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 Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:06 pm
It was dark out, and it was the first time she'd ever been allowed outside the house after the sun went down.
Needless to say, Lizzy's glee could hardly be contained. Even the threat of returning home couldn't restrain her bouncing and running. Demi had decided to bring Lizzy out for an evening music show, since there really was nothing else to do. And she really didn't want to go home! So she sat with Kae-Askavi and watched the string quartet warm up from a perch on top of a folding chair in the back of the crowd. It wasn't really being close to the musicians that mattered, it was that she could hear the scales quite well.
She settled into her blanket (it was March, and a little nippy out) and peered out like a ninja. Or at least, what she thought a ninja might peer out of a white and blue blanket like. Lizzy giggled at herself, then emerged and started to look around.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:52 pm
Mercury sometimes wondered if turning her daughter nocturnal was really the best of ideas, and then she noticed how thrilled Ishizuke was to be outside, and decided that there was nothing she wouldn't do to make sure the child led at least a slightly fulfilling life.
She had taken the girl to the performance more because she wanted to than because Ishi had expressed any interest in music. Indeed, the quieter Ishizuke's life was, the happier the girl seemed to be. Ever since her last disastrous encounter with children, she had been nervous. Mercury indulged it more than she probably should have.
But Ishi didn't seem to be that upset. In fact, as Mercury slid through the gathering crowd in an attempt to find a good spot, Ishi was perfectly content to trot along behind her and investigate the people...as long as one hand kept a firm grip on Mercury's trouser leg. Weaving through the spectators with her mother, she didn't see a single space big enough for the camping chare, and said as much.
"No room," she pointed out. Looking around, Mercury had to agree, and sighing, she pushed her way towards the back, where there still seemed to be space enough for one chair. Looking around for an empty spot, she settled on one between a sleeping old man and a woman with a child on her lap. Ishi looked at the girl with great interest from behind Mercury's leg, sizing her up slowly and thoughtfully before transfering her attention to the kitten in the girl's lap. "Kitten," she murmured, and stepped out from behind her mother. Keeping a hand on Mercury's pant leg, she tilted her head and looked thoughtfully at Elizabeth.
"You has a kitten," she said very clearly and solemnly, blinking at Lizzie and then smiling just a shade, eyes still wary. Birdlike, she turned and tilted her head, allowing her hair to fall over her bad eye so she could inspect Lizzie with her good one.
"Is this spot taken?" Mercury asked the woman, shrugging with a bit of a sheepish smile, putting a hand on Ishizuke's shoulder to make sure that Ishi didn't get ahead of herself. Sometimes the girl just didn't make the smartest of choices.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:05 pm
She smiled and giggled. "I'm Elizabeth, but you call me Lizzy. This is Kae-Askavi," said Lizzy, and she held out her kitten towards Ishizuke. "Pet his head very soft and gentle, okay?" Without any attempt to hide what she was looking at, she stared at the lighter section of the other girl's hair. "That's a pretty color!" Lizzy stared to reach out to touch the streak, but Demi slapped her wrist halfway there and she grumped for a minutes before turning that smile back to Ishi.
"No, it's not," Demi said to Mercury. She kept her own daughter firmly in her lap.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:28 pm
Excited and intrigued by the kitten in spite of herself, Ishi had stepped forward to touch him, smiling at both him and his little mistress. "Ishizuke, but we all call me Ishi," she answered, taking a moment off from reaching to Kae-Askavi again.
Lizzy's complement almost failed to attract her attention, and would have had the girl's hand not startled her. Ishi jerked a little bit when she realized what Lizzy wanted, and actually jumped with fright when she heard the sound of the slap. A naturally timid creature, the surprise sent her back to Mercury, who patted her hair absently with one hand and finished setting up the chair with another.
"I'm sorry about her," Mercury said softly. "She's a little bit jumpy about her face, because of the burns."
The matter-of-fact reference to her scars made Ishi blush a little (even as a baby, she knew that people thought her face was weird) and hide her face in Mercruy's pants, but her curiosity and interest resulted in her looking back at Lizzy after about a minute.
"How long you had him?" she asked, not even batting an eyelash when Mercury picked her up and sat down, settling Ishi on her lap. She kept talking as if nothing at all had happened. "We not have pets, too many people in house. Mama says no cats 'cos they're fussy."
Mercury shrugged, not about to apologize for something that was solely a matter of preference to begin with, and looked at Demi. "I'm Mercury Gamma," she said, extending her right hand to shake. "This irrepressible little one is my...daughter, would be the best word."
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:46 pm
Lizzy frowned. "I'm sorry," she said, and she really was. "Your hair is pretty, though." It was reason enough for her to ignore anything else (and what, really, was wrong about Ishi's face anyway? It looked ok to her) up to and including not having a face. "I's had him for five whole days," said Lizzy. "Kae-Askavi is not fussy. He hunts fluffy bouncy things."
Her mother quirked a smile and said, "Sorry, I don't make a habit of handshaking. I'm Demetri Cole, and Elizabeth is also... daughter-like."
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:51 pm
Blinking, always surprised when a child neglected to obsess over her appearance (one particular child had ruined her self-confidence, and the looks from other adults were quite enough to know that she was odd), Ishizuke smiled genuinely at Elizabeth and moved forward. Her good eye flicked between Demi and Kae-Askavi, curious to see if she would be allowed to touch the ball of fur or not. "He sounds cute," she said, shifting attention to Lizzie and smiling.
At the woman's smile, Mercury gave a polite nod and retracted her hand. "Whatever is most comfortable for you," she answered, then glanced at Elizabeth. Looking thoughtfully at the girl and then at Demi again, she smiled crookedly. "Let me guess..." she began. "The girl comes from a vegetable?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:30 pm
Kae-Askavi purred, and mewed loudly when Lizzy dumped him on Ishi's shoulder. He scrabbled for grip, and seemed to find it since he started to purr again. "He's a good kitty, Ishi-shi," she said happily. "If you hold him, though, you gotta hold him like a baby." Lizzy mimed it, linking her hands and rocking her arms. "But don't rock, he'll scratch!"
Demi looked at Mercury, then back at her daughter. "Yes. She came out of a cabbage..." She looked at Ishizuke. "And your daughter?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:10 am
When the kitten was dumped on her, Ishi immediately froze, fingers splayed out and eyes wide. The small animal's purring didn't mean a thing to her for a moment, but as soon as she realized that he wasn't going to bolt or attempt to claw her eyes out, she relaxed and reached up to tickle him gently under the chin. "Awww...cute kitty..." she said, grinning brightly at Lizzie. "So he won' get mad if I hold him?"
Mercury nodded at the mention of cabbages. "Mine's a cabbage-kid, too," she said, and grinned. "They seem to be rather in vogue right now. But she's a wonderful kid. Grows so quickly, too." She sighed for a moment, wondering what it would be like to have a child who didn't go from cooing quietly to speaking with all the eloquence of a four-year-old in a matter of weeks. But in reality, she rather liked it that way, too.
s**t. She was spacing out. Smiling sheepishly, she returned to her conversation. "So how long've you had Elizabeth?" she asked, watching the kids out of the corner or her eye.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:05 pm
"No," Lizzy said firmly. "Kae-Askavi is a good kitty. See? You tickle him like this." She scritched her kitten under the chin. He licked at her fingers and she giggled. "You try?"
"Ah," Demi said, nodded sagely. "I've noticed that, too. It's almost a relief, since all my other children are grown. Lizzy is about a week and a half old." She sighed. "All of my children were boys until I had her. Now I have to say 'children' instead of 'boys' when they fight."
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:28 pm
When Lizzie showed Ishizuke how to tickle Kae-Askavi, Ishi crooned with delight and mimicked her actions. "So cuuuuuuuute!" she gushed, trying to turn her head so she could look at the kitten's face. Unfortunately, the cat had landed with his head near her bad eye, so all she could see when she looked side to side was a fluffy grey kitten butt and some little paws. She looked almost sad for a moment, but Kae-Askavi was still purring. So that must mean something good.
"Ishi's a good few months now," Mercury said absently, reaching down to pat her girl on the head. "She's not my first daughter, actually. I have one other. Angelique grew up fast, like she did, but she still likes to play with her sister. They don't fight," she remarked absently. "Though Ishi's a pretty good scrapper."
The girl had gotten into an interesting altercation before, and it rather fascinated Mercury how someone so small and timid could get so angry.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:32 pm
This wouldn't do! Lizzie promptly folded the other girl's arms into the proper "cradle" and then tucked the kitten into them. "Now you can see," she said, tickling Kae-Askavi again. He mewled, slightly indignant at being uprooted again.
"My eldest son is a demon hunter by profession. Sirius, the second, is a scholar. I'm wondering what stereotype that leaves Elizabeth, really." Demi studied Mercury's daughter for a minute. "Still waters run deepest," she finally said.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:46 pm
Ishi looked absolutely delighted when the kitten was put in her arms, and she leaned down to touch noses with him, eyes wide. “Thank you,” she said, looking up at Lizzie with absolute gratitude. “Very nice of you. Hard to see with only one eye,” she remarked a little bit sadly. “’Lergic to sun,” she said, offering an explanation as to her face. Then she turned her attention back to the little kitten. “So sweet,” she crooned, stroking his ear gently, and then smiled up at Lizzie. “Here you go,” she said quietly. “He’s your kitty.” And she gently—very gently—lifted Kae-Askavi up to the other girl.
Demi’s mention of siblings made Ishi look at Lizzie. “You have brothers?” she asked. “I has a sister, she’s pretty cool.”
"Angelique is...unemployed, more or less," Mercury said with a shrug. "She wouldn't...ah...do well in a profession. Or in the real world in general." There was a pause while she considered the idea of demon hunters. Even in her field (and some very unusual things had happened to Mercury since she began work at her laboratory) she had never come across what could be known as a demon. It intrigued her that such things could (and did) exist.
The proverb made her smile. "Yours seems a darling," she said. "I'll bet she becomes positively, charmingly manipulative to the boys." A wry smile indicated that the remarks were nothing but playful. "She's certainly going to be a looker," she added.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:53 pm
She tucked Kae-Askavi into her elbow and smiled. "I try to be nice. You're really nice, too." It was hard to understand why someone might be allergic to the sun. Lizzy couldn't imagine life without the sun. Poor Ishi must be very sad, she thought dismally. But then her bright smile came back. "I has two brothers," she said, holding up two fingers and a thumb. "Dean-siri-me." All three names in one breath as she ticked down the fingers. "We're cooler though," she said decisively. "Siri is sad and Dean is mad. We're lots more awesome."
Demi nodded. "I know types like that," she said, without a hint of cruelty or derision. There were some who just couldn't exist outside a family setting, much like Riku's daughter Renee. Perpetual children, really.
"Yes, she certainly is," she said, but the remarks made her smile flatten into a pinched look. "She reminds me of someone I used to know." It was clear that was not a subject she really wanted to pursue. "Your Ishi could have them all crawling at her feet, if she so chose, also. Anyone worth having won't care about the scars."
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:06 pm
"Thanks," she mumbled, looking at the ground before giving Lizzy another shy smile. She wondered briefly what the other girl was thinking about, and then looked interested. She didn't have brothers, and boys were stupid. This was a decision she had long since come to, and she said as much. "Don' like boys, they're dumb. One knocked me inna pool!" she said, holding out her hands wide to express the gravity of the situation.
Mercury rather approved of Demi's treatment of Angelique. Most found her impossibly strange, and while Mercury was sometimes inclined to agree, Ange was still her daughter.
She frowned at the woman's expression, realizing that she had spoken amiss and immediately shifting gears. "Ah, the girl's a bit shy for that. Looks like Lizzy's a bright, friendly one?" she asked with interest. That certainly seemed to be the case, at least with Ishizuke. Mercury liked it; it gave Ishi a chance to make friends.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:56 pm
"Boys is stupid," she agreed. "An' that boy is a meanie-pants. We should get him!" Pouting, she snuggled Kae-Askavi. That made her think of an idea. "When Kae-Askavi is all grown, he'll be super big! We can set Kae-Askavi on him. Because Kae-Askavi is a super hero."
The kitten in question meowed flatly.
Demi nodded. "Which is good. There aren't many children near home, so it's good that she can make friends with a tree stump." She made a face. "I wouldn't doubt she's done that."
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