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When Melody had left for the Silver World, it was early in the morning, May tenth. At least, that was what she'd remembered; she knew it was in the month of May, and she was RELATIVELY certain it was the tenth... At this point, her memory of that time was rather hazy.

When she found herself back in her father's kitchen, sunlight streaming through the windows, the sounds of deep, even breathing wafting through the still house, it was the fifteenth of Celebration; just after Arts Day. What a time to be had, what beautiful sights and sounds and OH, how she'd thought of home!

And now, peering through the kitchen, not knowing what to do first; to open the fridge and pour herself a glass of apple juice-- something she'd terribly missed while in the Silver World, to check the date, or to run home and ensure her husband had not gone mad in her absence... Well. All right, she had something of a plan. First, the apple juice. (How much sweeter it tasted after a month of craving!) Second...

There had to be a calendar about somewhere. As Melody nursed her second glass of apple juice, she wandered the house (she still had a difficult time thinking of it as "Daddy's house" rather than "Our house"), searching for anything-- anything at all that would tell her the date.

Ugh. And of course it would figure... The Calendar was turned to April of the year Melody left, the dates up to "21" have been crossed out... and while Melody couldn't ignore the possibility of having traveled back in time, forgetfulness seemed to be the more likely culprit in this case.

So she tiptoed through the house, not even bothering to knock on her father's door as she slips inside.

Slowly. Carefully. She nudged him awake, keeping her projections calm and soothing as she glanced at the clock at his bedside. Ten in the morning.

"Daddy," she whispers, trying to focus his attention on her for the time being.

"Mnnh," Boyan complained, opening one eye to glance at his daughter. "Mel'dy?"

There, there, Melody just wanted to ask a question, is all... What day was it yesterday?

Boyan almost GLARED at his daughter, irritated projections saying You woke me up for THIS? But still, he answered, "Ninemay" before rolling over with a "hmmmph."

...Nine-may. Which meant... It was STILL the tenth of May.

Melody wouldn't have to return home yet; Boyue, she assumed, must still be sleeping, after all. No sense waking him, after all.

With a quick peck to her father's forehead, Melody left him to his sleep and returned to the kitchen. This time, she left just a little bit of apple juice in the glass and set it on the edge of the counter-- if the date changed significantly afterward, surely the glass would be emptied, washed, and moved, right?

It was time for her to go back.

Melody couldn't decide which was more difficult; learning the notation system in the Silver World (At this point, she simply can't continue to call it the Space Danish; "Silver World" has been firmly established in her mind), or training herself to stop strumming the zither as if it were a guitar or attempting to "rock out" on it. One of her first attempts, she recalled vividly, sounded like a hyperactive, tone-deaf hoedown. She still, even now, couldn't believe that Jin didn't ban her from the zither for life.

Not that she REALLY expected hir to, mind you, but when she put it that way, it made for an interesting story! Ah, if only Boyue could have seen that!

--Well, it was better that he didn't, really. Melody was eager to perform this new music for him, but only after lots of practice. It had to be absolutely perfect before she'd let him hear it. And perfect was miles away from where she stood (or rather knelt) today, brow furrowed in concentration as she slowly deciphered the notes and plucked their corresponding strings.

Too slow, too slow. But she made no mistakes as she crawled through the composition at a snail's pace. Her focus was on training herself to memorize the notes and string locations. She would worry about speed (and technique sweatdrop ) later.

Again, from the top. Increase the tempo slightly. ONE-two-three-four-five-s--

A terrible noise erupted from the zither as Melody lurched forward, knees screaming in pain she hadn't even realized had been building. Oh by the GODS it hurt!

"AaaaAAAAAAAH," she complained, rocking backward and landing hard on her backside (causing a second projection of pain. Ow!). That's what she got for kneeling for so long in her state! Did she honestly think a pillow was going to help matters any?

She began to lean forward again to rub her knees, but found her own belly to be in the way. Zither practice momentarily forgotten, she took a moment to contemplate her situation.

--Yes, contemplate. Not to say the childlike Melody-that-was was gone for good, but this time spent in the Sliver World, around Porcelain, learning their history, learning their ways... She couldn't help but feel that maybe, perhaps, she'd grown just a little during her stay here. Did that mean she was ready to be a mother? Did it mean she was ready to be a mother to twins?

She honestly didn't know.

But back to the important matter at hand; her poor knees and her ridiculously large stomach. When she'd first arrived, she looked almost normal. Sure, she was certainly a little large, but she could have been a woman carrying one child ready to be delivered. But not now. Now, she looked as if a stiff breeze could knock her over and cause a small earthquake that would be felt all the way in Gaia.

Speaking of which... It was about time for her to be getting back, wasn't it? How long had it been since she last visited? She'd left for the Silver World early in the morning in May. It had been a month before she felt adjusted enough to feel comfortable venturing home and back without losing her way either way, only to find her husband still asleep in bed with only an hour on Gaia passing.

One month. One hour.

And now, another month later, she'd had time to grow, to adjust to the progression of her pregnancy. But Boyue...

Oh no.

When she came home, she would be-- and he would be--!

When Melody got home, she would have a LOT of explaining to do.

(Mommy comes home!)

(Solo RP: Birthing plans?)

Porcelain: Open RP
(Pages 679 ~ 683)

Melody receives a cake for her father from Meirou, talks to Baikou about Gaia, checks on Hitsuga (and then drags him out to meet everyone, only to find that he and Baikou already know one another), is asked if she's Hitsuga's wife, and worries about Kikushou.

All in all, a productive day.

Journal Entry:

4laugh BOYUE'S MELODY IS HAVING TWINS! Not just one baby, but two! Boyue is not sure what to make of this. The thought of one was exciting and scary enough, but two! How are they going to take care of two? He knows they can, of course, but they are going to be so busybusy! And they must get more baby stuff! They only have baby stuff for one! Boyue will go to the store soon. He wants to be sure that everything is ready for when Melody comes back forever.

In which the twins ARE HERE