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 Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:36 pm
/`-.-./ Nesting Grounds: Part Two/`-.-./ Danny didn't creep into bed until early that morning, four AM or so; thank God for weekends, was all she could think; a late bedtime would not have worked well if she was needed at the skating rink the next morning.
Between her and Sean, they'd managed to set up that room fairly swiftly, all things considered. It would have been much easier, of course, if not every friggin' piece of furniture was "some assembly required". She could forgive it, though, for the end result- a room for Green to call her own, at last. Granted, the incorporal child couldn't really appreciate all that was done for her sake just yet- no hands to rummage through the pile of stuffed animals, no skin to be warmed by the blankets of her new and very own bed- but Danny had faith enough now to be certain that all would come in time. Someday, maybe not so far away, her baby would come into solidity, and then....
But thinking about it would only further that day, Danny strongly suspected. She still struggled to accept Green, wholeheartedly, for who and what she was today- her mantra had become "if she never becomes real, I'll still love her", as was practically necessary to make sure she never risked hurting the little ghostling's feelings again. She could prepare all she wanted for that much-dreamed eventuality of having a real, squirming, cooing baby in her hands. Just as long as she didn't exclude the "now" for the "later".
Slipping between the sheets, she trapped a mammoth yawn under the fingers of one hand, she blew a tired kiss to the smoggy form beside her, closing her eyes and promptly drifting away from the conscious world.
And, directly beside her, Green drew her ghostly face into an indiscernable pout.
Danny was going to sleep? She'd be asleep for... for HOURS, though! Green had been patient all night for her, and now what was she supposed to do? Just wait around in the bedroom for Danny to wake up, when there was something new in her home that demanded her attention?
No. This would not do. If Danny was so tired, she should rest, yes; but Green saw no reason to wait along with her.
There was an advantage, at least, to being in her current state of unreality; there was little in the way of "sneaking" required to slip away from her dozing Guardian. Just a decision to go that way, to go out the bedroom, and to steer straight for the cracked-open door to what was once a messy and musty place, and she was home free and out of Danny's sight. Driting low to the ground, perhaps anticipating a need for caution (in case there was some sort of strange danger now built into the once-storage room), the ghost mustered up her nerve and took a peek in.
It was all yellows and greens and leaves dotting the wallpaper, with a good and natural wooden flooring and an entire hoarde of stuffed friendly faces tucked away in a corner. Flowers and flowers and plants and flowers; they were cramped into little porcelain pots, maybe, but oh, did they feel good to her fragile senses. Books were stacked neatly on a shelf, children's books which Green knew nothing of but thought had very pretty pictures adorning them (she did not, of course, know that they had a purpose other than pretty pictures on the outside), and a cushy mattress was railed in for her crib- her crib, and no one else's- waiting, of course, for the day she would be able to use it.
And the light. There was sunlight that poured handsomely through the clear glass of the windows, soaking the room in a golden sheen that, had Green human eyes, might have almost been strong enough to sting them. Flitting softly about the room, taking in all that she could of this her-space, the ghostling came to rest at last at the pillow of her bed. Sunlight, bathing down upon her... all unfelt. Unfelt.
She remembered sunlight. She remembered how it ought to feel; how it warmed the skin and how it gave life. The sun fed the plants, the plants fed the small creatures, the small creatures fed the big creatures, and all that fell gave into soil which birthed the plants. The sun was a goddess- was the goddess-, nothing sort of the smiling promise of Aimend herself.
This realization might have normally shocked her into self-awareness; memory? Why do I have a memory?- but there was something much more important to her. This sunlight. How it ought to feel. The memory was becoming so vivid, so impossible to overlook- she could almost feel the sun, pouring down on her skin, pushing life through her blood and gifting her the light of a new day, for what she might accomplish and for what she might find....
Her eyelashes fluttered closed. Sprawled out in the overwhelming embrace of the sun, Green took her first breath of air in her new skin, and spent the rest of the morning and the greater part of the afternoon right where she was- curled up in the happy sun, enjoying that first memory without even realizing that it had all become a reality.
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:31 pm
/`-.-./ Hello There, Mother Dear /`-.-./
(Vana, as a baby, meets Danny face-to-face; they do some searching to find that Vana is a Lesidhe; Danny, thinking her to originate from India, picks out a proper name)
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:31 pm
/`-.-./ Meetings All Over Again! /`-.-./ Arrien Okay, so, to be honest, there were a few things that still worried Danny about her little bundle of non-ghostly joy. Having a child with all those leaves was a bit more complicated than she'd imagined. Clothing, for example, was not an option. Trying to get Vana to wear a shirt was like trying to fit the square block in the round hole; those delicate leaves crushed far too easily, and while the foliage made her seem at least halfway decent... well, it was strange to go around in public with a naked baby. It didn't help much that the forest girl answered all stares, inquisitions and gasps with a curious and confused chirp, making her seem more and more exotic to the very conservatively-minded Danny. All of this fell short, however, to the overwhleming sense of pride; she was real now. However long it might have taken, however rocky the road might have been, Vana had hair and skin and bones, and whatever differences there might be between hers and Danny's own, the Guardian could overlook. And so, today came with a very important next step to mother and child's victory over the obstacles set by the wand: Showing off what a pretty daughter Vanaja had become. "Here we are!" The old blue car pulled up in front of a fast-paced little Chinese take-out in Durem, packed full and bustling with the lunch rush. Killing the engine and pulling the brakes, Danny took a quick glance around for the familiar face she was hoping for- then, not immediately spotting it, she reached over to unbuckle Vana from the car seat (and if that hadn't been a tricky bit to get her into in the first place, what with the tail!). Her first car ride as a solid being hadn't seemed too taxing on the girl. She was as languid as she had been all day, a state her mother blamed on whatever strains of the process she had gone through to bring her into the realm of flesh and blood. Vana seemed simply relaxed and listless as she was pulled out of the car seat and carried into the restaurant, unbothered by the noise as she clung to the fabric of Danny's short-sleeved shirt and gazed endlessly out at the other patrons of the restaurant. Airaka The familiar face halted in her trek, glancing back and forth in her search for the take out place. Sighing heavily, she continued, foreward. Durem was not a place she enjoyed wandering around in. It seemed she always got lost when she visited here. And now, she was late.
"Food." demanded a voice from Airaka's back.
Due to the fact Airaka didn't like cars, and the walk was long, Xtol had allowed Airaka to carry her piggy back the rest of the way. His fingers curled around the heavy fabric of the sweat shirt, with his head resting against her back. He had streatched out his wings, not seeming to notice that against the wind, it wasn't much helping Airaka.
"It's okay, Xtol... I think.." Airaka paused, glancing at the sign above the door, "Yea... I think this is it."
She kneeled down, releasing Xtol from her protective vice grip. The boy staggered a bit, surprised by having to use his legs so suddenly.
"Sorry," she chuckled, as she pushed open the door.
Airaka nudged Xtol forward in to the store, then began looking around for their friends. Arrien Having already secured a table and set it up with the necessary high chairs for the little ones (Xtol was still a little one, she hoped?), Danny was just introducing Vana to the concept of "sitting and waiting for someone to show up" when she spotted Airaka and her wyvern boy at the front of the restaurant. "Over here!" She waved excitedly to the pair of them. Xtol did look bigger than the last time she'd seen him, Danny realized... maybe he wouldn't need one of the high chairs, after all. Dismissing this matter as something that could be sorted out by her mother, Danny leaned in conspiratorially to her little Lesidhe girl, whispering into her ear- "That's Airaka and Xtol. Do you remember them?" Vana's blank stare was not overwhelmingly reassuring, but she chirped a happy note on seeing the smaller form of Xtol nonetheless- if she didn't remember him like Danny had hoped, then at least she seemed eager to reacquaint herself. Airaka Airaka flinched at the voice, glancing over with an almost paranoid look to her. Oh wait.. She knew that person. With a smile, she raised her hand in greeting, then knelt down, pointing the table out to Xtol. Xtol looked at the woman with a look of almost dull curiosity, before leading off to the table. Airaka followed after him, weeding through some people, almost panicking when she lost sight of Xtol for a moment, only to find him standing at the table when she broke through.
Xtol pulled the chair towards him, while lifting a leg up at the same time. His knee knocked against the chair, and he pushed on to the chair, giving him enough leverage to pull him self on to the chair. Wiggling, he rocked back and forth for a while, before he grabbed on to the table steadying himself. He looked around the table with a triumphant look in his eyes. The chairs here were bigger then the ones at home.
His triumphant look broke into a more pouty one as Airaka placed a hand on his head, grinning at him as a silent compliment.
"Hey, Danny." she said between her heavy breaths.
She was still regaining oxyen from that long walk. Moving an open chair beside Xtol, she slumped down it, rather uncermoiniously for Airaka in public.
Airaka's blue eyes traveled from Danny to the brown child with leaves proturding from her body, and a leaf like tail. A sudden look of shock came to her face, her mouth opening before she could cover it. About half a minute later of pure shock, Airaka choked out,
"Is that Green?"
Quickly switching from shock to excited, without waiting for an answer, se giggled.
"Aww. She's so cute! " Arrien Danny beamed with unhidden pride at her fellow guardian's reaction- her face read all too clearly " why, yes, yes she is, thank you". Maybe it was a little silly for her to be so complimented by Airaka's reaction (especially given that Danny really hadn't had anything to do with how Vana's appearence had turned out... she thought), but really! It was nice to forget all the usual parental worries and doubts, and just enjoy the moment have having something that went right! "Vana," she corrected Airaka after a beat or two. "Her name's Vanaja, Vana for short. It's a name from India, means 'forest girl'. I'm pretty sure that she's a... well, there were lots of names from all over, but it's basically a forest fairy." She smoothed the girl's grassy hair, smiling down at Vana as the ghost child glanced up to her Guardian, almost as if asking permission, before turning her attention to Xtol, who sat just out of reach. Making a noise that could only be compared to that of a mockingbird, Vana leaned forward and rested the side of her head against the tabletop, watching the winged boy closely. She knew she'd met someone like him before, and even if her memory from her time as a ghost was faulty, she was fairly certain she had not found him displeasing. Was he different now, though? Airaka "Oh..." Airaka started, realizing after being corrected she had used the girl's old nickname instead of her new real one, "Sorry." she said, sheepishly.
Looking over the girl once again, she grinned like someone being included in a secret activity. The name definately suited the girl, or at least the girl's appearance.
Xtol turned his eyes away from the exotic scents of the kitchen back to the table, reliezing he was being starred at. He watched her steadily back, amused by the noise she had made. She sounded like the birds that sometimes came to Airaka's bird feeder. Though, she didn't look like one.
"Xtol?" he shifted his attention from the girl to Airaka, "This is Vanaja. Or Vana."
He looked back at the girl, then nodded his head. Vana was curiously familiar.
Xtol shifted, streatching his wings out momentairly before he found a better position. Airaka sighed, looking back at the two,
"I think he's become more moody as a toddler." Arrien This acknowledgement, even so slight, was enough to stir a smile onto the fern baby's face. It was just as she'd thought! Xtol was good. A friend, even. Yeah; definitely that. Clacking her tongue against her teeth, Vana squirmed around in her seat, trying to roll around so that her back would be against the table. Unfortunately, this was somewhat impossible given the confining design of her chair. After flopping a few times, Vana wrinkled up her nose and, with a little help from Danny's guiding hands, sat up straight again to stare down at the high chair resentfully. Why did she have to sit in this thing, anyway? "Is he really?" Taking a closer peek at the boy, Danny inspected him up and down. He did seem a little... reserved, maybe.... "... Well, it takes all sorts, right?" She suggested. It might not be precisely normal, but what was about these ghost children?
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:32 am
/`-.-./ Halloween Stuff! /`-.-./
(nothing big this year, just trick-or-treaters at the door; Vana gets her first real encounter with the neighborhood kids)
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:34 am
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