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Friendly Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:45 pm
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:55 pm
Digging Too Deep
April 12, 2016 Advisory TRIGGER WARNING: The following journal entry touches briefly on suicide; please proceed with caution.
Maybe it was herself that she needed to worry about, but she had desired motherhood for so long, dwelling in the would-be moments of spending so much time with her child, that she did not fully prepare herself for them spending time with other people. To be fair to herself, though, a lot of her mothering had extended outward, encompassing more than just Lorin - she fretted over her own mother, her husband, and especially Cadi. Claire found it hard to forget the night before Lorin came home as she held her sniffling sister-by-marriage by the hand to guide her to a warm bed. She felt the scars on her wrists by accident as she tucked her into (what would be) Lorin's bed, listened to her stammered, self-deprecating apologies. Claire spoke soothing words to her and held her hand for a beat, eyes dropping to look at what she so desperately wished she had not noticed.
It spoke volumes about her and so little at the same time.
Cadi had become a frequent visitor to their home since Lorin's arrival, and the honey Frei was enamored with her humor and the back and forth joking banter she shared with Aaron. There would be times where she would sit in one of the wicker chairs on their back patio while Lorin and Claire worked in the garden, and Cadi would call Lorin over every now and then to show him something funny on her phone. He would let loose such a joyful peal of laughter that Claire would also make her way over to see what was so funny - usually silly animal videos or pictures. She tickled him when he least expected it, colored with him, introduced him to a few games on her Nintendo 3DS. He would sit, enraptured, as she played through Animal Crossing, asking his opinions on what gifts to give or how to decorate a room. She was always very good with him and it was clear that Lorin was very enthralled with her, but this was no surprise to Claire. She had seen it in action at many family get togethers in the past - Cadi usually preferred to sit with the children at Christmas and Thanksgiving. Her anxiousness in crowds all but vanished around Dinah and Brendan - and now, so it seemed, with Lorin, too.
Why, then? Claire found herself thinking about it more than she would have wished. She knew that it was a discussion that she would have to have with her at some point; the girl was all alone in Gambino, save for them, still job-searching and waiting on word for her re-application to Gambino University. She had to be under immense pressure. Claire frowned, remembering the increasingly anxious text messages she sent prior to meeting Lorin as well as the correspondence with Aaron when coordinating her birthday dinner. It was a very personal matter, one she likely had no business in asking about, but she was still incredibly worried.
What Claire did not expect, however, was that both of her current dilemmas would come crashing together. A sunny Tuesday afternoon out in the garden was interrupted by the jingle of a text message, and Lorin flew over to fetch it from its spot in one of the wicker chairs (after Claire called after him to wipe the dirt off his hands first). He squinted at the screen and called out happily, "It's Sissy!" before he passed the phone over. Claire peeled her gardening gloves off and thumbed through to the message itself. Text from Cadi hey claire - would lorin be interested in a little sleepover for the weekend?
She was faced with uncertainty. Anxiety. The thought of Cadi crying in Lorin's bed. She wanted to forget what she had seen, but Claire knew that that would solve nothing. Bringing this up with Cadi, at least at the current juncture, could lead to a misunderstanding.
There was, however, someone else she could ask.
'No,' she thought firmly to herself, lifting a spider lily into its new home.
Of course there was someone she could talk to, but she shook her head at the thought as she patted the dirt in the planter. 'It wouldn't be right,' she chided herself, but the thought of being separated from Lorin for a weekend was enough to raise her pulse. She swallowed against it and rose to her feet, calling Lorin into the house to wash their hands. As she nudged the door open with her shoulders for the small Frei to pass through, another thought came unbidden.
She remembered Cadi's scars, and she chided herself again for dwelling on it. So much of the girl, who had only before been a face at family events and a name to send Christmas presents to, was still unknown to her, and what had come to the surface in her short time in Gambino concerned Claire. Would watching Lorin for an entire weekend be too much?
There was someone she could talk to, she thought again. As Lorin traipsed off to the bathroom to wash his hands, she headed for the kitchen. The water ran over her fingers and she scrubbed hard, as though trying to wipe away her guilt. All she had to do was ask Cadi, if it concerned her too much.. but that might show that she did not trust her.
Did she trust her?
She turned the faucet off and wiped her hands; the phone felt heavy in her pocket. It was not her business to know, but the worry in her chest would not take that as an acceptable answer. The timing did not allow her to ask Cadi about it - not yet, at least. Her stomach was knotted in her indecision.
And yet..
Resignedly, she went for the cell in her pocket. She thumbed through her contacts and hovered over Anais's name, as though trying to will herself out of doing it. But her finger came down and the call connected, and she pressed the phone reluctantly to her ear.
"Hey Claire!" Anais sounded cheerful, much as she always did, although it was hard to discern from the sound of movement and rustling of paper bags on the her end.
"Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," Claire apologized.
"No, no, you just caught me walking in. Got a little bit before I have to get Brendan ready for soccer practice." She could hear her juggling the phone, setting things down, the laughter and chatting of her children in the background. Anais was busy as ever. "How's the little guy settling in?"
"Just fine." Claire smiled as she spoke, but gave pause. "Wait, how'd you know? He's only been home for a few weeks." She had been purposefully quiet in the weeks following meeting Aaron's parents, worried that the stress of such a meeting would sour him wanting to meet other relatives.
"Cadi told me." She heard glass clinking against glass. "Also Ivy's been gushing to like, the whole family." Anais chuckled. "His name's Lorin, right? Cadi sent me a photo, he's such a little cutie. We're gonna have to get him and the kids together soon since they're pretty much cousins now, aren't they?" Anais's warm welcome of her son, just from a few text messages and a photo, left her with a tingling sensation in her heart. She placed a hand there with a watery smile.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea," Claire affirmed, just as warmly. "Let me know what your schedule is like and we can make it work. I know how busy you are."
"Oh pshh, never too busy for family," Anais countered, and as more background noise kicked up, she groaned. "Hang on --" She covered the receiver and shouted back into the house to tell Brendan that no, his shin guards were not on the dryer, they're with his uniform in the drawer, and Claire smiled. But her heart leapt to her throat when she remembered why she had called in the first place. Her head continually cycled back to the same thought: Should she really be asking about this? "Alright." Anais's voice was a little harried and she sighed, but the silence on Claire's end prompted her to speak again. "What's up?" Claire swallowed.
Should she really be asking about this?
"Can I.." The words stopped just short, but she pushed them out. "I need to ask you something in confidence, Anais." The rustling on the other end stopped. The sudden quiet threw Claire's goal into more doubts, and she chewed her lip.
"Sure," came the reply.
"I'm a little worried about Cadi -" Claire began, slowly.
"What happened?" Anais interrupted her after a sharp breath, a note of panic in her voice. "Claire, is there something she's not telling me?"
"No, no, I think she's okay - I'm just -" The words stuck in her throat and she realized how awful they would sound once let loose. She was concerned, but she was not scared of Cadi, and with how sensitively her sister was reacting, she did not want to raise further concerns until she had explained a little first. It was still terrible of her to ask this - it was none of her business, and she should have asked Cadi herself. But she had already started down the path, and she swallowed, steeling herself as she continued forward. "I, um.. I noticed her arms, a few weeks ago." The dead air only amplified how loudly her heart was beating in her ears.
"Did they look recent?" Anais's voice had quieted, telling of an attempt to put a lid on her own concern.
"I.. I don't think so, no." Claire ran a hand through her hair, trembling.
"Thank God." It was unnatural to her, hearing Anais's usually boisterous voice so subdued. Claire had often admired how much she juggled between work, her two children, a husband, a home, and a fairly active social life with so much vigor. The worry present in her voice earlier had vanished in lieu of exhaustion. "I was scared she'd tried again."
"When?" Claire struggled to speak again as she thought about those words: tried again.
"A few years ago," Anais replied dully. Claire nodded and rubbed her temples as she leaned over the counter. Tried again.
"You never said a word."
"It's not something you talk about." Her tone implied that she, too, did not want to go too far down this path, and Claire was rather glad for that. She did not need to know the specifics of the incident, and, she thought with a pang of guilt, she shouldn't. "And not right after what you went through. We didn't want to stress you out." Another uncomfortable alignment of bad circumstances. Claire lifted her head from her hand and turned to press her back to the counter, dropping her arm about her waist as her stomach churned.
"That's what I'm worried about." She cleared her throat to banish the tightness there. "With Cadi, I mean. She wanted to have Lorin stay the weekend and I'm just afraid it might be too much for her." Reluctant as she was to continue this conversation, she was more afraid of being misunderstood in her intentions. "I don't want to stress her out." Anais's voice lilted in surprise at the other end, a quiet hum of interest.
"Really?" She sighed. "I'm surprised. She usually doesn't get off her a** and volunteer to do anything." The words were critical enough that Claire straightened up in surprise herself. "Look, if she wants to keep what's happening to her damn self, that's her business. But she's not gonna do anything while Lorin's there." Claire felt a jolt that resonated in the pit of her stomach and she scrambled to clear up the misconception she was afraid of.
"Anais, that's not what I -"
"I know you didn't mean that, Claire, but you may, sometime. Even if it's not now." Anais cut her off, but not unkindly. "I think it sometimes, too." Claire opened her mouth, aiming to reply, but she could think of nothing to say. "But she won't. She loves the kids too much. You should see the texts she's sent me about Lorin." Despite her troubles, it heartened Claire to know that Cadi thought so fondly of Lorin after such a short time.
"That'd be nice."
"I gotta run, but let me know if something happens, alright? Please." Claire was not sure how she felt about the sudden shift between apathy and concern present in Anais, and the request put her in a prickly position. "She doesn't always tell me. I don't know if she's been taking her medicine, either." She remembered the argument the two had had on the front porch during Thanksgiving, and the tired agitation in Anais's voice felt very familiar once she did. Claire felt herself at a precipice in this situation she had stupidly, willfully started - would it be a bigger betrayal of Cadi's trust to pass along her doings to her sister, or worse to let her hide away while her immediate family remained unaware?
She should not have made this phone call.
"If something happens, I'll let you know," Claire answered at last in carefully-measured words.
"Thanks, Claire. I'll talk to you soon about that playdate, alright?" The chipperness was back, all of the dark thoughts and conversations stowed away for the time being.
"Sounds good. Take care, Anais." The line disconnected and Claire stared pensively at the phone in her hands. Her head told her nothing good would come of this, but her heart wavered. Anais was just as worried about Cadi as Claire was - more than she was, with what she knew of her history. And now that Claire had somewhat of an inkling herself, she was not quite sure what to do with that information. Was it right to play watchdog for Anais? They were all family, and their collective concern was based purely out of their love for her. It was worrying to know that Cadi was keeping such troubling things to herself and that it went deeper, it seemed, than Claire realized, but her behavior was not entirely foreign to her.
After all, she was not so different from Cadi, not too long ago.
The more Aaron tried to force her walls down, the more she pushed away. She wanted time and space to sit in her sadness and sift through it, pick it apart from every angle, before she soaked it back in. It fed back into itself, like an ouroboros of misery. She could understand where Cadi was coming from, but the nature of their depressions was very different, and it would be in bad taste to compare them. Despite what Anais had asked her, the best thing she felt she could do for Cadi was to provide support and show that she knew she was reliable enough to watch her child.
Rising above the sea of concern within her, Claire decided to trust her instead.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:03 pm
In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
April 14, 2016 Seeing his sissy usually meant that Cadi was over at his house, or at Ivy's; this was the first time Lorin had been over to her apartment. It was a lot smaller than his own house (or that of his grandmother's), but it was not as decorated, either. Everything smelled like Febreeze and the scented lime blossom candle that flickered from her TV center, and he floated over to it in his rounds. A small flat-screen television stood in the corner opposite the front door, sitting atop a worn table that was covered with a runner cloth to dress it up. Two gaming systems were plugged in below it while her movie and game selections were on a narrow shelf next to the set-up, all of her cases organized alphabetically. He had set his backpack on a small blue love seat while he took a look around, careful to avoid bumping into the old and scratched coffee table in front of it. A stack of mail, new and old, was straightened and set in the center, next to an unlit candle display, a box of tissues and a few coasters stacked away for use.
There was no divider between the living room and the kitchen, and he leaned over to get a better look. A coffee pot sat on top of the dated counters next to a toaster, all of which were shining from aggressive scrubbing. There was a small square breakfast table with two chairs tucked into a forgotten corner of the kitchen; it had been cleaned off and ready for use but its position had Lorin wondering if Cadi had not had company over for a while. Their dining room table was always being used - Claire did not abide eating full meals anywhere else.
"Do you need money to pick anything up for Lorin to eat?" Claire asked fretfully, and Cadi laughed.
"I'm all set, Claire, don't worry about it." She waved a hand. "If we need more, we'll go to the store." She grinned over her shoulder and Lorin looked up, beaming back. He turned his smile to his mother, her own expression wavering as she sighed.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you both to it." With a glance to her son, she knelt down and opened her arms, and he floated in without hesitation. She squeezed him a little more tightly than she normally did and as she pulled away, she planted a kiss on his forehead. "You have fun this weekend with your sissy, alright?" She stood up again and panic seized his heart; he reached out a hand to grab her coat.
"Where're you going, Mama?" Lorin asked, eyes widening and brow knit.
"You're staying with Cadi for the weekend, remember?" she answered, her hand coming to rest between his antennae. He did remember; he had not thought of anything else since the Tuesday afternoon his mother had asked him. There were so many questions that rolled around in his head over the next few days, and he often voiced them to Claire as they went about their day. He wondered what Cadi's house was like, what kind of games they could play, places they could go, and his mother had merely laughed. It had never occurred to him that his mama would not be there with him as well.
"Why can't you stay, too?" His tone rose anxiously as he gripped more tightly. His eyes prickled with the threat of tears.
"This is your chance to spend some time with your sissy," Claire replied in as soothing a tone as she could muster, but she swallowed. Leaving Lorin was hard enough as it was without his welling eyes. With considerable effort, she took hold of the hand that gripped her coat and held it gently in her own before she carefully pulled it off. Cadi stepped forward the second she looked up and offered her vacant hand to the Frei, who took it reluctantly. "I'll see you in a few days." With another fond sweep of her hand over his hair, she beamed at the younger girl. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"Will do," Cadi replied with a lazy wave, and Claire's softening smile flashed to Lorin one more time before she closed the door behind her. Her footsteps retreating down the walk echoed in Lorin's ears and he pulled his hand fretfully from Cadi's as he flew to the window, nudging the curtain aside. He followed her progress to the car, saw her fumble for her keys. He watched her car pull away from the curb, and as she waved, tears welled in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He pressed his head to the glass and hiccuped.
"W-why'd Mama leave me?" Tear-stained eyes pleaded with Cadi, searching her face for an answer. But when she did not immediately reply, a few more tears leaked out and buried his face in his hands. Cadi shifted her weight awkwardly, folding her arms as she watched Lorin with concern, but with an air of familiarity. Lorin, meanwhile, longed for his mother, confused and hurt as to why she would leave him behind.
"First overnight away from home?" Cadi answered at last as she lowered herself carefully to her knees. With a quick glance around, she grabbed a few tissues from the coffee table and put a hand on the Frei's shoulder. "Here, lemme take a look at you." He lowered his hands with a dramatic sniff and she wiped the tears away with a gentle hand. "First times away from home are kinda scary. Your cousins did the same thing when I first watched them." She chuckled softly, wiping the other cheek.
"M-My cousins?" he asked with another sniff. She plopped a clean tissue in her hands.
"Here, this is for your nose," she said. "Yeah, Brendan and Dinah. My niece and nephew. But booooy howdy, it took more than tissues and hugs to calm them down. It took ice cream and blankets and coloring books.." She ticked off the items on her fingers while Lorin nodded slowly, blowing into the tissue. His nose felt raw from all his sniffling. "It's an adjustment process," Cadi concluded with a shrug and a smile, and while he did not necessarily know what that meant, Lorin realized with a start that he had stopped crying.
"Hey, kiddo, listen up." Cadi's voice had softened even more and she looked a bit sheepish. "We're gonna do lots of fun stuff this weekend, but, um.." She hesitated when she spoke, her hands twisting the extra tissue. "Just lemme know if it stops being fun, okay? You're not locked in by any means."
"'Locked in'..?" Lorin squinted at the term, and Cadi laughed nervously.
"I just.." She scrambled for the right words, a self-deprecating scoff leaving her lips as she pushed a hand nervously through her bangs. "I don't want to force you to be here if you don't want to, is all. You've always got a choice." She dropped her hand to her side and resumed toying with the tissue, her eyes following its progress. "Why don't we see how tonight goes, and then if you still want to go home tomorrow, I'll take you home. Deal?" At last, she met his eyes and let go of the tissue (which was nothing more than a long twisted string), offering her hand to him. Lorin glanced between the hand and her face, eyes hopeful despite looking exhausted. It occurred to Lorin then that he was not the only one that had been excited about the visit.
"Okay." He smiled tentatively, taking her hand with one of his and squeezing her fingers. She gave a weak squeeze back and her smile radiated her relief.
"The pact is sealed." Cadi moved their joined hands upward once in the semblance of a shake, and both of their smiles grew, blossoming into giggles. "How you feeling now, kiddo?" She placed her hands on her knees and rose up, groaning. Lorin tore at the edges of his balled tissue and examined his hands. His head felt a little stuffy after his brief cry, his face warm but the rest of him chilled.
"Kinda cold," he admitted, and as if on cue, his antennae trembled. Cadi appraised him for a second before she reached down, offering her hand for his tissue, which he handed over without question.
"You ever have a bubble bath?" she asked, tossing both of the the tissues in a small garbage can underneath the love seats's side table. He blinked, shaking his head slowly from side to side, which only made her smile spread wider. "Boy, are you in for an experience. Grab your backpack, let's get your jammies." He floated over to it dutifully, sifting through the contents to pull out his warm pajama top - Claire had packed it for him when she noticed rain on the forecast, wanting him to stay warm. "At least someone'll use the stuff."
"You don't like 'em?" he asked in clear confusion.
"It's not that I don't, I'm just never in the mood." Cadi shrugged with another laugh, and as Lorin pulled out his pajamas, he turned his confusion towards the top in his hands.
"I already had a bath," he said after a beat. "I'm not dirty."
"That's okay," Cadi replied, and she extended her hand. He grasped her fingers lightly as she ushered him ahead, towards the door that stood ajar. "Bubble baths aren't just for getting clean, y'know." He glanced back up at her, uncertainly, until she grinned and gave him an encouraging nudge, and his wings fluttered as he floated ahead. Whatever a bubble bath was, he was certainly curious.
Lorin snuggled into the couch with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He felt warm and comfortable from his bubble bath and full from his shared grapefruit half with Cadi. A picture book was spread on the table in front of him, which he gazed at while Cadi took a fast shower herself ("five minutes," she asked him before disappearing into the bathroom, leaving the door open to listen for any problems). The girl sighed as she left the bathroom, her curly hair tied up in the back, flashing Lorin a smile.
"What say we pop a movie in?" she asked, and he sat up immediately.
"I wanna watch a movie!" he agreed. Cadi laughed at his enthusiasm and was partway to her DVD tower when her cell vibrated on the coffee table. She leaned over to pick it up and flip it over, giving another soft laugh before she took the call.
"Want to say goodnight to your son, I take it?" she laughed into the receiver, and Lorin gasped as he heard a familiar voice, muffled against his sissy's ear. "I'd say he's eager to talk to you too, hang on." She passed the phone over to Lorin's eager hands and he wasted no time pressing it to own ear.
"Hi Mama!" He clutched Cadi's cell with both hands. "How are you?" He felt a soft pang at the tinny quality of the call, reminding him that Claire was not immediately with him, but the warmth of her voice came through loud and clear.
"I'm good, Lorin, how are you?" she said. "Are you and Sissy having a good time?"
"Mm-hm!" He nodded to the air, making Cadi chuckle. "I did a bubble bath and we had grapefruit and now we're gonna watch a movie!"
"Sounds like fun!" It was Claire's turn to laugh, but she paused and reminded him in a friendly tone, "but try not to stay up too late, okay, baby?"
"Okay." Lorin hummed happily, but the melancholy had not quite lifted. "I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, sweetpea," she replied softly. "Sleep tight when you go."
"G'night," he said, and the phone buzzed as the call ended. He pulled the phone away and stared at it for a moment, missing his mama but not as much as he had earlier. His sissy was doing her best to make him comfortable and help him have a good time. The quiet reprieve he had had while she showered, rather than upset him, had been nice. For the moment it had just been him, the blanket, and his picture book, with the ambient noise of the water running in the next room. Cadi's apartment was different from his home, but it was a very comfortable difference, and one he would not mind enjoying for the next few days. He handed the phone back to Cadi, and she smiled sympathetically.
"D'you feel better now?" she asked as she plugged it into the charger, setting it on the side table.
"Yeah, a little," he answered, nodding.
"That's good." She ruffled his hair, still slightly damp from the bubble bath. "Now let's kick this party off, huh?" The hike in her volume and her widening grin got his attention.
"What're we gonna watch?" Lorin sat up attentively. The bubble bath had done wonders for his mood and he was curious what else Cadi had in mind. His sissy seemed to be full of really great ideas. She wandered back to the tower and plucked one of the videos off the shelf, out of a set of similar-looking cases.
"Have you ever seen Star Wars?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:08 pm
The Force AwakensApril 16, 2016
Google Docs PRP with Arana Kamina
Cadi and Lorin watch the newest entry into the Star Wars franchise, inviting a certain bat Frei along for the ride.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:11 pm
 Sun Tea & Sunshinemid-April 2016
Claire invites Rhedefre over, after much preamble, to meet Lorin; the stag Raevan also finds a familiar face from his wanderings in the form of Cadi.Sun Tea & Sunshine It had started with a simple picture message.
Schedules being as they were and needing a very necessary cooldown from the mission they had done with Lab 305, Claire found herself protecting Lorin more fiercely than ever. It was to her advantage that Lorin didn't seem to mind, but she felt a touch of guilt with how quickly the child was warming to their father as well; she did not want to monopolize his time. Cadi's simple request to keep Lorin for the weekend had come with its own share of anxieties, but that had been put to bed by both Cadi's sister and Lorin's excited bedtime phone call. She just simply could not help herself - she was a worried mother, and this was her first child. Aaron had been a godsend for her anxieties and had told her that things would be fine because they were a team, they would do it together. Lorin himself had made new friends in the weeks that had since elapsed, due in part to the orchestrations of his family but mostly thanks to his willing, friendly nature.
The honey Frei was enthusiastic as ever about his environment and followed Claire around as she worked outside in her fledgling garden. Spring had finally dawned with beautiful weather and the opening of the nurseries and garden centers, and she felt anxious to get back to work after the long, dead semi-cold of Gambino winters. Lorin watched her intently as she worked and his energetic hands yearned to help, so she guided him through the basics of plant care - repotting plants that had grown too large for their former homes, planting bulbs, watering, pruning (not that she had much to prune yet). His enthusiasm touched her heart and he went about it on all cylinders. Claire had been so distracted by the thoughts of getting him his own sun hat and gardening gloves that she had not noticed how covered in mud he had become, a look of intense concentration on his small features as his wings fluttered behind him. She wiped a hand on her pants and went for her phone, snapping a picture unawares until he heard the click and glanced over, looking momentarily startled before he dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"Papa and Sissy will love it," she assured him. As she scrolled through her contacts to find Cadi and Aaron's names, she thumbed too fast and landed at the bottom of the list, and her eyes rested on the name under her finger - Rhedefre. She thought back to their dogged pursuit of Fel Essences and those long stretches in the car when it was just her and the stag Raevan. She had spoken at length about Lorin, some about her capture, and he had expressed such interest to meet her son. Now that things were settling down, perhaps it was time. She likewise thought of Vesna and Lorenzo and the emphatic promise she had made to the necromancer at their first meeting, followed up during their hunt. That would be something that needed arrangement as well.
For now, she smiled and sent the picture off to Cesc with the caption: "Look at the little mudlark I found today! This might be the face you see when you visit sometime. =)"
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:35 pm
A Sigh, An Echo
April 27, 2016 Lorin had never been in this part of the store before. Loathe as his mother was to come to big stores like the local Wal-Mart, sometimes necessity called when they were out running errands, but she always tried to make it a short trip. The smell of earth filled his nose as they browsed towards the back of the store, where the garden and outdoors sections were. The doors stood invitingly open and he could feel the warm spring breeze rolling in from the ocean. Claire, determined not to stay long, had selected a hand basket instead of a cart. Lorin trailed behind her, looking longingly towards outside. The store was moderately crowded for a weekday, which kept him close to his mother, one hand looped through hers. She gave him a reassuring squeeze.
"Almost done, sweetie," she said as she steered them to an aisle just shy of the doors. The breeze ruffled Lorin's hair and his antennae wiggled appreciatively. Although he could count all the different stores he had been to since coming home with Claire on one hand, something put him off every time they came into this store. Perhaps it was the size of it and how it was almost always busy, or the buzzing fluorescent lights overhead, or how some aisles were stuffed full of goods and felt claustrophobic while others were eerily empty. All he knew was that it left him with an anxious pit in his stomach and he always yearned to walk out the doors, back into the sunlight.
Claire's hand slid from his and perused a scant selection of plant nutrients, flipping them over to read the backs of the packages. Lorin let his gaze wander to the people who passed them to enter the garden center in earnest, and he longed to float out there himself, if anything just to find where that earthy smell was coming from and feel the sun on his skin again. He drifted towards the doors, leaning sideways to get a better look at the several racks of annuals and perennials. With a careful glance over to his mother, who looked up and smiled at him for his patience before returning to the package in her hands, he floated forward as much as he dared.
And then he felt that same twist of anxiousness in his stomach, and then..
He stopped. It was hard to place what it felt like exactly but he looked down at the scuffed floor tiles, eyes narrowed in confusion as he tried to puzzle it out. The feeling persisted, hanging over his him lightly like morning fog. He frowned and looked outside, venturing forward a little more so the door slid open, and once he paused at the threshold, the feeling weakened. The sun felt warm and welcome on his face.
It was not coming from out here.
He fluttered back into the store proper and the feeling swelled like a gentle tide once he did. He was momentarily startled when he ran into Claire's legs, blinking a little in surprise. She must have stepped towards the doors when he went through, looking for him. She sighed in relief.
"All set?" she asked, nodding towards the sole register by the garden center door.
"Mm," he replied as he followed her over, shaking his head to clear the fog from his brain. It felt a little stronger closer to the register as they tagged onto the end of the short queue. Claire sighed again.
And suddenly, the feeling clicked. Lorin swiveled around; he knew the feeling was coming from within the store, and as he turned to look, his gaze landed on a box display of small, colorful succulents and cacti. The shelf was pretty desolate of what must have been a full stock sometime before, but all that remained was a single box with the remains haphazardly set inside. Lorin floated over to them, and Claire made a noise in the back of her throat, anxiously reaching for him as he started to wander, but her hand paused when he only drifted a few feet away. He scooped up a small aloe plant in his hands, fingers easily denting the cheap plastic container that barely held it. He brushed its small buds, and the same feeling reached out shyly to him. His head tingled - it felt like a sigh sounded.
"What's the matter?" Claire startled him once again out of his reverie; the look of concern on her face likely mirrored the one clearly etched in his. He looked down to the small plant in his hands before he set it back in the box, reaching for the others. His fingers traced a small flower blooming on a tiny decorative cactus, its pink petals graying slightly at the edges, and another succulent with rounded fronds that looked dusty.
To Lorin, they radiated their neglect, reaching him in a collective sigh. They felt sad.
"They're sad," he replied morosely. He wondered how nobody could have noticed them in their varied states of despair, in need of care and sunlight. Some of them had a thin coat of dust. "Nobody loves them." Claire chewed her lip thoughtfully as she watched the Frei pull out a desert rose, careful this time to avoid denting the plastic. "They're all real sad." She rested a hand on her hand cart and tilted her head to look at the price when the cashier called her up. She set the basket on the counter and emptied it of the three boxes of plant nutrients she had purchased, distractedly looking over to Lorin, who still cradled the desert rose in his hands.
"Is the sign correct?" she asked the cashier. The cashier, a touch shorter than Claire, stood on her tip toes to read it.
"Ugh, they forgot to change the signs out," she scoffed, looking to Claire apologetically. "Sorry about that. Everything in the box is 75% off - we're clearing things out for summer stock." Claire hummed thoughtfully.
"Hey Lorin," she called. "Can you bring the box over to the counter?" He stared, wide-eyed, as a smile grew on his face. Setting the succulent back inside, she grasped the sides of the small cardboard tray as firmly as he could and floated over, careful not to upset them. That feeling that hung over the small, forgotten plants shifted to a soft jolt, one he felt in his antennae as though someone had lightly brushed their fingers over them. "Do you think they would be happier at home?" He turned towards the small plants in his hands, beaming all the while.
"Wanna go home with us?" he asked. There was no indication of an answer - one in clear words, at least - but as he traced the edge of another desert rose, he felt a sense of contentment, but he knew that this was his own feeling. "Let's go home." He would show them how wonderful his house was. After all, they deserved to be healthy and happy as much as anyone else.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:39 pm
The Secret Gardenlate April 2016
Google Docs PRP with NeonMace & ex o ex Snoof
The Holmes family (and Cadi) head off to Henry's for a barbecue, setting up a meeting between a certain leshy Frei and a recently-grown tea Sigel.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:42 pm
Russian Raevan Rendezvousearly May 2016
Claire and Lorenzo, after much anticipation, finally get the Russian-soulled Raevans together for a day of fun, swings, and playing at the beach.Russian Raevan Rendezvous Claire could not keep her smile off her face.
The reunion with Cesc had planted the idea in her head that she should make good on the promised meeting with Lorenzo and Vesna, and promptly contacted the young necromancer afterwards. Between the two of them and several days of planning, there arose a gap in his schedule that worked out perfectly. At first Claire had thought to suggest the idea of Lorin trying out some of the traditional clothing for the first meeting between the two (she had excitedly followed Lorenzo's suggestions and ordered some from Russia, as well as a few more that Arina had sent afterwards), but the weather was expected to be too warm. Lorin sweating in a wool kosovorotka during the summer time did not seem very fair, so she did not even think to ask. Instead, the duo had settled on a park playdate (conveniently located close to the beach should the kids want to explore that and take in some of the ocean) and lunch - a nice, casual meeting for a first time. It felt elating and somewhat nerve-wracking that the long-awaited meeting she and Lorenzo had hoped for back in the wintertime was finally coming to fruition. Time certainly does fly.
Lorin had been very excited to learn he was about to meet a new friend; he had heard much of Lorenzo and Vesna from Claire in the days following the Lab mission, with it being rekindled by Cesc's visit. Still, his mama wanted to keep the element of surprise on her side and would only smile when he asked questions (much to his frustration) and tell him that he's in for a treat. He was already very excited at the venue, dressed appropriately in a light, short-sleeved green hoodie. He had been to a park before with his papa and grandmother, but that had been a different one, full of more greenery and a wider expanse of field for children to play on. This one certainly a playground and a smaller lawn for the tourists, but boasted an ocean view and a nice path down towards the beach. Claire had planned ahead in case the ocean tempted them and brought towels, coming prepared with a swimsuit on underneath her capris and tanktop; there was no way he was going to play in the ocean without her firm grip on his hand.
"What do they look like?" Lorin asked as they sat at one of the few picnic tables. His eyes were scanning the horizon and he leaned up on his arms, antennae perked forward.
"Vesna will look like you, silly." Claire kept her smile even, and while Lorin pouted a little, his mama's secrecy only invited more curiosity, and he continued watching the sidewalks with a new determination to find and pick them out from the crowd on his own.
"Nu-uh, she 'prolly is bigger than me," he corrected matter-of-factly, bringing forth a laugh from Claire. So far, all of the Raevans he had met looked more akin to his mama and papa age-wise than himself, but not that that was a bad thing, merely a point of interest for the young Frei. Why was that? He had so many questions, but all of those were put aside for the excitement of an impending meeting, and one his mother was equally excited about.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:28 pm
Shrinking Violet
June 20, 2016 The succulents sitting in Lorin's window were thriving, much to his relief. His shadowing of his mother during her time in the garden was paying off, and slowly but surely he was able to wean himself off of asking her help for the usual routine. He knew, now, that he had to move the succulents back from the window to the shelf when the sun was too high (to avoid sunburning them). He knew that they needed to be able to drain excess water, and that when it came to watering, giving them more at once rather than just watering frequently was best. All of this had been trial and error within the past few months, and he had cried to his mother more than once when he had over-watered onto his runner rug, or when the buds on his cactus withered and died. Claire had guided him through much of the early process and still helped with a few things (soil and nutrient suggestion, for one), but she had taken a decided step back, checking in every now and then to see how his little project was going.
However, Lorin had one distinct advantage over his mother, and that was his regular correspondence with the plants.
Every day, upon waking, he would peel himself from between the sheets and flutter over to his window box garden with a cheerful, "Good morning!" He would make his bed, put on the clothing his mother had set out the night before, float to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then return one more time before breakfast to check in on his plants. "How'd you sleep?" he would ask them as he moved them, one by one, from the shelf to the windowsill to get their morning sun. Some of them were getting bigger and branching out over their pots, while others blossomed, but as he touched the thick-skinned leaves carefully, he could feel the buzz of contentment settle around him. As he would tell them about his plans for the day, that feeling would come and go in increments, lapping like waves at the edges of his mind. He would sometimes play one of his mama's music boxes for them and the familiar feeling of a peaceful sigh would settle around him like a blanket.
For a while, at first, Lorin wondered if his mama could do what he could do. After all, she spoke to her plants and hummed while she worked in the garden, tended them carefully. But that thought was quietly dismissed when he watched her one day in the garden, transferring some flourishing plants from a planter into the ground proper. One of her tiger lilies had grown through the drainage hole in the bottom and the roots stubbornly clung to the pot, and as she gently tugged it away, Lorin felt a strange sensation. It was as though someone had pulled an invisible string around his consciousness as it stubbornly dug its heels in against the tug. He fluttered forward to rest his dirtied hands atop Claire's gloves. Claire furrowed her brow and looked at him, and he shook his head and moved his hands up to the lily's stem. The feeling intensified, and he simply said, "she doesn't wanna."
Given his mama's abject confusion, she must not have been able to do what he could, but it was not as though she were worse with them because of it. The garden, slumbering in early spring when he had first arrived, was steadily flourishing, and Claire was introducing new additions as the summer progressed. Outside, the overall feeling of the plants was a little more diluted, and he grew confused more than once on if it was his own doing or if he was really able to know how they were feeling. But as he would place his small hands around one of the garden's occupants, that same blanket of emotion would cover him. He was relieved to know that, except for the occasional hiccup, all of the plants were content.
So life continued as such during the early summer. Lorin's life was busying with the new friends he was making and the regular visits from his Grandma and Sissy. He went to the park with them, or they would spend time at Grandma's house, in her large, colorful, and quite content garden. His sissy was not around as much because she, like his papa, had a job now, but he was glad to know that she seemed more at ease because of it. Despite the changes in his schedule, he always made time for his plants, telling them often about the new friends he made and the places he went to.
"Sissy's feelin' happy now," he told the small cactus settled in the center of his succulent shelf. "I miss her but she's got lotsa stuff happening." The time they had together was much more limited with her working, but she would still invite him over to spend a day with her once she got her schedule. There would be a time or two where she would pause in their gaming or movie watching and shoot off a text, and as Lorin would hover her shoulder curiously, she would laugh and nudge him back down. "She's got a new friend at work so it's good, 'cause I was worried she'd be sad there." He remembered the mutual friend that she had introduced him to, the first Frei he had met. "Sissy says that Ammy talks to her too, about lotsa neat things." The plants responded with a pull of curiosity, and Lorin beamed, folding his arms on the windowsill as he tucked his chin into them. "I told you about Ammy! She's real nice. I hope we can play soon." The thought brought to mind his other new friends, and he sighed thoughtfully. "And Cesc, and Vesna, and Ethy. I wanna show 'em you guys. You'll like 'em. They're nice."
All of the plants responded in kind with another lapping of that gentle curiosity against his consciousness, and he giggled.
"You guys are all pink and green and purple and flowery. They'll like you lots," he assured them, thinking chiefly of Vesna's tiny blooms and the bright shade of pink that Cesc's hair fell under - all things that he knew his plants would find in common with them. For the most part he felt the blanket of anticipation around him.. except for when he looked at the small cactus. He frowned in concern as his head rose from his folded arms, and he touched the small, closed bud atop the plant. There was a slight drooping sensation inside him. Was the cactus sad?
"What's wrong?" he asked, but the feeling of closing off remained. "Are you shy?" No change. His chin dropped back to his arms and he tilted his head. "It's okay, I get shy too." His finger, idly stroking the closed bud, paused. "But they're gonna like you lots. I like you lots." He smiled. "You should show off your flower, I bet it's real pretty." The drop in his chest lessoned, as though the cacti considered his words; he resumed his reassuring petting. He knew what it was like to get stage fright. "If you wanna, you can just show me." No need to include other people for now. As he moved his index finger along it, the top of the bud began to open, shyly.
His breath caught in his throat, and he smiled wider.
"You can do it," he encouraged gently, and as though he were watching a film in slow motion, the cacti's bud grew bigger and peeled open to coyly reveal several beautiful magenta petals with a splash of yellow in the center. He pulled his hand back, mouth slightly open as a laugh rumbled in his small chest. The tiny tendril of shyness from the cactus held on, although with his joyous giggle and smile, its grip loosened and receded. Lorin's hands held onto the windowsill and he tapped his tiny fingers against it excitedly.
Had he done that? Had he and the plant really communicated? As ecstatic as he was about it, he knew, the real star of the show was the cactus at the center of his display. As the other plants radiated their curiosity, he dropped his chin into both palms, beaming proudly at it.
"I knew you could," he said warmly, "You're so pretty!" The plant's shyness vanished in lieu of happiness, and Lorin basked in its joy.
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:35 pm
Mambo ItalianoJuly 2, 2016
Claire, Aaron, and Lorin go out to dinner with Phoenix and Zoe to talk soul captures and their future Raevan.Mambo Italiano The three of them were dressed to the nines, Aaron still in one of his nicer suits from work from a last-minute client visit and Claire and Lorin had driven up to meet him. Befitting the hot weather, Claire had opted for a clean, pale pink and yellow A-line dress, hair pulled back to show off a new set of earrings gifted from her mother. However, while Aaron had made it quite clear that she was going to be the head of these proceedings, she was also quite aware of how important Lorin would be to this meeting. Both of them realized that Lorin was a great example of what waited at the end of this road, what all the pain and toil and sadness amounted to, and she knew that was very important. Therefore, she had Lorin dressed equally nicely as well in a small button-up top and a sweater vest, in order to make the best impression. His willful hair had been given a quick trim and had been carefully brushed and blow-dried so it lay flat on his head. Given how hot it had been, she had rolled up his shirt sleeves to leave his small forearms free.
Aaron stood waiting for them just outside of the restaurant when Claire and Lorin rounded the corner from the side parking lot, hand in hand. Lorin floated forward quickly at the sight of his papa and the man took a few steps to meet them before they all gazed at the restaurant's exterior.
"Have they arrived yet?" Claire asked.
"We've got reservations so if they are, they're probably at the table already," Aaron replied with a grin. "Shall we?" Claire smiled and Lorin did as well, taking both of their hands as he nodded.
The cooler air of the restaurant hit them and the group collectively breathed out a sigh. A friendly hostess beamed at them as she made her way over. "Hello! How many tonight?"
"We have reservations actually, under Holmes," Claire offered. "We're waiting on two others --" But the hostess was all smiles as she shuffled two adult menus and a child's menu in her hands.
"They're already here and waiting!" she said, and with a nod of the head and a "follow me!", she led the way to the booth further in, Lorin trailing behind them as his neck swiveled to and fro to take in the sight of the restaurant. Aaron broke into a grin as soon as he caught sight of Phoenix and who must have been his daughter, if he was correctly recalling the few photos he had seen of her.
"Hey!" he greeted. "Glad you made it!" He shuffled aside momentarily and turned with a hand on his wife's back. "This is my wife Claire. Claire, this is Phoenix Argyris, one of our clients, and his daughter Zoe."
"It's lovely to meet the both of you," Claire answered with a gentle smile, one that only warmed as she reached behind her to lay her hand gently on Lorin's head. "And this is Lorin." Glancing downward, she redirected her smile to her son. "Lorin, this is Papa's work friend, Phoenix, and his daughter Zoe." Two antennae tips peeked around her skirt and he curled his fingers in a wave at the two of them.
"Hi," he said, testing the waters, and smiling himself. The man sitting in front of them had such neat hair and so did his daughter, and Lorin's eyes were trained on her the most. Everyone he had met looked decidedly older than he was; Zoe had been the first to look close to his age, and this was a revelation to him. He looked between daughter and father, and said in an impressed whisper, "How d'you get your hair like that?" Her curled pigtails were the most impressive hair style he had seen in a while - next to Henry's manbun and Cadi's uneven cut - but never on someone his own size!
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:37 pm
A Small Adventureearly August 2016
Claire and Ivy take Lorin to the Gambino Botanical Gardens for a picnic meeting with Duncan and Aina, and the two children get ready to have a day of adventures.A Small Adventure It was hard to believe how long it had been, Claire thought, as she sat in the passenger's seat with a gift bag resting on her lap. The mug had sat in her kitchen since she had picked them up, collecting dust, until the phone call the week before had set everything into motion. Now, scrubbed clean and nestled in tissue paper, she kept her eyes peeled for familiar faces and an empty parking spot as Ivy drove and Lorin hummed excitedly in the back seat. The honey Frei had been getting better when it came to meeting new faces, the shyness before the moment of truth overshadowed by his impending excitement at another new friend. Aina had been one of the first faces that came to mind when she was figuring out whom she would like him to meet - there were not very many young-looking Raevans that she knew of, after all.
"There we are," Ivy said, leaning forward to squint against the sun, and she slid into the spot smoothly. A car that had tailed behind them, hoping for the same spot, was forced to drive on, and Ivy gave an apologetic chuckle to her rear-view mirror. "Sorry, friend, keep lookin'." Seat belts were unbuckled, and Lorin wiggled in the backseat, undoing his own in remarkable timing with clumsy, excited fingers. Claire let out a slightly nervous sigh herself - she really hoped the young ones would hit it off, more than hoped, in fact. Adapting a smile, she turned in the back seat.
"Excited?" she asked. Lorin had scooted to the door and was peering around the entrance and parking lot, trying to pick out who they were meeting without even knowing what they looked like.
"Mm-hm!" he answered, fingers drumming on the door as he continued to look. The two adults laughed and climbed out of the car, both heading for the backseat - Ivy for the food they had packed and Claire to let Lorin out. The honey Frei was out in a moment's notice and while his mama rounded the car to give her own mother a hand, he kept a hand to his brow, scouting the perimeter. They had not come to the botanical gardens yet, and even from the front, Lorin found himself trembling in excitement. That and with meeting a new friend, one his mama was particularly excited about as well - there was so much to look forward to. But that same nervousness was at work inside, and he closed his red windbreaker around himself.
"Ma, hand me the bags," he heard Claire say, "Can you grab the cookies?" A gentle melody and vibration drew his gaze and she reappeared, one arm loaded with paper bags and the other pulling a cell phone to her ear. His heart leapt into his throat at the thought of his new friend on the other line.
"Hello?" she answered cheerfully. "Duncan?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:39 pm
Sweet as PieAugust 2016
Claire and Lorin meet up with Vesna and Lorenzo at a Barton farmer's market, and the Raevans are aiming to make something sweet.Sweet as Pie Farmer's markets were always a favorite of Claire's; her parents had both been firm believers of supporting local business (especially produce, a business her husband also had a hand in). When the invite had been extended from Vesna and Lorenzo, she was only too happy to oblige. It had been a while since she had made the drive to Barton, and with the summer season on the way out and fall on the horizon, she was hoping there would be a nice spread of summer vegetables.
What had enticed her most of all, however, was the fact that Lorin had yet to go to a farmer's market, and he was eager to see Vesna again. Only a few short months had elapsed since the two Raevans had met, yet when she had told him of their upcoming trip, his face split into a wide smile and he counted the days with anticipation. His mama had no idea that he had a plan of his own - if farmer's markets were just as she had explained them to him, then it would have what he needs to make his mama something nice. While any cooking expertise he had could be counted on no fingers, he did know that there were other avenues to pursue: his papa, his grandma, Cadi. But he had one main co-conspirator in mind, and she was going to be on the trip with them today. Vesna had quickly proven to the honey Frei in their last meeting to be worldly and resourceful; he would have never imagined writing words in the sand with stray seashells, after all. Perhaps Vesna had some experience under her collar when it came to making one's way around the kitchen.
As they wandered between the stands in search of their friends, canvas totes in hand, Lorin was bound and determined to make his mama something as sweet as she was. He had seen enough to know that a pie might be the perfect solution, but that had only come after he had decided that brownies, his mama's favorite dessert, were not something one would find at a farmer's market. He pressed a hand to his brow to scan the morning crowd, floating ahead of Claire.
"Don't go too far, honey," she reminded him with a touch of anxiety.
"I don't see 'em yet," he called back as he stalled, waiting for her to catch up, but his gaze landed on a nearby table laden with farm-fresh eggs and flanked by hand-carved decor. He drifted to the side to eye a wooden bear in awe. "I didn't know they had this kinda stuff at farmer's markets, too." The old woman behind the stall smiled and Claire laughed.
"You'll see all sorts of different things here," she explained, before Lorenzo's voice cut across the crowd. Both of them turned, the boy with wooden bear in hand, and Claire raised her hand in acknowledgement as she started over. Lorin set the bear down with utmost care and flapped his wings to make up the short distance to her side. "Good morning, you two!" she said with a wide smile, gaze alternating between the two of them. "Find anything interesting yet?"
"Hi Vesna!" Lorin chirped as he drifted closer to the rusalka, one hand gripping the strap of his overlarge tote. "I saw a bear. Not a real bear but a wood one." The other fell at his side in an excited flap. "D'you wanna see?" He was partially excited to show her his latest discovery, but also eager to divulge his plan out of earshot - it would be no good if he ruined the surprise.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:41 pm
Surprise!!!mid-September 2016
Claire and Lorin visit Nell, and meet a surprise arrival in the form of Nell's newly-born Raevan, Dair.Surprise!!! Nell's call had been a very pleasant surprise. Claire had reflected curiosly on the woman she had met at the New Year's Eve party and fought with (and against) in the Great Snowball War. With the arrival of Lorin, time seemed to quickly slip away, and before she knew it, fall had arrived. Lorin had been in their home for half a year, a fact she reflected on to Nell during her phone call. It was strange, but a good strange.
The trip to Nell's apartment had not taken very long and Lorin wiggled excitedly in his seat. He has asked a million questions on the short drive ("Where did you meet her, Mama?", "Is she real nice?", "When's her Raevan coming?"), all of which she had deflected with a smile as she laughingly suggested, "Why don't you ask her when we get there?", to which he merely puffed out his cheeks. She was thankful that he was getting used to meeting new faces and was still so enthusiastic, although as they pulled up out front, some of his wiggling waned and he looked up at the apartment building with a note of apprehension. Her heart went out to him.
"C'mon, baby boy, why don't you give her the plant we gave her?" The suggestion seemed to chase away some of his nerves and he scooped up the plant in his small hands. It was an air plant that had budded off from its mother, whom she had received at the Anniversary Tea the previous summer, the planter dressed up with a yellow ribbon. As they approached the door and Claire knocked, Lorin's fingers flexed on the planter nervously, gripping it more protectively when Nell called through the door in answer. She placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but soon enough the door opened to a familiar face, pitcher of lemonade in hand and sporting a very different hair style than she had seen close to a year ago.
"Hi Nell, good to see you!" Claire greeted, smile wide. "I love your hair!" Lorin shuffled at Claire's side, arms tight around the pot. "Thank you for inviting us." Her hand still rested on Lorin's shoulder and she gave him a soft nudge. "Lorin honey, this is Nell. She's another guardian with the Lab." Between the leaves of the air plant, Lorin's amber eyes watched Nell with curiosity.
"Hi," he said, nervous at first, but his gaze dropped to the planter in his arms and he held it up. A smile lit his face knowing he had something to offer. "We brought 'cha a plant!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:43 pm
So Long Junelate September 2016
Aaron heads out to help Henry when his life plans get severely derailed.So Long June Aaron had not been up to much since getting home from work. For once, he didn't have paperwork coming home with him (which happened on occasion, but was becoming a rarer occurrence with his father slowly passing much of his work onto him), and instead had come home to a light, easy dinner and an excited young Frei at the knee. He and Lorin had been coloring together in his new Star Wars coloring book (the boy had spotted it while he and Claire were out shopping), Darth Vader looking attractive in a shade of bright blue, when Aaron's phone buzzed. He picked it up from the coffee table - face lightening in surprise as he had half expected a text from his father, listing off another to-do for his next work day. Thankfully, it was a much happier sight.He glanced down at Lorin, hovering blearily next to him - bedtime was fast approaching. There was no reason why he couldn't head out, so it didn't take much time for him to shoot back: Sure, where at?
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:45 pm
A Toast To ChangeOctober 1, 2016
With much excitement, the Holmes clan heads to Durem to welcome the newest member of the Argyris household, Shoshana.A Toast To Change Once Aaron had sent the text off, all other plans fell smoothly into place. Claire and Lorin were both, predictably, beside themselves with happiness for the Argyris clan, and very eager to meet the new addition. Claire had even giggled as they piled into the car, desserts tucked into the backseat with Lorin, as she remarked to Aaron, "Poor Phoenix, going to have his hands full with two daughters, isn't he?"
The trip, at its usual couple of hours (thanks to weekend traffic), was fairly uneventful, punctuated by occasional excited questions from Lorin: "What's their house look like?" "Is Shoshana little or big?" "What kinda games can we play?" Thoughtful pauses as he looked out the window, musing in anticipation about what he would encounter, filled the spaces between his questions, but each one brought a smile (and sometimes a laugh) to both parents. At last, barring directions from Claire's GPS, Aaron leaned forward to confirm that the apartment building was the correct one, whistling.
"Nice digs," he said, sliding into the parking lot. Lorin keeled to the side to get a better look through the window and only caught a glimpse of the building as they drove by. Aaron found a spot for guest parking quickly enough and the family disembarked, Claire's arms burdened with the desserts. Lorin felt the same flutter of nerves that he usually did upon meeting new company, and he lingered for a moment at the back of the pack. As he got a look around, he saw that Zoe's prior description of their apartment was correct. He had never seen so many tall buildings around them, even when they were in downtown Gambino, and there was not a lot of plant life, outside of the occasional decorative hedges here and there. He hustled to hang onto the back of Aaron and Claire as they headed upwards, looking for the number of the apartment that Phoenix had given them.
"Here we are," Aaron said at last as the family paused in front of the door. While everything about Durem seemed so different than what he was used to, Lorin remembered something else that Zoe had mentioned to him.
"Mama, Papa," he gasped, "Can we play with lizards?" The joy in his eyes and the curious smile on his face drew the gazes of both his parents, and they burst into a quiet peal of laughter. He had never seen a lizard up close before, and in his anticipation while both Claire and Aaron were distracted, Lorin knocked on the door, bouncing excitedly.
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