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 Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:25 pm
Casia sat on the stool and looked at the menu, which was written in chalk over the counter. Jane had decided that the two needed more bonding time, and with her usual firm logic she decided that eating out for lunch would be a treat. As a frugal young lady, she had dragged the siren off to a deli, and the choices for today appeared to be sandwiches, soup, and cold salads of various and sometimes mysterious origins. Balefully, the girl looked at Jane. "There's a burger place right down the corner." she said hopefully. Jane looked back at her, pulling a characteristic eyebrow raise. "This is better." she affirmed.
Sighing, Casia gave the deli another cursory glance and spotted some things floating in jars. Morbidly curious, she asked "What're those?" Jane looked. "Pickles." Casia frowned. "I thought pickles were long and green." Jane shrugged. "Pickles can be different things too." This earned her a rare look of fascination that stood out from the siren's normally stubborn silence. "Why would they do that?" she asked concernedly. One kind of pickle seemed to be more than enough for anybody.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:36 pm
Today it was Dartie taking the toddlerific panda out, and the pair had ended up in the deli for lunch. Unlike Casia, Shiraz didn't really care WHAT the pickles were, seeing as they were green and plump and looked edible that was all she really needed.
"Can we get one of them?" the toddler asked, pointing to the pickles and looking up at the woman carrying her, who nodded back.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:22 pm
Jane shrugged again. "Some people like pickled peppers." she stated. "Life is a diverse salad." Glancing along the counter, she saw a man falling asleep in his soup, an employee cleaning a glass, and woman come in carrying a panda. None of these were unusual to Jane, who was at home with eccentric people of all sorts thanks to a rebellious streak and a mother who had encouraged her not to be. However, even she did a double take when the panda talked. Despite her limited expertise with Asian wildlife, she had been fairly sure they didn't communicate much and she examined it more thoroughly. Now she did, it looked sort of off. Not a panda, but kind of humanish. Another child? She looked at Casia, who was tracing music notes on the table with a finger. This could be a good opportunity. If she called the woman over, Casia could make a friend whose name she would actually know. And furthermore, it was probably a girl. The siren needed more female friends.
Situation thoroughly examined, Jane pasted a cheerful smile on her face and waved at the woman with the panda child. "Hello!" she trilled as Casia looked at her with horrified embarrassment, "Won't you sit with us?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:27 pm
Dartie and Shiraz blinked in unison, sharing twin looks of confusion but the older woman shrugged and approached, seating herself and the toddler down by Jane and Casia.
"Lo." Shiraz mumbled a bit, waving somewhat at the Siren though she was more intent on sort of leaning her chin on the counter in front of her. Dartie was a bit more vocal in her addressing of Jane, though not by much.
"Hi...nice to meet you?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:43 pm
Casia looked reluctantly at the panda. "'Lo." Jane elbowed her and she glared at the woman quickly before turning back to the other girl. "Hello." she amended, but the younger girl didn't seem to even be paying attention. This was fine by Casia and she kicked her legs in her chair as she waited for Jane to finish trying to be social.
Jane nodded. "I'm Jane, Jane Greystone. And this is my..." She paused, and looked at Casia. She didn't quite dare to say 'daughter'. "This is Casia. Casia?" The siren looked up from the counter she was studying so intently once more and let out another reluctant "Nice to meet you." Jane smiled. "And you are...?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:49 pm
"Charlene Phillip Dartsmoore, though Dartsmoore or Dartie is the general calling. That is Shiraz." the woman didn't feel it necessary to bring the child's full name into play.
The panda gave the siren a look. "Where does it say what food they have?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:58 pm
"Nice to meet you, Dartsmoore." Jane said diplomatically. "And you too, Shiraz." Having run out of things to say, Jane turned to Casia. "What are you going to order?"
Casia pointed at the chalkboard behind the counter. "Up there." she stated simply, peering up at it. "I'd like..." She frowned. She didn't know what she'd like. She didn't even want to be here. "Whatever." Jane peered at the board briefly and attracted the attention of the cashier. "I'd like a Shakespearean Summer on rye and a Smoky Mountain on wheat, please. And two colas." The waiter nodded. "Pickle?" Jane looked at Casia, who shrugged. "Sure, pickle." the guardian decided.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:01 pm
Shiraz watched the man get the item she'd been previously looking at - now dubbed a 'pickle' - from the jar. She tugged on Dartie's sleeve and whispered that she'd like a couple of those. Fine with her.
"Could we get like three pickles too?" Dartsmoore asked when it was their turn to give an order.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:13 pm
Casia blinked. That was a lot of pickles. Jane had apparently noticed it too, because her next valiant stab at conversation was "So you like pickles, then?" The siren reached over to grab her cola and a straw. It came in an old fashioned glass bottle and the child of the 60's regarded it with considerable approval. Maybe this place wasn't that bad. And the sandwiches had kind of groovy names at least.
It would be better if Jane wasn't around or maybe if she was eating with friends. She regarded the only person around her age. The panda looked a good deal younger than her, and she felt the glow of superiority that a difference of a few years afforded. She slurped her cola speculatively and finally said "Sorry about Jane."
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:24 pm
"She's never had them, Shiraz just likes food." Dartie explained, "particularly of the uncomplicated and green variety. The one's for me though."
The panda child nodded and shrugged a bit. "No worse'n my siblin's."
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:55 pm
Jane grinned. "A small blessing." she said cheekily. "Casia refuses to eat so many things it makes my head spin sometimes." The siren flinched guiltily. She was actually not a picky eater at all, but she liked making things difficult for Jane when she was particularly bored, and was not going stop occupying herself with the cruel little games until she learned to like the guardian, or at least learned to not dislike her. To push the writhing feeling in her stomach away, she focused on Shiraz instead. "Siblings?" asked the lonely only child. "What are they like?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:01 pm
"Gots two kinda nice brothers, an annoying brother, and a nice sister." the toddler intoned, picking up her first pickle and nibbling on it.
Dartie shrugged. "Most of my kids are pretty well behaved."
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:09 pm
Casia nodded. "Well, that's okay then." she reasoned. From what she heard about them, it was hard not to get at least one sibling that was annoying. Shiraz had four siblings, so she was probably really lucky they were mostly cool. "I don't have any siblings or anything. I've heard they're kind of groovy though."
Jane nodded. "That's good, then." She sat in silence for a moment, thinking of something to add. Despite loving words, Jane's natural state was silence. "Casia's pretty well behaved, too." She thought. She didn't see much of the siren, and they didn't talk much either. She hadn't been doing anything obviously bad though, and she acted polite. That was good, right?
The man behind the counter handed Jane and Casia their sandwiches and Jane pushed the one on wheat over to the siren. "Dig in." she said and Casia took a tentative nibble.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:44 pm
"Mm can be. Can be 'nnoyin' too." the toddler said softly, nibbling on her pickle.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:31 pm
Casia nodded thoughtfully. "I guess." Looking at Shiraz, she took the other half of her sandwich and offered it to her. "Want some?" She wasn't that hungry as it was, and she wasn't in the mood to admit the sandwich was tasty. It would mean admitting Jane had been right, and too much of that could get to the guardian's head.
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