Welcome to Gaia! ::

Weeks had been spent studying the art of flight. She'd examined films of different animals taking off, browsed over charts, and even read texts on the subject. She hoped that this would help her, even it it was only by a little bit, to fly herself.

She'd snuck back to the beach, like she'd been doing every weekend. She felt confident this time that she could do it, that this would be the day that she didn't go crashing into the ground. She climbed her way up unto the rock, backing up as far as she could. She then took a running start and, as every time before, crashed into the ground. She then decided to try a new approach. Instead of jumping, she started running, then jumped, pushing off with a flap of her wings and...

"Momma, Momma!" The girl came running through the house, a huge grin lighting up her face. Her face beamed with pride and excitement.

Stasia glanced up from her current task of fixing lunch, smiling lightly. "What is it, honey?" she said, looking at her eldest child.

"Come on, come on! I have something I have to show you!" the little fairy said, grabbing her mothers hand and tugging.

"Alright, alright! Let me turn the stove off first." the parent said with a slight laugh, turning off the stove before allowing herself to be dragged out into the back yard.

"Momma, watch!" Nataya said, grinning. She took two running steps before pushing off with one foot. And, with a flap of her wings, she'd taken flight. It was still a bit shaky, but atleast she was managing to stay up in the air.

She wasn't sure whether she should be proud or horrified. What if her baby fell an hurt herself. Or, gods forbid, fly into a power line or something. Still, the girl seemed to be so happy, so she forced a small smile. "That's great, Nattie." she said, trying her best to keep the worry out of her tone.

Nataya smiled, skidding to a rather rough landing across the grass. "Really? You think so?" she asked, smiling brightly up at her mother as she pushed herself up off the ground, brushing dirt and grass from her clothes.

"Yeah," Stasia said, smiling lightly as she ruffled the girls head. "But, how about we get you a helmet and maybe some goggles. You know, for safety?" She was tempted to say "so I don't worry so much", but that would probably have made the little girl feel bad. "And maybe some elbow pads, while we're at it."

Nataya blinked, her ears twitching. She had been sitting on her bed, doodling in her sketchbook when she picked up on the sound. Someone was crying, and it made her almost want to cry herself. Ginger and Zemel had already been put down for their afternoon nap, so that left only two other people. And she seriously doubted that Momma was crying; last she'd saw, the half-elf had been watching a movie. She was getting off the bed when she heard the sounds of breaking glass. Worried, she ran down the hall to her sister's room.

The door was slightly ajar, and with just a little nudge, the door opened to reveal the scene. 'Zuba stood in the middle of the room, her shoulder's square and rigid as she stared intently at the shattered remains of what had once been her mirror. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs, her face a mix of despair and frustration. She didn't even look up as her door open, didn't even seem to care. "It's not fair..." she said, her voice slowly saying each word shakily.

"'Zuba...you're bleeding..." Nataya said softly, frowning as she saw the cuts on her sister's clenched fist. She walked over, gently laying her hand gently on the taller girl's arm. "What's wrong? Why are you so sad?" She took her sister by her uninjured hand, leading her to the bathroom.

'Zuba fell silent, following her sibling and allowing herself to be led to the bathroom. She sat on the tub obeidiently as the purple-haired child began working on cleaning and bandaging her hand. "Why...?" she asked, her eyes locked on the floor.

"Why what?" she responded, blinking as she carefully wrapped the bandaged. She bit her lower lip, debating for a moment with herself before speaking. "What happened, 'Zuba?"

"Why help? 'M just a freak." The spawn sniffled, staring at the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look at her older sibling. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down a bit before speak. "Looked in the mirror. Didn't like. Broke it." she said, shrugging. "It's not fair....want to be pretty like you and Mother and Zemel and Ginger. Why can't I be pretty?" She sighed. "Just want to belong."

Nataya frowned. "You're not a freak. You're 'Zuba." she said, taking her sister's face gently in her hands, guiding her gaze upwards so she could look her in the eyes. "You are pretty, and you do belong!" She offered a small smile. "Why on Gaia would you think any differently?"

'Zuba sighed. "I see....when I look in the mirror. Not pretty. Split." She frowned, averting her eyes as she looked off to the side. "Sorry. Was stupid to break mirror. Not it's fault."

"I think you're pretty." Nataya said, taking a seat on the rim of the bathtub next to her distraught sister, hugging her. "So what if you're split? It just means you're unique, not ugly. And it's alright; I'm sure Momma will understand." She pulled back, looking up at the taller girl. "Please cheer up? I don't like seeing you sad; I want you to be happy."

'Zuba opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it. Arguing with Nataya when she was set on something was like trying to get Ginger to sit still for more than five minutes: nearly impossible. "I'll try, Nataya." she said, nodding her head once. Then, without any kind of warning, she hugged her sister tightly. "Thank you." she said, pulling back to offer a small, forced smile to the younger girl. If that's what her sibling wanted, she could try to be happy. Try being the keyword.

Nataya looked confused. "For what?" she asked, having no idea what she was being thanked for; she hadn't done anything to be thanked for, had she?

'Zuba's smile became a bit more natural. "For caring. Thanks." she said, standing to her feet. As much as she would like to cherish this sister-to-sister moment, she had broken mirror to clean up and a cake to bake if she wanted to stay out of trouble.

"How long has she been asleep?" The male's voice cut through the dream like a knife. Everything became hazy, as if it were about to fade. Just before she fully lost the dream, she felt something slipped into her hand. Then, the connection broke, and she opened her eyes to reality.

"She went to take a nap shortly after she came home from school....and it's about what time now?" Stasia glanced at the clock before counting the hours on her fingers. "Nineteen hours." Worry played across her face as she absently ran a hand through her daughter's hair.

"Momma....Uncle Matthias? What's wrong?" Both pair of eyes were on the child as she sat up, yawning and stretching. Nataya looked up at them, rubbing at one of her eyes. "Did something happen...?" She frowned, not liking how worried the two adults were. Her frown was soon replaced by a look of confusion as her mother sprung a surprise hug on her, talking quickly in a language Nataya had never heard. She hugged her mother back, patting her back.

As the half-elf pulled away, Matthias took her place, looking over Nataya. "How are you feeling, young one?" he asked, looking at the child. He didn't seemed as concerned as Stasia was; after all, the girl seemed to be just fine.

"I'm a bit sleepy. I just woke up, after all," Nataya said. "Why?" She didn't like her questions being ignored, but she didn't bring them back up. She looked up at the adults, waiting for someone to answer her.

"It....it's nothing, sweetie." Stasia said, forcing a small smile. "It's just, ah, well...you've been asleep for a bit of a long time. I was worried." She was about to say something else, but was interrupted by and apology and a hug as her daughter was suddenly clinging to her.

"I'm so sorry, Momma! I didn't mean to worry you!" the fairy said quickly, feeling guilty. Here she'd been, having fun in a dream while inadvertently causing Momma worry! How thoughtless of her.

"Baby, it's okay..." Stasia said, offering a small smile. "I'm just glad you're alright." Her eyes drifted to the girl's hand, intrigued. "Nattie, what'cha got there?" she asked, curiosity erasing the worry from her mind.

Nataya blinked, then looked to her hand. She hadn't even realized she was gripping anything. She opened her hand, revealing a small, tarnished brass key. "A key..." she said softly, examining it.

Stasia looked at it, curious. It looked like many of the old keys she had stashed away somewhere; maybe her little Nattie liked keys too? She smiled, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "C'mon, it's almost lunch time. And Matthias offered to cook."

A frown settled across the male's face. "I did no such-"

The frown was countered by a bright, impish grin. "Of course you did. Now march it, mister." She pushed him towards the door, chuckling.

Nataya blinked, watching the adults head out into the hallway before looking down at the key. Stasia was right; it did look like just a common key, albeit an old one. But, there was something about it....

The fairy sat the key down on her dresser before getting ready for the day, or more correctly, what was left of it.