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 Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:20 pm
oo1 . frozen . waitingRiven sighed as he floated over the thin crust of snow remaining, this particular day - it was oddly warm, and the grass was peeking through the remains of winter's snow. Not true spring yet, probably... but a hint. Ghlyssa would know... But she was still a tree. Was something wrong? With everything involving Airyn over the past few weeks, he hadn't had time to worry about his fiancee, but she'd been a tree for quite some time. Months... many months... Biome was with him, the twin dragons moving lightly over the snow, their long lean bodies undulating slightly as they walked. "A penny for your your thoughts, Master," they asked, one dragon turning its head towards him and flicking its whiskers. "They're not worth that much... and you don't have to call me Master, I've told you a hundred times," Riven said with a sigh. "Nothing much. Nothing new." He looked sheepish. "Seems like nothing is new lately." The dragon stopped suddenly, and Riven floated a few more feet before pausing as well... and realized both dragons weren't following. Usually the twin dragons moved, if not in perfect unison, at least close to each other... there was, however, a limit to how far the siamese souls could be from one another, and it seemed it had been reached. Riven floated back to the lagging dragon, who was pawing lightly at the snow, whiskers twitching. The other dragon followed, and the two of them touched lightly, almost lovingly, as they came together again - Riven heard a vague noise so on the edge of his hearing that he couldn't make out, but it sounded like the faintest hint of a whisper... Biome speaking to each other, perhaps. "What is it?" the spirit Fa'e asked with a hint of concern, coiling his tail in the slushy snow as he lowered himself to the same level as the dragons. "Are you okay?" That would be just what he needed... Biome to malfunction, on top of everything else... One of the dragons bent its head down and pulled something out of the snow. It glittered wetly, and Riven held out his hand automatically. The dragon released it, and a gem on a silver cord coiled into the Fa'e's outstretched palm.  "Huh." Riven held it up to dangle in front of his eyes, wiping it lightly to get the dirt off of it. It was a pretty crystal with shifting blue hues, richer than any mere crystal he'd seen anywhere except in the Spirit Realm. "Someone may be looking for this." The dragons considered for a moment, then shook their heads in perfect unison. Riven frowned. "What do you mean?" "It wanted wanted you," the dragons said, after a long moment, coiling their tails around each other lightly. "Wanted me? How can a necklace... want?" Twin shrugs rippled down the dragons' bodies. "Hrm. Well... I'll look at it at home, or something." Riven tucked the necklace into one of the inside pockets of his cloak. "Let's go back." The dragons nodded together, and followed.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:00 pm
oo2 . i saw the witch doctor . she told me what to do
At a visit to Dr. Caryn Mephisto, Airyn's 'witch doctor'...
Riven nodded, made as if to get up, then paused, remembering. "Oh, and there was one other thing I wanted to ask you about, doctor."
"What's that?"
"An... unrelated issue." Riven removed the blue crystal from his pocket and held it out to her. "I found this a while ago, and was informed that it was 'waiting for me'. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it?"
"Hm..." Dr. Mephisto took the crystal and examined it closely; yet, as soon as the object left Riven's grasp, he immediately felt strangely uncomfortable. He wanted it back, suddenly and strongly, and for no reason at all - but that was crazy, so he merely watched the crystal intensely and wrapped his tail around the chair leg.
"There is power here... and it's strong," Dr. Mephisto said, with some surprise. "But it's... wounded. It's not easy to tell, and artifact reading is not my specialty. You might want to take it to someone who specializes in analyzing items."
Riven's relief was boundless when the doctor gave him the jewel back, and all his anxiety about leaving it in her grasp melted away like snow in the sunlight. "Hm. Well... thank you. Is that all for today?"
"I believe so, unless you have anything else to add."
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:07 pm
oo3 . meeting with . the mediumThe Medium There had been a lull of activity in the Iridae's home and she was grateful for it. Of course, when there was a lull, activity generally picked up tenfold once it ended and that always annoyed her. Medium was a pessimist in that right - she could never just take a lull at face value and was pacing back and forth in her hall way when her crystal proved her right yet again, singing the song it did when an Iridae had fallen. The Iridae turned her head to look at the crystal, stroking a finger over its surface lightly to shut it up and stop the bright light it emitted. Bright light hurt her eyes. "Ah. This should be interesting." She waited. Zero Dream Sei had been on his way to the arcade, again - Zero and Wren where out for god-knew-how-long, so his guardian left him here again - hoping that he might make more friends, perhaps ?
But when he was dropped off, there was... some odd feeling, a calling. The second Zero was out of sight, he darted in the opposite way. Normally he would have resisted a bit, but... it was overpowering.
The more he ran, the further away from Barton he wound up, without really noticing it. He would be in deep trouble if he wasn't at the arcade when his guardian picked him up again, but right now he didn't really care.
Finally, he found himself in front of a small house, that visibly had seen better days. This was where he was supposed to go, but... why ?
Pulling the jacket back up, as it had started to fall down in his run, he finally rose a fist to knock on the door. Sosiqui Riven was out and about today, deep in thought over what Dr. Mephisto had told him, the crystal warm in his hand. surely she was wrong. There's no way that the simple necklace he'd found could be that important or magical, or someone should have come looking for it... right? Not just abandoned it. He turned the corner towards the small house without even thinking about it, unconcious of the odd pull he felt until he was close - then looked up, surprised to find himself somewhere he'd never been before, and even more surprised by who else was there, just down the walkway at the door of a shabby shack. "Sei?" he said, unbelieving, as he came up behind the younger Fa'e. "What are you doing here?" Zero Dream The boy tensed a bit, fearing that it had been his guardian for a moment, but his fear proved itself unfounded when he finally identified the voice. "Riven... ?" He asked, turning to look at the spirit fa'e. "Im... not too sure. Something kind of... pulled me here." He admitted. "What about you ?"
He hadn't expected to see anyone else here, even less another fa'e. Sosiqui "I, um... I was just out for a walk. Or a float, as it may be," Riven said wryly, flicking his tail lightly at Sei. "How are you?" He looked at the shack again, his eyes narrowing as he slowly became aware - now that the other Fa'e mentioned a pull, he realized there wasn't just randomness behind his choice of corners to turn and streets to drift down. "Perhaps... the same... it may have something to do with this." He opened one hand to reveal the blue crystal, which seemed almost to be pulsing against his hand. But that was crazy... wasn't it? Zero Dream "I've been better, really." He couldn't help a sigh. Oddly, talking to Riven came easily. It was kind of like talking with Lethe. "I... You don't happen to know where mom went, do you ?" He asked, chewing on his lip for a moment.
When the older fa'e revealed the blue gem in his palm, the blonde blinked for a moment, then wordlessly reached to his collar to pull the black crystal from under his jacket. "You think those... things led us here ?" Sei asked, looking a bit confused. Sosiqui Riven blinked at the necklace Sei had. It looked - well, nothing like his, really, but it felt similar, somehow. "Someone who knows magic said that this crystal held a wounded power, crying out," he said, quietly. "I'm not sure what she meant." He paused at Sei's question about his mother. "... Shina. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her or Hoshi for a long time." He hadn't thought about them, with everything else that had been going on, but now that he considered it that lack of contact hurt. How he could have used Shina's calming touch and gentle understanding in the past few months! "I was hoping you knew, actually..." Zero Dream Wounded power ? Crying out ? Sei was already starting to feel a bit lost. He'd thought it was just some normal necklace that someone dropped... But in retrospect, he should have known something was wrong about it with how it made him react.
"Mom left." She said, shaking his head to clear his face of blonde bangs. "She left to find dad... She left me a note, but that was months ago, and... im worried. I was hoping she at least told someone where she was going so I could try to find her..."
The worry made Sei look a bit like a sad puppy. He had Zero, yes, but... Zero wasn't the same. She wasn't his mother. Sosiqui "I'm sorry," Riven said again, unsure of what else to do, but worried - where could she be? "Sometimes Fa'e just have to... go," he added, feeling stupid. "Like Ghlyssa, she's... um... in her own realm now, for the past few months." Few months? More like half a year by this time! "I'm sure she'll come back, though... eventually..." Floundering in awkwardness, Riven tried to turn the conversation to something a bit easier to handle. "Where did you find your necklace? Mine was simply lying in the snow... Biome, my Fandangle, found it and said it was waiting for me." Zero Dream It was easy to pick on the spirit fae's uneasiness, and so, Sei dropped the subject without another word.
"I found it on the sidewalk when I was running errands for Zero." He said. "It was really wierd. I was gonna bring it to a lost and found place but... somehow I just had to keep it. It was overpowering..." And he wasn't especially proud of the fact. "Maybe because it wanted me like yours wanted you ?" This wasn't making any sense - necklaces couldn't *want* ! The more the two talked, the more the boy realized that Zero must have been right when she said there was something odd about it. "I kind of forgot about it for a bit, and then suddenly... I had to come here." The Medium It seemed like an eternity before Medium got tired of hearing the two babble at each other and finally opened the door. The tall, dark skinned woman with hollow void-like eyes and gray hair stood in the door way, wings spanned out and looking as though they were broken. In a voice as hollow as her eyes, she spoke, "Is there a reason you both are standing on my doorstep speaking about whatever you two are speaking of? It is polite enough to knock, is it not?" She shook her head and took a step back, "I have been expecting you both, though not necessarily together. Come in." Without waiting for either Fa'e to respond, Medium turned her back toward them and started for the room with her crystal. The curtain of colorful beads making not a sound, nor moving, as she passed through to her chair. Sosiqui Riven jumped as the door suddenly opened - so there was someone living here after all, despite the ragged condition of the building. "Um, sorry," he managed, taken aback by the woman's hollow tone and stern movements. He floated a bit after her, then turned and looked at Sei as if for some kind of confirmation that this was an okay thing to do. Zero Dream Sei was about to answer that he had, in fact, knocked some time ago, but the tone that the woman used silenced the boy rather quickly. Didn't seem like it was a good idea to argue.
He sent Riven a uncertain glance when their eyes met, but followed anyway, not really wanted to be the only one left outside. The Medium The door slammed shut behind them, blocking all light in the dark abode. Medium did not like light and that much was probably obvious by the dark and dingy decorations in the home. The only thing elaborate in the entire house was the room behind the curtain of beads that seemed eerily still. "Names, and do not waste my time by asking me why - what are you waiting for? Step through the beads." Despite her words they never seemed to be anything other than monotonous. Sosiqui Okay, now this was rubbing Riven the wrong way. "Ma'am, I don't know who you are or what's going on here, and I'm not sure my time isn't being wasted." The words were spoken evenly, calmly, although Riven wasn't feeling very calm. True, he could phase out through the walls if this ended up being a bad mistake - but what about Sei... "Nevertheless, my name is Riven, of Fa'e," he added, at least giving the odd woman some of what she wanted as he stepped through the beads. "Who are you?" He shifted subtly so that he was shielding Sei a bit. Zero Dream Now, the monotone was... well, a bit familiar. Hw winced a bit inwardly at the thought - did he come across as creepily as this woman did, sometimes ? He'd gotten a bit better at opening up emotionally - a bit, but enough for Zero to really notice, so that was a worth mentioning, right ?
He moved after Riven had, barely resisting the urge to step in front, himself - it was doubtful the older fa'e would let him, and it wasn't really the time to start a small scale war of who-protected-who, even if he didn't like the idea of being seen as needing protection...
"Sei, of Fa'e." He answered in the same way that the older fa'e had, but left it at that - he wasn't exactly wishing to draw the weird lady's ire on him. The only sign of his small annoyance and confusion was in the way the orbs twitched sightly - ready to move off their orbit if needed. He's had a bit of training at keeping his face carefully neutral, after all. The Medium The woman gave an irritated flick of her wings and smiled creepily at the floating Fa'e, "I am The Medium - I have no name other than my title. I am Death, though I suppose that could be my name. And you, both of you, are now parents." A long pause as she sat down on her chair and stroked her crystal lovingly, "Riven, you are now the Spirit Keeper for the Iridae of Serenity - or, the Serenity Guardian. Sei, you are the Spirit Keeper for the Guardian of Shadows. Somehow, I think you two got them mixed up - The smaller one seems more serene than the floating purple mass." Muttering to herself now as she tapped her crystal once more and turned to both boys. "Either way, the crystals are now feeding from your life forces and have been for some time. They should be ready to crack soon. You should have come here sooner." While her tone was still the same, hollow tone and her face was expressionless the emotion she was radiating seemed to be annoyance. Sosiqui Riven blinked, so taken aback by what the woman had said that he completely missed the 'floating purple mass' comment. "Spiritkeeper..." No, there was a space between the two words as she spoke them, Spirit Keeper... a difference, there. "I am somewhat aligned with spirits," he told her, dryly, and let his spirit sight slip... embarassed that he hadn't thought to look at the crystal in this way before. Sure enough, there was a palpable aura around the crystal, and to his surprise, a thin thread of it wound up and into his own aura. The thought chilled him, suddenly. "Feeding off of my life force? What... a child... I..." It was too much to take in, all at once. Zero Dream Likewise, Sei was pretty shocked, and looked a bit like a deer in the headlights at the moment. He glance went from the necklace around his head, to the woman, and to Riven, the true depth of the situation rising only once the purple fa'e seemed to be taking the matter quite seriously.
It had to be a mistake. It had to be bonded to Zero. Or Wren. Or... someone else, anyone, really ! He was but a child himself, what was he supposed to do with one ?! He couldn't help it - he looked a bit like if he had just been announced his impending doom. The idea that it was leeching from his own energy wasn't all that reassuring, either.
He gave no reason or apology for being so "late" - the woman likely wouldn't care. It was oblivious she wanted them out the door as soon as possible, and as far as he was concerned, he did kind of want to be out the door as soon as possible, so better be direct.
"That life-force thing isn't dangerous, isn't it ?" His voice shook a bit, and he kind of wanted to mentally punt himself from it. The Medium "No. It is only taking enough to bond and break free and force itself into life," She answered, crossing her arms over her chest. Now came the part she hated - repeating things over and over again. "My kind - Iridae - are guardians of everything. Insects, love, hate, life, death - that's me if you don't remember - everything. We each make a mistake in our existance and are cast down to redeem ourselves and ascend again to where we were once before. "However, we can't do this without a Spirit Keeper - one to keep our spirit bonded with theirs and raise us as their own child. Teach us. As THEY fall, their body and heart become the stone and setting or chain. Of course, I was 'lucky' enough for that fate not to befall ME." Hopefully they wouldn't ask any more questions - though she knew there would be questions. There were ALWAYS questions. Sosiqui Riven was about to protest - but then the Medium spoke of the mistake, and something twisted inside. Error, fall, redemption. So, so familiar, so close to home. He swallowed. "I... have also been offered a second chance." Riven sighed, and shook his head with a hint of regret. "I can't deny one to this... um... Ir-i-dae..." He sounded out the odd word carefully, then looked down at the crystal in his hand. A child...He glanced over at Sei then, worry creasing his face. Surely the child was too young for this. "What do I have to do?" Zero Dream The bit about the mistake also stood out to Sei, but perhaps with just a bit less intensity, but for similar reason. Was he not, himself, someone granted a second chance... ? He swallowed the saliva that wall building up in his mouth nervously, still somehow hoping that this was some kind of cosmic mistake and that the creepy lady would realize this soon and take it to it's true "parent" or something like that.
He did not voice this, however, and found Riven's question to be quite appropriate, so he remained silent, almost hoping he could dissapair, yet still moving an hand to the crystal, almost overprotectively. This was just a bit too big for him to handle, especially with the two that could mainly guide him gone, faded from this side of the earth for all he knew. Still, he found himself trying to hide behind Riven, without really noticing. The Medium "Keep it close, do not take it off. I'm sure you have noticed the pulsating of the crystal - almost like a heart. Once it cracks, be careful with it. It will remain a spirit essence for a maximum of three days before becoming an infant." A creepy smile touched her face, "And you both have boys. I knew both of them, if just in passing, before I was fell myself." After all, being death, would she not have associated with Shadow and Serenity? Of course, she wasn't very sociable, ever... Sosiqui Riven nodded, and quickly moved to put the crystal pendant around his neck. It hung there awkwardly, it seemed to him, but if it was important - he would do so. A child. A child. A boy, a son... For a minute there was a smile and a spike of joy, followed shortly by a frown and a plunge into the depths of 'dear god, what the hell'. What will Airyn think? What will GHLYSSA think?!"Um. Thank you," Riven managed; a fairly good feat considering the whirlwind of thoughts he was currently trapped in. Zero Dream He almost wanted to protest again, but remained silent. A boy. As if they weren't enough boys in Zero's house... But how the hell was he gonna explain it to her... How the hell was he even going to be able to explain this to his MOTHER once she came back ? And let's not even think about the notion of explaining the father he had never ever SEEN before that he was technically a grandfather.
Oh, hell.
"I do not mean to be rude, or anything of the short... But are you sure that I am... well... you know." He asked, a bit sheepishly. "...Im just child, myself... How am I supposed to raise one ?" The only way he would have admitted it. He's pretty much fought to be seen as more than a child, and now he was forced to realize that he did NOT have the experience to back this off. "Perhaps he may be linked to my guardian, instead... ?" Ohpleaseletatleastthatbe. He knew how to be a brother at least. The Medium "No. You found the crystal, the Iridae called to you before it was formed into a crystal - thus you are it's Spirit Keeper. It has already started to bond." A pause as she looked back and forth, "There is one that is younger than you who is bonded to an Iridae - his name is Third and he is the Spirit Keeper to the Guardian of Memories. Perhaps you should seek him out at some point..." Another pause. "I must warn you, both of you, if something happens to these crystals and children I will be forced to tear you apart. It will be my only joy in this job. If anything happens to you, they die. If anything happens to them, you are going to be in more pain than just from me for they will take a giant part of you with them." Sosiqui Riven's eyes narrowed. Part of him wanted to give the woman what for, for speaking so cavalierly of his life - she may be whatever she was, but he was the Spiritkeeper and he'd like to see her try.... But the irritated trail of thought derailed at another, more powerful pulse from the crystal, and Riven put his hand up to cup it instinctively. "Your... threats... will not be necesary," Riven informed the Medium. Zero Dream "I have no plan of dying anytime soon." Sei announced, silently finding some resolve at least. He might not be the greatest fan of the situation, but... he couldn't run away from this, obliviously. The initial answer and the threats had that fact quite cemented in his mind. He'll ask for help, and he... would protect this little life as much as he could without obliviously giving his own life. It made something inside him flare, as his protective hold at the crystal seemed to only strengthen.
"If he chose me, so be it. He probably has his reasons." The Medium "Most likely," Medium answered, "Now, are there any other questions or may I go upstairs in peace?" Oddly enough there didn't seem to be any stairs in the little cottage despite the fact it looked like a two story house from the outside. All that seemed to be there were those two rooms and nothing more. Sosiqui Upstairs? "So when it cracks, what do we do with it? Will it form into a child on its own, or...?" Riven was darn well going to get all his answers now - there was no way he was coming back here unless it was a very dire circumstance. Zero Dream Sei thought in silence, but his mind felt a bit... scrambled. Not only had he gotten quite a bit of information in one go, he's had his mood swing on him quite a bit, and the shock had not quite faded yet - two things he was not quite used to deal with in such a close laps of time in between each other. He did his best to make heads or tails of it, but... The blonde boy would likely remember the information later on, but right now he wasn't especially thinking all that straight. What to ask, what to ask... By angels, he couldn't help but make a direct association with his mother as far as most things where concerned - and he wasn't quite in the right mindset to straighten his fact.
That, and... Riven seemed to know exactly what to ask. Did he not mention a daughter, in one of their earlier meetings ? He knew much better than him what mattered.
"I will let Riven handle the questions, I think..." Dear lord was he ever glad of the older fa'e's presence. He didn't really know what he would have done otherwise. The Medium "It will, indeed, form into a child on it's own," She eyed them both, "It doesn't take too much common sense to take care of it after that, thank the lord. So many would be dead by now if it wasn't the case." Medi didn't mean THEM per se but she didn't exactly exclude them in her wording either. "I am required to inform you that you'll have to bring them to me at some point - I believe the Elders just wish to torment me. Either way, I'm sure you both have the capability of taking care of an infant and it is better you than me in either case." Sosiqui "Very well. I will take care of the child as best I can," Riven murmured, then glanced down at Sei. "Are you... okay with this?" Zero Dream Being lost in his thought, it took a moment for the young boy to realize that Riven was actually talking to him, and not to the Medium. "Y-Yeah, that's fine." The glance he gave the other fa'e finished the sentence for him. It's not like we got a choice, really. The Medium The Medium gave a nod of her head, "Good. Now, good luck." She smirked and exited the room, seeming to disappear into the wall behind a tapestry in the living room area. They were left in the dark to find their own way out of the house. Sosiqui Riven sighed and tried to relax, feeling the tension in his shoulders. "Well. Um. That was... interesting," he managed, turning to Sei. "Are you okay? Let's get out of this place." Out, and home, so he could think about the consequences of what just happened. Zero Dream "Interesting is not really the word I would have used, but... Yeah, I'm fine." He looked around, with little success into figuring out where the bead curtain was. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he forgot which way he came in from. "Gladly, but I hope you remember which way we came from, because I sure don't." Sosiqui Riven backtracked quickly out through the beads, then through the door, holding it open for the younger Fa'e. Once outside, Riven felt slightly less oppresed, though he sighed again as he felt the unfamilar sway of the crystal pendant. "A kid. That's crazy... are you going to be okay with all this?" he repeated, hoping for a slightly more coherent answer, looking worried. Zero Dream "Uh." Well, at least he was attempting coherent answer. "I... guess ill have to be ? I mean... Zero's not the kind to turn out something that needs an home, and she probably won't be too upset if I explain it all to her as coherently as I can..." This would require some coffee first. Probably black. It's wasn't like he was going to sleep tonight, he already knew. "She's not evil enough to leave me to my own devices with all this even if she gets pissed off." Fact that slowly became a reality as he checked the hour on his cellphone and noticed that he was about an hour late. As if he needed it...
"But, if you'll excuse my french for a moment." The saying would probably make no sense for Riven, but the fa'e child did not really care, as he promptly facepalmed. "******** class="clear"> Sosiqui "And I have to explain to my daughter... and my fiancee... if she ever stops being a tree..." It occurred to Riven that if Sei had been older, going out to get drunk together might have been a good idea. Since he wasn't, though... "Well. Um. You can talk to me if you have any... problems... and I might have to do the same with you." The spirit Fa'e was still boggled. Zero Dream He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in puzzlement. The first part was perfectly normal and logical, but... a tree, really ? He had meant to ask why he had meant by fa'e having to go away sometimes, but had then decided this was FAR from the idea time to ask. "I don't mind. People tell me I listen well." He shrugged. "Since im already in trouble anyway and I am definitively not sleeping tonight... Wanna go take a coffee or something ?" He was definitively stopping for one, with company or without. Sosiqui Riven checked the time, then shrugged and offered Sei a smile. "Sure."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:38 pm
004 . mother knows best
"I need to talk to you," Riven said in a rush as soon as his Guardian opened the door, eliciting a raised eyebrow from her - but she stepped aside and let him in anyway. The spirit Fa'e had a deeply nervous look about him, and his hands kept fumbling up to touch the strange blue crystal pendant around his neck.
"Of course..." Sosiqui sat down on the couch, and gestured for Riven to sit down, too. The fa'e followed suit, but didn't say anything at first, instead continuing to fiddle with the crystal.
Kurrin, who was sitting in one of the armchairs, gave them both a look. "'Lo," she said, grudgingly, after a moment.
"Kurri, why don't you go upstairs, or into the den? Your big brother and I need to talk about something, okay?"
The platypus girl made a face. "He's not my brother. I'm adopted, remember?" The thread of bitterness in the last sentence surprised Riven, and he focused on Kurrin with a startled look.
Sosiqui sighed. "Just - go somewhere, please, kiddo?"
"Fine." She jumped down and padded down the hall, her wide webbed feet making an odd slapping sound against the floor. When her footsteps had retreated away into silence, Sosiqui leaned back into the couch with a sigh.
"Sorry. She's... not doing too well with the whole adoption thing, lately. But you didn't come here to talk about that, I know. What's up? Airyn again?"
"No... she's fine... the school application went through, she starts in two weeks..." Riven picked up the crystal pendant by the cord, and showed it to her, though he dared not take it off after what the Medium had said. "I found this a few weeks ago."
"It's nice... so, what, did you find out it belonged to someone and now they're after you? The Mafia, maybe?"
"No! I found out that... I don't know HOW, this doesn't make sense, but... it's... it has a spirit in it... and it's bound itself to me. It's going to summon a child." A deer-in-the-headlights expression came over Riven's face. "Just like that, out of nowhere! Can you believe that?"
Sosiqui stared at him, and then - to Riven's surprise - she started laughing. Not just small giggles, either. "Y-you... can I... believe that?" she managed, between laughs. "Where... do you think... that you came... from?"
"It's not funny!" Riven protested.
"I... sorry... it is funny..." Sosiqui wiped her eyes; small tears had begun to form from the force of her laughter. "Funny, that you should ask me if I can believe that a child can come out of nowhere. I raised you, didn't I? I swear, kids come out of nowhere so often on this world that I'm amazed anyone bothers to have sex - oh, never mind," she added, seeing Riven's face.
"What am I going to do with a kid?" the spirit Fa'e demanded, still holding the necklace up.
"Mmm... raise it, one assumes." Sosiqui leaned in to peer at the crystal, then glanced up at him. "May I touch it?"
"Yeah," Riven said, and felt oddly uneasy as Sosiqui took the pendant lightly in one hand, rolling it around her palm to get the full look and feel of it. He was relieved when she pulled away.
"Odd... there's some magic there, but I'm no expert. Who told you a child would come?"
"A woman... a strange one, who called herself the Medium... or Death..." Riven let the necklace fall to hang naturally against his chest again. "Even worse, Sei was there - Shina and Hoshi's kid, you remember. He had a necklace too, and this Medium lady told him the same thing! He's only a child himself!"
Sosiqui made a face. "Whatever powers that be who seem so fond of spewing younglings at this world... they don't always take suitability into account. I doubt this child will be quite like a Fa'e..."
"She said it was a being who had failed and fallen, for another chance at life. That sounded a lot like a Fa'e to me, but... not exactly..." Riven squirmed, his tail lashing out. It caught against the coffee table leg and coiled tightly. "And Glee, and Airyn, and... I can't..."
Sosiqui put one hand on his shoulder, and squeezed. "You can. I raised you, somehow... I know you can do this. Glee can't stay a tree forever, either."
Riven shivered. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Sosiqui said, firmly. "And Airyn's going to transfer to a good school, and you have Dr. Mephisto to help out with the magic stuff. What's done with her is done, and you can't improve any by worrying about it!"
"I... I guess not," Riven sighed, though he didn't seem convinced.
"You need to come over more often just to talk, not only when you're at the end of your rope," Sosiqui reminded him, chiding but with a smile. "I'm your mom - I'm here for you if you need me. So's Sunny's family, I'm sure, especially where Airyn is involved... don't try and do this all on your own. I know your past life conditioned you as one over all others, the ultimate responsibility... where nobody could truly help you... and maybe there, that's right. But it's not true here on Gaia."
"I guess not."
"You're guessing not an awful lot." Sosiqui grinned. "I want you to bring the little one to see me when he or she shows up, will you?"
Riven swallowed. "A boy. She said he was a boy. The Guardian of Serenity."
"Hmm... well, that sounds good to me. You could use a little serenity right now." Sosiqui shrugged her arm around Riven's shoulders and pulled him close. "You can do it. Just thank your stars that you didn't get the Guardian of Tantrums."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:55 pm
oo5 . tribulations and explanationsAfter speaking first with the Medium and then with his Guardian, Riven returned home to find the Fa'e Rionne there, and told him a bit about what he had learned...Britain "I thought I might visit," Rio replied cautiously, shocked by his friend's appearance. Considering that his position was a little awkward, he rose to his feet and brushed a hand over Airyn's hair. "Would you please forgive me for asking for a few moments alone with your father, Lady Airyn?" He murmured, making sure to meet her eyes so she wouldn't think she'd just been dismissed. "I certainly won't leave without saying my farewells." Sosiqui "N-no... that's okay... bye Dad!" Airyn scrambled to her feet, grabbed her sketchbook and pencil, and darted for her room. When she was gone, Riven let out a sigh and settled down on the couch. "Sorry, Rio - I wasn't expecting visitors and someone just told me something unbelievable. Sei too, actually." He shook his head. "But you're always welcome. I could use someone not a kid to talk to, actually..." Britain "From the little I've seen since I arrived, I can see that things have not gone easily for you as of late." The Doppelgaenger shifted to take the seat Airyn had vacated, leaning forward with elbows on his knees. For Riven to look as he did now shook some of Rio's stability.
"That your day has been even more remarkable tells me you are in need of a small, padded room somewhere very quiet. Is there some way I can help...?" Sosiqui "Listen?" Riven gave Rio a weary smile. "If you're willing. What I'm worried about right now is this." The Fa'e pointed at the new necklace he was wearing, a bright blue crystal, rounded as if by ocean waves, hanging from a silver cord. "A strange woman who called herself Death has told me that it contains the essence of a child. Worse, Sei was there, Shina and Hoshi's child, and the woman said the same to him about a necklace he had! He's only a child himself..." Britain "Shina and Hoshi..." Rio blinked, then smothered a smile at the memory of Astaroth stuck in a certain pregnant angel's body. "It is good to hear that their son is well."
He leaned forward to study the necklace, curious about it, and tilted his head as the light caught it's curves. "Well, certainly WE are miraculous enough in nature that I am surprised by nothing. That it contains the spirit of a child...well, it's certainly what I have come to expect from Gaia. I can think of no better 'guardian,' however. Perhaps Sei's own Guardian will help him with the soul his pendant possesses?" Sosiqui "Sei seems well enough, but it seems Shina is gone again... I wish I knew what had happened to her, and to Hoshi. They are... very old friends." Riven shook his head. "Sei, of course, misses them very much. I worry about him. And about this... this thing." The spirit Fa'e made a face. "I stopped at my Guardian's house on the way back here and she laughed in my face, saying now I'd know what it felt like." Britain "From what I understand, we were all dumped on our Guardians in much the same way," Rio pointed out dryly. "Well, most of us. It is sad to hear that Shina is gone, and Hoshi...more of a loss for their son." His smile was tight, and he shook his head. "I have only distant memories of both of them; it seems Morion took those with him."
Brushing off the melancholy and sick feeling that came with the thought, he reached up to tuck his hair back behind his ears. They were flat to his head at the moment, having learned much greater mobility in the last few months. "At least this will give you something new to concentrate on," he said gently, knowing the conversation wasn't going to get any easier. "I've been talking to Airyn. Is there...anything else you'd like to talk about? I don't want to reopen old wounds, if you would rather not." Sosiqui Riven smiled, sheepishly. "Yeah, I did show up out of nowhere, like my Guardian said. She also said that it seemed like hardly anyone got pregnant any more...?" The spirit Fa'e looked confused; obviously the gist of Sosiqui's statement had flown right over his head. He leaned back into the couch at the mention of Airyn, and shook his head. "Airyn. Don't get me started on that. She must have told you... I'm sure she did. She has a crush on you, you know," he added, in a quieter whisper lest his daughter hear, his eyes brightening with mischief. "I found a whole page full of your name and hers, with lots of little hearts. What have you been doing with her?" The question was lighthearted, but there was a thread of steel in the middle - just in case. Britain "I noticed the worship in her eyes," was Rio's very dry reply, but his eyes were very serious. "You have no worries from me, my friend. She was showing me her magic; she told me what happened. Honestly, you are much calmer than I might have been, if I did not know Astaroth. If there is any way I can use my influence on her to help you guide her safely, I will not hesitate to offer my assistance- though what I really think you ought to do is speak to Astaroth himself. Unfortunately, I will be little help there, for now."
He hesitated. It was quite a personal move, but he was truly worried; he reached for one of Riven's hands and met the older Fa'e's eyes as his voice gentled. "She also...introduced me to her mother. Riven...I am concerned for your health as much as hers." Sosiqui "Glee." Riven sighed again. "Somehow you're finding everything that's bothering me, one after the other. She's gone to the Earthkeeper - chasing who she was or is, I'm not sure exactly how it works, but... it's what we do. Since September..." He fiddled with the crystal pendant. "Sometimes I see Airyn looking at family pictures with this desperate look on her face. There's nothing I can do about it." He glanced at the tree, just visible outside the front window. "And that's the problem." A pause, then, "And don't worry about Airyn. I know you'd never do anything to her. I just hope she never gets the wrong idea, but there's nothing I can do about that, either. Everything is complicated," the Fa'e proclaimed, with a wry smile. Britain "Airyn...is a very strong girl. She will msot definitely be as strong as her father," Rio said softly. It was half compliment, half pointed reminder. "If one wants to begin solving a problem, one must begin at the source- which is you, Riven. You are so bound by the things that are making you uneasy that you have nowhere to turn. If you do not take them on as you have faced Chaos' minions, there will not be much left of you when your Lady returns."
His smile turned grim beneath the veil. "Believe me, I will do anything to keep Airyn from being mislead. I have had more than enough broken-hearted maidens for this lifetime. That is one worry you will never have to face." Sosiqui "Thank you. I'm sorry, I suppose you're just too charming for her." Riven smiled at Rionne, grateful for his comfort. "I'll manage somehow - I've managed so far. Airyn's going to switch schools to get away from her bullying problem, and whatever price to pay for her power won't come to visit until later, thank goodness." Riven made a face again. That was the last thing he needed, some kind of arcane business knocking on his door. "I was thinking of asking Astaroth about it, actually. Have you seen him lately? I've been so busy with Airyn, the house, and my Spirit Realm duties... that I haven't really done anything except for what I'm supposed to do for a long time." Britain "Morion...apparently 'broke up' with Astaroth." The words were brutally painful, when he'd gotten so used to saying them to himself- telling someone else hurt. "So, I am a 'fake' who has been deceiving our dear Hellking all this time. Astar didn't want anything to do with me. I know that right now he is hurt, and probably not thinking very clearly...perhaps when things have settled a bit more, I will try and speak with him again."
It's been over six months, a mutinous voice whispered in the back of his mind. How much time does one require to let things 'settle?' His lips tightened, and he brushed the thought aside. "I believe in him, regardless, and you have never been one to condemn him. I think he would help you. As who he is, what he is, he is very responsible. I would offer to speak to him for you, but- I think that isn't the wisest course of action right now. Leaving a letter with his Guardian will help you reach him; Lady Kali is a wonderful woman."
Whom he missed terribly. Again, thoughts best left alone. "Still, however, that will only solve one of your problems. Riven- have you thought to get someone to help you with any of this? Perhaps someone in the Spirit Realm to help you there, or someone Airyn can stay with for short periods of time so that you have more time on your hands? You need the space to take a deep breath, organize your thoughts, and continue on." Sosiqui "Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't know," Riven said, feeling guilty, but because of that he welcomed the turn of conversation. "Airyn's been staying with my Guardian and with her best friend, the little demoness who made the soul-pact with her... so my problem's not time. And before too long I'm going to have a baby to deal with too... a baby. Ghlyssa changed all the diapers, after that one time when I got both legs in one hole, with Airyn." The spirit Fa'e looked vaguely panicked. "Daaaaaaaaad, don't say embarassing things," Airyn said, aggrieved; the child had come to spy through the doorway. "What about a baby?" Riven looked even more panicked. "Nothing, Sprout." He prodded Rionne lightly with one elbow so he wouldn't mention it in front of Airyn; he needed to explain it to her alone, with plenty of time. Britain "You have a mother for a reason," Rio murmured low to him, smothering a smile. He raised one hand to beckon to his little princess, one ear flicking slightly. "Ah, but we have been spied upon. Come out, Lady Airyn, and join us. Riven tells me you are changing schools...? Perhaps he shall talk to my demon friend for you, and he will be able to assist."
He shifted so that he faced her again, and reached up to remove the veil. The movement had become much more smooth, less fearful- his smile was warm once the silk dropped into his lap. "I will have to come and visit you at school, some afternoon." heart Sosiqui Airyn beamed when Rio took the veil off. "Yay! You should not wear that more often. You're much handsomer without it," she added, and blushed again - but she didn't shy away, she stood her ground against the embarassment. "I'm inclined to agree with my daughter for once," Riven said, some of his high spirits coming back now that Airyn was here, though he wasn't sure if it was actual joy or just the artificial brand he'd gotten so used to wearing for his child's sake. Probably closer to the former than the latter, though. "I'm gonna try and go to Westchase Academy," Airyn continued, toeing the ground. "It'll teach me, um, important stuff and balance..." She tried to remember what Dr. Mephisto had said, failed, and latched on to what Rio had started with. "You have a demon friend too? They're nicer than people think, huh?" Britain "Airyn!" Rio scolded lightly, though it was HARD to hide the laughter in his voice. "A Lady has no need for such violent measures. You should defend yourself, but be above fighting in the schoolyard. It isn't very proper at all, and it will make you look as mannerless as those you fight!"
He leaned back against the chair cushions, ears relaxing enough to flick curiously at any given sound. "It is good, however, that you have some assistance. Dr. Mephisto sounds like a very wise woman." He smiled at Airyn, wondering just how far her amazing abilities would go. "Perhaps someday, you will be able to create entire paintings that move." Sosiqui "I'm trying," Airyn mumbled, abashed. "That's what Dr. Mephisto said." Riven groaned. "Not more things that move, please... I've had more than enough already." Airyn sighed. "Yes, Daddy..." But from the look in her eye, it was obvious to all that she was goign to try that trick out as soon as she had a free moment, and Riven groaned again, but inwardly this time. He turned to Rionne. "Can I get you anything? Unfortunately, I can't ask you to dinner, because it's a school night for Airyn and you, my friend, are very distracting..." The spirit Fa'e grinned. Britain "Just make sure you use water-based paints, Lady Airyn," Rio teased, and turned his smile to Riven. "No, I should not impose. I simply wanted to visit, and see how you were doing... I confess that I needed time to get away from my own frustrations as well. I am having much better luck with the piano than I am with my own magic."
He made an amusing face at the thought, vaguely like a fairy squished between screen and glass doors. "I am quite happy to preach at others, rather than overcoming my own tedious aggravations!" Sosiqui "Piano? You're a musician?" Airyn sparkled at Rionne, finding that intriguing; she couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, annoyingly enough. "Goodness, he's never going to come back if you make this a... what was the word my Guardian used to throw at me when I asked too many questions? Um... an inquisition. Right." Riven said, amused. Britain Snorting, Rio traded an amused look with Riven; he felt vaguely as if he were being interviewed for a magazine or talk show. "I try very hard to play the piano. My 'teacher' forced me to in the beginning because I had no focus; it has become even more important since I returned from Egypt. I seem to have quite a bit of trouble controlling my temper, these days."
A frown touched his lips, and he played with the ends of his hair thoughtfully. The embedded mark on his arm ached faintly in response to his thoughts. "That is a story for another evening, but I really must share it at some point, Riven. It was...exciting, to say the least." Sosiqui "Oh, yes - we got your package," Riven said, glancing at Airyn. The giddy squeal that erupted through the house when she realized the sender had been... something. "It sounds fascinating, though... yes, another night. I should make dinner." The spirit Fa'e drifted upwards from the couch. "You're welcome to stay if you'd like, though I'm not sure what your taste is. If nothing else, I've gotten a lot better at cooking with all this." Airyn nodded. "The scarab is so pretty, thank you!" Britain "Certainly not, you have enough to worry about- and, as you said, it is a school night." Standing, Rio carefully spent a moment to fasten the veil back in place, eyes distant as he worked around long fingernails. He looked back at Airyn with a smile, brushing his hair over his shoulder.
"I am happy that you are pleased with it. There were all colors and designs; I thought you might like that one best." Fishing around in his pockets as a thought occurred to him, he pulled out his wallet, removing two business-stye cards and handing them to her. They bore his name, a phone number, and the logo for 'DarkMirror Financial' in the corner.
"If you would please give one of these to your father, Lady Airyn, I would appreciate it. I keep forgetting that I HAVE a cellular phone; you should both be able to reach me should a situation arise where my aid could prove useful." A hand rested on her hair with another smile, before he turned and moved towards the door. "Airyn has my number, Riven- please don't hesitate to use it if you need someone to rant at again!" ^_~ Sosiqui "Ooh... I will!" Airyn accepted the cards as if they were something rare and precious, blushed at the touch, then turned back to glance at her father. Riven was standing in the kitchen doorway. "Go ahead, see him out like a good hostess," Riven prompted her, grinning. "Thanks so much for visiting, Rionne. I'm... really glad you did. And I'll use the number if I need it, though I think I'm a lot further away from that edge than I was before you showed up!" Airyn skittered to the door and opened it, sticking her head out to look at Ghlyssa's tree for a moment, then shuffled her feet at Rionne. "I, um, thanks for... visiting!" she squeaked, finally. Britain "Good luck, Riven- try not to work yourself too hard!"
Pausing, Rio realized that he still had company. There was a moment of hesitation before he stepped back over to her, kneeling down where he could give her a hug.
"Take care of yourself, and your father," he said softly. "Though it may be difficult, I know everything will be alright. Believe in yourself, as I believe in you."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:21 pm
oo6 . big sister
Riven stood at the doorway to Airyn's room for a moment, just listening. The night sounds surrounded the Glade, branches and what few leaves remained after the winter rustling in the breeze. Somewhere Biome was moving, the dragons' movements a subtle mechanical sound... and Dillin was in with Airyn, his high-pitched squeaks and chirrs showing his amusement.
He could see her through the partly open door, working dutifully on her homework, though every so often she'd reach to the side and doodle something on another piece of paper with her off-hand. She did so now; a small moth fluttered free, inciting a spate of leaping and grabbing from the tiny kiri.
Riven pushed the door open. "Airyn?"
"...at rest," he heard her whisper quickly, and the moth fell to the ground, only to be overwhemled by Dillin's eager grasp. She turned. "Hi, Daddy!"
"C'mere, Sprout..." Riven floated over to the bed and sat down on it, smoothing the covers with one hand before she bounced up next to him, leaning into his side in that way that made him smile, grateful for her affection. "I have something very important to tell you."
She stilled immediately. "Is it about school?" she asked, a nervous quaver in her voice.
"No, it's not... it's about this." Riven reached down and pulled the crystal pendant out into plain sight, not taking the necklace off but dangling it off the silver cord. "This necklace."
"The one you an' Biome found? It's pretty. Can I have it?" She perked up.
"No." Riven made a face. "This necklace is... very important."
"Is it magic? You asked Dr. Mephisto about it, right?" Airyn peered curiously at it, then looked up at him. "Didja find out what it is?"
"Yes... um. Sprout, it's alive, sort of." Riven swallowed, then went on, speaking quickly. "There's a spirit bound to it. You know, like what I've told you I can see? Like the creatures I've called sometimes?"
Airyn nodded, her eyes wide with curiosity now. "Can I go to the Spirit Realm yet? You promised..."
"I know, when you were older - maybe soon, but that's not the point," Riven said. "The point is that the spirit bound to this crystal... um... it's going to become a baby, Sprout."
Airyn froze. "A... a baby?"
"Yes... a little brother, a new part of our family."
Airyn reached up with one hand to touch the crystal; Riven resisted the completely irrational urge to move it away from her. Her fingers touched it lightly, as if scared it would bite her. "Are you telling a true story, Daddy?" she asked, skeptically.
"Just like how you told Star your mommy was a tree and your house was made of living trees," Riven said. "It was weird, but it was a true story... and so is this."
"Um. O-okay," Airyn replied, rubbing lightly at the crystal before letting it swing freely on the cord again. "Um."
"Are... are you okay with that, Sprout?"
"Um. I dunno." Airyn squirmed. "It's kinda weird."
"It's going to happen, though. I just wanted to tell you... so you'd know..." Riven sighed, then smiled at her. "But you'll always be my very special Sprout, no matter what. My special girl."
She smiled, and snuggled into him.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:38 pm
oo7 . crack!Riven was relaxing when it happened, stretched out on the bed and trying to puzzle through one of Airyn's math textbooks. His daughter had asked for help, and well - he had to at least try, even if the numbers were deeply confusing. Airyn herself was at Star's house for the night, and the Fa'e was perfectly content to do nothing at all... Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion flooded over him, and for a moment he was awash in confusion - but the same exhaustion also brought the answer. With the urge to sleep came a loss of the control that had become second nature to him, the control that kept his spirit-sight ability at a sane level... and he realized something was happening. Something involving the crystal pendant. He sat up, staring as his power revealed a strange sight. The crystal was pulsing powerfully to his spirit-sight, leeching more strongly off of his own energies. It stayed well away from the bright core that was what made him Fa'e, but nibbled hungrily off the edges like a live thing. "What are you doing....?" Riven murmured, cupping the stone in both hands. The question was answered when, after a few minutes of feeding, the crystal suddenly cracked, the sound startling after Riven's silent observation. For a moment he was sure he was lost, that the Medium was going to come after him for killing the child - But, no. A small bit of spirit energy coiled out of the crack in the crystal, growing quickly in intensity until he realized the little... whatever-it-was... was visible to normal sight. Slowly, too, the 'feeding' dropped down to what it had been before. The Fa'e looked down at the tiny spirit, not sure what to do, or say. After a moment, he settled for "Hello, little one."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:48 pm
oo8 . crystal spirits . sei and aldenSosiqui Riven floated uncertainly up to the front door of Zero's house, wondering if he was doing the right thing. After all, it wasn't certain that the boy's crystal had cracked at the same time his had... but even if it hadn't, he could at least warn the other Fa'e about what was coming. The crystal in question was still around his neck, but now there was a mesh bag cupped around the pendant. The spirit inside drifted here and there, but Riven was more comfortable with it being sheltered... even if it was only an illusion. "Alrighty... let's see if your 'brother' is awake yet, shall we?" Riven murmured at the crystal, and knocked. Zero Dream There was the sound of someone running down a set of stairs, and, when the door finally opened... There was no one there ? Or, rather, there was someone there. She was just relatively short. The girl (who looked like a anthro phoenix) looked up at Riven curiously. "Hello ?"Sosiqui Riven blinked at the unfamiliar face; he'd met Zero briefly here and there, but this girl was new to him. "Ah... hello," he said, smiling at her. "My name's Riven... I'm a Fa'e. Is Sei around?" Zero Dream Aylen seemed to become a bit more open once she finally knew who this strange purple person. "Oh, so you're Riven ? Come in." She said, standing aside. "M'sorry... Mom's out right now, and she told me not to let strangers in... im not sure if Sei's awake." She said, a worried look in her purple eyes, until she finally noticed the pendant. "Oh, you have one of those things, too ?! Maybe you can help then." She turned, taking the staff she had left at the bottom of the stairs before motioning the spirit fa'e to follow. Sosiqui "That's what I was hoping to talk about, yeah... what do you mean, help? Did something happen?" Riven frowned as he followed the phoenix child. Zero Dream "It cracked." Aylen announced simply before stopping in front of a door to tap it with her staff a few times - her version of knocking. "Then... Sei just got really tired and he doesn't really look like he's recovering." One last tap, then she gently turned the doorknob so peer inside. "Sei ?"Sei slept very lightly - the knocks where moreso to wake him up than anything else, as proved when he already had his eyes open. "Is Zero back yet, Ayl ? Oh..." He finally noticed the figure behind the phoenix, and tried to stir to sit. "Hey, Riven...""Stay down. Don't tire yourself out, now." The girl said sharply. And oddly enough, he decided to obey. That girl might make one hell of a mother one day. Sosiqui Riven's brow creased with worry, and he immediately drifted over to the side of the bed and floated downward, coiling his tail in his best approximation of kneeling. "Hey... are you okay? She - sorry, I don't know your name," he added, apologetically, to the phoenix. "She said that the crystal had cracked... mine as well. That's why I came." He held up the necklace with the mesh bag over the pendant. The spirit inside seemed to be pressed up against the mesh in what might have been curiosity, though while it certainly could have passed through the mesh it didn't seem to want to. Zero Dream "Aylen." She said, before turning. "Just let me know if either of you need anything." And so she was gone, closing the door behind her. "They say *older* sibilings are overprotective..." The fa'e muttered to himself, still feeling a bit snappish, before he slowly managed to sit and lean his back against the wall. "Yeah, he cracked..." He said, holding up the crystal for the spirit fa'e to see better. The mist, likewise, peered directly to the other spirit's direction, but kept his distance. "Did it kinda... make you sleepy when it cracked ?" Sosiqui "Yeah, it did, but I figured out what was going on pretty quickly. It's all spirit-stuff, so I could see it..." Riven peered curiously at the small purple spirit hovering around Sei's crystal. "It didn't put me in bed, though! I was there already," he added. Zero Dream "Well, to give you an idea... It cracked yesterday. Im still tired." The blonde pondered for a moment. "Maybe it's because im just a kid. Guess I got less soul-energy thing." Oh, damnit, he hated to admit it. He couldn't help the pout that followed. Sosiqui Riven grinned, but nodded his head to acknowledge that he caught the pout. "Maybe. It's nothing to be embarassed of, though. If anything, it's that woman's fault for sending the crystal to you," he added, shaking his head. He still didn't think the Medium should burden young ones with children! "She should have warned you more, sheesh." Zero Dream "If that's what it took just to crack it, im not really looking forward to how my body'll take it once Alden decides to come out." He sighed. Sei clearly wasn't used to be bed-bound - who ever heard of an android being sick ? "Have you thought about a name yet ?" He asked, curiosity slipping in his voice without him really noticing it. "We've decided we're gonna raise Alden as my brother for... obivious reasons." Sosiqui "A name? Um... no, not really," Riven said, abashed. "I guess since it has a second chance and all, that maybe it would come with a name like I did." He squinted dubiously at the spirit, letting his spirit-sight slip a bit so he could see the stronger aura, and the small thread where it ran out to leech off of his own energy. "I've never named anything myself... my daughter Airyn was named after Airi and Glee's mother, Svrellia, so it doesn't count because I took the names from somewhere else." Zero Dream "Don't tell her..." He winked. "But I thought up a name by tweaking Aylen's a bit." He closed his blank eyes, pondering for a moment. "I figure that if he has a name, he'll let us know somehow." Sosiqui Riven smiled. "Okay... I guess I'll have to try a little harder then, since I don't have anyone whose name I could steal that wouldn't guess outright!" Oh, he could just imagine if he named the spirit 'Kuri' or something; Kurrin would have an absolute fit. "I tried to do what I could with the little thing, but nothing happened," Riven admitted, glancing at 'his' spirit once more. "Maybe it's because it's the spirit of a very young child, not mature enough to understand me..." Zero Dream "Maybe. You would know better than me." The boy shrugged. "I... can catch myself talking to him when im half-asleep. Kind of odd." He admitted. Sosiqui "Spirits can do weird things, if you're not used to them," Riven admitted. He hadn't felt what Sei had, but then again he was accustomed to dealing with his own kind, as it were. He looked closer at the purple wisp around Sei's crystal. "All I can tell about yours is that it's sharing your energy, and you knew that... but it should get better soon, right?" Zero Dream "I do hope so... I hate feeling like this." The boy let a sigh escape. So I've just learned, anyway. Makes me feel kind of useless, I can't help around the house or even do anything but sleep. It's been getting better, I guess." Sosiqui "It won't last forever. It can't - they can't eat our energy forever. Eventually they have to form their own and pull themselves into the real world as kids, right?" Riven looked worried, though. If just cracking had laid Sei out this bad, what would happen if the same thing occurred when the spirit changed into a real child? "But you're just tired. It's not that bad," he offered with a helpful smile. Zero Dream "I guess it's just... that im not used to it." He admitted. "I've never been sick... or that tired... or anything like that before. Never thought it would happen either. Guess I was wrong."He paused for a moment. "It's not as bad when you have someone to talk to that doesn't freak out if you try switching positions." Sosiqui "Switching positions?" Riven looked confused. Zero Dream "Sitting down. Turning to the other side. Things like that. Clearly I am "gifted" with overprotective ladies." Sei attempted to hide his yawn, but failed - miserably. It looked like he was getting sleepy again. Sosiqui Riven carefully uncoiled and rose up to his usual cruising altitude. "If you're feeling sleepy again, I should go - sleeping is probably the best way to get your energy back," he said, sympathetically. "Be careful... it might be worse when the spirit turns into a child. Little brother... huh." Zero Dream "I guess so... And im expecting it will at least be something similar. Zero went to see a friend of her's that good with magic and bonds like that - said he might be able to help."Sei just kind of slid back into a laying position again. "Ill be fine... I think."
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 11:28 am
oo9 . springtime returns . ghlyssaSundragyn Ghlyssa swept upwards, trickled into old roots, and filled the body she had vacated so many months previously. For a moment, she was disoriented, unable to find her head or her feet, before she abruptly remembered that she had no head and feet. She was a tree, thinking tree thoughts, remembering being something other than wood. Time to return. She stretched; her branches shook violently, shedding a few leaves and what berries the birds hadn't eaten during the winter. Her roots twitched, heaving up the earth above them. This was harder than it had been to turn into a tree in the first place. She paused for a short rest, wondering if anyone was home. She certainly hoped so. Sosiqui Someone was definitely home, but the first being in the Glade to notice Glee's imminent return (besides the trees, of course, which began rustling immediately) was Biome. The twin dragons padded sinuously outside and regarded the shifting tree with deep suspicion, then split off and each walked one circle around it, in opposite directions. Then they nodded, and darted inside. A moment later, Riven and Airyn came flying through the front door, both of them with eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Glee?" Riven whispered, staring at the tree. Airyn threw herself at the tree and wrapped her arms around it. "Mommy!" she cried out. Sundragyn Ghlyssa would have cried out, but she as yet did not have a mouth. She had felt something, through bark that was slowly becoming skin again, the first thing she had felt physically in many long months. It was incredible, indescribable. Could she focus on growing a mouth? Or eyes? She wasn't sure. Better just to let it happen as it needed to. She could guess who it was based on height alone, though. She shook her branches in an attempt at acknowledgement, shaking more leaves loose in a sudden shower. Her bark was definitely growing smoother, warmer, and smaller branches were receding into the tree's limbs. On two large branches, the leaves seemed to be slowly changing into feathers. She tried to speak, and managed to make a whispery, wordless sigh, not unlike wind rustling through the leaves but with a slight touch of a familiar voice to it. Sosiqui Riven was shaking, but he moved forward and gently unwrapped Airyn's arms from around the tree's trunk. "Wait just a little bit longer, Sprout... I think..." Airyn fought him for a moment, then gave up and let him pull her away, though she looked at the tree with a combination of fear and longing. Biome still stood on both sides of Fa'e and child, alert guardians just in case. "Please, please be Glee," Riven whispered as the leaves showered down onto them. Sundragyn Almost there. Tree limbs that were suddenly arms fell to her sides, the last few excess leaves fluttered away, and she was Ghlyssa again, standing with her feet underneath the dirt, wearing the same dress she had been wearing in September, though it was considerably grubbier now. "...oh," she said, sounding almost surprised, and broke into a wide smile. She picked her muddy feet out of the soil, and all but flung herself at Riven and Airyn, arms wide. Sosiqui "MOMMY!" Airyn shrieked, tears streaming down her cheeks, and threw herself into her mother's arms - with Riven close behind her. It took all the willpower he had to stop and let his daughter go first; he made himself keep a bit of distance and watch and simpy smile, with growing joy, as Airyn clung fiercely to Ghlyssa. It was okay. She was okay. It was all going to be okay. Sundragyn "I'm sorry I was gone so long. I didn't mean to be gone so long. Trees think slowly sometimes, they can't help it. I am so glad to be back." Ghlyssa had tears in her eyes; she was clinging to Airyn almost as tightly as her daughter was to her. "I think you grew a bit while I was gone. I don't remember you being this tall." She looked up at Riven, and let out a small, guilty laugh, her wings folding against her back. She didn't seem quite sure of what to say. Sosiqui Riven grinned - and, to his surprise, Airyn squirmed out of Glee's grasp and moved to one side, giving him an expectant look. The spirit Fa'e laughed, and moved forward to enfold Ghlyssa in a tight hug, his insubstantial wings spreading to fluff over her as well. "Welcome home," he murmured, and kissed her hard. Airyn smothered a high-pitched, happy giggle. Riven didn't particularly care. Sundragyn Ghlyssa embraced Riven tightly, letting herself fold into him. She could imagine not moving from this spot for a long time. "I really am sorry I was gone so long," she murmured back. "It feels like... I don't even know what month it is anymore. I missed you so much. Was everything okay while I was gone?" Sosiqui "March... I think," Riven said, holding her close still, breathing in the scent of her. The tree had held the scent of her leaves and flowers, but nothing else. "And everything was-" Oh boy."Everything was fine... but a few things changed that we need to tell you about," the spirit Fa'e said, gently, and saw Airyn squirm out of the corner of his eye. "But they're mostly good," he added, quickly. "So don't be worried." Sundragyn Six months? It had been six months? It hadn't felt like six months. It had felt like... two, tops. She would have to be careful of that in the future. "Mostly?" Glee squeaked. She shook her head. "I'll try not to worry. Oh. Oh. It's too long." Too long without smelling, without seeing, without feeling. She felt nearly dizzy with the sudden rush upon her senses. Sosiqui "But it doesn't need to be now," Riven said quickly. "Come on, let's go inside." He released her from the hug, reluctantly, then took her hand and gently guided her towards the door, and Airyn skipped next to them with a big smile on her face... and started talking a mile a minute. "I missed you so much Mommy! I talked to you almost every day, did you hear me?! I told you everything! About school and that horrible bully Renswell and about making friends with Star and about sleeping over an' making a pact an' getting my own magic an' Dr. Mephisto an' switching schools an' my new art teacher an' making butterflies an' the weird stuff happening at school an' the new baby!" Riven stared in vague and unspeakable horror at his happily babbling daughter when she stopped for breath. Sundragyn Ghlyssa had begun to follow back to the house, but she stopped short as Airyn's long speech began to sink in. She pressed a hand to the side of her head. "What?" she asked, weakly, and shook her head. It was far too much to process at once. "One thing at a time. New... baby? Should I sit down first?" Sosiqui "Um. Possibly." Riven opened the door, his thoughts spinning on overdrive. He'd hoped to be able to take it easy, tell her about things simply... but no... "Sprout, can you... let me explain all this to mommy? You can wait and show her later," he added, as Airyn ducked in ahead of them, arrowing for her sketchpad and pencil. "Aw..." She pouted, but moved away to sit, pencil-less, on one of the armchairs. Riven tried to guide Glee over to the couch. "I promise, it will all make sense once I've explained it to you, okay?" Sundragyn She sat, her brow furrowed with worry. "I hope so." The rest of the spiel was beginning to filter down, and it was making less and less sense to her. Airyn's own magic? A pact? What sort of pact? What on earth did "making butterflies" mean? Who was that Doctor person? "Start with the new baby part," Ghlyssa said, her eyes wide. "Whose baby?" Sosiqui "Well... ours, I guess," Riven said, tugging at the necklace he was wearing so that the pendant, still hung in mesh, swung free of his clothes. He took the mesh off, and the small spirit flowed around his fingers before returning to stay close to the crack in the stone. "I found this necklace a few weeks ago, lying on the ground... and apparently it has the soul of a fallen being in need of a second chance bound to it." His lips quirked in an ironic smile. "Sound familiar?" he added, gently. "So it's going to be a baby before too long. It chose us to be its family," Airyn interjected, her eyes wide. Riven nodded. "The child is the Guardian of Serenity. I... don't know why it chose me... us... but my Guardian..." He made a face. "I complained about children coming from nowhere, and she laughed at me... we showed up in a similar way." The Fa'e sighed, and grinned. "So I guess I can't complain. It was just... really surprising, all of a sudden." Sundragyn "That's... that's a baby?" A small pucker appeared between her eyes for a moment, then it faded again. Ghlyssa laughed lightly. "Or it will be? When? Do we know where it's going to sleep? Riven..." She shook her head in disbelief, but there was an excited sparkle to her eyes. "I can't say I would ever expected to come back to this." Sosiqui "You and me both... but yes, it's going to be a baby. A boy, apparently." Riven held the crystal out to her, and the spirit attached to it ventured out a little bit, curious. "Though, Sei - Shina and Hoshi's son - he's also got one of these crystals! At least this one chose a family instead of a child... poor Sei." Airyn hopped off the armchair and clambered onto the couch, snuggling up next to Ghlyssa. "But I'm still going to be your very special only little Sprout," she added, making sure her mommy remembered that. Sundragyn "Well, of course." Ghlyssa fluffed a wing around Airyn's shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead. "No one else could possibly be my Sprout." She frowned slightly at Riven, though. "Poor Sei," she agreed. "That's... that's not fair to him at all. I hope he'll be okay." She thought that she'd heard, at the very least, that Shina and Hoshi had had a son, but she certainly hadn't met him. Oh, but she had been so... so distant. No more, she promised herself. "What else happened?" Glee looked back at Airyn, obviously worried. Sosiqui Riven sighed. "The rest is mostly one thing, but it's more complicated... do you want to rest first? It can wait, it's not really really urgent or anything. I wanted to make sure you knew about the baby thing first, so you wouldn't be really surprised if he showed up soon." He glanced down at the crystal, then carefully tucked it back in the mesh and let it hang freely again.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:56 pm
o10 . it's been a while . seiZero Dream The fa'e had come on various errands, for himself, his mother, and his guardian - but after walking all the way to Barton, one deserved a rest, right ? Even if he didn't really feel tired.
In all, it was just an excuse to send his backpack tumbling on the floor, sit back on the stool, and enjoy the steaming cup of precious coffee set before him. Hmmm...~ This place was one of the few that actually let him order (the owners where not observant enough and passed him off as a somewhat short teenager, it helped) and he abused every second of it.
The blonde fa'e had a pretty good view from where he sat, so he could even do some people-watching at the same time. Nothing interesting popped out, so he took another sip from his mug. Sosiqui Ugh. Riven hadn't slept a wink. The Iridae pendant dangled from its place around his neck, the hungry spirit trapped around it blaring bright, blinding, against the edges of the Fa'e's spirit-sight. It was getting progressively worse, to the point where he couldn't just ignore it like he could with most spirits... no, it getting to be like staring at the sun. It was very, very difficult to sleep with the awareness of the restless spirit cupped on his chest as he lay there in bed, doubtlessly bothering poor Ghlyssa with his tossing and turning. He'd exiled himself to the couch, which made him feel a bit less guilty about disturbing his lover's sleep, but... Well. Sosiqui had always said that coffee worked for her. Maybe it would help him be a bit more awake as well. And Airyn had an appointment after school with the witch doctor... maybe she would have some idea of how to deal with the Iridae spirit. He really didn't want to see that Medium again... The spirit Fa'e shoved open the door to the coffee shop and drifted inside, barely registering what was on the menu. The long names meant nothing to him. "Coffee. Please," he told the person at the counter, digging in the pouch at his side for some money. He wasn't really sure how much he gave the boy. Didn't care. Ugh. And the blasted spirit was still blazing at him. Serenity, my... tail. Zero Dream It was kind of hard for the blonde to miss Riven's grand entrance into the coffee shop, not only because he was facing right at the door, a mere foot away from where the spiritkeeper had gone to order, but a purple man with no legs floating a feet from the ground ? That's pretty recognizable.
He might have been upset at not being picked out from the crowd, but the signs of sleep deprivation where glaring enough, especially to the young boy. The erroneous change didn't help. The clerk was about to give the spirit fa'e a glare, but was stopped just in time for a few gold pieces to roll their way across, guided by a telltale, rolling purple orb.
"Give him a espresso, will ya ?" He sure looked like he needed it. "Hey, Riven." Sosiqui Riven gave the orb a bleary look before shaking himself out of his stupor - it was easy enough to drift from home to the coffee shop in a daze, but not so easy to stay in it once actual interaction with other beings was required. And he was more than willing to wake up for this one. "Sei! Hi! Wait, what's... espresso?" The Fa'e sounded out the unfamiliar word carefully, then wrinkled his nose. The barista nodded, took Sei's gold, then made himself busy behind the counter. A moment later, a small shot of espresso was placed in front of the spirit Fa'e. Riven eyed it uncertainly. "That's not very much..." Zero Dream "Good things come in small packages." The orb did a loop around the cup and started rolling in the other direction, right in Sei's extended palm, from which it could resume it's place around his wrist. "Espressos are like dynamite." He pondered for a moment. "...Don't take that literally. In short, if that doesn't wake you up, I doubt anything short of throwing you in cold water will do it." He shrugged, taking a sip on on his own cup, which was at least twice as big.
But he hadn't really required anything. This was coffee for the shake of COFFEE, not clarity. "Something's keeping you up ?" Sosiqui "Okay, if you're sure..." Riven picked up the cup, gave it another dubious look, then shrugged and downed it in a few gulps. "Ugh! Bitter..." And it was, but he put it down on the counter and curled onto a stool next to the other Fa'e, wrapping his tail around the stool's leg. "If you say so, I trust you." He made a face at Sei's next question. It seemed hard to believe that anyone could not see the blazing ball of spirit energy surrounding the crystal pendant, but that was how things were. "It's this." He pointed at the pendant. "It's too... er... loud? Bright? Both of them at once?" His brow furrowed as he tried to think of how best to explain the annoyance. "Hard to explain," he said, finally, with a sigh. Zero Dream The only reaction that the younger fa'e had was one eyebrow rising in surprise. "You mean... it hasn't come out yet ?" Come to think of it, Sei's own necklace seemed to be completely absent from his neck... replaced by a blue sapphire, with points mimicking stars.
"Well, I have bad news - they don't get any quieter." Sei made a face at the reminder of the first few sleepless night he had the honor to go through, before Alden could tolerate being separated from him. If anything, he had been a shining example that, no matter what you where, with lack of sleep, one did indeed get cranky. "Alden was clingy at first - I mean clingy. Would throw a fit if I wasn't in the room." He stirred his coffee absent-mindedly. "Waking me up at 3 am on the dot, hungry or just wanting to be held or something. I guess it's a baby thing ?" Then Riven would do better than he did, yes ? "He really likes mom now, so I get some breathing room."
He paused for a moment, then he remembered. Mom ! The fa'e bent over, taking his backpack from the floor, zipping up one pocket and glancing at the mess inside. Where had he put those things... Sosiqui "You mean... yours has emerged?" Riven's eyes widened, and not just because the jolt of caffeine from the espresso was starting to affect his system. He glanced down at the crystal pendant, wincing a bit from the 'brightness' of it, and cupped it in one hand. "Maybe there's something wrong, something... that's making it do what it's doing. Oh, no no no..." He did NOT want the Medium coming after him. I mean, maybe... maybe he could take her on... probably... Then again, maybe not. Riven shook his head. "I'd rather have a baby than this. I know how to deal with babies, I took care of Airyn just fine when she was a baby... you're lucky, though, if your Guardian helps you. Sosiqui just laughed at me when I told her I'd found a child." He made a face, but the Fa'e's expression was tinted with amusement. "She had little sympathy since she found me on her own doorstep." Zero Dream "Yeah, he did." How long ago ? He couldn't recall offhand, the weeks kind of blurred sometimes when you had nothing to do that required you to remember that. "Maybe he's just taking his time ? Maybe he's trying not to jolt you as bad as Alden jolted me." He shrugged, closing the zipper to open another. "I had another of those... energy-sap things when he first emerged, it didn't help."
Was Sei smirking ? At any rate, his lips seemed to pull upward a bit in amusement. "Maybe Zero would have done that too. If I'd actually shown up on her doorstep like that. I'm told it's common around here." He pushed his hand deeper, then emerged with a plain envelope. There ! He straightened it a bit sheepishly, then pushed it in Riven's direction. He seemed awake enough to read at least. "Mom told me to give you that if I saw you before she did."Quote: My dear friend,
It feels as if it's been years since we last spoke. Perhaps it has been. My sense of time is off. I've drifted between the days, months, and years as if in a dark dream. Much has changed in recent days, enough to push that dream away and bring me face to face with reality.
First, I want to thank you for looking out for my son. To have you as a friend is something I have ever considered a blessing, and now such is twofold. He looks up to you, and I know that you will set an example for him that I can be proud of.
I have no news of Hoshi beyond my hope that he will return soon. I thought I found him, but now that I've been back long enough to clear my head, I suspect I was mistaken. Was I so desperate as to believe a lie? I miss him, but I will not leave to go searching for him again. Sei needs me, and I will not leave him.
One day, my friend, I hope we will have time to talk as we once did. Till then, please give my best to your family, and know that you are loved.
Blessings be upon you,
Shina Sosiqui "Huh? Um... okay..." Riven took the note, uncertain why Sei's Guardian could be writing him a note... but as he looked at the handwriting, there was a sharp intake of breath. Not his Guardian...Riven was not a fast reader, but he devoured the words on the page as fast as he could. Shina. Shina. She's home, she's alive... oh, I have to tell Glee, I have to... He glanced up at Sei and a smile spread across his face. "Shina! Oh, Sei... I'm so happy for you! And for me..." The Spirit Fa'e looked down at the letter again. "I missed her a great deal... oh." His head was spinning with the implications, now. Shina was back, but no news of Hoshi - what had become of the celestial Fa'e? But she was back. His dear friend, his lover's sister - no, Glee couldn't have known, or she would have told him. "When did she come back? Tell me everything!" Zero Dream "Erm." Sei paused for a moment, trying to work his thought in sequential order, finishing his coffee in one glup and sliding the cup away as if it would somehow help. "Somewhere around.... September, I think ? September or early october. I don't think anyone else really know - I think figuring out she hadn't actually found dad was pretty hard on her..." As it should be, he thought, but oddly, he felt... nothing. And it wasn't because he wasn't trying. It made him feel guilty sometimes, because Shina could probably tell. "She's staying with me and Zero for now, so you can just head home when you want to see her. Im sure she'll be pretty happy to see you. And your fiance and your daughter. It would cheer her up a bit. She's had a bit of a rough time recently, not because of dad" Sei didn't want to babble too much - his mother would go down that route if she wanted to.. Sosiqui "I would like nothing more - that would be wonderful. I was afraid she was..." Riven stopped before he could finish that sentence. Dead, faded, gone forever beyond being reborn again. Did you get a third chance? He didn't think so. "Thank you so much for the note. Er... wow. That espresso stuff really was powerful." The Spirit Fa'e felt quite awake now, though he couldn't tell whether it was due to the espresso or his excitement at Shina's return. But... oh, yes, the child. "You said your... your Iridae... was named Alden? What's it like? He like?" Zero Dream "...I was scared too." He admitted, oddly looking a lot more like the child he was in reality as he spoke. It was probably the worried look he'd let slip in his blank eyes. "If only because I had no idea where she went, and so I had no idea where too look for her, and then Alden..." This has had to be quite tiring months for the young fa'e. Perhaps he had only hidden it really well.
"Yeah, Alden. In ways he's kinda like a normal baby but he also isn't. Kinda. His wings are shadow-like thing and he has bandages on his arms. I tried taking one off once and his arm just kinda dissolved and it scared the hell out of me. I just tied it back on and his arm came back. But that scared me, I was afraid i'd hurt him, but he seemed pretty amused. I've started to kind of write a journal for him, to read when he's gonna be older, you can read that when you visit ? I put down a whole lot of details down in there, it might help." Sosiqui "Hmm, maybe. It might take me a while, though... I'm not a fast reader." Riven looked sheepish for a moment, then glanced down at his own Iridae. He couldn't maintain the direct gaze for more than a few seconds without a headache threatening, but still. "I hope nothing's wrong with this little one. Perhaps I should tend to that first, before seeing Shina - as much as I want to see her, I don't want that Medium to come after me." He twitched, his tail's grip on the stool leg tightening a bit. "She was a bit scary." Zero Dream "Yeaaaaaah. Im not exactly fond of the idea of having to deal with her again. And it's okay, I could just lend you the book then ? It's not like there's anything too personal in it." He shrugged. "Maybe he's just taking his time ? I mean... Wouldn't you feel it if it was hurt ?" Given Riven's power over the spirits, this seemed likely to him. "And if you say it's shining really bright..." Which was odd. Sei couldn't see a thing. "...Well, I don't really know about those things, but wouldn't he be dim if he was hurt ? Producing light requires energy. He wouldn't be able to glow that bright if he was too weak ?"
Ah, Sei-logic. Sosiqui "I certainly hope so. It's just so bright that I can't read anything from it... like staring at the sun. Someone could write all over the sun and we'd never notice it because it was too bright." Riven blinked. Maybe there WAS something written on the sun. Or maybe it was just the espresso. Zero Dream "Who knows ?" Sei shrugged, but he couldn't help but look a little bit amused by the mental image that brought forth.
"Then you can't know if it's a bad thing either, can you ?" He tried to do the best comforting smile he could - he'd seen Zero do that ALOT lately. "Maybe he just needs a little more time ?"
The younger fa'e was pretty sure Riven would be able to TELL if something was wrong, keeping in mind how close to spirits he was. If anyone could do it, it would be him.
Or that creepy woman.
Even if he wouldn't have to come along, he preferred the first option. Sosiqui "I hope you're right... no, you must be right. It's like Fa'e and Guardians, sort of, isn't it? Where they come to the right person? He wouldn't have come to me otherwise... I hope..." Riven cupped the pendant in one hand again, though he didn't look at it this time. Zero Dream "Yeah, I guess."
To be truthful, he'd never really thought about it. Zero was his guardian, and while he couldn't really imagine it being anyone else, he'd never really thought much about it beyond that. That she might have been chosen for more reasons than the fact that Shina liked her.
But then, for the others fa'e who had no parents, that would have been kind of hard, wouldn't it ? There must be something more. Hadn't the blue-haired woman spoke to him of dreams before ?
"...I'd never really thought about it, to be honest." He finished his coffee and pushed the mug away slightly. Sosiqui "Well... yours worked fine, right?" Riven shrugged, then sighed and glanced obliquely down at the pendant. "Maybe it just means he's going to... hatch, or come out, or whatever it is they do... maybe I should get home. Wouldn't do to have him be born in a coffee shop." The Fa'e looked abashed. "But, Sei - please, tell your mother... that I want to see her. Very much. I'm sure Ghlyssa does too. So much has happened..." He wasn't even the same person he'd been the last time he'd seen Shina. It had been that long. So very long. But he wasn't afraid. He knew Shina would be there for him no matter what happened, no matter how he changed, as long as he was in balance with himself. Now that he was capable of changing. Zero Dream "...That might be a good idea. Alden sapped my energy pretty hard when he was born, not as bad as when he did the smoke thing but it was still pretty significant." He shrugged. It had really bothered him back when it happened, but it would be silly to dwell on it.
"Ill let her know, don't worry." He said with a small smile. "She'll be very happy." Shina hadn't really been out of the house much ever since she came back... Sosiqui "Thanks. And for the coffee recommendation too. I'll have to remember that... though maybe not quite so much next time..." Riven bobbed up from his sitting position, and nodded at Sei with a smile. "I'm sure I'll see you before too long. Maybe by then, I'll have a friend for Alden rather than something that hurts to look at." Zero Dream "Hopefully." The boy took his bag from the ground and slung it across his shoulder.
"Ill see ya, then? I should stop being lazy and do the things I came to do, anyway." He said with a small grin.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:56 pm
o11 . making room
Perhaps preparing in earnest for a child's arrival would make the child actually arrive, or at least placate the apparently cranky spirit enough that he stopped being so blinding to Riven's spirit-sight. Fortunately, they already had everything a young child would need, left over from when Airyn was a baby. The only thing left was a room... and Airyn had made it quite clear that she wasn't sharing her room with anyone or anything.
So the guest room would have to do. They could grow another one later, add on to the house if needed.
Riven gave the room a critical look. He'd put Airyn's old crib in the middle and shoved the bed up against one bark-covered wall. A few toys had been relinquished, though a fit of unexpected jealousy had resulted in more toys being hoarded in Airyn's room and far fewer actually making it to the baby's future possession. He'd have to fix that. Later.
"That's my crib," Airyn accused from the doorway, right on cue.
Riven sighed. "Yes, it is. You're not using it any more, because you're a big girl."
"I knowww, but..." She squirmed. "It's mine!"
"And soon it will be little... um... little... this baby's." Riven touched the pendant lightly with one hand, and felt the phantom tingle of the spirit brushing against his skin. "You have your own bed and plenty of toys."
"Buuuuut..."
"Look..." He shook his head. "You were fine with the idea of having a baby brother before. What happened?"
"Well... um... it's been a long time and... I dunno..." Airyn squirmed some more. "It didn't seem like it was really gonna happen ever? But now it does?"
"Sprout, you know-"
"I know." Airyn made a face. "Lemme be angry for a little bit anyway. Okay?" She folded her arms and gave him a look that was part defiant and part sheepish.
He laughed. "Very well. So long as you get over it."
"Hmph."
A few minutes later, as he was straightening the bedclothes, a paper butterfly fluttered into the room and took up a post on one side of the crib. Riven grinned to himself and kept working.
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