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 Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:30 pm
Rather than letting Donat sit around in the grass and eat it, Kumoru figured he would try to take the boy for a bit of a walk around the park. He himself had not seen much of it lately, and, truth be told, the same old grassy field where he usually brought the goat boy was getting a little dull.
Walking slowly to allow ample time for the boy to look around, Kumoru made his way down the park path, rather enjoying the slow pace himself.
Donat peered about in pure wonder at the tall trees on either side of the mulched path. He held onto his father's hand with one hand, while he sort of leaned down and tried to touch the ground with the other. He was not precisely dragging his feet, but it was clear he would much rather be walking on all-fours. At least Donat was not complaining about having to walk on two.
After a few minutes, though, he started to get bored with the trees, since they were all too tall to eat from. Maybe someone would walk by?
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:02 pm
"And that's how you bury stuff."
The little voice, pitched slightly hair but definitely boyish in nature, cut through the quiet park air. For a few seconds it wasn't immediately apparent where the chatter was coming from, but once the two had continued on a few feet farther it was easy to see a rather short little boy sitting in the mulch under a tree. He'd dug a hole in the mulch and had dropped a pair of keys inside the hole. Currently, he was covering it over with dirt and wood chips and, apparently, talking to a stick at his knee.
On closer inspection, it wasn't actually a stick. Rather, something faintly mist-like floated at the top of it. There was the distinct feeling that it was at least listening to what the boy said, even if it couldn't see what Etain was doing.
The unicorn's ears twitched sharply and he stopped talking abruptly. Slowly, he peered over his shoulder toward the path and the two strangers approaching. With a screech, he lept to his feet and just about dive bombed the younger boy, pale arms catching the child around the middle in a tight hug. "ANOKI!" he squeaked, wiggling about in some semblance of a dance, his poof-ended tail whipping about happily.
Wait. Wasn't Anoke bigger than him? ...This person was definitely too small. And his horns were all wrong... Etain immediately released the other boy, skittering back a few steps.
"Oops."
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:20 pm
Eyes widening in surprise, Donat could not do much of anything but giggle as he was hugged without warning. Had he met this other kid before? Oh well, hugs were good from anyone, right?
"Hiya," he said with a grin as the other boy backed away.
Kumoru was just about as surprised as the other child practically attacked Donat. But the other one seemed to realize his mistake soon enough and back off. Not that the mage was about to use any forceful methods to get the boy off of his son. But it was still admittedly a bit strange.
"Er, have we met yet?" he asked, brushing a lock of black hair out of his eyes and glancing down at Donat, in case the goat boy had somehow met the other without his knowledge.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:44 pm
Etain shook his head, looking momentarily worried. Compulsively, the boy began nibbling at the skin on the end of one finger. By the looks of it, it was a often-trod path of a nervous habit. "Naw, I thought he was somebody else," he explain, peering curiously at Donat. Weird something was making him feel...
Etain glanced briefly to the boy's guardian and immediately glanced in the other direction, backpeddling hastily. "'Msorry'msorry," he squeaked, waving his hands slightly and skittering off a safe distance, back to the disturbed mulch under the tree and the wisp-ended stick he'd left there. "I should go," he yammered nervously, eyes still firmly Elsewhere as he groped around for the stick.
Apparently something had him creeped out.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Donat looked at Kumoru, then after the other boy, his bottom lip sticking out a little in a pout. Then he started to toddle after Etain, calling, "Wait, where are you going?"
The mage stood where he was, watching after Donat and wondering what might be wrong. Hopefully Donat would not think he had done anything wrong. After a moment, he took a few steps towards the two boys, wondering what was going on.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:04 pm
"J-just," Etain started, finally manage to catch hold of the stick. He clutched it nervously to himself, risking a glance to the little boy. At least he didn't make him feel like little bugs were crawling under his skin. Uugh this is miserable. "Just need to take Leith b-back to Tovar," he managed, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, looking utterly prepared to break through the line of bushes and street off across the park, so long as it was away from the mage.
In fact, the moment the man took a few steps closer, the unicorn nearly did just that: skittering nervously halfway through the hedges, his little legs getting all scratched up and scuffed because of it. Still, it seemed to bother him less than whatever it was about Kumoru that was bothering him so badly.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:13 pm
Donat plopped down on the mulch by the hole the other boy had been digging, and started sniffling a little. What had he done wrong? He even got a hug before, and now the other kid was acting like that? It wasn't fair!
Frowning a little in confusion as well, Kumoru watched the boy scamper off through the bushes, then walked over to Donat.
"It's alright," he assured the goat boy, reaching down to ruffle his hair a little. Donat had to be the least intimidating child the mage had ever seen. He only hoped the poor boy would not be too upset by all this.
Wiping his nose a little, Donat glanced at the ground and saw something shiny partially burried in the mulch. He gently reached down into the hole and picked up the keys between two fingers. Did these belong to the other boy? Would he come back for them?
"H-hey!" he shouted towards the bushes, then stuck a finger in his mouth to suck on it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:20 pm
Etain edged farther back into the hedge at the mage drew nearer yet, nearly dissapearing into the plant (or popping out on the other side, whichever came first). He was on the verge of simply scampering away through the hudge, turning and running, when he realized, belatedly, that he'd left Tovar's keys half buried in the dirt.
Uh-oh.
--And now the little not-Anoki had them! Better than his guardian getting a hold of them, at least. Etain peered shyly at the goat boy from where he stood, half hidden in the midst of the hedge. He needed those keys... He didn't move back out to claim them though. Maybe the litle boy would bring them to him if he didn't go out... so long as he didn't have to get closer to that scary, weird smelling man. His ears twitched nervously.
"C-could you...bring those here?" He asked, chewing on his thumb uncertainly.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:31 pm
Donat chewed on his own fingers in response, glancing between the keys in his other hand and the bush where the other boy was hiding.
"Donat, you should give those back," Kumoru told the boy.
Or was the other child afraid of him?
The goat boy looked up at his father again, then sniffled a little and climbed to his feet. "You gonna run away again?" he asked, taking a step towards the shrubs.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:39 pm
The unicorn shifted nervously, though looked eagerly to the keys. It looked like he wouldn't have to get close to the weird-smelling man; that was good. "So long as your person stays far away," he said, clearly without knowing that the statement was probably a little rude, nevermind a little silly sounding.
He did finally move closer to the edge of the bush, though by no means did he leave it. Rather, gripping the stick in one hand (the little wisp undulated dully near his shoulder, apparently bored with this whole situation), he held the other just slightly out past the branches in anticipation for the younger boy to hand over Tovar's keys. He'd just...grab them and run off or something.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:46 pm
"My person?" Donat repeated, then stole a quick glance over his shoulder at Kumoru. "You mean Daddy? He's not scary. He has magic, but that's pretty and not scary. Why is Daddy scary?"
While he waited for a response, the goat boy stood where he was, still holding the keys. He did not intend at all to force a response out of the unicorn, and he did not think his actions were in any way coersive. Donat was just afraid that the boy would run away as soon as he had the keys and not say anything.
At the indirect accusation, Kumoru took a few steps back, but did not turn away from the bush. Did the child somehow sense his magic or something?
No, impossible. He may be a necromancer, but never had he used his spells for evil ends. On the contrary, it was his magic that had allowed him to get the DNA for little Donat in the first place. Necromancy was necromancy, but Kumoru knew his intentions were different.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:55 pm
Etain fidgeted. Why did they always want to know why. It was hard, impossible!, for him to explain right. It was just... "Just a feeling," he managed, shifting nverously in his bush. "'C'n...feel people...that aren't really there anymore. Still around him, like they should be or...or s-something." It made no sense, but he could. It made his head hurt - like he knew he should be seeing more than just the mage standing there: like he had a spot in his vision but everytime he turned his head the people he knew to be there skittered to keep up with the place he couldn't see.
It made the hair at the back of his neck stand straight on end.
"C-can I have them?" he asked again, staring hard at the keys rather than on Donat's daddy. "The keys. Please."
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:30 am
That was strange. Normally, when Donat asked questions, he got answers and everything was "clear as day" like Daddy would always say, and that was that. But this time, the boy in the bushes had answered a question and it seemed to make things even muddier in Donat's mind. People that were not there? How silly.
At the mention of the keys, though, the goat slipped out of his pondering and glanced at them in his hand as though he had forgotten he was holding them. "Sorry," he said with a small, faintly hopeful smile as he closed the rest of the distance between himself and the bushes, holding the keys out in front of him as far as his arm would stretch.
"My name's Donat," he offered along with the keys, his tone rising at the end as though it were almost a question. Maybe at least the other boy would be less scared if he knew his name?
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:10 pm
He took the keys quickly, the bits and bobs of metal clinking as he pressed them to his chest alongside the stick. Time to go, his brain, skin, instinct, wailed at him and for a moment he almost did. But...but that would be bad. Especially since the little boy seemed so hopeful and-and it wasn't his fault that his daddy was...
Etain shivered and glanced pointedly at his own two feet rather than back to the mage. He didn't go anywhere at least, but he didn't look up to Donat either. "Thank you," he croaked out uncertainly. "It's n-nice to meet you. 'M Etain. And this is Leith." He twitched the stick in his grip slightly and the little misty apparation at the top drifted absently back and forth. "H-he's just a baby now, but Tovar says he's gonna come out...in a little bit. Maybe. T-then he'll be a little brother fer me t-to poke an' stuff."
And, oh he was rmabling but he couldn't make himself stop; didn't even register that he might be talking too much.
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:04 pm
Donat could not help but smile just a little. At least he had gotten the other boy's name. And already in the back of his mind, some bit of mischief was cooking that involved getting away from Kumoru just long enough to visit this boy again.
"Nice to meet you," he said, remembering his manners since Daddy was still right behind him. "I don't have a little brother, but I have a big brother who's nice. I hope your little brother is nice, too."
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