Welcome to Gaia! ::

(( setting is inspired by Ceilie the dog, if jivvin weather doesn't match mine then this is a fantasy post... and if anyone would like this as an rp, then feel free to respond to any of the characters in it. ))

Elayeth skidded across the frozen water of the lake. The casing on the ice was about 10 inches thick and he knew he was safe, so he was bounding and running, jumping and laughing. It was like having a big wide open field, only without all the smells and droppings of the woodlands creatures. There was a time... back when Elayeth was very small, where he could remember living in the woods, all alone except for when Alexander would come and visit him. He liked life much better now that Miss Ranald and Miss Keppit allowed him to stay in the house. He grinned to himself. "I wonder" He spoke to no one in particular as he skidded across a particularly smooth patch before hitting a bump and almost sprawling flat. "If Alexander Edward has noticed that I'm missing yet." and then he laughed. When he was younger, he wouldn't have laughed at dissobeying Alex... The vhaid was his whole world after all... until Keppit had found out that Alex was keeping the young Elayeth in the woods as a servant and pet... then Alex had been yelled at punished, and Elayeth had been given a bed in the house and called 'son'... it was strange, but it certainly put a new spin on his perspective. Alexander... Alexander Edward, Rightful Vhaid of... of... the universe? (Elayeth forgot which it was these days) was not the be all end all creature in charge... No, that appeared to be Keppit. Elayeth laghed again and went sprawling into the snow as he stumbled on a dent. Wouldn't that make Alex mad! If he only knew that Elayeth now put Keppit above him in the pecking order... well, If Alexander knew that then there wouldn't be much left of Elayeth.

Calvin skidded across the frozen water of the lake... on the opposite end as Elayeth of course. She'd been wanting to do this all week, but Lily had sad no. And said no, and said no, and said no. Calvin sighed. Her mother was always worrying way too much. Calvin was, after all, a young lady now, and she could certainly take care of herself without any help from anyone else and that was that.... she grinned at Rusty, who was standing awkwardly over on the bank, as she skidded by. Poor old guy. She laughed aloud and then tripped, falling flat on her face and skidding head first into a snowbank. Before three seconds had passed she bounded out of the snowbank and yelled assurances to Rusty that she was fine. Even though he was scared of the lake, and fearful of the ice and water, she knew he'd be out there in a heartbeat to get her should she fall through. That was good to know.... that she could take care of herself without any help at all, but that if she somehow couldn't... She had Rusty, Luke, and Lily. She smiled as she sailed across the ice, winds blowing back her ears and fur, cold air clearing her senses, much faster now that she knew where most of the bumps and dents were... "This.... Must be what it's like to fly." She whispered to herself. She didn't really want to fly of course... but it was a nice feeling all the same.

Alexander Edward growled to himself as he padded through the woods in search of his young assistant. The boy was always running off on his own lately. Alex could remember a time when the squire child would jump when Alex siad jump and cower when appropriate. These days? Alex was lucky to get the boy's attention for more than a minute or so. And if that horrible zombie creature was feeding the boy? Then that was a lost cause, and it would be hours before the boy would do anything for his master. Alex's brain grumbled at him as his thoughts were accompanied by memories of all the times Ranald and that Zombie Keppit thing had told him that Elayeth was his brother and not his servant, and that he was not anyone's master. Yes well, they had no idea what they were talking about... they were all just lowley peasants... and when he was king? When he was king they'd all be sorry. As alex stopped to begrudgingly pick pine needles out from between his toes, he caught a flash of red through the trees. knowing that he'd found Elayeth at last, he left the path and waded through the snow towards the lake. What he saw when he got there, was a graceful red jivvin, flying across the surface of the water, leaping and bounding, never really falling... the wind in his ears and the clear air on his face... the boy looked like he had no worries. The boy? No. As Alexander Edward, rightful vhaid of everything, watched... he was forced to admit that the jivvin on the lake was not a boy, and hadn't been for quite some time. "Squire becomes a man." Whispered quietly to himself, for nobody but the wind to hear.

Rusty paced back and forth on the bank nervously. If she fell through... if she became hurt... if she tripped and fell through... he didn't quite know what to do with himself. The rational part of him knew that 10 inches of a frozen lake crust was enough to hold up the almost too skinny jivvin child. But the part of him that loved her unconditionally was (as chance would have it) also the part of him that was deathly terrified of water. He couldn't swim... he might be able fly out there and grab her, but she was almost too big for that! Luke couldn't have carried her back over here either, both of the twins were extraordinarily heavy for Uuthlis and had a hard time with lenthy flights in the best of cases. He paced back to the left as he watched her fly headfirst into a pile of snow. He'd have panicked completely, but it wasn't the first time she'd done that today... more like the twelfth, and like every time before this one, the little tan jivvin child bounced out of the snow with a smile and a cry that all was well, and Rusty's heart slowed a little as she did. He sighed. What was she going to be like as an adult? She was crazy enough as a child, and while he loved her dearly, he tried not to remember her too much as a baby... those times were passed, and now he and Luke and Lily could all enjoy her personality now that she was more like a child and less like a hummingbird on Carisseed. He smiled... but she had been cute back then, all legs and elbows... and as he watched her on the lake now, skidding around on all fours, never really falling... Rusty was forced to admit that his little sister wasn't a baby anymore... hadn't been a baby for a while now. The Calvin that he knew right this very moment was a bright and vibrant young lady with a voice and opinions of her own. Part of him was sad at the thought that his little sister wasn't his baby sister anymore, but part of him also knew that he'd love her no matter what, no matter how old and no matter how annoying. "Always be my baby sister." He whispered to himself, not for anyone but the wind to hear.

(( Luke and Aristotle :: Jan 27 2008 ))

Luke strode Up to the front of the Jivvin center with a smile on his face, and stopped only for a moment while admiring the flowers before stepping into the hallway. He was here, once again, looking for his brother who was always avoiding things... and people... and lately, Luke for some reason.

He sighed as he thought about it for a moment, and then resigned himself to looking for Rusty. sure he could call to him mentally, but how was that being social? "Russss-teee!" He turned the corner into the kitchen, looked around, and called again. ... "Rusty?"

This was really Aristotle's first time at the center. Oh, he'd been there in the past, he was sure. Once, maybe. But time flies, especially when you travel with a murderous fish lady. Yes, Dreas sure was a handful, but Arist had learned long ago to avoid her when she went on one of her rampages.

This time, well, they'd happened to be near this place, a place he was wholly unfamiliar with, and yet still somehow remembered. He had always had a good memory for places, though. He'd barely set foot into the building when he heard a voice calling out from another room. Loud people, how he hated them. Was it so hard to keep quiet? Probably best to ignore them, and just look around.

Luke called out for Rusty maybe two or three more times before he rounded the corner into the living room... and almost walked into Aristotle on the way back out. It occured to him, briefly, that had Luke been Rusty, this new Jivvin would have been greeted with growls and rudeness... Lucky for this green jivvin, Luke and Rusty were completely different. Luke grinned at the newcommer and took a step back. "I'm sorry... didn't mean to, um, run into you there. Were you comming in? or? ..." He took another step back to let the other jivvin in if he so chose.

It was rather a shock to Aristotle when a bright pink... THING almost ran into him. Oh, sure, the other... CREATURE was likely a Jivvin as well (this place, those ears, what other conclusions could one come to?), but really, it was bright PINK for crying out loud. There's just something WRONG with that.

And so Arist couldn't help giving Luke a weary look as he backed away from the encounter, and would probably have snapped at the other Jivvin had Luke not apologized immediately and been so damned polite. Aristotle may have 'a stick up his a**' as Dreas so eloquently put it, but he understood politeness, and would answer it with politeness as well.

"That's alright. No, I was not. I was simply looking around. ... Were you the one making such an damned annoying racket?"

Okay, as polite as he could get, anyway.

Luke laughed, sort of a barking stocatto, and nodded. "Most likely... was it Rusty that someone was calling for? Kind of... Russss-teeee!" He bark/laughed again. "He's my brother, I've lost him... or rather he's lost me. Luke looked around the room as if he half expected to see his brother right behind him. "Say, you haven't seen him have you? He's green, but much brighter that you, and he's got a metal front leg..."

"...No." The more time he spent around this obnoxiously cheerful, bright pink thing, the more Aristotle regretted coming here in the first place. Sure, he was avoiding getting killed, but that might just be better than being around this... this THING.

However, a question popped into Arist's head, and he couldn't stop himself from saying it in time, "How the blazes do you 'lose' your own brother?" Especially one with a metal leg. Wouldn't that make a lot of noise? Well, maybe his brother was younger than him, and simply got lost in that infuriating way children do. Fortunately Dreas didn't like children, so Aristotle had yet to play babysitter.

"well..." he paused for thought and sat down on his haunches. "He's not really lost, he just needs his personal space." Luke tapped his own head with his tail. "I know he's here in the center because I can hear him in my head... but," he shrugged. "By calling out loud I'm letting him know that I'm on my way and he shouldn't be surprised to see me." He looked Aristotle up and down, taking into account the green jivvin's body language. "You know... he's not like me at all. He's much quieter, and less prone to being social... he usually sits kind of like you're sitting now." Then he laughed without warning, breaking up the seriousness. "You might like him... or hate him, who knows?"

Personal space... I understand that at least, though Aristotle, grimacing a bit. And was the 'hear him in my head' bit telepathy? He knew that he could talk to Dreas that way, but neither one typically used it, except to find out when it was time to leave town again. And if this guy's brother was anything like Arist was, it wasn't a surprise he was avoiding the pink freak. "Hmph. Well, I know only too well that family members can be complete opposites." Although crazy did indeed seem to be biological. But that was another story altogether.

Luke nodded good naturedly. "Yes, so you understand. I'm glad that someone does. But to be honest I think he spends way too much time alone, really. He has no friends, and no hobbies." He shrugged and flipped his tail. "You know, I'd really better get back to finding him..." He tilted his head quizically at the other jivvin. "You are welcome to accompany me if you desire, though I can't guarantee Rusty's good nature when I find him."

Ugh. It was only the optimistic, friendly ones who said things like 'he spends too much time alone'. They just never understood that there were some people who just preferred to be alone. And yet, Aristotle decided to accompany this pixie-winged monstrosity anyway, since it WAS a good way to find out more about this building. "I'll come, I suppose. It's not like there appears to be much else to do around this blasted place anyway." Was that too weak an excuse? Maybe.

Luke just grinned and fairly leapt to his feet. He hadn't been sure that this other would accept his offer, and he did so just love to meet new jivvins... lately all he'd met were children, much younger than he, but here was a full grown adult! He padded out of the livingroom and into the hallway, before looking around at the doors.

"Lets see. I have already checked the kitchen... that's through those doors, and the den which is through there." He paused a moment as a thought occured to him. "Have you been here before?" It was possible, that he had. After all Rusty and Luke were both new to the center over the last 6 months, it was possible that this jivvin simply hadn't been here in the last 6 months or so... And then a second thought passed through his head... he didn't know this jivvin's name.

"I'm Luke by the way."

Aristotle stood as well and trotted after the other Jivvin, silent as he did so. Luke pointed out a few rooms before stopping and beginning to talk again. Always with the talking. Dreas was like that, but at least she didn't expect him to pay attention, and it was psycobabble in any case. Sane people were harder.

"I may have, when I was younger. I don't remember, though knowing the one I'm bound to, most likely not." Or everyone in the vicinity would have been dead. But again, that was a tale for another time. He debated for a moment answering the other question, and finally, "Aristotle."

"Aristotle?" He smiled. "That is a name full of history and education. Your 'bonded'" he spoke the word slowly as if it provoked more thought from him, "should be commended on their choice of name for you." They turned a corner and Luke nodded at the door on the right. "That's a dinningroom, and that one on the left is a bathroom..." He paused in front of another door and stared at it for a moment. "To tell the truth, I do not know what is behind that door, nor do I think I have ever found it unlocked in my Center exploration sessions." He turned to Aristotle with yet another grin and motioned farther down the hall. "I believe that Rusty will be found in the library anyway. Surely a jivvin with a name such as yourself will find amusement in the Jivvin Library? Theoretically there is an infinate amount of knowledge to be found there among those shelves... or so I am told."

Commended? Ahah. AHAHAHAHAHA. No. In fact, Arist wasn't even sure HOW Dreas had picked his name, she'd probably just found it written somewhere and went 'Oh THAT'S pretty' and he'd been known as that from then on. Or she'd heard it in passing somewhere. In the entire time he'd been with her, he'd never so much as found her understanding human history in the slightest. In fact, it kind of bewildered the Olplyn how this bright pink thing even knew who Aristotle was, but some people just constantly shattered expectations.

And while the locked door did indeed intrigue him, Aristotle did like books. They didn't yell, or try to kill him, like certain people he knew. Or run away, or claim he was going to eat them, or knock things over, or... well, LIVE. Books were nice. "Lead the way," he said.

"Ha- HA!" Luke turned and bounded down the hallway like a child jivvin would bound durring a game of catch-me. Then he skidded to an abrupt halt down the next hallway, taking a long hall rug into the wall with him as he crashed to a stop. He came away laughing, "I love that. And you can bet that Rusty knows we're here now... at least he knows I'm here." He winked at the arriving Aristotle and retreated into his own head for a second. brother... I'm coming into the library now, and I bring with me a new friend.

go... away... was all that was offered in response. So of course Luke wrapped a long tail tip around the door handle and sent the door whispering inwards on new oiled hinges. "Welcome to the library, Aristotle."

In the back corner, with a book spread open on the floor in front of him, sat Rusty... the exact same size and shape as Luke, with the same colour scheme in oposite of the pink jivvin... and of course with a metal paw. He simply looked up at the two entering jivvins and glared.

Aristotle glared after the other Jivvin, and then slowly followed. Really, it was like dealing with a child. But at least he was easy to follow (he really made too much noise). After only a very short time, they were in front of a door, which Luke proceeded to open.

The first thing Arist noticed was the books. He really DID like books. The second thing, of course, was the dark Jivvin in the corner, and Aristotle couldn't help but return the glare the other was giving him. Already he had to deal with a bright pink freak, now someone with the same temperament as himself. And Aristotle KNEW he himself was an a**, so really, how could this encounter go well at all?

Probably best to ignore altogether, Aristotle 'Hrmph'ed and wandered over to the shelves to take a look at what books he could read.

Rusty's eyes fell from Aristotle as the other green jivvin averted his attentions, and he moved them to where Luke was standing with a stupid grin on his face. Rusty couldn't help it, he liked Luke better than he liked anyone else. The big stupid pink jivvin could almost always cheer him up, but bringing others into the fold was not forgivable. Brother, what part of go away was difficult to understand?

Luke trotted over to the window and peered out nonchalantly. "Really Rusty, there are other jivvins in the room... you should speak out loud because it's rude to exclude them. This is Aristotle."

Rusty stood slowly, picked up the book that he had been reading in his teeth and placed it on the table next to the wall. Then he turned his eyes to his brother. "Is it not also considered rude to bring noise and unwanted attention to teh solitude of others?" He walked over to where Luke was standing, his metal paw making a deep clunking noise each time it hit the hardwood floor. "Did you even ask Aristotle if he wanted to be put upon by the likes of someone like you? Truth be told brother he probably finds you uppity and pushy, not to mention insufferable."

Luke laughed... actually laughed. "I don't doubt it, brother. Most find me that way to begin with. But they all get over that. Besides, you wouldn't want me to go into all the things that people find you to be when they first meet you."

Rusty glared at Aristotle for a moment and considered. "None of my business, I'm sure." Then he turned and walked to the door. "Enjoy the library, Aristotle. I'm sure you'll find it adequate." And then he walked out...

Luke turned and grinned at Aristotle. "Yes. I hope you ejoy your time in here." He trotted to the door. "I'd better keep an eye on him. I'll see you again later." And then he trotted right out the same way that Rusty had gone.

Aristotle listened to the conversation with what could be considered one ear, since he was really paying more attention to the books. But this Rusty person was right, Luke WAS insufferable, but he'd led Arist to the books and for that he could be forgiven. This time, anyway. It was probably a good thing Aristotle wasn't as given to violence as his bond.

He gave the two a brief nod as they left, then turned back to the shelves...

THE END. For now.

February 14, 2008

Lily came through the front door of the small house with a smile on her face and an egg in her hands. She walked right into the livingroom where two full grown jivvins were lounging around, and turned the the pink on who just happened to be laying upsidown half on and half off the sofa and thrust the egg out towards him with a grin.

In response Luke rolled over and smiled up at the woman, "What's that?"

"It had better be an ostrich egg." Rusty didn't look up from his book, but the distain in his voice was clear.

"Are you watching it for someone else?" Luke hopped down from the couch and sat placidly in front of Lily, in order that he might get a better view of the egg.

"No, Luke. It's mine... well, ours really." She suddenly grinned even harder if that was possible. "It's your new little brother... or um... sister... I don't know what it's going to be yet obviously, cause it hasn't hatched."

"Wonderful!" Luke barked out a quick laugh. "Just think Rusty, a new little brother to teach all our own dastardly little tricks to!"

"You don't need a new little brother." He still hadn't looked up. "You've got me, and I'm all the brother you'll ever need."

"Rusty..." Lily started, but the green jivvin lifted his head and glared at her, cutting her off short.

"Besides... it's not physically related to either of us, so it can't be a brother. It's just a jivvin."

Luke shook his head sadly at his brother and turned back to Lily. "What are you going to name it?"

"I don't know... I was hoping that you guys would help.... what would you name a new sibling Rusty?"

"Like I care." He snarled the phrase.

"You could at least try."

"Call it anything. Call it Bob. Call it Sue... call it Calvin. No one will really give a rat's... "

"Calvin?" Luke laughed. "Where did that one come from? Not exactly the same as Bob or Sue."

"But I kind of like it." Lily laughed and snuggled the Egg against her small torso. "We'll call him Calvin."

February 16, 2008

Rusty had been sitting alone in the diningroom when he heard a dish crash from the counter to the floor. He knew that he was alone in the house, since Luke was out in the woods stretching his wings, and Lily was at the store getting food for the house.... That left only one thing....

Burglars.

Normally Rusty could care less what was going on around him, but when it threatened his own personal safety and the saftey of his family he was most cetainly going to go kick some...

*CRASH!*

He leapt up and fairly flew into the kitchen, flipping the lights on with his tail as he passed through the door. The scene that greeted him was two broken dishes on the floor, one a personal favourite of Lily's and the other a contianer of skittles until only a moment before... and a small jivvin clinging percariously to the edge of the counter. As he stared at the scene before him, the small pale jivvin slipped and crashed to the floor.

With a sigh, Rusty slowly shuffled through the skittle lake and stood above the small jivvin... who in turn just looked up at him from it's back... laughing and laughing and laughing.

"Calvin." He shook his head at the small female jivvin in front of him and sat down on his haunches. "As a little girl jivvin with a little boy jivvin's name, you're in for some teasing.

(( The twins and Sameil :: Jan 02 2007 ))

Lucius padded softly through the hall at the Jivvin center... He was still in a good mood (but then again he ususally was.)

Uri padded along behind him... he was still in a bad mood (same application) "Luke why are we doing this? We were here last night and all you succeded in doing was drinking some fruit." He hated this place. He hated the way his paw clanked against the floor. Floors like this were the main reason he never went in the kitchen or the bathroom at Lily's house.

"We are doing this for our own good. We're antisocial... Besides... I got more done last night than you did. Where did you go anyway?"

"The library." He didn't have to wait for Lucius to ask, he knew what came next. "yes yes... the library. There's a whole room here that's just filled with books. I'm sure you'll be right at home." He grimmaced, let the way to the library and pushed open the door, metal paw first.

Sameil was in one of the back corners of the aforementioned library, reading a book that had no real cover but still deemed to be fasinating enough for the green Olplyn. Her ears twitched at the creak of the library doors opening and she let out a light huff as the scent of two unknown Jivvins came to her nose. One smelt mysteriosly of metals, but the Jivveness shrugged it off with her general nonchalance and continued to flip the dog-eared pages. As long as they left her alone, she didn't care what they did.

Once the two of them were inside the room Uri flipped his head at a bookshelf. "they're full of all kinds of books. How long are we going to stay here?"

"Well... we're here to be social, not to read books..." but the call of the shelves packed messily to the brim was almost greater than the need to socialize. "We could..."

"Wait!" Uri turned and glared at the back corner. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear... what?" Luci was confused. But he had learned during their last adventures that when Uri told him to shut up, then he needed to shut up.

Uri stalked over to the shelf and peered through the books. He turned back to his pink brother. "We should leave. There's someone in here already."

"Really?" Luci preked up and marched around the corner. He came across Samiel and a smile about split his face in two. "Hello! I like to rad too. I'm Luke."

Oh. Dear. Gods.

Sameil had glanced up as the voices had gotten closer to her small alcove, ready to snap at the nosey Jivvin that dared disturbed her, when she was struck dumb by the clash of colours on legs that had come around the corner. The Jivvin was, to put it in the nicest way she could think, burning her retinas. And they had wings. Despicable.

"Generally the only people that tread through a library's doors enjoy reading, and not some other type of activity," the Olplyn intoned after she had regained her sight, glaring out of the corner of her eye as she returned to her book. "You obviously have no manners as well, if you would interrupt someone preoccupied with a task at hand." There. Hopefully that would make the thing skitter off towards it's companion and make them leave.

Luke didn't take the hint. He was too intent upon being social. "Not always true." He flipped his tail knowingly. "My brother doesn't like to read, and he's the one who found this place." Luke though for a second and then nodded as if confirming something only he could hear. "In fact he hates to read."

"That's true." Uri walked around the corner, so he could see the female jivvin. "C'mon Luke... she doesn't want to talk to us." He looked her over before glaring at Luke.

Sameil had scowled as another eye-blinding Uuthli rounded the corner. She was eager to agree with the newcomer about them leaving her be, and started opening her mouth to voice it, when his leg caught her eye.

The shiny, thin, obviously well built metal leg.

Now Sameil had found herself in a conundrum; telling the Uuthlis to leave would mean making the leg leave, and the leg could possibly help her in building her project. On the other hand, her eyes were starting to hurt, and the wings were starting to annoy her with their soundless taunts.

Accursed curiosity.

"You. Luke's companion," she added, not wanting to seem that rude now that she wanted information, "where did you get that leg?" It was possible that she could just find the engineer and converse to him about the mechanics, after all.

Uri just glowered at her. "none of your busisness."

"He was born with it." Luke piped up from beside his brother, his manner still cheery, even with Uri in his head projecting mental daggers at him, and Sameil sitting in front of him giving him the cold shoulder. "his name's Rusty."

Uri turned and glared at Luke. "That's not my name." It was his name though. It was the nickname that his Lucius had given him... much like he had nicknames Lucius, Luke. It was more his name than anything else, but it seemed strange to have to share his name with other jivvins. He wasn't so sure he wanted this female to know his name.

"Yes it is." He folded his wings down against his body. "quit being weird. He was born with it and he hates it. What's your name?"

It was almost too much for the green twin.

"How is it possible for something to be born with metal attachments?" Sameil muttered before gently closing her book. "My name is Sameil," she replied to Luke without taking her eyes off of "Rusty"'s limb. Probably a nickname, but she would use what was given to her.

"If you do not appreciate it, why not throw it away?" She asked, before adding, "I could take it off your hands, if you would like."

Uri/Rusty failry growled at her. "Don't be stupid. How would I walk? It would be the same as me asking you for one of your legs."

"Sameil... " He smiled ignoring his brother. "That's a pretty name. Why do you want Rusty's leg?"

"Why do you care?" Rusty shook his head at Luke.

"You could get a new one. I am sure there are people somewhere on Gaia that could make one not so. . . Naked." They also probably wouldn't be able to make one as perfectly in balance as that leg. Or one that grew with the owner, if what the two Uuthis said were truth -- she really wanted that leg. A metal like that could make a person rich, if they learned the location to mine it.

"Thank you, Luke. I wish to aquire your -- brother's? -- leg in order to examine it and determine how, exactly, it was created." There was no reason to not tell them what she would do with the leg, and if she left some more personal points, well, they would never know. The Olplyn was still looking at the leg. She didn't want to loose her eyesight anymore than she had to.

"Yes... Twins actually. He's my twin brother."

"Quit staring at me before I step on your head." Rusty was getting upset.

"He's um..." Luke could see that Sameil wasn't looking anywhere other than the green Jivvin's leg. "He's a bit touchy about the leg... you probably didn't know, but it's not so nice to stare like that."

"If you don't want people staring, than you should get a skin for it," Sameil sniffed, before reluctantly looking up towards the two Uuthlis. A threat that pathetic would never spook her, and she could take them on easily even if one had metal on his side.

"What would be possible for me to have an actual closer look at your limb, 'Rusty'?" She enquired. The Olplyn would sacrifice her comfort zone if it meant figuring out the make.

Sameil calling him by his 'nickname' caught him off guard. Suddenly he didn't care anymore. "Whatever. But don't touch me." He made no move to get closer or even hold his leg out any. He simply sat himself down and stared cruely at her.

Luke sat when his brother sat. Pink and Green side by side.

Sameil's return stare gave back what was given and more, but she did rise from her seat and trot over. Cursing her curiosity and trying to keep her hackles down from being in such close proximity to the Uuthlis, the Olplyn looked the leg up and down, trying to figure out how it exactly worked. It wasn't a simple dead weight, or else it would probably be more cumbersome than this cheeky Jivvin could stand; although it would prove him right, she thought darkly.

The leg itself was a work of art, however. Every bolt and joint were aligned perfectly with eachother; the metal was placed for maximum efficiency, did not hinder any movement whatsoever, and was sturdy enough to probably hold the total weight of the Jivvin and then some. She muttered esimated lengths and sizes to herself, creating something of a blueprint of the exterior in her mind. Later, when she had it properly down on paper, she would start hypothesizing on what exactly the interior was.

Rusty jerked his leg back towards his body. "That's enough." Her fascination with the metal was almost perverse in his mind. THe leg itself was a disgrace, a strange and obvious attempt at something... oh he didn't know. No one did. "That's plenty. You're done." He turned with a sneer and strode back over to the doorway. "I'm leaving Luke."

Luke jumped to his feet. "It was nice to meet you, Sameil." He smiled and turned to follow hso brother. "I'm sorry to hav interupted your reading." And then he disapeared through the door, after his twin.

Sameil snorted at the the rudeness of others and didn't even bother to reply to Luke's farewell. Instead, she collected the book she had been reading gently in her mouth, put it into her displaced book bag, and slung it's entirety over her shoulders. She did, however, give the two Uuthlis time to vacate the premises before leaving herself, hurrying as quickly as she could towards her home.

There were blueprints to draw, after all.

(( Rusty and Aubri :: May 28 2007 ))

Aubri scurried into the Center, eyes roaming happily around the area to see if there was anything new in her play-place. The door slammed behind her with a loud whumph; there was several muffled curses, and then it swung open again, allowing the black Tala standing there to enter the building. Scowling, he shot the Ust a half-hearted glare, and made an attempt at rubbing his nose to stop the aching.

"Aubri. Doors. Not for slamming." Tadrith stated flatly, before shoving the door closed and making it rattle in it's frame. "See? You hurt the door, and then H.E. will cry. And the door will try to slam you back," he added thoughtfully, "and when you're stunned, it'll eat you."

Aubri gave her Papa a look of pure terror. He stared back. Then she grinned and pounced on him, causing them both to fall over.

"Ack, ack, you're getting too big for that, gerrof!"

"Okay, Papa, I'll make sure the brain-sucking-chopping-stunning-eating doors won't get me!" She nuzzled him, hopped off, and bounced into another room. Maybe there were people in there~?

"Don't call me that!" He shouted back, before heaving himself up onto his own paws and following his charge-thing. Well, he thought wryly, if people hadn't known they were in the house, they knew now.

Rusty rolled his eyes and pulled his large black wings tighter around him. He dropped his head down onto his paws and tried very hard to ignore the sounds of the whatever it was in the hall... don't they know there's jivvins in here trying to get some peace and quiet? He'd gotten into the habit of not talking out loud anymore, considering the only other being he ever talked to anymore was Luke... Telepathy was enough in this case.

However... he probably didn't realize that it was easier to hear general telepathy through walls that it was to hear muttering...

Aubri turned stock-still in the room that she had just skipped into. There had been a voice. In her head. That was so cool!

"Okay, what the hell was that," Tadrith complained mildly, blinking and looking around. That had to be the weirdest feeling ever. He automatically did not like it. But, before he could skedaddle away with Aubri, she had weaseled to the other side of the room and running into the next, shouting, "Voice-in-head! Voice-in-head! Are you here?"

Rusty cringed and sighed inwardly. He'd forgotten to not put his thoughts out there. Luke liked hearing them, and Lily just ignored him. She kind of ignored them both, but she knew they almost prefered it that way.

He sighed again. Was there a chance of getting away from the child jivvin screeching it's excitement through the hallways?

In the library... He was sitting the the corner, partially curled around a picture book.

Aubri happily yipped in reply and turned towards her tag-a-long. "Papa, I'll be in the library!" She chirped before disappearing with two shakes of her tail. The black Tala scowled and stalked after her. No way was he gonna leave the kid with a person who spoke in your head! She was going to get brainwashed! And h-- H.E.'d get really worried!

Meanwhile, Aubri zoomed towards the library. Just as she was about to charge across the threshold, the Ust cut her speed in half -- learning early from her Papa that running in libraries was not a good thing, since they would dog-pile you and then take you to their underground lair -- and curiously peered around, looking for the person that talked in her head. "Hello~?"

Rusty jerked his head up as the young jivvin stepped into the room. His spirit fell as he saw how truley young she was, and all hopes of easy going conversation melted away. He resigned himself to her.

why do you make so much noise? What does that get you?

"To find you!" The Ust replied, padding over to him with a happy smile. "It worked!" She sat down in front of him, oohed a bit at the fact that she could see through one of his legs, and then looked at the cover of his book. "What'cha reading?" She slurred, attempting to talk like her dad. "Your wings are pretty. Can I talk with my head too?"

Back at the entrance of the library, Tadrith cautiously stuck his head through the doorway. Maybe he should get some tinfoil. . .

He watched her with fascination... then he licked his lips and opened his mouth to talk to her. "I assume so. I don't know anything about you so it's hard to tell what you can and can't do. Both my brother and I can do it, but my brother and I don't really look like anyone else... aside from general form on the most basic level..." He sighed and looked her over once then turned his attentions to the book at his paws. "The velveteen rabbit... it's a book written for children. I'm studying the pictures."

"Really? That's so nifty!" Her eyes shined with glee. "Maybe the plants won't suck my brains out with rar-roots when they pop out!" She paused, thinking, before tacking on, "and Di~ro would think it cool so there'd be no staring."

"Brother?" She asked, before blinking and getting distracted by his description of the book. "Rabbits! Cute and fuzzy! What's velveteen? Auntie says claws aren't good for books, so I can't look without her. Can I see?"

He stared at her with his eyes narrowed for about thirty seconds.... then.... "you're strange."

Then he pushed the book over to where she could see it and started in on his own little question answering monologue. "Rabbits aren't the point I don't think. I think it's about perceptions and desires... but I don't know... I can't read. But I believe velveteen is a kind of material. My brother asked Lily and that's what she said. His name is Luke... we were born from the same egg... " He paused a second before shaking his head at her in dibelief... "You mean to tell me that the plants try to eat you?"

Aubri just grinned.

"Papa says they will!" She stated in a huffed tone, as if it was obviously true because of the source of the information. "Papa's guarding the door right now." Her ears twitched at the snort she heard from behind her, but she continued on. "Luke! Cool cool~ I can't read too! Well, 'cept Aubri, but that's 'cause it's my name. What's yours? Was it squishy-tight inside your egg?"

"Rusty. And I can't remember what it was like in my egg." He looked over at her quizically. "Can you?" Why was she intriguging him so? What was he feeling like he should answer all her questions?

"Rusty? Wooooah!" She looked at him with sparkling eyes. "Rusty!" She flopped onto her back and peered up. "Yup! It was very. . ." the Ust paused for a moment, before making wild gestures with all four paws. "Yup. Very very like that!"

Once again, Rusty just stared at the little blue female with a confused look on his face. It crossed his mind that Luke would have found the little girl in front of him amusing... but apparently Rusty's sense of humor was in need of a tune up. He pulled the book back over to in front of him with a frown. Deep down inside he had hoped that she could read... then he could hear the book again. He flipped the page and looked at the next pictures of the little rabbit as he stood there lost in the woods.

He suddenly realized that he didn't know her name... he didin't really care since he didn't really care to know anyone's name... but circumstance demanded that he be polite.

"What do they call you?"

The little Ust giggled before flipping herself over and shuffling closer to her new friend. "Silly!" She pipped, coming to a stop in front of his forepaws and beating a small tattoo on the floor with her claws. "'M Aubri! I told you!" She looked down at the picture book with curiosity. "The rabbit looks lonely. . ."

Tadrith had finally progressed into the library, and was doing his best to sneak around without being seen. He'd swoop in, snatch the crazy kid, and run away before both of them could be brainwashed. It was perfect!

Rusty sighed and mentally chastised himself. Apparently she'd already told him her name and he hadn't paid attention. Bad bad bad manners. He could almost hear Lily now, telling him to always listen when he was spoken to.

And it wasn't bad advice really. "he is lonely. He looks liek the other rabbits, but he's not the same... he's fake. Made of material and not real fur or bones or veins or anything." He glnaced up at her. "It's a very good book. You should read it."

"I'll get Papa or Auntie or Uncle Sora and Uncle Verde to!" She assured, before realizing what Rusty had just said. "But you can't be a fake rabbit. Rabbits are rabbits!" She looked at the picture again. "How can he be fake if he's a rabbit?"

"he's not real... he's a toy that came to life and since he's a toy he's made of... of... " he flipped a piillow over with his tail. "like this. Like the way this pillow feels, not like fur." He frowned at her. "haven't you ever read a pretend story before?"

"But he acts like a rabbit. Why can't he be a rabbit?" She tilted her head to the side at his question. "Pretend?" Weren't all stories real?

Sneaking behind a bookshelf was harder than it seemed. No matter what he did, Tadrith always seemed to have a body limb sticking out. He scowled at his protruding tail, which flopped gaily on the floor in reply, before heaving a somewhat quiet sigh. At least now he was closer. . . And that weird guy hadn't been doing any mind tricks. Or maybe he was just focusing them on Aubri? Crap crap crap crap. . .

"pretend is different form reality." He glanced over to see the black furred creature crawling around behind the bookshelf. He chose to ignore it at first, however the flicking of the tail and the obvious attempt to remain concealed began to iritate Rusty. Why did that other creature get to stay out of sight when he him self was forced to sit out here in the open and answer stupid questions. "pretend stories are about things that don't really happen. A toy is sometimes just a toy... fairies don't always exist... sometimes people write things to make themselves feel better, or to feel entertained. Sometimes.... Oh for Gods sake! Quit sneaking around!" He glared over at Tad. And then he forgot to open his mouth. you're making me nervous.

"But. . . But. . ." The little Ust's eyes began to water, and she gazed at her new friend with heart-break all over her face. That was, of course, before her Papa was called out on hiding behind the bookshelves, and Rusty spoke into her head again. She turned her head to blink at her Papa curiously, but it lacked the usual bouncy energy that usually radiated off of her. "Papa!"

Tadrith winced when he was addressed, and slowly eased out from behind the bookcase, as if it was completely natural for someone to try to smush themselves behind them.

"Who said I was sneaking around?" He asked cooly, flipping his ears with elegance, trying to keep his hide from twitching from when the Jivvin-thing talked in his head. Which, last time he checked, was a Tadrith-Only zone. But he'd stand the weirdness if it meant that Aubri wouldn't become a mindless zombie. "And you're the one making me nervous." The black Tala sashayed over to the two. "For all I know, you're trying to take over Gaia with your brain-washing abilities --" Readying himself to paw his charge so she was underneath him, Tad noticed that her eyes were all watered up, and immediately stiffened.

"And you made her cry! Who the heck makes a baby cry!" Now he snatched her and pulled her to his chest, where she complained that she was not a baby, but certainly not as boisterously as she usually would have been. Which was just not right; Tadrith was so used to having his ear talked off that the slightly toned-down voice made it sound like there was no noise in the room at all.

Rusty frowned and pulled his book back into his chest. He curled his tail protectivly around himself and glared at the blak Tala. He made an effort this time to remember not to talk in his own head. "I didnt do anything to her." Aubri hadn't seemed like a threat to him... so talking to her had been easier that talking to this other creature... but she called him dad...

"I didn't do anything to anyone. I was jsut sitting here reading. She came up and started bothering me ... not the other way around. I didn't even say anything to trya dn make her cry." He knew how this ended... this ended with the father creature grabbing the blue one and dragging her from the room talking about what a freak and mean spirited creature Rusty was....

And so, with practiced patience, Rusty waited for it.

Tadrith looked suspiciously at the large Jivvin, and stuck his head out slightly in order to give that really good 'I'm ticked off' impression. He then started tilting it side to side. Veeeery sloooowly.

"Really," he commented flatly, before looking down at the Ust between his forepaws. "Aubri?"

"H-He told me what 'pretend' is, Papa," she muttered, looking down at her paws. The black Tala blinked, blinked again, and then did his best to keep back a snort. He almost choked himself in the process.

"Ohhh. Well. That makes things different." He paused for a significant moment, ignoring the guy-with-a-metal-arm (Sameil would have a field day if she saw that) and pondering on what to do next, before pushing Aubri out from under him, putting a paw on her back, and squashing her to the floor. The Ust, use to this type of treatment and knowing what it meant, immediately went limp, and the sheen in her eyes was replaced with excitement. Ignoring the fact that they could get brain-washed at any moment, Tadrith flopped down in front of her. He'd determined that any attempts would get bounced off his awesome-shield now, anyway.

"Aubri. You know the stories that Elf tells you? About the sun being blocked of by gas and sh-- er, stuff, and oh-zones being blown up and people burning and then freezing? Those are pretend. They're just there to freak you out." He took his paw off of her, and then hauled himself back up to his feet. "Everything else you hear, you can find on this weird planet thing we call Gaia. Pretend's a pretty rare word to hear." Shrugging, he decided to attack the next problem -- the other Jivvin. "And you! I agree that this kid was probably annoying the heck out of you, and that she cries at the drop of a hat. But, that is not the problem right now." He was quickly gaining confidence now that the mainly-green Jivvin wasn't in his head anymore. "You did not apologize. And she is a lady, no matter how twerpy. You apologize to ladies if you make them cry." He nudged the kid forward a bit before imposing himself behind her like a menacing black shadow. "And if you tried to brain-wash them."

Rusty was tired of all of this. She hadn't been annoying him... on the contrary, she'd been keeping him company while Luke was away... and he really hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. And even then, truth be told, he might have appologized had he not been told to. Being forced to do something always made him not want to do that very thing... even if he had originally wanted to in the first place. Luke was always berating him for this particular fault...

Rusty simply stood and glared at the Tala. "You can't appologize for things you haven't done." He picked up the book in his teeth, making it impossible to talk through his mouth... so the next half of his statement wrapped itself in it's own form of irony as he telepathed it. and as for the brainwashing I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. he turned to walk away, but the small shred of Luke in him made him turn back and look at Aubri, and then back at the Tala... This went badly. I'm not a bad guy... I just look like it. But that's all done because everyone's so stubborn, we all think we're right. So I'll think I'm right and you think that you're right, and we can all get along by being alone. He sighed and then took himself over to another section of the floor before plopping down again and opening his book.

"I'm pretty sure that making a little lady cry is a reason for an apology --" Tadrith started, before stiffening at the return of the Voice in Head. "That! That is brainwashing potential right there!" He hissed, jerking Aubri even closer to him. "You need to put some tin foil on your head or something, I swear! And I'm not the stubborn one, you are." He huffed before standing up and stalked towards the door, after making sure Aubri was sticking to his side like glue. "If you want to be an ungracious, evil, brainwashing Jivvin-thing, then fine. Huff in your little corner." He stuck his nose in the air and padded through the door. Calmly. Yup, no running with tail between his legs!

Until he realized that Aubri wasn't with him anymore.

"Aubri!" He hollered, looking over his shoulder. "Come on! We're going! Leave the mind-poker alone!"

"Yes, Papa!" She called from in front of Rusty, before looking at him curiously. "You don't look bad," she commented, poking an ear towards him. "You look like Rusty."

"Aubri!"

"Coming~!" She yipped back, and flashed a grin at the older Jivvin cheerfully. "I'll see you again, okay?" The Ust promised, and then scrambled towards her black Tala with a flick of her tail. The two disappeared around the corner, their bickering hanging in the air long after they left.

Rusty just sighed and and nosed his book open. He commited Aubri's name to his mind and made a promise to himself to catch her sometime without her 'father'. She had intrigued him, and kept him company... she was a good kid.... Aubri. he'd remeber that for sure

(( Brothers:: ))

Alexander Edward's face frowned even deeper that usual as he recognized the sports car pulling into the drive. The man who stepped out of the driver's seat glanced up at Alex, muttered a hello and then calmly walked around to the passneger seat and unbuckled two little girls. It ocured to Alexander that Jen knew him well enough not to ask for help, and on the same theme, Alexander had no intention of offering it. He sighed. The arrival of Jen and his daughters, cute as they were, meant that the house was going to be over run with two small skull monkey girls, Keppit's two youngest sons who were mid teen, and the newest bundle of joy to the house.... Amahli... Alexander snuffed his disgust and glared at Jen as the man led his daughters in through the front door. As they passed, Keera pointed at Alex and said "Alex doggy" with a grin. Alexander promptly stood and paced off into the woods. Anything was better than his mother's house today.

~~~~~

Rusty shook his head at Luke. "I can't believe what you're saying to me." And he meant it. He never lied to Luke because he and his brother shared a minimal bond, making feelings stronger between them... Luke would have been able to tell if Rusty was lying. "you honestly think that you might want to move away from Lily and Calvin?" And me, his statement unfinished outloud, rang painfully in his head.

"Of course." Luke wasn't trying to hurt Rusty's feelings, he honestly thought that this was something they needed to think about... they were both adults after all, and Lily had been a loner all her life. It was good to think about striking out on thier own... kind of. "What do you think will happen when you fall in love? There's got to be a pretty jivvin out there who thinks you're the only Rusted out Green man for her." He stiffled a laugh and prepared to fend off Rusty's objections.

Rusty didn't object however, since he knew how Luke worked. Instead, he just frowned at what he considered to be the handsome pink version of himself and walked from the room. They'd be having this conversation again, later when Luke was feeling less funny.

~~~~~

Kamin grinned up at his older brother from the stool where he sat. "What happened to this stool? Wasn't it about a foot taller when I was here last?" He kicked his feet out in front of him comically as if to show the height difference.

"That's the one that broke. I told you about it two weeks ago." Fluff was a wonderful example of everlasting patience, especially when it came to Kamin, and he just kept chopping the vegetables on the counter in front of him.

"Oh" Kamin kicked his legs back and forth a few times, more because he could than for any other reason, and then he spun quickly in a circle on the stool twice before bringing his attention back to his brother. He grabbed a peice of bell pepper off the cutting board and popped it in his mouth, talking around the vegetable. "I would have thought you'd have thrown it out."

Fluff reached out and and picked up a second chunk of pepper that Kamin had knocked to the counter. "It was only one leg, and I can't see throwing out a chair if I can fix it by making it smaller." He chucked the peice of pepper into a bowl. "And you shouldn't talk with your mouth full, it won't get you many friends."

"I have all kinds of friends." Kamin grabbed at another peice of pepper but was fended away by a quick and precise hand slap from Fluff. The younger jivvin grinned at his brother... this was the way it was supposed to be. "Did you see that new recruit in Gal's ranks? She's goregeous."

Fluff just smiled.

~~~~~

Satou leaned against the railing of the arena and smiled to herself as she watched the newer members of an Uuthli rank sparring under careful watch. Gus shifted beside her and gasped as one of the larger young men dealt a particulalry harsh blow on his opponent, knocking the other male to the dirt floor. Satou grinned again, remembering her first sparring matches.

As if he could read her mind, Gus turned to her. "You actually used to do that? Stand in the arena and hit each other with dull swords?" He just couldn't wrap his head around it... he didn't even like playing with swords back when he and Jen were kids... of course, playing swords with Jen meant getting smacked in the tail alot with sticks. "It seems... harsh?"

Satou laughed and shifted her weight onto her other leg. "Would you rather they go out into the woodlands with the Ssan without having any practice at all? They'd all be eaten right off."

"I suppose..." He let the thought sink in. Of course it made sense to let them practice, make them practice even... but it still wasn't something he thought back fondly on. "You remember when Jen used to make up play swords with him?"

Satou sighed... "Jen never made me do anything. I don't think he even ever asked me to play swords with him." She didn't blame Jen of course... she'd been remarkably hateful towards both Jen and Gus when they were all little.

"You didn't miss much." Gus grinned over at his sister, and laughed when she grinned back.

~~~~~

Meiser had known the jivvin was approaching long before the other jivvin even knew he was there. He also knew from an almost maplike sense, that the other jivvin's name was Elayeth... So he was waiting quietly in the bushes.

Elayeth wasn't making an effort to hide his approach, in fact he was doing exactly the opposite, making sure to step on each and every stick as he walked. He was finding more and more lately that he had to get away from his house, and his family. He was remarkably lost in his thoughts when Meis' voice startled him.

"Elayeth, is it?" recently he had discovered that he liked being able to startle others with his knowledge. They usually seemed to think that when he knew their name he also knew everything about them. He didn't, but they almost always gave themselves away very soon after. "What brings you out here tonight?"

Elayeth frowned at the black jivvin in front of him and forced himself not to ask the obvious question. "I'm getting away from my family. Not that it's any of your business... creepy black jivvin in the dark, was it?"

Meiser smiled, and then laughed at Elayeth's face. There was somthing about this red jivvin that he liked imiediately... maybe it was his attitude. "I'm Meis." He shrugged as if that explained everything. Really though, it did explain everything... Meis kind of deffined who he was, but noting who he was not... that left a lot to choose from. "I only wish that I had an excuse like that... I don't really have any family." He said it almost wistfully... like he regreted that fact.

"Oh really? You're lucky then. I have a brother who treats me like dirt, and a woman who doesn't really love me but wants me to call her mom.... oh, and a stupid little sister who hates me." Elayeth's words were bitter, and strangely cultivated.

"Oh I have brothers... they just have no idea who I am. We grew up in different families."

"Lucky you."