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 Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:29 pm
The Coast is Clear
WHO: Cruz, Anita (ex o ex Snoof), Anita, and Mordekai (Rookeries)
WHEN: Mid March, 2016.
WHERE: Yarrow's Point, a beach in Gambino.
WEATHER: Sunny with a spot of clouds.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:34 pm
It took a week and some-odd days to complete all of the repairs la maison de Petit, and it was damn tiring work. A lot of things were rotting or near their breaking point in the underbelly of Rebecca's otherwise quaintly clean and organized townhouse, and it took a day or two alone moving all of the furniture aside or outside in tarps at Rebecca's request – if Mordekai was going to rip her house apart, as she put it, she didn't want any furniture gathering particles or potentially breaking in the process.
Other than making the requests, Rebecca didn't really help Mordekai with any of the moving, or the repairing, or the cleaning-up, but he didn't mind the work. It was done for free, for her and her family's benefit when they didn't have much money to spare, but Mordekai had to admit a part of him did it for himself, too; he liked being in Gambino, and he liked fixing things. Both of them reminded him of when he was younger, being strung around various odd construction jobs around Gaia, always dreaming of making that big move so close to Gambino's shore.
He didn't get there back then, but he had a place to call home there now. At least – that's what he chose to call it. He hoped Minerva, Anita, and Cruz was okay with it, too. And, even though Rebecca and her kids vacated the townhouse for as long as Mordekai needed to finish his work on the house, he called Anita if she wouldn't mind some company after a few days spent sleeping alone on a tarp in a room with no furniture.
(Another thing he had to admit – a part of him was doing this more to see her than to help Rebecca. He missed her a lot.)
So, on the final day, things were a bit bittersweet; he was itching to return home, to Aina and Duncan, but after a week or so of missed work, there was no telling when he'd be back in Gambino again with either of them. But he was excited at the prospect of showing Rebecca her functioning and pristine townhouse – she would have to deal with some mismatched furniture, since Mordekai couldn't be damned to remember where everything went. But, instead of calling her over immediately, he gave Anita and Cruz a call in the late morning – several hours before he had to return to work on the market circuit. He wanted to give 'em a little tour of the place before Jill and Jerri got to see, after all, and make breakfast from ingredients in Rebecca's kitchen.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:28 pm
The trip didn't take long once Anita knew where they were going. As was often the case, Cruz acted as navigator but rather than take the passenger seat today he was in the back with a certain rain child who came to visit earlier in the day. It was a pleasant coincidence, one that they were all excited to see through.
Cruz held Aina's small hand in his through the journey, attention otherwise occupied with the GPS on his phone. Their distance wasn't far from the apartments, roughly twenty minutes, but it had been nearly twice that since Mordekai initially made the call. In all the times they knew Rebecca and her children lived in Gambino, they hadn't once had the pleasure of paying a visit. When they pulled up there was some uncertainty but a quick call to confirm with Mordekai set that straight and the group exited Anita's Oldsmobile to meet him out front.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:42 pm
Aina could tell from a simple glimpse out the car window where they were, the identical beige-and-brown townhouses lined up row to row reminding her of her many visits to Aunt Rebecca's house with Duncan. It was one of the few things Aina had learned to dread in her short life; Jerri and Jill were always at school, or with friends, and Rebecca and Duncan would sit and chat for hours on end talking about things she could barely comprehend without explanation. At first, Aina always asked questions; Duncan was eager to answer them, but Aunt Rebecca, always with her sense of urgency, was eager to move onto the next topic. After a while, Aina decided it was better not to ask any questions at all, because she didn't like being interrupted.
Thankfully, despite feeling a bit dreadful on the way over, Aina reminded herself that they weren't seeing Aunt Rebecca today; rather, they were seeing papa instead. With her hand still held to Cruz's, Aina anxiously exited the car with him and Anita, staring up at the familiar townhouse number 610 written out in plastic numbers to the side of the building.
When they stood there a moment, Aina glanced up at Anita in confusion; “Is he comin'?” she asked, but before anyone could answer, Mordekai pulled the door open wide, grinning.
“'Ey, guys – oh!” with the door still open, he paced down the remainder of the way to Anita's Oldsmobile. He knelt down in front of them to give Aina a hug. “Hey, Aina, I missed you! Y'came all the way here?”
“I was seein' Cruz and Anita,” she giggled, detaching herself from Cruz to wriggle closer into Mordekai's arms, “I missed you too.”
“That worked out real nice, huh!” He stood upright, holstering Aina onto his shoulder. He gave Cruz a kiss on the forehead, and Anita one on the cheek. It was only yesterday when he'd visited them both, but he was eager to see them all the same. “Alright, c'mon, c'mon,” he began his walk back to the house with a small bounce, waving Anita and Cruz forward; “I got breakfast. This your first time here, right?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:45 pm
Anita's mouth had opened to answer Aina's question but Mordekai arrived just in time. She and Cruz were both smiles, the croc especially after receiving his kiss. ”Yeah, I thought it'd be a nice surprise for you,” Anita grinned a little playfully at the blonde, ”but it did just kind of work out that way.” They followed behind obediently as Mordekai lead the way, both curiously inspecting the neighboring townhouses as well as the exterior.
”Yeah,” Cruz rumbled as he hovered closer to Aina than his guardian, ”Are Jerri and Jill home?” Once again, it felt like an eternity since he had seen either of them.
Anita nodded, as well. It did feel a little strange that Rebecca never extended an invitation when they weren't far from each other at all but Anita was never one to press about those things. It probably felt like more of an obligation than the woman wanted to deal with. ”What's for breakfast?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:45 pm
“Bless your soul, you're too good to me,” Mordekai beamed, drawing out his voice and returning Anita's goofy smile with a toothy grin and a hum in return. He wasn't hiding the fact that he was missing Aina through his week's stay in Gambino, calling when he could back home to talk to her – while they walked, Mordekai leaned back to give Anita another quick kiss on the cheek, and Aina giggled as he struggled to balance forward again. The kitchen was immediately after the entrance to the townhouse, and Mordekai left the door open to let some of the fresh Gambino air sift through.
The smell of cream and bacon lingered in the pots and plates at the kitchen counters, and the interior was furnished predictably – the walls were covered in painted flowers, the antique furniture dressed in white and purple drapes.
“Jerri an' Jill are never here,” Aina replied, glumly, hiding half her face against Mordekai's shoulder. The blond stifled a laugh; he couldn't even begin to count how long it had been since he'd seen the two kids, let alone their mother for more than a few passing minutes.
“Well... nah, they're not in today,” Mordekai confirmed, shrugging apologetically; brightening, he gestured to the two plates at the counter. “Made some lemon waffles with bacon, egg, an' maple syrup. That's for you an' Cruz. If y'want somethin' else, though, I can make somethin' different from Rebecca's French-a** pantry.” Opening the fridge, he leaned in to stare at its contents. “Drinks?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:48 pm
As soon as they crossed the threshold, Cruz meandered around curiously to take in the sights. The interior seemed to match well with who the house belonged to, in his mind, which always struck him as rather interesting. You could learn a lot about someone just by how they decorated and treated their personal spaces.
With the news that neither were here, were in fact never here, Cruz instantly matched Aina's glumness. Mordekai's laughter did little to ease this but the change in topic served as a decent enough distraction for now, especially when everything smelled so good. ”Lemon waffles?” the croc questioned as he approached the counter.
Meanwhile, beside him, Anita murmured to herself ”gimme all that bacon” before perking to answer Mordekai. ”What's she got?”
”Apple juice?” the sigel asked, distracted by his inspection of the plates.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:48 pm
“Yea, buddy of mine gave me his recipe for the best lemon waffles on Earth,” Mordekai smiled back Cruz and Anita, then glanced back at the fridge. “Uhh, what's she got... lessee--”
“They never have juice here neither,” Aina interrupted, sighing; she was relieved to see Mordekai, though just being in the house seemed to sour her mood. “Aunt Rebecca just has icky coffee and carrot juice.”
“Hey, an' fizzy water, an' carrot juice is still juice... Sorry, Cruz, wanna try that?” he pulled out the icky coffee in question for himself; the prebrewed coffee was in a pitcher next to some cheese, and behind that was a gallon of half-empty milk. “They got milk, Anita, but I dunno if it's safe.”
“It's gunna be gross,” Aina replied, pushing the coffee pitcher some.
Mordekai mused; confused, he glanced at Aina. “You been fussy all day?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:50 pm
Cruz and Anita both looked at Aina sympathetically, though Cruz's expression was also soured by an uncertain grimace toward the carrot juice. If Aina thought it was icky then it probably was – he trusted her judgment.
”Close to the date or is it skim?” Anita asked while nibbling at a piece of bacon she plucked from the plate. Aina's assertion earned her an equally confused glance from Anita as Mordekai gave.
The croc hovered down to Aina's level, floating beside her. ”Feeling okay?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:51 pm
“Ah, lemme see...” Despite Aina's fussiness going unanswered, Mordekai took a moment to face away from the Frei to retrieve the carton of milk hidden deep in the back of the fridge. Aina managed to hide her frown and stared shyly back at Cruz with his inquiry – she didn't want to make a fuss, and felt bad for doing so. One glance at Anita and seeing her just as confused made her feel that way even more so.
“I'm okay,” she replied quietly, knowing full well Mordekai didn't know yet just how much of a chore going to Aunt Rebecca's was. It felt mean to mention it now, especially when he invited all of them over. Her wings bristled, and she looked between Cruz and Mordekai, perking when an innocent question came to mind. “Can we go out?” she asked, hopeful.
“You wanna go out? Just feelin' a little stuffed up?” he asked, staring at the expiry label on the carton. The tired was settling in from reaching the end of the week, and the numbers didn't click immediately in his head. When he opened the carton to smell it, he reeled back, laughing; “Ah, blech, that's no good.” Smiling, he pulled the carton closer to Aina. “Wanna smell?”
“Gross!” Managing to giggle, Aina pushed the carton lightly away, and Mordekai held it out to Anita and Cruz.
“How 'bout you guys? Ah?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:52 pm
Aina's answer succeeded in holding off their worries for the mean time when it came paired with her question. It was true, they had spent most of the day already up in the apartment with the air conditioning, so it seemed a fair enough request. Anita was just about to confirm as much when Mordekai reeled from the milk and sent them all giggling.
The croc reeled back the same as Mordekai had, with a grin just as wide. Cruz held his arms up in an X formation and shook his head so quickly his ponytail touched his cheeks. ”No way!”
”You're nasty!” Anita stuck her tongue out as she dodged further back into the kitchen. ”Is it so old it's trying to be cheese?”
”Eww,” Cruz groaned further as he retreated near a window. It felt nice to be out in the sun when they left the car but that lasted barely a minute before they were herded into another air conditioned home. He looked back to Aina, first, then to Anita and Mordekai. ”I wanna go out, too.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:53 pm
Laughing, Mordekai pulled the milk back toward him once Anita and Cruz had their row. “Not cheese yet,” Mordekai admit, putting the cap back on the carton and swishing its contents around. There was more than half the gallon left, still. “An' I'm takin' this baby home.”
Despite sour milk being gross in nearly all forms to Aina, she nodded knowingly. “For our flowers!” she noted, proud of remembering. “What about Aunt Rebecca's flowers?”
“Don't think she'd like us puttin' bad milk on her flowers any way I swing it, huh?” After putting the milk on the counter for now, he smiled back at Cruz. He was excited to have them over, but he hadn't planned on what to do when they actually got there. If he was being honest with himself, he was aching to leave the little Parisian shrine, too.
“Yeah, let's go out,” he replied. Aina beamed at the response, and he grinned wide right back. “Area around here's real pretty, innit? Wanna go take a lil walk?”
“Yeah! I wanna go on a walk,” Aina bounced, restless. “Can-- can we go to the beach?”
“Where else would we go 'round here, right?” he asked, glancing at Anita with a chuckle. He pulled out the coffee pitcher, meanwhile – there wasn't really anything more palatable for Anita or Cruz to drink in there, outside of the carrot juice. It was one hell of a way for two kids to live. “Carrot juice or water's gunna have to do, guys, 'm sorry,” he added, “That okay?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:54 pm
”Flowers like icky milk?” Cruz brightened curiously at the exchange. With a short glance, he determined Anita wasn't aware of that either which made him feel a little less silly.
She had to laugh at Mordekai's question. Sure, there were neighborhoods to stroll through and some paths further inland but it was all sparse compared to boardwalks and beaches. ”Right,” she chuckled in turn. After a moment of hesitation, Anita began peeking through cabinets in search of plastic snack bags. Mordekai went through all the trouble of preparing this breakfast, she wasn't about to let it go to waste – a small picnic on the beach sounded nice.
Both she and Cruz looked at Mordekai when he questioned and both of their eyes met the next moment.
”Water.”
”Water.”
There was no way either of them were getting stuck with weird vegetable juice when Rebecca didn't even have unspoiled milk. Who knew how long that had been sitting. At least Miss Rebecca seemed like the type to not trust plain tap water and have a filter or maybe an assortment of water bottles stashed somewhere.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:55 pm
“Just a little bit, ‘cause it helps ‘em grow,” Aina replied, chipper like her usual self once again, which let Mordekai relax some; if being inside was the only thing hindering an otherwise good day, he was happy to oblige her wishes. While Anita searched through the cabinets, Mordekai poured himself a heaping amount of black coffee into a mug and chugged a majority of it down for some quick energy. It was watery, and he wondered if it would do much good, but he wasn’t going to complain.
Between Cruz and Anita’s synchronous reply and Aina making a clearly disgusted noise right on his shoulder, it was hard not to hork the coffee right back up. “Carrot juice ain’t that bad, ye’know,” he teased, laughing - “Neither’s coffee,” he grinned, inching his mug closer to Aina, though after a small scream he relented and poured the rest in the sink. He pulled out three cool water bottles from the fridge, giving one to Aina then raising two up for Cruz to see before tossing them both to the Sigel. The Frei set it against her cheek to cool down, humming gratefully.
“Alright, I just gotta make sure everything’s locked up an’ there’s no dust disturbin’ the peace upstairs.” Mordekai stood, kicking the fridge door gently shut.
“Can I write Jill somethin’ first?” Aina asked, tucking the water bottle between her cheek and her shoulder. She peeked back at Cruz, smiling, and she wiggled out and away from Mordekai’s arms to float toward the crocodile. “We gotta write her somethin’ or she’ll get sad,” she added, holding her hand up for Cruz.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Cruz raised his head, alert, and smiled at Aina's answer. It wasn't often their milk spoiled, often used well before that point between the three of them, but if ever it happened at least now he knew what to do with it. He had to wonder if that was something Minerva already knew, with her plant tending.
”Ain't that good, either,” Anita looked over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at Mordekai before he made Aina scream which only made her descend into laughter.
The croc caught both water bottles, the first well and the second a little more clumsy but he managed not to let either of them fall to the floor. Cruz mimicked Aina's behavior with the bottle he claimed for his own and released a pleasant rumble in his throat. It was deeper, since he grew. Anita managed to locate a few snack bags as the blond started his retreat, the first of which she filled was the bacon; above all else, there was no way she was letting that go uneaten. Plastic wrap was also procured to fold up the remainder that wouldn't carry well on their trip.
”Oh, yeah!” Cruz perked at Aina's request. It had been a while since he saw either of the Petit children, before the whole debacle the previous summer at least. To free himself up, Cruz set Anita's water bottle on the kitchen table. He eagerly took Aina's hand and swung their arms gently, smiling big to the little rain fairy. ”Jerri too, right? What do you wanna tell 'em?”
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