Welcome to Gaia! ::

With a soft grunt, Kova managed to lift the large cabbage from the step in front of the shop and back in through the door, her tail pushing hard to keep it from swinging shut on her. Then, with a complicated sort of dance, she slid more fully into Twilight Designs, protecting both tail and cabbage from the sudden closing of the door. She beamed, clearly pleased with herself as she held the plant. "Well, leafy-puss," she announced. "This is where I work. It's usually quiet on a Monday so I figured you could come in and hang out with me and see what I do. Isn't everything in here so pretty?"

Even as she spoke, she padded further into the store and moved the cabbage around as if she were showing it the various bits of jewelry in the cases. "Mr. Athan and Miss Reyna are really good with this and have great taste. Maybe you'll get to meet them."

For a moment, Kova paused and squinted around her. Finally, she settled on the heavy, wooden table that sat beside the case which was her usual haunt. The glass case held her favorite pieces - tanzanite and gold and amethyst and an unusually carved bit of opal. Using her elbow, she managed to push aside the bottle of glass-cleaner that sat on it and gently lowered the plant to its temporary home. "There you go, leafy-puss," she cooed. "You can see everything from there." Fondly, she stroked one broad green leaf.

Athan pushed open the door with one elbow as he lugged in two boxes, one stacked upon the other, just as Kova had settled in with her cabbage. He paused in the door frame before offering the woman a small smile.

"Miss Kova, would you mind holding the door open for a moment?" he asked as he shuffled his grip on the load he carried to keep from dropping them.

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Giving her cabbage a final, cheerful pat, Kova skipped over to oblige. She held it wide and was careful to stand out of his way so he could move through easily. "How are you today, Mr. Athan? Is that new shipment?"

"Indeed it is, my dear. I went and picked it up directly this morning. Saves the trouble of dealing with careless postal workers," he stated with a bit of a smirk as he moved to set the boxes upon Reyna's desk.

He paused briefly before opening them as he took note of the vegetable that was sitting on the table. Interesting, yet strange. But ought he be surprised? In his shop, no. Not at all.

"May I ask what the uh," he trailed off as he frowned a bit in thought as he identified what it was exactly, "... cabbage is for?"

"Oh." Kova's face immediatly lit with one of her usual mega-watt grins and she allowed the door to swing shut. "It's mine," she explained. She crossed back to pat the leaves gently and then shifted it a bit, fiddling with the placement on the table. The leaves rustled quietly. She looked up, brown eyes bright. "I got it from a lab and I have to take care of it because it'll probably turn into something. I think it might turn into a kid. Or a cat or a dog or I don't know. Things here on Gaia are always turning into other things, aren't they?"

She paused and tilted her head, studying the cabbage. "It doesn't have a name yet, though," she sighed. "You can't tell if a cabbage is a boy or a girl."

Athan knew right off the bat that he truly did not have a place to judge as he had come to Gaia with the knowledge that there was an abundance of people -- an abundance of people he could essentially pawn his Shadows off on. Truly, it was a bit more detailed and technical than that, but a cabbage? What was the universe coming to!?

With as serious a face as he could muster Athan swallowed back the urge to laugh (giggle really, but he wasn't the sort to allow such a thing) as he nodded, intently listening to Kova's explanation.

"Well then, uh. Congratulations!" he answered, unsure of what else to say in response.

"Thank you." Judging from Kova's warm smile, it was the right thing to say. Stepping around the case and abandoning her cabbage, Kova held out her hands in an offer of continued help. "I'm glad you came in today, though, Mr. Athan. I was just telling it that I hoped it could meet you. You and Miss Reyna or, oh, Mystic!"

"Well," Athan began as he turned back towards his boxes as he retrieved a box cutter out of Reyna's desk, "I dare say you'll be in luck. The both of them should be in this afternoon. Though seeing as they'll be here in the middle of the day, I should think it might be difficult to spot Mystic."

He carefully opened the first box as he thought over his own words. Silly. Shadows are always difficult to spot. They were made of darkness, after all. He needed coffee. That must be it. Or perhaps the cabbage had thrown him off. It was hard to tell.

Kova nodded and, somehow already attuned to her employer's needs, moved to retrieve a little crinkly packet from the pocket of her cargo-skirt. "But I can usually kind of feel him. I don't know." Whether that was strictly true or not, Kova seemed content with the notion that she just might see him later and get to introduce her cabbage. She held up the packet. "I got coffee on my way in. It's... I think the guy at the shop called it Arabian Crack?"

His normally stoic features quirked in a bemused smile at the name of the coffee. "That sounds.... delightful," he replied as he pulled the first of his newly acquired treasures from one of the assortment of packages contained with the boxes he had brought in. "I definitely could appreciate a cup."

He stopped mid motion as he eyed Kova, small smile still in place. "You can feel his presence? That is impressive. You must have some sort of sensitivity to magic, then. Most people cannot sense a Shadow unless bonded to one."

"Oh, really?" Kova looked at her boss with wide, dark eyes, completely innocent. "Well," she finally ammended as she wandered over to again aimlessly pet her cabbage, the packet of coffee in her other hand, "maybe feel is wrong? I don't know. Maybe it's just 'cause I really like him or something. Or because I'm around him so much. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to."

"There isn't necessarily a wrong or right about it," Athan remarked with a quiet chuckle as he quietly admired a large, polished piece of lapis lazuli, "Though I definitely agree that it is a ... feeling. One that is very nearly impossible to explain."

"Like bein' in deep space," Kova suggested. "You just have to kind of... Feel it." She disappeared into the back room to start the coffee machine percolating and then, almost as if she feared to allow her cabbage out of her sight, she came back to lean in the doorway, once more in full view of both Athan and vegetable. "D'you think I'm crazy to feel shadows and talk to cabbages?" she asked suddenly.

Athan couldn't quite relate to being in deep space, as he had never come across the desire to traverse the heavens. He was far too deeply rooted in the physical earth from which he came and preferred it that way. He could only assume it was similar to passing through what he called 'the twilight' between dimensions.

He sputtered a bit indignantly as he put down the package of gems he was sorting through. "Crazy?" he spoke up, "My dear, if you are crazy for feeling the presence of Shadows and talking to cabbages, I must be utterly mad for creating aforementioned shadow creatures."

He shook his head as though in disbelief that Kova could even concoct such an idea in her head. Crazy? Hardly! If anything, it was the world in which they lived that was positively wrought with insanity.

"And for the record, I have seen far stranger things in my lifetime. I should like to think that you may consider your sanity still quite intact for speaking to your cabbage," he added on with a smirk.

"I told you he was so very nice." This was directed at the cabbage. Athan, on the other hand, was suddenly the receipient of fewer words and more actions as Kova crossed the space between them in a few strides and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Athan froze, eyes wide as he gingerly patted Kova on the back in an effort to reciprocate the rather endearing hug. Even so, it caught him a bit off guard, and being the loner that he had become (and perhaps just working with Reyna much too often), he was rather unaccustomed to the close contact. This lent for a rather sweet, yet awkward moment.

He cleared his throat and took a step away from Kova. "Well," he murmured as he moved to take a seat in Reyna's chair behind the desk, "It's nothing short of the truth."

"I still wanna say thanks, though." Kova giggled, lifting her hands to push back tumbled bits of leaf-green hair. "It's nice when people say it. Oh! I have to finish the coffee." Shooting another brilliant smile his way, she again disappeared into the back room. Coffee wasn't technically in her job description but, just as cookies appeared along with her at regular frequencies, she had adopted it as her right.

Athan simply smiled and went back to sorting through the different packages he had laid out. One in particular stood out from all the rest as it was contained within a velvety pouch. He reached out and touched the surface of the bag, seemingly tracing the features of the stone before opening the pouch and withdrawing the prize within.

"And I wonder," he muttered quietly under his breath as he quietly admired the carved surface of the amazingly large opal in his hand.

"Sure you don't wanna cookie, Delly?" The tall, lavender-skinned woman once more bent over the stroller with a tempting gingersnap. She waved it dramatically and was rewarded with just a faint coo and pale blue eyes tracking the motion. She sat back with a sigh. "Now I know you're not a normal kid," she giggled. "All kids like cookies. It's a fact."

Delilah delicately placed her first finger of her right hand in her mouth and began sucking noisily. With her free hand, she clutched at one of the brightly-colored petals surrounding her and pulled it as if to cover herself better. Her "mother" smiled indulgently and put the cookie in her own mouth, trapped between her lips, while she helped the child with her petals. Then she straightened and removed the cookie. "Well, I'll bring some along with us, huh?" she asked. "Just in case you change your mind."

Then, feeling as if she had properly done her duty as a mother, Kova settled back in her chair to sip at her oversized mug of hot cocoa, her tail swaying idly through the hole in the back of the chair. It was so nice of this cafe to be on the way to work and it was even nicer for Mr. Athan and Ms. Reyna to let her bring along little Delly-do.

"Come along Manny, come along," Estelle cooed as she waved one hand to the girl lagging along behind her. They had been walking around the ciry since early morning, distributing flyers for a support group the congregation had started. It was called New Beginnings, and was aimed toward new immigrants that were having trouble adjusting. The child had been remarkably complacent throughout the day, and as a reward she had promised her a brownie on the way home. Holding the door to the cafe open she ushered Manny in, taking care not to get her long linen skirts caught in the door.

Manny rushed in the door as soon as it was open, heading first to the cork bulletin board that held announcements about all sorts of school activities and community hot spots. "Momma, this one says poe-trie," she explained, pointing the flyer out. "Maybe we could put one of ours here, you think?"

"No baby, I don't think that's a good idea," Estelle responded warily, cringing at the look the woman at the counter gave her, "And I think maybe you should quiet your voice a little bit."

Manny nodded quickly, zipping her lips before she pulled herself up into one of the high stools. She had chosen the place because of its proximity to a pair of very interesting looking people, and despite her mother's frequent reminders not to stare, she couldn't help herself.

After a few moments, the staring was noticed and Kova looked up to see the little girl watching with wide eyes. Smiling and not at all bothered (she was, after all, used to it), she raised a hand to wave and winked. Then, with a foot, she angled the stroller so that Delilah could see the little girl, too. The baby peeped over the top of a colorful petal and blinked slowly.

Manny climbed up onto her knees on the stool so she could lean over toward them and still keep her balance. She smiled to the colorful baby, then looked back up to the equally colorful woman. "My name's Manny," she said poignantly, then paused to uncrumple a piece of paper from her pocket. Once it was again readable she reached to hand it to the woman, not seeing anything odd with intruding like this, "Maybe you could come?"

Just then Estelle had gotten out of the line, carrying the girl's brownie on a small plate. "Manuela," she said sternly, raising an eyebrow to the girl whose back was turned to her, "What did we say about bothering people?" She set the plate down and looked toward Kova apologetically, "I'm sorry, she's just a bit excitable."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Kova's smile bolstered her words, bright as sunshine and twice as honest. "She didn't interrupt anything. I'm just havin' coffee and Delly here is refusing cookies because I guess her fingers taste better or something. I don't know." She angled her smile down at the baby fondly. "She's a strange one." Then she looked back up and laughed before holding out a hand. "Sorry. I get away from myself sometimes. I'm Kova and this is Delilah, my lil cabbage-puss."

Estelle smiled, taking the woman's hand with both of hers, "My name is Estelle, and this is my daughter Manuela." She ran the thing over in her head again, then looked a bit confused. "Cabbage you say?" she asked curiously, not knowing if it was just a nickname or something more.

Manuela however, wasn't really one for introductions. As soon as the plate was set down in front of her she scooped the brownie up and took a bite. Yummy. She was watching the two out of the corner of her eye, but soon switched to Delilah. She child was still more interesting.

Delilah peered over one of her petals, meeting Manuela's look eye for eye. Slowly, she blinked as if to say hello. Then she crossed her eyes. One could only wonder what that meant.

"Oh, yeah, I said cabbage." Kova shook her head, smiling. Then she pointed to the stroller's precious cargo with one hand while the other adjusted a piece of green hair behind her tapering ear. "She went from a big ol' cabbage to, well, a cute little flower-girl. I suppose that's what she is. All I know is that she's precious, quiet, and this planet is amazin' if you all get kids out of vegetables." She paused for breath and, suddenly, tilted her head to one side. Her brown eyes widened a bit as she caught on to Estelle's choice of tone. "So you know all about the cabbages, too?"

Estelle nodded, lowering her voice as she gestured to Manuela, "She came from one. I thought I was just losing my mind. Had it up on the table and one day poof, I come upstairs and there's a child mucking around." Her voice took on a more sullen tone as she looked down at her knotted hands, "I thought it was a miracle, so I named her after my late brother Emanuel." So it wasn't a miracle after all, then what was it?

Manny nearly choked on her brownie when the girl crossed her eyes, nearly falling out of her chair as she tried to do the same. But all she ended up doing was making her own head hurt. So instead she flipped her long puffed tail up to her side and wiggled it at the girl, giggling madly.

Delilah chirped in surprise and carefully reached out a hand for the other girl's tail. Her hand-eye coordination, however, proved to not be up to the challenge and she only closed on empty air. With a faint huff, she drew her hand back in to grip the edge of a petal. She paused for a moment and then she bent the petal outwards as if to show it to Manuela better.

Kova glanced at the two children absently and smiled. Then she tilted her head as she refocused her attention on Estelle's question. "I dunno," she admitted. "Kids come in all things, though, right? Cabbages are just... Well, not all cabbages have babies, right? Or there'd be baby farms and that's not happenin'. So they're special cabbages. Maybe you got Manuela outta the cabbage because the cabbage knew you'd be a really good mama to her. It trusted you or something."

Manny seemed entranced by the girl's coloful petals, reaching a hand out to touch the offered surface. Odd, it kind of felt like velvet, but waxier. It was nice though, and warm. "Very pretty," she told her, giving a kind smile.

Estelle thought about it for a moment, unsure of the implications that made. "I went to ask the people at the center about it once," she explained, "And they said that we could run tests, but the most likely answer was that Manuela was part of me, and part something they didn't know. They said it’s a rare case, but it happens." She paused, then added, "In fact, I haven't met any other children that look like their parents."

Kova nodded understandingly. "Delly doesn't look a bit like me," she agreed. "It must be nice if she looks a bit like you, though, because then you don't look like a babysitter. You look like a proper relative. Not that blood is better than love or anythin' but it makes it easier for people to match her to you." She looked over at her own child with a faint expression of contemplation. Delilah had just offered Manuela a sleepy smile in gratitude for the compliment. "Not that it's hard to describe them, I guess. Manuela and Delly are too pretty to fade out on us. That and Manuela's got a tail and Delly is, well, a flower."

Manuela moved to lean off her chair toward the girl, sensing that she was tired. That was ok, she was kind of tired herself from walking around all day. "What do you like to do?" she asked, figuring they'd be fine to just talk until their parents were done.

"Yeah, I've actually asked about that," Estelle noted, "It keeps growing, but they say it's going to stop soon. Does Delilah have any trouble walking?" Well, she may not have started walking yet, but it was an interesting theory.

"Walking?" Kova smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "Delly hasn't even tried to walk yet. Well, that I've caught her at, anyway. She wriggles a bit but she mostly sleeps and watches things. I don't know if it's 'cause she's so little or if there's something wrong. I've never been a mama before. They should've given us instruction books with the cabbages."

Delilah regarded Manuela and appeared to give the question a lot of thought. Then she put her hands together in prayer position and set them against her cheek to mimic sleep. She raised her head again after she felt the point had been communicated and pointed at Manuela's necklace. "Pitty," she whispered. Pretty.

Kova looked down and blinked. "Did she just say something? Like a real word?"

Estelle smiled, looking down at her daughter, "I was lucky, I took care of my younger brother Emanuel for a long time, he's her namesake." She didn't seem to be worried about the girls, they were getting along fine, and if the one hadn't started walking then maybe that was her prerogative, it looked like it would be a difficult thing to start. At the comment she raised an eyebrow, "You mean she hasn't started talking either?"

Manny grinned at the compliment, removing her coral drop necklace for closer inspection, "Mama gave it to me." She had a lot of jewelry, mostly fashion and costume stuff, but she never tired of people commenting on them. This particular piece looked like it sort of matched Delilah, colorwise at least.

Delilah touched her little hands to her own throat and smiled crookedly. Then she pointed up at Kova, trying to indicate the pearls set into her mother's skin in a loose collar around her throat. "Pitty," she repeated.

"No, not a word." Kova looked down at Delilah and smiled. Relief shone in her big brown eyes. "I thought she just didn't wanna because I was so sure she could, y'know? It's not like I don't talk to her all the time. We found a show with puppets that she likes, too." She sighed. "I'm glad she's talkin' now. Even if it's just to your Manuela."

"Maybe she just thought there wasn't anything to talk about yet," Estelle suggested, "Manny started talking as soon as I found her. She just hasn't stopped." It was interesting actually, but she liked it. It was good to have company.

Manny seemed overjoyed to be there for the girl's first word, she was a sweetie, just shy it seemed. Looking from the child to her mother, she got an idea. She pulled Estelle's purse over in front of her, making a note to get one of her own since it contained more of her stuff than her mother's. Finally she extracted one of her other many coral pieces, one she had never taken to wearing. Thinking on it, it seemed perfect for the girl in front of her now. "Here," she said, reaching to Delilah with it hidden in her little fist, "You can have this one if you like." As she opened her hand she gave a little smile, letting the trinket slip into Delilah's petaled hand.

Delilah's eyes widened to immense proportions as she carefully took the necklace offered. She looked from it to Manuela repeatedly, mouth a round "o" of surprise. Then, finally, she whispered, "Pitty. Me?"

"Oh, Manuela, you don't..."

Before Kova could finish with her embarrassed but definitely charmed words, Delilah broke into a bright smile, showing more life than she had the entire conversation. "T'ank oo," she lisped. "Pitty." She brought the necklace to her chest and hugged it awkwardly.

Manny grinned, popping the last of her brownie into her mouth. So she liked it, that was good. She sat up on her knees. "She'll look very pretty with it," she said decidedly.

Estelle seemed a little distracted, until she caught sight of the clock on the wall. Oh shoot, an hour had passed without her even noticing. "Come Manuela," she called hastily, getting to her feet, "I'm very sorry Ms. Kova, we have to head home before service starts."

Well foo, maybe Manny would have a better chance to play with her new friend some other day.

Kova followed the other woman's glance and smiled. "'S okay! I have to get to work, anyway." She stood and solemnly bowed at Manuela. "Thanks very much, Manuela. You've made Delilah a very happy little girl."

As if to prove the point, Delilah herself pried one hand from the necklace and moved it to her mouth and away in a sloppy blown-kiss. "Pitty," she repeated.

Giggling, Kova dug in her pocket and handed over a little business card. "That's where I work. Twilight Designs. They can always find me an' I'd love to say hi again. I bet Delly would love to play some more, too. Anyone who can make her talk is a superstar in my book!" She settled her hands on the stroller then, still smiling. "Speaking of work, I'd better get goin' myself or I'll be late. We'll see you later. G'bye, Estelle, Manny-hon."

Then, with a happy flick of her tail and a twist of the stroller, the tall woman was out the door and striding fast.

“Delilah, you have to put that down or else it’ll get wet. It’s bath time.” Kova crouched beside her daughter and cocked her head to one side. As yet, she did not have the nerve to hold out her hand for the precious object in question and the thought of forcibly taking it away had not even crossed her mind yet. “We’ll put it somewhere safe and you can have it back when we’re done.”

Delilah blinked up at her mother, tearing her attention away from the coral necklace in her little hands. “Pitty,” she murmured. “Mama, pitty.”

Kova smiled and her tail absently swished behind her, a sure indication of amusement. “I know. Manny’s such a sweetheart to give that to you. We should get her something, too, huh?”

Nodding, Delilah hugged the necklace to her chest. Her blue eyes were bright with sudden interest – a rare enough occurrence that Kova immediately decided to obey any request made provided it did not violate Gaian laws. “Mama,” she cooed, “Gotta get pitty for Manny.” She looked around vaguely. Nothing presented itself to her view that would be satisfactory. One hand relinquished the necklace hesitantly and reached up to push a bit of silky hair from her face. Her fingers brushed the flower in her hair, though, and she paused. A slow smile spread over her face. “Fower,” she suggested. Apparently, it didn’t sound quite right to her and she wrinkled her nose, eyes crossing a bit in thought. “Flower.” The correct pronunciation brought a beaming smile to both child and mother. “Give flower.”

Kova melted visibly. “You want to give her a flower, lovebug?” Delilah nodded firmly. “What kind of flower? In a pot?”

Delilah wrinkled her nose again and pointed to the vibrant flower in her hair emphatically. “Flower,” she repeated.

“A flower like yours?” Kova paused. “You want to give her your flower? But won’t you miss it?” Tilting her head to one side, Kova reached out to touch gentle fingers to the flower in question. Come to think of it, she had never seen Delilah without the flower – even during bath time. Could she even take the flower out of her hair? “Delly, I dunno if we can do that.”

Impatiently, the little girl batted away her mother’s hand. “Flower,” she said again, firm and low. She set the necklace in her lap with the utmost care before she put both hands up to work small fingers at some hidden catch under the bright bloom. After a few moments, it came away into her hand obediently and she passed it over to her mother. “For Manny,” she announced. “Pitty flower.”

Kova looked down at the flower in her hand and smiled faintly. “I’ll put it in water for Manny,” she said. When she looked up, however, her eyes went wide. There was a new, identical, fresh flower tucked behind Delilah’s ear. “Delly, I… You…” Laughing, she pulled her daughter into a tight hug, careful not to crush Manny’s present. “You’re magical!” Delilah merely smiled and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder. It looked like bath time was postponed indefinitely.

Yawning into the softness of her pillow, Delilah pushed her face further into it. She had been having such a lovely dream that she did not want to give it up and face the daylight. In the distance, she heard her mother singing softly and she remembered that there was singing in her dream as well. Someone had been singing that tune that her mother used to get her moving when she showed signs of lingering and lagging. What was it called? Oh, yes. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey…

She adjusted her positioning slightly to try and hear what song her mother was using to greet the morning. It was a new one, something jaunty and swinging with trills and complicated vocal gymnastics. She smiled. Hearing her mother sing signaled morning better than the sunshine. Even on cloudy days, her mother would sing.

What had the dream been about again? Delilah yawned again and untangled one hand from the pillowcase, bringing it up to scratch at the back of her head. It had been about sunshine and music and growing. If she thought about it hard enough, she could still feel her petals turning towards the light. A long, strong stem held her upright and she stretched her leaves out all around to catch the sunlight. Hunger sat in her belly yet and she could not decide if stepping outside would satisfy it or if she would have to ask her mother for eggs and pancakes like usual.

Delilah finally released her hold fully and pushed herself upright. Another yawn escaped her as she rubbed her little fists against her eyes. Maybe she was hungry because she grew so much in the dream, she thought. She remembered the growing quite clearly. In fact, the growth had happened so fast that she felt like her knees ached from straining in the dream. Eyes still closed, she wiggled her toes thoughtfully. It felt like everything was still in place. What a strange dream.

Pulling her hands away, the little girl opened her eyes. Then she blinked, closed them again, and reopened them. She frowned and chewed on her thumbnail. The bed did not look right. She did not look right. In fact, her bared toes nearly touched the bottom of her crib.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream. Maybe she really did reach for the sun and grow.

Suddenly, she smiled and clambered up onto her knees. “Mama?” she called softly. “Mama? I’m closer to the sun!”

Gym Class - An Open RP - Delilah isn't keen on running but it's somewhat nicer when you have a friend to talk to.

Some people might have looked at the man and blinked a few times: and then again, this close to Barton, maybe not, and especially nobody who knew the lady of the house whose doorway he was haunting. Kiet'calix Ajani was tall and redheaded and tattooed, swirls of grass-green ink in careful whorls at his chin and over the base of the long prehensile tail that was currently serving as an extra hand - it was carefully holding a bunch of multicolored roses. Gold hoops twinkled in the man's ears: he looked nothing more than a pirate on leave, actually, which was wrong. He was not a pirate on leave. He was a space pirate on leave, which was something a little different.

It had never been a question of knocking, either: all the parcels, bags and baskets he was carrying safely in his arms, the man stopped for a moment to consider the situation. He leant back and placed one booted foot carefully against the door, working it against the doorknob until it opened a fraction and he could squeeze his way in. Griona ti Kova ba Lindo was never very much surprised, but he would do his damndest, anyway.

The strains of a cheerful song drifted out to greet him as he paused in the hallway. Just in those precious few feet, he could tell that it was most definitely Kova's home - decorated with a riot of color and fine wood and fabric. A tall chair with coat hooks set in the back and a long mirror squeezed in to his side and, from the brass hooks, a familiar sky-blue coat dangled and, below it, a small bright pink coat hung.

Stealthily, the intruder crept down the hallway as quietly as he could: one bag brushed the coats and he paused, expecting that the rustle of fabric would alert the homeowner to his presence. When this wasn't the case, he continued on - down the hallway, following the familiar voice raised up in song, standing in the doorway to watch her fondly.

The tall, lavender woman sent her notes higher and dramatically waved a dust-rag into the air as if to help her hit the appropriate ones. He knew it was pure performance; Kova never needed help when it came to music. Nonetheless, he watched as she continued to gesticulate and dance a bit from side to side. As the song wound down, she sank into a low curtsey.

That was when he saw that she had company. A little girl lifted brilliant aqua eyes from his Kovie and stared at him. Her mouth opened but, instead of screaming as he half expected, she calmly said, "Mama, there's a man in the house."

"Foiled!" said the strange man. "Kovie, she's too clever by half. Excellent statement, and all of it totally true."

"Kiet?" Spinning, Kova's face lit up with an immediate smile and, regardless of the packages in his arms, she launched herself at him. Locating his face easily, she dotted kisses over his nose and chin and cheeks and, finally, his mouth. Still sitting on the couch, Delilah watched the exuberant display of affection with a blank expression. Despite being a fair shade shorter than his lady friend, Kiet wrapped his arms around Kova's waist and lifted her up momentarily before - laughing - setting her back down again.

"Hey, darlin'," he said, and Kova got another kiss - not really any less exuberant, unfortunately for Del - on the mouth. "Don't you look good enough to eat? The crew all sends you kisses but I'm not gonna give you them all at once for their lazy asses."

"That's alright. They can wait." Kova beamed, touching his cheek again before adjusting a piece of his fire-engine colored hair. "You're lucky, though. You get to meet my lil Delly." She turned to look over her shoulder. "Delilah, sweetie-pie, this is Kiet. I told you about him. He's the gunner on Cap'n Chota's ship."

There was a moment of hesitation and then, obediently, Delilah slid from the couch and walked closer. She eyed the stranger for a few moments. Finally, she smiled vaguely and dipped into a curtsy.

Kiet, to his credit, executed a fairly fluid bow: he leant over, hands on his knees, to look at her. His red hair was streaked through with green: it seemed to be natural, as one of his eyebrows looked a little green-streaked as well. Not that it was unusual for Delilah, who had turquoise hair herself. "Hey, pretty girl," he said. "I've heard a whole lot about you."

"And I've heard a lot about you," she returned solemnly.

Kova giggled, rolling her dark eyes skywards. "Little pitchers have big ears," she explained. "I don't reckon it was anything tooooo bad but..."

"Just you talkin' about how much of a sexy devil I am and how you can't wait to plant a big wet one on me, I bet," said Kiet. He tilted his head at Delilah. "You mind 'Uncle Kiet'?"

Delilah glanced at her mother. Kova nodded, winking. She sighed and nodded herself. "Uncle Kiet," she tested the words. Then she smiled faintly. "Okay."

"Okay," said her new Uncle Kiet. He grinned at her: his teeth were very white. Suddenly he was patting himself, all his pockets, around on his sleeveless vest - and then into one of his back-pockets, drawing out something covered in tissue paper, passing it to her. "Hey, what d'you know? The Little Girl Gift Fairy left me something in my pockets. I guess you'd better take it. We don't want to mess her around, honeychile."

"There is no such..."

"Kiet, you shouldn't have." Kova, having lived with the logical, forthright little girl, saw the quiet refutation coming a mile away and stepped in to cut it off. "Delly's got so many toys an' things already."

"Well, she's about to get half a dozen more plus I-don't-know-what that everyone stuffed in there," said her friend and old comrade, who was straightening up. "We had to tell the Cap'n about half a dozen times that swords weren't appropriate for her, or - I'm pretty sure she tried to give her Kuma, too, too bad. I'm just gettin' myself in before she sees all the rest of it. Anyway, it's just a little itty bitty thing."

"If you really want to..." Delilah caught the gist of the moment and smiled sweetly. Then she held out her hands, cupped and waiting. "Thank you, Uncle Kiet."

The tissue paper was deposited in her hands. When it was pulled away, an earring was revealed: an extraordinarily delicate, silver-filigree affair, chandelier-style, set with clear rose quartz crystals. One was inset in a tiny, beautifully crafted flower in the middle. "For when you have holes in those li'l ears," Uncle Kiet was saying. "Just a little thing. It's meant to be lucky."

Studying it with a sort of puzzled fascination, Delilah lifted the item higher so that it caught the light. The immediate sparkle caused her to coo, mouth rounding in appreciation. Kova giggled and moved to slip an arm around Kiet as she watched her little girl. Finally, Delilah lowered the earring and smiled at Kiet. "Thank you."

"Doesn't she have beautiful manners?" the gunner said to her mother. "You gonna teach her how to cook and bring her to the Argo when she's grown up, or is she too delicate for that kind of thing?"

"Don't know yet," Kova admitted. "Don't even know how long Cap'n Chota wants me vacationin'. I've got Delly and a job and all so..." She trailed off, watching as Delilah took the earring over to the window and dangled it to catch the sunlight. "And I dunno what Delly wants to be when she grows up."

Delilah looked over her shoulder. "Queen," she answered mildly. Then she returned to playing with the earring.

"Well, we'll have to put her under Cap'n Chota for that," said her uncle, unruffled. "Unless we steal a country for her to be queen of. We can do that. And don't you fret, Kovie, you keep on vacationing as long as you like. We're all taking turns cooking. Roxie nights, my God!"

Before Kova could respond, Delilah appeared at Kiet's elbow again and reached up to tap his shoulder. She had managed to hook the earring into her hair and it dangled from the habitual flower like a fall of dewdrops. "Are you staying for supper?" she asked.

"I guess, if you can handle me," he said solemnly. "You don't mind me taking a spot at the table, pretty girl?"

Delilah considered this and then nodded solemnly. "Yes."

"Excellent," said Uncle Kiet, and tweaked one of Kova's ears. "I'll just get some water for these flowers, then, or Tif'll murder me when I get back to the Argo."

"She never would." Kova giggled and leaned over to kiss Kiet's temple in retribution to the ear-handling. "I hope you like fish. Delly's not a big fan of red meat so it's lots of veggies and chicken and fish."

Delilah pulled a face expressive of disgust. "I don't want to eat cows," she explained.

"I'd eat roadkill if your mama cooked it," their guest declared. "She could cook rubber and still have it be a three-course meal. Well. So long as it was soup. She can do things with soup that soup is not meant to do. - So you like cows, pretty girl?"

"No. That's why I don't want to eat them." Delilah looked as if she were about to roll her eyes but merely offered Kiet a half-shrug. "But Mama's a good cook, yes."

"She has a bad case of sassmouth," Kiet told her mother. "Only it's inward-facing, so she just makes eyebrows at people. When she's a teenager she'll be unbearable. Better send her to a salt mine."

"She doesn't like salt either," came the placid answer. "Which shows we're not biological, like."

"Mama makes really good desserts." With that announcement, Delilah clearly decided that her presence in the conversation was no longer necessarily and she wandered off to the window once more. As she retreated, though, she threw another faint, "Thank you, Uncle Kiet" over her shoulder.

Strange child.

Gym Class - An Open RP that is too short to count (but I'm a**l-retentive) - Delilah gets to put on a swimsuit. Why, yes. It has floral print and bright colors.