Welcome to Gaia! ::

Everything tends to have a beginning...

Date : 22nd May 2005
Participants : Lena, Kiri ( Kaekia ), Cerena, Vanille and Koyuki ( aka Silveh ^^ )
Event : Lena receives a lantern from Cerena and meets Kiri.
OOC : OMG XD ! Yes, lantern-goodness and prettifulness...



Alright, so she had decided to come back to this place and apologise. Even if the person was strange they had run off pretty quickly and made themselves idiots. Lena was a grown-up person, wasn't she ?

So she walked across the meadow spotting the more or less familiar figure of the lantern woman...or girl..or whatever. She just raised her hand to wave as suddenly something small and colorful almost hit her legs. It looked like a girl imitating a butterfly...

Now Lena wasn't so sure anymore if it was right to return..."Hello ?"

"Fluffernutter?" Was all Cerena seemed to hear of this exchange between her and the Anima, and distractedly she watched the young brightly-colored child run off after a butterfly. "WAIT, FLUFFERNUTTER COME BACK!" She wailed in distress, wringing her hands and looking around frantically. What if she never came back?! Chai would kill her!

She quickly found a shiny rock split in two -- quartz, it looked like -- and held it up above her head. "LOOK! SHINY! COME BAC--oh, hi Lena!"

The bright glint of a sunbeam off of the quartz caught Kiri's eye, and she turned, flinching as the sunbeam passed over her eyes and then went off. The shiny or the butterfly? "Look, I'm shiny, too!" Kiri called, waving her arms in the air to try to imitate the reflective piece of rock. Each time the Anima rose into the air, her wings fluttered slightly, keeping her in motion longer than normal, though Kiri didn't seem to notice.

Kiri could see now that there was someone else standing by Cere and the lanterns, and she decided without thinking that it was time to return. The anima dropped to her belly and wriggled her way over to the pair, and only when she was right by their feet did she stand, grabbing a handfull of grass and one lone flower as she rose. "I brought you something!" she shouted, shoving the handfull of weeds at Cere.

"Hello...Cerena it was, right ?" Lena answered and wondered where she got this lack of spontaneity from. Wasn't she usually the happy, greeting, friendly person ? Perhaps it was just because of her sudden life circumstances.

"And who are you littel one ?" The young woman kneeled down and looked at the child with a friendly smile. What...unusual colours it had. But Lena wasn't shocked by such things anymore, she had enough 'strange' kids at home to look at.

"It's lovely!" Cerena clasped her hands together in glee, accepting the bundle of weeds and stuffing them into her obi so they stayed by her side. Of course... She would need to keep this hyperactive little Anima occupied if she wanted to retain any hope that she wouldn't up and spontaneously combust while she was supposed to be watching her. Where were her parents.

"Uhm, HERE!" Looking around, she caught sight of her bowl of fruit (not yet given to the lanterns) and picked up and apple. She reached forward t balance the apple on Kiri's head, stepping back and beaming proudly at her work. "For you," She said, before turning to Lena.

"Yes, that's right!" She said cheerfully to Lena. "Hey, did you ever fill out an application to adopt an Anima? I told Chai you were interested after you came the other day and she made a lantern for you but I forget if I ever went through the necessary paperwork..."

"I'm Likoa," Kiri said, her large eyes blinking up at Lena for an odd moment of calm before she was bouncing away again. "And look, these are the lanterns. I tried to catch a butterfly to put inside and make it's tush light up and make some light, but it went away." Apparently, the anima seemed to get a little confused as to the difference between fireflies, butterflies, and candles. "That lady said that I came from one but I don't believe her," Kiri shook her head and pointed at Cere as if disappointed.

Unfortunately for Cere, Lee had decided that whoever was at the anima gardens could deal with the hyperactive child, and that she was going to catch up with some much needed sleep. Kiri never seemed to settle down, or really even need any sleep, and it was hard work keeping her in tact.

The swift motion of placing the apple on Kiri's head caught her attention, and she seemed about to jump up and down with excitement before she realized that it would knock the present off. "Uh, what happens if it comes off?" she questioned, and attempted to lean her head back to look at the apple. The fruit fell to the ground, landing with a plop onto a pillow of clovers.

As Lena watched the girl she had to grin and tried to surpress laughter. She had always thought her daughters had been active...but this one was incredibly hyper.

She turned back to Cerena and shook her head slightly. "Signed up ? No, actually I didn't. I thought I just said this whole children-lantern thing is interesting..." As she listened further she raised both of her brown eyebrows and then they slowly moved down into a frown. "Wait ? Did you say she made a lantern for me ? Does this mean there's a child inside for me ?!"

There was panic mixed with curiousity and astonishment in her voice. "A child like...this one ?" She pointed at Likoa.

It was such a great relief to be out of the house that Vanille was sorely tempted to skip to the Anima gardens rather than amble along at her usual meandering speed. She?d finished her usual morning chores and most ? meaning very nearly half ? of her homework. The rest had been hastily into her satchel, the strap of which showed signs of having recently been repaired with large cross-stitches of tangerine thread, and was now bumping into her hip with every step. More carefully cared for was her lantern, which was clasped securely to her chest, wrapped in its long scarf. A wintry accessory wasn?t needed on such a day, but Vanille thought it looked really quite fetching, so it stayed.

The girl still hadn?t discovered why she chose to take the lantern for walks. Goodness knows, she was utterly paranoid about breaking it, and it would be far safer left on the windowsill back home. It probably made her look stranger than she really was, lugging the thing along the lanes to the gardens, enough to make passers-bys? heads turn at least.

Now, she entered the gardens and made her way down the path. Upon spotting the handful of people, she slowed her pace to observe them and recall if she recognised them. She?d seen Cerena around before, feeding the lanterns grapes and teaching them yoga, but she?d never met the other two. Shifting the weight of her own lantern, she tugged an arm free to wave at them in way of greeting. ?Hey there!?

"You die!" Cerena informed 'Likoa' cheerfully in response to her question. She was about to say something further, but the panic in Lena's voice made her turn her attention away to her before she decided to do something crazy like throw grapes at her.

"Oh, well, that's too bad..." She frowned slightly, leaning over the pile of lanterns and pulling one out with a deep, red-orange glow. This lantern was different than the others in that it had a charm attached to it -- an 'experiment' on Chai's part, though the girl wouldn't tell her what exactly it was supposed to do. "This one was supposed to be for you, but I'm sure we could find someone else if you don't feel..." She trailed off.

"Well, actually, first you have to spend some time bonding with the lantern! And then a butterfly comes! And then the butterfly explodes and FROM THE BUTTERFLY DUST COMES A CHILD OF YOUR DREAMS JUST FOR YOUUU!" She gestured dramatically. "..So no child yet, but soon. If you wanted."

She was then promptly distracted in her speech by the appearance of a newcomer. "Hi! Want to play balance-the-apple-on-your-head-or-else-you-die?" Oddly enough, she seemed to be talking more to the lantern than to the girl carrying it.

"Cere!" A voice called out from behind the thin door that closedly firmly. The silhouette of a female.

"Mind you, it's time for the yoga for the lanterns!" The voice finished. Koyuki mumbled darkly to herself, before her friend did anything to hurt any poor lanterns.

One of Lena's hands decided to think on her own and slowly moved towards the lantern. It looked beautiful...and she loved children...and all of her children would enjoy having a lantern friend...well, probably not all of them...alright, probably just two of them.

"Well..." The woman started and her eyes flicked from side to side as new people appeared. "Well...I'm just moving into this new house in Barton Town and there's one empty room left....." Slightly hesitating she stared at the orange feather, before she was disrupted by different voices.

Lena smiled slightly and nodded a simple greeting to the new person with a lantern and the other strange one talking about....YOGA ?! That's when Lena made her decision. She would at least save this little lantern from these strange people...at least one !

"OHNOES!" Kiri screeched, and scrambled to the ground, scooting herself until she was positioned so that her head was beside the fallen apple, and had she been standing up, it would have balanced on her head. "Maybe it's safer this way," she said knowingly to Cerena, and squirmed to find a more comfortable position among the grass.

More adults, thought Kiri with a sigh, her view of the three elders one of which was particularly different than the usual view. "Will there be more kids soon?" she asked, before she caught sight of the lantern held tight in Vanille's arms. "Like out of that one?!"

Quickly bored, Kiri attempted to amuse herself, gazing at the clouds that drifted lazily across the sky. "I'm going to come chase you!" she shouted into the wind, and began to try to pump her legs to bicycle up to the clouds, to chase them faster across the blue.

?Hmm?? Vanille ditched her satchel beside the path, a bunch of papers sliding their way to freedom from the crammed depths, and dropped to sit cross-legged nearby the group. It was difficult to tell whether Cere had just addressed her or the lantern, which was by now propped in her lap. She might?ve found this a pretty strange, had she not been the one used to talking to inanimate objects and taking them for walks. ?I don?t mind ? it might be fun.?

Tilting her head to the brightly coloured child waving her legs around after the wind, Vanille couldn?t avoid the smile that tweaked her lips. When she?d come to the city, she?d had no idea she?d meet so many peculiar individuals.

"Aww, yoga time?" Cerena sulked, before shoving the lantern into Lena's hands and, gathering as many as she could that lay neatly in a straight line on the grass, stalked off to start the yoga session. Granted, it took a few more trips to gather them all up, and then hang them back from the usual spots in the rafters, and somewhere along the way she took the apple laying by Kiri's head and ate it, but she managed to get everything into place soon enough.

"Okay! We are a shooting star! We soar across the sky!" Standing on tiptoes, she stretched up towards the heavens and swayed from side to side. "And then we get scandalous pictures taken of us and photoshopped and published in newsletters and we fall down!" She did so, crumbling into another tangled heap that looked vaguely painful.

Okay, bad idea.

Koyuki rushed out and slammed the sliding door shut behind her. At this rate, the door won't live to see 6 months.

"Are you okay, Cere--- oh! ... People! Uhm," Hide, or run? OR WHAT?

Lena simply stared at the lantern in her hands and smiled. She would save it...

"I have to leave ! I'll be back soon, see you." The young woman called and after one or two seconds without a response she hurried off with the lantern.

Phew...what an experience. She needed to call Anon now and feel guilty afterwards.

What do you think about me ?

Date : 2nd June 2005
Event : First personal entry by Lena ( aka the Mom )
OOC : Experiences with our beloved lantern



So after all I decided to make this journal for the lantern.

It's one of my habits to make journals for my children and as it seems a child will grow out of the lantern I was...entrusted with.

I'm still feeling a bit guilty that I just took away, but Cerena ( that was her name, right ? ) said that it had been made for me. I shouldn't feel bad then...I guess.

So after all, back to the real reason I'm writing this. I made some discoveries about the lantern. The most astonishing aspect is that the lantern glows more intensive when it's around people. If we're all together and the girls crowd around the table to look at it, it seems to be brighter than usual.

My girls say it means that it's happy, but I personally don't know what to think about it. After all there isn't real fire inside of the lantern, but just a freaky ghost-like light.

The children are still discussing about the gender and the name and everything very sibling related...I'm a bit overwhelmed and I wonder why I took it with me again. I admit it's beautiful to look at their game, but I fear what's going to appear...and actually how.

~Lena

accessorization quest!__.

The lantern needs more than wallpaper to make it feel at home. Find a decorative item that matches its fiery potential, and maybe something interesting will happen!

Date : 27th October 2005
Participants : The whole family
Event : Jessila and Nalini are about to leave
OOC : *sniffles* My babies



It was definately strange what was going on since the letter arrived. Just a little piece of paper had changed the whole mood inside the household. Somehow everything seemed far more serious now and nobody would have ever thought that they wouldn't like this change.

Lena moved one hand through Nalini's hair, who was busily putting things into a small suitcase and smiled. "Don't worry, Mom. We'll be back." Was all she said and you were able to sense the excitement she was still trying to hide. Jessila just nodded as something pink vanished inside her bag. "She's right, it's not like we're gone forever or something. It's just a school !" The blonde girl chirped and put a comforting hand on her mother's shoulder.

"And you still have all the others." Jessila added as she pushed another item into the mess inside her suitcase.

Tyyne was sitting close to them on the floor and just watched quietly. It was strange to see someone go away whom you've known since birth. Jessila and Nalini had been invited to go to a special school and Lena had of course allowed them to do so, because they wanted it so much.

Kyoko and Ronin were leaning against the doorframe and Nobu shuffled around somewhere, trying to look for a plushie or anything he could give to them. Gaspar and Carlos were merrily fighting about a candy, because the liberal one was eager to give it to the sisters as a farewell present and the greedy one of course wanted to keep it.

After all the only ones who really seemed happy were Nalini and Jessila. It was an adventure, awfully exciting !

"Your train goes very early tomorrow morning, let's spend the last evening together and play a bit, drink some hot chocolate and have fun, alright ?" The mother proposed and even the teens, who usually weren't into the family thing, agreed.

Date : 31st October 2005
Participants : Tyyne, Gaspar & Carlos, Devotion
Event : Trick or treat
OOC : Yay, a family interaction post



This was supposed to be one of the creepiest nights of the year. Wolves howling, glowings pumpkins, fear, vampires...children playing dress-up and running from house to house.

Yes, indeed. A fearful night.

Of course the Caraway children were full of anticipation and had worked on their costumes for quite a long time. The teens of the household including Nobu hadn't been interested or at least they had mentioned this several times. Lena was sure they would enjoy the game, but were just too stuck in their teenage rebellion.

Tyyne being the only girl had been most obsessed with her costume. Her mother had helped her a lot to find the right pieces of cloth and she had even allowed her chaplet of daisies to wilt. She wanted to be a ghost, a pretty and sad one, like she saw in a movie. Not one of these normal sheets with holes.
Lena had combed her hair and arranged a nice ponytail, because Ty was sure that women weren't allowed to let their hair flow in older times. She saw that on TV for sure.

Gaspar and Carlos were completely sure what they'd like to be as well. They were still very interested in the pirates idea and so they both got a small wooden sword, a black patch and a nice headscarf. Soon they were running around the house trying to roll every R as much as possible.

Devotion and his fairy weren't quite sure what they wanted to be and just watched the others. All of them had soo pretty costumes, why should they bother to join in ? Watching was much better the young anima decided. But anyhow the others were bothering him to get a costume and because Ty told him to pick something white and Carlos said he should be a helpful person whereas Gaspar wanted him to earn money, the anima decided to go as a doctor to please everyone.

As the sun decided to go to bed the kids were dressed-up and ready for their game. Lena had been worried about letting them go alone first, but Tyyne was a very responsible person and all of them were so happy as they allowed them to go on their own. Had to be some kind of adventure for them !

~~~~~

"No take my sveeet." Devotion growled as he looked at Gaspar's hand, who had dug into the anima's bag. "Mine." The greedy Thule announced. What did the colorful one need sweets for anyway ?
"Take this." Carlos added and dropped some of his newly gathered possessions into the little treasure Gaspar was holding.

"Trick or Treat !" All of them chorused as the door in front of them was opened and a beautiful young lady smiled at them. "Aww, you have wonderful costumes." She clapped her hands in a very well studied act and cocked her head to one side to appear as nice as possible. "Good evening, Miss." Tyyne said and bowed her head a bit, whereas Gaspar growled. "Give. NOW !"

Tyyne sighed and shook her head as the tiny fairy hit the Thule's head with one of her small fists. "Arrr..." Gaspar tried to poke her with one of his horns, but luckily without success. "Pirates share. Take some more of mine." Carlos smiled gladly and offered some caramel sweets in orange paper to his brother, who happily accepted the gift.

The lady looked like she was about to shut the door again as the handsome anima stepped towards the woman and announced in a cheerful voice. "Petty !"

"What a little sweetheart you are." The woman chirped and now finally put the sweets into the small treasures, bags and pots.


~~~

Just a few hours later four very exhausted kids arrived back home, greeted by a very exhausted mother and three very exhausted teenagers, who had been troubled by ringing children demanding sweets.

"How did it go ?" Lena asked as all of them entered the living room. Tyyne was calm as usual and was still in awe about her nice custome. Devotion was happy about his success and that he was able to get to know so many people. Perhaps he should really become a doctor later and give medicine to them and make them happy. Gaspar's treasure was overloaded and everytime he made a step he lost a few sweets, which were quickly collected again and put on top of the sugary hill.
Carlos only possessed two sweets, but he seemed quite content as well.

"It was great !" Tyyne smiled and the others nodded before almost falling asleep on the couch immediately.

Date : 10th November 2005
Participants : Lena, Sarosh, Nature and Green
Event : Devotion meets Nature at the playground
OOC : Wee, so cute



The wooden bench wasn't as comfortable as she'd hoped it would be but it did provide her with a satisfactory place to rest her aching feet. Green sat with her legs crossed, carefully watching Nature play in the sandbox nearby.

The pair of them had been spent the day window-shopping which had proven to be a near catastrophic experience. Green grimaced at the memory.

"There's absolutely no way in hell I'm taking her anywhere near a petshop again," the blonde murmured to herself. Nature had wanted to take every animal home with them and when Green had tried to explain to her that they couldn't possibly afford to care for every animal in the building, Nature had shook her head in disagreement and proceeded to unlock a number of cages. How they'd managed to make it out of there safely in the middle of the chaos was completely lost on Green, who was currently thanking her lucky stars.

A playground was usually supposed to be a way to make your children happy and to sit down on a bench and watch them. Alright, sometimes things could happen and the little one could be hurt, but in general playgrounds were a good idea.

Devotion seemed to think about it differently. He didn't care about slides, he didn't want the swings and even all the leaves the little black fairy collected for him weren't of his interest. Indeed the little boy wanted company and so he clinged to his mother's legs and once in a while pushed a strand of hair out of his face.

That was it. Playgrounds were boring, they could go home and play with his siblings now. Just as he was about to open his mouth and exclaim his desire he spotted a familiar figure. He had seen this beautiful one before, he just wasn't sure where. Extending one arm he pointed at the sandbox and tugged Lena's coat anxiously.

"Huh ? Oh...look there's another anima !" She smiled broadly and quickly followed her son towards the little box filled with sand. "Hello." The mother greeted the other woman whereas Devotion totally concentrated on the girl. As he had experienced people were happy about a single word, especially lantern people, and so he mentioned it right away. "Petty." The firey one grinned and nodded as he looked at Nature.

The blonde woman had taken to staring at a crack in the wood of the bench that was in the form of an ice cream cone and she'd been busily lusting after a cone of strawberry ice cream when Lena's voice forced her back into reality. She smiled up at the woman who was a bit familiar and, with a glance at devotion, waved at her.

"Have I seen you someplace before?"

Was the little boy greeting Nature an Anima too?

Unlike her mother, who probably would have sat staring at the crack shaped like an ice cream cone until it was too dark to see it, Nature had noticed Devotion and Lena before they noticed her.

The boy was familiar, and she'd wondered if he'd remember her. The only other time she'd seen him was in passing, very briefly, but she'd hoped he would speak to her all the same.

Pretty? Was that what he'd said?

Her cheeks darkened and she smiled sheepishly at Devotion, "You really think so?"

"I think we saw each other very briefly at the...what's the name again..oh yes, anima gardens." Lena explained as she sat down beside the blonde one with a curious expression on her face. She hadn't met any other guardian before, just Grethel and her lantern and so it would probably be interesting to share experiences. The woman really wondered if everyone was as 'special' as Devotion.

"So...your girl is an anima too, right ?"


The little dark-skinned boy listened to the girl's words and tried to estimate if she was just as pretty or even prettier than the lantern he met. After a few seconds and tipping his chin slightly he decided on beauty for both of them. The black fairy hit his head hardly with a fist, which made Devotion blink. Oh yes, right : She wanted an answer !

Not capable of many words yet he admired the girl to be able to talk so fluently and just nodded. "Yes." Phew, it had come out right. He still needed to practise on this words stuff. "Watcha doo ?"
Looking around very interested he didn't come to any conclusion what this box was about.

Green tried her best to recall the moment she'd seen Lena, her eyes closed for a moment and her forehead knotted when suddenly, a light switched on in her head. Yes! She did remember! That was the day Nature had rescued that garter snake from Green's oblivious feet.

"I remember you!" she beamed at Lena, pleased with herself.

"Nature? Yeah, she is. I've never met a child so..." Green glanced at her daughter and chewed on her lip, trying to come up with the perfect word for exactly what Nature was.

"Well, she's unique, that's for sure."

The redness in Nature's cheeks increased considerably at Devotion's next word. So, he thought she was pretty? Pretty? It was a flattering thought.

"Sand," she grabbed a handful of the stuff and held it out to the firey boy, "Its fun. we could make a castle? Out of the sand."

And she showed him that the sand was darker and moister the farther you dug.

"See?" she grinned at him, using her hands to shape a pile of dark sand she'd been busy working on into a tower.

Lena smiled please as Green remembered her and nodded. "I am Lena Caraway." She extended her hand in a friendly gesture.

"Oh so she's Nature ? That's really interesting." The green eyes watched the young girl curiously. "I should have guessed so anyway. Her wings and her hair, very earthy. Matches."

"It's the same with Devotion. I have a lot of children, but none of them acts like him. Very dedicated little one. Does Nature have a fairy too ?"

By hearing the word 'castle' it seemed like the light was switched on inside Devotion's head and he smiled broadly. It surely reminded him of something he saw somewhere...had it been a book or even something else ?

Nature seemed so intelligent in comparison to him. Really, he liked watching her digging up the sand. "Fun." The male anima commented, pushed a strand of her out of his purple eyes and kneeled down to help her digging out the sand.

The fairy was busily fluttering around the tower seeming to check if everything was right.

"When big." Devotion pointed at himself in a dramatic gesture. "Build casle fo yoo."

"Green," she smiled, shaking Lena's hand, "If you'd like, you could call me Gee. That's what my friends call me."

Yes, she'd decided that Lena was a friend. Even though they'd only formally met a moment ago, she was already found herself liking the other woman. It was hard to dislike somebody who was so kind.

"Beauitful, isn't she?" Green grinned, "I just hope it doesn't go to her head."

At the mention of the fairy and Devotion, Green turned her head away from Lena so that she could watch the children play.

"Dedicated, eh? I took Nature to a pet store today, and she let a few of the animals out of their cages. Lord. I'm NEVER taking her to a zoo... No, she doesn't have a fairy. Where did his come from? Was it just 'there' when he appeared?"

While Devotion dug up the dark sand Nature began work on another tower.

"We'll put one here," she pointed at a spot in the sand that was directly behind the first tower, "Here," she pointed at a spot that was diagnal from the first tower and in lign with the spot where the second one would go, "And here," she pointed at the last spot so that the foundation of the castle was in the outline of a square.

"For me?" she beamed at him, piling more sand onto the newest tower, "Alright! Could I have a garden too? With a ton of trees and pretty flowers? You will have to live there, with me, too."

"Nice to meet you, Gee." Lena shook the hand as well and smiled friendly.

As her eyes turned to take a look at the children she was glad that they got along so well. To tell the truth she had been worried about Devotion getting along with others. She knew that he liked his siblings, but sometimes he seemed pretty strange and so she didn't know how he'd react. But after all it worked out nicely.

"Yes, she looks astonishing. I know why Devotion seems to like her. Was the hairstyle your idea ?" The woman asked kindly.

"Sounds like a lot of trouble." She giggled slightly as she heard about the pet store. "Oh well, sometimes I pity the animals inside the cages as well. I think children are like this sometimes. Devotion loves to draw lately and I had to keep him from painting his rooms' walls. Not so easy, I tell you." Lena sighed and blinked several times as she remembered the scenery when Devotion was 'born'.

"Yes, when he appeared she was there too and she's always with him. Sometimes I think they can communicate in a strange way. I hope there's nothing wrong, because he seems to be the only one with a fairy I know so far." The mother seemed a bit uncertain about this fact and bit her lowerlip for a moment.


"Alwight." Devotion nodded in excitement and quickly dug up more of the moisty sand to put it on the places she showed him. She was a great friend, she had so nice ideas. The fairy swirled around in the air and hovered above the sandbox for a bit, just if she wanted to check if everything was alright with the position of the castle.

"Biig cassle we do." He exclaimed and smiled at Nature very pleased as he listened to her voice. For a moment he tried to imagine a garden and the flowers and how Nature and he could play hide and seek there. It was a nice thought and he almost drifted into this dream as the fairy glared at him. "Shoor. Yoo be flowa. 'cause yoo petty."

It was a very nice thought and Devotion was fond of this kind of project. He would have to draw the castle at home and then he would give it to Nature. "Yoo be Kween then ?"

"Likewise," Green let go of Lena's hand, and picked at an invisible fuzzball on her sleeve.

"No, it wasn't my idea," she shook her head, her tone was light and full of mirth when she spoke again, "Devotion's quite adorable, as well. I don't think the ladies will be able to keep their hands off of him once he's a teenager."

"Trouble? With those looks, I'm almost happy she's just standing up for animal rights. Can you imagine how many boys I'm going to have to beat off with sticks once she becomes a teenager? Even so, I'm surprised we made it out of the petshop without getting fined. The employees were far to busy running after the escaped critters to notice me sneak out the emergency exit with Nature in my arms."

"Painting his walls?" she laughed, "Honestly? That was a funny mental picture. I can imagine what the look on your face would have been when you caught him."

"I doubt that there's anything wrong with him. He seems to be happy enough. Perhaps the others have yet to find fairies, and Devotion was lucky when his just appeared beside him."

As Devotion began work on the last two towers Nature began to build walls inbetween them, so that it was truly begining to look like a castle. She smiled at him, delighted with their progress. They would have to build a river (Nature didn't yet know the name for it.) surrounding the castle, as well, but that could wait until they'd finished the base of the castle.

"Big castle, yes," she nodded vigorously, enjoying his company more and more. Her cheeks flushed again when he called her pretty.

"Thank you... y-you pretty too."

She paused for a moment, considering the idea of being queen. "Me? Queeny? Yes. You can be King?"

Everything sounded so lovely. She would have a big garden of her own and a castle where she would be queen and Devotion would be king! Nature's eyes shone with excitememnt at the prospect.

Lena leaned foward a bit and allowed her feet to dangle while she listened to Green's words. "I think it will be the other way round. Devotion won't be able to keep his hands from the ladies. He's also trying to be as charming as possible right now, but sometimes he literally explodes. Just if nobody important is around of course."

She sighed, but nodded as the other woman talked about Nature. "She's really a pretty girl. You were lucky then, I hope the shopowner will not recognise you in future. But anyway, I guess there are a lot of children who open the cages once in a while. Perhaps you should buy her a pet so she doesn't have to fight for animal rights anymore ?" Lena smiled, but the friendly expression quickly turned into a frown as she thought about the painted walls.

"He called it his masterpiece, as far as I understood." Shaking her head she continued talking. "I was really surprised when I went into his room. Usually only toddlers to such stuff, but I guess Devotion likes to express himself. He drew hearts and lanterns."

Watching the two children play happily Lena nodded slightly. "I hope you're right. I guess, we'll just have to wait and see."

She was the best person he had met so far, Devotion decided when he finished off the towers and watched Nature building up the walls. He dug out some more sand for her and delivered it right in front of her feet so she didn't have to go on her own and pick it.

As he heard her call him pretty, he was very confused at first. Were boys able to be pretty ? But she was the more beautiful. "Thank yoo." He smiled broadly and moved over to give her a slight hug for the compliment. "I be king."

Great plan. He looked very pleased and his fiery wings fluttered in anticipation. Oh hopefully they could have a castle later on. The fairy didn't seem to like what was going on so much and frowned. "Tis be yoo castle. Small fo us." Devotion commented and waved at the little creature.

Green laughed. It was a merry sound, loud and slightly annoying. When she was younger, laughing like she was now had been the cause for much teasing and until recently, when the young woman had realised that she didn't care what others thought of her or her laugh, she would cover her mouth when she laughed.

"He won't be able to keep his hands to himself, you say? I can't imagine that many girls are going to agree with that. Poor boy."

"Oh, he won't recognise me in the future as I have no intentions of ever returning to that shop."

Besides, she'd been blessed with speed. Green was small, but there was no catching her on foot. If the manager ever did spot her in a crowd, she'd be long gone before he could call her on it.

"That sounds like a good idea. Although, I'm not sure she approves of housepets either... That could become a bit of a problem. I mean, we already have several house pets. She hasn't mentioned anything to me about them, yet, though."

"Hearts and lanterns? Awww..." she smiled at the little boy who had moved to hug her daughter, "He's a little sweetheart."

Nature smiled as he placed some sand at her feet. He was so thoughtful and sweet. The child was highly enjoying the other Anima's company.

"Thank you, too," she returned the hug, acting as if hugging somebody she'd met only awhile before was the most natural thing in the world. "You make a good king."

She nodded her head vigorously as she finished the last wall. They were nearly finished making they're castle! The only thing they needed now was the river that surrounded it...

"We need to make a river around it," Nature pointed at the castle, and then she dug her hand into the sand as far as she could make it go, and began to move around the castle, dragging her arm as she went. The sand came up nicely, and it wouldn't be long until the river was made.

Nature nodded her agreement and smiled at the little fairy, "Yes, you can have it."

Lena smiled friendly as she listened to the sound of the laughter. She wasn't a person who judged people by their attitude or such a simple fact like laughter. Green seemed nice and that's what deemed important to the woman.

"Yes, I guess he'll be slapped all the way." She grinned a bit and shrugged. "I think it's very reasonable not to go there again. Some shopkeepers really don't understand children especially not if they do something they aren't in favour of."

"If you don't want more pets, I easily invite you over to us. We've got a lot of them, probably too many if you ask me. My girls used to do pet races and dressed up most of them. It was awesome to see. Pets can be a good way to teach children how to interact with other beings." Lena nodded to herself as she moved back and forth on the bench slightly. Her green eyes watched the peaceful anima pair.

"He scares me a bit though. Don't think I don't love him, but he's often so gentle and charming...it's scary. Small boys shouldn't behave like this." A bit embarrassed about her own statement the mother moved a few fingers through her hair.

"So have you met any other anima yet ?"

She was really pretty and really really intelligent. Nature knew much better how to speak and it just felt right to be her servant, not a king. But Devotion wasn't keen enough to tell her and so he just smiled broadly as she hugged him back.

"Finish soon !" He announced gladly and looked at his girly mate to get some more instructions. She was like the architect of this wonder.

"Riva round it." Devotion nodded which caused some strands of his hair to fall into his face. He just wanted to do it like she did and copied her movements exactly as he dug out some sand to make the river.
As he heard beneath his right ear his purple eyes glanced at his shoulder to see the little fairy sitting there with a used popsicle in her hands.
"O o bidge !" Devotion announced. The fairy was clever, somehow they had to get inside the castle too.

"I might take you up on that offer," Green smiled at Lena, "I'd love to see one of those pet races and I think it would be good for Nature if she got to see that most families, not just ours, have pets. I think the only reason she's okay with having pets at our home is because they're treated like members of the family. But they don't get to eat at the dinner table."

"Nika, my son, was unsettlingly charming when he was a boy. He wasn't so gentle, but he wasn't as rough as most boys at that age. To be honest with you, though, Nika was one of the last of his race. When he was growing up, he was the soul of a man older than I in the body of a child."

"Devotion seems to be a perfectly happy, healthy little boy. Handsome, too, I might add. If I was you, I wouldn't be too worried about how other little boys behave."

Green didn't mean to sound critisizing and, realizing that she might have come across that way, she hastily added, "But, what do I know?"

"Any other anima?" she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating and then an expression of recognition passed over her pretty face, "I have. I've seen Guilt and I've... erm... 'met' Revenge. Although, I'm not sure it should be called that. He's a quiet boy. I talked to his gaudian mostly."

Indeed, they were nearly finished. Beaming with pride and happiness, Nature stood up and stared down at their masterpiece with her hands on her hips. The child tapped her foot against the soft sand, trying to decide if there was anything else they could add.

"Good idea! You can pink the side the bridge goes on," she nodded at Devotion and the fairy, delighted with the bridge, before turning around to scan the rest of the park with her eyes.

"We need a flag," Nature explained to Devotion, twirling a piece of her lovely green hair around a finger.

"Sure, feel free to come over. We could drink some tea while the little ones play." Lena responded to the smile and nodded. "It's quite important that children have friends and learn that a few things are the same at home and some are different. It helps them not to be too one-sided." Imagining that their pets could take part in dinner Lena frowned slightly and shook her head. "Same with us. Some of them are really intelligent, but still they don't belong to the ones eating with spoons and forks."

Listening to the story about Nika very interested the mother thought about the words for a moment. "Sound like he's adorable." She smiled and wondered if one of her children possessed an old soul as well. Sometimes it seemed to be like this with Ronin. "I still need to learn a lot about kids, every single one of them is different and needs different treatment." She sighed.

"You're probably right, I shouldn't worry to much just because he isn't nerve-racking. Not yet, at least."

"We just met Grethel and her lantern, which was adored by Devotion. He even painted it. Too funny to see, I tell you. There really should be a party or something so all the anima can meet. I bet my boy would love that and Nature seems to be an outgoing girl too." Her eyes trailed towards the pair again.

It was almost done ! The castle of their dreams, so perfect, so wonderful. Was the architect queen content as well ? If she was, Devotion was sure he'd be too. He really had to do plans for a very big castle at home. Perhaps she could get it as a birthday present.

The fairy fluttered towards one side of the castle and put the popsicle across the small river trying not to lose her balance. Devotion watched her carefully, because he didn't want her to get hurt in any way. The purple eyes concentrated on Nature again as she figured that the fairy was save.

"Flag !" The boy cheered and simply stared at the way she was getting her hair across her finger. His hair sadly wasn't long enough to do. Perhaps he could ask her if he could twirl...? Nah, wouldn't be nice. It was to beautiful to touch, he was sure and so he looked out for a flag. Tons of leaves were lying around on the grad in all kinds of colours. "Color ?" He asked as he picked up a few of them and showed them to the girl. Hopefully she liked at least one of them.

"I agree!" Green nodded, "There's nothing that annoys me more than a close-minded person. Although, I can be a little close-minded. It really depends. I don't mean to be. Well, I doubt that anybody means to be... but that's not what I was getting at. I can be mighty stubborn."

"He is," a wistful grin now sat on Green's face. Nika was old now, the mask he'd been cursed to wear had recenly been removed and now, her little boy was no longer a little boy. For her, it was far too soon.

"I've got four children, myself and I like to think I know a fair bit about children but they never cease to surprise me. Growing up, babysitting was my main source of cash."

"Grethel? I don't think I've ever met her..." She considered Lena's next words for a moment and cast the nearly completed sandcastle an appraising look. The children had done a good job.

"That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Perhaps you and I could arrange something? Yes, Nature's very outgoing and she loves the dirt. I have a feeling that she might get along much better with boys than with other girls."

The architect queen was indeed content with their masterpiece. She was quite proud of all three of them, even if she didn't know that that was the name of the feeling she was currently experiencing.

She scanned the rest of the park with her eyes, trying to pick out what the perfect flag could be. It didn't have to be any bright or pretty colors, a simple leaf or a feather would suffice...

She was about to turn around and ask Devotion if he could spy anything that might serve their purpose when the other child surprised her with a handful of leaves.

"This one," she smiled and gently plucked a bright yellow leaf out of his hand.

"We're finished!" Nature exclaimed in delight as she poked the yellow leaf into the top of one of the towers.

"Everyone is close-minded regarding some subjects. Every person probably has some topics he's biased in. Including me." She agreed to Green's words. Being stubborn wasn't the worst character trait somebody could have. It could even be helpful somtimes.

For a few moments Lena's mind felt a bit bedazzled as she wasn't able to announce right away how many children she had. "Well..." Still counting she grinned a bit ashamed. "I have nine children. Three or them are teenagers already."

Noticing that Green looked at the sandcastle the eyes of the young woman followed and examined the building. Indeed, it had become really beautiful. They were talented.

"Oh sure. You can come over to my house. We also have a garden and she could look at the pets then. Just call me, I usually have time." Lena said friendly. "Well, so she should get along well with Devotion. Right now he prefers girl."

Oh yes, Devotion did. He really adored Nature and sank onto his knees as she completed the masterpiece. She was the queen, the one and only.

"Wooah..." Was all he stated as he took the girls hand and rubbed it against his warm cheeks. Her talented hands deserved a hug.

The fairy instead slowly moved inside the castle and looked around. This was supposed to be her kingdom now. Awesome, so excellent. Perhaps a bit sandy, but hey, what to expect ?

"You're right," Green nodded, "I'm biased when it comes to my children. I love them so, and as much as they annoy me sometimes... That doesn't matter because they're mine. You know?"

"Wow! Nine?" Green turned her head to face Lena and her voice sounded disbelieving when she spoke, "How do you do it? My little house is barely big enough for the five of us... Actually, it isn't big enough. I've been considering moving for quite some time now. Especailly since I want more babies."

"That sounds lovely. I'm sure Nature would enjoy that. Would it be alright if I brought my other children along as well? Nika's never home long enough to watch them, and I really don't like leaving them at home alone," she paused long enough to consider Devotion's behavior and then spoke again, "He seems to be quite the charmer, actually. Its no wonder why he prefers girls."

When Devotion sank to his knees beside her, Nature's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. What was he doing? And then, he grabbed her hand and began to rub it against his cheek.

Okay, now that was unexpected. His cheek was warm, but that couldn't help the little girl to understand this behavior. Smiling warmly down at Devotion, Nature used all of her strength to pull him back to his feet and into a friendly hug.

"Thanks for helping me," she said before gently releasing her new friend.

She watched the fairy examine her knew home with a worried expression on her face. What if she didn't like it?

"Do you like it?" Nature asked the fairy, twirling a stray lock of her hair around her finger.

What a wonderful statement, Lena thought and smiled. "Oh yes, of course, I understand. Every child is...exhausting from time to time, but you still love them. No matter what they do." She agreed.

"Yes, nine indeed." Lena was stilled a bit surprised herself. How come she had received so many of them ? "We just moved into a huge house nearby Barton Town. The second floor just belongs to the children, but they occupy the kitchen and the living room as well." She shrugged. "It just works somehow, they're all very depandant on each other. And there's the garden still."

"Sure, if you don't mind that my children will probably be curious little sprouts and will gather around them." Thinking about tons of children at home, Lena felt joy and pain. Hopefully they would get along like Devotion and Nature did.
"Yes, he's really trying his best." She laughed a bit.

Devotion appreciated the hug as he was lifted to his feet. She knew what she wanted, so intelligent, so perfect. "No poblem." He stated and grinned, while shaking his tail a bit.

As the fairy noticed that she was the one who Nature had talked to, she turned around to look at the green girl. A slight smile crossed her face and she nodded yes quickly.

"She says, yeah. Likes tower best." Devotion stated and was proud that he could translate. He had noticed that others didn't hear the fairy's talk. It seemed like someone had put a second fairy in his head and so he could understand.

"You good." Cocking his head to one side he looked at Nature, wishing he had the same kind of hair.

"But I guess it's time for us to go. Someone has to cook for the children." Lena sighed as she slowly got up and felt that one of her legs fell asleep.

"Exactly," Green grinned and nodded her head, pleased that she and Lena saw eye to eye.

"I'm not sure how you do it, Lena. Unless the children are fairly well behaved. I think I might have gone nuts by now."

She admired the other woman. It took determination, courage and such a big heart to be bale to home that many children.

"Well, I won't mind and Marie... She might not be to pleased. The little girls so shy. Nyx, however, will love the attention. She's a spitfire."

Nature smiled when Devotion translated the fairy's words, delighted that the little creature liked the sandcastle. It confused her a bit, however. Why couldn't she hear the fairy? Would she get a fairy of her own someday, too?

It took a moment for Devotion's next words to register in her head and then she blinked and turned to face him, smiling brightly.

"Thank you. You're good, too."
When Lena announced that it was so near to supper, Green jumped as if she'd been struck by lightening. It was too late. She'd told Nika that she would be home far earlier than this. Now, the poor boy was probably worried sick.

"We have to go as well," she stood up and gently grabbed Nature's hand, "I promised my son, he's babysitting, that we'd be back before supper... and we're running late. Seeya around?"

Nature, who wasn't too pleased about the sudden turn of events, frowned when her gaurdian grabbed her hand. She'd wanted to stay and talk to Devotion! But, the little girl was already being tugged in the direction of their home so she simply sighed and waved over her shoulder;

"Goodbye!"

"I can't wait to see them." Lena responded and smiled friendly. "Sure, we'll arrange something and then we can continue talking."

She moved over to the sandbox and made one of her hands slide through Devotion's hair. "Come on, let's go now."

The world was shattered as Nature had to leave. Devotion just blinked and stared as she walked away and just managed to wave back before she had gone.

Tears were forming in his eyes as he looked up at his mother. "Why ?" He asked and sniffled a bit. "WHY ?!" He litterally screamed now and was about to kick Lena.

"Hold it ! You'll see her again." Lena said calmly and grabbed the anima's wrist to keep him from hitting her. She had never seen him so angry before.

"Gooo, lemme goooo!" Devotion growled and the little fairy was about to pull on a strand of Lena's hair as she just tightened her grip and made him walk with her trying to ignore the feeling on her head.

Damnit, why was he so furious ?

Date : 21st December 2005
Participants : Devotion
Event : Strange dreams - again
OOC : Naming Quest - Part II




"Wonder what me dreams 'bout today." Devotion had just finished brushing his teeth as he looked at the fairy sitting on his shoulder. She was busily tidying her hair with a small brush. He had no idea where she had got it from, but it looked nice and he was sure that women needed brushes more than he did, because their hair was usually longer.

He was wearing a pyama decorated with a lots of hearts. Indeed it was his favourite design and Lena had to buy a lot of things with hearts on them so he would change his clothes after all. The anima was content although the pyama seemed to be a bit too long. Shuffling towards his room he watched the fairy who was flying by his side now.

Slowly he walked into his room and shut the door tightly. He had said goodnight already and so there was no need to wait for his mother or siblings to come. Quickly he put on the light on his nighttable and looked at the fairy who was cradled inside a little box close to his bed.

"I miss lantern and nature." Devotion sighed as he looked at the fairy with a frown. He hadn't seen any other anima for a while and because of this he was probably quite troubled. There was sadly no new subject to draw or think about and the people inside the TV were boring.

Yawning he slipped below the blanket and cuddled up to the sheets. Usually he was fond of sleeping, but since he was dreaming about the firey horses and so on it wasn't good anymore. Somehow he had the feeling that his mother didn't understand what he had talked about, but he wasn't fond of accusing anyone.

"Nihight." Devotion announced as he petted the fairy very gently and turned off the light. Purple eyes were gazing into darkness for a while before he decided to close them, although it wasn't much of a difference regarding the darkness.

The anima child didn't really know when he fell asleep just as nobody did, but somehow he discovered himself to be back in the land of dreams. There was this odd scenery again. He heard the sound of horses and everything smelled like them as well. And then there was this voice again, soft and demanding. The boy knew it was calling him, but he wasn't quite sure what it was actually saying.

"Here. Me is here !" Devotion called out although he still wasn't able to see his surroundings. Everything was blurred and he could only see shadows, while he listened to the breathing of the horses. It was warm in here and cosy, but everyone seemed to be in haze.

And then there was the voice again. "Sarosh !"