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 Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:59 am
Revenge of the May-oh... Round Two? They started late in the night, when the rest of the house was sleeping. Amyla had been awakened by a full bladder, and after returning from the bathroom, she had snuggled herself back into bed beneath Aiodhan's arm. She had just entered that lovely state of half-asleep when she felt a minor cramp in her belly.
Well... ow... she thought rather sleepily, not giving it much thought. It stopped quickly, and she nestled her head into the pillow to try to go back to sleep.
But just as she was getting to sleep, there it was again. Well, that was a bummer. Either the baby was kicking, or the Braxton-Hicks were coming in the middle of the night. Ugh, she would be so glad when this baby was born.
After having her dozing interrupted a third time by another set of cramps, Amyla grumpily resigned herself to the fact that the stupid things just wouldn't go away with her lying there. No more sleep tonight, she figured. Time to get up and moving.
So, up she went, taking a peek at her digital clock as she slipped on her robe and shuffled (or maybe waddled) out toward the hallway. 12:32 AM. Wonderful. She would need a nap later.
After an hour of cleaning up the kitchen and straightening up toys in the upstairs playroom, Amyla resigned herself to the fact that these damned things weren't going away, though her sleep-fogged brain couldn't connect to the fact it might be the real thing. Pah. How could it be? No child of hers could be that inconsiderate.
Well, Caleb picked the middle of a thunderstorm! a nasty little voice in her brain reminded her.
She had to acknowledge the merit of that, even as another cramp started in her belly. True, Caleb had done that, but the odds of that happening second time around were....
Whoa!
Grabbing onto the stair banister for support, Amyla gulped in a breath as the contraction passed. That had been sudden, and yes, that had definitely been the real thing. This was not a false alarm. One-thirty AM or not, she was having this baby.
Now.
Waddling down the hallway to her bedroom, she managed to get herself up on the bed just as the next contraction hit. It wasn't that it was painful; it was just intense enough to knock the wind out of her and leave her motionless for a moment until it passed. Yeeeeeoooooooow!
Finally pulling herself together, she gave Aiodhan's sleeping form a shake. "Aiod! Hey, Fuzz! Get up!" she hissed quietly, desperate to get him up before the next one hit. "Aiodhan!"
The dragon-man grumbled in his sleep but did not awaken, simply lying there and continuing with his snores as if nothing was happening. Honestly, the man slept like a rock sometimes!
Then again, he was half-dragon.
Amyla didn't have time to think much before the next contraction hit and left her breathless. Wheeeeeeew, this was much faster than last time! Good in some ways, bad in others! Why wouldn't Aiodhan get up??
"Aiodhan! Get up! Now! Baby! It's the baby! Get up!" she hissed as loudly as she could, shaking him with what strength she could muster. She was tired, and the contractions wore her out, even if they didn't hurt as much as they had with Caleb.
Aiodhan gave a grumpy snort. "May 's toooo eaaaaaarly... sleeeeep..." he grumbled before rolling onto his other side to go back to bed.
Desperate times called for desparate measures, and Amyla was absolutely desperate. He just had to get up! She couldn't do this alone! Already, the panic was beginning to set in, and so she laid herself on her side just behind Aiodhan, nestling her pregnant belly against his back between his wings.
When the next contraction hit, it knocked the wind out of her and dragged Aiodhan out of his slumber and into the land of wakefulness, courtesy of a contracting belly shoved into his back. Weird, the things that would awaken him.
"Whoa, what? Hey... May?" he queried, getting up on all fours and staring down at her. "May?"
Still rather breathless, she panted a bit and pointed imperiously at her belly. He got the message. Quickly.
"Hooooo boy. Okay. Umm.... " he muttered ineffectually before sliding off his side of the bed and racing around to hers to help her up. "Okay. Let's get you comfortable because I don't think we need to bother with making it to the hospital again."
Gee... whatever gave you that idea??! Amyla railed silently, giving him a well-earned glare and slowly waddling her way into the master bathroom with his help. What a moron her man could be.
As luck would have it, this child didn't seem to be taking its time. By the time Aiodhan had spread the birthing mat and pads down on the floor (which took all of about five minutes since he was hurrying) and had Amyla settled on her knees on them, it was clear that this child was not dilly-dallying in any way. It wanted out, and it wanted out yesterday.
"Aiod, I can't do this!" Amyla gasped out after one particularly intense contraction, her shoulders quivering as she struggled to maintain control.
The dragon-man curled her hands around his upper arms and stroked her sides. "As I recall you said that last time. Come on, May. Almost done."
Three contractions later, the baby was not making an appearance quiet yet, and Amyla had been reduced to a gibbering wreck, not because of the pain but because of the intensity and the exhaustion. She was worn out. She hadn't slept well in a few months, and she was ready for this to be.... done!
"Look at me, May," her mate said softly, tipping her head back so she could look him in the eye. "Look at me, angel."
She obeyed, keeping her gaze locked with his even as the next contraction hit and her breath was taken away again.
"That's my girl. You can do this, angel. Just a little bit more," he crooned softly at her, gently unfurling a wing to wrap it around her back. "Almost there..."
True to his word, the next contraction was heralded by a pop and a gush of water and was ended by the child's arrival, the infant sliding out so fast that Aiodhan barely had time to catch her.
Amyla, having gripped Aiodhan's shoulders so hard that she had bruised them again, loosened her grip and eased her sore hands away from him, going to gently touch the child in Aiodhan's arms. "Aiod...?"
The child squirmed once or twice, coughed strongly, and then began to cry. It was a good sound cry, if a quieter one, and she was breathing quite easily.
"It's a girl, May. It's a girl," Aiodhan said softly, and she was surprised to see that he was almost crying. "What was your name for a girl?"
"Aryana Meline," she whispered back as she gently took the girl from Aiodhan's arms and cradled her against her chest. "Hey, baby, it's okay. Mum's got you."
Aryana stopped crying quickly, so quickly that her last cry ended in a hiccup. Then she curled herself against her mother's chest and made herself quite, quite comfortable.
Aiodhan and Amyla exchanged glances, tears in both of their eyes.
"Guess we made us a boy and a girl, eh?" Aiodhan whispered, dropping a kiss on her sweaty forehead before moving a bit to start cleaning up.
"Yeah... guess we did," she whispered back as she settled the beautiful girl against her chest to nurse. "But at least this one doesn't bite."
***
An hour later, calm had been restored in the master bedroom. After having delivered the placenta and cut the cord, Amyla, showered and dressed, was reclining in bed, nursing Aryana, who had similarly been cleaned and dressed. Now that she was comforable and quite happy, Amyla took her leisurely time in examining the little girl.
"Beauty, ain't she?" Aiodhan purred in her ear as he slid into bed beside her. "Little beauty."
Amyla had to agree. The little girl had Aiodhan's face and had beautiful thick brown hair. Her left eye was blue and her right was green with blue speckles. She had two wings, one black dragon wing with a green wingclaw and one green feathered one with some blue speckles. There were some feathers on her chest, green with streaks of blue, and her ears were pointed just a tad, just like Aiodhan's. And to top it all off, she had a dragon tail, a black one, with green spikes along it.
In summation, she was absolutely adorable.
"She is different from Caleb," Amyla said softly, stroking her daughter's face as she nursed.
Aiodhan blinked. "Yes... I can see that."
Amyla gave him a scathing look. "No, I meant her temperament!"
That made her mate chuckle, and he gave her a light nibble on the neck. "Course she's different. She's got more of you than me in that department," he whispered against her neck.
Tilting her head away from the nibbles, Amyla smiled. "Quieter. Less fussy. But she's gorgeous. I suppose we'll have to show her to the rest of the family soon," she said, glancing at the clock. Yes, everyone would be up in a few hours.
"Yeah, but let them sleep. They might as well enjoy it," Aiodhan purred, cuddling as close as he could to her. "We might not get this kind of alone-time with her again."
Amyla had to agree, and she didn't mind in the least.
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Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:34 am
Introductions "Who dat?" Erin inquired, looking curiously at the child cradled in Amyla's arms. The toddler's fluffy tail swished back and forth, testament to her intent attention.
"That's Aryana. She's your little sister," Amyla said softly, stroking the baby's mop of brown hair. "Say hi, Erin."
Instead, Erin reached out a finger and poked Aryana on the shoulder before Amyla could stop her. "Baaaaybeh?" the toddler queried, eyeing the infant with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.
"Yes, that's a baby," Aiodhan answered, and that seemed to satisfy Erin, for she toddled off to play with her blocks, ignoring her parents and new sibling completely.
Kayce carried Caleb over, and both stared down at Aryana, their expressions matching ones of, 'What the heck is that?!' "That's her? She's small," Kayce said, obviously not impressed with the infant.
Caleb made a face and then went back to chewing on his teething ring, clinging to Kayce's shoulder and waving his other hand around as if to say something important.
"Why do I get the feeling we're the only ones happy about this?" Amyla sighed wearily as Kayce walked away with Caleb, disappearing into the hallway, and Tanith avoided the family room, not wanting to come near the rest of the family.
Aiodhan smiled faintly. "I think Nieva and Kari are excited. They're just still busy setting up downstairs to-"
"Muuuum, Kayce told us! The baby's here?!" Nieva sang out joyously, scurrying into the family room and over to the couch where her mother was seated. "It's a girl? Is she anything like- whoa, I guess not! Eeee, she's adorable!" the Monoceros gushed, dropping to her knees next to the couch and cautiously leaning over to inspect her new sibling.
Nieva's enthusiasm made Amyla smile. "Yes, this is Aryana. Aryana, meet Nieva," she said, watching as the infant turned her eyes toward Nieva and frowned a bit.
"You probably don't understand a word, but that's okay. You're so cute," Nieva cooed softly at the little girl, lightly stroking one of her little hands.
Soft footsteps heralded Kari's arrival, and she looked quite tired. "Hi, Mum. Came up to see my new sister," she said, grinning a bit despire her noticeable exhaustion.
"Hey, Kari. What's up with you?" Amyla said, noticing how tired the Ancient looked as she slowly made her way over to the couch. "You look dead on your feet! How much have you been sleeping??"
"Not much," Kari admitted, smiling down at Aryana. "She's beautiful, Mum. What did you say her name was?"
Amyla gave Kari a searching look. Something was definitely up with her, though what it was, Amyla was not sure. Ah well. She would settle that as soon as she herself felt less tired. "Aryana Meline."
Nieva grinned. "It's a gorgeous name! D'you think there's any chance I could babysit her sometime?" the Monoceros asked, giving Aryana an adoring look.
Both parents laughed, Aiodhan much more forcefully. "Oh, I think that's a possibility. When we want alone time or when your mother has to return to work," Aiodhan said thoughtfully, dropping a kiss on Amyla's forehead and gently running a fingertip down his newest daughter's cheek.
Kari and Nieva exchanged glances. "Well, we've got more cleaning and setting up and unpacking, so we'll leave you guys to... do whatever. If you need some help with cleaning or watching Erin and Caleb, we'll help out. We're just in the middle of kitchen-unpacking," Nieva explained.
"Ahhh! Go get it done before you get too distracted!" Amyla said, shooing them out and watching them go. Yes, something was definitely up with Kari. She needed to talk with her later.
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:20 pm
We did it again! Aryana Meline is here, and she is such a beautiful little girl. Definitely an interesting mix of human, dragon, emerald, and blue jay, but she is beautiful nonetheless. And so sweet-natured! She rarely fusses, she sleeps a lot, she eats a lot, and she just... generally... isn't difficult! I was so surprised at first, but now I'm grateful. She is much unlike Caleb, and that alone is heavenly. Two kids like him would kill me!
Speaking of that little monster, which I say in the most affectionate way possible....
He's tried to learn how to walk! He keeps trying to pull himself upright, holding onto furniture legs and yanking himself up. Then he falls over and makes a lot of noise about it. He is adorable, but he tires me so!
Aryana, on the other hand, spends most of her time sleeping. I don't mind. I get to coo over her, and she just sweetly lies there. I love her for that. So low-maintenance!
~Amyla
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:59 am
I am now a grandmother. How frightening is that?! Kari had a beautiful baby girl whom she named Evelia Circe. The girl is an absolute darling and is very happy, unlike my shy little Yana. Yana is doing just fine, though. She took a disliking to being nursed rather quickly, though, so I've begun pumping milk to bottlefeed her. It makes life much easier for me. Now either Aiodhan or I can feed her, and even Nieva takes over the feeding on occasion. The rest of the family still doesn't like the idea.
Oh, before I forget to mention it, we'll have another new family member soon too. I am adopting a robotic child from the Kybernetika project, and so far, Eowyn is just a chip. Apparently she is aware, though, so I am taking her places with me as much as I can. It is so easy; she is just a little chip.
Anyway, I bought Yana an addition for the mobile above her crib, and she loves it. For some reason, the duck fascinates her. When she gets old enough to sit up in a bathtub, I'll have to get her a rubber duck. She'll adore that.
~Amyla
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:10 am
May has been hoarding the diary, so I took the liberty of liberating it from her clutches. Okay, so that's a bit melodramatic, but the truth of the matter is that I wanted to write in here and note down what's been going on as of late.
Aryana is beautiful. I know I'm biased since I'm her father, but she really is. She is very timid and shy, but she is so sweet around May and I, just wanting to be held and cuddled. She is definitely lower maintenance than Caleb as she doesn't have to be paid attention to every ten seconds. But when she wants attention, heaven forbid her needs not be tended to immediately. She doesn't want often, but when she wants, she wants. That must be a bit of me showing through. How proud I am.
May seems to be recovering well. She bounced back much more quickly than with Caleb. I think Yana was less taxing on her body than Caleb was, mostly because Caleb was a lot higher percentage of dragon and a lot bigger, in addition to being breech. May still has plenty of curvature to her body, though, which I fully enjoy both looking at and touching. I can't help it. I'm a guy, and she's my mate, and damn, maternal curves look good on her. She isn't as fussy about losing the weight, though she didn't really gain a whole lot to begin with. She is fussing, though, that her ankles are still swollen. They'll get better soon.
She just came into the room and sat across my lap with Yana in her arms. Did I mention she's wearing a low-cut shirt? For some reason, both Yana and Caleb like to be able to rest their face against her skin, so she has a few low-cut scoop necks, one of which I am staring down the front of whenever I can tear my eyes from the paper. Yes, I am looking, May, even though you're giving me a very nasty, nasty... suggestive look. I sense good things in the near future. Journal, I bid thee farewell!
Aiodhan
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:50 pm
Investigations It was early. Yes, yes, it was quite early. Yana could tell by the lack of light coming in through the blinds on her window. Little light meant that mother was not coming to offer food yet. Little light meant that she was alone and afraid for now.
Sort of.
She was a timid child by nature, but Yana still had the curious that was seemingly built into her genes. She couldn't help it. She wanted to look around. Much as she loved and was entertained by the mobile up above her crib, she was curious about the house. She had seen it all from mother and father's arms. She wanted to see it her way.
The infant hauled herself up into her newfound sitting position and then grabbed hold of the bars of her crib, hauling herself up into a sitting position. Her little wings fluttered behind her as she hauled herself up and over the top of the crib and slid down one of the crib legs. Young as she was, she did have enough dragon in her to be mobile. Young dragons had to be mobile within days of their birth, and she was several weeks old. She was likely behind schedule in comparison to her draconic brethren.
Then again, she was only about 25% dragon, but who was counting?
She hit the floor and slithered onto her stomach before propping herself up on all fours and beginning to move in a slow crawl. It didn't take her long to crawl out her open bedroom door and into the hallway. From there, it was a short trip across the hall to peek into-
"Aaaaaaaaana!" her brother said, crawling out of his room to peek at her. Bigger than her by far, Caleb sat down on the floor and giggled at her. "Ana! Ana!"
Yana blinked and stared at her brother. She had only managed to execute a few simple sounds. She didn't have his extensive baby-talk repertoire. Not that she'd use it. She was too quiet.
But she was still curious, so she joined her brother as he crawled down the hallway. They unhappily passed Kayce and Tanith's locked room doors until he reached the end of the hallway. Well... darn.
Yana turned around and spied an open door. Ohh... what was this?? She crawled through the door to find a tile-floored room. It was clean. And... it had strange furniture-shapes in it. What was that big shiny white thing? It looked like... like...
"Eeeeeeeha!" Caleb cooed happily and then crawled forward to examine the shiny-white chair-thing. It was curved and smooth on the sides, so neither infant could grip it very well. Caleb, nearly twice Yana's size, managed to grab his hands onto the top of the bowl shape, and he hauled himself up onto his feet, standing precariously and gazing down into the thing.
"Whoooooooa, how'd you guys get in here?!" a rich, deep voice echoed from behind them, and Aryana squalled in surprise just before she was swept up into a pair of big warm arms, her squirming brother picked up along with her. She whimpered and then calmed as she recognized her father's grip, turning her head to look into his gray eyes.
"Little brats. I thought I heard you two up and about. Come on.... let's go downstairs so we don't wake up everybody else," their father chuckled, and Aryana instantly clung to him, finished with her adventuring for the time being. The house was strange. This room was strange, with the big white shiny bowl-thing. She didn't know what it was, but she was content to not find out for now. She was hungry...
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:55 am
Aryana is such a joy. That isn't to say that Caleb isn't a joy as well, but he is the sort of baby that gets into all sorts of mischief and makes you laugh at his silly antics and devious little pranks. Oh, his newest thing is flying. His wings have finally just gotten strong enough to hold him, and he is flying about as much as he can. He can't stay airborne for long, but it is enough to give me a near heart attack.
But back to my lovely little Yana, who is currently cooing at me and clutching at her rubber duck. She likes the rubber duck. I'm not sure why. She also likes being held and playing with brightly-colored things. I got her a set of brightly colored blocks with letters on them, and now that she can sit up on her own, she likes to play with them. She isn't nearly as destructive as Caleb. She is very sweet-tempered and curious, though she is easily frightened and requires a lot of reassuring at times. Other than that, though... she is amazingly low-maintenance. She sleeps and eats right on schedule and doesn't put up a fuss unless you scare her.
Her hair is getting longer, though, so I've been trimming it to keep it from getting overly long. It doesn't get in her way at all, but she does tend to get things stuck in it. She is a bit of a messy eater, but then again, what baby isn't? I've finally gotten her into baby food, which makes my life a great deal easier. Caleb is eating all baby food and is getting used to a sippie cup, but I think Yana will take quite some time to get there. That's all right; I'm enjoying her as small, cuddly, and generally easy to deal with. Well, I say 'generally' easy, but no baby is really a small amount of work. She is just less demanding than Caleb.
I've just gone on for nearly a whole page about how wonderful my kids are. I wish my mother could see me now. She wouldn't believe it.
~Amyla
P.S. Aiodhan told me to add that Yana is less outgoing than her brother and hasn't started speaking yet. I don't mind about the speaking part. Caleb talks enough for every child in this house, combined, the silly little bugger.
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 10:37 pm
Somebody grew! Yana is now a toddler. It happened quite suddenly a few weeks ago (I just forgot to note it since May and I have been so swamped with things). She just up and... yeah, grew. So, she's taller now, and her wings are more pronounced. She'll never attain flight unless she develops telekinetic powers (OH PLEASE NO!) or has one wing be surgically fixed to be like the other. I don't think she cares much. She seems to prefer water and swimming, of all things. We got her a little plushie purple duck for Christmas, and she's been dragging and carrying it around all day. Silly, silly girl. May is doing very well, though she's stressing a bit about our older kids. I think it'll suffice to say that Kayce, Dageus, Tanith, and Eowyn are all giving us gray hair. All right, so it's mostly Kayce. She's gotten veeeeeery cantankerous lately. Very. Yana is learning to speak very slowly, but she doesn't seem to be in any great hurry to talk to us. She communicates mostly in gestures, which I find a tad odd. Hmmm. We might bring her to the clinic for a check-up soon. All of her other behavior seems normal, though she is very, very skittish. She reacts with great fright to loud or sudden noises and movements, and it takes her awhile to calm down. I'm wondering maybe if she has a problem with her hearing. Well, we'll see. A worry for another time. Aiodhan
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 3:08 pm
It's been quite awhile since I've updated. Yana is getting older, and Aiodhan and I are getting more worried. She is so easily frightened. While she has attained a limited capacity of speech, she is mostly very quiet. She makes a lot of hand gestures and uses mostly body language to communicate, even when she can talk. I'm not certain why, but I am getting worried. Aiodhan thinks she has a problem with her hearing, and I'm willing to agree with him. We need to take her to the clinic soon.
In other areas, she is doing well enough. We're getting some progress with the letters, and she is showing more curiosity in her environment now, even though she gets startled so easily. She spends a great deal of time just watching what is going on and investigating what is around. I have to say: she is an excellent judge of people. She and I were out shopping the other day, and I ran into an old classmate. The conversation was polite enough, but I really never liked the woman. She was always a snob back in school. The second she walked away, Yana looked up at me and simply said, "Bwat" (translated to standard English, means 'brat', which Yana uses to describe anyone like her sibling Erin). She might be quiet, but she sees and comprehends a lot more than we give her credit for, I think.
~Amyla
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:25 pm
Aryana is deaf.
Well, not completely, not yet, anyway. But she is going deaf, and the doctor estimated that she has lost fully half of her hearing. She can't hear except for a certain range of frequencies. That is why she is so jumpy and nervous. She can't hear half of what is going on around her.
I'm shocked. I don't know what to say. I can't love her any less for it. If anything, I love her more, that she has gone so long like this without a complaint. I can't imagine what it's like for her. She is so cheerful, though, that I don't know. I just feel like I failed her somehow. I don't know how or why, but I just do. Aiodhan was shocked beyond belief, though he seems to understand that neither of us are to blame. We don't even know why it's happening. Her ears look normal. The doctor thinks it might be just a neural connection. But why? What could I have done differently? I feel responsible for this, but I know I shouldn't. May started crying, so I took over. She is sitting here on the couch next to me. I'm writing with one hand and trying to hold her with the other. She wants me to finish, though, so here is the remaining information. The doctors, since they don't know what's wrong, can't help to fix the problem. Yana is going to go completely deaf within a very short time. It's going to be interesting teaching her to speak and to communicate with sign language, but we'll manage it. We have to. We can't let her down in that respect. Her deafness can't be our fault, but not helping her to develop communication skills would be our fault. And we're not going to let that happen. Aiodhan
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:44 pm
May and I have started to teach ourselves (and Yana) some sign language. It has been difficult adjusting to the fact that she really can't hear us, but since the problem won't get better or go away, it's an adjustment we'll just have to make. She is still completely nonverbal. She makes sounds that sound like attempts at words, but it's still a work in progress. She and May sat in front of the mirror for half an hour yesterday, and Yana managed to get out something that sounded remarkably like 'Mooooooooom.' Hey, it's progress. We've only mastered a few signs so far, but at least she can communicate 'food', 'sleep', and 'bathroom'. We're still working on it, but we're getting there. The only problem comes when we're not in the room or are busy. She can't communicate with her siblings. I think this speech stuff still needs to be worked on, so I'm going to work with her a little bit more today. She seems willing to try, maybe because it makes us happy. Or maybe because she usually gets to eat a snack right after a sign language or speech lesson. Who knows? In any case, since she is nonverbal for the time being, teaching her the letters is going to be... interesting. Let's just say it'll be slow. Aiodhan
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:43 am
Friday Afternoon Crafts Amyla and Yana meet Mistalina and Shidiomi (mistalina13) Amyla Edana After her recent discovery of Aryana's... uniqueness, for lack of a better word, Amyla had decided they needed a little mother-daughter bonding time. While out shopping, she had seen a flyer for a program running out a local children's center. "Come do crafts with your kids. For infants to elementary school children", it had proclaimed, and since Yana seemed to enjoy such things, Amyla had elected to take the girl to this activity. Thus far, she counted it as a success.
This week's craft was a simple one. Each child received a little white cardboard box, complete with lid-- it looked rather like a small shoebox to Amyla-- and glitter, construction paper, pompoms, and a variety of other things were provided to glue on said box. Under normal conditions, one child could make a substantial mess with these things. The place looked like a complete warzone.
Yana, just having started, was randomly glueing orange triangles of construction paper to her box. While Amyla couldn't understand half of what her daugher babbled, she concluded that the girl was having fun, if the wide grin across the toddler's face was anything to go by. As long as she didn't touch the glitter... mistalina13 Mistalina had come across the same flyer on one of the tables in the clinic's lobby when she had been there last. It had seemed like something that Shidiomi might enjoy, so on one day when she was feeling well enough to go for a walk again she brought the young boy there. Perhaps he could make friends with some of the children here. She held Shidiomi's hand as they walked through the door and her other hand rested on her swollen stomach; the twins had been ticking and moving around all day and she needed a chance to sit and relax. Shidiomi's tail swished back and forth as he looked over the other children. He was a little relieved they were all around his age, but he was still quite the shy little catboy. "Are you, staying here with me, Momma?" He looked up at Mistalina questioningly. "Of course, so don't worry. Let's go find a spot to sit down." They made there way through the room and managed to find a pair of empty seats at a table, which was the one Amyla and her daughter were seated at. Amyla Edana Amyla smiled broadly as the two newcomers joined her and Yana at the table. "Hi. I'm guessing you found one of those leaflets as well?" she inquired, noting the woman's distended abdomen. Ahhh, she remembered those days, and she was in no particular hurry to revisit them. Not a chance.
Yana, who had been completely unaware of the others' approach, looked up in surprise when they sat down. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she reached over to tug on her mother's sleeve, her gaze moving back and forth between the newcomers and her parent. When Amyla turned to look at her, she immediately made the sign for 'good', a wary and questioning look on her face.
Amyla nodded and made the sign for 'yes', even as she said it aloud. "Yes, Yana, they're good people," she reassured her daughter.
Appeased, the girl looked at the little catboy, tilting her head curiously from one side to the other. mistalina13 Mistalina let out a pleasant sigh when she sat down in the chair, it felt good to be off her feet again. "Hello..." She helped Shidiomi up into his chair afterward. "Yes, I did. It seemed like something that Shidiomi might enjoy.." Shidiomi looked from the little girl to her mother then waved shyly. "Hello." His ears twitched and he curled his tail around front of him. "This is Shidiomi, he's just...shy." She smiled and patted the little catboy on the head. Amyla Edana Amyla smiled at them both, relaxing a bit now that Yana didn't seem to be quite so wary of these two. "This is my daughter Yana. She tends to be a little bit cautious of people," she replied in what was perhaps the understatement of the year. Aryana was generally terrified of people. "And I'm Amyla, by the way."
Yana wiggled her fingers in a wave at the little boy before picking up a gluestick and commencing to rub it all over one of the yet-undecorated side of her box. Once the box was made thoroughly sticky, she glanced about the table for something appropriately decorative to stick on it. mistalina13 "My name is Mistalina..." She leaned against the edge of the table, seeming distracted for a moment before smiling. One of the twins had kicked again. She rubbed her stomach lightly before glancing over at Amyla. Shidiomi in the meantime had gotten himself a box and was busying himself with drawing on it with markers from a pack he had found on the table. The catboy grinned widely and giggled. He would be content just to sit and draw all afternoon. Amyla Edana "Wonderful to meet you, Mistalina. How far along are you?" Amyla inquired curiously, nodding her head at the other woman's stomach. She was still trying to shed pregnancy pounds herself, sad as it was. That reminded her; she needed to go out for a walk later.
After having sprinkled some glitter across the side of the box and stuck on a few pompoms, Yana turned to the opposite side. She looked thoughtful and rooted through the craft supplies on the table before she decided on a handful of crayons. She faintly heard the boy's giggle, and she looked over at Shidiomi, watching him draw for a moment. mistalina13 "I'm not sure...to be honest..." Mistalina blushed sheepishly. "...far enough for the twins to be pretty active though..." She sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know how long it going to be either; It's not common for my kind to birth children." Shidiomi was drawing little stars and moons all over the box, switching colors of marker every so often. Then he looked around the table for something else to use, finding the little and a gluestick. "Help me, please, Momma?" He asked tugging on her sleeve and holding up the glitter container. "Sure sweetheart..." She opened the glitter container for him and watched him put dots of glue on the box and cover them with glitter and smiled. He was having fun, so she was glad she brought him here. Amyla Edana "Ohhh, I remember those days," Amyla chuckled, nodding in understanding. "They tend to choose the worst moments to be difficult, I've noticed." She frowned a bit, concerned. "Is your kind generally sterile, or do you just have kids differently? My... errrr, mate... and I had some problems as well."
While Amyla carefully moved an open container of glitter away from Yana's elbow range, sticking the cap on to prevent spills, Yana was busily drawing on one side of the box. It took her mother a few moments to understand what the toddler was drawing, but she eventually began to see a stick figure-style family portrait taking shape. There was Caleb, then Erin, then Kayce, then Eowyn, and...
Amyla resisted the urge to snort at her daughter's drawing of her father. Aiodhan would pitch a fit when he saw it. mistalina13 "Sometimes...most are nearly sterile, depending on where our bloodlines descend from. We there is a child conceived of my kind...it's very much a loveless thing...it's especially true with the more demon blood we have." Mistalina glanced off to the side as she spoke, her families history was unpleasant to say the least. "These children weren't even a mating accident." She sighed, almost seeming annoyed. "I would've prefered that they were though, at least I would've been in control of my actions." Shidiomi had finished with the glue and glitter, setting them aside; however he had forgotten to close the glitter container. He picked up a couple of othe crayons from the table and started to add more designs to the box outside. mistalina13 "Sometimes...most are nearly sterile, depending on where our bloodlines descend from. We there is a child conceived of my kind...it's very much a loveless thing...it's especially true with the more demon blood we have." Mistalina glanced off to the side as she spoke, her families history was unpleasant to say the least. "These children weren't even a mating accident." She sighed, almost seeming annoyed. "I would've prefered that they were though, at least I would've been in control of my actions." Shidiomi had finished with the glue and glitter, setting them aside; however he had forgotten to close the glitter container. He picked up a couple of othe crayons from the table and started to add more designs to the box outside. Amyla Edana Comprehension dawned, and Amyla nodded in understanding. She had had several patients with demon bloodlines come through her ER. "You didn't intend to have them?" she inquired. It seemed odd to her that a woman so affectionate with this little child would not want others, but maybe she didn't want to go through the physical strain of pregnancy. Amyla couldn't blame her; it was a real pain. Worthwhile, it was, but it was also a great pain.
Yana frowned suddenly and began searching around the table, obviously in search of a crayon of a different color. When she couldn't find the one she wanted, she made a sound of inquiry and very gently tugged on her mother's sleeve. She made another handsign, and Amyla immediately located a red crayon and passed it to the little girl. Yana smiled broadly and returned to her coloring, adding hair to one of the figures in her portrait. mistalina13 "I have no mate, not even a partner really. Though now, I suppose these two's other mother is my partner, for the time being." Mistalina frowned. "A friend of mine left Shidiomi on my doorstep, because he couldn't handle the child as well as he thought. I love my children deeply, including Shidiomi...but I would've prefered to at least have chosen who the other parent was...since it's likely that I cannot have any more children." Shidiomi had set about drawing swirls and other little symbols and patterns on the outsides of the boxes. After a time he decided the outside of the box was decorated enough, then removed the lid and got to work on the inside. Amyla Edana Amyla fell silent for a moment, considering that situation. It didn't sound like the best one to be in, pregnant with children whose other parent was... well, not of your choosing. She had a feeling there was a long story behind the unborn children's presence, but she opted not to inquire. "How many children do you have?"
Yana, having fully decorated the sides of her box, was eyeing the lid. She picked up the glue stick again and began putting small smudges of glue all over the top. Her previous hunts and yielded a variety of sequins, and she was now proceeding to stick them one-by-one on the lid, grinning widely at the completely random pattern of them all. mistalina13 "Just Shidiomi, and these two. I wanted to adopt more, but with the twins coming now...and all that after; I don't know if I should." Mistalina chewed on her lower lip a moment, neglecting to mention the agreement she and Caitlyn had made, to split up the twins after they were born and likely never see each other again. Shidiomi pushed his box to the side for the moment and reached over to hug Mistalina as best he could with her large stomach. "Momma..sad again?" He asked and his ears drooped slightly. "A little baby, but don't worry about it. I'll be fine, work on your box some more. It's getting to be very pretty." "Promise?" He looked at her with his deep pink eyes, full of concern despite his age. He hated seeing his Momma sad. "I promise." She smiled and hugged him in return. After that Shidiomi went to working on his box. Amyla Edana "It can be a little hectic with a lot of young kids at once. Once they get older, it gets easier," Amyla said with a faint smile. Having her kids plenty spread out amongst the age groups made her life a great deal easier, if more interesting at times. She watched Shidiomi's display of concern and smiled more widely as he went back to his box. "He seems like a wonderful child. And a good artist!" she added, eyeing his box with interest.
Yana, who was still gluing shiny sequins on the top of her box, kept on ignoring the others around her, save for her mother when she couldn't find a crayon. The fact that bright colors and shiny things were present negated all interest in other people. She frowned a bit at one particularly empty spot on the lid and then picked up a purple crayon to begin drawing in it. mistalina13 "Perhaps, once Shidiomi and the twins are a little older..." Mistalina said hopefully. Though, you're only responsible for one of the twins. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. "...I'll think about another baby." Shidiomi continued to color on the lid of the box and evenutally looked over at Mistalina. "Momma look!" "It's very pretty. Are you all done?" "Yeah...I think so. It's for you Momma." The little catboy grinned, put the lid on the box and slid it over to her. Amyla Edana Amyla chuckled wryly. "I've learned that in this world, not all kids arrive as babies," she said, smiling at Shidiomi's artistic creation. It looked very nice to her. She was almost frightened to see what Yana came up with.
The little girl was either psychic or had exceedingly good timing, for Amyla felt a tug on her sleeve an instant later. She glanced over to see Yana carefully setting the lid on the box and grinning up at her. "Nice, Yana," she chuckled at the completely mismatched box, especially loving the purple duck drawn on top. "I'm guessing that's your duck," she said, making the handsign that meant 'duck'.
Yana nodded and pointed at the figure drawn on the box lid. Noticing that the other child had finished, she gave him a curious look, her gaze moving between him and his decorated box. mistalina13 Shidiomi hugged Mistalina again then looked over at Yana's box. It was quite colorful, shiney and a little silly. He put his hand over his face to hide the fact he started giggling. Mistalina hugged Shidiomi and looked over at Yana's creation as well. "Very colorful." She smiled and nudged Shidiomi in the back lightly to let him know it wasn't nice to laugh. The catboy forced down his giggles and simply grinned. "I think it's about time for us to be going home Shidiomi, since your done. Caitlyn will be wondering where we are...and I didn't exactly tell her we were going to be gone for this long." Shidiomi's ears dropped again and he frowned. "Okay Momma." It took Mistalina moment to get up from the chair. "It's nice to have met you, Amyla." She smiled slightly. "Yeah." Shidiomi nodded and grabbed Mistalina's arm, half hiding his face behind it, playing shy again. Amyla Edana Yana, unable to hear the boy's giggles, looked appropriately bewildered when he put his hand over his face. Then her look transformed to one of mild annoyance. How was she supposed to see him talking if she couldn't see his mouth?
Amyla grinned. No, Yana was not an artist in the making, but she had a definite sense of style, albeit a slightly abnormal one. Silly child. "I think I'd better head home as well to make sure Aiodhan hasn't burned down the house," she said, realizing just how long they'd been here. "It was nice to meet you as well, Mistalina. Good luck," she said with a smile, rising out of her chair.
Sensing that they were leaving, Yana hopped down from her chair, reaching back up onto the table to grab her brightly-decorated box. She looked back at Shidiomi and waggled her fingers as a wave. mistalina13 Shidiomi grabbed his box from the table as well and waved to Yana. She seemed like a nice enough little girl, though she was a bit strange. Mistalina in the meantime had turned and started toward the door. The catboy turned and ran after her and grabbed her hand again just before they got to the door.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:53 pm
Learning to Speak "Cooooooookiiiiiiiiiiiie," Amyla said slowly, kneeling behind Aryana and looking at both of their faces in the mirror. They had been doing this for a half-hour now, and she wanted to end it on a good note. Yana was finally able to speak some words intelligibly. As her sign language and speech improved, so did her understanding of words.
Unlike most children, Yana did not first learn her letters. She had had to learn sign language first, and that meant that she could recognize whole words written on paper before she even understood letters, their components. It had taken quite a bit to get Yana to connect the signs with the words on the paper, but once it had clicked, there was no stopping her. Amyla had no doubts that her daughter was bright, but the girl was slowed down by her inability to hear.
"Ooooooheeeeeee!" Yana was drawling back at her, one hand resting on her mother's throat, her eyes totally fixed on the reflection of Amyla's mouth. "Oooooheee!"
Amyla repeated the word, trying hard not to be discouraged. Yana was grasping the idea of sentences and communicate short ones in signs. Learning the alphabet was slow-going, though she could recognize words on paper. But it was progress... slow but noticeable progress.
"Ooooheeee!" Yana repeated, focusing hard on Amyla's face.
Her heart wanting to break, Amyla forced herself to anunciate more clearly, hoping and praying that somehow they'd be able to make it through this. She just wanted to-
"Oooooogeee!"
Amyla blinked and stared at Yana's reflection, seeing the grin on the girl's face. "Cooooookieee!" she repeated to the girl, praying that what she had just heard was not her imagination.
The girl's grin widened. "Oooooookeeeeee!" Yana said, her mismatched eyes wide and sparkling. "Oooooookeee!"
It was difficult for Amyla to keep from crying. Finally, after over a week of constant work, there was progress. "Yes, Yana. Cookie," she said, handing over the cookie she had been hiding behind her back. This was better than she had hoped for. Far better.
Yana immediately took the cookie and declared 'Ooookeee!' once more before commencing to eat the offered sweet. She didn't understand why her mother looked close to tears. As far as she knew, this was all fun and games.
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:13 pm
[Reserved for 'Night on the Town']
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:26 pm
All right, I promised myself I wouldn't get worked up over the fact that Yana can formulate sentences now, but I'm crying anyway. She is writing words and short little sentences, and she can sign very fluently now. Her vocabulary is expanding by the day. She wanted to take the opportunity to write in here, though I'm not sure how much sense it makes. Her knowledge of verb tenses is pretty much nonexistent.
~Amyla I eat fruit lunch today i like fruit. Ducky like fruit too. Bananana my favorite. riting writing hard for me. I like sining beter. it easy. I learn speak too. maam and dad teach me. i play ducky.
YANA
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