Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Pway?"

"Yes, Evi, your aunty Noya is coming to play. She's bringing Akilah with her." Rune straightened the last of the boxes that stacked the living room wall and sighed, glancing over in the playpen where Yvette watched her with wide eyes. With Daimon and Angel both sick and Horo Horo getting there, Rune had left the three other infants with Aimee at her cousin's house and come back to make sure most of their stuff was packed up. And of course, so Noyama and Akilah could meet Yvette.

At the sound of Noyama's voice, Yvette made a small, happy baby sound, gazing expectantly at the door. Rune grinned wryly, having heard part of the conversation, and pulled the door open. "She came because I'd like to visit with her while you visit Yvette." She told Kilah, speaking as though she were at least their own age and intelligence. "I haven't seen your mother in a while, and it's nice to see both of you. Yvette's in the playpen, it's in the left-hand corner of the room." Then she glanced up at Noyama with a mischievous look, hugging her friend. "And you can just call her Evie. That's what we've been doing."

"Ki!" The yell from the playpen made it clear Yvette was listening. She kicked the side of the wire mesh with her stocking foot, making it rattle. "Ki No-ha giff gif!"

"I think that means 'Kilah, Noya, griffen, and gift." Rune snorted, eyeing the baby fondly. "She loves words, but she's not used to saying them yet."

(*laughs* And she does have a gift for Kilah.)

Yvette frowned slightly, but not as if she were angry. More like she was thinking very hard. "Ki - Ki-ah." Her frown darkened, and she tried again. "Ki - lah. Ki-lah!" Now she looked quite pleased. "Ki-lah gif!"

Rune made no comment about Kilah's 'greeting,' as it were; from what she'd heard, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and she'd definitely seen worse. She simply raised an eyebrow, then grinned and picked up a loosely wrapped present from where it rested on the small end table. Carefully she touched one edge to Kilah's hand so the girl could take it. "Yvette helped to pick it out - she wanted to get you a doll, too, but we couldn't find any she liked."

(This is inside the present:

Yvette frowned and made a small, frustrated noise, looking up at her mother. It was a pain not to be able to speak like everyone around her could; she had so many words bottled up, but she couldn't make them come out right! Rune smiled wryly. "It's supposed to power different things, like energy swords, but I'm fairly certain it can create energy fields, too."

"War-duh." Yvette managed carefully, proud that she knew what the word meant. "Ward." Then she smiled. "Ki-lah ike?"

Rune glanced wryly out the door after Kilah, then shrugged and gestured for Noyama to follow her into the mostly-bare kitchen. "She's not quite as bad as some of the people I've met." She assured her friend. "I'm a diplomat, remember? Well, sort of, but either way, a lot of the kind I have to deal with are nasty psychos. Kilah is a refreshing change." And shorter than Rune, which was a bonus.

Yvette frowned slightly, apparently thinking hard as she watched Kilah head outdoors. Yes, she had been listening, but she'd wanted to make sure; her mom liked Noyama, and Yvette wanted to see if Kilah would like her, too. Now Kilah was outside with her griffon. Yvette wanted to see the gryphon, and Kilah.

Okay, that meant she had to get out of the crib.

Peering around, she finally found what she was looking for: a toy screwdriver, leftover from her brothers' games earlier. Stretching up to the corner of the playpen, she jammed the end of the toy into a small hole just visible on this side of the framing, pushing hard. Tao had figured out this trick a few days ago - she hadn't had to use it before, but it certainly worked. With a shake, the sides of the playpen collapsed to the ground in a rattling thump, leaving Yvette free to start the laborious crawl toward the door. Damnit, why couldn't she walk like everyone else did?!?

"Friend Rune is moving." Rune rummaged in the fridge for a moment, then straightened. "What do you like to drink, Noya?" It had occured to her that she didn't have a clue what Noyama usually ate or drank. And that considering what she knew of where Noya came from, she probably hadn't gotten the bit about diplomats. Damn. She really ought to think before she spoke sometime.

Yvette paused at the open door, panting slightly as she sat back on her small bum and rested for a minute. Crawling across the room was a pain in the butt. Still, she could see Kilah and the Gryphon now, and that was better. But what was Kilah making? She couldn't tell. Pausing, she eyed the Gryphon warily. That beak and those talons looked sharp, and besides, Kilah had said fire before. That was also a bad thing if she handled it wrong, Mirelle said so. Gently, she extended a tiny hand, palm up. "Goo - Good Ki-lah giffen?"

Yvette's face brightened. Akilah had answered her, at least. Now, what was it Mom said to say - she had it! "Tank - Thanks." Softly, she petted Gizmo's smooth beak, smiling. Peeking over at Kilah's carving, Yvette studied the stick intently. She'd seen something like this before, but not as small. "Ki-lah make spear?" She questioned respectfully.

"Just a bit closer to Barton and the new shop." Rune dug out a Diet soda for herself and sat at the table, looking around ruefully. "With twenty-two kids, six adults and probably more on the way, this place just isn't big enough anymore. So we got a bit more land, and I convinced a couple of my cousin's people to give me a hand building up the house." Of course, it hadn't exactly been convincing, but Noya didn't need to know that. Rune smiled, taking a sip of her soda. "So how've you been? Any new additions lately?"

"Ike Co-ee, Wose." Yvette nodded. Her sisters were trained with daggers, and quite good with them, though the youngest kids had been forbidden to touch the weapons until they were older. Smiling and continuing to pet Gizmo, she continued, "Ki-lah goo fight dag-er?" Her tone made it more of a statement than a question, as though she were certain.

Twila - Rune thought for a minute, but could only remember that the baby had been blond. "A werewolf? Maybe she'll come back." That might be nice, though with the things Shiran had discovered while they were away, he might need a little time before he met one of his own kind. "Do you have pictures, maybe?" Not that she was betting Noya did. She loved the fox demoness like a sister, but Rune knew she probably hadn't yet acclimated herself to Gaia any more than she had to. "Kotoki - I haven't heard of him, either. How are Sango and Lucky getting on?"

(Shiran = MAJOR plot twist that Tenshi will either love or hate. *pets him* And now I do have to go, dangit.)