Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Little steps, little steps, that's the way!" Atticus cheered on Eva as they made their way through the museum. Though they were making very little progress he was proud that his wobbly little blob seemed to be stiffening up some. He had taken her to the museum more for practice than the art, he had found the girl wasn't very pleased with loud noises. And perhaps her sense of adventure would kick in for she was still quite the clingy little girl. "Good job, Eva!"

Spoken too soon, Eva plopped onto his foot. She rolled onto her back exhausted. Walking wasn't an easy thing, especially since her legs were not yet used to this new motor skill. Oh, how she wished the days of crawling could return. The man held her much more in those days, and she wanted to be held.

Upon hearing the "Yrowl" emmited nearby Eva's head swiveled in its direction. Peering bullets at the offender, he had made noise in a quiet place!, Evangeline stood, while clinging on to her father's pant leg, and wobbled away.

Atticus had noticed the commotion, too, and could only sympathize with the man. "Sometimes they're rougher than we imagine," he said to the man before realizing Eva was a good couple feet away. "And fast," he said before trying to catch up with his charge.

"Stuck in a boy's body, huh?" Atticus chuckled and picked up Eva. Walking toward the new man and his baby Atticus mused, "You wouldn't mean a criminal sent from their plant to Earth as a punishment, would you?" Atticus hoped he would.

Eva peered at the third eye. Not only because it was unusal but just because. There seemed to be an air about the boy. Something exuded from him that seemed almost... intelligent. Unlike the other mindless, screaming babies. Those hurt her head.

Shifting Eva into a more comfortable position Atticus nodded, "Yea, I got blessed with a quiet kid. She doesn't bite, kick, scream, scratch. But she has a mean stare." He looked at her, "As I'm sure you're little one, Kian, is it? Is experiencing." In a scolding tone he told her, "Now Eva, it's not poilte to stare."

Only blinks interrupted her stare, however, and when she was close enough to the boy she reached out to him. Perhaps there would be a sign that told her he was what she thought he was- someone like her.

"From none other," Atticus said. "I actually have no idea what my little one was charged with. I got this little girl, Dixie it was, who didn't really tell me much. I was drilling her with questions and then the pod came."

Raising and eyebrow he looked at Kian, "Civil war and refusal of surgery, eh? Looks like you've got quite a handful, hmm?"

Evangeline withdrew her hand and decided he was surely one of her. Even the more fickle babies bathed in attention, and this boy seemed to want anything but. But how could she show him that she was of his fate, too?

She emitted a series of noises. Though they sounded like noises they were really the ledian language. Evangeline sighed and sat back in Atticus' arms. It was hopeless, there was nothing she could tell this baby!

"She doesn't speak at all," Atticus said surprised by the series of sounds that had just escaped her mouth. "Guess they didn't speak English on her planet." He chuckled making conversation, but there was something in Eva's eyes of deep concentration, of determination to break the barrier, somehow.

"Myspace, eh? Yea, Dixie was pretty cool. What? A twelve year old kid handling spaceship entries." He chuckled, Eva's way of getting to Gaia sure had been a treat. "Ohh, I knew I should've read those words on the bottom of Eva's picture. But it was unfortunate timing that right as Eva's pod arrived my eye's were venturing to that corner of the picture." He looked at Evangeline, "Now I suppose only time will tell."

The boy hissed at Atticus and he allowed his eyes to linger on the boy a few seconds longer before flicking them back up to his guardian. "Friendly fellow, isn't he?" He chuckled, "It's quite... disturbing to think that we both hold people in our hands that are as old, maybe even older, than us." He was fully aware that Eva, and Kian too, had the thinking capacity of himself. Now the task would be to turn those thoughts into English.

Frustrated, Evangeline looked at the swirls of her hands until- the boy spoke back to her. She looked up, hope in her eyes, she knew that language! She sighed, wracking her memory history class, history class, aha! That city, the one with the civil war started by one of its own outcasts. She remembered that she had seen a news report on that event and there was that language- his language- in the background. It would have made things all the more eerie if she had realized he was the one on the news- but she didn't.

What was that word that she had heard? Of one of their council members talking about his punishment. She searched her memory, of all things that she needed to remember! And tentatively, for it is always odd to speak another language, especially one that hadn't been heard for over a couple years, she spoke what she thought had been their word for "ICRS" the program that hadn't determined their fates thus far.

Almost as soon as the words had slipped out of her mouth Eva felt hopeless. What if she had said the worng word, which was highly likely? She pulled her rainbow beanie over her head, mortified, and waited for the little boy to respond. Hopefully positively.

"Yea, Eva's met a few others and so far the only ones that she doesn't mind touching or touching her are the criminals like herself. It's weird how they're able to pick each other out a crowd," he noted.

Chuckling, Atticus continued, "Well it's not their faults they were given a compeltely new body and look. I sometimes wonder how shocked and stunned they are, coming into a world with their thinking capacity, but not their body or theri language or their people." He shook his head, though the concept was starting to sink in it surely wasn't all there yet. He couldn't imagine that happening to himself!

She heard his response and shyly peeked out through her rainbow beanie. His response seemed to be one of accordance and she exhaled, happy that she hadn't made the biggest mistake ever. After all this boy seemed like quite the tough one and she- she poked at her chub- was not.

In response to his answer she nodded and returned the third eye's gaze. It was a peculiar thing, wasn't it?

Chuckling, Atticus nodded, "You make a point. They were different to've been sent here." He ruffled Eva's hair, fixed her beanie, and repositioned her on his hip. She was quite the squirmer.

Through the struggle he looked up at Patrick, "Imagine the day when she's finally perfected how to walk." He grunted as he shifted her up again, "Then I won't have to put up with this." Finally getting Evangeline in a comfortable, stable position he looked back at Kian, "So does he live int he house with any other kids?" He inquired. Eva had a sister and boy, did they not get along.

Though unintentional, Eva's jaw dropped just a bit as she watched the third eye. Did he see three? Was it there for decoration? Making sure that she didn't have a third eye, she brought her pointer finger to her forehead and felt around. Phew, there wasn't anything going on up there that she didn't know about.

And yes, she was still staring.

Atticus' eyes followed Patrick's hand and, despite his best efforts, his eyes widened a little bit. Trying to cover himself up he chuckled as best her could, "That does sound like quite the surprise," he said barely able to tear his eyes from the site. Of all his gaia experiences never had he seen a pregnant man before!

"But naww, Eva's actually got one sister. Sourire, and she came to me from some underground train," Atticus' free hand was in the air, a sense of exasperation. "Some things I don't try to figure out." He smiled, he loved his two girls and was quite happy that they had arrived in the first place.

The eye closed and Eva was forced to focus on something new. Like those red nails! They were vibrant, almost like the boy was wearing some sort of paint- she had seen that on some women earlier. She looked at her nails, which were quite clear, and moved her fingers around. She felt a lot more control now than she had only a few days back. This growing thing was actually happening!

"Honestly, gaia's gotta be the most interesting planet around. Although seeing some'a the kids the other planets pop out-, "Atticus shook his head, chuckling slightly. Ah, the other surprises he was sure to encounter.

In an attempt to fill in the silence- for surely babies notice awkward spaces, too!- Evangeline tugged at one of her pig tails. She, too, slunk deeper into her guardian's arms and looked up at him.

Noticing the two kids at a loss for interaction Atticus patted Eva's head. "Lookit these little guys. Absolutely speechless. Imagine, in only a half year's time we won't even remember there was such a word as silence!" Chuckling he hiked Evangeline higher on his hip and took a breath, "Well, we'd better be heading home. I really only took Eva here for some walking practice. I'm trying to get this pudgy girl some muscle." He poked her stomach trying to tickle her, but failed miserably.

Blushing slightly he looked back to Patrick, "It's nap time for this little one. Maybe I'll see you around." After a quick goodbye wave to Kian Atticus nodded in Patrick's direction and headed for the door.

Her head resting on Atticus' shoulder Evangeline locked eyes with the boy. There was something in his stare however that made her skin prickle, so she looked away and buried her head in Atticus' shoulder. The fact that this boy was from the ICRS inrtigued Eva. Were there more? How many? And what would they be like?

But, because her toddler body needed rest, Evangeline yawned and shut her eyes. She would leave those questions for another day.