~Sin'aeis~ Diary of Dante and Kellen Arrikanez

[Juridian Soul]

Dear Journal,

It's been a month now, since I lost him. It still hurts to think about him. Dante doesn't know what happened. He won't know until he's older. Plenty of pity from all around. Dad's come back into town, and he's staying for a while until he feels I'm ok to leave alone with Steele. Speaking Steele, he's been doing a good job taking care of Dante, he really has. I still feel like.. well... like my world has ended. I don't think that feeling is ever going to go away. I'll just have to keep myself busy, I suppose. Writing in a journal everyday is one way to do it, and I'll try and keep up, at least a little. I've never been too good at writing. That was always HIS thing. But I'll try.

- Kel  

[AmberLepu]

Quote:

To the healing pages of a dusted off journal,

The date of a months' depart of a dearly beloved friend has come and gone all too quickly. Yet, hopefully it is a month of pain passed away, all in the same terms. Yes - this is Steele again. I have had little time to write to you, but much has gone on in our household since last I did. Dante continues to grow a little more each day. Kellen has still not returned to his full post, but the child seems a little better than when his father completely ignored his pleas. Now, on occasion, he and Kellen will keep company with one another. This is a sign of healing. Still, doing my heart good to see them together. Another recent sign, had been his voulentarry writing! I cannot express how joyous it was for me to snatch a glance at Kellen as he took up pen and placed it to your theraputic page.

I think that the scars must still be fresh and very deep, but time, as always, shall heal these wounds. You and I know this. But, I wonder if Kellen knows that the heartache will one day go away...or at least fade. No one can forget Falcon, nor do they want to! Nor will the pain completely be gone from us as we remember how much we treasured his company. Still, this pain is of a good sort...the sort that reminds us that we're but humans, who feel and mourn even after years have passed. The tears may dry, but I don't think it shall ever be gone from us, as will the joy we have go from us - pain and pleasure sharing the same length.

But I ramble...How I ramble!

More about Dante. Dante has been developping his speech at greater lengths now! I feel as though if I turn my eyes off the child, he'll just suddenly grow up over night on me! I do hope to see him flourish someday, but I certainly can't complain of the lack of love that child gives. Poor child...he gives us so much, and still we cannot give him the answers he needs. Those will come in time...

But now it is time for a bedtime story and a kiss goodnight. I go off to my duties, leaving you to muse over what you will.

Goodnight, Fair Tome, and may we meet again soon.

~ Steele

 

[Juridian Soul]

Dear Journal,

More and more time goes by, and I find it hurting less and less when I think about him. Steele says that it's the first step to healing, and that it's a good thing. But I don't know. I don't ever want to completely forget about him...

Anyway - Took Dante from Steele's care for a few days to let him get some rest in the form of a small vacation. Took the catfish out for dinner at one of those kid-oriented places, and tried to give him a good time. I don't know what it is about Dante, but whenever I'm with the kid, I just seem to lighten up, and loosen up. Hell, I even feel like writing in this thing. And that's something I stopped doing when Falcon....
But yes. He had a grand time, and I took him swimming afterwards. He still loves the water more than any kid really should - and I suppose that has a lt to do with that tail of his. I've found a spell that will let him gain legs for a few hours at a time, but I'm not going to try it on him until he's a little older. I don't know if I ever will. But if he starts wishing he HAD legs, I might give it a shot. For now, he seems perfectly happy to be swimming around in the air. Energetic as always, and quickly learning more and more words to speak. He learned 'Uncle Steele' the other day, though he says it more like 'Una seel'. I started teasing my brother about that.
Dante seems to have found a fascination with seabound wildlife. Especially orcas and dolphins. He's interested in seals and sealions too. But especially dolphins, and their lives. Why? I took him to the Aquarium just a few days ago, along with Steele, and the animals just seemed to grab Dante's attention. I could almost swear they were talking to him, but that's just my overactive imagination. It was hard to pull him away from the glass. Very hard. I, myself, have a fondness for dolphins - even if I don't particularly like water. Two things gathered in the same incident - which I won't touch on right now.

- Kel  

[Juridian Soul]

Dear Journal,

Another long, hard day at work, resulting in another 'crash and burn' session when I got home. Falcon would have derided me for coming home as late as I did. But I didn't care at that moment, and just flopped into bed. I missed my doctor's appointment - slept through it. I got a call from him this evening, asking why I didn't show, and I explained it the best I could. We rescheduled for later.

Dante's been swimming around the house all day with nothing to do. I'm half thinking about getting him a pet or something when he's older. Because heavens know I won't be there all the time - though I certainly will try my best TO be.
I can't say enough how wonderful it is to see him swimming around and having fun. It's almost like watching mysef at that age, and that gives me a bit of peace. Steele returned yesterday for something he forgot, and decided to skip the vacation and stay. In a way, I'm glad.
He was cooing and playing with Dante last night while I rested. Gods bless the man.

- Kel  

[AmberLepu]

Quote:

Dear record,

How are you? I am well - and have come to settle again in the company of my family. I'm a bit peeved at Kellen right now though...He missed his doctors appointment! Can you believe it? I swear that if I didn't hold his hand, he'd leave it off half way between next to nowhere. Luckily, I got him to go to his new appointment, while I stayed home with Dante.

Ah how the tike is trouble! Good trouble, with the capital 'T' of Terrificness. He's become jovial as of late. Kellen and I have been doing our best to keep him entertained, but I must pride myself in his behaviour - every time I see him go out of his way to keep himself smiling through it. I love that child...gods I do...

Besides that, in a nutshell, I'm feeling a bit lethargic. I feel as though I might be comming down with something. Probably nothing at all that can't be fixed with sleep... Hopefully, I'll feel better on the marrow! But for now, my tum aches and my head is swimming in halflings of unformed dreams. I'm off to tuck Dante in, and get myself in to bed as well.

Good night, Good night, a thousand times Goodnight

Signed,
Steele

 

[Juridian Soul]

Something Gained...

Not for the first time did the infant find himself wondering what happened to DaddyF. He still didn't have that great of a grasp on the concepts of everyday life, but he was getting there. He knew who people were now, and was intelligent enough to understand most of what was said to him. But there was something in his remaning father's eyes - a look that he didn't like. He watched, waited, listened, and tried to understand what that look was about - why DaddyK never laughed anymore, or took him anywhere fun. Why it was always uncle Steele who did the fun stuff. He vowed one morning to find out.

~ ~ ~

Early the next morning, when Kellen went to check on his son, he found him gone. Fears of what could have happened to the baby started swirling around in his brain. So much so, that it made him very, very dizzy. Actually, that was probably another cause. Regardless, he went about searching for Dante, trying to figure out where he could have gone to. He finally found him in the room where the swimming pool had been, trying to open the lock on the doors to outside.
Scooping him up, Kellen took him back to his crib, and this time put the 'lid' on it, so that he could not swim out. After that, he retired to bed once more, as he wasn't feeling well at all. He knew his father was supposedly coming to visit today, and he should be ready, but all he felt like doing was lying as still as possible in his mercifully warm bed, under a pile of blankets. Steele was gone, so he didn't have to deal with his brother's nagging, and could probably get a decent amount of sleep in before he had to wake up that evening to greet his dad.
However, when Dragon walked into the door that evening, Kellen was still sound asleep. Dante had long since pushed off the lid on his crib, and swam over to Dragon the moment he entered the door. The baby tugged relentlessly at his sleeve, and kept swimming over to the room Kellen was sleeping in, almost like a dog wanting someone to follow him. So follow Dragon did. And he almost dropped his entire suitcase.
Kellen was still asleep, but he looked horrible. His skin was pale as if he were already a corpse, and cold sweat covered his entire body. Every now and then, tremors would run through his limbs, prelude to a seizure in the near future. Dante curled up beside his sick father, and Dragon followed, kneeling beside his son. He had his pack with him, so examination wasn't a problem. What he found during said action was the problem. Kellen was in a coma. A deep one. In no pain, but not willing, or not able, to wake up. What's more, the doctor had never seen anything like this before. Not with such persistant symptoms, resisting even the medication injected directly into Kellen's bloodstream.

~ ~ ~

Dante watched grandpa work on DaddyK, and made a worried little whimpery sound. Something was wrong with his daddy, and he didn't know what. He curled closer, but then flinched away. His daddy was really, really hot! That couldn't be good. Did that mean he was going to catch on fire? DaddyF used to say that people could burst into flames if their temperatures got too high. Dante had no idea what exactly a 'temperature' was, but if it was heat, then.... DaddyK was going to burst into flame!
The baby swam off quickly, and made his way to the outside playpen to sit and think. He didn't have to wait very long for something to happen. He saw a glinting shiny at the bottom of the small pond near where he was sitting. With no further hesitation, he dove down, and scooped it up, taking it to the surface, and looking at it in the moonlight.

It was a shiny! A really pretty shiny, all gold and blue and stuff. He didn't know exactly what it WAS, but it was pretty! Maybe the pretty could help DaddyK! He started back inside, but was stopped in his [fin]tracks by a very... tall... lady. He looked up. There was a person there! In mid-air, and she was very pretty, like the thing he'd picked up. She smiled, and flipped her tail - a tail almost like his!
Reaching down, the woman picked Dante up, and cradled him softly.

~Aaah... little Lostling Fish. What are you doing with my comb? Oh? You need it to help your daddy? How sweet.... but, little fish, my comb will not grant wishes. It is magic, but that is not the kind of magic it performs.~

Dante's ears flattened. It was magic, and it couldn't help his daddy? That had to mean that what was wrong with his daddy was really, really bad. Really bad. So bad that not even MAGIC could help. He looked up at the woman, and she looked down at him, her long blue hair waving in a non-existant wind.

~You really want to help your dad, don't you, little fish? You are very devoted... Perhaps there IS something I can do for you.~

Dante's ears perked this time, and he looked up at her. She snapped, and two brightly colored fish swam up to her, tailfins waving back and forth in anticipation. Dante reached out for his pack while still in the woman's arms, but was still held firm.

~You two will escort this Little Fish to the Sands. Then, you must let him choose four of the Crystals of Knowledge. Keep him safe.~

The fish seemed to understand, and the woman released Dante. Motioning for him to follow the fish. First, he went to get the pack his fathers had made him, snatching it as well as he could from the hook it had been place on. Then, he followed the two fish, swimming far past the boundries that Falcon had set, and into the wide open sea, eyes on his escorts, never once faltering in his path. If it would help DaddyK, he'd do anything.

~ ~ ~

After what seemed like hours [and may very well HAVE been hours], Dante and his two fishy companions arrived in a cave just past the very place where Dante had originally met the dolphins on his first adventure out into the sea. It seemed, as long as he was with his fish-friends, he could breathe underwater, so he stayed with them, and went where they did. At the bottom of the cave was what appeared to be a mirror. All around, on the walls and ceiling of the cave, were crystals and gemstones of every shape, size, color, and luster. It would be heaven to a jewel thief.
Dante somehow knew that he was only supposed to choose four of these gems, as the woman had said. So he swam around, taking in all the colors and shapes, trying to decide on something.
He was drawn to a small white gemstone lodged in-between a stalagtite, and the back wall. He jerked at it hard with both of his little hands, and it came free.

It shone with a brillance usually reserved for diamonds. Dante giggled in glee, and held the gemstone carefully, looking about for another to catch his eye.
Buried deep in the sand on the side of the cave floor was something black and glinting. A black jewel that shone with an intense internal light, somehow sinister and beautiful at the same time.

Almost as soon as Dante picked it up, he knew he had to keep this one. So he put it with the white one, and searched for more.
The next gem he found was a small, pink, cracked one that was discarded, and lying on top of the mirror-like floor. He kind of felt sorry for the thing, even though it was a rock. It was beautiful and sad at the same time, glowing a soft white, the facets twinkling.

He pocketed that one too.
It took him quite a while to find the last gem that he would take with him. It was buried, like the black one, but so deep that he had to really dig to free it. It was larger than the others, and less shiny. It had more of a dull surface, and gleamed softly with a darkish light that both scared and thrilled Dante at once.

He pocketed that one as well, and swam for the exit of the cave, where his guides had been waiting. He stopped the moment he exited the cave mouth. Suddenly, he KNEW things that he never knew before. He KNEW why DaddyF was never coming back. He KNEW what that look was in DaddyK's eyes. And he knew what was wrong with him.
Quickly, and without knowing quite why, Dante changed his course, and headed deeper into the sea, looking for a plant. A plant with black leaves, and red stripes. He knew somehow that it only grew in deep water.
He found what he was looking for, and started to tear leaves off of it, putting THOSE in his sack too.

Without a moment of indecison, he headed for the shore, his fish friends having to swim hard to keep up with him. He emerged, and shook off vigorously, headed for the house at a beeline, not quite sure HOW he knew where he was going, just sure of the fact that he did. He reached Falcon's old room, and found his pack, pulling it off the desk it was on, and opening it, practically crawling inside to pull out what he needed. He found the roots of a large plant that he had seen Falcon harvesting.

He also found a nice, fluffy leaf that he remembered DaddyF teasing DaddyK about one morning near the shoreline.

He then took out a back with a lot of leaves and roots in it, and shoved that into his pack as well.

All of these, he immediately rushed to the room where Dragon was still bent over Kellen.

"THERE you are, little troublemaker. I was about to go looking for you. Wait.... what is that you have there?"

Dante held out the herbs with an insistance which made him look ever the more adorable. It was then that Dragon realized that Dante had gathered the RIGHT herbs to combat the illness Kellen was fighting. His eyes went wide as saucepans.

"Where did you get these things, little one? And how did you know what to bring?"

He took the herbs without another word, and took what he needed, leaving the rest in Dante's pack. He worked quickly, and soon had a tea boiling that would, once cool, ease Kellen's fever, and diminish the other symptoms as effectively as if he had used modern medicine.
It was about then that he noticed that Dante had fallen asleep. He had, for some reason a strange comb beside his outstretched hand. A jeweled affair, set with sapphires, and gilded. He wondered where the child had got this, but didn't wake him. Instead, he scooped him up, and put him back in his crib and putting the comb on the nightstand beside.
He did not empty the sack to see what lay within. He'd do that tommorow.

~ ~ ~

Dante fell asleep easily that night. For some reason, he swore he heard the voice of that nice woman, and could feel her arms around him, and hear her voice singing something that he supposed was a lullaby. He couldn't make out the words. In the moonlight, the comb glowed for a brief moment, then was simply a comb again. The four gems that he had gathered brightened for a few moments, then were still. Dante dreamed of things he had never seen, and imagined that he was racing along the bottom of the ocean, hair flowing free in the water, and laughter upon his lips.
Somewhere out in the ocean, there was female giggling, and the splash of a tail slapping the water as something dived under once more...

The Next Day - [This is a shop-rp, and may jump]

Dante flitted about nervously in front of Sin 'Headquarters', tail swishing, moving back and forth in something of a pacing motion. He seemed like he was waiting for something, but no one was there. Not Kellen, and not Steele. He'd come here by himself then. But for what purpose?

Ancelin walked along the sidewalk towards the Sin'aeis mansion. It was a amazing how this place was on the way to so many stores. She was still upset about the incident with Jani, and had been down in the dumps for the past week or so. And what made Ancelin happy? (besides cleaning) Fish! That's right. Fish made Ancelin happy, and she was on her way to go get a couple more to put in one of her tanks to care for.

But before she could get there, this trip would be interupted.
"Dante?" She called out and blinked. She walked over to the small fish boy and looked around, he had no gaurdian with him?
"Dante, what are you doing here all by yourself? It's not safe."

The Catfish swum right over, and clung to Ancelin's arm tightly, flicking his tail back and forth. "Wan fis'." He stated plainly. When he had come to realize that his fishy friends who helped him were no longer with him, he started to want to see them again. Maybe An' knew the place they went? "Wan FIS!" he said again, and tugged at her shirt, more insistantly. "Wan fis'."

"Wan fis, huh?" Ancelin said as she pulled the boy from his arm to her chest, and cradeled him gently.
"I don't know about fis. But you can come with me to the pet shop, since nobody seems to be watching you? I was going to go buy a few fish for my tank at home." she explained to the small child as if he'd comprehend it perfectly. She wasn't about to leave him all alone where he could get hurt.

His head tilted a bit, and his tail waved. "Fis!" he said again, more insistantly. "Where fis?" he asked, trying another tactic. "Fisssss." He pleaded, and tugged on her shirt. Well, he DID want to follow her. "Pet 'tor?" he asked, and tilted his head even farther, like a confused puppy. "Dante come."

Ancelin took one last look around to make sure no adults where around. She didn't want to take him if somebody was in fact watching him. But it seemed he truely was all by himself.
"Alright. Let's go together then." She said with a nod, as she began down the sidewalk with the boy in arms.

It didn't take but fifteen minutes by foot for the pheasant girl to get to the pet store she was seeking. It looked small from the outside, but inside it was alot bigger.
"They've got a great aquatics deparment here." She explained to the child, before she walked inside, and headed right for the back of the store where they kept the aquariums.

"Fiiiiiis?" He asked, and grinned lightly, tail swishing back and forth. He clung more tightly to Ancelin, and pointed to a clownfish, and giggled. "Fis! FIS!" he started bouncing in her arms. "FisFisFiiiiiiis. Wan fis."

Ancelin smirked and bounced Dante a bit in her arms as she went over to the clown fish tank, and looked down at the boy.
"You like those Dante? I've got a few at home myself, they can be pretty fun pets if you take care of them right." She was reffering to the properly salted tank with two or three enenimies of coarse. Clown fish werent like gold fish, ya know.

He nodded vigorously, and wriggled from An's arms, looking at the tank with his face pressed up against it. "FisFis. Dante have fis? Dante wan fis." Curse his lack of a vocabulary! Was this one of the fish that had helped him? It looked like it. All orangey and black and white. The other one had been wierd... His eyes caught the angelfish. He squealed in delight. That was the other. "Fiiiiiiiis!"

Ancelin let the boy gaze at the fish long enough for her to gauge the rest of the store, she instantly saw what she wanted. A tigerfish. She looked over her shoulder at a man behind the counter who was reading magozines. He knew An of coarse, with how much she came here.
"Yo, Andy." she called out, and his head instantly perked up.

"Anny!" He said with a wide smile as he walked out from behind the counter, instinctivly grabbing a bag or two, and scoopers.
"What can I get for ya?" He asked, An looked to Dante and smiled.
"I'd like two tigerfish. And then two of these clownfish. It seems my little friend here likes them." she said, before looking to Dante.
"Pick out two of the fishes you want Dante. I'll get them for you, as a present."

Dante's eyes went wide with glee, and he grinned, pointing to a clownfish, and then to the angelfish tank. He giggled, and hid behind Ancelin's leg after he'd done so, a bit shy around the man named 'Andy'. He peeked out around the leg a bit, watching the man. "Dante get fis?" he asked quietly, looking up at the older Sin.

"Those are the ones he wants," An said to Andy with a smile, and he nodded.
"Righto, two fish for the little guy." He said as he went over and opened the bag. As Andy put the fish into the bag, Ancelin went over and got some sea salts and a couple other tools off a shelf and put them on the counter. Dante would need them.

"Hey Anny, you gonna be busy this thursday?" Andy asked as he tied the bag shut with the clown and angel fish inside. He the winked at Dante.
"No, why?" An asked as she took the bag from the young man, and then pointed out the two fish she wanted.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go out to a movie or something?" he asked as he got the other fish, to which Ancelin blushed.
"Um.. Yeah.. Sure, I'd love to." An said, pink in the face. Why did he have to ask in front of little Dante?

Dante had NO idea why An' had suddenly turned red. Maybe she was sick? He swam up to her head, and put his hand against it, like his daddy did for HIM when HE was sick. He had no idea what he was doing, but it felt important. "Anc'lin sick?" he asked, concerned, tail swishing this way and that. "Anc'lin turn all red."

Ancelin's face grew even redder at Dante's question. But that was alright, Andy's face was turning pink aswell. He got out the two tigerfish An wanted and tied them in their bag, before he walked back over to the counter.
"Uh.. No Dante, I'm fine. Don't worry." An said as she tried to think the blushing away. She went over to the counter and set down the bag with Dante's fish inside them, before she set a large bowl on the counter aswell.

"This'll be everything, Andy." She said as she held out two twenty dollar bills to pay for everything. Andy smiled as he rung the items up and gave An her change, and put the non-living items in their own bag.
"Alright.. I'll pick you up at 8, okay?" He asked, he didn't know An's cerfew.
"That's great! Um.. I mean, yeah. I'll be ready for ya." she said with a nod, before she picked up the blastic bag and hung it on her arm. She then held the two fish bags in her hands.
"Come on Dante. I'll walk you home and help you set up your fish." She said, before quickly scurrying towards the front door, pink faced agian.

"Fis! Set up?" he asked, clinging to Ancelin's leg again. He wanted to go home now, now that he had his fish. Pretty fish. The fish that helped him! He wanted to be friends with these fish. He clung tighter to Ancelin's leg. "No drop fis." he said in a semi-serious voice, eyes so intense it was funny. "Dada said no drop fis."

With the assistance of Dante pointing the way, Ancelin took the boy and his new pets home. She walked up the sidewalk and looked down at the baby, before making a puzzled frown.
"I'm assuming you don't have a key." She said, before she reached up with a free finger and rung the doorbell. She'd have to be let in, her hands were full.

Kellen answered the door. He looked like hell. Worn, tired, eyes sunken in his head, skin pale as a sheet. There was even some cold sweat standing out on his forehead. "Ancelin? Dante, THERE you are. Thank you for finding him."

Dante gave a soft whimper, and swam up to his dad, repeating the motion he'd used with Ancelin. Daddy felt really hot! He tugged at Ancelin's shirt again, and swam back over to his father. He was worried! Maybe the fish would help?

Ancelin frowned when she got sight of Dante's father, he didn't look good. He didn't look good at all.
"You're welcome. I found him at the mansion and took him shopping with me.. I hope it's alright, I bought him some fish, and the supplies to care for them. I figured I would take Dante home and set them up aswell." She explained, she left off her second thought.
'Maybe I should call Shi-shi and have her give this guy a look over. He looks like death.'

"Are you feeling alright, Dr. Arrikanez?" she remembered his name from when he treated her as a toddler.

Kellen gave a soft, sad chuckle, and shrugged, taking Dante into his arms, and looking down at the ground. "Who knows.... " he murmured, and turned to walk back into the house. "Come on inside. And please... drop the formalities. Just call me Kellen." He paused, and glanced around at the dining room, sighed, shook his head, and started upstairs. "Dante's room is up here. I'll let you be the judge of where to set the tank up."

Ancelin followed Kellen and Dante up the stairs, carrying the bags as she did so. The fish where swimming about without a care in the world, well, besides the fact they where in small plastic bags.
"Right, I'm sorry." She said, as they reached the top of the stares. She couldn't help but notice this guy looked practically MISIRABLE.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Kellen sighed, and put Dante down. "Watch him for me, will you? I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back." Once again, he didn't exactly answer the question, merely wandered off towards another hall. He looked dead on his feet. Perhaps sick - PROBABLY sick. And if he was sick, it was endangering Dante. Most likely why he left.

Ancelin's frown furrowed deeper on her face as Kellen walked away. He wasn't alright. She sighed, and then took Dante into his room and sat him down. She sat the two bags of fish and then the bag with the supplies on a table where they couldn't roll away, before she began exsaminaning the room for the proper location.

"Anywhere in particular you wanted your fish, Dante?" She asked. She then got out the rather large fish bowl and took the cardboard off of it. She'd need some bottled water for it soon.

He shook his head, and flicked his tail a bit. Slowly, he approached the fish bowl, and peered into it, eyes wide. He then looked back over at the captive fish in their bags, and stared at them, giggling. "Fis have googly eye!" he laughed, and swam back over to the bowl.

Ancelin chuckled a bit at Dante's statement as she cleared a space on a table and got the bag with Dante's fish. With a little snip in the plastic the water and the fish poured into the bowl.
"Yup, they have big oogly eyes. And they make bubbles. Like 'blope blope blope'" Ancelin teased. She then set the other supplies in front of the table.

"I'm going to have to tell Kellen how to properly salt their water. They really should be in a larger tank. But I'm sure you can get that later." she said, before she picked up Dante, letting him see the fish in their bowl.

Dante flicked his tail wildly in excitement. Fish! HIS fishyfish. Fishfish. Friends! He grinned, and looked over at Ancelin "Fis frien'?" he asked, and pointed to to the bowl, and the fish therein. "Fis frien' to Dante?"

Dante and Ancelin spent the better part of three hours setting up the tank, and getting everything ready for his new fishy friends. As a small token of appreciation to the fish, he dropped a few of his father's marbles into the tank to make it all shiny and pretty, and not just plain old rocks. He enjoyed watching the fish swim back and forth, and it was just possible that they enjoyed watching him. He thought they looked funny with the googly eyes they had, and laughed a bit at the way their faces looked. He even tried to mimic the expression a bit, by puckering up his lips, and making blub-blub sounds. He did this in front of the fish to see if they would blub back. IF fish had expressions, the two in the tank would surely look as though they were thinking 'This guy is nuts'.
Later that evening, Kellen emerged from the depths of his bedroom to carry Dante to bed, and tuck him in. He noticed that the fish had been completely set up, and made a mental note to thank Ancelin for it when he was feeling a bit better. Something was weighing heavily on his mind besides Falcon's death, and it was more than apparent that he seriously needed help. Dante, in his own way, tried to help his father by being as good a little boy as possible. Even if that DID require getting up out of bed that night to go check on Kellen, and wake Steele up. When he finally DID fall asleep, he was one tired Catfish. With his new fishy friends, and a grand adventure under his belt, he fell asleep - vaguely wondering whether or not he'd ever see that fish-lady again... maybe it had just been a dream...  

[Juridian Soul]

Dear Journal,

Never in my life have I seen a toddler as ODD as my little one is! And I'm not saying just appearance [although the way he looks DOES give one pause]. I have never before seen a toddler... so obsessed with anime! I bought some obscure anime title... what was it... Kyou Kara Maou or something of the sort. He lapped it up! I mean, I have only once seen Dante sit so quietly in front of something, and it wasn't the TV. But other than that, he's really come along in leaps and bounds! He can fully speak now - including words that I'd rather he not use. I wonder where he picked THOSE up? But he knows my name, and Steele's, though he still can't write. I'll be trying to teach him that later.
They finally read Falcon's will. Apparently, he left everything to me, and to Steele. I am a great deal richer in material worth, but that will never serve to ease the pain of his death. I invested most of the money into a savings fund for Dante, and the some of it I spent getting a special room put in for my cat-fish son. It's not done yet, so I can't show it to him just now. But it should be finished quite soon!

- Kel  

[AmberLepu]

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Dear compilation of pages,

It's a miracle! As you can tell, Kellen has been feeling much, much better! And I'm so glad for it. Ah the wonders of living again and loving a catfish! Oh what a catfish!

Dante has grown so BIG! He's become so CUTE! Kellen thinks so as well, and now bestows upon his only son a lavish amount of attention and affection. He's even gone so far as to tote the tot around with him, teaching him random this and that. Not that I can claim innocence, although I'm afraid I'm guilty of some of his...harsher...language.

Never let an infant hear you stub your little toe - I swore like a sailor.

Annnnyways...I'll work on teaching him better language later on. Until than, we've been making plans to begin teaching him greater strains of basic human reasoning, aka - how to count and identify things. I suggested we teach him sign language and the presidents - but Kellen thinks it's too early. Humph! I say. I've secretly been teaching him a few sign sentances.

Hopefully he won't be miffed.

For now, I best be off before he discovers I let Dante watch another episode of Kyou Kara Mou to write this.

Talk to you soon!

Your fond keeper,
~Steele

 

[Juridian Soul]

Dear Journal,

Kellen has gone. To where, we know not. We, being his family. My name is Silas. I am the one that will be caring for Dante until Kellen has been found. I find myself rather liking the... umm... Odd is an understatement, isn't it?... kid. The finned one. He can talk, mostly, and appears to like saying the name of anyone he talks to. For example:

"Silas, get me that cup please!" or "Steele, please play with me?"

Complete sentences, too. Dragon would be proud. Everyone's just a bit frantic right now, and a lot of it has to do with religion. Apparently, gods aren't gods, and mortals have been compromised, or something like that. Doesn't concern me yet, so I'm not too terribly worried.
I was looking through my brother Falcon's [yes, I'm Aaron's son too] old records and junk, and have happened upon some of his works. Some junk he made before he died. Stuff like that. It's kinda neat to be able to read and try and sing his stuff. Especially when he himself is dead. It makes me smile to think my brother might live on through songs that no one's ever heard of. Or something to that extent.
ANYWAY: The kid's getting bigger, or at least bigger than he was before Kel went missing. He doesn't seem too perturbed to have lost another dad, and has kinda accepted me as a father of sorts. Which is something I find a tidbit freaky, yanno? I mean, I'm only eighteen. This kid thinks I'm his daddy. There's something wrong with that.

Here's hoping they find Kel soon,

Silas Osprey Arrikanez