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 Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:59 am
Who: Kinsey Finch, Hazeline Lee, Xiu and Ethan Blake
Where: Toy store in Durem
Kinsey Finch had been on the job hunt for a few weeks now, and she was having very little luck. It seemed that no one was hiring. She was a waitress of many skills, and while she might not want to continue down that career path, she wasn't going to be picky. A pay check was a pay check. Walking down the street, the short-haired youth hung her head, staring at dusky sneakers as she strolled down the sidewalk. There must be someone in Durem that needed another employee!
Kinsey paused at a crossroads, waiting for the little green man as she leaned against the large metal pole. Hmm, what to do, what to do. What hadn't she tried yet? She was pretty sure she tried all the dinners and cafes in town. She'd applied at all the little mom n' pop shops. So that left her with chain stores, did it? The young woman trotted across the street and took a look around. Hmm. She hadn't been in this part of the city before. Tipping her head to the side, the boyish youth decided she might as well see if these little stores were hiring before skulking down to chain stores.
A few stores later, Kinsey actually got an application. The woman behind the register of the toy store handed her a sheet and a pen; Kinsey settled at the little toy table to fill it out. It only occurred to her breifly what a strange sight she might be, stuffed at a table built for toddlers.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:34 am
Xiu stared at the plush toy before him in bewilderment. It had the most disturbingly unnatural shape any toy could take. For one thing, its glassy eyes were of a rather disturbing red and the creature did not seem to have any appendages. It was, to describe it simply, a round ball of rusty coloured fluff with red eyes and a zipper running down its middle. What had made the toy a whole lot more harder to swallow to any self respecting parent was that if you pulled the zipper all the way down, the toy’s stomach would open to reveal a whole set of removable organs.
‘HEY! WHAT’S INSIDE? Learn about what makes you tick with Mr. Grommer and friends from Frankenstein’s family’ was the title printed in red ink. Xiu frowned. He couldn’t read the words printed on the plushie’s name card but the toy was leaving him with a bad aftertaste. There was something unnerving about pulling the zip down and having a rain of organs falling out of a rather ugly looking creature. Xiu had been shocked by this and had quickly stuffed the said organs back into the toy. Placing the offensive toy back onto the shelf, Xiu then moved on to the next set of toys featured on the shelf next to it. The toys there were no better. With a pink that was bright enough to blind the visually challenged, Xiu stared at the row of dolls made to resemble the female race. Picking up a doll, Xiu then began to trace his fingers along the doll’s facial feature.
All this was done without the knowledge of the shopkeeper as Xiu had floated in the open door when the shopkeeper was busy answering a phone call and as the raevan made no noise when he glided silently across the tiled floor, the shopkeeper was blissfully unaware of the raevan’s presence in her shop.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:24 am
It was most unusual to see Ethan within a shop that was practically bursting at the seams with toys... In fact it was bizarre to see him doing any shopping at all; why bother when you can have a PA do it for you?
He hadn't stepped foot inside a toyshop since his own childhood days. Back when the best toy was a wooden train. It was indeed interesting to marvel at the electronic puppies that could recognise their owner’s voice, however childish they seemed. However, the reason for his visit to the shop was, unsurprisingly, business related. A major client of his had just had a new addition to the family and he would be meeting with them for lunch in just a few hours. A friendly gift was always a good thing for business, and seeing as he was in the town centre it wasn't too much hassle to look around for something for the baby.
He tapped his foot pondering what manner of toy to purchase for a young baby. His eyes surveyed a selection of different jigsaws in front of him. "Unless they're child is a genius I doubt they'd need a puzzle for another couple of years." He noted to himself, turning away from the puzzles and striding down the aisle searching for something more suitable.
His gray eyes did not find a perfect gift but did find something that caught his undivided attention. A youth was examining dolls, he would've overlooked him, like anyone else in the shop - uninterested and deemed unimportant - if it had not been for the lack of anything from the torso down. He'd never seen anything like it in his life. Whoever and whatever they were, they were certainly extraordinary enough to distract him from his hunt.
Approaching them, he coughed and constructed his most polite smile; "Excuse me for interrupting your browsing.. May I ask a question?" His approach was very to the point, but he'd learnt in his years of business that there was no point beating around the bush..
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:20 am
Kinsey didn't look up at the sound of a voice, not right away. She was too busy scribbling down her references in pink ink. "Huh? Hang on a second," she muttered, slipping the pen behind her ear as she looked over the sheet one last time. Well, it was probably a good sign people already thought she worked here- Oh. He was talking to that fellow over there. Oh. Oh! That was another Raevan! "He doesn't have legs because he's a Raevan," the youth blurted, assuming that's what the strange man was going to inquire.
She tried to stand and managed only to get herself caught on the tiny table. The woman flailed, off-balance, and tried to catch herself, only there wasn't anything to grab. Kinsey fell with a yelp, hitting the floor with a good thunk. She cursed under her breath, but it wasn't the knock to her head that was bothering her. If the owner of the store saw that fantastic display, she wouldn't hire Kinsey, for sure.
And now, she was actually kind of STUCK. Great! Oh lady-with-the-shop, please don't look over.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:51 pm
Xiu turned around at the sound of another’s voice addressing him. It was crisp and sharp and coming from a…man? And rather old looking too; like the human that disapproved of him back home. Xiu was dismayed. Did he do something wrong already? Perhaps the other did not like him holding the doll. Mrs. Bediever (the old lady) certainly was like that. She had initially freaked out whenever Xiu had picked up something at home with the claim that he’d murder them and suck their souls dry. It had been rather tiresome to Xiu as it would seem that he was not allowed to actually do anything. It was not so bad when Hazeline or Joshua was around but they often had to leave for places like ‘school’ and ‘work’.
Coming back to the doll, the white haired raevan gave a glance at the doll he was holding. There was not outward physical damage to the said toy. Xiu couldn’t help it if the doll’s eyes kept closing itself every time he tilted it and the fact that there was a hole in her mouth. It was already broken before he had it and Xiu wanted no part in being the culprit. Floating over to the old man (Xiu had classified anyone older than Hazeline as ‘old’), Xiu was just about to point this out when another human had interrupted their conversation. A raeven? He had been called that before. Did that human know about his kind then? Xiu was curious. It was not often that he met other raevans or people who knew about them. However, his questions were also left unsaid as the human that had just spoken seemed to have lost her balance while trying to stand. Xiu did not blame her. With such crudely made appendages like that for moving, it was a wonder that the humans did not fall more often. But Xiu was sympathetic all the same. Giving a nod to the older of the two humans to indicate that he had not forgotten him but had more pressing matters at hand, Xiu floated over to where the human girl was and offered a hand.
‘Need help?’ the blue eyes seemed to say as the raevan observed Kinsey with a slightly amused expression on his face. Xiu knew that it was improper to laugh at another’s predicament but…that human was looking rather comical …
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:18 pm
Ethan did not appreciate having someone else butt into his business, even if they were supplying him with the answer he wanted. The woman who had spoken was young looking with short, messy, dark violet hair. He nearly tutted aloud; the girl was making a fool out of herself as she floundering around, trying to escape being trapped by a small kiddie plastic table. He restrained himself from making a remark as the 'raevan' offered a helping hand with a smile creeping across his features. If he wished to discover more about what exactly a 'raevan' was it wouldn't be wise to insult someone who could tell him what he wanted..
"Ah," Ethan sighed, also moving towards the girl - offering his assistance if it was needed. "I'm afraid I do not know what a raevan is.. Maybe it is my age, ignorant as I am to the terms of youngsters now a days." He kept the tone of his voice polite and inquisitive, only a slight hint of his sarcasm creeping through.
Whilst helping the girl at least he got to stand closer to the 'raevan' to examine him. It appeared to be a male, despite his rather feminine appearance; long braided white hair and cornflower blue eyes, rimmed with subtle red makeup.. Or was that naturally present? He couldn't be entirely sure; the boy certainly had other rather peculiar features, so it wouldn't the oddest thing about him. He had wings. A pair of them, in an oriental style - stone like in appearance, but definitely real and attached to his back.. And at the core of his body, where his torso gave way to empty space and curling ribbon was a symbol, radiating white light. He smiled pleasantly at the 'raevan', willing him to reveal more about himself.
He was so peculiar Ethan itched to learn more about him. He wished the boy would break his silence and say something.. Could he even talk?
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:58 pm
Naturally, Kinsey would have been most irritated and refused help. She would have also told off the older man, if she had been able to read his thoughts, or something similar. But as the case may be, she was still relatively new to the world of Raevans, and it would be bad form to snap at either male. Especially the one offering to help her up. The violet-haired youth smiled and took the Raevan's hand, pulling herself up in one fluid motion. Now she had to extract herself from the plastic mess, doing so carefully as she let the white Raevan go.
"Thanks," she said, offering the male a smile. "I'm Kinsey Finch. And yourselves?" she asked, looking over to the male who had first approached the Raevan. She could only assume they weren't together, since he didn't even know what a Raevan was. "Oh, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her about this." She nodded to the clerk, blushing slightly. "I promise I don't usually fall over the floor like that.
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:17 pm
Xiu was ecstatic! The other had accepted his help and raevan’s smile widened; not in amusement this time but in delight. He had made himself useful for once and was rather proud of it. Floating back a little to give the other some room, Xiu was about to mention his name when he realized that he was still holding the doll that he had been inspecting earlier. The said doll had now acquired a rather messy looking mop of hair as Xiu had been careless with it in his eagerness to help the human. Xiu was troubled. Would he have to buy the said toy now that it was…damaged? He hoped not as he had nothing to exchange it for. ‘Money’ was the word that was most often used to describe the little pieces of paper that changed hands for the obtainment of an object and Xiu had an inkling that it would be the same pieces of paper that would be required to purchase the doll. Hazeline had money but she was currently in one of the other shops discussing something with its owner and Xiu had been allowed to do some exploring on his own. His wanderings however were limited to the shops located on the same street as the shop Hazeline was in. Xiu wondered if he should go look for her…
But was this piece of plastic really worth all the trouble he would cause Hazeline? No, it wasn’t Xiu thought determinedly as he gave a thoughtful glance to the doll once more. The most probable thing that should be done decided Xiu, was to simply place the doll back where he had found it after smoothing its hair a little.
Having made up his mind, Xiu now wondered what would be the best way to excuse himself from the presence of the humans before him. The girl had asked for a name after giving hers hadn’t she? Xiu was uncertain as the word ‘name’ had not been mentioned but her tone had been questioning. “Xiu,” Xiu hazarded a reply. Although the tone used was polite and the answer short, one couldn’t help but be reminded strongly of the ‘upper classes’ after hearing the raevan speak.
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:28 am
Kinsley, with the boy's help, had wriggled out from the death-trap of a table and seemed rather embarrassed about humiliating herself. She blushed as she asked for them not to inform the shop manager about it. Ethan nodded as he observed the form clasped in her hand and the pen tucked behind her ear. He concluded (from the combination of not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the manager and the filling out of the form) that she was applying for a job of some sort. "I'll not say a word. Are you going to work here?" Perhaps she'd be willing to help him find the right type of toy. Surely she'd be eager to score brownie points with the manager?
The raevan seemed like a polite lad; he'd keen to help Kinsley escape from her predicament. However, he was evidently a little confused by his surroundings and what was being asked of him, as she inquired about their names. Perhaps he could only speak Chinese? His outfit and wings definitely seemed to hint that he was from that part of the world.. But when he answered Kinsley's request for names, Ethan felt a satisfied grin creep across his lips. So the raevan could speak and his name was Xui - A fittingly oriental name to go with his appearance.
He smiled at both Xui and then Kinsey, pleased that she'd tempted the boy into speaking and giving Ethan his name. "I'm Ethan Blake. A pleasure to meet you Xiu, Kinsey." He spoke slower than usual, sounding out his words with better diction so if the boy did have problem translating or understanding, it would be easier for him. He pondered whether to bow to Xui, it was the polite thing to do when greeting someone in China, he knew that from his years of travelling through business. But decided not to, instead settling for taking his hand and shaking it.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:43 pm
"Xiu," Kinsey repeated, trying the name out for herself. The exotic Raevan looked uncertain; she wasn't sure what exactly had made the male nervous. "It's a very pretty name," she offered, hoping that was all that was wrong, a case of nerves. He seemed fine when he pulled her out of her little self-induced catastrophe, after all. She had to doubt he was going to rat her out, but maybe that was the cause of his sudden case of uncertainty? He didn't like doing 'bad things'?
The thought was breifly shoved out of the youth's mind; she had almost forgotten the older man was even here. "Oh, ah, thank you," she replied, turning to face him. It wouldn't do to irritate him, not after he confirmed he'd keep her secret. "And I'd like to. The diner I worked for just closed down," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "The owner didn't even have the decency to tell us the place was for sale until some big developer bought it, and now it's gonna get torn down and turned into some fashion store, I guess, so I'm well out of luck!" she carried on, only vaguely away she was spilling her guts out to a total stranger.
She felt her cheeks heat and hoped the males wouldn't notice, ducking her head and fussing with her bangs, as though that were the source of all her troubles and not her big mouth. "So, what brings you guys here?"
Time to change the topic, oh yes.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 8:55 pm
Xiu stared as the other shook his hand. Was this common among humans then? Hazeline had done it on their first meeting but Xiu had thought that it was some grave acceptance ritual or something but now Ethan was doing it as well. Tilting his head slightly, Xiu was surprised at the hand texture of the other. It was different from Hazeline’s and his. It felt…stronger? More weathered?
The man was also starting to speak but more slowly that before. Xiu was puzzled at this. Although he was gratified, Xiu felt a little offended. Did the other think he was…slow? Xiu flicked his wings in slight agitation. Yes, he could not understand most of the words being spoken and yes, he probably still lacked the ability to pronounce certain words but that didn’t mean that people had to treat him differently. Smiling politely at Ethan, Xiu then gently shook his hands free of the other’s grip and slowly folded his arms to indicate that he’d rather not have his hands shaken again. Xiu was not too fond of close contact just yet.
"So, what brings you guys here?"
Xiu turned his attention to the woman who had introduced herself as Kinsey. She had asked another question hadn’t she? But what did it mean? There were certain words that Xiu knew and they were ‘What’, ‘you’ and ‘here’. So the other had asked what was he doing here?
Xiu hoped so…
“Wait for…Hazeline,” Xiu said, albeit a little hesitantly.
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Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 9:33 am
The silky soft touch of Xiu's hand was pleasant against Ethan's older palms. It somehow reminded him of the skin of babies, soft and still fresh - without damage from many years of use. However, Xiu seemed a little disgruntled by the slowed speech, taking back his hands, rustling his wings and crossing his arms. Ethan winced inwardly, he had intended to be patronising, but he'd managed to insult the raevan anyway. And so, the change of topic was welcomed, allowing him to slip out of the fairly awkward situation.
"Me? Ah, I'm here to buy a gift for a business partner of mine. They recently had a baby and I thought it would be pleasant to get them something." He gestured around at the abundance of toys, visibly taken aback by the sheer amount and diversity available.. "Yet I can't quite find anything suitable.." He sighed wearily before taking interest in Xiu's motives for being at the shop, eager to gleen more information about the raevan.
"Hazeline? Is that your.. mother?" He inquired cautiously, what would Xui's mother look like? But if this was yet another awkward blunder on his behalf, he didn't want to sound too pressing and cause more offence to the intriguing child.
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 6:58 am
Well, Ethan already covered her next question, so Kinsey just nodded politely and waited. It probably wouldn't do any good to hassle Xiu, he looked a little confused to begin with. The youth turned to Ethan and nodded. "Well, is the baby a boy or a girl?" she asked, probably much more able to help him than she was the Raevan, she figured. If Xiu was just waiting for his mother, they should just keep him company.
"We can help you look for something, right Xiu?" The young woman flashed the oriental Raevan a grin, trying to make sure he didn't feel left out, or something. Feeling lonely was the pits, especially when you were waiting for something. "It's kinda fun to look through toys, even if you are too old for them." She chuckled softly. Being one of...many, she hoped she'd be able to pick out a good toy when she saw one.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:10 am
Recalling what the gender of the child was Ethan squinted in concentration... "I do believe it was a girl.." He nodded, recalling how the father had cooed something about the little baby having her mother's eyes. He'd never been much of a family man, and the sappy tone of the fathers voice had made him smirk. "I was thinking something along the lines of a stuffed animal or something similar?" He gestured to an aisle filled with plush animals.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
He walked into the entrance of the aisle regarding a shelf full of blue fluffy penguins all staring out at him with shiny button eyes. He placed a hand on the head of one of them and ruffled the fluffy creature's hair, waiting for a reply from the girl or the raevan. Hopefully they'd know what would be most suitable... It would be embarrassing if Ethan presented the new father with something totally unsuitable.
He flicked the lable of the penguin, revealing the price tag - $15 "Oh, and price is no real issue..." He added with a small wry smile. After all, this small token to a business partner would help to build up a nice relationship that he was sure would induce new benefits.
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:39 am
“Mother?” enquired Xiu softly as he eyed Ethan. The word sounded foreign to Xiu and the raevan was curious. “No, not mother. Family,” replied Xiu before looking curiously at Ethan. He had thought that Hazeline was his…mother but Hazeline had told him that they were family and yet, surely Ethan would not expect Xiu to be waiting for someone other than a member of the family would he?. So, was a mother a specific ‘title’ assigned to a certain person within the family? A family, as far as Xiu could make it out, compromised of a group of people living together and each person had a specific role to carry out within the family. Was a mother a very important member of the family?
So many questions and yet so few words available to Xiu to express them. Xiu was starting to feel exasperated with himself and his inability to communicate as well as he would like to when the conversation shifted to something else. The two humans were exchanging words and Xiu had heard his name mentioned by Kinsey. Ethan then had proceeded to an aisle containing some…oddly shaped creatures. Xiu floated after the man and gave the penguin a gentle stroke with his hands. It was soft and…fluffy. Xiu smiled as he picked the toy up. Xiu longed to squeeze it like he had seen some small humans do with their not-alive creatures but deep inside, Xiu knew that the the thing he was holding was not his to meddle with so the raevan merely contented himself with stroking the the stuffed toy. “It is…nice,” Xiu said as he looked from Kinsey to Ethan. Not sure to whom he should offer the toy to.
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