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 Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:59 pm
There was one telephone in the house and it frequently went missing.
That was to say, the house frequently decided it was in it's occupants' best interests to be cut off from the outside world and therefore often decided to hide the single phone jack that Michael had seen fit to install at 'The beginning of the first day, when the great wizard was significantly less bitter and slightly more prone to naked women and less with the phone calls thing,' when he had first constructed the house. Or something like that.
Honestly though, the house had a habit of hiding lots of things. The phone just seemed to fall prey to it more often because Tovar often found himself needing it when it was missing. Had Tovar been as concerned about small decorative figurines as he was the telephone, he might have noticed that the glass turtle on the second shelf of the display case in the hall went missing nearly as often.
Luckily, the phone had not been missing when Tovar had initally gotten the phone call. Which meant it was not missing when he relayed the message upstairs to Michael that they might possibly have a visitor and would he please see them because it seemed they might need something. The phone was still in the 'Found!' spectrum of possessions when Michael agreed. The phone did not, in fact, go missing until the day afterwards and it was nearly lunch time before Tovar noticed as he stood over the stove, stirring the pot of soup.
"Damn," he muttered, eyeing the empty space on the sliver of wall between the kitchen countertop and the cabinets where the cordless phone and it's plugs had been the day before. Tovar repeated the swear word for good measure, only regretting it when he realized both Etain and Leith were actually still sitting at the large wooden table behind him.
The table took up much of the kitchen. Etain sat in one of the large, high backed chairs whereas the infant Kelpie took up a highchair. The baby was struggling against the belt restraint and attempting to gnaw his way through the plastic tray. Etain ignored him in favor of look in Tovar's direction.
"Medusa's comin'?" he quipped happily, swinging his feet where they hung a good five inches off the slate kitchen floor.
"That's right," Tovar responded, stewing over the pot. "With her mother."
Etain sobered a touch, frowning. "Alright. --Are we eating soup when they get here? Can we go play in my room instead."
"We'll see," Tovar said evasily, hoping that Kanth hadn't tried to call ahead.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:14 pm
It didn't take long for Kanth to track the house; as a former hunter, she was used to sniffing out odd things, and soon found herself at the steps to the house. On her shoulders she carried Medusa (due to her being unable to walk on the bare ground - Kanth was very careful of her puncturing her skin at such a young age), while Altessa hunkered down beside her, watching carefully as the green-haired woman raised her hand and knocked on the door.
It wasn't too hard to find the place after the directions she had gotten, but Kanth had stated that Medusa was coming along - only she hadn't mentioned that Tiil had refused to babysit the 'brat' as he called Altessa, though whenever Kanth was around the Bandersnatch girl, she was usually calm, and respected the woman.
As did the Kefka kid she got. A shrug was given; she didn't know what it was, but usually the most insane were calmed by her. Giving a smile to both of her girls, Kanth waited to be let in, showing them silently that it was proper to wait.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:23 pm
All hell broke loose in the kitchen. The soup bubbled up suddenly and Tovar shouted in an amusingly high pitched tone, floundering to turn down the heat, hurrying to find dish towels to clean up the spill on the stove. "Etain, can you get the door?" he managed, flushed and a little angry at himself and just Everything That Was Going Wrong.
Etain winced, glaning at Leith as if expecting to find some excuse lying in the infant's sharp teeth. "Alright," he said at length. It meant having to face Kanth, but at least Medusa would be there too. He slid off the edge of his chair and wobbled out into the hall, slinking down the hall to the front door. He had to weave his way around a few stacks of books and other knicknacks to reach the front door, but otherwise...
Etain reached the slid the latch, pulling the door open a crack and peering out to the front door, looking at the feet of the visitors. Sometimes it helped to look at just the feet. The worst where the eyes. --B-but wait. Etain looked up sharply, eyes widening a little. Only two sets of feet, both of which he recognized from two different intervals but no Medusa?!
Thankfully, he caught sight of her, perched up on Kanth's shoulder a second later. Etain glanced away quickly, back to the feet. "H-hi," he managed, skittering backward and opening the door the rest of the way. "Tovar's in the kitchen cussin'."
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:31 pm
"Hey, kid." Kanth smiled and moved so Medusa dropped down, landing on her feet gently before giving a curtsy to Etain.
"H'lo!" She said brightly, grabbing Altessa and dragging her over, introducing her. Medusa was allowed to touch, since her stinging didn't affect her as much as it did others!
"Yo." Altessa stated plainly, giving a wave to Etain. There was no malice in her tone, but there was a bit of curiosity evident in her eyes as she looked over Etain curiously.
Kanth nodded and drew over to the kitchen where she leaned on the counter, a small smile gracing her features. "Need a little help? I'm good at cooking, if you'd like me to take over."
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:42 pm
Tovar jumped nearly a foot in the air when they all suddenly reappeared in the kitchen doorway. He stuttered, briefly, continuing to jerkily mop up the mess around the base of the pot. "Ah, er, it's alright. I think it's done actually. Just went and made a giant mess of the kitchen, that's all." He laughed, sharp and loud and uprioriously, hilariously nervous. His eye skimmed over Kanth, hurrying over her face before dropping to the three children. He wiped off his hand self consciously and moved to greet them, sticking his hand out to Kanth with a faint smile. "Sorry, I'm Tovar. I'm sory if we missed any of your calls. The phone went missing." He motioned briefly to Etain. "That's Etain, as I'm sure you know, and Leith in the gnawer in the high chair. Mind your fingers."
Meanwhile, Etain eyed Altessa sideways. He was pretty sure he'd met this girl before. And she'd pushed him down into the mud. He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly before letting his attention wander back to Medusa. "Where's yer fish?" he asked suddenly, blinking at the floating black thing in his friend's stomach.
Tovar smiled faintly down at the kids before looking back to Kanth. "I made us lunch," he explained, waving numbly at the pot. "Soup and sandwiches - it's cold outside, isn't it? Er, but maybe you don't want lunch. Michael's upstairs, if you wanted to talk to him straight away instead."
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:03 pm
"They had tew taek it out." Medusa spoke, before letting go of Altessa's arm and tackling Etain in a great big bear hug.
"I would love lunch, actually." Kanth smiled warmly as she shook Tovar's hand, drawing close to the pot and peering into it curiously. She loved soup. "Your phone has legs, then, I take it?"
Rolling her eyes, Altessa moved away and wandered over to Tovar, winding around his legs and staring up at his hands curiously. As a child, she was now interested in sights and smells, and - wait, was that pepper on his fingers?
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:13 pm
Etain brightened by leaps and bounds inside the hug. His arms flopped cheerfully around Medusa's thin, less than quite solid shoulders. "Good to see you," he responded happily, patting the translucent girl on both shoulders before backing slightly out of the hug. "I got a fish like yers. Goldy," he chirped. "She's inna bowl though and not my tummy. In my room," he clarified, continuing to avoid looking straight at Kanth.
Tovar smiled, flushing slightly from up the back of his neck, the red touching on the tips of his ears. "Er, yeah, well -- I'll get up some plates and bowls then." He half tripped over Altessa, apologizing quickly and a little awkwardly before floundering to grasp through the cabinets, pulling down a number of scruffy looking, mismatched plates, bowls and spoons. It was definitely pepper.
"You can all sit down if you like," Tovar offered, glancing over the lot of them. "I'll need to take a bowl up to Michael anyway."
"You should sit with me," Etain chirped at Medusa before scrambling back up into the chair he'd been sitting in before.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:03 pm
Nodding, Medusa joined Etain in the seat next to him, giving a bright, happy smile. "I'm glad tew see yew, too!" She chirped.
"I can take it up to him, if you don't mind." Kanth murmured, ambling over to take the bowl away from Tovar.
Intriguing. Altessa crept to where she couldn't be found right away, watching the stairs. She'd follow Kanth, and find out just why this man couldn't be bothered to come down and eat with the rest of them.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:12 pm
Tovar blinked, looking at Kanth blankly for a moment before nodding slightly. "That's fine," he murmured, tone lapsing low and slight, significantly less nervous than he awkward rambling of a moment before, but no less significant. Head bowed, Tovar ladelled a few scoops of soup into the bowl, stacking it an a few sandwhiches on a tray already sitting on the counter. He smiled brusquely, nudging the tray to Kanth. "It's up the stairs, first door on the left."
Leith screeched at Medusa across the width of the table, gnashing his teeth slightly. Etain rolled his eyes slightly and wiggled forward on the edge of his seat to take hold of the black, eyeless stuffed horse on the infant's food tray. He wiggled the plush horse for a moment before Leith's stubby fingers reached out and snatched it from Etain's hands, promptly beginning to chew on the mane. Etain shrugged and looked back to Medusa, smiling with just a innate hint of eagerness in his features. "We should go play in my room after sammiches."
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:19 pm
"Okey!" Medusa smiled, making grabby hands for the soup, though in a cute way.
Nodding, Kanth went up the stairs, heedless of the Bandersnatch girl as she followed closely. Glancing down the hall, she found the door easily, opening it with ease and walking in. (She had also snatched a bowl for herself to eat with him.)
"Your soup, kind sir~" She stated in a singsong voice, smirking devilishly.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:37 pm
Tovar paused to watch Kanth and Altessa move from the kitchen. He glanced to the table, smiled in a tight lipped fashion at the remaining diners, and set to preparing plates for the three kids and himself. In a moment or two, he had a plate of sandwhiches set at the center of the table and a bowl of soup for everyone - or, in Leith's case, a cooled cup of it. "Well, your momma should be down soon," Tovar remarked cheerfully, taking a seat at the table.
Etain nodded, grinning through his sluuuuuurp of soup. After this, he and Medusa and maybe that other girl could go play in his room! Or maybe out in the front garden. That would be really fun. He was pretty sure there was some games lying around too! Totally the best day ever.
He was so writing in his 'jornul' about this one.
Upstairs was dark. There was a single large window at the end of the hall and otherwise nothing at all. Lights, but they were dim and there was the distinct feeling of age in the upstairs of the house - a feeling that the house wasn't keen on Tovar's attempts to tame it's grungy streak. The room behind the first door on the left reflected the feeling, stark and sharp, in the form of stacks and stacks of books, knicknacks, bits and bobs, mobiles hanging from the ceiling, walls plastered with bits of paper, an odd painting half buried by other bits and pieces. A decrepit ceiling fan hung from the low ceiling, though the blades had tangled themselves in a bits of fabric, lending it the look of a traditional art piece rather than a ventilation system. There was a single large bay window at the end of the room behind a large, heavy mahogan desk stacked foot high with papers and books, much like the armchair near it.
Michael was near neither furniture pieces. The lamp on the bedside table, however, was turned as bright as it would go, throwing a gold hum over the texture of the many pillows and mismatched blankets that made the bed into a blanket. That's where Michael was, a book over the throw in his lap. He was a fairly attractive man, getting on toward the end of 'middle aged,' greying at the temples, wrinkles deepset around the corners of his mouth and eyes. Michael frowned and closed the book.
"Who the hell're you?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:43 pm
"It tastes gud!" Medusa cried, copying Etain as best she could and slurping up the soup in the noisiest way possible. One could see the soup going down her throat and into her stomach, swirling around the PSP console inside of her and her stomach turning a kind of reddish color.
"... Kanth. The woman that CALLED." A bit miffed, Kanth walked over and set his plate down rather haphazardly on his lap, crossing her arms and staring at him with disdain. "It's no wonder you don't get many visitors if all you do is act like this to them."
Altessa crept behind the chair, keeping herself well hidden. Ooooh, Kanth wasn't happy, and perhaps this meant fighting! Though most likely not. She still liked to see Kanth mad at one person - Kanth could be very scary at times.
Altessa hoped to be like Kanth, someday. Domineering, though in a passive sense.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:53 pm
With a triumphant shriek of joy, Leith promptly dumped his entire cup of soup over his highchair tray, spreading the delightfully bright red soup with his fingers. Etain giggled happily, kicking his feet and shooting Medusa a sidelong glance. Tovar pursed his lips and grimaced just slightly, preparing himself for the cleanup afterwards.
The tray settled on his lap, Michael shifted awkwardly and finally just placed it on the side table. He eyed Kanth warily, glancing toward Altessa before flicking his attention back. "Oh," he grunted, picking one of the sandwhiches off the plate and taking a large bite out of it. Ham and mayonaise. He wrinkled his nose a little and set the food aside.
"What do you want then? I don't have time to sit here and listen to you complain. Get to the point."
Conclusion?
Social skills: Not The Best.
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:17 am
Finished with her meal (the sandwich was EXCELLENT, she'd have you know), Medusa got up from her seat and glanced to Etain, gringringrinning. "We gow plae now?"
"I'm not all that keen on sharing, now that you've shown your hospitality. Though you were quite eager to meet a shapeshifter, it seems." She shrugged, moving to walk out the door. "Your loss, I suppose."
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:36 am
Michael frowned, lips drawn up into a thin severe line. He waited quite patiently until she'd reached the doorway of the room, carefully knitting his hands together in his lap as she went. "Who else," he asked, the sharp tone in his voice muffled by the press of the room's clutter. "Could you possibly go to?" Oh, not that Michael was the only wizard in the entirety of gaia - as much as he'd like to think that was so - but he rather entertained the thought that he might, possibly, just be the only one this woman knew, if only through Tovar. Again, probably not the case, but it was worth a shot maybe. A slight shot.
Besides, Michael had one thing he knew for certain no other wizard - at least in so far as Tovar's newly made aquainttences had: a unicorn.
And there was definitely something to be said about the magical properties of a unicorn.
Eyebrows arched expectantly, Michael reached for the bowl and soup and pulled it into his lap, stirring it idly with the spoon.
Downstairs, Etain leapt to his feet. He still had the heel of a sandwich in one hand, chewing on a mouthful of ham and bread with dogged determination, but Tovar was willing to let it go this once, indicated by a slight nod on the man's part when Etain glanced inquiringly in his direction.
Etain threw his arms up in a silent declaration of victory before beckoning to Medusa. "Thissaway," he managed through his sandwich.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Tovar reminded him, standing to find a towel to clean baby Leith with.
Etain scuttled out of the kitchen, clearly expecting Medusa to follow.
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