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 Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:33 pm
Leon Aristipossos did not ask for directions. Not even if his destination was, ... in the middle of a swamp; he just firmly took glances at the map of Lake Bass'ken that Cressida placidly spread out on her lap and ignored the light gurgles and gentle banging sounds coming from the back seat. The two children were being incredibly well-behaved, considering. The note scribbled from Reyna with directions on it was also sitting on the dashboard; and as Leon drove steadily towards the impenetrable swamp, he didn't divert from his course.
"Huh," he muttered. "Wouldn't say she got a good price on real estate."
Cressida merely laughed and shook her head with a smile. "I think it's sort of picturesque... Or are you having flashbacks to how you found our little Naiad?"
"We won't go there," said Leon. (Little Naiad gurgled again in the back seat, as if she were angelic.) "I don't want to go there again."
Just as it seemed that they were going to have to stop the car in front of impenetrable thicket, the road sort of, ... cleared; Leon kept his gaze steadily on the pathway as he cautiously drove through, dark eyes narrowing. Obviously, what with the living in the swamp and the Impenetrable Thicket Of Doom, Reyna's house wasn't exactly normal. Well, nobody's was; their bathroom door stuck.
"Huh," was all he said, as the house came into view. And: "Heh."
"Sam!" squealed Annie from the back seat, who knew what side her bread was buttered. (And it was buttered on Samara's side!)
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:01 pm
Twisting in her seat, Cressida neatly snatched and returned the teething ring dropped by the squealing little girl. "Sam, indeed," she mimicked with a goofy, cross-eyed look at Annie. Annie squealed again with giggles and Xana, in his neighboring carseat, sighed heavily. Cressida twisted back around and pointed. "You can pull in there, beloved," she advised.
Within minutes, they were parked and Cressida had all but leapt from the car and begun the sometimes difficult task of wrestling two toddlers, two daemons, and various necessaries from the back seat. "I think," she panted after finally lifting an increasingly-large Courage out, "we will have to get a new car. This is getting a bit silly."
Quixana stood politely off to the side, watching. As soon as Courage had touched down, though, he motioned her towards him and padded over to peer up at the house set amongst the swamp. "Neat," he proclaimed. "Meme's Sam lives here?"
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Reyna Crelos Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:03 pm
Sam was sitting as patiently as she could in a chair in the living room. The curtains, which were typically pulled tightly shut, were drawn open so that she might watch in anticipation as her friend arrived. That very moment was marked by a loud squeal that ended in an excited jumble of, "MUM! ANMEME!"
"Oh good. They didn't get eaten," Reyna said with a chuckle under her breath (more so at her daughter's antics than the being eaten bit -- that would've been unfortunate). They had made it to the house. The only trick now was to keep them from running away screaming so that her daughter could keep her friends.
She mentally went through a checklist of things that she had properly hidden and certain individuals she'd spoken to about behaving. Those individuals consisted mostly of Mystic, who still took a certain delight in causing mischief, and a certain overbearing medusa she knew would probably cuddle right up to the group in a most literal sense.
She felt like she was forgetting something, but she knew whatever it was would make itself known at the most inconvenient moment possible. Oh well. She scooped Sam up into her arms and opened the door with a small, yet charming, smile.
"Glad you could make it."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:35 pm
"Reyna." Ever not-exactly-the-huggy-type, Leon reached out to shake the other woman's hand firmly; Anemone was clutched under his arm and squealing like a banshee in excitement. Terror was somewhere in Leon's front pocket, wriggling with all the commotion. "Thank you for inviting us."
"SAM!" squealed Annie. "SAMSAM!"
"Nice house," Leon added, showing exquisite manners by saying nothing about the swamp. (Actually, he probably did think it nice. Leon was the type to appreciate out-of-the-way houses in the middle of very defensible swamps.)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:55 pm
The petite brunette just behind him rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose; the face clearly was directed at her partner's manners rather than any untruths about the house. Nudging Leon aside with a hip, Cressida somehow managed to deliver a lightning-fast one-armed hug to Reyna. The pressure was momentary, gone in a flash as if not sure the other woman would welcome the familiarity but obviously a greeting so ingrained that she couldn't dismiss it completely. "And I'm Cressida." She jiggled the toddler at her hip and he smiled sweetly, sticking out his hand in perfect mimicry of his father. "And this is Quixana and his little Courage. Anemone's mother and brother, as it were."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:20 pm
"Pleasure to meet you both," Reyna replied smoothly with a quiet smile as she politely shook Xana's hand and nodded towards Cressida before stepping away to allow them inside.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable. I'll make us a pot of tea," she went on as she allowed her now wriggling, overly-excited daughter to the floor as Fragments did a little jig mid-air that clearly mirrored Sam's own excitement.
It was time to PLAY!
"Anmeme!!" the little girl shouted happily as she toddled forward, arms extended towards the other child in an expectant manner. Friends were for hugging! She knew that much to be true.
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Reyna Crelos Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:36 pm
"Thank you," said Leontas, picking up a bag he'd set down on the step. "It was... quite a drive." (At least he seemed to be calming down over the murderous geography and the injuries done to his roadmap.)
Annie's excitement, on the other hand, was only building. She wrapped her arms around Samara and shrilled like a fire-engine: in a fit of joy, she wriggled out of her little Care Bears t-shirt, and hugged Sam again. "SAMSA," she shrilled. Then: "Is friend!". And: "Clothes yucky disgustable."
Possibly this could be translated as: Samara, my friend! Let us remove these hateful mortal coverings and dance in the honour of the Devil Swamp!. Or it could have just been: clothes yucky disgustable!.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:12 pm
Sighing a bit, Cressida lowered her burden to the ground and then kept right on crouching until she could snatch up the abandoned t-shirt. "Tea would be lovely, thanks," she answered Reyna with a faint, rueful smile. "With these two, you have to live off caffeine or you can't keep up." She glanced at her daughter and then shook her head and stood, folding the t-shirt absently. Clearly, she had already decided that the shirt battle was not one to be fought at the moment.
Quixana, on the other hand, seemed deeply grieved at his sister's lack of clothing. He heaved a deep sigh and then, standing behind her, gave Anemone a big bear hug. He regarded Sam over his sister's shoulder and then smiled. "Meme," he pointed out politely, "Sam's dressed pretty."
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Reyna Crelos Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:44 pm
"I can't agree with you more on that point," Reyna said in response as she shot Cressida a fanged grin, "I thought she was a handful as a just a babe, now that she's up and about.. well, I'm sure you can relate."
She disappeared into the kitchen briefly as she put on a pot of tea and then returned to usher her guests into the rather large, expansive living room area. It was immaculately kept and had a rather modern, artistic flare to it with smooth lines, and bold colors. A few toys littered the rug in the middle of the floor, as well as a few atop the round, glass coffee table, otherwise the room was spotless.
Sam toddled after her mum and waved for Anemone and company to follow. "Come play!" she beamed merrily as she made her way into the living room with Fragments darting through and around her legs.
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:04 am
Anemone clambered after as Leon and Cressida settled themselves down in the livingroom; Leon took a moment to admire the decor and not admire how his daughter was giving wicked chuckles, obviously absolutely delighted to see "Samsa."
"Samsa lives in trees," she pointed out to the entire gathering, possibly referencing the swamp. Then she did a wobbly somersault, which was her latest trick, and held out one chubby hand to grasp Samara's.
'I like the dichotomy," said Leon. "This place in the middle of a swamp."
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:17 pm
"Isn't his grasp of the obvious endearing?" If the words had come out of anyone else's mouth, there would have been sarcasm in spades. This, however, was Cressida talking about her beloved Leon and the expression on her heart-shaped little face was pure adoration. She turned the smile on the children as they toddled to the play area. "And he's right. Your house is lovely. Is it hard keeping Samara in the yard with all of this around?"
Quixana calmly applied both hands to his sister's back and rolled her further away from the glass table after her somersault. "Meme, is that a kitty?" He pointed at a stuffed animal a foot away. Then he smiled at Samara and nodded at her daemon. "Neat," he pronounced.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 9:21 pm
"Surprisingly, no," Reyna replied in a quiet, mellow tone as she seated herself within an armchair that faced the couch, "She usually has someone outside with her." That someone was also either a medusa or a snake, but she wasn't about to elaborate on that minor detail. So she had monsters living in her basement! So long as no one inquired about what she kept in her closets, all was well.
Sam was utterly thrilled with her company. Not only did she have Annie to play with but also someone new! Her very form seemed to radiate excitement. She plopped down onto the soft rug and reached for the plush kitty and handed it to the other girl.
"Misty gave kitty!" she declared. She beamed brightly at that fact. Perhaps he would come and play too. Wouldn't that be fun!
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Reyna Crelos Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:53 pm
"Kitty," Anemone agreed, clutching it close to her chest; she examined it very seriously, perhaps over-seriously for a toddler, as Terror clambered over her neck and twisted himself in her hair. "Xana gotta kitty," she added, in reference to Courage. Then, bored with her own truisms: "We's play game now!"
"I envy their self-possession," Leon said to Reyna. "If I was faced with babysitting either of mine among a swamp, I'd have a nervous breakdown... we can barely handle a flat. Especially with the daemon."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:24 pm
"Don't let him fool you." Cressida smiled confidently at Reyna and threw in a conspiratorial wink. "Leon does just fine with the children. Especially now that Xana wants to help all the time. He's daddy's little helper."
Quixana, blissfully unaware of the discussion suddenly revolving around him, squatted down between the two girls while Courage settled herself in a lazy flop behind him. "Whatcha wanna play?" he asked. "Peek-a-boo? Clap your hands?"
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Reyna Crelos Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:06 pm
Sam's bright green eyes lit up as all the ideas for playing swirled through her mind a mile a minute. There was so much to do! So much to see! "Let's play with Misty!" she declared with a cheerful smile as she clambered her way to her feet to go and fetch her big brother.
Had her mother been more attentive to what her daughter was babbling ever so cheerfully, she might have suggested they play another game. It seemed her wayward shadow had been rather irritable as of late -- never with Sam of course, but he didn't take well to strangers all that often.
"I've seen him manage little Anemone quite well," Reyna spoke up in agreement with Cressida, she paused as she noticed Sam walking off, "Honey, where are you heading off to?"
"Gonna get some toys!" she declared with a wave of her hand over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hallway with Fragments skipping along behind her. It was no lie, she gathered an assortment of toys up into her arms, as much as she could carry, before pausing at her elder brother's room.
"Misty! Come play!" she demanded ever so sweetly as she peeked in his room.
'In a moment...' was his soft reply, though he did not readily appear within the darkness of his room. Regardless, Sam knew he was there.
Satisfied with his answer, she returned to her friends that were waiting for her.
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