Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been while since Nalira had been in the Stationary shop, and she had a great feeling of freedom when she was there. She gently nudged the door open, moving her walking cane skillfully infront of her frame, moving forward at a slow, yet steady pace.

She stumbled slightly, placing a hand in front of her to feel for a chair. She smiled as her hand came in contact with fabric, falling heavily into the chair she had found, coughing slightly as dust rose from her heavy impact.

She ran her fingers through her dirty, blonde, man-cut hair, sighing heavily. A feeling of relaxation fell over her, her breath becoming slow and deliberate. She yawned, placing her cane next to the chair, sinking tiredly into the chair.

Although she lived with Lemonlime, the Stationary Shop had alway felt like home. It was, afterall, where she was born. She closed her eyes, resting her head on her hand, yawning once more. Lemonlime would probably be worrying right now - she kind of left without saying a word. Oh well, she'd explain when she got home.

Sylvester was very excited. Today was the first day ever that Mama had let him come to the Shop all by himself! Sure, there had been that one time he'd been inside for a while without her, but she'd dropped him off, so it wasn't the same. The same with that other time when Uncle Chucky had been just outside when he'd been meeting Onoway. Didn't count. This time he had left Mama and Brownie all the way at the pawn shop and had gotten here all alone. It was almost too much awesomeness to handle.

Pulling his hands from his pockets, Sylvester pushed on the door. Maybe Onoway would be here now! That would be fun. Or Rhea, even! Fun! Or Jiro, or Viddy, or Tybalt, or Angelus, or Aido - man, he knew a lot of people.

He stuck his head inside first and said, "Hello?" before inching his way in, blinking at the change in brightness.

Nalira jerked awake, her head snapping over to the door. She stood, crouching down to pick up her can, standing upright and running her hands over her clothes in a desperate attempt to straighten them.

She coughed into her hand, swinging the cane in front of her once more and moving over to the door, placing her hand on the doorknob. She tilted her head, closing the door and listening for the comforting click that reassured her it was closed, scratching her head.

"Uh, hello?" She asked curiously. Had she heard someone, or was it part of her dream? No, she wasn't even dreaming to begin with. She could sense someone, a distinct aroma. She turned her head to the smell, smiling.

"Oh, hello there." Although she didn't know who was standing there, she knew it wasn't someone she knew - she had memorized everyones smell so she could identify them. She offered a polite smile, her oversized-canines visible when she smiled.

"Oh, hi!" Sylvester said after the girl had closed the door and stopped in front of him. She didn't seem to be looking at him. Well, she was looking at him, but not at him. "I'm Sylvester." He waved his hand a little, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference.

The Tale looked around. There was something strange going on here. Something in this shop was making him twitchy again. He hadn't been twitchy for a long time, even with that whole eye doctor thing. He fiddled with his coat, finally deciding to take it off and hang it on the rack by the door. Not noticing her teeth, which would have normally made him nervous, he said, "You wanna sit down?" It was a strange thing to ask someone he didn't even know, but he suddenly didn't feel so hot.

She smiled, nodding her head head at his question. She moved over closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. She pulled her cane from her side and placed it infront of her body, swinging it gently.

"Sylvester? That's a really loverly name. I'm Nalira." She stated politley, advancing forward. She stumbled slightly, but it was nothing major, more like tripping over her feet. She listened for the comforting clunk of her cane hitting the chair, and let out a sigh of relief when she heard it.

She sunk heavily into the chair, letting out a satisfied breath. She turned her head around to where she assumed the Tale was, but could never be fully certain, he could have moved or sat down already.

"I'm assuming you're a Tale?" She asked tenderly, raising a hand to the back of her neck and rubbing it gently.

He followed a little behind and waited for her to sit before he took the seat opposite. He had caught her name, but her question flew over his head and around the room a while as he settled himself. Finally, he answered, "Y...yeah. I came from in there." He started to point toward the Study, then dropped his hand to his lap when he realized the gesture wouldn't help. "Nice to meet you."

Sylvester took a deep breath and looked at Nalira, really looked, for the first time since he'd entered the shop. She seemed normal enough, minus that scar over her eye and the whole blind thing. Maybe that's what had caused it? He inhaled in preparation to ask, then decided that wasn't the nicest subject to start grilling her about. He fidgeted and lifted his hand to scratch at his forearm, when suddenly the twitchiness stopped. What the...? Wow. That was weird.

"How'd you get that scar?" he blurted, excitement over the abrupt departure of his discomfort overwhelming his usual sense of tact. He sat back in his chair, eyes wide with embarrassment. "Sorry," he added quickly. "You don't have to answer that if you don't wanna."

She smirked at his abruptness, chucking under her breath. She seemed to be looking above him, although she wasn't really looking, she was thinking. She placed a finger on her lip, intruiged by the little Tale. She then moved her hand to her scar, fingering it tenderly.

"What? This old thing? I'm not really sure. I was born with it when I came from over there." She gestured over to the Study, before laying her hand in her lap. She lowered her head, staring almost through the young Tale.

"So, uh, what do you look like?" She asked cautiously, biting her nail. It was an unusual question, yes, but under the circumstance it seemed perfectly normal. She wanted to atleast imagine what the Tale she was conversing with looked like.

Oh good, she wasn't mad. But then again, if he'd had any scars, he wouldn't have been mad if someone asked about them. Scars were awesome! Receiving them... well that wasn't, but he didn't need a scar that badly.

What did he look like? "Giraffey," he said, lacking a better explanation. Remembering Rhea's nearly obsessive desire to hug his neck, he said, "You can touch if you want." He didn't mind really. Being petted on was kind of fun.

She smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. She usually touched anyway, but it was good to have permission prior. She moved forward, taking a seat next to him. She looked over in his direction, tenderly putting her hands forward and resting on his skin.

She ran her fingers up his neck, smiling. He was furry, and unbelievably soft, causing her fingertips to tingle. She ran her fingers all the way up his neck, gently stroking his face to determine his features before resting on his nose. She withdrew her hands, leaning against her chair and simply staring forward for a few moments, his face swimming before her. Realizing she was still in company, she turned her head back around, grinning.

"You're adoreable." She complimented, gently ruffling his hair - or, fur on the top of his head.

Seconds after she touched his neck, Sylvester closed his eyes and held perfectly still. The twitchiness was back but much fainter this time, and it stopped once her hands were gone, resurfacing briefly when she tousled his hair. At her compliment, he ducked his head and blushed, though it wouldn't show much through his fur.

"Thanks," he muttered, politeness taking precedence over little-boy-compliment-cooties. Seeing her grin, he smiled too. "D'you come here a lot?" he asked. "Everyone I've ever met was from here and all of them were small 'cept Aido. Linny too, but I haven't seen him in a looong time."

She frowned, shaking her head. "I don't come here as often as I'd like to. It's almost like home - ah, is something bothering you?" She couldn't see him twitching, but she could sence tension. She rubbed the back of her neck gently, biting her lip - hard enough to cause her nerves to twinge yet soft enough not to draw blood.

"I hope I'm not bothering you." She muttered softly, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She reminded herself not to smile as much for her oversized canines were clearly visible and prone to scaring people. Of course, she wouldn't hurt anyone, but still, she could understand their fear.

"Oh no," he said hastily. "Keep going!" Please. "I like hearing about other people. My family's boring." He laughed a little to himself at this, and was relieved it didn't sound forced. It wasn't forced! Nalira was cool! There had been a lot of weird things going on lately, most of which he was sure he didn't know the half of, but the one plaguing him now certainly took the cake. Sylvester shook his head sharply for a second and looked toward the Study. He sat up straighter and forced himself to relax. There was no reason Nalira had to be uncomfortable too.

Nalira raised an eyebrow, shaking her head. There was something wrong, and whether or not he was going to admit to it, she just knew that there was. She shrugged her jacket further up onto her shoulders, averting her gaze.

"I hate taking about my life. Tell me a little more about yourself and your family." She insisted, giving a forced smile and looking down, pulling her hands together and shifting into a more comfortable posistion.

"I'd love to hear."

Well, now he'd done it. He opened his mouth to... do something... change the subject, actually talk about his family, he didn't know. All he knew was that amid Nalira's shifting and shrugging, he saw something. It was tied around her neck, and it was very red and more than very captivating. He was twitchy and itchy and all kinds of unpleasant-feeling, but still, whatever that thing was around her neck was beautiful.

"What's that?" he whispered. He leaned forward as if he was talking directly to the vial, which he probably was at this point.

Nalira rose a hand tenderly to the vile. She stroked it gently, letting out a sigh, leaning her head back. She closed her eyes, gently tugging at the vile, the rope snapping from her neck. She held the vile in her thumb and index finger, shaking her head.

"Blood. My blood." She whispered, shaking her head. She pocketed the vile, shuddering at the thought. She let out a trembling breath, offering the Giraffe Tale a polite smile.

"Don't worry about that. It was just, something I was given when I was little. Nothing important." She rubbed her nose nervously, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She wasn't sure how he would take that information. She rubbed the scars on her arm subconsciously, rolling her shoulders.

He watched her as she pulled the rope off of her neck and slid the tiny container into her pocket. Her own blood? Not again.

All at once, the twitchiness stopped. Completely. It was as if some band of skin cooties, upon hearing whose blood it was, had instantly lost interest and vacated the area.

"Oh," he said. Well, that was a weird present. But he supposed it was none of his business. All right. She didn't like talking about herself. He could think of something to say. Right?

"Have you ever heard of Santa? Mama's always talking about him like I should know who he is, but I've never heard of him before." It might have seemed like a leap in the logic of the conversation, but now that he felt better, he was honestly curious.

Sylvester might have no longer been bothered by the presence of Nalira's blood, but someone else was. Montmorency peeked out from behind Sylvester's ear and went briefly non-camouflagey in annoyance. The lights on her head flickered for a moment before she silently ducked back into his hair.

Nalira laughed softly under her breath, flashing him a toothey grin. She pulled her hair back from her face, sitting forward. She coughed into her hand, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Of course I have. Who hasn't heard of Santa? On Christmas eve, Santa rides through the sky in his sleigh, pulled along by his nine reindeer. The one at the very front is named Rudolf, and he has a red nose to light the way.

Then Santa leaves presents for little Tales alla round the world. They wake up on christmas morning and open up their presents. He's a very friendly person." She smiled, reaching forward and gently ruffling the Giraffe Tale's hair.

"If you've been good, he'll give you a present. But if you've been bad, you won't get anything." Nalira didn't believe in Santa anymore, but it sure was fun telling the tale of jolly old Saint Nicholas.

Reindeer in the sky? Did they fly? That was pretty cool! No wonder Mama talked about this Santa guy a lot. And presents? Yeah, Mama mentioned that. Presents were awesome! But there was one thing Sylvester wasn't clear about.

"How does he get in? Santa, I mean," he asked. "Does he break in?" He had obviously been watching too much Law & Order.

Montmorency ducked close to Sylvester's scalp as Nalira ruffled his hair again. Despite being metallic, she was the same temperature as he was and she clung to the hair nearer to his ear, so it was unlikely she would be felt.

Nalira laughed under her breath, moving forward and grabbing the younger Tale's hands in hers, giving them a gently squeeze. This was more of a friendly gesture then anything.

"You could say that. You see, what happens is he comes down through your chimney. Although he is rather large, he is magical, and can easily shrink himself to fit through. Then, he takes presents out of his big sack and places them under the christmas tree. It also helps if you leave him some milk and cookies, for the rest of his journey."

Nalira leant back a little, her hands still in Sylvesters. It was nice to tell stories, and always gave you the best feeling when the people around you got excited. Nalira couldn't help but grin at the questions being asked.

"Aw, cool!" Sylvester said. Honestly, any reason to have cookies lying around the house was a good one, but a big, magic guy who falls into your fireplace needing them, that... was kind of weird actually.

"Does he know where everyone is?" he asked. "My cousin is staying with us instead of in her own house. Is she going to get anything?" He wouldn't mind if she didn't, actually, but he wanted to know just how magic this guy was.

Nalira pondered for a moment, moving her hand from the Tale's to scratch her ear. She clicked her tongue gently, frowning slightly. She flicked her hair back from her face, rubbing her chin gently.

"Has she been a good girl? Santa only brings gifts to girls, and boys -" She quickly added. "- who have been good all year. If she's been good, then yes, he'll bring the presents to your house instead of to hers." Nalira finished, nodding and flashing the giraffe Tale another grin.

Nalira leant back, releasing Sylvester's hands and sinking into her chair, yawning and shifting uncomfortably. "Have you been good this year?" She asked, smiling to herself, moving her head to gaze in his direction.

"Well, I don't think so. She screams all the time," he said with a little more drama than was probably necessary.

When Nalira let go of his hands, he clasped them in his lap before putting them on the armrests and leaning forward. "I've been good! At least I think so. There's some stuff I don't remember. But if I'd done something really bad, somceone would have locked me up, right?" His words may have sounded silly, but he was, for a moment, completely serious. He shrugged. "I guess if I've been good, Brownie's been good too." He smiled, still happy about the presents he didn't have yet. "I wonder what I'll get?"

Nalira smirked, throwing her arms behind her head, leaning back. She curled a strand of hair around her finger, letting out a little hum, thinking carefully about what she was going to say next. It was always good to think before you spoke -- it keeps you out of trouble. Unless, of course, you think for too long, then people get irritated and think you're being ignorant.

"Well then, screaming isn't that bad, I suppose. Then again, I suppose it's up to Santa, isn't it? If he thinks screaming is bad, she won't get any gifts." She replied, trailing a finger around her lips, chuckling at his comment. "I don't think anyone could lock you up, you're too cuddly and nice for that."

Nalira dipped her hand into her pocket, searching around the interior for a while before pulling out an ice lolly. She flicked a bit of lint from the surface, smiling and extending her hand, holding the lolly between her thumb and index finger.

"Would you like a lolly? It's lemon flavoured. It's been in my pocket, but it's still alright -- and to prove that it's not poisoned, I'll even eat one with you." She flashed him a toothey grin, waving her hand gently infront of him, indicating for him to take the candy whilst taking another lolly from her pocket with her free hand, popping it in her mouth.

Candy! "Yes, thank you," he said, reaching out and taking the formerly linty lollipop out of Nalira's hand. As long as it wasn't a meat-pop or anything, he would eat whatever. He unwrapped it quickly and ducked his head, throwing the candy up into his mouth the rest of the distance he couldn't reach. Mmm.

"Thanks," he said again, smiling. "You know there are some moms that don't let their kids have candy at all? I've never met any in person, but I saw some on TV." He knew she probably didn't watch TV - after all, where was the fun in just listening to it? - but it was really his only reference for other people's experiences outside of his house and the shop. He glanced around as he continued to suck on the lollipop and wondered when it would ever get warm again. Winter might mean presents, but warmer was better.

Nalira nodded slowly, savouring the flavour of the ice lolly which bought her time to think of what she was going to say next. That didn't sound at all fair, afterall, lollies were definitely one of Earth's better creations.

"Well." She said carefully, clicking her tongue. "Although that sounds horrible, some children can be elergic to sugar. A sad fate indeed, but I'm sure they'd rather be safe then sorry. Then again, maybe their parents are just protective of them. It's natural to want your children to have beautiful, white teeth, instead of ones filled with cavities." She shifted once more in her seat, still not able to find a comfortable posistion.

Nalira, on the other hand, prefered winter. She loved how the sun illuminated the snow as it drifted silently from the heavens, falling onto the earth in a loving embrace. She loved how the ground would become covered with untainted, soft snow of the purest white with small ferns reaching from the blanket to greet the world. It was beath taking.

Sylvester kept looking out the window, only turning back toward Nalira when his lollipop was nearly gone. He sucked in a breath to speak, and managed, "Did--" before he heard a soft tapping coming from the vicinity of the door. He turned back to see his mother standing outside the shop, holding his cousin Brownie on her hip. No fair.

"That's Mama. I'd better tell her she can come in." He jumped down from his seat and opened the door for them.

"Oh," Smerdle semi-whispered. "I can go if you're talking."

"Nah, you can stay and look around, if you want. But I don't want to go yet or anything."

Smerdle nodded and followed Sylvester back over to where he had been sitting. He glanced up at his cousin to see if she was going to make a racket as usual, but instead of wailing, Brownie smiled and brandished... a brownie? Well, that was kind of cannibalistic.

Nalira blinked, confused at everything that was happening. She heard an unfamilliar voice, and registered that the young Tale had said it was his mother. She have a nervous wave, smiling with her mouth closed in an attempt not to scare the woman. Her canines were abnormally large, afterall.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, sitting there in silence, not wanting to interupt their conversation. She fiddled with her fingers absent mindedly, her thoughts wandering elsewhere. She hummed gently to herself, closing her eyes, waiting to be spoken to rather then speaking out of place.

Smerdle stopped behind the sofa, looking over at the fidgeting girl sitting nearby. The only Tales she had ever met that had been as old as Nalira were Linny and Aido, and she'd only seen the latter very briefly. Sure, Sylvester had grown some since he'd first appeared, but he was still a little boy. Maybe this Tale could answer some of Smerdle's questions! Then again, she did seem a little overwhelmed, and there was something else wrong that Smerdle couldn't quite put her finger on. Besides, this girl seemed like Sylvester's friend, and Smerdle remembered what it was like to have meddling parents of her own. It would be better if she just let them be.

Sylvester hopped back up on the couch. "Mama, this is Nalira. She's from here too!" He looked back at Nalira. "Nalira, this is my mother. But don't worry, she won't bother us talking. Right, Mama?" He said the last part through gritted teeth, as if he could push Smerdle across the room by adding a little gruffness to his tone.

"It's very nice to meet you, Nalira," Smerdle said, hiding a smirk at Sylvester's pushiness.

Nalira looked over her shoulder, giving a curt wave in Smerdle's direction and smiling politely. She propped herself up onto her knees, gently pushing her hair from her face and sliding her hands under her legs. This, perhaps, looked rather uncomfortable from a spectators point of view, but it wasn't, not really. Atleast not yet.

"Hello Sylvester's mum .." Nalira winced, smiling weakly and shrugging gently. She didn't know what else to call Smerdle, so that would do. It sounded kind of cheesy, but there wasn't much else she could call her, she didn't know her real name.

"I don't think she'll bother us, Sylv." Nalira said, a little too happily, shortening Sylvester's name partly because she couldn't be bothered completing her sentence, and because it was far too long to say all the time. Besides, it suited him, well, atleast Nalira thought it did.

"Oh sorry! You can call me Smerdle if you'd like," Smerdle said with a chuckle. "I'll just stay over here." She hoisted Brownie up higher on her hip and made her way over to the journal section. The Shattered toddler turned in her aunt's arms to give Sylvester the evil eye as always. Why did he get to have all the friends?

Sylvester smiled at Nalira's shortening of his name. He had always been eager to have a nickname, but unable to come up with one he liked. "Would you like to come over sometime? he said, his voice pitched so that Smerdle couldn't hear. "We got a big yard and toys and stuff. It would be fun!"

Nalira smiled politely at Smerdle, nodding once more before looking back to Sylvester. Nalira grinned, nodding happily, clasping her hands together. She hadn't been over to someone's house in a long time, it might be nice to break out of her shell.

"I'd love to.. I mean, if it's alright with your mum." She whispered shyly, cocking her head in Smerdle's direction and waving her hand in the air lamely. "I wouldn't want to intrude, or anything." She fiddled with her fingers half-heartedly, sighing to herself.

"She won't mind," Sylvester said confidently. "Mama, you won't mind if Nalira comes over some time, right? It wouldn't be an intruuusionnnn?" He dragged the last word out, partially because he chose that moment to lean over the back of the sofa, and partially because it was a fun word to say.

"Oh, that wouldn't be an intrusion at all," Smerdle said. Sylvester knew a lot of kids, but none of them had ever come over before. Maybe Brownie would even include herself in the fun. She really needed more friends. Or any to begin with.

As if she knew Smerdle was thinking about her, Brownie chose that moment to start squirming. She wasn't crying yet, but she was whining softly and flailing her wings around, barely missing Smerdle's arms and hands. "I think we're going to go outside. It was nice to meet you, Nalira," Smerdle said quickly. She flung the door open and managed to make it through unscathed, an armful of squirming baby held out in front of her.

Nalira blinked, laughing quietly under her breath. Somehow she felt lucky to be an only child. She waved to Smerdle and Brownie, grinning and turning back to Sylvester, propping herself up on her knees.

"Well, that's good. I'd love to come .." She exclaimed, clapping her hands together happily. She flashed him one of her toothey grins, extending her hand forward to ruffle his hair.

"What are we going to do when I visit, then?" She asked curiously, rocking back and forth excitedly. She'd only been to a handful of people's houses, three to be exact, so it was natural that she was a little excited. Right?

Sylvester didn't want to admit his house was kind of boring... but it was. "Well, we've got a big yard," he said. "And some octopuses that don't do anything." He nodded. "But outside is the most fun."

The door to the shop cracked open and a piercing baby scream made its way inside, followed by Smerdle's exasperated voice. "Sylvester? I think we'd better go soon." Brownie shrieked again. "Ow-how! Sorry guys." The door swung shut and Sylvester made a face at it.

"I guess I should go." He slid off of the couch and brushed off his clothes. "D'you got a phone?" he asked, unsure of how he was going to contact her.

Nalira smiled, nodding. Well, damn. She winced at the skrieking 'Brownie', pulling a face. She shook her head, running a finger over her ear tenderly. She was almost certain she'd never forget that sound. "Geez, do you have to put up with that all the time?" Nalira asked sympathetical. "What? Oh, yeah, I have a phone." She dove her hand into her pocket, searching around for something to write on. She pulled out a small lolly wrapper, shrugging.

She reached off to the side, feeling around and grasping the first pencil she could find (they were in a Stationary Shop, after all), scrawling down her number hastily, handing it to him. "Ring us some time and we can arrange something." She stood, slowly, brushing herself off.

"Well .. I'll guess I'll see you around sometime, hm?" It was more of a statement then a question, but before Sylvester could answer, she pulled him into a gentle hug.

"She's quiet most of the time, but the only time I'm sure she's not going to wail is when she's asleep," Sylvester complained. He took the wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket, but before he could respond to her rhetorical question, he was being hugged. He wrapped his arms around Nalira, gingerly hugging her back. "Yeah, I'll see you too." He rushed out of her arms and to the coat rack where he grabbed his jacket and slid it on before jogging back over. "It was really fun to talk to you," he said sort of breathlessly from all the rushing around. "Do you want us to walk you home?" He didn't know how she had gotten to the shop to begin with, but it might be lonely getting back.

Nalira listened to him rushing around, shaking her head slowly. "Oh, no, I'll be alright. Mum whould be picking me up soon, anyway." That was only half true, it would be a couple of hours until she arrived, but there was no need to worry the young Tale.

"It was great talking to you, Sylv. You're a really great individual." She stated happily, giving him a curt wave.

The sun illuminated the snow that drifted silently from the heavens, falling onto the earth in a loving embrace. The ground was covered with untainted, soft snow of the purest white with small ferns reaching from the blanket to greet the world. And as beautiful and majestic as this all was, Nalira could, possibly, never see this beauty ever again. It didn't matter, though. Snow was cold, wet, and depressing, right?

Just keep telling yourself that.

It was very unfortunate for the creatures that resided outside, wasn't it? They would be having a very miserable time indeed, but luckily our scene concerns those inside, away from the perils of the outside world. Away from the cold. Away from the beautiful, beautiful snow.

No. Miserable snow.

Although all was not calm and serene inside as it was outside, quite the contrary. It was indeed calm, but eerily so, for not even a crack of aged wood was heard as the footsteps of the young Tale echoed off the walls. Nalira felt her way around the house, feeling a sudden warmth as she entered the living room.

"Oh, you're up." Lemonlime said happily, setting her tea down beside her and standing, moving forward to embrace her child. Nalira fell into the embrace, sighing heavily, happy to be in the warmth. Snow isn't that great, it's just another type of weather. It's nothing special, and leaves a mess all over the house. Shaking her head, she broke away from the hug, moving back and tripping over the chair behind her, falling into it heavily.

"Are you alright, dear?" Lemonlime asked, conerned. Nalira nodded, raising an eyebrow and straightening up in the chair. Nalira listened to Lemonlime shuffling around under the tree, feeling a present being placed into her hands. Nalira shook it aimlessly, a small thumping of fabric hitting cardboard heard from inside. Clothes? Possibly. Bed linen? A long shot.

"I don't have a lot of money at the moment, so I was only able to buy you one present this year. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, though." Lemonlime said apologetically, kneeling down beside her daughter, smiling weakly. Nalira shrugged, wrapping one arm around her mother, unwrapping the present awkwardly with one hand. She took her arm from around her mother, reaching into the now opened box, feeling her fingers wrap around something soft and smooth.



Nalira grinned, hugging the soft toy to her chest. After a moment of snuggling, she held it out infront of her body, feeling around for its features. Long ears, small cotton tale, plump little body; it was a bunny. Nalira turned to her mother, placing a kiss on what was suppose to be her cheek, but ended up being her nose. "Thank you, mum. It's wonderful .. the best present I've ever gotten."

That was no exaggeration, either. She had always wanted a soft toy to call her own, to take to bed with her a night. Nalira turned away guiltily, entwining her hands together. She let out a sigh, looking back to her Author with a guilt smile.

"I .. didn't get you anything, mum. I'm sorry.. I didn't have any money.." She trailed off, waving her hand lamely in the air, looking away once more, going slightly red. All of a sudden her mother was ontop of her, her arms around her neck, kisses being placed all over her face. "Mum .. MUM! I said I'm sorry .."

"No, honey .. I'm just, oh -- I'm so proud of you." Lemonlime fled from the room, whiping tears from her eyes. Nalira was crumpled in the chair and was not, perhaps, in the most comfortable of posistions, but she was too stunned to move. After a few moments she straightened herself out, shifting uncomfortably and drawing her legs under her body. She pulled the bunny close to her once more, snuggling her cheek into the fabric, curling up into a ball on the chair.

"I'll call you cotton." She whispered softly, closing her eyes. She lay there, not quite sleeping, not quite awake. She was in a state of peace, and as Lemonlime passed by the living room door, she thought it best not to disturb her daughter. She hadn't slept properly in days - perhaps she'd come back later.