[J] Shauna's Journal (Eight is Guardian)

[Eight]

Eight and Shauna

It really was a beautiful day, that horrible storm had stopped, the sun was shining, and Gambino was still as beautiful as ever; Eight had decided today would be the perfect day to take Shauna out to the park, having decided that she spent enough time cooped up indoors at home and needed a little exercise and fresh air. So here they were, sitting in the middle of a part where Shauna was toddling after little squirrels with Tabby clutched tightly against her. "Skurll!" She gasped, pointing at a black one and looking up at her mother. There were so many of them! Black ones, brown ones, small ones, fat ones...and a little baby one!

Eight took a seat on a nearby bench with an exhausted sigh, never before had she had to run after a small child! Shauna had way too much spare energy, Eight would have to test that potion Elle had given them and see what kind of effect it had on her little foxy daughter. "Don't go too far, sweetie!" She called after her, taking off her shoes so her aching feet could rest.

Shauna blinked and looked back at her mother, giggling when she noticed how tired she was and toddling after a passing duck. So many animals!

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Waking that morning to the sound of the gurgling snores of Brimstone in the bathtub, Akina had decided that the child had been cooped up long enough and was in sore need of a little playtime. Besides, the elf was trying desperately to avoid Naraka at all costs. She could only imagine the things that she would say, stamping her foot and ranting about having another mouth to feed. A light sigh escaped from pink lips as the park came in to view in the distance.

Looking down to Brimstone, who was currently trapped in Yurimi's old stroller, Akina smirked. The kid sure had a lot of energy, and after his birth of sorts a few nights ago, his limbs had become steadily firmer; he was even wearing shoes today. Now the only time he oozed was when he decided he wanted attention... which was fairly frequently.

"Are you excited to go to the park, Brimstone?" Radioactive green eyes stared up at her for a moment, as if contemplating his answer. Spitting his tongue out, he blew a raspberry, giggling and snorting like some deranged toddler, which wasn't too far from the truth.

Spotting a few other people about the park, Akina pushed the stroller over to a nearby bench, unlocking Brim from his seatbelt prison and setting him on the ground. "Play nicely, Brim," she commanded gravely.

But the child paid her no mind as he took off at a stumbling run, still trying to adapt to this whole walking thing. He kicked sand castles here and there, and wherever he placed his bare skin, he managed to wilt grass and grey tree bark, cackling as it happened.

Eight and Shauna

At this point Shauna had decided to sit down five feet away from her mother and play contently with Tabby. She hummed a childish little tune consisting of only three notes she hummed over and over again, holding her plushie up by her front paws and making her dance to the beat...not that she knew what a beat was. All was well in her little world, Tabby was giving a great big concert in front of tons of people! Everyone loved Tabby, they were cheering and dancing with her beautiful music in Shauna's mind. The power of imagination was an amazing thing.

Both Eight and Shauna looked up when they heard other people nearby, Eight scooted over a bit to allow the woman to sit down on the bench as well, while Shauna stared curiously at the little boy. Wow! His wings were like...were like...the stuff that came from dragons after they breathed fire! "Brim? That's an interesting name." Eight smiled and looked over to Shauna to make sure she was still close by and behaving.

The grass! The trees! Shauna gasped and hugged Tabby protectively against her chest. What would happen if this boy touched them? "Buh...?" That was probably her way of saying hello at the moment, unable to say the actual word just yet. He looked so cool! But...the plants didn't like him, did they?

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Smiling in thanks to Eight, Akina took a seat on the bench, pulling the stroller closer to her protectively. It had taken her a week's salary to buy the silly thing, and she would not lose it to some stroller-stealing maniac. "Oh yes," she began in response to Eight. "It's short for Brimstone... not that that really makes it any better." She laughed lightly, enjoying the matronly conversation. "What about yours?"

Blue eyes watched Brim as he killed off various plant life, causing her to shudder internally. Akina was a very organic creature, and Brim was... not. She turned her attentions back to Eight, but kept part of herself latched on to Brimstone as well.

Brim, on the other hand, cocked his head sideways at the sight of Shauna. She was the first creature his size that he had met so far. He watched curiously as Shauna seemed to fear him, grinning at the notion. Eyes latched directly on the red fox child, Brimstone leaned down towards the grass slowly, hand flattened. He lingered for a moment before tapping the ground swiftly, killing off the blades of grass that had been in his wake and then waiting for a reaction.

Eight and Shauna

Eight giggled. "Never heard a parent call their child by a stone, major points on originality." Eight's left headwing lifted at Akina's question, smiling softly and glancing over at Shauna to check on her. "She's Shauna, and I'm Eight, your name is..?" It was only polite to introduce herself instead of them talking for god knows how long and suddenly going '...What's your name?' That would be just a little embarrassing for them both.

Did Eight ever meet a person on Gaia who didn't have any charges under their wing? It was almost like it was a requirement to have a companion on your home if you wanted to live here, how amusing.

Shauna's yellow eyes widened, hugging Tabby even tighter. Whoa! How did he do that?! It was so mean to the grass! What did it do to him?! ...Well...maybe it made him slip and fall...but could he do it to everything? There was a rock that Mommy had slipped on earlier, Shauna stood up and toddled around the area for a minute until she found a stone, picking it up and carrying it over to Brim. Could he do stuff with that?

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Akina smiled and nodded, not really sure of what to say. Where she was from it was quite common to name a child after a rock for rocks are the foundation of the life. To have a name of a rock was a great honor. Still, this was Gaia, and things were quite different. "I'm Akina," she greeted with a smile. "And you already know that the little glass baby is Brimstone." Whoops.

The elf realized too late that she had let Brim's origins slip discreetly into the conversation. Sure, on Gaia, it wasn't the strangest thing to hear, but still, Akina really didn't know this woman too well. Hoping it might go unnoticed, she turned away to watch Brim continuously wreak havoc on the grass.

Green eyes watched as Shauna toddled away, curious to see her tail. Brim didn't have tail. Why did she get to have one? As Shauna returned, he eyed the stone that she presented to him. Honestly, Brim had no idea if he could affect a rock. Snatching it from her hand, he narrowed his eyes at it, squeezing feebly in an attempt to destroy it. But it was to no avail.

His eyes flickered back and forth. He couldn't admit defeat! Hands flew to his mouth, tossing the stone in as he swallowed. A wide grin spread across his face, as his tiny mind sang victory.

On the bench, Akina's eyes widened as she shouted, "Brim! NO! Spit it out!" But it was too late. The Shattered turned to her and opened his mouth, wiggling his tongue as if to declare that he was done already. A hand flew to Akina's forehead as she looked sideways at Eight, wondering what the girl must think of her.

Eight and Shauna

Eight didn't think it was odd or anything, because the only reason her own mother had named her Penelope was because it meant Dream Weaver...but Penelope was a normal sounding name anyway, so it fit. Not like she used it anyway, the only ones that ever acknowledged her using a variation of the name were Ioyla and even Alex on occasion. The girl smiled and held out a hand for Akina to shake. "Akina? Lovely name! ...Glass?" The halfling's brow furrowed and she turned her head to watch Brim quietly for a minute, eventually letting a giggle escape her and shaking her head. "Yet another thing to add to my list. Living slippers, cat-like creatures given to me by storks, dreams from little eggs...expect the unexpected should be Gaia's motto." Come to think of it...how did Shauna arrive anyway? Was she really someone elses biological child that Asra had to give to her? No, she couldn't be...there would have to be an exact identical twin of both her and Alex for it to even be considered!

Brim may have been jealous of Shauna's tail, but Shauna was jealous of his wings...even though she had no idea what jealousy was; she merely wished she had wings as pretty as his and Asra's. The little fox child sat down on the grass again to watch Brim try and destroy the stone, giggling softly when he couldn't squeeze it. Maybe a rock was too hard! But...eating it was the way to go, it seemed. Shauna blinked and stared at a rock at her feet, poking at it and picking it up; Eight was quick to get up and snatch the rock from her daughter, petting her hair and laughing sheepishly. "No, no, sweetie. You'll get hurt if you eat a rock." She glanced at Brim and then up at Aki, mouthing a 'How did he not choke?' to her before she threw the rock away and sat down next to Akina on the bench again. "Indestructible kid you have there, Akina...kills grass, swallows rocks like they're a normal food..." Eight grinned. "Wish I was like that sometimes!" That's it Eight, keep that smile on your face.

Shauna merely stared at her mother with confusion that could beat every other person's confused face...ever! She hugged Tabby against her tightly and stood up again. "'Ock?" She plopped down next to Brim again and poked at a dead blade of grass as if to make sure it really was dead. How did he do that? She put a hand on the ground and stared at it, obviously waiting for something to happen. Why wasn't it turning black...? Shauna didn't want to kill the grass or anything...but what Brim could do was cool! Stupid grass! Change color!

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

"Thanks," Akina replied with a soft smile, which promptly faded off of her face as Eight's realization of the bit about glass. Luckily though, it would seem that Akina was not the only one who realized how strange things on Gaia could be.

"Yes, it would seem that Gaia is a perpetual dumping ground for magical creatures and energies," she agreed with a nod, rolling the new motto Eight had proposed over in her mouth. The elf laughed again, still feeling ashamed that she had not been fast enough to stop Brim from ingesting a rock as Eight had been. A light blush arose on her cheeks as Eight addressed her. "Yes, he's... he's... interesting," she rambled, wondering idly if rocks were in Brim's diet. After all, the elf had not been able to find anything that he would eat so far.

Perhaps he had some kind of crop and gizzard structure like chickens? He did seem to swallow that rock with ease, though part of Akina chalked that up to the fact that he might still be oozing on the inside.

Brim, on the other hand, had been postively thrilled to see Shauna preparing to eat the rock like a good little disciple when her mother ended his fun. He made a note to destroy her in the future, but the notion was chased from his mind as his tummy began to rumble. A scrawny hand touched his middle for a few moments before all the rumblings culminated with a sufficient burp. With a plop, the rock came shooting out of his mouth, landing in the grass. The goop that is was covered in quickly ate away at the grass in touched with a sizzle. Brimstone clapped and gurgled in approval.

Sitting there mortified, the elf just tried to ignore him entirely, praying to the heavens that he didn't do anything else terribly peculiar.

Meanwhile, the little Shattered was busily watching Shauna as she attempted to replicate what he had done. Trying to show her how, he laid his hand beside hers in the grass, and again, the blades crumbled and greyed. Was Shauna so stupid and girly that she couldn't destroy a simple blade of grass? Honestly.

Eight and Shauna

Eight stretched her arms up over her head and behind her a bit, stretching her back out in the process. "What do you think it is about Gaia that attracts so many odd creatures?" Was there something in the water? Or was it just that Gaia was located in the perfect place for everyone to just come and live? There was no way she was complaining or anything, it was just a question Eight had always been curious about.

Brim was horrible. So horrible. Here Shauna was being a perfect little angel for her mother, and then this boy comes along and quickly becomes a bad influence. The fox blinked and stared at the rock after Brim burped it back up, reaching out to touch it but the funny noises the grass was making got to her first; that might be a bad idea, what if she started making the same noise the grass did?

Her tail flicked and she stared at Brim, pouting and just plucking a blade of grass off the ground with a cute smile. There! She destroyed grass! Was that good enough?

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Blue eyes flickered back to Eight, though one seemed to be focused on the blob of energy playing with the small fox child before the pair. "Honestly, I think it's a magical dumpster. I have never encountered such a variety of creatures that have either traveled here somehow or arrived through rebirth." Akina looked over to Brim, wondering which he was. Was that glass some kind of delivery pod? Or was he the product of something from the past?

Meanwhile, giant green orbs continued to dissect Shauna, wondering idly what made her tick. The flick of her tail claimed his gaze again, eyes watching it as it swayed back and forth. The crisp crack of grass being ripped snagged his attention again. Her smirked, as much as a toddler could manage, and decided to accept her act as good enough, though nowhere near as amazing as what he could go.

Gurgling a few words, Brimstone got to his feet and ambled over to a sandy area, plopping down and grabbing a few handfuls of dirt to make a mound.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna was completely oblivious to Brim's wandering eyes, pulling a few more blades of grass out of the ground to please the boy. They'd just met and already he was a horrible influence on Eight's innocent little baby...although it was going to happen sooner or later, Eight just preferred later to sooner. The grass had done nothing to Shauna, it was just the unsuspecting victim in Shauna's little attempt to do the same trick as Brim. She looked up when she heard a sharp snap of fingers from her mother, her sharp gaze telling her better than words that Eight didn't want her picking at the grass anymore; this didn't phase her in the least, for she followed Brim to the sand pit not even a minute later.

"I've never raised a child as young as her, have you...?" Eight sighed, holding her chin up in the palm of her hand and looking up at Akina. She held an interesting point, there were no other creatures like this anywhere outside of Gaia were there? Eight had never left Gaia, however, so she had no idea what it was like. "It's like Gaia's the center of reincarnation, eh? ...Never heard it put as a magical dumpster...but you should see the creatures I have at home. I have one called a Sylph, she's like...the size of a small cat...and she has wings, and talks...but only a few words. I summoned her from a scroll written by her parents. Then there's my Kinoko, which is like this little mushroom creature that repeats the last thing it hears. Mine has little wings and a scarf." She named her companions, despising the term 'pet', on her fingers. "I believe...eight or nine of my children are Tahnee...I have so many I'm losing track!" Eight smiled softly and glanced over at Shauna and Brim, her tail flicking a few times before draping across her lap like an animal. She wasn't the type to pick children out...but Shauna had to be one of her favorites; the child could cheer her up no matter what mood she was in, no matter how tired she was, and she was just so cute! It'd kill her if Shauna ever had to leave. "So what about you? Have any interesting beings at your home?"

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Brim continued to build his little sand mountain, whipping handfuls of dirt haphazardly on to the pile with a wicked grin. It was messy and gritty and obnoxious... naturally the little Shattered was keen on it. For the most part, he ignored Shauna other than the sporadic gurgle to get her to pass him more grass and dirt. After all, all good underlings needed to learn obediance. This is a factory, people. Everyone works together to create the structure!

On the bench, Akina sat, legs crossed, looking from Brim to Eight to Shauna. She thought over the girl's question carefully, wondering how to approach it. Technically, the elf had never raised a child from infancy. She usually only watched them for a short period before one of her roommates made a stronger bond with the child. And Shina had come to her as a grown woman. "No, me either. My roommates both have, but I have stuck to making money for the house."

She nodded to reaffirm her comment before listening to Eight speak again, smiling to herself at the wide array of companions that the creature seemed to watch over. It reminded her of her own family. "Well," she began, uncrossing and recrossing her legs once, "My roommates are both elves, like myself, and the one closest to my age has a blood daughter. There is also an ethereal squirrel child, and two spirit children who lived in my glass bonsai tree as orbs before they decided to evolve. Oh, and a child from a place called Hogwarts. And then, of course, there are the family pets, a fairy cat and starry stallion." She laughed aloud, realizing just how odd that sounded.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna could only hand him grass when Eight wasn't looking, so her progress was kind of slow. She eyed the mountain curiously, chewing on the ends of one of her braids and handing Brim some more grass. What did he plan on doing with that pile? Changing its color too?

Most of Eight's children could take care of themselves by now, or they had Pandora to help take care of them, and even she would admit she sometimes felt useless because of that. Eight rest her arms against the back of the bench, her own legs crossed like Akina's. "Oh, really?" She listened quietly at Akina listed everything that lived in her house, smiling brightly and sitting up straight. "I also have a Dream...she's kind of like this bird that seems to feed off any moments of peace I have, she likes to grow plants everywhere...and then there's this weird slipper shaped like a dog that's...alive." Eight gave a shrug, looking at Akina with a 'Don't ask, I don't even know' look before she continued. "I have a creature called a Wuffyn, grew up with him, and then there's an Aelde named Pippa...she looks like a horse with a horn and wings, and a Koru named Cosette, she's this little electric cat..." Eight grinned, laughing as well and shaking her head. "I wonder if any other place is like this."

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

The childlike excitement that Eight exuded amused Akina, as she sat listening quietly, hooking clapsed hands over a knee. As usual, her blue eyes continued to watch Brim like a hawk, disturbed to see the gray spots in the grass from wherever he had decided to wreak havoc. Looking to the sky, she noted the sun's position and the time, but said nothing, not having any reason to leave just yet.

"I'd imagine there are lands similiar to this. Gaia is just a conglomeration of thousands upon thousands of cultures and creatures thrown into one big melting pot. It's a wonder we all aren't ripping each other's heads off." At the sound of the phrase 'ripping each other's heads off', Brim's head whipped around, tilting to one side. He liked the sound of that, whatever rubbish it meant. Akina began to laugh lightly, trying to cover up his sudden attention, though she grimaced internally.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna chewed thoughtfully on Tabby's ear, staring at the sand, dirt and grass mountain. It needed something...but what? She reached out to pick up a couple rocks and placing them around the top of mountain like a wall and clapping her hands with happiness and looking to Brim as if waiting for his approval. Did he like it? Was it good?

Eight snickered softly and nodded in agreement. She just happened to glance over to check on Shauna when Brim turned his head at Akina's last words. "...Ha! It seems there's one thing that interests Brim about this conversation. Ever wonder what goes on in a child's head?" Although in Brim's case, did they want to know what he was thinking? He seemed rather one track minded for someone so young, just by looking at the grass it seemed destruction was the first thing on his mind.

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

Again, Brimstone eyed the little fox girl as she put the rocks on, finding it suitable but not showing too much happiness. Had to keep the girls wanting more, right? He reached out a pudgy hand, adjusting one rock to the left slightly so that it would be perfect. Nodding with satisfaction, he leaned backwards again, eyes falling back to the fluffy fox tail.

He wanted to touch it.

He had to touch it.

He BURNED to touch it.

Pointing over Shauna's shoulder, Brim gurgled out a command, enticing her to look away so that he might make his move.

Across the park at the bench, Akina watched Brimstone carefully, wondering just what he was up to. In the short time that she had been in contact with the boy, she had already begun to pick up on when he was preparing to do something particularly mischevious. So, with bated breath, she surveyed his features, worried as to why he was starting at Shauna's tail so intently.

"I think I'd rather not know," she confessed at last with a laugh, eyes trailing up to the blue sky and scattered clouds with a sigh. "It's such a lovely day today. I'm glad I came to the park."

Eight and Shauna

What a gullible little girl she was, blinking and staring at Brim for a moment before she finally turned to see what he was pointing at. ..There was nothing there! Or maybe there was, she just had to concentrate really hard to see it. So she did exactly that! The fox looked around curiously, spotting her mother and Akina on the bench and waving to the pair, giggling happily.

Eight grinned, waving a few fingers back to her daughter. "Same here. I brought Shauna out because she's been spending too much time at home, much better for a child to be outdoors playing with other children, right~? ...What's he up to...?"

Akina Tokuwa and Brimstone

No sooner had Eight spoken that Brim leapt forward, grasping onto the exposed tail, bear-hug style. Akina was on her feet in a moment, watching curiously as Brimstone made no move to burn or hurt the tail. He was just... cuddling? Sure enough, his little blue head was rubbing slowly on the fur, astounded by such a soft material.

Raising an eyebrow, the elf swiftly peeled her child off of the fox, giving him a disciplinary look. "That's not how you play nicely, Brim," she murmured, turning to make sure the little fox was okay after the freak glomp she had just received.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna squeaked out in surprise, suddenly finding the weight of the bigger child on her tail. What was he doing?! If Shauna knew better she probably would have blushed, but she had no idea what Brim was doing. He was...cuddling her tail...? The fox stared, wide-eyed, at Brim and the tail in his arms, frowning and waving it around...although it merely wriggled around frantically in Brim's grasp. "Nooooooo!" She whined, clinging to Tabby and staring up at Brim. Was he trying to steal her tail? Or did he just like it?

...Well...it was a nice tail...! She could see why Brim would want to steal it, it was so fluffy and soft and just overrall the best thing ever. She glanced back at her tail and gave it a wag, grinning and wagging it back and forth like a metronome. Yeah, he glomped it because he was jealous and wished he had one! That was it!

Eight watched with a raised brow, standing beside Akina before kneeling down next to her daughter. "You okay, Shauna?" She asked, smiling softly at the fox's nod and looking up at the other woman and Brim again. "That was rather sudden, Brim...you have to have more tact when you do something like that!" The halfling advised, winking up at the boy before she pushed herself back to her feet.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna's tail was perfectly fine, not a single hair out of place, although she was rather...startled, to say the least. What just happened? The fox stared at her tail for a moment, then looked up at Brim...wait...why was he doing tha--ewwww! What was that noise?! It sounded gross!

A short attention span is a wonderful thing, because Shauna forgot all about the tail and the gross noise when she heard Akina's laughter. What about kids? Neither Eight nor Shauna had noticed the hiss and the smoke, so they were clueless, but they weren't really mad...

"Yeah, they can be a handful...ah...hm...I think I'd be willing to give him another chance..." The halfling looked down at Shauna with a thoughtful frown. "She appears to be perfectly content...we'll just have to keep a better eye on them, eh?"

Akina Tokuwa and Brim

Akina nodded quickly at Eight; she seemed like a lovely person. It would be a shame for her to be afraid of Brimstone's budding friendship with Shauna... or would it be intelligent? Feeling unsure, she laughed again, giving Brim a stern look. For the first time, he seemed to accept it, plopping down and playing with the sand again.

"It's just a phase," Akina qualified, looking warily over at Shauna. "Kids, you know?"

Overhead, rain clouds began to form, throwing shadows over the park. Not wanting to see what her son was like in the midst of a rainstorm, Akina quickly hopped over and snatched Brim up, curling him to the side of her body. "Gaian weather," she said, pointing a finger upwards. "I'd better get him home before a storm starts up, but it was really a pleasure meeting you both.

Crossing to the path, she exchanged her goodbyes with Eight and Shauna before quickly making her way home through the woods.

 

[Eight]

Shauna meets Calumet

Eight and Shauna

When was the last time? August? Was that the last time Eight had actually visited the Benedict Center? It'd been Alania's birthday, that much Eight was certain of...but she might as well take Shauna again! The girl had grown so much lately, she could talk more and could even walk without stumbling now!

They hadn't even tried running yet.

Shauna was sleeping peacefully in Eight's arms, her head resting over her heart; the gentle bounce and sway of walking mixed with the beat of Eight's heart had lulled the child asleep, Tabby clutched protectively against her chest and one of her thumbs inside her mouth. She's so adorable... Eight thought to herself, kissing the top of her daughter's head and carefully opening the front door into the daycare.

Hm...Asra didn't seem to be around right this second, and neither did anyone else...Eight would probably have to look for someone, but she didn't want to risk disturbing Shauna. There was a couch on the far side of the room she was in, so Eight walked over to it and gently laid Shauna on it with her head on one of the smaller throw pillows, taking her jacket off to drape that over Shauna as a blanket; she could rest here while Eight looked for someone, obviously hesitant to leave Shauna alone in the room. The child stirred at the sudden change in location, but she didn't wake up just yet.

Inle-roo and Calumet

"Ow, Cal, don't pull Mommy's hair. No, I said don't! Ow, no, hey! No, don't stick it in your mo--oh, that's just gross." Inle made a moue of distaste as she tilted her head to the side, trying to wrest a short lock of purple-streaked black from Calumet's grasp to negative results. The Shattered toddler only smiled as he chewed contentedly on Inle's hair, fingers twined within it to make sure it didn't go ******** kids," Inle muttered, sighing. It wasn't as if she had to worry about the mute repeating what she said, and she figured that even if he DID magically start speaking, it was a word he'd learn eventually anyway. Her tongue wasn't something she curbed around her kids--she had a vile mouth, so what right did she have to judge them should they adopt the same habits? Unbeknownst to her, however, Calumet was mouthing the softly-spoken epithet around his mouthful of Mommy-hair.

The Benedict Center wasn't the place she wanted to be at the moment--or ever, for that matter. Ever since Alania's party had ended with the cops showing up, she had avoided the Center like the plague, fearing some sort of fallout. From who she wasn't sure, but any excuse to avoid the Center and its craziness was welcome. She was only here now because something had fallen out of her shoulderbag, something she didn't notice missing until recently and was only now desperate enough to reclaim. Hopefully, they wouldn't be here long.

Inle noticed, as they walked in, a small, sleeping figure on the couch. She slowed her gait as if the mere act of walking too fast would wake the snoozing baby, and after wrangling Cal's assorted parts away from her hair (losing a mere few strands in the process), she set him down on the floor. A finger went to her lips in an unneccessary gesture of silence, and he put both hands over his mouth in response, watching with multicolored eyes as Inle went to a corner of the room.

Calumet looked around the Center, bright eyes not finding anything of interest until they, too, saw the baby on the couch. With a wide, delighted grin, Calumet rolled onto his stomach and crawled over to the other toddler, using the couch to pull himself to a kneeling position. Dark and rainbow hair fell into his face as he peered down at her, taking in her big, fuzzy-looking ears...but it was the purple pawmark on her cheek that drew his attention. He might have let off an awed noise were he able to speak, but he settled for just poking at it with a clumsy finger.

Shauna

There were fun images to watch when Shauna slept, sometimes they were strange, sometimes they made her happy...and then there were even times where they were so scary Eight had to hold her when she woke up crying. Right now Shauna was having a happy dream about being all grown up like Elle or Asra, hugging Tabby even closer to her with a content gurgle.

...

What was that poking?!

Shauna whimpered quietly and opened one eye, staring at the boy before her; so it was him poking at her cheek like that! How rude! The child whimpered again and pulled Eight's jacket up over her head, peeking one eye out to watch and see what would happen. Would he leave her alone? Would he cry? Would he try to apologize? She was actually hoping for the latter of the three, poking Tabby's slowly out from under the jacket. "Buh?"

Calumet

Cal's poking stopped as the girl woke up, smiling politely. Oops, he headn't meant to do that...but he was somewhat glad he did. Being asleep was boring! You couldn't do anything while you were asleep, like watch cartoons or eat or...well, Cal didn't do much else. As much as he loved being around people--and his house was full of them, in all shapes and sizes!--he was much more content watching the animated antics of various creatures, so most of his time was spent in front of the TV.

The girl could watch cartoons too now that she was awake-and-not-asleep! She should thank him, really.

He was vaguely aware that he was still poking the girl's cheek and stopped, pulling his finger away to study it intently--or as intently as a not-all-there toddler could, anyway. He was surprised to find nothing on it. So it wasn't paint after all! That was good. It was such a pretty purple, very much like the rainbow-colored candies Caduceus slipped him to get him high on sugar when he was mad at Inle. Cal's mind, being what it was, made the connection between "purple" and "candy?!" and, on a curious whim, he leaned forward to quickly lick the pawmark tattoo.

Calumet pulled back after a quick swipe of his tongue, wrinkling his nose in distaste. THAT certainly wasn't candy...come to think of it, the purple of crazy-lady's hair wasn't either. He felt a little cheated.

Shauna and Eight

Why wasn't this boy trying to apologize? Shauna sat up and watched Cal quietly, gasping when she noticed his eyes. They were so pretty! She leaned forward to stare into his eyes for what seemed like forever, clapping her hands together with a happy little squeal of delight. "Cowors!" She cheered, bouncing up and down on the cushion she was sitting on. Colors were always so fun to look at, especially the ones on the tv; the creatures and people on it were so pretty, and it was one reason why she loved her family so much.

She'd thank him if she had any idea why she should be thanking him.

Shauna tilted her head to the side while Cal inspected the finger that'd been poking her cheek, leaning in again to see if something was wrong with it. What was it? Had she hurt him? She had no idea what the other child was thinking, for all she knew he was wondering if there was something on her cheek...like...maybe she had a germ or something? Ew! "...EWWWW!"

Eight's head poked out from a door at the loud 'ew' from her daughter. What was that all about?

He licked her! Ew! Ew! Gross! Shauna made a face and wiped at her cheek with her mommy's jacket, whimpering in disgust and glaring at the boy. "Ew! Nooo Cowors!"

Calumet

Calumet gave the other toddler a dubious glance. Why didn't she taste like candy? Was this some kind of trick? And she was staring, staring and saying funny things. Did he have something on his face? He scrubbed at it with clumsy hands, only succeeding in making his cheeks red, contrasting with the brown of his skin, the blue of his tattoos, and the rainbow colors of his eyes.

And that sound she made after he discovered that she didn't taste like candy was so loud! It was a louder version of the noise the crazy lady made when he played in his cereal, or with the mud outside (which was a much rarer occurence), and the sound bothered his ears. She was so loud! He frowned, placing a hand over each ear and shaking his head. Didn't she know it wasn't nice to shout in someone's face? Of course, it wasn't nice to lick someone without permission, either, but he didn't know that.

As he caught sight of Eight's head, he dropped his hands to wave, his smile returning as if to say "No, nothing's wrong here, I didn't just invade your kid's personal space. Move along, citizen."

Eight and Shauna

Eight blinked and watched the pair, looking around for this boy's mother before she disappeared into a room again; Shauna seemed perfectly content where she was.

Shauna was still rubbing at her cheek like it had cooties on it, eventually just curling up on the couch again so she could watch Cal from a more comfortable position. The fox frowned softly when he covered his ears, putting her own hands over his ears and tilting her head. "Buh...?" Had she hurt his head by squealing like that? She hadn't thought she was that loud...but then again, Shauna didn't usually listen to herself when she spoke. But still! You didn't just go around licking people! Although she'd seen her mommy and daddy with their mouths really close though, they must have been talking in some really strange way, but her mommy had looked happy...and her giggles showed she must have been happy too!

But they didn't randomly lick each other!

"Pay!" ...It was play, I swear. Shauna held up Tabby and grinned, sitting up again with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Inle-roo and Calumet

Calumet's mother was otherwise occupied, kneeling in a corner of the room and peering intently at the carpet. The piece she had lost was small--cheap, too, but she didn't want to trek all the way to Durem to get a replacement piece. She had heard the "EWWW" from across the room but couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't her kid getting grossed out, after all, and even if it had been he wouldn't express it vocally. When bright flashes started coming out of nowhere, then she'd start worrying. Until then, she was content to inspect the carpet as if it held all the wonders of the universe instead of a $2 piece of photo equipment, and not even definitely at that.

Cal's head tilted to the side at the other girl's noises. What was this "buh" she spoke of, or "pay?" Surely she was some strange thing of some species that tasted like not-candy and made loud noises. Was this their native tongue?

Everyone in his little world only said "No," or "Don't stick that in your mouth/nose/ear," or "Sufferin' succotash," so toddler-speak didn't really compute. He really needed to interact with kids his own age, rather than the remote and his own oddball family.

He blinked at the kitty. It looked normal, at least--it wasn't candy-colored, and Cal knew better than to try and eat a toy anyway. They didn't taste very good, and he always wound up getting hair on his tongue. It was really quite gross. He wasn't quite sure what the girl-that-didn't-taste-like-candy-and-said-strange-words wanted, but she seemed to be offering him the kitty. His easy smile spoke volumes that he never would, and he reached out to poke the kitty, grin widening at its softness.

Eight and Shauna

In Shauna's house everyone said a ton of words, which was why she was always trying desperately to say all the words her family could say; she would talk like Mommy, Daddy, Elle and Asra! She had to! It made them so happy whenever she did something new...or in Mommy's case, when she did anything at all.

The little fox smiled when she caught sight of the grin, patting the seat next to her to let Cal know he could sit there. It was something she'd learned from her brother Liam when he wanted Shauna to sit with him, or when she saw someone on tv that wanted another person to sit with them. If this boy liked Tabby, and since he seemed careful, she was actually going to let him play with her!

Eight finally stepped out into the room Shauna was in, spotting Inle in the corner of her room and raising a brow. What in the world...? "Trying to get the carpet to talk?" She asked, squatting down in front of Inle and tilting her head a bit. Now this was interesting.

Inle-roo and Calumet

Ooo, now there was a gesture he recognized! Crazy-lady would often pat the couch as an indication for him to "sit there and DON'T MOVE and watch your cartoons and DON'T MOVE" when she wasn't up to lifting him bodily onto it. Calumet seemed grow a bit more every day, and he certainly wasn't the only baby she had to cart around--it wreaked havoc on her back after awhile. So it was with a happy non-noise that Calumet wiggled himself onto the couch, belly-flopping onto it more than anything else. Another moment of squirming brought him upright, his back leaned against the couch.

He immediately looked around for a TV, frowning when he realized that no cartoons would be forthcoming. Oh but hey, what was this? It was a kid! Suddenly he remembered what he was doing and smiled and waved at her. She didn't seem so big now that he was on the same level as she was. And her fuzzy ears were right within reach! He reached for one without preamble, hand open as if he meant to pet it rather than grab it.

Inle cast a baleful glance at Eight's smartassed question before turning her attention back to the floor. "No, I'm looking for the gates to Hell," she drawled, obviously sarcastic. "Although I think the Center's front door could pass."

Eight and Shauna

Eight only did it because she wanted Shauna to learn to do some things on her own, otherwise Shauna was free to roam around any part of the house except the room behind the door Mommy told her never to go near. The thing was that Mommy always went up there...but then she never looked too happy when she left the room behind the strange door. The girl helped Cal up onto the couch, giggling softly when he flopped over on his belly; this boy was funny!

Shauna blinked...why was this boy reaching out for her? Her ears gave a flick, and that was when she realized that was what he wanted. Pet her ears? Sure! Mommy did it all the time! She tilted her head a bit so it was more in reach to the boy, hugging Tabby tightly against her chest.

"Perhaps...though I believe the door to my attic serves as the gates to Hell...what'd you lose?" Eight looked around at the carpet around her feet, having absolutely no idea what she was supposed to be seeing. Did she lose an earring or something?

Inle-roo and Calumet

Yay, this girl caught on quick! That was a good thing, because he didn't want to have to pounce on her in order to get what he wanted. She might make that loud noise again if he did, and that would be bad. He bounced in place happily, his hand clumsily reaching out to pet her offered ear.

If Calumet was capable of speaking, he would have squealed happily. Her ears were so soft and fuzzy! Hey, that was awesome! He'd never seen anyone with ears like Shauna's. Why didn't everyone have such funny, fuzzy ears? Everyone in cartoons had fuzzy ears, except Elmer Fudd and Marvin the Martian, who had no visible ears at all. They were supposedly bad guys, though...maybe only the good guys got to have fuzzy ears? That was it, Shauna was a good guy!

Wait, HE didn't have fuzzy ears...did that make him a bad guy? Cal petted Shauna's ears contemplatively. Heavy stuff, for a kid.

Inle tilted her head up, to what looked like an uncomfortable angle, and made a very small circle with her fingers. "It's a small round thing. Like a ring, only a lot smaller. I lost it during the party, and I don't want to have to go all the way to Durem--or worse, Aeka--to get a new one."

Eight and Shauna

Shauna squeezed her eyes shut, quite pleased with the feeling of having her ears pet, and wagged her tail happily, making little thumping noises every time it hit the cushions. The little fox squealed happily and hugged Cal tightly, the happiest expression on her face. That felt so nice! No wonder Daddy always looked so happy when Mommy pet his ears, the first time she met him he'd started bouncing her when Mommy did it. The fox nuzzled her cheek into Cal's shoulder, her tail wagging faster every minute he pet her ears.

Eight blinked, staring at Inle when she said when she lost the thing. "...And you're only just looking for it now?! It's probably gone by now!" Or it could have been kicked or swept or made its way to another part of the room...so searching all around the room would probably be the smartest idea.

Inle-roo and Calumet

Hooray, affection! He didn't know why he was being affectionated upon, but he didn't really care. Love was love, after all. Cal threw his free arm around his new friend's shoulder, intending to pat her on the back. It backfired, however, as he was nowhere near coordinated enough to pet and pat at the same time, so half the time he was petting her back and the rest of the time he was patting her head.

What was that noise? He was fairly certain he wasn't doing it, but what WAS it? He peered around the vicinity of the couch, not spotting anything that was moving...but then his eyes caught on the movement of Shauna's tail. Hey, what was that? It was fuzzy and...attached to her butt? That didn't look too comfortable. Was it a part of her? Was it a toy or something? Or worse, was it an alien from outer space that had latched onto Shauna in order to devour her soul (He had seen that on a not-cartoon, something he wasn't supposed to watch but did anyway and was quite proud of himself for remembering that much)? Both of his hands paused in their movements to reach for Shauna's tail, but he couldn't reach it at this angle.

"I've been avoiding this place. The cops came towards the end of the party, and I imagine someone got in trouble and with my luck it would have been me had I stuck around, in spite of the fact that I didn't bring the beer OR the margarita mix. That and I was afraid Orestae was going to stick me with some duty or another. 'Oh, I'm SO glad you're here! Can I ask you to hang around for a few minutes while I run away to Vegas or something as equally useless?'" she mimicked, voice taking on a mocking, higher-pitched tone.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna didn't like the head patting too much, she much preferred the petting. She opened her eyes and blinked, suddenly feeling his arm flailing around behind her as if it was trying to grab something...what was he after? "Buh...?" She sat up and looked around, her tail had stopped thumping around at this point, finding nothing wrong or anything unusual. What was that all about?

Eight rose a brow, she still remembered seeing the cops come up when she left, that wasn't something you could easily forget. The halfling snickered softly at Inle's imitation of Orestae, looking around for any sign of something that resembled the description of the woman's missing...thing. "I've never met Orestae myself, but her secretary's a friend of mine, she's got...an odd sense of humor..."

Inle-roo and Calumet

Nooo, moving was bad! Moving brought the oh-so-fluffy yet potentially deadly alien thing away, and he had to kill it! He didn't have a big shiny gun like the guys in the movies, but maybe he could...pet it to death? Or pull it off her, and then go get crazy-lady and she could...probably stare at it for a moment before rolling her eyes and going back to whatever she was doing.

Calumet pointed at Shauna's tail, finger wiggling in the air. Didn't Shauna know her soul or life or butt or something was in danger?

"Yeah, well, that makes them a match made in heaven," she grumbled, scanning the area again. Her eyes lit up as she saw something shiny, and she dove for it, hoping it was her missing piece. Unfortunately, it was only a dime. With a noise of pleased dismay, she stuffed it in her pocket. Finders keepers!

Eight and Shauna

She'd never been more confused in her life! First he was petting her, and now he was freaking out about something that couldn't possibly be there. Her tail flicked around a bit in confusion, watching Cal quietly before following his gaze to...her tail? Him too? Did no other person her age have a tail? Everytime someone her age noticed it they looked shocked or something...Cal almost looked afraid or something! Shauna reached back and poked at her tail, looking from her tail to Cal and then back at the fluffy appendage. "Boo?"

Eight smiled and shrugged. Alania wasn't that bad, really! The halfling's eyes widened when Inle suddenly dove for something, scooting back out of the way with a frightened squeak. "...All that for a dime..." She looked around for any sign of the missing thing the other woman had lost, finding nothing and just watching Shauna and Cal for a moment.

Inle-roo and Calumet

Why was she not freaking out about that THING on her butt? Yes, it was fluffy, and yes, it was cute, and yes, it was potentially dangerous! Did she not know the difference between cute and carnivorous? He reached over to poke it too. Oh, but it was so soft! He forgot for a moment that it was going to kill his new friend and twined his fingers into it.

Luckily, Inle's gaze followed Eight's, and she watched her eccentric ward play with the other girl's tail. Oh, she recognized that look on his face. It meant he was going to do something well-meaning and/or stupid, and break something--in this case, probably Shauna. "CAL!" she yelled from across the room. "Don't you DARE pull her tail! You know better!"

Calumet paused, multi-colored eyes looking over at his guardian. Didn't she know what was going on? This thing was--oh, tail. That explained a lot. He probably would have felt dumb if he knew enough to. Instead, he smiled in relief. He was ill-equipped to handle aliens anyway.

Shauna

There was nothing to fear with this tail! It was soft and fluffy! Shauna squeaked softly when her tail was poked, her tail twitching in surprise as his fingers grabbed onto it. Ohh, dear, what was he doing? She jumped and looked over to Inle, blinking and staring at the woman in confusion. Pull her tail...? Cal? Oh! Cal must have been this boy's name! But he was going to pull her tail?! That was mean! Shauna whimpered and tugged her tail away, holding it while she watched Cal, probably trying to figure out why he would want to pull her tail. That hurt!

Well...he looked like he wasn't going to pull her tail...he looked like someone had told him he had nothing to be scared of. It was then that she noticed Cal's tattoo, blinking and leaning in to trace some of it with her finger. What was that? It was kind of like her pawprint! Only blue..and way different.

Calumet

Hey nooo, he wasn't done with that! It was so fluffy and soft and apparently not an alien! Calumet, too young to know the meaning of "personal space," followed the tail right into Shauna's arms, determined to pet it even though she seemed determined not to let him. As he sat practically on top of her and stroked her tail, he didn't seem to notice the attention she was paying to his tattoos. Even if he had he wouldn't have minded--he had long grown used to the stares he recieved from others, and was often too oblivious to notice them anyway.

The tattoos flared to life as Shauna touched them, glowing a clear blue against his mocha skin. Cal looked startled for a moment before the glow faded and his markings returned to their normal, dormant state. He sat back, smiling, a hand still stretched towards Shauna's tail; she was a friend, there was no need for him to be alarmed!

Shauna

Shauna blinked, squirming around under the boy sitting on her trying to get to her tail. Heeeey! He was heavy! The finally let go of her tail, whapping at him gently to get him off her and scooting over on the couch. Get out of my bubble, please! Her tail swayed back and forth while Cal pet at it, poking at Cal's tattoos until...whoa! Was that supposed to happen?!

She sat and stared at the tattoos, poking at them again with a look of awe. That was cool! Shauna squealed happily and glomped the boy the way she had before while he was petting her ears, closing her eyes tightly with a smile. There were lots of cool things about him, weren't there? His eyes were like Asra's ribbons, and his markings glowed! What wasn't there to love? ...Well...he was kind of quiet...but maybe he just hadn't found his voice yet.

Calumet

Unfortunately, it was doubtful Calumet would ever find his voice--he'd never uttered a sound other than a sneeze or a sigh or a cough since his creation, and he didn't look like he was going to start anytime soon. He got by easily enough, however. It wasn't like he wanted anything more than cartoons and sugar-laden food, anymore. Cal had a surprisingly fast metabolism, which was a good thing, otherwise he'd have been a good deal heavier. And he hadn't meant to squish his new friend! Why was she hitting him? That wasn't nice, he just wanted to get a closer look at her tail! Cal was too young to know the meaning of "personal space," and whether he would have cared if he had known was up for debate.

This time, his tattoos remained dark as Shauna touched them. He flailed in surprise as he was pounced upon, losing his balance and falling back against the couch. Cal smiled happily at his new friend's affectionating, squeezing her in a hug and patting her back.

Shauna

Shauna would try her hardest to help him find it! Even if it was a lost cause...not like she knew what that meant anyway. Affection was obviously a big thing Eight spread around the house like the plague, only it was way better than the plague of course, and she squealed happily at the squeeze. Hm...did he have ears for her to pet too? The fox looked up at his head and frowned, putting a hand on top in search for fuzzy ears and finding...what were these? Mommy and Faye had these too! And Mommy never looked too happy when Shauna made a really loud noise in them, were these their ears?! They were so weird looking! Even Daddy had proper ears! That's right, those were the only normal ears someone should have...why didn't Mommy have them? Did she have too many things on her head to fit the ears up there?

While she contemplated this whole ear problem, her tail wagged around before draping across her lap, chewing thoughtfully on Tabby's ear and staring at Cal. "...Cowors." And then came the glomp.

Calumet

Calumet, on the other hand, was baffled by all the attention. Most of the members of the Iridien household ranged from ambivalent to against affection and while Cal wasn't quite starved of it, he didn't know exactly what to do with all of the affection Shauna was bestowing upon him, either. Hugs were one thing, but this--this was unknown, but not unwelcome! He blinked and squirmed as Shauna's hands roamed over his head, his own hands moving to stop hers before thinking better of it and settling them in his lap. Was there something on his head? If there was, she'd be able to get it better than he would.

What? Why was she looking at him like that? Was there really something on his head? Ew, he hoped it wasn't gross. What was that word she kept saying? Was it a name? An object? Was this "cowors" thing what was on him? (He didn't know it, but yes.) Was it--before he could think on it further, he was glomped again, this time losing his balance and falling onto the couch's seat. She did manage to draw a sound from him, however: a sharp exhalation of air, as it was driven from him.

Shauna

Shauna was surrounded with attention, and it was just the way she liked it, because she was just too adorable for her family to resist. Of course it did bother her sometimes...but that was rare, so she loved getting affection almost all the time...so why not give affection for once?

Oh well, it didn't matter too much if Cal didn't have the right ears, everyone was different. The fox squeaked when Cal fell over, blinking and staring in front of her; why did he fall? Had she hurt him somehow? Was he playing? Did he just lose his balance? Was he tired? So many questions! This was too deep for someone her age! Shauna shook her head as if that would make the questions go away, poking at Cal with a quiet coo. Hellloooo, why were you falling over?

Calumet

Cal seemed to giggle silently, squirming further under Shauna's prodding finger. That tickled! He batted it away as he tried to sit up, pushing dark- and rainbow-colored hair out of his face with an uncoordinated hand. Well, that was somewhere between fun and painful! His new friend was weird, with her furry tail and funny ears and not-tasty grape-colored tattoo! Of course, he had been told he wasn't quite normal either. What an odd pair they made! Were all kids this strange?

With a flailing hand, Calumet returned the favor and poked at Shauna, although she was still upright. Two could play at this game, if a game was what it was! Even if it wasn't, he probably would have done it anyway. She was soft!

Eight and Shauna

Shauna giggled, finding the whole poking and batting just one big game. The fox was having more fun right now than she did with most children her age! She grinned and returned every poke she was given, sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry at her new friend. They really did make quite the pair, didn't they? An energetic little fox and a color, quiet boy, it was almost like polar opposites...almost.

Suddenly every bit of energy seemed to be sucked out of her, cuddling against Cal like a pillow and yawning. She continued to poke at him, but it wasn't as much as before, in fact it was quite lazy at this point...

"...That's odd, she's been doing that a lot lately ever since Asra visited..." Eight mused, having been watching the pair from the other side of the room the entire time. It was really cute! Shauna loved meeting kids her age, it must have gotten lonely always being surrounded by children years older than her...

Inle-roo and Calumet

The poking wasn't so bad, but ew, she spit at him! He paused in his poking to wipe the spit off his face, wrinkling his nose in obvious distaste. That was gross! He dried his wet hand on his shirt before seeming to forget all about the incident in favor of the poking-game, smiling in return. This wasn't so bad, except for the spitting part! Hey, was this sleepiness thing part of the game too? He wasn't tired. Oh, was he supposed to be? Cal hugged his new friend as she cuddled against him, taking the opportunity to poke and pet at her strange ears some more. She was so nice, none of the animals in his house who had silly-ears let him play with them! Of course, that could be because he tended to squeeze them too hard. There was no need to squeeze Shauna, however--she didn't look like she was going to run away anytime soon.

Even Inle had to admit that the scene on the couch was cute. A little nauseating, but cute. Calumet looked so happy to have someone to play with, someone to hug him and whatnot...Inle just wasn't a huggy person. Perhaps, for Calumet, she should learn to be..."Do you think she's sick? I hope it's not contagious, if she is." Calumet wouldn't be that hard to deal with if he got sick, she knew, but illness tended to infect everyone in the house, and she had no desire to play nursemaid to all of them while sick herself.

Eight and Shauna

Eight shook her head. "No...no...I don't think she's sick, she's perfectly fine...she just falls asleep every now and then out of nowhere. I'm starting to think she has narcolepsy!" Eight joked, although she did look genuinely concerned over her daughter.

Shauna giggled softly, her ears flicking this way and that as if they were trying to avoid Cal's fingers. That tickled! She squeezed her eyes shut and rest her head against the boy's shoulder, grabbing Tabby and idly clapping her paws together. Boy, was she tired! She wouldn't have appreciated it if Cal grabed onto her to keep her from running, that much was obvious. She yawned again and closed her eyes, cuddling against Cal even more.

"Ah...hm...maybe I should bring her home soon..." Eight frowned, moving to stand up when she suddenly felt something against her knee. What the hell was that? The halfling blinked and looked down to what she was sitting on, picking up a round thingie... "This what you were looking for?" She really was good luck!

Inle-roo and Calumet

Inle hardly looked amused. "Sucks to be her, if she does. I hope she doesn't wind up falling asleep while crossing the street, or anything." Oh, that Inle, always saying all the wrong things without really meaning to, or caring that she did. It was just the way she was. A faint smile came to her face--faint was huge, for her--as she eagerly took said round thingie from Eight. "That's exactly it! Thanks!" she said, sticking it in the pocket of her jeans before rising. "We should get going. Don't wanna be here when that psycho gets back, after all." With that, she strode to the couch.

Cal saw his caretaker coming and only clung tighter to his new friend not to keep her there, but to keep himself there. He knew what those leaving-words meant, and he didn't want any part of it! He was happy here with his new friend, he didn't want to leave, although the girl practically in his lap looked to be almost asleep. Cal flailed as Inle gently detached him from Shauna, kicking at her in order to try to get her to put him down. Inle was having none of that, however. "I know, I know, you don't wanna leave your friend. That's just too bad, kiddo, we've got things to do."

He tried to push himself away as Inle walked them to the door, seeming to sigh in defeat as they reached the door. His little hand waved at Eight and Shauna as they disappeared through it. It was only when they were halfway home that Inle realized that she hadn't gotten the names of either Calumet's friend or her guardian.

Eight Shauna

Oh yeah, that would be bad if that ever happened. Eight gave a nervous laugh at Inle's words, pushing herself to her feet and running a hand through her hair. The halfling smiled softly at the look on Inle's face when the woman finally had her thingie back, shrugging and following Inle to the couch.

Aww! It was so adorable to see Cal so attatched to Shauna! She almost felt bad for having to separate them, but all good things must come to an end... "Don't worry! You'll see Shauna again soon!" She assured the boy, carefully picking her daughter up off the couch after Cal and his mother were finally out of the building. Shauna stirred, but not enough to actually awaken, cuddling against her Eight's chest when the woman picked her up. So soft~

"Aw, sweetheart...you're so adorable..." Eight looked around one last time for any sign of life before walking out of the daycare herself, so glad this place wasn't far from her home.

...Damnit! They never got their names! All she knew was the boy was called Cal!

 

[Eight]

Shauna meets Mirorim

Eight and Shauna

"So what kind do you want, my dear~?" Eight asked again, smiling fondly down at Shauna. This was probably the hundredth time Eight had asked her daughter this question...but...she was just so cute when she answered! Shauna seemed so much more mature ever since Asra had visited their house, and then she'd met more children...and grown a bit more mature after them as well; they grew up so fast! Today, as a reward for being such a big girl lately, Eight was taking Shauna on her first trip to an ice cream parlor, and already she'd learned what kind of ice cream she wanted...even if she had no idea what it was.

"Chakit!" Was Shauna's bubbly reply, walking next to her mother instead of being carried. Eight was sure to hold her hand, for she'd been a bit reluctant to let her down at all despite how much Shauna had been insisiting on being put down. If Shauna was going to grow big like Asra and Elle, she had to start doing things herself! She couldn't depend on Mommy all the time, could she? Eight grinned and gave Shauna's hand a gentle squeeze, opening the door to the store once they reached it. The little fox smiled and let go of her mother's hand, running up ahead of her to go to the counter and see the ice cream.

"Be careful not to run into anyone, sweetie."

Chuu and Mirorim

The man at the other side of the counter would have definitely preferred Shauna over the indecisive child who was before him now. This little girl was quite adorable, but it would be even better if she would hurry up and make her mind. "Have you made your decision yet?" he asked through grating teeth in the most pleasant voice he could muster.

"I'm so sorry that I'm taking so long to order. It's just... everything looks really good!" Chuu apologized, peach whip of a tail swishing back and forth. Then... she saw it. "Oooh~! I want that, please!" she decided, pointing at a picture of a dish covered in strawberries and hot fudge. Before the cashier could calculate the total, the mouse girl had already put it on the counter. "Thank you so much~!"

Mirorim had been sitting at a nearby table in a sort of neutral state, fiddling around with his cat's cradle with an eerily blank expression on his masked face. However, that all stopped when a toddler looking younger than him came into view. He carefully read Shauna's joyful expression and, like putting on a mask, took on that same expression himself.

Eight and Shauna

Shauna gazed over the top of the counter at all the ice cream, having pushed a chair closer to it so she could stand on that. She'd never seen so many kinds of ice cream in one place before! The little girl looked up when a girl apologized to someone, tilting her head a bit to see it was a purple little mousey girl. Wow! She'd never seen a girl like her before!

"Why hello there, is your mother around?"

Shauna jumped and nearly fell off the chair she was standing on, staring wide eyed up at the man behind the counter. What had he asked? Why was this man over here? Where was Mommy? The little fox frowned and looked around, whimpering softly and sitting down on the chair. Where was Mommy?

"Lost?"

Shauna whimpered again, her gaze turned up at the man. Would he help her find her mother? She opened her mouth to try and say something, but a soft voice came up behind her instead, a pair of arms scooping her up out of the chair and spinning her around in a circle. "What's wrong, sweetie~? Don't cry! I'm right here!" Eight grinned, kissing Shauna's marked cheek and putting her back down on the chair. Shauna squealed in delight and clapped her hands together happily, looking up at the man behind the counter with a grin. Only the man wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Mommy.

"Can I help you?"

"Chakit!" Eight laughed softly at Shauna's answer, ruffling her daughter's hair with a proud smile. She'd get the word right eventually.

"Two chocolate milkshakes." She confirmed for the man, hoisting Shauna up in her arms and bouncing her once to comfortably rest the girl on her hip. "...You're starting to get a bit too big for this." The girl sighed, putting the money on the counter and taking the two freshly made chocolate milkshakes for herself and Shauna. "Careful with the cup, Shauna. You'll get it everywhere if you drop it." She advised, turning to walk out of the shop.

Or she would have if Shauna hadn't suddenly started pointing at a little boy with a mask. His face was like hers! Or at least it was happy like hers, and Shauna felt so drawn to him for some reason. Eight blinked and looked from Shauna to Ror, grinning and rolling her eyes. "Well aren't we the social butterfly this week!" She bent down and put the toddler down to let her walk over to Ror, sipping quietly at her chocolate shake as she walked. She wouldn't spill it!

Chuu and Mirorim

Chuu was about to dig into her strawberry-fudge sundae treat when she heard the most adorable sound ever. Naturally, she whipped around to try and see what the source of it was. It was a little girl and her caretaker- hooray! People she hadn't seen before!

"You have such a cute little child with you~!" Chuu said as the headwinged demoness placed the fox-footed toddler on the floor. She then decided it would be a good idea to introduce herself and Ror. "Oh, that's right. Hi~! My name's Chuu, and this is Mirorim! You can call him Ror, though. What are your names, if I can ask?"

Ror looked carefully at Shauna as she approached. Dropping from his chair onto the floor, he put his hands up as if he were holding a chocolate milkshake like this new girl was. "Chakit!" he decided to say, mimicking Shauna's voice.

Eight and Shauna

Eight was suddenly the proudest mother in the world, smiling fondly and taking a few sips of her chocolate shake. She wouldn't sit just yet, feeling much more comfortable standing at the moment; Eight hated sitting. "Thank you! It's nice to meet you, Chuu, Ror. I'm Eight...and...why don't you introduce yourself, sweetie?" Eight put her hands on her knees and got down so she was eye level with Shauna, nudging her head towards Ror and Chuu.

Shauna blinked and scooted forward a little bit, suddenly looking uncharacteristically shy. "Sh...s...Shauna!" She chirped, beaming proudly when Eight's arms wrapped gently around her from behind. Mommy always got so happy when she did something! It was as if she was Mommy's perfect little baby! Even Daddy loved her! And Elle and Asra! And the other people at their house! Shauna blinked, watching Ror curiously as he walked up to her in the same pose. She gasped softly when she heard her voice come from his lips, poking at her own lips as if to make sure they were still there. He hadn't stolen her voice, had she? "...Chakit!" She smiled, glad to hear she still had her voice back.

Chuu and Mirorim

Chuu tilted her head to the side and giggled with delight. "It's nice to meet you too, Eight and Shauna! You two look very alike~!" she said happily. "Why don't you two sit down with us? It's always nice to have someone to talk to over ice cream."

Mirorim blinked as the fox child came closer to him. He gasped along with Shauna, and felt his own lips in the same way that she did. "Chakit!" he said again, and then looked up at Chuu to see what she was doing. "Why don't you two sit down with us? It's always nice to have someone to talk to over ice cream."

The 'big sister' of the masked child bubbled with laughter. "You need to find your own voice and your own way to say things, Ror!"

Eight and Shauna

Eight giggled softly and nodded at Chuu's observation, taking another sip from her milkshake. "Mhm, actually she looks like me and my boyfriend. If you saw the three of us together you'd swear she was our biological daughter!" She grinned, shaking her head a bit at the offer. "Nah, I prefer standing; in all honesty, I hate sitting, I can never sit still for too long." Eight replied in all honesty, watching Ror quietly with a raised brow.

"Wow, he's pretty good!" She complimented the boy, looking from Ror to Chuu. "He your little brother?" They didn't look at all alike, but Chuu looked way too young to be a mother...she had to be, what, ten or eleven years old?! And Alex thought she was young to have children!

Shauna blinked, looking up at Chuu then back at Ror. He was copying them? Wow...he wasn't really stealing her voice? He was like one of those people on tv who pretended to be other people! Only he didn't change his costume all the time...come to think of it...his mask reminded her of that one movie she almost watched with Mommy, but Mommy kept covering her eyes. "Fan..." Shauna looked up at Eight and pointed at Ror's mask. "Fan!"

"...Fan...?"

Shauna pouted. "Fanum!" Eight merely stared at Shauna while she tried desperately to figure out what she was trying to say, eventually following her pointed finger to the mask Ror was wearing. ...Oh!

"Oh! Phantom! Aww, is Ror being the Phantom of the Opera for Halloween and just wearing his costume early?"

Chuu and Mirorim

"Oh, so she's not your real daughter?" Chuu asked, ears tilting in curiosity. "Not that something like that matters, though. If you care for her, that's family enough!" The child was now hoping that she would meet Eight's boyfriend someday. Maybe she could make them cookies!

Upon being asked about her relation to Mirorim, she looked at him quickly and responded, "He's not my real brother, no. But I like to think that I'm his big sister. I've always wanted to be a big sister to someone!" The response may have been odd to Eight, but the mouse girl was sure that this demoness was familiar with people forming easy bonds like this- especially in a place as diverse as Gaia.

Ror looked up at Chuu and pointed at Shauna's face. "Fanum!"

"Phantom of the Opera... I don't think I've heard of that," the mouse girl answered, ears drooping slightly. "Even if I knew what that was, I'm sure it's not Ror's costume. He's had that mask ever since he came into this world. I think he'll take it off when he's ready to." She smiled.

Eight and Shauna

"Nope! Amazing, isn't it?" Eight smiled proudly, always finding some sort of enjoyment in watching people's reactions when they found out Shauna wasn't really her actual child. Not as much enjoyment as when Alex found out though, his reaction to her was priceless. "You should see my family, it's huge."

The half demon blinked a few times at Chuu's answer, looking fairly confused for about half a second before it melted into another soft smile, looking down at Shauna and Ror again as she drank some more of her shake. She paused for a moment to hold her head and wince, closing her eyes while she let the ice cream headache pass. "Wow, never gotten one of those before...so you're an only child too?" Eight smirked. "Consider yourself lucky that you don't have a cruel older cousin." She stated with a laugh.

Shauna grinned and skipped over to Ror and close the distance between them. "Opper Fanum!" She squealed happily, sipping contently at her milkshake with a smile, holding it out as if she was offering it to Ror.

"No, no, sweetie. He can't have your milkshake." Eight advised, watching Shauna stare up at her and just go back to drinking. Her headwings perked up a bit at Chuu's answer to the mentioning of the movie, gasping softly. "You must come over and watch it some day!"

Chuu and Mirorim

The mouse girl was very happy that Eight seemed proud of Shauna, and joyful at the thought of having a large family. "Wow! If you have a big family and someone to love, it must be really hard to get lonely. I'm really happy for you~!" she said with complete and utter honesty, plucking a strawberry off of her sundae.

She licked hot fudge and ice cream like any child her age would as Eight talked more about her family life. As the demoness winced from an ice cream headache, Chuu's face showed marks of concern- but those passed as soon as it was acknowledged that all was well. "Yeah, I guess you can say that I'm an only child," she replied.

Mirorim skipped a couple of steps in place as Shauna got closer to him- wow, that was kinda hard! He then squealed "Opper Fanum!" as he held up his hands as if offering his own milkshake to his new friend.

"It looks like Shauna will grow up to be a very nice person someday," Chuu grinned. "And I'd love to watch it with you sometime! We could make it into a party, and I could bring cupcakes!"

Eight and Shauna

Eight shrugged, not willing to admit that there were times she wished she could be alone...but with so many roommates it was rather hard to find a moment of peace unless everyone was asleep. She stirred her shake around with her straw and watched Chuu get rid of one of her strawberries, completely amazed that someone would get rid of a strawberry to begin with. Was she mad?! She walked over so she was standing next to Chuu now instead of on the other side of the two children, leaning against the table. "You're not going to eat that strawberry?" She asked curiously, glancing at it before the younger girl's comment registered in her head. "I bet she will! She catches onto things rather quickly, actually...she only learned how to walk a few days ago, and now she's skipping! ...Cupcakes? That sounds great! You don't have to though, my kitchen's overflowing with baked goods!" Eight added with a faint blush, laughing softly and finishing off her shake. ..Damn.

Shauna didn't think skipping was that hard, although it was with a drink in her hands. The fox giggled and plopped down on the floor next to Ror, watching him quietly. Could he only repeat what she said and did? Like an actor? She reached forward to gently poke at the boy's mask, her straw hanging in her mouth as she gurgled random little baby noises. Funny mask! How did it stay on?

Chuu and Mirorim

Chuu was unaware at Eight's concern for the welfare of the strawberry she was holding as she dipped it into the ice cream and licked it clean again. Upon hearing Eight's comment, she noticed the sudden proximity between them and chuckled softly. "I'll have to eat the strawberries sometime! You can have a couple of them if you want," she offered, establishing in her mind that her new friend was one who enjoyed the taste of the tart fruit.

"Wow, she does learn fast!" the mousegirl said in reply to Eight's talking about Shauna. She seemed really proud of her. "Mirorim learns things by copying people. He does that a lot... now that I think about it, he really doesn't do anything else. But I'm sure he'll find his own way of doing things soon. Oh, you can never have too many baked goods, I think!" Chuu added with a wide grin.

Mirorim stiffened visibly as Shauna touched his face- and for the first time in this world, brief thoughts formed in his mind. Why was she doing that? Was there something wrong with him? He brought his hand up to his own face to check. The part of his face covered in white was found to be soft, like normal human flesh. It felt warm, but when his hand moved to the other side of his face, he was met with a thin masklike shell. It didn't feel very warm at all.

Eight and Shauna

Eight smiled, shaking her head and putting her cup down. "Nah, I'm fine, but thanks for the offer!" The half demon watched Ror quietly as Chuu explained his little copying ability, looking quite impressed. He'd have his own personality in time...but wow, he could copy a person exactly? That was amazing.

She laughed softly and finally sat down in a chair after Chuu's baking comment, holding her chin up in the palm of her hand and looking over to the mouse. "You're right. Sweets are the best food, after all."

Shauna tilted her head a bit, watching Ror quietly while he examined his face. She giggled and clapped her hands together to show she liked the mask, putting a hand over one side of her face with her fingers opened over her eye...aww, she was trying to copy him now! She coo'd softly and looked around, suddenly spotting the string around the boy's hands. What was that...?

Chuu and Mirorim

Finally, Eight sat down at the table! This made Chuu visibly happy- it was smiles all around with this kid, it seemed. She continued dunking the strawberry in the ice cream and eating off of it instead of using a spoon like most people would. "Yeah, I just love cakes and cookies and food like that!" Turning to her adopted little brother, she asked, "Ror, would you like some ice cream?"

"Ror, would you like some ice cream?" the mirrorchild responded as he covered his face with his hand like Shauna was. One of the many beads on the cat's cradle wrapped around his hand was of a slight rust-colored hue.

Eight and Shauna

Eight smiled and bent down a bit, murmuring a 'Yes, Chuu!' for Ror to answer Chuu with instead. She pushed herself to her feet again and stretched her arms up over her head, turning to Chuu for a moment. "I'll be right back, need another shake! You two want anything?" Shauna wasn't even half finished with her own treat, so the question was directed more to Ror and Chuu than her daughter.

Shauna didn't even notice her mother was leaving to get ice cream, too distracted by that one bead that was different than the rest. She blinked and looked up at Ror, then the bead, poking at it.

Chuu and Mirorim

"Oh no, please don't buy anything for us," Chuu replied to Eight's offer. "I don't know if we'll be able to finish what I got here!" She chuckled and did another strawberry dip, humming with pleasure at the taste.

Mirorim reached for a strawberry so he could copy Chuu, but stopped short when Shauna started poking at him again- this time at his cat's cradle. More specifically, the auburn-colored bead amongst the other magenta ones. He plopped back down in front of Shauna and, with the mechanical awkwardness applied to toddlers, spread out the cat's cradle between his fingers. Grinning like Shauna had been when she first saw him, he exclaimed, "Chakit!"

Eight and Shauna

"Well! Does Ror want anything? I might as well lessen how many trips you need to make up there and just get everything in one trip!" Eight took a step back towards the counter, waiting for Ror's answer. Was chocolate really his answer, or was he playing with Shauna...? The halfling folded her arms behind her head and took another step towards the counter, watching her daughter with a smile.

Shauna gasped. Hey! She'd said that earlier! The little girl cheered and clapped her hands, applauding the boy for his excellent mimicking skills. "'Gen! 'Gen! 'Gen!" Aww, she wanted an encore! The little fox looked up when she noticed her mother walking away, tilting her head and frowning. Was Mommy leaving?

Chuu and Mirorim

"Oh, no. Please don't spend your money on us like that!" Chuu insisted, almost acting as if Eight was offering to buy them a house. "But thank you so much for the offer~!" She grinned widely and partook of another dip of her strawberry. "Ror, you should try some of this!"

Mirorim gasped and clapped like Shauna, saying "'Gen! 'Gen! 'Gen!" in her voice. He then looked up and frowned- but instead of looking at Eight, his eyes met a door with a shiny padlock on it. If he could read, he'd know that it said "EMPLOYEES ONLY".

Eight and Shauna

"Well if you insist! I'll be right back!" Eight turned and headed for the counter to get herself another milkshake, obviously one of those people that could eat and eat and eat and never gain a pound.

Shauna giggled when he was copied again, following the boy's gaze to the door with the sign and lock on it. Ooh, that looked like fun! Reynee's room had a sign on it and it was fun! So any door that had a sign on it just had to be fun too! The child waved a hand to gesutre for Ror to follow her, pushing herself up onto her feet and making her way across the shop to the door. It was locked...hm...how to get in...

Chuu and Mirorim

If it were any girl but Chuu sitting at the table, they would probably have been extremely jealous at Eight's apparent ability to eat indefinitely and still maintain her weight. But, as it, were, this purple mousegirl was just delighted that she knew someone who enjoyed sweets so much. "You really like chocolate milkshakes, don't you? I almost got one, but decided on the strawberries instead," she said, deciding to finally eat one of said tart fruit. It was plump and delicious.

Not needing a gesture to follow, Mirorim followed Shauna's movements to the door with the sign on it. The fox girl had a look of puzzlement on her face, so he took on the expression as well. He even faintly began to wonder how he and his new friend might be able to get into this door...

Eight and Shauna

Eight wouldn't have cared anyway...or even noticed. She returned minutes later with a fresh, new milkshake, sipping at it with a smile and shrugging her shoulders. "Of course! Chocolate's one of my favorite foods! Along with pizza, cookies, cake, cupcakes, popcorn, cherries, other fruits annnd ice cream." What a healthy diet this girl had, eh?

...Wait a second...there was something missing.

Two somethings!

"...Chuu? Where're the kids?"

Shauna stroked her chin in thought, much like she'd seen a man on the tv do, and stared up at the lock. She reached up with one hand to try and pull on it, but with no luck...how would they get behind this door? It probably had something really cool behind it! Like Gaia's biggest toy! Or maybe even the best ice cream ever! Or maybe something even more colorful than Asra!

Chuu and Mirorim

"Wow, you like lots of tasty foods, don't you?" Chuu responded upon eagerly listening to Eight's favorite foods. "But... I don't think I've ever had pizza! Maybe I should try it sometime. What's it taste like?" This girl apparently wasn't from around here. But then again, same with at least half of the people (and animals and things) in Gaia.

That would have to wait, though, as more immediate concerns arose.

"Where did they go...? They can't have gone far... and they can't have left the shop. We would have heard the bell," she started to deduce. Chuu was the kind of person who would turn her head around to see who left and entered a building such as this.

Mimicking Shauna as he had been the entire time he had been with her, Mirorim stroked his chin and took on an expression of deep thought. He reached up with his hand like the perfect living mirror he was, and his very fingertips just barely brushed the bottom of the lock. The back of his mind registered that the metal it was made of was kind of cold. "Locked doors can hold the best secrets," he said in Chuu's voice, quoting a story that she told him a few days ago.

Chuu's ears perked and she turned to see where the kids were. "Oh, they're by that door! It looks like it's locked, so there's no real danger for them. I think they'll be fine for now."

Eight and Shauna

Of course she did, who didn't? Eight blinked and paused, chewing on the end of her straw in thought. Well...the obvious answer was that pizza tasted like pizza. "Well, it's bread, tomato sauce and cheese..then a topping if you want one." Now there were more important matters to attend to: finding Ror and Shauna.

"Shauna hasn't completely mastered running yet either...so there's no way she could have gone far on her own..." No, Eight wasn't about to go and let herself think of the worst case scenario, sticking with her usual plan of optimism...but there was always paranoia to consider! She blinked and glanced at Chuu for a moment, following the girl's attention to the locked door and sighing in relief. "That's great! I think I'll go get them before someone decides they're too cute to resist and tries to take them..." She smiled softly and put her cup down on the table, putting a finger to her lips and silently sneaking around behind the two to pick them up.

They did...? Well then! That explained why Mommy locked the attic all the time! She must keep the prettiest things in that room! Shauna tugged at the lock again, a small pout forming on her face every minute they failed to get into the room behind the door. The shadow was the next thing to catch her attention, tilting her head back enough to lean against Eight's legs and stare up at her mother. "Momma!" She cried, hugging Eight's leg. Eight smiled and picked the two children up, kissing Shauna's forehead as she carried them back to Chuu.

"I've never heard you call me Momma before!" Eight chirped, sitting down at the table again and sitting the children on her lap...it was harder since Ror was bigger, so she gave him to Chuu to sit on. This would ensure that the two of them wouldn't wander off again.

Chuu and Mirorim

Bread, cheese, and tomato sauce! What an odd combination! Or, at least Chuu thought so as she listened to Eight description of the food concoction known as 'pizza'. And you could put other things on it, too! "It's like a cheese-and-tomato cake!" the mouse girl concluded. She had to try some of this sometime! But before that... the kids, of course.

She giggled softly at Eight's comment about Ror and Shauna's cuteness, but not enough for either of the children to notice that they were right behind them. It was really great to see how happy Shauna was to see the demoness again, too!

"Momma!" Ror mimicked- but instead of going for Eight's leg, he went for Chuu's. Which was a bit tough to manage, since the mirrorchild was just barely taller than one of the mousegirl's legs. The gesture did make her bubble with laughter, though, so it was all good.

"Ror, I'm not big enough to be your momma! I'm more like your big sister, okay?" Chuu chuckled as Eight managed to pry him from her leg and set him on her lap. He was heavier than Shauna- and Chuu was smaller than Eight- but the mousegirl didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Eight and Shauna

"Well...no...it's not a cake...I guess it can be considered a pie...I don't know..." This girl had really never had pizza before? That was insane!

Shauna hummed happily and drank some of Mommy's milkshake instead of her own, since hers had melted by now thanks tot he fact that she left if behind when she went to the door. Eight held the girl gently, tickling behind her ears and watching Chuu and Ror. "Size has nothing to do with it, dear! Well...I guess sometimes it does..." She shrugged. "He's pretty sweet, even if it is all just an act since he's copying everyone." That wasn't meant to be insulting in the least, it'd be a shame if Chuu took it as such.

Chuu and Mirorim

"Size has nothing to do with it, dear!" Mirorim repeated, almost as if emphasizing the point Eight was making.

Of course, the mousegirl wasn't insulted in the slightest. It seemed like nothing short of a swift kick could faze her- and it was questionable if even that would. "Oh, it might be an act and it might not! Maybe he really is just copying people, but maybe this is his way of figuring out how do say and do everything he needs to say and do. I'm sure he'll figure things out in time, though!" Chuu piped cheerfully. She hugged her adopted brother tightly.

Eight and Shauna

Eight laughed brightly and ruffled Ror's hair, grinning as she looked up at Chuu. "I didn't mean he was pretending to be sweet. He'll probably make the perfect movie actor in the future if he learns to control this little trick of his. It is a great way to learn to walk and talk..." The halfling tickled Shauna's sides at that, her grin softening to a smile as she watched the child squirm around on her lap. "Maybe you'll just have to help him out, y'know? Help him find his own voice and actions."

Shauna giggled happily at the tickling, wriggling around throughout the whole conversation. Mommy wouldn't stop tickling her! Right as she thought this the woman stopped, and she nursed contently on the milkshake. Just forget what the grown ups were talking about, Shauna was happy just waving to Ror and trying to get him to copy her some more.

Chuu and Mirorim

"Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery! Or at least people have said that!" Chuu replied, nodding vigorously. "And everyone has their own different way of learning things, and teaching things!" She giggled as Ror copied Shauna's gleeful squirming, right down to the tickled giggles. Her legs were starting to fall asleep, but it didn't matter as long as the mirrorchild was comfortable!

Though it was starting to get a tad late. They'd probably need to leave soon.

Eight

She had a point...although it could also be a form of insulting. Eight cuddled her daughter close and sighed, stealing the shake for a moment to have a sip of it before she noticed something.

People were leaving!

"Hey, ladies, it's just about closing time, you almost through?"

Eight jumped a bit at the man's sudden voice, looking up and then at the clock...wow, it was getting late! How silly of her to lose track of time like that. Chuu's mother was probably worried about her and Ror anyway...so it'd be best if they went home now. "Time flies by so quickly...I think it'd be a good idea to get going...want me to walk you home, Chuu? I'm sure your parents wouldn't be too happy with you being out so late, right?" Shauna was beginning to get antsy again too.

Chuu and Mirorim

The man's harsh voice made Chuu jump slightly as well- likewise, Mirorim did a little jump of his own.

"Oh... yes! Thank you for the wonderful ice cream!" she responded, then turned to Eight to hear what she had to say.

"Oh! I live by myself, so there's really nobody at home to worry about me. Besides, I came from a tree so I didn't really have parents to begin with!" the mousegirl explained as if such a thing were perfectly normal. "And I live just where the port is, so I think I'll be fine. But thanks for being concerned. It was really nice meeting you and Shauna! Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." She heaved Ror up so he was riding piggyback on her and opened the door, heading out for the night. "Goodbye~!"

Eight and Shauna

Gaia or not...that was just strange! Chuu came from a tree?! Eight didn't even blink, staring at Chuu with her mouth hanging opening. Wow...a tree...her...she never would have guessed it. The half demon stood and rest Shauna on her lip, smiling faintly at Chuu's reassurance that she'd be fine. Just on the port? That was kind of close to this place...perhaps she'd just have to take this girl's word for it and let her walk home herself. "It was nice meeting you too! Good night!"

And away they went.

Shauna was oblivious to the whole leaving thing up until the moment Chuu stood up with Ror and turned away to leave, crying out loudly and reaching for her friend. Why were they leaving? It wasn't time to go yet! Nooooo! The whole trip home was full of Shauna complaining and squirming around in Eight's arms, something she'd never done before until now. Why was she so antsy?!

 

[Eight]

Sigh!

"Hm...any idea why she's acting like this?" Eight asked, taking a sip of her drink and watching Shauna play with some blocks. Faye was playing with her right now, and Delora was (unhappily) sitting on the back of her younger cousin's chair watching the two young girls play. "You watched me grow up after all, figured you'd know why. I've never raised a child as young as Shauna..." She took another sip from her cup, looking up at Delora who was silently nursing a mug of hot coffee.

"How the hell should I know? It's not like I paid attention to you. Maybe she's...I don't know...maybe something's up with her?" Delora hissed loudly when she felt a set of sharp, claw-like nails scratch her arm. "It was a joke!" She growled, her wings spreading angrily. How dare she scratch at her?! That half demon! Eight was about to strangle at her again when Shauna made a noise, and she quickly turned back to her daughter with the most startled face. Shauna's eyes were watery with tears, looking absolutely terrified of her mother and Delora. What was she doing?! How horrible of her to behave like this in front of Shauna! She put her drink down onto the end table next to the couch and crawled over to Shauna, tickling at the girl's nose with the end of one of her little braids and grinning.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie!" Eight gathered Shauna up in her arms to give her a gentle hug, kissing the top of her her while she rocked her. "Shh...come on...don't cry, baby. Mommy's sorry...here." Shauna whimpered softly as she was put down, rubbing at one of her eyes with a tiny fist and watching her mommy pick up Tabby and hold her up in front of her face, clapping her little paws together. "Don't be sad, Shauna! It makes me very sad too." Eight deepened her voice a little so it was like Tabby was talking, holding the plush cat closer to the whimpering child. "It's all that mean Cousin Delly's fault! Why I should tell you! She's always causing trouble! It's up to you to make her do good stuff, Shauna. One...two...three...rawr!" She held Tabby's arms open wide when she roared, finally winning a tiny giggle from the toddler. She sniffled again and rubbed at her eyes, making grabby hands for Tabby which Eight was quick to hand over, smiling softly.

"I really am sorry, sweetie." Shauna looked up at Eight at those words and then at Delora, watching the demon walk away to check on another part of the house. She then turned back to Eight, putting Tabby down and putting her hands over her face. Eight blinked. What was she doing? Her answer soon came when Shauna peeked between two of her fingers and then moved them away from her face with a happy 'Bah!' Eight gasped, putting a hand over her mouth to hide the smile; she was playing her favorite game! Putting her hands over her face, Eight looked around.

"Oh my! Shauna~? Where'd you go, baby?" Eight called, moving her head around as if in search for the little girl. Shauna giggled and crawled away, something she'd never done before, finding a hiding spot in...the next room. "I hear you but I don't see you!" She pulled her hands away from her face. "Peeka...boo...?" What the...where'd she go?

"...Shauna...?" She called out, pushing herself up to her feet and looking around the room. Where had she gone? That girl was such a fast crawler...she could have been anywhere now too, she was so small. "Shauna, this isn't funny, where did you go?" She called again, checking behind the couch, under tables and even in the coat closet of the hallway nearby. Shauna wasn't there either. Eight sighed irritably and ran a hand up through her hair, heading for the bathroom to search around in there.

Shauna was actually hidden in the kitchen, covering her mouth with Tabby to muffle her giggles. Mommy would never find her! Unfortunately Eight found her after Shauna had hid in the kitchen for about an hour...and she was not pleased. Eight had the most annoyed look on her face, and Shauna frowned, hiding her face behind Tabby. "Come on, dear. It's time for bed." Eight picked the girl up and turned out of the kitchen, heading up the stairs in silence until she reached her room.

"Don't you ever do that again. You hear me? You had me scared to death!" She scolded Shauna, putting her down on the bed and then putting her hands on her hips. The girl frowned deeply and hugged Tabby tightly against her, crawling away to the part of the bed she'd claimed as her own and hiding under the pillows. Mommy really was mad...if only she were bigger, she probably wouldn't have been in so much trouble...

Eight sighed and buried her face into the palm of her hand, changing her clothes, tucking Shauna in and walking out of the room to the kitchen.  

[The Shattered]

The writing on the paper sunk into itself and disappeared. A moment later, one single sentence scribed itself in larger, more ornate text.

What always ends everything?