Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Thank you again for bringing it..." Kyo told the tall, dark-haired man as he ducked through the apartment's doorway. Deshwitat paused for a moment, turning his stoic features on the pale woman. The briefest of nods were given before he continued on, shifting the weight of the folded crib on his shoulders.

"What're you talking about?" Redd asked with a wink as she sauntered in behind him, shutting the door behind her. "It's your crib. He'll go get the table when he's done with that."

"Where do you want this?" Came the coarse voice of the male from the living room.

"Ah... It's the only room through the doorway one the upper left of the room.. Just set it in the corner across from the bed, please.."

"You don't gotta be so polite. He's working for me."

"You... don't suppose he needs any help?" Kyo implored, "And no, I don't have to, but... It's nice to show gratitude. It-"

"I know, I know." The coyote demon waved slightly. "And if he'd needed any help, I'd have brought his brother along. I figured I'd do you a favor and save you from their squabbling, though. But nah, all Desh is gonna need is a cigarette when he's done and a neck to suck on later."

"I see. So he's a-"

"Vampire, yeah." Redd grinned towards her. "Both him and his brother. They're hangin' out at my place until they get enough money to get back on their feet. Of course, the other one ain't helping out much. I'll save you the big story."

"...You take in some questionable people."

Redd laughed at that, patting Kyo on the shoulder before continuing to walk forward. As if she owned the place. "I could say the same thing for you! So, tell me about the b*****d you're going to raise with all this! All of your kids are ready for another sibling?"

"Hey, Redd-san!" Came a bright call from the side. A short, tanned teen with neon-colored hair gave the woman a wave as she entered. He was leaning into Kyo's room before, and now turned back to it. "Das ist dein Kommandant? Was heisst du? Sprecht mit mich. Ich weiss du Deutsch sprechen!"

"Hey Kaze, why don't you go help Deshwitat with the changing table?"

"Is that his name?" Kaze grinned. "Does he speak at all?"

"Oh, he does. He knows a couple languages, I think." Redd smirked, ignoring the slightly dirty look she received from Deshwitat as he stepped from the room.

"I set it up as best I could. You'll be responsible for setting it up..." He sighed and slid a cigarette from his pocket, glancing to Kaze as he walked towards the door of the apartment. "Kommt mit mich und hilfen..."

The teenager all but squealed, nodding as he made quickly to follow. "Ja!"

"Hmph. He hasn't changed much." The demon grinned wryly as the door closed behind them both. "Now, about that kid? Come on, I'll help you fix everything up." She led them both to Kyo's room. "Where's the blankets? Here's the matress, at least."

"His name is Xerksis, and he's right over there, on the bed... You don't think your friend... disturbed him, do you?" She herself wandered over to a cabinet of drawers while Redd set up the matress, pulling out a series of purple sheets.

"Who? Desh? Nah. He wouldn't." The brown-haired woman in formed her, taking a curious glance back at the said wand. "Woah. That's supposed to be a kid?"

"He used to be a Mindflayer... It looks a bit like a squid on a... humanoid body." She tried to ignore the derisive grin the other woman gave. Redd could be so immature, and she was ready for it, but it still irked a very tiny part of her mind.

"You know he's probably going to turn out to be one ugly little brat, right?" Redd took the sheets from her and quickly set about making the bed, obviously used to it. "But that wouldn't bother you. You'll take him in anyways."

"...Yes." Whatever she was ageeing to, it wasn't determinable. Maybe all of it. When Deshwitat and Kaze entered with the changing table, she merely pointed to a corner near a window in which they could set it.

"There! All done." Redd announced, nodding to herself and grinning as she was handed a pair of plush toys. She set these within the crib as well, near a corner. "Well, I'll get out of your hair now. Good luck with your new brat. You just send him over to me if you need me to smack him around a little! Or if you just can't stand him any longer. I know you teach, so you can't be taking all of these kids!" A bout of laughter came as she received a few questioning looks. Apparently she was in good spirits.

"C'mon, Desh, let's head out."

"Thank you again for-"

"Hey. Shut up." A teasing wink. "Grow some backbone. Don't think I won't be needing it back as soon as your whelp is big enough, or dumping a few of my kids on you. Keep in touch!" With a small wave, she exited, soon to be followed by the grumbling vampire.

Xerksis has finally made it into the world of flesh and blood. I am thankful and greatly relieved, understandably. He is still vulnerable -quite so- as an infant, but not as much as when he was ethereal. His timing was... rather impeccable, and he managed to squeeze into being in a rather odd place. A teacher's aide store. Patrick and Yashima were there as well and saw the whole thing. If I knew them better, I might have been a little embarrassed about the whole ordeal. After all, Xerksis did set off the sprinkler system the building had installed as a fire precaution.

His skin didn't seem to retain any moisture from the spray. I know that children generally have smooth skin but... this more or less reminds me of an amphibian when wet. At least he looks normal...ish. The boy has no trace of a pupil or any other means of taking in light. I wondered if he was blind at first, but after experimenting by putting various objects in front of his eyes I have concluded that he isn't, and that he does have some form of vision. He can't stand bright light or most light in general. I tried to take him outside for a walk earlier and it was like he suddenly became some sort of mole and tried burrowing into my shirt. Bit me, too, or at least tried to.

Aside from his eyes and his skin, he'd normal. Unless... you count purple hair to be odd. Kaze's natural hair color is neon green, so perhaps I'm no longer easily bewildered by these various hair colors. What I don't understand is that only his bangs came in. Otherwise, his head his bare. I don't believe he likes me to touch them, but so far he seems to tolerate it. In four, organized stalks, those purple -I can't really call them hairs- things poke out from his hair line. They look like normal installments of hair from afar, but upon feeling them thay are slick. Tentacles? There are no means of suction to them, though. He is unique.

I made sure to introduce him to his crib as soon as we got home, but he seems more interested in staying with me. He's tucked under my other arm as I write this and watches. He doesn't like to be far from me, which I suppose is understandable. Many infants are often clingy, mostly from insecurity. Running out of page...

Xerksis is suffering from a little separation anxiety. I believe the best way to deal with this is probably stay with him at times, but not when he demands the attention. It isn't as if Xerksis seems to need it- he's not scared of his surroundings or people. In fact, he seems rather open to others, which may be a bit worrisome. Children that are easily won over may fall into greater conflicts later. It is just something I will have to teach him when he is old enough to understand.

I took him to the headquarters today to play with the other children while I graded papers. There was a conflict, but thankfully not with Xerksis. If anything, he only succeeded in bringing all the children together... with his screaming. I had begun to exercise my theory of not always meeting with his demands.

I'm guessing Yashima's father had been missing for some time, because the boy greeted him as if he hadn't seen him for a while. The fox had picked a fight with some little girl with bat's wings before Patrick came along; we're lucky he did. Saw Kierla again, and her little girl Aricia. Aricia, like Xerksis, has made it into a child-like form. She's very cute, in my opinion. I think Xerksis might be a little wary of her now after the pegasus attempted to choke him with her arm. I've checked him- no harm done.

The only child I hadn't seen before was the one with the odd wings. I could hear her speaking with Xerksis, but I cannot fully recall her name. It begins with a 'K', for sure. Karen? Anyway, the boy seems to be pretty neutral around her. Most of the time he seemed content trying to blanket himself if Yashima's tail.

"Hey sugar, how was class?" One dark mahogany hand reached down to stroke through the top of an even darker child's head. Sibuna smiled down at her son -her little warrior, she was coming to accept- as he stepped out the door of the fighting academy. It wasn't necessarily a very prodigious establishment, nestled between a grocery store and a video arcade, but it was affordable and productive. She thought. The boy often practiced his forms in the back yard, but just what were they for?

"Good!" Daemyn grinned up at his mother. "How was work?"

"Oh, the same. Now that we're done, though, we can get home and do some more."

"Work?" The black-skinned fae asked, tilting his head while fingering the dark green belt cinched about his waist.

"Mmm. Tonight we need to figure out how we're going to be setting up your sister's crib. Never know when we'll have a baby on our hands." Up until now, the ghostly green apparition had been ignored and left to swirl atop its thick wand. Pretty hard to catch attention just this way, huh? Darva wasn't really concerned about it, lacking the ability to multitask in such a way while she was entertaining herself by seeing how far her wispy body could stretch.

With a sigh, the double doors of the market's exit hissed aside... and remained so for a moment. The woman before them had suddenly become occupied, holding an infant aloft by the back of his shirt inches above the unforgiving tile of the store floor. It had been a surprise for the teacher to say the least, seeing her baby throw himself forward out of the carrier perched atop the cart. It had been an attempt to grab onto her, but the leap had fallen short. For a moment the boy was able to hang on with gums and fingers to the bottom of her shirt, then eventually just fell. Kyo had been woken up enough by then to snatch him up before he smacked the floor.

Xerksis gave a short huff as if oblivious to the danger, wriggling in hope of getting some actual contact. A moment later and he was lifted up and pressed against a rather ample chest, and allowed to slightly hang over the woman's shoulders. Kyo sighed, turning her head to look the boy over with tired dark blue eyes, checking for any signs of bruising. No, the Illithid seemed to be just fine if not a little grumpy. How dare she try and keep him away from her. One hand reached up and grabbed at those long strands of black hair, fisting them in his fingers and giving a reproachful yank. Bad. Xerk not pleased.

Other than a soft grunt from feeling some of her hair pull free from the roots, the woman made no protest. Instead, she silently thought to herself the possibilities of dropping this child and watched. Oh, look... her cart was rolling into the parking lot.

"Woah, run-away buggy!" Before Sibuna could protest, Daemyn was gone from her side, running right out into the street! to save the rolling cart.

"Daemyn!" No cart of groceries was worth the fae's life! Walking as fast as she could (Darva might blow away if she ran), the woman followed the boy's path and perched worriedly at the edge of the sidewalk as he caught up to and retrieved the cart. Cars had already stopped after the first time he'd shot past them and now waited running while he wheeled the thing back.

"It's alright, Mother, I have it!"

"Baby, that ain't the problem..." However, she was distracted by the woman still standing in the door. Wait. She seemed oddly familiar. "Miss Kyo?"

Hearing her name, the older woman was shaken from her thoughts and swung her head slowly about to take in Sibuna. Yes, she must know this woman. The toy store, and the library, she recalled. Of course she couldn't remember the other female's name at the moment to save her life. Yet she remembered the wand- some sort of nymph, right?

"Oh... Hey you," She greeted softly, shrugging her shoulder in hopes of dissuading Xerksis from his game of pulling her hair. Her eyes flitted to Daemyn, who had caught her cart. "Is that little gentleman yours?"

"Muh." Said Xerk smartly, boredly looking over at Sibuna. There was no recognition from this proximity. He had been a wisp the last time he'd met the woman, after all.

"He's mine," Sibuna murmured absently, more focused on Daemyn crossing the street with the cart. Sometimes she wished he wasn't hers the way he had her worried, but that was rare. "Watch out, baby, there's a car." Yeah, but they were waiting. She hated those tin cans on wheels so much, she could hardly stand the thought of possibly losing her adoptive son to one. Right now she was very paranoid that the whole parking lot was going to explode. As soon as Daemyn was back, she took the boy by the shoulder and steered him to one of her wide hips, pressing him into her side. "You haven't ever seen this lady, have you, Daemyn?"

"No ma'am." The boy answered, his black eyes studying Kyo and her brood. "Nor the baby."

"Baby...." Sibuna repeated, before she finally noticed. Baby! The other had a baby! "Is that who I think it is?" She asked, a grin on her dark features.

"Who?" The fae prodded, trying to look polite. To an experienced eye, he was restless.

"Oh, Miss Kyo, this is Daemyn, my eldest," Sibuna went on, nodding to the boy. "Daemyn, this is Miss Kyo and her son..." Help her out here, Kyo. Meanwhile, the little dryad twisted above her staff, emitting pleasant smells to indicate mood but terribly oblivious of Xerk.

"Xerksis." Kyo finished, nodding. One pale hand wrapped around the cart and tugged it back, holding it in one hand and Xerksis in the other arm. The aforementioned baby merely snorted, clutching at his mother's shirt like the spoiled, possessive brat he was. "Hello, Daemyn. And the little Meliae..." The corners of her lips creased, as if she would smile if she could.

"They have both grown since we have met. She's close now..." The dark-haired one rambled.

Kyo had never been very observant to the obvious. At least, not at first. Absorbed in some other issue, she often forgot reality that went on just before her eyes. Perhaps, if she was not so prone to daydreaming, her second youngest son wouldn't come to her so many times after school with gum plastered throughout his hair, or have to brush so many spit-balls from her own at the day's end. Maybe she could have prevented some of the profane messages from being written on the walls and various desks of her classroom if she had taken the time to actually focus on the ones whose auras weren't suspiciously groggy as much as she did the ones that were.

Just possibly, had she not been so content with musing over the newest batch of 'dreams' she'd witnessed and their probable purposes, she would have noticed the event unfolding before her eyes.

"Come on, kid, if you want it, you're gonna have to come get it." Avarice leered from his place in the middle of the living room. Across the way, upon the couch, leaned a rather disgruntled little boy. His striking yellow eyes glared back at the green-haired teenager, showing hints of the stubbornness and careful pride that would be developing later in his life. Greed himself only grinned a little wider. "Oh, I see. You're giving it to me, Xerky? How generous of you."

"Shutup." The word was grumbled, but very clear from the boy. He'd been perfecting it for some time now.

"Go on, Xerk," Said Dionaea from his left on the couch. The fly-winged male reached out and hesitantly patted the top of the Mindflayer's head, scratching lightly through the developing, fine black hairs. "Just like the other day. Go show 'im who's boss."

"As owner of this new...thing," Avarice continued regally, not discouraged a bit by his brother's pep-talk, "I'll be performing a trial of worthiness... by fire. Think its stuffin' can stand it?" A long, syringe-tipped tail tightened around its prize -a stuffed silvery dog of sorts made to possess a likeness to a beast from some new popular game- shaking the stuffy before thumping it upon the floor. That did it.

"No!" Xerksis practically screeched, bristling as well as a boy as young as he was could. He was crawling to the edge of the couch as first as his tiny body could move him, turning about to climb down feet first. After gripping the edge of the couch to steady his unstable legs for a moment, the boy set off across the floor one foot carefully after the other. There was a determined look on his little features, eyes only focused on the task ahead. No matter how he wavered or shook, he was coming to get that goddamned stuffy.

A chuckle rumbled forth from the devious sin incarnate, tail swaying side to side with the toy as if impatiently. The responses that came from the boy were just priceless. "What? You want it now? Fine. Here." As soon as the boy was close enough, the tail extended and gently dropped the stuffed dog upon the floor. Quickly, it was scooped up into the arms into the young Illithid and pressed shamelessly to his chest. His glare didn't soften much upon the older boy. Avarice snorted. From the couch, Dionaea applauded.

Shaken from her thoughts, Kyo absently guided her navy eyes to the boys. Ah, nothing serious. Just Avarice teasing Xerk into walking across the room to get-- wait. "How long has he been able to walk?" Kyo asked, tired eyes somewhat widening. The greedy Shee boy looked her way and shrugged.

"He's been walking for... oh, a little less than a week?" Dionaea volunteered. "You were sleeping in that chair when Noelle suggested we all move across the room and see what happened. He screamed for about five minutes before crawling. You don't remember? And then he started using the furniture to come over. That's gotta be the longest he's been able to walk without tripping. That's why you did that, right, Ava?"

" 'course." Avarice responded haughtily, grinning. "I-- Aaargh! What the ********, kid? OW YA LITTLE s**t ********-" A whole stream of colorful words pierced the apartment as the boy in question sunk his teeth into his bully's kneecap. He'd managed to waddle over unnoticed while the chatter had gone on, and was now taking a vengeful chunk out of his nephew's knee for the inconvenience of coming to rescue his toy. It was obvious the teen was holding himself back from punting the kid across the room, settling for a harsh shake of his leg.

Compliantly, Xerksis stepped away with a snort of satisfaction. Sensing his guardian's pure dumbfounded emotion, he glanced over. Hmph. Those legs wobbled and wavered in protest, but the Mindflayer stomped over to his 'mother' with plush in arms, ignoring the curses left behind him and Dionaea's cautious comforting. He reached Kyo after a few quick minutes, grabbing onto her dark pants before resting his head upon her lap. The c**k of brow was a silent message. What?

The English teacher shook her head slowly, reaching out with wonder to touch her son's head, no longer bald. When had this hair come in? When he'd said his first word, and grown his first tooth, none of this black hair had been there. "Xerksis," She said softly, almost for the sake of saying his name alone. The child watched her expectantly- he knew his own name now. "You've...grown." She managed lamely after a moment. The boy grunted, curved eyes drifting shut for the moment while he allowed his hair to be stroked. Yes, he'd grown, and wormed his way into toddler-hood. And all in the span of time when she seemed to be paying the least amount of attention. Kyo sighed softly, reaching down to pull the boy up into her arms... while she still could.

For PRP with Yashi