|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:47 pm
They had been defenseless creatures. Their lush coloration had glistened within the sunlight - every sleek feature illuminated with the exception of extensions hidden beneath the shadow of a great tree. Something peculiar rested around the specimens. Something odd. They were left without a sentry to monitor their being - and such had possibly been the cause of their downfall - for they were torn open and scavenged through by an unknown flock of vultures wearing cartoon T-shirts and insanely bright shorts. All contents had been removed - and nothing more than the empty carcasses of the two things beneath the tree had been left.
Saddled onto their sides - that was how Jamie had found his lunch boxes. Not a scrap of food had been left within either of them. Even the silverware he had packed within it to use for the pudding he'd brought as a supplement for baby food had vanished! Nothing was left but a few scattered napkins and his wallet. Truly, that was the oddest part of the mystery. Whoever had invaded his space had only made off with his food. His wallet had been left where he had set it down next to the tree - and next to a small panda back-pack he had borrowed from Tabitha in order to carry anything he were to purchase while out of town for the day. It was a vacation once again! Jamie's intent to spend every cent of his paycheck was more than evident, for one could see it in the twitching of his fingers were he to open his wallet and peep inside at the green dollars and gold coins.
Fortunately, for him, he had means to contain the wild desire that ravaged his soul and forced him into spending too quickly. Such means came within the form of an infant he had been saddled with. Time had proven helpful in a few aspects. Jamie had grown fond enough of the baby to not contemplate selling it or trying to give it away to someone else. In fact, it had become such a blessing that he found himself in a much better situation for --- Well, that was another story.
Heaving a sigh, Jamie had looked at the infant within his arms. His dark eyes had narrowed, a slightly irritated expression adorning his face. "Well, light-ball, looks like we're going to have to eat somewhere else." He had spoken in a gruff manner, the vexation shining through like a beam of light through a black sky. The man's face had been etched into a somber statue. He glowered down at the infant - then at the lunch boxes that had been toppled. Without another word, he had knelt down. The baby within his arms had been set on the grass near the panda back-pack; with the youth out of his arms, Jamie had taken his wallet and stuffed it into his back pocket. A slight growl had been given as he gathered the lunch boxes and stacked them on top of one another near the tree. What a waste of his effort! What a waste of his time!
Once his mundane task of organization had been completed, Jamie had given a weak smile. Without much thought, he had fallen onto his back, his feet kicking up into the air and clumsily slamming against the ground. Such a motion had, apparently, amused the infant he had set down, for it had began laughing almost instantly - even pointing.
With that same agitated expression, the man had glanced at the youth. Their eyes had locked - some form of pink meeting with a pair of seemingly black eyes. How different the two of them were. Idly, Jamie wondered what such a fact would hold for the future. Then again, he was always wondering about the future. It was a blurred world. He never knew what was to come. Never ...
A snort was given as Jamie discarded the solemn thoughts. The smile that had played upon his face had grown to become askew - and, with that introduction, a blithe nature had been born. "Oh well, right?" He had chimed while sitting up. One mammoth hand had reached out to grab hold of the infant - clothed only by a pair of green pants that obviously did not fit. "So ... You thought it was funny, Sarin?" The inquiry had been made jokingly as Jamie had held the baby up by the arms while allowing the feet to balance on the ground. Like Geppetto with with his puppets, Jamie had wriggled his own arms a tad to prompt the one he called Sarin's movement. Such had only seemed to amuse the child more, for it - he - had laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
Jamie had ceased after a while, falling back onto his back once Sarin had been returned to a fine seating place upon the ground. His eyes had closed, and the park had been forgotten. The flowing grass of many shades of green had dispersed and been consumed by his eyelids. The playground had been erased from his mind; the trees that had been scattered about, the sidewalks sparsely populated by individuals, and the blazing sun had all made way for a bit of solitude. It as not until he opened his eyes once again that the scenery was fully noted. Well appreciated as it was, his growling stomach had forced a problem ... He was more hungry than he was willing to lay there and ponder the serenity of the park.
Sarin, on the other hand, had managed to sit himself up. With that fact, the delight had become apparent. Something mystical had hypnotized the child. That was something anyone would possibly suspect, though. After all, babies were often fascinated with everything. There was nothing out of the ordinary in a baby being infatuated with his surroundings. However, something peculiar did occur. Giddy with laughter; drunken on wonder; Sarin had flailed a little. His arms had strummed all about. His hands had grasped at the air, as if trying to touch something that were not there. Though not apparent, though not obvious, the object of desire shone with stunning clarity for the infant - even if it did not for the world about him. What he saw were shining vines of bright orange and yellow colors - bell like flowers springing forward quicker than logical. The vines would jiggle. Bells would ring.
How he liked the bells! Yet, as he made the noise of 'ding-dong-ding' in a squealish voice, one could only wonder the origin - for no bells rang within the park...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:03 pm
"So, was I right?" Aure's blonde head peered over Jamie's shoulder, her chin right in the crook of his neck. She had no respect for his personal space at all; that much was obvious as she settled her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his chest.
You would think she was a lot older than she was, really. "For a lying not-angel, I sure do tell the truth a lot, don't I?" She reached out to the baby with one hand and tickled him under the chin. "You really lucked out, Sarin is quite adorable." She smiled, a razor-thin blade of shine that looked as if it could cut the babe's antennae right off.
She adopted a mock-thoughtful face. "You sound hungry. Shall I feed you?" Aure let go of Jamie long enough to dangle a ziploc bag full of his lunch in front of him, before hiding it god-knows-where. "You've got to do something for me first~"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:34 pm
At the sound of the vaguely familiar voice, Jamie's eyes had shot wide. A feeling had overtaken him - one of either dread or satisfaction, though it was more than apparent that something had gone through his mind over the idea of physical contact. His heart had thudded against his chest, as if threatening to burst forward and run away somewhere - leaving him alone in his situation. It had not appeared to be a fine one, either, for the sheer touching of his shoulder had been more than enough to make him, visibly, cringe. A bit of air had passed through his teeth, and his eyes had fallen together in a hurt manner. Curse the rash that plagued him. His shoulders, as well as particular joints, were far too tender to be good.
Shuffling a little, Jamie had blinked and thought. The pain had subsided somewhat, though the sting of having been touched - as well as the memory - had remained. Biting his lower lip, he had scooted a little, as if trying to escape. Such was improbable. After all, someone had managed to catch him off guard enough to wrap their arms about him.
Jamie had swallowed nervously, a maroon color sliding over the tan of his cheeks. His head had turned to catch sight of the blonde girl - the same one he had encountered some time ago - the same one who had fixed his shoes - the same one who had claimed to be an angel ... He had been breathless. "I, uhm..." He had stuttered several times, before moving a hand to try and regain his personal space from Aure.
"You ... Were right." He had stated with some difficulty. For a time, he had been justifying everything by saying the 'medication' he was equipped with at all times had been full of some hallucinatory gas as well as the proper one. His run in with Tabitha before his departure had proven him wrong, though - for she had, entirely, seen Sarin - as had many other people. He had not been hallucinating, and, thus, he had no logical ground to believe the blonde girl who had fixed his shoes was unreal. "And, I mean, I mean - I - I..." He had stirred a bit more, his hands attempting to grasp Aure's arms and move them. He was simply nervous - terribly nervous.
"He is. Smart too, and noisy." Jamie had breathed, blinking when the topic had shifted about. His comfort had been briefly returned - the idea of food filling him to the brim. A bit of his lunch had been dangled within his face.
...
His lunch! "My lunch? You didn't ... " He had paused again, face twisting, then softening. "Didn't take the pudding, did you? Was the kid's. Don't have any baby food, but he doesn't seem to care anyway. What kid wouldn't die for pudding as a meal, though?" He had shaken his head. Almost instantly, a quizzical look had befallen his face at the request of his doing something. "Gotta do something? But it's my ... " He had began his protest - stopping only when his stomach had began to raise revolution within him. His lower lip had been bit. Sluggishly, he had nodded. "Fine, fine... But I don't have a lot of cash if that's what you're looking for."
Sarin had seemed enthralled by the scenario, as well as the tickling of his chin. A loud bit of laughter - and a flood of smiles - had ensued it all, before he had grown quiet. He had fallen onto his back, rolled onto his side, and, from there, had done nothing more than watch the two with his antennas bobbing ridiculously. "Ding-dong." He had whispered carelessly - for the bells had continued to ring for him. Quickly, he had pointed at the air, and, once more had repeated the 'noise'. "Ding-dong."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:06 am
"Of course I didn't take the pudding. I despise chocolate." Aure giggled softly, letting go of Jamie and scooting over to sit with Sarin. "As for getting your lunch back? Why, you have to let me play with the baby! What use have I for money? I'm still in school."
She picked up the baby and settled him on her lap, balancing him carefully in the gap between her ankles and her body. "Want to play patty-cake, Sarin?" Her voice carried a crooning, motherly quality. "You're a very cute baby, aren't you? Someone must've taken good care of you." The last four words were directed to Jamie in a do it or so help you God I will get you in your sleep sort of fashion. Aure might be a deceptive b***h to Jamie, but Sarin was a little cutie! She smiled and gave the dark-haired baby a hug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:42 pm
"Figures." Jamie had breathed. So it seemed, he was going to have to sacrifice a hint of cash. Not that he wouldn't be needing to at some date. The baby needed food - and pudding was incredibly unhealthy to eat consistently. No matter how happy it made a kid, it was not the sort of thing that needed to be ate for every meal.
The man had blinked at the sudden statement. His eyes had grown a tad wide - the bright blue scar upon one of the irises glimmering as a bit of light managed to hit it. Almost as quickly as his eyes had grown, they had shrank to their usual size. He sat back, much more comfortable with Aure no longer invading his radius of comfort. The placidness had only lasted so long. A wary eye had gone to the baby as Aure had gone with her request. "Funny. When I was little, I use to die for cash to buy all sorts of stuff." He had grinned - hintingly implying that there was something rather off about the girl. Jamie did not press the issue, though, wincing as a certain look had been given to him. Take care, or else. How many times had he seen that look, and from who had he seen it before? He did not question. Rather, he had folded his arms and looked away in an almost grumpy manner.
Sarin had seemed more than thrilled, though a tad surprised. As he had been lifted and settled within a different location, he had waved goodbye to the air and had shifted focus entirely - the being that spoke and moved him taking priority over all else. He had smiled a toothless smile. One set of pudgy fingers had been hoisted into the air, followed by the other set so that both hands were stretching high. As it seemed, he had intentions of either grabbing Aure's hair, or the dragon-fly wings atop her head.
That same vivid laugh had been sent forward as his hands were shifted away. He had clapped a little, his smile stretching from ear to ear. Anyone would consider the answer a yes with how enthusiastic he seemed! Especially after he clapped his hands several time in a row.
Jamie had once again glanced at the two. The pouting expression had been replaced by one of curiosity, amusement, and wonder. He was not too old himself, and he had never really had a baby before. That made every moment something new and exciting. Not to mention, he had developed a fine bond with the boy. He had been enough of a painting partner as a ball of light. He supposed, when the boy was old enough and had finer motor skills, he'd have himself an assistant - and, if all things considered went well, he would be able to quit being a waiter and do what he preferred. Then again, what was the guarantee that Sarin would be interested in assisting him? Not questioning, Jamie had turned a little. His long legs had been swung about until landing in a criss-cross position. From that point, he had leaned forward - peering at the two with slight interest, or something of the sort. " Don't worry, I got his back." He had declared, sounding rather pleased with the fact that he had not managed to harm the child during the time he had been acquainted with it. "Tell 'er, Rin, you get a whole bed nearly to yourself!"
Sarin had gurgled a tad, a few bubbles of spit flipping from his mouth and popping upon growing to big. He didn't seem any more interested in defending Jamie's parenting than he did in being put away. The only thing on his mind, truly did seem to be the strange girl who had come from no where - and had known precisely what to call him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:49 pm
Aure rubbed noses with the baby and twisted a lock of her hair closer to Sarin's reaching hands. "I'm not familiar with your vernacular, Jamie," she smiled, tickling him with one hand and passing his father the bag of food. "Besides, all I need is a few lancets and slides, which I have in great numbers. I'm quite satisfied with my life."
Her attention returned to Sarin. "Now, here's the rules for pulling on or eating my hair," she said, mock-sternly. "There will be no pulling-on of my ears. Don't try to chew on them, either. They're important." Aure fluffed Sarin's hair tamely, looking quite satisfied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:34 pm
Jamie's mouth had seemed to purse. A popping noise had been made as an idle motion before he settled down and rubbed a small part of his arm - careful to avoid his throbbing shoulders. He needed to devise a plan for protecting them - as well as his joints. They seemed terribly vulnerable, but, what was he suppose to do? The only idea he could dream of was to wear a sign that said 'do not touch'. Yet, wearing a sign seemed like a calling for everyone in the world to reach out and touch him when he wanted no such intimacy.
"Yeah? You're fortunate, then." He had spoken in an almost muttering voice. He found himself consistently unsatisfied with his life. Why would he not? Such satisfaction he found in so few elements. That was not to suggest he was unhappy. It felt as if he were hungry rather than unhappy - hungry for something greater. "You know, I don't run into the same people accidentally often. What're you doing here?" Jamie had asked, suddenly curious of how a stroke of luck had once again tossed him into a terribly strange girl - so he believed.
Sarin had given his toothless smile at the sound of rules for pulling and eating hair. His eyes had grown wide. They had rolled about for a time - only ceasing when they had locked on the object of restriction. Aure's ears had captivated him. Their forbidden nature was almost a calling! Regardless, he was soon preoccupied by the hair that had been dangled about his hands. He had grabbed it with a firm grasp; he had tugged on it as if it were the rope attached to a bell. With that motion, he had brightened. "Ding-dong. Ding-dong." He had continued his chiming from before, pulling harder each time he tugged away. When he grew bored, he had followed the direction of eating hair - placing the lock within his mouth and gumming it with great enthusiasm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:11 pm
She offered Jamie an ersatz smile, facing him as best she could with a lock of her hair in his kid's mouth. Aure considered her answer for a moment. "Why, of course I'm following you." She shifted the baby a little so she could see Jamie better; she barely knew him and caution was best until she could trust him. The insistent pulling and the growing pressure on her hair- especially so close to her sensitive ears- turned the smile into an angry snarl, but when she looked back to Sarin Aure's smile was as pious and loving as the Virgin Mary's.
"You're such a good boy," she murmured, bouncing him a little. Her smile didn't reach her eyes, though- they stared off into the distance with a strange kind of opacity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:00 am
Jamie had waved off the ridiculous response - although the logic behind it was something terribly probable. In an idle motion, he had scratched his nose and shifted to stand up and brush off his tattered pants. He had never been too large a fan of sitting. Walking seemed much more fluid - or, was comfortable the proper word? He did not inquire about it. Rather, he had looked at the tree. Tall with branches extending in absurd angles and directions, the tree was perfectly climbable, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to scurry up it. The odds of a branch breaking because he stepped wrong were too high.
Grimacing over the idea, Jamie had lightly nudged his foot into the ground. He was hungry! "Can I have my lunch back?" He had asked after a moment of solitude. "Or what ever you have of it, anyway."
Sarin had seemed enthralled by the comment. His fingers had loosened their hold, and the pressure had began to subside. Even so, Sarin had not grown bored with the girl's hair. He had tugged a bit more before taking interest in chewing on it. Almost instantly after setting it within his mouth, he had spit it out and wiped his tongue with his hand. The bouncing had taken his mind off of the 'foul taste' he had experienced, though. Soon after his incident with chewing hair, he was smiling again - laughing accordingly - until ceasing to look at Jamie - as if comprehending the idea of a lunch.
Jamie had scrutinized the look on the infant's face. Hungry too - but some squirt on the playground had made off with his pudding. Chewing his lower lip, he came to a conclusion. He had money - more than enough for food - although it would greatly diminish his intention of having left the city prior. However, he supposed his original intention held some sort of selfishness to it. "On second thought... Maybe it'd be better just to go buy something." He had wriggled his jaw a little in thought, as if contemplating inviting her along. In the end, that was what he had done. "Care to join us? Kid seems interested enough in you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:27 pm
Aure lifted one shoulder and dropped it. "I already gave it to you," she said, pointing to the lunch boxes. One of them was indeed open; the other had moved a few feet to the right. Really, she had replaced everything when Jamie had been standing up and looking around. But who was she to complain if he thought she had powers she didn't have? Wouldn't hurt her any at all, not unless he demanded a miracle when she couldn't think of a way to provide it.
She smiled and gently pulled Sarin up by his hands. "Shall we go with your daddy, Rin-rin? Are you hungry, hmmm?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:02 pm
Jamie had rattled his brain over the idea of having already been given what he had been requesting. There were times he wondered where his memory was going. He supposed the endless hours of lack of sleep did a number on him, but what was he to do about the entire ordeal? It wasn't as if he had absolute control over his sleeping habits.
Giving one of his customary smiles, one of his hands had instinctively been woven into his hair. He shook the messy mop up, its greasy nature shimmering as a few slivers of light took hold of the strands and bounced away.
Sarin had stared at Are with sudden intent - her words capturing his focus and thought. There seemed to be a wide-eyed bout of contemplation, unusual for an infant. Nevertheless, he seemed to comprehend the idea of food, though perhaps not the idea of 'daddy'. With antennas shivering, the boy had danced about on his feet while Aure held him up. Still he watched her with a great, inquisitive nature. After a long while, he had smiled a toothless smile. "Foo" He had mumbled, the final part of the word 'food' fading before becoming audible. "Food!" He had repeated. Remarkable. He seemed to have a slight vocabulary for one so young. Perhaps Jamie was doing something proper in terms of his child rearing?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 5:14 pm
Jamie could be a perfect angel when it came to parenting and Aure still wouldn't like him. Maybe it was his weird eye, or the way he always seemed to be messing with his hair, but she just didn't like the poor b*****d. "Okay, if you say so." Aure picked up Rin and settled him on her hip; in some ways, she seemed to be a near-instinctive parent. However, one would worry about any of her offspring- she seemed to be pretty unstable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:21 pm
The feeling had almost seemed mutual, Jamie taking a sort of cautious stance. A girl who had appeared out of no where, had taken his shoes, had freakishly fixed his shoes ... His mind consistently played with the paranoia of one who knew of trouble when trouble seemed to call. Even so, he was mystified and in a rut. He knew that she knew more than enough about what he wanted to know - the questions he had - although those questions were jumbled and difficult to formulate. In time they would conjure a clear image, but, he supposed, he needed to wait and bide his time - formulate those questions.
Sarin had seemed a little perplexed with having been picked up in such a manner, being terribly use to the rigid fashion Jamie often exhibited. The man was far from the perfect handler. He often held with a distance, a sloppiness, yet a freeness. While Sarin enjoyed such a holding, he also had a terrible fear of falling to the ground. In the case of Aure, he felt little fear towards the concept of falling - but he felt more than enough fear towards the concept of the complacency. Wriggling his nose a little, Sarin's thoughts had dispersed. His eyes had turned to gaze back at the area of which they had been sitting. The ringing bells of which only he heard had continued to ring, though they had grown weak and dim with the realization the he would be leaving them.
Jamie's hands had fiddled about in his pockets as he began walking - hardly a word spoken in reference of a question, food, or anything of the matter. He had seemed slightly settled into thought, though that thought also appeared to be absolute nothingness. A scattered brain - a skittish brain. He walked funny in a way, as if the action pained him. Grinding his teeth together, Jamie had taken a breath and had glanced around. "Any place in particular that you know about around here, ki--" He had stopped himself before saying kid, crinkling his nose a bit. "Aure?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 7:14 am
"There's a nice little café that serves lunch," she said comfortably, shifting Sarin a little. Why did all the Illusionary have S names lately? It was very confusing to her. There should be more A names, really. A was a marvelous letter... or perhaps she was just acting conceited again. She waved off a butterfly that had tried to join her, sending another angry look after it that turned to a slightly disconcerting smile when her gaze returned to little Sarin. "A couple of blocks away."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 2:39 pm
A cafe? It sounded particularly quaint. At least it wasn't a bustling restaurant. If there was one thing Jamie wanted to avoid on his supposed 'vacation' it was bustling restaurants. Over time, he felt he had developed a rather nervous tick of cleaning at tables in such locations - or tapping his fingers to avoid doing so. In general, he had proven himself messy, clumsy, but, for whatever reason, his supposed work ethic shone on the days of which he was not working.
Perhaps it was just an etiquette issue for him.
Regardless of it all, he found himself particularly proud of the fact that there was a cafe. A little cafe. It sounded rather relaxing when he took time to dwell on it.
"That works out just fine in my mind." Jamie had breathed before smoothing a few wrinkles out of his shirt. "Just lead the way!"
Sarin had seemed utterly enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. It was as if he had seemed to comprehend the idea of food - or, perhaps, he had only comprehended the immense attention he seemed to be receiving. The smile on his face was wide and pleasant - as could be expected from an infant. His gaze, however, was distinctly focused - unlike how it had been at the park. As it seemed, he had snapped out of some awkward illusion, his mind having traveled to the idea of Aure actually being someone of greater interest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
