These Things Happen [Finished]

[carcinoGeneticist]

"I hope to give him the best possible home,[/b]" Calia replied, looking down at the squirming child in her arms. She nodded slightly, glad to hear. Asha had, in her own way, been lucky. She was able to go through life relatively normally as soon as her other senses had adapted and compensated for her blindness. Mentally, she was perfectly normal, and even if it turned out that Honker wasn't... She had all the time in the world for him, and she could already tell he would be worth all of it. "And I'm sure I will.[/b]" she commented. In her mind, his tricks would include reading and writing.

Calia blinked as the woman leaned in, and her face fell in shock at the news. What?! It took a moment for her to regain her composure, and she knew that her emotions would have been obvious on her face. It was much harder, she had found, to control them when they played across her much more expressive human face. "That's... Terrible.[/b]" she said, voice soft. Protectively, she bundled Honker close to herself, almost seeming to protect him from the world. "I won't let him out of my sight. Thank you for the warning...[/b]"

As she walked away from the stall, the woman's warning ecchoed in her mind. She felt a sudden and abrupt fear for both the hybrid child, and for her own daughter. For all the anger she had felt over those who used Aces as slaves and pets, she had never imagined that there would be those who would wear their skins. She had never imagined that someone could be so depraved.

She let herself into the apartment, calling out as soon as she stepped in and tickling the boy under the chin. "Theofilus...? Love, are you home? I, uh... We need to talk about something.[/b]"

[Kari Muffin]

Honker continued to make his happy noises. This lady was nice, and apparently she was taking him somewhere nice. Was he going to get a treat for being a good boy?



Theofilus looked up from the book he was reading. Oh, so Calia was home already? That was a fantastic surprise. He grinned to himself as he set the book down and made his was out of the study. When she came into view he stopped. What on earth was that brightly colored....?

Theofilus' good eye widened as he took in the image, moving closer to Calia and the dog....swan that happened to be in her arms. It was a Morganberry too. Ace of Clubs on closer inspection. The sparrow looked up at the woman with a confused expression painted on his face. "What exactly happened when you were out today?"

He couldn't think of anything else to say or do. He totally didn't expect Calia to walk through the door with a child today--or ever for that matter. Wasn't she supposed to be shopping for the grandchildren?

[Kiki]

Jenn, Kari and Xenon receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[carcinoGeneticist]

If she had been enamored with the little Ace before, his chattering and soft little noises won Calia over completely. When she reached their home, she was completely in love with him, and knew he'd fit in wonderfully with the rest of the family. She scratched behind one of his ears, leaning in slightly. "We're gonna meet your papa now. He's the most amazing man I've ever met, he'll love you too.[/b]" he seemed so happy that she was sure that she didn't need to talk to him, but she felt better doing so all the same.

"Uhh... There was a woman. Selling Aces, like... like animals.[/b]" Calia said, hefting the boy up slightly so that Theofilus could get a better look at him. "I... I couldn't leave him there. Look at how sweet his is, love... I didn't want to think of what might have happened if someone else picked him up. I want to give him the life that he deserves, not an existance as either someone's coat or some kind of illiterate lapdog.[/b]" She knew he would understand, but she was nervous all the same. This wasn't the kind of thing that normally happened, that was for sure.

[Kari Muffin]

Honker had absolutely no idea what the lady was saying, but she made him happy. With all the petting and everything. He honked happily as the woman shifted him in her arms to look at the other person.

Theofilus blinked. Well that was clean cut and simple then. "Well, it's not like I can say no when something like that happened. Not like I would ever say no to you anyway," He smiled as he reached up to pet the boy in the head. It was... a swan dog.

Really this couldn't be a coincidence could it? The sparrow repressed the urge to shudder. He needed to speak with Rogers as soon as things were settled here.

"What's his name?" Theofilus looked to Calia curiously. He couldn't imagine someone selling the boy as a pet would give him a proper name, and Calia was better at naming children than he ever would.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Calia gave the man a beaming smile at his positive reply. She was completely unaware of his inner thoughts and turmoil, and so her excitement could only grow. There was a note of worry in her voice when she looked down at the child, gently running a hand across his back and reaching up to scratch at his ears. "But, oh, the woman said the most horrible thing... There are people who are hunting Aces with brightly-colored coats. She said I needed to keep a close eye on him.[/b]" she looked up at Theofilus, biting her lip. "...And Asha. I'm really worried, for both of them.[/b]"

Calia's eyes fell back to the squirming bundle in her arms once more. That was the other issue. He needed a proper name, one fit for a boy and not a pet. "The woman called him Honker... But I think Peter fits him much better, honestly. I've been thinking about it while I was on my way home. Do you think it's okay? Anything's better than that... Pet name.[/b]"

[Kari Muffin]

Theofilus closed his eyes for a moment. Any Ace was in danger for their life. Period. Asha was no exception to the rule even though Theofilus like to pretend otherwise. He sighed. "We could try to get her a protective charm. I don't know how much good it would do."

He was happy somewhat for the subject change. Even though he knew full well that he would have to deal with Rogers soon. There was no way that this child didn't belong to him. And the timing was just about right. His child would be this old if he had survived.

"That sounds like a fantastic name. Peter will be a welcome member of the family then," He scratched the boy under the chin before kissing Calia on the cheek. "I'm going to make a run to the office. Something came up and I was just about to leave anyway. I hope you understand. I should be back soon."

The swan dog, now dubbed Peter, was more than happy to honk and wiggle in Calia's arms.

[carcinoGeneticist]

"Perhaps... We can find one for both of them.[/b]" there was a thought in the woman's mind, but she wasn't yet sure of what to make of it. She would sit on the idea for now, and nurture it as she might a precious egg of possibility. So it was settled. He would be their Peter, the newest addition to their already large and bizzare family life. He would fit in perfectly, she was sure.

At the kiss, she blushed slightly, looking into his eyes and catching him with a short but still quite affectionate kiss on the lips. "That's fine. Peter and I will be upstairs, hopefully getting one of the old bedrooms set up for him. I'm sure I kept the beds from when the kids were young...[/b]"

She was still musing to herself when he left, smiling down happily at Peter and continuing to scratch behind his ears, answering his soft honks with chirps of her own. She had missed being a mother. Being a grandmother was good, but there was far less responsibility, which was part of the joy of it all in her mind.

[Kari Muffin]

Honker was throughly amused by all these nice people. He wiggled happily in the woman's arms as she answered his honks. This was fun!

Theofilus smiled at the kiss. At least she was a bit happier than before. The problem with this fur trading though... he had to bring that up in the courts. Oh stress. He brushed his hands through his hair briefly before waving goodbye.

He sighed as he went to grab his briefcase before leaving the apartment. The firm wasn't too far away. He hummed to himself as he went. This was going to be a wonderful disaster. The sparrow slipped through the front door with his normal worried look. He could try to cover it up, but he didn't really think this was the time.

"Rogers, we need to have a talk." Theofilus flipped the sign on the front door. He had half a mind to lock it. Instead he set his briefcase down and waited for his response.

[The Jenn]

Rogers looked up from the account archives, trying to find the name and last order of a woman who had come in to set another one and whose name had raised little red flags in the back of his mind. There had been some sort of problem with her in the past, something to do with the recipient of her package... and if this one was going to the same place, they might have a problem.

What was Theo doing in the office now? He raised an eyebrow and put the book to the side of the counter, noting the worried expression and not marking it as anything unusual. With the amount of work he put on his plate, the sparrow was always worried about something or other. At least having a therapist seemed to help him get a little bit of the stress out. He remembered him before he started seeing Rosewood and what a mess he'd been then.

"What can I do you for, boss?" he asked, curiosity only heightening when the man actually flipped the sign to close the store. Something in the back of his mind, the same something that had told him to check on the woman's account, said that whatever this is wasn't going to be good.