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4/26/05 - Narrative

Tybalt was asleep and blissfully unaware of his surroundings, lost in dreams of glory and plunder, when he heard a scream from below him. He found himself jerked into wakefulness, and it was only due to his talons' strong grip on the tree that he managed not to fall right out of it. Carefully, he maneuvered himself into a position that enabled him to peer down the length of the tree, and his large eyes grew larger still at what they saw.

What the HELL was a kid doing in his treasure tree?! And why was it making so much noise? And...was that a TAIL?!

It was indeed a tail, and the shrieking infant attached to it seemed none too happy about it. Everything had been fine in her first few seconds of consciousness; she was content, although she didn't know where she was, and filled with the complacent drowsiness that comes after a long nap.

Then she noticed that...THING that seemed to be attached to her.

A feeling of utter wrongness washed over her the first time she saw it, and she flailed helplessly, not only unable to move much, but unable to distance herself from the wrong, bad, not-nice that that seemed to be...well, part of herself. Her shriek of frightened indignance was what woke Tybalt up.

The pirate watched the creature's aimless strugglings for a moment, at a loss for what to do. On the one hand, this tail-creature was in HIS tree, and a part of him wanted to go down there and demand answers. On the other hand, this unknown variable could prove to be dangerous. On the OTHER hand...well, Tybalt only had two hands, and his natural curiosity made his decision easy. With the graceful ease of a practiced climber, he made his way down the tree.

He went unnoticed by the still-screaming baby until he was literally standing right in front of her, and it was only then that the baby gave up screaming in lieu of staring at the feathered Tale. Tybalt stared back for awhile, totally unsure of what to do.

The girl was lying on her back in the dirt, half of her tail hidden in the hollow between the tree and the earth. Her writhing and wriggling had streaked her pale skin and matted her hair with dirt. She looked confused, curious, and angry all at once, as if she couldn't settle on an emotion.

"Uh...'hoy," Tybalt said after a moment.

The girl in the dirt shouted unintelligibly at him in response, and her wiggling resumed. She couldn't seem to get the hang of actual movement, and it frustrated her. Then, without warning, she burst into tears.

Crap. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He'd never been in this situation before; he was merely a baby himself! His feathers ruffled idly as he stared dumbly down at the child, completely at a loss. Finally, he did the only thing he could do in this situation: he ran towards the house, intending to wake Inle up to take care of it. The girl's plaintive wails followed him before they died into miserable whimpers.

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Inle, meanwhile, was aware of none of this. She was known to be an incredibly deep sleeper, so it was no surprise to Tybalt when his loud whispers of her name failed to do anything. He wasn't even put off when, as he shook her shoulder, she rolled over and went back to sleep. It was only when he yanked the pillow from beneath her head and started whacking her with it that she finally awoke, surprised at her waking's circumstances much like Tybalt had been only moments before.

"You," she mumbled irritably, "better have a damn good excuse for--"

"There's a wormy girl onna groun'."

Inle stared at Tybalt in the same manner he had stared at the infant. "A...wormy girl?"

Nod.

"On the ground?"

Nod.

Inle sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Show me."

Tybalt didn't have to be told twice. He barely waited for her to slip some shoes on before he took off running down the stairs and back out the door. His feathers ruffled with agitation as he waited for her still-sluggish self to keep up, and once Inle finally got outside, he made a beeline for the tree. The purple-tailed girl had stopped her struggles, seeming to accept her inability to move as defeat, and her whimpers had lessened further into hopeless mewls.

She didn't look up as Inle crouched beside her, didn't move as the woman brushed her hair away from her face, revealing tear tracks that had cut through the dirt. All of her struggling seemed to wear her out, and she didn't fight as Inle carefully picked her up and started walking back towards the house.

By the time Inle, Tybalt, and the snake-girl were inside, one was confused, one was lost completely, and the last was deeply asleep, oblivious to it all.

4/30/05 - Narrative

It was hours later, and Inle had called just about everyone she knew, looking for any information relating to the naga infant's parents, or at least where she had come from. Her usually reliable contacts and informants had come up with absolutely nothing. Said infant had awakened awhile ago, and was chewing on the tail of a kitty plushie, her toothless mouth saturating the fabric and causing it to squish oddly with every nibble. Inle's usual mask of standoffish cynicism cracked, and all she could think of was how adorable the infant on her bed was, how different she was from all her sons. She hadn't had another girl in the house since...no. It wouldn't do to think of what was and might have been. She had to focus on the present.

This child had been abandoned by someone, but by who? And why would they leave it in HER yard, of all places; she was hardly mother-of-the-year material. She could not, WOULD not get attached to this girl; she wasn't hers to get attached to. She was quickly running out of options, however. She was no closer to finding out who the girl's parents were now than she had been a few hours ago, and frustration was starting to set in. She wouldn't give up; the infant needed her parents, her REAL parents. Inle knew she wouldn't thrive under her care and supervision.

With an irritated noise that might have been akin to a growl if emitted by anyone else, she shot off the bed and began to pace, mind whirling with possibilities. She could go to the police, maybe they would be able to find her parents. No, that wouldn't work. They would take her from Inle until that time, probably place her in an orphanage or protective care or something. ******** that. She could find someone else to take care of her, Nyxa perhaps? She was good with kids. But that wouldn't work either, her dear friend had her own children to take care of.

She continued to pace, coming up with failed possibility after failed possibility, when something on her dresser caught the light filtering through the curtained windows. The light seemed to wink at her as she passed it, and distracted her out of her thoughtful reverie. Like a bird to a shiny object, she turned towards it, then picked it up. It was a business card, the same card she had found with the bracelet while in the part with her kids and...

...and that satyr. The one who had sat at the sandbox with her kids; the one who spoke in riddles before vanishing, leaving only the business card behind. Inle's free hand twitched at her side, as if it wanted to ball itself into a fist, but couldn't complete the motion. The satyr was the one who raised all these questions...and Inle was determined to make him give her the answers.

5/05/05 - Narrative

It had been mere hours since Inle and the still-unnamed baby had returned from their venture into the woods. They were currently sitting in Inle's room, the former sitting cross-legged on her bed holding the baby and a bottle, the latter drinking said bottle. Sitting at the computer against the far wall was Caduceus, the star child squinting at the screen and reading what was on it.

"Naga," he said, "Nagas are human from the waist up and snake from the waist down and are often seen wearing hooded canopies or with seven or more heads." He paused in his reading to peer over his shoulder, grinning in Inle's direction. "Seven heads, huh? Well, she's still young, I'm sure she'll grow into them eventually."

Inle scowled at Deuce, sticking her tongue out immaturely at him; she couldn't very well flip him off with her hands full, as much as she wanted to. "Just keep reading."

With a chuckle, Deuce turned back to the screen and did so. "Both sexes are extraordinarily beautiful and several royal Indian families claim to be descended from them. They bite humans who are evil or destined to die prematurely. Buddhists regard them as minor deities and door guardians." The article ended, he spun around in the chair, facing the pair on the bed full. "I don't think we've got to worry about that last bit yet. She doesn't even have teeth yet!"

"Hooray for that," Inle said dryly, taking the bottle from the baby as she finished it. "She still needs a name."

"So name her already, Inle! It's been a week, and if she's going to stay with us for the duration, she's going to need one, and soon." Deuce sounded far too old for his body, a byproduct of never growing out of childhood.

"I suck at naming things," Inle replied patiently.

"Well, how did you name us?" Deuce asked.

"Tybalt was named when he...appeared. Ciaran's name came from that whole book-dropping thing. Nebel, Teufel, and Lucht? All words in German." She sighed, looking down at the baby in her lap. "It's easy to name you boys, Deuce, a lot easier than it feels to name her. Do you know how long its been since there's been a girl in the house? Do you remember what happened the last time there was?"

The star child sighed, the leathery wings adorning the sides of his head drooping a bit. "Yeah," he said quietly after a silent moment. "Yeah, I remember...don't you have a baby-naming book or something?"

"Check the bookcase."

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Another few hours passed. The room's three occupants remained as they were, although Inle's legs were outstretched and crossed at the ankle, the baby was asleep in her arms, and there was a book in Deuce's lap.

"What about Madeline?" Deuce asked levelly, although there was a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Too girly. Also, it's French." Inle had been finding tiny, trivial things wrong with every name the book had suggested.

"What's wrong with the French?" Deuce asked exasperatedly.

"They're FRENCH, Deuce. Think about it."

"...alright, you may have a point." Shrugging, he went back to the book. "Marjeta?"

"I'm not naming her something I can't spell. Next?"

"Marily?"

"What's it mean?"

"It's..." he paused to check, "Hebrew for ******** that. Next?"

"Inle, come on, this is rigoddamndiculous! We've been at this for four hours now!"

"Don't shout, you'll wake the baby."

"Then PICK something already!"

"Look, I'll pick the next one, alright? Just keep it down."

"You promise?"

"Maybe."

"INLE."

"Alright, yes, whatever!"

"Fine." With that, Deuce turned back to the book, his finger running down the page. "Now where were we...oh. Medea."

"Medea...that's--"

"Hey, you said the next one."

"Would you let me finish? I was going to say that's kind of pretty. What's it mean?" The baby--no, Medea--was starting to stir in Inle's arms, disturbed by all the noise.

"It's Greek, it means...oh. Aheh. Well, you did say the next one, just remember that." Deuce's eyes flicked up from the pages to look across at Inle.

Inle looked up from the baby to meet his eyes. "Deuce...what does it mean?" Her tone was wary; she wasn't sure she wanted to know after that remark.

"Myth name. Wife of Jason who murdered their children."

"...did I really say the NEXT one? I think I meant the one after that."

"Inle, come on. You said yourself that it's a pretty name, and really, what's in a name?"

"Homicidal connotations, obviously!" Medea whimpered in Inle's arms as she was drawn from sleep, and she cuddled closer to her, eyes beginning to open reluctantly. Inle tried rocking her back to sleep, but to no avail. Medea yawned and stretched her little arms, her tail wiggling as if in greeting. Inle sighed, looking from her back to Deuce, who only smiled.

"Hi there, Medea," he cooed in the baby's direction. To his and Inle's surprise, Medea turned her head towards him, giggling sleepily.

"Aiiie," the infant responded before yawning once more. Deuce and Inle looked from the baby to each other, eyes wide.

"Medea it is, then?" asked Deuce.

"Medea it is, indeed," agreed Inle.

Backdated from 5/21 - Narrative

Staring at this new kitty-type thing she was suddenly forced upon could only hold Medea's attention for so long, it seemed. Soon enough, the fussy infant began squirming once more, the whimpers that had died down momentarily starting up again. Phen sighed in an almost idle manner, wrapping his arms awkwardly around the baby in order to prevent her falling off; his long, red-furred tail flickered, an equally idle movement.

It seemed to have some effect, however, as the twitching appendage caught Medea's eye. With a demanding shriek, she reached up for it, hands opening and closing in the universal sign of want. Phen, feeling a spark of nigh-curiosity, allowed his tail to arch over her, the furry tip flicking just out of her reach. It seemed to have a positive effect--Medea quieted as she stared at this new, interesting object, her outstretched arms continuing to bat at it. "Abeeeee!" she cried insistantly, her noises growing to happy squeals as Phen finally lowered his tail to her level. She eagerly grabbed it, almost immediately shoving it in her mouth. It was just like her kitty plushie, which she seemed to have misplaced, only...bigger. And furrier. And now, instead of having just the soft toy, she had a whole giant REALish kitty, kind of. Rather than ponder the social wrongness of having another creature's tail in her mouth, she lay there happily gumming her new toy, drooling obliviously.

If Phen had been able to feel any depth of emotion, he might have been disgusted by the baby drool, or amused at the baby antics, or gushing over the baby noises. He could not, however, and merely appeared nonplussed as he stared down at the infant that was now in possession of his tail. The tip of it continued flicking, as if it too was unbothered by the drool it was being assualted by. "You really are very noisy," he observed, speaking almost as if he expected her to answer.

"Brrrbr," Medea responded, little hands clenching in the fur of Phen's tail. This felt nice, all soft and tickly and just BEGGING to be petted and snuggled. Not one to deny someone--or something, in this case--an unspoken request, she cuddled the tail closer, her own wiggling happily. It grew squishy as she gummed it, but she didn't seem to mind. She was happy, and she knew the tail was happy because she was giving it the attention it deserved, and all was well. Soon enough, however, strands of wet fur came loose and invaded her mouth. This was reason enough for the infant to pause her idle chewings, and she went so far as to take the tail out of her mouth. Why on earth did part of bigkitty's tail come off? Could it be...could it be that it didn't WANT her loving attention?

In any case, Medea now had a mouthful of fur, and it wasn't comfortable at all. "Puh," she said in an attempt to get it out. She frowned as it didn't seem to work. "Puh!" she said insistently. When that didn't work, she put her hands to her mouth, tongue lolling out as her tiny fingers awkwardly made motions to grasp the hair. That seemed to work, but now her hands were all sticky and her mouth was dry. Her tiny body was starting to ache, too, as if she was suffering from a fever; she didn't feel any warmer to the touch, however. After a moment of helpless discomfort, she began to whimper once more.

Ephenrix had watched Medea work with an almost detached air. He didn't seem to care that his fur was matted, but he felt an idle niggling in the back of his mind as he watched Medea's suffering. "Water," he said, just loudly enough to cover the infant's whimpers. "You need water." If he noticed that Medea didn't understand a word he said, he didn't show it. He merely stood up with her small body cradled in a giant arm and ambled towards the kitchen, his offended appendage swaying idly as ever behind him.

Backdated from 5/21 - Narrative

The moment passed, however, and Medea began squirming once more. The pain she had been feeling all day increased once more, turning from merely uncomfortable to mildly unbearable. The bottle's n****e fell from her lips as she squealed, and droplets of water trickled down her face to soak the fur of Phen's arm. The Inspirati's ears perked as he looked down at the agitated infant. "Hey," he said, as if expecting her to reply, "what's wrong?"

Medea merely wailed louder, her tiny body thrashing fruitlessly in Phen's strong arm. Tears began leaking from her tightly-shut eyelids, and she seemed to be in great pain. One tiny fist firmly grasped Phen's fur, while the other flailed helplessly in the air.

Slowly, the space around the infant seemed to charge with a feeling not unlike static electricity; Phen didn't know what it was, but it caused his fur to stand on its end, and he became apprehensive. Carefully, he gripped her tighter, as if that would stem the sensation. It failed, and as he stared at her in confusion and more than a little apprehension, her waving fist acquired a bluish-white glow. Her cries seemed to be nearing their peak volume-wise, and as they hit it dead on, the blueish glow extended rapidly, becoming a beam of light.

It blew a nice-sized hole in the side of the House. Not a mundane structure by any means, it shuddered and groaned as creaking wood might, but on a much louder scale.

Phen looked up instinctively at the exploding sound created by the blast, his ears twitching backwards to lie against his skull. His gaze returned to Medea an instant later. Her hand had lost most of its glow, and as he watched, it disappeared completely. Medea, for her part, had stopped thrashing so much. Her wails tapered off as well, as if expending that much energy so fast exhausted her. Within moments, she was asleep, a hand still clasping Phen's fur.

The Inspirati continued to stare at her long after she had drifted into slumber, his heart beating a much more rapid tattoo than it had been earlier. For the first time, he felt fear, and he wondered just what manner of creature was sleeping in his arms.

Inle's head was pounding, and Medea was screaming in her ear. Neither of these things were typical occurrences, but the baby had been screaming in her ear for the past several days when she wasn't sleeping off the exhaustion from such prolonged bouts of wailing. Inle hadn't been sure, those first few days, what was causing her youngest so much pain, but by the third day it had become clear--Medea was teething.

All kids teethed, Inle knew that, but none that had fallen under her care had ever had such a hard time of it. Of course aside from Medea, Ciaran was the youngest child she had ever raised; everyone else came with teeth. His teething process was easier by far, and part of her worried that something was wrong with Medea. Something had to be, if she was in this much pain. Inle winced at a particularly loud wail, the pacing she had taken up never faltering. Caduceus sat at the computer, looking up possible solutions to their little problem on the internet.

"Do you have any alcohol?" he called over the baby's cries, his headwings placed as over his ears as he could comfortably get them.

"That's a stupid question, don't I always? What do you need it for?" Inle asked, gently bouncing Medea in her arms, rubbing the infant's trembling back.

"This says if you rub alcohol over a baby's gums, it'll dull the pain."

"It's worth a try, at this point. Look in the side drawer of the ********, doesn' that brat ever stop cryin'?!" Tybalt interjected, brows drawn down in annoyance as he stomped into Inle's room. Medea, as if sensing how much it bothered the already-angry parrot, cried louder.

"What do you want, Tybalt?" Inle snapped, matching the Tale glare for glare. Her headache and the constant crying did nothing for her mood, and she certainly wasn't going to put up with Tybalt's attitude today.

Tybalt, to his credit, merely rolled his eyes in deference to his mother's mood. "Just lettin' y' know I'm goin' out 'n not t' wait up." With that, he started to leave.

"Wait! Before you go, get a washcloth out of the bathroom."

Tybalt's head tilted to the side, but he nodded and walked towards the adjoining bathroom. As soon as he was out of sight, Inle finished quickly, "In the desk, get it quick. The last thing I need is him raiding my room in the middle of the night looking to get wasted."

Caduceus snorted a laugh and nodded, retrieving a bottle of amber liquid. What it was, he wasn't sure, but the drawer consisted solely of bottles. He had just moved away from the desk when Tybalt came back out, the requested washcloth in hand. He looked at the bottle with a calculating gleam in his eye, not really noticing when Deuce took the cloth from him. He decided to stick around a bit...maybe, if he was lucky, he could slip out of the room with more than just permission to leave, not like he needed that in the first place. He perched himself on the corner of the bed, watching as Deuce soaked a bit of the cloth in the alcohol.

Medea's screaming was growing louder, her trembles becoming almost violent. As Inle paced away from the pair, she gave a sudden shriek. Inle heard something wet as Medea jerked nearly out of her arms before stilling.

"Holy s**t," Deuce and Tybalt said in unison.

Alarmed, Inle turned Medea in her arms, confirming that Medea had passed out from her efforts yet again. Her eyes widened as she took in that which had caused Medea so much pain: a pair of small, blood-covered fangs, snakelike in nature, extended from Medea's upper jaw. The tips had already grazed Medea's lower lip, easily cutting through the delicate flesh. Blood dripped down the infant's chin and Inle tipped her upwards, preventing the blood from trickling into her mouth.

"Holy s**t is right," she muttered, taking the washcloth from Deuce's still fingers and wiping up some of the blood. The star-child was in shock and didn't protest the action, only stared wide-eyed. Inle caught sight of Tybalt attempting to sneak out of the room from the corner of her eye and she knew he had the bottle--of course he did, it was him! "Leave that here, Tybalt," she called after him. "I need it more than you do."

9/02/05 - Narrative, crossposted here.

7:10 in the morning, and all was well. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all of the residents of the House were blissfully asleep.

Well, most of them. High up on a shelf in Inle's room, a lone creature stirred. Her eyes opened slowly...all four of them. Dark, was her first conscious thought. The bright light of the sun was dimmed by the heavy curtains drawn across the windows, rendering all the shapes in the room into vague silhouettes. She sighed, both pairs of eyes blinking in tandem, and tried to sit up; the wooden shelf hardly made for a comfortable bed. Eventually she managed to wrangle sleepy and still-new limbs into a cross-legged position, her four hands--four?--folded in her lap, wings--wings?--lifted enough that she wasn't sitting on them. Here, she took better stock of her situation.

She was high up, somehow--she could tell by the absence of anything to look at. She was surrounded by shards of glass that seemed huge to her, but in reality weren't all that big, and dust. Lots and lots of dust. The shelf was dusty, as it was rarely used, and there were small clumps of something surrounding her. It had the same consistency as dust, but in the darkness it was hard to tell, exactly. She clucked her tongue and shook her head; it was so dirty up here! This wouldn't do.

Another moment was spent try to get herself upright. It was surprisingly easier than trying to sit up; apparently, she was quickly adjusting to her new existance, with all of its muscles and limbs. She walked to the edge of the small ledge, peering down at the room below, just able to make out a bed, a dresser, and a nighttable. A faint red glow came from the vicinity of the smallest piece of furniture, but she was nowhere near enough to make out what it came from. She had to get down there, somehow--she wanted to be anywhere but on this shelf, with its dirt and dust and glass.

She didn't have to turn her head to look at her wings. The eyes on the back of her head were able to see them clearly, and she fluttered them. They twitched jerkily the first few tries before buzzing just as any insect's might. The hum they generated was somewhat soothing, and she wondered if they would hold her weight.

Only one way to find out. She stepped off the shelf and immediately plummetted through the air. She was small and high up, so the ground didn't rush towards her as quickly as it could have. Faster, she told her wings, and they responded. Her descent slowed, and she eventually stopped, hovering in midair. She sighed in relief, smoothing back the hair that had fallen into her face. Another few adventurous moments were spent figuring out how to go forward--No, wings, not left. Not right, either! What?! No, don't go backwards! How do you even do that?--before she made her way to the bed. Her landing was far from graceful, more of a collapse in a tangle of limbs and blanket than anything else.

There were lumps on the bed. Big ones, or rather a big one and a somewhat smaller one. But they were still big to her. The journey towards them was a hike to the small creature, but she didn't want to fly again. Her muscles were unused to carrying her through the air, and had started to hurt a little. Eventually she pulled herself onto the smaller of the two mounds, and was soon able to discern that a little person lay beaneath the blanket; a baby, perhaps? A few more steps and a squint told her that yes, it was a baby, and she was standing on it. The infant didn't seem to mind, slumbering obliviously, so she took a few more steps, feet leaving the blanket to rest on the baby's stomach.

"Aww, you're so cute!" she crooned hoarsely. Her first spoken words were not the clearest, and she cleared her throat a few times. Medea, whose doze had been light, jerked into wakefulness at the noise, nearly dislodging the tiny person that stood on her stomach. Blue and purple eyes blinked blearily as they looked for the source of the disturbance, finally realizing that hey, there was a cute little critter within her grasp. With a happy, sleepy murmur, she reached out and grabbed the winged girl by a flailing arm as she struggled to regain her balance. With a squeak of dismay, she found herself being dragged upwards by a chubby hand...towards a mouthful of teeth.

10/25/05 - RP Recap (From 8/30/05)

Inle had meant to come out here sooner, ever since Medea had left a nice-sized hole in her living room wall, to ask Jaden...well, how a baby so small could leave so big a hole. Things had come up, however, and she had forgotten all about the cottage in west Barton Field until recently. Medea had been growing antsy, and Inle hoped that interaction with her own kind would calm her down. Such was the reason for her visit today.

Combat boots, she decided, weren't the best walking shoes. They were the only ones she had, however, so she would just have to grin--or grimace, as was her usual expression--and bear it. It didn't help that she nearly tripped over Theora's large body, as the Sentinel was walking nearly on top of her. It was after one such stumble that she scowled down at the large feline, holding Medea a bit tighter as if to ensure that she didn't drop her.

"Why are you here, anyway?" It had been months, and she still hadn't grown used to Theora's almost constant presence.

I am her guardian. I go where she goes.

Inle's scowl grew deeper. "I am her guardian. You're just her...her pet. Her clingy, overprotective pet." To add to the immature statement, Inle stuck her tongue out at her. Theora merely looked up at her, pupiless blue eyes making Inle look forward once more.

Medea, meanwhile, rested happily against Inle's shoulder, the body of her favorite toy, a white kitty plushie, squished between her body and Inle's. The tail was grasped in her hands instead of in her mouth, a radical change from the norm, and multicolored eyes peeked out from a fringe of dark hair over Inle's shoulder. Every so often her tailtip would wriggle, causing Inle to shift her a bit; it was much different holding Medea, who had no legs, than holding a child who had a pair.

Inle forgot all about her issues with the cat as they approached the cottage, and she slowed at the sight of so many bodies in front of it. She was an antisocial creature by nature, and fought the instinct to run away; this visit was for Medea, and she would just have to deal with it. Beside her, Theora growled softly, pressing closer to Inle, nearly bowling the small woman over.

"Shut up and get over it," Inle muttered down at her, surprised when Theora stopped.

"Water ball!" Annora beamed, eyes sparkling at Shiro as he responded.

Trio chuckled, waving farewell to Eileen before turning to admire Dulci. One hand lifted, offering up a finger to the little girl. "God, she's gorgeous," she murmured softly, eyes sparkling.

"Right, then." Shiro settled Etain carefully atop his folded legs, then held his hands out, forming a ball of water between them for Annora. "There..."

Annora squealed in delight, her voice unnaturally sharp to the rest there. She reached out, poking the ball gleefully before using it to splash Shiro with little regard for Dulcinea or Etain.

Trio missed that move, having lifted her eyes toward the newcomer, but in the middle of her greeting she turned, glaring at Annora. "Play nice," she snapped, and Annora froze, her indigo eyes huge and shimmery. Trio waited a few tense seconds, then turned back to Inle, offering a wave and a smile. "Come join us!"

Sensitive ears flicked slightly as Annora squealed, and vulpine reactions set into motion at the first few spurts of water landed her way. Quickly, Angie pulled up the blanket over Dulci so she wouldn't get wet, and further shielded the baby with her tail. She couldn't help but chuckle softly at the siren's antics, as they nearly mirrored what she'd done as a little kid. Her soft laughter quieted as Trio corrected Annora, as it was better not to be laughing at a child's reprimand. Glancing up to Inle, the fox-girl's eyes widened and she waved brightly, remembering Inle from previous encounters. "Hey there!"

Now, Shiro and Etain hadn't been forgotten by Angie at this point, she just hadn't had the chance to say hi yet. After greeting Inle, the fox-girl peered over into Shiro's lap, with a curious "Who've we got here?"

Medea blinked at Annora's squeal, wondering where the sound had come from--she couldn't see all the people camped out in front of the cabin in her position, and she tried to squirm upwards to get a better view. It didn't work of course, but that hardly mattered as Inle shifted Medea in her arms, cradling her against her chest as if to use her as a buffer against the group.

Oh, this was MUCH better! Medea could see everything now, and the sight of so many people made her echo Annora's squeal. She made grabby hands at the group, her beloved toy forgotten, slipping down to rest in the crook of Inle's elbow. Inle smiled grimly down at her adopted daughter, moving towards the group almost reluctantly.

Medea's hands waved in the air as they got closer, and in her excitement, her snakelike fangs started to come down. One might notice, if they looked very closely, that there were a few cuts, both fresh and healing, on the baby's lower lip. The fangs that had emerged that fateful night ((in a post I've reserved but haven't written yet sweatdrop )) were still new to Medea, and she had trouble keeping them retracted. They emerged when she was agitated or excited, and she hadn't yet learned that teeth + lip = bad. They extended further as Inle got closer and her eyes caught on Annora. "Eeeeeyah!" she squealed, arms flailing towards the toddler. She wanted to get down, but Inle only held her tighter.

"Um...hi," Inle said hesitantly.

Annora peered up at the newcomers, her reprimand forgotten in the face of such distractions. She stared at Medea for a moment, then turned back to Shiro. "It's a baby," she crowed. Trio winced - that particular phrase was becoming old fast.

"I don't think we've met before," Trio said, rising and holding a friendly hand out toward Inle. "I'm Trio, and this is Annora." She rested a hand against Annora's silvery hair, and the girl pulled away, turning to bat playfully at the water ball once more.

Inle flashed a quick smile at Angie, remembering her only vaguely. She recalled the Boundless Estate, and the kitchen they were in and...something about waffles? But the rest of their time together eluded her. Still, it was nice to see a somewhat-familiar face. Shifting Medea and the kitty toy in her arms, she awkwardly shook Trio's hand. "I wouldn't be surprised, I don't get out much. My name is Inle, and this is Medea." She grinned down at Annora. "And yes, she is a baby."

"Brebaaaaa!" Medea agreed. Down, down, down, down...why was she not down yet? She didn't want to be held, she wanted to be down amongst the people!

"Annora," Shiromaru said, his voice firm and quietly disapproving. "Do not splash Etain." He didn't care about himself, he could dry off instantly -- which he did, and Etain too -- but Etain was squalling, and Shiro lifted her up, holding her gently. "It's okay, sweetheart," he murmured, trying to calm down Etain.

After a moment, he nodded to Inle, then offered Angie a distracted smile. "This is Etain, my daughter."

Annora knew that tone. Her face immediately schooled into a contrite, solemn look, the faintest hint of tears shimmering in her eyes as she abandoned the water ball to step to Shiromaru's side. "The baby's crying?" she asked, tugging on his sleeve, and her own voice sounded so very heart-broken.

Trio shook her head, then smiled. "Come sit down. It's good to meet more parents."

At the squalling, and squealing and soaking going on around them, two tiny faces poked out of Angie's tail, glancing around to see what the fuss was all about. The two collie pixas clambered up from Angie's tail and rested in the crook of her arm as she held the little dryad baby, settling themselves there so they could look around and 'protect' their 'charge'. Dulci, upon catching sight of furry brown blobs nearby, began to grope around with her fist, trying to catch one of them. However she managed to get a fistful of Angie's haltertop, which threatened to shift in a most unladylike manner. Gasping, Angie quickly loosened the fist, her face about as red as the shirt she wore, right as Shiro explained whom he had in his lap.

"Awww she's adorable. Congradulations Shiro! She's quite beautiful!"





"Thanks," Shiro offered to Angie, grinning, then eyed Dulci. "Looks like you have a handful, yourself."

And then Annora makes that face. "Yes, Etain's crying," he confirmed. "She doesn't like being splashed like that. She's not like you and me, she likes to be around wind instead."

Inle nodded, realizing only then that the other three adults must be parents; it should have been obvious, as they were all holding kids. With a sigh at her own slowness, she sat herself close to Angie, as if the woman's vague familiarity would save her from that which was unfamiliar. Theora laid next to her, pressed against her side, and Inle shifted Medea once more to sit in her lap. She balanced her carefully--Medea didn't have legs to sit on--and it was slow going with as squirmy as she was.

Inle glanced over at Angie. "I take it this one didn't come from a test tube," she quipped with a grin.

Zero hadn't been in there since... well... ever. Hell, more of the events surrounding Shiku's arrival was still a misty blackhole in her mind, and the only idea she had was the small buisness card that came with the sextant.

Now that her moving had went trough, she had time to dwelge into this further.

With the small genie following right beside her, and ratter happy that they where taking a walk during night for once, she peered into the building only to see that there was ALOT of people here. In fact, she would have backtracked, if Shiku hadn't taken the matter into his tiny hand and slipped trough, forcing Zero to follow him.

Annora cuddled up againt Shiro in what might have been guilt... or could've been jealousy. She began to sing in a soft voice, her words surer now than they had been even a week ago. Her vocal skills were improving steadily, and quickly. The song was soothing, the lullaby soft and gentle. It took a moment to realize that she didn't know all the words.

Trio, glancing around, was content to remain quiet for the moment, still soothing Jaelle from the earlier frustration of giving up her kit to Jaden.

The blush further deepened as Shiro eyed Dulcinea. "That she is, although there's times when I wonder if she's dropped off the face of the earth, she's so quiet and self entertained..." Turning to Inle, Angie grinned, the embarassment of nearly showing her assets to everyone n the clearing forgotten momentarily. Eyeing the little naga up and down, Ang could only assess that this little one was also a fey, such as the rest of them. She was bowled over by Inle's comment, but quickly replied with a laugh. "Actually, she came from a stick." Then, to make it a bit more clear, she added, "A wand, to be more precise. With a crystal at the tip."

Raising her head, she caught sight of another person wandering in, and couldn't help but wave a greeting to her as well. "Hello there!" My, wasn't Angie friendly today? Dulcinea gurgled and nabbed a fistful of hair along with Angie's shirt this time, seeming to grin in absolute deviousness as she did so. This time, however, the fox-girl moved with the shirt, leaning forward a little bit to keep herself decent and proper. A quick, but audible mumble to herself quickly followed. "Someone remind me NOT to wear shirts like this anymore...." This brought a delighted snicker from the pixa-collies in her arms as well, as Jitsumi and Toshi found this whole situation quite hilarous.

Shiku went straight to Annora, attracted by her voice, and coiled his tail to sit in mid-air, clapping in hand when the siren was done with her song.

Zero almost jumped, but regained her composture.

"Hey !" She smilled. "Uh... what's going on ?"

Shiro shifted slightly and moved Etain, offering his lap to Annora. As Annora sang, Etain started to calm down, her squalling quieting until she was cooing again, gently; Shiromaru relaxed at that, smiling to himself. He wasn't ignoring anyone else, he was just focused on the two girls.

Inle chuckled at Angie's predicament, politely looking away. Her gaze fell on the singing girl and the floating boy--hey, he was just as legless as Medea--and wondered just what manner of species all these children were. She knew they were Changelings, as Jaden had told her on her last visit, but they certainly didn't all look the same. Most interesting...

Medea's squirming stopped as Annora's singing started, and she watched the girl with wide eyes. She relaxed in Inle's grasp, no longer trying to get free, and her fangs retracted completely. Inle looked down at her curiously, surprised by the sudden cease to her struggles, and smiled, brushing locks of dark hair out of the baby's face.

Trio caught their various reactions and leaned toward Inle, though her eyes were watching Annora carefully. "My daughter... is a siren," she explained, wondering if she'd need any further words. Or if, in retrospect, Inle or Medea might react as Keelan had, with immediate condemnation. Steeling herself for just such a response, she kept her gaze on Annora. Shiro would protect her - he knew of her heritage already. She was more concerned with making sure that the sirens' darker nature didn't show up until she could find out for certain whether it was genetic or learned.

Inle's head tilted upwards towards Trio, confusion obvious on her face. She was not well-versed in the knowledge of mythological creatures, and she had only heard the term "siren" tossed around in reference to pirate tales. She didn't really know the story behind them, and even if she had, well...she lived with worse. "She's got a beautiful voice," Inle said quietly, not wanting to disturb the child's melody.

Shiku stopped clapping after a bit, and gave Annora his cuteless little smile, and an hand wave. She was blue, just like him !

Zero just decided to sit on the couch and watch. Shiku looked like he wanted to stay for now...

Annora looked around at all the people listening in wonder, coming back to herself. This was... incredible. Preening more than a little, she reached out, poking Shiku playfully before snuggling back against Shiro's chest. "Baby's sleeping," she informed everyone, in a stage whisper, without even looking at Etain.

Trio nodded to her, then grinned up at Zero. "Hello there, stranger!"

"Hey !" Zero smilled, then scatched the side of her head. "Uh... what's going on ?"

Shiku blinked, then uncurled his tail, reaching to poke her back with an extremely low giggle, as if he was aware to not wake up the other baby.

At the sound of Annora's singing, Dulci quickly let go of the shirt and slowly turned her head in the direction of the soft voice. It seemed as though she were weaving and swaying to the music, a thoughtful look to her face. But were such things possible at such a young age? Only Dulci knew...

Smiling at the enrapture of the other children, including her own to the music sung by Annora, the fox-girl couldn't help but chuckle. "She's like the pied piper of Barton West Field. I think these little mites would follow her anywhere as long as she kept singing like that."

((Annnnnnd I had to leave shortly after that.))