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 Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:20 pm
Welcome Home, Little One Being a Bierce (or a Dexter, take your pick depending on the day of the week and the company you're keeping) meant that virtually nothing on earth could scare you. Nothing could startle you. Nothing was ever -truly- unexpected simply because you were always expecting something bizarre to happen; after all, you were best friends with Murphy's Law. As a Bierce (or a Dexter), Jack could not remember the last time he was nervous. And yet there he was, standing on his own front doorstep in nothing less than hesitating trepidation. In his hand, he carried a delicate little glass filled halfway with amber-gold liquid. In the glass, in the liquid, a daintily formed little girl floated, her fingers tight on the rim of the glass and a huge smile on her face. He looked down at her and tried for a smile. She giggled and waved. ... Brunswick was going to eat her alive. "Are we going in, Daddy? Is this your house?" Evie craned her neck and peered up at the quaint old Victorian facade. "It's pretty. Did you pick that color?" "... No, luv, I didn't pick the color." He couldn't help it and chuckled, glancing up at the darkened eaves. How she could make out the color in the very early morning light was beyond him. Maybe it was a girl thing. "I'm not much for pink. It's a rented house, Evie. I'm not from around here originally." "Oh." She considered this and then smiled again. "Can we go inside please?" Well, better to get it over with. "'Course, luv," he answered. "In we go." Suiting action to words, Jack neatly unlocked the door with a complicated wave of his free hand and pushed it open, stepping through and closing it behind him again. "Brunswick? Oi, lad, you about?" "Where the heck have you been, huh? You walked out hours ago and..." The hope feien stopped in the middle of his tirade, nearly skidding on the air as he tried to halt his barrelling progress towards his bond. "What is -that-?" he shrilled, pointing at Evie. She waved, beaming. "My name is Evie. Do you live with Daddy, too?" "D-Daddy?" Brunswick shot Jack a disbelieving glare. "What the... Jack, what's going on here? Where's your bloody Cup thing?" Sighing, Jack neatly snatched Brunswick from the air and placed him on his shoulder. Then he made his way towards the kitchen. This was going to require a very big mug of tea. "Evie is my bloody Cup thing," he answered evenly. "We walked by the shop an' the Cup changed. Evie came out o' it an' here we are." Brunswick tilted forward to better eye the girl in Jack's hand. Finally, he snorted. "She's little." "She's a baby. I reckon, anyway." Evie waved again and then, amazingly, blew Brunswick a kiss. The feien started backwards, blinking. "She's going to be trouble," he announced. "Did you see what she just did? Jack, man, you've got to lock her up or something." "Is that you bein' concerned?" Brunswick snorted. "'Course not. I'm just sayin'." He stood and ran both hands through his flaming red hair, standing it on end even further. "Don't let her near old man Silva. He'll teach her things." The way he said things made it clear that the things in this case were only one step above eating bugs or running naked through town. "And I'm not gonna call you daddy like she does so don't even think about it." Jack did his best to hide his smile as he set down Evie and moved to fill the kettle. "Wouldn't dream of it, lad," he answered mildly. "Who'd want t' be -your- da anyway?" "Right. Just so we're clear on that." Brunswick stepped off his shoulder and fluttered over to walk around Evie's cup. He leaned in, nearly nose to nose. Then he folded his arms and stepped back. The little girl mimicked him, folding her arms over the rim of her cup. He rolled his eyes. She rolled hers. Stepping close again, he hissed, "Don't think I like you, kiddo. I just don't want Jack to put me out of the house or something for being mean to you. He'll give you your own place and I've got mine. Keep out of it and we'll be just fine. Got that?" "Uh huh." Evie beamed and blew him another kiss. Then she turned and waved to Jack. "Daddy? The funny little man says I get my own room. Do I really?" Brunswick covered his face. He couldn't remember what he'd done but, god, it must have been really, really bad.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:51 pm
Once Upon A Midnight Dreary... Having just settled down in his favorite arm chair (the one that had the patch on the arm and was so worn that the leather felt like butter and the cushion had practically formed into perpetual Jack-butt shape), Jack found himself extremely reluctant to do his fatherly duties and merely grunted out a "knock it off, you" in the direction of Brunswick. The feien immediately sunk into a sulk, walking away from Evie's cup and flopping down on a paisley-patterned bean bag. Evie giggled and clapped. She clearly thought the situation was hilarious. Jack sighed in resignation. "Did he hurt you, baby gel?" he asked. He knew she would never say yes. The kid had more heart than self preservation. "Nuh uh." Evie spun in her cup for a moment and then moved to rest her arms on the edge closest to Jack. She settled her chin on her folded arms and smiled sweetly. "Brunswick doesn't pinch hard. He does it to show he loves me." Brunswick snorted and made an elaborate show of shifting to prove that he did not at all love her... Even if everyone in the room knew that she was right. Her cheek wasn't even red. Before Jack could finish his smirk and reply, there was a knock on the front door and he grimaced. "Who the bloody hell is out in this downpour?" he muttered under his breath, levering himself into an upright position reluctantly. "Bloody," Evie mimicked cheerfully. "... Don't say that, pet. It's bad. Pretty words for pretty gels, right?" With a sigh and a mental note to start watching his language on top of attempting to not smoke, Jack sauntered out of the living room with its welcoming fire into the hallway and down it, stopping at the front door. He paused, closed his eyes in concentration, and then opened the door as he reopened his eyes. "Hullo?" Shade was soaked to the skin. His white hair clung to his forehead and neck, his leather jacket gleamed slightly in the light from the door. Callisto was firmly in her little room inside his pocket, since she hated rain, and, as she told him earlier, hated it even more when it was night. "Hey." He said, raising one wet hand in greeting. "Hey." Jack regarded his late-night visitor with a mild expression, broken by only a single raised eyebrow. He had forgotten he had given Shade his address. "What's up?" "It's raining." Shade said. "And I've got a bottle of rum." He opened his trench, revealing the rum in question. "You want a drink?" "Got one already," Jack replied cryptically. Nonetheless, he opened the door wider and stepped back to allow Shade to enter. "Where's your little lady?" he asked. "In my pocket." Shade said as he shook off the rain and stepped into the house. "She hates rain. She hates night. So she's pretty much not coming out of her hottub until I dry off and get inside." That broke Jack's look of indifference and he tilted his head to give Shade and his coat a long slow study. "A hot tub?" he repeated. "In your pocket?" Straightening, he grinned. "That's one hell o' a coat. Anyway, what order you want it? Towel, tea, fire?" Brunswick appeared in the doorway to the hall, fluttering. He scowled for a moment at Shade and then darted over to land on Jack's shoulder. "Where's the diva?" he asked, eyeing the other man. "In here." Shade replied with a grin, opening his jacket and holding open the pocket for the juvie. It was mean, and he knew it, but he couldn't help himself. She had abandoned him for the cold rain! "And a towel and fire would be great." He added with a glance at Jack. "Consider it done." Jack pointed towards the doorway through which Brunswick had come. "Fire's in there. Bruns, lad, take 'em in there. You know which chair's mine an' all. I'll just get a towel outta the cupboard down here." With a gentle push, he knocked the feien from his shoulder and turned on his heel to disappear into the kitchen for a moment. Brunswick caught himself with a sharp snap of his wings and rolled his eyes after the departed Englishman. "C'mon," he ordered. "It's nicer in here." He suddenly stopped and hovered in the doorway, though, mouth stubborn. "No smoking or cursing around Evie," he added. "Jack's rules. When he remembers." Then he turned and led the ex-assassin into the nice, cozy room. Shade followed easily, letting out a loud yawn as he got into the room. He spoke as he looked around. "We wound up sleeping in an ally last night, I've still not converted enough credits to gold." He said casually as his eyes fell on Evie. He cocked his head. "Hello, what do we have here?" He asked as he walked toward her. As if that were her cue, Evie pushed herself upright, face all smiles until she dimpled. Her brown eyes shone at the prospect of meeting someone new. "Hello!" she answered. "My name is Evie. Are you a friend of my Daddy?" Brunswick made a choking noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Shade grinned. "Hello, sweetheart. I am at that." Of course he had almost killed a friend of her "daddy's" but that was ancient history in his mind. "But I didn't know feien came in um... cups." That earned him a giggle and a shake of her head. Her ponytail bobbed with the vehemence of her denial. "I'm not a feien," she replied. "Brunswick is a feien. I'm a... " She hesitated and screwed up her face in thought. Jack had yet to adequately explain what she was and, even though she had met another like herself, she still did not have the appropriate word. "Well, Daddy says I'm a little shot of sunshine." Shade barely bit back a laugh before he opened his coat again, peering down into the pocket. "Calli, baby, get out here, would you?" "No! I am not freezing my beautiful butt off in that cold, nasty rain!" Calli shouted back. "Honey, we're not outside anymore. We're at Jack's." "You had better not be lying." She said as she poked her head out of the pocket, shoving her hair out of her face and looking around. The moment a new face appeared, Evie waved wildly. "Hello!" she called. "My name is Evie." Brunswick sat down beside his adopted sister's cup and propped his elbows on his knees. "Hey, Callisto," he offered. "Looking good." She shoved at her hair, pulling herself out of the pocket and doing her best to look fabulous even after the long night she had had. "Thank you, darling. I do try." She told Brunswick before fluttering over to the table. "Hello, little one, who might you be?" Shade almost snorted. She had been practicing her "act" lately, and she reminded him a bit of a highclass whore. Not that he would tell her that, of course. The little girl tried not to sigh, thinking the other feien (because she -had- to be a feien since she had such pretty wings and pretty markings on her body) must not be good at listening. She folded her arms on the edge of the cup and smiled. "My name is Evie. Are you a friend of my Daddy, too?" Callisto looked at Shade, raising an eyebrow slightly. He nodded ever so slightly and she turned back to the girl with a smile. "Why yes, I am." She had no clue about why she was in a cup, but she thought it would be rude to ask. Shade moved around the chair, dropping down on the floor in front of the fire and taking his coat off to let it dry. He turned slightly, pulling his long white hair out of its ponytail and letting it hang to dry as well. "So what's been happening?" He asked Brunswick. Brunswick shrugged and pointed vaguely in the direction of Evie. "We got -her-," he replied. "She started out a glass of red watery stuff. Then Jack took her out one day and brought -her- back." Evie, meanwhile, was studying Callisto intently. After sending a final smile at her, she twisted to eyeball Shade. Before she could open her mouth and say something, though, Jack returned and tossed a towel at the back of Shade's head. "The menagerie's gotten bigger," he laughed. "Hey, Callisto." Callisto smiled, shoving her hair back over her shoulder again, still not quite sure how to deal with strange situations. She watched Shade for a sign, but all he did was dry his hair with the towel. Almost reluctantly she sat down on the table, looking thoughtful. "Have you had any trouble with Silva lately?" She asked Bruns, wondering why the b*****d was even on her mind. "Silva?" Brunswick raised an eyebrow and snorted. "No. The old man's been too busy, I dunno, getting old. He hasn't had a training session in ages. Useless." He brightened suddenly. "I should go over. If he's sulking or something, he won't be threatening to kick my a** for talking to Soho. That'd be cool." Jack snorted, overhearing. "He should threaten you just on principle, lad," he pointed out. "You flirt worse'n anyone I've ever met. Soho's a good kid. Don't bother her." He settled down into his chair, stretching long legs out in front of him. "So, Shade... Not here for a contract, right?" Shade paused, as if he was actually trying to remember. "Actually..." He said slowly. "He isn't." Calli said with a glare at her bond. "He hasn't taken a contract since Trinityblue. And he isn't going to take another, now are you, Shade?" "Um... no. Not planning on it." He said. "And Silva isn't something you should joke about." Calli said as she looked over at Bruns. "He's a rat b*****d that needs his wings chopped off." The hatred in her voice was almost shocking. Brunswick again rolled his eyes, clearly disgusted at what he considered Callisto's over-reaction. Before he could open his mouth and say something horrific, though, Jack clucked his tongue. "Language, milady," he drawled mildly. "We've got children present." "What's a contract and what's a rat b*****d, Daddy?" "... A contract is what Shade's not here on an' you don't need t' know about the other one, pet." Jack directed a lazy shrug at Shade as if to say "kids, what can you do?" "So what's up then?" "He threatened my life." Callisto said coldly. "But you're right, forgive me for my language." Shade paused. "He did?" Callisto paled, realizing that she hadn't told Shade about that little incident... dammit. "Shade is here because we can't sleep on the streets tonight. It's too rainy." She said, changing the subject. Over top of Brunswick's muttered "He threatened my life, too, so what?", Jack laughed. "Ah, I see. Even though Shade's made sure you'll always be dry, luv, you'd still prefer a roof, eh?" Evie splashed in excitement. "Can they sleep over here, Daddy?" she asked. "We can make popcorn and watch movies." "I'll even let you braid my hair!" Shade said cheerfully, easily getting into the mood. That he was joking wasn't something he bothered to mention. Callisto looked at Bruns, horrified. "He did?" "Yeah, probably, I think so." Brunswick shrugged. "So what?" It clearly did not bother him as much as it did her. He knew Silva had killed but that was one of those inevitable circumstances and it was for Soho, he heard. Evie clapped and Jack obligingly pushed her cup and coaster a bit closer to the edge of the table so she could better see her would-be victim. "Do you really mean that?" she asked. "Daddy's hair is too short and so is Brunswick's. Do you like tea? Do you like 'smores? Do you smoke?" "Well... sure, I guess so, not really, yes and... no." Shade said in reply, grinning at her. Callisto frowned. "Threatening a child. It's such a cowardly thing to do." she complained. "I really don't see how Aleric can stand to live with him." "Eh, whatever." Brunswick stood up and sauntered over to reclaim his beanbag. It was all too clear that he had recently discovered James Dean. "Oh, yeah. Would you like somewhere to sit?" he asked. "I can send Jack to get you a chair from my house or something if you want." Jack ignored the hint from his feien and tried his best not to laugh. Regarding Shade with sparkling eyes, he said evenly, "You're good with sprogs, mate. Mebbe I can get out the dolls for you two?" Evie's face lit up at the suggestion in a way that promised hours of Shade speaking a falsetto and manipulating a doll if he capitulated to her whims. Shade gave him a dry look for a moment before he pulled out his bottle. "Give me long enough and hell, I won't mind in the least." He said as he uncapped the bottle and took a drink. Callisto shoved at her hair again, forcing it back as she forced thoughts of Silva away. "No, I'm fine here." She said with a sigh. "You really shouldn't bother." "No bother." Brunswick grinned, relaxing back lazily. "Jack's a lousy host. He should have already offered you something. You're a lady, right?" "Don't worry, mate. You wouldn't be the first. Evie there's a charmer." Jack stretched more, feet at the fire, and wiggled his bare toes. "Anyway, her offer stands. I've got spare rooms. You an' Callisto are welcome t' one o' 'em for the night or so." "If you don't mind, that is." Shade said with a crooked grin. "I am." Calli agreed. "As difficult as that might be sometimes." Brunswick appeared to consider her words and then nodded slowly. "If you say so," he agreed. "Can't say I know many ladies. Cute girls, sure. Fun girls, yeah. Don't know that Soho or Marne are -quite- ladies." He grinned suddenly. "They're way too much fun." "No worries." Jack shrugged, loosely lacing his fingers together and resting them atop his flat stomach. "I'm not shufflin' you off t' a hotel at this hour. It'd be madness." "Well, there was one lady that offered to set me up, but I kinda got the feeling she thought I was..." He coughed. "Selling something in return." "They're young yet." Calli said with a smile. Although considering they were being raised by Silva, she doubted they would ever be ladies. "I guess so." Brunswick rolled over to lay on his stomach and watched Callisto, his head tilted. "So everything's still cool between your bond and Bavaria's? Trinity, that is. 'Cause you're okay and I don't mind you staying but not him if he's still... Y'know." Jack burst into laughter. "Oh, hell, no. Really?" "Daddy?" Evie blinked. "What's that mean?" "It means that she liked my pretty... hair." Shade told her with a slightly wicked grin. "But I'm a bit picky about who gets to play with it." "We haven't seen Trinity or Ice since that day." Callisto said. "And I'm almost positive that Shade's forgotten entirely about Trinity. He's got a bit of a... short attention span." "Excellent. Then he can stay, too. You've gotta understand. I need to look out for my sister." Evie clapped, distracting Brunswick and making Jack laugh harder. "And you said -I- could play with your hair," she reminded him. "That means I'm extra-special." "Oh definitely, sweetheart." Shade said with a grin. "But you might want to wait till it's a little dryer." "So you consider her your sister?" Calli asked curiously. "She's adorable. Shade seems quite fond of her already." And she was starting to get jealous. He had never offered to let her play with his hair! "Huh?" Brunswick looked away from where Evie was nodding obediently to Shade's suggestion and his brow furrowed. "Her? That's Evie. Jack says she's my sister and she calls me brother but it's not -real-. Anyway, why would I want a fake sister when I've got two real ones?" Jack shook his head and drew himself up so he could lean his elbow on the table which supported Evie. "Hey, pet, how you gonna play with his hair?" he asked. "There's a lot more o' it than there is o' you." "... I'll play with only little parts of it!" Evie beamed at her own thought process. "It's such a pretty color, isn't it? Calli has very pretty hair, too. They kind of match." "She's got great hair." Shade agreed, glancing over at his feien. "She's my pretty little lady." Calli gave him a dark look, even though the chauvanistic comment stroked her ego a bit. "I am not 'yours' I am my own, merely forced into a bond by extenuating circumstances." She said calmly. "Of course." Shade said with a shrug. He was used to her going off like that, it didn't mean anything. Jack raised an eyebrow in Shade's direction. "Was it really that dire then?" he asked. "I know they need bonds t' live but she makes it sound like you were just about the only choice." He shrugged. "In her case, I was." He said simply. "I was the first to find her right when she was about to kill over, so she bonded with me out of necessity." Calli actually flushed guiltily and looked away as he went on. "There's no way she'd want to be bonded to a guy that does what I do--did for a living, after all." Jack glanced at Brunswick and shrugged. "It happens. I'm still not sure how I got that one there," he replied lightly. "Mind, it wasn't as desparate as poor Calli there but..." He grinned. "I have this feeling I was just convenient for him. He an' his siblings wanted t' get down here for some reason." Shade nodded, glancing over at Calli again. She still wouldn't look at him. So she had no choice, but he was trying to make it easy on her. That's what mattered, right? She couldn't leave him like Ice had... "So... think you could show me the room I'm borrowing for the night?" He asked after a second in an attempt to change the subject. "Hm? Oh, sure." Jack pushed himself into a proper sitting position and then hoisted his lanky frame out of the chair entirely. He paused to touch a careful finger to Evie's cheek. "Do you wanna come with, pet?" "Yes, please!" Obediently to his little princess, the British magician picked up the cup and girl. Then he nodded in Brunswick's direction. "You comin', too, lad?" Brunswick looked at Callisto questioningly. As if waiting to see if she was going with them. Shade stood and offered a silent hand to his feien, waiting to see what she did. Slowly she stood and stepped onto the hand, finally looking up at him. He smiled, but didn't say a word as he turned back to Jack. That decided things. Brunswick stepped off the table and fluttered over to sit on Jack's shoulder. "I'm coming," he announced. "Mmhm" was his bond's oh-so-mild answer, neatly masking Jack's amusement. Instead of elaborating, Jack lead the little group from the cozy room and down the dimly-lit hallway and up a flight of creaking, carpeted steps. "Watch the runner on the fourth step up," Jack cautioned. "It's pullin' up some an' I keep forgettin' t' fix it." Shade nodded, not mentioning that he would have to get used to using stairs in the first place. He was going to have to get his excercize somehow, he figured, now that he wasn't killing people on a daily basis. "Fourth step, I'll remember that." Was all he said. He kept his hand out so Calli could see where they were going. Jack flicked on another light once he reached the top of the stairs, revealing another long, wooden-floored hallway graced with another carpet runner. The walls were a neutral ecru, soft and inoffensive; as yet, Shade could not guess if the house came furnished and decorated or if Jack had hidden Martha Stewart talents. "The first door is a no-go," he announced. "Trust me on that." He continued walking. "Second door here's a bathroom. There's towels an' stuff in there. Help yourself." finally, he stopped at the third door. "Here you go, mate." Jack pushed open the door and reached in to turn on the light. The room revealed was clean and simple. The iron bedstead was almost stark in its basic nature but it was enlivened by a bright-colored patchwork quilt tossed over it. An Oriental carpet warmed the floor and a few bureaus of various sizes were scattered at the edges of the room. "How's this work?" "It's perfect." He replied. "A lot better than my last room." Which had been in a rundown old hotel that had more than one scream echoing through the walls on a nightly basis. "How much do I owe you?" Jack blinked. "For what? A night? Don't worry about it. Just crash." "Yeah?" He asked. "Not even a favor? Thanks, I appreciate it." He said, heading into the room and tossing his coat onto the bed. "Now I think I owe Evie a hair appointment, right?" Calli stepped off of his hand, heading into the room to look around more closely. "Not even a favor, nope." Jack winked, leaning against the door frame lazily. "Mind, though, this is 'cause I can't let a lady out in the rain. If it was just you, mate, can't promise you'd be warm an' dry now." Evie neatly twisted in her cup to smile at Shade. "Yes, please. If you think your hair is dry enough." Snorting, Brunswick left Jack's shoulder to stand on the nearest tall wooden bureau. "Not a bad room," he said in Callisto's direction. "It looks out on the back yard so it's more private and all. Jack's room looks out on the front. Ugh." "It's a lot nicer than we're used to." Calli admitted, even as she shoved her hair again, as she usually did when she was feeling a bit uncomfortable and trying not to look it. "We couldn't even sleep in the last place since people kept screaming at odd moments." "And not all of them for entertainment." Shade added dryly. "Now how should we do this? I'll sit on the floor in the front by the table, then you can play with my hair?" He offered Evie. He would find a new place the next day... maybe. His hopes weren't too high. Evie looked up at Jack and, when he nodded, she turned and nodded in exact imitation. "Yes, please. If Daddy puts me down on your nightstand, I should be able to reach." She paused and dimpled at Shade. "If I'm careful." Clearly, the little girl already had decided that the room belonged to Shade and Callisto. Jack merely laughed and set her down in the place she suggested. "There you go, lil bit," he said. "Don't wreck his masculinity, like, right?" Brunswick glanced at Callisto. "D'ya want a bed for yourself?" he asked her. "I bet we could find something so you don't have to balance on his pillow." He made a face. "Jack nearly squished me when I used to have to do that. He flops all over." "Calli has a room--," Shade started out. "I think I would." Callisto said before he could finish that. "Or at least a pillow on the dresser?" Shade shrugged off the question that occured to him. Remaking something as comfortable as her pocket room would take a while... but she didn't seem to mind. Jack nodded, grinning. He offered a short bow in Callisto's direction. "Right, then. I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared from the room. "It's a big house. Even I don't know what all's in here." Brunswick shrugged. "Jack's probably already got something that'll work just perfect. He's like a squirrel or something." Shade nodded and sat down where Evie had told him to, pushing his hair gently onto the table so as to not knock the cup over. "There you go, sweetheart. My hair." "Shade's never around in one place long enough to get many things." Calli admitted. "But I finally got a brush out of him." "Well, maybe now that he's sticking around, you guys can settle down and get a place of your own." Brunswick grinned. "I've got a castle." Evie stretched and reached until she could carefully pick up two handfuls of thick, white hair. "Thank you," she murmured. "I promise not to pull." Then, humming to herself, she began stroking and separating, preparations to braiding. "Thank you." Shade said seriously. Calli nodded, but didn't say anything. She wasn't about to get her hopes up. "Don't worry. He's gotta take care of you." Brunswick eyed Shade, watching the ex-assassin submit to his little "sister's" ministrations. "It's a rule and he seems to like you so that's good." Evie giggled, glancing over, her hands tangled in Shade's soft hair. "Of course he does. Callisto is very beautiful. She's a -lady-." A tiny little smile pulled at Calli's lips and she took to the air, fluttering over to them. "Thank you, sweetie. I try." She told Evie before taking another piece of Shade's hair and starting to braid it. She figured the little one could use some help. Jack laughed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, watching the girls work. "Looks like you've won Evie over," he joked. "She's not gonna wanna let you leave." "Yeah, well, it's nice to know that at least one female feels that way." Shade said with a sigh. "Ice sure doesn't." He tried to look over his shoulder at the girls. "Quit moving, we're busy, right, Evie?" Callisto scolded him. "Yeah! We are!" Evie cast an adoring gaze at Callisto before returning to her braiding. Her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as if it might help her concentrate. "We're making you -pretty-." Jack tried not to snicker and barely managed to keep it to a smirky grin. "Ah, Shade, mate. You're so pretty. How can any gel resist?" "I dunno. Maybe Ice doesn't like her boyfriends prettier than her." Brunswick feigned casual inspection of his fingernails. "Yeah... it's a curse." Shade said with an exaggerated sigh. "Quit moving!" Calli told him again, fighting a grin. She could learn to like it here.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:02 pm
((reserved for RP with DS))
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:11 pm
Metaplot Post #1
Jack considered the note in his hand, a series of thought-creases appearing over his forehead. A check-up? A pot-luck? He hadn’t know that taking the cup came with responsibilities like -this-. Caring for Evie was one thing. Being expected to cook was quite another.
Sighing, he lowered himself onto one of the mismatched chairs at the dining room table and dropped the note. Then he stretched out to pick up the battered pack of cigarettes and shake one out, neatly slipping it into his mouth while flicking his lighter awake and ready. Without thinking, he lit his smoke and inhaled deeply. Eyes closed, he had already begun to sink into
reflective consideration when a tiny voice interrupted him.
“Daddy? What’s that you’re doing?”
He started guiltily and straightened, immediately searching around for an ashtray. “Uh, right. Nothin’, lil bit. Nothin’ at all.”
“You had smoke coming out of your mouth. Are you on fire?”
“No, luv.” Jack sighed and resolved himself to another discussion of semantics. And he had been doing so well, too. He hadn’t had a cigarette in front of Evie ever. “It’s just Daddy’s nasty bad habit,” he replied as he studied the cigarette in his hand. Ah, well, too late to put it out now. He had been craving badly, after all. “Never mind that, hm? We’ve been invited t’ a party, Evie. What d’ya think o’ that?”
“A party?” Her brown eyes went huge in her little face, glowing with excitement. Her hands clasped and she nearly sank back into her liquid home at the gesture. Scrambling, she clutched the rim of her cup and giggled. Looking silly never bothered the little girl. “Can we go? Where
is it? When is it?”
He had to laugh at that but there was not an ounce of unkindness in it and he leaned forward to touch her cheek with one gentle finger. “Tomorrow night, luv, an’ o’ course we can go. Daddy just has t’ think o’ something t’ bring.”
“You can bring...” Evie’s face screwed up in thought. “You can bring Brunswick!”
“Unfortunately, no.” Jack grinned. “He’s not edible.”
“Eatable?”
“Right. Eatable,” he mimicked. “Problem is, luv, I can’t cook for toffee.”
The notion that her adored Daddy was less than skilled at something gave Evie pause and she solemnly looked down to study her fingers as she considered the options. A crease appeared between her delicate eyebrows. She rubbed at the back of her hand. She fidgeted with the end of her ponytail. Finally, she beamed. “You can bring toffee!”
Helplessly, Jack covered his face and began laughing. The cigarette was kept from his skin and hair in the automatic way of a long-time smoker. Never a dull moment, he thought fondly. Not with Evie around.
*
A lot of complicated discussions and explanations later, the next night found Jack balancing Evie in one hand and a flat baking pan in the other. He grimaced and awkwardly pulled the glass close to his chest to adjust his grip as Evie nearly upset herself with her anticipatory dance of joy. “Evie, luv, pet,” he muttered. “Easy on, there. You’re gonna end up on the road if you keep that up.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” She looked up at him contritely and bit her lower lip to show that she was willing to behave. “I just can’t wait to go in. I want to see Ren again and... And you said there are lots of other cup kids and I want to meet them, too.”
“I know, luv. But that’ll be hard if you’re in bits an’ pieces.”
She nodded. “Uh huh. I know. It would be bad.” She smiled and pointed at the Shop. “Can we go in now? I want everyone to see how yummy your Rice Krispie Treats are.”
Rice Krispie Treats. So much for being a mighty, worldly, talented magician. Grinning nonetheless, Jack nodded and moved to enter the Shop obediently. “An’ I’ll tell everyone how you helped, right?”
“Right!”
That settled, Jack pushed the door open. “Hello? Anyone here yet?”
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:07 pm
What Really Happened To Result In Rice Krispie Treats (RP with Ice Queen) Toying with an unlit cigarette, the little white cylinder neatly revolving between his fingers, Jack glanced over to where his roomie sat, reading the paper at the kitchen island. It was a thought, at least. Which was better than what he had been entertaining for the past couple of hours. Spinning the cigarette near Evie, he nearly lost it to her reaching grasp. She giggled and bounced, splashing over the counter. That pulled him from his thoughts and he looked down at her guiltily. "Don't worry, lil bit," he murmured. "I'm still here. Just got t' thinkin'." "About what?" "Dessert." With that, he tucked the cigarette behind his ear and picked up the glass before moving over to lean against the counter near Shade. "What d'ya know 'bout food, mate?" he offered as a conversation opener. Shade looked up from where he was reading the Sunday comics, raising an eyebrow slightly at the question. "You eat it?" He offered. "Some tastes good, some doesn't, and if it's brightly colored then it's most likely poisonous. 'Course, with my old job most everything was most likely poisonous..." "An' I have t' make it," Jack interrupted. With his free hand, he dug out a crumpled piece of paper and dropped it in front of the other man. "Evie's got a potluck t' go to an' I haven't a clue. Somehow I reckon they'd frown on a six pack." "Soda?" Evie craned her neck to look up at her father. "You can bring soda. Then no one will drink us by mistake!" "She might have a good point." Shade said with a crooked grin aimed at Evie. "But there's got to be something easy to make... like something in a box?" "One o' those cakes?" "Jack'll just burn it." Brunswick fluttered to a stop on the counter and motioned for Jack to lower Evie to join him. Without more than a snort, Jack obliged and Evie held out her hands in delight for a hug that came but only barely qualified as such. Stepping back, Brunswick smirked. "Jack just about manages to get his tea right." A lazy hand gently knocked the feien on his backside. "Shut it, Bruns," Jack laughed. "I can do tea an' eggs just fine. It's sweeties. I've never baked a day in my life." Shade shrugged. "Maybe if we get a timer?" He offered. "Can't hurt. If you don't get it done you could always buy donuts." "Fattening." Callisto commented as she fluttered into the room, dropping down onto the counter to watch. "Is it just me or do these feien have really bloody good hearing?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jack cringed visibly. He hadn't meant to very-nearly-curse in front of Evie. Sometimes it was far too easy to forget. Especially after having Brunswick around; he had never needed protecting. Evie cocked her head to one side as Brunswick snickered. Then she blinked and giggled. "What about fruit, Daddy?" she offered, clearly hoping to help. If she picked up on his word choice, she was keeping mum on it. "Or... Are there things you don't bake?" "Now we have to do it." Shade said, shaking his head. "To prove we're not completely incompetent." "We -are- both responsible adults, right?" Here Brunswick saw fit to dissolve into vicious snickering behind his hand. Shade just rolled his eyes and grabbed his coat, heading for the door. Half an hour later, he was back with a cake box, a thing of frosting, vegetable oil and a thing of eggs. He had obviously been given help, not that he was about to mention that fact. "Now..." He said as he laid out the supplies. "What do we do with this stuff?" Jack picked up the box and squinted at the instructions on the back. "Well, follow this stuff," he speculated. "Shouldn't be hard. I bind demons for the love o' all little green things. I ought t' be able t' crack an egg." Shade nodded, opening the egg box lid to look at them for a moment, as if he had never actually seen an egg like that. He picked one up, feeling slightly nausous. "You realize..." He said casually, even though he was looking a bit green. "I was born in one of these things, don't you? A lot bigger, of course, but..." He put the egg down. "You get to do that part." "Really? I didn't know that." Jack took the egg from Shade gently and tucked it back in the box, drawing the whole thing towards him. "I reckon Mum -wished- I had been born in one. Then Da would've had t' help." "I thought birds were born in eggs." Evie gazed up at Shade with puzzled interest, arms folded on the rim of her glass. "You're not a bird, Shade." "But I am a bit like a lizard." He said with a shrug. "And lizards are born in eggs, too." He picked up the box with the cake mix, reading the back again before he went in search for a bowl. "Do we have a blender?" He asked Jack as he stared blindly into the pantry. He couldn't find s**t in that thing... "Just the one Trinity brought over one day for daquiris." Jack motioned vaguely towards a blender. "So spoon it is. Good thing you're so big an' manly, mate." Evie beamed. "Shade -is- strong, Daddy," she agreed. "I saw him lifting lots of things. He's even stronger than -Brunswick-." "... I think she's sayin' I'm a wimp," Jack laughed. "If you're stronger than Bruns an' I'm nowhere on that list, I'll just go get a frilly apron an' pearls an' swoon for you." Shade choked, pulling a bowl out of the pantry finally and heading for the counter. "It's always good to be the muscles in the house!" He said cheerfully. "But the sight of you in pearls might be a bit too much for my heart." He opened the box and pulled out the pack of cakemix, looking at it blankly before ripping it open. The mix went flying, covering everything, including him. He promptly sneezed. Which prompted Jack to slump back against the counter, breathless with laughter. Evie joined in the giggles even as she dipped back down into her cup and poked at a bit of powder that had landed in the liquid and was quickly absorbing it. "What the...?" Brunswick interrupted himself with violent sneezes as he rounded the corner. His wings faltered and he dropped a couple feet before catching himself and struggling on to the counter. "What are you two -doing-?" "We..." Shade said as he calmly wiped the cake mix off of his face and tasted it, making a slight face, "Are baking." "Are making a mess." Callisto said at the same time. She was covered in the fine white powder, and looked rather irritated by that fact. Shade ignored her, pouring what was left of the cake mix into the bowl. "We're making a cake for Evie's party," Jack offered to clarify the situation. "Clearly." "I think it's chocolate." Evie again poked at the bit of congealing cake batter in her cup and then looked up to smile at Callisto and Brunswick. "At least that's what Daddy says Devil's Food really is. It's not like his pets." "Ahhh." Callisto said, wiping off her face with her hand. "Now we add the eggs, the oil, and the water..." Shade said as he read the back of the box again. "Do we have a measuring cup?" Jack frowned, thinking. Evie began waving her hand in excitement. "No way, kid." Brunswick rolled his eyes as he uncannily read the child's mind. "They can't use your cup. You can't come outta there, remember?" As Evie settled into a pretty pout, Jack patted her cheek with one finger as he passed to dig in the cupboard just behind her. After a few moments of clattering and banging, he retrieved a battered plastic measuring cup. "Some stuff came with the house," he explained, handing it over to Shade. "And apparently hasn't been used in all that time." Shade said, wiping a bit of spider web from the edge. He shoved it under the faucet, rinsing it quickly before going back to his overly thorough study of the box. "One half cup--" He peered at the measuring cup. "I can't read this." He said before filling it half full. "Guess that'll work." "If it doesn't..." Jack shrugged. Then, muttering, he added, "I wish it wouldn't break Evie's heart if I -bought- somethin'." "Just hope it doesn't break her stomach cuz you made something." Shade told him. "Three eggs now." He said, motioning for Jack to do the honors. "And you, too." Jack pulled the bowl closer to him and flipped open the egg carton. Carefully, he picked an egg and broke it against the side of the bowl. With a small miracle, it did not shatter and he dumped the contents on top of the powder and water. Then he repeated the process twice more. He frowned down at the mess. "Does this look right to you?" "I've never made one of these before... does it look wrong?" Shade asked, peering into the bowl curiously. "Dunno. Let's mix it an' see." Jack picked up a spoon and began stirring it all together. Brunswick padded over to stand at the side and wrinkled his nose. "Don't even start, lad." Shade watched for a moment, not saying a word, but Callisto said it for him. "Is it supposed to have those big lumps in it?" "Maybe they get stirred out?" Evie craned her neck, trying to get a better view. "Have you ever baked a cake, Callisto?" "If I have, I wouldn't remember, but I bet it wouldn't look like that." Callisto said arrogantly. "Of course, it would also be a lot smaller, too." She added thoughtfully. "Maybe a fork would work better?" Shade offered. Jack set his jaw in a mulish line and continued to stir. "Never heard o' usin' a fork," he muttered. "I'll just keep stirrin'. Mebbe the lumps won't matter so much. They'll melt or somethin'." Whistling, Brunswick made a show of backing away from the bowl as if he expected it to explode at any moment. "We need a pan." Shade said abruptly, going back to his search through the pantry depths. "An' we ought t' heat up the oven." Jack glanced over his shoulder. "Try the one t' your right. Oh, an' butter it. I think there's something 'bout greasing the pan on the box." Brunswick edged over towards Callisto and shook his head mournfully. Shade grabbed the pan, tossing it onto the counter and pulling out a stick of butter, which he liberally slabbed onto the metal. He looked at the clumps left there, but figured it wouldn't matter with the cake already having its own clumps. "What do we set the oven to?" He asked, reaching for the box. "Three seventy five..." "If that's what it says, yep." Jack finally withdrew the spoon and absently studied it. The look on his face clearly indicated that it was taking great reserves of self-restraint to avoid licking it. Reluctantly, he dropped it into the sink and brought the bowl over. "For how long?" Shade blinked. "There's three different time spans..." He said, shoving the box in Jack's direction. "... Average 'em out?" "Got a calculator?" Shade asked blankly. Jack blinked. Then he sighed as he upended the bowl to allow the batter to slide out into the greased pan. "Read 'em t' me." "Thirty two to thirty four, fourty five to forty seven... and... this one's got goo on it..." "Forty minutes it is, then." Jack scraped the bowl with the spoon. "Open the oven, mate." Shade nodded, opening the oven and motioning for the other male to put the cake in. "This is so not going to be good," Brunswick muttered to Callisto as Jack put the would-be cake in the oven and stepped back to allow Shade room to shut the door. Then the magician set the timer for forty minutes. Calli shrugged, kicking her feet slightly. "I need a bath." "Hey, should we go watch tv while this is baking?" Shade asked. He was getting bored already. "Good idea." Jack brushed his hands off on a towel and then tossed it to Shade. Picking up Evie, he grinned. "I think Arsenal is playin' Man U." Shade took a moment to grab the spoon from the sink and lick it before he followed the other male into the front room. "Bruns, do you think you could turn the faucet in the bathroom on for me?" Callisto asked, trying to brush the cake mix off of her wings. "Yeah, if I put my back into it." Brunswick smirked and motioned for her to follow. "No problem. 'Specially not for a pretty lady." He stepped off the edge and spread his wings to catch himself. "Anyway, we wanna be far away if that cake goes boom." "An extremely good point." She agreed as she took to the air and headed for the bathroom. Time ticked on. Forty minutes later... Jack looked down at the hideous mess smoking gently in the pan. "Well... It's a bloody cake abortion," he sighed, thanking everything above that Evie was off talking to Callisto. He poked it with a fork and looked over at Shade. "Guess I better call someone for a save." A wry smile pulled at his mouth. "We better stick to our day jobs."
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:14 pm
Pink and Pals? This was a little confusing to say the least. There were people outside milling about in the cold like him. They each had a drink kid in one hand and some sort of food dish in the other, so obviously everyone had an invitation of some sort. However, there were no signs of life inside the store. We can't all have come on the wrong day, could we? Tsu thought as he pushed forward a little to try and find someone to talk to, and get a shield from the night winds. Meanwhile Kai was scanning the drink crowd. He never saw so many others like Kareme or himself that he was quite excited about his first party. Granted the one face he'd like to avoid was Kaze if it was possible... but that was only a minor detail. Setting his eyes on a couple drinks that were close to him, Kai tried to keep balance with one arm while he waved and managed to say "Hey" as coolly as one could while being jostled around. Tsu meanwhile had decided to stop moving in once Kai started talking. It seems like he was networking or something... and frankly Tsu didn't have the heart to stop that from happening. "Erm, Hi, I'm Tsu." Tsu managed to get the attention of a couple young men that were the guardians of those two drinks it would appear. "Exactly how long have you two been standing out here anyway?" Caleb jolted, not expecting the sudden human interaction. "Oh," he said. Then, "Erm." Drucilla huffed, looking annoyed. "Stop talking," she told Caleb icily. Looking up at the new ones, she shrugged slowly and boredly. "Too long," she said dully. "I freakin' hate waiting. They better hurry up already and let us in, the jerks." Looking at the new drink-kid apprasingly, Drucilla had to forcibly restrain herself from turning up her nose. "Hmm," she said simply, then looking away. Caleb shook Dru's glass slightly in warning, mentally telling her to behave. Blue eyes stared up at him and the girl mouthed a foul word at him, turning her back on him completely and looking again to the new drink-kid. "I'm Caleb," he said finally to Tsu. "Pleased to meet you...and yeah...we only got here a couple minutes ago." "Jack. Pleased t' meet you both." The tall magician had put on his most middle-class accent, approachable but far above his gutter-talking pub-speak. For a moment, he considered both of his filled hands and then, resigned, he shrugged. "Pardon the hands. Can't shake at the moment, right?" "And I'm Evie." The little girl clung to the rim of her cup and beamed at all of the new faces. "I didn't think the party would be outside. It's kind of cold, isn't it?" She stretched until she was very nearly tipping herself out of the cup and Jack grimaced as he quickly adjusted his hold on the glass to insure the safety of his charge. "It is cold, luv. That's a fact." He grinned at the others. "I'd offer to pick the lock but I reckon that'd be bad form. Prob'ly set a bad example for the kids, too." His brown eyes drifted away to study the door and windows. He frowned a bit as Evie again shifted in her cup, moving to wave at Kai and Drucilla. "Can't believe they forgot 'bout it, though. I mean, this is our marks, right? Makin' sure we're taking proper care of the little ones." "It is a little odd that no one is in there. I know that at least one person is supposed to live in the shop... so I can't imagine it closed normally." Tsu mused aloud. "Maybe they got called away for a little bit.... but yeah I don't recommend you pick the lock Jack. Would be rather bad form... not to mention breaking and entering... but that's a whole different issue. Hi Caleb." Tsu nodded at the other man. It wasn't much to say that Kai was a little hurt by the cold shoulder Caleb's kid gave him. However Evie promised to be a lot more friendly. "Hi Evie!! Nice to meet you!" Kai brightened up. The cold wasn't being a bother but the weird pink tasting rain was something new and he was unsure how to handle it. Besides... pink was a girly color. "What the...?" Tsu griped "...Rain again?! Do you guys feel that? It's sorta like a mist." Tsu looked at Jack and Caleb for any guesses they had on this new addition to an already bad situation. "Drucilla," the pomegranate girl said dryly to Evie and Kai both. "Charmed." She was about to say more when the unexpected shower of pink interrupted her. She glared skyward, fuming. Damnable weather! ...Even though she wasn't sure if pink rain counted as weather... Caleb looked skyward too, but more out of curiosity than irritation. "Weird..." he said. "Tastes kinda...pink." "I -like- pink!" Evie pushed away from the edge and slowly spun in a circle, looking skywards. "And it makes the sky look funny." Jack wrinkled his nose, mouth screwing up as he tilted his own head back to look up above. He sniffed faintly. Then he did something truly strange - opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "Huh." A look of complete bemusement grew on his face. "Caleb's right. It -does- taste pink." "You don't mind pink, do you, Daddy?" Evie inspected his strange expression with concern. Then she swiveled to look at Drucilla and Kai. "Do you mind pink? I mean... You," and here she proved that her beloved daddy was lax on teaching manners and pointed at Drucilla, "-are- pink!" "Nice to meet you Drucilla." Kai responded a little bit less enthusiastic than before. A lot of her manners reminded him of Kaze some way... and that left a bad non-pink taste in his mouth. Kai paused when Evie asked him his thoughts of the pink stuff. Holding his chin in the same manner Tsu did when he was being thoughtful... "I don't really mind pink, to be honest." Kai said trying to be open minded about everything, "It's just not my favorite color." He finished truthfully. Tsu looked at the kids talking in their hands. "Either the pink tasting rain has affected my brain... or else our kids are glowing a pink color. Either way this is definitely being classified as weird." He wanted to rub his eyes but with both hands full he could only manage to blink with more frequency. Pleased to have harnessed Evie's attention with her (in her own inflated opinion) exceptionally lovely coloring, Drucilla threw her hair back idly and examined her nails. "Yeah, pink's alright," she said mildly to Evie. She graced Kai with a polite nod. Wait. Glowing? Dru looked down at herself to catch sight of a fading glow, looking indignant. "I'm not a bloody firefly," she snarled. The glow disappated and she settled against her makeshift icecube chair, still glaring. How dare there be something different about herself she didn't want! Caleb, excruciatingly shy in the best of times, managed a nod at Tsu's words and looked at Drucilla to occupy himself. "Huh. Weird," he said, reaction delayed. "Daddy! She says bloody, too!" Jack winced noticeably but kept his smile in place; it would seem he was less stringent in his avoidance of cursing than he had thought. "Right, luv," he murmured. "But it's not a particularly nice word so..." He shook his head in the face of Evie's happy smile. "Never mind." Already moving on to the next conversation topic, Evie inspected her hands. "We are glowing. Just a bit. Kind of like... Um, the telly after you turn it off and there's that glow." She stretched her arms out in front of her and then glanced over at the little boy in his cup. "Kai? Am I sparkly yet?" Kai could only help as the once golden Evie now shone with a rather pink sparkle about her. He couldn't help but feel that it actually worked for her in some way. He hoped he didn't look like that after all. Sure it's not like he was worried about his looks at such a young age... but anything that gives Kaze fuel to pick fun is definitely not a good thing. "Yeah!! You're still glowing that pink color! It looks cool!!!" Kai said enthusiastically as he concentrated on trying to get the color to stop in him. "Erm... am I still pink?" he asked cautiously. Still confused about the word "bloody," Kai tugged on Tsu's sleeve and mouthed the question quietly. Tsu responded by mouthing "Later" to Kai. Kai then proceeded to note that word down to make sure Tsu didn't forget, he'd just repeat it endlessly until Tsu was forced to answer. It seemed to work for all the other words Kai learned after all. Tsu was finally beginning to show signs of wear and tear from standing outside. He wanted to sit and more importantly... he wanted to drink. Maybe the other two would join in an invitation he decided, looking between Jack and Caleb. Who knows... maybe Caleb will come out of his shell a little more after something warm - or alcoholic - to drink Tsu surpressed a smile at the thought of Caleb talking while drunk. "I dunno about you two, but I could go for a drink. Wanna see if there's a pub or something around here? Either way beats standing out in the cold, right?" Caleb, knowing full well he was still two years underage, hesitated for a minute...then nodded. Something small, then just coffee, he thought to himself. One would think living with a police officer all their life would have made him more conscious of the law. Pshaw. "Sure," he said. "Sounds fun." Smiling like a devil at the reaction her vocabulary had caused, Drucilla watched Kai and Evie speculatively. The apple juice child seemed good enough to talk to. She supposed Kai could be alright, after some getting used to. "There's a great lil place 'round the corner." Jack nodded his head vaguely to the right and, ever-helpful, Evie pointed in the direction to make it all the clearer. "They do imports so you can get a decent pint, no worries." He smiled down at his little girl. "An' they'll cater t' the little ones here, too." Evie nodded. "They gave me some soda when Daddy took me there. In a tiny cup just right. The bubbles tickle your nose." Jack smothered his laugh and merely grinned. If he noticed that Caleb was most likely underage, he made no comment. Then again, back home, Caleb -was- legal and Jack still couldn't make out the sense in the American drinking age. "It's called The Trumpet." "Well if we're in agreement about that, I'll ask you to lead the way Jack. It's good to know they have some things for our kids as well." Tsu decided "We can always come back in a bit to see if they open up the bloody shop. Also find out what is going on with the kids glowin' like that." Tsu didn't both bringing up age because he's always been a firm believer that if they didn't overdo it, age didn't entirely matter. One of the things he found from traveling around. Kai heard the word bloody again and decided when he was frustrated he could use it from time to time. He had yet to try soda as well... so he was looking forward to it. Hopefully Tsu wouldn't be a prude and let him try. "It'll be nice to go somewhere new. I'm starting to get cold here." Kai murmured outloud... more to himself. He was finally able to manage to hide the fact he was excited to meet some new drinks like him. Decidedly bored with the current company, Drucilla yawned widely and obviously, settling into her cup and quite happily ignoring everyone. Dull, dull, dull. Why had she even wanted to come out, anyway? Ignoring the pomegranate girl's rudeness, Caleb nodded agreeably and motioned in a random direction with his cup-free hand. "Let's go, then," he said cheerfully. "Right, then." Jack pointed himself and, coincidentally, the others in the direction of the mentioned pub. "Let's get something warm inside," he suggested. "It's just down the block." "Did we bring enough treats for everyone there?" Evie frowned as she did mental mathematics. "It's rude to not bring enough for everyone." "It's okay, luv. I think we'll be forgiven." Jack glanced back over his shoulder at the others. "Ready, then? This way." "Well... at least you didn't end up making too much food.." Tsu sheepishly admitted "Hopefully you will take some of the food, otherwise it'll just end up going to waste." They were approaching a sort of hole in the wall pub... but it looked nice enough. Besides Tsu was dying for some alcohol to get this strange chill out of him. Kai looked to Evie for ideas on how to stay entertained. It was slightly obvious the other wasn't going to be a fountain of help for the situation. "Wanna play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Kai finally piped up, remembering one of the games that Kareme taught him. "It's easy. At the count of three you show your hand. Fist means rock, two fingers is scissors, and a palm is paper. Rock beats scissors, scissors cut paper and paper covers rock." After the owners and their charges were seated, Tsu managed to order a pint for himself and a small glass of soda for Kai. "I kinda forgot to...make anything," Caleb said, grinning slightly. "I got a little pack of Saltines, though. That works." Taking a seat and looking around for the waitress, he sighed as she walked past him and got up from the table. "I'll be right back," he said, going towards the bar. "I wanna drink too! Caleb, I wanna drink! Caleb Caleb Caleb-" "I'll get you a milk, relax." "I wanna soda!" "Fine." Drucilla stuck her tongue out at Caleb and turned back to Kai, looking curious. "I wanna play," she said. "Lemme play." She looked from Kai to Evie, then shook her fist in example. "I bet I'll win," she said smugly. "I always win at stuff." Not always...but she wanted to win now. Best to set that mood. Jack shook his head as he slipped into his seat and lifted a lazy hand and a charming grin in the general direction of a passing waitress. The immediate result was a pint in front of him and a little cup of soda in front of Evie. He waved her off and then slouched in his chair, winking at Tsu. "Caleb's got some things t' learn, eh?" Giggling, Evie stretched to bat the straw in her soda out of her way and then she leaned on the rim of her cup, brown eyes on Kai and Drucilla. Carefully, she made each hand gesture. "Fist? Rock. Flat? Paper. Two fingers? Scissors?" "Not those fingers, lil bit," Jack interrupted. "Just like Kai did there." He held out his hand, first and second fingers extended parallel to the ground. "Scissors." "Scissors!" Evie vee'd her two fingers and held them up proudly, palm outwards. "More or less." The little blonde turned back to Kai and Drucilla. "Ready!" "Ready, okay? One, Two, Three!" Kai shouted nearly tipping his soda over as his hand came flying out in a palm shape, revealing 'paper' He wasn't planning to win, but he secretly would like that smug attitude gone from Drucilla. At least she wasn't a complete jerk. "Hahaha, he'll learn in time. Anyway, it's best that Kai and I get going. I have to show up for work in the morning." Tsu sighed as he emptied his glass and looked at Kai to do the same. Before he got up to settle his tab he looked at the others, "Well, I'm sorry to drink and dash like this. Let's try to get together for drinks some other time. Here's my contact info." With that Tsu gathered his jacket and Kai then paid at the bar. It was only a short while before the two were out in the cold night air once more. So tricks and treats tonight. Anything was possible on Halloween after all. Drucilla shook her fist harder, on Kai's count revealing....rock. "Darn it!" Caleb returned with drinks, a coffee for himself and milk for Dru. Taking a sip and grimacing, he added half of Dru's drink to it, much to her protests. "It's okay," he said to Tsu. "See you later. Nice meeting you." "Caleb! Caleb, that's MY milk! Gimme it! Caleb Caleb Caleb-" Caleb, sipping his coffee, pretended not to hear Drucilla's whining. Jack chuckled. "She's a loud one, isn't she?" he asked Caleb as he picked up his glass. "She always that opinionated?" "She reminds me of Brunswick," Evie declared and she smiled at Drucilla to prove that was a good thing. "Except prettier. But that's okay 'cause Brunswick is a boy and he's not supposed to be prettier." She tilted her head at Drucilla. "My friend Ren is pretty. Do you think it's a rule that all us little girls in cups have to be pretty?" Unseen by his "daughter," Jack rolled his eyes at Caleb. "If you believe it," he murmured, "she's the least vain thing around. She just likes to talk. A -lot-." Taking a sip of his beer, he tucked the card left by Tsu in his coat pocket for later. Caleb sighed, taking a long sip of coffee. "You have no idea," he said dryly, watching Drucilla. "I say up, she says down, I say white, she says black. It's never-ending." Drucilla shrugged, hanging over the edge of her glass and giving Evie a once-over. She did seem okay... " 'Course I'm pretty, I'm best," she said. "You're pretty too, I guess. I like your leaf-things. I bet we're the only pretty ones, though. That makes us both best." She paused. "Though I might be a little best-er." Caleb sighed again. "I kinda wish I could say the same for mine," he said, wincing slightly. "Mebbe she'll grow out of it." Jack watched the two girls chatter with an indulgent smile. "Evie's a bit trustin', y'know. I don't want her to grow out of it but... A kid should be a bit leery, yeah?" "Oh, no. Ren's pretty, too. Like I said." Evie looked a bit sad, leaning her cheek against one raised hand. "I wanted to see her tonight. Oh, and to meet everyone else. Daddy said I could. But that pink stuff happened and it was locked and it's too cold to stand outside." She brightened then. "But I got to meet you and Kai! So I guess I did meet people." "Yeah," Caleb said, sipping his coffee slowly. "It's not fair that kids gotta grow up so fast now, but being naive about the bad stuff that goes on in the world is just as bad." He paused, taking another sip meditatively. "Of course, our kids are confined to cups...the worst they could probably see is somethin' scary on TV." Drucilla pouted at the mention of the failed party. She'd wanted to meet new people too, darn it! "I guess so. I guess I'm glad I met you guyses," she said, arms folded and her pout growing seriously defined. She glanced at Evie sidelong. "I mean, I am glad I met you, Evie," she amended. "You are okee dokee with me." Evie glowed at the approval, smile so bright that Barton could be lit by it. "Thank you! I'm glad I met you, too. You're -cool-." Her beaming praise was interrupted suddenly with a huge yawn and she covered her mouth with a comical look of alarm. Jack merely shook his head, smiling, and pushed his now-empty pint glass away. "Looks like my lil princess is 'bout done in for the night," he said to Caleb. "I better get her home. Party or not, it's been busy, eh?" Carefully, he lifted Evie and her cup and, with his free hand, he dug a card out of his coat pocket. "Here ya go," he announced, handing it over to the other young man. "My details if you fancy gettin' the girls together again. It's been a pleasure." Then Jack dropped a few bills onto the table and moved to pick up the container of uneaten Rice Krispie Treats. "Cheers, Caleb. See you around." With a nod towards Drucilla, he grinned. "And you, too, pet." Evie waved, smothering another yawn. "Bye bye, Drucilla!" Jack laughed again and, with a neat turn and far more grace than one would expect from the lanky Brit, disappeared into the crowd.
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:03 pm
Metaplot Post #2
Yawning, Jack barely managed to get the front door opened while keeping Evie and the empty baking pan safe. In fact, as he pushed the door open, the pan tumbled out of his grip to land on the step with a dull clang. He sighed and brought his adopted daughter close to his face. "Better that than you, eh, luv?" he muttered. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "An' don't say I'm paralytic. I'm not. Just a bit tipsy 's all."
Evie nodded to signal her agreement even as she stifled her own huge yawn and rubbed at her eyes. Then she reached up to put her small hands against his cheek. "Love you, Daddy," she whispered. "I'm sorry the party wasn't so good."
"Pfft. It was fine. We just had a different one than what we'd planned." A slightly unsteady kick sent the pan into the house. "Caleb and Tsu're alright, aren't they? Dru's a little maniac, though. Don't pick up her habits, right?"
"I think she's wicked cool." Evie folded her arms on the rim of her cup and rested her head down, cheek on her forearms. "What about Kai?"
Jack considered the question as he stepped into the house and locked the door behind him. He glanced at the baking pan on the floor briefly. There was an instant of hesitation and then he decided that it would not hurt anything if the pan lived there just until morning. It wasn't as if Shade was going to go all Donna Reed on him. He grimaced as the thought resulted in Shade in an apron. Not a pretty picture.
"Daddy?"
"Huh?" Jack blinked out of his new nightmare.
"What about Kai?"
"Um..." Jack leaned back against the wall and used the toe of his sneaker to push his other sneaker off at the heel. Then he repeated the process. Evie blinked at him owlishly, drowsy and suprisingly quiet. Briefly, he remembered the pink rain and then he dismissed it as nonsense. She had had a busy night, after all. She was probably just tired. "Kai's fine. Nice kid," he finally answered. "Just don't flirt with him so much. You'll give guys ideas."
"Mmhm." She yawned again and twisted to bury her face in her arms.
Jack smiled. "C'mon, lil bit. Bedtime. Wanna sleep next t' my bed again?"
"Mmhm."
He paused and frowned a bit, her quiet response once more concerning him. He would have to keep an eye on her. It was good that he was already keeping her on his bedside table. Padding up the stairs carefully, he felt reassured that, whatever happened, he would be there and deal with it. Evie was his little princess, after all.
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Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:00 pm
METAPLOT PART II
Here we start our post-pinkopolyptic adventure! For the rest of our metaplot, you'll be on your own personalized RP adventure with a staff member guiding you, post for post until the inevitable conclusion! The faster you post, the faster you get to your goal! Responses must be at least a paragraph, and if you ever go more than a week without responding, you're out! (C'mon, guys. It doesn't take a week to write a paragraph.) These don't have to be as long as the original metaplot #1 and #2, as we're going for more an RP style than a journal style. This could take anywhere from three weeks (four if you're unfortunately with Raife) to three months, depending on how you play this out! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED, BABY.
In the dark of the night, several things started to happen. None of them seemed particularly disturbing at first. The strange pink glow resettled around Evie, brightening up the room she was in. Besides the faint glow, the pink seemed largely innocuous, despite the radioactive appearing quality of it.
Secondly, her apple peel had begun to grow. It wasn't creeping over her cup like an errant vine, rather, it wrapped around her just a little loosely and it seemed to be getting longer. It too glowed pink.
Most oddly, an apple seed had appeared in the drink girl's glass. It alternately floated and sunk a bit, bobbing along the apple juice as if it were a balloon. It most certainly hadn't always been there, but it seemed to belong there, at least for the moment.
There was also a strange...unsettling feeling hanging heavy over the cup like the pink mist....
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2006 8:34 pm
Absently, Evie poked at the seed. The sudden appearance of it had not worried her as much as it had Jack and now she merely regarded it as something else to fiddle with when bored. Just as she would tug on the leaves in her hair or wrap bits of her blond hair around her little fingers. It was completely normal and made a world of sense.
She gave the seed another poke and then paddled over to rest her arms on the rim of her glass and watch her sleeping father. The seed had him worried. The pink had him worried. The way her peel had grown had him worried. He had fallen asleep with his big, heavy books again. She tilted her head, smiling. His hair was all on-end from running his fingers through it, his fingers had ink smears, and his forehead was still slightly creased even while dreaming. She wondered why he was so bothered. It was really very silly of him.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:56 pm
The seed bobbled with all of the presence of a seed. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't glowing, like she was -STILL- or even growing like the peel. No tiny sprouts, just a slim black shelled seed, floating, ominously, like some mysterious omen. Meanwhile, the peel continued to grow, slowly, slowly, taking over the cup. By the end of a day, it was just a little longer than normal. By the end of the week, it was getting uncomfortable in the tiny cup.
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:55 pm
"Daddy?" There was a pause as Evie squirmed uncomfortably and tried to adjust the peel with little fingers. Her brown eyes were wide; she wasn't quite scared (after all, it would take a lot more than a bit of a surprise to shake her sunny nature) but she was becoming increasingly concerned. "Daddy? Daddy? -Daddy-!"
Jack skidded in from the kitchen, knife still in hand from his sandwich-making. "Lil bit?" Seeing how much more the peel had grown, he immediately dropped the knife on the table, mindless of the mustard that now coated the fine wood, and crouched in front of his little girl. "Oh, princess, what's goin' on with you here?" One calloused finger stretched out to stroke her hair and Evie pressed into the touch like a cat, mouth gone wobbly with a potential tearfest. "You're still pink, darlin', an' that seed... It's worryin' me. Don't worry, though. We'll figure it out."
He didn't know -how- but he knew he had to. This was his little girl!
Evie shifted again, ducking down as far as she could go into the juice. Sadly, due to the peel's growth she could not go far. The bit of red apple skin restricted her movements and made it hard to kneel down. Tears threatened in the big brown eyes again and Jack quickly moved to pat her head again. "Daddy?" she whispered. "I don't like this. It's like when I tried clothing. I can't -move- right... And the seed bumps into me when I sleep and wakes me up."
"It'll be okay, darlin'. It will. I promise." Jack sat back in his chair and frowned for a moment. Then he forced a sunny smile onto his face. "I know. You're just havin' a growth spurt, right? We'll see if we can't get you a bigger cup. Mebbe that'll help."
"Do you think they have them at the shop?" Evie looked hopeful, brightened by the prospect of action and trusting Jack's promise completely. She hoisted herself up to the rim of her cup again and clung there. "Some of the others have bigger cups, anyway. Or not even cups. Kai doesn't have a cup. He's a -bottle-."
Jack nodded, reassured. "That's right, lil bit. We'll just have to get you something bigger. Don't you worry. It'll be okay."
... He hoped.
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:22 pm
Out And About (RP with TrinityBlue) "Well, that was a complete waste of time." Jack grimaced, resisting the urge to flick the hope feien off his shoulder by using his free hand to cup the outside of the cup holding his "daughter." His glove served to keep the glass a bit warmer and Evie silently hunkered down in the liquid behind his hand, almost hiding. "Shut it, Bruns," he muttered. "Who knows what their bloody hours are? An' I couldn't find them in the phone book so we just had t' hope. Evie's not..." He caught himself and forced a smile to his face. "Evie's gettin' too big for her cup. I reckoned the best place would be there." Brunswick was quiet for a moment and then craned his neck so he could peer down at the little girl. She definitely did seem out of sorts. She hadn't tried to hug him all day. That and she still looked a bit pink. Then there was the seed and that growing peel. "Well... They suck," he finally announced. Stepping from Jack's shoulder, he fluttered down to stand on his bond's wrist, hands clutching the rim of the cup. "Hey, Evie. Hey." "Mmm?" She turned a bit listlessly and smiled faintly at him. "Hey, Brunswick." "How would you like to meet my sister?" That brought a light to the girl's brown eyes and the smile expanded. "You have a sister? Really? Is she nice?" Evie pushed past the seed to put her hands on top of Brunswick's. "Is she my sister, too, then?" Brunswick hesitated, resisting the natural scowl that always wanted to appear when anyone tried to claim his siblings. But Evie was sick and she was just a little thing... "Maybe. You'll have to ask her," he finally answered. Then he tilted his head up to look at Jack. "Take us to BeeVee's house," he ordered. "I know it's right by here." He pointed. It occured to Jack to argue but, at the eager look on Evie's face, he dismissed it and obediently made the turn. "Right. You get t' explain why we're there unannounced then." * Ten minutes later, Jack was knocking on the door. Brunswich was on his shoulder, looking smug, and Evie was beaming in anticipation. "I hope they're home," Jack muttered. “Hey Trin! Someone’s at the door!” Bav yelled from where she was in the spare computer room, gathering loose material together. Her bond still had possession of her room, painting away at it - for the past four days- and she still wasn’t done. “HEY TRIN!” She yelled louder, fluttering into that room when her bond didn’t respond. “Alright already! I heared.” Trin sighed, brushing a stray hair out of her face and leaving another little paint streak in it’s place. She placed down the brush, heading out of that room and to her door. Now, who could that be? No one called, Icey wouldn’t knock. Normally. Once at the door, she cracked it open, peeking out. Then smiled at seeing Jack and his little ones, opening the door more. “Jack! Brunswick! It’s good to see you!” She said happily, then looked to the cup, seeing the little girl in it. She smiled more, seeing that the cup did change! "Hey, pet." Jack grinned crookedly. "Sorry t' drop in on you like this but we were out an' Bruns wanted t' introduce Evie t' Bavaria. If that's okay?" Brunswick left Jack's shoulder and flew over to land on Trin's without waiting for permission. His own grin was cheeky. "And you, too," he offered generously. Then he pointed to the little blonde in the cup who was staring up at Trinity with big brown eyes. "That's Evie." "Hi Evie, I'm Trinityblue." She introduced herself, offering a finger to the little girl. Bav landed next to her brother, looking at the girl in the cup. So this is what happened with the cup huh? “Still thinking of using the cup as a Jacuzzi?” She asked him with a small smirk. "No way. It's got too much apple peel and Evie in it." Brunswick snickered. "We'll have to get our jacuzzi somewhere else. Evie? This is BeeVee." Evie beamed at both Trinity and Bavaria. Waving her little hand, she bobbed in some form of a bow. "Hello!" "Do you mind if we pop in for a bit, Trin?" Jack's smile was rueful. "It's a bit cold out." "Oh! Oops, sorry!" Trin said, flushing lightly and moving out of way to allow them to enter. "Bavaria, or Bav." The other hope feien added, waving to her awkwardly. Okay, so Bruns got used to her, then? Or was there something up? Course, she hadn't been able to see her siblings in a while. That sucked! "You want any hot chocolate? Coffee?" Trin offered. "If you have any tea, that'd be perfect." Stepping through the door, Jack carefully shut it behind him. Then he obediently followed Trinity to her kitchen. "Can I have some milk?" Evie looked up at Jack and then quickly added, "Please?" “Of course, sweetie!” Trin said happily, getting her kettle on, tea things and the little cups that Bav used for that the feiens could have something as well. “What do you kids want?” “Bav was about to say apply juice, but one look at Evie and she decided against that. That would be too weird. “Milk’ll work.” She shrugged, then looked to her brother as her bond worked. “So, anything adventurous happing?” Brunswick shook his head before landing on the table. "Just Evie getting kind of... I don't know what's going on." He shrugged. "I've been working out and Jack does his book thing. He and Shade tried baking the other night. It was bloody hysterical. They burned everything they tried." Jack settled into a chair and set Evie's cup on the table in front of him. "Ta muchly, Trin," he said. "The cold goes right through you out there. Wouldn't have even been out 'cept we went t' the shop where I got Evie here. Wanted t' see if they had bigger cups." "My peel is growing," Evie explained solemnly. "So I might be, too." Trin blinked at this, curious as she gave the little cup girl her drink, then the feiens their own before going to the kettle. The milk and some sugar remained on the table for Jack’s use, along with two cups with tea bags in them. Then she brought the kettle over, pouring the hot water in them once all the fixings were done. “So, you’re growing then?” Trin asked, summarizing this. “Isn’t that a good thing, though?” Of course, by the girl’s tone and the boy’s reaction to it, it might not be. “Shade ain’t done anymore of that… old job of his, has he?” Bavk asked, sounding a bit doubtful. Sure Trin forgave the man, but she didn’t! “And you’re not peeping on Callisto?” "Nope. Shade's been behavin'." Brunswick smirked. "And, BeeVee, I don't -have- to peep on Callisto. She swans around the place and likes being looked at. She's not so bad once you get to know her, though. Total princess prima donna, right, but she's nice to Evie and it's fun watching her make Shade do things for her." Jack absently stirred in milk and sugar and pressed out his tea bag. Evie accepted her own milk with a thank you and a sweet smile. After giving herself a thorough milk mustache, she swallowed and shook her head slowly. "I don't know, Miss Trinity," she admitted. "It's kind of uncomfy and I know Daddy worries." She held out an arm. "And I'm really not supposed to be pinkish like this. I'm more... What did you call me, Daddy?" "Golden." Talk about your uncomfortable moments. Did magical cups go through a puberty stage? Would Viria? Now that was just scarry! But she looked at the little girl thoughtfully, then glanced at Jack. Yeah, this was awkward. “Well, I think it’s only natural that you’re growing, Evie. You’ve seen Callisto around, right? She, once, was probably about as big as both Brunswick and Bavaria. And I used to be a little thing, too.” Though no where near as little as they. “I was uncomfortable when I started to grow up too. Though... I wasn't in a cup. That has to be worse....” Bav just gave a little snort, drinking her own thing and looking at this girl again. Then at her brother. He seemed attached to her, and all. “Then good. I hope she’s going to make him do a lot. It would keep him busy.” Of course, she’d love to see that too! “Trin’s high-jacked my room and decided to paint it.” Brunswick frowned. "Why's she doing that?" he asked. "Did you ask her to? What color is she painting it?" He shot a suspicious look sideways at Trinity. The corner of Jack's mouth twitched but he kept himself carefully silent. Evie's mouth quirked, too, but it was clearly in thought. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "-I- don't feel any bigger. Just my peel. Oh, and the seed." Looking around, she clearly wanted to set her cup down. Jack took it from her helpfully. Then, hands free, she ducked down and returned with a tenuous grip on a slippery apple seed. "And this appeared, too." "I don't have a clue what's goin' on," Jack admitted quietly. "An' I can't get a hold o' the shop t' see if they know." “Jack, I think it is best if you did get a hold of the shop to find out what’s going on, excatly, with Evie.” Trin said comfortingly, patting the man on his shoulder lightly. “Seeds and growing peels has got to be really annoying, huh sweetie?” She addressed the cup girl again. So… how could she help this little girl? “No, I didn’t. But she had already started it and I didn’t want my place looking like it was a 60’s reject.” Bav shuddered at that thought. “So, I’m roomless right now. Can I live with you?” Her voice was only half teasing, causing Trin to glance at her. "Yeah! Sure." Brunswick grinned hugely. "It can be like a vacation for you. Maybe it'll get her to finish your room quicker." He shot a naughty, mischievous look at Trinity, sharing the grin with her as well. "I haven't seen you in ages, BeeVee. I miss you." Jack nodded and picked up his cup to sip at his tea. "Yeah. That's the plan. They just don't answer their door!" He sighed and looked over at Evie as she carefully lowered the seed back into her liquid. "I don't know what t' do for her," he murmured. "She's not in pain but she's startin' t' get scared." For the moment, though, there was no way on earth that Evie could possibly look less scared. She was humming, turning slowly in her cup as she inspected the kitchen with a vague smile. “Bav, you’re room’s almost done. But if you want to spend the night, just ask Jack.” Though now probably wasn’t the time to ask. “Now! Evie, tell me more about yourself! I only saw you when you were a cup! Do you like cookies.” She asked happily. Good things were important! Bav stuck out her tongue at Trin, having relaxed again at Bruns’ words. “Good, I missed ya too. We gotta hang out more!” "Definitely. So you're coming home with us for tonight, right?" "Didn't Trin just say you had to ask me?" Jack leaned over in the direction of the feien, eyes amused. "Yeah, but that's 'cause she's polite. -I- know BeeVee can stay over whenever she wants and I don't have to ask you." "Slumber party?" Evie was momentarily distracted and beamed up at Jack. "Please? Please let her come over?" Then, before he could answer, she shifted her attention back to Trinity abruptly and shared the sunny smile with her. "Yes, please. I like lots of things. Daddy made Rice Krispie treats for the party but the party didn't happen so we got to eat them. They were yummy." Her hands gripped the edge of her cup and she absently swayed side to side in the liquid. "And my friends are all in cups, too," she informed Trinity cheerfully. "Ren's in a bubbly cup and Drucilla has ice cubes and Kai is in a bottle. Which isn't -really- a cup but he's like me." “Oh? So you have more friends like you? Good!” Trin smiled at her. “Varia—“ “Bav!” “—Here doesn’t really talk to other feiens. Only her brothers and sister. And my sisters’ feien.” Trin went on, ignoring her feien. “Yeah, well, we don’t go anywhere.” “You have wings, you can fly to the shop and meet others.” Her bond offered, earning a little mutter from her feien. "Yeah but what's the point in just randomly going places?" Brunswick slung an arm around his sister's shoulders, immediately defensive in her sake. "Not everyone out there's worth meeting." Evie turned huge, startled eyes towards the feien. "Yes, they are," she replied. "-Everyone- is interesting." "She's a... People person," Jack drawled mildly, mouth just seconds away from laughing. “Poor girl! And she’s with you, too.” Trin grinned teasingly at him, knowing how unsocial the Brit man was. Of course, that might have changed with Shade around. “Not everyone’s worth meeting. Some people are complete…….. idiots.” Bav agreed with her brother, crossing her arms. “And others are worse!” Even as Brunswick nodded in superior agreement, Evie frowned, clearly not liking this view of things. She worried at an edge of her peel and chewed on her lower lip for a moment. Seeing her distress, Jack gently pulled her cup closer and used a careful finger to chuck her under the chin. "Cheer up, lil bit," he advised. "Bruns and Varia are just old an' cynical. Don't let it bother you. Just keep believin' the best o' people." "I want to, Daddy." Evie reached out to grip his finger and the smile returned as she hugged it. "I've only ever -met- nice people." She turned to share the smile with Trinity. "And that's you, too, Miss Trinityblue." “Thank you, sweetie!” Trin grinned at her from fuzzy ear to fuzzy ear. “I’m happy to have finally to have met you.” She added cheerfully. Bavaria rolled her eyes. “We’re not old! Older than Evie, but not old.” She muttered. "Then you're just wise beyond your years," Jack answered, utterly unflappable by any feien pouting. He sipped his tea. "Do all o' you feien like t' boss about?" Trin started to laugh at this comment, snickering behind her hand. "Of course we are! When you're so small, you've gotta be this way, or nothing gets done! That and you people forget things. Especially Trin." Bav told him seriously. "Uh oh." Jack grinned at Trinity and winked broadly. "What've you forgotten now, luv? How've you upset the little princess there?" Brunswick snorted and stomped over to kick Jack's elbow. It barely dented the cloth of his shirt but his bond looked down mildly. "Yes, your highness?" he drawled. "Don't be a jerk." Brunswick frowned. Trinityblue just started to laugh more about that. "I haven't forgotten anything that I know of!" "If you've forgotten, you wouldn't know what it is." Bav told her bond, puffing up in her own, self-proclaimed importance. "Exactly." Brunswick shook his head in mock-sadness. "Our bonds, BeeVee. They're hopeless. You'd think they'd learn from each other, wouldn't you?" "That might be the problem bro." Bav shook her head in the same manner as her brother. So sad it was. So sad indeed. "If so, it's just be the blind leading the blind with them." "But Daddy can see just fine." Evie tilted her head, gazing at Bavaria and Brunswick with clear puzzlement. "And so can Miss Trinity. She said about my peel." Jack chuckled, leaning his chin on an upraised hand. "It's a metaphor, lil bit." Trin just shook her head. "You'll understand one day." She added. "And I'm not that bad!" "Suuureee." Bav drawled. "Think that if you want." "I will." "An' with all the support o' me an' Evie." Jack smiled at the little girl. "Right, lil bit?" "Right!" Evie splashed a little in her eagerness. Seeing the mess, she immediately blushed. "I'm sorry." "Oh that's alright." Trin grinned at the little cup girl, taking a napkin to clean the mess up. "I thank you for the support! With Varia--" "Bav!!!" "-I need it." She said, once more ignoring her little feien's dislike of nickname. "We all do. I don't think supportive runs in that family." Jack shot a wicked grin at his own feien. "Brunswick loves seein' me screw up." Evie looked more than a little horrified at such a thing while Brunswick merely smirked. "But, Daddy, Brunswick is -wonderful-." "You're young yet. You'll learn, lil bit."
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:01 pm
After long enough of that torture, the peel finally stopped growing. Curiously quiet and uneventful around the cup for a couple of days -except for that pink glow that just wouldn't ever go away- things started to settle down. The peel settled into a comfortable curl around the girl, almost as if it had a mind of its own, and it wanted to co-habitate peacefully with Evie. But it was still large and taking up a lot of room, like a rather large bedmate in a rather small bed.
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:02 pm
Thoughtfully, Evie wiggled. There was an experimental air to her motions and her nose wrinkled in thought as she twisted first one way and then the other. She lifted both of her arms high in the air and wiggled her fingers. With effort, she crouched down in her glass until the liquid threatened to go up her nose. Then she was up again, taking a gulp of air, and then down she bobbed once more, completely submerging herself. Moments passed and she struggled again to the surface.
Wiping her face, she hummed and it sounded decidedly like 'Jingle Bells.' She seemed to consider her situation again and then, strangely began to bounce up and down on her toes, arms waving and body wiggling erratically. The bright red of the apple peel clinging to her gave the entire series of events a surreal feel.
Jack felt as if he were watching a manic salsa dancer with amnesia. Finally, he sighed and reached over from his books to where his daughter's cup rested on the edge of his desk. "What the blo- That is, what're you up to there, lil bit?" he asked, remembering at the last moment to censor himself.
The little girl beamed until her dimples popped into existence. "I'm exercising."
"... You're exercisin'. Why are you doin' that?"
"Because I think I might be getting fat." Jack's mouth opened to object and Evie giggled, brown eyes twinkling. "Silly Daddy, no. I'm not fat. I'm perfect," she reassured him. "You said so. Well, except I'm still pink. But I like pink so I guess that's not bad."
Jack laid down his pen and shifted to rest his cheek against the upraised hand, head tilted. He considered her curiously. "Alright, then," he smiled. "I'll bite. What're you really doin'?"
Evie stretched her arms high again and went into another burst of wiggles. "I'm trying to make the peel move better. If it's going to insist on staying, then it's going to have to learn to play nicely." She executed a prima donna spin, nearly tipping her glass before she came to a stop. Giggles escaped her again and she crossed her eyes. "Just like what you tell Brunswick. If you can't play nicely, then you can go live in the doghouse."
Biting the inside of his cheek helped Jack maintain a politely interested smile. It was always too easy to laugh at Evie. "Uh huh."
"Except we don't have a dog."
"Nope."
"So..." Evie's nose wrinkled up as she worked out the problem. Finally, she shook her head. "Anyway, I don't want to send it anywhere. Though I still would like a bigger cup. It's kind of uncomfy in here." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
Jack smiled, kissed his fingertip, and then brought the de facto kiss to the top of Evie's head. "Don't apologize, lil bit. I'm still gonna see if we can get you a bigger cup. Don't worry. You're still my brave girl."
The massive beam that answered his words could have powered all of Barton with its light. Then, gleeful and reassured, Evie went back to her peel calisthenics, confident that her Daddy would solve everything.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:27 pm
The "peel" calisthenics did little for the length of the peel, but seemed to have a different side effect. An oddly ironic side effect. Evie's legs seemed to grow just a bit in the cup, almost unnoticably so to anyone except the girl herself. The peel itself thankfully stopped growing -for the moment at least- because things were getting awfully tight enough in the cup already!
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