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Post by Lucca on Dec 13, 2010 11:10:38 GMT -5
Eldy certainly didn't want Jak to elaborate on whatever the hell he'd been trying to say. It had made her head spin just attempting to decipher it. She hoped the new topic would be better. Of course...it was silly for her to hope something like that, really. Jak had just casually thrown out the fact his parents had abandoned him on a mountain. It was something she'd known before, heard hinted at, but to actually hear it said bluntly made Eldy a little bit mad. It was a pointless feeling, now that Lior was gone and Rhi was no longer a real Card, but she felt it nonetheless. What sort of parent would do that to their child? At least if Pravus had ever found out about her, he would have killed her quickly and mercifully instead of just...leaving her!
It was cowardly and horrid all in one. "I'm sorry about that," she said, and then realized Jak might not know which of the many things he'd just said she was sympathizing with. "I...I know what it's like to lack parental love." She shrugged, a bit awkwardly, and played with a loose thread on the sofa with her claw. She wasn't even going to touch the fact that he'd lived in the garbage. That was utterly nasty. At least now he was living somewhere better, because raising a child in the garbage couldn't be healthy at all.
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Post by The Jenn on Jan 2, 2011 15:11:38 GMT -5
Aww, he hadn't meant to make her look so unhappy. Jak whined a little in the back of his throat, a very canine sound, and stuck out a foot to lightly brush against her tail. "Hey. Heeeey, hey, 'sokay. It is. Cause even if they didn't love us so much, we still loved them. Aaaaand I still love Tabby. So it hasn't hurt me. 'm fine. I turned out fine, and stuff." He grinned, showing off a few more teeth than was normal.
And then a little gasp of surprise from Tabby heralded her return to the land of the living, figuratively and mentally speaking. She glanced around, focusing in on her aunt and then her Mommy, and she reached up to crawl into his lap and tuck against his middle. "Nobody here," she mumbed sadly. Then she pulled one of her feet closer and picked lightly at a claw out of boredom before glancing back over at Eldy. "Guess nobody died here with a problem. Or maybe they haunted a tool somebody bought. Iunno. Have you been having fun with Mommy?"
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Post by Lucca on Jan 3, 2011 9:07:35 GMT -5
Eldy nearly jumped when she felt the brush against her tail, but she forced herself to relax when she realized it had been Jak's attempt at a comforting gesture. She blinked at him. It hadn't hurt him? Well, she rather doubted that, but he'd apparently moved past it a lot better than she herself had, which made her feel...she wasn't sure what. "That's...good," she managed, with an attempt at a smile, but it probably came out a bit hollow.
She needed to get her mind off of Pravus or it would just make hr all moody again, and she'd hate to ruin Jak's impression of her like that. Luckily, at that moment, Tabby came back to reality from the land of ghosts or...whatever Jak had said happened to her. Nobody here? Eldy raised an eyebrow. It took her a moment to realize what the young girl was saying, and when she did, she nodded, briefly. "Yep, we have been. We're getting to know each other better," she told Tabby, and managed a bit of a better try at a smile. For all her oddness and...really messed-up parentage...the child was very cute.
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Post by The Jenn on Jan 4, 2011 1:17:22 GMT -5
Tabby beamed back at her aunt, her little wings fluttering against her Mommy's front and then tucking back in again. "I really like meeting family," she said happily, looking first at Eldy and then craning her head back to look at Jak. "We should meet more. This is fun. Aunt Eldy needs to meet my Queenie."
The man reached up a clawed hand to gently stroke at her mane, grin crooking into something that looked slightly more natural and a great deal more affectionate. The love was obvious. She returned his expression with a grin of her own and then turned back down to her feet, content to fiddle with them for now. She was still readjusting to being back with Mommy again.
Jak sighed and slouched down more into the couch, his legs sprawling out to either side as he relaxed. "Sooooo," he sighed in contentment, "whaddaya do for fun? Come to the Capital often?"
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Post by Lucca on Jan 4, 2011 8:59:10 GMT -5
Eldy blinked at Tabby. "Queenie?" She really did think the little girl should be able to meet more of her family, however. She was a sweet little thing, if a bit 'out there', and certainly not as weird as some of Xiven's kids. Or, for that matter, as Falks, Ben, and Vaska. Now there were some weird kids. And ever since Bernard's death, Vaska had been acting even MORE strange and paranoid. It was downright worrying. She eyed Tabby, searching her mind for ways of introducing her to her own mother. There was always the obvious...Eldy could pretend Tabby was her own child. But that would lead to so many awkward questions she really didn't care to deal with.
She distantly watched as Jak and Tabby did the whole...familial love thing, and felt vaguely lonely. Mom wasn't that...snuggly. Oh, she loved Eldy in her own way, she had absolutely no doubts about that. But Peaches was hardly what you'd call nurturing. Her ear swiveled forward and she shrugged a bit. "Fairly. See...last year, I spent a lot of time wandering. Seeing a bunch of different Realms. It seems to have ruined me for just staying in the Palace all the time."
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Post by The Jenn on Apr 10, 2011 20:12:14 GMT -5
"Queenie's my pony," Tabby said matter-of-factly. She looked up from her foot again and regarded Eldy with a proud grin. "She's made of metal and magic. She's very pretty. I found her a while ago and Mommy said I could keep her. She lives in my room."
"An eeeeasy pet," Jak agreed with a small shrug. The magical ring-horse really didn't cause them any problems. It didn't eat, or poop, or make much of a mess. It was just... big.
Her talk of seeing the realms perked him back up a little. "Oh niiiice. I got to see some! Sorgaaaaaire, mostly. And the Highlands. I visited the palace once. Brought Kieran home. Saw your siiiister. We already had Sa by then. Kieran was the last one. We needed him."
"Uncle Kieran has to be around," the girl chimed in. "He helps take care of a lot. He has a good job. Mommy says there wasn't much food before he came! But that was before me."
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Post by Lucca on Apr 11, 2011 9:39:30 GMT -5
A pony made of metal and magic? Well, Eldy supposed she'd heard of stranger things. Her own familiar was actually an example--and Eldy suddenly felt a tiny bit worried about Thaddeus. She hoped he was able to find them soon. She glanced around a bit before refocusing her attention on her two relatives...just in time to hear Jak mention her sister. She fought down a cringe. She did -not- need that reminder of how Tabby had come to be.
"Right. That's uh...great." She wasn't sure what else to really say. Something about the way Jak spoke of his family creeped her out a bit, again. The feeling she'd managed to mostly forget about now sent fresh, uncomfortable prickles down her spine. "I'm glad you guys've manage to build a life here." She shrugged slightly, shifting her paws. It was time to leave soon, she thought. Hoped. Where was Thaddeus, anyway?
"Sometime I'll take Tabby to the palace with me," she blurted out, and instantly wished she hadn't. She still, after all, didn't know what cover story to use. Then again, maybe they could just sneak in? That was her area of expertise. And though Tabby was a child and it was doubtful her sneaking abilities were very good, she herself was such a good ninja it would make up for it. Maybe.
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Post by The Jenn on May 5, 2011 20:38:52 GMT -5
The little talk usually meant a conversation was winding down. Jak could pick up on it... sometimes. When he bothered to pay attention. Which he was right then.
"Never wanted to build it aaaanywhere else," he agreed simply and happily. He really did count himself content with life. Lucky, even. Few people lived as happily as he did. That was one reason he had to help them be happy.
Was Eldy not happy with this conversation? Was that why it was ending? Jak eyed the woman more seriously for a moment, right before she blurted out her offer.
Tabby sprung to her feet like a jack out of the box and squealed. The sound sent her mother's ears flat back before they pricked right up again. "Reeeeally? Really really really you will? I want to go so bad! Oh please, Aunt Eldy, can it be soon? I'm in school right now but in another month I won't be and I know that's forever but pleeeease?"
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Post by Lucca on May 8, 2011 18:14:24 GMT -5
When Jak didn't immediately launch into another long, strange monologue, Eldy felt rather relieved. Maybe he wasn't as socially clueless as he seemed. Not that Eldy herself had any business pointing claws where that was concerned, given how little she truly understood social norms herself. She just wanted to go...somewhere else. She wanted to return to her safe little corner of the Hearts Court where she could think about all these things in peace and quiet.
Tabby's squeal made Eldy's remaining ear press flat against her head in an involuntary wince. She tried to smile at the little girl's enthusiasm. This was going to be a bit more difficult than she'd thought, but...looking at her niece's shining eyes, the Torque felt her heart melt, just a little. She wasn't going soft or anything, and kids still weren't her cup of tea, but for family she could make something work. She nodded. "Yeah, Tabby. As soon as you're ready to go." And maybe she could find some way to bring it up to her sister in the meantime? Yeah...heh. Maybe.
She tried a smile and found it a bit strained. She opened her mouth to try and say something else when she heard a very welcome sound: the little plik plik of a small stone Wurm's claws on the floor. "Thaddeus?" she asked, turning her head, and relief surged over her and left her full of clouds as she caught sight of her familiar.
"Yes, Mistress. I have completed my full duty, and a thorough report awaits you as soon as you are finished here." The small Wurm turned to give a surprisingly dignified half bow to Jak and Tabby.
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Post by The Jenn on May 9, 2011 20:29:51 GMT -5
Tabby did an impromptu little dance next to the couch, wings flapping ineffectually with her delight. The squealing stayed inside and escaped as nothing more than a soft, happy whine that seemed to go on and on and on and...
...and she got distracted when something else moved in the room. She stopped, blinking, and stared at the green Thaddeus-thing. He was back! And bowing like a little gentleman. He was cute like her Queenie was pretty. Oh, good!
Oh, maybe not so good. He was doing work for Aunt Eldy. If their work was done then she would have to go. "Awwwwww," escaped from her muzzle in a disappointed whine before Jak could reach out to tweak at one of her braids.
"I can give you our addreeeeess," he offered hesitantly, "so long as you prooooomise not to tell. Amhal doesn't liiiiike it. But that way you can... you can write us and... uh. And Kieeeran can read it. And we can... hehe... we... aww. You have to go." Obviously the prospect distracted him as much as it did Tabby.
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