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 Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:48 pm
Anyway I was mad for a bit and Kilah said some real mean things but Mignon told her not to and came and cheered me up and then Kilah talked to me and cheered me up too after Mignon left. So I guess theyre still my friends even though theyre bigger again which is good as long as they dont grow again before Im older. I dont think they will though. unless I really am broken.
Anyway Kilah gave me a dagger when she was cheering me up. Its about the greatest thing Ive ever seen ever! But I cant use it cause its cursed which is bad. But Kilah says shes trying to figure out how to break the curse so maybe by the time Im older and can really fight Jax the cursell be gone. I sure hope so cause Id love to stabe Jax with it.
Until then Ive been bugging Coen because he hatched and is a really happy little stupid wuss. Hes an idiot. But I can pull his feathers out and make Jax think I cut them off so Coen cries and Jax is scared to punch me cause he thinks I can stab him. Its fun. And Banda doesnt even suspect anything cause hes been in his studio all day working on something. I think Im making Moo sad though. She took Coen away and told me to come up here to my room so I guess shes mad but she didnt sound mad just a little tired.
Maybe that Pod guys bugging her.
I dunno.
Bye now.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:47 am
It''d been more hours than the griff could count, yet Kilah continued to rant. And because he was the good, loyal, and during times like these quiet Gizmo, he simply listened as he walked along side her, trying hard to ignore the fact the grip she had on his feathers tightened as she got angrier.
And the more she spoke, the angrier she got. "Mommy? MOMMY?! Ugh! At least Pukio came to visit. She''s cool." The child had long forgotten she was still wearing that eyepatch. Not as if it effected her sight any.
"Isto says it''ll wear off in a few days, of course. Nothing to worry about." The pink-haired child waved airily, continuing forward towards he-wasn''t-sure-where as if he knew exactly where he was taking his younger ''brothers''. In truth, the lamb was leading, but Jaxom would never let him know it. And one could lead from the rear. Back seat driving. "He''s taken her for a spin around the city, hoping some of the sights''ll snap her memory back. And he said in the meantime--"
"This is the sixth bloody time you''ve gone through this, stupid! We know what''s going on!" Jaxom bristled, Lyrus snarled right back. Of course, neither really did know what was going on, so the tension was understandable. ...But then, these two never got along. "Turn right up here," the Sin''aeis added under his breath. To all appearances, Jaxom ignored him, but made the turn as directed.
It was a rather strange parade that progressed towards the Sin''aeis mansion that day. Moo''s strange...accident had driven her sons from the house, and now the four (accompanied by Jaxom''s ''guardian'') were off looking for somewhere to relax until home was safe. The tallest, pink hair, tanned skin, leading, Lyrus just behind with his darker personage and single horn, something that looked like a humanoid snake (two arms, no legs) following just behind him, a bubbly blue cherub flitting along behind and, ending the group, a tiny black kitty, who occasionally added a sarcastic comment of his own.
Quite a sight.
The ''parade'' continued with the occasional snippy comment between the leaders, and within a short time the mansion came into view. And right then, Lyrus left the group at a run, leaving his ''brothers'' staring after him. "Kilaaaah, hi!"
"Seriously, what the hell? And who would LIKE her? LIKE Noharu? And like THAT?! It''s disgusting!"
While Gizmo was growing tired of hearing her go on and on (andonandon), he had to agree. The fact anyone would like Noharu at all was surprising. Not only had that one fellow attempted to get on her good side, but she also had that tiny girl with bat wings clinging to her the whole time who claimed she was a "hostage". Odd indeed...
When Kilah heard the call, her mood seemed to lighten a bit. Gizmo was happy, too. This would stop her ranting for a while at least. "Lyrus!" She called louder than nesscary, turning toward his voice. "Hey!"
"I am SO glad you''re here," Lyrus exclaimed, slowing to a half as he neared her and immediately dropping to sit on the grass. "Or else I''d be stuck with be bloody brothers. Moo''s acting weird so they came with me." That seems like a good enough explanation. Not that he could explain it any further. Moo''s was nuts, and no one was entirely sure what -had- happened..."Wanna help me kill Jax?"
"I heard that, squid." Lyrus jumped visably with the his, but Jaxom seemed perfectly cheerful when he actually reached the pair, even nodding politely to Kilah...despite that fact that she couldn''t see. Not that he knew she couldn''t. "Well, hello. Who''re you, then?"
Snake-boy and Blue-cherub also seemed to have joined the group, but Snake-boy simply stared, unblinking, fom the sidelines, whereas Blue-cherub had completely lost interest and was chasing Jax''s cat.
So glad she was here? Well, that was no surprise. People should be glad she was with them. Because she was Kilah (the great pirate *shot*). Chuckling sourly, she would''ve patted her friend on the shoulder in a comfort way had she been able to see him. "Oh, don''t worry, protectors are always-"
''Weird'' was what she was going to say, but her words were cut off by a voice she didn''t recognize, but one she safely assumed was Jax. The way Lyrus spoke of him made him seem like he could rival Noharu, which was quite a task.
Speaking of Noharu, because she''d come to visit them, Lucky had given Kilah her other two daggers back. She''d brought both with her, and was even holding one by time Lyrus arrived. Her grip on the handle tightened, her eyes unfocused by somehow she managed to glare anyway.
"Name''s Akilah, and I take it you''re Jax?"
"Jaxom," he correct automatically, as if it actually mattered. It was a new peeve of his, since he had grown. Only certain people were allowed to get away with calling him Jax. ....Meaning his mom. But no one else! (Which of course meant Lyrus did it every chance he was given.) The boy quirked a brow, sound just as surprised as he appeared. "You''re Akilah? Oh. Wow. Um... Lyrus blabs about you and such. You''re not what I expected."
Lyrus rolled his eyes and lost interest on the conversation, instead watching Blue-boy and the kitten almost hungrily. Hmm....
"Well, Jax-" If it irratated him, you bet she''d say it. Hopefully he''d be smart enough to not make her stab him, because even Kilah wasn''t sure if she was sane enough to stop. Infact, lately it felt like Noharu was a step below her. Hm. "-yes, I am Akilah. Most people say "Kilah", for the record."
Not that she cared, but letting strangers know right away tended to avoid confusion. "I''m sure he does." Lyrus was the type to do such things from what she knew, and in her opinion that was quite a lot. "And just what did you except?"
"Jaxom," he repeated once more, though didn''t really seem to be paying attention. "And Kilah, then. It''s nice to meet you." And, surprisingly, he actually meant it. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Lyrus'' friend equaled enemy in the Guardian''s mind, but...well, maybe not in this case? Eyeing Kilah in a bemused sort of way, he shrugged, deciding honesty was best. "Well, not a girl who actually looks like a girl, for one."
Not that Lyrus ever really bothered with descriptions, if he ever had. On top of that, usually Lyrus and Jaxom''s ''conversations'' were shouting matches across the living room, or wrestling to see who could throw the other down the stairs. But even if the comment would have bothered Lyrus, the lamb wasn''t paying attention. He had ambled over and was now chatting with an overly excited looking Coen (Blue-cherub), while patting Jax''s kitten just a bit harder than appropriate on the head.
The snake boy, Adroi, continued to watch silently from the sidelines, purple eyes moving calmly from Jax to Kilah and back throughout the conversation.
She wasn''t quite sure if she should take that as...some sort of compliment or stab him for it. What the hell did it matter if she "looked" like a girl if she was one? How stupid. "Well, I wouldn''t really know how I look, now would I?"
It was fair to assume Lyrus had told him about her being blind when he was babbling, right? "I''m not really sure what you mean by that, but if you start staring at my chest you have the option of letting me stab you or have Gizmo-" She stopped mid-sentence to motion toward the griff, who growled lightly. "-burn you alive. Personally, I''d take the second if it comes to that, because I''ve never killed anyone just yet, and I''m sure I''d make it very, very painful."
Well, good, now that that was out of the way. "Interesting meeting you." And she meant that, but didn''t trust this guy anymore than she could see. "Lyrus tells me a lot of bad things about you, I assume they''re all true."
"Oh, right, you can''t see. That''s a pity," Jaxom sighed, watching her almost sadly. Really, it must be terrible having to go without sight... Or maybe it wasn''t as bad if she had never seen before? Maybe she had her own ideas of what people and things looked like? Curious... Jaxom blinked, then laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, no, I didn''t mean it like that. It''s just, the way Lyrus talks, I''d expected to you to be..er... I dunno, er...stocky, and, um...boyish. Not pretty."
He paused, then, realizing that could also be taken offensive, added, "Then again, most of the times I''ve heard about you, Lyrus was yelling about how he''d get you to come help stab me, so what was I supposed to expect? Of course...he doesn''t seem to be mistaken on the stabbing bit." The pink-haired Guardian eyed her dagger warily, eyes flitting momentarily to Gizmo before returning to Kilah. "Lyrus has never liked me. He thinks Moo likes be more, so he''s jealous. Moo doesn''t pick favorites. I''m just nice to her, so she''s nice back."
Well, that was partially true. And seeing as Lyrus wasn''t paying attention, Jaxom didn''t need to include the rest of the truth, meaning the bullying and fights and shoving each other down stairs and such. Yeah.
"Pretty?" How many times would people say that? Yukito had said it, too. Maybe if she''d known what usually qualified as "pretty" it would have mattered at least a little to her...
Knowing Kilah, probably not.
When the part about stabbing was brought up, she couldn''t help but grin. "Is that right...?" Well, on the bright side it was good Lyrus knew she''d help him and such, but this Jax, Jaxom, whatever the hell his name was didn''t seem...AS bad as he''d made it sound. Not that she trusted him.
However, if he was REALLY that threatening, Lyrus would''ve been paying attention. IF Lyrus had been paying attention, he would''ve without a doubt said something by now. The fact he hadn''t made her wonder if this was just like the rivalry that went on (one-sided, really) between her and Sango.
"Not everyone is ''nice'', you know. Some of us don''t want or need to be."
"Well, yeah, you''re a lot prettier than I''d expected," Jax replied with a shrug. Come to think of it, this girl was -very- pretty. ....But girls had cooties. Uh. Yeah, that was it. "Mmhmm," he added absently to her question about the stabbing. Lyrus was vicious little slug. Jaxom had been bitten multiple times during their ''playing''. And countered. Jax prided himself on having made Lyrus bleed from bites eight times to date.
"I never said everyone was nice," he countered, interest returning with the new subject. He grinned toothily, sending another shrug her way. "And even nice people can''t be nice all the time. I''m not nice a lot of the time to..certain people. And if you''re Lyrus'' pal, I doubt you''re nice all the often either, eh? He''s certainly not."
Raising an eyebrow, at first she did nothing than provide a small, ''Hm.'' The subject of being pretty she just found annoying for some reason. Maybe it''d just been the topic of conversation too many times, and she certainly couldn''t contribute to a talk like that.
Needless to say she was happy for the subject changed, but you wouldn''t know it with that dull expression that crossed her face. "Lyrus is badass too, but I''d laugh at the death of people he considers friends." Yukito came to mind.
And okay, so she wouldn''t LAUGH, but she''d be happy to have him go away.
"I''m the big bad on campus. You remember that."
"Badass," Jaxom repeated, quirking a brow. Lyrus? Badass? It was all Jax could do not to laugh. Lyrus was a whiny, spoiled little slug who resorted to violence whenever he was upset or things didn''t go exactly his way. He was anything but badass. Now, Isto; Isto was badass. Lyrus was not Isto. "You''re the first of his friends who I''ve met.. So I can''t say the same."
The cat Guardian was silent for a moment, then chuckled, eyeing Kilah curiously. "Yeah, the mafia leader, I heard. Should I be scared?" Smirk.
Was that a challenge? Naturally, Kilah would take it as one. Gizmo, on the other hand, whined loudly, begging her not to hurt anyone--or more importantly make him burn anybody.
He listened to everything she said, yes. Not out of fear of death, but because for whatever reason he was more loyal to her than any dog could be, though he still seemed to think he was one.
With her index finger, the chicken Sin''aeis reached out. By some miracle, she managed to poke Jax in the forehead and not the eye. If she had, she wouldn''t have cared, but still.
In other hand, the grip on the dagger tightened as she traced her finger along Jax''s forehead, speaking sweetly, "I highly suggest you and your adorable little freinds not challenge me, considering you''re already on my bad side from what Lyrus tells me, unless you want me to take this and pierce your heart with it, okay?"
Either she was getting better at acting crazy, or her mind was a prison for sanity that''s time in jail was about to end.
Jaxom seemed more amused by the situation than actually concerned. Indeed, he chuckled softly, lazily applauding Kilah''s ''performance''. "I''ll keep that in mind. But it wasn''t a challenge, just a statement." Okay, maybe a -bit- of a challenge. "I''m not scared of you. I''m not scared of anywho who I''ve met thus far. Except perhaps Scion. He''s rather creepy," the boy mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
Snapping back to reality, he smiled, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides, you don''t seem as prone to random stabbings and Lyrus, and I''m perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
For a short while, the girl froze, afterward sharply pulling her hand back, gawking slightly. "You''re serious...?" He sure sounded it. Not like those people she had backed up against the wall with the classic, ''Y-you don''t scare me!'' when they both knew she did.
In the case of ''random stabbings'', "You''d be very surprised." That said, she went silent, pondering this entire thing over. He wasn''t afraid? That made no sense! Even if she wasn''t scary, the fact she had a DAGGER should''ve been! Maybe he thought she wouldn''t REALLY hurt him?
Well...she couldn''t, could she? Because...Lyrus would get in trouble, and...and!
What the hell was WITH this guy?!
With the dagger-free hand, she reached up quickly placed it over her forehead. Suddenly she had a very, very bad headache. Since when did she THINK about what she was doing?
Ceasing his clapping, Jaxom let his hands fall back to his sides and simply stared curiously at Kilah. "Of course I''m serious." Jaxom was rarely scared of anything, and Kilah was certainly not an exception. Sure, she had a dagger, and, though he didn''t doubt she would use it if she were mad enough, she wasn''t. She was just trying to scare him. To add to that, given the situation, he could very easily put all the blame on Lyrus if he was hurt, and he knew Kilah wouldn''t stab him pointlessly if it would get her friend in trouble.
To add to that, he had his kitten with him.
Yes, at present, Jaxom was untouchable and knew it. However, at Kilah''s distressed/confused expression, his smile faded somewhat, and he tilted his head curiously at her. ''Are you...alright?"
Kilah took it as an insult to her abilities, and not once did it cross her mind maybe this Jaxom guy just didn''t have the personality that allowed him to be scared so easily.
This...it''s not right! What''s wrong with me?! Am I not scary anymore?! No, NO! I am, I know I am. I''ll...just have to do something to prove it. Something mean. REALLY mean. But to who...?
Aard! Yes, of course Aard. It makes sense. I hate him so much, stupid tomato--
Argh, alright, so next time I see Aard I''ll mess with his head or...something, it doesn''t matter. Maybe I''m too "pretty" to be afraid or something? Or--
"Wark?" Gizmo questioned, concerned, nudging her arm.
"Eh?" Back into reality just in time to hear the question, which she immediatly dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, sure, fine."
Jax was....confused. Very confused. Kilah seemed to have completely lost interest in the conversation and was thinking about something... "Riiight." Oh well. It wasn''t his problem. He watched her curiously for a moment longer, then shrugged absently and looked out (past the still-staring Adroi) towards his ''playing'' brothers. (Lyrus had just ripped out another of Coen''s feathers, and Coen seemed to be debating whether to cry or apologize....stupid kid.) "Well, I think I''m going to take the slugs home now before Moo gets back. It was nice meeting you."
Out of instinct, Kilah nodded her head. Anyone who wasn''t Lyrus or Mignon she was happy to get rid of...or so she thought.
"Uh, hold on!" Her mouth blurted out before her mind had time to think. Once it did, it was something like: Why the hell did I say that?! Something was very, very wrong.
That ''distressed'' expression had surprised Gizmo, but when Kilah looked confused he seemed to be shocked. He couldn''t ever remember her looking like that. Normally, she''d just form an opinion on something and decide it was right, because it was her opinion and she was always right.
But now...she looked uncertain? That same hand that had been on her forehead was now right over her heart. It was beating awful fast, and she couldn''t figure out why.
"I don''t..." Don''t what, she had to ask herself, and at first didn''t seem to know. "I mean...uh...you..."
With the nod, Jaxom turned and started away, but paused in step and glanced curiously back at Kilah with her call. He hesitated, then turned back to face her, simply staring for a moment before quirking a brow and refolding his arms. Right, now Kilah definitely looked confused...and Jax had no idea why. Actually, the whole situation was rather amusing. This Kilah hadn''t struck Jaxom as the kind of person to get confused and flustered and whatnot. And now she couldn''t even formulate a sentance? "Er, excuse me..?"
"I..." Oh, s**t, what the hell was she suppose to say now? For those who knew her really well, this was truly something to remember. She''d been a bit slow to speak sometimes, but only Lucky had managed to make it so she couldn''t finish a sentence, and even then it was only once.
"I don''t..." For the first time ever, Kilah honestly felt very, very stupid. Had she been able to see it, she would''ve noticed Gizmo looked absolutely horrified.
Was she...was Kilah blushing?!
"It''s..uh..I don''t know..." The last part was intentionally muttered, almost as if she hoped he wouldn''t hear it.
This was either a really good joke, or...well, rather terrifying. Jaxom was beginning to think this girl had completely lost it. She had seemed so bold and comfortable with who she was and now... Well, now she was stumbling and stuttering over words, and..blushing? Ohh. Oh, this was rich. Jaxom''s faint smirk returned, and he remained standing patiently before Kilah, betraying none of his suspicions in his voice. "Oh, well, um... You sure? ''Cause if there''s nothing you need to say, or want to talk about... We''re just gonna head home."
If she''d been in the...right state of mind, she''d have probably snapped at him. She just blinked on the outside. On the inside, the gears in her mind were turning and one of those Kilah ideas were coming into play.
This was harder with Lyrus here, and Kilah had no idea what was wrong with her (yet). Speaking of Lyrus, she really, REALLY hoped he hadn''t been paying any attention to what they were saying. It seemed like it, but at this point she was only hoping...
"How dare you say that about Lyrus!" She snapped suddenly, sounding quite convincing. "I should stab you, but I can''t because it''ll get him in trouble! We''ll just go somewhere else, then! Because what I''m about to say to you isn''t for the ears of someone even my age!"
After that little act, she snapped her fingers. Gizmo sighed, but moved over to Jax and nudged him to the side forcefully. The nudge eventually became pushing, and Kilah followed just behind them. Oh my God...what is WRONG with me?
When she was positive they were far enough away, she ''ahem''ed and the griff stopped.
And...now she was snapping at him? Jaxom was so incrediably lost. The boy blinked, but before he could reply, Gizmo had distracted him with the nudge and Jax found himself walking away from the group of toddlers. When the griff finally ceased, the Guardian paused uncertainly, turning back towards Kilah with a somewhat hesitant smile. Not that he was scared, of course. He was just...extremely confused and wondering if perhaps he -should- fear this girl. She seemed a bit insane.
But then it clicked. She just didn''t want to talk infront of Lyrus. Return, smirk. "So, now that we''re away from the slugs, what were you trying to say?"
Lyrus really hadn''t been paying attention, and glanced over only when he heard his name from Kilah. The toddler raised a brow in confusion, but watched somewhat smugly as Gizmo ''shoved'' a rather confused looking Jaxom away. Let Kilah curse him out. Turning back to Coen, Lyrus resumed his work of plucking the baby''s feathers.
Even Gizmo didn''t know her as well as he thought.
"Listen, you...you...you witch," Kilah hissed, lifting the dagger a bit higher in an obvious attempt to be threatening. "Whatever spell you cast on me, I want it off. NOW. I don''t care if you''re Lyrus''s brother or not, I''ll gauge your eyes out and choke you with my bare hands, you hear me?"
It made sense to her. She was all fine and good, then suddenly some moron brother she''s suppose to hate shows up and she gets...like this? Nu uh, no way, Kilah wasn''t like "this".
It was a spell. He was a witch or wizard or something. She was positive.
And now she was being threatening again? ....Girls were weird. Jaxom quirked a brow, eyeing the dagger almost boredly. He was still untouchable, after all. He was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "I''m not a witch," he replied calmly. Then, chuckling softly, continued. "Actually, I can''t do any magic. My cat can, but it can''t even cast spells on people. So I dunno what you''re playing at, but I haven''t done a thing. And don''t wave that dagger at me, or I might wave one back."
Normally, she would''ve taken up on that offer. Normally, she would''ve just thrown the damn dagger toward his voice and hoped she hit him.
After all, he might think himself untouchable, but so did Kilah. Ahh, the arrogance of youth.
She surprised even herself when the small ''thud'' of her own dagger hitting the ground rang out, and onto her knees Kilah went, punching the ground rather hard with one hand and holding her head with the other.
"I. DON''T. LIKE. HIM." To convince herself, and it wasn''t working. This was her enemy! ENEMY! Enemy! Enemyenemyenemyenemy!
"Momoro sent you!" She nearly yelled, still pounding on the ground with her fist.
YES! That was it! Momoro! He was testing her! Well, HA! One step ahead of you, fox boy! Perhaps she finally HAD gone totally insane...
....Yup, this girl was crazy. But liked him, which was flattering. Even if she was crazy. At least she had good tastes... Jaxom was silent for a while longer, trying to think of a way to assure Kilah he wasn''t a trick without offending her. Of course, at the name of ''Momoro''....well, now Kilah was just babbling. "Who the hell is that? Listen, I''m Jaxom, I''m a Guardian, I live with Moo and have since last October, I don''t know any Momoro''s, I think Lyrus is a slug, and I''m not scared of you. Oh, and you like me. So it''s your turn to be honest and stop making me think you''re crazy."
"SHUT UP!" Okay, NOW she was yelling. At least if Lyrus heard that he could assume she was cussing him out and what now. Uggghh, her head hurt.
Wrong! WRONG! THIS is wrong! Enemyenemyenemyenemy...
"No, I don''t like you! I HATE people like you!" Rising to her feet, she pointed toward his voice and growled, though it wasn''t at all threatening with her arm shaking like that. "You''re arrogant, over-confident, a smartass, you don''t know when to shut your mouth, and-"
Her words stopped briefly, and then the realization hit. "You''re...you''re me."
HA! That was it! That HAD to be! "I-I don''t like you! I like ME! ME! That''s it! I hate you! You''re disgusting!"
So much for honesty. Jaxom simply folded his arms and endured the tirade, staring curiously at Kilah all the while. Or, rather, at her shaking hand, specifically the finger pointing at him. It was a pretty finger. Hm. When Kilah''s rant faltered, Jax returned his eyes to her face, quirking a brow. And when she had finished completely, sounding rather insane in the process, he chuckled softly. "Well, let''s think about that. So, I''m like you, eh? But you like you and hate me? I''m disgusting? Wouldn''t that make you disgusting too?"
He paused, then yawned absently, shrugging. "Personally, I think you''re just making excuses. You don''t want to admit that you like me ''cause Lyrus hates me so much. You do realize that, as alike as you and I are, that''s probably why Lyrus hates me? You and him fight all the time. We fight just as much, but we live together, so it''s different. Which means that I could be a great person, and Lyrus could just be stupid. You seem nice enough. Just crazy and in denial."
Since Akilah''s pupils were naturally smaller than everyone elses, her eyes must''ve been pretty damn wide to make it noticeable how shocked she was. Of course, her mouth hanging open helped with that as well. Did he just...tell her off?
It sure as hell seemed that way, but...but..
"You..you can''t talk to me like that! I''m Akilah! NO ONE is allowed to talk to ME like that! People are afraid of me! I plotted against the one who MADE me! You-you...you''re nothing!" What HAD happened to that Kilah who had threatened Chaco to make another bird for her "or else"?
What he''d said, though...it made sense. But if he was like her, then he could just be trying to toy with her mind, right?
Right. Because that''s something Kilah would do...
"I..I like you," she admitted in a mutter that was possiblely to quiet to hear.
The battle was waning. Jaxom could feel victory only steps ahead, and thus was perfectly fine with enduring another of Kilah''s rambles. He merely nodded calmly, reassuringly, completely forgetting she couldn''t see, and kept his voice calm when he finally replied, not allowing even a hint of his smirk into the tone. "Yes, well, I''ve already told you I''m not afraid of you. If you work through fear and don''t have that, you haven''t got much, now have you?"
Jaxom may have been like Kilah in many ways, but he did try to work towards the happier good in the end. Toying with Kilah''s mind was the least of his worries right now. He smiled. "I know you do. And, I think, if you''d calm down and stop accusing me of being horrible, I''d like you too. So d''you want to just pretend this didn''t happen and start again? Or would you rather yell at me some more?"
And that, dear friends, is just one of the many reasons Lyrus hated his brother.
"Like me?" Right then, Kilah didn''t know what she wanted.
She did know what she didn''t want, though, and that was-
"You can''t like me. It''s wrong. And Lyrus..." Oh, Lord, Lyrus, she hadn''t even THOUGHT about him. He was younger than her now, and she honestly wasn''t sure if he understood the things she thought she did now. Damn, this was bad...
"Lyrus would hate me."
"It''s wrong?" Jaxom blinked, then frowned, waving away her comment. "So? He''s practically a baby, he''d get over it." Quite honestly, Jax didn''t give a damn if Lyrus ever got over it. But he was rather fed up with the entire conversation by now. "Tell you what. You''re confused, and, unles you want me to think you''re crazy, I''m going to leave so you can think. If you need me, you know where to find me. It was nice meting you, goodbye."
Rather annoyed by now, Jax turned and started back for his brothers, yelling towards them. "Slugs! We''re going home."
Twitch.
Kilah was annoyed, too. With herself, mostly, but this situation provided the rest of the anger. Well, maybe more than anger, she was furious.
What was wrong with him?! He wasn''t allowed to talk to her that way! Why was she letting him?! Why was he still alive?!
"Jax!" She screeched, stomping her foot like a toddler who''d just been denied cookies after dinner. Calling him that would get his attention, she assumed. "You''re such a damn jerk! I don''t NEED to think about this! If you like me, and I like you, then there''s no problem!"
"I''m going to come and see you later, and you''re GOING to wait for me to do so, and you''re GOING to stop being such an a*****e and stop confusing me! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"
And again with the Jax! He knew it was intentional, but was still extremely tempted to just completely ignore her for it. Instead, however, he fixed a calm expression on his face and turned to face her once more. "If you say so. There''s no problem here. Drop by later, I''ll be waiting. But, please, get your yelling out before you come. Moo''s been acting funny and it might set her off. See you then," he finished cheerfully, nodding politely before turning away once more and continuing towards the trio of shortlings.
"a*****e..."
The word came long after he was gone, but probably because she hadn''t moved until that point. This was...too much. How could this even be possible? NO ONE was greater than her!
Yet somehow he''d managed to convince her she was wrong, talk down to her, tell her off various times, and most importantly, get away with all of it without being stabbed and hardly insulted for Kilah''s standards.
Gizmo was at her side quick enough, and when she hauled herself onto his back he waited expectingly for the kick in the side she always provided...but none came.
"Take me home, I..think I should talk to Lucky..."
Yes, Lucky. Lucky was smart. Lucky would know what to do.
The griff sighed, but off they went...
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:51 am
For the first time, Gizmo complained, and he complained a lot. What was more surprising, he got away with it. Infact, Kilah seemed to agree with whatever he was saying.
"Look, I''''d rather come here by myself, too, but unfortunately without you I''''d never make it here alone. So shut your mouth before I shove a dagger in it."
Despite the threat, the griff was plenty content. He couldn''''t remember her admitting to need him...even if she hadn''''t said THAT exactly. Ha, he WAS important. Much more important than those other stupid birds or that chubby cat she had.
Before he knew it, they were up to the door (which he nearly ran Kilah into thinking of how great he was). "Just don''''t get in the way..." The Sin''''aeis warned warily.
Knock knock knock.
For a while there was silence, and then sounds of a short scuffle from behind the door. The sounds soon faded and the door swung open, revealing a rather annoyed looking Jivvin fourther peering down at Kilah. The Jivvin in question, Kama, simply stared down at her as if expecting her to try and sell him cookies, but her presence soon clicked and he grunted softly in acknowledgement, turning away from the door and heading back inside. "Jax''''s friend, right? Up the stairs, turn right, fourth door on the left."
"Uh, thanks..." Honestly, she''''d been hoping for that Banda guy, but this was just as well. As long as it wasn''''t Lyrus. She wasn''''t sure if she really felt like making up some story as to why she was here to see his brother (who he clearly didn''''t like) and not him.
Oh, s**t. If that guy knew, did he tell Lyrus too? She could''''ve smacked herself for not thinking of that before. Besides that, how many people lived here? She''''d just settle for a lot.
"This must be a pretty big place, hm?" She whispered to Gizmo as he led her carefully up the stairs.
"Wark."
"Of course it''''s bigger than where we live. The barn is bigger than our house. Everything is. I mean-"
"Wark."
"I am NOT nervous. I don''''t get nervous!" Kilah answered fiercely, her whisper nearly rising to normal volume as Gizmo stopped. "Uh..."
Rolling his eyes, the griff leaned forward and knocked his beak loudly against the door. Even he had to admit this would be interesting...
Before Gizmo had even finished knocking, the door opened a crack and Jax peeked out, immediately opening it completely when he recognized his guests. Grinning, he stepped aside and gestured them in with a wave. "Hallo Kilah and...you thing whose name I don''''t know yet. Come in, come in, make yourselves comfortable."
Jax''''s room was more the large enough for the child, and possibly had originally been designed as something other than a bedroom. But free reign of Moo''''s house meant choice pick of the rooms, and everything on the second floor and up was fair game. The Guardian''''s room was decorated in darker shades of browns, reds, and some deeper purples. Aside from his bed, the boy had a large bookcase against one wall, a small chest of drawers, a small wooden table complete with two stools, and an overly large beanbag chair splayed out across the floor. A small black kitten watched the guests through narrowed eyes from the bed, tail twitching idly...
Not that Kilah could see any of it, but still.
A glare wasn''''t your traditional greeting, more so when it wasn''''t possible for it to be entirely focused on the one it was provided for, but Kilah listened anyway and actually entered before Gizmo. "Gizmo, he''''s my...dog..."
It was stupid, but if she said otherwise the griff got upset. ''''Let him think what he wants,'''' Lucky had suggested. ''''Eye dog or eye griff, he''''s fine as long as he does his job.'''' So Kilah had decided she was right (like always). Hearing him growl slightly, she roughly punched him in the side. Probably growling at that stupid cat she knew was here...
"And for the record, this is probably the most UNcomfortable situation I''''ve ever been in...and I''''ve been almost drowned before."
Jaxom had actually expected the glare, and wasn''''t at all bothered when that was his greeting. Actually, he found it a bit encouraging, in an odd sort of way. At ''''dog'''', he quirked a brow and glanced down to the feathered...thing that was clearly anything but a dog, but remained silent. Kilah undoubtably had her reasons. Even she, without her sight, had to know that wasn''''t a dog, right? Nonetheless, he nodded politely in greeting to the griff, murmuring a ''''nice to meet you'''' before turning back to Kilah with a grin.
"It''''s good to know I''''m worse than drowning, then. My own form of torture," he commented dryly, flopping lazily onto the overlarge beanbag. Absently steepling his fingers on his stomach, he eyed Kilah curiously, faint grin remaining "But this, unlike drowning, you chose to do, right? So it can''''t be that bad. I-" He paused, frowning faintly, as the black kitten leapt daintily from the bed to the beanbag, eyeing it suspiciously as it curled up at his side. When the cat was still, he shrugged it off and smiled back up at Kilah. "I''''m glad you came."
"You could say that..." As far as drowning, she''''d sort of asked for it when she thought it over. Going to the island to begin with, then kicking the ruler in the shins wasn''''t exactly something to worthy of a chat over tea. Shrugging, she reached into her pocket and paled slightly.
Oh, s**t.
Since when did Kilah forget her dagger? It was like forgetting Gizmo, just something she didn''''t do. It was...a security blanket in a sense, but...she''''d just have to manage. "Lyrus isn''''t...close to here, is he?"
Then she blushed a bit, lowering her head in an attempt to hide it. "Erm..thanks..I said I would so..." Kilah was true to her word, at the very least.
Asking for and choosing were two very different things, in Jax''''s opinion. Especially when it came to things such as drowning. Yerch, drowning... She had nearly been drowned? But she hadn''''t actually drowned. Jaxom''''s respect grew just a tiny bit.
But with her expression, his face darkened somewhat, one hand snatching out and lifting the kitten onto his lap. Petting it a bit harder than he really should''''ve, he shrugged, speaking disdainfully. "His room''''s further down the hall, but he almost never comes out. And we don''''t go in each others roooms, so he won''''t be coming here." The little slug. Erk, why did he have to come up? Beside the fact that he was Kilah''''s friend first...
Oh well, Jax could work around that.
The boy was cheered somewhat by the sight of Kilah''''s blush, and his petting eased just enough so that the kitten''''s purrs weren''''t painfully fake. it did bother him a bit that she was just...standing there. But oh well. She had only just arrived, and she didn''''t know his room yet. "Soo....um.. Back to what we were talking about earlier, you''''re the ''''big bad'''', eh? Aren''''t you a bit young to have your own mafia?" Well, it was something to tlak about.
"Oh..." Well, that was good. Still, there was always that risk, right? Maybe she was just paranoid. After all, Momoro seemed to come at the worst possible times, so it made sense she''''d be suspicious Lady Luck would slap her across the face again and drag the other Sin''''aeis out of his room and into this one for whatever reason.
With the mention of the "mafia", all that was temporarily forgotten. Now, THERE was a topic she''''d be willing to talk with anyone about. "Huh? Oh, no, of course not. They''''ve been my lackeys since they were born. Well, most of them. All of them are birds except Lyrus, but he''''s the only one not a complete push over."
Ugh, she couldn''''t even BEGIN to explain it all. But she''''d attempt it anyway. "Like, this one, Ancelin, for example. I leave this place-" ''''This place'''' refering to the general area, not right where she was standing. "-for a few months and she gets KIDNAPPED. I''''ve been down that road before, the kidnapped thing that is, and it''''s not fun. That''''s when I lost--"
The fact she''''d ALMOST said that was horrifying, but she hid that fact and just continued on. "Anyway, that kind of stuff always happens when I''''m not around. They''''d all be so lost without me."
Oh yes, it was safe enough. Trus, Jaxom had told some of his older brothers he was expecting a guest, but he hadn''''t bothered to tell Lyrus, nor had he specified who. And he and Lyrus never, ever, ever went into each others rooms. Well, there was that one time where he''''d snuck in for... But Lyrus hadn''''t been there! And they certainly avoided each other as much as possible. No lamb Sin''''aeis would be joining them today.
Jaxmo relaxed in the knowledge that he had chosen a good topic, continuing to absently pet the little kitten while listening curiously to Kilah. Followers from birth, he could understand. After all, Jaxom had his own. But calling it a mafia... Well, that seemed a bit much. But to each his own. "So a mafia of birds? And you''''re a bird too, hmm, the feathers... I''''m a cat," he added absently, waving his free hand. Just a few fun facts from the Guardian world.
"You been kidnapped and almost drowned?" Jaxom sounded genuinely impressed...that she had survived and was standing before him now. "Have you looked for this...whatsername, Ancelin? If she''''s in your mafia, she''''s your responsibility." Jaxom''''s relationship with his own lackeys was a give and take sort of thing... They followed him around and adored him, and he kept them safe. Kilah should see to it that her own lackeys were safe.
And then the ''''lost''''. The pink-haired boy was silent for a moment, eyeing her curiously. Then, looking down to his cat, he asked almost boredly," So, what''''d you lose, then?"
"I have looked for her, and you''''re right," Kilah admitted, but shrugged just the same. All the birds were her responsibilty. "Still, I''''ve only met Ancelin once, and since her protector is...some sort of ''''death angel'''' or something, I assumed she''''d be find. Besides, I had a very good reason for leaving."
One that she didn''''t plan to discuss with anyone, thank you. Even Lucky didn''''t know, and she knew everything. The only reason Gizmo had such knowledge was because she had no choice but to take him.
Unfortunately, it was always like that, and she doubted she could ever have a secret if she wanted to. She frowned slightly, shaking her head. "Nevermind that, it''''s not important." And yet another headache occured, but after she''''d rubbed her forehead and went to lower her hand, it lingered over her eyes longer than nesscary...
Subject change! The number one solution.
"So, what ARE you? There''''s a cat Sin''''aeis, you know. I haven''''t met him, but people tell me I''''m suppose to hate cats anyway."
"At least you tried," he replied with a sad sort of smile. It was always bad when lackeys went missing. They were pretty good company after a while, and new, good ones could be difficult to come by... "It her protector''''s any kind of angel, I wouldn''''t worry. And I''''m sure your reason was good." Else she would have kept looking, correct? But she didn''''t seem too terribly worried, so he wouldn''''t either. Nor would he ask what her reason was.
If Jaxom was bothered by the sudden change of subject, he didn''''t comment. He was perfectly happy to talk about himself. It was a good topic. "I''''m a Guardian...of the Thadine tribe, to be precise. I can''''t tell you much, I''''m afraid. Most of my...er...people live out somewhere, and the only other ones I''''ve met, I haven''''t seen for months. And I''''m not exactly a cat... Cats''''re my spirit animal. Ataer in particular." He paused, gesturing to the black cat on his lap. "My kitten. He grows with me and eventually we''''ll, like...merge or something. It''''s complicated."
"...Oh." Either she''''d failed to do so or just hadn''''t bothered trying to hide the admiration in her voice. Guardian sounded important the way he was using it, and important was good. Because power came with importance, and power was by far THE best thing ever. "I know some guy who rules an island." And, she''''d conviently leave out certain other parts.
Stupid Momoro.
"Uh, but-" Whatever she was about to say became, "What, Gizmo?" as she felt him nudge her hand and heard him whine.
"Wark."
Hopefully, it was just good hearing that allowed Kilah to hear it, and some...griff thing as far as Gizmo went. That knock on the door from downstairs. THAT was bothering her. It wasn''''t the threat of Lyrus coming, it was-
"Yama," she grumbled, hiding her face in her hands again to cover the insanely bright blush she knew just had to be there. "Oh damn."
A smug grin flitted to Jaxom''''s face at the obvious admiration in her tone. Now all he had to do was worry that the end result would be as good as expected. The little that Jax did know about Guardians, his kitten had told him and, well... Atear was smart, but were kittens all that trustworthy? Even talking ones? Not that Atear seemed at all inclined to talk with Kilah around... "Maybe I''''ll rule an island someday. I was thinking more along the lines of a palace in a forest, though. I''''m not very fond of islands." Or, rather, the water surrounding them.
He fell silent, glancing curiously towards the door, then turned his eyes down to the kitten on his lap. Atear blinked calmly up at him, the rose with a yawn and leapt down from the beanbag, silently pacing past Kilah and Gizmo towards the door, which had opened sometime during his walk and slowly reclosed once he exited.
Jaxom watched the kitten leave and, once the door had reclosed, returning his eyes to Kilah. "Yama? Who''''s that?"
Downstairs, the knock went unheard. Kama had fixed himself a snack and retreated back to his own room on the third floor, and the various other occupants of the household were spaced throughout so that no one heard the knock. Thus, it was that when the door opened, the only creature to be seen was a tiny black kitten sitting in the middle of the hallway, tail twitching absently as he peered up at the new arrival.
"She''''smyprotector." She spoke so fast you''''d think it was all one word, and the fact she was muttering didn''''t help either. Really, though, this was... just not good.
Not. Good.
She would NEVER live this down...if she got caught. Alright, weigh the options, Akilah. She could go back out of this room, yell for Lyrus, and act like she''''d just arrived? He might fall for that. If Jax said something, though, he''''d find out she was here to see him.
But Noyama was probably loud enough to attract his attention anyway.
So, let''''s see. So far she''''d gotten she could either put on some act and yell for Lyrus, or find some way to trick Noyama, which would be easier since she was a lot more stupid than Lyrus. Neither seemed that appealing, though...
And downstairs, the one at the door was indeed Noyama. She raised an eyebrow seeing no one there, and glanced around for a few seconds, wondering if Moo had ghosts living in her house before she finally spotted the feline.
...Ooookay.
Staring down at the thing, she tilted her head, ears twitching. "Um...hello, kitty, Kilah is here visit Lyrus, yes?"
"Ohhh..." His voice faded and he sighed, sitting up a bit straighter on the beanbag. Remaining quiet, the boy sent a slow glance towards the door, simply staring at the knob for a moment, then turned almost sadly back to Kilah, voice betraying his displeasure at this news. "You...won''''t have to go already, will you?" She had only just gotten here! "Atear can distract this, um, Yama for a while. he''''s smart."
The kitten in question was still staring silently at Noyama, tail tip twitching every few seconds, pale green eyes unblinking. Finally, the kitten flicked an ear and turned his eyes away, to all appearances losing interest in the woman as he began to bathe one forepaw with his tongue. A moment passed, and finally...someone acknowledged her.
Perhaps, a voice answer, rich and melodic, rediating a sense of power...certianly not the voice one would expect from a kitten, of all things. But who else could it be? At present, Akilah is visiting with master Jaxom. The black cat''''s paw returned to the floor, a two pale green eyes turned once more up to Noyama. Who may I say is calling?
"Yeah, I know he is, but the problem is she ISN''''T." Sighing heavily, she lowered her hands only when she was positive her face wasn''''t the same color she''''d heard blood was. "It''''s just...this isn''''t me. Er..." The Sin''''aeis had never claimed to have a way with words now, had she? "It''''s just...she won''''t understand, and she''''ll never shut up...and she''''s so LOUD. Lyrus might here, and-"
And so on and on she went, obviously nervous over the various risks this situation suddenly provided. Noyama could find out, Lyrus could find out. Ugh, both would cause problems. It wasn''''t as if she was covering a murder or anything, but...
Noyama, for now, had no answer to the question. All things considered, a talking cat wouldn''''t have been the strangest thing she''''d seen here. The oddest thing was she didn''''t seem to notice, her hands twitching at her sides.
Can''''t...resist...
"You''''re so cute!" She squealed finally, falling to her knees to be more level with such an adorable little thing and clasping her hands infront of her. "What name, kitty?"
Thankfully, Jaxom was very, very good at putting two and two together, and very, very blunt about what it added up to. but it was still annoying him that she was standing. Scooching over on the beanbag, he sat up further and patted the space beside him. "Sit. And, let me see... It''''s not you to like like someone, let alone someone who one of your best friends hates so much, so you don''''t want your protector to know about me, and you don''''t want Lyrus to know you''''re here to see me and not him, right?"
Of course he was right. Without waiting for a reply, he shrugged and slumped back down on the beanbag. "Atear''''s smart. He can at least buy us a while. And even if Lyrus hears your protector and goes looking for her, he''''d never think to look in here, and Atear certainly wouldn''''t bring him here. You''''re safe."
Meanwhile, in the entrance hall, Atear had hardly reacted to Noyama''''s exclamation. The kitten peered silently up at her, pale eyes wide with feigned innocence, and again twitched an ear lightly before gracing her with a reply, seeming rather pleased by the attention, or so his tone suggested... Thank you, miss. I am called Atear. Who may I say is calling? he repeated like some tiny fuzzy voice recording.
It was as if Lucky had commanded it, because without protest Kilah obeyed and sat. Obviously, she was still somewhat unsettled, nodding her head once with every two words he spoke. That is until he got to the last part, after which she froze with the exception of an occasional blink. Safe?
"You shouldn''''t throw that word around," she said seriously, pulling her hat off and holding it as if it was a lifeline. If she couldn''''t have her dagger, this was the next best thing. On the down side, it allowed her hair to fall in her face, but she didn''''t seem to care. "I guess. I hope your little cat things alright, though. Smart or not...Yama can be a lot to handle..."
"Cutteee!" The protector squealed, reaching out to poke one of his paws. She smiled brightly, fidgeting a little. Aww, kitty! Oh, wait, he''''d asked her a question, hadn''''t he? "Noyama, kitty." Even though she had his name she wasn''''t using it. Because ''''kitty'''' was sooo much cuter!
Hmm, she had a point. But at the time, Jaxom found that word perfectly reasonable. Besides, Atear could warn him from a distance, so if someone was coming to the room, they could leave it. No problem. "You don''''t need to worry. Not right now, anyway. And if Atear sends me a warning, we can just go up to the library. It''''s nice there, and the only one who ever uses it is my brother Jack...and he doesn''''t live here anymore. Atear will be fine," he added reassuringly.
Oh yes, Atear was perfectly fine. True, this woman was a bit fangirly in the essence that he was an adorable kitten and evryone should love him, but, really....he was used to that by now. The kitten lifted his paw when it was poked and stepped back a small pace before sitting once more, curling his tail around, the tip continuing to idly twitch. Noted. A pleasure to meet you, miss. May I ask why you are here?
"Yeah, alright." Finally, she seemed to really settle down. Her grip on her hat loosened until she finally brushed her hair back and placed it back on her head, turning it backwards.
Rumor had it she did so because it "looked cool", but really, it was just because having that shadow cast over your eyes was annoying. Light was the only thing she had as far as eyesight went, why try and keep it away? "You''''re...really weird, ya know." Didn''''t sound like a question. Probably because it wasn''''t.
"Kitty is so cute!" Almost as if she''''d forget if she didn''''t remind herself. That probably wouldn''''t surprise anyone if such was the case. "Noyama looking for Kilah, kitty. She have small yellow eyes, and her face look like this." Wrinkling her nose back, the protector made a very sour expression before smiling again. "Say ''''b***h'''' lots, too. Is here, yes?"
His eyes followed the movements of the hat, and Jax silently agreed that it did look cool. The hat suited Kilah very well, he mused. Added the bossy leader look to what was otherwise very pretty, if often grumpy looking girl. Jaxom was enjoying himself. With her words, he snapped back to the present and laughed softly, his grin returning. "Am I? Why''''s that? Can''''t say anyone''''s ever called me weird before."
Of course kitty was cute! It was his specialty. Cute and creepy, depending on whether one was the happy fangirly type, or the suspicious superstitious type. At present, cute was good. All in all, the kitten seemed rather amused by Noyama''''s description of the Sin''''aeis, and shook his head, one ear twitching, before replying as calmly as ever. Miss Kilah is here, yes. She is speaking with master Jaxom. I do not believe they are permitting visitors. However, if you have a message for miss Kilah, I will deliver it for you.
Considering Kilah couldn''''t remember laughing because she found something entertaining but once, normally she took it as an insult, and now was no different. Glaring again, though at the floor and not his voice, she pointed out slowly, "You''''re not better than me, you know. You''''re..." Well, weird, but she''''d said that already.
"You''''re one of those ''''crush'''' things people have, andd I''''ll get over you. Because you''''re an obnoxious know-it-all, and it''''s REALLY annoying how everything you''''ve said so far as been right, because it makes me wrong." Akilah most certainly did not like to be wrong.
The smile became a puzzled look. Jaxom...? Noyama had never heard of him before. While she''''d be dubbed Kilah''''s ''''protector'''', the girl didn''''t tell her anything! It was really quite upsetting, but she didn''''t want to pressure her to tell her things because...it was mean, or something. "Tell me, kitty, Jaxom is who?"
Oh, Jaxom certainly didn''''t mean anything as an insult. He just found her statement amusing, that was all. She comes all this way to see him, risks her protector finding out, risks Lyrus finding out, and then calls him weird? It was...amusing. "I didn''''t say I was better than you," he replied calmly, closing his eyes and moving both hands behind his head.
"I''''m just better at controlling my temper, I think. And you have a...er...crush on me, but I have one on you too, right? And though you have a bad temper and a tendancy to yell and deny the truth, I like you, and me being right is no reason for you not to like me, too. You''''d think it''''d be reassuring that I''''m right. You know you can trust me." He shrugged, sighing. "But whatever."
The kitten seemed to hesitate, sensing a topic he should probably not discuss with this woman, but the confidence soon returned, tail twitching once more along with it. Master Jaxom is my charge. My bond, as it were. I am his guardian, and he is Mistress Saoni''''s Guardian. Some day we will be one, he finished quietly, pale eyes dimming with thought.
Exactly who this Saoni was, one couldn''''t be too sure.
"Stop saying that, and you haven''''t heard me yell yet." True, she was no Mignon, but she had learned from her, so it was easy to say she could yell pretty damn loud if she really wanted. Yelling now was bad, though, because it risked Lyrus hearing. Very, very bad.
It was hard not to, this guy was just so damn annoying! Kilah was usually honest too when it came to if she hated you or not, but it seemed to her like he just said anything that came to mind. You could get drowned for that. Speaking of.
"Last time I trusted somebody I had my head held under water. I might like you, but I don''''t trust you. I don''''t trust anyone but me."
Gizmo whined loudly.
"Oh, and Gizmo, but just him." Okay, and Lucky, but that was it, really! And Mignon...and Lyrus...damn it! "Ugh, you...you''''re just...so impossible. I can''''t understand you at all."
Blink. After that, Noyama stared at him cluelessly. Her English had barely gotten better since she''''d left that terrible island, and to be honest she didn''''t understand half of what he''''d just said. Bond? Mistress? Saoni sounded like a name, but... "Cute," she repeated, ears happily twitching again. "Kitty knows everyone in house? How Moo and Banda, kitty? They are well?"
"I wouldn''t ever hold anyone''s head under water," Jaxom snapped, stiffening slightly, eyes flashing dangerously. The statement seemed to strike a nerve in the Guardian; he looked shaken even afterward, but soon calmed once more, shrugging slightly and speaking a bit softer than before. "And I don''t really trust you either. We''ve pretty much just met, after all, so there''s no reason to, is there? But I''m pretty sure I will eventually." Pausing, he cracked a grin and relaxed back into his seat. "I''ll take that as a compliment."
Ah ha, he had confused her. ..Not that he had intended to that time. but now he knew it was easier than he had anticipated and didn''t have to worry. I am acquainted with everyone in the household, yes, he replied calmly, adding a little nod for her benefit. Mistress Saoni has reverted back to her earlier mindframe and is not at home. Master Isto is trying to help her at present, I believe. She shall be fine, he added almost reassuringly. Atear paused, cheerful composure fading slightly, tail still completely before her replied. Master Banda is no longer living here. He was expelled from the household by Mistress Saoni two days past and no one has seen him since, I am afraid.
After the first sentence, Kilah didn't seem to get anything else he said. He snapped at her? HA! He'd lost his cool! She was right, he WASN'T invincible! Oh, thank God! Not even Gizmo knew how much the entire thing had been tormenting her. It just seemed impossible there was someone she couldn't piss off at least once.
But...he'd snapped at her! Praise the heavens! "You're an a*****e!" She almost squealed in a tone you'd expect more from Noyama than her. "I'd hug you if I could see where you were. Say it again!" The Sin'aeis demanded, 'it' refering to snapping at her.
"Oh, poor Moo, she must be very-" And the fox-eared girl froze. Not...living here? "W-why, kitty? Banda is gone why?" Honestly, she was afraid to know. She TOLD him that smoking thing was bad! It led to bad things! Her curiousty had battled with such hesitation, and obviously won.
Jax...blinked. "What?" What the hell was she going on about now? Kilah was suddenly sounding very un-Kilah-ish, and all because he had snapped at her? It was rather unnerving. Normally people liked you because you were nice, not because you were an a*****e... ...Oh well, maybe this could work out for his benefit? "Er, I can't just yell at you for no reason. I don't yell often.."
The kitten had obviously already explained the situation quite a few times, and now seemed rather bored by repeating it, tail resuming its idle twitching as he spoke. Mistress Saoni was offended by his presence and had him escorted rom the property almost immediately after her accident. Master Isto was not happy when he found out, I tell you, but he could not find Master Banda when he went searching, he drawled. Pausing, he scratched at an ear with one back paw, then turned his pale eyes back to Noya. Master Isto has been too tired of late to continue the search, but I am sure Master Banda will return eventually.
Lately, even Kilah had trouble understand Kilah. She'd assumed people who had such mild tempers would piss her off if she was forced into contact with them, yet she'd come here on her own, and in secret at that. She had the oddest taste in people she liked, friend or otherwise, sometimes. "Well, why not? Yelling can be a good thing, you know?"
As Noyama listened, she couldn't help but hiss a little. OFFENDED? She actually didn't know what that word meant (such poor English skills), but...but it was Banda! Banda was good! In a very out of character moment, she snorted, ears lowering, and didn't bother muttering, "What a b***h."
Ahh, now she was sounding a bit more like herself. Everyone had their weird moments, he supposed. Shrugging, he slipped back into his calm manner and replied, "I just don't like to. I've noticed you're more likely to get what you want from people if they respect you, and yelling at them usually makes them think you're a little kid. I like being treated as an equal by grown-ups. Sometimes yelling is good. Like, when you need to scare people. But more of the time it's not."
Had it been anyone else to throw Banda out of the house, Atear probably would have agreed. As it was, the kitten hissed softly as well, flattening his ears against his head and glaring up at Noyama. Mistress Saoni is anything but a b***h, miss. You forget, her mind is not quite right at present. Had it been, she would have never even thought to send Master Banda away. As it is, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be gone, and even more so that she no longer knows him. He would never have been allowed where she is from.
"Mm." Yeah, sure, respect. If you asked Kilah, you could earn "respect" just as easily by carrying daggers around and knowing how to use them. Lucky had said once enemies had respect for each other, and for once Kilah had to say otherwise. "Respect Aard? Like hell." The Sin'aeis failed to notice she'd said it out loud, but spoke again soon enough. "What are you afraid of?"
It was random, yes, but she actually seemed interested, and not in the tell-me-your-weakness-so-I-can-exploit-it kind of way.
"Don't hiss at me, kitty," Noyama said slowly, almost warningly. Whatever interest she'd had in this creature as far as him being 'cute' was gone, and all that was left in it's place was one of those very rare serious Noya moments. "Just tell Kilah come home soon."
So, Banda was gone? Come to think of it, Noharu had been gone a long time too...
Maybe she killed him! Was her first thought, which was better than the second theory, which almost made her hiss again. StupidBandakissingherstupidsister. Not that THAT had been his fault, but she chose to ignore that fact...
Respect and fear were two very different things, and Jaxom preferred to rule by the former. It led to fewer problems later on. As to who this Aard was, Jax hadn't the faintest, but thought it better not to ask at present. Kilah would probably tell him eventually. There was a brief moment where he considered not answering her question, but he seemed to decide she wouldn't use it against him replied just a calmly as ever. "I'm not scared of anything." It was honest enough. "But I don't like water. Deep water." Hence why he would never drown anyone. Urg, what a cruel way to go. Jaxom shuddered.
Do not insult my family, Atear hissed in reply, the darker tone to that powerful voice more threatening than any yell from it would have been. However, the kitten quickly calmly and straightened up once more, nodding politely to Noyama. I will tell her, he promised, but made no more to leave, simply eyeing this woman curiously. My, she was an odd one...
Honest enough, but Kilah didn't buy it. Like quite a few others, the concept that someone could honestly fear nothing was an impossible one to grasp. Everyone was afraid of something, even if they don't know and/or admit it. Hm. "Water, hm?" Ugh, water. Kilah had been paranoid of it since she was almost drowned. The fear was understandable, but she'd hidden it well.
It might've been naive, but Noyama found it very, very hard to be intimdated by a cat. Because...he was a cat. Still, she understood why he would be upset, but she was upset too! That lady had thrown Banda out of his house! And with bad people like Noharu running around!
When he failed to move, she didn't budge either at first, almost expecting something. When whatever that 'something' was didn't come, she shrugged and straighted to stand, brushing herself off. "Okay, well, Noyama will go then."
If Jax was scared of anything, he wasn't aware of it yet. He just wasn't scared. Especially when Atear was around, because Atear was his guardian and thus would take care of him. But water... Well, Atear couldn't swim, and, even though Jax could, he hated the stuff. Probably because he was something of a cat as well. And his older brother had nearly drowned twice... If Isto could drown, Jax could too, and he was certainly not going to risk it. "Yeah, I just...don't like it. Not exactly scared, I guess, but almost."
Yes, that was Atear's one fault, being so small and floofy and all... Wasn't very intimidating. But the body of a kitten didn't mean the mind of one, nor did it mean that he was limited to that body. Atear was not one to be underestimated. Thank you for visiting, he replied pleasantly, then added, Once I discover Master Banda's new residence, I shall personally deliver the information to you. He shall be fine.
"I don't like a lot of things," she commented absently, taking her hat off for the countless time. Hopefully, it wouldn't become a habit, but it was so hard not to fiddle with the thing when she didn't have her dagger handy. "That's good, if you mean it. To not be afraid of anything, I mean. People seem better off that way." Noharu certainly was. As far as Kilah knew she wasn't afraid of anything either...
Even for Noyama, the voice she spoke and the smile she offered were almost too sweet. Had it been anyone else, one might've thought she was planning something. But she was Noyama, certainly not capable of such things. "Yes, yes. Bye, Atear." And off she went.
"Me either," he admitted thoughtfully. "But I don't like those things in a different way. I'm not scared of those." Like vegetables. Jaxom hated veggies. But who would be scared of a carrot? Very different. He puffed up proudly at her words, but curiosity soon got the better of him and he quirked a brow. "Now, your turn. What're you afraid of?"
Any suspicions faded as Noyama wandered off, and Atear turned back for the stairs, the door closing behind him without a touch from anyone. Within only a short while the door to Jaxom's room reopened and the kitten sauntered in, leaping lightly up onto Jax's lap as that door silently closed once more. She is gone.
"Ah, that's good." Somewhat surprising, too. She'd just left? Kilah had to wonder what had been said, but at another time. For now, she pondered if her feelings on water were severe enough to be considered 'fear'. Deciding it wasn't, "Nothing, I guess. Not anymore." Reaching over, she held her hand out.
Gizmo slinked over carefully, and for a gryphon who thought he was a dog he sure looked like a cat brushing against her hand that way.
"I use to be afraid of this guy," she admitted so quietly you'd have thought someone was spying on them. "He took my eyesight away when I was a baby. I remember it, and I was scared, but then they gave me this egg with Gizmo in it." With the mention of the griff, his tail wagged, and the tone of the Sin'aeis lightened. "So, I managed until Yama and this other lady Jeane came and got me."
Suddenly, she chuckled, scratching Gizmo's head affectionately. "That guy is dead now, though, I heard Yama's sister killed him herself. Drowned him." Ooh, sweet irony. For once, she could honestly say 'Go Noharu' without 'to hell' added in.
"He...took your sight?" Jaxom's quiet tone was a mix between disbelief and surpressed fury. Who would do that to someone!? It was absolutely ridiculous that someone should have to go without seeing anything just because someone else felt the need to take their vision. And she had only been a baby... Gizmo did look pretty good, but Jax hardly felt that justified taking anything so precious as sight. Shaking his head in disgust, he actually grunted his approval when he was informed of the death. "Well, good. Drowning is definitely bad, but he shouldn't have done that to you. I can't believe..."
He trailed off with a low hiss and fell momentarily silent, then blinked and glanced curiously back up at her. "Can you...remember anything from when you could see?" Banda lost his hearing when he was little, but he could still remember some of it. Maybe there were some thing Kilah could remember? And, using those, he could help her see again! Just through words. That'd be good.
Kilah nodded her head, pulling her hand back after nudging Gizmo away a bit. Too many people (even if they weren't all people, exactly) around so close at once made her uneasy. He whined a bit in protest, but a second later moved back to where he'd been and sat back down. "Yes, that's right. I think he took them so he could fix his own eyes."
Ah, so that'd hit a nerve, had it? Well, the subject WAS one to get upset about. She wouldn't admit it, but Kilah couldn't justify anyone, even the male she spoke of or Aard being drowned. Speaking from experience, it was just so...horrible. "No."
After she answered, she seemed a bit surprised with something, but the effect wore off fast. "It's hard to remember things when you're a baby, you know? Except bad things. My teacher says bad things are easiest to remember."
To fix his own eyes!?! Jax seemed about ready to snap again, but merely sunk lower in his seat growling low in his throat. He quirked a brow when she disagreed with him, having expected something more vicious from the Sin, but accepted it with only a shrug. Jaxom hadn't even come close to being drowned, and the mere thought of it was enough to keep him away from most water. If it had nearly happened to Kilah...well, he could maybe understand why she wouldn't wish it on anyone else.
Gladly accepting the subject change, even if it wasn't the answer he had hoped for, he nodded slightly and sighed before replying. "That makes sense. I can't remember anything from when I was a baby...except that Atear wasn't there." not that bab Jax had been scared of anything either. "Ah well, it was worth asking..Maybe we can figure out how to fix your eyes someday."
The few minutes she was silent could've easily seemed like hours. "No," she answered suddenly, motioning Gizmo over again before continuing. "I...don't think they're fixable." For a few reasons. One of those people at the island had said she'd have to take her eyesight back from what's-his-name, but he was dead, so...
Then there was that spell that had gone horriblely, horriblely wrong and made her Sango for a little while. Even then, she couldn't see, which proved nothing was wrong with her eyes as far as an health issue, but unfortunately that still hadn't explained what was wrong with them.
"Worth it, hm?" Gizmo back at her side, she smirked a bit and pat him on the head. This was better than taking her hat off and putting it back on a thousand times. "I'd imagine. If you ever get mad at me you can run along and tell everyone what little Akilah's afraid of."
"Ahh..." Well, so much for that idea. Still, one could hope. Perhaps when they were older they could find a way...Yeah, that'd be it. Gladly accepting the change of subject, he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do that even if I were mad. That's low for anyone. Your secrets're safe with me." He grinned.
"Ah." It was all she said, but she did believe him, something that surprised even her. "I should go." As interesting as this had been. Considering Lyrus was so close, things had gone pretty well in her opinion. Getting to her feet, she reached over toward Gizmo.
Before they left the room, she stopped him with the sudden memory of something Sango had suggested. Blow a kiss and wink, was it? That was stupid, and would make her look stupid. Shaking her head, she settled for a wave. "I'll see you."
Now, what to tell Noyama....
Jaxom seemed about to protest, but a glare from Atear silenced him. Sighing, he climbed to his feet and transferred the kitten to his shoulder, waving slightly in reply before remembering she could see and adding, "Bye, then.. Drop by whenever you want."
Once she had gone, Jaxom quietly closed the door behind her and returned to his beanbag, flopping down with a heavy sigh. And...back to boring.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:33 am
It wasnt funny at first thought. She kicked Banda out of the house when she saw him in his studio... I dont know where he is now. No one does. Isto and Jack went and looked for him but they couldnt find him either. Isto says we shouldnt worry cause hes sure Banda will be fine and come home soon. But still... Its weird with him not here. And Jax is meaner than ever and acting all smug and stuff but wont tell me why.
Istos been around a lot though and thats cool. Hes been helping cause all the other adults are busy and Moos loony. But I think hes getting sick... He hasnt been sleeping a lot. He brought his kid Cody over here cause Cody cries when Istos not around and Cody almost never ever sleps for more than ten minutes at a time so neither does Isto. Jax is good at keeping Cody happy though soo maybe thatll help.
If Cody likes Jax then I hate Cody.
I wish I knew what Jax is hiding.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:40 am
Quote: Lyrus: Affinity/Aversion Quest! It is time for Lyrus to gain his first affinity or aversion! However, in order for it to awaken, he must be taken to a circus for the day. There is one currently being held in the town over, and all expenses associated with the trip shall be paid for by Aileen Shiroko.
Isto didn''t bother to grace her with a reply. With Moo as she was now, she probably wouldn''t have listened anyway. Instead, he straightened up in his chair and unfolded the paper, blinking twice to clear his sleep-deprived eyes before skimming through it. Crap. Sighing, Isto reluctantly climbed to his feet and edged around his ''mother'' towards the counter to fix himself a cup of coffee. Maybe that would help. "Did you find any money with this, M-" he paused at a glare from the woman, rolling his eyes and correcting himself. "Saoni?"
"Money, money... I''ll check again," she cheerfuly announced and bustled off towards the front door.
Rolling his eyes, Isto poured himself a mug of coffee. Really, this was getting ridiculous...Rai, fortunately, knocked on the door at just that moment. After no response, she called, "Helloooo?" at the door, expecting it perhaps to suddenly develop lips and greet her back. Lex, meanwhile, was standing by her, forced into a blue shirt and dark blue pants and little mini-chucks, glaring sourly at the door. She was gripping his hand. Ew. Over-protective lady thing. Why where they here anyways?
He spotted a daisy and immediately yanked down on her hand, tearing away and diving at the flower. Azurai sighed, knowing she would have to convince Tifa to do his laundry again that night. What a pleasant thought. The door swung open even as Rai's 'hello' was fading, and Moo appeared in the open space looking as confused as ever. She blinekd curiously at this familiar-yet-not-so-familiar person, and finally remembered her mission and stepped aside, gesturing Rai and Lex inside and towards the kitchen. "The witch will know you. Hurry up, hurry up, I haven't got time to chat. I have to find the money." She smiled. "...Money? Wait, what witch? Since when do you have a witch?" she said, following where Moo gestured warily, glancing back over her shoulder. "And what are you wearing...?" She stopped. "OHcrapLex," she said, and ran back out the door, scooping him out of the bushes and stepping back through the door. She blinked at Moo.
"Um...where's Isto?" Nodding absently, Moo stepped past them and out the door, quickly surveying the immediate area around it and, when that turned up clear, hefting her flowing skirts and trotting down the steps to check the grass. With Rai's continued questions, she sighed heavily and gestured once more in the general direction of the kitchen. "You know, the witch man. You just said it...Isto, aye? Yes, him. He's in the kitchen. Shoo shoo, he'll know you. I certainly haven't the faintest..." She paused and straightened up, sighing softly. "That's been happening quite often lately..."
...
"Oh well!" And off again with the search. "Moo...?" she murmured, glancing worriedly after her flowing skirt. Rai placed Lex back on the ground and studied Moo for a moment as she left. What an odd get-up...Isto might know. But why did she call him witch-man? Isto certainly didn't know any magic, and he was certainly male. Rai shook her head and took off her glasses, breathing on them and wiping them on the hem of her kelt. She glanced up and saw Lex glaring up at her from the ground.
"Oh, right," she said, and headed towards the kitchen. "Istoooo?" she called. Out on the lawn, Moo grimaced and chose to ignore Rai's questioning voice. That 'Moo' title again! Who was Moo? And why would someone call themselves the sound a cow made? Really, this place was so very confusing... but at least Pod was still here. Pod and that witch man.. They were nice enough.
Isto was half way through his mug of coffee when he heard Rai and peeked through the door towards the entrance hall. Upon recognizing her, he grinned faintly and gestured for her to join him before reurning to the table and taking a seat, setting his mug down with a yawn. "Hey Rai, good to see you again... How've you been lately?" "Um, fine," Rai murmured half to herself, sitting Lex down on her lap as she sat down across from Isto. "But what''s up with Moo? She''s acting, um...crazy," she said, adjusting her slipping glasses while struggling to sit Lex still in her lap with one hand.
"Grr!" he groaned as he struggled against her hand. She sighed, glancing helplessly at Isto.
"Do you mind if he explores? Little demon won''t sit still anymore," she said, nearly falling off her chair in an attempt to keep him in her lap. "She''s perfectly sane," Isto assured her, then paused and took another sip of coffee. Ahh, how to explain this... Isto had learned a lot the past few days that he would have rather gone without knowing. His own last name, for one. "She had a little accident in the lab, and has a mild case of amnesia... Basically, her mind''s gone back to where it was before she came here. She doesn''t remember anyone or anything from after then, and only trusts me because Pod assured her that I''m a good witch." Again he paused, chuckling softly, then added, "And she thinks I''m a witch because I''m gay and have a mohawk and metal arm."
And that was that. Glancing down to Lex, he quirked a brow and nodded, gesturing in the general direction of the living room. "Moo''s shorties are hanging around in there, I think. He''ll find someone to play with." There was a wide selection to choose from, after all. Azurai released Lex from her grip, where he jumped from her lap and landed, racing towards the living room. But he skidded to a halt quickly next to Isto, staring wide-eyed at his arm. His mouth dropped open in amazement.
"Lex!" Rai hissed, glaring menacingly. She pointed a finger towards the living room, and Lex ran away to the living room, fearing the wrath of his mother. She brushed a lock of azure hair back behind her ear. "Sorry. He doesn't know how rude that is," she said with a dry chuckle. "Anyways, what do you mean, 'before she came here'?" Isto was far too used to people staring to take any offense. Besides, little kids stared. It was what they did. It only annoyed him when adults stared and then pretended not to be. He chuckled softly as the boy ran off and waved away Rai's apology, in far too good a mood to be upset by something so small. Coffee was really helping. Mmm. "Moo being like this has cleared up a lot of things about who she is... For one, I know her name now. Saoni Karrn. Her family owned this House during the 17th century. Or, rather, the castle that used to stand here.."
He glanced almost curiously around the kitchen, then back to Rai with a grin. "She accidently came forward a while back and 'inherited' this house and the surrounding area from someone who was really some lots-of-greats nephew. Gradually came to learn everything and settled down to be a 'normal' person. And now...well, she doesn't remember any of that. I've learned most of it from Pod. I'm still not sure how he knows her..." "Pod..." she repeated, studying the tablecloth as she thought. Rai grimaced. Without Moo-...Saoni to run the house, Isto must've been having a hard time. Poor guy. She thought she had it rough...Isto even had a baby on the way and he had to spend time with someone who was settled into a 17th century identity.
"How you holding up?" she asked, snapping out of her trance. "Isn't there anyone else who can run the house? I mean, I thought Slush was, uh, pregnant?" She laughed nervously. She wasn't sure what she could call it...pregnant worked. "It seems like a lot of work when you've already got stuff going on at home," Rai said, absently eyeing his coffee. "I haven't slept in," he paused, counting quickly on his fingers, and just as quickly giving up. "Umm...much longer than I should go without, except for the occasional quick naps when I can sneak them. But it's not all Moo," he quickly added, almost as if he needed to reassure himself. "I've been working, and Cody and L'aven are here, and Slush is busy with the GMFC egg, and, well, it's just so much..." His smile faded somewhat, but he then gestured to his coffee mug, cracking a grin. "I'm coping." Ahaha, lie.
"And before you tell me I'm doing to much, you're right, but it's not like I can change that. Sao-Moo kicked Banda out as soon as she snapped. I haven't seen Kama or Scion for days, Jack's off dealing with the Wilds... There's no one else to watch the shorties, you know? And I don't need a lot of sleep.. So it works, really. Not like we have much choice." And then there was the Pod guy, but to be honest...Well, Isto didn't trust him with the family. Rai snorted as he guessed exactly what she was going to say, however she listened with a quirked brow. So the Jivvins were off on their own, the nice one was gone, and all the babies were stuck with poor Isto. A frown creased her brow as he finished.
"Well, you should've called me, silly!" she said, and stopped. Since when do I say silly...? she thought. It must've been she was curbing the insults around Lex. She shuddered briefly, and met Isto's eyes again. "I'd be happy to take one or some of the kids out somewhere for a while, give you a chance to take a break. After all, you can't hold up on all work and no play forever. You go crazy," she said with a grin, immediately thinking of the Shining. Surprisingly she loved that movie. Weird... "I could even do it today, if you need it," she added, not wanting to back out if he asked her anything. She was always happy to help with the Moo-Saoni household. "I...hadn't thought of that," he admitted, blinking. He hesitated, then nodded slightly, staring past her as if he had completely forgotten she was there. "That...would really, really help. Actually," and here he snapped back to reality, blinking hopefully at Rai. "Lyrus just got one of his quest things. Normally Banda would bring him, but Banda's missing... Could you take him? It's just to the circus, I'm sure your shorty'd have fun too.." Just having Lyrus out of the house would make things so much easier... Moo's other shorties got along wonderfully, and they were distracting Cody, so maybe Isto could sneak in another hour or so of sleep... Rai beamed. "Sure! I'd love to get Lex some social contact. God, the little thing would sit in his room dialing a radio all day if he could, anti-social little devil," she said, chuckling and shaking her head. "But I'd love to! I'm not much for clowns, but I'm sure Lex will be. Maybe it'll put him out of his permanently grumpy mood, too." She thought it over for a moment.
"Yeah, it'll work. Should I take him now, or wait 'til later?" she asked. She assumed now, but she didn't want to swoop in and scoop up Moo's kid when she wasn't supposed to...whatever. Isto sighed in relief and sunk back in his chair, absently helping himself to anothr long sip of coffee before replying. "You've no idea how much of a help this'll be. Take him whenever, bring hi back whenever... We're not going anywhere today. Moo's calmed down a bit, so I'm going to try and sneak in a nap."
He cracked a smiled, then blinked and climbed to his feet, starting for the front door. "There was supposed to be some money.. the note said the trip would be paid for, you see. Moo's looking for it now. Lemme check.." Rai held up her hands. "No need to go searching for it. I can pay for it, no problem," she said, waving away the offer of money, even if it had been supplied for the quest. "You just go ahead and rest, okay? Don't do anything for like, the next 10 hours...or until I get back. Whichever comes first," she said with a grin, saluting him quickly and traipsing off towards the living room, where she assumed Lex would be making...er, friends. Yes, friends.
Oh dear God, that little boy was a walking disaster zone. How had she raised something so bitter and cold? Well, his element was ice...he was bound to be a little...frigid. Da-dum tish! Rai chuckled to herself. Great, now she was joking herself...she was loonier than Moo... Isto began to protest, but gave up almost immediately and merely replied with a quiet 'thanks', then headed outside to explain the situation to Moo before heading upstairs for a nap.
In the living room, Moo's shorties were doing their best to keep themselves--and Cody--amused, knowing all too well just how exhausted Isto was. Jaxom had taken command of the situation and was, at present, sitting in the middle of the room entertaining Lex, Coen and Cody with his rather annoyed looking kitten, Atear. Adroi was stretched out by a window napping, and Lyrus.. Well, Lyrus was curled up on one end of the couch, glaring daggers at the group on the floor and hardly bothering to look up when Rai arrived. Ahh, such a happy bunch. Lex was indeed amused with Jax and Atear, which was unusual - he generally just enjoyed company other than that blue-haired thing that called him her son and ordered him around. Yuk. What was that thing? She was always being so...protective. She sucked. Badly. Oh God no, she was here again...hadn't she left? And she was coming towards him...AHH! Bad blue thing! Back! Back I say!!
"Lex, don't spit, y'camel," Rai growled as she scooped the kid up into her arms as soon as she saw him about to make a break for it and thus elude her by ducking under or breaking whatever was in his path. He wriggled to get out of her grip. "Oh please, you're not getting away," she chuckled as Lex growled at her from behind her arm which he was now gnawing on. She quirked a brow, but decided not to fuss. A little bruise didn't hurt.
"You!" Rai said, pointing a finger across at Lyrus. "C'mon, up, we're going," she said in a no-nonsense tone that Lex clearly recognized...it was very often that he found himself ignoring it. Oh, how he loathed this blue-haired thing. She was so...bossy. Ugh. Jaxom was good like that. Shortlings were his minions, he had to know how to make them behave. And then Atear the talking kitten tended to captivate them... Yes, it was good.
Lyrus snapped from his daze with Rai's 'order', staring in disbelief over at the woman. She was bossing him around?! The crazy woman with the sparkly brat!? The idea was laughable. Not that Lyrus actually laughed. Instead, he slid off the couch and glared over at her from his position across the room, folding his arms across his chest. "Says who? And going where? I don't even know you! I can't just leave!" "Says me, and you can and will," she said, putting Lex down by her side but still gripping his hand so he couldn't run away like he obviously wanted to do. "We're going to the Circus. C'mon, clowns, popcorn, it'll be fun," she said. Rai quickly glanced over at the little group of shorties over on the rug, and grinned at Jax. Why couldn't she have one that could amuse everyone like that? That would calm things down. Oh well.
"And you've got three seconds to come with me and leave Isto to get some rest before I come over there and get you myself. And it's much better for your image if you come willingly." Rai smiled sweetly. Lex at her side rolled his eyes, though she took no notice. He'd eventually roll them so much he'd need new ones was her theory, however far-out and derranged it was. Lyrus considered a snappy reply, but soon decided against it, looking thoughtful. He had never even heard of a circus, or of a clown, for that matter. But popcorn was good, and it was somewhere to go that everyone else didn't get to. That alone reserved gloating rights for later. Nodding haughtily, he strode past Rai out of the living room and towards the door. "Let's go, then. Hurry up." Rai chuckled dryly and stepped in front of the door, bending down to talk to him to get the full effect. "I'd prefer that you not use that tone," she said, smiling and nodding. With that, she straightened up and opened the door, gesturing a hand towards the walkway. "After you two. See ya later, Isto!" she called back into the house, nudging Lex out the door and letting Lyrus follow on his own. Rai would need to give him a little freedom, but show him who was boss. That kid needed a good kick in the pants, though, and she was aching to give him it.
Not her child, though. She'd let Moo do the pants-kicking when she stopped being Saoni and started being her lover again. Oh well. She could at least keep him in line for the afternoon. Then maybe if she would come to babysit later on he'd show her a little respect. With all this "wonderful" parenting she was doing, she was wondering why Lex had turned out the way he had. Odd... "So?" Lyrus snapped back, quirking a brow. He would use whatever tone he wanted, thank you very much. This woman couldn't do a thing to him. She wasn't his 'mom'. Or his guardian or whatever Moo was. Not that Moo ever did anything to him either. Isto was pretty scary sometimes, though... but Isto was AWESOME so it was okay. This crazy woman, however, was most certainly not Isto.
The toddler was silent throughout the walk back to the edge of the forest, and even after during the ride to the circus, answering all of Rai's statements with short, snapped one-word sentances. But then, out the window, he saw first one enormous, colorful circus tent, then another, then something huge and gray with the LONGEST nose he had ever seen and--WOW, this was actually going to be cool! "This is it, right? Can we go in now? Hurry up and park!" Rai chuckled. It was amazing how circuses could bring out the good in evil, little children. She glanced around. "Soon as I find a space..." she murmured have to herself, and spotted one, pulling in. She hopped out, opening the doors for both Lex and Lyrus, who hadn't said a word to one another the whole ride. Not unusual for two bad-tempered pompous little jerks, but, well, what can you do, huh?
"Alright, here's the deal," Rai said, pulling Lyrus and Lex over behind the car, folding her arms and staring down at the both of them. "It is very easy to get lost in here, so I do not want either of you wandering off. If one of you does, I will personally find you and kick the stuffing out of you. That counts for you too, Lyrus, I have your mother's and Isto's permish. You guys will stick with me. If you want something, just ask. Nicely," she said, eyeing Lex who once again rolled his eyes. She smiled. "Well, now that we understand eachother...let's go!" she said, brightening up as if she had never stared down at them and patronizingly set down strict ground rules. It was a circus, so she would be looser than she said, and probably be suckered into buying them a million things they didn't need, but that was what circuses were for. That and clowns. She had forgotten how she disliked clowns.
For the kids, right, this was for the kids. Bwahaha, they were here. Lyrus was about to run off for the tent when Rai dragged him back behind the car. He glowered up at the woman as she laid down the rules, but didn't argue. There was no point in arguing when he could just break them without it. Instead he smiled far too innocently and simply nodded in reply, walking with her for the tent and utterly ignoring Lex. The little buttmunch didn't deserve to be acknowledged.
Lyrus was unusually silent while Azurai paid for their admission, and even walked patiently beside her while they found their seats. But all the while his eyes wandered the tent and crowd for any source of escape, or at least some kind of distraction. This circus thing looked to be pretty cool thus far, but it'd be even MORE awesome if he could go explore on his own without the crazy and sparkly ones. Rai had her eye on the little grey one Lyrus. Lex was moody and usually wouldn't cooperate, but once he knew that disobedience=no cookies, most of the time he listened. Ocassionally he had fun, but he never let it show, lest Rai see that she was right. Crazy blue-haired lady. Who did she think she was? She was crazy. He glanced over at Lyrus, then looked back out at the circus. Why did the gray thing have to come along? He was always so...bratty. It even made Lex sick.
"I've got my eye on you, shorty," she said, giving Lyrus the eagle eye. Normally she would watch Lex carefully but eventually he'd just sit there and get so caught up in the show that he'd be too distracted to escape. But Lyrus wasn't her kid. If she lost him...not only would Moo never forgive her, but she'd never forgive herself. So she was not gonna look up from that little gray thing. Not once. Lyrus couldn't have cared less, and promptly stuck his tongue out in reply, pulling a face at Rai. However, he was quickly distracted as lights lit up on the center ring, and any thoughts of 'escape' quickly left his mind as the ringmaster began to speak.
It was easily one of the coolest things Lyrus had ever been to in his life. There were acrobats, and jugglers, and huge animals he hadn't even heard of doing tricks. And there was a guy who breathed fire, and another who almost flew! And clowns who made Rai scream, and trapeze artists, and a lion tamer, and..and... It was SO cool!
Lyrus was completely captivated, eyes wide as he watched the proceedings, clapping and cheering at all the appropriate times, gasping in amazement witht he rest of the crowd with each new feat. With the final bow, he actually stood up on his seat to cheer, clapping frantically and already yelling about his favorite parts to Rai, who probably wasn't listening anyway.
The toddler was more than a bit upset when it ended, but the memories satisfied him enough that he didn't complain. On the way out, he managed to talk Rai into a souvenier--a small glass elephant, balanced on a stand much too small for it, purchased from the makeshift gift shop outside of the main tent.
The ride home was uneventful, and Isto was still asleep when they arrived. Lyrus immediately darted inside to brag to his brothers about the trip, and Jax was the one to thank Azurai and promise to watch out for the shorty until Isto woke up. After she had gone, he returned to the living room and listened just as eagerly as Adroi, Coen, and Cody while Lyrus recounted the 'adventure'--adding in a few bits of his own, just to make things more interesting, of course. Certainly a day he would remember for some time. Quote: Lyrus: Aversion Gained!It seems as though Lyrus thoroughly enjoyed the circus! Well, who can blame him, really. What with all that juggling and acrobats and the animals and... Okay, okay, you get the point. Anyway, although the circus was thoroughly fun, something about the circus seemed... Well, dingy. Not run down, but... messy. It seems that now Lyrus has: A dislike for messy areas.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:12 pm
Isto can be scary sometimes.
Anyway before Isto left he got that crazy lady whos Moos friend to take me to a circus. I didnt know what a circus was until we got there but WOW Im glad I went!! It was so so so so so so so so so much fun! There were all these people who could do fancy flips and stuff like Acia and these other people were juggling more and more stuff and finally some stuff that was on fire! And one guy put his head in a lions mouth and another was making these big ellefant things do tricks. And then some people were swinging on bars and some were walking on this rope really really high up and this other guy like flew around and it was so cool!
I really want to go again but I dont think Ill get to cause theres no one to take me now. But oh well. It probly wouldnt be as good next time anyway. I got a thing from the gift place too! Its a glass ellefant on a stand. The crazy lady let me pick it for being good.
I didnt mean to be good. But the circus was too cool to be bad.
Bye now.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:02 pm
It was wrong.
Instead of stopping to kill them, she'd hesitate only to admire, and more often than not comment to her sister about how 'lovely' they were, which made her sibling shudder each and every time.
Noyama had wanted to bring her herself, but for some reason had insisted Sango do so, claiming she had 'things to do', only not worded so well. Hoping she'd followed the directions exactly and stumbled upon the right house, she knocked on the door, twitching as Kilah squealed in delight behind her.
"Look, Sango, a bird! It's so cute!"
Whatever higher power there was, make it stop...
It wasn't long before the door opened and Moo, wearing another of her flowing gowns, bustled out. Pausing, she peered curiously at the pair, then broke into a wide smile, flicking a hand towards the door. "You'll be here to visit one of the children? My, my, so many friends they have... A pity I can't remember their names. Oh, who are you visiting?"
If all had been right with Kilah, she would've suspected immediatly something wasn't quite right with Moo. It had been a while since she'd seen her, and had even thought for a while she was dead. Was she always this weird?
Normally, the Sin'aeis would've wondered. Today, she just assumed this was natural behavior for the stranger who seemed nice enough. Smiling brightly, she offered happily, "Ja-"
The name was never finished, her siblings hand shooting out over her mouth. "Lyrus," Sango corrected. "She's here to see Lyrus. Can she come in or he come out or...something, would you mind? I shouldn't stay too long myself."
The household had long since grown used to Moo's odd behavior. This was just a new challenge to overcome, and, with the occasional help from Isto and Jack, as well as the rare threat or two, they were managing. Moo smiled brightly down at kilah, merely blinking once when Sango cut her off, and finally turned back into the house, gesturing for them to follow. "Lyrus... He's the gray one with the horn, right? Yes, yes, he stays on that..hmm.. That end room on the second floor, right? I'm sure he would be happy for the company. Follow me, please."
Humming cheerfully to herself, Moo swept off for the grand staircase at the end of the hall, leading the way up and down a couple more halls, finally pausing infront of a door and peeking in without bothering to knock. "Boy with horn? Someone came to visit you~."
Sighing, Lyrus left his 'work table' and turned to the door, pulling it open the rest of the way. "I told you, my name's Ly--Kilah! Hi!" The boy brightened up considerably at the sight of his friend, a grin flashing across his face. "What're you doing here?"
Horn...?
Like a devil... Kilah thought bitterly, then mentally scolded herself. She shouldn't think such mean thoughts! Even if they were about mean people. When the Sin'aeis himself was in her sights, she was clearly a bit...taken a back. He was so young!
She'd been told he was 'younger' than her, but... "Could you excuse us?" She requested to Moo politely, another smile forming to go with it. What a nice lady! A bit odd, but nice...
"Certainly," Moo replied immediately, turning and sweeping off down the hall. "You two have fun."
Kilah looked...shocked? Surprised? Almost as if this was the first time she had seen him... WAIT. "Can you see?" Lyrus immediately asked, taking a step forward and reaching up to grab the front of her shirt, half dragging her down to his eye level. The Kilah he knew wouldn't have minded...much. Especially if this were the case. "Can you see me now, Kilah?"
The girl paled a bit. Maybe she should've had that woman stay...?
No! This was ridiculous! Devil or not, he was still just a kid! Er...a little kid (because she was a kid kid). "Yes, I can see you, Lyrus, is it?" The way she said his name was just so formal, as if they were discussing some important issue, not having a conversation between friends.
Kilah didn't believe they were friends, or had been friends. She could never be friends with someone so mean. Sure, he acted nice now, but she'd heard things... Too many things.
Carefully pulling back from him, she frowned slightly and glanced around for any sign of someone 'very pink'. There was no one like that from what she could see. Dissapointing. "You do know me, then?"
"When did you get your sight back!?" he exclaimed, releasing her and taking a step back, positively beaming. It was only then that the rest of her words clicked, and his smile faltered somewhat. He nodded. "Yeah, Lyrus... Of course I know you. You're my best friend, you and Mignon..." Trailing off, he added, "I got my inbetween quest..?"
It was worth a try. Kilah acted like she had forgotten him. Had she forgotten him? He...he wasn't that much younger! And he wasn't broken like he had thought--he had had a quest and finished it, too! But...but she was already forgetting they were friends, and just because he was too little. What if Mignon forgot too!? But...but then he wouldn't have any friends! What was he going to do!?
Barely above a whisper, as if afraid of the response, Lyrus asked, "You..know me too, right? You remember me..?"
Kilah never answered his question. She hardly had time to before his mood had suddenly shifted. One part of her mind, the part currently being manipulated by her star-born sister seeking reveng for almost being 'sent down the river' three plus times, screamed that it was an act, a devils trick. What an evil little child!
Maybe it was because he was a little child, or maybe, the part of her mind that almost remembered was reacting as well. In the right state of mind, Mignon and Lyrus were the only two she never wanted to see really upset.
Sighing heavily, she kneeled down to his level, reaching out and placing her hands on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Don't...worry, it's alright! I can't remember anyone. I couldn't remember Mignon, either, please don't feel bad."
With the gesture, Lyrus brightened somewhat, but only a bit. So, she had forgotten him... But she had forgotten Mignon too, so it meant she wasn't just forgetting he existed. She probably wouldn't have come to visit if that were the case, too. Had she forgotten anyone else? Or everyone else, even? Kilah was certainly acting strange...
"So, what happened to you?" he questioned, turning his eyes back up to her. "Why can't you remember? And what're you doing here if you didn't remember who I was?"
"We don't know what happened..." No one would, except Lucky, who just-so-happened to be the only member of the twisted family not present when Kilah had horriblely messed up that spell and ended up this way.
It was probably for the best. Twila might manipulate her, but Lucky might kill her for disobeying for the second time (being Sango was still worse than having no memory, so there).
"Oh!" Stop, Kilah, just stop. She should've, and would've, had she known the situation to the fullest. "Actually, I was suppose to see Jax here. He's my 'boyfriend' or something. Are you two brothers?"
"Right..." Lyrus was still skeptical, but didn't bother. This Kilah was strange. Maybe she had just lost her memory like Moo had? That would be his luck. He began to reply, but suddenly tensed, mouth snapping shut as he stared in horror up at Kilah. Her...WHAT!?
"Traitor!" Lyrus snarled, stepping back away from her into his room and pointing an accusing finger at the older Sin. "You haven't really forgotten, you're just his friend now and not mine! He prolly made you forget me and Mignon! Him and that damned cat... Go away and leave me alone!" And he slammed the door shut.
Absolutely fuming, Lyrus turned his back to the door and took a pace into the room, paused. Without thinking, he snatched once of the glass vases from his shelves and tossed it at the wall; the glass shattered. The sound of breaking glass was enough to startle Lyrus from his anger, and after a moment he silently walked over to the pile of pieces and sat on the floor beside him, carefully beginning to piece them together into some new creation. Glass should never go to waste, and certainly not over an ex-best friend.
"But, I..." Barely above a whimper, and otherwise Kilah had nothing to say. Tears filled her eyes, but not enough to fall. Just as they were about to, she suddenly seemed horrified, closing her eyes tightly and grinding her teeth together.
In a much, MUCH more voice familiar to Kilah, the Sin'aeis seemed to growl to no one, "Go away..."
"No!" A sweeter tone from the same being snapped back.
"Give me my head back, you whore."
"I don't want to! You're mean!"
Lyrus heard voices outside, but simply tuned them out. his door was thick enough that they weren't understandable anyway. It was probably just Kilah talking to Jaxom. That bloody...damn, Lyrus wished he knew more curses. Instead, he focused his attention on the new glass structure he was building, hardly noticing as Task and Vin joined him on the floor.
It was a pity he couldn't just build the vase back... Banda had spent a lot on it, and probably wouldn't be happy that Lyrus had broken it. If Banda ever came home. A lump formed in Lyrus' throat, but he choked it back, carefully placing another piece of glass. Lyrus didn't cry. He just didn't. And he wasn't about to start now.
"You're hurting them, stop it!"
"I'm the nice one here, you meanie, don't even accuse me of things! I'm scaring off the other mean ones!"
"Mignon?"
"...The mean and crazy ones."
Following that at first was merely a growl, and an aggravated one. Whatever fight Kilah was having, and whoever it was with, she wasn't winning. If there was anymore, it was argued in silence, with the exception of two more things.
"It'll leave if I go."
"I don't care."
Another moment of silence, and then suddenly Kilah made a very, very confused face. Her eyes stared blankly ahead of her, hand reaching out for someone who wasn't there, touching the floor instead. "Gizmo...?"
Wait...this wasn't her floor! What the hell?!
Let's see, she'd been casting a spell, and now...she was here? But where was here? "Ah, s**t, you've gotta be kidding! I TELEPORTED myself somewhere?"
Lyrus was completely oblivious to the change. As far as he was concerned, she had never really changed to begin with. She had just forgotten about him and Mignon because Jaxom was a buttmunch and wanted to make Lyrus upset. yeah, that would be it. Some anger returning, Lyrus scowled and clenched both hands into fists; it was a moment before he realized he had been holding a piece of glass. Whimpering, he let it fall to the floor and carefully traced the bleeding cut along his palm with a finger. Figures.
Sighing, he climbed to his feet and started for the door, but paused when he remembered Kilah was probably still outside. After a moments hesitation, he straightened up and fixed a scowl on his face, heading for the door. He didn't want to bloody up his room, after all.
Tugging the door open, he glared daggers up at Kilah, jabbing a finger down the hall. "Get away from my door. Or, better, out of my house. Before I have you arrested or something." Okay, Lyrus wasn't sure if he could really do that, but he could probably talk Kama into dragging her out, at the very least.
"Lyrus?" With a tone like that, even Noharu would've raised an eyebrow. The poor girl sounded extremely pissed off, just as confused, and...something else undescribable all at once. "What're you doing in my house?"
When the realization the floor under her hand wasn't her own, she wrinkled her nose back in disgust. Well, at least she was good at teleporting...? "Or, what am I doing in your house?"
Something else hit her just then, making her angrier. Had it been her house, she'd have punched or kicked the wall or something, but any damages caused Lyrus might've been blamed for, and she didn't want that. "Aw, damn, Twila still remembers!"
Pulling harshly on her hair just to relieve the anger somehow, the thing that fell into her hand stunned her into silence for a grand total of five seconds (five minutes in Kilah time). "...Why is there a flower in my hair?!"
This wasn't the Kilah Lyrus had left five minutes ago. The toddler blinked in confusion, staring open-mouthed up at her. He closed his mouth, opened it. blinked again, pointed down the hall, and finally just sighed and tilted his head. "You changed again... or you were always just faking."
Lyrus really wasn't sure what to believe. He felt drained, and his hand was throbbing, and he really just wanted this traitorous b***h to get out of his house. She couldn't remember him or Mignon, but she remembered Jax enough to come here. That alone said something. "Jax's room is down the hall if you really want to see him," Lyrus mumbled, then stepped past Kilah and started for the bathroom to clean ff his hand.
Unaware of his 'injury', the Sin'aeis reached out, and by some miracle (perhaps a higher force guiding her hand, no one could tell), managed to grab his non-bleeding hand, pulling him back a little. "Lyrus," she hissed, venom lining her tone that could've actually poisoned had such a thing been possible. "Who told you that?"
Whoever it was, they were dead, even it was Jax himself who'd said it. She'd deny it, surely no one would believe it anyway. Kilah having a 'crush' was laughable as it was, having someone insane enough to accept it was just...not possible in the eyes of many. "Are...are you bleeding?"
Lyrus wrenched his hand free, cringing away from her as if she were infected with the Plague. "You did!" he snapped, taking a small step back. "You told me just now before you started remembering again! And you remembered him and not me, and not Mignon. You stupid traitor!"
Alright, a bit out of hand, but Lyrus certainly wasn't in the best of moods. And it didn't help that her words brought his attention back to his hand, which gave a painful throb as if to make up for lost time. Cradling his wounded hand with the other, he snarled and turned away, continuing down the hall. "I don't want or need your help, b***h. Leave me alone."
"I...said that?" And he'd believed her?! Yeah, it was true, but what evidence did he have?! Jax MUST'VE said something, and the mere thought of that made her growl. If that was the case, he better watch his back, which Kilah now wanted to put a knife in. "Of course I remember you! I remember Mignon, too! I don't know what you mean!"
Still, she recoiled her hand, if only from the horror of being told she'd said something like that. But...she'd just gotten here...right? "Lyrus, calm down, it's not true." Help? How could she help him if she wanted to?
Yukito's department was healing injuries, her's was making them.
"Yeah, you did," Lyrus snarled, not bothering to pause in step or even turn back towards her. "You said you came to visit Jax, and that he was your boyfriend. But when you first got here, you couldn't remember who I was even though you could see me, and you told me you hadn't remembered Mignon either, and I don't know what's going on but I'm NOT gonna talk to you, 'cause you're Jax's friend now and not mine!"
Not true his tush. Kilah would never, ever say something like that as a joke. Not regarding Jaxom, anyway. And Lyrus KNEW that was what he had heard. He wasn't deaf like stupid not around Banda. "I don't HAVE to calm down! You can't make me!" Oh, come on, he was still a toddler.
"No, I can't," she agreed, frowning. Bad Kilah, bad. What have you done? "I..." Have no way of saving myself with this one, do I? She thought grimly to herself.
...Or maybe not just to herself.
Do you see? He likes me more! Look what you've done! You HURT him! He's bleeding because of you!
Hearing this, the eyes of the blind widened in horror. Hurt him...? No, that wasn't true. Kilah might fight with him almost constantly, but she'd never hurt him. But then...she had said she'd never say anything about Jax either.
If only he was older, maybe it'd be easier. Probably not, but maybe...
"Lyrus..." The final words were a few volumes below a mutter, if he'd heard her it'd be a miracle. "I...I'm sorry."
That said, she grimaced and reached for the wall, deciding she'd finally gone completely insane to be arguing with herself and apologizing, even if it was to one of her two best friends.
Kilah had apologized? Lyrus' steps faltered, slowed, ceased completely. He blinked. This day was just getting stranger and stranger. As far as he knew, Kilah had never apologized. Ever. To anyone. That alone was probably the only reason he graced her with a wary glance over his shoulder, hands tightening back into fists despite the cut.
How was he even supposed to reply to that? He wasn't remotely angry anymore. Just unbelieveably confused. Maybe Kilah didn't mean it and was just trying to make him let his guard down? Somehow Lyrus doubted it.
And then he considered her words again. Just a simple apology. I'm sorry. She hadn't even denied anything. And that, in Kilah terms, meant it was all true. Lyrus' face hardened. Shrugging disdainfully, he sneered and started for the bathroom once more, waving her away with his good hand. "Yeah, well, you should be."
The situation didn't call for it, but Kilah did smile. Not like a nice-Kilah smile, more like one that wasn't quite sad, wasn't quite nervous, and wasn't quite something else that wasn't so easily named.
Well you should be.
She'd have said something like that if it were her.
He just wasn't old enough to argue this with, anyway, it was a pointless battle and neither would've won had she started it. Besides, it wasn't like she could storm out or anything.
Luckily she'd come here often enough, so she could find her way out fairly easily without Gizmo...right? She wasn't quite sure. Since she was a baby, she'd never, ever been places without that "griff".
"Take care of yourself," she offered in a mutter, hand on the wall as she began towards the direction she was pretty sure led to the door.
And that was it. Lyrus had won. So why wasn't he feeling any better? He was about to shrug it off when best-friend instincts kicked in and he turned back to Kilah, holding out a hand as if to stop her. "Wait, I--"
What had he been about to say? He wasn't going to apologize. he didn't have any reason to. Let her go, see if he cared. And Jax would have to be dealt with too. Shrugging once more, he let his hand fall and fixed a bored half-sneer on his face. "You can't get home by yourself. Vin will show you the way."
As if on cue, the bronze flitt appeared hovering in the center of the hallway. He gave a curious chirp, then darted down to hover near Kilah's head, craning his neck at her and debating whether it was safe to land on her shoulder.
"No." It was almost an automatic response.
Did everyone really think she couldn't get places by herself? Maybe she'd leave Gizmo home for a week and go around without him. That'd show them, bastards.
Mentally she slapped herself, reminded herself Lyrus's offer was because they were friends (that usually fought, but friends just the same). "No, it's fine, I can get there alone."
Almost as if reading the creatures mind, she glared in no specific direction, and though it was targetted at no one it clearly threatened any contact wouldn't end well.
"Yes." The response was cool, confident. Lyrus had already won once today, and this would just be another opportunity. Besides, she couldn't make Vin not follow.
"He's going with you whether you like it or not," he continued calmly. "He'll just keep his distance if he has to. But he's gonna make sure you get home safe. Bye, Akilah." And he turned away.
Only to pause again mere seconds later. Almost as an afterthought, he added, "By the way, I had my inbetween quest. I'm not broken after all." But oh well. Apparently Kilah didn't like hanging out with toddlers anymore, if she had gone to Lyrus' brother instead.
Losing interest in the conversation, Lyrus continued the rest of the way to the bathroom, and, with a bit of effort, managed to turn on the sink and start rinsing his hand clean under the water.
Vin remained where he was, hovering patiently near Kilah's head.
Psh. Arrogant little...lamb...boy...thing.
Luck seemed to favor her that day. Without Gizmo, she managed to get outside. Mind you, she stumbled a few times naturally, but in general it went well. "Stop following me," she hissed at the creature as soon as she was sure they were outside.
Now then...
Once Lyrus'' hand had stopped bleeding, he carefully dried it with a towel and silently returned to his room, sitting on the floor by the broken vase and resuming recreating it. Messes were bad, and Lyrus was bored. He wasn''t about to let this just sit. Maybe he could make it into a present for when Banda returned... Stupid Banda.
Vin wasn''t about to disobey an order from his bond. Angry Kilah telling him to leave was one thing, but angry Lyrus threatening him within an inch of his life was quite another. No, Vin would see her home safely, if only to avoid his bond''s wrath. Chirping smugly, the little creature glided off in the general direction of Kilah''s home, remember from Lyrus'' memories how to get there...
"You're annoying!" Kilah pointed out every three or four seconds. By time she made it home, she just wanted to storm into her room, slam the door and stay there for a while. She knew that wasn't gonna happen.
She expected Noyama to come barreling at her, wailing about how she needed to tell her where she was going. What she didn't expect was-
"KIILLAAHH!" And then a hug.
"...Momoro?"
"Oh, Kilah! I'm so sorry! Please don't change!" The island ruler begged, ears lowered.
"Hey now," she began, pushing him away and brushing herself off. Momoro cooties, ew. "It was a minor...casting mistake, it's better now."
"I'm glad!" The boy, now much taller, and definetly older said happily, glaring at the thing that had followed Kilah here. It had that stupid bald boys scent on it. "Let's go inside now, okay?"
"Yeah, alright." Lifting a hand, she waved in some random direction and hoped Vin had seen. "Later...er, Vin." Ha. She remembered. Off into the house the two children went, no doubt to run into the Noyama Kilah had already braced herself for.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:23 pm
Kilah forgot who I am. She came over yesterday but she didnt know who I was or anything and she was acting really weird. So I got upset but then she said not to be cause she couldnt remember who anyone was. She hadnt even remembered Mignon!
But she remembered Jax. She said he was her boyfriend. He probably tricked her or something but shes still a stupid traitor and Im never gonna talk to her again speshully since she forgot me and Mignon but remembered him. Ever.
The worst part was that she started being herself again after I yelled at her so I thought maybe Jax had tricked her or something but then when I told her what she had said she didnt deny it. And that means it was all true and Jax couldnt have tricked her or anything. So Im not her friend anymore.
Oh. And I cut my hand. It was bleeding but I made it stop. Maybe Yuki can fix it for me.
--Lyrus
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:24 pm
there was one close friend who Lyrus -knew- he could count on. Mignon wouldn't abandon him, he was sure. The problem would be finding her... Trusting his toddler instincts, he had snuck out (not that anyone really noticed) and followed the familiar walk to the Sin'aeis mansion, taking with him Vin and his dagger for protection...just in case. There was a good chance no one would be there, but he could wait, an Vin was good company until someone showed up. It was certainly better than sitting at home and trying to avoid Jax.
As it happened, Mignon was on her way to the center as well. Mom and Daddy didn't like for her to play with her baton anymore, since the incident with Muffy. Pffft. Adults. Besides, the Baton was shiny and pretty. Perfect for her.
She was twisting it from hand to hand when she noticed a farmiliar head. She stopped twirling and let it drop to one side. "Hey, Lyrus!" She called, quickening her pace. It had been a while since she'd seen him.
Lyrus spun around with the call, in the process dislodging Vin from his shoulder, but he hardly seemed to notice the flit's plight, and merely waved frantically in reply to his friend. Grinning for the first time in days, he started over and slipped his dagger into his belt (yes, he has a belt), automatically waving away the flit tnow trying to return to its perch on his shoulder. "Bug off, Vin. Hi Mignon! I sure am glad you're here, I didn't think anyone would be."
"Pffft. Mom's acting up again. I can't stand it when she gets like that." She tossed a pigtail over her shoulder. "So, how've you been, Lyrus? It's been a long time." She smiled down at him, twirling the baton slowly.
"Moo's lost her mind," Lyrus muttered dryly, amusing himself by pulling out his dagger once more and carefully running a finger over the flat of the blade. "And Banda left. So I came here because there wasn't anything else to do." And that was the truth. Sort of. Lyrus was momentarily silent, angling the blade this way and that to catch the light, reflecting it down towards the ground... He finally blinked and glanced up to Mignon. "You won't forget me like Kilah did, right Mignon? You won't turn traitor? You'll always be my friend even if I'm stuck littler than you?"
Hmmm. Crazy mother, missing relitives. Poor Lyrus.
Her eyebrows shot up and she smiled at him. "Oh, so Kilah forgot you, too? She didn't remember me, either. I think she went crazy. She was too quiet and nice to be our Kilah, though." Poor Lyrus, though. Kilah was allways mean to him.
She wrapped an arm around him and squeezed him. "Don't worry. I won't forget you or be mean to you. I like you. You're definatly cool in my book."
Ahh, so Kilah had been honest about fogetting Mignon too. That was good, at least, but apparently Kilah hadn't gone back to normal while visiting Mignon either. Lyrus sighed heavily, returning the hug automatically (if he had thought about it, he probably would have pulled away instead), then dropped down to sit on the grass, sticking his dagger into the ground beside him. "Well, yeah, I thought that, but then she was herself again, and she remembered me again, and she didn't remember that she hadn't remembered, and she likes Jax more than me and I really, really hate Jax and she didn't even deny it, and she's a stupid traitor and I hate her."
Erk, near tears again. Lyrus took a moment to choke them back, fixed a stony expression on his face, then shook his head, pulling his dagger free and setting about tearing up the ground with it. "I'm glad you're still my friend, anyway. Because Kilah's definitely not anymore. I got my inbetween quest, Mignon, so I'm not broken after all."
She grasped his hand and smiled at him. "Don't worry. She'll realize that this Jax person has to be stupid soon. Besides, he's not one of us, is he? That definatly makes him not as good." Mignon stuck her nose up in the air a bit at that. Anyone who wasn't a Sin was immediantly ranked as a second class person in her mind.
"You got the quest? Good! Hopefully you'll get bigger soon. We need more kids around. The only others are 'Kito and Aard, and, well, they're not as cool as you are."
"He's not one of us," Lyrus replied quietly, a scornful tone in his voice. Why would Kilah ally herself with that instead of staying with him and Mignon, her own kind? But then, something told Lyrus Kilah wouldn't exactly care what kind anyone was. And then she was supposed to marry that fox boy, was she not? And that was being just as traitorous as liking Jaxom more, to Lyrus' eyes. (Not that he understood marriage.)
"Yeah, I got it, but it came so late..." Lyrus shrugged, scuffing a foot on the ground. "It could take even longer for me to get bigger, dontcha think? I hope not, though..."
"Nope." Mignon agreed, idly swaying. "She'll have to realize that sometime. And then she'll feel dumb and feel sorry. Or whatever it is she feels." She shrugged slightly.
"Well, it took me a while to get bigger, too. And now look at me." She smiled happily, probably thinking of her reflection. "The best things are worth waiting for, I think."
Lyrus nodded stiffly in agreement, but the unsure feeling remained. If Kilah could manage to be friends with Jaxom in the first place, Lyrus doubted a silly thing like race would keep them from being friends. Dropping the subject, he nodded once more, managing a faint smile. "Yeah, you're prolly right. At least now I know I'm not broken, so waiting won't be so bad."
"Well, it'll be bad, but it's someting you have to do." She reached over and patted his head. "I wonder if you'll get hair when you get bigger?" She said out loud, before realized that Lyrus probably didn't want her to make fun of his lack of hair.
"Well, what else is new?" Mignon asked, perhaps a shade too brightly. "I got kicked out of balet class for hitting a girl with my baton."
"Yeah," Lyrus admitted with a shrug. He blinked, then laughed, absently running a hand over his head. "I dunno. I'm not sure I want hair. It seems annoying. And you might not be able to see my horn." And his horn was pretty and shiny. Couldn't have that happening.
What else was new? "Good for you!" Lyrus chirped proudly. He had always been worried Mignon was a bit too nice, but if she got kicked out of something for hitting someone with something, then she was absolutely perfect in his book. Not that he knew what ballet or batons were, but still. "Bet she was really askin' for it, huh? Umm... Nothing's new. Banda's still gone and Moo's still weird and I'm bored and came here."
"I bet you'd look cool with a moehawk. Like that funny guy that brought you up to the HQ once." She thought back, frowning slightly. "He was cute." Oh, well. Too big for her, anyways.
"She called me ugly." Mignon scowled heavily at the word. "So, I hit her and made her bleed. I hope she never walks right again." A rather nasty smile came to her face.
"Well, if things get too awful, you can come live with me. I'm sure Mom wouldn't care. She usually doesn't care about stuff as long as it shuts me up."
"Isto?" Isto was AWESOME. Easily Lyrus' favorite brother. Aside from Banda. But they were great in different ways, and Banda was kind of a wuss. Isto wasn't. "I think I'd look funny with a mohawk. Especially after not having any hair for so long." 'Course, from what Lyrus knew, Isto didn't have any hair before his mohawk either. Huh.
"Ugly?" Lyrus frowned, then nodded approvingly. Mignon was one of the prettiest people he knew! And that wasn't just being biased because they were close friends. "I'm glad you did. I'd have helped if I were there." And he would have, too. Lyrus wondered if that would count as self defense.
"I might..." Trailing off, he shrugged. "I'm kinda hoping Banda comes back soon. I didn't think I would, but I miss him. And he didn't have any money or anything, and no one's heard from him for a while, so I don't know where he might be. If he doesn't show up soon, I might come stay with you."
She snapped her fingers and beamed at him. "Isto. That's the one. He was cool. "Nah. You'd look cool. Then your horn could be out and make you look all cool and badass." She nodded once or twice.
"You'd look funny in a ruffle, though. I don't think you'd like Balet." Add that to the fact that she couldn't picture Lyrus in a pink leotard, no matter how much tried. "But thanks. It would have been fun to have you there. Her friends made really funny faces." She paused for a moment. "Besides, she was lying. She thought I looked pretty, but she called me ugly 'cause she was jelous."
"Uncle Bob and Pito left a while ago, so there's plenty of room." Mignon did frown at the thought of someone Lyrus liked being out without money. "Don't worry. Moo can't be crazy forever."
"Well, maybe." Lyrus still wasn't too sure. Hair on its own seemed annoying enough, and strange hair like Isto's would just be awkward after never having hair at all. But oh well. Lyrus didn't think he would have much say in the matter, from what he knew of growing. And he could always change his hair if he got any, right? Right.
"A ruffle?" Lyrus blinked. What was a ruffle? And what was ballet, for that matter? Oh well, that was where the person Mignon had hurt was, so it couldn't be a good thing. Lyrus nodded. "Yeah, I bet she was. Stupid jealous people." Lyrus had never ever been jealous in his life. Ever. ...What did thtat word mean again?
"Moo's always been crazy," he mumbled dryly. "She's just a different kind of crazy now. She can't even remember my name. She calls me 'Boy with Horn'. Even though I tell her over and over again what my name is. It's annoying."
"Ballet is dancing!" She beamed. "Ruffles are usually called Tutu's, but that sounds stupid. They're ruffles that go around your waist and you dance and spin with them. It's fun. I need to find a new class now, one that doesn't suck."
"Well, I'll never go crazy or stupid and forget you. I promise." She gave him the most serious look she could manage. "I'll be here for you, 'cause I'm just cool like that." Mignon almost reached over to pat him, but remembered that Lyrus was a very tough little grey guy. She pulled the gesture into a gentle punch on the shoulder, hoping that was a sutible gesture of affection.
"Ohhh..." Lyrus knew tutus. "My brother has a tutu. Er... At least, Moo always said he's my brother. But he's purple and fuzzy and weird, so I don't think he is." Lyrus might have to shoot himself if he and Tayn were actually related. "I don't think I'd like ballet very much. But I guess it can't be all bad if you like it." Not that he would ever try it anyway.
A smile came to his face, and he nodded, climbing to his feet and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Screw toughness right now. Lyrus was just glad he still had a friend. "Thanks a lot, Mignon. I was.... Well, just thanks."
"Hmm. Purple and fuzzy? Sounds interesting." Things that were purple and fuzzy were usually cool. And cute. And if it was wearing a Tutu, that might just be squee worthy.
She was caught kind of unaware when Lyrus gave her the hug. She recovered quickly and gave him a tight squeeze. "No problem, Lyrus. Of course, you do know that if you ever go crazy and not like wonderfull me, I just might have to beat you." She let him go and gave his head a pat. "And I'm getting good at whacking people."
"He's a freak," Lyrus muttered, rolling his eyes. "He's like a giant lopsided purple teddy bear. His feet and hands are too big and he wears a pink tutu, and he acts girly. He's weird." And he was. But apparently he was going to grow into something more normally... But he was still really girly. Stupid fuzzy girly thing.
"I wouldn't do that," he promised with a grin. Who couldn't like Mignon? Unless they were like that jealous ballet girl, but people like that were just stupid. Besides, Lyrus wasn't about to forget anyone. It hurt the people who were forgotten. Or made them mad enough to stab. And either one wasn't a good thing. "We can beat up anyone who does. Start our own mafia."
"Good."
"Mafia?" She frowned slightly, trying to place the word. "Oh! That's that game Kilah used to play way back when. She wanted me to play, once." The onion girl gave herself a pat on the chest. "But if you ever need my help, just ask. If anyone's mean to my Lyrus, they need to get taught a lesson!"
Lyrus quickly decided that Mignon was a complete and total ditz. But that was alright, because she was a nice ditz, and easily his best friend now that Kilah had turned traitor. Even if she didn't want to start a Mafia and stuff. Oh well. "Yeah, I will. Thanks, Mignon.." He smiled, then sighed, looking around for Vin. "I should prolly head home. Someone might have actually noticed that I'm gone. See you again soon..?"
She beamed at him and waved. "Sure, Lyrus. Anytime."
"Bye, then," he chirped in reply, and, after calling Vin down from wherevertheheck the flitt was, started off for home.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:25 pm
The voice of a certain Sin'aeis had always been rather...distinct. It was most recognizable, though, when she was yelling. Now a days, Kilah seemed to do more of that than actually talking, and a whisper was as rare as finding a completed dinosaur skeleton in your sand box.
The scene wasn't one most would expect from Kilah. Most would think, knowing her, that she'd either laugh at the fact those two boys had been making the third of them cry, or at the very least ignore it. It was only those who knew her well that wouldn't be surprised by the fact she hadn't hesitated giving the two five-year-olds what she claimed they had coming.
Those arrognant little brats had lost that attitude damn quick when Mr.Dagger got involved. Snorting, the girl glared toward the sound of sniffles and whimpers. "Alright, they're gone. Now make like a tree and get the hell away before I cut you to ribbons."
Relieved his tormentors were gone, the tiny boy nodded his head and smiled brightly. "Alright! Thanks, lady! You're really nice!" Off he went, running down the street, and leaving an angrier-than-before Kilah behind.
"COME HERE AND SAY THAT!" Kilah screamed at him, but in getting no answer assumed he was too far to hear her. "Stupid kids," she spat, leaning over to grab ahold of Gizmo's feathers. "How close are we?"
"Wark." Came the answer, in English translating to 'we're here already'.
A group of four had already been at the mansion for some time, chased out of the house by and overly excited Moo and a rather worried Pod. But even these four brothers, united in their opinions of how loony their 'mother' was, couldn't stand each other for more than a short while. Two had retreated to the back yard, and the other two remained near the front, watching curiously as Kilah chased off the wayward kiddies.
Once they had gone, Jaxom laughed and climbed to his feet, starting for Kilah with a grin. "I knew there was some good in you. Just knew it. How've you been, Kilah?"
"We could make a fort out of tree branches or something." Lyrus was incrediably bored. At present he was wandering the garden and trying to find something to do, a silent snake boy following closely behind him. They had spent the better part of the last hour this way, and things were only getting worse.
Adroi smiled, looked around, picked up a small stick and proudly held it out to his brother.
With a sigh, Lyrus accepted the twig, managing a faint smile for Adroi's benefit and quickly turning away to look for something a bit more useful. "That's a start, anyway..."
Gizmo whined a bit as a handful of feathers were ripped from his back. Silly Kilah and her temper. When she realized, she muttered an apology and tossed the clump of feathers aside. Stupid Jax.
"Yeah, whatever," she grumbled, prodding Gizmo in the side, her signal for 'move your a**' without having to say it. Normally, she'd have defended her actions as being civil, not nice. Those boys sounded bigger than this one, and it was pathetic to pick on whimps anyway! Or...something.
It was somewhat surprising when her substitute walking stick didn't move an inch, just whined again. Oh, now HE was going to preach to her? Stupid griff. She should kick him...
Instead she grumbled her words again, directed toward Jax not Gizmo, "Nice to...hear you."
"Lyrus said you told him you're my girlfriend." Jaxom continued almost immediately, lips curved in a faint smirk. And I have the scab to prove it, he added mentally, one hand shifting to cover the bandage on his arm. Stupid lamb boy. But hey, tear up a friendship, keep the girl on his side...Well worth a little scar.
Try as she might to stop it, Kilah could feel herself blushing. She wasn't sure what one looked like, but Sango had said they were a very noticeable thing. Speaking of, she'd come here only to get away from that stupid, and now teenage sister of hers.
Luck hated her more then ever, she guessed. Figures she'd run into him here, already angry as it was. Lifting a hand to her mouth, she coughed fakely and cleared her throat. Buying times perhaps? "Yeah, well...I was under a spell. I wasn't myself, so don't think for a minute I'm labeled as anyones girlfriend, JAX."
"Jaxom," he corrected without thought. Nonetheless, he grinned; try as she might to hide it, Jax had noticed the blush, and that alone assured him further provoking wouldn't get him killed. "A spell, huh? Yeah, he mentioned that too. You forgot him, but remembered me...Your boyfriend," he added, just for the heck of it, folding his arms across his chest. "So even if you deny it, that Kilah knew what she was tlking about. Maybe she just said what you really thought."
"I have no problem saying what I'm thinking, and right now I'm thinking I should just kill you and dump you in a river or something!" The Sin'aeis spat in disgust, wrinkling her nose back. It was a habbit when she got mad. She'd tried to break it, but was still yet to be successful.
Stupid...other Kilah. If she had only left that kitchen knife in her back pocket, maybe she could stab Jax or something. She'd tried to use it on Twila and found it replaced with a flower. Ugh. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have...leader type things to do?"
"You wouldn't do that to me!" Jaxom positively beamed, only a hint of malice to it. Not that he was completely untouchable right now, what with Atear still at home, but his cocky attitude remained. He was safe enough. he and Kilah were friends, whether she would admit it or not. Yeah.
"I'm fulfilling my leader-ish duties." He continued, striking what he took to be a noble pose. "Moo's been really jumpy, and Pod's nearly as bad, so I've taken my, er...followers here. To look for you, actually. But a couple of them have run off." He frowned, glancing back towards the garden, then shrugged. "I'll punish them for it later."
"Yeah, well..." Need a comeback. Need a comeback. "...go away." HA, take THAT! Really, stupid Jax was such a jerk. More of an a*****e than she'd ever been to anyone! ...Well, she thought so, there were probably plenty of people who would say otherwise.
Speaking of leaders, she was glad Momoro hadn't come with her after. She'd have expected him to launch at her the second she stepped at the door, but to her surprise he'd stayed behind with Noyama. Whatever they were talking about seemed important, but she didn't care enough to stay and listen.
The both of them tended to over-react, so she thought nothing of it. On the other hand...it would've been funny to watch him and Jax kick the crap out of each other. Dumb boys.
"But I came all this way to see you~." Jaxom pouted. The least she could have done was come up with a good comeback. No fun at all, man. Letting his arms fall, he shrugged and turned away, starting back for the tree where he had left Coen. "But if you really want me to go, I will. Man, thought you might want some company, seeing as Mignon and Lyrus both hate you now. I guess that mafia thing of yours is better than me though, eh?"
"Mignon does not!" ...She didn't, did she? Oh, crap, what if she'd said something?! But that didn't make sense, Mignon and the 'other' Kilah should've gotten along great. From what Sango had told her, and from the way she heard Yama talk, they were much more alike than she and Mignon were now. Besides--waitasecond.
"Lyrus hates me because of you!" The chicken girl screamed at him, looking very, very close to at least attempting to choke him to death. Luckily, Gizmo had already shifted in between the two of them and then pushed the Sin'aeis forcefully back.
Kilah didn't even seem to notice, but that didn't stop her yelling. "Don't start acting like you care about my welfare, you just want someone to piss off!"
Well, that got her talking again, at least. Practically radiating innocence, Jaxom turned back to her and quirked a brow, pausing in step and holding a hand towards her. "I'm just repeating what Lyrus told me. He likes to yell, Lyrus, and lately he's been yelling about how much he hates you and Banda, and how glad he is that Mignon's still his friend and hates you too. Don't shoot the messanger."
Not that a whiff of it was true. If anything, Lyrus had been sulkier than normal. Jaxom hadn't seen him outside of his room (aside from that morning) except for the day he had been accused of by the prat of being Kilah's boyfriend. But still. "You can't blame this on me. You knew Lyrus hated me and you still liked me. I remember how nervous you were when you came over. You were scared Lyrus would find you, weren't you?"
His smile fading, he scowled faintly, letting his hand fall. "How do you know I don't care? I thought you liked me, and I was happy because that meant you couldn't be the suspicious idiot Lyrus makes you out to be, if you were willing to be my friend even though you hated him. But I try to be a friend back, and suddenly it's my fault your other friends don't like you. I didn't do anything wrong, Kilah!"
Mentally, Kilah assured herself he was some sort of witch or wizard or something. She refused to let that drop, even if she knew it wasn't true. The closet thing to a 'witch' she knew was...herself, and so far she had proved horrible at being one. None of her damn spells had gone right, and it was because of that she was standing here having this arguement. She wasn't even positive if that was the right word for it...
"Well..." Well what? Again, she didn't know. Blaming it on someone else always made things so easily, and everyone so far had either said nothing in response like Sango or just taken it like Gizmo always did. He was basically calling her wrong, when she thought about it. "I don't know...Maybe he's too young..."
Jaxom most certainly wasn't a witch or wizard or anything of the sort. He was just manipulative, and cocky, and far too bold for his own good. And though he normally would have breezed by this statement and come up with some snappy response, this time it irked him for some reason. He blinked, frowning. "To young? Who's too young? What do you mean?" Lyrus? Too young for what? Stupid girls not making any sense. Jaxom hated to ask for anything.
"Just forget it." Stupid boys. Not being able to understand what girls were saying. What was wrong with them? Maybe it was just something with their family. She never had these kinds of problems with Jack or Lex or even Aard. Though they may true to slaughter each other on sight (or earshot), she'd pick that over this any day.
This was just plain...awkward. Mostly now, when she was left with nothing else to say. What SHOULD she say? Yell more? That didn't seem to be getting her far in this case. By now, everyone else would've left. "Er..well..I guess Lyrus'll get over it..."
Gizmo growled suddenly, nudging Kilah's hand. "Wark!"
"What about Twila?"
That wasn't the answer Jaxom had expected, nor was it the answer he wanted. However, any response was forestalled by Kilah's final words, and curiosity quickly overcame annoyance. He was a cat, after all. "Who's Twila?" he asked, quirking a brow. "And what does she have to do with anything?"
"She's-" Not as far away as Kilah would've hoped.
"Oh, Akillaaahhh~" The high-pitched voice half-sang, half-called, and only a second later the pigtailed, freckle-faced blonde skipped merrily over to the ground, smiling that charming smile of hers Kilah could never pull off. "Well, hello, you must be Jax. Kilah's told me soooo much about you."
"Twila, what the ******** do you think you're doing?" The Sin'aeis hissed toward her in a whisper. Unfortunately, Kilah had never been very good at speaking quietly. Had she been able to see her sisters taunting [removed](that somehow managed to look innocent at the same time), she probably would've introduced Ms.Twila's Face to Ms.Kilah's Fist...again.
"Why, Kilah, I'm not doing anything! I just came to make sure you didn't start trouble with that lamb boy again!" Her voice purposely grew louder. "You know, the one you said wasn't worth his weight in rocks?"
Jaxom quirked a brow at the arrival of this new so-and-so, inwardly preening with her greeting, though he didn't let it show. Instead, he nodded politely in greeting to the girl, smiling faintly. Flattery or not, she had still interrupted his conversation with Kilah. "And you're Twila, I'd assume. Nice to meet you." Disregard the fact that Kilah didn't seem at all happy for her to be there. They must be siblings or something. That expression looked oddly familiar..
The Guardian shrugged it off, his smile growing to a bright grin with Twila's response. And immediately he was on to her game. Oh, he could grow to like this person.
Lyrus, meanwhile, had been hearing voices from a distance for a while now, but thought it better not to investigate. Jaxom was obviously one of the speakers, though from the distance he couldn't recognize the other, and anyone who might be befriending Jaxom, Lyrus didn't want to meet.
However, as one voice grew in volume, Lyrus was able to pick out the word 'lamb', and immediately his interest grew. Leaving Adroi by the branch they had been trying to break into pieces, he skittered for the edge of he building, pausing in step when he realized who exactly was over there and what they were talking about. Vaguely, Lyrus wondered if insults counted as an attack. He reached for his dagger, just in case.
"Twila, don't." Even daggerless, Kilah was plenty ready to maul her stupid sister if she stepped out of bounds, and she was giving her a fair warning. She SHOULD have attacked her already, as she'd never said that about Lyrus. It was kind of funny though-
No, bad! Focus, Kilah! Growling lightly, her fists tightened a bit, and this time she did feel Gizmo nudging her backward. "Just go away, leave us alone."
"That's a mean thing to say to your sister!" With every word, her golden eyes flickered over her shoulder, searching for someone. Oddly, it didn't seem to be Lyrus she was looking for...
Shame Kilah couldn't see that. "Shut up, Twila, I'm warning you."
"Ooh, Kilah, you're so violent! Like when you said you wished someone would gauge Lyrus's eyes out with that dagger you gave him. How cruel!"
Jaxom seemed to be trying not to laugh. Psh, Kilah acting all high and mighty about him and Lyrus fighting, when she didn't even get along with her own sister. Girls were weird. And Twila was amusing. Jaxom just stepped back, smirking, and relaxed to enjoy the show.
In the garden, Lyrus cringed away from his dagger as if it were suddenly on fire, and shoved it point-first into the ground without a second thought. It had been a gift, and he had kept it because of that. But if Kilah was wishing him harm through it, he didn't want anything to do with it. Ever.
Sighing, he took a step back away from the dagger, then sunk to the ground against the wall, sitting with his hands on his lap and twiddling his thumbs out of nerves while he listened. Did Kilah really hate him that much? Sure, he had gotten mad at her, but she had had it coming! It was her fault, not his. She shouldn't hate him...
"Twila, you're asking for it." For Kilah's temper, the patience she was showing was impressive. Of course, her fist were tightened so much now it was a wonder her nails weren't digging into her palm enough to draw blood.
The anger her sibling displayed only continued Twila to prod further, but perhaps she'd taken it a step to far this time. "Really, Kilah, nobody likes you anyway. You're a freak."
"And you're dead!" Kilah yelled back, pushing Gizmo (who was caught off guard by the sudden motion, surprisingly enough) harshly off to the side and launching toward her sisters voice. She did manage to hit her, pin her to the ground and punch her (very) violenty in the face in unison with her words. "You little lying whore, I'll kill you!"
"SANGO! SANGO! SHE'S ATTACK ME! STOP HER!"
It took a minute to register, but once it did Kilah froze. "Oh fu-"
"AKILAH!" The shriek of horror was none other than that of their eldest sister, who she just knew had an expression matching her tone of voice. So, Sango had been close by the whole time, and Twila had known it...
"Sango, I swear-" Kilah began to protest, but didn't get far before the demon slayer knocked her away and helped the 'poor' blonde girl up.
"Twila, are you alright?!" Her response was a sniffle and a pityful whine.
And...the next few things happened a bit too quickly for Jaxom to exactly follow correctly. However, he did realize that Kilah had been wrongfully accused by...was this another sister? Gods, she had as many sisters as he did brothers! ...Back to subject. As cool and amusing as Twila was, Kilah was his friend first, and, given the situation, in the right. So shove it whiny girl.
Frowning, he stepped over to help Kilah up, at this same time shooting a glare towards this 'Sango' person. "Twila was provoking her. And called her a freak. Kilah didn't do anything wrong. You should learn to figure out what's really going on before you butt in on things." he scowled, then laughed, pulling a face at Twila. "You had that coming."
....Just because he felt sorry for Kilah, that didn't mean Lyrus forgave her. Or would forgive her. Actually, when he heard Jaxom defending her, his anger returned, and he kicked out at the dagger lodged in the ground. Stupid Kilah... Apparently his accusation had been right after all. And that meant Twila's words probably had been true. ...Lyrus wished Banda were there.
Aside from the noises provided by nature, and Twila's partially fake whining (getting punched did hurt, you know), there was a laspe of silent in which Sango eyed Jax in surprise. "...This is your boyfriend? He seems a little out of your leauge..."
"WHAT?! I'm out of HIS leauge, thank you! ...HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"
"Hm..." Raising an eyebrow, she glanced between her two younger sisters, one crying and the other looking more pissed than usual. One couldn't blame Sango for taking Twila's side, really. "Kilah, you need to apologize for that."
"For what?"
"Not you too!" Kilah groaned, smacking herself in the face with the voice of the LAST person...fox demon, she'd want to hear. "Go away, Momoro, not now!"
"Heeey, what's wrong?" He whined, putting an arm around her shoulder, obviously dissapointed.
And again with the boyfriend talk! Jaxom inwardly gloated. Just because it meant she had mentioned him. Or, someone had, anyway. Close enough. Besides, it was still a compliment, wasn't it?
He sighed heavily when Sango took the whiner's side anyway, and was about to protest when Momoro's arrival stunned him into silence. Jaxom blinked, frowning, and quirked a brow at Kilah, nodding towards the fox boy and completely forgetting the Sin couldn't see. "Is he your brother, then?"
Oh, PLEASE, just shut up this once! Kilah begged silently. Unfortunately, the psychic waves she hoped would reach the fox-eared boy beside her didn't quite make it.
"Fiance," he corrected, eyebrows raised. "And just who are you?" It didn't sound rude, but not very polite either. Who was this guy? Kilah didn't have any brothers, right? Maybe a cousin. Probably a cousin...Hopefully a cousin.
Twila had stopped crying moments ago. Even with her bruised face aching, she had to see how this played out. Sango, too, was quiet, watching them intently, more with concern for another fight breaking out.
Jaxom blinked. Fiance? But that meant... Was this guy serious?! Jax wasn't sure whether to be absolutely furious or to fall over laughing. Kilah wasn't old enough for a fiance, for one, and if she was going around telling people he was her boyfriend, she couldn't have cared much for this fox prat. Jax decided on laughter.
But only softly. Keeping calm, he chuckled and shook his head, waving a hand vaguely towards Kilah. "I'm her boyfriend. Looks like she's cheating on you, eh?"
As upset as he was, when Lyrus recognized the voices and the words passing between them, he immediately abandoned his spot and peeked around the building to watch. Jaxom meets Momoro. His two least favorite people in the world. And, with Jax's words, they were likely to fight. ....This could be fun.
Momoro stared at him for a moment, and then smiled in a polite manner, looking at Jax but clearly speaking to Kilah. "Oh, he's one of those crazy people you 'hang out' with, is he? He's very...brightly colored." Not that he was one to talk with that purple hair.
"S-Sango?" Kilah begged quietly. Her sister supplied no help, merely paled, held her hands up defensively and shook her head.
"Don't look at me!" The slayer squeaked. "I don't even talk to any boys!" To avoid being called on again, she edged further away, closer to Twila. She was willing to watch, but don't drag her into it...
Momoro's ears twitched. It was hard to tell if it was because he was annoyed or because he was thinking. With Noyama, it had been the latter, and the first with Noharu. "So...?" The pause was obviously provided so Jax could give his name.
Jaxom rolled his eyes. No fun, no fun. He'd expected at least a whine from the other boy. And he most certainly was not crazy! Though 'brightly colored' he would accept as some sort of strange apology. Yeah. That was it. His eyes flickered towards Klah, then back to Sango, and finally to this fox boy--particularly his ears.
Stupid puppy.
"Jaxom," he offered, quietly, without though, then blinked and cleared his throat, smiling as calmly as ever and repeating himself. "Jaxom Ateade, of Atear's line. And I am a Guardian, not a Sin'aeis." He paused, eyes flicking towards those ears once more, and resumed. "Nor, I think, are you. Not elaborate enough. Fuzzy ears. Who might you be?"
Kilah leered warningly toward Jax. Making fun of Momoro was fine by her, but if he started prodding at the race it'd get personally. Noyama was a...fox...thing, too, and she was...okay. Kinda... Her glare became more of a scowl as she heard Momoro 'hm' beside her.
"Momoro Habotcha, ruler of Yeliel Island, and you're right. I'm a fox demon, not a Sin'aeis." With the mention of his ears, both of them twitched. Psh, girls thought they were cute. This guy was probably just jealous. Kind of rude, too. "You're related to baldy boy, aren't you?"
Teehee, fuzzy ears. Jaxom really wasn't so sure why he found those ears so amusing. Jack's ears were Jivvin ones, as were Scion and Kama's. These were just kind of...points and..up and...teehee. Fuzzy ears. Why would he want that? He had a kitten that followed him around. That was enough cuteness to last him a lifetime.
Actually, Jaxom admitted to himself, he and this guy would probably get along very well if it wasn't for the whole Kilah factor. This point was only enforced with the mention of 'baldy'. Jaxom cringed. "Not by blood, thankfully, but Moo adopted him too, yes. I've been trying to get rid of him ever since. Little turd. You've met him? Funny, he hasn't mentioned you."
Even when she wasn't trying to, Kilah started fights. Kilah made enemies, and sometimes they weren't even hers. She wasn't enjoying this, though, because there was that huge possiblity it would end with one of them killing each other, a reminder that hovered around in her mind.
Lyrus was close, and she knew it. He was probably happy at the thought of these two ripping each other apart, but now that they were speaking of him, did his opinion change? This situation was but one thing: Very, very complicated.
"But of course," Momoro said smoothly, smirking a bit despite how...tense the air between them seemed to be. "I'm not surprised, we're not on good terms. He...gets in the way."
"How so?" Jaxom asked, genuinely curious. The lamb Sin could be annoying, and was easily one of the biggest prats Jax knew, but he had never really gotten in the way. At home, Lyrus spent most of his time cooped up in his room. How did Lyrus and this fox boy know each other? And what had Lyrus done to offend him?
Lyrus wasn't at all bothered by the topic of choice, except that it meant Jaxom and Momoro had something in common. He already knew that both boys hated him. What harm would it bring to be reminded of that fact? No, Lyrus could have cared less. He continued listening in the hopes that the conversation may turn to something more interesting...all the while hoping Kilah wouldn't join in on the present topic. Just change the subject...
"Well, not so much right now..." Without even noticing it, he was glancing at Kilah. Not that he was glad she was blind or anything, but things like that would probably make her angry. It certainly wasn't hard to do. "Oh! That's right! Why I'm here!"
"Akilah, I told Noyama this before you left," he chirped happily, clasping both her hands in his. "But I'd like to tell you as well. I want you to come and visit the island. It's better now that I took over. You and your sisters, all invited." He smiled charmingly over at the two 'sisters' for a brief second. "Anyway, I should go. There's a lot to do."
Like aways, Kilah was relieved to see (not literally mind you) him go. At least there hadn't been any bloodshed, which surprised and dissapointed a few of them, she knew. When she was positive he was far enough away, Jax was once again the center of attention.
Twila and Sango could go jump off the roof for all she cared.
"Uh, yeah, about him..."
The boy's attitude irritated Jaxom, but he didn't let it show until Momoro had gone, retaining his calm manner. Only with Kilah's words did his face darken, eyes flickering back towards the girl. For a moment he debated simply not answering her and walking away. Why hadn't she just told him to begin with!? It wasn't as if she had forgotten. It's kind of hard to forget a fiance.
However, Lyrus was probably listening in, he knew. And as much as Lyrus claimed to hate Momoro, Jaxom had a feeling that the lamb Sin hated him more. Besides, he still liked Kilah....sort of.
"What about him?" He snapped, shooting a glare after Momoro. Sighing, he shook his head, absently running a hand through his hair. "Thanks so much for telling me, Kilah. Gods forbid you hide that you have a fiance from your boyfriend. Not that you give a rat's a** about him either, it seems." Jaxom chuckled.
"Hey, I care about the stupid fox boy!" Kilah snapped. Unfortunately, she could've just as easily been saying that to defend her than saying it to mean it. But, really, who would blame her if she didn't mean it? So far, everyone generally found Momoro annoying. Even when the guy didn't do a thing to them, he seemed somewhat of a...lightning rod of hate or something.
"And I NEVER said you were...were...were that title!" Why did everyone keep saying that?! Had SHE said that?! Damn that stupid spell. Mostly, damn Twila. It was all her fault she cast it! At least she got to punch her, and--
It was then Kilah realized her sisters were still present. "Hey, you two, piss off!"
There was silence between the other two girls for a second, and finally Sango muttered a, "Let's go Twila", took her hand and drug her off. Kilah knew she'd hear it later, espcially after that outburst, but right now she had other...issues to deal with.
Now that they were out of the way, Kilah could once again focus on Jax (and Lyrus, somewhat). "And what do you mean either?"
According to Lyrus she had. And Lyrus wouldn't lie about that. Not about Kilah and that anyway. "You did," he growled, but immediately fell silent, turning his eyes towards Kilah's sisters and glowering at them until they headed off.
Turning his attention back to Kilah, he scowled and folded his arms, shrugging. "If you'd really liked me, you would have told me about him earlier, and if you really care about him, you wouldn't have liked someone else! And then you're dropping your friends left and right for two guys who you're apparently just toying with, so you must not care about them either, aye?"
Gods, girls were stupid. "I don't blame Lyrus for not speaking with you anymore. You just a manipulative b***h who can't make up her mind, and everyone who tries to befriend you is bound to get hurt sooner or later. He was lucky he got out when he did."
"You're right." The response was quick. Almost too quick. Either she'd gone over this in her head or someone had said it before, perhaps both, hard to tell. "You shouldn't talk to me anymore. He shouldn't either."
Depending on who she was talking to, they could've easily felt threatened. It sounded more like a warning, in a way, and her tone that was normally just cold, harsh, or annoyed sounded nothing below serious.
Hard to believe they were all so young, talking like that. When she spoke again, it was actually more like yelling, obviously intended more for the ears of Lyrus. "I don't want to be "friends" with anyone anyway. Lyrus is an idiot and Mignon's whiny. I hope they both go away."
That had been the absolutely last thing Jacom expected. The boy blinked, momentarily stunned, then nodded sharply, locking his jaw. "Fine. Good bye, Akilah."
Turning away, he started back over to Coen, who had simply watched cheerfully from his seat by a tree throughout the proceedings. Scooping up the infant, he yelled in the general direction of the garden, "Lyrus, Adroi! Get out here, we're going home."
Sensing a beating, Lyrus did the exact opposite of what the call commanded; after a glance to Adroi, then to his dagger still lodged in the ground, then boy turned and headed off to the other end of the garden. Jaxom hated him, Momoro hated him, and now Kilah hated him, but Mignon still liked him! He would just go find her house... Or Banda. Whichever came first.
It was only a short while before Adroi silently joined his two brothers on the front lawn. Gliding past them (He didn't have legs, after all), he nodded politely in greeting to Kilah, offering an awkward sort of smile before holding out the dagger he had found. It was hers, he knew, and it should be returned to its rightful owner.
For one with eyesight, this would be one of those scenes where they'd be found staring thoughtfully and intensely at the ground. Since she couldn't do that, she had always just closed her eyes and made one of those odd Kilah faces. This time, it seemed more distressed than just pissed off.
"I don't want it," she grumbled when the offering was held out to her. It was hard to tell if she knew what he was actually attempting to give her, but someone she just seemed to know. Hauling herself onto her gryphon, she nudged him in the side like she always did and sighed heavily.
It was for the best.
And off the two went.
Adroi's smile faltered, unblinking eyes turning downward as the girl departed. He carefully grasped the dagger hilt with both hands once more, guarding the blade closely. He would just...protect it until someone did want it, then. It was the least he could do.
Jaxom took no notice of the exchange, merely glaring off towards the garden. "Dammit Lyrus, c'mon, we need to leave!" When minutes passed and the toddler did not return, Jaxom hefted Coen, grabbed Adroi by one wrist and started off for the House. At least there was someone left for him to take his anger out on.
Besides, Lyrus would have to come home soon.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:26 pm
((Disregard any mention of his 'dagger' xD; Wasn't sure of timing..))
One hand was at her belly as she trudged through the woods. Most of the family wouldn't approve of her being out and about but, at this point, she didn't give a flying rat's a-- That wasn't the point. Back to trudging.
Escape had been needed. The house itself was too still and yet, somewhere within the back of her mind, she knew that something had been brewing. Laylana had left again and the older boys seemed to... Hover. She couldn't stand it... All of them watching her? Making sure that nothing went wrong? Not even the silly Jivvin could understand that she was merely pregnant... Not dying.
Aaralyn had been the only one that she couldn't escape. He followed her as she brushed branches aside for the two to pass by. He may have been clumsy but he didn't miss a beat. Ears remained alert to every sound as they walked. It may have been daylight... But that strange, dark Jivvin might have been around. He didn't want Kuro anywhere near Skye... Especially not when she was like this. "Can't we just... Go back home? Where it's nice? And there are people?"
The woman ignored him as she walked on. They weren't going back home. Not at the moment, at least. She hadn't come this far just to go back now. They'd find somewhere to sit down for a bit and 'relax'... Or maybe she'd end up at work and there'd be something to do there. Wherever the wind blows...
Only a short distance, just before the edge of the trees, Moo had finally abandoned the safety of her 'Palace' and braved the strange new land she had been dumped in. Not that she had come alone, of course. It was hard enough getting around in these blasted gowns, and with the added risk of who knows what happening, she had needed a bodyguard. Naturally.
Not that he would be much use. Moo cast a glance towards the young boy walking at her side, quirking a brow. What was his name again? Lee....something? Oh, well, that would have to do. But he had been the only one willing to come, and he had what looked like a glass dagger with him, so that just might be enough protection.
Lyrus, on the other hand, was happy just to be out of the house. New Moo wasn't very good company, but she was certainly better than his brothers. He would have much rathered if Banda had just come home, though... But oh well. Maybe he would drop by soon.
Upon exiting the trees she froze, eyebrow raising ever so slightly as she caught site of... The princess? Curious. Then again, she probably didn't look any more at home in the forest at the moment. With her black camisole top stretched over her 'pouch' and a shimmering midnight blue skirt she looked more like an odd fairy lacking wings.
Aaralyn, not having been paying much attention to Skye's chosen trail, found himself bumping into her leg. She responded with a gasp, hand going to her belly for fear that she'd fall upon it. "Aara! Careful... You're so worried, surely you should be watching where you're going..."
Aha, people! Or, a person and a Jivvin. Good people owned Jivvins, so this one couldn't be dangerous, aye? Besides, the woman was very pregnant, Moo mused. One could generally run faster than a pregnant woman even when one was in a gown. Thus, Moo was more than happy to meet this person.
"Hello there!" she chirped, gathering her skirt and all but running over, a stumbling Lyrus in her wake. Positively beaming, she paused in front of the woman, nodding politely in greeting and instantly turning her attention to Aaralyn. "My, and you have a Jivvin! Such a lovely blue... What is his name? Oh, and yours, of course?" Smile.
Predicting a dull conversation, Lyrus stepped aside and sunk down to sit on the ground, absently digging the tip of his 'dagger' into a tree root. Hopefully this wouldn't take long and they could go exploring again. Lyrus seriously doubted they would find anything interesting in this forest. Stupid dirty forest.
"Ahoy!" She nearly chuckled as she watched the woman scramble towards her. The mere awkwardness of it all was enough to make her want to laugh... But the strange nagging sense that it wouldn't be all together proper to do so kept her from doing it. Instead, she bowed as best as she was able to, silvery blue eyes raising to the other woman afterwards. "I am Skye and this... Lovely blue creature is Aaralyn, my escort."
At mention of his name the Jivvin ceased trying to examine the young boy in order to retreat to Skye's side. He sat at her feet, fluffy tail wrapping around his paws as he looked up to the woman who seemed oddly familiar. He was pleased by the fact that Skye had refered to him as her 'escort' rather than something worse... She could have called him 'Mr. Happy Pants' again.
He didn't even have pants...
"A pleasure to meet you," she greeted, completely honestly. There weren't enough normal people in this world anymore. This woman look mostly normal, at least... Mostly. But then, Pod certainly wasn't normal, and he was a perfectly wonderful person. This woman could easily be as well. "I am Saoni, and this is...um..." She blinked, gesturing vaguely to the lamb Sin.
"Lyrus," he offered, rolling his eyes and not bothering to look up. Stupid new Moo, forgetting peoples names as soon as she learned them. There was no doubt in his mind that she would forget Skye's at least twice before their conversation ended, though Aaralyn she might remember... New Moo liked Jivvins a lot.
This became all the more aparent as she began talking once more, delving into the subject. Jivvins were something that she knew. Strange new places hadn't changed that. "Aaralyn, a lovely name. You are an...Afya, if I am correct? I don't have an Afya," she pouted, staring off at a tree. Then, blinking, she resumed, "But I do have an Olplyn and a Daewl, Kama and Scion. And then there's Jack, but.." Her face darkened and she shook her head, shrugging. "He's not important."
"A pleasure to meet you as well, Saoni." Something about that felt... Odd. The name didn't seem to suit the woman; even if she was rather dolled up. "And you too, Lyrus." She managed to direct a nod towards the little boy.
She found herself raising an eyebrow as her attentions returned to the other woman. With how much she knew about Jivvins she certainly sounded like the young woman who'd sent Aaralyn into her care. But wasn't her name Moo? Or something like that? She was almost certain that it was...
Aaralyn stared up at the woman in awe of all that she seemed to know. Unable to find his voice he simply nodded shyly, tail flickering against his feet. He didn't seem to mind that Skye glared down at him again. The woman was just so used to him talking that she didn't seem to understand why he sometimes chose not to.
"Mmhmm." Moo already seemed to have lost interest. She stared curiously at Aara, then blinked and glanced off through the trees--apparently at absolutely nothing. "I knew another blue Afya once. Seems like so long ago..." She trailed off and was silent, blinking vaguely at the trees.
This annoyed Lyrus to no end. Glancing up, the boy quirked a brow, then sighed and climbed to his feet, leaving his 'dagger' lodged in the tree root. After sending a scowl towards his guardian, he sent an almost apologetic glance to Skye and Aara, muttering, "She's nuts. Just ignore her. It's easier that way. I'm only here to get out of the house 'cause Jax is a buttface."
She winced slightly as a pang struck her in the side, quickly brushing it away as nothing. A smile slipped into place as she raised an eyebrow at the little one. "A little nonsense now and then..." She shook her head as she laughed to herself. "Many things can seem like an eternity, Lady Saoni... Even if they've only just happened days ago."
Aara, on the other hand, wasn't interested in the conversation. He nosed at Skye's leg as if silently urging her to sit down. When she ignored him he padded slowly towards the little boy. He seemed to be the only one that was making sense. "Some 'buttfaces' can be found outsde too." Not to mention any dark, crazy Jivvins...
"Aye..." Saoni/Moo admitted, but hesitated. How well could she trust this stranger? This...Skye (was it?) seemed nice enough, and had an Afya to boot... Oh well, it couldn't hurt anything, could it? "But everything has changed so much in only a few days time." She sighed, shaking her head, and absently flicked her gown free of a crease. "Even my home has changed... And all of these new people, and none of the old... Except for Pod," she added thoughtfully. "But he's not sure what happened either."
A bit of nonsense, pah. Lyrus wasn't completely sure what nonsense meant, but Moo was flat out crazy, and he doubted that was it. Stupid adults thinking they were so much better than everyone else. He considered sending her a rude gesture, but thought better of it and turned his attention instead to Aaralyn. At least this Jivvin understood. "There are lots of buttfaces. Jax is just the worst one." And that was a fact.
"I know how that is... A bit, at least." She shook her head as she tried to recall everything that had been happening in her own home lately... From the marriage months ago to the pregnancy and the children. It was all a bit... Much. "Perhaps you just need to sit down with a pencil and pen and write down everything that's happened... Let someone else take a look at it and see if they note a difference?"
"Dunno 'bout that..." He shook his head slowly. Skye's older son 'Vyn' could be quite a big buttface. He was old enough to be a pretty bad one too. Maybe it was just that Lyrus hadn't met him yet. Either way, his attention span wasn't large enough to keep on that train of thought. "Do you know any games?"
"You do?" Moo brightened up immediately, turning hopefully to Skye once more. The suggestion made sense and she nodded, but her smile soon faded somewhat, and she blinked once more. "But...I don't remember anything. I can remember my palace, and the people, and where I was, but suddenly I wake up in exactly the same place, but with different people. And a completely different building! It's maddening," she murmured, sighing.
"Games? Er..." Honestly? Not really. Sure, Lyrus knew tag and hide-and-go-seek, and once a couple of babies had tried to make him play house with them, but Lyrus didn't play many games when it came down to it. He didn't have many people to play with. Besides, his glass things were much more...fun. And his pets were better company than his brothers would ever be. Yeah. "I know...tag? But you'd beat me at that easy. Prolly hide-and-go-seek, too. What games do you know?"
"Aye... Everyone has moments where they feel as if everything's changing too fast for them." Her hand rested on her stomach as she spoke, fingers parting as if 'shielding' the wee one within from hearing her words. "It all happens for a reason though. Maybe there's something you need to learn from this strange place and these different people? Don't think of it as madness... Think of it as a learning experience."
His tail flickered as he listened to the list... And the question? Ooh! "Tag's fun... But only if you're fast. Hide-n-seek's fun too... Then there's mimic... An' the quiet game... But I don't like that one." Especially not since 'Vyn tried making him play it all of the time.
Happened for a reason? Moo couldn't think of any reason why this might have happened. She just wanted to go back home and have things be normal again. But Pod kept saying she couldn't go back now... Oh, what was going on? She sighed, but nodded slightly, eyes casting downwards. "Perhaps... Aye, maybe you're right. I just have to look at things differently! Perhaps that witch man can help, he seemed to know what was going on... Oh, what was his name..? Sounded like toes...hmm... Strange man." And off she went again, staring blankly at a tree while she attempted to remember.
Lyrus wasn't a very fast runner. He could win tag when he played against some of the other Sins, but they were little, and Jivvins could run fast. "What's mimic? And the quiet game? I haven't heard of those before." Maybe one of those would work. Lyrus would rather not get all messy running around in the forest anyway.
As the other woman thought she stood there trying to quell the sudden feeling of nausea that was rising within her. It couldn't have been the sickness again. That had come and passed... Hadn't it? Of course it had. Things like that didn't come back unless... Unless something goes wrong.
"What's mimic? And the quiet game? I haven't heard of those before..." He grinned, trying his best to match his stance with that of the little boy. The first time he'd done this with someone they'd gotten upset with him... He hoped that Lyrus wouldn't.
Quite abruptly, Moo seemed to forget about her task and returned her eyes to Skye, watching the woman curiously. After a moment, she cocked her head to the side, holding out a hand, but hesitating. "Are you alright? You're not looking well, I think, though it may just be the light... There's not much of it." Blasted in-the-way trees. At least they were pretty some of the time.
"That's not funny," Lyrus snapped, scowling. He hadn't the faintest idea what a mimic what, and it never once occurred to him that this might be Aaralyn's game. This stupid blue Jivvin was just making fun of him! Pah, Lyrus knew it was too good to be true. His Jivvin nephews were buttmunches too. Still, he could try again. "How do you play them?"
"I'm fine..." She attempted to offer Saoni/Moo a soft smile of sorts only to have it twist into a scowl of uncertainty. Fingertips moved tenderly along her protruding stomach only to grasp as the pain came again. "Ma-maybe not."
His ears flattened as he watched the little boy's reaction. Maybe mimic wasn't a good game to play... Especially if it always landed him in some sort of trouble. "The Quiet Game isn't fun... You have to be really really quiet. I always loose." He didn't think it would be wise to explain mimic. He might only end up in trouble. Again.
As always, with such a short attention span, his train of thought was interrupted by the flickering doubt in his guardian's voice. Pale blue head tilted towards her, maw curving into a slight 'frown' of worry. Ears dipped lower as he padded towards her, gently nudging her leg. "I told you that you should sit down..."
"Liar," Moo replied dryly. Catching the slight movement of Skye's fingers, Moo straightened up, nodding as she came to a decision, and took Skye's arm, patting it reassuringly. "I shall escort you to a doctor! Lee...um..Boy with horn! Let's go."
The Quiet Game didn't sound at all interesting in Lyrus' opinion, but he still wanted to know what Mimic was. Lyrus frowned when the Jivvin left him, glaring after the creature and cringing visably when Moo called to him. Bloody crazy woman not remembering his name... "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he muttered, retrieving his dagger and replacing it in his belt before stalking over to Moo.
"D-- Doctor?" She shook her head vigerously. "No doctor... My husband, WinK, he took me to one and they poked and prodded and ran tests." She scrunched her nose at the very thought, temporarily blind to the discomfort running through her. The last thing she wanted was more needles poked into her. "I'd rather not... Perhaps if I just sit down for a bi-- Ooooh."
Aaralyn's eyes went wide as he nuzzled against the woman's leg. "You're going... Even if that means I have to run aaalll the way back to the house to get the boys." He nodded. He hated feeling like there was nothing he could do for Skye... But he could do that much if she continued to refuse.
"Oh, nonono." Chuckling, Moo shook her head, guiding Skye through the trees in the general direction of the center. She could find her bearings from there. "Not one of those new doctors. They weren't where I remember, and I don't trust them... Far too complicated. They're probably really selling parts on the black market or something. I know a better doctor." Or, she had heard of a better doctor. That witch man had mentioned it...Though he had been making fun of said doctor at the time. Oh well.
Lyrus just followed behind for the time, remaining silent. Maybe Moo would forget he was there all together and he could slip off to the center or something. Hopefully.
She followed along with the other woman, certain that she wouldn't have been able to resist if she had wanted to. She certainly didn't want Aaralyn running back to alert 'Vyn... Or Toki... Or, heavens forbid, WinK. "There are other doctor's around here? Healers?" She might have been more comfortable with that... She'd trusted them vaguely in the past... Until she'd learned her own way around herbs.
Happy that Skye was complying, the Jivvin took to slipping back alongside the boy. He could watch the other two women while making sure that the little one didn't wander off. "Are adults always this... Stubborn?"
"But of course." Well, no. Moo wasn't exactly sure, to be completely honest. She had seen some doctors on that picture box thing that Kama always watched, but they looked like they had been torturning the poor person! And this was the only other Healer Moo had heard of. Excluding the Wild Jivvins, but she doubted they would want to be bothered. "She lives around here somewhere...but I'm not exactly sure where we are. I can find it from the Center place, though."
"Adults are stupid," Lyrus offered, gracing the blue Jivvin with a glance. "The think they're better than everyone else and treat everyone younger than them like dirt. So, yeah, they're stubborn, but only 'cause they don't want to admit that you're right."
"If you're..." She gasped softly, biting back the desire to let tears well up in her eyes. "Certain." Maybe she would have been better protesting and letting Aara run back for the boys. No... That was foolishness talking. "The Center, you say? Then I shall certainly have to trust your judgement, my dear woman."
He shook his head slowly. He didn't really think that Skye was stupid... Or that Moo was either. They were just... Female? Did that automatically make them stubborn? It might have. "Maybe..." He sighed softly, ears cocking to listen to the conversation in front of them. "Do you know anything about this... Doctor?"
Moo positively beamed. It was rare that anyone trusted her judgement nowadays. Most people would just give her a funny look and do the opposite of whatever she suggested. Especially Jack and that witch man. They must be allied against her. She would deal with that later.
It was only a while before the Center could be seen through the trees, and immediately upon sight of it Moo altered her direction, continuing in the same general direction they had been going, but turning deeper into the forest. "It shouldn't be too long now. I overheard Jack and that witch man speaking about her one day... It's around here somewhere."
"I've never heard of any doctors around here," Lyrus replied quietly. Actually, he hadn't heard much of anything in this forest at all, except that Isto and Jack and Acia always said he should never ever go in it alone. There were four of them here now, though, and that wasn't alone. "I didn't think anyone lived in the forest. Acia always tells me there's bad stuff in here and to stay out. Isto and Jack told her that."
TBC
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:27 pm
I saw Mignon at the manshun place. She didnt forget me and shes still me friend and stuff. Im glad. It was really good to see her. She told me about ballay and how she beat up a girl with a baton cause the girl was jellus. It was fun.
And then a couple of days ago we went back to the manshun and Jax talked to Kilah. I was in the garden with Adroi but I could hear lots of what they said. Anyway I dont think Jaxom and Kilah are friends anymore. They fought and Jax got mad and said some stuff and Kilah said she didnt want to see him anymore anyway.
I know that Kilah really doesnt like me now too. She said Im an idiot and that Mignons winey. She said...um.. What was it? Something about me being not worth my weight in rocks? I dont even know what that means but its bad. And she wished someone would poke my eyes out with the dagger she gave me so I jutst left it in the garden. I dont want it anymore.
But yeah. Jax was in a really bad mood so I was scared to go home so instead I decided to go to Mignons house only I couldnt find it so I went to find Banda instead. But I couldnt find him either! So I just sorta wandered around until I found the manshun and then I came home from there. It was really late. I went to bed.
And then this yesterday morning I got lucky cause I woke up early and Moo asked if I wanted to go for a walk with her. I dont think Jax even knew I had come home cause he was asleep when I got there the night before and still sleeping when I left again.
Anyway me and Moo went for a walk in the forest and met up with some other lady and a blue Jivvin. But the lady was gonna have a baby or something and got sick so we took her to this weird doctor. I dunno its confusing. And really not important so Im not gonna bother.
We didnt get home until near dinner and I thought things were okay but after I ate me and Jax got in this big fight. He only won because hes bigger though. But now I have these funny blotches everywhere and they hurt when I touch them and my eye is really puffy and I cant open it right. Adroi has blotches too. I noticed this morning. Well haveta beat up Jax together one day but I dont think Adroi will because hes too nice.
I hurt really bad last night so I just went to bed and now its this morning and Im gonna stay in my room today I think. I dont have a dagger anymore and I need one so Jaxll be scared to hurt me so Im gonna try and make one out of glass ro something. I dunno if itll work though. Ill have to make it a real fancy dagger. Maybe itll look scary enough to keep Jax away even if it doesnt really work.
I still really miss Banda. Maybe Ill let him read this if he comes back. Hed be happy that I wrote so much.
--Lyrus
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:29 pm
Sjajan was currently at the front of the mansion, playing with her slingshot. It'd become one of her favorite possessions, since it'd worked so well in the Vortex. The blonde was shooting various objects with small pebbles; the watering can, the steps, things like that.
Lyrus wasn't exactly in the best of moods. Banda was gone, Kilah hated him, he didn't know how to get to Mignon's house, and he was scared to stay at home for fear of provoking Jaxom again. To add to that, his eyes was still black and swollen, which made him look funny, and Vin wouldn't leave him the heck alone!
Muttering under his breath, the boy swatted absently at the bronze flit who was once again trying to land on his shoulder. Everyone was growing nowadays, Lyrus mused. Even Vin was too big for him to carry that was anymore, even if the flit seemed to disagree. At least Task was still little and fuzzy.
Pausing ni step, Lyrus made as if to kick a stick out of his path, but froze when a well-aimed pebble knocked it away for him. Frowning, he glanced in the direction the rock had come, eyes settling on a new Sin...Or was she new? She looked familiar... Oh well. "You could've hit my foot!"
Jani kept the slingshot pointed at him for a moment, then lowered it and smiled.
"Yah, I coulda."
Who was that? He looked familiar, Sjajan didn't know too many boys, so she kept track of them... What was his name again? He had that horn... Lyrus! He hadn't grown yet? Well, Jan wasn't about to mention that they were the same size, she knew how angry she'd been when Ancelin grew first.
"Hallo, Lyrus."
She dug around in her pocket for another pebble, before realizing he might not recognize her, it had been a while.
"Name's Jani, saw yah twice, long time 'go."
Ahh, so he had met her; she knew his name. Lyrus felt slightly foolish when he couldn't remember hers, but when she offered it it, it clicked. She had been smaller then, but they had met before. He remembered now.
"Oh, hi Jani. You grew," he noted, a slightly bitter tone coming to his voice. However, any company was good company right now, so he quickly bit back the tone and offered a faint smile. "That's cool. It's easier to talk when you don't have to try and figure out what babies are saying."
It was easier to talk. Jani was extremely pleased with the fact that she easily understood now. The girl shot one more pebble and hit one of the garden's watering cans before stashing it in her pocket. She'd only seen him with two people so far, Yuki and that stupid chicken girl. Did he even have any other friends? Probably not, the blind girl was probably too mean to let him have any.
"Yep, I did, and yah, 'tis easier."
She peered at his face, slightly concerned. He didn't seem as bad as his friend, and if he could befriend people at such extremes as Akilah and Yukito, then he'd be somewhere in the middle of the two personality wise, wouldn't he? That meant it was alright to be nice to him.
"You okay?"
Lyrus rarely saw any Sins other than Kilah and Mignon... He hadn't talked to Yukito in ages! With his present luck, the dragon boy had probably grown again and forgotten all about him. But that wasn't worth worrying about now. He already had too much to think about with friends and family and stuff. He would think about that some other time. Yeah.
"I'm fine," he replied defensively, turning his head away only slightly to hide most of the swelling. This was one of those times where hair would have been useful, Lyrus mused. People could hide behind hair if it was long enough. Straightening up, he shrugged, raising one hand to carefully prod the blackened skin around his eye. "I fell down the stairs yesterday and bumped my eye . I'm alright, though. It'll get better I think."
"It'll get better, I get bruises 'n cuts alla th' time."
Sjajan wasn't only talking about his face, actually, she didn't really care about physical injuries, they were rather unimportant, as they went away quickly. Unless they scarred, like her cheek. He just looked... Sad. Maybe he needed more friends? Who always made Jani happier... The toddler's face brightened and she smiled at him.
"You kin meet my frien' Miggy. She's cool."
She had no idea that they were actually close friends already, Mignon rarely mentioned other Sin's around Jani, other than Akilah. Jani sat on the bottom step of the porch and looked up at Lyrus's face. Had he really fallen? It looked like someone had gotten him good in the eye.
Hopefully it would get better soon. Lyrus didn't like not being able to see right. But, just like Jani, he got little cuts all the time from messing with glass stuff, and those always healed really quickly. He had never really gotten a bruise this bad, though... But if she said so.
"Miggy?" He blinked, quirking a brow. "Mignon?" Jani knew Mignon? And they were good friends? ...Well, that was a good sign! Of course, Mignon was nice to just about everyone. Except for that girl at her ballet class, but the girl had been jealous first...whatever that meant.
"Mignon's my best friend," he informed her with a nod. "I've known her forever! I saw her a couple of days ago, too. She'll never forget me," he added, more to himself than to Jani.
"She is? I've known her since maybe two days after I got here, we do lots together, she hasn't seen me grown yet though. Miggy doesn't seem the type to forget some'un."
Jani knew better than to argue over who had known her longer, besides he was older, so naturally, he'd been around longer. The potato-girl kicked a rock off the step and smiled up at him. Someone who was best friends with Mignon, and liked Yukito couldn't be a bad person. Even if they had one bad friend, afterall, Jani liked Jack, and he'd cut her face open.
The blonde blew her bangs from her eyes again with an irritated sigh. She really wasn't that impressed with hair, maybe she'd ask Indu to cut it when she got home or... She eyed Lyrus's head and smiled again. Maybe she'd shave it! Like Beagley's head!
"Mmhmm." And she was, too, even if he wasn't her best friend in her opinion. Of course, that might have been because Lyrus only had two people he considered friends for the time, and of them he knew Mignon better. But he and Mignon had grown up together, and were still very close even though they didn't see each other all that often, so 'best friend' would suffice.
"Yeah, I don't think Mignon would. But you never know." He shrugged absently, and stepped around to sit on the step beside her. "Kilah forgot about me and went to be Jax's friend instead. And Moo forgot me, but Moo forgot everyone, so that's almost alright. And Banda forgot about me, too. That's why he's not coming home." Because Banda would have come home by now if he remembered.
"Maybe I should forget everyone, too," he mused aloud. Blinking, he glanced sideways to Jani and cracked a grin. "Except for Mignon, 'cause she remembered. And you. But if I didn't remember people, I wouldn't have to worry about them not remembering me."
"Kilah's stupid, 'course she forgot."
Jani grinned in return when he smiled, happy to see it. She didn't remember him ever smiling before, and it looked nice.
"My sister left home and wouldn't come back, but she still 'membered me."
What he said about remembering people made sense, but it was also sort of sad.
"But if you never 'membered anyone, you wouldn' 'member havin' fun with them or nuthin' so you'd be lonely 'n sad alla th' time, 'stead of summa th' time."
"Yeah, maybe." Try as he might, Lyrus couldn't stay completely mad at Kilah. Maybe it was because they had fought so many times, but even after hearing her say he was an idiot and other mean stuff about him, he still didn't hate her. Not all that much, anyway. Maybe just a bit.
"My brother got kicked out and vanished," Lyrus' smiled faltered somewhat, and he shrugged. "Couple'a months back, I guess. He couldn't hear, but crazy Moo threw him out anyway. And he never bothered to try and come back, or even go see our other brothers who moved out. Besides, Banda would've come back if he remembered. He didn't have the best memory. He probably forgot."
That was the easiest explanation, anyway. Why else would Banda have not come back. Nothing else made sense to Lyrus.
"I don't wanna remember having fun with them and they don't remember having fun with me." Shrugging once more, he forced a grin, glancing back up. "Besides, I could make new friends, maybe, and have fun with them, and then I'd be happy all the time."
"Maybe we can be friends, then."
Sjajan was usually pretty happy, and she made a lot of new friends, so maybe Lyrus was right. Was that what made a person happy? It couldn't be. Mignon was an old friend, but Jani still had a lot of fun with her.
Jan got to her feet and jumped off the step, spinning around to look at him and shrug.
"You're nice to talk to. I miss some of my old friends that I haven't played with in a long time like Lia, 'n Junki. I play most with Anny, and she doesn't even like me, I don't think. Our ma's make us play together. You met her, she's a clean freak, tried to scrub off my freckles."
"That would....be good." Lyrus murmured thoughtfully, then brightened up with a nod. That would be very good! Jani seemed nice enough, and she was Mignon's friend, too. That had to be a good sign, right? "Yeah, we can be friends!" He smiled.
Laughing, he nodded and climbed to his feet. "Yeah, I remember Anny. She was nice. She gave me a ruby gem." And, in Lyrus' opinion, there was absolutely nothing wrong with being a clean freak. He didn't like messes and stuff himself, though dirt and mud weren't that bad...within reason.
"I haven't met, um, Lia or Junki? I'll have to meet them, I guess." Friends of a friend were good ways to meet people. It was how Lyrus had met Mignon in the first place, in fact. If Jani thought these people were cool, they probably were. Probably.
"Tha's prolly cause they're babies. Jack's a cool baby, he's mean though,"
She pointed to her cheek, smiling.
"He cut me here because we fought when we first met. And I like Beagley, she's naughty."
Jan was quiet, thinking about Ancelin, then tried to put those confusing thoughts into words.
"She's either real nice to me, or real mean... I dunno if I like her, or dislike her."
All this talk of friends made Jani wish they were all... Or most of them anyways... Here right now. She missed them all.
"That's prolly why," Lyrus agreed, nodding thoughtfully. He didn't know many babies anymore. He hadn't met Beagley or Jack either...
"I have a brother named Jack," he absently informed her. Jack was nice sometimes, but more annoying than anything. "His sons are my nephews, and they're buttfaces." And older than him. The twins had grown, and one of them was worse than Jax. Lyrus dreaded visiting his brother's family.
"It's because she's a bird," Lyrus decided on the spot, returning to the subject at hand. "And in the bird mafia. All of them that I've met are like that. Really nice some times, really mean other times." Kilah, for example. And apparently Anny too. Hopefully Anny wouldn't forget her friends.
Sjajan thought that made sense and nodded.
"Birds are weird like that. Why do they have a mafia?"
Or at least, all the birds she knew were, and in a toddler's judgement, that was enough to make a factual assessment. And if birds got a mafia, why didn't anybody else? Just proved they were bullies that took over everything.
"Anny grew too; I think she got upset when my stupid hair got longer than her's though."
"Because Kilah wanted them to." Lyrus shrugged. He wasn't exactly sure why there was a bird mafia, only that Kilah had started it and he was supposed to be second in command, even though he wasn't a bird. He seriously doubted he would be second anymore, or even in the mafia, for that matter.
"I don't have any hair," Lyrus chirped, brightening up somewhat. It was something to gloat about in this case. "Mignon thinks I will when I grow, though. She wants me to wear it in a mohawk like Isto, 'cause then it'd be cool and you could still see my horn." Lyrus loved his horn, the shiny little thing. It was completely useless and he had torn more than a few shirts snagging them on it when he was getting dress, but it was still pretty, and the rest of him was rather dull in his own opinion. "I think I'd look weird with a mohawk, though."
"I think you look good without hair."
It was overrated anyways, it always got in your way and adults were always trying to make you wear it so it looked pretty. Kilah seemed to be quite the bully and Jani scowled at mention of the girl, but then smiled at Mignon's name.
"Maybe Miggy just likes Isto's mohawk, and that's why."
"Thank you," Lyrus replied cheerfully. He got that a lot. Actually, about the only one of his friends who seemed to like having or was Mignon. Everyone else envied his baldness. It was fun.
"That's probably what it is." Lots of people liked Isto. Isto told him it was something called ironic because nobody liked him when he was younger. Maybe Lyrus was like that? But Lyrus had a few friends, at least. That was more than Isto could boast. "Mignon's guardian really liked Isto when they met, I think, so Mignon probably does too. The mohawk's cool on him, I just think it'd look weird on me."
"Yeah, diff'rent hairstyles look better on diff'rent people. I miss my short hair though, I think I'ma have Neme cut it when I go home."
Sjajan was happy to see that Lyrus's mood had lightened and was glad to be the distraction, Lyrus seemed pretty cool, but then again, so did everyone sometimes. She was sure he could probably be a jerk sometimes. Not that there was anything wrong with that, Jani could get pretty mean when she wanted to.
Lyrus nodded his agreement. Personally, he liked short hair on people better than long hair, but that might just have been because he didn't have any hair at all. Of course, he didn't much care about hair either way, so if someone wanted to keep it long, that was cool too.
Almost automatically, Lyrus swung a hand back over his shoulder to bat Vin away; the flitt had resumed its landing attempts and was beginning to get on his nerves. Another swipe and Vin abandoned the shoulder, only too dart up and alight on Lyrus' head, nearly unbalancing the toddler before Lyrus managed to knock him off again. "I told you no, Vin! Go sit in a tree or something!" Stupid dragon thing.
Sjajan watched Vin and Lyrus with interest, the thing reminded her a lot of Tewi'xilak, especially with the annoying factor.
"What is he? He looks like Tewi, who hatch'd from an egg I found in the garden 'n Neme tried to cook, now she thinks Neme's her ma, and she's really clingy, Neme hates 'er."
She eyed the thing briefly, wondering if she could hold him and held out her arms to find out. If she couldn't? Oh well, it'd just be a stupid dragon-thing in that case.
"He's a firelizard," Lyrus muttered, glaring at the little creature, who still seemed determined to land on his shoulder. "Sorta like a really tiny dragon. Moo gave me his egg and he's all mine and better than my brother's flitts because he's a bronze, but the bronzes are the biggest kind, and he's getting too big to sit on my shoulder. He doesn't realize he is, though. Careful of his claws," he added, gesturing to the flitt's feet.
Vin cocked a wary eye at the new girl, but after only a moment glided down and attempted to land on her forearm. Any attention was good attention, assuming this girl didn't shove him off again as soon as he landed like his bond would of late. Vin missed having a perch.
Jani let the bronze land on her, making appreciative noises. She was used to Tewi trying to perch on her arm, and she was the size of a small girl. Sjajan was rather strong for her age.
"I see... Tewi's weirder, she's like... A person/dragon/thing. So she can talk bad english and say stuff in other languages. And she never shuts up."
Crooning happily, Vin settled comfortably on the girl's arm, multifaceted eyes whirling an odd blue-green. Taking this as a good sign, Lyrus made no move to dislodge the flitt, merely quirking a brow at Jani's words. "Really? Moo used to tell me how real dragons--the ones like Vin, anyway--can speak english and are really really smart. Vin's pretty smart sometimes, but he talks through pictures, not words. He shows me some weird stuff sometimes..."
"Don't get me wrong, Tewi'xilak's a genius, she's just used to speakin' other languages 'n thinks English's stupid."
Jan rubbed Vin's head with a finger, cooing at him softly before looking back at Lyrus and grinning.
"She think's my big sis is her ma, cuz she saw 'er first when she hatched. Like a duck."
"Tweyzi...Yeah, I can't say it." Lyrus blinked, then laughed, shrugging. "She must be a genius to have a name like that." It made sense, didn't it? That geniuses would have confusing genuisey names. Nothing simple like Bob or Tom or anything. Not that Lyrus actually knew any Bobs or Toms.
"I don't think Vin thinks of me like that," he replied thoughtfully, eyeing the flitt. Vin was thoroughly enjoying Jani's attention, chirping happily and nestling his head against her finger. Yay pettings! "But this bond thing happened when he hatched that sorta linked him to me. Moo got one for me an' my other brothers while we were still babies so that if we were alone and got hurt or anything, the flitt could alert her. Bronze, brown, green and blue. Vin's best."
"Oh, I get it. I don't have anything like that, jus' my Cera that my ma got me."
Jani eyed Vin with open admiration, wishing she had something as cool as a firelizard for a companion. Something occured to her, from all the things they'd said.
"Do yah have lots of siblings, then?"
"I have a cera too! His name's Task, I got him when I was a baby from--" He paused, then shrugged, face darkening somewhat. "He's really lazy. But nice."
Thankful for the change in subject, he nodded excitedly, counting on his fingers. "I have lots of siblings! And then I have a lot of people who live in my house by aren't part of my family. I have, um... Nine brothers, I think, and three sisters, and all of them are older than me except for two." Even if Adroi didn't seem old, and Lyrus would (hopefully) grow first.
"But two of my brothers got married and moved out." And had lots of annoying children. And banda had moved out, too, and Scion had vanished a few weeks back, and Kama was rarely home after 5 PM because he went to those strip club places that Lyrus wasn't supposed to know about.
"You have more siblings than I do! I only have... Uhmmm... five sisters, and four brothers, plus three cousins. We also got a lot of Aunts in the house an' one sorta-uncle."
Jani petted Vin a few more times then smiled at Lyrus and held out her arm to him.
"It was real nice talkin' to yah, but I gotta go home, or I'll miss dinner."
"Moo's a loon. She doesn't know when to stop." Of course, new Moo was crazy, too. So which was worst? Real Moo who let anyone and anything into her house, or New Moo who couldn't remember who they were and tried to kick them out? It was so complicated.
Lyrus automatically offered his arm for Vin when Jani held the flitt out. Chirping happily, Vin hopped the short distance to settle on his bond's forearm, crooning a goodbye to Jani.
"Yeah, me too," he replied after a moment. Not that he really wanted to go home, but oh well. He could take the long way. "It was nice talking to you, Jani. I'm glad we're friends."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:29 pm
Normally, the mere mention of Sango dropping her off here would've made her throw a fit. For a few reasons, this time (and probably only this time) she welcomed the idea. First off, she was stumbling and more importantly falling a lot more lately, and the thought of dropping her guitar and breaking it was horrifying. The solution was to have Sango carry it. Besides that, Gizmo was once again MIA due to that same damn wing snapping like a twig.
He'd wanted to come, but she just wouldn't allow it, claiming he was an 'idiot who'd just make it worse'. She'd always been concerned for him, but Sango took notice she was just becoming border line paranoid about it.
"Hey, Kilah, you're--OW! Stop it, Shuka!" The baby in the slayers guitarless hand giggled and clapped her hands together approvingly, thus releasing the strand of hair she'd been pulling on. Her tanned skin, purple hair and matching eyes didn't make it hard to guess where she was from. "Anyway, we're almost there."
Even though Jaxom had apologized, Lyrus wasn't exactly feeling terribly amiable towards his brother just yet. Not that he ever did, but that wasn't the point. Just being in the same building with his brothers was enough to infuriate Lyrus right now, and so the toddler had left once more for the Sin'aeis mansion, Vin following to keep him company, unwanted or not.
At present, the toddler was lounging at the base of a tree, sprawled out on the grass and daydreaming about who knows what. Lyrus liked days like this. They were nice and pretty and calm and quiet, and even the thought of annoying brothers at home wasn't enough to bug him unduly--they were at home, after all.
However, the silence didn't last long. Lyrus sighed heavily when he heard voices, and after a moment of just hoping they would go away, sat up and glanced over, steeling himself for a yell. And then he realized who it was, and immediately changed his mind. Scowling, Lyrus turned his back on the group and willed them away, earning himself a confused chirp from Vin. Stupid flit would give them away if he didn't shut up. Maybe Kilah wouldn't notice him.
Perhaps another day, Kilah would've heard him. A day when she wasn't already tempted to cover her ears to drown out the constant babbles of the baby. Sure, her hearing was great, but that didn't mean she had the power to filter out certain voices to hear others over them now did it?
Said baby, which Sango had called 'Shuka', whined a little due to the lack of attention Kilah was giving her. Making a face, she reached up for the end of the blindfold the wind was tossing around carelessly, but froze when Kilah's voice came.
It wasn't being snapped at that startled her, but how...deadly the voice was. "You pull that off, brat, and you'll really have something to scream about."
"Shuka, leave Kilah alone," Sango demanded, moving a few steps away from her sibling unless the baby failed to comply. "You'll be alright here, right? By yourself? I mean, espcially with-"
"Yeah, Sango, give me my guitar and go away." Without another word, her eldest sister did so. And, with the baby in hand, she left. Kilah, however, managed to locate the mansion wall, and settled herself with her back against it.
Curiosity got the better of him, and Lyrus peered back over his shoulder to watch the goings-on, quirking a brow curiously at the sight of Kilah's blindfold. Why did she have one of those? He knew she couldn't see, but she had never bothered to just hide her eyes before.
Lyrus had a brother who always wore a blindfold... Lyrus had only seen him without it once, and it had been creepy. Not that Scion wasn't creepy enough as it was, but his eyes were just weird. All solid blue and glowy without and pupils. Yeah, it was eerie, and the blindfold was understandable, especially since light hurt his weird eyes.
But Kilah didn't have weird eyes, as far as Lyrus knew. She couldn't see, but that didn't mean they were weird. It just meant they didn't work right. Like Banda's ears. Lyrus' ears were weirder than Banda's were, Banda's just didn't work.
Completely off subject, Lyrus really liked his ears.
Anywho. Seeing that blindfold made Lyrus wonder why Kilah had bothered, and why she had gotten so defensive when the baby made as if to take it off. He was extremely, extreemely tempted to send Vin to tug it off, but had a feeling that might just make things worse. Ah well, maybe if she annoyed him or something... Yeah.
Not Kilah's day. When she sat down, the gems in her pocket fell to the ground and scattered at her side. One might've figured that'd set off her temper, but she didn't seem to mind. It'd save her the trouble of playing music on the guitar.
As each note rang out, the gem it emitted from faintly glowed. Quite a display for one who could see, not that she'd know. At first the beat seemed random, but eventually it shifted into a light-sounding song the Sin'aeis had learned at that stupid island.
She didn't think she could ever hate anything as much as that island. Except maybe Aard, and that was just a maybe. "You don't have to hide." Who it was, she didn't know, but she was definetly hearing someone.
Right, this was definitely interesting. Lyrus' eyes widened as they fell on the gemstones, mouth literally dropping open as the notes shifted into a song. How the heck did that happen!? Gems, no matter how pretty, couldn't play music to Lyrus' knowledge.
Kilah always had such cool stuff.
And she had noticed him after all. Lyrus' mouth snapped shut, eyes flickering up to fix in a glare. He really, really, really didn't want to talk to her right now... But he did want one of those gems. Climbing to his feet, Lyrus signaled for Vin to stay there and walked over to the older Sin, crouching beside her to pick up one of the gems. "When did you get these?"
"They're the same ones I've had," she began boredly, shrugging. "It's an ability I have now. Don't seem so cool anymore now, do they?" By the way she spoke with him, you'd never guess she'd argued with his brother and shouted insults about Lyrus himself not too long ago.
Only recently did Kilah realize how annoying the wind was. When it blew past again, the blindfold slipped a little, but her hand caught it quick. "Just a second." Getting to her feet, she placed a hand on the wall and followed it around the corner.
A few seconds later when she returned, the end of her hat was being held between her teeth, and her hands were tying the blindfold in the back. "You can still have those if you want..." Muffled the girl around the hat in her mouth. When she was positive the tie was tight enough, she settled the hat back on her head and seemed satisfied.
There, that was better.
"Oh. I see." However, rather than catching his interest, her words seemed to strike a nerve; grimacing, he dropped the gem and took a step back before sitting. Kilah had gotten another ability. And he was still small. ...Life sucked.
The boy merely nodded as Kilah headed away to adjust her blindfold, taking the moment to absently rub his own eye. It had become something of a habit over the past few days, and probably wasn't helping the healing any, but it reassured him that the swelling was going down, however slowly.
His hand fell when Kilah returned, and after a minute he shook his head, ignoring the fact that she couldn't see. "I don't want them. Why're you covering you eyes?" he asked after a pause, idly nudging one of the gems with his foot. "Did they get hurt?"
Soon it wouldn't seem like something to be laughing about, but Kilah was snickering, though a bit darkly. "They're gone. Guess that's what I get, huh?" With just that, she seemed ready to let the subject drop like Gizmo did when his wing was broke again. Poor griff, he really did put up with so much.
"Don't get all pissy." Not that she was positive he was, but just in case. The first time it had pissed her off, but she seemed oddly amused by the possibility now. "It's not like we're Yama's age or anything." Teenagers. Ew.
Had she been able to see his eyes, she probably would've questioned his about them, but since she couldn't she settled with, "Are things going better?"
Her eyes were gone? ....Ew, now he understood the blindfold. That couldn't be pleasant. How had she lost them? ....Actually, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Ew. ....Ew.
Refraining from comment, and merely scowling with her following words, he shrugged and kicked the gem off towards the wall. Stupid Kilah. Let her find it there. "Pissy yourself. You'd be pissy too if you were stuck little forever." He probably was, actually. Kilah and Mignon were both big and each had gotten another ability. And him? Well, as far as he could tell, his last quest hadn't done a thing. He had probably done something wrong. Figures.
"No," he snapped, eyeing another of the gems and seriously considering kicking that one as well. Pity they were so pretty. "Jax beat up Adroi, and it's your fault he got hurt. And I've hardly been home at all because Jax'll hurt me too, I bet, and you're a stupid b***h and I don't know why I'm talking to you at all after what you said." He would kindly forget to mention that Jax had already 'hurt' him. Kilah didn't need to know that.
The girl shrugged herself. "I don't either." Had it been her, would she have talked to him? She liked to think she wouldn't, but then she'd have liked to think she wouldn't ever lose her eyes either. For a moment she thought it over and got nothing. No matter how close the two of them got--or maybe how close they had been was a better word choice--there always seemed to be a lot of times neither understood the other.
"I'm sure you're not stuck," she added as an after thought, not a hint of doubt in her tone. She'd have to look into beating up Chaco, since she was under the impression he was in charge of how got older and when. Slacker...
"I am," he muttered, glaring down at the little gem. Another kick sent it spinning off towards the wall with the other, and he watched it land before turning his back on her and stalking back for his tree and Vin. "And I don't want to talk to you anymore. Go away, I was here first." Actually, he couldn't decide if he wanted to talk to her or not. Common sense told him he shouldn't after everything that had happened, but some other something told him that maybe Kilah hadn't meant it? ....Hah, yeah right.
Pointless as ever to reason with him about it. Silly toddlers. She was seriously considering that part about beating Chaco up. Even if it didn't make any of them grow, it'd at least be fun. "You don't have to talk to me, but I'm not going anywhere."
Besides, even if she wanted to, she couldn't get very far without Gizmo now. Before, light had helped a little, but there wasn't any of that anymore. Sango had said she'd be back in 'a while', and Kilah had told her that was fine. Just as long as that stupid baby wasn't with her. Damn thing was annoying.
Lyrus merely shrugged, once again ignoring the fact that she couldn't see him. Served her right, stupid Kilah. Upon reaching his tree, he dropped onto the ground and stretched out on his back, muttering under his breath when Vin crawled up to lay on his chest. Shoving him off proved fruitless--the flitt just climbed back up--so Lyrus soon gave in and turned his attention to the sky. If Kilah wouldn't leave, he would just ignore her. That would work. ...Yeah.
This seemed like a rerun of a show that should've never been on the air to begin with. Kilah insisted it worse for the blind who could only listen to the same episodes over and over. Mainly, she just watched violent movies, but that wasn't the point.
Considering most of her gems had been tossed around, and a few of them probably broken, attempting to make any sort of noise with them was as hopeless as trying to fix eyes you didn't even have. So, guitar it was.
Hours of practice had made playing the few songs she knew almost effortless. People probably wouldn't be surprised how little you had to do when you were limited with just hearing to insist in games and such. Then again, a lot of people were stupid, so maybe they would be.
The tune repeated itself over and over. It was hard to describe the song, but after the third time around Kilah started muttering some words along with it. Obviously, they were in Noyama's language, which just sounded flat out weird most of the time to those who didn't speak it.
For some reason, the music really bothered Lyrus. Possibly because it interrupted the silence and made his attempts to ignore Kilah that much harder. Gritting his teeth, Lyrus glared up at the cloud-less sky, but soon just closed his eyes, hands clamping down over his ears. Stupid Kilah and her stupid annoying music. Why couldn't she just go away and leave him alone?
Quite suddenly, he sat up and let his hands fall, eyes reopening and turning towards Kilah--blatantly ignoring the fact that Vin had fallen off his chest and was now complaining rather loudly. Grabbing the flitt's neck, he tilted Vin's head up to meet the flitt's eyes; sending him directions.
The flitt chirped thoughtfully, craning his head around towards Kilah, and after a final blink pulled free and took to the air, vanishing between briefly only to reappear over the girl, hovering and instant before descending to land on the guitar, plucking haphazardly at the strings with his claws.
Stupid...thing. Kilah couldn't even remember what it was, but she'd never liked it. It should go die like Aard and Yukito and...well, everyone. It would save her the time of having to list them all. "Stupid thing," she spat grumpily, attempting to smack the creature away and hopefully into the wall.
Hopefully it'd hit said wall hard. Hopefully it'd hurt it's head so bad it would die. Hopefully, even without eyes, she could find where it was and step on it just for fun. All things considered, she'd been patient, but touching her only posession aside from the gems that she had hundres of was not to be tolerated.
It was only Vin's size that saved him; the bronze flit had recently undergone another of his rapid growth spurts and was now, thankfully, large enough that even a swat from Kilah sent him only about half the distance it normally would. Still, it was a highly annoyed Vin who tumbled to the ground, eyes whirling an angry red. However, any retaliation was abruptly cut off at a call from Lyrus. Hissing in anger, the flitt took to the air once more and glided back for his guardian.
That settled the matter for Lyrus. Kilah could have really hurt Vin! Which, in turn, would have really hurt Lyrus, from what Moo had told him. Taking that as a flat out attack on his well-being, Lyrus climbed to his feet and headed off for the sidewalk, muttering under his breath. He would just go find somewhere else to...um...sit around alone in silence.
...Only to be met halfway there by an eerie looking snake boy. Not that Adroi meant to look creepy; he was actually in a very good mood, smiling and all. But a legless, unblinking snake boy carrying a dagger was enough to keep anyone from sleep for a while.
Lyrus, however, was used to this by now, and not at all bothered by the boy's appearance. Adroi would often pop in an out at random moments just for the sake of it. But the sight of the dagger was more than enough to annoy him. Lyrus scowled. "What're you doing with that?"
The snake boy cocked his head, purple eyes boring into his brother's, then turned his gaze past the lamb Sin towards Kilah. Without a word of explanation, he took Lyrus by the wrist and half dragged him back towards the older Sin, carefully holding the dagger in his other hand. Lyrus didn't protest long--Adroi was much stronger than he looked. Stupid snake.
It was somewhat of a miracle, but the insturment didn't seem too damaged. Not beyond repair, anyway, though it had disabled her from playing it for now. Stupid Lyrus. Maybe she was a b***h, but he was a brat, and that evened it out. She'd probably been wrong handling things with Jax like she did, but that shouldn't have ever involved the stupid lamb to begin with.
Footsteps were coming her way, those which were obviously Lyrus's. Someone was with him now? Who? Maybe she was hearing wrong, it didn't sound like there were more than two feet. Well, it didn't matter anyway! It was to the point where she didn't want to talk to him either, if she had before. "What now? Breaking my stuff and taunting me not enough for you?"
"I didn't want to come back," Lyrus snapped, once again attempting to tug his wrist free to no avail. "Adroi made me 'cause he's too nice for his own good. That's why Jax got away with beating him up." Innocently implying that it was Kilah's fault the poor snake had gotten hurt, and just as innocently telling Adroi to stab Kilah with that blasted dagger. "He brought your stupid knife back, I think."
The snake boy didn't seem at all effected by Lyrus' words; he had healed quickly, after all, even if Lyrus hadn't, and it wasn't Kilah's fault Jaxom was such a buttface. ...Not that Adroi really thought Jaxom was a buttface. Just some of the time, and that was true for everyone, right? Adroi glanced from Kilah to Lyrus and back, then hesitated, glancing down to the dagger. After a beat, he twisted Lyrus' hand around and set the hilt in his palm, nodding cheerfully to himself and setting his now-free hand on Kilah's shoulder, as if that solved everything.
"Why he touching me?" Maybe she had no shame, but Kilah didn't feel guilty for any harm inflicted on this kid. Sure, she was sympathetic for him to an extent, hence the reason she wasn't beating him away with her guitar, but not guilty. She settled for casually brushing his hand off, making a face. "Look, you don't need to get in this too, uh...Adroi, is it? Just piss off."
"He's trying to talk to you," Lyrus muttered, finally pulling his wrist free, but keeping hold of the dagger. "He doesn't talk. He can't, I think, but Jax says he's hissed before. He can't talk, and you can't see, so he's trying to talk through touch...I think." The lamb Sin quirked a brow at his brother, but Adroi wasn't paying attention.
The snake boy seemed genuinely confused by Kilah's response. He wasn't sure how he was going to manage this. Things were difficult with only touch. To stall for time, he snatched out and grabbed Lyrus' by the wrist once more, dragging him over and catching Kilah's hand with his other, guiding it up to Lyrus' swollen eye before the boy could react--which he did, snatching his hand free and roughly shoving Adroi away. "What was that for!?"
"Hey, you better-" When Lyrus suddenly pulled away from them she was a bit startled, though recovered quickly only to suddenly seem a bit surprised. "Someone hurt you?" If that was the case, the question should've been 'Where'd you put the body?' She could almost see Mignon letting someone hit her without murdering them, but Lyrus was different. At least she hoped. "Who hurt you?"
Adroi's fall was surprisingly graceful, possibly due to the lack of legs. In any case, he wasn't at all bothered by it, well used to Lyrus, and merely backed up out of the way to observe and think. There had to be something he could do...
"No one hurt me," Lyrus snapped, turning his back on her and folding his arms defensively across his chest--careful of the dagger. Kilah couldn't see and, hopefully, hadn't gotten enough of a feel to know the truth. Either way, he could keep denying it. Why would she care either way? "You just almost poked me in the eye, s'all."
"Liar's get their throats slit open, Lyrus," she hissed his name as if declaring some sort of threat. Out of all the Sin'aeis, probably only these two could be concerned and issue threats at the same time. It wasn't like Kilah to be nosey, so concern was probably what caused her to ask. Nobody hurt her friends, even if they weren't her friends anymore...or something.
"Tell me who did it." NOW was the time to be worried. Only when Kilah sounded as calm as she did just now could someone be sure was in 'murder mode', and as that name suggested plenty ready to stab someone in the heart. Sure, since she was blind it'd take a few tries, but she was alright with that...
Lyrus actually laughed. Yeah, right, she actually cared enough to threaten him over it? If she caed that much, there was no way she'd follow through with the threat, even assuming she could catch him. Besides, he was holding the self defense dagger and, given his present temper, wouldn't hesitate to use it. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure you'd really like to know. Why? So you can go join up with 'em, prolly. Besides, I'm almost better, and you couldn't change it anyway so you should just shut up."
Shut up? SHUT UP?! She tries to side with him and he tells her to shut up?! Well, fine then! She still stood by the fact she'd been fairly patient, but enough was a enough! Stupid little...lamb brat b*****d. Yeah, that was it.
With a low growl, probably a habbit picked up from Gizmo (you'd act like each other too if you were almsot constantly together), she got to her feet and walked off to the left, not sure if she was going the right way or not and just hoping she didn't run into anything. Lifting a hand, she made a motion over her shoulder that gave the impression of carelessness. "Fine, whatever. I don't care. They should just kill you then."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you." It wasn't exactly a question. Lyrus took a step to go, decided against it, and just dropped down to sit on the grass. After all, he was just a toddler, and toddlers threw temper tantrums when they didn't get their way. Not that he was about to scream and wail, but he was damn close to tears....and it was making his swollen eye sting.
Stabbing the dagger in the ground, Lyrus then looped his arms around his legs and buried his face against his knees, silent save for the occasional sniffle. Kilah wanted him dead, Jaxom wanted him dead, Banda and Moo had forgotten him and, at this rate, something bad was bound to happen with his other friends, too. He would just sit here and....sit here forever. He didn't have anything better to do. Lyrus wondered if this was an acceptable situation for crying.
You're so mean! The second voice in her head screamed.
You're still here? I should give you a name if you're never going to go find someone else to possess, Kilah thought in a sarcastic voice, adding a 'shut the hell up' before deciding to ignore what Noyama called "nice" Kilah. She really needed to get rid of her before more people thought she had that 'multiple-personality' thing.
With an annoyed sigh, she skidded to a stop, but didn't bother turning around. Damn toddlers. "Hey, don't cry, I didn't mean it." ...Much. Anything to keep him from crying. She'd cried (for real) once, and had refused to do so since then.
...She guessed she probably couldn't anymore, but that was beside the point.
He wasn't going to cry! He hadn't ever cried that he could remember, and he wasn't about to start now! ...But something about hearing Kilah say it seemed to make not crying all the harder. Shaking his head, he moved both hands to rub his eyes, which kind of hurt on the swollen one, but kept him from actually crying for the time. Why was she telling him not to cry? She wanted him dead. Surely she wouldn't care if he cried. He could cry if he wanted to! ....He just didn't.
Alright, she'd admit this was annoying. He better not get use to this, either, because once he was older she wasn't going to be near as... She didn't really know what word to use. Sympathetic, maybe? He was still really young, though, so...
"Hey, come on," she grumbled, finally turning and falling to her knees, more to his level. Stupid brat b*****d lamb boy needed to get older and taller for more than just his sake. "Come here, it's alright."
It most certainly was not alright! She wanted him dead; she had said so just now! That wasn't alright! Nothing was alright anymore! Kilah was a stupid mean b***h, and Jaxom would probably just hurt his other eye the next time he got mad, and Banda had been gone for AGES now and--
Whimpering, Lyrus wiped a tear frmo his good eye, rubbing the other furiously with one fist. It STUNG. Stupid tears hurting his stupid swollen eye, and stupid Kilah for making tears come in the first place. "It's not alright and you know it! This always, always happens, and you're mean and make fun of me and call me bad names, and then you be niec again and we're friends again but you're a stupid traitor and so how do I know you weren't faking the whole time and aren't still on Jax's side 'cause he hurt me and you want to hurt me too, and you always make me feel stupid 'cause you're like 'you wouldn't understand' because I'm stupid and broken and little!" And on, and on, and on.
If she could, Kilah was probably blinking. A whole lot. No one was sure if she still had that luxury what with her eyes ripped out and all, but it had been a touchy subject so no one had bothered to ask. Listening to him babble she was left with only one word in her mind.
...What?
"Uh..." Where to start? "Look, Lyrus, I do like Jax. I...I like Jax a lot, and I probably shouldn't, but since when do I do what I'm suppose to? Keeping you hating me was for the best. I didn't expect to make it through...er...certain things." Certain things which had caused both her eyes to be ripped out. "Nobody wants you dead, come here."
Lyrus wanted Banda here. NOW. But Banda wasn't here, and probably wouldn't be for some time. Until then, comfort was comfort, and right now Lyrus was just a toddler who really needed a hug. Without really thinking, he shifted around and all but collapsed onto her lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face against her shirt. Awkward given this was Kilah, but Lyrus couldn't have cared less.
Now that he thought about it, Lyrus couldn't have cared less that Kilah liked Jax. She and him could be friends just like Lyrus and Yukito could be friends, right? It was just given the situation, and knowing how Jax was...It was easy to think Jaxom was stealing his friend away altogether. Especially after new-Kilah had forgotten him, and he had heard her saying bad stuff about him...Even though according to her she hadn't meant it? Or something? Lyrus was so confused.
Truth be told, Kilah was clueless as to what to do now. This was just flat out awkward. She'd been prepared for this with Mignon, but Lyrus? Well, he had helped her before, and Lucky DID always say to return your favors. Biting her bottom lip, she fidgeted a bit before lifting a hand up and uncertainly patted him on the back. "Shh, shh. It's alright."
Things were FAR from alright, and she knew it, but they couldn't get any worse than this, right? Right. So, best make him feel better so they could both move on. At least until their NEXT arguement...
Lyrus didn't cry long. Crying in itself was a rare thing for the boy, and when it did happened, he made sure it didn't continue for long, no matter how upset he was. Besides, it stung his eye. Pulling back after a short while, he sniffled loudly and wiped his tears away on his sleeve, though one hand continued rubbing idly at his swollen eye. Stupid sore thing.
"I'm alright," he muttered after a moment. Another sniffle passed, and he straightened up somewhat, but kept his eye on the ground. He had just cried all over her! ...How embaressing. "Jax hurt me like he did to Adroi. But he punched my eye, too, and it's all swollen an' puffy. S'why I didn't want you to touch it. but I don't care if you like Jax anymore s'long as I don't have to talk to him."
"Oh, well-" Kilah froze.
When she recovered a minute or so later, her voice would've terrified anyone. And, if such were possible, the venom in it would've poisoned and likely killed someone. "Jax hurt you?" The girl hissed, hands tightening into fists. Why that little b*****d!
She'd have let him slugged her. She wouldn't admit to deserving it, but she knew she did. But...hitting Lyrus because of it?! And hard enough to actually damage something! Oh, nu uh. "Lyrus," in that eerily calm tone, she grabbed his shoulder and gripped it tighter than nesscary to get her point across. "I want you to take me to where Jax is. He won't hurt you again."
Not surprisingly, Kilah's tone was enough to frighten even Lyrus. The boy's eyes snapped up, and after a moment her shook his head. Jaxom might be a buttface, but he was still Lyrus' brother. Lyrus couldn't just let Kilah...kill him or anything! Lyrus had already reserved that right.
"No, uh, don't worry about it." He smiled reassuringly, patting Kilah's knee with one hand, meanwhile warily eyeing her hand on his shoulder. "I hit him first 'cause he hit Adroi. He just got a better hit 'cause he's taller. I'll get even, though, so don't worry." So what if it was a lie. Lyrus had a feeling that if Jaxom happened to survive seeing Kilah again, it would mean another black eye for himself. And Lyrus didn't want that.
"I won't hurt him." She seemed to mean it, but it was hard tell while she was still sounding so damn freaky. Kilah had been a lot of things (bitchy, etc.), but when it came to Lyrus and Mignon (with the exception of the Jax thing with Lyrus, but that was different), she wasn't usually a liar. Now, though, one could easily be uncertain.
Who was to say she wouldn't change her mind when she got there?
"If you don't now, I'll see him eventually, and by time I do I might've changed my mind. I won't hurt him, I swear, just let me talk to him."
Still suspicious, Lyrus frowned faintly, but nodded after a moment, letting his hand fall and climbing to his feet. Kilah had sworn, after all, and she wouldn't break that as far as he knew. But maybe this was all part of some evil plot and she really was working with Jax and they were BOTH going to kill HIM together!? ...He really needed to stop being so paranoid.
"I'll take you, but I'm not talking to him. When we get there I'll...go to my room or something." That would work. Jax was always best avoided, and talking to Kilah would probably piss him off again. If that was the case, Lyrus didn't want to be anywhere nearby. "C'mon Vin, Adroi, we're going home."
The flitt and snake boy had been holding a silent conversation, and exchange of thoughts and pictures that most just wouldn't understand at all. But Adroi had a flitt of his own and was well used to the little creatures. At Lyrus' order, the snake boy straightened up and, after offering his arm for Vin, closed the distance to paused beside Lyrus and Kilah.
"Hold on." Lifting a hand to her mouth, Kilah released an ear-piercing whistle. It was samiliar to the sound she used to call Gizmo, but much more high-pitched. Where as Gizmo would've been there within seconds, it was a minute or two before the pegasus carelessly dashed through the trees and slid to such a sudden stop she kicked up quick a bit of dirt and grass from the ground.
"I'm not sure if you ever meant Sassy, but B-" Wait, Banda was gone wasn't he? Best not mention him, then. Besides, he'd only seen her a times, and she was a lot different now. Yes, indeed, the pegasus had grown to an impressive height much taller than any normal horse. Her wings were bigger now, and had impressive, small black markings scribbled on them.
"She's big enough to carry us all, I think. Aren't you? How's Gizmo?" The pegasus bobbed her head up and down, then in response to the question snorted. Stupid griffon still hadn't quit his whining! "Ah, well. Let's get going."
A pegasus. Lyrus had only met a pegasus once--Moo's, a shy, skittish creature known as Umeri. But Umeri was much smaller than this one, and Lyrus had never, ever ridden anything like this. "Um... Adroi doesn't know how to ride," he covered, waving idly in the direction of the snake boy. "He doesn't have any legs," he added. It might be hard to sit without legs.
Lyrus had no doubt that they could work it out, of course, but he was rather intimidated by the thought of riding that creature. And they would be flying! What happened if he fell!? Or Adroi fell!? Or Kilah fell!? It was rather terrifying. "And she's really tall. I dunno if we could get on her back."
"He'll be fine," she insisted, stretching her arms above her head. Getting on her back was a hassle, she was tall, but so was Kilah...kinda. Taller than Mignon, at least. "He can wrap his tail around her leg or something. She only needs her wings to fly."
After pondering for a moment, she couldn't help but grin. It looked a bit odd with the blindfold, but that probably didn't change the fact she was taunting him. "Are you scared of her?" Prodded the Sin'aeis playfully, snickering. "Jeeesh, I'm glad my eyes are gone. Heights turn people into Pansys."
Like Yukito.
Lyrus wasn't tall. Not compared to this pegasus, anyway, or even Kilah. Nor was Adroi, for that matter. But they would manage... Maybe they could find a step-stool or something. Gah, Lyrus hated being short. Couldn't they just walk? "Alright then.. Y'hear that? Just loop your tail around her leg or something." Adroi stared, but smile. Lyrus sighed.
Blinking, the boy frowned, batting Kilah's hand away and folding his arms across his chest. "I'm not scared! I've just never ridden any anything like this, and I'd rather not fall off if we're way up in the air, thanks." That was perfectly reasonable, right? Right.
"If you fall, I'll get you. I can fly." ...Maybe. It wasn't a lie, because she didn't know if she really could or not. So, yeah, not a lie...er...
Grabbing the coal black mane, she hauled herself up like she'd do with Gizmo and leaned over, holding a hand down to him. "Come on now, hurry up." She helped Lyrus behind her, and then the other boy behind him. They'd be fine, right? So long as they held on.
"Be careful, Sassy, now go." Stepping back a few paces, the pegasus snorted again, as if offering a warning, and then took to the air. "You know the way?" Once again, the creature bobbed her head up and down.
Lyrus was scared out of his mind. Sassy was tall. The second Kilah tugged him up behind her, he looped his arms tightly around her waist, staring warily down frmo the ground to Sassy's wings and back. Could she really carry them all? ...Please, please, please don't let them fall. Please?
Adroi seemed much more at ease with the situation, lounging calmly with his arms looped around Lyrus' waist, the end of his tail looped around the base of Sassy's. It might not have been the most comfortable for the pegasus, but it was all Adroi could do to keep from sliding off, so she would deal, right?
And then sassy took to the air, both boy's arms tightened, and both were silent for the rest of the flight, eyes wide--even for Adroi--and staring downward as the ground passed beneath them.
Actually, if Lyrus hadn't been scared shitless, this would have been really freaking awesome.
Had she had eyes to roll, they'd be rolling right about now. True, she'd never be able to know what it was like to fear a 'height', though she imagined somewhere there was blind person who did. "Lyrus, you're breaking my ribs."
The winged-horse landed infront of the boys home, stumbling forward a few steps after her landing. Kilah was, of course, first to slide off, and then help the other two down. Once all feet (or otherwise) were on the ground, she motioned in some random direction and the pegasus took off. Despite the impressive wingspan, she seemed to prefer merely running.
"Alright. Take me to Jax."
Ahaha, he was flying~! Kilah's words snapped him back to his senses, and Lyrus blinked twice before frowning and muttering a 'shut up' back to her, though he eased his grip quite a bit. It wasn't his fault! Though he did feel rather foolish when he realized Adroi was hardly holding on. Stupid snake boy.
Despite how amazing the ride had been once Lyrus had actually relaxed, the boy breathed a sigh of relief when Sassy landed once more. Once every had dismounted and the pegasus ran off, he nodded slightly and started for the House, Adroi following a short distance behind. "But remember, I'm not talking to him."
It took only a few minutes for them to reach the second floor where most of the household's bedrooms were. Once there, Adroi left them for the company of his own flitt, Murry, in his room. Ignoring this, Lyrus led the way to Jaxom's room, pausing infront of the door. "Here you go. I'll be in my room," he muttered, glaring at the door for a moment before turning and starting down the hall. "And don't stab him. I get to do that."
She said nothing, merely waved as if it dismissed any accusations she'd hurt the stupid b*****d any. Besides that, she, for once in her life, wasn't carrying anything with her capable of hurting him. Maybe her gems could've been thrown at him or something, but those were left back at the mansion...or at least the pieces of them were.
When the footsteps of her toddler friend were no longer there, she took a deep breath and wrinkled her nose back, trying her hardest to look as disgusted as she sounded. One wouldn't be surprised how hard expressions were to form without your eyes. "Ooooh, Jaxommm~"
A minute passed before Jaxom answered the door, an expression of surprise briefly crossing his face before he forced it away. Quirking a brow, he leaned sideways against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest, eyes fixing on her...blindfold. Blind people really needed something more original. Jax was far too used to Scion to be at all impressed by this. A pity, though.. He'd liked her eyes, even as strange as they'd been.
"You're about the last person I expected to see here. What do you want?" Really, he didn't seem very interested. He kept his tone dry, bored, watching Kilah just as disguestedly as she did him. Actually, he was very curious, seeing as Lyrus still hated the girl as far as he knew and Jaxom wasn't too interested in speaking to her again either. But as long as she was here...
With a short 'hm', Kilah stretched her arms high above her head, then lowered them to twirl her hair around one finger in a manner that suggested she was flirting. Had she been able to, she'd have winked to provoke the idea further. "Mmm. Weeelllll..."
"First, Jax-" Her tone was overly-sweet, but when she said his name one might think he was the cause of the worlds problems. "-I'm a bit dissapointed in you, hitting your brother like that for something that wasn't his fault." Her eyebrows lowered, her bottom lip rising into a pathetic-looking but very much fake pout. "What's wrong, kitty cat? Couldn't land back on all fours after all? Did Akilah hurt you? Does it burn?"
Even for her, this seemed...cruel, for lack of a better word. Was she trying to piss him off? "It's understandable you'd be pissed, but to smack Lyrus in the face for it... You're a worm, Jax." Frowning for real this time, she held both her hands up and snorted. "For obvious reasons, you can't injure my eyes any, and I'd appreciate keeping the blindfold on. You're lower than Aard, but you still don't want to see someone who's had their eyes ripped out of their skull, I promise you that."
Her fists tightened out of habit, but her hands didn't lower. "You wanna hit someone, Jaxom, swing at the person who pissed you off."
Not once did Jaxom buy the whole 'flirting' thing, but he was actually momentarily lost for words when Kilah finished. However, that didn't last long. Smiling lazily, the boy shook his head and straightened up. "What, you want me to apologize? I did. Lyrus had it coming, anyway. You can't protect him forever, Kilah. Clear off, I'm not hurting a girl."
Alright, now THAT was the quickest way to piss her off. The whole, 'you're blind I won't hit you' thing she could handle, but comments like that were annoying (and Lucky had called them 'sexist' or something once). "You're lucky, I don't hit them either." Not the most mature insult ever, but he was such a damn jerk sometimes!
Can't protect him? HA! To that, she actually laughed, fingering the back of the blindfold absently as she muttered something. Seeming to take that as a threat, she lowered her voice, more growling the words than saying them. "Try me."
Reasoning with this guy was like trying to convince Momoro you DIDN'T want to marry him when you were older. Completely pointless. "You're a brat, I shouldn't have bothered speaking with you. We're done now." And HE called HER a b***h? Turning toward the direction Lyrus had gone, she seemed to debate if she should call for him or not.
Aha, no. Kilah's comment crossed a line or two, but Jax let it slide, merely frowning faintly. He was having a good day, was in a good mood until Kilah had shown up, and really didn't feel like getting into a fight. Kilah would learn sooner or later. Someday Lyrus would have to learn to take care of himself--Sure, he was still little right now, and that alone was the reason Jaxom had apologized in the end. Once Lyrus was a bit taller, he wouldn't be so kind.
The Guardian perked up visably when Kilah announced that she was leaving, and smiled sweetly before stepping back into his room. "Good. Bye now." And he closed the door, turning and heading back towards his bed to continue his conversation with Atear. Stupid girls, trying to prove a point and just wasting his time.
"b*****d!" Kilah hissed at the door, purposely loud enough for him to hear. Usually she could deal with her handicap, but it was annoying at times like these. Without Gizmo, she'd never make it out of here, and she'd rather fall and break her neck than ask Jax for help. Lyrus didn't sound appealing either.
The spell was far from perfected, especially taking into account her luck with casting thus far, but if it sent her into another world or time...oh well. As long as she wasn't here. That thought in mind, the girl reached into her pocket, a second later tossing a few gems carelessly on the floor. They scattered loudly, and only once they quieted down did the music began.
Most weren't aware of it, but this was much easier than chanting. At least she thought so. After a few seconds, the gems sparked to life, and vanished with Kilah. When she heard the birds chirping, she guessed she was right outside, and would've been pleased had she had a way to tell she was right.
As she attempted to gather the gems now on the ground, she barely had a chance to hear the footsteps before they were right behind her, and a hand covered her mouth. "Mmm! MMM!"
"Don't scream," A voice very similar to Jaxom's snickered. "You're just the easiest to get first." In the blink of an eye, the two were gone, the jewels still left in random places on the ground...
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:30 pm
And Mignon was still his friend, and Jani was his friend, and Yukito was probably still his friend too! And yeah, Moo didn't remember him and Banda hadn't shown up yet, but Lyrus' life had been Jaxom-free since he had last seen Kilah, and that was something to be happy about. The Guardian boy hadn't some much as spoken to Lyrus since then, spending most of his time in his room instead. Not upset, just musing.
But still!
Today, Lyrus had left the House with the hopes that he would run into one of his friends at the mansion--that tended to work out every time previously. How eerily convenient. Brushing off the feeling that he was secrently being controled by some supernatural being, the boy continued with his walk. Upon reaching the mansion and finding no one outside, he headed for the door and slipped within. He hadn't actually been inside the building for a while, but maybe someone would be here..?
Chaco was in the living room when he heard the door to the mansion open and someone enter. He was used to it by now, and rarely went to look to see who it was. Unless he was expecting someone, of course, and they usually knocked.
But right now, anything would be better than taking care of his youger twin brothers. Leaving the two terrors in the living room, the Sin'aeis boy stepped out into the hall and then into the foyer. There he immediately spotted Lyrus. He hadn't seen the toddler Sin'aeis in quite a long time, although the same could be said about the majority of the Sin'aeis children...
"Hey."
Lyrus was amusing himself with exploring the foyer when Chaco's greeting caught his attention. His eyes snapped towards the other Sin, blinking once before narrowing suspiciously. This guy looked familiar for some reason... Lyrus was sure he had met him, but couldn't for the life of him remember the older Sin's name, or even where they had met. He must've been a baby at the time. He couldn't remember all that much from then.
"Hi," he replied after a moment, still somewhat wary. Then, relaxing, went straight to the point. "Who're you again? I can't remember."
Chaco stared at the young toddler for a moment, then sighed. Or perhaps a slightly better term would be 'wilted'. It really had been a long time. Chaco needed to make sure to spend more time with some of the Sin'aeis...
"My name is Chaco. I'm the breeder for the Sin'aeis." It was the easiest way to explain, really. Any questions formed off from that would be simple enough to answer.
Oh riiight. He remembered now. "I knew that," Lyrus replied, nodding absently. "I was just testing you. I'm Lyrus, by the way," he added, just in case Chaco had forgotten. Unlikely, seeing as this was the Sin who had 'created' him, but lots of people seemed to be forgetting him of late, so, really, Lyrus wouldn't have been at all surprised.
...Hey wait. "You made me, sort of, right?" Pausing, Lyrus glanced down to the floor, frowning faintly with thought. Moments later he returned his eyes to Chaco, quirking a brow at the older Sin and scowling. "You did something wrong, I think. I'm broken. My quest didn't do anything and I'm stuck little."
Chaco nodded. He remembered. It wasn't likely that he would forget any of the Sin'aeis children any time soon. He usually didn't have trouble identifying them when the grew, either... But...
...Something wrong? Oh great. This wasn't going to be a repeat of Akilah's 'You made me blind!' problem, was it? Sure, it'd been a long time since that event, but... The Sin'aeis sat down on the floor and stared across at Lyrus for a moment, "Everyone grows at their own pace. It took me two weeks to grow from baby to kid, for instance."
God, he hated those titles. If only he'd been able to learn how to get rid of that flaw in the Sin'aeis genes.
And another thing... He didn't remember Illesi ever giving him instructions for a Kid quest for Lyrus. What quest was the boy talking about?
Two weeks!? That certainly didn't make Lyrus feel any better. Not that he would have wanted to grow that quickly, but it wasn't fair that Chaco could and he would be stuck little forever. It wasn't fair at all. And if Chaco was this 'breeder' thing, he should make sure people weren't broken before he gave them away. Broken people were no use to anyone.
You know, depending how they were broken and all.
"No, but, see, I'm stuck." He wasn't going to grow at all. Time was no matter by now. "I got this other quest, and I went to the circus like Isto said it said to, but then nothing happened! And I don't think it was supposed to make me get bigger or anything, but quests usually do something, and it didn't. And I've been little forever and Mignon and Kilah are both big and have these new ability things and I...don't," he finished lamely, blinking at Chaco as if there was more he had planned to say, but couldn't remember what.
Chaco thought about it for a while. A quest that didn't do anything? That wasn't right... All quests did something. And he did remember Lyrus having gotten a quest some time ago... Perhaps... "After you went to the circus, did anything... seem different? Uh... Like, did you seem to like or hate anything more than you did before then?"
"Um..." No? At least, Lyrus didn't think so. "What, like food or something?" Lyrus didn't like peas much. But Isto had said that was natural; Isto didn't like peas either. Of course, even though Lyrus hadn't realized it, something had changed. But keeping his room (and the rest of the house) neater than usual wasn't worth noting to the lamb Sin. It was a natural reaction now, and he didn't bother to conclude that it had been brought about by his quest.
Chaco ran a hand through his hair, thinking about the problem. He knew it hadn't been a growth quest that Lyrus had last gotten, but... Hmm. He could always go ask Illesi, although honestly? That was the last thing he wanted to do. He had to work with the b*****d; he didn't want to have to go to him when he had trouble, too! He'd never hear the end of it...
Finally the Sin'aeis sighed, "Well, whatever you might think, I don't believe the quest you were given was meant to make you grow. There are three types, and of the three there is one that is hard to detect a change with... You must haqve changed in some way and not realized it. Somehow... I'm sure you'll grow soon. You shouldn't worry about it so much."
Lyrus seriously doubted it. That, and he wasn't completely sure he could trust Chaco's word. Seeing as Chaco had grown so quickly, and Lyrus was convinced he was broken. But what Chaco said was good news, so Lyrus was inclined to believe it... Besides, if it didn't come true, Lyrus could always come back and stab him or something. Maybe Kilah and Mignon would help.
It could be a party!
For the time, though, he would be nice. Nodding absently, he glanced back upat Chaco, considering another topic of discussion. And...nothing came. Ah well. "So, you're Chaco." He paused, cocking his head to the side. "It's weird that I haven't seen you in forever. I don't know a lot of the Sins, but you live here, don't you? Why aren't you ever outside?"
Chaco winced slightly at the new topic. "Well..." Why was he never outside? A lot of reasons, really... "Well, usually I'm stuck up in the nursery taking care of two of my siblings who are still babies. Between the two of them I rarely get to leave. And now I have two more brothers who are taking up the rest of the free time I had." Cyrus and Casper were more than a handful. "Between everything I have to do inside, I rarely get to go outdoors."
He wondered how often Lyrus came by the mansion, anyway.
"That's a stupid reason," Lyrus informed him honestly. Lyrus had a baby brother, and he didn't help take care of him. Actually, he wasn't really sure who did take care of Coen, what with Moo all loopy. Jaxom probably did it. He was always protecting the stupid bird thing when Lyrus tried to pull out his feathers. "You should get out more often."
Not that Lyrus was one to talk. Sure, he had been coming around the mansion every few days recently, but he only knew a few of the Sins...Most of the older ones, at that. That was probably when it felt so awkward for him to be little. Maybe it would be more bearable now that he and Jani were friends. "This is about the only place I come, 'cause I don't know how to get anywhere else, and Moo and Banda forgot about me."
"Well I have no choice," said Chaco, smiling, "no one else in the house wants to take care of them, and I don't want to find out what happens if I don't." At least he didn't have to do the cooking, though. Then Lyrus said something that made Chaco raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean they forgot about you?" I couldn't be that simple to forget someone. Moo was the child's protector, after all...
"Moo lost her mind," Lyrus drolled, bored with explaining the situation. This wasn't the first time, after all. "Or something like that. She doesn't remember who I am, and think she's someone else, and can't even remember I name even though I tell her six times a day. She calls me 'Boy with horn'." Pointing to his horn in explanation, he continued, "Not that she did much anyway. Banda did. But she kicked him out of the house a while back and he never bothered to come back to see me or anything, so I think he forgot about me too."
"...Ah..." was all Chaco could think to say. Moo'd lost her mind? It reminded a lot of the way his mother got when something happened to Solo. He doubted it was the same thing, but one could never be sure. "How long has she been that way?" Chaco hoped it hadn't been long.
"Umm..." How long had it been? A while. Lyrus didn't really bother to keep track of time. "Maybe a couple'a months ago? Something happened in her lab and she's been weird ever since. She doesn't remember who anyone is except for Pod, and won't let Jack in the House, and calls Isto a witch man. And she only remembers the names of the Jivvins. She makes up things for everyone else." Of course, 'Boy with Horn' was considerably better than 'Pink-hair boy' or 'Flying Rat'. Lyrus pitied Acia. It was fun to use Jax's name against him, though. Pinky.
Chaco couldn't help but blink. Something in her lab? Oh dear. He just hoped nothing like that ever happened to his mother in HER lab... And he knew things were prone to exploding down there. "Well... Uhm... I can't pretend to know anything about the matter, but I hope Miss Moo gets better soon." And he did. He'd hate for something like that to happen to any member of his own family. It must not be pleasant for it to happen to other people, either.
Lyrus shrugged. He wasn't paticularly worried. He had always thought Moo was crazy, and this simply served to enforce that point. She had never really had much to do with him anyway. Banda had... And Banda was gone. "Pod and Isto think she'll get better eventually. They just don't know when or how. I don't really care except when she doesn't remember my name. That gets annoying after a while, you know?"
Chaco nodded, "Oh boy do I. Just hope she doesn't go on calling you that after she remembers everything." Long ago he'd gotten sick of the nickname Aylee'd given him. Chocolate Boy. God, what a horrible name. And SHE hadn't even had amnesea or whatever it was called. He was still trying to convince Aylee not to call him it, and every time he tried it only seemed to make it worse. And she had somehow managed to get everyone else in the family to call him that as well. Ugh.
"I might have to stab her," Lyrus muttered, frowning. And the sad part was, he was completely serious. The only reason Moo got away with calling him 'Boy with Horn' was because everyone else had such ridiculous titles as well, and he knew she couldn't remember names for longer than five minutes. But once Moo turned into Moo again, that had better end. Or else. "She's getting a little better now, though. She's stopped trying to find excuses to toss us out like she did Banda, and she's even said he could stay if he showed up again. Problem is, no one can find him. Isto looked."
Chaco blinked rapidly for a moment, "Stab her?" Why would he want to do that? Chaco hated his own nickname, but he wasn't about to stab anyone over it. Why did so many of the Sin'aeis children turn out violent? Did he actually screw up somewhere? This was rather disturbing. "Uhm... Well, I'm glad she's getting better... And where did Isto look?" Actually, he had no idea who Isto or Banda was, but... Well, he figured he'd find out someday.
"Well maybe," Lyrus answered reasonably, shrugging. "I mean, if I told her to stop and she knew my name and kept doing it anyway. Then yeah, I might stab her with one of my glass roses, 'cause they're good for something like that. The stems," he added, nodding thoughtfully. "But maybe not, 'cause Moo's kind of an idiot, and I don't think she'd understand." And she might cry or something. Which would actually be pretty funny, but it also might get some of his brothers attacking him in revenge.
"Isto looked...umm..." Where had Isto looked? Isto had been looking for someone else lately, too, and had looked just about everywhere between the two people. "Well, he said everywhere, but I don't think someone can really look everywhere. Then again, I don't think Banda would be hiding under a bush or anything. But Banda's deaf and didn't have any money or anything, s'why we've been worried. It really bugged Isto 'cause Banda could have gone and stayed with him, you know? But Banda didn't and just vanished."
Definitely a violent child. Chaco would have to ask Illesi about the abilities he was giving them, one of these days. Okay, so he knew that Illesi didn't control the abilities, but he was fun to harrass anyway. Well, he'd forget about the stabbing thing for now, "Hmmm... Well, maybe someone else let him stay with them? I know my own mother has a tendancy to just take in people when she feels they might benifit from it." He highly doubted this Banda person was in the mansion, however. They hadn't had any new additions to their family for a while now.
"Maybe..." Lyrus doubted it, personally. Banda didn't know many people outside of his family as far as Lyrus knew, and, despite what Chaco said, he doubted most people would just welcome some random passerby into their home. Besides, Banda would have come to visit if that was the case, right? Right. Unless he had forgotten. But the more Lyrus talked about it, the more certain he was that something had just happened to Banda... Banda was too nice to forget about him. "I just hope he comes home soon."
Chaco nodded, "He probably will." Of course, that was pure speculation on his part, but he had to cheer up the kid. Besides, if Moo was anything like Chaco's own mother, as soon as she came to her senses she'd probably go out looking for him herself.
...
Wait, his own mother wouldn't do that unless it was Solo. And even then she'd probably just assume that he was having a hissy fit and would come back eventually. That was probably the worst analogy he could have thought up.
"Yeah..." Maybe. But it had been a couple of months... Oh well, there was hope, right? Lyrus yawned, then blinked, only then bothering to think about the time. "I'm gonna miss dinner. I have to go. Nice talkin' to you. And thanks," he added with a smile, then turned and sprinted back for the door, tugging it open and darting out and off for home.
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