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 Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:58 pm
Alyosha wondered at the level of closeness between this rather quiet Aerandir and her guardian. There cetainly seemed to be something special between them.
He looked down at the lines of items laid out and was somewhat surprised. All it would need was a slight adjustment, what with the staff being one 'side' in his mind. He plucked the large piece of metal up, wondering where in the world it had come from, and placed it a little ways out from the staffs base. The crook, length and metal made a strange but recognisable triangle. He then took the cap from the container of water.
He moved back as Marli came within the triangular 'structure'. Wispyness became something else. It was as if she became fluid. From her head, beads of what seemed like paint, washed down her. All of the items surrounding her seemed to be drawn in, away as this happened, each becoming more insubstantial as the next. The only strangeness was that, from the metal piece, only 3 small nodules were taken, leaving a holed piece of metal. The sand drew up and, with the water, in a flash became a globe containing the glistening clear liquid. Marli's body's new weight pulled her down to the ground as she became fully formed.
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:27 pm
Inle watched with trepidation and more than a little awe as Marli went through yet another transformation; her fourth in the months Inle had been her guardian, and her second this week alone. The changes that occurred between Marli and her collected items happened too fast for her to truly see all of it in detail, but she could see enough. Marli was smiling as she changed.
As the whirling motion stopped and Marli--solid now, and clutching her staff--sank to the ground, she fell once more to her knees, to be on level with the new child. "Well?" she said after a long, quiet moment in which the Aerandir inspected her new form.
Marli turned to look at her, still smiling. "I big now?" she asked happily.
Inle chuckled, holding her arms out to Marli. "Yeah, you're big now. How's it feel?"
Rather than rush to Inle, Marli stood slowly, battling the awkward weight of the staff, and took her time toddling towards her. "'S'ok, Innay-Mama. Feels good. Look good too?" she queried as Inle enfolded her gently in her arms, recieving a one-armed embrace in return--Marli seemed to refuse to let go of the giant staff she now wielded.
"You look gorgeous, sweetheart." This much emotion was something Inle rarely displayed, and Marli reveled in it, proud and happy. Carefully, Inle lifted the child and the staff, allowing Marli to cuddle against her. For some reason, the woman didn't care that the staff was poking her. "Thank you," she said to Aly, violet eyes serious, "very, very much."
"Yeah, fank you!" Marli echoed, her profile giving Aly a tiny smile.
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:36 pm
Alyosha nodded solemnly. The earlier 'birth' of Keanu had given him joy and this one gave him reverance for the job that he was allowed to do. So much sweat, blood and tears went into bringing back the Aerandir and it was truly worth it. Alyosha got to his feet once more, tousling Marli's hair lightly.
He looked from one to the other and smiled before noting the time. "I'm afraid i'll have to move at speed." he said. "I'm rather late as it is and I have a delivery to make before heading off to the mainland." he paused for a moment "oh... is there anything you need while i'm there?" he asked, already starting to move off.
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:47 pm
That was a good question. The piece of metal that had been the side of the toaster didn't look too damaged, and she figured she could fix it. "Nah, that's alright, thanks!" She flashed a smile at Aly's retreating form, and Marli waved with her free hand.
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 10:47 am
A tall, winged figure left one of the small wooden buildings on the northern edge of the village. Pausing for a moment, he glanced about before padding down through the settlement on silent feet. In one hand, he held a long, two-pronged spear. In the other, he had a small reel with a simple note wrapped around it. A waterskin and what looked like an empty leather bag were tied to his cloth belt.
After a few moments of walking, the hunter stopped outside a house. Stepping forward, he left the reel on the doorstep before leaving again. He figured that was the right home. If not, it would hopefully get to the recipient somehow. It wasn't a large village, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Changing his direction, Osero circled around, leaving the village to head in a north-western direction. His strides were long and his manner purposeful. He didn't want to take too long to reach the far watchtower.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:18 pm
(( Continued from the Centre )) Kiro nodded as Dragonfly suggested going down to the beach, leading the way out of the Centre, turned and calling for Tsukai to follow them, and assuming Pueblo would follow the small creature's lead. Yay!! And now they were going on an adventure! Bouncing, Tsukai hopped off Pueblo's head and hopped after Kiro's summons, pausing to glance back at Pueblo and Iniko and peeping for them to follow. He watched as Pueblo ran towards the two of them, pausing and mindful of whether Iniko was following them.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:26 pm
Iniko bounded out after Pueblo, chasing after Tsukai again, and reviving their unfinished game of tag. She took several flying leaps to cover the distance between them, happy to be playing with the gryphon. She hoped that Pueblo would join in their game too!
Dragonfly brought up the rear, closing the door to the centre behind her, humming a tune to herself and making her way towards the beach. She kept a watchful eye on the three children, and chuckled at their playful antics.
Looking over to Kiro, she smiled brightly, and began to make conversation.
"Have you been on the island long Kiro?" she asked, tilting her head, and shifting the basket to her other arm. The thing was starting to feel really heavy now. It was a good thing they weren't far though!
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:33 pm
Pueblo soon caught onto the game the two gryphons were playing, and was more than eager to join in. She ran for Tsukai, trying to catch the swift little thing. And, as Tsu hopped out of reach, she managed to fall over. She did, however, pick herself back up and continued, her joyful giggling the only thing to stop Kiro checking if she was alright.
He turned to Dragonfly, considering her question. "I'm the newest on the island," he said slowly, not sure if that consisted of 'being there long'. "And Tsu's the youngest of the Aerandir on the island too. But we've been here a fair while I suppose. What about you?" He asked, returning the question. He then saw her struggling with the basket. "Want me to carry that for you?" he offered. "Looks a little heavy..."
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:39 pm
Iniko would have giggled, had she had the vocals to do so, and she too chased after the small, swift gryphon. She bounded towards Tsukai, managing to get within leaping distance of the other.
With all her effort she jumped into the air, sailing towards Tsukai, who had disappeared from in front of her, and thus she landed face first in the sand. Spluttering she shook her head, her neck swivelling to and fro to catch sight of Tsukai again, before bounding off after the other once more.
"I was one of the first to find their way here," she replied, her smile remaining upon her lips.
She blinked at his offer to carry the basket, and blushed a bit.
"No, no that's alright. It's heavy, but I'm fine with it," she said, grinning sheepishly, "After all, we're almost there, and I'm sure it'll be a lot lighter by the time I head home with it!"
She laughed softly, having to shift the basket once more, though trying to make it look like she wasn't struggling with it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:46 pm
Swiftly, Tsukai twisted around and out of reach of the gryphon chasing him, also highly amused at Pueblo's efforts. Deftly, he hopped up and onto the little girl's head, making her squeak in surprise. He then hopped off again and sped off towards Kiro and Dragonfly, scootling past them and towards the beach.
Kiro smiled, stepping aside slightly as Tsukai passed, predicting the other two would be passing soon enough. He nodded as Dragonfly declined his assistance. They were almost there after all.
He tilted his head a little, watching Iniko, his tail swishing a little in thought as he did so, his feet brushing softer sand as they continued walking. "Raccon and...? What else is she, I can't really tell...?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:56 pm
Instead of bounding after Tsukai this time, she ran forward, towards the beach. She paused near the surf, spinning around and crouching into a pounce position. If she couldn't catch him, then she would own the beach!
The surf splashed up at her backside, sending her toppling over with a surprised honk. For several moment she sat in the wet sand, surprised. The surf pulled at her, but she kept herself rooted. She burst into gleeful cheers, and began bounding in the water, playing with the waves, and challanging Tsukai to do the same.
Dragonfly smiled and set the basket down a ways away from the water, pulling open the basket, and revealing a red and white beach blanket. She pulled this out first, unfurling it and setting it down in the sand, before taking a seat on it.
"Heron," she said, digging distractedly through the basket before her, "She's a raccoon and a heron, what animals compose your gryphon? I'm afraid I'm not very adept at naming birds... And I don't quite recognize the other animal that he is..."
She was embarassed that she hadn't caught the gryphon's name, though she knew that Kiro had mentioned it at some point, but for the life of her she couldn't recall what it was...
"My awful memory strikes again!" she thought, laughing inwardly at herself.
She pulled out her towel, and bunched it up like a pillow, planning to use it as part of sunbathing later. For now though she merely set it down upon her blanket.
She unbottoned her shirt, pulling it off to reveal the swimming top beneath it. It wasn't a bikini top, as Dragonfly thought they were tasteless, more of a tank top than anything, but lighter than the long sleeve shirt she had been wearing before!
"It's a gorgeous day out," she grinned, going back into her basket to fish out a pair of sunglasses, "The perfect day for a picnic,"
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:13 pm
Tsukai sized this up carefully. He wanted to run after Iniko sooooo badly, but that water looked... dangerous... and big... Hmm, decisions... After much deliberation, he decided to give it a try, and hopped into the water. Alas, a small swell turned up right then, almost swallowing the little Aerandir up, making him jump backwards with a sharp peep of surprise. That hadn't been too nice!!
Pueblo came up behind them at this point, happily splashing through the water towards Iniko. She then paused to glance at Tsukai and held out her hands to him, smiling as he hopped into them. She then promptly took him to Iniko and held him out to her, grinning as Tsu hopped onto Iniko, with something that sounded like triumph!!
Kiro sat himself at the other end of the blanket, nodding as Dragonfly answered his question. "Tsukai's a Sedge Wren, Kangaroo Rat mix. I sometimes worry about how small he is, it's too easy for him to slip away."
He then nodded again as she commented on the weather. "I just hope I don't manage to burn - I seem prone to it," he commented idly, knowing he was probably safe with his shoulders covered.
"So," he murmured, out to make conversation. "Whereabouts are you from?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:22 pm
Iniko cheered for Tsukai, but didn't bounce around for fear of knocking the small gryphon into the water. She didn't want her new friend to drown, after all! Dragonfly had warned her of this many, many times before, and thus Iniko was sure to be careful about it.
"Aaah," Dragonfly said, nodding her head as she abosrbed this information, "No wonder he's so small then... I can understand you're worry. He's able to get into small places that others aren't, yes? It's something I worry about Iniko doing too, but she seems to be getting bigger, and she doesn't seem able to fit in as many places anymore,"
Dragonfly chuckleed a bit at this, smiling idly.
"But, then you have to let them be themselves, after all, their adventures are important parts of their development," her smile had taken on a more wise look, instead of the happy-go-lucky-I'm-grinning-because-I-can look it had had earlier, and she continued, "As worried as we guardians, or rather, I like to concider myself a parent to her, but anyway-- As worried as we get, we have to give them a wide birth too. Do you know what I mean?"
She laughed, wondering if even she knew where she had been going. She wasn't quite sure it had been going where she had wanted it, but in some way she had gotten the point across.
She paused at his question, and frowned a bit.
"Somewhere far away. Somewhere I'll never go back to," she replied darkly, tilting her head forward and shading her eyes, lifting a hand to run through her hair, stopping to gently feel the small demonic points that protruded from her skull.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:29 pm
Kiro frowned a little at her response to the question. Oops...
So he went back to her rambling, and decided to comment on that. "Yeah, I understand that... I mean, Tsu's like a little brother or something..." He paused before adding in gentle amusement. "I don't think I could call myself a parent, that'd scare me too much. But, he has to have his misadventures, it's hard to make sure they don't get hurt if you can't always be certain of what they're doing. I mean, take now... I'm worried he's going to fall and drown. But I can't say he can't play, right? That'd be stupid..." Blushing a little, Kiro trailed off from his monolouge and glanced to one side. He knew what he meant, anyway.
Realising Iniko wasn't going anywhere fast, Tsukai nestled down on the gryphon's head, inbetween her ears, peeping to himself gleefully. He would hop about some more, but it was like being on a little island in the middle of the ocean. He didn't want to see what would happen if he jumped off...
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:39 pm
Iniko let out several gleeful honks, before taking a few cautious steps forward, making sure that if she needed to she could snatch up the other's tail, and pull him back to firm land.
Iniko was an excellent swimmer, but she had no garentees that the little gryphon on her head was!
She quickly cast away her dark thoughts, and laughed, shaking her head a bit, and apologizing for the change in her demeanor.
"Sorry. There are just some memories that... Hurt. I'm sure you understand that,"
Happy though, for the change of topic, she listened to what Kiro had to say on the subject of parenthood, and grinned lopsidedly.
"Calling myself a parent scared me a lot at first too. But after seven Tahnees, a baby grizzly bear, and now a dragon who wants to be a knight-- you get used to the feeling of being a cartaker. Some of my kids see me more of a sister than a mother, but that's fine with me too. Kestal for example. She's in charge of my kids on the mainland when I'm not there, and she really is an excellent caretaker. The smaller ones though, like Iniko and Tsukai, they need someone to be their parent," she paused, "Or at least I think they do. Brotherly relationships do provide some of the necessities, but I think it's really important for children to have parents-- that philosophy is why I've adopted so many children from the Tahnee orphanage,"
She laughed brightly, and reached into the picnic basket.
"Tuna sandwich?" she asked, holding one out to him, "I don't like tuna much, but-- well. I don't like tuna at all, but Isaac brought me the wrong canned fish,"
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