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 Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:07 pm
Keeta stood outside the shop, leaning against the brand-new double stroller. Joel was asleep, shaded by the expandable part of the stroller, and Camille was quiet as usual. Keeta had given her small chick plushie for Easter and she seemed content to carry it around with her. Her eyes were constantly watching the goings on of the passing world and never seemed to tire of just looking.
Once more Keeta frowned at the shop entrance. She had been standing out there for some minutes, trying to work up the courage to go in. Confrontation was not her strong point. What was she going to say to this lady. WTF? Why do I suddenly have a little green toddler in my life? She sighed. If nothing else she wanted some answers as to Camille's nature and what to expect in the future. She already had enough unanswered questions where Joel was concerned. She didn't want any more.
Setting her jaw, her will finally resolved, she opened the door and pushed the stroller inside, looking for the shock of purple hair that she had remembered the woman having.
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:29 am
Bai-Shén was happily humming as she dusted a row of paintings with a dainty feather duster. Spring always made her happy as a clam, and so far nobody had come back to return a painting...or a child. All was well! She had not noticed her old customer hanging around outside, but now that she'd come in, there was a little shock of fear. Oh no!
"Hi~!" she chimed, grinning to the contrary of her shock, "How can I help you today?" She hazarded a little glance toward the stroller. Yes, she remembered the little blue-haired boy, but not so much the green--oh! That must be her! How cute! The look was only momentary so as to not begin trouble before it needed to begin.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:36 pm
"Hello...." Keeta said warily, trying to decide if the woman recognized her or not, and if she realized why Keeta was here.
"Do you remember me? I came and bought a painting from you a few months back. A Monet..." She paused to let the woman absorb the information and wondered whether she would have to accuse the woman before beign told the truth of the matter.
Camille watched the lady. She knew that Keeta had never brought her here previously and yet, something was familiar about her, much like the boy they had encountered at the store.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:26 pm
Bai-Shén crouched slightly and waved to the little girl. It didn't seem as if she remembered her. Oh well! Sometimes the spirits lay dormant for so long they forgot about her.
"Of course I remember you!" she chirped, straightening to look at the mother of the children, "I remember all my customers! I remember the painting too! Did you break it?"
Because it was a reasonable question to begin a conversation about the child with...right?
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:06 pm
Camille smiled and waved back. Yes! This lady was definitely familiar. She was beginning to remember that this lady had been really nice to her. Sensing the tension in Keeta, she looked up at her mommy. Why didn't mommy like the nice lady?
Well if that wasn't forward Keeta didn't know what was. She blinked, slightly taken aback.
"Not exactly. My son scribbled on it, when I left it unattended for a few minutes." She paused, just looking at the woman. After a moment of silence she continued.
"I suppose you know why I'm here then."
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:28 pm
"The child came from the painting, and you would like to know why," Bai-Shén smiled, "First and foremost, 'you break it, you buy it' I believe you say. I will gladly answer any questions you have, though. Would you like to come to the back room?" She was more or less inviting Keeta to join her in her home. It just so happened to be a part of the store.
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:57 am
"Yes...that pretty much covers it. And you know....why I wasn't informed of this possibility upon purchase of the painting, but I suppose we can get into that in a minute." At the invitation Keeta hesitated a moment before shrugging.
"Sure, why not?" It would feel a little like trespassing to be in the back area of a store, but she was invited so she knew she shouldn't feel that way. Maybe there would be a place for them to sit down and talk back there.
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:36 am
The kirin-girl nearly skipped to the back room and opened the door, revealing her "studio". It was simply one end of art supplies, a small bed, and a small bathroom and kitchen sectioned off by a curtain. Against the front wall were two chairs, and Bai-Shén pulled one out for Keeta to sit in.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked. Really, she seemed entirely oblivious to any anger the woman might be exuding.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:57 am
"Um....sure, I guess. Thank you," she said, still feeling akward. She pushed the stroller towards the chairs and glanced at the two toddlers. Joel was still asleep, but she knew Camille wouldn't tollerate sitting in the stoller very long if they weren't going anywhere.
She reached for the little girl and took her into her lap as she sat down, hoping the purple-haired woman wouldn't mind the girl being out of the stroller. Keeta stroked the toddler's long green hair, feeling her fingertips brush the lily petals. Camille was silent, which wasn't unusual, but it wasn't out of surprise or fear, which seemed to be usual causes of her silence. The girl's posture was relaxed and her eyes seemed to sparkle, almost as if she were curious. It seemed odd to Keeta that Camille wasn't afraid of this woman that was a relative stranger. She was still getting used to Rhine, and she got to see him almost every day!
As she thought, Keeta glanced around the room, noting the bed and other little comforts of home. She glanced at the shop owner, her expression carrying a hint of surprise.
"You live here?"
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 9:37 am
Bai-Shén gave a little giggle and hummed as she poured two cups of tea, and then a little cup of milk with a tiny cookie. It wouldn't do to leave her little friends without sustenance!
"Yep! This is my home~" she cooed, returning with the tea and pushing Keeta and Camille's cups and saucers over. She touched a finger to little Camille's finger and smiled. She'd come out rather pretty!
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 9:46 am
"Oh, well thank you for inviting me back here, I didn't realize....I hope we're not intruding any," Keeta paused considering how she wanted to get into this discussion. She took a sip of the tea, grateful for it's calming warmth, before offering the cookie to Camille, who took it with a smile.
"It's strange how relaxed Camille is around you, because normally she's very shy around new people. It's like she already knows you. Does she?" Keeta looked at the Kirin woman with questioning eyes.
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 9:51 am
"Well, more or less," Bai-Shén reasoned aloud, "She was an innocent soul I chose to protect. When she was a soul, and when she was a painting, she undoubtedly knew exactly who I was. The souls and I, we're good friends! When the paintings are ruined, though, a lot of them lose parts or all of their memories." How sad!
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 10:03 am
Keeta blinked in surprise. Bai-shen had known Camille as a soul? Before she had ever had a body? That was certainly something outside her previous experience.
"So....how does one get to know...souls? And how did she get to be a painting? And...why don't you inform your customers that they might in-fact be purchasing a child? They may not be prepared for the responsibility!" Keeta knew she was asking several questions in a row, each one the tone becoming more passionate. Trying to get a handle on herself, she drank some more tea.
Camille looked behind her at Keeta, her expression perplexed.
"Mommy ok?"
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 11:55 am
Bai-Shén just smiled at the little girl and gave Keeta a curious expression.
"You wouldn't have a child if you hadn't destroyed my work," she said simply, a brow arching, "As for souls and paintings, well, that's none of your business." It was small, but this was the first animosity that could be heard from the girl.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:18 pm
"Mommy's fine," Keeta said trying to keep her voice under control as she answered Camille. She offered the little girl what she hoped was a reassuring smile, before turning back to Bai-shen.
Camille didn't look utterly convinced. Mommy seemed upset for a reason her young mind couldn't understand. But even very young children could sense when something was out of the ordinary. Camille's shy personality kept her from asking again, however, she just wrapped her arms around Keeta's waist. This elicited a small smile from the blue-haired woman before she continued to speak to the shop owner.
"I didn't set out to destroy your work! My son just happened to get his hands on it while I went to find the hammer so I could hang it...." Keeta sighed, trying to cool her temper. She was miffed at having some of her questions hedged but if she made the other woman angry it wasn't likely the rest of her questions would be answered. When next she spoke her voice was calm.
"Ok...so you can't tell me how Camille came to be a soul that needed to be put into a painting. Can you at least tell me what I might expect in the future? One thing I've learned since living in Gaia is that many people and things are not as simple as they appear, especially if they came from an unusual source. Is she going to grow and develop like a "normal" child? Or...." keeta trailed off, hoping the other woman would fill it in if there was an "or."
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