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Post by Harpsdesire on Mar 23, 2011 19:42:02 GMT -5
Kendra climbed nimbly onto one of the broad chairs made to accommodate animal forms and scooted up close to the table. It felt strange to be seated here-- not because the table was strange to her, but because she instinctively felt that she was usually seated on the other side, nearer her father. It was disconcerting to know such a detail when she could only faintly recall things as crucial as her own parents' names.
At the moment it was some relief to be positioned farther away from the goat's icy demeanor and distant pink eyes. If she hadn't known, known with a part of her heart that was beyond mere logic, that he was her own adored and loving father, she would have been frightened of him. As it was, she felt chilled. Kendra accepted the shawl with a grateful and slightly wet-eyed smile, pulling it tight around her and clutching at the fringed ends as if the garment could offer some protection from whatever was to come.
It seemed several long minutes passed before her mother finally spoke. "Yes, I can tell you... although I know it doesn't make terribly much sense. It doesn't to me, either." She shifted miserably as she started to speak, the words hesitant at first, then tumbling out as if she was eager to be finished with the telling.
"A few days ago I woke up outside a place called the... Falling Wing? It was a pub, anyway, in a bad part of town. My head hurt, like I'd been knocked out, or maybe drugged. The city was so scary and-and strange, with a smell like spices and something bad. I couldn't remember anything besides my own name, and I didn't know how to get home, so when I had a chance to get out of the city with some cards who seemed kind, I took it. I just.... I didn't know where else to go, and I was afraid to stay." Kendra trembled a little with the memory, then went on in a slightly stronger voice.
"I went with three others to an Inn in the Selkie Lakes, and such strange things were happening there! There was a Benyan woman, and... and even though I told her she shouldn't-- we all told her so, she poured something into the water there. Pretty soon a big thing all black like tar came up from the river, it chased her and I think it killed her." Although her voice sounded reasonably calm, tears had started tracking down Kendra's cheeks, soaking into the already damp fur of her face and chest. A few splashed on the shawl, making darker spots of wetness in the fabric.
"The stuff she put in the water... I-- I knew it was bad-- it--" With a wail, Kendra rushed over to Iaso and buried her face into the older ferret's neck. "Mommy, alll the Selkies are dead!" She sobbed loudly, clutching at her mother in obvious distress.
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Post by Callypso on May 30, 2011 21:01:06 GMT -5
((OMG, this took me forever to write... so apologies for teh suck. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, so please bear with me!! <3))
While Kendra relayed her story, Iso’s own thoughts were dragged uncomfortably towards her own misadventures on that hellish night. She recalled the fog that descended from nowhere, the smell of strange spices and the scent of something sinister and unnatural, the way her body contorted and stretched… how she woke up horned and inky. With a shudder, she remembered Cards arriving out of thin air, the way the sky lit up at the end of the road and Tamis’ drippy demise. Tamis… wait… what had the girl just said about the Selkie water?
As the child launched herself into the older Corvie, Iso distinctly felt as though she had been soundly punched in the abdominals. She found herself gasping sharply for air, though her emptied lungs were due more to revelatory shock than actual impact. Her mind had just finished churning out a repulsive hypothetical when her emotions punted away the methodological wanderings and settled in. Tears welled in the pregnant ferret’s eyes as the girl pawed desperately at her neck, and before she knew it, she found her forelimbs clutched tightly around the stranger’s back.
Moisture flooded silently down her cheeks and she stared, glassy-eyed and unseeing, across the table as an internal struggle raged within. The desire to question Kendra about everything she knew about the inn and the Benyan was tempered by the inexplicable feeling that she had been here before. It was as though, however impossible, she had comforted the younger Spade before. She found that even her silent paralysis seemed to require incredible effort; all she could do was cry and hold onto the child as though she was her only lifeline.
Polina slid silently out of her chair and disappeared for a few moments to reemerge with a couple floppy handkerchiefs. She slipped them neatly into her Grand-Niece’s paws as she made her way back to her own seat. It was almost impossible to tell what the badger was thinking as she surveyed the seemingly frozen ferret, though she took a moment to dab at her own eyes before turning to Aberforth with a questioning look. For once, the older woman didn’t know what to say or do. The Corvie-Morganberry felt as though she were intruding on something very private, though she hardly dared leave for the confusion and dread that roiled in her gut.
Moving slowly, as though if in a dream, Iso found herself mopping the girl's eyes with a handkerchief (though she was still unsure how she had come by it) and whispering quietly, Shh... shh... everything will be all right, darling. Everything will be all right...
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Post by Lucca on May 31, 2011 8:12:00 GMT -5
Aberforth heard all that and...and he honestly didn't know what to think. He felt that familiar flash of hot anger mixed with cold dread at the mention of the events that had happened while he'd been magically evicted from his own city and sent into sleep. It was an uneasy thought, and to think of his daughter out there among the--wait, no. NOT his daughter. Someone who claimed to be...this was making his head spin a little.
This shouldn't be a hard one to understand. Someone was pulling a fast one on them. Just one more in a big long line of cosmic jokes that made his life increasingly miserable. He had to protect his family from whatever was going on. He twitched, staring blankly at the girl's back as she sobbed into his mate's arms. He should headbutt her away. What if she drew a knife on Iaso? Got rid of their true children before they even had a chance to enter the world? But...something made him hesitate.
There was an odd feeling. Deja vu? Something like that. He turned away from the scene, catching Polina's eye and shrugging his shaggy shoulders. He didn't understand this. He didn't like it. He certainly didn't trust this "Kendra". There were far too many coincidences.
And Aberforth didn't believe in coincidences.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Jun 7, 2011 12:54:30 GMT -5
For several moments that seemed to stretch themselves somehow into hours, Kendra did nothing but cling to her mother and cry. The scent and feel of her fur was achingly familiar, even if the roundness of her belly was unexpected. Iaso seemed to hold herself stiff with tension, silent and still, unyielding, unwilling to offer or accept comfort.
Time returned to it's normal rate of passage all in a rush when the older woman finally relaxed a bit and wrapped her arms around Kendra. The immediate result was that the girl cried harder, but after a few minutes her sobs began to subside somewhat and she allowed her mother to wipe the tears from her fur as she sniffled miserably. It seemed her mother was beginning to remember, maybe, or regret her coldness. Even this tiny sign that things were going back in the direction of normal was unspeakably comforting. Kendra hugged her mother again fiercely before stepping back a little as she tried to compose herself.
"I'm glad you're okay..." Despite being unexpectedly and heavily pregnant, her mother looked quite the same as Kendra's foggy memories showed, down to the tendrils of black goo that often waved in an agitated way all down her back. Maybe she really had been gone a long time. Maybe Aunt Polina, who seemed the only one even reasonably comfortable with the girl's presence, knew?
"H-has it really been so long? That I've been gone?" She asked timidly of the badger, a hiccup of a suppressed sob causing her voice to break, "Did dad forget me?" A few new tears welled up as she dared a timid look at the goat. "I came back as soon as I could. As soon as I could remember how..." She felt like she had told them all this before, but it seemed her poor parents were every bit as confused as she was, and she didn't know what more to say that might convince them that she belonged here.
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Post by Callypso on Jul 5, 2011 17:21:40 GMT -5
There was a sense of wholeness that enveloped the pregnant woman as she held the younger ferret to her breast. As the girl clung to her, sobbing harder even as she attempted to soothe and heal whatever hurt there was, hazy images crept timidly into her mind, then flashed suddenly by when familiar ground had been recognized. Scenes of a cozy home, of children around a fireplace, Aberforth constructing something in the backyard, all sped past her mind’s eye making her gasp quietly. The distorted shapes and colors appeared to her as though they were memories, but they couldn’t be. Nothing she had seen had been part of her reality, yet they radiated all the warmth and comfort of happy recollections.
Then the girl pulled away, and Iso felt her mind lurch as though the loss of contact was also the loss of all those precious moments. A deadening weight gathered in her gut and around the edges of her consciousness. As the last slivers of joy left her, they were replaced by the paranoia and confusion from before.
Iso stared as though transfixed before finally registering the clipped, sorrowful inquiries made by the young Corvie. She brought a paw to her forehead and attempted to rub away the tension that was building between her eyes. The Spade didn’t know what the truth was, anymore. She knew this situation for what it was: impossible. Yet she couldn’t shake the tendrils of doubt that those incredible images had left behind. They continued to crop up in her thoughts like so many unwanted weeds – managed to look beautiful while still in flower, but otherwise poisoning the perfection of her intellect.
Still rubbing her skull, she glanced toward the girl and muttered quietly to herself, “You can’t have been “gone” from a place you’ve never been.”
She attempted to shrug off the resigned irritation she felt, lowered her paw, sat up in her chair and looked at Aberforth before looking back at the girl. For once, it seemed, her mate’s predilection toward distrust was founded. This child had to be confused, or had been experimented on… something foul. If this was meant to be in jest, it was in very poor taste. Iso would have something to say about it when she found out whom was belittling her strange family so, and she would find them. Now, though, she had to agree with Aberforth’s earlier concerns: They had to find out what this child supposedly “knew” about their family. Maybe in questioning her, they could determine the source of her madness. Though what she really yearned for right now was to retreat and let Polina handle this. And rid herself of the bizarre, achy longing she felt hovering in her chest.
Much has happened in the last few weeks, Iso said gently, hating herself as she engaged in the kind of mental trickery she so loathed, even when other options were currently elusive. She watched as Polina’s mouth tugged into a frown which then faded into a carefully neutral position as she continued her line of thought.
You remember Auntie Polina well enough. Can you tell us anything about the brothers and sisters you mentioned earlier? What they are like? Their names?
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Post by Lucca on Jul 9, 2011 13:26:34 GMT -5
Aberforth stared, Kendra sobbed, and Iaso held her. The Goat watched his sometime-mate's face closely, and he saw something flicker across there that made his blood run cold. Was she, too, getting taken in by this trick? Could whoever was setting them up really be so cruel as to play on the emotions of a mother-to-be? Apparently the answer was a resounding yes. His ears were plastered back against his forehead and he continued to watch the scene in stony silence. Even if the tears of 'Kendra' stirred something deep within him, he ignored it.
It was a farce, a lie. It had to be, right? His pink eyes were completely inscrutable as the strange girl met them for a flicker of a second. He couldn't possibly forget someone he'd never met in the first place! Aberforth stayed completely still, except for a slight shake of his head. He didn't even want to listen to the part of him that wanted to pity the girl, wanted to think her as much a victim in this as he. Who knew if that were true? He was on the police force. He knew that children could make the most efficient cons of all.
Iaso was mumbling, but what, Aberforth didn't know. He shot her a sharp look--but at the next words that came out of her mouth, he felt himself relax just slightly. She was being smart about this, still. He moved a bit closer to the doctor, a silent show of support.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Aug 7, 2011 12:53:50 GMT -5
Kendra whimpered as her mother again denied, in an undertone, that she had ever lived in the house that looked, smelled and felt more unquestionably like home with each minute that passed. She shivered, more in anxiety than cold, as her fur was drying nicely in the cozy warmth of the kitchen.
Gentle as Iaso's tone was, Kendra sensed that she was being tested. Much had indeed happened, but so much that she would forget her own dear sisters and the brothers she had grown up with? That seemed impossible, yet the harder she tried to bring their images to mind, the more the hazy memories fled from her grasp. She frowned, frustrated, and tried to bring back the image that had floated into focus for a moment while she was in the tub. Three little girls, alike in color, each with soap suds clinging to manes and horns... "I have 2 sisters... we look alike, but... but they..." A spray of droplets from the bath flies off of leathery wings to patter across her skin... "They got the better wings." She continued, her voice faintly resigned as her own tiny wings flutter, dispersing a softly spicy cinnamon aroma. One set of tiny hooves clunks underwater on the porcelain of the bathtub, and Ari... Ari and Tonks? The names sounded strange, but felt right, and Kendra whispered them longingly, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be proving herself to her parents. She whimpered, "I miss them, even Marvolo...
She blinked, a little startled by the strange name that she had uttered without thinking, and the way that it had somehow attached itself to a mental image of a little boy with a broad, wicked smile and a branching horn sprouting from his head. "My brothers... She surprised herself by the sudden memory, vivid and emotionally charged, of the pair of boys. Each was clever, but otherwise they seemed to have but a little in common. "M-my... Albus is more like dad." She finished, and clutched the shawl Polina had given her more tightly around her shoulders. "And we all have horns."
Kendra's face crinkled as she tried not to cry again. It was harder to remember than it should have been, and her head hurt, probably from sobbing earlier, although it could also be from the stress of the situation. Why couldn't any of them remember? It was almost like she and her siblings had been erased from all memory, or perhaps had never been born.
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Post by Callypso on Aug 31, 2011 16:08:32 GMT -5
Iso’s eyes flicked briefly over to Aberforth as he moved, almost imperceptibly, closer to her. It was a relief, and the small gesture was much appreciated. Feeling as she did – as though the floor were about to open underneath her – even an iota of comfort given by her sometimes-mate was needed. The headache that had begun earlier strengthened its resolved and pressed upon her temples. Again, she felt as though she were in over her head.
Was this some foul prank by fellow Corvies, angry with her for not participating in developing the dreaded Selkie drugs? Could it be that the poor girl was simply addled in the aftermath of War, and was honestly lost? Kendra seemed so earnest though. Once more, Iso placed a gentle paw on her swollen abdomen, as if somehow, some unknown connection would reveal the answer.
And didn’t she hate that sort of wishful thinking!
Polina had shifted from her place to stand slightly behind the girl. It seemed unfair that the other two had seemingly taken arms against the poor child, even if what she was saying seemed a bit daft at best. For all they knew, her family could have still been in hospital, or killed in the War, and she might be all alone. She was scared, and most importantly, she was a child. Even if she had been brainwashed or goodness knows what else, she could hardly believe the girl was ill-intentioned.
Oh… the elderly badger breathed quietly. Certainly her ears weren’t what they used to be, but did she hear the name “Tonks”? That… was coincidence? Surely it had to be… The nickname of her late brother…
The doctor was too engrossed in what the stranger was saying to catch her Great-Aunt’s desperate stare. Her stomach lurched uncomfortably as Kendra listed her siblings attributes. Two other sisters… wings? She shook her head every so slightly. How would that have been possible? And then the girl continued… two brothers… Her paw tightened along her immense belly. That was five… Five children. But no, that was impossible. This was all a sham, and she had been about to say so until that last name was mentioned –
Albus? Iso looked again towards her Tulgey partner and blanched. Surely Albus was not an uncommon name, especially for his realm? Still, she blinked hard, trying to determine what the chances were that two children – from supposedly the same litter – would have the names of Alberforth’s deceased parents? A knot felt as though it was forming in her throat, preventing her from asking further questions.
Sorry, ducky, Polina suddenly blurted. Iso could tell the Corvie/Morganberry was trying to quash her distress. Did you say the names of your sisters? I didn’t quite catch them…
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Post by Lucca on Sept 1, 2011 8:32:28 GMT -5
Aberforth returned Iso's look, just barely, by virtue of moving just his eyes. The rest of him was pointed towards and focused on this little girl who claimed to be his child. He listened to her speak of her family in bits and starts, the same way anyone might when remembering something, and he stood still and silent, sure that it was all a deception, a falsehood. The fact that a very real little girl was breaking down in front of him didn't move his heart. That was what they wanted. Giving in would mean falling for the trap, and then his real little girls would be in danger.
But...a part of him felt...odd about letting the little girl stand there like that. Seeing her so lost was...surprisingly uncomfortable. The Goat didn't understand the feeling. But he definitely didn't believe her. There was no way any of her story was possibly true...
And then his ears caught the name of his father, and the world seemed to stop spinning. Pink eyes widened and his breath caught, and it was probably one of the most emotional reactions he'd shown all evening. He stared, caught in a tumble of confusion and desperately reaching for his detached attitude of seconds before, needing to calm down, to figure out what was really going on here, to...
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Post by Harpsdesire on Sept 1, 2011 9:30:42 GMT -5
The strong reaction of the adults was not lost on Kendra, although she wasn't sure what it all meant. Were they starting to remember? She hoped they were. She looked from mother to father with big, tear-brightened eyes behind her little round glasses. Her father's demeanor in particular had changed, although his expression was more of shock than acceptance.
"Y-you still don't remember?" Kendra trembled with the strain of staying relatively calm. "None of us?" She looked tired and defeated, ears drooping, and she felt terribly small and lost. For all that her mind and body were those of a teen, the little corvie felt as helpless and vulnerable as a child. Maybe.... maybe she was crazy and this wasn't her family at all? To admit that to herself would be to find herself back on the streets of the city, a wanderer in the chilly night without family or home. She refused to believe it.
Then she heard Polina's question, the tension in the badger's voice. Did that mean she recognized the name? "Ari and Tonks.", she almost sobbed, and covered her face with her paws as if she could no longer withstand the sight of their disbelief.
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