When loud children attack [Closed]

[Greenie]

It was a bright, sunny day in the Capital, and Vessatha was very agitated with her children and a certain otter that might as well be a child, for all that she acted like their sibling instead of their mother at times. The bright pink and blue ferret was carrying an otter that was remarkably similar to herself, though the child was black and blue unlike her mother. The girl was squirming in her mother's arms and shouting something along the lines of, 'downdowndowndownDOWNDOWNDOWNDOWN', though it was very clear that Vessatha was less-than-patiently ignoring the child.

A second child that looked much more akin to his mother with pink and black was trailing along next to the pair, and unlike his sister was very solemn and seemed quite content to merely watch their surroundings and the people that were buzzing through the bazaar.

The bipedal ferret finally stopped abruptly, uncaring of her placement in the bazaar and held the otter away from her with one hand in order to use the other one to rub at her face. Thankfully the girl was small enough that it wasn't uncomfortable, but she was still squeaking, flailing, and trying to climb up her mother's arm in fear of falling. The ferret on the ground moved over so that he was under his sister and began taunting her about what her face would look like if it splatted on the ground. Needless to say his mother was not amused with this either, and grabbed him with her other hand (though more gently, as his bindings would hurt if they were jarred) to hold him away from his sister.

Where the hell was Harlequinn? She'd grabbed the other two boys and had run off yelling something about candy and to meet her at the market, but she was at the market, and there was no Quinn, and if Quinn didn't hurry back, she was going to have two children, not four, and Vessa would take no blame for it.

[Nako]

In this same sort of situation, Zuberi knew she shouldn't get into it. In fact, every fiber of her being was telling her to stay out of the way of the irate mother and her two offspring. Frustrated targets were never the best to approach when a person had advertising on the mind. Still, she couldn't help but notice, that woman -seriously- needed a vacation!

At that moment though, she was in need of help instead of a vacation, and Zuberi was unsure of exactly how to go to the rescue. Finally her heart won over her head and she sidled toward the hectic little group, pulling some things out of her net purse of odds and ends. After a bit of digging, she was able to find two beach versions of 'ball in a cup' which consisted of a curved shell on a piece of wood, and the typical ball on a string which was meant to be tossed then caught in a cup.

"Oh, children not taking to shopping very well? How's about a toy to keeps them occupied? It pains me so to see a mother so stressed." She used her most endearing of tones, hoping she wouldn't get flayed alive from intervening.

((I decided to go ahead and post, and a million apologies for the short post. My muse has been.. gone.))

[Shinigami]

Quinn was, indeed, on a quest for candy of some sort, as she'd heard that there was someone in the market to who was selling saltwater taffy from the Midori Beaches, and she'd absolutely fallen in love with that the last time she'd been there. Which...wasn't all that long ago, come to think of it. But! That meant that, since there was someone there, she might as well find some of it, and buy it, and bring it back so that Vessa and the kids could have some and everyone would be happy. Because Vessa loved food of all kinds, and kids loved sweet things, as she was well aware of.

Trailing behind their Mommy Quinn, Chiari and Aphasia moved as quickly as they could, otter bodies well suited to darting amongst the crowd and slipping between unheeding legs in order to take a straight line to catch up to the sound of very familiar bells as Quinn danced ahead of them. At least it wasn't like they could lose her, because there wasn't anything else in the world that sounded quite like Mommy Quinn's bells. At least they hadn't been stuck back with Mommy Vessie with Sae and Mia, because that was always boring because she wouldn't let them go out and adventure at all like Mommy Quinn.

Quinn, however, was sorely disappointed to find that the stall she'd been looking for was closed for the day, the Midori resident apparently off somewhere else. So she turned on her tail, magically-induced sense of direction pointing her directly back toward where she'd planned on meeting up with Vessatha, and took off once more. She paused only for a second to grab a pair of otter tails and haul the boys in the new direction that she was heading, before she was off once more. Why wait around, when she could be singing and spending time with her lovely one?

The crowd cleared, and there (and there!) was her obsession, with the other two children firmly at her side. Oh, such a pretty thing Vessa was. Quinn's obsession with her had only deepened with time and the fact that, between the two of them, they had created life. (Life! Little tiny souls that had come from Vessatha's body!) And with her...a resident of the Midori Beach. Oh, she was a lovely squirrel, all green and pink, with beaded dreadlocks (oh joy!) that Quinn was sure would click and clack harmoniously with her own bells.

"You..." She purred, slipping up behind the squirrel to stare at her with wide black eyes, chest marking a Nine of Diamonds for the day, bright smile very evident on her lips. "...do you have saltwater taffy to sell?" Absently she noted that there were, in fact, interesting little toys in the other Card's hands, but that was far less important than the prospect of sugar.

Ari and Aph, on the other hand, seated themselves near their siblings to watch the ensuing performance with amusement, but only after greeting Mommy Vessie.

[ooc: *coughs and shuffles in, then does the Gir voice* She's been here the whole time... Also, I seem to have found your muse, Nako. That was almost 500 words. *headdesk*]

[Greenie]

Vessatha needed help desperately, though she would never admit that to anyone, herself included. So when the squirrel approached her she paused in her half-shaking of her children in order to stare at her oddly, but as soon as the idea registered her expression became very, very grateful.

"Yes! Oh thank you yes, here, just give them to them so they'll shut up."

The ferret didn't drop the two kids but narrowly avoided the definition of it--both landed harmlessly and immediately sat obediently at the Midori's feet and stared at her expecantly, unblinking in that odd way that children did. As soon as they were handed entertainment they moved closer to their mother to play with them and bicker over who got which one.

"What do you say, children?" Vessatha scolded as she simultaneously rolled her eyes--they never applied their manners, no matter how often she reminded them.

"Thank you Miss Squirrel," The two responded in chorus without so much as looking up. At that moment Harlequinn and their missing siblings arrived somewhat hastily. Saethre perked up and dragged her toy over with her to Aphasia, who she cuddled up next to and began absently chewing on as she played with her toy. Mia regarded his brothers silently, though he nodded to both in turn.

As the boys arrived and greeted her she gave them a small smile, as after all, they hadn't irritated her. Vessatha was torn between being annoyed with Quinn for dragging her out of her and being utterly amused with how she was regarding the squirrel. After a few minutes of waging an inner war the amusement won out and she had to interject herself into the conversation. "Why exactly do we need saltwater taffy, Quinn?"

[Nako]

Aha! Her plan had worked, and the children were now amused, and the mother apparently thrilled that a diversion had been offered to her little rugrats. With a bit of prodding from their mother, the young children chorused out their thanks to her, and she smiled broadly and put her hands up in a 'don't worry about it' kind of way. "Not a problem at all. I don't mind dropping by and saving the day every now and then."

Jingle Jingle. Jingle Jingle.

Zuberi's ears perked. Was that bells she heard? Before she had time to turn around though, hot breath tickled the fur on the back of her neck, making it stand on end. Saltwater taffy? -Did- she still have some or had she run out? Oh blast, she ran out! She swung her gaze around to meet the level stare of an otter, her enigmatic attitude immediately putting her on the spot."Oh, um.. I don't think I.. um.. have any more.." Desperately she started digging around in her bag of goodies, but so far was coming up empty handed.

Then, the cool voice of the other Card rang out. It was filled with amusement, as was her expression. Ah, so she was the Boss! One could always tell when a person was the boss of the relationship, the one who made the logical decisions. And yes, a relationship it was, for the two pairs of children were obviously related, and the look that the other Card gave the enigmatic otter was one that.. held something special. But yes, she knew who to side with now! So yeah, um.. why -did- she need saltwater taffy?

(Oh, why thank you for finding her XD *beats squealing muse into compliance*)

[Shinigami]

"No more?" At that terrible, horrifically disheartening news, Quinn completely and utterly deflated like a balloon with a fast leak, slumping down until she was practically lying in a puddle on the cobblestones at the Midori squirrel's feet, staring up with horribly sad eyes. The otter must have made a horribly pathetic image there, or at least she liked to think so, because how could she not look so pathetic and sad that saltwater taffy might magically spring into existence just to please her?

Chi and Aph, however, were not at all worried about Mommy Quinn, because Sae and Mia had really interesting toys that they were playing with, but there were only two. Which meant, of course, that there were none for them, even after Sae resumed her normal activity of chewing on Aph. Chiari decided to stare expectantly at Mia, all three eyes intent as he watched the ball fly through the air, sometimes missing the cup, sometimes clipping it, and sometimes making it in. He wanted to try, oh he did...

Oblivious to the bored plight of her children, Quinn looked sadly up at Vessa, eyes wide. "Because it is a wonderful thing that everyone should try at least once, because after you've had it once it is irrestistable, and I really like it. And I heard that someone here had some, so I really wanted to buy some for you, because I know that you like all sorts of foods, my dearest, darlingest, lovliest one." Then she shifted her gaze back to Zuberi, eyes turning inquisitive.

"Do you know if you might have more some other time, O Lovely One?"

[Greenie]

[[Oh dude it's my post XD *fail*]]

Vessatha watched as Harlequinn 'melted' down to the ground, and was more amused that she was trying to butter up the poor squirrel than anything else. Any saltwater taffy Zuberi might have in the future would most definitely be coming to their home, that seemed guaranteed--for who could resist the alluring Quinn?

Who indeed, the ferret thought with an audible snicker.

She listened to the otters speech, but merely rose an eyebrow again. "That doesn't answer the question, my dear. Why do we need it? We have plenty of sugary foods at home."

Saethre decided that chewing was not enough, but she was in fact a bit cold--so she wrapped her flexible body around Aphasia and crooned a bit as she warmed up. Dysthymia wasn't fazed by Chiari's three-eyed-staring in the slightest. He was the most stoic and quiet of the group and was used to his siblings' antics, and had by now learned how to ignore them quite well. It was blatantly obvious that Chi wished to try it out, but instead of nicely handing it over, he continued playing and rose an eyebrow at his brother. "What are you going to do for me?"

[Nako]

Zuberi was all but too happy to agree with the otter, not wanting to offend. "Oh, yes! I just ran out this evening, but tomorrow, why, I certainly would have more by then! You see, it's all still in my room at the inn, and.. well I couldn't bring it all down with me.." But now, the ferret countered with her own argument and she fell silent. Who to agree with? It was like offering a child sweets when their mother insisted that they should wait until after dinner.

"I.. I don't want to be intruding.. " Zuberi started, half considering if she should try to escape. Still, she had the otter at her feet which would make escape difficult at best, so she decided to merely stand there, looking up helplessly at the bipedal ferret. She was busy staring down what Zuberi could only assume to be her mate, but her gaze wasn't angry but amused. So.. maybe it -was- okay to offer the candy sweets?

Reconsidering her standpoint, her look of shock melted into a slow smile, now physically leaning back to stand near the otter to reflect her own mental shift in judgment. "Ah yes, but who ever -needs- sweets in the first place, m'lady? It's all about a base want that we all possess and at times must indulge." Zuberi gave a shrug, even going so far as to pout her lip out in helplessness. "I am so sorry, my Lady Ferret, but I cannot help it if Midori Saltwater Taffy is the best around!" And.. queue the cute face. That's right. Love the squirrel. LOVE HER.

[Shinigami]

Aph had apparently gained a cannabalistic fur stole in the form of his sister, but it didn't take him much more than a few seconds to shift her around so that her weight was more evenly distributed across his slender shoulders and down his back. He murred back at her when she crooned, and proceeded to relieve her of her ball-in-a-shell toy, because obviously she wasn't using it if she was using him to warm up, right? To make sure that she wouldn't complain too much if she was unhappy with his decision, he shifted again so that he could warm her up even better, and provide a convenient shoulder for her to gnaw on at the same time.

"...what do you want for it?" Chiari finally asked after a long moment's deliberation, continuing to study his brother intently. Up the ball would go, the string trailing after it into the air, and then down again, like Mommy Quinn had when she had first shown them how to swim and had been leaping up and down from the water's surface, and then deep down once again. Mia hadn't quite gotten the hang of that as much, but Mia was a ferret like Mommy Vessie, not an otter like the rest of them.

The thing about comparing Vessatha to a mother attempting to forbid sweet to their child, Quinn in this case, was that, for the most part Quinn didn't particularly care what her beloved really said. Vessa could forbid all she wanted, and all that she would get in return was a wide-eyed expression of bewilderment as whatever sort of sweet Quinn had been after disappeared between her teeth.

The best part about the current situation though, was that if one considered the previous metaphor, there was now a brightly colored squirrel added into the picture, offering the ferret the very same sweets she'd been after, with an equally guileless look on her face.

"Yes! Yes, exactly! What she said! That's why we need it, O Moon of My Delight!" And while Zuberi had hauled out the cute face, Quinn attempted something of the same, and just looked like she was trying to butter Vessa up to do something she knew the ferret probably didn't want to do. Which was pretty much the case here.

[Greenie]

Vessatha nearly burst out laughing at the squirrel's sudden change in position. What was this, gang up on the ferret da--oh, wait, that was every day in their household, stupid question. When Quinn chimed in immediately she couldn't help it and let a smile break out on her face. "Alright, alright, fine, just don't get so much that their teeth rot out?" She waved a paw vaguely, indicating her loss of interest in whether or not the otter chose to let their children's insides dissolve from the inside out.

By the time the sugar finished eating through their fur, they'd be old enough to be on their own.. right? Sure!

Dysthymia tilted his head in thought, his paw easily keeping the toy bouncing up and down repetitively. He then shrugged with one shoulder, his decision made. "Do my chores for a week. If you take it, you can have it, but you have to take all of the bargain." His tone implied that were Chiari to back out and not do his chores for a week, he would be having otter of the white and purple variety for breakfast.

Saethre happily allowed herself to be adjusted, not caring in the slightest that she was essentially draped all over him. The otter failed to notice when her brother snatched her toy, she was so content--she did notice her Vessatha rolling her eyes, but merely smiled up at her mother in a genuinely sweet manner.