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 Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:02 pm
10.15.2009
I received a potted plant today, much to my dismay. In truth, I'm not much of a gardener. I have Coco and Asterius for that.
I was told it was to grow into a type of rose called a Lynn Anderson. I didn't even have to hear the name. As soon as I caught the word "rose" I knew what to do.
In my haste to give my "son" the plant, I completely forgot to tell him it wasn't your everyday "rose"...
************
It's been long since Ree gave me a new plant. I am of the understanding that she knows absolutely nothing about them and would worry that she'd get me something half-dead or that would cause my ward, Sorcha, to go into an asthmatic attack. Imagine my surprise when she gave me what she said was a rose.
How could I ever say no to that?
When I grew older, Ree had a small greenhouse made for me in the center of the garden. I had since surrounded the structure with rose bushes, my own personal touch. The new rose has its own place, still within the pot I had received it in, sitting upon a small pedestal in the greenhouse.
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:39 am
10.17.2009
Birds chirped within the expansive gardens near the back of a large gray-brick mansion. One fluttered down, a blue and bronze hummingbird and alighted on the outstretched fingers of a tall woman with long violet-blue hair that curled in waves to the center of her back.
"Good morning, Rowena," Reeshie Volpe cooed, reaching out with the other hand to stroke the bird's soft head feathers. Rowena's wings fluttered in response, just as a large male creature turned the corner in the hedge, the large green bushes making a maze for the younglings on the island to play games within.
The male was large, about the size of a full-grown lion, a soul demon bound to Reeshie, his green eyes alert even in the early morning hours.
"Morning, 'Teri. Bound for the greenhouse?" Reeshie asked, the young male looking up in surprise. Asterius, one of the more quiet members of the Volpe family, hadn't noticed the woman who had acted as his mother since before e could remember. She sat on one of the stone benches, a humming bird on her fingers and her "true" son, the toddler Benjamin, sleeping nestled in her lap, his face half-pressed into the fabric of her white sundress. Though autumn was starting to show on the mainland, the island was still warm as a mild summer.
"I was. The flower you gave me, I wish to check upon it," Asterius replied with a short nod, the normal two of his three eyes blinking slowly. The third remained opened. Reeshie nodded slowly and carefully stood, setting Rowena upon her shoulder and lifting Benjamin into her arms. The anthropomorphic fox toddler, his white fur shining just like his mother's long tail in the early light, wings folded across his back, nuzzled closer to her.
"May I come with? I'd rather like seeing how it's going. Besides the greenhouse in general," Reeshie asked, earning a calm look of interest from Asterius. The demon smiled a tiny bit and inclined his head slowly.
Reeshie and Asterius stepped through the arched doorway and into the heat and humidity of the greenhouse. Little Benny squirmed a bit and peaked one violet eye out from his mother's chest to glance around briefly before pressing his face back into her dress. Reeshie smiled a bit and rubbed the toddler's back lightly.
"He's getting big," Asterius commented. His tone warranted no need for a response. They traversed the rows of tables and plants, near-tropical bushes and trees on one side of the makeshift path. Somewhere else in the greenhouse trickled the sound of an artificial pond that had been installed by a friend of the family. They stopped at one of the low tables, where the potted plant sat.
"So is your little flower, I see," Reeshie replied softly as she looked down at the sprout. It was still tiny, but she knew how he had been caring for it. Asterius smiled lightly and nodded, his claws carefully touching the small leaves.
"I can't wait to see it bloom," he confessed and Reeshie smiled, glad to see him happy. Benjamin stirred again and turned so that he could blink around him. When he saw Asterius touching the sprout, he reached out one fur-covered hand towards it. Both Reeshie and Asterius smiled good-naturedly as Reeshie stooped a bit so that her son could touch it.
"Be very careful, Benny. Just touch it, don't grab it," Reeshie cooed as the fox-like child touched black pads to the leaves. His violet eyes lost focus for a moment, the third eye in the center of his forehead, hidden behind his hair, opened ever so slightly, the swirling milky blue and silver peeking out in a sliver beneath his bangs.
"Notta flower," he said in a soft, distracted voice. The eye closed again and his other eyes focused again, blinking from his mother to her demon. Both adults frowned. Benny definitely had the ability to surprise his family members.
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Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:46 am
10.22.2009
I was happily rewarded this morning by a beautiful rose blossom.
10.26.2009
Asterius walked slowly into the greenhouse, heading for his new rose to give it a spritz of the special water he'd been given.
But as soon as he came in sight of the marble bench it had been placed on, his heart lurched.
The pot had been spilled and lay on the floor in pieces, dirt everywhere. And his rose was nowhere to be found!
Asterius ran to the mess, his face contorted in sorrow as he gently touched one of the pieces of the shattered pot. One of the miniature dragons must have gotten in and taken the flower. He'd only had problems once before with them tearing up his roses, but he thought he had made it clear to them what would happen if they did it again.
"It fell..." came a soft, timid voice near the base of the bench. The minis didn't speak... 'Teri glanced up and saw the tiniest being peaking out from around the leg of the bench. She was no bigger than... well, goodness, even his horns were longer than she was tall. He tilted his head and lay down so that he was eye-level with the feminine creature. She approached him slowly and looked at the broken pot.
"When I tried to get down, it fell an' broke," she said and recognition hit. Her eyes, her hair, they were the same color as his rose!
"Lynn?" he asked, his head on the ground. She blinked.
"Is that my name?"
"It is what I was calling you, do you like it?" The fairy-like creature looked thoughtful for a moment, in a very child-like way before nodding and smiling at him.
"Uh-huh, I do," she replied and hugged his nose. Goodness, she smelled just like a rose.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:14 pm
10.29.2009
"An' so we haveta hide?" Asterius walked along the path from the main house and into the gardens. Lynn sat just behind his back, hands and face half-shoved into his mane. She wasn't full size yet, but too big now to ride on his head. Branches littered the path, as did flowers and other plant life. He chuckled a bit and sighed, glancing over his shoulder with a small nod. A shadow passed overhead, but it was only Nimue, one of the oldest members of the family. She and her mate weren't very good gardeners per-say, but they helped keep the island plant life healthier than it had been before them. Nature-magik in the soil and all that.
"Well, it was a hurricane, dearheart. We could become injured by staying outside," 'Teri replied as he continued walking. It would take a lot of cleaning, but the gardens would be back to normal in no time at all, especially with everyone helping. Nimue flew over again, her shadow very birdlike despite the fact that she was a winged cat-creature. As her shadow passed over one of the large trees, there was a short shriek from the foliage and 'Teri blinked.
"Lynnie, hang on," the soul demon said and was off running to the tree, Lynn clinging to his mane. They stopped at the base of the tree and looked up.
There, in the remaining foliage, was a girl like Lynn. Skin green and hair like yellow roses, she had her eyes scrunched tightly shut. She was tangled up in some of the branches, large wings folded at her back.
"Hi!" Lynn cried happily and the other girl opened her gold eyes.
"Do you need help?" Asterius called up to her and she nodded slowly. He continued, to a bench beneath the tree so that Lynn could hop off, "Lynnie, could you get off for a minute?"
She did so and flopped onto her back to watch the events unfold, a smile on her face.
"Forgive me, I am not the best climber on the island," 'Teri apologized ahead of time before setting his claws carefully to the tree trunk.
It was slow going with his hooved back feet and not wanting to gouge into the tree, but thankfully she wasn't high up and soon he was on a nearby branch. He carefully helped her untangle herself from the tree and looked down. It wouldn't be... too far...
"Get on my back, and hold on to my neck," he explained. She did so, and some part within his mind commented on how light the Vartouhi were. He closed his main eyes, the central one remaining open and taking on a soft glow. The air halfway down started to haze a bit, like heat waves, before he jumped from the tree. He landed on a pocket of air he had more-or-less solidified and quickly jumped to the ground, breathing heavily.
"Yaaaaaay! Doitagain!" Lynn cried, standing and clapping on the bench as she hopped up and down. 'Teri grimaced as the girl on his back dismounted and he slowly shook his head.
"I do not think I am capable of doing that again any time soon, Lynnie," he replied, flopping down beside the bench. Lynn jumped from it, landing with a soft thump back onto his back and looked up at the Sirvat that was fixing her dress.
"Hi! My name's Lynn an' this is my papa. Wha's your name?" Lynn asked cheerfully. The Sirvat looked up with a surprised expression, having just then realized there was another Vartouhi present.
"Oh! Iris, my name is Iris..."
"Well, how'd ya get to be up in that tree, Irisssss?" Lynn asked, amusing herself with the older girl's name.
"That is not polite speech, Lynnie," 'Teri chided, but Iris just smiled.
"It's okay. I was... I was flying about, chasing clouds, and found myself suddenly caught in a storm. The winds blew me into that tree, and I've been there ever since. Oh!" Iris cried, hopping back and looking up at the sky.
"Is the bird gone?" she asked quickly, not taking her frightened eyes from the skies. Both 'Teri and Lynn blinked.
"Nimmy's not a birdie, she's a kitty," Lynn replied and Iris looked at them.
"A... flying cat?"
"Indeed. There are several flying residents, but very few are actual birds," 'Teri explained and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank goodness. I'm terribly frightened of large birds," Iris explained in a somewhat sheepish manner. 'Teri nodded slowly.
"Everyone is afraid of something. But that's enough chatting for now. You must be exhausted after all that and no night's rest. Come, you can rest and recuperate in the greenhouse," 'Teri said and rose slowly, leading Iris to the structure, Lynn chatting away the whole time.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:12 am
11.16.2009
Iris was up earlier that morning, as was 'Teri and a young male creature named Kokuyo. Dressed only in a pair of dark jeans, the black, fur-covered male stood taller than Reeshie herself and sported strong muscles under a lean frame. His mother was Marcia, another of the inhabitants, resembling her more than his sisters. Both he and Iris carried boxes of electric lights, though while she had two smaller ones, he had three of varying sized in his arms. 'Teri carried a bunch in a pack on his back.
"So, this is Christmas? And before that is... Um..." Iris asked, looking from 'Teri on her left, to Kokuyo on her right.
"Yes, Iris, Christmas is what the lights are for. And Thanksgiving comes before that."
"Just be glad we live here, lil' lady," Kokuyo added in his deep voice as the stopped beside the first bush. Iris sat her boxes down beside his and helped to take out a net of multi-colored lights.
"If we were on the mainland, it'd be a madhouse," he finished and Iris flew up and over the bush, taking the net with her as Kokuyo held onto the other end, settling the net over the bush. When she landed, she looked at 'Teri with a confused look on her face.
"Some see Christmas as a time to give gifts. And many think that they must get the best gifts," the soul-demon explained as he adjusted the net, Iris walking around the bush back towards the two males. Kokuyo chuckled.
"Yeah, and they'll step on anyone that gets between them and that gift," he added, causing Iris to gasp and cover her mouth, looking to 'Teri.
"Surely not literally," she asked, looking from the demon to the winged biped. Kokuyo took her hand and patted it gently.
"Some, but you don't have to worry about that. We like making gifts in this family, but there's no pressure. You'll see what I mean come December." He finished with a wink and picked up the boxes again, moving on to the next bush.
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