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 Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:16 am
o3o
"Tell me you're kidding."
Isaiah shrugged, looking away.
"I didn't invite you. You don't want to participate, go b***h about it to someone who cares."
Oliver snorted, choosing to ignoring the acidic note in Iz's tone.
"No need to be defensive, I'm just saying. Valentines don't usually fall under the...um...goldfish department."
Isaiah looked at the fishbowl in his hands, bristling.
"It's unique."
"It's stupid."
"Yeah? What'd you get him?"
"My charming personality is gift enough."
"Yeah, that and a load of shi-"
"Uthiwi wanna feesee!"
"-Um. I'll get you one later, Zee."
"FEESEE!"
"Muh."
"Nnphh...please, Rizu. I have to go back to work in..." Opec glanced sleepily out the window, "...four hoooours..."
"Nnmah," Irizu replied, sucking indignantly on her third bottle.
Opec huffed, pushed a bit of hair up and behind an ear, and slumped.
Oliver, currently burdened with Uziri's carrying box, kicked the door once. Isaiah, currently burdened with a fish, shot him an angry look.
"Be civil. For once in your life, just be a civil, normal person," he said. Oliver gave him a dirty look.
"You're acting like a PMS-ing woman," he said spitefully.
"Yeah, like you have experience with that," Isaiah said tartly. If Oliver took the half-hearted insult as a challenge, he didn't bother to show it - though this time he did knock on the door rather politely.
"Feeseee..."
Opec, startled, pulled Irizu to his chest, sending her bottle careening to the floor.
"Baabaaaa!" the infant squealed, reaching for her bottle.
As Opec calmed, his ears folded back. Who in the worl would be knocking on his door? Master didn't need to knock.
Frea?
Oh, Gods, Tiss?
"Coming!" he called, voice much weaker than usual, and scampered down the stairs to turn the key in the lock and throw the door open.
"What do you nee--HI~"
"Hey."
"Hi!"
"Feesee!"
Prompted by Uziri's recurrent observation, Isaiah blushed slightly and held the fishbowl out to Opec. The goldfish inside was a bit runty, but still cute as fish went.
"I got this for you," Iz said. He paused, and Oliver nudged him slightly in reminder. "Um. Happy. Er. Happy Valentines Day."
Oliver pressed a fist to his mouth, actually trying to be slightly civil and not laugh directly in Isaiah's face.
Opec looked first to the fish, and then to Oliver, clearly confused.
"Happy what?"
Isaiah looked crestfallen, but caught himself and looked away, bowl still extended. Oliver gave the pair a pitying look, shifting th box in his grip.
"Valentines day," he said patiently. "Day where people tell each other how they much they care by giving gifts or candy or chaining each other to the-"
"OLIVER! CHILDREN!"
"Cripes. Fine. Don't bust a blood vessel, I'm just explaining in layman's terms."
"Remember the talk we just had about civility?"
"Vaguely."
Opec blinked. The last part he kind of understood. But presents? Why?
"Um...okay," Opec nodded and looked down to Irizu. He placed her gently on the floor and then retrieved the fishbowl, bringing it to eye-level.
A smile slowly spread.
"Feethee?"
Opec looked down to his daughter once more before giving Isaiah a quick kiss on the cheek and scampering to a fish tank in the back of the room.
These fish were all black and white.
Orange would be a anice addition.
He took a moment to balance the bowl in the water, allowing it to float and acclimate, and then ran back.
"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything, but I...I've never heard of...valentine day?"
Blinking in surprise and touching his cheek, Isaiah looked up at Oliver brightly.
"He liked it," he said. Oliver patted him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations."
When Opec came back, Isaiah shook his head slightly.
"I just wanted to give you something," he said quickly. "I didn't expect anything in return."
Oliver snorted, but the looming threat of a sharp elbowing to the stomach kept him from voicing any theories he had.
"Can we come in?" he asked instead.
Opec nodded and took a step backward, arm sweeping outward to welcome his guests.
"I'm afraid there's only a few hours left until I start...ah...my shift," he said, head tilted slightly, "but I'm happy to have you."
Never missing a chance to tease anyone, he suddenly placed his hands on his hips.
"And Oliver...do you not celebrate this day...or are you just a cheap player?"
Oliver shrugged, grinning half-indifferently.
"I don't believe in holidays. I'm like a Jehovah's Witness," he said. Isaiah snorted loudly.
"You're just cheap and bitter," he countered. "And ******** you, I'm creative."
"Ha!"
Isaiah found himself grinning at Oliver in spite of his better judgment, which Oliver returned somewhat surprisingly.
"Brat," he said, pushing Iz aside so he could go in. Isaiah said nothing, but followed with shoulders hunched and a slight smile on his face.
Opec gave an annoyed 'hmph' and flicked his hair rather effeminately.
"Fine. You say that. See how much of me you see." He moved to the couch, tail swishing, and threw himself onto it.
"Is there anything else I should know about this particular holiday?"
Oliver noted the tone and the flick, unaffected. Not even for Opec could he ever give a flying ******** about something as trivial as Valentines Day.
"Sorry," he offered after a moment, setting Uziri's box down unconcernedly.
Isaiah, perching on the arm of the couch, took on a speculative expression.
"Um...hmm. Named aftera saint who got decapitated, I think," he said. "Turned into a capitalized market for chocolate and roses, too. Other than that...oh! And, um, hmm. No, that's all I can think of."
"Uthiwi wanna feesee fo' Va'tines Day."
"You already have a mouse, Zee."
There was a heavy silence hanging around the box.
"...Muffin wanna feesee."
"I'll be he does."
Irizu blinked, crawling to the box and pulling herself up to the lip.
"Eetha haff Muffin. Weezoo haff feethee. We thawe."
Opec smiled fondly down to the child and then turned back to Isaiah, crossing his arms and laying them atop the vampire's leg, soon followed by his head.
"Huh. Interesting," he said after a moment, "I've never heard of...saints. Or decapitation? Unless that's the...yeah. That's it." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Part of him wanted to beckon Oliver over. The rest of him knew it wouldn't work.
Uziri, bundled up in Isaiah's hoodie, peeked out from under the hood and nodded seriously.
"Yus," she said. "Uthiwi goh Muffin, see?"
And from under her shirt, she pulled a ruffled and deeply displeased mouse. It squeaked at Irizu dismissively.
"They're church stuff," Isaiah said, hesitating at first but then resting a hand on Opec's shoulder. "The saint thing, I mean. Though I guess the cutting off of heads must've been popular as well..."
Irizu gasped happily.
"MUFFIN!" She reached out to pet the mouse, stopping a mere centimetre above its head.
"Wah we name feethee?"
Opec stiffened for a moment, but forcibly relaxed. There was nothing to be afraid of now.
It was just Isaiah.
He nuzzled the vampire's leg and blushed slightly.
His eyes only wandered momentarily to Oliver. God damn him and his difficulty to stay pleased! The Viishani soon returned his attentions to Isaiah, though.
And then his extra set of vocal cords started working. An odd gurgling purr barbled up from Opec's throat and, while it was certainly a bit odd of a sound, it was nonetheless a happy one.
His blush only deepened when he realized what he was doing.
Uziri shrugged lopsidedly, maintaining her hold on Muffin.
"Puppy," she said eventually. Hey, why not?
Isaiah jerked in surprise at the unexpected sound, nearly falling off the couch arm.
"Um," he said, looking down at Opec uncertainly. "You okay?"
"Puppy duh feethee. Kay," Irizu nodded. She'd never been able to name the others as they all looked quite the same, but Puppy looked rather different.
Opec looked up to Isaiah, eyes wide and innocent and embarrassed as all get-out.
"Yes," he responded and smiled slightly, his purr only stopping for a moment when he spoke, "I dunno...how to make it stop." He averted his eyes.
Preening with pride that her wisdom was acknowledged - Puppy was the best fish name ever - Uziri watched the fish in the tank with her head tilted to one side. If only Muffin was a fish...
Isaiah laughed slightly, though not even he could have said why.
"It's cute," he said.
Irizu followed Sister-thing's gaze and began to crawl clumsily for the fish tank.
Opec giggled nervously and looked away for a moment, clearing his throat quickly. The rumble went away.
"Thanks."
Uziri shifted, rolled and turned until she was comfortably on her back, and watched the fish tank upside down. The mouse still in her grasp gave a tremendously aggrieved squeak, but could do little else.
Secretly pleased that he'd been the cause of someone else's nervousness for once, Isaiah slid off the couch arm and settled next to Opec.
Irizu watched Puppy, like an obnoxious orange spot in a black and white film, floating aimlessly among the other fish as his fishbowl had tipped over and sank to the bottom.
Opec changed position, clinging to Isaiah's chest now.
"I can hear your heartbeat," he stated simply, closing his eyes to listen.
Still watching upside down, Uziri reached out towards the fish tank. She would like to be a fish herself, she thought idly. It'd be fun. And she could breathe through slashes on either side of her neck, that'd be neat.
"Can you?" Isaiah said, just to say something as he rested his head back and slung an arm around Opec.
Oliver, returning to his now-favored window spot, observed the moment silently before looking outside again.
Irizu yanked herself to her feet, wobbled, and peered into the tank. Fish scurried unhappily away from the glass.
"Feeetheeeeee~"
Opec nodded slightly. He knew quite well that Isaiah was just saying things to say things, but he replied nonetheless.
"I like it."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:16 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:24 am
The Sky is Crying!
Opec awakened to an unfamiliar noise. He stared at the ceiling, brow furrowed.
It was like scratching...or tapping. It sounded like a sandstorm, but the windows hadn't blown out yet, so he assumed it wasn't. His next guess was a second coming of Littulo.
Suddenly nervous, he crept to the window and pulled back the curtain. The Viishani gave a short cry of surprise and simply stared at the strange things happening outside, eyes as big as saucers. Then, stricken by a sudden sense of terror, he leaped back into bed and shook Isaiah lightly.
"Hey. Wake up. Wake up!"
"Dnnnh...."
Isaiah woke slowly, yawning, and rolled over.
"Whuh....whass wrong," he said, voice slurred as he struggled to shake off lingering grogginess. "Is the house burning down?"
"No! No, come look!" Opec urged and grabbed Iz's arm, tugging him out of bed. He gave up after a moment and rushed back to the window, pulling the curtains open and pointing up.
"There's water coming out of the sky," he murmured.
Isaiah leaned against the window pane, looking outside.
"Huh. Yeah, looks like it's coming down pretty hard," he said. "Just a rainstorm, though. I doubt it'll thunder or anythin'."
Opec blinked. Had Isaiah seen this before?
"It's a what?!" he asked excitedly, "Thunder? Whassat?"
In the next room, Irizu had her nose pressed up against the window pane. What was this marvel?!
"Hmm? Oh, y'know...thunder. The big boom that comes after lightning strikes..."
Isaiah trailed off, glancing at Opec.
"It's just raining," he said, grinning slightly. "You've seen it before, haven't you?"
"Noooo..." Opec shook his head slowly and then struggled to shove the window open. He thrust his hand out into the air, waving his fingers about. He giggled and pulled his hand back in.
"It's cold," he informed Isaiah, grinning as if this were the most wonderful thing in the world.
Isaiah leaned against the pane again, looking outside, and stretched a hand out. Icy droplets of water soaked his skin within seconds.
"Heh, yeah, it is," he said, drawing his hand back and wiping it off on his shirt. "You've never seen it? Huh...so I guess that counts out snow and hail, too."
Opec's eyes widened further and his jaw hung slack.
"Whassat?"
Isaiah glanced over.
"What's what? Oh, duh. Heh...snow's...hmm. Frozen rain, kinda. It's white'n fluffy'n stuff. Kinda like cotton. Hail's just ice."
Putting his hand to his mouth and sucking off a clinging raindrop, he looked outside again.
"I used to pray for snow during the winter when I was a kid," he said. "We'd get the worst blizzards and there'd be no school for days. I'd get to go sledding."
"School? Sledding?" Opec asked, sticking his hands out into the rain again, "I want snow."
Isaiah grinned slightly.
"Yeah! There's this gigantic hill behind my house, um, my old house, where I grew up. I'd use this old metal garbage can lid, and when the snow settled I'd slide down it. That's sledding."
He chewed on his lip, remembering.
"I'd skip out on school to go sledding," he said, smiling slightly. "I didn't want to learn about science and math and all that. The hill was too tempting."
Opec smiled.
"Sounds like fun," he nodded, and then turned to Isaiah again, "Let's go outside." He bit his lower lip excitedly. If Iz didn't want to, he was going himself.
"It was," Iz said, a note of longing in his voice as he thought about it. After a second in he blinked, coming back to the here and now. "Huh? Oh. Okay."
Opec grinned, laughed, and grabbed Isaiah by the arm. He dragged him forcefully through the halls, down the stairs, and out the front door. Once outside he released the poor Vampire and threw his arms out at his sides, closing his eyes and putting his face up to the rain.
Isaiah half-stumbled after, finally skidding to a halt ankle-deep in a puddle. He grinned, kicking at the water in good humor.
"Jeez, it's a friggin' typhoon..."
He held his hands up, cupping them and letting the pooling water trickle through his fingers.
Opec decided to not ask what a typhoon was. He didn't want to bother Isaiah any more than was absolutely necessary. He waved up at the little girl in the window, and she waved back.
He then turned to Isaiah and clung to his chest. He was standing shirtless and shoeless in the rain, with only a pair of sheep pajama bottoms to protect him from pneumonia. He didn't care, either.
Letting the rest of the water cupped in his hands splatter to the ground, Isaiah, grinned again and threw an arm 'round Opec. He looked upward, watching the rain.
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:17 pm
Of Melting Children and Giraffes
The day was kinda warm, too warm for the little girl. Instead of being all over that playground having the time of her life, Shayla slung herself over a swing and just ... Hung there. Her stomach kept her supported as she swatted at the sand below. For some reason, he just didn't feel like playing. Maybe it was because she was melting.
She noticed several minutes after hanging there that she was dripping. She wasn't crying, so she had to be melting. Did the sun not like her? Craning her head, she looked up at the offending sun and sighed. "Stupid.."
Huffing, she reached up to touch one of her horns, noting it had a smooth slippery feeling. Yep, melting. A small frown appeared on her face as she stood. If she melted, would she disappear like the snow? Biting her lip, a worried glance was cast to her father. He could fix it, right? She didn't want to leave her daddy.
Feeling the tears coming on, the small girl sniffled as she turned away and ran for the closest shadow spot. Which just happened to be below the crazy slide. It was there that she sat down, tugged her knees to her chest and started to cry. Other kids looked her way, but none ventured close.
Irizu had been sitting beneath a young tree, plucking at the dead grass and looking for wormies or maybe mousies. She had yet to find any, but that hadn't discouraged her thus far.
As she held a particularly wormy-looking plant root up to the light, she spotted the crying girl. Her hands flew to her mouth in a gasp of horror.
The bright-eyed girl tugged at Fuzzy Man's sleeve, and he only gave her a cursory glance, a smile, and a nod. She took this as a go-ahead and toddled carefully over to the slide, not liking the way the sand felt in her sandals.
"Drippy girl okay?" she asked as she ducked beneath the twisted plastic.
Was someone talking to her? Well... Drippy girl. She had to be the only one melting here. Ice blue eyes looked up at the new girl, her hands reaching up to her hair. "Noooooo! Not ok!" She whimpered, tears running down her face. "I'm melting! I dun wanna go bye bye... " Dropping her hands a bit, she wiped at the tears with her forearms.
Instead of her usual winter jacket, she was wearing just a regular t-shirt. Even the spring weather wasn't to cold for her, nothing apparently was. But too warm, now that was another thing. The small girl just sniffled as she glanced around. "Daddy says the sun makes the snow go away... And 'cause I like snow maybe da sun wants me to go away too..... But I dun wanna 'cause I love my Daddy."
Irizu squinted up at the sun, eyes watering almost immediately. She still wasn't quite used to the ball of flame in the sky. She could never see it from home. She turned back to the melting girl after a while.
"D'sun can't help it. Iss just gonna be hot foreveh. Das wha' Rizu daddy say. It like drippy girl fine."
"Den why is it making me all melty?" She asked as if the new girl had all the answers. Perhaps she did, or maybe she didn't. Either way Shayla was looking for answers and a way to not melt into nothing. She didn't have a magical hat to let her come back next winter like Frosty the Snowman - but she had a bracelet.
Curiously she looked down at the golden locket, only to find to her amazement that the ice there was undisturbed. That peeked her interest. "Why does this no melt... But my ice melt?" More or less, she had asked the question allowed to herself. She didn't expect the other to know anything about it.
"Hmmm.." No, this wouldn't have any answers. Again she looked at the girl with her, but this time forced a smile. "My name is Shayla... What is your name?" If she was going to disappear she might as well make one last friend!
Irizu blinked in confusion. The drippy girl had gone from crying to friendly in a split second. People were so confusing...
"My name Rizu," she nodded sagely, "Rizu got a sister name Zee." She idly wondered if drippy girl had any siblings and peered about in search of them.
"Riiizu. Dats a pretty name!" She stated, pulling herself up to her feet and reaching round to dust off her bottom. "I make lots of friends lately. You be my friend to now?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. A small trickle of water dripped off the tipped side, she didn't even seem to notice.
"I gots a broder. But he ain't here. Daddy let Grandma take him today. He dun like taking him out with me 'cause I'm so .... What was da word.." She paused in thought, tapping a finger lightly against her lips. "Daddy said I was to much something. I dun remember." Truth was, Jason just couldn't handle an energetic kid with a baby at the same time. Poor guy...
"Das nah nice," Irizu said, waggling her head and disregarding anything said to her before 'let Grandma take him', "I dun' has a gramma buh Daddy let Rizu n' Zee play all duh time. Skayla n' Gramma live togedder?"
It only made sense for families to live together, after all.
Shayla shook her head at the question. "Noo... Gamma lives next door. Like dis..." Dropping down to her knees, she started to doodle in the sand. First she drew a large square, then a smaller one beside it. "Dis is Gamma's house." She stated, pointing to the big square. "Gamma, Waya, Belinda, Taima, um.... And lots more live in dare. I can't think of all da names." She explained. There was 8 kids in that house, who could remember all them?
"Dis one." She pointed to the small square. "Is Daddy, me, Colby and Corpse and Rudy-ard." That name always stuck on her tongue. "Cause Daddy wanted out of the big house so Gamma made him a new house and that's where I live." Smiling, she looked at Irizu and giggled. "We have big family dinner over at Gammas sometimes, but not lately..."
Irizu blinked and drew an absolutely enormous shape in the dirt, not quite a square but entirely geometrical.
"Rizu live here wif Ee-zayuh n' Oliver n' Daddy n' Zee n' Muffin n' Puppy," the girl nodded after a moment, "We dun' haff nobody else cos' they all go boom. We dun' eat dinners either, only me and Daddy. Ee-zayuh n' Oliver eat Daddy instead." The wording of her previous sentence did not strike Irizu at all as strange.
"They EAT your Daddy?!" Yeah, the question shocked the other little girl. "But why would dey eat your Daddy? I wouldn't want my daddy eaten, but someone say he might taste like chicken 'cause he's got wings... But.." She paused. "I'd miss my Daddy.. my Daddy will miss me if I go melting. OH NO!" And then again, she remember the reason she had gotten so upset.
"I'M MELTING!" Again the tears started to well in her eyes. She didn't want to melt!
But as if on cue, it was Daddy to the rescue. A tall handsome man started over, his long blue hair tied back in a braid dangling between his two stellar jay wings. Yeah, he was dressed as if he were going to kidnap the kids, but frequenting the playground no one seemed to bat an eye at him as he headed towards the two girls. It was easy to find his daughter hearing the shout.
"Shayla.." He called out softly, holding out a small zip lock bag full of.. Ice cubes? "Eat this baby, it's getting warm out here and your temperature is rising. You're not melting... Don't worry." Gently he pat the girls head before dropping the bag into her lap. "Eat all the ice before it turns to water."
Shayla looked from the bag to her dad and to her new friend then back again. "I'm not melting?" She asked, reaching into the bag for a piece of ice, raising it to her lips. ""But da ice will melt to water.. What will I melt to."
Jason chuckled, "Don't worry baby... You won't disappear. Now eat the ice. I have more if you need it." Again he pat the top of her head before he rose to go. He didn't want to interrupt her play time after all. He just smiled at Irizu, but paused. "Hmm.. If you two get thirsty come find me ok? I got juice boxes."
Grinning, Shayla shoved another chunk of ice into her mouth before stating "Ok Daddy! Bye bye!" Crunch, ice was so yummy.
Irizu watched the man as he approached, absorbing his every movement, the timbre of his voice. The skulls on her necklace began to glow faintly, but ceased as the man walked off. She turned her attentions back to her new friend.
"They drink the red stuffs," Irizu nodded, "Daddy got lotsa red stuff. Watchoo eatin'?"
As per usual, her mind was skipping further and further away from the main point of the conversation as each second ticked by.
"Your Daddy's pretty. I like him. He's nice."
"Red stuffs..." She echoed, but frowned. What kinda red stuff could it be? Oh well, not like it mattered to her. But when asked, she offered the baggie of ice over to her new friend. "I gots ice. Daddy gives me ice sometimes. I like it, it's so coooooooold. Have one!" It was nothing special but a ice chunk from a ice tray.
"And yeah, my daddy is really nice. I love my Daddy." She stated happily, shoving another ice chunk into her mouth. She seemed to once more forget that she was melting, munching away on the ice. "Do you wanna play after I eat my ice?"
Irizu took an ice cube and popped it into her mouth, rolling it around on her tongue.
"Sure," she said after a moment, "but I gotta go get my giraffe. I'll be right back." She stood then and wobbled over to her father, still sitting beneath the tree and watching his daughter curiously.
"Daddy, I'm gonna go play with Skayla."
"Skayla?"
"Skkkkshhhh....Shayla."
"Is that your new friend?"
"Mmhm."
"I'm gonna come with you, okay? I don't want you getting lost." After all this time, the Viishnu was still a bit hesitant to let the child go much of anywhere on Gaia.
Irizu nodded, stole her spherical stuffed giraffe, and toddled away, joining Shayla back beneath the slide. She didn't notice Fuzzy Man following.
From her spot under the slide, she watched Irizu walk off and just waved in the fathers direction. Surely he'd see right? If not, oh well. Another piece of ice was shoved into her mouth and crunched on. Ice was flavorless, but still so good. All in all, eating the ice was cooling Shayla's body temperature and her hair stopped dripping.
From his spot on the other side of the playground, Jason watched the small girl stroll over to her parent. Leaning a bit, he tried to figure out if that was a woman or a man. Well, either way he should go say something. Their children were interacting. Biting his lip, he rose to his feet and grabbed his book. Time to be a man Jason... he muttered to himself as he began the walk around the play area.
By the time he made it around, Irizu was already walking back to Shayla. Good. Meant the parents could talk alone. Slowing his pace, he casually approached the fuzzy one. "Um... Hi. My name is Jason, our daughters seem to be playing over there. I thought I'd come introduce myself." Though, he offered no hand shake.
Shayla watched as Irizu started back and giggled. "Looookie!" She pointed behind the other. "Our Daddies are talking now. 'Cause we're friends they can be friends to!" She stated happily, flashing a large smile at Irizu. "So, Rizu. What do you want to play? Maybe we can go make sand castles? No... The box looks too full. Hmm..." She cast a glance around the park, trying to think of what they could do.
Irizu looked to their fathers, and then back to her new friend.
"I dun' come to the park lots. I dunno what to do." She had, in fact, never been to this 'park' before. She wasn't even entirely sure what made a park a park.
Opec's stoic expression turned to a friendly half-grin when he was approached. He disregarded the lack of a handshake and instead looked the man over discreetly. Not bad, not bad at all.
"I'm Opec. It's nice to meet you, Jason." He bowed slightly.
Opec may have been completely androgynous from a distance, and his voice may have been pretty far up on the tonal ladder, but from this close he was certainly definable as simply a pretty man.
"Weeeeeeell." She sighed, turning her head back to the other girl. "We can swing... Climb, teeter totter, play in sand.. The wood chips aren't to fun. OH! We can go in the castle. That is if big kids don't push us out 'cause they always say only big kids can go up dare." The small girl huffed a bit at that statement, recalling one incident where she was pushed out of the castle down the little slide. Big kids were mean!
Jason seemed a bit relieved he wasn't speaking to a woman. He now smiled more, giving a faint nod. "Opec, that's an interesting name. Very uncommon but unique. Better than Jason that's for sure." He added, moving to sit but kept a respectable distance between the two.
"I offer this to all the parents, to exchange information so our kids can keep in touch. I want Shayla to be able to keep these friends she's making." He explained, reaching into a zipped pocket a moment before producing a business card. Yeah, he took Risika's idea and had business cards made with his address a few days after meeting the woman. "If you ever want to get a hold of me or your daughter for Shayla, that's the address and number." He spoke as he offered the card.
"Okay," Irizu nodded, "Show me the castle?" She was curious to see whatever castle could fit in a little playground, and even moreso to see big kids who would dare to try and push her out.
Opec smiled and nodded, taking the card. He studied it for a moment before continuing.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to get in contact with you very easily," he said as he pocketed the little rectangle, his pants so tight its edges pressed through the fabric, "I don't have a telephone, and we really don't like anywhere near here." He pushed a lock of hair back and, seeing as to how he had no properly-placed ears, it fell right back to where it had been. He sat down beside Jason, trying to keep a relatively large personal space for the man.
"Thank you, though. You're the...first Gaian I've met, honestly. Aside from my...roomies." He blushed slightly at this fact.
Nodding, another piece of ice was shoved into her mouth before she offered the bag over to Irizu once more. She liked to share after all! Only then did she notice the giraffe and giggled a bit. "My Gamma loves those! I see them all over in her room 'cause she says they are her favorite animall." She explained, giggling a little more. "I like tigers!"
While she spoke, she pulled herself up to her feet. "I'll take you to da castle.. But I warned you about the mean kids." She stated, patting her bottom off again before leading the way. It wasn't that far really, just around the play area and towards another. The castle was a wooden structure, hidden mostly behind a hedge of bushes. All in all, to a child it would be impressive but it wasn't all that big.
"Seeeee! There it is!" She pointed and smiled over at her friend. "We can't go in da tower.. If you look you can see kids there now." She stated, and she was right. Kids, more like around the age of 11 were already hanging out in the tower which lead down a long slide.
"Oh?" That seemed to perk Jason's interest a bit. "You're not from around here? I wasn't at first either but my mother managed to have me stay here. It was easier than jumping from this world and to mine. I do go back every once in awhile though..." He muttered, a small look cast to the side as he recalled the love he had lost to that world.
"Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking. Gaia is my home now, so if you do need any help getting around you can ask. I'm quite good with directions... I guess it has something to do with being a bird."
"Whass a tiger?" Irizu asked, cocking her head slightly to one side. Upon reaching the castle, she stared up at it, impressed but making no outward display of it.
"We can go up dere. Nuttin' says we can't. Just cuz some mean kids don' wan us to doesn't mean we can't." She defiantely began up and into the castle, heading for the tower.
Opec shook his head, smiling slightly, "I'm from there." He leaned back and pointed up to the vague white circle of the moon.
"Pondoya."
Upon realizing the bird remark, he giggled and glanced toward Jason's wings.
Giggling a little, she thought for a moment on how to explain a tiger. "Well it's a biiiiig kitty. One dat you can see in da zoo. Maybe we can go dar together? I'd show you the tigers then!" She stated, grinning brightly. Yeah, a day at the zoo, that would be so fun!
But her eyes widened as Irizu started up towards the castle. Could they really go up there? Oh she didn't have fun going down the slide backwards the last time those mean kids shoved her out of the tower. But... Maybe with a friend they wouldn't bully her? Stupid big kids.
Quickly she began to follow Irizu, holding the baggie of ice close to her. She was not too nervous to eat it, several peices still inside. "Rizu..." She muttered lightly, following closely behind the girl. "They won't be mean will they?"
Jason followed the point, glancing at the moon. He almost laughed, biting his lip to keep from doing so. The moon? Ok, that was a bit weird but hell he came from somewhere only taken there by music. "The moon huh? Well that is interesting. What's it like there?"
Irizu shrugged carelessly.
"Mebbey. It doesn't matter." She began slowly up the tower, having a bit of trouble getting her short legs up the steps. She heard the big kids talking.
"It's beautiful," Opec smiled, and then protectively wrapped his arms around himself, "It's terrible. Dark all the time. Dry." He cringed and looked away. His old life was clearly something he didn't want to think about.
"It does matter..." Shayla muttered as she pursed her lips a bit. She wanted to show Rizu a tiger now, so somehow she'd get the girl to the zoo. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But she'd do it! Her internal mind shook a fist at the air as fire burned behind her. Oh yes, one day she would!
But snapping her mind back to reality, she continued to follow Rizu. Her legs were short as well, and after a dozen steps she paused. The voices were getting louder and she obviously didn't want to go up. But, Rizu kept going. Biting her lip nervously she continued on once more.
As they got to the top they were faced with a group of kids, looking at them as if they were trash rolling in. The platform was large enough for them all to sit in, but of course one had to be a d**k and state, "Hey brats, this is our area. Go back down and play in the sandbox like the good little babies." It only caused a round of laughter from the larger kids.
"I see.." Jason didn't press the topic any further. He didn't want to upset the other. Though at that moment he did glance him over, having to look away to hide his small blush. Damn it! He shook his head to clean it quickly before looking at Opec once more.
"Well... it is a nice day today, isn't it?" He was at a loss for words, he had to start a conversation some how. That or just sit there in silence. But ... He didn't want that awkward silence.
Irizu simply stared up at the boy who had spoken, blinking. She was completely unaffected by the laughter.
"Shayla n' Rizu ain't babies," she stated defiantly.
Opec didn't notice the blush and simply turned back at the man to respond.
"Mmhm," he nodded, "I haven't seen the sun in a long time. I like it." He smiled up at the sky, closing his eyes against the blinding light.
The boy snorted, giving a small shake of his head. "You don't even come up to my waist kid, go play somewhere else. Look.. I'll even be nice just this once." He muttered, moving aside to expose the entrance to the slide. "You can go down the slide, but out of the tower ok? It's the big kid area. When you grow you can kick the little kids out. It's just like... the order of things." The others agreed, more than likely they had been kicked out at their young ages.
Shayla just frowned a bit, clutching that ice baggy tighter as she pressed in close to Rizu. These kids were kinda scary... but nice? The mean kid from last time wasn't there at least, and Shayla was calming slowly. Gently she tugged on Rizu's sleeve as she whispered to the other. "Should we go?"
Jason smiled as he watched the other. It was so hard not to take his eyes away. For once in a long time he was starting to feel a bit of an attraction. But seriously! He shook his head again. This was a parent to a kid his own daughter was befriending. He shouldn't think like that. Man.. I have to get out more often... He thought to himself, deciding a night just for himself was going to be needed in the near future.
Irizu shook her head gently to Shayla.
"No," she said to the boys, "We not big kids, buh we shoul' get ta play here too!" She balled her tiny hands into fists.
"You get kicked out a-fore, but who say you gotta kick Rizu n' Shayla out? Could be nice to Rizu n' Shayla. Rizu can do fun things. Shayla prolly do fun things too."
Opec opened his eyes and looked back to Jason. He'd felt eyes on him, he had. The Viishani smiled slightly and cocked his head to one side.
"What?"
Another kid stood behind the first, this one a rather snotty looking girl. "Look you little brats... you're getting on my nerves." She hissed, looking the two smaller girls over. Really, big kids were always such monsters. She opened her mouth to say something else but then smirked. "If you won't leave on your own.... Then I'm going to have to do something mean." Like being rude wasn't bad enough.
Reaching out, the girl snatched the small giraffe plushie and the bag of ice. She looked the two items over and laughed. "A stuffed animal and ice? You babies are so boring! Though.... That gold does look pretty." Yeah, her eyes fell on both Izuri's jewlery and Shayla's pendant.
To add at being a b***h, the girl moved to the slide and smiled. "Either leave, or hand over your jewelry... Start whining and this is what will happen to you." To make her point, she none to kindly threw the animal and ice down the long slide.
Shalya moved away from Izuri to look down at the bottom of the slide, frowning as the ice scattered into the dirt. Such a waste...
Jason, at being caught staring, turned away. "Nothing... I was just thinking is all." he muttered. His eyes started to scan the play ground for their children. He spotted the red of Izuri's outfit up in the wooden castle and seemed to be satisfied just knowing where they were.
Again he looked over at Opec, smiling softly. "Our kids seem to be getting along well... that's good."
Irizu watched in horror as the ice snacks and her Jirry were taken from them. Oh, no. Nobody did that. Ever.
She glared angrily at the older girl and stomped her foot, fists curling into little balls...and then she shrieked. She shrieked at the top of ehr lungs, shrilly and lustily. The skulls around her neck glowed adn shook violently.
As did the tower.
Opec nodded.
"Mm, they d--hm?" He cocked his head as he noticed the structure's sudden trembling. Irizu screaming was nothing new...but collapsing buildings?
Other kids in the tower wasted no time in jumping down the slide or crawling down the steps. They were getting the hell out of there! The tower shaking meant it could fall at any moment.
The boy that had started the bullying quickly made a break for the slide. He didn't care he was going down head first, he was getting out of that tower. The girl however just stood dumb struck. Yeah, bad idea!
Shayla however screamed with Irizu. She screamed out of fear, not knowing what was going on. Reaching out timidly, she'd grip Irizu's hand, "Riiiizu! STOP it!" She cried out, terrified the building would collapse.
Jason had opened his mouth to speak and stopped. Something was wrong. Quickly he was up to his feet and running towards the tower. Kid after kid he pushed aside, trying to get up to where his daughter was.
Irizu gave a gleeful giggle and followed her new friend's request, ceasing the shaking...not that she had originally intended it to happen. She blinked at the girl and held her arms out, one finger still attached to Shayla's hand.
"See? Rizu n' Shayla big n' scary! RAWR!" the toddler said happily, but then sniffled as she peered over the edge.
"Bu' not Jirry all dirty."
Opec followed behind Jason, not so much terrified as mildly concerned, and gave a sigh of relief when the trembling ceased.
"Rizu! IRIZU! Are you okay?!"
Irizu perked up and scampered to the other side of the tower, peering down at her father.
"Yah! Everythin' okay, Fuzzy Man!"
"What did you just...? Eh. What happened?!"
When the shaking stopped, Shalya only then released the wall she had clung to. Still shaking herself, she stepped closer to Irizu with a worried look. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath to sigh. "No... Rizu big n' scary..."
Shayla's eyes followed Rizu's, looking at the stuffed giraffe around scattered ice cubes. When a strange voice came from behind, Shayla of course jumped. But calmed realizing it was Rizu's daddy.
Following the other girl to the side, Shayla smiled down at the other man. Then her eyes caught the blue of her own father and she waved a bit to him. "Hiiii Daddy!"
Jason just smiled a little, standing behind Opec. "Are you ok Shayla?" And much to his relief the child nodded.
"Rizu is sorry," the toddler nodded to Shayla, and then yelled down to the men, "SORRY, DADDIES!"
Opec heaved a sigh. Well, this was certainly exciting.
"Well... I think that was enough excitement for today." Jason muttered as if he had read Opec's mind. Stepping around the man, he'd gently lift his daughter free from the castle. "Lets get you home so you can cool down and eat, then it's nap time kiddo."
Shayla just grinned at the thought of eating. Yes, she really was hungry and only then realized it. "Ooookies Daddy! Riiiizu! Bye bye!" Waving at her new friend, the girl was carried off by her father. Though Shayla continued to wave until they were out of sight.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:32 pm
Mysterious Bodily Functions?
Opec had spent the vast majority of the morning sitting on the rim of his bathtub, poking at his stomach. The body part that would otherwise have been considered a belly button had first been bleeding, and now it was just doing nothing at all.
He was afraid he just might be dying.
With a whimper, legs crossed and nearly doubled over, Uziri waited patiently outside the bathroom. To her knowledge, this was the potty everyone used except Oliver, because he was a jerk and liked to hog the one in the other room, like he was doing right now. So, auxilary potty.
Only this one wasn't available either.
"NNNGHF!"
Opec snapped from his confused mental state and peered toward the door. There was a child waiting. Which one was still up in the air, but there was one. He tugged a big t-shirt on over his head, trying to hide the enormous bloodstains all the wat down the front of his pajama pants. This clearly didn't work. He gave a small huff and unlocked and opened the door, smiling slightly to Uziri.
"Sorry, sweetheart."
Nearly crying with relief, Uziri bolted into the bathroom, threaded through Opec's legs and made a beeline for the glorious sight of the potty.
"Iss okay," she said, fumbling with her pajamas. "Didja fall in?"
She glanced over at Opec, expecting to see him sopping wet, and looked away again as all she saw was blood.
"I gotta bannaid, if you has booboo," she offered, otherwise unphased by the blood. "Well. Da has bannaids. DAAAAAAAAAAA!"
There was the sound of something shattering downstairs as Isaiah was undoubtedly badly startled.
"What?" came the distant reply.
"BANAAAAAAID!"
"No, I didn't fall in," Opec said, laughing slightly, "and thank you." The last word was cut off strangely, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. His fangs, although still folded back, had just gushed some kind of very not-venom. He rushed from the doorway to the bathroom and stumbled to a nearby garbage pail, spitting rather nervously into it. Whatever the stuff was, it was vaguely pink, and his mouth was beginning to tingle. It felt good and was also near-torturous.
What in God's name was happening...
"ZEEE! ZEE ALRI'?!" Irizu called, stumbling down the stairs and nearly toppling headfirst. Only then did she spot her father, immediately awakened.
"DA! DA, YOU OKAY?!"
"I'm fine, honey," Opec said, and then gave a rather loud cry of surprise. The tingling!
Uziri hadn't counted on there being more people in the bathroom. The potty was right there, but she just couldn't go in front of people.
"Hnnnf..."
She contented herself to look into the garbage can to look at the spit, or the puke, or whatever it was.
"Ew!" she said, utterly delighted. "Rizu, Rizu, come look!"
"Uziri, what could you have done in the last five minutes to need a holy s**t Opec, what happened!"
Isaiah stumbled into the bathroom, a box of dinosaur-printed band-aids in hand and his face going chalk white as he caught sight of Opec.
"Did she. How did. Are you alright?!"
Opec scampered from the bathroom, suddenly feeling self-conscious. His breathing had gone laboured, and he tried to not let his tongue touch any part of his mouth. That infernal tingling!
A bit of pinkish fluid dropped onto his bare foot, and it sat there, burning and tingling, until he rubbed it off. Even then, the sensation lingered.
"Nonono...I woke up like this." He swallowed the pink goo and grimaced.
"NNGH!"
Irizu scampered over to the bathroom and peered into the trashcan.
"Oooh! Looks like someone's eye went pop."
Opec gave a pained groan.
"It does," Uziri said in approval. "But it's from yer Da, so mebbe tha' ain't such a good thing."
Isaiah followed after in anxiety, discarding the box of band-aids off to the side.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked worriedly. "A doctor I could call or something?"
"Oh," Irizu said shortly, and peered back at her father, "His eye still's there, so's it's okay."
"Any doctor I've heard of is probably dead," Opec said with a small shrug, a swallow, and a light cry, "and I don't think any around Gaia would be able to help. I feel fine, really. I'm gonna just...get changed, I think. Watch television or something." He had never watched television before without it being a side effect to joining Iz or Oliver on the couch. He felt like it, though. He felt like doing nothing. He sighed and went up the stairs, not yet noticing that his belly button was bleeding again.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:40 pm
Daddy Dearest?
"DADDY DADDY WAKE UP DADDY I WANNA GO GET UP."
Opec groaned. He was being shaken awake by his daughter nearly four hours past when he usually slept. There was a dried line of pinkish goo trailing from both sides of his mouth and he sputtered around some that had pooled at the back of his throat.
For the last few days, Opec had not felt so well.
"What, honey? Daddy's tired."
"YOU PROMISED MEEEE! I ASKED IZ AND HE IGNORED MEEEEEEE."
It took the Viishani a moment to realize what, exactly, he had promised the girl. When he remembered, he groaned in distaste. Earlier in the week he'd promised Irizu that they could go and pick fruit. God knew why. She had been promised mud, buggies, and birdies, and so had been rather enthusiastic at the prospect of harvesting.
"Alright, alright. I'll get up. Just go play with Iz for a while. Tell him I'm coming down. You might want to take his headphones off before you try to talk to him again." It was a valid assumption, he figured.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZ!" Irizu shrieked as she ran from the room and down the stairs, "IIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZYYYYYYY!"
Iz, who over the noise of gnashing guitars could barely even hear himself think, saw Irizu rather than heard her.
"What is it?" he asked, a little louder than he intended to at first as he dragged his headphones off his ears. "Everything okay? You didn't set fire to anything, did you?"
Uziri, who'd been for once just innocently drawing on the floor in front of the couch, glared up at her Da reproachfully.
"I on'y did tha' once! Oliver said to!"
Irizu tugged at Isaiah's sleeve as if he wouldn't be able to hear her otherwise. Keep the lever pumpng and the ears still work, yes.
"Da promised we could go pickin', member? In de mud? I wanna go now. Da be down in a little while, he all gooey and went 'rrrrrgh'." The girl was clearly ecstatic.
As promised, Opec had slid from bed and gotten dressed haphazardly, and them moved to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Just as he'd finished, more goo gushed from his folded fangs. He gave a near-scream, clapped a hand over his mouth, and swallowed this stuff.
Whatever was going on, it was not cool.
"Picking...?"
Iz wracked his brain for a minute. Oh, yeah. Fruit picking. Yay.
"Alright, alright...we'll just wait until Opec comes down 'til then. Zee, why don't you let Rizu color with you."
But it was too late, Uziri had abandoned her crayons and had decided that jumping on Iz was a fantastic idea. She jumped on his lap, seizing his headphones and taking them for herself.
"Is Opec-Da still puking up the pink eye goo?" she shouted to her sister.
Irizu nodded and yelled back.
"Yeah. Iss not eye-goo, though. It makes your skin feel all funny." She had clearly assaulted her father in his sleep.
Opec emerged from the bathroom and flopped down beside Isaiah, leaning aginst him.
"Iz, I feel like s**t." He had never been one to cuss, but this seemed like an appropriate moment. Something odd stirred within him. He ignored it.
"Oooooh," Uziri said, wide-eyed. "Like melty-offy? Tha'd be bad. But neat."
Isaiah sighed, plucking Uziri off his lap and shunting her patiently onto the couch, putting an arm comfortingly around Opec instead.
"M'sorry," he said worriedly. "D'you want tea or something?"
"I can't eat. It feels funny to talk, let alone eat," Opec shrugged and sighed, "but I promised the larvae. I have to go."
"Nonono. Kinda like when your foot go 'sleep an' wakin' up."
"No," Iz said. "If you're not feelin' good, you're not feelin' good. Oliver can take them and I'll stay here with you."
"Neat....mebbe...mebbe it's like, that stuff? That, that snakes spit? An' it's killing your arm-meat!"
Uziri sounded positively excited by the prospect of flesh-destroying venom. Irizu's Da was fluffy AND dangerous!
Opec shook his head.
"Oliver would get lost and assaulted by the other survivors. God knows that's the last thing we need. I feel a little better, though. I wanna get outta the house. C'mon." He was feeling a little better...probably because he hadn't slept until 8 and been too lazy to talk to anyone.
"Nu, Da-spit make people go GLURK!" Irizu suddenly crumpled to a heap on the floor, twitched, and started to giggle hysterically.
"Yeah, probably," Isaiah said, sounding only minimally concerned. He hopped off the couch, discarding his book. "Okay then. The minute you start feeling like crap again we're gonna come home, though."
Uziri gasped loudly, watching in awe. She wanted to go glurk!
"BLARF!" she shrieked, the polar opposite of glurk. She fell to the ground like a wet rag, tongue lolling and one leg kicking in violent spasm for effect.
Opec yawned, smiling slightly at his lost support. Strings of the pin gooey stuff stuck between his upper and lower teeth. Seeing that, one could not deny that something weird was going on.
He stood then and scooped Irizu off the ground with the most energy he'd had in days and days.
"C'mon. We can go now," he smiled, and then turned to Isaiah.
"Oliver coming?"
"YAAAAAAAAAAY!" Irizu shrieked, immediately forgetting she was dead, "Zee! Zee, we go pickin' in mud now! Up, Zee-zombie, up!"
"Comin'," Iz said, hoisting the still-twitching Uziri up into his arms. She grinned up at him, curling against him like a cat.
"Imma find a wormy-apple an' you can have it," she said to her Da, privately beaming at how well he would love her generous gift.
"Er. Thanks, Zee," Iz said, setting her on her feet. "Oliver? Huh...maybe. Hey, OLIVER!"
"What?"
"Fruit-picking. Wanna come?"
"No."
"Good. Get your coat."
There was a distinct sound of cursing, but Oliver appeared anyway.
"Don't like you," he said, pushing Isaiah out of the way so that he fell back onto the couch.
Opec snerked.
"You don't have to make him come," he said, and then turned to Oliver, "You really don't have to come, you know. You can j--"
"Yes 'Liver do."
"...I stand corrected."
Opec heaved a sigh, retrieved a basket from the kitchen, and headed for the door.
"C'mon."
"If the lady insists," Oliver said, not even half as sarcastically as Isaiah had expected as he pulled on his coat and followed after Opec. He looked down to find Uziri tugging at his sleeve, expression plain.
"Alright, alright," Iz said, scooping the girl up in his arms again.
"Whee," the girl said seriously.
It took only ten minutes or so to reach the field Opec had been thinking of, and he thanked his lucky stars that it had not been obliterated in the attack. It was an expansive green-and-brown field, muddy as promised, and lines with bushes of mysteriously coloured berries.
He neglected to mention that his first ten years or early morning had been spent predominantly here, picking fruit for Master's various baked goods, which he would spend his first ten years of afternoons making.
He kicked his train of thought from the tracks and handed each of the toddler a little plastic baggy that he fully expected to come back full of mud, worms, pebbles, and possibly dead animals.
"Go crazy. Just be careful. Some of them are prickly."
Irizu gave a happy shriek as she was set on the ground, threw her sandals to the side, and pranced away happily through the mud.
"Zeeeee! Come-come!"
Opec turned to the side and spit a gob of goo to the ground.
"That's really getting annoying," he grimaced, his tongue's mad tingling sending a shiver down his spine. He placed the basket he'd been carrying on his head and slumped to his knees, heaving a sigh.
"Maybe," Opec nodded. He reached over, plucked a berry without so much as looking at it, popped it into his mouth, and sucked it of its juices. He then flopped over only Isaiah's shoulder, the basket on his head lifting up awkwardly on one side.
His ears were crushed against the wicker. It was because of this that he wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't hearing things.
A repetition of the voice dashed his doubts out.
"Hello?!" a voice was calling from a shack nearby, attached to a pair of unnaturally white feet (as that was as much as Opec could see beneath the rim of the basket), "Who's there?"
The Viishani removed the basket from his head to view the tall, white, moderately masculine Viishani standing a few good feet away.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure anyone still owned this place. If you want us to leave--"
"Opec?"
"...huh?!"
Oliver, munching on a handful of spiny berries without much thought to the scrapes and cuts he was gaining in his mouth, wandered back over and gave the new guy an uninterested look.
"Friend of yours?"
Iz shrugged.
"Not me. You know him, Opec?"
"...no?" Opec replied. Regardless, the man hugged him tightly. Opec stiffened, eyes wide. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be friendly with the man who had apparently overseen his enslavement for a decade.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the man apologized and let the younger Viishani go, looking him over, "I should have figured you wouldn't recognize me." There was a lull in the conversation, as if the man was waiting for Opec to have a sudden epiphany. He did not.
"I'm your father."
Ah, all the things Opec had fantasized about as a child. He would meet his parents and they would take him home, and they'll all act as if nothing had ever happened. That was, of course, before he learned that neither of his parents had been slaves in the first place, therefore becoming nothing more than the people that sold him,a s far as he was concerned. There were no emotions aside from a brief flicker of excitement.
"Oh. Hi."
Isaiah had the grace to look completely thunderstruck. Oliver, mouth slightly agape, accidentally drooled out a bit of berry juice and hastily wiped it away.
"Well. Uh."
"Hmm."
This was no time for warm greetings or happy introductions. Opec was cranky, tired, and he wanted answers, damnit.
"So. Why'd you sell me?"
"We didn't, we--"
"You did. I was standing up on a podium at one. You did."
"Nonono. You're a Sixty. Were a Sixty."
"I'm well aware." There was another long pause.
"Anything past forty, and you're forced by law to sell. Were."
Regardless of this new development, Opec still felt no emotional connection to this man. Ninety-six years of seperation clearly did that to a person. He stayed silent. His father looked vaguely concerned, but upheld his flashy grin.
"Who are these fine young men? Gaians, I presume."
Opec nodded. "Isaiah an' Oliver."
Another pause.
"And you know them as..." An even longer pause, and the man was forced to clarify his question.
"How are you related?"
"It's complicated."
Another long bout of silence ensued.
Oliver was half-tempted to spin a story about an illegal drug ring with Opec as his flashy arm candy to show off to rival dealers. Isaiah was scrambling on whether or not he should have spoken up five minutes ago, and kept silent with a growing sense of embarrassment.
Taking full advantage of an opportune moment, Uziri crashed through the bushes, shoved past Oliver, and pressed a rotted berry into Isaiah's hand before taking off again.
"I looked, iss got maggots'n ever'thin'. Yer welcome," she called over her shoulder, running back into the brush to rejoin Irizu.
Isaiah cringed as he felt something wiggle in his palm, but didn't drop the fruit.
"Er. Thanks, Zee."
Opec looked to the rotted thing and wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Whozzat?"
Opec turned back to his father (and my, was it strange to think of him that way), jettisoned from his deranged plane of thought.
"Huh?"
"The little one."
"Isaiah's girl. My daughter's twin sister."
"...what?"
"I told you it was complicated."
"I can see that now."
"DA! DA! LOOKI' WHA' I GOH!" Irizu squealed, her English damaged horribly as it generally was when she got excited. The girl held up a bag filled with mud and some little purple blotches.
"They lot easier to picks when they on d' ground! ...oh. Hi, Mister!" She scampered off as quickly as she had appeared to whisper with Zee.
Opec's father gava a warm laugh. Opec's ears folded back.
"Here," the man said, disappearing back into the small building and returning with a sack, dumping its contents into the basket in Opec's arms, "It's the least I can do."
Opec stared down at what was probably a month's worth of harvest.
"...thanks." He looked up and gave the man a weak smile, recieving quite the same. Anyone would have seen the family resemblance right then, in the freakishly white teeth and partially distended fangs.
Opec choked, turned to the corner, and spit into the ground.
"Ah, that time, is it?"
Opec arched a brow.
"Nevermind." Another pause followed, followed by what Opec considered to be a completely reasonable question.
"What's your name?"
Watching the exchange, feeling out of place, Isaiah felt a sudden swell of resentment against Oliver and punched him in the arm. Oliver jumped, startled, and met with Isaiah's sudden glare, and decided to remain silent. Someone got to have a reunion with their family, it said plainly. Uncomfortable with that old bitterness, Oliver stepped forward a little and made an attempt at civility.
"Oliver Dunn. Pleased to meet you," he said, realizing too late he should have offered his hand but then dismissing it as extra.
"Isaiah," Iz said unnecessarily.
Uziri, seizing Irizu's hand and peering up at the man with frank curiosity, remained silent, though she stuck a glowing skull-bead in her mouth and lit up one side of her face as she sucked on it like a jawbreaker.
The man blinked in curiosity, and then nodded, his grin returning.
"It's nice to know you two apart," he nodded.
"Your name."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I might."
"You wouldn't."
"I might."
"Frea."
"You're right. I don't."
The man laughed and tipped his head.
"I told you, see? Now, where do you think your friend got his name from?"
Oh, awesome Now he wasn't only a dead friend, but a dead brother.
"...oh." Opec sidled up closer to Isaiah, seeking comfort. "I'll call you that, then."
"Sounds fair." Another long pause. The man suddenly seized Opec by the forearms and drew him up, pressing their cheeks together in a rather affectionate gesture, as far as the Viishnu were concerned. After a moment, Opec leaned in...and then stepped back.
"I think we should be going."
"Understandable."
Irizu watched with her sister, a finger pressed thoughtfully to her chin.
Briefly wondering if things could get any more awkward, Oliver and Isaiah voted on being quiet again, both glad for the excuse to get away.
Uziri spit out the glowing bead after a time, and replaced it with a berry. She chomped down on it hard, splitting the core inside with an audible crack.
Opec gave his father...nonono. He had a name now. He gave Frea a brief smile and started off, pushing some hair away from his face and once more spitting into the soil. Strange, awkward, eerie...sure, yeah, that all worked.
...but he'd be damned if he didn't just walk away from the only person who could tell him what was wrong.
Iz, clinging to Opec's side, managed a painfully shy smile and nod in acknowledgment before his eyes flicked down to the pink spittle. Damn, but that was STILL weird. Oliver on the other hand had long since returned to his food, the civility that had spurred him into introduction having throughly exhausted him of any more effort.
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:16 pm
You know...a little bundle of...thing!
Opec stood under a nearly painfully hot cascade of water, attempt to wash various-things-he'd-rather-not-think-about from his person. He absently noticed that he was no longer leaking obscure pink fluid, but was otherwise paying attention to nothing.
...that is, until the faces appeared on his shower wall.
The Viishani gave a strangled squeak and wrapped his tail protectively around himself.
"You don't have to do that," Littulo's left head assured him, "We kinda, you know, saw you your whole life."
Slowly, reluctantly, Opec let his tail drop.
The right head tittered.
"Isn't that sweet?" she said half-snidely. "Looks like you've been busy."
Opec's head drooped in shame.
"SHUT UP," the right head commanded the left, "Not why we're here, remember? REMEMBER?!"
The Viishani looked up again, curious.
"Ugh, so touchy" the right head said sulkily. "No need to snap. Just...making casual observation. I remember just FINE, thank you."
Snorting up a rolling blob of phlegm back into her nose, she eyed Opec with half-interest.
Opec cringed and the left head rolled its eyes.
"Look. You caught the baby."
"Huh...?" was Opec's only response.
The right head tutted impatiently.
"Do we have to spell it out? she asked, sucking idly at her teeth. "You've got a . Er. Bundle of something or other. I forget how it goes. Y'know. A thing."
"Whaaat?"
"There's a fetus. Inside you. Well, I guess it's just an egg at the moment, but it's there."
"WHAT?!"
"Yep. Surprise!"
"NO!"
"No?" the right head said slyly. "Oh, yes. Very much yes. You have fun with that."
"...but! I didn't ask for a--!"
"We need to repopulate this planet, yenno."
"But...whose is i--"
The faces were ******** style="font-size: 9px">Attentions ever keen when it came to cursing, Oliver poked his head into the bathroom and ignored any conventions of respecting Opec's privacy.
"Everything alright in here?" he asked. "Soap ain't attackin', is it?"
"OLIVER!" Opec shouted and threw the shower curtain open, "OLIVER. LITTULO SAYS I'M PREGNANT."
Head jerking back in instinctive surprise and cracking against the door, Oliver hissed a few swears of his own and stumbled into the bathroom, coming to rest to sit on the toilet.
"Um," he said, massaging the back of his head and looking at Opec with brows raised. "That's..."
Wait a minute, what the ******** is a littulo? he thought, casting his memory out for some recognition of the name.
"Pregnant?" he parroted, trying to buy himself time.
"YEAH!" Opec continued shouting, unable to control himself, "She was in the WALL and she TOLD me and the mean head LAUGHED at me and they left before I could ASK ANYTHING. Oliver, I'm not supposed to be able to make babies! Oliver, I don't WANT another baby!"
He was rambling near-incoherently but, at the moment, he had no idea how else to speak.
"Ahhh, Lit-tulo. The tri-faced b***h with the acid-leaking tits. Gotcha. Hmm. Gimme a second," Oliver said, nodding and going for the door. "Hey, Iz?"
"What? What's going on in there?"
"Situation. C'mere."
Iz peeked into the bathroom, looking as though he was expecting someone to swing an axe into his face at any moment.
"What is it?" he asked meekly.
"Opec's pregnant."
"...who in the what, now?"
Opec's eyes watered up and his lower lip began trembling. Before he could speak another word, he flung himself at Isaiah, dripping wet and naked and sobbing hysterically.
Isaiah faltered under the unexpected weight, saved from crashing only by Oliver grabbing hold of his collar and hoisting him upright again.
"Oliver, gimme a towel-"
"Mmm, but..."
"NOW, you pervert!"
Oliver sighed, and threw a towel into Isaiah's face. Draping it clumsily with one hand over Opec's shoulders, Iz shushed and comforted and gentled in sympathy.
"Hey, hey, it's alright..." he said anxiously.
"No it's not!" Opec said, pulling back from Isaiah and giving him an incredulous what-the-hell-are-you-on kind of look, "I don't want a god-baby! And even if it's NOT a god-baby, I dunno whose it is!" He clapped a hand over his mouth then, eyes going wide.
"Hmm," Oliver said, highly unhelpful. Iz cringed slightly.
"Ah," he said, unsure what else to say.
Opec, suffering a very sudden and violent moodswing, suddenly walked from the room and plopped down onto the couch, holding the towel around him.
Staring at the floor, he considered the possibilities.
It was a god-kid with three faces and an extra eye. Not cool.
It was Isaiah's and he took initiative. Slightly more cool.
It was Oliver's and the poor thing grew up without a loving father. Very, very not cool.
He heaved a sigh and placed a hand to his stomach absently.
"Well," Oliver drawled, "looks like we have a problem."
"How can you say that?" Iz asked. "It's not a problem. It's a baby."
"I see no difference. Uziri was a problem."
Iz snarled, catching Oliver off-guard.
"You leave her out of this," he said venomously. "And so help me, if you make so much as one nasty crack about the new one, I'll tear your tongue out by the root and make you choke on it."
Iz left the bathroom abruptly, following after Opec. Oliver huffed, annoyed.
"What the ******** did I say?" he called after, leaning on the door frame.
"I don't think it's yours," the rather depressed Opec said suddenly, looking up at Iz, "I really don't."
It wouldn't make sense, after all. Oliver had come first and so, logically, the thing had to be his.
"No," Iz said, regretfully agreeing. "I s'pose not. But I'll still help you with it. Honest."
He doubted Oliver would even look twice at it once the thing was born. It was loathsome, but he knew it was going to have to be expected.
Opec sighed and fell over, resting his head in Isaiah's lap.
"I didn' even think humans could breed with Viishani," he said honestly, "I know we have more chromosomes. 'S not s'posed to be possible."
"I didn't think Vampires could breed, period," Iz said. "I thought it only worked with the siring thing. Guess not."
Slinging an arm around Opec, he looked down in pure worry.
"So...what next?"
"Well," Opec began, "I guess I just--HGGGGNN." He flailed suddenly, sitting up and staring wide-eyed at Isaiah. His eyes flickered to Oliver a moment, and then back. Back, forth, back, forth.
"Uh-oh."
Iz jerked back, startled.
"What? What's wrong?"
Oliver, arms crossing and head tilting to one side, raised a brow.
"Morning sickness?" he asked, tone more concerned than condescending.
"No," Opec said, waving his hand dismissively at Oliver, "That won't happen for at least another week." He'd acting as a midwife to the other slaves. Clearly, he knew a thing or two about babies.
He also knew a fair deal about Viishani genetics.
"Well, see, the gooey stuff didn't stop 'til...just a while ago, right? We have more...and so you...I think." He took a moment to connect his thoughts.
"I think it's both of yours."
Oliver choked. Iz made a sound halfway between a gasp, a laugh and a curse. The pair exchanged looks, and astonishment flicked over both their faces.
"HOW," Oliver said, roughly brushing a hand over his hair. "Is that even possible."
"Holy crap," Iz said, looking thunderstruck.
"Well, 'coz, see," Opec tried to explain, scooting to the edge of the couch and straightening up like a mother giving her children 'the talk', "We have more chromosomes than you guys, right? And that's what picks what you look like. So...for me to have a baby, it's gotta have more DNA than one of you can give me. It's gotta be botha yours unless Iz is magical."
He looked to Oliver than and smiled.
"Good job, old man."
Iz made an 'ooooh' kind of sound, listening with child-like interest. Oliver made a huffing kind of noise and looked away, mouth twisting.
"Seventy five ain't old," he said tartly under his breath, unwontedly sensitive.
"Oh, shaddup, Oliver," Opec said as he flopped back once more, head in Isaiah's lap, "I'm older'n you and you don' have a wriggly thing inside your gut."
This was going to suck.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:02 am
A Zoo Catastrophe and Burning Jealousy
Elazu stood, staring wide eyed at the goat in front of him. Not a few moments earlier he could have sworn the goat bleated at him funny, so of course a staring contest was in order, and so far the goat was winning. Elazu's eyes began to ache as he continued to stare at the goat, while the goat seemed to think this was funny and merely stared right back as he chewed tiredly on some hay. Elazu would not lose to this goat.
"I can't believe I got lassoed into this."
"Your fault for losin' th' coin-toss."
"Yes, Uziri. Thank yo for the reminder."
Oliver was not a sociable person at the best of times. And now that he was trapped babysitting the larva for the day while Iz went to do..whatever the hell he did when he was off on his own...and he was not happy about it.
Uziri, on the contrary, was very happy. She was holding Irizu's hand, smiling and acting as though the world was in fact made of candy and bunnies. The petting zoo had been a most excellent discovery that she took credit for taking, and now that Oliver was busy complaining to Irizu's Fuzzy Man and paying for entry, she tugged at her sister's sleeve and pointed.
"We are sneakin' in," she said importantly, leading Irizu to the open gate and making a beeline towards a baby pig.
"It won't be so bad," Opec shrugged, standing beside Oliver as he paid with his hands shoved in his pockets. Truth be told, he was actually kind of frightened to view these...Gaia-creatures.
"Anyway, you have meee~"
Irizu giggled as she was pulled into the petting zoo, squeezing her sister's hand tightly. Had she known what bunnies were, she probably would have agreed with Uziri's view on life.
"Ooh!" she cried out upon seeing the small pink creature, "Whassat?!"
Elazu's ears perked and swivled slightly as he heard a girl's cry of glee. There were other kids here? The moment of thought made him weak apparently, for his eyes chose that to be the time to blink, making the goat bleat mockingly.
" Aawww shoot!" He frowned, waggling a finger at the goat. " I get chu next time." The goat merely bleated again, and moved right along to a small patch of hay, the child was no longer interesting nor did he have any food pellets. Elazu huffed then turned his attention toward the noise that had made him blink. He saw to girls clustered around a pink blob, what the heck was that thing?!
Elazu quickly made his way over to the two girls, peering over their shoulders in order to get a good look at the pink creature, his tail flicking excitedly behind him.
" Waz dat?"
"Hnf," Oliver replied, shaking his head and shelling out the last of his cash. Ten dollars to get in to see animals that would one day serve as breakfast? What a rip.
"It's a man-a-tee," Zee said sagely, nodding. "I saw one on the TV. They breathe the fire and hotness."
Clearly Zee hadn't been paying very close attention. She glanced over her shoulder, at first uninterested, then did a bit of a double-take.
"Why do I know you," she said to the new kid, brow furrowed. She could've sworn she recognized him from somewhere...
"Hnf," Oliver replied, shaking his head and shelling out the last of his cash. Ten dollars to get in to see animals that would one day serve as breakfast? What a rip.
"It's a man-a-tee," Zee said sagely, nodding. "I saw one on the TV. They breathe the fire and hotness."
Clearly Zee hadn't been paying very close attention. She glanced over her shoulder, at first uninterested, then did a bit of a double-take.
"Why do I know you," she said to the new kid, brow furrowed. She could've sworn she recognized him from somewhere...
Opec had learned to not take Oliver's noises of distaste to heart any more.
"The larvae have disappeared," he stated simply, whirling about in an attempt to find them. Spotting the children with a little boy, he relaxed.
"Oh," Irizu nodded and then looked to the boy. She certainly didn't know this child, and the fact that Uziri had been meeting people without her made the toddler extremely jealous. Her brow furrowed in anger and the skulls on her necklace began to glow faintly.
" A manatee? Nono! Manamatees are grey blobs that live in rivers silly." He nodded to confirm his statement. He had seen some while he was visiting his grandmother. They went down to a river where the manamatees hung out in the water, along with crocodiles too.
Elazu eyed the girl who had asked why she knew him, and was struck with the same question. Had they met before? His eyes trailed on the skull necklaces and purple auras that seemed to hang around both girls. Wait, purple auras? He knew this girl!
" Yur Zeezee!" He pointed at Uziri then looked at Irizu, pausing as confusion took him. " Wait no, yur Zeezee. Wait, theres two Zeezees?"
"What? Oh, god-dammit..."
Studying Elazu's face, Uziri gave a sudden shriek of victory as memory kicked in.
"Zu!" she said, pointing him in the chest. "I 'member now! You made your han's diss-pear. Rizu, Rizu, this's my friend Zu."
After a beat, she realized poor Zu was helplessly confused. It was sad and quite amusing at the same time.
"We's twins," she said. "I am Uziri. She's Irizu. Easy peasy."
"Hmph," Irizu groused, crossing her arms angrily. She only made one friend, and only because Drippy Girl was melting.
"Zu stupit."
Uziri looked at her sister, tone scolding.
"Ri-zu," she said. "Zu's not thupit. He ca' make his han's diss-pear."
She looked to Elazu then, expression comforting.
"Not thupit," she said loyally.
"HMPH!" Irizu voiced, stomping her foot and walking dramatically off. How dare Zee talk to her like that?! She was the older twin! And what did making your hands invisible have to do with anything?!
"DA!"
"Hnn?" Opec kneeled down as his daughter approached.
"Da, I wan' go home."
"What? Why?! We just got here!"
"I dun' like it."
Opec stood, toddler in his arms, and looked over to Uziri and the little boy. Ah, he understood.
"We're not going."
"BUT DAAAAAAAA!"
Elazu watched the twins in silence, his eyes constantly switching from one girl to the other. He wasn't too sure what to do, or even say at this point. However, Uziri's comforting look made him more at ease. He didn't really know this other girl, so upsetting her almost right after meeting her made him uneasy. What had he done to upset her so? Or maybe she was like his brother, Trent, who was easy to upset and send pouting off into the other room.
Either way he shrugged, squatting down next to Uziri, peering at the pink blob again. " This thing is funny lookin'."
Uziri sighed, shaking her head slightly and the skulls on her necklace glowing brightly in distress.
"Sorry," she muttered to Elazu, scuffing at the ground. "Issa mam-a-tee..." she repeated, nodding. "They's s'posed to look funny."
She shifted slightly on the churned muddy ground, discomforted. Her sister didn't like Elazu?
"Gimme sec, " she said to the boy, shooting off to tug at Irizu's sleeve and try to draw her back. "Rizu, Rizu, Rizu. Don' be mad, I'll share 'im with you."
Irizu's head suddenly whipped toward her sister, and she began sobbing and trembling with such force that Opec nearly dropped her.
"I DON' WAN' HIM!" she shrieked and tugged away, burying her face in Opec's chest, "Zee have friend...RIZU DON'."
Opec heaved a sigh.
"Maybe I'd better bring her home."
Elazu stood and watched Uziri walk off to talk to her twin, a small frown crossing his face. Had he done something wrong? He didn't get it. He squatted down then, hugging his knees as he watched the animals moving around him. Maybe if he- nah that wouldn't work.
After a deep sigh and glancing over toward the now wailing Irizu, Elazu thought that maybe he should just go find Aubrey and ask to be taken home, or just move to a different area so the girls could enjoy themselves. He nodded, standing back up he placed his hands into his pockets, finding that he had some left over pellets in there. Well he best get rid of them before going home with them. He walked over to a baby sheep, holding his hand out, fist closed with the pellets hidden inside.
" Sheepy, sheepy!"
Oliver, watching impassively the whole time, made no argument for or against the decision. At least Uziri wasn't misbehaving.
Zee was, in fact, in terrible distress. She'd made Irizu cry. She was a horrible, awful sister, and she'd made poor Irizu upset.
"I...I didn't mean..." she said, tears welling in her eyes unexpectedly. She rubbed them away in defiance, looking up at Irizu. "But...if...if you stay, you'd make friends wi' him too. Then you..." she broke off to sniffle, "Then you'd have one too."
Lip trembling and sorely missing her Da for a shoulder to cry into - Oliver simply didn't cut it - Uziri bowed her head and tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling of holding back tears.
Irizu sniffled. Oh, what an awful, terrible person she was, making her sister cry! How mean! This only made his chest feel worse, and she clung to her father's shirt.
"Oh, for the love of..."
"Da, I wanna go."
"Irizu, you really shouldn--"
"Please?" Rizu had no intentions of having any fun any more. Her mood was ruined. The next time she saw the dark-haired boy, she'd try to make friends with him, but for now she just couldn't.
Elazu smiled softly as the baby sheep nibbled at the pellets in his hand. A few times he would have to shoo away the goat he had had a staring contest with, who seemed to think that those pellets were his and not the baby sheep's. But Elazu set him straight, and once the pellets were all gone, he stood up, dusting his hands off on his jeans.
What was he doing just a few moments ago? Oh yeah!
He turned toward the twins again, his tail flicking from side to side as he watched them with their parents. Both girls looked upset, and he felt really bad! But again he wasn't too sure what to do about it. So he made his way over to the girls, tugging on Uziri's sleeve as he finally approached her.
" You okie?"
Mouth twisting and impatience growing, Oliver folded his arms and leaned against a fence post and waited for the children's mental breakdowns to play out. A tiny baby pig wandered over and snuffled at his shoes, curly tail wagging like a dog's. He shifted away, and it followed. He sighed.
"Hello," he said to the pig. It snuffled again.
"Nooooo," Zee said, drawing out her words as tears trickled thickly down her cheeks. "Imma bad sis'ser an' I made Rizu cry and I'm awfuuuuul!"
Irizu flailed wildly in Opec's arms, demanding she be put down. In moments she felt her feet him the floor and she stumbled to her sister, immediately throwing her arms around her.
"Rizu SORRY!" she shrieked so loud that her father's ears folded back in distaste.
Elazu frowned and reached out to wipe away Uziri's tears, he didn't like seeing people cry, he wasn't sure why but he always hated when people were that sad. Before he could reach the tears, however, Irizu's presence made him jump back, watching helplessly as the two sisters hugged and cried.
He took a few more steps back, looking up at the two adults who seemed to be with them for help, his eyes pleading for some ideas of what to do in this situation he had got himself into. Girls were so strange!
Uziri's relief was blatant and instantaneous. Irizu wasn't mad at her, that's all she cared about. All was again well with the world.
"Zee sorry too," she said, unsure what the apology was for but certain it would be in good taste to make it available. She looked to Elazu then, and in a moment of wary bravery let go of Irizu for a second and gave him a hug, letting go just as fast and returning to her sister as though drawn by magnetism.
At being abandoned for the boy, Irizu's face contorted into a pain visage, but her usual happy expression returned with her sister.
Opec sighed once more and smacked a hand to his forehead.
"Oliver? Grab a larvae. We have to go. It's turning into a toddler soap opera."
Elazu had been stunned momentarily by the hug from Uziri, and the shock showed on his face. Wasn't it his brother who told him girls had cooties and if you hugged them you got a disease or something? As he pondered his possible doom, he was unable to realize that said older brother had walked up behind him, eyeing the two girls and two men who Elazu seemed to be stalking currently. The teen put his hand upon Elazu's head, ruffling his hair suddenly as he pulled Elazu's head back so he could see him.
" Hey shrimp. You stalking people again?"
Elazu frowned, swatting at his brother's hand as he twirled around to face him. " No! Dey are my friends! Or at least the girls are, I dunno the mens."
Aubrey arched a brow in question. " Friends huh? Well great, but we gotta go, you wandered off again and you are making Risika frantic."
Elazu squeaked in surprise, having forgotten that his family was even at the zoo, and that he had indeed wandered off. He turned on his heel, facing the twins once more. " I sowwy, but I gots to go!" He smiled brightly, extending both hands out to the girls infront of him, merely looking for hand shakes.
"I see you again, yes?"
Oliver sighed and scooped up Uziri under one arm, ignoring her kittenish squeal of protest.
"Nnghf! Yes yes, we'll see Elazu again," she said, wiggling in Oliver's solid grip. "Good bye-bye, Lazu!"
Irizu sniffled and waved before burying her head in her sister's chest. And that was that.
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