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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:38 am
"A few hours ago actually," Emi commented, stopping head on heels there. Her tail flicked around to twist around her ankle, metallic blue eyes glancing back inside. She'd only just boiled the kettle, so letting him in seemed the best option.
Studying the small snowflake from afar, Emi could have brimmed. So he really would teach her little girl. Better early than later to learn your ‘pleases and thank yous’, Emi gently ushered the small child forwards towards Progolo. She hadn't dared say a word yet, which worried the furry some, weren't children supposed to be mini-chatter boxes?
Attentively, Blanche took the chain between her hands, relishing in the sudden cold influx that ran along her paws. She shivered, clasping both of her fingers around the cold material. It felt like the fridge in some ways, but then not in others, either way it felt like a spark ran up her veins for that brief moment: from her fingertips up her arm and further. A smile perked along her lips, clasping the precious little amulet carefully as not to squash it.
Even the baubles laced around one arm seemed to agree, blue hues shifting to a darker colour as they strengthened their glow. Golden eyes didn't leave the material until she felt a pair of hands on her back, slowly leveling up with that of the man that had spoken so kindly of her a moment ago. Carefully, she took a few steps forwards. She'd seen Emi do this so many times, shake the others hand; maybe that was what Emi wanted of her?
Taking the last step forwards, Blanche released one furry hand, dragging her furry hand up to clasp Progolo's. One white tooth bit down onto her lip in concentration, determined to show him how grateful she was for this cold item. In the end, she hadn't got the hand shake completely right, her fingers curling around his as she (rather meekly) brought his hand up and down, but it was Blanche's own little courteous way.
"She's been fine, not a hassle at all," Emi started with, pausing for a second before carrying on. "How would you like to come in for a coffee? The kettles just boiled by the sounds of things, and I have a few things for you," True enough, the sound of steam escaping a small cavern was heard from just inside the house, the keppit guardian nudging the door fully open with her tail. Hopefully he'd agree?
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 1:44 pm
Progolo's smile reflected gentle amusement as Blanche shyly shook his hand. "You're welcome. Be careful not to break it, alright?" He carressed her head kindly, briefly, before shifting his attention to Kala. Having had a bad experience with a jealous charge, Progolo was always afraid Kala would be the same way.
Fortunately, Kala was more bored than jealous. She had sat down and was poking at Emi's leg with her beak, hoping to get some kind of reaction.
Progolo felt the age old social apprehension rising in his chest, but the desire to be polite made its stand. "Oh...thank you. I'd love to."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:21 pm
It wasn't until Progolo let go of her hand for the light ruffle that Blanche let her bottom lip go, doing it more on reflex to spread her lips in a smile. Clutching back onto her rather cold amulet, the little girl brought it up to try and tie it into her ribbons.
Her attempts were in vain, not managing to work her fingers quite as eloquently as she would have liked. Lifting her gaze to meet Emi's with a pleading look, the white Aerandir stepped back, carefully lifting each paw up to get over the steps.
Stuck between her daughter and a gryphon tapping at her ankle, Emi flashed Kala a smile first. Her tail swished around, wrapping around one side of her ankle. Bending down just a little, Emi leant over to tap Kala's beak with one dark furry finger.
"How about you show Progolo the picture you did?" Emi suggested to the younger gryphon, shifting over to one side so Kala could bound inside and over to the scrap book (which contained everything from notes on Kala's stay to Kala's photos, to a tray of biscuits fastened over the top with a clear plastic lid and of course jutting out on one side was the paint splattered sheet she'd made on the first week of her stay- it appeared Emi had vanquished the kitchen just once in her life.)
Blanche, conquering the last step, leant over to tug on her mothers sleeve. If they were going inside then maybe she could figure out how to tie the small charm onto her ribbons? Her tail flicked behind her to keep her balance, small ears twitching at the top of her head. Opening her mouth as if to say something, the young spell weaver promptly closed it: she didn't have a beak, there was no point.
"I'll sort it out once Kala's gone, promise," Emi suggested as the girl faltered. Apparently happy with the conclusion, Blanche wrapped her fingers back around her mothers wrist, Emi pushing the door open the last of the way with her tail before entering the small house.
It looked almost sparkling clean on the inside, two solar powered lamps glowed on either side of the hearth, the throws over the sofa were conveniently thrown across the side along with the throw over the single chair (the only things looking out of place were the miss-placed pillows) and on top of the kitchen table sat a bulging scrap book. If Progolo had glanced around, he would have noticed the various photos of friends and family printed across the walls: and even a few of Blanche perched on the top of the hearth.
"Come on in and make yourself comfortable," Emi noted, flashing Progolo a smile before she passed right on through to the back of the house, leaving Blanche to wander over to the one three-seater sofa and sit down. Her ears flicked lightly, and a second later, the loud peeping of the kettle ceased.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:10 pm
Progolo sidled onto the couch, adjusting Myrrh into a cradling position as he did so. Though his faded eyes looked unfocused and dull, he was quickly taking in every detail of the small house. Hers was much cleaner than his, for certain. With four gryphons, two (feathered and fluffy) mystery creatures, and a very messy fairy, it was difficult to keep tidy. Not that he didn't try.
He allowed himself to relax into the cushion. It had been a rather tense time away. Myrrh had almost slipped away once or twice--a difficult thing to endure for her human bond. But they'd managed.
Now, how exactly had Kala fared?
Kala somehow understood the significance of the book on the coffee table, and kept trying to draw her Person's attention to it. Progolo saw it, but he didn't dare touch it...just in case Emi didn't want him to.
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:45 am
Once the sharp pang had ended, a pair of furry ears twitched on the outset. The snow fairies had stopped feeding him, rather, one had poked him with a rather large stick. One eye opened, followed by the other, quickly darting over to his sofa. It appeared the old dog held a rather prominent love to the sofa, dragging himself wearily up onto all four paws.
He took his time, but Toby labored every step over to the hearth, before promptly collapsing in front of it. The old man had been here before, and had also seemed somewhat pale on the day before. He'd forgive him, as long as he didn't try to take the rug either.
It seemed almost forever before the brown furry returned, holding a heavy duty tray between two furry hands. Balanced on top happened to be a rather quaint mug set- each mug already full of hot water, complete with a smaller jug of milk, a pot of sugar and just to offset the balance: a Nescafe coffee jar and a few pyramid triangles (which, on further inspection, could be taken to contain tealeaves within.)
Tail swishing behind her, Emi bent down to place the tray down onto her coffee table, before residing back onto the vacant chair. It seemed almost rude to collapse out on the sofa beside the other two, and Progolo didn't quite seem comfortable with women was it was.
Her first call of duty wasn't to the man, rather, to the blue lively creature held within his grasp. The older woman almost visibly heaved a sigh of relief, metallic blue eyes studying every movement out of the corner of her eye. The creature that had seemed to frail, so weak, now looked like Myrrh had drunken one of Gaia's miracle vials.
"How is she?" Emi questioned, leaning forwards to dunk a tea bag into the nearest mug. It was only as an afterthought as the vicious water slowly turned brown, that her cheeks flurried underneath her thick coat, pushing the tray towards Progolo.
"Help yourself," She noted, with almost a nervous chuckle at the end. Apparently Emi's mind had been rather fixated with other maters, rather than the refreshments steaming on her old coffee table.
For a small child, Blance was incredulously quiet. Resting both arms into her lap, the ice mage turned the trinket over and over in her paws. Crystalline white fingers brushed over the blue hue, golden eyes gazing over it with pure admiration found deep within those irises. Her tail flicked beside her, lapsing neatly back into the sofa. It felt different than it had when she'd been a gryphon, she could actually feel the blankets beneath her, not just through the rougher pads of her paws.
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:36 am
Progolo looked down at he bundle in his lap, who met his gaze with happy, alert black eyes. "She's well. Better than ever, actually," he responded lifting his view back up to Emi. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but it seemed, for just a moment, that the man's eyes had suddenly darkened, giving a richness and depth to them. In a second the color had drained again, and Progolo's orbs returned to their washed-out hue.
Gaia certainly was an odd place to live.
Having felt the occurence as only a brief moment of unexplainable breathlessness, he vaguely assumed he was just having an off moment because of his restless week. In truth, he really needn't have worried about it; it was just apart of being bound to the litle gryphon.
Speaking of a bonded gryphon, Kala sidled awkwardly over to Blanche and began to n** at her ribbons. She wanted to see the shiny! Progolo was, currently, not nearly as interesting as the gift he had brought for her friend. The gryphon could feel something emenating from it, even without touching it.
"Wark?" she asked Blanche conversationally, tail flcking.
At her invitation, Progolo edged the cup towards himself and lowered the tea bag into it. "Thank you," he murmurred, watching the liquid change color. After a moment, he finally summed up the courage to ask, "so...when did Blanche's growth occur?" Realizing belatedly, and bashfully, that he'd already asked this question, he remedied, "How did it go?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:09 pm
Blanche's white ears flickered, seeming to dazzle out in her own trance. The metal trinkets on her ear clanked together, golden orbs blinking the once as the loose grip of her ribbons suddenly tightened and then relaxed back against her arm; once the object of Kala's beak slackened the friction. Blanche's white ears flickered, draping the heavy blanket of sound off her ears, the young child flew a blank as Kala started talking to her, panic seemingly setting in for a moment. She could barely even understand Kala even more! Her best friend, she couldn't communicate at all.
Scrunching her small nose up, Blanche opened her mouth, fixating one golden eye on Progolo as he talked. He just moved his lips. She tried it, tapping her bottom lip to her top, which seemingly produced no sound at all. Hm, this was far more complicated than it looked. Unfurling her fingers, Blanche leant down to show the cold object to her friend. If Kala had noticed, the moment her fingers uncurled, the baubles on her ribbons dappled in the light and then dulled; as if they had been expecting something of the apprentice ice mage.
Gaia truly was an odd place to live, with a ranging diversity of people, places. After all, where could one sit in the company of a dark haired man, a fur covered lady, two beautiful Aerandir's, a dog and a gryphon in one sitting.
The furry woman, far be it from any form of magic, had to blink her own metallic blue eyes the once. A brief frown crossed her furry features, fingers finding themselves further enclosing the warm mug almost as a safety blanket. Boiling water didn't require any magic, nor spells, just a kettle.
Her tail flicked up against her side, taking her time to duck the tea bag in and out of the water, like a witch might have been all those years ago in a dunking pool. In it went, dispersing more of the tea essence, only to be yanked out to gather breath and then plunged back into the rapidly darkening liquid.
A silent moment passed between the two, almost as if they were two awkward teenagers hitched together by their parents. It had taken a moment for the question to be asked, and once it had passed by those furry ears, the triangular ears flopped back against her hairline.
"This morning," Emi started the story, a smile curling up her face as she spoke the inevitable story.
"We went to the lodge, with the whole box. Alyosha was there, along with Ary - Rawiya's guardian. Alyosha distributed our items, Blanche being her baubles," The furry woman paused, motioning towards the layers of ribbons now hanging loosely around Blanche's upper arm. They twinkled in the light, hues ranging in degrees between them.
A breath later, she carried on. "I wouldn't know how to describe it, all the items just flew into her, and before I knew it she was there. A real life breathing child," Emi caught a breath hitched up in her throat, dunking the pirate tea bag once more before setting it onto the edge of the tray.
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:37 pm
(( Ahaha...I just realized I accidentally turned the coffee into tea...whoops...))
"Interesting..." he mused, gazing at Blanche and Kala. He tried to envision it in his head for a moment, sipping the hot tea ((coffee? ^^; )) carefully. The biologist within quickly filled his brain with questions that he did not know how to voice. Eventually, he decided instead to ask about Kala.
"How did Kala get along, then?" Progolo queried, feeling like he was somehow pushing Emi. He was used to having one of his more annoying, distracting charges with him to alleviate the social anxiety, but he was left like a fish out of water. Kala was plenty obnoxious at times, but despite her initial enthusiasm, she was now regarding Blanche with intense worry.
He ran a delicate, long-fingered hand over Myrrh's feathers dully.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 2:15 pm
Two equally as worried eyes gazed back into Kala's, Blanches usually so bright and happy features suddenly worried, almost panicked by the new situation. She couldn't talk, she couldn't communicate with her best friend and lets not even go into flying. Deciding to home in for a second try, she set her gaze onto Progolo as he asked the next question, childish eyes scruntinizing every single move his mouth made.
With her white nose scrunched up, Blanche pried her lips apart. She motioned his last word almost merticiously accurately, even going to the extent of manouvering her teeth around the word. Yet again, no sound emmitted from her throat. Slowly, her white furry thumb covered the trinket held in her hand, brushing over the cool exterior for comfort.
It was as if a spark stroke up her arm, one bauble after the other flickering in the light. The young spellweaver may not have known it yet, but to them, the cold of her amulet rushed over the sore heat like water does over wounds. Imploringly, the little girl tried to offer Kala a place back in her lap. Somehow, Kala would be able to make it alright.
The older guardian took in Blanche with as much worry as the smaller gryphon, her furry fingers momentarily curling into the edge of her patchwork skirt. The frown returned with all intent, in truth, she didn't know what to do. It was just a matter of time, the white Aerandir would find her own feet in a matter of days; she hoped.
Two large ears flickered, picking up the end of Progolo's question. Luckily, the keppits hearing was immaculate, and what she didn't hear her brain could rapidly work out the rest.
"Kala? Oh, she's been a pleasure to have," Siding back forwards, Emi leant over to pluck the leather bound book from beside the table. On it, laid a platter of what appeared to be rather well done chocolate biscuits, and out of each side various sheets of photos and paper stuck out at odd angles. Common curtisy told her to place it in his lap, but yet, her harrowed thoughts prevented this sudden action.
The furry faltered, before carefully placing it down onto his knees.
"We managed to copy everything down, and I'm sure Kala will be eager to show off everything she's done, eah?" Emi finally tried to smile, almost going to the extent of coo-ing at the pink and yellow Aerandir. If anyone had been mistaken, her smile softened as she watched the two Aerandir connect once again.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 7:11 pm
Well...Kala didn't really want to sit on those squishy person legs, but...well, eh...alright, alright...She edged awkwardly into Blanche's lap at the girl's invitation (plea?) and meticulously bent her angular legs beneath her. She felt sort of awkward there, but Blanche needed her, right? The flamingo's dull yellow eyes glowed warmly at this thought, and her apprehension evaporated. She craned her head back and bleated at her friend comfortably.
Progolo watched the interaction out of the corner of his eye, recording it objectively for further analyzation later. It would not yet occur to him how significant the behavior was in defining Kalarune's personality; he was too distracted by the album that had been set in his lap.
"Oh my...how thoughtful," Progolo said softly, meeting Emi's smile with a shy grin. "Thank you. This is very kind of you."
Myrrh, still curled neatly beside Progolo, was becoming vaguely bothered by Progolo's uneasiness, which had begun to seep into her through their bond. Emi was his friend, right? Why weren't they talking more? Why were they so nervous around each other? She chirruped and nudged Progolo's ribs with her silvery beak. He spared her a glance, and she purred and fluffed her wings.
"What's the matter with you?" Progolo asked in a mock scolding tone. The gryphon chick swung her head towards Emi and gurgled deep in her chest. Summoning all of her strength she wiggled to the edge of the couch (not easy, for one who could hardly move her legs) and cooed at the Furry woman plaintively, extending her feathered neck as far as it would reach, looking a bit like a curious dog trying to get a whiff of a stranger. She wanted a cuddle, and Progolo, bless his timid soul, was too wrapped up in nerves to afford any comfort. Besides, maybe if he saw Emi holding her he wouldn't be scared of her anymore...
What was so scary about Emi, anyway?
Ah, humans and their dumb social fears.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:28 pm
One weight collapsed against another, and the boxed up worry floated off in a giant air balloon; fleeting and diving towards the clouds. For now at least.
Creased lines on Blanche's young forehead were ironed over the moment four hooves found her squishy legs. It felt so different now, to be taller than Kala, yet the feeling of the gryphon felt akin to that from before; a safe feeling manifesting in the depths of her stomach.
Blanche's arms enveloped Kala the moment her knees met with fur, just like her tail had curled around the pair upon a morning doze in the sun. The young Aerandir's circular ears twitched, curling back momentarily against her hairline as the gentle bleat met those now so sensitive ears. One edge of her lip twitched, curling up in her own apprehensive smile.
Kala was still here. Despite not knowing the fire Aerandir for very long, Blanche had quickly connected with Kala as a gryphon. She was fearless in the face of adversity, such as the matter of the rather scary smoke that had billowed out of the ovan. She was always willing to play, a large bonus in the white Aerandir's world, and on top of that she was willing to share. Even if Kala hadn't wanted it, Blanche's friendship foundations were set in stone; a stone which no earthquake could easily shatter.
Carefully as not to release her grip, Blanche turned her furry palm over, showing the glittering object within to her best friend.
"I'm afraid the biscuits may not be the most appetizing in the world though," The furry woman finally chuckled, the older woman finally softening as her daughter settled. Her skills in the kitchen truly were appalling, but Progolo needn't know that quite yet. With a rather heavy weight lifted, Emi leant forwards to pour a spot of milk into her cup.
The white liquid seeped out over the darker water, swirling around in a whirlpool as the additional equipment of a metal spoon was added. With her cup of tea ready, Emi unfortunately didn't get the chance to drink it.
Large brown ears picked up the sound first, Keppit senses settling onto the female gryphon. Her fingers lapsed back from the china cup, extending towards the shuffling gryphon.
Yet, she stopped there.
Metallic blue eyes glanced from guardian, then back down to the adorable chick held within his grasp. Surely, he wouldn't mind, after all; Myrrh was preened towards her.
Biting the bullet, gentle chocolate brown fingers ran over her chilsed beak, running over her feathered head, Emi's fingers curling back around underneath her chin. It was the same motion Toby incited regularly, bar of course the owner would normally scratch underneath the dog’s muzzle.
"Hello there," She whispered, purely for Myrrh's vantage.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:15 pm
Kala emitted a rather odd noise as her skinny frame was pulled into Blanche's hug. It was the first hug of her life...and, for a moment, Kala was dumbfounded.
"Wark," she told Blanche, swishing her tail. She wiggled her long pink neck around to get a look at what she was being shown. Ooh, a shiny! The flamingo beak clacked with interest.
Progolo pondered the most tactful response to Emi's words regarding the cookies, finally deciding to just say, "I'm sure they taste fine." He lifted his cup to his lips again, before he could prattle off and make himself sound stupid, just as Emi was reaching towards Myrrh.
The next breath he drew was soft but rapid, as the man felt a peculiar pressure against against the bridge of his nose, between his eyes. The sensation slid back across his brow, into the roots of his silky hair, and down the side of his face to the point just under his jaw. His eyelids flickered with quiet surprise, and he lowered the cup a bit.
Beside him, Myrrh was making all sorts of ridiculously cute noises, happily lifting her head to afford the best scratching point. Just...there...ah, sweet bliss. With the eye that wasn't squeezed shut in ectasy, she shot Progolo a look that quite clearly said 'see? I told you so.' Progolo lowered the cup to its dish and lightly drew his fingers over his Adam's Apple, where he still felt the gentle, vague pressure. That was odd...
In a moment, he realized what was happening. He was feeling Emi's touch, through Myrrh. The specialists who had treated Myrrh...hadn't they said something about hyping up the empathetic bond for healing purposes?
He lowered his hand from his face at once, collected his cup, and drew a long sip from it, hoping it would hide the light pinkness that had oozed into his cheeks.
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