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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:07 pm
Type | roleplay session
Date | 06/14/05
Location | Aduthule museum > hallway
Warning | ...language? not even.
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Without much thought, the small man managed to push Ecavi into the hallway, of course she had to get on her way! Many trials and tribulation's lay in her path and the longer she stayed at the museum, the more troubled the kids would become, or at least he assumed so.
He did still have to rid himself of the Relic in his pocket before anything troublesome happened.
Hopping off the bus, the young woman shrugged her small jacket back on, defending herself against the slight breeze. Looking around, she spotted her meeting place, double-checking the paper where she'd scribbled the rendezvous time and address. Yup, definitely the place. A museum...hm. She looked at her watch, and her eyes widened. She was late. Very, very late.
Streaking across the street with a howl of panic (narrowly missing getting run over as she did so), she practically up the stone steps to the door. Pulling on the wooden doors, she heaved them open, smacking her horns on the doorframe as she passed, staring at the hallway revealed to her. People!
"I'm sorry I'm so late!" she wailed, flapping her arms frantically as she rushed up to them, "I had a late night at the restaurant, and, and..." her arms flopped back to her side when she noticed what an idiot she must look like. She laughed nervously. "Erm, I'm here for the relic?" she said hopefully.
Ecavi was pushed into the hallway, clutching the basket, at just the point when another woman came in. She smiled encouragingly at the person, and stopped letting herself be shoved through the hall. She looked down at the little man that had been pushing her when the newcomer mentioned that she was here for the relic.
It certainly explained why he had a relic on him..
The man wrinkled his nose a little and popped out from behind Ecavi, stepping between her and the other woman, "You are Arach then? I presume!?" He gave her an odd look as she had hit her horns on the doorway. He, of course, had never done that, as he was practically too small to reach even doorhandles half the time.
"Tell me this is your name?" He certainly wasn't going to give such an important item to an imposter, no sirrey bob!
"Yes, yes, Arach, that's me." she said, fishing out some photo ID for him to examine. "I hope this is okay?"
She looked at the other woman and flashed a nervous smile, hoping her catlike appearance wouldn't unnerve her...but then again, her eyes turned to the yellow creature in the basket and she figured the woman probably didn't care in the least. She swished her tail, motioning to the basket. "She's adorable," she complimented, speaking of Ceri.
Ecavi smiled at this new woman, Arach, she said. She beamed and waved a bit, though keeping a hold on the basket, "Hello." She couldn't help but look over the woman, you see all sorts of things in gaia, and sometimes a second look is worth it. Her own fairy wings fluttered a bit behind her.
Ceri sat wide eyed in the basket, her green eyes focused on this person. Her gaze went to the cat tail, as Arach began to swish her tail. She was amused, and didn't really seem to hear the compliment, but giggled softly as she watched the tail move.
The man pushed the ID rather close to his face, making sure it was indeed her.
Satisfied, he handed the small plastic badge back to the other woman and fished the relic from his breast pocket, "Yes, yes, very good then, here you are!" He grinned.
As he handed the relic over, however, it seemed to almost instantly gain color as it made contact with Arach's palm. Soon after it began to shake and shudder, even so much as to fall out of Arach's hand if she didn't hold fast.
"Oh my goodness!" The tiny man cried in both excitement and fear, he'd never seen a relic react this fast before!
Unfortunately, the flustered entrance had wrecked Ara's otherwise amazing reflexes, so the second she fumbled with the relic, it took the opportunity to slip out from between her fingers and fall, bouncing slightly, to the floor. <********!" Ara cursed, diving for it. What was happening?! "What's going on? What's with the light and the shaking?!" she cried, worried and not a little panicked. Was it her fault? Had she done something? If only she hadn't been late! Oh, hell.
Ecavi jumped back, just as startled as the other two- this was certainly something she'd witnessed, and wouldn't have had it not been for good timing, considering she was almost gone when Arach arrived. She flinched when the glowing relic hit the ground, now only a spectator..
Ceri's attention went like lightning from the tail to the relic, this time she watched it with a quiet awe, her eyes following it's every move, even as it bounced on the floor..
"They're emerging!" He said with an excited squeak, luckily for all of them the relic was sturdy enough to withstand the slight impact it had with the floor. "My goodness!" He cried, shielding his eyes as a pulse of light filled the hallway they were standing in.
By the time each of them was able to focus again, a pair of boys sat in the middle of the floor. One had a rather angry expression towards the other, though neither of them seemed to really focus on anything. Neither of them seemed at all harmed by the fall moments before.
Adu man rubbed his palms against his eyes before pushing his glasses back on his nose and gave a, rather stunned, "Wow...."
Ara stared. Nevermind that her eyes were watery from the flare of light, nvermind that her knees were digging painfully into the floor.
They're so beautiful.
She had a dim sense of what had just taken place--that the relic had given birth to two gorgeous boys. She examined them, taking in the small details: the horns (not unlike her own) on the pale one, his pink 'socks', his mischievous expression. The other looked sour, crossing his arms, a marking shaped like a red 'x' on his chest, another red mark across...
Across...
...oh God, no. They were blind; their glassy, unfocused stares couldn't mean anything else.
She swallowed thickly, feeling deep guilt forming in the pit of her stomach.
"Hello there." she spoke, her voice sounding choked with emotion.
Ecavi's red eyes were wide, her grip on the basket becoming tighter. Wow, just wow. That was certainly something to witness. She looked down at the girl in the basket, and at the starry blanket. Something to that effect had taken place with them? Just.. wow.
Ceri's green eyes were as wide as Ecavi's. She barely flinched at the bright light as the two boys emerged, without moving her gaze she reached over and gave the starry blanket a shove. Myze had to see this!
Myze was underneath the blanket, not pleased at all- she'd been woken by the voices, and seen something of the flash through the blanket. When her sister gave her a push, she lifted her head, the blanket falling over her shoulders. She looked from Ceri to where Ceri was staring, her dark eyes widening a bit at the sight of the two boys there..
The two boys instantly turned their attention towards the woman's voice, though neither of them appeared to be looking straight at her. They couldn't, of course, and so they just listened to their new, strange surroundings.
The tiny man had seemed to dissapear for a moment, only to patter back into the hallway with his fist clenched around a tiny notepad. He scribbled furiously, jotting down almost every detail of the past few moments. Oh how extraordinary!
Ara, taking the hint, continued speaking, as softly as she could. "Hi boys...I'm Arach. It's nice to meet you."
Slowly, slowly...be slow... 'Don't scare them,' she thought.
Leaning forward until she was on all fours, she babbled nonsensically, making small cat noises as she reached for them.
"What...what do I do?" she asked the museum caretaker, looking up at him with a worried expression, not halting her movement towards the boys. "Is it my fault they can't see?"
Ecavi just stood and watched, not sure what to make of the evident condition of the aduthule. It couldn't possibly be Arach's fault, the fall hadn't done anything, and it was their first contact with her.. she looked to the adu-man to see what he'd make of it all.
Ceri stood up in the basket, light enough that she doesn't really throw off the balance as she begins to make an effort to climb out. Myze watches as Ceri moves to climb out of the basket, and puts a long hand out onto her sisters arm protectively..
Ecavi, feeling these movements in her arms, turns to look at the girls.
"Nono," she coos softly, "give them a little time.."
This earned her a funny look from Myze, and a blank look from Ceri. If they understood, neither of them really seemed to care- they certainly didn't understand what was the problem..
Adu man really didn't have an answer for that, he wasn't totally sure if their relic stage actually had any effect on them. Could dropping the relic really cause them to be blind? It didn't really seem like it was possible but at the same time, maybe it was?
Despite this, the man gave a little shake of his head, "No no, I'm sure it has more to do with their allignment than... dropping... to the floor." He stopped and pushed his glasses up on his nose. Ho' boy.. Hopefully Shadow wouldn't hang him for this!
"Do I....do I name them? Or something?" she asked. They were gonna need names, after all.
Her finger came in contact with the Love twin's toe, elliciting a shocked giggled from him, even as he moved to hide, bending his brother's wing at an odd angle and using it to shield himself.
"It's okay!" Ara cried, disappointed. "It's okay, it's okay...I'm Ara, I won't hurt you...it's okay..."
The other twin looked miffed at having his wing so abused, but was otherwise unfazed by what was happening. He huffed and crossed his arms, a bored look on his face as his tail thumped on the floor. His brother hiccuped and he growled low in his throat, his eyes half-focusing on a spot somewhere to the left.
The more she babbled, the more curious sbout her the Love twin became, until he disentangled himself from the wing and cautiously reached in her direction. Their hands met halfway, and he seemed delighted at the familiar, furry texture under his fingertips; she was just like him!
Ara beamed victoriously, grinning at her two spectators. "Aren't they gorgeous?" she whispered thickly, feeling almost-tears of pride prickle her eyes.
With that question out of the way, Ecavi turned her eyes to the two boys and their guardian. She beamed, it was a touching sight, as love became less shy of Ara.
"They are," Ecavi breathed, not wanting to make too much noise- knowing the boys would be sensitive, and not wanting to ruin any progress Arach was making.
The only problem was, the less shy the love twin became, the more curious Ceri became. She proceeded to make her way over the side of the basket once more, mumbling nonsensically to herself. When Ecavi realized Ceri was so determined, she couldn't do anything but lower herself and the basket so when Ceri let go of the side of the basket she wouldn't have a bad fall. Myze just watched as Ceri left her side..
Ceri, now standing on her own feet, took two determined steps towards Arach.
"Haa," she said brightly to the girl, and the love thule who was nearby.
The love twin twitched an ear, tilting his head toward Ceri, a huge smile breaking out on his face. "Kee!" he shrieked, his wings fluttering happily as he clapped with joy, reaching towards Ceri. Finally, someone he could understand!
The hate twin just seemed to get even more huffy at the fact his brother had found a new playmate, and tucked his knees to his chest, laying his chin on his knees, glaring at a hole in the wall despite his lack of sight. It just seemed to come naturally...
Watching the day Thule and love Thule get along, Ara smiled, but it fell when she noticed the hate twin sulking. Moving towards him, she put a hand on his shoulder...
It hapenned fast. He took the offending hand, brought it to his mouth and bit in. Hard. His own personal way of telling her she'd breached his personal space.
With a yell, Ara yanked her hand away. The hate twin snickered at her muttered curses and low growls.
Ceri waved to the love twin happily, before realizing there was something funny about his eyes. She tilted her head and took another step closer but then was distracted by the interaction between the hate thule and Arach. She looked at her own hand, to the hate thule and then to the love thule. She started into a long, run on sentence about nothing in particular to the love thule, though it made no sense and was just a series of random syllables.
Myze watched as the hate twin bit his guardian, and smiled a bit. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea, no- but she'd still prefer to stay in the basket. From Ecavi's lap, she just looked at the two aduthule and listened to what Ceri had to say.
The love twin sat as close as he could to Ceri, listening to her intently, occasionally making small 'Zuki!' and 'Oowa!' noises, nodding enthusiastically. When she was done he began his own monologue, reaching over to play with her downy hair as he babbled. The soft material felt impossibly nice under his fingertips, making him purr between 'words'.
The hate twin, immensely pleased with himself, purred against his knees, his glassy eyes holding a flash of mischief.
"Little rascal." Ara muttered, grinning despite herself. He was gonna be a challenge, it seemed.
Ecavi sat down, watching the aduthule interact, and the other two sit by themselves. She smiled a bit, and looked over at Arach, "Is your hand alright?"
Ceri sat down, directly infront of the love thule, staring intently at him as he babbled and felt her hair. She giggled at first, but became more interested in whatever he was saying.
"Natii~" she murmured as he spoke.
None of it made sense to Ecavi, but Ceri was content. It made her wonder about when they'd been alone- Ceri seemed naturally social, and gladly went right back to it. Had Myze been as social, and effected different? She looked down at the night thule in the basket, who sat watching Ceri and the love thule. She shook her head, and looked back at Arach.
"What are you going to name them?" She asked.
Ara didn't waste much time. She turned to look at the love twin, smiling fondly. "Lucas." It came so naturally, a soft, gentle name for an individual much the same. As if recognizing himself, he looked up in her direction and blinked his milky eyes, smiling, making a trilling noise.
The cat-woman shifted her eyes to the darker twin, who seemed to sense her. He unfolded his legs, stretching out. "Raaaaaow." he yawned, showing small, pointed teeth. Ara beamed, her choice made. "Raul it is, then." In response, he just snapped his mouth at her, baring his teeth in a wicked grin.
"Lucas and Raul." Lucas et Raoul. It matched, even in Ara's french. She thought it fitting.
She got up, her battered knees screaming in protest. She wiped them off.
"That's enough excitement in one day, I think." she said, though her heart wasn't in it; she could watch them all day if she had the choice. But as it was, her little group needed to head home so she could give them a proper bath and a decent meal.
She turned to the other woman. "I didn't catch your name, by the way, in all that commotion. I'm Ara Cadoch, though everyone just calls me Arach. It's a pleasure." She stuck out a hand, smiling.
As if knowing farewells were to be made, Lucas's ears dropped almost comically, and he pitched forward, hugging Ceri tightly; as a Thule of love, it was the natural thing for him to do. He cuddled her against his chest, his wings tucked in tight around them. Apparently, he had to desire to let go.
Ecavi smiled, and nodded as she followed the names that Ara gave the two boys. Particularly amused by the second thules name, and his reaction, she giggled just a bit. She set the basket that held Myze in it on the floor, and got up to shake Ara's hand, "I'm Ecavi. Sorry I didn't properly introduce myself."
She beamed, and watched as Lucas bid Ceri farewell, "It looks like we'll have to get together again."
Ceri was a bit startled by the reaction Lucas had to the farewells. She gladly returned the hug warmly, snuggling back against him- she liked this thule. He was friendly, and cuddly. What more could you want?
Myze watched from her spot on the floor, she crossed her winged arms- resenting that she'd been left on the floor, even if it was her own doing. She watched Ecavi and Ara, and Ceri and Lucas, and then glanced at Raul. She shook her head and sighed softly.
"Come on, boys." Ara called her twins. "Time to go."
She disengaged Lucas from his golden playmate, lifting him up. Distraught at being taken away from Ceri, but happy to cuddle into the arm, furry arm and touch the horns--again, just like his!--he didn't seem too troubled.
Raul, as if he'd been awaiting this moment, crawled to where Ara was, bumping into Myze's basket. He hissed softly at being interrupted in his meanderings--not realizing it had an occupant--and made a biting motion in no direction in particular. He continued along his merry way until Ara picked him up as well. Indignant, he growled in her arms, his tail left to dangle.
"Well," Ara smiled. "Good evening Ecavi, I hope we can schedule a playdate or something soon. Now boys, we have a bus to catch, which passes in--" a glance at the clock. "Two minutes! Eep! Bye!"
With that, she strode out, a little Thule resting their head on each of her shoulders.
"Baaa!" Ceri squeaked as Lucas was pried away, waving to him- still not understanding that he can't really see that she's waving, but the 'goodbye' takes care of that.
Myze jumped when her basket was bumped into, narrowing her eyes at Raul as he went past her. She hissed softly as he continued on, biting in her general direction. With a 'hmph,' she pulls her blanket back over her shoulders and leans on the basket waiting for Ceri to come back.
Ecavi waved to the woman and aduthule, "Goodbye!"
She looked back at Myze and Ceri. "I guess this means it's time for us to be heading home," she informed them with a smile. Neither really seemed affected by this statement, but once gathered into the basket Ecavi bid farewell to the adu-man and made her way out the door and home~
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:48 pm
Type | story-style entry
Date | 06/15/05
Location | Ara's home > living room > couch
Warning | utterly random fluffiness may cause brain to explode. O.o
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The first thought that crossed her mind when she woke up the day after was 'it probably wouldn't be a good idea to move my neck right now'. Avoiding pain was good. Very good. As it was, she was seated on the couch, head tilted back, her mouth open. She shut it. Morning sunlight filtered though the open window, making her squint, and a tendril of birdsong came from outside, appropriately cheerful.
So...she had fallen asleep on the couch last night, despite her best wishes--in a terrible position, at that. She vaguely remembered bringing the twins home, feeding them, and letting them curl up on the couch together to sleep; they'd been so terrifed, she hadn't dared try to bathe them. She'd sat beside them for a bit, just in case...she'd probably drifted off around then. Dammit.
Moving her head forward slowly (very very slowly), she lifted a hand to rub a particularly sore spot, wincing at the burning pain. Never again, she promised herself, never again. Glancing to her left, she saw Lucas, wide awake, staring at a spot behind her on the wall. His ears were titled in her direction; she smiled. Raul was still curled up in a foetal position against a cushion, sleeping soundly.
"Good morning." she murmured, watching Lucas' ears twitch as his mouth spread into a slow, shy smile.
"Gazoo," he babbled in reply. She reached over and patted his head gently, running her fingers through the soft, baby-blue hair. Lucas purred enthusiastically at the caresses, before reaching up and taking her hand in his. She sat silently, gazing at him as he explored her hand, his fingertips running over nails, patting the ridge of her knuckles, circling her wrist. She left him explore, figuring this was how he was best going to get to know her.
Very slowly, his fingers climbed up her arm as far as he could reach, until he realized he had to move towards her. He did, on all fours, not all shy. Her leniency in letting him discover her seemed to melt away any previous reserved he might have had. He crawled straight into her lap, making himself comfortable there as he reached up to her face, bumping his small hands against her chin. With a light giggle, she took them into her own and guided his touch to her cheeks, before releasing him.
He needed no more guidance; his palms rolled upwards, over her eyes, tracing the line of her eyebrows. He glided over her forehead, and with one finger, dipped down to trace the bridge of her muzzle to her rosy, wet nose. She mewled in protest when he tried to poke a finger into her nostril.
"Gah! No." she said firmly, guiding his hand away. Unperturbed, he continued, inserting a finger between her lips and brushing over her teeth--she was careful, she knew how sharp they were--and tongue. He pulled back, sliding his hands down her jawline to her throat, to her collarbone, gliding past the rythmic rise and fall of her chest. Clothes were alien to him, and he took his sweet time in feeling the cotton/polyester blend of her blouse and the stretchy material of the bra the peeked out from beneath. Since she was covered in short fur, her apparent lack of clothing bothered her alot less than it would most, and she knew he felt the same--that still didn't stop her from making a mental note to buy the boys some decent attire.
Once he'd finished prodding her bellybutton, he seemed satisfied, and returned his hand to her ribcage, pushing her blouse away to reveal the spot right over her heart.
Lucas leaned in, pressing his sensitive ear to the area; his entire body went lax. He purred, very softly; she found herself imitating him, her arm looping around him in a protective gesture. He buried himself in the embrace. They stayed like that for a long, long time.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:20 pm
Type | ninja
Date | 06/20/05
Location | Ara's home > Front door
Warning | Someone's insanity at work?
A small envelope is left on Ara's front door step, inside is a piece of paper/photo. There are no names or other forms of identification attached to the message, one can only speculate as to who is the sender...
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:17 pm
Type | story-style entry
Date | 06/20/05
Location | Ara's home
Warning | none
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If the boys had no yet fully adapted to the household, the household had adapted quite nicely to them: whenever Lucas or Raul threatened to smack into a wall/plant/sharp end of a counter or table, a hand/foot/paw/otherwise furry body would appear to stop them. This was how, so far, no bodily harm had been inflicted on them. Ara was still trying to pad down anything sharp within their reach, but the boys always somehow managed to find more things to get hurt on. Valyria, grinning as she plucked a fragile glass vase out of Lucas' hands, wisely called it a 'learning phase'. That was on their second day.
At the moment, Raul was listening to some terribly unmusical rock group with Taxi by the stereo system, Lucas was cuddling with Abeille and Wasp on the couch while Hao read them a story, and Ara was busy examining a bizarre photo left on her doorstep. She was pretty damn sure neither Ecavi nor the little man had cameras on them...in any case, the photo was a cute memento, so she wasn't going to complain. Or call the police.
All in all, it was a good day. So far.
Ara leaned on the counter, watching her Love Thule make gelatinous piles of goo out of her other tenants, and smiled. Lucas, apparently, could charm the stars from the sky if it was necessary. He giggled and buried his face in Abeille's fur, the small Pazi laughing with him at whatever funny tale Hao was telling; the big Long was grinning broadly at them. Ara didn't think the little Thule could properly understand the dragon's words, especially with Hao's thick accent, but she'd noticed that, in general, if the people around him were happy, so was Lucas, unless his brother came into the picture. Speaking of which...
She stepped from the kitchen area into their tiny 'lounge' room, where Taxi and Raul were still listening to--she glanced at the stereo--Green Day, before eyeing the pair. Raul was contentedly curled up next to Taxi, his face against the Talaye's as they shared headphones; she made a mental note to buy a second pair.
She was rather amazed Taxi had so effortlessly managed to 'tame' the little Thule in so short a time...it had simply started with an invitation to share headphones, and had evolved into a functional friendship, in no more than five days. She supposed it took something special to be admitted into Raul's social circle, because so far, she wasn't even sure that she was in it. Other than his brother and Taxi, no one could touch Raul the way the pup was doing it; Raul held his personal space sacred, it would seem.
Which brought her to the thought of Raul and Lucas together. From what she could see of the twins, despite their sightless eyes, they always seemed to know where the other was, proven by the fact she'd seen Raul step up behind his brother silently, only to have the Love Thule turn around and hug him without having to inform his sibling of his presence. They must have a telepathic bond or something similar, she mused, or maybe they recognized each other by scent? That made no sense, because if that was true, they wouldn't go bersekf everytime she tried to separate them against their will. The first day, they refused to be led out of a room without the other, despite the face the apartment was hardly large. Raul had a protective streak a mile wide for his brother, even though he put up an annoyed front to cover it; she wondered why, after all, Lucas didn't seem to reciprocate the possessiveness. Perhaps the Love Thule realized his hateful counterpart was stronger and could fend for himself? Maybe...
The phone rang. "I'll get it!" Ara exclaimed to anyone who would listen, turning on her heel. Everything was going okay so far, why make herself worry? If problems arose, she'd cross the bridge when she came to the river.
"Ara Cadoch speaking, how can I help you?"
A good day so far...
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 7:44 pm
Type | Gift Drop-Off
Date | 06/22/05
Location | Aduthule Museum > Arach, Lucas + Raul's Room.
Warning | None.
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A figure, dressed in black, not-so discretely sneaks among the hallways of the Aduthule museum. She stops suddenly, she has reached her destination. Placing her hand on the door of Arach's room, a grin comes upon the figures face. Quietly, and with little movement, the figure removes two plushies from her messanger bag.
"For little Lucas." She says, placing a small gift at the front of the door.
"And for Raul." She whispers, placing an equally charming doll next to the first.
And, as if she were never there at all, the figure scitters away with a soft chuckle.
"Enjoy..."
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:08 pm
Type | story-style entry + diary entry
Date | 06/22/05
Location | Ara's home > living room
Warning | too much fluff and way too long for a post of this type, but whatever. ara was inspired. x3
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It was late. But not quite: it was late in that way that one doesn't feel like doing anything about, when one is neither tired nor with anything to wake up for the next morning. It was nearly eleven in the evening, and in Ara's house, where the sleeping schedules of the household was so erratic it was impossible to set a curfew, everyone was up. Valyria was watching the television; Hao was reading some crumbling historical text from his homeland; Cami was eating a late-night bowl of cereal at the kitchen table and typing away on his laptop as he did so; Ara was busy crunching the numbers of the day, as they lived right over the restaurant she owned and operated.
The resident Aduthule, not sur what to do with themselves since everyone was engrossed in activities that could not involve them, were curled up on the couch beside Valyria, not wanting to go to bed (or rather, Lucas did but Raul was too stubborn, and the Love twin wouldn't leave his brother alone) and trying to ignore the tv. Thei initial reaction to the appliance had been confusion, as it emitted random noises they couldn't pinpoint the source of. Now, they managed to tune it out as white noise, mostly. Key word: mostly. They hadn't even been here a week, after all.
All of a sudden, the pressure-sensors under the restaurant's doormat went off, sending a soft 'ding!' echo through the apartment. The person didn't ring the doorbell, though--that sound was much shriller and far less pleasant. Ara blinked up from her calculator and frowned, getting up; no one else even budged, except for the two Thule who, spurred into action by the chime, followed the soft noise of their mother's footsteps across the wood floor.
Knowing her children were following her, Ara was careful to take Lucas' hand and let Raul hold her tail as they descended into the restaurant proper. It was dark, so Ara flicked on the lights. Once the motion detectors caught her, a series of beeps went off, indicating she had thirty seconds to enter code into the keypad by the door before the alarm went off. Leaving the boys at the base of the stairs for a moment, she glided away to do so, exhaling a bit once the alarm was off. The door was transparent, revealing two plushies on the doorstep. Ara frowned; bombs? Who the hell would send bombs to her dinky restaurant? The mafia? No. A random street gang? Possibly. Had they not liked the food or something?
Moving fast, she opened the door and slipped out into the cool night air, examining the plushies...ah, good. Not bombs. She picked both up, sniffing them, flipping them every which way. Then, she spotted the tags, 'For: Lucas' and 'For: Raul'. Where...who...how...why?! Were her babies being stalked?!
She went back inside, giving her boys a frown they couldn't see. They waited still at the foot of the stairs, Lucas looking perky and Raul looking annoyed.
"The second wierd delivery since you two arrived....honestly." she sighed, but they didn't understand anyway. Slapping her hand on the ground to beckon them over, she set the plushies down.
Immediately, sensing the 'oh-hug-me-I'm-depressed' vibes the black sheep was sending, Lucas ran over and held it tight in his chubby little arms, nuzzling lovingly into its soft curly coat. Its expression seemed to grow even more horrified.
Raul poked at the white plushie. Had he been able to see its cuteness, he probably would've disliked it, but as it was, it was soft, and when he squeezed its pom-pom, it emitted an awful, wheezing klaxon. Apparently, its honk mechanism was broken, and Raul liked this. A lot. He honked it again, and once more, it emitted the cry of a small, dying animal. He grinned, and tucked the white sheep under his arm.
Ara wanted to tell them they had adopted the wrong plushies, but didn't have the heart to. Chuckling and shaking her head--wondering if the gitft-giver would be disappointed--she relocked the front door, retyped the security code and shut off the lights, picking the boys straight up and climbing the stairs; even Raul was too engrossed in the new (too-loud) toy to care that he was being carried (which he detested). She actually managed to tuck the boys in, in their real bed (not the couch), with their toys, so she was quite pleased with herself. Tomorrow, she'd check the sheep for illegal substances. For now...well, Lucas looked so cute, cuddled up to the black sheep with the pretified expression, and Raul, though fast asleep, still had his hand clutched around the honking pom-pom of doom. So she couldn't. It'd be mean of her.
Smiling, Ara bid them goodnight, and went back to her calculations.Before going to bed, Ara pulled out a battered old notebook and Well, I'm in charge of two sweet little boys: Lucas and Raul, love and hate aduthule. They're absolutely adorable, except one of them might develop a serious attitude problem later...but I'm not gonna worry about that now.
I'm starting to get a bit worried; since I got the twins, I've had three mysterious gifts given to me...well, if it continues I'll call the police. So far, it's all good, and kinda nice. In a creepy stalker kinda way. --------------------------------------------------------
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 11:27 am
Type | RP link + diary entry
Date | 07/07/05
Location | Durem Central Park + Ara's home
Warning | none
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Afternoon at the park w/ Ecavi and the girls
After supper, Raul had refused to let anyone--or anything--in the vicinity of his brother, as Lucas was suffering from a stomachache: apparently, the Love Thule did not go well with tabasco sauce and baked beans. Raul had ended up finishing both their plates. Only the Ambiotic, Eisblau, who shared their room, was allowed to help the little white Thule; which he did, following Valyria's directives. Eventually they went to sleep, but it was only after a lot of water, coaxing, and a bribe of two stories and a lullaby.
Ara leaned against Eis, who nuzzled the top of her head gently, whining in sympathy.
"Am I a bad mother, Eis?" she demanded under her breath, watching the aduthule sleep, curled around each other. The Ambi shook his head no. She sighed.
"I can't...I don't...know what to do with them," she said finally, stepping out of the room. "I try my hardest, but I'm not a good enough mum for them."
"Hey there, stop that."
Ara looked up, meeting Valyria's eyes as the short woman stared at her from the staircase. "That attitude'll get you nowhere. If you think you're a bad mom--which you're not--you need to do your damn best to correct the situation."
The cat-demon blinked, then smiled, stepping over to follow the Grimorum creature down the staircase. "Thanks Val."
"Don't thank me, thank yourself. Now come on, CSI's on."
Ara's eyes widened. "Why didn't you call me earlier! We're missing the intro!"
That said, she dashed to the living room, leaving a bewildered Abiotic and Metal elemental behind, chuckling softly to each other.Later that night, taking out her spiral notebook, Ara 7th July - Well, that went...erm, badly? I'm actually not too sure. Took the boys to the park, only to have Raul attack Myze for reasons I'm unaware of. Ceri cried; Lucas managed to calm his brother down, though, so that's all good. It all turned out okay, I mean, by the end of it they weren't at each other's throats.
I don't know what to do with the little Hate thule; whenever I try to spend some time with him, show him I care, he systematically rejects me. It's really frustrating...Lucas, on the other hand, can be almost frighteningly clingy sometimes, if not of me, than of his brother, Hao or Val. I suppose it's cute now, but I hope he grows out of it.
Note to self: chili + Lucas = bad. Tomorrow night eat food from downstairs, see if boys like asian. --------------------------------------------------------
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:09 am
Type | story-style entry
Date | 07/27/05
Location | Durem Depot
Warning | crossdressing, heavy bastardization of innocent little Thule. xD
Gaia NPCs and locations are all (c) Gaia Online and its artists.
This post is also shown in Gaara's journal.
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Getting Gaara, Raul and Lucas out of the house--at the same time--was a feat, Ara discovered quickly as she led the three down the street. Raul and Lucas were generally quite tame when outside the house (being together and in an environment where they were vulnerable did that to them), but the addition of a third party (fourth, technically, but Ara wasn't a part of this equation) made today an exception.
Raul didn't like Gaara. Lucas did, very much; this caused endless frustration for the Hate thule, feeling and knowing his brother was giving someone else all that attention, showing Gaara with cuddles. Gaara wasn't complaining, rather hugging Lucas right back. The two were sharing one of Ara's arms, and it was a damn good thing they didn't weight much, or, with all their squirming, she would've dropped them. Raul was seething as he walked beside them on the ground, holding Ara's free hand, glaring with sightless eyes in Gaara's direction. Shukaku's presence, which didn't seem to phase Lucas, put him on edge, possibly because of his natural darkness. Or maybe Lucas just realized their was a person smothered underneath that demon, somewhere.
Second on Ara's list of concerns was the boy's choice of clothing. Or in Lucas and Raul's case, lack thereof. Raul had let himself be wrestled into a simple pair of red shorts, but that was it, end of story. Sandals had been furiously refused, God forbid he try socks and shoes, nevermind shirts, even though she'd found a black t-shirt that had been so cute...
It was worse with Lucas. Lucas had only permitted her to slip a miniskirt on him. A blue miniskirt. Even now, she was wincing; although, thank God, he'd let her slip underwear on him (Raul had not). Well, it had been a miniskirt on her, when he'd put it on it went to his knees, and had to be tied around his waist (not hips) with a rope. Whatever Gaara had, this bizarre thing for women's clothes, Lucas was catching it. Speaking of the possessed child, he had been more compliant and had accepted a shirt and pants, but had insisted on no shoes, like the Aduthule twins. She hoped with all her heart it was just a phase. Just a phase...
As they rounded the corner, the large Durem Depot sign came into view; across the street was the more sober H.R. Wesley, but not only did Ara find Edmund (the owner) to be a complete snob, the prices were also horrible. Therefore, she strode confidently into the Depot with her three boys, abd sought out Moira.
The Durem Depot was a big warehouse that had been converted into a clothing store, with stacked crates being used to store and shwocase clothes, and old pipes used to hang them. Neon lights glared down from the ceiling, and battered road signs hung from the walls.
"Hey there! Loking for someth--" Moira, popping out from behind the counter, black leather and all, cut herself off in mid-catchphrase. "Arach!"
They were on a first-name basis, yes, but then again, Moira was like this with nearly all her customers; it kept them coming back.
"What can I do for ya--are you okay with all three?" she inquired politely, eyeing the trio.
Ara laughed her off with a wave, and set them down. "It's fine. I do need your help though. I need to find each of them a decent wardrobe."
Moira nodded, eyeing them with a slight smirk. "Yeah, I got that. Must be pretty desperate if you're dressing them in skirts. All boys, right?"
Ara gulped. "Er, actually...well..."
A flash of understanding went through Moira's eyes and she nodded. "I see. It's okay, really. Sometimes you can tell real early."
Ara's eyes widened. "It's not--it's not like that! I mean, I wouldn't mind, but...I mean, they're just kids! It's a phase! Just a phase."
"They? There's only one in a skirt."
"I like skirts too, but mommy wanted me to wear pants." Gaara felt the need to put in. Ara chuckled sheepishly, and Moira laughed.
"That's okay, kiddo. Well, we'll humor these two for now; the other one's okay with guy's clothes?" When Ara nodded, she continued. "I think I have stuff in their size...any specs?"
"Well, Lucas and Raul here are blind," Ara said, ignoring Moira's soft 'duh' in the background, "so any color's fine, but nothing that clashes. I like matching colors. As for Gaara, do whatever you want. I just don't want him and Lucas...don't go overboard."
Moira grinned. "I'll try, but this is gonna be too much fun."
Tank tops and cute little skirts for Lucas (tame stuff, nothing that would make Ara's boy look like a Red Light hooker, thankyouverymuch), and some shirts and shorts from the boy's section to ease her mothers' conscience. Gaara was more self-conscious; long sleeves, long skirts, dark colors--the cat-woman was actually starting to like his style, even if it was the end of July.
Shopping for Raul was much more simple, if he tried it and liked it was bought, if not they looked on. Their only difficulty was shirts, because of his wings, so she just put a few good-looking ones into the cart; she'd cut holes in them ones they were home. So naturally, once they'd found all Raul's stuff and were concentrating exclusively on the other two...the Hate thule went off.
Somewhere in between trying a brown leather skirt on Gaara and making Lucas walk (as best he could) in sandals, Moira poked her head over the racks of clothing with a frown.
"Ara, where'd that other kid go?"
Ara blinked. "Other ki--Raul!"
She, too, poked her head over the racks, trying to spot the small Thule. However, since Raul was so tiny, they would have to comb the whole place. Thank goodness, the door sounded when it slid open, and there was no one else here...he hadn't been kidnapped, at least.
"Raul," she called out, "Raul! Where are you, baby?"
No answer.
With a moan of exasperation, Ara set off across the store, leaving Gaara and Lucas in Moira's care.
"Raul, where are you? This isn't funny." She scowled as she went back to the last place she'd seen him--the little boy's section. Unfortunately, no luck. So it went for the entire store. When she thought she saw him, what was Raul turned into a pile of black and red shirts, or pants, or other material. Frustrated, she went back to Moira and her other two boys--she should've done this in the first place.
"Lucas," she said pleasantly, taking the white Thule in her arms, "where's Raul?"
Lucas pointed without even thinking. There.
She followed the finger to a stacked crate, showing off--what was it?--a Blood Mistress Top or something like that. And there, crouching in the box, glowering down at them like a hawk, was Raul, his dark wings curled around him, growling. He was a good few meters off the ground, too high for Moira or Ara to reach.
"Raul! Get down from there!" She commanded.
"How the Hell did he get up there?" Moira inquired, frowning. "He's blind. Even if he can fly with those wings, how the...?"
"Who knows, and who cares?! He probably climbed, he's nimble. Do you have a ladder?"
"Yeah," the shopkeeper replied smoothly, dashing off to find it.
And then, Lucas surprised them all.
"Broder! Get down," he pleaded, reaching for Raul from his spot in Ara's arms.
She gasped; it wasn't much but it was better than the unintelligible blabber she was used to. "Lucas?"
"Raul..." he whimpered, his teary eyes locked on his brother, who was still in the box. "Lemme in!"
"No!"
What the hell were they going on about? Well, at least it got them talking.
"Come down, Raul!" Gaara cried, looking way up at the Hate thule, who bristled and spat.
"I hate you! Dun talk to me!"
"Raul!" Lucas tried again, and this time, there were hot tears on his face. "Yer gonna get a owie."
Yikes, Ara winced. Biiig vocab slip there.
"Go away! I hate you!" Raul snarled.
"Raul, stop this right now and come down!"
"NO!"
Moira came back with the promised ladder, a grim expression on her tatoo'd face. "I'll handle this," she told Ara, setting up the boost. "Just hold it for me, 'kay?"
Ara set Lucas down beside Gaara, but the white Thule didn't cling to the pale-eyed boy like she thought he would've instead, he crawled/toddled closer to the stack of crates, reaching up for Raul. Trying to ignored his heart-wrenching pleading, she held the ladder as Moira climbed up to fetch the angry Thule.
However, when she tried to grasp him, he began to thrash like a demon, and fell from her arms--to his certain death some five or six meters below.
"s**t." Ara whimpered, eyes wide. "RAUL!"
Suddenly, it came out of every corner of the room, reaching upwards like a huge snake, coiling and unfurling itself.
Pat. Raul landed with a dull impact on the outstretched arm of sand, as surprised as everyone else, even Gaara. He hadn't known Shukaku to ever save anyone...
The sand lowered itself to the ground and dispersed, flying to every corner of the room, leaving almost everyone in a state of shock.
"What was that?" demanded Moira, shakily climbing down the steps of the ladder.
Lucas launched himself at Raul with a shriek of anger/relief/despair, clinging to the black Thule with desperate fingers. Immediately the two coiled into an inextricable ball, until you couldn't see where one ended and the other began. Gaara watched, silent, eyes to the ground. Ara approached him quietly, looking at Moira.
"I'm sorry about all this. We'll take everything in the cart."
Moira nodded, smiling weakly. "I won't ask questions. Compared to the stoners and drunkards who stumble in here, your kids are angels."
Ara chuckled feebly and leaned down to caress Gaara's cheek.
"That was a brave thing you did."
"Shukaku did it." He paused. "...does Raul really hate me?"
She breathed. Now was not the time to explain this complicated thing of the Aduthule and their elements. "Of course not, sweetie."
"I took Lucas from him."
"You did not. Lucas came to you. Raul knows that."
"Is that why he's angry?" He looked up at her, tears in his eyes, obscenely hopeful that it wasn't his fault.
She smiled and nodded. Yes. He sniffed and wiped a tear away as she lead him back to the intertwined Thule, picking them up as best she could.
"Take the cart." Moira offered after Ara had paid.
"Oh god no! Not after all that."
"I said, it's nothing. Forget about it, and go."
She smiled gratefully. "I owe you one."
"With the amount you bought? That's the best I.O.U. I've ever got."
Ara chuckled. "Nice. Anyhoo, when they grow out of these, I'll be back--alone. Hopefully." She set Lucas-Raul down in the cart on the nest of clothes, sat Gaara down on the seat, and began to push them out.
Moira snickered, and waved them off as the door slid shut behind them.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:21 pm
Type | story-style entry
Date | 10/11/05
Location | Ara's home
Warning | uh...licking? More icky bastardization of poor, innocent Thule? x3
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It wasn't even mid-november yet; however, that certainly didn't stop anyone, especially not in their mostly industrial district of the city, to show Christmas spirit a little lot early. Ara was at her window, stringing up multicolored lights in a vaguely christmas-tree-ish shape; this was nothing compared to the treatment they'd given the restaurant's windows a week ago, but it was still nice.
All the windows were being glitzed up, save for the back ones; dangling, flashing lights hung from the roof border outside, and downstairs, all the tables had fresh candy-cane arrangements, with nice red tablecloths. The walls were rimmed with tinsel, and everywhere there was fake snow. The twins had loved that.
"Whatcha doin'?" Lucas demanded, toddling up to Ara with his twin not far behind.
"Too much noise." Raul complained loudly, obviously angry at all the hustle and bustle they once again weren't allowed to participate in. Ara gave a small, sheepish chuckle and bent down to pick the two up.
"I'm putting up lights," she explained, "so that people now we're celebrating christmas."
She'd explained this 'christmas' concept to them several times, or at least until they caught on, somewhat. A concept this vast was a bit too much for them, but Lucas seemed to adore the idea of gist-giving, whilst Raul was turning out to be a real scrooge.
"I wanna get Ceri presents! Lots and lots!" Lucas had shouted, and promptly began to tick off a list of people he wanted to give gifts to. Raul had finally pounced on him to shut him up.
"Why d'ja gotta do that?" Lucas demanded, puzzled.
"Because putting Christmas lights in your windows is like saying 'Merry Christmas' to everyone, only without going outside in the cold," she smiled, rubbing her nose against his and elliciting a giggle.
"Innit nicer to say so yourself?"
"But I don't have time, silly."
"Then we'll do it! Raul n' I're gonna stay outside all day saying Merry Kissmass to e'rybody."
"Christmas, Lucas, Christmas."
"Ma!" A voice cut them off, coming from downstairs; it was Gaara, and he, with Eisblau's help, was lugging something big up the stairs.
Ara startled. "The tree!" she yelped, putting the Aduthule down and dashing over to help her red-headed son. "Gaara! It's perfect! Wonderful!"
Left to their own devices again, the Aduthule were free to wander in a shaky crawl/toddle they'd perfected. The loud rumbles and crashes heard from the stairs made Lucas scared, so Raul steered them away, into the kitchen. If they held each others' hands, they could effectively lean on each other and walk, a little oddly but still walk, all the way.
"Val! Val! We have a tree!" Lucas shrieked to the short dragon-woman, catching her tail without even thinking. He tugged on it a little, insistently, to get her attention. She was making cookies at the counter, an activity that always got her in a festive mood, not unlike how Ara was with decor.
"I heard it, little man. You guys gonna help decorate it?" she asked cheerfully, turning away from the dough to pick them up.
Ara had told them about the tradition of the tree, and Lucas seemed more than ready for it, and although Raul didn't show the same enthusiasm, that wasn't unusual for him, so no one paid it any mind.
Eventually, the pine--artificial, and dragged al the way up from the basement, but still good, still good--was standing proudly in the living room.
"So when do we get started on the decorations?" Taxi demanded, looking at all the cute yellow-and-black baubles he, Abeille and Wasp had assembled.
"Now yet!" Ara laughed. "We'll wait a few weeks, at least...how's about the first of December?"
Everyone seemed to agree waiting was the best solution; they had to save osme for later, after all.
It was then that Val appeared, a Thule on each shoulder, holding a tray of warm, freshly baked cookies. "Anybody want one?"
Did they ever.
---
As they lay in bed that night, tummies full of cookies, curcled up around one another, the twins contemplated the upcoming month.
Watcha gonna get fer Myze?
Whaddya mean what'm I getting her? Nothing, dummy.
But it's Christmas! You hafta! Yer always super mean to her.
I don't hafta do nothing.
...are you gonna give anybody a present? Lucas asked, almost petulant.
Nope. 'Cept mebbe you.
At this Lucas emitted a soft squee, snuggling closer to the warmth of his brother's body. Raul nudged his head into the white Thule's neck and licked his shoulder with his small, sandpaper tongue.
You smell n' taste like icky soap. I can't sleep witcha like that.
Wash me then, silly.
Invited, Raul began, not unlike a cat to her kitten, cleaning his brother's furry body. Lucas seemed to revel in the treatment, although he didn't allow Raul to put his mouth certain places--like all the place where Val had taught them it was wrong to touch. Raul, once finished with the chored, wrapped his wings around Lucas' relaxed, tiny form.
You're mine.
Brother-me, yer so silly sumtimes...
Lucas fell asleep nestled against the inky wings, but it was awhile before Raul followed, standing vigil over his most precious possession.--------------------------------------------------------
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