Beryl Greyson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roughcutgem) wrote2024-06-15 10:53 pm
roughcutgem) wrote2024-06-15 10:53 pmAh, kids
A place for vignettes and snippets from Niki's life!
roughcutgem) wrote2024-06-15 10:53 pm
So....
She set the chicken on the table and nodded, "Lady, Lord."
The Gods nodded back, only Gunnora's greeting audible. She glanced at Nat who seemed relaxed then poked her head down the hall to listen to the sounds from Nikazi's room. It was apparently retro cartoon night down there. Good. "To...what do we owe the pleasure?" she mused, pulling down plates so everyone could have chicken.
Serving Gods KFC. Heh. Her life was so weird some days!
"Babe it's about Niki..." Nat admitted.
She froze a moment, only Ayunna easing out of the pantry with a soda let her start breathing again. "What's wrong with our baby?"
"Nothing," Gunnora assured with a sad smile. "She is a darling child."
"My brother," Ayunna snorted, "likes his friend."
She passed a biscuit to her own patron then cocked an eyebrow?
Gunnora nodded, offering honey for the biscuits, "aye, as children do, they share with their friends."
She was too tense to eat at a comment like that, instead leaning against Nat's back, "so...?"
"So we thought we shouldst warn of..."
Ayunna rolled her eyes, "it's not a problem. It is just that he shares his 'room' with your child, and too long in our realm can have consequences."
"Consequences," she repeated flatly. "For playing in each other's rooms."
"Aye," Gunnora sighed, glancing at her daughter. "Our realm, as you have visited, may...seep into a person? Your child is, for lack of a better term, human? So she might develop some oddities playing too long there."
"Oddities," she repeated, feeling like a parrot.
"He's her best friend!" Nat blinked, "that can't be a bad thing!"
"No," Gunnora agreed. "Such a connection, growing with peers is healthy. It is just your child may become something closer to us, a demichild, than you after too long?"
"...a demigod. By exposure," Beryl blinked. "For playing."
"Yes," Gunnora nodded. "Precisely. Of what who is to know? Children are ever fonts of growth and change..."
Beryl kissed the top of Nat's head, considering that, "okay, so what does that mean for us?"
Gunnora blinked, glancing at her husband behind her. Ayunna just chuckled, "it just means you need a blessing to keep your child from effecting you, that's all. Parents shouldn't be influenced by their child's power. Mother just gets...worried about saying such."
Beryl chuckled, nodding to her goddess, "thank you for being clear. Should we be worried she'll cause any issue with other children?"
Gunnora sighed, "we will also seal her...slightly, it will fade as she grows? Teach her well and cherish her. The kinder her childhood the less likely she will manipulate others? I do not foresee Nikazi and our son not being friends and it is cruel to prevent them from seeing each other."
Beryl nodded, "yeah, the twins have each other, Nikazi has her best friend. I don't want to disrupt that."
Nat nodded, "it's important to have bonds."
She smiled down at her husband and nodded, "exactly. So. We get an extra special kid. We knew that already."
Gunnora laughed, passing her husband a plate as he faded away. It was hard to stay when there were no followers to anchor him! But it had been a solidarity thing..."indeed. Usually it takes far longer for any like us to invite others to our realms, but our son is precocious."
"And Niki is Niki," Beryl smirked. "We'll nurture her either way."
"That was what I wished to hear," Gunnora admitted easily.
Ayunna laughed, biting into a chicken leg, "I'm a little jealous. People were sparse when I was young, no one to drag home and play with." She said it teasingly though?
"People mayhap," Gunnora agreed, "but I'll not forget the hunting hounds you brought at every chance..."
"They're my good pups!"
Beryl chuckled, "I'll take a plate to the kids."
Halloween
"...to skin. You are so lucky uncle JC gave us spirit glue!" Iri laughed. "Really, 'cause Elmer's wouldn't have cut it!"
Niki laughed, "I know, just keep it up! We only have like two hours until the boys come!" And then the trick or treating started!
"You're going to freeze," Irias snorted, laying another line of plastic, copper scales along her friend's arm.
Ehhh, "nah, I'll just keep moving a lot! That's why there was glue, so I don't shed stuff every time we stop!"
Iri rolled her eyes, "you're lucky my costume is simple this year. Do your parents know what you're wearing tonight?" Or not wearing really?
Very not wearing. Niki had a long, golden silk sash knotted across their hips and that was...all. There was copper glitter in their hair and darker copper paint on. Add scales, well, the world was lucky Niki was only a kid. "I told them I needed the glitter and paint? I mean you and Kir are doing a pair outfit, only makes sense Bantii and I do too!"
"But why..."
"He got a Pungi to play with!"
What? Iri paused, looking up, "what the heck is that?"
"A snake charmer's flute! So I'm a snake!" Made sense to her!
Iri chuckled and finished her friend's arm, then the chest up to neck and circling the face. "My dad likes to say we exist to give him heart attacks, but your parents are really going to flip."
"Naaahhhh. I'm totally covered!" In paint, plastic, and silk but hey. It was absolutely okay since they had adult escorts tonight right? Right! No one creepy was going to get through the shifter and fighter wall! And if they did auntie Khem would put them to sleep! "And wiggly!"
"Yeah yeah," Iri snorted, nodding and turning her friend toward the mirror, "you do final touches while I get dressed!" She and her twin were going as The Shining twins (she won the coin toss and Kir got to wear a dress).
"If you need help call me! I can tie your dress laces or something!" Niki grinned. "Tonight's going to be fun!" Test wiggling in front the mirror? Absolutely. Luckily the scales stayed put! Bonus!
"Hey, Uncle Asher and JC might come with us, bet they dress up too!"
"Duh, they live fancy!" Niki giggled. Oh, right, last touch, some plastic snake fangs! Which were...plastic vampire fangs with the bottom two points cut off but hey! Halloween was all about improvising!
Oh that was a bad idea
It faded over the years though, as it was supposed to, and that meant Niki had to be more involved in controlling themself. It was...always an interesting thing before shows or even improv classes to decide how much or little of that warm, flowing ability they let shine shine through in a performance. Likewise Bantii didn't outright play people's souls like instruments, they were both very restrained! Honest!
But, well, they did like splurging on dates.
Most dates started with an early afternoon at the park. Whatever they made busking at the park was their budget for that evening out! And sure they had a curfew (home by midnight or a very good reason why), they had done any number of things by scooping up a hat full of cash after a performance on the sidewalk and gleefully debating resturants or tours and the like.
Today was no different. Today Niki wore swishy sillks and Bantii plucked an enchanting tune from an instrument that probably didn't exist on earth and...regulars say them. They had a following, how not? If they showed up in the park they'd see repeat faces most days honestly. Since they performed for joy and sharing that was all well and good!
Today the hat was heavy and some higher denomination bills were showing as Niki scopped it up, turning to show it off before there was stinging at their neck. They brushed it off in annoyance but by the time they had headed toward the public restrooms Niki was feeling woozy and stumbling, which was when a regular stepped out of a shadowed area to press a knife against their throat. "Stay calm boy, inject yourself or the dancer drops," a rough voice commanded.
Bantii froze, barely managing to catch the tossed syringe as he was far too focused on the slight drop of blood forming on Niki's throat. "Okay, okay..." he soothed, swallowing as he stuck the needle in his leg. "Don't separate us...please..."
The man laughed, "no, you're too pretty a pair. Someone wants a songbird and a dancer set, you're lucky, top dollar." That meant careful treatment. Nice sleepy drugs, which Niki got another shot of after Bantii was folding to the ground, and padded cuffs when Niki blinked awake in the back of the van. A slow scan showed several men, darkness through the front windshield, and an awful taste in the back of their mouth. Ew.
Bantii was out cold though, heavy and hot against their silk wrapped shoulder, that meant it was up to them to keep them safe for now. They eased out from under Bantii, movement was necessary, even though their hands were cuffed behind them and ankles tied...they had been charmed since young.
They weren't young now.
Niki hissed softly to draw attention, then started moving, pulling on actual Power, deliberately, for the first time. Look. Watch.
SEE ME.
A writhing, slow, snakelike undulation bound as they were, but snakes, oh snakes hypnotized their prey. And these weren't people in the van, no, these were valid targets. Growing up in the Circus had left a mark after all. The van bumped to a slow stop somewhere, who cared where? And seven sets of eyes turned to watch...and couldn't look away.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
An hour, with their joints starting to scream and stamina flagging, Bantii stirred and woke with a jerk. Enemy territory, reeking of the Left Hand, he sat up and licked dry lips as he looked at the group then reached up to pull Niki against his chest, cuffed hands lifting to cover the ear not buried against his rib cage. This wasn't for Niki.
No, this song was never for Niki.
The men were freed, briefly, when Niki stopped moving but then Bantii opened his mouth and sang. Not rage,not anger, no, he sang Sorrow. Bitter, unending loss and the grief of parents who lost their families, children who suffered under invaders. The death of crops in the field and starvation looming for a whole people. Dripping, poisonous Grief. He didn't falter in the least when the first man sobbed and turned his gun on himself. The staccato reverberations just made the song more poignant.
Sharper.
None were spared.
Niki lifted their head when Bantii relaxed, and then reached to fish through pockets for cuff keys and a phone. "Call..."
"My parents?" Bantii drawled, coughing, throat still dry but...
"No, gods no. Not mine either dad will never, ever forgive himself. Call Uncle Asher? He'll know how to say things to Dad..." Niki hoped anyway. "And what to do with...this." Van full of bodies, bullet holes, and blood...
Bantii nodded, dialing that number by heart, "this date sucks, sorry."
Niki laughed at that, a sharp, high sound, "no, I like dangerous us too I promise," they admitted, kissing his cheek.
Changeling Challenge 1.0
Not just theirs even! The twins, Nikki, and the just barely five year old pack and rodere kids. The Circus had graciously purchased a larger van that was more of a mini-bus, and she honestly almost thought she should get a license to drive busses after learning to handle the land boat! "Alright, everyone have their lunches? CHECK!? she parked and turned around to look the runts over, counting as each hand held up hefty metal lunch boxes.
Growing kids, especially active kids, needed hearty lunches. That meant hefty lunch boxes! "And welcome back Clay, what's the new rule?"
The little wolf-family boy huffed, "no hitting anyone with a lunchbox even if they're rude! Tell the teachers!"
"Exactly," she nodded. Sure, the kids thus far hadn't shifted, most were assuming they wouldn't, or wouldn't until after puberty, but that was no reason to allow things like casual violence! "Alright troops, littlest have your partners? Let's get you to Teacher Jenna! Olders, you're with teacher Lisa today!" Mainly the class for the younger kids were poking puddles and tadpoles today, and the older sets got a short hike and learning about local things!
The kids started to hop out of the van and she came out to lead the littles to the their rotund little teacher, a cheerful (in the closet) rat, and then bent to catch a hug from Nikki, "alright, I'll be back at five, you have the emergency buttons!" Not exactly phones, just 'something went wrong!' devices that the security business run by Rafael had developed after the Jason arrest fiasco. It pinged the adults of each child AND security!
"Buttons!" the older set (twins and Nikki) chimed obediently before Bantii snuck up to add to the chorus with "I have their buttons!"
"Good enough!" she laughed, ruffling heads. "And rules...?"
"No scaring the other kids," Iri smiled.
"Or running away from the group!" Kir added.
Nikki rocked on her heels a moment then shrugged, "no dancing on wet rocks again!"
Beryl chuckled, passing Bantii a lunchbox of his own to blend in with the others, "yes, please don't. You're lucky that wrist was only bruised kiddo." And Nat had nearly had a heart attack as they got X-rays done!
"We'll be good," Bantii smiled sweetly. "We promise!"
"Promise!" the rest chimed.
"Oh that's good to hear," Ms. Lisa hiked up cheerfully, several other children in tow already. "We're hitting a trail that leads to a small creek today before lunch let's go!" She passed Beryl the map every parent got, and nodded as she signed off on the list of names of each kid she was responsible for! World ran on paperwork after all!
* * *
Trees. Were. AWESOME.
Ms. Lisa knew the names of ALL the trees and all the best ways to walk so it was always a lot of fun when they got to have a class with her! Better it was a class outside with no homework! Nikki really liked that part, because really, moving was kind of what she DID. Her favorite name in regular school was 'wiggle worm' so far. Because she was always wiggling in her chair!
Lunch, per usual, was AWESOME! Only really interrupted by the fact that Garry wanted to trade his apple for her tangerine and that was not cool today.
Oh, and Ms. Lisa had to walk one of the others off to a tree while they ate because the new kid hadn't used the bathroom at the rest area! Bantii was in the middle of trading one of his tangerine slices for a chunk of apple to stop Garry from getting grumpy when Ms. Lisa came back, but she looked...weird. Weird nice? Nikki tilted her head, watching a moment, "did you change your hair?"
Ms. Lisa smiled "oh, yeah, my ponytail holder broke," she smiled, shooing the boy back to the group. "Since we're all sitting here do you want to hear a story about these woods?"
Iri flopped on the grass, staring up at the sky while she chewed on her last bit of bread, "is it a fun story?"
"It's a fairy tale," Ms. Lisa assured cheerfully.
Kir set his lunchbox on Iri's stomach since she was playing table then shrugged, "is it a good one?" They had kind of a high standard!
"I'll let you decide," Ms. Lisa smiled, and something about that expression now was...distracting. The kids all shifted slightly, definitely paying attention now! The twins stayed relaxed, but most the other children settled in a sloppy ring near their teacher.
Nikki's hand shot into the air, "I NEED TO WIGGLE!" It was a signal, one they'd agreed on when they had started in the program, she just needed to move sometimes, and they'd been holding still a lot for lunch! A need to wiggle meant she was going to hang out near the back and not be disruptive!
Ms. Lisa smiled in her direction, "are you sure dear? You might miss something..."
Nikki clipped her box closed then nodded, "gotta! I'll listen and I'll get notes if I miss something!"
Bantii tucked her box against his and the twins, nodding easily, "I'll pay attention," he agreed gently, "go ahead Miss?"
Their teacher pursed her lips a moment then nodded as Nikki stayed nearby, "well, this is a story passed down near here..."
Bantii settled in to listen, but details were just...hard to grasp. somehow they flowed like water as the adult's voice sang on.
Sang.
Oh.
He blinked, was that a...small harp in her hands? It took effort to turn his head and look at the others? The twins looked bored, Nikki was moving behind him but...in rhythm to the words somehow and the other children were...staring. Still and unblinking.
He tried to speak and the air felt like molasses against his lips, warm, uncaring heat that wanted him to just sit. Sit and listen. "....no." No. This was wrong. It wasn't the taint of shadow or dark, but it was WRONG. "Niiiikki?"
She didn't answer, just kept moving, though Kir shifted slightly to look at him? ...'what?' It wasn't a word that managed to be spoken, just lips moving, but he could understand what the boy meant. What indeed? It didn't feel like anything HE knew from his lessons with his family, so this was something normal, or at least local, to Earth?
He was wracking his brain to try to determine what was best to do when he heard a soft 'tap'. It repeated after a heartbeat or two.
Again.
He was able to turn to see the origin if he worked at it, and saw Nikki's foot managing to tap her lunchbox in her looping dance, a look of concentration on her face. That was...hope. Problems weren't always meant to be solved alone, no, Iri sat up to lean on Kir, hiding his reach for that metal container...
...and inside was...something on a plastic stick in a pink and blue wrapper? His fingers felt numb and thick until he managed to get his hands on the thing, and then the cool flow of his own power flowed through his mind. Oh. This was an instrument somehow. He lifted it to peer at the cellophane and read 'whistle pop' on it.
Oh, she'd brought him a toy.
Something to play with.
It wasn't meant to be a weapon...
...but that was any instrument in his hands. It was toy, tool, weapon, joy and sorrow as needed. The crunch of the wrapper made the sonorous voice pause a moment, but it continued after a moment, which bought him time to bring the sticky sweet pipe to his lips.
Sugar was NOT the ideal medium for a battle honestly, but only the kids here knew that it was going to be a fight. Surprise always helped! A slide flute, limited tones, HE COULD WORK WITH THIS. Especially since the twins moved easier from the moment his discordant practice notes slid out.
The story drew to a pause with a soft, velvet voiced hiss as he stood, Ms. Lisa glaring over the still enraptured audience to lock gazes with him, fingers stirring a new tune on her harp.
Oh hell no. That was a statement he had learned here and these were children. Kids that weren't all his friends but also not terrible and they were NOT up for grabs! He slowly played fingers over his new weapon now, the tones from his little flute becoming blades through the more mellow tones. This was some kind of charm and therefore it was NOT on the printed itinerary!
Kir stood as well, taking Iri's hand, "you're not Ms. Lisa!" Not at all.
"Bantii, Nikki? We can find our teacher and call help!" Iri added, looking over her shoulder, the sheer ability to look away making the harp music grow louder, "keep them safe?" Divide and conquer?
Bantii couldn't spare the time to speak but he nodded, and Nikki's pattern brought her hand to his shoulder, a jolt of Power running through him, little though she'd know that just yet.
"Hold," Kir agreed, growling, and he tugged Iri from the crowd and bolted. Emergency buttons pushed in tandem and then hunting where their real teacher had gone.
As for the battle for the rest, well, Nikki had started a pattern AROUND Bantii, an orbit like he was the only sun she'd ever see and she the only grace he'd ever known. He closed his eyes, concentrating, because harp music was complex, even a little lap harp, but this was HIS arena. His Power.
HIS CHILDREN.
He could feel the sugar of the reed shape melting and running down his chin, the slide growing brittle as he cut, and cut, and cut again through the sleepy, enchanting sounds...and then Nikki caught his elbow and tugged him into a spin, strength coating him like spiderwebs with each round she took him through. It was like....that machine he'd seen with them at a fair. The one that spun sugar onto a stick, cottony and airy, just bits of a different magic added to the thrum of his heart layer by layer. The candy was all liquid in his hand now, the stick nearly a mere reed...but one last shrill note and there was the harsh twinging snap of harp strings.
One.
Two...
...all of them in a rush of discordance.
He gasped a breath, trying not to choke on sugar as he slid his free hand down to take Nikki's, sugar binding their palms in a childish promise of forever.
The adversary across the sea of sitting children scowled and opened her mouth, but he snarled, "SILENCE!" It wasn't just a command, he wasn't asking, music, and at it's root, SOUND, belonged to him. This imposter would not sing.
Would not speak.
Would not even hear now.
Silence was to be her world, no matter how...breathtaking the woman under the sound was. With the source of charm snapped, the woman was taller, hair of spun gold pooling to the ground around her, ears pointed as knives and eyes of carved gemstone brilliance.
NOT THAT HE HAD ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANT BUT AT LEAST THEY'D BEEN RIGHT IT WASN'T MS. LISA!
"Ow," he sighed, sagging in Nikki's grip and unceremoniously tugging her to the ground as his legs buckled.
Ow.
"Ow," Nikki agreed, huffing for breath. "Let''s just sit. I might nap. Help is coming."
Ow.
Yup.
Bantii closed his eyes, settling into the grass as the children around them started to move restlessly, confused, "I want an adult," he agreed.