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 Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:53 am
Jocelyn nearly tripped over the last step when the long pant leg of her pyjama's caught, and she made a small grunting noise. Shifting the Bible - good Lord was it a big volume! - she knelt and unwrapped the fabric from the banister. She tip-toed the rest of the way, one hand pressed against the wall to lead the way. Maybe it was the rat-nest of blonde hair that was gathered over her eyes, or maybe her mind was on something else, because the silver-tongued girl didn't notice Adghal's warning.
At first, anyway.
She ducked behind the doorway to the kitchen, Bible clutched to her chest, heart beating madly. Scared? Of course she was! Alive for almost three hours and she was already going head-to-head with a dangerous intruder! She really should tell that dog-eared woman to get better security. And she thought dogs had good hearing...
Taking a deep breath and gathering her nerves, Jocelyn rounded the corner sharply and lifted the book above her head.
"Stop right the -- YEE-UAAH!" she cried and ducked behind the island in the kitchen, apparently taking note of the man's wings, of his tail, and of the horns that stood prominent against the gloom of the unlit kitchen.
And yeah, there was that eye-glowy part.
"Our Father, who art in heaven," she uttered loudly, tone frightened - she figured if she recited a prayer from the book in her hands, the demon would decide to leave. She was innocent! She hadn't been around long enough to go to Hell!
This was why she hated the dark. She knew monsters were real!
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 5:49 pm
Adghal's fiery gaze fizzled as the sprite of a girl bounded forward with the Bible, only to collapse backward when she got a full glimpse of him. That, alone, fed his ego enough to hold back a reaction. He smirked faintly, and turned off the kitchen light, leaving him in the dark with her. As opposed to her fear, Adghal felt much more comfortable in the dark.
He could hear faint words, a prayer, and it tickled annoyingly at his skin like little pricks. "Stop that." He growled out softly, taking callous steps into the living room. He meant to leave her alone, satisfied with the fact that he had frightened her so, but he stopped in his tracks.
He could smell it. He could smell it.
A feral growl bubbled forth from his throat, followed by a dark chuckle. He hopped over the couch without much effort, landing with one foot on it's plush surface before his other foot dropped to the floor in front of it.
There..
He looked like a dog that had just caught scent of it's prey, searching diligently in every nook.. every cranny..
"The b***h hid them in the flower vase?!" He whispered raspily, as he swiped the black vase off of the coffee table and turned it around. All of the flowers within tumbled haphazardly to the floor, but he grinned when he the thunk of something heavy hitting the floor with it. That was most certainly not a flower.
He bent down and snatched the box of Oreos, before flopping on the couch and ripping into them. Halfway before jamming a cookie in his mouth, he snickered to himself.
"Nice try, mumsie." He devoured the Oreo, clearly pleased with his triumph.
The scent of the girl still hiding in the kitchen just barely caught his attention. "Hey." He called out in a voice just loud enough for her to hear. "You still in there?"
Stupid kids.
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:10 pm
Her voice wilted instantly, the open book dropping from her hands. Swallowing hard, Jocelyn pressed her back against one of the cabinets and groped for its handle. Slowly, as to not garner his attention, she cracked it open, slowing inching her backside up onto the bottom most shelf. She would hide. Yes! The perfect idea - he would never, ever dare find her in here!
Shoving boxes and cooking appliances out of the way, she settled her back against the space's interior, drawing her knees up to her chin. She allowed the door to fall shut, but again her pyjama bottom caught and as she tore it free, the cabinet shut with a clatter. She jumped at the noise and swallowed hastily, wiry arms hugging her knees.
He's gonna leave...I can hear him leavin' -- where's he off to?
The little blonde busied herself by reading the box's side panels, trying to keep her mind off the demon that prowled through the dog-eared woman's home. She didn't want to live here if this was a constant! Nightly visitors and intruders.
Hearing his voice, she stiffened and clenched her teeth, answering in a brittle voice, "No."
...Nice.
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:09 pm
What a racket. The girl had absolutely no stealth. He fished out another Oreo, splitting it in two and licking the insides with a silent satisfaction, but his tongue stopped when he heard the answer ''no''. He stopped for just a moment, before popping the Oreo half in his mouth and snickering as he chewed it.
"Oh. Okay. I guess you don''t want any cookies then. Since you''re not there."
Good thing too, because he wasn''t too keen on sharing. But now that he''d found them, he''d have to finish the entire bag off and hope that Sukkubus eventually forgot about them.
Hey, it could happen.
He popped another cookie in his mouth hurriedly as he tried to convince himself of the likelyhood of this occurring.
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:21 pm
Her lids fluttered in a rapid and quizzical blink. Cookie? Any fear she had felt was put on pause, and the little girl found herself leaning forward, one hand pressing against the cabinet door to push it open.
"What's that? A cookie, I mean."
Jocelyn slunk from her hiding place and onto the kitchen floor on all fours, kicking the door shut with her foot. She brushed her matted hair back with her forearm, plunking down onto her rear and tucking her small feet beneath her bottom. She tilted a bit to the side and stared into the living room, spotting the dark outline of Adghal amongst the gloom. Somehow, he wasn't as intimidating as before.
She didn't know about how children were often lured from safety by use of sweets. She hadn't been taught that yet, so it was only natural for her to become curious over this 'cookie' thing. If Sukku were awake, she would have warned the girl to stay as far away as possible from the demon.
Actually, if Sukku were awake, she would have strangled Adghal, skinned his corpse, and would have proceeded to stretch and dry his pelt and hang it over her door.
She cared that much about her oreos. After all, they weren't Gaia's favorite cookie for nothing.
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:29 pm
Why were kids such suckers for sweets?
Ah, who was he to talk.
"Yeah. Cookies. Here." He took one out of the box and flipped it in her direction, not really caring if it fell to the floor before she caught it or not. An Oreo was just as good on the floor as it was in the box, damnit.
He watched her quizzically as she snuck back out, curiosity overriding her more sensible instinct to hide from him. Had he not found the Oreos, she would have been better off hidden. As it were, he was sedated by their soothing presence.
"Who are you? Are you one of the kids' friends?" He didn't remember hearing about any sleepover, though he really wasn't paying attention. In fact, he had spent the better part of the day up in the attic with Tomoyo, making up for lost time aftering being away the better part of the week, to tend for his sick sister, now virtually abandoned by their mother.
The girl didn't feel like a Tahnee either, so it was doubtful that she was one of Nat or Ruka's friends.. she didn't even really seem the right age.
Child age burglar? Nah. Some lost kid Sukku had picked up off the streets? Psht, the woman wasn't nice enough.
He doubted that thought the moment it left his cynical mind.
"Come on, sit down. I won't bite, unless you give me a reason to."
Well, at least he was honest.
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:58 pm
"Huh?"
Jocelyn's eyes caught the movement of what looked to be two disks firmly placed together. She watched it make its ascent into the air, flipping several times like a coin, before making its untimely descent - and demise - to the floor. The side of the cookie crumbled upon impact, but refused to fall off of its primary source; blame the cream.
The girl just sat there, staring at the still-good remains.
Like a little animal new to the world, she reached forward with a finger and poked the item; noting that it wasn't alive, she picked it up and made a face as crumbs tickled her palms before falling to the tiled floor. She placed it flat upon her palm and traced the 'Oreo' insignia - or what was left of it - upon the cookie's surface. Even from where she held it, she could smell it. And from where it lay...
...It smelled good. Not like nature, or like newly fallen rain, but different. Like...like...
Jocelyn's stomach grumbled noisily.
That's it. She might as well! Lifting the oreo, Jocelyn popped half of it into her mouth and bit down. Her mouth instantly salivated at the potent taste (for she had never eaten anything before and anything was strong upon her young tongue) and chewed; crumbs clung to her lips as she crammed the rest of the substance into her mouth.
She certainly hoped they were edible. And if they weren't, it was a damn tasty way to die!
Looking upwards at the sound of his voice, Joce climbed to her feet and made her way into the living room, licking the remnants of the chocolate cookie from her gums. Her bright green eyes flashed almost eerily in the dark as she rounded the couch, slowly sitting on the edge and watching the demon like a wary cat. Her lips puckered into a pout, pale brows needling.
"Kids? What kids?" she asked, genuine curiosity layered in suspicion. Who was he talking about? "Are you one of them? Who are you? Does Sukkubus know you? What about Ritsu?"
Six out of twenty questions - and she wasn't even aware she had started playing.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:00 pm
Why hadn't he learned his lesson? Once you got a kid talking, they would never shut up with the questions. He sighed, and popped another Oreo into his mouth, before flipping her a second one. It wasn't as if he would be enjoying them in silence anymore, this he was sure.
"Do I look like a kid, kid? I'm Adghal, Tomoyo's husband. Tomoyo's one of Sukku's kids."
If she wasn't here with the rest of the kids, then she was just.. new. Great, that was all this place needed. At least she wasn't too small, like some of the little hellions that ran about chittering happily like cherubs.
Well, some of them were cherubs, so he couldn't blame them..
..Wait. Yes he could.
"I guess you'll meet more of them tomorrow. But if you're smart, you'll listen to anything I've got to say. That's the only way to get ahead in this house."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:02 pm
"Kid? That Sukkubus lady kept calling me that. I thought my name was Jocelyn, not Kid. But hey, I dunno much of anything, it appears...and what's a husband? And who's he? Tomoyo, I mean." Jocelyn spoke in a tone that seemed to dwindle towards the end, having no idea what the winged man was talking about. She fingered the oreo before bringing it to her lips and biting into it noisily. Between her chews, she managed to ask:
"Is a child the same thing as a 'kid'?" Joce began to process the little information she'd been given, putting two and two together. Her thoughts trailed back to the man who had brought her here to the first place, and the memory made her brows beetle.
Cramming the rest of the chocolate cookie into her mouth with little or no manners, she proceeded to brush her hands off on her pants and fix Adghal with an unblinking stare. She seemed to sit like that for a while, chewing and staring at the demon with eyes half-mast and narrowed sharply. Her nose curled, the faintest indication that she was scrutinizing him. And thoroughly at that.
"Why do I gotta listen to you?" she suddenly piped up, the corner of her lip going up unknowingly. She'd no idea the emotion boiling over her was called haughtiness, and blatant haughtiness at that. "I'm sure I can 'get ahead' without you."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:52 pm
Adghal groaned at all of the questions being flung at him. The only question he felt like answering was the one to correct her of her terrible misjudgement.
"Tomoyo is not a he, she is a very beautiful she, and she is my wife. That's why I'm her husband. You know.. we're married. Just.. stop asking me so many questions." He had a feeling by the way she was looking at him that she would continue with her barrage, and briefly wondered if Damien would be this curious about things as he grew up.
Hopefully not at 3AM, and not at Oreo time, at least.
"Yes, a child is a kid is you." And as if on cue, the only child he truly cared about began to cry softly in his bed. Damien hadn't been taking well to his new bed, so used to a crib despite having eaten through the bars many a time. But now the boy was much more than a toddler, he was walking and starting to talk, and they all decided that it was time for him to move on.
Except him of course.
Damien's cries were soft still, but Adghal was attuned to them, and heard them now before they started to get loud and insistent. He put the Oreos down next to Joce, and gave her a dangerous glare, warning her before heading up the stairs to fetch Damien.
"Watch these for me why I go snatch my kid. They better mostly still be here when I get back."
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:38 pm
"Oh..." she mumbled, a bit off-put by her mistake. Well, it wasn't as if she knew, she argued to herself, so it wasn't her fault. Nothing was. With this on her mind, she folded her arms in the most obstinate manner and threw herself back against the plush cushions of the couch she was seated upon, staring up at Adghal through her pale lashes.
Kid? What was he talking about? Her round face scrunched slightly, brows beetling over her green eyes. Were all kids like her, she wondered - or was there a distinction between all of them? Like adults and children - and did being a husband put you in a completely different class? Or a wife? And how did the winged man have a kid...did he buy it?
All this she wondered while clutching the package of Oreos, being lulled into a dim-witted state by the delicious smell. Sitting up straight and turning to look over the couch, she murmured a soft noise of triumph and plunged her hands into the bag, scooping out about four cookies and cramming them into the pocket of her pyjama top.
Hey, there was still more than half a bag left, right? It's not like anyone would know...
And so Joce waited, hugging the bag with eyes half-mast.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 10:06 pm
The faint sounds of crying soon stopped as Adghal scooped his son out from the bed, and carried him back downstairs with him. Damien was growing at an alarming rate, and the boy looked as though he would become a threat to his father soon enough. For now, however, he still retained the cuteness of youth.
Especially in Spiderman pajamas.
Adghal flopped back down onto the couch and eyed the Oreos, accepting them to look relatively still full and letting that slide for now. "Why are you fussing, Damien? Is it because you smelled new pr-.. comers?" He knew how touchy the mortals were about being called prey, so he held his tongue for the girl, though just barely.
Damien turned to stare at the girl, sniffing the air softly. His father was probably right in his assumption, as the boy looked at Joce with the kind of gaze that either meant he wanted to crawl into her lap and get to know her better.. or eat her bowels.
It was so hard to distinguish these things with children sometimes.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 11:16 pm
She had been nodding off when he had returned, chin resting on her chest, mouth slack and open. No doubt she would have drooled on herself were he a milisecond late. Joce snapped her head upwards when she felt the couch shift eversoslighty under the others weight, and she blinked hard in attempts to focus.
"Prcomers?" was the first thing out of her mouth. Not a welcome back, or a 'hey, cute kid'. A question. Another damned question.
She drew her feet onto the couch and sat Indian style before Adghal and the toddler, her eyes becoming analytical, though this time of Damien. They traced over his horns, his discolored hair, the veined wings upon his back, and his stubby little tail...and she felt the queerest emotion build up within her chest. She didn't know any better, so she assumed that it was the cookies that made her want to expel a soft breath at the little child.
Which would not doubt come out as a coo. This, of course, she didn't know.
"Damien..." she mumbled, staring at the child through her weave of bangs. Her lips puckered slightly, elbows resting on her knees and hands cupping her face as she leaned forward; her eyes lifted to Adghal.
"So...he's your kid?" She really wanted to ask what his function was, but kept her questions to herself.
For now, anyway.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 11:40 pm
"Newcomers. I meant newcomers. Shut up kid." Adghal tried to brush off his mistake as brusquely as possible, and moved on quickly.
"Yeah, this is Damien. He's my son. And he should be asleep."
As if to feign sarcasm, the little boy suddenly fell limp in his father's arms, and acted like he was asleep - or dead. He opened one eye to look up and check if his ruse had worked, but Adghal just glared with a narrowed gaze at his son, who quickly shut his eye again.
"You probably should be too, you know." Adghal snatched the cookies away from Joce, and eyed her pockets briefly, before letting it slide. "You probably need your sleep or something."
Ever since Adghal had become a father, he'd been just a little more.. parental around the kids. No, he didn't care about them really. No, he didn't want to spend time with them or give them things. He just.. worried about them a little more sometimes. He watched after them when they ran too fast, or anywhere near his son.
He was a father. It was instinct. There was nothing to be done about it now.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:35 am
Jocelyn frowned a bit and blatantly yawned after he spoke.
She found she rather enjoyed watching the little boy who seemed quite devious in her eyes. She wanted to reach out and touch one of his fluffy locks of hair, but refrained from doing anything more than shifting in her seat. She didn't even protest when he took the cookies away; she had a small horde of them in her pocket anyway.
She yawned again.
"What about you? Shouldn't you be sleeping too? 'Stead of creepin' about for those things?" She waved a hand, indicating the Oreos he held. She began to lean heavily into one hand, the other tucking into her lap. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but they kept dodging her every time she reached out to grab one. Her head began to nod forward, eyes falling nearly shut.
She really should have been in bed.
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