|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DivineSaturn Vice Captain
|
 Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:25 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:58 am
Time of the Season... As summer comes again, Viviana and Outcry find themselves out of their element.
What, Outcry asked for the sixteenth time, are you doing?
Viviana ignored him. She wasn't sure what she was doing either, only that she was hot and miserable. Eriol was gone, running errands or something. With him out of the house, the girls had decended on her. One minute she was happily eating peaches, the next she had been stuffed into a red swimsuit with white flowers on it, and left on the lawn to roast while they dealt with some inflatable thing.
Bob, dressed in a white and blue striped swimsuit, wasn't in much better humor. Did these people have any idea how hot it was on her scales? She smacked a nearby lawn chair with her tail and started to whine loudly. She wanted her mommy. Either one would do, as long as they got her out of the heat!
"There!" Ying exclaimed, feeling satisfied. The wading pool had been inflated, and the garden hose was inside, filling it up. That done, she pulled off her t-shirt, revealing a pink and purple two-piece. "I think," she said to the toddlers, "that you two should know how to swim. Since the beach is too much, we're going to start here."
Hearing this, Outcry felt indignant. I can swim.
Of course he could. I can't, Viviana reminded him. At least, unless she was missing something major. She was barely getting the hang of walking, and now she had to swim? That was a discouraging thought, and she wrinkled her nose unhappily.
But then, water was cool. Maybe if she got in the water, it would be better than burning alive. With that much firmly in her mind, she started to crawl towards the edge of the pool.
Bob wasn't conceding that easily. In the end, Ying had to carry her to the pool. When the fishbabe saw the water, however, she squealed and tried to wriggle out of Ying's arms. It was like bathtime, only outside! She could do without the outside part, but she did love bathtime.
It was too sudden for Ying, and she had to hold tight to avoid dropping Bob into the pool. "Yeinie," she called, "aren't you going to help me?"
From her lawn chair, Yeine set her book down and looked over. "I helped you get them into their bathing suits, but I told you I wasn't going near the water." She didn't like water, and while she tolerated the hot stuff for showers, anything cooler than room temperature was like spraying her with acid. She avoided the stuff like the plague.
Shrugging, Ying managed to put Bob down on the side of the pool. "You need to stand up when I put you in, okay?" She spoke slowly, trying to make sure that they understood. "On your feet. And hold onto the edge. Now, who's first?"
As if Outcry needed help getting into the pool. The whale floated slowly, clumsily, over the foot-and-a-half rim and skimmed the water's surface lightly. Ah.... that's nice.
It was enough to convince Viviana. After sitting in the sun for a half hour, waiting for the pool to be ready, she was more than willing to volunteer.
Unfortunately for her, Bob had the same idea, and wasn't wasting a moment. "Me! Me!" She reached up her arms for further emphasis, and was pleased when Ying picked her up and set her by the inside edge of the pool. She had to cling to the Jumi's arms while she got her footing, and spread her tails out to the sides for balance. Only once she was sure did she pull away, placing her hands firmly on the rim. "Look!"
"That's great, Bob-chan! Now, Vivi-chan, your turn." Carefully she hoisted the other toddler, and was relieved when she didn't squirm. She was definitely calmer than her "aunt" was. "Now remember, hands on the edge, okay?"
Vivi remembered. Her problem was that she reached for the rim too soon, before her feet had fully touched the floor. When she was set down, they slipped underneath her, and she fell forward, her head racing to meet the side of the pool. It was only inflatable plastic, fortunately. Unfortunately, that did nothing to help her regain her balance, and she quickly fell underneath the waves caused by her splashing.
It was blue in the water- strange, since the inside of the pool was supposed to be white. But this was a dark blue, of deep water that the sun didn't break. One-and-a-half feet couldn't create this impenetrable wall of water. Viviana flailed, choking on the cold liquid that invaded her mouth and lungs. As small as she was, she still should have broken the surface with one of her attempts. But she couldn't find the air above her, nor did she feel the slick plastic that should have been beneath her. She was suspended, unable to tell if her movements had any effect on her location.
What was her location? In terms she could understand, where WAS she?
Bob was gone. Viviana would have seen her brightly colored tails in the water if she was nearby. Ying was gone too, or else the Jumi would certainly be trying to find her. But that wasn't any stranger than not finding the bottom of the pool. If it was gone, they were gone. Bob was standing on the bottom after all.
Then, with a chill of realization colder than the water, she felt something. Or rather, she didn't feel something that she was supposed to feel. And that scared her more than the water and the choking combined.
Outcry? Help!
There was no answer. It was more than being alone, it was as though part of herself was missing. The comforting presence that was always there backing her up, helping her forward. The power and strength that he represented. Both were gone.
"Vivi! It's okay, I've got you!"
Viviana's face broke the surface, and she immediately began coughing up water. She could feel Ying's hand rubbing her back, helping her lungs expel the liquid that stifled them. She could see Bob a couple feet away, tugging on Ying's sleeve and looking scared. But that wasn't enough to put her at ease.
Supposed to put your feet down first.
There was a flick of a tail, and then Outcry glided away, to give the girl some space. It was a silly mistake, really, but it wasn't her fault that she had to worry about things like limbs. Still, he didn't like seeing her go under like that, and not come right back up, as he could. Okay?
Okay, she answered after a moment's though, using that same moment to get her breath back.
"Vivi kay?" Bob asked loudly, peering over the edge of the pool. She was still inside, and her hands gripped the rim tightly, afraid that any less and she would fall too.
Viviana didn't blame her. Whereas moments before she'd been itching to get in the pool, now she was only too happy to be back on the grass, even in the heat. "Kay," she said.
"No hurty?" she asked, voice still a bit too loud. She wanted out of the pool too, but Ying's attention was on Viviana, and she wasn't going to try to get out by herself. Not after what she'd just seen at least.
Ying finally spoke up, having calmed down herself. "Shush, Bob-chan, let her have some space. Vivi-chan, are you sure you're all right?" she asked, ignoring her own directions.
Already said was okay, Outcry grumbled. He hated repeating himself. The fact that he wasn't the one talking, really, made no difference.
That made Vivi smile, just a little, and she nodded. She really was okay, though if anyone made her go near a pool anytime soon, she would probably bite them. That was more Bob's thing than hers, but it looked effective, if messy.
As if proving the point, Bob chomped down on Ying's finger, only releasing it when she had the older girl's attention. "Want out!" she exclaimed. "Now now now!"
While Ying dealt with Bob, Viviana leaned against the outside of the pool, while Outcry swam up to her. Too messy, he agreed. Spraying water much better.
Right, Viviana chimed in, and the two of them watched the scene unfold together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DivineSaturn Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DivineSaturn Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:48 pm
Contingency Plans... When Eriol departs for parts unknown, Viviana's wellfare is left in the balance.
"I don't believe this!" DS shouted, waving the paper she was holding in the air. The ink was smudged, the paper damp, and her cheeks just drying off as her sadness and guilt was temporarily replaced by anger. "'I'm sorry. I'll be back.' That's all? Didn't I raise this boy better than to run out on his family? AGAIN?"
Most of the children had the sense to leave for quieter places after DS discovered the note. Since Zvonimir was not one of the children, and the closest person Viviana had to a caretaker in the turn of events, he didn't have that option. Of course, he felt scorn for Eriol as well. How anyone could abandon his responsibility, and to such a remarkably gifted child, was beyond his fathoming. But since DS had the floor- not to mention the airwaves- he refrained from commenting.
There were limits to even DS's tantrums, however. A few moments later she slumped down on the bed and let her head drop into her hands. "I just don't understand," she said sadly, not to anyone in particular. "I thought we talked everything out. I thought that if he had problems, he'd tell me. I thought he was fine with Vivi... fine with everything!"
Zvonimir waited a calculated five and a half seconds before clearing his throat. "It would appear," he said apologetically, "that you thought incorrectly. I do not know Master Eriol especially well, but I had an inkling that something was amiss."
DS's eyes blazed; she had a new target and was ready to pounce. "You knew?" she screeched, leaping off the bed with surprising speed. Despite the fact that she was quite a bit shorter than the Chime Spirit, she appeared to tower over him in that one moment. "You knew he was... upset... and you didn't tell me?"
"Madam, I insist, I knew nothing of the sort!" Cowering in the wake of such force, Zvonimir took as many steps back as he could before hitting the wall. "I swear, on my honor... I might have had an idea that he was dealing with internal conflict, but I had none that he would take it to this extreme!" Really, he was just running away from the problem, something that Zvonimir hated. Not that he'd say so in front of his Master's volatile mother.
"I guess you're right," DS sighed, collapsing back on the bed. "I'm just mad at myself for not noticing, really. I mean, I'm his mother for gods' sake! And I couldn't- but that can't be helped now." She massaged her temples slowly, absently brushing away a new tear. "He'll come home when he's ready. I hope." It wasn't that she didn't have faith in him. She did. And he was certainly old enough to make his own decisions, unlike the last time he ran away from home. It was just... when would he be ready this time?
There was still one issue left unmentioned. "And what of Lady Viviana?" Zvonimir asked, gesturing towards the crib. Viviana was asleep- or should have been, before the minor explosion. At least she wasn't crying, which meant she was probably still dreaming.
DS looked over also, and smiled just a little bit. Maybe with something for him to come home for, it wouldn't be long. Unless she was the reason he went away... "We can take care of her. Though, I think with Eri gone, she might cling to you most. Can you handle them?"
"I will do whatever is required of me to ensure Lady Viviana's well-being," Zvonimir answered sincerely. He wasn't sure why, but there was something about that girl that made him want to just be with her, to do his best for her. "And Sir Outcry as well, naturally."
"Good. Then we'll manage." DS stood and walked out, clenching Eriol's note in his fist. We'll manage. But will you, sweets?"
Now that the room was his, for the moment, Zvonimir could speak his ming. He stroked Viviana's sleeping back gently, musing aloud. "If this is what he thinks of you... well, good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. You and I will get along just fine, milady."
At that moment, for no visible reason, Viviana woke up crying.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
