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 Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:18 pm
Dari smiled and looked to the tree, touching the trunk.
"Good. I'm glad." He turned to Reese. "Before we leave, we're going to give you a machine that can contact us. If you ever need anything for you or for her, or if you just want to chat, you'll be able to use it to get to us, alright?"
Toby looked to Maia, to the baby, back to Maia. Help her? When the baby was safe, Toby went back inside the tent and came out clothed with his shirt untucked. It had been so long since he'd been able to interact with a child!
"Are you sleepy, honey?" he asked, offering his arms to her.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:29 pm
"So I can tell you about the foxes and the baby? What if I find more? Do you want me to tell you?" Reese studied Dari for a moment. "Will you come see me, sometimes?" he asked.
The baby nymph reached for Toby, and once she was in his arms she was leaning her head against his shoulder. "Luh poppy," she said, rubbing at her eyes.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:32 pm
"Yes, of course," Dari said with a nod, "Oh, yes. If you meet any other nymphs, or any non-humans at all, please do let us know. We like to know as much as we can to serve the community better, and yes, we do take trips out to see entities that would like us to, and to check on the status of things." He smiled.
Toby rubbed the baby's back and kissed the top of her head. She smelled like life. He looked to Maia, offered her an odd sort of smile, and then began swaying with the baby. She should probably sleep in her tree, but he didn't want to let her go.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:43 pm
"Can you visit me outside of work?" Reese asked. "We're friends now. I don't want you to leave." He looked slightly distressed. "Can you live here?" he asked. "You don't have to sleep, just like me."
Maia returned Toby's smile. She'd never thought she'd get the chance to see Toby being so sweet. It was precious.
The baby wasn't about to let Toby go, either. Her fists closed on lose fabric of his shirt. Her eyes closed and her breathing evened out.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:36 am
"I can try," Dari said, although it wasn't likely. "I'm sorry, I can't live here. I have a family back home." Well, Cody, but Reese had seemed sort of weirded-out that Lori had a boyfriend.
Toby looked fora moment like he might cry and then just stood there, holding the baby and swaying, kissing her hair and rubbing her back. Oh, babies. He loved babies. He'd always wanted kids, but his curse had made that a little more difficult.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:17 pm
"But you'll visit?" Reese asked. "You can come see more baby foxes!" He led Dari back over towards the campsite.
The nymph was asleep, nestled against Toby. Maia went over to his side, and smiled. "She's sweet," she said. She'd always liked the little ones best, before she'd left her beach. She kissed Toby's cheek. "You're really good with kids, love."
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:23 pm
"Of course I will," Dari replied with a smile. He walked with Reese back to the campsite where Toby seemed to be holding a napping nymph. He grinned. Some day Toby was going to give up on his no-kids thing, he was sure of it.
"She is," Toby said softly, not even noticing Dari's return. He smiled to Maia then. "Thanks. I love kids." Especially the little ones.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:58 pm
Maia looked up when Dari returned, and smiled to him. The nymph's tree couldn't be too far away, then. It hadn't taken them long. She looked back to Toby. It really was a shame, wasn't It? He fell so easily into this mode; she knew he'd make a great father.
...not that she wanted kids now! No. Peaches was definitely enough for now.
"Can we leave again, Dari?" Reese asked. He looked between Toby and Maia and wrinkled his nose. "They're about to be mushy. Gross."
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:00 pm
"Why, because they're taking care of the baby?" Dari asked with a laugh. "Okay. If you really want to go we can go for a walk. Lori?"
"Hm?" the elf asked.
"Would you like to join us?"
"Certainly. I don't have enough hair, it seems."
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:14 pm
"No," Reese said, once he'd led the two agents off a little ways. "Because of how they're looking at the baby." He shook his head and offered Lori his hand. "You said animals like you?" he recalled. "Come on then. I'll show you something you guys will really like." He led them further into the woods, out of the safe boundary he'd put up near the center, and into a more densely wooded area.
He looked around. "One sec," he promised, and disappeared. It was several minutes before something happened. A bird flew down and landed on Lori's shoulder, affectionately picking at his hair. Another bird perched on Dari's shoulder. A number of robins took roost on the lower branches to watch the two agents.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:17 pm
"Yeah," Lori said and took the guardian's hand.
"Ooh," Dari said, "Alright." Reese had been right every time so far. He startled slightly when a bird landed on him. Lori just looked to his bird and laughed. It seemed Luca wasn't the only one who liked his hair. Dari noticed the robins and pointed them out to Dari, who grinned.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:24 pm
A set of brightly colored birds flew by. Reese phased up on a branch just above the robins and sat. "The others won't come," he said. "They don't trust outsiders." A bluejay perched on his head, and he laughed. "I was trying to get the red ones," He said.
"When do you think I'll get my nymph back?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:27 pm
Lori nodded. Sure, that made sense. Animals in areas with a guardian tended to bond with said spirit above and beyond all else. Plain old wild animals tended to trust more. He stroked the bird's head gently and smiled to it. "That's understandable."
Dari shrugged. "Once she wakes up? I mean, she's of this forest regardless, we can't take her anywhere. We're just borrowing her."
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:41 pm
The bird responded to Lori's attention by chirping merrily to him, and clicking it's beak.
"They're silly. I told them to stay away from humans but they think everyone's human now. They don't really seem to know the difference."
The bird on Dari's head twittered irritably at the shrug and pecked him before moving to his shoulder.
"Borrowing's fine," the guardian said. "I'll look for more. If she's here, there might be others one day."
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:44 pm
Lori grinned and continued to socialize with the creature.
"Well, we do look human as it is," Lori said. He'd bet they'd be able to tell he wasn't if they came, though.
"Hey!" Dari laughed and offered a finger to the annoyed bird as a symbol of peace. He talked to Reese then. "It's always possible. Nymphs tend to grow in especially well-kept forests, or else especially remote ones. Yours seems to be one of the former."
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