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 Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:25 pm
"Thanks," Asrafel turned in response. "I think we'll need it." He giggled softly, and opened the door, taking a peek outside. Yep, it had stopped raining all right. It was time to start the search.
"Oh!" He added as he walked out, sticking his head in the doorway just before closing it. "Remember, call the number if you need any help! After all, it's not every day a baby pops out of a piece of glass."
He closed the door with a cheshire's grin, giggling to himself at his last comment before starting his trek with the bundle in his arms.
Adults were so much fun to play with.
((*Leaves a little OOC paper trail for those following the Asra-saga into Eight's journal for tomorrow* XD <3))
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:48 pm
Bird almost dropped the cargo in her arms. The child reclaimed her choke hold around her neck, however, which alerted the frazzled woman back to matters at hand.
... She came out of the glass? But, wait, how'd he know that?
Of course, how many people do you meet with wings and a distinct lack of clothes on?
Bird decided to shove the thought away for further thought processing, her mind commanding her to drop everything and sleep. But the squirt wouldn't relinquish her grip after Bird had nearly dropped her.
Before the girl joined Bird, who had been claimed by dreams, her gaze travelled out the small window in the direction she was sure the two odd ones had gone, and she waved once more.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 8:44 pm
An Introduction.
Things... had not started well. Saying that they had would've proven to be a fool's attempt to coat it with sugar.
Raven had returned, armed with a brilliant smile and an arm full of teddy bear, a happy Rumkai (butterfly) buzzing on her shoulder and chatting up a storm.
She had expected a greeting from her surrogate mother. She had not expected a frazzled and slumped woman, still downing cookies (no longer on just a medium plate) as if they were going out of style. She had expected her bed to be empty, with the covers tucked down as they always were, and waiting for her.
She had most definitely not expected someone to be occupying it.
The young child was currently cradled in Bird's arms, right where she wanted to be, and studying this foreign blue creature before her with great interest. Never had she seen an equal to its oddness-- although, the one she met yesterday could easily become a rival.
"Look, Raven, she came out of a glass shard, and I... well... I guess I'm supposed to take care of her now."
Raven furrowed her brow, examinig the latest addition to the family. Doubt was clearly written all over her face. "Why do we have to be stuck with her? And why's she in my room?" She shook her head. "I don't want a little sister!"
Bird looked steamed. "Stop talking like that!"
"Rumkai agrees with me! Don't you, 'Kai?"
Rumkai looked torn.
The child watched this exchange with wide eyes. Voices were getting louder... why were they getting louder? She shrank back instinctively as the volume continued to grow in size, eyes squeezed shut. A few tears leaked out, splashing Bird's arm.
Bird was silenced as the wetness hit her skin. Both occupants glanced down at the, now crying, child. Raven felt awful; Bird looked anything but amused. Rumkai fled the scene.
Through all this, the child never once made a sound; just silently shed tears. When she finally turned around to face Raven again, the look in her eyes made Raven want to claw out her own eyes for what she'd done.
"... M-mama?" she queried. "Can.. can I hold her?"
Bird looked doubtful, but relented.
The two gazed at eachother, both sizing the other up. The child didn't know what to think. She was weary, and frightened of this one's... loudness. Raven wasn't too sure, either.
They both held a staring contest, until the child blinked and ran her smalll fingers through Raven's abundance of feathers, surprising her. They were soft.. and tickled! She continued touching the feathers, choosing to accept this... oddity.
Raven felt much the same way. "So..." she began, shifting the child's body to a more comfortable position. "What's your name?"
Bird, who had been watching with a growing smile, was about to interject and announce that she didn't quite yet have a name, when somebody beat her to it.
"'Pree."
They both stared at her in shock. She continued to finger through the feathers, now tracing the black and white segments; oblivious.
"... I thought you said she didn't speak."
"She doesn't! Or.. or at least, she didn't..."
Raven held the child in her feather-lathered hands, holding her up until their eyes were on the same plane. The child continued to play with the feather-- it was the softest thing she'd ever touched --but locked gazes with Raven none the less.
"... What's your name, again?" she asked quietly.
"Papree."
Although she had spoken that day, and even from the pestering and encouragment from Bird and Raven, Papree didn't speak, didn't giggle, didn't make a voluntary noise for quite some time afterward.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:23 am
Shadow. Papree scanned the room with her intelligent eyes once again, mind pointing out the details that most others would have easily bypassed. The chair with the nicks on its legs from a puppy's teething; those wind chimes on the window's bells nicked; a book cover's worn leather binding with the gold lettering.
This had to have been the sixteenth time she'd surveyed this room. Raven was gone; Bird was out shopping for food. There was simply nothing else to do.
As Papree began to pick out the distinctive and attractive colors that flared in her eye, the sun creeped into the horizon line, lobbing its stream of light through the thick glass that belonged to the giant window and straight onto Papree's small form.
The first thing she noticed was the delicious warmth that radiated from the light. Papree, startled, immediately looked out the window. Her eyes were assaulted by the bright light.
Papree wondered why it stung. It gave off such a pleasant warmth-- like Bird or Raven did, when they were close enough-- and they didn't hurt to look at.
She tried looking at the bright ball in the sky several more times before the flashing spots finally registered. Papree decided to stop trying, and go back to her studying of the room.
And the first thing she saw was a giant black shape, stretching and twisting and writhing.
Papree froze, muscles instantly knotting. How... how had it entered and she'd never noticed? Or heard? And what was it?
Refusing to move, lest she attracted its attention, Papree watched this new creature with wide eyes, hoping it was dead or it had already eaten. She squinted; it must've also been scared of her; it's limbs were taught, too.
Papree risked moving an arm; the creature moved it in sync with hers. She jarred it to a stop; it did the same. She wiggled her finger; it wiggled its.
Papree was at a loss at what to do. Trust that this thing wouldn't eat her, or chance getting eaten. Stay put and allow it to come closer, or fall asleep, or wait until Bird came home and scared it away--
... Or she could scare it away.
That gave Papree an idea. Just the other day, she had inconspicuously watched the horror film Raven had bravely gotten. Raven had clutched Papree to tightly she couldn't have moved away had she wished to.
They had scared themselves by jumping at the other, right? Well, Papree wasn't as large as the man had been, but it looked like this creature feared her just as much as she did it. A flying leap couldn't be too hard to manage.
Gathering what was left of her rickety courage, Papree took a deep breath-- she noted with s a start it was inhaling too so she best hurry -- and hurled herself off the comfy couch and straight into the black.
Her knees hit the floor; they burned. Papree was afraid they had started on fire. Quickly, her eyes snapped open to examine.
The black blob had moved. It was just as far away as it had been when she was seated.
... Papree couldn't understand it. She had jumped at it, just like the scary man had, and it hadn't run screaming away (she was grateful for the quiet, but, it was still there). She resigned to try one more time.
Papree leapt forward; it leapt back. She placed a leg in front of her; it placed a leg behind it. She ran at it (as best she could); it ran away (as best it could).
During this time, the sun had slowly sunk past the line where the earth met the sky. It began to collect its tendrils of heat and light, abosrbing them back into itself to begin a new day elsewhere. Papree hadn't noticed it go down; you could imagine her surprise as she made one last attempt to tackle the creature and found it had gone the moment she chanced opening her eyes.
Papree hadn't thought to question it until she had queried someone else. The next day, the day after she had conquered the black creature, Papree found it had returned. And there was one following Raven, too! Immediately, she had risen and tugged on Raven's sleeve, pointing a finger at it.
"... What about it?"
Papree concentrated. "Sc--scaa..ee?"
The elder blinked, translating. "Is it scary?" Papree nodded.
Raven hadn't laughed quite that hard in a long time.
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:07 pm
A Sticky Investigation. Cupping the steaming mug with her cold fingers, Bird relaxed into the squishy chair stationed in the back of the room, tucked her feet in, and watched the amusing scene unfold in front of her.
Earlier that very same day, Papree-- who had been learning how to walk --stumbled into the kitchen to find Raven concocting a strange drink; a sub-species of hot chocolate, only lathered in everything that was sinfully good.
Papree, after seeing the look on Raven's face after tasting it, immediately wanted some. And Raven, having the sly influence on her shoulder in the form of a certain butterfly, wouldn't hear it.
Bird had awoken to a brown kitchen and pleased, sticky faces. She had immediately ordered the two children to begin cleaning the mess up at once, before situating herself with a fat mug of coffee in the back of the room, which is where we left her.
She watched Papree, who was still a chocolatey mess, zoom into the room with Raven hot on her heels, waving around a spatula. Bird noted with a grimace it was covered in chocolate goo as well, and spraying it everywhere.
"Pree!" she roared, chasing the silent child. "Gimmie back Rumkai!"
Bird noticed the butterfly caught in the cage of fingers that belonged to Papree. It was fluttering its wings compulsively, and seemed to be in no hurry to leave its confinement. Chuckling, Bird took another sip of her warm drink.
When Papree zipped underneath the small coffee table and rounded the bend to enter Bird's room, kicking the door closed behind her, Raven giggled despite her resolve not to and looked beseechingly to her mother for assistance.
Bird beamed at her charge, and drank the remainder of the brewed liquid, rising from the chair. There was a lot of cleaning to be done.
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:37 pm
Boom. It was a quiet Friday night.
Raven sat, bored, in a very slouched position, leaning heavily on the armrest of the plush couch situated in the perfect spot before the television. The screen itself was buzzing blankley-- Raven had pressed the mute button -- casting shadows in the unlit room.
Earlier that evening, the sky had opened itself up and released a downpour upon the people of Durem. Water found itself everywhere; sloshed through open windows, sqeezed through roof tiles, and getting everything and everyone resembling wet (or drowned) rats.
Unfortunately for Raven, Bird had to work the night shift, which stuck her with her least favorite kid in the world: Papree.
.. Who didn't seem to be there.
Raven blinked at this realization, slowly uncurling herself from the odd position she had bent into and donning a sour face. Grand. If she lost Papree whilst on her babysquashing duty, Bird would be spitting fire.
"Rumkai!" Raven hailed her butterfly for assistance, who had been snoozing comfortably on her clad shoulder. "Help me look for the twerp." Rumkai admonished Raven lightly but complied, alighting and circling the room in lazy arcs.
They must've searched for two quarters of an hour; looking under every scrap of something that could be hidden under-- including the rugs, conducting thorough examinations of every room in the small house, screeching out her name dozens of times, and ending with no Papree. And the storm had steadily worsened, now sending bolts of lightening careening toward the soggy land and ending each one with an encore of booms and crashes and gutteral noises.
Tapping her foot irritably against the ground, Raven balled up her fists and stuck them on her hips. "Damnit, Pree! Could you answer just this once?"
To her complete surprise, she got one. A small, low whine, originating from... somwhere over in the corner.
Strange. She thought she'd checked there.
Raven made haste, and was soon crouching down to Papree's level. Papree was in a miserable state. Her face was wet and sticky with tears, her small body shaking with convulsions; the rainshower had lowered the temperature to a startling degree. Winding her skinny arms around her equally thin legs, Papree refused to come out of her position, wincing whenever Raven tugged.
"Rumkai!" Raven called, "fetch one of those blankets, would you?"
It was a ridiculous request for a butterfly, which Rumkai voiced. Raven ignored him.
As Raven sank completely down to her knees, preparing for another attempt to ger Pree's hold loose before she was murdered by her mother and responsible for a deathly sick kiddo, there was a bright flash that illuminated the entire room, and for a moment, the only thing audible was the spattering of raindrops just outside the window, before an earsplitting shriek cracked everyone's eardrums.
Papree emitted the wheezing cry again, clinging to Raven's arm like a lifeline.
.. Ahh, Raven thought. So this is what's been eating her.
As gently as possible, Raven collected the rest of Papree and rose from the floor, snagging a nearby blanket and winding it around her small frame, and proceeded t clean up the child with the assistance of Rumkai. After her face was satisfylingly scrubbed and she was dressed in the warmest article of clothing Raven owned (which was a million sizes too large), Papree still refused to relinquish her grip, the occassional pearl-sized tear crawling down a cheek.
Rolling her eyes, clicking off the telly, tucking in Rumkai on her shoulder, and rolling into the many thick blankets, Raven fell asleep with Papree curled comfortably in her arms.
Bird grinned when she scuttled through the door (sopping wet).
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:37 pm
But what will I wear? Pandemonium. That was really the only word to describe things, Bird thought, as she sank down onto a recently unearthed trunk and allowed her hand to be the only thing keeping her chin and head aloft.
It all started with one of Papree's books (she adored looking at the pictures). On a particulalrly fine, sunny, nothing-can-go-wrong afternoon, the small girl scurried haphazardly on two feet as best she cold while holding the enourmous book, tripping over herself several times and getting a toe snagged in the billowy fabric of her leggings, Papree had plopped the skinny, albeit lengthy, book on Bird's lap and pointed to the open page.
It had been a pumpkin, with one of those silly grins and odd noses carved onto its fleshy body. Papree's finger had then slid over to the next picture, of a child fit to resemble a witch.
This, of course, sparked Raven's interest, which then provoked Rumkai, and soon everybody demanded a costume for Halloween (after having been introduced to it, of course).
Bird watched blankly as Rumkai carried a tuft of Raven's innards through the air, a howling Raven following in his wake.
Raven had gone as a scarecrow, much to Rumkai's amusement (Rumkai declined being a bumblebee, as it was the only thing they could think of to dress a butterfly with), and Papree...
... well. Papree was currently streaking through the room, stark naked.
Bird's jaw couldn't help but drop to the floor as the child-- who had gotten pretty good at walking throughout the summer --careened through the living room and dove headfirst into Bird's arms, crying. The frazzled and confused woman patted her gently on the back, at a loss at what to do, before a quivering Papree, still not making a sound, lifted her face and said in a very small voice;
"No wear."
Blinking, Bird tried to translate. One naked child plus two words equals.. ah. 'Pree must not've known what to do for a costume. Why she wasn't wearing any clothes, she had never honestly figured out.
"Don't worry," Bird reassurred, wiping off the child's tears and drying her face. "We'll get you something."
After finding Papree an oversized shirt to hang over her soulders (her original garments were a bit too dirty to wear), Bird had spent the remainder of the daylight hours sifting through the massive amounts of junk in the attic and the basement until she found something in Papree's size.
It was shiny, and it was see-through. Papree loved the wings at first sight. "B-bat!" she had cried happily, twirling after they had been firmly attatched to her arms.
".. Well. I guess they could be bat's wings," the woman remarked dubiously. Really, they were part of an old fairy set she had lost/ripped/somehowdestroyed years ago. "Okay! You're a bat this year."
Yes. Pandemonium. Bird blinked lazily, standing once Raven and Papree had presented themselves with great pride, and proceeded to tuck both of them into their respective beds.
If this was any indication, she dreaded the day they found out about Christmas.OMGnakedPree! D:
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:17 pm
Trick or Treat. Bird puffed a breath of warm air onto her numb, tingly, and very frozen fingers, the plastic pumpkin thunking against her equally cold hand, heavy with candy.
Raven was ahead, shedding straw faster than a bird could molt, and Papree was trotting-- with some difficulty --next to Bird's long legs. She just couldn't stop swishing her arms to and fro, watching the glossy material quiver and crease gently in the breeze.
Bird scowled at the fact that she didn't seem cold at all (although everyone had been forced to don some extra piece of clothing for health purposes), but the sour face melted away when Papree giggled softly at her wings, promptly tripping over her too-large pants and sprawling headfirst into a pile of leaves raked to one side of the road. Bending, Bird scooped a sleepy Papree into her arms and continued to carry her.
Papree hadn't liked Halloween. At all. The dunderheaded highschool goons who deliberately waltzed around scaring the smallest children had petrified Pree. She shook like one of the dry, crackly leaves littering the streets and clung to Bird's leg for a solid hour before even considering relinquishing her grip. She had chosen to shy away from the people who answered the prodding dorrbell and passed out the candy, all fresh and new and untouched in their shiny wrappers and bags.
Nope. Pree didn't like Halloween one bit. And it showed, Bird noticed with a small, worried frown. She was still darting her dark eyes to the darkest parts of the drive, the parts where the streetlights' shine didn't quite reach.
"How're you doing?" she inquired quietly, like it would've been a sin to disturb the quiet of the empty street; Raven had beat them to the house a while ago.
".... M'tired," Papree responded, tugging a small hand free from the (two sizes too large) coat and scrubbing her face. Bird quirked a smile, rubbing Pree's nose with a finger and climbing the cold concrete steps, shuddering as the wind cast another wave of bitter cold at them, and stepping through the cherry door.
Raven had discarded her costume on the couch and had, after a quick inspection, collapsed onto her bed, sound asleep. Papree, a warm weight in her arms, squirmed a little as a huge yawn clawed its way out of her throat and through her mouth.
"Momma," she complained, "tired."
"Right, right. Let's get you cleaned up, kiddo."
... Neither of them predicted the nightmares that would follow that sleepless night.
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:18 pm
Musings. Man, it was boring. You won't believe just how big the boring scale is; meter's full, cookie jar is noticably empty, and homework slapped in a big heaping pile just in reach.
Raven's mind's track went something like this for the better part of the afternoon, the last popsicle-- the only surviving form of sugar left in the house --being sucked dry inside her [bored] mouth. Her fingers were bored, her nose begged to smell something that wasn't dead skin floating around the room, and her legs wanted to get gooseflesh about... something.
Groaning, Raven rolled onto her back on the squishy couch, silently asking the ceiling to come and play. It stayed where it was. Raven scowled, turning back onto her side.
Well. It had been an interesting day. Maybe she should review and.. kill some time? Yes, Raven concluded with a sharp nod, that sounded like a good idea.
... Where to start? Ah, yes! 'Pree's nightmares. Cue wiggly fingers and spooky noises. Raven's sarcasm was hungry-- as was her stomach. Rolling off the couch to land on the floor with a thud, Raven continued her mantra and scooted toward the kitchen.
It wasn't like it was anything unnatural, she continued, tugging open the fridge and examining its insides. I mean, I've had a bazillion nightmares before. And I screeched and wailed and hollered like anybody woulda' done. She probably looked at some picture, like she always does, and did it for show. Making a face at a jar of some floating mush, labeled 'canned fishwobblers,' Raven promptly placed the glass back into the furthest reaches of the cold confinement from whence it came.
And then her next thought struck her. ... But... she did look pretty scared.
Papree had shot awake Halloween eve, shortly after falling asleep, bellowing out incoherent words and screaming herself hoarse, throat raw and scratchy by morning. Bird had zoomed into her room, doing her best to comfort the sobbing, sticky, crying, cold, trembling child. Raven had assisted in wiping off the cold sweat with a clean cloth and a bit of soapy water, but it hand'nt been enough; the sweating wouldn't stop, nor would the terrified screaming. Throughout the entire eight hours they had stayed up until Papree lasped into a merciful dreamless sleep, Raven and Bird had only been able to descipher one word: "MOMMA!"
Popping a few peanuts into her mouth, Raven flopped back onto the couch and curled around the blanket she had unearthed from the depthes of her closet from where she'd stuffed it there last summer, chewing.
Hmm. Maybe there was someting more to this kid than she had originally thought.
Shrugging, Raven downed the rest of the peanuts and cuddled with her teddy bear and Rumkai on the couch, deciding to catch up on some much needed sleep.
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Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:39 pm
OH GAWD- Bird was in a panic.
She sat, crumpled on the floor, doing an impressive impersonation of Greek statuary; hands fisted in frizzed hair, face stony and staring at the floor, legs bent and strewn as she kneeled on the disaster that she and two small children had created.
It was called: their house. And her relatives were coming the very next day.
Bird inhaled deeply; in, out. Okay, she told herself, managing to coax her fingers to become lax and allow the singing roots of her hair a bit of relaxation, first thing's first. Mom. Mom likes clean. And then there's Paw, who does like clean... and uncle Albert, who despises having to breathe and live a day without a friggin' fat cigar in his.. meat stick fingers..
It was about this time that Pree poked her head around the wall that separated the tiny hallway (usually crammed with plantlife) from the kitchen (which was resembling a Picasso painting). Her thoughts were a bit more primitive; wht had coaxed her out of her room was the incessant growling in her belly that was covered in her usual gypsy type stuff. Stuffing a finger in her mouth, Papree slowly meandered around the corner and walked with very unsteady feet towards Bird and her completely defeated stance.
"Mooom, hung'y."
"Hmm? Ohoh, right, yes, of course. Hang on, kiddo, just..." Bird sucked in a deep breath before rising. "Ho-kay! What's on the menu?"
Papree thought for a moment, using the finger that had just come out of her mouth to spread some saliva over her thoughtful face, before, "Lipsips!"
Bird graced the child with a lost look. "... um. Lipsips? You, uh, wanna run that last one by me again?" Pree grinned stupidly and began chanting, "Lipsips! Lipsips! Lipsips!" wile bouncing in place. Raven waltzed in about that time, fresh outta bed at eleven in the morning, rubbing a sleep-darkened eye and stretching her mouth to its limits with a yawm before questioning, "What won't she shut up about?"
Bird dropped herjaw open to answer when Pree, who spun around, beat her to it. "Lipsips!" she announced cheerily. Raven blinked only once before calmly walking over to the cupboard, snapping it open, pointedly selecting the bag of red licorice, and handing the whole thing to a wildly screaming and pointing and smiling Pree.
"LIPSIIIIPS!"
Raven got a hug before Pree scampered around and headed straight back for her relatively small room. Bird's jaw never did relocate itself as she stared, mystified, at her older daughter as she ran a hand through her sleep-mussed blue hair, pouring herself a glass of orange juice and exiting the kitchen.
Bird continued to stare, sinking straight down to her previous position, mind returning to its train of thought. Relatives, clean but not too clean, buy as many cigars as wallet will sustain, polish car before brother can criticize..
Panic resumed its place.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:48 pm
It had been so quiet. So harshly quiet for so long, the child was beginning to forget she existed.
Where had everyone gone? She had woken up one morning, almost completely laying on her big pillow, waiting for someone to come.
But they never did.
She was hungry, and it was getting cold. She started to cry.
"Shh, what's wrong, little one?" A soothing voice cooed out from the darkness. It wasn't dark for long; soft colors swirled across the walls like fingerpainting, catching her attention. Behind her a hand pressed against her hair, and she cringed.
Asrafel scooped up the child before she could protest, her around in his arms and tilting his head to get a good look at her. His touch soothed her into submission, though internally she protested. She couldn't fight him.
Her eyes met his, and the tears fell silently.
"Would you resent me if I took you away?"
Despite the days of abandonment, her eyes flashed brightly as if to indicate that yes, she would.
"I figured."
In a flash, they were gone; and Asrafel went to work at fixing the messes Halexei had left for him to clean up.
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