|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:31 pm
The Finding
Did I find it, or did it find me?
Shira coughed when dust invaded her nostrils she struggled with rearranging her old books. I don’t remember there being this many damn books last time I checked.
Dante’s low voice was amplified in the small room. “Why haven’t you chucked these books in the nearest dumpster yet?” He picked up a thick, brown book with no title off a pile of stacked literature.
“Because,” Shira snatched it from him and studied its binding condition, “I bought them for a reason, I’m not going to throw them out. Doing so would just be a waste of money and good reading.”
“Tch. Or you just have some strange fetish for old s**t,” Dante leaned against a cream colored wall and scratched his beard. “That still doesn’t mean that I have to be here.”
Shira’s only acknowledgment of his statement was the common twitch of her eyebrow. “If I’m supposed to be getting another kid from these Ruesaiah people, then I’m going to need a whole lot more room. Instead of scaring the tenants next door with your yelling at the TV, you can do something constructive and help me get done with this faster. ” Shira examined a few more books before carefully placing them atop others in a large cardboard box, then sealing it with masking tape and sliding it towards a corner. “One down.”
About ten minutes into packing and Dante had already begun his beginning stage of mishaps that would eventually lead to some major screw up. His animated actions and ignorance of his surroundings led him to ignore the largest pile of old and worn books- which reached up to just below his waist, him being 6”0- and smack straight into Shira’s largest and oldest collection of World Literature. If he could’ve caught the whole setting in slow-mo, he so would have.
Bindings were torn, paper edges smushed, and the absolute fury on Shira’s face was priceless. Dante would forever remember the moment; mostly because of the smack upside his head he received afterwards, but that was just fine. One would think that a person would be ashamed of tarnishing someone’s prized possessions. But hey, he’d gotten out of book duty didn’t he?
Or so he thought. “Since you can’t seem to even manage putting books in a box,” Shira sighed angrily while pinching the bridge of her nose, “you can slide them to Demos’s room and put them in the back of the closet. Key phrase here: slide the boxes.”
Dante grunted. “Why? I can carry a few damn books.” It was here he straightened his back, with a few cracking noises in tow, and reached his full height. Considering how far Shira had to raise her chin, that was at least a good 5 inches taller herself. Unfortunately, Shira wasn’t very impressed.
“You’re a clumsy idiot, and I don’t want you ruining anything, that’s why.”There was no harshness in her words, as if they had been repeated so many times that they just lost their bite. “Now go.” She ushered him towards a box, ignoring his grumbled when she heard the sound of something drop.
Her posture relaxed when she realized that none of her books had toppled over. She started to question whether or not she was hearing things before she felt the tap of something against her bare heel. A brown canister of some sort had slowed its roll to a stop against Shira, the gold buckles landing in just the right spot in the sun to glare at her.
“Hm?” She kneeled and picked up the foreign object, examining it and wondering just where the hell it came from. She held it up to her ear and shook it lightly, hearing the barest hint of something inside. “I don’t remember buying this…” Shira flipped the lid open a bit too easily and took out the contents. Grey eyes questioned what they were reading as they studied the single line above a picture of a sword. With a sigh, Shira replaced the scroll and closed the container.
“Why am I always finding random s**t in this place?” Being the strange person that she was, Shira didn’t bother with pondering on the origins of something so strange. Figuring that it was just her horrible memory that left her questioning the old material, she snooped through the first of three stacks of books that contained the different languages of the world, in hopes of coming across something similar to what she saw on the scroll.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:32 pm
AwakenShow your true colorsTara_Nepion It was freezing. Nara stared at the sidewalk as she shivered her way down the street. A thick brown coat covered her body but somehow the snow laden wind seemed to find every little c***k in that defense. A very different type of chill raced down the relic's back a moment later. A halt. A quick call. A whole lot of freezing. Finally her partner arrived, parked, and caught up to her. The two talked together quietly, or rather, Nara talked and Iian listened. Caught up, the two headed in, knocking on every door. Eventually the two happened upon Shira's door. Nara knocked crisply as the two waited. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Jesus kid, just go to sleep. Was what the young woman had been complaining to herself ten minutes ago. But now in place of an agitated frown was a triumphant smile as a child that looked no older that four years old had just fallen asleep on the Living room sofa. Unfortunately, as soon as she had pulled a blanket over his small body, there was a knock on the door.
"You got to be ********' kidding me..." Shira grumbled, upset that the toddler had woken up and now reached for her. Instead she patted his head and slowly made her way towards the door. Of course the red head followed her, and so they both stood behind the cherry wood as Shira looked through her peep hole before cracking her door for both of them to peek out.
Grey eyes questioned the strange pair that waited beyond the door. She'd definitely never seen them before in the building, so they didn't live there for sure.... Shira cocked an eyebrow as she studied their strange appearances, and she slowly- so as not to draw too much attention- pulled Demos's hand to lead him behind her.
"May I help you?" Tara_Nepion Time to paste on the smile. "Hi, I'm Nara from the Gaian branch of the Royal Library of Alexandria and this is my partner. We're researching scrolls that were lost during the fire and we may have tracked one down to this location. Have you seen any unusual papers or parcels around recently?" Nara spilled out the rote introduction, mananging not to roll her eyes at herself. Behind her Iian stood quietly. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Shira's eye twitched at what sounded very much like a rehearsed reply. "I think you've got the wrong damn-" She started to respond automatically before registering what Nara had actually said. Recalling to a few days ago, an image of aged papyrus paper came to mind. She glanced to her behind her towards the living room where the case containing the scroll sat on one of her many book cases.
"...I may have come across something like that." Shira opened the door to show her full figure- which had retreated into her defensive stance: arms crossed, hip jutted a bit to the side, back straight, with a bored stare and cocked eyebrow. This, completed with an extremely innocent two year old clutching to her cargo pants, created an interesting juxtaposition. "What exactly were you looking for?" She waited for a specific description, not exactly trusting the strange two. Especially the cloaked one. Tara_Nepion Somewhere deep in the hidden recesses of her brain, Nara cheered. Another non-sucker! Of course, it made her job a little more difficult but honestly the woman had mastered all of her job related B.S.. Besides, they actually did have legit credentials, not that they were really used that often. With a grimace and a grin, Nara confessed, "That's the problem. Reports are really vauge about it. About all that seems to be confirmed is there's some sort of sketch and some ancient Greek letters." The woman gave a little shrug at the veracity of the supposed reports. Tara_Nepion Somewhere deep in the hidden recesses of her brain, Nara cheered. Another non-sucker! Of course, it made her job a little more difficult but honestly the woman had mastered all of her job related B.S.. Besides, they actually did have legit credentials, not that they were really used that often. With a grimace and a grin, Nara confessed, "That's the problem. Reports are really vauge about it. About all that seems to be confirmed is there's some sort of sketch and some ancient Greek letters." The woman gave a little shrug at the veracity of the supposed reports. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y There was a long pause as Shira eyed Nara up and down, trying to detect any form of deceit or intention of harm. And even though Shira had yet to look at the scroll in depth, she could admit that they were telling the truth by the description of the lettering and picture that she saw observed on the scroll not too long ago.
With a very large, internal sigh, Shira looked down at the small boy that still clutched to her clothes. "Demos, go wake up Dante for me." The light commanding tone was followed, and the boy soon dissapeared beyond the hallway.
The brief relaxed look that was bestowed upon the boy dissapeared as Shira looked back towards the couple. "Come in," She offered to the two and started down the small entrance, her eyes never leaving their corners as she turned her back to them and led them to the small living room. Tara_Nepion Nara grinned to herself as the woman turned and began to lead the way. Glancing around the hallway, Nara nodded to herself slowly. It didn't look much like there'd be a problem with another kid in the place. "Nice place," she offered offhandly. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y "Thank you." Shira responded politely. The area they stopped at was the center of the apartment where everything met together. Shira glanced around the light cream colored walls that encased the small home. To their right was a cozy looking den that had carpet instead of the hardwood floor they were standing on; a couch, a tv, some scattered toys, a desk and few bookcases were all that occupied it. In front of where they were stood a high glass table with two stools; one of which flashed light at them as the sun offered what light it could into the only- and extremely large- window. To their left was the innards of a kitchenette, protected by a counter top that currently had resting it an array of foods that most likely was going to be the day's lunch.
But past the kitchen was another small hallway, where a currently the small child that Shira had sent away came out of with bright eyes. "Got 'im mama!" He proclaimed as he latched back onto Shira's leg. And indeed after Demos's appearance did Dante show. A man who's appearance could only be described as 'rugged' strolled into their presence. A mop of dirty blond bed-head, skin that looked like the aftereffect of too long in the sun, and a face that didn't seem as if it'd been shaved in months; the only difference between Dante and the local hobo was his lean look and the clean shirt and shorts he wore. Although his hair covered whatever real expression he would have been making, Shira could tell by the way his mouth turned that he wasn't too happy about being woken up. As if she cared.
"Watch them for a minute. I need to find something." Shira did not bother to whisper as she walked past his person and to the small array of bookcases on the opposite wall. She didn't care if they knew or not, but she wasn't going to have her back turned to a couple of strangers without anyone else there. The last she did that, she ended up dead and reincarnated or whatever. She began her mini search as she pulled out books and shifted around papers.
At this Dante turned to the newcomers. " 'Sup." Dante leaned against the back of the couch that was the boundery between them and the living room. Scratching the scruff under his chin, he added, "Not exactly friends I take it." Tara_Nepion Nara shrugged, feeling vastly more at ease in the den of suspicion than in any of the overly warm fuzzy homes she had visited. The same couldn't really be said of her partner who placed a glove encased hand on her shoulder protectively. The woman quirked a smile at Dante, "More like perfect strangers. I'm Nara, and my partner Iian from the Gaian branch of the Royal Library of Alexandria." Nara began to scratch furiously at her hands before stuffing them in her pocket, as she impatiently waited for the scroll to be presented to them. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Dante crossed his arms and continued to survey the pair. No doubt some smart a** remark would've came out his mouth had it been much later in the day, but he was too damn tired. He had to settle for something less satisfying. "A librarian, huh?" He looked at Iian and resisted commenting on the man's attire and grinned. "You know what they say about chicks who're librarians ri-"
Shira came out of nowhere and pinched him before he even got halfway through his joke. "Shut your damn mouth." She frowned and moved in front of him, ignoring his grumbled swears. "Is this what you wanted?" Shira questioned the two; she held up the canister. Carefully screwing open the top, she pulled out the scroll and rolled it open to show the picture of the sword and foreign lettering. Tara_Nepion Iian's hand twitched on Nara's shoulder, an aborted movement towards the other man in the room. Feeling the almost gesture, Nara rolled her eyes back at her partner before snorting to herself. Fortunately Shira had managed to get the man to shut up before things got out of hand. "Is this what you wanted?" the woman asked, unraveling the scroll and sending waves of itchiness running down Nara's arms. "Yeah," the woman squeaked, before clearing her throat, "yeah... but..." Nara took a step closer, eyes narrowing. The itch intensified with every step she took, slowly growing painful. A few steps away from the scroll and suddenly the world exploded. A flash of green light pulsed, the force of whatever it was pressing on everyone but Shira. The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a fair sized rock on the floor in front of Shira, a large broadsword stuck through. Behind it was a toddler, slightly wavy red-gold hair fluffed around his face, staring at the sword and Shira with piercing blue eyes. Slowly Nara stood up from where the explosion had knocked her. "s**t," she muttered softly, dark brown eyes watching the kid in shock. "What the hell just happened..." Slowly she turned to Iian but the man just shook his head. ((The sword will remain stuck, despite any attempts to move it until Arthur has gained his skill as an adv. child. Though one might expect the sword to possibly be large enough to poke through the floor below, it does not)) w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Oh shi- Was all Shira had time to think when she covered her face from the bright flash. She didn't notice what had happened to anyone else until she saw them on the floor. But what caught her attention, was that, after she was finally able to blink the spots out of her eyes, she saw a small child in front of her.
Words could not express the horror and shock that flooded through Shira's body the moment her and boy's eyes met. No.....no no.......nononononononononononononono-
"What the <********> was that?" Dante's obnoxious voice rang from wall he was now leaning against. He had pulled himself up after being oh so kindly shoved out of now where. "Shira?" He questioned as he felt a a knot forming on the back of his skull. Somewhere to the right, a wailing was heard.
This seemed to snap Shira back to reality. She looked to where she had left Demos on the couch when she searched for the scroll, and saw that he was currently on the floor crying his eyes out. Before she had the chance, Dante had gone to pick up Demos who squirmed in his embrace. Tara_Nepion Nara turned back to the family shakily taking a deep breath. "Uh...." for once the woman's ability to talk her way around anything. Surprisingly it was Iian who spoke up. The vowels were just a little off as he spoke. "It happened when you unsealed," Iian meantioned quietly. He flexed his right hand before continuing, "Though with...considerably.. more force." Blinking Nara turned back to the couple even more at a loss for words. She gestured helplessly. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y It wasn't until Demos had started screaming 'mama!' did Shira snap out of her daze. She turned and grabbed the struggling boy from Dante, scratching his scalp as he cried in the crook of her neck.
Shira looked from Nara to Iian, her expression less skeptical but still on edge. Even though they seemed as clueless as she was, she still couldn't say for sure if it was all an act. It didn't help that her mind was in overdrive from having been in this situation before, and knowing the outcome. "Did you plan this?" Her voice was hard. She avoided the gaze of the boy that stood in the middle of the living room, trying to deny the inevitable when she asked the second question, "Who the hell is that?" Tara_Nepion "This?" Nara squeaked as she shook her head. "No.. No... It's never like this." The woman glanced at Iian for support or something but the man just stood there. Shrugging she turned back to Shira. "He's.. a scroll child.. You're bonded to him now.. I guess. It's never... I mean..." Nara took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts. "Normally... It requires three people, and the other person is bonded to the child. But.. only you were involved so.. I would guess that you are bonded even stronger. It reacts to intent and distance.. " w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y As soon as she heard the word "bonded," Shira wanted to tear her hair out. She had just cleared out the back room to make space for a child she had just come to terms with taking care of him, and now this happens.
It just wasn't her day...her week...her god damn year.
"I...s**t." Shira pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing Demos could support himself with the grip he had on her.
Dante saw that Shira was at her breaking point, and decided to intervene before she went off the deep end. He scowled and stood in front of her. "You're not conning her into taking another damn kid."
Shira spared a glance at the child in the middle of her living room; he seemed confused to as where he even was. He kept glancing around, unaware of the conversation going on, and staring at Shira. She could already feel herself caving in like the idiot she was. Tara_Nepion Nara found her own temper beginning to rise. She had *not* expected this to happen. She -********- hurt, and she was sure as hell not going to be ordered around by some scruffy idiot. "Look mister. You have no idea what's going on so chill." The woman took another deep breath, trying to control her temper. Looking past the man, she truly apologized for once. "I'm sorry it happened like this." Look mister. I didn't expect this to happen. Yeah, I had an idea that there was a scroll kid in this house. Yeah, I was going to unseal it regardless of what she wanted. But you know, with a normal kid I can break the bond. Hurts like hell for everyone. This?" Nara's voice cracked a little, "I'm not *conning* her into keeping the kid. I don't know if I can break this bond or if it would kill everyone just to try. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y In response to Nara's apology, shira had looked up at Nara in contemplation, not sure whether to be upset or accepting of it, but Dante just snorted- not taking too kindly to being brushed off.
"I," Dante shifted so he covered Shira from the woman's view once again. He growled while crossing his arms," don't need any specifics to get what you people are trying to do. This ain't a damn daycare center." His eyes flicked between both of them before hardening on Nara; not as if anyone could see this happening with the thick mass covering his face.
It was then Dante lowered himself to her height, almost mocking her. "So you can take that little ******** with you, and get the hell out." The golden haired boy had started at that, frowning and suddenly wanting to be in the middle of them anymore. The boy looked around, before catching Shira's eyes again and scurrying towards her.
The frown that was aimed at Shira's internal struggles suddenly aimed at the man who was currently trying to defend her; albeit a bit off the actual interpretation of 'defend.' Shira had the feeling that this Dante's words weren't exactly meant as protection for her anymore. "Dante," Shira warned. Tara_Nepion That was it. Nara took another step forward hissing at the man, hands balled into fists. "You are an idiot. Did you not *listen* to a damn word I said? Taking him *away* stresses the bond. Stressing the bond causes intense pain." Nara reached out and yanked him closer. "Or do you want to kill the three of us by trying to break that bond?" Nara dropped her hands and placed them both on her hips, glaring at the man. "You felt the force of the bonding, breaking it is easily ten times worse. With a normal scroll. Got it?" w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y As soon as Nara had touched him, Dante's fist was in the air. Didn't this stupid little girl really just touch him? Then insult him, no less? ******** that.
"Dante!" Shira snapped and yanked at his shirt collar with her free hand. "What the ********. Were you about to hit her?" Shira whispered skeptically. Not so much that he was about to hit a woman, but the fact that he was riled up so easily by a stranger.
"You're gonna listen to that stupid b***h-"
"Just go calm the ******** down." One could consider their dirty mouths and angry words funny to watch- unfortunately at the moment it was more so awkward for the two kids watching them.
Dante swore. Instead of going towards the back of the apartment, he swiped his shoes from the corner of the room and went for the front door. "You're just getting yourself into deeper s**t." For a second his eye was visible, and the look he held in it had Shira beginning to regret what she said. "Don't ever say I never tried to help you, Shira." Dante said over his shoulder, throwing a glare at the two guests as he walked out; slamming the door for good measure.
"..." Shira shifted her son from one arm to the other, causing Demos to automatically grasp around and hang in piggy back mode. The scroll child
"So...if the boy strays from me, he ends up in some kind of pain?" Shira didn't look at the couple, going on as if the confrontation didn't happen. "Kind of a ******** up system." Tara_Nepion Nara glared back at Dante, daring him to hit her. Roughly Nara straightened her clothes out, frowning at the back of Dante as he left the room. Shaking her head at the womans comment Nara clarified, "Kind of. It appears to relate to intent. Say you wanted to leave him forever. The bond would cause pain because of that. If he just got distracted, it would recognize that as well and allow him farther before it caused pain." Nara sighed. "It's a *very* flawed system that was never intended to happen this way. Of course the scrolls were never intended to be unsealed as children either." w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y "Well, I really don't have the energy to deal with this s**t," Shira let the words flow, her swears without any bite to them. She ran a hand through frazzled hair.
"So, what? You gonna log him into your archives or something? Ask me any questions?" Shira looked at the two, asking how the process for taking care of the child went. She'd done this all before- twice. She might as well get it over with and make room for the new addition to the household.
Things are getting awfully tight... Shira thought as she looked around, as if trying to measure up the space she had left in her moderate sized apartment for any more occupants. It was then she noticed the sword and stone.
She glared at the offending object stuck in the middle of her floor, it glinting in the light from the patio door. "...and can you remove that by any chance?" She stated more so than ask. Tara_Nepion Nara shook her head, "All we need is a name..." the woman replied. Glancing at the sword as Shira questioned her the relic shrugged. "I don't know," she replied, moving over to try and pull the thing up. As much as she yanked, the sword refused to move. "Iian?" The question came. Quietly her partner moved up and tried his hand at removing the sword, with much the same results. Turning back to Shira, the woman shook her head. "It's stuck," was the prognosis. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y "A name?" Of course. They all asked for this one first. Shira
"Mama," Demos interrupted. He whispered into his mother's ear, "he's gots a sword!" His excited words were in no way secret. "Like in the story!"
"Story?" Great. Her son was recalling bedtime stories. She should probably have Dante cut him off of those soon, seeing how old the brat was now.
"The stone and sword story! With the shiney knights 'n stuff!" Demos started to whine as he noticed his mother's attention straying.
"King Arthur?" Her mind clicked, and she looked at the kid next to her. "Arthur," She experimented, and noticed the nameless boy immediately perk up. Tara_Nepion Nara nodded. "Arthur. Okay then..." The woman shifted a little on her feet. "Well, Uh.." Finally she remembered to fish out a card. "This is my number. If you have any questions.. I'll try to answer them." Placing the card by the sword, Nara nodded. "We'll be going then..." w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Shira turned and blinked at Nara, as if finally acknowledging her presence. "Of course, thank you." She nodded to her as well, and set Demos down to lead the pair to the door. She unlocked and opened the wood to stand behind it.
Knowing a future of further complications and chaos awaited her in the living room, Shira tried to smile at what seemed to be the cause of it all. "It was...nice meeting the both of you. Have a safe trip."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:59 pm
Shira's Journal Entry 12
...Hello.
It has been some time since Arthur the pleasure of moving in our already full home. And since then things have gotten...interesting.
Arthur stamped his foot...little brat. "Mummy, come here!!" The whining echoed in the small apartment yet again. Shira slammed down her pen and massaged her temples.
"I already told you to go.to.sleep.Arthur! Stop yelling and lay down!" She said in frustration, keeping her voice just below a yell.
"But I'm thursty!
Shira debated on slamming her head into the desk. "No." She said instead and turned around to look at what had been adding stress onto her night. A few meters from her the young boy stood, piercing her with bright blue eyes that glowed from across the room. Small lips twisted into a pout, eyebrows raised, the 'king' stood in all his glory: in a pair of blue polka dotted pajama pants without a shirt or crown.
"Pleaaaaaase."
The computer chair squeaked as it rolled across the carpet. The dark haired woman's feet padded their way across the small living room floor, past the small counter and in front of the small one who seemed so keen on having her grow a few gray hairs early. "Where is your shirt?" Shira frowned.
At this he had the actual sense to look sheepish. "It had got'ten hot..." His eyes looked up from his face's position towards the floor.
Shira didn't even bother looking at the thermostat. "It seventy four degrees in here. Put your shirt on, keep it on, and go to bed." She started to turn.
Arthur flailed and pulled at his mother's oversized sweater to stop her in her place. "B-but I want som' water!" He berated himself in his head as he stuttered. Educated boys like him didn't stutter.
Shira actually glared at her child, Arthur on the outside not phased the slightest. "A cup of water..."
"You've already had a cup of water. Three of them." She faced the boy again and grabbed his hand from the hoodie she borrowed from Dante. Arthur's eyes shifted from his mother to his feet and back again, and Shira stared.
This had been happening since the moment Tara had left her apartment. The boy clung to her where ever she went. He was constantly following her, asking her a million and one questions, touching her things and breaking precious potted plants with his 'all knowing' ways. Then he would be so easily occupied with something that he ignored her for hours on end.
While Demos had strained for her attention as a child, Arthur demanded it. Shira knew that he always had to be by her in order to keep in tune with the...bond...or whatever, but she also knew for a fact that they could be on opposite ends of the damn apartment with no problem at all. No, it wasn't the bond that cause her agony, it was the mere child itself. As cute as he had looked, his personality completely betrayed what he had going for him. There was more behind that charming smile. The boy was adorable- and knew it. He was vain. He was needy. He always had to be the best and always the center of attention.
You could imagine the trouble already boiling between the two boys.
Never the less, she tried to give her equal, tough love to both the hard head and Demos. But it was difficult to adapt when one child was...always...there...
"What do you really want, Arthur." She crossed her arms, and Arthur re-attached a hand to her hoodie. He kept his eyes towards the ground. "It is way too early for a kid your age to be awake. Are there monsters under the bed or something?" Though since he had the top bunk in the bunk bed- which she'd bought and had Dante set up a few days ago- that shouldn't have been a problem. Damn she needed a cigarette.
There was a moment of silence. Arthur fidgeted for a second longer before speaking.
"I don't know," He said stubbornly. "If I'm no't here, it feels we'ird." After he was done mumbling he wiped his nose. "It's stupid...I don't like it!" He glared at the floor.
Shira was going to roll her eyes and as him to articulate, since the smarty pants seemed so fond of that, but recalled the bond and something about pain and what not. She doubted this s**t was that serious, and that he was just being a troublesome child, but perhaps it'd be better to be cautious. It was interesting to see him more annoyed than anything that he had to be near her.
She grabbed the boy's hand again from her hoodie and lead him to her desk. Beside it was the tv, and beside that was a bean bag that Dante took to sitting in when ever he was playing his video games. She pulled it next to her computer chair, sat at her work, and began flipping through pages. "Sit." Shira ordered with a pointed finger at the bean bag.
Arthur frowned at the command and stared at the offending thing. "But tha's not even a proper chair-" He snapped his lips shut at Shira's glare and huffed. With another whine, he plopped down [with as much grace as one could accomplish in doing so] and crossed his arms.
"Read this to me." Shira had snatched up a very thin book from a pile in her disorganized bookcase next to her and put it in his lap.
"Read? At this hour??" He scoffed a little with his lack of tact. Not like it mattered. He hated to read regardless. Shira raised her eyebrow seeing as how she was doing such a thing at the very moment, and then she shrugged and turned back to her correcting.
"Fine, don't. I thought you would want to try at Demos's level of reading," Arthur's ears perked up immediately, "since he is a natural at it. But if you can't then-"
"I can do it!"Arthur snapped. After he cut her off he promptly began to cite, albeit loudly, the intro to Macbeth. An angry twinge flowed with his voice.
Of course that was no where near Demos's reading level. But hey, it worked on getting him to read the book. His jealousy lead him to stumble on a few words, but to continue reading in a broken and forceful tone. It continued like this for only three minutes before the reading slowed. Like Shira anticipated, reading had started to bore the already very tired kid, and his eyes were dropping to a close.
Taking the book out of his hands, She hefted his large body and carried the boy back to his room. Now that he was finally asleep, he'd probably wouldn't feel anything and stop bothering her for the duration of the early morning. She laid him down next to his brother on the bottom, not able to lift him to the top, and walked out the room.
She sighed as she sat down in her chair. Maybe she would finally be able to finish a section of this mess before turning in. She lifted her pen and shuffled through a few papers-
"MUMMYYYYY!" A large line scratched against the tops of one of the papers. Shira growled in her throat as the situation only got worse when she heard Demos start to cry.Shira's Journal Entry 12
...He's been quite a handful.
Anzen
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:32 pm
Meeting Simply by HappenstanceFirst Time FriendshipRabid Ice Weasel Tyler stretched and sighed. 8 kids. It was a lot of work. Luckily, most were well-behaved and not prone to running off and getting themselves killed. There had just been a reasonably big snow (a few thick inches had fallen) and the kids had demanded the right to go outside and play. They were on the town green now, building a little troupe of snowmen. Kyle and Marion predictably worked on one together. Marion rolled big snowballs while Kyle patted snow onto the already-made part, making sure they were completely round. Elena wandered back and forth, trying to gather sticks and pebbles for snowman faces and buttons and definitely arms.
w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y It didn't take much force to sway Demos, Shira's oldest child, to join her and his little brother, Arthur, outside into the icy air. Both children had yet to see snow and Shira thought it fit that she take them to experience the cold wonderland. They hadn't wandered too far and entered common area of their home where the family had noticed that already a troupe of children had begun to play.
Eager as ever, the smallest of the two boys snatched away his hand from his mother and ran out to where all the children were. Immediately the boy asked admittance to the pair that were rolling large mounds of white into a ball. Nodding for Demos to go join as well, he made his way over, albeit slowly. He wasn't quite as outgoing as his brother, and would most likely need to follow him in order to be invited to do anything. The red head stayed close to his brother.
" 'Ello, my name's Arthur!" The blonde haired child spoke in his chipper british accent. "Do you mind if I join you? His eyes indicated he didn't intend on being denied. Rabid Ice Weasel All three girls looked up, regarding this new boy with a soft of calculating curiosity. They were used to boys, having 4 brothers themselves, but that was even more reason to not trust the buggers. Kyle shrugged, sticking her tongue out almost comically as she patted chubby cheeks onto their snowman. Marion watched this reaction, and then looked to Elena. Elena was the first to speak.
"Just don't mess it up." Then she went back to gathering supplies.
w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Arthur's smile had dwindled as one of the girls bounced off to continue her mission. Well how rude! And him? Mess up? His nose flared at the mere thought. "I don't make mistakes!" He cried out after her, insulted. His haughty undertone made it obvious that this was something he probably boasted about from time to time. "I'll have yuu know, my skills ar' quite adequate in making these," He stretched the last end of his sentence, "snow...thingees." He nodded towards the snowballs, making his crown tilt.
Unlike his annoying p***k of a brother, Demos on the other hand continued to stay quiet. He wandered towards the girls in tow of his brother. Geez there sure were a lot of girls. He's never seen so many in one place before. He twiddled his thumbs behind his back as an image of lots of girly dresses and lipstick came to mind. Ick.
Arthur's regular 'snooty remark of the day' appeared, and it was quite easy to knock the younger boy off that pedestal of his. Demos seemed it fit to anyway. "That's not what they're called, stupid." He took a place beside his brother and glanced at the girls Kyle and Marion with curiosity. Didn't girls usually always wear dresses? Even in winter? Rabid Ice Weasel Marion was in a practical snow suit, and Kyle had gone with more traditional fur-lined jackets and whatnot. Neither girl was all that interested in wearing dresses, especially in the winter. Marion laughed outright at the boy's sudden correction, but Kyle only giggled politely.
"You can help," she offered Demos, "I'm just takin' away the bumps and fillin' in the dents."
At the same time, Marion was gladly correcting the poor, mislead little man.
"They're called snowmens," she explained. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Green eyes perked up as he was offered so easily to join. He hesitated, but didn't miss an opportunity. "O-okay." Demos walked over to the frozen figure, careful to keep a good amount of his personal space next to Kyle. He stared at the snowman for a few seconds before oh-so-secretly looking to imitate what he was supposed to do.
Arthur huffed, his red jacket puffing up to make him look like an agitated bird. "I knew that!" Logically he was the younger of the pair, but he was still older physically. That means NOT letting his brother show him up. "I mean, of course I knew they were snowmens. I was just...I just wanted to see if yuu guys knew that," he commented with a sniff. Rabid Ice Weasel "Mm-hm," Marion laughed, and even as a toddler there was clear condescension in her tone. This was not a nice boy, she decided, and he could only join if he forced himself in. It was around then when Elena arrived, a bundle of sticks in her arms. She emptied her pockets of pebbles.
"We can make him have a face now," she said, holding two pebbles up to judge their relative size. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Demos had begun to smooth out the snow with his mitten covered palms, making sure to look over what he did obsessively so as not to make an embarrassing mistake. He looked over to Kyle for approval, opening his mouth but not knowing who to call. Maybe he should introduce himself first, since that's how Arthur talked to everyone...unfortunately. "My...name is Demoss," he spoke quietly through his scarf, sure to stress the S in his name since usually forgot to do so.
At the same time Arthur was pouting at Marion and her disbelief, but did not lose face. His attention switched to the pile of sticks on the ground. Looking at the head of the snowman he stood confused. How did they plan to go about making a face for a person with only sticks and stone? Not only was that winged girl rude, but she was stupid too. Well it wasn't her fault, not every one could be born with the talent he had. He lifted his chin. He would just have to help the poor girl out. Rabid Ice Weasel "Ooh, good!" Marion clapped. She didn't feel as if their snowman needed a fourth ball on top. Then he'd be like mommy with weird lumps up top. He was a snowmens, not a snowwomens. Elena had finally found two pebbles of approximately the same size and pressed them gently into the snowman's face, cradling the back of his head like a baby's. Nothing fell off, and she stood back to admire the way they looked. Hm! Very nice. She bent down again to try and pick a nose-rock.
"I'm Kyle," the silver-haired girl responded with a little smile. She was certainly the shyest of her sisters; the most soft-spoken. She often didn't even introduce herself, but Marion wasn't listening to do it for her this time.
w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y The smile on Demos was big that it came above the edges of the scarf covering his mouth. He removed his hands from the snow carefully so not to ruin his bit of handy work. He watched the other girl start to put rocks in the highest ball on the snowman. Demos began to look around for something to contribute. Coming up with nothing at the moment, he again turned to Kyle. "Kyle, what else we do? For the mouths and stuff." It was probably the most he's ever said at once to someone other than his mom.
As Elena looked for a nose rock, Arthur didn't know what it was for but he snatched up the biggest rock he saw at that moment and shoved it in her face. "This is the best one!" He beamed at Marian and Elena. Rabid Ice Weasel Elena's eyes crossed. She arched a brow and looked up at Arthur with a mildly hilarious 'watchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis' expression.
"No. This one is better," she said, holding up a longer, curved rock. She made a nose from it and broke off a but of u-shaped stick for a mouth. Hrm. That was a little harder to put in. She screwed up her mouth, trying to stick the twig into the slow.
"That," Kyle finally replied after seeing Elena begin. She really had no idea how to make a snowman and had been far too enraptured with the white stuff to pay too much attention to Mommy's little walk through. She looked Demos over now, wondering why she liked him so much. What a friend! She didn't really have any outside the family! None did!
Then Marion poked her arm.
"Let's pick him some arms." w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Arthur threw the rock to the ground. "How d' yuu know it's better?" He folded his arms and glared at the snowman. The whole thing was ridiculous. What use was trying to help these people if they didn't bother going along with what he said? Honestly! His frown grew only deeper as time passed.
Demos on the other hand, was actually having a bit of fun watching and learning how to build his own snowmens. Always watching from the sidelines, this was the first one he was able to touch and say he helped build. His cheeks, already pink from the cold, tinted even more with that little thing called pride. He turned to Kyle and saw she was already watching. He almost reverted back to his previous state of shyness, looking away for a second to pout and bite his lip, before returning her smile again with a smaller one of his own.
"Can I help do that?" He blurted out before he had a chance to take it back. Rabid Ice Weasel "Because it looks like a nose," Elena replied matter-of-factly, "and it won't make his head fall off." She knew she was right this time (not that she wouldn't have defended herself anyway) and so she had no problem giving this boy what-for. He couldn't ruffle her feathers!
"Yeah!" Marion cheered as Kyle nodded softly. They were glad to have friendly company, and were very much ignoring said company's older brother.
"We need to find two that are almost the same," Kyle said, beginning to dig through the pile. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y "Well it's an ugly nose." Arthur turned his own up. "Mine would have been bett'a." He said even though he knew very good and well that the girl was right. Had he been a better person he would of complimented her. But he wasn't. And he couldn't let some baby tell him he was wrong. Let alone a girl.
Demos immediately went to the pile and joined in the search for a pair of limbs. He snatched up the first two he could find that even slightly resembled one another. "These ones?" Demos held up two that would have been the same, had one of the sticks not been half the size of the other. Rabid Ice Weasel "You're dumb," Elena said, shaking her head with her arms crossed. She looked down just as Demos hefted up the two sticks. They were close, but not quite right. It didn't seem to matter. All three of the girls had the same idea at the same time.
"Perfect," Kyle said with a sage nod.
"You're good at this!" Marion beamed, sticking the arms in a bit unevenly. It was good enough for her, but Tyler snorted when she came over.
"You got yourselves a very special snowman, there."
"He had an assi'dent," Kyle explained, "Shrinkded his arm."
Tyler nodded.
"Alright, guys. I think it's about time to start heading home. I'm sure you guys can't feel your fingers."
"I can!" Marion chimed, wiggling her fingers.
"I can't." w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y Arthur huffed at the insult and stuck his tongue out at Elena. He walked away as dignified as he could after his undignified response, and joined with Shira who was sitting on a bench not to far. "Mum!" He put his hands on the book Shira was reading and pushed it down to her lap. "I want you to escort me back home now." He said in his regular snobbish tone. His mother raised a brow and looked to the group he had previously been with.
From afar she could see Demos smiling at the three girls around him. And by the looks of it, one of them must have been something other than gaian. The wings on one of the children made her tilt her head.
Demos had been so excited by the result of their masterpiece. But when Tyler came around he immediately ducked behind Kyle. He heard her mention something about the girls leaving, and frowned. "You got to go home?" He whispered to Marion and Kyle from behind.
Shira stood up and called out to her other kid when she saw another adult go near the children. "Demoooos!" Rabid Ice Weasel Tyler crouched and Marion turned to Demos.
"That's our mommy. She's cool."
Kyle nodded. "We gotta go. But Maybe I'll see you again!" It always happened like that. There were a lot of kids on Gaia, but you always seemed to see the same ones over and over.
"Go on, Demos. Your Ma's callin', and I don't think she likes the looks'a me." Oh well! A lot of people didn't trust her. w.a.s.t.e.d e.n.t.i.t.y "Okay..." Demos said sullenly. He didn't respond to Tyler and stared for but a moment. She wouldn't know that Shira didn't like anyone at first glance.
"Let's go, stupid!" Arthur shouted to his older brother, receiving a smack on his head from his mother and giving an undignified yelp.
"Bye." He waved to them and ran to Shira.
"You have fun, Dem?" She slipped the book in her sidebag and took him hand. Demos nodded with enthusiasm and pointed to the snowman he and he new found friends created. Arthur sneered.
"Wow. Good job, little womanizer." Shira mentioned as she looked to his creation. Demos knitted his brow at the unknown term. Shira nodded towards the small family from afar and began their route home. Demos looked back and smiled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
