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 Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:43 pm
"Rain, rain, go away, come again some other-"
Taavi paused. Wait, no, that didn't work, because why would you want the rain to come back? The normally cheerful little boy pursed his lips and drummed his fingers on the window sill. "It's raining, it's pouring," he sang, and scratched little stick figures in the fog on the glass, "The old man is snoring. He went to bed and hit his head and won't get up in the..."
Taavi trailed off again and set his mouth into a resolute frown. Well that was just depressing! Why wouldn't the old man get up? It didn't make any sense. He heaved a sulky four-year-old sort of sigh and got to his feet. There had to be something to do here. They'd been cooped up inside all week!
"It rained and poured, for forty days and nights," sang Taavi as he dragged his feet across the carpet. Hopefully it wouldn't rain that long.
What if Liberty Center floated away?
Well, it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe it would float away until it got somewhere where it wasn't raining.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:31 pm
This was heaven.
No sun. At all. For several days now. Donovan felt like praising... whatever god was out there making it rain so much. Granted, it was humid and wet and icky and cold, but technically, he never really felt the cold, so that was just fine with him. He was just generally glad that he didn't have to go hole away in the library, for a change. It was definitely an improvement.
So thus, the weather had Donovan feeling rather cheerful, instead of his usual sulky, frustrated self. Hell, he felt cheerful enough to give this 'socialising' thing a try. The first victim that caught the vampire's eyes was a red head that looked just about how Donnie usually looked on bright, sunny days. A brow arched as he watched the kid, then he paused and turned to dig inside the bag he'd left perched on his desk. Digging, digging, digging till he fished out a baby cup filled with... suspiciously red liquid.
He always felt better after drinking some when it was sunny. That in mind, he walked towards Taavi and offered his cup over towards him silently, almost as a peace offering. After a moment he narrowed his eyes and spoke, "Want some? It helps me when I'm upset."
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:49 pm
Taavi looked at the other boy, and then at the sippy cup. It looked like it had fruit punch in it. He didn't really want anything to drink and really did not think it would improve his mood any, but he was the sort of child who would try anything once in the name of friendship, and this dark boy was being nice.
"Thank you," he said, brightening a bit. He took the cup.
It looked thicker that fruit punch, and darker, too, but he couldn't let that stop him. If he said no, he might offend someone, and he didn't want to make anyone upset...
He took a sip. It was definitely not fruit punch. But Taavi didn't spit it out. No, he couldn't spit it out, you weren't supposed to spit food out - that made a mess and got people mad. He forced himself to swallow and handed the cup back. He smiled at the boy, trying to hide the fact that he hadn't liked it at all. Who knew, maybe this would be his new friend? He hadn't made any friends yet. Not really.
"What is it?" he asked.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:10 pm
He let go of the cup as soon as the other child had taken hold of it, and deep down he was feeling horribly proud of himself. Now, when he went home today, he'd be able to tell Misae he'd done one of those good deeds she kept on talking about. He was sure that meant she'd make him some special pie. And she'd probably let him stay up too - he really liked nighttime, and he was always forced to sleep through it. Something inside him always told him he was doing it wrong, but... if Misae and Melvin insisted, it must mean it was right, right?
"Mhhmm..." he murmured with a nod as the boy took a sip and handed the cup back to him. Shaking the cup, he calculated there was still half of it's content left, which would easily get him through the day. He could spare a bit more for the boy if he liked it, "Blood," he said seriously and completely matter-of-factly. Something in the way Donovan blinked made it seem like he thought it horribly obvious what it was, and he had NO idea why poor Taavi was asking such a stupid question.
"It helps me feel better when it's sunny outside. I figured since it's raining and you look like I do when it's sunny, it would help you," score one for him - he'd done a good deed! YAY HIM! While he was feeling rather proud of himself on the inside, it wasn't really showing on the outside - he was grinning, yes, but it looked more like he was plotting Taavi's murder with a spoon than a friendly smile.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:25 pm
"I've never drank blood before," said Taavi, who didn't know that you could. He wasn't so sure it was good for him, specifically, but Prosper said that all sorts of children went to Liberty Center and you should be nice to everyone. (Not that Taavi would ever not be nice.)
The other boy was smiling, and Taavi did not have the good sense to realize it was a scary smile. A smile was a smile was a smile. He smiled back, and the peppermint smell that followed him seemed momentarily stronger.
"I'm Taavi," he said happily, still smiling at his new friend - they had shared and they had smiled and now they were friends because that was how it worked and at any rate he was at least nicer than Fish was most of the time. "What's your name?"
Whether Donovan had wanted it or not, he had just gained the devotion of a child who would willingly follow him around like a lovesick puppy, and maybe even jump off a cliff if you asked him nicely enough.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:49 pm
"I drink it all the time," he took a sip from his cup as if to demonstrate the veracity of his words, then licked his lips as soon as he put the cub down. As he did so, his fangs came into view; much longer and much sharper than an human teeth had the right to be.
A pause followed as a strange scent engulfed him. Donovan lifted his head to sniff the air, momentarily looking like some sort of confused puppy, then he slowly leaned till his head was near Taavi, his brow arched, "Gosh, the smell comes from you..." leaning away from he, he blinked, "You're like a flower, only... not," the other comparison he had in mind was nowhere near as kind - it reminded him of the food that Misae cooked at home. Somehow, he doubted the kid wanted to be compared to food. Specially given how he was a vampire (not that the kid seemed to notice, which was just as well in Donovan's opinion).
"Donovan," he said as he extended his free hand, an imitation of a gesture he'd seen Melving do when greeting people. The difference here was that Donovan's hand seemed to have... rather sharp, black nails. Or claws. It was hard to tell.
Had he knows the child was bound to get attached to him in such a way, it was probable the vampire might have dropped what he was doing and ran for the proverbial hills, screaming bloody murder. As it was though, he had absolutely NO idea what it was he'd done.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:11 pm
Taavi's older brother had webbed hands and scales, and his sister could make little balls of light appear out of thin air. After that, next to nothing could phase him. (Was there such a thing as being too well-adjusted?) "It's peppermint!" he said happily. "Do you like it?"
He shook the proffered hand, which seemed like a cool and grown-up thing to do. Having seen far stranger in the comfort of his own home, he thought nothing of the claws. Still, he had some sort of nagging curiosity about them...
"Are your fingernails really good for scratching itches?" he asked. "Or really bad?"
This was a nagging dilemma. He needed to know.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:50 pm
He sniffed the air again and looked uncertain, as if torn, "I don't... dislike it," he said carefully, as he shook the boy's hand. He was still feeling rather proud of himself. At least till Taavi spoke again.
Well, that was... that was a really good question, actually.
Blinking in confusion for the second time in such a short period of time, Donovan retrieved his hand after shaking Taavi's one and looked at his nails. In all honesty, he hadn't really stopped to think about such a thing? He figured his hand was just like that of anyone's, right? Except when he lowered his gaze, Taavi's own was nothing like his, "Uhhh... I really don't know. I think it's just fine," a pause, "I've never hurt myself if that's what you ask. I think it's sort of like a cat; I don't think they hurt themselves when they scratch."
He'd pulled that comparison out of virtually nowhere, but he felt it worked.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:22 pm
This answer satisfied Taavi. He nodded astutely and flashed another smile. "Okay!" he said happily. "That makes sense!"
He looked back at the window, where dark droplets of rain still hit the glass in steady sheets. He frowned, remembering his earlier problem of the confusing and/or depressing songs about rain.
Maybe Donovan would know some! Taavi's face lit up.
"I was singing," he explained, "but all the songs I know about rain are bad. Do you know any?"
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