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 Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:22 pm
 After the Party{October 22nd, 2011}
It had been a long night, especially for her, and so it came as no surprise to the veterinarian when the Frei had vanished by the time he turned around from closing the door to their shared apartment. It didn't shock him, sure, but he did want to talk to her about what had gone down all the same. Something had definitely gone amiss with her and resulted in her unleashing a new ability upon herself and several others. It had only increased the severity of the situation and his Frei's reactions tonight. He had to find out what happened, but he knew that could wait a little while. In fact, it should wait - at least until she calmed down. Sleep was what she needed now; eight long hours to clear her head of the night that had not gone the right way for her.
"Good night, Anya..." Walking into the apartment, he whispered the words down the Raevan-free hallway that led to both their rooms. He lingered for a moment before slipping his tuxedo jacket off and stepping into that hall to get to his bedroom. He needed to change, but the vet would remain awake for a little while longer all the same.
The raver's whisper did not carry. Even if it had, it would not have been heard as Anastacia made a beeline for her bed, blocking out everything she could but that one thing. She didn't even shut her door behind her. Instead, the virus Raevan sunk into her mattress and beneath her covers with nothing more than a hiss of pain and an illegible grumble. This night had been a complete and utter...She didn't even have a word to describe it other than 'awful'. The party had been awful and left her feeling awful and everyone there was awful...Awful, awful, awful. No other way around it.
"
Another grumble left the Frei's lips as she saw this and instead of flipping over to hide her face from the clock she sat up in bed. Agitation ran hot in her veins and only grew as she stared down through the darkness at her trembling, aching hands. If that fur-covered freak had left her alone, she wouldn't be in such a state now! It was all his fault, whatever his name was. He was the root of this hurting evil. If she ever saw him again she didn't know what she'd do, but he wouldn't get away with this or the insult he had spat in her face.
Freak. Cretin. Furry a*****e. Anastacia hissed again in anger but ended that sound in pain. She had flexed her fingers in that anger and found they were stiff as well as sore. In the dim light pouring in from the streetlamps, she could just make out the white, shiny glimmers of that glue-like liquid on her fingertips. It had not yet stopped. Just great.
Not about to leave herself like this - and feeling dirty as well as grossed out by a creation of her own body - Anastacia used her wings to throw her blanket off herself before rising out of bed. Though strings that had attached during her tossing stretched and pulled, the Frei wasted no time in exiting her still-open door and floating down the hall, but paused as she came to the bathroom.
"Should be nice next weekend, how about then?" Zeke was on the phone and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know who he was talking to. Anastacia rolled her eyes at the man who was nothing more than a blur on the couch and let herself into the bathroom. Again she used her wing to help her along with this task, using one pinion to flick on the light and using the same wing's webbing to turn the faucet on. As much as she didn't like the sight of the drain and the way the water bubbled over it before being sucked down, the Frei still stuck her hands under the stream in order to rinse them off. It stung a lot at first, making her flinch visibly, but quickly the hot water numbed the soreness away and the Frei started to relax.
"Never again," she muttered, looking at her reflection in the mirror and grimacing. She really did look awful and not because of the tousled mess her hair had become. The night had taken a toll on her and she couldn't wait for it to be over. Sadly, it'd still be a few hours yet until the sun rose and until then? Well she wasn't going back to bed just yet, that was for sure.
After averting her eyes from her reflection, the Frei set about shutting off the faucet and drying her fingers. She did so gingerly as even though the water did help to soothe the pain, it sparked right up with the slightest touch. Quickly the Frei came to gave up doing such a task and instead just exited the restroom, turning her attention back to her Guardian and the room he was occupying. She frowned but moved into that space.
"You sound exhausted," Zeke said sweetly to his boyfriend, smile on his face. "Me? I'm..." The vet paused as Anastacia floated right in front of him and his eyes followed her until she sat down on the opposite side of the couch, hands held out in front of her with palms up. "Yeah, I'm gonna stay up a little longer, I think. But you, Mister Lee, need your sleep."
Anastacia didn't turn her attention to Zeke even as the man chuckled to something Brad said on the other end of the line. She watched the television instead, which was some late night program that had been muted during the vet's call.
"Go on, babe. I'll call you in the morning if you don't call me first, okay?" A pause for the older man's reply and it was one that made the raver's cheeks tint red and his expression soften. "I love you too, Brad. Good night."
Zeke waited a moment before pulling the phone away from his ear. A soft 'beep' was heard as he pressed the End button and once the call was dismissed for true the vet leaned back against the couch, head lolling over to look at the ward he had thought had been long asleep.
"What time is it?" he asked her, before answering his own question with the press of a button. A soft snort of air was released through his nose and the vet looked a little sheepish, brushing his free hand through his loosened hair. "I should have put him to bed hours ago..." He shook his head, still smiling and still flushed about the face. The look faded somewhat as he studied her, eyes ticking from her profiled face to her stiffened fingers. "You okay?"
"What do you think?" As she said it, her eyes turned from the TV to her Guardian. Her eyes showed full well that she was in no mood to have Zeke ask her things in triplicate.
"I think 'no'. But after what happened tonight..." He stopped himself from saying anything more when she gave a low hiss. "Can't sleep?"
"No." Her tone was flat, but she was clearly sulking. "My hands hurt."
She turned away from him, looking back at the TV again. Zeke felt a pang in his chest for her and frowned, turning his eyes over the Frei's hands. Though she had just washed them, the liquid silk had already started to surface again and even from his point of view her fingers looked gnarled and stiff. She definitely needed help and while she was against his aid at the party, perhaps now she would be more receptive to him.
"I don't know if I can give you aspirin, Anya," Even if she had a stomach he didn't know how a full dose of it would work on a being with less than half a body. He didn't want to risk it without asking Dr. Kyou, even if aspirin was mild when taken right. "But I have a couple things that might help."
"Like what?" She didn't believe him. The effects of the warm water had faded fast and if that didn't work she didn't know what would. Still, she rolled her eyes back to him again, frown setting firm and expecting him to have answers right that second lest he prove himself a dimwit to her again.
"Well, I could get you some ice to numb your hands, a cup of hot water to do the same or," he smiled at her again; his third idea tried and true from when he was a kid. "We could watch a movie. If you want, that is."
"How is a movie going to help me?" Had he not been long since baptized by her looks, the one of incredulity she gave him now would have sent him sputtering for another idea.
"It'll distract you and that will take your mind off the pain. Trust me, it works."
If she had the ability to make a fist and did not abide by the standards she kept, Anastacia would have punched him for the smile he wore when he said that.
"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard." She said it point blank, hunching her shoulders forward to make up for her inability to cross her arms. That plus a scowl equaled Anastacia saying enough to Zeke and because of that what she said next truly surprised the dye-stripped vet. "But fine, try it. I don't care."
She turned away from him again, glaring hard at her hands instead of at the muted screen. She wasn't certain she trusted her man enough to really believe him right now, but when it came to this hurt that made her hands shake of their own accord, she was willing to try anything at least once. The faucet had only temporary results and while she didn't have high hopes for any of Zeke's ideas, at least they were something. She knew if alone she would have turned up empty on what to do next in this situation.
Despite the initial lambast, when Anya gave her sullen go ahead, the vet was immediately on his feet. Even though her tone was less than savory he was not going to tell her off for it. He knew that kind of hurt himself and thus couldn't blame her for how she was acting now as well as earlier this evening. Instead, he merely smiled at her again and set about unmuting the TV before padding over to the cases that housed the DVDs.
"Is there anything you wanna watch?"
"No."
"Okay then. Ah...Comedy, horror, action...?"
"Just pick something, Zeke." The questions were innocent enough but Anastacia was growing grouchy because of them. She didn't care what they watched so long as it worked in the long run. The spider queen would even lower herself to cartoons right now, and she knew her man had plenty of those on his shelves.
"How about...uhh...Back to the Future?" He pulled the trilogy pack out of line and held it out to display the cover. Anastacia nodded without even looking at it. She had never heard of the trilogy before and while she wasn't enthused by such an illogical title, she wasn't about to play 'pick one of these several options' either. The first choice was what it would be. "Back to the Future it is."
Zeke spoke in a cheery voice but looked sadly upon his ward as he popped the case open. What a night. He wished it could have gone better for her, he really did. He never could have predicted the events that led her to be sitting on the couch at well after one in the morning but he still felt bad that he hadn't been able to stop them before they happened. He wished he knew what happened as well, but wouldn't interrogate her for information now. She needed to relax and get some sleep and agitating the wounded widow wouldn't do either of them any favors. Tomorrow would be right for that. Now was the time to get her to turn her attention away from hurt and upset.
The raver got the TV and the DVD player set up in a few, well-practiced movements, and it wasn't long after that the outdated previews and commercials started to play upon the screen. Zeke fiddled with the volume when Anya flinched at a particularly loud cinematic explosion, but instead of taking his seat after doing so, he excused himself to the kitchen.
While he was gone and busying himself with what sounded like the ice cube tray and the faucet, Anastacia remained in her spot, but moved to make herself comfortable. She winced and flinched as she did so, glaring down at her hands several times in the process. Her wings were useful, but limited in what they could do without her accidentally pushing them into the couch itself or shredding its back cushions to bits. Struggling, she managed to recline against the throw pillows to her right, draping her wings over the couch's arm just as Zeke made his return.
With his reappearance into the living room, Zeke came bearing gifts. In his left hand and clutched carefully to his chest was two mugs - one red, one dark green - both steaming. In his right was a Ziploc bag half filled with ice and flanked by paper towels held against the plastic by tightly pressed fingers. On one side of the ice-filled bag the paper towels were dry and on the other they were wet. As the vet set the mugs down on the coffee table before the couch, Anastacia raised a brow. She hadn't heard the kettle.
"Here," Zeke said as he put the bag of ice and both sets of paper towels on Anya's side of the table. "Ice to numb your hands if you want, towels to clean up if you need to and," he slid the green mug over. "A cup of hot water in case you want a snack."
He smiled as Anastacia inspected the offerings. Her brow had lowered as he explained each thing in turn but she showed no signs of joy or delight by the things he had prepared for her. Despite that, the spindly femme wasn't ungrateful. The towels would come in handy even if she didn't touch the ice bag or the water which Zeke had suggested first. This didn't change her belief around fully, but she did give the vet a short nod all the same.
"You're welcome." His words instantly made her frown, but Zeke didn't see, taking up the remote to start the movie as it came to its menu screen. Once that screen was gone Zeke sat down again after he shifted the over-sized rusty red button up he was wearing, giving the Frei a moment's peek of green plaid boxers before he and the shirt were down on the couch. To this the Frei did not avert her eyes but instead rolled him before turning back to the screen, still not impressed by her man's fashion sense even now. When he was seated comfortably with his legs up on the couch Zeke turned back to his ward and spoke again.
"Hey," he waited for her to rest all of her eyes on him again before continuing. "Since tonight went the way it did--"
"Zeke..." Her voice held a lot of warning. If he dared to bring up earlier, she would not hold back and give him a piece of her mind. She didn't want to talk about it and she knew he knew that and yet it was clear he was trying to her. No way. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Maybe not ever.
"No, no I'm not gonna talk about it!" He looked aghast, shaking his head and holding up both hands with his palms out to show that that was not his intent. "I just wanna tell you that since what I've set up here isn't a permanent fix, if you're still sore in the morning the first thing we'll do is go see Dr. Kyou and get you looked at, okay?"
The hard line Anastacia's mouth had formed when she said the vet's name loosened slightly but did not entirely disappear. Displeasure at this words churned in her breast and made the bridge of her nose crinkle. Just great.
"I'll be fine by morning." She was sure of it and her tone matched her certainty, especially with the promise of being poked and prodded like some science experiment or freak of nature on the line. No way would she let that happen. She was hurting and leaking, yes, but it was nothing that she couldn't handle now that she had calmed down. In fact, now that she had towels at arms length from her, she could handle it just fine, thank you very much. In fact...
Zeke thought the Frei was putting on a brave face and chuckled under his breath because of it.
"I'm sure you will, but just in case you know?" Even if she did claim she was okay tomorrow, he would talk to Kyou himself all the same. There was no reply from his ward to that questioned statement, but the vet watched her shift and reach for a wet towel. She was just short and, not wanting her to exert herself too much, Zeke got up and handed her one. "Here." Another smile was given and he sat back down, watching her quietly before speaking again. "I guess you have a ton of questions about what that stuff is, huh?" It was rather surprising to Zeke that she hadn't accosted him for the answers by now but with everything that had happened and the Frei's independence it did sort of make sense.
"Not really." Anya did want to know at the height of her overreactions but that time had passed and the thought long faded into a place of no recollection. Now that she was tenderly cleaning the gobs of white off and watching them stretch and pull into strings like some sort of self-made taffy, she felt she was better off not knowing right now. Perhaps not ever if she could help it. She knew full well was that it would stop over time and never come back. She might have been out of sorts about it before but her head was clearer and thus she saw the facts just as clearly. That was all she needed. What it was, why it was there, none of it was required knowledge. It was just a little accident, a byproduct of some half-brained dipshit's interference into her quiet night and her own offense by the former, and something that would clear up come morning for sure Once it was gone, it would just be a bad memory of an equally bad night and she could go on with her life as usual. That was all.
"S-Seriously? Are you sure?" Her response took him off guard and he ogled her, almost not believing he had heard her right. She had been set off by something and made worse by this power's appearance but now she didn't have any desire to know about it? Really? She continued to surprise him in the oddest ways.
"Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have said so otherwise." Her glare returned with a testy tone in tow, staring the vet down as she finished her first wash. She didn't want to know, she definitely didn't want him pushing it on her, and he would accept that come hell or high water.
Her snap worked and Zeke backed off, leaning against his arm of the couch with his hands still up in the 'no offense meant' position. He had suggested, offered to her, but wasn't a man to force someone to do something they didn't want to. If she didn't want to know, she didn't want to know. He would respect that.
"A-All right, Anya, I'll take your word for it. But if you ever want to, all you have to do is ask."
"I'll remember that." By which she meant she would conveniently forget and thus drop this forever. Tomorrow morning she would tell herself this was a bad dream and, if asked, would lie to the vet about how her hands felt if they were still tender. She would dress in her room and make it clear she was in a reading mood tomorrow and that would keep him off her for sure. In fact, as long as she kept her back to his desk, he wouldn't be able to see her hands and she would be able to rest easier if she hadn't magically healed overnight. Perfetto as Zeke himself would say. Her ideas were foolproof.
The vet signed inwardly and nodded to his ward. Now wasn't the best time, but tomorrow would probably be a better possibility. Once she had some sleep and a better mood, perhaps her curiosity would shine through. If not tomorrow then someday, maybe. If it came, if it didn't, he would wait and openly talk to her about it when she decided she wanted to learn.
After that exchange the two fell silent and turned their attentions back to the movie. Zeke lingered on the Frei a few minutes longer than she did upon him, but finally looked to the screen when a favorite scene came up. He laughed at the antics of the main character of the story, but as with most things, Anastacia did not. Instead, the spider queen settled down again and forced herself to focus on the happenings she had all but missed up until that point. It was confusing to jump right in like this, but she tried not to let that notion linger. She couldn't distract herself if she held onto it after all and pretended she knew exactly what was going on and who these characters were.
It worked for the most part. Despite being unsure of the plot and why things were happening, she fell into the movie by being herself. She kept her mouth shut, but Anastacia still criticized the film Zeke had picked for her to watch. The costumes, the setting, the characters, the music - all of it was touched upon in her head in some form or another. Not all of it was bad, but there were still stand out things all the same. Enough of them, in fact, that what Zeke had promised happened: she became distracted and subsequently forgot about the pain.
Following that and in time, the heavy fingers of sleep began to tug upon her mind and body. While she was invested in mentally snarking the film on the screen; with the pain seemingly gone, her body resting on a comfortable couch, and the hour growing later and later the spider queen did finally sink into slumber twenty minutes before the movie's end.
Zeke did not realize this turn of events until the credits began to roll.
"Mmm! I love that movie." The currently black-haired man gave himself a seated stretch, letting the long list of white names on the black screen roll. Anastacia's silence during the movie wasn't unexpected, but he was interested to know her opinion of it. "So what did you think?"
He spoke as he turned to her but finished his question before seeing the sight to behold. When he saw his Frei lying there fast asleep with her head lolled on her shoulder, lips parted, and her arms dangling haphazardly, he had to press the side of one hand to his lips to stifle his laughter.
Well, that definitely worked like a charm. He hadn't expected her to fall asleep, but didn't deny that in the grand scheme of things it was a plus. His ideas to help her were temporary fixes but, with a little luck, now that she was presumably out the nature of the one she had gone with would be extended until later this morning. The trick now was to make sure he didn't wake the sleeping widow when he carried her to her bed.
Zeke rose from his seat, giving himself a fuller stretch when he was standing. A soft groan left him as his back and shoulders pulled and popped pleasantly but when he finished, he did not drop his arms to his sides. Instead he reached out and pushed the coffee table away from the couch, wincing as the legs scraped against the floor in a wood on wood squeal. The vet immediately stopped at the sound off and peered at his ward over his shoulder, finding her still quite asleep. A relieved breath left him and he determined the table was out of the way enough for him to do what he was going to, turning from it back to the couch. Zeke took the necessary steps to clear the short distance between himself and his ward, eying her carefully for best how to lift her without waking her. In the end there was no surefire way, so he decided that slow and steady would win this race.
Sure enough, it did. Zeke crouched close to Anastacia, but did nothing but wave a hand in front of her four, always open eyes. He saw his reflection in those dark blues but while they were eternally staring outward, they were rendered sightless in sleep and the Frei did not stir. With the check passed, Zeke dove right into his task. His left arm was slipped underneath the sleeping Raevan's back below her wing joints while his right was circled over her chest. He shrugged into her in order to support her head and, certain he had a good hold on her, lifted. The spider queen was raised easily and Zeke was standing straight right after. He shifted her carefully in his arms, freezing only when her head rolled over and rested against his throat. The legs atop her head felt sharp and hard against his skin although the tips did not press into him, and he could only just feel her hair beneath. When she settled - or seemed to from his perspective - Zeke started the march from this room to hers, holding her carefully and with as much love as he could muster. The same amount of both was used when he reached his destination and set the spider queen down, but not before kicking her blanket back with his foot in what was a daring act for him to do even unburdened.
"There, all set." He pulled her covers up but did not tuck them around her - as sweet as the sentiment would have been - so she wouldn't have to struggle to get out when she woke up. Once the blankets were up to the Frei's chin, she turned on to her side of her own accord, making the vet smile softly at her. It was rather cute and, in a display of bedtime tradition and that unconditional, unrequited affection he felt for her, Zeke leaned over and pressed a kiss to his spider queen's cheek.
"Sweet dreams, Anastacia."
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:30 pm
Truly Alone It was only the beginning of December but winter had firmly set in. The weatherman on the news broadcast from the night before threatened the general public of Durem with a Doppler map prediction of below zero temperatures, bone chilling winds, and a lot of snow. While some might not trust a meteorologist's forecasts or take them as gospel, the Durem channel five weatherman had been right on the money this time. The thermostat read an icy -4F and there was snow everywhere. Flakes still fell even though there was already enough on the ground that almost came up to an adult male's knee in most places. The wind - as extremely blustery as it was - was rendered a hazard as it whipped through streets and carried the top coat of snow into eyes, ears, and any uncovered bits of skin it could.
This was the weather Zeke had to deal with as he dug out and cleaned off his car at 8am that morning. Despite the layers he had wrapped himself up in, the cold still permeated through and made his body shiver hard with cold. His teeth chattered hard in his head and the piercings in his face and ears started to hurt him as the metal soaked in that cold and used it against the skin they had been put through. Despite that and having turned on his car to help clear the layer of ice on the windshield, the veterinarian did not seek respite in the Aston Martin. He was determined to get his car cleared off in one fell swoop and was forsaking that comfort for now because of it. Over and over he told himself to keep going, to scrape a little more off and put some oomph behind each stroke. Little by little the windshield was cleared and the vet took each little chip and break of ice as a victory. Eventually the front was free of ice and snow, but the rear window still needed to be done. Zeke took a moment to catch his breath - hard as it was with the way the air tore his throat with each inhale - and looked across the blanketed parking lot. Others were clearing out their own vehicles, but the raver didn't linger on them. Instead he focused on the cover of white that had fallen, was still falling, and was being blown about.
There was no denying it was cold. Zeke was shivering beneath his thick coat, hat, and two pairs of gloves because of it. But this was a cold that he hadn't felt in a long time. Last winter hadn't been bad - snowy, sure, but not terrible as far as the temperatures went - but already this year was promising to be one for the record books. If it was too cold for him, then it was way too cold for her.
Twenty minutes later the door to the apartment Zeke and Anastacia shared had been opened and closed again. Zeke tapped the snow from his black winter boots on the welcome mat while freeing himself of his gloves, hat, and coat. He breathed a sigh of relief as the warmth from the heaters took hold of the cold, exposed parts of him before taking his first steps into the place he called home. His hands, cheeks, and ears stung like the dickens and as he walked to the hallway he rubbed each spot in turn to help the blood flow and the mild pain. A grimace passed over his face as he got to the latter, ears tender as the skin there had contracted around the cold metal pieces dotting throughout. Despite the face he made and kept as he walked, it vanished into a light smile as he reached the open door that served as the entrance to Anastacia's room. He had thought about his idea long and hard and was ready to pose it to the Virus Raevan the moment he had her attention. Once he laid eyes on her, he gave her door a polite knock.
"Hey."
Despite the sudden noise, Anastacia did not jump. Her attention was on her dresser mirror and thanks to it she had seen her Guardian's arrival before he had made himself known. She did not turn to him when he spoke to her, but gave her reflection a look that clearly said 'wait a minute'. Her hairbrush was in hand and whatever the vet wanted to say could wait while she turned beauty into perfection.
Zeke saw the look and chuckled, shaking his head before leaning against the door frame. His reaction made the Frei give him another - but more unsavory - look, but she kept silent until she had deemed herself acceptable. Once she had tied a portion of her hair up into its tricky bun, she put her brush down and turned to her man - arms crossing, one brow raising, and lips turning down into a small frown.
"What?"
Despite the curtly spoken word, the vet straightened and took a step into the Frei's room, giving himself a stretch as he did so. Anastacia's frown deepened as he did so, but again she remained silent, watching the vet closely as though expecting him to do something rash or stupid. She knew in the back of her mind he wouldn't and she was curious as to what was making him come into her domain, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be under scrutiny as any other who tried to. This was her nest and he was merely a guest; an unwelcome one at that.
"I'm sure you looked out your window this morning and saw the snow."
The Frei's brow lofted a little higher. She had, but what did that have to do with anything? It was just snow; she had seen it and experienced it last year. It hadn't been a fun experience at any point in her life, but it had been one. Clearly he was getting at something and that idea made her want to know more.
"Yeah. So?"
"So it's really damn cold out there." Zeke chuckled, unable to help himself with how simple a statement it was and how Anastacia was looking at him. To anyone else it might have been so unfavorable or one to write the Frei off because of, but to the vet it was just one of the Frei's few expressions - and one of the funnier ones depending on the situation or circumstance.
It might have been funny to Zeke, but the line her Guardian said did not make the Frei laugh or even crack a smile. Her expression only became dead pan, looking at the vet as though he thought her stupid.
"Sorry." He caught that look and managed to stop his light laughter, waving a hand airily to tell her to disregard that quip. "What I mean to say is...Well...Given it's so cold out there, I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of having you go outside today."
The deadpan look faded from the spider queen's face. Again her brow lofted but her mouth kept up a neutral line instead of a frown and gave her a curious look - as subtle as it was in presentation. Immediately following the vet's words the femme's mind was a whirl of activity. She recanted what he had said in her head, picked it apart, put it back together, and repeated the prior actions over again. The way he said it was taken into heavy account and so was the look on his reddened face. Zeke didn't sound or look like he intended to call up and skip out on work today so for her that meant...
"...You want me to stay home."
Despite her unfriendly attitude toward others and how she had reacted at certain times in previous months, Zeke was still of the mind that the Frei was a mature individual. The situation with Cruz and the happening at the Halloween party had not faded from his mind, but the vet considered them diversions from the norm. When not faced with sudden kisses or the shock of a power cropping up, the spindly femme was independent, responsible - as Nel, the window garden, and the Frei's possessions showed - polite unless affronted, and able to handle herself without supervision well. This showed best when one considered Zeke had let the spider femme wander the supermarket they went to regularly since she was rather young with no problems from her or others. Given all that and her age, Zeke didn't see why Anastacia couldn't stay home alone now, especially given the circumstances that were blowing about outside. He nodded.
"Exactly." If it were any other time or thing, he would have added 'if you want to' onto the end of his statement to offer the idea rather than cement it in. Now was not the time and there was no way he'd let his ward risk going out there. Cold was not his Raevan's friend and he knew this well. He'd not risk her wellbeing for anything in the world, let alone the drive to work. "It's way too cold out there for you, Anya. You wouldn't last and I wouldn't feel right making you go."
Zeke crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see what Anastacia thought of that.
The latter half of Zeke's statement was missed. Not ignored, not shoved to the side for later, but honest to god missed. The word 'exactly' rung in the spider femme's ears for a few heartbeats before her brain finally absorbed it. She had been right - of course she had, though that didn't matter at the moment - and Zeke was saying she could do something she had time and again desired.
"You want me to stay home. Alone." To her guardian, Anastacia's reiteration and tone signaled that she couldn't believe what she had heard. Again the vet nodded, trying hard not to smile too much.
"Yes. I can't miss work today, but I don't wanna drag you around when it's below zero outside." He gave a little shrug and then smiled at her with both sweetness and pride. "Besides, I think you're old enough now to be at home by yourself. You've proven to me that you can handle things around here without me hovering over your shoulder."
And now he was handling the keys to the kingdom. What surprise or disbelief she had just held at the word 'exactly' was now gone. Anastacia sucked up her man's words like a dry sponge meeting water and held herself in a way that would tell him that she was everything he had just said and more. Her expression remained neutral to her guardian and his presence, but her eyes all but glowed with heady pleasure at this turn of events. Zeke wanted to know what she thought? That was so simple it hurt: yes.
Despite the eagerness welling in her partially formed body, when Anastacia spoke again, her words were uttered on a cool tongue.
"I can do that."
The veterinarian burst out laughing and for once Anastacia was not annoyed by the sound. In fact, in light of everything, her lips curled upward for a brief, lingering moment. Yes, this was quite the happy occasion.
"I know you can," Zeke said when he got himself under control, "but I'm glad to hear it all the same." He turned from his ward to the clock on her nightstand and shook his head. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, I gotta get changed. You can just...do whatever! I'll pop back in before I leave." He had some numbers to put down for her, but that could wait until he had his act together.
Anastacia gave her man a nod and like that he was gone. She listened to his footsteps and for the squeak of his bedroom door before turning about in what could best be described as a 'victory spin'. She hadn't expected much out of this day to begin with, but everything was coming up Anya now!
"You heard that, correct?" She turned to Nel, lowering herself enough so that she could see clearly into the tank from its side. The red-knee was inside and nearly against the glass herself, looking from the now-vacant door to her lavender-haired owner.
"Didn't miss a word."
"Good." She wasn't dreaming this or hallucinating on something. Her day was made, although the Frei hadn't the foggiest idea what she would do with herself during it. Stay home, of course, but stay home and do what? She'd worry about it later because now was the time for celebration - as muted as it was from a proper lady such as herself. This was simply a couple victory laps around the perimeter of her room and a similar number of interrogations of her pet to make sure she truly hadn't misheard Zeke.
By the time the third interrogation was made - and the equally numbered reply given - Zeke had returned. He was in his usual black slacks with a white shirt today accompanied by a gaudy tie covered in printed tropical fruits. His hair had been brushed, tied, and styled and the red that had been in his face and ears from his first excursion outside had faded into a flush that came from his fast movements to get himself ready. Upon his arrival Anastacia stowed her good feelings behind her mask of neutrality, greeting him with a raise of her head and expansion of her crown before flicking her lavender eyes to the paper he held in his right hand.
"Okay so...Dusty's been fed, she has water, and her litter's been taken care of. Nothing to worry about there." While he had been rather relaxed at their first chat, Zeke was now talking quickly and stealing glances to the Frei's clock as he spoke. "I don't have any chores for you to do but...I guess you could sweep the place if you wanted to? You don't have to, so don't worry about that." He waved the hand with the paper airily and that brought it right to his attention.
"This is a list of phone numbers, okay?" He strode right into the Frei's room and set the paper down on her nightstand, tapping each length of digits in turn as he read them off. "The clinic, my cellphone, Alex's cellphone, Brad's cellphone, Brad's home phone, the Lab, Dr. Kyou's cellphone, police, fire, and a couple other Raevan owners; just in case." Anita's home and cellphone numbers were below the fire department number, as were Vivi's and Isi's. "If you need anything or anything comes up or there's an emergency, call me okay? If you can't reach me then try Brad, Alex, or the Lab."
He left the paper there and turned to her, making to say more but stopping to think if there was anything else to tell her. He didn't need to explain how to use the stove if she wanted to feed herself, but since it was winter the heaters would be more than available to her instead. With the list of numbers given, Dust Bunny already being taken care of, and no real chores to give her, Zeke was sure he had hit everything he needed to. All but one, and that hit him as he reached the door out.
"Oh! I should be getting out of work at about eight tonight, but that's only if things don't get crazy. If I'm held up, I'll call, but things should go smoothly." He was sure quite a few appointments would be rescheduled because of the snow, but he knew better than to count his chickens before they hatched when it came to his line of work. With that said, Zeke was now certain he had everything set in stone. He did hold a little pinch reservation at the idea of leaving his Anya home alone for the first time, but when it came down to it he knew everything would go just fine. Time would fly and there was nothing to worry about.
"Thaaaat's everything I think! I really gotta get going or else I'll be late. Remember, if you need anything, the number's right there. Don't hesitate to call, okay?" He raised his hand in a parting wave as he took a step backward into the hall. "Love you, Anya. Stay out of trouble!"
Zeke gave the Virus femme a wide beam of a smile before turning on his heel. As before Anastacia listened to the vet's departing footsteps from her spot by the bureau, only moving once the front door had been open and shut for the final time that morning. Once the heavy click of the wood in its frame resounded through the otherwise empty apartment, the Frei floated to her bed and "sat" down upon the foot of it. She closed her lavender eyes, unfocused her navy blue ones, and soaked in the silence. After a minute or two it was broken, but Anastacia did not snap nor huff at her pet for doing so. In fact, she spoke mildly in return.
"So...What are you going to do?"
"I don't know." What she would do throughout the day was moot for now. It would be decided upon later, after she had several lasting moments to just bask in the stillness of the apartment. What Zeke had said about phone numbers and tasks and whatever else was in and out of her mind in an instant. All Anya could think - relish - was that for real and for true she was honestly, truly, and for the first time alone. And it felt good.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:07 pm
The Greatest Gift Of All
Participants: Anastacia, Ethiriel, Leo, and Zeke
Location: Lab 305
Type: {PRP - PICK UP}
Status: Complete
--- Summary ---
Ethiriel goes home with Leo and Anya meets a Raevan she likes off the bat?!
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:12 am
Rainbow In A Bottle
Participants: Axel and Zeke
Location: Lab 305
Type: {PRP - FILLED DROP OFF}
Status: Complete
--- Summary ---
Axel drops off her Essence and Soul Glass; the latter of which contains the soul of a colorful chameleon!
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:36 pm
Cabin Fever The apartment was silent. For two months now that had become the norm as Zeke would leave for work no later than nine a.m while Anastacia stayed home alone with Dust Bunny and Nel. From the snowy day in December the vet came to her and gave her his permission the spider queen had relished her freedom. She enjoyed not being constantly badgered about trivial things or made to speak to those who wandered into the vet's office for one thing or another. Staying home and doing her own thing was wonderful to the Frei, so it was a displeasing thing to her that she was feeling so restless now.
Staring out the living room window at the snow slowly drifting down from the heavens, the spider queen frowned. She wasn't a dumb creature by any means so she was able to pinpoint just why she was feeling the way she was. It wasn't a bad night's sleep, hunger, or a bad day in general for her that was the cause. It was the weather. The reason she couldn't leave even though her very core itched to escape the walls that surrounded her and go for a walk or something. A change of scenery for an hour or two, that's what she wanted, but this damnable season prevented that.
A well-versed person would call her situation 'cabin fever', but Anastacia was unaware of such a phrase. Turning from the window, the spider queen breathed a disgruntled sigh and settled on the couch. She propped her right elbow on the arm of the seat and rested her cheek upon her palm, keeping with the frown as she stared blankly across the room. She kept it up for a few moments but was soon up in the air again and moving toward the bookcase to the left of the couch and against the wall. Fingering the tomes idly, she found nothing of interest and turned her sights on the TV and the copious amounts of DVDs that rested on shelves on either side of its stand. In the months that had passed she had perused and played a small few of them, becoming something of an expert at working the remotes that were required for the TV and DVD player.
Reaching the cases, she did as she had done with the books and ran a slender finger along the exposed spines lined neatly together on their racks. As she did so a soft chorus of no's left her cherry red lips and the itch only grew the farther she sunk to view the movies lower on the shelves. Her frown deepened as well; this itch was so unlike the one that came before her molts. It was deeper than her skin, an expanding bubble inside her bosom that seemed to squirm the longer she stayed put at something. At least she could scratch her molting warning itches, but this one?
Anastacia turned her head from the cases and looked at the windows. There was only one long term cure and she couldn't take that medicine just yet. Leaving the apartment to patrol the door lined halls of the complex's floors just wasn't the right stuff for her either. While wandering about the complex would be a change, she needed to be out-out and soon to rid herself of this restlessness fully. She was going to go stir crazy otherwise!
Subconsciously chewing her lip in mounting anticipation it was then that the silence was pierced by the shrill ring of the phone in the kitchen. Anastacia jumped, whacking her arm against the DVD case she was crouched at as she rose into the air in alarm.
"Son of a b***h," she hissed, immediately bringing that arm to her chest and rubbing the spot with her free hand. Turning, she glared at the wall that held the kitchen on its opposite side, refusing to answer the phone and instead letting the answering machine get it.
"Hello, this is Superintendent Laraine calling to say..."
"Not again." This had to be the fifth time that dumb audio recording called in the past two months to give a report about the school systems for some reason or another. Zeke had called the school department multiple times to tell some lower level employee that they had the wrong number on their list, but it was clear to the Frei that whoever was on the other end of those calls was a complete idiot. Grumbling, she quickly floated to the kitchen and picked up the phone, putting it back down in its cradle immediately after and effectively silencing the cheery, partially-robotic woman's voice.
"When Zeke gets home I'll tell him..." The Frei trailed off, resting a hand on the counter as she looked straight ahead in a stroke of sudden realization. The vet would be told of the school department's folly, yes, but...why hadn't she thought of it before now? Today had been a particularly bad day for restlessness and thus given birth to this idea but...well...it was so obvious it hurt. It was cold outside, certainly, but Zeke had a car. He had keys, a full tank of gas, and a personality that would make him all too happy to go along with her suggestion of him taking her out. Where? Anywhere, she didn't care, but dammit out all the same.
Taking her hand off the counter, the Frei brought it up to her cheek while her opposite arm held onto the raised one's elbow. Pinching her lavender pair of eyes shut, she leaned into her own touch and breathed out through her nose, feeling that itch in her chest as it squirmed with her lingering in the kitchen. It was an obvious idea, but she wasn't one to beat herself up. Instead, now that she had it in mind, she was going to make good on it and confront the vet when he walked in the door.
"He said he gets out at five..."
She didn't open her lavender eyes, instead using the four spidery ones on her brow to look at the clock that displayed the time digitally over the stove. The current time was eleven-thirty and that meant Anya had five and a half hours to go before she'd see hide or hair of her Guardian. The itch grew with that notion and the Frei wasted no time in removing herself from the clock's vicinity. Staring at it would only make her impatience and restlessness eat her from the inside out so the Raevan moved back into the living room, immediately returning to the DVDs to start up where she left off. Reading was out and knitting and sewing - as much as she adored and sunk into those hobbies - were quiet tasks; too quiet for right now. As most certainly doable as her idea was, Anastacia needed a distraction - noise, sound, action - and only a movie would fit that bill. There was of course TV as an alternative but commercials would just make her impatient for the show she was watching to come back on. That most certainly would not help in that case.
"No...no...no..."
Movies were passed over as they just didn't appeal to her by title alone. In doing so she made that impatience grow just a little more with each 'no' and soon enough the spindly femme simply pulled the next DVD in line out from its spot. Title, premise, plot - it didn't matter, she just needed it on now. With growing agitation and desperation (she was sure she could hear the oven clock's minutes tick as they gave way to the next number in the line) Anastacia popped open the case to the first Back to the Future movie and laid it in the DVD player's tray. With a push of a button and mechanical whirring the disk had been accepted and shortly there after Anya was perched on the couch again, fumbling with the remotes as she tried to get the one for the TV in her dominant hand.
Once the TV was on and the outdated commercials imprinted on the DVD playing, Anastacia sunk back against the couch and sighed again - this time with relief. As soon as the word 'Play' came up on the menu screen the proper button was pressed, and the Frei felt certainty for what she would later do as well as the idea that she wouldn't go stir crazy after all. Zeke would be asked and that would be that because they WOULD be going out. There was no doubt about that, but even then (and until then too): "Spring had better come soon."
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:04 pm
Stepping Out{March 15th, 2012} The routine was the same as always with only a minor change. It was almost noon and Zeke had not vanished off to work like he normally would in the mornings. He was in his work clothes and looking as ready to start his day as any man, but he was not gone nor was he making any quick movements toward the door. Instead the vet was milling about the living room when Anastacia appeared from her bedroom, fiddling with the window locks before straining with the windows themselves. His grunts and under breath mutters of strain to move the stuck window upward made the Frei pause to watch this impromptu spectacle. She cocked her head once as he uttered a very obvious curse word - in Italian of course but all the same it was a swear - as his fingers slipped from beneath the window's sill and knocked against the glass. With soreness now making his fingertips throb, Zeke finally gave up.
"Damn thing..." Zeke huffed as he rubbed his hands together gingerly, shaking his head afterward before turning around. As he did the latter motion, his brown eyes fell upon his ward, and the veterinarian gave her a wide grin that covered up the fact he was now aching perfectly. "Good morning Anya!"
"Good morning," the femme replied automatically, "what are you doing here?"
Zeke did not pick up on the hollowness of his ward's returned greeting, instead immediately focusing on the question. He chuckled at her point blank way of stating it as well as her curiosity, approaching her with a bounce in his step and his arms spread wide.
"I live here!" He teased, dropping his arms as she moved back and eyed him with suspicion. Zeke slipped his thumbs through his belt loops and rocked to and fro on his heels. "I got a call this morning saying they moved the start of my shift to 12:45. So I decided to hang out for awhile. Had breakfast, did a little cleaning, and I was trying to open the windows as you probably saw."
He looked over his shoulder, smile momentarily vanishing into a pout of a frown at the stuck window. He gave it a small glare - trying to mentally will it to open on its own by looks alone - but then turned back around to face the spider queen.
"I also went and got the paper. It's gorgeous out today, Anya, so feel free to open your bedroom window. Speaking of...I am not going to let that one defeat me."
The vet left her presence right then, spinning on his heel and perhaps gaining some momentum in order to make his next attempt. Anastacia lofted a brow at him but left the raver to it, floating into the kitchen to soak up some heat for a quick snack of a breakfast. While she did that, one thing he had said stuck with her: the fact it was a gorgeous day out.
Although she had made Zeke take her places to relieve the ever amounting stress of winter-born 'cabin fever', those few little outings in the evening had only been a band aid solution to her problem. They relieved the feelings of being stuck for awhile, but soon enough they were back in force - seemingly stronger each time. At the moment the chewing sensation on her mind of being cooped up for so long was dim - still asleep, or at least shaking sleep off - but by the time Zeke left, cabin fever restlessness was awake and raring to make her day miserable once more should she choose not to act.
However, unlike days before where she was forced not to by temperature, rain, or a mix of the two, today was apparently gorgeous. This was a change and one she was not going to leave uninvestigated, especially since the vet had managed to get the uncooperative panes up before he left. Anastacia was lingering in the kitchen but the breeze from outside reached even in there. It teased the ends of her long hair and ran invisible fingers over her skin, which coaxed her out from in front of the stove and into the living room.
Rubbing her arms at the not unpleasant sensation of gooseflesh rising on her skin, the Virus Raevan made her way through the living room and up to the windows. The air coming in from outside was cool in the shade of the apartment, but not to the degree that would make her balk or shut the windows. Outside the world was bathed in sunlight and, angling herself so her face was near the screen, Anastacia could feel its warmth even where she floated. The sounds of cars, birds, and people on the street below reached her ears and despite the din she relaxed at that spot. The Frei closed her lavender eyes, unfocused her arachnid blues, and simply soaked it in. There was no doubt about it: spring had finally come at last.
A pleased sigh left the Frei, but with it came the restlessness from its lair in her chest. Opening and focusing her respective pairs of eyes again, the spider queen straightened and immediately came to a conclusion on just what she would be doing today. Zeke considered her old enough to stay home by herself now. With spring now in swing, Anastacia was of the mind she was old enough to leave home without her chaperone as well. At any rate, there was no way she was going to let cabin fever keep its hold on her and with it being a day like today out even she knew she'd be crazy to stay indoors. So, with the whole idea of this day being gorgeous confirmed as fact, she moved the window to her room - feeling brisk and ready to go for the first time in many months.
It didn't take the Frei but a moment to gather her bag and tuck away the little things she felt were pertinent - namely the needlepoint she had been working on, the small book on it, and some spare spools of thread and a package of needles. For the first time in her life the Frei didn't sweat about her appearance, instead merely passing a glance over her already made up form before sweeping out of her bedroom again. She didn't think to pause for more than a moment at best, and even Nel's call didn't stop the Raevan as her ribbon whipped out the bedroom door behind her.
"Where are you going?"
"Out!"
"Out" alone sounded good to say. It rested on her tongue and tingled pleasantly, which spurred the Frei on. She took the corner from the hall to the front door in a grand arch, wings spreading wide and bag swinging on her right shoulder. The contents within shifted but Anastacia neither cared nor paid much mind. She reached the door and pulled it open, closing it behind her more as an afterthought than anything else. She passed the elevator and headed right for the stairs, pushing that door open immediately floating down at a pace that would be consistent with a human's jog. Down she went, one floor at a time, until she reached the lobby and did the same as with the door levels above. This time however she almost hit a man reaching to open the same door, who snapped a 'watch it!' at her as she passed.
Eyes on the prize, Anastacia didn't even grace those words with so much as a furrowed brow. The man's words fell on deaf ears which only regained the powers of hearing when the apartment lobby's front door swung open and released the Virus Frei out upon the world. It was here she finally paused, coming to a dead stop on a sunny stretch of sidewalk. Anastacia did as she had by her home's window with an added lift of her face skyward and soaked it in. The feel of sun on her pale skin, the smell of the city and the fresh spring air passing through it, the sounds of those making their commutes around her now rather than below her...
"Ahh..." Another sigh left her - the sound much like one would make after a satisfying meal - and she noted with delight that there was no cabin fever chaser. She opened her eyes at this notion and stared blankly up at the sky that was remarkably blue even through her nearsighted fog. Buildings surrounded her like sentries but even then, there were no clouds in her immediate stretch of sky. With that topping the warm, sunny day it was already, Anastacia had to give it to Zeke. As wrong as she usually found him, he had been right about something once more. She faulted him on many things and kept past upsets close, but this wasn't one of either of them.
A point to Zeke.
The words echoed through her head but quickly faded into nothing as now was not the time to be focusing on Zeke. Now was the time to take action; to get moving and do what she wanted to do outside for the first time unsupervised. This was no grocery store or apartment - this was the whole of Durem she had at her fingertips. The question on her mind now was simple: with a day like today, what did she want to do first? Or better yet, what didn't she want to do first? That one had a simpler answer - stick around in front of the apartment all day. She had all of Durem to explore if she so chose, so without further ado Anastacia adjusted her bag and gave her large wings another flick. Going left seemed like a good idea and so she struck out that way, making her way around those who were walking at a disgruntling pace before her on the sidewalk.
Anastacia made her way down the street and crossed at the painted lines with a group of others. Her mind was reeling with possibilities of what she could do with her freedom, but even with all those ideas in her head, she knew she wanted to spend all her time outside if she could help it. Of course, by being on her own today she could! The fact struck her again and the Raevan smiled to herself as she took a right and crossed another intersection. She had gotten used to being home alone during the winter - cabin fever aside - and if the weather kept up with being as nice as it was today, she could most definitely get used to this as well.
I think, she considered as she paused to take in the glittering wares behind the front windows of a small jewelery shop, I'll do this every day.
Her long term plan brewing now: go out each day and take a jaunt around the city. Durem's limits were vast, so each day she would pick a different direction to travel or aim to go farther than she had the day before. What she would do during these trips or what she would find, she couldn't say at this moment, but like now, it was simply a good idea all the same. To stretch her wings and explore, to get out of the apartment while Zeke was away and spend some time alone but not cooped up; it was perfetto to Anastacia. And so it would happen, come hell or high water.
"Hmm..."
Pulling herself away from the glass that covered an array of necklaces, bracelets, and rings of various metals and stones, the Frei looked around once more. She hadn't gone far in her first expedition and, keen to change this, set off without so much as a second glance to the jewels that glittered and sparkled in reflected sunlight. She moved with the people who littered the pedestrian-only walkway but kept her distance from them, only getting close when those in front of her came to an abrupt stop. Each time this occurred she grumbled at the offender and shot them a glare as she floated around, earning looks that were more shocked than angry as each person she passed laid eyes on their first Raevan.
Despite the sparse upsets caused by insubordinate walkers, Anastacia's mood remained high. Her snack of heat was holding well and really, she couldn't find a reason or excuse to be upset in a lasting manner in weather this nice. This remained true as she made her way east and through a particularly nasty stretch of human congested sidewalk. The shops along both sides of the street were already pulling out all the stops when it came to spring sidewalk sales and while Anastacia browsed here and there when she could, the Frei kept on moving.
Grumbling and glares continued from her all that way, but acidic snaps were kept to a bare minimum. Eventually, she was freed of this massive group of shoppers. However, the place she was free of them was also a place that was free of the claustrophobic trappings of skyscrapers as well - the Durem Memorial Park.
Instead of buildings, trees, bushes, and other plant life rose around her and the Frei welcomed the change, if only for the fact that the paths here were not teeming with bargain hunters and people who would stop dead in the center of the road before them. The sun filtered down through the trees and gave the shadowy parts of the ground a mottled look that ebbed and flowed as the breeze blew through the leaves. Birds called, small rodents scurried about, and people walked about - all enjoying what winter had given way to. The spider queen was among the latter in that respect and with no hesitation she entered the park, picked a path, and floated down it.
As she descended into the open greenery, Anastacia idly recalled Zeke mentioning this place time and again in his attempts to invite her to do things with him. Back then - last spring and summer - she hadn't been keen to go to such a place. She wasn't considering that she had been too hasty with her decision then - she would have still had Zeke hanging around after all - but now that she was here on her lonesome, the Virus Frei was feeling that she could see what he had been getting at in wanting to come here. The sun, the sounds, the smell of fresh air and plant life; it was nice. Quaint, even. On a day like today, it was a good place to spend some time in - and that's just what she did.
She passed several benches along her chosen route through the park and after awhile the Frei became tired of hovering about and settled down on the next one she came across. The wood and metal seat had been set beneath the bud-covered branches of a maple tree and was shaded by the shadow cast from a massive oak a few yards down the path. Once settled and as comfortable as she could be on a wood-backed seat, the Raevan femme opened up the bag she had brought with her and pulled out her needlepoint practice and the book on the subject. She splayed the latter out on the space next to her and set about continuing where she left off on the former.
Thanks to the book being placed where it was, Anastacia was not graced with the lasting presence of other park attendees while she worked. That was part of her plan, but unwittingly her looks also helped to serve in this, as more people made a wide berth away from the arachnid being than walked in close proximity to her; not that she saw any of them anyway. So absorbed was she that Anastacia didn't even notice when a woman stifled a squeal of frightened disgust before turning on her heel and walking quickly back the way she had come.
Undisturbed and thus unconcerned of the world going on around her, Anastacia only returned to the world at large when she realized the light was beginning to fade on the face of her project. Blinking twice to clear her glassy gaze, the Frei raised her head and saw that the area before her was far more shadowy than it had been when she arrived. The sky between the trees was indigo to the east, but en route the west the color morphed to blue then to a mixture of pink, yellow, and orange as the sun set. Puzzled, the Frei looked around her. She found no clock and had no knowledge that one could read the time by looking at the positions of shadows on the ground, but knew well enough that some time had passed. Quite a lot in fact.
"Time flies..." she mumbled, floating off the bench to give herself a stretch. Wings, arms, neck and even the crown upon her head - all had a slight degree of soreness to them brought about by hours of mostly stationary work. That brought a frown to her face which only deepened when the spider queen knew she had to go home now. A large part of her wanted to stay awhile more, but the sensible section reminded her that while her eyesight was bad during the day, it was even worse when faced with the light-eating shadows of night. Unable to defeat herself, it was with a heavily reluctant sigh that Anastacia turned, put her things away, and left the park for home.
I'll come back here tomorrow. Bright and early, so long as Zeke wasn't hanging around at home again. Moving across the street and down the now mostly bare sidewalk she was already working an itinerary out. I'll come back to the park, explore a little more, do some more sewing, maybe go out the other side and see what's out there...
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:11 am
The Perfect Birthday Checklist{Zeke Edition} A gorgeous day outside - ✔
A full night's sleep (that you feel refreshed from when you wake up) - ✔
A delicious breakfast - ✔
Naked breakfast - ✘
Greeting and/or birthday wishes from Anya - ✔
The day off work - ✔
Assorted phone calls from family, friends, and loved ones - ✔
Plans to have a certain special someone come over later on - ✔
Convince Anastacia to accompany you out to do various fun things because it's your birthday - ✔
Have a nice lunch - ✔
Return home in the early evening after a phonecall with Brad - ✔
Greet Brad when he arrives - ✔
Help with and have a delicious homemade meal - ✔
Have cake and open presents - ✔
Watch a couple movies and/or play a couple games (video or board) with Anya and Brad - ✔
Continue spending time with Brad when Anya wanders off to bed - ✔
Proceed with the cuddling and kissing now that Anya is out of the room - ✔
Continue this as well as the movie watching before proceeding to bed late at night - ✔
Fall asleep in your loved ones arms and feel like the happiest man in the world - ✔✔✔✔✔
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:19 am
The Perfect Birthday Checklist{Anastacia Edition} A gorgeous day outside - ✔
A full night's sleep (that you feel refreshed from when you wake up) - ✔
A delicious breakfast - ✘
Greeting and birthday wishes from Zeke - ✔
Zeke has the day off work - ✔
Presents - ✔
Promise of MORE presents - ✔
Plans to go out and be attended to hand and ribbon - ✔ ... ✘????
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:23 am
Unintentional Advisor
Participants: Anastacia and Lazarus
Location: Durem - one of the shopping districts
Type: {PRP}
Status: Void
--- Summary ---
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:30 am
Discovering the Truth Nothing stirred within the apartment when Zeke arrived home. It was after 8pm, and the home he shared with Anastacia was silent - something the vet noted as he shut the door behind him and took his first steps in from the foyer.
The exhausted vet had to frown when he saw no trace of the spider queen in the kitchen or living room, and his eyes trailed from the latter down the hall in the vicinity of his ward's den. A crease formed between his eyes and his right hand gripped just a little tighter over the handles of the cream-colored paper bag he carried.
She's probably pissed. Which was not unexpected in the slightest. Hell, right now the vet would agree that she had every right to be, as he himself was rather miffed by what had transpired today. First, he had been forced to leave Anastacia on her birthday due to an emergency he hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise about over the phone. And second, although he had promised his ward that he would return in an hour or two, he had been made a liar in that respect. From the emergency he had been summoned for it had been one thing after another and Zeke was considering himself lucky he had been able to leave when he had. All the same, that wouldn't mean jack to the spider queen and he knew it. All he could hope now was that she would accept his apology and, steeling himself for a tantrum when he showed his face, Zeke wasted no time in getting right to it.
His feet carried him down the hall quietly but with purpose. The vet paused just outside the Frei's room, shifting the bag he carried with him from his right hand to his left. The contents were supposed to be a surprise after all and once the exchange was made, the raver stepped into the open doorway of the Widow's room. What he saw in the bedroom proper startled him.
Anastacia was in there, naturally, perched upon her bed. Nel, the Virus Frei's pet, was there as well but this common sight was not the reason Zeke's pierced brows had lofted up his forehead. What caused this reaction was the several bags littering the spindly femme's bed and surrounding floor, as well as the mass of cloth spilling out from the former onto the Raevan's sheets.
"Wh-Where'd you get all that?" There was no buffer on his thoughts and the words just came tumbling out. All the same, they were enough to garner Anya's attention by causing the Frei to jump in surprise. She rose from her bed when her eyes landed on the source of the interruption, the lavender pair narrowing with disdain and displeasure as she dropped the white silk scarf she had been showing her pet.
"You're back. Hm...And here I was thinking you'd never return." The Frei spoke coldly to her Guardian and her words held an edged quality that was her attempt to not immediately shout him into oblivion. Without waiting for a reply, she turned from her man and picked the accessory back up, slipping it into its bag before doing the same to other articles of clothing and baubles she had bought today.
Zeke gawked a moment, taken aback by the lack of explosion just as much as he was by the notion that his ward had quite obviously left the house today. Quickly that moment of silence passed and the vet had a hold on his thoughts and his tongue. First in line was the apology.
"You have NO idea how sorry I am." He stepped into the room as he spoke, right arm held out to the side with its palm up to her, looking as every bit as sorry as he felt. "I know I promised I'd come back after an hour or two and I am SO sorry that didn't happen. I tried so damn hard to get in and out of there, but all this stuff kept happening and...ugh. It was so bad. I couldn't even call you."
The spider queen heard the vet's words but didn't respond to them. She kept her back to her Guardian and kept up the appearance that she was merely putting her purchases away. It was a good ruse, as Zeke then walked around to the foot of her bed to look at her. She didn't look at him until one bag was filled and she was forced to pass her eyes over his chest to reach for the next one.
"Anya..." The vet's shoulders slumped as he said it but he then shook his head. None of that. If it wasn't a tornado of a tantrum it would be the cold shoulder. Again. And that was worse than the tantrum. At least she would be speaking to him if it was a tantrum. "Anya, c'mon. Don't do this."
"Why should I forgive you?" The cold bite to her words was there but she spoke as plainly as ever as she folded up a short red dress and put it away. It was almost as if they were talking about the weather, if the coldness wasn't taken into consideration.
"What? I...Okay listen. I know I ******** up and I'm trying to make amends here. This is two years in a row your birthday hasn't gone right and this time it's totally my fault. Anya, I'm sorry; really, really sorry. And...Here. I got you this."
The vet set the cream-colored bag down next to the white bag Anastacia was tucking a couple of silver bangle bracelets into. Zeke lingered his open palm by the bag's handles for a few heartbeats then dropped it to his side, before not fighting the urge and using that hand to rub the back of his neck. He honestly would have preferred the tantrum to this awkward...it wasn't even able to be called a 'dance' at this point.
When the bag was lifted and set on the bed, Anastacia couldn't help but look at it. There was a design on the bag in a deep teal color; a flourish more than a logo, but a logo nonetheless and one Anya had never seen before. Her cherry red lips pulled down in a frown despite the presence of a gift.
"What is this?"
"Part apology, part birthday present." Zeke smiled a little as the Frei's lavender eyes were brought up from the bag to his face. "What, you didn't think I wouldn't get my girl something for her birthday, did you?" He smiled a little more as he spoke and by the end of his words, a chuckle escaped him. With the sound, the vet dropped his arm from his nape and gestured to the bag again.
"I know you've been getting into dresses and stuff lately..." And here he trailed off, looking point blank at a little black number resting dangerously close to the Virus' jagged ribbon. "So I got you this. And hey, if it doesn't fit or you don't like the color or whatever, I'm all for taking you to the store and getting you a different one. Tomorrow even, if you like."
He got a Zeke-brand beam out to Anastacia as he finished explaining, eyes back on the spider queen and looking hopeful now even though the Raevan was remaining impassive in appearance. Even though it looked that way to Zeke, there was a certain spark in all her eyes now as the words sunk in. No matter how mad she was at someone or something, there was something about getting a gift (or gifts, which was even better) that absorbed some of the ire that would run in her veins and flowed there now. Granted, this single offering was not enough to forgive or forget, but it was still enough to reward the man standing before her with an extended look of quiet consideration and contemplation before she turned to examine it.
After plucking out the white tissue paper that covered the item inside, Anastacia reached into the bag and slowly pulled out a dress most unlike the ones she had purchased on her outing today. Where the ones she had bought were short, this one was long and took her floating two feet up from her bed to fully free it from its paper confinement. The color of the gown was a dark purple that contrasted with her lighter periwinkle hair, but not unfavorably. It had sleeves - long, form hugging ones - that would cover from just off the shoulder to her wrists and a neckline that would show off her collar bones nicely and was embroidered with tiny beads the same color as the gown itself from edge to breast. All in all it was a very sleek looking gown and if the sleeves were ignored, the Frei assumed the dress was made from one piece of smooth fabric.
"It's nice." Surprisingly so - which reflected in her tone as she held it up to model in her bureau mirror - given the buyer had been her man, who chuckled again at the quiet approval.
"I'm glad you think so, and so is this, speaking of nice things." Gently he tugged at the edge of a bow that tied around the back of the little black number. Like his arrival, those words immediately drew the Frei's attention. She didn't say anything about it nor made to snatch it away from his fingers and the two merely looked at each other until Zeke spoke again.
"I take it you went out by yourself today."
"I've been going out by myself for ages now," was the coolly spoken reply which then turned dry. "I didn't think it was right for me to sit at home all day on my birthday." Even in lieu of a gift, she wasn't going to let her man off so easily. He was one who should have known better after all.
The mention of 'ages' in the first part of her statement surprised him, but Zeke felt it did make sense. Even homebodies got cabin fever and he should have figured she would have struck out on her own sometime. He couldn't be mad at her for that and wasn't; instead contemplative. At the second part however, he reached up and brushed the nape of his neck again; sheepish as well as once more apologetic.
"Yeah you're right about that, Anya. Like I said, I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me for what happened today. You have every right to be upset, but I wanna make it up to you and not just with the dress. If you're up for it, I'll be more than happy to take you out on the town again like last year. You remember that don't you?"
She did and quite clearly at that. Zeke had made up for what a holiday had ruined, and though it wasn't on the day of her birth, it had still been what she had expected a birthday to be like - a day all about the one who had turned a year older. She was still upset at him for what had transpired today and would be holding fast to the prospect of her third birthday not being in shambles next year, but with his immediate apology and the added gift plus his willingness to take her out...well how could she say no to that? She would be a fool not to even in spite of her steady dislike of him.
"I remember," she was keen to this plan, but she wasn't about to show it and let him think he was off the hook. As such, her voice remained cool and her face was kept as impassive as ever as she tucked the gown away and turned to face her man. "Tomorrow, Zeke. Not this weekend, not next week. Tomorrow." She would not put up with holding off on celebrating her day her way. It would be tomorrow or not at all.
"Tomorrow." Zeke smiled lightly as he repeated the word, feeling as though getting the day off so suddenly might be tough yet already pulling ideas out of thin air to present to her in the morning. "I can do tomorrow."
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Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 8:49 am
A Long Time Coming
Participants: Anastacia, Ronan, and Zeke
Location: Lab 305
Type: {PRP}
Status: Underway
--- Summary ---
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:00 am
Jailbreak!
Participants: Cesc, Eirdirsceol, Isikoro, Vivi, and Zeke
Location: Lab 305
Type: {PRP - RAEVAN PICK UP}
Status: Complete
--- Summary ---
The White Stag Frei is born!
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:36 am
House Callin`
Participants: Anastacia, Cesc, Shepard, Vivi, and Zeke
Location: Vermillion Bakery
Type: {PRP}
Status: Complete
--- Summary ---
Anastacia meets a stunning newborn.
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