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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:04 am
"Well...actually." She couldn't rest her hands on her hips given that they were full but she did cant her head to the side. Long locks of braid brown hair trickling across her shoulder in an almost childish fashion...If anything, it only highlighted her naivety in relation to the issue that confused her so greatly.
"It was sort of strange, I was out by the shore earlier checking for sample and well." She could recall it now, the rain had gotten much heavier through the duration of her stay and during that period she had struggled to attain the samples and to protect the samples she had acquired. But, it had also been the time where she had encountered that child - where she had helped it reach that odd stone.
"See the kid wanted to reach this stone thing -" She never had been good with words, she'd always struggled in oral presentations because of it. "But when it got there it said it needed something and so I kinda..." She pulled a face, now probably wasn't the best of times to inform an old school friend that you had given someone sea water to save them.
...After all, it did dehydrate.
"Gave it a jar of sea water..." She mumbled uncomfortably. "Bloody good jar too, finest sample I got."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 11:34 am
Elf shivered, and it wasn't from being cold and soaked in the rain. "That... sounds like a... a Herald. Did you see the jar again after you handed it over?" The conditions sounded as heart-wrenching even when you aren't there.
The woman sent Adelle a look, one that said she understood what she was going through (or going to go through). "If that really was a Herald... you've got a long road ahead of you..."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 12:32 pm
"Well clearly, I don't have it any more." Adelle's jaw tensed somewhat and she cast a disgruntled glance towards her car. There was absolutely no sign of the child or the jar that had vanished - normally she would have placed them in the trunk of her car but in that given circumstance... She tried to recall exactly what she had done with the jar but couldn't really find anything of relevance, all she knew was that the tiny one had taken it.
Nevertheless as Elf mentioned some type of 'name' it almost sounded as though she was referring to some mythical creature. Today was turning out to be more and more like a fantasy film than she could have imagined and people thought she made these things up - well, she could never claim she didn't have an interesting job.
"A long road?" Narrowing her eyes the woman fixed her dark eyes on the other woman, her expression more serious than usual. "I think that perhaps you should start from the beginning."
And by the gods, if Kerel beeped that horn one more time...Adelle would come and throttle her personally.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:07 pm
Elf looked at Adelle. This could take awhile. Before the other woman could react, she grabbed her boxes and walked to her own car, "I'll be right back."
Just as Elf got to the car, the rain let up. It was still chilly, but at least it wasn't raining? She got to the car and put everything in -soaden boxes and all- and then turned to the girl sitting in the front seat.
Mackerel looked at her in exasperation, "It's about TIME you got here."
"Come on, get out." Elf glared, and withdrew her head out of the car.
"WHAT!?" The girl squeaked, that wasn't a part of the plan.
"Come on, Kerel, out. It stopped raining...?" Elf tried to encourage.
"No," Mackerel sat in the chair, arms across her chest stubbornly.
"Now, or we won't leave." she responded, glaring herself.
Not wanting to stay there any longer-she wanted to get settled in her new, own room-, Mackerel opened the door and trudged over.
As they walked over, the girl was reluctant...it was obvious she did not want to be there any longer. Now that it wasn't raining anymore, her hood was down.
Adelle could be seen again, and Mackerel looked up with a vicious glare at the woman, sure it was her fault they hadn't left yet. With the hood no longer covering her face, it was obvious that she wasn't just any child. Her white hair appeared dull in the hazy air, but her bright blew eyes shone with her displeasure. Even her wings had a stronger glow that almost said they too did not want to be out here; they would rustle a little in aggitation.
"Adelle, meet Mackerel," Elf started, having taken hold of the girl's hand... either to keep her from running away or lunging at Adelle was unsure. "Mackerel, here, is a Herald... a fallen messenger that I gave a sacrifice to when I found her awhile ago."
Mackerel snorted. She didn't really remember any of that... and only her wings even allowed her to believe such a thing had ever happened.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:21 pm
Adelle wasn't buying it and her face said that loud and clear. She found it hard to comprehend that some sort of angel had descended from the heavens...had been given an item of sorts and then vanished. Now if this marine biologist had encountered a Herald than how come it still wasn't here and, why did this one look so healthy when the person she had met looked near the brink of death.
...Actually, there was a fairly good chance the sea water had killed it.
"Uh huh." Was her initial response as she looked down at Kerel. As far as she could tell, the girl was unique but for all Adelle knew, Elf could have adopted her without being aware that she had been genetically modified or some sort...after all, you could get glow in the dark fish, so she as fairly certain you could make really bright eyes.
"Only problem we have here is that your daughter is here and the creature I met, isn't." She gave a small shrug and rested her now free hand against her waist, her other elbow resting on the roof of her car. Now that it had stopped raining it was even more uncomfortable than she had imagined - she would have preferred warmth to dry herself out.
"And you know I'm not religious..."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:43 pm
Kerel tried to get away from Elf, but the woman had her tightly in her hand. "It doesn't matter if you believe in something to exist or not!" she snapped, taking offense. "The fact is, us Heralds do exist, and just because you haven't had the honor to meet one prior to this is no fault to me!"
There was obvious meaning in her voice: 1) she wasn't going to be 'ignored', nor her own ancestery; 2) she believed she was much better than Adelle, who was obviously a deficient human at that; 3) she believed Adelle had met a Herald (based on the stories she'd heard about her 'people') and that this woman was not worthy... just like her own Guardian.
Elf heard the undertone, and gently shook Mackerel and scowled down at the girl. It was an undertone that she heard spoken to herself, and she knew the meaning. Not only that, but while she allowed the youth to speak to her as such it was not acceptable to do so to a friend of hers!
Mackerel squirmed, "Well, it's true!" Her wing-glow flared.
Elf squeaked and let go of Mackerel's hand, as it felt like it was burning... and not with heat. "Stop that, Kerel!" she yelled, and lunged for the girl again... this time, catching her shoulder.
In her surprise, Kerel just... stood there, unsure what she had done. She looked up at Elf, her shock and worry written on her face.
All the woman could do was shrug, but she looked at Adelle, "She is right... you must have found a Herald and given it a sacrifice. That means it is now... indebted?... to you. Either way, you will probably have your own bundle of joy to look after."
"We are not indebted to anyone," Kerel whispered harshly.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:58 pm
"I'll level with you, Mackerel." For the first time, Adelle turned her gaze on the Herald and took her form in properly. Her petite frame, her unusual hair colour and startling blue eyes and yet that defiant gleam in her eyes - it was very much apparent that this young lady had a very fiery temperament and an imperial quality about her.
"I don't have time to care for kids, especially ones that have such foul manners." Pursing her lips, the woman's eyes hardened in an indication that she had been out of the social circuit for many years and it had taken its toll. "However, I suspect that meeting your kind has nothing to do with honour so much as location." And she had a point, nowhere else in the world were there 'Heralds', it seemed to be a very isolated area.
"So you will excuse my apparent lack of knowledge in this department, my lack of understanding about mythical creations that could have been made up as a children's story -" Narrowing her eyes further she shook her head and released a sigh, there was no way in hell she was going to be a mother at this rate...she'd strangle the damn kid before it had a chance to argue if it turned out to be so hard headed as this girl!
"I am a marine biologist, not a historian." She snapped and with that she shook her head and grimaced once more, flicking her gaze to Elf in an attempt to regain her composure - she did not like people with superiority complexes, even if they were about six years old.
"Whatever it was needed help, I gave it...You don't need a reason to help someone but pure and simple, I'm not ready to be a mother yet."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 3:11 pm
Mackerel didn't back down, and there was nothing Elf could do to stop her, though deep down she admired Adelle for speaking back (sure, she gets it a lot with Elf and Arra... but rarely from others outside of their 'family'). "You and Elf seem to have something in common, the lack of committment to take on your responsibilities..." the child grumbled bitterly (maybe she'd have turned out differently if Elf had been around more during those influential times?).
"It doesn't matter wether you were uneducated or not about Heralds, or angels, or demons... Gaia is ridden with such people and you'll just have to get used to it! As for not being prepared, maybe you should have considered that. You'll have a Herald... most likely in the near future for we do not stay away long... wether you like it or not. I'd advise you to not ignore him or her, because doing such a think would be worse that taking the responisiblity you dedicated yourself to when you made the sacrifice.... no matter what." That was perhaps the longest speech the young Herald had ever given, and it shook her up to the core. Mackerel would never admit she let Adelle get under her skin.
The child twisted expertly under Elf's hand, using bones, muscle, and wings, to escape. She sent one last glare to Adelle and then looked to Elf, "I'll be in the car." Mackerel strode off confidently, her head high, back straight. She'd have the last word.
Elf just... stared. Sure, Mackerel had a temper, but the girl hadn't ever just blown up like that. "I think you made her mad, there Adelle...."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 3:30 pm
Adelle's lips twisted as she fought the urge to make a retort after the young girl. Whether Adelle liked it or not, Mackerel was just a little girl and wouldn't be able to grasp anything in greater detail until she was older. Adelle hadn't known that she had given a sacrifice, all she had known was the individual had wanted something and given the fact it hadn't spoken she had assumed water.
...Giving salt water hadn't been one of her brightest moments.
"No matter the age, I won't be spoken to as if I am lower than dirt." Adelle's tone was gruff and she released a sigh. Even though she wouldn't care to admit it, Kerel had made a point and if she had met a Herald then it would appear she was going to have a new addition to her family - travelling as extensively as she used to was not going to be a viable option.
Then again, the waters around this region were rather full of interesting things. Very interesting things (especially 'toxins') that would keep her in the area for quite some time.
"Life's a b***h." She pretty much summed up all her feelings in that single sentence and pressed her hand to her forehead. "Looks like I have a lot to think about, eh?" She mused softly and shook her head - karma had a funny way of creeping up on people.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 3:42 pm
Elf gave Adelle an understanding look, "Not all Heralds are as intense as Mackerel, I promise. Maybe you'll have better luck than me." It was a joke, mostly.... she really did care for Mackerel, all quirks included.
"If you have any questions, you can call me... but I won't even pretend to know the answer. My experience revolves around Kerel, and she seems to be very different from the others. I guess radioactive waste I pulled from a river wasn't the best sacrifice for a dying messenger, eh?" Elf gave a sad smile and handed Adelle her business card with all her numbers and emails she could be reached at.
"See you around, Adelle..." And with that, Elf followed her charge to the car, just as it started to rain once again.
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