Let the Children Play

[Rose Karos]

Rose had only recently been allowed to venture into the city proper and her parents’ favorite socializing spots without their watchful attention; she grasped her new-found freedom with both small hands and worried her slave-nanny, Aydra, to ragged pieces. Not surprisingly, she often found herself in Rhydin’s dueling venues – she fast found friends among the tough, rough-and-tumble denizens of the sports.

Her second trip to the famed Duel of Swords’ arenas of sand-filled and blood-stained rings proved to be as exciting as the first. She met Tes.

And so it begins …

The flaxen-haired Rose peered around, legs swinging alternatively. Her brows scrunched suddenly and she hopped off the couch. Slowly she headed toward the boy near the rings. The boy, looking around, saw the girl approaching him and he blinked at her, then stood up. “Hi,” she said to the boy and graced him with a shy, curious smile. "I'm Rose. Who're you?"

He smiled, and held out a hand. “I'm Tes. It's nice to meetcha, Rose. What're you doin' here?”

Her small hand extended and slid into his. Fingers squeezed around him and she pumped swiftly up and down, all energy and growing smiles. "I'm here because I like it here. Mom and Dad just started letting me come out here. Dad and Lily even fought here last week!" The girl took a moment to breathe and then continued. "What are you doing here, Mister Tes?"

“Don't call me mister. I'm not all old like grownups. I'm twelve.” So mighty, so powerful, so twelve. “I'm here 'cause I don't have anything better to do!”

She giggled. "Mom told me to say it to everyone older than me. It's a sign of ... respect." She nodded a couple more times, pulling her hand back. "Why don't you have anything better to do? Do you have a home? Parents?” She leaned in to add in a not-so-quiet whisper. "Mom says this place can be dangerous cuz of the people."

“I'm around my Dad sometimes. When I feel like it.” He didn’t tilt his nose toward the air, but the tone said it all; High and mighty. “But usually just my sister.” A little shrug. “My Dad says people are boring if they're not dangerous.”

She dropped onto the ground with an utter lack of grace during his answer, settling cross-legged and looking way up to him. "Lily's not dangerous and she's not boring. She's my sister. Is your sister dangerous? Or do you think she's boring?" Her head tilted to the left.

“I bet she's probly a little dangerous. Even if you don't know how.” He nodded. “My sister blows stuff up.” He dropped to the ground in a manner similar to hers. “Are you around your parents a lot?”

"Wow! Your sister blows stuff up?!" Eyes rounded in surprise. "Does she get in trouble for it? Mom said kids were too young for that stuff." She giggled. "I bet Mom and Dad did a lot of things they'd get mad at us for though!" Her head tilted suddenly the other way and she grinned. "I'm with Mom and Dad almost all the time they're home. They're busy, though."

“Yeah, she blows stuff up all the time. I gotta make sure she remembers not to.” He smiled. “She's a teenager though. And she doesn't get in trouble. Chryrie's gone, so she's in charge of a lotta stuff. She's like the boss.” He giggled as well. “Parents always do stuff they say we shouldn't.” A nod, and he continued. “So you get to do whatever you want when they're busy?”

"Oh no!" Curls whipped through the air with the violence of her head shaking. "I have to take lessons in a lot of stuff. I even have to do lesson stuff after my lessons!" There's a momentary huff of exasperation. "But I get to play too. Usually in my wing, but we have a really good playroom. And the other girls play with me too. Do you have to do any of that?" Her upper body rocked back and forth a little, and her grey eyes remained bright and wide with the enthusiasm and excitement of meeting this new boy.

“Lessons? I have to take lessons every couple of days with Wickers, but not as much as when I was little. I don't get to play alot though, unless I go out from the Manor or the apartment building. When I go to my Gram, though, I get to play with lots of things.” He smiled, brightly.

"We should play together more often. So you can play. I can even ask Mom if you want to come over!" She beamed. "What do you like to play?"

“Okay!” He clasped his hands together and smiled. “I like to play spy best.”

"Spy? Ooooooh." She leaned in, hands clasping in her lap. "How do you play spy?"

He leaned in as well, and spoke secretively. “Well, you gotta figure out something that you're gonna take. 'Cause spies are always tryin' to get the secret thing that you need to beat the bad guys. So it's gotta be somethin' good.” He giggled. “Once, I took my Gram's favorite book! She was so mad that she tore down the whole place lookin' for it.”

"Oooh." She leaned still further. "I want to play." A couple nods accompanied the words. "But I don't think I could play with Mom or Dad." Her nose wrinkled. "I think they would be so mad. I don't like making them mad." Her head got to shaking once more. "Nope. They'd blame the slaves, anyway, and punish them." A true frown marred her sweet face.

“It's pretty good not to play with your parents. They usually win, anyways. I tried to play with my Dad once and take his pouch, and he caught me.” He folded his arms. “Really quick.” Tes harrumphed. He looked back up. “Your family has slaves?”

"Uh huh." The casual way she said it, it truly was just a way of life. Matter-of-fact, it was nothing important. She looked up and then out. Finally Rose pointed to the kneeling, purple-liveried girl near the bottom of the steps. "That's Aydra, she's mine. I have to take her with me when I go out of the Estate." She shifted back toward Tes. "She's nice, I like her. I don't punish her, though."

[Rose Karos]

“My Dad doesn't like slaves.” He looked over at the slave girl, and smiled, and waved. “But my Gram makes me take one of her things with me wherever I go cause she says that I'm not big enough to take care of myself and it's ‘foolish to pretend otherwise’. Wanna go see him?”

She looked too at Aydra. For her part, the girl just looked back toward the pair; she didn't smile or respond with a wave. "She's not supposed to react unless I say something right to her. If she does, it makes Mom and Dad mad," Rose explained with a small sigh. A moment later, she brightened. "See your Dad?"

“Oh..” He frowned, just a little. Then he heard her and hurriedly replied. “My Dad? No, I don't know where he is. But we can see Iggy. He's who my Gram makes go with me all the time.”

"Okay!" She leaned inward again, to him, and darted forward with a quick peck to his cheek. She then hopped up, almost bouncing, and offered her hand in 'help.' 'Let's go!" she giggled.

He blushed furiously, and then rubbed at his cheek while he took her hand. “Okay! Come on!” He led her on to head outside. There was a bit of a skip to her step as she followed, moving quickly to keep up. Aydra rose fluidly, hands resting at her sides. She waited until the children passed her and then turned to follow three steps behind.

As they moved out into the street, Tes led Rose into the most open area of the street as he could, and then cupped his hands together around his mouth and starting calling. "Iggy! Come out, Iggy! I want to show you something!"

Ayrda was careful to keep her distance - at least a respectful but still watchful distance. Rose's hands dropped to her sides at the yell, contact between the children broken. "Iggy! Hi!" She added her encouragement for the being to appear.

The first indication of Iggy's presence was in a crumbling sound from a near building corner. A sharp eye or an exceptionally curious child may have spotted the giant, sixteen and a half foot snake tail speeding down the Romanesque columns of the building, or the metallic flash at its head. Eventually, the body of a beautiful woman - though grey-skinned, fanged, and with six arms and snake eyes - rose up as her serpentine lower half slithered behind her on her approach. She was armored in black metal, with strange vents in its back that were pitch black and seemed to lead to nowhere.

Well, if we're talking about exceptionally curious children, Rose just might well give them a run for their money. At any rate, her attention swiveled around in anticipation of a first glimpse of the promised creature. Aydra seemed much less curious and more wary – it was the most obvious expression she had carried all night. She inched closer to the children, readying for protective measures if need be. Upon Iggy's arrival, Rose blink, blink, blinked. "WOW!" She stared rudely. "You're HUGE! Are you Dad's Mom? We have pictures of you on the walls!"

She surveyed the two children and the slave with minimal interest, and responded to her charge first and foremost. Her voice was something one had to experience to understand. "What do you wish of me, Teshid?" When the boy gestured to the girl, she responded to her as well. "Thank you." She narrowed her eyes. "I am no being's Mother."

"Oh." Brows knitted. "I'm sorry. Can I give you a hug?"

Tes smiled. "This is Iggy. He's mine. Gram said Iggy'd take care of me whenever I needed him." The Daemon had long since given up on correcting the boy about genders. "And Iggy does whatever I say." At Rose's request, Iggy turned her eyes upon Tes. He nodded, and the Daemon blinked slowly in response.

"Very well." She lowered herself nearly to the ground and, nonplussed, opened her arms.

Her attention turned obviously to Tes at his monologue by virtue of her face turning toward him. She nodded seriously. "So he's like Aydra." She seemed to accept the expressed sex presentation at face value (especially since Iggy didn't correct him). Slowly she turned back to the being. "It must be sad that you're not anyone's Mom. My mom says she loves it the most." OKay, maybe Dawn never said that in so many words ...

She stepped forward, bringing her arms up and out, and slipped into the creature's embrace. Her small arms wrapped as well as could be around Iggy's body.

"I guess,” Tes countered. “'Cept Iggy can talk and make faces and do whatever he wants whenever he wants, unless I need him."

Iggy was easy to hug, with the torso of an average, slender woman. Even the armor she wore wasn't bulky enough to seem like real armor. All the bangles and jewelry on her arms and neck likely weighed more than the armored plates that guarded her body. The six arms enclosed around the child, lightly embracing her. "I have no desire to produce offspring. Especially with Teshid in my charge."

Tes always took that as a compliment.

"He is nice," she agreed. "I like you, too." She granted the armor within easy reach a kiss and pulled back with a beaming smile. That bright grin was broken, however, by the sudden yawn and the girl brought her hand swiftly up. "Ahhh, oooh." She blushed! "I'm sorry, I'm tired."

"Wonderful." She rose back to 'standing' height and an eyebrow rose. "Perhaps your servant should take you home and to bed." How she despised having such knowledge. Tes smiled. "Iggy's right. You should get some sleep. It's pretty late and you still gotta tell your Mom that we gotta play more."

"We should meet again!" She spoke even as she nodded agreement to Iggy's suggestion. "Do you want to come over for lunch tomorrow, if Mom and Dad say it's okay?" She directed that toward Tes.

"Yeah!" He beamed. "Oh, here." He dug around in his pocket, and gave her a small circle of mirrored glass. "My Gram made a bunch of these for me. It's called a lookinglass. You can just say my name and it'll let you talk to me! Now we can make sure we see each other."

The beaming smile seemed to brighten even more as she took the glass. "I'll keep it very safe, I promise. Thank you, Tes! I am so happy we met! I need to go now." She didn't wait for an answer; rather, she turned and scampered down the lane. Aydra heaved the smallest of sighs and then went chasing after.

(( Adapted from live RP, 3/25/11. ))