| Logs |
2004 August 29
| Idlewild |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Idlewild Logs |
August 29
Following Aiden's query to Lauren about twins, naturally blonde hair, and the mention that he suspects Anisaire is the pregnant elf nearby-- and that Melierel is a different person entirely when the party is not watching him-- Kip makes a rather pathetic, cringy "eef" sound and looks like he'd be very happy to vanish right now and appear somewhere else.
Unfortunately for Kip, he does nothing of the sort.
Aiden looks at Steven, "I'm not kidding about the personality change."
Lauren keeps her eyes on Kip. He is NOT poofing again. She'll keep him there by sheer force of will if she has to. "Aiden," she asks, carefully, "where the hell is she?"
Steven nods a little, rubbing his chin. "Somehow I'm not surprised. He seems a man of contradictory emotions and motivations.
Aiden looks at Lauren dubiously. "Before I answer that.. why?"
"Don't be stupid," says Lauren sharply. "So I can go find her and kick her until she doesn't look like me anymore."
The pure elves are silent, listening with mixed expressions of interest, worry, or nothing at all... until most of them wince at Lauren's words, and Kip glares from over Crenshaw's back, no longer hiding so much behind her mane. "You can't do that!" he says indignantly.
Aiden nods, "That's exactly what I thought you were going to say." He looks over at Kip, chewing on his bottom lip. Damnit, Kip. This is a bad idea and I can't tell you that because it's your family.
Kip misses Aiden's glance, busy glaring at Lauren.
Lauren meets Kip's glare over Crenshaw's neck. "Would you rather I didn't?" she asks, in her most saccharine waitress tone.
Kip's warm brown eyes narrow again. "Yes," he says flatly. "It's mine and nobody kills it. Nobody kicks her."
Aiden's eyes flick over to Soleil; or rather, to the necklace Soleil is wearing.
Steven is reasonably certain that Aiden isn't going to let the frantic Lauren go and do anything horrible.
Soleil looks away from the angry elven teenager-equivalents to Aiden; blinks, and raises a hand to touch his necklace thoughtfully, a finger on the little red glass pendant.
"All right..." says Lauren to Kip, in decidedly unfrantic tones. In fact, she looks a little as though she's going to cry. "I won't."
Aiden does move towards Lauren, but it's not to leap on her and pin her down to prevent her from doing something crazy. Instead, he puts a hand on her shoulder and gives it a quick squeeze.
Looking not at all happy about the victory, Kip nods and says gruffly, "Good. See that you don't." He goes back to braiding little peach braids in Crenshaw's mane, gaze dropping to the mare's neck.
A stifled yell follows Crenshaw's sudden shifting of weight, and Kip moves back away from the mare, favoring his right foot.
Lauren rubs her cheek against Aiden's hand, and startles violently back from it when Kip yells. She doesn't look smug. She honestly doesn't.
But Crenshaw does.
Steven blinks, looking over startledly at Kip and Crenshaw. he shakes his head, sighing. "We need to think fast. It's going to be impossible to hide what we know when he comes back."
Aiden looks at Kip. "The last I'll say on it, because this is your family and I respect that, but I don't think he means well."
Melierel walks into the clearing and looks at the gathering. Kip, looking at Aiden, seems utterly miserable and about to speak for a moment before his chin lifts and he looks toward his brother instead. Melierel looks... somewhat frayed at the edges.
Melierel is also definitely not accompanied by a pregnant girl... or anyone else, for that matter.
Aiden glances at Melierel when he comes back into the group.
Melierel appears to have a less pleasant expression than usual-- not that he's normally the choice for a birthday party clown.
Aiden raises an eyebrow, "Everything alright?"
"Since you ask," Melierel says in a reasonably friendly tone, "no. I'll need you all to hide--" he gestures up toward the treehouse-- "while I make sure that you're not about to be discovered. I've found evidence that suggests sentries may be heading this way again sooner than expected."
Aiden nods. "Certainly. Lead the way."
Lauren mumbles to Crenshaw that she needs to get under cover again, wherever that was last night. "Svennnnn," she quavers. "Your bird did it."
Aiden says, "Actually, I believe Zhi said that the borders are patrolled here, Lauren."
Melierel says a trifle impatiently, "Just use the same place you slept. If anyone's coming, I'm about to go deal with them." He looks over at Kip. "I should be back in about an hour. You know how close we are. After I look into things, I'll take you home."
Aiden heads over to the ladder, but waits until Lauren and Kip are up it before he goes.
Steven blinks, standing. "They'd have come a lot sooner, the bird had nothing to do with it." He heads oover to the ladder, following up after Aiden.
Lauren climbs the ladder willingly enough, for once.
Crenshaw nudges Lauren with a soft peach-sherbet nose. She murmurs, "I can do it but not yet. I want to see if the stallions fight... aww." Crenshaw limps off before Lauren goes up the ladder.
Kip hesitates, looking at his brother.
"In an hour you'll take me home?" Kip says. He sounds young and worried.
Steven tries not to visibly frown. He'll ahve a hard time believing Mel doing that. he resolves that he's not going to leave Kip allone with Mel at any point in the next... well, until this is all over and done with.
Melierel nods. "I'd rather not meet anyone on the way. Better to explain to everyone at once... well, Mother and Father," he amends as Kip's pointy face goes white. "And being alone will give us time to phrase what happened, as we walk." Kip nods to that, looking more reassured, and goes up the ladder.
Melierel turns and walks off in the direction Aiden last saw Anisaire.
Aiden sighs softly and goes up the ladder, not intending to follow Melierel. Something's shifted and the fight's gone out of Aiden on this issue.
Seodil, Sol and Grennit follow after Aiden climbs. Grennit touches Steven's shoulder sympathetically as she passes and murmurs, "Poor kid."
Steven nods a little. "Mmph. Yes," he murmurs to Grennit. "I'm concerned about what he's going to go through in the next hour.
Grennit nods droopily, and precedes Steven up the ladder.
Steven and Aiden both do a quick lookaround and realize that Zhi is not up yet... and see, through the ladder-hole, motion down below. The ladder is in use.
Aiden glances down the ladder to see if that's Zhi.
Steven glances over to Aiden, and peeks over the side of the ladder-hole quickly.
It's only Zhi if Zhi is suddenly blonde.
Aiden looks at Steven, eyes wide and says, usefully, "Bugger."
Steven looks at Aiden. "This isn't good, is it?"
Aiden shakes his head, "No. It's not. Hey, everyone, put on your welcoming faces.." Aiden steps back from the ladder.
Sol says, "What is it?" and crawls over, looking frantic. Then he groans. "Oh. Oh no."
Aiden edges over to get close enough to get in Lauren's way quickly if needs be.
A face remarkably similar to Lauren's, only prettier and fully honey-blonde, pops up out of the trapdoor and smiles. That smile is quickly wiped away as she looks around, and with a gasp she's heading back down the ladder again fast.
Kip makes a strangled choke and goes dirty-pale.
Aiden draws his sword and walks over to the ladder. "Come on back up."
Lauren plows into Aiden's back with a screech. It's unlikely she's actually trying to knock him down the hole; she launched herself before he got in her way. Bad idea.
The blonde girl is out of sword range but nearly falls off the ladder at the sight of Aiden with drawn blade; she slides a rope rung before clutching it securely again and continuing down in a panic.
Aiden says, "If your next step isn't up I'll expediate your trip down."
Steven blinks at Aiden. "Put the sword away, you're startling her even worse. What are you doiong?" he drops his voice. "She's pregnant."
Kip hisses, "Aiden! You can't! Please!"
The girl stops moving and looks fearfully up at Aiden.
Sol and Seodil are unmoved, neither looking worried.
Aiden says, "Look.. I don't want to hurt you. I wanted your attention. Come on back up. Got some folk up here that want to see you."
Lauren makes another squawking noise and scrambles around Aiden to stick HER head down that hatch.
Lauren's pretty, pregnant stunt double seems about to answer Aiden, wide eyes flashing, and then Lauren appears and the blonde gasps, clutching the rope ladder and turning the sort of pale green a fainting person often turns.
Aiden drops his sword and immediately starts down the ladder, fast, with a startled, "Oh, shit."
Lauren backs out of the hatch just in time to avoid getting her head taken off by Aiden descending. "Make her go away!" she demands.
Weakly, the blonde says "Get back, wraithling," as she clings greenishly to the ladder. "I will kill us both before you have our spirits!"
Aiden pauses, "Kip will kill me if I let you drop off this ladder in a faint, wraith or not."
Steven moves to interpose himself between Lauren and the ladder. "Lauren," he says sternly, "move away from the ladder, sit down, and calm down."
"Make her go AWAY," Lauren repeats, scuttling back toward a wall. Having seen her twin, she's gone a bit pale herself. "Steven, tell Aiden again."
That brings a flush of color back to the blonde stranger's cheeks. A color that isn't green, even. "Get back up and show me Kip," she says determinedly. "All you wraiths back off, I want to see Kip. I'll come for him."
Aiden goes back up the ladder and retrieves his sword. Sliding it back into the scabbard he says, "She wants to see you, Kip, not us wraiths." Aiden settles down against one of the short walls.
Kip winces, and mutters "You're not," before he goes to look down the ladder. His hands are shaking.
Aiden shrugs it off. "I'm not offended, Kip. You called us that once too."
"YOU!" It's the girl's voice. Kip startles back, and in short order the girl's head reappears and she's scrambled fully into the room. She's a little smaller and daintier than the already bird-boned Lauren-- and absolutely lovely. Blonde hair flying, she punches Kip in the solar plexus. "You LEFT ME!"
With an oof, Kip lands on his ass. The treehouse gazebo shakes a little.
Aiden looks startled. He wasn't expecting her to punch Kip. The resemblance to Lauren is amazing. "Mind the accomodations, hmm?"
Lauren is up off the floor and chittering with anger at once. Her hands are curled into claws. "Getbackdownthegoddamnladder," she orders in a near-screech, and tenses her legs to launch.
Kip's assailant is clearly pregnant, but not enormously so. It appears to have done nothing to calm her, unless she was prone to hitting before she even started talking previously. She looks up at Aiden, fist raised, and falters a bit. Her next look is straight at Lauren with an unerring gaze, folowing the sound, and the dainty little fist firms again as she crouches. "Make me, wraith-bait," she growls.
Steven moves to, again, interpose himself between Lauren and her doppelganger. Looks like they're not much different besides the hair color, it seems....
Kip doesn't have air yet to offer his opinion on anything.
"MOVE, Steven," says Lauren, hunching up her shoulders. "Don't make me throw you."
Aiden says, "Lauren, come sit over here, please? Anisaire? Why don't you sit down too?"
Lauren turns her head toward Aiden just long enough to give him a look of sheer, incomprehending wonder--as though he'd grown an extra head or something. And then it's back to Anisaire, or where Anisaire would be if Steven's guts weren't in the way.
Steven folds his arms, arching a brow, as if the concept of Lauren throwing him would make for a remarkable koan. "LAuren," he says gently. "Don't be irrational about this. If you get this excited about this... well, I have a feeling that there will be much worse surprises in store for you. Go ahead.. have a seat, relax, and we'll think this through."
Anisaire loses some momentum when Aiden says her name, and does sit down, between Kip and the rest against the wall. "He told you my name?" She sounds younger, and less sure or fierce. "He talked about me?"
Aiden nods at Anisaire, "Yes, he did."
Lauren's head almost explodes at this, her face going a dark, unhealthy purple-red, before she stamps a foot hard enough to shake the treehouse again, smacks one fist into her thigh, and limps off to hunch against the wall.
Steven lets out a breath and rubs his head. What a family.... But Lauren stood down, and he's satisfed with that for now. He'll do his best to calm her down. Or try to.
Kip's gasping for air resolves into less frenzied breathing efforts. His face is stunned, helpless. "I didn't leave you," he gasps. Anisaire looks at him, looks at the 'wraiths,' and pales. "I didn't tell anyone," she says hurriedly, "You don't have to say!" She sounds genuinely alarmed, even protective.
Kip shakes his head wearily. Nods toward Lauren. "They know. She knows." Anisaire's face darkens as she looks over at Lauren. "Oh, she does." It's not a question. "I see."
Lauren is over by her patch of wall taking deep, deep breaths and not looking at Mr. or Mrs. No-Pants.
Aiden stands up and goes over to sit next to his sister, shoulder touching hers. "You don't mind if I sit over here with you, do you, Lauren?"
Kip oofs as Anisaire kicks him in the side, and glares up at her. "STOP that!" She gives him a nasty look back and moves a few feet away to sit.
"Sure, Aiden," Lauren answers thickly. "We can play pinochle. Whatever you want."
Aiden doesn't break out the cards. He just sits quietly next to Lauren.
Kip glares at Anisaire. "Maybe you should stop that." Anisaire glares at Kip. "Maybe you should stop getting people pregnant." Her unfriendly gaze sweeps the company to rest on Lauren. "Is she?"
Kip squawks, "No!"
Lauren stiffens. She looks up at Aiden, down to the sword on the floor, and takes a few more deep, careful breaths.
Anisaire sniffs. "I'll ask her myself. Ho, wraith-twin." Her eyes stay on Lauren. "Has this rude creature impregnated you?" Kip bursts out, "I've only done anything ONCE and it was YOUR fault, Anisaire!"
Aiden looks at Lauren, then up at Anisaire, "As I recall, it takes two participants for a pregnancy, Anisaire..."
"Ho yourself," says Lauren snidely. And that's all.
Anisaire glares at Aiden, but wilts visibly. She mutters at Kip, ignoring Lauren for either spite or sheer incomprehension, "Maybe it's not even yours. I'm married to your brother now because you left. And we're very happy. Maybe it's his child."
Aiden says, "Not without a consummation it's not."
Melierel, climbing up the ladder with a furious look on his face, stops and stares at Aiden with just his head and shoulders clearing the hatch. He looks startled, then angry. And finishes climbing up. Zhi follows, looking sheepish. Melierel says, "I see that more than one of you was inclined to follow me in secret."
Steven arches a brow at Melierel, and makes no commment.
Aiden shoots an even look at Melierel. "You were yelling at her loudly enough that we could almost hear you at the base of the tree. I was concerned for your safety, so I came to check and ensure you were not in danger." He smiles. Pleasantly.
Melierel blinks, then snorts. "Anyone that had to marry her would." He smiles back. Just as pleasantly. "Kind of you. Thoughtful. Well, so you have all met and become good friends by now? And discussed my marital habits, of course." Still smiling.
Aiden nods, "Indeed. In fact, the only thing we hadn't gotten to are your intentions now that Kip has returned to you. I don't suppose you'd care to enlighten your brother?"
Melierel says through gritted teeth, "My intentions are no secret, no more than my bed is private today. Kip wants to go home. I am taking my brother home, and I am trying not to get him killed. I don't want to have intercourse with the woman who got him into this, I don't want to start a war by refusing to take responsibility for her condition, and here we are. Not at war, smuggling my brother back home after he's been missing for the past five months and no one but myself and Anisaire aware of exactly how. I'm hoping he's gotten over it so he can live a normal life, and that no one else will ever find out, because if they do he can't go home and they already don't believe that's my child, which puts the little idiot in danger too."
Melierel takes a deep breath, and then another, slowly, after bursting out with all of that.
The "little idiot" in question is very clearly Anisaire, who looks daggers at Melisaire and is entirely ignored.
Aiden nods, apparently satisfied with that. "Kip? They're your family. None of us can make this decision for you, but I think you're going to go into it with a little more knowledge to make your choice than you might have otherwise had. Whatever you decide, I'll stand by it, as your friend."
Steven nods quietly in response to Aiden, not ignorning Mel but not making much comment to what he said. "As will I," he says.
Lauren feels a little twinge of something unfamiliar as Meli rants, and is surprised as hell to discover that she no longer really wants to rip Anisaire's organs out with her bare hands.
Steven hears that warm male voice again, a quiet verbal smile in it. "You're on the right path, Sven," it says. "Compassion will find a way."
Kip swallows, and sounds like he might cry. His voice firms as he speaks,though. "Thank you.. Aiden, Steven." He looks around and nods back at the others, most of whom silently motioned their agreement with the two speakers. "Zhi?"
Zhi says calmly, "Yes, Kip?"
Kip looks at Zhi without much expression. "Will it go away like my brother wants it to?"
Zhi shakes his head, slowly, eyes sad though his voice is quite steady. "No, Kip. I'm sorry. The best you will get is control... not removal. Without control... eventually, it will happen when it cannot be hidden."
Kip nods, and looks at Melierel. Looks at everyone else. Bites his lip, and shuts his eyes. "I don't think I can go home."
Steven blinks a little at the voice, looking around as if to find the source of it.
Steven sees only the usual people, none of whom have that voice.
Lauren speaks up glumly. She heard Kip get about ten years older in half a minute, and it's depressing. "So where are we going to go, then?"
Aiden says, "Neither can most of us, Kip. There's always a place for you in this misfit family."
Melierel looks older and sadder himself, but not surprised. He bows his head.
Zhi says quietly, "Kip's family and their allies form a small part of Fall, not the entirety. The rest of Fall is still open to you... all of you. And it seems that not all of Kip's family is unwilling to see him again. There may be hope for reunion... later. For now, Kip, you still have a brother."
Kip gives Aiden and Lauren each a grateful look before shutting his eyes again when Zhi speaks. Melierel reaches out without speaking and takes Kip's hand. Anisaire... is just quiet, lovely and unhappy and pregnant.
Aiden says, quietly, "Melierel, I promise, we'll take care of him for you. He's our friend and we care about him. It's obvious you do too. For my part, my apologies for needling you. My only excuse is that a willingness to trust has seen people I care about hurt in the past, and I didn't want to see another friend in pain for that."
Lauren folds her arms over her knees. Everybody's unhappy, and everything is complicated. "What do we do now?" she asks. "I mean, really. We can talk all we want but her family's still looking, right? We're still screwed."
Melierel nods to Aiden, no more or less crusty than usual. The slightly dry tone seems to be his normal mode of operation, at least when under stress (and not ranting). "I don't blame you for that. I feel-- felt-- the same about you." He considers Lauren. "Her family has been looking. If we cannot take him back to his family for our protection to resume a normal life, he needs to leave this territory altogether so that he does not encounter them instead. I..." he sighs, "I will think of something regarding the sentry party we stole him back from. They did not see me, but they will do Kip's reputation no good."
Aiden nods, "We can see to that."
"Hell," Lauren says. "We just GOT here. Fall was supposed to be safe. Damn it..."
Melierel looks wistful. "I wish there were a safe way to at least talk. I've been so worried, Kip."
Aiden says, "It is, Lauren. Just not this part. Zhi says we're still welcome in the other parts."
Aiden glances up at Melierel, then over at Steven. He's not sure how Melierel will take the suggestion, but perhaps Steven can find a more diplomatic way to pose it. "Steven? What about the birds?"
Zhi nods to Lauren. "This part is, pardon me Melierel but it's true, rather backward. The rest will welcome you as I welcomed Kip, and as Lotte was whisked off by her new friends. That this happened was unfortunate, but don't lose heart from it. We're not all like that."
Lauren bobs her head. "All right," she says, mollified. "As long as we don't have to go back to Summer. Steven? We're not going back to Summer, are we?"
Steven bites hi slip, thinking, then nods. "The birds would be a good way to keep in touch with him, though you both need to know your full names, and the bird will speak using your voice. Which means anyone recognizing his voice and within earshot will know who sent the mesage, but it's possible.
Steven glances to Lauren, and sighs. "I don't know where we would best be at now. We've... almost come full circle, though... almost." He tries not to glance at Sol when he says it.
Lauren flaps a hand at Zhi. "There's other parts of Fall. We CAN'T go back to Summer--Rathskeliad's there!"
Steven nos a little. "Other parts of Fall would be good, if we'll all be safe there
Soleil tilts his head and smiles. "Summer did say they owed you a favor--" he stops when Steven continues to 'full circle' and is simply silent.
Aiden says, firmly, "We're staying in Fall for now. I'm not leaving. I'm not going back to Summer, and going ahead means dealing with the next task, which none of us is yet ready for. We stay."
Steven nods to Aiden. "Agreed."
Lauren says, "Next task?"
Aiden says, "A little digging into family history, Lauren."
Seodil says reasonably, "Fall does seem safest. It is large enough to avoid the things that you know are not friendly, while exploring the rest... and as to your next task..." he smiles a thin sharp smile. "You will not be alone when you decide to address the only other threat to your safety we are sure Fall holds."
Lauren blinks. "Um. So, we stay out in the boonies, and...Melierel and, um, go back home?"
Zhi says, "I can take you to the center. It'll take awhile, but the elves will be peaceful both on the way and once you arrive." He shrugs. "I cannot speak for the wildlife."
Melierel nods to Lauren. "I am unfamiliar with boonies, but I will take Anisaire and go home."
Lauren presses the issue. "And Kip comes with us?"
Melierel and Zhi both nod; Kip says in a low voice, "If you want me."
Aiden says, "Course we do, Kip."
Anisaire says in a brittle voice, "Well, that must be nice," and gets up to start climbing down the ladder.
Lauren raises a hand. "Uh? Anisaire?"
"Yeahwhat?" says Anisaire, not looking up but paused, not yet at the ladder. Her posture is both hurt and defensive.
Lauren tries. It comes out a mess. "There's, uh, there's a girl in the woods. Or a deer or something, and she'd...um...she got away from things, and...ohnevergoddamnmindIhavenoidea." She gives up and looks at her feet.
Anisaire looks at Lauren as though Lauren has sprouted a second head, and that head is talking gibberish. "What the rotting rat-babies does that have to do with nobody giving a fuck what happens to me?"
Steven makes a quiet sound, glancing to Mel. "Anisaire... what do you want?>
"Some affection would be nice," Anisaire says bitterly. "Not to be pregnant or married would be good, failing that."
Lauren fiddles with an ear. "I hear there's something you can do with pennyroyal and a rabbit," she offers.
Zhi's eyes widen. Anisaire looks uncertain. "To get... what?"
Lauren hesitates. "Un-pregnant, I think."
Steven frowns. "Let's not go there," he starts to say, then waits for Anisaire to comment first.
Melierel looks full of distaste. Kip is outright shocked, by his expression. Anisaire... wavers between shocked and thoughtful. She touches her belly. Hesitant, she says "I... don't know. I have to think. I didn't know there was a way that wouldn't kill me, too."
All of the purely elven faces in the treetop room show a measure of either distaste or dismay but Seodil's.
Lauren looks around the room, shoulders up protectively. Obviously this is not the most pro-choice treehut in the world. "There is. Really. But I'm not completely sure how. And people can stop STARING, damn it. YOU get pregnant and then see how YOU like it."
Aiden doesn't look like he particuarly likes the prospect of it, but it's not even remotely his decision, so he keeps out of it for now.
Anisaire gives Lauren the sort of look that suggests she's found an ally in a most unexpected place, and she's not... really... sure what to do with that.
[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]