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 Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:35 pm
To be completely honest, Nimueh wasn't entirely comfortable bringing the children to Oba, considering the story he'd heard from Callum about just what had happened to him here. Somehow, the lack of detail as to what he may or may not remember somehow made it all worse, because the horrors the mind could concoct were just as horrible as the truth of what had happened to the older hybrid.
But Callum, stubborn as he was, was easily enticed by the promise of a good fight, and the chance to prove his skill. And while Nimueh had hoped their run in with a group of menzuri would cure him of this reckless behavior, it had only tempered it somewhat... and when the news came through of the tournament being run in Oba, the light in Callum's eyes had been impossible to deny.
There was no way he could let Callum go off to Oba on his own. A responsible parent may have decided to leave their children behind in the more than capable hands of their grandparents, but...
Honestly, it was impossible to leave them behind. Maybe Sol would hate them for dragging him along, but Nimueh couldn't bear the thought of being away from his children for who knows how long. The festival was going on for a number of weeks, and it could take that long along to travel all the way to Oba, unless they enlisted the Matori and risked the climb down the mountainside to Matori first.
The tournament was nearing its conclusion, and Nimueh was trying his best to distract the children while waiting for Callum to return, trying not to think about the possibility that he'd truly been injured in the ring.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:42 pm
Oba was hot. Horribly hot. And for a short time, when her papa had come to kiss them between matches, holding her close and walking with them through the festival, she'd been able to forget.
But then he left to... wherever it was he had gone, and left them with baba. She loved baba, very much, but ... he was acting a lot more clingy than normal. Even in Sauti, they could run around without constraint, but here... with these stupid leashes on, Ygraine had to stand close, and with baby Sol attached to her, they couldn't go anywhere interesting.
She'd finally gotten so hot, and so tired, that Ygraine had stopped badgering her brother about whatever it was he wanted to do, and had finally given in and let her baba drag them around. They'd seen dancers, and even a mage doing amazing things with fire!
It was getting dark, and the different booths of games and attractions were starting to light lanterns, and one booth, surrounded by other kids, was even passing out bright, colorful, popping sparklers that left behind sweet smelling smoke. On the other end of the alley were sizzling skewers of festival food, and she eyed them longingly, gripping her baba's hand. "I'm hungry." She announced matter of factly, narrowing her eyes at Sol as if daring him to argue. Although why would he? He must have been hungry by now too, right?
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:33 pm
With the help of a very cooling (yet stylish) head scarf Sol wasn't absolutely cooking in the sun anymore. Before the recent purchase he had been far more irritable than usual, and exhausted just from the heat alone. Now that he was covered, and properly hydrated, the boy was a little perkier. Not super happy to still be in such a crowded place, but it was a vast improvement.
If he could just get his fathers to loosen up...Papa had made them both promise not to run away from baba, or to go out of his sight the entire time they were in Oba. Not like he could with this stupid leash wrapped around his waist...Generally being told not to do something just made him want to do it more and Sol was determined to dart off the moment his baba loosened his hold on the leash. It's not like he was little anymore! People were staring enough as it was without them being tied up like pets.
Catching his sister's eye, Sol instinctively blew her a raspberry and pulled down the lid of his right eye with his index finger. He didn't want to admit it, not with her looking at him like that, but the food did smell good. "I'm hungry too, baba."
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:52 pm
Callum didn't know why he expected this tournament to be any different than any of his other battles. In the past he'd only managed to defeat opponents years younger than himself, and those in his own age group had sorely trounced him. Over and over and over. Still, like a fool, he'd remained optimistic; surely this time would be different! This would be his glorious induction into the world of battling, and thusly would cement his place as a protective figure in his family's eyes.
Waking up on a cot in the healer's quarters proved him wrong.
The sickly sweet stench of medicinal herbs, and poisons was what finally brought him around. Callum remembered a gnarled old man hunching his weathered spine over his body, poking and prodding Callum's various injuries. The vast majority had been scrapes, cuts and bruises, but a strike against his right thigh had been the finisher. As the healer spoke he learned that while the spear tip had barely penetrated his flesh the blade had nicked an important vein, which had led to his impressive fainting spell. Not only that, but the blade had been coated in a lighter poison; nothing that would leave any lasting effects, but it had served to drain Callum of much needed strength. His recovery had been lengthy; by the time Callum came to the sun had already begun to set.
Somehow it didn't surprise him that an Oban would use a poisoned weapon in a sanctioned fight. While waiting for the healer to change his bandages the swordsman thought over his battle. Dark thoughts filtered through his mind, but most prominent was the relief Callum felt that this family hadn't been there to see it. There would be no hiding his injury, not for a while anyway, but better his children not know exactly how their papa had received it.
It was nearing dark when Callum made his way out of the arena. He walked with a limp, having refused the cane that the healer had so vehemently insisted he take. Callum picked his way through the thinning crowd, keeping an eye out for his bright eyed lover. There would be no way for Callum not to see Nimueh in the grouping; not unless the poison traveled to his eyes, anyway.
The search hadn't been as easy as he'd hoped, but eventually Callum spotted the trio. He grinned, and waved as he made his way closer, visibly favoring his right leg over the left.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 9:13 pm
Nimueh loved his darlings, but their bickering this afternoon, without Callum to help wrangle them, had just about wore his nerves to nubs. Thankfully, even while they still expressed their disdain at agreeing on something, at the very least they were both wanting to do the same thing, for once. "Are we? Okay then, what do we want for dinner?" Nimueh asked, as patiently as he could, craning to look over the crowd at the booths. They seemed like foreign fare, though... strange, cooking meats on sticks, and wrapped sandwiches of cactus and other sparse vegetables. Other stalls were notably Matori, and somewhat more exotic as far as taste went...
It wasn't the sort of meal he was used to, in Zena, which consisted of hearty stock and hunted meat. As he was contemplating, and carefully edging through the crowd towards the booths, Nimueh spotted a blessedly familiar face in the crowd, and broke into a ready, relieved smile. That was, until the crowd parted and he saw the full state of his lover. Instantly, his face fell under a cloud, and Nimueh pressed his lips tightly together, taking in the obvious limp, and the general state of disarray, and the exhausted look to him.
'Of course.' He thought, mulishly, eyeing him as his love hobbled closer. It was a blessing that he hadn't injured himself worse... but even so, the evidence of an injury caused a lump to lodge in his throat, and he could only watch from afar, allowing the ribbons to fall from his hand, for the moment, so his children could rush to their father unhindered.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 9:22 pm
Ygraine glared at her brother, sticking out her tongue pettily at his own nasty face. Thankfully, he agreed, and instantly she sucked her tongue back into her mouth and peered up at Nim, smiling prettily. As he peeked at the booths, the little girl looked through the crowd, eyeing the numerous strangers billowing around. The amount of people had been overwhelming, for the most part... but the past few weeks of travel had prepped her, somewhat, for these new experiences, and now she watched more with appreciation and curiosity than wariness.
It never occurred to her that anyone in this crowd, or any other, could be a threat, and she felt ever growing resentment at the little ribbon still securely settled around her middle. If she wanted, she could untie the bow - she'd tied enough bows in auntie Misuru's hair to know how to do it!
Before her thoughts spiraled more into her frustration, though, Callum appeared... and realizing her tie had been released, she leaped forward, reaching to hold Sol's hand, and forcibly tugging him with her to meet their father, not caring if he wanted to stay with baba instead. She almost bowled into a passing Matori couple, but quickly yanked her brother with her around them, finally skittering to a halt infront of Callum as he wobbled closer, for now not noticing his injury. "We're about to get dinner, papa, you're late" Ygraine scolded, clutching a little arm around one of his legs, finally letting go of Sol's hand now that they'd gotten through the crowd.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:24 pm
"We want..." Sol raised himself up onto his tippy toes to see as far as he could. He liked fish a lot, from Zena anyway, but the stuff he'd tried from Matori had been weird last time. Nasty little fishes with long slimy arms with suckers and fish with solid scales that covered their backs. Shells? He thought that's what the vendor had called them.
Maybe they could try something from Jauhar next. Just not the big bugs. Some gnarly woman had been gutting one earlier in the day, and the sight had left it's mark on his mind.
Before he got the chance to voice his opinions his papa had come back. All at once Sol was left with a dilemma; freedom, now that he had been released, or actually saying hello to his papa. Next time. Of course as soon as he'd decided to actually be a 'good boy' and stay Ygraine had snatched his hand.
"Watch it!" One of the Matorian's gave the children a stink eye before leaving...one that Sol returned without thinking. It brought the pair to a momentary halt before they thought better of it, and moved on.
But lo and behold, he was free once more! And Ygraine was with Papa...His eyes, even the tips of his antennae, seemed to twitch towards the right; a clear indication of what direction he planned on running. Surely they wouldn't mind if he went on his own for just a little while.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:37 pm
It wasn't hard to catch Nimueh's eye, nor was it difficult to see the way his smile turned down at the edges. Callum shrugged his shoulders with a 'what can you do?' sort of look. There had been no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't get injured. With his record it was bound to happen, and all he'd hoped for was that it wouldn't be fatal. Lady Luck had smiled upon him in that aspect.
"There's my precious Snowflake!" It was with no small amount of relief that Callum found his daughter clung tight to his uninjured leg. He smoothed his fingers through her luxurious curls, and bent down to kiss her forehead. "I'm sorry for being late. Papa got...a little held up." And where was his little Sunny Bug? Callum craned his head up, body still crouched in an attempt to match his daughter's height.
"Plotting an escape, son?" He quipped casually, delighting more than he probably should have in the way the boy seemed to jolt. Callum rose up, one hand remaining on Ygraine's head to play with her tresses. "Did you two behave for your baba today?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 5:56 pm
On the one hand, if Callum was done with his fights it meant that he could spent the rest of this trip with Nimueh and the kids. On the other hand, though... the very fact he was injured unnerved him, and he wanted nothing more than to pull him aside and check every bump, scratch, and bruise just to make sure he was truly and utterly okay. He waited until the crowd had passed, then strolled to Callum's side, gently bumping his knee against his tiny son, letting his hand hang by his side in case Sol wanted to take it.
It was funny that the little one wanted to escape so badly, considering his reluctance to leave Zena... but it seemed once he had left home, and been exposed to the road, he had become curious about this new place. As a father, Nim was pleased to see him branching out, but also terrified that his curiosity would pull him away from his side, and into danger.
While he wanted to speak to his love and greet him after his fight, Nimueh didn't want to interrupt the children since they'd been spoken to, and so he stayed silent for the moment, propping his hands on his hips.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 6:02 pm
Ygraine couldn't be bothered by the glare. Instead, she pointedly ignored it and instead focused on her papa, preening and smiling prettily at his greeting, her eyes dropping closed happily. Her papa always lavished her with attention, just the way she liked it, and she reveled in it - all longing for freedom temporarily forgotten. Sol, meanwhile, was clearly wanting to make a break for it... and so, despite the fact she'd wanted the same just moments ago, when he was gently scolded she turned her head to look at him, shooting him a snotty smile.
Of course, it was just like a sibling to take pleasure in another being caught! "Mmhmm. We were real good, papa." She drawled, peering up at him as doe-eyed as she could. Baba didn't want to take them to a booth where the kids got to shoot arrows to win prizes... but maybe Papa wouldn't mind it? "I don't want my ribbon anymore, I want it off." She pointed out, tugging at the pink ribbon not so subtly.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:29 am
Callum - Post Three
Callum didn't buy it for a second. The snotty little smirk Ygraine passed her brother said it all. While they may not have wrestled in the street he knew that they had very likely driven Nimueh insane with their bickering, and for once Callum wished they could just get along for a day. Half a day. An hour.
Of course that meant he saw the raspberry Sol blew at the back of his sister's head, but he chose not to comment on that one.
"I'll take your ribbon off, but only if you promise to hold my hand. If you let go then I'm putting it right back on." Surely Nimueh wouldn't mind that so much? While he understood his love's concerns, Callum had always viewed the ribbons as a little...extreme. Still, he wasn't about to undermine him in front of the children.
And speaking of Nimueh - "Are you tanning, love?" Callum reached out to touch the alks shoulders, feeling the sun's warmth through layers of azure skin. Maybe he had been in the arena for too long, but he could have sworn Nim was a little paler than this.
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:29 pm
Sol - Post Three
Caught.
Sol crinkled his nose, obsidian cheeks darkening by the slightest degree. He didn't even turn to look at his Papa, but he did look at his Baba. His little mouth scrunched up to one side, giving him a rather pinched look. Holding Baba's hand was just as bad as being on the leash. It meant he couldn't run off like he wanted to, and then Ygraine - Sol flat out stuck his tongue at his sister, which earned him a hard glare from Callum.
Caught twice.
With a snorty little huff, Sol reached up to take Nimueh's hand. If he had to be stuck with so many strangers he guessed it would be better to be with his family. Not that he wasn't going to complain about it; far from it. The heat seemed to absorb into his skin, simmering against the epidermis as if he were some piece of meat in need of cooking. Not to mention his general aversion to strangers.
The types of people in Oba...they were all just so weird.
And then, all of a sudden, thinking of weird things brought Sol back to something that actually made him smile. "Hey, can we go get something to eat by the performers? I heard someone say they would be dancing with fire tonight!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:16 pm
Of course, Nimueh's response was to wrinkle his nose, lips drawing into a pout. "I'm shocked I'm not burnt to a crisp." He admitted, grumpily. As if it wasn't miserably hot enough in Jauhar... Oba was akin to stepping into a brick oven. And yet all the people here, Oban and Matori alike, simply shrugged it off as if it was nothing! And, as if that wasn't enough, the kids. Between trying to sneak off and their constant bickering, then the demands to go see this, do that, pet the janarim in the petting zoo (goddess, why was that in a petting zoo?!), the day had been spent rushing from place to place.
Then, when the children realized how hot it was, they had demanded cold treats. Sol needed a headscarf for his forehead and antennae, and then of course Ygraine needed a ribbon for her hair, then a soothing aloe for their sunburns ... And, of course, the whining about their ribbons. It was to be expected that Ygraine would take the first opportunity to get Callum to take it off... Then again, he didn't mind. With Callum here, if they could both watch one child then maybe the need for the leashes wasn't quite as dire. But one man, by himself? Hell yes, he needed them!
Lets just say he was glad to see his lover again. As much as he loved his children, they definitely were a tough pill to swallow sometimes. "Lets say I'm eager for the night to come." Nimueh grumbled, gently squeezing Sol's hand as he took it, only to release a soft groan of reluctance at the back of his throat. Fire? Really? How had Sol heard about such a thing, when he hadn't heard a lick of it?
It'd be one thing if Ygraine was wanting to do something else, but with her agreeing? "Well..." Nimueh began, racking his mind for some reason not to. The prospect of fire-wielding performers opened a whole new realm of burn-related possibilities. But... unfortunately... "I don't see why not." He admitted. With his free hand, he reached for Callum and gently looped a finger in the yellow belt around his waist, tugging him gently closer.
4/7
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:00 pm
...Well. With the ribbon, she could run at least a little, but the very idea of being free of it was too good to pass up. Instantly, she nodded, hand reaching to tug at Callum's, her tiny hand closing around two of his fingers to grip it.
... Fire? What?! How had her snotty little brother heard about something like that? "Yeah! Fire dancing! Please please, baba?" She chipped in, bouncing in place, then yipped in joy when he actually agreed!!
Then again, she had suggested lots of stuff, and it seemed like baba kept going with Sol's ideas. Gross, but still! Fire dancing! "I bet papa could do it, right papa? Will you show us how to do it too?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2016 7:35 pm
[???/This many posts]
Callum's lips quirked into a teasing smirk, "Remind me to buy cooling ointments, and I'll massage them into your burns later." He suspected that it couldn't have been easy watching their children alone all day, and Callum intended to show his partner just how deeply appreciated his actions were. After they were all properly fed, cooled and rested, of course. As tantalizing as it was to see so much of his lover's skin right now Callum's only concerns were finding shade, filling his stomach, and taking some pressure off his leg.
So, in that regard, he too was looking forward to the night to come. His children would be tuckered out, nestled deep into slumber and then they could-
Perhaps he was a little more eager to put the unpleasantness of his battle behind him than originally suspected.
Callum fell easily in line against his lover, trailing his fingers down from Nimueh's shoulders against the small of his back. "So long as you don't get too close I don't see any harm in it." He watched his daughter, her enthusiasm quickly becoming infectious. "I've always wondered what it would be like to try dancing with fire- But, no, I'm not nearly skilled enough to do it. So, we'll just have to watch the professionals, won't be, princess?"
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