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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:48 am
"It's just the beach," Calder said again, then grabbed onto Taki's tail as people filed off the bus, so it wouldn't get pulled or squished. The last thing he needed was a hurt, disgruntled cat boy. Taki made that sigh so famous among cats, and laid his ears back against his head in his displeasure.
"But I don't like to swim. I don't wanna go!" Taki, for the life of him, coldn't fathom why Calder could possibly like water, besides the fact that... Well, being a river diety, he was obligated. Not that he knew what a diety was. Calder had explained to him once that it was like a god, but not really. And then he'd said that he had just been a guardian of the river. Taki had shrugged, and yawned, and gone back to his coloring books.
"There are other things to do at the beach. You could build a sand castle. Or chase seagulls."
Taki did perk up at that. "Like... Birds?" He did like to chase birds... And then he pouted again. "Why couldn't Abby come?" The small ginger tabby he'd found and taken in. They always chased birds together. Sometimes Abby actually caught one.
"Because they wouldn't let her on the bus and she'd probably get lost out at the beach. Come on, this is our stop." Calder ushered them off the bus, and blinked in the sunlight, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of the beach bag and putting them on. Then he turned towards Taki. "Don't run off, you could get lost." But Taki was already streaking off towards the street vendor that had ice cream bars displayed across the side of his cart.
"Papa! I want a chocolate popsicle..." He was pointing insistently at the picture, and Calder strode up beside the boy.
"Only if you promise to try to have a good time today, okay?"
Taki paused, and glanced back up at Calder, then at the popsicle picture. "Okay."
So they were walking down the beach, one of Taki's hands in Calder's, his other holding tightly to the popsicle stick. They got past most of the beach area that was packed with tourists, and the occasional beach house appeared further up the sand.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:30 am
"Devakanya!" Alexander barked, "let's go!" The ex-captain was rarely patient, especially when his charge was eating up his precious strolling time. It was a long walk, he was a cripple and it wasn't like the Advocate was all that close. "Devaka-" he was about to crow. He looked down at the tug on his arm. "Well, hello there." Sometimes it was hard to notice something so quiet. The black-haired man took the lead and the pair strolled out the door.
They walked where it was less crowded, after all, an ex-pirate and a blue unicorn did make an unusual pair. That was until they noticed a man and his catboy. Devakayna noticed them first, frowning and halting wear she stood. Alex dragged his eyes away from the surf, frowning as he followed her gaze. "What?" he grumbled, stopping and shifting his weight to his good leg. "Who is it?"
Devakanya pointed and then waved shyly, not even sure if Taki could see her. They had met, once, before....before Alex. How sad. It was a wonder she really remembered anyone at all. She and Alex went to the beach; it was very rare Alex would venture out with the rest of the human population otherwise.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:40 am
Taki glanced up, and saw the pair further down the beach; and then Devakanya was waving, and he squinted. Oh! He remembered her! He grinned and tugged his hand free of Calder's to wave.
"Who are yo--oh. Do we know them?" Calder glanced down at Taki. He'd seen the girl around, but he couldn't remember ever being introduced.
"It's the unicorn girl!" Taki said happily, chomping the last of his popsicle and scampering off down the beach towards the other pair.
Calder's cries to wait and stop and slow down were lost as he jogged after the boy. Damn children and their energy. Taki finally slowed to a trotting sort of pace, still grinning like a fool, showing off tiny cat fangs.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:49 pm
Devakanya blinked as Taki tore towards them. Alex grumbled and blinked as well, not sure why this cat child was hurtling at them. He was pretty sure he didn't like this. If someone got tackled, he was going to kill that kid. "Do we know him?" he muttered, looking down at the unicorn child. He was even more shocked with what he saw there. She actually looked...pleased? Well. How strange.
Devakanya just pointed to herself in response to the question, magenta eyes locked on Taki. She waved again and rocked up on her toes, little else she could do to express her joy in seeing an old friend again. She tucked some hair behind her ear and dipped her head in greeting. Oh, how exciting!
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:48 am
Taki would normally have taken a running leap and pounced happily on the girl, but he slowed down instead, grinning shyly at Devakanya, then glanced up at Alexander, eyes widening when he realized that he didn't know this person. And to a small cat boy, someone like Alexander was rather intimidating.
"Hi... I'm Taki..." he said quietly, and then glanced at Devi.
Luckily, before Taki could declare Alexander a threat to Devakanya, Calder caught up, panting as he snagged Taki's arm. Taki glanced up at Calder with a grin, then promptly squirmed out of the man's grip, grinning at Devi again. "Hey do you wanna build a sand castle?"
"I'm sorry about that," Calder said, once he'd caught his breath, looking Alexander over momentarily, and then straigtening.
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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:22 pm
Devakanya blinked at the shy grin, suddenly finding herself smiling quite shyly as well. She ducked her head behind Alex for a moment, ears swiveling all over the place as she watched Taki, never taking her eyes off the catboy. She nudged Alex with a foot, prompting her guardian to say something in return. It just wouldn't do for him to be rude!
"...pleasure," said Alexander, though clearly, it was not. "I'm Captain Vega." No need to add the ex-, really.
Devi shook her head and re-emerged, nodding to Calder once before taking the cat's arm. She took his hand gently and led him over to the sand before kneeling very carefully, trying not to disturb her dress. Yes. She would like to build a sand castle...but. She did not know how...
Alex watched in silent shock, talking a moment to pry his eyes off the child Devi had so eagerly accepted. "...who are you?" he demanded.
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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:12 pm
"Oh. Of course. I'm Calder Quoile, the English teacher at the Patch school. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner," he said, and offered a hand, only after wiping it unceremoniously on his shorts, the hand accompanied by his usual good-natured smile.
Taki grinned as Devi grabbed his arm and they went trotting down the beach, taking the lead happily. He glanced up at Devakanya's hesitance, and then realized that she didn't know how to make a sand castle, eyes widening a little before he started to dig. "First we gotta find wet sand... Since we don't got a bucket to make it wet," he said, scooping the dry sand aside until they reached the damp stuff below. "And then we gotta start making a big pile! And then we can make a castle."
His tail was twitching happily behind him. Despite the water that was involved with building a sand castle, he seemed to be perfectly happy to be doing it with someone else. Though, he'd never admit it. At least that part of his cat-like nature was starting to rear its head. A part of his character that was beginning to drive Calder up the wall.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:34 am
Alexander raised an eyebrow as the supposed teacher wiped off his hand before shaking, but said nothing. He returned the shake with his bandaged hand, hardly thinking about it as he continued to study Calder. "I'm Captain Alexander Vega. Retired pirate." He had no problems admitting that, really. Where he had come from, it was perfectly respectable. (Sort of.) And, anyways, he had done rather well before the Devil's Advocate had been retired as well, so he didn't really need to take up another profession. He wasn't inclined to, either.
The unicorn, meanwhile, was watching Taki with great interest, ears swiveling as he began to explain the process of sand-castle building. Next time, she'd bring a bucket for him! But meanwhile, Devakanya could only be glad the other child had actually understood. Hadn't forced her to try and explain without words. (It was very difficult getting people to understand her.) Tipping her head to the side, she settled down on her knees daintily.
She was entirely unsure of herself, but for some reason, that didn't keep Devi from wanting to help. She leaned forward into the hole the catboy had started and began to dig as well, slopping wet sand on their little pile. She didn't even seem to mind she was getting a little dirty! How strange.
Alex, in all his lack of manners and entirely too-short attention span, glanced back over to the pair of children, still thoroughly confused as to his charge's antics. "...why does she get along with him?" he grumbled, giving Calder a dark look. At least, for all his anti-social tendencies, Alex had enough humanity in him to actually care about the little unicorn.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:28 pm
"Pleasure to meet you, Captain Vega." He straightened to his full, rather formidable six feet and a few inches, hand settling on his hip as he frowned out towards the water at Taki. They were a lot closer to the water than Calder thought Taki was willing to venture.
"Yeah! Like that!" Taki chimed brightly, grinning widely as he started to shove some of the sand into a shape, making the outer walls. "And then maybe when we finish it we can go find seashells to put on it! For windows and doors and stuff!" Taki's arms were covered in wet dirt, almost all the way up to the sleeves of his tee-shirt, and the knees of his long-ish shorts were getting wet from where he was kneeling; but he didn't seem to care. He was grinning in a manner reminiscent of the Cheshire cat as he packed the sand together, then went back to digging with Devi. "And if we make it deep enough we can prolly shove this sand in there and let it get wet..." he said, laying on the sand to dig deeper.
"I... really don't know." Calder seemed just as boggled by the sudden bonding. Usually Taki was never really himself around girls. Except of course for Riley and Irelia, as far as he'd seen. He was being his usual chatterbox self, but... There was something a little different about how patient he was being with the mute girl. That was when he noticed the susupicious glance. "Really. I don't have any idea. We met once before in the mall, and we helped her find that guy that was taking care of her, but... He's never like this."
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 2:50 pm
Hmm. Calder was taller than Alex would have originally wagered. The seaman shrugged a shoulder and tossed his head to the side, hardly concerned. It didn't seem much like he wanted to fight. And, at any rate, Alex would have any easy time of it.
The more they played, the dirtier the unicorn got. Her dress might even be ruined, at this point. But Devakanya hadn't noticed; she was too focused on helping Taki build the castle up nice and tall. He could play in the mud, she would work on making sure their castle wouldn't crumble. And, of course, that it looked nice. Devakanya was very good at make things look nice. Well, with the exception of Alex, of course. But he was another matter entirely.
Suddenly, the young unicorn noticed a shell tumbling in the waves behind Taki. Giving no other indication of any desire for the spiral shell, Devakanya suddenly sprung forward. It was very rare she did anything other than be polite and shy, but she could actually move quickly. And gracefully. Or not, depending on the situation. She captured the shell with a great splash, tumbling into the wave before springing to her feet and giving a good shake. Water. Eugh.
Pretending as though nothing happened, the unicorn trotted back over to the catboy and offered him the shell, smiling shyly as her tail twitched and her dress dripped.
Alex frowned further. Never like this? Did this child have it out for- "WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS SHE DOING!?" The ex-captain flailed in surprised, truly not believing his eyes as he watched his charge bound into the water and spring right back out, offering something to Taki. "What. The hell. Is going on," he growled, rounding on Calder. He didn't like being confused, especially when it came to the girl's well-being. "He must have cursed her."
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:34 am
Taki glanced back at the sudden splash, and his eyes widened a little at how wet Devakanya was, until she held out the shell. He took it, and the boy's cheeks took on a significantly pink tone. "Thanks," he mumbled, turning the shell over in his hands, admiring it despite the sudden show of shyness. "It's pretty..." He grinned up at her, and scampered up out of the waves, hand closing lightly around her wrist as he went, and eyed the castle that was becoming rather impressive despite the lack of buckets and whatnot. "Here! We can make it the door!"
This entire exchange was missed though, as Calder turned towards the other guardian. "I... Uh. I seriously doubt he could curse anything. I guess they just like each other?" he offered blandly, turning back in time to see Taki grab Devakanya. Really, it was amazing his own jaw hadn't dropped in sheer amazement. Taki was covered in water, and all for the sake of a little girl that couldn't even talk. Meanwhile, Calder could barely get him to take a bath, even with the cajoling and offers of sweets and staying up late.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:59 pm
Devakanya's ears fell to the side as Taki withdrew a little, worried he didn't like her shell. Was he just telling her it was pretty so she didn't feel bad? Did she do something wrong? Oh, but-
Devakanya slipped a little as Taki led her over to the castle, her hand ending up in the boy's instead of just her wrist. It was the young unicorn's turn to light up bright red, ducking her head to the side as she followed after him. She watched him make the door and turned to smile shyly, bobbing her head. Soon she pointed to the shell, the castle, and then back to the water. She kept a hold on his hand (albeit very delicately) and tipped her head, blushing all the while. Should they look for shells...together?
...when did she get so brave?
Alex was flabbergasted. When did- How did- This was IMPOSSIBLE! The captain opened his mouth, closed it, and repeated four or five times, all the while trying to figure out what exactly it was she was trying to say. Turning a little red with all the failed efforts, he turned to the side and shifted to balance on his cane.
"...I think 'like' each other might be putting it a little lightly."
Puppy love?
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:12 am
Taki's face turned a noticable shade of pink, when he realized his faux pas, but he didn't pull his hand away. Somehow, cooties didn't apply to Deva. Sort of like how they didn't apply to Riley or Irelia. Only not.
He twisted his ears back against his head, eyes wide, twisting shyly on one of his feet, the other scuffing at the sand. "Okay..." he mumbled, and pointed down the beach, looking up from where his chin had settled firmly against his chest. "Should we go that way?" The words were barely intelligible, and it was getting harder to look up at Devakanya, as his face got hotter.
Calder chuckled and crossed his arms, more bemused than speechless; almost the opposite of Alex's reaction. "Well, would you look at that." Kitten love, more like. Or would it be interspecies love? He shot a sidelong glance at the pirate and then raised an eyebrow. "I guess you'd be right. I think we might have a budding relationship on our hands."
((djkaf;jdsfasdk THEY ARE TOO CUTE...))
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:01 pm
Alex frowned. This had gone on far too long. Far too long. If he let this get out of control, his little unicorn would be sneaking out with boys before he knew it! And that was just unacceptable. The girl was a mute, they'd all take advantage of her, use her, and break her little heart. He'd kill them, if they did that. And since Captain Alexander Vega did not have any homicidal tendencies (contrary to common belief), he knew he needed to stop this before it started.
"Devakanya! It's time to go home."
The unicorn's head jerked up and her ears pinned. The young girl frowned, pink eyes wide as she took a step back and tightened her grip on Taki. She was having fun. For the first time in a long time, she was having fun with someone her own age. She shook her head slowly (the first time she'd ever disobeyed Alex!) and stepped behind Taki.
He'd protect her from her father...right?
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:51 pm
Taki glanced between the girl and the man who he was guessing was her dad; he was standing with Papa so he had to be important. That is, until he shouted for Deva to come back. He felt her hand tighten around his, and he bristled a little, unconsciously, tail twitching in displeasure. If Devakanya didn't want to go, then darn it, she wouldn't go! He straightened up in front of the unicorn girl, squeezing her hand a little, reassuringly.
Calder frowned at the little scene that was unfolding, determined to stop it before it got out of hand. "Captain Vega, don't you think it would be all right if they played for a little while?" Subtle, but insistent. Not that Calder was ever very good at breaking up disputes. Why he'd taken his graceful leave of Sidhe.
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