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 Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:22 am
Homecoming
Huni had no idea what she got herself into when she headed to the Legend HQ that day. She thought it was going to be a simple visit, a quick hi to those she had met, and then she'd leave when things got awkward. But today was special, today was different, today was the day Paestri arrived.
The red head could hardly believe it but she had walked by a bakery shop that she was sure wasn't there before. Feeling her stomach grumble, she decided to stop for a bite and as she walked in, she discovered that while the doors were unlocked, the bakery was actually closed. There was a fairly thick layer of dust on the counters, the tabletops and chairs. She was about to leave when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. It sounded something like a large lump of dough landing on the floor.
Somehow this all seemed familiar, like the time Linneas had arrived. She laughed at the idea, imagine an infant appearing in a bakery of all places! But she thought what the hey, might as well, right? The red head pushed the doors open and saw a bundle lying just a few feet from where she stood. Huni approached it, not really sure what the expect, and when she pulled back the sheets, her jade eyes met a pair of pink orbs.
The orbs belonged to a face, a dark skinned little face, with hair that matched the hue of the eyes. It was a baby girl, yawning tiredly on the floor. She blinked a few times and then reached out to Huni with her little hands as if asking to be picked up.
"Hey there, cutie." Huni greeted softly, taking the infant into her arms. "Guess you were waiting for me, huh?" she smiled as she stroked the baby's cheeks. When the baby snuggled up against her, Huni took it as a yes. The red head went back to the Stationery Shop immediately to introduce her to the rest of the family.
"Linny, Linny! Come meet your new sister." Huni called out to her eldest child.
Linneas was in the kitchen, fixing himself a snack, he had been practicing with his mop earlier and was now replenishing his energy. Upon hearing his mother call, Linneas' first inteded to ignore her for a few minutes. But when he heard Huni mention the word "sister" the boy quirked a brow and quickly headed to the shop front.
He remembered his other sister Talim, and if this new sister was anything like the Roya, he was going to have a hard time. He was extremely relieved when he was informed Talim had 'gone' so to speak. The Roya had been dreamt to another dimension where another 'Huni' was going to take care of her but Linny didn't fully understand.
He stared up at his mother apprehensively as he approached them. "What's her name?" he asked.
Huni wasn't really sure about the baby's name, really. She saw nothing at the bakery that indicated her name, it wasn't like when Linny arrived with a Tome. But as Huni stared at the baby in her arms, she couldn't help but think of sweets and confections. With a smile, the red head knew what she was going to call the infant.
"Paestri." Huni replied, kneeling down to show her son what the newest addition looked like. "Would you like to hold her?"
Paestri yawned as she woke up from her nap, she felt exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in eons. But despite this, she opened her eyes to find two faces peering at her. She blinked and gurgled pleasantly at both of them, reaching out with her fingers. The older of the two was holding her, and she liked the softness she was feeling. The younger one seemed a little nervous to find she was awake, but that didn't bother Paestri. She heard them speak and felt herself being handed to the younger face.
This one wasn't as soft as the first one, but it smelled a clean, homey sort of smell that relaxed her. She yawned once more, and nuzzled against whoever it was holding her as she fell asleep again.
At his mother's suggestion, Linneas hesitantly took his new sister into his arms, half-expecting her to bite him just like Talim did. He was pleasantly surprised that Paestri not only did not bite him, but she even nuzzled him. At this action his heart melted as he fell in love with his adorable sister. He became even more determined to learn how to defend his family, since he was never going to let anything or anyone hurt his sister.
Huni was delighted that Linneas seemed to take a liking to Paestri, she was worried that he'd be jealous of his new sister or dislike her the way he did Talim. She was worrying for nothing it seemed and gently took Paestri back from Linneas. They went up to the spare bedroom where Huni found one of the archemeral footnotes was snoozing by the window. Apparently, Paestri already had a familiar waiting for her arrival.
The red head smiled at this and eased the infant into the crib. She hummed a soft lullaby to the sleeping baby before she quietly left the room.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:59 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2005 10:01 am
At the Stationery Store
The red head was seated on one of the plush arm chairs in the shop, a book in one hand, Paestri on her lap. She was reading as the infant slept, the pink haired baby had been doing a lot of that, sleeping that is and it made the red head curious about it. But maybe all babies slept a lot and only Linny didn't take as much naps? Huni wasn't sure, but she couldn't very well ask Paestri now, could she?
"Ow, please don't poke it Aemu."
"We're almost there Ai, how hard did he hit you anyway?"
"...not that hard."
"Liar." Chao frowned, shaking her head as they turned the corner, heading for the Stationary Shop, "I can't believe you two went at it like that. Hopefully the Stationary Store has some more ice."
Aido didn't reply, settling for cradling her bruised jaw against the rapidly melting ice pack.
Chao pushed open the door and looked around, waving as she noticed Huni while nudging Aido towards the kitchen gently, "hey Huni, is it alright if Aido took some ice from the kitchen?" her eyes flickered to Paestri, "and who's the little cutie?" she asked, lowering her voice slightly.
It was at this moment that Linneas decided to come inside after his 'practice session' with the mop. He had been working on learning how to use it as a weapon to be used not just against dirt. He made his way from the kitchen's backdoor into the shop front and saw Aido and... why was there an ice pack against her jaw?!
"Ai, you okay?" he asked in concern.
Huni nodded to Chao that she was free to do what she wanted, though the concern for the female Tale was evident in the red head's eyes.
"Oh this?" the red head smiled fondly at the pink haired infant, "This is Paestri, I... found her in an abandoned bakery that disappeared the next day."
Paestri heard the faint voices and pried her pink eyes open. She gave a small yawn before resting her gaze on Chao.
At her name Aido looked up towards the redhead Tale, "Linny!" she said, smiling brightly and reflexively pulling away the icepack. All together it was a bad idea as pain flared up again from the large already darkening bruise was splayed out along the right side of her jaw. Immediately she pushed the icepack back against it with a grimance.
"Go put some extra ice on that before it starts to swell," Chao admonished, pushing Aido gently towards the kitchen.
Aido nodded and headed that way, eyees flickering to Linny and then back to the kitchen, waving him over. She wanted to talk to her friend, it felt like she hadn't seen him in forever.
Chao waited for a moment, making sure Aido was heading for the kitchen and not Linneas before walking over to Huni and kneeling down to get a better look at the infant before looking back up to Huni.
"Ah, the oddness that is Gaia strikes again, hm?" she said with a knowing nod of her head. "She's adorable, her name's Paestri?" she smiled gently to the infant and waved her hand slightly, "hello then Paestri."
Like a puppy, Linneas followed after Aido into the kitchen, his brows knotted together in worry. "What happened to you?" he asked, not wanting to beat around the bush. Normally, the boy wasn't comfortable about prying, but this was different! Someone had hurt Aido and whoever it was will pay! Thank goodness he had started to learn how to fight. Even if it is with a mop.
He pulled out a chair for his friend as he set off to the refrigerator to bring out an ice tray for Aido's melting ice pack.
"You took the words out of my mouth." Huni chuckled as she put the book away to give Paestri more freedom. "I'm not sure what she is, though. She's certainly no ordinary baby, and I haven't heard of any bakeries where children just pop out of the oven."
Paestri didn't understand much of what these big people were saying, except that the one that wasn't her mama had said her name. She cooed to Chao and reached out with her chubby fingers as if returning the greeting.
Aido couldn't help but smile at Linny's tone as she took a seat. He sounded almost protective, a tone she didn't mind if it came from her oldest friend. She set down the icepack and loosened her ever present scarf slightly from around her neck, "it wasn't anything bad Linny, Aemu signed me up for a," she looke dup the ceiling, trying to remember the right words, "'Renaissance Camp' I think it's called? Dillon, my partner for today, and I got a little," she shrugged slightly, embaressed by her own actions, "'out of hand' while we were practising?" she rubbed at her nearly numb jaw, remembering the lecture they'd recieved from their instructor after Chao and Dillon's parent had been called.
She sighed, "it was my fault anyway. But anyway," she looked up and smiled slightly, "how've you been Linny?"
"You know, this being Gaia and all, I wouldn't be surprised it there was one at one time. But maybe Paestri was just meant to be found by you there? Maybe once you found her the bakery was done it's task and thusly dissapeared because of that?" she mused aloud. Gaia was so confusing.
At Paestri's coo she smiled and gently took one of the little girl's tiny hands.
Linneas frowned, whatever this "camp" thing that Aunt Chao signed Ai up for didn't sound very nice. Especially if it got Ai hurt. "Are you going to go back to it?" he had wanted to ask who this Dillon was, but decided not to.
"Oh I've been okay, I think. I've been practicing too, but just by myself though." He shrugged, "I've talked to Captain Tybalt a few weeks ago and got to know Jiro too. He's pretty good at fighting even if he is younger than me." he added sheepishly.
"Mmmm, maybe, like the way I was meant to write in that Tome and receive Linny." Huni nodded, "But still, I can't help but feel a little... I don't know, unworthy? I mean, it's not like I'm the best mom around." she sighed, her gaze moving towards the kitchen where her son was.
Paestri gurgled in glee at Chao's touch, and her pink eyes shone in delight. Her fingers curled around one of Chao's as she sucked on her free hand.
Aido looked up pensively then nodded slowly, "yeah, I like it there too much to let him get to me. Anyway, I think Dillon's been wanting to do something like that ever since I got there anyway. Maybe now he won't do it again?" She played with her scarf and looked back at the tabletop, her own words sounded hollow, even to her. She didn't understand Dillon's inate dislike of her and it bothered her.
She sat up again, giving her friend a curious look. "Practicing fighting you mean?"
Chao looked to her friend in concern, giving Paestri's fingers a few strokes with one of her own. "What do you mean Huni?" She thought her friend was a wonderful mother!
"Well, I wouldn't call it 'fighting' exactly, sorta like, swinging my mop around but I have to picture hitting this target thingy." Linneas began, he wasn't really sure what he was doing other than practicing the basics that Jiro had taught him.
"And maybe if mommy will let me, maybe I can join this 'camp' thing. So at least if this Dillon tries to hurt you, you won't be alone." he offered. He wasn't sure if he could be of much help or use, but at least he was offering his support.
"Well... Linny has been, well, I can't describe it in any other way but rebelling. It's like he doesn't want to listen to me, he's changing... he's not as open to me as he was. The only one he talks to is Ning, and the Fandangle refuses to say anything that Linny doesn't want her to say." Huni sighed, "Are all children like this?" she asked, her jade eyes suddenly resting on Paestri.
Paestri turned her attention to her mama, she may not have understood the words, but she could understand the sadness in them. Still clinging onto Chao's finger, Paestri babbled to Huni, as if trying to comfort her.
Aido swung her legs slightly from her chair, imagining Linny swinging his mop around and smiled. Camp wasn't much different, except they usually had wooden swords instead of a mop and were either trying to hit one another [when they were wearing padding of course] or a real target.
At his offer her eyes brightened and she looked up, "you'd do that?" she wasn't sure if she wanted her friend to go just because of her, espically when he didn't even know what the camp was like, though the company would be muchly appreciated....
Chao looked up, thinking, "it sounds normal actually, isn't this what usually happens when children become teens? They rebel, get mood swingy and the like?" she looked towards the kitchen to where Aido and Linneas were talking. "And they're both teenagers in Tale time I suppose...."
"Yeah, that is, if you don't mind me coming." Linneas added, realizing that Ai might not want him around. It was normal for Linny to put the feelings of others before his, and even though Tybalt had encouraged him to do what he wanted, he couldn't do that all the time. It just wasn't in his nature.
"Yeah, you're right, I should have known it was too good to last..." Huni sighed, "Linneas was always a sweetie and I guess I expected him to be like that forever. But my little man's growing up..." the red head smiled wanly. Then she turned her attention to Paestri.
"You won't be growing up anytime soon, right?" she smiled, nuzzling her nose against Paestri's.
Paestri giggled at what her mama was doing and wondered if all big people did stuff like this.
"How are things with you and Ai, by the way?" Huni whispered, leaning in close to Chao.
Aido shook her head quickly, "of course I don't mind you coming! I...just didn't want you to feel like you had to or anything..." she looked to the side, continuing to play with her scarf, she just wasn't good with dealing with people doing things for her. Still, "I really would like it if you came Linny," she said looking back up with a greatful smile.
"Maybe it would help you with your training too?" she said with a blink, suddenly realizing something, "I haven't even told you what the camp's like have I?"
Chao looked on fondly and wondered how her other self and the Aerandir were doing. She really needed to write....
At Huni's question she blinked and looked back to Aido and dropped her voice as well. "Ai and I? We're...alright I suppose? It's mostly the same, save she wanders off with Rael more and has decided that she doesn't need to tell me where she's going. Not that she ever did, but when she was little her tiny legs couldn't carry her that far. When I ask half the time she simply shrugs. That's partially why I signed her up for camp. As awful as it sounds, now at least I know where she is for some of the daylight hours. And hopefully she'll learn a bit more about protection so I can stop worring all the time that she's going to be kidnapped of something horrible like that...."
Suddenly she seemed to realize how she sounded and laughed quietly, running a hand through her long hair, "wow, I forgot how easily it is to fall into 'worried babbeling mother' mode."
Relief flooded the boy when Aido said she didn't mind if he came along. The last thing Linneas wanted was to make Ai feel bad, or worse make her dislike him.
"Yeah! That would be great!" he nodded, "So, what's camp like?"
"You signed Ai up for camp? What sort of camp it is?" Huni asked in interest, maybe if it was still open she could sign Linneas up for it. She had noticed the boy had been wanting to spend more time outdoors than inside.
Paestri tilted her head as she stared at Chao's long hair. Her mama didn't have long hair and the baby wondered how it would feel, so she reached out for it.
Aido smiled, "it's really nice! Our instructor said it was for people who wanted to work in renaissance fairs, which is where people dress up like it's the middle ages, with knights and bards and everything," after her first day she'd asked Chao what the middle ages were and had been treated to a pretty through explanation by the teen on the more fantisful elements that went into Renaissance fairs.
"The part Aemu signed me up for is mostly for learning horseback riding and how to joust, which is harder than it looks cause a lance weighs a lot and you have padding on and you're on a horse, but once you get into it it's great! But there's sections for learning costume design and bard... stuff." She shrugged, "they have camp at a different time so I haven't been able to talk to them. But there's also swordplay practice, which could help with your training right?" she tilted her head.
"Yep. It's mostly for teen's who want to work at Renaissance fairs," Chao said with a smile, "horseback riding, jousting and swordplay stuff, or that's what I signed Ai up for as I didn't think she'd like sewing/costume design things as much or the other stuff offered. It's still going on if you're interested," maybe Linny would keep Aido out of trouble....
Feeling a tug on her long hair Chao blinked and smiled at Paestri, and lent down a bit so the little girl could look at the dark strand, "hey Paestri, don't tug too hard 'kay?"
"Wow, that sounds fun!" Linneas chirped, "I'm guessing you get dirty, but still it sounds great." the boy nodded enthusiastically, he had taken a particular interest in the costume designing and things that required him to work with his hands so long as it didn't involve cooking. The boy could never get the hang of culinary matters, except with the microwave that is.
"Did you get hurt in the jousting? Or was it in the swordplay?" he asked, he'd get Huni to sign him up there so he could be with Ai.
Huni thought about it and decided she would sign Linny up, "I'll ask Linny if he wants to join it. I don't want to force the boy after all." she added, mainly because she hadn't the heart to do something like that.
Paestri just blinked at Chao, what was the big person saying? But even if the baby did decide to yank hard, it wouldn't have been painful. She had such a gentle touch to her.
"It is," she nodded, "sometimes we get dirty, but the only time it was really bad was when someone started a mud fight on a day it'd been raining." She smiled at the memory.
"Sortof during swordplay; Dillon and I weren't in armor and I tripped on a rock and ran into him and he got angry and swung his sword at me and I blocked and tried to apologize but he got even madder and..." she shook her head, cutting off the babeling stream of words, "it kind-of went from there...."
Chao looked back to Huni and nodded, "yeah, being forced into camps is awful." She turned back to Paestri and couldn't help but smile and give the girl's hair a tiny ruffle, she was too cute.
Linneas frowned as Ai narrated her little 'scuffle' with this Dillon person. He wasn't normally a prejudiced person, but he couldn't help dislike him instantly simply because he hurt Aido over something as simple as a misunderstanding!
"Well, I just hope we don't run into him during the camp..." Linneas mumbled, though he was certain he wouldn't be doing anything rash. Not that he could do much of anything after all. "Think I can join the costume making? That sounds like fun." he declared, changing the topic as he began to feel uncomfortable about the whole Dillan thing.
Paestri giggled as the big person ruffled her hair a bit, and tried to duplicate that on Chao with what little strands she had in her grasp. Needless to say, she didn't quite get the desired effect.
"But Ai likes going to that camp, right?" Huni smiled, trying to reassure herself that signing Linneas up was a good thing.
"Hopefully..." but very, very doubtful as neither of them had been expelled from the camp. Aido decided not to mention that, besides, there was a chance Dillon had switched classes or something.
"I bet you could," she tilted her head, "they're always looking for more people who'd be interested in it because more people signed up for the jousting and stuff. It's really cool what they're going to be making though, sheilds and fancy dresses and all these awesome things. I think that there might be a minture festival at the end of it all."
"Yeah, Ai loves it, save for the fight thing. And it's a pretty varied camp, I'm sure there'd be something that'd catch Linny's eye," she said with a reassuring smile which turned into a slightly funny look as she felt her hair being played with again as Paestri attempted to ruffle the ends of her hair.
By now, Linneas was determined to attend this camp, and his Huni wouldn't let him, he'd get Uncle Syrie's permission instead. "I can't wait! When're you going back there?" he asked, golden eyes shining in delight. "Maybe I can make you something, Ai?" he added a little shyly.
Huni nodded, then noticed what the infant in her arms was trying to do. She gave a soft chuckle, "She's getting a little more active now, she usually just takes nap after nap. Curious, eh? And let's hope she doesn't end up giving you split ends." she grinned.
Paestri was oblivious to what Huni and Chao were saying, there was something so intriguing about Chao's hair. Something she couldn't quite put a finger on, an essence of sorts.
"Um... hopefully in a few days, Aemu said not until the bruise heals but that'll be foever, so I'm hoping she'll just forget about that part," she said with a slightly michevious smile. "If Auntie Huni lets you go I'll find a way to convince her to let me go with you." Or she could just sneak out of the house, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
At Linny's offer a small blush burned on her cheeks but she couldn't help but smile, "that'd be really nice of you Linny," she murmured after a moment, bi-colored eyes flickering to the table in embarassment as she willed her blush to fade. Awful, she was awful with recieving things! Even if they were only offers.
She blinked and suddenly looked up, eyes bright, "oh! There's something I want to show you Linny!" Pushing back from the chair she headed for the door, "Aemu, Auntie Huni, would it be alright if Linny I went out for a bit?"
"Ah naps, I didn't appreciate those until finals came around again and I was scrambling for sleep," she sighed whistfully then shrugged in reply to the hair comment, "meh- I haven't cut my hair in forever anyway."
As Aido came in Chao fixed her daughter with a look, "I don't know...." She looked to Huni, "what do you think?"
Linneas felt his own cheeks crimson lightly at Aido's smile, at least he had gotten her mind off that Dillon person. When Aido had told him she had something to show him, the boy tilted his head curiously and followed after Aido into the shop front.
"Don't we always appreciate the things we can't or can hardly have?" Huni chuckled, remembering how she often she felt like she would have killed just to get some sleep last year.
Linneas joined in with his own request, "Please mommy? Please? I won't run away or do anything bad like that." He promised, not like he really would in the first place. But lately, his mother was getting suspicious of his actions.
Huni turned her gaze to Chao a little hesitantly, but thought that Linneas did deserve her trust. He had never run off on his own without leaving a note after all.
"I... suppose so. But be back in one hour! And no later than that!" she declared and raised one finger for emphasis.
Distracted for a moment, Paestri gurgled and babbled in the same tone Huni had taken. She even went so far as to copy Huni's hand, though her fingers didn't stay quite as straight.
"Thanks mommy!" Linneas grinned.
Chao nodded and rolled her eyes at the two Tales, "if it's alright with Huni it's alright with me, but no getting into fights, getting kidnapped or anything of that sort, and don't talk to strangers," she glared lightly at Aido, making sure her daughter caught how serious she was.
Aido gave her mother a slightly exasperated look before she caught sight of Peastri and laughed at the little girl's mimicry then waved to her warmly. "Thank you! An hour's great. We can take Rael," the Shadows were faster but who knew how that would work with Linny?
Grabbing onto her friend's hand she led him out the door and nudged at her shadow with her toe. After the door chimed behind them the Shadow stretched up, growing to the size of a medium sized horse, big enough for both of them to ride. Rael looked over to Linny and nodded in appreciation. It was one of the Tales he reconized as favorable, good.
"Linny this is Rael, Rael this is Linny," she said, motioning to each in turn as Rael lent down so the two of them could mount.
With a big grin, Linneas followed after his friend and waved to Huni and Paestri. "Rael?" the boy wondered and soon found out who or rather what it was. He stared at the shadow for a few moments before he tentatively climbed onto the pseudo-horse.
He had half-expected to fall through, but other than a little instability on his part (as he had never ridden a horse before), Linneas found Rael quite solid. "You could do this with your shadow? Way cool!" he declared.
"Well, I trust that they'll be back in an hour, where do you suppose they're going?" Huni asked her friend as she gently tickled Paestri.
Paestri waved to her brother and the other small person he was with. "Baaaa!" she called.
Rael shifted slightly, tiny tendrils occassionally whisking off from his body back into the main shadow beneath them or around Linny's ankles. They felt strangely cool, as did Rael's entire body. Quite different than the warmth of a living horse.
Aido waved a last time through the shop window then climbed in front of Linny, giving Rael a rather fond pat. Several thick tendrils of shadow wrapped around in her hand in response before making their way back to Rael. She nodded absentmindedly at Linny's words, thinking of where she wanted to go and quietly communing that to Rael, who was pleased with the choice, "mmhm..." she blinked, catching onto what Linny had said, "er, really? You think so?" It was all 'normal' to her by now.
Rael stretched beneath them and with one fluid movement was off, heading away from Barton, towards the woods of Durem.
"I do too. They're probably heading somewhere in the woods near our house, as far as I know that's Ai's primary exploration grounds. But as to what they're seeing I haven't the foggiest."
It was all very new to the boy, he hadn't seen much of Gaia as he had kept to the Stationery Store most of his life. If there were more extraordinary things out there, he wanted to see them first hand. He held on tightly to Ai as they headed for the woods of Durem.
"Linny doesn't go exploring much, maybe it's because I never encouraged him?" Huni mentioned, as Paestri suddenly gave a yawn and snuggled up against her to take another one of her numerous naps.
Aido was nearly the exact opposite of Linny, the entire woods held a feeling of familarity to her; but there was forever the feeling that there was more out there just waiting to be found. For now she was simply happy to share her findings with her friend.
Gradually Rael slowed as they approached a fast moving river. At the sight Aido shivered and Rael turned, troting easily along a trail they both knew. Soon the trees thinned and a medium sized placid pond came into sight. A small piece of earth jutted out over the water, forming a small ledge. Before they reached it Rael stopped and lent down and Aido slid off, giving herself a shake to clear her head and wake herself up from the lull she'd fallen into. Even though the headaches and such she used to get from riding Rael were mostly gone she still felt tired from the trip and strain of having Rael carry them both.
"Maybe, or maybe he just wasn't interested? Aido's been exploring since she could move, crawling included." She smiled and chuckled, "if Linny wishes it Aido will gladly drag out on a few explorations."
Huni laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure he'd like that. So, tell me, where and when can I sign Linny up for that camp?"
By now, Paestri was feeling sleepy again, even though she had just taken a nap a few moments ago. She doesn't know why, but her lids were so heavy and soon, she had dozed off.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 10:30 pm
First Encounters Ever since Paestri arrived, Huni had stopped jogging and going to the gym with Addy. Now she was regretting that decision as she carried Paestri and the child-sized bunny rabbit in her arms, she felt herself getting out of breath.
"I am so out of shape." she sighed to herself as they arrived at the HQ.
Paestri had wanted to go back to the HQ, not because she wanted more gifts (although that wouldn't be a bad thing), but because she wanted to meet more people. She gnawed softly on one of the bunny's ears, and perhaps it was her imagination, or maybe it was something about Paestri herself, but the stuffed toy fainlyt tasted of strawberries and cream.
They made their way inside the HQ and Huni saw a familiar face, Lu to be exact. She recalled meeting the blonde woman and her child Gyre, who, from memory, hissed at her. Not to mention two more figures, another woman and another child. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?
As if on cue, Paestri let go of the bunny and began to reach out to the new people. She gurgled softly, her fingers curling into a fist then opening, trying to grab the air as if that would draw her closer to themLu looked up as two more people walked into the HQ. The woman was familiar, though. Lu waved, smiling at the two of them. Perhaps Huni would go near Gyre again? She turned to Shadow, and spoke of her job. "I run a small store in Durem...I have some help." She was suddenly ashamed now, and slowly tried to slink off. Gyre clapped. "Silly! It looks good on you!" she commented on Seven's new look. Gyre then looked up, seeing a strange pink girl she had never seen before. Curious, she waved. "Hello!" She hardly remembered the woman, but she did seem familiar... Shadow turned and glanced behind her at the new people entering and offered a wave. Seven clapped his hands a little, getting distracted as he heard the voices from behind. He turned his head and glanced through the eyehole at the woman and her child. "Ahaii." He laughed, moving to his feet, mask still securely placed on his head.
Wow, masks were fun! Almost as fun as his goggles. Different. His breathing was a little constricted, but that was ok.Huni had intended to just smile and stand at the doorway until she felt comfortable enough to sit down with the other two. But Paestri's insistent attempts at reaching out to the small people forced the red head to move in a little sooner than she wanted.
Awkwardly, she set Paestri down near the other children as she smiled at them before seating herself near the two women.
"Hi, um, I remember you from before, but I sorta forgot your name." Huni apologized to Lu before she turned to Shadow, "And I don't think we've met before, I'm Huni."
The bunny momentarily forgotten, Paestri couldn't help but stare the wings the two children had. She looked over her own shoulders and wondered why she didn't have something behind her back. She decided she'd find out next time as she reverted her attention back to Seven and Gyre.
"Hai..." Paestri echoed, tilting her head to the side, not sure what that word meant or if it was an actual a word. BUt one word she did know and understand, "Pae." she smiled and pointed to herself.Lu stretched and turned around, whatever she was doing was momentarily forgotten. She extended a hand and gave a warm smile. It was good to find people that weren't shocked or apalled by her. "I remember you! Huni! Yes, I'm Lu. It's a pleasure to meet you again." Gyre smiled and waved to Paestri. She was so pink and so cute! Gyre was glad she had matured enough to not growl at everything that moved. Gyre then pointed to herself. "Gyre." Sherather liked Paestri, even though she hadn't said much or done muc of anything. Perhaps it was just one of those feelings? The Falcon child beat her wings lightly, causing the feather-fluff of a recent molting to float into the air. Huni had been relieved that she had indeed met Lu before, and it was not just a figment of her imagination as it happened sometimes. It sometimes became difficult to distinguish which was her memories and which were Addy's.
"Oh good, for a moment there I thought you met someone else." she chuckled in relief.
Paestri tried her best to repeat Gyre's name, but the 'g' was a hard letter to pronounce if it was at the start, and the best she could say was
"Ayer?" the word didn't seem natural to the baby, perhaps she instinctively knew it wasn't the correct word. She would have kept at it, had her attention not been pulled away by the feather-fluff. "Ooooo!" she cooed in delight, trying to make a grab for it.The mancubus couldn't help but make goofy faces at Paestri. She thought the baby with the pink hair was the cutest thing since, well, Seven. And Seven was so darn cute! Why did all the Legend babies have to be ridiculously adorable? "Oh, I'm sorry, Huni. Is the pink cutie a Legend?" She had to ask. Rude as it may have been, she wanted to know. Gyre giggled, watching the pink girl's eyes dart around, watching the feather-fluff. She molted once every few months, and she was suddenly glad she had recently molted. She wondered what else would amuse her. "That's right! I'm Gyre." she said between giggles. Huni found Lu's question direct and comforting, at least the red head wasn't alone in the 'asking-questions-which-may-turn-out-to-be-a-mistake.' With a more relaxed smile the red head nodded, "Yep, I think, I'm not sure really but I think she is." she blinked, realizing just how little she knew about the baby.
"Her name's Paestri, I know, silly name but it sounded perfect for her. What're your Legend's names?" she asked both Lu and the other woman.
The fluff floated just out of Paestri's reach, and disappointed she pouted. For all of two seconds before she set her sights on Seven and the mask he had.
"Hu?" she asked, pointing at the other Legend, or the mask, it was difficult to tell really.Lu pointed enthusiastically to Gyre. "That's Gyre. She looks like she really enjoys Paestri. And that's such a cute name! Her skin and hair remind me...of a chocolate cake with pink frosting." Under normal circumstances, most anyone's stomach would rumble, hearing that. But Lu was not hungry, though sometimes she wished she could eat normal foods. Gyre watched as Paestri examined Seven. What would she think, and how many others has she met? "Looks like Pae's taken a shining to Gyre as well. And her skin and hair does remind me of cake." Huni chuckled, sometimes she felt that she'd wake up and find Paestri had turned into a gingerbread woman. She certainly wouldn't be that surprised.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:30 am
Lu laughed quietly. "Gyre's come a long way since she first arrived. She hasn't bitten, scratched or clawed me ever since... Ever since she stopped wearing that falcon mask regularly. I still don't know..." She became thoughtful. But thinking for extended periods of time made Lu nervous. She gave another goofy smile.
Watching both Paestri and her mask, Gyre began to finish painting. The white parts were almost done, and soon she'd be able to add the feathers and the final colors.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:50 am
"Ah, yeah, I guess some children don't trust as easily as others." Huni nodded in understanding. "Do masks make any sort of impact on her mood, though?" the red head wondered aloud.
Paestri crawled over to where Gyre was painting her mask and curiously dipped a finger into pot of white paint. When she took her finger out, she was amazed to find her skin was now the color of the paint. "Ooooo!" she gasped and turned to Gyre to show her the discovery.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:56 am
Lu thought a moment. "Well, it seemed to me that she was only that way when she was very young. After a while, she didn't seem to be affected by the mask at all. I'm not sure if it was her age or the mask itself... It's still a mystery to me."
She walked over to the couch and sat down. Her legs were getting tired of standing. "So, Huni, what do you know about little Pae?"
Gyre smiled when she saw that Paestri had dipped her finger in the paint. "Don't eat that! It's bad." She nodded again and continued to paint.The white was now finished, and she blew on it to make it dry faster.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:12 am
The red head nodded as she listened to the mancubus speak, "Mmm, lots of things are a mystery, but I think it's because they're a mystery that's what makes some things so interesting." Huni tapped her chin thoughtfully as she moved closer to Lu, "And as for Pae, I hope I don't sound like a horrible person by saying I know absolutely nothing about her. Except that she's connected with food like cakes and other sweets since I found her in a bakery." Huni explained as she scratched her head.
Paestri blinked in surprise as Gyre's tone suddenly changed, she wasn't sure if she was going to be scared or not. But the older Legend didn't seem angry since she was focused on the odd things in her hands, namely the mask the winged Legend was painting. The pink haired infant copied Gyre by blowing on the paint that she got on her finger.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:20 am
"You found her in a bakery? Wow. Of all the places... That's so weird! And very interesting..." She sat back and watched Paestri blow on the paint on her finger. She seemed to be a sweet child. But connected with food? There had to be some sort of explanation.
Gyre giggled when she saw Paestri mimic her. Now that the mask was dry, she set it down in case the pink-haired girl wanted to see it. "It's a-crill-lick paint." Gyre stuttered. That word was pretty difficult to say. "Mom says it dries fast."
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:28 am
"I've tried researching on Legends connected with food, with cakes, with gingerbread men even. But all I end up finding are nursery rhymes and children's stories. If not those, then recipe books." Huni sighed in a mixture of frustration and amusement.
Sure enough, Paestri found the white coating had dried on her finger and wouldn't go away no matter how much she wiped at her apron. "Ah-klee-lik." she repeated, thinking it was the word for paint rather than the type of paint it was.
Once again, she repeated the new words she learned that day "Ayre, ah-klee-lik." she beamed. Then her attention was diverted to the mask as Gyre set it down, she poked at it, not sure what to expect.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:33 am
"That is weird... I'd offer to help, but... I don't know much about food, since I don't eat it." Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say. Don't confuse or scare her, please. Lu sighed inwardly and decided it was best to just shut up.
Gyre smiled and handed Paestri the new mask. It was made of wood, so it was a bit heavy, but Gyre was sure the younger Legend wouldn't break it. "Try it on!" she suggested. She mimicked how one would put on a mask for Paestri, in case she was confused.
(( *doesn't know if she should pretend Seven was never there, since Seven had the Falcon mask during the RP* ))
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:48 am
"Don't... eat?" Huni blinked, "Starvation diets are dangerous things, Lu!" she exclaimed, "And you certainly don't need to go on any diets." she added.
Paestri had some difficulty in getting the mask on, but in the end, the mask was too large for her. She peered through one of the eye holes at Gyre and giggled.
((maybe we should assume Shadow and Seven had left at some point?))
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:51 am
Lu gave a nervous laugh. "Uhh...perhaps I should rephrase that. I don't eat 'real' food. Not like cakes or streak or soda." Hopefully that would be enough for her. She didn't want ot unecessarily scare anyone. She'd done that enough.
Gyre waved to Paestri so that she could see her hand through the eye hole. "Very good! It looks too big, though... Oh well!" Gre turned about to grab the package of swan feathers she gathered from the park lake. She had to glue them on, somehow...
(( *should go work on art stuffs* I'll be on and off. But Gaia's such a distraction. XD ))
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:59 am
"I see..." she smiled. Huni still didn't quite get what the other Legend Guardian was saying, but decided that if Lu didn't want to elaborate further she wouldn't force her. "I eat lots of junk food, I can't cook to save my life." she chuckled.
"Oooo!" Paestri squealed at the sight of the swan feathers. More pretty fluffy-things! With one hand she balanced the mask on her head, with the other she seemed to reach out for the packet. Maybe Gyre wouldn't mind if she looked at just one up close...
((That's alright, I have to get to bed soon XD))
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:58 pm
"Doesn't junk food make you sick? Anything besides, well... what I eat, makes me sick." She tried to imagine eating anything other than her forced diet. Something like cakes, candy or burgers seemed like such a foreign concept to her.
Gyre handed Paestri a single swan feather, not knowing how many she'd need to finish the mask. "Just one for you. But don't worry. You can play with the extras, if there are any." Picking out each feather, one by one, Gyre lined them up in a row. She tried to count how many she'd need, and how much glue.
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