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 Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:41 pm
"Yana, you silly goose, stop wiggling!" Amyla exclaimed with a soft laugh as she strode into the kids' clothing store. She didn't usually enjoy shopping, but it had to be done every now and then. Since Aiodhan was busy carrying for a high-maintenance Caleb, she had decided to take Yana out for a necessary shopping trip.
Yana, however, wanted to be walking and was not pleased about being carried. She had been squirming and making noises of displeasure since Amyla lifted her out of her carseat and began walking into the store. As soon as she saw the abundance of clothes, though, the girl froze, watching all of the clothing racks as they strode by. Her mismatched eyes grew wide, and she held out a hand to point at a nice-looking blue dress. "Ooooh!" she declared, looking disappointed as Amyla headed out toward the shirts and pants.
"You need clothes with more freedom, dear. You're constantly on the go," her mother chuckled, ruffling through racks of shirts on hangars.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:03 pm
A young man, not over 25, sighed and ran a hand through his bright red hair. Blank white eyes followed the movements of a toddler in paint-stained clothes flying crazily through the aisles.
"Daddymommydaddy look at all these!!!" said toddler exclaimed happily, turning around to face his father. "Daaaaaddy, whe'e Mommy and E-u?"
A shorter adult ran up to 'Daddy' and glared at him as they held another toddler, this one without wings. "Orous. Get your son under control." This statement was spoken dark, giving the indication that it would be best not to let the new person shut the loud toddler up themself.
The winged toddler grinned a toothy grin and flew up to the two newcomers. "Hiii, Mommy and E-u~!"
'Mommy' gave an annoyed sigh and silently handed the wingless toddler to Orous. "I'm getting a drink..." she muttered darkly, nearly stomping out of the store.
Orous looked at his flying son in amusement. "Emes, you know that if you keep spilling paint, we will have to keep buying new clothes..."
This logic was lost on Emes, however, as he began playing with his sleeping brother's ears.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:12 pm
Amyla came up short as a paint-covered something flew past her as she was emerging from an aisle. After a momentary pause, she stepped forward to look about for the crazy flier, figuring it was some small child escaped from their parent. She rounded a corner and came face to face with the painted ... child. Yes, it was a child. She had no idea who the child was, but the parent looked vaguely familiar.
Yana, however, had no idea who these strangers were. After a few moments of watching, though, she deemed them safe and waved to them, uttering a slurred 'Hello' of greeting. The toddler tilted her head to one side, bemused as to why the one boy had paint on himself. That sort of decoration was supposed to go on paper, wasn't it?
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:24 pm
Emes turned instantly to the 'hello' and zipped over to the fellow toddler. "Hiiii!" he exclaimed happily, grinning like mad. "I'm Emes! My twin's Eku, bu' he sleeps a lot." Emes perched on the cart like a giant bird, his wings partially curled up. "Wanna meet him?"
Orous raised an eyebrow as he heard his son chatter away. An eyebrow rose as he saw the new victims. Pretending not to recognize the mother, he walked over calmly to his winged son.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:32 pm
Yana, her eyes trying to track the toddler's mouth as it moved, looked adorably confused. Her eyes were wide and rather lost-looking, and Amyla had to chuckle at her confusion.
"She can't hear you," the woman explained to the other toddler, not sure how to communicate that Yana could only read lips when a person spoke slowly. She gently touched Yana's shoulder and got her attention before carefully spelling out E-M-E-S with her free hand.
Yana processed the letters and then glanced back at Emes. "Eeeeeeeeeesss?" she said hesitantly, tilting her head to one side.
Happy at the effort Yana was making to speech, Amyla turned her gaze to the approaching parent and second twin. Some portion of her mind was nagging at her to recognize this other person, but she couldn't come up with a name. Having kids wreaked havoc on the memory. "Cute boy you have. I'm guessing he likes paint?" she asked with a wry grin, noting Emes' 'decoration'.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:55 pm
Emes tilted his head, some hair falling into his face as he did so. "She can't hear? Is tha' li' Eku not talking?" His attention was drawn back to the one his age. "Nuh-uh. has 'n M. E-mus." For once in talking, he spoke slowly, as if she would hear him if he spoke slower.
Orous smiled politely. "Actually, this is the son who likes paint." He held up Eku, who blearily opened a single eye. Along with that reaction, his two fuzzy, pink-stained ears rose up a little. "The other just likes to practice abstract tattoo designs." He blinked for a moment as he looked at her. "Have I seen you before?" he asked slowly, as if remembering something from far away.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:02 pm
Amyla smiled faintly. "I wish it was like that. But she'll never hear anything, ever," the woman said quietly, watching the toddlers interact. Oh, if only Yana could just turn her hearing back on. It'd be magnificent, but then again... she wouldn't be Yana.
Yana looked confused still, but she made a genuine attempt. "Eeeeehuuss. Eeeeeehhuuuuuuuuuuus," she drawled out, blinking as she noticed his mouth moving more slowly. Well, that was an improvement, even if she still couldn't get his name right. Uttering a frown, she opted for spelling out the boy's name with her hand, quickly making the appropriate signs for the letters. That, she could do.
At the sight of the two painted ears, Amyla had to grin. That was simply too cute, albeit quite messy. "Well, maybe you have two budding artists... or interior designers," she chuckled, wishing she had one semi-artistic child among her lot of offspring. No such luck there, though. At his question, she nodded an affirmative. "Yes, I believe so, though I'm afraid my memory fails me again. Having kids does that to you, I've noticed. I'm Amyla, and this is my daughter, Yana."
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:33 pm
Emes focused his attention on Yana. "Nuh, Emus. E-MUS. Wi' an eM. Like Mom. And Money and Mark and other stuff." The head was tilted again when she started making hand gestures. "What are dos?"
Orous smiled politely, mouth firmly closed. "Oh, I think Emes has already started with interior design." Eku was the one more likely to be an actual artist. "My name is Orouborous, although many simly call me Orous. I prefer that, as it is much easier."
Emes looked up from Yana. He knew what introductions sounded like! "An' I'm Emes an' my twin's Eku an' Mommy's Drana!" the mix finished happily.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:41 pm
While Amyla longed to intervene on Yana's behalf, she conceded that the girl was simply going to have to learn to deal with this serious communication barrier. As a result, she let the little toddler puzzle the issue out, while she processed the introductions. "Orous... I do remember you. I believe I saw you before, and your mate was with you. Mine was with me as well, if my memory serves me correctly," she added, trying to cast her mind back that far. Oh dear. That had been ages ago. "Your twins are adorable. How old are they?"
"Sssssiiiiiiiiiiii," Yana said carefully, very slowly spelling out Emes' name with her hand as she tried to make him understand the concept of 'speaking' with one's hands. She frowned briefly at the other toddler, trying to figure out how exactly to copy his speech. "Eeeeehuuuuusss?" She frowned. No, that wasn't how he made that sound. How frustrating.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:58 pm
Orous pretended to think back to when he first saw her and her mate. "Ah, I think I remember. Another half-dragon, was he?"
Emes blinked and tilted his head. "What are you doing with your hands?" he asked slowly, in the same way he did when he first said his name.
Eku climbed out of Orous's arms and sat down in the cart, underneath Emes. The mute child gave a shy wave to Yana with one hand and gripped his brother's marvoulous tail with the other.
The father paused to think about how old his children really were. "Well, what age do children normally beguin to speak?" Orous asked slowly. Emes was speaking rather fluently, but Eku had yet to do anything but squeak...
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:11 am
Amyla nodded, sighing. "Yes, that's him. He is... ahhh... different." That was, perhaps, the understatement of the millenium.
Yana looked frustrated for a moment. It was obvious that he had no idea how to sign, and she couldn't speak to communicate to him. Well, she couldn't speak enough to adequately communicate, was more accurate. She watched the other twin for a moment as he climbed into the cart. She smiled and waved back at him and then turned back to his brother, determined to find someway to cross this difficult chasm. "Yannnna," she articulated carefully before spelling out the letters with one hand and then pointing to herself. "Yana."
After giving her daughter a look of approval (and sending a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods there were), Amyla had to think about the inquiry. How old were kids when they started to speak? "Most start when they are less than a year old, but it's mainly babble plus a few coherent words. That depends on the child, though. Boys usually speak later, and sometimes, the kids just don't speak until late. Yana is really behind in speaking orally, though she speaks very fluently with her hands."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:49 am
Orous smiled. "I believe I understand..." Some things were just unexplainable.
Eku studied the girl intently, especially her hands. He barely touched her to get her attention, then mimicked the hand signs she made and pointed to her. The mute made the handsigns he had seen her make earlier with Emes, pointed to his brother, and tilted his head.
Orous gave a small smile as he ran his toungue over his fangs. "I can see that. However, as I think you may have experienced firsthand, Emes is able to make coherent sentances. Do you believe that his twin brother should be able to?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:57 am
Yana watched Eku for a moment as he repeated the handsigns. When he pointed at her, she nodded vigorously. "Yaaaanaaa!" she said, pointing at herself and repeating her handsigns to spell out her name. When he spelled out his brother's name, her grin broadened, and she nodded again. "Eeeeehhhuuus!" she affirmed, spelling out E-M-E-S with her hands.
Amyla pursed her lips. This was tough territory, and she was no child psychologist. "Well, as a doctor, I can tell you this much: there is a generally accepted age by which a child should be able to communicate orally. If he is this far behind his brother, then I'd say there is a good medical or psychological reason that he isn't talking. And I have to say, I don't think it's a learning disability," she added, watching the way Eku was able to pick up the handsigns. "I'd be looking at either a problem with his larynx or some kind of error in a neural connection in his brain. But then again, I'm just an ER doctor and a mother; that's really a question for a specialist," she added. She did have to grin at the way that Yana and Eku seemed to find common ground to 'converse' on. That was a step in the right direction. "If he can't speak aloud, try sign language. He seems to be picking it up already."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:11 am
Emes tilted his head, watching them. What are you doing?
Eku looked up at his brother. This, he signed 'Yana', is her name. This, here he signed 'Emes', is your name. I don't think she can hear herself or others for some reason. He looked back at Yana. Ask her what my name is.
Emes tapped Yana to get her attention. "What's the hands for Eku?" he asked slowly, seeing that if he spoke slowly, she knew what he was saying.
Orous smiled sheepishly and ran a hand though his hair. "I'm sorry, I doubt it would be a learning disability. I am simply a bit concerned..." his voice tapered off as he began to think. "Would not having a need to speak decrease the swiftness of learning it?" he asked, eyes on his two sons.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:25 am
Yana glanced back and forth between the two brothers, sensing that there was some sort of communication going on that she had no knowledge of. Whatever it was, Emes was now trying to get her attention, and she turned her gaze to him, watching as his mouth moved. Eku... that was a new name. She wasn't entirely sure how to spell it, but she decided to go with the simplest route anyway. She raised her right hand and very slowly spelled out E-K-U. Afterward, she pointed at the mute twin and made a noise of inquiry, asking if that was, indeed, his name.
Nodding in understanding, Amyla had to admit she knew where the other parent stood. She had been wondering about Yana before, herself. "I understand. Aiodhan and I were very worried when Yana wasn't speaking or responding to noises around her. It's a bit scary at first." At his question, she had to think for another moment. "I suppose so. If he has alternate means of making himself understood, he might find it unnecessary to speak. Yana was like that at first until she realized that not everyone could sign."
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