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 Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:27 pm
Maravilha made a happy sort of noise, burying his face against the soft fur under him; no matter how much he seemed to dislike people, animals were always acceptable to the odd boy. They didn't necessarily like him - some were put off by his strange appearance, some simply sensed something 'off' about his entire self, but many of them did come to accept him. The intelligent ones, the type that he was more familiar with, were quicker to like him; it appeared his friends were rapidly consisting of beasts rather than people. This wasn't really acceptable in his growth, however, especially not when all of his siblings were so readily sociable. It was just... unhealthy!
Thus, Jadaria was making a point to get the boy out more. She'd given him his chance, now it was gone, and she was taking matters into her own hands. However, she decided that taking it slow was probably the best course of action - so it was time for another trip to the uncle's house before venturing to let him meet other people again.
To the matter at hand, however; Maravilha's current best friend was, oddly enough, someone that rarely came around the ShadeWind residence. Harlequin, the half-wild Stardust dragon, had taken a strong, even protective liking to the boy. Thus, when he was going to leave, the dust had more or less insisted upon going; not in words, as the others might have done, but by a much simpler method. Maravilha clung to his back, and Harlequin ran around out of Jadaria's grasp until she finally agreed to let him come along.
Sometimes, she wondered how she was still 'in charge' of the house.
On the way, Harlequin had been playing with Mara, jumping and bounding around and generally being over-active during the walk. The Tale had finally tired himself out from all the squealing and bouncing, and was now snuggled securely onto the large creature's back, somehow managing to stay attached to him as they walked.
Jadaria wondered why Harlequin had taken such a liking to Mara, but she wasn't complaining. She could walk as quickly as she wanted so long as he was riding the dust. This meant they were much faster getting to the Manor, and much earlier than expected. She actually fretted over this for a time, before finally ringing the bell and chuckling down at her son and his 'mount.'
"Harle, you wore him out. He's going to pass out as soon as he sits down! Wicked thing - you're ruining the whole point of this visit." Still, she couldn't help but grin.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:27 pm
Mara might have identified better with animals because they were much less complicated than people were...and much more forgiving, but his true reasons might have been as simple as enjoying the soft, soft fur. Only the strange, dual-natured boy knew...and he was apparently not telling anyone. It would have driven Syrie crazy, had he been the boy's parent (just as Miel had driven him crazy with the nearly autistic nature of his schizophrenia).
Jada shouldn't have fretted over being early - she was practically family to the russet kitsune that didn't even bother trying to pretend he was 'lord and master' of his domain, so being early or late wasn't a big deal at all - unfortunately, the short man wasn't the one that opened the door to let her in, a tiny, exquisite little siamese colored girl in a sea-green kimono was.
The creature peered up at the unfamiliar woman; Usagi had come to Syrie's home only recently and was not yet familiar with his 'extended family'. "What wanting?" Piped the delicate but irritated looking creature; obviously this one hadn't lived with Syrie long enough to be friendly to strangers...or to people like Jada, who were practically family
The Shadewind's would have been stuck trying to explain to a creature that didn't want to understand why they were there had events not taken a much lighter turn. Khia had caught the scent of his 'almost mom', Mara and Harlequinn from the room he'd been lounging in and came bounding down the stairs in quadruped form; eartassles and tail a banner streaming behind him.
Khiarhu's long, wet tongue went swipe-swipe-swipe over the blue-haired woman's cheek only after he'd managed to bowl her over (velocity + big beast = Jada go Fall) onto the porch. Sure, he could have shapeshifted and just given her a crushing bear hug or something much less...boisterous, but half the fun was pretending he was a beast and didn't understand that he shouldn't do things like that.
Usagi in the meantime, had run away to fetch the kitsune like a good girl.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:29 pm
Jadaria certainly hadn't been prepared for someone new to greet her; of course, it was something she expected, in the back of her mind. There was always the possibility of someone new coming to the huge manor and the family that resided there, but... well. It was still a shock to her, even if she should expect it. However, there was little time to respond to the almost rude little creature, as soon she found herself smacking onto the ground and a long, slobbery tongue assaulting her cheek.
"KHIA! AGH! GET OFF OF ME YOU OAF!" Even with the yelling, however, the blue-haired woman couldn't sound too terribly angry; she was laughing under the irritated tone, grinning as she shoved at the large 'beast' and tried to wriggle away from the enthusiastic one.
This, of course, caught Maravilha's attention immediately. He jerked up, eyes wide as he tried to figure out what the yelling was about, then let out a surprised whine before slipping and falling from his perch on Harle's back; surprisingly, he didn't cry out or scream like most children his age would, he simply bit his lip and let his eyes go wide, a couple of tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to sit up again. His tendrils went stiff, flaring brightly for a few moments as he sniffled to himself.
Harlequinn did his best to catch Mara, though to no avail; still, he curled around the boy protectively after, nuzzling and licking at him, chirring softly until he calmed down to a pout, then a happy smile as he latched onto the dust's muzzle. For such a grumpy loner, Harlequinn was certainly able to be kind when he wanted.
"Ah... Mara?" Jada noticed at Harlequinn's comforting of the boy, and pushed Khiarhu away playfully as she moved to check on her son. Once he was thoroughly decided safe, she grinned and moved to ruffle over her almost-son's ears, snickering. "You goof. I'll get you back for that!"
"...mommee?"
"Ah? Yes baby?"
"... ... ... doggeekeeah." Maravilha squinted, then pointed at Khia. He tugged at Harlequinn, and the dust chirped curiously.
"You remember him?" The woman was surprised, honestly. He'd only seen Khia once, hadn't he? "That's right. That's Khia. And your uncle's around here too. ... somewhere."
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:57 pm
Khia's long, floofy tail was swishing and almost wagging behind his heavy haunches; if he hadn't wanted her to move, she wouldn't have...but this was just fun, so when Jada shoved, he moved. Poor Mara, the shapeshifter hadn't meant to scare him with his antics -- he was just too high spirited sometimes...and seeing Jada was exciting.
The beast chuffed and crouched down closer to the ground, extending his long-muzzled head towards Mara for pets; he knew this child...sort of. They'd met once before, and the boy hadn't liked him much until he was a furrball like this instead of his usual bi-pedal self. "Wuff."
Just then, Bree and Beck came scrabbling through the front hall, claws grasping on marble - when the tiny, exotically colored dust spotted Jada, he started shifting until he was his delicate demi-human self so he could tackle-hug her. "Jada!" Beck came trotting after, beak opening and closing a little bit. "You're why Usagi was upset - I think she went to get Syrie..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:23 pm
Jada laughed, shaking her head at the 'wuff;' it constantly amused her how amicable the shifter could be to the children - when he felt like it. Other times he could be a bit of a brat, but... couldn't everyone?
Maravilha blinked, eyes going wide at the large creature; everyone called him so tall, but he didn't feel tall around things like this. He cringed against Harlequinn for a moment, before finally giving in and reaching out to grab at Khia's nose curiously. He gripped a little roughly, however - he'd reached out with his mechanical arm, which he was getting more willing to use around others, but still didn't have perfect control over. Still, he was young enough that it shouldn't hurt much, unless he happened to pull some of the fur. He was trying though, and offered a hesitant smile - until the dusts appeared.
"Eeah!" Jada laughed; she always loved these reunions. She loved her extended 'family' after all, even if she didn't get to see them as often as she might've liked. The woman wrapped around Bree, hugging him tightly - he, of course, being adored not only as part of her family, but also the parent of her first 'grandchildren.' And Beck, of course, recieved a hug soon after, the woman bending down to ruffle him affectionately.
"Usagi? She's new here... she looked so grumpy," Jada commented, shaking her head.
Mara stared at the new dusts, burying himself against Harlequin; the large, sleek creature whuffed in turn, scenting at the new ones of his kind. He'd never really stayed around long enough to meet them, so this was unusual. However, he didn't make any real effort, not shifting or even being sociable, instead remaining possessively curled around the boy.
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:06 pm
Khia's tail poofed just a little bit when Mara's mechanical fingers closed on his nose - it hurt slightly, but the pinching of his thick dusky fur was worse. He knew that the boy didn't mean anything by it, so he tried wagging his tail and licking at Mara as if to say 'See? I'm harmless.'
He could be so very good and kind and patient...and he could also be hateful and mean and way too rough - though usually he was not. Syrie had impressed upon his burly son that he had to be gentle. Crimson eyes watched the boy shrinking back from the exuberant reunion of Bree-hee-hee and Jadaria; Poor kid was startled horrible. Whups.
Bree clung to his Momma-in-law(lz) and smiled broadly. "She's very grumpy because she's not allowed in the Lab." But no one was, not really. Only the sprockets and Uisce once in a while. Usagi was just too new to understand that and it bothered her for some reason. Also, she'd been playing with the Dusts...and they'd bowled her over and gotten her dirty. Pfft. "Prox gave her to Da'."
When Jada was done greeting Bree, Beck got his ruffle-love and nuzzled at her hands; he wasn't going to shift - he was being lazy...sort of. He was lazy and also sniffing at Harle & Mara curiously.
Bree cocked his delicate little head and blinked a bit, "He's skittish?" That wasn't going to work at their house!
"For the love of- I've already explained Usa, no one's allowed in the lab. It's nothing against you." The small russet kitsune came into the hall to greet his long-time friend (nearly family) and her "kids"; the chibi Tahnee lingered behind to pout. "Jada, you made it." He smiled warmly and gave the woman a hug; his hair was still that crazy mint color from some minor lab accident, but he no longer had horns - in their place were small, white feathery wings. Whups.
"Why hello Mara, how are you?" Syrie crouched down to greet the young Tale more on his own level, knowing very well how antsy and skittish he could be. "And who is your handsom friend, hmm?" Oh, he could have asked Jada or the Dust directly...but he wanted to draw Mara out again - the boy really was entirely too skittish around 'family'!
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