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 Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:00 pm
Man, that kid is growing a bit too fast, Avery thought, standing in the doorway beside Sheldon. Sheldon, the guy he had met at a bar rambling about what he had later learned was the very same thing that had been sleeping in a makeshift 'nest' in his living room. And now that 'thing' looked just like a littel boy... but with wings. These same wings had been a point of interest for him over the past few days, and he had sketchbooks full of studies of their anatomy. Kingfisher had been content to let Avery study these strange little wings, but he was now demanding that his 'dad' go out for a change.
So he was. Sheldon had brought over Grazie, the older Herald who would probably know what Kingfisher was going through as a small fallen angel. And they were going to be alone for the next few hours as their two 'fathers' (a term he still wasn't quite sure he could get used to...) got a couple drinks, just for fun.
"Ok, uh... guys. We're leaving," he said, bending to ruffle Kingfisher's hair before leaning towards Grazie "And if he gets too out of control, just shut the blinds. He always falls asleep when it's dark..." he whispered.
And with that, it seemed, he and Sheldon would be safe to leave.
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:11 pm
Ahhh, the babysitting blues . . . it's tune is soft and monotone and rumbles even the most hardened of hearts to anguish and tears. Yet, Grazie refused to stress such unwanted things as her father pulled her down to his height and stuck a small, fatherly kiss onto her forehead. In a haste, she pushed him away like he was some unknown pervert and hitched her head towards Avery.
"Not a problem, popsy." she said. "This little guy doesn't seem as though he is going to be much trouble. Right, little Fishy? Sheldon, why don't you go out and find another Herald or something? We're so cute when we just pop out of dying stage, haha."
Sheldon flashed Avery a smile and a nod. However, hidden underneath that content grin was a bubbling cauldron of worry. Gretchan - no, Grazie had turned into quite the hothead since bouncing into her teen years. If she caused harm to this man's Herald . . . oh goodness . . . May the Force be with him, may the Force be with him, may the Force be with him . . .
"Gretchan, make sure you take good care of Kingfisher, okay? Make sure he doesn't stay up late and don't give him anything sugary. C'mon, Aves, let's go. The other guys are probably there already."
Grazie cocked her head at Sheldon and her eyes bore down on him like her finger was on the trigger. Damn it, the man surely has gotten it through his head that her name is not Gretchan already? Gosh!
"Shush, Sheldon. It's not your kid, so don't try to tell me how to what over 'im. You two run along now like good little boys, I will have him under control."
Before shipping them out with a little shoo, Grazie tugged Avery a little.
"Uh, where do you keep your liquors?" she asked. "I, uh- want to make sure the little guy doesn't get into em', y'know?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:28 pm
Avery's smile quickly turned to a stony seriousness at Grazie's question.
"I keep it at the bar. And I pay a guy to get it out for me. Isn't that..." he quirked an eyebrow, his jaw still set, "convenient?" And all at once, a smile returned to his face. "Now, you two have a nice, safe time, mkay?"
He turned, grabbing Sheldon by the crook of his arm and pulled his friend out of the room, closing the door behind him.
The second the door closed, Kingfisher turned to Grazie.
"Hi." he said simply, sitting on a beanbag he had forced Avery to buy for him and watching her intently. "Do you have food?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:36 pm
"Hmmph." Grazie replied as the undecipherable noise croaked out her throat. She turned towards the small messanger reborn and quirked an eyebrow just like Herald's father had done earlier before.
"I've got some Swedish fish." she said, fishing the small plastic bag out of her skort's pocket and holding it like it was the messiah's holy Grail. "If you want some, you have to be a good boy and behave."
Once again, the eyebrow rose as she scoffed inwardly. What a deal with a kid, candy for behavior . . . she had a right to laugh at herself.
"So, kid . . . " she held down the plastic bag towards him. That's the once disadvantage for any kid that wanted something for the bamboo Herald; she was much too tall . . . taller than her father even. It sucked, a lot. "What'cha do for fun at your popsy's place? Do you fancy those race cars and train sets I heard little boyos love so much?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 9:20 pm
"Fishies!" King yelped as he grabbed the bag. He stuffed a handful into his mouth, somewhat surprised by the sudden sweetness, nothing like the taste of real fish, which he so rarely was allowed to enjoy. Still, they were good. He recognized the taste of sugar, another rare treat, and smiled. A tiny trickle of red fish gut juices trickled down his cheek.
"I'm always a good boy!" he said ecstatically, nodding with a ferocity that would snap any less sturdy child's neck. "And I don't play race cars." he added.
He jumped up, ran to one of the numerous bookshelves and grabbed a thin and worn children's book, one of his favorites.
"Let's read this one!" he said, laying the book in her lap and taking his place on the beanbag yet again, still staring with those bright and trustworthy eyes.
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 9:35 pm
Ugh.
Gretchan took a glance down at the book's cover and scanned her eyes across the title. In her mind, it read, "The Unifying Concept of Things Not Understood By This Girl's Brain and the Things She Reads". Truth be told, Grazie does not like to read at all. Hell, to her, all the books in the world could just stick it in their juice box and suck it. She gave a long, disgusted sigh and followed the Herald over towards his bean bag and sat pretzel style down on the floor in front of him.
"So . . . " she trailed with a flip of the book's cover. "What's this book about? Something your popsy reads you regularly?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 8:58 am
"Oh, oh, oh!" Kingfisher cried, "I know! There's a girl and a dragon and toast and butter and cereal and a big mommy drago- Hey! Are you my mommy?"
He jumped up again, flopping down again only a few feet later to pet Grazie's wings. "You have wings and I have wings, see?" He turned his bum towards the other Herald and shook his wings at her, showing off their fine colors, right now already fading to a powdery blue color, meaning the sun was probably going to set soon, which meant...
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:48 pm
Grazie gave a small flip of her hair as she leaned her elbow over and clutched her chin.
"Oh really, what an interesting sounding stor-"
Hesitating, she watched the small Herald wiggle his bum at her and chuckled inwardly. How cute. Yet, when the question of her being his mommy surfaced, she flushed and threw herself back like any embarrassed teenager.
"Look, kid, your popsy might be a good looking man." I've always had a thing for glasses. she mused inside her head. "But I'm not your moms. Your dad never told you where Heralds come from, huh?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 8:55 pm
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Kingfisher responded for the second time in as many minutes, "We have Heral'!" Like a flighty little bird, he jumped up once again, darted to the bookshelf once again, and (without a pause to think about where the book would be) pulled a book from its resting place yet again. This one was about half his size and seemed to be falling apart at the seams. A book that size had to be informative and important!
Of course, Kingfisher didn't bother dropping this one in Grazie's lap, but settled for tossing it unceremoniously on the floor at their feet and practically tearing the cover open, flipping pages at a rapid pace. One by one the pages marched along, the little Herald's eyes darting back and forth. He probably didn't know half the words on these pages, but he seemed to be absorbing the information at a rapid pace, until... he stopped. His tiny finger was a speeding bullet as it found its mark on the page.
"Heral'!' he said triumphantly, proud of himself for knowing such a 'big' word. And, just as he had said, the word was as plain as day on the page: The Heralds. Of course, the page had been bookmarked by a pure white feather, but that didn't seem of any importance to him. From behind the last page stuck a card, covered with signatures. A library card, by the looks of it. Oh, Avery was quite the crook, he was.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:56 pm
Grazie shuffled herself behind Kingfisher and the book, eyes rolling over the bold words 'The Heralds'. Hmm, so his guardian actually did research on their species, huh? Sheldon wasn't one to research things, she had to find out information on her own. Why was he so useless?!
"That good for nothing, blasted idiot!" she muttered harshly under her breathe. That man always made her so mad!
At the bar, Sheldon moved his glass away from his mouth quickly as he drew out a sneeze. One of his drinking buddies laughed and patted the poor guy on the back.
"Haha . . . !" laughed the man. "You okay there, buddy? You know what they: sneezing out of the blue means some woman must be talking bad behind your back."
Sheldon just grinned, "Then I should be sneezing for a lifetime, haha!"
Back to the corridors of Avery's house, Grazie read the explanation carefully. There wasn't much to gone on that she already knew. . . on how the Heralds are reborn from the kindness of one's heart and all that mumbo jumbo. Yet, it was interesting to read about how to came about to life.
"Have you any more books about Heralds?" she asked, poking Kingfisher on the cheek. "Or are you hungry instead? I could . . . try to cook you up something to eat if you like."
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:11 am
"Nu-uh," Kingfisher responded, snapping the book closed and bending over to lift it, quite the feat for a little boy who only outweighed the tome by a few... dozen pounds. With a grunt, he got it all the way over his head and waddled it over to the bookshelf, returning it to its rightful place.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" The third time. A favorite phrase of his, that was for sure. As his cries of 'Oh!' continued, he grabbed a handful of books, smaller this time but none as thin as his children's books. He turned his back to Grazie, placing them each on the counter in a neat row: "The Dummy's Cookbook for Dummies," "The Tiny Angel," "Dictionary of Angels," "Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion," and "The Gift of an Angel: For Parents Welcoming a New Child." He poked at each book's cover, one by one as he swiveled in the barstool he typically sat at while Avery prepared dinner.
"Fis lady, fis' lady?" he called at Grazie, doing his best to get her attention. "I have books!"
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