|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:01 am
It was the park, midday and slightly cool. You could feel autumn creeping into the winds and though everything was turning golden brown, yellow or red there was still one leaf that was green as the day is was born.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Came a scream of glee as Tyra, the chikorita girl slid down the slide. It was one the wrapped around itself, the smooth plastic slowly wearing away from time. The pale green skinned girl thumped onto the sand pit below but instead of crying about it she merly got back up and scrambled back to the ladder.
Even alone she seemed exciteable. Jayoku sat on a bench nearby, a backpack full of snacks and a first aid kit of course beside her. She was reading a new book on Origami. She hoped to get the young girl interested in it, but getting her interested in anything that was creative wasn't exactly a difficult thing to do.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:11 pm
Nikolai headed into the park, stepping through the gates of the wrought-iron fence. They weren't as much gates, though, as it was simply an open pathway between the two segments of the fencing.
Tobias walked behind the man, right hand tightly clutching the bone club he carried everywhere. His free hand was shoved into the pocket of the small olive-green jacket he was wearing (he did seem to have a thing for the color green, Nikolai had noticed). The boy had been so quiet this first week, so withdrawn. Ian thought it might be a good idea to get him out to play with some other kids like him, perhaps some peers. Maybe just interaction with other kids in general would do the hybrid some good.
So he had chosen to take Toby to a park. Kids played there, right? It would hold good potential for interaction. He could see there was another person there with their child- another hybrid, by the looks for it. Good, he needed to interact with his own 'kind', so to speak. Perhaps playing with a more energetic child would bring out some exuberance in Toby as well...Nik could hope, anyways.
"Why don't you go play, Toby." he coaxed gently, guiding the cubone gently in the direction of the playground equipment
Toby looked up at him briefly with an unreadable gaze, and then toddled off in the direction of the sandbox. Briefly Ian wished he'd been able to coax the boy to put on a hat, but putting headgear over that skull was moot, and there was no way he'd be able to coax the boy to remove the skull to put a hat on underneath. He'll be fine. Stop worrying, Ian, his mind reassured.
He headed to the bench where the other lady- another guardian, presumably- was sitting. He sat at the other end, watching the cubone sit in the sandbox and play with the dirt. He really wished Toby would get up and move and make some interaction with the other girl.
He looked over at the other guardian and smiled wanly before turning back to watch his charge. He should be saying something right now, but he found he couldn't think of anything useful to say. He pulled the edges of his brown jacket in, shivering a bit as a breeze rippled the air. It certainly seemed brisker than what the weather report had indicated for today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:21 pm
Tyra paused, she was at the top most rung of the ladder just about to seat herself down when she spotted Toby. Her large pink red eyes peeked at him from the top a large smile spreading across her face, adjusting her friendship bracelet that Fenrir had given her she then went down the slide and hit the bottom running. Her arms spread out like she was pretending to be an air plane as she came charging towards the cubone boy.
"HIIIIIIIIII!" she cried out in excitement. Playing alone was ok, but playing with someone else was much more fun. She skidded to a halt just before the sandbox her many beaded necklaces jangled against her.
Jayoku looked up a impish smile on her face she scooted over a bit to let the man sit down. "Care to join me for a juice box?" she asked cutely patting the space beside her, before going to put the origami book down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:45 am
Toby didn't even look up at the Chikorita girl as she went down the slide. He seemed rather content to sit and play with the sand on his own. He did however, lift his head when the girl came charging up to him. Instinctively, he scooted to the further end of the sandbox, and regarded the girl with slight caution.
As she cried out, he looked back down at the sand and started pawing around again.
"Hi." he murmured. It wasn't that he was shy, per se, but just that he wasn't very socially inclined.
Meanwhile, Nikolai smiled at the girl again, though he stayed at his end of the bench, not moving in much. He was an older man- 42 years of age- though through his years he had never been able to manage casual conversation with any degree of mastery. He supposed, in that degree, Toby and himself were fairly similar.
His job at a hospital made it necessary to be at least somewhat proficiant with social interaction. He was good with his patients, if not somewhat detached (getting too close to a patient only caused trouble, he found). He could manage interaction with his co-workers. But he was never truly at ease, even when he seemed so. But talking with someone outside of work...that was something else, something more difficult.
But still he managed to laugh softly, and shake his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm all set."
What now? He supposed he should introduce himself. "I'm Nikolai, it's nice to meet you." he said, turning towards the woman and extending his hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:16 pm
Tyra looked him over liking his helmet. It was cool in a creepy sort of way. "What are you playing? Can I play too? or do you want to go on the slide with me? We could play tag if you don't like slides. . ." she continued going off on a tangent on all the different things they could play with two people.
Jayoku gave a smile and shook his hand firmly. "I am Jayoku, mother of said rather excited hybrid Tyra over there." she replied pointing to her daughter who had made her way over to the other kid quickly. "You sure about that juice? I have some carrot sticks too." she offered pushing her glasses up onot her face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:59 pm
He just looked at her with his typically stoic look as she went on. Loud. She was loud. Talked a lot. Toby wasn't quite used to this energy or verbal level. Nikolai was a quiet man, and even in the Time Before... He just wasn't used to this.
"Digging." he said.
He was too keen on getting up. He was fine where he was. He scooted over a little bit and began to dig a new hole in the sand. His boneclub was sitting off to the side- he never was too far from the object. It was the pokemon inside him that made him terribly possessive of the object. It was also like a security blanket of sorts for him- he felt better, felt safer, when it was nearby.
Nikolai withdrew his hand as soon as the shaking was done, resting it on the bench aside him.
"She's a pretty hybrid." he remarked, glancing at both the Chikorita hybrid and his own. "The cubone is my own. Obviously." he remarked. Toby seemed to be handling being approached fairly well- Nik wasn't sure how the boy would react. He had been so withdrawn lately...
He smiled at the girl and shook his head again. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm sure. I had lunch before we left." he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:07 am
Tyra watched as he dug in the sand. Was he making a moat for a sand castle? If he was he needed to build the castle first. Or maybe he was digging for pirate treasure! That was more likely than the moat.
"Can I help? Are you looking for buried treasure?" she asked moving to step into the sand box and promptly sit down in the sand.
Jayoku nodded her head at the compliment. "Aye Tyra is a cute child though I need to teach her about indoor and outdoor voices. As well as keeping her outdoor voice a bit quieter." she said with a giggle. Her eyes focused on the cubone child there was something very sad about his body posture.
'How long have you two been together?" she asked politely she didn't want to be rude and blatantly ask about why he looked so sad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 6:26 am
He paused once more when the girl actually sat down. She was talking again, and she was in his space. He didn't like it when people got too close to him. He looked up at her again, another hard look. He just wanted to be left alone, why couldn't anyone understand that? He shifted around, turning away from the girl. He didn't turn exactly back-to, but more like side-to so he could still see what the Chikorita was doing.
He still didn't know much about her, anyways- and wasn't he supposed to not play with strangers? She looked funny, but he wasn't aware she was another hybrid. First of all, she looked nothing like him. Second of all, she was a girl. In his head, this sort of logic made perfect sense, especially since he hadn't had much expirience with other hybrids just yet.
In answer to her question he merely shrugged and went back to pawing the sand. He wasn't really digging for much of a reason, but having the DNA of a ground-type Pokemon gave him a certain affinity towards earth, sand and rocks.
Nikolai laughed a bit at Jayoku's comment. "Toby's the opposite- very quiet. He doesn't talk much, though I know he's capable of it. God forbid you ignore him when he actually has something to say, though." he chuckled.
At the second part, Nikolai leaned back. "Only a week or so. It hasn't been very long. He had another guardian before me but there was an...incident. Rather unfortunate- a death. Toby's been withdrawn ever since I brought him home. I thought maybe getting him out would be beneficial but he still seems so aloof and serious..." he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm honestly not that sure what to do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:23 pm
Oblivious to his 'hard look' she continued to play with the sand cupping it and letting it slide out between her fingers. It was cool and damp and clung to her skin. Her leaf wiggled about as a vine snuck out and began to make a mound in the sand, another snaked out to help the first. She wasn't paying much attention to them as she was still looking at the sand in her hands. She was in truth looking a tad bit scary at the moment with her 'extra' hands helping make a mountain.
"find anything yet?" she asked after what was like thirty seconds of silence. She didn't like silence much. It bothered her. "I can bury one of my necklaces and you can try and find it if you want!" she said sounding unconcerned about the fact she might loose a necklace...it was more that she didn't think she COULD loose one. She loved them too much.
She did note...that this particular boy was quiet. She didn't understand why. Didn't he like her? He kinda reminded her of Leilani she was very quiet too.
"You don't look like a Feebas. But you sure act like one." she mentioned now staring at him intently as if he would suddenly morph into the form of the feebas girl. Her vines now were trying to tunnel into the sand like little worms, unconcerned about how serious Trya's face had taken shape.
Jayoku smiled and nodded her head politely while she listened. Taking the occasional sip from her juice box until she found it was empty. She gave a look a sympathy when he mentioned the death. It made her feel a bit awkward. She didn't know what to say, she liked bright and happy things...deaths weren't exactly that.
"Ah well, things like that take time to heal. I am sure if you just keep trying to socialize lil' Toby he will open up. Just make sure he knows you will be there for him. And he needs friends...though I am unsure if Tyra would be the best choice..." she said her gaze lingering back to her daughter who was now looking fairly serious herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:47 am
He stopped his pawing at the sand momentarily and looked over at the girl from under his helmet. Was she a...what had they called it? Hybrid. Was she a hybrid like he was? He gave the older girl a curious look. He'd never seen anyone else with vines before.
They made him nervous.
Oh, they were cool and all, but they made him bervous. Instinct. He pushed himself even further away, his backside bumping against the frame of the sandbox, watching her warily from under his helmet. He had abandoned his habitual digging and was now holding his bone club cautiously. It made him feel safer when he did.
"How are you doing that?" he finally asked. That was his response to her inquiry if he had found anything yet.
He tilted his head slightly, curious as to what Feebas was. Nik (and his previous caregiver, for that matter) hadn't gotten much further than partway throuhg the Johto array in the lessons on various Pokemon types...not that he remembered many of the names anyways.
"Feebas?" he inquired. He looked down at her vines again and mshifted uneasily, clutching his bone club even tighter.
Ian sighed. "I know. I was hoping...getting him out more would help. I haven't got much expirience with children. My friend dragooned me into it, honestly. He said the boy needed a new caregiver...and I couldn't resist. But it's all been a learning process for me- and it's only been a week or so." he sighed.
He looked at the two, uneasy with how quickly had grabbed for his bone club. He didn't think the boy would use it, but... He shook his head. He had to give Toby more credit. The bone was a security thing for the boy, like a blanket. Nothing more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:23 am
Tyra looked at him curiously, her stern face melting into a happy smile. She couldn't stay serious for long apparently. She at first didn't understand his question. Doing...what? She then noticed he was staring at her vines. She gave a giggle and pulled her vines out of the sand and brushed them off.
"These? They are my vines! I dunno how i do it, but they generally just come out when I want and can do stuff for me. They are like having extra arms." She explained giving a hug to the pair that were out at the moment.
At the mentioning of a Feebas she when back to thinking. "A...guess your not one if you don't know what one is. A feebas can swim! Really well! And...well guess you couldn't of been one anyway cause they don't have legs they have a mermaid tail!" she explained in a hurry before reaching out to the cubone boy with one of her vines.
"Want to touch the vine? I promise they don't bite." she said with another giggle.
"I am sure that if you get him out more and more he will start to open up. Just try not to overwhelm him. Though....with my daughter around that may be a bit too late..." Jayoku murmured watching as the child moved as far as he possibly could in the sand box. She would have to point out to her daughter the hazards of being so open...as well blunt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:32 am
Toby looked down at his own tanned hands. How uninteresting; he wished he had vines. Even though they made him uneasy, if he had his own...ah, that would make things interesting indeed. Maybe even fun.
"I'm not a Feebas." he confirmed. "I'm a Cubone." he stated.
Though as she explained what Feebas was he nodded. He still didn't know what exactly a Feebas was, or what it looked like, but...he did gather it was some sort of a fish-type Pokemon. Certainly not what he was.
At the offed of touching her vines, Toby leaned back and just stared at them. "...I don't like them." he finally admitted.
Ian sighed as he observed the boy's continued withdrawal. "I know, that's basically been my game plan. It's just a matter of connecting with other hybrids and their caregivers to set something up...I don't know many people within the program." he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:36 pm
Tyra for the first time ever looked hurt, she wasn't sure what to really do about it as she then withdrew her vines back towards herself and then slowly into her body.
"Uh...oh. well..." she started sounding a bit crestfallen her leaf wilting slightly as she fiddled in the sand with a finger. Perhaps she was thinking that Toby didn't like her at all. was that why he didn't like her vines?
"Well..." she started again, her large red eyes now shining happily. "I like you! So..." she stuck out her tongue at him. "Your just going to have to get use to them!" she continued with a giggle and then reached out towards him with a gesture of wanting a hug.
"I am going to hug you!!" she warned as she went to stand up.
Jayoku watched out of the corner of her eye.....was this poor boy going to be terrorized next?
"Uh...well, I have only met a few others myself. You could set up a play date with Tyra's best friend. Fenrir. I have her parents phone number some where...." she said taking ahold of her purse to rifle through it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 7:54 am
Seemingly unphased by Tyra's hurt attitude, Tobias went back to pawing at the dirt, loosening the grip on his bone club. Maybe now she'd leave him alone. Though as she mentioned she liked him, he looked up at her through his bone mask, glowering a bit.
"Go away." he said bluntly. "I don't need a hug..."
He didn't want to be hugged, let alone by someone he'd just met. This girl was loud, active, and she had those vines that made him uneasy...he didn't want her hugging him. He'd be fine with her sitting and playing in the sand. He could handle that. He didn't want a hug though. Why did everyone want to hug him? It was very overwhelming.
Ian nodded. "Ah, that would be good. I just don't know of many others in the program." he reiterated. Goodness, he was terrible at conversation. "Fenrir...what's that one like?" he inquired.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:11 am
Tyra wasn't sure how to react, go away? He didn't need a hug? Unsure she went to sitting back down, fiddling with the sand with her fingers. She resisted the urge to use her vines again, he didn't like them. Did that mean he didn't like her? THe very thought was new to her. She didn't like it. How could she get him to like her?
"Why do you have a bone club?" She asked noticing the fact that he was holding onto the item in a very protective sort of manner. Her tone wasn't as loud as it normally was. Perhaps because she felt nervous now being around him and she wasn't sure how to act.
"Fenrir is a cute little Evee girl. SHe is Tyra's best friend. Uh...she likes to dress up and is hyper like Tyra but not nearly as loud." Jayoku explained finally pulling out the tattoo artists business card. "Her...'fathers' own this business. So it would probably be easier to call them during their open hours." she explained.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
