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 Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:02 pm
The seasons were changing, and with that, it was finally time to get out of the house. Due to the cold, Echo had not been comfortable taking the toddler outside...that, and random flailing of sharp metal wings is not good. But Zahira has been getting more comfortable with her appendages, and the toddler really needed to get out.
Echo had some clothes left over from when Mackerel was a child, and bundled Zahira up. It was getting warmer but there was still a chill in the air, which meant jacket and gloves.
The two alternated walking side-by-side and Zahira lifted in Echo's arms. They went to the other neighborhoods, allowing the toddler to see new views but while still staying in a safe area. Always a hand on the girl, Echo made sure that if there were any wing outbursts then she would easily be able catch the toddler before she drifted away. Thank goodness there was no wind gusts, who knew what would happen.
"Ma-ma!" Zahira sung, "Wanna rwun!" the girl pulled and tugged, trying to get some distance, to run free and let the light breeze wind around her short hair. But Echo kept that hand firm, and the girl looked up at her with those bright eyes and pouted sadly.
"No, Zahira," Echo frowned, feeling bad for restricting the child. "Not until you have better control. Four lessons isn't enough."
Zahira's pout deepened, but she did not speak on it, only tugged a little more but her Ma-ma's hand was like a clamped vice.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:47 pm
There was a thump as a mattress improbably fell from the top floor of a small, narrow house nearby. It landed in a cloud of dust on the newly-thawing ground, and soon after it a blonde head followed, looking at the ground below. The head made a little strangled noise, but eventually it nodded. Clambering up to the sill, the slender, girlish body attached to it leapt, and with a fluttering of great brown wings managed to slow the fall so it wasn't fatal. The body landed with an 'oof!' on the mattress and got up, dusting itself off.
Casia had been grounded after her misadventures with Darsh, and though she had only been sent to her room for a day, it still stung. She had only been with Jane for a little over a month, after all. What gave Jane the right to ground her? It wasn't even as if she had done anything wrong. She had accidentally released some puppies, and then run around a shelter with a suspiciously Blue Meanielike boy. Jane was turning out to be a lot less easygoing that Anna, and Casia didn't like it. So the siren was escaping, not completely because the punishment was unreasonable or harsh, but also because Jane had failed to be like Anna. She hadn't even gotten a chance to explain and she felt betrayed and angry. How dare Jane just... Just punish her? She was acting like the Man!
She would show her. Brown eyes flashing with determination, Casia went off to do something fun and spontaneous without prior permission. "Roll up... Roll up for the Mystery Tour..." she hummed as she made good her getaway.
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 4:27 pm
Echo's attention was somewhere else as a car went by just a bit too fast. Her hand tightened slightly, but she didn't realize that Zahira (who had stretched the boundaries) was getting closer until it was almost to late. At the last moment she happened to catch the child in the corner of her eye and put on her 'brakes'. Echo squeaked as she almost stumbled onto the girl. "Zahira!" the woman gasped as her heart rate slowed down. "Why'd you just stop? I almost stepped on you!"
But Zahira wasn't listening. Her eyes were elsewhere and her wings twitched in excitement. Finally, she tugged on her mother's hand and pointed with only the energy of a toddler. "Ma-ma! Ma-ma! Look, look! See, see!"
Echo looked, and she sure did see. There was a little girl with her own brown wings jumping from the mattress that had so recently assisted in her escape. It probably wasa mistake, or she would have used the front door, no? The woman looked down at Zahira, who was enthralled by the child. She was fascinated with everyone that had wings of their own, as if their knowledge of their use could pass on to her just by being near them. Echo was torn, as a mother she wanted to march that girl right back to the front door, but she could not imagine crushing Zahira's hope that shown so brightly in her eyes.
"Well, Zahira, why don't we go say 'Hi'?" Echo took a step to the brown-winged girl and pulled the semi-shy Zahira with her.
Zahira was a step behind and practicing. "Hi...hi... HI... hiiii..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:50 pm
Casia hadn't quite caught sight of the pair, or realized she had been spotted. Furtively dragging the mattress behind a bush, she scampered over to the sidewalk and tried to look inconspicuous, insofar as that was possible for a girl with huge wings on her back. She wasn't quite sure where she was going to go, and looked back at the house briefly before clenching her fists. She was going to have to let Jane know she wasn't going to be pushed around somehow.
That fact didn't make outside any less frightening. She had gone outside before, but not to leave the house she was supposed to call home on her own. Jane had always arranged or approved it, and when she had lived with Anna, she had been practically attached to the hip. The world was full of strangers and when someone didn't know where you were, anything could happen. Mistrustful as always, Casia shivered and wondered. Half-incredulous, the siren found that she might actually depend on humans. That couldn't be healthy when they kept leaving her.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the girl bit her lip. "I'm going to go to the deli." she muttered to herself. "And I'm not going to ask anyone and I'm going to run away and do a really cherry job so Jane knows it wasn't groovy to go ape on me. And nothing will happen to me, it'll be fine." She opened her eyes again and the world seemed a bit less frightening now she had a plan. Walking down the sidewalk, she saw a woman and a toddler and lowered her head, cautious about saying hello.
Until she saw the wings. Backing up, she blinked at the contraption, the grooviest set she had ever seen. What was it? Why? Her curiosity trumped her suspicion and she gave a slight wave. "Hi." she said, fluttering her own wings nervously.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:24 pm
They were almost upon the girl by the time she took to the sidewalk. Echo couldn't help but notice that the child was trying to avoid them until she saw Zahira. The woman scowled ever so slightly. She had seen those mannerisms and actions before in a child, and knew that she must be a handful. Granted, she was escaping her home for whatever reason. Echo felt that she'd have to watch this one. The last thing she needed was Zahira to grow up like another Mackerel - defiant, rebellious, and completely obsorbed in her own self-worth.
"Why, hello," Echo smiled down at the child when they finally caught up. Her own apprehensions did not show on her face. She was truly committed to this meeting, for Zahira's sake. "I am going to take a guess and say you shouldn't be out right now? Where were you headed on going?" The woman winked, as if they shared a joke. She even stepped nearer the house she saw the child come from, as if to "hide" her from it just in case her guardian peeked out.
Zahira, meanwhile, stared open-mouthed at the winged girl. No way could it have been that easy! Just a simple, nonchalance 'Hi'. This one must be amazing to make so intricate and complex a greeting so short and commonplace. The girl's gears buzzed, but she worked hard to keep her wings in check. She didn't want to hurt Ma-ma again, and surely not in front of this other girl! How embarassing that would be.
Echo noticed the toddler's silence and leaned into her. "Zahira, didn't you want to say hello to the nice girl?"
Zahira startled, so thoughtful she was being with controlling her wings that she simply blurted out her multi-toned greeting. "Hi, hi, hiiiiii..." Feeling foolish, the younger girl blushed and hid a little behind her Ma-ma's legs.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:48 pm
Casia's eyes widened and she flapped her wings in alarm as the older woman spoke, thoughts of wings flying out of her mind. She had been seen. Eyeing the woman with distrust, she opened her mouth to retort but paused as the toddler between them's wings buzzed. She bit her lip. Much as she felt the urge to defend herself, the woman wasn't actually doing anything yet. Just winked at her and helped hide her, but she knew and Casia generally found that it was better to keep it to herself. She put a smile on her face instead of a frown and took the initiative. "I'm just going on a magical mystery tour." she said flippantly. "You know, intrigue, action, adventure? Real groovy."
If the guardian alarmed her though, the toddler melted the siren's heart. Bending down to meet her eyes, she smiled. "Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye! I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello." Casia crooned gently. "What's up, groovy chick?" she asked amiably.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:41 pm
Echo was slightly concerned with how this encounter was developing but Zahira just hadn't been going out. The toddler needed to meet more children - she simply could not stay cooped up in the house like a caged bird. Granted, part of that issue was herself and unwillingness to risk the child to literally fly away out of control but that didn't help.
Zahira, meanwhile, was completely drawn into the older's words. When she sang, the toddler smiled shyly and googled at the feather-winged gal. Her words danced around in her mind. She was going on something magical and mysterious! "Ma-ma, I go too?"
Echo started. "Oh, darling, not yet. You're still not ready. Next time, though, I promise." She smiled broadly, trying to lessen the blow of her decision.
It didn't work, Zahira wilted. Echo felt horrible, but there was no options at this moment.
The girl's last question continued to hang in there air. Echo waited, and even turned and prompted the toddler, but to no avail. "Zahira, what should you say?"
Metal-winged toddler looked up from her bootied feet. "Pwease? Tank chu?"
Echo sighed, this was not ending well. She leaned down and pulled Zahira into her arms. Looking back to the other girl she tried to lessen the tension already there between them. "Would it be okay if I brought Zahira back at a later date? I am sure she would love to spend some time with you when she isn't in the fear of blowing away."
Zahira peeked out at the brown-winged girl from her Ma-ma's shoulder. The corner of her eye sparkled, but she was still so nervous and uncertain.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:53 pm
Casia smiled at Zahira, and then shrugged at her guardian, trying not to look too relieved. The toddler was cute, but the sooner they left, the less danger she was in of being busted. "'Course you can!" she remarked. "I"m around."
As to Zahira's response to her question, she grinned. "Close enough. Looks like I'll be seeing you later, groovy girl." Waving goodbye, she turned on her heel and headed towards town, humming as she went. She had been caught, sure enough, and her escape had been less than graceful, but she didn't think they'd snitch on her after all. Crisis averted!
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