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 Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:54 pm
"Eh, you have to stay late at your office but you want me to come and get Ms. Pasayo from you? Are you sure, elder brother?"
A young man stood in a phone both with the receiver cradled to his ear, his hands holding the phone like it was a precious piece of work instead of something someone had been spitting into while yelling only moments before he'd gotten there. He was bowing his head every now and then at whatever was spoken to him by the figure on the other line (presumably his older brother based on conversation) and after a few moments he stopped.
"Of course, I'm on my way over there now. I'll make sure to let the others at home that you're running late and not to turn the television on until either you or I am there with watch with them. Yes, yes, I will see you shortly."
The phone was hung up and the young man quickly sighed as he tried to sort out what was going to have to occur for the rest of his evening. While he didn't mind doing any favors for his brother, more so because they were for his brother, he wasn't sure if he was up to the task of taking care of that strange egg that had recently come into the home. He didn't know much about the egg (read: nothing at all) as his brother always took "her" places with him, so to suddenly be asked to care for her for the evening was sudden and a bit unnerving.
"Oh, what am I going to go...?"
The youth quickly ran his fingers through his thick black hair, seeming not to notice that his little outburst of confusion had attracted the attention of several passerby. He was, after all, out on a public street and making a disturbance.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 3:24 pm
 The street was absolutely heaving with activity - shoppers swarming out of shops as they closed, couples swooning on benches in the attractive light of the evening, faeries making their way through the crowd with ashe gripping to their hand. Well... the later seemed to be less common, in fact, as far as Araran and Rioge were aware they were the only present. They had been watching humans again, another day trip into town for Rioge to see and hopefully understand humans. However, it was getting late and the small blue haired child was yawning profusely and Araran had decided it was bedtime for the ashe and they had started making their way back home - but this involved pushing their way through the crush, a most unpleasant experience for the two fae.
Araran grimaced as they were bashed around by the ever so rude humans. He didn't hate humans as a whole, his ideas being that one should keep preconceived views on anything till proven otherwise, but he was starting to get just the slightest bit irritated by the actions of the crowds surrounding him.
He and Rioge were just being swept past a phone booth when the tired young boy crashed into an older man; falling backwards and landing on his backside heavily. He whimpered and looked up at the mortal, tears forming in his eyes. "Are you ok Rioge?" Araran asked, helping him up and brushing him down. Rioge nodded, putting on a brave face but unable to hide the tear that had escaped from his eye - rolling down a cheek. A small flicker of anger rose in Araran, quite unusual considering his usually calm demeanor, and he glared at the man who Rioge had knocked into, taking in his thick black hair and smart-casual attire.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:28 pm
Houkan took a few steps forward as he felt something come into sold contact with his body, and it was only thanks to his mildly ridiculous height for his age that he managed to avoid falling over and onto his face. From what he heard someone else had fallen over thanks to knocking into him, and the young man quickly turned and bowed towards Araran and Rioge.
"I am so sorry, I didn't see where I was going!"
His voice sounded quite sincere as he apologized, and he kept his head bent for a moment before raising it up to look at the two whom were probably going to be addressing him about this incident. He wasn't all that surprised to see an adult and child combo, and what appeared to be regret mixed with shame colored his cheeks to a soft pink.
"It's truly my fault, I hope you're uninjured?"
Houkan was now standing back up straight, his hands clasped slightly together as he looked with worried eyes. They seemed to be sunken in to his face, perhaps from how terrified and embarrassed the lad looked, and with his hair being black it was a little queer for the boy to possess such ice blue eyes. They looked almost silver in the fading light, and as he blinked it was as if they sparkled.
His whole posture was neat as he stood in his school uniform, a fuchsia sweater vest over mid-arm length white shirt. His black pants seemed to be taken well care of as well, and it was almost comical that such a clean cut student would be stammering so much.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:07 pm
The man seemed fairly polite as he realized what he had done and immediately apologized profusely, bowing and speaking politely with pure regret in his voice. Araran was pleasantly surprised by the man's attitude - most humans would've grunted an apology before carrying on their way, but this young man had taken his time to say sorry. Something that made the snap of anger in the fae dwindle to a faint glow rather than swelling to a blaze. "Mm, your apology is accepted." He replied, nodding his head in appreciation. "It is comforting indeed to know that there are some that care about their actions." He mused, smiling slightly at the silver hair and sparkling eyes. He was quite a striking figure, with an attractive appearance - considering he was a human.
Rioge was also comforted by the man's pleasant words and smiled tentatively at him, rubbing his bottom slightly as he spoke. "It's ok now. It doesn't hurt much anymore.. It might have been suprise.. He felt slightly bad for the man - Araran had given him a glare, which could be a very intimidating experience.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:10 pm
"I'm thankful for your forgiveness, I wouldn't know what to do if I'd actually hurt someone. Sometimes I get too flustered and don't watch where I am going, even more so when I'm in a hurry to reach a destination and an unsure of what to do once I get there."
Houkan ran his hand through his black hair one more time, his head turning to look in the direction of the college where his brother was currently residing. He had to get there quickly and take Ms. Pasayo out of his brother's care and get her home, but he knew it would be rude if he simple walked away from this man and his child, strange as they looked. Perhaps it would be best for him to bring them along, fetch the egg, and then offer to buy them a snack or meal as a proper apology?
That seemed to be the best course of planning for the youth, and he turned his head back towards the man and child with a polite smile.
"I know this may be quite forward of me, but I do wish to properly apologize for my digression by treating the both of you to some kind of meal or snack. Unfortunately I need to go to my brother's office and get one of the children we are carrying for and bring her home, but...if you are welling I would not mind if you accompany me so I can properly apologize afterward?"
Houkan looked again towards the college's entrance, which wasn't that far from his actual position and his academy, and with a faint hope he looked back at the Rioge and Araran pair.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:45 am
The flustered man was quite amusing, running his hands through his hair and glancing this way and that - Rioge struggled to keep a straight face. Although his bottom was slightly sore the man seemed more upset, quite odd! Chuckling slightly as the man babbled on, Rioge padded forward before patting the man comfortingly on the knee, "S'ok. We'll go with you." He cooed, eager to distract his father and avoid bedtime for a little while longer - anything to avoid a nightmare. Despite the fact that he had only experienced one chilling dream, he had developed a slight phobia of sleep.. Not serious, but enough to make him wiggle out of bed for as long as possible.
Araran gave Rioge a puzzled look; normally the child didn't talk much to mortals unless they were the guardian's of another Ashe - like Raina. He expected the small child to remain quiet and wait to see what he, his father figure, said about the offer of a proper appology. But Araran wasn't bothered by his adopted son's eagerness, in fact, the prospect of his rather sheltered and timid child coming out and making desicions warmed him. "Of course. Your offer is greatly appriciated." He nodded and moved forward, next to Rioge ready to follow the man to pick up the child that he had mentioned.
Another good thing about the man's offer was that Rioge would get to interact with a human child. He had plenty of experience now with Ashe - the two of them had somehow managed to bump into quite a few; Julien, Aelia, Faustus (though he was only an egg). Yet he had no real meetings with human children, and although Araran assumed they wouldn't be overly different from the fae variety, it would still be good for Rioge to get some more experience under his belt. After all, if he wanted to grow up to be a good Unseelie he had to have as much knowledge and understanding as possible.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:10 am
Houkan breathed out a visible sigh of relief as the two strangers agreed to come along with him, even only to have a properly apology, and that seemed to suit his tastes just fine. He motioned politely for the pair to follow him, sending down a soft smile that was honestly friendly towards the small Rioge.
With his height of six feet Houkan was pretty sure he towered over anyone and that made him a bit intimidating, so to have a small child come up and gently pat him made him feel less nervous. He started to take a few steps towards the college and found that his stride carried him there faster than he had anticipated, probably faster than the two with him could keep up with, and he paused as he reached the doorway.
"If you will pardon me I'll go in and come right back out with Ms. Pasayo. It shouldn't take me more than a moment to do, so I beg your leave."
He didn't offer any more explanation then that as he dashed up the steps and through the door, making his way down several halls to a room that was slightly propped open. He spotted his goal resting against the window, taking in the final rays of sunlight, and without any hesitation he gathered her in his arms and made his way back outside. Piero would understand that Houkan had come by when he noticed Pasayo was gone, so there was no need to leave a note.
"I'm sorry if that took too long, shall we go some place from here? Any place that you may have in mind?"
Houkan's voice cut into the air as he stepped out of the building, bundle in his arms, and he smiled at the pair unaware of what he was introducing to them.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:32 am
The man lead them to a nearby building and excused himself as he went to collect the child. Araran nodded and stood patiently, stretching a hand out to Rioge who rubbed his eyes a little sleepily. As soon as the hand was outstretched though the small child grinned and took it - leaving his sleepy eyes alone and becoming fully awake again; eager to meet the human child. "What are human children like?" He asked, staring up at his father with his big blue eyes full of curiosity. Araran shrugged, "I know just about as much as you - not very much. Though I assume they are nearly the same as Ashe." His reply made Rioge baffled; it was an odd concept that his father - normally so full of information and knowledge - didn't know about something.
His confusion was quickly dissipated as the man returned, though Rioge was let down to not see another child his smile clung to his face as he tried to peer around to see if the child was following behind or something but on finding no child he sighed heavily. Looking slightly disheartened, he pulled himself closer to his dad - no longer really interested in the other man.
Araran was confused too, but being more observant than his son he spotted the bundle in the man's arms. Perhaps only a baby? Rioge had been tiny when he had first hatched - though he had very quickly grown both mentally and physically, something that he knew didn't happen with humans. Their growth was much slower, but then again - the Ashe's accelerated growth of intelligence and body might be explain due to the fact they had all the experience of their past life locked away in them..
"May I see?" Araran asked, moving forward to take a peek at what he presumed to be a human infant. "Pasayo is what you called her, correct?" He asked, recalling the name the man had used. Rioge perked up slightly as he realised that there was a child - only being carried by the man and not old enough to walk for it's self - and peered up at the bundle, like his father eager to see the mortal baby.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:55 am
"Ah, yes. My elder brother named her Pasayo as a sort of tribute to our own names and their meanings."
Houkan gently pulled back the blanket that Pasayo's egg had been wrapped in and slowly revealed her shining black shell, the evening light catching on its surface and making it seem to glow with an inhuman quality. Her wings were dropping lazy, perhaps for some reason she was tired or simply lacked the energy she usually showed, and Houkan smiled softly as he looked down at her. His glance seemed to pep her up if only just a little as her little wings fluttered slightly, a gentle hum issuing for a brief moment.
"I do believe I may have mislead you both on calling her a 'child' since she is still quite obviously just an egg, but my elder brother insists that we address her as if she were able to communicate with us properly. Please excuse my indiscretion."
He did not seem embarrassed to be speaking of an egg in such a manner, almost as if the fact she had a shell to cover her frame was the least of his worries.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:27 am
The shock at what the fae had presumed to be a human child turning out to be an egg of an Ashe made Araran's eyes widen. He was really starting to believe that Ashe had some sort of attraction to each other - why had it been a guardian of an ashe that had knocked over Rioge? It was very peculiar, even for someone used to the odd happenings of the faerie world and Araran dreaded to think how difficult it must be for mortal guardians to be dragged into his world. He motioned to the egg in a casual manner, acting as he expected a mortal to; "how strange. An egg? Do you know what it'll hatch into?"
His faked obliviousness almost forced Rioge to giggle but the child kept his straight face as he looked with more obviously faked surprise at the egg. "Wowie!" He exclaimed, his mouth wide with pretend shock. "A pretty big bird is going to come from that egg!" He could barely contain his laughter and Araran nudged him gently as a warning - he wouldn't want the polite mortal to think his adopted son rude or patronising.
"In answer to your earlier question.." Araran looked about for a coffee shop or something of the like where they could quickly talk with relatively no chance of people overhearing them. A small cheap looking place nearby seemed the ideal spot and he pointed to it. "Perhaps a quick drink there, after all. Rioge here needs to go to bed soon." His comment on Rioge's bedtime induced a groan from the child that almost made Araran smile - Rioge had obviously thought his father had forgotten about his weariness.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:55 pm
"I don't believe a bird will be hatching from this egg. My brother and I feel that something akin to a human-like child will come from it, or we'll both be greatly mistaken."
Houkan was still polite and smiled sweetly down at Rioge, his voice holding a gentle humor to it as he explained to the child that while he wasn't sure, he did know that it wasn't a bird. A late night phone call from his cousin had confirmed this in his presence, though his elder brother spoke of an encounter with a young man named Toulouse that had basically cemented the idea that no animal was residing in this egg.
"As for a treat at the local tea house? It would be my honor and pleasure to do this, not only as an apology but perhaps as a means of asking you a few questions? I feel that you would know about this egg I carry in my arms far more than you let on, if you'll forgive my boldness."
While Houkan may yet only be a human, his silver eyes did account for a few things. They didn't give him the ability to discern human from non-human or give him any magical gifts to share with the world, but in a way the choices made by his ancestors lead to his current lifestyle full of mythical creatures and strange company. He smiled at Araran without any further meaning, extending his arm outwards and towards the shop.
"Shall we go then?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 12:57 pm
The man's words sent a shock of suspicion through Araran - how had the man known that he wasn't a plain ol' oblivious human? He hadn't let his glamour slip and neither had Rioge, and although the child's comment had been almost too over acted, it didn't seem enough to make the man presume that they knew any more than the average human. His gaze lingered on the man's silvery eyes; they were not a natural colour for a human. Perhaps this man was not a mortal - he did care for an ashe after all? Yet Araran was unnerved that he had not seen this earlier and he strained his eyes, trying to pick through any glamour present. But nothing changed, the man retained his human shape.
"Of course. Lead the way." He replied cautiously, gesturing with an arm for the man to lead. His military mind was already calculating what the man could want. It was a possibility that their meeting might not have even been down to chance. Perhaps he had intended on meeting them and this whole accidental meeting was nothing but a staged affair, yet nothing could be made certain until they spoke further. Araran's curiosity left him with no choice but to talk with him, and anyway, if the man was part of the seelie court and attacked them he would: A) probably expose himself, and B) cause an uproar and possibly a war between the two courts. Two things that would land any fae in grave trouble.
Rioge however was not as suspicious as his father and trotted along happily to the entrance of the tea-house, humming quietly; glancing occasionally at the egg in the man's arms. It was an odd egg - obsidian with bizarre stich-like markings. Strangely dark for a seelie ashe; all the talk of the seelies described them of light and cheery folk compared to their darker brethren of the Unseelie court.. He did not however make any further comment as his father seemed to be brooding and Rioge was sure any further silly comments would irritate him.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:20 pm
"Would you like to hold this child? You seem interested in her and I believe she would be delighted to be held by someone other than either myself or my elder brother."
Houkan was speaking to Rioge as they walked, his gentle eyes studying the child who seemed less leery of him than the adult. While Houkan had no idea what Araran was thinking or plotting he was pretty sure he may have said something wrong as the others tone seemed to have changed right away. A little trickle of worry started to eat down his spine, though he knew he was probably over reacting like always. There was no need to doubt others.
"My elder brother once told me that he had a young man named Toulouse hold her once and afterward she spun around so much that it seemed like she could fly. I wonder if you would have the same effect on her?"
There was no hidden meaning in his words, no idle suggestion that he even had a vague idea of what Rioge or Araran really were. It was simply that nothing shocked Houkan, much like with his brother.
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 8:19 am
The man's offer stirred an excitement in Rioge - nobody had ever allowed him to hold their egg! He didn't even stop to ask permission of his father and held his arms out; forming a cradle for the man to place the dark egg in. Araran almost hissed with surprise and anger at his child's willingness to hold the egg. What would happen if he dropped it? Every member of the seelie court would come down on them like a tonne of bricks!! But he restrained himself from yelping at his son not to do it. Instead he motioned towards the egg and then to Rioge, hoping to advance into the safer out-of the way tearoom where he could quiz the man more closely without being overheard..
"Are you sure it is wise to trust such a valuable thing to a small child?" He asked, stalking forwards to stand next to his ashe. "Though I would trust Rioge with my life, it is rather busy here." He paused and motioned to the people moving past them; some of whom gave the egg curious glances. "Perhaps it is best to wait until we get inside to a less dangerous area?" he suggested, moving to the doorway to the tea-house and opening it.
Rioge pouted, glaring at his father with obvious dislike at the suggestion. He wanted to hold the egg now. He did not register the risk of the egg breaking and the uproar (and possibly war) that would cause and his childish mindset just saw this suggestion as a nuisance that was preventing him from holding the egg.
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X Purple--Platypus X Crew
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:34 pm
"I am sure that young...oh dear. I think all my earnest to apologize properly I have forgotten to even learn your names, let alone tell you my own."
Houkan's cheeks immediately blazed red when he came to realize his mistake and he stopped dead in his tracks, almost dropping Pasayo's egg himself. How could he have been so careless as to not even offer his name?!
"Please forgive me, and accept my introduction now if you would. My name is Houkan Hofmeister, though you may simply call me Houkan if you wish. May I have the honor of knowing the names of the company I am addressing?"
It was a strong combination of names, to be certain, a Japanese given name and German surname, yet Houkan did not seemed fazed by it at all.
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