|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:38 am
Leon’s attention was snatched from Lucien as Jasper made that profoundly confusing remark. “Sure Lu,” he muttered before standing upright and scoffing at the white haired boy. Tristan also scrutinized Jasper at this moment. “He what?” he squeaked.
“I what?” Leon said, his face bewildered. “Also, are you trying to threaten me? Threaten me with that? Yes...I love Mara as a friend. And if you’re threatening someone don’t you need a demand there?”
He shook his head and began tearing the wrapper of his own ice cream bar, leaning against the counter as he observed the children. Jasper was incessant. Tristan excitedly tore the wrapper off, left it on the counter then sat down on the couch in front of the TV. “Jasper,” he called, taking a bite of his ice cream. “Want to watch a movie?”
Zephyrus proceeded to eat his ice cream in a much less rushed fashion. Putting down Blossom, he neatly ripped off the top of the wrapper and slid the ice cream bar out, making sure to take it by the Popsicle stick as to not make a mess. He happily proceeded to eat the ice cream in silence, at a loss for what to say.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:39 am
“Another ice cream,” was the boy’s automatic response, his expression screaming duh. “Or I tell Mara you loooooooove her. Grace says you is a puppy on heat.” Jasper took a bite of his ice cream for emphasis before turning to Tristan and nodding; he liked Tristan well enough and moreover, even if Leon didn’t agree Jasper had the means to embarrass him anyway. All in all? Today was going to be satisfactory indeed.
Lucien hummed blissfully around his ice cream, content with Leon’s response. “Mum shouldn’t humour him,” he said between bites, turning his body to Zephyrus. “She likes how boorish Jasper is, I think. I looked “boorish” up in the dictionary – and I think they should have a picture of him beside it. It’s like rude and, um, and a lot of other words I can’t remember, but they all were very him. I think mum likes it because he reminds her of her.”
He shrugged and took another happy bite. “I don’t think they’re the same, but mum is my mum and she has to be nice to me so maybe they are.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:40 am
The tall babysitter shook his head and laughed.
“Why would she believe you?” he asked directly. His stomach sank slightly as a realization came to him: Grace was definitely blunt, and he could tell that the woman told Jasper everything. As Mara said, she was raising him to be a straight shooter. He was rude and vulgar, but he did speak everything that came to his mind which was the truth to him. He crouched down in front of the mischievous toddler and stared him directly in the eyes.
“If I give you another ice cream,” he whispered strictly, “you won’t run your mouth? I’ll leave this one in the fridge; take it after you finish the one you have now. No telling Mara anything about me, alright?”
“Boorish,” Zephyrus repeated in his passive and unintentionally disinterested voice. “I’ve never heard that word.”
He took a few more bites of his ice cream and examined the strange conversation going on between Leon and the smug Jasper. “Your brother can be mean,” he said flatly, recalling his behavior when they first entered Leon’s apartment. “But he’s your brother. You have to love him.”
Zephyrus looked at his own brother, fiddling with the remote control which he could hardly hold properly thanks to his tiny hands. Tristan managed to change the channel to a station running cartoons. He laughed gleefully at his success at finding something to watch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:44 am
Jasper smiled into Leon’s face, his eyes wide and his teeth bared; it was sinister, but for the most part it was genuine. “Fingers crossed and hope you die.”
Whether substituting the “to” for “you” was intentional or not was unlikely to be realized as the boy had already shifted his interest to Tristan and his channel surfing. Leon had indirectly but sufficiently fed the boy’s ego; he was stuffed with arrogance and sprinkled with smug, glazed with pride with a hint of pomposity. Yes, Leon had unintentionally made his day.
“What’s on, Trist?” Jasper asked around his bar and fingers, still smiling a toothy smile.
Lucien lowered his ice cream and stretched his toes. “He can,” he agreed, leaning in. “But so can everyone.” He leant back and pulled the now bare popsicle stick from his mouth with a pop and slid it into his pocket.
“I’m sure he has some good to balance out his extra-mean,” he said hopefully, pulling his unicorn back into his lap. “Did you still want to play?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:46 am
Leon was taken aback by Jasper’s ‘hope you die’ comment, but he let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he would finally get some peace in the night. He smiled and walked over to the second pairing of boys, attempting to hide his amusement and Lucien’s assimilation of Zephyrus into his unicorn culture.
“What are you boys playing?” he asked curiously, sitting down cross-legged beside them.
“Lucien says that we’re playing unicorns,” Zephyrus said passively. “Have you ever heard of unicorns?”
“Sure I have,” Leon replied. “They’re magical horses, right Lu?”
In front of the TV, Tristan was content watching his cartoons. “It’s Yumcha the dragon,” he said cheerfully. “I don’t know what movies Leon has, but I like this show.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:50 am
Jasper hummed around his ice cream but otherwise said nothing; this cartoon seemed adequately entertaining and he trusted that Tristan had better taste than to watch something akin to My Little Pony. Rolling his tongue with acute dexterity (was even possible?), Jasper settled himself beside Tristan and leant forward.
On the other side of the room, Lucien bent over his rucksack, every so often dipping his head with an oh! or shaking his head before pulling out a red and black figurine and handing it to Leon. “This is Zipper. He’s the only male unicorn I have and all the girl unicorns really like him because of his pretty black mane. And probably because he’s the only male unicorn.” He motioned to the plastic fibres eagerly before pulling himself up. “Okay okay, lets race our unicorns!”
With that, Lucien scrambled from the pair and broke into a run across the room, unicorn-laden hand outstretched and determined.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:32 am
On the TV, Yumcha was (eternally) chasing Ping, the magic Phoenix; he devised yet another plan to capture the magical bird and obtain the wishes which it would grant to its captor. Yumcha was consulting the ancient Kylin for advice on his next manoeuvre. Tristan wiggled excitedly in his steat, his tiny tanned wings flickered with intent.
“If you had 3 wishes,” Tristan said with great deliberation, eyes perpetually glued to the screen, “what would you wish for?”
Zephyrus and Leon stayed seated, still trying to process what Lucien had just said. Leon looked over his plastic unicorn, so appealing to all the female unicorns. He smirked and looked at Zephyrus, who danced his own unicorn in front of Zipper. In the corner of his eye, he watched as Lucien veered dangerously close to the corner of the glass coffee table as he raced towards the end of the small bachelor pad.
“Hey, watch out Lu,” he called to the boy. “There isn’t much room in here! Don’t crash into anything.”
The man got up, and Zephyrus followed suit. Leon scanned the vicinity; if he moved the coffee table over, the small area between the fridge and the back of the living room could make for a sufficient racing ground.
“Lucien,” he said with a smug expression on his face. “Hold on a sec, I’m going to move this table so we have a good racetrack. Zephyrus, want to help me out?”
Zephyrus looked from Leon to the coffee table, his nerves showing on his face. It looked fragile and heavy. He nodded uncertainly, and walked over to the end of the table; he had no confidence in his ability to lift the table but was too polite to say no. Leon obviously didn’t expect the tiny boy to exert enough strength to move the table, so he heaved the glass surface up and-with a sufficient amount of force than was expected of his lanky body- moved the table aside. Zephyrus, who was hanging onto the glass edge of the table, gaped at how light it was. After the table was securely set aside, Leon clapped his hands together and picked up Zipper.
“Let’s race.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:52 am
"Unicorns, Leon, really." It was unsure when Grace had entered the scene, thin fingers tapping against her crossed arms and expression bordering on amused, but her presence was instantaneous; Lucien skidded to an abrupt halt, arms thrown in the air and plastered with joy and Jasper, who had been preparing an answer for Tristan, turned passively and began fishing a hair-tie from his pocket.
"MUMUMUM!" Lucien rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Grace's legs, bobbing excitedly on the balls of his feet. "Me and Zeph'rus and Leon were racing our 'corns which was so cool and Leon gave us ice-cream with cherries which was also very nice and Jasper yelled a lot but Jasper always yells a lot and hello."
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Lucien, fiddling his hair into the hair tie before leaning over to Tristan and peering obtrusively into his face. "Socks, a penny, reasons." Which didn't make sense at all, really, even to Jasper. Feeling as if he had sufficiently answered the question, Jasper sauntered over to Grace and crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth pulled into a devious smile; well, he never did get that ice cream.
"Leon loves Mara and babies."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
