Welcome to Gaia! ::

Enoh walked through the doors of the Stationary Store, her kitsune ears twitching as she looked around. It still seemed the same as it had done a few days prior...and that almost made her relieved. Enoh had figured for a while that the place really was an adoption agency, but hid it very well. So unless they were still hiding, it definately was a stationary store.

Vidya wandered in behind her mother, one of the little girl's blue hands grasping a couple of Enoh's fingers. She had been persuaded to leave her sylph hat at home, and so decided to just bring Forte (an orange dream plushie), and her faerie companion, Ren. Ren wasn't too pleased about being aligned to someone so obviously resembling water, but the fire sprite didn't want to go back into the jar, or even back to the store where he had come from, so he tagged along Vidya to avoid that fate.

Vidya wasn't the happiest little girl, but only because Ren was around.

Lemonlime slowly entered the Stationary Store, her eyes flicking around hesitantly. The room had a strange comforting sensation to it, which seemed to engulf her sences. Her eyes fell upon Enoh, a grin tugging on her features. She advanced forward to greet her, and that was her intention, really it was, but she was a little preoccupied when Nalira latched onto her leg and started gnawing upon her bare skin. She let out a groan, grabbing her by the scruff and placing her on the ground. She raised an eyebrow, then beamed and ruffled Nalira's hair gently, shaking her head.

Nalira was a little apprehensive to see a new Tale, and simple sat there, tilting her head at the water-like Tale. Her brows furrowed slightly as she entwined her fingers together, a serious look upon her features. Finando was hovering behind her, hissing words under his breath. Nalira scowled, cocking an eyebrow at the crimson-like wolf in cat form, snarling. She then returned her attention to Vidya, biting her lip tenderly.

Why did she feel so afraid?

Enoh looked over her shoulder as she noticed someone enter the store shortly after she had, the shapeshifter turning with the intention of greeting. However, any greeting she might have had died in her throat, replaced by a giggle from the wolf girl's actions. Once the little girl was set down again, Enoh felt it was the right time to greet the other woman. Lifting her hand in a friendly wave, she spoke, her tone of voice mirroring her friendly expression. "Hello there! Nice to meet you...My name's Enoh." Smiling, she held out her right hand.

Vidya leaned her head to the side curiously, upon seeing Nalira. Having let go of Enoh's hand, she pressed her finger against her lips, trying to decide what she thought of the other little girl. Her face then instantly lit up in glee. Meeting new people was always nice, and seeing someone who also had an annoying companion made her feel rather connected to her as well. Lifting her free hand in the air (and almost hitting Ren in the process), Vidya spoke.

"Hello! Hiya! M'Viddy!"

She introduced herself with a smile, carefully sliding a little closer to the other girl.

"Lemonlime, pleasure to make your aquaintance."

Her voice was old, husky, yet it reflected her kind nature She extended her hand, smiling gently, a tired expression on her face. It was always nice to meet someone knew, a wonderful sensation. She tilted her head down to Vidya, smiling gently. "Oh, but she is beautiful, isn't she?" Lemonlime cooed, smiling down at the little water-like Tale. Enoh was very lucky to have such an adoreable Tale.

Nalira blinked, smiling slightly. The fear almost immediatly washed away by a feeling of contentment. She rose her hand, grinning happily and waving furiously. She moved closer, a smile visable on her features.

"Hello. I'm Nalira .. Nice to meet Viddy, yes."

She said softly, tilting her head. Her voice had a hint of irish to it, something that hadn't been realeasd until just this moment. It even surpised herself.

Enoh slowly let go of Lemonlime's hand shortly after shaking it, the shapeshifter clasping said hands behind her back, gazing down towards the two little girls on the floor. Her red eyes softened in an affectionate manner.

"Yes...she is a very pretty little girl. Yours is also very beautiful! She must be a handful sometimes."

Enoh giggled a bit, shaking her head. She was, of course, referring to the earlier incident where Nalira was gnawing on her ankle. Luckily, Vidya wasn't a chewer. She preferred to plow people over. How fitting, Enoh thought.

Vidya, carefully stepping towards Nalira, eventually plunked herself down onto her butt when she was directly infront of the other girl. Grasping a handful of her white and blue streaked hair, Vidya toyed with it, grinning genuinely.

"Pretty name! Viddy call Nalira Nalli? Or s'at bad?"

She leaned her head to the side, uttering a soft giggle as Nalira seemed to startle herself with the accent in her voice. Vidya rather liked the sound of that accent! She liked this Tale even more now.

Lemonlime smiled softly, flicking her honey-brown hair back behind her shoulders. She glanced down at Nalira and Vidya, her gaze softening as she looked back up at Enoh.

"You better believe it. I think she's teething, I keep finding bitemarks all over my furniture."

She cocked an eyebrow slightly, giggling under her breath. She glanced down to her leg, which was now victim to specks of dry blood. Cocking an eyebrow, she sat indian style on the ground, picking at the dried blood.

Nalira nodded gently, tilting her head slightly. She grinned, moving foward and propping her hands infront of her. She looked up at Vidya, smiling.

"Viddy link hands with Nalli?"

"Teething, Eh? Ouch...! I suppose I'm rather lucky though...Vidya's a little older than the Tales she's met. Then again, Nalira is only the second tale she's met, sadly..."

Enoh chuckled a bit, following suite by sitting down. However, instead of sitting down Indian Style, Enoh pulled her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Focusing her red eyes on Lemonlime, Enoh felt she couldn't stop her next question...she was dying of curiousity.

"You found Nalira in that Study, right? Did anything strange happen, before she appeared to you?"

Vidya tilted her head in the opposite direction as she had previously. Clapping her hands and dropping the handful of her hair in the process, Vidya leaned foreward and grasped Nalira's hands with her blue, small ones.

"Ohtay! Like this, Yes?"

Lemonlime glanced up, placing her hands behind her and leaning backwards. She pondered the question for a moment, trying to remember what had happened on that day. Suddenly remembering, her eyes seemed to flash, and she looked over to Enoh.

"Yes. The door behind me slammed shut.. and I remember feeling afraid. And then, there was a book. It was moving, and it's pages were turning. And then it stopped, and it asked me a question. I foolishly answered .. being curious as I am, and then there sat Nalira."

She smiled slightly, tilting her head. She, too, was dying of curiosity. "Did, the same thing happen to you?"

Nalira nodded, grinning, and stood, pulling Vidya up with her. She started to move to the side, in a stort of 'ring-around-the-rosie' fashion. She giggled softly, feeling her feet carry her around, her hair waving in their pretend wind.

"Wheee."

"Oh! Well...yeah. Sort of. The Study...or maybe Vidya's spirit was playing mind games with me before guiding me into the study. Ah...the door locked behind me too, and I answered a question as well...but then the room filled with water! I was so scared, i thought I was going to drown for sure!"

Enoh paused, getting a somewhat relieved look. It had happened a few days ago, but the thought of drowning terrified her to no end.

"But then Vidya laughed, and the water left the room completely, and without a trace. It as bone dry in the study! My little girl was standing on the table. I think each of their kind has their own way into this world...its the only way to explain that much but...I'm still very confused by everything."

Vidya giggled as she was pulled to her feet, the blue Tale taking a moment to catch on to the game. Once she figured it out though, she gave a squeal of glee and skipped around in circles as Nalira did. Her long hair swayed around as well as the two girls spun around and around.

"This is fun! This is Fun!"

Enoh, having glanced over at the two girls as they started to spin in circles, started to laugh merrily.

Lemonlime's brows furrowed at the thought of drowning, her heart sinking terribly. She looked away suddenly, shaking her head. Her breath hovered before her in an icy mit, before she turned, smiling painfully.

"One of my friends .. drowned."

Her voice was husky, and cracked as she spoke. Drowning. Not being able to breath, the only think your lungs brining in is water, your mind spinning, becoming fogged as she thrashed in the water, until all was lost.

Nalira smiled, before feeling herself trip over her feet and went tumbling over the floor. She felt her head spinning, before looking up, giggling madley.

"There are two Viddy's!"

Enoh's laugh caught in her throat, her kitsune ears lowering as she looked towards Lemonlime, her expression appologetic.

"I'm so sorry...I didn't know."

Still...how awful...

As Nalira tripped, the girl's hands had disconnected, and with the sudden loss of pressure, Vidya's small form went stumbling backwards before falling back onto the floor. As she fell, her very long hair fluttered around to fall around her as well as on her. The blue tale was beside herself with giddyness, and it showed in her energetic laugh.

"Eeee....So many Nalli's! Viddy so dizzy...that was fun!"

Lemonlime shrugged slightly, smiling.

"Not to worry, it's fine."

She looked over to the two giddy Tales, trying to change the subject. But, she couldn't think of anything to change it to. The images of water were filling her head.

"I can understand you being afraid .. I would have been."

Nalira smiled, scrambeling foward, tumbling all over the place as she advanced towards the water-like Tale, latching onto her as if she were drunk. Hic.

"That was fuun."

"Oh, it was. But Vidya was just playing tricks on me...something she hasn't done since then."

Enoh smiled softly, her gaze back onto the obviously very dizzy and giddy little girls.

"Fast friends, I think."

Vidya stayed on her tummy, watching as the army of Nalli's came towards her. However, the closer the other girl got, the more the army started to thin out, and eventually Vidya spotted the real Nalira. Giggling, her blue arms wrapped around the wolf girl, clinging to her new friend.

"Viddy found real Nalli! Army's allll gone."

She giggled, shaking her head wildly and in a rather canine fashion.

"Fun fun!"

"Yes, they seem to be connecting rather well."

Lemonlime smiled softly, shaking her head at her clumsy little Tale, and her friend.

"But so adoreable."

Nalira grinning, rolling onto her back and staring up at Vidya, tilting her head. She closed her eyes softly, yawning. All this excitement was beginning to make poor little Nalira tired.

"Nalira .." Yawn. " .. Sleepy now. Is Viddy, yes?"

"Very much so! Oooh...I love little kids."

Enoh purred happily, having completely moved away from the subject of water. She rested her chin on her knees, watching the two with ever-adoring eyes.

Vidya yawned also. She hadn't taken a nap yet today, so it really was starting to wear the little girl out. She plunked herself back onto her butt so she could rub her eyes with her tiny blue fists, the Tale then snuggling against Nalira on the floor.

"Nyah...Viddy just take a small nap..."

Curling up slightly against her new friend, Vidya closed her white eyes, starting to drift off.

Lemonlime smiled proudly, letting out a little squeak. She ran her eyes over the two almost-sleeping Tales, her eyes softening as she watched them in awe.

"This is a beautiful sight."

She whispered softly to Enoh, rubbing her hands together happily, entwining them together and feeling them crack as she pushed them forward.

Nalira smiled gently, closing her eyes, feeling herself drift into a dreamless sleep, her hood falling backwards revealing her mangled hair as she nuzzled into Vidya.

"Night Viddy."

"Nighty...Nalli."

Of course, those were the last words that Vidya uttered before completely conking out, right there on the store floor, and cuddled against Nalira.

"Bye Bye Ai!"

Vidya waved both of her small blue arms over her head until Aido was out of sight, the tale then turning back towards Tybalt.

"So...Whattcha wanna do now, Cap'n?"

Tybalt waved at Aido until she and Chao were out the door, then turned to regard Vidya blankly. He hadn't had much experience playing with the other Tales, and it showed. He didn't mind this, however--on the contrary, it wasn't bad. It was certainly better than spending "quality time" with that annoying wench Olivia. "Uh...we play? Play somethin'?"

"Okay. Play..."

Vidya lapsed into silence, her words trailing off. She studied Tybalt carefully, thinking up what to play. Lets see...he was a pirate, and pirates liked to do what...Drink? Nuh huh, no pop after 7. Roll in the mud? Whoops, wrong kind of person. She narrowed her eyes a bit in thought...and then it hit her! A smile lit on Vidya's lips once more, closing her eyes and pointing upwards in her pride.

"Peer-ates like tre-shure hunting, yes? How's'about we do that?"

A spark lit itself behind Tybalt's eyes at the mention of treasure. "Yeah, trezure!" His wings fluttered happily behind him, and awkwardly he stood, already looking around the shop for likely treasure-bearing spots. The shelves, high up? No; while he was certain he could do it (for he was certain he could do anything after his adventure the other day), he wasn't quite convinced that Vidya would be able to. The bargain bin? It was somewhat open, and with his claws, it would be easy for him to scale it--but again, he wasn't so sure about Vidya. That left them with one choice: the sliding cabinets. They were set on the floor, against the wall, and could easily be drawn open. His first tentative steps were taken in that direction. "There. We go there."

"Okay. Viddy'll follow tha Cap'n!"

She shoved her fists into the air, giggling. Vidya knew from the movie that the Captain always got to go first, so she was gonna play the same way! Besides, it was fun!

Hair bouncing, she hopped over to stand behind Tybalt, on the lookout for monsters or worse...other pirates out to steal their treasure!

Most children spread their arms for balance when beginning to walk; most animals used their tails for the same purpose. Tybalt merely spread his multihued wings, his feathers ruffling a bit before settling smoothly once more. This kept his arms free, just in case they WERE set upon by monsters or rival pirates.

Inle had never seen the Tale smile so widely, although she was well-used to the rogueish spark in his sapphire eyes. His chest puffed out proudly as he strode slowly, awkwardly to the cabinets, his large talons clicking upon the floor. Tybalt almost lost his balance more than once, not being used to walking--and with such big feet!--but his wings moved to right him as if by instinct. Eventually, he reached the cabinets, easily sliding the door of one open. He stuck his head in to inspect--there didn't seem to be anything in this one, but the cabinets were almost tunnel-like. He pulled his head out and turned around, regarding his companion with a cautious glance. "Is dark," he said, his tone serious. "You be ok? Or need light?"

Vidya had a much easier time of walking than Tybalt did; and it was either due to the fact she didn't have talons, or the fact that Vidya appeared to be older then Tybalt physically. Either way, she stayed happily behind him, letting him lead the way to the cabinets.

Once they reached them however, Vidya peered curiously over Tybalt's shoulder, before focusing her white eyes on him when he spoke to her. In response, she gave him a happy grin, leaning forwards a bit with one hand on her hip, the other pointing to the small blue gem on her forehead.

"M'okay. Viddy has THIS!"

With that being said, she pointed into the cabinet.

"Lead tha way, Cap'n!"

Vidya looked over her shoulder, making sure there were no monsters or other pirates behind them.

"H'okay then," he replied with a nod and a glance to Vidya's jewel. He carefully crawled into the cabinet, tucking his wings tightly to his back. The space certainly wasn't a tight one, but having his wings drag against the cabinet's walls would not prove comfortable. He paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the lack of light, before crawling slowly forward. His long tailfeathers dragged noiselessly along the bottom.

Taking one last glance behind her, Vidya crawled in after Tybalt. Her eyes had adjusted to the dull light coming from her forehead jewel; the small blue gem mimicking the reflections of a moonlit ocean. She looked around her, then back at the ground...the last thing she wanted to do was step on his tailfeathers...that would be terrible!

"Y'think there's monsters here, Cap'n?"

Whoops...she just realized she didn't have a weapon! She'd be useless if there were any monsters anyway. Her wings drooped sadly for only a second...what kind of pirate was she? Vidya made a mental note to get herself some sort of weapon for next time.

The glow emitting from Vidya's forehead went unnoticed by Tybalt, who at any other time would have been enthralled by the glow and its color. Rather than seeing what was in front of him, he felt with his hands--such was why the progress he made was slow.

"Aye, ther' c'be some. But they'd be 'lil, t'fit in 'ere, 'n we c'squish 'em with our hands." His words were spoken in a serious tone through a wide smile. He didn't know other people could BE so much fun! And fun he was having--it was certainly better times than being around Liv, that traitorous wench.

"Oh good! I forgotted a weapon today...Viddy will 'member for next time, yep!"

Vidya giggled softly...them promptly stopped herself. That might give away their position! She bit down on her bottom lip to stifle her giggles...though she did squeak in surprise as an unidentifyed bug crawled over her blue hand. Shaking it off of her hand, she caught sight of its shadow and Slap! Squished it dead.

Of course, it seemed the bugs liked this cabinet, as she started to notice more and more little shadows.

"Cap'n! We under a'tack!"

She bit back a gleeful giggle.

Weapons! Of course! What good was being a pirate captain if he didn't even have a sword? He would HAVE to bring this up with the head wen--err, his mother--so they could rectify this immediately! Tybalt stopped dead in his tracks at the warning of the attack, and immediately began bellowing out orders, which echoed noisily off the close walls of the cabinet.

"All 'ands on de--" wait, that wouldn't work. They were in a cabinet, not a ship.

"Fire th'--" that woudn't work either: no cannons here.

"Attack back!" he yelled, hands beginning to smack at unseen shapes both real and imagined.

"Aye aye, Cap'n!"

Vidya couldn't help but giggle with glee... not only was it bug squashing time, but it was fun to quote pirate movies! Waiting for the shadows of the bugs to get closer to her, Vidya began to "attack back" by smacking at them, squishing as many as possible.

After a while, the number of bugs had dramatically dropped, while the number of bug guts grew rather quickly. In fact, it was hard to find any bugs in her immediate sight. With this in mind, she reported back to the Captain.

"Tha emeny re-treat-ed! We win, Cap'n!"

A final smack and a final splat, and the battle was over. "A'course we do! We's an unstopperable force, e'en without weapons! Now ALL monssers'll know t'fear th' crew of th' dread..." he paused. "We don' 'ave a ship. We needs a ship. I think after we fin' th' trezure here, we should come an' deer one." He nodded decisively, as if it were as easy as it sounded. "Onwards!" he cried, crawling forwards once more, heedless of the bug guts that matted his feathers and currently coated the bottom of the cabinet.

"Yes! We be unbeetenable! Yay for us, Cap'n!"

Being part of a crew seemed like a completely awesome idea to Vidya...ooh, being a pirate was fun! You got to smash bugs as well as take treasure and play with sharp pointy objects!

"Meybe after we finished here Cap'n, we should go n' make sures we gots everyting pie-rats need!"

After all...if they were missing weapons and a ship...who knew what else they were missing?! Stifling a childish giggle of glee from their play, she crawled on after Tybalt...but not after wiping some of the bug guts onto her gray tunic.

"Aye, we needs weapons 'n a ship 'n a crew. 'N a ocean, too." So many things they required, and so little time to obtain them in! He continued his crawl, and the trail of bug guts changed to dust--a thick coat of it, in fact, that covered the cabinet's bottom. Apparently, they weren't often used. A niggling sensation formed in the back of his mind; treasure-hunting senses, perhaps? "We're gettin' close."

"Hmmm...Me thinks tha ocean'll be hard part."

She mused this, leaning her head to the side. Vidya didn't notice the dust right away...until their crawling kicked up some of it. Shuddering a bit, Vidya sneezed rather loudly...twice. Sniffling shortly after, she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, giggling sheepishly. Lets just hope there were no more monsters!

Vidya brightened as Tybalt told her they were getting close.

"Oooh..Good! Me wonder whats the treazure'll be..."

Sure enough, after another silent moment, Tybalt's hand fell upon several somethings that certainly wasn't part of the cabinet. They varied in size, shape and texture. Some of them were round and smooth, wheras others were flat and ridged. A few of them were a mixture of both, but the majority seemed to be small and sharp, their shape undefinable due to their multitude. "Trezure..." Tybalt said, awestruck. "We find th' trezure!" he crowed triumphantly. A bit of light filtered in through a crack in the door of the cabinet, where it didn't quite meet the opposite side. Eagerly, Tybalt threw it open, revealing their findings.

Vidya's white eyes widened as she heard Tybalt mutter something about treasure. The blue tale perched herself up as high as she could given the space to see over his shoulder, the light from her gem mingling with the light from the store.

If space had permitted it, she would have thrown her arms into the air in triumph.

"Oh YAY! Tha treazure! Oooh...its very pretty!"

Since she couldn't throw her arms into the air, she merely clasped her hands together.

It was a literal treasure trove of shinies! Tybalt's eyes widened significantly as he got an eyeful of the booty they had found. He carefully nudged their findings out of the cabinet and onto the floor. He himself followed suit, carefully crawling back into the store. He looked much dirtier than when he had entered, and his hat was askew atop his head. His smile was huge, however, and his eyes glittered with treasure-lust.

Vidya waited patiently for Tybalt and the treasure to leave the cabinet before she herself crawled out, shaking the dust from her long hair once she was on the store floor again. She giggled, eyeing the shinies at her feet as they sprawled out infront of her. The blue Tale was grinning from ear to pointed ear, it seemed

"That was fun, Cap'n! We needs ta do it again, okay?"

After all, didn't Tybalt say they were a crew, once before?

Tybalt nodded enthusiastically, only barely managing to catch his hat before it fell off his head. "Aye! 'N then we go onna pillaging spree, 'n do battle with ackshul weapons, 'n sail a ship! You can be th' firs' mate! What say you t'that?" He sat back upon his haunches, claws tightly closed, arms crossed across his chest. He looked every (small) inch the victorious pirate captain.

Inle, however, merely looked bemused. Someone needed a bath.

Vidya's eyes widened as Tybalt listed off everything they could do. The nymph leands over, half sitting down, half leaning on her hands infront of her.

"REALLY?!"

Laughing happily, she leaned back onto her bottom, clapping her hands together.

"Oooh M'so happy! Viddy says tha' sounded great! Oh! Viddy'd be 'onered to be firs' mate!"

At the last part, Vidya attempted some form of bow...though she ended up not being able to complete it, as she realized the hard way (with a whimper in her tone to boot) that she was sitting on her hair.

Enoh merely shook her head with a stifled laugh. Great, Vidya has more shiney things to add to her collection...not to mention the bath she'd have to get when they go home.

Tybalt beamed at his new first mate. He gestured down at the loot in front of them. "This 's only th' beginnin'! When we gets a ship, we can 'splore new lands, 'n finds new trezures, 'n claim th' seas fer our own! 'N nothin' 'n no one can stop us, cuz we're pirates!"

Inle's laugh was not so stifled, and she nearly doubled over in her chair. Tybalt made a point of ignoring her.

Vidya followed his motion to their loot of shineys, before looking back up at him when he spoke again. Everything he was saying sounded like so much FUN! Unfortunately, Vidya knew better than to know nobody could stop them at this point...of course this was one of the points she decided to let Tybalt in on.

"Oooh...tha sound s'like fun! But ah...Cap'n? Momma's real good at stopping Viddy right now...but I try mah bestest to stop that! Okay?"

Other than that, being the first mate on the future pirate ship sounded like SO much fun!

Enoh pressed her fingertips against her lips, casting an extremely amused glance over towards Inle. The shapeshifter was snickering again, having a really hard time trying to stifle her laughter.

"It seems your son's making a rebel out of my daughter! Haha! This will most certainly be interesting!"

Inle's laughter eventually died down, and she nodded at Enoh. "More like your daughter's making an honest pirate out of my son. He doesn't usually get along so well with others...not really a people person, that one."

Tybalt shook his head, as if in disagreement. "No, you c'n get away. Jus' make a big mess, 'n blame it onna animal, and run 'way while she's cleanin' it up!" He smiled mischieviously--this was something he knew from experience.

Inle's head whipped towards him, jaw dropped. "You...you little brat! I KNEW you had something to do with all those squished tomatos in the kitchen!"

Tybalt merely smirked, chest puffing out further. His wings rose slightly, feathers ruffled to make himself appear bigger.

"You know, he's nothing like Olivia described him...at all. Vidya was terrified of meeting him at first. Its funny how thats changed so completely!"

Vidya, listening carefully to Tybalt's means of escape, found herself in hysterical laughter. Her family was so big, she really could blame it on someone else!

"Hehe...! Okay Cap'n, Viddy'll keep dat in mind!"

Her kitsune ears twitched, the shapeshifter looking towards the two babies. Inle's reaction to Tybalt's words got a highly amused laugh out of the red-eyed woman. Now she knew what to look out for with Vidya, with that in mind.

Inle snorted and shook her head, still partially aghast at Tybalt. "Yeah, Olivia and Tybalt don't get along much. She made the mistake of pulling on his feathers and got smacked around for it. I don't think she's forgiven him yet. Tybalt's really not that bad, if you approach him the right way."

Tybalt's gaze darkened a bit at the mention of his arch-nemesis, but even that didn't kill his good mood. Instead of flying off the walls with hate, he turned his attention back to the shinies on the floor. "We divvy th' trezure now, k?"

"So I've been told. He does seem like a good kid, deep down."

Enoh smiled softly, stretching her arms out infront of her.

Vidya yawned a bit, rubbing her eyes with tiny blue fists. She wasn't tired, honest! Turning her attention back to Tybalt, Vidya ended up turning her white gaze down towards the shiney knick knacks on the ground between them. Giggling a bit, she clapped her hands together once.

"H'Okay! How do'we do that?"

She had no idea how to divide the treasure...she could only assume that the Captain got the most of it. Which was fine for her, because she had fun aquiring the treasure!

Inle couldn't help but feel a tiny burst of pride at that. Normally, her kids were the ones running rampant and causing trouble, and while Tybalt certainly wasn't different, it was nice to know that someone else saw the good in him. "Thanks. Vidya's good for him, and it's great that she was able to bring out his...more amiable side."

Vidya's assumptions proved to be right. However, Tybalt didn't take too much more than half. There was certainly plenty for both of them, and she had proven to be an excellent first mate, so he felt she deserved it. "Th res' is yers," he said with a smile.

March 25th, 2005

Wow...Things have been one crazy thing after another. Sometimes, I can hardly find the time to sit down and even write in a journal! But, of course, I always manage to do it, so everything's alright in my books.

Life with Vidya has proven to be...very interesting, to say the least. She's still as friendly and carefree as the day I found her, even though its very obvious she and Ren aren't exactly on the best of terms. I've found out that when she doesn't like something, she makes it painfully clear with her body language, but she hardly ever says anything about it. Kind of like silent anger. I have a feeling that might turn out to be a bad thing when she gets older. I'm thinking I should try and find ways to get her to express herself in that respect...she has no trouble verbally telling people what she likes about them after all.

In my short while with her, I'm already starting to notice changes in Vidya. Her speech is improving, however the slightest, and she's starting to show signs of innate powers...another thing I'm very worried about. For a small example...that blue gem on her forehead. It glows like the reflection of the moon on water when she's in the dark now. It was just a plain blue gem when I found her. It may not seem like much, but I think that the longer she's on this plane of existance, the more talents she naturally has will start to emerge.

I just hope she doesn't get hurt as she learns them.

Anyway, it would seem that Vidya's aquired an occupation. She's managed to become First Mate to Captain Tybalt. Its actually rather cute, because she's obsessed with pirate merchandise right now...I think she wants to learn more about pirates and the like. Right now I believe she's watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the umteenth time since she met Tybalt.

Of course, this means she wants me to take her to a weapon shop. Her arguement is "A pirate isn't a pirate without a weapon!". I really do intend on taking her. I just hope that she doesn't pick anything too...dangerous.

Sigh.

But its still SO cute! Its nice to see her so into something (aside from the hat Nio gave her...she still wears it all the time, and Forte's perch is always on her head when she's at home).

Oh yes. I adopted an abandoned Sprite egg from a cheery salesman the other day. Vidya loves it because its alignment is water and because its blue...so its just like her! The gender of the creature is still undetermined, but I did name it Elke...which is a name that can suit both sexes. When Vidya saw Elke, she naturally poked it...and somehow, it started to wiggle and eventually started to crack! Poor Vidya was positive that she had broken it, and cried for a good hour because she felt so bad. Aww...my little girl is SO sweet. So right now I have a misted creature in one of the tanks in the house, and Vidya is making doubly sure to be extra careful.

Hm. Okay...I'd better start looking at the different Armories in the area.

Khia had finished his chores, and the lessons that Syrie laid out for him daily, and so was allowed to do as he pleased for a while. This generally had him exploring upstairs, but today he wanted to go outside; there was a back door to the shop, and a small yard out there that he'd taken as his own. Syrie had even put some mats, a chair or two, as well as a table and some toys out there for him.

The pitch colored shapeshifter slipped down stairs, intending to go outside; he wore a karate gi, belted at the waist., and his silky hair was pulled back in a tiny paintbrush ponytail; the dual set of horns that his hair usually hid showing just a little.

Enoh and Vidya had come back to the shop of course, on the Tale's stubborn insistance. When they had arrived there wasn't any signs of life in the place...aside from the gleeful squeals of Vidya as she played with her new staff on the floor, and thus Enoh had sat down in one of the chairs, and was catching up on her reading. Every now and then the shapeshifter would glance up, to see if Vidya wasn't destroying things by accident.

"Be very careful, Vidya...don't go breaking anything."

"Okay Momma! Viddy'll be fulla care, yep!"

She nodded sagely, the tips of her long hair bouncing with the motion. On one particular swing of her staff however, something black coming down the stairs caught her eye.

Turning her white gaze towards the creature, she studied it intently before raising her free hand and muttering a single word.

"Hiya."

Khia had spotted the sky-hued child long before she'd seen him, but he'd said nothing, merely kept going down the stairs as he watched her. There was a sort of free-spirited joy to her, which was different from the others he'd met. He knew she was like him; they shared the same "old magic" scent underneath it all.

"Hiya, who be you?" The shapeshifting child made it to the bottom of the stairs and waited there for a moment; had he the ability to smile, he would have been, but a muzzle wasn't very good for smiling...instead, his tail swished happily behind him.

Vidya stared at the creature for a little while longer, before her face lit up in a purely hoyful expression. Jumping to her feet, Vidya didn't even bother to brush herself off as she walked over to the other tale, dragging her staff behind her. She pointed happily at herself.

"M'Viddy! N'Viddy's a pie-rat!"

She seemed proud of her title since the second she aquired it. Being a pirate was so much fun! That smile still on her lips and in her eyes, she pointed to the other, giggling.

"N'who're you? Pretty fur! Pretty Tail! Happy too! Viddy likes."

Of course, it was her custom to point out what she liked about the other almost instantly.

Enoh set down her book, watching Vidya move towards the child at the bottom of the stairs. The shapeshifter's ears twitched a bit, eyeing the other child...she couldn't place it right away, but she could tell that she and that specific child had something rather large in common.

Of course, being shapeshifters wasn't the first thing that came to her mind. In any case, he seemed harmless enough...

Khia wiggled his ears, causing the long tassles of silky fur there to sway. "Kiarhu. Everyone calls Khia. Viddy call Khia too." Pie-rat? He didn't understand for a moment, then his agile mind put it together! Pirate! He'd read about those, in some of the books from the study...and wasn't there that parrot child..hadn't he said he was "Cap'n"?

"Pirate? Khia is...just Khia." He spotted her staff, and remembered a lesson in martial arts that involved using staves. "That's neat..." He pointed to the staff, and then sniffed a bit, taking in her scent. His tail swished more; generally Khia was harmless - he certainly wouldn't hurt a female, it went against what he was learning in his training.

"Khia. Okay. Pretty name! N'Yes, it's vurry neat! See?"

Vidya was still smiling, her gaze moving towards her staff as Khia pointed to it. Giggling, she held it up so he could see it better. It was a shining, dark blue shaft with what looked like metal vines around the ends of it. At the top, wrapped in the same vine design, was a blue gem similar to the one on her forehead...only much larger. Right now, the staff was just a little shorter than she; though she failed to mention that it changes height, according to the user's body type.

"Viddy needed a wheapon. A pie-rat can't be a pie-rat without wheapon!"

She nodded sagely once more.

The shapeshifter child nodded, he wanted a weapon himself, but Syrie had said that a proper weapon chooses it's master, and as such he was being patient. The staff was very neat though, and Khia felt his first taste of jealousy, though it was mild, and quickly squashed by his natural giving nature.

"Viddy the Pirate, and her staff! Very good, yes?" he'd read pirates needed weapons, so nodded and agreed with her. "Pirates fight for booty, right?"

"Yes! Tha'sgood."

Vidya nodded, letting the jeweled tip of her staff rest against the floor of the store again. After a second of considering what Khia had said, she stared to prattle on once more.

"Sometime yes, Sometime no! S'much funner to FIND treazure than fight for it! 'sides, Viddy dunno how to REALLY fight jus'yet! Shhh..."

She giggled, pressing her fingertips against her lips, as if the fighting thing was a secret. Vidya figured she'd learn eventually, but the most important thing was getting a weapon. Looking around, she pointed to one of the cabinets against the wall of the store. She felt it was okay to tell; after all, all of the treasure in that cabinet had been looted!

"Cap'n Tybo n'Viddy find treazure in there. Like...Shinies! We gots to squish bugs n' EVERYTHING! Was fun, vurry fun!"

Khia tilted his head at that. "Khia can fight, taking lessons from Sinsei..." He nodded slowly, then crept over to the cabinet to inspect it, tugging at his karate gi just a little...for him, wearing clothing was sort of uncomfortable, and he was still getting used to it.

"Cap'n Tybo is bright feather-bird, yes?" There really was no other way to explain Tybalt, at least, not in Khia's head. He wondered if he'd get to play with the "pirates" together some day - finding treasure sounded awfully fun, and he knew how to fight - sort of.

"A Sinsei? Liiike...a master, yes?"

Vidya leaned her head to the side and followed after Khia. That particular cabinet had proven to be empty, save for heavilly caked on dust with two strange trails from the pirates duo's adventures, and of course bug guts.

She nodded, then pointed at herself.

"Yes! Tha's Cap'n Tybo! Viddy's tha firs' mate!"

The shapeshifter child nodded, a few strands of his hair slipping free from the paintbrush ponytail he'd put it up into to practice. "Sinsei says Khia is a natural" He was proud, very proud, of his skills - he was learning so fast...like he'd been born for it.

"Ew..dirty...and no more treasure." His ears drooped for a moment, "Khia come search for treasure with Viddy and the Cap'n sometime?"

"Oh wow! Tha's GREAT, Khia!"

Vidya clapped for Khia and his accomplishments. So THAT explains the outfit that he was wearing, even if he did look uncomfortable in it. She peered around the shapeshifter to look into the dirty cabinet, the blue skinned girl breaking out into gleeful laughter upon seeing the bug guts.

"We's'under a'tack! We squashed them good!"

Vidya was actually quite proud of the "battlefield", having taken part in it.

"S'not up ta Viddy though. Ya gotsa ask the Cap'n! Viddy'll tell the Cap'n bout'chu, though! Me thinks it'd be FUN"

Syrie comes down the stairs, peeking at both the children, tail swishing. "Having fun?" He smiles at them both, then gives Khia a sad smile* "Sorry kiddos...tis time for us to go for now..something's come up..."

Khia groaned and sighed, but nodded. He smiled at Viddy "I'll ask, next time I see him! It was nice meeting you, Viddy." He'd been taught manners, and he chose to use them just now. After doing so, Khia shifted into a ball and bounced into Syrie's arms.

"Bye all..might be back later..." the kitsune waved and slunk out with his charge.

"Ar'we there yet, Mommie?"

Vidya asked for what seemed like the billionth time since they had left Enoh's house. The nymph child bad been bugging her mother to go visit the "Cap'n" ever since they left the shop after the two had met, and finally Enoh had caved, grabbing the address that Inle had given her to take Vidya over there.

"Yeah, this it is Sweetie! Its the same as the address here...so it must be it, right?"

"Yay! Viddy go to tha door!"

Without waiting for a response, Vidya went running for the doorway, her new staff in hand. She had so much to tell Tybalt already, and she couldn't wait for another adventure! Once she reached the doorway, Vidya paused...what was it you were s'posed to do now? Oh yeah. Knock!

Giggling, she knocked on the door, rocking from her heels to the balls of her feet as she waited for a response.

"You little brat, I'm so tying your feet together once I find you," Inle grumbled as she wandered through the halls of her ever-shifting house. She was on the prowl for Tybalt, who had gotten into her jewelery box yet again, leaving it and the rest of her room an utter mess. She was diverted from her chase as the call of "Door!" rang throughout the house; who said it, she didn't know. With a roll of her eyes and a muttered threat of payback, she headed for it.

She opened the door, blinking as she saw who was on the other side. "Oh. Uh, hi Enoh, Vidya. What brings you two around here?"

Tybalt popped out from behind a long coat that was hanging on the doorknob of the hall closet, not a handful of yards away from Inle, obviously happy about the company. "Viddy!" he cried, running awkwardly to the door, still not used to the whole walking thing yet.

"Cap'n! Hiya! Whattcha doin' behind tha coat?"

Vidya smiled politely to Inle before scooting inside, completely forgetting her manners in that respect. She had scooted up towards Tybalt, holding out her blue staff with both of her small hands. The shaft was a shining royal blue, metal vines holding a blue gem at the top of the staff; one similar to the gem on Vidya's forehead.

"Lookie what Mommie got me! S'kinda like a wheapon, yes?"

Enoh rolled her eyes towards Vidya as she completely disregarded any form of manners before rampaging into the house. Shaking her head, the shapeshifter turned her attention to Inle.

"Hello there...sorry if we're interupting anything! Vidya pretty much talked my ear off to get me to bring her here."

"I's hidin from Mama," he said matter-of-factly, aware of Inle's presence in front of him but appearing not to care. Tybalt peered curiously at Vidya's staff, looking it over from end to end. "Issa stick? Stick's notta sword, but close 'nough I 'spose. I told Mama I needsed a sword and she said no, not yet. Lots." Only then did Tybalt acknowledge his mother's presence, glaring darkly at her before turning his attention back to his first mate.

Inle turned partially and returned his glare, sticking her tongue out for good measure. Very mature, she was. "Damn right you're not getting a sword. You do enough damage without sharp, pointy objects, you little brat." It took her less than an instant to recompose herself as she turned back to her guest. "Nah, the only thing you interrupted was Tybalt getting in trouble again. But he'll get his later. You two are always welcome!" she said with a nod and a smile, stepping away from the door to allow Enoh entrance.

"Hidin' from your Mommie? Whysat?"

Vidya tilted her head a bit in a curious manner.

"Naah. Momma said Viddy's too little to hava sword...but Viddy can HIT people with staff!"

Moving the staff to her left hand, Vidya threw her right arm into the air, obviously quite proud of that fact. Had she done so already? Of course she had. Then again, that one time was by accident only.

Enoh couldn't help but laugh, stepping through the doorway as she was allowed entrance. The shapeshifter eyed the two Tales before looking back towards Inle.

"I took Vidya out weapons shopping just to entertain her. She'd pointed out a lot of swords...and worse, Swallows...but when I told her she was too little, she settled for that staff of hers. We found it at a magic shop! He's in trouble, eh? Haha...oh, I'm sure you'll get him back! Its a mothers job, you know."

She laughed once more, shaking her head. Enoh had quite a bit of adopted children, so she took pride in getting each of them back for pulling any sort of stunt on her.

Tybalt puffed himself up proudly, baring his teeth in a proud smile. "I was lootin' Mama's trezure chest, 'n she got mad 'n yelly so I ran 'way. 'F I had a sword, though, I c'd've jus' scared 'er off with it." This last bit was said loudly, for Inle's benefit.

Inle growled at him. "I might be too tempted to use it on YOU, you turkey."

Tybalt growled at her in return. "I's notta turkey! I's a PIRATE!"

"You're about to be dinner if you don't get out of here, TURKEY. Take your friend elsewhere before I give into the urge to pluck you!"

Tybalt blew a giant raspberry at her, but turned and ran down the hall, shouting "Come on, b'fore th' monsser gets us! We's gonna needs a CANNON to fight this one!" over his shoulder.

Composing herself once more, Inle turned back to Enoh. "It IS a mother's job, at that. I should demand a raise," she said wryly.

"Oh! Neat!"

Vidya giggled, turning her head from Inle to Tybalt as one or the other spoke. This was fun! Waving goodbye to her mother and Inle, Vidya ran after Tybalt, dragging her staff behind her.

"Eee....Mons'er! But Wheres we gonna gett'a cannon?"

Enoh turned towards Inle, laughing heartilly at the exchange. Oh, it'd been a long time since she faught like that with any of her kids...not since Teivel decided to be a rebel. Her laughter died into a knowing smile.

"Ah yes...Perhaps you should ask for a raise. But I think I get my pay when I see Vidya sleeping. BEST part about having a kid, right there."

"I 'unno, I don' think we've gots cannons here!" He pondered this for a moment, then abruptly changed course. "I know where's we can gets weapons, though!" He cackled maniacally, his feet making clickclickclick noises as his claws tapped on the floor.

Inle chuckled. Finally, a kindred spirit! "I think the best part about having a kid is having them grow up. Then you can have them do chores you'd rather not do. Free slave labor, right there." She was joking, mostly. Maybe.

"Oh yeah? What kinda wheapons! Sounds'like fun!"

Vidya was giggling again as she followed after him; after all, she'd never been in here before! It was all so new...like another adventure! Hanging around Tybalt had proven to be completely awesome once more.

"Oh, and there's that too. Luckily for me...I have two employees. A Gunman and a Swordsman. The Swordsman avoids my house like the plague, but the Gunman is a wonderful babysitter! And of course there's my two oldest...twin Reindeer-like Humanoids. Not only do they do chores, but they babysit too!"

Enoh laughed...poor Vincent was always roped into watching any one of her younger children at any given point in time...and he STILL came to the house. Give that man a medal!

"But if you want a break, you could always drop someone off at my house for a bit. Its really no trouble, and I know how often we mothers need a break!"

"All kindsa weapons!" Tybalt replied with manic glee. Finally, he stopped at the threshold of a doorway, the room currently in the farthest reaches of the house. Inside the room was a couch that had obviously seen better days. It hardly looked like a couch at all, it was so dilapidated and cut up. Parts of it looked to be burned, while other parts were soaked with water. Small blades stuck out of a corner of an armrest.

Populating the room were sprockets of all shapes and colors, although they were all roughly the same size. They whirled aimlessly around the room, as if each was dancing to its own internal tune. Their tinny, high-pitched voices rang out at once, each seeming to be talking to itself, creating a multitude of undefinable sounds.

"Hey, thanks! I may take you up on that someday. Luckily, I've only got two infants left. The others are all a little older, and they don't give me half as much trouble as those two. They watch the kids, too, when I can't deal with them. I'm done with kids, though, for now. No more. For a long, long while, if ever again." So says the woman who went to the store for a pen and returned with a kid.

Vidya peered over Tybalt's shoulder as he stopped, the nymph-child peering into the room. Of course, all of the sprockets had caught her attention, mainly due to them being rather shiney. Her white eyes widened, upon watching them - and probably worse, listening to them - as they moved and chattered.

"Oh WOW! They'r'Pretty, Cap'n! Loud too! They's wheapons?"

She had turned her white gaze to him curiously.

"Oh, no problem at all! I'll have to give you my address before we leave then! My only real infant is Vidya right now...though I do have two...err...objects...that are unborn as of yet, so that will most definately change."

Honestly, Enoh aquired her children in the strangest manner. One was an egg with wings, and the other was a gem.

At the sound of Vidya's voice, all sound and motion in the room abruptly stopped, only to resume a moment later...only this time, the multitude of sprockets zipped towards the pair, surrounding them, their voices now having a purpose.

Who you?!

What you want?

Go away!

Come and play!

Let us out!

Supercalifragilistic--

"SHUT UP!" Tybalt roared over the din, feathers ruffled, and the sprockets did just that. They hovered nervously in midair, confused by this small creature that ordered them about. "We needs some of yous," he said, calming a bit.

We get to leave?

Play?

Have fun?

--Expiali

"SHUT UP!" Tybalt roared once more. "Not all. Jus' a few. Come closer, so we c'n reach." At this, the sprocket cloud hovered lower, putting themselves within easy reach of the children. Tybalt nodded approvingly at this before turning to Vidya. "Pick some sprockers fer weapons. They c'n shoot their ele...eler...the thingy they are. Like..." he paused, looking around before pointing. "Fire," he said, pointing to the fire sprocket. It detached itself from the group and came closer.

Meanwhile, Inle tilted her head to the side. "Objects? That's a new one. And yes, please do. Having Tybalt visit someone else would be great. He needs to learn proper conduct around others...or something."

Vidya squeaked as the cloud of sprockets came close to them, the nymph covering her head with her arms. Some pirate she was! Flinching as Tybalt yelled, she eventually lifted her head so she could see, and then slowly lowered her arms back down to her sides. Her eyes then went towards Tybalt as he showed her what to do...and hey, if Tybalt could do it, so could she!

"Ohtay..."

She mumbled as if it were just a passing thought, the girl looking around the sprocket army around them. Naturally the blue hued ones caught her attention...but then again so did those with hints of orange in them. Having made her decision, she pointed at a couple of the sprockets around them.

"Viddy can't choose 'tween Wah'er, Ice, Storm n'So-lar.."

Enoh chuckled, searching through her coat pockets, as well as her side bag, for anything that might be of use to write an address down.

"Tybalt seems to be doing okay with Vidya...Perhaps meeting more people would help him, too?"

She glanced up at Inle, before finding what she was looking for. Tugging out a piece of paper and a pen, Enoh wrote down her home address, giving it a good once-over before handing it to Inle.

"Ah...there. Better do it now before I forget!"

Inle chuckled, taking the paper, glancing at it, and stuffing it in her pocket as she spoke. "I'm not sure if he can HANDLE other people. It shocked the hell out of me that he was able to get along so well with Vidya, after his horrible experiences with...some of the other Tales. Truth be told, he's a bit much even for me, sometimes. He's just got too much spunk for one kid, and it's great that Vidya can deal with that." As if only then realizing her manners, she straightened. "Sorry, just realized we're standing at the door. Would you like something to drink?"

Tybalt seemed not to notice Vidya's moment of unease, and looked over her selections for a moment before nodding. "We takes 'em all. Stone 'n Blade, too. Ever'one else go 'way!" The chosen sprockets bobbed happily, glad to be given something to do. Tybalt turned back to Vidya, smiling reassuringly. "See? These're weapons enough t'fight th' Mamamonsser!"

"Then I guess that means he's either got some form of friendliness to him...either that or Viddy just gained his favor on one of his good days. Vidya is a very energetic girl herself...I think they're the type that'll play until they pass out. Which is great that they're friends...let them tire eachother out."

Enoh chuckled, shaking her head a bit. Both were entirely possible, and the latter was something that sounded like music to the shapeshifter's ears. Said ears did twitch however, at the mention of drinks. She's also forgotten that they were standing in the doorway. Smiling a bit, she nodded.

"Sure...Might I ask what you have?"

"But...I dun wanna hurt me Mommie..."

She mumbled a bit to herself, her chosen sprockets bobbing and dancing around her. Vidya giggled at the antics of the sprockets before looking over at Tybalt again.

"Hey, y'think sprockers'll help us getta ship?"

Tybalt's smirk was only slightly evil. "We don' haveta hurt YOUR Mama. Jus' mine." The Blade sprocket cackled at that, rotating in midair and making a sound much like a very small chainsaw. Tybalt perked up at the mention of a ship, glancing around at the sprockets that surrounded them both. "Yeah! Sprockers can, but we'll needs lots 'n lots 'n LOTS of 'em!"

"I think her whole sea-likeness sealed the deal. He seems to love the sea...it only makes sense, being a pirate and all. That, and she didn't play with his feathers. He hates that, and I imagine it isn't too comfortable anyway." She nodded as if she had some idea what she was talking about. "Oh, we've got water, juice, milk, soda...and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol," she said with a rueful chuckle.

Vidya didn't much like the idea of hurting anyone's mother. She leaned her head to the side, considering every other option they could take. She was a rather smart girl, and she knew that there had to be something else to do right now...doing what he wanted in this case seemed a very had idea...so that was going to be the extremely last resort.

Getting an idea, Vidya reached up and poked at the water sprocket that hovered close to her.

"Viddy has an i-d-er! If we hurted your Mommie, we gets into lotsa trouble, yes? Why dun we find a speshul cave or summin to hide in? So your Mommie and mine Mommie not find us!"

It made sense though...every pirate needed a cave to stash their loot, right? They were only starter pirates right now, and they didn't have anything but Vidya's staff and some shinies.

"Oh, that makes sense to. I'd imagine that was why he was so on guard when Vidya hugged him."

Enoh thought about it for a bit, and then her thoughts were brought back to Inle, who was listing off the available drinks.

"Hm...I think Water'll do for now, thank you!"

Tybalt seemed to ponder this a moment, feathers ruffling and smoothing idly as he thought. Getting in trouble from the Mamamonster wouldn't be a good thing, but it was so much fun, regardless! He didn't want his first mate to get in trouble though--that might hinder their adventuring time. Reluctantly, he nodded.

"We c'do tha', I 'spose," he said slowly, his mind already going through the possibilities. Wasn't there a closet somewhere they could hide in? Something big, where no one ever checked? It was then that Tybalt remembered Inle's mention of the basement, and her warning never to go down there. "I know where t'go! Follow me!" he ordered, then took off running, the sprockets trailing behind him.

Inle nodded and led the way to the kitchen. "Come to think of it, I think Vidya's the only person other than me who's been brave enough to hug the little monster." Although her words were somewhat insulting, a tone of affection lingered in her voice.

Vidya was overjoyed at the fact that they weren't going to go after his mother...yet. Clapping her small blue hands together.

"Okay! R'ght behind yah, Cap'n!"

She giggled softly, before taking off after Tybalt. The sprockets she had chosen squeaking before flying after her. Well, they weren't going to go after Inle anymore, so this meant more adventures! Adventures = Fun.

Enoh grinned proudly, following after Inle. She had picked up the insult, but the tone in the woman's voice made her disregard it.

"I think Vidya knew that is she was careful, she wouldn't get hurt like Olivia did. She's a remarkably smart child, even though she can't seem to speak properly."

The shapeshifter tapped her fingertips to her lips.

"Though I also think that if he bit her...or worse...she probably wouldn't have even tried to hug him."

"I don't think any child can speak perfectly at that age," Inle said as she walked into the kitchen, making a beeline for the cupboards. She pulled out a clear plastic cup, its circumference decorated with fish, and walked over to the sink. After turning it on, she called over her shoulder, "And Tybalt's not a biter, thankfully. A hitter, a kicker, and a scratcher yes, but not a biter." She finished filling the glass and turned back to Enoh, holding it out to her. "And Vidya IS smart, and imaginative to boot. She picked up on the whole pirating thing pretty easily, I noticed."

Meanwhile, Tybalt's pace slowed to a walk as he approached the door to the basement, which was close enough to the kitchen that he didn't want to risk making too much noise. He silently shushed the sprockets, which were still ecstatic about their new playmates.

The basement door seemed more nondescript than any other structure in the house. It was made of plain oak and had an abandoned, unfinished feel to it. The knob had once been silver, but was now somewhat tarnished with disuse. A padlock had been positioned towards the top of the door, and was high above the reach of the two Tales. Tybalt turned and carefully plucked the Blade sprocket from the air. "You," he said in a whisper, "go float up there 'n unlock th' door fer us." With a conspirator's giggle, it floated upwards, inserting itself awkwardly in the lock.

"Ah, thats not what I meant. With her age aside, sometimes her speech can get worse than a child who is just learning how. But nevermind that!"

Enoh smiled softly. That usually only happened when Vidya was excited beyond words. The shapeshifter had read about that once...how a child's brain moved too fast for the mouth to comprehend, and therefore, speech impediments, studdering or even lack of speech completely.

"Thankfully for that, then. Like I said before...its great that they're friends, they can tire eachother out and actually sleep at night. Hah...thank you."

She smiled, accepting the glass of water, and taking a small sip of it before speaking once more.

"I think her picking up on the pirating thing started when she watched one of the Pirate movies I own. She seemed to like that movie an awful lot, and when she connected Tybalt with a pirate, she figured adventures were close at hand. The rest is just a child's imagination! Tybalt seems full of it, imagination I mean, as well...He also seems very smart, and sometimes I noticed that he can act older then his age."

Vidya had seen Tybalt slow down, and to avoid a collision with him, she too slowed down and walked slower. She also tried to make herself quieter, since she could hear their mothers speaking in the not too distant kitchen. The blue child turned, and pressed her finger against her lips to silence the sprockets around her, though she had to clasp her hands over her lips to surpress one of her giggles. This was too much fun, she couldn't help it!

Since Tybalt was busy with the sprockets,Vidya set to watch out for their Mothers, other animals, or even monsters and pirates. Nobody was gonna take their hiding place away from them!

Inle nodded slowly, leaning back against the counter. "He seems more like an old man than an infant, sometimes. He's certainly as grumpy as one, to be sure. I worry sometimes that he's too serious, but then he pulls s**t like he did tonight and it reminds me that he's got his own definition of 'fun.' Tybalt's a very...different child. Where he's serious, Vidya's outgoing and fun. I think that's one of the reasons why they get along so well."

It took a moment, but the sprocket was able to unlock the only thing that stood between the pirates and their hiding place. It seemed to get stuck, however, and squeaked as it tried to free itself. It shook the lock back and forth, and it was only by a stroke of luck that it managed to get itself, still in the lock's clutches, free of the metal that held the door shut. It seemed to scream in a high-pitched voice as it fell to the ground, its own meager weight overpowered by that of the heavy lock. Tybalt's eyes widened and he immediately reached a hand out, catching it as it fell--

--only to have the flesh of his palm punctured by the sharp teeth of the sprocket. His eyes widened further and he clenched his jaw tightly to stifle his cry; it wouldn't do to have their plans revealed when they were so close to victory, and he'd be damned if he showed weakness in front of his first mate. Tybalt took a deep breath and removed the lock-laden sprocket with his free hand before similarly removing the sprocket from the lock. He placed the latter on the ground, beside small droplets of blood that had dripped from his injury. The sprocket began thanking him and apologizing to him alternately, and Tybalt shook his head. "Shuddup, sprocker. You've done 'nough." With that, he reached up with his good hand and turned the doorknob, pushing open the troublesome plank of wood as the knob turned to allow them entrance.


"The world works best with balance, or so I understand."

Enoh eyed the cup of water she held in her hand. It was true though, what Inle had said. The shapeshifter had noticed it too...and it was also the same visa-versa...or so she would wager. She really hadn't seen Vidya very serious yet, only a few rare times, and even then they were momentary.

The high pitched scream of the sprocket rang in her kitsune ears, though extensions flattening instantly against the sides of her head, as if to block out the noise. The shapeshifter flinched openly, nearly dropping her glass of water from the shock of the noise. Luckily, the scream faded quickly, leaving Enoh in a relatively dizzy state. Setting her water down on the counter, she pressed the palm of her right hand against her forehead.

"Ugh...what the hell...?"

She hadn't connected the scream to the Tale infants, though.

Vidya pressed her hands against her ears as the sprocket screamed, looking over her shoulder just in time to see Tybalt get hurt by the blades on the device. Her white eyes widened, the blue child swaying a bit as if she were about to faint. She'd never seen real blood before, and it made her rather queasy.

Shaking her head free of the dizzy feeling, Vidya lowered her hands. A PIRATE can't be afraid of blood! Thats unheard of! She knew better than to ask Tybalt if he was okay, though any glance at her expression would be clearer than words; the nymph was worried about him. Instead, the girl sidestepped a bit, so she could see over Tybalt a little better, and into the darkness of the basement.

"Wow, s'at tha cave?"

Inle's head canted to the side, brows furrowing in concern for her guest. She frowned a bit, confused; she didn't have the same hearing capabilities as Enoh, and hadn't heard a thing. "Are you alright? The water didn't go bad again, did it?"

"Yah," Tybalt whispered, nodding before plucking the fire sprocket right out of the air. "You give us a light so we c'n see, k?" he ordered, releasing the sprocket. Silently, it entered the darkness, seeming to disappear for a moment before seeming to set itself on fire. The light it created was just enough to see by. The first several stairs of the old, rickety staircase were visible, along with the dust-covered railing. The stairs seemed to descend into black nothingness, but time would tell what lie at the bottom of them. Carefully, Tybalt started down the stairs, beckoning for Vidya to follow with his good hand.


"I...I think so. Something was screeching...but its gone now. Damn that hurt...! But no, the water's perfectly fine."

She flinched once more, rubbing at her still lowered ears.

Vidya was about to bring up her gem again, but the words died on her lips as the fire sprocket made itself into a floating torch. The Tale shrugged visibly...the light of her gem would only be enough for her right now anyway.

She had already began to follow after him, even before he made the beckoning motion. One of her hands rested on the dusty railing, having gained a habit to use a railing when descending a staircase, if one was available.

She then leaned her head to the side, focusing her eyes on the back of Tybalt's head.

"Why does yer Momma lock up tha door?"

Screeching? That was a new one, to her anyway. Inle mentally went through the creatures that inhabited her home, trying to think of any that would make such a noise. Most of her animals could screech, true enough, but something like that? Her mind immediately went to the sprockets, but they made sounds for no reason all the time. Shrugging, she dismissed it. "Sorry about that. The creatures that probably made it...well, they're weird to say the least. You need some tylenol, or something?"

Tybalt's hands were fisted at his sides, at the ready just in case they were attacked. His wings were splayed for balance, ensuring that he wouldn't go toppling head-first down into the dark depths of the basement. "Dunno," he replied. "She says there's a seecert lab down 'ere, 'n monssers, but we c'n take on monssers easy 'nough." His tone was confident, and finally, the sprocket's glow illuminated the cracked concrete floor of the basement.


"Ah, no thank you. I don't really have a headache, it was more of a sudden shock. What kind of creature was that anyway? If you don't mind my asking."

Smiling somewhat, Enoh reached over to grab her glass of water, taking another sip. Her ears were too stubborn to perk again, or so it would seem. It was almost as if they were afraid of being screeched at again.

Vidya let go of the banister and grabbed her staff with both hands at the mere mention of monsters. Okay, they were in a dark, creepy basement, were equipped with a floating torch, and had no idea what was down there. It was an ADVENTURE. An Adventure with the possibility of aquiring a hiding place! Vidya's face brightened once more, eyeing the floor as it came into view.

"Mons'ers, huh? Meybee ya can get your Mommie to getchu a wheapon now! Or Meybe you could FIND wheapon! Oh. Whoops!"

She then quieted down, remembering that they were supposed to be sneaking.

"It was a sprocket, most likely. A...little floating gear-type thing. Strange creatures, annoying as hell. I seem to have accumulated a bunch of them, though I'm not sure why or how. One of them or another's usually floating through the house." They were so much more than that, but it was hard for Inle to explain it without actually showing Enoh one.

Tybalt glanced over his shoulder at Vidya, about to tell her to keep her voice down when she realized her own mistake. "Mebbe," he agreed reluctantly, "but I don' think so." He followed the light of the sprocket, which had drifted towards towards the corner in front of the staircase. A rack of flimsy-looking metal shelving sat against the staircase wall. The two bottom shelves were occupied by jugs, their labels torn, faded, or nonexistant--Inle's photo developing chemicals. The other four shelves held small bottles, vials, and boxes containing materials that belonged to the house's former owner. Some of those held chemicals as well; others still housed all manner of metaphysical materials.

A cupboard/table-like structure jutted out from the wall in front of the staircase. It looked, to Tybalt, slightly like the cabinets he and Vidya had crawled through on their first treasure hunt. Odd-looking machines sat atop it, with trays next to them; a pair of enlargers and trays of the photochemcials stored in the shelves' jugs. They caused the whole room to smell slightly acrid. Tybalt looked over all of this with interest, not noticing the large, red eyes peering at him and his companion from the room's darkest corner...

"A sprocket? I've heard of them, actually. I didn't think they were that loud. Its almost like it was falling."

The shapeshifter mused over his one, rubbing one of her ears with her free hand. A falling sprocket was unusual, considering they could float and all that fun stuff.

Vidya looked at Tybalt only when he spoke. In truth, the items on the walls were much more interesting than any comment in response to her own question. She did pay attention though, because she respected him as her Captain.

When her white eyes found the cabinets infront of them, the small child couldn't help but giggle. She recognized those! Well, sort of. Somehow though, she doubted there would be any shinies in that cabinet. Shaking her head to her her bangs out of her face, Vidya pulled her long white and blue streaked hair over her shoulder, braiding it in a half-hearted manner so it would stay out of her way.

As she looked around the room, Vidya caught a glimpse of something strange. Something...red, and staring in their general direction. Biting her lip to bite back a whimper, Vidya backed up a few paces, considering tugging on his arm...though that idea died pretty quickly. Instead, she poked his shoulder once.

"Uhh...Cap'n...?"

"Falling? Those things?" Inle rubbed her chin, as if in thought. The sprockets WERE prone to trouble, and stranger things had happened since the horde had descended upon her home...it still smacked of something odd. "Do you think you can pinpoint where it came from?" If nothing else, it bore investigation, just in case.

Tybalt was so lost exploring this newfound cavern that it took him a moment to register that he was being addressed. Reluctantly, he pulled his gaze away from the wall. "Huh? Whassit, Videe--whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise as he too saw the red eyes of...whatever it was. The fire sprocket was still behind the pair, leaving the rest of the room outside its warm glow pitch black; the eyes had the effect of floating, and Tybalt couldn't help but stare.

The creature blinked once before its large eyes narrowed, and it shuffled in the dark. This snapped Tybalt out of his awe-struck stupor, and he frantically began looking for something to beat this new threat back with. He smiled rogueishly as he caught sight of a broom resting against the side of the metal rack and immediately dove for it. Surprisingly, he grabbed the handle around its middle rather than its base, giving him a more manageable staff-like weapon rather than a long, unwieldy sword. He turned back to the monster and rushed back to his first mate's side, brandishing this odd weapon. "Back, beesie!" he barked, all business now.

((Again, feel free to gm the "beesie." xd ))

Enoh looked around, then pointed in the general direction of the basement door. She didn't know the layout of the house, but she did know the louder sound came from that direction.

"That way, I think...Hm."

She paused, her arm slowly hovering back to her side.

"..Do you think it could've been the kids? I thought I also heard Vidya before the screeching."

Vidya squeaked as the thing's eyes narrowed. The girl considered hiding...but what kind of pirate would she be, if she didn't stand up to her fears? The only problem was...she had no idea what to do. Her white eyes still wide, and still locked on the beast, Vidya almost cried out in objection as Tybalt disappeared from her side...that wasn't fair! Needless to say, the girl sighed with relief when he re-appeared with the broom.

The broom...oh yeah!

Getting a rather stern look about her, Vidya nodded firmly and grasped her staff with both hands, holding the jeweled tip out towards the beast. With her staff and newfound courage, the Tale had no problem facing this foe.

"Yeah, g'itback! We not 'fraid of you!"

Inle couldn't help but immediately think, Crap, what did that pillow with legs get into now?! "With Tybalt's bad influence, I'm almost certain it's the kids." Her apprehension grew as she noticed which direction Enoh was pointing in. "It's worth checking out, I suppose..." she trailed off, almost afraid to see what the pair of pirates had gotten into this time. She remembered their first adventure all too well; more specifically, how long it had taken to clean the dust, dirt, and bug guts from Tybalt's feathers.

The creature's slitted eyes turned to Vidya at her bold proclamation, and Tybalt took that opportunity to jab the broom's handle into the darkness. There was a thud, and a grunt from the creature...but the handle didn't come out. Tybalt pulled back on the broom, unwilling to give up his only weapon. He threw his weight back, but failed to wrest the handle from the creature's grasp; in fact, it seemed to be pulling the handle towards itself slow inches at a time.

Tybalt's eyes narrowed in determination and he tried to dig his claws into the ground in order to get some leverage. The floor of the basement was concrete, however, and it only sent jolts running through his legs. Tybalt fought these and only dug in harder.

"No--" he growled, shaking the hat off his head as it slipped over an eye. His movements towards the shadows were slower now.

"You--" a small noise could be heard, and cracks spiderwebbed around Tybalt's feet.

"DON'T!" he yelled, and immediately stopped moving. There was a louder crack--it seemed his claws had penetrated the surface of the concrete, and he was anchored by it. There was another crack, and the broom handle came out of the shadows--what was left of it, anyway. Just over a half foot of it was gone, appearing to have been bitten off. Tybalt lost his balance and fell on his feathered rump, his claws remaining embedded in the floor.

The creature growled.


"Well...bad influence or not, Vidya's still having fun. As long as she doesn't start smashing things at home, I think I can let them play."

Enoh laughed softly, shaking her head. Vidya was a good kid...and she was adventurous anyway, even when she wasn't with Tybalt. The shapeshifter was also half joking on the smashing items thing, though...Vidya had already broken a few lamps, but Enoh had wanted to smash them herself, so she didn't mind too much.

She turned, waiting for Inle to lead the way...after all, this wasn't her own house.

Vidya squeaked as the red eyes were focused on her, her own eyes darting towards Tybalt when he jabbed at the creature. The nymph watched her Captain struggle, looking between him and the red-eyed monster lurking in the shadows...there had to be something she could do! But what?

Blinking blankly, Vidya slowly began to creep into the shadows, backing out of the light that came from the sprocket. Remembering her gem, Vidya covered the decoration with one of her hands so it wouldn't give away her position, keeping the creature's glowing red eyes in her sight. She remembered the game called "tag" that she was told about. Somebody hides, and the others seek, right? Their situation seemed to fit right now...and besides, Tybalt needed help!

Once she was close enough to hear the creatures breathing, Vidya uncovered her gem to grasp her staff boldly in two hands, the faint light of her decoration glowing like moonlight on the water's surface...and then Vidya hesitated.

As Tybalt uttered his second growled word, Vidya was brought back to her senses, shaking her head and lifting the staff over her head. By the time Tybalt had finished yelling, there was another sound. A smaller, less violent sound that came inbetween the two cracking noises...the sound of a dull thud.

Since the creature had been focused on Tybalt, Vidya had no problem smacking the thing's body...well, at least thats what she hoped she did. Her actions were confirmed by the creature's growl, the beast recovering from the smack to slowly drag its red eyes towards her.

Snatching her staff against her again, Vidya backed up a few steps so she wasn't as close to the creature, suddenly feeling very brave.

"You sta'way from the Cap'n, yah oogly beesie!"

Inle headed out of the kitchen, thankful that there were a minimum of halls to wander down. What she was not thankful for, however, was the open door leading down to the one restricted place in the house. The basement door was wide open, the padlock that had held it shut sitting beside it. The heavy piece of metal appeared to be scratched, and Inle idly wondered what had happened to it. It was then that she heard Vidya's voice.

Meanwhile, Tybalt struggled to stand, though it was difficult with his claws embedded into the floor as they were. He finally boosted himself up with what was left of the broom handle, but his claws refused to open. The red eyes were slowly advancing towards Vidya, as if the creature sought to pin her between itself and the wall.

In frustration, Tybalt looked around for something to help him out of the literal hole he was in, only to find the group of sprockets hovering excitedly in a corner of the room. "Don' jus' stan' there, attack th' monsser!" he commanded. The sprockets entered the fray, and the monster was pelted with elemental debris, diverting its attention for a moment.

The storm sprocket had just been swatted out of the air when suddenly, the room brightened, and Tybalt, the monster, and the sprockets stopped what they had been doing and looked to the top of the stairs. There stood Inle, one hand on the lightswitch, murder in her eyes. Tybalt, who had finally managed to get a foot free, muttered an "uh oh."

Quote:

April 18, 2005

I don't believe it. I just...don't believe it! Family life was perfect, it was peaceful, and above all, everyone was safe and happy...

But its amazing how one accident can nearly take all of that away from a person. Its terrifying, especially to a person like me, who has such a large family, and bases everything she does around what would make her family happy.

If you're not sure what it is I'm talking about, I'm referring to when the Gambino tower fell. It didn't land on my house thank god, but part of it was destroyed in the fall from the debris that went flying. Luckily my eldest children were home, and they played a huge part in gathering the younger children.

I couldn't have done it by myself, and I am eternally grateful that they were home for once.

So now, we're living in Vincent's Mansion in Nibelheim, along with Dragonfly's family. From what I understand, Vincent had entrusted the mansion to Dragonfly on a sort of...landlord basis. Meaning that Vincent is the landlord, and Dragonfly can do with the house as she sees fit. Luckily for us, she allowed us to live there until the house is rebuilt.

Everybody's taking it pretty hard...Vidya refuses to sleep alone. She has to sleep with Nio and myself, or she won't sleep at all....Ella isn't as fickle about where she sleeps, and Valen and Van generally stay together as always. The twins act like nothing happened, though...I really think they're only acting like that for the sake of their siblings.

They're so thoughtful...I'm so damn lucky to have such wonderful children.

Anyway! I'm needed downstairs. I'll write later.

-Enoh