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 Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:01 am
Bored.
So bored.
Wish we could go out!
Like we did before.
Meet more like us, maybe?
Althalus lay on his back in his small cot, foot idly kicking at the cover, dark eyes fixed on the ceiling. Stealth was lying at rest on his chest, eyes half-lidded in dimness that mother had forced upon them at afternoon nap-time. The baby breathed in a huge breath, making the small daemon rise above his nose, before letting it all back out and watching her sink again.
Know of iceblue girl, and curious quiet girl.
And white boy and brother! With the shinies....
Met Ickal/Fortune yesterday.
Yes! AND mouse!
Mouse...
Scary mouse.
Poor Ickal.
We should have done something?
Did! Kind of.
Wonder if there are lots of mouses.
Why do you want see mouses???
Althalus sat up with a little difficulty, a disgruntled Stealth sliding into his lap and rapidly uncurling. He peered through the bars, wondering if he could go out and find some more mouses. He pushed the bandana out of his eyes where it had slipped forwards, using both hands and then blinking through his fingers as his daemon wound her way up the side and stood on the top bar, glaring at him.
Mother says nap.
Not sleepy.
*sigh*
... bored too.
No mouses?
No mouses.
No fun, you.
Althalus flopped back again, closing his eyes until they showed only as dark circles on his face. He probably should be napping. He sighed again in frustration and took up his past-time of staring at the ceiling again, Stealth slipping apologetically back up onto his chest. He touched her little head lightly in forgiveness, deep in contemplation.
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:31 am
 "Come now, calm down," Kel-chan chided gently, attempting to distract the small boy's attention with one of his favourite shinies, her car keys. Althalus however wanted nothing to do with it, and batted them away short-temperedly, making a definitely unhappy angry noise. Stealth was nowhere to be seen, doubtless hiding inside his clothing somewhere; and Althalus just wasn't playing today. The redhead gave a frustrated sigh and ran her hand over her head.
"What do you want, trouble? You don't want food, you didn't care if you wanted out of your cot or not, youdon't need changing...."
Althalus glanced up ather, dark eyes unfathomable before screwing up his face and starting to complain again. Kel-chan cuddled his stiff, unresponsive form to herself, utterly confused and trying not to get short-tempered. Maybe he was just being spoilt? Perhaps if she left him alone he would learn that complaining would not get him everything. She sighed again and got to her feet, crossing over to the wooden playpen in the corner of the lounge. Depositing the fussing baby squarely on the rug inside, she put her hands on her hips and looked down at him. His ruffled hair, looking so unusual without his bandana on, hung over his eyes, which began to tear up as she walked away. Instead of his loud fussing the little boy fell silent for a moment before starting up a thin, monotone keening, more reminiscent of a creature than of a small baby. Kel-chan turned, startled; as soon as her golden eyes fell upon him he fell silent again, fat tears rolling down his face. Her firm intentions melted and she pattered back, sweeping up the small child and holding him close against her shoulder.
"Hush hush baby.Hush now." She whispered quietly,the small boy clinging trustingly to her all of a sudden. She smiled faintly.
Unbeknowst to her, the small lizard-daemon slipped out of the collar of Althalus' shirt. His expression, hidden from Kel-chan, watched his small daemon solemnly as she manipulated the catch on Kel-chan's necklace with a delicate mouth. Althalus' small fist, seemingly clutching his mother's shirt, instead closed around the pendant, saving it from dropping as the chain slipped gently down. A shrug of his arm and the treasure fell inside his sleeve, Stealth vanishing back into his collar as he turned trusting eyes towards his mother's face.
She of course suspected nothing.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:50 pm
 Kel-chan felt like a schoolgirl again as she twitched the curtain back in her room. Early morning sunlight was lancing across the white fields, illuminating the feathery snowflakes creating a thick carpet everywhere. It was a proper layer this time, and finally it was her day off. She would skip her lecture and take her family up to the moors in the snow!
In the room next door she could hear Auriga squealing with laughter; Alex was probably having a tickling match with her little sister, excited for the same reasons no doubt. Most of the snow that winter had been slushy and wet; but this day was clear and crisp. Perfect! The redhead grinned suddenly and jumped out of bed. There was much to organise.
-------
"Go fas'er, fas'er!" Auriga urged.
"We are going uphill," grumbled Ralph goodnaturedly, giving his rope another tug. The small Astra girl, bundled up so much she looked like a football, clapped her mittened hands together with joy. Violet eyes and brown curls peeked out of the gap between hat and scarf, cheeks grown red with the cold making her look like a china doll. She was firmly ensconsed on the small sled, a small part of it built up to balance her weight where her missing leg could not. The horse plushie, after much wailing, had been left in the car; but now at last she was beginning to enjoy herself, staring at the whiteness adorning the hills and trees and frosting the ground with glittering brightness. Her two sled-pullers were bearing the load with toleration; Ralph and Alex were actually wearing scarfs and hats for once, more for decoration than protection frokm the cold. Alex's wings were tucked asfar back as possible, but even so were edged with forst; she shook herself delicately every so often, and sneakily allowed Ralph to do most of the sled pulling. Well Auriga wasn't that heavy, surely? And the Raimin was strong... The Guardian turned her head behind her and winked cheekily to her little sister, who held a hand to her mouth to hide the giggles.
A little way behind the three, Kel-chan strode along, black boots making deep foot prints in the snow. Bundled in her usual red and black, she nevertheless was made more bulky by the fact that Althalus was peering out from the carrier on her chest. Stealth was making a protest about the cold by disappearing from sight in a huff. Kel wasn'tquite sure how a gecko-daemon could project an aura of huff, but she did so, and quite emphatically. Althalus however didn't seem too fussed; the Forgotten was still remembering his recent encounter with his pale friend, and somehow the sharp tang of the snow reminded him slightly. So for now his dark eyes were scanning the scene, a finger creeping up to his mouth but being foiled by the presence of mittens. It was not surprising that a few minutes later Kel had to stop bemused at the complete disappearance of the said items. She even sent Keihi back to have a quick look - the Talaye had demanded to come and see the snow, her collie ancestry sending her bounding through the powder with delight. But no mittens seemed forthcoming, and Kel sighed. Little did she realise...
After much building of snowmen, a particularly vicious snowball fight between the older ones whilst the babies sat bemused on the sledge and finally many tears from Auriga as she lost her hat, Kel-chan decided that a morning was all she could take. Snow days had seemed so fun when she was young.... it was more of a hassle now. And she wanted coffee. Nevertheless she kept her cheerful face on, cranking the Mini's heating up to full and listening to the happy chatter in the back seats and the vague burbling from Althalus beside her. Maybe snow was better outside the window.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:16 pm
Baby Growth Quest ---
One night, Kel is out for the evening, the babysitter that was suppose to watch the house is asleep and dead to the world. A true thief slips into the house and begins to steal things as he makes his way through the various rooms. However, just as he reaches the bedroom of the sleeping Althalus, it sounds as somebody has come home. Footsteps are heard coming towards the baby's room. In a panic to not get caught, the thief quickly grabs up what he has stolen, not realizing that he has, at the same time, grabbed Althalus and Stealth within his bag of loot and flees.
Just how did Althalus and Stealth wind up in the bag that night? And what will happen later on, when the thief decides to make a kidnapping out of it ( instead of it being a mistake )? How will Kel deal with the fact her Forgotten babe and daemon have been kidnapped? How will Althalus and Stealth deal with it? Over the course of at least a week, in roleplay terms, deal with the situation and bring Althalus back home. Wren RULES for writing this one, O0O!!
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:27 am
 -------------------------------------------------- Kel-chan's house
For larger house reference, please go here. Also, much of this upcoming depends upon this event in Kel's life. So! Plunge onwards smile ---------------------------------------------------
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:29 am
 Tuesday night
The house is mainly dark and quiet. The only sign of life is the faint babble of a television in the lounge, echoing through the hallways that seem heavy with sleep. A single light is on, a table lamp beside the sofa where a black-haired girl is snoring faintly, immaculate coiffure somewhat rumpled by sleep, hand still loosely clutched round the remote control. Behind her the television earnestly recommends a cleaning product to her, oblivious to the fact that she is asleep and that it is past 2 am.
To an outside observer, this might seem strange, as this house belongs to Kelinor, a talkative redhead with several curious Gaia children. But this fact brings up the point that this stranger lying on her sofa must be a babysitter, slack in her duties. Kel-chan herself is out. It is Xander's birthday, and the end of exam week; Xander being the postgrad student after whom Kel's Blathanna is named, her best friend at the university. Exams have been stressful on everyone; so for celebration, a giant house party was organised. Kel realised she couldn't stay overnight; but as Ralph, Alex and Auriga were being cared for by her great-aunt, Kel-chan felt she could justify the babysitter for little Althalus. And so the only occupants of the house are the room full of snoozing pets, the babysitter, and the Forgotten upstairs.
There is another outside observer, however. One who has little knowledge of the family who lives there, but enough to realise there is no impediment to his entering the house. The babysitter has not locked the door; this suburban neighbourhood is safe enough, surely? Unfortunately she is incorrect.
The man walked up the driveway innocently. To anyone else, he looks like a visitor, though the late hour makes this curious. He has no car, or at least it is parked somewhere else; he has a black grip swung carelessly over his shoulder, and he reaches up as if to knock at the door.
-------
Karth tried to calm his heart, a brief grin flickering across his face as he slipped the little oil bottle from his pocket. Dripping some carefully down the side of the door, he leant slightly on the handle. The door gave a little protesting squeak, but nevertheless opened easily. He hesitated as the hallway in front of him was revealed; the only light was coming out of the doorway in front of him, and if he leant round he could see the television's flickering screen. Softly, carefully, he closed the door behind him, not wanting it to slam shut in a draught. Moving just as quietly, he then headed for the stairs, standing at the edges of the treads, minimizing any creaking. Upstairs was entirely dark; the large window that faced out front on the landing was dousing the carpet with orange streetlight, and as Karth's eyes adjusted to the lighting he shifted his grip on the bag. There was a room straight ahead of him; why not start there? But wait, the babysitter must be babysitting some kind of kid. Best check which room that is first.
The first room was a tip, the desk strewn with books and a chinese lantern hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a woman's room; but no sign of a crib. Most definitely check this one in a minute, Karth noted silently. You always found jewellery in women's rooms.
The next room was by contrast immaculate, but musty; it looked like a spare room, a nifty looking computer panel winking silently at the back of it. Karth hurriedly withdrew; who knows, it could be a security system. He turned round the staircase, taking care not to knock the bookcases on the wall with his empty bag. The next room was on the other side of the landing, on a little corridor that stretched towards the back of the house. Dancing leaves threw shadows against the curtains of the window on the end; the thief guessed it to open onto the garden. Maybe a possible escape route? All these things on his mental checklist, he peered around the newest door.
He caught his breath as he saw the wooden crib and smelt the slightly sweet scent of babies. This had to be the kid's room. But where was it? He stayed frozen for a few minutes,before finally surmising that it must be with the babysitter downstairs. Right, now he knew that, he could get to work. Dumping the large grip on the clearest space available, right next to the crib, he started casting around. But before he could even leave the room, he grinned unbelievingly. Jackpot, and right away! At the end of the crib, wrapped around the bar, was a thin golden chain with a large clear jewel on the end. An angelic pendant, if he wasn't much mistaken! Unwrapping it with thick fingers he dropped it into the bag, the blanket lining inside cushioning its fall. Nothing else seemed to be of value in this room, unlessyou count that clock; not sturdy enough to survive the bag, he decided. Slipping outside again, Karth set about his quiet ransack of the rest of the house.
The observer had been observed.
Althalus' eyes had opened in the darkness, raising his daemon from sleep at the same time the instant he felt uneasy. There was an unknown tread on the stairs; it was not Mother's tread, or Ralph's, and the sisters were away with him anyway. Struggling upright, Althalus wriggled backwards until his back was against the bars and the wall. Stealth, who had been draped carelessly across his arm in sleep, now crept up and latched her tail about his neck comfortingly.
As the steps grew nearer, the little boy felt more frightened. But unlike some, who cried out in their panic, Althalus' instinct was to freeze and fade into the background. He projected as much as he could that there was no point in looking where he was; it was completely unnoticable. It was a skill he had been developing slowly; now he deployed it with all his might, Stealth fading instantly to match the red of his babygro. And the man came into the room, gave a cursory glance around and dropped his bag beside Althalus. The baby was utterly still, almost holding his breath as the man spotted his treasure. Hey! He'd taken that shiny from Mother for his own, not for the bad man! As the man dropped his shiny carelessly into the bag, he almost lost his concentration, and dropped it crossly as the man left. Stealth ran up to the catch on the crib side, the mental bond between the boy and his daemon snapping into play. He had to get his shiny back! The crib side thumped down onto the carpet, causing the thief a few rooms away to freeze again in panic. As Althalus slid carefully down to sit comfortably in the grip, fingers scrabbling for the shiny amongst the folds of blanket, more noises were heard; a slow patter of footsteps up the stairs.
Karth swore under his breath and ducked back across the hallway to the baby's room. He'd manged to pick up some pretty trinkets in the two-bedded room opposite, but no time to go back to the woman's room...in fact, was that someone coming up the stairs? He poured his armful of stolen goods into the bagand flipped the top over hurriedly, not catching the startled squeak through the drumming of blood in his ears. The stairs weren't an option - he'd have to leave another way...
When Michelle sleepily climbed the stairs, a cold breeze shivered down the landing. The door on Althalus' room was shut again, and she couldn't hear him complaining, so instead she just yawned and went over to close the window to the garden. Who'd left that open?
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:16 am
 Wednesday morningThe door slammed open,and Kel-chan tripped through, an exaggerated look of stealth on her face. "Sorry!" She whispered sotto voce, tiptoing towards the lounge. "'M being very very quiet!"
Michelle the babysitter sat up guiltily, trying to erase the looks of sleep on her face. A quick glance at the mantel clock showed the time of 3.30; she mentally excused herself the sleep, since her erstwhile employer was an hour late, and by the looks of it not entirely sober.
"Good morning, Miss Aliwran,"she said dryly. "Have a good time?"
"Yes, thankyou," Kel nodded solemnly. "How was Althalus?"
"Haven't heard a peep out of him since you put him to bed," Michelle smiled, partly in her own relief. Babysitting was much easier when you never even saw the kid. "But since you are a bit late, I'll have to charge a bit more..."
"That seems fair. Lessee..." Kel-chan struggled a bit with the calculation.
"50 gold," Michelle said helpfully.
"Good grief. Well, here you go," Kel emptied the correct amount outof her bag and handed it over. "Will you be alright getting home?"
"I only live across the street," the girl reminded her. "I'll be fine. Goodnight, Miss Aliwran!"
Kel-chan closed the door behind her and leant her head against the cool doorframe, her head starting to ache. What a great party! But now she really needed some sleep. She turned and tramped wearily up the stairs,trying to make as little noise as possible. The door to the Forgotten's room was almost closed; she smiled gently as she stuck her head round, expecting the little boy's eyes to flicker open for a second as they often did.
Instead, the crib was empty, the side down and the blankets rucked up to the end of the bed.
"Althalus? Althalus!" The shock certainly helped Kel-chan shake the last of her drunkeness. He'd got out! Fool girl of a babysitter... She switched on the light hurriedly, but no Althalus appeared snoozing in a corner. She remembered how in the last month the little boy had had so much fun just... fading from notice. Perhaps he was trying the same. Great... just what she needed.
"Althalus, baby, please come out," she said cajolingly, turning to head back down the corridor towards the empty girls' room. Maybe he'd gone exploring in there.
Icy fingers of fear shuddered through her as she surveyed the ransack of the room. Switching on the light she noticed that Auriga's ornaments, Alex's bracelets, their music player, had all vanished. Along with her baby boy. A note of panic crept into her voice.
"Althalus!"
---------------------------------
Karth leant wearily against his kitchen table, cradling his head in his hands. How the ******** did he manage to get himself into these situations? His early morning expedition had been going fine until someone decided to come up the stairs. Grabbing his bag, he'd slithered through the upstairs window, catching the branches of a large apple tree and almost falling down it inhis hurry to get away. He was sure he'd woken someone as he dashed across the garden, vaulted the wall and then forced himself to walk quickly down the street behind towards his car. What he hadn't expected was the sudden loud wailing from his bag. He had almost dropped it in surprise, flipping the unzipped top open. Knocked against the stolen items, Althalus had finally decided enough was enough, and he wanted his mother. At the sight of a small boy, his face screwed up in tears, Karth had just stared in disbelief. What the <******** he'd got back to his car, the man tried to think. But no plans sprung immediatly to mind: instead, he'd just strapped the bag into the seat beside him, growled at the kid to stay still or else, and roared out of there, taking his roundabout route home.
And now here he was, with a stolen kid to deal with. This wasn't just something he could pawn off at the nearest dealer! The only thing people normally did with stolen kids was.. ransom them. A kidnapping. He'd never thought along those kind of lines before, but surely there had to be stacks of gold made from the kidnapping business? Well, here was his opportunity to start, he reasoned. If this went well, perhaps he would try it more often.
Getting up, Karth set out trying to find his laptop and compose a ransom note. As he passed his 'storage' room, he peered in, eyes narrow as he thought he heard noises. At the sightof him, the kid in his box in the corner cowered, dark eyes scared as he watched the man's every move. A purpling bruise was spreading across his cheek, the pale baby skin making it stand out starkly.
"That's right," said Karth pleasantly. "Keep your mouth shut, little kid." And with that he continued onwards, his back uncomfortable from the silent stare fixed upon it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 1:17 am
 Thursday
"...and then this was delivered this morning," finished the police officer,pushing a small brown envelope across the table. Morning sunlight struggled into the grey room where this was taking place, a small interview room at Barton police station. Kel-chan was sitting small in her chair, her usually vibrant red hair braided back and a washed out grey coat wrapped around her. Her normally tanned skin was pale, and her eyes stood out large in her face; she looked as if she hadn't slept a wink in the last 48 hours, which was probably true. Samantha was with her; when they'd been summoned to the station the Libre hadn't let her leave the house on her own. Ralph and the girls had been told to stay on for another week, due to an unspecified crisis, so Kel-chan had done nothing but ghost around the house,and Sam was worried. She pressed close against the woman's leg as she hesitantly reached out for the proffered envelope as if it was poison, dreading its contents. Shaking it carefully onto the table, a single sheet of paper drifted out, follwed by a fluttering polaroid snapshot. Her eyes automatically sought the photograph, and she seemed to shrink even more as her gaze was caught by the dark eyes staring out at her.
Lying on the table was a photograph of Althalus. Her baby was still wearing the same nightwear she'd left him in, fair hair scruffy and fine over his eyes. He was scrunched into the corner of a large plastic box, a wall and a bookcase just visible behind him. He seemed to be cowering away from the photographer, and a large purpling bruise stood livid across his cheek.
Been looking for this kid?
You can have him back...
Unharmed...
Under certain conditions.
Transfer 700,000 gold into this account -
by Monday 20:00.
You do want him back...
Right?
---------------------------------------------
...+ Loan => 200,000
+ Sell House => 120,000
+ Savings => 80,000
=
400,750
Kel-chan threw her pen down decisively and looked out across the garden as the sky darkened towards evening.
"Sammie! I'm fed up with waiting for the police to sort this out."
The Libre lifted her head off her paws and looked up slightly puzzled at her owner. The last two days Kel-chan had been anything but decisive; the woman had been hovering on the edge of numbness, barely responding to anything, sitting quietly and wrestling with her thoughts. Perhaps something had woken up inside her?
"There must be something that I can do," the redhead continued, tugging the hair tie from her braid and shaking her head vigorously. She turned suddenly and fixed Sam with a metal-hard golden stare.
"And I know someone that might help."
"Who?" Was the Libre's reasonable answer as she struggled to her feet.
But Kel-chan had already left the room, white light crackling in the hallway even as Samantha called out behind her. When the Libre reached the doorway and peered out, all she could discern was a lupine shape loping gently away up the street.
"Dammit," she cursed lightly, turning back. When Kel had changed form there was no reaching her for the rest of the evening. But she couldn't help worrying about her erstwhile owner, making such rash decisions. Sam sighed, and closed the door with a flick of a paw. Now she could only wait.
---------------------------------------------
"Daniel! Daniel, open up, it's me," Kel-chan whispered fervently as she knocked at the handleless door. Full of nervous energy, she looked cautiously behind her into the street; changing form often meant that she had to wear that washed-out grey jumpsuit, and she felt a little bit self-conscious standing there in the street wearing it.
"Better than standing there with no clothes at all," she reminded herself sternly, before snapping her head up in realisation that the door was open. "Daniel!"
"Kelinor," the man returned politely. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms lightly crossed, blue eyes curious behind the glasses. "What's up? 'Tis not a full moon tonight..."
"Daniel... I need your help." Kel-chan stepped up one step, her face intense. "My baby's been stolen."
"What?!"
"Let me in, hurry up! I must have your help," she demanded, a fragile shell of strength and urgency built over the empty void in her soul. She had a plan, and damned if she wasn't going to act on it.
"Okay, okay," the brown-haired man waved his hands hastily in the face of such intensity, stepping back to let her into the hall. Once the door was closed, shutting out the cold night air, she shuddered delicately before fixing him once more with her iron gaze.
"Daniel. Althalus has been kidnapped, on Tuesday night, and I need to get him back. I've thought perhaps scent-tracing the thief, but I'm not strong enough to do it myself. Also the city is quite big, so I'll need help quartering the streets for any sign - "
"Slow down, look at me" Daniel interjected firmly, grabbing her by the shoulders and surprising her into silence. "I can't help if all you are going to to is gabble at me. And.. what makes you think that I can help?"
She looked dumbfounded when he said that. "I... I.. just knew you can, hope you will," she said helplessly, struggling to keep her fiery shell in place.
"Your son has been kidnapped. Kelinor, they could be in Durem by now! Quartering this city won't help much, though perhaps scent-tracing might a little. Aren't the police searching too?"
"They won't find him. You will," she said firmly, wavy hair framing herface, eyes large and childlike in their conviction.
"I find your trust in me astounding," the 'shifter said wryly, turning away and heading towards his lounge. Kel-chan blinked before following angrily.
"You mean you will do nothing?" She demanded. " I ask for your help, and you refuse?"
Daniel sat down calmly and looked up at her. "I'm afraid I don't know if I canhelp at all, Kelinor. Sorry."
"You!" She hissed in return. "You I thought better of! Out of all the people I know I thought you at least would understand, you at least might want to help me out, you - "
The flaming, fiery shell of anger she had built up so carefully could not take the strain. Something inside her broke, and as she sank to the floor the first hot tears she had cried since Althalus' theft fell burning down her cheeks. Coiled in on herself she wept, her last hope seemingly snuffed out, return seeming hopeless.
And then she felt strong arms around her, and she buried her head into a shoulder, drawing a little comfort, but releasing another storm of weeping. Daniel sat beside her, stroking her hair softly, waiting for the tears to subside. When at last they did, and she raised swollen eyes to his face, she was surprised by the intensity of his look.
"Foolish woman," he whispered fiercely, tenderly. "You know I will do all that I can for you. You and I are bound together by stronger rules than you can imagine." And he ran a cool hand down her hot face before capturing it in a hungry kiss. Still raw with emotions, the redhead could do nothing but return it whole-heartedly, pressing herself against him with her need for comfort.
"Hold me," she whispered eventually, fresh tears wetting her cheeks.
"Always."
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:47 am
 Friday
The small Forgotten huddled a bit closer into the corner, brown eyes no longer sleepy but assessing. His tears and screaming had been in vain; the bad man only hit him if he did that. Althalus' baby mind was not used to thinking so analytically - a babyscreams, it gets what it wants. Not in this situation.
Stealth crept out from the boy's sleeve, her glittering eyes slightly sad. She pattered up to his shoulder and rubbed her face against his as the two of them shared a feeling almost close to despair; Althalus picked up the corner of his tatty blanket andheld it to his cheek, rubbing the tiny lizard comfortingly.
The bad man did not know about Stealth. Every time he came by, whether to take him out of his plastic box prison or to put a plate of cheese sandwiches in, Stealth froze and faded into the background, remaining unnoticed. Talking of the sandwiches... Althalus' kicked slightly morosely at the plate. He was so hungry! He'd eaten everything but the crusts, but by now he was getting distinctly bored of both cheddar and his forced inactivity. The highlight of his days in this new house was when bread lady came.
Unbeknowst to the Forgotten, Karth had realised he knew nothing about caring for babies and therewas no way he was changing the kid himself. So after much deliberation he'd stopped past Mrs. Brown's flat, across the corridor. Only ever letting her see Althalus when the pair were in the kitchen, he'd introduced him as his nephew and confessed that he was terrible with children. Of course Mrs Brown helped him out, andshe washed and changed Althalus with gentle hands. This was his favourite occurance; the only downer to the experience was that for safety Stealth stayed behind in the box. The small boy felt a deep sad ache inside whenever hewas far from his daemon; she stayed so close to him all the time that it felt strange to be separated. So being returned to his box by bad man at least then had the comfort of being reunited with his soulmate.
When bread lady came round, Althalus got to see more of the kitchen and the rest of the house, but still had no good idea of his new home. He still clung to the thought that Mother would come back; she would send bad man away! But she didn't even have her shiny.. The baby felt the tiniest trace of guilt suddenly that he had taken Mother's shiny, and now bad man had it. He could even see it now, high up on the shelves at the opposite side of the room.
Poor Mother, no shiny...
Our treasure too!
Want it back.
How to get it?
Stealth goes to get it.
Althalus help!
Yes.
Earlier on in the week Althalus had discoveredthat ifhe hauled himself up and stood on his tiptoes, leaning against the box side, he could nearly tip it over. But Karth had noticed, and now the box was in a corner, with books stacked against the remaining two sides. Thebox was going nowhere. But now Althalus thought again. His fingertips could nearly reach the edge of the box if he stood on his pillow and blanket. He would have to stand up, however difficult it was, and let Stealth go out. A plan!
Laborious small fingers scrabbled against the plastic box side, barely reaching the top. A bronze streak dashed up Althalus' arm, over his hand and onto the top of thebox. As the little boy slumped backwards into a sitting position, the gecko-daemon clung to the top of the box and exchanged a glance with him warring between hope and worry at leaving the distance. But the Forgotten nodded his go-ahead, and the daemon darted down the side and off into the room, heading purposefully to the shelf with Mother's shiny. Itwas heavy for the small lizard to maneouver, but she managed to push it alongthe bookshelves until it was above the box in the corner. It spun down into the prison below, landing with a soft thump on the thin pillow. Althalus held his hands up gladly; his daemon leapt delicately from the height and into the safety of his arms. Sharing a warm thought of success, the shiny was hidden under the blanket, and the bad man would know no better. Perhaps they could pull off something even more daring next time.
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"Here."
Kaeska glanced up, her golden eyes suddenly full of hope. The large wolf picked her way over to where Dart stood silent, his still lupine form outlined in the streetlights that lit the eveing roads.
"Here is where..." She asked, casting her head from side to side, hoping to pick up that same acrid scent she had followed from her own home.
"The thief had a car. Althalus was here with him, but the scent dissolves into motor oil and tarmac. We cannot trace that in this town."
Dart's voice was somewhat sorrowful, watching the female droop almost visibly. Her son would take more finding than a scent trail across the city. Padding over toher he leant his muzzle briefly against her shoulder.
"All is not lost. We know now the scent of the thief. We can recognise it again, my lady."
Kaeska looked up, her eyes seemingly far away and as hard as metal once more.
"I will not give up."
"I know."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 3:55 am
 Saturday
Mother is not coming back, is she?
She must. She is mother....
Four darknesses since she sees us.
Bad man looks after us now.
No!
Mother must come back.
We have our shiny... it is hers..
We... should give it back, if she never comes.
But...
Want mother.
Badman is mother now.
Mother must have her shiny back, so she remembers us..
Want mother!
Snuffling in the corner of his box, the little boy stuffed a fist in his mouth, silently weeping. Eventually, as the small daemon on his shoulder nuzzled him comfortingly, hisface grew set. He knew what he had to do now.
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"Coffee, Mrs Brown?" Karth asked politely. The drably dressed man leant casually back against hiskitchencounter, watching as the woman tenderly changed the little brat. She looked up, a soft look in her plump face.
"Don't mind if I do, Edward. You know, this little nephew of yours is utterly adorable; where does he get those brown eyes of his?"
Leaving the baby watching them silently from the table, the woman came over and accepted the hot mug gratefully.
"My sister's husband, I believe," Karth said drily. "His eyes are almost black."
A little small talk later the woman put her cup down. "Well, I should be off - where's Jack??"
She stopped astonished. The baby that she knew as Jack had vanished from his position.
Althalus could hear muffled swearing coming down the hallway, and froze into his unnoticed position, clutching the leg of the wooden chair underneath the window. Karth stormed past, eyes searching but sliding blankly over the small toddler in his red babygro. The latter let out a small sigh as the badman vanished again; it had been hard enough escaping the kitchen, and he was too close to becaught again. The treasure had to be returned to Mother; even if he was no longer hers, she was the one who had foundhim there in the dusty shelves of the Library. His memories of the time before that were hazy; the Library itself was a gloomy, paper-rustling area, and that was all his memory of it, apart from the large book upon the plinth. For no reason at all that book stood vivid in his mind. And then Mother's face as she had padded through to see him for the first time.
Shaking his head slightly the little boy attempted to stop his face creasing up with sadness again, and applied himnself to the task of climbing up the chair. This involved standing, a new feat that he'd been practising the last couple of days; but a small glow of satisfaction came over him as he hauled himself up. Stealth was already on the windowsill above; she had the shiny treasure wrapped around her small body, and was waiting patiently for her Forgotten to take the heavy burden from her.
Althalus blanced cautiously on the window sill. Leaning little hands agains the glass, he stared uncomprehendingly at the street far below. It was a street, was it not? Mother could get her treasure back from there. It was the best he could do. A frown of concentration crossed his face as he unwound his daemon from her precious burden, and reached up to the crack of the open window. His arm stretched above his head, he stared briefly at the hanging pendant glittering on the other side of the glass, before watching it spiral down to the gritty pavement below.
--------------------------
"Kid? Kid, where are you?" Karth slammed his hand against the doorframe in frustration. That little b*****d was worth a lot of money if this scheme worked!And how could he have escaped like that? It was close on two hours now, goddammit, and he was nowhere to be seen. Best to go round and re-check everything, the logical side of his mind pointed out, and the man rolled his eyes. What a hassle. Was this whole racket actually worth it??
But he breathed a huge sigh of relief as he opened the linen cupboard and spied the small being curled up in sleep in the corner. There he was! For cryin' out loud... As he reached down to grab the kid, he noticed the little lizardcurled on the baby's chest. Making a small noise of disgust, he picked it up by the middle of its body and went to drop it out the nearest window. But as soon as he touched it, the baby's eyes flew open, and he squealed an earsplitting wail. Karth dropped the lizard in surprise, and it scuttled away to a dark corner. Man! The kid was loud. Trying to ignore the constant whimpering which not even the accustomed slap could stop, Karth carried the boy back to his plastic box in the spare room.
In the darkness, black eyes glittered as Stealth felt the tearing pain of being so far away from her soulmate. Agony crackled along their invisible bond, and she began sidling through the shadows as fast as she could without being noticed. She had to get back to him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:17 pm
 Sunday
"G'wan, get outta here!"
The shopkeeper waved his arms again, an irate scowl on his face as he watched the two creatures flee silently down the street. Filthy mutts, sniffing around his store like that! Biggest damn dogs he'd seen in a while, as well. And quiet! He wouldn't even have noticed the pair of them slink in to his little dime store if one of them hadn't let out a muffled yip. Hmmph. Anyway, he'd better keep a better lookout in future. Dusting his hands satisfactorily, the shopkeeper went back to the task of watching his quiet Sunday morning store.
Kaeska and Dart loped easily down the street until they came to the nearest side alley. Turning in, Dart's ice blue eyes were ever wary, checking for possible danger or watchers. The female beside him however was quivering, her golden eyes intense and her nose still full of that elusive scent she had caught at the shop and insitinctively followed as they fled. She could still smell the harsh, piney scent of the kidnapper, combined with the faintest trace of oatmeal and cotton. The scent of her missing child.
Turning to the other she had difficulty keeping her paws still, her eyes bright and fierce.
"Dart, I have to follow this scent. Why are we stopping here?"
"In case of pursuit,"he replied, peering cautiously round the entrance into the main street again, claws clicking on the pavement.
"There is none! Come, we must follow!"
Knowing it was useless to argue with her, the male wolf sighed minutely and then padded out after the eagerly trotting female. After combing the city for two nights and a day, tireless in the search and no break for sleep, the pair had finally discovered something.
A trail that led to a dingy downtown apartment block.
"We have to go and fetch the police. We know where he is! My son..." Kaeska's eyes were undecided, the basic lupine instinct to run in and snatch her baby warring with the human judgement that meant backup. "Now, tonight."
"You don't like that as much as I don't," Dart cut across decisively with his deeper tone. "Who knows what harm he may come to? We take him ourselves. Involving the police would only mean delays and meaningless chatter. We can retrieve your pup in a lightning fast strike the man will not even see coming."
"Son, not pup," Kaeska remembered to say, frowning slightly. She had not been in her human form for almost three days now; the fierce, hot instinct thrilling through her veins knew that Dart was right. She would follow her leader through every peril. She dipped her muzzle submissively; they must attack tonight, in the early hours, when the evil one would least expect it.
These thoughts running through her mind, she almost noticed the glitter that came from her left. It took her a double take, the golden eyes suddenly widening as she nosed at the shining thing in the mud of the slushy gutter.
"Dart! My necklace!"
For there was no doubt that it was her angelic pendant, the twist in the chain near the back identifying it immediately. What was it doing there? She could not think straight, instead wrapping it awkwardly around her paw. Somehow Althalus' 'shiny' was here, miles across the city from the house. There was no doubt now in her mind; her baby was here.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:42 am
 Monday
The sound of a clock in the silent hallway ticked ominously, oppressively. Kaeska glanced up; the black hands showing stark in the thin moonlight showed a time of 2:17 am. Pressed close against the peeling paint of the wall beside her, the wolf shuddered lightly with suppressed nervousness and anticipation. The scarce moonbeams also caught a glint amongst the fur of her neck; she'dfinally given in, and fastened her discovered pendant around her neck, the safest way to carry it.
A little way further her companion narrowed his eyes. He'd had to return to human form to deal with these lockpicks; curse his terrible eyesight! But there was no way a handsome wolf like himself would travel with a pair of glasses. Muttering silently in comtempt of himself, he continued to work on the lock. Finally reaching his goal, Daniel placed the tools delicately on the ground beside him and tilted his head towards the silent gaze of Kaeska. Grinning slightly with the starting thrills of excitement, he eased the door ajar with one hand and then threw his head back, send faint white afterglows into the apartment darkness as he changed. When all was still again, the male shook his mane robustly and then without a backwards glance padded inside. Kaeska blinked and then ghosted after him, closing her eyes briefly as the scent of her child filled the rooms and hallways. They were so close! But that filthy man's smell was everywhere, as well as another female. Some other woman was caring for her child? Indignant fury caught at her, and she could not stop the fierce low growl escaping from her throat.
In the room across the hallway, Karth's eyes flickered open.
The thief was instantly awake, his right hand flinging out for the reassuring weight of his weapon on the side table. The police were on to him! The deadline was today; they should be delivering him his money, not discovering his hiding place! Pellmell angry thoughts rushed into his brain, walking him up thoroughly. He had to get to the kid. At least then he could make him a hostage! Rolling out of bed he fled into the back hallway, bent over in his attempt to be silent. He could hear running feet behind him! Abandoning stealth he threw open the door to his stolen goods room with a bang, the beretta gripped firmly in one hand as he dashed to the box.
And his eyes just slid over the frightened child, projecting unoticability for all his worth.
They'd got the ******** kid already! There was barely time for Karth to turn, his eyes wide in horror as a hulking canine shape filled the doorway. As Dart launched himself forward, the thief held the shaking handgun in front of him, the bullet thudding as surely into the creature as it thudded into him, sending him reeling to the floor and the beretta skittering away. Heavy, damp panting filled the man's face; he opened his terrified gaze to meet the iceblue eyes of the wolf pinning him to the ground, regardless of the blood seeping from its shoulder and pooling around them.
Kel-chan wailed quietly even as she changed, stumbling slightly to keep her running up. Slamming herself into the wall beside the phone, she clung to it desperately to fend off the disorientation. If only they'd waited, Dart wouldn't be hurt! Feverishly dialling, she tried to keep the hysteria out of her voice as she called out for police backup. Face pale against the grey jumpsuit, she shook her head, the scents fading from her no longer lupine senses. Where was Althalus?? Hardly knowing how she got there, she arrived back in the room where it had been the strongest, the room where Dart still lay on the weakly struggling thief. A quick glance around showed a lot of stolen items, and a large box wedged into the corner, with blankets and a small pillow. Her baby had been kept in a box. Eyes hard, she strode up to the man and crouched beside him, her voice low and dreadful.
"Where is the boy." There was no question in her tone, just a dreadful finality; but the thief's eyes widened in confusion and fear.
"You already took him! I don't know!"He whimpered, trying to avoid moving beneath the claws digging into his chest.
"You're LYING!"
"No!"
Even as she moved to hit him, her face ugly with all the lupine mother instinct instilled, the sound of many feet in the hall stalled her hand. The police.
Angry tears traced her cheeks as Dart was maneouvered off and the thief was led away, odd relief in his tone now that the '******** wolf was called off'. She touched his shoulder with gentle hands, trying to discover whether the wound was fatal, but then remembering something about silver...
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger," Dart looked up at her steadily as she bent over him, fall of red hair curtaining her face. "Kelinor... I will be healed soon enough. Should you not be looking to your child?"
Althalus...
Even as she turned her head towards the box in the corner, the small Forgotten had come to a conclusion. It was safe, and there was his mother! She had come back! Fading once more into the foreground, the toddler reached up to the edge of the box, brown eyes huge and anxious as he called out.
"Momma.."
The tentative voice caught at the redhaired woman, and she froze for a moment before running over and sweeping the little boy out of the box, his daemon wound tightly around his neck. The reunion was silent, the guardian feeling as if she would never let him out of her sight again and the Forgotten feeling safe once more, his fair head cradled against her shoulder and his fingers tracing the treasured pendant that still glittered at her throat. All would be well once more.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:46 am
 Monday afternoonAlthalus wriggled slightly further into the comfortable lap. This was so much better! He had his bandana, and he'd had grapes and yoghurt instead of cheese sandwiches, and best of all mother was here. He shared a brief happy grin with Stealth, who was tucked upon his shoulder, head resting against the fading bruise on the boy's cheekbone. Yes, this was nicer.
Kel-chan hugged her little boy closer and kicked her heels idly. The plastic chairs were small and uncomfortable, but that hadn't stopped Sammie making one her own while they waited. The Libre was curled on the chair next to the redhead, blinking sleepily but then perking up as the neatly dressed orderly came out of the door.
"You may see him now, if you wish," she smiled, dipping her head politely. "It was a bit of a ragged wound, but it seems to be healing remarkably..."
Kel-chan hefted her wriggling son onto her shoulder as she stood up. "That's great. Through here?" she asked, ahint of eagerness in her tone. At the confirming nod, she knocked once at the small room door and then went in.
"Kelinor," Daniel said warmly as she entered. The woman could not help but give a guilty start as she stared at the bandages wreathed across his shoulder, making his body look skinny against their bulk. She came closer hesitantly and placed Althalus quietly beside him.
"I'm so sorry to have dragged you into all this," she said quietly, kneeling beside them. "I never meant for you to get hurt. Never."
Daniel was silent for a while, wiggling his fingers at the baby, who grabbed at them with an infectious giggle. Blinking shortsightedly his face broke into a soft smile.
"You have a beautiful son. I'm sure he gets it from his mother." As she dipped her head to hide her face, he reached out with difficulty to touch her chin.
"Hey. Look up, look at me... there. Now listen. I would do the same again a thousand times over," he continued tenderly, as her hand crept up to clasp her own.
"But your shoulder... I'm so sorry..."
"Hush."
"At least let me offer you a place to stay. Getting around on your own will be difficult until that heals..."
Althalus sat between the two faces, looking back and forth. This conversation was getting far too serious.
"Momma!" He demanded imperiously, wriggling his small fingers directly in her face. She started, taking her eyes off the other and then realising. Catching him close to her, she looked at him surprised.
"And when did you start saying my name, baby?" She inquired, smiling whimsically.
"Momma goret guman om." Althalus pointed questioningly at Daniel.
"Huh?"
"What I think the child is trying to say is that I should agree to your invitation," laughed Daniel quietly. "And how could I refuse a sentence like that?"
"Guman Momma go!" The Forgotten clapped his hands lightly, satisfied now both faces were smiling. And his own face broke into a wide grin.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 3:02 am
Kel-chan's Journal, 16th March
=====================
It's been... odd these past few days. Odd in a very nice way, of course, but nevertheless a little bizarre.
This last week has been a nightmare. But now Althalus is home... and I appear to have a cheerful invalid staying at my house as well.
Only until he's well, of course.
Of course.
Anyway, Ralph came home today with my girls, who were bursting to know why they'd been kept away for another week. Alex took the news gravely, but Auriga didn't really seem to understand. She seemed happy enough to babble away to Althalus however, her own prowess of speech slipping backwards as she talked to him.
And this obviously points out the fact that Althalus is communicating with us, more than just burbling... My little boy can call me mother, and ask for more food, and demand monopoly of Daniel's lap, which more often than not gets. The man is so good with him... even with that wounded shoulder, he's great with the children. Althalus has steadfastly attached himself to my friend, and Alex and Auriga seem to have grown even closer in their absense... I guess that just leaves me and my pets to cuddle.
Stop being so morbid! n_n Sometimes I go off on the weirdest tangents.
I haven't got anything family planned for the next couple of days. In a way, it is enough to sit here writing with Teal'c curled on my lap, Sammie sleeping on my foot and to glance up at my family. It's early evening; Alex, Auriga and Althalus are sitting in a circle with Daniel gamely hanging his good arm over his chair and attempting to show them how to play Ludo, though my son seems more interested in eating the pieces. Auriga has her little Rishlan kitten attached to her like an extra appendage, one arm wrapped firmly around Callisto in case she dares to move; Alex is sitting neatly with her legs to one side, wings folded carefully behind her. She's probably trying to look sophisticated and elegant in front of the guest.
Ah.. this is wonderful.
...I wonder how long Daniel will stay?
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:31 am
 15th April - ONGOING "So, trouble, we'll get you to see some more people. Nice people, not like the bad man from before," Kel-chan concluded, laying her cheek briefly on Althalus' head as she carried him down the dusty stairs. "You know there's been lots more Forgotten released since you; ormaybe we'll see someone you already know, how about it?" She grinned encouragingly, disengaging one hand to push the door open carefully.
It had been weeks since they'd been here; she'd kept meaning to before the event, and somehow after he was back home family time had seemed so much more important. But Althalus was a growing boy, and he needed more interaction with others his own age.
Althalus was twirling her pendant absently round his fingers, Stealth making a shimmering double as she lay draped around his neck. He did not remove it however; there was something special about this necklace now, and it belonged to mother. All other items were fair game to try and aquire; just not this one any more. The little boy looked up as they entered the room, dark eyes widening to make as much use of the dim light as possible. Was there going to be others? The Library was plus one demon and serpent toddler at the moment. At least, when Wren had come down to the place, he hadn't exactly seen Pippin or anyone else, so it was just him and Mael.
Or just him at the moment. As Wren had learned, hide and seek wasn't exactly the brightest of ideas. Not when Mael didn't really understand the rules and was far too able to squirm into the most unbelievable hiding places. It had to be the benefits of being what he was, that had to be it.
Wren was standing with his back to the great glass doors, one hand on his hip and another rubbing his temple slowly. He just knew that somewhere, within the Library, Mael was laughing at him -- no, if Mael was laughing at him, he'd know where he was. The demon wasn't that fortunate and toddlers were too fast.
As it was, however, the toddler was several rows away from where his father was. The toddler's back was pressed to the shelf, one hand brushing against the books and the other along Suffocation who was curled around his neck. He didn't make a noise, those red eyes of his unblinking. He wasn't going to let father find him easily, no. It was all most payment for the fact that he didn't have his attention all the time -- well, that was changing right, for this little while.
Both of them heard the door open, but Wren was the only one that could be seen moving. He turned abruptly, raising a hand in greeting. Mael, on the other hand, was using the chance to carefully make his way closer -- if only to investigate the sound of doors opening. Kel-chan blinked as she nearly bumped into the person on the other side of the door, instinctively gripping Althalus a little closer but then relaxing again.
"Wren. Long time no see," she said warmly. "Here on your own?" She looked around puzzled; it was Mael, wasn't it, that he had care of? She hadn't seen the serpent child since he had been a small baby, making Althalus jealous of those darned coins.
The thief Forgotten in her arms wriggled impatiently. Stealth could tell that another daemon and hence child were nearby; he wanted to find out who it was!
"Down," he demanded, looking up at his guardian with determined brown eyes. Wren held out a hand, all most instinctively in case Kel fell ( or if he fell, because of the bumping into ), but he lowered it and took a step back. He blew a black streak of hair out of his eyes, and nudged up his glasses.
"Nice to see you too, Kel," he finally replied, eyes glancing around as well. "And, no, not here on my own. Mael's in here with Suffocation -- but, eh. Hide and seek is not something I should play with that kid." The demon chuckled ruefully, eyes widening a little when he heard Althalus speak. It made him wonder why, exactly, Mael wasn't speaking yet considering his age. Then again, the brat was probably not speaking on purpose. He knew Mael understood, he just didn't speak.
"Don't suppose Althalus wants a shot at finding Mael, does he?" Wren grinned a bit, chuckling.
Mael's tongue flickered out, just as Suffocation's did. They were at a shelf that was out of the way, but allowed him to all most see the adults there. Althalus he saw as well and he recognized the baby. It was the one that had wanted his coin that Otium gave him. "Hide and Seek, huh?" Kel-chan did not even want to get into the reasons she never played that game with Mr I'm-unnoticable-look-right-past-me. She smiled however. "I'm sure trouble here would love to go looking, if he's not stealing your job," she said with a humourous note. "He really needs to meet some other people, especially after..." she fell silent asshe lowered the little boy to the floor. He stood for a moment, overbalanced and then decided that hands and knees were easier. He wasn't quite ready for walking just yet, even if he was fond of using the few words he could say.
Althalus started adventurously to peer amongst the shelves, but paused as his daemon suddenly became unhappy. She unwound herself from his neck and pattered down and in front of him; there was a faint feeling of hostility from in front of them. What had they ever done wrong? Sensing his daemon's caution, Althalus started moving softer, pressed close against the shelves, bandana slipping over his widened eyes. "By all means, he can go look for the brat," though with the way Wren said brat, it was fondly spoken. "I'd find him, but -- well. Don't want to cheat and then it'd take forever. You wouldn't believe the places he can get into." Wren rubbed the back of his head, eyes glancing to Althalus and then to Kel. The way she trailed off left him wondering. He raised an eyebrow, just slightly.
"After?" he inquired quietly, watching the boy move and then looking back at Kel.
Suffocation let out a soft his that seemed to echo Mael's thoughts about the situation. Althalus was coming this direction and if he wanted to try and find him -- well, it was the hiding game and they weren't suppose to be found. It was that simple.
Letting Suffocation move so that she was wrapped around his arm ( a studded collar around his throat now, much like the one he wore around his wrist ) and he started to walk carefully down the aisle to the end of it and then further out among the shelves to find somewhere to hide. There was a nice little alcove he had been hiding in previously, and that was where he was going to go. Kel watched her little boy disappear amongst the shelves with a faint frown on her face. "Sorry what?" She blinked and looked back towards the man. "Oh... well, about two weeks ago... he was kidnapped. Mistreated andkept alone, but we got him back eventually." By her sides her fists clenched momentarily. "He started using the occasional proper word whilst he was there, so I missed him starting to talk... but I need to make sure he's still okay with people other than himself." She hugged her arms around herself briefly before looking up and grinning brightly. "I'm sure he will be though. And how is Mael?"
The unseen one was moving! Althalus narroowed his eyes and grinned, his excitement aroused. Hideand seek it was. He was the master of hiding; why not seeking? Stilling for a moment, he concentrated hard. Slide into the shadows.. move a bit faster... as they got closer Stealth blinked in surprise.
Suffocation and Mael.
Shinies?
People had shinies once.
... Nice person?
... Not sure.
Find.Wren kept his comments to himself, but to have that happen to a baby? It just -- well, it wasn't right and it tweaked a nerve, but he kept it hidden under a smile. Only the way his eyes really gave away how he felt about that sort of situation. Never mind missing your child's first words made it worse, somehow.
"Glad to see you're both okay now, then. Althalus seems like a trooper, so I'm sure he'll be fine." He carefully reached over and patted Kel on the shoulder, before looking towards the shelves. "Mael's being trouble lately, since Lafe and Alejandro arrived -- new kids, for Halo and me, more boys -- but I guess it's to be expected and it's not really bad." He laughed quietly.
The only shinyshiny things on Mael were his bracelet, collar, and the silver ear cuff on his one ear -- well, that and the golden marking on his forehead, but it was the most obvious one. Suffocation hissed and Mael suddenly stopped his movements.
The two were getting closer to them, close enough that Suffocation could all most taste them in the air and possibly that they could see them. This pair, she suspected, were possibly not the kind that you played hide and seek with. Mael only let out a small grumble. If they were going to be found, it'd be where they were going to get to. Tail uncurling from around his ankle, he started to move again with it swaying back and forth behind him.
His destination was the alcove, barely noticeable in the darkness ( excluding the fact that there was a light, but it was dim ), with a long cushioned seat and a stepping stool in front of it ( extremely helpful to a toddler ). An adult might have had an issue with getting into the space, but it was perfect for a toddler ( or even a baby ). Mael was able to get in with ease, crawling his way up onto the cushioned seat and waiting to see if Althalus would come this way. Suffocation seemed sure they would, but he wasn't so sure himself.
Mael just got comfortable, tail hanging over the edge of the seat and twitching with movement every so often. "New boys huh?" Kel-chan leant back against the wall, crossing her arms and looking over interestedly at Wren. "That must make for lively times. Probably lucky there isn't a girl though... does Mael still..." She stopped, realising that maybe it wasn't such a tactful question to ask. Wren had mentioned in passing a while back that his little Forgotten had also had an incident. Perhaps she should have kept quiet.
Althalus crawled softly onwards. Stealth scampered backwards and up on to his shoulder, professing her worries and urging him to keep his distance; but the little boy cheerfully ignored his daemon's fussing. He wanted to see this other book-child!
He nearly missed the alcove however, if not for a twitch in the corner of his eye. Turning his head slowly he saw the cause of the twitch, a thin reptilian tail not unlike his Stealth's; and then tilting his gaze upwards, he looked straight into the unfathomable eyes of the dark shadow watching from up on the seat.
"H'lo," he said forwardly, sitting back on his behind. At the lack of response, he started scrambling to his unsteady feet and hauling himself up to be in closer proximity to the snake-boy. Actually, only the tip of Mael's tail could be considered thin, but not so much. The rest of it had grown in proportion with his body finally, after time had passed from his change from baby to toddler. The tail became thicker the closer it was to his body, and it was long enough to be able to wrap around his ankle loosely whenever he walked about -- never mind it was perfect for grabbing things, if he practiced enough, but that was Mael's secret.
Suffocation was sitting next to him, curled up with her leg resting on his thigh. His fingers were stroking along her scales, snake eyes finally focusing on Althalus as he found the alcove -- though, honestly, he was sitting and waiting, not trying to hide anymore. He might have looked like some toddler-like villian from a storybook ( if there were such a thing ) and the visual wasn't entirely ruined when he gave Althalus a smile, fangs visible and that forked tongue of his flickering out in a quiet hiss.
Head tilting curiously to the side, he watched the younger Forgotten try and get closer and Mael scooted back, feet tucking to his side, but tail still twitching back and forth. His hand was held out, allowing Suffocation to make her way up it and curl around his neck as she liked to sometimes. If Althalus wanted to get closer, he could. At least then Mael could get a better look at the other. It had been some time since he had seen him last, and he didn't really think he was the same. Though, Althalus had to have some bravery for traveling into what very well could be considered the snake's den and even if he did have that gold coin still carried with him, he doubted very much the other would find it interesting after so long.
"Lively, sure." Wren chuckled, lifting himself up on his heels as if he could actually catch of glimpse of the children. He knew he couldn't but it was silly idea in the end. His attention, however, went quickly back to Kel when she started to ask about Mael. "Does he still what?" he questioned, not entirely sure where she was going. Then again, his memory of telling people of the incident was few and far between, just because it wasn't something he told -- but he was a bit absent minded. Sometimes it just took a reminder.Althalus leant on the edge of the seat, pausing a minute in his little-used standing position, peering at the dark shape that was Mael. Stealth scampered up to the top of his head, her eyes wide in the darkness and spotting the eerily quiet tableau of boy and daemon in front of them. She gave an impercetable squeak and faded into the maroon of the bandana, the only suspicion of her presence the briefly blinking black eyes.
Althalus swallowed; but nevertheless struggled determinedly upwards. In an inelegant maneouver he managed to swivel himself up and around until he was also sitting in the alcove; like a cat he pretended that no-one had noticed the clumsiness, and leant forward cautiously, tilting his head.
"'Lo," he repeated. "Al'thus." He tapped his still-chubby hand on his sweater and then unfocussed his eyes slightly, as he tended to when speaking with his soulmate. "Ste' says you Mill?" His eyes flickered to the snake-daemon watching him unblinkingly, and tried not to show his dislike. Despite his own daemon being a reptile, he just didn't seem to like snakes. He preferred cats.
Kel-chan looked slightly embarrassed. "Last time we met... Mael wasn't to happy to see me. You said he'd had a problem with some woman and her pet?" She looked at the floor, not sure whether she should have brought the subject up, and changed the subject hurriedly. " I heard there were a few more Forgotten found. Two girls and a boy... but I haven't seen them yet, or their guardians. Have you?" Wren wrinkled his nose up a bit at the mentioning of Nora ( who else could it be? ) and her former pet bird. It couldn't be helped, hoping perhaps she was speaking of something else, but ... well. She had asked. He was silent for a few moments, listening to her continue on about the new children. "I've not met them yet, or the guardians, I think they may be a little more elusive than some of the others, though I've met most." There was a small half-smile on his lips, before he decided to answer her other question.
"And it was my neighbor, Nora, that caused the problem and her pet bird. Though she'd say Mael's the problem." Wren shifted on his feet, hands going into his pockets in an effort to not show too much of his nervous habits. "Nora ended up shaking Mael up and left a rather bad impression on him, and he's still showing the after shocks." Wren chuckled ruefully. "Most women, girls, and the like are largely ignored -- so it's not really changed. It's not so bad with children, but with adults? He doesn't seem to bother."
Meanwhile Mael was only watching, letting out another quiet hiss and a flicker of his tongue when he heard that squeak from Stealth. Suffocation's head nuzzled against Mael's jaw, letting her Forgotten feel her amusement. It seemed that there was another daemon that had a fear of her. Her dark eyes, slitted just like Mael's ( as any snake's was ), turned to watch Stealth fade into being one with the bandana. Silly.
Mael just raised his eyebrow again when Althalus struggled upwards, head tilting when the other acted as if nothing was wrong. Not necessarily a bad thing, it was something the serpent child could like about him.
There was understanding in his eyes, that he knew the words that Althalus was speaking. Except when his lips did part, all that escaped was a hiss and a flicker of his tongue as his hello. Mael wasn't really one to speak, not now and only because he didn't want to. It was turned into a silent communication that Suffocation tried to pass to Stealth. Don't expect him to speak, but his actions would be far louder anyway.
At least Mael raised his hand in greeting, to be more obvious, fingers wiggling in slight greeting, but then pulling back very slowly. Not liking the look that was being given to Suffocation, his hand came back to rest against Suffocation's growing body, fingers brushing along her lengthy body carefully."That must be a bother," Kel-chan said in return, tilting her head slightly to see if she could peer around the shelves. It was all very well playing hide-and-seek, but she still had leftover fears of not having her baby in sight at all times. Consciously she realised this and scolded herself lightly; he was never going to grow up properly if he didn't get out more.
"K..." Althalus smiled cautiously and wiggled his fingers in return. At the silence ensuing the talkative baby tried again. He picked up his resisting daemon gently from his head and stroked her gently. "This Stel. Sa' 'lo." He waved her lightly in the air, the bright black eyes fixed now more boldly on the other pair. If they were going to be a master thief, they had to be likeable. Stealth tipped her head towards Suffocation politely.
After a few more moments of silence, Althalus looked down, fingers idly scrunched against his trousers. Mael must say something soon, right? The older boy was unnerving him a little, but still he made the effort. Remembering suddenly he felt something in the large pocket on the side of his baby's clothes. He brightened up and pulled out a half-eaten rusk out of his pocket. He offered it wordlessly to Mael, a hopeful smile on his face. "Rather bad, actually." There was that half-smile on Wren's lips, but it faded to a sad frown briefly. "He won't have a thing to do with Halo still." Shrugging his shoulders some, Wren walked forward to rest his hand on the spine of one of the books shelved. Leaning carefully, he looked around a corner to see if he could see the children, but he didn't. Not like he expected to, but he had been playing this 'game' for a bit.
It was Suffocation who responded when Stealth was waved in greeting. The snake unwound herself from Mael's neck, actually keeping a part of herself anchored while she stretched out to peer at the smaller reptile. Her tongue flickered out slowly, tasting the air, eyes focusing on the other daemon. She seemed fine, hardly worth worrying about, though the ability to blend in was interesting.
Giving Stealth a quiet hiss in greeting, Suffocation turned back to Mael and gave him a snake-ish nod ( that involved most of her body ) and then moved back to where she had been. 'They're all right', was the vague thought that crossed Mael's mind from Suffocation.
Mael's response was an all most grudging '... if you say so.' There was still something that he didn't quite trust about this one. Mael couldn't quite place his finger on it, but his face changed slightly as the boy seemed unnerved. There was suddenly a charming smile on his lips, one guaranteed to charm even those who were uncomfortable, and it was meant to put the other at ease.
Not like he was goint to go anything to him. Mael hissed again, eyes studying Althalus as he -- ah. Was it a gift? Or a trade? The rusk looked tempting, but it was hardly fair to take and not give in return. That charming smile still in place, Mael reached over behind him -- where he had carefully stashed the small container before coming out to see what the noise was -- and pulled it out. It was a small container, the lid gone ( and with Wren ), and inside were fair size gummies.
They weren't just any gummies, though. They were gummy rats and they happened to be Mael's favorite. So, carefully selecting a red one ( one of the sweeter ones ), he held it out on his palm for Althalus to take while he took the rusk to eat. Althalus grinned infectiously. "T'anku," he said clearly, Stealth scampering up his arm and back on his shoulder, bright black eyes fixed upon the others. His rusk now replaced with such a treasure, he snickered slightly on the inside. This was way better! He licked the top of it first however, to err on the side of caution; but no, this treat was much to his liking. It was even red! He liked red, and brown and black, but you couldn't get brown gummies... Stealth declined with a small wrinkle of her nose when he offered her a taste, and soon the sweet was gone.
He liked this guy. Not only shinies, but yummy things as well!
Reaching up and scratching at his head under the bandana, he yawned slightly and looked around the alcove. "Hide place good," he said grudgingly. "Cl'vr Mell..."
Not knowing quite how to respond to that, Kel-chan came over to peer as well. "You know, they've vanished pretty thoroughly. But then I guess this is their Library..." She glanced involuntarily over towards the large plinth where the mysterious tome stood faintly illuminated. "I think it's going to take me a long time to work out what on earth this Library actually is. But Pippin is probably the one working on it..." What Althalus didn't know couldn't hurt him, so the fact that Mael had actually dropped the container onto the floor was nothing, really. Just ignore the fact that most of the spilled to the ground only to be picked back up by Wren earlier in the day. Then again, Mael did have an unending supply of them at home. What did he care? And the rusk did taste good, even if half gone. So long as he was satisfied, it was all well and good. Woe if he hadn't been.
The container was slipped back behind him, with an absent thought that a real mouse or rat would be tastier -- and Suffocation agreed -- and he watch the gummy disappear as Althalus ate it. Letting out a laugh, he nodded his head slightly in agreement with Althalus. The alcove was a very good place and there was something about it, well, something that told Mael that it was not easy to stumble across the alcove, not unless you were lucky.
Then again, Althalus was lucky to have found it as well, and the look on Mael's face said that clearly. Unfortunately, though, he couldn't really get a look around the place -- unless he cared to risk getting caught by his father. His nose wrinkled up at the thought.
"The Library's got a mind of it's own." Wren replied, glad to not be on that subject anymore, eyes glancing to The Book itself, though he hadn't really taken a look at it since the first time he had seen it. "Hell's bells, the entire building seems to have a mind of it's own." He shook his head, hands shoving into his pockets. "And Pippin likely is working on it, but if other guardians helped out ... Well, perhaps we'd get further along."
He looked down an aisle of books. "And I'm sure the kids will come out or at least Mael will. Gummies won't satisfy him for long before he'll want real food to eat." Kel-chan nevertheless still looked a little uneasy. "You're right, of course. This building is a little odd... and we should go look for them. After all, we are supposed to be seeking, right?" She shuffled a little on the spot before taking a few steps towards the shelves.
"Aaaal-thalus..." She called softly, golden eyes squinting as she began to peer into the dusty dimness between aisles.
At the sound of his name, however faintly, the small thief-toddler froze, the tail of the gummy rat falling out of his open mouth. His face crumpled into a determined expression, half excited, half apprehensive. He wasn't going to be found, oh no. He glanced quickly at the impassive Mael, Stealth sliding soundlessly to the chair and then down the vertical side of the seat, small limbs ignoring gravity until she reached the floor and was able to peer out into the corridor, eyes glittering in the half-light. Her Forgotten squinched himself further back into the alcove, narrowing his eyes until only a sliver was visible against the darkened skin around them.
"Althalus! I'm gonna fiiiind you...."
Not likely, he thought firmly, excited once more at the thought of the game. "No, this building isn't odd," Wren muttered under his breath, "it's alive." There was a difference to him and to his senses this place was alive, very alive. There was something odd about the energy about this place and he'd probably never be able to place it.
Shaking his head, he moved towards the way he knew Mael had gone. His eyes, pale blue and luminescent, shone in the low lighting. "I should've just put a tracker on the kid -- it'd save me time. Never mind if I cheat and find him that way ... Well, if he knew I did, he'd never let me hear the end of it." It wasn't like he couldn't immediately tell where the kids were, the point was he wouldn't. Hide and Seek was a matter of finding without using extra abilities, but if The Library was in on this game? That was different.
Mael only shifted silently at the sound of the other's name and echoing voices. Silly. You didn't come into the darkness when another was all ready there, but it was the other's choice.
His fingers curled around Suffocation and Mael pushed himself to standing on the cushioned bench. The light in the place was too far up for him to reach, even at this height. He sat back down, as silently as he moved. He barely moved, hardly blinked, and for all purposes someone could've thought him not alive or sleep if they saw him.
But he didn't want to be found yet.
Kel-chan agreed non-committaly. In some ways the Library greatly unnerved her; as she turned on light feet around corners and across aisles she wondered if the shelves would actually rearrange themselves, just to get her lost. No! Silly thoughts. She peered into one of many dusty reading alcoves, completely devoid of either Forgotten. Sighing softely, she carried on, lupine eyes sharp in suddenly discovering crawl marks in the thin film of dust that carpeted the floor. Now here was something.
Althalus sat in stillness. Not that everyone didn't when they were being sought, but he risked a sideways squint at the other, also utterly still. More still than he could manage anyway. His eyes flickered back forwards, fixed on the entrance; Stealth was pressed against the shelf, head peering out into the aisle, ever watchful. Althalus closed his eyes.
All he could hear was footsteps in the distance, his own breathing and a slight sound as he shifted his foot. The sweet sickly smell of gummy rat mixed with the ancient mustiness of the books all around; for some reason that smell comforted him vaguely and he opened his eyes briefly again. The baby excitement overtook him again, and he let out a soft giggle. Mother would never find him....Mael's red eyes cut to Althalus. Did he just giggle? Did he know realize sound was bad? Not when he knew father had good hearing. He practically heard everything it seemed.
Wren actually paused for a moment, his ears picking up on the slight noise. It was days like this, when he had to hunt down Mael, that he really wished he'd give up on a human guise. He let out a huff of breath, fingers tapping against his slacks. "Mael, Mael, Mael ... When will you learn?" He hummed under his breath, a tune he remembered his mother humming to him. The funny thing was that it seemed oddly techo-ish to him.
And that wasn't too surprising. He was disappearing further and further down the aisles, looking this way and that. Besides, if he knew his flexible brat, the kid was hidden somewhere nobody would look right off.
About to let out a disgruntle hiss at Althalus for making noise and potentially ruining the game, he stopped himself as it sounded like steps were coming closer to this direction. The Library was finicky and not even Mael could hope that it would hide them within it's confines forever, but maybe a little longer would be good. ( And it wasn't as if he consciously was aware of that. )
Father will find, Suffocation spoke within his mind, her voice a sliver of cold curling within it comfortably. So odd for a snake.
No, he replied in the same fashion, but his voice far different from Suffocation's in her mind. Emotions as well as the feeling that even if found, Mael wouldn't be caught trailed along with the word. Father wasn't too good at keeping his hands on him when he was in motion.
... though the humming Mael heard was oddly appealing, he was as still as any snake laying in wait could be.
Wren sighed. He could all ways just go back to where he had been. The gummy rats would only last Mael so long and then he'd have to come out. The baby clapped a hand over his mouth, but couldn't stop his excited mood. His dark eyes darted to the entrance and then back to the silent Mael. Mael probably wouldn't be happy if he made them get found. Hey! He'd found Mael.... better seeker than Mother, he thought firmly and with a grin. The thief-Forgotten was irrepresible; despite the air of disapproval hanging in the air, he nevertheless was enjoying the thrill of hiding from the seeker. But then he froze suddenly.
Mother passed end of row.
Hush hush!
Quiet now.
Good Althalus quiet if hiding...
Stealth slowly stepped backwards, withdrawing more into the shadows, hearing a vague humming as well as that brief glimpse of red she had seen. They were coming closer....
Kel-chan was slowly becoming lost. She couldn't even place where Wren was, let alone the hiding Forgotten. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. He wasn't going to be lost... she would find her baby. She stopped herself in time from attempting to follow his scent. That would be cheating. And she could always fall back on it if she got really worried, she chided herself lightly. No reason to change form just for a game of Hide-and-Seek...
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