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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:12 pm
It seemed like the Liberty Center had everything. Daycare, schooling, a library, and even, tucked away in its hallways, an Olympic-size swimming pool. That was the venue for today's little adventure.
Or at least, it's child-sized extension. Set off to the side of the main pool was the kiddie area. Some water to splash around in, chairs for the parents, and about as much danger as a padded room. Merroth sighed as he looked at it. When Black had informed him she was going to let him swim, he had expected a trip to the ocean. This was more like being stuck in the bathtub. Worse, she was making him wear some sort of special clothing, and scratchy plastic armbands.
Merroth was unsurprised to find that there were other people at the kiddie pool already. People were everywhere in the Center. There was already another child his age at the kiddie pool. Black walked with Merroth to the edge of the water and gave him a little push. "Have fun," she said as she walked away, heading to the chairs with her current paperback novel.
This, Merroth decided, was a punishment. He stared at the water, wondering if he should just get this over with, but he had a moment of curiosity and glanced over at the other child, wondering what exactly people did at these sorts of establishments.
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:37 pm
Mercury had been thrilled when she toured the Liberty Center (first time without sensitive Ishizuke, of course) and had discovered that the pool was fully inside and had no windows through which natural sunlight could filter. It meant that even if she couldn't allow her daughter into brightly-lit classrooms, at least she could allow Ishizuke to come here and meet other people.
Ishi didn't object at all and was peacefully splashing in the thigh-deep water, seemingly unfazed by the strange clothing and squeaking plastic on her arms. She wasn't fazed by much that didn't move, in all honesty. And she liked water that was larger than the bathtub and didn't smell like bathwater or soap.
Making small waves with apparent fascination, it took her a while to realize that she was being watched. She glanced up when she did, though, and met the gaze of another child. Or...at least, she caught some sort of outline and turned her head sharply, almost like a bird, to fix Merroth with her one good eye.
When she did, she offered him a blithe smile. "Hello," she said quietly, almost musically, as she glanced about for her mother to make sure that whas she was doing was right. Mercury wasn't watching, and Ishizuke proceeded with an inward shrug.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:45 pm
Merroth stared at her blandly. Her quiet greeting didn't evoke from him the sort of ire he would have liked. As much fun as he had flinging vitriol at everyone and everything around him, he liked to have some sort of vague, flimsy reason. A too-cheery greeting was such a reason, or one that was too loud, but this was the sort of quieter greeting that he found destructively uninspiring. So, he chose a different tact.
"Whut's wrong with yur face?" he asked sullenly, dark eyes half-lidded, an expression of purest malcontent on his face. He was a python, waiting for the incendiary moment to release his poison into the world.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:09 pm
Ishizuke frowned when Merroth made a comment on her face, wondering if this boy was going to be rude like everyone else, and make awful comments about her looking like a monster. But then the moment passed and optimism took over. Her blithe smile returned, albeit a little more hesitantly, and she pointed at the ceiling.
"Mum says I'm 'lergic to sun," she responded, voice still quiet. Then she looked away and began playing with the water again, more interested in it than in the scowling boy on the edge of the pool. Then, after a moment, politeness won out and she turned her head to look back at Merroth.
"You can play with me," she offered. "I's Ishi."
It would be easy enough to say she was already the mouse in the pair's relationship: quiet, slightly timid, and completely unaware of any possibility of absolute danger.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:41 pm
Merroth made a yucky face, but in order to properly respond to her offer, he had to enter the water, so he stepped down and was shocked at the temperature. It was cold! Not the warm temperature of a bath, not the balmy comfort of the ocean, but colder than any water Merroth had ever wanted to enter into. Not as cold as Black Em's drinking water, but close. Still, he was on a mission. Merroth kicked a splash of water at Ishizuke, spraying droplets as he informed her loudly, "WHY would I want to play with girls, girls are STUPID."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:41 am
Sable and Leviathan were late. Horribly late. Normally, this didn't bother Sable too much; Mercury knew his work habits and would expect no less of the young man. Work came first, after all. Leviathan, however, was sorely unimpressed with the situation. They were supposed to go swimming today (swimming!) and he was going to get to meet Ishizuke. The last time he had seen her, she was a cabbage. (Weird.) More importantly, Nereus would be there, right?
So what was Sable puttering about here for!?
So with much screeching and two fits, Sable and Leviathan arrived at the center. As soon as Sable set Leviathan down, the boy zoomed to the two children as fast as his little legs would take him. "HEEEEEY!" he screeched, frowning at the pair. "WHA'S GOIN' ON!?" Hands folded over his chest, he shook his head. This was his playdate, not that other boy's. If there was anything mean older brothers taught him, it was fight for what's yours. Even if you have to kick, scream, and call Daddy to referee.
Speaking of Daddy, Sable was merely trying not to die of embarrassment. Having found Merc, he was shaking his head, muttering some sort of apology. He never understood how Leviathan had turned into a screamer. It certainly wasn't his genes!
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:40 am
Mercury blinked and looked up at the screaming; she recognized that voice, and she recognized the mortified father of the child it belonged to, as well. Laughing, she waved away Sable's apology and turned to look at the children. She hadn't noticed the other boy, but undoubtedly, they'd be fine.
Ishi, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about that. She looked genuinely hurt at Merroth's meanness, and she frowned and looked away. When Merroth splashed water at her, she squeaked and threw her hands up, shying away from the cold droplets that hit her face. Looking around her hands at him, she winced and opened her mouth to say something when she was interrupted by a screech. Was this the boy Mum had told her she was going to meet? Executing that peculiar, birdlike twist of her head, she looked him up and down, blinking solemnly. Mum had said he had blue hair.
"...Levi?" she asked softly, not putting her hands down or moving from her spot across the pool from the mean other boy. "Is you Levi?"
Mum had said this boy was a friend. She hoped so. She'd had quite enough of friends who were just plain mean.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:54 am
Leviathan peered at the girl carefully. She looked silly. Well, not silly, weird was probably a better word for it. Daddy had said Ishizuke looked weird and that it was mean to say something, so he shouldn't. Because if he did, there would be no cupcakes later, and Leviathan valued cupcakes like a pirate did gold. So he would be nice. "Yep!" he said, puffing proudly. She knew his name! He must be famous; just wait until he told Rook he was famous! That would make him angry, the big jerk. Hehe. Jerk. That was one of those words Daddy said not to say. But he never said anything about thinking it!
"M'Levi," he said, just for emphasis. "And you Ishi." Because Ishizuke was too hard to say and Leviathan did not see the need to pronounce the whole thing. "N' you," Leviathan said, rounding and pointing at the splashing boy, "is stupid jerk." Leviathan snickered. Hopefully Sable didn't hear, those were bad words brothers taught him. But this kid deserved them! He tried to steal his playdate! "So go 'way now." He nodded firmly. See? He was in charge. He could fight for what was his. (And Daddy was still around just in case.)
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:31 pm
Merroth wrinkled his nose. Stupid! That word AGAIN. When were people going to learn that THEY were stupid and Merroth was smart? "You don't own this!" objected Merroth, fairly certain his statement was correct. That was what Nerys usually said when messed with her stuff. Merroth paused a moment, stared at Leviathan's armored arm. "p***s fingers."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:58 pm
Leviathan opened his mouth, about to inform Merroth that no, he was indeed wrong because this was indeed his playdate when the other boy's latest insult stopped his dead in his tracks. He just said a really bad word. The first and last time Leviathan parroted that word, Sable washed his mouth out with soap. Repeatedly. And, strangely enough, Leviathan got the point. But now, this...this...kid was calling him the really bad words and Leviathan had nothing left in his artillery!
So with an angry squeal, Leviathan marched right up to the other boy and gave him a hard shove. "Jerk," he declared, sticking out his tongue. Served him right, it did.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:22 pm
Merroth windmilled his arms helplessly and went splashing back into the water to a chorus of hysterical cackling from Black over on the poolside chairs. He was barely fazed by it, having been shoved backwards so many times he was accustomed to it. What he was not accustomed to was the water temperature. He made a sour face and struggled back to his feet.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:46 pm
Ishi watched the interaction between Leviathan and Merroth carefully and curiously, from between her fingers for a minute, but soon without any sort of obstruction. Her hands moved slowly down to her sides as Leviathan...stood up for her? She had to assume that the other toddler's possessive attitude was being nice to her. She was about to speak again when Merroth said something that obviously upset Leviathan, who Ishi had decided was nice.
Living with two near-silent females, one dead quiet male, and Mercury, who went out of her way to keep her conversation child-appropriate, Ishizuke very rarely heard the sort of language that Merroth tossed around so casually, and that Leviathan was obviously gravely offended by. She shrank back when Leviathan approached the other boy, and winced when he shoved Merroth. She opened her mouth to say something, paused, and then gathered up the courage.
"Hey!" she said stiffly. "No fightin'! Fightin in water's dang'rous!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:08 pm
Leviathan smiled smugly as Merroth went down with a splash, though he would have preferred the boy scream or yell or something. Making someone else angry was a sign of victory. Making them hurt was also a sign of victory, but that one was one that got him in trouble. Not that he could really hurt Rook, but he did make Saint bleed once. "Stupid," he jeered, tempted to push the boy down again when Ishi decided she should tell him what to do.
The ocean-boy scowled and rounded on the girl. Now where did she get the right to scold him? "Shu' up!" he said, shaking his head. "Don' tell me wha' t' do." He wouldn't let big brothers tell him what to do, and he wouldn't let girls tell him what to do either. Girls. Leviathan snorted and shook his head. "I won' get hurt." Water was his favorite thing in the whole world! Leviathan turned back to Merroth and raised an eyebrow, ready to charge the boy again if the opportunity arose.
"So. Who's you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:39 pm
Timid as she was, Ishizuke was both astounded and incredibly irritated when Leviathan had the nerve to look her in the face and tell her to shut up. She had met scary kids and mean kids, but she had never met a downright rude child before. Scowling, she blew a loud raspberry before loudly proclaiming, "Screw you, jerk!"
Mercury jerked upright at that, but Ishizuke didn't care what Mum had to say. It was something Mum and Angelique said all the time when something they didn't like happened, and while she knew it was a 'mean' term, it was by no means like the words these other boys were saying.
Scowling, she splashed water at both Leviathan and Merroth, then crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the pair of them. Just because she was a girl didn't mean that either of them had the right to be a supid jerk to her and be mean. After a moment, the scowl faded and she resumed watching with an adrenaline-fueled bold curiosity that was singularly unusual in the girl. All in all, it was a wholly new experience for little Ishi, who usually just ran away from things she didn't like.
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Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:45 pm
When Ishizuke told him to screw off and splashed water at him, something inside Leviathan snapped. No, not snapped like going crazy. Snapped as though he was sick of people thinking they could just boss him around if they wanted to. So she wanted to play rough? She wanted to play like a boy? Fine. Leviathan growled. Yes, growled. Growled just like an angry dog with his hackles raised. "Jes' 'member you as' fer it," he snarled, moving in on the little girl.
Sable looked over when he heard the raised voice. How tense Leviathan was. What was making him so angry? "Leviathan..." he warned, but the warning fell on deaf ears.
Leviathan ignored his guardian, opting to grab Ishi's arm and drag her towards the water instead. He stepped aside and gave a fierce tug, every intention of tossing the girl into the water as well. Hey. She tried to boss him around. No one bossed Leviathan Dagon-Hazard around. No one.
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