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 Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:51 am
Was This Always Here? In Which a Shard of Glass is Discovered...Her head ached. Hours, upon hours, upon hours of slaving over the ******** contraption...and nothing. Nothing! Nothing but battle scars. Her hair was singed in several places, leaving the usually light brown edges a deep black. Soot randomly spotted her face and arms, and if you looked closely--and only if you were allowed to look--her stomach and back were speckled as well. She sighed, raking a dirty hand through her hair.
The ******** stove was broken, and who was going to fix it? Surely not the landlord. Of course not the landlord, the man responsible for fixing the unfixable!
"I'm too busy, dear Ioyla," the old man had said. Ioyla had to restrain herself from punching him in the kidney. "Just try it yourself. I'm sure you'll be able to fix it! Look at those nice, strong arms you have there. Why, I don't doubt you could beat my son in an arm wrestling match. Isn't that right, Kyle?" The landlord's husky son poked his head from around the doorframe, grinning his stupid, stupid grin.
Ioyla rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks, Mister Bogner. I really appreciate it. Really, I do." The demon girl had stalked back to her apartment, slamming the cheap door shut, making it rattle right on its rusty, old hinges. Calira sat in the middle of the floor, playing with Yeos.
"Haaai," the little totem squeaked. Yeos stroked her feathers while Cali tried to catch the older dog girl's ever-elusive tail. Yeos giggled, hardly noticing the irate Ioyla.
"What's wrong? The landlord couldn't fix the stove?" Yeos tilted her head to the side, picking Cali gently up, setting her down in her own lap. She made weird noises for a while, then fell silent to observe the conversation between Yeos and Ioyla.
"No," she said, "the a*****e said I had 'nice strong arms'. The hell is that s'pposed to mean? Jesus, is he hitting on me or something?" Ioyla plopped down on the infamous couch. She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. How were they going to have food? Ioyla already had a hard time cooking, and money was tighter than a virgin. s**t.
"Well...maybe we can order out tonight." Again. "How about Chinese food? Those robots make a mean chicken fried rice!" Yeos smiled and stood, lifting Calira with her, who sqiurmed and squealed. She released the little totem on the ground. Cali waddled over to the kitchen. "And then, maybe, we could ask Mister Bogner again. Okay?"
Ioyla shook her head, standing. She brushed her hands on her jeans, adjusted her hat, and sighed again. "No...no, I think I'll just try and work on the damn stove. You guys go in t' my room. Play with Cali. Try and keep her attention busy for a few hours. Don't let her walk in while I'm beating the stove with a lead pi--"
A loud crash, and Calira scuttled out of the kitchen, hoardes of pots and pans chasing her. Cali ran behind Yeos. "...keep her busy," she finished. Yeos saluted her mother.
"Aye aye, cap'n! Tell me when the stove is fixed, I'll try and whip us all something up. No offense, but...you can't cook to save her life." Yeos skipped out of the living room, laughing, Cali right behind her, still chasing her tail. Ioyla would have chased her, but...she had work to do. A lot of work.
And now, hours later, Ioyla was covered in soot, first degree burn marks, and entirely pissed off. "GODDAMMIT!" the fire demon cried when she bumped her head for the umpteenth time on the door of the oven. "KILLLLLL YOOOOU!" She finally lost it, standing and opening a window above the sink. She stuck her head out and shrieked curses.
Done with her rant, Ioyla jerked her head back in and slammed the window shut. She paced around the kitchen, rubbing her temples. Oh, God, if Iliran could only see her now...she would never hear the end of it. She pushed herself onto the counter and sat there, swinging her scrawny legs, humming to herself. By now, Yeos and Calira had to be asleep. She didn't bother checking. Oh well, might as well go to bed. She'd finish it in the morning.
Before heading off to bed, Ioyla got the craving. She patted her pockets, her shirt, even her shoes, before finding what she was looking for: a box of cigarettes. The demon fingered one out, popping it between her lips. She paced once more around the tiny kitchen, mumbling to herself. One more look couldn't hurt, right? Right!
Ioyla crouched down in front of the open oven. Was it off? She checked: Yes. She poked her head, looking all around the black, greasy compartment. Nothing out of the ordinary. But she couldn't exactly see that well. Ioyla jabbed a finger into the oven, sparking a small fire on the edge. There! Much better! And that was when she saw it:
A piece of glass.
She blinked, pulling her head back out. The hell was that? She rubbed her eyes and checked her watch. 3:14 AM. She must've been more tired than she thought. Ioyla went back into the oven again, bringing her finger with her. That was a piece of glass. Holy s**t, no wonder the ******** stove doesn't work!"
Ioyla angled another arm into the oven, patting her dirty fingers on an even dirtier surface, blindly searching for the shard of glass. That wasn't it...nope...that sure as hell wasn't it, either...there! She yanked it out, wiping burnt pieces of food and disgustingness off the shard. "I swear, if Cali did this..." She stalked over to the kitchen sink, flipping the H faucet. The cigarette was long forgotten; by now, the filter was dangling on the very edge of her lips, in serious danger of falling off. She plucked the cancer stick out of her mouth and flicked it out of the open window.
"There we go, get you all cleaned up...little ********, ruining my cooking utensil," the demon soothed, rubbing the last of the particles off the glass under the hot water. Clean, Ioyla could see the shard more clearly.
There was nothing about special about it. It was a piece of damn glass, caught in the oven. It must have come from an exploding casserole dish or something. She sighed, searching herself for another cigarette. Ioyla was once again on top of the counter. She held the piece of glass in front of her while she conjured a light from the tip of her finger.
Ioyla lit the other cigarette with her finger, finally taking a deep, deep drag. She drew the blue-black smoke deep into her lungs, the fatal toxins doing nothing to her lungs. Demons had spent nearly all of eternity in Hell, their lungs toughening up to the sulfur-like air. What was a little cigarette going to do? Absolutely nothing.
The flame from her make-shift lighter glimmered and danced across the glass, reflecting it, throwing the orange-red hues back on Ioyla's pale face. She sighed, extinguishing the light. The demon girl took another drag, finishing off more than half of it. "I'll punish the damn totem later."
The reflection of the fire faded out when the real thing did, although...although the glass continued to glow. It was faint, and even though Ioyla's cheap over-head kitchen lights were bright, she could definately see a faint gleam. "The hell..." she muttered, turning the glass in all directions. "Well, that's ******** up then."
Ioyla jumped off the counter, taking the shard to the sink again. "You ain't a normal annoyance, are you? s**t, if another Cali breaks through..." Ioyla placed the glass on the counter, rubbing her chin in thought. She flipped the nearly-done cigarette out of the open window, then closed it. Her breath came in quick whispers, snaking through her steel lungs, crawling up her throat, pushing out her mouth.
"Well then...I guess we'll just go to bed and see what's up in the morning, eh?" Ioyla snatched the glass off the counter. She studied the faintly-glowing object once more, then sighed, defeated. Ioyla flipped the light off in the kitchen, kicking the door to the stove closed, before shuffling to her room.
There, Ioyla placed the glass on her bedside table. Yeos and Calira were, indeed, asleep on her bed. The demon undressed quietly, wittled down to just her usual black bra and panties. A pair of dark gray toesocks still clung to her feet, and although she wanted to peel them off, she was just too tired.
She crawled into bed, careful not to wake her slumbering children. Her bright gray eyes stared at the shard on the table, hardly blinking, until they drifted shut. Her breathing was slow and deep, signaling her surrender to the sandman. Her head no longer ached.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:54 am
Here Comes the Sun... Part 1. In Which Ilistala is Born!The Shattered How had she managed it? How had this woman managed to catch a shard of mirror on her clothing the very next day, only to have it fall unnoticed under the kitchen table, where it remained, glowing fiercely yet somehow unnoticed, for a week? The impatient little being inside certainly didn't know, for one. It was an early morning, and there was breakfast on the table, she could smell it. Now seemed about as good a time as any.. hopefully someone would notice her if she were a bit bigger. The little shard of glass shimmied on the floor, before bursting into flame. The flame brightened and burned the bottom of the table it lay under dustily for a week, until the ball of fire was either extinguished or died off on it's own. In it's wake, sitting raggedly on the charred floor underneath it, lay a rather bright looking little girl.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:57 am
Here Comes the Sun... Part 2. In Which Ilistala is Born!The sun was bright. Too bright. Ioyla stumbled out of her bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of her bright gray eyes. Where was Eight...? She couldn't exactly see her friend, but maybe that was because the sunlight was like ******** daggers in her eyes. Jesus, what time was it? Ioyla stole a glance to the clock on the hallway wall: 8:27 AM. She groaned loudly, slouching back into her bedroom.
Eight had slept over, probably just to mooch--that's what Ioyla suspected, at least--and they had spent nearly the entire night talking and giggling like highschool girls. Ioyla was absolutely exhausted. The demon fell atop her bed, burying herself under the covers. It still smelled like Page. She smiled to herself, inhaling the scent of the man, snuggling even deeper into it.
Ioyla rolled about on the bed, arms flailing and feet kicking. "Eight!" she cried, unsure as to her partner-in-crime's location, but screaming anyway, "make me a sammich, woman! And coffee! I demand coffee or so help me I'll whip the skin offa ya!" She forced loud, gutteral growls and giggled obnoxiously.
Eight had been sleeping in Ioyla's bed, just because she didn't want to sleep on a couch, and had been promptly shoved off when her friend got up to leave the room. So there Eight was, a very sour look on her face and looking just like a heap of blankets if one were too sleepy to look around the room with theis eyes fully open. "...Lovely..." She grumbled groggily, flailing one arm blindly around to find the bed before she rolled back onto it.
It was Ioyla who mooched off Eight, but the girl had plenty of fun hanging out with her childhood friend, looking out the window pointing out the places they'd climbed, joking about the telephone pole she almost fell off of (much to Eight's displeasure) and later just doing whatever the hell came to their minds. Unfortunately for Eight, Ioyla hadn't fell atop the bed and snuggled into the mattress like she thought she had, giving a pained grunt when she felt Ioyla's weight on her. "I--" And then Ioyla began to roll around, crushing Eight's front with all the moving.
"...Even if I wanted to I couldn't..." She grumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes. Why bother? Eight could already how bright it was through her eyelids.
Ioyla heard her friend's grunting and mumbling, but she made no move to help her out. "I desire a bagel and coffee. Oh, who will reward the hero Ioyla! Who! Who!" She slipped off the bed into a heap on the floor, arms and legs tangling into each other. "I say, 'Nelope, you're my sidekick, and the sidekick has to do every crazy and impossible chore that comes into the hero's head. I demand bagel and coffee! We must run along, sidekick! Tally hoooo~!"
It was easy to see just the smell of Page woke Ioyla up, although Eight might not have been able to tell. Demon's senses were far greater than humans, so Page was all over the bed and the living room, but to Eight, who had hardly met the love of Ioyla's life, it would most likely be just a mess of weird smells. Why don't you ask! Ioyla pushed herself off the ground, pulling Eight into the kitchen with her.
She checked the fridge for food, found none; checked the cabinets for food, found none; checked the garbage for food, found none. "Well then, looks like we're going to eat out," she said. Ioyla had been going to restuaraunts and diners alot lately, far too lazy to shop. "Whatcha gonna get, Eight? I'll order everything under the sun to quell the hero's appetite! Ho!"
A piece of glass under the rickety kitchen table Ioyla owned glowed hotly, but it was rather hard to see: the angle, the chairs covering it. The light emitting from the shard pulsed.
"Why am I being told to do it?" She sighed, listening to Ioyla's 'explanation' with feigned interest. The only word that seemed to register was sidekick, and Eight merely snorted at the title. "Since when am I your sidekick?"
The halfling reluctantly sat up, rubbing at her eyes and slowly opening one. That was bright! Was Ioyla always this crazy in the mornings? Eight couldn't remember if she was, but she girl yawned and crawled out of bed anyway...quite literally. She wasn't watching how far long she was, and fell right off over the edge and landed with a thud on the floor, giving a quiet 'mmph' and just sitting there. You had to admit, she looked really funny with one leg still partially on the mattress and the rest of her body tangled up in the blanket on the floor; obviously Eight was not a morning person, a little fact that she was sure even Alex had to agree to whenever he spent the night at her house.
After being dragged into the kitchen Eight just sat there on the floor in the middle of the room, her hair a complete mess from trying to free her head from the tangle of sheets. The halfling blinked when something caught her eye, one leathery wing perking up lazily as she stared at the glass shard under the table. Ioyla's voice was merely the background compared to her curiosity now. "Huh? Uh...I don't know..." She was somewhat glad to be sitting on the floor now, able to see the glowing much easier than her friend. "...Hey Ioyla...you might want to clean that glass under the table up before someone steps on it..." The glowing couldn't possibly be real, it had to be a trick of the light...
Ioyla was busy at the toaster, trying to shake breadcrumbs out the metal death trap. Eight's voice floated in through one ear and right out the other. She dropped the toaster, crumbs spraying everywhere. "...glass?" The demon blinked, shuffling over to Eight. And indeed there was a piece of glass under the table. And...and was it glowing? She reached out to grab the shard, but when her fingers brushed against the smooth surface, they quickly pulled away. "Hot," she said simply.
Ioyla sat back, next to Eight, indian-style with her elbows propped on her thighs, palms holding her chin. She tapped her fingers against her temples in thought. "I was lookin for that," she said finally after a few moments of rare silence, "I found it a few weeks ago. In my oven. The ******** thing broke--again--and I had to fix it--again--and when I was in there, I saw this piece of glass stuck in the grim. It was so weird. I thought about throwing it out, but...I didn't. For some reason. Prob'ly the worst thing is, even after finding a piece of glass in an oven, it still doesn't work." Ioyla shrugged.
The shard continued to glow, but now the light was growing stronger. The floor beneath the shard blackened and peeled away. Ioyla scooched back a bit, apprehensive, and more than a little freaked out.
Eight blinked and stared at Ioyla, glancing at the shard with tired curiosity. It obviously took a lot to wake her. "Shouldn't you be able to stand heat? Fire's pretty hot, and you play with it all the time..." She leaned over to rest her head on the demon's shoulder, staring quietly at the shard as the light grew brighter and brighter. What if it exploded? It was beginning to quiver like it'd explode...or was that just some odd wind? No, that was clearly impossible. Glass didn't move on its own! And then the glass burst into flame, sending Eight tumbling backwards with a start.
"...Ioyla! The shard!"
Ioyla would have shrugged again, but her shoulders were currently occupied by a head. "It's hoooot," she whined, resting her temple against Eight's head. The shard continued to shake, and Ioyla moved back a little more. Christ, what if it did explode? It sure looked like it would. Or what if it burnt a hole right through the floor? Ioyla certainily wouldn't be able to afford to fix that that...
But then the shard burst into flame, engulfing the table and turning it black.
Ioyla shrieked and rolled away, taking Eight with her. The flames licked at the groud, peeling away wood and paint. Her table was ruined! It had already been charred so badly, it was threatening to colapse. But then the fire died down, and sitting there in the middle of ashes, was a little girl.
Her hair was wild and red, sticking up in the air like the flames that she had emerged from; bright orange eyes swiveled casually about the room; wings, like the kind Eight had, twitched; running up her arms were tribal-like tattoos, as black as the ashes she now sat in. Her tough appearance would lead one to believe she was strong-willed and wouldn't cry at anything.
Wrong!
Her bottom lip quivered, and she burst into tears. The tears fell down the little girl's cheeks, but they sizzled away before they reached her chin. Ioyla frowned. "Nice job, Eight, your hideous face made her cry! I told you to put a paper bag over that thing." Her carefree, joke-cracking attitude hid the fact that she was freaking out over a child BURNING HER ONLY KITCHEN TABLE.
"It doesn't look that hot...or it didn't a second ago..." The halfling scooted away when the table was caught in the fire, edging towards the sink in just incase the flames spread. Poor Ioyla would have to pay to get everything fixed! Eight would help of course...but it'd still be expensive!
She crawled over to Ioyla and peered curiously at the little girl sitting in the ash, glancing at her friend and then the child. Where had she come from? Certainly not the fire...right? How odd, but then there were plenty of odd things on Gaia. Demons, Tahnee, cabbits...plenty of things...
The child's cries finally reached Eight's attention, her eyes widening at the sight. The youngest child Eight had ever handled was Faye, she had no experience with toddlers, infants or babies, so of course the first thing she'd do was turn to Ioyla for some hint as to what they should do. This obviously wasn't your average baby. Her worried expression was overtaken by a very sour look, whapping Ioyla upside the head with one hand with a dark glare. "Hmph! If anything it was you that scared her!" She glanced over at the girl again and scooted back to push Ioyla in her direction. "Go cheer her up or something. She appeared in your apartment, so you might as well do something for her."
Ioyla whined loudly when she was slapped. Her hand shot to the back of her head to rub the sore spot. "Jesus, you've got hands'a st--" But Ioyla was interupted, however, by shrill, childish giggles. She glanced at Eight, then to the baby.
And indeed, the little thing was laughing at Ioyla's pain. She clapped her chubby hands together, giggling, cheeks apple-red. Ioyla's gonk'd. "Oh, come on! That hurt!" She sighed, the infant still laughing. Ioyla shot a I'll-get-you-later-for-that glare at Eight.
"This is obviously all your fault," she said, sitting back to fold her arms. The demon scuffed her toes against the charred floor. "This is going to come out of my non-existant paycheck." She fell to her back, locking her fingers together behind her head to cushion it. The baby gurgled and coo'd, apparently over its unknown sadness. She rocked onto her hands and knees and began to crawl about, tiny wings flapping. Ioyla hardly paid attention.
The baby scuttled over to the kitchen counters, bumping her head into the wood and laughing again. She did it again and laughed louder. One more time, and the baby had to sit back. Ioyla sighed loudly. "Stupid," Ioyla muttered. Her fake dislike of children was apparent when she nudged the baby away from the counter, changing its course to the bedroom.
Eight smiled when the child's tears were replaced by laughter, reaching out with one arm to scoop her up and take her far away from the ash, clearly ignoring the look she was being given. Ioyla could try and get back at her all she wanted, but nothing she did could ever be as horrible as the prank Aki and Lani had pulled on her with that damn fish on the Blessed Isle. "It's not so bad..." The girl chirped, trying to bring up her friend's spirits again. Eight had missed grabbing the child, for she'd already begun to crawl away, and got up on her knees to follow after her. "And look on the brightside, at least it's only a table and not something really expensive...like your entire apartment..."
Her eyes widened when the baby bumped her head on the counter, expecting to hear cries and screams of pain...but only a cute, little bubbly laugh reached her ears. The halfling sat and stared, dumbfounded, being a bit slow on realizing that the baby was doing it over and over. Luckily Ioyla was already moving her by the time Eight came to her senses, following after the child again as she crawled to Ioyla's bedroom. "You know she's pretty cute...and you could use a happy little child like this around..."
Ioyla sighed loudly when Eight followed the little nuisance into the bedroom. She debated just staying right there on the kitchen floor, but thought better of it and rolled on the ground until she was at Eight's feet in her room. She bumped against her friend's feet, arms brushing against her bushy tail.
"My apartment? Expensive?" She let out a harsh laugh, then frowned. "Christ, I'll keep her. Prob'bly need to, anyways." Ioyla huffed loudly. "She seems to like exploring. Lookit her! Like a damn cat or somethin." Ioyla gestured with her sock-clad foot at the baby, who was currently rifling through Ioyla's trash can. She found cigarette boxes, beer cans, and three condom wrappers.
Ioyla shot to her feet, chasing the baby down and snatching the trash out of her chubby fingers. "Naughty~!" she scolded, scooping her up. The baby's bright orange eyes scanned Ioyla's face. "Gotta name you, then. Uhhh. Well s**t, I'll name you after my cousin, who's psycho and nosey. Like you! Ilistala, then. Whatcha think, Eight?" Ioyla turned to face her red-headed friend. She held the baby out at arms-length, hands under the child's armpits. "She look like an Ilistala to you?"
"Replacing everything in it all at once would be.." A soft smile found its way onto her face when Ioyla said she would keep the child, glancing back at her friend as if she was proud. Having children around would keep her friend happy all the time, and not just when she or Page was around, right? The halfling blinked and looked back at the child when Ioyla suddenly got up and started cleaning the trash that'd been taken, the condom wrappers were the first thing to catch her eye.
"...You actually use those...?" Eight rose a brow in curiosity, and from the tone of her voice it could be interpreted that she either didn't expect Ioyla to or that Eight was amused...or a little of both, but the latter was unlikely considering Ioyla was Eight's oldest friend. Her curious stare was replaced by a faintly annoyed one. Perhaps having a little girl around would help Ioyla cut down on her swearing.
"Er...I guess...I've never met any of your family, have I? But Ilistala sounds like a nice name."
Ioyla nodded once when Eight approved of the name. She tossed the baby to the side, who giggled and landed on the bed with a soft thump. Ilistala bounced and gurgled, clearly amused by the throwing. Ioyla grimced at Eight's question. "Better safe than sorry," she murmured, although, in truth, the demon had only just started using them. Her and Page really didn't need a baby right now, and they just weren't going to take the chance.
Ioyla watched Ilistala in silence for a few moments, deep in thought about something. Stala burried herself into the pillows on Ioyla's bed. She managed to smother her head under a pillow case; Ioyla started, and almost jumped to get her, but the baby simply burnt her way right out. "...I wonder what her diapers will be like."
"Yeah, that's true, it is safer to stock up on protection isn't it? I guess getting a baby this way is much less painful than child birth..." She guessed? No woman ever had to guess if adopting a baby was less painful, because it was. The girl sat down at the edge of Ioyla's bed and watched Ilistala with a smile. Children were so adorable, so innocent, so pure, it was a shame that as they grew older they were corrupted.
Her eyes widened when the baby was in the pillow case, blinking and staring at the new hole in Ioyla's pillow case. "It looks like she'll be a bit of a handfull...oh well," She sighed. "Like mother like daughter, I suppose."
Eight burst into a fit of snickers at her friend's words, looking from Ioyla to Ilistala now that the topic of diapers had been brought up. "At least diapers aren't cloth that has to be folded anymore..." Poor Ioyla.
Ioyla slowly shuffled across the floor to sit down on the bed next to Eight. She leaned her head against her friend's shoulder, eyes drifting closed. The mere thought of taking care of a baby was exhausting. "Yeah, like mother like daughter. This is going to suck if she's anything like me."
Ilistala blinked when Eight stared at her. What was she looking at? The baby patted her nose, then fell forward and began to crawl across the matress toward Eight and Ioyla. She sat up, clapping her hands together and giggling. Ioyla moved her hand forward to pat the little red-head. Her scalp was very, very warm. "Christ, if she's like this now, imagine what she'll be like when she has a fever or somethin. I don't think I can take care of the baby all by myself." But she would. She had to. Something was telling her that this was Fate working, Fate demanding that she raise the child from flame.
Eight smiled and tilted her head to the side to rest her temple against Ioyla's head, hugging her friend gently with one arm while she spoke. She failed in hiding a dark snicker at the thought of there being a second Ioyla. "Wouldn't it be easier to raise her if she was like you?" Ha, hardly.
The halfling giggled, her tail curling around from behind her to tickle at Ilistala's neck with the very tip. She really was as hot as fire! Eight grinned, sticking her tongue out playfully at the little girl as she tickled her. "The worst part is that it might be difficult to tell if she has a fever or not...but I'll help you take care of her sometimes, if you want. You've also got Yeos here to help too..." Poor Ioyla really wasn't ready to take care of a small child, was she? But she seemed to be growing fond of Ilistala nonetheless; Ioyla really did have a soft spot for children!
Ioyla's feet stuttered across the floor, and her tongue poked the inside of her cheek as Eight spoke. It wasn't like she wasn't listening or anything, Ioyla usually paid attention to Eight's insane (in her humble opinion) ramblings, but there was a cut on her cheek, and it would go away if she could just stop tonguing it. Her fingers toyed with a worn hole on the blanket.
"Yeos'd be a better mother than me," the demon said dismisively, waving the same hand in the air, "I'm not cut out for this mom bullshit. I got Yeos because she looked, uh, helpful, and Calira just...kinda...followed me home. And now this little runt? s**t, Eight, I might have to move soon, I'm runnin out of room! But where the hell would I go, anyways?" Ioyla abandoned Eight's shoulder to roll forward and fiddle with Ilistala's toes.
Ioyla might've said she wasn't exactly mother-material, but that was clearly false: Ilistala began giggling and batting at Ioyla's tickling fingers; Ioyla continued to pull--gently--on the little digits, making faces at the baby, while she gurgled and shrieked with laughter. "I wonder if she'll be a hassle when she gets older," Ioyla added thoughtfully.
Eight watched her friend quietly, taking off her pajama top to search through her bag for her red, silk shirt instead. The girl snorted at Ioyla's claims, finding her black bra first and putting that on before she finally found her shirt and tossed the other in the bag. "Sure you did, and I love Alex just because he's Alania's son." She tried her hardest to hide the sarcasm in that, wanting to sound as serious as possible when mocking the other woman. When the topic of moving came up Eight's headwings lifted in surprise, frowning softly and looking out the window. If she moved would she have to find a bigger apartment in Aekea or just move out of here all together? "You going to bring Page with you if you can't find a bigger place in Aekea?" Eight asked curiously, looking over at Ilistala and Ioyla with a grin.
"We~ll, if she's anything like you are then probably." Eight rolled over and laid across her friend's back, holding her head up in one hand. The halfling reached out with her other hand to tickle at Ilistala's stomach. "You're so great with children, if I didn't know any better I'd say you actually do like them!"
Ilistala couldn't take it. She fell backwards, laughing loudly, feet kicking in the air and her cheeks apple-red. Her wings flapped furiously behind her. The baby rolled about on the bed while her giggles died down, ending up at the pillows again. She nuzzled her head into the soft thing, eyes blinking shut. The arrival, exploration, and fun times sure did wipe the girl out: her breathing became slow and rhythmatic as she fell asleep.
Ioyla quietly watched Eight change shirts, hands unconsciencely moving to her chest to touch and poke and prod. Wow, Eight sure was lucky. Skinny little b***h like that gets knockers like those? God sure did like to ******** with you, didn't He? Ioyla wiggled around when Eight rested herself on Ioyla's back, trying to make it hard for her to use the girl as a stool. "Yeah, I'm great with children. Thaaaat's right. Like a ******** Mary Poppins or whatever."
Ioyla bridged her fingers under her chin, balancing her head there to watch Stala nap. She sure was cute. Maybe this wasn't going to be all bad...."Bring Page? Jesus, I sure hope I can. I have no clue where he lives, but I'm thinking about going over to his house...uninvited. Just stalk him and pop out at the last second. Like a cat! Or a ninja! ...ninja cat!" She hooked her fingers into claws, baring her teeth and hissing; Ilistala stirred.
Eight had to laugh too, not even bothering to hold it in. Ilistala was just so CUTE! The girl suddenly wished she had a tiny little kid to care for...or that Faye was younger than she was now. Maybe if Faye was...five...or four! She didn't even hide a fond smile, ignoring Ioyla's squirming and just moving so her attempts were futile. "I'll lay on you the same way as I do with Alex when there's people around if you keep moving~!" She sang, resting her head between Ioyla's horns after she'd given her little 'threat.' And in all honesty, Eight's breasts were the right size for a girl like her. Not too big, not too small, just right.
"Aw, but that's not true! There's something about you that children like! ...Surprisingly enough." Now she was somewhat glad that she was on Ioyla's back, that would make it harder for her to be hit. Eight rose a brow at Ioyla's plot to stalk Page, smirking softly. "Well, I'll be more than happy to take care of Calira, Ilistala and Yeos for a night for when you do find his home. That way you two can have a night alone miss cat ninja." She promptly rolled off the bed and stood up again to search through her bag -- a safe distance away from Ioyla -- for her skirt. Being pantless wasn't always the smartest idea, unless you were sleeping in a big t-shirt like Eight had thanks to extreme laziness.
Ioyla squirmed more, testing Eight's limits, wondering just what Eight did to Alex when they were in public. She grumbled loudly at Eight's surprising revelation about Ioyla and children, swinging her arm back to bonk her friend in the head. But Ioyla missed when Eight moved, arm pinwheeling into air. "Yeah well...you're...shut up."
She sighed deeply, flipping over onto her back, casually glancing back at Eight while she changed. The demon girl toyed with the sleeping Stala's toes, enticing a light sleepy giggle out of the baby. Finally, Ioyla herself rolled off the bed and onto the ground, where she continued rolling right into the closet. Several crashes, irritated "I should find a daycare center or something, y'know, so you don't have to watch the rotten kids all day." Spoken with love! "I'd pay you and s**t, if it's okay with you. I don't got much, but I don't want you handlin these crazy ******** tots all the time. Yeos is old enough, but I don't want her home alone. There could be a fire"--Ioyla nervously glaned at Ilistala--"or a burgler or whatever. They could alternate at your house and my house and, uh, where ever the hell else I put em."
Eight was as innocent as she could possibly manage when in public with Alex...especially in the presence of Alania. The girl rose a single brow. "Nice come back, darling.." She teased, finally finding her blood-red ruffled skirt and putting it on. Now to find her stockings and boots..those were somewhere in this apartment. Eight grabbed her usual collar and fingerless gloves, pausing in putting on the collar to stand there and watch Ioyla...crash...into her closet.
"...Er...are you all right?" She asked quietly, breaking into a coughing fit when the smoke came forth from Ioyla's closet. What was she doing in there?! Eight finally managed to get her collar and gloves on amidst all her coughing, clearly allergic to smoke and dust, waving the cloud away from her with one hand while the other was planted firmly over her mouth and nose. Well...Ioyla appeared to be fine. Eight, however, was still coughing up a lung.
"A...a...daycare?" Eight finally had the chance to ask, still covering her mouth with one hand. Damn smoke. Wasn't there a new one in Gambino somewhere? ...Actually, there was! "I think I know of one...I think. I can't remember for sure or not, but I briefly recall Lani mentioning some daycare called the Benedict Center...it's somewhere in Gambino, pretty easy access...if...you live in Gambino..." A trip from Aekea to Gambino every time Ioyla wanted to drop off Ilistala at the daycare? That was a bit much...but her friend needed to find a new house anyway, didn't she? The halfling finally seemed to be getting better after her little allergic reaction to the smoke, clearing her throat and sitting back down on the bed afterwards. "You should come live in Gambino...you and everyone else, even Page..it's actually much nicer now than it was awhile ago with all the wreakage from that tower...it'd be a better place to take care of 'Stala, wouldn't it?"
Ioyla hardly noticed when Eight began her coughing spell--she was too busy trying to figure out how to gently wake the snoozing Stala. She leaned over Ilistala, her breath gently ruffling the smaller girl's fiery-red hair. After a pause, Ioyla moved back up. "Smoking is bad for you," she said with a grin, dismissively waving a hand to help clear the smoke from Eight's head.
Ioyla took several minutes to remain silent, in thought, and while that time passed, she quietly slid out of the room, dragging Eight with her. She shut the door with a soft click. "I could live in Gambino, that's the thing. I could. But, I mean, I don't have any money, and I don't think Page would want to go, and I don't know where I'd stay." She slipped a ragged fingernail between her teeth. "I can't stay at your house because you're already too crowded. Hotels are so ******** expensive. I'm already on the verge of being evicted here, and this place is a ******** dump." The dreadful oven in the kitchen clanked loudly, smoke funneling from it and out of the window before it could attack Eight.
"...as you can see," she added with a sigh. "Christ, I'm getting so ******** overwhelmed. I'm always tired, I've got kids comin outta the wazoo, the ******** oven is always breaking...s**t, at least I got you and Page, right?" Ioyla slipped a hand under her hat, massaging her scalp and whining. "I'm gonna have a ******** aneurysm soon."
Eight shot Ioyla a dark glare when her coughing went unnoticed. How can you miss someone hacking up a lung?! The girl coughed a few more times to clear her lungs, rubbing at her throat as she sat at the edge of the bed and pausing. "...You're one to talk..." Eight smiled softly and shook Ilistala's shoulder gently to help wake her up, getting the feeling it'd probably take a bit more than breathing on her. Even Eight was a horrible morning person.
She blinked, suddenly finding herself in a standing position and walking out of the bedroom. Oh! There were here stockings and shoes! Eight made a grab for them, flopping down on Ioyla's couch to put on her stockings and combat boots on. "You've got me for money until you get a job...which you will do one of these days. You can find a house in Gambino too, they're all quite lovely!" She couldn't help but giggle when the oven was mentioned, looking over at the broken oven with a grin. Poor Ioyla. "You could heat it up yourself with some fire..."
Eight turned back to her friend, her grin softening to a bright smile as she nodded. "Of course! I'll always be around to bug you!"
Oh, it's so easy to ignore someone hacking up a lung! Just put your ears on mute and focus on other things, like trying to find your ******** boots. Ioyla shuffled around the house while Eight sat on the couch and chattered. She skidded into the kitchen and fell to her knees, her head going to the floor, gray eyes scanning under the stove. Even...though...the gap from the bottom of the oven to the floor was less than an inch. But still! She spotted nothing but dust and a few pieces of gold, and those were gone in her pocket faster than you can say "desperate".
Ioyla zipped around the living room, mumbling to herself. "I don't want to do the things I do now, y'know? I want to be a normal girl, with a normal boyfriend. Christ, Page is just too good for me." Ioyla saw her shoes, right by the front door, and she dived down to get them. She talked while she pulled them on. "I don't wanna be a demon, I wanna be normal. Sheesh, doesn't everyone want that?" The reluctant demon, having completed the shoe-department, jumped to her feet and crossed the room to sit on the couch next to Eight.
"Anyways, what was the name of that adoption thingy? The Benedict Center?" Ioyla was tempted to light a cigarette, but Eight was already about to drop a lung, and she didn't want to piss off her friend (even though she liked to, but that's not the point). Instead, she slipped another thumb nail between her teeth and nibbled on it. "S'go wake Stala up. I'mma take her over there, see what's goin on. I'm kickin your a** to Alex's house. Go see what that little weirdo is up to." Of course, Ioyla spoke this with love.
"Turning you into a normal girl would be a bit expensive, even for me. We'd have to pay for the surgery, and then the psychologist..and even I don't have that kind of money to spend, Ioyla dear." This was also said with love...as Eight quickly got up off the couch to hurry to Ioyla room and wake Ilistala. Ioyla would kill her for that, wouldn't she? It was best to stay as far from the demon as possible at the moment. The halfling leaned over the bed to carefully pick 'Stala up and cradle the child in her arms, bouncing her a few times to try and stir her awake while she walked back out of the room to the opposite side of the living room Ioyla was on.
She paused and stared at Ioyla. Adoption?! "I think the term you're looking for is daycare center, dear...but yes, it's the Benedict Center..." Eight was still on the opposite side of the room, holding Ilistala gently on her hip with a sigh. Kick her a** to Alex's house? She opened her mouth to reply, but snapped it shut at the second part of Ioyla's comment to glare darkly at her. "Excuse me? He's not a weirdo! If anything he's one of the most sane people I know.." In his own little way.
Ioyla sat on the couch while Eight went to fetch Stala. "Hahaha! You're so funny, Eight! Oh man! My sides, they ache! I think my liver just exploded from your hilariousness!" She flipped Eight the bird while she was gone, hand falling back to her side when the halfling returned with a squirming, whining Ilistala.
Ilistala certainly didn't want to wake, but Eight's bouncing was keeping her from sleeping. She squeaked out a small cry as her bright orange eyes opened. They locked on one of Eight's head wings, and her own twitched as she grabbed at them with two chubby hands. The baby giggled while Ioyla stood up and bent backwards, stretching.
"Daycare center, adoption agency, same difference," the demon said with a dismissive wave, shuffling out of the apartment and bringing Eight and Stala with her. She took the baby from her friend and positioned Ilistala in her arms, with the baby's chin on her shoulder and her backwings slapping Ioyla in the cheek. "I'll try not to cut these off," she muttered.
Ioyla blew a leathery wing out of her face and turned to Eight with a grin. "I'll see ya'round, love. Come over again some time, 'kay? I'll make actual food." She leaned in to kiss her friend on the cheek, then, not waiting for a response, walked out of the building. Ilistala waved a plump hand at Eight, drooling and babbling.
"I know, right? I should be a comedian!" Eight grinned, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm in that statement. The girl frowned and coo'd softly to Ilistala when the toddler began to whine, her cooing changing almost instantly to a pained hiss when her headwings were so abruptly grabbed. Ow...that...kind of hurt...
"Is not..." She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut tightly when Ioyla came to take Stala herself, folding her own headwings tightly behind her head with a smile. "Have some self control, woman. I doubt she'll like you cutting off a part of her body." The girl giggled, hugging her friend and kissing her forehead before she walked off. Ilistala was so cute! Perhaps she wouldn't be too much of a handful after all! Eight walked out of the building soon after Ioyla, stretching her arms up over her head with a loud yawn before she headed off in the direction of the nearest subway or train to Barton.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:31 am
THIS one is reserved for settling in. XD
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:32 am
When one is thrust-ed into the role of motherhood so quickly, it should be expected that one is bitter, angry, and reluctant about it. Such was the case for Ioyla Infriti. Just a few weeks after receiving her “child”, Ioyla still failed to adapt to the new situation. Days were spent figuring out how to change diapers; how to feed an unwilling toddler mashed fruits; how to coerce a cranky toddler into naptime, and nights were wasted with that same unwilling, cranky toddler who flat-out refused to go to bed until, at the earliest, five-o’clock in the morning. She hated it. She hated children. She hated getting less than ten hours of sleep. She especially hated how Ilistala kept tugging on her hair.
"Cut it out," mumbled Ioyla, one arm folded across the counter and under her head, the other lazily swinging next to her side, like a limp tree branch in a steady wind. Ilistala, sitting on the counter, burbled and tugged some more. She was far too exhausted to actually do anything about the annoyance, having spent another night with her head crammed under a pillow, forced to listen to Ilistala bounce on the couch and cause a general ruckus around the cramped apartment. Instead, she opted to shift her elbow at Stala’s yanking fingers, which did absolutely nothing. "I said cut it out." Her voice was stronger, more commanding; Stala failed to yield.
"Goddammit! You ******** parasite, quit it!" The demon suddenly stood and flailed her arms up, almost knocking Stala off the countertop. She did not notice her kin teetering dangerously close to the Formica edge: she was too busy licking her palms and smoothing them over her incurable bedhead.
Ilistala grunted, pin-wheeling her arms, and eventually straightened herself. That was close! Mimicking a gesture she had seen several times on her favorite cartoon shows, she wiped a chubby arm over her head, blew air through O-shaped lips, and planted two hands on her sides, as if to say, "that was close!"
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:33 am
A Heart Full of Love. In Which Ilistala Meets her Cousin, Shauna.Eight "Co'in 'Awa?" Shauna blinked and stared up at her mother, one ear perked up and the other sitting as it normally did. Eight smiled and nodded, bouncing the child once in her arms to hold her daughter more comfortably. Today the two of them had left Gambino to visit Ioyla and Ilistala in Aekea, Shauna's immediate reaction to the place was a disgusted expression. The air here tasted bad! People actually lived here? How was that possible? But here, in the bad tasting air place...Shauna was going to meet something called a 'cousin' and an 'aunt.' What were these? They sounded odd, and Shauna had absolutely no idea what an aunt or a cousin was. Was it good? Did it taste good or as bad as the air? Could you hug it? So many questions and Shauna couldn't ask any of them yet! Would she like this 'Ilistala' or this 'Ioyla?' They also sounded like weird words. Ooh, if only Shauna could ask Mommy what these words meant! But it was so much fun being taught the words that she didn't want to just go and say them out loud yet, where was the fun in doing something the easy way? She could copy anything Mommy said! "This is it!" Eight chirped, disturbing Shauna's silent thought process when they finally reached a rundown building. It was nothing like their house! They were going inside? Where was the cousin Ilistala and the aunt Ioyla? After walking up some stairs and navigating through the hallways, Eight and Shauna finally stopped in front of one door. "You want to knock, sweetie?" She whispered, grinning. Shauna's eyes widened at this opportunity she was being given, squirming in her mother's grasp enough to turn and pound on the door with both fists. Hope she stopped in time to not punch the person that answered in the face! Ioyla Shauna's bothersome poundings fell on deaf ears, as Ioyla was currently taking a shower. She emptied nearly half a bottle of shampoo into her cupped palm, dumped it into her hair, and lathered it up, careful not to bump against her horns. "A HEAAAART FULLLLL OF LOOOOOOOVE~~~!" The demon sang completely off-key, but by GOD was she going to win a Grammy some day! But not really. Ioyla rinsed her hair out and was, basically, done with her shower, but why not waste some time in the nice, hot water? She deserved it, anyways, so bite me. But silly little Stala heard the door! She looked up from her coloring book on the living room floor, drooling a little. Her chubby face was smeared with pinks, greens, reds, blues, all kinds of colors one usually finds in a seventy-two pack of Crayola crayons. They were tasty! Ilistala went back to her coloring book, scribbling over a kitty-cat's head with a black crayon. So pretty! After a short while, Ilistala's attention span began to wander, and the loud banging from the door was really starting to irritate her. Sssh! Sssssh! Mommy didn't like loud things, 'specially when the big man with shiney gray hair was around. They made funny noises whenever they went into Mommy's room. Lots of yelling with the bed making creaky noises. Heehee. Stala scooted over to the front door on her butt, her hands dragging across the floor and, ultimately, dragging the black crayon along, too, which left a big black streak on the floor. Ooo! Awkwardly, the little baby pulled herself to her feet using the door handle. She turned the big knob in every direction, and finally...finally...finally, she got it open! And promptly received several baby punches on the head. Ouch! Eight Knock, knock, knock...punch? What was this soft thing she was hitting now? Shauna gasped loudly and clung to her mother's shoulders, frowning apologetically at Ilistala. She hadn't meant to hit her! "Oh my, are you alright 'Stala?" Eight murmured, picking up the child before she noticed how...colorful she was...and the black streak on the floor...where was Ioyla? She heard the shower and sighed, letting herself in and carrying both little girls to the couch. "Crayons aren't for eating, dear~" Eight sang, closing the door before she headed into the kitchen to find the biggest cup, bowl or even bucket she could find. She found one. The woman hummed quietly to herself as she stood in front of the sink, putting a plastic cleaning bucket under the faucet so she could fill it with ice cold water. When that was done, she continued to walk out of the kitchen and into the bathroom to pour the bucket over the top of the shower onto Ioyla's head. Meanwhile, back on the couch! So this was Ilistala? Her...cousin? She'd met this girl at that party! Shauna grinned and glomped the other girl, looking down at the floor. They were so high up! ...Only not really! After awhile Shauna let go of Ilistala to check her head where she'd punched her, feeling just a bit guilty...even though she was poking at the spot to see if there was a bump. Yeah, that won't hurt a bit! Ioyla Poor, poor Ioyla was still singing loudly. She didn't hear the quite creaky bathroom door open and close; she didn't see Eight creep up behind her with a big bucket; but she certainly ******** FELT the freezing water splash onto her warm skin. A loud shriek ripped through the air. "BIIIITCH!" And meanwhile indeed, on the couch! Stala blinked, rocking backwards when Shauna glomped her. Oh! She drooled a little more as the other baby poked and prodded at her head. Owie! Stoppit! Stala's chubby fingers batted away Shauna's own. Instead, Ilistala grabbed a handful of Shauna's fluffy fox tail, giggling and screaming. Wheeee! Her leathery wings flapped in the air each time their owner shrieked in joy. Eight Eight burst out laughing when the shriek she was waiting for came, putting the now empty bucket down on the floor and turning to leave...only...instead of going forward she somehow found herself falling backwards...into the shower. It was her turn to shriek. "Ioylaaaaa! My clooothes!" Eight whined, glaring at her friend and stepping away from where the water was spraying. Ick, her clothes were all wet nooooow. "Me?!" Eight pouted and grabbed a bottle of conditioner, opening it and pouring half it it on Ioyla's head. Hmph! ...She looked pretty funny now... Ow! That huuuurt! Shauna squealed and tugged her tail back, regarding Ilistala with a very upset face. That was her tail! She whimpered and hugged her tail to her chest, curling up on her side and glaring at her 'cousin.' How could she do that?! Didn't this girl know that pulling someone's tail hurt?!Ioyla Ioyla's triumphant laughter at the sight of a soggy, pissed off Eight was caught short when half a bottle of conditioner was poured all over her head. She shook her head back and forth, like a dog does when it's wet, only to send conditioner and water shooting through the air, landing on the walls, the door, and even Eight. "Don'tchoo know, foo! You don't mess with zee EYEOHLAAAAH!" And then the demon began licking her friend. Good times, good times... Ilistala's bottom lip began to tremble when her faux cousin glared at her. Ohhh, she didn't want to be meanylooked at! She was only curious! Stala leaned over to pat Shauna on the head, gurgling and smiling reassuringly. It's okay~! I forgive you for being sensitive about your tail! Hee! ^___^ Eight Eight was about to say something else when suddenly...there was some horrible taste in her mouth. It took about two whole seconds to realize it was conditioner. "Oh God, that's digusting!" Eight spit as much of it out as she could and leaned over to stick her mouth under the shower head to wash out the conditioner. The girl blinked, choking on some of the water when Ioyla started licking her, finally standing back up with a laugh and pushing at Ioyla. "Ioylaaaaa! You're so gross!" She laughed, trying to block the other girl from licking her. --- Shauna blinked, giggling happily when she received a pat on the head. Mommy always did that when she was a good girl! Shauna squealed with delight and threw her arms around 'Stala in a tight hug, deciding it was time to introduce her to Tabby after she'd let go. The little fox girl reached behind her to take her plush off her back where Eight had suggested attatching it to her clothes so Shauna could hang onto her without losing the cat, holding Tabby out in front of her with the biggest grin. "Love!" Now the question was, did Ilistala have a Tabby too? Ioyla Ioyla continued to lick her friend all over, laughing like the maniac that she was. Nobody messes with the Ioyla! "Ihs guud fuhr yoo!" she cried, in which that mess of words would translate into "it's good for you!" Ioyla didn't ride the short bus, she drove it. I'm so clever. The naked little demon suddennly stopped licking her friend, instead opting to start sissy slapping her. Slap slap slap! "I keel yoo for disturbing my alone time!" Ioyla growled, her accent rich and completly fake, not at all the throaty Italian one she was going for. More sissy slapping followed. Ilistala's huge orange eyes disappeared for a split second behind a pair of eyelids. Love? What? Confusion! She batted her chubby hands at the little cat plush in front of her. So cute! Stala wanted one! "AbabaaaaOOOOOO!" the little baby screamed, laughing and beating the couch cushins into submission. Stala reached out to gently snatch the little Tabby thing from her cousin. And when that was over and done with, the cat's head disappeared into Stala's toothless, wet mouth. She chewed on the soft thing for a while, drooling even more and just looking so damn adorable. Eight Ioyla was the short bus... But Eight loved her friend anyway...as crazy as she was. The halfling blinked when she was suddenly slapped, rolling her eyes and smacking Ioyla's hands away. "At least Page wasn't in here when I did that~!" Eight sang, sticking her tongue out at her friend and literally throwing herself out of the shower and out of harms way. What? It was best to be safe just incase! --- Shauna was smiling again, smiling and laughing and making Tabby dance. Mommy took her on a trip, she got her hair done by Mommy, she was going to have a new dress soon, she had Tabby and now she was playing with her new cousin! Life was good... Until Tabby was ripped right out of her hands with no warning whatsoever. Shauna's yellow eyes widened as she stared at her hands that had previously been full with the cat plush, just staring for what seemed like days until she looked up at Stala to see her kitty in Stala's drooling mouth. This elicited what started out as a tiny, pathetic whimper, her bottom lip beginning to quiver and her eyes watering. "M...m...m...miiiine!" Shauna whimpered, a few little tears sliding down her cheeks. Ioyla Ioyla squealed loudly, like a drunk schoolgirl, when Eight jumped out of the shower. The force of her leaving caused Ioyla to fall back, catching herself on the shower head, and bonking her head on the wall. D'oh. "Ow!" she cried, pulling herself up and massaging her sore spot, "owowowowww!" Ioyla crawled out of the bathtub, grabbed a towel off a rack on the wall, and wrapped it around her body. She turned off the water. "You are an evil, evil little thingy, you know that?" The demon shook her head, as if she were a wet dog, and sent water everywhere. Revenge! ...even though...Eight was still...wet, but okay... --- Tabby's head was entirely covered in drool, but Stala didn't seem to mind; if anything, she didn't notice. The little baby was busy watching the sobbing Shauna. What the heck was her problem? Ilistala slowly made the connection: This was Shauna's kitty cat, and Shauna was sad...maybe she should give Tabby back to Shauna? ... Naaah! Stala moved from Tabby's head, to the foot, speaking in the mysterious language known as baby talk. "Buhbuhbuhhhhh! Kahhhhh!" Stala would periodically pull Tabby from her mouth and dance it in front of Shauna, as if teasing her, when in reality, Ilistala was simply inviting her cousin to come play with her. Eight Eight also grabbed a towel to dry herself off with, looking around the bathroom with a sigh. "Do you have any robes? I'd rather not walk around the children in just a towel..." Her clothes needed to dry, and so did she! The halfling rose a brow and pretended to be as innocent as possible, after all, if Eight was innocent she wasn't evil! ...Ha, yeah right. "Why, Ioyla, what ever do you mean?" She closed her eyes when the demon shook her head around, covering her face with the towel and shaking water from her own head. They had the same hairstyle, so they'd both obviously give off the same amount of water. Shauna's crying only grew louder when the Tabby was turned from her head to her leg, finally catching the attention of her mother now that Eight was out of the shower that'd been drowning out the sounds from the other room. The halfling blinked and turned to the bathroom door, listening quietly so she could tell if it was really unhappy crying she heard... And unfortunately it was. Eight frowned and glanced back at Ioyla, opening the door to walk into the living room to check on the two children. "...Oh dear..." She sighed and knelt down in front of 'Stala and Shauna, wiping her daughter's face and petting her hair. "Shh, don't worry. You'll get Tabby back...er...'Stala, give that to me. I'll get you your own another time, but Shauna's very protective over Tabby..." Did Ilistala even understand a thing Eight said? Ioyla Ioyla dried off a little more, then slipped into her bedroom to put on clothes. She pulled a white shirt far too large for her, an old faded jacket, and a sexy little brown skirt, complete with monochrome toe socks, big a**-kicking boots, and sunglasses. The awesomely clothed Ioyla grabbed her wet towel off the bedroom floor and wound it into a long line of cloth. Hehehehehehe. Quietly, like a cat ninja stealthy ninja...thing, the demon girl peeked her head around the bedroom door and tip-toed out, the rat-tail'd towel swinging from her clenched hands. "FOR THE COUNTRY OF SCOHTLAHND!" she shrieked, about to whip Eight on the a**, but a wailing Shauna and about-to-cry Stala caught her attention. Oh, crap! Ioyla dropped the towel and crouched down next to Eight, in front of her own child. She tentively reached out an awkward hand to the baby's hair, smoothing it. Ilistala's huge orange eyes were quickly filling with tears. Why were so many people talking to her? What was the scary lady with the scary wings on her head talking about? Too many things were happening at once, and they confused and upset the poor little Stala, who burst into sudden tears. The baby threw Tabby back at Shauna, crying even louder now. She hardly noticed Ioyla fumbling around with her hair. Eight Eight frowned, picking up her daughter and bouncing her a bit. "Hush, hush. It'll be okay! You'll get Tabby later, don't worry!" Eight coo'd, rocking Shauna and nuzzling her face into the girl's hair. She blinked when something soft hit her leg, looking down to find Tabby sitting at her feet and bending down to pick it up and give it to Shauna. The fox child didn't stop crying, but the sight of Tabby at least quieted her down a bit. Shauna was clinging tightly to Tabby, burying her face into her mother's chest and whimpering. Eight turned around so she was facing Ioyla and Ilistala again, bouncing Shauna a few more times in a failing attempt to make her laugh, she was still crying too hard to even hiccup a giggle. "...Let's go shopping...then they can play together without making each other cry by taking each other's toys..."Ioyla Ioyla awkwardly continued to smooth Stala's hectic hair. Her ears perked at the suggestion of going out and getting toys. Yay, toys! "Yeah, good idea. 'Kay. I like that. Good thinkin. Shoppin solves everything, doesn't it?" The young demon pulled Ilistala up into her arms, placing the baby's chin on her shoulder and whispering sweet, soothing things into her ear. Ioyla bounced her around several times, all the while inching towards the door to leave. Meanwhile, the tears had stopped falling, but Stala sniffled from time to time. She raised her arms when Ioyla moved to pick her up, whining, her hands clenching and unclenching, as if she was trying to snatch something only she could see. She was lifted into the air, then her head was on mommy's shoulder and mommy was saying very comfortable and nice things. The comfortable and nice things made her very sleepy... Eight Eight took a step towards the door and stopped, raising a brow and glancing back at her friend. "...Are you serious or are you mocking me? If you're seriously I'll hurt you." In the most loving way possible, of course. Eight grinned and watched Ioyla and Ilistala quietly, bouncing Shauna a few more times to win a few laughs or giggles out of the child. "Y'know, despite how much you claim to hate kids, you're a pretty good mother." Eight murmured, walking to the door again and walking out, pausing to wait in the hall for Ioyla. "Aw, she looks so tired now."Ioyla Ioyla nuzzled her face into Stala's cheek with affection thicker than mud. Maybe Eight was right. Maybe she was a good mother. Maybe she could be more than an Infriti. This was her only chance to do something with her life. Ioyla boosted the sleeping Ilistala up to a more comfortable position. "I was totally serious, Eight dahling," she teased her friend, giggling and shuffling out of the shitty apartment right after Eight. But before fumbling the door closed with an awkward hand, Ioyla took the time to stop and stare at her home: It was time to move. It was time to get out. The apartment was already an inch from falling in on itself...time to suck it up and move away. The demon shut the door, locking it this time, before hooking arms with her best friend, sniggering, and skipping off to the mall. "Stala looks so sleepy because she's tired of looking at your face. ZING!"Eight Eight stopped and waited while Ioyla stared at her apartment, bouncing Shauna a bit. "You better have been, would've killed you if you were mocking me..." She grinned and walked instead of skipped, not wanting to upset Shauna with too much bouncing. "I noticed you were staring at your apartment...thinking it's time to move...?" The blinked and stared at Ioyla at her...lame insult, rolling her eyes and smacking the demon upside the head. Hmph! b***h! "It couldn't possibly be the tranquilizers you probably sneak into her food!"Ioyla Ioyla blew random orange locks from the snoozing Ilistala's face while Eight babbled to Ioyla's deaf ears. She wasn't ignoring her! She was just...she...yeah, she was ignoring her. But a sharp slap to the back of the head and all of Ioyla's attention was brought to her friend, not her sleeping child. "JEEZE! That HURTS! Did you every think about trying for a slapping contest? Or a pimp? You'd make an awesome pimp." The demon hiked Ilistala up further, but the little baby had already awoken. She whined and rubbed at her sleepy eyes. "...this is your fault," she muttered, throwing a nasty glare at Eight. Ioyla ssh'd Stala, rocking gently, but it was useless; the little Shattered baby was fully awake and grumpy. Heaving a heavy sigh, Ioyla turned to Eight with a sheepish, pathetic smile. "I can't go out today, I guess Stala is really sleepy. Maybe later?" But she didn't wait for a reply, as Stala's cries were getting louder, demanding attention, food, and a nice comfy bed to go back to sleep. Ioyla blew Eight a small kiss and disappeared behind her front door, looking a little irritated as well. She wanted to out, goddammit. Being a mother really sucked a** sometimes.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:37 am
Naughty Word! In Which Ilistala Learns Her First Word."ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
Yeos' usually soft voice broke through the air like white hot streaks, squeezing through the cracks under and on the side of the door. There was a loud squeal, followed by the crash and tinkle of broken glass. Probably a window in Yeos' room, and it was probably Calira who broke it. Those two had some strange relationship.
Ioyla turned on her side on her bed, yawning. Shafts of sunlight broke through the blinds on the windows; huge pieces of dust floated in the lazy morning air. The sheets on the bed were clean. The sun was warm. Everything felt very good.
It was time to get up. Time to get up, be the mommy, and break up the fight between the dog Tahnee and the Sylph. Responsibility was greater than sleeping in. But it wasn't greater than the desire. The demon rolled over to the other side once more to face her little baby.
Ilistala's bright orange eyes were shut tight, but those gorgeous orbs crawled under her lids in the natural mystery of R.E.M. Her little leathery wings beat periodically at her shoulders, where they rested. A runaway red lock of hair hung around her chin. Ioyla brushed it away with an affectionate sweep of her hand. Stala stirred, once, then returned to her peaceful slumber.
Ioyla finally pulled herself away from the comfort of warm white sheets and beautiful dreams. Yeos continued screaming and yelling, while Calira's nervous squeaks tried to calm the Tahnee.
"You broke it! Cali, you broke my painting!"
The demon sighed, her gray eyes going skywards. She slipped a pale hand under her large shirt--a shirt she stole from Page, no doubt--to rub at a knot in the back of her neck. She hiked up her boxers, bent down to squeeze her toes one by one, and came back up, only to lean backwards to crack her back. Having completed her morning routine, Ioyla shuffled out of her bedroom, giving Stala one last look
(be a good girl for mommy)
before gently closing the bedroom door.
Ioyla nearly crawled into the kitchen, grumbling and generally cranky. Yeos and Cali continued to argue, but not as loud as before; perhaps they heard their somewhat mother coming, and decided it was time to quiet down. A wise choice. A wise choice, indeed....
"Nyaaah~~~!"
"Don't you run away from me!"
"SHUT THE ******** UP."
The Tahnee had chased Calira into the living room by now, and due to the bizarre construction of the tiny apartment, there was a chunk of the kitchen wall missing, so that one could see right into the rest of the apartment. That was where Ioyla saw Yeos about to pluck the feathers right out of Calira's a**.
"Jesus H. Christ in heaven! Can't you shut the ******** up for ONE MINUTE? There is a ******** BABY asleep in the OTHER ROOM, and ya'll are makin the bigget ******** racket EVER. GodDAMN. Shut the ******** up! Shut the ******** up! SHUT! THE! ********! UP!"
But Yeos' mismatched eyes were not focused on Ioyla's furious, sleepy face; Calira's curious, happy gaze was not on her ranting owner; no, they were both looking behind Ioyla, three feet off the floor. Suspecting the worst, Ioyla slowly turned around...
...and saw Ilistala, wild red hair and all, standing behind her mommy. Her demon wings idly flapped at the nape of her neck while her tiny toddler mouth struggled to speak its first--and worst--word.
"Oh Jesus."
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:40 am
Reserved for something I never wrote because I'm wetahded!
Christmas? 80
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:54 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:55 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:56 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:00 am
Ioyla tries to cut Stala's haaaair...
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:02 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:03 am
Icky Boy! In Which Ilistala Gets a Puppy!"Ma," a warm voice breathed. Small fingers worked their way first under the blanket, then through the sheets, and finally onto Ioyla's belly, where they poked and prodded and tickled until the older demon was awake. Cranky, but awake.
"Wha? Babywhuzzamatta? Izza house on fire?" Ioyla sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and combing her fingers through her hair. She sniffed, didn't smell smoke, but sniffed again when a foreign scent drifted into her nose. Something...warm. Something furry. What the hell was it?
Ioyla shot an apprehensive glance to the toddler waiting by her bedside. Ilistala's orange eyes were huge with a mixture of anticipation and glee. Ioyla sniffed again, and this time the scent was stronger.
"Sweetheart, is there somethin in this apartment?" She pushed the covers off her legs and swung them to the side of the bed. Ilistala giggled and nodded her head yes.
"Is there somethin in this room?"
Another giggle and another nod.
"Is it...is it in this bed?"
Stala squealed and suddenly jumped onto her mother's lap, reaching over her shoulder to tap a small lump in the bunched-up covers. The lump wiggled and barked.
"Oh crap. Stala, is that what I think it is?" Ilistala gurgled and bounced on Ioyla's lap until her thighs were red and sore.
"Ech!" she said, waving her arms. The lump under the sheets barked again and crawled closer to the mother and daughter. Ioyla lept off the bed, clutching Stala to her breast. The Shattered whined, squirmed, and eventually dropped to the floor, where she would leap back into the bed to pet the lump.
Anixious, Ioyla slowly crept up to the bulge. She placed a bony hand upon its head--or where Ioyla assumed the head would be--and, nervous, afraid of what could be there but knowing all the same, peeled back the top blanket to find--
--a dirty puppy.
The puppy barked, wagging its tail. Stala tried to catch the flailing appendage, giggling. "Stala...where did you get this?" The puppy--not to mention the sheets it had been unsucesfully hiding in just a few moments ago--was covered in grime, and on the tip of its nose was a fresh cut. Two big honey-colored eyes blinked in the warm sunlight. But Ioyla could see, under all the dirt Stala rubbed away, a beautiful light brown coat. Ioyla groaned.
"Stala, babe, we can't keep it. I hardly got enough money to feed us, and now I gotta start buyin dog food? A leash? Is he even house-trained? I'm gonna start takin care of the both of you? I don't think so..."
Ilistala watched her mother deny her the one thing she wanted the most with eyes quickly filling with tears. They spilled down her cheeks, dripped off her chin, and splashed onto the puppy, who whined and rolled over the sheets, spreading the dirt all over them.
"Ach--! ********--! Puppy, don't! Stoppit!" Ioyla plucked the dog off her bed, holding it at arms length. It squirmed and panted and beat the demon with its tail.
"Momma!" Stala pleaded, on the edge of a tantrum. Ioyla could sense it being a big one. She sighed and brought the animal close to her face, studying its eyes, its cut, its dirty little face. Defeated, she dropped it back to the bed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Whaddya gonna name it?"
Ilistala squeeked and hugged first hte puppy, smearing dirt over her arms and chin, then her mother's legs, effectively spreading it over Ioyla's pink and bare thighs.
"Icky Boy!" Stala cried when the puppy barked and jumped all over the bed. Ioyla grinned and scooped Stala up in her arms.
"Icky, huh? His name's Icky?" Ilistala nodded. "Kay, fine. Icky it is!" Ioyla burried her head into Stala's belly, raspberrying the pudgy flesh. The little one shrieked with giggles. Icky barked and stopped prancing long enough to pounce off the bed and into the kitchen. A loud crash soon followed, and Ioyla scrambled out of the bedroom, Ilistala still in her arms.
Why did all the crazy s**t happen in the morning?
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:26 am
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