having survived the fair...
Jul. 5th, 2004 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavandarlizard2...and shopped myself into oblivion, I find that I am strangely energized. Not enough to give the bunny any competition, but enough to get me started on the next part of parts. Therefore, I will now share the *last* part of *this* part with the folks who have not yet run screaming for the hills. (BTW, the hills are *that* way...)
We may even discuss my *ahem* shopping...
BFB - 078d - Off to See the Wyverns - Clan Visit
Heero suddenly looked up to the sky, his frills and his crest rising automatically and the colors beginning to shift, from midnight blue to silver to electric green. Something was up there that required his attention. I looked around the area. None of the other Wyverns seemed concerned, so it must have been something of interest only to him.
Kohaku? Already? It was only a little after ten; Heero had said she was due around noon.
“Heero?”
He got to his feet, folding his wings smoothly and placing himself automatically between me and whatever was up there. That’s one of those things he does that just conflicts the hell out of me. On the one hand, it’s exasperating, because I can take care of myself; I don’t need that protection. On the other hand, it’s just... sweet that he wants to keep me safe. It’s what he does, what he’s hardwired for, what his kind have done since their creation. Like I said, I can give myself whiplash bouncing back and forth.
“Heero! What is it?”
He seemed hesitant, uncertain, and that was definitely out of character for my Wyvern. “I... don’t know... It feels like... But why...?” He was talking to himself. I gave up and just concentrated on trying to see what he felt.
It was maybe another minute before I spotted the tiny speck against the white clouds. Another minute and I could tell that there were two of whatever they were. A third minute and I recognized the Wyvern wings. Clearly, even though it wasn’t Kohaku and her Chosen, it was someone Heero knew. Someone he obviously hadn’t expected.
Heero made a tiny little noise, almost a squeak, and I got to my feet to take his hand.
“Heero, please,” I tried again. “What *is* it?” This time he answered me.
“It’s... it’s my mother’s other children... My half-siblings...” Shock was the most identifiable emotion in his voice. “They haven’t come since... since I went away to school... Why would they come now?”
I wasn’t too far from stunned myself. I’d had no idea Heero had siblings. Oh, but I should have realised! Heero had two ‘duty children’ of his own; why wouldn’t his mother have had a duty child? Hadn’t he said something about his mother and his grandmother doing their duty to their Clan? It was apparently the Way of the Wyverns. None of which explained why they didn’t live in the Clanhold, or why they seldom saw their half-brother. Unless, for some reason, they didn’t like Heero...? I almost asked, but there was no time; they were swooping in for the standard suicidal-pigeon landing.
Heero pulled me in close, unfurling his wings to their greatest span, as they touched down on the grass before us. They didn’t shift, which surprised me. God, I hoped there wasn’t going to be some kind of confrontation. My first few hours had been wonderful; I didn’t want anything to go wrong now.
The taller of the two, a spectacular red-gold-bronze colored Wyvern folded its wings and looked up at us, hands on hips and head cocked at an inquisitive angle. The other, a pale green and yellow creature (kind of reminded me of an Easter egg), folded its arms over its chest with the same inquisitive head-tilt. And before you ask, no; I couldn’t tell the gender of either one of them. Wyverns don’t... well, *show*, in that form.
Heero spoke first, his voice just a little creaky.
“Kikai... Tulip... I am happy to see you,” he said hopefully.
I blinked. Tulip? *Tulip?!* Good god; what was Heero’s mother thinking when she named that one?
“Heero,” purred the taller; “It is *so* good to see you again!”
On the basis of that warm soft voice, I guessed that one was female...
The pastel Wyvern chuckled warmly. “It’s not every day the dragonette Chooses, you know. How could we miss this?” Okay, that was definitely a male chuckle...
So, these were Heero’s half-brother and half-sister. Wow. And they didn’t seem to be too put out by my presence...
Heero tightened his grip on me and leaped down to join them. Damn. They were both taller than Heero in their Dragon forms, which made them both pretty damned impressive close up. Or from far away.
They didn’t seem to be the hugging types, only widened their toothy grins. My, what big teeth you have...
“Kikai; Tulip; this is Duo, the Banshee I’ve Chosen. Duo; my sister Kikai and my brother Tulip.”
Oh, god... The Easter egg was Tulip... I did my best to keep a straight face; haven’t a clue how well it came off.
Kikai nodded graciously to me saying, “I am very pleased to meet the one who has taken Heero’s heart.”
Tulip (!) made a half-bow and said, “Honored, little one. You have reaffirmed my faith in Heero’s good taste.”
I did my spontaneous combustion trick, which seemed to amuse them no end. “Th-Thank you,” I stammered. “It’s an honor to meet you.” I tried a bow; don’t know how well that came off either. I was just a little... okay, a lot unsettled. Heero stepped in to give me time to get myself in hand, whether by design or coincidence.
“I’m glad you came,” he said firmly. “But... why now? It’s been years...”
The Wyverns exchanged a look and the female spoke. “Well, we weren’t sure how much contact you would accept.”
“We were never exactly... close... When you were young, I mean,” said the male. “You being so much younger and all.”
“Yes. We decided to wait and see if you were interested. IchiBan says you are. She mentioned that you wanted to visit the Banshees, so we thought we’d come and see you and meet your little Banshee for ourselves. Mother’s Chosen was an absolute darling; he won hearts everywhere he went.” She looked me over with a toothy smile. “I was curious to see if it was just Tori, or if all Banshees are like that.”
“It’s the pheromones,” Heero muttered, squeezing me gently. He changed form and a moment later, his siblings followed suit.
Well, damn. Obviously, good looks ran in Heero’s blood. His sister was tall and rangy, like the IchiBan, with red and gold streaked hair cut in a neat wedge and brilliant blue eyes. His brother – Tulip – was about Heero’s size; maybe a bit broader across the shoulders, with – I shit you not – pink hair and grey eyes. His hair behaved just like Heero’s; shaggy and wild and totally unkempt. And fuchsia pink. I had to wonder what his father looked like to produce a pastel Wyvern.
Heero might have been reading my mind – wonder if Q taught him that trick. “Kikai and Tulip are Mother’s Dragon children.” The three of them shared a grin and a chuckle. “Their fathers are Great Dragons.”
Oh. *Oh.* These Wyverns were half-Dragons; *real* Dragons. Not Were-Dragons... Legendary, mythological, honest-to-crap *real* Dragons.
Suddenly, I felt *very* small and inconsequential. I must have made some stupid noise, because the grins became even wider.
“I love that reaction,” laughed Tulip, punching Heero lightly on the arm. “Nobody around here does it.”
“We’re only unique to strangers,” Kikai smirked.
Heero eyed me strangely, like maybe he thought I was about vanish or something. “Duo? It’s not that impressive.” But he was grinning that puffy, proud grin, like yes, dammit, it *is* impressive that his siblings were half-Dragons.
“It – “ Damn, now I was squeaking. I cleared my throat and tried again. “It is to me... I’m just a country Banshee, remember.” Well, it wasn’t all that funny, but they laughed like it was. Next thing I knew, Kikai and Tulip had swooped down on me for hugs, and were looking me over like some prize pony.
“– Beautiful hair!”
“– Those eyes!”
“– The boots!”
“– Look at the workmanship!”
“– Heero! He’s just beautiful!”
I’m sure I must have done something; made a noise or moved or produced some kind of strange expression – they suddenly moved away from me as if I’d caught fire. Based on what my face felt like, that might not be too absurd.
“Duo; our apologies!” said Kikai firmly. “We do get a little carried away sometimes.”
They had backed off to a couple of meters, but Heero was still right against me, so I apparently didn’t actually *do* anything.
“Um... That’s okay... I just, you know, embarrass easily...”
“We don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Duo,” agreed Tulip. “We’ll try to be more... restrained in the future.” He gave Heero a wink and a smirk. “Wouldn’t want to frighten you off; Heero would kill us.”
“We’ll leave you two alone now,” said Kikai. “We must find the IchiBan. We are so glad you’re here, Duo.” And she stepped close to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’m very glad to have met you,” I managed. “Really, I’m not usually so... so weird,” I stammered.
“It’s Chang’s influence,” said Heero. “It apparently *is* contagious.”
They must have understood what he meant, because they laughed like a pair of loons. “But *you* won him!” exclaimed Tulip. “Congratulations, Heero! Congratulations indeed!”
Thank the goddess they left us then; I was so off-balance, it’s a wonder I wasn’t upside-down.
~end of part 078~
Now; shopping. In case you're not familiar with me, I should say that I love to shop. I love finding odd, strange, unique or just plain *cute* stuff. I love shopping at fairs and craft shows, because you can find all manner of interesting and even one-of-a-kind goodies. I haven't been to the fair or to the shows in quite a while - no disposable income - but now that I am gainfully employed, my fingers are beginning to twitch again.
And just in time for that twitching - the Del Mar Fair Seusscentenial! Hmm. That last may be spelled wrong, but since it was a creation of the Fair, who knows? Anyway, I went, I saw and I shopped. I found a pair of purple Birkies, which have been discontinued in that color, that just happened to be *my* size. And a wonderful stall filled with ear cuffs and other amazing non-pierced ear decorations. Another stall with a veritable safari of blown glass critters. Dragons. Wolves. Hawks. Sun catchers of the non-Wyvern type. Bees. I found *Gundam Wing* posters!
And I took a ton of pictures and apparently killed my digital camera.
But I have a list for next year; who knows what else I'll find then...
We may even discuss my *ahem* shopping...
BFB - 078d - Off to See the Wyverns - Clan Visit
Heero suddenly looked up to the sky, his frills and his crest rising automatically and the colors beginning to shift, from midnight blue to silver to electric green. Something was up there that required his attention. I looked around the area. None of the other Wyverns seemed concerned, so it must have been something of interest only to him.
Kohaku? Already? It was only a little after ten; Heero had said she was due around noon.
“Heero?”
He got to his feet, folding his wings smoothly and placing himself automatically between me and whatever was up there. That’s one of those things he does that just conflicts the hell out of me. On the one hand, it’s exasperating, because I can take care of myself; I don’t need that protection. On the other hand, it’s just... sweet that he wants to keep me safe. It’s what he does, what he’s hardwired for, what his kind have done since their creation. Like I said, I can give myself whiplash bouncing back and forth.
“Heero! What is it?”
He seemed hesitant, uncertain, and that was definitely out of character for my Wyvern. “I... don’t know... It feels like... But why...?” He was talking to himself. I gave up and just concentrated on trying to see what he felt.
It was maybe another minute before I spotted the tiny speck against the white clouds. Another minute and I could tell that there were two of whatever they were. A third minute and I recognized the Wyvern wings. Clearly, even though it wasn’t Kohaku and her Chosen, it was someone Heero knew. Someone he obviously hadn’t expected.
Heero made a tiny little noise, almost a squeak, and I got to my feet to take his hand.
“Heero, please,” I tried again. “What *is* it?” This time he answered me.
“It’s... it’s my mother’s other children... My half-siblings...” Shock was the most identifiable emotion in his voice. “They haven’t come since... since I went away to school... Why would they come now?”
I wasn’t too far from stunned myself. I’d had no idea Heero had siblings. Oh, but I should have realised! Heero had two ‘duty children’ of his own; why wouldn’t his mother have had a duty child? Hadn’t he said something about his mother and his grandmother doing their duty to their Clan? It was apparently the Way of the Wyverns. None of which explained why they didn’t live in the Clanhold, or why they seldom saw their half-brother. Unless, for some reason, they didn’t like Heero...? I almost asked, but there was no time; they were swooping in for the standard suicidal-pigeon landing.
Heero pulled me in close, unfurling his wings to their greatest span, as they touched down on the grass before us. They didn’t shift, which surprised me. God, I hoped there wasn’t going to be some kind of confrontation. My first few hours had been wonderful; I didn’t want anything to go wrong now.
The taller of the two, a spectacular red-gold-bronze colored Wyvern folded its wings and looked up at us, hands on hips and head cocked at an inquisitive angle. The other, a pale green and yellow creature (kind of reminded me of an Easter egg), folded its arms over its chest with the same inquisitive head-tilt. And before you ask, no; I couldn’t tell the gender of either one of them. Wyverns don’t... well, *show*, in that form.
Heero spoke first, his voice just a little creaky.
“Kikai... Tulip... I am happy to see you,” he said hopefully.
I blinked. Tulip? *Tulip?!* Good god; what was Heero’s mother thinking when she named that one?
“Heero,” purred the taller; “It is *so* good to see you again!”
On the basis of that warm soft voice, I guessed that one was female...
The pastel Wyvern chuckled warmly. “It’s not every day the dragonette Chooses, you know. How could we miss this?” Okay, that was definitely a male chuckle...
So, these were Heero’s half-brother and half-sister. Wow. And they didn’t seem to be too put out by my presence...
Heero tightened his grip on me and leaped down to join them. Damn. They were both taller than Heero in their Dragon forms, which made them both pretty damned impressive close up. Or from far away.
They didn’t seem to be the hugging types, only widened their toothy grins. My, what big teeth you have...
“Kikai; Tulip; this is Duo, the Banshee I’ve Chosen. Duo; my sister Kikai and my brother Tulip.”
Oh, god... The Easter egg was Tulip... I did my best to keep a straight face; haven’t a clue how well it came off.
Kikai nodded graciously to me saying, “I am very pleased to meet the one who has taken Heero’s heart.”
Tulip (!) made a half-bow and said, “Honored, little one. You have reaffirmed my faith in Heero’s good taste.”
I did my spontaneous combustion trick, which seemed to amuse them no end. “Th-Thank you,” I stammered. “It’s an honor to meet you.” I tried a bow; don’t know how well that came off either. I was just a little... okay, a lot unsettled. Heero stepped in to give me time to get myself in hand, whether by design or coincidence.
“I’m glad you came,” he said firmly. “But... why now? It’s been years...”
The Wyverns exchanged a look and the female spoke. “Well, we weren’t sure how much contact you would accept.”
“We were never exactly... close... When you were young, I mean,” said the male. “You being so much younger and all.”
“Yes. We decided to wait and see if you were interested. IchiBan says you are. She mentioned that you wanted to visit the Banshees, so we thought we’d come and see you and meet your little Banshee for ourselves. Mother’s Chosen was an absolute darling; he won hearts everywhere he went.” She looked me over with a toothy smile. “I was curious to see if it was just Tori, or if all Banshees are like that.”
“It’s the pheromones,” Heero muttered, squeezing me gently. He changed form and a moment later, his siblings followed suit.
Well, damn. Obviously, good looks ran in Heero’s blood. His sister was tall and rangy, like the IchiBan, with red and gold streaked hair cut in a neat wedge and brilliant blue eyes. His brother – Tulip – was about Heero’s size; maybe a bit broader across the shoulders, with – I shit you not – pink hair and grey eyes. His hair behaved just like Heero’s; shaggy and wild and totally unkempt. And fuchsia pink. I had to wonder what his father looked like to produce a pastel Wyvern.
Heero might have been reading my mind – wonder if Q taught him that trick. “Kikai and Tulip are Mother’s Dragon children.” The three of them shared a grin and a chuckle. “Their fathers are Great Dragons.”
Oh. *Oh.* These Wyverns were half-Dragons; *real* Dragons. Not Were-Dragons... Legendary, mythological, honest-to-crap *real* Dragons.
Suddenly, I felt *very* small and inconsequential. I must have made some stupid noise, because the grins became even wider.
“I love that reaction,” laughed Tulip, punching Heero lightly on the arm. “Nobody around here does it.”
“We’re only unique to strangers,” Kikai smirked.
Heero eyed me strangely, like maybe he thought I was about vanish or something. “Duo? It’s not that impressive.” But he was grinning that puffy, proud grin, like yes, dammit, it *is* impressive that his siblings were half-Dragons.
“It – “ Damn, now I was squeaking. I cleared my throat and tried again. “It is to me... I’m just a country Banshee, remember.” Well, it wasn’t all that funny, but they laughed like it was. Next thing I knew, Kikai and Tulip had swooped down on me for hugs, and were looking me over like some prize pony.
“– Beautiful hair!”
“– Those eyes!”
“– The boots!”
“– Look at the workmanship!”
“– Heero! He’s just beautiful!”
I’m sure I must have done something; made a noise or moved or produced some kind of strange expression – they suddenly moved away from me as if I’d caught fire. Based on what my face felt like, that might not be too absurd.
“Duo; our apologies!” said Kikai firmly. “We do get a little carried away sometimes.”
They had backed off to a couple of meters, but Heero was still right against me, so I apparently didn’t actually *do* anything.
“Um... That’s okay... I just, you know, embarrass easily...”
“We don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Duo,” agreed Tulip. “We’ll try to be more... restrained in the future.” He gave Heero a wink and a smirk. “Wouldn’t want to frighten you off; Heero would kill us.”
“We’ll leave you two alone now,” said Kikai. “We must find the IchiBan. We are so glad you’re here, Duo.” And she stepped close to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’m very glad to have met you,” I managed. “Really, I’m not usually so... so weird,” I stammered.
“It’s Chang’s influence,” said Heero. “It apparently *is* contagious.”
They must have understood what he meant, because they laughed like a pair of loons. “But *you* won him!” exclaimed Tulip. “Congratulations, Heero! Congratulations indeed!”
Thank the goddess they left us then; I was so off-balance, it’s a wonder I wasn’t upside-down.
~end of part 078~
Now; shopping. In case you're not familiar with me, I should say that I love to shop. I love finding odd, strange, unique or just plain *cute* stuff. I love shopping at fairs and craft shows, because you can find all manner of interesting and even one-of-a-kind goodies. I haven't been to the fair or to the shows in quite a while - no disposable income - but now that I am gainfully employed, my fingers are beginning to twitch again.
And just in time for that twitching - the Del Mar Fair Seusscentenial! Hmm. That last may be spelled wrong, but since it was a creation of the Fair, who knows? Anyway, I went, I saw and I shopped. I found a pair of purple Birkies, which have been discontinued in that color, that just happened to be *my* size. And a wonderful stall filled with ear cuffs and other amazing non-pierced ear decorations. Another stall with a veritable safari of blown glass critters. Dragons. Wolves. Hawks. Sun catchers of the non-Wyvern type. Bees. I found *Gundam Wing* posters!
And I took a ton of pictures and apparently killed my digital camera.
But I have a list for next year; who knows what else I'll find then...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 12:50 pm (UTC)Great part!!! Totally love Heero's siblings reactions to Duo and his reaction to them. Tulip? *grin* Now there's an image!
So- the Del Mar Fair Seusscentenial was worth going to hmm? I'm in SoCal too but we didn't make it this year.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 03:08 pm (UTC)The Seusscentenial was a veritable sea of red, white and black, with characters just *everywhere*. The scariest thing was a hat in the shape of a teapot, with the fish from Cat In The Hat jumping out of it. It was plush, it was puffy and people were wearing them...
I'm beginning to wish I had a 'family portrait' of Heero, the IchiBan and the siblings... Especially Tulip.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 03:36 pm (UTC)Then again, we're going to ComicCon in San Diego at the end of the month and there are always all kinds of interesting costumes at that one- of course I *like* those kinds of characters. (Except the Sailor Moon girls- they are just scary!)
I think a 'family portrait' would be very cool!
Please tell me you're going to explain how Tulip got his name?
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 07:21 pm (UTC)It's been a while since I made it to ComicCon, for the same reason I haven't been anywhere else - no money. But I sorta kinda maybe think I might go this year. Depends on how much the DMV wants on my registration, since it comes due in July.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 07:59 pm (UTC)Well DMV might not be so bad- I mean wasn't that why CA elected Arnie in the first place? To take care of DMV fees? *grin*
*Looks at dangling plotline* Okay, we'll wait.... but you won't just leave it there will you?? I mean- Tulip? We need to know! Please!!
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 09:02 pm (UTC)DMV might not be bad, but this is my first go-round with this vehicle, and it's bound to be more than the $59 I paid for my old Geremy. And my insurance comes due at the same time, I just realised. Damn.
Are you sure you need to know? Couldn't it just be one of those odd Wyvern things? I've been writing all day; don't make me think any more!
no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 09:40 pm (UTC)Nah, we don't need to know. We'll accept that it is an 'odd Wyvern thing'. Hey... that could be a great excuse for anything!!
Maybe the middle Wyvern child always has to be named after a plant? *grin*
Sorry- it's late and we're sleep deprived. (among other things)
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 04:43 am (UTC)Good to hear you had fun at the fair without frying yourself!
Tulip... *snicker*
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 06:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-07 09:20 am (UTC)