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 Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:00 pm
Rudy expected to have some sort of hassle in raising a child, especially with his... less than responsible lifestyle that revolved around cars and little else. But when it came down to it, he didn't think he was doing too bad of a job raising Kelthi. Sure, she was a little quiet, but she talked to him, didn't she? That was good, right? And sure, he hadn't taken her to see any other Terra kids in a... well... Ever... But when he had a day off, he'd take her to the Compound to meet other people.
For now, though, they were compromising: Kelthi wanted to meet other children, and Rudy wanted to work on his car. So they decided to go halfway. Literally. There was a park halfway between his place of employment and the Compound, and they decided to go there for a couple hours. It wouldn't dent his paycheck too badly, and Kelthi would get to meet other kids.
The girl in question had her coloring book in her lap, sitting away from the playground and instead opting to color by herself. It wasn't quite what Rudy had in mind, but she was content. That's all that mattered to him, really. He watched from his spot on the park bench, while Kelthi flipped a page and colored. It was harmless, really. Rudy looked around, taking his eyes off her for a minute to watch other kids playing on the playground.
A small part of him was infinitely glad she was quiet and detached, as opposed to... well. Crazy, like other kids.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:30 pm
Xaga thought it would be good for Vin to get out, breathe some air, have a good day, and meet some people.
Vin, naturally, resisted that idea every painstakingly horrible step of the way.
"Come on, Vin! Please just humor me and do this."
"No, absolutely not!" Vin was resisting the pressure Xaga was applying to vis wrist, straining against her viselike grip and attempting to break free toward home again. "This one is not fit to mingle with Breeders! This one is better set in the home!"
"Vin, you are not going to sit in the house doing nothing but skulking in corners for the rest of your life!"
"It suits this one just fine."
Xaga was so astounded that she actually let go of Vin's wrist when she realized that Vin had just been cross with her, and that the child's expression was still petulant and grumpy. Vin was off like a shot, sprinting as quickly as ve could back in the direction of Xaga's apartment, glancing back to make sure Xaga was not pursuing, and in fact not looking where ve was going at all.
It only stood to reason that ve would collide noisily with a park bench and somersault forward, completely winded and astounded and looking up at the bench's other occupant. Ve coloured immediately and slid off the bench to collapse bonelessly on the floor.
"This one...apologizes," ve managed to gasp out after a moment.
Xaga saw the fall and picked up to a run, cursing the child she had been saddled with. "Blasted kid can take an order, but ask it to make its own decisions," she was still growling when she made it to the bench.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:36 pm
Rudy had been preoccupied watching the kids on the playground, and his own kid. So much so that he didn't notice a kid running straight for the bench until Vin had already bounced back and actually apologized for it. He blinked owlishly, taking a minute to comprehend what just happened, and then he leaned forward, frowning.
"You okay, kid?" He asked, tilting his head and examining the kid just to make sure. Again, preoccupied with this, he hadn't noticed the kid's parent coming up huffing and puffing until she was there. He looked up, and grinned a little at her. "Yours, I take it?" He asked, leaning back with an amused smirk. "I think the kid's okay." He looked over at Vin again, frowning.
Preoccupying himself was a horrible thing, because of preoccupying himself with the kid who ran into the bench and the kid's parent, he hadn't noticed until Kelthi leaned forward from behind him and whispered in his ear that Kelthi... wasn't sitting and coloring a little ways away.
He jumped a mile, and fumed. "Kel!" He rounded on her, and she shrunk back, a meek little grin tugging onto her face. Then she looked past him at Vin, and blinked owlishly. She moved around, and crouched down next to him, tilting her head. It took a minute, but Rudy caught on. "... She wants to know if you're okay." He said, grumbling a little. Somehow, someway... he became the kid's mouth.
Yeesh.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:05 pm
Vin blinked solemnly up at the man whose silence ve had disturbed and whose space ve had invaded, gasped a breath into startled lungs, and then shook vis head.
"This one apologizes," ve repeated, "for disturbing you. This one was clumsy and stupid and not looking where ve was going." Ve averted vis eyes when Kelthi came over, glancing quickly back up at Rudy and flashing vis gaze to Xaga before staring stolidly at the sky.
"Yeah, it's mine," Xaga said to Rudy, running a hand through her hair, straightening up, and catching her breath with two quick, deep gulps of air. She was out of shape, which was no surprise. When one gives up a life as a martial artist for accounting, one tends to lose one's gorgeously athletic physique. "And I'm sure it is. Nothing seems to get it upset," she said, shrugging and wondering if she should have used Vin's 'special' pronoun instead of the general 'it'. She didn't want to be branded a bad parent.
"This one is fine!" Vin said quickly. "This one needs no aid!" Ve was almost panicked now, and to prove vis point, ve quickly stood up. "But this one is grateful for the concern," ve added with a short bow to Kelthi.
Xaga rolled her eyes.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:19 pm
((I totally apologize if I use Vin's pronoun wrong. >.> Just tell me and I'll edit. *sheepish*))
Rudy blinked, and grinned a little, amused even more at the pronoun she used. It, huh? Then he nodded to Vin, smiling. "It's okay. You didn't disturb me." He said, smiling at ver. He looked back at Xaga, and smiled, amused. "Trust me, that can be a blessing."
Kelthi threw a crayon at Rudy, putting her hands on her hips and huffing at him indignantly. Rudy just grinned at her, and grabbed the crayon so it wasn't lost forever. "I'm Rudy." He said, offering Xaga a hand. "And this is Kelthi."
Kelthi smiled at Xaga politely, and even did a little curtsy to her. Then she looked at Vin, curiously, and bit her lip. She was trying to express her question, so... she waved her arms, almost flailing a little. Rudy caught it, and snorted. "She uh, wants to know what your name is." He said, a little sheepish at having to translate Kelthi's crazy gestures.
Kelthi nodded, obviously enthusiastic, and grinned at Vin in what was probably the friendliest-slash-creepiest manner she could muster.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:30 am
Vin twitched a little bit when Rudy addressed ver as an equal, and tried to scoot a little farther away from the congregation of Breeders. Why did nobody understand ver?
Xaga grinned hugely at Kelthi when the child curtsied, and then turned to Rudy. "I'm Xaga," she said, extending a hand and smiling warmly at him. The man seemed like the sort of person Xaga wouldn't mind spending a few hours talking to, which was a blessing, since the other Terraform adults seemed to be either arrogant bastards or terrifying arrogant bastards.
"This one," Vin said softly when Rudy informed ver of Kelthi's meaning. "This one can be called Vin, if you so please." Something about vis tone of voice implied that ve would prefer not to be called anything, if at all possible. And then Kelthi smiled at ver and ve shivered, squirming under her gaze. Ve hated being looked at.
{{Nope, you're good. If you REALLY cared, there's a chart in my journal that explains it. XD}}
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