Username: Syrie
Guardian: Gate
About the guardian: Gate is a fairly young
Ki'lin - a sort of mythological Chinese unicorn representing both halves of the genders; "Ki" (the male) and "Lin" (the female). Gate spends even portions of the year as either gender though the gender change is not as dramatic as one might assume since one of the racial traits for the Ki'lin makes them extremely androgynous.
Gate spends much of his time peacefully, but as a Ki'lin he has to answer the "call" of any that invoke his True Name; typically this binds him (or her, as the case may be) to the summoner until his purpose has been fulfilled. Typically Kirin are used as judges of good and evil as they can tell when lies are spoken and when one is found "unworthy"...they can be used as an executioner.
While some of his kind are happy enough to perform all of these duties, Gate is a pacifist and would prefer being left to his quiet life.
Wish: World Peace
Wish's name: Valoel
Prompt #: 2
Prompt response: Gate sighed softly and touched his fingertips to the bridge of his nose while gently setting the telephone back into it's cradle; since coming to Gaia he had learned to work with and use a great many things - the telephone being one of those things that despite how convenient it was, he just couldn't quite
accept.
The call had been from one of the parents from his daughter's playgroup.
For what was the fourth time in almost a week, Val had gotten into trouble. No, make that
Trouble...with a capital T. She was being mouthy and disrespectful to the adults and rude, hurtful and very physical in a bad way to the other children. Gate had talked to her the first time it had happened, extracting a promise from his daughter that she
had meant whole-heartedly (it was impossible to lie to the Ki'lin)...but the behavior hadn't changed.
If anything, Valoel had gotten even
worse. Gate's gentle-but-firm verbalizations and the time-outs had not done the trick it seemed; the blond-haired creature's tail curved close to his legs - though he did not believe in physical punishments on the whole, it seemed that his hand was being forced. The parents of the injured children were clamouring for a spanking as well as a public apology...or they were not going to allow Val back.
"Val, please come here - we need to speak." Pink eyes - so like his adopted daughter's - watched the child creep in. She looked apologetic and well aware of what she had done...but there was also a glint in her eyes that told her parent that while she was sorry to have caused
him trouble...she was
not feeling sorry for what she had done. It was very strange to the Ki'lin; usually she was such a gentle, easy-going child.
There had to be a deeper reason.
"Sit, please. You were fighting with the other children again today and you
kicked at Jonah when he put you in time-out." Jonah was one of the parents that hosted the play-groups. Gate watched his daughter very carefully while he spoke -- this was not the first time they had sat and talked about such things and as optimistic as he was...he had lost hope that it would be the last. At this point he could merely watch his daughter and Judge.
"He wasn't being Fair." The child's simple response made the Ki'lin's eyes widen slightly; acting out because something wasn't fair? But then, why hadn't she spoken of it before?
"What wasn't
Fair?" Yes, there was a difference - in inflection and meaning. Being the daughter of a Ki'lin gave Valoel a more developed sense of Right and Wrong than most children her age.
Val tugged at her light-coloured hair with a frown and then looked up at her parent. "Cara told a lie. You always say lies are bad, so I punished her like Uncle said you do."
Lordy lordy, what a predicament! So this was what it was all about? Was Val trying to be like
him? "Was this what happened the other times too?" When the girl nodded he pursed his lips together and reached out to take her tiny hands in his. "I'm proud you want to be like me darling, but even I had to behave as a child. Only adults can Judge Valoel, children - even my people - have to listen to the adults and elders."
He could tell she didn't like what he was saying to her, but that was just the way that things were...his daughter
had to understand this. "When you have a problem, or you hear an untruth, you must go to an adult. If you have to wait and talk to me because no one will listen, then so be it. But you should never,
ever be violent to others."
Her eyes narrowed a little bit as she thought things over -- it did make sense to the child; but that didn't exactly make her feel any less like "acting out" about it. But she didn't like to see her "papa" upset (not even when he was "mama"!). "But Papa--"
Gate lifted one graceful hand to halt his daughters words; "On this, I will not budge, I cannot. You are not granted the right to Judge, my daughter. Perhaps someday, but you are a child and must learn to bend to the wisdom of elders...or at least be patient until you can come to me when an adult's choices go against what you know to be true." The Ki'lin sighed again, softly; his eyes were sad but his expression resolute.
"You are grounded for two weeks for fighting and for kicking at Cara...but I will not spank you as the parents wish. You do not deserve that." There, he felt much better having come to both an understanding of
why his daughter would do such things and also on punishment. If the parents in Valoel's play-group wouldn't accept that this was his decision, he would simply find another for her. Nothing she had done warranted being struck -- and two violent wrongs did not a right make; no, the talk and the grounding were enough.
Val looked like she wanted to say something, but bit back any "that's unfair!" remarks -- she knew her papa was the most fair person of all...so even if it stung that she was being punished, she knew that he must be right. When Gate opened his arms to hug the little girl close, she went readily and folded herself into the warm arms and sweetly exotic scent that surrounded the Ki'lin for as long as he would allow it. There were chores to be done, after all...
