Seth [King Cheetah] - elfgurl1234

[Seth_Avi]

[PRP] Babysitting At The Cottage
11/10/09 - 12/26/09

Quote:

It was fairly early on a Saturday morning when Mena placed the call to Seth--she'd asked him about babysitting forever ago and the time had finally come to ask him to do so for real. Even if Eli and Phoebe had been getting on better recently, she wanted to make sure Eli wouldn't let the little jellyfish girl go play in the pool by herself or anything. Not that Phoebe was capable of drowning, but...Mena shook her head. Trivial things. A child needed supervision and she had reservations about Eli's abilities to supervise alone.

She passed on the fairly standard information--come over around 11 AM, and if it wasn't too much trouble could he stay overnight in the guest bedroom? She had to leave before then, but Eli would be able to show him where everything was.

Eleven o'clock came far too slow for Eli's wanting, though...left alone with Phoebe for almost an hour, they'd mostly sat in the living room--Eli with a leatherbound ancient looking tome, Phoebe with various dolls and stuffed animals--but what was making Eli nervous was that Phoebe was eyeing him with a certain sense of anticipation. He was so spooked that he nearly jumped half a foot when they heard the doorbell.

"Race 'ya~" Phoebe said, using her multiple tentacle-legs to gain a considerable advantage against the kuppy--unless he "cheated" and used his inhuman speed.

Seth had nearly forgotten about Mena's earlier request that he help babysit; it had been such a long time since they had that conversation after all. However, a promise was a promise, so Seth was obliged to agree. In any case, it would at least give him a chance to visit this famous "cottage" of which he had heard about so frequently.

He followed the directions given until he reached the address. Consulting the paper a few times to make sure that he had the right place, the cheetah Hyte looked at the home half in surprise and half in admiration. Is there really a giant underground lab beneath this place? Hm, they've hid it well. With a faint smile and a shake of his head, Seth approached the door and rang the door bell, waiting patiently for someone to answer.

Eli did cheat, but only a little--Phoebe was reaching for the doorknob when he stopped her with one paw and said, "We check the viewer first to make sure it's not a stranger, remember?" Phoebe nodded, pouting mostly because even on tip-tentacle she couldn't quite see out the little peephole and Eli had already ascertained the visitor was indeed Seth and opened the door before she could get in a word of protest. "Hi, Seth, come on in. Phoebe, say hi."

"Hello~" the jellyfish said, wiggling a tentacle as she waved her hand in greeting. Eli caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye and did his best not to blanch.

"Long time no see, Eli," he greeted with a cheerful smile. Then to the tentacle girl he said, "Hello, Phoebe. Good to see you again." The tentacles didn't bother him much at all, and he failed to catch Eli's near-blanch. At the kuppy's invitation Seth came inside. With him he carried a small bag, as Mena had requested that he stay overnight.

"You guys have a nice home," he remarked, admiring the interior design. It looked just as nice if not nicer than the outside of the house did. "How have you guys been recently?"

"We've been well enough. Chaos as usual," Eli said with a shrug.

Phoebe wiggled excitedly. "I met other fishpeople like me! I have the coolest house though," she said, speaking in an almost-confidential voice like she was sharing some really juicy gossip (a tone picked up no doubt from eavesdropping on Missy). "Nobody else has a saltwater pool in their backyard."

"Because nobody else is as spoiled as you are," Eli said, raising an eyebrow. Phoebe stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, did you want the full tour or just the basics--guestroom, main floor...?"

"Ah, just the basics is fine," Seth assured, not wanted to put the other through any trouble. "So, a salt water pool, eh? That must be rather nice for you." Although not that the feline could really appreciate it much himself, given his dislike for water. "Do you swim in it often?"

As Eli started the tour around the house, Seth couldn't help but be impressed by how neat and orderly everything was. "I'm starting to doubt your notions of chaos," the cheetah said jokingly. "My mother's house often looked like a bomb went off in it."

"All the time!" Phoebe answered proudly. "It's heated and everything too so even when it's cold out it's nice and comfy in the water~"

"Oh, it usually looks that way," Eli said, with a smile. "Gramma Shimy seemed to think we'd lose ourselves in the mess if she didn't clean up before taking off for the weekend. And you should've seen Missy's old room, before she made us pack it up and move everything over to the second story of the garage."

"It was really messy!" Phoebe chimed in. "I always keep my room clean though," she added, though whether it was purely an afterthought or more of a boast wasn't clear.

"Ah, I see." He half wanted to ask how on earth they covered up all the damages and such, but Seth strongly suspected that there was magic involved. Besides, since moving out of the house he hadn't had to deal with any such wrecks yet (surprisingly enough), so he didn't really need to know.

The cheetah Hyte paid close attention as he was shown around, committing the general layout of the place to memory. After the tour was over, he asked, "So... did you guys have any plans for today? Or was it more just a basic stay-at-home type of thing?" Truth be told, he still wasn't entirely sure why Mena asked for his help. Eli seemed quite capable in his opinion really.

Eli looked almost embarrassed as he began, "Well--" but Phoebe chose the more illustrative option and simply jumped on Eli with the relative speed and velocity of a yaoi fangirl at a convention upon spying a cosplayer of her OTP of choice, tentacles wriggling along with her hands as she meant to embrace the kuppy and then hold on very, very tightly. She even managed to wrap a leg or two around his middle before he started sparkling in self defense, attempting to shake her off while moving about the poor cheetah at movements almost too rapid to see anything more than a shining blur and its blueish jellyfish hanger-on.

It ended rather suddenly, as sibling scuffles as wont to do, with Phoebe tossed off half across the room and skidding on her tentacle-legs to stop, leaving little wet marks on her carpet as she went. "Owowowowow," she complained, lifting several of her tentacles to check the damage. "I have rug burns now!"

"Phoebe! You know you're not supposed to do that!" Eli was half-furious at the little girl--certainly a sight that was rare. The kuppy was a little timid, easily embarrassed, and self-effacing, but...never furious. He was even shaking a bit, though even he wasn't sure whether it was from anger, or his body simply reacting to the fear of tentacles. "You didn't even say anything as a warning!"

The jellyfish girl seemed to sink lower into the floor, though in reality she was simply spreading her tentacles out flatter--taking up more space horizontally but less vertically, and it was definitely a position of submission. "I'm sorry, Eli. I forgot," Phoebe said, her entire body quivering as well--though the effect was markedly more strange looking with the gelatinous quality of her skin. "If I'd said anything then you would've known and dodged and--"

"That's exactly the point, Phoebe," Eli said, still angry though he'd stopped shaking now. "I need to be able to get away. I need that option. Even Mom agrees."

At the mention of their mother, Phoebe's eyes affixed on the carpet. "I remember now. I'll try to remember next time."

"Next time?" Eli asked, with a cynical, hollow laugh. "I'd really prefer if there wasn't one. Hugging's one thing. Jumping me is something that's completely unnecessary."

Everything happened so quickly that it took Seth by a bit of surprise. One moment the jellyfish girl was clinging onto to Eli, and the next there was a whirlwind of sparkles that ended in a sudden separation of the two. The cheetah sweatdropped a bit as he listened silently to their brief quarrel. "... So, I guess I'll be a referee then?" he asked with a faint laugh, wondering what the heck he was in for. Suddenly I get the feeling that this is going to be a looong day.

"Sorry to be so much trouble," Eli said, weary and chagrined--basically, back to normal. "But you can see why it's not a good idea for me to be her primary caregiver..."

"Missy likes me even less," the jellyfish girl said mournfully. Eli sighed.

"I like you just fine, Phoebe; I just much prefer that your tentacles stay where I can see them," the kuppy said, very cautiously approaching Phoebe before patting her gently on the head. "It's a boundary thing."

"Then your paws gotta stay where I can see 'em too!" Phoebe said, crossing her arms.

"It's a deal," Eli said, holding the appendages up in front of him as if surrendering, before looking back to Seth. "So..."

Ah yes, the tentacle phobia. Somehow Seth had nearly forgotten, but at least things made a bit more sense now. "No no, it's fine," he replied scratching the back of his head absently with a paw. "Hm. Um... well, perhaps we'd better do thing that keep paws and tentacles occupied, yes?" the cheetah suggested, smiling a bit. "I don't suppose you guys have any board games or video games?"

"We gotta whole bunch of 'em! And like every game system known to humankind!" Phoebe said proudly. She wasn't far off in her estimation--Shimy's husband was a gamer, and he took his 'collecting' seriously. "Come on, to the living room~"

They'd bypassed it earlier on the tour--this was the one room of the house that looked more lived in. The couch and loveseat and armchair were all a matched squashy green set, encircling a large entertainment center with TV and all manner of gaming systems and DVDs and games. Off in one corner sat a secretary desk with desktop computer humming in the background, a lone Gingerbyte sitting sentinel on the top of the desk above the computer. He didn't look very happy, but Gingerbytes never did. Phoebe flopped onto a beanbag on the floor near the TV, and Eli settled somewhere on the opposite side of the room for now, perching on the chair next to the computer desk.

"Let's play Smash Brothers~" Phoebe suggested, using one tentacle to retrieve a fallen Wiimote from the floor.

"You can't button mash with your extra appendages," Eli reminded her. "That's cheating." Phoebe stuck her tongue out at him again in reply.

Seth chose a seat between the two of them, mainly so that he could act as a buffer if necessary. "Smash Brothers sounds pretty fun. Haven't played that in a long time."

The three of them faced each other for quite a while. In the beginning Seth didn't fair too well simply from lack of practice, but he was able to pick it back up again fairly quickly. They all struggled to be the last one standing, but more often than not Eli was the one to win the round. Eventually Phoebe grew tired of losing, and suggested a new game for them to play that she thought she might have a better advantage in.

They continued in this way through much of the day, competitive spirits raising to an all time high and games occasionally being swapped. There were several times that Eli and Phoebe got into more squabbles, and Seth had to fight to break them up. By this point it was about dinner time. "What do you guys typically eat, anyway?" Seth asked as he looked through the fridge, trying to come up with a meal plan. Generally he wasn't much of a cook, but he could still do it well enough to get by. His one real specialty when it came to food was grilling steaks.

"Whatever we can scavenge?" Eli said, with a laugh. "A lot of times Shimy will cook but otherwise we're usually left to rummage through the pantry. Mom cooks sometimes, but...uh, it's better when Dad brings something over, let's just say that."

"Mom's cooking tends to be alive," Phoebe agreed, nodding matter-of-factly. "Gramma has to keep teleporting it away to primordial worlds 'n stuff because she says she doesn't like washing sentient beings down the drain."

"In short, never eat anything Philomena cooks," Eli said, with a shrug, as he set to looking through the dry storage pantry. "See anything you'd like to eat, Seth?"

Somehow, with all that Seth had ever heard about Philomena's experimentations, the stories of her cooking didn't come as all that surprising. Although it was still a bit disturbing to think about. At Eli's question, Seth replied, "Oh, I'm fine with most anything really. I was just trying to figure out what might be something easy to cook up." Sifting through the contents of the fridge some more, the cheetah found some fresh packaged tilapia. That could work, he thought to himself, pulling it out for further inspection. "How does fish sound to your guys?"

"Fish sounds fine to me," Eli said, with a shrug. Phoebe looked slightly more cautious.

"Only as long as it's not the same kind of fish as one of my friends," she said, arms crossed.

"Come on, Phoebs, do you think Mom or Shimy would ever stock any of your fishy friends' genetic cousins in the pantry?"

"We keep bacon and sausage around when we have Missy!" Phoebe shot back.

"That's..." Okay, so Eli couldn't explain how that was different, but Missy hardly identified with her fellow pigs other than to react with rage when Kamiko teased her, but Eli was fairly sure that had more to do with Kamiko than Missy's sensitivities to being eaten. Then again, he did occasionally catch Missy eyeing a sausage-enjoying Shimy with very ill intent... "That's different, and you know it."

"It's still a valid concern, 's all I'm saying!" Phoebe protested.

Was it truly so different? In any case, it didn't much matter really. None of them were 100% of the animals that they were mixed with after all. "Well, I don't know exactly what kind of fish your friends are, but I'm sure Eli's right about Shimy and Mena." Maybe. In any case, Seth went ahead and opened the package, beginning the dinner preparations. "Do you guys have any vegetables?"

Dinner preparations managed to pass without the house burning down (though Phoebe very calmly informed Seth that she was holding on to the regulation size fire extinguisher "just in case" while the stovetop was on), and even dinner itself was uneventful. They'd progressed back to gaming, and, when that got old, movies.

"Don't go in there! The scary guy's in there!" Phoebe said, a couple of tentacles quivering in anticipation as her hands flew up to her mouth to cover her wide open mouth.

"I'm sure they can hear you, Phoebe, just yell louder," Eli said, rolling his eyes. Phoebe stuck her tongue out at him, and then quite suddenly everything went dark.

Phoebe screamed. "Are you all right?" Eli asked, a bunch of sparkles coming to life in his open hand and providing the only light in the dark room.

"I'm...okay. Why's it dark?" Phoebe looked down at her body, which was reflecting the sparkly light in a very eye-catching way.

"I don't know, but the backup generator should've kicked on by now," Eli said, with a frown.

"Perhaps the circuit breaker blew a fuse?" the cheetah Hyte suggested, getting up to look around. The action was rather in vain though, considering the only source of light was coming from Eli's sparkles. "Not sure about the back-up generator though." The timing of the black-out with the movie was rather eerie really, but it was most certainly just a coincidence. Unless of course there was someone else about who liked to play practical jokes. "Um, which way to the panel?" Seth didn't actually know much at all about electrical work, but they could at least try flipping the switches a couple of times and hope for the best.

"If Missy overloaded the circuits again--" Eli paused. "I thought Mom wired it so that wouldn't happen to the main house again though." He made a face before sighing and pointing to the downstairs staircase. "First basement level, for the main breaker. We'll want to stop in the kitchen for the flashlights."

"What if we need to turn on the backup generator manually?" Phoebe asked.

Eli shuddered, saying quickly, "It's in Mom's lab."

"I'm sure we can just use flashlights and stuff," Phoebe said, hands and tentacles waving in an ironic (probably unintentional) mimic of Eli's typical flailing pose. "I mean, it'll be like an adventure!"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure we can get the power back on..."

"It's... in the lab?" Seth replied somewhat uneasily. While he didn't exactly have a "tentacle" phobia like Eli, he somehow didn't much like the idea of seeing Mena's experiments first-hand. "Well, let's just hope that the breaker works."

The trio stopped by the kitchen first for the flashlights before making their way down to the main breaker. Unfortunately though, try as they might they couldn't seem to get the power back on through the breaker. "Looks like we may have to venture down to the lab after all," the cheetah remarked with a mildly grim expression, tail swishing slowly behind him. "Um, you don't think anything might have escaped with the power outage, right?" Hopefully the locked weren't electric-based.

Eli and Phoebe exchanged glances. "I don't think so," Eli said carefully, eyeing the staircase down to the lab with trepidation. "Mom's security is pretty solid, and the lab has its own circuit so unless something's really gone wrong..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"There's racks 'n racks of clothing between us and the lab so we'd hear something coming," Phoebe said reassuringly. "It's the thirteen levels of stairs we should really be scared about!"

There was a roar from below, that sounded distant. Eli gulped. "You know, besides the obvious tentacle monsters, I really don't know what else Mom keeps down there..."

"Lovely," the cheetah murmured below his breath. With a sigh, he said, "Well, I suppose we may as well start making our way down. Sounds like we have quite a way to go." After all, even if something did get out, Seth and Eli working together should be able to handle it. Unless there were a lot of escaped somethings that was... Then things could potentially get messy. Begrudgingly, the trio began their decent down to the lab...

Luckily the stairs were next to one another, so they didn't have to stumble through too many racks of clothing. Still, with every level, Eli had them stop briefly as he sent a spray of sparkles into the air, illuminating the level with light. Each level seemed themed to different fashion substyles, and the lower they got, the more...risque they seemed to become. On the tenth sub-level, when Phoebe asked what the whips were for, Eli just shook head sadly.

Still, he was almost grateful for the distraction when the roar they'd heard earlier happened again--and it was much, much louder. Phoebe squeaked and moved behind both Eli and Seth, grabbing Seth's hand while she peered out from behind him. "Are we gonna get attacked?" the jellyfish girl asked in a quivering voice.

Eli tilted his head to the side slightly, and closed his eyes as they heard the roar yet again--and then his eyes popped open. "It's not in the lab, whatever it is. We'll need to be more careful now."

Seth was beginning to wonder whether it might have been safer to leave Phoebe upstairs or not, but it was a bit too late for that now. Besides, leaving her alone in the dark didn't sound like a very safe idea either really. Rather than answer her question, he simple kept hold of her hand, ear and eyes on the alert. Slowly, the proceeded onward.

They were able to make it down the next set of stairs before the cheetah Hyte paused. A very strange scent assaulted his nose, but he couldn't quite place it with anything that he had ever encountered before. "Whatever it is, it's nearby," he murmured, the hair on the back on his neck rising a little as his eyes tried desperately to see through the darkness. "Let's all stay close."

On the eleventh...only one more level before the lab... Eli didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing. There was something roaring--and then the lab was full of tentacle monsters and who knew what else. Was whatever was loose preferable to the beasties on the thirteenth sublevel?

There was a sound from across the room--a sort of clattering, and barely perceptible grunting...it was likely Phoebe couldn't hear it at all, though Eli and Seth's well-designed ears no doubt could. "Seth," Eli said, ears turned towards the sound. "I think you might want to take Phoebe down to the lab. I'm fairly certain...you'll be safe in there. And it sounds like there's only one..."

"We aren't gonna leave you behind!" Phoebe hissed, whole body quivering in fear and agitation, though her voice was very strong and determined.

Eli smiled ruefully. "I can take care of myself, you know." He turned back to gaze into the darkness, though even his part-cat eyes couldn't see much more than the nearest rack of--well, honestly he wasn't really sure what those pieces of clothing were supposed to be, it didn't look as if they'd cover much at all. "Phoebe's been put in the biometric database down there, all she'll need is to scan her hand. And probably the emergency code, but that's just 911." He touched one finger to the brooch on his chest--transforming would make an awfully useful distraction...

Indeed, Seth could also hear the subtle sounds from across the room, although he any normal situation he may not have noticed it. Amber orbs fixed on the kuppy as Eli told him about the locks down below. Even though he knew that the other was more than capable of taking care of himself, it felt somehow wrong to leave a friend behind. In fact, were it not for the jellyfish girl's presence with them, he wouldn't even have considered it. "Are you sure about this, Eli?" the cheetah Hyte asked in all seriousness, ears twitching lightly as the creature made another grunt across the room. "It might be easier to take care of with two of us."

"I can't go into the lab itself, so...I think this is the best course of action," Eli said, with a little shrug. "Whatever Mom has in there, the stuff in front won't be dangerous...not to you and Phoebe."

Phoebe slipped out of Seth's grip just long enough to reach forward for Eli, tugging on his shirt until he leaned over enough that she could lift herself on tip-tentacle and plant a kiss on Eli's cheek. "If you get hurt, I'm gonna kill you," she said solemnly as she pulled away, reaching for Seth's hand again.

"I won't get hurt then," Eli said, surprised by his little sister's gesture. He stared out into the room, and took a deep breath. "Okay, on three you guys start down the stairs, and I'm gonna try and be distracting enough that it won't follow." Another breath--the tension was palpable. "One...two...three! CAMELLIA CRISIS POWER!" The sparkling kuppy shot forward into the room, and his yell was answered by a roar.

On cue Seth took off for the next set of stairs with Phoebe in tow, minding his speed to make sure that she could keep up. if they could get the power back up quickly enough, then perhaps they could double back in time to help Eli out. Provided that he wouldn't already be done fighting against whatever creature was there of course.

The two of them made it through the next level without incident, and even though it was dark it didn't take too long to find the door to the lab. "I think this is the scanner here," the cheetah remarked, feeling a flat square of glass next to the door. Hopefully this thing was still working even with the power outage. "Um, go ahead and give it a try I suppose."

"Okay," Phoebe said, obediently putting her hand up on the square. The panel lit up and Phoebe squeaked, but didn't move her hand. A keypad shot out from under the panel, and this time Phoebe did jump. "Emergency code...input!" the jellyfish said as she finished typing, and the keypad slid back into the wall as the doors slid open, overhead lights flickering on. This was just the first set of doors into the lab, and as they both stepped into the area, the first set closed, and the second opened...into the lab proper.

It was, like Hytech, a very stereotypical looking setting. Most everything was white or silver, and there wasn't a bit of clutter to be seen. The sole twists on Mena's particular brand of science were evident in the large terrariums lining the walls to the left and right--those looked more like a zoo exhibit. And, true to rumor, tentacle monsters were contained within--though they didn't seem too much larger than a big dog. Phoebe went 'oooh' and her eyes went wide, but she shook off her astonishment quickly. "How do we turn the power on?" she asked Seth.

"Hm? Ah, right." The cheetah Hyte had been momentarily distracted by the rows of tentacle monsters, having never actually seen them before in person. They were certainly... interesting, to say the least. "We need to find the back-up generator. Should be around here somewhere." Quickly and carefully they searched through the front area of the lab to find the generator. When they finally found it, Seth set to work on getting it on. "Almost... got it!" Along with the hum of the generator came the fine and soft hum of life returning to all of the electronics back upstairs. "Alright, let's see if we can go help Eli now." Hopefully whatever he found was more harmless than it sounded...

"Se-se-seth!" Phoebe said, pointing at the door at the back of the lab. "There's a..." Words seemed to fail the jellyfish mer, and one could hardly blame her.

It was probably about eight or nine feet tall, though the ceilings down here were higher than standard height so it didn't have to stoop. The stalk on its head didn't need to bend either, though it swiveled in several directions before the observers could realize it was in fact an eyeball on a stalk. It was furry, vaguely resembling a bearish-humanoid sort of creature...if that bear had spent several hours on the rack, getting its limbs elongated. The face was oddly human, and it did seem to have some sort of intelligence in the two eyes on its face--though the pig snout through which it was breathing in soft grunts was a bit more distracting. It moved an arm towards them, and they could see three wicked claws covered in finger-armor. Whatever it was...it definitely looked dangerous.

And it was coming towards them.

The first thought through Seth's mind was, .... Oh ****. That thing definitely did not look very friendly. If he needed to he could probably evade an attack, but how was he going to protect both of them? "... Phoebe, stay behind me and be sure to keep your distance," the cheetah Hyte said in the calmest voice he could manage while still looking the creature over. Ok, ok, this is a lab where Mena breeds tentacle monsters for pets, so maybe this thing is friendly? That's quite a risk to gamble on though... This thing looks rather animalistic. Perhaps we could appeal to that side of it? Slowly, carefully, Seth approached the creature as well, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. He watched it's movements warily, ready to evade at a moment's notice.

It moved slowly--deliberately, as if studying the situation as much as they must be. And then it spoke.

"Tins buyl. Os luc ck'wolj cu gekc wue."

"I don't think Mom made that," Phoebe said, wide-eyed as she whispered.

Phoebe's comment didn't make Seth feel any better, but at least it wasn't attacking them. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't understand," he replied to the creature. "Do you speak English? Nihongo o hanashimasu ka? ¿Habla Español?" Hey, he had to try what he could. It would be better to keep it in a passive state and try to find out what it wants. A chilling thought passed through Seth's mind though. Is this thing what caused the power outage? Is it the only one?

"Mhoc. Os julli ronn Icgali..." it said, shaking its head. It appeared to be listening to Seth's vain attempts at common language, head tilted slightly to one side, before issuing its own attempts. "Iyaa'nolre isuu?" A pause. "πώς για το Theria?" A longer pause this time. "Ti'ama...zu?"

"I know that word," Phoebe said. She lifted her hands to her head, and seemed to be mimicking buns as she put fists to her head.

The creature copied the gesture, but left one wicked looking claw up. They weren't buns. They were horns.

"Eli might be able to understand what it's saying," Phoebe suggested. "It knows about Ti'ama, so maybe it's from that Empire place."

"Yeah, that's probably our best bet right now," Seth agreed. Although if Ti'ama were involved, would that only mean more trouble? Guess they'd find out soon enough. "Um, come this way then," he said to the creature, first attempting to mime "sparkles" and then gesturing for it to follow along. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long night?

The creature whuffled, and lumbered after them slowly--it clearly had to be careful not to overtake them with its much longer legs. They made it back to the eleventh level--where Eli was engaging in a very sparkly fight--with what appeared to be a second one of the creature they'd found in the lab.

"Rlutr oc upp, Gik'wk." The creature from the lab issued a command, and the one Eli was fighting backed off immediately, warily eyeing the 'friendly' creature with all three of its eyes. Eli blinked. The lab one asked, "Phanes'ici hari kasika ne?"

"Phanes--oso ii nyaroh?" Eli asked, apparently as surprised as Seth and Phoebe had been, though he had the benefit of speaking the language. The lab creature tapped its wrist gently--or would've, if the image hadn't flickered on 'contact' with itself. A hologram? It made some sort of gesture vaguely resembling a door.

"Eli! What happened?" Phoebe asked, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

"Mom has a portal in her lab," Eli said, shaking his head. "This first one came through--that's what shorted the power, the portal's connected to the main house grid."

"O'ro siya neleh? Itayari seh'i..." the lab creature continued.

"And--the hologram display is messed up, it should be able to speak our language but that doesn't seem to be...configured?" Eli finished uncertainly. "She thinks I can change the settings from here, but...I'll try," he said, addressing the creature. It nodded, striding over to the other and began to chew it out, apparently. Lots of short, sharp words, and the creature seemed to shrink into itself in submission. Eli closed his eyes, and a soft glow built around his brooch and shot down the stairwell, presumably making its way down to the portal. Several more minutes passed before his eyes opened again as he sighed. "That should do it..."

"Thank Hayan'ahari," the lab-creature said in a very female voice, turning around to face them again. "Let me guess--you're not seeing a human?"

"Um, no, not quite," Seth replied with a faint smile. It was good to be able to understand the thing at last, although the voice that the translator was using seemed almost a little disconcerting when paired with the giant furry thing. "Are we... supposed to be?" He still wasn't entirely sure of what was going on though. Why had the one that Eli was fighting even come in the first place. Was it accidental, or was it sent to tell them something? Hopefully everything would be cleared up soon.

"In my case, yes. Haryr over there is a Trikuado, and he's physically there with you." The creature Eli had been fighting with grunted and wiggled three sharp claws. "Athena must've configured the images at least..."

"Athena?" Eli and Phoebe asked in unison.

A head tilt. "Sabra Sabina?" she guessed.

"Sabra's our grandmother."

"So you're the heir!" Realization seemed to dawn on the woman-appearing-creature. "Well, where is she? She's about a year overdue on contacting home..."

"She's not in at the moment," Phoebe said apologetically.

"You're not...Imperial...right?" Eli asked hesitantly.

She laughed. "Oh Ahari no! I'm from...well, originally the south, Theria, more recently the north, Threadina." She lifted up an arm, appearing to stare at it. "What exactly are you seeing, anyway?"

Eli shrugged. "Another...Trikuado?"

Her--well, the Trikuado display's--eyes seemed to blaze. "I am going to kill Athena. Kill her dead."

"I'm...sorry?" Eli said, nervously moving back. The display of the Trikuado shimmered, and fluctuated in almost nauseating ways until it settled into an adult woman of average height, with pale blonde hair and icy blue eyes, dressed formally in black in a dress that appeared to be vaguely of medieval or Renaissance origin.

"I am going to have a headache for that," the woman said, shaking her head, before cocking an eyebrow at the Hytes and mer before her. "I am Aikatyrine Aikcj. You are...hmm, Elias Sabina, right?"

"No one calls me Elias," Eli said mournfully. "This is Seth, and my sister Phoebe."

"Well met," Aikatyrine said, with a grin. "Shame I have to kill your grandmother. That's just like her too, to set my ID to show up as a Trikuado. Ugh."

It was only through the context of the conversation that Seth even knew they were talking about Shimy, for he had never actually heard her full name before. He stayed silent through the exchange, trying to remember all of the things that Eli had explained to him previously and tie them in to the current conversation. "It's a pleasure to meet you," the cheetah Hyte greeted after they were introduced. "Did you two come to meet Shim- um, Sabra then? Or was there another reason?"

"She still goes by Shimy? I guess she can get away with it here, doesn't have the rep she's got back home," Aikatyrine said, shaking her head. "Haryr and I noticed a flux in this connection on our side, first time we've seen one since...Shimy...left. He went through and must've blown the power on your end, so I stuck with the image display. I'm guessing that Shimy wasn't expecting anyone to come through from the Phanes-side." Haryr seemed to ask something in the language Aikatyrine had spoken earlier, and she nodded. "I don't suppose Shimy's gotten around to...ah...bringing back some old friends?"

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean," Eli said apologetically.

"No...babies? A girl, and a boy? A phoenix and Ti'ama?"

"I think...she's been working on that. She has DNA samples she wants cloned?" Eli asked hesitantly.

"Cloning's the simplest way, yes," Aikatyrine said with a nod, before turning and telling the Trikuado something. He grunted, before lumbering down the stairs. "Ah, now he's disappointed. Still, at least she's working on it. I'm...surprised she just doesn't do it herself."

"Grandmother can clone people?" Phoebe asked, her eyes round as saucers.

"She doesn't tell you much about her past, does she?" Aikatyrine said, with a chuckle.

Seth somehow wondered if he should even be in on this conversation, given how much this all seemed to be focused on the family. Then again, he was dating Noe, but... Should he still be allowed to hear all of this? "Ah, I see," he replied (although he still didn't completely understand all of it). "Well then, I guess that may take a while to do if she's going the scientific route." How does one go about cloning a Ti'ama anyway? No, not going to go there.

Aikatyrine pursed her lips. "The funny thing is...it really shouldn't. I mean, it helps that the two are halfbreeds. But it also helps that it's Athena. She's...ah...you just have to know her reputation," she finished finally, with a shrug. She seemed to not know exactly how much to tell them. "And it's personal. I know she left the Empire because she was stripped of her Contract, but...that wasn't the only reason."

"A kristi'os died," Eli said, matter-of-factly.

"Not just any kristi'os," Aikatyrine clarified. "The wife of your grandmother's little brother. My best friends. They were murdered by the current Empress of Neo-Sovreem."

"I...didn't know that Grandmother had any siblings," Eli said, sounding shocked by the information. "A brother who was half-Ti'ama?"

"A Contractor who carried his contractee in his soul. It's...rare, but not unheard of amongst the Imperials especially. It's rare that a Ti'ama trusts a single Contractor that much."

"Why does Shimy have--why did she have a brother who had access to..."

"The contract spans across lifetimes," Aikatyrine said, an eyebrow raised.

"I knew that. I guess I just..."

"Didn't realize that this is just the latest in a string of Shimy's lives? Her brother was Praetorate to the last Empress before the old Empire fell. She and he go way, way back--thousands of years." Aikatyrine paused, seeming to consider something. Finally, she spoke again. "What makes your grandmother special is that she remembers all of her past lives."

"No human could possibly be able...to store all that information alone..." Eli sounded very much as if his reality was collapsing around him.

"What makes you so sure your grandmother is human?" Aikatyrine asked simply.

Shimy's not human? Oh geez. As fascinating as all of this was to listen to, it didn't seem to be having a very good effect on the magical boy kuppy. Not to mention that this seemed to be quite the invasion of privacy on Shimy's part. If she had wanted her grandson to know any of this, wouldn't she have just told him herself? "I think," said Seth slowly, "that if Shimy hasn't shared this information before, then it was for a reason." He gave Aikatyrine a serious look. "Perhaps it is best if we end this conversation."

"You might be right," Aikatyrine said, with something of a sad smile. "I hope you'll remember at least that while your grandmother generally has good intentions...it pays off, to be able to stand up to her. Of course she'll play petty tricks like having your holo display show up as something silly..." The woman shook her head. "Anyway, watch out for the two she's trying to bring back--that will have been why you're waiting to move, on the Imperial front. Have her call me back, or I'll kick her a**. Hmmm, that should be about it. Oh, and she really needs to make sure to have a proper power setup if she's going to allow that portal down there to accept 'calls' from Phanes."

"I'll try to remember to let her know," Eli said, looking a bit better off now that his mind had something to try and cling to.

"She's forgotten that there are others of us who have lost precious people to that Empire," Aikatyrine said. "I hope you'll remember that. There are others who want to help. Don't let yourself carry all of the burden, Elias." She reached over and patted his shoulder. "Phoebe, right? Take good care of him." She turned to Seth, looked him over, and nodded. "You've got a good head on your shoulders. You'll need it, getting involved in this...with this...I'll help Haryr boost the signal from our side, it shouldn't hurt your power again." She gave a little bow, and waved to them as she swept out of the room, down the stairs.

Phoebe watched her go with something between fear and admiration. "She was awesome!"

"She was...certainly something..." Eli said. For all that she'd said, what hit him the most was the idea that his family was just the latest in the string. That maybe the whole reason he was involved in the Empire, was because of her last family. The idea unsettled him very much.

Seth watched with an expressionless gaze as the woman made her exit before turning back to the other two. "We should probably head back upstairs now," he suggested, glancing back over at the stairs. Somehow he didn't quite feel like sticking around to see if any other strange creatures would appear. "Hopefully that's all the visits that we'll be getting tonight..."

"Agreed," Eli said wearily, waving his hands over his brooch to de-transform. "Bedtime?"

"Bedtime," Phoebe agreed, heading up the stairs first.

***

After they had put Phoebe to bed and tucked her in, Eli led Seth to the guestroom next door. "Well, here you are..."

"Yeah, thanks..." he replied, unsure of what to say after all that had happened. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment before the cheetah decided just to ask out-right. "Are you doing alright, Eli?" he asked, looking at the kuppy with mild concern. "You didn't look to good down there."

"Guess I do look as bad as I feel," Eli said, with a hollow laugh. "You know, I always did think it was weird that Gramma Shimy wouldn't ever tell me much about Phanes, other than the Empire. Elti's been asleep so she never knew much about elsewhere either. Now I have to wonder...how many people know her, back there? How many other families has she had? Has she used them in revenge schemes too? I just..." He paused, then shrugged. "I know that overthrowing the Empress is the right thing to do, because it's not just Shimy she's hurt. But if I've just been trained to do it...in place of someone else..." Eli leaned against the doorframe with a sigh. "It's not...how it works, for people to be reborn together, for the most part. If my grandmother has been reincarnating aside this brother of hers for millennia, that's...either she's found a way to set it up that way, or he had." Eli looked up at Seth with another rueful smile. "Maybe it's selfish, but it bothers me too that I'm not her favorite."

"You can't really say that for sure," Seth replied with a faint smile. "You're brand new to the family after all, so it's not as if she's had a chance to reincarnate you along with her." Although really, that was only a very small part of the tangle. "As for the other families... Well, perhaps it would be best to ask Shimy about that herself. I don't think she would use you just as a tool of revenge though." Truly she did not seem to be someone so heartless.

"I guess," he said, with a laugh that sounded a little more like regular Eli. "I dunno, I suppose the others really aren't any of my business...and it sounds like her former brother will be joining the family soon enough anyway. I'm a little...how do you ask someone that kind of thing? And I don't really want to get Miss Aikcj in trouble, even if it sounds like she enjoys butting heads with Gramma..."

He shook his head. "Ah, I'm probably overthinking this. Shimy usually tries not to tell us anything until the very last minute--though I'd Contracted with Elti I didn't know anything about the conflict with the Empress until Miri came around looking for help. I suppose it's just another example of Shimy's reluctance more than anything else."

The feline shrugged. "I suppose that's true, but perhaps she is simply trying to protect you. After all, what good does knowing everything right now do if there's nothing that can be done just yet?" Granted, being informed was always nice, but if she had really lived through so many lifetimes then she should most likely know what she was doing. Hopefully.

"You might be right," Eli conceded. "Anyway, we'll probably all be sleeping in after this. Sleep tight and all that," the kuppy said, with a slightly mocking smile and wave, as he shut the door.

 

[elfgurl1234]

The Aftermath [PM RP]
11/17/09 - 3/26/10

*takes place after the yet another fight between Seth and Hunter*

Quote:

The cheetah Hyte muttered curses under his breath as he turned on the shower, letting the water run over him. In some areas the warm water felt soothing against his skin, but in others it stung sharply, causing the feline to hiss out another stream of profanities. Damn that ****ing raccoon. If he shows his face here at all tonight I'll be clawing it clean off.

The "business" that Seth had needed to attend to was to find Hunter and make him pay for hurting Haevan as he had. The two of them had duked it out behind the Hytech building for quite a while, and neither had gotten away unscathed. After the fight Hunter had gone off into the woods alone whilst the cheetah Hyte made his way back home. And now here he was, still seething about what all had gone down. Selfish b*****d. Gingerly, he worked on cleaning out some of the wounds that had penetrated the surface. Hm, I'll have to remember to throw away those clothes before Noe and Haevan get home... Well, before Noe gets home at least. Haevan is staying at Femi's. Again, he felt nothing but pure hatred toward the raccoon Hyte.

Noelani had gotten home a little early today. Depositing some groceries on the kitchen counter she sniffed out her beloved Cheetah. Having heard a buzz at HQ she felt it was best not to be home, however she couldn't help wondering if this feeling would involve broken furniture and windows. If so then this was a personal foul for both herself and Heavan. As she moved around the apartment she was thankful nothing was out of place, in fact, all seemed well. Good.

Heading for the bedroom however, proved a different subject. There were tattered clothing that she knew belonged to Seth scattered on the floor. From the bathroom she could hear curses spilling in waves, whispered words that were barely audible but meaningful just the same. With a knowing roll of her eyes she moved to the bathroom opening it silently as she leaned against the door frame arms crossed. Upon the last curse that left her Spotted King's lips she couldn't surprise the giggle. "While you're in there be sure to wash that mouth out... it's filthy."

Seth jumped a little at Noe's words, having been oblivious to her presence. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had completely failed to notice her scent. "Ah, sorry about that, Love," he replied, cheeks red (not that she could see fortunately). "Um, I'll be out in just a minute."

Well, so much for throwing away his clothes before Noe got home. She was certain to have seen them by now, and he couldn't even make it over to his drawer to grab some fresh clothes to change into before she saw the evidences of the fight. Well, she would have found out sooner or later anyway. With an inner resigned sigh, the cheetah Hyte finished washing off before turning off the water and getting out. After drying off, he wrapped a towel around his waist and peeked the door back open to look at Noe with a faint smile. "I don't suppose you'd mind turning around for a moment while I get dressed? I didn't grab any new clothes before coming in here."

Noe arched a brow at his request, "Actually I do mind." That was that, if they were going to live together the least they could do was get used to seeing each other in various states of undress. Though after a moment her own cheeks began to turn a becoming rose. Coughing she pushed off the door frame and headed into the main bedroom flopping on the bed. Rolling onto her stomach she rested her chin in hands and waited.

He wasn't out of the fire yet but she would be patient. Seth didn't fight unless it was in honor of someone else and this time around she was dying to know who's honor her king saw fit to defend. Pouting at the thought she couldn't help feeling slightly jealous... wanting Seth to defend her honor only and no one else, though she supposed it was a quality she liked. All of his friends were important to him.

Seth was quite grateful when Noe padded off to the bed to wait. Grabbing a shirt and a pair of sleep pants, he quickly got dressed before hanging up his towel and joining Noe on the bed. "Thank you," he said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. The whole event with Hunter had still rather soured his mood, but Noe's presence always helped to bring back some peace. "So... Did you have a nice day?"

"It was another day. Nothing to report..." She grinned. "How was your day?" she prodded completely brushing his inquiry of her day aside. This was surely not the time to try and butter her up. She wanted the goods... Now! "Anything interesting happen?" She added, in part, as a sarcastic after thought knowing all too well something had happened indeed. The why of it was what she was after.

Unlike Noe, the cheetah Hyte was not very smiley at all. "Define 'interesting'," Seth replied, ear flicking in irritation as he thought back on all that had happened. "If by that you mean Hunter's acting worse than usual, than yes, interesting things happened." The end of his tail flicked stiffly back and forth on the bed behind him as he suppressed the urge to growl at the raccoon's name.

She could tell instantly that playful banter wouldn't lighten his mood. Hunter had a way of pissing everyone off around him. It was just his nature but no less an excuse for him to get away with it then the next person. With a heavy sigh she sat up the action giving her a better look at the scratch and bruises he sustained. "Aww.. Seth why are you fighting him anyway?" She cooed moving to wrap around him gently. Licking at his cheek affectionately she nuzzled him close wanting to comfort him more then berate him for being so silly as to fight that violent mass of idiocy.

"Because he goes too far," he replied. The cheetah closed his eyes at the nuzzling, but didn't relax all that much. "... He and Haevan had it out. I don't know all the details, but basically he was being more of an a** than usual and hurt Haevan badly in the process." Had Noe been in the place of Seth, perhaps she might have done the same. Then again, perhaps not. It was impossible to always predict what one would do really.

Noelani sighed curling up next to Seth. "I know but.. well.. " There really wasn't much she could say to defend Hunter. Why she was defending him in the first place was beyond her. "I understand you're wanting to defend your friend but... can you please not get into it with him? I want you in one piece." Truth be told she didn't like it when Seth was so hostile it wasn't like him but maybe it was just another part of his nature. "Will you be okay?"

"I'm in one piece," Seth pointed out, ear flicking lightly. "And it's not as if we exchange blows often, but when he takes things too far I refuse to just let him get away with it." The cheetah turned, giving Noe a gentle kiss before lightly nuzzling her back. "I'll be fine, yes, but don't ask me not to defend my friends." It was just an in-built part of who he was.

Noe went silent smiling at Seth's nobility. He had a way with being there for friends something she always loved about him. Loyal to the end. "I understand. Just be careful around him is all." She nuzzled back once more sitting up to give him a peck on the cheek. "So if you've gotten all that frustration outta your system up to appeasing your girlfriend with some snacks, a movie and cuddling?"

Seth couldn't help but smile at the request. Noe always did have a way of cheering him up. "Certainly." He lightly wrapped his tail around Noe's waist to pull her close for another kiss. "Any special requests, Love?" In his mind he tried to remember what they did and didn't have in the pantry at the moment. Well, if they chose to rent a movie then they could always get snacks while they were out as well.

"How about we make a quick snack run and hit up the local video store." She giggled curling up next to him with a content snug around his waist. "It will save us some time for having to replenish on snacks.. 'sides I'd like to stay in for the rest of the night." Blushing lightly she wondered if he'd sneak his usual heated kisses in between movies to spice things up. It was always fun to get a bit carried away with each other. Just thinking about it put a becoming pink tint to her cheeks to which she hid herself in the crook of his shoulder and chest.

The cheetah Hyte chuckled lightly at this, placing a gentle kiss atop of Noe's head. "Sound's good to me." It truly was rather cute when Noe became shy like this, and he couldn't help but tease her a little further by nibbling lightly on one of her currently very accessible ears. Seth always enjoyed these simple times together, and really it didn't matter what they were doing exactly. Just spending time was enough for him.

 

[elfgurl1234]

So... [PM RP]
11/17/09 - 1/19/10

Quote:

*starts out with random conversation we're having about our Hytes*

Leon: xDD he's got a knack for being childish without being weird about it <3

Elf: It's hilarious and awesome, lol. And he's probably one of the few Hytes that Seth is most relaxed around. =P And by "relaxed" I mean not always being 100% polite and proper. xd *bricked*

Leon: xDD Cuz he's not polite and propper to save his life *shot at* <33

Seth: No lie there. cool *joking*

Haevan; DD< *sneakily sneaks up behind Seth and gives his buds tail a light yank*

Seth: Ack! *turns and grabbed the hat off of his friend's head with a triumphant smirk* Two can play at that game, Pup.

Haevan; B< *arawarars at Seth and makes grabbie hands for his hat* 'ah aint never givin' in

Seth: *grins* And neither am I. *sprints off with hat*

Haevan; DDD< *whine charge* Ye be nice ta tha hat.. >>;; 'ah aint thy only un who likes eet now *laughs*

Seth: *was about to retort back but stops, looks at the hat, then tosses it back to the wolf* Here ya go. >_<

Haevan; ....DD; *feels bad now and scoots closer to whinie face and paws at*?

Seth: *quirks a brow* I was kidding. *chuckles and noogies the wolf*

Haevan; >: *swats and dances out of the way of the noogie-age* 'ah see how eet is *makes a face at* :B

Seth: *smirks* Do you?

Haevan; Aye *nods grimly sticking his tongue out at the other*

Seth: *rolls eyes* So what have you been up to lately anyway?

Haevan; *goes a bit quite and frowns* 'ah... admit naught much Seth. *bites his lower lip* Sad more 'n 'ah like ta think 'ah bout. Guess eet was leadin' up to lass nigh' *sighs ears laying back slightly*

Seth: *frowns* You know you can always feel free to come talk to me at any time, right? No need to keep to yourself so much.

Haevan; *peers out from under his hat that had returned to the top of his head, a strange distant look that seemed out of place on the wolfs face* 'ah know. Why would 'ah dump on ye when eet was just.. 'ah trai'n wreck *eyes his necklace and frowns taking it off for now*

Seth: Cause we're friends, Haevan. That's what friends are for, right? *faint smile*

Haevan; *smiles at that and gives the other a considering look* Aye, we 'r friends Seth. 'ah guess next time.. *laughs* Oi, ho' 'bout when 'ah have a problem *does not..want a repeat of what happened hence correcting himself* 'ah will talk ta ye. *sighs*

Seth: *nods* I'll be holding you to that. *punches him lightly in the arm* So, having fun over at Femi's?

Haevan; *feigns injury and pouts* Hm? Aye. 'ah intend ta come back... but dun't be surprised if 'ah crash on the sofa... 'r Hunter does :/ 'ah dun't think we got 'ah spare bedroom? *tilts his head as if thinking and shrugs not worrying about it for the now* Hm? Eet was nice, 'ah got ta do sum thinkin' *lightly pushes the other, or more like moves him back a step or two* How 'bout ye? Wha' made ye leave suddenly last nigh?

Seth: Oh, that? Just had some business to attend to is all. ^_^; *business which involved beating up a certain raccoon and getting quite beat up himself* In any case though, I'm under the impression that Hunter may not be around the apartment for a while. He didn't return home last night after we- um, left the shop.

Haevan; *eyes his friend suspiciously as if he could tell there was more to it then that* Mm.. 'ah migh' come home tonigh' then... *thinks he can see a few bruises on Seth but can't prove anything so doesn't push it* Guess thy worse tha' could 'appen is if Hunter came in 'ah fit *tail flicks*

Seth: *flicks his own tail* Hunter can always be dealt with if necessary, so don't worry about that. If you feel the need to stay away a bit longer though then follow your instincts. No need to rush anything.

Haevan; *gives him a look, as if "dealing' with Hunter really did mean more then empty words* Aye, 'ah suppose so. *shrugs trying to change the subject* How 'ave things been with ye? *smiles faintly*

Seth: *chuckle slightly* Things have been alright. Fairly uneventful for the most part. Although I did get roped into some babysitting recently. >.>;

Haevan; *gives him a 'huh wut' look* 'ah know thy ain't yers.... so how did ye manage that *chuckles bemused*

Seth: Well... ^_^; A while back- before the move- Mena found me at Hytech and we had a little "chat" about things for a while. In any case though, at the end of the conversation she told me of her future plans to adopt Phoebe and asked if I wouldn't mind helping to baby sit sometime. So, I of course said yes. *shrugs lightly* It was an interesting experience to say the least.

Haevan; *tries to follow along, knowing only some fellow Hytes by reference or by relation due to knowing one or another* Ahh, well 'ah suppose fer when ye 'n Noe have little 'uns *smiles and laughs softly* Nye, that ees 'ah good thin ta have experience fer 'ah suppose.

Seth: *chuckles* Yeah, experience, let's go with that... *wonders vaguely if he and Noe will ever get as far as having children* *realizes he's spacing and shakes himself out of it* Next time though perhaps I'll drag you along with me. Need someone else nonmagical around to balance things out. xd

Haevan; *shows off one of his normal half sheepish half all wolf grin* 'ah guesss 'ah could do tha' *rolls eyes and pffts, trying to not laugh* hm.. 'ah should go fer 'ah run *rubs at the back of his neck*

Seth: Don't suppose you'd wanna make that a race? cool *is forgetting the fact that he's a bit sore still*

Haevan; *laughs* 'ah dun't see why naught.. *gives the others shoulder a light punch* see 'ow can last eh? *wraps up his Ipod and puts it in his pants pocket*

Seth: Ah! *flinches at the shoulder punch, suddenly reminded of his injuries. Tries to brush off the reaction casually with a cough* Heh, yeah. I'll make sure to go slower so as not to leave you in the dust then. ^_^;

Haevan; *eyes widen, more than certain he hadn't socked the other male and finds himself concerned* What.. happened to ye? *takes a step closer as if to prod/examine the injury worried for the other* x__o?

Seth: Ah, it's nothing, really. ^_^; Just, um, had a small fall on the way home last night is all. *lame excuse considering how agile the feline was*

Haevan; *doesn't believe a word of it* Uh huh.... ye 'r a bad liar Seth. *shakes his head* but 'ah won't push ye, ye would tell me if ya though' 'ah should know 'ah suppose

Seth: *scratches the back of his head guiltily* Sorry, Haevan. *feels bad having lied to him but... isn't sure that telling him about the fight would make anything better* So, where are we racing to? =)

Haevan; *would feel worse that his friend had to come to his defense cuz he didn't do it himself when he should have* Hmm.. *looks around* see tha' tree? *gestures to a small point in the distance*

Seth: *looks off at the plant in question* Mhmmm.... There and back? Or just to the tree?

Haevan; *shrugs and stretches one leg* 'ah guess there, so 'ah can flop 'n thy grass *shifts his weight and stretches his other leg*

Seth: Alright then. *stretches a bit himself* Just say when and go then. cool

The wolf rolled his eyes, playfully mind you. Yeah, maybe if he was in a better mood he'd have laughed. As it was.. he didn't want to worry anyone. Was he truly a fool after all? The thoughts came and went as they had before, and like usual he stored them away to evaluate later. Right now, he was with his best friend. Tail wagging, the wolf crouched down, and all but literally shot off. "GO." He called out.

Seth grinned as the wolf darted off, giving him a few seconds head start before chasing after him. True, it probably wasn't wise of him to be moving like this, but the thrill of the chase was worth the pain in his mind. Once close enough to his friend, he grabbed the hat off of his head once more and suddenly turned off in another direction, laughing as he ran.

The wolf hadn't expected this..although he should have known better. The two were more like over grown kids when they had a chance to run around, likely due to the fact they never got it out fully as pups and kits. Growling, and clamping a hand over his head the wolf changed direction and followed after. By no means as fast as the cheetah, he did have stamina on his side. From both his wildness rondevu's with Hunter, and his natural animalistic side. "Ye can try." he laughed determined to get his cap back that was forever being stolen.

Unfortunately for Seth, there were no trees nearby this time as there had been previously. He would need to think of an escape plan, and fast. Spotting a fence up ahead, he jumped over it... only to find a large pond on the other side. He had inadvertently trapped himself between the wolf and water.

Haevan placed a hand on the top of the fence and easily vaulted over it landing smoothly on his feet. And evil grin spread across the wolves face. "Heh... end 'ah the line." He teased backing the other closer, and closer still to the water. Crouching down he aided the end of it all by knocking them both into the water. Yeah, they were defiantly over grown kids even after all this time. Coming the surface the other grinned lazily. "Can 'ah have my hat back~?" He chimed making a grab for it.

The water was never a very fun place for the cheetah to be in. However, it was his own fault really for not having planned his escape route better. He had half considered pouncing the wolf just to push them back away from the pond, but Haevan managed to get the jump on him first this time. "After pushing us in, that's definitely going to have to be a no," Seth said with a small laugh, still holding the cap out of reach while at the same time attempting to get around his friend so they could be on dry land again. Turned out it was an impossible balance to strike though. "Alright, alright, I surrender," he finally said, plopping the soggy cap back onto blue hair. "Now let me out of here before I dunk you under the lake."

Haevan grinned sheepishly and adjusted his soaked cap so it fit as he pleased. Shaking his head he lightly treaded towards shore purposely kicking up some water to be a pain. Luckily he'd had all his electronics at home.. he might have cried otherwise. "Heh, what ever." He replied reaching land soon after, giving his body a full blown shake spraying more water in random directions. "Eet's all fine 'n well." He smiled lazily and plopped down in the near by grass in hopes of drying off. "Plus ya needed a bath." He teased.

In the process of getting back out of the pond, the cheetah was splashed several more times- including when Haevan shook himself off on land. His ears twitched in displeasure of being wet, but otherwise Seth simply smiled and shook his head. "You're a piece of work, pup," he said as he plopped down in the grass next to him, waiting until then to shake himself of as well. "And very funny. I do bathe regularly you know." He punched him lightly in the arm for that.

The wolf wrinkled his nose at the other when he was slugged, and idly rubbed at his arm. "Owch." he mocked whined however the grin spoke volumes, it hadn't bothered him much if at all. More so he could whine the other had hit him. Laughing the wolf yawned, pulling his wet hat over his eyes. "'ah know. Hence jokin'" he replied one eye peeking open. "'n.. Nah 'ah 'm just who 'ah am." he mused in reply. The sun was warm, however the faint scent of the changing season was all about. His senses told him fall would soon turn to winter. "say... after we dry off 'n such wanna go grab 'ah bite?" he propped himself up onto one elbow, ears flicking back listening to various stray sounds.

Seth smiled lightly at the wolf's suggestion of dinner. "Sure. Sounds good." He had to admit, Haevan had quite a bit of spirit. He wasn't so sure if he could be fairing nearly as well had the roles been reversed. The wolf truly did make for a remarkable friend. "I don't suppose you'd want to race to the food place, ne?" he asked jokingly. Some things just never changed...

Haevan rolled his eyes debating on slugging the other. "Nye, lets just get some chow eh?" He got up brushing himself off and marching off not so secretly padding ahead of the other.
Seasons might change, but even in the face of time..there friendship had remained.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~The Proposal~

[PRP] A Night to Remember (Seth and Noe)

Summary: Seth decides to finally pop the question to Noe, but an unexpected misunderstanding throws a wrench into the evening plans. What will become of this?

 

[elfgurl1234]

Season's Greetings [PM RP]
12/24/09 - 8/18/10

Quote:

If only days like those could be forever. In reality, it wasn't easy being alone. Not that he was every really alone granted. He had friends, and still did the things he liked it was..just odd being without some one. Then again he'd promised himself he'd never be one of those 'I need some one' sort. Things with Hunter had ended rocky, but they still got along well enough. The wolf still wondered if it was for the best despite knowing the truth. It was natural.

There'd been several days he stayed with Femi.. but with her having little ones he felt like he was imposing. Instead he'd come back to were he lived with his 2 other room mates, and resumed best he could. Gazing out there apartment window, it was on one of those days when his mind was far away that he watched the snow fall. Alright maybe it was time to get off his a** and go do something...heh beside video games. Grabbing his scarf he moved to head out the door.

Just as Haevan had been about to leave, the door to the apartment opened and a snow-covered cheetah made his way inside. Work had called him in for the early shift that day and he was just now returning. "Ah, hello, Haevan," he greeted with a smile as he started to remove his coat. "Going out for a bit? Don't think that scarf will cover it." Truth be told, Seth wasn't overly fond of the snow thus far. It was wet like rain only it was much much colder. Not a nice mix for the African feline. Still, at least it was nice to look at.

For the white wolf, snow was a natural part of life. He liked it, and from time just for going romping in. Tilting his head he eye'd the outside brow wrinkling together. "Aye 'ah suppose so." He ducked into his room, fishing out a pair of shoes and a light coat. Unlike the African feline, he came from a sturdier colder breed. It was usually intense heat that made him uncomfortable.
As for work, he'd pulled a morning shift when one of his co-workers had been deathly ill. If all went well, the rest of his Christmas Eve would be without working. He paused half way towards the door. "Ye 'alright?" he titled his head at the other.

Seth had been in the middle of trying to dry off his fur with a towel when Haevan paused to speak to him. He blinked in surprise at the question for a second but then smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just slightly wet from melting snow is all. How are you doing?" Even though they lived in the same apartment, it seemed like they hardly were ever free at the same time.

The wolf gave the other a considering look as if weighing his words for truth. "Ye just seemed absent minded." He replied with a small smile. It was true, they may have lived together but between himself, Seth and Noe? They were all on different schedules be it for school, work or a combination there of. Since..Hunter moved out, Haevan usually stayed out until late, or hung around the bedroom for whatever reason, or was off to work. In what free time he did have it went to studying. Fishing for a scarf he plunked his rear against a near by chair, choosing to chat for now. "Fine...'ah suppose." He replied hesitantly. "Debatin' what ta do." He admitted chin plopping into his palm. It was a loaded statement, it could mean a number of things not that he was really in a bad mood. The smile on the wolf's face said otherwise.

"I did?" the cheetah Hyte remarked in mild confusion. However, he quickly shrugged it off and chose to sit down on the couch. Who knows, perhaps he had been a bit out of it without realizing it. "Debating, eh? Well, what options were you contesting in your mind?" Seth asked with a faint smile. He was certainly concerned for his friend, but as far as he could tell the wolf seemed to be coping quite well. "Ah, Merry Christmas Eve, by the way. ^_^"

Haevan nodded to the others confused reply, call him weird but it had been more a feeling. Considering the wolf had been in and out so much in the apartment he'd only had a chance to chat with Seth on a few occasions. Since it was Christmas he'd been staying with his father. This particular afternoon he'd more come home to grab some extra clothes, but why not enjoy his friends company?
The worry may have been well meant, but Haevan had resolved to grow stronger. He knew the true, he'd always love Hunter but...until something gave, or the raccoon could see him as an equal neither of them could be happy. Staying with the wolves his father spent so much time around had done him good. Perhaps not in the traditional way, it wasn't like he'd gotten a little taller, but maybe wiser. The forest had helped refine the wolf inside him allowing his human heart to grow just as well. "Runnin' in the snow, or buggin' thy crap outa ye." he grinned plopping down in a recliner near the other. "'n a merry one ta ye too." He wrinkled his nose. The holiday spices had been killer on his nose, but even he had to admit it was nice.

"Those are you only two options, eh?" Seth replied with a chuckle and a smirk. "Well then, I'd have to go with... a run in the snow. cool The fresh air is good for ya." Although with his luck the wolf Hyte would probably decide on the latter choice, but hey, that would be fun too. It was always nice spending time with Haevan. "So, have plans for Christmas?"

Haevan nodded gravely. "Aye." he laughed rolling his eyes drawing his knee against his chest, chin to knee. He'd go running later he didn't feel like dumping the other on his a** now that they'd started chatting. He'd find a way to fling snow at the other before nights end. "Hangin' 'ah round fer 'ah bit then headin' ta my old mans place." He replied wrinkling his nose. "What do ye 'n Noe have planned?" Haevan tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Nothing specific really," the cheetah replied with a small smile. "We're probably just going to spend the day together doing whatever. So, do you know if Leon has any Christmas traditions then?" Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure what his mom did for Christmas either, but he could only imagine the havoc that Bytes might cause to the decorations and such. Not to mention all of the little elves currently running around the house until tomorrow...

Haevan laughed, thinking on his father. "Aye, he spends eet with his family.. 'n 'ah suppose were gunna go visit his clan 'ah wolves he belongs ta." He shrugged lightly. "Tradition Xmas fer Dad's part, he warned me how much crap 's familys gunna dump on me." He looked sheepish as he tipped his hat off at a rakish angel. "Guess I'll be gone fer a few weeks but that gets me out yer two's hair." He teased. Haevan knew he was welcomed here, it was fun to ruffle a few feather and fur on occasion granted.

"Leon belongs to a clan of wolves?" Seth replied in mild surprise. Truth be told he didn't really know all that much about Haevan's father- although he supposed that explained a bit more of why Haevan had been made half wolf. "A few weeks, eh? Who's hat am I supposed to steal in my spare time then?" the cheetah teased with a grin. That was usually pretty fun.

Haevan's own grin widened a fraction. "Aye, as 'm told my blood comes from the wolfs in there forest..err something akin ta that at least." He shrugged. "Either way, ye could call 'em my extended family." He smiled sheepishly rubbing at the back of his neck at Seth's comment. "Guess ye'll have ta improvise mebbe?" He cocked his head to one side and gave the other a light shove. "'r suffer till 'ah get back." He laughed.

Seth chuckled as well. "Oh, darn. Guess I'll just have to reserve all of the pent up noogies for after you return, hm?" He was only teasing of course. The cheetah Hyte was really quite glad that Haevan would be able to spend some more time with his family. Although he would definitely miss having the wolf around the apartment for a little while.

He couldn't help but grin at that planting a paw over his head. "Nye 'ah refuse" he idly shook his other paw at Seth. Secretly Haevan had moved closer to a near by throw pillow on the sofa. Little did his unspecting buddy know, throw would be exsactly what fate would soon become the little puffy squares. "'n aye... 'ah 'm looking foreword to eet, despite bein' 'ah touch nervous." He admited with a small sigh.

"Don't see why you should be nervous," Seth replied with a smile. "I'm sure they'll all love you. And maybe if you're lucky someone will take over noogie-duty for me." It was true, the cheetah had no idea of the pillow that would quickly be in his face. He'd probably find out soon enough though.

His grin couldn't have gotten any wider if he'd wanted to try, as he moved into position he gave the other a light twack on the head and bounced back out of striking range. Tail wagging the over grown pup laughed. "Cuz ya just never know." He watched the other for a counter strike, rather bemused he'd gotten one up on the fast feline.

"Ack! Hey!" the cheetah Hyte replied with a laugh as the offending pillow bounced off of his head. His tail swished actively behind him as he grinned back at the other. "What'd I do to deserve that?" Not waiting for a response, Seth grabbed the nearest pillow to him and threw it Haevan's way, taking the opportunity of the distraction to bounce off the couch. If there was going to be a pillow war, he wanted to be able to move freely.

The shorter male shrugged non shalantly, more out of a response then a real reason why. "Guess 'ah gott'ah kill time some 'ow." He caught the pillow and tucked it under one arm, ears laying back and slowly moving back towards the other. His tail flicked as he noticed the other spring up, with a light spring he lightly swatted the other a huge grin on his face. "Tho...ye did look too peaceful." Haeavn chuckled using the sofa to put distance between the two. Naturally he was mindful of the few presants near there tree they'd all managed to drag in from the near by woods. Squishing peoples gifts? Nah that wouldn't have worked to well.

Seth pulled back to avoid the swat, although as he listened to his friend he returned the grin. "Want to kill time, eh? I could oblige you with that." The sofa made for a nice temporary shield, but it could be easily vaulted over if necessary. The only real issue here was the relatively small space with which they had to work. Their tussles normally took place in much wider areas, and it wouldn't do too well to accidentally knock over or break anything in here. Grabbing up another pillow, the cheetah tossed it Haevan's way again before pouncing in for a 'sneak' attack.

Ah..yes there was the issue of breaking things. Hopefully they wouldn't shatter anything, given the circumstances. Then again, one couldn't help being an over grown kid from time to time. It was just the nature of the beast.

Ears laying back, the wolf watch the other try and 'sneak' closer. He had the pillow cradled against himself ready to strike if needed. "Aye... just till my ride 'ere" he laughed. Shifting his weight he carefully made his way around the sofa to avoid being out in the open.

He couldn't make it to ease for the feline Hyte now could he?

It appeared that the second thrown pillow had failed in it's mission to distract the wolf, and the two were currently circling around the couch. "Just until your ride gets here, eh? Well that's no fun." Since his attempt at stealth had failed, that left only one option for him now: a direct attack. Waiting until they were at the shortest distance from one another around the couch, the cheetah Hyte made a leap over the piece of furniture, picking up his earlier missed pillow to give the other a good thwap.

Only natural that he ignored the pillow after all...Well. At least this time. Maybe if he hadn't had his attention on the other, as it was the pillow had flopped into his face and hit the floor. Even with that having been said, Haevan had his own pillow at the ready.

Granted, he hadn't expected the other to vault over the sofa. Eyes widening the wolf gave a cry of surprise, bouncing back as the pillow came hissing his way. "Oi!" he laughed, flicking his own pillow back at the other. "Just cuz 'ah can't keep ye entrained" He made a face at the other scooting closer to attempt to disarm the other.

Seth laughed along with the wolf, pleased by the surprised reaction he had elicited from the other. "You started the pillow attack," the cheetah Hyte replied with a grin. "Now it's time to reap what you sow." It quickly escalated into an all-out war of the pillows between them, and the two went back and forth at it for quite a bit. Eventually, however, they had to give pause when Haevan's cell began to ring. "Don't think this is over between us," Seth said with a smile, walking about and picking up the stray pillows. "We'll be picking this up when you get back."

The wolf shook his head, bemused and holding a rather deflated pillow still in his white pawed hands. The hybrid tilted his head almost pondering perhaps, it was hard to tell given his expression was blank (or as blank as his eyes ever got) "Aye... 'ah will have ta repay ye in kind." He chuckled rubbing idly at his head were the occasional swat had been delivered Before the other could argue, he snuck over and gave the other Hyte a hearty hug. "Take care eh?" He grinned, tipped his hat and went to grab his bags. Given that his phone was ringing AGAIN meant his father was being impatient as always.

While the holidays would have been nicer spent with his friends..he did admit ably miss his extended family. More like..his extended clan. His father belonged to a werewolf clan, to which the blue haired goof had grown up on there lands with the occasional visit to the Hytech facility. Bidding his friend one more wave the wolf vanished out the door and ignoring the chilly snow under his feet ducked into his old man's car. With his luck, he'd end up spending half the holiday brushing up his now rusty hand to hand combat skills among other things.

It remained to be seen. Haevan's one and only wish were for Noe and Seth to enjoy there company together..for Hunter to find whatever it is that would make him happy. He even thought of Femi, wondering how she was doing with her new family..So many thoughts raced threw his mind as he drove away. All in the spirit of the coming new year, change was on it's way.

Make no mistake.

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] Flight of the Kuppy- Part 1
12/26/09 - 1/04/10

Quote:

Stupid winter weather. It was snowing outside yet again, as it had been doing so often lately. It was only a light sprinkling at the moment, but even so the cheetah Hyte was beginning to dislike it nearly as much as the rain. It was cold and wet and thus it prevented him from going outside. Reading is fun, but this is getting ridiculous.

Neither Noelani nor Haevan were home today, and Seth had the day off. He was starting to get a bit restless from being indoors for so long. ... Maybe if I put on my coat I won't get that wet... I'm deluding myself. With a sigh, he closed the book in his hands and put it down before getting up and stretching. You know what? Screw the snow- I don't care if I get wet from it. With that decided, he grabbed his coat ad headed for the front door.

And he could hardly have been a step out the door before being bowled over by a bedraggled mass of golden hair--which upon closer examination proved to be a kuppy. Eli's normally luxurious hair was quite thick even when wet, and its length in this case meant he looked a bit more like a relative of Cousin It than a dashing magical boy. It looked as if he'd dashed off without a coat, too, and it was probably trudging through the area without a coat more than the light sprinkling that had eventually led to the soaked-through look. His eyes were a bit wild too, as he grabbed Seth by the shoulders. "Please let me in." The polite request was entirely at odds with Eli's current appearance, and it was certainly a comical sight.

It took him a moment to recognize the kuppy, for Seth had never before seen him in such a state of disarray. "Eli?!" he exclaimed, amber orbs wide in surprise. "Yes, of course, come in." Once the door was closed behind them, the cheetah turned back around to look at Eli again. "What happened? Is everything alright?" Had something happened with the empire? He couldn't imagine much that would throw the kuppy into such a frantic state.

Eli made a show of drying off--literally; he lifted his hand to the side in a grasping motion and with a little 'woosh' nearly all the water pulled out of his hair and clothing, hanging in a nebulous mass in the air until he directed it into his brooch where it siphoned in a little spiral. He patted his hair down--the quick drying method left it a bit frizzy, and then looked around the apartment with avid curiosity before turning back to Seth. "Nice place, I probably should've been sooner...Noe gets tetchy when we don't see each other often enough..." Somehow he'd happened upon babbling as a distraction.

"Eli," Seth pressed on, not distracted by the babbling, "what happened?" This was no casual visit from Noe's brother, that much was obvious. Why had he been running around in the snow with no coat on, and what had him so frantic upon his arrival?

"Uh--I sort of...uh, ran away. After Shimy and I...she found out I've been talking to Aikatyrine." The words came out breathlessly, and Eli was pacing around in a little circle now. "She wasn't very happy, and I wasn't very happy, and--I needed to get out of there."

The cheetah Hyte frowned at his explanation, still feeling that there was something he was missing. "What is so wrong with you having spoken to Aikatyrine? She came over unannounced- it was not as if it could be helped." And why would he run away over that?

"I...possibly...talked to her after that. Several times." Eli had stopped pacing and was now absently twirling strands of his very long hair around a finger. "It was very enlightening, really, and I'm not sorry I did, but--" The kuppy heaved a sigh. "I just think it's much better that maybe I start getting out from under Shimy's leash, that's all."

"Ah," Seth replied, finally understanding the issue a bit. He smirked ever so slightly in amusement and in a joking manner said, "So, in your enthusiasm to be free you forgot to grab a coat before leaving? Seems that you left in quite a hurry."

Eli twiddled his thumbs. "I...may not have told Shimy I'm leaving. Mom said she'd do it, but I'm not sure that's right, either..." He heaved a sigh, and gave Seth a little shrug as if to ask 'what else can I do?', and went back to eyeing the apartment. "I realize that this is very sudden, and will almost certainly be a bother to Noe for certain--could I stay here? Just until I can figure out a more permanent solution."

"You ran away?" the cheetah asked in mild surprise. Alrighty then... Seemed a bit drastic given the situation, but perhaps he just needed a small about of time to cool off after the fight. At the question, Seth gave a light chuckle and smiled. "Like I'd say no to family? Of course you can. Although, I do think you should talk to Shimy as well." Noe wouldn't mind having her brother over for just a few days or so, right? Maybe? And Haevan was generally pretty easy going about these sort of things as well.

Eli shrugged in response to Seth's surprise, though his ears twitched at the mention of 'family'. Sure, he probably considered Seth his best friend (next to Kamiko) but family... The kuppy's face froze as his brain whirred ahead, putting two and two together. "Seth...you and Noe..." Shock was probably an apt description of the look on Eli's face.

Seth's ears quirked slightly at the shocked expression on Eli's face. "Hm? Ah, you hadn't heard?" A clawed hand reach back to scratch the back of his head idly. "Sorry, I thought you knew. Noe and I are engaged now." He probably should have told him sooner, but with how quickly word seemed to usually spread around Hytech, he honestly thought that the kuppy knew by now. After all, he was positive that Mena knew at the very least. Guess she didn't think to share the news...

There was a vague sort of gurgle sound in the kuppy's throat, and then he closed his eyes. He knew Mom had been keeping something secret from him, and she'd seemed abnormally cheerful of late... Of course Noe getting engaged would do it. Of course his mother wouldn't tell him, because she knew he'd react...well, like he was reacting. Emotions whirled around inside of him; anger for not being told sooner, depression that it always had to be him doing the reacting (wasn't his father supposed to be taking care of this?!), a little bit of jealousy directed at Noe who'd been able to find love not only once but twice, and an overall sort of rush. "I don't know what to think anymore," the kuppy said simply, and then he sort of fell over. His brooch shimmered, and a holographic Elti stood beside Seth, cocking her head to the side and hand on her chin.

"Well, that's a bit of a pity," the Ti'ama said sadly. She leaned over and poked her kuppy Contractor. "I think you broke him. Overload of emotion. Do you have any smelling salts?" She didn't seem terribly concerned, so Eli was probably fine...

Did he seriously just faint? Seth though incredulously to himself as he blinked down at the kuppy on the floor. ... Yup, he sure did. Strangely, Elti's appearance from the brooch didn't startle Seth as much as it probably should have. He was pretty much beginning to accept the fact taht strange things would happen whenever the magical kuppy was around. "Afraid we don't," the cheetah said with a sigh, bending down to lift his friend up onto the couch. After Eli was situated, he turned his attention back to the image of the Ti'ma there beside him. "So... Long time no see, Elti. ^_^; Are things going alright over where you are?"

"Oh well, he'll come around on his own~," she said, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Poor thing, it was going to happen sooner or later. He's not very stable right now." She turned to give Seth a smile, and a shrug. "Ah, as alright as they can go, all things considered. I'm not sure if this is the best thing for him, either, but he seems very determined..." She looked back at the kuppy, and reached over to move a strand of hair behind his ears, before looking at Seth once again. "Oh, and congratulations! I'm sure you'll make a fine addition to my kuppy's family."

"Ah, thank you," he replied with a faint smile, deciding to sit down on the other arm of the couch. "What is it that he seems very determined about exactly?" Eli seemed to have a knack for getting mixed up into many things at once.

"Oh, leaving. It's--Shimy's past is complicated, and that's the just last lifetime or two. Now that Eli--well, a lot of this was new to me, too... By gaining a measure of independence, I think he hopes to clarify his true relationship with Shimy. Eli, in many ways...shares a lot of similarities with a person or two from Shimy's past, and he thinks she's projecting onto him. Thinks that if he leaves, and there is some distance, they can both find themselves..." The Ti'ama shook her head slightly, as if coming out of a reverie. "I can't see the future, so I don't know. But I hope it will work out."

"Hm, interesting theory," Seth replied, glancing down at the unconscious kuppy. "Although I still think he could have planned a little better. Does it really make as much of a difference to leave suddenly with no real plan of action versus taking a day or two to be packed and prepared?" This whole running away thing really didn't make that much sense in the cheetah's mind, even after being given the reasoning behind it. Then again, everyone's mind worked a bit differently from one another... Seth was just more of a planner in general.

Elti pulled a face. "Sadly...yes. Shimy's as bad as a Ti'ama, if she really had thought he was going to leave...she wouldn't have let him. As it was, it took Mena to distract her--Mena doesn't need the distance, she learned to separate herself a long time ago." Elti laced her fingers in her lap. "Mena sees things very clearly. I've always wondered why she didn't become a Contractor. Perhaps she feared the entanglement."

She wouldn't have let him leave? That seemed a bit harsh. I guess this makes a little more sense now. Seth listened politely as Elti continued on, thinking over the situation in his mind. "Maybe," he said with a slight shrug. To himself he thought, Or perhaps she's just not into the whole magic thing. It doesn't necessarily suit everyone. He was about to ask Elti something, but then stopped and chuckled instead. "I was about to offer you a drink, but I keep forgetting that you're not actually here. Um, can you think of anything besides smelling salts that might bring Eli back to?"

Elti smiled winningly at the cheetah. "Hehe, well, I appreciate the thought anyway~ And he should start coming 'round on his own...ah, here we go." Deftly she slid off the couch arm and into a kneeling position beside the couch, taking Eli's hand in the image of her own as the kuppy began to stir. "Eli, you went a bit overboard..."

"Funny, my head pounding is telling me exactly the same thing..." the kuppy muttered, propping himself up with his free hand, and looking at the couch with some surprise, then up to see Seth. "I'm sorry about this..."

"Just try not to trigger a huge emotional response for the next...oh, day or so?" Elti said, shaking her head.

"Okaaaay, Mom," Eli said, rolling his eyes.

"I am your mother star, and you'd do well not to forget that," Elti said, though it seemed very good-natured scolding.

"It's alright, Eli. Things happen. I'm just sorry for not telling you the news sooner," the cheetah said apologetically. Perhaps the kuppy wouldn't have reacted as badly if Seth had shared the news under different circumstances. Still, there wasn't much that could be done about that at this point. "Are you... alright with this?"

"Ah..." Eli thought of the best way to phrase his response. "I can't think of anyone who'd be better for my sister, and you put up with the rest of the family well enough so I guess you could say it was inevitable. I am, however, going to kill my mother because I am fair certain she knew twenty minutes after it happened." He let out a gusty sigh, and shrugged. "It's less you-marrying-Noe and more Noe-getting-married, if that makes sense. Oh, and a bit of wondering if this is what it takes to bring my father and Zane back around." He touched his head gingerly, and eyed the Ti'ama beside him. "Empathic magic is not as fun as some people make it out to be."

Seth couldn't help but chuckle a little at the explanation. "I believe I can understand where you're coming from." And, knowing Mena, she probably did find out rather quickly after the fact. The Feline seemed to have a special gift for that sort of thing...

His ears perked slightly at the kuppy's last statement. "Empathic magic?" he echoed, curious as to what the other meant. The cheetah never had asked exactly what kind of magic Eli used most often. "Could that even be used for battle? Or do you practice different types?" Cause 'empathic' just dealt with emotions, right?

"Oh, empathy can be a weapon all right," the kuppy said dryly, gesturing to the couch. "The problem is I seem to be better at hurting myself with it than directing it outward." He clasped his hands in his lap as he continued. "You know how I don't have any limits in how to use Elti's power; usually my problem is focus. That's why I use my Lytes as sub-soldiers, each of them is attuned to a different kind of magic. My primary magic is empathic, which allows me to closer attune with my lytes but also offers me personal defense...or it would, if I could ever get it to work correctly. Instead I'm just known for being a bit of a crybaby," the kuppy finished with a self-deprecating smirk. "I feel things very strongly--they're not always my own emotions. I've grown pretty adept at shielding others out though--have to, living at the Cottage and all the mess at Hytech..."

"I guess you would have to," he replied with a small nod. That also explained a few things, although the Lyte "subsoldier" thing intrigued him. He vaguely wondered if all of the Lytes and Bytes back at his mother's house could also somehow be made more useful. "So, how does one go about 'training' empathic powers then? It's not very good if it keeps backfiring on you all the time..."

"A lot of meditation, a lot of trial and error. It's not a kind of magic that is particularly common even among Contractors so..." Eli shrugged. "Eventually I ought to be able to either plant emotions in people, amplify what they're feeling, and possibly trap them in mental loops. I can really only test the first two safely..."

A mental loop definitely sounded like a great weapon to use against an enemy, although he could see how it would be extremely unsafe to test out otherwise. "Interesting. Well, if you ever need assistance I would be glad to help." Even though the potential was quite nice for what the magic could do, it was definitely best not to leave untrained. Especially if it was already affecting the kuppy so strongly.

"I will probably take you up on that offer," Eli warned, settling back into the couch. Elti yawned from her perch on the arm of the couch. "Anyway, the empathic magic's a good part of why I left, and why I didn't tell Shimy I was leaving--there's nothing quite like arguing with someone and having their own feelings confirm your suspicions... Also if I was anywhere near her when she's told I'm leaving the sheer fury would probably knock me out cold, for far longer than this little incident."

"That bad, eh?" Seth replied with a quirk of his brow. His tail swished casually behind him off the side of the couch while they spoke. "If empathic magic is as rare of a branch as you say it is, what made you decide to specialize in it in the first place?" Was it a suggestion on Elti or Shimy's part, or had he just sort of stumbled across it on his own? How would one even begin to choose anyway?

"It's what the magic bent itself towards," Eli said, shrugging again. "My mother is highly perceptive to the point where I half think she's got latent magic, and my father is kind of infamous for his emotional outbursts, so...I guess you could say it was a genetic tendency." That was the best explanation the kuppy had found for himself. "Most Ti'ama and by extension their Contractors, prefer to work with magic a little more...visible? I'd say 'solid' but a lot of Empresses were known for wielding illusion magic. Which isn't too dissimilar from empathy, at least in outward effect...one Empress was particularly known for shattering minds, mind loops creating eternal sleep, that sort of thing. She ended up having to spell most of her team into endless dreams or else they'd have overthrown her and probably destroyed the Empire in the process." After Eli spoke, he seemed to realize how that really sounded, and he scratched his head self-consciously. "Fun times, Imperial history," he added dryly.

"Sounds like it." Somehow it seemed just way too wrong trying to run an Empire while having all or most of your followers bewitched. Then again, from what Seth had heard thus far of these "Imperials", they didn't seem like a very good bunch overall.

A brief glance over at the window revealed that the snowfall outside seemed to have finally stopped. The cheetah's ears perked in momentary joy that he might finally be able to go outside before he remembered that he had company. I can't exactly just leave him here, he thought to himself, but would he be willing to go out again so soon? Well, I guess only one way to find out. Turning back to the kuppy, he asked, "Hey, Eli, do you feel like going out for a walk? The snow seems to have finally stopped, and it probably couldn't hurt to get some fresh air."

Eli perked up at the idea of doing something; in spite of his lingering headache, he was full of nervous energy and talking a walk might burn some of it off. He was on edge, wondering when or if Shimy would try to contact him next, wondering idly if he'd still feel her fury when Mena told her the news even through all this distance... "That sounds great," the kuppy said honestly, standing up with stretch.

"You do that," Elti said, patting the kuppy's shoulder with a delicate hand, and then she bowed to Seth. "I'm off for now, see you later Seth~" And then she was gone.

"Farewell, Elti," Seth said with a smile, standing up as well. Ah, it would be so nice to go outside again without getting wet... Well, his feet would, but that didn't matter so much. Grabbing his coat once more, he said, "Alright, let's get going then." With that the two Hytes made their way out the door, both eager the relax their nerves in the outdoors.

 

[elfgurl1234]

IM RP: Eli, Seth, & "Kitten"
1/11/10-1/12/10

Seth: *is napping on the couch* zzz

Mysterious!Little!Girl: *a vague sort of popping noise is heard from outside, and in wanders a little girl who couldn't be more than twelve, probably more like ten. Despite her sheer amount of frills and ribbons (and even a bell or two), she stalks stealthily through the carpeted main area on tip-toe. Though it's clear she's a Hyte, it's not clear what she is--could be cat or dog, really, with her goldenish paws and black ears*

Seth: *ears twitch slightly, but otherwise the cheetah Hyte remains sound asleep*

Mysterious!Little!Girl: *pauses in the center of the room to scope out her surroundings; it looks like it's just her and the cheetah boy on the couch. Glancing to each side one more time, she then adjusts her course as she tiptoes over to the couch, leaning over the arm and staring at the sleeping cheetah's face with a quizzical look* Hmmm...

Seth: *is mumbling lightly in his sleep, but the words are too soft and jumbled to be understood* zzz

Mysterious!Little!Girl: *puts a paw up to her chin as she considers her options. After a moment or two she nods to herself and puffs out her chest, putting one hand on her hips as the other grips the bell on the ribbon around her neck--which she rings quite daintily. The sound starts out light and tinkling as a bell of such size normally sounds, but the longer the girl shakes it, the louder it gets*

Seth: *ears twitch again, but this time the cheetah Hyte slowly starts to wake up to the sound of the bell* Hm? *stretches and sits up, looking around sleepily. He is surprised at the sight of a young and unfamiliar Hyte* Ah? =o Well, hello there, little one. ^_^; I don't believe that we've met before.

Mysterious!Little!Girl: *upon the bell's desired effect occurring, she lets go of it and tilts her head to one side as she smiles at him* Hello! My name's Kitou but everyone calls me Kitten! :3 What's your name?

Seth: *chuckles* My name is Seth. ^_^ Nice to meet you, Kitten. =) *still curious as to why he had yet to hear of this new Hyte* Where are your parents?

Kitten: Nice to meet you too, Seth! *at the question of her parents, she tilts her head to the other side* Ummm...back home~ ^____^;

Seth: *smiles faintly* Snuck out, eh? They're probably worried about you then.

Kitten: Ehehe...Daddy knows where to find me, so it's okay~ Hmmm...*twirls around slowly, trailing ribbon from her various clothing pieces, her eyes going wide to take in all around her* So this is Hytech, huh? It's my first time here!

Seth: *surprised* Really? Where did you spend your time as a baby then? *is used to most of the young ones hanging around hytech*

Kitten: *puts a finger to her mouth; she's considering how best to word her answer* Mostly at home, I guess. We went out sometimes though, to lakes or parks or that kind of thing~

Seth: Ah. *is growing rather curious about this mystery Hyte* So, who are your parents exactly? I didn't know anyone else besides Femi and Gable had Gen recently.

Kitten: *a little light of mischief mixed with a bit of fear sneaks into her expression--she definitely doesn't want to answer the question directly* Who do you think my parents are~? *is what she opts for instead, deciding it'll be interesting to see what Seth says and possibly distract him*

Seth: *looks Kitten over thoughtfully for a moment* Well, I know a couple of Hytes that you look like you are the daughter of, but I know they defnitely haven't had any kids. So other than that, I have no idea.

Kitten: *clasps her hands behind her back as she flutters her eyelashes at him* What if I'm yours? :3

Seth: *blinks* Um... what? *shakes head* No, I'm pretty sure I have not done gen either. ^_^; Plus you have not been at home with me and bare no resemblance. *chuckles* Just what game are you playing, Kitten? =)

Kitten: What if I told you I was a time traveler? :3

Seth: ... Somehow I might not be surprised. *chuckles* Let me guess: blond hair, frilly clothing, special powers... Eli's kid, right? *is starting to think he's still asleep*

Kitten: *pouts* I knew this was too much! I told Daddy but he said I had to make a good impression... *gusty sigh*

Seth: *arches brow* Oh? And just what has brought back to this time period, exactly?

Kitten: *freezes* I can't say. neutral

Seth: Because...?

Kitten: *pause*...Because! I could RUIN THE FUTURE. neutral And then Daddy would be very mad at me *pauses again, then grudgingly allows* But paaaart of the reason I'm here is to tell Eli something.

Seth: *tilts head* Don't you run the risk of doing that just by being here in the first place? =o *looks about* Um, I don't think Eli is here at the moment unfortunately. ^_^;

Kitten: *matter of factly* Magical laws allow for a bit of fuzziness in the time space continuum, especially around Contractors. *gusty sigh again* I saw and figured as much but this is the only place I know where to find him... :/

Seth: Well, he may perhaps be back at the apartment still. *shrugs* Would you like me to take you there?

Kitten: That would probably be best... *looks determined now*

Seth: *chuckles* Alright then. *stands up and stretches briefly*

~Time Skip to arriving at the apartment~

Seth: *walks in with Kitten in tow* Eli, are you home?

Eli: Yeah, yeah, just a--*walks into the front room, does a double take, and hisses* KITTEN!

Kitten: *waves merrily* Hi Eli! ^_______^

Seth: *smiles faintly* I guess you've met her before then.

Eli: *dryly* You could say that. You could also say SHE FELL ON MY HEAD. sad

Kitten: It was an accident, promise!

Seth: *quirks brow* She fell on your head? *that had to hurt*

Eli: Yes. Yes, she did. And she didn't even apologize. neutral

Kitten: I said it was an /accident/! That's all that needed to be said, right? Right?

Seth: *shakes his head at the two, starting to believe the "future daughter" story a bit more now* Um, well, anyway, I believe she said she has a message for you...?

Kitten: *clears her throat* I forgot to tell you last time. I--*sniffles*...*tiny voice* I don't think I can say it...

Eli: *arms are crossed and he taps his foot impatiently*

Seth: *waits patiently*

Kitten: *sniffles some more* I...I...*takes a deep breath before letting it all go in a single gush* I'M ALLERGIC TO SPARKLES crying

Eli: *foot stops tapping, and a polite vaguely quizzical look is on his face now* Beg pardon?

Seth: *sweatdrops* You're allergic... to the starseeds? *finds this entirely too ironic*

Kitten: Not /starseeds/ cuze we all got 'em, but...specifically sparkles they produce, yeah. *sniffles* I'm a terrible magical girl, I know... emo

Eli: ...............

Seth: Ah... ._.; Um, being allergic doesn't make you a terrible magical girl though. You can't help your body's reaction... ^_^; *wonders why Eli isn't saying anything to his "daughter"* >.>;

Eli: *eyebrow raised* I'm guessing you get it from your mom...

Kitten: *thwaps him* I can't tell you that! neutral

Seth: Well, I don't think you CAN have gotten it from your dad... >_>;

Kitten: *back to her srs matter-of-fact face* It's more like a food allergy, it's possible to get it after stimulation. *and an immediate switch back to the morose face* Using 'em all regular-like, and suddenly you're deathly allergic...

Eli: ....I'm still wondering why future me thought sending you was the best way to convey this message

Seth: ._.; *is wondering the same, but has kind of given up on questions by this point*

Kitten: Oh, it wasn't Daddy's idea, about the message. That was Auntie Dacj's idea! :3

Eli: ........................................

Seth: *snorts* Of course it was... *is amused*

Eli: Auntie Dacj realizes I haven't even /met/ her yet, right?

Kitten: *blinks* ... *pulls out a small notebook that appears to be a pocket calendar, and scans it. A faint blush creeps over her face* ....ehehe. Right you are....

Seth: *chuckles* You actually should go meet her sometime, Eli. She's quite cute. ^_^ I could keep her out of grabbing range if that would help...

Eli: After this, I'm not sure I want to... >.>;;

Kitten: *flails* Nonono! You gotta meet her! Or else the time-space continuum will explode or somethin'!

Seth: >_>; Um, yes, that would probably be bad...

Eli: It wouldn't /explode/...you just might cease to exist... >.>;

Kitten: *gets the tsundere angry-gonna-kill-you face/fist waggling/vein popping* THAT'S JUST AS BAD!

Seth: Um, I don't think you have to worry about that, Kitten. ^_^; Unless Dacj were your mother (which I entirely doubt), his delayed meeting of her most likely wouldn't erase your existnace...

Kitten: Stepping on butterflies! Hurricanes in China! *flailing some more*

Eli: That's a pretty weak excuse, Kitten...

Seth: ... ._.;

Kitten: *coughs delicately* Well anyway I told you and you need to stop being so reliant on sparklies or else you'll kill me neutral

Eli: *does a double-take* lolwhut?

Kitten: I can't believe you actually said 'lolwhut'. Mena would be so ashamed...

Seth: So... you're proposing that he goes on a "sparkle diet" then? XD *is trying but failing to hide amusement*

Kitten: Mmm, more or less I suppose~

Eli: Did you forget about the part where I still have to overthrow an evil Empress?

Kitten: Your magic takes more form than just sparkles~

Seth: *decides to stay quiet and simply listen to the banter for now, tail swishing lightly behind him*

Eli: Okay, okay. Message delivered. Go back to the future.

Kitten: Daddy said you should try and spend time with me.

Eli: *facepalms*

Seth: Well, right now he technically hasn't had you yet... ^_^; Um, perhaps you can spend some more time with future Eli?

Kitten: No, Daddy was very specific. Part training, part learning to compensate for my allergy~

Eli: Future me has a sick sense of humor, apparently. neutral

Seth: Are you sure these weren't Dacj's instructions? *trying not to laugh*

Kitten: Daddy's /much/ nicer than Eli...

Eli: If you at this age wasn't the first thing I'd met I'm sure I'd be nicer to you, too.

Seth: *clears throat* Well, um, I don't suppose that your father gave you any specific ideas for bonding activities?

Kitten: Daddy said Eli should have some ideas :3 He also said, 'think of it as an exercise in diplomacy.'

Eli: ........ *mutters something about wondering about the probability of killing one's future self*

Seth: *smiles faintly* Diplomacy, eh? Sounds like quite the excercise. *would almost like to meet future Eli, as he seems to have an interesting sense of humor*

Eli: Clearly, you are amused, Seth. I'm so happy for you *looks at Kitten with a sigh* Bonding, huh...what kinds of things do you like, squirt?

Kitten: *sticks her tongue out at him* All kinds of stuff!

Seth: *shrugs and scratches the back of his head* Sorry. ^_^; To be fair though it is slightly amusing. *cough* Anyway, hm... Well, you two could read or watch anime together perhaps?

Eli: Yes, well, if your future child ever shows up... *seems to realize how ineffectual a threat that really is, and shakes his head sadly*

Kitten: If I wanted to do those things, I'd have stayed in the future. neutral *hard to please, clearly*

Seth: Ok... Hm. Um, you could go swimming? ^_^; *is not very good at such things either*

Kitten: In the middle of winter?

Eli: Hytech /does/ have heated pools, but... *shrugs*

Seth: *shrugs* Well, I don't have very many ideas of things that could be done now versus the future. Your turn for some ideas, Eli.

Eli: *eyes Kitten, knowing she'll probably go for it but also dreading the implications* Twenty-first century candy?

Kitten: *grins* Now we're talkin', Eli.

Seth: *must not laugh, must not laugh, must.. not.. laugh* Ah, I think we may just have some in our room. Be right back. *disappears into bedroom*

Eli: .... *kind of wants to ask why Seth has a candy stash in his and Noe's room, but also really doesn't want to know the answer*

Kitten: *bouncing on her heels, humming to herself*

Seth: *was actually just leaving the room to keep from laughing, but now is in the predicament of trying to find something sweet* =/ *grabs one out of Noe's stash of melon pan, hoping that she won't notice and returns to the living room* Ah, seems I was wrong about the candy. Here's some melon bread though if you'd like to try it. =)

Kitten: *slightly disappointed but mollified by the offer of melon bread* Sure~ *takes the proferred bread, eyeing it before taking a huge bite, which she chews with an expression that says she's deciding whether or not she likes it*

Eli: *wonders if Kitten's this much of a menance in front of her beloved Daddy or if she actually is well behaved*

Seth: Well? ^_^;

Kitten: *swallows and gives Seth a thumbs up* Yummy~!

Eli: >.>;;

Seth: *relieved* Glad you like it. =) *is not really one for sweets himself*

Kitten: *gobbles down the rest of the bread in a just-barely-more-than-savage manner, and then tugs on Eli's shirt* Your turn~

Eli: I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of offering you sugar, squirt.

Seth: *wonders how this qualifies as a "bonding" experience anyway... Unless he's planning revenge on his future self by sending her back all hyper-active*

Kitten: But Eliiiiiiii... *turns on the puppy dog eyes*

Eli: *twitches, but they're pretty much his weakness, and Kitten's really good at it* ....Kitten...

Kitten: *amps up the puppy-dog-eye 'voltage'*

Eli: *feels...himself...falling prey to those cute big eyes* ;_;

Kitten: *positions herself to best advantage by adding begging-kitty-fists*

Eli: .......ice cream?

Kitten: *throws her arms around his neck* Yay~!

Seth: *chose to watch the transaction safely from the sidelines* Well, that certainly sounds like a good idea. It'll give you two more time together on the way there as well. ^_^

Kitten: Eli's staying here, right? May I sleep over too~?

Eli: *too busy facepalming in shame to notice Kitten's request*

Seth: Ah, I think it might be best if you perhaps return home this evening. Your parents will probaly be worried if you are gone too long, and Eli and I have some training that we need to do. Right, Eli? *trying to help the kuppy out*

Eli: Huh--oh. Yeah. Training. Mmmhmm.

Kitten: *clearly disappointed* Maybe some other time, then~

Seth: Perhaps. ^_^; In any case, it was very nice meeting you, Kitten. =) I look forward to seeing you in the future.

Kitten: *does a little curtsy-bow combination* Nice to meet you too, Seth~ Come on, Eli~ *grabs the kuppy's hand and starts dragging him out the door*

Eli: I'll be back in a few hours, I guess... *is dragged out by Kitten*

Seth: See ya later then. *waves the two off*

*end RP*