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 Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:36 pm
*Christmas GiftsDonat Today was Christmas, and when I came down for breakfast, Dad gave me a skateboard!!!! And a helmet and pads so I don't hurt myself when I fall. The board is really cool, though. It has a cool gold dragon curled up on the back, and fire around it! I didn't get a chance to try it out yet, but I want to soon. I need to find Chath so he can teach me like he promised. I bet it would be a lot of fun to go skateboarding together. Do cool tricks like I see on TV sometimes. There was a lot of Christmas stuff on TV today, though, and no skateboarding. There was a church show, too, with singing. I watched it for a little while, but I didn't really understand it. Dad doesn't go to church, so neither do I. I guess I'm a little curious now, though. The singing seems nice, at least. But first, I want to learn to skateboard!
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:13 am
*This is Only a Test
"Hey, Donat, can you come here for a minute?" Kumoru called from where he stood just inside the kitchen doorway. The boy would not be able to see him until he actually came into the room.
"Sure, I'll be there in a sec," Donat replied from just upstairs. Then there was a thudding of footsteps down the steps, across the living room, and into the kitchen.
"What is it?" the goat asked, looking around for his father and finding him behind him in the doorway.
The mage laughed a little and lunged forward to poke Donat lightly in the forehead with his index finger. "Just testing a spell."
"What?" the boy yelped, eyes widening a little as he looked down at his hands.
He had... thumbs. And his hands were skin-pink instead of Donat-brown. Further examination of his arms and legs revealed that all of his flesh looked more... human.
"What did you do?" he asked, voice filled with wonder and still managing to sound vaguely weirded out.
Crossing his arms, Kumoru looked over his work with a touch of pride. And worked to maintain his concentration so the spell would not break or fizzle or anything.
"Just a little bending of light, like a mirage. You're still the real Donat, you just look different while I keep the spell up."
Finding the somewhat reflective front of the microwave, Donat examined his face in it. His horns were gone, too. Blinking, he reached up to feel where they should be... and felt them even though they were not really there.
"You made my horns invisible!"
"Tail, too, actually," the mage added, and laughed when Donat felt his backside to confirm that as well.
"Good to know this works. If you ever need to look perfectly human for a while, I can just cast this."
A small smile crept across Donat's lips as he looked to his hands again, and experimentally tried to wiggle his "thumbs".
"Why would I need magic to look human, though?"
"Well, that's the other thing, Donat," Kumoru replied, his mirth fading somewhat as he went to take a seat at the table.
"Someone wants me to run an errand for him, and I need to go to France to take care of it." He closed his eyes and slowly released the magic from Donat, dissolving the mirage. "I need the mirage for Bhel because he's coming, too."
"Bhel?" Donat did not do a very good job of consealing his disapproval.
"Just for a few days." Kumoru looked up at Donat and smiled again. "Besides, I've already made arrangements for you to stay with Oliver while I'm gone."
Donat brightened almost instantly. "Really?!" He hadn't seen Oliver in a while. "When do I go over there?"
"Well, two days," the mage told him. "You'd better get packing, and leave the magic to me."
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:21 am
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:15 pm
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 11:01 pm
*Reanimation
Bhel held Donat's hand as he walked, though he was far beyond the point of needing someone else for support. Not only had the bull been quick to start walking, but he was already pretty steady on his hooves, walking and running, too. Still, it did no harm to hold his brother's hand. It was such a nice evening out that he scarcely even noticed he was doing so, to be honest.
Grinning his proud big brother smile, Donat led Bhel on a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. He really liked Bhel, and hoped that they could be good friends as well as brothers when the younger boy was old enough to talk and cool stuff like that. Bhel liked it outside - that much was clear - and that was certainly something Donat liked, too. With any luck, they would be interested in a lot of the same things. It all made logical sense to Donat, since both he and Bhel had two horns.
They were not related by blood, but the horns made them brothers.
"I wish you could talk," he told Bhel with a small smile. "I still want to hear all about France. And whatever it was that happened to you to make you grow up so quick, too. You were just a little guy, and over night you got big and strong!"
Appreciating the attention even if he did not know what was being said, Bhel turned his attention to his brother and peered up at him with a faint smile. It was the smile that tended to mean he had no idea what was going on, that he tended to wear when people spoke to him.
Really, though, as long as they were talking to him, Bhel did not really care a whole lot what they said. He was starting to recognize a few words here and there, but he had yet to speak any of his own.
Bhel was not yet an expert at multitasking, though, for situations where he was, say, listening to his brother and walking. So he did not see the crack in the pavement until his hoof caught on it and he tripped.
"Waaah!" he exclaimed as he pitched towards the concrete.
"Woah there," Donat yelped, pulling the hand of Bhel's he held up in an effort to keep the boy from falling down. Probably stretched the young bull's arm a little, but the goat managed to keep him from eating concrete.
He let go of Bhel's hand once the boy was steady on his own hooves, and walked around to stand in front of him. Donat leaned down, putting his hands on his knees to be closer to Bhel's height as he asked, "You alright, Bhel?"
Kumoru, who had been walking several paces behind the two boys the whole time, stepped up to help dust off the sniffling Bhel. "Good save, Donat," he told the older child as he looked over the younger one for any scrapes.
"You look fine," he told Bhel after a moment, patting him gently on the back. "So you can stop the tears. Five minutes of walking and you'll have forgotten all about it."
"Yeah, come on, let's keep walking," Donat encouraged with a grin, holding out his hand for Bhel again.
Bhel sniffled and pouted, then took Donat's hand and started walking. This time, he looked down at his feet, so hopefully he would not trip again.
The walk continued uneventfully for a few more minutes, until they reached a crossing.
"Stop and make sure you look both ways before you cross," the mage cautioned by reflex.
"Sure, dad," Donat replied casually, glancing briefly up and down the street before stepping off the curb with Bhel
Bhel ventured to look up as he stepped down onto the asphalt, and grinned a little and pointed at a squirrel across the street. Then he made like he was going to bolt for it.
"Think you can catch it?" the goat challenged him with a laugh.
"Hold ON you two!" Kumoru half-shouted, grabbing Bhel's shoulder and Donat's arm and pulling them back towards the curb.
A car shot past, without its headlights on and going far too fast for a residential neighborhood. The mage muttered under his breath, then told the boys, "I told you to look. Keep an eye out for idiots like him."
Bhel now refused to cross as he pointed again at the squirrel, his bottom lip quivering.
The car had run it over, and it lay dead in the middle of the road.
"See, that's what could happen if you don't look," Kumoru said sternly as he strode across the street.
Donat looked up and down the street again and followed his father, his fuzzy brows wrinkling a little in sadness at the dead squirrel. He had to pull Bhel along to keep him from stopping in the middle of the street to cry.
Kumoru, waiting on the opposite curb, sighed and crossed his arms. True, he had been a bit harsh, but if it was that or being street pizza... well, there should not even be a choice there. It was a lesson both of them needed to learn. Donat especially, since the goat seemed not to be afraid of anything.
"Here, I can make it better again," the necromancer told the boys, stepping just off the edge of the curb and holding out his hands. He had not yet had a chance to cast the spell he had memorized most recently, and if he started with something smaller like a squirrel, it would probably be much easier.
It always sounded cool to Donat when his father cast magic. Kumoru had told him once that the words came from all different languages all through time and all over the world. That was why Donat had no idea what his spellbooks said.
There was something creepy about the words of this spell, though. Kumoru had his "household" spells that he used to entertain Bhel, or to light the stove or lift small objects off of the top shelves; Donat was getting better at recognizing those by the words in them. The goat was not sure he recognzied any of the words in this one.
Bhel watched the squirrel, then his father, then the squirrel again, sniffling occasionally and rubbing his eyes. Then, his eyes went wide and a laugh of surprise escaped his mouth.
The squirrel had looked kind of flat before, and definitely had not been moving. But as he watched, the creature slowly pulled itself up and walked shakily in a small circle. It was just sleeping! And his guardian had made it better!
Clapping his hands, Bhel watched the creature finish running across the street and into the bushes on the other side. Then it was hiding. Squirrels liked to hide. He could finish sleeping there.
As he let the corpse of the squirrel free from his spell, Kumoru stepped back on the curb, and wiped his mouth a little on the back of his sleeve. The words of the spell were certainly more powerful than what he was used to casting, to the point that they had burned his lips.
But the reanimation spell had worked, and Bhel had actually cheered up a little as a result. Death was a lesson that the little one could wait on at least a little longer.
Donat stared into the bushes for a few more moments before turning to follow his brother and his father. That had been strange, and something about it had not felt entirely right....
Crossposted to Bhel's journal
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:21 pm
*Fair-nessAsahi Kumoru Kumoru seemed in a dazed stupor as he herded his children off of the bus and paid for the tickets. He followed them through the turnstiles and onto the local fairgrounds, where the air was so laden with dust from people walking that the necromancer was sure he would be sneezing mud pies for weeks.
And almost immediately, as expected, his children insisted on wanting to break up and scatter in different directions.Pleased to just be out in the open, Serif took off toddling across the asphalt and giggling until her father's hand caught her shoulder. Squishing her face into an ugly frown, she blew a raspberry at Kumoru, but sighed and settled for walking beside him.
But she was sure to point at the ferris wheel and yell until she was sure her father noticed. She absolutely was not leaving until she had been on that thing to see what it was.Arlyn had actually asked to come along, on this first trip in quite some time. The terrifying issue with his periodically trying to disappear seemed to have settled down for the time being, leaving him confident for the moment in his ability to remain solid the whole time.
It had taken some convincing to get him through the gates with his weapon, but ultimately he had agreed to keep the sword sheathed at his brother's request. Kumoru had to wonder whether the child could exist separated from his sword, but at least here it would not be a problem. Arlyn walked along with one hand resting on Donat's arm, head constantly turning towards all the various sounds of the crowds around them.Currently pleased with himself for his great skill at calming his brother Arlyn and bringing the red-skinned child out of his shell enough to even come to the fair in the first place, Donat happily lead him, warning him of anything in his path that might trip him up. With his other hand, he held Bhel's, keeping an eye on the young Fa'e as well - much to Kumoru's delight.
Donat was certainly the peacemaker in the family, and as he grew up, he seemed to be enjoying the whole idea of family more and more. He had certainly jumped at the opportunity to be Bhel's big brother, and Bhel fortunately did not seem to mind this at all.Bhel gaped in wonder at, well, pretty much everything as he walked along beside his big brother. So many lights and sounds and colors... he had definitely not seen anything like it before. So many smells, as well. A lot of it smelled like food, and food that he definitely wanted to try. People were walking by carrying all sorts of things, from fluffy cotton candy in pinks and blues, to stuffed animals that were bigger than the bull Fa'e himself.
Giggling and clasping his free hand into a fist, Bhel flicked his tail and looked up at Donat. This was so cool! Keirro "Ranis? Ranis put that down!" snapped Keirro as she wrestled a dirty bug from Ranis's grip. She placed the child on the ground and finally removed the cricket from the boy's hand. The infant screamed and yelled as Keirro absent mindedly threw the bug towards a family. Ranis watched the poor bug land near the large family and saw the strangest family he had ever laid eyes on. He started screaming at the children and threw a nearby rock at a Blue toddler. Asahi Kumoru With a muffled *plunk!*, the stone found its mark, hitting Bhel squarely in the back of the head. He pulled his hand away from his brother's to rub the spot as he sat down on the ground and started sniffling. That hurt! The bull Fa'e cast one angry glance over his shoulder before bursting into tears.Donat stopped to crouch beside his brother for a moment, then glanced back as well. Someone had gone and thrown a rock at Bhel? Why? The goat whirled around, clenching one hand into a fist as he rested the other four-fingered hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Hey, who did that?" he shouted at the crowd. "Don't throw rocks around like that!"The Anima of Revenge groped at the air for a second as Donat's arm disappeared from under his own hand. Then he took the sheath of his sword in both hands and tapped around with it until he was sure he could turn around without running into anyone.
"What's going on?" he asked, tail lashing behind him. They were barely here and already the little kid was crying? At least nothing had been done to him, so there was no reason for him to react.Serif watched the bug fly through the air, and, ignoring the rock that followed it, broke free of Kumoru's hand to go get the bug. She grabbed it gingerly between two fingers, and gave a happy squeal as it squirmed a little - so it was still alive! And now it was all hers!Kumoru frowned at Serif but let her get the bug for now, as there were more pressing issues to attend to. He walked over to stand behind Donat and Bhel, and tried to comfort the screaming toddler.
"Come on, don't worry about it. Just a bump, right? Let me see...." He tried to be as careful as possible as he brushed Bhel's hair aside to look for a bruise or a cut; the necromancer could not be sure whether the crescendo in the boy's crying was a direct result of what he was doing, though, or if Bhel was just hamming it up. Keirro Ranis started snarling and growling at the child who caught his bug. Meanwhile, poor Keirro was smacking the child's hand and muttering about discipline and her mother. Ranis started to fight with his guardian and she sought to tame her child. "No Ranis! We don't do that! Now we're going to apologize to that family, now!" snapped Keirro as she smcked the infants hand and walked to to Kumo. She already stressed out from waiting in lines at the fair and now this. Asahi Kumoru Kumoru gathered Bhel up in his arms - a bit awkwardly, since the boy was growing like a weed - and stood straight as he saw a mother stepping forward, dragging a little boy in tow. Fortunately, Bhel had quieted his wailing in favor of just sniffling, but he still rubbed his head with one hand. He would have a bit of a bump there for a few days, but he would survive.
I should have seen if someone could come with me to manage the kids, the mage thought to himself as he watched the woman step forward, keeping his own features stern but not angry. Of course, that was just the part of him that had not seen Aylana recently, he suspected, and tried to push those thoughts aside for the time being.Bhel clung to Kumoru's robes and sniffled occasionally. His head still stung where the rock had hit him. The rock was on the ground, so obviously he could not reach it; instead, the young Fa'e settled for grabbing his guardian's ponytail and trying to throw that.Fortunately, the necromancer's hair was long enough that Bhel did not really pull on it, but he still blinked as the jet-black strands of his ponytail flew into his face.
"Bhel," he said gently, his expression cracking to allow the slightest bit of a smile through as he brushed the hair back over his shoulder.The young bull sniffed again and settled for reaching over his guardian's shoulder to play with the ponytail for the moment."You'd better say sorry," Donat said in what he hoped was a sufficiently menacing voice. "And don't throw rocks at my brother anymore." If nothing else, Kumoru had instilled the goat-boy with a strong sense of manners, to the point that they came naturally to him, not as a result of his father standing right beside him.Serif peered closely at the cricket as she set it carefully onto her palm. The little thing seemed a little dazed from its unexpected flight, but it was still in one piece, at least. The girl grinned as the little thing waved its antennae around. Then she cast a devious glance at her blind brother Arlyn.So someone had thrown something to make Bhel start making noise like that? Arlyn stood frowning a little in thought as he evaluated the situation: he only needed to hit back if someone hit him; he had not yet decided whether or not family counted enough in the equation, so Arlyn left them out. He hated noise, and Bhel had certainly made a lot of noise when he was hit, which was kind of like... like hitting Arlyn indirectly....
Too much of a stretch. Arlyn need not do anything here, except just wait until the situation was over. Keirro Ranis turned his nose up at the family. He didn't have to explain himself. It wasn't his fault that the other boy was blue and looked funny. The boy also looked like a cow. Keirro was obviously frazzled and stressed out from handling Ranis.
"I'm terribly sorry about his behaviour. He's very cranky and I'm trying to get him to socialize more." said Keirro as she switched the fidgety Ranis to her other arm. The infant glared at Behl as if to size up the Fa'e and his guardian. Keirro stuck her her free hand towards Kumo.
"I don't know how you keep yours under control," she commented. Asahi Kumoru "Donat, that's enough," Kumoru told the goat-boy quietly. With his hands occupied holding Bhel, the necromancer could not bow in reply to the woman, so he bowed instead; it was his usual habit to do so anyway.
"Time and patience," he replied in response to her comment. Though he had his doubts about how well his methods would work on Bhel.Bhel was facing away from the woman and the offending little boy, probably for the best, because of the way Kumoru was holding him. He figured he could turn around to see what all the grown-up talk was about, but it was not like it would mean too terribly much to him anyway, so he settled for continuing to play with his guardian's hairWith a sigh, Donat relaxed at his father's request, but still stood with his arms crossed, looking less than happy. After a moment, he turned towards Arlyn, to make sure his blind brother was still there and doing alright.Serif crept as close to Arlyn as she dared, then flung the cricket at him. Before the bug even found its mark, she clapped her hands over her mouth and collapsed in a giggle fit.Hearing the laughter from his sister - and knowing that was never a sign of anything good - Arlyn turned towards the sound and placed one hand on the wrapped hilt of his sword. His lips pressed into a thin line indicating that his patience with her was about spent, he started to draw the blade-
and then something hit him in the face. Something with legs that moved. Immediately he staggered back, into Donat, letting go of his sword with one hand to brush at the spot where the bug had hit him. Oh, gross, he could feel it getting into his hair!
"Serif!" he snarled as he fell backwards onto his brother, frantically swatting at the insect as it leapt out of his white hair and onto Donat.Donat's frown faltered as Arlyn fell on him, and he twisted sideways in an effort to catch him. Then the cricket landed on his nose.
"Gyah!" he yelped blinking and reaching up to rub the bug away even as it hopped into his hair. "Eew!" Ordinarily, bugs were not too bad, but the goat had to admit that having one in his hair was a little gross.
As he flailed, he and Arlyn both collapsed to the ground in a squirming heap.Much to Serif's great delight.Oh, there would be hell to pay for this later.... Keirro Keirro let out a yelp as the two boys fell into a heap near her. She then saw a little cricket bug land on her shirt and she started to grit her teeth as she looked down on the cricket.
Ranis let out a battle cry as he assulted the cricket and then wriggled out of Keirro's arms and onto the writing pile of children. The poor cricket tried in vain to escape Ranis only to be scooped up by someone else. Meanwhile, the little cub started to gnaw and bite whatever he could to instigate. "Ranis!" Keirro screamed as she tried to seperate her Illusionary from the pile. Asahi Kumoru "Eew!" Donat squealed as Ranis lept onto him and started gumming his arm, a bit more emphatically than when the bug had been in his hair. Sheesh, this kid had no manners whatsoever! Trying to pry the boy off or stand up or get out from under Arlyn or something, the goat-boy struggled and eventually managed to wriggle out from the bottom of the pile.Arlyn snarled back at the boy, fanning his wings and lashing his tail as he climbed back to his feet. The other child had bitten him, so now the Anima of Revenge would have to push back. Ruffling his feathers, he started to draw his sword.... Yeah, I should have brought someone else with me, Kumoru thought as he set Bhel down as carefully as possible and leaned down to grab Arlyn's wrists.
"Arlyn, stop," he said firmly. He would use magic if he had to to avoid any issues with the red-skinned boy. "Not here. At least save it for some other day." Kumoru knew enough that the boy needed to hit back, as was his nature, but he could not allow him to cause trouble here at the fair like this. With any luck, he could get Arlyn to hold off on his repayment until some other time... and maybe forget about it, too.Serif giggled at the pile of children as she toddled over to Bhel. He had to think it was funny, too, right? All because of a little bug. Grinning at her brother, she made little cricket noises.Bhel blinked at Serif and sniffled once, then glanced over at the pile of boys, and wiped his nose on the back of his hand, all the way up his arm to his elbow. The corner of his mouth tugged a little, then finally his features broke out into a little smile.
Yeah, it was pretty funny. Kept his mind off of the smarting bruise at the back of his head, too.With a sigh, Arlyn relaxed, taking his hand off of the hilt of his sword as he turned away. He folded, then refolded his wings against his back, a sign that he was still quite agitated, as he said with relative calm, "Fine, it can wait."
He was not one to forget grudges, either. It was in his nature not to. Keirro Keirro pryed the child off of Donat.
"You guys, I'm terribly sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you and your kids? Usually I have better control over him, but that damn cricket. He always tries to eat them." Keirro sighed. She looked around at the carnival food. The kids could possibly a little hungry.Ranis looked quite satisfied with himself and started to purr contently as he gave the other children a smug look. He flicked his tail like a cat while he snuggled up next to Keirro. He totally showed those brats who was boss. His ears perked up when he hear Serif make cricket noises and he started to sniff in her direction out of curiosity. Asahi Kumoru Donat scrambled to his feet, wiping his arm off frantically on his pants. He opened his mouth to say something, but a glance from his father silenced him, and he instead edged closer to Arlyn, to place a four-fingered hand on his brother's shoulder.Feeling a touch, Arlyn reached up to place a hand on the one resting on his shoulder. It was Donat. He let out a long sigh and tried to force himself to relax. So easily, he was letting this debt go unpaid... but he had promised his brother....
"What's his name?" he asked, wanting this information for the future, when he would get his revenge on the little boy. Perhaps when he was older.Kumoru was about to speak when Arlyn asked his question. He allowed the Anima time to ask it, then told the woman in reply, "One of mine caused trouble as well. No need for reparations."
A moment after he spoke, the necromancer realized how stern his voice must have sounded. To try to break whatever tension may have remained, he forced a small smile and added, "Children will be children. I should get mine along and let them take out the rest of their mischief on carnival games." He shot a brief glance over his shoulder at the girl among his group, who was still snickering over the little spectacle she had helped to cause. "I'm sure they will do well at the games today."Bhel watched his father and brothers from behind for a moment, then toddled over to hug Donat's leg and to peer at the strangers. Keirro "Here. Take this." Keirro handed Kumo her business card and about 12 tickets that the kids could use for games.
"I need to bring Ranis home. My name is Keirro. Call me if there is anyhing I can do for you. I'm so embarassed about Ranis's behaviour."Ranis glared at Arlyn, but remained quiet. His energy was spent for now and he was quite content to observe the other children until he started to doze off. Asahi Kumoru "Keirro," the mage repeated as he accepted the card and looked it over before tucking it away into the pocket of his sleeve. "Thank you. My name is Kumoru," he said with a bow. "And I wish you luck in taming that child."
Kumoru was glad that none of his own were quite like that, though he was almost certain that this whole experience had left him with more than a few grey hairs. He would definitely have to be careful taking all of his crazy little kids out at once in the future.Seeing that the situation had diffused, Serif wandered back over with her brothers, giving Arlyn a wide space, and clung to her father's robes. As Keirro and Ranis left, she blew them a raspberry and waved."Ranis," Arlyn murmured, committing the name to memory. He held the sheath of his sword in a white-knuckled grip and started digging his nails into his brother's arm, too, without realizing it. One bite, plus the embarrassment. And... he had thrown a rock at one brother and bitten the other, as well. When they met again, sparks would fly, Arlyn swore it.
And Serif would get it, too. Just on principle.Donat carefully ruffled Bhel's hair and started to take the boy's hand again, then winced a little as Arlyn started digging his nails into his arm. "Hey, Arlyn, calm down now, he's gone," he said, messing up his older brother's hair as well before going on to take Bhel's hand. "We can play some games now. That'll be fun."Things were returning to normal, and this made Bhel's mood improve. His head had stopped smarting, too, which meant he was well on the way to forgetting all about it.As she left, Kumoru turned back to his children and divided up the tickets. Thank goodness the number was divisible equally by four, else the mage might have had another bout of anarchy on his hands.
Once the tickets were handed out, he herded all the children towards the carnival games, swearing to himself up and down that he would never do this alone again.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:23 pm
*Un-fair-ness 1Asahi Kumoru Having just about recovered from the previous day's... events... Kumoru picked up the receiver of his phone and held it between his jaw and shoulder while he scoured the front of his refrigerator for Aylana's number. He searched for a full two minutes before he realized the number was tacked to the wall right beside the phone. Perhaps he had not fully regained his sanity from yesterday's trip to the city fair with all four of his kids after all.
He dialed the number and waited as the phone rang. He was fairly sure Aylana would want to come with him. Or at least the necromancer dearly hoped so.Serif was using her newfound ability to talk to the utmost extent as she bounced around the kitchen, begging her father to take her back to the fair. She had amassed a surprising number of tickets the day before, and had actually taken Kumoru seriously when he had told her that they could go back tomorrow. The girl really had her heart set on one of the enormous stuffed animals available as carnival prizes at one of the shooting games, and Donat had offered his mystical and amazing counting abilities to tell her that she only really needed about thirty more tickets to get it.Donat, in a vain effort to help his father out, chased Serif around and told her to be quiet while dad was on the phone.Perched safely out of reach on one of the kitchen table chairs, Arlyn huddled up and tried to ignore the mayhem around himself. He frowned and shuffled his wings a little, folding them up around near his ears in a vain effort to block out Serif's joyful wailing.
He secretly wanted to go back to the fair, too. On the off chance that that Ranis boy was there, so he could exact his revenge. Or just to get outside. Even the surly Anima had had to admit, it was wonderful going out the day before.Bhel wandered around the kitchen as well, sucking on the arm of a small stuffed animal he and Donat had managed to win jointly the day before. His brother had said that he could have it all to himself, and since then, Bhel had gotten the idea that he had done all the work himself. Not that he could voice these thoughts yet, but he was still feeling mightily proud of himself.
He could stand to miss the fair again, except he had only gotten the smallest of samples of the food he had smelled there. The bull was clearly hungry enough to eat yesterday's plush prize; he needed him some funnel cake or something!Shoving one finger in his ear to block out the nose, Kumoru shut his eyes and whispered, "Please pick up please pick up please pick up," like a mantra to guard his sanity as he waited for Aylana to answer the phone. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Having just finish giving Cielra a bath Aylana decided it was time to change clothes once again. Placing Cielra into her playpin she chuckles as the kitten play with her light pink summer dress. Turning she shakes her head as she loosk down at her simple vneck shirt and jeans. They were soaked from head to toe as if she had gotten into the shower with them on. Chucklign she slips into her room to change into something else. As she was pulling off her top the phone started ringing. Walking over she picks up the phone " Hello Aylana speaking." tossing the wet clothes into the hamper she opens her closet looking inside. Being a nice day she decided she would take Cielra out, and with that she was going to be comfortable. So a pair of lowrider jeans, and a shirt would do. Asahi Kumoru Kumoru himself had forsaken his robes for the day in favor of a pair of cargo khakis, and a navy shirt that read "Keep Out of Direct Sunlight" in white across the front. The heat generally did not bother him too much, but these clothes were at least better suited to chasing children all over the fairgrounds.
"Hello, Aylana?" he began when he heard the Fa'e answer the phone. "It's Kumoru. Are you busy today? I was wondering if you might like to come with me to the fair and help look after Bhel."Serif let out a rather emphatic squeal as Donat managed to capture her. She kept on making noise until her older brother dragged her bodily from the room, and distracted her with a toy."Well, and some of the other kids, too." He allowed himself a weak but hopeful grin. Just as long as he did not have to keep tabs on all four of his children in public by himself, like yesterday. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Aylana chuckles as she pulls a brush through her hair " Sounds like fun, is it alright if I bring Cielra and Drac along? Drac was planning on hanging out with her baby sister." turning as she heard a knock on the door she smiles pulling the phone away for a second " Drac its open sweetie." Letting herself into the apartment Drac smiles waving to her mother for a moment " Sorry I'm so late, Ren was asking me to help her setup the new dining room to her apartment. I lost track of time. Who you on the phone with?" leaning against the doorframe she brushes at the hem of her jean dress as her tail brush the floor. Aylana shakes her head then chuckles " Kumoru, he your little brother's guardian. He wants to know if I want to go the the faire. You wanna come with us?" placing her brush down she slips pass Drac making her way towards the kitchen. Drac chuckles then nods " Sure I'll come, sounds like fun. Beside you need to get out on a date." laughing as her mother turns red she winks as she head toward Cielra in the playpin. Aylana rolls her eyes as she gathers her some things together " Its not a date Drac, were just friends. He said so himself." looking away from her daughter she place the phone back to her ear " So do you want me to come there, or would you like us to meet you at the faire?" Asahi Kumoru He could not quite hear all of what was said on Aylana's end, but Kumoru was reasonably sure he caught the word "date". Seriously, he thought. This is all for Bhel's sake, not my own. ... Well, for the sake of my sanity, as well, but certainly nothing like a date.
"It would be easier if we met you there, I think. Save you a bus ride, I'm sure," the necromancer replied, grasping his ponytail with his free hand and twisting the hair around his fingers. "Just meet us by the gate, I suppose? I'm in normal clothes instead of my robes today; let's see if you can find me." He smiled a little to see what Aylana would say to that. It was not often anymore, really, that he went around dressed like anything but a mage. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Arching a brow Aylana shook her head for a moment " Normal clothes? Hmmm okay that I can't wait to see. Alright I guess I shall see you there then." hanging the phone up she finishes making the last bottle. " Drac think you could get the diaper bag together? I'm gonna finish up these bottles." Drac pick Cielra up out of her playpin chuckling " Sure mum, come on Cie lets got get everything ready for you." going into the room she picks up the diaper bag placing a few diapers as well as a jacket into it. " Mommies gonna have some fun while we go off and play. How does that sound?" making a face at the little one she giggles. Cielra squeels with laughter as she smacks at Drac's blue hair. Asahi Kumoru The necromancer nodded and hung up on his end, then glanced down at Bhel.
"Let's get ready to go then. Your mom is going to meet us there, Bhel. You can see your mommy again!" Kumoru felt quite pleased with himself, that he was able to keep Bhel in such close touch with Aylana.
Crossing his arms like he tended to do when he wore his robes, Kumoru peered down at the young Fa'e a moment longer, then started to head over towards the other room, where Donat was playing with Serif.
"Just about time to go, guys. Aylana is going to meet us there."Donat looked up from playing with his sister and grinned. "Miss Aylana can come! Awesome!" He could still remember her from his little adventure in the woods from his younger days, but he was sad he had not had a chance to see her since then.
"Dad, can I bring my skateboard?" he asked with a hopeful smile. Maybe he could show off the bit he had taught himself, even if he could not yet do any amazing tricks."Hm, probably a bad idea," Kumoru told the boy, staggering back a bit as Serif decided to grab his leg. "Too many people there. Maybe tomorrow, I'll see if we have time to go to the empty parking lot and you can practice more there. More space.""Aw, okay." Donat supposed the fair was enough fun, even if he could not bring his skateboard. After a moment, he scrambled to his feet.
"I guess I'm ready then, if I don't have to get the skateboard. Want me to get Arlyn, and we can leave?" Without waiting for an answer, he ran to fetch his blind brother from the kitchen.~~~~ A little over half an hour later, Kumoru herded his children off of the bus and onto the hot asphalt of the fairground entrance once again. Trying to keep himself between Serif and Arlyn, and holding Bhel's hand so the boy would not just run off on his own, Kumoru led the odd bunch over to wait by one of the portable concrete barriers meant to funnel people towards the ticket table.
"Let's wait here until Aylana gets here," he told the children, hoping he would be permitted to loiter there until the older Fa'e arrived. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Pulling up to the parking lot Aylana smiles as she turns off the car " Were here. From the looks of this place its going to be fun." glancing toward Drac she chuckles " Mind getting Cielra out for me while I look around for Kumoru?" when her older child gave her that look she shakes her head as she climbs out of the car. Drac chuckles as she turns in her seat " Alright let get you out of that thing." unhooking the seat belt in the carseat. Cielra giggles at Drac lifts her from it. Grabbing the diaper bag she place it over her shoulder. Standing she closes her door as she leans against the car. Drac stood there with Cielra in her arms watching her mother. Aylana was a few feet from the car looking through the crowd. When she spot her son she waves to him then looks up at the others. She knew the oldest had to be Donat. The other two kids she didn't know. It was Kumoru that took her by surprise, she never seen him in anything but his robes. Standing there she pulls on the hem of her shirt. Giving him a smile she jumps as Drac bumps into her then walks pass her. Shaking her head Aylana follows after her daugther then smiles " Hey everyone." her eyes didn't leave Kumoru for a moment before she holds her hands out towards her son. " Hey sweetie, how my big boy?" Distract herself with her son for a moment. That would work, or at least that what she thought. Asahi Kumoru Recognizing his mother, Bhel squealed and came running, tail windmilling behind him. He chattered some baby-speak, but no real recognizable words came out in the mixture. It was easy enough to tell by his face that he was glad to see his mom, though."Hiyas, Miss Aylana!" Donat called, waving excitedly with a four-fingered hand. Then he turned to his brother and took the Anima's hand. He lead the red-skinned boy forward, closer to Aylana, as he told her, "This is my big brother, Arlyn. I don't think you've met him, unless he's gone and gotten lost, too." The goat-boy giggled.Arlyn looked a bit taken-by-surprise as Donat brought him forward. He was definitely not the most social creature to walk the face of Gaia, and he knew he hardly looked it, with his sword with him all the time. But... well, Arlyn figured if Donat liked this Miss Aylana, she must not be bad or anything.
"Hello," he said flatly, shying away a little and tugging his hand out of Donat's so he could hold his sheathed sword with both hands.Serif clung to her father's leg, and, after a moment, blew a raspberry at Aylana."Hello, Ayla- Serif! Cut that out and be nice!" Kumoru prodded her with one finger, both to try to remind her of what few manners she might have picked up, and to get her to let go of him so he could walk."No!" Serif told her dad, to use what was by far her favorite word."Sorry about Serif, I'll just have to cut back on her game tickets or something until she decides to act at least a little bit civil," Kumoru told Aylana with a slight sheepish smile. Then he added, "Although if nothing else, she makes me feel a little better that Bhel still isn't talking yet." Krista_Darkangel_Silme Wrapping her arms around Bhel she hugs him close, looking up she chuckles " Hello, she reminds me of someone at that age." looking over her shoulder she chuckles as Drac sticks her tongue at her " This is Drac, my second adopted daugther." standing she chuckles again " Thanks for asking me to join." Drac smiels at Kumoru then towards Donat " Yea thanks, you two can go off alone anytime. I'm sure me and Donat can watch them young ones Right?" she winks hoping they could. Looking down at Cielra she chuckles as the little girl looks over the others with a curious look. Aylana blushes as she looks back down at her son. She was wishing she could hide at this point. Asahi Kumoru "Yeah, I'm good at helping Arlyn, and he and I can both take care of Bhel, and you can just take Serif, Miss Drac," Donat said, his voice carrying a touch of pride and a tone that showed he had obviously missed what Drac was getting at. "Dad told me I did a good job yesterday helping him not go crazy when we came here."Bhel hugged his mother back and grinned. He had not been allowed to bring the stuffed animal he had won yesterday to show Aylana, but by this point, he had forgotten all about it. The bull was, however, thoroughly excited about the idea of playing games with his mom. He liked the one where you throw the beanbags to try to knock the clowns over, and tried to tell his mother by miming throwing something.Kumoru did his best to follow up on Donat's ignorance at what Drac had implied, and backed up the goat-boy's statements by saying, "Yeah, Donat is quite a good big brother for Bhel, and it still amazes me how well he gets along with Arlyn, too. Sometimes I wonder if he'll grow up to make a better father than myself." He laughed good-naturedly and ruffled the boy's hair a little.It was hard to see, but Donat blushed a little even as he beamed at the praise from his father. "I'd want someone to help me take care of a girl like Serif, though. She's fun but she has more energy than me!"Serif giggled impishly, then toddled forward a little as she noticed Cielra. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the kitten. A fellow girl in this whole mess of boys and grown-ups! Perhaps Serif could get to know this other girl better, and they could be partners in crime. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Drac chuckles as she takes Donat's hand " If she anything like Cielra, I think we will do just fine. Come on lets go ahead and get some ticket for the games." she tugs at his hand hoping it will cause the other kids to follow. Cielra spots the girl but squeels as she hears the word games. She knew that meant time to play. Mewing she claps her hands together as she hugs close to her older sister. Aylana chuckles shaking her head, she hugs Bhel close before she kisses his nose " Go on ahead sweetie. Me and your guardian will catch up soon." looking up at Kumoru she bites her bottom lip then mouths sorry as she stood " So um...like the clothes..never thought I see you not in a mage robe." Asahi Kumoru Games? Serif was totally there. She had all her prize tickets from yesterday stored up in her pockets, so it would only be a matter of time before that big neon pink stuffed rabbit would be hers. She had not seen it up close, since they kept it in the back of the prize booth, but the girl was reasonably sure it was like, at least three times the size of her brother Arlyn. Meaning it would be excellent to throw at him.
While she worked on getting the last twenty-eleven tickets for it, she could also figure out a way to actually accomplish the throwing.Kumoru quickly handed Donat a few bills as the kids started to leave with Drac. Was she really going to just up and go with everyone right now and leave him with Aylana?
"Here, Donat, take this and don't spend it all on games, okay? Keep some handy in case you or someone gets thirsty and you need a drink. It's hot out. And, uh, be careful!""Sure, Dad," Donat agreed as he headed off, leading Arlyn along, too. "Later!"Arlyn tripped a little as they all started moving out, but quickly fell into stride beside Donat again. The point of the majority of the carnival games escaped him - how was throwing random stuff fun? - but Donat always offered to help him, so he figured the best way to reciprocate was to play along with it. Maybe today, they could take a break from a lot of gaming, though, and try some of the food. Especially if it would get him away from Serif, since she was so set on playing all the games so much.
"Donat," he asked, refolding his wings against his back. "You said yesterday you saw candy that looked like a big fluffy ball of pink? What's pink? Do you know if it tastes good?"
Being blind, the Anima felt like he was missing a lot at this fair thing. His brother did his best, but still....Wait, why did he have to leave Mommy when she was right there? Bhel whined a little and tugged at his mother's arm. She was going to come, too, right? Krista_Darkangel_Silme Aylana chuckles as she looks down at her son " I will join you soon, I promise." touching his nose she makes a silly face " Think you can be a big brother and help watch Cielra?" she wanted Bhel to bond with Drac, beside she also knew Drac wouldn't let this go. She get the boy to come with her. Drac pauses looking at the other kids before looking back towards Bhel. She was hoping he would join them, if not she would figure out later how to get him to join them. She wanted her mother to have fun, not deal with little kids. Cielra mew waving her fingers towards Bhel. Wasn't he going to join them. Pouting she mews alittle then pushes at Drac's arm wanting to go to Bhel. She wanted him to come with them. Asahi Kumoru "Go on, it's alright," Kumoru assured Bhel, gesturing towards the others. "I need to ... talk to your mommy for a bit, but you two can play together later, when we're done."
This was supposed to be more quality time for Bhel and Aylana; that was why the mage had invited her and not anyone else. But... maybe it would not be all bad for him to get more used to spending time with kids his own age, too. And get used to babysitters.Bhel snorted, then sniffed and wiped his nose, and finally went to follow Drac and the others. He kept his chubby arms crossed, and kicked with his hooves a little at the hem of his long grey skirt, but promptly snatched Donat's hand as he joined the group.
Fine, but he would need to play lots of games with Mommy later.Kumoru turned his attention back to Aylana as the others moved off, and brushed his hands over his khakis a little. "Hopefully he'll let himself have fun and not stay cranky," he sighed. Then he glanced down at his clothing and said, "Oh, thanks. The robes are kind of a point of pride for me, but I don't wear them all the time."
He chuckled a little. "I mean, it's not like I wear them when I go out grocery shopping." Wait, that was a like. "Grocery shopping on weekends," the necromancer amended. "Er, after three or so in the afternoon." Okay, so he did wear the robes grocery shopping. Pretty much all the time recently, now that he thought about it.
"I just thought this would be cooler," Kumoru finally said with a small shrug. He still looked enough like a mage for his own liking, since he always kept his hair long and well-cared for.
Idly, he twisted his ponytail around his hand. "Anything in particular you want to do until our children are returned?" Krista_Darkangel_Silme Drac looks over the games as she gets a stroller for Cielra. Setting the little kitten in it she smiles " So where does everyone want to go?" standing she looks at them each. It didn't matter to her really where they went, so long as they gave her mother and Kumoru some time to hang out. Cielra chuckles as she looks toward the other children. Giving a small wave to Bhel she tries to reach towards him, she miss playing that game with him. So seeing him again she wanted to let him know he was her friend. Asahi Kumoru Serif crossed her arms and surveyed the aisle of games, looking for the one she had been playing the day before. It took her a moment to remember the place, but once she had located it in the rows of stalls, she immediately ran for it, as though Drac and the others were not even there. Supervision what now?Donat had been about to suggest the beanbag game that Bhel liked, but then Serif started running away.
"Wait, Serif! Wait for us!" he shouted. Then he glanced quickly at Arlyn's hand, held in his own, and quickly told the other boy, "Stay with Bhel. Sorry, Dad needs me to keep track of Serif, too." Then he let go of the Anima's hand and started running after his sister.As he lost Donat, Arlyn hunched his shoulders a little and groped at the air to try to find Bhel. After a few swipes, he found the toddler's tail, and held onto it.
"It's just me, Bhel," Arlyn assured the bull, and edged a little closer to him.Bhel watched Donat run off, cocking his head to the side and blinking. Then he felt Arlyn grab his tail. The young Fa'e glanced over his shoulder at the Anima, walked around behind him, and picked up the tufted tip of Arlyn's tail in his own hands.
Make a circle like this? Bhel was confused.Arlyn tensed a little, then laughed.
"Fair is fair."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:37 pm
*Un-fair-ness 2
(( ** reserved ** ))
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:38 pm
*Un-fair-ness 3Asahi Kumoru ... "But I don't want Serif to come back," Arlyn insisted. "Just Donat. Serif can get lost forever."Within a few moments, though, Donat came back through the crowd, dragging a giggling Serif with him. He waved to Drac and gave her a sheepish smile, telling her as he got closer, "Sorry, she has too much energy. Don't buy my sister any cotton candy or anything or we'll never be able to keep track of her."Bhel waved his fingers slowly at Cielra, then turned as Donat came closer. Making an excited sound, he tugged urgently on Arlyn's tufted tail, and pointed.The red-skinned Anima turned at Bhel's urging, not that he could see anything. He shied a little closer to Cielra in her stroller, though, as he realized that Serif was back, too.
"Let's play games now, but keep Serif away. She makes it hard for me to play."Krista_Darkangel_Silme Drac chuckles before she shakes her head looking at Serif " She reminds me of myself at her age." shaking her head she was hoping she was wrong, because if she wasn't. She had a huge feeling that she would be going insane by the end up the trip. Cielra took the chance when Arlyn came closer to her stroller to place her small paw on his arm. Purring she pats his arm a few times before looking towards Bhel then the other little girl. Mewing her ears twitched before she looks up at her sister then Bhel. So many new people, this was going to be a great day in her eyes. Asahi Kumoru Serif giggled and ran to Drac, attempting to grab her hand. "Play games now!" she insisted loudly, and pointed off in the direction she had run off before. Then she glanced over at Arlyn and blew a rather ladylike raspberry at him.The feathers on Arlyn's wings where they joined his back stood up a little, and the bristle on the end of his tail got a bit bristlier, too. He largely ignored Cielra's hand on his arm as he grasped the hilt of his sword in one hand and the sheath in the other. Tail lashing, he tried to put the kitten's stroller between himself and his sister."Y-yeah, let's go play games!" Donat said hurriedly, walking over to rest a hand on Arlyn's shoulder. As long as they were all occupied with ski-ball and throwing beanbags at bowling pins painted like clowns and such, things would likely be calmer.
"Arlyn, calm down, please," he went on more quietly to his brother. "There are lots of people here and-"Arlyn ignored Donat in favor of blowing a raspberry back at Serif. Krista_Darkangel_Silme Drac rubs at the brim of her nose before she lifts Cielra from her stroller " Come on lets go watch the boys play a game." Holding her hand out toward Bhel " We'll have to find a place for you two to have fun also. Making a ride, if they have any." she was hoping so, she wanted them all to have fun. Cielra purrs wrapping her small arms around Drac's neck. Looking around her tail moved rather excitedly as she spy on all the people. So the things walking around her were people. Mewing she glances down at Bhel giving a small wave to him. She like being this high up, she could see everything. (( ** in progress ** ))
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:33 am
Donat Bhel is getting bigger. He's so cool, and I'm glad we're the best of brothers. Serif is still a pain in the butt, but that's no change. Arlyn doesn't like her, but he likes Bhel, so the three of us play a lot. I also have a new sister! Her name is Luk Lucray Lucretia, and she's really pretty. She looks like she's older than me, but apparently she grows down - haha! She's only there up to the middle of her chest, and then there's just ribbons and a glow and nothing else! She floats. It's really cool. Dad thinks she'll get more there as she grows up, and someday she'll have legs like me. ( Secretly, sometimes I think she's jealous because she doesn't have feet ) Sometimes I wonder a little about Dad. He casts magic, which is really cool, but I just get this weird feeling around him every now and then. I don't know how to say what it's like, but it's weird. Maybe a little scary sometimes. But I still love him 'cause he's my dad. I can't wait for Halloween!!!! I was wizard last year. I think I want to be Spiderman this year. He climbs buildings just like me. Or not just like me 'cause I wasn't bitten by a weird spider, but we can both do it.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:35 am
*Socializing for the Non-social
"Why do I have to do this?" Lucretia inquired, sounding about as exasperated as she could get as she followed in tow behind her brother. Donat was leading her down an aisle of Halloween costumes for women, following his father in turn; Lucretia knew that Kumoru was about as excited as she was about this "party" thing, which was to say not much at all.
"Halloween is fun!" Donat insisted, grinning that cheerful little grin that always made the Ice Rose Raevan feel shivers down what she had of her spine. "You'll like it once you do it, I promise. Everybody does. There isn't anyone who doesn't like Halloween. You get to dress up, and you can scare people if you want, and people give you candy for free!"
He paused a moment and turned to face her, refusing to let go of her hand. "And I dunno what grown-ups do at grown-up Halloween parties, but I bet it's even more fun. But you can't do anything without a costume."
All these generalizations. "Everyone likes Halloween?" Lucretia parroted back, her completely flat tone indicating that she did not believe a word of it. "Your 'everyone' is people who aren't me. Maybe I don't like it. No costume. No party. I can give candy. I hate it."
She who only consumed ice took little interest in the idea of eating lots and lots of melty chocolate and other sickly-sweet chewy things. Why did it seem there were so many holidays centered around eating?
"You go in my place. Besides, I already look like I have a costume."
"But it's a grown-up party," Donat insisted, clenching his free thumbless hand into a fist. "I don't get to go until I'm older. And it's not like I can dress up like you. You have no feet!"
Lucretia's face went flat and she stared at her brother. "You're older than me. And thank you."
Donat chewed on his index finger, brows wrinkling on his furry forehead as he meekly told her, "Sorry...." Then, as though he forgot his tactless remark a moment later, he continued hauling her down the aisle.
"I'm jealous that I can't go! You're my sister so you need to go and rub it in my face. That's how siblings are! It's what they do. Don't be a meanie and just not go. You have to and have a lot of fun." Then, getting an idea, the goat-boy stole a sly glance at her over his shoulder and added, "I dare you to go."
"No."
Donat stamped a foot. "You're no fun at all."
"Come on, you two," Kumoru said gently, finally intervening. He was about as excited as Lucretia was, truth be told, since he did not exactly know the other Raevan owners. And, by his nature, the necromancer was not leaping at the opportunity to meet them all at once. Certainly not while dressed up in some daft costume. If he could be sure he could get away simply wearing his dress robes, armor, and helm, he would have.
But it seemed necessary to purchase a costume. For himself and for Lucretia. If only Donat could go in their place.
He carefully pried Donat's fingers off of Lucretia's hand; fortunately it was never difficult to break the boy's grip, as he did tend to cling. "Donat, maybe just pick out a costume for your sister and she can help me. Lucretia, do you want to pick out something for me?" He took a deep breath and, biting back his pride, reluctantly added, "Whatever you want me to wear, I'll wear it."
"Why?" Lucretia crossed her arms as soon as she was free of Donat's grip.
Donat pouted at her and folded his arms as well.
"Fine...." the Raevan conceded after a moment, edging past her brother in the aisle before rushing to catch up with her father. At least he understood why this whole party thing sucked.
*****
About fifteen minutes later, Lucretia was actually enjoying herself a little, because at least she was shopping for her father's costume and not her own. With a faint smile, she held out the packaged costume she had selected to Kumoru to see what he would think.
"Gravedigger?" Kumoru read the package. "I guess... it doesn't look too bad." There was a hat that went with it that would necessitate doing something with his hair, but, all in all, it was not the worst thing she could have selected by far.
"It looks like death, like you," the Ice Rose girl told him with a shy, sweet smile.
The necromancer returned the smile, and hoped deeply on the inside that she was not picking up any ideas from him. He was not about to turn his children into fellow necromancers. Not until they were older, at least. "Thank you. It's fine. Not frilly or stupid or anything."
"Want to see what your brother found for you?"
As if on cue, Donat stepped out and offered a pile of things to his sister: A white shimmery flapper dress, a white feather boa, and a white owl mask. "Just like you."
Lucretia stopped mid-eyeroll, and actually studied the items. After a moment, she leveled a gaze at her brother and stated firmly, "No dress."
But other than that, the costume would not be too bad, she supposed. She and her father could just go as themselves, essentially. Now all that would be left was the actual party itself. And fortunately, Lucretia still had several days to brace herself for that.
(( crossposted to Lucretia's journal ))
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:31 am
*Paper Mache
Bhel sat at the kitchen table, kicking his feet a little as he expectantly watched his brother. Donat fetched an old newspaper, then a pair of scissors, then the bowl of paste he had mixed, then an assortment of cardboard tubes.
With the Fa'e prom coming up, Bhel knew he had to make a mask so he could be the awesomest one there. He was going to be a monster for prom, with big eyes and even more horns than he already had!
Since he had played with paper mache before, Donat figured he could help his brother. It was probably going to make a mess - especially with Bhel there - but that was part of the fun. Although washing the sticky bits of paste out of his fur later was not exactly exciting. But it sounded like Bhel had a good idea for his mask, so Donat set out the last of the materials and started to show Bhel how to stick the bits of newspaper onto the mask base Kumoru had bought for him.
"See, you just do one shred at a time, dunk it in the paste, then stick it on," the goat-boy told the young Fa'e. "There's a lot of extra goop, though, so you smooth over it with your finger and put the rest back in the bowl so we don't run out."
He grinned at Bhel. "You got it?"
"Yeah!" the younger boy replied, and immediately set upon the shreds of newspaper.
Once he had a few strips squished haphazardly onto the plastic mask, he grabbed two of the toilet paper tubes and turned back to his brother. "How do I do big eyes?" he asked, holding the tubes up to his own eyes like a skewed pair of binoculars.
The goat took one of the tubes, and, setting the mask down on the table, stood the tube up on it. "Kinda like this, I guess," he told his brother, getting another strip of newsprint and sticking it partway on the mask, then up one side of the tube. "Just go all the way around."
Bhel seemed to understand well enough, but every time Donat tried to lend a hand when it was not specifically asked for, the Fa'e nudged him away from the mask. Just as well, Donat figured - let him make his own. After several minutes, he started to occupy himself with sweeping up the dropped blobs of paste that fell onto the extra sheets of newspaper they had laid down on the table.
Bhel worked happily, making a somewhat lumpy mask, but it was not at all bad for his first attempt. The paste was sticky and slippery at the same time, which made it a lot of fun to touch. As he worked on making three long horns for the front, the bull Fa'e pondered what colors he would paint it.
Noting that Bhel was quickly running out of newspaper strips, Donat went to go tear some more, grabbing the top section off of the stack they had at one end of the table for that purpose. He stood up so he could unfurl the whole Sports section, and started ripping from the top.
The paper shredded fairly easily, as the goat-boy was tearing with the grain, but when the strips got smaller and the stack he was trying to rip got thicker, it got tougher. While working on one bunch, he gave a sudden tug, causing the papers to rip suddenly; Donat's elbow bumped into the bowl of paste, spilling a substantial glop onto the table.
The Fa'e yelped a little, and yanked his hands out of the paste as his brother's elbow knocked into the bowl, to avoid getting the goop all up his arm. Then he just kind of watched as the paste spread out across the newspaper, and into the stack that Donat had been ripping. He glanced sidelong at his brother and giggled a little.
Oh man, Kumoru was going to kill them for making such a mess. Donat could only watch in disbelief as the paste started to soak through the newspapers. Bhel's laugh broke the spell, though - the goat had been trying not to laugh himself, but once his brother did, he could not help himself. Scrambling for more dry newspaper, the older boy tried to contain the pile of ooze, and salvage as many of the paper strips as possible.
He handed the latter to Bhel, telling him hurriedly, "Here, use these on your mask. It'll be like cleaning up." He wiped a goopy hand on another sheet of newsprint, and tried to peel up the stack of paste-covered paper before it stuck too hard to the table. "Hopefully Dad won't be too mad at us," he fretted.
Needless to say, Kumoru made sure that, when the time came to paint the mask, the boys did it outside. He spent the time with a sponge and bucket, trying to scrub a corner of the Business section off of his table and wishing he had learned more water magic so he would not have to do the work by hand.
(( Crossposted to Bhel's Journal ))
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:26 am
*Back to the Museum
Donat was a big enough boy that he could go to the museum himself, and so Kumoru allowed him to do so when ever he wanted. In truth, he was busy with his studies fairly often, but he still stopped by from time to time to visit the skeleton of his ancestor. All that his father required that he do was let him know when he was planning to go, mostly so that he could write a talisman of ghostsight for the goat-boy; going without one would have been pointless for talking to the spirit that resided with the museum skeleton.
His only problem was that there were not many things to talk about with the ghost. The creature was lonely; Kumoru had made a promise to pay visits to the spirit before Donat himself was born. The ghost was a simple creature, which was endearing sometimes, but Donat was no longer a child, and sometimes he just did not want to talk about simple things.
The rest of the museum was still interesting, though. And a promise was a promise.
Donat took his time wandering through the exhibits featuring the towering skeletons of the dinosaurs, wondering what it might be like to speak with the other ghosts. Did ghosts even last that long? He learned a lot about dinosaurs in school and from books, and it had been a very long time since any of them had walked the earth. And would a dinosaur ghost even be able to talk to him, or would the big meat-eaters just try to eat him?
He could test today to see what happened, but then his talisman might run out before he got a chance to talk to the cave-goat ghost. Kumoru was bad at talismans; they worked more or less perfectly, but the effects never lasted very long. So maybe... maybe he could lie about going once to the museum to get an extra, and then use two at once? It sounded like a good idea, and a little lie would not be bad or anything.
With a nod, Donat settled on this course of action for next time, then went to the Hall of Prehistoric Mammals.
Activating the talisman, the whole room shimmered before Donat's eyes in a way that was really dizzying if you were not expecting it. And then the ghosts began to appear, glowing with eerie blue light. Donat walked straight up to the bars where the skeleton of his ancestor stood, and he crouched to see the ghost underneath the sign that described the creature's diets and habits.
"Hello," the ghost greeted him, sounding quite excited for a ghost.
"Hello," Donat replied cheerfully, then pointed back the way he had came, to the Hall of Dinosaurs. "Do you ever talk to the ghosts over there? The dinosaur ones?" he asked. "If there are any ghosts?" The marble columns framed an indistinct blue glow to Donat's eyes; he could not really tell if there was actually anything out there or not.
The cave-goat looked confused by Donat's pointing, but nodded a little as he mentioned the dinosaurs. "I have ventured to the doorway but not inside. The creatures are large, but I cannot speak to them. I do not know why."
Donat was a bit disappointed, but decided it would still not hurt to pay them a visit for himself sometime. There was that unspoken mutual agreement between them that the dinosaurs were not scary at all, though.
"It must be fun to be so huge," the goat-boy said with a laugh. "I would stomp around sometimes to see if I could make the ground shake."
The ghost plodded its little hooves soundlessly against the marble floor. "I would not be afraid of anything, and everything would be afraid of me. The tallest trees would tremble as I came to nibble on them."
The boy laughed at this mental image. "Just be careful not to step on anyone."
They continued to chat, about simple things, of course, like what the weather was like and what season it was. It made Donat glad that he was a goat-boy instead of just a goat; not that he disrespected his ancestor, but he did enjoy having other things to think about. He wanted to ask the ghost what it thought of the dinosaurs, for example, but the creature seemed uninterested in the topic.
Speaking with the ghost used to amuse him endlessly. Perhaps he was getting too old for it.
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