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 Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:41 am
It wasn't that Annora didn't like the new house. On the contrary, she loved it. Here, she didn't have to share all her space with others and Daddy didn't go home half the time. But today had been a weird one. Today was the day that Mama and Daddy had left for a week away, and Az and Hun Min had been left in charge. But Hun Min went home at night, too, and only Az was here. Annora sat in her bed, the dim light of the night light casting odd shadows over the wall as she listened to the door close behind Hun Min. It was late - late enough that as soon as he'd locked the door behind the Juusanshi, Aziraphale was making his way to his own bed. Annora listened to his footsteps down the hall and up the stairs, and waited until his door had closed.
After that, the sounds seemed that much worse. Each creaking or tapping was so much louder when Daddy and Mama weren't around! Finally, when it had neared an hour that Aziraphale was silent, and Annora was jumping at each individual sound, she slipped out of bed, creeping to the door. Cracking it open, she saw nothing but a dark hallway, full of shadows that she didn't really like the looks of. But she knew where she was going. Her tiny body slipped out of the room, pushing the door shut behind her distractedly as she hurried across the hall. Five feet, and she was slipping into another door, closing it tight and sighing in relief.
Etain was still awake, herself, her windows wide open as she perched on the windowseat on the loft. When her door open, she blinked, then leaned over the edge of the loft. "...Annora? Issat you?" The sylph sounded horribly sleepy, but her bed hadn't even been turned down for her to get into it.
"Uh-huh," Annora nodded, moving to climb up into the loft. "Thought you were asleep," she admitted, as she reached it.
One more pillow was settled on the window seat for Annora as Etain snuggled into the one she herself was hugging. "Can't sleep," she confessed. "Everything seems really dark."
"Quiet," Annora agreed, her own thoughts obviously focused on sound more than light. She curled up on the seat, leaning against the wall.
"Why'd Mama and Papa go away for a week?" Etain asked, poking solemnly at the open windowsill.
"Az said it was a honeymoon," Annora said, hesitating before tilting her head. Clearly, Etain wasn't any more okay with it than she was. "He said they needed some time together."
Etain sighed, wings buzzing for a moment as she looked up at Annora. "Why don't they want us to be there too? Don't they miss us?"
"I dunno," Annora frowned, looking at Etain for a moment before shifting her pillow away. "C'mere," she directed, waving Etain toward her.
Obediently, Etain crawled across the seat over to Annora, plopping down in front of her.
Annora reached out, dragging Etain into a cuddle. "Can I sleep in here tonight?" she asked quietly.
Etain willingly snuggled in with Annora, quite assured of the fact that her big sister wouldn't let anything bad happen. "Of course!"
Annora smiled softly, closing her eyes and just listening. Now that she could hear something other than the creaking and tapping, the house seemed oddly safer. "Can I sleep in here tomorrow, too?"
"Uh-huh. An' the day after that an' the day after that." And then Papa and Mama would be home, right? At least, it seemed like that was around the day they'd be home.
"Okay," Annora smiled, relaxing. A moment later, a huge yawn split her face. "Maybe they'll bring us stuff."
"Mmmmhm... Like a big teddy bear..." Etain was about ready to fall asleep right there on the windowseat. It wouldn't be the first time she did that.
Annora giggled, scooting down so that she was more comfy. "And a necklace."
"An' a butterfly," Etain mumbled contentedly. "An' a fishie."
Annora yawned again, her eyes drifting shut as she felt sleep begin to claim her. "An' opera," she muttered, before sleep won out.
"Lotsa opera," Etain agreed, then fell asleep against Annora, feeling rather safer than before.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 12:39 pm
Annora-fish came into her room at night.
It wasn't anything they'd decided on, it's just that her big sister was afraid of the noises in the dark, and it was easier to handle these things together rather than apart. Etain didn't like the dark-noises either, and really, it was easier to sleep when Annora was there too. So, now it was just a given that Annora came to her room.
The nights where she didn't, it was because Etain had jumped the gun and scurried into Annora's room instead.
Really, this whole 'same house' business was rather a step up from the previous arrangement, where it would have taken quite a flight to sneak into her sister's room at night, when acres upon acres separated the two of them. Mama and Papa had been worried, in the beginning, that she and Annora wouldn't take well to suddenly being in the same house, but that was just silly. It was like a permanent sleepover!
Besides, the house was wonderful. There were trees everywhere, and Etain was a good enough flyer now that she could fly all the way to the top of them. Even though Papa didn't particularly want her to do that, just in case her wings gave out and she fell. But she wouldn't fall! And if she went to the top of the trees -- or even the roof, that was almost as much fun -- then she could see all around their property. Papa and Mama had made certain that Annora would have lots of water around, even if there couldn't be a whole lot inside the house, so they had a pond and a pool and a fountain. Etain didn't like water as much as Annora, and even Etain thought that was pretty neat.
Still, Etain had to confess that her favorite part was the huge windows in her bedroom. Even inside, she felt like she was in the open air and wasn't cooped up. That was probably why Papa had made sure she had the loft, too -- so she wouldn't feel confined to the ground, and could get to the highest point possible when inside. Higher was better, after all, because then you could see all around you and nothing would sneak up. Besides, she hated getting her feet dirty, so higher meant cleaner. Usually.
It at least meant she was less likely to get dirt on her feet.
Papa said that she got to have dance lessons soon. She'd tried them a couple times, and didn't really like tap all that much -- the noises hurt her ears. But ballet... Ballet was like flying. Better yet, ballet was like flying and not using her wings, which was a feat unto itself, so naturally it had caught her attention. So, Papa said she was going to get to learn ballet. It would mean getting her feet dirty, but in this case, she didn't care. Besides, the costumes were so pretty! And then she and Annora could have ballet in their operas, and Annora could sing while Etain danced.
Which suited the sylph just fine.
Maybe they could use the space under Kikuei's tree for a stage...
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Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 3:03 pm
Etain has grown into a beautiful child!
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