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 Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:56 am
Sati rocked the swaddled baby, looking into the dark face that was peering from the baby-sling that the little girl was attached to her by. The sling was hung over one shoulder, tucked under her other arm and tied behind her back.
Sati hadn't bought any of the usual baby paraphenalia in the time proceeding the birth; she'd had no idea when her baby would actually be born, and she didn't think that the baby would be with her long enough to warrant buying it all. So, when the baby was born without her Guardian being present, she'd gotten her mother to buy a few things out of necessity, substituting with makeshift for things other than nappies and feeding bottles. The stuff that Karma had given Addie had come in handy, and Sayuri had still had some of Rhiannon and Sati's old baby things.
With all these thoughts in mind, Sati pushed open the HQ door, the hem of her purple and golden woven sari swishing above her bare feet. Her hair was loose, brushed out, hanging in soft waves down her back. Her wrists clinked gently, bangles falling and climbing as she moved her two arms - two arms, she'd still not gotten used to that feeling - the noise of which fascinated the baby she was carrying to no end.
Inside was quiet, as seemed to be usual these days. No one seemed to be about. Not Fa'e, not Guardian. She took a seat as the baby girl gurgled quietly. She had hoped that Tweek would be here, try as she might, she'd not heard anything from the woman she had hoped would be her baby's Guardian. And that worried her more than anything. More than the sorrow of her baby having to leave her, because this wasn't leaving. She would cease to be.
Sati undid the sheet, detaching the swaddling from herself and unwrapping her little girl so that she had room to wriggle a bit on her lap. It was with a bittersweet smile that she sat there, playing with the baby that she daren't name, letting the little girl gum one of her bangles, and hiding the baby's nose, a game that made her eyes light up and a heart melting giggle sound.
'I won't let you be nothing..I promise..' she whispered, planting a kiss on the curled mop atop the baby's head.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:57 am
Quinn wasn't really sure where she was going, only that a note had come from Tweek requesting her to go to a certain address as soon as she finished reading. The tone of the note brooked no nonsense and while Quinn was unsure of what to expect when she arrived, she had been friends with Tweek long enough to know that she wouldn't ask a favor unless the need was dire.
Briefly, she wondered what had become of her friend, whom she had not seen in some time. It used to worry Quinn when Tweek disappeared, but it had been happening more frequently of late and so passed unremarked. She hoped she was ok. She was probably elbow deep in some pond somewhere, studying the marine life and unable to get away. The note had not detailed her current location, only bade Quinn to go. It had said that she trusted Quinn above all others and if she could just do this one thing, Tweek would find a way to make it up to her.
So, she had acquiesced. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but how bad could it be? Absentmindedly, she wrung her hands around the end of her fox tail, musing on what errand the days journey would hand her. The sound of giggling made her unfocused eyes come to attention and she looked from the crumpled note in her hand up to the address on the mailbox. This was the place.
Tentatively, she raised her hand and knocked.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:27 am
Sati hummed a tune, continuing to gently rock her baby. Toothless gums worked on the golden bangle, and when the little girl pulled it away from her mouth, a line of drool hung for a moment before breaking.
'Lovely..' Sati chuckled, fishing out a tissue and wiping her mouth. She frowned, pausing in the act of wadding the tissue up and tilted her head in the direction of the door. She really didn't want to get up and answer it personally , especially as they were both comfortable.
'Come in - it's always open!' she yelled, hoping that whoever was out there would be able to hear her. The baby wrinkled her face up a little, and Sati worried that she might have made her cry, but her expression cleared again and she merely jammed the bangle back in her mouth.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:33 am
Hearing what she hoped had been a muffled, "Come in," Quinn opened the door to the charming cottage and peered around inside. Shuffling, she took a few steps into the room, a bit taken aback by the violet and gold clad woman and the dark bundle that greeted her.
Grabbing the tip of her tail for comfort, she managed to squeak out a few words, "Um. Hi. I, uh... I have this friend. Tweek. And she told me to come here. I hope I'm not too late." She finished breathlessly, wringing her tail.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:00 am
Sati raised an eyebrow as the woman came inside and into view, her eyes flicking to the clutched fox tail. She wasn't sure she'd seen her around the HQ before, she couldn't place her face or attach a name to her, and given that she'd knocked before she'd either not been here before or was just very polite.
'Hello can I help you?' she started to ask before the woman gabbled out a sentence in short order.
'You know Tweek?' Sati sat up straighter, causing the little girl to make a noise of protest as she was moved abruptly. Sati checked on her, patting an indigo cheek softly to soothe her, before looking back at the fox-tailed woman.
'She told you to come here? What's happened to her? Can she not get here herself?' her forehead creased in an even deeper frown. If Tweek wasn't coming back? What would it mean for her baby? There would have to be another Guardian found, and she didn't even know how one went about doing that. Weren't they called after all?
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:12 am
Quinn balked under the attention -- the woman was quite commanding -- but she managed to hold out a shaking hand, the crumpled note rustling between her fingers.
"She gave me this note. You can read it... if you want."
She held out the note more confidently, repeating in her mind what it had said:
My dearest Quinn,
I expect this finds you well. I hope that one day soon, we can get together and catch up. I do miss you. However, circumstances being what they are, I have a favor to ask of you. Please go to the following address as soon as you've finished reading. I wish I could be there myself, but alas, I cannot get away. I trust you above all others, my dear, or I would not ask this of you. Just go. I have a feeling that the rest will fall into place.
Yours 'til Niagara Falls,
Tweek
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:50 am
It seemed as though the only expression Sati would be wearing today was a frown, as she looked at the proferred note, taking it and reading it through. Once. Then once again. She then looked back at the nervous woman standing before her.
'This was all the explanation you got from her?' she tugged the note from her baby's hand, the paper tore a little, but the piece stayed attached and she handed it back to her.
'So..bearer of not exactly good tidings, I won't shoot the messenger, but why do you think she sent you with this news?'
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:57 am
Quinn took the note back, fiddling a bit with the torn corner. "This was it." She gulped at the word "shoot," but went on as though she didn't fear that the woman might mean her harm. "Tweek goes away sometimes. And I always water her plants and dust the house and take care of stuff. She trusts me."
She stood a bit taller with that admission. "She's my best friend. I don't know why I'm here, but I'll help however I can. That's what I do." She waggled her fingers a bit at the baby, unable to resist it's impish charm.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:08 am
Sati moved the baby, turning her so that Quinn could see her properly. Two red eyes fixed for a moment on the woman, before finding the tail and making a noise, waved two chubby hands in an attempt to grab it.
'She might trust you with her house, to water her plants, but does my child look like 'stuff' to you?' she questioned. She was finding it strange that as she looked now she was making the woman unsettled, because she thought that she looked the most normal she'd done since appearing in this world.
But it was only a passing curiosity, because in her arms was something far more important.
'Tweek was. Well, I believe that she was meant to be my baby's Guardian. Now she had gone, and I face the possibility of my baby fading away. Do you think I, or her father should trust you with her life?'
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:25 am
Quinn smiled as the baby cooed and reached for her tail. She held it forward, using the end to tickle the child's face. She was so absorbed in her play, that she was caught quite off-guard by Sati's accusations. "Well... no, mam. She looks like a baby. A floppy-eared, curly-haired baby waby baby!" Quinn cooed the last bit, continuing to make silly faces and to tickle the baby with her soft tail.
She looked up at Sati's last question. "Oh! You mean you want me to baby-sit?! Why didn't you say so? I'm aces with babies. Though... I never really understood why it was called 'baby-sitting'... I mean, you're not supposed to sit on the baby..." The seriousness of Sati's words finally began to pierce her nervous armor and she looked gravely at the woman, her tail still in her hands. "What do you mean, fade away?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:51 am
Sati pursed her lips, but the baby liked it, giggling at the ticklish sensation and swiping at the russety-orange hairs of the tail. She would grab the new toy if she got lucky enough, and jam it in her mouth.
Sati shook her head at the question;
'This isn't baby-sitting. Guardian-ship isn't taking on a Fa'e for a few hours to give a parent a breather. It's a life-bond, and a necessary one. Do you think I would even be thinking of giving my child up if it wasn't something that has to be done?'
She looked directly at Quinn.
'She will cease to be. Just fade away..' her voice broke.
'Tweek was the one who had started to have the dreams! I thought she was meant to be her Guardian. She will be lost..our baby will be lost.'
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:00 am
Quinn cessation of movement had been opening enough for the baby to press her tail into it's mouth, gumming and sucking on the now ruddy fur. She smiled at the baby, finding the game amusing, but all signs of her smile faded as Sati explained.
"Oh," was all she could come up with for reply. Tears began to well up in her eyes as her natural empathy got the best of her. "So... unless I find Tweek... she'll just disappear? But I like the baby..." She sniffled a little at the thought of her new playmate being gone forever.
Composing herself, she looked up at Sati, her eyes liquid pools, "If you need Tweek... then, why am I here?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:50 am
Sati watched as the baby finally captured her prize. She would retrieve the tail in a minute, before any ingestion of hairs, but for now she let her gum it, as it was keeping her occupied.
She raised an eyebrow at Quinn as she sniffled, seeing that she was on the verge of tears.
'You like the baby?' she said, amazed at the tact that the woman was not showing.
'I carried her for almost two years, she is my child, but I haven't even been able to name her because I don't know if it's my place to do so or if she'll have a future!'
Sati realised she was yelling, and let out a long breath, trying to calm down.
'I don't know..a Guardian is supposed to dream of their new charge before they get them. And Tweek had been having them. All I want, all I hope for is a miracle right now, that someone else has dreamt of my baby and they will save her.'
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:41 pm
Quinn hadn't meant any disrespect by her comment, so she was a bit taken aback at the rather loud lecture she was getting in parental rights. It was just that she was rather short-sighted at times, not stopping to think that Sati might be feeling her own dismay a thousand times over.
She thought very hard and then, tentatively replied, "I had a dream about kangaroos the other day. Hopping all about this desert-y place and there was this big lizard watching them... but I don't suppose that helps much, does it?"
She reached out to wring her tail, but remembered it was otherwise occupied. She settled for fiddling with the crumpled letter instead.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:24 am
The baby had gotten fretful, upset by her mother's mood change and Sati rocked her a little, making soothing noises, hoping that she wouldn't start wailing.
'No,' Sati shook her head at Quinn's question.
'That isn't the same thing I don't think. You have to dream of the Fa'e..or dream of who she was? I know my own Guardian dreamt about Kali before I arrived because of what I was meant for.'
She continued to rock her baby, frustrated beyond reasoning because she couldn't see a solution. Her baby was going to fade into nothing and she was going to have to watch because Tweek had abandoned them.
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