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 Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:10 pm
First Meetings Loremaster Catspaw A technician was seated on the rubber-matted floor of a small playroom. She glanced up at the clock every now and then, while jotting small notes on a clipboard and keeping an eye on the young child locked in with her. It was still early enough, but she kept tapping the thick file next to her in impatience. Louis fidgited with the hem of his shirt. He didn't like waiting around, especially when he didn't understand why. He flicked his long, thick tail a little and peered over at the woman beside him, trying to take a peek at her notes...even if he couldn't read them, surely there'd be some pretty pictures? Anne-stella was never late. This was a well known fact to her friends and relatives. So, bursting into the small room, almost ten minutes after the arranged time, hair flyaway and breathing heavily from running, was very unusual for her. She was almost certain she'd lost her chances right then and there. "I'm terribly sorry," She gasped, bowing kindly to the woman and child in turn, "I was held up in the most dreadful traffic," Louis sniffled and looked over the woman, recoiling away from her in fear. What an odd woman! Loremaster Catspaw The techie shrugged. "We've had worse. I take it you're.." she paused to check the clipboard "Miss Anne-Stella Arkensas?" The techie handed her the thick manilla folder labeled SNAKEFIN in large bolded letters. "Everything we know so far is in this folder. He answers to the name of Louis. Take it home and read it carefully."
She turned to the little boy and smiled gently. "Louis, this is Miss Arkensas. Be nice to her okay?" With that, she retreated to a chair in the far corner of the room with her clipboard and settled in to watch the meeting. Louis shuffled his feet and looked up at Anne shyly, swishing his tail slowly back and forward across the ground. This was the strange woman he was going with? She was odd, and hurried, and...well, he just didn't like it! Anne-stella, however, thought the young boy looked very sweet, and well-mannered. She moved closer to him slowly, tucking the folder under her arms and kneeling before him, she extended a well-manicured hand to him and smiled kindly. "Hello, sweet heart," She gushed, eyes sparkling with anticipation already. Louis looked at her hand incrediously. She wanted to touch him? After only just meeting him? He regarded her, now, as either incredibly stupid, or very kind. Most people were disgusted at the mere thought of touching Louis, let alone offering him their hand. He took her pointer finger in in tiny and hand shook it gently, recoiling his hand quickly and sticking it in his mouth. Loremaster Catspaw Frowning slightly, the techie tucked her hair behind her ear and scribbled something down on her clipboard as she browsed through another, thinner folder, containing everything that could be found on the prospective mentor.
Louis didn't seem to be taking to her very well, but on the bright side, he hadn't followed her back to her chair and hidden under it like the last two times. (And due to someone's lack of research, one possible mentor had been afraid of eels.) Louis peered back at the Techie nervously. He wasn't sure what to do next, since he'd never really gotten this far. Woman comes in to adopt. Right. Meet her. Okay. Then what? About now, he'd be a quivering lump of fear, and he honestly wasn't that scared this time. Anne smiled kindly, touching Louis' arm to bring his attention back to her, "Are you okay, honey? Can you talk?" She thought the question was a little silly, and also slightly rude, but it seemed fair enough, as, so far, Louis had not uttered a sound. Wincing back a little from her touch, Louis nodded slowly, "Mm, I talk..." He whispered, one hand behind his back, the other covering his tiny mouth to further muffle his small voice. Loremaster Catspaw She made an encouraging sort of motion when he looked back. So far so good. Oh! He was talking! The techie jotted down something and added punctuation with a decisive air. Louis had been hard to match up, and he'd had quite some time to get used to the techies and other Faction S staff. If he was talking already.. well, that was definatly a good thing.
Glancing through Miss Arkensas's history, she raised an eyebrow and made a mental note to visit one of her co-workers, who was recuperating in the technician dorms, and bring him an apology for braining him with a pistol, possibly along with a bowl of soup. Anne smiled kindly and sat down in front of Louis, motioning for him to do the same. If she was going to get to know this boy, they had to be on the same level, even if this strange rubber flooring wasn't all that comfortable. Louis plopped unceremoniously onto his bottom, fist still stuffed in his mouth. He swished his tail along the ground for the hell of it, and chewed on his hand, deep blue eyes watching Anne carefully. Anne took up the folder and flipped it open, skimming her talented eyes down Louis' stats. Loremaster Catspaw The techie checked the clock again and smiled at the pair. Again, so far so good. It had been nearly 15 minutes and he hadn't come running to her yet. She would give them an hour or until Louis lost interest. She flipped the page on her clipboard and penned in "Good match. Suggested enviroment testing for next visit. Pool?" Anne flipped through the photos and pages of information. There was so much to know about the boy, and so little time! He was already sitting right in front of her. Louis arched towards her a little, trying to read what she was reading. Was it an interesting book? He'd never really gotten to read many himself, except a tiny picture book full of animal pop-ups (which had nearly made him pass out with fear when he flicked the book open and a wide-mouthed crocodile had leaped out at him.) Loremaster Catspaw Her smile widened as she recalled the pop-up book incident, and continued writing energetically (although very very neatly). Well good. For a while after that, Louis had been frigtened of books altogether, but it looked like he was showing some interest in the thick file. Idly, she wondered if he could read; techies didn't bother testing for literacy. They left that up to the mentors and the Loremaster. It didn't matter anyway. According to Vygotsky's system, boys didn't need to start learning liguistics until the age of ten. Louis was estimated to be around five or six. He would be just fine. Quite suddenly, Louis pulled his hand out of his mouth and slapped the wet apendage down on the book, pointing to a sentance and asking, "Dat?"Anne jumped a little in suprise, but smiled kindly, "That's your birthday, honey," she took his hand gently and traced it over the letters and numbers, "See?" Louis lent forward, getting on his knees to see. He shook his head. The fact that the book appeared upside-down to him seemed to make no difference. "Nosee," He mumbled quietly, having stuck his other hand in his mouth. Loremaster Catspaw Technician L pulled an odd face when Louis prodded the files. Oh ick. In her opinon, paperwork and children (espcially male children and important paperwork) were never something that went together. Still, Louis appeared to be getting along quite well with Miss Arkensas; even better than some of the techies. She scribbled down a few more things and glanced at the clock again. 40 minutes had passed. Louis hiccuped a little, stuffing both hands in his mouth and watching the file intently, "Was' you read'n?" He asked, peeking over them again. Anne smiled at him and shut the file slowly, making sure not to startle him, or get any tiny fingers caught in the thick pages. "Just a book about you," She told him gently, showing him the photo clipped to the front. Louis screwed up his face and poked his tiny tounge out slightly. "Mus' not be very int'rstin'" He mumbled. Loremaster Catspaw One hour had passed. The Techie stood up slowly and called to Louis. "Okay kiddo, playtime is over now. Say good bye to Miss Arkensas so we can go take a nap." Striding over the collect the toddler, she gestured cordially at the prospective mentor. "Miss, the file is yours to keep. Faction S will contact you at a later date. Thank you for your time." Louis turned to the Techie, eyes welling with tears. Already? But! But! He'd just gotten to talk to the lady....he was reading....he was...just, no! Anne smiled to the techie, closing the file and tucking it under her arm. She nodded to them, "Thank you very much," and she turned to leave. Louis slumped on the ground, looking defeated. Loremaster Catspaw "Don't worry, you'll see her again. I'll make sure of it!" she cooed, patting the jumble of new notes on her clipboard. "Cheer up kiddo. How about we go swimming later?" She showed Anne-Stella to the door, then took Louis to by the hand and led him back to one of the communal playrooms.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 4:45 am
Anne-stella "Anne-stella Louise Arkensas."
This name was printed neatly in thin, curvy writing on the front of a book. The book was well-loved, though neat. One expected it to have been polished at some point in it's existance. Tiny pink tabs poked out from the pages, as makers, each labelled in similar writing. Next to this book is a mug. One of those cheap, plastic ones, with a silly picture stuck onto them. Though, where one would expect an adorable image of a kitten, rolling in wool, there was a horrible depiction of the ancient beast of the bible, the Leviathan, jaws open wide, sea thrashing beneath him. Both of these objects were placed neatly beside a faux-ivory ballpoint pen, on a black-laquored wooden desk. There was a thin, silver desklamp, and a tin of finely-sharpened pencils.
A woman, clothed in a fine green dress, shoulders shrouded in a small white button up jumper, moved to the desk, seating herself in the familiar position. The chair was leather, and tall-backed, the kind with wheels.
She reached down a manecured hand and lifted the pen into her thin fingers, flipping open the book with a flick. She skimmed through several pages, until she found the one she wanted. Lifting the pen, she jotted down three words,
"Second appointment tomorrow." Louis That night, once Louis had been fed, cleaned and dressed for bed, he was thinking. A tiny hand was being chewed upon slowly, as though the owner of both the mouth and the hand was in deep thought. Louis was sucking three of his fingers, sitting up in bed with his head bowed. For a child of six, such deep thought was strange...but nowhere near as strange, and possibly disturbing, as what the young eel-child was thinking of.
Was mommy that pretty? He wondered to himself, recalling miss Anne's smiling face. I can't remember. Daddy hurt her so long ago, I don't even remember her voice...
The innocence all children posses can be so easily torn from them. The night Louis' father cut his mother's throat over the dinner table is something that will never leave the boy...even if he was only two at the time.
I wonder...I wonder if this time will be different? Louis asked himself, laying down in his bed and curling up into the covers. I wonder if this time...they'll want me? He shut his eyes, willing for sleep to come. He knew it would be hours before he'd relax at last.
No child should have to feel this way.
He shivered a little, pulling his blankets tighter around himself. I wish...I wasn't different. He silently prayed, I wish I was like all those kids everyone loves...
As much as Faction S catered for his every childhood need, there was something they could never give him. Something they tried so desperately for...
...hope.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:25 pm
Opposites attract...or so they say (Caleb + Louis) Riordan Caleb was being rewarded once again. This time with a different playmate, he'd been told. The boy hoped that this time it would be another boy. While the fish girl had been fun, boys were obviously so much better. So Goldfur entered the room, peering about to see if his playmate had arrived yet. Louis disliked being touched. He disliked it especially when he was grabbed by the hand and led into a room, instructed to sit and then abandoned with a strange fuzzy boy. Louis kept his deep blue eyes fixated firmly on the matted floor in front of him, cheeks flushed red and tail swishing back and forth anxiously. He disliked, also, the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him the boy across the room would want to touch him and talk to him. He shut his eyes tight, feeling tears well up, waiting to be taken back out of the room with all desperate hope. Riordan Unfortunately for Louis, Caleb didn't know the meaning of personal space. Luckily, the boy didn't touch the other kid right away, instead just running up to peer at Louis. "Why you sad?" There was no reason for the kid to be sad, right? "You hurt?" Which was about the only thing Caleb knew of that would make him cry. Though thinking about being outside would make him a bit sad sometimes. Louis gasped in fear at the sudden closeness, jumping to his feet and taking a good few steps back. "Not hurt," He whispered, blinking back his tears in embarassment. In all honesty, he would have rathered to play with his lady-friend Anne then be with the inquisitive dog-boy. He disliked people his own age. At least the nice lady had sense and looked tall and safe. Riordan Caleb frowned as the kid jumped up and backed away. "Oh. Wanna play?" In the boy's mind, if Louis wasn't hurt, then there was no reason not to be playing instead! "Cars?" The kid asked as he headed for the toy shelf and found the toy cars. His personal favorite toy, other than a ball, so surely this other boy would like them too. Right? Louis didn't want to admit it, but as far as he was concerened, water-proof toy cars were the greatest invention in the world. They floated, they sank, they were fun to throw into a pool and dive in after...but no such water-source existed in the tiny playroom. He shook his head slowly, not moving an inch. His tiny hands were clenched in fear and his cheeks had flushed red from being so jumpy in front of the boy. He didn't want to come across as a fraidy-cat, as much as he disliked his company. Riordan Caleb shrugged and looked around on the shelf some more. He scorned the dolls and moved on towards the blocks. "Blocks?" He pointed to the large, brightly colored, cardboard blocks on the shelf. The girl had played with the blocks with him. Louis eyed the sharp corners of the blocks anxiously, and shook his head again, taking a few tentave steps towards the shelf. Plucking down his favorite toy, a stuffed doll with cat ears, he clutched it to himself and sat down. "Dolly," He whispered, look up at Caleb with serious ocean blue eyes. Riordan Caleb blinked at the boy for a long moment. This kid actually liked the dolls? What kind of boy was this!? The canine boy gave a short of shrug and dug about in the dolls to find something that wasn't shoved in a dress. Ah, this one was naked. Which meant it was better than some frilly pink thing. Louis' eyes widened at the sight of the rude toy. He gasped and covered the tiny button eyes of the doll in his hands, then squeezed his own eyes shut. "It's not wearing nothing!" He breathed, eyes firmly closed. Riordan Caleb was startled by the boy's reaction to the naked doll. "Oh..." He dug around in the doll bin some more to try and find an outfit for his doll that wasn't overly girly. After struggling for a few long minutes, he finally managed to get it on the toy. "Dressed now." Louis chanced a single open eye, then both once he was pleased with the sight that greeted him. The now fuly clothed doll was less of an insult to his vision, and he nodded. A tiny smile perked at the corner of his lips, and he lifted the cat-eared doll to Caleb's face. "Her name is Anastasia," He whispered, serious look entirely fastened back onto his tiny face. He wriggled the doll a little, for emphasis. Riordan Wait? Now he had to name the doll? Caleb wrinkled his nose. "Uh... she's Sally," he said, giving the doll the first girl name that popped into his head. He put the doll down so that her feet touched the floor and made her walk over towards the other doll. "Hi." Louis retracted his hand and stared down at the doll which had, apperantly, walked of it's own accord. He brought his eyes back up to Caleb's and searched them for a moment. "You're silly," He decided quietly, laying Anastasia down on the ground. "Dollies are dead. They're my friends, though." Clearly convinced this was true, Louis ran a gentle, slimy finger over the cat-eared-doll's forehead. "Anastasia's mommy killed her. What about Sally?" His eyes became sombre as he stroked the cloth creation, watching her motionlessness like a mourning friend. Riordan "Oh." Dead? The dolls were dead? Caleb let the doll fall over to lay upon the ground. "Uh... Sally got shot by policemens when they was trying to shoot a bad man." The boy watched as Louis stroked his doll. Louis nodded sadly. His eyes trailed up and down the doll's body for a moment before he decided that it needed another hug. He lifted it into his arms and squeezed tight. He shut his eyes tight and whispered something to the doll, before looking back to Caleb. "Are you lonely?" He breathed, trailing his eyes over every feature of the canine face before him. The new boy was much more fascinating up close. His skin was much different to Louis' own, and he saw that he was also much drier. Suddenly taken with interest, he reached a hand forward to touch the skin he had been observing, on Caleb's right cheek. Riordan Caleb blinked at the question, then shrugged. He'd not thought about it much, really. He'd been thinking just about getting back to what he called home and the gang he'd grown up with as far back as he could remember. "Are you?" Why else would the boy ask him that? The canine boy didn't mind Louis touching his cheek and reached out to gently touch the side fins that the eel boy had. Louis withdrew a little, but allowed the touch to continue. He drew back is hand to his lap and picked up Anastasia again. He thought about the question for a moment, then nodded solemnly. He was lonely, and admitedly not many people wanted to befrend a whispering eel child. Louis whipped his thick, sickly green tail around into reach of Caleb, blushing lightly and lowering his eyes. The fins on his arms and legs were flimsy and sensitive. He wasn't sure he trusted those sharp, dry fingers of the other boy with them. He was more comfortable with his tail. Riordan Caleb patted Louis' arm, grinning as the boy's tail came closer to his own reach. He turned his attention towards it. "Slimy." He commented, wagging his own furry tail a bit. It felt different than his own tail. Louis nodded sadly. He didn't like being a horrible monster of wet and slime, but it was impossible to deny. Hugging Anastasia tight, he looked up at the shelf of toys, seeing if he could find another friend for the two dolls the boys had gotten down. Riordan Caleb began to fidget. He usually didn't like to sit still for so long. And this boy was just strange. The canine boy looked around on the shelf for something else to play with, perhaps. Dolls that were dead weren't very fun. Louis shuffled himself around and climbed to his feet. "Let's build a city," He suggested softly, turning his eyes up to all the hundred of oppertunities on the shelf. "It can be for dogs too." He added, intent, now, on making his strange new friend happy. Riordan "Okay!" Caleb's tail wagged as the boy liked this new idea. A city. For dogs too? The boy was confused by that comment. What city wasn't for dogs? There were always stray dogs around the city. Caleb shrugged off his confusion to follow Louis in building their city. Louis stood on tippy-toe to drag down boxes and boxes filled with trinkets to contsruct their new city. Tipping them out on the floor, getting a good few things slimy as they hit his feet. Plopping his tiny backside down, Louis prompty began to set up the town square, sorting dolls and toy houses with plastic food stalls and blocks. He pushed things around, sorting carefully and preciscely. Riordan Caleb took some of the various items that had been dumped out of their boxes by Louis to start helping build their city. He worked on setting up a few houses and a bank, placing Sally in one of the houses and a few dolls in the others. Finally, he put one doll outside of the houses. That one lived on the streets. Louis glanced over, wide-eyed. "How come that dolly is outside...?" He whispered, clutching Anastasia closely. He thought maybe it was night time in their city, and wondered if the dolly was just out fetching dinner? "This place is for doggies," Louis declared softly, pointing to a small park he had set up, consisting of blue and green felt, and plastic trees. Riordan Caleb looked up from another house he was building to look at the doll. "That one doesn't have a home..." He told Louis, then peered over at the park area. "For doggies?" He looked around to find some doggies to put in the park. Louis nodded happily, prodding a few little toys around into the right places. He looked quite pleased with their joint effort, sat back, admiring the tiny, lop-sided, mismatching town the two had built. "All done?" He checked with Caleb, touching his furry friend's arm. He didn't want to admit it, but they probably had to go back to their rooms soon...or maybe in for tests...or, (Louis perked up a little at the thought,) see their possible mentors. Riordan Caleb pointed matter-of-factly at the doll outside of the houses. "On streets," he stated. That was where he'd lived when he'd had no mommy or daddy. At least until those mean people took him to that awful orphanage. The boy looked up as the door opened and a couple of techs came in. "Okay, boys. Play time's over. Time to go eat lunch!" Caleb cheered up at the thought of food. Tail wagging, he started to head out the door. "Tell your friend bye, Caleb." "Bye," Caleb dutifully repeated, waving back at Louis. Louis raised his hand sadly, wriggling his tiny pudgey fingers at his new friend. Lunch did sound good, but... He turned to look over their city again. Would it be safe while the two were away? Would the dollies and the other townsfolk live in harmony without their masters? Louis was saddened at the thought, but brightened greatly, knowing that soon he would be able to see his friend, miss Anne. Until they met again, Louis knew he'd miss the puppy dog and his silly ways, but for now...he was content.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:32 pm
Second Meetings CatCry Technician L sat on a white plastic chair near the edge of a long swimming trough in one of Faction S's mini terrein rooms, flashlight dangling from a strap on her wrist. The lights had been dimmed to Louis's preferred level, and she could see his dark sillouette moving against the soft greenish lights around the edge. The trough was aproximately 14 feet long and six feet wide. The depth could be adjusted by adding or removing sand from the bottom, and it was currently set at a gradient from 2 feet to 4.5 feet at maximum. An oxygenator hummed and bubbled quietly at one corner of the trough. Other than that and Louis' splashing, there was no other sound in the room. Louis ducked his head under the water, eyes narrowed and searching dismaly. The bottom was clear of any fun toys. He huffed on the water through his gills and floated to the bottom, curling into a little ball and leaving one eye open. Anne-stella was in a trim bathing suit, holding a towel and a small plastic toy she had brought from a novelty store on the way to the building. She moved in cautiously, hoping she was in the right place. "Hello?" She asked softly, smiling to the familiar Technician. CatCry Technician L rose to greet her, her footsteps echoing off the tiles in the small room. "I trust you read the file." she said by way of greeting. "This room has been set to 10 degrees centigrade. A bit chilly for you and I, but comfortable for Louis. The water is no deeper than 4.5 feet." L's brusque manner was by no means a facade. She was simply a very bussinesslike, very impatient person, at least when it came to adults. "This is actually a training pool, but the current is turned off right now. Normally there would be a lifeguard present, but I felt sure that you would not drown in water you could stand in, Miss Arkensas." The implication was clear. Louis, of course, could not drown even if he tried. However, if the mentor candidate couldn't handle herself in the water, well, Techie L was back to square one plus minor lawsuits. Anne-stella nodded. "Of course," She smiled, "Plenty of times. The room is fine," She placed the towel on the ground delicately and moved over to the pool, peering in and looking for Louis. Louis sighed heavily, causing multiple bubbles to gush out of his mouth and burst on the surface. Anne saw this and smiled, dipping her hand into the water and waving in Louis' direction. CatCry Techie L nodded in approval as the potential mentor approached the water. She returned to her plastic chair with writing utensil in hand, but she wasn't taking many notes this time. The second visit was only a safety check. If all went well today, subject Snakefin would be permenatly assigned and L would no longer have any direct contact with him. Her job was only to place them with mentors. Other technicians would take over from there. Anne nodded slowly and smiled again, sliding her legs slowly into the water. Her feet slipped a little on the bottom, but she regained composure quickly. Sliding a pair of goggles and a snorkle onto her head, Anne ducked under the water, waving a gentle hand at Louis. Louis glanced up, and his eyes widened. My god! There was a human in his water! With a swift flick of his thick tail, he rushed up to meet Anne, stopping himself a few inches from her and floating idly in front of her. Slowly, cautiously, he raised a tiny, finned arm and wiggled his pudgy fingers at her in 'hello'. CatCry Ah! Louis was initiating contact. That was unusual, and probably very positive. It was an indication that the candidate felt comfortable with his new mentor, which in turn was an indication that the visit was off to a good start. She checked an item off her list of requirements and resumed watching the meeting as she twirled her pen around her thumb. Anne breathed steadily through her snorkle, waving in return to him. Deep motherly instincts stirred, and she had the urge to pluck him out of the water and get him warm and dry, safe from drowning, but ressisted, knowing this was where he was safest. Reaching a hand toward him, she suggested a small handshake nonverbally. Louis regarded her hand as a wild animal regards first contact. His deep blue eyes narrowed for a moment, but his childish inquisitiveness took over. His hand floated towards hers, and they touched. He gasped a little, bubbles issuing from his mouth and nose in shock, but retained the position. Anne watched through her thick, plastic goggles, entranced by his cautious movements and natural insinct. Their hands pressed together, his tiny, pale palm against her perfectly formed, thin secretary hands. They say, under water, time slowls down. CatCry Kodak Moment! This wasn't on the list of requirements, but she made a note of it anyway, wishing that she had a camera. The eerie glow of the pool lights added to the otherwordly effect, or maybe it was just Louis. On land, he was awkward and shy at best, but like many children with water-based traits, especially those with waterbreathing, he seemed like a completely different being when submerged in his own subsurface world. Louis stared blankly at their joined hands for a moment, considering options in his mind. He opened his mouth, bubbles issuing forth, and tried to communicate a small 'hello'. Anne tilted her head to one side, not fully understanding the small boy's action. She pointed towards the surface, indicating for Louis to bring his green-and-blue haired head above water. As though in demonstration, she popped up first, still gently touching Louis' hand. Louis took a small moment to register, but eventually broke the surface with his head, only up to his eyes admittedly, but it was good enough. The afore-mentioned eyes oggled up at Anne-stella, unblinkingly and awaiting a response. Anne, however, merely removed her snorkle and smiled gently to him, wrapping her hand around his tiny wrist and nodding to him reassuringly. Turning to grab up the toy she had brought in, she turned again, slightly, to face the Techie, and called over to them, "Terribly sorry to disturb you, but...does Louis have anything to play with, in here?" She turned back to the staring pare of ocean-blue eyes for a moment, then turned back to the Techie again. "Oh, and, I'm aweful at keeping time...how long have I left here?" CatCry L silently indicated the blue rubbermaid container in the corner of the room, trying to interfere as little as possible, espcially now that Louis had surfaced. "You have two hours and 47 minutes." she stated simply, glancing at her thankfully waterproof watch. Louis peered at Anne, head tilted to one side, then turned on his head and doves back under the water. Anne, shocked, peered down. Louis appeared to be searching for something under the water, swishing and swimming this way and that. Eventually, he researficed, smiling shyly. "What have you got?" Anne sked, peering forwards. Louis shook his head, hands behind his back. " Found yer watch," He whispered, holding out the dripping wet, now useless, object to Anne. Anne nodded, eyes wide. "Thank you!" " Fer the time." Louis urged, nodding to it. She'd wanted the time, hadn't she? Anne's eyes widened even more. This boy was surely observant, and very clever, she decdied. CatCry Had Techie L been a less severe person, she would have smiled at Louis's simple delight in fetching the watch. Deciding that it might be best if they weren't interrupted, she stood up and dragged the blue rubbermaid containter over to the corner of the pool. After prying off the lid, she tossed a few sinking rings into the water for them to play with. Louis perked up at the familiar objects, insantly diving down, flicking his tail this way and that to direct himself. He scooped up each of the items and surfaced, holding them out to Anne. Anne withdrew slightly, eyes wide with surprise. She hadn't expected him to return to her so willingly, but gladly accepted the rubbermaids as he pushed them into her hands. She flicked her wrist and distrubuted the rings around the water again, watching with a smile as Louis ducked under again to retrive them. Loremaster Catspaw L observed the game of underwater fetch distantly. The greenish lights of the pool made the entire scene seem a little out of place, but Louis probably would not have liked the more beachlike setting of one of the terrain rooms, nor was she willing to let him loose in the swamp. She checked her watch again. One hour had passed. Louis came up again, floating away from Anne and waving the rubbermaids at her. "You fetch 'dem?" He asked, a tiny shy smile perking at his pale lips. Anne couldn't help but laugh a little, checking her watch and nodding. "Yeah, sure sweety. Give them a throw!" She stuffed the snorkle into her mouth and readied herself, smiling at how quickly the little boy had warmed up to her. Louis reached a tiny arm back and pelted the rubbermaid as hard as he could. It was (what could be called) airborne for a moment, then fell with a plop into the ar end of the pool. Anne smiled at him before turning to swim to the other end, diving down to find the silly toy. Unfortunately, it was dark under there, and she wasn't nearly as adept as Louis. She searched for a moment with her hands before surfacing and pulling her goggles up, holding up the object triumphantly. Louis clapped and threw another. CatCry Techie L watched the two way game of fetch peaceably. She marked down something on her checklist or flipped the clipboard over to record something in the extraneous notes that would someday be added to the multitudes of files kept on every person that ever came into contact with Faction S. L glanced at her watch again. Another hour had passed. Bringing a handfull of the rubbery items back to the surface, Anne shook her hair out and glanced over to the techie. "Excuse me? I was just wondering how long we have left?" She asked in her most polite tone. Louis surfeced just barely beside her, only his eyes peeking out under his shimmering blue and green hair. Loremaster Catspaw L thumbed through her list before answering, making sure that what she marked down was indeed correct.
"The clock says you have twenty minutes left, but you've met the criteria for a suitable mentor. " she said as she calmly retrieved a towel from another blue plastic bin and set it on her chair. "However, nobody else is schedualed to use this room for at least another few hours so you two can stay in here and play if you like. Once you are dry.." The emphasis on the word left no doubt that Techie L did NOT like water stains on her documents. "..come back to the reception room and we can go through the paperwork." Thinking it over for a moment, while climbing out of the pool, Anne greatfully accepted the towel. "I do not think we should mess around for much longer. Louis is young, and I don't want him getting over-tired." Louis clambered out of the pool and glared slightly at the towel, before withdrawing and sucking his thumb. Anne took the second towel and draped it over the slimy little boys shoulders, patting him on the back. "Go on, get dry," She informed him gently. Loremaster Catspaw As she waited, Techie L thumbed through her notes again. The paperwork was already neatly laid out in thick packets with red stickytabs marking the pages that needed to be signed. Medical waivers, terms of care, and the rest. Sometimes, she really hated paperwork, but the techies in the Legal Dept. deemed it necessary. She sighed resignedly. The techies in the Legal Dept. never had to actually work with the kids or the Crafters. Little did they know. Rubbing the towel through Louis' soaking hair, Anne smiled down at him. He sure was a sweet boy, dispite his obvious differences to normal children. Louis grumbled and tried to scramble away, but Anne wouldn't have it. He may enjoy being wet, but she certainly knew how quickly children at this age caught colds. "Stop squirming, mister," She told him firmly, wrapping the towel around his shoulders tight. "Hold onto this while I get dry." Clinging to the towel around himself, Louis watched Anne get as dry as possible with his bottom lip sticking out in a pout. It didn't take long before Anne was mostly dry, and assured not to drip on anything. "Let's go, then, hm?" Anne told Louis, touching his cheek. "Now, where was I ment to sign the paperwork...?" CatCry At that precise moment, a random Techie stuck his head into the doorway, rapping sharply on the wall to get Anne's attention.
"Hey, Snakefin or whoever you are, I think Miss L wants you in the Reception Room down the hall. She's been muttering and looking at her watch for the past fifteen minutes or so. Do us all a favor and show up before she gets too mad or the rest of the department's gonna catch hell!"
With a click, he shut the door behind him and was gone. Anne gasped a little, "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry!" She yelped, dashing out the door, pulling Louis by the hand, "Goodness, I didn't know it took us so long to get dry. Louis?" Louis, trailing behind, skittered with his wet feet on the slippery tiles and clung to Anne's hand and the towel around his shoulders. He couldn't help but giggle a little at the lady's hurried attitude all of a sudden, but stiffeled it in his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Anne repeated, as she came to a stop in front of the Techie. Louis covered his mouth again and pretended to be coughing. CatCry L was indeed muttering angrily as she jabbed at the keyboard, but it had nothing to do with Louis Snakefin. In fact, she was fuming over how the techies in her department had failed yet again to track down a new pair of likely handler candidates roaming the streets nearby, and not bothered to submit a detailed report. What was she going to give the Research Department now?! Those reports were the only thing they had to go by and without them, they were no closer and maybe a little further from capturing the elusive twins than before the trial. She looked up, slightly disoriented by Anne's apology, but caught herself and indicated the thick stacks of paperwork on the counter.
"The pages with the red tabs, please. That pile is your copy of the legal agreements. Sign on the highlighted lines." Anne smiled apologetically and quickly signed on all the spaces. "Is that all, then?" Louis fidgited a little, peering around anxiously. He wanted to go back in the water. Loremaster Catspaw "Yes, that's all the paperwork for now. You are now an authorized legal guardian of Louis Snakefin. However, we'd like to discuss living arrangements. FactS tries to look for mentors who are willing to take the mentorees to live with them, as we feel that they get better parenting that way, but if you prefer, we can continue to lodge Louis here and have you visit him on a daily basis. Which would you rather do?" L recited as she continued to type. Legalities, legalities. Just what was their problem anyway? "Oh, I have plenty of room at home!" Anne said lightly, "I'd be quite happy for Louis to come live with me." She rested a gentle hand on Louis' shoulder, protectively. Just thinking about letting such a shy little boy grow up in any environment but a one-on-one home environment made her shudder with parental instinct. Louis, meanwhile, had occupied himself with chewing off his water-weakened nails. He hated having long nails more than he hated being dry.
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Loremaster Catspaw Captain
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 6:39 pm
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:25 am
[ FACTION S OFFICIAL TERMS OF NOTICE ] To: Ms. Anne-Stella Arkensas From: TechieL-15@FactionSsecretorial.org CC: TechieL-15@FactionSarchival.org Subject: SNAKEFIN The subject SNAKEFIN has been selected to be paired with a chimera. However, before the assignment can be confirmed, we would like to confirm the subject's condition. In your reply, please report on the subject's mental and physical state as well as habits, style of dress, and any other behaviors you may have observed.
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Loremaster Catspaw Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:06 am
To: TechieL-15@FactionSsecretorial.org
From: ? (address not specified. Invalid mode)
Subject: RE: SNAKEFIN
In light of the message I received from you, I have been compiling information based on observations since he have been brought home.
He seems to have become much more reclusive since being introduced into a new environment. He hugs his tail a lot, like somewhat of a security blanket, and has taken to sucking his fingers again.
His clothes were self-chosen, and his favorite consists of a loose-fitting charcoal-grey hoodie and grey three-quarter shorts. His refuses to wear shoes, but owns a pair of socks which I have to wash while he's sleeping; his candy-striped cotton socks. he's recently had most of his hair cut, but his fringe was left, for comfort sake, as he seems to appreciate hiding behind it.
As of now, this is as much as I have noticed. I hope this helps.
~Anne-Stella.
[OOC: Umm, I couldn't think of an email for Anne. I hope that okay?]
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:03 pm
Anne-stella "-quiet, well adjusted and considerably content." Anne said to herself out loud as she finished writing in her journal for the night. It had been quiet a while since she'd written anything about herself, she realized with a small smile. All of her entries lately had been quiet little ramblings about her adoptive son, Louis.
Flipping back a couple of pages, Anne read quietly to herself. "Though he didn't need to be toilet-trained, he was quite petrified of the flushing noise our toilet makes. He had to be gently convinced that the toilet wasn't dangerous, and shown that the 'roaring' was simply the water being sucked down the drain." She laughed quietly as she recalled that day, and flipped over to another page.
"We washed Banni. Though that sounds rather un-exciting, the way Louis sat with his eyes glued to the drier watching Banni go around and around, was entertainment in itself. I haven't worried about taking the toy off him yet. He'll decide he's too big for her when he decides he's too big for her." Ahh, yes she remembered that day too. Since coming home, Louis had grown very attached to the small baby's toy dubbed 'Banni', and though Anne knew of one or two of her friends that would express concern for his attachment to the toy, she had little worries for him. He seemed like a boy who would grow out of it in his own time.
Closing the book, Anne switched off the desk lamp and smiled fondly. Up until Louis, her life had always been missing just that little something. Now that she'd found Louis, she felt complete. Louis Snuggling down further into his heavily blanketed bed, hugging Banni close to himself, Louis quietly recalled All that had come to pass in the last few weeks. It seemed like just yesterday that Miss Anne had come to visit him, and he learned he was going home with her. Since then he had become to used to living at home with her that he couldn't imagine it any other way.
Tiring memories of his old life were pushed out of his mind, replaced by countless happy and comforting memories that Miss Anne had given him.
Early on, he'd felt it was too much to ask for attention and care from her, but he soon learnt that he got what little things he wanted, and got more attention then he could even ask for. Being the only other person in the house with Anne was a key factor in the amount of attention and things he got, but he was all to aware that Miss Anne could easily be spending her time and money on other, more important things.
When he asked her about this, he was told plain and simply that he was the most important thing in Miss Anne's life.
And he was happy for it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:43 pm
Basic Chimera Info Class What is a chimera? Umm, it's some sort of animal or something like that which can help you be stronger and smarter and better at things. They help you do things, too, like find stuff I think.
What do you want to be able to do with your chimera? I wanna be able to swim with it for ages and ages. Maybe we could even go exploring on the bottom of the deep pool, or even the real ocean! It would protect me from sharks and that sort of thing, I hope.
What type do you think your chimera will be (and why)? I'd want to have the swimming kind. A leviathan I think it's called. Then we could swim together all the time...
What magical things sometimes happen to you? When it's really dark I can see okay like normal, and everyone else just stumbles around not seeing well. I can breathe water, too, and swim really well. I don't know if it's magic, but I also don't know many people who can do what I can.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:50 pm
Aolou CatCry The tip his cigarette flared red when N inhaled, sending a wave of nicotine and various other poisons gushing through his lungs and into his bloodstream. He exhaled slowly, relishing the flavor of burning paper, or burning anything really. N wouldn't call himself addicted, he just liked the fire.
Luckily, the lab was mostly empty today. Since the chimera's growth pods were sealed off from the environment, his bad habits wouldn't affect them in the least. So he was free to smoke and contemplate his creations. In particular, he was contemplating SNAKEFIN, a leviathan type, whose future handler was going to pay a visit today. Neatly dressed, shirt tucked into his pants, Louis hurried along beside Anne as they walked down the hallway of Faction S, scurrying quickly to keep up with Anne's long strides. He may have grown since the two were first paired as parent and child, handler and mentor, but his little legs could still not keep up with her. They reached the designated door quickly, having been instructed of it's location, and Anne knocked twice, loudly, to alert the man inside of their arrival. "Excited?" She asked, smiling kindly down at Louis. Louis looked up, blushing shyly. "I think...I hope so."Loremaster Catspaw When he heard a loud rapping on the door, N inhaled one last time, and put out the cigarette. So the little brat was here already. He strode across the room and opened the door, a frown deepening across his face. This was SNAKEFIN's future handler? The kid looked like he'd be eaten alive if it weren't for the bond.
N was a little surprised at the manifestation of traits to say the least. He's expected something a little..fiercer, or at least resembling SNAKEFIN a bit more. Perhaps it was the kid's nervous posture. Oh well, it wasn't as if he had a choice.
"Wipe your feet on the mat." he grunted, retreating back into the lab. Louis scuffed his feet on the mat, then hurried inside. He coughed a little, his sensitive gills being stung slightly by the toxins in the air. A nice long swim later suddenly seemed like such a good idea... Anne stepped forward too, offering a hand to N's retreating back. "Um, I'm..." She watched him walk off, a little perturbed but not deterred. "I'm Anne-stella. Louis' guardian, uh...mentor, I think it is? We're here for the..." She pulled a small scrap of paper from her pocket and read it over quickly. "The Chimera visit?" CatCry "Yes, you are. SNAKEFIN's tank is the fifth door on the right." he said as he walked, barely pausing to acknowledge them. "SNAKEFIN is a deepwater leviathan. When he is independently functional, I estimate that he should be about six feet long, although I don't know how big he'll be at maturity. Most likely, he will keep growing throughout his entire life. He has been equipped with a set of collapsible lungs and a chambered pressurizing system. When you go through training, you'll have to learn a pressure spell or you'll get squashed when you dive with him. Since he's not very mobile, I suggest you move to the FactS dorms. Someone will set you up with a flume connected to the underground lake.
SNAKEFIN has a rather peculiarly shaped head for deepwater leviathans. It's streamlined with functional teeth. The large and elastic stomach is usual, as are the trailing transparent fins equipped with nematocysts. If we got it right, they should recognize your electrical signal as part of the body and not fire when you touch them. If not, you're in for a lot of pain, kid."
He pushed the door open and checked the monitor in front of the third tank. Louis hurried along behind him, desperately taking in everything he was saying. Since first hearing about having his own animalian counterpart to swim and play with, he was beyond excited...he was ecstatic. But it was suggested he moved back to the Faction? "You mean I can't live with Anne?" Louis stammered, his protest quickly being overrun by more information about his chimera. "Six feet long..." Anne whispered to herself, biting her bottom lip anxiously. If the thing continued to grow from there, it would be somewhat of a...well, a dinosaur! A stinging, biting, deep sea dinosaur! This all seemed like such a dangerous thing to be pairing up with such a little, weak boy like Louis. "Can I name him?" Louis piped up suddenly, standing unusually tall and strong. CatCry N only shrugged, still flicking through the charts on the monitor. He raised an eyebrow when he saw large waves pass through the normally inactive cerebral monitor.
"I suppose your mentor can come with you, but you're really not going to want to be separated from SNAKEFIN. The distance varies for each pair, anywhere from twenty feet to two miles, but it'll hurt to pull too far apart.
Look at this kid. See those big blips in the line? I think he knows you're here." he said with a smile. "And yes, you can name him or her or whatever. Although to everyone else, the two of you are SNAKEFIN." Louis moved closer to the tank, peering in quietly. A name...a name... Inside the tank, the developing chimera shifted, just a little. There was a familiar, enticing presence nearby, and as it sensed it, began to unfurl ever so slightly. There was a moment between to two in which both of their developing magic recognized one another and acknowledged it silently. " Aolou," Louis said, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. Loremaster Catspaw N waited patiently while the kid stared at the creature behind the glass. He thought it was beautiful too. Snakefin was an embodiement of silent deadliness, although it was a little hard to believe that her genes came from such a timid child. Perhaps his true nature would show itself in time. Or, he could be completely wrong, but N had never been one to care about the handlers.
"All right kid. Time's up. She should be fully developed in about a month. When she wakes up, drop whatever you're doing and come straight here." he said, handing Louis a piece of paper with directions to a water access room on basement level 14. She drains straight from here into the lake, but she should come up to find you. Now shoo." A little shocked at the suddenness, Louis took the paper and nodded. " uh, um...okay," He said softly, eyes still glued to the tank Aolou was in. Anne took Louis hand and lead him out, with a goodbye nod to N. What a strange and hurried man, she thought to herself, on the way out. Chimera Reflection [scrawled in green crayon] [[Please note that the spelling errors have been corrected, and paragraphs added for your reading convenience.]] I met my Chimera, sort of. The man there with it said it was going t be really really big and scary, and make electricity or something like that. It sounds cool, and I've been trying to make myself braver for when it comes out. I want to be tough and strong and not shy when it comes out so it will listen to me and we can swim together and maybe it can fight for me. I get scared when I fight.
When I saw it I felt funny in a way I don't know how to describe. I came up with a name when I saw it too, right away. I named it Aolou. If I remember right the man said it would have trailing things and functional teeth (I don't know what that means) and I'd have to learn how to go really deep in the water without being crushed so I'd have to learn a special spell, and that I might get stung my it if I'm not careful. I don't remember ever being stung by something, so I don't know if it would hurt.
Also I think he said it can't walk on ground it can only swim, so I might have to live in a pool with it or something. I like living with Miss Anne though, so maybe it could live in our pool and we could get a tunnel that goes to the lab pool and we could all be happy then.
-Louis
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:29 pm
Meeting Fullmoon It was a nice, breezy day outside, Louis noted quietly to himself as he sat on the cushions by the window. Heaving a small sigh and gazing absently out the window, Louis wished he could go see Aolou again; there was nothing for a young eel boy to do on such a DRY day. "Louis, honey! Come help me in the kitchen!" Anne's voice rang out through the house. Not wondering why she was making lunch so early in the day, Louis jumped down from the cushions and hurried into the kitchen. Orpheus Solon "So where are we going today? Why did we have to get a bath? Is it gonna be fun? We don't have to go to the shopping or something do we?" Two voices were asking in unison, two small forms dancing around the brightly colored woman that was their guardian. Akuji lifted a hand up, giggling, "We are going out to meet some people, you had to get a bath so you wouldn't be coated in mud, I hope its fun, and no its not shopping." She said, answering all of the question asked of her. She dug into her pocket to get out a sliver of paper that had the address on it that they were heading to, making sure that they were heading in the right direction, "We are almost there." She said. "Yay!" The two boys started to jump up and down. Akuji smiled before approaching the door, she paused to lift her hand to brush her two colored hair back away from her face before knocking. Having only just begun to help butter the last of the sandwiches, Louis dropped the bread knife as soon as he heard the knock at the door and ran to open it. His excited burst of energy quickly became shrouded in shyness. Anne, having heard the knock as well, followed Louis. "Oh, hello there! You're Akuji, right?" She smiled brightly. "Come on in, I'm just finishing up the snacks." Orpheus Solon The woman nodded her head, "Yes, I'm Akuji and this one is called Uri." She said as she laid her hand on the head of the boy who had green dye in a lock of his hair, "And this one is Lucius." Indicating the one with the blue dye. Aside from the coloration in their hair the two looked exactly the same, like mirror images of each other. The two boys waved at the other lady before their ice colored eyes turned to gaze at Louis, "Hello." They said at the same time in greeting. Louis retreated shyly behind Anne's legs and looked down. Now he was older, he'd hoped he was bigger and maybe even braver too...but he was still frightened of the twin boys. "Green for Uri, Blue for Lucius," Anne smiled and laughed a little. "That's very smart of you, I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart otherwise!" Orpheus Solon Lucius and Uri exchanged a glance before moving. Uri went around to the right and Lucius went around to the left to peek at the boy who was hiding behind his mother. They gave him dual smiles, "You alright?" They asked of him, ears turning forward. The two started to sniff at him, trying to decide if it were shyness or a game of some sort. "Be nice boys." Akuji said to them before looking at Anne, "Yeah, they are so alike I thought it would be easiest to dye their hair like that. It makes it easier for people to tell them apart and harder for them to pretend to be each other." She said with a laugh. Louis backed up a little, then took a deep breath and pursed his lips in determination. If he was going to have such a big tough chimera soon, he felt almost obligated to be just as tough. " I'm Louis," He told the twins in his biggest, bravest voice. Anne laughed and nodded, "Very smart! So, can you tell them apart without it?" Louis wrung his hands together and averted his gaze from the twins. " Lou-iss...Lu-ci-us..." Louis tested out the similarities between the names and nodded decisively. They did sound quite similar, the twins made a very clever observation. Anne gestured into the kitchen. "Well, I've made sandwiches for the boys if they'd like. They're lunchmeat and cheese, Louis' favorite." Orpheus Solon The twins quickly turned their attention to Anne, gazing up at her with bright, happy eyes with their tails wagging rapidly behind them, "Sandwiches? Yay!" They said, sounding almost to excited over the idea but as it was they were growing boys who ate as if their stomachs were bottomless pits. "What do you two say?" Akuji asked of the pair. The boys exchanged a look as they thought on this answer before going with, "Please and Thank You?" They asked one another before turning to look at Anne, "Please and thank you for sandwiches!" "Close enough." Their guardian said with a little chuckle. Louis watched the boys, noting silently to himself the way in which they talked. It was almost like watching a mirror to him, and was very fascinating; he hadn't met many identical twins in his life, and was always secretly curious about new things...even if his shyness got in the way. Anne laughed and nodded, "Very good manners boys! Of course you may." Orpheus Solon The boys gave happy cheers before they started to trot toward the kitchen where the tasty sandwiches awaited them. Once they reached the doorway they turned to look at Louis, "Will you sit with us?" Both asked of him. "Yeah, yeah! We can talk while we eat." Uri said, ears flicking back and forth in a happy manner. "We can talk about what we wanna play after lunch!" Lucius said with a grin, wondering if Louis wrestled. Louis took a few tentave steps forward and nodded a little, adding softly, " As long as you don't talk with food in your mouth. Anne doesn't like that," He warned gently. Anne smiled and followed the boys into the kitchen, setting the plate stacked high with sandwiches on the middle of the table. Orpheus Solon The twins nodded, "We will be careful." Both said, taking his advice to heart. After all Akuji hadn't seemed amused by them talking around mouthfuls of food and even less amused by the 'see food' jokes that they had made. They moved over to the table, sliding into chairs and gazed at the sandwiches that were sitting in the middle of the table with big eyes. "Can we dig in?" Uri asked of the lady who set the plate down. "Are their smaller plates to put them? Or do we just hold them while we eat?" Lucius asked next. Akuji entered the kitchen after the rest of the group, more then happy to see that he boys were asking such things. When they first game to live with her it had been a bit of an ordeal to get them to understand that they didn't really have to fight for food at home, that there was plenty to go around. It would seem the lessons they had with her had stuck even when there was a plate of sandwiches sitting in front of them they hadn't jumped on it. Anne nodded, "Just take them off the plate boys! We only use plates for sloppy things that will mess the table. Breadcrumbs are easier to sweep off a table then off three plates," She told them, smiling. Louis, who already had a sandwich in his hand and a mouthful of the tasty lunchmeat and cheese snack nodded, being certain not to talk with his mouth open. Orpheus Solon They both gave happy sounds as they grabbed a sandwich each and started to devour the tasty meal. They were halfway through the sandwich, chewing minimally before they glanced over at Akuji and recalled what she'd said about the importance of chewing your food so you didn't choke. They exchanged looks before they started to slowly chew their food, trying to make up for the fact that they had forgotten to that to begin with. After swallowing what they had in their mouths they turned their attention to Louis, "So, what do you do for fun?" Uri asked of him before taking another bite of his food, being careful to follow the 'don't talk with your mouth' rule. "Yeah, what sorts of stuff do you like?" Lucius added between bites. Louis swallowed the mouthful he had and thought for a moment. " Well, I really like swimming, but sometimes I like watching TV or coloring in," He told them, taking another mouthful of sandwich. He really wasn't the rough and tumble sort, not yet anyway, and since his incident with the winged girl in the hallway, he made it a point to avoid threatening situations. Orpheus Solon The boy paused for a moment and gave big smiles, "Swimming is great!" They said in unison. "There was this cool guy named Ves who taught us to swim." Uri said his tail wagging rapidly. "Yeah, we got to meet his Chimera! It was a neat dragon!" Lucius added sounding just as excited over the meeting as his twin was. "It was pretty cool." Both said then lifting their hands into the air making paddling motions, "We are the best at Doggy Paddle." They said it then started to giggle as though it were the best joke in the world. The two of them doing doggy paddle... Louis smiled broadly, feeling much better about the two. They liked swimming! But something else they had said caught his attention even more; Chimera. They had seen a full-grown real-life Chimera. These boys had to be the luckiest boys alive, ever, he decided. " Y-you met a Chimera?" He gasped out, having already swallowed his last mouthful of food. Orpheus Solon They nodded rapidly, "His name was Omarr, he was really nice and let us pet him." They said with happy giggles. "Though... when we went in for our exam he did scare us!" Uri said, throwing his hands into the air in a dramatic fashion. Lucius gave a giggling sound and nodded, "He jumped out and went 'RAWR'!" "We both of us screamed like girls." They said in unison before they started to giggle again, "But even when he scared us he was really nice, just playing." They explained, quickly. Omarr was a nice dragon and they didn't want Louis to be afraid of the dragon if he were ever meet him. Louis nodded a little, letting a small smile pass onto his face. " He sounds nice, funny," He said softly, fidgiting with the crust of his sandwich. " Have you seen your Chimera yet? I've seen mine, and the man who made him says he's gonna be real big and zap things," It was a secret attempt at some respect from the two. Louis wasn't sure what it was about them, but he wanted them to think he was cool and tough, and tell their friends about him like they were telling him about Omarr. Orpheus Solon The twins shook their heads, "Not yet, soon we hope." Both said, seeming for a moment to drift off into their imaginations to try to figure out what sort of Chimera they could possibly be getting. "I bet he will be strong!" Uri said finally, nodding his ears and his tail began to wag behind him. "I bet it will be fast." Lucius added. The pair finished off the food they were eating quickly before giving their full attention to Louis once more, "Does your Chimera have a name yet?" They asked curiously. Louis nodded, puffing out his chest a little at all the attention he was getting from the boys. " Yeah! I named it Aolou," He told them proudly, " It's a name I came up with all on my own!" Orpheus Solon The twins looked quite impressed that the name the Chimera had was one that Louis made up all on his own, "Wow! That is cool." They murmured, ears flicking back and forth. "We will need to think of a good name for ours then won't we Uri?" Lucius murmured. "Yeah, wonder what we should call ours." Uri murmured. Both seemed to be lost in thought suddenly, thinking hard on the subject of naming. They would have to give their Chimera the best name possible so that the Chimera knew that they tried hard! Louis let his eyes wander around the room a little, trying to think of a name to help the boys. Finding nothing, he shook his head. " It's name just sort of...came to me. But...it doesn't feel like I made it up, really, it feels more special than that," He informed them, swinging his legs under the chair a little. Orpheus Solon The pair of pups seemed to be thinking hard on it, trying to decide upon the perfect name but for the moment it was just beyond their grasp. It were as if it were on the very edge of their thoughts at the moment, "We will think of it eventually." They finally said, "It will be perfect when it comes to us." They set to licking their hands clean before turning their attention to Louis, checking to see if he were done eating and ready to play. Louis nodded in agreement. Like he'd noticed before, the twins were very smart. Noticing the look they were giving him, Louis shifted a little in his seat, and hopped down, looking at the other two to follow. " We have a pool out back if you wanna go swimming," He suggested to them, pushing his chair in, " And our back yard is pretty big and it's all grassy," (still in progress)
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:35 pm
Whitehawk and Snakefin II Though it had barely been any time at all, Louis felt as though he'd been away from the Faction for an eternity. His visit to his Chimera was brief, and he'd seen little of the old hallways he used to wander down, but today Anne was busy in an information session, and he'd wandered off from the seat he'd been waiting in. It was very strange, and felt almost like a flashback, to be walking down the halls again. He wondered vaguely if he'd meet anyone he knew. Loremaster Catspaw Little did she know it, but Seven, Whitehawk's mentor, was attending the exact same meeting. She'd heard something about 'taxes'. Not being all that interested in finding out what that was all about, she had taken to wandering the hallways again. She hoped that she would see Warmaster Dragonspine again. He was so strong and so cool! Or maybe she would see Techie L again. She was very nice, although she usually wasn't in this part of the building. Whitehawk thought about going to look for her, but she wasn't sure if she should risk running into that nasty snake chimera again, so she headed in the direction of the Warmaster's office. As she wandered, she happened to pass an open door and stuck her head in to take a look. Louis scuttled down the hallway glancing this way and that, his long thick tail dragging behind him. Just as he was thinking with a sad sigh that he wouldn't run into anyone in the hallways, he saw a familiar pair of white wings poking out from a doorway. Louis froze. It was that bird girl, with her nasty attitude and tough ways. Not wanting to be involved in another confusing and upsetting fight, he attempted to walk past quietly, but his tail sloshing on the ground only seemed to get louder the quiter he tried to be. (still in progress...)
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:10 pm
Snakefin and Goldfur II Louis bounced up and down on the tips of his toes excitedly. He couldn't remember the boy Anne had told him he was meeting again very well, all he recalled was a friendly, wagging tail and the big block city. The two had met when they were younger, and Louis simply could not wait to see a familiar person again. Giggling to herself, Anne returned from child-proofing the back yard and found Louis at the window, desperately trying to see if his old friend was here yet. Riordan The two men had been a bit nervous about the arranged play date at one of the Faction S children's home. Caleb had been subjected to a long discussion on not running off, listening to the adults, using his manners, not running off, and a long list of other things that parents like to drill into their kids' heads. Hours beforehand, Caleb was already pacing inside the house. Kaden had gotten a bit fed up with the constant questioning of if it was time to leave yet and had retreated to his bedroom to escape it. Finally, Caleb was told it was time to go and the boy was practically a blur as he raced out the door and to the car. Kaden made sure the kid was buckled up and then began to drive. "Remember Caleb, be nice. And polite." Other than school, the boy'd never really been away from his fathers since coming to live with them. "Yeah, Daddy, I know." Caleb couldn't wait to see the boy. He could remember a bit about dolls and them being dead. The kid had been weird, but maybe that'd changed since then. After all, they were much older now. Louis fidgeted anxiously, peering out the window, pacing, peering out the window, picking at his nails, peering out the window, picking up his tail to hug...he just wouldn't stop moving. Anne intervened, taking his hand gently and telling him, "Honey. Don't worry so much, 'kay?" Riordan Finally, the vehicle pulled up to the address they'd been given. Before the car could come to a complete stop, the door was opening and Caleb was out like a bullet. He ran excitedly up to the door and rang the bell, while his rather disgruntled guardian quickly parked the car and jogged up behind him. "Wait next time, Caleb..." The man softly scolded the boy. Jumping a little at the sound of the doorbell, Louis quickly rushed to the door and pulled it open. " Puppy!" he declared, much bolder and happier than the last time the two had met. Ever since being introduced to his Chimera, Louis had only got more and more assertive, even raising his voice once or twice. Anne smiled down and Caleb, then moved her attention to his guardian. "I trust you found the place okay?" Riordan Caleb grinned, his tail a blur behind him. "Hi!" With his guardian's hand on the boy's shoulder, Caleb couldn't dart into the house just yet. So he settled for peering about, curious as to what kinds of toys Louis had. Hopefully things other than dolls... Kaden nodded. "Had no problems. It's very kind of you to invite Caleb over." Kaden's choice words would've been 'brave of you' but he was being polite. "I trust he'll behave for you." The last was directed more at the boy in question than Anne. Stepping back a little to allow Caleb inside, Louis put his hands on his hips proudly to assert himself as much tougher. He wanted to impress his friend, and show him how much he had changed. "Wanna play out the back?" He asked, secretly hopeful that Caleb would rather sit down and play a board-game instead. Anne shook her head, "Oh, no," She laughed, "The pleasure is all mine. I can't be Louis' only friend! The boy needs to socialize, and I heard him mention meeting your boy when he was at the Faction." Riordan Caleb grinned. "Yeah!" This boy sit down, what? The canine child was excited about the idea of playing outside and stepped into the house to stand next to Louis. Kaden chuckled. "I know the feeling. Kids need a lot of friends." He glanced at his boy. "I'll be back in a few hours. Don't hesitate to call if you have any problems with him..." Louis giggled at how quickly the puppy-boy responded. " Okay! Do you wanna tgae some toys outside? I've got a frisbee and things like that," He offered, not willing to risk the damage of his favorite toys. "Oh, yes of course." She turned her head to glance down at Louis, giving him a grin, then nodded again to Kaden. "Alright, no hurry! I'll make the boys lunch and keep them out of trouble," She added with a giggle. Riordan "Sure! You got a ball?" Frisbees were fun as well, even if Louis didn't have a ball to play with. And, hey, if he did, cool. If he had a soccer ball, they could even play a game of soccer. The boy turned to wave to his dad, overhearing the man making his leave. Kaden nodded. "Bye, Caleb. I'll see you in a bit." He gave a wave and headed back to his car, a bit nervous about leaving the boy. He just hoped nothing bad happened... Louis nodded, " Oh, yeah! It's meant for the pool but I guess we could throw it or kick it or something," He said, happy that his friend was as excited as he was. " Wait here, I'll go get it from the cupboard!" He said, then rushed up the stairs to his room. Anne closed the door and locked it, moving into the kitchen to start lunch. She was sure the boys would be hungry in no time, and she didn't want them to be sitting around waiting for her to make it when they could be playing. Riordan Caleb nodded. "Okay." He took the moments in which Louis was upstairs to glance about the house. He'd never seen the inside of a house other than his own and was startled at the difference between them. His house was split level with the door at the halfway mark on the staircase. This one was different and it was interesting... Louis rushed back down the stairs, almost tripping, carrying a soccorball-sized foam pool ball. " Race you outside!" He huffed, heading for the back door attempting to give himself a head start. Riordan Caleb was a bit startled by the sudden race and grinned, heading after the eel boy. Running was his kind of game! Louis had become much more fun now! Tail wagging in excitement, Caleb headed towards the back door. Louis, who'd gotten a very big head start, was already at the door. He pulled it open with his spare hand and rushed outside, giggling to himself. Running and playing made him much happier then sitting around and brooding, though he usually didn't have quite so much energy. All the excitement was getting into his system and making him bouncy and happy. (still in progress...)
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:20 pm
Bold, Brave and Slimy Puffing out his chest bravely, Louis gave another assertive shout. " Leave now! Leave!" He shouted, swinging his tail back and forth behind himself to appear more threatening. He flared his gills and raised his arms, opening his mouth to shout again. The cat in front of him hissed and scampered away over a wall without a backwards glance. The cat was, in fact, the neighbor's cat, an animal that had petrified Louis when he was younger. It stalked the backyards, hissing and yowling, and had even scratched him once. Now that Louis had made a promise to himself to become braver before Aolou hatched, he swore he would stand up to the cat. Standing boldly where the cat had once been, invading his territory, Louis huffed and slammed his tail down on the ground, nodding his head once. " Victory," Not a moment later, Anne's voice reached Louis' ears, calling him in for lunch. Turning with a quick glance at the fence the cat had disappeared over, Louis huffed again and trumped back into the house, his shoulders squared and his jaw set. Anne, seeing this, giggled a little. "Louis, honey, did you finally get rid of the kitty cat?" She asked him, pouring out a bowl of noodles for herself and Louis. Nodding gruffly, trying to stay tough and brave for as long as he could, Louis sat down at the table. Anne stifled another giggle and set the bowl of noodles down in front of her gruff son. "You scared him off all on your own?" She gasped in mock admiration, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table with her own bowl of noodles. "You're very brave!" Louis nodded again, his gruff persona slipping away and he gave a meek smile of thanks for lunch. He was a very bad actor, though he knew when the time came, he could be truly tough. For Aolou.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:42 am
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