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 Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:13 am
 16th October
"Hello? Anyone home?" Kel-chan called cautiously round the door, a sleepy Astra on her hip. She made a face as she walked further in, shifting the heavy weight. "I should feed you less," she scolded the small girl, kicking up a little dust as she made her way down the hallway.
"In the kitchen!" calls a female voice. The only light right now seems to be originating from what is referred to as the kitchen, but is more of a mess hall than a simple kitchen. The clatter of pots follows, an echo of the sound streaming down the dark halls of the old mansion.
"The kitchen?" Kel replied bemusedly, her step speeding up. Who was home today? She shifted Auriga to her shoulder and gave a cheerful smile as she entered the large 'kitchen'. "Wow. Big place."
A bright girl, blonde hair, skull hat with orange and yellow ears and a matching tail, is rummaging through a few cupboards.
Jolting up, she nearly misses hitting her head on the side of the counter. Instead, the adorkable hat tips it way on a right angle across her nose. Brushing it up, she gives a wide smile.
"Well there, hello! Company, I see! No'un told me people'd be coming around.." She closes the oven, flips a knob expertly, and takes off her apron to hang it over the back of a chair. "What brings you about?"
Kel-chan smiled uncertainly, placing Auriga down on a nearby stool, where the little girl blinked sleepily, half-dozing. "Um, I thought Pippin might be around, or someone to talk to, anyway." She hurriedly stuck out a hand. "Uh, I'm Kel-chan. Pleased to meet you..."
Madeline smiles down at Auriga, then up at Kel-chan. "Oh, Dad's not been outta his workroom all day. He never told me where it was, so I can't go and take him any of my goodies.." She gives an absent sigh, then immediately brightens, turning on her heel and producing a pan of cooling cookies. "Would she like one? If you'd like, I'm sure my dad's not that hard to find.. I could watch'r for you while you're gone!" she offers sweetly and energetically.
Kel couldn't help smiling at the brightly beaming Madeline. "I just bet she would. Wouldn't you, little missy?" She addressed the one-legged little Astra fondly. "Tell you what, why don't you stay here with this lovely lady, while I go an find Pippin?"
Madeline lightly touches the cookies, finding one that's rather cool and wouldn't burn any tongues. Holding it out for Auriga, she doesn't seem affected by the strange noise erupting from deeper within the mansion.
The noise, easily described as a groan followed by a whistle, continues over and over. Madeline, nor anyone else for that matter, is able to hear this, all except Kel-chan..
Kel's head snapped up, a puzzled look crossing her face. She opens her mouth to speak, and then clamps it shut again. "Uh, I, I'll just go find Pippin," she said, glancing over her shoulder, filled with insatiable curiosity. "You'll mind Auriga for a while? Thanks so much!" With a fleeting grin, the redhead vanished out of the doorway, a brief thought of leaving her baby behind suddenly flattened by the fascinating yearning to know what the chilling sound was. Padding through the dusty hallways, she trailed one hand against the wall, eyes wide in the gloom.
The sound originates from a door, one that wasn't present before this current time. In fact, it only shows its face if it so wishes. This particular door follows into a staircase, one that Pippin and Ciara have recently discovered likes to move about.. but always leads to the same spot in the basement..
At an increasing volume, there is a groan followed by a whistle. But as the taunted visitor finds her way to the door, it stops short altogether.
Kel-chan laid a hand on the door, blinking at the sudden cessation of sound. Swallowing lightly, feeling guilty but with an adrenalin thrill that she was prowling where she shouldn't, she carefully opened the door.
A dim set of basement steps, no more occult than the kitchen.
Pattering down them, she glanced up once more, before feeling for a lightswitch as she gave the solemn door in front of her a push.
The cease of noise isn't the most of her problems. As soon as she's through the door, it clasps shut and locked. No way to go now but down.. A dim light, not unlike the one that brought forth the earlier three guardians, now shines from deep within the library itself.
Kel-chan whirled, laying a hand on the suddenly firm door. There was no doubt it was locked. But panic failed to rise as she turned slowly around. A dim light penetrated through dusty doors ahead, and she peered through the crack in the doors. Shelves stretched in every direction, as far as her limited eyesight could give her.
A library!
Perhaps the library.
Feeling more and more like an erring schoolgirl, she glanced furtively around, and made her way into the huge basement room. A ridiculous line from a G&S opera sprang to her mind.
"With cat-like tread, upon our way we steal..."
She bit her finger to supress a nervous giggle, and began peering at the shelves.
The shelves, considerably less dusty since when they were discovered but moreso than the usual hygenic nature, blow up puffs as fingers are brushed by.
One book in particular, bound in brown leather with hard steel ridges, stands out the most from the shelf. It looks rather heavy, and within the centre of the front cover is a metallic strip that reflects what little light there is in the library.
In her guilty wanderings, a book caught Kel's eye, and she stoipped, running her hand down the metal bound spine thoughtfully. So many books.... what did they contain? Fables? Arcane rites? Boring history? Curiousity ripped through her, and though the library was as empty as a merchant's soul she still glanced around surreptiously before easing the heavy book out. Laying it on a nearby table, she lifted the steely cover and picked a random page, her eyes lighting up as she came across a story of a master thief. She grinned softly to herself as she read.
Pippin had been watching.. for once. He'd perked up his guard since the last incident, but curiosity hit him too hard to pass up this chance. After all, there must be a reason why they find their way down here..
((Pippin calls Kel-chan over into his office thing and explains about the Forgotten))
Pippin holds open the door with a wry smile on his face. "Now.. go back to that book, Miss. I think it's safe to say you won't be expecting what you find."
Kel-chan backed out of the door, her mind whirling. That book, a child? Like little April? How - ? She got a hold of herself and half-ran, half-stumbled back towards the library she had so recently vacated. A mystery, indeed! But she had little time to think as she arrived, slightly out of breath, back at the stairs, and eased herself through the doors at the bottom, eyes adjusting to the light.
A boy, a boy is in the place of the book. His daemon circles his hand eagerly, but the boy himself is perfectly still when she arrives. His excerpt is folded messily and poking out from under his bandana.
Kel-chan attempted not to hyperventilate, the little boy staring at her un-nervingly. After a few moments of staring at each other, the woman cautiously padded closer.
"Greetings, little one," she said in a half-whisper, reaching out carefully to see if she could snag the crumpled parchment from the child's bandana. He stared back at her unblinkingly, the little lizard circling and circling, little feet sounding loud in the silence of the books.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:05 am
 Kel-chan blinked, the child's stare causing an unconscious reaction. As she pulled out the piece of parchment, the little boy finally moved, slumping backwards to sit on the table, lantern dangling behind him and making a pool of brighter light amongst the dim electric rays. He held out his hand appealingly for the piece of paper.
"In a minute, little one," Kel-chan glanced up as she spread the parchment on the desk, and his warm brown eyes latched onto hers. He held out his hand insistently, and the little lizard scurried up into his lap to add her silent pleas. The woman hesitated, and then put the excerpt in her back pocket.
"I'll read this later, how about it?" she said briskly, wondering how to take the child up with that lantern bouncing precariously at the end of its wire. Sighing, she circled her arms around him carefully, with the offending item sticking out from the side. The little boy wriggled slightly, but then stayed still as the woman held him close.
"So, who looks after you now?" She wondered pointlessly as she maneouvered her way aorund the library doors, the tall panels snicking closed with a soft sound. The little boy said nothing, but reached up his chubby hand and put it in the middle of her face, making it difficult to talk.
"If you insist," she smiled, twisting her head to the side, still a little bemused by the entire incident. And she hadn't read that paper yet! And she'd left Auriga upstairs. That was a point. What could she call this little boy? As she carried him swiftly up the skinny concrete stairs, she looked at him closely.
"I would call you Kair, after my wolf companion when I was younger...but you don't look like a Kair," she said, her voice sounding loud in the dusty hall. Apart from anything else, that would inspire all the 'named after the dog??' jokes. She squinted at him quizzically as he wrapped his arms round to cradle the little daemon riding there.
"How about Althalus?" She asked again. When no objection was met, only his turning of his head at the sound of her voice, she nodded. "That will do. No use calling you 'little one' all the time."
She laughed a little, then continued on in silence, trying to remember her way back either to Pippin's office, or the kitchen. The enormity of the fact that she now had a new charge did not seem to have struck her yet; Althalus peered around at the new surroundings, unaware of his new role in Kel-chan's life.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:37 am
 It was only as she eventually left Pippin's manor/house thing that evening that Kel-chan remembered the crumpled piece of paper in her pocket. She debated for a few moments; thank goodness she had manged to find some petrol for her rustbucket Mini, because otherwise she wouldn't have the hands for walking home with! Or the arms. Auriga, being that much older than the little Althalus, was a heavy lump to carry, and it was with a brief sigh of relief that she balanced the sleeping Astra on her knee for a moment, foot resting on the wheelarch as she removed her keys, with some curtailed whispered cursing. Eventually she got the door open and strapped Auriga into the pile of cushions that served as a booster seat. She would have to sort that out... and what to do with Althalus? She peered at him in the light from the little car lamp. He seemed to be sleeping, the little lizard daemon coiled silently around his neck, tail latched like a shimmering brown necklace and head slumped on his shoulder. The woman blinked a little, and then decided she would be driving really slowly home. There was no way that she either could deal with an accident or an awake child, not at this moment in time.
She tucked a spare jumper from the back seat around the little boy, fearing he might get cold, and at last with free hands she unhooked his lantern from her back pocket and placed it beside him. As she did so she heard a crackle of parchment and her mind was dragged back to that little piece of paper she had found so scruffily tucked into the boy's bandana. Shutting the door but leaving the light on, she smoothed it as best she could against the steering wheel and attempted to read it. The redhead squinted at the words, her quickmind needing no prompting to remember that this was a bit from that book she had been reading in the library. The book from which Althalus had come... if indeed he did... but there was no reason to disbelieve Pippin. And she had seen the writing on the large book was growing clearer.
So, her little boy was a thief. Or at least, his excerpt showed him as such... perhaps she could teach him not to be? Or did a Forgotten Document stay true to his excerpt? Kel's mind was vaguely troubled as she started the engine, heading for home.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:00 am
 "Good grief! Just how expensive do they think they can make this stuff?"
Kel-chan sighed in frustration, jamming the tin of baby mush back on the shelf. "I could probably shove lasagna in the food processor, and you'd like it just as well," she addressed the baby held in the crook of her arm. Althalus stared at the shelf, his hand waving inexpertly in his attempt to grab something interesting. Stealth appeared to have disappeared, which in a way was a relief; people might talk in the supermarket if there was a lizard-thing running over the small boy.
"Well, I'll buy some of this stuff," The woman continued grudgingly, dropping a few things in her small trolley before pushing it onwards. The trolley already contained four bags from the oither shops in town, some more clothes for Althalus, a wind chime for Auriga's room, some toys, a playmat... Kel-chan, as a penniless post-grad student, was finding it a little difficult to keep up with it all, but she was determined. She'd cadged a job at the library, where she could leave Althalus and Auriga with some of her friends, and now she could finally provide for her 'children'.
Kel gaped as the price ran up on the screen. "What the - oh, here's my card," she said, struggling ith an armful of Althalus to get her wallet. The Forgotten clapped his hands merrily, enjoying the show, and Kel-chan threw him a mock-annoyed glare. "It's alright for you to be happy, mister," she reprimanded him, taking her card back from the assisstant and starting to push the trolley out of the supermarket doors.
And of course, today would be the day she set the alarms off.
Crimson with embarrasment, she reversed back as two security men noiselessly appeared, contrasting nicely with the wailing alarm and the wailing baby. Althalus wasn't fond of the noise, not at all. As he held his little hands to his ears, a packet of chocolate fell out of his sleeve, the bar certainly breaking as it hit the floor.
"Huh - wha - Althalus!" Kel-chan looked dumbfounded, and the guards looked serious, suspecting her of using the child to hide her shoplifting. It took nearly an hour to sort everything out, and the redhead was about ready to cry when she finally stormed back to her rusty car. As she buckled Althalus into his brand new seat, she looked at him critically. He was sucking two of his fingers, looking at her with large brown eyes, Stealth's head appearing from his collar to fix her with the same look.
"Youy can stop looking at me like that," she said, turning away to get to her own side of the car. "If you weren't so clever at picking up things unnoticed - "
She stopped suddenly. Picking up things unnoticed... good grief, her baby had already done his first bit of thieving! But no, wait, this was just a simple mistake, it happened all the time with small children, she told herself firmly, willing herself to continue moving. It was just a pure coincidence. But as Althalus giggled up at her, his eyes bright with baby mischief, she wasn't so sure.
"Let's go back to the mansion again, how about it?" She said in a friendly tone as they pulled out of the car park. "And talk with Pippin. Hey, maybe you'll even get to see April again."
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2004 1:19 pm
 Althalus peered around the corner. He had perfeced the high speed crawl by now, and made good use of it as he scrambled across the lounge, Stealth just ahead of him. Behind the sofa, the baby sat backwards on his behind and added his recent treasure to the pile.
In the distance he could hear Kel-chan humming as she made his and Auriga's supper; the Astra girl was sitting oblivious on the sofa above, pushing the horse plushie around with Sascha. Althalus didn't really care though; he had found another shiny!
The small brown and cream gecko-daemon that was Stealth curled her long body neatly around the little pile, sharing a satisfied emotion with her Forgotten. So far they had managed to accumulate a crinkly silver shiny paper, a round shiny disk with a hole in the middle, a bunch of shiny knobbly things tied together with a shiny ring, a multi coloured glass shiny ball and now the new treasure, a shiny piece of string with a shiny lump on it! Althalus shared a smug grin with Stealth. Quite prolific for the days work!
Having turned the microwave on, the redhead pattered to the lounge door and stuck her head around, checking on her children. Auriga was quite happily playing with the Guardian, and Sammie, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on them all, was curled up in an armchair, her mouth open and her eyes closed, no doubt sleeping. Kel-chan clicked her tongue in annoyance; the Libre was supposed to be watching the little ones.
"Samantha!" She called, before suddenly failing to spot Althalus. Where was her little boy? "Sammie, where's Althalus?"
The Libre started, and blinked blearily.
"Um, um, I wasn't asleep," she hastily said, recieving only a frosty glance in return. "Althalus? He's just.. wait, round.. uh..."
"Oh for crying out loud," Kel sighed, pushing her fringe out of her eyes and holding a hand to her forehead. "Well, he can't be very far. He'd better not have hurt himself!"
Alexandra the Guardian looked up from her play with Auriga. "I know where Al'thus is," she chirped cheerfully.
"You do?"
"B'hind us," the green little face nodded solemnly. Kel-chan raised an eyebrow; there was no other on the sofa, what was she talking about? Sammie meanwhile leapt of the chair and stuck her head behind the actual sofa, tail waving slightly.
"He's here," she leaned her head back to look sheepishly at Kel. "See?"
The woman strode over to the sofa and knelt down to sweep the baby up into her lap. "Don't wander off, little one! You'll worry us," She chided the Forgotten lightly. He just leant his head against her chest and stuck a finger in his mouth solemnly, watching Stealth stand protectively over the pile of objects. Kel tilted her head.
"Good grief."
The little boy had managed somehow to collect her car keys, a CD, some rubbish and a crystal ornament, and was that her Angelic Pendant?
"You," she bounced him lightly, "are a little magpie. You know that?" Althalus giggled, and the woman sighed.
"You just don't get it, do you, trouble. Ah well. Sammie, can you put all those things back for me?" She leant over to delicately pick up Stealth, eliciting a stubborn frown from Althalus. As she placed the daemon in the Forgotten's lap, she opened her mouth and hissed slightly, like a snake. Kel blinked and then shrugged as she got to her feet. Odd, but then Stealth always was a bit of an enigma.
"Well then, you can come through to the kitchen and sit down until supper's ready," she said firmly. "And try not to collect any more things, huh?"
As if that was likely, she thought wistfully to herself.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 1:27 pm
 [ In response to Kel's journal] Ralph twitched the curtain in the kitchen irritably and turned back. Althalus and Auriga had been dropped home earlier by Kel's friend, but the redhead hadn't returned home yet; the two children were being noisy, Althalus complaining at the fact he wasn't in bed yet and Auriga cheerfully burbling away in her own little private language she tended to use with Alexandra, the Guardian kitsune. Sammie the Libre was helping to some extent, freeing Ralph up from his handfuls of siblings and ending up worrying about his owner.
He sighed and peered out of the curtain again. The full moonlight was flooding the garden, their house midway between two streetlights, making the shadows stark and white. He was about to turn back when he spotted a figure slowly approaching up the midnight streets, and he peered at it intently. He grimaced when he saw the white tumbled locks of the woman as she walked closer, her head downcast and her hands jammed deeply into the pockets of her long black coat. Actually, it was very similar to Kel's so Ralph forgave himself for being confused.
However he became more so when the woman paused on the street outside their house and appeared to take a deep breath. Then she walked up their path.
Ralph shut the curtains with a decisive gesture and turned to Sam. The yellow&black pet looked up startled. "What's up?"
"We've got company - someone's coming to ring on the door. Watch Althalus and Auriga, will you?" The Raimin ordered more curtly than he intended. This evening was just getting odder. However as he headed for the hall, the small green guardian kitsune jump-fluttered off the table after him, sticking close to his heel.
"Alexandra - "
"Just wanna see who is," she replied complacently, her childish words still tripping off her tongue, her small furry body pressed closely against the Raimin's winged ankle as he forestalled the stranger's knock by opening the door.
And the pair stiffened as they stared at the wordless woman.
It was Kel-chan, yet not Kel-chan. Her rich red hair was now a stark blue-white, loose and slightly tangled; her yellow eyes were instead a blood-red, gleaming slightly in the paleness of her face. As she reached up a hand to tuck an errant strand behind her ear, her right forearm was revealed as heavily bandaged. She offered an expression both worried and hunted, something strange in her demeanour. Ralph didn't know what to say; perhaps it wasn't her? What -
Alexandra broke the silence with a faint whimper, doing oneof her enormous bounce-flutters against the woman and crawling up into her arms, pressing her face against her pale neck.
"Kelinor..." The Guardian crooned slightly, purple eyes large in the moonlight. Ralph was still standing stock still in the doorway, and the woman tilted her head slightly, weariness laden in her soft tone.
"May I come into my own home, Ralph?"
As she stepped into the yellow hall light, a strange change seemed to come over her. The colour seemed to seep back into her hair and skin, her eyes lightening into their customary enigmatic gold. In an instant it was their Kel-chan once more, tired and cold, Alexandra cradled in the crook of her arm, nuzzling her worriedly.
"Mother?" A round eyed Auriga was balanced precariously on the kitchen chair, herarms clinging to the back of the chair and supporting her lame side. Kel-chan dumped her bag and started coming towards her star-daughter, before stopping, uncertain.
"I'll be there in a minute, sweetheart," she whispered, before turning back to Ralph. "Fetch Sammie and Ryshad. I have... a lot to explain."
Some time later Kel-chan pattered through the kitchen. Althalus was fretting, unusual for the little boy, and she picked him up from his high chair gently.
"Hush now, baby," she whispered gently, rocking him slightly. As she did so Stealth's small head appeared from his collar,and regarded her with assessing eyes. The gecko-daemon stared once more, before silently turning and wriggling her way back under the boy's sweater. For some reason this came across as rejection to the woman, and as she pressed her cheek against the warm material of Althalus' bandana, she could not help but let silent tears start, still rocking the unyielding child. She tried to console herself with the fact that her family would get used to her lycanthropy, her shapeshifting; but she needed comfort now, the stranger in her own home.
She carried the Forgotten to his bed, and tucked him in. Silent brown eyes suddenly flickered up to actually look at her, at her brimming golden eyes, at the tear-marked tanned skin in the warm yellow light of the hallway.
He stretched out a small palm,the way April did, and twisted it slightly, locking his gaze to hers.
"Mah," he said firmly, and she reached out a hand to stroke his cheek, crying more now.
"Yes, Althalus," she whispered, before turning away.
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Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:00 am
 Althalus opened his eyes sleepily, thin slits against the moonlight from the crack in the curtains. Rolling over, the bright brown gaze swept the darkened room, pupils largening to give better vision of the surroundings visible through the bars of the cot. As he did so the small gecko-daemon emerged slowly from the tangle of blanket, and exchanged a sleepy smile with her Forgotten.
Awaked?
Bored.
Play!
Bars...
...Plan.
The brown and cream lizard applied one black shining eye to the problem. Then she scurried calmly to the wooden bar and wound her way up it to the top, looking back at the small boy.
Coming?
Althalus frowned, shuffling forwards until his face was against the bars. Wrapping chubby hands around the wood, he struggled to pull himself upright. Success! He leant on the wood heavily, feet upon their tiptoes. Stealth was nudging at the catch that held the bars upright, and managed to loosen the tightness, but she was not strong enough to finish. She looked annoyed, and the little boy let out a soft giggle in the darkness. Leaning over and manoevering himself sideways, he came to his daemon's aid by almost falling on the loosened catch.
The side of the cot slid downwards suddenly, Stealth taking a flying leap to safety to land on Althalus' head as the boy landed on his behind. As he tooka deep breath to wail his surprise and outrage, the daemon scurried forward, bringing her upside-down head in to his vision,peering through his fringe.
Wait! Free!
Free?
Explore!
Althalus reached up a wrist for Stealth to wind herself around, himself only briefly annoyed by the lack of bandana, his mood changing swiftly to excitement as he turned to slide out of the cot and landed on the carpet.
Fun!
--------------------
Kaeska padded wearily into the hallways of her own home. The wolf, Kel-chan by any other name, was only just getting used to the effect that the accursed moonlight had on her. As the grey shadow jumped awkwardly up the stairs, she was completely unprepared for anyone of her children to be awake, and thus yelped quietly as she came face to face with a startled Althalus.
The baby stared at the large furry creature, frozen at first with fear and then curiousity taking over. Was this another pet? He burbled slightly and reached forward his hand to attempt to touch her fur. The creature seemed to hold its breath, and as his fingertips brushed her leg, the lizard curled around his wrist lifted her small head sharply, and Althalus suddenly stared up at her, his eyes large in the darkness.
Kaeska decided that it was enough. She backed off, before shutting golden eyes and allowing a white light to crackle over her form. A bright flare, and Kel-chan knelt in the hallway, the grey jumpsuit dark against her moonlight-pale hair. She spread out her hands towards her son.
"It's me, Althalus," She said softly.
The Forgotten stared at her for a while, as if coming to a conclusion, an inner argument perhaps.
And then crawled forward, his head raised trustingly.
Now they had seen just what the nature of their mother's changes were, the pair could accept it. It was no longer the unknown.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 1:20 pm
 Althalus watched absently as Stealth wound her way through his fingers. He reached up his other hand and allowed the little lizard a path to that side, the boy and the daemon silent in their communication.
A little to the side Kel-chan peeked up from her textbook, blowing her fringe absently from her eyes. Althalus was strangely quiet; normally that either meant that he was asleep, or he wasn't their, and off exploring. But no, there he was, carefully twining the small lizard around his tiny fingers, warm brown eyes intent on following her every move. As the woman watched, the brown and cream gecko-daemon almost seemed to flow up to his neck, sitting on his shoulder, brown tail wrapped loosely around the back of his neck, shimmering slightly in the overhead light. And both of them fixed her with a silent gaze.
"Um, I'm just seeing if you were alright, Althalus, I wasn't staring," Kel said awkwardly, before remembering she was talking to a baby. What the? She flushed slightly, and the spell seemed to be broken as the little boy broke into fits of giggles, clapping little hands together. Kel-chan ran a hand through her hair exasperatedly before coming over and kneeling beside her laughing son.
"You really are an enigma, Althalus," she told him firmly, holding out her arms. He readily crawled up into her lap, probably thinking he was going to get a rusk for his troubles. Instead the redhead held him close for a moment, brushing her cheek against his bandana as she rested herface on his head.
"Enigma or not, baby, you're still lovely," she said softly, like a line from a bad movie, but not caring. "What on earth will happen when you get a little older and start wanting to walk? I'll never catch you, I know," she teased lightly. He wriggled a bit, and she grinned.
"All right, all right, enough soliliquising, I get the point. Want some fruit or something, baby?"
She shifted him to her hip and got carefully to her feet, still talking as she headed to the kitchen. Althalus laid his head against her shoulder, Stealth slipping from her place on his shoulder and on light feet carefully around Kel-chan's neck. She was busy opening cupboards one-handedly, continuing to talk softly. "Grapes? No, wait, I'm saving them for Auriga. The cinnamon cookies are mine, and I know you hate peanut butter, so noneof Ralph's nasty paste for you. How about carrot? Wait, no teeth, baby. How about yoghurt?"
She glanced down, not noticing until the second look that the little boy was clutching her angelic pendant, the jewel catching sparkles of light and the golden chain ribboning down and around his arms, the loose ends swaying slightly as she moved.
"Hey!"
How on earth had he managed that? Kel-chan felt automatically to her throat, where her necklace was suspiciously absent. She'd never noticed!When must he have taken that? At her surprised voice, Althalus looked up innocently from his new toy, Stealth on his shoulder mirroring the expression.
Shaking her head slightly in bemusement, Kel disentangled her pendant from the baby's stubborn grasp, giving him instead a tube of yoghurt, which he happily gummed.
"Most defintely an enigma, Althalus," the woman repeated, the chain glittering in her hand.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 2:39 pm
 Althalus wriggled slightly from his position on the couch. A round eyed glance around the room revealed Kel-chan attempting to show Auriga how to hold a paintbrush (failing miserably) and the tall Raimin attempting to clean aforementioned paint from a mewling Alex. The baby found that if he was still and quiet for long enough, he sort of... faded from attention. A large gummy smile spread across his face, and he shuffled round until he could slide backwards off onto the floor, landing with a soft thump which elicited barely a glance from his mother or siblings. As he started to crawl forward, the brown necklace appeared to slide off his chubby neck, across his shoulder, down his arm and then scurry onto the carpet in front of the determined infant.
Again!
Hungry?
Shiny...
No shiny! Hungry!
....Mother = food?
The daemon moved quietly in front of her Forgotten as the pair changed their direction. Once onto the dark green carpet, the chocolate colouring of the lizard-like creature started to change imperceptably, taking on an emerald tinge that had not previously been there. Unnoticed the pair managed to make it over to a now abandoned piece of paper, scrawled on with the Astra girl's attempts at painting.
Colours pretty.
Hungry
Pretties though
Like Shiny?
Food!
Curiously Althalus placed his hand on the brightly coloured paint,his tiny hand coming up daubed in blue. Stealth pattered with small crackling noises over the newspaper, her little feet leaving multihued pawprints wherever she stood. Suddenly the two froze as Kel-chan's head swung towards them, her golden eyes surprised.
"Althalus? When did you come over here?" She wondered out loud. Althalus gave her the wide-eyed innocent look, peeking out under his bandana, the small daemon beside him looking... odd. Kel-chan looked closer, puzzled. Good grief!
Where the small gecko-daemon was standing perfectly still over the bright painting below, slowly her scales were changing. Shestill stood out, but the tip of her tail seemed rusty where it lay over the roof of a house and her body was swirling green and white, the colours overlaying the normal brown. She tilted a bright black eye to stare at the woman, her head touched with gold as it lay over a yellow paint daub.
"Almost like a little chameleon," Kel mused to herself. She leant over and firmly held onto Althalus' paint-stained wrist, her train of thought broken as the little boy's fingers crept towards his mouth.
"Oh no, trouble," she chided, maneouvering herself around an absorbed Auriga to scoop him up and stand straight on feet of pins and needles. "Ow..."
The boy began to sniffle, sure signs that he was about to launch a full-scale wail, and the redhead hurriedly hushed him, starting to take him through to the kitchen.
"Shush now Althalus, I'm here now. Hush, baby. You hungry again? I can get you something..."
As she chattered on, she didn't notice a small shadow dart up her trouser leg to ensconse herself firmly around Althalus' arm, leaving rainbow pawprints on the black fabric.
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Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:00 am
 The afternoon was obscured from the room by the thick curtains, allowing only a dim light to enter. In the battered cot tucked into the corner of the room, the infant slept, his fists curled up beside his head and his fine brown hair seeming darker against the pillow in the half light of the nursery. The small daemon that never left his side was draped carelessly over his shoulder, the heavinesss of sleep removing her blending abilities and sending her back to her normal glittering brown.
The warm silence was broken by a creak, and daylight flooded from a crack in the doorway that grew larger. The little boy stirred, but then was still again, deeply asleep that he did not notice as the light was obscured by two heads that peered cautiously around the door.
"Be quiet," warned Alex, the small green kitsune whispering sotto voce behind her as she pattered forward, her eyes large in the gloom. Behind her an older child crawled - well, half-dragged herself, as the lack of a limb still hindered her unknowingly.
"Why must we see Alth'us?" She asked the kit curiously, finally putting herself down with a briefsigh as they reached the cot side. "This was mine," she commented with a slight frown, running a chubby finger down the leg of the cot.
"Dunno," admitted Alex, the Guardian leaping lightly to the top of the bars, giving a brief downward push with her small wings to help her make the jump. "But I do."
"Why me too?" pondered Auriga, reaching up to grasp the bars at the side, pulling herself upright, violet eyes peering in at the sleeping baby.
"'Cause," reasoned the Guardian firmly, forgetting in that instant her own premise of being quiet. In the half dark the baby stilled, the small gecko-daemon motionless onhisback. Then in eerie synchronisation their eyes flickered open at the same time, the deep bond between them not allowing them to sleep independently.
Alex inhaled sharply, still perched with difficulty on the thin rail along the top of the cot. And the small kit's balance still not being that good, she fell inside with a flutter of wings. "Oh!"
Althalus' face creased up short-temperedly, his nap interrupted, but Auriga wriggled anxious fingers through the bars to attract his attention. "'Lo Al'thus, sssh! Just me an' 'Lex..."
The baby peered at the solemn face through the bars, brown curls framing her face and pleading eyes. A short silent communion with his daemon appeared to ensue as she ran up and sat on top of his head, blinking bright eyes, and the pair remained silent. A smile grew across Auriga's face.
"There! Jus' came to say hello, baby," she said in unconscious mimicry of her mother. Alex sorted her self out in a ruffling of green feathers, and pressed close against the child's side.
"Yeah, you one of us you know," she continued importantly. "Hey!" For the boy had reached out and cheerfully grabbed a handful of fur, the kit's three gently waving tails too irresistable. Auriga giggled at the look of astonishment on her face, before suddenly looking sharply round, her fingers losing their grip as she slid back down to a sitting position on the floor.
Kel-chan peered her head around the door, a worried look hidden by her relief.
"Well, you really are all troubles," she said, striding over with a slightly exasperated look. "You're supposed to be in your own room, Auri! And
Alexandra, what on earth are you doing in there?"
The Guardian wriggled a bit to extricate herself from the baby's grasp and jumped back out again. "We very good, Kel-kel," she said earnestly. Althalus joined in with a disappointed burble as the fluffy thing was removed from his reach, and Kel scooped him out of the cot and sighed.
"Well, I guess he was awake anyway. Auriga, Alex, why don't you come downstairs now?"
As she left the room, two chastened young females following behind her, Althalus peered over his mother's shoulder and flailed an arm at his pair of sisters, a wide smile flashing across his baby face.
Auriga giggled.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2004 12:20 pm
 Althalus could do nothing but sit and stare round eyed, Stealth circling him excitedly as she eyed the flashing sparkles thrown across the room. Kel-chan paused, looked down from her precarious perch on a stepstool and removed a piece of tinsel from her mouth.
"Liking the shinies huh, baby?" She grinned at him, her arms still full of the decorations that swathed the little tree and were in the process of festooning the walls. "It's your lucky month! Christmastime is full of shinies!" She continued, peeling a piece of sellotape off the back of her hand and attaching it to the ceiling corner with a bit of effort.
"Especially tinsel, and wrapping paper, Althalus, I'm sure you'll love playing with that on Christmas morning."
The woman clambered down and then came over to smile happily at her son. He gave a gummy smile in return and stuck a finger in his mouth, peering with warm brown eyes under the unruly fringe. Stealth pattered up his sleeve, scaly skin slowly merging with the navy blue of his sweater. Kel-chan touched the small lizard's head absently, noting that as always the small daemon flinched. "Well, I can still touch you, right baby?" She smiled with a resigned expression before patting the small boy on the head, careful not to rumple the bandana too much. She tilted her head, regarding him thoughtfully. What was the deal with the gecko-daemon anyway? For some reason she knew it was female, though nothing ever exactly gave it away, and she had a feeling that the boy conversed silently with the being, the way he would suddenly glance at her and then grin infectiously.
Since being at Kel's house, Althalus had almost had a split personality. Most of the time he was a loud boy, protesting vocally at lack of food, sleep or attention. But at other times he was so quiet that he wouldjust fade from notice. And always the little daemon.... she slept when he did and vice versa, or at least as far as Kel could tell. And she was never far from the child. Obviously the daemon was more than just a pet, but in what way?
Thinking on these things lead Kel's thoughts onto other things as she absenlty draped paperchains over the banisters. Auriga and Alex had spent that afternoon helping stick the brightly coloured loops into the long streamers that now wound loosely around the stairs. Auriga was a star-child, born from a constellation; but Althalus had come from a book. A book? That still confused his mother sometimes. The small parchment excerpt was folded carefully in Kel-chan's most treasured scrapbook; she had tried to store the pondering over that away as well, but the obvious words still caused a certain amount of trepidation. Well, there was nothing she could do, except perhaps try and bring the boy up as a law-abiding youngster.
But a small voice warned her that this would be a difficult task.
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:28 am
 Althalus' face was creased in a large smile, and the small daemon wound round his arms and across his lap with a mischievous look in her bright black eyes. All around their small oasis of calm, the house was in uproar.
Auriga was sitting snivelling quietly in the middle of the floor of the lounge, her violet eyes wide as pets dashed past her. Sammie paused to nuzzle the small girl comfortingly before continuing her searching; for searching she was. The Libre peered behind every chair, underneath the table, behind the curtains - her eyes and attention just sliding over the armchair where Althalus sat, one finger stuck curiously in his mouth. For a moment Sam's face creased in a slight frown, as if she noticed that something wasn't quite right, but Stealth suddenly stilled, a bronze statuette fading to maroon against the baby's bandana, and the Libre shook her head and moved on.
Kel-chan stamped her frustration and worry as she returned to the living room, her little Guardian bouncing anxiously at her heel. The redhead threw herself into a chair and ran a hand through her hair. Just then Ryshad and his sister Kikaja padded silently through.
"Any sign of him in the garden?" The woman brightened up, but at the Temeos' negative expressions slumped again. "Right."
Auriga dragged herself over to her mother, the small girl's face filled with a desire to comfort.
"Alth'us be fine, mother," she said, tugging on Kel's trouser leg. The woman leant down and scooped up the Astra, hugging her close.
"I know, Auri. But where is he?" And Kel's voice was close to tears.
Over at his seat on the armchair, Althalus frowned slightly. Everyone had stopped running around! This wasn't fun any more. And besides, he was hungry. Stretching chubby arms above his head in an ostentatious yawn, the baby whimpered slightly, brown eyes large and appealing. Stealth faded back into focus and scampered down past his ear to sit on his shoulder, tail latched around his neck. And every eye on the room was suddenly upon them.
"Althalus!"
Kel-chan was on her feet in an instant, Auriga being swiftly deposited next to Alex where the pair sat in confusion. She knelt down in front of the armchair, golden eyes wide in disbelief, catching the little boy's arm to make sure that he really was real. How on earth had he managed to escape their notice, sitting right there??
She picked up the fussing baby and got to her feet, still slightly disorientated. It was as if he had just... appeared in the middle of the room. But she had a nagging feeling that he had been there all along... this made no sense.
Perhaps she should get him out of the house more, to meet other Forgotten. If he was bored enough to practice disappearing at home, who knows where he might end up next?
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:48 am
 Kel-chan had accepted the fact that it was going to be a mess, and no amount of cleaning would help, so why bother? She ran a hand through her tousled red hair and smiled fondly at the organised chaos that was her sitting room.
The most mess had to be around the two babies, Auriga and Althalus. The crippled Astra girl was giggling happily, her beloved plushie horse clutched tight in one arm and the small plastic horse-drawn sleigh in the other. Both items were being pushed around the room with the help of Alexandra, who was just as enthusiastic in her play. The little Guardian kit, although acting more grown up recently, had a red and white ribbon on her head and was having a lot of fun playing hide and seek amongst the mounds of wrapping paper. Auriga and Alex were the loudest pair in the room, though Kikaja and Ryshad arguing was almost there..
Althalus was looking slightly uncomfortable in his festive clothing, refusing to relinquish his bandana but submitting to the red dungarees. Stealth was on his shoulder, looking a warm bronzey-red colour, her tail latched around his neck. She'd obviously grown tired of the game they were playing earlier; Althalus was more interested in the multihued paper strewn around, the little chameleon-daemon changing colour after vibrant colour as she danced across the crackling mess. However now the little boy was absorbed in the small treasury box he'd been given. It was a child's toy, a wooden box with a large key to open and close it. After spending about ten minutes working out how to put the key in the lock, and refusing any help what so ever, the little Forgotten had finally unlocked the box. There was nothing inside, but now the baby was spending an absorbed half hour just opening and closing it.
There was a crash as Alexandra backed into the Christmas tree, sending the plastic baubles flying and the tree itself wobbling ominously. Kel-chan dashed over and steadied it, her Guardian frozen in place, her violet eyes matching Auriga's, large and scared.
"Hey! Don't worry, you two..." The woman knelt down to pick up the decorations, her face however stern. "But be more careful, okay? Play in the middle of the room."
"But middle of the room is all papered," Alex reasoned sweetly, her expression innocent. Auriga nodded vigorously, her brown curls bouncing; Kel-chan made a note to watch her more carefully. Her Guardian was obviously teaching the little girl all her artfulness.
"There's a simple solution! Why don't you," and Kel-chan finished hanging the last decoration and pointed at the pair, "and you, clear all the paper into the bin?"
Alexandra looked shifty but Auriga sighed, the little girl sitting back on her behind again. "Momma right, 'Lex," she said before picking up a big piece of paper in a chubby fist. Alex blinked.
"K... but Ralph help! We too little,"
"Hear that, Ralph? That's a good idea."
"In a certain light, perhaps," the tall Raimin said ironically, putting down his new book on the arm of the chair he'd been curled up in.
As the clearing up began, Kel-chan scooped up Althalus and went to sit down at her long-abandoned seat on the sofa. The little boy reached out his arms imploringly for his toy, but Kel caught his wrist and smiled at him.
"Hey! Why don't you - and Stealth - help me open my presents?" She waved a small package invitingly at him, and his eye was caught by the sparkly paper immediately. Kel laughed quietly and handed it to him, knowing that it was okay for him to hold it, as it was from Tiagra, and she always sent the most exquisite little dolls - in sturdy boxes. In the meantime she picked up a small envelope that hadarrived in the post the previous morning, taped to another, slightly larger envelope.
"From Lena-chan, huh?" She mused as she opened it carefully, noting the Durem postmark. Inside was a piece of paper. The woman's face froze in surprise as she read its content. Then she hurriedly opened the other envelope, and sure enough, inside were several official-looking papers and a small ID card.
"Um."
"What's up, Kel?" Samantha the Libre leapt lightly up onto the sofa, treading carefully past Althalus and amusing the distracted baby by dangling her fluffy tail across his shoulder. "You look like you're a bit.. confused."
"Ah. Well,um." The woman blinked again. "It appears... I've been chosen to be the guardian and mentor to a young apprentice. From... from the Gaian Jedi Academy."
"Jedi?" Sammie looked skeptical. "I thought there were only a few."
"Well, a new one is being transferred," and an idiotic grin spread across Kel-chan's face as she waved the little piece of paper in the Libre's face.
"Cool!"
"Yup.. but it means we're - I'm - going to have to get this house ready for an eight-year-old child to live in. Eeep..." She looked around the still-messy living room, where patches of floor were appearing as the rubbish was removed by Ralph and his two not-so-eager helpers.
"Some Christmas present," Sammie blinked. But Kel-chan smiled widely.
"Isn't it just!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 12:49 am
 "..and so I thought I would spend some more time with you this morning, baby," Kel-chan lifted an unprotesting Althalus out of his playpen, Stealth making a flying leap and clinging to her Forgotten's trouser leg, scales slowly changing until they were a match with the royal blue of the fabric. Kel squinted at the little gecko-daemon, more interested that day as her own appearance was changed for the time being.
Part of becoming a shapeshifter meant that for the three days around full moon, the normally tanned and cheerful redhead becme a pale wraith of herself, snowy white hair and red eyes gleaming slightly against pale skin. She was also more melancholic and fierce, and wore black instead of her normal charcoal and red outfits. So there was a strange affinity this morning for the daemon who could change, chameleon-like, to match her surroundings.
"So, what shall we do today?" The woman inquired lightly, holding the little boy up and smiling wanly at his surprised expression. She'd been so busy preparing for this new Jedi apprentice to move in, and then Alexandra had surprised them all by growing up in a sudden one night, that Althalus and Auriga had become almost part of the background. So today, when Kel-chan knew she was free all day, she resolved to change this situation.
"Perhaps we could do some painting, or I could take the pair of you to the park, or maybe shopping, or we could just stay in and bake..." Stealth, who by this time had wound her way up to Althalus' shoulder, perked her ochre head up. The little baby leaned his head a little closer to hers, almost as if they were silently communicating, and a curious smile spread across his face. In his normal way of saying he was hungry, he put out a small hand, stuck it across his mother's face and burbled slightly. She couldn't help but grin, and carefully caught at his wrist before replying.
"I tell you what. When Auriga returns from playing at Eridani's house, we'll have a nice spread laid out for us. Cakes and scones and sausage rolls. What do you think, baby?"
A vigorous wavering of the hand was the reply, and even though she knew he didn't really understand, Kel-chan took this as auspicious. And she would run on the moors tonight - it would be as well if she ate plenty beforehand. Sometimes a startled creature dashing across her path elicited all the instincts in her lupine mind to lunge after it. As she carried Althalus absently towards the kitchen, the baby began to chew thoughtfully on a lock of silver-white hair.
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Some hours later, Kel-chan flopped into a kitchen chair, crossing her floury arms in front of her and leaning her head on them. She couldn't help but grin at the little Forgotten opposite, chocolate cake mixture still smeared around his face. At this moment in time he was carefully offering the trimmings of the sponge cake to Stealth (Kel hadn't given him those; she'd left them on the table a little way from his high chair, and turned back a little later to see them all laid out haphazard in front of him. Perhaps the daemon had retrieved them for him?) It was quite amusing to watch the daemon cautiously take a tiny nibble of the suagr-dusted treat, and she wriggled all the way round to his other shoulder as soon as was done. The little boy waved it uncertainly, then seemed to shrug andconsume the cake himself with every sign of enjoyment. Kel-chan realised suddenly as she watched that she never saw the daemon eat anything. What did lizards eat? Insects, wasn't it? But she had never seen Stealth absently snap a fly out of the air, and the creature wasn't exactly a proper... creature, as it were. She was a daemon, Pippin had said, whatever that was.
Her reverie was broken as Althalus called out loudly, waving the half-chewed mess towards her in offering. She grinned and shook her head.
"I'll eat when all of this food is ready, thief," she said, getting up and coming round to scoop the remains off the tray in front of him. He looked up, his eyes threatening to well up in tears, and Kel turned her back on him for a few moments as she put them away. He'd have to learn that taking these things was wrong.... sure enough a few seconds later and a protesting wail echoed round the kitchen.The pale woman forced herself with difficulty to ignore the snuffling hiccups behind her and got on with the clearing up. Thieving is wrong, Althalus, she silently thought,before shaking her head and picking up the dishcloth.
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:46 am
 16th January
Kel-chan was attempting to read a book, absently waving her car keys on a finger just above the head of the small boy next to her. Althalus was merrily clapping his hands in an attempt to retrieve the shines, Stealth perched on her usual place on his shoulder, tail wrapped lightly around his neck. The redhead barely noticed the chill of the gloomy mansion, absorbed as she was in the book and hudled up in her coat.
Tia glanced carefully around the house. That library was an odd one, but she'd find her way back in later. she gave a sigh as Iqbal gurgled in the baby backpack, Fortune chirpping.
Wait. Fortune didn't chirp.
Tia raised an eyebrow suspiciously before a loud, awkward sqwauk. Tia rubbed her ear before smiling, there was the Fortune she knew. While walking through the halls and briskly past the living room, retracing her steps.
"Ah Kel!"
Tia walked forward as Iqbal's ears twitched, his eyes blinking.
Kel-chan perked upsuddenly, pulling her handin and thus removing the shiny keys from Althalus' view. The little boy scowled slightly, but then his daemon froze on his shoulder, her relaxed bronzey colour vanishing as she blended into the maroon of Althalus' sweater.
"Tia! Come sit down," Kel gestured happily to her friend. "And you brought Iqbal? I haven't seen the little guy in ages..."
"Ah, thankyou," she accepted the seat, removing Iqbal from the baby back pack and placing him in her lap. His wide eyes blinked into Althalus' direction tilting his head. Fortune, sat watch on Tia's shoulder. There was a reptile as a daemon ... shouldn't be too much of a problem and the baby ... he seemed pretty content with himself.
"Ah, well actually I have been around, though you've had you're hands full?"
"Only with this minx," Kel said, sitting forward. "He has this bad habit of becoming unnoticeable when I want to find him. And the little daemon of his, I swear she's a kind of chameleon... Anyway! Apart from that...not too bad." Shesuddenlyremembered to hand the keys to the baby, who clung on to them protectively, watching the otherForgotten with guarded eyes.
Iqbal turned his body to face Althalus. He had never seen someone quite like him before, especially his eyes caught him the most, they were very dark. Iqbal babbled to himself softly in his baby language sliding his small fingers from the bottom of the coat to touch his toes.
"Ah, well that's good to hear," Tia smiled patting Iqbal on the head lightly, who seemed to be preoccupied with inspecting this new Forgotten.
Althalus peered and giggled at the little boy opposite.He had pointy ears too, but more like Mother's when she was different-shaped. Curious! Peeking out from under his fringe, he held out his hand to touch Iqbal's coat, Stealth clinging to his shoulder. She however was watching Fortune, tilting her head to the side in lightning quick movements, her bright eyes slightly wary and her skin still protectively camoflaged.
Iqbal looked at Althalus's hand. He was trying to touch his coat ... but why? It was his fluffy not the other's. Iqbal didn't really have much say in the matter but only still eyed the other baby, trying to figure him out. Needless to say he was intrigued by the way he portrayed himself, but was hard to get a good grasp on the character.
Fortune eyed Stealth back, not even bothering to see the daemon as a threat. She turned her head away snobbishly, as she sat perched on Tia's shoulder.
Althalus tilted his head at the blank looks the pale one was giving him. Stealth leant over before scuttling down to sit on his forearm, circling it once before settling. The baby looked at his hands that still had car keys in. Shinies! Everyone liked shinies. He lifted his hand and rattled the keys inquiringly at Iqbal, dark eyes hopeful.
Iqbal's ears twitched curisously from the sound for the jingling keys. When his eyes met them, they were indeed shiny ... and pretty. Iqbal gurgled happily and raised a hand to bat at the keys, attempting to touch the cold metal. So, this other one, the dark one, he didn't seem so bad if he had shiny.
Althalus scrunched his face up with a smile, Stealth's head flicking in sudden movements as she watched the keys swing to and fro. He froze for a second in unison with his daemon, as if they were communicating, before dropping the shinies generously in Iqbal's lap.
After all, he could always steal them back.
The little boy burbled at Iqbal, eyes hopeful. Does the pale one like his shinies too?
Iqbal picked up the keys clumsily, giggling at the cold metal's touch. He didn't have anything to lend the other forgotten though ... but earlier he was looking at his ears. He rocked forward putting his head out to look at the baby babbling back, even though he didn't understand what the other was saying.
Althalus nodded happily, peering from under his fringe. If pale one appreciated shinies, he was good. He giggled, holding out a chubby hand out fearlessly to touch Iqbal's furry ear. And he looked like wolf-Mother! Curious...
Stealth pattered cautiously along her Forgotten's outstretched arm, delicately peering at the other. And then up at the small griffon-daemon on the human's shoulder. Did this one belong to her? She attempted to project ingratiation towards the proud daemon, and harmlessness.
Iqbal was still wary over his ears with the woman at the antique shop ... but as long as this forgotten didn't hurt him, he was happy enough. He cooed gently.
Fortune gazed upon the reptile. She never thought of her as a threat, just more of another daemon. She was overprotective of Iqbal, especially after their little excurision about a week ago.
Althalus was intrigued. Even though pale one wasn't as pale as the ice girl (he had identifications for the other Forgotten he'd met - orange girl, ice girl, the one with the coins. This was pale one, or possible wolf boy. What fun it was to meet other Forgotten!) he seemed to be friendly. This was a good thing, he decided firmly, and burbled a definite greeting. Stealth circled his arm once however, nervously shading to match the red of his sleeve again instead of her relaxed bronze-brown.
Iqbal looked down the the keys in his lap. The shiny was nice, but he wasn't too interested in it anymore. with his small hand he picked up the keys offering them back to Althalus. He gave a smile to the other baby gurgling in a whisper.
Fortune's head turned as the reptile had gone from her view? Ah. It had only changed colors. It was an interesting defense for the small animal.
The shinies were being given back? Now this was a person he liked! Althalus squealed happily and banged the keys up and down a few times, enjoying the sound they made but make the nervous Stealth flinch. Over where Kel-chan and Tia were sitting talking the sound raised a head, but not much else. Althalus grinned mischievously, and threw the keys deliberately on the floor. Now, to see whether Mother would retrieve them, or whether we can go and get them...his dark eyes darted across to Iqbal's face, giggling encouragingly.
Iqbal's head tilted to Althalus's ways. Why did he throw the shinies? Didn't he want them? Iqbal gurgled to him curiously. He wanted them to go down and get them? Iqbal blinked but slowly slid off the couch with a small thump to the floor.
Althalus burbled again and wriggled round before landing beside Iqbal, Stealth jolted on his wrist as they hit the floor. She gave up with a disgusted look and scurried off, scuttling silently over the slightly dusty floor to where the keys had landed. Althalus tugged lightly on Iqbal's jacket, bandana slipping haphazardly over one eye before crawling energetically after his daemon.
Iqbal still didn't understand, but crawled as fast as he could in his heavy coat over after Althalus. He flicked his tail lightly giving a small giggle.
Fortune eyed the group, still atop Tia's shoulder, ruffining her wings.
Althalus grabbed up the shinies in a chubby wrist and waved them at Iqbal as the other Forgotten arrived on the scene. He peered sideways at the distant Kel-chan, and then turned determinedly andheaded off along the dusty floor. This was great! Specially if pale one followed.
Stealth glanced back also, to where Fortune watched them carefully. She narrowed her eyes, and then brightened up.
Pale one = Iqbal.
Ickal?
Daemon says!
Ickal follows us. Fun = adventure!
Quiet though.
Ssssh...
Athalus looked cautiously around the side of a bookcase. This place was much bigger than home...maybe Ickal knew something.He tilted his head concerned at the other Forgotten, who by now was looking thoroughly confused.
Iqbal pushed himself down on all fours. The gleam of the keys caught his bi-colored eyes, entraced by their luster once more. He blinked and followed Althalus's lead. He wasn't quite sure where he was going but, it couldn't be anything bad.
Fortune eyed the pair cautiosly once more before subtly hopping off of Tia's shoulder to join Iqbal by his side. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight.
Althalus grinned again. This tall thing was really long...perhaps there were some more shinies at the end of it? They could make a collection! Heclung on to the keys, and wondered if he should let Iqbal go in front.Yes, that was a good idea. He sat back onhis bottom and waved a hand importunelyat the other. Stealth madeitknown she was unhappy as she noticed that the boy's proud-looking daemon had joined them.Althlaus stroked her little head tenderly and made it known that there was nothing to worry about and he would protect her. Stealth sat on his shoulder and latched her tail about his neck nevertheless.
Just then a darting movement made both heads snapround. There was something moving under the bookcase! A small glint flickered off something in the darkness beneath, and a smallpattering sound was heard. Stealth froze, but Althalus peered slowly down underneath...
Iqbal slowly moved onward with Fortune at his side. He looked back to Althalus for a moment, his ears twitching from side to side slightly. Eventually he paused from the sound. The image that rushed past him could not be seen, though Fortune immediatly crouched down on her haunches and padded slowly and quietly to the sound.
A small furry thing!
Althalus and Stealth froze into perfect statues, the dark eyes wide and scared as they stared at the creature that scuttled curiously into the dim light and peered at them. Bright eyes gleamed and a long tail flickered idly behind it on the floor as it sniffed at Althalus' trouser leg and then dashed over to start chewing industriously at Iqbal's coat. The Forgotten flinched slightly as he tried to gauge the reaction of the other, yet made no move to help or hinder...
Fortune's reflexes were sharp and she looked to the creature with a small fear. The last time she had tried to catch one ... it was bad and Iqbal had gotten hurt. Her ears slid back slowly as she sqwauked at it protectivly.
Iqbal made small whimpering sounds swatting at the creature to get it away. He didn't want to get his coat damaged or get hurt.
The small mouse (for that was all it was) stiffened slightly at the squawking sound, but then feverishly continued nibbling on the furry coat. After all, it would make perfect nest material...
Althalus stared still, eyes large as Iqbal whimpered.It would do him no good to go in and get hurt...but the furry was being bad. Anditwas an interesting furry...
With agonising slowness the baby leant forward, chubby fingers opening slightly in a stealthy attempt to grab the flickering tail. That would remove it from the pale one, andafter all, it didn't look like it could hurt anyone.
Iqbal tried to crawl away, as Fortune sqwauked loudly and menacingly to the mouse. She edged closer, claws ready to kill. It would not hurt Iqbal this time. Her wings unfurled in an offensive stance, as she scratched away at the rodent.
Iqbal sat, his head turned away from the scene whimpering again.
The convorsation had entralled Tia, that she hadn't noticed both babies crawling off. She heard the whimpers of Iqbal, and looking around eagerly for him. As she found him, the mouse and the entrie scene, she picke him up, comforting him, allowing Fortune to finish the job.
"There, there baby." She swayed Iqbal in her arms, rubbing his back softly. Tia's head turned to Kel. "I'm sorry, we just had an incident awhile back with a mouse, the pair have been shooken up from the experience..."
Althalus stared astonished, his arm still outstretched to the furry before it turned tail and fled in the face of furious Fortune. [[Alliteration baby.]] Pale one had been taken up by his mother. Where was his? His face started to crumple up bad-temperedly, even as Kel-chan hurried over, remorse in her expression.
"Look, I'm really sorry, I mean, I should have been watching the pair of them as well," the redhead apologised, sweeping up her errant baby and holding him close, trying to forestall the tears. "Althalus is always leading others into trouble.."
The latter snuffled into her shoulder, dark eyes nevertheless seeking out this new interesting friend he had met. Were they leaving now? No fair! Stealth's glittering eyes peered out from his collar, her own curiousity piqued despite the supposed fierceness of the pale one's daemon.
Fortune managed to keep the rodent away from Iqbal and harm, as Tia knelt down so she could hop onto Tia's shoulder.
"Ah no, it's quite alright. They are both still young, so it's probably likely to happen." Tia gave a warm smile, as Iqbal blinked to Althalus. Why did the dark one lead him to a bad place? Iqbal pondered the thought for a moment, but didn't look into it. The dark one was alright by him. His ears twitched lightly, blinking.
"Think we should depart from here?" Tia asked Kel gently, with another smile.
"Probably," Kel-chan smiled a little ruefully. "I don't want Iqbal to feel too bad after seeing that mouse...though really we should have expected it. I mean, this place is so old..." She gestured around with her free arm, taking in the musty gloom of the hall.
Althalus meanwhile shuffled a bit on her shoulder, stretching out one arm with wriggling fingers towards the pale one. He wanted to stay longer! Pale one was interesting... he offered a large smile to the other Forgotten, brown eyes wide. He would see him again, hopefully anyway was Stealth's dry addendum.
"Come on then trouble," Kel sighed, walking on ahead and opening the door for Tia. "I bet you're hungry anyways. Let's go find a burger place, and you can have my milkshake." She hugged him aimiably and then waved to Iqbal and his guardian. "I'll catch you guys another time!" She called, before scrunching across the frosty paths towards her car.
Tia bid her farewell to Kel, as Iqbal gave another blink to Althalus. Fortune had mixed feelings about the pair aswell, but both seemed to have enjoyed the company. Iqbal gave a small smile before they all departed completely, as he soon was off back home.
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