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Post by Bee on Oct 2, 2009 14:56:03 GMT -5
 Phaedra was trolling the library, as she was wont to do, resting after a long night of executing vigilante justice. Those greengrocer's apostrophes hadn't stood a chance against her mighty pen, and she had slain many enemies. She felt extremely accomplished and pleased with herself. She hadn't even seen that idiot bat detective this time, which pleased her further. She noticed that shop owners seemed to be leaving candy out for her by their now-correct signs, perhaps to ward away her deadly Pen of Justice. A peace offering, as it were, not that it would stop her from correcting their signage should it be necessary. She sucked on a lollypop. Her bag was full of candy. The only thing that made books better was candy. And...this. Phaedra nearly dropped her lolly. It was the most curious thing she had ever seen. A girl. A girl with a book growing out her...bum? Lower back? It seemed to be in the general area. There were little markings all over her...Bog fur? Oh my! Curious, ever so curious. Phaedra peeked at her from behind a bookshelf. The child looked to be unattended. Guardians in the capitol were so neglectful of their children; sprog were wandering all over the place. |
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Post by Kari Muffin on Oct 2, 2009 17:56:30 GMT -5
  Peaches was responsible for Linnea today. The little girl wasn't all that much of a handful, so the woman had decided to pick up a book that was supposed to be on reserve for her. It was a rare occasion that the woman would actually ask for something to be put on reserve. If she did it was clearly important. But apparently everyone at this library was an idiot. The woman had a rather horrible situation. She had a child in her care, and she desperately needed that book. She also had the strong urge to use words that no impressionable child should hear. "Linnea, you need to be good and stay right here. Don't talk to anyone, don't go with anyone, and if someone touches you bite their hand off! Remember what grandma Heilyn taught you. Can you do that sweetie?"Linnea gave an empathic nod as she watched the purple haired woman grab the clerk she had been speaking to by the man and drag them out of hearing distance. She tilted her head curiously. The woman was still keeping an eye on her even with the distance. The little squirrel sighed as she looked around at the various bookshelves wondering why Grandma Peaches had come here when they had a perfectly good Library at the Court of Hearts. She didn't notice the Esterberry woman behind her. |
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Post by Bee on Oct 2, 2009 18:50:42 GMT -5
Phaedra felt incredibly strange surreptitiously peering at a child (she was not a kidnapper or a pervert, and thus had no reason to hide herself so), so she decided to make herself known. She liked to consider herself good with children (like minature adults with underdeveloped brains, they were; just needed the right nurturing), and approached the little Bogchild with cheer.
She repressed the urge to make a face as she got closer. My, but that child reeked. Well, she supposed the little girl should be proud of her realm...All aspects of her realm...Though in the future it might make socialization a bit more complicated. Perhaps it was just something one became accustomed to, like when a relative smoked. Oh sweet Dante, she hated smokers, though. A pox upon humanity.
"Hello," she said, merrily, to the child. "What are you doing here all by yourself? Have you lost your mother?"
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Post by Kari Muffin on Oct 5, 2009 15:04:28 GMT -5
The girl jumped at the voice behind her. Her brow furrowed as she turned to look at the speaker. "Oh, Hi!" She said as she turned to face the woman the whole way. Her grandmother had said not to talk to strangers, but this person didn't seem all that bad. If they wanted to kidnap her, she'd just have to bite them.
"Nope! I haven't!" She said as she motioned in the direction of Peaches. "My Grandma is right over there! Mommy let her take me out today because she and Daddy needed a break."
She was completely unaware of the smell. After all, in the palace people didn't seem to notice or they had grown used to the smell. Her Grandmother had gagged a few times on the ride here, but she figured it had been something else. The little girl smiled at the woman and brightly introduced herself. "I'm Linnea! Who are you?"
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Post by Bee on Dec 13, 2009 23:19:56 GMT -5
"Phaedra," she said, both glad and a little disappointed that an authority figure was so nearby. Family members tended to react strangely to random people inspecting their children, but then, at least the little girl wasn't left to wander about on her own. The capitol was so horrifying and baffling. In Esterberry parents took excellent care of their children. Why let them skulk about in alleys when they could be participating in school programs that were both fun and educational? "Quite charmed to meet you. Would you care for a lollipop?" She proffered one. One thing she and children had in common, she knew, was a tremendous love of sweets.
She couldn't get a very close look at the script, but it didn't look like anything she recognized. Which was stunning in and of itself, because Phaedra spoke more languages fluently than most people had fingers and toes. Her curiosity was piqued, and insatiable. She wondered if this Peaches woman would consent to let her read her grandchild...
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 17, 2009 20:57:33 GMT -5
Linnea's tail twitched as she watched the woman. Mommy had wanted her to have a tutor who had the same colors at this lady Phaedra had. She couldn't particularly remember what region that was, but they did seem to be really interested in books and things.
It never really occurred to her that the woman might be interested in the book on her spine.
At the mention of candy the littler squirrel perked. She reached out when it was offered, only to hastily withdraw her hand with a frown on her face. A disappointed sound escaped the little squirrel as she pouted. Her tail drooped as she stared at the candy. "Mommy and Daddy told me I can't take candy from strangers. And I know we know each others names but I don't think my parents would like it very much if I took candy from you."
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Post by Bee on Jun 19, 2010 23:36:50 GMT -5
Phaedra believed quite firmly in the power of candy to establish friendships, but she at least took solace from the fact that the child was cautious. It simply wouldn't do to have such a fascinating little thing running off with random strangers who would do who-knew-what to her book--though Phaedra had to say that as far as this was concerned, she should certainly be the exception to "random stranger," as there was clearly no one more trustworthy and better-suited to the job than she. Convincing others of things she knew to be true was sometimes frustratingly difficult business.
"Smart girl," she said, instead of expressing her disappointment. Perhaps if she spoke to Linnea's guardian, this Peaches person, she could arrange something, some meeting, where Phaedra would get to study the girl and run the script against all the other linguistic texts she had. There was bound to be something. "Why don't we get you back to your grandmother then?"
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jun 23, 2010 13:38:43 GMT -5
The little squirrel perked up at the suggestion. If grandma knew about this person than she might be able to get some candy! She nodded emphatically as she turned to trot over to her grandmother, who was just around the corner.
Peaches was trying her hardest not to punch the person at the counter. "This book was reserved in the name of The Court of Hearts. You said you would keep it for two weeks, don't give me this static about how you were a moron and let someone check out the book that was supposed to stay behind the counter. Either direct me to a place that has the stupid thing or compensate me in some fashion."
The woman's thoughts were interrupted when she felt something tugging on her shoelaces. She held her hand up to the gentleman behind the desk to keep his mouth shut while she took care of something else. "Didn't I tell you to stay put Linnea?"
"Yes... but grandma... this nice Lady wants to talk to you. And she offered me some candy but I can't take it until you say it's okay because of what Mommy and Daddy said."
Peaches eyes wandered over to the Esterberry that her "granddaughter" was pointing to. Her eyebrow arched. She turned back to the clerk for a moment, issued a quiet threat before turning back to focus on the sugar glider. "So what exactly do you want from Linnea?"
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Post by Bee on Jun 24, 2010 0:41:31 GMT -5
"Just to read her book," Phaedra said, brightly. "I'm an Esterberry; I like to read things." She rolled her lollipop around a moment, thoughtfully. "I suppose 'I want to study her book' would probably be the more appropriate phrase. I have...a rather large language codex back in my house, old dialects from centuries ago, bits of this and that from just about everywhere. I would love to see if anything looks similar. And, from there, perhaps I could ascertain what story the book is telling."
And what a grand story it must be! She imagined the little girl had seen quite a lot of interest in that regard. Phaedra found it hard to believe that anyone could look at the text and not want to know what it said. But then, some people cared about books a good deal less than she did, bless their damned, wretched souls.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jun 27, 2010 3:50:10 GMT -5
Peaches was unsure of how to handle this. It wasn't every day an Esterberry walked up to her and asked to see the book that was attached to Linnea's ass. And she did it in such a ridiculous way.
Clubs. Ugh.
The woman reached up with gloved hands to rub her temples. "I hate to pop your happy bubble. But I'm fairly certian that if I let Linnea go home with a complete stranger her father would pop my head off like a daisy. And I don't even want to think what her other caretaker would do to me." She was terrified at the thought of her own daughter being filled with rage over such a matter. And she would be. For whatever reason she had taken a liking to the girl.
"So unless you can study here, where I can keep an eye on the both of you, the answer is no. Can't you just transcribe the writing as you see it?"
Linnea gave a small sound of protest. She liked the idea of going on an adventure. She recoiled, however, when her grandmother glared at her. The little girl drooped and edged away. She glanced over at the Esterberry with the most adorable and pathetic look she could muster.
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