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 Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:39 pm
A thunderous echo had roared overhead. The looming clouds had become ominous and unfriendly; their callous voices snarled and snapped at those below on the streets and commanded they leave immediately. Evacuate their pools. Evacuate their yards. If they refused, then so be it. The world would suffer the wrath of the sky, for it was angry.
... Such was what Maximilian believed. He stood outside of the building, far in front of the man he had grown to continuously call Kenneth or Pie. His head had been tilted backwards to gawk at the clouds as lightening clattered and thunder rolled. Anger was what he felt - and all the while, as he stared, he wanted to shout at the sky to stop lashing out and the ground. Then the rain had began to fall. Down it pattered - its cool, fresh nature quickly dampening his scarcely clothed figure. Max's hairs had matted to his body. His shorts had clung to his legs - and his rings had seemed to grow slippery on his tail with the sudden sleekness of his body.
Had the rain heard his silent demands and grown sad? Tilting his head to the side, Max had seemed to contemplate the entire ordeal - connecting it with the divine legends of old cultures he had heard Kenneth talking about during the late evening while writing a paper or something of that nature. The sky shed tears when something bad happened - but nothing bad had happened that evening to his knowledge. Once more the little otter had tilted his head as if hypnotized by the rain. It was not until he heard Kenneth call for him that he thought to look away and focus. Even still, the rain lingered on his mind.
Promptly depositing his curiosity in a bank of questions, he had clacked his tail on the ground and smiled back at the educator he had been thrust upon. Max's eyes had glimmered with amusement, watching the man pull a jacket over his head to block out the rain; he watched him hunch and walk awkwardly - a bit like a lame duck! All because of a little water.
"Max, we're going back inside." A sudden nervousness had emerged within the man's voice - and Max's heart had sank.
Inside. He was growing to hate the inside. It was stark and dull, filled with nothingness. He wanted to go out. He wanted to see things. He wanted to go back to the museum and stare at the ancient panels - the only things worth seeing within the museum! A little rain was nothing compared to the horrid dullness of the indoor world - where Kenneth slept in his chair, or read his books, or did something of a mundane adult nature were Max not causing a bit of mayhem to liven up the solitude.
The sheer hinting at abandoning the original plan of a day outdoors had saddled Max with a feeling of utter disdain. His tail had whipped at the ground, his rings clacking harder. The little boy's eyebrows had furrowed together as he looked at Kenneth - and, with piercing dedication, he hissed out his demands. "NO." He had wailed, his voice quaking. He stepped back. He stood. His eyes had grown wide and everything had seemed to fill with negativity. The rain, his curiosity, and all else had disappeared with the notation of not doing what he wanted to do. "No!" Max had repeated. Quickly he had shaken his head and hunched his shoulders. "You promised! Promisepromisepromisepromisepromise! My day, Pie, my day, my day, my day, Pie."
The chant had seemed to last several choruses before Max had finally stopped. He had waited. Almost pleadingly, his green eyes had gawked at the man. He wanted to go for a walk! Was it too much to ask for?
"We'll get sick." Kenneth had moaned, cautiously using one hand to clean a bit of water off of his glasses. "Stop calling me Pie. Now come on."
A loud, vexated scoff had been ushered forward as Max had jerked back. His eyes had grown even wider - and, without care or thought, he had turned heel and started running. "Liar, liar, liar!" He had called back to the man - dashing as far as he could before he realized something ...
His colorful pool rings had began flying off of his tail, scattering about the ground, some disappearing from view. When they were all detached from his tail, he froze. His body had seemed to clench and he had seemed to panic. "My rings! My rings! My rings!" The boy had wailed helplessly, rushing to gather up what he could see and seek what he had lost.
All the while, Kenneth had stared - a certain lack of understanding within his mind. The man had set a hand to his forehead and had began laughing lightly. Just luck! Rain and lost rings ... And a boy who would never settle for anything less than the exact number he had always had.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:08 pm
" You'll never catch me " Del yelled over her should to Echo. As the rain poured down and rolled off her rubbery gray skin the Dolphin girl splashed her way along the sidewalk as she ran from her dragon partner. Unlike her sister Del was never much good at formal training so she and Echo played tag , they swam , and played tug of war with other kids. It was their training so that when she next had a lesson at d-corp she wouldn't be useless.
She could Hear Echo lumbering behind her claws trying to get grip int he slippery cement. Normally the Bronze Dragon would have long since outrun her but today at this time she had a small advantage. Using her tail to balance as she rounded a corner she paused at the site of a small child of indeterminate race scurrying about picking thins up off the ground.
" Hey you what are you doing?" She called out, perhaps she could help them. I would mean Echo catching up to her but it was the right thing to do. So little in the world was right anymore and she should do the right thing.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:39 pm
It had been a meticulous habit growing worse as time went on. Obsessively, Max would carry his rings - and the moment something happened to them he would fall away from his own awareness and grow to muttering or panicking. They were akin to a security blanket - his key to stability. Though he was far too young to realize the ridiculousness of his fancy, it was apparent that its extremity posed a grave issue for his well-being. The way he, with seeming calculation, organized his colors - and the way he slid them on his tail methodically while rounding up what he could. Every time he ceased movement, he would count them.
Such behavior had seemed to continue until he believed he had all of his rings. Sliding the final one into place, he had began to settle down. Exhaustedly breathing, he had counted on last time - only to realize his final red ring was missing. That would never do. The red rings were his favorites! Glancing left and right, he had seemed to search for it, only to find that it was not within sight. No red ring. No red ring? His mouth had fallen agape, revealing the baby teeth he possessed. Everything about him had seemed to swallow him at that instant. Where was his ring?
Unlike Max, Kenneth had been more than aware of the surroundings and noises. The man's head had jerked up, bumping into his jacket the moment he had heard someone inquiring as to what was occurring. A solemn smile had seemed to sliver onto his face as he dwelt on how to explain the ridiculous occurrence. Where would he begin? Once upon a time, there had been a teacher who had accepted a certain job - and that certain job had led a wild and untamed little child with a ring-obsession into his life ...
"Little accident. He, uh ..." How would he put it? "Dropped his ..."
Max had broken the silence. He had stood up, the few rings he had clacking. "Red ring. Dropped it. Red ring." He had reiterated, leaning left and right in search. After a while he had paused, staring at the stranger who had emerged. He had smiled strongly, pointing to the rings on his tail. "Shiny, have you seen a Red?"
A new name for a new person - and one who, with a little luck, would be able to find the missing red!
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:01 am
Del just stared at the younger child for a moment trying to figure out what was going on. he spoke so fast and in such a panicked tone that she needed a few seconds to pull it all togeather.
in her peripheral vision she spotted Echo who'd caught up to her. like her the dragon had exceptionally good hearing. a shared look at each other through a forming puddle and they nodded.
Noting with amusement that this was the second kid to call her shiny Del smiled. " I haven't seen your ring but I will help you look for it and so will Echo."
Del wasn't sure her Echolocation would be much use out here, it was above water even though water now covered the ground. Still she'd give it a shot.
Echo gave Kenneth a look that poke of understanding and long suffering. Innately attracted to shiny objects he began to scan the ground for the missing ring. His kind's vision was not much ruined by falling rain.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:16 am
Neither of the two had seemed particularly phased as Echo emerged before them. Maximilian had seemed to stare for a moment, as if calculating some exact difference between the creature and the girl - or possibly some outside source. For a moment his fingers had seemed to twitch. His eyes had seemed to glimmer with a bit of excitement, though it had began to fade at the news of the girl having not seen his ring.
His face had seemed to grow damp and melancholy. The sheer expression of dread had consumed his face as he twisted around, looking about. Soon he had set eye on Kenneth. A smug look had crossed his face. "Your fault. You help." He had spoken bluntly before making a dash for Del and Echo. A smile had once again turned to his face. "It looks like this..." He had exclaimed eagerly, removing the solo red from his tail and showing the two of them quickly. "Thank you, Shiny and ... Uhm." Max had seemed to oogle at the dragon, as if figuring something. He seemed to stare quite a bit for such a motion filled child. His eyes always seemed focused on something despite the movements.
Kenneth was either irritable or distraught by the mess. The blame had been settled on his shoulders, and all he had done was claim the two of them were going to get sick ... Or he was. His jacket only kept the rain off of him decently, and he had no fur or resistance to the frigid water. Dithering about outdoors was a beckon for a cold, and he had finer things to do than slump in his chair with a sore throat and runny nose.
The man's face had seemed to twitch. His fingers had stroked his beard and he had given the dragon a nod over the tacit understanding. Against his better wishes, he had dropped his jacket on the ground and had began searching the area of the walk-way. A brightly colored ring could not possibly be too hard to find. Regardless, the situation made him ache. He was angry, but he wanted control. He would not yell. He would not make a scene - as much as he felt he needed to. The blame on his shoulders felt ridiculous, but the stab was enough to drive him into a defense. Max had dashed off. Kenneth had not forced him, therefore he held no blame for the lost thing ... Did he?
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:31 pm
Del smiled " That's Echo he's my dragon." Introductions made she focused her attention on finding the lost ring. Her previous assumption correct that her echolocation was of no use even with the rain to create a semi watery enviroment to bounce her sound waves off of. Thus she was left with visual searching.
Echo looked up at the boy's words , he was a pretty beast to be sure but there was no need for the boy to stare at him.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:01 pm
"Echo ..." Max had repeated the name. His face had grown long with concern over something. Try as he did, he could not come up with a solitary nickname for an echo. The word itself flew over his head, it being well beyond his understanding. Hesitantly, he had leaned over to look at the dragon. A toothy smile had crossed his face before he had whirled around to join the search he had not felt obligated to participate in.
It wasn't his fault, but he wouldn't budge an inch until his ring were once again settled onto his tail. "He's the second dragon I seen." Max had made a popping noise. His feet had hopped wildly against the puddles of water on the ground as his eyes scanned the terrain. Now and again, his nose would quiver. His tail would clack against the ground habitually, and he would move in an almost waddle-like manner of apprehensive skittishness. The loss of one, silly little plastic toy was a greater deal than any of them would know.
He felt ... Incomplete, and it made him all the more worried over the matter.
Kenneth had glanced up momentarily as Max had began rambling a little. His eyes had grown stern over the statement, as if he had never known in the least. Then again, it was of little surprise. The fuzz-ball was always slipping away from him and dashing off to unknown locations. It made sense, but if he were meeting anyone, Kenneth wanted to know who. The boy was young. Terribly young. Far too young to simply be conversing with strangers, no matter who. Quelling his protest, he had shaken his head. Hesitantly, he had removed his glasses from his face, gawking at the droplets of water to have gathered on the lenses. He couldn't see well. At all.
"Max, you counted them, didn't you?" Kenneth had breathed staggering breaths before sneezing.
"Yes! Red missing. Red. Two reds, only one red." His fragmented, quick statements had been repeated a few times before the pout had become feverishly angry. "You lost it."
"Oh, come on! I did not - you dropped them!" Kenneth had snapped, sneezing a few times more. He was beginning to feel chilled with his clothing plastered to his body, and his hair against his head. Naturally, it made him irritably desperate to resolve the matter.
Max had turned away without another word, scurrying to Del's side to look up at her. He had frowned in a disapproving manner, as if to express his own exasperation. Unbeknown to him, his ring was not as difficult as it could be. It was lodged just about a bit of vegetation, only a sliver of its shining red glittering in view.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:28 am
Dragons had the best eyes for treasure hunting, no one was certain why but they did. One the otter boy had his attention set on Del the young Bronze dragon began a hunt of his own for this lost red ring. It was clear from the boys tone of voice that it was important they found it soon. Not to mention that the poor kids guardian did not looked suited to the weather unlike the rest of them.
It took but a few moments and then gently Echo lifted the lost ring up in his jaws.
Del noticed and spun Max to see " look i think Echo's found it."
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:20 am
Kenneth was never going to get a handle on this parenting thing. The boy was overly dramatic and, and, and selfish! Yes. Selfish. Yet, he saw the plight and ... Where was his authority? Where did that come in? He just needed to get out of the rain.
He had sneezed again, covering his mouth.
Before anything more could be said over the quarrel or matter, Max had felt himself spun around. He had blinked, as if surprised, and then his face had brightened at the sound of Del's words. "He found it?" He had laughed, seeming to perk up remarkably. "He found it!" With that thought in mind, Max had wasted no time in scurrying off toward the dragon, seeming to dance as he walked.
"Thank God." Kenneth had sighed, removing his glasses at the realization of their worthlessness and discomfort in the rain. He was going to have to devise a plan for those rings. Couldn't have the boy losing them all the time.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:59 pm
Echo dropped the red plastic ring at the boys feet when he reached the dragon. In his own way he grave a grin feeling proud for having been the only one able to find the lost treasure. The fact that it was still pouring down on all involved bothered him not at all , though he did hope the extended hunt didn't lead to the child's guardian becoming ill. Humans were such fragile creatures.
Del laughed softly and looked at Kenneth " I'm glad we could help you." Was this what it was like? Was this what being a real hero was, just doing the right thing even if it was small thing, just helping someone who needed it."
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