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 Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:39 pm
After six months of cloth diapers and deliberately minimal entertainment, Brownie had insisted that Baxter go out and acquaint himself with modern methods of infant rearing.
"This kid is going to be completely ********> she had said, bouncing Dora on her knee. "You've got to at least get her one normal baby toy. One that isn't alive on its own." A pale eyebrow inched closer to her hairline. "I know you've got money. Just go buy her something. I'll watch her."
And that was that. That was the reason why Baxter was wandering around Barton by himself, the grimace on his face deterring nearly everyone from speaking to him. His head was down in an attempt to avoid eye contact, but sadly this tactic also made it impossible for him to actually find any baby-related stores. A compromise had to be reached.
He stopped abruptly and looked around. A sparkly young man, who had been following a bit too closely, bumped Baxter's shoulder with his own as he veered out of the way. "Sorry, man." The youth's frail insect wings fluttered slightly as he continued walking, looking back apologetically.
Baxter's eyes narrowed further and he fought a strange urge to growl or lunge toward the man, just to see fear in the other's eyes. This was why he didn't go out anymore.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:10 pm
While Baxter was being a terrible parent, Crescentia was being a bit more responsible. Sure she didn't have the children with her but she knew where they were.
They were wherever her mother was.
She was being responsible, damnit! The gypsy was doing what she did best to get money! She was in the streets of Barton dancing by the large fountain in the center of the town, her cousins playing music for her to dance to. They had a hat sitting by their feet for people to put money into; they were making a nice amount too! Every so often she'd stop to tell someone their fortune, smiling when she watched a person walk away thinking she was full of it; Crescentia's fortunes always come true.
A shiny young man with wings caught her attention as Crescentia danced, gasping when she noticed who he'd bumped into. She knew that face! Not necessarily the name but the face! He was there when that terrible house had trapped them! Ugh, at least Sera (A very positive reward) brightened her night. "Hang on." She murmured to her cousins, hurrying after Baxter as quietly as she could. This was impossible with all jer jingly jewelry, so she gave up and just disappeared and reappeared in a puff of sparkly magenta smoke right in front of Baxter. She waved and flashed him a bright smile.
"Hello! Remember me?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:58 pm
Baxter gasped as a sudden woman-filled cloud materialized not three feet in front of him. He raised his hand to his mouth and coughed to cover the noise, but his heart raced as if it was trying to ga-gung its way out of his chest.
"Damn it," he hissed. This... was the other reason he didn't go out anymore. Baxter hadn't met many people recently, but his luck was unfortunate at best, so of course he would wander into the same area as someone he knew. He forced his frown into a grimace of neutrality. It was the least he could do for someone who had shared time with him in that horrible house. The very least.
"Hello," he tried, his voice low and gruff. "How are things?" He didn't remember her name, just that she was more adventurous than he was and, thanks to her little entrance just now, could apparently appear out of thin air. Great.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:32 pm
"Is something the matter?" Crescentia asked when Baxter hissed. Men didn't often hiss when she came up to them...how odd. Was this man homosexual? Here she was dressed to dance and catch attention with lovely revealing clothes and this man was hissing at her? How rude! He wasn't a cat!
The gypsy held the hem of part of her skirt and sort of twirled back and forth from the waist up, giving a little shrug when asked how she was doing. "Fine, fine. my little Sera and Guinevere are being angels at home with my mother while I make money to take care of them with." She smiled hopefully. "Is your little angel around?" Crescentia asked as she looked around Baxter for a sign of a little girl dressed as a pirate. But...there was no sign of her. Was she mistakened? "...Where is she?" She blinked. How odd.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:10 pm
"You just... I'm startled. Nothing personal." Only it was. Nevermind. Baxter took a deep breath and sighed it back out. "This is where you work?" He seemed to notice her outfit for the first time, but mentally shrugged it off. Pleasant. Calm.
"Isadora is at home with a... friend." He supposed his annoying adolescent neighbor was his friend, of a sort. It irritated him to think of her that way, but he hadn't spoken more than twenty words to anyone else in years. "Spotlight is with her." There was really no use in trying to mask the existence of the possessed toy since this woman already knew he was alive.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:28 pm
Crescentia frowned apologetically and gave a tiny little bow. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, I was just excited to see someone else I know!" The gypsy smiled again, giving another shrug when the location of 'work' was assumed. Perhaps he'd get a kick out of this. "I work anywhere and everywhere. The world is my office!" She raised her arms and did a little spin to give a cute visual as to what she meant. "The street, my cubicle!" Crescentia grinned. "What about you..." As she spoke she was trying to remember his name. It matched him...it began with a B and had an odd letter in it. A letter not often used in a name...z? No! X! "Baxter?"
It was weird that Baxter had to pause and think about where his daughter was. How come he hesitated in saying the word friend? Was this person not a friend but a...'friend?' Or was their relationship with one another questionable? How peculiar. "I see! So what brings you to town then?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:24 pm
"No need to apologize." Baxter still wasn't smiling, but his tone was perceptibly warmer. "I'm in sanitation." Let's see what she made of that. She worked the streets, after all. Or maybe not. She seemed too happy to be a street-hardened prostitute. He watched her spin, finally putting two and two together. Spinning. Jingle-jangle jewelry. Oh. She wasn't a prostitute at all. She was some sort of dancer, like in the movies. Interesting. "It must be nice to kind of be your own boss." There, an attempt to be nice.
He raised his head again and looked off beyond Crescentia for a moment. "I'm looking for a toy store. And, I'm sorry, I don't remember your name." My, weren't we blunt today.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:38 pm
The gypsy blinked. "Sanitation? Like...the sewers?" Crescentia lowered her voice a little at that, as if asking what he meant by sanitation was scandalous. She blinked when she heard one of her cousins clear his through quite loudly, watching him glare darkly at Baxter behind his back. What was wrong? Why was he glaring at Baxter? "Hm? Oh, yes. I do enjoy the freedom, but I supposed one may have advantages to having a 'boss.' However I dislike being told what to do, being confined in any sort of way!" Which was obvious by her attire.
"A toystore?" She gasped excitedly. "Allow me to escort you to one!" The gypsy grabbed Baxter's hand and led him to where her cousins were still sitting with their instuments. The one was still scowling a tad bit at the very thought of Baxter even considering his dearest cousin to be a common whore. The gypsies conversed in Italian for a few minutes before Crescentia suddenly scooped up the hat, money and all, and placed it on her head. She then linked arms with Baxter with a broad grin. "Hello, I am Crescentia and I shall be your escort for this lovely day."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:46 am
"Just the garbage. It pays well," he said, diligently following her and his hand back to where her cousins waited. While they spoke, Baxter returned the rude gypsy's glare. It was a good thing he didn't seem to be offering to accompany them on this impromptu search for toys. Baxter wasn't even sure he wanted to go himself.
It was only when Crescentia linked her arm in his and grinned that he decided maybe this trip hadn't been a complete waste. No one could be this nice. "Lead the way," he said. "And thank you."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:35 pm
Crescentia blinked. "Oh, I see." She smiled a little as she lead the way to where they were headed. She knew the perfect place to go! She got all of Sera and Guin's toys at this one! And the owner was just such a sweetheart!
Instead of taking the normal street the gypsy led Baxter through an alley, a nice shortcut to the other side of the buildings where the door of the toystore was. There was a sign hanging out in front of the shop so people walking down the street could read it without turning their heads. It read: Madame Pussyfoot's toys for children! Crescentia's smile brightened. "Here we are!" She said, letting go of Baxter's arm to hold his hand so she could open the door with her free hand. A bell rung as she door opened and a woman standing behind a counter looked up.
"Hello again!" The woman smiled. If the name of the store alone didn't give it away, the sight would explain everything. This woman was a tabby cat! Her green eyes glittered with happiness at the sight of her most frequent customer.
"Hello, Crescentia! And who is this?"
"This is Baxter. We're here to buy his little angel a toy! Right, Baxter?" Crescentia then dragged the man further into the store to where the toys were before he had the chance to protest or try leaving. She still held his hand.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:20 pm
Baxter would have normally tried to avoid alleys, so it was more than a bit distracting to be led through one. He held his negative comments in and kept his head down, completely missing the shop's sign before he was dragged through the door.
His first glimpse of the cat-woman left him scowling and speechless. Thankfully, Crescentia was talking to it so he didn't have to.
Once they were near the toys, he faced the gypsy and asked, "What do you recommend?" through gritted teeth. Pick a toy. Buy it. Get home. Burn it.
Never leave the house again.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:52 am
Crescentia dragged Baxter through the little aisles, looking up and down the shelves. Hm...what should they get? Baxter obviously didn't know what little girls liked! "How about a stuffed animal?" The gypsy picked up an adorable smiling koala bear, letting go of Baxter to wave the little bear's paws around. "Isn't he cute?" She giggled. They didn't have to get a koala, it was just the first thing Crescentia saw.
"Let's get something to eat after this..." She carefully flipped the hat off her head without losing any of the money. Don't ask how none of it fell out already just wearing it. The gypsy was silent as she quickly counted the money. "Mmmmmy treat!"
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:41 pm
Baxter took a deep breath, trying to think of the promise he had made. His own kid and Brownie were magic freaks, and Crescentia wasn't half bad. Surely he didn't have to lash out so strongly, at least not immediately. "Yeah, cute," he offered, less angrily than before. "Maybe something brighter would be better. Spot would be jealous over another grayish-brown thing." The comment wasn't made out of any sort of care for the monkey's well-being, it was just a mess dealing with the daemon's mood swings.
He grunted noncommittally at the mention of food. "If you insist."
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:26 pm
Crescentia smiled, completely oblivious to what he thought about her and other magic users. She put the koala down and looked around. What else...there were so many to choose from! Geeze! She jingled a bit as she tapped at her chin thoughtfully, looking up and down the shelves.
Brighter was better...brighter was better...oh! How adorable! A large pink tentacle hanging from a higher shelf caught her attention. "Oh my! You must get this!" Crescentia giggled, standing on her tiptoes to grab a gigantic octopus off the shelf. "It's so cuuuuute!"
Madame Pussyfoot gave a soft laugh upon hearing her favorite customer. Yes, she's still there and she can hear every word!
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Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:20 am
Baxter reached out and took the huge pink blob from Crescentia, squeezing it between his hands. It was nearly larger than Dora was tall, and certainly looked nothing like Spot. The smallest of smirks rested on his face for the briefest of moments. "Yeah, cute." Maybe he wouldn't even have to burn it. "I'll take it."
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