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 Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:52 pm
It's a fairly sunny day out right now, though the weather isn't quite what anyone would consider hot. This close to the sea, the air is cold and the sun's brilliance lends the world a washed-out look, as if it were hidden behind a white veil.
Amleth would honestly rather be inside right now, but considering the argument he had with William, home is also the last place he's interested in. He sits quietly on a large boulder near the surf, a thick cableknit sweater over his usual black turtleneck and a pair of grey wool shorts and knee-socks helping to keep his legs warm. He has a book sitting on his lap, his knees bent high to create a cradle for it and his feet turned slightly inwards on the flatness of the stone. He's not actually reading it right now, however, instead choosing to fling the various small stones he's pilfered from the beach below out into the water. Every time he throws, there is a small plunk as the stone lands and he heaves a small puff of a sigh. Throw, puff, throw, puff.
Eventually, he runs out of stones and isn't willing to fetch more, so he instead puts his chin in his hands, sulking at the horizon quietly. His hair isn't faring well in this ocean breeze, tousled beyond any concept of neatness with a thick forelock curling loosely between his brows. He'll puff at that too, just enough to get his hair out of his eyes, but generally leaves it alone. He's trying to brood. He doesn't have time for hair problems.
If he gets tired of brooding, he may just turn his attention back to that opened book, but he seems to be ignoring it pointedly on purpose, as if he could ignore it in place of William. Feel my hot vengeance, um, book. Sigh.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:45 am
Eloise had abandoned her shoes ten feet into the beach. They had magically become a magnet for any tiny rock and pebble that had ever imagined stabbing into her toes. So the maid had toed them off and tossed them into her woven basket calling it good. Thanks to the cold winter winds, she wasn't sure if she had chosen the greater of two evils, however, and almost instantly contemplated putting them back on. If she stayed too long, it might become an endless circle of putting on and taking off shoes. The thought wasn’t all together pleasing to her.
Next to her shoes, in the basket, was the very reason she was on the beach during a winter day. The emerald bottle was wrapped in a blue blanket- forever protected from the harsh winds. It had yet to be known if it could feel the unforgiving weather and as such, the petite brunette kept it covered.
Allegro had told her that he felt a breeze coming from the bottle. Given that the magical children seemed to take on an essence, it made perfect sense to her that the…child in the bottle might feel more at home with…itself. Certain someone would think her insane if she mentioned her working theory, she simply stated she would be going to the market place on her day off, and made trek to the beach instead. Now the breeze-bottle could be around other…breezes. Sea breeze, to be exact.
Trudging through the beach, Eloise squinted her eyes as her hair went wild about her. The tresses flew in her face, slapped her neck, and billowed out behind her. Whatever meager semblance of being put together it had earlier was gone now. And it seemed she wasn’t the only one.
Not far from where she was, she could make out a small figure perched on top of a boulder. She couldn’t tell from this distance if the person was actually small in stature or if they only appeared that way due to amount of land between them. Well, she thought, at least I can take comfort in the fact I’m not the only crazed one at the beach during the winter.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:38 am
It's not as though Amleth had some special sense of other people, but he was typically quite aware of his surroundings, either a product of his suspicious nature or because he was used to maintaining some idea of where he was when reading. Either way, he is huffing again softly when he catches sight of Eloise from the corner of his eye, straightening his back immediately in reaction. He frowns slightly at Eloise, wondering as to just why anyone else would be out on the beach in this weather; never one to let things lie, he promptly closed his book and slid down off the rock.
If only he were larger, he would be able to be a bit more dignified, but he is, sadly, a rather skinny youth and he stumbles when his feet strike the sand. It only serves to darken his already dim mood and he rakes his hair away from his face with rough fingers before marching in Eloise's direction, the large book kept snugly under his arm. He seems ready to interrogate her, if his expression is any indication, but he slows as he comes close enough to catch sight of the curve of something in her basket. Rather than finishing his formal march, he slows, then trots the last few feet towards her, hooking his fingers over the edge of the basket to look inside. It's rather intrusive, but he doesn't seem to care, too interested in the bottle inside.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:01 pm
Eloise, was by nature and conditioning, a polite and demure young woman. So when schadenfreude hit her like a ton of bricks at seeing the young boy stumble, she turned her head away, biting on her bottom lip to keep from giggling. The feeling only increased as the small figure swiped at his hair and storm over towards her. Was he drew closer, she could tell he was but a child and it endeared him to her almost instantly. This young boy trying on adult-hood so young, she couldn’t help but feel affection for him.
The expression painted on his face warned her he planned on shooing her away from his spot- or at the very least question her presence in it. His own little formal march had her straightening up and raising her chin. Normally conscientious of people’s state of social order in comparison to hers, the Morrow girl found herself throwing her typical mannerisms to the way side to take on a more formal stance of her own. She saw the child as perhaps someone to play with, and would take his questions and answer with the dignified retorts she was fairly certain the boy would be looking for.
At least, that was her game plan until his controlled gait turned into a light jog. The change of nature in the boy through her for a loop—especially when his tiny fingers dug into the side of her basket, trying to peer inside of it. Aevah be praised! The one time she let down her guard about the bottle, she finally comes across a soul who wants to steal it from her. She yanked the wicker away from his grasp, holding her arm a bit higher than he could reach. “Have you no manners?” She asked, hotly. “What is in my basket is of no business to you, young man! I have half a mind to box your ears!”
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:21 pm
The sudden removal of the basket earns a look of surprise, but the threat to box his ears makes Amleth frown, the boy propping his hands on his hips with the book still held rather tightly. His expression is rather scrupulous, lips pursed in judgment before he asks, full of doubt, "Do you even know what it is?" Hmph. He tucks the book back against his chest, his superior moment ruined by a thick lock of blonde hair smacking him in the face. He's forced to shake his head to get it out of his eyes, but that only annoys him more, cheeks puffing slightly while they turn a faint shade of red.
His eyes, bright red in the clear, dim sunlight, focus again on Eloise and he lifts the book up, balancing it on top of his head and rocking back and forth on his heels, drawn up to his unimpressive height, "Where'd you find it? Bottom of a well? Middle of the street? I don't think whoever spreads them out puts too much thought into it." It's an unkind judgment, but the expression on his face suggests agitation and suspicion in regards to whoever drops the bottles around. He may not be able to remember his time trapped perfectly, more of a strange haze of memories, but he definitely knows a thing or two.
After some studying and doubt, he lowers the book and tilts his chin up, looking at the basket from under long, gilt eyelashes, "Let me see it! I know more about it than you - and you're not a granny! You can't box a thing!"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:57 pm
“I may not be a granny, but I was brought up by the priestesses of Idia,” Her hand raised in a semi-threatening manner. It was true she had never done it herself, but she’d had it done to her plenty of times as a child. The slap always left her thrown off balance and the nausea that seemed to follow was sometimes worse than the slap itself. “Do you care to test your theory that I can’t?” She asked, a bit rhetorically.
In her indignant state had his words completely flying over her head at first. It was only after she breathed deeply in an attempt to calm herself that she realized the child in front of her seemed to know something about the treasure she carried with her. Eyes narrowed, she hugged the basket to her chest in an attempt to keep it out of his sight. Her own lack of height made this harder than it would have been for others. “I know what it is.” She retorted, though it wasn’t as attitude laced as her threats earlier. “I found it in a tree. Or rather, it found me. The question is, how do you know what it is?” She asked, a bit suspiciously.
There was a logical conclusion, of course, and that was he was originally from one, himself, but Eloise truly hated jumping to conclusions. Especially when it came to magic and the new children she had been exposed to since moving to Amies. When one grew up in a relatively magic-children-free environment it was hard to believe that, upon finding a bottle, she would be exposed to dozens of them suddenly and randomly. Yet, it had been proved time and time again that when she met a soul who knew what her bottle was, it was either a parent or a child from one. Still, she wasn’t going to be the one to confront him on it. This child seemed abrasive and invasive. She wasn’t about to egg him on more than he egged himself on.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 4:51 am
The raised hand earns a sharp look from Amleth, who may be significantly shorter but looks at Eloise as though striking him may very well be on a long list of bad ideas. It's not a petulant look, or even a simply angry one, but for a moment, at least, there is a distinct sense that something even as simple as that wouldn't go unavenged. Amleth doesn't appreciate threats. The look changes when she speaks, however, and he stands on his tiptoes to try and look into the basket again, "Of course I know what it is. William found me in a bookstore." He pokes a finger at his cheek, the more adult, slightly unsettling expression fully gone with that childish gesture.
He motions for Eloise to follow him, turning to truck his way towards one of those big rocks again, his feet kicking up little puffs of sand. He doesn't check to see if she's following, balancing the book on his head with a hand on either side and continuing his chat absentmindedly, "William's my dad, kind of. My bottle was red and stuff, or so he told me. It broke when I came out, I think. I don't really remember much of that part. It's all sort of mixed up. I remember meeting a couple people and I remember William reading, though, so you'd better be nicer to that bottle than you are to me." Pout.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:07 am
Eloise felt a spark of anger in the pit of her stomach at the child in front of her. Where he had once appeared childish and adorable, he now seemed defiant and against any form of structure and authority. She was tempted to slap him just because of his reaction, now. But that was petty and petty was something she tried very hard not to be. She didn’t care to admit the look he’d given her was fairly unsettling. Besides, he was obviously a magical child. She didn’t know what he could do so some level of caution needed to be exercised. Even if he did deserve a good spanking.
The way his expression shifted straight to innocent, childish, and slightly endearing when he poked his cheek didn’t help matters any. Now rather suspicious of the boy, the young maid was highly tempted to turn tail and trudge her way back out of the beach and to the manor the moment his back was turned. Something stopped her, though. Be it her upbringing or her own gentle nature, the Morrow girl found herself unable to just leave a child at the beach, alone. Even if he was an insufferable brat. So she followed after him, not because he requested it but because she felt a desire to protect him for whatever reason.
It was interesting to hear his bottle was red. In all her time with the bottle, she never stopped to wonder if they came in different colors or shapes. Didn’t stop to ponder over what traits, if any or none, the glass containers had in common with one another. Now that it was brought up, she tried to imagine what the containers for Allegro and Meryl might have looked like. It was a shame to hear it would be shattered, but she didn’t see a plausible way for the container to retain its integrity while…giving birth…to life.
The idea the bottle could hear and understand her, to some degree at least, was absolutely thrilling, though. “It is properly cared for,” She informed the child as she followed him to the rocks. She joined his side and walked beside him rather than behind him. She didn’t generally consider herself a mean person, but clearly she had not made such an impression on the child. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how one looked at it, she could see where he got that impression. “I am kind to the bottle. And perhaps would have been kinder to you if you had not startled me in such a manner,” At this she looked down at him with something of a smile on her face. The pout on his was cute, but she would rather swallow a hot coal before telling him that.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:16 pm
Eloise's words seem to surprise Amleth, who tilted his head back to look at her as he pauses in front of the rocks, "Startled you?" He seems honestly surprised, blinking at her rather owlishly before he climbs carefully onto a big rock to sit down. He dusts off some of the sand for her in an obvious display of expectation, though he didn't say anything regarding it, just hugging the book against his chest. His lips remain pouted out slightly, but his expression wavers in uncertainty. Eventually, he lifts a hand to tug at a lock of golden hair just in front of his left temple, "I'm sorry. I was surprised to see it and..." He eyes her warily, then drops his chin to rest on his book so he can pluck at the spot where his sock covers his ankle. It means his eyes aren't on level anymore, averted off towards the ocean as he admits, "People are hard to talk to." So not insane or mean, particularly, just socially awkward.
Either way, he picks up the book and balances it on his head again after a few seconds, looking at Eloise again while he wobbles slightly in place, "The bottles are kind of weird, aren't they? I wish I could remember more about it. It's sort of... conflicted." He sounds this last word out with the utmost care, making a circular gesture against his chest, then over his face, as if they were both mixed up in an odd way. It's true the children of the bottles often had blank moments, times where things didn't quite lock in, odd, unsettling moments like just before, when Amleth's vengeful nature rose to the surface. Still, he rubs his cheek with his knuckles and points out, with a small pout and a chastizing tone, "You shouldn't go around threatening to hit people, though. Even if you can get away with it. Actually, especially when you can get away with it. When you can do it and not get in trouble is the worst time to do it, because then you're bullying people and William says bullying is a bad thing to do."
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:26 pm
“Yes, surprised me,” Eloise repeated as she moved towards the proffered seat. Delicately smoothing down her skirts she perched herself onto the rock, watching the young boy. “I’m sorry as well. I was under the impression that you were going to try to take the bottle from me. As you can imagine, it’s pretty precious.” The young maid watched as the boy dropped his attention to his socks, plucking at them. Taking the silent cue, she averted her own gaze out to the ocean. She could understand the gesture, sometimes it was just easier to talk to people when you didn’t have to look at them. Especially for a young boy who, evidently, found talking to people hard. Eloise could relate to that, too. At least people her own age. “Aren’t they, though?” She asked in a kind of kindred-spirit manner.
Eloise gently sat her basket between their seats, a show of good faith; offering a truce between them. While she wasn’t comfortable with the idea that he might run off with her bottle, she figured he offered his sitting spot, she could offer him a view, at least, of her bottle. “And you shouldn’t go around snooping in people’s belongings. Even if they are interesting and surprising.” She teasingly reprimanded. Her tone was playful and light, conveying she had already forgiven the child- for he was just that, regardless of how he tried to act older- and that she was merely joking with him.
“Bullying is a very bad thing to do,” She agreed, with a nod of her head after a moment. “But some things are worth protecting.” A mother would willingly strike a man attempting to kidnap her child. While the bottle wasn’t ‘born’ yet, Eloise knew full well that it would. It was a child, despite its inanimate state, to her. “I was taught that from the priestesses in Idia. Especially when they are related to our gods and goddesses. And don’t you think children such as yourself are gifts from them? I feel they are. You’re a very special little person.” She bumped his shoulder with his- lightly, so as to not knock down his book that he seemed to deeply enjoy balancing on his head- “I’d box someone’s ear if they tried to take you, too!”
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 5:06 am
"Oh," Amleth says, canting his head slightly before he shakes it and wrinkles his nose, "Why would I want to take it?" He seems confused by the idea, though he soon straightens slightly and cocks his head towards Eloise with a frown, "Did someone try to steal it? That's wrong. It's important they stay with... with whoever found them. I think." He continues to pluck at his socks thoughtfully, just an idle fidget as he toys with the fabric. He turns his head to look into the basket, however, giving Eloise a look from under his eyelashes before he reaches out to touch the smooth surface of the bottle, "I wasn't snooping. You wouldn't understand, maybe. It's normal for you to go around and see other people, right? They're everywhere. It's not the same for me." He taps the bottle very lightly, propping his chin on his knees now and continuing quietly, "This is the same as me. I just wanted to meet them. I haven't seen another one since... since I came out."
Amleth brushes his finger over the curve of the bottle a few more times, his head tilted to the side and his other arm lifting to curl over his knees to cushion his head. He shrugs at the comment and the bump, though it doesn't seem to bother him, "I don't know what we are. I'm not even sure I am a person. Still, it's good to protect it - people are always trying to do bad things." What a fatalistic little boy! Oh well. He lifts his attention from the bottle, sniffing a bit to clear his nose of the salty air, "Has it done anything weird yet? William said I used to act up when I was in a bottle."
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:50 pm
Eloise watched as the boy ran his finger over the glass bottle and hummed thoughtfully. She couldn’t honestly imagine not seeing someone of her own…race. What would it be like to walk outside and see strangers that looked like you- but weren’t like you in any sort of way? She couldn’t even touch on a hint of what that would be like. But what was odder still was the fact the boy hadn’t met anyone like him. She, herself, had met several others since she came into possession of the bottle. Was his inability to meet those of his kind because William kept him locked up?
That wasn’t probable, either. If the boy’s father was the jailer type then surely he wouldn’t be sitting out here, on the beach, alone. Maybe the blonde child just had terrible luck? She would make sure to give her address to the child before they parted ways. Sara-Anne, after all, had a profound love for children. Even socially awkward ones like this boy. “You can visit this one whenever you want, then.” Eloise told him with a nod.
In a rather unlady-like manner, the young maid propped her knees up on the rock in front of her. She pulled her skirts over her legs so that the bare flesh was covered and she was curled in childish ball, protecting herself from the cold winds. Her hands cupped in front of her face, she blew hot air into them in an attempt to warm her nose. “Besides trying to knock me out when it fell out of the tree, you mean?” She asked, jokingly. “It has a habit of attracting other…bottle babies. We met one, Sunshine, his name was Allegro.” She reminisced with a smile. “He mistook me for a…dustling, I think he called it. Then he told me the essence in the bottle is a breeze, or wind. So I took it out here, just in case…being around…itself was good for it. If you want, I can introduce you to Allegro. He’s a good boy, his brothers are pickpockets though, so might not want to carry anything of great value with you.”
It must be horrible to not know any of your own kind. While Eloise didn’t know a great deal of dustlings, she did know some. And she was perfectly willing to “share” her friends with this boy. “Oh. I’m Eloise, by the way. What’s your name?”
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