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 Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:25 pm
"Fair enough," Marleia replied with a smile, waiting patiently in the corner as Shen attempted to dry himself. He didn't get very far, out of kindness to her. Even if it didn't matter much to Marleia since she was equally soaked. "Alright," she responded once Shen had finally settled down to a slight shivering. "We can talk."
At Shen's first question, she smiled and nodded her head. "Oh yes, I have a lot of family. In fact, I believe our family makes up the majority of the Bateau tribe. I'm the eldest of nine children, and my father is one of nine as well. My grandparents and most of my cousins also live here. We're a pretty close-knit tribe, but there are still a number foxes here that I'm not related to."
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:33 am
Shen's expression was comically horrifed. "Nine children? Seriously?" He shook his head, still gazing at Marleia with the horrified expression. "Not all at the same time, I hope!"
His horror diminished a touch at the unlikelihood of it; he'd never heard of a fox have a litter greater than six at a time. After the first litter grew up you'd have built-in baby-sitters, especially if the family had all stayed together in a tribe.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:46 pm
Marleia couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, and knowing that his 'hope' was the exact opposite of her reality. "Actually," she started, "all of my siblings and I were born at the same time.
"I don't think it was that bad, though," she continued. "Perhaps we were a little rowdy and all over the place, but... Well, I suppose under any other circumstances the parents would definitely feel overwhelmed. But we always had someone looking out for us, and I got into the habit of watching and taking care of them. I always did feel like I should be responsible, since I am the oldest."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:21 pm
Shen shook his head in disbelief, wondering how anyone could handle that many kids at once. Then again he didn't have much to build on, maybe big families weren't as bad as he'd imagine. "I was an only child. I think my parents were too, never knew any aunts or uncles or grandparents," Shen said, shrugging. "I've always had a pretty small family."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:56 pm
Marleia nodded, not too surprised that Shen had a small family, based on his reaction to hearing about the size of hers. "That sounds nice too," she said. "Very peaceful and silent, I'd imagine." Marleia hadn't had much experience with 'peace.' Even now, on a remote island of the Bateau archipelago, away from her siblings, parents and other tribe members, the hurricane raging outside ensured that Marleia could have no amount of peace.
"Don't get me wrong, I love my siblings," Marleia added after a moment of pause, "but take it from me when I say that kits are rather hard to take care of."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:11 pm
Shen rolled his eyes. "Actually, my mother was always nagging. It might have been easier to have siblings; she'd of had more people besides me and Dad to harp on." Seriously, nothing was scarier than his mom when she was in righteous rage mode. Best thing you could do was ride the wave until the storm abated and get out of the way at the first chance that showed up.
He snorted and pulled his mind away from his mom, seizing instead on something else Marleia had said. "Yea, they are. Got any kids of your own?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 4:46 pm
Marleia smiled slightly. "I see," she replied. "I had actually expected you, and most other only-childs, to be spoiled beyond compare and greatly doted on by your mother." Marleia took a pause, shrugging before she continued. "Suppose it really does depend on the fox, though."
At Shen's second question, Marleia shook her head. "No," she said, wondering why he had asked. She thought it was clear she had only been referring to her siblings. "And youreself?" Marleia asked.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:09 pm
Shen suppressed the urge to snort; Marleia didn't know his mom to know any better, there probably were foxes out there like that, and it would have been rude. His mother wasn't really a cruel vixen or anything like that. He'd had a perfectly good childhood, possibly better than most foxes. His mother just happened to subscribe to the school of "tough love". She never let Shen get away with anything; far from doting, she encouraged him to do things on his own so he could take care of himself.
When he stopped to think about it, it was actually how he himself raised his daughter. Perhaps a bit more laid-back since he'd never lectured Amaryllis, but essentially the same encouragement of independence.
Which pulled him back to the present...
"I've got two daughters," Shen said, shrugging. "It wasn't intentional since I'd never met their mother before that night. After the kids were born she just showed up long enough to toss one of them at me, left, then showed up again after the girls hatched to yell at me for not being in their lives." He rolled his eyes. "She seemed high-strung. Anyway managed to calm her down, but then she just took her kid and left, and I haven't seen either of them since. Left me to raise Ryl by myself."
Shen looked out the entrance of their cave, but his eyes weren't seeing the rain-filled, windy sky. "She was a good kid. Got her grandma's spunk, truth be told. We went our separate ways after she grew up, got herself a mate and everything. I still see her every now and then."
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:23 am
The news of Shen's children was a little unexpected to Marleia, but then she was sure she would have felt the same way had she learned that about anyone. "I see, one of those breedings then," Marleia said vaguely. "I actually have some family members born under the same, or at least similar, circumstances. Well, they certainly weren't mates, in any case."
Marleia could sympathize with the mother of Shen's children a tiny bit; after all, very few foxes look forward to they day when they discover they've been impregnated by a stranger. Not that she would have yelled or anything in that situation. That would get nothing done, and Marleia was all about getting things done.
"Ryl is her name, then?" Marleia said. "She sounds great, I wouldn't doubt that you've raised her well. You helped me get through all of this, after all."
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 5:41 pm
Shen shrugged. "That's got as much to do with you as it does with me. It would be more accurate to say we're helping each other get through this." He hunkered down, trying to preserve more of his body heat and halt his shivers. Outside the rain lashed against the rock and the wind roared as loud as ever. There was onimous creaking and shifting sounds from out there, but none seemed to come from their cave.
"Her whole name is Amaryllis. This bulb plant I saw once that I thought was pretty. Kinda a mouthful though." Shen didn't sigh, but he looked like he wanted to. "Wasn't ready for kids myself, I'm glad she turned out as tough as she did." He glanced over at Marleia. "So no kids of your own. How about nieces and nephews, since you have so many siblings?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 1:54 am
"I suppose we can agree on that," Marleia replied. "We're helping each other out, then."
Her attention returned to the topic of family, and Marleia said, "Amaryllis is a beautiful name, and I don't mind the length; most foxes think the same about Marleia, and I don't even have a nickname. Any shortened version of my name could easily apply to at least one of my siblings as well." Marleia smiled at the thought. After all, there were only so many ocean-themed names, and many of them derived from the same origins. "And believe it or not, I only have two nieces and a nephew. All three from my youngest sister."
Marleia couldn't help but notice Shen's shivering, and his attempt to keep warm. And she could feel it too; the water and winds had chilled her to the bone and simply being in the shelter hadn't fully helped. "We need to try to warm up better," Marleia suggested then. "I wouldn't want either of us getting sick under these conditions. Perhaps if we huddled together?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:36 pm
Shen let out a small sigh. "I don't think it'll really help much since neither of us have any heat to share, but since there's not enough room to move around and warm up I suppose it's the best option we have right now." He carefully eased over so that he was next to Marleia, but didn't huddle against her. In his experience women got snappish when you did that and started yelling. If she wanted to move any closer together, he'd let her make that move.
"What about Leia," he asked, bringing them back to the conversation so they'd have something to focus on other than being cold. "Any of your siblings share that part of your name?"((Far as I can tell the only one with a name close to that would be Sereia [x]))
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:15 pm
Shen was probably right, but the little body heat they had was better than nothing. He moved right next to her, most likely leaving it up to Marleia to close the remaining gap. She shifted over slightly to do just that. "I suppose Leia would work, then," Marleia replied. "My sister Sereia's name comes close, except for the 'L.' I suppose I just never thought of it. It's only one syllable short of my full name, also, so I guess I never thought there was much of a point either. Not that I particularly object to the nickname, that is." Marleia added the last part rather quickly, shrugging as she said it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:52 pm
Shen just made a humming noise in the back of his throat. “Most nicknames based off birth names are made to be either one or two syllables long. Even if it only knocks one syllable off your full name you’d be surprised at how often others use it once it becomes established in their minds.”
He glanced sideways at Marleia, since they were a bit too close together for him to want to turn his head. “Since I’m one of those people with a single syllable name, I never had anything for anyone to work this. Of course-,” he added in a bland voice, “-I’m sure I have many nicknames based on my behavior and attitude.”
His expression was as bland as his voice. “I’m apparently very good at making others exasperated with me to an extreme degree. Ryl likes to frequently remind me that it’s a miracle I even have kids with my attitude.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:10 pm
Marleia tilted her head to the side, nodding in understanding. "I suppose you're right," she conceded. "Technically they are more efficient. Shorter, faster to say. And typically customized to specific foxes that you know, if you're the one giving the nickname..." She trailed off slightly. "I apologize. Sometimes efficiency is all I think about. My siblings are always saying that I need to.. loosen up, or something. But then natural disasters like this strike, and no one's prepared."
She sighed, shaking her head of thoughts of her sisters. It wouldn't do to start worrying about them all of a sudden. Her thoughts returned to her companion. She smiled slightly before saying, "I wonder what sort of nicknames these other foxes come up with for someone who exasperates them to such a degree. I honestly can't think of any."
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