Shavri's Journal (Youkochylde is Guardian) | Page 3 | The Ghostly Children - The Journals | Guild Forums

Youkochylde

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Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:21 pm

It was quite the day; sun shining, birds singing...And Coailiann flitting around the garden like she was on a sugar high - which she most likely was. Now that she had some semblance of privacy, Kay had taken to raiding the mini fridge of all the apple sauce, apple pie, and other random sweet apple things she could get.

No, she still hadn't grown out of the "Apples are God" phase. Yet.

The sidhe was skipping around the garden, her dress blowing around her, hair frightfully long, and her shoes scattered this way and that.

She looked more like a nymph than a Sidhe at this point - all she needed was a severe lack of clothes. Which would eventually happen.

Youko had chosen today to go out into the gardens, it being FAR too nice a day to sit inside and wait for someone to come into the HQ. Instead, he and Shavri had ventured outside, the fox walking along with a smile as the wand seemed to hover just over his shoulder. Since Shavri had become a ghost, things had gotten VERY amusing around the house... up to and including the already-present cries of "DAD, IT'S POKING ME!" coming from various areas when the ghost would try to get attention.

It was SO hard to not laugh.

"Hihiihihi!"

The fast child's voice penetrated the air as she frolicked (YES, she was FROLICKING) over to the kitsune, her bright green eyes shining with energy and her wind-whipped hair clinging to the faint trace of lip-gloss that she had put on her lips to keep them from chapping.

She recognized the man. Somewhat. "I know you! Sort of. I think. Don't I? I've seen you. Oh you have a baby ghost!" she waved to the little ghost, "Hi!"

Ianna would really have to put a lock on that door.

Youko laughed as he heard the baby's squeal in his mind and the ghost floated over to Kay, spiralling around her head. This was good... it was ATTENTION! And one could never have too much of that, right?

"Hello there, Kay," Youko said, moving to sit in the grass and watch the two. "How are you today?"

Coailiann reached up to pet the ghost gently, careful and mindful of it's misty state, "Hyper! I had cooookies and cake and pie and and and and and..." she bounced a few times before flopping down on the grass beside the older man.

"OOF! How're you? And ghosty? And and and..." she looked around the garden, eyes full of glee, "Look! The roses are coming in!"

Youko half wondered if one could hook up a generator to the child and power most of Durem. "The roses are lovely, yes," he replied, watching Kay with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Shavri seemed to be enjoying this greatly, bouncing here and there around Coailiann and letting the wand twirl just over the girl's shoulder.

"I think Shavri's having fun watching you," he said, hearing the baby's laugh in his head, even though no one else could.

Wrong! Kay could very much hear the baby ghost, and it was only fueling her glee and her overactiveness, "She is! At least, I think she is. She's laughing, yes?"

Kay took a few deep breaths to try and settle herself down. If she DIDN'T settle down, she'd be too sleepy to practice the harp later - and that just wouldn't do at all. She had promised herself she'd practice an hour a day even if it annoyed her guardian.

Little ghost, Shavri, How are you? she asked, attempting to link their minds together. Youko could only hear the sounds that Shavri could, if she were a solid baby, physically make. Kay could link to thoughts.

SQUEAL!

Shavri stopped dead for a moment, then nearly latched onto Kay, the wand poking into the girl's hair like a chopstick. Fine, fine! How you?

Shavri didn't have the grasp of language yet, just what she'd learned from listening to Youko and the others around the house. Still, there was someone who could HEAR her! This day was getting better and better!

Youko just stared at the two, realising that there was something he was missing here... but couldn't quite figure it out.

Coailiann giggled as the wand poked into her hair, the white silk texture easily sliding over the gnarled wood. It seemed that a lot of people enjoyed speaking to her - mainly wands and ghosts since she was really the only one who could perfectly understand them.

Giggly, hyper. You coming soon? Growing?

It was up to the baby ghost when it was time to grow, she knew, and maybe if Shavri told her she could give Youko a heads up!

Then she could be super helpful!

Soon... maybe soon. Shavri was fully content to stay the way she was for now. But that was just now. Tomorrow? She'd see how it worked out.

Fuzzy boy cry... Shavri said, the voice suddenly turning a bit sad. No come out if boy scared. She remembered Yashima, and didn't like the fact that the boy always cried when she was around.

Maybe you talk boy? Make no cry?

Shi? Shi does not like girls very much. Kay answered the ghost, stroking the misty body gently, fingers tickling best she could with something that wasn't solid, But I will speak to him.

Coailiann turned to look at Youko, "She says she may come soon. I need to speak to Yashi. She does not like making him cry."

She nodded then and tickled at Shavri once more.

But I no girl...

Shavri's voice was confused and she turned as if looking at Kay. If it was possible, the ghost looked dejected, slumping a bit until it was little more than a cloud that hung near Coailinn's ear.

What are you? You do not feel like a boy... Coailiann responded, moving to pull the tiny cloud into her lap and hug it. It was the best she could do with the baby ghost. She would cuddle her...It...When it arrived.

Not boy either. The baby ghost was content to be snuggles... well, as best as it could be right now. It curled into a violet ball in Kay's lap, and giggled softly. Shavri didn't know how to tell Kay what she was... she wasn't even sure herself, and had just started referring to herself as 'she' because Youko did. It seemed easier than trying to come up with something that fit.

"Soon, hmm?" Youko asked, smiling as he watched the two interact. "Well, everything's all ready for her... and I'd been hoping to talk to Yashima and Patrick soon too. Maybe we can figure out a way for Yashima to get along with her."

That may be the problem. He's confused. She answered the ghost, smiling down at her quietly before looking up at Youko with those bright green eyes. At least she had settled down and wasn't her own source of electricity anymore.

"I hope so. Yashi...I think I'm the only girl he likes. I don't know if he knows what to make of someone who is neither boy or girl. I will talk to him, I promised her."

"Neither boy nor girl..." Youko nodded, looking to the ghost. He'd been afraid of that, and now it was confirmed. "Both," he said, remembering Yashima when he was trying to explain. "Patrick and I thought it might be something like that. But since I don't feel like calling her an 'it', I stuck with 'her' for now. I'm glad I took Patrick's advice and gave her a name that isn't gender-specific."

Looking back, things now made a LOT more sense. He'd definitely have to talk to them both.

Shavri, meanwhile, was now starting to get restless. Where she'd been happily in Kay's arms, she was now pulling her wand free and darting back over to Youko, bouncing happily.

"I think she wants to head home," he said, snickering and taking hold of the wand. "And she seems VERY happy with whatever you two were talking about."

Coailiann nodded her head then, "I hope I cheered her up, she was sad because of Yashi," she smiled a little bit then picked a flower from the soft grass, handing it over to the kitsune.

"She said she'd only come when Yashi stopped crying. So yes, you should work on it..."

The little girl flopped back onto the grass, "You come back, right?"

"Right," Youko said, smiling and taking the flower from the girl. He leaned in then, nuzzling her cheek and giving off a soft purr. It was the same greeting and parting that he used with his own children, and it was just habit by now. "And thank you for all your help."

The ghost seemed to wave then, and Kay heard the infant in her mind again. Thank you! She let out a soft squeal then, giggling when Youko lifted her up and tucked the wand into his pocket.

"You're welcome!" she answered, smiling as she was nuzzled and purred at. There was something soothing about that. Different than the greeting than her own father gave her.

"Any time." She said, both inside her mind and without for Youko and Shavri's benefit. It was then that she pulled herself up and ran inside. Time to practice her harp!

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:23 pm

It wasn't often that Shiromaru went by Youko's and Envy's place, the demon usually swamped by the chaos in Kailas, but when the running of the household had been given over to Hun Min (one of Shiromaru's oldest and dearest friends, a Juusanshi that had been with Shiro's household for years now) and Shiro and Trio had moved themselves and the children into a house of their own, things had -- perhaps conversely -- settled down a bit. However, with the addition of Nicodemus, the wand, and now Trio's necklace -- soon to be another child -- Shiro could feel that relative calm going straight out the window.

Usually every time Etain zoomed out of it after another butterfly or dragonfly.

At the moment, however, Shiromaru was taking advantage of what time he had to go visit Youko, and potentially get an insight into a bit more of what he should expect from the wands and the children within them. It was a good thing he'd found out at the wedding that Youko had a wand of his own to deal with.

Taking the last few steps up the front porch and to the door, Shiromaru resettled Nicodemus in the front carrier he wore, checked on the wisp curled around the end of the wand he carried in a sling attached to Nico's carrier, then rapped on the door and waited for an answer.

"Yeah?" Kaeru pulled the door open, the frog boy staring at the water demon and the infant in his arms. The wand wasn't even noticed at the moment as the fourth wall teen got a rather exasperated look on his face and called over his shoulder. "DAD! Someone's at the door with another baby. For a gay guy, you sure have a lotta kids." It wasn't that he didn't LIKE kids... it was just that it was kinda hard to get chores done and leave in time to get good surfing in when there were a bunch of rugrats around.

The call from the frog brought Youko peering around from the hallway, into the kitchen and towards the door. "Huh?" It was as 'creative' as he could get when he'd barely slept any.

"Um... Actually, these two are both mine," Shiro announced, trying desperately to keep a straight face. "May I speak with Youko?" And maybe make the poor man some coffee.

"OH! Sure, c'mon in." Kaeru's demeanor immediately changed, and he stepped aside to allow the man in. Things changed drastically once he realised that this particular fuzzball would be going HOME. "Coffeepot's on the counter." He turned then, grabbing hold of a surfboard that was nestled in the closet. "Dad! Chores are done, I'm gone."

"Be home by dark," Youko said, yawning and waving to Shiro as he moved into the kitchen wearing a pair of sleep pants and a rumpled expression. "Mornin' Shiro."

Shiro nodded to Kaeru, then padded along after Youko. "And Trio accuses me of not being a morning person..." The demon grinned impishly, shaking his head. "You look like you haven't slept a wink. Should I come back at a better time?"

"There IS no better time," Youko answered, snickering softly. "This is about as good as it gets in the mornings around here..." He looked at the clock then, frowning faintly. "Noon. Whatever." As he puttered around to make coffee, he managed to catch a glance of Nico and then all preparations STOPPED as he reached for the fuzzlet. "Oh my lord, he's ADORABLE," Youko cooed, the grumpiness vanishing for the time being. "Is he from the Fourth Wall?"

"Meet Nicodemus. Yes, he's from the Fourth Wall. Careful, let me get... Hold on..." Shiro unhooked the wand from the sling and set it down on the table, the little wisp shifting about before settling down again, quite content to stay where it was. With the wand out of the way, Shiromaru was able to get Nico out of his carrier, the infant starting up a cheerful babble of nonsensical sounds as he looked up at Youko and waved both arms cheerfully. "There we go. Want to hold him?"

The question was already answered as Youko scooped up the boy and cradled him close. His hair was still braided from sleep and he let the tail end drape over his shoulder. It had fascinated every other baby he'd ever encountered, after all. The wand hadn't gone unnoticed either, and Youko nodded to it, and the little wisp. "Ah, seems like you managed to find the same shop I did," he said, a rather amused and knowing smile on his face. The reason for it became clear a moment later as Shiro felt a light tap against the back of his head. A tiny wand was hovering there, grasped tightly by what could only be called a purple puff of a ghost. "Meet Shavri."

Nico was no exception, and he immediately reached up, tugging on the braid for a moment before trying to shove the end of it into his mouth. Shiro's attention, however, was on the ghost as he turned around, his eyes widening. "You mean they can start moving around on their own when they get bigger?" he asked, stunned, then broke out in a grin. "Nice to meet you, Shavri. My little one doesn't have a name yet... I was thinking I'd wait a bit longer before deciding on one."

"So far... I'm the only one that can hear her." Youko settled into a chair, watching Shavri interact with Shiro. He hadn't quite determined if Shavri was a he or she yet... or both, even. He still had a nagging suspicion about THAT, but rather than call the ghost an 'it', he'd settled on female for the moment. If that changed, then he'd just adjust accordingly. "She laughs and giggles and sometimes cries. But it's all in my head." The fox let one ear drop as he gave Shiro a wry smirk. "Hence why I'm not sleeping much. It's hard to do when you've got an infant babbling at you."

"...You can hear them when they get bigger?" Oh, this was going to be interesting. "And I thought life on five hours of sleep was bad enough. Oh well, I did want a big family..." Reaching up, Shiro wiggled a finger in the general direction of the ghost's hands, head tilting slightly. "Her wand's quite pretty, though, especially with all those jewels... I have yet to figure out WHY there's a tea ball attached to my little one's wand." A pause. "...About how much longer do you think I have until she starts keeping me awake at night?"

"A couple weeks," Youko said, smiling as Shavri latched onto Shiro's hand and clung like a ghostly burr. "Watch it. She doesn't like to let go." Unlike the strange, almost nonexistant feel of the wisp clinging, Shavri had now gained a bit of substance, and the water demon would feel a definite tug when the ghost tried to pull. "Be prepared for most people around you to think you're insane. As Kaeru's fond of saying, 'The voices are particularly loud in your head today, eh old man?' and next stage, you get diapers."

Shiromaru was fascinated, however, and didn't seem to mind the clinging, willingly tugging and playing a bit with the little ghost. "I don't mind the diapers. I'm used to diapers. It's the voices part that's going to take some getting used to. ...Oh, hey, did Trio tell you? It's not only wands that are doing this -- apparently the necklace that found Trio will end up doing something similar. A fallen angel, apparently, that's getting a chance to be reborn, and the necklace is part of it." In other words, the Maxwell-Chang house was growing at alarming speeds. Much like Youko's place, apparently.

"Good lord, you two are making like rabbits..." Youko said, snickering and reaching down to ruffle Nico's ears. "Figuratively, anyway. So how many does this make for you guys now?"

Then again, it wasn't like he had much room to talk. Raven and Omi were both teengagers now... Raven was getting to the point where she was old enough to get her own place, and had been making noise about it. Omi was starting to spend more and more time away from home... Kaeru would rather be ANYWHERE except the house lately, and Yeande had her own family to worry about. "Honestly though..." he said, turning reflective for a moment. "I'm glad for Shavri. It was starting to get lonely around here."

"Annora, Etain, Kikuei, Makana, Nico, the wisp and Trio's necklace," Shiro dutifully reeled off, then settled down in a chair, quite content to drag Shavri along if the little ghost continued to cling -- he certainly wouldn't mind. "I'll be happy to bring my girl around whenever you and Shavri like. And SPEAKING of making like rabbits, just how many kids are you at, anyway?"

Snorting softly, Youko just smirked. "Raven and Kendall are mine by blood. Omi, Kaeru, and the wisp. Yeande's KINDA, but she was never really a kid, and now she's got a kid of her own."

By blood. Ah, now there was something Shiro longed for... but with Trio unable to bear children, that was a dream better left undreamt. "Trio and I clearly need to come over more often, and bring the brood. The kids need more than each other to play with -- I'm a little worried about Annora -- and it'd be good for them to meet more people and see you and Envy more."

"You guys are welcome over here any time, you know that..." Youko said, toying with Nico's ears. "It's always been that way. If I'm not home, SOMEONE usually is."

Nicodemus burbled up at Youko, trying to grab onto the fox's hand and hold on. His ears were kind of ticklish, in that 'whee! fun game!' sort of way. Shiro watched the pair with blatant affection, the demon himself letting his own little wisp weave in and out through his fingers. "Definitely going to have to come over more often, then. We miss you."

"We miss you too," Youko said fondly, reaching over and brushing his hand against Shiro's arm lightly. He couldn't help it, really. Kitsune liked contact of any kind, and he showed affection that way, no matter who the person was. Most of his friends had gotten used to it by now.

Including Shiro, who was as tactile as Youko. He reached out at that touch, lacing the fingers of his free hand through Youko's, then grinned up at the other man. "We did get a van not too long ago. We'll have to load up and come invade soon. And bring you all over to see the new place! Do you like barbeque?"

"Love it," Youko said, Squeezing Shiro's hand lightly. "And that sounds great! There's fewer of us, it would likely be easiest for us to come over there."

"That's true. And the backyard's huge, we have a big jungle gym and everything for the younger kids, plus the pool," Shiro enthused. It was clear that he loved the new house.

Just then, however, Nicodemus started to fuss a bit. While Youko's hair was quite tasty and would have to be chewed on again at a later date, right now he was hungry. Shiro, well-used to the sounds of hungry baby bunny, started poking through his diaper bag before he found the bottle and the formula he was looking for. "He's about ready for lunch... Mind if I use your microwave?"

The wisp, in the meantime, had finally decided to actually pay attention to the rest of the room, now that is source of entertainment was doing something else, and that was when it spotted Shavri. Curiouser and curiouser...! It didn't do much, save essentially sit back and watch, but its focus was undeniably on the ghost.

"Sure..." Youko pointed over behind him but was in no way letting go of Nico yet. He had no problem feeding the baby.

Shavri seemed entranced as well, the ghost wrapping around the wisp for a moment and inspecting it. Youko winced faintly as he heard a gleeful shriek of baby laughter in his head, his ears flattening against his skull, despite the fact that it would do NO good whatsoever.

Getting the hint, Shiro made and warmed the bottle, then tested it before handing it over with a quirked grin. "There you go."

The wisp reached up towards Shavri, patting at the ghost, seemingly fascinated by how much more solid Shavri was than the wisp.

"Thank you." Youko took the bottle and brought up one leg to fold over the other so that Nico had a place to lay. He was used to this, obviously, and didn't seem to have the 'baby jitters' that mose of the male persuasion had when encountering a newborn.

Shavri wound around the wisp, giggling aloud in Youko's head as she poked back at the wisp.

Shiro watched as Nico settled in comfortably, perfectly at his ease even with this stranger holding him and feeding him. The infant immediately started in on the bottle, proceeding to try and drain it dry.

"...I think these two are going to get along just fine," Shiro added when he glanced at the wisp and Shavri again. "At least, for now. I can't wait to find out more about her. That lady, Ianna? She said that this wand was a goddess from China, but she didn't know anything else, really..."

"Yours too?" Youko smirked, one ear swivelling towards Shiro even though his gaze was on the baby. "Shavri is as well. As far as I can tell, things are going to be very... interesting with her." He looked towards Shiro then, smiling faintly. "I believe that she's the goddess known as Kuan Yin. Kannon, from Japan."

Shiromaru blinked at Shavri, then stared, eyes widening. "Kuan Yin? Really? Yeah, I can expect things will be really interesting, if that's Kuan Yin... How'd you figure it out? Maybe you can help me figure out my little wisp, as well."

Sighing, Youko leaned back in the chair, watching ghost and wisp as he kept Nico from inhaling the entire bottle. "The wand was found in the South China Sea. I was told that she was a Chinese goddess. After that, I met a kitsune boy who's also from a wand like they are... and apparently he can tell whether a wand will be male or female." Looking to Shiro, Youko let one ear fall to the side. "He got so frustrated, he broke out in tears. He kept saying that it wasn't either... that it was both."

But Nico WANTED the entire bottle! That was carrot-flavored formula in there! Hungrily, he kept sucking the formula down, both hands on the bottle. Shiro, meanwhile, watched Shavri and the wisp, chin in one hand, his gaze thoughtful. "Yeah, I can see why that would be the assumption, then... Who was this kitsune boy? I think I'd like to meet him. I've only met Coailiann, and that was at the shop. I feel kind of bad for the boy, though, if it upset him so much..."

"His name is Yashima..." Youko began, watching Nico so that he didn't inhale it all too quickly. "His guardian is Patrick, I met them both in the HQ one day. We've become pretty good friends since then. I was actually trying to get hold of them to have them over for dinner one night. But Shavri frustrates Yashima so much, that I don't want to upset him."

"Understandable." Shiro continued to watch Shavri and the wisp, pensively, then reached out to 'tickle' Shavri's side. "Maybe once she's reached baby form, she won't frustrate him so much? Or one can hope, at least."

Nicodemus was finally done with the bottle, and pushed it away as he smacked his lips contentedly. Full belly, warm arms, and ooh, look at the hair! Reaching up, he tried to stuff the end of Youko's braid in his mouth again, threatening to smear it with orange-tinted formula.

Youko didn't seem to mind at all, he was used to baby spit-up... and worse things in his hair. He did, however, pin his ears back out of reflex as Shavri let out a shriek and tried to wrap herself around Shiro's hand. "I can't wait til everyone else can hear her too... then I won't be the only one with a migraine."

Shiro looked up at Youko, then acked and tried to pull his hand free from Shavri's grip. "Sorry... I think I'm going to go ahead and head out, though, and get back home. I have some work on the house I need to do now that we need to expand -- " Already. " -- the building, and I don't want to be taking more than a few days on it." Thankfully, he had a whole crew worth of household companions willing to help out.

Chuckling, Youko nodded and moved to reluctantly hand the baby back. "You need to come visit more often. I hardly ever see you anymore, other than when I happen to run into you with Trio." He moved to Shavri then, unwinding the ghost from the demon's hand and letting her stick her wand through his hair like she normally did, to 'ride' around.

After wiping Nico's face off with a towel, Shiro settled the infant into his carrier, tucking Nico's ears in so they wouldn't dangle when the demon flew. "I'll definitely be by more often. I guess life just likes to get carried away..." He settled the wisp's wand into place in its sling, then smiled up at Youko. "And don't worry. I'm hauling you, Envy, and the kids all over to a barbeque at our place. We'll have to make it a regular thing or something like that."

"THAT would be great," Youko said, reaching up to his hair to toy with Shavri lightly. "Of course, you'll have to let ME have a turn at the barbeque at some point." Smiling sweetly, the fox tried his best to look innocent. "I promise I won't put you to shame."

"Oh, you're on," Shiro informed him, grinning impishly. "You are so on. You better be able to back those words up."

"I always back up my words," Youko drawled, leaning one elbow on the counter as he grinned to Shiro. "Just ask Envy."

Shiromaru smirked up at Youko, reaching up in an attempt to playfully poke the man on the nose. "You know, having a ghost over your head when you say that kind of ruins the effect."

"I know. Wait til I try it with a baby in my arms, then it's just hilarious." He leaned in then, swatting Shiro's hand aside and kissing him on the cheek. "Tell Trio that I want to see you both over here more often, okay?"

Laughing, Shiro returned the kiss with one on Youko's cheek in turn, then nodded. "Okay. I will, I promise. I'll talk to you later, okay?" That said, he turned and cheerfully started out of the kitchen -- he knew the way out, after all, and could let himself out.

"Take care," Youko replied, grinning as he moved to head back towards the still-waiting coffeepot. It had been a good visit, and he looked forward to more of the same.

Youkochylde

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Youkochylde

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Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:15 pm

Everything was just about ready. Youko had gotten the place clean, Raven was still at work, Omi was out for the evening, and Kaeru had finally whooped in glee when Youko agreed to let him go to a beach party. That meant the place was QUIET for a change, with only Youko and the wand in attendance.

It wouldn't be that way for long, however. He had company coming over, for the first time in ages. Once Shavri had gotten more substantial, he had decided to have the two over for dinner again in the hopes that Yashima and Shavri would somehow get to know each other. The last two attempts had ended in miserable failure thusfar.

Yashima was dressed in his very best! It was purple but that was okay..he'd forgive it. His father had dolled him all up and was refusing to let the little boy to run around and be psycho like he wanted to as they approached the rather nice house. It looked roomie then their own and Yashima could almost smell the stuff that made him happy happy happy and his father was wearing that little oil and it was all SO HAPPY.

As one might have noticed, the little giddy kitsune was rather happy this night. Patrick, on the other hand, was not as chipper as the young fox. He was keeping a hold on the slippery miniature hairball, blinking a bit as they came up to the doorway.

"Fssssh~" Yashi squeaked, hand moving to pat at the door. It wasn't too good of a knock so his father rapped lightly at it. This was going to be so much fun!

It didn't take long before Youko answered, dressed neatly, if not too extravagantly, in a pair of black jeans and a chinese-styled sleeveless top. His hair was down for a change, falling past his waist except for the top half which was pulled into a bun with a rather familiar looking stick in it. It was Shavri's wand, the baby ghost clinging to it and letting out a squeal when she saw Yashima there. Almost immediately, she tried to dart out the door, only Youko's quick thinking preventing it as he reached up and grabbed the stick. "Patrick, Yashima! Good to see you... whoops..." he looked up towards the top of his head in amusement. "And someone else is happy to see you too. Come in, won't you?"

At least this time they wouldn't have Iamel demanding they not do something that neither of them were thinking? It all helped Yashima to NOT have his older brother trying to kill someone he actually liked.

The toddler beamed at the enthusiastic welcome, throwing his arms out in a welcome. "Hiiiii~" It was one of the few English words he knew how to say almost perfectly, tail fluffing up happily.

"Hey there, Youko - and fluffy baby ghost!" Patrick grinned a little at the open welcome of both the baby ghost and the fox, fingers flexing in his own greetings. "Yashi's so good with the ladies, aren't you, kiddlet?"

When he slid inside, shoes were toed off and Yashi eyed the ghost curiously. "Fukafuka." A firm nod. "...........geel?"

Chuckling, Youko reached for Yashi as well, scooping the boy up and letting Shavri wrap around the fox kit's ears. "Not a girl, Yashi. But not a boy either. You were right." He leaned in then, nuzzling against the boy's cheek. He grinned to Patrick, nodding as he closed the door behind them and finally let Shavri take off. The wand went with her, spilling the fox's hair down the rest of the way, some of it landing over Yashima.

"Haaaaai.." The little boy churred out, clinging to Youko with a soft giggle. Then the hair toppled down, smothering him in a way that was a lot better then a pillow over the face. Fingers flexed, laughing and twisting in the white hair, nuzzling at the fluff. "Fukafuka~"

Fluffy! More!

His hands seperated the white locks, peeking through at Shavri, fingers wriggling at her curiously. "Kee."

Patrick grinned at the two of them, hand moving to pet lightly at the little ball of cloud. "So how've you two been? Sorry it took us so long getting here....we get lost easily."

Youko waved one hand, grinning as he led the way into the livingroom. "It's alright. You should have seen me when I first moved in. It was hell just remembering where I lived." The place was comfortable... and looked like the type of place where kids lived, even if it wasn't messy at the moment. Normally, it looked like a bomb went off, but Youko had made sure that it was at least neat for tonight.

There were already drinks set out, two glasses of iced tea and juice for Yashima.

"We've been doing alright, Youko said, dropping to sit cross-legged on the carpet and setting Yashi down next to him. "Things have been... tiring since Shavri grew to this stage." He sighed a bit and looked at the wand that was now hovering next to Patrick's hand as Shavri batted playfully at the petting. "She's NOISY and at the oddest hours too."

"I STILL don't really remember where I live, to be honest." He laughed a little, fingertips busy playing with and petting at that ball of cloud-fluff. "She is? Yashi just gurgled a lot and sat on my shoulder... It was my favorite little stage, to be honest. Active enough to be interesting but not..diaper-quality level of fun."

Yashima giggled quietly, nuzzling into the fox happily. It wasn't a day for talking for him today...he was in his little quiet mode. While happy and bouncy, there were just some days he didn't want to talk and today was definately one of them.

Youkos hair was once more chewed on curiously.

"It doesn't last for too long, though... So the noisyness might end really soon."

Youko didn't seem to mind at all, and lifted Yashima up gently, tousling with the boy a bit and draping him over one shoulder. "In a way, I hope so... I mean, I can deal with baby noises... but not directly into my BRAIN at 2am. It's unnerving, really." One hand came up to tickle lightly at Yashima's sides as he spoke.

"Oh, I'm making something simple for dinner... you said Yashima likes sushi, so I've got some chilling, as well as onigiri. I made a couple of steaks as well..." Youko smiled sheepishly. "There are some things that the kitsune just canNOT do right. Steak is one of them. I'm glad my father taught me, he's human."

For all intents and purposes, patrick was a vegetarian. Since getting together with Mordread, however and his oncoming 'issues', he'd been eating more and more meat since the time had gone on. It wasn't that he had anything against killing things... Hell, a part of nature... More that he just didn't like the thought that he probably put on weight with each bite. Either way, he'd be eating meat tonight.

So he grinned at Youko, shoulders rising into a shrug. "Yashi seems to like messing around with his sisters easy-bake oven?" He offered, laughing and petting at Shavri still. "Yeah. The brain-thing is really, really unnerving. Since he went humanoidish I haven't heard a peep, though."

"Onigiri?" See, THAT he recognized in the little corner of his mind. The fox perked up, sqealing and wriggling still. "Onigiiiiriiii..."

"Yes, onigiriiiiiii..." Youko grinned, teasing at Yashi. "The sushi isn't much, just cucumber on most of it and salmon on the rest. I prefer the salmon, personally." Fox. Carnivore. Nuff said.

"Everything should be ready shortly. I didn't know if you all would want to wait or not, so I decided to make sure dinner was soonish after you arrived."

Yashi flailed his arms a little at the mention of his favorite food (or. Well, it soon would be. Poor thing only had rice once or twice at his families house) but beamed at Youko anyway. A curious glance was cast to the puff ball his father was still playing around with, nose wrinkling as he continued to cling to youko.

"Foo~"

"Sounds good to me." Patrick grined, "I'm used to eating at random and erratic times that leave my head reeling in confusion."

"That's Shavri," Youko said, pointing to the baby ghost that was now curiously inspecting one of Patrick's ears. "I call her a she, but she's not really. She's a boy AND a girl. Just like you said." He gnawed on his own lip slightly as Shavri seemed to take notice of them now and started to hover towards Yashima a bit more. The moment the fox boy wrinkled his nose, however, the ghost stopped cold and darted back to hide behind Patrick, wand and all.

"Sh-vee." Yashima agreed solomnly, little butt giving a shift a little closer to the baby ghost. "Sh'vee~" His voice lowered a little like a call to the other, fingers flexing at her in a sort of a wave. "Sh'veeeeeee."

"He just looks grumpy," Patrick soothed the ghost, reaching around him to urge the ghost closer to his son. "But he's not really. don't worry."

Shavri was uncertain at first... she didn't want Yashi to cry again! But at the urging of all three, finally the wand hovered out from behind Patrick's head and moved slowly towards Yashima.

"She's being perfectly quiet for a change," Youko whispered, watching the little ghost and silently urging her forward. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if the baby and Yashi didn't get along. He was already getting attached to the boy.

Shavri didn't seem to notice her guardian's concern and finally stopped in front of Yashima, reaching out a bit to poke at his fingers lightly.

The poke was soft and fluffy and a little cold, as Yashima had come to learn that most of them were like that. His ears flicked a little but TOWARDS the fluff, not away from her, head cocking a bit to the side.

"Sh'vee." He murmured lightly, other hand going up to pat at the wisp and leaning over to sniff at her experimentally. She DID smell a little like a boy..and that little boy part could cancel out the girlie part.

Right?

Patrick GRINNED. "Annnd I think there has been acceptance."

Youko breathed and audible sigh of relief, smiling as he watched the two. "Oh thank gods... I was starting to get really worried there. I'd hate to have to try and figure out how to spend time with both if they hated each other. I think I've grown attached to your kid."

Shavri ignored the adults for now, letting out a squee as she flitted closer to Yashima and began inspecting his ears and tail.

"It's easy to get attatched to the little bugger. Even when he's upset, he's adorable." Patrick grinned a little bit, watching as the two of the children interacted. "He can even tolerate Akilah. And Iamel."

He smiled briefly, head tilting a little bit. "But he likes you too. If someone makes him cry once, he usually doesn't try getting to know them again. So yeah. He likes you."

Yashima giggled at the inspection from the cloud, wriggling and sneezing once, twice! Looking at the adults in puzzlement as his fingers reached out to pat at the cloud."Watage, hai?"

As Shavri wound herself around Yashima's fingers, Youko pricked up his ears to the pinging of the timer in the kitchen, and slowly got to his feet. "That's our cue," he said, grinning. "Shall we?" He motioned the others to follow, and Shavri decided that now would be a good time to attach herself to Yashima, putting her wand to tuck into the edge of his kimono as she went along for the ride.

"We shall." He agreed, smiling at his little fox-baby as they made their way into the kitchen. Yashima, quite pleased by the attention he was getting from the VERY MUCH A BOY ghost, continued to pet and snuggle at her as they headed towards the kitchen. It was time for food food food!

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 10:01 am

For a change, Youko had gone out alone. It didn't happen often, normally ONE of the children was in him in one way or another. Especially Shavri.

Ever since she'd grown to a baby ghost, he kept her with him all the time, the wand usually tucked into his hair like a chopstick while the ghost hovered around and clung to his ears. It was a comforting feeling, and the ghost seemed to like it as well. This time, however, he'd left the ghost with Raven while he went out to do some shopping, and his daughter had agreed that the fox needed the break.

He'd enjoyed the time off, but couldn't help thinking of his kids. When he returned, it was with a small bag and he was nearly giddy.

"Okay," Raven said, grinning as she looked up from her book. "What'd you buy and for who?"

"All of you," Youko replied, pulling out a book and handing it to Raven. The series that she was reading had released a new volume and the foxcoon let out a squeal as she jumped up and grabbed it.

"Thank you daddy!" she crowed, scooping up the book and darting off towards her bedroom.

Chuckling, Youko set the bag down then, leaing Kaeru and Omi's presents until they got home. He picked up the wand then, looking to it with a faint smile. "I even got something for you, little princess," he said, bringing up a string of prayer beads that gleamed amethyst. "I thought you would like these, they match your colour." He took the beads and wrapped them around the wand, grinning as the baby ghost inspected them and tapped at the tassel that hung down. "Fit for a goddess, don't you think?" he asked, content to just watch the curious little ghost inspect her new bauble.

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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 4:34 pm

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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:14 pm

The past few days had been... well... amusing. To say the least. Youko had been run ragged here and there, trying to catch up with Raven's work schedule, Omi's packing, Kaeru being GODS knew where the boy went... and Shavri, who still seemed to be perfectly content to just BE.

Now, however, he was taking a bit of a break for himself, and sat curled up on the couch with a book. Granted, it was one that he'd bought for Raven, but that wasn't about to stop him. He liked a good fantasy book as well as the next person, and Mercedes Lackey was one of his favourites. This particular book, he'd read before, numerous times. But that didn't really phase him, and he had no problems reading it again.

Shavri and her wand were currently hovering over the back of the couch... at least that's where they'd been when he'd started reading. Slowly, however, Youko had taken note of the fact that the coos and warbles of the baby ghost had grown less and less frequent. This, in and of itself, was unusual. The ghost hadn't SLEPT much at all (or at least he assumed it was sleep when the baby was quiet. Did ghosts sleep?) and the periods of quiet were random at best. Still, the quiet went on long enough that he grew worried. "Shavri?" he called, looking over his shoulder and spotting... nothing. Well THAT was unusual. She was always somewhere nearby, after all.

Getting to his feet, Youko set the book down and started hunting around for the wayward wand. All of Shavri's favourite haunts turned up empty. The Japanese bath, the sliding glass door to the yard, the array of plants in the side 'sitting' room... all empty.

NOW he was growing concerned, and Youko started up the stairs a bit more quickly then perhaps he needed to. "Shavri?!" He checked each room upstairs, finally skidding to a stop in his own room when he heard a soft coo from the direction of the crib.

Wait... direction?

Blinking, Youko leaned over the crib in time to see a wide yawn before the infant within settled back into sleep. "Oh my... Shavri?" he whispered, staring in awe as one hand came to brush back the dark hair from the round face.

Normal thoughts like 'Is she okay?' 'Is she normal?' or even 'Is she diapered under that blanket?' didn't even occur to him as he curled up to sit on the edge of hsi bed, just watching the sleeping baby raptly.

"Welcome to the world, little one."

If Shavri noticed the fox there, or even cared, it didn't show. The baby was perfectly content to snooze... until Youko actually got settled and accidentally jarred the crib with his foot. That startled her awake quickly enough that she let out a sharp cry, arms and legs flailing. A moment later, Youko realised his mistake as the infant's mouth opened wide in a silent scream... a moment before she took the largest breath of her young life.

"Oh s**t..."

Youko's ears pinned back as the baby's WAIL filled the room and he moved to immediately scoop her up into his arms, still wrapped in the blanket. "Shhhh... it's okay, I didn't mean to scare you. It's okay Shavri," he whispered, rocking her gently. Well, now was as good a time as any to change her too, so he grabbed up a set of clothes and a clean diaper from the dresser before setting the squalling infant on the bed.

A minute later, Shavri was sniffling softly, bundled into a onesie and thin fabric booties as she stared up at Youko with wide violet eyes. She knew him!! He was the one with the ears that were fun to cling to and the hair that was great to hide in. Her demeanor changed immediately then, and she squealed softly, reaching for him with both hands.

The fox nearly melted.

He scooped her up again, cradling her against him as he moved to curl up on the bed, one hand toying with her tummy.

Yes, he was still going to call her 'her', even though the diaper change had revealed exactly what he and Patrick had been afraid of. It wasn't that Shavri didn't have a gender... it was that she had BOTH. It was going to make things interesting when she got older... and if she started acting more boyish, Youko would likely have to get used to calling her a 'him' then. But that was a bridge better left crossed later.

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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:42 am

Ooooh, the gardens. Filled with plants and trees and that lovely fountain that Yashi had, before he was potty trained, gotten his diaper filled with. It had been funny at the time to watch the boy try to wriggle around with his diaper so wet it was almost his size (and a waterbogged tail to boot) but Patrick wasn't THAT mean.

Apparently, though, the little fox had forgotten about that. He was crouched on the wide edge of the fountain, tail up in the air and curved over his back so the tip of hte black and blue furr almost touched his head. His butt was in the air and his eyes were locked, intensely, on the center of his current universe.

Stink bug.

Front and center.

It was his.

Patrick, on the other hand, was watching the festivities of his son soon falling on his a** fro the sideline, a book in one hand and sunglasses in the other. Where Yashi enjoyed just being outside, Patrick enjoyed it's ability to make his soft-spoken kiddlet even quieter.

Things were far different now that Shavri was no longer a wand. For starters, now Youko had to carry around a diaper bag all over again. The sling was draped over his chest, a soft snort coming from it as Shavri reached up, trying to grab hold of the braided hair that hung so temptingly in her reach.

"Hi Patrick..." Youko said, emerging into the gardens and catching sight of the pair. He kept his voice low, however, not wanting to startle Yashi into a fountain-dip.

"PPPHHHFTTT!!!" came the noise from somewhere near his chest, Shavri exclaiming her dissatisfaction at being sling-bound while there was sun and grass and PEOPLE out there.

Patrick glanced up at Youko with a grin, hand raising for a little wave. "Hey there, Youko. What's that you have there - Shavri become a sprogglet on ya?" The dark man pushed himself up from his sitting position, moving over to the others. "Yashi's trying to stalk a stinkbug."

The fox, hearing his name and the babies noise, looked over and wavered briefly on his position on the fountian. His butt paused in the wavering but, in the same little voice as Shavri - mimicing her exactly - he exclaimed back, "PPPHHHFTTT!"

Tiny hands stuck up from the sling and Shavri let out a squeal, as well as a string of incoherent babbling upon hearing someone talking to HER. Okay, this carrying-around thing was all well and good, but she wanted DOWN now. Within a moment, the legs were kicking as well, and the baby was making a royal nuisance of herself.

"Yes, she did..." Youko began, sitting in the grass near Patrick. "Okay, okay, OKAY! Gimme a second!" he exclaimed, working Shavri out of the sling and setting her in his lap for a moment as he grabbed a blanket from the bag to lay on the grass for her. "THERE... you're free. Don't wander too far."

Like that was a worry. Shavri lay on her back, staring up at the sky from the shady spot she'd been put in. This was MUCH better than the sling. At least she could see things now. Like her hand... which she shoved into her mouth and began gumming as she looked around.

"See? They don't go through that handy 'can't even coordinate hand to mouth' stage most babies do." Patrick grinned a little, watching the baby on her back. He remembered Yashi like that..except the baby had been a deal more quieter, a fact which had worried the man.

Fingers moved to tickle at one of her feet curiously, gaze slanting back towards his friend. "And I'm assuming you've already had diaper duty. Were we on the ball? Or was Yashis gender-meter way off?"

The fox glowered at his father lightly - he had heard his name meshed in with something about not being on the ball! He was on the ball! Well. On the bug anyway. His hands had clasped around the buggie and then there was...

legs! It had LEGS! They were moving!

Yashi squalled and let go of the bug rapidly, scrambling back on his hands and legs to fall off the edge of the fountain and onto the soft grass not six inches below. Only his pride was wounded. He grabbed at his tail, hiding behind the thick fur, and peeked at the adults - and thebaby thing - through the strands.

"Dead on," Youko said, sighing a bit and stretching out to lay on the edge of the blanket, keeping an eye on Shavri. "I call her 'she', just because it's better than 'it'. I'm screwed if she decides to act more like a boy."

Shavri, meanwhile was giggling at Patrick's attentions, one leg waving wildly as she varied between wanting the tickling to stop... and wanting more of the attention she was having lavished on her.

At the yelp, both father and daughter perked up, looking towards Yashima. Youko let out a chuckle a moment later, propping his chin up onto his hand as he watched the fox compose himself. "Hello, Yashima."

"Hey, at least you're dealing with it? From what I've read, a lot of people choose to have surgery on their kids when they're still babies, to make them physically one gender over another... Leads to a lot of future ********." A crooked grin, tickling once more at her foot before draping down and blowing a raspberry to the bottom of her foot.

Oh, he knew it'd probably get him a kick in the teeth with baby-heel...but that's what it was there for! Right?

He had meant to do that! Yashima gnawed at some of his furr, ears slowly coming off of their laid-back movement to p***k further upwards. Was it - yes! It was! It was him!

And zoom.

The fox had skittered to his feet and toddled to the adults as fast as he could...not really a 'zoom' so much as a slow, purposeful movement of a child still learning all his motor skills, his tail still in his mouth. "'Hayo!"

Youko's ears pinned back a bit at that. "That, to me, is kind of like playing God, you know? I mean, there's no WAY to tell what gender a kid will act like at birth. It's the parents who want their 'perfect little angel', even though it's likely no one'll see below the skirt til the kid's a teenager." He reached out, petting Shavri's hair lightly, his finger tracing over the red dot on her forehead. "I'd rather leave it up to her. If she wants surgery when she's older, she'll be able to get it. Until then, I'm leaving her the way she's supposed to be."

There wasn't a baby heel in the face... but close. Shavri let out a squealing giggle, pressing her foot against Patrick's mouth, and then bringing the other to tap against his nose. That felt funny!! Maybe if she poked at him, he'd do it again? "Abbbbbababeeeeee..."

At Yashima's approach, Youko smiled and sat up a bit, motioning to him. "Hey there kiddo," he said, grinning and making room for him to sit. "How are you today?" He motioned to Shavri then, smiling. "That's the little one from my wand. Can you say hi to Shavri?"

"As a scientest, I really have no issue playing god... as long as it's with chemicals or with other things that don't have a mind and will of their own," He mumbled from against Shavris foot, blowing another raspberry against her baby!heel before pulling back. He was grinning, fingers tickling at at ankle.

"Yeeeees, kiddlet. Abbabababee. That's right."

Yashima skirted around Youko, fingers twisting into the older foxes clothing and blinking up at him. "Kee." His head dipped a bit before peeking around the fox towards the baby, nose crinkling up. "Sh'vee?"

That was it's name. His name. Yes. His his his. Sh'vee was a heeeeeeee.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" The ear-piercing shriek of glee was heralded by the waving of all four limbs every-which-way, Shavri seeming to be HIGHLY amused by Patrick and the playing.

Youko's ears pinned back for a second and he grinned, tail swishing up just a bit to tickle at Yashima's ears. "Did I mention that she's got a healthy set of lungs? And she seems to despise quiet. If it's quiet in the house, she'll make sure it's NOT."

Turning his attention to Yashima, Youko reached to ruffle the boy's hair gently. "That's right. Shavri." Well, Sh'vee was close enough, really. "She's the one that was in the wand."

Patrick just laughed, fingertips reaching for her toes and wriggling them. "I managed to live through Akilah. He's prepared me well for oncoming years." A firm nod and fingers went to tickle, instead of an ankle (she was expecting it!) the back of her knee.

"You're just an excitable little girlie-pie, arn'tcha? Sok." Another grin, tickling more at her feet and glancing at Yashima. "Don't be scared, Yashi. Shavri's just a little baby. You were this little once too!"

Yashima frowned. S-- HE had no tail. Yashi was never without a tail. But it couldn't be THAT bad, could he? After all...his daddy was playing with him. So, quietly, with Youko and his daddy there as his backup against the odd thing, the toddler moved over to crouch by her. Shavri recieved a poke on the nose.

"Sh'vee." His own nose wrinkled in response and Yashis other hand rose to poke at the crinkled nose. "Yashi."

"Asi..." Shavri said, grinning from ear to ear. "Asiasiasiasiasiasiasiasiasi..." She would have likely kept going, but the tickling on her leg brought another squeal from her and a fit of giggles as the infant squirmed on the blanket and tried to bat at Patrick. Between that and trying to grab Yashima's wrist, Shavri was completely occupied and LOVING it.

Youko could just smile, watching the interactions and enjoying the fact that Yashima didn't seem afraid of Shavri anymore. This was GOOD, in his book.

"Asi?" The child looked rather put out at that, lower lip jutting out in a pout, shoulders hunching up. And then his wrist was grabbed and...it was slobbery. Blah. Babies.

"Yashi," He empathisized,, both ears falling to a horizontal slant. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaashi."

"Hun, she's just a baby." Patrick grinned as well, glancing towards his son once more as he tickled at her chin with one finger. "She can't talk very well - or at all, really. It's a compliment she can even try to say your name."

"......Yashi."

What was better than gnawing on your own fist? Why, gnawing on someone else's of course. Shavri gummed at Yashi's hand, looking up at him intently as he tried (in vain) to make her understand what his name was.

Of course she knew what his name was. He'd told her, after all. She wasn't DEAF. "Asi," she said solemnly, nodding once and going back to her attack on his hand.

Snickering, Youko glanced to Patrick, one brow raised a bit. "I think it's going to be amusing when these two get old enough to argue."

"..." The fox whined as his hand was stolen and used mercilessly by the little thing of baby-ness, ears pinning back against his head. He could just stare, head whipping around to face his father. "Tousan!"

"What do you want ME to do, kiddlet? She's not hurting you, is she?" Another whine from his son just made Patrick grin, ruffling at the silver and gold hair of his adopted offspring. "Just be nice to her. She's just a baby. Like...like..." s**t. Yashi was one of the youngest... "She's just a baby. Be nice."

His attention turned to Youko, that grin becoming even wider. "I say when they're older, we get these two, Zah and Kay together in one room and see what happens. Either another war or the best little group of terrors ever known."

Laughing, Youko nodded. "I saw Kay again the other day. She was hyped up on sugar or something, and was going a mile a minute." He tried to think then.. he knew Zah... "OH! The Drow baby. I met him briefly the other day. Shavri made HIM cry too."

As if hearing that and understanding, Shavri whipped her head around at her father and frowned darkly. "Abuh..." she muttered, letting go of Yashi's hand and rolling onto her side to pout. It wasn't HER fault they cried... she didn't even SAY anything to them and they would cry. It had to be something else.

"Kay is really the only girl Yashi will out-all cuddle and purr at." Patrick grinned a little and then..blinkity blink! "Really? Zah is like..Yashi's favorite little snuggle partner...ever. Maybe next time they meet, Yashi'll be here and he could be a mediator or something. He doesn't seem to mind her except for the chewing thing.."

Another supressed grin at that, either way.

Yashima, surprised about her sudden growly mood, reached over and petted at that soft dark hair. "Abuh," He agreed sympathetically, wriggling over to settle next to her. "Zawsaw?" It finally kicked in that they were talking about HIS Zah and those ears perked up.

The fox gave a little squeal! "Zawsaw~?"

"She's just upset because she doesn't like it when people cry..." Youko explained, ruffling Yashima's ears. "Zas seemed to be pretty interesting... what I was able to see anyway. It was pitch black in the HQ because of his light sensitivity, and he was pretty upset when Shavri snuck into his blanket to say hi."

Shavri rolled towards Yashima then, curling up alongside him and yawning softly as she watched the two of them and listened to the conversation. They were talking about the dark-skinned boy from the other day...

"Apparently, he's a big fan of spiders?" He offered up, nose crinkling a little. "I'm not really knowledgeable on Drows, unfortunetly, but he screams when there's light on him. At least, from what I've seen. And he likes shadows and soft things."

The man paused, blinking down and smiling down at Shavri and Yashima. "He's skittish around girls too, I think. I read somewhere but.." His hand waves, "I've heard him crying around two girls now. At least, one girl and one with bits of a girl and...well, you know what I mean. I think he cried?" A pause once more. "...damn. I can't remember. Maybe I'm just making it up or something. My head hates me today - sorry.."

Yashima watched her curiously once she rolled over, fingers moving to pet further at her dark hair. "Zawsaw," He informed her seriously, although he didn't care to elaborate more then that.

Shavri went from mouthing Yashima's hand to sucking on her own thumb, her eyes starting to slip closed. Her other hand fisted in the boy's clothes, clinging to him as she started to doze off. It had been a busy day! The fresh air and sunshine were doing wonders for soothing her as well.

"Well, he screamed at Shavri. Not sure if it was because she's kinda a girl, or if it was because she startled him. She was in baby ghost form and went into the blanket that was wrapped around him." Youko shook his head faintly at the memory. "Then he started screaming and Artemis started screaming... and Shavri started wailing. At least the other two there didn't have to hear HER in addition to the other two. That treat was for me alone."

Well...at least she wasn't eating HIM anymore. That was a positive thing. Yashimas eyes were wide as he watched the girl - the BOY! The boy slowly fade off into a dozing-type state.

"....that'd make me scream too. Things wrapping around me at night BETTER be Mordread or they get a five-year-old girl scout type shriek." He grinned, eyebrows furrowing. "Artemis? Who's Artemis?" If there was a Shavri and there was a Zah...could that.. "Artemis - is she another wand?"

That made Youko laugh, the thought of Patrick screaming like a girl. "She's not a wand... but she used to be," Youko said, still snickering. "She's another one who likes nighttime, apparently. Both she and Zah seemed to prefer the dark. I'm just glad that I can see pretty well in the dark."

Shavri, by this point, was unconscious, snoring softly as her thumb hung from slack lips. Her hand still clung to Yashima though, as if she refused to let go even though she was asleep.

"Gotcha..." If Patrick could blush, he would've. He screamed like a girl often... When Iamel first appeared. When Akuti appeared! When he thought Yashi was going to be attacked by wild mongeese or something...Things like that scared him, and he screamed thusly.

"I say, we just get Zah some of that sunscreen and a pair of awesome sunglasses, and he'd be set." He grinned, eyes on the two kids.

Yashi looked up at the adults, appearing stricken. "...mou." He bemoaned his fate a little, looking back at the girl and tugging gently at her wrist.

"Meh..." Shavri nestled closer, wrapping around Yashima in her sleep and nuzzling him. She seemed to have gotten the nuzzling habit from Youko, and made ample use of it already.

"I think she wants her pillow to sit still," Youko snickered, keeping his voice soft so that (hopefully) only Patrick could hear. "And I dunno about the sunscreen... I think the light REALLY hurts his eyes though. I don't have much knowledge about Drow, but I bet my daughter and I can dig up some information and see what we can find that would help."

Yashi whined quietly at the nuzzling, muscles tightening slightly under the outfit he was wearing. She was CUDDLING him. She was PETTING him. It was disconcerting because at this point he had realized it was, indeed, a girl. At least, that's how she felt at the moment, looking all poofed up and pretty.

Patrick just smiled faintly, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Yeah.. I'm going to ask Neveah about it.. Or check out a library or something. The internet is lovely, sometime! We're going to have...a.unique bunch of kids around here.."

"I wonder what we could find out in the library about all of them?" Youko asked, picking at a blade of grass as he sprawled on his back in the grass. He enjoyed the lazy days like today immensely. "I mean, there's got to be books about them all... I know there's legends of kitsune and if worse comes to worse, I can direct you towards my mother. She's full blooded kitsune, I'm just half."

Shavri had cracked her eyes open again, whining softly at the continued talking and moving around her, and tightened her hold on Yashima accordingly. She looked up at him, pleading softly as if saying 'DO something...'

"There's books on EVERYTHING, somewhere." He shrugged a little bit, leaning back on his arms, head tilting up to the sky. "I'm kind of afraid to learn out anymore about Yashi then I already do...He has flashbacks sometimes, I think. Screaming, won't let anyone near him..none of that s**t."

Patrick grinned, casting a glance to the other. "If I knew any goddesses or gods, I'd offer their aide, though?"

Yashi whined right back at her and hesitated, glancing back up at the adults near them. Then the little fox siiiighed, hand moving to cup her ears. "Hmmph."

Smiling softly, Shavri nestled up to Yashima then, pillowing her head in his lap as she curled into a ball. The soft sucking sound came from her thumb then as she slipped her eyes closed and began to doze once more.

Youko couldn't help but feel a bit of 'd'awww' at that, reaching to ruffle Yashi's ears gently. "She likes you," he whispered, encouraging him. "I think you've made a good friend there, you know?"

Neveah yawned, stretching one of her arms over her head. "I've already tried sunscreen~" She said lazily, the beginning of her words catching the very end of her yawn. When she came into the gardens, she heard 'Zah' and 'sunscreen' in the same sentence...and she figured she'd point out it was useless. Of course, she had to stop for a bit to move some of Zah's blankets, and to yawn a few times, and to enjoy the light. "I'm tempted to just wrap him in seran wrap and let him do what he wants." She giggled, shifting the black and red bundle into her right arm, to give her left a stretch as well. Damn Zah was getting heavy!

"Oh...and I'm sorry to butt in! I'll leave if you want me too." She keened out, ever the thoughtful one.

"Eeeemaaaah~ Ahsheemaah~" Came a rather loud, apparently very awake chant. Apparently, Zah could hear his friend from the confines of his blankets. "Ashemah~ AshemahAshemah..." Then, little hands came out of nowhere from the mound of blankets, coupled with a loud churr of glee. Gloves! He had gloves! Gloves and armthings! Take that, you stupid ball of hurtful brightness!

"Of course you don't have to leave!" Youko said, grinning up at the butterfly woman and sliding a bit to let her have room on the blanket as well. Shavri had been settled in the shade... and while he didn't know if Zah would be fine in just the shade or not, it had to be better than full sunlight, yes?

Shavri blinked then, whining softly as she was woken YET AGAIN, and glared up towards the woman. Then she recognized the bundle in her arms, and remembered the boy that cried at the light. "ABAH!!" she yelled, waving an arm sleepily as she smiled towards them.

"Zawsaw!" Yashima, despite any baby curled up against him, let his arms fly up and flail towards that adorable black and red bundle. "Aoi chou - Zawsaw NOW!" Apparently, the little brat knew the word 'now' enough to use it.

He was demanding, anyway, and that yoinked Patricks attention up, a grin growing on his face. "Neveah! Zah~ Hey there. No, don't leave. Youko and I were doing some mildly masculine bonding - we need a pretty butterfly to make it all good. Settle~ Sit~"

"Oh, well how kind of you!" Neveah said, smiling brightly. It was nice to be welcome...she'd forgotten what it was like, since most of her life was spent traveling and having a career that most areas disliked greatly. Shuffling over before they changed their minds, she sat closer to the female baby and the shade than anywhere else. The shade didn't help completely...but it was enough to soften the pathetic whining Zah seemed to be perfecting. "Aww, that must be Shaveri! She's really cute...! Whoops, did we wake her?" Now, she sounded apologetic.

"Whoa...demanding much, Kitling?" The butterfly queried, focusing her angled eyes on the little fox. "One minute...give me that long at least, okay little one?" That gave her time to free some of Zasalamel from his blanket, at least.

"Male bonding...? I'm not complaining...but doesn't that mean I shouldn't be here?" She teased good-naturedly though she seemed pleased at the compliment, undoing the arm and leg clasps on the blanket the drow was wrapped in (he was wearing gloves, shoes and skin-covering clothing), but keeping the blindfold and hood securely on. She set him down beside her, but close to the other two kidlets.

Zasalamel's head turned, only to feel more fabric-stuff against his face. A yell? A girl yell? His own chanting went quiet for a moment. Who was that? He was wiggling now, caught between wanting down, wanting to find out, and wanting to latch onto Yashima. "Ahsheeeemah! muuuuabebeha~" He decided, which really had no relevance to anything.

Once he was down, he flailed with his arms and legs a bit, enough to get a grasp on something (which, coincidentally, was Neveah's sleeve), and with a grunt, he pulled on it until he struggled onto his own bottom. "Aaaahbabbuh?!" He greeted and questioned, his gloved hands tapping around, trying to find everyone else.

"Aaaahbabbuh..." Shavri repeated... well, as best she could, rolling onto her side and staring towards the completely covered baby. Well, THAT couldn't be comfortable, could it? She looked down at herself and the shorts and sleeveless shirt she wore, then blinked at Zas again. "Meh?" she asked, as if this were the most logical question in the world.

"Male bonding, guardian bonding, whatever you prefer to call it. Whatever it is, you're more than welcome." Youko grinned, watching the baby-unwrapping game. "I'm not sure how you do it..." he said, watching her intently. "Does the light hurt his skin too?"

Yashima simply stared at the butterfly in silence until his friend was free, tail twitching to and fro. Ther ehe was - the fun little Drow he had so much fun with! His arms flung towards the mostly-blinde baby, hugging his ickle frame as tight as his own ickle frame would allow...then he tried to tug him towards Shavri and himself.

"Sh'vee, Zawsaw~ Gaaru da! Otokonoko janai yo!" He sounded rather self important, nodding and enwrapping his arms around the both of them - his mini harem.

Patrick grinned a little bit, watching the children play around together before glancing at Neveah. "Psh. We're all beautiful here! So we can pretend for a little while. ...or what Youko said. Gaurdian bonding." Another nod, lips folding into a wider smile.

"Well, if push comes to shove...I'll just pretend to be a guy." Neveah decided with another laugh, shaking her head. When Youko spoke again, she looked up from her wiggling charge and blinked curiously at him. "I'm not sure how I do it either...but I manage! I'll probably be deaf before I'm Twenty-Five, but I manage." She was grinning again; this was entirely amusing to her, considering she was probably right. "Yeah...He screams like...like someone's holding a flame to him. Or like he's dying, depends on what mood he's in." Sighing, she reached over and fixed the Drow's hood again, since he'd managed to tilt it when he sat up.

"And hey...I never said you two weren't beautiful!" She shot back to Patrick, though playfully.

"...Meh?" Zasalamel repeated, trying to figure out how to answer this all-important question. "...Aaaahbabeu" He answered hesitantly, as if finally realizing that the baby he was talking to was that female-but-not-female thing. Just in case it was female though, he was going to tread with caution!

"Brruah?" Zah drawled with his already heavy accent...then... "AHHSHEEEEMAH!" He cried out loudly, happily, when he was mauled by his friend. "Sh'veee?" He repeated, after uttering an 'oof' when he was tugged down. He then went silent. Is Yashima wasn't afraid of this girl-but-not-girl thing...then he shouldn't be either! "Sh'veeeeeeee~!" He cried out, patting around blindly for this Sh'vee thing.

Shavri couldn't roll towards him yet... or crawl, or anything else really to get her closer to the patting thing. It was a baby, right? Instead, she reached out as best she could, brushing her fingers against his and babbling in nonsensical baby-talk.... but whatever she was saying, it was of some vital importance to her, it seemed. "ABBBBREEEEEEE!" she yelled, laughing as she leaned OVER Yashima towards Zah.

"Of course I'm beautiful," Youko said, putting on an air of mock regality. He fairly preened for a second before collapsing into giggles, laying in the grass. "Well, it looks like you've got the light problem covered... quite literally," he added, watching the bundled up baby trying to reach for the others.

TBC

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:55 pm

A time had been set, and for once Shiro had left Nicodemus at home, bringing just the wand and its attached wisp. He'd long since decided that Youko's way of tucking the wand into his hair was a good idea, and as a result, his hair was up, the wand tucked into it, the tea infuser swinging freely and the wisp floating above his head. He stood in front of an antiques shop along a little shopping plaza, humming contentedly to himself as the wisp batted the tea ball about.

Youko would have been similarly UNburdened... except for the fact that Shavri had finally decided to arrive. So instead of simply the wand, the fox was pushing a stroller with a waving, burbling baby in it, Shavri's black hair wisping around in the breeze as she tried to catch whatever it was that was ruffling it.

"Shiro!" he called out, waving with a smile as he wheeled his way over to the water demon. "Looks like we've got extra company today, hmm?" he said, pointing down to the infant with a grin.

"Is that... that can't be... Is that Shavri?" Shiro hurried over and knelt in front of the stroller, grinning broadly as he offered a finger to grab onto. "She's beautiful, Youko!" The little wisp peered over the edge of Shiro's bangs and eyed Shavri as well, hanging on to one of Shiro's horns.

Nodding, Youko laughed. "That's her. Scared the hell out of me when she arrived. All of a sudden, there was NO noise in my head and she'd passed out in her crib."

Shavri let out a squeal of happiness, legs and arms flailing as she grabbed hold of Shiro's finger and proceeded to drag it, hand and all, towards her mouth.

"Watch it," Youko warned. "She's teething."

"Yeah, I think I just figured that out." Shiro snickered softly as his finger was gnawed on, not entirely minding. "Okay, you got to hold Nico, I get to hold Shavri today," he declared, shooting a grin up at Youko before trying to extricate his hand from Shavri's grip. "You know, I'm glad you have her -- it means that I get at least some sort of a guide to what to expect for my own little girl." The wisp, it seemed, had already lost interest for the moment, attention focused on a passing ladybug as it buzzed along by them.

"Go ahead," Youko said, moving to unclip the harness that held Shavri and kept her from sliding out the bottom end of the stroller. He didn't bother trying to loosen the baby's grasp... it was futile at best, and he simply lifted Shavri, blanket and all into Shiro's arms. "Watch your hair, jewellery... and your wand," he said, grinning as he watched the two. "So... where are we headed today?"

Shiromaru happily held Shavri close, bouncing her slightly in his arms as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I was thinking we could do a bit of shopping. I've started decorating her bedroom," he explained as he looked up, "and I was hoping to find something appropriate. Something I'll naturally have to keep safely out of the way until she's old enough, but it'd still be nice to have some pretty things in her room." He winced when the wisp, playing with the tea ball, whapped it against his head, then he reached up and tried to tuck it into one of the loops of the scrunchie keeping his hair in place. "She thinks that's the greatest game, I swear..."

"Of course she does... Shavri liked playing 'Whack-An-Ear' a lot with her wand, too." Youko snickered, reaching to poke at the wisp lightly as they walked. "Alright... there's plenty of stores around here that sell bedroom stuff. I'm sure we'll find something."

The wisp cheerfully poked back, trying in vain to tickle at Youko's fingertip, then looked up as a leaf fluttered by overhead. The little thing seemed highly distractable. "You know," Shiro mused, his gaze on Shavri, "I have to wonder... Do you think Shavri and my wisp knew each other from their past lives? If they're both Chinese gods..."

"Could be... I'm not sure, really. Have you figured out what goddess she is yet?" Youko still had a hard time believing that Shavri was a goddess... but the physical aspects were one indicator... and the mark on her forehead was the other. It was the mark of one that had been touched by divinity. "But this little one is definitely Kuan Yin. I call her 'she' as a technicality... she's technically both genders."

A hermaphrodite, then? It seemed poor Yashima had been correct. Shiro considered Shavri for a moment longer, toying with her hair, then looked up. "...I have my suspicions," he confirmed, then winced as the wisp hauled the tea ball back out and whacked him on the head again with it. "That tea ball's my main clue. Have you heard of Lady Meng-Po?"

"Can't say that I have..." Youko said, pricking up one ear and looking at Shiro curiously as they walked. "Then again, most of my research went into Kuan Yin, Kannon, Kanzeon... whatever you want to call her. I didn't do too much research into other gods and goddesses."

Shiro hesitated in front of a doorway, then freed one arm and pushed the door open, stepping into the little store. "Meng-Po's the goddess of forgetfulness. Before the soul crosses over to be reborn, Meng-Po gives the soul a specific tea made to wipe out the memories of the life that soul had just gone through."

"Sounds reasonable to think it might be her then," Youko answered, moving to hold the door open and push the stroller in as well. He watched the little wisp flit here and there and grinned. "Especially with her attention span, ne?"

Shavri was barely listening to the conversation. Much more interesting was the hand that was playing with her, the buttons on Shiro's clothes, and OOOOOOOOOooo.... what was all this STUFF around them now?? "ABEH!!" she yelled, reaching for the nearest rack of Shiny Things.

"Good gods, she grows up fast," Shiro murmured with no little amazement, deftly keeping Shavri out of reach of those very shiny things. Sometimes -- all of the time, really -- it was good to have practice. "And yes, with her attention span? And it gets worse the longer she's been with us. She wasn't as bad in the beginning. I -- nonono, no playing with the expensive, highly-breakable toys. Uh-uh. Not happening." He tucked the wand a bit further into his hair, which effectively took a few more inches off of the wisp's range of movement. "Okay, these two are a heart attack waiting to happen."

Reaching for his own 'heart attack', Youko scooped up Shavri and snickered. "Oh yeah. And she's curious about EVERYTHING," he said, deftly keeping Shavri's grasping hands away from a rack of baubles that likely cost more than he made in a week. "I hope her attention span evens out a bit as she gets older, or she won't have the concentration to even tie her shoes."

Shiromaru grinned up at Youko, shaking his head in amusement. "She does seem to be growing up quickly, even considering the rate of maturation here. Teething and babbling already... My friend Abishai's kitsune kit, Reverie? He barely makes a sound, and he's been here since the middle of April." He paused, then, as the wisp flitted forward, obviously intent on a teacup on a shelf in front of them. The demon pulled the wand from his hair and held it close to the teacup, and the little purple wisp promptly curled up inside the cup. "...I think she likes it."

Snickering, Youko leaned over to look. "And not that expensive, either. Maybe you could get that for her and it could be a nick-nack when she's older?" He was seeing all KINDS of things for Shavri as well, but had a budget to consider. It was tempting to buy everything in sight for the bubbly infant, but he knew better.

"Not expensive, and very pretty," Shiro mused, picking up the delicate porcelain cup and inspecting the fine brushwork. "I think I'll get this one for her. Could put it up on top of the dresser for now," he mused. "...Under a display case, so it doesn't get knocked off when she grows to that full ghost form."

"Sounds like a plan." Youko smiled, picking through a bin of bracelets and whistling softly as he brought one up. "Oh Shiro...~" he called, grinning as he held up a strand of prayer beads made from amethyst. "Lookit what I found."

"I think I'm getting a set for Shavri," the fox proclaimed, picking up the beads and handing them to the infant, who seemed perfectly content to stare at them in awe.

Grinning, Shiromaru watched, then rummaged through the bin for a set of his own -- as well as several others of various colors. He seemed intent on picking up the entire set of different types. "I'm going to get some for all the girls and Nico," he decided, contentedly. "I think they'll like them. Even though Nicodemus can't have his until he stops chewing on everything in sight."

"Good luck in that," Youko murmured, picking out a few more as well, even though Shavri only got the amethyst set for the moment. "He seems like he'll be chewing on everything as long as he can... part of the package with rabbits, I guess. How is he doing, anyway?"

"He's doing wonderfully," Shiro chirruped, grinning up at Youko. "Gnawing everything to bits, and obsessed with carrots, but doing wonderfully. Growing like a weed, too. I have to wonder if he's ever going to grow into those ears."

"Does he chew on his crib yet?" Youko grinned at that, imagining either a wooden crib reduced to toothpicks... or a metal crib that sounded like a rabid woodpecker.

Shiromaru made a face and pulled the wand out again, letting the wisp putter about along the shelves as they passed. "Yes. It's a good thing I had an idea this might happen and got an unfinished, unpainted crib. At least he's not getting splinters in his mouth." He paused, then picked up a long hairstick with a cascade of crystals. "Look at this..."

Youko paused, backstepping and looking at the hairstick with wide eyes. "That's gorgeous..." he murmured, reaching out to brush his fingers along the crystals. "And if you're not getting it, I AM."

"I'll wait," he said, grinning as he mentally went over the amount of money he had in his wallet at the moment. "But I'm definitely coming back to this place in the near future."

Laughing, Shiro gathered his purchases into his arms and made his way towards the cash register. "So am I, when I have some more money. This is a great place. ...But I think I'm about at my spending limit for now."

"Same..." Youko took his few items and moved to the register as well, finally giving in and just letting Shavri KEEP the bracelet that she was clinging to. "There's one more," he mentioned absently as the cashier rung up the items and he fished around for money.

Shavri let out an ear-piercing squeal, laughing as she tried to grab hold of Shiro's nose.

Youko's ears flattened reflexively, but he didn't seem to wince or whimper about the noise anymore. He was getting used to the infant's high-decibel voice now, it seemed.

Nose caught, Shiro giggled quietly, then tried to free his nose from Shavri's grasp so he could get his own things rung up. Soon enough, his own purchases were carefully stowed away in bags, and his wand was tucked away in his hair. "Think I'm about ready to get going," he mused, thoughtfully. "We'll have to do this again soon, though. Maybe get coffee next time?"

"Coffee sounds good... by the time these two are toddling around, we'll likely NEED it." He resettled the sling on his shoulder then, eliciting a snort from Shavri as she was rearranged. "We'll have to get together for that barbeque soon, too."

"We're about done with the renovation, so as soon as that's done, we'll drag you lot over," Shiro confirmed cheerfully. "And then? It's a cook-off, and we'll see who's better at the barbeque."

Grinning evilly, Youko let his ears fall back a bit. "You're on," he said, tail twitching behind him for a moment. "For now, however... it's naptime." And in that instant, the 'fierce' fox was gone, replaced by 'daddy' once again. "Take care, Shiro! I'll give you a call later."

Shiro leaned in and pressed a kiss to Youko's cheek, then to Shavri's. "Okay! I'll see you later. C'mon you," he added to the wisp as it clung to his horn, "let's get home." He made his way outside, then spread his wings and took to the air.

Youkochylde

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Youkochylde

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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:45 am

Dear Diary -

Things have changed so much...

Shavri is growing like a weed, and I've found myself going shopping at the secondhand kids stores because she's outsizing her onesies and such so quickly. Her outgrown clothes are still practically brand new, and I can't stand to see them go to waste. This way, someone else can use them, and I can keep getting stuff that will actually FIT her.

However, finding non-gender-specific clothing is a b***h.

I'm not certain when/if Shavri will decide for herself what she wants to be... and if she takes offense to being referred to as a girl all this time, I'm screwed.

I just hope she doesn't wind up hating me when she's older.

Youko

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