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 Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 7:52 pm
:: Merry Christmas, Rivener! ::
The first Holiday between Guardian and Raevan "I don't get it," Rivener said as he watched Aphismet string lights up around the apartment. The guardian was humming songs to himself, too! It was way out of character, and it worried Riv greatly.Aphismet turned around, careful not to fall off the stool, and smiled at his Raevan. "You don't have to get it, Rivener. The lights go up because it's part of Christmas, that's all. All the other houses have them, see?" Aph pointed out the window, to the building across the street; all the windows were lined with multicolored lights, just as Aph was putting up. Riv frowned. He'd seen the Christmas specials on TV, he'd learned what it was all supposed to mean. Some guy who was born on this day a long time ago, had died, and then wasn't dead. They all celebrated his birth on this special "Christmas" day. Personally, Riv didn't see how that one guy coming back from the dead was a sign from whatever "god" people believed in. In most movies, if a guy came back from the dead, some hero with a shotgun would come in and blow its brains out, get the girl, and live happily ever after. It was all very confusing.
And then there was this whole business with the big guy dressed in red, who seemed to have nothing at all to do with the Birth of that other guy. And the whole buying of things, wrapping it up, and unwrapping it later... It just made a big expensive mess.
Rivener sighed and shrugged, and turned his back to his guardian, concentrating again on the television.
That's when it happened. There was an audible click as everything in the building turned itself off. The lights Aphismet had been carefully putting up, the clock on the bookshelf, the television, everything. "A power outage?" Aph wondered. He glanced out the window, and saw the neighboring building was as dark as his apartment. No street lights worked. "Well, they should have it fixed soon enough. Shitty that someone will have to go in to work today, though... Riv?" Aphismet jumped off the stool, string-lights forgotten, as he saw the Frei's form shake. Rivener, his silhouette outlined by the red glow of his rune, was shivering on the couch, almost whimpering.Aph ran to the front of the couch, thinking that Rivener had somehow hurt himself. The man knelt and put his hands on Riv's shoulders, looking for any bleeding, any wound. "Oh my god, Rivener! Are you alright? What's wrong?!" There was no apparent injury, but Rivener's eyes were opened so wide... Aph shook the Frei sharply. "RIVENER!" he yelled insistantly, worried. Rivener, jarred out of his shock by the scream, flared his wing open and angled his stinger towards the threat. He blinked at Aph for a moment before relaxing slightly, bead of poison still glistening at the tip of the wing's claw. "What's going on?" Rivener asked, his voice meek and quiet for the first time ever."Wh-what?" Aph asked, frowning in worry as he reached for a scrap of couch fabric, using it to mop off that drop of poison before it fell on something more crucial... like himself. "Where's the light? The time? The television? Are... are we dead?" Riv's eyebrows knotted, and he cringed."Wh- oh, the power outage? It's just the electricity is out, Rivener. It'll be back on soon. We're not dead, why would you think that?" Aph sat next to his Raevan, leaving a hand on the other's to keep his attention focused.
"We, we live because of those things, don't we? The time tells us when to do things, the television keeps us company, the light lets us see at night... We can't do anything now. We can just sit here." Rivener looked around fearfully.Aph smiled slightly. He'd never thought Rivener was so dependant on the technology, that taking it away would be like dying... He supposed today would be a very appropriate day to tell Rivener about certain things. "Riv, these things don't make us alive. We simply use them to make our lives easier. They don't make the world go round." "What does, then?""Friends. Family. Loved ones, and other small things, like sunsets, painting, things like that." Aph smiled reassuringly. "So, can you try to think of something that makes you feel warm inside, apart for the radiator?"
Rivener thought about this for a little while. "Roux. Roux makes me feel warmer than the radiator," Rivener said. "Inside, not out on the skin.""And does anything make you happy, apart for the television?" Aph asked. "...Painting. And singing. I like those.""You sing?!" Aph asked, startled.
"Sometimes. When I'm alone.""I didn't know you sang, why didn't you tell me?" "It's not for you. It's private. It's just for me. ....Maybe for Roux. I'm not sure yet." Riv frowned, not wanting to be pressed about this.Aphismet was a little hurt, realizing once again that he knew nothing about his charge. However, he didn't want to pry into something that he had no business knowing. He smiled softly. "There are friends and family, too. Are there people that you would be sad to see go away?" "Roux. Vyn and Gage... Xavier. You too, I guess," Rivener added despite himself. He didn't like Aph to know that he didn't dislike him completely.Aphismet smiled broadly at being included in the list, albeit against Rivener's will. "A power outage won't make them go away. Everything you like is still here, I'm still here. The other stuff, that doesn't matter so much after all, does it?" He tilted his head at the Frei. Riv looked down at his hands, with Aph's grasping them. He nodded. "It's not so bad without it," Riv admitted."Here," Aph said, letting go of Riv's hand to walk over to the bed, reaching under it to pull out a box, wrapped in red paper and a golden bow. "I was going to wait until later to give you this, but I think now would be okay." He walked over to Rivener and sat again, giving the present to the Frei.
Rivener blinked at the present. Aph bought him things all the time, why would he need to wrap this one up? Confused but curious, Rivener took the box, examined it closely, and shook it lightly. It was rather small, kind of heavy for its size, and rattled ever so lightly when he shook it. With a slight frown, Rivener tore off the paper slowly, tilting his head in confusion.
"Why?" The Frei asked Aph as he lifted a brand-new digital camera from its box. "This is very expensive, you wanted one, didn't you? Why give it to me now that you finally bought one?""I bought it for you, not me. I thought since you associate with television and pictures so much, you should try seeing your own world through pictures and movies. This camera can record a few minutes of film, and can take a few hundred pictures." Aph was pointing energetically to a few buttons on the camera. "Here's the zoom, this is the record button for film clips, and this is the picture-taking button... you can read the manual to learn all the features, it's pretty complicated at first glance..." "But... but why spend all this money? You were trying to save for tuition.""This is Christmas. I wanted to give you something special, something I can't normally give." "But WHY?""Because," Aph said, keeping his eyes on the camera, not on his charge, "you're my family now. You're all I have. I want to make you happy, if I can." A long silence. Then, Rivener's voice. "I love it. Thank you."
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 10:23 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:01 am
Rivener's Diary Entry Last night Aphismet and I were out walking in the streets, and I was taking pictures... We met this crippled kid called Isi something-or-other. He had a flying whale that sings! We chased it into a restaurant and I got to poison it. I took lots of pictures of our adventure! 
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:07 am
:: The First Step Towards Change ::
Aphismet takes a flying leap into a new life... full of fear, but exciting! Aphismet knocked on the door with his stomach knotted tighter than he'd ever felt it. Through the window, between the painted-on letters of "manager", Aph could see Mario talking on the phone. By the way Mario was waving his arms madly, he was having a bad day. He hadn't heard Aph's shy knock above his own screaming, thick black mustache flicking about with each loud word. Swallowing hard, Aph knocked again, louder. This time, Mario heard. The man glanced at the window, saw Aph, and waved him in distractedly. Aphismet opened the door, catching Mario in mid-scream. "-CARE if your delivery people are on strike! I NEED that cheese here on Monday! If you don't have it on my doorstep at 8am as usual, I'm going to EAT YOUR FACE! I gotta talk with my staff, and there's nothing more to say to you, so GOODBYE." Mario slammed down the receiver, and let his head fall in his hand. He took a deeeeep breath. "Stupid strikes... Those companies will try anything to get us to pay extra. Can you believe they wanted to charge ME to get my cheese on time, because THEY can't keep their staff happy? Preposterous." Mario had looked up, and leaned back in his ratty cushion chair, his large frame forcing a squeak out of the spring hinges. He smiled kindly at Aph, his black mustache arching upwards. "What can I do for you, Aph? Need an advance again for rent?" "Um..." Aph was blushing hotly, as always when he spoke to the big Italian stereotype. The pizzamaker kept his eyes on his hands, which were wringing the bottom of his shirt furiously. "Um, n-no, that's not it... I, uh... I w-want to give my two weeks' notice." The man had blurted out the sentence in a voice much louder than he had intended, eyes squinched shut to bolster his confidence. Mario blinked. Had he heard right? "What?! Why? Is it the money? I can give you a raise!" "N-no, no.... Well, partly. But m-mostly, um, it's uh..." Aph had made the mistake of looking up at his boss. He'd been faced with the mans' big black eyes, rimmed with water, mustache quivering. "You can't leave! You're my best worker!" Mario pleaded. "I, I am?" Aph's lips twitched up into a smile, but he shook it off immediately, keeping his eyes low. "It-it doesn't matter! I, I want more out of, um, out of life... I got a job helping at the Crystal Carafe. I... I'm hoping if I w-work there long enough they, uh, m-might let me apprentice in the k-kitchen... A-and then someday I could, uh... I-I could maybe be a chef." Aph beamed as he thought of one day wearing the white uniform, the silly hat, the whole shabang. Seeing the boy's enthusiasm, Mario smiled sadly. He couldn't in good conscience keep the boy here, crush his dream... Mario recalled when he had his own dream, of owning his own restaurant someday. He had attained that dream, and god help him, he'd help this darling boy attain his. "Well," the large Italian said, reaching up to twirl a finger around his mustache tip, "I really see that I can't keep you here. You have to follow your-ah heart!" In his passion, Mario had let his accent slip. He coughed and looked serious. "Arrhumph! Well then! There will be none of this two-week crap. I'll take your shifts myself. As for you," Mario reached into his drawer, where he always kept his emergency money, and he counted out some, slipping it into an envelope. "Here. Severance pay." "Severance pay at a pizza parlor?" Aph asked, startled. "Not normally, but you're like a son to me: You'll always be welcome to come back. Now go on, take it." Mario shoved the envelope at Aph, trying to hide his emotions. "Go on!" Aph took the envelope, and smiled. "Thank you," Aph said, getting up. He walked around the desk and wrapped his arms around the corpulent restaurant-owner, at which Mario stuttered and coughed, patting the boy on the back. The Italian cleared his throat and pushed the boy off gently, waving him out of the office gruffly. "Now go on, git outta here, I got a business to run!" Aph smiled again and walked out, only looking into the envelope once he'd left the parlor. His eyes widened. There was enough money for aph to live for three months in there! Mouth agape, Aph glanced back into the parlor. Mario was looking out at him like a kind Father, smiling and nodding his head; it wasn't a mistake. Aph, teary-eyed, smiled and clasped the envelope to his chest, mouthing thank you! to his ex-boss. He then turned and ran home to tell Rivener the news.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:22 am
:: Mercy Street :: [ Mercy Street ]A private RP with ISI. Life takes a major change when Aphismet's "little brother" comes to visit unexpectedly.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:18 am
Aphismet's Diary Jan 3rd, 2007 Dear Diary; I'm in the hospital. They say I have a minor concussion. Pretty silly, that there are stages of concussion. I'd think you either HAVE a concussion, or you don't. How can you be lightly concussed? (is that real word? Gotta look that up later.) I have to stay for a few days. Isi's got a broken rib and a broken leg, I think. I forget. I blame the concussion. And Rivener's at home, I think he's in trouble too... I'm pretty sure he was at the house and broke through a window. I called the Lab and asked them to check up on him, but I haven't heard back yet... I hope everything is ok. Isi's grandmother really is a crazy woman. All of this is her fault; she knocked me down onto a coffee table and that's where I hit my head really hard. She threw Isi out a window and that's what hurt him. And Riv, I think he poisoned her and pretty much saved Isi... That old bat might have done a lot worse if Riv hadn't incapacitated her. I'm still worried that Rivener chose to poison someone again... It was for a good reason, this time, though. I'll have to thank him. Anyway, it looks like Isi is going to be my little brother for real now! I signed some papers, and even started the paperwork to adopt him officially. We get to keep his grandmother's house while she's in the asylum! It's a great big house with a large property... I didn't see all of it because it was dark, but it looks really nice. We'll move in when we all get out of the hospital. I suppose I should go to bed now. Try and get some sleep. I have to get better and go back to work as soon as possible; it doesn't look good to take time off this early after getting the job. If I want to get promoted to a paying apprenticeship in the kitchen, I have to be dedicated!
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:35 pm
:: Paper Cranes :: [ Paper Cranes ]A private RP with ISI and CHLOESTAR. An unexpected visitor from the lab, to give Isi a get-well card... How will Aph and Riv react to seeing Roux's delicate guardian again, but without her charge?
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:35 pm
Aphismet's Diary Feb 3rd, 2007 Dear Diary: The month of January pretty much sped past without my notice. A lot of things happened when I look back on it though; it was very eventful. Maybe all the events are what make it seem to have gone by so fast… Weeks feel like a few days! And now, before I know it, it’s February. Let’s see, I have to try to remember everything in order… Well first, there was me and Isi in the hospital. I signed the foster care papers, so I’m his foster family… I also filled out some other papers to get the actual adoption going, but I don’t know if they’ll let me adopt him unless I have a good job… That’s why I have to try extra hard at the Carafe! I’ll get that apprenticeship and become a real chef, and then I’ll have enough respectability to be allowed to have an adopted “son.” …although he feels like a brother, I suppose he’ll legally be my son. Weird to think of it that way! Gah! I’m getting off-track. Where was I? Oh right, the hospital thing. Well, they let me out the day after, once my concussion symptoms had stopped. Isi had to stay there for a few more days while they kept an eye on his ribs and his broken leg. So I had to leave the poor kid there, while I hurried back home. When I got there, there was a scary-looking doctor in the place! Rivener was there, and as expected, he was hurt. Beauregard was there too, he didn’t seem scared of the mask-doc, so I figured he was from the lab… but I’d never seen him before. When he saw me come in he asked my name, so I told him, and then he got up and left, saying that his work was done or something like that. I was glad to see him go, he creeped me right out! Riv slept for like the whole day. I had to go to work while he was still sleeping, and I came back that night and he was awake. He had a weird light in his eyes. (My boss was concerned about me, but not too much. He didn’t give me any crap about missing a few days work, once he saw the wound on my head he believed my story.) I asked Riv what happened and he told me that Kyou and Laz came, and that Laz saved his life. I was totally surprised! Riv looked like he was in a daze for a few more days, and then Isi was let out of the hospital, although he had to take it easy for a while still. We couldn’t move to his house yet so I took him to my place to stay while he healed. That’s when Riv started acting weird. It’s like he got out of his funk and all of a sudden he grinned a lot and started to burn things! At first I didn’t know where he was getting the matches to light all my candles, and some paper in the sink, and even one of his paintbrushes. But then one day I caught him doing it! He was frikkin MAKING FIRE! In his hand, like Laz does! That was really something! I suddenly got scared and thought “well, if he’s like Laz, then maybe he blows up too?” I decided to try and stay on his good side. Oh, I did thank him for saving Isi from Old Maasi, when he’d explained where he got his cuts (from breaking a window upstairs, like I thought)… he smiled at me and just nodded. I kinda never mentioned it since, and I’m not sure if Isi thanked him too… Anyway, most of the time when I left for work I would ask Riv to take care of Isi during the night, and Riv would always nod curtly and then go to the painting corner and start doodling things. He also took lots of pictures of stuff around the apartment, like Beauregard flying near the ceiling lamp, Isi lying on the couch sleeping, me cooking stuff in the kitchen… Riv would go out a lot on his own, now. I wasn’t there to stop him, and Isi couldn’t move around much with his injuries… So Riv and Beaubeau would go out the window and fly around for a while, then come back. He never got in any trouble, so I let him do it, but I asked him to be careful. He just nodded at me curtly again. Now that I think about it, he hasn’t spoken to me much lately. Anyway, there was this one day about a week after Isi came to the place, when he called at work, saying that our apartment was on fire. I got really scared for Isi and Riv so I just kinda took off to save them. When I got there, the fire was already out; Riv had put it out with his power. I’m not sure what exactly they’d been talking about that night, but Riv had exploded just like I feared he would! He singed all the walls and destroyed his chair. There was some damage done to the southern wall mountings, so I won’t be eligible for getting my damage deposit back. That was a big let down, but it couldn’t be helped. Isi told me that he had been discussing the move with Riv, and I realized that, stupid me, I hadn’t even told Riv about anything that happened! He didn’t know we were moving, he didn’t know Isi was his brother now… It must have been too much for him to handle at the time. Anyway, thankfully, Riv’s fire powers seemed to have worn off after like 10 days. He seemed really sad about it, and kept calling the lab and hanging up without saying anything. He then really got into his painting, and wouldn’t let anyone see what he was doing. A week passed while Isi continued to recover from the last of his injuries. When we started packing, Riv started taking lots and lots of pictures of the apartment. I think he was trying to preserve the memories of his first home. As everything disappeared into boxes, all his stuff, Riv frowned and pouted a lot, and refused to talk to us. He insisted on packing his paintings himself. He still doesn’t want me to see what he’s drawn, apparently. He’d wrap his paintings carefully, almost reverently, and then I gave him his own box that he could put his stuff in. He wouldn’t let us touch the box, and hovered over it protectively. Even when we started moving the boxes to the moving truck we rented, Riv refused my help and carried it down himself. I was kinda startled at how strong he was, lifting such a big box himself, but I kept my eye on him anyway just in case he dropped it or fell down the stairs. Tomorrow we are going to move… this is our last day in this apartment. It’s kinda nostalgic, but we’re moving on to better things. I’m sure Rivener will agree someday soon.
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:37 pm
:: Privacy and Secrecy ::
Rivener finally has his own place in a new home... Rivener stood in his new home, in the room he'd claimed as his own. He'd been sure to pick a room with a lock on the door, and he didn't even allow Beaubeau in here. This was HIS room, HIS place. Here he could show all his secrets and be himself without having to wear the mask. He had put his two favorite paintings on the wall inside his closet, so that in case someone walked in they wouldn't see them immediately. All his other paintings were still wrapped and put away, far from prying eyes. Riv could look at these two paintings for hours. The first was of the one person he admired above all others. He called this painting "follow me", and it represented when he was brought back from that suffocating darkness.  The other was of the person he hated above all others. He called this painting "secret desire" and it represented what he fervently wanted to do, but couldnt.  He heard Aph call for him, so Riv closed his closet doors and floated out of his room, locking the door behind himself as always.
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:02 pm
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:42 am
:: Partie d'Amour :: [ Partie d'Amour ]An open Event RP for Valentine's Day! Rivener mans the refreshment booths. Aphismet creates the plushies for the Lucky Pan game. People coming together, this is surely the catalyst of change?
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:45 am
:: Accidental agreements :: [Accidental Agreements]This is a private RP including Alex(Chrystali), Chloe Star, Roux, Isi, Eiry, and a few cute Gwee. At Rivener's insistance, he and Aphismet visit the Lab so that Riv can see Roux. Aphismet runs into Chloe and Alex, and accidentally agrees to have a picnic with the two of them. To make matters worse, Isi and Eiry join them... Will Aphi be able to keep his foot out of his mouth, despite his little brother's teasing in front of the girls?
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:56 am
:: Journal Entry [ RIVENER ] :: Rivener's Diary Dear Diary; I haven't written here in a long time! Lots of things have happened in a few months. I'm living in a giant haunted house, Aphismet adopted Isi, Eiry came to life and lives with us, Roux's wings are gone, I met a whole slew of new people, and I've started remembering weird things. I still take lots of pictures of things, and I put them on the computer. I wish Aphismet would let me use the internet (He won't tell me the password to get on) so that I can put up my pictures there and maybe look at other people's stuff, but he says he doesn't want me witnessing that much of the world. I think it's more like he doesn't want the world witnessing me and the other Raevans. But I'm sure I can find out what it is eventually; there's nothing Aphi can keep from me for very long. He's a horrible secret-keeper, and I can read him like a book. A really short and boring book. So let's go through the list I mentioned, since that's the stuff I mostly remember. The haunted house. I'm living with Aphi in Isi's crazy grandma's house. When we were moving in, I saw a ghost! I would have taken a picture of it, too, if Aphi hadn't made such a racket and scared it off... This is all I managed to snap before it ran off. [picture coming] Aph adopted Isi. I think I mentioned that before. After we came here and I poisoned his grandma and Isi fell out the window, Aph adopted the kid. I don't know what else to say about it. Isi's stupid. I hate him. But at least he has Eiry so it's not so bad anymore. Eiry! His name is long and complicated, I still don't remember it all. Eirydescol or something like that. Anyway, Eiry is like a little baby brother to me. He clings a lot, which can get annoying when I want to be alone, but he's mostly fun. I like to pick on him and play tricks on him, and he is always willing to do things for me like make a sandwich. Just like a real baby brother on TV! He's cool. I would protect him if he was in trouble, but it can be touchy when Roux is around. Each of the two is jealous of the other when they're around... Eiry doesn't know how to deal with Roux properly, and so Roux almost attacks him every time. And Eiry is really clingy and wants all my attention. It's really delicate. Roux's wings! I saw them at the Valentine's Party. All his feathers are gone! He's so ashamed of it... and he's always looking up at the sky. I try not to make him feel like I pity him or think less of him, but I really do feel bad for him. Not because he's less pretty (I always thought he was pretty and his wings had nothing to do with it; it's his hair and his eyes.) but because his pride is so deflated. If only he weren't so aware of it, people's attention wouldn't be so drawn to it. I wonder if there's anything I can do to help?... All the people I met. Well, there's this Alex girl that Aph seems to like. I thought he liked Chloe, but whatever. I don't think even Aphi knows what the hell he really wants. I also met some annoying girl called Lillian and her little brother Tyson who thinks I'm a superhero. He's a little weird. There were a lot more people around but I don't remember them right off the bat. As for remembering weird things... Lately whenever I find a warm spot in the house, in the sun, I just feel like laying down and sleeping, and I can't stop thinking about a rock behind some glass, and seeing the world through that glass... a strange feeling. Well, I gotta go. I promised Eiry I'd go out into the swamp with him.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:57 pm
:: Marsh Adventure :: [Marsh Adventure]This is a Private RP between Eiry and Rivener. Rivener and Eiry go out to the marsh for a "scientific expedition", to capture on film evidence of ghosts. What will happen when the two run into Edgar, the most dangerous ghost in this very haunted area?
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