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 Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:24 pm
It was his dad that told him there was a new baby that he might want to meet. Normally kids didn't really want to deal with babies at Chris's age, but Chris didn't have any problem with the idea of someone being smaller than him. That was what found him outside the daycare room during lunch that day, his food already eaten, a curious look on his face as he peeked into the playroom.
He didn't have any trouble getting in to play with the kids. The daycare workers knew him pretty well, after all. Although he did get a gentle lecture about getting back to his class once the bell rang.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:38 pm
Rook had shuffled away from most of the other children, noisy and sporadic they made him nervous. Plus one of them kept poking at the jewels on his arm and tugging the tiny link of chain on his leg. This breach of personal space friendly as it might have been was not ok with Rook. Only his sisters could do that.
The small gray skinned child found himself alone playing with an oddly paneled toy that came with a metal stick. If you hit the stick on the panels it made a soft dinging noise. Crimson eyes concentrated on the panels trying to figure out which ones made the best sound, every so often the boy would look up to check the status of the room. The next time he did he spotted a new child added to the mix, bigger than the others.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:43 pm
Much bigger, to be honest. Had he stood properly, Chris would have topped six feet, but on all fours as he was, he was only a little over four. He smiled slightly as he caught the boy looking at him, and approached in that strange, gorilla like lope of all fours. He walked on his knuckles, his hands far too big for his body.
He stopped in front of Rook and sat down about a foot and a half away. "So they replaced it," he said, eyeing the xylophone with a mix of amusement and guilt. "Hi."
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:52 pm
" Hi" Rook replied softly and with a smile. For all that he dwarfed the him Rook found this newcomer more calming than intimidating. " I'm Rook , What's your name?" He looked briefly down at the paneled toy again and thought of the other's reaction. " What is this?" It made music he knew, even if he hadn't figured out how to play an actual tune.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:55 pm
"I'm Chris," Chris said, noting the lack of fear in the boy and relaxing a bit. "It's a xylophone," he told him. "It's to make music on."
His eyes ran over the boy, taking in the different appearance, the three fingers and toes. His dad had been right, he thought. This looked like a kid he wanted to get to know. "Do you like music?" he asked quietly in those two voices of his. They had gotten deeper lately, and once in a while they even cracked.
It was driving him insane. He hated hearing his own voice crack.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:15 pm
Rook doubted he could get the instruments name out like the other boy had. he wasn't even sure how to make some of those sounds. Still it was nice to know the name of the thing. Maybe he could ask for one. Subconsciously the boy's tail reached out and tapped a panel getting a tiny ping out of it.
He nodded in response to Chris' question" Especially drums, Bishop and mom sing but they aren't good." They weren't horrible either but they weren't as good as the people they sang with on the radio. Music was steady and predictable to a degree and it fell into the group of things that didn't make the young boy jumpy or agitated. It was a bit strange to hear the other boy talk but was not something that bothered him yet.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:56 am
"Is Bishop your brother or sister?" Chris asked, his own tail coming up behind him and swaying slightly. He sure was a quiet little thing. Then again, Chris had been a bit quiet as a baby, too. Mainly because Wisp had always been there to make enough noise for both of them.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:39 am
" Sister, and Andrea's a sister too, I'm the only boy." The gray skinned boy grinned a little there, it wasn't always nice being different but he enjoyed being the only boy of the family. Especially becuase it meant the girls couldn't dress him in their clothes.
Rook's fingers drummed a steady three beat rhythm on the floor as he examined Chris. They weren't the same either but it was much closer than compares to his sisters. He wondered if the other boy's ink black skin felt rubbery like his own or smooth like the girl's. He also wondered what use the boy's tail was, Rook knew his own was useful when he swam but Chris' he was unsure about.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:58 am
He saw where the kid was looking and held out his gigantic hand to be felt. It wasn't rubbery, or soft, it was smooth and tough, rather like leather but thicker. "You can feel, if you want." Touch was an important part of being a kid, after all.
He wouldn't have minded the question about his tail, either, to be honest. He was predisposed to think of the kid as a comrade in arms. He vaguely wondered if the boy had the same strength issues as he did.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:29 am
Rook carefully reached three fingered hand out to touch the other boy. He was surprised to find the boy's skin felt sort of like his mother's purse. Confused he et his fingers trail the other boys palm and along his fingers like a very focused palm reader. "Does it change in water?" He asked curiously? Rook's skin got very slick and the jewels embedded in his body seemed to shine brighter when exposed to water.
He shifted to stretch his out and then small length of chain attached to the shackle on his left angle jingled softly.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:34 am
"Nope," Chris said, catching sight of the chain and wondering what it was for. He ignored that question. "Just gets wet. But it's hard to scratch," he added. There had been a funny little episode at the doctors where the needles kept breaking, but he didn't mention it. He never had gotten his shots, but the doctor (not knowing he was overheard) said that it didn't matter, because anyone bit by Chris would die before they got rabies.
Chris had almost laughed at that, but his Mom had been SO MAD. "Do you like to swim?" he asked.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:48 am
To that question Rook nodded enthusiastically " I love the water, I can even swim under it." Rook had a natural talent for swimming and no real fear of drowning. " Mom says my head and tail help me swim better than normal people." With a unique head shape that forced water aside and a tail he used like a rudder Rook was far more at hone in the water than his siblings. Although Andrea was still a much better swimmer than he or Bishop.
" And swimming only needs trunks, no other clothes." The young boy wrinkled his face at the thought of them. As long as he was warm and inside why did he need them at all.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:58 am
"That makes sense," Chris said with a nod of agreement, gently bringing his huge hand back to him. "I don't like clothes much, either," he added. He didn't. All of the shirts that fit his torso didn't work for his hands and forearms. His winter clothes were huge. They had to buy them as the Big and Tall men's store. He hated to think of what they would do when he was a teenager.
But Rook didn't look as if he would become gigantic like him, he thought gratefully. "You're going to love the beach," he said. "Have you seen it yet?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:25 am
Rook was definitely starting to like Chris, they shared common looks , senses of calm and a hatred for clothes. At Rook's young age it was more than enough for the other boy to be considered a friend.
Rook shook is head slowly " No, I saw on TV but we can't go. The pool is nice but a beach looks better." Sand looked a lot nicer to walk and lay on than the slippery tiled floor of a community pool. " I want to go" There was a slight whine in the boy's tone now.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:30 am
"It's too cold right now," Chris said with a knowing nod. "I hate cold. Cold water in cold weather would be the worse thing ever, if you ask me."
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