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 Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:27 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:35 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:36 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:06 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:07 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:21 pm
Helping Iris, leading to an unexpected twist!
Well today is definatly worth a journal entry! I'm so excited I can hardly keep my pen still to write this!! What's all the fuss? Well Sidney has grown! Not just any old growth though. Like a couple of the other velvets I've met, he's grown into something more like a human. Only slightly though. He looks like a naga at the moment, leaning more towards the snake side still. But it's incredible! He can talk to me now, even has arms with which to write and draw and grab things. My head is flooded with things that I want to teach him now, not to mention being able to talk to each other properly! Hehee, he still has a lisp though, but what do you expect from having a forked tongue?
Anyway, about how this amasing transformation came about? It started with a note being pinned on my door. Reading it, I found it had been Nayati who'd written it and he needed our help get something for Iris's sickness. Well of course I hurried over and met Moofuls and Acia there too. They'd recieved the same note. Looked like it'd take the four of us to complete this job.
And it did indeed! What Nayati required was some leaves from a plant... but the specific plant lay behind one of the doors in the shop. Not really very hard... until you realise that the doors are just as magical as the velvets themselves. In the door we found we had to pass through a series of rooms, each with a problem in them which, when solved, would allow us to proceed to the next room. There was one with a row of candles that needed to all be blown out at the same time for the door to open. Acia took care of that with her wind manipulation. Another roon had the door key locked in a block of ice. Sidney melted it using his temperature control. One needed Moo and myself to break the door and the last had the key hiden in one of the hundreds of holes that covered the walls like a piece of Swiss cheese!
Well finally we made it through and back again, giving Nayati the leaves and being assured of Iris's wellbeing, and I didn't think anything more of it until the next day. The first sign of Sidney's growth was the next morning when his scaly hand tugging on my sheets to wake me up. Goodness, what a surprise! And well, the rest is yet to be seen.... wink
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:14 pm
Grasping new abilities
It's still a surprise for me everytime Sidney opens his mouth. Well a marvel really, I'm still getting used to his talking. But now we are able to discuss things, talk about films after we watch them, play games together where speech is a vital part of it. Not to mention now I can now teach him better. Explain things to him and have him ask questions about things he doesn't understand. Of course he seems to have retained a hissy lisp with his growing. I guess it's because of his unually-shaped tongue.
His arms as well, will be very helpful once he get's used to using them. I can imagine all the things he will be able to do now, read and write, paint and draw, just like other children. However Sidney doesn't exactly see it that way at the moment. He's been terribly agitated with his arms, I'm sorry to say. He can't slither as he used to or fit into some of the smaller pipes and hiding places he likes to explore. I don't think he sees the point of them just yet and I don't think he yet grasps how useful they'll be in the future. It certainly doesn't help when everything he tries to hold gets dropped. It's been frustrating for him but I keep trying to encourage him. All it takes is some practice but he needs the motivation.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:37 pm
Whipped into shape
I knew it would take some time but I was beginning to worry about Sidney and how he was coping. He doesn't like to fail at things you see, especially when it comes to his own body. As he tells me, an explorer needs to rely on their own skills and strength more than anything else and not being able to function his hands so well is certainly a disadvantage. I was beginning to think he wanted to go back to his animal stage though I doubted that was possible, until something came which did spark his motivation...
Oddly enough it was gift that Erae bought for him, a minature whip. Made just like a real one, only velvet-sized, Sidney took to it instantly. I think it reminded him of his hero Indy and of course now he wants to be able to use it and crack it just like him.
And so this now leads to practicing with his hands and arms! He's determined to show it off to his friends once he get's good at it and I must say I think it's definatly more fun for him than my lessons with holding a pencil. I can also count on him to actually want to practice with it everyday without my prodding. Now why didn't I think of something like this before?
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:20 am
Sidney's first Christmas
Well the holiday season is here and alot has gone on, both before the big day and on it. First things first, I'm happy to say Sidney has been developing very well with his whip practice. He's able to use his hands and fingers like normal now and I really feel grateful to Kanth and Erae for the gift which helped this, even if it may not have been intentional in that way. In any case, it's certainly helped. Now Sid's been doodling with pencils using his hands rather than his tail and other objects such as forks, books and other bits are picked up using them too.
Another bit of news is that a dear friend of mine has returned from a trip overseas. Elissa, my best friend from school is back in town, and I've asked her to come stay with me. She needs a place and I need a bit of extra help so it works out rather wonderfully. Although I don't know if she's all that used to my vampire friend.
Speaking of Naraka, he came and spent Christmas with us after I invited him to. Doesn't have a family of his own you see? Anyway, it was good fun and he even bought Sidney a gift. Well he'd ordered it and it arrived a couple of days later. A small orienteering kit, complete with map paper, compass and a couple of camping guides for survival out in the great outdoors. I think Sidney is quite delighted with it! Oh and we made him a scarf and bought him a jumper, and I also gave him one of the available cits. I had been thinking he might like someone he could take care of and devote his spare time to. I do rather think he's taken to her too. Called her Suta, which means 'little girl'.
But back to Sidney, I got him some lego which he's built and set up in his room. There was also a sled for him and I've noticed he's been using his powers with it. By heating up some of the snow on the slope out the back, then freezing it again, he creates a very slick slide which makes the sled go a lot faster. It's good to see his mind working out things like that.
Later in the evening I had a couple of friends around too, for drinks and laughs. One of them, Annika, is studying to be a teacher and I mentioned how I was having a little trouble teaching Sidney everything he would normally learn at school. Well my dear friend has agreed to provide tutoring sessions with the retile child in the afternoons! She's learning to how teach children after all and some hands-on experience in her final year will help her as much as she'll be able to help Sid. I do think it's a very beneficial arrangement for both of them.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:36 am
The school year begins
Well it's into the new year and so I decided that Sidney should start his tutorials when the holidays for other children finish as well. Rather fair I thought, though he doesn't go to a normal school. I don't know if he ever will either but it doesn't seem to phase him. Indeed, he shows no interest in wanting to go to any sort of school with others and prefers to be taught individually. In this sense the one-on-one lessons with Annika work well, however he dislikes having myself or Elissa in the same room during their teaching. Also he doesn't like me to look at his workbook until a certain task is complete, such as showing me only when he's written all the letters of the alphabet or when he's fully completed a maths sum.
Sidney doesn't say much when I ask him about it, only that the point of showing things off is to show you can do them. So why show me while it's only half-done? Which I guess is true. I have spoken to Annika about it too and she tells me it's not uncommon with strongly independant types. He wants to be proficient in things before showing them off. Doesn't want us to see how he does while still progressing or have us offer to help with tasks that he's supposed to do himself. I guess you could call it a sense of duty... I only hope that if he ever does come across a problem in the future that he can't deal with, that he'll ask me for help.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:55 am
Lesson in hypnotism
Another area of Sidney's talents hasn't been worked on very well yet since his growth. Remember me telling of how I had seen him bemuse mice? And send my cait scurrying with just a look? Well I asked Naraka the previous year if he could help him with it because I suspect it's a type of hypnotism, a skill the vampire also possesses. We agreed to have a lesson in it when Sidney was older and now at last he is.
So the other day I invited Naraka around to my house and we sat in the lounge. He asked Sidney about his skill, what he used it for and spoke of his own power and how he called it up. After a bit of talk and theory we decided to have a controlled practice, and with no other volenteer's available I said I'd be the subject.
Naraka had used his powers on me a little before. Makes you feel numb and still. There's no pain should he want to bite you and when hunting he usually raises the level of this hypnotism so that the person doesn't remember a thing, they just wake up after a while feeling a bit light-headed. Sidney's power though, was rather different. He locks his eyes with your own, just as Nar does too. But he also uses his body. His long thing frame and tail writhe and squirm slowly behind him, stripes moving with and against each other until it seems they have a life of their own. And then comes the heavy weight of your consciousness like you are extremely tired until your mind falls asleep.
Of course, while under I couldn't tell what Sidney was doing and the following accounts are made from speaking to him afterwards. Apparently he's unable to hold a person under hypnotism for very long and during that time eye contact must be kept and the surroundings quiet. Any loud noises awake the person and they snap out of it. Nar says that with practice he might be able to sustain it longer and keep the person (or velvet or other creature) hypnotized while he wanders off and does other things (ie eye contact wouldn't be essential).
I don't mind helping Sidney with this, it feels just like being asleep (though you remain sitting or upright) so it's not unpleasant, but it is a reassurance to practice it when there's another hypnotism expert around.
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:08 pm
Adventure with Keppit and Willie
Well I took Sidney to the shop again the other day, hoping to catch one of his friends. But as it turned out the place was empty and so, while Sidney explored the place I rested on the couch... where apparently last night's late-night movie caught up with me and I dozed off.
I didn't wake until a fair while later but Sidney tells me I missed out on alot. Another woman came in, he said, with a new velvet. Her name was Keppit and she was a bit odd. A zombie she told him. Now, I'm not sure about that... there had been a report or a virus last halloween, perhaps this girl had been inflicted by it? And of course you do get some odd folk in this place but I don't know if I can believe she was an actual zombie. I guess I'll find out when I meet her.
Anyway, she did have a velvet and Sidney told me about her. She's still a plush, though both he and Keppit are apparently sure of her gender, and is a little toad with rainbow striped legs. When I asked what her name was Sidney told me Keppit had not thought of one yet and so he had suggested 'Willie', from the Temple of Doom no less. Well apparently it stuck at least for the afternoon and he went on to say how they played in the shop. Keppit moved and controlled the plush as Willie and Sid went on their adventure up mountains (the couch), across chasms (between the couch and the desk), fighting their way past headhunters (other plushes) before finding the great treasure chest (the velveteen chest). He said Keppit even took a photo of them with the chest as proof they went on such a perilous journey.
I suppose I'll ask this Keppit about it when I'm finally awake to meet her. But I am surprised I slept though it all!
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:16 am
Update on Sidney's lessons
Well even though Sidney doesn't like me to watch him working on his homework, he does show me the finished product. I also get updates from Annika every so often as well, though I like to ask her about him while he's not around. I'm ever so curious and keen to know how he's going but I don't want him to feel like I'm constantly checking up on him or even spying.
Anyway, she tells me the little snake is coming along well - just as smart as any other child learning to read and write. His maths is extending well and he's now knows how to count to much higher numbers. I guess once you realise that they sort of repeat with every ten numbers it makes more sense. They have also started on some easy multiplication and devision.
His reading is improving as well, though not as quickly. He still tends to loose interest if the story is too boring or not very exciting. So I suggested to her that the more adventure-based stuff might work better - if she could find some suitable books to work with.
His writing is also picking up. Still needs to work with his hands as his lines when practicing his alphabet as a bit wonky. That's to be expected though. Not only do normal children have this problem anyway but Sidney wasn't even born with arms.
Still, I'm very proud of him and later that evening I even got to see something Sidney had finished. He came down from his room just before dinner and showed me a piece of paper. It had his name on it and a picture of a snake which he had coloured in. I was most impressed to see he'd spelt his name right and he told me they had been practicing it in his lessons. Anyway, I gave him a raw egg (his favourite treat) and stuck the piece of paper to the fridge. I think he's quite tickled with his achievement.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:48 am
rp It was still dark out, the sun just coming up, as the door to the Velveteen Shop pushed open slightly. Only half a foot or less, but that was all Sidney needed to wriggle inside.
He paused on the floor looking around. "Hmm... I sshould have remembered no one would be around thisss time. And Nar would just be going to bed... if he wass here." He mused to himself.
Slithering off to one of the shelves he eyed it up and down before pulling out his whip. With all his practicing he was getting quite good. Flicking it, he got the end to wrap around a window latch nearby and proceeded to climb up, his coils constricting around the thin 'rope' to stop him sliding back down. Once at the right hieght he could get onto the shelf ledge without too much problem and unhook the whip behind him.
He grinned, satisfied with his efforts. See? Nothing he couldn't handle, and now he had a high vantage point as well.His mother had no idea he was gone. Nor had she any inkling to the vow made, and the promise kept for days on end.
The world was dark, cold, and unwelcoming to the young avian, but regardless to how little sunlight there was to accompany his journey, it did not hinder his footfalls as the Velvet shop drew ever closer and the days’ watch would so soon begin. A gentle emanation came forth. His claws gently brushed the door, feeling for a firm hold before it began moving inward to his ministrations. The going was slow, for he didn’t want Kaeira to know he was there if she was about, and more so he didn’t want to disturb anyone within. Thus he slipped in as quietly as he could, closing the passage behind him and warily stepping out into the open of the shop.
Sapphire optics roved the shadowed shelves. There was no movement, at least from what he could see, and this settled well and good to him – he moved further in and towards the plush lined corridors.Sidney was just pondering whether to get out his journal and start writing in it. He'd found it when Dee was having a clean out of her room and eagerly he'd asked if he could write in it. Now he was getting more competent with his better-developed finger, keeping a diary would also mean he'd practice his writing skills regularly. He hadn't actually started writing in it though. Nothing had really happened that he thought note-worthy, and he couldn't have a dull journal! Not a great adventurerer and explorer such as himself!
Well no time like the present! And it would help pass the time until someone else showed up - if anyone did. So twisting around he began to rummage in his pack for his pencil stumb. The journal itself was fairly big - since it was human-sized rather than velvet-sized and it took up most of the space in the bag. It also had a tendancy to get stuck and Sid had to tug on it hard to try and get it free. Unfortunatly it was while he was tugging that he bumped the plush rabbit that had been sitting next to him. Before he even realised it was toppling over the edge and falling to the floor!And into the corridor where Carl stalked, his presence a supposed secret but one not so well kept as he witnessed the descent of the rabbit. His muscles tensed as an immediate stance of defense was taken and his gaze turned skywards.
“Keaira?! If that’s you – I know you’re up there!”
His tone was severely cross. Trea he liked. Toby he liked. Willow he liked. But he did NOT like that kitten. Not. One. Bit. The disadvantage he was at was painfully obvious, a sense of dread threatening to creep up his spine as he tried to spot exactly what had caused the toy to topple. Sidney moved to grab the falling plush before it fell right off but he was too late and his quick reflex made another toy fall over. Luckily he caught that one before it fell and he sat it back upright. But the other.... he sighed. After all his hard work getting up here he would have to go down and retrieve the toy rabbit. It was then that someone called out.
"What?" The reptile hissed to himself as a voice sounded out of nowhere. He was quite a way back on the shelf, behind a couple more plushes, so he didn't immediately see who had spoken and the voice was not one he recognised.
Slowly he slither up to the edge on his belly so he could look down at the stranger without being seen outright. What he spotted made his eyes widen. That bird! That sharp-taloned fierce-beaked bird! He remembered him from when he was still an animal but there was no mistaking the now child-like velvet on the shop floor.
Well now Sidney wasn't so sure he wanted to go down there.... Everyone had their downfalls. For Indy it was snakes, for Capt Sparrow it was sea monsters, for Sidney it was snake-eating birds.No answer?
The kitten had to be playing with him. Last time they'd met she had certainly done a good job of embarrassing him - but now he would turn the tables! If she wanted to play with these plushies, he would give her a play she would never forget.
He moved forwards and bent down, picking up the rabbit and dusting it off a little. The toy was then put back onto one of the shelves, and his claws found themselves digging deep into the wooden floor as he braced himself and then tore off to the right, only to cut into the left around the end of the shelf, another sharp left following it so that he came to the other side of it.
This is where his sharp talons dug into the newt spectrum of the surface and he pushed hard against the back of it. He knew he wouldn't be able (nor did he want to ) overturn it, but he would give it a nice jostle to see if he couldn't knock her down a few pegs.As the bird came up to the shelf Sidney had to lean further out to keep an eye on him. Although it was hard as he didn't want to get spotted himself. Not that he was afraid! No way was he afraid!! But.... it didn't do to put yourself in risky situations for no reason. He was patient and could wait until the bird boy got bored and went away.
What he did not expect was the bird to start attacking the very shelf he was on! Without warning it rocked backwards and instinct took over as Sid suddenly had to lean forward and cling to the edge to avoid sliding back. However this put him in a very bad spot for when the shelf momentum rocked forward again. His scaly body had little to grip onto on the smooth shelf surface and he fould himself sliding forward right off the edge.
Of course he tried to stop himself, his hands doubling their grip on the edge. And it was only this quick reflex that stopped him plummeting off instantly. Instead his thin torso and tail slid around and slipped off, leaving him dangling by his fingers! "Argh!" He cried out as plushies fell off around him, bumping him and threatening to knock off his grip.Only then did Carl realize just what he'd done.
The shelf was high, the ground was far, and whomever now cried out in both fear and anguish was NOT the kitten he'd come so far to deter. His steps flatered backwards. Oh gods he was in so much trouble...He was in SO much trouble! Without much else comming to mind, he knocked plushes here and there, forming a large pile on the floor beneath the one who hung. When every plush within the two shelves had now fallen, his arms came out over them, turning upward as did his anxious attentions.
"Let go! I'll catch you!"
Or at least the pile would. Sidney gasped as he tried to tighten his grip. This was a pickle and no mistake! Hanging midair with some crazed velvet waiting below. Even if he didn't break a few bones from the fall, he'd not be able to react quickly against the hawk who'd caused him to fall.
His long thick tail writhed and curled around on itself as he tried not to think about falling. It only made his fingers feel more slippery. Someone was calling up to him. The bird? That murderous velvet?!
"What?! No way!" He shouted back. He was far too worried about himself to hear the concern in Carl's voice. And he didn't want to look down either so he didn't see the solf pile of plush toys he'd made. That was the first rule wasn't it? Don't look down.... Instead he searched frantically to his left and right, hoping to spot something he could use to pull himself back up.
Nope, he wasn't going to let go that easy.His foot stomped down, hard, "What are you saying?! You'll be killed if I don't catch you! Unless you can pull yourself up, than you must let go!" Why in the world did all these other Velvets have to be so crazy? Surely he knew that at that vantage point he wouldn't be able to pull himself up without a great deal of upper body strength! He was OLDER! He should KNOW better!
"Let. GO! Or I'm going to MAKE you let go!"
Sure, threaten him. Lovely way to reassure the teen that everything was peachy keen and he should let himself fall into a predators claws.
Not that Carl understood why all the others treated him so. He only pegged them for being cowards, or some such thing - all the better reason HE should bravely lead them!Oh Sidney knew quite well he didn't have the strength in his arms to pull himself up. It was his body and tail that had all the muscle in them but it was this muscle that was so heavy and making his grip loosen. If he didn't do something quickly he would fall.
"Are you crazzzy?!" He hissed. This guy obviously wanted him to hurt himself or worse. "I'm not sssuicidal! Why would I trusst a guy to catch me after he made me nearly fall off in the firssst place?" Sidney puffed. It was becoming a real effort just to hold on, let alone hold on and shout.
He desperately continued his search for something else to grab onto as the velvet below threatened to make him fall. The kid was a maniac! And then he spotted something... the end of the bar holding up the curtains a way along the wall. If he could somehow hold on while he reached for his whip on his belt with one hand, he might be able to snap it around the hook and swing over to it. It was quite far and it'd be a long shot but he didn't have much else in the way of choices...
Gulping in nervousness, he ajusted his grip as best he could with his right hand and prepared to let go with the other....
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