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 Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 4:20 pm
Women are so hopeless. >.>
Iden had settled herself on the edge of the kitchen counter, which was looking like its own disaster area, eyeing what to her was a smallish piece of wood. It had been carved on here and there, evidently using the knife she held in one hand.
For several minutes now, Vlad had been watching her from the doorway with a bemused expression; whatever it was she was doing, she clearly had no idea how to go about it properly, but it was evident from her intense concentration that she really was trying. Finally, he couldn't resist asking, "Just what are you trying to do?"
"Oh!" The younger vampire jumped with surprise; she hadn't noticed him there at all. Setting down the knife, she rubbed the back of her neck, looking sheepishly at the floor. "Hey, Drac, you know that waster thing you talked about awhile ago? I've been uh...thinking about it, and sort of playing around, and--"
"You realized you have no idea what you're doing," he finished for her. Typical Iden, right there. He grinned.
Rub, rub. She looked up, finally, and admitted, "Yeah, pretty much."
He gave a slight shake of his head, obviously amused. "So, let me guess...you want help."
Iden let slip a small smile, unable to help looking hopeful. But this was Vlad, after all, and he might just be taunting. "It'd be nice."
"Fine." He rolled his eyes, but crossed the distance between them and plucked the battered hunk of wood from her hand, saying, "Now give me that, before you turn it into something totally useless.."
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:02 am
January 7
I have to say I'm surprised; I didn't expect Vlad to be helpful at all, but for some reason he is. I don't know why, but I don't want to ask him, either. He probably wouldn't answer, anyway.
It's just so weird to see him interacting with a kid, with Toby. It's different from what I usually get from him. But I know that he knows what he's doing. He had three sons of his own, so he's definitely done this before.
Anyway, he gave Toby that waster he made, and he's started to teach him how to use it. It's a good thing, since none of the rest of us around here would know what the hell we were doing.
As for horseback riding (or shayback, whatever), that's been me, though I think he's learned some from watching Vlad on Cora. He's doing well, and learning it more quickly than he has things like writing.
He really, really wants this.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:24 am
So much to learn...but how much time?
Smiling in the warmth of the siira barn, Iden leaned back against the wooden door of a stall, sitting comfortably on the straw-strewn floor. She was watching Toby groom Caranien after their evening riding lesson.
The brightly-colored shay leaned into the Velvet's strokes with a happy sigh, making him smile. He gave her a friendly pat on the neck and kept up with the circular motions of the curry comb. As he finished with that and started with the hard brush, he spoke up, "Hey, mom?"
"Yeah?"
"You remember what that guy said before I grew?" Toby wiggled his nose and snorted away the floating shay hair that stuck to his damp nose.
"Not really," she admitted. "Refresh my memory."
"Well, he said we'd meet again, and he talked about all those things I'd need to know. Everyone's teaching me a lot of it, but there's still stuff left. Like hunting, and armor, and more weapons. Not just swords, y'know?"
"Hmm. I might be able to help you a little with the hunting. It's been a long time since I used a bow and arrow, though, and we'd have to find one your size. I don't know how to make one. Armor and weapons though...that you can get books about."
Toby frowned. "I'm still not very good at reading."
"Well then," Iden said with a grin, "You've got a good reason to get better."
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:35 am
January 22
Well, who would've thought? I told Toby the other day that some of the things he wants to learn he could get from books, and ever since he's bene that much more determined to learn how to read better. Tori's so happy with him! I'll have to go out and find him those books I promised now.
His writing isn't going quite as quickly, but he's still making progress. It'll take awhile, but we're sure he'll get there eventually.
I told him we'd find a bow his size, too, but as much as I've looked, you just can't get something like that that small. I did find someone who makes bows, though, and she sized Toby up for one. It's expensive, but I can deal.
He needs it for what he wants to be, and I can't deny him that.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:52 am
February 8
Looks like I've been left out of the loop! Turns out that ever since our visit to D's house, Toby and Tori have been plotting about what to do with his room, decorate it and all that. It's kind of one of those things I meant to do, but I guess I forgot about it a little too long.
They've been working during the day to hash out what they want to do, and they just got started; I only noticed the other day because they were bumping around in there when I woke up.
Now that I know, I'm getting roped into helping a little. Tori and Toby are doing most of the shopping, since they can go out in the day. Toby really liked Sidney's room, apparently. He had a hammock, and now Toby wants to have one. And some kind of wallpaper, or at least a border, so now we're looking through catalogues. Toby's excited to paint, but we need to find the wallpaper first so that we can get the right color paint.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:13 pm
((Valentine's Day entry.))
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:34 pm
March 15
That took forever. Six weeks! I think we were all getting sick of waiting for the wallpaper to come in. The appliques for it came three weeks ago, but they're kind of useless without the wallpaper.
Anyway, it's a wallpaper mural that'll go on one wall of the room. It's just the right size width-wise, actually. In height it only goes about halfway up the wall, which is good, since Toby's small anyway. This way it won't totally dwarf him or something.
Now that we finally have it, we can get to painting. It's going to be a green that goes with the wallpaper.
Well, we haven't been just doing nothing while we were waiting. We've all kept up Toby's lessons, of course. He's getting better and better at everything, especially riding and swordfighting, but he's making progress in reading and writing too. He should be just about ready for those books soon, I think, with a little help from Tori. Oh, and his manners too. Those he's so good at, all he ever needs is a little direction, and he gets it right and remembers. He loves it.
Oh, and speaking of things taking awhile to come in, he doesn't have his bow yet, either. Which is actually a good thing, I think, since it turns out I have some learning to do myself. I was out practicing the other night, but I guess I'd gotten worse than I thought with how long its been. Turned out Vlad was watching me, and he finally got so disgusted he came and corrected me.
So now he's teaching me, or re-teaching me anyway, and maybe by the time Toby gets his bow, I'll be able to teach him.
(( http://wallpapers.stores.yahoo.net/trencawapo.html
http://wallpapers.stores.yahoo.net/trkndrwaap.html ))
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:39 am
March 28
Ugh, well, I feel like I've been plenty productive the past couple of weeks. It's a good thing I am the way I am, otherwise I think I'd have a whole lot of sore muscles, with all that painting and bow practice.
And speaking of that, Toby's bow came in today. He and Tori went and got it this morning, and he spent all day waiting for me to wake up so that I could start teaching him. Tori tried to keep him occuppied with those reading lessons, but he just couldn't sit still! So they gave up and played outside instead.
He's just so excited about this, and it makes him so determined to do it well. I think he'll get good fairly quickly, at this rate. The only hold-up, I think, is that it takes me a little while to 'downsize' what I'm doing sometimes, like when I was teaching him how to hold the bow and knock an arrow. It's hard to fix him when my hands are so much bigger than his, but we got it straightened out eventually.
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:39 am
April 10
Why is it that I'm the last person to know about everything? First the plans for Toby's room, and now Tori's started digging up the garden!
...not that I mind, since it's all dead anyway, but still, it's nice to know these things, especially before you walk outside and trip over a shovel and learn the hard way.
So now we've suddenly got another project going! It's mostly Tori's, but and Toby's going to be helping as much as he can, I think, but of course I get roped into it too. Mostly with, y'know, the plant-buying and that kind of stuff.
Too bad none of the pards around here are gardening mages.
Huh. I wonder if that's even possible.
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:39 am
April 18
Well, with Toby doing a lot of the hole digging (I guess it makes sense, since he is sort of a dog), the gardening's coming along pretty nicely. I'm sure the flowers and everything look better during the day, though.
All the work's had him kind of tired, so he's usually ready to sleep not long after I wake up now. We haven't been able to get much of the archery practice in because it, but it's okay. Not like there's any real rush.
Even with our sleeping schedules so different, Toby's been able to get in some riding, though, since he doesn't really need me around for it anymore. So he's been riding Caranien around the yard when Tori doesn't need him for the gardening, but she's close enough to watch him and make sure he's okay.
I'd better go start looking for those books he needs, for when all this gardening business is done with.
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:39 am
May 7
Toby's books came in! I probably got one or two more than he might actually need, but I wasn't sure exactly what he would and wouldn't need. So I thought it was better to get the extra, just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?
Tori and I are both looking at them with him, and so far it's a lot of fun. I don't think Tori's as interested in all this combat-type stuff, but it gets Toby reading, so she's okay with it. I think I'm almost as interested as he is, though!
(A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and In All Times
The Book of the Sword
A Knight and His Weapons
A Knight and His Horse
Medieval Arms and Armor
Medieval Costume, Armour, and Weapons)
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:45 am
RP with Donna, LP, Carl, and Willow.Meepfur The young Velvet strolled down the sidewalk unescorted, coming to the shop alone; Tori was busy and Iden was sleeping, so Toby was left to his own devices. They trusted him not to get himself into any trouble, anyway, and he'd told his sister where he was going.
Though they'd stopped by the shop now and then, they'd had bad luck about finding anyone else there. Toby hadn't seen any other Velvets since he'd met Erae and Arden, and that had been months ago.
Though he was wearing his favorite blue hat, feather and all, and of course his wooden sword was at his side, he wasn't wearing his cloak...or a shirt, for that matter. It was summer, after all.
But as it would have it, someone was opening the door just as Toby got there! He didn't even have to worry about how to get in now. Picking up the pace, he slipped in behind her, announcing himself politely so as not to go unnoticed and trip her, "Pardon me, ma'am."
If he were big enough, he would have offered to hold the door for her, but even at ten inches tall, he didn't make a very effective doorstop. Donna the Vixen Now that was more like it! Carl simply adored being..well…adored! He gave off an innocent air to the woman, and a polite bow before he took attention to Willow once more. “Well…maybe jutht a little.” Oh no! He’d accidentally used a word with an ‘s’ in it…If they could see beneath the feathers, he was blushing a deep scarlet of embarrassment. Apparently he had a sort of speech impediment…but that was forgotten as another velvet entered the shop, and rather than taking attention on his error – he turned it towards Toby. If he remembered correctly, they HAD met a long time ago…hadn’t they? The memory was vague but he sounded as though everything were crystal clear in his mind. “Hello Toby. I haven’t noticed you around lately. Good to have you around again and thank you for the compliment Madame.” That was when his attention went back to the one who’d admired him and he left off anything else too grand.
Donna chuckled softly and smiled at the new comers. “Hey you two, it’s good to see you again.” LP LP chuckled softly when she heard the mistake with the S but she acted as though it wasn't a big deal. She smiled and then blinked when Toby came in, "Oh dear me, I'm glad I didn't drop anything..." She moved with the packages over to a safe corner of the shop away from velvets. "Toby?" She said softly in question looking at the dog. "Wait you're iden's Toby aren't you? God I haven't seen you since you were still an animal." Willow smiled at Carl and awwed. "That's so adorrible!!!" She bounced on her heels. Looking to Toby she waved, "Hello pup!" There were so many her age around, or well more than normal. "Do you two want to play?" She asked kicking the book closed murring happily.Meepfur "Hello, Miss Donna!" Toby greeted the woman cheerfully, tipping his hat before removing it and executing a polite little bow with the hat held over his heart. "And...Carl, right?" When he addressed the other boy, he seemed much less formal. "Hey there! When'd you grow?"
"Oh, Miss LP!" Recognizing the one who'd saved him from having to try and open the door himself, Toby bent at the waist in a brief bow. "Yeah, it's me! I grew months and months ago, but I haven't seen much of anyone since. Hey, can I help you with something?" Sure, the door was heavy and the bags were big, but he had to at least offer.
"And Willow too!" For the third time, Toby bowed. "I don't think I've seen you since Halloween. I'm sorry it's been so long." With a shuffling of his booted feet, he went over to the couch and set his hat down.
"What would you like to play, Willow?" It didn't even occur to him to ask Carl - Willow was the girl, so of course she'd get first say. All the while, his tail was wagging furiously. He just couldn't help it. Donna the Vixen Carl arched a brow in query to Toby’s actions, but made no note to follow them. The comment of cute was also slightly disregarded, but not in a manner entirely rude. He just didn’t like talking about it. “Maybe we could play rabbitting?” His tail fluffed up excitedly at the prospect, the game apparently being something of great interest to him. Yet – the hope for it dwindled as he thought it over. “But…there aren’t any rabbith around here…are there?”
Donna smiled and bobbed a curtsey to Toby. “And hello to you Sir Toby. It is an honor to see you’re doing so well.” LP LP paused, with a slight twitch she smiled back down at toby, "Toby be a dear and dont' call me Miss, it's LP" she said softly. sitting the bags down she chuckled, "I'm scare you'll be getting squashed by them if you try that." She let one of the bags drop and it made a rather loud thud sound when it did. "I don't have anything breakible in that bag anyways.... so yeah" She sat the other two bags down and pulled out one of the cases that held a sword and pulled out a rag and some polish and started to work on getting the smudges off, "people dont' care about these things.... always smudging them up." "Well I have no clue waht to play toby I though you guys would have some good ideas." She chuckled sheepishly. "I don't get to play much, most of all my time is spent helping ghosts or the like and I've no real time to play any REAL games...."
Willow tilted her head at Carl with a brow lofted, "Rabbiting??" She blinked again and looked at Toby before questioning Carl. "What's that???"Meepfur Toby inclined his head at Donna, beaming. "You, too, Miss Donna."
At LP's request, he shuffled his feet, looking down. "If you want, Miss LP. I mean, umm...LP." He did brighten, however, when she produced a sword from amongst all that stuff. "Is that...is that real, Mi- LP?"
So fascinated was he that he nearly missed the talk of ghosts and rabbiting. "Rabbiting?" As in hunting rabbits, he assumed. "I didn't bring my bow, I'm not allowed." Donna the Vixen And that put Carl off a bit. "Bow?...What bow? And Rabbitting would be hunting and the great part - eating a rabbit whole!" The thought made him look a little dreamy for a moment, before reality returned and he shook his head. "Mom told me not to eat anything here though. We'd better play another game...how about Hide and Find?" LP Willow made a soft face when LP pulled out the sword. "I thought you said you weren't going to get anymore of those!" gonk
Her tail flickered slightly in an aggitated way. Looking at Carl she shook her head, "Nah Hide n' seek or... find... whatever it is, isn't that great 'spcially when I play.... I hear to many things to determine when it's us or ghosts."
She pondered, "How about we play adventure? If Wille was here she could've provided use the backdrop we needed but we can pretend! Toby could be a Knight, Carl you could be the bad guy and i could be the one in need of saving?" She suggested not really sure if anyone would take it in a happy mannerism.LP sniggered when she heard Willow wine and Toby's admeration. "Aye it is real Toby." There was a grin on her face as she moved over to her bag looking in it. "I might have something... in here..." She pulled out a small box about the size of toby. She took out the dagger inside of it, it was thin and light as she weighed it. She walked over and sat down beside the table on the floor holding it out for him to touch. "Now be careful and don't get cut, you can hold this one I think it's light enough that you won't topple over." okay so LP was very trusting of a child.... which might not have been the best thing in the world. Meepfur "A bow! You know, like, for arrows. For hunting with." Toby nodded. "I used to just run and catch things when I was an animal, but that's not civ..civi...proper."
"I like Hide an' Seek," he said, before conceding to Willow. "But if it's not good for Willow, we'll have to find something else. It's best outside, anyway."
"Adventure?" He brightened at the tiger's suggestion. "That would be fun! I'm really just a page though," he admitted, before being utterly distracted by LP...LP, provider of all things wonderful, shining, and sharp.
"I can hold it? Really?" Brown eyes shining, he reached gingerly out to touch it, and then to take it from her and hold. It was much different holding a real metal blade than a wooden practice one, but as far as weight went, it wasn't much heavier than his waster. Not bad at all! Donna the Vixen The suggestion suited the child and he tried to make himself as canivingly evil as he possibly could manage without being cheesy about the whole thing. Only one thing didn't sit completely with him, but easily enough solved he suggested an alternative for his problem. "I'll be the villain today, but I'd like to be the hero next time we play. Alright?"
Civil or not civil, nor sharp and pointy averted his attention - and now fully conviced he was the devious Lord Cartholeous, he made to stand between the valiant Toby and his maiden with malice glittering within his saphire eyes. "Have at you! I will not allow you to take the Lady away from my Empire! You'll have to pry her from my cold and dead claw, Knight!" LP LP smirked at toby and patted him on the head- We'll have to see if Iden wants you having a real sword/dagger. I might can get you a nice one suited for such a little knight-in-training. Willow giggled and gleed. "Okie, So it's settled then, but we need one more thing!" She clapped her paws together and rubbed them moving to pluck plushies from the shelves, she was fast for such a little tiger and seeon returned with 6 two she carried the rest floating in toe. "Now we have obsiticals for the knight to fight!" She grinned and set the dragons down as a unicorn, troll, centuar, mouse and a three headed dog landed beside them.
She grined at Carl, "Certainlly next time I could always be the evil one and you two be the hero and we have a plush or if someone else is around they can be the damasel in distress."Meepfur "Not yet," he admitted to LP, handing the dagger back so that he could turn his attention on the now-villainous hawk. "Here, you'd better take this back."
Shaking his fist in playful at Carl, he retorted, "And so I will!"
"...once everything's ready," he amended, watching Willow scuttle up to find suitable obstacles, and deftly stepped out of the way of the falling troll. "I'm not really going to fight a unicorn, am I?" Toby asked of the tiger, concerned. Unicorns were supposed to be good, right? On his side, as it were.
"I could be the evil one next time if you want, Willow." He didn't want her to have to do it if she didn't want to, even if the role didn't sit particularly well with him. Donna the Vixen “The unicorn won’t be your worry for long, YAA!” It was then he lunged at Toby and delicately made to wrestle with him. Donna had had…problems, with the boy’s rough-housing, especially due to his immense strength. Before they had even come, she had made him learn and promise to control it well enough that he wouldn’t actually hurt anyone else. But that didn’t mean he didn’t like to show it off.
Carl rolled, making a grab at Toby to try and lift him from the floor while keeping himself directly in the way between he and Willow. LP LP snickered at Toby and patted him softly on the head taking the dagger back. "Well when she lets you just come find me. I'll be glad to help you two with finding if you're not sure where to look." She blinked and moved rather quickly away from carl's sharp talons when he lunged at Toby, for a bird he sure moved fast. Willow giggled, "Oh no it's quite fine I mean after all I do rather fancy the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz." Her grin was slightly crocked as if planning something rotten for their next adventure play.
She squeeked when carl pounced on toby. "OH Dear don't hurt each other.... yet... don't we have to set up and get some safty rules going." Her ears were pinned slightly down. She wouldn't want to pull carl off of Toby, although he was rather fair prey.... in a matter of speaking. By now the plush toys had scattered themselfs around about the toyshop, the unicorn sitting there waiting for toby and carl to be finished, for it was to be the knight's horse, so to speak.
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