|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:55 pm
"Ohh." Zack nodded slowly, watching the young girl greet Osha. Considering how happy they were to see each other, he could only assume they'd been friends before hand. Man, did he had a lot of catching up to do. He shrugged to himself before finding a good step to plant himself down on. No sense in hurrying Osha along if he was playing with his friend.
It was his purple friend, with the fuzzies and stuff. He grinned happily at Ina, quite pleased to see her after a while. He didn't expect the hug, however. The boy made a soft, shocked noise, but didn't make any attempt to get away. She wasn't hurting him, after all. Suddenly, a thought accord to the redhead. He grabbed the girl's arms and pulled her forward a few steps. He pointed at the black-haired man sitting next to Dacian.
"Zack," he said firmly. He pointed to himself. "Mine."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:01 pm
Ari heard the call and let out a breath. Oh thank god. Well, that was one way to nearly get a heart attack! She hurried up the stairs and looked rather relieved to see Ina there with Osha. Ohhh, good, she hadn't gotten into any trouble. "There you are," she murmured, letting her shouldrs slump a little, "Don't run off like that, Ina, it's not...safe!" And certainly not good for her sanity, noooo. She blinked violet eyes and looked at the unfamiliar figure. She wasn't sure who he was, but...he wasn't Osha's guardian. Or...not the one she had met. "Um...hello."
Ina giggled, "Ooooo, funny!" She pointed straight at the exasperated and tired looking woman who had just come up the stairs. "MINE!" she said in return, nodding her head sagely, "You got a daddy...aaaaand I got a mommy! Hehe!" She grinned, waving her lavender hand about.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:23 pm
While the children made their own version of the introductions, Dacian quickly made haste to explain; since Ari didn't live at the compound, she probably hadn't heard about what had happened...
"Oh - ah...Zack, this is Ari - Inanna's guardian. And Ari...Baniru left. Zack's taking care of Osha, now."
Just slightly awkwardly phrased. Honestly, why couldn't Ahneta handle telling people things like this? He never knew how to tell them! Hadrian certainly wouldn't do it, but...well.
Maybe it was him because Ahneta wouldn't feel one whit of sympathy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:51 pm
Osha giggles a little, smiling as Ina pointed out her mommy. He used to have a mommy. He wasn't sure where she went, but he was pretty sure she wasn't coming back. That was why he had Zack now, right? He nodded at Ina. "Pretty colors," he informed the girl, though he failed to specify which guardian he was speaking of. "Play?" He nodded towards his friend hopefully. He was supposed to show Zack around, but playing sounded like more fun.
Zack frowned as Osha pointed him out to the bouncy little girl. Did she just call him funny? He gave an indignant snort, almost unaware of the woman approaching. He offered the exhausted woman a half-wave, glancing over at Dacian as the mage spoke. Had to watch his lips, you know. He cringed. Oh. Yes. He was a replacement. This was a little awkward, wasn't it? He shifted his gaze back to Ari. Best make a good impression. He didn't want them to think giving him Osha had been a bad choice. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, offering his hand for a shake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:27 pm
A sad look flickered across Ari's face. Another one gone? Was that not the third guardian to up and leave? And this one was another friend of hers. It was very disheartening. "That's horrible," she murmured, her eyes matching her tone openly. But she quickly blinked, catching herself. She turned quickly to face Zack, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean you...just having someone leave, I mean." She reached out and took his hand with her small one, giving it a gentle shake, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Arianna. But as Dacian said, Ari's much easier."
"Yes!" Ina agreed right off the bat. Let the grown-up stand around and be boring. She was going to have fuuuuuun~! She bounced on her feet, her tail sweeping about like a broom as her ears perked excitedly, "Mommy has toys by car! We pway in the grass and twees?" Basically she thought it was oh-so much better to go play out in the open, not on these silly stairs where they grown-ups were busy talking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:54 pm
Relaxing slightly as the greetings between the two were fairly smooth, Dacian was once again in his more cheerful mood, grinning at the kids.
"I think those two are wanting to play...would you like to join me in giving Zack a tour, Ari? I can get Ismet to watch these guys."
They probably wouldn't want to follow the 'boring' grown-ups on a tour of a place they already knew, of course. So he'd just hunt Ismet down if Ari wanted to join them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:11 pm
Zack's face fell a little as he watched the first words cross Ari's lips. He forced a quick recovering. "Zackary. You'll find I only answer to Zack." He paused for a moment, the grin quickly taking over his face again. "And before you ask, yes, I know what you're saying with these on." He tapped the headphones; he might as well save himself the funny looks. 'Local Hero' was currently playing, he found himself a little troubled to pay attention; this was his favorite song.
Toys? Osha's intrest piqued, watching the girl bounce around like a rubber ball. He smiled. She was funny. He nodded happily, starting to climb down the stairs. Trees and grass sounded mighty fine, especially since his other option was to show Zack around the compounds with the other grown-ups. Ew. He motioned for Ina to come with him, wandering down the path from the direction Ina had come.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:36 pm
Ina bounced down the stairs after him, seeming an endless bundle of energy. And her tail never seemed to cease it's movement. "Yes, yes! Mommy brought toys...like balls and kites and fun stuff!" She jumped off the second stair and then spun around as she landed, giggling happily. She then skipped forward, heading down the path after him, "Wait, wait!" She laughed, hurrying after him. It was so wonderful to play with someone again!
"That's quite a talent," Ari said with a friendly smile, "I've never been able to read lips if my life depended on it, as pathetic as that sounds." She turned her head slightly to watch as the children left. Well...she supposed...she could let someone else watch them. She nodded, "I'd love to...of course, that is if you don't mind?" she turned her head to look at Zack. She certainly didn't want to invade his tour. He might not want some strange new woman hanging about.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:47 pm
"Just let me go get Ismet real quick, and then we can start the tour!"
And with that, Dacian left.
A little bit later, he returned, Ismet heading off towards where the children had gone. That snake boy hadn't had a very happy expression on his face, though...
"Alright, then! Where should we start?"
--
Ismet, as an appropriated babysitter, slouched along until he caught sight of the toddlers. The child was incredibly irritated with Dacian...he had been reading! He didn't want to deal with slobbery little diaper-fillers.
Or, well...they probably didn't wear diapers. But still.
Gloomily surveying them, he tried to keep out of sight; he recognized the purple one...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:05 pm
Zack couldn't help but be a little proud of himself. It had taken him years to master such a strange skill. Most people didn't appreciate it for what it was, found it disrespectful and whatnot. Zack...couldn't muster the will to care. It was their problem. Some people complained he couldn't hear their tone, and while this was true, he could still read body language. He stood, still watching Ari's lips. "S'fine with me." He nodded, watching the kids trot off. Don't go too far, Osha.
He watched the boy and the girl as he waited for Dacian to return, humming a tune to himself in the meantime. The child Dacian had with him was blue. Zack blinked. How...peculiar. And, what's more, he didn't look particularly happy to be here. Though, Zack supposed he wouldn't be thrilled if he had been pulled from his activity of choice to babysit kids. He glanced back at Dacian, just in time to see his mouth close. Oh darn. Best smile and nod then. T'was the universal answer.
Osha stopped as Ina cried for him to wait. Oops. He hadn't meant to leave her behind. He waited impaitiently, rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels as she trotted. He waved a come on as soon as she caught up, about to dart off towards her shiny toys when he caught sight of another child. He wasn't that hard to miss, being so blue amongst all the other colors. He blinked and glanced at Ina. He grabbed her sleeve, trying to catch her attention as he nodded towards the distant fellow. "Who 'dat?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:12 pm
Poor Ismet. Ari made note to relieve the child of the babysitting later. After all, it wasn't his job really...being a guardian, wasn't it hers? But she wasn't so eager to pass up a break, no matter how small. She nodded to Dacian, "Sounds good to me." She glanced over at Zack, "Um...is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go first? Not that I'm as much of an expert as Dacian." She had only learned the grounds because she came here with Ina frequently. It wasn't the same as living here.
Ina's ears twitched and she wirled around. She blinked her large, yellow eyes for a moment, standing still like a pointer before she squealed in delight. "ISMEEEEEEEEEET~!" She dashed over to the older boy, her tail trashing about happily. She might have only met him once, when she was very small, but she was very good at remembering things. And she certainly remembered liking him for some reason. She hugged the older child with a giggle, tugging at his arm, "ISMET ISMET!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:20 pm
"If you don't have a preference on where to start, we could do the gardens? There's always something new there, so even you might see some new things, Ari."
Dacian didn't have any problem calling Ismet to take care of the toddlers - he needed to be more social! So what if the snake boy had been glaring at him on the way over? He always did that.
If it was possible, Ismet's expression grew even more sour then before.
"Inanna."
Flat, grumpy, almost accusing: why couldn't she have just not noticed him?! Now there were two toddlers! He had't met the other one, but he had better not get mobbed by him too. One slobbery biter was enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:42 pm
Zack blinked, watching the conversation between Dacian and Ari. Lip-reading could be bloody hard work! It took the black-haired man a moment to realize the other man was speaking to him. "Oh, um, yes. Gardens. Sure." It didn't really matter to him, having never seen the place before. "So. Either of you know where Osha likes to hang out?"
...what was an Ismet? It took a moment for Osha to realize Ina had been speaking about the blue boy. Hey! Wait, where was she going?! The boy blinked before trotting after the wolf girl, not nearly as fast. He paused as they approaced. So. This was Ismet? He didn't look very happy to see them. He frowned thoughtfully. "Good blues."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:37 pm
Ari nodded, "Sure. The gardens were beautiful last time I saw them...I'd love to see them again." She knew a bit about plants and tended a small garden of her own, but she was certainly no expert. From what she remembered the ones here were far more impressive. "Mm..." she bit her lip thoughtfully at Zack's question, trying to remember what little she knew about the child, "I'm not really...sure...anywhere with color, I believe? He seemed to adore colors when I saw him last."
Ina bounced on the balls of her feet exitedly, her tail flailing back and forth. "Ismet play with us?" she chirped eagerly, staring at the blue boy with wide, hopeful eyes like a puppy. Well...she sorta was one in a sense. And she certainly didn't expect a no. The adults and other toddlers never said no, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 8:42 pm
"No."
Gazing grumpily down at Ina, Ismet briefly considered Osha. Good blues? Ahh, at least he wasn't drooling all over him; that was a plus in his favor.
His tone was cold, but the Soul had a nervous feeling towards what would happen if she got upset. What if she cried? She'd get him all soggy, and then he'd have to explain it to the adults...so he spoke up again, trying to come off as less mean.
"You play. I watch."
Dumbing down his sentence structure to match a toddler...the snake could feel his intelligence slipping away. Feh...if this is what happened after only a few moments with them, he dreaded to think what would happen if he had to spend much longer.
"Where he likes to hang out? Ahh, I'm not sure..."
Dacian began leading the two guardians towards the gardens at this point, trying to remember if Osha seemed especially fond of any one place, as they walked. Nothing came to mind, however.
"Try asking him - I really can't think of anything."
They entered the gardens then, and the mage swept his arm upward in a grandiose fashion.
"Welcome! I have it all seperated into various 'regions'; each one has a different theme. This is the rose theme~ different kinds of roses as far as the eye can see!"
And in different breeds, shapes, sizes...bushes, plants - anything imaginable (and some things beyond even that).
"Some of the species aren't native to Gaia, of course, so I had to do some tweaking with their DNA to get them to cooperate..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
