Welcome to Gaia! ::

It really was a beautiful day, that horrible storm had stopped, the sun was shining, and Gambino was still as beautiful as ever; Eight had decided today would be the perfect day to take Shauna out to the park, having decided that she spent enough time cooped up indoors at home and needed a little exercise and fresh air. So here they were, sitting in the middle of a part where Shauna was toddling after little squirrels with Tabby clutched tightly against her. "Skurll!" She gasped, pointing at a black one and looking up at her mother. There were so many of them! Black ones, brown ones, small ones, fat ones...and a little baby one!

Eight took a seat on a nearby bench with an exhausted sigh, never before had she had to run after a small child! Shauna had way too much spare energy, Eight would have to test that potion Elle had given them and see what kind of effect it had on her little foxy daughter. "Don't go too far, sweetie!" She called after her, taking off her shoes so her aching feet could rest.

Shauna blinked and looked back at her mother, giggling when she noticed how tired she was and toddling after a passing duck. So many animals!

At this point Shauna had decided to sit down five feet away from her mother and play contently with Tabby. She hummed a childish little tune consisting of only three notes she hummed over and over again, holding her plushie up by her front paws and making her dance to the beat...not that she knew what a beat was. All was well in her little world, Tabby was giving a great big concert in front of tons of people! Everyone loved Tabby, they were cheering and dancing with her beautiful music in Shauna's mind. The power of imagination was an amazing thing.

Both Eight and Shauna looked up when they heard other people nearby, Eight scooted over a bit to allow the woman to sit down on the bench as well, while Shauna stared curiously at the little boy. Wow! His wings were like...were like...the stuff that came from dragons after they breathed fire! "Brim? That's an interesting name." Eight smiled and looked over to Shauna to make sure she was still close by and behaving.

The grass! The trees! Shauna gasped and hugged Tabby protectively against her chest. What would happen if this boy touched them? "Buh...?" That was probably her way of saying hello at the moment, unable to say the actual word just yet. He looked so cool! But...the plants didn't like him, did they?

Eight giggled. "Never heard a parent call their child by a stone, major points on originality." Eight's left headwing lifted at Akina's question, smiling softly and glancing over at Shauna to check on her. "She's Shauna, and I'm Eight, your name is..?" It was only polite to introduce herself instead of them talking for god knows how long and suddenly going '...What's your name?' That would be just a little embarrassing for them both.

Did Eight ever meet a person on Gaia who didn't have any charges under their wing? It was almost like it was a requirement to have a companion on your home if you wanted to live here, how amusing.

Shauna's yellow eyes widened, hugging Tabby even tighter. Whoa! How did he do that?! It was so mean to the grass! What did it do to him?! ...Well...maybe it made him slip and fall...but could he do it to everything? There was a rock that Mommy had slipped on earlier, Shauna stood up and toddled around the area for a minute until she found a stone, picking it up and carrying it over to Brim. Could he do stuff with that?

Eight didn't think it was odd or anything, because the only reason her own mother had named her Penelope was because it meant Dream Weaver...but Penelope was a normal sounding name anyway, so it fit. Not like she used it anyway, the only ones that ever acknowledged her using a variation of the name were Ioyla and even Alex on occasion. The girl smiled and held out a hand for Akina to shake. "Akina? Lovely name! ...Glass?" The halfling's brow furrowed and she turned her head to watch Brim quietly for a minute, eventually letting a giggle escape her and shaking her head. "Yet another thing to add to my list. Living slippers, cat-like creatures given to me by storks, dreams from little eggs...expect the unexpected should be Gaia's motto." Come to think of it...how did Shauna arrive anyway? Was she really someone elses biological child that Asra had to give to her? No, she couldn't be...there would have to be an exact identical twin of both her and Alex for it to even be considered!

Brim may have been jealous of Shauna's tail, but Shauna was jealous of his wings...even though she had no idea what jealousy was; she merely wished she had wings as pretty as his and Asra's. The little fox child sat down on the grass again to watch Brim try and destroy the stone, giggling softly when he couldn't squeeze it. Maybe a rock was too hard! But...eating it was the way to go, it seemed. Shauna blinked and stared at a rock at her feet, poking at it and picking it up; Eight was quick to get up and snatch the rock from her daughter, petting her hair and laughing sheepishly. "No, no, sweetie. You'll get hurt if you eat a rock." She glanced at Brim and then up at Aki, mouthing a 'How did he not choke?' to her before she threw the rock away and sat down next to Akina on the bench again. "Indestructible kid you have there, Akina...kills grass, swallows rocks like they're a normal food..." Eight grinned. "Wish I was like that sometimes!" That's it Eight, keep that smile on your face.

Shauna merely stared at her mother with confusion that could beat every other person's confused face...ever! She hugged Tabby against her tightly and stood up again. "'Ock?" She plopped down next to Brim again and poked at a dead blade of grass as if to make sure it really was dead. How did he do that? She put a hand on the ground and stared at it, obviously waiting for something to happen. Why wasn't it turning black...? Shauna didn't want to kill the grass or anything...but what Brim could do was cool! Stupid grass! Change color!

Eight stretched her arms up over her head and behind her a bit, stretching her back out in the process. "What do you think it is about Gaia that attracts so many odd creatures?" Was there something in the water? Or was it just that Gaia was located in the perfect place for everyone to just come and live? There was no way she was complaining or anything, it was just a question Eight had always been curious about.

Brim was horrible. So horrible. Here Shauna was being a perfect little angel for her mother, and then this boy comes along and quickly becomes a bad influence. The fox blinked and stared at the rock after Brim burped it back up, reaching out to touch it but the funny noises the grass was making got to her first; that might be a bad idea, what if she started making the same noise the grass did?

Her tail flicked and she stared at Brim, pouting and just plucking a blade of grass off the ground with a cute smile. There! She destroyed grass! Was that good enough?

Shauna was completely oblivious to Brim's wandering eyes, pulling a few more blades of grass out of the ground to please the boy. They'd just met and already he was a horrible influence on Eight's innocent little baby...although it was going to happen sooner or later, Eight just preferred later to sooner. The grass had done nothing to Shauna, it was just the unsuspecting victim in Shauna's little attempt to do the same trick as Brim. She looked up when she heard a sharp snap of fingers from her mother, her sharp gaze telling her better than words that Eight didn't want her picking at the grass anymore; this didn't phase her in the least, for she followed Brim to the sand pit not even a minute later.

"I've never raised a child as young as her, have you...?" Eight sighed, holding her chin up in the palm of her hand and looking up at Akina. She held an interesting point, there were no other creatures like this anywhere outside of Gaia were there? Eight had never left Gaia, however, so she had no idea what it was like. "It's like Gaia's the center of reincarnation, eh? ...Never heard it put as a magical dumpster...but you should see the creatures I have at home. I have one called a Sylph, she's like...the size of a small cat...and she has wings, and talks...but only a few words. I summoned her from a scroll written by her parents. Then there's my Kinoko, which is like this little mushroom creature that repeats the last thing it hears. Mine has little wings and a scarf." She named her companions, despising the term 'pet', on her fingers. "I believe...eight or nine of my children are Tahnee...I have so many I'm losing track!" Eight smiled softly and glanced over at Shauna and Brim, her tail flicking a few times before draping across her lap like an animal. She wasn't the type to pick children out...but Shauna had to be one of her favorites; the child could cheer her up no matter what mood she was in, no matter how tired she was, and she was just so cute! It'd kill her if Shauna ever had to leave. "So what about you? Have any interesting beings at your home?"

Shauna could only hand him grass when Eight wasn't looking, so her progress was kind of slow. She eyed the mountain curiously, chewing on the ends of one of her braids and handing Brim some more grass. What did he plan on doing with that pile? Changing its color too?

Most of Eight's children could take care of themselves by now, or they had Pandora to help take care of them, and even she would admit she sometimes felt useless because of that. Eight rest her arms against the back of the bench, her own legs crossed like Akina's. "Oh, really?" She listened quietly at Akina listed everything that lived in her house, smiling brightly and sitting up straight. "I also have a Dream...she's kind of like this bird that seems to feed off any moments of peace I have, she likes to grow plants everywhere...and then there's this weird slipper shaped like a dog that's...alive." Eight gave a shrug, looking at Akina with a 'Don't ask, I don't even know' look before she continued. "I have a creature called a Wuffyn, grew up with him, and then there's an Aelde named Pippa...she looks like a horse with a horn and wings, and a Koru named Cosette, she's this little electric cat..." Eight grinned, laughing as well and shaking her head. "I wonder if any other place is like this."

Shauna chewed thoughtfully on Tabby's ear, staring at the sand, dirt and grass mountain. It needed something...but what? She reached out to pick up a couple rocks and placing them around the top of mountain like a wall and clapping her hands with happiness and looking to Brim as if waiting for his approval. Did he like it? Was it good?

Eight snickered softly and nodded in agreement. She just happened to glance over to check on Shauna when Brim turned his head at Akina's last words. "...Ha! It seems there's one thing that interests Brim about this conversation. Ever wonder what goes on in a child's head?" Although in Brim's case, did they want to know what he was thinking? He seemed rather one track minded for someone so young, just by looking at the grass it seemed destruction was the first thing on his mind.