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 Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:16 am
It was a suggestion bred from boredom and intent. Boredom, because Elegy had a long weekend and the poor child loved to go to school, for it provided her with endless social opportunities and interesting things to do. And intent, because Garrett never stops trying to beef up the naturalist in his little sister, especially not after figuring out that her affinity for animals extends further than just affection. Animals are lured to her, comforted by her, or just.. don't eat her. This absolutely fascinates him.
"Can we see a bear?" Elly practically squeals from at her brother's shoulders, clutching tightly at his neck with her arms and his middle with her legs. He tries his best to ignore his not-so-little sister's increasing grip, born not out of fear, but actual excitement.
Garrett climbs another rock before setting the girl down gently on a bigger one, to allow himself some rest. He had attempted to fly for the first hundred meters, but that had proven not only a big mistake, but a huge toll on his body. He shrugs lightly to answer his sister's question and stave off her wide, waiting eyes, tossing back his head and squirting some water in his mouth from his canister. His true answer - he really, really hopes not. Elly copies this thirsty gesture, unpacking the pink princess crown water bottle and sipping happily on it for a good thirty seconds.
A bird screeches overhead.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 3:52 pm
When Satika's first adopted child, Taima, had come to her, she had spent days, weeks, then months, trying to find a setting, a sound, a motion, anything that would calm her. Eventually she had collected a handful of tricks that could be used to ease her daughter's anger. Then Cecilia had come into her life, and she was left to repeat the process.
Today's experiment was nature, though a daughter of clockwork and brass did not seem like the most likely to be calmed by birdsong and wind against sky stretched branches. It was worth a try. Anything was worth a try.
Cecilia was not a loud child, and as of yet, she had steadfastly avoided learning anything remotely resembling language. She did, however, seem to take some interest in birds. The jeweled clockwork bird that accompanied her at all times (and sometimes attacked Satika) was evidence of that.
At the sound of a bird screeching above, the little girl twisted in Satika's arms, staring upward, then imitating the sound with almost perfect accuracy, but for the echoing sense of sadness that the infant's attempt held.
It was as Cecilia made attempts to communicate with the winged creatures above that Satika noticed the young man and the child with him. She pursed her lips, shocked, as ever, by the irresponsibility of Gaian's. As if the boy knew the first thing about how to deal with children. She hesitated where she stood, tempted to go forward and look after the girl's welfare but not quite willing to approach a strange man, even a young one. Even a odd looking winged one, with a delightful looking little girl.
Cecilia screeched again, plaintively.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:05 pm
Her princess cup emptied, Elly neatly packs it back up with the rest of her gear (all equally as frilly) and stands up tall. She smiles at just how much height she can get now that she's taller than her brother's waistline. There's so much more to see!
Garrett's thin, upward stretched ears twitch to catch the echoed noise made by someone nearby mimicking the bird. He is slow to turn, as his bird instincts warn him to be cautious of anything of the sort, as it could be a lure or a hunting trap. A wing shoots out to curl around Elly and stop her in her tracks, to which she yelps in surprise, a sound that trickles off into a whine once she realizes that her brother is blocking her potential fun. The girl had not, in fact, heard the other child's screeching, due to a birth defect that leaves her with very blunt range of hearing, providing all the more reason for her brother to feel more responsible for her safety.
He turns his head very slowly until he can see the others in the utmost corner of his eye. His shoulders relax just a bit, and the protective wing barrier loosens into a simple flutter of feathers, a weak attempt on Garrett's part to make the motion look natural.
Elly shoulders her backpack and gives her brother a slightly grumpy pout. This sour mood vanishes upon the sighting of others nearby. A little girl! With metal bits! She bounces on the spot out of joy.
"Hi! Hi there!" she shouts with a musical quality to her voice, as if the girl could break out into song if something made her happy enough.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 6:38 am
Well, Cecilia had certainly resolved any decision regarding approaching or staying unseen. If Satika were someone else, she might have sighed, or shown some minor form of irritation. She was, however, herself. It would not be the first time she would be forced to deal with the impropriety of associating with a man despite the lack of proper supervision. It was a good thing she had no homeworld to return to, for she certainly would have no value there, now.
But the young man's instinct had been to protect the child from the threat of danger, and that was, perhaps, a point in his favor. Trust a man to perceive threat where there wasn't one, but it mattered little. The children of the Lord would do as he bade.
Satika stepped toward the girl making urgent greetings, Cecilia once again silent in her arms. She moved with an easy grace despite the setting, every foot carefully placed, the flowing gold silk of the shawl around her shoulders never catching at branch and tree.
When she was still perhaps six feet away from the pair she knelt in the dirt, in part because it was the appropriate thing to do, and in part because it allowed her to better interact with the young one. The boy was young, so she did not press her forehead to the ground or avoid looking at his face.
"My greetings, Sir. Little One. I am sorry if I disturbed your walk." Her voice too, was musical. Soft, pleasant, and most of all, carefully trained to always sound sweet and gentle.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:12 am
Elegy is absolutely entranced by the musical quality of the woman's voice, that it takes her a few dumbfound moments to snap back into her usual peppiness and respond.
Garrett, however, beats her to the punch. "Oh, you're not interrupting anything," he responds generally, his unruly right wing still twitchy from the previously misjudged sense of danger. Like a tough alley cat spazzing over territory, it keeps moving in mechanical little twitches and flicks that is rather distracting.
"Did you hear the biiird~?" Elly interrupts in a sudden burst, stepping, in contrast, carefully forward, since the woman is now so close to her. She very much appreciates the woman making herself the same height as her. That's fun! She tilts her head, her frizzy hair brushing her freckled shoulder, and beams at Satika. "You're very nice. Who's this?"
She whips her attention over at Cecelia and brings her shoulders next to her ears in an admiring stance. Her tail swishes softly at her ankles, catching air in the two feathers tied into the fluff with an eccentric looking bow. "Hi, I'm Elly!"
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:29 pm
What a lovely child. How soothing to see a young girl with the sort of sweetness that was appropriate for a future lady. Not, of course, that her daughters weren't... well... that was...
They were young yet, and Cecilia had the burden of the past upon her shoulders. It was best not to compare her against an innocent girl, especially when she was yet an infant in form and could not learn to express herself as was appropriate for he situation.
"You are very nice as well, Little One. And such a fine Lady, I am indeed honored to meet you." She allowed herself to, for the most part, ignore the man. There was an unattended child, and her duty was to that child. Perhaps the man would object, but she'd deal with that issue when it came.
She readjusted Cecilia, so that the brass infant was perched on one of her knees. "This, little Elly, is Cecilia. She is not yet speaking, but she likes the birds, and she sings with them sometimes."
Cecilia, not at all happy with the situation, gave an irritated little warble, followed by some high piping notes. The useless jeweled bird that had once been her Zives flew down to land in her hair, and began to sing aggressively at the thing that spoke to them. Cecilia, who did not think of herself by that name, did not yet realize that singing was not generally considered an aggressive action in this new world.
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