Welcome to Gaia! ::

Quest: Blood Sweet
(Fight, Lost)

The park was alive with light, and laughter. It was mostly empty, a few older kids playing basketball, and them. Savius drank it in, glad to be away from home for once. The new baby, their 'zombie' was a lot of work. But Kyle was babysitter for the day, which meant he and his sibling had some free time. Which brought them to the park. Himself, Jer'ain, and Earako, who Michael had let come along.

Earako meant Vimber, and Savius found the dragon facinating, if only because he could taste the predatory nature that the bat girl seemed completely unaware of. Fen liked the red dragon too, and Vimber seemed to like the dog as well, the two of them ran circles around the park, leaving the kids to their own devices.

"Hey V, betcha can't catch me!" Jer'ain's voice, singsong amused, from atop one of the long plastic slides.

Grinning, Savius bolted after her, climbing the slide and navigating the wooden playstructure with the ease of familiarity. Still, Jer'ain remained ahead, her headstart allowing her to reach the other end of the structure and head down one of the twisting slides before he had a chance. Eager for a shortcut, he jumped, landing roughly in the bark, a bit dizzied by the impact.

No matter, there was Jer'ain peeking out from behind a wooden pole, her laughter mocking as she sprinted off toward the trees that lined the parks edge. Breathless but determained, he raced after her, starting to close the distance between the two of them with quick turn and determination. Bird of prey that he was, hunting was second nature. Even without flight.

And then... just barely heard, the whispered sound of Earako's breathy laughter. Later, he wouldn't be able to say why he stopped, instead of continuing the chase. Instincts older than his current memories pulled him to a halt, gasping for breath as he scanned the park for his cousin.

There she was, a black and white photograph, pale skin and dark velvet. Her parasol shaded her face from view, but she was looking up at some man, much older than she was. Older than any of them were.

He moved closer to them, heard the man's sugary voice, talking of shade, cool drinks, candy.

Death on the air. A version of his, so that the taste was familiar in his mouth. Blood, pain and anger. And something else unfamiliar and sickly sweet.

Where was Fen? Dog and dragon, curled head to tail, sleeping on the other side of the park. <******** the remaining distance between them at a run, Savius pushed the albino bat away roughly. Standing between her and the man, he felt anger like a hunger, bringing something older and wilder than he was to the front.

"Go to Vimber." He snapped the words at his confused looking cousin, without looking.

"Savius?" Sweet whispering voice, trust and confusion. She should have known better, really. Michael should have taught her to tell predators from prey.

"Now." He heard her retreating, and let himself forget her. It was easy, with his mind roaring with hate and hunger.

"You gonna come along instead, pretty boy?" The man's voice all sweetness gone. "I know some real fun games."

The taste on the air was dizzying, he was drunk on it. Lithle's death's were old if not forgotten. And Michael, who still killed, did so rarely, and buried it deep. This was fresh violence.

"The dead don't all forget, you know." And he didn't understand what the words meant as he pushed the man roughly on the chest, "It's only a matter of time before they find you."

"Little punk." He wasn't expecting the fist, nor the harsh pain of impact as the world exploded with dizzy light. His cheek was on ******** kicked out half blindly, not knowing what his target was but feeling some satisfaction when he earned a grunt of pain as the kick connected. He was going to be fine. And if he couldn't see well through the lights in his eyes, he could still throw a punch and hear the man gasp when he hit him in the stomach.

Something hit him in the face again. Dead center this time, and he staggered backwards, hands covering the bloody mess of his nose. God he was gonna fall.

He was gonna fall and this man was going to kill him.

His way.

He swayed in place, a rough push, just that, all it took before he was hitting the ground, wind knocked out of him, nothing but stars in his vision. He'd fallen strangely. His wing hurt.

A growl, familiar and much too welcome. A low rumbling sound, and with it a violent hiss. Fen. Vimber. The dog bumped him gently with his huge head, the dragon ignored him completely, focusing on the man who had so recently endangered Earako.

She too, could smell a predator, he thought.

"V?" The stars in his eyes cleared enough to show the man stepping backwards, more intimidated by the dog and the dragon than by a punk kid with wings.

Was that all he was?

Jer'ain's grabbed him roughly, tugging him backwards. He could hear Earako. She was crying.

Vimber and Fen continue to advance on the man, snapping and growling, until he broke into a run.

He wished he could take some satisfaction from that.

"Fen." He called, voice rough with pain, as the dog began to give chase. He wanted the dog at his side. Fur and muscle and protection.

He wasn't supposed to need that.

"C'mon. Lets get the ******** home."

Hopefully, he'd be able to get his knees to work.

The noise, the crowds, the press of humanity around him. Savius didn't mind the mall, found it interesting in a way. Besides, he had needed new clothes. Taylor, however, who he'd brought along with him, minded the mall rather spectacularly much. As much as a small zombiebrat could. Which meant, in the end, that they had left, if only to get him to stop screaming. They had taken shelter only a little ways away, at an old fashioned soda fountain and burger joint, where Savius could have something to drink, and Taylor could relax in a less crowded environment.

Sitting at a corner booth, the infant in his arms, the kestrel looked at the menu without any real interest. It wasn't like he was going to eat cooked meat. But he liked sweets well enough, and they did have a dessert list.


"C'mon, Yashi!" The woodpecker couldn't be heard from outside, but he was trying to convince his snarly younger brother that he was, indeed, hungry. Yashi was ignoring the claims that he didn't 'know his own hunger' and had been trying to pull away from his insisting sibling. "I want ice cream, damnit! And you're coming with me! I'm your baby sitter!"

"I am not a baby!" Yashima snapped in response, stamping his wooden-shoe covered foot on the cement sidewalk. Iamel just snorted and finally gave up. He leaned over and grabbed Yashima by his waist, hauling him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. That was how they moved inside, Yashi snarling and Iamel lookig around for some place to sit.

That guy... Red eyes narrowed and Iamel moved over towards Savius' table slowly, ignoring Yashimas growlings against his back. It COULDN'T be. But who else COULD it be? He FELT like a Bird and he looked like.. "Savius?"


One could almost pretend a resemblance between Savius and Taylor as two pairs of eyes of simular amber colour looked up. There was a vague familiarity to the voice, but it was a distant thing, hard to pin down to the here and now. Until he saw him. Tall and attractive but the hair was the same and the feeling of kin was very strong. There was no mistaking it. Iamel.

"Hey Bro. You're bigger." So spoke the king of understatement as he scooted out of the booth and stood. Holding Taylor against his shoulder with one arm, he reached out to ruffle the other teen's hair. They were almost the same height now. Strange that. "C'mon, sit down with me."

His gaze moved to the child slung over his kindred's shoulder, a child he'd seen before, though they'd been of a height, then. "What's his problem?"

For his part, Taylor wiggled and whimpered a bit at the sudden change of positions, not entirely happy to be taken from Savius's comfortable lap. As his head was buried firmly against his brother's neck, he saw neither the bird nor the other Ghost, but he knew they were there. People. Scary.


Iamel grinned roughly when he realized he'd been right in his assumptions. The ruffle was returned with a brief tug on the others sleeve in greeting - dive tackling a person with a child in their arms was rude and dangerous. He had learned at least that much.

"Yeah. So're you! We're like... almost the same. It's creepy." Savius' voice was different too.. but it had the ring of ultimately being the kestrel. That comforted the woodpecker.. He didn't like the thought of being hte only one without different things. Yashima was plopped onto the floor - feet first - and Iamel slid into the opposite side of the booth, facing his friend and Taylor. "When'd you sprout? Did it hurt? Mine did. Who's the kid?"

"A ghost." Yashima answered his brothers reply, flopping next to him. Neither of them answered the question of what was 'wrong' with Yashi.. he was always this way. Always had been, since he'd grown. "The one who didn't like me. Hi?" He offered the baby.


Savius chucked at Iamel's comment about it being creepy, and it was almost surprising to hear a laugh from him. It wasn't something he did very often, but the surprise of finding his 'little bro' as grown as he was, apparently allowed for an unusual level of self expression. "Hurt like ********." He admitted, wincing at the memory of the experiance, so very much more traumatic than the time he'd died as a bird. Why the hell did it all have to be so... drastic for them? "I was showering. One minute I'm covered in soap, the next I'm bleeding from my wings and almost blacking out."

"Scared the hell out of Jer'ain." Indeed, the girl would probably be traumatized for awhile yet by the memory of rushing to find her naked, bleeding and unexpectedly tall brother huddled in the bath tub, whimpering. He'd just leave the part about the whimpering out, though. "This is Taylor. Our Zombie."

Plucking the gryphon boy off his shoulder, he set the child on the table, supporting him in a sitting position.

Tiny lion's tail lashing nervously, Taylor looked toward Yashi, trying to decide how threatened to feel. But the boy had sparkly's on his wrist, and if those amber eyes weren't trusting, they sure were interested as tiny fists made grabbing motions and attempted to reach toward the treasures.


"You bled from your wings?" His eyes widened at that and the woodpecker stood, leaning on the table to peer around, trying to get a glimpse of his friends wings now. "They're okay now, though? Right? You're not bleeding there anymore?" One hand reached out to touch Savius' shoulder, head tilting to make sure his back wasn't splattered in blood or anything. Once he was satisfied, Iamel sat back, nose wrinkling. "Poor Jer'ain. I freaked 'Keelah out. He was yelling at me and then I was on the ground, convulsing the next. But.. I didn't bleed. It only hurt for about an hour after."

Iamels nose wrinkled, blinking in at Taylor. "Hey, Zombie kid!" He was ungaurdedly good with most children, fingers wriggling at him with a grin. When Taylor reached for Yashi, though, he just laughed. "Hows your dad taking the 'being big' thing? Shiniee almost died, himself."

The fox glanced down at the kit reaching for him... oh. The little metal bracelets he'd bought earlier that week. White eyebrows arched and one of the metal things were pulled off, glinting in the dim shop lights. "Want this?" He offered, holding it out to the gryphon.


"I bled some, yeah. I think they ripped my back up while they were growing." He wasn't exactly sure on that account, he'd been a bit distracted by the overwhelming pain. And by the time he'd come completely back to himself, Jer'ain had him neatly bandaged up. She was a good sibling, for what that was worth. "But yeah. I'm fine. Got a sword out of the deal. A real one. Not sure where the ******** that came from, but how does anything work, with us?"

"Dad's ok. I'm taller than she is now." He smirked then, the same lazy expression he'd worn in his childhood. "I can yell at her to her face, now."

"Uussuuuu." Responded Taylor, eloquently. He allowed himself a seconds distraction to stare at Iamel, a lip shiny being almost as interesting as a wrist shiny. But then the bracelet was coming toward him, and Yashima had his full attention. Yes, that! That was what he wanted! Leaning forward against the restraining hands of his brother, he made a snatching attempt to grab the bracelet being held toward him.
SilkenMinion: "I got a lip ring and three feet of height." He laughed, shrugging and leaning back against his chair. "I'm glad your okay, though. I'd have t smack you if you were walking around still bleeding or something." So he blathered a little - the woodpecker sat up straight as another question struck him, lips peelin ginto a wide grin. "DId you try flying yet?"

He had. Almst DIED, mind you, but oh! It was NOT a bad experiance.

Yashi leaned in a little, delicate fingers holding the shiny on the tips of his fingers towards the baby. He wasn't going to taunt him with thoughts of shinie things... he GAVE them the shinies, if that's what they wanted. And it appeared the little fellow did. "Yes. Uusssuuu."


"Hmm? Nah, not yet. You think we could?" There was a surprising note of wistfulness in his voice as he asked. Flying was something he missed almost painfully, even now. Sure, the kestrel had died, but the Kestrel remained, with dream memories of swooping down on unsuspecting prey all power and grace. Still, now he could kill merely by wanting something to die, and there was something to be said for that as well.

Streaching his wings slightly in the narrow confines of the booth, he couldn't help but think them too small to support his considerable weight. Still, at least they weren't tiny anymore. Iamel were proportionately bigger, but Savius wasn't the sort to bother with jealousy. It took too much energy. Instead, he lifted a lazy hand to wave down the flirtatious young waitress that had been irritating him until Iamel showed up. After all, he'd come in for a reason.

Got it! With a loud squeal of delight followed by giggles of pleasure, Taylor took the shiny from Yashima, waving it enthusiastically in the air. And, being the age he was, he almost immediately stuck a considerable portion of it in his mouth, enjoying the cool feel of metal on his gums. Mmm... shiny flavored.

A high pitched giggle announced the arrival of the waitress, all breasts and too wide smiles. She batted dark eyelashes and tugged at her black curly hair as she looked back and forth between Savius and Iamel. "So, what can I do for you guys?"


"I tried jumpin' out of Diacyns window and... ehrm. I think some wind saved my a**, but I was elevated for a minute." He smiled sheepishly, tugging at his long, orange-red bangs a little bit. "I don't see why we couldn't practice, you know? Like the magic except... with our wings. Fly as soon as possible. I miss it. It was... I miss it."

Another smile and he glanced up at the waiteress, eyebrows moving slowly upwards. Hopefully, his sisters wouldn't end up like her.. Giggly and too squishy and... It was at that moment that Iamel decided he did Not Like squishy things on peoples chests. "I don't know about you, Savius, but I want me an ice cream sundae. Shiniee says my metabolism is crazy anyway."

The fox-kit grinned at Taylor, chin on the table to watch him. The little thing did not hate him!! He liked that. he didn't like the boys to watch him. It was cute. "Water," He mumbled, "No sugar."


"Idiot." Savius scolded promptly, shaking his head at Iamel. There it was, that brotherly instinct. Supporting Taylor with one hand, he reached over to swat the Woodpecker lightly upside the head. "We should practice, maybe, but not by jumpin' out of windows. Who do you think you are Death by Hitting the Ground Really Hard?"

Turning his attention to the waitress he offered her a lazy grin. There was nothing behind the smile, except perhaps amusement. Did she really think she had a chance with well, either of them? Humans. Meh. That hint of a superiority complex had not faded, and while he was more than ready to make exceptions for family and Guardians of friends, he still found himself impatient with strange mortals. None of them aware of how fragile they were. "I'll have what he's having, lots of hot fudge. And a soda. And nilla wafers for the zombie here." And a dead squirrel, but he wasn't even going to ask. He liked to kill his own food, anyway.

The girl licked her lips as she wrote down their orders and Savius almost laughed in her face. He settled for smirking at her retreating form and turning back to Iamel. "Well, that was new."

Giggling around the shiny in his mouth Taylor reached again for Yashi. This time, there was no demand in the gesture, he simply wanted to touch the nice boy who'd given him the bracelet. It was good to make friends with shiny holders. That way, you got more shinys. Clever baby he was.


"He goaded me into it. What was I gonna do? Look like a p***y? I'd NEVER live that down." He grinned, hand darting up to catch Savius' wrists with his fingers. "That would be an AWESOME death, by the way. Not death by falling, but Hitting the Ground Really Hard. Think we should suggest it to Shanuh?" The woodpecker laughed, watching as the woman interacted with his friend, eyebrows arching once more.

"Indeed. She was staring at you like YOU were the prey... not the other way around. What the hell was that?" And no. He saw nothing wrong about cursing around children. Raja would vouch for that.

Yashi blinked and then reached up to touch Taylors hand with his. He beamed at the other kid not hating him, tickling gently at his palm. "You don't hate anymore?" The lightly-accented voice quired, grinning a little. "Good."


"You care too much about what that jerk thinks." The comment was made with memories in mind, a hot headed Diacyn attacking him for reasons the Kestrel still didn't understand. Seriously. What the ********? But nevermind that, he just didn't want his friend pushed into danger by the Owl. "You think Shanuh makes those kinds of decisions?" A genuine question. Savius still didn't quite understand what Shanuh was, or any of the Birdcage people for that matter. Only that they felt... impressive. Like Kin, but much bigger.

"I dunno. Kinda wierd though. People treat you different when you're tall." A lesson that the kestrel was finding more and more true, and one he wasn't entirely certain how to deal with.

"Gee!" Agreed Taylor, grabbing one of Yashi's tickling fingers and clinging to it firmly, a babies determained grip. Now, now he'd won! He had the shiny giver. That could only mean the production of more shinys. At least, he thought that might be how it worked. Thoughtfully he tugged the finger he held, trying to bring it up to his mouth. He could probably fit the hand in, he thought, along side the shiny.


"Yes I do." Iamel agreed readily, shoulders rising into a shrug, "He's my friend just as much as you are. Did you two get into a fight or something? I thought you were on good terms... I mean..." He shrugged a little, nose crinkling up into a confused expression. Iamel knew Diacyn was jealous of the kestrel, judging by his remarks during the class, but he didn't think his two friends would actually FIGHT outside of casual sparring. "He's just rash sometimes. And Shanuh... I don't know.

The teen frowned a little, shrugging once more. "I don't know but ... he's strong. Stronger then us. He might, y'know? Anything's possible." Shoulders rolled, grinning, "Yeah. People do. Especially girls. They look at you weird. Maybe that's why all Birds are boys - that I've met anyway - so we won't be just THAT weird."

Yashi squeaked, giving a small grin to the other, letting him pull the finger with him. "Are you trying to eat me now?" For some reason, he thought babies could talk back to him. "I don't think I'll taste that good, kid."


"Relax Bro. Baldy might hate me, but that's his problem, okay? Not yours or mine." Savius quick to smooth over the confusion his remark had apparently caused, dismissing his earlier statement with a shrug and a smile. Nothing to worry about. As long as the owl didn't try to pick up the fight again the next time they ran into each other. Which made him wonder, "You think everyone else has grown too?"

"Yeah, Shanuh's different. He's something better than us, whatever that means." At Iamel's next statement, Savius managed a brief 'heh' of a laugh, grinning across the table. "Guess you're just too pretty. All the girls are jealous." He'd never really thought about the fact that all the birds were male, and thinking of it now he tapped the table thoughtfully. "That's kinda weird."

Almost reluctantly, Taylor pulled the shiny out of his mouth to make room for Yashima's finger. Leaning forward a tad, he licked the diget cautiously before actually bringing it into his mouth. The shiny boy tasted not as good as bracelets, but better than his brother. Pulling the drool covered finger out of his mouth, he stuck the shiny back in. "Geemmuu."


"I just thought he was jealous... not that he hated you." Iamel frowned a little and then shrugged, "Just don't kill him. I like him alive." The woodpecker paused, blinking up with a little grin. "You think they could've? Well... you have... and we've all been around for a while. Holy s**t, it'd be awesome if they did. You an' me an' Diacyn an' Xaxis and.. uhm." He pauses, "...Rascir, I guess? I haven't talked to him much so that's on a lesser scale of awesome but still kick a**. I haven't seen Calytae in a while, he might've too! But - but if the little group... thing..grew, that'd be so cool."

Savius comment on him being pretty made him blink a few times and - blush? s**t. What was that? Iamel made a face, laughing and tilting his head back. "I don't think I'm all that pretty, Savius. You're just really weird, you know that?" Kicking at his friend, gently, from under the table. "I don't mind the no-girls.. They can be annoying sometimes. More then average."

Yashi.... didn't know what to think. He grinned a little at the kid, wriggling his spit-covered digit at his Iamel and was rewarded with a napkin being wrapped around it. Ears went flat with a grumble. "Geemmuu to you too, kid."


"Nevermind him." Savius said firmly, not wanting to dwell on the bald boy and the bruises that had resulted from their last encounter. Better to think about Iamel and Taylor and the possibility that Xaxis and Rascir were big now. They, he thought, would be pretty when they grew. Certainly the songbird had such nice hair. And Xaxis just might grow into his wings. He smiled, the expression neither sarcastic nor amused but genuinely happy. "We should try and get together, all of us. See who's tall now."

Deftly avoiding the kicking with a short laugh, Savius tucked his feet up and grinned across the table at Iamel. "Maybe not pretty. You look good though, bro. I like the goatee." He was serious in that moment, measuring his friend with a thoughtful glance. "Depends on the girl, I guess. I've just got Dad and Jer'ain, so... they're both pretty cool, you know?"

"Geemuu." The child repeated firmly, his excitement making his tail lash around wildly. That was one limb he hadn't completely figured out to control yet. He wasn't even entirely convinced it was his. Releasing Yashi's finger, he turned to look at his brother, holding out the shiny, "Eee!"

"Nice, Zombie." Savius agreed absently. "Kid's a klepto." He added, his attention drawn away by the return of the waitress, and therefore, the arrival of icecream and cookies for Taylor.

"Thanks."


"He's just hard to get along with sometimes," Iamel stated about Diacyn before dropping the subject completely, grinning a little more at Savius' smile. He looked GOOD when he didn't smile with some lurking emotion in the back of his eyes - just smiled because he was happy. It was better that way. For a fleeting moment Iamel could see why the waitress would be so Looking at his friend, even though she had never seen him smile.

"We should!" The woodpecker grinned, nodding in agreement. "We should have a 'We're tall now, we kick a**' party and invite only the taller people! It'll be fun and - thank you." He cut himself off halfway through, hand moving to tug at the fuzz, a crooked grin on his lips. "You're not half bad yourself. I like the glasses." They reminded him of his Shiniee.

That was not a bad thing.

Yashima grinned at the child holding out his shiniee - now Taylors shiniee - and was so very excited! He liked making little kids happy. Boys, anyway. The girls kind of scared him. But that was not something he was going to advertise. ....anymore. "I don't mind. S'just a bracelet." He nodded, eyes flickering over to his brother, who was getting his own ice cream happily.


"How we gonna manage that one? Put a line on the door with a sign that says 'you must be this tall to enter the party'?" Savius took his icecream from the waitress without really glancing at her, setting it slightly to the side, where tiny fists couldn't reach it. Ruffling Taylor's hair affectionately, he put one of the pale round cookies in the baby's free hand, making sure he had a good grip on it before letting go. It was hard to get him interested in eating, Savius occasionally entertained the idea of painting all his food silver to keep his attention.

"You like 'em?" Reaching up, he touched the frame of his glasses, adjusting them a bit before letting his hand drop, "I found 'em laying around and thought they were sorta cool, you know? I need to show you my sword." A hint of excitement and energy there, even from the generally laid back bird. "It's ******** huge."

Picking up his spoon, he poked the icecream absently, getting a bite of fudge before even trying the cold stuff.

Taylor continued to shake the bracelet, watching in facination at the way the metal caught the light. The cookie in his other hand simply sat there, clutched firmly, but mostly forgotten. It didn't make the light dance. And even though he knew it would taste nice, even nicer than shiny, his interest was elsewhere for the moment.


"Hey, works for me." He laughs a little bit, watching the other take care of his sibling. It was cute... Iamel glanced at Yashima, eyebrows arching critically. But then again, HE Had been cute too, when he was that age. Clingy and beautiful and adorable... and then he had grown. Ugh. That little puke. His head shook a little, taking a scoop of his ice cream. "YEah, I like um. They accent somehow." His hand waved, laughing and tilting his head back.

"You got a sword?! Are you serious? How ******** huge are we talking here? Like.. arm huge? Whale huge?"

Yashi watched teh little kid toy with the bracelet but... no eats? His eyebrows arched, laughing quietly into his water. The fo slurped softly, eyebrows arching up. "Do you not like food, watage?"


"Thing's almost as tall as you are." The kestrel stated proudly, remembering the strangely familiar of its hilt in his hand, the way it had cut the air. "Not just a little wooden thing. Course, I could use some lessons in how to use the thing. But, hell, it can't be that hard."

Icecream. All melty and cold and somehow as he was eating he managed to get fudge on his nose. Not that he noticed, more concerned with his graceless, hurried way of eating. Savius was not the product of sit down, family dinners. Hell, he still insisted on killing his own meat, even if he'd try the stuff like icecream, that he knew he couldn't go out hunting for. He wasn't a tidy eater, not by a long shot.

If he didn't understand the boy, he at least liked him. Looking at Yashi curiously, the boy giggled happily. His amber gaze hit the two objects in his hands, cookie in one, shiny in the other. With a wide toothless smile he leaned forward, holding the cookie out toward Yashi. He could give presents too.


"Almost as tall as me? Holy s**t, Savius." The red eyes were wide, ice cream momentarily forgotten as he tried to contemplate how freaking HUGE smething would have to be in order to be...well, his size! "So this means you can pick me up too?" Iamel joked, still trying to wrap his mind around it with a soft laugh. "Wow. That's.... that is really ******** big.."

Savius was eating and that meant he could get back to it as well. Iamel, the child of a twitchy scientest, didn't much care for manners or movements that oozed grace. That's what Yashi was for. That's how Kian moved. Iamel just ate like any hungry teenage boy would, paying little mind to the children next to them.

A white eyebrow arched up,w atching as the gears moved within the others head. The kid was cute. And smart - smarter then he had been as a baby. The cookie was taken with delicate fingers and a bow of his head. The foxes voice was low, almost grinning, when he responded with, "Thank you, watage~"


Savius took the question seriously enough, sizing his friend up with a long glance, "Yeah, I could. But I don't know that you'd make a very good weapon. Unless you were using your explosion powers." Thoughts of the weapon were awarded the barest hint of an affectionate smile."I'll show it to you later. I don't have anything to carry it with, yet, so I left it at home. It'd be too hard to carry the Zombie and the sword. 'sides, he'd keep trying to grab it."

Sword plus shiny obsessed baby meant blood all over the place. And a very pissed sibling.

"Waaaa." The infant agreed, distracted as Savius pressed another cookie into his hand. This time, he brought it too his mouth, happily gumming it into an easily digestable soggy mess.


"He likes shiny things," The Bird agreed, grinning a little. Savius could carry him?? Really?? That was freaking amazing. "You have to show me the me-carrying-abilities after we get food. Fox-kit could hold your Zombie." He nodded firmly, laughing a little bit, leaning back against the chair as he licked at his spoon.

Mmm. Sugah.

Yashima munched down on his cookie happily, watching how the kid was immediately given a nother cookie. He grinned, reaching over with one hand to ruffle at the oddly-colored hair. So cute.


"Heh." One long arm streached across the table to once again ruffle the Woodpecker's hair, unconcious of the fact that he was mirroring Yashima. It was one of the few ways he showed real affection, those brief touches. He liked petting people, though he didn't like being petted himself. An odd side effect of growing up in a family that didn't do much of the physical affection thing. Or the mental and emotional affection, really. But that wasn't what he'd chosen his 'Dad' for. "I'll give you a piggy back ride."

Fast, almost militant eating habits meant that Savius's bowl was already nearly empty, only a melty pool of fudge and icecream left at the bottom of his bowl. Icecream soup. Considering it a moment, he lifted the bowl and drank the remaining contents.

It should be noted, in all honesty, that one of the less pleasent things to watch on Gaia was the mess created by a baby trying to eat a Nilla Wafer without teeth. The cookie had to be slowly slimed to death, its outside's slowly losing solidity and smearing across Taylor's face. Like his brother, the gryphon boy was apparently not overly concerned with neatness. Of course, he had the excuse of age.


Iamels face scrunched up despite his leaning into the others pettings. He liked reciving them even though his affection was outwardly displayed with grins and hugs and snuggles. He chose his Shiniee for the shiniees, for being different, and Savius chose his...well, that was his personal business. iamel didn't care why the other chose his Father to be a certian way - it wasn't his business.

"You will? Kick a**! I haven't gotten a piggy back since I was a bird." He grinned, fighting with his own 'soup' with the spoon. It would come out. IT WOULD. He would win against the ice cream!

Yashi just...stared. He hadn't been allowed things like that when he was a baby, from what he was tld, and now he could see why. His eyes were a ittle wide, blinking at the goopy-faced toddler, and he leaed in order to peer at Savius better. "....should I wipe his face or somehing?"


The waitress arrived again this time with the check. Savius made a point of not looking up, knowing full well that he'd bet met with an eyeful of breasts, and feeling he'd rather avoid that particular experiance. Digging into his wallet, he took out enough money to pay for the icecream with a reasonable tip, and set it on the table. Dad provided funds for the care and feeding of Zombies, and there was always enough for extras like this.

"Does it count as a piggy back ride if your a bird, do you think?"

At Yashima's question, Savius just shook his head. "Nah, he's not done eatin' it yet. He's just gonna make more of a mess until then."
((Not yet complete))

The Ball

Evenings in Lithle's household were usually quiet. The brats, if they were home, entertained themselves. Jer'ain cooked dinner, if she was in the mood, or painted. Savius read to Taylor or went out with some of his friends. Lithle did the sort of work for Tred that could be done, with no more than a computer and a wireless modem.

It was almost one of those evenings. Jer'ain had already put dinner in the oven, and now lounged on the couch, leaning against Savius as he gently preened her hair. They were over close for siblings, but in a house were all the love to be found had to come from them, it wasn't unusual. They both spoke in a language of touch, and Lithle thought Savius was most likely to blame for that. It was the bird in him.

Taylor was on the floor, playing with his book, sounding out words after each button he pushed. Lithle suspected he was teaching himself to read. A disturbing thought, for a kid so young, but how was she to know? He was the first one who'd been young around her. Jer'ain and Savius had both come to her pre-grown.

The difference came in Earako. Michael's child sat on the end of the couch, with Jer'ain's legs stretched over her lap. She was embroidering a pattern of delicate purple roses onto a black ribbon. Her dragon, Vimber, was curled up with Fen. The dog looked small against her, now. Vimber too, had grown.

And, that, of course, was the point. Earako was an elegant image of white skin and black lace, but where once her appearance had suggested innocence, it now had an edge of sensuality. The girl, in short, was growing up. And Michael had finally decided to face that fact. Or rather, to make her do the facing for him.

They were going to talk about sex.

"We're going to talk about sex." She announced, mentally preparing herself for what was to come, but not expecting the three equally blank stares she received. "Sex. ********, screwing, baby making. C'mon kids."

Earako's mouth turned down delicately, Jer'ain remained blank. Savius looked bored. "Oh. Mating. Why? You want more babies, Dad?"

"No. No more brats." And now Savius looked blank all over again. "Tonight's topic is how to screw without getting pregnant or diseased."

"People do that?" Savius again.

There were times when Lithle wished that she'd invested in a TV. Then this whole chat wouldn't be needed. How could her charges be so sheltered? Except, of course, that Jer'ain was a shut in, and Savius took only the vaguest interest in human interaction. And Earako… well Earako was probably too busy being polite to think of this sort of s**t.

Maybe Michael was right about talking to them, before someone ended up getting screwed without even realizing what the hell they were doing. But why her? Well, ********, where to start? They were staring at her.

"Does everyone at least know what sex is?" she asked, almost desperately. If she was going to have to go over the whole insert tab a into slot b s**t…

Savius nodded. Jer'ain leaned down to absently pet Taylor's hair. She seemed unaffected by the whole conversation.

"It's… umm," Earako looked down and blushed, "It's like kissing, but naked."

Lithle, quite suddenly, wanted to bury her head in her hands. "Fine, brats. Lets take this from the top."

Dad was explaining oral sex, and Savius was trying to keep his jaw from dropping. It all made so much sense now. So very much sense.

It wasn't that he hadn't known about mating. He'd been a bird once, after all. And sure, he hadn't taken part in it, but he'd seen it, and understood the function. But that was how he'd understood it, as a function. And as he hadn't been a true bird, he'd never felt the need to fulfill the function.

But Dad was explaining oral sex, and while Earako turned red, and Jer'ain tried to comfort her, all he could think was: So that was it. It was sex he'd wanted, when Xaxis had curled up, warm and lovely on his bed, had sucked on his fingers and slept cuddled against him. The wild, strange burn of it, the rush of feeling.

Sex.

He needed to find the Raven. He needed to find the Raven and explain exactly what it was they were supposed to have been doing all this time. It involved nudity, and touching, and sucking. He had some ideas on how to fill in the details too. Dad was being pretty sketchy, but oh, the ideas!

Savius was, to say the least inspired. And grinning like an idiot.

"What the hell is wrong with you, birdbrat?" Lithle actually went so far as to interrupt her third warning about the dangers of STDs to throw a pillow at him.

"Nothing, Dad." But he grinned at her as he said it. He couldn't help it.

The things he was going to do! With Xaxis of course, but who else? Not Iamel, that'd be wrong some how. Diacyn? Diacyn hated him. But he was so wonderfully… bald. It made one want to lick his head.

"Alright, let's wrap this up already." As she seemed to be done repeating herself, he looked up, and waited.

"Listen. Sex… it messes with you, ok? Screwing doesn't mean anything, but it can feel like it does. Don't confuse an orgasm with love, got it? For that matter, don't confuse love with an orgasm. Good partner will give you both."

"It's not wrong to have fun, but it's wrong to take fun seriously." A sigh meant she was tired, or tired of them, and Savius felt himself about to speak, interrupt, bring her back to life. But he didn't want to derail her.

"You can't trust people, brats. Especially the people you're screwing. You got each other. You got me, Michael. Outside that, who knows what you're dealing with?"

She stood then, and threw a handful of the condoms and dental dams she'd so repeatedly and forcefully mentioned on the table.

"You all take some of those. I am going to go get drunk."

"Umm, Ma'am?" Earako was red from the tips of her ears down, and staring at the table, "Do we have-"

A growl.

"Yes ma'am." And a delicate hand reached out to sort through the condoms, which, for some reason, came in a variety of colors. The bat child took one of each.

"'rain, can I go home now?"

"V and I'll take you home." Jer'ain was reassuring. She always was.

He let his sister stand, and stood himself, taking a good handful of everything on the table for good measure.

"Don't worry about any of this, Pretty." He steered Earako toward the front door, petting her pale hair gently. "I'm sure it's not all as bad as she made it sound."

"It sounds so messy, though." Her response was a whisper, even lower than usual.

"Mmm."