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 Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:41 pm
Who: Alex, Basil, Genie & Zul
When: Just before noon
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Cloudy and cool
Green eyes turned down the hallway, not for the first time that day. Ever since she'd found the note that the two-headed snake had been born into a Raevan, she'd had the strangest feeling of disquiet. Like something wasn't quite right, the feeling of a mysterious taste on the air that breathed over her exposed skin. The notion that something was off, or different, but not being able to pinpoint just what that something was.
Alex shivered despite the warmth that the Lab was enveloped in, rubbing over her jacket-clad arms carefully. It was one of the first few days without her bandages, but she wasn't quite ready to show the world her burns, no matter how well they were healing; she knew what was there and it was bad enough. It was likely lending to her unease and her sense of oddity, but she couldn't rightly say. Sitting on the edge of the desk, she waited in the solitary silence of the reception area, biting the inside of her lip.
He had sensed his woman's weariness, but he wasn't affected by it himself. He'd been impatient to meet the new Raevan, just as he always was, but he had been made to wait to venture into the office until Alex was certain Genie was close. Reining in his excitement to a simple rustle of his wings, he rapped his tan knuckles against the door before letting himself in - his tradition of showing respect and consideration to the newborn, something the Raevan may not see again for a long while.
Zul smiled to himself, an oddly bitter expression as he closed the door, back turned to the room. When had he become so cynical? A lot had happened to him in the past few weeks. He was there now for another, and he'd not let his own turmoil bar the way.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:36 pm
Genevieve could not say that she had never felt such an unbridled sense of excitement and anxiety before today... They complimented each other, these potent elixirs of a most visceral unrest. She could feel that churning in her stomach and the fine, feminine hairs prickle at the nape of her neck, and it was both sickening, and arousing. The summons that she had received within her mailbox was a most delicate gem, announcing the utmost importance that Genevieve make haste to the Laboratory on the basis that a new development had been reached in her endeavors to produce a soul, and exchange it for something astounding. Never one to miss the important occasions, she was ducking into her modest new vehicular accommodations first thing after work (following of course a necessary change of apparel), and was off to untold wonders.
Genevieve was never one to forget a friendly face, and from what she had gathered from their previous encounter, you couldn't find any friendlier behind that stately reception desk. Once parked, checking her breath and teeth in a pocket mirror, she stridently pushing through the double doors; prepared for absolutely anything. Or, so she had told herself. Because damn if this were any time to get cold feet now! Not after the thorough and scathing grinding she had given to Mike on how significant this foray into the unknown was to her very vitality... Lest she end up otherwise doing 25 to life after a particularly disruptive day at that sepulcher they called a workplace...
Even the second time around she couldn't help but feel a sense of intimidation at such sheek and industrial surroundings. Four walls of science, holding up a cornucopia of rara avis... Her heels clicked rakishly against the tile as she discreetly adjusted her undergarments by pinching through dour, smoke-coloured crepe. (It wasn't as if nobody did it if they were certain they could get away with it.) Eyes abrupt and intent on the desk ahead, she met her target with a smile and a bob of her angular chin. "Well. We meet again." Her preamble was brazen, it's undertone impatient. "I got another notice from you guys in with my chain letters and figured I'd swing by..." A dimpled grin.
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:08 am
The whisk of the doors gave the visitor away, Alex's head lifting with encroaching excitement. Her misgivings and uncertainty weren't enough to stem the tide of sheer glee that began to stir as Genevieve's arrival, prompting her to hop off the desk as the woman greeted her. In truth, the new Guardian looked ready to take on the world, and it did the Italian's heart wonders.
"Lucky me," she laughed good-naturedly, lifting a hand in her own greeting. "And lucky for us you didn't think it just bad camouflage for a creative junk mail." Alex's indomitable smile reined, rounding the desk to fish out a pen from the long drawer beneath the bulk of the wood. "I admit, I'm...I'm really ecstatic about this visit," she offered up, slender fingers seizing a black ink ballpoint in deceptive white casing, "to see what's become of your adventure last we talked. Hopefully this time, it'll be on a better note."
A clipboard in the center of the desk was picked up in her free hand, a single sheet rustling clasped against it with her motion. She approached Genevieve, tapping the black-capped pen against the article. "And we'll get right to it after the legal jargain is out of the way." Alex stuck the pen through the small space against the slat and paper, handing it over without preamble. "Just like the first one, 'cept this one has space for a name, if it strikes you while you're here. If not, seven days should be enough to get tired of calling him 'hey you,' I hope."
Her grin grew, lighting her veridian eyes. Business here, a tidbit of what to expect there - granted, it was nothing the woman couldn't find by looking at the contract. It stated the soul and essence, along with the gender and a space for the name just as the good receptionist had mentioned. The fine print asked that she care for the Raevan and report to them in the case of anything deemed unusual or the ilk. All very simple. Alex could still remember signing the very same paper, though she'd seen Zul before then; part of her hoped, no matter what, that Genevieve would be as awe-struck as she'd been by whomever it was awaiting in the office with her demonic charge.
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:33 am
As per usual, Alex was an absolute treat, her smile glowing with anticipation. Though of course with the sugary receptionist came the inevitable affidavits... Oh goodie. More paperwork to skim over. With lids leisurely hanging over hazel eyes and a confident spring in her wrist, she pinched the pen in a woman's nimble fingers, tapping the ink-ball against the desk a few times as she read from top to bottom...
Though. Her ears blushed when affronted by the words, "Name" and "He".
That's when the real gravity began to press upon her. By dissecting those aforementioned words... Genevieve...would be naming, a he. She would be endowing a title upon a living creature that thought and breathed and had a gender. She almost felt the very breath spew out of her in thick, voluminous belches. This enormous development alluded to in the document... Her hard labors on the islands? Had they yielded one of the strange, arguably humanoid creatures she had come into contact with in months past? All signs pointed to, yes. And somewhere in that bountiful cornucopia of a building, he was waiting to become a part of her household. And...dare she say it, family. She had only but to sign the sheet, and claim him. She tried to laugh weakly at Alex's charming sense of humour. "You and me both..."
She skipped over the naming blank for the time being, "No... I... think I want to see him," Saying it out loud ushered in a whole tidal wave of even higher plateaus of excitement and fear, undulating in waves of uncertainty and eagerness, "before I name him." She tried to behave so matter-o-factly about the ordeal. Present the illusion that she had actually been preparing for this, and wasn't about to have a total melt-down inside.
Her hand did not quake and she did not perspire neath the collar of her blouse, but her mouth felt dry, and she had not blinked since that pen had touched the sheet, filling out the other essentials before letting the pen nestle beside it. She grunted a small, appreciatory noise implying that she had finished.
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:57 am
Her eyes very literally glittered as she watched the woman. She was doing her best not to stare or otherwise be overly obvious about her observation - it wasn't too hard, given her general profession - but the grin she wore betrayed her regardless. Alex rested her hands on her hips, dipping her head in a slow nod at the claim of wanting to see him first; she would not have expected Genevieve to say anything more. "You and me both," she returned the other's words to her in a gentle tone.
Alex felt like she was positively vibrating with thinly veiled joy. Despite it not being her first meeting of this kind, it never got old; not only did she get to see the newest addition to the Lab family, she was privy to view the bond between two entities that made a family. There was no measure of owner and pet between any of the Guardians and those in their care. Fear, apprehension sometimes, exuberance as well, but in the end, she favored seeing that connection that formed upon the first meeting. Perhaps it was something meant to be private, but she was there. She was a witness to a love of labor and the acceptance of what the new life meant.
The noise reached her ears, and true to business, Alex gave the contract a once-over that took mere seconds. It was done. Righting herself, she beckoned to Genevieve and began to walk down the hallway, her booted feet making a heavy, dull thunk against the tile. A handful of doors lined the walls on either side, but it was the one in the back that the Italian lead the new Guardian to, and it was there she waited to make sure Genevieve was ready. It was a big step, it couldn't be rushed.
With a nod of encouragement, she pulled the door open, standing at its side so as to let the woman see her charge first. Certainly, Zul was already in there with the newborn, but the first human contact that wasn't a doctor needed to be Guardian and Raevan. The first impression could be important, could be flippant, but it was Alex's belief that the moment was for Genevieve and Genevieve alone.
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:06 am
During the trek down the hallway, Genevieve was taking notes of every little detail. The overly clean smell of a freshly-vacuumed establishment, the line of doors heralding each their own personal wonders, the feel of her skirt as it billowed around her knees... These were things she wanted to remember. If only because she had woken up a single, seasoned woman this morning, and would go to bed with a new face in her household. The transition in between was epochal.
When entering the room, heart lodged securely in the back of her throat, it was if everything was drifting at a snail's pace... Lucid and bizarre. Even the hands on the hallway clock seemed to drip... A figure was within, though his identity remained to be seen. He had taken to levitating in the far left corner, nose to the wall, as still and as silent as the great beyond. On his back (or what had developed of it), were several striking stripes of rich earthiness and a distinct glittering of scales, though the neck flared into a hood that obscured the head of the stranger. His posture was slumped... He reminded her of a child's remote control car that had steered against the wall, and was incapable of righting itself, with that urgent sound of it's battery straining to propel it any further when it's mechanical flaws were incapable of distinguishing the obstacle in front of it. She looked to Alex as if expecting her to turn the boy around, or offer some kind of explanation that this is how they all behaved this early on...
When Alex had taken her hand from the door handle (the metal type found in most offices of this caliber that required one to push down, and then forward to open the door), the sound of it clicking back to it's default position had seemed to draw his attention. He turned his head to the right as if to focus upon it... For Genie, time still trudged on so slow, so painfully slow she could hear the crashing of dust microbes as they landed on furniture... Finally, he began to turn the rest of the way around, like an ornament dangling in a spring breeze, as clearly like the others she had met, thick mists of blackness engulfed him where his legs and stomach were to be. It was there that Genie saw his face for the very first time. And she had been right... It would forever be one of the most excruciatingly amazing moments of her life. Just as it was when Tobias had been born and she was no longer the youngest of the Witham brood.
He had a great likeness towards the touching of his head. Whether it was pinching the edges of that boastful hood, inordinately swatting swarthy black hair from equally obsidian eyes ('The moist, black pearls from Matiu', Genevieve noted with awe), or rubbing his temples clumsily and almost defectively. He appeared confused beyond all reprieve, almost haunted... There was a kindness therein however. An inexplicable, misplaced affection for no-thing, and all things. He was wounded... She desired nurturing him. It urged her to accept him, and affirm the threshold of their new life together. As she stepped forward, she momentarily acknowledged Zul, nodding familiarly towards him. She had at first felt the need to ask if he were...dangerous, or if there were some sort of protocol in these meetings she would be expected to follow. But Alex seemed sufficiently certain on the walk over that they were not expecting any sort of untoward mishap on this day of days. That was enough for Genie. So, she approached him stiffly, all the muscles in her face and legs tightening in an immeasurable nervousness.
She wanted to touch him. See if she could feel the static that she had when laying her hands upon Zul. The memory of blazing heat and unforgiving cold still to this day lingered in her sensory banks. Only this would be a different static... As she had once administered to Zul as a measure of his character for her own purposes, she had since been gazing intently into the pits of his eyes with hand outstretched and slowly advancing towards his face... Searching and scrying his soul to the very core of it's material. And as a result... her hand faltered, left hanging in mid-air, though distinctly rearing back. She glanced worriedly over her shoulder towards her escort, her voice a strained and slow, disbelieving whisper, "What's...the matter with him?" The creature's eyes had even not even met hers for a quarter of a second... They were following some fanciful figure in the ethos. A desultory entourage of visions and figments, clouds of colour, inhuman voices. This boy, was somewhere right now, and it sure wasn't here...
Genie was distressed, looking to Alex for answers, but nearly leapt out of her skin when in her peripheral vision, she could spot him making his move. When turned to him, his hand too, encased from wrist to forearm in some sort of strange, shapeless, arm-warmers, was raised to hers in a similar fashion. Slightly raised, pulling back... He was mimicking her, it seemed, because he lacked the tools for any proper sort of greeting. His eyes seemed aware now... Alert. Not perky per say, but she could tell he was thinking the world of this new human being in his midst... When she smiled in reverence, he mimicked that too, and it was lovely... "Woooow..." Genevieve sighed longingly, almost as if thrown into a Jane Goodall program wherein the apes had accepted her as one of their own. "He's incredible..." She stated with conviction.
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:19 pm
When the door closed with a soft click behind her, Alex leaned against it and watched.
She wondered, in silence, what Genevieve was thinking. She wondered it of every Guardian that passed those doors to meet their Raevan for the first time. Were they afraid? Uncertain? Did they hold great expectations, and thus, were they elated, satisfied or disappointed at what the metal gateway had lead to? Had they dreamed of what vision float before their eyes, or was the idea so far off that they were muddled and without opinion? The woman approaching the newborn with opened arms struck her as one who was very decisive in her feelings and thoughts, and she hoped that Genevieve was more elated than distraught.
When the woman suddenly stopped to look at her, Alex lifted her chin and flicked her eyes to the newborn. In the past, the Raevans were left with Lazarus until they could be claimed, though she wasn't sure any interaction went on between the eldest of them all and the newest therein. She did know, with Zul, that he would keep a watchful eye on them and introduce himself, or otherwise interact with them when possible. This one was silent, and almost...bewildered, head-in-the-clouds almost. No, that wasn't right - with his soul, she amended, he would have his head-in-the-fog. The thought struck an odd chord with her, and before she could open her mouth, she also saw him move.
A slow smile curved her lips. "He is new in every sense of the word," she murmured in a soft voice, the ample space in the room more than enough to carry her words to their intended ears. "Some Raevans can't speak, some are without a direction, some will talk your ear off within seconds. They're all different. He is beautiful and unique in his own right." Alex couldn't stop the small compliment that slipped in there, and it was completely in earnest; he was striking, but she could not quell the disquiet that swirled in her chest again. Like Genevieve, she had the impression that he was here, but he wasn't perhaps here all together. She'd had her fair share of interacting with reptiles in her profession, and while this one didn't feel ready to strike, it did feel like she had stepped into the nest and hadn't quite realized what that could mean...
Her heart swelled at the last words the Guardian breathed, and her misgivings were again pushed aside. Pushing herself from the door, she moved to stand next to her own charge, glancing to him for a quick assessment of his impression of the Cobra. "Would you like some time with him?" she asked Genevieve, out of pure politeness and a doctor-like concern; driving while one was wrapped up in the presence of another could result in a bad first experience.
The demon had remained utterly still, blue eyes upon the newborn. He hadn't approached the Cobra simply because the other had not acknowledged him; such was the newborn's right. Zul had finally blinked and moved his head when the women entered, inclining his tri-horned head to Genevieve in familiarity and acknowledgement before he'd resumed his rather blatant stare. This one...was quiet. Like he had something to hide. Having been a newborn, there was none of the wide-eyed wonder he'd seen with the others, no fear, not even confusion. Just a blank...nothingness that the older Frei found both unusual and a bit of a comfort.
When his woman approached him, he let his exact opinion grace his features; a neutral expression of nothing at all. With his arms crossed over his half-formed chest and his wings folded against his back, he remained a quiet sentinel in the room, watching and observing as Alex had with Genevieve in the reception area. His means and motive for such an action was not at all in stride with the human reasoning, but Zul didn't feel it necessary to speak on it at all.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:20 pm
A completely clean slate, she mused. Creatures like this were enormous tablets, and she was in possession of the bright red crayon to write on him with...
It dawned upon her very abruptly that she was still meant to name this fascinating thing adjacent of her. There was a moment wherein she scanned him over to search for any distinguishing feature she could use as a spring-board, but every name she could think of was quickly rejected, if only because that sort of process was reserved more for if one were naming a new hamster. No...He needed something principled, something with meaning, coming to the conclusion then that she should wait until she could really study him for a day or two before giving him something he could live with, as much as she disliked having to deny him the foundation of his very identity for such a time...
The receptionist woman asked if they would prefer to be left alone for a while.
Genevieve left him in order to turn to her, still quite impassioned and excited but maintaining a warm sense of calm self-assurance, "Well... Shouldn't ya' ask him what he wants? He is kinda the guest of honor here... Or...wait..." She popped her cheek. What if he fell into the category of speechless newborns, "Well, no, scratch that. I guess I kinda need you here-- I've got a billion and a half questions. Like, for instance, how the hell do I get this guy in my car? In my neighborhood, 'can't exactly walk home pretty as I please if ya' know what I mean." Being the vibrant and colorful woman she was, her hands were naturally all over the place to express various points and inflections during even the briefest conversation. And behind her, the newcomer continued to mimic her to a tee. The only difference being his boyish smile as he did so. Every gesture, every twitch was mirrored within half a second at an eerily accurate pace. Whether he was doing so for his own amusement or because he had assumed the only polite way to behave was contingent upon Genie's behavior was debatable... He even captured every bob and shake of her head while she spoke.
"And... And what do I feed him? Is he like those pet-store boa constrictors you throw a coupla' mice at every day?"
He was clearly enticed by the movement and the sounds of human interaction, putting on a complete show of his own behind Genie's earnest barrage of questions with an unmitigated enthusiasm. "Jeez...wow... You guys have like, I don't know, a little manual or something written up? 'Taking care of incorporeal floating beings for dummies'?"
It was then, that the dark-eyed novitiate wasn't quite smiling so much any more... He appeared now to be inexplicably distressed. Perhaps it was why this raevan was particularly eye-catching, for all of his expressions being child-like in how exaggerated they were. When he was pleased, when he smiled, you could practically see his back teeth as every laugh-line emerged. But when reversed, he was the incarnate of the Tragedy Mask of Greek theatre, mouth agape and brows furrowed over pleading eyes.
"Unh..." He whimpered, his first noise since they had entered the room. His hands began bobbing and trembling at his sides before the right quickly escalated so as to pound and paw at a nonspecific location 'neath the back of his head through the snake-skin hood. From the looks of him, it did not appear that he were trying to harm himself, but to... effect some sort of change. There was a purpose in how precisioned his banging was. As if he were perhaps choking and attempting to strike the offending object from himself. Genie could not take her eyes off him, completely at a loss for what to do to ameliorate the situation at hand, other than to stride to his side and try to get a look at the affected area to see if he were hurt there.
"Unnnnnnnnnnnhhh...." He repeated, now more drawn out and critical sounding. She tried to remove his hand by force for fear of him bruising himself, but before she could do much of anything, the moaning died down, and his hand left the base of his scalp to return to his side as quickly as it had risen. He still appeared to be in a degree of momentary discomfort, but otherwise seemed to have put a stop to whatever had been troubling him on his own. Which had always been another philosophy of Genevieve's father. "Kids do whatever makes sense to them. They eat when they're hungry and go to bed when they're tired, and trying to manipulate the system otherwise just ends in unnecessary gray hairs."
Concerned by her stress with an incredible empathy, the creature frowned quite pointedly, and proceed to drift near her to now sit his head upon her shoulder in an elementary embrace of sorts, though of course he had no knowledge that he was supposed to use his arms to achieve this (the appendages hanging limp as a skinned rabbit). Genevieve was a bit shaken at this new display, but wrapped her arms around his shoulders nonetheless to pull him into her, and meet Alex's eyes from overtop of his shoulder. He smelled earthy and unfamiliar, she noted as she began laughing in that nervous sort of way a person might do to diffuse tension from an unforeseen incident, "Hehe...wow. He's.... quite a weird one, ain't he?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:36 pm
Alex chuckled softly under her breath at Genevieve's immediate response, quirking her lips into a ghost of her normally amused smile; who was the guest of honor was up for debate, when one's work consisted of the Raevans. The woman crossed her arms over her chest, watching the new Guardian think to herself, nodding at the mention of questions. She could handle that much--
--or so she thought. A dark brow lifted at Genevieve's colorful way of speaking, not entirely following though she grinned to indicate otherwise. "He sits in your car as well as any, I assure you," she chuckled to herself, her green eyes shifting beyond her to the Raevan, "and in time, he might fly." She had no idea if such delicate wings were capable of such a feat, but he was a Raevan; stranger things had happened. "Actually," Alex grinned now, bemused at the questions but grateful they were asked at all, "what determines what they eat is their essence, not their soul. So for Prince Charming here, I'd guess a mirrored surface or maybe something that...erm, resonates. Y'know." Her arms uncrossed to wave her fingers around, used to talking with her hands herself, "Maybe he'll feed off of the sounds themselves. We don't actually know; they will."
A light chuckle followed the manual question, of which Alex shook her head. "They're as much an enigma to us as they are to you. They're all different - they manifest powers at a different...uh, age," she faltered a little at the first noise the Frei made, "they eat different things, they act...different?" The sentence wasn't meant to end as a question but she couldn't stop the inquisitive lilt of her voice at the newborn's antics. That was...different to say the least!
Again, the Italian shook her head, her smile lop-sided as the tantrum subsided. "Weird, no, they're all...different, as I was saying. He may just be trying to join the conversation, or...even introduce himself." Alex looked to the dark Frei again, wondering what was going on between those hooded ears. "He may not talk right away, but that's not unusual either. If you do have any issues or concerns, you can always call us - I'm available to come over if need be, too." She didn't want Genevieve to think she was alone in this. They were all baffled and grasping for answers at one point or another; sometimes, she herself was still uncertain when it came to her own charge.
Of which, the demon simply continued to stare. There were no words for the spectacle the newborn was putting on, only an odd sensation in his partially formed chest that there was something weird and off about this one. Maybe it was the vacant way those eyes stared out, the glassy surface betraying nothing and holding no warmth of anything on his face. Zul glanced to Alex, and then to Genevieve, before resting his blue gaze again upon the newborn. "I think he's weird," the Frei offered up dryly, ever the helpful one.
"You were pretty weird too, Zul," Alex countered without missing a beat, giving the demon a sideways smile.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:02 pm
The woman could only frown, her tooth grinding upon her lip as the newborn broke free from their awkward embrace. Again she conjectured, if Alex was not alarmed, she shouldn't be either. Between the two of them, she would be the more knowledgeable. But deep down, inside the both of them, there remained an unspoken, albeit inescapable feeling that there was, or at least...would be cause. He circled her a few times, all the while pounding at his forehead in that signature way with eyes intent... The nature of the circling and the pacing was indeterminate at best, the way a dog would do upon the spot it intended to lay for seemingly no reason at all.
She couldn't help but smile at Zul's unbesmirched candor for speaking what was without a doubt on everyone's mind.
Presently the cobra had taken up an interest in the brass buttons on Genevieve's jacket around the conclusion of the third circling. At first, Genie was appalled in thinking that his eyes were committed upon her chest in a juvenile, dare she say lecherous manner, but his engrossment was entirely innocent as he raised a single finger to tap against the metal. At first, the slight click of his nail seemed to startle him, but it did not slake his curiosity, tapping a few more times at different speeds to settle upon a sound he agreed with. Perhaps even this early on his inquisitive nature was showing as he astutely observed that the strength of the tap could produce a louder or softer sound. Or perhaps he was merely looking for an excuse to behave strangely. Genevieve let him continue to do so after she had determined that the boy was merely engaging in his surroundings, certainly no punishable offense, leaving her arms to hang with the wrists and woman's hands nestled in her pockets.
"So... Today is definitely the day that I take him home, right? ...Any, eh...words of wisdom mayhaps?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 1:42 pm
Green eyes watched the circling Raevan with a slightly raised brow. "Yes, today is the day," Alex agreed slowly. "There's only been one other that's been as - ah, how to say," she mused, glancing to Zul, "wild, I guess. Feral? They're all so different when they're born. Some have ego first thing, some hide, some flee...I imagine it's disorientating to be born with the capacity for so much and just being..."
"Empty."
The Italian wasn't sure if her charge was finishing her sentence or commenting on the Cobra's behavior, noting that the demon's blue eyes had not left the hooded Frei. She wasn't even sure he'd blinked. "A blank slate," she corrected, albeit firmly. Unsurprisingly, Zul didn't do so much as flicker an eyelid to acknowledge her statement. Alex shook her head a little to herself, exhaling deeply through her nose. She could feel the disquiet settling into her chest again, a blanket of snow that was making the rest of her feel quiet and unsettled.
A faint chuckle returned the second question. "Wisdom? No, but maybe some advice." A grin tugged at her lips, but just as quickly, it was schooled back into a lop-sided smile. "Teach him manners - or at least, a creed of what you find acceptable and what you don't." She lifted a hand to put on Zul's tan shoulder, the Frei finally glancing at her, "One thing I've learned with Zul is that he believes we're very separate entities, and that our rules aren't his." It was a bit of a rueful confession, but with how odd the newborn was acting, there was no harm in sharing. "Learn what he might eat from. Frei's don't seem to eat as much as humans, but it's definitely favorable for both of you." Not just to eat. To keep any latent abilities under control...
"Most importantly," she let her hand fall from Zul's shoulder, though he watched her now rather than the newborn, and for that, she was grateful, "don't be afraid to call anyone for help if you're lost or need advice. I'll give you a contact list of all the owners and their Raevans. You're encouraged to meet up with them...they can probably teach you more than I can." Alex didn't mention that she hadn't chosen any aspect of Zul...she didn't feel that she had created him, that she had any hand in what he was. Zul...was Zul, and she simply watched over him. She would not be brazen enough to assume what type of relationship Genevieve and the Cobra would have.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 3:54 pm
Genevieve agreed wholeheartedly, nodding in assent. It was a little humbling to try and imagine the brevity of the boy's potential... All the things he could amount to, all the words he might say and the opinions he would come to form. And she was there to urge the process along. It was a great responsibility, but a feeling of warmth filled her bones to have it. This was a three-dimensional being... He was alive and conscious, though, at first impression it was difficult to tell the latter. She could not take this lightly...
Alex then proceeded on to lend her own advice. She couldn't tell exactly how old her Zul was, and how much experience she herself wielded, but she had to trust that if she were employed here where the damn things were manufactured, she must know at least a gem or two. The boy soon lost his interest in the buttons, venturing the room to explore. As far as he could tell, this room was all that existed of the world. He had been summoned from some vast, intangible plane of being, merged, born of two entities, to be placed within a universe that consisted only of this room, and three other people. So if that be the case, he wanted to get a head-start on mapping everything out. He started by placing his finger in the closest corner where the wall met the floor, just above the paneling, and racing it down to the other side of the room, where he would turn the corner, and start anew, as if tracing an outline of the floor.
So far, the most she could expect were some curious and well-meaning antics, strange as they were. Nothing yet that she should deem punishable or reward-able. But she knew that if she would need to correct or reprimand him, she had to be on the ball, "Manners. Got it... I think I still have your guys' business card laying around my desk at home. I'll be sure to give you a ring if I need to..." With a sidelong glance at the newborn cobra as he raced about the room, whimsical and fresh, she was compelled to hug Alex tight to communicate her gratitude for all her help, "Thank you. I know this is gonna be the start of something wonderful. I'll be in touch."
She went to disrupt the boy from his mapping, standing at his side to lift him from his crouching and walk him to the hallway, only to be met with resistance, tugging away from her grasp with strenuous grunts. It took a moment of thought, but it dawned on her that he needed to finish whatever it was he had been doing before he would be ready to leave. Already he'd developed an OCD... She chuckled lightly and released him. And like clock-work, the moment he had reached the corner from which he had started, he obediently approached her. Linking his arm in hers, Genevieve turned to the so-far idle Zul, jerking her head towards the door, "Hey... Care to walk us out?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:04 pm
A bemused grin lit her features as the newborn began to whisk around the room, lining the world as he knew it. She wondered if he was doing it out of curiosity, or if maybe he would memorize each detail, each centimeter of space. Then again, maybe he was just really bored. Alex smiled inwardly, warmed that the Frei was finally moving about a bit more, and not so much like a snake in the cold. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind did she find herself wrapped up in a tight hug, the motion earning a light sound of surprise that easily turned into pleased amusement, moving her arms as well as she could to hug Genie in return. "It's a new lease on the world," Alex agreed with a gentle fondness. "I wish you and yours all the best of it."
Her arms crossed over her stomach as she watched the woman and newborn, her lips feeling like they were permanently tugged upwards in a grin. So maybe he had more charm than he had first displayed. Maybe her feelings were ill-founded. Alex had never been one to bet off of 'maybes,' and it seemed like she had a lot for the Cobra. Stepping back, she moved to the doors to open them for Genevieve and her charge, a quiet, thought smile on her face.
The demon continued to retain his silence. His wings jerked and barely refrained from flapping as the newborn raced around the room, his sky-blue eyes turning between the women and the odd male with careful consideration. He had no idea of what was going on beyond those black eyes, but it still felt off. Zul watched the miniature tug-of-war between Genie and the Cobra, the brief win - and then the complacent way the hooded male returned to her side once the deed was done. He was beginning to think 'empty' was indeed the wrong word to use - there was something more aware after all.
As he was addressed, the elder Frei turned to look at the woman, inclining his head and floating to the side of her not occupied by the Cobra. "I wonder what his name will be," he finally broke his silence with a full sentence, glancing to his woman in passing. He didn't think that the humans named them, really, but more that they found their given names through an understanding. That's what began their bond. Perhaps that was why his relationship with Alex was so different than most.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:08 pm
Genevieve casually patted the shoulder of the elder frei as she took the younger arm in arm. Already was she beginning to feel as though she were becoming a part of a family even greater than her own. Solidarity. She certainly hoped that that would be the case, after all. Not many people were as fortunate as she was to get to choose who she'd prefer in her family. And who could say this new boy wouldn't need all the support available to him?
She giggled under her breath at the demon's inquiry. He was certainly a talkative one, or if nothing else opinionated, "Well, hon. I'm sure whatever it'll end up being it'd be better than the likelihood a'me buckling under the pressure and just naming 'im Spot, eh? C'mon. Help a lady t'er car."
It was clear as they threw the door open to travel back through the way they came that the boy was wholly and entirely exhilarated by the sights and sounds as the world continued to open up in front of him. From what was once a single, dainty room played out into a hallway! A lobby! And oh the freshness of the outdoors! His senses were assaulted, it was almost too much to take. The glisten of his eyes as he could even smell the oncoming rain in the air. He almost made a run for it down the sidewalk to touch and see and hear everything in this enormous world, finding things to be much more complicated than originally anticipated. Genevieve of course had to stress some authority and yank him back by the arm to stay put, distracting his attention with the forceful beeping of her car as she unlocked it from afar.
Patting him along with a gentle shove of the boy's shoulder, she ushered the new frei to take a seat in the passenger's side. While she seemed to have a more calm and nurturing approach than her initial shock and wonder, it showed in her smile that a great deal of excitement still remained. She'd hate to see it tarnished by a rainstorm. Turning on her heel to pat Zul's cheek, she thanked him gently under her breath for playing witness to such a changing day. Perhaps in time he would make a tremendous play-mate for her new one. And with that thought in mind, filled with boundless energy and warmth, she slid comfortably into the driver's seat to speed them home with a smoldering glance towards the building sitting elegantly against the darkening sky with the looming bite of chill.
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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