Welcome to Gaia! ::

Health Class - An Open RP - Pool safety is fun... Except Iggy has no concept of safety, really. Oh, well. It was a good try.

Math Class - An Open RP - Iggy shows up late... And he still hates math.

HGTV, Eat Your Heart Out - A Closed RP - When Jack finally gets around to creating a room of his own for Antony, who is the little prince going to call to help decorate it? Someone who is not at all afraid of getting dirty, of course!

Growling under his breath in an alarmingly accurate way, Ignacio once more scrubbed his eraser over the paper in front of him. Both items already showed a lot of wear and tear; the paper was crinkled and would soon require replacing while the once large block eraser was fuzzed and rounded. He huffed in annoyance and bits of used rubber flew across the small kitchen table. “Dad!” he hollered. “I’m gonna join the circus. You don’t need math.”

Devon poked his head out from his bedroom and raised a dark eyebrow. “How d’ya figure that?” he asked mildly.

“Because you don’t need numbers to make lions go through hoops or walk a tightrope or anything like that.” Iggy set down his eraser triumphantly, pleased with his logic.

“Yeah but you get a paycheck, right?” Devon stepped out into the hall, trying to balance a tumbled pile of laundry even as he kept his eye on his adopted son. Gingerly, he felt his way forward foot by foot, bare toes wiggling before he set them down. “How’re you gonna know if they paid you the right amount or if you have enough to do things without math?”

Ignacio frowned for a moment. Then his face changed into an expression of the deepest, most horrified betrayal. “Daaaad,” he moaned, “don’t tell me you like Dr. Darnell.”

“Hell, no. That chica scares me shitless.” Devon dumped the laundry on the couch and began to sort it into whites and colors; if nothing else, some of his housekeeping skills were alive and well. “She’s just right about math. You need it, Nacho. Sorry about that.”

“Ewww.” Picking up the abused eraser, Ignacio looked as if he was seriously giving thought to throwing it at his father’s head. He didn’t, though, and quickly set it down before Devon caught him. He suddenly remembered what happened last time he had thrown something at Devon; it had only been a balled up pair of socks but it had earned him a session of being tied to a chair with a scarf and made to watch Lazytown. Nothing was worth Lazytown torment. He looked down at the crinkled paper and sighed heavily.

“Hey, Nacho?”

He looked up in surprise to see Devon at his elbow, smiling. “Yeah?” he asked guardedly.

“How about a snack first and then I’ll help you on that? I’m not so bad at math, y’know.”

Ignacio tried to look skeptical but failed in short order; his face was not built for anything other than honesty. A slow smile grew. “Can I have some jerky?” he asked hopefully. “The spicy stuff that you have in the top cupboard behind the pretzels and chips?”

Devon blinked. “… Damn, Nacho. Your nose is too good.” The boy smiled wider and he sighed. “Yeah, sure. Jerky and milk. Then we’ll do the math.”

“Yay!”

It was amazing sometimes how simple his kid was, Devon reflected as he got down the promised treat. On the other hand, it was also really, really lucky. It made life so much easier.

In The Process of Running Away - A Closed RP - Jace crashes the boys' movie day and announces her intention to stay... Forever. Luckily, Ignacio has the attention span of an earthworm and drags the others along on a New Plot.

Pox-Ridden - An Open RP - While the entirety of the Liberty Center succumbs to chicken pox, Iggy finds out to his horror that his immune system is GREAT.

Ignacio curled himself into the corner of the couch, his back pressed firmly against the arm and his arms wrapped around his upraised knees. He stared vaguely into the middle distance. Every now and then, he would pull at a thread on his shirt or rub at his nose.

Devon watched his adopted son out the corner of his eye with concern. Ignacio had been sitting there for over an hour now. He hadn't said anything at all. While the boy had been a silent baby, Devon had long since resigned himself to the fact that, once he reached childhood, there was no shutting the kid up. Finally, he padded over to lean against the back of the couch and peer into Ignacio's face. "Anything you wanna talk about?" he asked mildly.

"No." Ignacio wrinkled his nose, though, and looked up at his father. "Dad, I don't get it. It's all kinds of messed up. Why's Harper dead and... Why am I all grown up now? It seems really, really, really wrong."

Devon sighed and threw one of his legs over the back so he could slither over and land with a faint thump beside Ignacio. "Nacho, man, those don't have anything to do with each other."

"Yeah, but it feels like they should."

"Don't."

Ignacio sighed and stared at his hands. He held them out and turned them this way and that, inspecting the palms and then the knuckles. "Fire's scary," he muttered. "I don't like it."

Devon simply nodded and waited for the boy to continue.

"Harper didn't get to grow up." He frowned and the look was strange on his usually smiling face. "What if the others don't get to grow up? What if something happens to Antony and Riley and Jace and... All of them?"

Hesitating until he was sure Ignacio wouldn't pull away, Devon scooted over and placed his arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "Nacho..." He sighed and hugged his son to his side. "Man, you can't worry about that kind of stuff or you'll stop livin', okay? You know what we can do, though?"

Ignacio looked up at him, blinked, and shook his head.

"We'll go to the church and you can light a candle. It'll help. Then you'll do what you do." Devon offered a lopsided smile. "Because Harper would totally kick your butt if you sulked, right?"

This earned a sudden, sheepish grin. "Yeah. He would. All of 'em would." Ignacio hugged Devon back tightly. Then, as if realizing that they were caught in the middle of a gooshy moment, he pushed away and attempted to noogie his father. Devon retaliated and, before long, an impromptu wrestling match landed on the floor.

But, in the end, it was all good. It was about life and growing up.

Ignacio bent his head over his schoolwork in a good imitation of a studious teenage scholar. He barely even glanced up towards where his father sat, working away at his drafting table on a new design, as he poked and prodded at his essay. Bits of eraser covered the kitchen table again and his pencil sported a few new chew marks. Suddenly, he straightend upwards and studied the pencil thoughtfully. "Hey. Hey, Dad?"

Devon looked up, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"

"Are pencils really made of lead and can I get lead poisoning from them? Jace said they were."

There was a long, answering pause. Then Devon carefully set down his own pencil and turned on his stool to study his son. "Do I even wanna know why you're asking that?"

Ignacio held up the pencil and grinned. The bite marks were clear on the wood, slightly deeper where the teenager's sharp canines penetrated. "I just realized that I kinda bit on it when I'm thinking and I've been thinking pretty hard to get this homework done so I can go out. Like you said."

"Right." Devon slid from his stool and padded over, barefoot, to inspect the offered pencil. "Well... Do you feel sick?" he asked after a few moments. Ignacio shook his head. "At all?" Another shake to the negative. "Well... I guess you're okay, then. Still... Better try to stop that, okay?" The corner of his mouth quirked up in a faintly wry smile.

"I guess. I'll try." Ignacio laid down the pencil again and instead moved to prop his elbows on the table, chin cradled in his upraised hands. "Hey, Dad?" He took Devon's nod and retreat to the fridge as a sign to continue. "My nose is getting better. I can smell all kinds of stuff now. It's cool. Like a game, right? I bet I can tell what you're pouring." Devon obligingly shifted so his body stood more firmly between his son and the contents of the fridge. Ignacio half-closed his yes and sniffed deeply. A wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows and he scrunched his nose a bit. "Sweet," he muttered. Then he laughed. "Hey, Dad? When did we get grape juice? I thought we were out!"

Laughing, Devon turned and handed the glass to the boy. "That's pretty good. Maybe we should sell you to the circus."

"Hey, yeah!" Ignacio took the glass wrecklessly and half-bounced in his seat. "I coud be a lion-tamer, too."

The phone rang and Devon laughed, holding up a finger. "Hold that thought, kiddo. I've gotta get this... Hello? Yeah, it's Devon... What?" Ignacio watched with growing unease as his father went pale beneath his tan. "Tia Esme? This morning? I... Yeah. Yeah, we'll be right out... Tomorrow." Hanging up, Devon turned to look at Ignacio and the teenager grimaced and drew back a bit at the look of distress presented. That was not at all how his father was supposed to look! "Iggy, man, pack a bag. We've got to head home." He was already turning away and Ignacio gulped his juice before slipping from his chair and heading for his bag. "My great aunt's sick."

Oh, no. Not again. Ignacio fought the sinking in his stomach as he suddenly remembered the recent funeral. Surely sick didn't mean dying. It couldn't. He swallowed hard and quickly began packing. It was going to be okay.