XxEternal MelodyxX
Lovely Lucyal
Curio Name: Stella
Curio: It is a silver heart made out of a metal of some sort that looks to be shattered and put back together that sort of glitters and shimmers. Heart reference in Clothing Section.
Guardian: Kayden Brookes
Item Stage: Not Drawn
Starting Stage: Kid
Gender: Female
Hair: Stella has long wavy curls with wispy styled bangs that point downwards into a letter V kind of style. The tips of her hair sort of curl into a swirl. Her hair is a sort of platinum white silver color with what looks to be like sparkles sprinkled through her hair. See Reference in Clothing section for Hairstyle.
Eyes: Stella's eyes are fairly large and are a light aquamarine blue, with long thick eyelashes. Her eye has a slight glint to it like the shine of a star in the night sky. See Reference in Clothing section for Eye Style.
Skin: Her skin is a pale, fair custard cream color. It's like white mixed with a slight custard yellow.
Clothing Style: Stella‘s clothing style is simple and elegant, to the point. The dress seems to be in two layers, one layer being the actual dress and the second a transparent dress over the first one. The first layer is just a simple white dress, with tattering at the hems of it in a jagged pattern. The second layer is a transparent one that goes over the white dress and it is a kind of very light blue silk that shimmers slightly. Nothing elaborate or out of the ordinary, though the dress does seem to have a slight glistening kind of glitter emitting when she moves. It is a simple strap dress with the two straps going down her neck and meeting right in the middle with a circle with two straps tying in the back of her neck. On Stella‘s right wrist, she wears a simple silver bracelet with blue encrusted jewels in it. On Stella‘s head, she wears an elaborate head piece that is a golden yellow color and is shaped like the points of a star, five of them sticking out in different directions, starting from the right to left and it is probably the only thing on her that is not either white, silver, or some variation of blue. Stella prefers to go barefeet, so she does not wear any shoes, though Kayden often advises the small child to wear shoes because of the dangers that litter the floor, which she continues to protest against. [Includes everything, Hair, Eyes, and Entire Outfit Reference]
Personality: Stella is a really sweet girl, though sometimes a little shy, and doesn’t mind doing small favors for others when they ask. She has a keen understanding of others’ feelings, which allows her to get along with them more easily, and soothe the woes of those in need. Stella is very compassionate and feels for anyone who is in need and in pain. Stella is sensitive though about herself and others. She tends to burst into tears a lot when something makes her sad. Her feelings are hurt easily so be careful of certain things said to Stella.
She’s also a girl who knows when to say her ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s when necessary, though sometimes go overboard with the ‘I’m sorry’s; she apologizes pretty profusely even when it’s not her fault. For example even if it’s someone else who has bumped into her, she will immediately apologize on reflex. Stella is anything but overly snotty at her achievements; sure, she’s proud when she masters something, but she never does brag about it because she always thinks she can do better. A daydreamer at heart, she has been one too many times for not paying attention to things when she is intrigued by something, a lighthearted smile on her face. She has to be snapped back to reality regularly.
Stella is incredibly patient, She takes things calmly and peacefully (maybe sometimes FAR TOO calmly and peacefully) and is great at being a mediator because she isn’t fond of taking sides and thinks everyone should work their differences out calmly. Stella is often times quite stubborn for such a small girl, If she thinks you're trying to sway her opinions on something, she'll stick to it with the determination of a extremely de-hydrated person to a well. If she doesn't want to move from something or lose the argument, she's not going to budge. Good luck trying to change her mind.
Albeit being understanding of others and patient with those that take a while to grasp things she is trying to get across, there are a few sure fire ways to earn her ire. Most of these situations deal with people she thinks have acted inappropriately or tastelessly towards her or others, and her temper will flare quickly. However, Stella’s opinion of inappropriate and tasteless may not seem so to others, and many of the things she gets upset over are often what one would consider no big deal. Manners, etiquette, and proper grammar, enunciation and dress are a few of the things that she seems to be a real stickler about. Nothing upsets her more than a young ruffian with their shirt tails hanging out and no respect for the elderly or proper speech. She won’t hesitate to stop what she’s doing and drag them by their ear for a lecture on good manners if she sees something she finds particularly disrespectful. In a group, she would most likely be the overly motherly one.
Special Traits: As stated before, a lot of the traits about Stella seem to shine or glimmer. She sort of leaves a trail of glitter wherever she treads. In Stella’s hand, she clutches what looks to be a shattered silver heart that was attempted to be put back together. It is the item that Stella came from, symbolizing the many hearts that have been broken.
Powers: Stella’s power involves being able to sense the emotions of others, so if someone is upset, happy, bored... she can feel it and it affects her. Even if someone seems to be happy on the outside, she is able to sense how they truly feel. So if you try to lie to Stella about how you truly feel, she will be able to sense it. No use in lying~
Prompt: Prompt #1
You're waiting for your coffee at the cafe and there's a fish tank with a gold fish nearby. While you're waiting your mind wanders, but (INSERT KID HERE) seems much more alert...and that gold fish is mighty entertaining. What does the kid do when faced with something so fascinating?
Prompt Response: "That girl's an Indie Cindy, lego haircut and polka dot dress." Kayden sung quietly under his breath, bobbing his head in time to the music. "I don't care if she thinks she's indie, how she's different is anyone's guess." he agreed with this verse; he was way too accustomed to seeing people who thought they were completely original, when an exact color copy was standing just a few feet away. Originality is rarity, but hey. I couldn't exactly talk about breaking the mold. Give him a once over, and Kayden fit the stereotype of ever other "typical" gay guy, From his shoes (black hi-top converse with green laces) to his shirt (Hot Topic) to the headphones resting casually in his ruffled, shaggy light caramel brown hair, he figured he screamed unoriginal. But hey, that's Kayden for you.
Still bobbing his head to the music, and resisting the urge to dance in the middle of the coffee shop Kayden sighed and allowed his eyes to stare out the window into the mall as people wandered about on their shopping expeditions. At any other time of day, the Café would be buzzing with people. However, it was about 7AM this fine Sunday morning, not many people in the Megaplex Mall , and everyone sensible was sleeping in. Hah, sensibility had never been Kayden's strong point. Stella had been standing beside Kayden looking out the window of the coffee shop as well. Kayden was entranced by his pulsating music blasting through his DJ Styled headphones plugged into a small red MP3 device over his two diamond studded pierced ears to much to pay attention to Stella. Seriously though, what did you expect from a seventeen year old teen who had no experience in taking care of a kid, let alone some magical child that come out of some weird heart thing he had found in an antique shop? Kayden’s mind wandered back to the memory of the day that he had found the heart in that strange shop located just around the corner of 2nd street, as if fate had led him there. As he entered the quaint little store with a big wooden sign that hung to the side reading in big bold letters, “The Curio Shop,“ The heart had caught his eye. It was a shattered heart sitting on a small wooden shelf that had looked like it was adequately put back together… he still remembered the words inscribed on the back of the heart…
Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls
Hang in for the light, till dawn
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere
Something about those words had haunted Kayden, though drew him to the item even more. That was why he had bought Stella’s heart in the first place, and even though the small child was more trouble than Kayden could handle, he did not regret finding her one bit. He had known that this was his purpose, to care for this strange, yet amazing young girl. Kayden soon snapped out of his trance when he felt a small tap on his shoulder, “Your coffee, darlin’?” the waitress said handing Kayden the Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid over it, a small stirrer sticking out of the hole at the very top where he was meant to drink it from. Kayden smiled, “Thanks.” he answered removing his headphones from his ears and hung them around his neck. Taking a swig of his early-morning coffee, he fished for his MP3 in his pocket with his freehand.
Several songs later, he looked up to see that, low and behold, the small magical girl from the silver heart (also known as Stella) was missing! He glanced quickly around, and using his incredibly large brain, came to the conclusion she was not, in fact, next to him anymore. "She must‘ve wandered off," Skyler muttered under his breath. "And I totally missed her!" He felt more than a little bit stupid at the point, because, really, there was only two people in the shop along with the waitress and the cashier and one can't just up and leave without the other noticing. This was really bad!! Stella was gone, and Kayden hadn't noticed! The boy slightly panicked as he leaped up from the seat and table he was seated at. The tiny child could be ANYWHERE in the mall! He had been distracted for more than a couple minutes, that’s for sure, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she were halfway across the mall right about now, and maybe even a more of a worse case scenario… she could have been kidnapped while wandering around by some strange lunatic man who liked to eat little children that came out of heart thingies!!!!! Kayden shook away the thought not allowing himself to think like that as he tossed a wad of dollar bills onto the table for the waitress, “KEEP THE CHANGE!!!” Kayden shouted to the waitress as he made a mad dash out of the store, so fast that The Road Runner, from all those early Saturday morning loony toon shows that came on the teletube (Kayden always enjoyed the word teletube…), would be proud! The waitress was left with a gust of wind blowing her hair and a dazed and confused kind of expression on her face holding a coffee pot in her right hand as she just smiled, “Come again, darlin’… “
Kayden winded his ways down the twist and turns of the malls many corridors as he searched high and low for Stella, calling out her name in a panic frenzied disorder. The mall consisted of an assortment of stores, all with their own mind warping effect on youth. It all begins with the young, the corporation masters determine, for the young grow old yet still stay within the trap. The cycle of being a consumer is a vicious draining confinement. In reality, we purchase things that we truly don't need but we only get because of peer pressure, consumer marketing, and the pursuit to be better than the next guy. That’s not the point right now though, the point was that Kayden needed to find Stella right away before something terrible happened to the girl because god knows all the possibilities of what can happen to a lost seven year old girl in a mall this size.
Kayden had begun to lose hope and perhaps some brain cells from all the screaming and calling of Stella’s name, which doesn’t quite make sense because you can’t really lose brain cells from shouting. That’s beside the point though, the point was that Kayden had been searching for quite awhile and still did not see Stella. Just when Kayden was starting to lose his sanity, he looked to find what seemed to be a trail of sparkling… glitter? This was not just any kind of glitter, Kayden recognized it as the kind of glitter dust that Stella sort of leaves behind whenever she floats around. Kayden nearly jumped up in down ecstatically (like what he saw people do in the casinos whenever they pull the handle on the slot machines and win, causing a whole crap load of coins to fall out) realizing that he had just hit the jackpot!! All he had to do was follow the trail of glitter dust and it would lead him directly towards wherever the hell that the little girl had wandered off to about an hour ago!
Kayden followed along the trail allowing his eyes to adjust to the the ground hunched over onto his back. If anyone had seen him walking like this as he followed the trail, they would have thought he was either mentally insane or had an insanely hunched back that even Quasimodo would be freaked out by. The following of the trail and the hunchback -ness-ness continued for about another minute when he finally arrived in front of a small pet store. Kayden stood back up straight and composed himself as he entered the store, and there, standing in front of what seemed to be a small fish tank with a goldfish inside at the very back of the store was a girl that looked distinctly like Stella, and unless Stella had a twin sister, was cloned in the hour that Kayden had lost her, or some crazy parents just decided to dye their child’s hair silver and give her a star crown, then that was definitely Stella!!
“Stella, what the heck!! I’ve been looking for you for over an hour! Have you been here the entire time?!” Kayden scolded as he made his way to the back of the pet store, passing by cages with birds, cats, dogs, snakes, reptiles and even an (armadillo? Wtf?) to Stella. “You had me worried beyond belief, you can’t even imagine how panicked I was!!” The cashier at the front of the store turned her head from a magazine she was reading, rotating in her seat and she said in a apathetic tone as if she had been standing in the store all day bored out of her mind, “Oh, is that your kid?”
Kayden just nodded, “Yeah, she is. Why didn’t you bring her down to security or something so I could have found her?” The cashier just shrugged, “Didn’t think it was important. You should probably keep her on a leash…” with no emotion or regard for what she had said at all, just turned her attention back to the magazine. Kayden groaned in agitation. He swore, it was people like that cashier who ended up with nobody all because they didn't care for anything but themselves. He just shrugged it off though, it wasn't worth his time to judge that woman so he returned his attention to Stella who's eyes literally seemed to be glued onto the goldfish that swam around in circles inside the tank.
Kayden watched the entranced girl for a second before he reached out and began to tug her hand gently, “Come on Stella, mom’s gonna be upset if I don’t get home in time for lunch…” but the girl did not budge one bit, anchored to the spot like someone had tied a block of cinder to her feet. “I said come on Stella!” Kayden ordered again, this time a little bit less gentle. Stella, still focused on the fish inside the tank, whispered in an audible tone, “It’s a beautiful fish, isn’t it, daddy?”
Kayden sighed, putting his hand to his head wearily, “I’ve already gone over this Stella, I’m not your real dad…” he had explained this fact to Stella so many times already, though the girl insisted on calling him daddy. “But… you take care of me, therefore you are my daddy. This orange thing in this glass case filled with water, it doesn’t have a daddy though…”
Kayden couldn’t help but laugh at Stella’s logic, “It’s not an orange thing, Stella. It’s called a goldfish… and I’m sure that it did have a daddy and a mommy, they just aren’t here anymore.” Stella tilted her head up towards Kayden, “Gold… fish? Well, I want to grant it’s wish, daddy. The ‘Gold’ fish. I talked to it and it says it wants to have a daddy just like me…” Kayden tilted his head to the side in confusion, talked to the goldfish? That was absurd, but Kayden wasn’t about to argue with the logic of a seven year old, especially one that had the power to make Kayden’s life miserable if she so felt the need to. Kayden kneeled down to Stella’s height and reached out, stroking the girl’s silver hair as his hand got covered in glitter dust. “Tell ya what? If we can get out of the mall as soon as possible, then I will buy you this goldfish, mkay?” Stella’s eyes lit up like the fourth of july, “mmkay!! Now he can finally have a daddy! I can be it’s daddy!!” the girl cheered. Kayden laughed again, “No Stella, only boys are daddies, you are it’s mommy.” Stella tilted her head, “Oh… okay then, I’m it’s mommy. You can be it’s daddy then.” Kayden just sighed as he called over the cashier to scoop the fish out with a net and put it into a plastic baggy filled with water. The cashier rung up the fish as Kayden took Stella’s tiny hand in his and walked over to pay for the fish.
“How much?” Kayden asked, pulling out his leather, (oooo…fancy…) wallet. The woman pressed a couple buttons on the cash register, “10.50 is your total… would you like to sign up for our club membership today?” the woman’s voice still as apathetic as ever as she sighed exasperated probably by Stella and Kayden’s presence. “No thanks, keep the change…” Kayden said, “and maybe buy yourself some emotions…” he muttered under his breath, handing her eleven dollars. He picked up the small plastic baggy with the goldfish inside before the woman could say anything and handed it down to Stella, walking out the pet store hand in hand. “So… what are you going to name it?” Kayden asked. The tiny barefooted girl turned her head up to Kayden, “He already has a name. It’s Kay… short for Kayden.” Kayden’s face gave a little surprise ‘oh’ and the two of them just laughed. This was going to be one heck of an adventure ahead for the two of them, but they would work it out together somehow…
Curio Name: Stella
Curio: It is a silver heart made out of a metal of some sort that looks to be shattered and put back together that sort of glitters and shimmers. Heart reference in Clothing Section.
Guardian: Kayden Brookes
Item Stage: Not Drawn
Starting Stage: Kid
Gender: Female
Hair: Stella has long wavy curls with wispy styled bangs that point downwards into a letter V kind of style. The tips of her hair sort of curl into a swirl. Her hair is a sort of platinum white silver color with what looks to be like sparkles sprinkled through her hair. See Reference in Clothing section for Hairstyle.
Eyes: Stella's eyes are fairly large and are a light aquamarine blue, with long thick eyelashes. Her eye has a slight glint to it like the shine of a star in the night sky. See Reference in Clothing section for Eye Style.
Skin: Her skin is a pale, fair custard cream color. It's like white mixed with a slight custard yellow.
Clothing Style: Stella‘s clothing style is simple and elegant, to the point. The dress seems to be in two layers, one layer being the actual dress and the second a transparent dress over the first one. The first layer is just a simple white dress, with tattering at the hems of it in a jagged pattern. The second layer is a transparent one that goes over the white dress and it is a kind of very light blue silk that shimmers slightly. Nothing elaborate or out of the ordinary, though the dress does seem to have a slight glistening kind of glitter emitting when she moves. It is a simple strap dress with the two straps going down her neck and meeting right in the middle with a circle with two straps tying in the back of her neck. On Stella‘s right wrist, she wears a simple silver bracelet with blue encrusted jewels in it. On Stella‘s head, she wears an elaborate head piece that is a golden yellow color and is shaped like the points of a star, five of them sticking out in different directions, starting from the right to left and it is probably the only thing on her that is not either white, silver, or some variation of blue. Stella prefers to go barefeet, so she does not wear any shoes, though Kayden often advises the small child to wear shoes because of the dangers that litter the floor, which she continues to protest against. [Includes everything, Hair, Eyes, and Entire Outfit Reference]
Personality: Stella is a really sweet girl, though sometimes a little shy, and doesn’t mind doing small favors for others when they ask. She has a keen understanding of others’ feelings, which allows her to get along with them more easily, and soothe the woes of those in need. Stella is very compassionate and feels for anyone who is in need and in pain. Stella is sensitive though about herself and others. She tends to burst into tears a lot when something makes her sad. Her feelings are hurt easily so be careful of certain things said to Stella.
She’s also a girl who knows when to say her ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s when necessary, though sometimes go overboard with the ‘I’m sorry’s; she apologizes pretty profusely even when it’s not her fault. For example even if it’s someone else who has bumped into her, she will immediately apologize on reflex. Stella is anything but overly snotty at her achievements; sure, she’s proud when she masters something, but she never does brag about it because she always thinks she can do better. A daydreamer at heart, she has been one too many times for not paying attention to things when she is intrigued by something, a lighthearted smile on her face. She has to be snapped back to reality regularly.
Stella is incredibly patient, She takes things calmly and peacefully (maybe sometimes FAR TOO calmly and peacefully) and is great at being a mediator because she isn’t fond of taking sides and thinks everyone should work their differences out calmly. Stella is often times quite stubborn for such a small girl, If she thinks you're trying to sway her opinions on something, she'll stick to it with the determination of a extremely de-hydrated person to a well. If she doesn't want to move from something or lose the argument, she's not going to budge. Good luck trying to change her mind.
Albeit being understanding of others and patient with those that take a while to grasp things she is trying to get across, there are a few sure fire ways to earn her ire. Most of these situations deal with people she thinks have acted inappropriately or tastelessly towards her or others, and her temper will flare quickly. However, Stella’s opinion of inappropriate and tasteless may not seem so to others, and many of the things she gets upset over are often what one would consider no big deal. Manners, etiquette, and proper grammar, enunciation and dress are a few of the things that she seems to be a real stickler about. Nothing upsets her more than a young ruffian with their shirt tails hanging out and no respect for the elderly or proper speech. She won’t hesitate to stop what she’s doing and drag them by their ear for a lecture on good manners if she sees something she finds particularly disrespectful. In a group, she would most likely be the overly motherly one.
Special Traits: As stated before, a lot of the traits about Stella seem to shine or glimmer. She sort of leaves a trail of glitter wherever she treads. In Stella’s hand, she clutches what looks to be a shattered silver heart that was attempted to be put back together. It is the item that Stella came from, symbolizing the many hearts that have been broken.
Powers: Stella’s power involves being able to sense the emotions of others, so if someone is upset, happy, bored... she can feel it and it affects her. Even if someone seems to be happy on the outside, she is able to sense how they truly feel. So if you try to lie to Stella about how you truly feel, she will be able to sense it. No use in lying~
Prompt: Prompt #1
You're waiting for your coffee at the cafe and there's a fish tank with a gold fish nearby. While you're waiting your mind wanders, but (INSERT KID HERE) seems much more alert...and that gold fish is mighty entertaining. What does the kid do when faced with something so fascinating?
Prompt Response: "That girl's an Indie Cindy, lego haircut and polka dot dress." Kayden sung quietly under his breath, bobbing his head in time to the music. "I don't care if she thinks she's indie, how she's different is anyone's guess." he agreed with this verse; he was way too accustomed to seeing people who thought they were completely original, when an exact color copy was standing just a few feet away. Originality is rarity, but hey. I couldn't exactly talk about breaking the mold. Give him a once over, and Kayden fit the stereotype of ever other "typical" gay guy, From his shoes (black hi-top converse with green laces) to his shirt (Hot Topic) to the headphones resting casually in his ruffled, shaggy light caramel brown hair, he figured he screamed unoriginal. But hey, that's Kayden for you.
Still bobbing his head to the music, and resisting the urge to dance in the middle of the coffee shop Kayden sighed and allowed his eyes to stare out the window into the mall as people wandered about on their shopping expeditions. At any other time of day, the Café would be buzzing with people. However, it was about 7AM this fine Sunday morning, not many people in the Megaplex Mall , and everyone sensible was sleeping in. Hah, sensibility had never been Kayden's strong point. Stella had been standing beside Kayden looking out the window of the coffee shop as well. Kayden was entranced by his pulsating music blasting through his DJ Styled headphones plugged into a small red MP3 device over his two diamond studded pierced ears to much to pay attention to Stella. Seriously though, what did you expect from a seventeen year old teen who had no experience in taking care of a kid, let alone some magical child that come out of some weird heart thing he had found in an antique shop? Kayden’s mind wandered back to the memory of the day that he had found the heart in that strange shop located just around the corner of 2nd street, as if fate had led him there. As he entered the quaint little store with a big wooden sign that hung to the side reading in big bold letters, “The Curio Shop,“ The heart had caught his eye. It was a shattered heart sitting on a small wooden shelf that had looked like it was adequately put back together… he still remembered the words inscribed on the back of the heart…
Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls
Hang in for the light, till dawn
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere
Something about those words had haunted Kayden, though drew him to the item even more. That was why he had bought Stella’s heart in the first place, and even though the small child was more trouble than Kayden could handle, he did not regret finding her one bit. He had known that this was his purpose, to care for this strange, yet amazing young girl. Kayden soon snapped out of his trance when he felt a small tap on his shoulder, “Your coffee, darlin’?” the waitress said handing Kayden the Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid over it, a small stirrer sticking out of the hole at the very top where he was meant to drink it from. Kayden smiled, “Thanks.” he answered removing his headphones from his ears and hung them around his neck. Taking a swig of his early-morning coffee, he fished for his MP3 in his pocket with his freehand.
Several songs later, he looked up to see that, low and behold, the small magical girl from the silver heart (also known as Stella) was missing! He glanced quickly around, and using his incredibly large brain, came to the conclusion she was not, in fact, next to him anymore. "She must‘ve wandered off," Skyler muttered under his breath. "And I totally missed her!" He felt more than a little bit stupid at the point, because, really, there was only two people in the shop along with the waitress and the cashier and one can't just up and leave without the other noticing. This was really bad!! Stella was gone, and Kayden hadn't noticed! The boy slightly panicked as he leaped up from the seat and table he was seated at. The tiny child could be ANYWHERE in the mall! He had been distracted for more than a couple minutes, that’s for sure, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she were halfway across the mall right about now, and maybe even a more of a worse case scenario… she could have been kidnapped while wandering around by some strange lunatic man who liked to eat little children that came out of heart thingies!!!!! Kayden shook away the thought not allowing himself to think like that as he tossed a wad of dollar bills onto the table for the waitress, “KEEP THE CHANGE!!!” Kayden shouted to the waitress as he made a mad dash out of the store, so fast that The Road Runner, from all those early Saturday morning loony toon shows that came on the teletube (Kayden always enjoyed the word teletube…), would be proud! The waitress was left with a gust of wind blowing her hair and a dazed and confused kind of expression on her face holding a coffee pot in her right hand as she just smiled, “Come again, darlin’… “
Kayden winded his ways down the twist and turns of the malls many corridors as he searched high and low for Stella, calling out her name in a panic frenzied disorder. The mall consisted of an assortment of stores, all with their own mind warping effect on youth. It all begins with the young, the corporation masters determine, for the young grow old yet still stay within the trap. The cycle of being a consumer is a vicious draining confinement. In reality, we purchase things that we truly don't need but we only get because of peer pressure, consumer marketing, and the pursuit to be better than the next guy. That’s not the point right now though, the point was that Kayden needed to find Stella right away before something terrible happened to the girl because god knows all the possibilities of what can happen to a lost seven year old girl in a mall this size.
Kayden had begun to lose hope and perhaps some brain cells from all the screaming and calling of Stella’s name, which doesn’t quite make sense because you can’t really lose brain cells from shouting. That’s beside the point though, the point was that Kayden had been searching for quite awhile and still did not see Stella. Just when Kayden was starting to lose his sanity, he looked to find what seemed to be a trail of sparkling… glitter? This was not just any kind of glitter, Kayden recognized it as the kind of glitter dust that Stella sort of leaves behind whenever she floats around. Kayden nearly jumped up in down ecstatically (like what he saw people do in the casinos whenever they pull the handle on the slot machines and win, causing a whole crap load of coins to fall out) realizing that he had just hit the jackpot!! All he had to do was follow the trail of glitter dust and it would lead him directly towards wherever the hell that the little girl had wandered off to about an hour ago!
Kayden followed along the trail allowing his eyes to adjust to the the ground hunched over onto his back. If anyone had seen him walking like this as he followed the trail, they would have thought he was either mentally insane or had an insanely hunched back that even Quasimodo would be freaked out by. The following of the trail and the hunchback -ness-ness continued for about another minute when he finally arrived in front of a small pet store. Kayden stood back up straight and composed himself as he entered the store, and there, standing in front of what seemed to be a small fish tank with a goldfish inside at the very back of the store was a girl that looked distinctly like Stella, and unless Stella had a twin sister, was cloned in the hour that Kayden had lost her, or some crazy parents just decided to dye their child’s hair silver and give her a star crown, then that was definitely Stella!!
“Stella, what the heck!! I’ve been looking for you for over an hour! Have you been here the entire time?!” Kayden scolded as he made his way to the back of the pet store, passing by cages with birds, cats, dogs, snakes, reptiles and even an (armadillo? Wtf?) to Stella. “You had me worried beyond belief, you can’t even imagine how panicked I was!!” The cashier at the front of the store turned her head from a magazine she was reading, rotating in her seat and she said in a apathetic tone as if she had been standing in the store all day bored out of her mind, “Oh, is that your kid?”
Kayden just nodded, “Yeah, she is. Why didn’t you bring her down to security or something so I could have found her?” The cashier just shrugged, “Didn’t think it was important. You should probably keep her on a leash…” with no emotion or regard for what she had said at all, just turned her attention back to the magazine. Kayden groaned in agitation. He swore, it was people like that cashier who ended up with nobody all because they didn't care for anything but themselves. He just shrugged it off though, it wasn't worth his time to judge that woman so he returned his attention to Stella who's eyes literally seemed to be glued onto the goldfish that swam around in circles inside the tank.
Kayden watched the entranced girl for a second before he reached out and began to tug her hand gently, “Come on Stella, mom’s gonna be upset if I don’t get home in time for lunch…” but the girl did not budge one bit, anchored to the spot like someone had tied a block of cinder to her feet. “I said come on Stella!” Kayden ordered again, this time a little bit less gentle. Stella, still focused on the fish inside the tank, whispered in an audible tone, “It’s a beautiful fish, isn’t it, daddy?”
Kayden sighed, putting his hand to his head wearily, “I’ve already gone over this Stella, I’m not your real dad…” he had explained this fact to Stella so many times already, though the girl insisted on calling him daddy. “But… you take care of me, therefore you are my daddy. This orange thing in this glass case filled with water, it doesn’t have a daddy though…”
Kayden couldn’t help but laugh at Stella’s logic, “It’s not an orange thing, Stella. It’s called a goldfish… and I’m sure that it did have a daddy and a mommy, they just aren’t here anymore.” Stella tilted her head up towards Kayden, “Gold… fish? Well, I want to grant it’s wish, daddy. The ‘Gold’ fish. I talked to it and it says it wants to have a daddy just like me…” Kayden tilted his head to the side in confusion, talked to the goldfish? That was absurd, but Kayden wasn’t about to argue with the logic of a seven year old, especially one that had the power to make Kayden’s life miserable if she so felt the need to. Kayden kneeled down to Stella’s height and reached out, stroking the girl’s silver hair as his hand got covered in glitter dust. “Tell ya what? If we can get out of the mall as soon as possible, then I will buy you this goldfish, mkay?” Stella’s eyes lit up like the fourth of july, “mmkay!! Now he can finally have a daddy! I can be it’s daddy!!” the girl cheered. Kayden laughed again, “No Stella, only boys are daddies, you are it’s mommy.” Stella tilted her head, “Oh… okay then, I’m it’s mommy. You can be it’s daddy then.” Kayden just sighed as he called over the cashier to scoop the fish out with a net and put it into a plastic baggy filled with water. The cashier rung up the fish as Kayden took Stella’s tiny hand in his and walked over to pay for the fish.
“How much?” Kayden asked, pulling out his leather, (oooo…fancy…) wallet. The woman pressed a couple buttons on the cash register, “10.50 is your total… would you like to sign up for our club membership today?” the woman’s voice still as apathetic as ever as she sighed exasperated probably by Stella and Kayden’s presence. “No thanks, keep the change…” Kayden said, “and maybe buy yourself some emotions…” he muttered under his breath, handing her eleven dollars. He picked up the small plastic baggy with the goldfish inside before the woman could say anything and handed it down to Stella, walking out the pet store hand in hand. “So… what are you going to name it?” Kayden asked. The tiny barefooted girl turned her head up to Kayden, “He already has a name. It’s Kay… short for Kayden.” Kayden’s face gave a little surprise ‘oh’ and the two of them just laughed. This was going to be one heck of an adventure ahead for the two of them, but they would work it out together somehow…
