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 Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:20 am
Mauli sniffled, rubbing a hand over her eyes. She leaned against the fence, staring dolefully up at her old house. It was empty now... All of the furniature was packed up in the back of the van, which was once used to haul her siblings back and forth from their home to their birth places. Now... Lenta had made a deal with Moo. They would move into the Jivvin Mansion, if she and Lenta promised to help take care of the Jivvins. That wouldn't be a problem, because Mauli already knew how to take care of Fenwrit... And after the baby stage, the Jivvins could handle themselves. But, the job meant that Mauli couldn't come back to the HQ for a long, long time.
And something inside of her said she wouldn't miss it.
Remy was in tears, struggling in Lenta's grip as he was hauled to the car. "But MOM, I don't WANNA go! Fenwrit hates me, and so will all the other Jivvins!"
Growling, Lenta finally situated Remy into his seat, then buckled him in. "Fenwrit's out for your blood because you stole his hat, remember? The other Jivvins are nice, Isto says. And we'll be living with Isto and Banda. We've still got a few minutes before we leave, so stay here and watch the others, okay?"
The others she spoke of were Lenta's other pets, who were crammed into the middle seats. Pipp wriggled and yelped, buckled in beside Nyat, who looked extremely peeved and ready to blow smoke. Sykiri sat silently on Pipp's other side, engrossd in a book. Dinero, Billi and Gayfo were on the floor of the car, swapping disgusting stories about drinking and being rowdy. Fenwrit rested on Sykiri's lap, wrapped in a thick blanket so he wouldn't get cold on the ride.
Remy crossed his paws, then stuck his nose in the air, glaring at Lenta. "Don't wanna." He muttered, pawing at his seatbelt.
Lenta sighed, then got into the front seat, revving the van up. Air conditioning spilled out of the vents, immedietly blowing past the vehicle's occupants. She then turned, striding towards the old house, so she could talk to the movers about their pay.
Mauli ruffled Remy's headfur, then sat down beside him, taking off his seatbelt and scooping him up into her arms. She hugged him tightly, earning a glare from Lenta, who absolutely was NOT going to wrestle the boy back into his seat. But Remy remained calm and silent, then rested his head on Mauli's shoulder, snuffling softly and trying to hide his face.
"Mum'll take care of us, Rem. We gotta go with it." Mauli whispered, then set him on her shoulders, stepping out of the car and leaning against the side of it. "You'll see. She's never let us down before... And at the new house, we'll each have our own bedrooms. Yours'll be near the library, if I can manage to talk miss Moo into it. And you get to go back to the HQ... Moo'll drive you there with Banda when she brings him."
Remy sighed, curling up against Mauli's neck. He seemed much more calm after hearing he could continue visiting the HQ. "I hope so... I never got to say goodbye to En, but now I don't have to."
Mauli's lower lip trembled, but she furrowed her brow, ignoring the sudden urge to cry. Lenta hadn't told Remy about Enciel yet... Mauli would tell him later. "Yeah... She'll be glad to see you, Rem."
"Time to go, guys." Lenta slipped back into the front seat of the van, and Mauli squished into the front seat, placing Remy on her lap. With that, the two front doors shut, and the family began slowly driving towards the forest, and towards their new home.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:53 am
Azurai was waiting at the Jivvins Center. She was not moving in, no, she didn't want to be a trouble to Moo, and she had her own house to live in. She had made sure that no one was around before she started to cry. However quietly the tears came, they came in buckets, rolling down her cheeks. This was it? Did no one really care anymore about running Skull Monkeys? It was devastating: Odd was only an infant, and already he was stripped of any goals. She only thought about how awful it would be for him. And for this, she sobbed.
Little did Azurai know she had a spectator. A pair of tiny eyes watched from a corner, a little fuzzy body hiding from behind the doorway. Why was mommy crying? were the thoughts of young Odd, who didn't understand what was going on. He had been off meeting a bunch of the Jivvins when he had gone looking for Azurai, and...found her. He padded quietly in. "Mommy?"
Azurai looked up, opening her red eyes, the tears on her cheeks shining. She smiled, wiping her eyes away and trying to act as if everything was okay. She walked over and picked up Odd and set him on her lap as she sat down again. She could feel the little skull monkey shiver with fear, and she hugged him to her chest. "Odd," she said, a mere choked sob, "there's something mommy needs to tell you. There will be no more...new friends at HQ. No more new skull monkeys. We can't buy you any headphones, or a fifth stage item. You can't ever have kids. I'm sorry..." she put it all bluntly, in a quick string of words, because the tears were coming again. Usually she wouldn't be crying, she would be yelling, screaming...But for Odd's sake, this is what it all came down to.
Odd didn't really understand. The words came through, but...they didn't process. He opened his mouth, but said nothing. For how could an infant's mind comprehend something of this magnitude? It couldn't. But Odd still felt sad, because Azurai felt sad. When he was a child, it would hit him like a ton of bricks, and then would he probably cry. But for now, he sat in his mom's lap, his eyes watering. He didn't know what to do: it was so confusing for his small mind.
"I promise, I'll take you to HQ every day...You can still have friends. And we'll be seeing Mauli, Isto, Banda, and Remy too! They'll be living here, with Moo. So it'll all be okay..." she said, sobbing and squeezing her eyes shut. It wasn't okay though. Her fingers were tingling, her cheeks were hot, her eyes were burning. And in her lap was a small fuzzball who didn't understand a word but cried with. And over at HQ they didn't give a flying f***. She shouldn't care, but she did. And it hurt. It hurt bad.
"But we have to stop crying. Lenta's gonna be here soon with her pets. So we have to stop. I'll...go get a tissue." She got up, putting Odd on the chair, and left the room.
Odd sad on the chair and cried. Just cried. There was nothing he could do, except cry. So he did. And waited for Azurai to come back, curled up in a tiny ball.
Azurai came back, her eyes dry. She dabbed at Odd's damp face fur. "It'll be alright, it's okay..." she said quietly. But it wasn't. It would never be anymore. And both of them knew it.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 12:57 pm
Deep within the forest in question, final touches were being added to the House in preparation for its new arrivals. The House was truly an architectural masterpiece. Sadly, I am too lazy to describe it, and so you all must suffer. The normally stately house today seemed more like a beehive. Different members of the family zoomed around, finishing last minute preparations. True, there weren’t many, but the few that were left were important. “ISTOOOOOOO, getcher arse to the Past and lock it off!”
Isto was one of the few family members who were not panicking. Quite the contrary, he was lounging around his wing of the House, checking each room to be sure no one had left any pranks or traps for unsuspecting guests. At Moo’s call he rolled his eyes, shouting back down the hallway. “Jack’s already done that, Moo. Calm down!”
Only seconds later, and overly nervous and excited Moo appeared in the door way. “Then fix up the Future! I don’t want any of Lenta’s pets straying there,” she muttered, shifting from foot to foot as if the floor was on fire.
“The Future’s been locked off since we moved in, Moo. Calm down.” Shaking his head sadly, Isto stepped past Moo and out of the room, heading off down the hall. “I’ll recheck the fourth floor, if that makes you feel any better.
“Feel…better…mm…” Babbling nonsense, Moo nodded dumbly and headed back down towards the ground floor. She wasn’t quite sure why she was so nervous about all this. It was only Lenta, but… The House was tricky. So much could happen, so much could go wrong. What happened if someone traveled to the Past and got chopped up by a knight!?!?!?!! It had almost happened to Jack recently when he went as anthro. Or, or, what if the gnomes attacked again!?!?! They’d been disturbingly silent since that first attack two weeks ago… Who knows what they could be planning?!?! Damn gnomes…
In silence Isto climbed the stairs for the fourth floor of the House, walking as quietly as possible and not saying a word. The fourth floor was rarely used for anything except storage, and there were a few different reasons to that. Often something would escape from the fifth and come down here… Usually he and Jack would be charged with the job of getting rid of it. But today there didn’t seem to be anything, which was good.
Down in the living room, Banda was sorting through a pile of books, attempting to put them in chronological order… Well, he needed SOMETHING to do, right? And there wasn’t much else to be done, ‘cept for the de-spiritizing of the fourth and fifth floors, and Jack and Isto would have to do that. He glanced up as a movement across the room caught his attention, but it was only Moo hurrying towards the front door. Front door…they must be here! Jumping to his feet, Banda raced after her, slipping out the door and halting on the front step to watch the van grow in the distance. Was it the distance…? It seemed so far, but… In a matter of seconds the van was plowing up the final stretch to the house.
((Grargfoogle, I didn't realize Rai had posted until after I type this up...deal with it crying ))
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:09 pm
Lenta threw the van door open, then slammed it shut, banging her head on the side of the van. OH MY GAWD, did they HAVE to sing the WHOLE way there?!?
Mauli stepped out, her sides shaking with laughter as she scooped her siblings up. First Remy, who took his place on her shoulders; Then Pipp and Nyat, who stayed curled up in Mauli's arms. Next, Sykiri, who insisted she could walk on her own, then flopped onto the ground and carried Fenwrit to the door. And last, Dinero and Billi and Gayfo, who gasped and oohed and ahhed excitedly as they bounced up to the mansion.
Remy grunted, then swatted at Mauli's ear. "C'mon, let's get inside! Time to go let's move c'mon!"
Laughing, Mauli stepped up to the front door, then rang the doorbell.
"You come help me after you say hello, young lady!" Lenta yelled, grabbing as many bags out of the back of the van as she could hold. Lessee... Linins bag, clothing bag, Mauli's hat bag, Mauli's sword, Remy's books(the ones he HAD to take..) Nyat's leash and collar, Sykiri's moogle(Lenta had refused to let her have it in the car; It only created pandemonium around the other pets) Pipp's collar(not like she needed it) and Fenwrit's spare hat. Whoo... She'd get the bathroom necessities and such later.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:30 pm
"Just go in," Banda chirped from Mauli's side, cheerfully nudging the door open. "I dunno where Moo went, but she's kinda crazy today anyway. Make yerselves at home!" He led the way into the House, but almost immediately headed back to the living room to finish organizing the books. He couldn't just leave them in a pile on the floor!
By this time Isto was about half way through with the fourth floor. So far so good. True, they had cleaned the place out the night before, but all the same... Actually, it would probably be better if they just locked it off completely. But then it would get to be like the fifth floor... Ehh, better to just keep it free.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:37 pm
Mauli grinned, then placed Pipp and Nyat on the ground, patting Banda's head fondly. "Thankee, liddle man. Alright, everyone, settle somewhere here in the front while miss Moo gives you a job to do or a place to stay!" She ordered, eyeing Dinero in particular. Little crazed troublemaker... Then, spinning in place, she headed back out to help Lenta with the luggage.
Remy jumped down off Mauli's shoulders as she turned and exited, then grinned, running one paw across the floor. Man, this place was NICE! Suddenly, the move didn't seem as bad anymore.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:42 pm
((Can't see a bloody thing...))
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:01 pm
Within the next few minutes Moo bustled back into the room, starting slightly at the sight of the group gathered near the door. Right, um, they...it.... "Hallo! Umm..hmm... Sorry we didn't have a better welcome party. Everyone's kinda rushing around.. Actually, I haven't the faintest idea where half of the family is. But, they'll turn up for dinner, I suppose... 'Twill be grand." She grinned, gazing past them to the door. "Alao's cookin' a big ol' feast as a 'Welcome to the House' sorta thing..."
She fell silent for a minute or so, then snapped back to reality and continued. "The west wing of the second floor is all yours! Just go up the big staircase and turn left. There's a few different hallways, and a bunch of rooms... Just pick any you like and move in. There's plenty of room." Again she paused, then shrugged, continuing. "I'ma get someone to give you a tour once you're settled in. Oh, I'd nearly forgotten!"
She became suddenly serious, glancing from one creature to another...to another...to another...etc. "There are a few areas that are dangerous for one reason or another. This house is very, very old and...strange. Those two other doors you saw outside? Don't use 'em. They take you..elsewhere. All entrances to the fifth floor remain locked, unless Isto or Jack has to go up there for some reason. Trust me, you don't want to go there. Actually, it'd prolly be better if you stayed off the fourth floor as well... It can be pretty dangerous. Isto's making sure it's empty right now."
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:17 pm
Every head nodded silently with each of Moo's words, which might have looked rather comical from the sidelines. Mauli and Lenta heaved their luggage in, then placed it on the floor inside, heaving sighs of relief. Then, all heck broke loose as Lenta's pets rushed to find their perfect rooms.
"I CALL THE ONE NEAREST TO THE LIBRARY!" Remy shouted, darting down the hall in front of the others. Pipp agreed with a bark; She'd claim the last bedroom in the first hall. Sykiri made herself at home in the third room to the right, and Nyat picked the third on the left. Dinero, Billi and Gayfo slipped off to the kitchen, eager to get a little chowing done before scouting out the rooms. Poor Fenwrit was left behind, because, as we all know... Eggs can't walk. So, Lenta picked him up and bounced up the stairs, ready to choose a room for him to share with her, at least until he hatched.
Mauli laughed, then leaned against the doorframe, beaming at Moo. After a few moments, she nodded. "Thanks for lettin' us stay, miss Moo. 'Twas nice of yeh." And, with that, she stepped past the homeowner and up towards the second floor. She'd hafta find a room near Isto and Banda's, and hope Remy's was close by as well... SM Sleepover, 2.0, baybee!
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 1:02 pm
Moo seemed, if anything, comforted by the stampede of creatures charging up the stairs. It made the house seem more like...home. Her pets had done the same thing on the first day, and most of them had settled in the East wing. All save for Jack and Isto, who had eached claimed a wing on the third floor for themselves. Not than anyone really minded. The House was far too big... It was kind of scary how quiet it would get at times.
Chuckling softly, she waves away the thanks, shrugging. "No problem at all. We've never had a use for the House until recently..and now it always seems so enpty. The more the merrier!" She watches as the SM heads up the stairs, then glances around the entrance hall, trying to remember what she was going to do... She could hear Alao in the kitchen yelling at Dinero, Billi and Gayfo... something about spoiling their appetites. How anyone could survive without Alao, Moo would never know.
Quite suddenly she remembered her task, and bustled towards one of the back rooms that she and Acia had turned into their work shop. Today they were going to test drive the new hovercraft ;D
Upon reaching the other end of the fourth floor, Isto headed back the way he had come, finally satisfied that nothing had escaped from the fifth. For safety reasons, on the main entrance to the fourth floor was left unlocked, which explained why he had to walk halfway around the floor just to be able to go downstairs. Creepy old house...
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 3:04 pm
Mauli finally settled into the room on the right of Lenta's, mentally making a note to store her stuff there later. For now, she just collapsed in a happy heap on her bed, snuggling into the old, stale-smelling covers and sighing with relief. A successful move... Mauli didn't have any real sentimental attatchments to the old house, so the only thing that really bothered her was having to get used to everything in the Jivvin Mansion.
Lenta placed Fenwrit inside a small barrel she had found in her room, making sure to fill it with as many blankets as the container could hold before settling her egg in. Unlike Mauli, Lenta had many attatchments to the old house; It had been her first real investment, but not much of one. With a grateful sigh, she looked around her room, a small smile appearing on her lips. It was larger than her old room, and not filled with torn curtains or busted pillows from her 'crew'. It'd take some getting used to.... But the Gaian girl was grateful to Moo for letting them stay. She'd have to find a way to make it up to her. Lenta's concious wouldn't let her rest until she did.
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 3:20 pm
Mauli's room-of-choice had long been out of use, holding no purpose but to exist until someone should inhabit it once more. However, that someone was not Mauli. Two dimly glowing eyes watched the SM from beneath a dresser, unblinking and slightly transparent. The creature slowly slid free of the gloom, gliding silently across the floor towards the, fangs bared in anticipation of a meal...
((Merf, I'll drag someone in to talk to her in a bit e.< Laaaaaazy me))
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 3:37 pm
Mauli flopped over onto her back, staring at the roof of the giant canopy bed with a grin on her face. Man, this was MUCH cooler than the old house's rooms! Real wood furnature, the room to herself, shadow-creatures under the awesome five-drawer dre-.... Wait a second. The SM girl sat up, then let off a soft shriek, scrambling to her feet and bumping her head in the process.
"Holycrapmongrelsthere'sashadowthingthatjustcameoutfromunderthedresserINMYROOM!" She yelled, suddenly very angry. Uh-uh, no WAY some stupid spirit was gonna ruin her new room! Drawing her sword, she charged, swinging down towards the spirit...
And chopping the carpet in two.
"WTF?!" She gaped, watching as the sword whooshed through the spirit.
((Wheeeeee, transparent spirit-shadows from the fifth floor are SO much cooler than shadows attracted to former-pirate SM girls! XD))
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 3:43 pm
((XDDDDDDDD Glad ya like 'em))
This particular spirit resembled something of a snake with back legs, a swirling array of blues and grays making up its nearly transparent scales. The sword passed right through it; the spirit was unharmed, but irritated. Having a solid object pass through you wasn't exactly comfortable. The reptilian spirit sprinted another foot or so, then hissed, diving for Mauli's leg.
((Spirits are fun n_n Mauli can help Jack and Isto clean out the fifth floor one day.))
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Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 3:53 pm
Mauli sidestepped, then snarled, stomping down on the spirit's head. She immedietly regretted doing so, since her foot fell through and hit the ground. The fifth-stage girl felt a wave of goosebumps roll up her leg, followed by a sudden cold feeling, and she tugged her foot away and backed up to the bed. Holy... @*#&... Okay, so this was gonna be hard. Part of her felt like it couldn't have been too hard to get it away; It was part shadow, right? But the other half of her doubted it. Shadows aren't transparent, nor do they allow swords to pass through them without some sort of bloody explosion directly afterwards. And she had touched shadows... Shadows didn't make her feel cold inside. Climbing onto the bed, Mauli gasped, pressing herself up against the headboard and staring at the spirit. Oh, crapcrapcrapcrap, she just HAD to pick the infested room, didn't she?!
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