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 Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:05 am
Raidne didn't seem to like it here.
The hushed darkness seemed to grate on the wisp; she curled and writhed impatiently on the end of the wand from it's position in his front pocket. But blue-eyed Cal had come here with a purpose. Eyes narrowed, he scanned the shelves on the lower level; but these were books he might find in any Gaian library.
No, he wanted something different. He'd researched Sirens in other libraries; he wanted to see what this one had to say.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:11 am
Birds of a feather flock together, they say.
Well, Kierla certainly was nothing like Cal, and Aricia was nothing like Raidne (unless you said both their origins were Greek); but here they were, flocking in the library anyways.
As Kierla heard someone enter the library, she gave an inward sigh of frustration. There went her solace, her peace and quiet. Now how was she supposed to concentrate? She had a lot to read up on, for she had finally decided to make good her promise on researching the origins of Aricia's friends.
She contemplated just saying nothing, and maybe the other people would ignore (or not notice) her too.
That plan went out the window (along with the birds that flocked together) as Aricia suddenly gave a remorselessly loud shriek. "HIIIIIIIBOO!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:21 am
"An Overview of Marine Biology" slipped from Cal's fingers and landed with a soft thud as somewhere, something shrilled. Teeth gritted against the sound, at first he turned an accusing eye at Raidne; but she greeted him with a low soothing hum, amost as if to say, "It wasn't me."
One long, slim hand gathered the tome once more, the other holding the wand in place as he bent forward.
"What was that, a banshee?" Cal joked softly. Then he paused. Honestly, in this place, he supposed a banshee was as likely as anything.
The thought was definitely unsettling.
Footsteps long and measured, Cal moved softly to another row. He supposed if he were going to take care of a Siren, he needed to learn to be more friendly with other Ghosts' guardians.
Still, it wasn't his idea of a good afternoon.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:24 am
Kierla blinked up from where she was sitting, cross-legged, on the ground. "Sorry," she said. The word was already becoming tired in her mouth. "Aricia likes to do that." And she pointed an accusing finger at the culprit.
Aricia instantly stopped her raucous laughter to assume an instant position of innocent adorability. Staring up at Cal, her eyes widened to their full extent as the mouth curved into a smile and she wriggled one hand in a wave.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:35 am
"No, it's...I see." Something in the line of horrified fear flitted across Cal's features before they resumed their normal, low-key demeanor.
Awkwardly he waved back at the green-eyed little girl; she was obviously in rediculously high spirits. Oh gods, was that what he had to look forward to?
His intense gaze flickered to the wisp in his pocket. Raidne snuggled close to his neck in an almost fawning attitude; it didn't comfort him any. Not even a little.
He wasn't ready for this.
He spoke again to stave off the rising tide of panic, as images of drool and screams while throwing pasta rushed him from all sides.
"I'm Cal," he said, extending his hand. "And this is Raidne. She's apparently a Siren."
He couldn't keep that slight skeptical note out of his voice, even still. He almost asked if the child were a banshee; but not being one for much conversation anyhow, he remained silent instead.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:43 am
Kierla observed the look on the man's face, mentally wincing. Maybe this wasn't the best first impression.
"A Siren. I found a book on them a little while ago..." she stood up, limbs cracking, "...here. No, this one."
She held out a heavy tome toward him, almost like a peace offering.
"My name is Kierla. Aricia's a Pegasus," she added, almost as if reading his mind. But it became apparent she was just an overenthusiastic mother under that cold demeanor; the next remark was said with way too much pride. "She said her first sentence yesterday."
Aww. So it didn't work on this guy, too? This Puppy Face routine needed some work. Aricia's wings fluffed themselves out, fluttering slightly; maybe that would catch his attention. She waved at him again.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:52 am
"Oh! Thank you." It had a genuine ring to it. "I couldn't seem to find anything beyond, well, this." He gestured with the book on marine biology that he held in his other hand. "And sirens aren't exactly what they meant, I don't think." His smile was small, but again, genuine. "Apparently I don't know my way around this library very well yet."
Raidne, meanwhile, seemed completely uninterested in the other Ghost. Rather, she stretched and wobbled toward the door in a not-so-subtle hint. She wanted salt air and a stiff breeze! -- not the smell of dust and old paper.
The child fluffed her mismatched wings, waving again. Cal waved back with a bit more enthusiasm this time, if nothing else than for the guardian's sake; she was obviously inordinately proud of the little girl.
Now, he supposed, was where he was supposed to ask what that sentence was. He didn't care, honestly; but it would be rude not to.
"What did she say?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:00 am
A gigantic grin spread across Kierla's face, then disappeared the next second. Perhaps Cal was just imagining it. "Glad to be of help. And she said..." she paused to make sure her audience was paying attention "I won't hurt it! Isn't that so cute?"
Despite her efforts to keep her face emotionless, both her voice and her eyes betrayed the facade.
Aricia gabbled at Kierla angrily, in complete nonsense. Hmmph! She thought she was so great, such a good teacher. But it was Aricia that had to figure out the words by herself. How dare that woman take all her credit!
Then she remembered there was company. One of which was ignoring her. In desperation for attention, she flapped her wings, causing a maelstrom of feathers and sending punching gales in every direction.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:14 am
"That's pretty complex for a first sentence." He hoped he sounded impressed; actually he was wondering what the hell the kid was likely to be hurting. Matching that sentence with Aricia's massive grin just seemed...sinister.
Alright. He was probably over-reacting.
...or not. In a fit of obvious temper Aricia chattered senselessly at her guardian before flapping up a storm -- almost literally. Feathers flew and Cal got hit with a breeze so strong it threw him off balance.
Raidne didn't stand a chance. Her small form had flattened against his chest at the onslaught, but soon wisp and wand went hurtling over his shoulder, sucked out of his pocket by the draft. A piercing wail -- though still somehow nothing like the shriek Aricia had made -- sounded in his head. There were no words, but the distress was plain.
Cal roared out his little siren's name as he scooped up the wand in his hands. It looked so unnaturally bright against the time-worn carpet. He didn't know what exactly might hurt a Ghost at this point...but Ianna Umbridge had told him to be careful.
The small wisp hung limply from the tip. And Cal realized how attached he was already growing to the idea of having her around. Oh god. Was she just stunned? Or...
He turned on both child and mother, too-bright blue eyes burning and cold all at once. Under his leathery skin, burnt brown by days upon days under the sun, a dull red surfaced.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:25 am
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Kierla began, before she too was hit by the whirlwind of feathers.
She heard the roar, and wondered what was happening.
When the feathers finally settled, she knew instinctively this was not the time to be praising Aricia.
"A. Ri. Ci. A."
Aricia cringed, and covered her face with her wings. Maybe she'd overdone it a little...
"Apologize right now." Kierla rarely raised her voice, but there was a subtle underlining to those last words that made them powerful. "And no wings for a week."
WHAT? That was totally unfair. Her wings were her winning feature for attracting attention! Aricia opened her mouth to argue in gibberish again, when she caught the ferocity in Cal's eyes.
"Pweee," she said humbly. She didn't know how to say sorry yet, so she'd have to settle for the only polite word she knew.
Her wings slowly disappeared into her back, and she gave her mother a forlorn look.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:38 am
At least the mother wasn't pandering to that kind of behavior; and if that fact didn't really make Cal any less angry at the moment, it at least didn't add to the problem. Now he regretted NOT making a banshee comment.
And pwee. What the hell was pwee? He knew really, of course, what Aricia was trying to do; but her baby's vocabulary wasn't the least bit charming at the moment. Even when Raidne sort of shook herself -- proving, at least, that it hadn't killed her -- he still had nothing whatsoever for the black-haired little girl.
Brown hands cupped wand and wisp gently. Cal expected Raidne to just sit there for a bit; getting blown away had obviously shaken her, at the very least. But after only a moment Raidne was back to her old tricks; only this time she was stretching toward Aricia, not the door; and a discordant note sounded in Cal's head.
... was she angry?
It was possible. Cal remembered how she'd fought her way out of the wisp in spite of the heavy breeze that nearly blew her out to sea. Raidne was not going to be docile, he thought. And while that trait had infuriated him in Aricia, in Raidne, he felt oddly proud of it.
The heavy tome on sirens was tucked under one sinewy arm; and with both hands now he waved Raidne back toward him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:47 am
Aricia fought the urge to pull her wings back out and shrug them over her eyes. The scary man looked really angry. Not to mention the wisp. God, it was coming closer! Was it going to bite her? Whimpering, she clamped her chubby hands over her eyes. I can't see it, it can't see me. I can't see it, it can't see me -
Kierla tried to break the awkward silence. "She means sorry." Although her voice was flatter than any normal person's, it was worlds of emotion for her.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:57 am
"I see." It wasn't really an acceptance. Then Aricia tried to hide from Raidne -- tiny, 4-inch little Raidne -- and he almost laughed.
He fought back the urge. Aricia could have seriously hurt her. He thought. He wasn't honestly sure, but once angry, Cal tended to stay that way, rational or no.
The wand he slipped back into his pocket; this time Raidne lounged against his shoulder in a sulky attitude, feeling thwarted. Though really, what would a a wisp actually do?
"Well I think I'll be leaving before anything else happens. Raidne doesn't seem to like the indoors very much, anyhow." Some small part of him felt bad for Kierla; she did seem upset at the turn of events. And so he relented a little. "Thank you again for the book." The words were still clipped, curt; but those were his normal tones, anyway.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:06 am
"Of course, I understand." For once, Kierla was sad to see her companian leave. Perhaps it was because he was angry at her, and it was her fault. Usually it was her that was angry at them. "Good bye," she added awkwardly, then nudged Aricia to do the same.
I can't see them, they can't see me -
They were leaving! It had worked!
Aricia felt very happy, and extremely relieved. She had escaped a great danger today.
She glared with annoyance at her mother. Who was she to destroy her happy moment? But with the thought that she might be grounded even longer than a week, she hastened to action.
"PWEE!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:14 am
Cal gave Kierla an equally awkward "goodbye." She'd actually been much nicer about the situation than he'd expected; and the man found himself hoping this was a bridge he hadn't burned.
And Aricia was apologizing again. Technically she was saying please again, but it was the same thing. "Accepted," he told her, though Raidne seemed far from having done so. Still, she was just a baby. Cal didn't particuarly like babies, but continuing to be mean to one was just assanine. With a curt, almost military nod, he wound his way through the shelves, still unaware of the tomes upstairs. Perhaps that was a headquarter secret for another day.
Outside, the heat was oppressive, too hot for this late in the season. Still, Raidne seemed to enjoy it. And after what Cal considered a narrow escape, that was enough for now.
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