Welcome to Gaia! ::

The house has given Lear and his Parent a room with soft, calming colors and patterns. The carpet is a subdued blue-grey, and the beds are covered with bedspreads of a matching color, patterned in quiet greens. There is a computer in this room as well, and an extra door. The window in this room faces the back yard, looking out over the lawn. The House asks that you not enter if you are not Lear or his parent.

[Picture/map coming soon]

GIFTS:



A quick lil' thing from Nikko to her depressed lovey. 3nodding

Battered Jukebox;

.Sad Clown (Jars of Clay)
.Zombie (Cranberries)
.Depression (Evanescence- Damn you, FMA AMV..)
.Drive (Incubus- there are so many reasons why I know this song by heart- and no, none of them have to do with angst or personal problemsXP)

Pictures and Images, pleasant or otherwise:

Aww, lookit what Lear drew. His room!~


Unfortunately, some of his fur shed during the process...

Lear as a baby. Aw, how cyoot~! I hear he has a twin around, too... hmmm.

--*--

Lion's Tooth Charm [picture forthcoming] - 'The possessor of this item can draw upon it for courage or strength, in times of need. It must be given with love, and kept in a safe place, only worn when the possessor feels it will be needed. ' Found this a little after I brought home Lear's squeaky toy mouse.

Squeaky n**-mouse: Makes a mixture of small ticking and squeaking noises when squeezed (or chewed on). It's sort of his frustration/nervousness toy. He loves it to bits, and nabs it to carry along with him whenever he can.:3
Toy I bought for 'im, since the pet I bought him for Valentine's day is a bit... satanic.()

Clock for him to keep time by. He stares at it in thought a lot. It's his 'thinking item', I suppose. *shrug*

Knit Blue Blanket [picture in sig]- It took several tries, but eventually I finished it! A sort of blanket for him to snuggle up in- made by myself.:3 He gets his fingers stuck between the loose holes (it's SUPPOSED to be like that!;p) but he loves it to bits. His official Security Blanket. It's like yarn... but snuggly! Probably his most precious posession.
And he looks damned adorable snuggled up in it.

Art and Paints set [pictures pending] bought him some art supplies when he was a babe. He has horrible lumps of fun witht he finger paints. Not one so much for pencils- though he hasn't learned to really use his motor skillz that way yet. I wonder if Ky'thri have a different alphabet than us humans?...

"Bahh... where's the cream cheese?"
A very addled Nikk was scampering about, flinging cupboards open, peering in fridges, pretty generally ferreting through things and making a small mess on her quest for cream cheese. Bagels; check. Cheddar; check. Peanut butter; check. Crackers.. eh, we'll worry about them in a minute.
The milk was kind of green and fuzzy, so she could live without that.
But WHERE was the fanged cream cheese?!
She wailed, then stomped over towards the fridge again. Daggit.. this house was making HER mad.

Deshi stood outside the doorway watching the mini fit the girl was having looking stocked on the outside but feeling rather entertained on the inside. Finally she reached over in one of the cabinets and held out a small container. "Uhh... Cream Cheese, anyone?"

Stopped while in the middle of tearing out some of her hair, Nikk turned about jerkily, and grinned apologetically for a moment.
Well, this was awkward.
Carefully letting go of her hair, she smoothed it down and scampered over towards the girl. "Hey! Yyyyeah, thanks. Heh. Too many cabinets 'ere." Not knowing whether to just take it out of her hand, she outstretched one hand for the container, paused, then stuck out her other for an awkward handshake. "'Lo; haven't met anyone else 'ere yet. Who're you?"

"I'm Deshi, a humble servant of the House." she shook her hand and then placed the container in it. "I just came to make sandwiches for Echo and Anikara. Have you met Anikara yet? I've only seen him once and it was pretty dark. I didn't get a good look at him."
Nanashi leaned in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the two women. "The fridge is horrifying," he said, and flicked an ear. "I'm pretty sure some of the stuff in there has started civilizations of its own. Have you found something edible?"

Iole twisted around in his grasp and regarded Deshi and Nikkio seriously.

Without looking up, she raised a plastic bag filled with bagels up in the air. Ah! There's a knife! "Found some bagels m'self. Scrape offa' bit of fungi on the top two an' they seem perfectly edible." She let out a tiny burp, but ignored it. She sliced the bagels cleanly, then plopped them in a toaster that she /happened/ to have near her. Shh. "'Sides, even if there wasn't something edible I'd find SOMETHING or other. M' hungry like that." She went about unscrewing the lid to the peanut butter. Three moths fluttered out, and she pulled a face. She tossed the container back onto the counter with disgust. "Welp, there goes the PB&J idea. Onna' sidenote, 'zere anything 'ere I can nuke these in?"

The kitsune's expression went slightly sour. "Fungi. There's got to be a grocery in town," he mused. "I don't want to think about how long this has been here."

Iole stretched out a hand towards the bagels curiously.

Nikk eyed the kitsune warily, snatching away the bag. "Oioi, I'm not done with 'em yet." she rolled two more out of the bag, then dangled it in front of his face. "Just do what I do, if y'don't wanna think about it," she grinned, "Don't think, just eat." The dorkette promptly dropped the plastic bag, letting him catch it if he wanted, and if not, no cookie- or bagel- for you.

His free hand snatched the bag out of the air. "Thanks," he said dryly. "Well, at least the mold's generally not harmful." He deftly extraced a bagel from the bag, tossed the bag back, and inspected his prize. No mold visible, at least, not onthis one. He let Iole have it.

Iole squealed and sank her teeth into the bagel, shaking it as though she'd caught something small and helpless.

Nikk squinted through her spectacles at the little girl, ignoring that pulling objects from a toaster with your fingers usually should be something to be on-task about.. bzzt, there goes the coil against her skin. "Yowch!" She stuffed her finger in her mouth, then went about tugging the two bagel slices out with her free hand. In popped the second set, and out came the- slighty dusty- butterknife. She began spreading cream cheese over the first half as she pondered. "Aww, cute! Whoza'?..." Blink. Duh. "And, er, who're you, by the way?"

"Run a little cold water on that," Nanashi advised. "It'll heal faster. I'm called Nanashi, and this is Iole. I presume you were summoned the same way I was a week or so ago?" He prodded Iole's side gently. "It's dead already, sweetie," he told the baby. "You don't have to kill it any more."

Iole sunk her claws into the bagel and began methodically pulling it apart, ignoring her parent.

Nikk cooed happily at the little 'sweet' baby. "Aww..Iole, huh? Isn't that just- eh? Oh." She popped her finger out of her mouth, and scooted over towards the sink. She turned on the faucet, and putrid-green water gushed smoothly from the faucet.
She promptly turned off the faucet.
"umm... I think that might do more harm'n good.." she cringed, and just decided to shake out her finger instead. "Ah? 'Lo Nanashi. M'Nikk, Nikko, whatever. An' Idunno if I was 'invited' the same way, if that's whatchoo call it.. did you get a letter stuffed in yer gob in the middle of the night?"


"Mmm. You might be right." Nanashi stared at the residue in the sink. "Nice to meet you, Nikkio," he nodded. "Yes, I got a mysterious letter in the middle of the night, and was presented with this little troublemaker when I arrived. Odd circumstances, certainly." He looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if the house would mind if I tried cleaning some things up around here."

Iole dropped a piece of bagel on the floor, frowned, and dropped another one next to it. Satisfied, she resumed chewing on the rest of the stale object. Through a mouthful of bagel, she informed Nikkio, "Be-bah."

"Well, y'couldn't make it any worse," Nikko laughed, leaning on the counter as she placed diced cheddar atop the cream cheese bagel. She nodded at Iole encouragingly, still quite amiable. "She yours, I suppose?"

"That's certainly true." Nanashi looked down at the fragments of bagel accumulating at his feet. "She's trying, though. Yes, she's mine. Odd little creature, but I can't help loving her." He ruffled the Ky'thri's red hair gently. "You have one, too?" he inquired.

Iole threw a bagel piece at Nikko.

"Yeah, actually, though Idunno where 'e's gotten t--Gah!" Nikko clutched her chest at the bagel-zeppelin, staggering back against the counter behind her. "I've been.. HIT!" she choked out, slumping against the grimy island and flopping onto the floor. Her eyes rolled back into her head dramatically, stretched an arm out... annd flopped sideways onto the floor.
Ow.
A liittle over-dramatic, no?

Nikk's eyes popped back open, grinning. "Theere y'are, Lear! C'mon out!" she peered beneath the kitchen table.

A shadowy figure beneath whimpered, clawing at the linoleum tiles.
"Aw, please?"
We're not crazy; really!

Nanashi laughed. "Iole, that wasn't nice," he chided gently.

Iole, curious, threw another piece. Would the performance be repeated?

Nanashi took the rest of the bagel away and set it on the counter, then tilted his head to peer under the table at Lear.

Iole pouted. She had been having fun with that.

Nikk gasped. "The paaain.. the caarbs.. they huuurt.. Halp me Leary, Haalp!"
The poor boy was pretty much frightened out of his mind. No way yer gettin' HIM to come out! He receded farther into the dark little shadows of the table, and whimpered.
Gasp! The weapons were taken away. "Thank you, kind sir!" Pop! Nikk sat up abruptly. "Oh! There's the other bagel." She promptly spread cream cheese and cheddar atop the other, still kneeling. "'Zere a microwave nearby? Dinner's almost ready, kiddo."

Nanashi bent down and started to pick up the bagel pieces that Iole had strewn over the floor. He set the baby herself down to free his hands. "Try behind the canisters, I think I saw one."

Iole made a beeline for the baby lurking under the table. New person to chew on.

"Yes'm," she nodded, shuffling about through soup and beans and... turkey-dinner-in-a-can?... and other such canned 'foodstuffs'. "AHA! THERE it is.." Dusting off the buttons, she shoved a couple boxes aside and plopped her four halves in the microwave promptly. "Hmm... forty seconds aughta cover it." Beep-beep. "Aaalmost ready.. ah! You want anything, um.. Natashi or whatever?" Blink. "There's some canned beans, circa 1920 'ere. Did they even have cans in 1920?"

Beneath the table, Lear shrank back again. Whimper. Stayawaystayaway.. mommyyy....

"No, I'm fine." Nanashi eyed the microwave. "I think I'll see if the house will allow me and Iole to go out and get groceries in a little while."

Iole flicked her tail and crawled closer. "Be-bah."

"Suit yourself." She opened the microwave, tossing the bagels onto a not-so-dirty part of the table. Voila`, cheddar bagels. "Buut if y'do, get some new milk, couldya? C'mon, Lear, out with it. Dinner's on." She tilted her head down to see what was taking him. "Uh.. Lear?"

Lear ain't movin'. He was fixated on the red menace, making nervous, whimpery noises. The Ky'thri clutched a piece of his onesie, tearing little holes with his nails.

"Milk would be good, yes." Nanashi crouched down tolook under the table. "Iole, are you terrorizing him?"

Yes. Yes she was. Iole puffed all her fur up and hissed at the uncooperative playmate.

Lear's eyes widened, and he let out a plaintive yelp. He began to scoot away, but bumped into a table leg and promptly fell over. Oof.

Nikk facepalmed, shaking her head. "Ahh, boy."

Deshi smiled and waved at Nanashi (I had a friend with a pet named Nanashi...) and quickly made the sandwiches, knowing just about where everything was. She cut one into halfs for Echo, 1 for herself, and 2 for Anikara since he was sure to be hungry. She wasn't sure if he would like more so she just planned on making more later. She placed them on two little trays and smiled cheerfully to the other two.

She wasn't really listening to their conversation, being the distracted one, so she had nothing really to say. "It was nice to meet you, Nikko... Nanashi." she nodded and skipped from the room, climbing the stairs to find Anikara's room before he starved to death.

"Iole!" Nanashi scooped his child up and frowned at her. "That's not acceptable behavior."

Iole yowled. She wanted to play with this fun living toy some more.

"I'm sorry, Nikkio." Nanashi held onto the squirming baby. "I had no idea she'd do that." He waved to Deshi as she left.

Nikk rolled her eyes at Lear's display, hefting up her baby as well. She waved to Deshi as she left, though Lear seemed none the calmer. She hummed beneath her breath to the babe, rocking him as she picked up half of a bagel. "Now, small bites. S'okay... Y'gotta be a little more amiable, kid." She rolled back her head to look at Nanashi, rather upside-down, and nodded assuringly. "Ah, s'no problem. I wasn't so sure he'd be very good with others. He seems rather... introverted. Way too timid. S'just a clash of interests. No offense meant, bagel-biter, Miss."

"She's pretty insistent when she wants something." Nanashi ruffled Iole's hair. "Lear's a cutie. Maybe he'll get more confident when he gets a bit older."

Iole protested the ruffling. She grabbed at her parent's hand, intending to bite it. He knew better already, though, and did not allow his fingers to be captured.

Nikk frowned. "I hope so..." Unfortunately, by the way he was deathgrip-clinging to her shirt in despair, it seemed otherwise. He yawned, and the girl took this opportunity to pop in the first morsel. Lear was surprised by the startling contrast of flavors and textures, and immediately quieted down. He purred, very softly, but still seemed content. She continued humming, shuffling a little dance about the kitchen with her steps.
"Ah, I can understand a baby bein' curious like yours. Though, with sharp teeth like that... yowch." She winced, pushing up her glasses again.

"Yes, she bit me a few times already. I've learned to watch my fingers." Nanashi tapped Iole's nose and drew his hand back quickly. He smiled at Lear and Nikkio.

Iole settled for a handful of her parent's robe instead, chewing on the sleeve.

"Well, I suppose even humans learn over time.." she chuckled, rocking the boy softly as she popped another piece into her mouth and finished off the rest herself. She licked some cream cheese off her thumb, gliding by the table again to pick up the second part of the meal. "T'bad we don't have bananas or fruit here or anythin'.. I have no idea what this little guy'll like or not. And he's not gonna tell me any time soon, I'll guess.." She smiled back at Nanashi and his little bundle of joy, poking Lear's nose with the tip of the bagel. "See? She plays nice. Y'don't have to worry so much about people meeting you." Lear wiggled his nose; a bit of cheddar had run onto his nose and it was difficult getting it off without using his hands. He sniffled poutily, which caused the aforementioned cheese to retreat up his nose. This prompted another wail. "Oohh, touchy!" she mopped off the nose daintil with her own sleeve; ew, better not chew on that.
"So, you named her Iole? Why?"

"Humans, eh," the kitsune chuckled. "I'll pick up some fruit when I go out, given that I'm allowed." He glanced up at the ceiling, half-expecting an answer. None were forthcoming, though. "Her name? It seemed appropriate. It means little red."

Iole settled into the crook of Nanashi's arm and yawned. She kept a careful eye onthe other baby, wondering if she could get another reaction out of him.

Oh, Lear didn't just keep a CAREFUL eye on the other baby.. he kept a vigilant, fearful eye on her. There was NO way that baby was getting out of his sights and causing more sorrow. See? She made mommy unhappy with him, and he just wants mommy to be happy.. he wants to be good, he does, she scares him, mummy... Mmm. 'Oi, Mum, gimme another piece of that cheese-thing you got there, wouldja?

"Yeahh, I think that fits pretty nicely." She sweeps she boy about in a circle, but his eyes rotate with the movement. Nope, that baby's goin' NOWHERE. Nikk sighed again. "Dern kid. Stop being sucha' scaredy-cat, y'big baby. She's not gonna EAT you."
His wide eyes said otherwise.
"Couldja pick up some fruit? It'd be lovely. Milk, fruit, veggies... more cream cheese.. some peanut butter.. Ahhh, we need to restock this whole bloody kitchen!"

I'll do that." Nanashi grimaced at the state of the kitchen. "See what I can do by way of cleaning this place up, too. Actually, perhaps I'll see if I can go now, before the stores close." He bounced Iole gently. "Want to go help with the shopping, sweetie?"

Iole mewed sweetly at Lear and blinked up at her parent. She wanted to go and see if she could get Lear all puffy again. That had been fun.

Nikk stuffed another half in her mouth. "OH! I fink we need more cream cheese too. An' jelly. An' those crackers have worms through 'em.. mebbe some chocolate.. junk food.. Combos?" She was still rattling off 'necessities' like an old woman, and poor Lear got the bulk of it.
The new expression caused Lear to quirk a furry eyebrow. What was she up to? What's with this new emotion? Doesn't she hate him?... Hmm, fishy fishy fishy.
Mmm, fish.
"Why not some fish, too? Since they're kitties n'all an' they might like that.. heehee, fish sandwich. But then we'd need a couplea' loaves of bread- rye an' whole weat AND white- and eggs- and mayo.."Rattlerattle. Makes a lot of noise, but not much inside.

"I'll assume we need a bit of everything," Nanashi said, amused. Apparently his new acquaintance was not a woman of few words.

Iole was innocent. Absolutely innocent. She gave Lear a meltingly sweet look. Didn't he want to make friends?
"Yes! A little bit of everything. ALL BUT THE KITCHEN SINK! YES! BEN AND JERRY'S ICE CREAM! They would LOVE that oh if you let him go, House-thing I SWEAR I'd be happy an' maybe shut up for a bit and Mmm strawberry-cheesecake and peanut butter cups and cashew and- " Nikk paused in her babblings long enough to notice an uncomfortable Lear and a sickeningly sweet-looking Iole. "Aww, lookit. She playin' nice. TOL'ju, Lear," she scratched behind a grey ear, and the Ky'thri nudged at the hand for more food. Eh.. let's test. Can he take his eyes off of her? Whaaat's she planning for him?
Beware teh red.

"Ice cream, right. Does this place have a proper freezer?" Nanashi looked around the kitchen. "Can get more at once if we can freeze it."

Iole was absolutely innocent. Of course she wasn't doing anything. She continued to watch Lear.

Lear yawned, looking sluggish. Ach, no, no, musn't fall asleep with the evil nearby. Bad juju. Even if she WAS good, she could revert.
Muahahahah.
He shivered.

"Mm, I'm sure SOMEWHERE... this WAS an Asylum, righ'? Orr, something along those lines.. or is now.." She shifted Lear, feeding him yet another bit of the bagels. "Almost gone, hon. I mean, they had to keep alla' meds stored away somewhere, right? An' they'd need a freezer with proper settings. Right?" She turned, looking questioningly at the kitsune.
Scary that she knew that about Asylums?
Nah. Daytime TV.

"You must be right. "Nanashi frowned slightly. "I hope there's nothing - ah - interesting left in the freezer, considering what's in the fridge... "

Iole shut her eyes. She could use a little rest. Yeah... Giant yawn. It wasn't like she was actually tired. Just resting.
Lear rubbed an eye, but refused to nod off. That's right, sleeeep, demon-child, sleeeep... liiiisten to the sound of my brain waves... yessss, sleeep, you flying rat-meanie-thing.
Squeak.
Okay, ignore that brain wave.

"Hrm." She frowned thinly in thought. "True... but where would they keep the fridge? Heaven help us if they put it easy-to-reach in the KITCHEN, of all places.."

"I ... think I'll save that exploration for later," Nanashi mused.

Iole was sleepy. No she wasn't! Well, maybe a little. She yawned again.

"Eeeeyyah, let's leave THAT adventure for another day." Nikk swallowed the last bit of the cheddar bagel concoction, looking rather satisfied, though a bit thirsty. Lear had daintily taken to sucking on her burnt finger, in a childlike attempt to make it feel better. Nevermind germs.
Muuust watch the baby. Muuuust watch the baby. Muuust... cuddle.. mum.. gah.. maternal instincts overwhelming.. he folds. Hey, sweaters are cuddly when yer a week old.

Iole ... was asleep.

"I'll just go with the basics," Nanashi nodded. He glanced down. "After the kitten here wakes up, that is. I think I should go and put her down with her plushies for a bit."

"Aw," she grinned. "You go do that. Hopefully this madhouse'll let you out an' nanny some shopping.. but 'suppose I'll find out sooner or later if it did when I raid the kitchen 'gain tomorrow. G'luck!"
Zz.
"Ah, better put mine away too while he's not being paranoid..." she whispered softly over the Ky'thri, drawing him securely up to her shoulder. She mouthed good-night, then disappeared down a random hallway.

"Thanks. I'm sure we'll see you again," Nanashi replied, and padded down a different hallway, heading for where he remembered their room being.

Your Task

Lear is often cold, and often very lonely. Your job as a Parent is to get Lear a pet of sorts, and a blanket. But there are some rules. Both pet and blanket/blankie, MUST. BE. BLUE. No exceptions. The House will not provice these things - you must gather them yourself.

"Leeeeaaar~" I sang, gliding into his room. He looked up quickly, looking very guilty about the rampant tangle of yarn and needles he was chewing on in his mouth, quite tangled up himself. I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Silly boy." I pulled from behind me two toys; one, a black cat clock for his wall, ticking away merrily. The other, was a tiny blue mouse-toy, which squeaked ever-so-softly like rubbed cotton when nibbled. His eyes widened, and he attempted to crawl over- then flopped down onto his face from the forgotten tangle. I rushed over to help, pulling him from the tentacled fury easily enough. "Look what you did! Now it'll take several more weeks to finish your blanket." He whimpered. I sighed. "Oh, hush. It's /fine/." I rubbed his head, then sat him down on a non-yarn'd piece of the carpet promptly, handing him the toy. He looked at it quizzically as I set up the clock. The snot-ferret seemed occupied somewhere else in the house again, as I supposed by my babe's lack of terror. Sho 'nuff, the room was only occupied by the two of us.
"This'll have to do 'til I acquire a better companion for you..." I babble on, though he does not pay much heed to me. He's much more interested in the first plaything I've given him, besides his paints. "I /did/ have an order of several minidragons for you, but for some reason the thing has been delayed and/or deleted completely." Le siiigh.--; Dag, Lear's catching on to me. "Don't worry- we'll get another friend for ya soon 'nough. Not that I'm trying to bombard you or overcompensate for anything it's just-"

He squeaked the toy once in his tiny paws, then nuzzled it with his nose. It squeaked charmingly, and his eyes widened. He cuddled it like a toy bear, curling up onto the floor with a yawn. "Fen'," he mumbled, pawing at his ear. I peered at him curiously. "What?" "Fend', mm'm."
By the best of my abilities, I surmise this to mean 'Friend, mom.' He's just too meek to make out the words, is all. Afraid of getting it wrong, maybe?
Bah, well.

I scooped the boy up into my arms, lay onto my bed, and spent the rest of the night reading further into Dante's "Inferno". I would have read it to him, but it's better not to push him whenever he can actually get a good night's sleep- which, due to all the nightmares, is very rare.