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 Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:18 pm
Lisa
The Royal Chambers, Miirks, Guaxa
Monday, April 3rd, 2006 | 2:41pm GuST
Today was a good day. There was no ghastly pain, none of the strange twitching in her limbs that made it impossible to meet with the public, let alone actually govern. Governing. That was a joke. She had been queen in name only for months now and everyone knew it, even the Peasants. People close to her told her that wasn't true, that most of the public didn't even know she was ill. She didn't believe them. They probably should have let her die. Lisa sighed.
"What is it?" Quin said, pushing aside the diaphanous fabric pinned up around her chair. It was an old-fashioned way to keep the bugs out, but that didn't make it any less effective. He looked truly worried, like there was anything he could do to bring her out of this foul mood.
"There's no pain," she assured. "Ignore me." She often wondered if he had developed a crush on her these last few months. A crush on a comatose woman would have been right up Quin's alley if what she had heard about his ex-wife was true. Morbid. Gossipy. Of course, she had been quite something before the illness struck. Very beautiful and selfless. Humble too. Things changed. Quin nodded, a sharp snap of his head, and a soft breeze fluttered the fabric closed.
***
She awoke to the hiss of a quiet argument. Why did they have to do that in here?
"What do you mean grown up?"
"I mean... grown up! Almost as tall as I am, Nan."
"That's impossible."
"It's Gaia. You're the one that supposedly researched the place. Maybe you missed the part about the airborne growth hormones."
"He was born from a book," Lisa interrupted. She heard Quin's sharp intake of breath and Nan's chuckle before dark hands pinned back the fabric once more. Her chair was turned to face the room's interior. Thoughtful Nan. "Anything is possible when you've been born from a book. You told me every other person in there is a kitsune," she continued. "When was the last time you saw a kitsune in Guaxa?" She folded her hands. "If the boy wants to grow overnight, he'll grow overnight and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
"I should have suspected as much with all the extra donors that have been coming through. You're right, we should be thanking him."
"I never said that."
Quin lowered his eyes.
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:19 pm
Sylvester
Smerdle's House, Outside Aekea, Gaia
Thursday, April 27th, 2006 | 11:03am GST
The cake was huge and lopsided, dripping icing like cakes do when they're frosted hot. Sylvester inhaled, made a wish, and blew out the candles. Brownie swiped her knuckles across the gooeyness near the tray the cake was sitting on and skittered away before Mama could say anything. The little brat was getting good at being quick.
"It's nice," he said. He actually wanted presents, but cake was good too. Sylvester picked up the knife near his left hand and sliced into the S.
"Not as nice as a present," Smerdle said. He wasn't creeped out. It was kind of obvious what he was expecting. "I have another stuffed animal for you, but I'm going to keep it since you're a giant freak now." She smiled, a bit of sadness clouding her likely intent. "I'll give you some money instead," she added.
He cut a piece of cake for her and they ate in silence.
"Can I go now?"
"Mmm hmm."
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:20 pm
Nan
The Palace, Miirks, Guaxa
Monday, May 8, 2006 | 1:55am GuST
It had been a mistake to assume that this day would continue to be as quiet as it had been until now. One might say nothing had really happened, but any visit from Sylvester, no matter how brief, stirred up her guilt.
Nan had spent a relaxing morning reading, but had just decided it was time to write an official complaint to castle maintenance about the leak in her roof. Her room was in one of the towers, unlike Quin's which was located as close to the queen's as humanly possible, so a leak was quite detrimental.
She had just sat down when her closet door whooshed open, blowing her fancy stationery to the floor.
"I found you." It was the boy, but looking at him, Nan wasn't sure that was the right word for him anymore. Quin had said as much, but it was different seeing it for herself. She stood and stepped around her desk, a hand on it to steady herself until she could take Sylvester's arm. He was still all doe-eyed and fuzzy, although he really was quite a bit larger than she was now. She pet at his arm and he pulled back slightly before rolling his eyes and letting her.
"That portal's always open. I can't close it," she said with a smile.
"Well, that's stupid. One of my friends saw it a couple of months ago. She could've gone through by accident and ended up in this shithole."
"Watch your language."
"I want to know where the other one is. The portal in my yard. I want to come here whenever I feel like it, and I don't want to have to get all the way to Barton to do it." Nan briefly wondered if he was this grumpy to everyone now, but quickly wrote it off as preteen angst.
"That one's Quin's. Science stuff," she said. "I'll call him up here and you can ask him how he does it."
He led her back around the desk to her chair and she sat.
"Quin's seen me, right?"
Nan nodded. She knew what he meant. Since this change.
"Then no. I'll take the long way. Just keep your closet clean." He looked down at his feet and raised his hand briefly, fingers spread in a wave. "Uh... bye."
And then he was gone again.
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:21 pm
Quin
The Palace, Miirks, Guaxa
Friday, May 12, 2006 | 7:14pm GuST
Smitten.
Quin hated that word with every molecule in his body and every fiber of his being. Nan told him that's what he was, smitten with Lisa, and it made him sick. He had been smitten with her too, and look where it had gotten him. He was not in love with the queen. There was no way he could be. He would not allow it.
He pushed open the door to his room, freezing and falling back a step when he noticed someone sitting on his bed. A petite golden-haired girl stared back, tousled ringlets falling across her heart-shaped face, almost as if she had positioned each one for maximum effect. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with the glare of the cynically disappointed. She had his eyes, but everything else was her mother's. Those eyes had made her a bit easier to look at after the divorce, but ultimately not easy enough. Quin had sent her away, but it seemed now that she had returned.
"Don't have a heart attack, Dad."
Raquel Pellas had graduated from boarding school and was sitting in his room.
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:22 pm
Sylvester and Khalindra
The Mall Barton Town, Gaia
The day had started off sunny, like so many days this time of year, but after lunch the skies had creaked open stubbornly and coughed out a fine mist. It wasn't much, but you wouldn't know it from watching the people of Gaia skitter from the mall's glass doors to the parking garage, mumbling and holding their purchases over their heads to protect their fancy hair.
Sylvester sat off to the side of the door, where the smokers would have been if the mist hadn't descended. Beads of water had collected on his fur, making him look fuzzy and well... wet. It wasn't so bad. Watching people was fun, and if he watched them here he didn't have to lie to Smerdle about where he'd been. The mall was a perfectly respectible place for someone his age to be. A normal place.
A teenage girl stared as her boyfriend dragged her along behind him. Sylvester mustered up the scariest smile he could and she turned away. Amateur.
"Khalindra," came a patient voice, "We have to get the rest of the things for your room and maybe we can get something for Armel. Wouldn't you like to get your friend a present?"
Aiden was looking rather tired, his hair messy and uncombed, and one of those looks on his face that said he'd been far too patient already and it was running low. Not only had Khalindra decided she didn't want to sleep that night, she had decided that she wanted to sleep all day.
Unfortunately, he had things to do. Like study. And work. Because work was good.
Khalindra was clinging to his hand, looking incredibly stubborn, "But it's DAY time out and..." she sighed. It hadn't been as bad as the previous day. The sun had been bright and it had hurt. Now that it was overcast, however, it wasn't that bad. She could deal with it. If she wanted to.
Unfortunately for Aiden, the star princess really didn't want to.
"Day or not, you need to be up. Night is the time for sleep."
"To each there own," she muttered, peering around the mall with those star-lighted eyes. It was then that they landed on Sylvester. He looked interesting enough!
If she couldn't sleep, she may as well amuse herself. Breaking away from her father, Khalindra made her way over to him, ignoring the cry of alarm Aiden sent after her.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully.
Sylvester turned from the nosy teenager just in time to see a little sparkling blob gracefully bounding toward him. He reached up and wiped off his glasses with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Hey," he replied. "What's up?" He looked up and saw Aiden's exhausted and slightly frantic expression, silently hoping he wasn't about to be accused of some form of kidnapping. "Is that your dad?"
Khalindra looked back towards Aiden and nodded her head, "Uh huh," she beamed over at him, hoping to calm the man down. He did, but only slightly, and wandered to go sit beside the fountain. His eyes never left her.
She sighed, "My author," she muttered softly, crankiness flaring at the way she was being watched. Her small face lifted to look at the boy once more, tilting her head, "He made me wake up n...I was tired n...Mmph," Her lower lip jutted outward as her hand lifted, "I'm Khali! Who're you?"
"Author? I've got one of those." He raised his own hand, unsure whether he should shake her hand or make some other sort of gesture. He'd met Tales that liked different forms of greeting, and she was certainly a Tale. "I'm Sylvester."
Khalindra's hand hung there, waiting for the other to take her hand and kiss it like those handsome princes did in the movie that Aiden had taken her to see. She was now convinced she was a princess.
"Oh! So you're like me?" she asked, canting her head and praying he'd take her hand sometime soon. Her arm was getting tired, "Came from the big book?"
"Yeah. In the Stationery Store," he said. He looked at her hand. What could she possibly want him to do with it? Placing his fingers against her palm, he bounced her hand against his a bit before something struck him.
The Godfather.
She wanted him to kiss the ring! Maybe the Tome had spit out the first Girl Pope! He smiled, suddenly grateful, and bent over, touching his lips lightly to the back of her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Her silver eyes sparkled and, taking her cue, Khalindra bobbed in a light courtsey, letting her hand fall gracefully down to her side. Still, a smile was plastered on her lips. Maybe the day time WASN'T so bad. You know, besides the horrid burning the sun did to her pale flesh.
She, at least, met really nice people.
"A pleasure, Sylvester," she said politely, her golden hair bouncing as she lifted her head to look at him again, sliding from the courtsey with ease, "I've only met you and Armel. Are there any girls?"
Well, that was different. He might have been embarrassed if he hadn't been so relieved. Living through one more unorthodox introduction was quite an accomplishment. "Oh yeah, lots of girls! I've met mostly girls, actually." If she'd only met Armel... "When did you... hm... when were you born?"
"On Mother's Day," Khali answered promptly, brushing some of her golden blonde hair from her face, "Everything's so new," she beamed a little bit, then winced ever so slightly as a shaft of sunlight made it's way from the clouds and touched her skin.
Pain. Mentally, Khali made a note to ask her father for some kind of cloak to keep the sun's heat from her sensitive skin.
"And...The sun REALLY hurts."
"I remember when I first got here. I couldn't talk as well as you though. It was fun." He noticed her pained expression. "It still is. Do you want to go inside? I'm supposed to be buying something for someone. A girl. Maybe you could help me find something she'd like."
She nodded her head a little bit, "I don't know why I can," she said softly, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. The material of her dress fluttered slightly around her. It did look a bit fancy for an outing to the mall, but she had insisted upon wearing it.
"And..I'll help you," she decided, breathing deeply, "DADDDY!"
Aiden jumped slightly, "What?!"
"I'm goin' with Sylvester, okay?" she smiled charmingly when Aiden was about to protest...Which caused the man to melt and nod his head.
"You take good care of her, you hear me, boy?" doing his best to put on the protective father routine he really was NOT used to giving.
Khalindra simply latched onto Sylvester's hand, "He will!" she chirped.
Too trusting, she was.
Sylvester nodded at Aiden. He had never been that kid before. The one that had the potential to cause trouble. Being old was turning out to be interesting.
He led Khali inside, bypassing a smelly candle store. Chai's mother might have been weird enough to let her play with fire, but he doubted it. He ran his free hand over his hair, smoothing the remaining droplets through. "So, what's fun in here?"
"I dunno," Khali said softly, following him with a small skip every now and then, "Never been here before. Daddy took me to a different place yesterday to get stuff for my new room."
Peeking around, "Who's the girl? What's she like?" she asked, silver eyes keeping an eye out for something that may appeal to her. If it appealed to her, it may appeal to the girl too, "Does she like books?"
She adored them, even if she couldn't read yet.
"Her name's Chai. Chailyn. I think it'd make her happy if I got her something, since she likes getting stuff for other people." He also kind of wanted to get her a present before she gave him one. She had helped him out when he needed it, and he wanted to show her he was grateful. "She might like books." Sylvester didn't really know either. He knew she liked her pets, but he couldn't really buy her an animal. A stuffed one maybe. Even he liked those. But only as a last resort.
"There," Sylvester said, pointing to the bookstore. Thankfully it was nearby, since he really hadn't wanted to read the map at the information stand.
Khalindra made her way into the book store, stopping short the moment she entered. Her silver eyes went wide at the rows and rows of books and the pure scent of knowledge that permiated the room.
"Wow..." she breathed softly, squeezing at her new friend's hand lightly since she was still latched on, "It's...."
It was like...She had stepped into a candy store. Only the candy would stimulate more than cavities in her mouth.
Okay. Bad analogy, but she really couldn't think of anything else to describe it.
Sylvester grinned. She really liked this stuff, didn't she? He spotted some colorful, quilty-looking sketchpads nearby. Did Chai like to draw? Again, he didn't know. Maybe Fiction was the best place to start. "Over here," he said, leading Khali past all the books with boring old men on their covers. He could read a few of the words next to the old men, and they were just as boring. He slowed down near a short table strewn with picture books, but truly came to a stop a few steps later in front of a shelf where the covers still had fun pictures, but the books themselves were a little thicker.
"These look better than those," he said, glancing back at the nonfiction shelves. "But we can go back if you want." From the look on her face a few minutes ago, the sparkly little girl might love any book, regardless of boredom factor.
Khali let herself be dragged through the book store, her face the epitome of pure joy, "I can't read," she stated, voice rather gloomy at the idea of being unable to read the wonderful contents, "But I want to learn. Armel said he may help me, but Iunno," she shrugged her shoulders, one of her small fingers reaching up to touch at one of the book's covers, tracing over the pictures.
Pulling one of the books from the shelf, she plopped herself straight on the floor and opened it up, squinting at the small print, "It doesn't make any sense."
Her face mirrored a perfect pout, "I guess I won't be much help."
"That's okay. I don't read so good either," Sylvester admitted. He really saw no reason to learn, since he had known how to read and write in the language of another dimension since he'd been born, but his mother thought it was important, so he was learning. He sat beside Khalindra, flicking his tail out of the way so he wouldn't inadvertantly injure himself, and grabbed another book. It had a girl with wings on the cover. Nah. Chai didn't have wings, and neither did Khali. He put it in his lap and reached for another one. The Corpse King. Well, he could read the title, but he doubted any little girl would like it as much as he would. He pulled another book off of the shelf. A pretty teenager stared back at him, her insanely long, rose-petal-decorated hair gathered in her arms. Her expression was serene and she appeared to be standing in a tower. She had probably been left up there for giant food or something. Sylvester started to set this book in his lap too when it struck him... girls had hair. Hair with clips and things! Nearly all the girls he'd met liked hair and this book girl had a ton.
"Does this one look good?" he asked, holding it up so Khali could see.
Khali craned her head to look at the book, tearing herself away from the colorful book in her lap long enough to take in the photo on the front. A smile touched her lips and she nodded, "Uh huh, it looks good."
She closed the book in her lap and reached out to touch the picture. It seemed she liked to do that, for what reason, she didn't know.
"I'd sure like to read it, so maybe that girl will."
Khali knew nothing about her, so all she could do was offer her own opinion on it. And hey, if she didn't like it? She'd gladly take it off her hands!
...Royal privilage and all that good stuff.
Well, that was good enough for Sylvester. "Do you want anything?" It seemed like the thing to do, to thank her for helping him and all. He just hoped she didn't choose something too expensive. He didn't have that much on him.
Her? Get a gift? That would be wonderful! Usually, she had very expensive taste. She'd already had her father blow a few hundred dollars in a few days in gifts and her room. But this was a book store!
...And they were all so shiny!
"S..sure," she said, giving a smile to the boy, "Maybe this book?" she held up the book in her lap. It wasn't very expensive, the sticker read "$3.95" and it was shiny.
And colorful.
And Khali looked absolutely over the moon.
What's that? Sylvester had managed to survive Uncomfortable Little Girl Moment number two! "That's an excellent choice." See, he could play Pope as well as the next guy! He reached out a hand to take the book from her so he could pay, hoping that it wasn't questionable material. Her father would have a good reason to hurt him then, better than 'he's a giant kidnapping plushie' anyway. It looked all right. Shininess and color usually indicated nice things, and they were in the kids' section after all.
He got to his feet, placing the books he wasn't going to buy back on the shelf carefully, but not in their original order. Now where was the cash register?
Khalindra beamed, "Thank you!" she chirped, excitement bubbling up and spilling over onto the child's features. Someone, other than her father, was actually buying her something and that was amazing to her. It was one thing when someone was obligated...
Khali reached up, pulling the 2nd barrette in two days from her hair, and offered it to him. The silver setting around what appeared to be a small sapphire gleamed in the light, "For you," she said, shyness suddenly overcoming her.
She was giving up yet another precious shiny.
Sylvester took the barrette, turning it over in his fingers. It was really quite lovely, and he hadn't had to steal it or anything. He wouldn't have had the nerve to take something so nice. He put it in his pocket and offered the little Tale a hand up. "Thanks Khali."
Well, it was official. He didn't have it in him to be mean to his fellow Tales. He sighed, but there was still a smile on his face. "I should probably get going. After I pay for these, I mean."
"You're welcome!"
The princess took his hand gratefully and allowed him to help herself up, one of her hand smoothing out the wrinkles in her blue dress. She was glad that he liked the barrette since she knew when her father found out she was handing them out like candy he'd be rather upset. They weren't CHEAP by any means.
But appearently Alex was a big successful doctor and could afford it, right? She could always get more! Besides, she had like 20 of them!
At the boy's words she nodded her head, "Me too. Daddy wants to drag me to get more stuff for my room..." she smiled sweetly at him as she started to lead him toward the cash register.
Sylvester let himself be led, finally dropping Khali's hand as they reached the register.
The cashier rang up the books before bagging them and croaking, "Ten seventy-seven, please." Sylvester handed over the money, pocketed his receipt, and turned back to Khalindra.
"Do you want me to carry this for you?" he asked, indicating the bag wrapped around his wrist. He held out his other hand in case she wanted to take it again.
Khalindra took his hand again and nodded, blonde curls bouncing happily at the fact she got a present and a new friend. In the middle of the day time, no less. Oh yes, she was over the moon still.
In fact, her silver eyes had started to glow slightly. Creepy.
"Sure!" she chirped, giving his hand a squeeze.
He led them out of the store, looking down at Khali out of the corner of his eye. That was just weird. She looked like one of those haunted dolls people sold on eBay. A little possessed floating Pope doll. Cute, but weird. He tried his best to keep to one side of her in case she started spouting lasers or something. "So, this was fun. Maybe we'll see each other again soon." He hadn't had much luck with that in the past, meeting a Tale more than once, but now that he could wander practically whereever he wanted, who could say who he would run into?
Up ahead, the doors to the outside loomed.
"Yes, it was," she agreed as they reached the doors where he Author was frantically pacing back and forth in front of the fountain. She giggled softly, "Looks like daddy's a bit nervous..."
Had she known what Sylvester was thinking about her, she probably would have wilted. But eh, she didn't, so it was all good. Once she was back out in the sunlight, however, she'd probably go back to being cranky.
"I'd like to see you again," she beamed, tilting her head to the side, "I like making new friends..."
Aiden went and scooped her up, "I hope you had fun and all, but I don't like you going off on yourself," he scolded, nuzzling into her. Khalindra looked less than thrilled.
"Sylvester bought me a book!"
"Oh? Well, thank you, Sylvester."
Khali beamed down at her new friend.
"It was nothing," Sylvester said. "Khali was cool enough to help me out with something, and I had some extra money." He unwound the bag from where he had been twitchily spinning it as they walked. "Here you go." He held it up to her, smiling back. The eye thing might have caught him off-guard, but who was he to judge, looking the way he did.
"Nice to meet you," he said to Aiden, waving goodbye to his newest friend at the same time.
Khali took it and held it to her chest, silver eyes glittering happily, "Nice to meet you too!"
Aiden smiled a bit and shook his head, "Come on, Khali, let's get you some stuff for the room, hmm?"
The child nodded her head and yawned, clinging to the book still, "Okay. But you carry me..." a pause as she watched Sylvester leave.
"Byeeee!!!!"
Sylvester turned and waved again before heading off to the bus stop.
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 11:24 pm
Smerdle
Smerdle's House, Outside Aekea, Gaia
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 | 1:26pm GST
"BROWNIE FREDRICKS!"
Full names were supposed to work in situations like this. Maybe they did when the children invloved weren't insane. Smerdle caught a flash of red and white at the top of the stairs, and she followed. How the hell did that kid get so quick?
"How many times have I told you not to leave these stupid things lying around?" Smerdle edged away from the landing, visions of being pushed down the stairs running through her head. She shook out the handful of jacks and dice onto the carpeting on the top step. "See how much you like it," Smerdle muttered. She crossed the hall to the toddler's open door. Nah, she wouldn't hide in her own room. As if to confirm her assessment, a sudden crash erupted from Sylvester's room across the hall.
Smerdle smiled. Brownie might have been quick, but she certainly wasn't stealthy. Yet.
"I know you're in here," Smerdle said. Sylvester's door was open too, and Smerdle knew from her experiences over the last couple of weeks that he never left it that way anymore if he could help it. She should have noticed.
"Come out now," Smerdle said, stepping into her son's room. Brownie was already out, squatting in the middle of the room examining the box that had presumably caused the crash. The little girl turned and held up a belt buckle larger than her hand, decorated with a giant skull. She grinned.
"Don't touch your cousin's things," Smerdle reprimanded. But wait. What was that? "Okay, I'm going to touch them, but that doesn't mean you should. Understand?" Brownie shook her head and continued to grin.
"Fine." Smerdle kneeled next to Brownie and began sifting through the spilled trinkets, placing each dubious treasure back in the shoebox as she finished with it. "Was it up here?" she asked. In a moment of helpfulness, Brownie nodded. Smerdle shoved the box's lid back on and put it on the little rolling shelf Brownie had indicated. "Come on," Smerdle said, scooping the toddler up on her way past.
"I'm going to have to have a talk with him," Smerdle said to the smirking girl in her arms. She had a vague idea as to where the box of... accessories had come from, but she didn't want to go accusing Sylvester just yet. Maybe the talk could wait. "Don't think that means you're not getting a talk either," she continued. Brownie's smile faded. "You can't just... OW! ******** JACKS!"
Smerdle had somehow forgotten to remember her own booby trap. She felt Brownie shaking in her arms before the Shattered let out the loudest guffaw Smerdle had ever heard. Very funny.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:47 pm
Sylvester
Smerdle's House, Outside Aekea, Gaia
Monday, June 12th, 2006 | 4:16pm GST
When you spend nearly all of your time watching movies, you see a lot of coming of age stories. Even the ones that aren't labeled 'coming-of-age stories' have someone coming of age in them. When you live your life by the movies, you expect certain things to happen when you come of age. Experiences with girls. (Ew.) Some sort of mentor. (Mr. Miyagi might have been cool.) An epic quest. (Killing a certain stupid cousin.)
People in the movies didn't grow up overnight without some sort of montage, some sort of cross-dissolve to let people know that this was the same person deep down inside, even though in the blink of an eye they had morphed from Liam Aiken to Jason Isaacs. Sylvester knew he was the same in theory. He looked the same, he often acted the same, but he wasn't really the same. Deep down he was angry. All these liars with their smiling faces and their rotten intentions made him angry.
He had been angry before, but that anger had always been soothed by candy or a new toy. Sylvester was afraid of what calmed him now. Hugging a sock monkey and licking the tangy, bleeding cheek of a bar fight victim were hardly the same thing. They were never conscious once he started, and early on he had felt compelled to collect worthless trophies from these equally worthless saps. It was all so easy. Every time he added to the smattering of buttons and bottlecaps or the careful bundles of shoelaces and belt buckles, he felt better about himself. He also managed to feel like s**t, but that was neither here nor there. The good outweighed the bad, at least for now.
Despite any hesitation, he had to keep going. For Lisa. Stupid b***h.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:49 pm
Sylvester
Smerdle's House, Outside Aekea, Gaia
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 | 9:16am GST
Sylvester twisted the silver and sapphire ring encircling his thumb. It was a shame really. A shame that he had been afraid to display what he had rightfully stolen until now. Something had been different for a while now, something that made him feel dead inside. Cold too. It certainly wasn't going to matter much if he was yelled at on top of it. He sat down at the kitchen table. The ring brought him a little warmth every time he looked at it.
"Where did you get that?" Smerdle hurried over and grabbed his wrist, bringing it up closer to her face.
"Bought it."
"With what money?"
Well, that ended quickly. Sylvester looked down at his knees as the warmth fled. All right, so maybe being scolded was still not a fun way to spend a Saturday morning, no matter how shitty he felt.
"You stole it, didn't you? I knew I should have said something sooner." She dropped his hand. "That box in your room..."
"That was you?" He jabbed a finger at his cousin. "She said it was her!" Brownie smiled, Froot Loops running out of her mouth and down her face. "How dare you!" He pushed his hair out of his eyes and glared at his mother. This whole thing was like some bad TV movie, but Sylvester found he didn't care. If it had been possible, he would have felt even colder.
Smerdle stayed quiet for an unbearably long time. Brownie crunched. "I know I didn't teach you any better, but I thought you knew it was wrong to take things from people." She wasn't yelling. It made him feel worse.
"You don't understand."
"No, I suppose I don't."
Sylvester looked back down at his hand and turned the ring again. He deserved so much more for being used like this. "I won't do it anymore," he muttered.
"I doubt I could stop you." She started to clean up, bringing Brownie a handful of paper towels and taking the toddler's bowl to the sink. "Can I ask you something?"
He nodded.
"How do you take belt buckles from people without them noticing?"
He actually smiled, if only briefly. "I know you said you'd try and help me and stuff, but I'm really not going to tell you." The snowglobes were long gone, and that's where they were going to stay, at least for today.
Brownie stood up on her chair and leaned forward across the table. She motioned to him to lean over and he obliged.
"My skull," she whispered, confirming she had been in the box too. Did he have any privacy at all?
"Sure," he said. "You can have it." She nodded and sat back down.
He sighed. "Ma?"
"Mmm hmm?" She didn't look up. Sylvester shuddered.
"Can we go to the mall? I promise I won't ask to buy anything."
Smerdle turned and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you take Brownie upstairs and get her some other clothes. Those are thoroughly Froot Looped." There was a knowingly playful tone in her voice, but Sylvester didn't turn around to see her smile. It was enough to be forgiven, at least for now.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:32 pm
Interlude
In the month or so following Sylvester's 'descent into darkness,' as Smerdle liked to call it, the Tale had come to feel pretty good about himself, for the first time since his bizarre, but expected, growth spurt. He laughed, he watched TV, he played with his cousin, and most importantly, he didn't steal things from people.
Everything was running smoothly, until the day he decided he missed his friends. What was going on with Ono and Rhea and Khali and Nalira? Sylvester began making daily trips to the Stationery Store, hoping he might run into another Tale. It was either bad luck or fate that kept them away.
He had pretty much given up trying to arrange random encounters with people he knew, choosing instead to let the encounters truly become random by not seeking them out. A couple of days later he ran into Elana.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:34 pm
Sylvester and Elana
A Park Barton Town, Gaia
On any other day, a giraffe kid wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt, patchwork shorts, and sporting a mass of headscarves that would make Steven Tyler bow in defeat might have been looked upon with more than a passing glance. Thankfully, today was Haljafimous Day, a Gaian holiday as little-known as it was hard to pronounce, so Sylvester fit right in.
He strolled down the street, a few blocks from the Stationery Store, grinning at the other people dressed as garishly as he, and throwing friendly waves at the poor individuals who hadn't a clue today was a holiday at all. Most of those folks simply looked stunned, mouths hanging open at the affront to color theory exploding before their eyes.
Turning his pocket inside out, the Tale found just enough change for some cotton candy, and, what was sure to be his outfit's piece de resistance, a hair wrap. He smiled and made a beeline for the snack cart, joining the lengthening line in a matter of moments.
Elana strolled down the street in a plain white dress that reaches her knees, and a pair of matching sneakers. She couldn't help but stare at the handful of people who had dressed so... Colorfully. Was she missing out on something? She felt weird for wearing something so plain.
Trying to shrug that thought away, she walked in the general direction of the Stationary Store. She was told that it was only a few blocks away, but she wasn't sure that she was on the right track. What if she had taken a wrong turn back at the road junction?
The female frowned at this, pausing to look around. The surroundings were familiar, and... Was that a Tale in the queue in front of the snack cart? She could feel it in her that he was, as she approached him cautiously, her eyes filled with curiosity. He was dressed weirdly, and she wondered if he was friendly.
Sylvester had reached the vendor and was just about to give his order when he noticed a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. It was more than a flash, really. When he turned to look, the little girl was nearly blinding. So much white! In the sun! He smiled shakily and turned back to the Cotton Candy Man.
"One please," he said.
"Seventy-five cents, kid."
Sylvester handed over the change.
"How's 'bout one for your friend?" the man said. "On the house." He grinned and handed over another bushel of pink sugar.
"Sure," Sylvester said, shrugging at Elana. Hey, free food, right? "Thanks," he said to the vendor as he turned from the cart and handed Elana her cotton candy. She certainly did look familiar. "Do I know you from somewhere?" It might have sounded a bit rude, but he had never been very good at identifying other Tales.
Elana opened her mouth, but closed it again as quickly as she had opened it. She nodded silently instead, and replied softly, "I think that... We've met in the Stationary Store before. It was only once though, and had been quite a while ago..."
She nodded again, placing her arms behind her as she paused for a moment. That weird, yet refreshing feeling was back again... It was rejunivating her, giving her energy. But yet, she felt somewhat guilty.
"I'm Elana," She introduced with a smile, stretching out a pale hand to the other Tale. "You are?"
"Sylvester," he said happily. So she was a Tale! He reached out his hand to shake hers, and for a moment he could have sworn a cloud crossed in front of the sun. Sylvester did remember this girl and her twin after all, and the strange visions he'd had that day. But it certainly wasn't her fault that he suddenly felt the tiniest chill across his skin, despite the heat. She had nothing to do with it! Right?
He smiled. "Yeah. You've got a brother, right?" Sylvester looked around, like Ayden was going to pop out from behind a tree somewhere. "Is he here?"
Elana shook her head, her eyes suddenly filled with a hint of sadness at the mention of her brother. Yes, where was he? She had missed him so badly nowadays, wishing and hoping that she might find him beside her when she woke up each morning.
"Ayden isn't here," Elana replied with a forced smile, giving Sylvester a firm handshake. Releasing her hand from Sylvester's, she added, "Do you want to find a seat somewhere?"
Sylvester noticed her change in mood and decided not to press the matter.
Instead he pulled some cotton candy off of the bundle he was holding and said, "Sure. I think I saw a bunch of tables and stuff over that way." He pointed with his chin and looked off behind her before dropping his pink, puffy mess into his mouth.
As he chewed, he took off his scarves with a free, but sticky, hand. "I guess you didn't know what today was," he said with a faint smile. "I heard about it on the internet. People have too much free time, I guess."
Elana nodded, and gave a genuine smile as she started to walk in the direction of the seats. She walked slowly, and waited for Sylvester after each step, "Am I missing some sort of a festival? I thought there was nothing on today..."
She blinked, looking around her before her eyes finally landed on the colorful Sylvester. Looking curious, she added, "Many are dressed brightly... And colorfully today. Is is because of the festival?"
"Yeah. I don't really know what they're celebrating. It could be the release of the Lord of the Rings box set for all I know." He was briefly distracted by a herd of what looked like pairs of people in cow costumes. The ones that weren't ducking their heads to the grass and striking other cow-like poses for the nearby cameras were lounging around, cow-heads separated from cow-bodies like jolly cow-zombies. It was kind of disconcerting. "I was just looking for an excuse to get outside and dress up really," he admitted.
He gestured to a bench that was shaded by a droopy, flowering tree, before plopping down himself. "So, how've you been?" He was determined not to ask about that weird vision he still believed she and her brother had caused. There was no need for things to get awkward.
Elana giggled, sitting down beside Sylvester. Sweeping her bangs to a side, she smiled and nodded, "I've been fine, if not... If not a little on the tired side." She decided that it's better not to talk about the nightmares and wounds. As if her brother and herself were not 'popular' enough.
Pausing for a moment, she asked, "So, what about you? How have you been?"
"Tired too," he replied with a small smile. Just when things seemed to be getting back on track, all he wanted to do was sit around and stare off into space. "I can't complain though. My cousin who lives with us finally seems to be over that whole 'being a brat' thing, so that's cool." He was surprised to find that there really wasn't anything all that new going on. Life was actually pretty good.
A strange kid dressed as a clown, complete with white face paint, wobbled past on a unicycle, squirting Sylvester with a perfectly aimed stream of water from his squirting flower.
"Ha HAAAA!" the kid said.
"Great." Sylvester was still smiling, but his neck and shirt were considerably more damp than they had been a few seconds ago.
Elana looked shocked for a moment, her eyes turned rather wide at the sight of a kid dressed as a clown. One could tell that she wasn't used to anyone dressed colorfully, or silly as she sees it, out of the television. What surprised her even more was the unicycle. She can't even ride a bicycle properly, and only half of it seems to be more difficult to balance on.
She paused, turning from the clown back to Sylvester. She took one look at the water on Sylvester and his clothes, and started giggling. Maybe it seemed rather mean, but he looked so funny!
"Sorry," She managed to say in between giggles, "It sure is a good thing that today's a sunny day, right?"
"Yeah," he said, still grinning as he brushed the water off as best as he could. "It feels kind of nice," he lied. Sylvester was actually a bit chilly, and he didn't have the slightest idea why.
"Oh hey!" Sylvester's eyes lit up as he remembered something else he had seen online. This place was supposed to have a costume tent! It was a sneaky way to get people already obsessed with dress-up to spend more than they should on the next big candy-filled, gratuitous holiday - Halloween. "D'you want to go see the costumes?" He wouldn't be upset if she said no... there was always the seasonal section at the mall.
"Really?" Elana asked, raising an eye-brow. She smiled slightly, wondering if he was joking with her, or if he was telling the truth. She pondered over his question, looking at how she was dressed before looking at Sylvester's dressing.
"Well," She begun hesitantly, nodding slowly. "Why not? It could be fun!"
"Nah, not really." He chuckled as he brushed off the last of the water that wasn't soaked into his clothes and stood up.
The costume tent wasn't far once Sylvester asked someone where it was. It was nestled into a short grove of trees, and towered over it, even though it only had one floor. A boy dressed as Yoda huddled near the door. He grabbed Sylvester's leg on the way past and squawked, "Dangerous things inside there are," before pulling a lollipop out of his robes and shoving it into his mouth.
Dangerous? In a costume store? Sylvester shrugged and started to head inside anyway.
Elana stared at the weird boy with the lollipop for a second, wondering if she should giggle or be shocked at the sight. When he had said the word 'dangerous', her eyes widened. She was tempted to ask him what he had meant, but there was no time to do so.
"Hey, Sylvester," She called as she hurried after him, "What did he mean by dangerous inside?"
Elana blinked, hoping that he don't find her question weird. After all, he seemed to be unbothered by it... Maybe there really was nothing to be worried about. She looked around the interior of the tent, as if expecting that 'dangerous' thing to suddenly appear.
The tent's interior was fairly dark, but otherwise looked just like any other costume store in a mall. "I don't know," Sylvester said, shrugging again. "It doesn't look dangerous. Maybe he was just playing around." Taking a cue from Khali about hand-holding, he offered his to Elana, in case she was really nervous, before continuing further inside. He didn't really know what he was looking for, only that it had to be something that didn't make him look like a complete putz.
"Stop if you see anything you like," he added.
Elana took the hand gratefully, and looked around. Joke or no joke, it was better to be safe than sorry. She felt a little better after holding hands, and she took a glance at Sylvester. She knew skin to skin contact was bad for the other Tales...
"I don't know..." She replied, looking around. "I don't see anything that catches my eye... Do you?"
Sylvester winced as Elana's fingers touched his, but with his face turned away, he hoped she didn't notice. It had to be her doing something, but he hung on to her hand anyway. Besides sudden exhaustion, he felt a little scared, and it wasn't because of their surroundings.
"I don't think face paint would work very well on me," he said, remembering his one and only bloody nose. It had taken forever to get all of it all out of his fur, and he supposed paint would be no different. He kept walking past the Scream masks and ghoul outfits, finally stopping when he could no longer take the chill spreading up his arm. He dropped Elana's hand and grinned shakily. They were surrounded by colorful kiddie costumes. "I could be a tree or something. Or a building. Or Pee Wee Herman. I don't think the mask'll fit though. I wonder why the Pee Wee costume even has a mask at all?" He slipped easily into the babbling stream-of-consciousness speech that he had been prone to when he was younger, grateful that he felt even the slightest bit better now.
"I... I think I had better go check out the other costumes," Elana smiled, almost sadly as she took a few steps back from Sylvester. "Colorful costumes and I don't really match, don't you agree? Maybe something that is simpler and less colorful?"
She took another step back, and turned around so that Sylvester was now facing her back. Looking around, she saw a standard 'dead bride' dress, completed with a torn veil, and fake dead roses. Her eyes lit up as she approached the costume.
"I think that I have seen this before." She nodded, "It's... A pretty common costume, right?"
It was true, she didn't match the colorful stuff at all. But the costume she had picked was very fitting. Sylvester smiled again, but the smile was broken by a yawn as he held the back of his hand to his mouth.
"Yeah, but it's still really cool," he said. The dress reminded him of a video he had seen of a bride in a ride called the Haunted Mansion. The bride had waited and waited for her husband-to-be, but he never showed, so she died waiting. Sylvester swallowed. He wondered if Elana even had any money, but didn't ask. His last bits of change had been spent on cotton candy. At least he was calmer now, but no less tired. "Do you want to try it on?" He didn't see any changing rooms, but that didn't mean there weren't any or that she couldn't just put the dress on over her clothes.
"Yes, why not?" She smiled, taking down the costume before walking around the area. She didn't see any changing rooms, but she didn't want to just place it over her dress. It would be very uncomfortable, and if she damage the dress, she would have to pay for it. Her savings were over limited and it would burn a hole in her pocket.
"Maybe I could just try on the accessories instead," She said, placing the dress back. "I wonder if they would allow it to be bought separately... It would be much easier on my savings." Elana turned to look at Sylvester, "Are... Are you okay? You look really tired..."
"I'm fine. Sort of. Just tired. I kinda think I ought to go soon," he said quietly before remembering he was actually talking to someone. "But checking out that stuff shouldn't take that long anyway, right?" Sylvester looked around the area as well, fumbling about until he accidentally brushed a dress aside and revealed a mirror behind it. "Oh, here," he said, holding the fabric aside so Elana could see her reflection.
Elana almost frowned, knowing that she shouldn't go near anyone at this point in time. With top speed, the girl stuck the 'torn' veil over her hair, and twirled in front of the mirror. It was then she saw a piece of paper stuck to the top of the veil. She looked over it, and gave a soft gasp as her eyes widened.
"I think it's better if we leave now," Elana said nervously, putting the veil back onto the rack above the dress. She smiled, looking at the exit, "You said that you needed to leave soon, anyway, right?"
"Yeah," Sylvester said with a smirk. Apparently she had money, just not that much. "I think I'm going to head over to the Stationery Store for a while." It would give him some time to sit down and figure out what the hell was wrong with him.
He started toward the exit. "Do you need to go to a bus or..." He supposed she hadn't arrived by bike and he didn't see any parent-like figure around, so he was kind of at a loss for other modes of transportation.
"It's okay," Elana nodded, following Sylvester, "I'll just walk back since my house is actually quite near here... I promised my mother that I wouldn't stray too far from the house, and that I wouldn't stay out for too long a time. It's about time I head back..."
When she walked out of the exit, she looked around before spotting the way back. It was in a different direction as the way to the stationary store.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around then?" Lately, when parting the company of people he knew Sylvester had been offering a hand to shake, or in the extremely rare case a hug, but he really didn't think willingly touching the other Tale again was something he wanted to do.
Instead, he inclined his head slightly and gave Elana a short goodbye wave, like he used to do when he was younger.
"Sure! I'll see you aound." Elana replied, tuning to walk away from the other tale. After she was some distance away, she raised up a hand and gave a few waves before disappearing into the crowds of people on the main street.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:22 am
Sylvester
The Stationery Store, Barton, Gaia
Sunday, August 20th, 2006 | 5:16pm GST
He left Elana's side and shuffled down the block toward the Stationery Store. Sylvester didn't bother to call out or look around for anyone before continuing into the hall to the back room where he and Rhea had played Hide and Seek all those months ago. He wondered where Rhea was, or if she'd grown too, but his curiosity ended when his head touched the floor and he fell asleep.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:26 am
Daytime was usually a trial for Aiden to deal with when he was with Khalindra. However, the young star child had been calming down or at least trying to surpress her crankiness. Perhaps she was getting used to the harsh rays? He'd been taking her outside enough in the hopes that she'd grow an immunity.
In all honesty, it was probably the little parasol and the long sleeved clothing that she'd taken to wearing. They gave her more shade than she had before. Her dress had changed, though.
Rather than the usual victorian clothing, she had been enthralled by the long, loose skirts and peasant-style tops that she saw in one of the windows when they were shopping sometime in the last week. Abandoning the pretty princess clothing, Khali had begged her father to buy her some of the colorful skirts and a few long sleeved white shirts that were just the slightest bit poofy.
He did, gladly. Those victorian era dresses were expensive and difficult to lace up. So now, the star child was dressed in a long skirt that went down to her ankles and flowed in colors of dark purple and a slightly brighter red. Silver and gold threads were embroidered through it.
And her disposition was a great deal happier. Today, Aiden was being dragged to the stationary shop by a very enthusiastic young child. She had been learning to read and wanted to show off to one of her friends. Anyone! Maybe Angelus was there...or Armel! Or...SYLVESTER! That pretty stuffed animal boy that bought her a book.
"Daddy, daddy come ON please?" She was pleased that Aiden had listened to her and left Emi at the sitters. She couldn't get him to leave Selah, though, and he was currently holding the copper haired child in one arm while being dragged by the other.
"Khalindra, we're there. You don't have to pull me anymore."
The door was pushed open and a very happy looking star child rushed in.
"I'm here!"
Elena was already in the building, sprawled over a couch, looking rather dead. Khali's exuberant cry caused a wince to pass over her face and she sat up slowly, pressing the back of her hand to her head. "Yes, you are," Elena replied, her eyes scrunched closed. "How nice for you," she added in a dry tone her mum would have been proud of. A small chirp chided the girl and Elena opened her eyes, tugging a small dragonish creature off the top of the couch. "I didn't ask for your opinion," she told Hadar, holding onto the Kyuu by it's tail as it spun slowly in the air, wings spread to maintain some semblance of balance. He chirped again and waved a wing at Khali and Aiden.
Elena sighed and looked towards the door; she'd been napping and Khali had woken her up. "Stupid baby sisters who can't sleep all night," she muttered under her breath before she figured out who was at the door. "Ah," she breathed out, nodding her head regally towards the smaller girl, "Hello again Khalindra. And Aiden, yes?" she asked, tilting her head to the side a bit, causing her hair to fall over her shoulder.
Sylvester was in fact "here" as well, but not "here" as in, in the room. He was in one of the back rooms, where he and Rhea had once played Hide and Seek, and he was sleeping. He started awake as the front door's little bell clattered, and sat up quickly, still half asleep. Someone was here.
It took the Tale a couple of minutes to get into a standing position and wander out into the main room, but when he did, he couldn't help but smile. "Hi Khali," he said, holding his hand up to his mouth and yawning. He gave Khali's author a short wave, and nodded to the sparkly, irritable girl on the couch. How long had he been asleep?
" I keep telling you it's not my fault " Tiwaz grumbled sending a crimson glare in her mother's direction. " It was Riycan's idea in the first place all I did was hold the candle and spill the ink." It wasn't fair, Ricyan was the one who'd wanted to see if he could make invisable ink that only came out when you put heat near it. Tiwaz had agreed to help and accidently spilled the ink pot and dropped then candle when the flame had burned her fingers, how was she to know ink was highly flammable.
" I don't care who's fault it was you were both involved and you're both being punished, Riycan has to clean everyhting up and you are buying him a new journal from your allowance " Talon's tone brooked no argument as she lead her daughter towards the stationary store she'd been born in.
Tiwaz strode sullenly into the store muttering under her breath. She stopped short at the sight of the other's, Sylvester in particular, the last time she'd seen him had been when she'd met the horrid twins and that had not been good experience. Warily she moved towards them saying nothing just yet.
Khali's silver eyes blinked at Elena's words, though the smile didn't waver from her face, "Yes, it is nice for me," she chirpped before looking around the shop. Was she the only one there?
If she was, that was okay. The princess had amused her greatly when she had first met her...Even if she did scold her and take her father's side. Of course she realized she had been an undeniable brat, too, so she supposed she deserved that.
"Hello again, Miss Elena."
Aiden shifted the copper haired child on his hip, who was currently wiggling madly with an attempt to get down. She hated being confined to her father's arms. Why couldn't she move? Her little wings fluttered madly and Aiden sighed, setting her on the floor.
"Yes. A pleasure to see you again, Elena."
Khalindra was about to say something else when Sylvester wandered into the room, her smile blooming further, "Sylvester!"
The child took off running, skirts swirling around her legs, and flung herself onto him, hugging his legs. The stuffed animal! He was there! She could show him how she could read and..."I can read!"
"She can read a few words and write a few letters," Aiden corrected, crossing his arms, "She likes to embellish."
Turning her head, Khalindra glared, "I can read," she insisted stubbornly. She didn't notice the new people entering the shop, too busy being involved in the staredown that she had started with her father.
Ah. Well, at least she was remembered. Elena curtsied to Aiden and eyed the child he'd set down on the floor warily. More babies? She couldn't seem to escape them! "It's nice to see you again as well," Elena finally mustered a response in the name of politeness. Another nod at Khali and what? What was going here now? Elena's sleep fogged and deprived brain was having a hard time keeping up with everything going on but it looked like there was...a giraffe? Right, okay, Elena was obviously still asleep.
"That's still...kind of reading?" she offered, trying to forestall any argument and argh! More people! Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why was it whenever she wanted to be alone, people always found her? Offering a weak smile towards Sylvester the not real giraffe because giraffes didn't walk around town, Elena turned to face the door and the new arrivals. "Hi."
Sylvester stumbled a little and grabbed onto the edge of a nearby bookcase as he got a legful of zooming Khali. "Kind of reading, yeah," he agreed. He still couldn't do much more than read and write his name, but he had a sneaking suspicion that if he sat down and looked at it, english wouldn't be terribly different from the one language he already knew. It just seemed like such a waste to sit and read things when there were movies to watch. "That's cool. How'd you learn so fast?" he asked, trying to break up the staredown.
The last time he had seen the strange red-eyed Tale currently sneaking around the door, she had been more than a little pissy. She was scary too, and that was partially the reason he even remembered her name. Tiwaz the Terminator. "Hey Tiwaz," he said, kneeling down to be closer to Khali. The little Tale was the perfect size for a human shield, and Sylvester wasn't afraid to admit it to himself.
" Hello" Tiwaz responded tonelessly to the older girl, nothing else had been spoken to her by the girl and so she offered nothing more in return. Her gaze felt once again to Sylvester and she gave him something between a smile and a smik " Hello Sylvester they aren't around are they? An who's the girl?" she asked nodding towards Khali.
Talon hadn't brought Tiwaz here to socialise but it couldn't hurt to let her do so. Besides, it gave her a chance to judge how her daughter related to those of an older age. At home most of her children were seperated by only a few years, whereas here there were children of all ages for Tiwaz to interact with.
"Fine. SORT of read, but I can still read," she answered, relenting. It wasn't worth an argument, but it was an important accomplishment for her! So she couldn't say otherwise. She looked up at Sylvester and pulled away from him.
"Angelus helped me, and Daddy..." she paused as he knelt closer to her and greeted the new person she hadn't even noticed. The girl turned her golden head and locked her silver eyes on the darker child entering the room.
Hmm.
"He--" she was cut off by the girl's speech and blinked, "Khalindra," she answered, giving her a look that purely said 'You don't know who I am?' and was almost indignant.
"Who are you?"
Yay for not caring about who you're talking to! Elena was all for a little apathy right now, as she was far too tired to be her normal polite and attentive self. Good thing Lance wasn't here, she'd have been mortified if he'd seen her in such a state.
"It's a start," Elena said to Khali as she twitched the skirt of her dress into a semblance of order. Turning to face Tiwaz, Elena straightened and mustered all of her (considerably) royal bearing. "And who would you be?" she asked imperiously, as Hadar unwrapped from around her wrist to escape the extreme cold escaping from her tatoos.
They? Oh right. Probably Elana and her brother. "Nope, not unless they're sleeping somewhere too," he said, voice trailing off as he spoke. These girls were getting a little... icy. He didn't feel the need to give Khali's name again since she had done such a good job of it herself, so he just stayed where he was, crouched on the floor.
" If you had been listening you'd know who I was," Tiwaz responded coldly to the two inquiring girls. It was clear to her that she probably wasn't going to like this older girl, who so obviously thought the world revolved around her. Khalindra she'd tolerate for the time being, she had some of the older girls attitude but gave off no presence than demanded respect.
Ignoring them she smiled at sylvester " Good" was all she said before turning her back to them . After all she was here for a purpose.
"It's only polite to introduce yourself," Khalindra countered, raising a brow at the darker girl. Immediately she decided she didn't like her very much and moved closer to Sylvester, small head nuzzling into him before she whispered loudly, "She's not very nice."
Her head turned to stare at the one she dubbed "Mean Girl" and blinked her silver eyes. Had she been that rude? She was sure she hadn't been but she couldn't be sure. Not with her crankiness often clouding her judgement.
She hoped not.
Sylvester's brows furrowed under his hair. He really didn't feel like breaking up a fight between the girls and was silently grateful when Tiwaz turned her back. "Um, sure," he said to Khali as quietly as he could, hoping that Tiwaz didn't hear. She sure looked focused about something.
"What are you looking for?" he asked Tiwaz, patting Khali on the head. Why did he just ask that? He should have just kept quiet.
"It's redundant to give out information already known" Tiwaz retorted not bothering to face the girl while answering, secretly she wondered how long her mother would let the verbal sparring go on. She was enjoying herself to be sure, it was always fun to argue, even if the other person is really annoying.
" I need to buy my brother a new journal since his was wrecked, even though it's not my fault" Tiwaz said turning her head slighty so she could see the only male tale in the room.
Khali furrowed her eyebrows at Tiwaz's words. What was...Re...done...dant? Curious, Khali leaned up and whispered to Sylvester, "What does Re-done-dant mean?"
Khali was usually not afraid to ask questions, but Tiwaz made her feel slightly uncomfortable for some undescribable reason and...Well, she'd rather not ask her anything that may make herself look stupid.
"She just means she thinks she'd be saying it twice if she told you, since I said hi to her and said her name and then you asked her name again and stuff. No biggie." He sighed and flopped the rest of the way to the floor, gathering his legs under him and stifling another yawn with the back of his hand. Sylvester looked up at Aiden and Talon, suddenly feeling very old. He was never having kids.
Feeling proud at having won that argument, Tiwaz continued her search all the while occasionaly glancing back at the others just in case one of them pulled something sneaky. It annoyed her that so far two of the three times she'd been here she'd found the visit less than pleasant.
"Oh. Well, it's not always bad to repeat things," her silver eyes narrowed in on Tiwaz and she simply shrugged, "She should learn some..." she searched for the word that her father always used with her, "Manners."
Aiden raised a brow. Even if he agreed, he did NOT want to get in the middle of a chick fight.
Even if said chicks were children. Women were scary sometimes.
Elena rocked back on her heels slightly. "Yes, she should," the older girl said softly, a wicked smile cutting across her face. "My dear, I'm sorry I didn't hear your name mentioned earlier. I thought I was still asleep and I try not to pay that much attention to things I think are figments of my imagination," she said to Tiwaz in a honey sweet tone with an apologetic nod towards Sylvester. "Now, would you care to repeat it, or shall I simply make one up for you?" she asked, her hand on her hip and eyes glimmering coldly in the light. The temperature of the room has dropped slightly overall, and significantly around Elena herself. The skin around the tatoos on her wrists looked like they were covered in frost, while the marks themselves were the same bright blue that glaciers were on their deepest levels.
Sylvester had wondered what Elena had been doing, staying so quiet for so long. Apparently, she was bringing out the big guns. He leaned forward onto his knees, glad his Tale shield was still present. "Her name is Tiwaz," he whispered faintly to nobody, the tiniest flicker of anger drowned in Elena's sudden chill. He was reminded of little Elana's handshake... had that only been yesterday? Sylvester didn't want to butt in. He just wanted to sleep.
Frost-covered tattoos were pretty cool though.
Tiwaz shrugged manners meant little to her at this point and would probably continue to mean little until she felt a need for them. " You were able to say hello to me and speak with Khali more than once using more than one or two words, either you were paying attention to what you thought were figments or you're lying, which is it" She asked wondering how the girl would explain her slip up.
She was aware of the temperature drop, particularly in the membranes of her wings were the blood was thinnest. Tucking them to her back where they could rely on her body heat she turned to give Elena her full attention. She was probably in for a fight and having made no allies she was on her own. She wasn't going to make the first move though, oh no she had enough problems as it was without being accused of starting a fight. She just stood there and attempted to lock eyes with Elena to show her she was not intimidated in the slightest.
The cold temperature didn't bother the star child much at all. Truth be told, she barely noticed the temperature change. Khalindra supposed that it was a large advantage to be a star child at the moment.
However, the animosity that seemed to be brewing in the shop was not something she wanted to be stuck in. But she didn't want to leave her friend, either, by requesting to go home.
"...Can we go somewhere else?" she asked quietly to Sylvester. Maybe that play room that Angelus showed her?
"You seem to have misunderstood me. I was asleep when Khalindra first arrived and I woke up then. Then," here Elena furrowed her brow, trying to remember what Khali had called the giraffe boy, "Sylvester showed up and I wasn't entirely sure I wasn't still asleep. Your arrival, however, assured me that I was indeed awake." A pause, for emphasis. "I certainly would never dream up anyone quite so rude as you." Elena met Tiwaz's gaze firmly and after another pause, laughed. "Don't get above yourself dear, you're beyond a certainty not someone I'd lie to. Not worth it," Elena finished dismissively.
"Yeah, I guess... wait, what time is it?" Sylvester said, remembering that he hadn't been home for more than a day. He slowly got to his feet and reached out for Khali's hand. "We're gonna... yeah... okay," he mumbled, realizing that no one cared where they went. Had Elena really thought he was a dream? That was a first.
Tiwaz shrugged the dismissal away, Elena's opinion of her mattered not to her and she was quite content to let the girl feel she had won that round. It wasn't worth risking damage to her wings to continue anyways so it was best to drop it. Still in the back of her mind part of her wondered if the tension between them wasn't somehow caused by residue left by the twins, heck Elena's name was even similar to Elana's.
"I...don't know," she answered, looking around. Clocks weren't her thing. She didn't know how to tell time and wasn't planning on learning any time soon. Well, maybe she would, now.
"Outside?" she suggested, sending a glance towards the door, "Or somewhere else...Just...Away."
"It's Four," Aiden supplied, hearing Sylvester's question.
Tiwaz's indifference towards Elena was more than returned; the older girl had decided based on their last exchange that Tiwaz wasn't worth bothering with. Khali possibly was, and Sylvester was currently an unknown, so Elena toned down on the chill from her tatoos, although the coldness remained in her icy blue eyes. "Four? Already? I must have been asleep longer than I thought," Elena said to Aiden, twirling a bit of her hair around a finger. "It's so hard to get a good night's sleep with younger children around," she continued, smiling at the man in a conspirital fashion. "But I should be returning home, my mum probably needs my help," she sighed here, and tugged gently on Hadar's tail. "Goodbye Khali, Aiden. It was good to see you again. Sylvester, we'll have to meet again under..better circumstancs." Elena pointedly ignored Tiwaz as she walked out the door of the Stationary Store, Hadar flying behind her, the starry markings on his hide nearly as bright as Elena's hair currently was.
Sylvester waved at Elena's departing figure, frowning slightly at how late it was. "Actually, I don't think I can stay either," he said to Khali. "My mother's going to start looking for me, if she hasn't already." He bent down again, and gave Khalindra a hug before addressing Tiwaz. "I guess I'll see you around too," he said. He wondered if she would ever want to see him again, actually. He seemed to bring bad luck, at least as far as she was concerned.
The star child hugged the giant plushie before he left and looked over at Tiwaz. Well, she didn't want to stay with her there. Bad manners were so unbecoming. She was reminded sharply of Tybalt and shook her head.
"Daddy, can we go home now?"
Aiden nodded, picking up the half asleep child that had managed to curl herself unnoticed in the corner, "Selah looks like she could use some sleep anyway, yeah?"
Khalindra nodded and moved towards Aiden, her skirts swishing around her ankles, "Bye, Tiwaz," she said politely before the entire family left the shop.
At least Khali showed some manners. Even if she didn't like someone it was only the nice thing to do to say farewell.
" Bye Sylvester I do hope to see you again" Tiwaz said, she wasn't sure if this boy was a good one or a bad one but it wasn't his fault there were problem people around him all the time; well at least she didn't think so, the next meeting would tell for sure.
"Bye" Tiwaz replied somewhat startled by Khali talking to her again, perhaps there was hope for her after all.
" Let's go mom I couldn't find what I wanted" she muttered somewhat annoyed that they'd have to go someplace else to find the replacement.
Talon nodded and said nothing, while she didn't fully approve of her daughter's actions, she could feel that there had been more going on than was being understood. Opening the door she followed her daughter out.
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Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:54 pm
Quin
The Palace, Miirks, Guaxa
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 | 1:57pm GuST
It was a sunny, hot day, the kind that Quin avoided going out in due to his overall... paleness. His daughter was off doing heaven only knew what - he had barely seen her since she had showed up in the palace months ago.
So he sat, Quin and his books, until there was a timid knock at the door, followed by a knock that was much louder. Which was it? Frightened or bold? Without thinking, Quin invited his would-be guest inside.
"Come in," he said, slipping the formulas he had been tinkering with under his pristine desk blotter.
"Are you sure?" Quin didn't recognize the voice, but something about the tone made him uneasy. He rose and opened the door for himself, not particularly surprised to see Sylvester standing on the other side. He should have known. Frightened and bold. The boy looked tired but otherwise content. Quin supposed Lisa's health was a direct influence on that. He would have to look into it.
"Yes?" he said by way of greeting. Quin felt he could afford to be rude while the child was still a child. That Sylvester was still a few inches shorter than he was helped cement this feeling as well.
"Before you start getting all smart on me, I want you to know that I'm on to you," Sylvester said. Quin should have anticipated this. Things having to do with Gaia were rarely civil or calm. He motioned the Tale inside and took his seat again before motioning for Sylvester to continue.
"I want a straight answer out of you for once. No..." he flailed his hand around at the wrist, "...you know. Smart, slippery stuff. I'm too old to fall for it now."
Quin held back a laugh that would have certainly sounded both dismissive and condescending. There was only so much rudeness the boy would take without responding in kind, after all. "Is there anything in particular you'd like clarification on?"
This was apparently just the opening Sylvester had been waiting for. "What am I? And don't give me some birds and bees story. I know where I came from, I just don't know why."
"What makes you think I do?"
Sylvester's expression said it all. It was obvious, even to him, that Quin knew more than he was letting on. He was a scientist, after all.
Quin took his time forming an answer, letting his fingers trail across his favorite fancy pen and the stitching on his pant leg. "You must understand. All I have pieced together I have done so from word-of-mouth - Nan's and, to some extent, your mother's. You know I listen in."
Sylvester nodded.
"You must have guessed you have strong ties to our queen," he said. "You saw her briefly the last time you stayed with us, yes?"
Sylvester nodded again.
"All of the people you have... bitten... they have been transported to the palace and when tested, their blood has been revealed to match Lisa's type."
"I didn't bite them all..."
"I find I can't bring myself to care how those individuals arrived here, just that they came. For that, I thank you." Quin sighed and continued before Sylvester could get a word in.
"I don't, however, trust you in the slightest." The boy looked hurt - Quin was familiar with being the cause of that emotion in others, so he knew the signs - but the expression left as quickly as it had come. "Let me explain. As I said, both your mother and Nan were equally responsible for your creation, but your personal loyalties are not as equal at all. You love your mother, Smerdle, but you feel very little, if anything at all, for Guaxa or its people. That makes you very dangerous, and it does not bode well for the future of our world. If I had things my way, I would lock you up here and only let you out often enough to ensure Lisa's survival."
"I won't stay."
"I know. But I would at least ask you to consider visiting more often, perhaps even a... vacation would be in order."
"I'll think about it." Sylvester's brief moments of panic and dismay seemed to have dissipated into a sort of grim acceptance. Good. At least the boy realized more was at stake here than his life and the lives of his strange book-born playmates. "You've given me a lot to think about, actually."
Quin hadn't been expecting thanks, and he wasn't going to get any. Sylvester stood, and extended a furry hand to shake. Quin remained seated and took the offered hand.
"I'll let you know if I'm interested in your offer." The boy crossed the room to the door, and then he was gone.
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Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:58 pm
Sylvester and Khalindra
The Stationery Store
Barton Town, Gaia
Sunlight streamed through the front window of the Stationery Store, much of it converging right where Sylvester was standing, but he didn't feel particularly warm. He had been coming here more and more often, to sleep, or just to stare at the walls. It didn't make him feel any better. He needed to get out of here. With a little sigh, he slid over to the door and pulled it open, intending to find somewhere interesting to hang out.
Khaindra seemed, on the other hand, to be a little crackpot of energy. She was bouncing around (despite the day time) and attempting to NOT trip her father - who was going at a considerably slower walking rate than she was. She, however, was tethered to his hand and kept trying to go ahead of him.
"Daddy, come on, please?"
A soft sigh emitted the young man's lips and he fought the urge to smack his forehead, "Fine."
With a flurry of skirts, the star child charged intothe stationary store. Or, rather, she tried to and was promptly stopped by the giant plushie. Bouncing off him, Khali fell flat on her rear and blinked, stunned.
Sylvester couldn't stop himself from smiling. "Sorry," he said, bending over to help Khali to her feet. "Where are you going in such a hurry? No one's inside. It's boring." The sun felt better directly on his fur than through a window, and he ran his hands through his hair as he stood, attempting to press it into some sort of presentable style.
Khalindra took his help to get to her feet and brushed off her skirts (Dark blue and silver this time!) and smiled brightly, "It's never boring if there's things to learn. And there's things to learn EVERYWHERE," she answered, giving a little hop on her feet.
Not to mention she had snuck some chocolate under Aiden's nose and was now hyped up on sugar.
He supposed that was true. But the things he learned at the Stationery Store hadn't been particularly happy lately. Khali was right about them not being boring, but what was excitement when it left you feeling like crap?
"We could go over there and learn stuff too," he said, pointing down the block to a tiny, colorful shop that sold magazines and comics. He wasn't sure whether or not Aiden would approve, but it was worth a shot. Plus, they had everlasting gobstoppers. Sylvester felt peppier just thinking about them.
Well, Aiden had let Khali go off with Armel alone just the other day - and the first time they met, Khali had gone off with Sylvester too - so she supposed it wasn't too much of a stretch. Casting a look over to her tired father, the man gave a helpless shrug. What could he really do to stop Khali? She was like a force of nature. Beaming, the girl looked up to the giant plushie (she refused to think of him as anything else, yet) and nodded, "All right! That sounds good. It's got...What there?"
Aiden sighed, "I'm obligated to tell you if anything happens to her I'll have you strung up on a lamp post."
"Magazines," Sylvester said. "Lots of different kinds. I'm sure some of them have fairy tales and stuff in them too." Kids' magazines had stories sometimes, at least he thought so.
He didn't really have a verbal response to Aiden's threat - he didn't doubt the man's sincerity - so he simply nodded. If it came to it, Sylvester would just bite any would-be assailant, as unpleasant as that would be. Not to mention the questions it would raise. He would probably end up losing a friend too. Best not to think about those sorts of things.
"I like anything," she said, taking his hand tightly. The little girl seemed genuinely excited by the prospect of new things to get her hands on. More information just waiting to be absorbed. Even if she couldn't read, she could always poke Aiden to read to her. Or Armel, since he promised.
Besides, she could read...a few words.
Aiden nodded, then, and indicated he'd be waiting in the stationary shop for their return.
Sylvester began to walk, slowly so that he could enjoy the sun for as long as possible. "So, what have you been doing since the last time we were here?" It had only been a couple of days ago, but that day had been goofier than most. Nothing seemed normal lately. He wouldn't have been surprised if Khali said she'd been spelunking. Hey, wait a minute...
"Are you okay?" he asked, lifting her hand in his a bit to get her attention. "The sun isn't as burny?"
"I saw Armel and...Other than that..." she shrugged her shoulders, "Been bored. Tried to learn to read a bit more and...It didn't work very well. Daddy was busy with the twins and he took Emi to the beach...I hate having brothers and sisters," Khalindra lamented, her eyes lifting up this him. It wasn't a good thing, jealousy, but the little girl seemed to be learning that. She Her hand gave his a squeeze and she took a deep breath at his question. The fact of the matter was - it DID hurt - just not as much.
"I'm all right. It still hurts but not as much. Daddy said I'm getting an...imootity."
At least, that's what she thought it was called.
"Oh, cool," Sylvester said, smiling down at her. He'd have to tell Mama - time spent watching ER was time well spent.
It didn't take long before they reached the entrance to the little shop. Sylvester pushed open the front door to the sound of a tinkling bell, and held it so Khali could go in first.
It was much darker in here than it had been outside, but not so dark that it was impossible to see before your eyes adjusted. It resembled some sort of old magic shop more than a periodical store, which made the X-Box and American Girl magazines lining the walls seem all the more out of place.
...and they lived happily ever after.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:36 am
Smerdle
Smerdle's House, Outside Aekea, Gaia
Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 | 10:58pm GST
There was mist all around.
She was surrounded by beautiful, misty rainbows that stemmed from a powerful waterfall that she thought she had just emerged from. But who did that really? Who walked out of waterfalls?
She felt as though she was looking for someone, someone she knew very well. It was a warm, anticipatory feeling, like searching for your family in an airport after a long trip. She came into a bright clearing and shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun. Someone was here. She squinted. Was this person a friend?
"Hello?"
He kept coming, and something about the way he walked... she smiled in recognition.
"Chucky?"
The man stepped closer, so that his body blocked the light. It was Chucky. He looked confused, but then he smiled back. He was just like she remembered. Ten years ago.
"You look so young." She could feel the corners of her mouth pulling into an even wider smile. She probably looked frightening, but she couldn't seem to care.
He reached out a hand and tugged on a piece of hair that trailed over her shoulder. She hadn't noticed it was so long until just then.
"You too," he said. "When did you cut this, like back at school?"
"Not that long ago," she said, still grinning like an idiot. "It's good to see you again." And it was. She reached out and tentatively touched the long sleeve of his shirt, afraid he was going to disappear. When he didn't, she folded him into an embrace that he readily returned.
Her whole existence seemed to suck in on itself in that moment. Bright white light flared out of nowhere, and Smerdle found she couldn't suck in a breath to speak. Then, it was over. They were both over.
Smerdle awoke with tears in her eyes, gasping for breath like people did in the movies when a director wanted to imply that they had been having a Bad Dream. Her gaze fell on Brownie peeking over the edge of the bed, her eyes wide and unblinking. The normally rambunctious child was subdued and her brown skin was ashy and pale. When Smerdle smiled shakily, the little girl blinked for what seemed like the first time.
"Did you...?"
Brownie nodded.
Smerdle held her arms open and Brownie quickly scrambled onto the bed and into them. It was a rare moment of vulnerability, and like so many she had shared with her own son, Smerdle would never speak of it again.
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