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July 26th 2004 -- backtracking : "The journey begins!"

As all days did, this one started with some sort of conflict or another. Phoenix rose to the smell of something burning.. most likely and hopefully the smell was leaking from the kitchen. Slipping on her faux-bunny slippers and stumbling drowsily down the stairs, she met the hoped for gaze of Maddy.

"I.. I was trying to make pancakes, and something spilled over.." She seemed terribly upset.

"No-" Phoenix muffles a yawn. "No problem, just as long as you didn't burn the house down.."

Maddy puts on a reassuring smile, following her mother as she went to the kitchen. "Oh no, nothing like that. Just a few of the pancakes might be a bit black."

Understatement, Phoenix knew, even before she saw the blackened stack of food. Taking two and cringing as they break off little charcoaled bits, she quickly stuffs her mouth with the almost inedible stuff. Thankfully, Maddy quickly gave her something to talk about.

"Phone call came early this morning," Maddy explains, dropping her the scribbled note before continuing to make the kitchen sparkling again. "A woman said to tell you that Dare's ready and waiting to meet you."

Swallowing the lump of burnt pancake, she suddenly grew nervous. Today.. it was today that she receives Dare into her care. A little baby boy.. how would that work out?

"Make sure everyone's up by 11, I've got to drive down there. It's a tad long, so you might be making lunch and possibly dinner if I'm not back yet." Maddy nodded to confirm her mother's words.

Phoenix launched herself to the hall, quickly snatching her coat off the hook with a piece of [unburnt] toast in her mouth. She reread the nearly illegible note by her eldest daughter, Madeline, and left without remembering to lock up behind her.

She'd obviously remembered the night earlier of this event, as the van was already arranged to suit a baby. It'd slipped her mind this morning, and she wasn't expected it to be THIS early. Still, she was completely eager to see her newest family addition.

---

Rushing up the steps, Phoenix was out of breath by the time she closed the door after herself.

"In here!" a voice called to her.

She followed the direction she suspected it came from, and found herself in the nursery. Lying down on the blanket was a beautiful [aren't all babies beautiful?] baby boy. His full head of hair stood out most prominently on his person, but there was also the orange clothing and the black cape and brown frills.

"Come meet Dare," Xaria invited her, her own Legend baby in arms and trying to wiggle her way away.

Sitting down cautiously next to Dare, she felt herself scanning him. The realization of being under the responsibility of the care for a tiny baby boy must have just hit her then..

Dare reached a mitten-covered hand, gurgling softly. She realized he wanted her watch, as it was shining under the light. Smiling, she lifts him up very carefully, cradling him in her arms.

"Well," she spoke softly to the baby, as he began to make himself comfortable in her arms, "This is certainly the start to an adventure."

July 29th 2004 -- backtracking : "Flow.. wuh!"

Phoenix had earlier set up the playpen out in the yard. Dare'd been spending too much time indoors.. he needs some fresh air! Bringing him out in her arms, he gives a large yawn, having just woken up from his afternoon nap.

Zaeth and Calli were off near the trees playing hide and seek, with Emiko being it. It was rare for Phoenix to find some time to spend with all or most members of the family. There was always something preventing that.. today was no exception; Maddy was busy setting up interviews for adoptions, Yuka was away writing a letter, and Tobias was travelling the world.

Dare gazes around at the seemingly large walls of his playpen. The surface under him, the grass, is such a lush green. He tugs up a handful, opening his hand and watching the pieces flutter out. Some stick to his palm. Yawning again, he pulls himself into a crawling position and begins to explore.

A yellow flower grew just up ahead. Mesmerized by the bright colour, he approaches with deep caution. Once close enough.. he whips his hand from underneath his person and snatches up the flower by the stem.

Now on his stomach, he waves the flower happily. "Pffbt," he spits, gurgling what's left in his mouth.

Phoenix looks down over her book, another one of those summer reading materials. "Flower," she says clearly, hoping he'll be able to catch on.

"Wuhh," he repeats. "Wuhh wuhh.." From the trashing, a petal flutters down off the flower's head. Dare stops immediately to watch it fall onto his nose. Going crosseyed to see it, he suddenly sneezes.. the petal flying away.

Pushing himself with much effort into a sitting position, he stares at the slightly bare flower. "Pffff.." he blows on the head, trying to figure out if this was how he made the yellow falling spark. "Wuhh, wuhh.." he sings, deciding to pluck off the petals instead, amused as each one made the fluttering journey to the grass.

August 1st 2004 -- backtracking : "Cookies!"

A thick blue crayon in his left hand, a long piece of paper under his right. He madly scribbles away on it, with no sense of shape or form. Of course, since he's just a baby. He drops the waxy crayon, taking a smaller green one. Scribbles in circles, circling and circling and circles.. It's all he ever seemed to do. No straight lines, no boxes or rectangles. Circling squiggles..

Using the aid of the couch, he grunts and pushes himself to his feet. Walking slowly at first, he heads toward the kitchen.

He'd learned early that Maddy loves to pamper him. The smell of fresh cookies met his nose. His eldest sister, of course, was just coming back after cooling the cookies.

"Hey there, Dare-kid!" she coos, scooping him up in her arms and twirling him above her in the air. "You wanna cookie? You want some numnums?"

Dare laughs and smiles widely, enough of an answer for her. Sitting him on the counter, she tests how cool the cookie is before handing it over to him. "Careful, I don't want you to give away I've been letting you snack before meals." She reaches over and taps his nose. "Meaning, no chocolate faces!"

He smiles cheekily and munches on the side of the treat, much liking the chocolate. "Nuhmmy," he announces.

"Why, thank you, kiddo! You're my best critic; never letting me down with your compliments," she gushes, collecting the cookies in a container. "No letting your brothers or sisters get into these, they're for later."

Dare is too facinated by the taste of the chocolate to be bothered with her words now. Cookies!

August 4th 2004 -- backtracking : "Hourglass"

Taking Dare out for a stroll in his super-handy-dandy-and-original stroller, Phoenix was enjoying the peace and quiet of being out of the house. She hadn't, lately, been able to do so, what with the ton of responsibilities that were bound to increase once school starts up again. She'd already talked to a kind woman who could watch Dare during the days for her during those times.

Pushing the stroller at a slow pace, she continues down the sidewalk toward the flea market. Her eyes on the path ahead of her, but her mind elsewhere, she walks and walks at a continuously slow pace.

Within the stroller, Dare cuddles his already-ratting stuffed bunny doll. The ears, especially, where well loved and chewed, and the nose nearly rubbed off completely from constant hugging. Finally, he tucks Bunny into the blanket beside him, pulling himself up to see where his mother had taken him.

Early on a Wednesday, this place isn't as busy and bustling as it would be later on in the day. Still, Phoenix made sure to take care not to bother anyone who was around. Her eyes on the different objects on the tables, she occasionally picks things up to get a better look.

Dare puts a finger behind the new line of bottom teeth in his mouth, pulling his jaw down. He shuffles closer to the opening so his legs dangle out, not minding the cool breeze as it was a change from the usual stuffiness of the enclosed stroller. His eyes, large at the sight of something, lock straight ahead.

"Muhmmee," he whines, also practicing the word Maddy took all day to teach him.

Phoenix puts something down, moving to the front to embrace her child. "What is it, Dare?"

"Muhmmeeeee.." he repeats, moving his head around Phoenix, as she blocked his view from the object. She looks slightly confused, turning her head in the direction where he was so desperate to look.

Neat lines of .. junk, as they were, were ahead on the next table. Phoenix goes to the back of his stroller, pushing him slowly ahead toward where she suspected he wanted to go. Hearing no voice of complaint, she returns to his entrance, only to find the child trying to reach up at something, desperately grunting to stretch far enough to grasp the object in question.

An hourglass?

Phoenix lifts it up, feeling Dare's eyes follow her. $2.99.. she could afford it, though she had no idea why her son would be so keen on owning one. Passing the money to an elderly woman, she sets the hourglass down beside Dare and beside his bunny, expecting a reaction.

Dare moves his hand across the gold handle, then takes both sides. The sand within slides through to the next bubble, and he watches in amazement. He turns it over, and continues to stare with a blank expression as the sand slips again..

August 6th 2004 -- backtracking : "Wak-wak"

Madeline was finishing off her salad with chicken, twirling the fork between bites. In an overly happy mood due to her work for Mum with interviews was over, she had all her spare time back and no one to channel her energy toward.

"Maddy?" Phoenix calls, and can be hear coming down the stairs. "Ma-"

"In here, Mom!" she says in a singsong voice, shovelling the rest in her mouth and dropping the plate and fork in the sink as she goes by. Swallowing quickly, she brushes her hands together, poking her head out of the kitchen and into the main hall.

"Ah, okay, good, you're around.." Phoenix says with a sigh. Dare was hanging off her shoulder, arms clasped around her neck and head against her shirt. He was obviously content, as he was grinning ear to ear. "Would you.."

"Of course," she says immediately, finding her target. "I saw a family of ducks on my morning run, I'll take him down with some bread and let him feed them." Without waiting for an answer, she lifts Dare -- with difficulty -- off her mother and onto her own waist.

"Take care of him," Phoenix warns, but is already beckoned off to another part of the house by a whine-cry from another child.

---

End pieces of bread in hand and Dare firmly pressed against her side, Madeline walks down the steps to the bridge. She sets him down on his feet, watching in case he wobbled, then begins to break the bread into pieces.

"Wha do?" Dare asks incredulously in the best language he could muster. He'd done a lot of learning, but was struggling to find sentences to match his thoughts.

"I'm feeding the duckies. Want me to lift you up so you can see them?" She waits for him to nod before lifting him up into her arms again. "Here, take one of these.." she explains, making sure a large piece is inside Dare's tiny hand.

Quackquack.

Dare whirls almost immediately, trying to find the source of the sound.

"Down there, honey," Maddy explains with a giggle, pointing down at the five female ducks floating in the river water.

"Wak wak," Dare immitates, flapping his arms and accidentally releasing the bread to the water below. He watched with awe as the nearest duckling gobbled it up. Looking to Maddy, he opens out a hand to signal that he wants more.

Smacking a hand on large rail, he got at least one duck's attention. Flinging the piece of bread, Maddy could see that he held his breath until it hit the water. Again and again this motion, always stunned that the bread would disappear into the beaks of the Wak-waks.

The sun began to fade, and the bread was almost gone. Maddy handed Dare the last piece, telling him, "There's no more, so this one's the last. No more, all gone."

Dare gives her the wide, curious eyes, then squirms to turn himself over in her arms, clinging to the railing. Maddy's heart leaps, as she jumps to the conclusion that he'll fall over the edge; she clasps onto his shoulders, but he doesn't seem to want to go any farther than to have his head over.

Opening his hand upward, the bread on top, he keeps his eyes on the watching ducks below. Tipping his hand, he once again holds his breath as the bread drops into the weeded water. The nearest duck wades, searching for it, finding it and eating it up as quickly as all the rest.

"No more," Dare whispers, merely mirroring what his sister told him and thinking the ducks would understand these words too.

August 8th 2004 -- backtracking : "Seeing the Lions"

The sun high, blazing above the people and animals currenly occupying the zoo.

Phoenix decided on taking the whole family on a trip to the zoo. However, due to conflicting schedules, it ends up only being a party of six, including herself: Dare, Emiko, Aran, Madeline, and Calli. No matter, she reassures herself on the drive up.

Aran pinches Emiko, and she begins to cry. He straightens up in an obviously-not-innocent way, clicking away at his video game. Madeline reaches over and comforts Em, shooting a glare of sparks at the brat that is the orange Aran. He sticks out his tongue at her, and she rolls her eyes, pulling her upper half back to her seat in the front.

Phoenix pulls into the parking lot, finding it unusually packed today. "Must be a popular day to visit in the summers," she says while getting out. Aran hops out first, already charging down the parking lot.

"I wanna see the lions," he hoots, whirling around so he's running backwards. "C'MON MOM, YOU'RE SO SLOW!"

Phoenix ignores his comment, lifting Dare out of his baby seat and onto her side. He yawns, resting a head against her shoulder. He'd been sleeping, the poor thing, through the troubles and terrors of the car ride up. She gives him a gentle pat on the back, shutting the car door with a quiet click.

Maddy, around the other side, was helping the girls out. She grabs the baby bag before shutting and locking the side door, shepharding them toward the entrance, where Aran was waiting very impatiently. She ignores the little buggar, joining her mother to pay for the entry tickets.

Soon enough, the shortened family was inside the enormous zoo. Madeline had been, visited numerous times with her sketchbook on occasions when she needed live subjects to sketch. However, it is a first experience for Aran, Emiko, Calli, and Dare. Aran had watched a program all about zoo animals on television, so he's keen on what to expect.

To the right were the elephants and the giraffes. Madeline agrees to take Emiko and Calli that way, while Phoenix gives into Aran and allows herself to bring Dare to the lions first.

"We'll meet back here at noon. We've got to be home for Calli's reading lessons at 1, and Emiko's piano at 1:15.." Phoenix says tapping her watch as she clues into her memory. Aran hangs off of her arm, making it hard to balance the child on her side as well as balance her own self.

"MOM. Mom. Mom. Mommmmm. MOOOOM," he whines continuously. When she finally turns to look at him desperately, he points behind him. "Lions. That way."

She might've pulled out her hair right then and there, had the beanie not been protecting most of it. Counting to ten in her head, she calms herself and speaks in reply. "Yes, we're going." Turning to face Madeline, she gets a reassuring face in return.

"We'll be fine, Mum, they won't give me any trouble."

----

After a walk that seemed to take forever, and passing so many cages that Aran just had to stop and ask questions about, they reach the lion cages.

Phoenix carefully bounces the baby up and down, him having a difficult time keeping his eyes open. However, the monkeys startled him into a wake 20 minutes earlier, but the sleep was quickly returning.

Aran leans over the banister, hands gripping the metal pipe. He eagerly grins, waiting for a chance to spot the lions coming out of their resting spots. Phoenix was rocking Dare, figuring it better he sleep instead of be awake and very aware of the loud atmosphere surrounding them.

Unfortunately, being the impatient kid Aran is, he decides that the lions had had enough sleep. Maybe he'd go wake them up.. They didn't look ferocious up close, and the guy on the other TV show, the one about the circus, he'd put his head in one! He gave a glance at his mother, who had her back turned for a short moment. Dare was watching sleepily over her shoulder, sucking his thumb as a comfort.

Aran grins, leaping over the side and landing inside the pit. He brushes himself off, taking a look around.

"Oh liiiiiiions," he calls, cackling softly. They had to be like big kitties, harmless of course. He'd fought the neighbour's cat, and won, too! Poor Mr. Biggels, he was now buried in the backyard..

Dare's eyes flash wide. He begins to bawl, and Phoenix pats his back.
"What is it, honey? Did something scare you?" When he continues crying, she looks around for a source.

"Aran?!" she demands, seeing nothing of the orange boy. An orange boy, of course, is easily spotted in a crowd, but she saw nothing of him.

Aran crept closer to the napping lions. One opened an eye at him, and he gives it a wave. "I won't hurt you, I just want to get a picture.." He lifts up the camera from his neck, fiddling with it to make it straight. The lioness had obviously known what the device was, as tourists and visitors often flashed the annoying things endlessly at her. She was tired of being bothered.. maybe teaching this kid a lesson would be wise...

Meanwhile, Phoenix was moving in circles frantically. "ARAN?! Aran, this isn't funny... If you're hiding, come out this minute! ARAN.. This isn't making Mommy very happy.."

Dare continues to wail, his thumb leaving his mouth. He desperately claws at the air toward the lion pit. Phoenix finally takes notice; if she would have let him continue, he'd worm his way clear out of her arms and fall over.

And that's when she spotted him.

It was as if Dare had told her.. but no, he couldn't have known. He hadn't learned Aran's name properly yet, but.. If he'd seen him fall in.. If he'd fallen. Knowing him, he jumped to get a better look.

"Someone help me, my boy's in the pit!" she screams, holding Dare tighter. She grips the poled barrier, watching some workers rush down.

The lioness sharpens her nails on the rock where she'd rested, raising to her paws. Aran swallows. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.. He lets go of the camera, but was otherwise left still in shock.

"BOY! What in blazes are you doing down here?!"

The voice was a terrible relief. A worker.. possibly down to feed the lions, pulls him aside. "You could get yourself killed coming down here! What were you thinking?!"

Aran raising the camera a bit. "I.. wasn't, sir," he says, in a shock-daze.

"You're bloody right you weren't! Where's your mother?!"

----

After the mess had been sorted out, and Phoenix had paid a few fines in Aran's name, they hurry back to the meeting place. Madeline had bought the girls ice cream, and they were waiting on the bench in the mean time.

"What happened?" asks Madeline, immediately getting to her feet.

"Long story," Phoenix says, moving her free hand tiredly in a brushing-off way. "I'm sure we have some time on the ride back to-" and she gave Aran a look. The child, his hands behind his back, looked to the floor with a guilty air around him. "- explain what happened.."

As they exited the zoo, Aran trudges behind the group, head low and shoulders slumped. Dare hangs off of Phoenix's shoulders, wide awake now due to the scare he had earlier. Opening both hands in a claw-like fashion, he scrunches up his little face at Aran, who was paying attention to him now. The messy red hair gave to the effect when Dare proceeded to say in a hushed growling immitation voice.

"Rwarr!"

July 10th 2004 -- backtracking : "Baby Quest: The Sand Dial"



Dare is playing with his Lego blocks in the living room, clashing them together. Of course, he was hitting them the wrong way and they didn't fit, but that didn't bother him much. He'd continue trying until he got them to smuch together like he was shown when he received them.

In the kitchen, only a shoulder glance at the window-hole in the wall through to the other room, was Phoenix, preparing some veggies and dip for the expected visitors.. Of course, Phoenix was running late, and was sort of hoping the playdatess and her mother were, too. Too many things had come in her way and she'd nearly forgotten all about it!

Kam and Chandra could probably be heard from a block away. Chandra disliked going outside and was making her complaints known. Loudly. Kam kept her head down and walked as fast as she could. She just hoped no one took her for a baby napper.

When they got to their destination, Kam pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket and double checked the address. Satisfied, she walked up and knocked three times on the front door. The noise seemed to startle Chandra, who went abruptly quiet.

Phoenix brushes her hands on her apron, staring out for the door. She stops, remembering the embarassing message printed across the thing [It was a present, a not very flattering "Kiss the Cook!" one..] Untying it, she shoves it in the closest and hurries to answer the door.

Dare had heard the knocks, but seemed to be more curious about the two bumps on these lego pieces. There were spaces on the bottoms, too! Was this supposed to mean something about how they fit together like Mommy showed?

Swinging open the heavy door, she makes sure it doesn't swing right back in her face. It.. had a record of doing so. Smiling, she realized the guests had been right on time, dispite earlier hopes.

"Ah, Kam and little Chandra! Please, do come in and make yourself at home," she greets, standing aside to let them pass and still holding open that darned door, in case of another accident due to slamming in a guests face on another occasion.

Kam smiled in greeting and sidled in the door.

"Hi Pheonix! And look its Dare, Chandra. Say hi!"

Chandra did her best to look disinterested while wondering what Dare had in his hands.

"Pbth."

Kam shook her head and turned to Pheonix.

"I think she may be a little cranky today. Hopefully I won't have to take her home."

Kam knelt and set Chandra on the floor, where she sat blinking at Dare.

Satisfied Chandra wasn't going to fall over, Kam stood and looked to Pheonix.

"Anything I can help with?"

Dare looks up, smiling a baby-toothed smile. He opens a hand, dropping one of the blocks and does the open-hand-close-hand wave to her.

Phoenix looks over the two of them, satisfied enough to lead Kam to the kitchen. "Nah, I was just preparing a few snacks. There's supposed to be a good show on soon, something about.." Her head is ducked inside a cupboard, searching for the box of cookies, so whatever it was she said was muffled. "Thought we might be entertained while the babes have some fun."

Picking up the lego block, Dare finally shoves the oversized pieces together and makes them stick. "Yay," he exclaims comically, holding up the blocks high to show his triumph to Chandra.

Kam followed Pheonix into the kitchen and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. I don't know about you, but I don't think I would be as entertained by those legos as they will."

Chandra flopped forward and pushed with her arms until she got her butt up in the air. Then she sorta pushed off the ground and got into a rather unsteady standing position.

"Yay, " she echoed. "Biibii"

She ambled over to him and sat down again, rocking backwards since she hadn't yet mastered her balance. She reached out for the legos in Dare's hand. What were these? She had never seen such bumpy little blocks. Hers were square and smooth, good for making towers.

He hands her the oversized baby legos so he can clap. "Shaa, Bii ficks," he announces, moving onto his knees and tapping the blocks gently. He was extremely proud to think that he'd fixed the blocks back together for his Mum.

Since the legos were no longer a mystery to him, Dare quickly began to look for more things to bring and show his guest. There were so many things his Mum bought him, but most were up in his room..


Phoenix brings the veggies, crackers, and cookies collection to the couch. It was angled away from the babies, but she figured a few good watchful looks over the shoulder every now and then was good enough. They're well behaved children, most of the time. She flops down on the couch, sliding the tray onto the coffee table and fishes for the remote. "Feel free to dig in," she says with an added giggle. "This might just be the most quiet time we'll get in a while.. Don't know about you, but large families and silence do not mix."

Back on his foam mats, Dare looks around at all his toys. They all had something interesting about them that he could spend all day showing his friend all the neat things about them. He lifts the nearest one, a rabbit with a worn away nose and an leg about to tear from the source.

"Mine bunny," he says, shaking it up and down to show how it could bounce.

Chandra ignored the bunny in favor of the legos. She put them up close to her face so she could stare at them intently.

"Ficks? Sha bad."

She grasped a hold of both ends and pulled, but the legos were too slippery for her and went shooting across the floor to skid out of sight.

"Uhoh."

Chandra looked at Dare with wide eyes. What would he do? She'd lost his toy.

"Bunny?"

She bounced a little in place in imitation of the bunny, hoping it would be enough of a distraction.

Kam settled down on the couch with a sigh of contentment and a big yawn.

"I just hope I don't fall asleep. It always seems like if it isn't one thing its another."

However well Chandra tried to distract him, Dare had seen the legos disappear at the last second. His bottom lip quivers a little.. that was his Mum's toy that he fixed! He sets his bunny down, crawling over to where he watched it disappear.

Phoenix shrugs. "Hey, if you need a nap, I'm all for it. Heard this show's supposed to be good, though." She stretches out her arms. "I'll wake you up when its done," she teases, taking a carrot and devouring it.

Something catches onto Dare's wide, sad eyes. He thought at first it might be Chandra, but he'd seen no movement as of that second on her part. He crawls over to the fireplace, where his precious hourglass was set. His mother had taken it away from him the day after he received it, but his sister had become curious earlier, played with it a while, and forgetting to return it to its place. Now, it was sitting out just for Dare to play with..

Chandra was glad Dare hadn't started to cry. If he had, she would have had to as well and then she might have had to go home. Crying all the time made mommy try and give her naps.

Kam laughed, "I'll try and stay awake. I just make no guarantees." She reached out and snatched a stick of celery to munch on.

Chandra noticed Dare wasn't looking for those stupid bumpy blocks anymore and she wanted to know what was going on. She pushed herself upright again, going through her little ritual. On her unsteady way over to Dare, she picked up the discarded bunny and hugged it to her.

"Bii? Blawks no go. Wha?"

Phoenix flips through the channels, finding the infamous program of so much excitement. Soon enough, she was way too far into it to remember to check on the kids.

Dare sits down against the cold cement ledge before the fireplace. "Mine .." he starts to say, but realizes he doesn't have a name for it. The golden hourglass, all sand into the bottom glass, stares magnificently at him. He doesn't even notice that she'd taken his bunny.. Beginning to reach with stubby arms, he grasps the golden handle of the timepiece and sits it in his lap.

He rubs his hand over the top, then twists his whole hand to turn the heavy thing over. The hourglass is nearly up at Chandra's eyelevel, the brilliant pieces of sand melting down into the empty glass when provided the opportunity.

Despite her interest in the program, and the welfare of the kids, Kam's eyelids begin to droop. In no time, she is "resting her eyes", figuring Pheonix is there to be on the lookout.

Chandra hugged the bunny even closer, and stared mesmerized at the hourglass. It was so pretty. She reached out a hand to touch it, but stopped short. It wasn't really hers to touch. Instead she held the bunny close and sat down, ready to let Dare show her a nice new toy.

"Bii wha-ta?"

"Mine p-" He'd started to say something, a name he'd made up on the spot for the object he loved so preciously. However, the sudden slowing down of the sand within gave him a chill, then all went black..

He was still staring down at the hourglass; the sand quickened once more.

"Dare, would you put that stupid thing down already?" an annoyed voice shrilly commanded him.

Turning around, he could see that this was definately not the living room. It was.. an office, two walls lined with messy bookshelves, a desk angled in the corner, and a door in the space left. He stands nearest the desk, the hourglass turned upsidedown. A girl, perhaps 19 years of age, though Dare has no idea how to tell, stood with her hands on her hips, eying him.

"Well?" she says, tapping one of her feet. The sound of her heel clicked an echo in the room.

"Sorry," he voices. He must've looked a bit startled at the sound of his voice; it was a lot lower than anything he was used to coming out of his mouth.

The girl shrugs her shoulders, turning to tear through some books. "You're a very strange guy.. I've no idea why the Council stuck me with you as my partner, especially on such an important case."

Dare stares at the back of her head. What was she talking about? He puts down the hourglass very carefully, as his Mum had taught him to respect the requests of elders. But, his own hand was.. well, it was bigger than Mum's! He looks at both of them, bewildered, then turns around in a complete circle.

Staring back at him from a crooked mirror off the wall was him. He could tell.. the face was the same, but a bit different. His hair, red as when he'd ever seen his hair, tangled down in the same way. He touches his face, and his reflection does the same.

"Are you even listening to me?" demands the girl, turning around. "Jeez, stop looking at yourself already! We've got work to do! If we don't figure out what to do to stop Ink's case from failing.." She trails off, then shoves the hourglass back into his hands. "And can you please put this back where it belongs-"

Dare jolts 'awake.' The hourglass had already finished pouring all of its contents long ago it seemed, and his arm ached from keeping it up and steady for such an amount of time.

Chandra watched as Dare left. He was still there, but the spark that made him uniquely Dare to her left for a while. Chandra wondered for a moment if he had gone the same place she did. She shivered and decided he couldn't be there. He didn't look scared.

"Bii," she said a little wonderingly when he seemed to be back. Her lip quivered a little. She was confused. The hourglass was done and in the end it wasn't a very nice toy, taking Dare away from her.

Dare looks at her with clearly bewildered eyes. He lets his hand drop, releasing the hourglass with a noise as it hits the floor. It remains in one piece, not a scratch to its name.

Phoenix sits upright, having leaned off to the side in a dozing daze. She gets up, spotting the hourglass and only making assumptions as to what could've happened. It probably ran out, and he didn't know how to fit it.

Scooping him up, he realizes the deep shock he's in. Tickling under his chin, she says to him, "Honey, it's okay.. this shouldn't have been out there.." She rocks him on her hip while locking away the blasted golden timepiece.

It's then, when the hourglass was put behind locked doors, that he began to bawl. Phoenix quickly tries to hush him, looking for the rabbit toy that usually did the trick. She crouches down to get to Chandra's height, patting the boy's back.

"Can I see that rabbit, Chandra?" she asks clearly and calmly, not wanting to scare the other child into crying.

Kam jerked awake when Dare started bawling and looked over just in time to see Chandra burst into tears.

The tears were mostly sympathetic, Chandra really wasn't all that upset, but it wasn't like anyone could tell the difference once she got going. Between tears Chandra held out the bunny to Pheonix dangling it by one arm.

Kam got up off the couch and approached slowly, also ducking to Chandra's height.

"Something go wrong sweets? You need a nap maybe?"

Phoenix dangles the bunny in front of Dare's face, but he refuses to open his eyes. Speaking above the noise, she manages a sideglance at the wall clock. "Perhaps we let them hang around a little too long," she nearly has to shout, "Maybe a nap would do the both of them some good."

Dare hugs onto his Mum's neck. He'd heard that word, and he didn't like it.

"Oops, I mean, N-A-P," Phoenix corrects herself, switching off the television to lower the noise level that way. Dare's cries turn to gentle sobs, and quickly he's silent in her arms.

"Other than at the end, I'd say they were uh, angels," Phoenix comments, rocking Dare gently. "He's never stayed occupied for so long without a fuss like that.."

Kam picked Chandra up and the child immediately clung and buried her face into Kam's neck. She didn't stop sobbing, but the sound was somewhat muffled by Kam's body.

"I agree. Considering how bad she was on the way over, she was miraculously well-behaved."

Kam rocked Chandra a little, trying to halt the sobbing. She had little success.

"Perhaps we should have another playdate for the two. Only this time we could have it at my house."

Kam pried Chandra off herself and held her up so they were eye level.

"What do you say Chandra? You wanna friend to come visit?"

Chandra stopped slowly hiccuped and sobbed her way to semi-silence. Come visit? That sounded alright. Visit was what Kam kept saying before they got here.

Kam hugged Chandra back to her, shifting her to a hip.

"Sound alright to you Pheonix? This time I can do the snacks."

Phoenix nods, the rocking ceasing when she notes that Dare's breathing had slowed. He was more than likely asleep already.

"Sounds great, actually, tomorrow's not so bad time-wise. Dare'll have a nap before he comes over, though, hopefully that'll shy off any kind of mishap endings."

August 13th 2004 -- backtracking : "Feathers. Wings. Fly."

Yawning and rolling onto his back, Dare rests his newly opened eyes onto the mobile above his head. The sun pours through his window and onto the said object, and from a natural air current in the room, it says back and forth, hypnotising the viewer down below.

Outside his door, family members pass noiselessly and noisily, some poking their heads in to check up on the youngest, others too busy or late to remember. Mum had left early in the morning, just on a walk, and isn't expected back for at least another hour.

There is one who does not have a place to be, nor is rushing or late or forgetful. He pushes past a sibling and into Dare's room, shutting the door slowly in case he woke the child prematurely. He leans on the wood of the crib, making a slight curve of his mouth upwards but most prominently smiling with his eyes. Dare breaks his view of the mobile, pushing himself up onto his pillow then grasping the bars to stand himself.

"My my, you're a big boy to do that all by yourself," Tobias says with a quiet chuckle.

Dare responds with a baby-tooth smile, then reaches a hand up. "Fpht," he says in gibberish, as he has no words to describe the beautiful wings upon his 'new' brother's back.

Tobias seems to understand, scooping up the boy and holding him in an awkward immitation of what he saw his mother do. Dare rubs a hand along the top of the wings, annoyingly against the grain. Tobias takes his hand after a quiet protest, showing him the right way to go about that.

"Can you say, 'wings'?" he asks the baby. Dare gives an incredulous look, to the left wing which his hand is frozen over and to Tobias' face.

"Feathers. Wings. Fly," Tobias tries words that associate, but still no response from the baby. Perhaps he hasn't learnt to talk yet, he passes it off to be. He straightens up Dare's crib and proceeds to take him downstairs.

Out of Tobias' view, Dare pets a fallen feather. He did not pull it.. his brother would have felt that and noticed. No, this feather seemed to release itself without protest. He slips it carefully inside his clothing for later.