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 Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:20 am
Chewing anxiously on the tail of one of her more tolerant Felis, Naita punched in the numbers marked on the card gripped in her hand.
Upon the kitchen side lay a pharmacy bag, something solid seeming to lurk inside it. Odd that, how an inanmate object could lurk there.
Almost inhaling Ptol's tail, the woman gasped as the receiver began to ring.
A muffled ringing sound leaked out from underneath a discarded jacket, trying its darndest to be heard, yet its plea fell on quite literally deaf ears.
"Kids! Get out of here, or you're gonna miss your show!"
Immediately after speaking, DS backed up as a small swarm of children, ranging in size and age, ran out the door. One of them, the eldest, grabbed his coat with a mumbled thanks, and coasted out the door, freeing the phone from its cage of silence.
DS sighed and absently picked up the phone. "Hello?"
Eye twitching as a strangely unfamiliar voice rang down the phoneline, Naita inhaled deeply.
"Yes, hello, is this Miss... uh... Divvy?"
Slamming one finger into her forehead at this, Naita realised she had been too drunk to remember the other woman's full name, a rather stupid thing to admit given her current suspicions.
"This is Naita. We met on New Years."
Only dregs of memories had managed to survive that night through the alcohol curtain, but the name did ring a bell. A very dented, beat up sort of bell, but a bell nonetheless. "Oh yes, Naita... this is DS. How are you?"
A little odd to start off the conversation with a social pleasantry, but for all she knew, it was a social call.
Riight, how was she? That should have been a simple enough question to ask, but alas many factors clouded it now.
"I'm... a little worried," came Naita's reply, followed by a quick trill of laughter. It sounded so stupid, such a ridiculous statement.
"Worried? About what, dear?" As soon as the question left her lips, she mentally kicked herself. She was treating this woman more like one of her own kids than as who she was, a mature woman. Older than herself, by the looks of it.
She put forth an attempt to salvage the statement. "I mean, since you brought it up and all, and I'm guessing it's why you called..."
Brow quirking at the motherly nature of her correspondent's first statement, Naita nibbled again on the feline's puffed tail, receiving a claw to the back for the favour.
"Well... do you remember the machines we messed around with while playing in the lab that night?"
She really wasn't sure how to phrase this and not sound a right twit.
"N-yes. I think." The memories were still hazier than she'd hoped, yet daylight began to glimmer through. Either that, or someone had left the light on in the bathroom.
Deciding to hope for the former, she nodded. "Yes. Why?"
Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Now she had to explain. Naita was never good with admitting things, and admitting something she was entirely unsure about gave her the willies.
"Well...," she began, "I think one involved DNA. And Your DNA, to be specific."
"Oh," DS murmured, her voice eerily calm. "Is that right?"
She had no idea where this was going, but her mind was already racing through several worst-case scenarios. Did she meet up with some nut who sold DNA to pharmacies who wanted to find stuff? Or maybe an identity theif? No, she wouldn't be calling if it was that.
"Uh, I think so," came the weakening voice of Naita.
"And, uh, I don't entirely know how, but I think you might be a father."
Ducking instinctively, despite the fact she was talking down a phone, the woman received another few claws to her back, a punishment for moving so suddenly.
"Ah, is that all..." So she wasn't some creepy DNA stealing freak! She was just calling to... to...
The phone slipped from trembling fingers, whacking her knees in what may have been some bizarre phone-karma version of divine retribution, and landed on the floor with a loud "khwap."
Upright once more, Naita caught the impact of the other phone only, and eyed the feline sat rigid upon her shoulder with some confusion.
"Hello?" she called, torn between amusement and worry. "You there? HELLO?"
The shouting that echoed from the now cracked phone snapped DS back to her senses, and she retrieved it hurriedly. She must have misheard, that was it... after all, unless someone changed the rules of meiosis and sexual intercourse, that wasn't quite possible.
"Um," she muttered, "sorry. Didn't hear you right. Mind explaining that again?"
Explaining? Good god, she'd only got pieces of information from that scientist she had snogged, and now she had to pass them on?
"Uh, right. Well, um... apparently, your DNA got extracted, and then, well, other machines, and test tubes, and my eggs.... not fried, the other kind, and uh... I bought a test."
Not for the first time, she regretted ever leaving the house on New Year's. Not only did she end up uncosncious for a week from all that alcohol, but something like this had to happen?
"And," she pressed cautiously, "what happened?"
"I haven't looked at it yet," admitted the somewhat scared voice of a woman fearing no vodka for nine months.
"I peed on this stick thing, stuck it in the box, and put that in the bag. And then I... uh, I rang you."
The truth of the matter was, she had shoved it into the bag to lurk, and now it was begining to taunt, roughly an hour before, and had scoured the cupboards for any alcohol strong enough to make the thoughts in her mind cease. Alas, it appeared gremlins had stolen it all.
"Uh... well, what do you want me to do about it?" None of the possible answers that came to mind were particularly comforting, but it would be better to end this conversation as fast as possible, so she could go dunk her head in the bathtub and take a nap. When she woke up, it would all be better, right?
Well, maybe not, but it was a darned good procrastonation technique.
Well that was rude. The urge to hang up, track this other down, and force the idea of carrying a child into THEIR whom seemed rather tempting, but instead Naita merely drummed her fingers, and sighed.
"Well, a little less rude behaviour wouldn't hurt."
"You call me up, tell me I'm a dad- not even a mom, but a dad- and expect me to be civil? Maybe I didn't mention this on New Years, but I don't take surprises well."
Then again, this had to be a shock for the other woman too. More so, if anything. And she had been civil herself. Perhaps not subtle, but then subtlety wasn't called for in this case.
"I'm sorry," she admitted softly. "What... what can I do?"
Once more, the urge to force the possible child into the other woman's uterus played happily in Naita's mind, along with hoardes of angry sock puppets that reared whenever she was particularly stressed, at the other's first statement.
"Oh, and it was a walk in the park for me," came her response, quickly checked by Divvy's next words.
"I, uh, I thought you might want to hear what the test says. Better to know, huh?"
"Of course, yes... would you like to do it any particular way, or...?"
As her mind started to cease functioning, a single thought repeated itself, like a broken record. Thank goodness the kids aren't here.
"Uh... I'll read it?"
It seemed a somewhat silly question to her, but silly questions seemed the order of the day. With an inaudible whimper, Naita eyed the lurking bag.
"Sure... well, go ahead..."
When the mind went, the body started to stiffen, one hand gripping the phone so tightly it cracked even further, the other crossing all its fingers into a tangled jumble.
Right, bombs away!
Picking at the bag with shaking fingers, Naita wrestled it open, before gazing fearfully at the box. Instruction time!
"OK, plus means positive, minus means negative. OK. OK."
Yet more rustling ensued as she pulled the flap on the box, reaching in, fumling with the contents. She pulled it out, eyed it silently, then swore loudly, profusely, and without cessation for a ful minute.
DS's arm jerked involuntarily, holding the phone away in hopes of protecting both her ears and her mind, and held the position until the yelling died down.
What the ruckus implied she knew, but wasn't willing to admit it until she heard straight from the horse's mouth, in a manner of speaking.
"It's a plus," she whispered into the receiver, seemingly calmed by the swearing fit.
Now what was she to do? NO alcohol? For nine bloody months? Oh hell.
"Oh."
What else was she going to say? It didn't seem like congratulations were exactly in order.
"Um... now what?"
That was a point. Now what? They weren't exactly ideal parents, were they? Two strangers with a drunken encounter in common.
"Uh..."
Words failed her. She had thought sock puppets the scariest thing life could throw at her until now.
Great, she didn't know what to do either? In past situations like this, she had let others do the planning and the fixing, while she comfortably shut her brain down for repairs. But now someone was asking her to navigate a treacherous situation? On top of everything else? Hell no.
Slowly sinking to the floor as her legs gave out, she let out a breath. "Well, let's get some things straight I guess. What's your full name?"
Oh brilliant, more things to explain.
"I don't exactly know," she responded. "Apparently my memory got lost when I was found in Port Gino, and it's yet to find it's way home."
Well, they had a little something in common then. Didn't really matter much to DS; one mishap or twenty, it was all the same to her.
The name Port Gino sounded familiar though. "Port Gino? Is that where you live?"
The thought of her first remembered home made Naita smile, thankfully, and a tad happier, she launched into a short attempt at an explanation.
"I don't live there now, but I did. The family I worked for still do, or would if they didn't keep nicking off to court and the like."
"I see." A complete lie, but she'd rather pretend to know what was going on than annoy the woman by pestering for useless details.
Port Gino, Port Gino... the name kept poking at her. "Oh! I think that's where I live now..."
Well that was creepy. Yet fortunate. At least if Divvy buggered off without changing any nappies, Riife could hunt her down and force her to deal with the stinkers!
"Do you? Have you met Lady Siri? Or one of the Ladies, rather?"
"I'm afraid not. But I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them, I suppose."
Not that she got out much, other than to shop and take Karan to playdates, but it wouldn't any good to keep her eyes open. Might keep her from bumping into things as much too.
"I'm sure you will encounter Lady Naita once she returns from court. She is often about with her wards Ceiba, Eydis and Breena."
Happy to stay on this point of conversation, rather than discuss the pressing, and frightening, matter of the unborn child growing in her, Naita made every effort to keep up the chatter.
...
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:21 am
...
"Right. Eyba, Breenis, Ceyna?" Gah, her head really wasn't working. She shook it, hoping to attain some clarity, but only ended up dizzier than ever.
"Right. Well... I'll see."
Brow climbing yet higher up her forehead at the mix-up of names, Naita nodded down the phone, seemingly unaware this was a silent gesture.
At last, her mind snapped back, and she paused to think of further chatter.
"So... uh... got any kids?" She queried, before smacking herself in the head.
Wow, what a question. Eyes bulging slightly as she tried to think of an answer, she leaned backwards, letting herself rest against a leg of the hall table.
"Well, yes. Sort of. They're not mine... I mean they are but... well, not biologically. But yes."
Well, this was awkward.
"Riiight..." came the voice of Naita down the line, searching for something, anything, to say to get off this topic.
"So, um, well... now what?
It was a question she had been trying to avoid, but chatter had only been able to take them so far by way of procrastonation. The jig was up.
Bugger, they had to make a decision? Bugger, bugger, bugger.
"I... don't know. I suppose you have to decide whether you wanna play dad or not."
A blunt suggestion, but such was Naita's way. Subtlety was like a pink elephant, not technically impossible, but unlikely.
"Well... d'you want me to? I mean,if you've already got a family, I wouldn't want to intrude."
Another stalling technique on her part, as DS was well aware the woman wouldn't be so scared if she did. Probably.
A family? Sable was her fiancee, but not stupid. Somehow Naita doubted that she could convince her lover it was hers.
"Uh... I'd appreciate a hand with nappy changing."
"So, like... a babysitter?" Drat, that wouldn't work well at all. She had enough work on her hands looking after her own crew. If she had to go to someone else's house to babysit, she would be stretched far too thin.
Okay, maybe that ship sailed already, but even so...
"Uh... not quite."
The thought of actually giving the other one the child, and paying weekend visits was the most attractive thought to Naita, ample reward for what she'd heard happened with pregnancies!
"Well, what quite works for you then?"
Much as she'd have liked to dictate rules, she had to yeild to the one who was going to have bear the pain for nine whole months, and she knew it. Didn't like it, but knew it anyway.,
"Uh, dual custody? I don't think my household is... stable enough to raise a child completely alone."
As if to mirror her words, at that moment a feline in a corset and a lizard in a feather boa flounced past Naita's gaze, on their way to harrass some poor unsuspecting soul.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," DS murmured, though her mind screamed for her mouth to shut up. "I've heard bad things about children who have been forced to alternate homes..."
"Ah..."
Well that was buggered. Naita may be odd, but she was not yet so blind to herself that raising a child in a small flat overrun by neurotic animals seemed a recipe for aught but trouble.
"Hrm... well, maybe..."
Don't say it. Don't say what you are about to say. It is a bad idea, and it will never work.
"Maybe you both could stay here."
One eye twitched at the thought of being surrounded by minors, controlling herself from swearing, gambling, drinking, or inviting various lovers around, but the infinitely tiny voice of reason in Naita's head piped up that this seemed sensible.
"Do you... have room?" came the response, rather doubtful, but not cancelling the idea.
No. Say you don't, say it was a mistake. Say anything but-
"Well, enough. It's a really big house."
"Oh, um, how do you feel about felines? And reptiles?"
The urge to query her feelings on asexual reptiles in particular nagged at the back of her mind, but that could be saved for later.
"Um... well, we've got a cat. Somewhere. As for reptiles... they're... okay."
"Oh. Well, uh... I have a few of these creatures called Feli, and one... peculiar reptile. Do you think your, uh, charges would deal with them well?"
The knowledge that she was almost challenging the other woman to tell her to bugger off was present, but as yet Naita was not sure if that was her intention.
"Well... I guess so. They're not... dangerous, are they?"
The more she heard, the more she thought she'd heard enough, but something posessed her to keep asking more.
"Not to others," came the rather shaky response of Naita. This really was an odd conversation for her.
She had always pictured a return to Port Gino, but never quite under these circumstances. Then again, she'd never pictured herself spawning at all.
"Um... then sure, I guess..." After all, she'd had her wards come from paper, rocks, and on her doorstep. There were flying dogs that came from baskets in the backyard, along with bats that came from peaches and a horse from inside a box. Cats and reptiles were nothing.
"Right, um, OK then."
Naita's voice sounded shaky, even to herself. One minute she's a happy drunk, swanning about and molesting Sable when the chance arose, the next she's a mother-to-be, and moving in with the father, mother, whatever of her child.
Oh, help.
"Okay, right. Then it's... settled?"
Not that anything was ever really settled. Nor was she convinced this was even a good idea, far from it. But then what other choice did they have? Let whatever freak child was going to result from their meeting suffer further because their mom's were... no, she didn't even want to go there.
"Uh, sure. Quick question though, where do you live?"
That may be an important factor if Naita was to move in with a stranger, scary though the idea was.
"That's a good question... and there's a good answer... just hold on a second..."
DS reached one hand up onto the table above her, knocking down several envelopes. She had never bothered to find out her new address since the house decided to relocate, so hopefully the mail would know.
"Let's see, it's... huh?" The same address? Impossible, but... "It's 87, Sugar Hill Road. In Port Gino."
Perplexed by the talk of 'the same address,' Naita nonetheless shook this off, jotting down the address on the back of her hand.
It seemed inevitable, and with the suspicion that a good stiff drink would do little but intensify this little issue, she eyed the kitchen for something to nibble.
"OK, well, I'll be over with some stuff soon, I guess."
Time to pack up the anti-sock puppet kits!
"Wh-wait, when? The kids are gonna be home in a couple hours." Mentally she kicked herself for not letting them stay for the double feature, but how was she supposed to know anything like this was going to happen?
"Uh, once I find boxes, something soothing to eat, and a way to convince several Feli's to move?"
That seemed logical. Best to get it done quickly, rather than delay the inevitable.
Wait, did this mean she was going to be swarmed with children? Bugger!
"Okay then. Um. Well, just come on over then. And if you need food, there's plenty over here." After all, if she was going to share her house with this woman, why not her lunch?
As for the kids... well, they'd been asking to go out for pizza...
"Cool, I'll try and bring some supplies."
The thought that her fridge's population was a hunk of mouldy cheese and something she could swear winked at her seemed not to matter in this declaration of manners. She could pick something up on the way. Or steal something from Riife.
It was kind of amusing, in a grim sort of way. Their conversation was starting to sound like a pair of schoolgirls planning a sleepover.
"Well, I'll just tidy up a bit then."
"Right, well, I'll be over soon."
She seemed to be acting on instinct now, allowing everything to just happen. Oh well, time to reconcile the Feli squad to the idea.
"I'd better get packing. See you in a bit," came her last words, before Naita hung up the phone, and blinked rather astonishedly.
"Right, see you," DS assured the dial tone.
It took a moment to realize some of what she had just resigned herself to, and once the shock started to dissipate, the phone found itself being banged on the floor. Hadn't it been tortured enough already? As a final act of protest to its treatment, it shattered, bits of plastic exploding all over the floor.
Silently the woman rose from her spot on the floor, walked into the kitchen, and scribbled the word phone onto her shopping list, underneath eggs. Once finished, she gathered a broom and started to sweep.
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:23 am
Naita BoxesHaving finished the rather bewildering phonecall, Naita eyed the pregnancy test once more, assuring herself that it was, indeed, positive, before casting a glance around her flat.
She had seen many a time in this place, and it had taken on an amazingly homely feel, from the tattered couch to the empty vodka bottles on top of the fridge. It was hers, felt like her, and now she was leaving it.
It was not in Naita's nature to mope, but at the thought of leaving the familiarity of home she did shed a tear, the stress of the day getting to her.
Brushing the salty liquid off her cheek, the woman sighed, and began the search for boxes to use, as well as necessities to fill them with.
The first box to leap to Naita's attention was followed by several more, in quick succession, from a height. She had opened a closet door, forgetting it to be her dumping place for nearly anything she had accumulated over the time she had lived there. In addition to the boxes that tumbled upon her, three paperback novels, seven garden gnomes, two globes and a stuffed goat made their way back into the light of day.
After grabbing the boxes thankfully, Naita thought for a moment, and placed the goat in one box.
One novel in particular tempted her, but the cover seemed to involve two contortionists doing something probably illegal. She tore off the cover, placed it in one pocket, and threw the book away.
The fridge then occurred to her, and her vow to bring supplies. Dutifully she placed the boxes down, making her way to the kitchen. Swinging the door open, the woman screeched as something seemed intent on crawling towards her, and slammed the door shut once more. That species could be left to cultivate for a while.
Mincing about the house, the woman at length gathered up her more useful possessions, as well as a few things just for fun, and set about work on convincing her pets to move. The Felis she found scattered about, and needed merely to bribe with a promise of fish for dinner, while Hugo, her Leguani, required the promise of heels that would fit. So doing her duty, Naita begun the trudge to the Siri's manor, trusting that Riife would be happy to lend her his carriage for the move.
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:25 am
As a stately carriage bearing the Siri livery pulled up before DS' house, a slim, greying man in control of the horses shouted out "'ere, miss!"
Polishing off the last few bites of a piece of ham stolen from Cook back at the manor, Naita eyed the smudged address on her hand. This was the place!
Eyeing the boxes dotted about herself, topped by various animals, the woman sighed. She certainly travelled in style!
DS had been pacing the in the living room for the better part of the past hour, having finished all the cleaning that could be of any use before that. Still, she held a dustbuster in one hand and from time to time sucked tiny particles of dust off her furniture.
The sound of horses outside yanked her from her stupor, saving the rest of the dustbunnies from a fate worse than death (ie antibacterial treatment). She ran to the door, flinging it open wide, but remaining silent for her part.
Descending from the carriage with some help from Riife, Naita gave the boxes littered about her person, numbering five in all, a cusory glance. Hopefully they should be enough.
The sight of someone stood in the doorway illicited a wave from the woman, vague smile clambering across her features.
DS returned the wave timidly, not moving from her spot at the door. She looked like she had enough help to get the boxes in, and besides, fear was paralyzing. At least this time, she could still think. And talk.
Used to being the one in control of a situation, Riife was off like a shot, driver down from his post by command in seconds, grabbing two boxes, Riife garbbing another pair, and Naita left with the last.
Trailing up towards the door, he made an awkard bow over his load, inquiring as to where they were to set them down.
"Um... follow me, please." Through the main hallway, to the right, and into what seemed to be a closet, DS led her visitors through the house. Pausing to turn on a light, a collection of coats on hangers was pushed aside to reveal a creaking wooden stairway. She didn't like going upstairs even then, but not much could be done to help it now.
"Watch your step," she warned as she began her ascent.
Quirking a brow at this rather... odd way about, Riife nodded, following. A quick gesture had the driver after him quickly, Naita and her band of animals bringing up the rear.
Another light flickered on, revealing a darker, less well-kept version of downstairs. The same hallway that had been next to them below continued onwards in front of them.
"The first room on the left is taken, but the others are free. They're all pretty much the same, so pick one you like."
Naita may have been behind, but she was able to catch this phrase.
"Thanks," she spoke, before poking Riife in the side. It seemed he was to present her 'supplies.'
Dutiful, the butler pulled off a magnificent balancing act, able to pull a bottle of orange juice and a jar of strawberry preserve from one box, before leading the way once more into the first room on the right. Like hell he was carrying things any further than he had to.
"Just let me know if you need any help or something," DS added, unsure of what to do. Should she help? Or go downstairs?
She decided to do neither, instead switching on the faithful dustbuster that she still carried, and aiming it at the doorway. It really was dusty, and even if she didn't like the area, she had to keep it clean.
Dumping her boxes on the bed, Naita turned her gaze to the cleaning father, or perhaps mother of her child.
She seemed an obsessive cleaner, yet the place was by no means clean. Odd. And just what the hell was that thing in her hand?
"So, uh... how are you?"
Despite all her thoughts, she was attempting to be polite today.
The words were barely audible above the hum of the mini-vacuum, making DS feel the need to be loud. "Fine, I suppose. You?"
Okay, maybe that was a bit too loud...
Browing making the hike once more up Naita's forehead, she shrugged generally. 'Scared, hungry, and needing to pee,' seemed entirely impolite things to say.
"Uh, not too bad, I guess. So... uh... nice house!"
Rather than compete with the noise from the dustbuster, DS threw it off and tossed it at a wall, where it hit and fell neatly into a box beneath it. Handy thing about attics, no one expected order, least of all herself.
"Thanks. It used to be my aunt's."
That seemed a violent way to tidy up, but by no means unappealing, and a smile began working on the corners of Naita's mouth to see it. Then again, the knowledge that Riife was, as she spoke, organising her room around her didn't hurt.
"Oh? Nice prezzy, makes me wish I had an aunt."
I suppose. So, did you find something workable?"
Hurrying her new houseguest wasn't entirely her intention, but the sooner they finished up, the sooner they could return downstairs. Not to mention grab some food. Maybe she should have done that before, but realizing it after the fact hardly helped her mood.
Eyeing the room before which she stood, that which Riife had chosen upon proximity to the stairs, the woman's face broke into a grin.
"It seems Riife has!"
"Riife? Oh, the gentleman with you?" An unsettling thought sprang to mind. "He's not... staying, is he?"
Cats and lizards were manageable if need be, but she already had one strange man hanging around. Two would just be overkill.
Now this, this was too much for Naita's sense of humour. Live with Riife? Commit to him as aught but an amusing party favour? She promptly burst into a peal of laughter.
"No, he's a hire-a-butler I picked up for the day," she gasped at last.
"Oi!" Came a response from inside the room.
"More talk like that and the goat gets it!" So saying, he held a stuffed goat out the doorway, shaking it in what he deemed a menacing fashion.
Come to think of it, the woman would have mentioned a man. Chalk it up to another case of "ask a silly question."
"Erm... well, if he's got things covered, wanna go downstairs and grab a bite?"
"Food? Gladly!"
The words flew out of Naita's mouth with no thought whatsoever. Guess this whole 'eating for two' thing started early.
Glancing over Riife's quick word, Naita gave her new... landlord? A confirming nod.
"Come on then." It had already been too long up there, in her humble opinion.
Still, business did have to come first. "Mind taking a quick tour first? Just so you can get around and stuff."
That did seem sensible, avoid Naita getting lost late at night and scaring the children.
"Sure, starting at the kitchen?" She responded, laughter once more breaking from her throat.
Eh, why not. It wasn't as if there was a shortage of portable food. And fainting wasn't something she had in mind for this tour. Then again, she hadn't had any of this in mind when she woke up that morning, a simple reminder that plans had to be flexible.
"Sure, if you don't mind settling for something on-the-go," she replied, starting back downstairs.
Would that be followed by something full? Ooh, decisions, decisions. Naita really was feeling peckish, the stress of the day impacting largely on her stomach.
"Uh, a fortifying pre-tour snack, perhaps?"
"Enough to tide one over until dinner. It is getting late after all." DS's eyes darted towards the clock mounted in the hallway nervously, having made it to the bottom of the stairs. The short hand had slipped past the halfway point, inching back upwards.
"Alrighty, got any pickles?"
The knowledge of pregnancy cravings was rather a relief to Naita's mind, for it finally gave her odd concoctions an excuse. Currently, she craved her favourite snack- pickle and peanut butter. Tasty!
Oblivious to Divvy's nerves, the woman hummed idly, at her ease already. There was not much that could keep Naita on her toes for long.
"Probably." They weren't a preferred snack in the house for the most part, but a certain cheery empath seemed to inhale them.
As for DS herself, all she wanted was a muffin. Preferably laced with a mild sedative, but even a plain cranberry one would suffice.
Grin mashing the woman's cheeks into tight balls, scrunching her grey eyes with lines of happiness, Naita exclaimed with her usual zest reclaimed, "brilliant!"
She could learn to live here.
How on earth was that woman managing to stay so calm? Nothing would be gained from panicing, but that didn't always stop a person.
"Um, wait right here a sec," DS mumbled, disappearing from the hallway.
"O...K..." Naita stated, before leaning against the nearest wall, idling. Curiosity did nibble at her mind as to where the other woman had gone, but sense won out against the thought of following.
A few loud clanks later, she emerged, bearing an unopened jar of pickles in one hand, and a chocolate chip muffin in the other. Not her top choice for mellow food, but it would have to do.
"Now then, if you'd just follow me..."
OK, now that was odd. Curiosity tugging her grin down to a sort of confused half-smile, Naita's mouth began opening into a question, but stopped short. Probably best not to ask.
Instead, she took the pickle jar, offered an equally puzzled smile, and thanked the other.
"Through there is the living room, and the door in there leads to the kitchen. But try to knock first; some of my baking needs to be left alone."
DS started down the hallway, passing the door that led to the attic. Both sides of the hall had several doors, which she pointed to in turn.
"First door on the right is Yeine's. Second is Ying's. Third is Eriol's. First on the left leads to the panty, but it's usually locked. Second is Karan and Xue's, third is the bathroom. There's one up there too.
"Still with me?" The hallway took a sharp right angle, best to make sure she had the first rooms before proceeding.
Names, names, names. How the hell was Naita meant to follow this? Still, the woman vacantly nodded, crunching merrily on a green snack.
If worst came to worst, she could always live off the pickles for a while, until some kind of search and rescue team found her starving and lost in some room.
Judging by the woman's expression, DS guessed it was about clear as mud. "It took me awhile to get used to it too," she says by way of reassurance.
"First door on the right around the corner is Melete's, left is Linnea's. The second on both sides are usually kept locked, but don't try going in either of them anyway."
She gestured towards each door. This bit of hallway was shorter, and the two last doors almost faded into the walls. There was one door that went unnamed, directly at the end of the hall.
Again, a vacant nod met this information. Of all that was said, only 'don't enter' was clear to Naita's mind. The idea of only finding the kitchen, her own room, and the nearest toilet seemed clever, best to avoid any conflicts with teenagers or small children.
"Basically, last door on the left is the bathroom down here. First turn to the right is the den, which is a mess. Left is the living room, and through there is the kitchen. The fridge is usually well stocked, but if there's anything we don't have that you really like, let me know. I usually go shopping Sundays and Wednesdays."
The speech was routine by now, having given some variation or another to each of the kids living in the house. While she was speaking, she couldn't help but slip into the comfort of something that se was accostomed to. But this wasn't a kid she was introducing. Quite.
"Any questions?"
"Uh... one," mumbled Naita, through a mouthful of pickle. "Is there a toilet upstairs?"
Ah yes, priorities!
Didn't she say that? Was she getting her speech mixed up again, or was she just not paying attention?
Eh, didn't matter. "Yeah, two doors down from your room."
Brilliant, nice and close!
Grin creeping over her features, Naita took another large chunk out of the pickle, before speaking again.
"Brill, thanks!"
"Eh, you're welcome?" Not like she was the architect, but whatever.
Before she could stop it, a sizeable yawn escaped her. Great, now the woman would likely think she thought their conversation boring. Even though in many ways it was inescapably so.
"Anything else I can do you for?"
Mind still attempting the twists and turns of the house, Naita's head shook before she realised the action had come about.
"Oh, uh... any rent, or board, or whatever you wanna call it?"
The thought of charging her new housemate hadn't occured to DS. The house was hers, and she didn't even have to deal with most bills. For the first time in a while, she realized how lucky she was to have such an arrangement.
"Nah. We'll call it even for, well, you know..."
"Oh, right, OK. Um... sounds good to me."
Free living space? Somehow, this whole mess wasn't looking quite so bad, at least this part. The thought of spawning still rather scared the living daylights out of her.
"Oh, and is there anything you need? I have to go shopping soon anyway to buy, er, a new phone." Might as well make the woman as comfortable as possible. That way, one of them would be.
Brow shooting up her forehead at the mention of a broken phone, Naita attempted not to giggle. What did she need? Alcohol was out, alas, as were many of her favourite things, on suspicion that they would not be healthy, or conducive to the foetus surviving long.
"Uh... maybe some pickles, please?"
"Sure thing." Wow, this woman truly packed down the brined little things.
"Oh, let me just show you one thing..." DS turned and headed back down the hall, beckoning for Naita to follow. Even though most of he house's residents were gone, a couple still needed introduction.
Following the other woman tentatively, suspicions flickered through Naita's mind. What if she was about to show her a giant squid and declare it to be her god? Or worse... a sock puppet shrine.
Lowering her voice to a whisper, she opened one of the many doors. "They're in here."
They, as it turned out, happened to be a box and a pile of blankets. Or rather the people inside them. An amazingly pale infant slept soundly in the box, and another equally colorless limb peeked out from the sheets, partially encased in a silky green sleeve.
"He's Karan," DS murmured, motioning to the box, "and he's Xue."
Infants? This was the sight which awaited Naita? While not exactly her idea of heaven, they beat sock puppets.
"Are they... yours?" She queried, rather worried by the idea that there may be other human incubators dotted about the place.
How to answer that question? "Uh... not biologically, if that's what you mean. They came here under... unusual circumstances. The others are away now, but you'll probably meet them in a couple weeks.
Others? More children? Oh hell, this was going to take some getting used to. For starters, Naita foresaw a swear jar in her future.
"Oh, uh... right. OK, the others."
"Right. But you don't have to worry about that for a while." On the other hand, she had to worry about how to put it to her teenage godson that this woman was carrying her child... but that could wait. And would, thankfully.
"Right. So, is there anything I'm forgetting? Maybe we should check on that friend of yours?"
"Who, Riife? He'll be good, he's a butler for the Siri's, used to doing too much work."
A giggle escaped her at this, knowing Riife to be far too chivalrous to allow a pregnant woman to help him.
"Maybe... I just don't want to detain him longer than necessary. It is getting late, after all."
"I'm sure he won't be much longer, he's probably just going through my things by now, or enjoying some free time."
"Alrighty then..." She trailed off, unsure what to say next. The tour was done, intros were done... perhaps she should have paid more attention when her aunt tried to drive social graces into her, but it was too late to repent.
"Uh... bed?"
It may seem a tad rude, but Naita was rather tired, and really rather confused by the events of the day. Sleep was looking good.
It seemed there was a god, thank god. "That sounds fantastic. I know it's been quite a day... so have a good sleep. Any requests for breakfast?" Hopefully something sans pickles, she hoped.
"Uh... food? Anything edible, really."
Ah, the joy of being willing to eat anything not caked in turpentine.
"Alrighty then. Well... good night."
Again unsure how to react, she bowed her head and then disappeared into one of the doors nearby, shutting it tightly.
"Night," Naita called to the retreating figure, before attempting to find her way back to her own new room.
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:26 am
DivineSaturn
Stress
DS stumbled backwards, exhausted by the day's stress. It took her a few moments to realize that the room she had shut herself in was not hers at all, but rather her son Eriol's. Not that it made much difference. He was off on some kind of quest with another of the house's strange residents. He surely wouldn't mind if she took over his room for one night.
Sighing, she sank onto the bed, rubbing her hands over the soft blue sheets. She was already used to being a guardian, she'd had that role since she was little. Before coming to Gaia she had looked after her sister, her cousins... they were older than her, sure, but had no real sense. She was always the one to keep everyone in line. How that worked still puzzled her though.
And since her arrival, she had cared for many people. A boy who came from a page of an old story. A girl who emerged from a rock. Two men who escaped to the strange land fleeing a plague, and another who simply appeared. A baby who came in the same fashion, a boy who followed her home, a girl who came from a flower... and those were simply the two leggers.
Yet even with all that experience, she couldn't imagine herself as a mother. Even though she cared for children. Even though some of them called her "Mom." Even though she was by all rights already a mother. Perhaps it was the fact that this one would share her blood, her life. Without her, this baby wouldn't exist.
Was that really a bad thing?
Then there was her new housemate. She barely remembered the woman; their one meeting was memorable, but she could barely remember anything. One drunken night had managed to lead to all this. Just when she had put it behind her too. But the woman, Naita, seemed nice, if a bit odd. She had the sneaking suspicion that the feeling was mutual, but she could handle that.
The real question was, could they handle parenting? Together?
Consumed by that and a thousand other questions, DS let herself fall backwards onto the bed. Sleep was imminent, and welcome, but it failed to relieve the worries that swarmed like flies around her mind, buzzing and buzzing, demanding her attention. It would not be an easy night.
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:28 am
Naita Swimming clears the mind?Stumbling back up the stairs, through several wrong doors, and one closet, Naita eventually found her way to the room now appointed as hers. Riife was, as she had suspected, leafing through one of her magazines, sat on her bed. The man started as she entered, but seeing no companion, simply shrugged and grinned.
"S'old," he stated. "Two years old, and not in English. You pick up some strange things, Nai."
Unable to refute this claim, especially at the site of a stuffed squirrel she vaguely remembered buying off a drunken poolboy at some point, the woman simply nodded, returning her friend's grin.
"Watcha up to now, Riifey?"
The simple fact was, Naita was not yet ready to sleep, and cared for something with which to clear the fear and confusion slowly seeping into her consciousness. Why, oh why was vodka alcoholic? Why, oh why was alcohol forboden?
"Not much," the butler responded, "why? Got anythin' in mind?"
The glint in his eyes spoke trouble, generally only found when one of them mentioned the words 'drinking' and 'game' in succession.
Responding in negative dulled that glint somewhat, until it was replaced by an evil grin.
"How 'bout some swimming?"
Oh dear, what was he up to now? One brow raised, Naita cocked her head at her friend, intrigued.
"Swimming? Where? And... why do I suspect it's of the clothing optional kind?"
"You have a suspicious mind, Nai. But hey, if that's what you want, I'm sure I can control myself, for Elsa. If you can keep your hands off me."
For this speech, Riife quickly received a pillow to the head, along with a fit of chuckling.
Once through abusing Riife, Naita succumbed to her mirth, and eventually gasped out an affirmative, along with a query again as to where.
"Oh, I know the perfect spot," came the response.
...
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:59 am
DivineSaturn
The smell of something delicious, or more likely several somethings, filled the kitchen. They did so more and more often lately. When DS was worried, or anxious, or just being silly and agonizing over something she had no control over, it fell into a pattern. First she'd spazz, which was always the most random of the steps. After that, denial of the situation. Then would come the long thinking period, where she'd repeatedly convince herself that she simply had to make do.
Once that was all over, she would cook. Obsessively, more than usual. Two loaves of bread, one banana nut and one sourdough, were crammed into the oven along with a devil's food cake. A tray of chocolate chip muffins was cooling by the window, next to a cherry pie. The stove was covered with silver and black- a large pot was boiling, another was silent, and three eggs and bacon were cooking noisily in an old battered frying pan.
Before long, the kitchen was unable to hold the myriad of smells, and they began to seep into every corner of the old house.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:50 am
Naita Laying happily in bed, curled around a toy crocodile, clothes in a messy pile upon the floor, Naita's consciousness opened the floodgates, sending scents cascading down her nostrils.
It took her several moments to fully awake, but as her head left the pillow, a mass of hair and yawns, the knowledge of what these smells heralded sprang into her sleep-touched brain. FOOD!
Pulling on the first article of clothing to come to hand, a large green woollen jumper, and a pair of slippers, the woman began the journey downstairs, in search of the morsels now dancing enticingly about her mind.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:51 am
DivineSaturn
The noise in the kitchen was far too loud for DS to be able to hear anyone coming. Grease frying, the fan moving out the smoke, and a small radio on the counter that blared out old rock'n roll and disco tunes combined to make a soundproof room, so that the only other sound she could hear was her own.
"Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no not I," DS sang into her wooden spoon before thrusting it back into a pot of oatmeal. "I will survive! Oh, as long as I know how to love..."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:53 am
Naita After a few minutes blindly wandering the hallways in search of some morsel, and almost falling down the stairs, Naita happened upon the scene unfolding in the kitchen.
There her housemate boogied, whilst cooking what looked to be innumerable tasty dishes. Bonus!
The singing was... different, but hey, she'd been known to boogie away in karaoke bars every now and then, so who was she to talk?
Stood in the doorway, she took in the performance with dancing eyes.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:55 am
DivineSaturn
"Go on now go!" said the radio, echoed by DS and her spatula. "Walk out the door! Just turn around now..." And as she sang those words, she did the action- and nearly screamed. "Nai! Uh... good morning?"
"What would you like for breakfast?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:57 am
Naita Resisting the rather strong urge to snicker, Naita instead took the advice of her stomach, and eyed the treats hungrily.
"Uh... what've you been making? It smells great!"
Geez, had she got herself knocked up by a baker?
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:59 am
DivineSaturn
Er... that was a good question, one DS wasn't entirely sure she could answer. Fidgeting with the spatula, she turned the radio off and faced her new housemate.
"Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and oatmeal for breakfast, plus some bread, a couple pies... and chocolate chip muffins."
"Don't forget the cake," another voice commented from the kitchen window. A black furred face marked by a single lightning bolt peered through, eyeing the confection with a predator's eyes.
DS smirked. "How could I Sirry, since you requested it?
"So, why not let's have breakfast and... chat."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:00 am
Naita O...K... that was... abundant.
A sudden pang of fear gripped Naita lest she was expected to be able to cook such. Her cooking knowledge was roughly confined to 'stir, place in microwave, eat.'
Still, the food was mighty appealing, and thus she pulled into the room, eyes catching briefly on the creature speaking to her host. Hrm, looked like two of her companions. Tal... tala... something. Ovid and Raphael, anyway.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:02 am
DivineSaturn
"So just help yourself to anything you like-"
"Except for the devil's food cake," Sirius interrupted.
"Except that. Plates are in the second cabinet from the left, silverware's in the drawer underneath it, napkins on the table." In case there was any doubt, DS went to the shelves first and took out her own plate, which she started to fill.
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