, and if you need this book here is my number, I'll have it for a couple of nights." Ari handed him a card and gave a wave to Tovar as her prepeared to leave to save his house from chaos. She then turned to Malen, "Interesting indeed, there is some data in here I need to translate for a local consulate." She flipped through the pages, still wondering why this data needed to be translated. Ari looked over at Artemis, "Appears Kishi and Artemis are getting along quite well," she smiled. Artemis seemed to be getting along well with her, which was definitely a good thing.
Taking both the card and their dismissals with a thankful smile, Tovar offered them a last "Very pleased to meet you; hope to see you again," before adjusting the book under his arm more comfortably and taking his leave of the library.
People to go, places to see; houses to save from imminent destruction, and research to be done.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:04 am
'Not Much of a Conversationalist'
Meeting Aricia And Kierla June 28, 2006
As the wind picked up a little, Kierla glanced down at her little ghost-girl. Were the ghosts susceptible to wind, and easy to blow away? Hopefully not. Aricia at least seemed pretty unaffected.
Suddenly she noticed where she was: right next to the Ghosts of the Past shop. She peered through the window, eyes directed at the door leading to the HQ, wondering if there was anyone there right now.
Tovar wasn't usually this sociable, but he needed to return the book he'd borrowed from the HQ library a few days ago. With the wand stuck firmly in the back pocket of his jeans (as per usual), the young man tromped along in his ugly brown sweater and loafers toward the now-somewhat-familiar wand shoppe, turning the book, Mythical and Magical Creatures - A Resource, over and over in his hands. A nervous habit that, more likely than not, or perhaps simply something to occupy the man's restless hands with.
What Tovar hadn't been expecting was to bump into anyone else at the doorstep of the shoppe. Which, considering, had probably been an imprudent observation on his part. There were clearly enough wand guardians about for him to have already met three by chance; it wasn't a long stretch that he'd be likely to meet another one on the way into the shop.
Stopping a number of feet away from the woman, Tovar briefly considered turning around and scuttling back home. After all, did anyone really need the book today? Instead, eventually, he cleared his throat slightly, edging closer to the shop door. "Morning -- er, afternoon rather... Hullo there."
A voice? Greeting her? Did she know this stranger? How embarrassing if she had forgotten yet again another -
Kierla knew it was rather rude, but the second she turned around, instead of greeting him back with direct eye contact, her eyes fell directly to the wand sticking out from his back pocket.
As if that wasn't rude enough, she didn't even introduce herself after her initial surprise. All that came out of her mouth was: "Oh, you're one too?"
Aricia the Curious meanwhile, had sneaked around behind Tovar to inspect the wand carefully. What was so interesting about it? Hers was so much prettier. =P
Smiling slightly, Tovar laughed and nodded. "I guess that's right. Er," he paused, reaching back and pulling the wand -- stick, really -- from his back pocket. "It's -- he, rather. Er.-- is...he hasn't come out yet." From what Tovar understood, that's what happened with the wands. Came out partially like smoke or something and then...all the way? He wasn't entirely sure, seeing as two of the three children he'd seen had already been remotely human, the third a slightly weird foggy version of an infant...
What - HEY! Don't take things I'm looking at away from me! Aricia made a shrill sound of indignation in Kierla's head as Tovar pulled the wand from his back pocket.
Kierla, in turn, winced. "Aricia, don't bother him." Or me, for that matter. Oh! "I am sorry, I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Kierla and she - " Aricia waved her arms up and down " - is Aricia.
"So. He is in the wisp stage as of now?" Kierla said, as she opened the door to the shop. "What kind of ghost is he, do you know?" Another creature she was going to have to research up upon.
Tovar eyed the little little blur a bit sideways. He was getting progressively more used to the idea of blobs of foggy stuff making noise, but...well. It took a little bit of adjustment, and despite himself he edge a bit farther away from Aricia.
"Oh, no. He's just..." Shrugging, with the book under his arm, Tovar turned the wand over in one hand. "He's just sort of...a stick at the moment." No 'wisping' or any technical term like that, at least...not that Tovar could see. "He's a Kelpie," the chestnut haired man explained, offering a dash of an uneasy smile. "At least, that's what Ianna told me."
"Stick, an adequate description..." Kierla couldn't help but say under her breath.
So, a Kelpie. Yup, another one that she didn't know - although she remembered hearing it from somewhere - something to do with water? "If Ianna was the one who told you, then I suppose you should believe it," Kierla said lamely. Geez, was the conversation dead already? She really had to take some sort of class in social skills or something.
Aricia, of course, was paying Kierla's instruction to no heed and wriggled her way upward through the air to follow the wand in Tovar's hand. Curiously, she reached out one hand and tried to yank on the vine enwrapping it.
Watching Aricia wafting around the wand, Tovar couldn't help but be a little edgy. Were they allowed to touch one another? Who knows what -- "Aughk. Careful," he muttered, shielding the braided river gras twined about the sti--uh, wand -- with a hand. "You don't want to hurt him..." If that would even hurt him in the first place. Better safe than sorry, right?
Smiling sheepishly, he shot Kierla a sidelong glance. "She's awfully curious, isn't she?"
Aricia pouted when Tovar's hand stopped her exploration. At least - she seemed to be pouting - could ghosts pout?
Kierla payed the question nor the ghost no heed, instead giving her full attention to Tovar's question. "Sometimes I think she is so, too much. At the Easter Event she was almost unbearable. I only hope she won't be so much when she finally materializes into a baby.."
He couldn't help it. Tovar laughed aloud, casting the roiling fog of a child an amused glance and a geniune, remotely confident, grin. "I don't know, curiosity is good for a child; good learning ethic, or something like that." Chuckling, Tovar carefully unshielded his own wand from Aricia, offering it slightly out to the ghost's curious pokings and proddings.
"That may be so, but it is quite a nuisance for the parents."
Kierla was about to warn him that it wasn't probably wise when he offered Aricia the wand - but then stopped herself. It wasn't her responsibility to care for more than one wand than her own.
Aricia seemed quite surprised when the wand was presented to her. What, she was actually getting her way this time?
As if not quite ready to believe Tovar's good intentions, she first cautiously stretched her own wand at arm's length to poke the offending Kelpie wand.
Oh, Tovar was keeping a close watch on the little ghost, not to mention one hand was still firmly anchored around the base of the wand - so it definitely wasn't going anywhere fast, even if Aricia did decide she wanted to do something unfortunate with it.
"There you go," Tovar cooed absently, sounding more like he was talking to nervous filly rather than an infant. Well, not everyone was great with kids, right? Oh well. "Just be careful; you don't want to hurt him on accident, do you?"
He really did have to wonder what damage a wisp of a girl (almost literally) could do to a soul inside a stick, though.
Seeing no response from the immobile twig of a wand, Aricia dared to edge closer, then prodded it with her own wispy hand.
After that, she seemed to deem it safe, inspecting it from all angles and tugging at the vine around the wand.
Suddenly, without warning, she gave a great shree! and whacked at it with all her strength with her own wand.
This was when Kierla intervened, petting Aricia lightly on the head and pushing her behind her again. After all, she couldn't risk any damage to Aricia's wand. "I'm sorry. Aricia recently learned this game of using wands to battle, from Kishi the succubus child," she explained.
Alright, apparently there was some threat. Squeaking -- he definitely hadn't been expecting that -- Tovar snapped back the wand and gave it a compulsory examining where Aricia's wand had cracked across the width of the other one. It didn't...look damaged; and Tovar was fairly certain he'd probably be able to tell if the soul inside the wand had been hurt by the thwack...
Shaking his head, he offered Kierla a short, nervous smile that quickly melted off his features. "It's fine, it's fine; serves me right." Insert nervous laughter here.
Yes, it most certainly served him right, but it wouldn't be polite to agree. Kierla merely gave a neutral movement of her head that was half a nod and half a shake.
But, she'd better say something - her sister would kill her if she heard of Kierla performing a remotely impolite gesture. "I am...sorry, once again."
Aricia didn't really seem all that sorry; she was merely confused what she did wrong. Peeping out from behind Kierla's legs, she gazed up at Tovar.
Tovar shook his head. And then nodded, and then -- alright, so he wasn't entirely sure what to say. The woman seemed a little condescending, or maybe just over protective, but... Carefully, Tovar tucked the wand back into the pocket of his jeans. "Really," he assured her, letting the book slide out from under his arm and back into both his hands. "It's alright. No need to be so, uh, apologetic."
What? She was being too apologetic? Geez, so she didn't have to spend that sorry. What a waste, then.
Casting around for a change of subject, Kierla noticed the book in his arms. "Is that from the Headquarters Library?" she questioned.
Oh, the tall guy had another thing in his hands? Aricia floated up to inspect it. Cool, another toy!
"Yes it is," he replied, eyeing Aricia sideways as she floated up to inspect the book. "I borrowed it a few days ago for a bit of research; I'm returning it now." Nervously, he turned the volume over in his hands, once, and then forced himself to stop.
"What are you, uh, doing here? Just visiting?" Smooth, Tovar; smooth.
"No, I was just heading home in fact. But I saw the place and I wondered if anyone was in the Headquarters; you caught me looking through the window."
Um. Yeah.
Aricia flew in circles around the book and the man holding it.
"Oh, well. Uh." Alright, so much for what little had been left of their conversation. Tovar watched the attempt at socializing go up in flames. He grimaced. "Well in that case, by all means, don't let me stop you from going home," he managed with a slightly sheepish grin. "I should...probably be getting inside, anyway."
Or something like that.
Dear god, he failed at this whole 'meeting people' thing.
At least he wasn't alone in failing. Unsure what to do in the awkwardness, Kierla merely nodded her good bye and turned to go without so much as a verbal farewell except "Let's go, Aricia."
Aricia threw a silent tantrum that only Kierla could hear, but grudgingly drifted after her. Once having caught up, the ghost turned around and waved her hand of mist at the guardian and his wand, then ran to tuck herself back in her usual place in the hem of Kierla's cloak.
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 9:13 pm
: || 7/02/06 - Tovar's Journal - Entry #2|| : Dear Journal,
All sorts of fantastical, magical adventures have been had over the last few weeks that I've failed to write in you. My life is just oh-so exciting that I don't have anywhere enough time to devote to scribbling more than a few notes here and there, but
Oh screw it, who am I kidding? I mean, the liklihood of someone finding this nasty old journal is pretty small. Hell, heaven forbid anyone find it. I can see it now: Michael digging it out from between the baseboard and the wall while I'm out with Etain. Ugh. I'd never live it down. "You have a diary, Tovar? My god, and I thought you couldn't get any girly-er." "Tovar the girl." "Tovar I'm never teaching you magic again, you girl - not that I did before because I'm a big fat b*****d with
Okay, stopping. Tovar, this is not being productive. You're just going to give yourself a hand cramp.
In any case, nothing terribly exciting has happened these last few weeks despite my previous allusions to fantastical adventures and all that. Michael and I went and visited Tamra this mornin last week. I don't see why I had to go in the first place; she just took Michael into that back room of hers and left me in her hot and stuffy parlor while they talked for a few hours and then we went home. Her elfris gave me some really lovely candies while I waited, though. I pocketed a few and fed Etain one when we retrieved him from my cousin's. He didn't seem to like it much. I hope he wasn't too scarred by staying in that house a whole week...
But on the wand front! Michael keeps asking questions about it. It's sort of odd for him to take such an interest. I think he's still a little curious with that pocket dimension of a headquarters they've got at that shop. Or maybe he's just getting old and senile, I don't know.
I did get a book to check out exactly what Kelpies were, though. I couldn't get a straight answer out of Michael when I asked and... well, I can sort of see why. They're a bit horrifying. Bad way of putting it. I don't know. It's hard to explain. But I guess...that's that, I think. It's not like I can give it back because I don't like the thing inside it. Besides, I sort of think Michael would be upset. He's...
Besides, I wouldn't want someone else to have it. At least here I know he won't be eating anyone when he comes out of the wand. Who knows what sort of freak job might get ahold of him if it wasn't for me and Michael. Or something like that.
I'm going to keep looking in Michael's library to see if I can find anything more on Kelpies. The book didn't tell much, and I'm sure there must be something more than this whole 'eating people' thing, right? Right.
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:38 pm
Book Collecting
Wisp Quest: Part One - Research July 06, 2006
"I'm going to the library," Tovar announced the moment he slid out of Etain's room after putting the little unicorn boy down for his nap. The house, empty save for the older man far upstairs and thus quite out of earshot, creaked back in response.
Shrugging, Tovar turned away from Etain's bedroom door and clambered toward the stairs, jaunting up the slightly rickety old case to the second and topmost floor. He paused on the way to the library, detouring abruptly in order to poke his head inside Michael's room. "I'm going into the library," he said, his voice quickly absorbed by the general state of clutter the room possessed.
From the other side of the room, curled up in a large armchair, Michael displaced the book in his lap and peered thoughtfully at his apprentice for a few seconds. "Alright; I'll make sure you're back in an hour or two."
Tovar winced. "It shouldn't take me that long, you know; I think I've finally got a list of what I want."
The older wizard shrugged slightly, cracking the book back open to the page he'd been reading a moment before. "Thirty minutes then. BE careful; you know how it doesn't like you taking too many out."
Tovar grunted with apparent understanding before retrieving his head from between the door and the wall, promptly making his way back to the door that allowed entrance to the technically non-existant library.
It was a normal door, quite similar to those used throughout the rest of the house; old, wooden, a bit scratched up here and there, and possessing a brass handle with a keyhole that never locked. Exactly the same; save for the fact it was technically placed in the house's exterior wall and didn't open up onto the outdoors. Shrugging, Tovar took the door knob, twisted, and pushed his way inside.
The library was large for a private collection, but most of the books had been stacked and sorted seemingly in no particular order, and certainly not all on shelves. Tovar took care to prop the door open with a book before wading through the stacks in search of his treasure trove, retrieving a small scrap of paper from his pocket as he went.
"Alright," he said to the library, squinting through the swirling rivers of dust motes that tangled through the air. "I'm looking for a...'Fae, Faerie, and Fairy' by Shadrack A'Drefin." He paused, glancing around.
To his right, there was a mushroom cloud of dust as a book fell from it's place on the shelf to the floorboards below. Tovar hurriduly made his way to the sound, crying out delightfully when he'd located the book. "Ah, there you are," he muttered, tucking it under one arm and peering closer at his paper a second time.
"Alright, next we have 'Don't Put Your Hand There: A Guide to Carnivorous Beasts' by Thomas Avarek. -Good gracious, that's an unnecessarily long title..." Thud! Off the left a few shelves over. Tovar scuttled after the noise.
Some time later (twenty-five minutes, to be exact), the young man staggered out into the hall. Covered in dust, but looking pleased with himself over his treasure trove of four books, Tovar turned and kicked out the book holding the door open. The door closed with a bang and a rattle of the handle that almost took his nose off.
Tovar made a face at the door and proceeded to dust himself off. "I'm back!" he called, the announcement greeting by a noise of assent originating from Michael's bedroom.
Dusted and remotely clean, Tovar retreated back down the stairs, past Etain's room, and to his own bedroom. He closed and locked the door, chucked three of the books onto the bed, and then flopped down into the window seat. The alcove was slightly too small for him and he had to pull his knees up to fit, but it was a comfortable enough reading spot - and he had a feeling he'd be there for a while.
With an audible sigh, he cracked open 'Don't Put Your Hand There: [etc.,]" and began searching through the contents until he'd located 'Kelpies, Chapter Twenty-Five.' A very, very long while.
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:53 pm
: || 7/06/06 - Tovar's Journal - Entry #3|| : Wisp Quest: Part Two - Findings Dear Journal,
I found quite a few books in the library here at home now that Michael gave me a decent list of names. Just four, but the ones I've read so far (three out of four) are quite informative, and more than a bit interesting.
A few of the things I've read I already knew; Kelpies are supernatural water elements that manifest as either a horse or a human and they're more than a touch malevolent. Frankly, I'm not sure what to make out of that malevolent bit. Seems I've got quite a collection of equine-ish children; suffice to say, though, I think Leith - that's what I've decided to call him after all - is going to be the polar opposite of little Etain. I'm a little nervous about all that... and honestly some of the information in these books makes me more so.
At least Leith's horse form won't be entirely uncontrollable though. They're small, really just a large pony, but he can only change with an enchanted bridle of some sort. If that's the case, who's to say if he'll ever be shape shifting into a little black pony? It isn't as if I've got a supply of magical bridles, you know? But I suppose we'll deal with that particular...roadblock when and if the time comes.
I have learned some incredibly interesting things about kelpies, though! Apparently quite a few people mistake them for their cousins that live in lochs and lakes. Kelpies, apparently only live in streams or rivers. They prefer flowing bodies of water rather than ponds and so forth. Also, as morbid as the whole people-eating thing is, they're apparently a little...less manevolent then their loch-living cousins. A little bit. Slightly. Er. It's a little confusing, though. From what I can tell, no one's entirely sure what makes a Kelpie and what makes an Each-Uisge beyond where they live. Some of these books say keplies eat people and some say they just drown them. Some say it's possible to control a kelpie so long as it's not ridden near the sea, and some say that's only Each-Uisge. One of the books doesn't even make a distinction between the two. It's...I'm not entirely sure what to expect.
On the bright side, kelpies apparently do eat more than just people! That's a relief; I was starting to worry what I'd feed the little baby if all he had a taste for was human flesh (Oh my god, that sounds like a cheesy horror film...). But no; apparently baby Leith might have a taste for normal meat products, which is always a good thing.
All this research is starting to make my head hurt. I think I'm going to take a break. I think Etain is waking up from his nap, anyway; I'll resume research once he's down for the night. Maybe Michael has some suggestions...
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:54 pm
Dark Water
Wisp Quest: Part Three - Leith Wisps July 06, 2006
"I don't think," Michael said from over the edge of his paper, lips twisted in a thoughtful smile. "That's going to help."
The day was coming to a comfortable close, with a healthy amount of golden sunshine filtering through the half-drawn curtains as the sun set behind the trees on the hill. The only technical child of the family, Etain, had long since been tucked off to bed with his thick curtains drawn tight against the sun. Tovar was strict about bed times, and just because the sun didn't set until 8:15 in the summers didn't mean the little boy's bed time was any different from winter, thankyouverymuch. As such, the two 'adults' (if an apprentice and an eccentric mentor could, really, either be classified as such) had settled relatively comfortably in Michael's room where they would, doubtless, waste away the remainder of the daylight hours with terse-lipped companionship before Tovar made an excuse to leave and work on something about the house that he hadn't been able to finish with Etain awake.
Michael shifted on his bed, curling his feet carefully beneath him and he reclined into the heap of pillows at the headboard. He thumbed the dog-eared corner of the newspaper idly, dark eyes watching his apprentice as the chestnut colored hair man glanced up from his book. He had to reflect on how utterly classic the younger man looked: tucked up with a magical book in a large armchair with a wooden wand propped up from the bend of his knee. It was quaint.
"What?" Tovar demanded, tone absolutely deadpan. He was used to this sort of thing - sarcastic commentary and getting stared at; he'd lived with Michael too long not to be.
"Not many people really know much about kelpies," Michael explained in a conversational tone, finally turning the page he'd been fingering so dutifully. "I mean, when you think about it, most people who encounter them end up being digested." He watched Tovar wince with a sort of fascination usually reserved for anthropologists watching bugs. Tovar shut the book with a snap.
"Well, you're not being very helpful either," Tovar griped back, looking utterly unamused.
Chuckling, Michael flapped his paper at the younger man and settled back into his reading. From across the room, Tovar gave his mentor a good few seconds of glaring before settling back to his book. "Besides," he muttered, one hand taking the wand up and settling it more comfortably in the upturned palm of his hand. "I'm beginning to think they're not all bad. I mean, beyond the people eating bits. It's not like that's all they ate, and most of the people were a bit dense anyway. And they kept their rivers clean - protected them, and all that. Sure, there's people and livestock eating, but... Not all bad," he murmured, tone low and eyes half lidded as he skimmed the passages of the book in search of where he'd left off. Unconsciously, his thumb traced a knot in the wood of the wand; fingerpad running over the knobbled edge over and over, like the current of a stream over a river rock; running it season after season until the stone became smooth. Tovar's eyes drooped shut momentarily and he inhaled sharply.
Not all bad. They were good for the water, good for the little things that lived there. Golden bridles and enchanted water... - Besides, at least they weren't as bad as their cousins, Tovar wagered mentally as he felt himself almost, almost dozing off. They let people go sometimes whent he fancy struck them. One book had even said something about the kelpies taking human lovers, that it was the only way for them to reproduce. Something in Tovar liked that thought. It was whimsical; like Romeo and Juliet (except he'd read that book three times and hated it every single one). He chuckled and allowed himself to slide deeper into his half-asleep state.
It smelled oddly of water, a slight press on his ears like when one's far under ground or below the surface of a pool - knowing the world is above you and one just has to push and wiggle a bit to break the mirror edge and gulp in air. Tovar licked his lips and tasted, slightly, brine and dirt. He wrinkled his nose and opened his eyes. The pressure on his ears diminished.
"I think I've been reading too long," he grumbled, setting aside the book with one hand, tightening his fingers around the wand in the other.
Something shifted.
With a start, Tovar dropped the book. As if the thud was some sort of cue, there was a faint perception of a 'snap!' and, all at once, the taps of the house came open and water spilled out into their respective basins. The sink, shower, and bathtub of the small washroom adjacent to Michael's room came on with a gurgle and a sploosh of water that turned both their attention - Michael's and Tovar's - in the direction of the doorway.
The wind shuddered under Tovar's fingers, an almost imperceptible but entirely There movement. As if sensing the change from the other side of the room, Michael's gaze shifted from the bathroom doorway to the wand at the same time Tovar's did. Tovar could feel his fingertips getting damp, more so than usual when holding the stick. Moisture gathered in the pores of it, little droplets seeping out of the grain of the wand and drippling down, down, following the weave of the grass and the contour of the wood to the tip where the water, to the background of gurgling water from the taps of the house, gathered in one large droplet.
Tovar watched with morbid fascination as the little droplet of water stretched and shivered then dissipated into a thin wisp of fog that gurgled off the end of the wand toward the floor. Before the tail could break away, the fog roiled and backtracked on itself, settling like the water in a pond until it murmured back and forth like the tides.
The taps turned themselves off with a 'thack' from the plumbing pipes.
Tovar and Michael sat back with twin audible fhwumps, Michael to his pillows and Tovar to the back of his armchair.
"Oh," said Tovar, rather lacking any intelligent commentary for the action of the wand's spirit.
Michael blinked for a few seconds, and then turned the page of his newspaper.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:56 pm
: || 7/19/06 - Tovar's Journal - Entry #4|| : Dear Journal,
You know, I never thought I'd be so paranoid around a puff of smoke. Or fog. Or whatever the laymen's term for this 'wisp' thing is. I mean, it's...incredibly odd. At some points, I don't feel anything remarkable about it. Alright, it's a bit of stuff coming out of a wand - big deal; Michael does parlor tricks like that constantly to look mysterious or whatever. At the same time...sometimes there's the overpowering feeling that I'm taking someone around with me - like it's difficult to look at it, him, without seeing something that is faintly tangible as a person. God, I'm horrible with meta. I'm sure I sound like a complete moron.
But...it seems like Etain notices it to, and even Michael sometimes (which is saying something, seeing how thick he can be). Anyway, Etain's been acting a little strange around Leith whenever we go out, or sometimes even when we're at home. It's - I can only describe it sibling rivalry, or like when the older one gets jealous when there's a new baby in the house or something. I find it a little strange. I mean sure, I take Leith everywhere but he's just a cloud at the moment. It's not like he's monopolizing my attention away from Etain, right?
Maybe he is... I should ask Michael; not that I'll get a straight answer from the man anyway. This is all a little awkward and unsettling.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:57 pm
Shoes!
Meeting Xtol and Airaka July 19, 2006
Airaka sighed heavily, and paused in her trek toward the shopping center. Xtol had made it, once more, uncomfortable for her to carry him. She had to stop, and set him and his carrier on the park bench. His wings were stretched out so one was pushing against the side of the carrier, and his other one was sticking out, and had been rubbing against Airaka's leg. Airaka noted that it had to be more uncomfortable for him then it was for her.
She pulled him out, sitting down on the park bench, and resting him in her lap. He rocked his tail back and forth, coiled around his small golden wand, as he stared at her, yellow eyes slightly narrowed. Airaka yawned, and hugged him, then he stuffed her arm in his mouth. She chuckled him, watching him attempt to gum her fingers off.
"Augh, no - Etain!"
The call originated from a clearly exasperated young man who was, at the moment, chasing a small boy across the grass of the park. By normal standards, the boy was a little odd looking...but then again, sometimes it was difficult to really tell what 'odd' was anymore these days. Kids spouting from wands, boys giving birth; a little kid with a horn growing out of his head and long, almost horse-like ears wasn't the weirdest thing on the planet by a long shot.
By the looks of it, the little boy was making a beeline toward where Airaka had collapsed onto the park bench. He ground to a swift halt, large brown eyes blinking up at her curiously for a moment before he immediately glanced down to infant. For a moment, the little pale skinned boy simply stared. And then he poked the boy in the forehead.
"Baby!"
The young man, toting a messenger bag which swung against his hip launched himself at the boy, snatching him up and taking the squirming toddler under one arm. In the bag, clearly visible where the top poked out, was a nondescript stick - or, it would have been nondescript had it not been for the pale, undulating fog-like wisp anchored to the end.
Grimacing, Tovar shot the woman an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry. He's...rambunctious. He likes little kids."
Airaka blinked, and turned to see what was happening. When she turned, her eyes landed on the young unicorn boy. She blinked, and twitched slightly, an unthinking reaction to get away as quick as possible. Though, when the unicorn tapped Xtol on the head, she paused, and Xtol was sent into an action stream.
He jerked towards the unicorn boy, attempting to grab at him, and leaned towards him so he started toppling off Airaka's lap. His wings expanded again, and his tail shot toward the earth, his golden wand tapping the earth. Airaka caught him, seemingly much to the baby's dislike, as his tail swung back up at her, and his wand collided with her stomache.
The red head broke into a small fit of coughs, before she turned her blue eyes towards the man who grabbed the unicorn boy. She smiled weakly, and bowed her head.
"It's fine. I don't -"
Airaka stopped speaking suddenly as she spotted the fog from the man's bag. She gently took ahold of Xtol's tail, and showed the man Xtol's wand, which still had his white tail coiled around it.
"It's from the wand shoppe, right?" she asked, nodding toward the wand in his bag.
Catching sight of the wand, the young man's expression shifted almost comically into one of surprise. "Oh! Yes, that's right... -- I'm just running into you lot all over the place, these days. I suppose I'm, er, lucky eh? Or everyone else is incredibly unfortunate, one of the two." He grinned (grimaced) sheepishly, carefully restoring Etain's feet to god's green earth. The little boy sulked momentarily before inching closer back to the strange woman and her baby. Apparently almost toppling the child out of the lady's lap hadn't taught him much about etiquette when it came to inspecting people's infants.
"So you're...-- oh gods, forgive my manners," Tovar said quickly, overlapping whatever he'd been intending to say first. "My name's Tovar D'arc, this is Etain, and this," he motioned briefly to the wisp clinging to the edge of the wand. "Is Leith."
Unfortunate? Airaka blinked, and looked away, wondering what he meant by him being "unfortunate". When she looked back at him, she gave him a quick grin.
"I just believed the children had magical pulls."
Xtol's arms were streatched out towards the unicorn boy, eyes filled more with curosity then danger. His fingers opened and closed, and he attempted to get closer to Etain, though Airaka had her arms wrapped around her stomache.
"I'm Airaka, and he's Xtol. A wyvern reborn. Do you know what Leith is?"
It was one of the most common questions exchanged by the gaurdians of the children. Though, Airaka was also quite curious to what was in the wand. It looked much like Danny's wand, but it's ghost was 'blueish'.
"He's a Kelpie," Tovar supplied in a slightly reserved tone. "A, uh, magical horse - if you will."
"Not like'a unicorn!" Etain pointed out, frowning slightly. Clearly, he was a little touchy on the subject - older siblings usually were, though. Lower lip jutting out, he wiggled slightly closer to the woman and the baby - Xtol, she'd said? Curiously, he reached out to pat the baby lightly on the head, all the while under the watchful, somewhat wary eye of the young chestnut haired man.
Airaka giggled at Etain's comment.
"Magical horses seem attracted to you."
She supplied a grin with the comment, hoping he wouldn't take it as a bad thing.
Xtol raised his arms above his head, attempting to grab the unicorn boy's hands. He wiggled his tail, and his bright eyes focused upward on Etain's white fingers.
"Have you had him not long? He's only a little wisp."
Matter-of-factly, Etain stuck his fingers into Xtol's searching little hands. He seemed to expect such a thing, though he did watch the little infant's hands (and the little boy's teeth) a little warily. He'd heard little kids liked to bite things, sometimes. Michael certainly always seemed to expect []him to bite. Frankly, Etain would be surprised if the older man wouldn't bite back in such a situation.
Etain avoided Michael when he could.
Tovar shrugged slightly, peering thoughtfully down at the wisped wand poking out from his bag. "Nearly three months, actually. As I understand it, he's a bit slow going in the growth department, but..." He shrugged and smiled slightly, glancing back to Airaka. "He's welcome to take all the time he wants, I suppose; though, I was beginning to think i--he-- didn't trust me."
Tovar laughed nervously, unconsciously reaching out the scratch Etain lightly behing the ears. The little unicorn's ears flicked slightly and his tail swished faintly, but in the long run he didn't seem to notice, apparently preferring to play with baby Xtol's hands.
Xtol's mouth curled into a grin, having captured precious fingers of another. He tugged them down towards his open mouth, and licked at them with his bright pink tongue, which was, unfortunatley for Xtol, stopped by Airaka's hand.
As Airaka pushed the pacifier in the wyvern's mouth, she further questioned Tovar on the subject.
"Do you trust him?"
Airaka blinked back at Tovar, wearing an expression as if she didn't quite understand what she had just said. Then she grinned, and laughed,
"I mean... Do you believe in him?"
Though neither really make much sense when you think about it.
Etain frowned slightly at the pacifier, immediately sticking the fingers of his other hand into his own mouth to nibble and suck on the ends. It was probably an obscenely bad habit, but Etain probably thought the same of the little baby sucking on some plastic thing. That seemed weird. Absently, he wiped Xtol's saliva off his fingers onto the front of his pink shorts.
Tovar laughed slightly, shaking his head. "No, it's -- I get what you're saying." He glanced down to the little wisp that twitched and wavered in the breeze as if it considered releasing to wand to dance away. Unconsciously, he put a hand to block it protectively from the tug of the air.
"I...suppose I didn't, honestly. He's," Tovar hesitated, glancing to the little unicorn at his side. "There's a bit of a possibility that he might be a touch...dangerous, for lack of a better word," he admitted with a shrug. "I think I've gotten over it though; insofar as now I'm just worried and paranoid."
The young man chuckled faintly, lips pursing far too quickly over the faint expression of nerve-induced amusement.
Airaka placed her hand in Xtol's hair, and smiled back at Tovar.
"I understand what you mean. I was warned that Xtol could be dangerous."
Xtol growled, and pushed the pacifier out of his mouth. He had his arms streatched out toward Etain when Airaka put her hand on his head. His yellow eyes glared and he attempted to swipe at her.
The red head chuckled and got to her feet, grabbing the pacifier from the ground in the process.
"I was heading to the store. I'd be honored if you accompanied me, though."
She grinned warmly at her, and shifted Xtol's position so she could grab the baby carrier. Airaka doubted he would want to be stuck in the carrier, though, now that he was out.
Smothering his giggle with his fingers, Etain shifted and pressed himself against Tovar's side as the strange woman stood and stuffed the infant back into some weird seat contraption to carry him in. The little boy continued to chew lightly on his fingers until Airaka mentioned something about a store.
"Store?" Etain chirped, long ears flicking forward curiously, dark brown eyes perking up visibly.
Tovar half grimaced. Now they never get home... "Maybe we shouldn't, we've been out all day running errands," he began slowly, hand dropping to catch Etain's hand and pull it out of the boy's mouth.
"Tovar!" Etain squeaked in argument, lifting one foot to fight his case. "Shoes; need them."
Tovar glanced down at the little boy's sandals. Well, maybe he did need new ones; they looked pretty ratty...
Airaka grinned at Etain, then looked back up at Tovar.
"It's okay if you don't want to come. I just need to get some stuff for Xtol."
She pushed a hand through her red hair, forcing the bangs away for a moment before they fell back into place.
The baby's tail twitched at the mention of his name, and he looked over at his new friend and the man. He pushed his own fingers into his mouth, sucking on them as he watched the adults.
"No, uh, it looks like we will be coming," Tovar noted, smiling faintly. "Apparently someone needs new shoes - I don't suppose where you intend to go has got them, does it?" To be honest, that sounded a little too conveniant. Shopping for Etain with the chance of grownup conversation? Tovar couldn't remember the last time that had happened, if it ever had. Nowadays, his conversations revolved around coloring and eating pudding - that sort of thing.
"Shoes!" Etain chirped triumphantly, pinwheeling as far around as he could while still holding Tovar's hand before wiggling back into a place where his guardian's arm wasn't twisted around at the wrist and elbow.
Airaka nodded her head, and her face tinged red for a second, before she looked back foreward.
"Yea... It's one of those cheap stores that has everything."
She choughed weakly, then turned back to him, an gave him a nervous grin.
Children really were expensive.
Xtol giggled cheerfully as he followed Etain's movement. The boy was so cheerful. And the ability to move like that. It was very appealing to him. Better then being dependent on Airaka.
For the first time since he'd meet Airaka, Tovar grinned sharply - a good smile that touched across his worried eyes and for a split second made the young man look fiantly charming rather than infinitely awkward. "My kind of store," he noted cheerfully, relenquishing Etain's hand.
The unicorn took full advantage of being set free, cauterwalting off at a wobbly trot down the path in the direction he clearly anticipated the two adults (and baby) to be heading. Fortunately he was in the right and Tovar moved off after him, falling in step beside Airaka.
Airaka blinked, and the smiled cheerfully back at him. Then she giggled, and pushed her hand through Xtol's hair, moving his hair away from his eyes.
"He's really quite cheerful."
She smiled warmly, watching Etain,
"I'm pretty sure Xtol'll be enegetic. He acted as such when he was a baby ghost."
Airaka glanced back at the small wisp trailing the wooden wand,
"That's the next stage for Leith, baby ghost. You can hear them in your head."
Xtol glanced at the ground beneath them, making grabby hands toward the path. He glanced back up at Airaka, with his big yellow eyes, then back to the earth.
Wait, hear him? In his head? That was...a little creepy. Self consciously, Tovar's gaze dropped to the little wisp clinging fitfully to the end of the wand, as if fighting against the force of Tovar's walk on it's half-formed body.
"Do they, er--" Tovar hesitated, glancing back to Airaka. Ahead, Etain's pace had flagged and he'd come to a stop by the side of the path until the adults had caught up at which point he fell in step and caught Tovar's hand again. "Do they say much, or just average gurgling and that sort of thing?"
He wasn't sure how much he liked the idea of someone talking to him in his head; not even Michael could do that, so far as Tovar knew.
Airaka noticed she had accidently frightened Tovar, and attempted to give him a reasurring grin.
"It's just baby noises, murmurs, giggles, and gurgles."
She took a deep breath in, and then continued,
"It may be a bit surprising the first time you hear it, but you kind of get used to it after a while. "
"They can also float around on their own. Like they and their wands have switched positions."
Airaka's grin turned rather childish, her speech more relaxed.
Well, that was a relief. Still, Tovar had a bad stomach for disembodied giggles. Why did every horror movie in existance feature them on their soundtracks? Seriously; that's just bad natured.
"I suppose I'll have to get used to it," he noted, smiling faintly. Etain switched hands, circling around Tovar's back before latching onto the other so the little boy could be closer to Airaka and Xtol. One hand clutched firmly in Tovar's, Etain used his other to poke curiously at the edges of the infant's carrier.
"So," so Tovar, glancing back to the path. "Do you remember how long it took Xtol to be a baby? - Well, a solid one, anyway," he asked as they moved off the path of the parkway and back onto the main sidewalk. There were a number of shops about, but Tovar didn't know which particular one Airaka intended to visit, so he was fully prepared to let her lead wherever she liked - he was used to following people.
Airaka paused, and placed a finger to her lips as she thought over his last question.
"A couple months. He was kind of slow at growing, as well. "
Xtol blinked at the boy, and pulled himself up using th handle of the baby carrier. He smiled, and poked back at Etain.
Airaka lurched slightly as the boy shifted his weight, and grimaced.
"I'm going to need to find the stroller that went with this thing."
Tovar couldn't help but feel a little better. It seemed like every other guardian and spirit from the wand shop he'd met were already much farther along than poor little Leith; it was a relief to know that his wasn't the only child that didn't seem to be progressing through it's rebirthso quickly. Subconsciously, his hand drifted to the satchel at his hip, fingers tracing the lump the unexposed bit of the wand left in the fabric.
"He's a cute baby," Tovar noted absently, glancing to Xtol thoughtfully as Etain continued to poke at the infant. Neither of them seemed to be doing one another any harm, so Tovar didn't move to pull the unicorn's hand away from the other little boy.
Airaka chuckled, and glnaced down towards Xtol as well.
"Yea. All babies are cute."
"I'm sure Leith'll be adorable as well. I wonder if he'll have ... different parts, like wings, or a tail."
It was pretty obvious that Airaka didn't quite know what a Kelpie was, execpt that it was an equine-type beast.
Xtol wiggled his tail out from behind him, and grabbed onto the wand with one of his hands. His tail then winded around the other side oof the handle, to replace the hand that was holding his wand. Then he leaned toward Etain, and tested out his weapon by gently tapping Etain wit the golden wand.
Tovar laughed slightly, shaking his head. "I doubt Leith'll look much different than your or I. He's -- do you know what a kelpie is?" If she didn't Airaka definitely wouldn't be the first one. Tovar himself had only heard of them once or twice before he'd get Leith, and had only a vague idea of what the creature was at the time.
"They're...malevolent carnivorous water faeries. Shapeshifters, they can either appear as a human or a small black horse," Tovar explained without actually waiting for an answer from Airaka.
"Horse," Etain parroted happily, apparently not bothered by the tap-tap-tap of Xtol's wand on his arm.
Airaka shook her head, and blinked ta the explaination. With a grin, she looked down at Xtol,
"He has wings, ears, a tail, and scales. So far... He has been the most different I've seen so far."
Xtol noted everyone mimiking each other, and attempted to do so himself,
"Haa..."
His face contorted angrily, then twisted about and hit Airaka's leg with the wand.
Airaka skipped in step and blinked down at Xtol.
"Ow." she said, instantly.
She blinked back at Tovar, with a grin.
Tovar burst out laughing. Apparently the little infant had taken offense at the statement. "Oh, but it's good to be different - eh, Etain? We've never seen a unicorn like you, have we?"
The little blonde bow shook his head, beaming cheerfully. "No uni'orns," he affirmed brightly -- and then suddenly untangled his hand from Tovar's and lurched to a shopfront window. "Shoes!" he squealed happily as he pressed his pale face to the glass. "Shoesshoesshoes."
Airaka nodded her head, agreeing with the statement.
"I haven't seen any unicorns like you, either Etain."
She looked up, surprised they had reached the store already. It seemed much closer then the last time. The red head moved toward the automatic door, and waited for Tovar and Etain to follow. Grabbng a shopping basket, she looked back at the other two, and smiled.
"We ready to shop?"
Managing to peel Etain off the window and usher the boy through the door, Tovar followed with a nod. "Seems like it. What all do you need, anyway?" Clearly, Etain needed shoes and honestly Tovar probably needed to start thinking about...stuff...for Leith. He suddenly realized with a bit of a start that he hadn't actually done much to prepare for the spirit becoming more than a wand or a little cloud of smoke. Oh sure, he'd cleaned out a room and made sure all the electricity worked (before stuffing the little plugs into the sockets), had washed the walls and opened the window to air out the musty storage room smell but beyond that - hardly any preparation at all.
Not that he was exactly equipped to guy a crib or anything at the moment. He could get all that at home anyway; he wasn't a magician's apprentice for no reason. But still, there were probably a few things other than Etain's shoes that he could pick up while they were here.
"Just normal baby stuff. Diapers, wipes, food, and I guess a new pacifier."
She pushed through the second set of door, looking up at the signs that hung from the ceilings.
"Shall we go get Etain's shoes first? They look as if they are over there."
Airaka pointed in the general direction of the shoes, and looked back at Tovar wait for a responce.
Mean while, Xtol's little fingers attached themselves to a random paiur of purple sandles hanging off the edge of their basket.
Tovar nodded, catching Etain's hand before the little boy could go flailing off in the direction of the shoes. "That might be best." Otherwise, he'd have to keep ahold of the unicorn the entire time, lest Etain go wandering off to find new footwear on his own.
Letting Etain tug him in the right direction, it didn't take too long before they'd found a section of shoes Etain's size. "What about these?" Tovar asked, pointing to a box of small trainers colored black and red. Ooh, they even lit up.
"Uh-uh," Etain chirped after a moment's consideration, loosing his fingers from Tovar's hand and pawing through the boxes. "Shoes!" he declared with a squeak, lifting high over his head a box of purple jellie sandals.
Tovar stifled a laugh behind his hand.
As Airaka followed them, her movements dislodged the sandals, and Xtol pulled them into his basket. He followed by pushing one of the pair into his mouth.
Airaka smiled at the pair, and giggled as Etain found his sandles.
"Those are cute."
She grinned, and giggled again.
Chuckling, Tovar glanced over his shoulder back to Airaka and Xtol. "Ah, yes. Very cu--" He bit his lower lip, clearly trying not to burst out laughing. "Er. I think Xtol's found himself a new pacifier."
Etain meanwhile, didn't seem to have an issue with either Tovar's amusement or Xtol's shoe chewing habits. Rather, he flopped down, removed his old shoes and pulled the new ones on. Tovar had to intervene momentarily to do up the little buckle on the side. Smiling faintly, he shoved Etain's old shoes into his satchel,taking care not to jostle Leith or his wand overmuch in the process. The little spirit seemed momentarily offended by the shoe invasion of his personal space and with an almost visual 'huff!', the wisp retreated into the satchel.
There certainly wasn't much character or personality in the wisp, but occassionally it did things that at least indicated it was living rather than a simple puff of smoke enchanted to attach to the end of a stick.
Airaka blinked, surprise playing all over her face. She looked down to Xtol, and her face tinged red. Setting him down on the floor of the mall, she attempted to tug the sandle from his mouth.
Xtol's hand shot up and grabbed the sandle to keep it away from his guardian. It was fairly obvious, to him, the sandle was important to Airaka, so he wouldn't let her have it.
Airaka backed off when it seemed like if she took the sandle from the boy he'd begin to make a scene. So she simply got back to her feet, and grinned weakly at Tovar and Etain.
"Nice sandles." she said to Etain, "They look amazingly cute on you."
Her blue eyes cast to the signs again, before back at Tovar.
"I'm going to get the stuff I need. I don't know if you want to come with me. I mean, you said you have been running errands all day. You must be tired."
She coughed slightly, and smiled at Tovar.
Tovar blinked. Oh, but he'd feel bad just...tagging along and then leaving right away. That seemed a little ill natured of them. Uncertaintly, he glanced to Etain. "Etain, do you want to go home or stay?" They had been out all day...
The blonde glanced up from his shoes to Airaka and Xtol, then back to Tovar. He started chewing on his fingers, as if sensing there was some important decision to be made. "Hungry?" he offered suddenly, rather than answer one way or the other.
Tovar nodded, ruffling the boy's hair faintly before pushing hismelf to his feet and looking to Airaka. "Y-you don't mind if we go, do you? I mean, I feel bad saying we'd come along and then cheaping out on you." It's something Michael would do, Tovar thought. Ugh - he'd been spending too much time with the man; his bad habits were rubbing off.
Airaka shook her head.
"No, it's fine. Honestly, I don't mind at all."
"It was nice to meet you. Both of you. "
She bowed her heaad, before looking back at up at them, a cheerful smile on her face. Her hand crossed infront of her, and she nodded her head.
"I hope you have a nice meal."
Xtol turned to the two, sandle still in his mouth, and wiggled his fingers.
"Baa." he grugled, pulling the purple shoe from his mouth.
Clambering to his feet and clapping his hand in Tovar's, Etain lifted his other hand and waved swiftly and erraticly at the two. "Bye-bye!"
Tovar nodded, smiling sharply. "It was nice to meet you, Airaka - and Xtol too; thanks for having us along." Carefully, Tovar nudged Etain about and began leading him back down the aisle in the general direction of the door.
"Bye-bye baby," the unicorn said, reaching out to pat Xtol on the head as they passed.
Laughing, Tovar offered Airaka and Xtol a last wave before ushering Etain from the aisle and out of sight.
"Well," Tovar said as they emerged back out on the street. "That was nice, eh Etain?"
"Hungry," the boy shot back, frowning slightly up at his guardian.
"Alright, alright. Geeze, you'd think I starved you - alright; home and we can find you some nice daisies to eat or something..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:46 pm
Over There
Baby Ghost Quest August 02, 2006
Tovar felt a little ridiculous as he shouldered the pack. He looked prepared to go backpacking through the mountains for a month, rather than simply stepping into There. By the looks of it, Michael (sitting at the head of the kitchen table, as far away from Etain as the man could manage) found his apprentice’s appearance heavily amusing.
“Do you intend to get lost in There, Tovar, or are you just training for some olympic event?”
“Shut it, Michael. You know it it is,” he spat back impatiently, double-checking the straps of his coin purse where they had been lashed tightly to his belt.
Next to the heavy rucksack, Tovar was very much out of his element. Had someone looked through the sole kitchen window at that moment, it would have been easy to mistake Tovar for some sort of renaissance performer, dressed in a green tunic and sturdy kneehigh boots, a music case strapped to one side of his pack. In the heat of the kitchen, it was all almost unbearable.
The harp was tradition – and for safety, though Tovar had never been forced to use it There. Everything else, however…
Well, sometimes it was difficult to estimate just how long a person was There for. A day, five or six. Sometimes he managed to step right out onto the desired doorstep and other times he found himself hip deep in some bog blanketed in a sheet of mist and foul smelling ooze.
He rather preferred the doorsteps.
“I’ll be back later then,” he said, glancing briefly to Michael. “You take care of them.” Them being Etain and the small wisp of a creature at the end of a watered down looking stick. He was doing this for Leith anyway, and he’d be sorely frustrated if he came back to find Michael had…done something to the poor thing.
“I think I can take care of a child and a puff of spoke, Tovar,” Michael countered smoothly, a slow crooked smile twitching across his mouth.
Tovar rolled his eyes and stepped to the framed painting on the kitchen wall. “Good,” he said and then touched the fine edges of silver gilding at the top of the frame. In a moment, Tovar had forgotten about the stuffy air of the small kitchen.
---------------------------------------
What surely had to be nine hours later, Tovar gripped the stone doorway in one hand and banged on a short green door with the other. He was panting hard and up to the knees in mud, hair plastered with a strange combination of dust and sludge. He hated winter Here. The roads, what few there were, turned to slush and mire, making it absolutely miserable to travel anywhere. This had better be worth it.
The door sprang open so quickly he nearly fell in. Luckily, a strong hand caught him by the shoulder and steadied him – for at long as it took for him to get his footing, anyway; once he had it, Tamra wound her fingers in the collar of his tunic and jerked him indoors. She slammed the door shut and bolted it firmly as Tovar staggered inside the small house and immediately collapsed into a large armchair by the fire.
“Tovar, at least take your shoes off,” Tamra snapped, turning back from the door to face her visitor. Tovar squint back at her.
She was a tall woman; taller than himself. Dark skinned with black hair done up in a multitude of braids, Tamra looked like she would be more accustomed behind a large weapon or riding a brutish looking horse, rather than living in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. In truth, she probably was – but those days had long past if they had ever existed. For as long as Tovar had known her, Tamra had lived in the same little house in the same little wood.
And she always demanded he remove his shoes.
Sighing, he chucked off his rucksack and tugged off his boots, setting them by the fire to dry. Giving an approving nod, Tamra moved immediately to the low closet door on the wall opposite of Tovar’s chair.
“It took you long enough. Michael still hasn’t taught you to pick your landing here?” she rattled off and she jimmied open the door (it came open with a sharp groan of the wood). Stooping inside, Tamra began sorting through the shelves inside.
“Not yet,” Tovar muttered grudgingly, easing back into the armchair.
“It will come eventually, Tovar,” the woman’s voice said, accompanied by the clink and jangle of objects in the closet being moved about. “He’s a good man, Michael. He knows what he’s doing.”
Tovar didn’t bother saying that if Michael knew what he was doing, he wouldn’t be an apprentice at twenty-five. Tamra didn’t like when he said things like that. So instead, Tovar turned the subject of the conversation as far from Michael as he could manage in the woman’s company. “So why did you call me here?”
Ducking from the closet, Tamra heeled the closet door shut. “I called you,” she said, moving to the chair. “To give you this.” Expression stricken from her features, she handed Tovar a small, worn looking toy.
It was a small stuffed horse, mostly black but faded in patches to grey where the dye of the fabric had been rubbed out by time, friction or both. It had yarn for its mane and tail, a cross stitch for it’s nostrils, and no eyes. Tovar eyed it blankly.
Nine hours. For this?
Wordlessly, he looked back to Tamra.
The woman shrugged. “I heard you had a new baby. Every baby needs a proper toy.”
Tovar could feel the irritation settling in across his face and shoulders, but he couldn’t keep it at bay. “…that’s it?”
Tamra nodded, offering him a hand up. “That’s it.”
Grimacing, he looked back at the toy. "Great."
"I suppose this means you'll be going then?" Tamra said, moving to the fireplace. "At least you don't have to walk all that way to get back, eh?" For the first time since he'd arrived, the woman offered Tovar a smile - even if it was a wry, slightly too-knowing one.
"That's right. You don't mind if I --" he motioned briefly to the fireplace. "Do you?"
Tamra frowned. "I do wish you'd just use the door, Tovar."
"Well, if you'd rather--"
"No, the fireplace is fine. I know it's easier for you." Stooping, she picked up and his his shoes back to him.
Muttering his thanks, Tovar tucked the little stuffed horse into his belt pouch and pulled his muddy (but, thank god, dry) shoes back on. Pushing to his feet, he retrieved the rucksack and slug it over one shoulder.
"I'll see you later then, Tamra. Don't, er, be afraid to call or anything like that," Tovar said as he stepped to the fireplace.
She waved her hand, smiling dully. "I never am." She clapped him good naturedly on the shoulder, the blow causing him to stagger closer to the hot flames. "May the winds bring you good fortune, Salvrit."
"I wish you wouldn't call me that."
"I know - now get on."
Offering a bare smile, Tovar ducked under the mantle of the fireplace and stepped over the tongues of the fire and through the ash covered bricks at the back.
--He just managed to catch himself before he tumbled as he stepped down out of the painting, back into the kitchen. Michael and Etain were still at the kitchen table. The wand and Leith's wisp of a spirit had been settled comfortably at the center of the table, with the little puff of smoke drifting here and there over the tip of the wand. Tovar immediately toed off his shoes and chucked them toward the sink. He'd need to clean off the mud soon.
"Back already?" Michael asked, pushing back his chair to stand.
"How long has it been?" Tovar let the backpack slide from his shoulder.
"Just a few minutes." That sounded about right. "What did Tamra want you for?"
Tovar shrugged, opening up his belt pouch as he stepped closer to the table. "She gave me this," he said, removing the stuffed horse from the pouch and setting it on the table, near the wisp. "For Leith."
Whatever Michael might have said in response (it certianly looked like he had something to say by the hysterical look on his face) was lost in the sudden lurch of...Tovar wasn't even sure, except suddenly he was gripping the edge of the table because something in his head hurt, pressure welling up between his temples like water gushing up from a well. Water poured suddenly from both ends of the wand, covering length and bredth of the table so quickly Tovar faintly registered hearing Etain squeak with surprise. The wisp at the end of the wand twisted, expanding into - into something faintly human shaped.
On cue, the wailing came to life like fireworks on the forth of July in the back of Tovar's head.
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