Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mondays are always a bit weird. The house is empty for a few hours every monday -time alone is non-existant for the rest of the week- and I never know what's going to happen when everyone gets home. If I'm lucky, Trance, my conscience, treats us all to dinner, and Nero my muse offers to take care of Cray, the baby with the screechy raptor call, and everyone else stays out of my way and I actually have a full day of peace and quiet, instead of pieces of riots like any other day.

Unfortunately, this hasn't ever happened because I've never been lucky so much as being terribly terribly unlucky.

Speaking of terribly unlucky, this leads me to last monday. And someone far more terribly unlucky than yours truly. Monday evenings, sometimes extending into late Monday nights, my conscience Trance goes on lab raids. You know, like what animal activists did on the facilities that cosmetics companies used to test on animals? Exactly like that. Except these labs have testing that's far more malicious, and the animals -and sometimes not quite animals...- are incredibly rare. These are the lairs and hideaways of one Spencer the Collector. Spend five seconds in any one of his labs and you'll know why he has that moniker. Wall to wall shelves of jars with the still bodies of creatures most people have never seen. Honest to god faeries in bottles. Phoenix feathers dipped in dragon blood. He's a collection himself. I've seen his dossier. A patchwork quilt-made man. Trance once told me he was made up of twenty three different creatures, humanoid and animal and that the only part left of him that's his original body is his brain.

Anyway, the raids tackle a group of leads every monday night, hunting down any sign of these labs. They tend to find one every month or so. Never Spencer. He seems to clear out far before a lab is found, leaving only a faithful lab-tech and walls upon walls of experiments. They imprison the lab-techs and burn the buildings down to the ground, to make it harder for Spencer to rebuild. It's hardly a dent in his seemingly endless finances. However, what they're really looking for is to save rare creatures that occasionally get left behind, before they meet a more grisly fate in the hands of the Collector. The raiders nurse them back up to health, and return them where they need to go, or, if they don't have anywhere to go, they house them themselves. It's amazing, and a promising use for Trance's urges for destruction.

Somewhere or another here we were talking about last monday. Right. At eight o'clock I was tucked into my throw blanket, reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for the fifty-third and a quarter time this year and idly picking pieces of lint off my blanket with my extra hand. Just as the clock turned to eight-o-one, a blast of air pushed through the suddenly slammed open front door.

I turned to see Trance, disheveled and distressed, a white fluffy bundle in his arms, storm into the room and flop onto the couch. He was absolutely filthy, covered in soot and dirt, his clothes torn, his bright orange hair mangled and rust colored with soot, one shoe missing. The bundle stood out against his darkened skin like a beacon of hope. He nestled it close in his arms and I wondered why he was being so careful with what looked like a torn up feather pillow. I stared at it for a moment, willing it to do SOMETHING, before he spoke and jolted me out of my thoughts.

"At first it was like always." He took a deep breath and stared a little past the top of my head, at the window, remembering. "The same unmarked buildings in the industrial district. The same immaculate, inconspicuous hallways. If you weren't looking, if you'd never seen the trends, you'd never know. Who knows how many labs he could have around the country..." He trailed off a bit, staring silently before abruptly pushing up from the couch to pace, still holding the bundle. "Dammit! He could have dozens! And they're appalling! There was only one guard this time. It looked...like they'd had to exit and clean up in a hurry this time. The inside of the lab was a mess. Papers...everywhere. All useless, but everywhere. One guard, two labtechs. We blew past them and tore through them like they were the papers on the floor!" Looking back, I realize that the bundle had started to wiggle a bit, but I hadn't really paid attention. Too caught up in the story. I nodded at him to continue.

"At first glance, there was less."

"Less what?"

"Less everything. Usually the walls are full of bottles and jars. Not that there weren't dozens this time, but usually there are hundreds and all of the equipment seemed so specialized."

"Specialized?"

"Do you have to repeat everything I say?" Even if I hadn't seen the evidence, the testy tone to his usually relaxed voice would have told me it'd been a hard night. "Yes, Specialized. I've seen a lot of his equipment. I can tell by now...what he uses to test on different things. Centaurs, for example, involve the most space and the largest tools."

I leaned forward, interested now. Centaurs? Now that was interesting. They'd never found a living one yet in his labs. "You think he's working on centaurs?" Trance shook his head and waved his hands in the shapes of things as she spoke.

"Everything was small. Baby sized. It was like a tiny torture chamber." He frowned deeply at the memory and clutched at the blanket. "Baby sized racks. Scalpels with the most delicate edges I'd ever seen. And...." He trailed off, looking away.

"And?" I prompted him, wanting to hear the rest.

"Feathers. Everywhere. A blood stained torrent of feathers in the trash can, a few tucked into odd places around the room, mixed in with the papers on the floor. It was a mess unlike...any I've ever seen at any raid before we've done anything. And a trail of feathers leading...leading...." He looked down at the bundle of cloth. "To this."

"A....bunch of...cloth and...." He pulled it open to reveal a shivering little boy. He couldn't have been older than nine months and was clean and pure and white for every inch of Trance that was covered with soot. Only his hair was pure ink black. Despite bruises and scrapes marring his body, he was the most beautiful child I'd ever seen. He looked...heavenly. The baby watched me owlishly and nervously grabbed for the cloth, trying to hide back inside, trying to scurry back in closer to Trance. I couldn't begin to imagine what he'd been through at the lab.

"Oh, my. Oh, Trance..." I felt a surge of anger towards Spencer. Knowing my conscience's gentle nature with children, I had no doubt that the scratches and bruises on the child were the result of Spencer the Collector and no one else.

"He was in a cage." Trance blurted out, his face contorting in anger. "A BABY. IN A ******** CAGE. He had baby food in a dog bowl and a dirty bottle and THIS." He struggled with the child to turn him around to reveal two feathery stumps on his back, a few small cuts on them with dried blood trails leading down to expert incisions on the ends of the stumps. A soft down growing on them both reassured me and informed me that these had once been wings, and maybe...they someday would be again. If I hadn't had a clue that this baby wasn't a normal human baby by his appearance, I certainly knew he wasn't now. As the baby shivered, only clad in a cloth diaper, I noticed a number tattooed neatly into his lower back and wondered who could do that to a child? Wincing at the thought of needles, I figured that anyone that only someone that could reduce a child to a serial number could commit these atrocities.

"Zero...five...eight-zero-one-'oh-three. Is that what you've been calling him then?" I lifted my head to look at Trance questioningly, even though I already knew the answer.

"No. Numbers are for prisons." His voice was firm and angry and reassured me. "Besides...this was pinned above his...cage...and these were in the shelves..." He wrinkled his nose as if the word itself was distasteful and pulled out a folder from behind his back and a couple of videos from his pocket and passed them over to me. The familiar pale yellow of the folder reminded me what would be in it. More numbers...statistics....maybe his name and history...but first there were other things to take care of. I looked at the cover quickly. His name was written in bold black caps.

"Mikhael Spivak." I nodded, and despite my growing curiousity to open the folder, I didn't. I put both the folder and the videos aside on the table. Mikhael first. The folder would make for an excellent bedtime story for myself tonight. "Alright, Trance. I assume he's to stay here for now?" Trance nodded, then looked a bit sheepish.

"Mmh, well, I was wondering...if you...mh, would take care of him." Before I could interject to say that he was perfectly capable, and that he was better with kids than I was, he interjected, almost talking over himself in his effort to get everything out before I could say no. "It's just...with Nero, and these raids and already watching Cray and all..andthatyou'renotdoinganything....that...you...might be a better choice?" He offered a pleading smile. I looked down at the tiny boy, nestled in the white cloth and still watching me with suspicious blue eyes. What else could I say?

"Of course. I...Of course I will....he....he probably needs a nap, huh?" Trance nodded and stroked his hand over the boy's hair, ruffling it a bit.

"It's been a long day."

I moved to take the baby from Trance, brushing my fingers lightly over the boy's head reassuringly, only to be caught unaware by sudden wriggling and thumping on Trance's shoulder and a high pitched, unnatural sounding whine. I looked around startledly, for the source of the noise, before realizing it came from the child! My hands jerked back from his shoulder alarmedly, and he tried to scramble away from me, pressing tighter into Trance's arms. Trance's eyes widened as well before they turned guilty.

"Ah...yeah. I forgot to tell you about that part. He...won't let you touch him until he feels safe. It might take some time. It took an hour with me, and I rescued the kid." He rubbed the back of his head and juggled the baby a bit. "Once he latches on though, he's like a leech. Hard to get off." He grinned a bit finally, and nodded.

"I'll take him for tonight then. Give him a bath, and settle him down in bed. You two can start to get to know each other tomorrow. Read those files." Trance gestured at the pile on the table with a jerk of his head. "See you in the morning."

As the two of them walked into the hallway, I sat with a heavy thud down onto the couch, the weight of my body on the cushions mirroring the weight on my mind. A new baby? Now? The house was crowded enough as it was.

And how was I supposed to take care of someone that I couldn't even touch?

The log is too long, so here's a link.
http://www.esotericbastard.com/mikhael/Mik_Lafe.html

Raife had wandered down to the park with Mikhael in tow for today's afternoon activities. She'd been encouraged by his most recent behavior which was a might more relaxed -even if he still manically hid from everything that moved near him- as he seemed to adjust to new peoples' presence a lot quicker.
She had eyed the sandbox where a couple of kids were playing, but that seemed too unpredictable. She couldn't stop them from grabbing at his wings or touching him when he didn't want to be touched, and the situation would likely end up with at least two kids crying if she couldn't referee as well as she could with him right beside her.

At the present, they were sprawled out on the grass, both avidly watching the puffy clouds float by. The perfect activity for a lazy summer day.

Halo had taken Alex out for a bit of shopping as she thought he needed more clothes than gloomy black capes. She'd picked up some clothes she thought the rest of the boys might like as well (and some little suits for Otium because he refused to wear anything else) but didn't want to go back to the craziness of the house just yet.

Just a stroll through the park with Alex would be nice, though after too much time in the sun he got cranky. The little boy had manuevered himself into Halo's shade and glung to the strap of her shoulder bag while he was balanced on her hip. Whatever purchases she had made were not visible, only the back pack on her back and the boy on her hip. She'd also eyed the sandbox but seeing normal kids with toys would be a bad move since Alex would probably just rip the action figures heads off.

She was thinking of just going home until her little boy's head darted in the direction of the sprawling lawn . He pulled on her strap and made his interest vocal, "Maaaah!" It wasn't too loud but enough to make Halo look. She saw Raife and Mik (and what a cute boy) and only headed over when Alex made another vocal interest. She wondered why or how he was sensing anything (weird kids on gaia were pretty common) but instead of asking, she just headed in that direction.

Raife was busy trying to explain exactly what a boat was to the baby nestled in next to her on his jacket in the grass when a shadow started to darken her feet. She squinted and shielded her eyes a bit with the flat of her hand and looked up to see Halo and Alex. She mused a bit, looking at him passively before greeting, that although the boys had similar coloring, they could hardly be wearing any more contrasting clothes. All the black made the other baby look a bit sinister....but that wasn't to say that he wasn't adorable. If she'd ever needed proof that sinister could be cute, it was being held right in front of her. She smiled a bit.

"'lo there." Mikhael's attention was peaked a little too, and his eyes turned from the clouds to the newcomers, and he snuggled in a bit closer to Raife.

"Hey.." Halo thought the other looked a bit familiar but didn't know from where. "I'm Halo and this is Alejandro. he .. seemed to want to meet you guys." Alex tugged on his mom's strap a little harder right at the seam and she heard a stitch on it pop. Dammit. Damn strong babies.

"Okay Alex.. relax.." She set the little boy down on the grass, not too close to Mik. Alex stayed back a bit as if he sensed the other's discomfort.. in whatever strange way he had. He took a moment to adjust his cape and pull the color up to block out as much sun as he could. "Haa." He made a grabby wave at Mik.

Halo snorted. "What Alex wants.. he gets. He's a strong little thing. Sharp teeth too. Bit me too many times. Your boy doesn't happen to be.. a Legend does he?" It was either that or a forgotten.. but she knew most of the goings on in the library and hadn't heard about this one.

Raife cocked her head a bit. "Well...several people....have suggested that he might be. And it's not like they conferenced over it...so..I think he might. Be a Legend, that is. He certainly is something special." She tilted her head a bit more to look at the little boy, as if he'd suddenly sprout a sign that said "Legend Here, No Mistaking It."

Meanwhile, the little boy in question was surveying his new potential playmate sitting near him on the grass. He watched Alex trying to shield himself from the light, and sat for a moment, watching, before biting his lip and pushing his jacket at him. He knew desperately what it was like to be uncomfortable. If Raife had seen the gesture instead of paying attention to Halo, she would have gasped. The boy hadn't let the jacket leave his side once yet. Of course, he wasn't quite yet either. Even as he pushed the jacket towards Alex, he kept one hand locked on the end of the sleeve.

Just because he was being nice didn't mean anyone...not even the little boy that he felt compassion for would get to take his jacket away.

"Well since Alex locked onto him.. I figured he might be. Have you met my husband? Wren? We have another Legend son.. Lafe." She smiled a little. "Oh I'm sorry.. I didn't get either of your names!" The tall woman took a seat on the grass and pulled her backpack off, tucking her feet underneath her.

Alex looked at the jacket and waved his hands a bit. It was a 'No Thanks!' gesture really. "Nahh." He smiled a big fanged smile as if to show he was tough and he could deal but the offer was nice. Alex crawled a little closer and then sat back on his butt and pulled out some grass easily. Just.. ripped it out cause it was at hand and he could.

Raife brightened at the mention of a familiar name. "Oh! I do! We met in the Legends Headquarters and had some lemonade back at my house. It was just after Mikhael was....rescued...and I thought he could use some quiet socialization, and Lafe's temperment seemed right for the job, so I invited them over. It went well considering how scared Mikhael was. Lafe even got a smile out of him. Rarity for strangers, that. Though it's starting to happen a bit easier...with children at least. I haven't seen him smile at an adult yet...except around the house." She added, looking watchfully over at the babies.

Mikhael meanwhile was tugging in his jacket so he could sit on it, the grass tickling him a bit much. It made him have to scratch. He watched Alex pull out grass with interest. Now there was something he hadn't thought to do with it! He reached down delicately with a tiny hand and tugged on a piece of grass. It snapped in half and he looked at the piece of grass in his hand owlishly. Oh no! He hoped he hadn't hurt it!

Alex looked up and grinned as if to tell him grass couldn't be hurt. Though.. how he knew the boy would be thinking that was his own mystery. "Yaah!" He threw a handful of grass into the air and it fell down onto his own fluffy hair, leaving bright green blades on the inky black.

Halo smiled. "Oh so ..OH You have a mendel too right? I thought you looked familiar!" She remember Wren telling her about it and she knew the name but couldn't put it with a face until now. "I have one as well. She's a pain in my as.. butt." Halo shot the babies a glance. "Mikael seems like a pleasant enough baby. Alex can be a bit of a handful."

Raife grinned a bit, thinking. "...he clocked my other baby in the head with his wing yesterday and nearly started a row....but yeah...he's a good kid as long as you don't freak him out. Unfortunately, a lot of things freak him out. It's hard to tell what might push the buttons, yet, ya know, I don't want to limit him because....you know. Experiences..are good." She finished lamely, then nodded. "Yeah...I've got a mendel brat of my own. He's.....somethin' else."

Mikhael couldn't help but smile as the grass flew everywhere, all over Alex's hair. The grass green against the jet black was so pretty. ...And funny looking. Like he was growing grass out of his head! He gurgled a bit and grabbed at the grass too, throwing it up in the air. But his aim wasn't quite as good and it just flew willy-nilly.

"You never know what kids can take until they try. I know that much. Thankfully Alex came along. Lafe was a pain until then. He cried almost 24 hours a day. As soon as Alex appeared it was like that missing piece or something. Still haven't figured out what the deal is. Alex bit me when I tried to make him sleep in his own crib." She shook her head. "He seems to protect Lafe.. with how shy he is."

Alex grinned again and rubbed his hand in his own hair and tugged on it, fluffing it more. "Yah!" He shook his head like some sort of canine and scooted closer. Mikael seemed to be nice and wasn't scared of him. Not as loud and excited as Levi and not obnoxious and annoying as Guinevere. He seemed to be pleasant like Lafe.. except well. he'd always think Lafe was the bestest ever.. and he'd only met Mik. Alex turned his head to Halo and waved his arms, brows furrowing. "Baaaa!" That was the 'gimme my toys' order.

Mik winced a bit as Alex demanded his toys, grasping uneasily at his jacket, but stayed put, watching the other boy. He stuck his grass covered fingers into his mouth and wiggled his toes a bit, and tried to stretch his wings. Ooops. Wait. Couldn't do that anymore. Right. Then he remembered, and raising his hand up straight in the air in his own stilted version of hello, he smiled shyly. Hello was appropriate ANYTIME.

Raife chuckled, watching him. "He does that to everyone now. Well, that he's not afraid of. He's very shy as well...but more scared. Very scared. I can feel it when I hug him....no matter how many times I've done it, he still freezes up for a moment, defensively, before his brain seems to go "oh yeah, this person's okay."

"Wonder why.." Halo smiled at him though because he was really cute. "Alex.. ask nicely. Just because you bite doesn't mean you get what you want.. I told you that!" Halo tutted her boy.

Alex furrowed his brows and ran his hands through the grass, looking down at it guiltily for a second. He grumbled a bit under his breath but just nodded his head at her, "Haa."

Halo smiled and fished some very very hard plastic large army men out her bag and set them down by Alex. They had gnaw and bite marks on them from his teeth but were intact. He offered one to Mik to play with.

"Alex needs hard and tough toys or he'll rip, tear or bite them apart. Sounds vicious but.. I think he just tests himself and his strength. What a wierd kid."

Mik looked down at the toy, then up at Alex, then down at the toy, and smiled. He knew what a toy was! His were generally softer, but that didn't make this any less exciting. He suddenly had an urge to throw it at something, but didn't. This wasn't his toy. It was someone else's toy. Which made it precious. Not that he would have thrown his own either. He was always afraid of hurting them. This one looked hurt already though, with all the little gashes. And it looked like a little man! He pat it's head as if to say "poor guy." And then jammed it's head into the grass haphazardly with a jerk of his wrist, and then stuck the dirt covered head into his mouth.

Everything was better in your mouth.

"Mikhael's fairly careful. The most I've ever seen him do was accidentally rip a teddy bear's arm a bit during a crying fit. He didn't even mean to, he was just so frustrated.

"Alex ripped the head right off of some dolls in the Legend headquarters.. Levi was pretty impressed. Have you met Levi? He's pretty rambunctious but Lafe and Alex like him fine." Halo kept digging in her bag until she found a plushie and set that out too. If Alex dozed when Lafe wasn't around he usually clung to that. maybe Mikael would like the soft thing too. She also dug out some fruit snacks which she carried in her bag. Kids loved fruit snacks. It was an unaviodable inevitability.. and very handy.

Alex had already stuck his army man in his mouth and was biting on it's head leaving more scratches and dents with his fangs. "Hee." he grinned and chewed and then found another appendage to eat.

Mikhael smiled a bit back, the mirroring army man in his mouth. He seemed to be enjoying it, but, covered in dribbly spit, he spit it out and smashed its head in dirt again and offered it to Alex. Raife winced a bit at the sight. "He must need more minerals in his diet or something. Honestly..dirt lollipops?"

Raife nodded. "I've met Levi. He hasn't though. Adorable kid. You're right, he's got a bit of exuberance on him though, I'll have to watch them when they meet. Make sure Mik doesn't feel threatened, or..hm. More winglashings. Weapon of choice."

Halo chuckled. "Wings are fun things. I want wings." She grinned and you got that same oddly sinister effect from her that you did her son, though she was completely unthreatening at the moment.

Alex looked at the dirty headed army man and stuck his tongue out and made a yuck face. "Heee." he replied instead, grabbing a foil bag of fruitsnacks and biting through the bag with his teeth, ripping it open. All the bright colored gummies fell into his lap and onto the grass and he picked one up (army man still grasped in his other hand) and stuffed it in his mouth. He liked the red ones!

Raife's smile turned a bit sad. "His...are a little....different." She shifted a little to give Halo a good view of her boy's back and pointed. It was clear from a good back view that they weren't attached, nor real. The black straps crossing over and over his body were holding them up.

Mikhael eyed the gummies. He could smell the soft smell of artificial fruit, and was entranced by the way they glimmered a bit in the sun. He reached down for one, then paused before he touched one, and looked up at Alex, as if to ask if it was okay.

Alex chewed his with his mouth open, like most kids did, taking it out of his mouth half chewed and then stuffing it back in to swallow it. He didn't eat a lot of solid normal food but he liked these just fine. He made another noise at Mik, so he could help himself, and stuffed another gummie in his mouth.

"Oh.." Halo frowned and looked at the little boy. "What happened? Do you know?" She'd learned that some guardians knew alot and others knew little or nothing about their children.

Teeth in Mik's mouth were a sometimes thing, huge gaps in his mouth telling of his age. He stuck one in his mouth tentatively anyway, smiling in thanks at Alex, and gumming the gummy determinedly. It turned out to be more of a sucking affair than a chewing experience for the little one, as he still hadn't quite got the hand of teeth. It was good! Sweet like juice, but it stayed FOREVER. His smile widened. This new friend was just full of treats!

Raife's face paled a bit at the question as she thought of the video she'd jsut watched a couple of nights before. "He...the one who kept Mikhael...before....that we rescued him from...." Her voice lowered to a dark whisper. "Chopped them off. They're...just stumps now." Angry tears welled a bit in her eyes.

Halo watched the boy and then Raife's face. "Oh.. my. Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.. pry or make you talk about it if it's upsetting you. Ever thinking about revenge on this guy? .. I could help?" Leave it to her to suggest violence as a way to make stuff better.

Alex jammed a few into his mouth at once if only cause he could and as they became fewer he stuffed the army man back in along with the gummies. It was already leaving a sticky mess all around his mouth.

Raife shook her head. "It's...okay. It's just a little tender at the moment." She smiled. "You didn't know. For all you knew, he could have been born like that. What with radioactivity and the like these days." She shook her head a bit. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more than revenge on this guy. But...it's not possible. Not for me, anyway. But some friends of mine are working on it. ...many are working on it. He's a very wanted man." She smiled grimly at the thought of Spencer's capture. It would happen. It HAD to happen, right? She'd get justice. Mikhael'd get justice.

Mikhael, meanwhile, didn't seem to have justice on his mind at all. Unlike Alex, he was carefully milking only his third gummy, trying to share a fourth with the army man, jamming it against its head lightly.

Unfortunately the army men didn't have good taste at all and never ate gummies.. which meant more for them! Alex sifted the remaining gummies and pickedout all the red ones, pushing the rest over to Mikhael so he could have them. Sharing was good, apparently. At least so much as he was told. he was fine sharing most things... as long as they weren't Lafe.

Halo nodded solemnly. "Well if you need help.. we know people. Alot of people. Many of them not classified so much as PEOPLE at all." She chuckled a bit.

"I know what you mean." She chuckled. She was quite used to People-not-people. "Well, if any of them likes to beat s**t up and burn buildings down, the gang meets every monday night at that forest on the edge of gaia at the witching hour." Raife wasn't quite sure what hour that was, but that's what Trance always said. She'd always heard it was the hour when everyone was asleep, but was sure such an hour didn't exist. "I, myself, have been informed many a time that I am not suitable, and I suppose I don't blame them."

Mikhael raised his hand in hello...or...thanks. Whatever the sign, it meant he appreciated the gesture, and picked out a grape gummy and held it up to Alex's face. Matched his eyes. He'd never seen purple eyes before. It was fascinating. Mikhael loved color.

Halo chuckled. "The people-not-people happen to be family in this case." She flashed a smile. "So is marriage though. Are you married? With anyone?"

Alex blinked his pretty purple eyes at the gummy. grape wasn't his flavor but he didn't relate it to his eye color. He raised up the sticky army man head right back at him and waved it.

Mik stuck the gummy right on the army man's head where the eyes would have been, had there not been a big gnawed gash, and smiled, as if he'd fixed something. An Alex army man! Wait...something was missing. He grabbed a handfull of grass and dumped it on the army man's head, covering his mouth with a shy, but happy smile.

Then he looked up at Alex, his hand still covered in grass, and offered it to him, palm up, a serious expression on his face, as if to say 'I trust you now. Don't ******** it up.'

Raife blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Well...see...my house has kind of turned into a depository for...misplaced young men, of sort....I didn't mean it to!" She added, blushing darker. "Most...men...don't take to that so well." She rubbed her nose a bit. "Get jealous and the like."

Alex looked at the army man and laughed a bit. When Mik lifted his hand Alex smiled and nodded. He got the message. He grinned devilishly and took the grass, rubbing it all over the the army man and shoving him down into the dirt again. Apparently that was a show of understanding.

"I totally get that. I was lucky with Wren. Surrounded by good looking men and he wasn't jealous at all. I didn't give him much choice though." Halo grinned and had that glow about her. You know.. woman totally in love.

Mik rocked back a little on his butt then forward, smiling, and nuzzling into his blanket and grabbing more free dirt with soft, tiny noise, he sprinkled it liberally over Private Alex Jr, setting him up carefully to stand, in the dirt. Mik smiled over his accomplishment, and promptly stuck his dirt and grass covered fingers in his mouth. Hey! They still tasted a bit like gummy. Score.

Raife smiled. "That's sweet. I've certainly yet to find the perfect gaia man for me. Some day." She smirked. "Some day, I'll find a man who can keep up with me, two babies and a house full of rowdy young men. Likely." She snorted, but grinned goodnaturedly.

"Maybe not a gaia man. I've seen some of them around here.." She made a face, a gagging one, "But hey.. a man from somewhere. Everyone has one. Or many. Just get a harem!" Halo's solution to everything was violence or sex.

Alex leaned over and smooshed dirt around the army man's legs so he'd really stay up. He grinned and stuck grass into the wad of mud, gummy and spit that was the army man's head somewhere underneath. "Yaah!" Alex also felt better that it was becoming late afternoon and the sun wasn't so high or bright int he sky now.

Mikhael rubbed a piece of grass off his face, thus smearing a cup of dirt across his face. Raife grinned. He looked so fine and almost normal, smeared with dirt like little boys did. She made a mental note to remember to prep a muddy patch in the backyard so he could play there if he liked. She reached over, and gently tucked the costume wings back into folded position -they had a built in mechanism for realism, but it wasn't automatic- so they wouldn't get covered in dirt like the rest of him. The wings were difficult to wash. Much more difficult than a relatively passive baby. Mikhael jerked a bit as she touched him, nervously looking back, then relaxing, satisfied it was her. He smeared his hands in the dirt, smoothing the area around the army man gently.

"I..would LOVE a harem."

Halo laughed. "We sorta have a harem in our house. Medusa's.. not like the myth medusa.. more like Nagas.. but not." She chuckled. "Half man half snakes. Except for one who's female. One of them who calls himself Baron says he rules it but he sort of lays around like a fat sultan and plays with the pretty boys." She shook her head. "You should come visit us at the house. Mikhael might like it there with the other kids. They know how to behave. Wren and I have 4 sons around the same age and Wren has another boy named Freyr who babysits. Very quiet, polite and studious." Halo sounded like a woman in a house full of men as wel, though there was certainly something masculine about her. Perhaps her tough demeanour.. and combat boots.

Alex looked at the wings. he didn't have those. They were pretty. "Ah!" he pointed with a grubby finger and then looked at his own back. But he just smiled. Lafe had a tail and he didn't have that either. He knew people were different. "Raa!" He showed his fangs. See! He had those!

Mikhael scooted a little closer, and, while Raife watched in amazement, turned around and yanked his fake wings back open, so Alex could examine. Although, even as a baby, he knew that they weren't real, and that his real wings weren't right anymore, and hidden, he preferred them that way. Extremely self-aware of his own appearance, even as a child. He wanted his new friend to see his pretty wings. Like they were. Not those horrible mangled things that looked like they didn't belong there. He was afraid Alex wouldn't like him if he showed him the real ones.

He had to admit that Alex's fangs frigtened him a little. They looked sharp like scalpels. He trusted his new friend, but he didn't quite trust those fangs.

Alex saw the wings and clapped hismessy hands a bit. He wished he had somehting cooler. To show but he didn't have weird appendages. He just had.. purple eyes and fluffy hair and pointy ears and fangs. Alex just looked at him and smiled a bit. What he did wasn't really physical at all. It was just a feeling. He just gave Mik a feeling in his mind that he was there and he could touch it. It wasn't something to be described or tangible.. just a feeling. With Mikhael's unguarded mind it was easy.. especially since Alex was just a baby himself and stretching his own 'wings' so to speak.

Mik jolted a bit, and looked around, a bit confused for a moment, looking for who made that happen, before realizing that it felt like Alex. It felt like playing army men with alex..that feeling of him just...being there...except, inside his head. Mikhael tapped his head a bit, furrowing his brow a bit confusedly, as if to try and touch that thought. He turned around and looked at Alex again quizzically, his mouth a little surprised "O".

Alex didn't do it again. He didn't know if he could do it again right now. He didn't think about doing it again. he just grinned and waved his hands again with a fanged grin.

Halo watched the boys. "I think they made friends. Always a good thing.." The woman smiled again and looked up at the sky. "I think it may be time to go home though. Getting time for dinner." Alex turned his head at the thought of home... Not that he didn't like Mikhael, but home meant Lafe.. and food and bed. Babies thoughts were so simple. "Yaah!" He waved the non muddy army man at his mother.

"I think Alex agrees about home." She started to pack things up again. Taking the clean army man and the trash and putting it in her bag along with the plushie that was untouched.

Raife chuckled. "It is getting a bit late, and it looks like your little man has home on his mind indeed." Mikhael frowned a bit, looking about to cry. He understood that people went away when they picked their stuff up. Thankfully, Raife caught the look, before it escalated into actual tears. She crouched next to Mikhael and tucked him in close.

"Bebe, I know you're really young, and it's hard to get this, but you know that people come back after they leave. I know you made a new friend, and were excited playing with him, but this isn't like how it used to be. Just because someone leaves doesn't mean you'll never see them again. Remember how Trance leaves and comes back?"

Mikhael gurgled sadly, and seemed to be thinking about this, and debating whether or not to cry. He mewled instead softly, and pressed his face in Raife's neck. She scooped him up and his dirt covered jacket in separate hands, the baby wiggling into her neck.

"Say bye to Alex. Same as hello." She demonstrated by lifting her hand, mirroring Mik's own patented stiff hand lift hello. He raised his hand a little, trying to stifle back a pout.

Alex waved too and picked up the buried and gummy army man. Instead of taking it home he offered it out to Mikhael. "Haa!" It was for him. So he could take it home. Maybe he wouldn't make that sad face.

Mikhael's tiny hands grasped the army man gently, and stared at it, then looked at Alex, as if to ask him if it really was for him. He bit his lip a little, then grasped wildly at his jacket, and yanked off one of the very blue longer feathers and poked it at Alex in exchange with his other hand, holding it in his outstretched palm. It fluttered in his hand and threatened to fly away in the wind. He was indeed smiling again now. If Alex'd given him something precious like a toy, he might actually see him again!

Alex took the blue feather and let him have the army man. Blue feathers were pretty. He held onto it and waved again.

Halo picked up Alex from where he sat finally, after she put her bag back on. "It was nice meeting you both.." She hefted Alex onto her hip and he held onto the feather and let his face come more out of the cape now that the sun was going down. "Hopefully you'll come by and visit. Lafe and Alex will be happy to have someone else to play with."

Raife smiled. "That'd be lovely. And you're all welcome back at my house as well, if you'd like. Anytime." She scooped up her boy and nestled him in close. "I'm sure we'll see you around the headquarters or something in the meantime." She brushed off the jacket a bit, and smiled. "It really was nice meeting you both. Thanks. Both of you. For making my boy smile."

"No problem.." Halo waved a bit and turned for home. "Always a pleasure. Smiling is what we're good at. Have a good night!" She waved again and set out for home. Alex turned back to look and waved his new feather at Mik and Raife as they went away.

Sometimes the whole house wakes up and seems to be covered by this collective funk. An overlying fog of shut-the-hell-up-and-leave-me-alone. Sometimes it's just the babies. Sometimes it's just the older boys. Today it was just Mik. I woke up late in the afternoon, surprised to find him still in his crib. Usually he gets up early in the morning with Trance and Cray and rolls around with blocks and pillows. He builds towers, Cray destroys them and Trance mediates.

But not today.

Today he was curled up in what I immediately recognized as his defensive position. Curled into a ball, wings tucked around his body, the whole of him invisible under his coat and baby blanket. Even Prana's coat, usually tucked around him as well, seemed to be recognized as an intruder, and pushed off to the side of the crib.

I watched him for a moment, before venturing to reach into the crib and lift up a bit of the parka. I was rewarded with a jab to my hand. Withdrawing it, I wrinkled my nose a bit. Ow.

I briefly left the room in search of Trance. He'd likely come in in the morning, as Mikhael was freshly changed, plus he came in every morning. I found him in the kitchen, stirring up some oatmeal - one of Mikhael's favorites.

"He's been like that all morning. I had to fight with him to change him." Trance interjected into my thoughts over stewing oats. "I don't know what he's got stuck in his craw, but he obviously doesn't want people around."

"Mmh." I didn't know what to say. I'd never had a baby around, much less one as...unique as Mikhael. I supposed all babies have bad days, but this seemed more thoughtful than just a squall.

"Hasn't seem to spread to Cray, thankfully. Bebe's in his playpen in the livingroom."

I nodded. I'd seen the little brit baby bouncing and gurgling happily over a chewed-up and spit-out teddy bear. He'd greeted me with a charming one-toothed grin before slamming the pile of fluff repeatedly against the bars of his pen.

Trance scooped some oatmeal and handed me the bowl. "Here. I'm scratched and kicked enough for one morning. You feed him, please. He IS your charge." I nodded again, silently thinking about what could have gotten Mikhael's spirits so down. He didn't often shimmer with happiness like Cray did, but he normally had an affiable enough temperment. And he usually loved to be held by people he was comfortable with. I'd never known him to push Trance away.

Mikhael was still huddled in his safe haven when I returned to the room. I crouched next to the fort of blankets, hoping that the smell of brown sugar and oatmeal would lure out my little boy.

He curled in tighter. It seemed I'd have to take matters into my own hands. I tugged the blanket and the parka off him. He grabbed and reached for them snappishly, but I held them out of reach and draped them over a nearby rocking chair. His whole tiny body was heaving and plastered with sweat from the heat. It was summer after all. Glaring at me, he curled back up into his ball, his back turned towards me. I sighed.

"Don't you want breakfast? Trance made oatmeal, just for you." He twitched, but kept turned away. "Baby boy, what's wrong? You're refusing oatmeal, you're in a foul mood, and I can't help you if you won't communicate." I watched him for a moment, and it's a good thing I did, because if I hadn't, I might have missed that slight hitch of the shoulders, and the shallow breathy sob. My eyes widened in alarm. I set down the bowl of oatmeal and reached into the crib, wading through kicking feet and pushy hands, batting wings and gnashing teeth to scoop up my baby, drying tears from his cheeks and pressing his face softly into my shoulder. He resisted for a moment before clinging tightly to me and crying into my neck. I dabbed the sweat off his back and neck with the edge of his blanket, and nuzzled him close.

"What was it, darling boy? Sick? Achey? A bad dream?" He stiffened at the last question, and I knew the answer. "Oh." I settled down into the rocking chair and picked up the bowl of oatmeal. He sniffled a bit, and looked down at it. "Well, how about we oatmeal up, and forget about it?" He sighed and opened his mouth in answer.

Crisis momentarily averted.

Raife sometimes spent an inordinate amount of time musing on the state of Prana's cloak. Perhaps it was because it was fluffy -Mikhael's favorite sensation- or perhaps because it had come from such a warm and friendly young lady -even if Mikhael hadn't exactly warmed up to her at first- or perhaps just because he was a baby and liked blankets, but Mikhael slept curled with it around his head at night and refused to sleep otherwise unless exhausted or coerced.

She'd already had one incident where it'd been in the wash and she hadn't been able to get it out in time. It'd taken over an hour longer than usual to rock him to sleep that night and he'd been very resistent. Sometimes she had to wonder if it wasn't just the cloak, or just A cloak, even, more, a fellow legend's cloak that sparked such a reaction in him.

At the moment, she had it wrapped around her fingers, standing over the wash, studying the folds of it as if they might reveal to her some of its allure. Examination proving fruitless, she tossed it into the wash, sighing absently as she closed the lid. It was just a cloak, like any other cloak, and it just happened to come at a time when Mikhael hadn't yet gotten the concept of 'on loan.' Wondering how he might react when the cloak wouldn't be there anymore for bedtime, she jogged back into the living room where her little boy was settled neatly in his playpen, stacking foam blocks, his mouth moving in his characteristic silent babbles and tiny squeaks that he made when he thought nobody was watching. She did watch for a moment, taking advantage of his distraction to observe the shy boy a bit out of his shell. He seemed to be talking to the blocks. Directing them in a cubed orchestra of towers.

After a moment of silent observation, she cleared her throat gently, to make her presence known, and stepped into the room. Mikhael's head pivoted and the silent babbling stopped. He looked surprised for a moment before his lips curved into a small smile. Ah, but to be freed from his prison! He disliked the playpen's high walls and small enclosure, but Raife couldn't very well leave him out and about while she did chores, home alone. His tiny arms stretched up towards the edge of the playpen, grasping at the edges and pulling himself up onto his feet. It was time for out, and it was time for out right now.

Just as she started to scoop up her little boy out of his playpen, the doorbell rang. Raife smiled brightly. "Ah! Company! We're coming!" She piped, hitching Mikhael on her hip and starting towards the heavy front door. Leaning in heavily and pulling the dead weight of the door towards her with a slight huff, she blinked quizzically.

No one there.

"What now?" She searched the surrounding grounds, but whatever it was had likely vanished into the woods near the house, or already gotten into it's car and left. Her questing eyes startled as she noticed a package by her feet filled with what appeared to be apparel of some sort. She poked it a bit, wondering if it held some sort of animal inside. It certainly seemed fluffy enough. Shrugging carelessly, she brought it inside and dropped it on the couch, settling down next to it, baby in arms.

"Well, shall we take a look at what Santa brought us?" She smiled wryly at Mikhael and tickled his ribs a bit. He squirmed and tried to peer in the box. It was a bit taller than he was, sitting down, so he let out a quiet whine.

"Okay, okay! No need to make a racket," Raife teased her charge, pawing through the items in the box, and tugging out a small paw-like boot with a note attached. Reading it quickly, she blinked, and everything fell into place. Prana, the sweet girl. Prana, the sweet girl with the cloak that was in her wash that she'd started this morning. Prana who's baby things were as fluffy as she was and were now being pawed at by Mik who had realized that they smelt like her. She reached down to Mikhael's feet and tugged on a boot. It was slightly big for the delicate boy, but it wouldn't take long at all to grow into. Why, by the time he needed them for walking....they'd fit perfect!
"Well! Looks like you've got some gifts here, my boy! Hand-me-downs, and in better shape than Cray's!" Mikhael seemed to agree that these were far better, and was having a go at gnawing on one of the claws at the end of a second bootie, easing his aching gums. Raife could practically see the thoughts in his head.

Whoever thought of attaching teething rings to shoes was a genius. Best shoes ever.

Too bad babies couldn't talk. Especially Mikhael. She reached into the package and withdrew more clothes. A cute hat, some gloves and....savior of saviors...a baby sized bundle of furs. Maybe she could ease him out of the cloak! She wrapped the furs around him, and tucked the hat on his head. It slipped down a little past his ears and drooped over his face. Pushing it out of his face, he continued to gnaw on one bootie, the other one kicking on his foot rather pleasedly. She tried to put the gloves on him as well, but they were pushed away rather forcefully. It didn't seem he'd like anything on his fingers. It was a bit of a warm day as well, in any case, so Raife let it drop. She looked at him kicking happily in his bootie and dribbling on the other and silently thanked Faevan and Prana for the impromptu gift.

"Well, little man, since you seem to like your new apparel so much, we'll have to make Prana and Faevan a gift in return! How thoughtful of them!" Baby and young woman smiled at each other and continued to revel in their new treasure.

"I don't know what to do about it." Raife curled herself into the edge of the couch, tucking her feet underneath her and staring down at the letter. It was the day after she'd received the letter, and she'd finally worked up the nerve and courage to show it to someone else, knowing that once she did, they'd be involved. The letter was meant specifically for her after all. How could she knowingly endanger someone else? Trance, steady Trance, was always there though, and already involved. He needed to know. He would protect. Trance shook his head and snatched it out of her hands, ripping it in half. Raife started, pushing up. "Hey! What if we need that to...sue someone or something?! You can't just go tearing up everything."

Trance sighed and shook his head. "We're not going to do anything except fix the security system around here. We were planning to do that anyway, remember? I think it's time. We're not going to let those jackasses know that we're scared. We're not going to let Mikhael know we're scared. We're going to act as if nothing happened, and, through that, we're going to devalue this letter, and the assholes that wrote it." He continued to tear the letter up into smaller bits and tossed it into the trashcan. "I'm done running. If we have to, we'll fight. That's what Mikhael deserves."

Raife was silent for a moment, studying her feet. Did she have the strength to fight, like Trance said, when the time came? It wasn't even an if anymore. Spencer would be back for Mikhael. Spencer's people would be back for Mikhael. It had happened once, it would happen again, and again. She sighed. Until they killed him.

She scrubbed her hands over her face and nodded.

"We'll have to."