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 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 pm
sunday, december 25th, 2005
outside aekea, gaia
Murmuring children. There were loudly whispering children in the hall. Was it morning? It didn't feel like morning.
"She's sleeping! Shhhhhhhh," the boy said.
"Pressens," the girl piped. When no one answered her, "PRESSSENNSSSS!" It was the screech heard 'round the world.
"SHHHHHHH!"
"It's okay Sylvester, I'm up. Let's go downstairs." There was a great deal of shuffling as Smerdle got out of bed and joined them in the hall.
"Sorry Mama."
"It's all right," Smerdle said. She looked down at Brownie. The kid was making grabby hands at the air, so Smerdle picked her up. It was Christmas after all.
They made their way downstairs, Smerdle being the first to see the tree because... she was the one who had put the presents under it. Brownie was surely second to see it, if her squirming was any indication.
"All right, all right," Smerdle said, depositing the toddler on the floor next to a mid-sized box. Brownie immediately dove for it, but Smerdle was quick to stop her from opening it. "That's Sylvester's," she corrected, taking the box and putting it in front of her son. Brownie tackled the next box, looking up at Smerdle for confirmation. Seconds after she received her aunt's nod, her little teeth sank into the side of the box.
"Do you want me to help with that?" Smerdle asked, 'amused' winning over 'weirded out' for the time being. Brownie shook her head violently and the box flew off to the right, a large chunk missing from one of its sides. Something green and fluffy peeked out of the hole and Brownie crawled over to it and pulled.
"Fuh," she said.
"Here, open yours."
Sylvester ripped at the wrapping paper, a wide grin on his face.
"Economical." Smerdle smiled.
"I like it. More than she did," Sylvester said.
Crouched behind a wide, flat box, Brownie gave Sylvester the evil eye before turning a questioning glance at Smerdle.
"Yeah, that one's yours too."
This box wasn't wrapped, and after a quick war with the lid, Brownie yanked it open. She lifted a heavy book out of the box, struggling to sit up as it fell across her body. The book slid to the floor, falling open to somewhere in the middle.
"Monstr!" she shrieked, eyes wide and finger pointing for a few seconds until she seemed to realize it wasn't going to eat her.
"It's a pop-up book," Smerdle said. "See?" She scooted over on her knees and turned a few pages. Brownie crawled over and poked at a little paper knight, valiantly sticking up out of the page. "Don't ruin it and I'll read it to you later."
Sylvester grabbed another box and dragged it over. It, too, wasn't wrapped.
(( Image from a Google search! Woo! ))
"It's from Uncle Chucky's shop. It was one of the first things I found in the back, and I figured it would be better off here than in some old lady's house. I used to have one of these things, and this one still works!"
Sylvester looked interested, but skeptical. "I guess it could be fun."
By this time, Brownie already had the lid off of her last box.
The animal was only a little bit bigger than Brownie's pair of Idle Thoughts, and they had already adopted the cardinal-fox as their new mode of transportation. The gryphon looked up at her new owner and promptly bounded out of the room, Alfonso and Cuaron clinging to her furry back.
"Hey!" Brownie screeched, chasing after the trio.
"Merry Christmas Brownie!" Smerdle yelled after her retreating niece.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:34 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:44 am
thursday, january 26th, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
creak creeeeeeeeak
Rusty metal against metal. It was an unpleasant sound, but no one was around to hear it. Well, two living entities were, but they didn't mind. Alfonso and Cuaron sat at Brownie's feet, watching her and smiling beaky smiles.
"Reeeeeeed reeeeed," Brownie screeched. She wanted someone to read to her, but in the meantime, singing to the tune of her own decrepit wings had seemed like a good way to pass the time. It had been for about an hour, but now she was bored. "Come," she told the Thoughts.
Ant's yard was particularly boring. It was big, but all that was really in it was an old, faded picnic table and a small, thick grove of trees and bushes. Opting for the bushes, Brownie rose and made her way over. Cuaron got there first, hopping and pecking on something green in the midst of all the crunchy dead grass.
"Go 'way," Brownie admonished. What was that?
Next to it, buried halfway in the dirt, lay a tiny glass ball filled with glitter and tiny people.
Brownie hefted the little book and the ball, suddenly finding the grove too small and dark to suit her. She crossed the yard and dropped the book on the chipped wooden bench, choosing to pocket the globe instead of risking breaking it.
"What's that?" came a voice from behind her.
"Nuttin." Brownie pulled herself up on the bench and tried to sit on the book, but Sylvester was too quick. He pulled it almost out from under her, and it took her a few seconds to stop herself from falling and regain her composure. "Hey," she said quietly.
"It's got my initials on it," he said with wonder. He held it up and stepped back as a piece of paper dropped out.
"Wot? Wottttttt," Brownie said, leaning forward and pointing. "Reed to."
Sylvester picked the note up and scanned it quickly. "Fine," he said. He sat down next to his cousin and began to read.
Sylvester,
I hope you are doing well. Here is a second late Christmas present from all of your friends in Guaxa. I understand you might be a bit angry with us, and I hope that this will help mend fences and that you will visit again soon. I had it embossed with your Gaian initials. I hope it will help you learn their letters.
Quin
"Hmm," Brownie said. She looked over Sylvester's arm at the strange letters decorating the page. He could read that? What a weirdo!
"See, it's for me," he said. He clutched the book like she wanted the dumb thing now. "It's a present from the place I thought was a dream. But that was pretty silly of me. I mean, they gave me real presents." He smiled. She shrugged. Like she cared. "You want to go read something?"
Brownie nodded. Sylvester had all the best books. It really took a tool not to realize all the fun they were. "Oh," she said. She supposed if he was taking the book, he could have the globe too. "Here." She fished it out of her pocket and handed it to him, then hopped off of the bench and headed inside, not caring whether her cousin followed.
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:34 pm
monday, march 20th, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
"Hey Brownie, c'mere."
Brownie shook her head and crossed her arms angrily. Life just wasn't fair.
"I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just want to pick you up," Sylvester said in his new Big Kid Voice. Not. Fair.
"NO!"
"Brownie!" Ant Smerdle was freaking out. Maybe it was best to keep quiet.
"Fi'." It wasn't like he was going to drop her or anything. She would maul him if he tried. Seconds later, she was scooped off of the ground, back against Sylvester's chest. Ant was afraid to hold her like this. In fact, the last time she had been up so high was the last time her father had held her. She balled up her fists and let out an angry gurgle.
"What?"
"Nuttin'."
"You're really light now." Sylvester laughed.
"Hmm. Go Ant." Brownie held out one of her fists toward the living room and Sylvester went. Smerdle was sitting on the sofa, staring at a postcard in disbelief. She was seriously a freak.
"Do you know what this is?" Smerdle said, waving the card around.
"No," Sylvester and Brownie said nearly simultaneously.
"Chucky's off on some island picking up more kids," she said. "A little boy named Toby, he says." Smerdle shrugged. "He's lost it."
"Does it say if he's coming home?" Sylvester asked. He hoisted Brownie up higher, and for a second she felt like she was going to puke, and it wasn't only from the sudden movement.
"Nah, nothing like that. What an a**." Smerdle glanced at Brownie's little fists. "Maybe I should take her," she said. "Get her mind off of this." She motioned to Sylvester to get him to pass Brownie to her. "You can take care of yourself, right?"
"Yuh-huh," he said, not paying attention. "Don't worry."
Smerdle turned the postcard over again. "We'll be at this... Benedict Center place. In Gambino." It seemed like as good a place as any to get Brownie socializing.
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Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:02 am
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 12:26 pm
tuesday, may 16th, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
"BROWNIE FREDRICKS!"
Full names were supposed to work in situations like this. Maybe they did when the children invloved weren't insane. Smerdle caught a flash of red and white at the top of the stairs, and she followed. How the hell did that kid get so quick?
"How many times have I told you not to leave these stupid things lying around?" Smerdle edged away from the landing, visions of being pushed down the stairs running through her head. She shook out the handful of jacks and dice onto the carpeting on the top step. "See how much you like it," Smerdle muttered. She crossed the hall to the toddler's open door. Nah, she wouldn't hide in her own room. As if to confirm her assessment, a sudden crash erupted from Sylvester's room across the hall.
Smerdle smiled. Brownie might have been quick, but she certainly wasn't stealthy. Yet.
"I know you're in here," Smerdle said. Sylvester's door was open too, and Smerdle knew from her experiences over the last couple of weeks that he never left it that way anymore if he could help it. She should have noticed.
"Come out now," Smerdle said, stepping into her son's room. Brownie was already out, squatting in the middle of the room examining the box that had presumably caused the crash. The little girl turned and held up a belt buckle larger than her hand, decorated with a giant skull. She grinned.
"Don't touch your cousin's things," Smerdle reprimanded. But wait. What was that? "Okay, I'm going to touch them, but that doesn't mean you should. Understand?" Brownie shook her head and continued to grin.
"Fine." Smerdle kneeled next to Brownie and began sifting through the spilled trinkets, placing each dubious treasure back in the shoebox as she finished with it. "Was it up here?" she asked. In a moment of helpfulness, Brownie nodded. Smerdle shoved the box's lid back on and put it on the little rolling shelf Brownie had indicated. "Come on," Smerdle said, scooping the toddler up on her way past.
"I'm going to have to have a talk with him," Smerdle said to the smirking girl in her arms. She had a vague idea as to where the box of... accessories had come from, but she didn't want to go accusing Sylvester just yet. Maybe the talk could wait. "Don't think that means you're not getting a talk either," she continued. Brownie's smile faded. "You can't just... OW! ******** JACKS!"
Smerdle had somehow forgotten to remember her own booby trap. She felt Brownie shaking in her arms before the Shattered let out the loudest guffaw Smerdle had ever heard. Very funny.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:31 pm
monday, july 31st, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
creak creeeeeeaaak
Ant Smerdle sighed. "That's only going to get worse the longer you stay out here, you know," she said.
"You clean dem," Brownie replied. That's what she was there for, right? Over the last couple of weeks this talking thing was getting easier and easier, and the little girl delighted in getting people to understand her. Not that she'd ever really had a problem with that, it was just so much quicker now. She looked down at the book in her lap, its pages curling in the light drizzle that also threatened her wings' beautiful shininess. She should go inside, but what was the fun in that?
"T-bin..." she continued. This book was boring.
"You know him," Smerdle said. "That's the old man that's helping them."
Brownie rolled her eyes. She knew who the hell Teabing was. She'd only been reading this stupid, boring book for a month now. She got up and walked over to where Smerdle was fitting two steel tubes together. Brownie really didn't understand why her temporary guardian was even building a swing set; Sylvester was too big for it now, and it wasn't like she was ever going to use it.
"Wat happen," she said, placing the book on the grass in front of her aunt.
"We'll all find out when you finish it," Smerdle said cheerily.
"No. Wat happen now." She stabbed a stubby pointer finger into the novel's cover.
"I'm not going to tell you."
Her wings creaked again in agitation. Fine. If stupid Ant Smerdle wasn't going to tell her how the book ended, Brownie would find out on her own. Sylvester used the laptop all the time. There was no way it could be that hard. She kicked at the paperback and started back into the house.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:32 pm
thursday, august 10th, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
No one was around. She was sitting on the front stoop all alone. This knowledge made the Shattered toddler clasp her hands together and smile, her sharp little teeth glinting in the sun. She brought her right foot forward, clacking the underside of her flipflop on the cement at the base of the stairs. No one noticed. No one came outside to tell her to get back in the house or the backyard. No one was around.
Without another thought, Brownie brushed off her shorts, tucked her wings flat against her back, and began walking up the block. She knew all about cars, at least the smack-boom-dead part, so she stuck to the sidewalk, gleefully pouncing on every break in the cement. The TV said that if you stepped on a crack, you broke your mother's back, and although she didn't think she had a mother, more back breaking was definitely what Gaia needed. Maybe someone else would get it in her absent mother's place.
Brownie spent almost ten full minutes engaging in this awesome activity before she got bored. By the time she came to a stop, she was quite a ways down the block from her house. She looked back, identifying the bright orange mailbox almost immediately. It was the only thing that differentiated Ant Smerdle's house from every other dank, ugly house on the block. Not that there were many. Oracle Drive was an extremely unpopulated street. Which is why Brownie almost leaped out of her skin when she was suddenly directly addressed.
"Hey you," a gruff voice said. "What're you doing over here? Go home."
Brownie spun around and frowned. Her name wasn't You. She narrowed her eyes. "No." She pointed to herself and held out the edges of her shorts in a mocking curtsy. "Brownie. What you want?"
The man's eyes narrowed in return, causing the wrinkles on his forehead to bunch up like old, saggy pantyhose. A light breeze ruffled his hair, and it waved around like an unnaturally auburn squid. Brownie didn't want to admit it, but this guy was kind of scary. "I want you to get the hell off of my property, but since you're not really on my property, I just want you t'hold still while I go get my gun."
Whoa. This guy meant business. For the first time in her life, Brownie truly respected an adult. And so quickly too! She hurried out into the street, not bothering to look both ways, determined to catch up with this man who hated her enough on sight to want to kill her.
"Wait!" she said, noticing that she was in the center of the road and briefly looking both ways. Brownie quickened her pace, but it was too late. Casting a disparaging look through his battered screen, the man stepped back into his darkened house and slammed the front door behind him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:34 pm
sunday, august 13th, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
Brownie had sat on the Orange Squid's front lawn for the rest of the day on the afternoon he had threatened her, but he hadn't come back outside and he had made no move to shoot her. Disappointing really. She had wanted to go back, but Smerdle wouldn't let her out by herself, as usual, let alone take her down the block, and Sylvester did nothing but sleep all the time these days.
This was her last attempt.
"Ant?" If Brownie thought to get on her aunt's good side by stressing their family relationship, she was doomed to fail. Smerdle seemed lost in a fantasy world, or at least a daydream.
"Ant!"
"Yes, Brownie?"
"Kin I see th'squid?"
"What?"
"I metta squid kin I go see him? You kin come." She pointed off toward the backyard as if that's where they would be heading.
"A squid?" Smerdle finally seemed to notice Brownie, turning her head from where she had been facing the wall and fixing the toddler with an expression of disbelief. "You met a squid?"
Brownie nodded.
"I don't think so." She turned her head back to the wall and sighed.
Brownie sighed too, but for a completely different reason. "No," she said quietly. "I'ma see squid."
When Smerdle didn't answer, Brownie turned around and left the room, her stomps inaudible on the thick carpet.
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 4:21 pm
wednesday, september 20, 2006
outside aekea, gaia
There was mist all around.
It could have been coming from the almost overwhelmingly loud waterfall that dominated this strange place, or maybe it was just a characteristic of the air itself.
Two people were coming. The child watching them pressed herself closer to the ground, her dark skin mostly covered by her pale dress and hair. She could just make out the adults as they entered the clearing and stopped.
"Chucky?" the woman asked. It took the child a moment to realize that it was Smerdle who was speaking.
In progress...
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:27 pm
What a drab, rainy day. A day such as today was almost bad enough to bring down even the brightest of hearts. Almost.
Asra sighed softly as he fluttered through the rain, brushing off droplets that slid slowly down his still bare skin. His ribbons no longer fluttered, they clung to his skin jealously; wider than normal to cover the bare necessities despite their damp, soaked demeanor. His spiky hair lay flat against his forehead in pointed sheets, often needing to be brushed out of his way as they completely covered an eye. Sheets of rain flung around his vibrating wings, causing a sheen of mist to surround them.
Though dull and dreary, Asra saw the beauty in even this day, in the little things such as the misty cloud that followed his movements, and the feel of cool air against his skin. Rain was never necessarily a bad thing for him.
One door.. two doors.. three doors.. four. This was it then!
He brushed his hair out of his face one last time, and headed to the door, knocking on it softly.
"Haaalloooo? Anyone there?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:52 pm
Brownie had never before seen any reason to open the door when someone knocked, but this particular knock was followed by a voice. The toddler didn't recognize it, but it still felt important, like the feeling she got when she met another glass-kid. She rose from her spot on the living room floor and made her way over to the front of the house. The door didn't have a mail slot and she couldn't turn the knob properly, so Brownie stomped and started to shriek.
"Opennnnnn! OPENNNNNNNNNNN!" Surely someone would hear the commotion and come to put its cause out of its misery.
"Brownie!" a voice yelled down the stairs. "What the hell is going on down here?" Smerdle had been taking a nap, but it hadn't taken her more than fifteen seconds to respond to the squalling little girl.
Brownie just stomped again and pointed at the closed front door.
Smerdle sighed. The kid was a menace, but if she didn't indulge her, the whole house would be up all night. She hurried down the stairs and scooped Brownie up, unlocking the door and swinging it open. "See, no one... oh." Smerdle had heard tales of a ribbon boy, and here he was. Her brow furrowed at his condition and she moved aside to give him enough room to pass if he wanted. "Would you like to come in? Sorry it took me so long to get to the door," she said. "I thought she was just having some sort of fit, but it's you, isn't it?"
Brownie sat back in Smerdle's arms and stared, a small smile on her face. This winged kid had been pretty fun to hang out with last time, but he had also been smaller. She decided it would be better to wait and see if he was still interested in being fun, or if he was as boring as most other adults.
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:07 pm
Asra's wet face grinned broadly when the door opened. "Hello!" He chirped, setting down with his feet firmly planted on the floor. His wings shook wildly to shake all the water off of them. He held his hand out, standing straight and perky as usual. "My name is Asrafel! I'm a.. uh.. well a friend of your daughters! I've come to visit, if that's all right?"
As he mentioned Brownie, he nudged his head in her direction, and gave her a coy wink. What a precious child, and he liked her sense of style! So many of his kindred were growing up, but it was nice to see one still so small every once in a while. He did so love kids.
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