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 Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:47 pm
"Are you sure you're okay?" A voice cut through the chilled air. Soft puffs danced in front of two males faces as they stood on the porch of a two story home. They were both slender males, one just slightly taller then the other. One had wild yellow and black hair that seemed to have a life of its own. The other had messy dark raven black hair and dark tired looking stormy blue eyes. Between them seemed to be a slight tension but a genuine caring for one another between them.
"I'm fine, lets get going into the market okay?" The dark haired male sighed a little. A silence seemed to fill the air between them before the older of the two fixed his scarf and stepped down the steps to street level. That was the end of that discussion it seemed.
The dust sighed a little and followed after his guardian, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. His sneakers crunched over the ground, matching the pace of Ashton's stride with no problem. He was still worried over his guardians arm, the electrical burns were still healing and the guilt that he had caused those burns on the other man still bothered him. Shepard, his guardians friend, boyfriend or whatever had tended to some of the stitches that were in his arm still. There were still bandages and healing lotions and such on the burns but the idiot wouldn't go to a real doctor. Since then the male had been off work and hanging aroudn the house looking for any excuse to go outside. So they were going out to get coffee, Ashton with his peppermint latte and Ziya with his caramel latte.
Their walk to the coffee shop wasn't a long one and they grabbed their drinks and made to head back outside. Ashton was trying to balance his drink in his as he pushed open the door headign out, not paying all that much attention as he was more busy trying not to knock his arm or spill his drink.
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:28 pm
Alastair shivered and hunched his shoulders to bury his face in the thick plaid scarf wrapped around his neck as he walked down the street with the chilly air wrapping around him and ruffling his short brown hair. The cold bit into his exposed skin and made his nose twitch with an oncoming sneeze that didn't seem to want to happen. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose but just couldn't get rid of that irritating urge to sneeze. Quite frankly, it was making his head ache with something fierce! But he shook that off and focused his attention back on his surroundings, narrowly avoiding bumping into a woman walking by him.
Coffee. That was what he needed after the tiring day that he had. Some nice strong coffee. Even the thought of it seemed to perk him up from the dreary, tired mood that he was in and lit up his blue eyes. As he walked, he shoved a hand into the pocket of his coat that reached all the way down to his ankles. To his relief, the little bottle nestled inside the pocket was safe and sound, though the wetness seeping through the material of his coat and then the material of his pants didn't help to keep him warm. He ran his fingers over the damp, smooth glass of the bottle, checking every inch of it but didn't feel a crack anywhere along its sides.
The bottle, which he found quite some time ago now, had the habit of constantly dripping water down its side like dew sliding down a window pane in the early morning. Alastair couldn't explain this reaction of the bottle but regardless found it fascinating. He had taken to having the bottle with him at all times in case any other interesting developments occurred.
When he arrived at the coffee shop, Alastair quickly purchased a black coffee the moment that he reached the counter to make an order. The first sip was absolute bliss, and the heat of the coffee fought back the chill threatening to freeze his body. As he turned to leave, he noticed two men making their way out of the coffee shop as well. Or at least trying to as the dark haired man struggled to open the door. "Might I be of some help?" he offered, reaching out to help open the door for the man.
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:32 pm
The grumbling coming from the raven haired man paused upon hearing a voice behind him offer to open the door. Ashton paused, blinking his storm colored hues and looked at the person. "Oh..... Thanks...." He said softly, moving back a little so the other could get the door. It wasn't often people offered to open the door for him, most just ignored him and walked past. Looking to Ziya, whom was standing quietly a few steps behind then back to the man.
Sipping his drink, he stepped back out into the cold and flinched a little, standing off to the side so he could thank the other again. "Thanks again, I'm all sorts of awkward...."
Ziya was silent because he could sense this man had some sort of connection to Dusts. It was a faint hit, so he figured it was a bottle int he mans pocket as the smaller the being the less of a signature it gave off. So the Lightening dust continued to watch the man wordlessly, trying to figure out if his senses were true or not and if they were what to say.
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:48 pm
Alastair stepped outside into the cold, and a shiver ran up his spine. The moment he got home, he planned to curl up by the fire with a good book. He held the door open until the raven haired man and his companion had left the coffee shop before releasing his hold and letting it swing shut. He shook his head at the words of thanks. Helping others was the right thing to do. At least, that was the kind of thing his mother always tried to instill him growing up.
"You looked like you could use the hand," Alastair said with a sort of shrug, his shoulders half lifting then falling again almost instantly. He took a quick sip of his coffee, feeling a little awkward himself.
He could feel the eyes on him and glanced over the top of his coffee at the teen that was with the man. His brow knitted as he stared at the teen, who had been quiet the whole time. Had he offended the teen in someway? He couldn't think of any reason the teen should be offended by him. "I'm Alastair," he said, turning back to the raven haired man. He didn't know if the man planned on heading off right away for whatever other business he needed to attend to, or simply heading home. But he thought it polite to at least offer his name.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Sipping his drink, Ashton looked at the new comer then at Ziya for a moment. He quirked an eyebrow seeing as the teen had a semi serious look on his face. Something was up, this kid was never very serious unless it was something pertaining to what he was.
"Nice to meet you Alastair, I'm Ashton and this is Ziya" He smiled and elbowed the teen in the side gently. This action pulled the teen back and brought a smile to the blondes face.
"Nice to meet you!" Ziya smiled, his mind still trying to think of a way to bring up the bottle he was sure the other possessed. It was always a sensitive thing, bringing up the strange little bottle more people seemed to be finding. The lightening dust would occasionally feel a pang he got when being in the same area of other dusts while strolling through the market.
"Sooo..... this may seem like a strange question but have you ever seen a strange bottle about ya big? Made of glass with swirling markings on it?' The teen asked suddenly, using his hands to gesture to the size of the bottle.
"Ziya!" Ashton hissed, glaring at the teen. Must he always do this?
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 8:50 pm
Alastair bobbed his head in acknowledgement of their introduction. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said politely, offering a friendly smile. It was always nice to meet new people, even if Alastair was a bit awkward around other people upon first meeting them.
He raised his coffee to his lips and nearly choked on the hot liquid at Ziya's question. He coughed into his hand, taking the moment to compose himself. "You know about those bottles?" he asked as his blue eyes darted from Ashton to Ziya. This wouldn't be his first encounter with someone that knew something about the bottle that he had found. But it was still a jolt to have someone ask about it so bluntly.
Alastair smiled at Ashton and shook his head. "It's quite all right," he said, hoping the man wasn't too angry with the teen's directness. "Many of my students like to just ask things straight forth rather than beating about the bushes for answers."
He dug into his pocket and retrieved the bottle. He held it up for the two of them to see. "I found it quite some time ago, and then it started dripping water constantly," he explained, wondering how exactly Ziya might have known about the bottle.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:12 pm
"Sometimes Ziya forgets what manners are....." Ashton grumbled a little, eying the teen; whom seemed to ignore him. As much as he appreciated the teens eagerness to learn more about others like himself, it just made Ashton worry ab out it attracting the wrong type of attention. Just because someone who held a bottle in their possession was a good person; not that he thought Alastair was dangerous. Ashton was just worried that one of these times it would be someone who was dangerous and out to get whatever these kids were.
"You'd be surprised with how much I know about them" Ziya smiled a little. Once it was taken out for him to see, the teen smiled, knowing his feeling was confirmed. Reaching out towards the bottle, a very slight electrical current fizzled and popped. The same reaction he had with Kirrin all those months ago, a pang of sadness hit him but the didn't show it.
"How much do you know about them? Do you know what they become?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:03 pm
Alastair nodded in understanding. Not knowing Ziya, he didn't think it would be polite to make any sort of comment on Ziya's manners. After all, this was only his first meeting with the teen. "It's really okay," he assured Ashton. "I've dealt with some students who were, well, far less well mannered. I'm not quite sure that manners was a word in their vocabulary." He was amazed that those students could get accepted into the college, especially after reading some of their poorly written reports.
The comment turned his attention back to Ziya. "You sound like you're far more knowledgeable than I am," he admitted. "I only found out about the nature of this bottle a little while ago when a visitor stopped by my home. A sort of happy accident, I suppose. The woman happened to have had a bottle like mine." His blue eyed gaze glanced between the two of them. "Apparently the bottle is supposed to grow into a child of some sort."
Saying it out loud, it still sounded like some story out of a fantasy novel. If not for the child with her icy wings, Alastair might not have believed the story at all. How could a child come out of a bottle? He guessed only time would show him the answer to that.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:07 pm
Giving Ziya another glance, he looked back at the other man and smiled slightly at his words. He supposed he could safely assume this man was a teacher or some sorts. Which was a good indicator as to why he was being so cool with Ziya and not gettign frustrated. The teen was just gettign over excited at the chance of meeting more people with dusts since most of his friends had deserted him.
"As crazy as it sounds you're very right on that" Ashton said softly, shifting further away from the cafe door as not to obstruct passers. "I can't even begin to explain the mechanics but...." he trailed off and looked to the teen.
"I'm a prime example, I started out exactly the same... and we each have our own little set of.... quirks as Ashton put it once" Ziya smiled and looked over at his guardian.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:21 am
If two people said it to be true, Alastair could hardly argue, even with some misgivings. This sort of things sounded like something out of a book, or something that happened to other people. Not boring, dull, unadventurous Alastair Greyson. But seeing the proof before his eyes twice now, as he looked to Ziya, Alastair knew he had to start preparing for what would eventually pop out of the bottle dripping water down his arm. He couldn't imagine what kind of child the bottle held but could only hope that the child wouldn't give him as much trouble outside the bottle as it did inside it.
"It might make for an interesting experiment, to learn the mechanics behind it," he said ponderously. "But in knowing, that would also remove the mystery and magic behind these bottles." In that case, he thought it better to be in the dark about how the child came from the bottle. It would, in his mind, make the experience far less exciting. He caught Ashton's movement and did likewise in time to avoid an angry looking woman ramming into him as she exited the cafe.
"Perhaps you can offer some advice on what to expect." He knew whatever child came from his bottle would probably be nothing like Ziya, or Anouk, but he didn't know anything about caring for any kind of child, let alone one as special as the one that was bound to come from his bottle. He was used to college students from teaching at the university. But he no experience being around a child and caring for that child. He worried he wouldn't be good enough to take care of the child.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 10:12 pm
"Some things are better left unexplained" Ashton said softly. He wished someone would have told him back then that the strange bottle he'd found would turn into the child. At least Alastair had some sort of clue as to exactly what he had in his possession. It would still be a stumble to cope with the sudden strange addition to the family but at least he wasn't completely in the dark.
When the other asked for any sort of advice he could give, the raven haired male chuckled softly and gave him a rueful smile. "I think I'm the last person who should be giving someone else advice on this...." He said gently, taking a moment to sip his drink. "Although.... I would advise to expect the unexpected... Things with Ziya were.... interesting at the start...though now he's old enough that he can manage things better" He added soon after.
"I haven't shorted anything out for some time now thank you very much" Ziya pipped up, giving his guardian a look when he rolled his eyes at the comment.
"From what I've gathered the child will have an ability and depending the severity of it will determined their ability to contain and maintain it" Ashton explained further. "Ziya here is connected to lightening..... though now that he's much older he has a better understanding with it and keeping tabs on it.... the first couple months as a child I went through many toasters....."
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:28 am
Alastair nodded his agreement. If everything could be explained, it would take out the mystery of the whole world. Sometimes, it was better to simply sit back and take in the wonder of it all. But there were somethings that he was happy to have explained to him, like what would come from the bottle. If he had never been told that a child would one day come out of the bottle, well, he wasn't exactly sure what he would do then. Freak out sounded like a good enough answer. He knew a child was to come, but that didn't make him feel all the more prepared.
Interesting? Alastair wasn't certain if he liked the implications there. Interesting could be used to describe a great many things, as he knew from the number of times he could count the word in an essay about a book. His students liked to say things were "interesting" without really describing anything beyond that. Interesting wasn't always good either. He gave a puzzled look to Ziya. "Shorted out?" He was rather baffled by that statement until Ashton explained about Ziya's connection with lightning. It shouldn't have come as that great a surprise. He had already encountered a child with ice abilities. Or maybe that was snow?
Alastair dropped his gaze to his bottle, his coffee having gone forgotten in his other hand. "I guess whatever sort of ability she'll have will be water related," he said, stating what he figured was probably obvious, what with the dripping water and all.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:54 pm
Seeing the look of uncertainty on the others face just made him smile a little. It was rare to find any sort of certainty when it came to these dust children. They were beyond them in a sense, a higher sort of being they will never probably properly understand. If they were meant to fully understand then each child would come with an instruction guide or something.
"That sounds like a fair assumption" Ashton smiled a little as he sipped his hot drink again. "Be prepared to have things destroyed though... they wont mean to of course.... but it will be a trail and error with their abilities..." He said softly, looking to Ziya. The teen was happily drinking his hot chocolate, absorbing the conversation about him and his kind. "With Ziya I could always tell when he was upset over something cause the lights would flicker in the house... then when thunderstorms would come in his powers would go haywire... they still do but he has ways of channeling them now"
"Having the abilities are scary at times.... how easy it is to hurt someone by accident...." Ziya murmured softly, eying Ashtons injured arm with a heavy sense of guilt.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:42 pm
Water didn't seem like something that would be too terribly dangerous to deal with, if things got a little out of control. But Alastair could even begin to imagine the sort of trouble that might arise from a child with abilities involving water. He already hurt himself enough by slipping on water that leaked onto the floor and either landing on the floor or banging his shin into something. It wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, but it had yet to cause serious injury. If that was the worst of things to come, then he would be thankful to get off so lucky.
He doubted fate would be so kind though.
"I guess I can only wait to see what destruction might come from a child with water abilities," he said, still half pondering over the topic. Electricity and water were such different elements, so it was hard to judge what to expect of his child after hearing about Ziya's childhood. His gaze turned on Ziya as the teen spoke, and a frown settled onto Alastair's face. It probably wasn't his place to ask about any accidents. "Even without having abilities, it's possible to hurt others by accident. But I suppose having an ability that one doesn't quite have control over makes it easier to have such accidents."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 5:54 pm
"It'll be interesting to see... some are less dangerous and destructive compared to others" Ashton said gently, remembering a few who were much more tame then others. It made him think of the two Harpy twins they had met once a very long time ago when Ziya had first come from his bottle. They weren't destructive as they were different in looks compared to others.
Ziya looked to the other adult and nodded to what he said, sipping his drink for a moment. "Once there is an incident one learns to find other means of safe guarding yourself from others..... Like for example if I feel like my powers are getting edgy I tinker with some of my small mechanical projects...the electricity is channeled into the machines instead of having no where to go" He said softly, looking to his guardian for a moment.
"Either way.... you have some advantages being a teacher...you already have some experience dealing with children..... I hadn't been around a kid since .... well since I was a kid myself" Ashton laughed a little, sipping his drink.
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