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 Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:15 am
"Eri, darling, you know I love you, it's just," Arch sighed, listening to her dream-daughter's quiet explanation of what she wanted to do, "a child is a large responsibility, and I'm not sure if you're ready for it." After all, Arch hadn't been ready for it-- not that Eri wasn't a responsible girl, but... she wasn't really human yet. She was too gentle. She couldn't be disciplinary. But that was what Arch was around for, wasn't it? To help?
Besides, how could she deny Eri anything after what they'd been through?
"Just that you're not sure you're ready for me to have a child. I want to be able to take care of someone, and I know I can do it," Eri murmured quietly, moonlight-silver eyes never leaving Arch. "You know I can do it. I just want to do it sooner rather than later, Mother. I don't want to wait around while we discuss this. I saw an ad for a place which is looking for guardians for children. It shouldn't be difficult-- Gaia isn't known for its scrutiny when it comes to prospective parents for these kinds of children, and even if it were, it isn't like I have a criminal record or anything akin to that--"
"Just no records at all," Arch muttered.
"--so there would be no reason to deny me this chance even if there were careful screening of possible parents," Eri continued easily, not paying much attention to what Arch said. "Besides, you always said that if I wanted something deeply and truly that you'd help me, Mother."
And that was the kicker, wasn't it? Arch had promised. She'd known she shouldn't have done it, but she had a debt to pay. Not that she thought of Eri like that anymore, but... she didn't want to deny the girl anything. Erimentha was the wonderful daughter she'd never had, her stabilizing force, much like Winter except Arch had more control with Eri than with Winter.
"Fine, darling," Arch sighed, giving Eri a rue smile. "But only if you promise to ask for help when you need it. After all, I'm here for a reason, aren't I? I want to help out with your daughter. Son. Whichever you choose. Though," a horrid thought struck Arch suddenly, "I don't want to hear any of this 'grandmother' business, is that understood? I'm far too young for that."
That brought a laugh to Eri's eyes. "Of course, Mother. Perhaps 'aunt' would be an appropriate term?" the girl suggested, leaning against Arch now that she'd gotten her way. "I'm sure it's not unheard of on Gaia for relationships like this to form. Besides, I'm sure Aunt Raven and Aunt Winter would prefer to remain aunts than great-aunts. It would be easier all around."
To that, Arch had to agree. Raven might go a bit crazy if she discovered that Arch's daughter adopted a child so soon. None of Raven's brats had gone to that length yet.
Though, the yet was the problem... and the question...
Eri relaxed against Arch, enjoying the quiet between them for a moment, considering the future. She'd have someone to care for, take care of while Arch was out on her jobs, someone to spend time with. Things would work out. Eventually, Arch had promised more siblings to fill their large house, but until now there hadn't been an opportunity for Erimentha to actually expand the family.
She was looking forward to it.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:38 pm
Surprisingly enough, the choice of movie hadn't been too difficult either. That was the part which truly surprised Hera, since she'd estimated another hour of bickering before they mutually agreed on the movie. Undoubtedly that was the doing of Kiku's dazed nature over the past few months, Erianthe and Imelda's near worship of Erimentha, and the fact that Renjyo and Eleanor were easily overruled in these cases.
"All right! So, Music and Lyrics it is!" Hera proclaimed, inwardly grimacing. This was one of those lovey-dovey movies that the girl would just gag over, but what choice did she have? The other kids had all agreed. Who was she to be the downer at this point?
Imelda whined as she clung to Eri, not liking the dark of the theatre as they entered. Too dark for the little orchid girl, she didn't like the dark... but there were pretty sounds and Eri's pearl earrings glowed in the dark. That made it a little better as they were led deeper into the theatre, to where they all sat in a nice row, a slight scuffle for who got to sit where taking up the bulk of the previews.
Was this what it was going to be like when she had her own little child? Eri wondered as she indulged Imelda, letting the baby sit on her lap. This kind of closeness, this way they all laughed, related so well to each other-- would this be what it was like? Would her child fit in with the cousins as well as they all fit together? What if she or he didn't? Would that-- no thinking now. Movie.
Erianthe smirked slightly to herself as they sat in the dark, her tail swooshing about in anticipation of what was coming. The lights were off and now they would watch and then they would play! Girl's night out had its wonderful moments. It was why Erianthe knew she could always count on her cousins to play with. They loved being tricked or at least responded well-- oooooh! MUSIC.
Quiet, Kiku watched the movie, not really paying attention. Too much had been happening recently. There had been a rush of pieces of information, Aunt Arch, who carried that strange sense like her Teacher, though the Lady claimed to not know Kiku... and then, of course, Eri, who seemed to be older, but she'd only just come into the family... Kiku didn't understand all of it. Perhaps she wasn't meant to. Either way, it seemed odd, and it kept her from considering things the way she normally would. She had to lose herself in the movie.
This movie really had been Renjyo's choice-- though she'd never admit that to Hera, since big mean older sister would probably have chosen a different one. She'd let Eri know which one she'd wanted to see and watched her cousin skillfully convince everyone to listen because everyone listened to Eri because she was the new one and the sweet one and didn't live with them, which made it easier on everyone. But Renjyo had heard the music and she wanted to hear more and more and more because that was the way that you learned about the music. It was different kind of music, pretty costumes than the rock from Japan Renjyo had consumed herself with recently, but not bad. Good, even... good to learn more about music.
Eleanor watched in silence, not really understanding. She'd only agreed to come along on this outing because... well, frankly, it was more interesting than staying at home with the adults and males. And besides, movies were interesting-- a way to observe that which was real which had become false which was being portrayed as something real. She could appreciate the irony in all of it, the way no one really did or said what they meant, all from a script someone had dreamed up to try to express something which didn't really exist.
After the movie, Eri took the girls to get ice cream, wondering when, really, they would be able to head back to the house. After all, things were happening now, and Eri was somewhat anxious to get back to her precious cabbage plant, even if it meant cutting short her time with her cousins. Ah well. Best to go with what was happening here, letting the girls have their fun, right? Besides, they were on their way soon enough, back to the house, back towards the rest of the family.
Something was different about Eri now, and Immy didn't like it. She didn't want her Eri to not pay attention, to be distracted enough to make it so Immy felt left out. Eri was the only one who really would play with Immy, and the fact that Eri wasn't being her usual self made the little Vale unhappy. It wasn't fair, wasn't right. Things weren't supposed to be done this way. It wasn't the way she was used to. It made Immy want to scream, but Eri had responded badly to screams in the past. Unhappily, the little girl shifted in Eri's arms, sucking on the spoonful of ice cream she'd been given.
Something weird was happening with the family tonight. It wasn't the same as it usually was, with their rampant running about playing tag in the dark. Eri felt weird, Kiku was being a cloudhead the way she'd been since Aunty Arch showed up at the Nest for the first time with Eri in tow, Renjyo was being quiet for once, seeming to digest the movie, Eleanor was never any fun, Hera was being bossy like usual, and Immy was just a baby, so Erianthe felt more than a little frustrated. She wanted to go somewhere, do something. Break into the zoo and see all the animals, something heroic! Something that took courage! But no one else seemed to have that drive tonight, which was a disappointment. 'Anthe was still too young to do this sort of thing on her own. So she just sulked a little, eating her double chocolate chocolate mint ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate fudge sauce and wanting everythings to go back to the way they were supposed to be.
Maybe it was just that the movie had been strange, but Hera could feel the tension in her sisters and her cousin. Things weren't going well. "All right, time to head home, I think," Hera finally decided, the blue girl pushing a strand of hair back, annoyed that it had fallen free of her high ponytail. "Besides, it's getting cold, and since no one really thought to bring a jacket," a pointed look at Renjyo and Erianthe, the two who were beginning to shiver slightly, "we should get back before people get sick and Mom gets mad at us. All right?"
Hera was always so bossy! But Renjyo shrugged, finishing up her vanilla ice cream and tossing it away. She'd gotten all dressed up for tonight, and she wasn't even getting to show it off? Oh well. The movie had been fun, with songs about sweet people and strange loves and people who were saying things they didn't mean and doing things they didn't say. People people.
"You probably want to wash off your makeup before we get back," Eleanor murmured to Renjyo. None of the other girls had really noticed the child's attempt at makeup-- a half-decent attempt, in Renjyo's defense. "Mother won't be pleased to know you've been in her collection again.
Renjyo rolled her eyes as she wiped it off, part of her glad Eleanor remembered to remind her. Mother had already gotten angry at her once for that same thing-- Renjyo wasn't really ready to repeat that.
Standing as well, Kiku moved to the car, gently helping herd everyone else along. The night had been spoiled before it had even begun, hadn't it? Something strange was infecting the girls of this family, and Kiku had yet to discover what it was...
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:35 am
And she was gorgeous.
The little girl yawned, big green eyes blinking as she took in the hazy world around her. Pretty colors dancing all over-- and a face in the middle of it, with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and shinies around her neck. Who was this?
"Hello there," Eri smiled, gently extending her hands, arms to pick the child up, instinctively cradling her. "...baby Cecelia," she murmured, pressing a kiss to the girl's forehead. Pointed ears like a little elvish child, and yet she'd come from a cabbage! How peculiar. Then again, according to her mother, these things happened on Gaia quite often, with species crossing.
'Cecelia'. Was that her? She liked the sound of that name, the way it rolled off the big person's tongue. It was a pretty sound. It meant her, which made it prettier. "Gaa!" Cecelia giggled, biting her thumb cutely as she looked at Eri.
Well, naturally she couldn't form real words yet. Eri knew instinctively that she'd have a much faster, higher learning curve than a human-- after all, nearly every child on Gaia seemed to grow at a much faster than seemingly possible rate. That meant that within a few days-- perhaps a week at most-- she'd probably be spewing words and maintaining her balance on her feet. But for now... for the moment, she was an adorable child who just needed to be loved.
Eri could do that.
"Hello, sweetheart. I'm Eri," Erimentha introduced herself quietly. She'd debated over this for a while-- should she be called 'mother'? Or by her name? In the end, Eri had decided on her name. If Cecelia later wanted to call her mother, that would be the girl's choice. For now, she would introduce herself as what everyone else called her. It made more sense.
Giggling, Cecelia moved to pull at a stray strand of Eri's hair which had fallen from her hair. Such dark hair, different than her own! She liked hers better, though she couldn't say so, not knowing how to, but she marveled at the difference. When things were different, it made it special, weird and Cecelia liked that.
"And I think we'll call you Cece for short," Eri smiled when the girl gurgled approval of the name. "Mother-- well, she's asked to be your aunt-- likes nicknames. She says they make things easier on everyone, to have shorter names," she explained, knowing the little girl couldn't really understand her yet. It didn't matter-- understanding wasn't everything. Having it said was enough.
Watching the little girl yawn, Eri pressed a kiss to her temple. "Let's get you into bed, Cece," she murmured. Mentally, she thanked Arch for being prepared and getting a cradle for the girl before she'd... sprouted.
More to think about tomorrow...
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:23 am
"Raven, I blame you," Arch muttered under her breath. She'd been sitting at the dinner table with Eri and Cecelia for a while now, but where the younger members of the household had been happily eating their dinner, Arch's mind rose, unbidden, to the creature she'd encountered just the other night. It had to be suffering in the torrents of rain streaming from the sky if it was still out there. Of course it wasn't, but... if it was.
"Mother?" Eri blinked at her, pausing from feeding Cecelia, ignoring the little girl's protests at being ignored, even for that brief moment. It didn't take long for Eri to understand though-- her mother had shared her concerns about the strange creature she'd found in the woods. "...if you're worried, we could go check and see if it's gone or if it needs more help, Mother," Eri suggested gently, knowing that Arch would never go without a push, even if she wanted to go.
NO. Cecelia did NOT want to go OUT into the RAIN. The little elvish girl screeched her protests, shushed only by Eri turning her attention back to her to give her more food. "WAIN BA-- food." Sweet food, nonetheless. Cece liked sweets. Sweets were good for her. They made her happy.
"No, you stay here," Arch sighed softly. "I don't want you and Cece getting sick," she murmured, gently ruffling Cecelia's hair and pressing a kiss to Eri's forehead. "Take care of things for me, Eri, darling," she sighed as she gave her daughter an annoyed smile, grabbing a rain jacket and an umbrella and heading out to brave the water,
For Eri's part, she found herself worried. "...be careful, Mother," she whispered after Arch left. Arch had a bad habit of following her instincts a little too much, and Eri didn't want to see that happen now. Not when Eri wasn't there to help her. "...Mother's going to get herself into trouble again, Cece," Eri sighed, pressing a kiss to the girl's forehead.
...probably. But Cece had her food, her sweets, and she had Eri's undivided attention now-- which made her happy. Perhaps a little too happy, but... it was enough for her.
"You should get ready for bed, darling," Eri smiled as she kissed Cecelia on the forehead, pulling her close, out of her high chair. "Come on, silly one. I don't want you to get fussy tomorrow. We're going to see the cousins, remember?" she prodded her gently, kissing her on the cheek indulgently.
Some of her cousins were okay. Most of them, actually. But some of them weren't, and one in particular aggravated Cece, but she couldn't tell her mother that. Instead, she blinked up at her mother before shrugging, leaning against her mother's comforting presence.
And time to set the girl to bed... going through the routine, Eri's mind moved to her mother out there in the cold, looking for an angel. They'd be wet, cold... after putting Cece down, Eri gathered up some blankets and towels and put some water on for tea.
Hours passed before Eri saw Arch land on the doorstep, the ex-Dream flinging open the door to let her mother in before she had a chance to knock. "You found her then," Eri smiled, seeing through Arch's glamour easily enough. "I started the fire and made some tea, and I brought some blankets and towels."
Arch found herself immensely grateful for her daughter as they helped Jerusha to the couch, wiping the angel off before wrapping her in warm blankets before the fire. "Cece...?" she thought to ask after a moment.
"Asleep, of course," Eri nodded. "Don't worry about her, Mother. You need your rest too."
Such a thoughtful girl. Nodding her thanks, Arch gave Eri a kiss on the cheek. "You too, sweetheart. Go to sleep now. Everything's all right." Her family was here.
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 2:12 pm
Tracing the letters on the paper, Imelda glared at them. She now had ten pretty squiggly things, each one representing a sound. They made for a good distraction against the annoying cousin who was deliberately annoying her by being there trying to take the attention by being around her most important brother. A, E, I, O, U. Ka, Ke, Ki, Ko, Ku. Ten.
"Immy, I thought you came over here to play," Jerusha sighed softly, placing a webbed hand on her cousin's arm, "not to try to ignore Cece." Not that the angel had really expected anything else, but... really. You'd think that at least once they'd be able to get along for a little while, right?
"I'm studying," Imelda replied, her voice sharper than she'd intended it to be. She wasn't frustrated with J, but with the other one, but J was interrupting and trying to make this not about what it was about.
"Immy dun' like me an' dun' like Jett talkin' tu me," Cece grinned, leaning against the black widow boy. She liked taking the attention away from her cousin because it meant that attention fell onto her, and that was important.
"He's not talking to you!" Imelda snapped, glancing over at Jett to confirm that her best-friend-brother wasn't talking to her arch nemesis.
Weaving his web, Jett glanced up at the commotion between the girls. He'd only come to Aunt Arch's house because Mother thought it would keep the tension down between the constantly arguing cousins, but apparently it wasn't working. Unless... he was supposed to be doing something to stop it? How could he? He didn't understand it. People acted in ways he didn't get all the time, especially his passionate sister and cousin.
"He not talkin' tu you," Cece pointed out. "He spendin' moa tyme wit me~"
"Jett!" Imelda protested, turning away from her studies to pout at her brother, hopefully convincingly. She needed his reassurance. She needed to make sure he was still on her side like he'd always been.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Jett took a long breath. "I'm not talking to either of you," the spider boy finally decided. After all, he had to say something with them. "I'm just sitting here until Mother and Arch are finished talking with the strangers."
Jerusha grimaced. Of all the people in the world, it had to be Jett, didn't it? He would never be able to handle all the problems that these two created, but somehow, for some reason, Imelda had come to care about him more than others. Of course the girl would choose the easiest person for her to manipulate.
Before the kids could come to another disagreement, Arch and Raven appeared out of the room with the two strangers. Raven took one look at the children and excused herself, moving to consider all of them before smiling ruefully. "Well, I hope you all behaved yourselves," she laughed softly, knowing all too well from the faces of each child that they'd been arguing again. This was the general state of being for her kids, wasn't it? This arguing that meant they understood each other at least...
"Time to go, Jett, Immy."
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Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 8:03 pm
The dreamscape could be the most beautiful, dangerous fractal path if you knew how to navigate your way around it. Then again, if you knew how to navigate your way around it as well as Arch did, you didn't notice the beauty, you only saw what was before you. And Arch was getting--
Holy hell, what was going-- that dream was--
Grimacing, Arch turned to face the light at the edge of her vision. "Eri, I told you not to follow me here."
~i'm sorry, Mother. It's an emergency.~
Of course it was. That explained everything, like why Eri was risking her sanity, her life to be here. "What is it? And tell me quickly." Arch wanted her daughter out and now.
~It's Jerusha. She's in pain. The scratching you told me to watch, it's gotten worse.~
...damnit. How could things... she'd only just started her nightly rounds! But she couldn't ignore her child, her angel in need. Especially not if Eri thought it was this important. Eri was a good judge of these sorts of things, which meant it was important. And yet... there was still the job to do. "Give me a few minutes. Hold down the fort for me, Eri-love. Now go," Arch added the last as a plea, waiting until she saw the glow disappear before grimacing again. The kill would have to be fast... not subtle...
When Arch finally pulled herself out of the dream world and back into her physical body, she could feel that something was different in the air. Eri' felt tense, felt worried. Cece meanwhile seemed to be horribly unhappy but carried that same tinge of worry-- probably picked up from Eri. And J...
Pain. Fear. Frustration.
"J?" Arch called as she pulled on her robe, slipping off to the angel's room. "Sweetheart, what's going on?" she asked, glancing at Eri for some attempt to get her bearing on the situation, even though she knew Eri couldn't speak mind to mind in her physical form.
"Hurts," J sighed softly, turning to show her mother her back as she had for her sister to reveal the feathers on her back. It... felt strange. It hurt. It felt... bad. She was frustrated with this because it hurt and she was getting far too much attention where this was concerned.
...normally, Cece would've been annoyed. Normally, Cece would've been upset that the spotlight was being upstaged, especially by her normally reclusive cousin. But this obviously wasn't normal because J, the child who never ever ever wanted to take Cece's light, was in trouble. Hurting. That was the reason Cece sat quietly in Eri's arms, glancing at her cousin with big, green eyes wondering at her. She wanted to help, but she couldn't, could she?
"She's been trying to reach there for a while," Eri murmured to her mother after a moment. "It was starting to bleed." Which meant that something was more than just a little wrong. Eri knew her sister, knew that J never said anything without thinking about it, without paying attention to what was going on, and... this wasn't normal. She was complaining in a sense, but not because it was justified, not meaningless.
...oh, she was so not cut out for this. Arch wasn't good at taking care of pain in children. Causing it, sure. Taking care of it in adults she could sleep with, sure. Taking care of it in terms of causing pleasure instead of pain... but with her child? No. She'd sworn to herself to keep from using her gifts on-- but J had it in her... damnit! "Oh, sweetheart," Arch smiled slightly, pulling J into a gentle hug, running her fingers along the edges of the still forming wings. "How much does it hurt? How long has it been hurting?" She needed Raven.
"...enough. A while," Jerusha answered after a moment, leaning into her mother's touch. She wanted to just make it go away, she wanted it to stop hurting. After all... it wasn't supposed to last. Pain was here and then gone again.
Tugging at Eri, Cece motioned that she'd rather be next to J right now, snuggling up to her cousin when given the opportunity. She couldn't do much except try to ease her cousin's pain, her tiny hands trying to copy Aunty Arch's, running gently along Jerusha's shoulder blades where the wings were growing. Apparently there was something wrong here, the way J tried not to tense when a sensitive point was touched
Okay. She couldn't do this on her own. "Eri-darling, take care of them for a moment. I'm going to go make some calls..." Arch gave Eri a slightly apologetic look before slipping off to grab some tea and some hot clothes. ~Raven. I need your help.~
She'd been fiddling with her pendant, considering the strange, almost tooth-like shape of the thing. Originally, she'd felt like there was a purpose to her having it, another child on its way, and... that had been only added to by her meeting with those kids, but... it had been so long she'd almost forgotten about it, almost given up thinking of the possibility of the soul inside, but... at the same time-- damn. Echoing sound in her head meant Arch was getting herself into trouble again. ~What?~ Raven grimaced slightly.
Okay, so Raven was still mad. That didn't matter though-- Raven would never allow one of the children to be in pain. ~I need you to do that healing thing. For J. From where you are or over here. On her back. She has these... wings. They're growing in. And it's hurting her.~
If there was one thing that she couldn't turn down it was a family member, a child in need. Since J fit both of those qualities, it meant that Raven couldn't say no. "Arch, I hate you," Raven grimaced, wrapping her hand around the pendant, feeling it warm to her touch as she stood, moving to grab the picture of Jerusha before responding to the mental note. ~Fine. I'll do what I can as far as from away. When we meet this weekend, I'll take a look at it again if it hasn't gotten any better. I'll send her treatments everyday till then. You should give her your teas and your potions-- if you have any healing salve left, use that too. You know how to handle this, Arch,~ Raven reminded her sister gently.
...sanity. Thank the gods for Raven's ability to calm the situation. ~...thank you, Arch sighed softly across the link before closing it off, grabbing the teas and the potions with the last tub of salve she had. Tea. Potions. Salve. Treatments. This was handled.
Great...
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:55 pm
Sticky. That was the first word which came to mind when Jerusha ran her fingers along the feathers sprouting from her back. It felt strange because in all honesty, J never thought of herself as a sticky person. No, sticky was Cece with her need for attention, the way she clung. Sticky was Jett with his webs--
That's what it reminded her of. The webs. That...
Hah. Jerusha sighed as she lay on her stomach, flipping idly through her picture books. Mother said that there were things happening in the world which couldn't be explained through words, which meant J should look for clues from other points, which was why she'd been given this book, but... as much as that made sense, Jerusha didn't think she'd understand what Mother was trying to teach her until she knew more about human motivations.
For example, Cecelia and Imelda. They argued constantly when they were around each other, fought, but... at the same time, they obviously cared what the other thought because they always fished for those answers. It didn't seem to make sense. Or, perhaps the problem was, it made too much sense to everyone except for the strange pair. It wasn't really jealousy which hung between them, but more likely... more likely, it was a deep seated want to understand the other-- or perhaps understanding too well...
Maybe that was it. Maybe they were too similar. Maybe that's what caused their disagreements-- the fact that they saw in the other something they recognized in themselves... it didn't seem like too long of a shot. Mother always said that the person everyone loved and hated most was themselves. That would make sense then.
All these strange emotions floating around-- J didn't understand them. She didn't understand Mother's tension whenever the woman passed by the window to peer at the neighbor's house in the distance, didn't understand Eri's growing frustrations, didn't understand Cece's whining for attention--
"Thinkin' 'gain?" Cece asked as she crawled over to Jerusha, playing with the strange feathers on her cousin's back. J had gotten quieter-- if that was possible!-- since she'd started having problems with her back, with these strange feathers coming in. Since after Jerusha stopped complaining about the pain, she'd been mostly silent, which made Mommy and Aunty Arch edgy. It wasn't that weird for J to be quiet, but Cece understood, at least on some level, that there were silences and there were silences, ones which meant something different.
"...always," J smiled at the little girl, pulling her closer so her cousin wouldn't tease the still sensitive feathers. "What've you been up to? Thought Eri gave you crayons."
"Cwayons not fun 'nuff," the little elf pouted, snuggling up to J. "Wanna pway wif J." Jerusha was, without a doubt, one of the more interesting people to spend time with in the house. Partially because J was interested in spending time with her, J was interested in playing with her even when she was busy because... well, because J wasn't busy most of the time. That wasn't exactly true, but... it seemed to be true.
"'K then. We'll play," Jerusha smiled, pulling her cousin close. "Shinies?" she suggested.
Grinning, Cece nodded, watching J move to go grab some of the shining globes cousin Mekt made for them, and they began to toss them back and forth.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 2:53 pm
Taking a deep breath, Raven tried to steady herself. Things were going to be all right. Always. Things worked out for the best. In the end, what happened, happened. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. What goes around comes around. The law of Karma. The way of the world. Everything happened for a reason. She just had to keep repeating that to herself, and eventually the belief would follow, at least in theory. Everything had a purpose...
"Mother?" Hera murmured, breaking into Raven's thoughts. "Mother, are you all right?"
No. "Yes, dear," Raven managed after a moment, clutching the pendant around her neck with her right hand. In all honesty, she didn't know. The warmth of the pendant calmed her, the way it pulsed in time with the beating of her heart, as if it were trying to soothe her worries away with that gentle throbbing.
Liar, Hera thought to herself as she sat next to her mother. She wouldn't voice her opinion though, not with Mother so stressed and lost and scared. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Thank you, sweetheart, but no," Raven shook her head, taking a deep breath and trying to concentrate. What was going on with her? Things like this happened everyday-- why was she so upset by it? Glancing at the pendant, as if it could shed some light on the situation, Raven sighed softly to herself. There she went, expecting something from a necklace again... "Why don't you go check on your brothers and sisters for me, Hera?"
Gali chirped quietly, glancing at Hera about to argue. Not now, his eyes seemed to say, the little tone shaking his head gravely. Raven wasn't up to talking or dealing with her kids at all right now, and even if they wanted to help, they should realize that. Hera always did this from a spirit of good intention, but... sometimes there was something to be said for living and letting live.
Resisting the urge to argue, Hera rose and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, slipping out of the room to find her siblings. She didn't like this-- didn't like this at all. After all, Mother shouldn't be so... but she was soft-hearted. Trusting. Where her kids were mostly cynical, Raven was an optimist underneath her bold façade. Perhaps that was the problem.
Stopping in the hall to pick up the phone, Hera dialed her Aunt's number with as much alacrity as she could. Someone had to talk some sense into Mother. The most likely person, sadly, was also the one who'd argue with Raven the most-- but Arch had the benefit of understanding Raven more than Winter did.
"'llo~?"
"Cece?" Hera blinked, surprised for a moment. She hadn't realized the little girl was allowed to answer the phone-- not that anyone was likely to stop her, but... still. Strange. No one Cece's age had ever been allowed to answer the phone here.
"Hewa!" Cecelia grinned at the phone, laughing slightly. "Why oo cawwing?" she asked, considering her cousin's voice for a long moment. People in this family didn't usually talk on the phone. It wasn't the way things worked with this family. Other families, maybe, but not here. So why was Hera doing the weird thing with the phone and the dialing?
"Ah, Cece, is Aunty Arch there?" Hera shook her head after a moment, drawing herself back to the point at hand, rather than focusing on the strange fact of the little girl answering the phone.
"Aun'y iz'n hea. She wen' too take J some'ere," Cece explained after a moment, smiling sweetly even though she knew Hera couldn't see her. Hera was the voice in the phone. Not out here. But smiling was good, smiling meant happy and happy was good. Happy showed up in voices too. Which meant Hera could hear the smile, even if she wasn't seeing it.
"Oh..." Hera thought about this for a moment. Well... she couldn't very well leave the message with Cece, could she? The little girl was bound to forget or mix it up with something else-- that's just the way she was, no fault of her own. But then... this was important. "Is your Mom around?" It felt weird to call Eri a mom, but... that's who she was to Cece, wasn't she?
"Mommy sleepin'," Cece shrugged before remembering that Hera was only the voice in the phone, not here. "Not 'wake," she clarified a little. "Wan' me tell somefin?" Because Cece wanted to help! Helping was good. It made people happy when you helped them.
"No... that's all right, Cece," Hera decided after a moment. She'd have to take care of it on her own. "Just tell your Mom I called and that I'm looking forward to dinner this weekend, 'kay?"
"'Kay!" Cece grinned before hanging up the phone, watching it clatter to the floor before toddling off to see if her Mommy was still asleep.
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