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 Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:53 pm
Ishizuke was glad for an escape from the house. It wasn't the actual people, but rather the atmosphere that was oppressive at the moment, and she was just not interested in staying there any longer than she had to. She got the sneaking suspicion Angelique was going to explode at any moment, and if she did, she didn't want to be around when it happened. She was also getting rather sick of Juno's blatant favouritism. It was just....insufferable. So she had taken the small bag Juno had given her and left. (The bag hadn't been a true gift; Ishi was pretty sure it was supposed to hold something medical, possibly something deadly. At the moment, it simply contained the Mace Juno had insisted she take, for fear of a repeat of her time out with Galleai.)
She wasn't entirely sure where she was going this time around, but her entire body tensed up when she realized she was going in the direction of the park she had last headed out to...and instead she turned around and headed in the opposite direction, walking briskly toward the library and its sculpture garden. That was better-lit than most of the places she tended to go, and she didn't want to go anywhere too dark for a very long time. She didn't have the nerves (or the stomach) for it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:57 pm
So the door had been locked by the time Vox woke up enough to go and check it, his body cold from laying on the sidewalk where Rit had tossed him after their latest 'discussion'. The toddler honestly couldn't see why she was so upset, skin grows back and it wasn't a really large bite, but the woman had seemed quite irate as she did her best to stop the bleeding that was pouring out of the boy child that rolled around on her kitchen floor.
Still he apparently would never be allowed to bite Caravel, even if the boy had dared him to do it enough times that Vox had complied to simply shut him up instead of hunger/want, and the little bruise he sported on his face from the fall into the yard let him know that very well. Oh well, he'd heal quick enough and all of this would be mildly blown over by tomorrow, so seeing as he was now locked out for the moment he needed something to do. The town wasn't a stranger to him as Rit or Galley, sometimes even Port and Aft, had taken him here and there with them as they went about, so he just let his little feet wander.
There was no need for him to fear anyone, when Vox was really the one to be feared.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:41 am
Ishizuke was not in the mood for company; the girl had had enough of everyone around her and was out at night looking for the solitude she usually got. At least in that respect, her nocturnal habits were beneficial. And it was still cold at night, which again rather pleased her. There was just something calming about being alone with street lights, stars, and a chill breeze. Ishizuke tipped her head back and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths just to calm herself more. It was good to release all that tension, and as she neared the library, she was feeling happier than she had in a long time. Now that she was finally out and not worried about anything, she had a chance to think.
And that was precisely what she intended to do. Slipping into the sculpture garden, she climbed onto a bench and from there scrambled onto the low wall that enclosed the place. Leaning back against a lamppost, she looked up at the stars and began to turn over the past week's events in her head. There was a lot to think about.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:55 pm
One wold think a creature like Vox could see well in the dark, or well in anything, but that wasn't really true. His best sight came underwater, regardless of the light there (really odd), so to be out and wandering in the dark like this made the toddler feel slightly...vulnerable.
There was no water nearby should he need a place to escape and hide in, no adults nearby should he need to act as an innocent child in dire need of help, and should a predator much larger than he (currently) was he figured he would be at their mercy. Eventually when he grew a little bigger none of this would matter, but for now . . .
Vox continued his little steps until he managed to catch the ending actions of someone in front of him scampering over something, their foot clearing his line of sight before it settled against a seated figure. They were illuminated by a lamp (lord knows how Vox had wandered here and into the garden), and thanks to the glare of the lights he could not make out who or what it was.
So naturally curious about predator or prey status, the little toddler wandered closer.
" . . . . "
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:55 am
Ishizuke wasn't paying much attention to anything at all, so the sound of footsteps went completely unnoticed until they drew in close, somewhere almost directly beneath her. Glancing down and blinking as she adjusted from the dark of the sky to the light that shone down on the sidewalk, she frowned when she finally distinguished the figure. A kid...a little one. Huh. What was something that small doing out here this late? She almost said nothing, but that would have been wrong. If the kid was lost, it was her job to make sure nothing bad happened to him. After all, the last time she had wandered about lost...
"You okay, kid?" she asked quietly, reluctant to disturb the night's quiet with her own voice. "Kinda late for you to be out, isn't it?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:50 pm
"I'm probably safer alone than you are."
Vox's reply was quick and to the point, his face finally raising up to get a better view of whom he was speaking to. It was a girl, one who was older than his this time, and he sucked against his teeth to show his disappointment on the matter. Girls were generally a waste of his time, and he felt this person would be no different.
"And I'm doing fine. You should worry for yourself though, since you stand out a lot more. Are girls allowed to be out this late?"
He stepped more into the light, his shadow casting behind him against the ground.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:03 pm
Ishizuke considered all the possible responses to what the child said as she looked at him, not entirely dumbfounded but mildly impressed that something that small spoke so coherently. "I don't stand out any more or less than you," she said levelly, regarding the toddler's wet hair with vague interest. "At least I'm not leaving a trail of water wherever I go. You're gonna catch pneumonia out here with wet hair."
She decided to completely ignore the dig about girls; it wasn't worth her time to respond, particularly to a child maybe half her size.
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:58 pm
"My hair isn't wet, it just looks that way. If you were to touch it you'd find that it's completely dry, but I would have to bite you for reaching out at me."
Vox moved a little closer to this older girl, his face still in a neutral expression thanks to him trying to judge her, but that was about it. It wasn't like he had anything more or less to say now, not that he was chatty to begin with, but standing in silence was unnerving.
"You have brighter hair than I do, and I can defend myself."
Was he kidding? The boy was a mere toddler!
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:08 am
Ishizuke's expression never changed, though the corner of her mouth twitched for the barest moment as she considered the fact that this creature was a toddler and using the subjunctive mood as if he had been educated in grammar since before birth. Odd, but not the strangest of things that she'd seen, so she didn't bother to say anything to him about that.
The later comment, however, seemed almost like a threat, and Ishizuke raised an eyebrow at that one. "I am perfectly capable of defending myself as well," she replied. "What a coincidence. ...Not that I go looking for trouble," she added quietly, pausing to brood for a moment. Then she looked down at Vox. He wasn't a match for a large dog, not that she'd say something. It would probably get angry if she did. Huh.
"Do your parents know you're out?" she asked after a moment, tipping her head back again and returning her gaze to the sky.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:01 am
"I don't have parents, but there is someone who pretends to take care of me. She tossed me outside after I bit someone again and they locked the door."
Vox rubbed his elbow gingerly, noticing for the first time it was scraped and a little tender from being tossed, and a frown creased over his face. He would get them all back for this, they would see, when he was larger and there was nothing to hold him down. Even now the crucifixes he normally wore were tucked away and hidden somewhere, Sloop being oddly easy to terrify into following commands, and he knew eventually something that would only make him frown, not pain him.
"How about yours? Yours are probably worried about you, unless you wandered out too, in which case they may be looking for you. Rit won't come looking for me until she's managed to calm that harpy of a sister of hers down."
Vox hated Brig, oh yes. He disliked her a lot, but he was staring to dislike the way this blond girl was looking at him too - like she was sizing him up for something. He could try to size her up too, but for what?
It's not like she was edible (in his opinion) and he probably couldn't take her down without too much of a fight or a scene. It was best not to do anything. . .for now.
"Did you run away to look at the sky?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:51 am
"Good job," Ishizuke said vaguely, only half-listening to Vox. So it had gotten itself kicked out for attacking people...that was interesting enough, but she was still fairly sure that she would be able to take it on if it came after her. She wasn't particularly frightened.
"I can take care of myself, and Juno knows I'm out. If I don't come back and it's getting near sunrise, he'll no doubt send someone looking for me." She answered his question matter-of-factly, eventually getting bored of the stars that she could make out through the street lights and looking back at Vox as he asked the next question.
"I didn't run away for anything at all," she answered. "I came out for air. I don't particularly like being inside, and I come out at night. I just didn't plan on doing much tonight, so looking at the sky was the thing to do." She shrugged. "I like the statue garden. It's quiet and kind of lit and pretty at night."
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:37 pm
"I don't think I've ever been this way. Rit and I tend to stick to familiar places, or places where she can fire her gun. We don't venture often to where I can run off or be taken easily by strangers- not that they would keep me. Rit says she'd be paid to take me back, whatever that means."
Vox had a vague idea of what it meant, but he wasn't about to say. He was keeping his profile somewhat down for now, or he simply didn't care. This was a fight there was a chance he could avoid because he knew he couldn't win it.
"We usually go by the lake, since Rit likes water almost as much as I do. I want to see it when it's not frozen though, because I want to swim in it and claim it as my own."
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Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:40 am
So whatever this kid was, he was trouble. Ishizuke frowned a little bit, but she really didn't want to move or bother herself with trying to figure out what on earth it was that the kid meant. So she simply listened, mind half-elsewhere. If she could come out during the day, well, in all honesty, she could avoid some of the more peculiar, worrisome strangers. Or at least, that was what she assumed. Shady people came out at night, not during the day. It was harder to be shady during the day.
"Pretty sure you can't own a lake on public property," she remarked, rubbing her chin and then yawning slightly. She was almost certain that wasn't exactly what the toddler meant, but it didn't stop her from making the remark.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:43 pm
"Sure you can, or you can at least be the Master of it and not let anyone in. Rit says that I'm too little and too stupid to try, but when I'm bigger and stronger I will take what is owed me."
Vox sounded so sure of himself that it was a little silly, a child spouting off such lines, but he seemed very pleased as well.
"Oh, my name is Vox by the well. You will do well to remember it, and I may spare you."
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:20 pm
Ishizuke wasn't paying a great deal of attention to Vox, but when he spoke his last words, she looked down at him, blinked a few times, and quirked a crooked smile. So this little thing thought it was going to be the boss of her? That was......an amusing thought, certainly. Fighting to keep from shaking her head and laughing softly at him, she simply watched him for a moment and then nodded very slowly.
"Okay, Vox. Whatever you say," she said. "I'm called Ishi, but I doubt that's of any importance to you." Tossing her head a little bit, she looked up at the sky again and wondered what the hell she was doing. She was sitting there, in nearly dead silence in the middle of the night, speaking to a toddler that acted like it owned the world. Of course, Ishi was used to people speaking like they owned the world. Juno did it as well. So it wasn't that peculiar...and she guessed that was just a part of life for her at this point.
She was born into a group of scientist. Weirdness was a fact of life.
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