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 Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:45 pm
Who: Phoenix, Shoshana, Zeke, and Zoe
When: September 29th, 2016; around 4pm
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Seasonal and invigorating!
Who would Zeke be to say no to a guest? He certainly wouldn't be himself, that was for sure, especially when said guest was a particularly lovely - and long awaited - lady whom he was quite literally starstruck by.
The Hippocampus Frei was a beauty to be sure. Her coloration was a pleasant and complimentary blend of her Essence and Soul; sun-kissed skin, sandy locks, and eyes the color of gold with pupils that were more blue than black. Her outfit, ribbon, and many freckles harkened to her Essence but pinches of her Soul could still be seen in her wings and the little fins that were her ears. Her make up when it was revealed to him had been interesting to be sure. The result of the pair was nothing short of aweing.
He naively thought he could not smile any wider at one point, but was quickly proving himself wrong as she revealed herself to be charmingly curious. He had introduced himself as he always did to newborns, polite but excited and barely contained at that. She in turn immediately set herself upon him, coming nose to nose with the colorful man before setting to poking and prodding and inspecting while also spouting what had to have been a million and one questions about everything and anything. Granted, her questions were simple, but that didn't stop him from laughing and attempting to answer each and every one.
Currently she had rediscovered his hair and he was content to sit on the coffee table while she played with the now untied and once-styled locks, the colors of which seemed to delight her greatly.
"I bet you your Guardian's daughter will be all over your hair," he played with one cast forward strand while she did her thing, alternating between trying to look back at her and eyeballing the front door. "You have so much of it! It'd make for some really great braids!"
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:27 pm
In the short time since the Frei had opened her eyes she had asked more questions than she could keep track of the answers to. She had retained much of the new information, but she was so fascinated by the world she had awoken to that she hardly received one answer before she was moving on to the next question. The man that answered her questions had been quite pleasant company thus far. His constant smile and laughter only encouraged her to ask more.
The room she was in, the things inside it, what was going on and who Zeke was were only a handful of the things she inquired about, floating about to closely inspect everything that caught her eye. Zeke in particular was a curiosity to her. Not only was he very interesting to look at, but he was different than her. They had features the same, such as eyes and hands, but others they did not share, such as her wings and his feet. This intrigued her.
Dropping a lock of hair from between her fingers, the Frei floated from behind the colorful man and re-positioned herself in front of him. She was eager to meet these two people that he kept speaking of, but until they arrived there was a more pressing matter. "I'm thirsty," she announced, her voice deep and her tone calm. Those were also the first words she had spoken when she woke up. Water had been provided, but the thirst returned rapidly. She stared unblinking, a soft smile on her lips. - - - - - The phone call had come while Phoenix was at work. The resulting mess from his shock came in the form of a plate of food he'd been carrying in one hand dropping and shattering, food rolling everywhere. He'd barely been able to stutter to his employees that his kid had just been born before hurrying out of the kitchen. As the news spread between startled employees, he barely registered the whooping of his very excited assistant manager before he disappeared out the front door.
It took everything in his power to keep himself from speeding. Zoe would just be getting out of school. If he hurried he could make it before she got on the bus, and he could avoid having to flag down the vehicle to retrieve her. He arrived just in time, but he barely remembered how he got there. All he could think of was that it was time. It was finally time.
He hadn't even said anything when he pulled up. Zoe saw his expression through the open window and knew exactly what was going on. In a rush she jumped in the back seat, yelling to her teacher that her dad was here, and buckled herself into her booster seat before snapping at her dad to drive, now! And he did.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 10:12 am
She had been waiting for him in his office rather than a designated exam room. The note that had been left on her file had said she hadn't liked to have been left alone and asked Zeke to keep her company rather than wait for Phoenix to arrive and do as was traditional. He had smiled when he saw that and thought of Vesna. Although he did like being kept in suspense it was secondary when it came to the good of the Raevan.
"You are?" When she moved before him he graced her with another smile. When she made her problem known, he was quick to rectify it. "Well let me see what I have for you, little lady."
With only the barest of grunts he got to his feet and went behind the desk to where he kept his mini fridge. A little rummaging later and he had a small bottle of water, just for her.
"How about this?" He returned to where she was and offered it to her. While he had soda and juice in there, water seemed the best option for her. Last thing he wanted to happen was have her on a sugar rush as Phoenix was walking through the door! "If you want any more after that, I have plenty!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 10:38 am
The company was highly appreciated. If she was alone, who would answer all of her burning questions? And who would she tell if she got thirsty again? It made her feel rather dry and uncomfortable.
The Frei floated after Zeke, her fin ears flicking with excitement. After peering in the fridge that he opened and deciding there was not much of interest in there, she focused her attention on the desk and the things on top of it. The offering of water pulled her away from her closely examining some papers, and she immediately accepted it gratefully. "Thank you, colorful man," she gushed before draining half of the bottle in one go. Immediately she felt better, and she clutched the remaining half a bottle to her chest.
"How long do we wait?" She inquired, turning to face Zeke again with her colorful eyes. She didn't mind the wait. There was so much in the room that was interesting! But she did want to meet these people. Her "guardian" and his daughter. - - - - - The drive felt agonizingly long for Phoenix and Zoe. As desperately as they wanted to get there immediately, Phoenix obeyed every rule of the road. He did have his daughter with him, after all.
When they finally pulled up at the Lab, both Greeks jumped out and scrambled towards the door. "Wait, dad! The card!" Phoenix blinked, forgetting momentarily what Zoe was talking about, as the little girl hurried back to the car. "Unlock it!" He did, and Zoe opened the passenger side and popped open the glove compartment. Inside was the glittery, colorful card she had made that they had all signed. She closed the door and rejoined her father, and the two of them hurried back up towards the door.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:53 pm
Her thanks was sweet but what she called him made him laugh. He had given her his name when he introduced himself and then a few more times after that. She seemed to prefer calling him 'colorful man' and, well, he couldn't find it in his heart to correct her anymore. Besides, it was rather fitting if he did say so himself!
"You're welcome." He plopped himself down in his computer chair and swiveled so he was facing her. The Hippocampus downed half the bottle's contents in a single shot, which was quite impressive. "Shouldn't be too much longer now! In fact I bet they're..."
The bells over the front doors in the other room sounded off. Zeke had left the door into the lobby from his office ajar for that very cue which prompted him to hold up his index fingers and swallow the rest of his sentence. As quickly as he sat down he was on his feet again, taking the few steps to that door in order to peek out and see who had come through.
"They're here!" He spoke in an excited whisper, turning around to face the Frei with all the giddiness of a boy on his first field trip. "Oh man and I think one of them has something for you~"
The last words of that statement were practically sing-song and Zeke held out his hands to invite the newborn over to take a look-see for herself.
"Phoenix is the tall man there, see him? And the little girl is his daughter, Zoe." The pair of them even from here looked excited and nervous and perhaps even a little confused since a certain blue and pink-haired someone wasn't there to greet them out the gate. "They're your family!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:20 pm
The Frei didn't need telling twice. Still clutching her water she moved to the doorway to peer out at her new family.
And there they were. Excited, breathless, standing in the lobby looking around and wondering if they should look for Zeke or just wait. Neither said anything. The hippocampus turned to Zeke with a look of awe. "That is them?" Her features lit up.
Without waiting for an answer the Frei hurried into the lobby, bobbing through the air at top speed towards Phoenix and Zoe. As she approached their expressions changed from ones of urgency to shock. She was a mere foot away from them when she stopped, her smile ear to ear. "Hello! You're my family, yes?"
Phoenix couldn't speak. He opened his mouth to try, but the words stuck in his throat. Before the Frei had even spoken he knew it was her. It was more than the fins or look of her ribbon that screamed she was once sand and aquatic beast. It was the way she moved towards them. Something about it reminded him of the hippocampus that day, and he knew it was her. The tears spilled from his eyes when she asked if they were her family. He stopped trying to speak, and instead just stared at her, tears rolling down his cheeks as he looked upon her for the first time. She was beautiful.
It was Zoe that spoke first. Her eyes were wide, completely starstruck, and she stepped forward to grab hold of the Frei's hand with her own small one. In the tiniest of voices she said, "Yes."
The Raevan looked down at Zoe with a curious sparkle in her eyes, before returning to Phoenix with a bit of concern. Again she looked at Zoe, wanting to speak to her more, but her attention kept being drawn by the tears. Finally she looked over her shoulder to Zeke. "Is he broken?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:19 am
Before he could suggest surprising the pair the Frei was out the door and speeding toward her humans. Zeke laughed out loud and took off after her, hot on her ribbon's end up until a couple short feet away from Phoenix and his daughter. He watched as both their faces took on the very definition of surprise and then as Phoenix dissolved into tears from there. The vet put a hand to his mouth to cover his smile, but he had to drop it when the Hippocampus turned around and questioned her Guardian's reaction.
"No, no sweetheart! He's fine!" The vet crossed the space between himself and Phoenix and wrapped the man up in a warm bear hug, laughing just a little. Phoenix was given a few solid pats on the back before being released and as he looked at the vet he would see the smile, yes, but also tears building up in the other man's brown eyes. "He's just VERY happy to see you. He's been waiting a long time."
Zeke winked, squeezed the other man's arms, and then turned so that he could dab his own eyes with the back of his hand. When he turned back around his eyes were still watery despite his efforts but he seemed not to notice for now.
"Let me make some introductions!" He clapped and rubbed his hands together briskly before tipping the left one to Phoenix first. "This man here is Phoenix, he's your Guardian. And this one here," The hand was tipped to Zoe. "Must be his daughter, Zoe!" The vet crouched down so he was level with the girl and held out his hand to her. "It's nice to finally meet you, princess. I'm Zeke."
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:23 am
The Frei watched with wonder as the men hugged, Phoenix sobbing openly into Zeke's shoulder. All the while, Zoe's grip on her hand tightened. When Zeke went to shake her hand, the little girl offered the wrong one, refusing to let go of her new sister's. "Hello," she said quietly, but she couldn't keep her eyes away from the hippocampus.
When her hand began to tremble lightly, the Frei looked down to see tears welling up in Zoe's eyes too. "Oh, small girl!" Without hesitation she lowered herself to Zoe's height, looked her straight in the eye from an inch away and then lifted her off the ground. She wasn't heavy at all, being as small for her age as she was. Zoe looked slightly startled, but didn't fight the Frei. "You are happy too, yes?" When she floated back to her usual height she looked her in the eye once more, touching her nose to Zoe's and smiling. "I am happy too," she said softly. She liked this small girl.
And she liked the man, too. She hovered closer to him, her unblinking eyes looking him over from head to toe. For the first time since they'd arrived, Phoenix managed to speak. "Hello." The tears had slowed, but his eyes still glistened, and he stared with complete fascination at the Raevan.
She gasped in response. "Colorful man, he speaks!" She exclaimed excitedly, wings beating with joy. She leaned in to peck her new guardian on the cheek, before floating circles around the two men with Zoe still in her arms. Phoenix looked stunned, and his eyes turned back to Zeke. He seemed to be in shock.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2016 7:21 am
He winked at Zoe when she offered him the wrong-hand shake and was smiling as he stood back up to watch the proceedings. The Hippocampus continued being as animated as she had been since meeting him, filling the room with sound, motion, and color as she whirled between people.
"He does!" The vet exclaimed when Phoenix finally found his voice, beaming with pride as the Frei pecked her Guardian on the cheek and set to floating around the two men with the little girl in her arms. He followed her with his eyes for a moment before they came to rest on Phoenix, who was staring rather openly at the colorful man and seemed to have returned to being at a loss for words.
"Nice to see you again Phoenix!" The words were belted out after a moment of returned staring and Zeke was laughing and setting himself upon the other man again for a second hug. This embrace lasted longer and in it Zeke leaned just so against the Greek man's ear. "Congratulations, man. And sorry too; she kind of does her own thing when she sets her mind to it. We usually do a thing with the Guardians for tradition but...eh what the hell?"
He pulled away and was beaming wide, shoulders lifting in a shrug to that last comment he had made.
"So! Given your sudden muteness I think the best thing for you, good sir, would be to take a seat! If you lock your knees any harder you're gonna be on the floor!" Zeke made a grand show of the declaration, all gestures and pointing and even slinging his arm around Phoenix's shoulders to steer him to the comfiest seat in the house - the couch on the side of the lobby opposite from the vet's desk. He plonked the man down onto the choice seat before gesturing to the two girls to come and join them.
"There we are! Nice and comfy!" He was damn near at Cheshire Cat-lengths for how wide and luminous his smile was. "And now that you're seated...Would either of you like something to drink? I have water, coffee, juice for Zoe if you'd like it, princess."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:43 pm
Phoenix gave absolutely no resistance against being directed towards the sofa. He wasn't even sure how he made it there. His body moved awkwardly, like he'd lost some control of his muscles. He blinked when he sat down, telling himself to thank Zeke for helping him when he remembered how to speak properly again.
Zoe clutched onto her new sister's clothes, watching her intently as the Frei carried her after Phoenix and Zeke. "You're my new sister," she said softly, letting go of one hand to touch her on the face, as if making sure she was real. At first she gently touched her on the cheek, but before long she was placing both hands all over her face, feeling her scales and lifting her thick locks of hair. Her brow furrowed as she examined her new sister. The Frei said nothing as Zoe did so, simply smiled and occasionally stuck her tongue out a little at the girl. Finally Zoe turned to the two men. "I like her," she announced firmly.
Phoenix watched the entire display in awe. "Zeke," he mumbled, momentarily resting his chin and mouth in his hand to take a long, shaky breath. "She's beautiful." Beautiful was an understatement. And it was more than just the way she looked. The knowledge that she was his daughter just made her all the more radiant to him. "You guys did all this. How-- I--" He wasn't even sure what he was trying to say. "Thank you." His eyes remained on the Frei while he addressed the man next to him.
It was only after this that he registered Zeke's offer. "Oh, um." He was about to say water, but then he realized he could probably use the kick from the coffee. He was risking his heart exploding he figured, at the rate it was already going, but he needed it. He didn't think anyone would be too willing to smack him across the face to bring him back to being himself. "Coffee?"
"Juice, please." Zoe said politely. Normally she wouldn't have cared for someone holding her for so long, but she'd quite forgotten she was even being held. She was too intrigued by her new sister.
The Frei gave a little gasp. "Colorful man, may I get the juice?" She knew where it was now, and she wanted to be of some use. Her fins beat hopefully.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:25 pm
At Zoe's firmness of her words, Zeke somehow managed to look even more delighted.
"Wonderful!" He trilled, clapping his hands together and squeezing them tight. Phoenix, he was sure, would be the easy sell on his new child. Zoe, until then an only child from his understanding, was certain to have been the harder one to please. It was a big, world-tilting thing, suddenly having a new sibling. The fact she had taken to the Hippocampus so readily and with such certainty took a lot of nerves off the vet's (and probably her father's) shoulders.
"Oh hey, he speaks again!" With a laugh the vet patted the man of the hour on the shoulder, clasping firmly and squeezing to coax a few more words out of Phoenix. At the thank you Zeke simply gave a little bow with a small sweep of his hand and arm, meeting the Greek man's eyes to give him a wink. "Hey I said it before and I'll say it again - you're welcome Phoenix."
He turned his gaze to the Frei and her sibling to watch the pair interact more, at least until Phoenix's mumble for coffee reached his ears. The vet gave a nod and released the shoulder he still had a hand on, eyes on Zoe as the girl piped up with her request.
"Sure thing give me one moment and I--" The Sand Frei cut him off both verbally and physically, suddenly before him and eager to go ahead and do the thing. Her vivacity made him laugh. "You sure you want to? I can get it sweetheart, it's no trouble for me! I figure you'd want to hang out with your family a little more without me being here to be a distraction!"
He could offer up that much suggestion at the very least. Although even only knowing her this short time now she wasn't one to be deterred when she had her mind on something, clearly.
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Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 9:05 pm
The Frei looked mildly troubled at the choice before her.
On the one hand, she wanted to see her new family more. On the other, she wanted to show them how helpful she could be. But the colorful man was right,
and she would have plenty of time to show them the things she was already learning to do. "I will stay here," she announced firmly after some consideration, then floated with Zoe in tow closer to where Phoenix sat.
"Dad," Zoe said, leaning down to tug at her father's sleeve while still holding onto her new sister. When Phoenix looked up at her with wet eyes she gave him a smug smile. "I told you it was a good idea,"
For a moment Phoenix stared at her, blinking, before he broke down laughing almost hysterically. His loud bark of a laugh startled the Frei a bit, but her look of shock melted into a puzzled smile. She didn't yet understand the joke between the two, but she knew they'd let her in on it when they stopped laughing. Zoe was giggling too, still looking smug.
When they'd settled down, the Hippocampus relocated her little big sister down on the couch next to Phoenix, and floated around to the front of them,
hovering at about eye level and studying them intently.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:21 pm
"Alrighty then, I will be right back!"
He started his retreat to the hall as Zoe spoke to her father and the man in turn barked a laugh. So that was the way of it, was it? Then he supposed he needn't be worried about the small girl's feelings about the Hippocampus at all!
In the time it took to brew a cup of coffee Zeke got the juice for Zoe (he figured apple would be best between the trio of that, orange, and pomegranate taking up residence in the fridge) and pocketed an 8oz bottle of water for himself. He was going to be talking A LOT in the coming time he would spend with the trio out front and would surely need it.
Once the coffee was done Zeke put it, the juice, a spoon, some napkins, and cups of cream, milk, and sugar onto a tray. He really ought to have asked Phoenix how he took his drink rather than make the man compile it himself but little details like that got lost in the good humor and he was sure the Greek man wouldn't mind his faux pas. Before he left the kitchen he paused and nabbed another bottle of water - setting this one on the tray with the rest - just in case Miss Hippocampus was thirsty too. Her Essence, if he had to guess, would probably make her palate turn towards drier substances for nourishment but everyone needed water, even if just to rinse out a brief touch of cottonmouth. At the very least he didn't want her to feel left out and once that was procured and set he was back off to the lobby again.
"And here we are!!!" He hip-checked the door to push it open and beamed as he set the tray down on the coffee table between the three guests. "Apple juice for Zoe," he passed her the pale blue cup he had poured it in, "and coffee for Phoenix. Sorry, I totally spaced and forgot to ask you how you take it, so I brought the standards. That red cup has milk in it and the blue is cream. The dish is of course sugar; I hope you don't mind cubes."
He took the bottle of ice cold water off the tray and held it out to the Frei.
"And here's a bottle of water for you, sweetheart! Just in case you get thirsty - we're gonna be doing a lot more talking from here on out!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:55 pm
Left alone for the first time, there was a brief moment of silence between the three. Phoenix and Zoe watched the Frei, who watched them back, each of them too stunned by each other to really know what to say.
It was the Hippocampus that spoke first, reaching forward to grab in each hand one each of Phoenix and Zoe's. "You have very large hands, yes." She said to Phoenix. "And yours, they are so tiny!" She seemed fascinated by this, and when she let go to look at her own rather sturdy hands her mouth made a small O.
Sensing her dad was still too much in shock to say much, Zoe took the lead at that point. "You're gonna share a room with me," she announced. "You have your own bed and other things."
This new information excited the Frei, and she clasped her hands together. "I cannot wait to see!" She was so thrilled at the idea of seeing where she would be living.
The reappearance of Zeke seemed to relax Phoenix a bit. He was so uncertain of what to do, and a part of him was terrified that if he blinked it would all go away. "Thank you," he said when offered the coffee, taking it and drinking it exactly as it was. He wasn't thinking well enough to doctor it up, and he probably would have spilled everything anyway. He didn't trust his hands at the moment.
Zoe likewise thanked Zeke and sipped at her juice. When offered the water the Raevan gave a little gasp and took it, immediately drinking some. "I like water a lot, yes," she commented, settling in as though she were sitting on the arm of the couch next to Zoe. Zoe scooched closer, looking up at her new sister with admiration.
"So um," Phoenix cleared his throat, looking between everyone in the room, trying to keep his nerves under control. "What happens next?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 3:41 pm
Zeke passed around a 'thank you' to each in turn as the drinks were accepted, but didn't immediately sit with the rest of the gang. Instead the vet turned and went to his desk, pulling the folder that contained all of the Hippocampus' and Phoenix's information off it. He carried it back over along with a pen and took a seat in a vacant chair just as Phoenix cleared his throat.
"From here on out we're doing something simple and something hard. I'd ask which one you'd wanna do first but unfortunately there's not much of an option for that since both things are kind of combined."
He held the folder up with a flourish.
"And by that I mean paperwork. That's the simple part. You have one last set of forms to sign before I can release this lovely young lady to you. Once I double check over to make sure nothing is missed, I'll print and sign and if I don't do it fast enough I risk you discovering my secret, hidden name and I can't have that. SO!"
The vet set the manila folder down and opened it, shuffling through papers to straighten them before taking the pen up in his left hand in order to write the harder part down first and foremost.
"Before we begin with that, however, we gotta get through the maybe-but-maybe-not hard part of this whole shebang. And that, my friend, is this: what is her name?"
He batted his eyes at Phoenix as he spoke, tipping the pen in the direction of the blue and gold Frei. A tilt of the head completed the look and if Phoenix hadn't been on the spot enough already at this point, well he certainly was now!
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